Truth About H1N1
By Parents
Nov. 23, 2009
The following up-to-date information on the H1N1 flu virus and vaccine are essential must-knows for any parent. Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News Senior Health and Medical Editor, pediatrician, and previous director for the Centers for Disease Control, answers basic questions on how this flu strain can affect you and your family.
Dr. Richard Besser knows a thing or two about the flu pandemic. This pediatrician was the acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this year when H1N1 first emerged.
Here, he answers your flu questions and explains why you and your children need to get the H1N1 vaccination.
Q. How is H1N1 different from other strains of influenza? Is it worse?
A. This illness looks like any other flu. The flu itself isn’t any worse. What makes this flu different is that this particular strain hasn’t been seen before, so there is no natural immunity.
Older people appear to have some protection probably from exposure to similar strains before 1957, but young people are pretty much unprotected. With H1N1, we’re concerned for children.
Q. It’s often reported that children are at greater risk, but what does that mean? Are they at greater risk for getting H1N1 compared to seasonal influenza, or does it mean there is a greater risk for death?
A. The answer to both questions is yes. With H1N1, there is a greater risk of becoming ill, and there is also a greater risk for death for children. Each year 36,000 people die from seasonal influenza and another 20,000 are hospitalized.
About 90 percent of those affected in a typical year are our elderly. This year we’ve already seen more than 80 H1N1-related deaths in children.
That’s more childhood deaths than we see in a typical flu season, and it’s only mid-October. There are some estimates that say we could see between 30,000 and 90,000 H1N1-related deaths.
I believe those estimates are high, but the take-away is correct. We need to have a healthy respect for this flu.
Q. If I get H1N1, when am I contagious? How long should I stay away from people?
A. You are most contagious when you have a fever. The current recommendations are that you stay home until the fever is gone for 24 hours.
Q. If my child is diagnosed with H1N1, what should I be concerned about?
A. Every parent needs to know this: If the patient seems to be recovering and then gets a high fever, you need to go to the doctor as soon as possible. It could be a sign that a bacterial infection has started.
Watch for other danger signs as well. These include difficulty breathing or a blue or gray color change around the mouth. Parents know their children. If they look really sick, contact your doctor.
Q. Could I get H1N1 twice in one season?
A. If you truly had H1N1, meaning you tested positive for it with a good test, then no. You should not get it twice. If you were diagnosed with influenza but were not tested or if you didn’t see a doctor and think you had H1N1, then theres the possibility that you didn’t actually contract H1N1.
Anyone who falls in those categories should still get the H1N1 vaccination to protect themselves.
Q. Are infants susceptible?
A. Infants are susceptible. However, the vaccine is not for infants younger than 6 months old. I recommend having everyone who is in contact with infants under 6 months old get the H1N1 vaccination.
This includes parents, day-care providers, and any others who spend time with babies.
Q. What can parents do to protect their children from H1N1, especially those children who might have underlying medical conditions?
A. People who are sick end up with germs on their hands from touching their noses. When you touch infected hands or contaminated objects you can pick up those germs.
Then when you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, germs can set up shop. Wash your hands often with soap or a hand sanitizer if you don’t have access to soap and water.
The temperature of the water isn’t as important as the amount of time you are washing with soap. The other thing you need to do is cover your cough or cough into the crook of your elbow.
Finally, stay home if you are sick. If you are in the high-risk category, talk to your physician about a treatment plan.
Your doctor might write you a prescription for Tamiflu that you can have on hand. (You would only fill it if needed.)
Second, you could fill the prescription and have an antiviral in the house, depending on the patient’s specific issues. There is a recommendation from the CDC to do this.
This response is more for a parent that has H1N1 and/or is high risk, not for how to protect your children.
Q. Who is considered high risk?
A. People 24 years of age and younger, pregnant women, healthcare workers, and people who suffer from underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, are all high risk.
Q. If I have been diagnosed with H1N1 and am high risk, what kinds of symptoms should I be concerned about?
A. Difficulty breathing, bluish coloring to the skin, dehydration. Also, take it very seriously if you seem to be getting better and then get worse. See your healthcare provider immediately.
Q. Tamiflu is the most talked about antiviral treatment. Is it safe?
A. The safety profile of this drug is very good. Relenza is also effective. The benefits of using antivirals when you are sick with the flu outweigh the risk of it for people who are at risk of severe illness.
I wouldn’t expect a miracle from Tamiflu, though. It shortens the illness by less than a day in adults and about 36 hours in children. As with all medications, ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible drug side effects.
Q. Are there any preventive treatments?
A. Not medical treatments, but we recommend taking care of yourself and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. That means getting good rest and eating a well-balanced diet.
