Category: Military

Wild Bill Guarnere Statue Unveiling

Wild Bill Guarnere StatueA bronze statue of Philadelphia-native Sgt. Wild Bill Guanrere, whose heroism was depicted in the Band of Brothers, will be unveiled Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Delaware County Veterans Memorial in Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.

The ceremony will run from noon to 2:30 p.m. according to spokeswoman Barbara Ann Zippi. The memorial is at 4599 West Chester Pike which is a few blocks east of Providence Road. The public is invited.

Guanrere, who died at the age of 90 in March 2014, was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster and a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster while serving  with the Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 101st Airborne Division.

Wild Bill Guarnere Statue Unveiling

 

 

Food City Veterans Commercial Greatest Ever

This one-minute commercial for Food City, a small Southern grocery store chain headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia is being called the greatest ever. Food City Veterans Commercial Greatest Ever -- This one-minute commercial for Food City, a small Southern grocery store chain headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee is being called the greatest ever. It contains not one word of dialogue. When you go south make sure you patronize Food City.

It contains not one word of dialogue.

When you go south make sure you patronize Food City.

Here it is with a hat tip to Bill Lovejoy.

Food City Veterans Commercial Greatest Ever

Hall Of Prayers Proposed

Hall Of Prayers Proposed -- Kudos to developer Claude de Botton who is ever working to improve and expandf the Delaware County Veterans Memorial on West Chester Pike in Newtown Square.
Claude de Botton (right) at the Delaware County Veterans Memorial at its dedication in 2013. He is proposing a Hall of Prayers to be added to it.

Kudos to developer Claude de Botton who is ever working to improve and expandf the Delaware County Veterans Memorial on West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, Pa.

de Botton, who donated the land on which the memorial was built has outlined a plan for the Hall of Prayers that would be the second phase of the monument

The Hall of Prayers would provide a spot for guests to meditate when they visit the memorial. Situated behind the arc, it would also provide a stunning view for drivers approaching from either direction on West Chester Pike.

Hall Of Prayers Proposed

Veteran Demographics

Veteran DemographicsHere are some facts about veterans courtesy of the United States Census Bureau:

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day honors military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. A national ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Veterans

21.5 million

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2011. Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101>

1.6 million

The number of female veterans in 2011.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001>

2.3 million

The number of black veterans in 2011. Additionally, 1.2 million veterans were Hispanic; 264,695 were Asian; 153,223 were American Indian or Alaska Native; 27,469 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 17.2 million were non-Hispanic white. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanic whites cover only those reporting a single race.)
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001B>
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001D>
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001I>
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/C21001C>
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001E>
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001H>

9.2 million

The number of veterans 65 and older in 2011. At the other end of the age spectrum, 1.8 million were younger than 35.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001>

When They Served

7.5 million

Number of Vietnam-era veterans in 2011: 5.1 million served during the Gulf War (representing service from Aug. 2, 1990, to present); 1.8 million in World War II (1941-1945); 2.4 million in the Korean War (1950-1953); and 5.4 million in peacetime only.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21002>

51,079

Number of living veterans in 2011 who served during the Vietnam era and both Gulf War eras and no other period.

Other living veterans in 2011 who served during three wars:

  • 43,942 served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam era.

Living veterans in 2011 who served during two wars and no other period:

  • 876,663 served during both Gulf War eras.
  • 205,205 served during both the Korean War and the Vietnam era.
  • 129,972 served during both World War II and the Korean War.

Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21002>

Where They Live

3

Number of states with 1 million or more veterans in 2011. These states were California (1.9 million), Florida (1.6 million) and Texas (1.6 million).
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101/0400000US06|0400000US12|0400000US48>

14.0%

Percent of people 18 and older in Alaska who were veterans in 2011. The percent of the 18-and- older population who were veterans was 12 percent or more in Maine, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/DP02/0400000US02|0400000US23|0400000US30|0400000US51|0400000US56>

Education

26.3%

Percent of veterans 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree in 2011. In comparison, 28.5 percent of the total population had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101>

92.3%

Percent of veterans 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher in 2011, compared with 86 percent of the population as a whole.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101>

Income

$35,821

Annual median income of veterans, in 2011 inflation-adjusted dollars, compared with $25,811 for the population as a whole.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/S2101>

On the Job

9.1 million

Number of veterans 18 to 64 in the labor force in 2011.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/C21005>

Disabilities

3.5 million

Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating. Of this number, 810,245 have a rating of 70 percent or higher. Severity of one’s disability is scaled from 0 to 100 percent and eligibility for compensation depends on one’s rating.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21100>