Q. Many parents say they are using probiotics and other supplements to boost the health of their children.
The hope is that these supplements will strengthen the immune system and make them more able to fight off illnesses such as H1N1. Where do you stand on that?
A. I haven’t seen good data on any of these products preventing the flu. But if a parent feels that this is good for their child and there are no risks, then it comes down to the parent’s comfort level. Discuss these approaches openly with your doctor.
Source: Parents
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Medal of Honor Recipient – PFC USMC James Anderson, Jr
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
November 19, 2009
Each week we at the Chronicle will be honoring one of these true heroes.
We will call it Medal of Honor Recipient of the Week.
We hope you will join with us to honor these true heroes. Who have given us the greatest sacrifice that one could give their life, to save their fellow soldiers?
We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
This Week’s Hero: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, 2d Platoon, Company F, 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division, James Anderson, Jr
Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 28 February 1967.
Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif..
Born: 22 January 1947, Los Angeles, Calif.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Company F was advancing in dense jungle northwest of Cam Lo in an effort to extract a heavily besieged reconnaissance patrol.
Pfc. Anderson’s platoon was the lead element and had advanced only about 200 meters when they were brought under extremely intense enemy small-arms and automatic weapons fire.
The platoon reacted swiftly, getting on line as best they could in the thick terrain, and began returning fire. Pfc. Anderson found himself tightly bunched together with the other members of the platoon only 20 meters from the enemy positions.
As the fire fight continued several of the men were wounded by the deadly enemy assault. Suddenly, an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the marines and rolled alongside Pfc. Anderson’s head. Unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he reached out, grasped the grenade, pulled it to his chest and curled around it as it went off. Although several marines received shrapnel from the grenade, his body absorbed the major force of the explosion.
In this singularly heroic act, Pfc. Anderson saved his comrades from serious injury and possible death. His personal heroism, extraordinary valor, and inspirational supreme self-sacrifice reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps and upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Source: US Military
Who Were Our Presidents? Part 15
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
November 19, 2009
Editor’s Note: How many of us along with our children? Know who our Presidents were and what they have done in Office.
Each week we will pick a President and tell you about them and their Accomplishes.
We hope that you will enjoy this series. And let us know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
15. James Buchanan 1857-1861
Tall, stately, stiffly formal in the high stock he wore around his jowls, James Buchanan was the only President who never married.
Presiding over a rapidly dividing Nation, Buchanan grasped inadequately the political realities of the time. Relying on constitutional doctrines to close the widening rift over slavery, he failed to understand that the North would not accept constitutional arguments which favored the South. Nor could he realize how sectionalism had realigned political parties: the Democrats split; the Whigs were destroyed, giving rise to the Republicans.
Born into a well-to-do Pennsylvania family in 1791, Buchanan, a graduate of Dickinson College, was gifted as a debater and learned in the law.
He was elected five times to the House of Representatives; then, after an interlude as Minister to Russia, served for a decade in the Senate. He became Polk’s Secretary of State and Pierce’s Minister to Great Britain. Service abroad helped to bring him the Democratic nomination in 1856 because it had exempted him from involvement in bitter domestic controversies.
As President-elect, Buchanan thought the crisis would disappear if he maintained a sectional balance in his appointments and could persuade the people to accept constitutional law as the Supreme Court interpreted it. The Court was considering the legality of restricting slavery in the territories, and two justices hinted to Buchanan what the decision would be.
Thus, in his Inaugural the President referred to the territorial question as “happily, a matter of but little practical importance” since the Supreme Court was about to settle it “speedily and finally.”
Two days later Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision, asserting that Congress had no constitutional power to deprive persons of their property rights in slaves in the territories. Southerners were delighted, but the decision created a furor in the North.
Buchanan decided to end the troubles in Kansas by urging the admission of the territory as a slave state. Although he directed his Presidential authority to this goal, he further angered the Republicans and alienated members of his own party. Kansas remained a territory.
When Republicans won a plurality in the House in 1858, every significant bill they passed fell before southern votes in the Senate or a Presidential veto. The Federal Government reached a stalemate.
Sectional strife rose to such a pitch in 1860 that the Democratic Party split into northern and southern wings, each nominating its own candidate for the Presidency. Consequently, when the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, it was a foregone conclusion that he would be elected even though his name appeared on no southern ballot. Rather than accept a Republican administration, the southern “fire-eaters” advocated secession.
President Buchanan, dismayed and hesitant, denied the legal right of states to secede but held that the Federal Government legally could not prevent them. He hoped for compromise, but secessionist leaders did not want compromise.
Then Buchanan took a more militant tack. As several Cabinet members resigned, he appointed northerners, and sent the Star of the West to carry reinforcements to Fort Sumter. On January 9, 1861, the vessel was far away.
Buchanan reverted to a policy of inactivity that continued until he left office. In March 1861 he retired to his Pennsylvania home Wheatland–where he died seven years later–leaving his successor to resolve the frightful issue facing the Nation.
Learn more about James Buchanan ‘s spouse, Harriet Lane.
Source: White House
Editor’s Note: Todays’ homework: We would like to know some of President James Buchanan’s accomplishments as President.
If you can give us some, you can win a prize. You can contact us at dan@youngchronicle.com
Hero of the Week – Dominic Osorio
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
November 18,2009
Editor’s Note: Each Week we will be Honoring people or groups that are making a difference in helping others especially during this tough times in America.
When we as Americans are put through a test, we come out in flying colors on the other side.
We would like to know what you think? And if you know someone or group that we can Honor. You can contact us at dan@youngchronicle.com
This week we will be honoring: Dominic Osorio. Here is his story
Nicole Spagna, shown at center with her children Dominic and Kristina Osorio at Christmas 2008, thought up the Dominator to keep up Dominic's morale in his battle with brain cancer. (Spagna family photo / October 2, 2009)
By Mary Gail Hare
The Baltimore Sun
November 18, 2009
Dominic Osorio, a Bel Air first-grader whose battle with brain cancer inspired a superhero comic book, died Friday of the disease at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
The 7-year-old loved school, superheroes and his big sister Kristina.
“Dominic was a great kid, a real trouper who fought until his last breath,” said his grandmother Monique Spagna of Bel Air. “He is cradled in God’s arms now.”
While Nicole Spagna’s son was hospitalized and unable to communicate these past two months, she rarely left his side.
“I wanted to be with him all the time,” she said. “I read him books, gave him baths and dressed him in his favorite shirts. We played his favorite songs and talked about his sister and his cousin. I watched his heart rate go up and knew he was listening.”
Soon after Dominic was diagnosed in 2007, Spagna devised a story and gave her son the lead role as the Dominator, her own version of a superhero. She never told him that he had brain cancer. Instead, every time Dominic underwent surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, she told him to think of himself as the Dominator, waging war with an evil enemy that he called a megazoid.
Dominic’s story inspired Dave Anderson, who manages a Bel Air restaurant that the family patronizes. He organized several fundraisers for children with cancer and children’s hospices using Dominic’s Dominator as a symbol. Anderson designed a Dominator costume and frequently wears the red bodysuit with a large navy blue D on the chest during visits to area hospitals.
“The more I got into this, the more I knew this was a powerful story,” Anderson said. “This awesome little boy touched a lot of lives.”
With an assist from area illustrators, he turned the story into a children’s comic book that he hopes will become the child’s legacy. Anderson paid nearly $9,000 to design, create and copyright the Dominator and to publish 2,000 copies of the book. More than 1,000 copies have been sold since the $5 book came out in August, with proceeds from sales benefiting children’s cancer research.
Dominic “saw the comic book a few months ago and gave it a thumbs-up,” said Nicole Spagna. “He got to meet the Dominator, too,” when Anderson visited him.
Throughout numerous hospitalizations, Dominic had finished kindergarten and begun first grade at Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School in Bel Air.
“When they tested him for first grade, he was right where he should have been,” Nicole Spagna said.
Dyann Mack, the school’s assistant principal, said, “He really could light up the room and was just a joy to his classmates and the staff.”
School fascinated Dominic, his mother said.
“He loved math and doing all his schoolwork,” she said. “He loved all the rules, never used bad words and always did the right thing. As soon as we got in the car, he would remind me to put on my seat belt.”
Nicole Spagna said she wants her son’s story to help other children coping with cancer.
“I feel so lucky and blessed to have been his mother,” she said.
Monique Spagna said her grandson “did God’s work on Earth. The comic book will go on helping other kids, and we are working to have a child’s room included in the new Harford County Hospice in his memory.”
Additional survivors include his father, Chris Osorio of Bel Air, and his grandfather, Louis Spagna of Indianapolis.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Friday.
Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
Source: The Baltimore Sun
N.C. Police Charge Couple in Missing Girl Case
By Associated Press
November 16, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The location and fate of a 5-year-old girl reported missing by her mother was unknown even after authorities charged the mother with human trafficking and other offenses.
Antoinette Nicole Davis, the mother of Shaniya Davis, faces a child abuse charge involving prostitution as well as filing a false police report, according to a Saturday news release from the Fayetteville Police Department.
The release did not say whether the charges were related to her daughter’s disappearance, but The Fayetteville Observer reported that arrest records indicated they were.
Mother Antoinette Nicole Davis
According to arrest documents cited by the newspaper, Davis “knowingly provide(d) Shaniya Davis with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude” and she “permit(ted) an act of prostitution.”