Voting

15.8 million

Number of veterans who voted in the 2008 presidential election. Seventy-one percent of veterans cast a ballot in the presidential election.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/index.html>

12.4 million

Number of veterans who voted in the 2010 congressional election.
Fifty-seven percent of veterans voted in the 2010 congressional election.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/index.html>

Business Owners

9%

Percentage of all U.S. nonfarm firms that are majority owned by veterans. Veteran-owned firms comprised an estimated 2.4 million of the 27.1 million nonfarm businesses nationwide in 2007.
Source: Survey of Business Owners: 2007 <http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo>

75%

Percentage of veteran owners of respondent firms who were 55 or older in 2007. This compares with 37 percent of all owners of respondent firms. Similarly, in 2007, 56 percent of veteran-owned respondent firms with employees reported that their businesses were originally established before 1990. This compares with 39 percent of all employer respondent firms.
Source: Survey of Business Owners: 2007 <http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo>

8%

Percentage of veteran owners of respondent firms who were disabled as the result of injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.
Source: Survey of Business Owners: 2007 <http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo>

Veteran Demographics

Vets Get Dibs At Public Colleges

Vets Get Dibs At Public Colleges — The House last week unanimously approved a measure to help veterans who plan to take college courses, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

House Bill 1164 would allow veterans who are students to receive priority course scheduling at public institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania to give them the flexibility to assimilate back into civilian society and receive the necessary education to rejoin the workforce. Unemployment among veterans is higher than the general population. The bill empowers veterans to use their VA educational benefits in the most efficient manner possible.

House Bill 1164 now goes before the Senate for consideration.

Vets Get Dibs At Public Colleges

Toomey Supports Victims Of Military Sex Assault

Toomey Supports Victims Of Military Sex Assault  —  Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announces that the has sponsored  legislation  with Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.)  to assist service members who are victims of sexual assault in the military and to hold their attackers accountable.

Hopefully the male victims will be eligible too.

 

6 From Devil’s Brigrade Live In Pa.

6 From Devil’s Brigrade Live In Pa. — Sen. Pat Toomey notes that six veterans of World War II’s  legendary 1st Special Service Force, also known as the “Devil’s Brigade” live in Pennsylvania, the most of any state.

6 From Devil’s Brigrade Live In Pa.

Origin Of Memorial Day

Origin Of Memorial Day Courtesy of Patricia Keevil from here

On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic
established Memorial Day or Decoration Day as the national day to
decorate the graves of the Civil War soldiers with flowers. Major
General John A. Logan appointed May 30 as the day to be observed.
Arlington National Cemetery had the first observance of the day on a
grand scale. The place was appropriate as it already housed graves of
over 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead. Gen. and
Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant presided the meeting and the center point of these
Memorial Day ceremonies was the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington
mansion. Speeches were followed by a march of soldiers’ children and
orphans and members of the GAR through the cemetery strewing flowers on
both Union and Confederate graves. They also recited prayers and sang
hymns for the dead.

Even before this declaration, local observances for these war dead were
being held at various places. In Columbus, Miss., a group of women
visited a cemetery on April 25 1866, to decorate the graves of
Confederate soldiers and the Union soldiers whop fell at the battle of
Siloh. Many cities in the North and the South claim to be the first to
celebrate Memorial Day in 1866 but Congress and President Lyndon Johnson
officially declared Waterloo in New York as the ‘birthplace’ of Memorial
Day in 1966. It was said that on May 5, 1866, a ceremony was held here
to honor local soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War,
businesses were closed for the day and residents furled flags at
half-mast. It was said to be the first formal, community-wide and
regular event.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by the Congress,
who designated the last Monday in May as the day for its observance.
Many states observe separate Confederate Memorial Days. Mississippi
observes it on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of
April, Georgia on April 26, North and South Carolina on May 10 and
Louisiana and Tennessee on June 3. In Tennessee, the day is named as
‘Confederate Decorations Day’ while Texas observes ‘Confederate Heroes
Day’ on January 19. In Virginia, Memorial Day is better known as ‘May
Confederate Memorial Day.’

Origin Of Memorial Day

Military Sexual Assault Epidemic

Military Sexual Assault Epidemic — The Pentagon’s report showing that sexual assaults are up 30 percent since 2010 under the Obama administration has the Washington establishment upset and confused.

What isn’t being much talked about is that 14,000 of the sexual assaults were committed on men by other men.

Expect more of that.

Military Sexual Assault Epidemic

Military Sexual Assault Epidemic