Telephone messages and an e-mail left for police were not returned.
Shaniya’s mother reported the girl missing Tuesday morning from a mobile home community in Fayetteville, and authorities began searching nearby wooded areas. The following day a man described as Davis’ girlfriend was arrested in the kidnapping but later released.
Police then said a hotel worked spotted a child matching Shaniya’s description at a Sanford hotel about 40 miles from Fayetteville on Tuesday. Authorities reviewed surveillance video and, after speaking with family members, confirmed the child’s identity.
Kidnapper Mario Andrette McNeill
Surveillance footage showed Mario Andrette McNeill carrying Shaniya into a hotel room, and he was arrested and charged with kidnapping Friday.
Authorities have said McNeill admitted to taking the girl, though his attorney says he will plead not guilty to the charge. They have not said if McNeill and Davis knew each other.
An official at the Cumberland County Detention Center said Davis was still being booked and it was unclear whether she had an attorney. Her first court appearance would likely be Monday.
Shaniya’s father, Bradley Lockhart, told The Associated Press he raised his daughter for several years but last month decided to let her stay with her mother. He said Davis struggled financially over the years, but she recently obtained a job and her own place, so Lockhart decided to give her a chance to raise their daughter.
“I should’ve never let her go over there,” he said Saturday night.
Lockhart said police have not told him whether they are any closer to finding his daughter.
“I just want her to come back safe my friend,” he said. “I love her very much and I hope she is OK.”
He described his relationship with Davis as a “one-night stand” and said he and Davis never argued about him raising Shaniya.
“Shaniya is a precious young lady and she is special,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart said he did not know McNeill.
Source: Fox News
Editor’s Note: America have you hugged your child today? Do you know where your child is right now? Who their friends are? There is nothing more important in life than your children, not money, not your job or anything else.
We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
Scholastic New Kid Reporters Announced!
By Shelby Fallin
November 16, 2009
Seasoned Kid Reporter checks out the new team.
The new team of Scholastic Kid Reporters was announced today. Some of the new reporters have already had stories published. They are all working on an important first assignment about the economy.
I’ll never forget my first assignment. I covered a memorial service in central Florida for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. I then went on to cover the 2008 presidential election, which was an incredible challenge and unforgettable adventure! I even got to go to New York City for Election Day!
I spoke to one of the new Kid Reporters after his first assignment last week. Gowtham Balaji lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and is one of the 37 new reporters on the 2009-2010 team. Usually, only 25 new reporters are picked each year.
“We had more applications than ever this year,” said Editor Suzanne Freeman. “The quality of applications was really high, too.”
Gowtham’s first assignment took him to New York City to the Scholastic Headquarters in SoHo. He covered a live webcast featuring all five of the authors of The 39 Clues series. The webcast kicked off the release of Book 6 in the 10-book series.
After the webcast, Gowtham interviewed Jude Watson, author of Book 6: In Too Deep. Gowtham is not only a fan of the 39 Clues series, he is an avid reader of Watson’s Star Wars series as well. Watson clued him in on a big Book 6 secret.
“She said one of the main characters dies,” he said. “I am wondering who.” Watson wouldn’t tell him, but by the time you read this, Gowtham will know. When I interviewed him, he was busy reading Book 6 so he could write the review.
I asked him how he felt when he learned he was one of the recent additions to the Scholastic Kids Press Corp.
“I felt excited because I know I will experience a lot of cool events,” he said. “But I also know it is going to be a lot of work.”
Like all the other members of the press corps, Gowtham is busy working on a new Special Report.
“The Editor asked me to do some research about the economy and how it is affecting my community,” he said. “Next week I have to write about that.”
As more assignments come in, Gowtham is hoping to meet a few celebrities.
“I’m looking forward to meeting famous people and learning about them,” he said. He especially hopes to get an assignment about Major League Baseball. “Since I am a BIG baseball fan, I would like to cover a big news story about the World Series,” he said.
I told him to talk to Ms. Freeman. She’s a big fan, too. She and I went to spring training last March where I interviewed one of the newest members of the Tampa Bay Rays pitching rotation, David Price. The story ran in Scholastic News Edition 4.
I have a few other tips for all the new Kid Reporters coming on board this week. Work hard, have fun, and be prepared for anything!
Oh, yeah! Here are the names of the rest of the Kid Reporters chosen this year:
Andre Baker, Cleveland, Ohio
Gowtham Balaji, East Brunswick, New Jersey
Nick Berray, Washington, D.C.
Christopher Campbell, Bronx, New York
N’Naserri Carew-Johnson, Atlanta, Georgia
Liam Childers, Charlotte, North Carolina
Samantha Coffey, Sleepy Hollow, New York
Alexis Cornell, Evanston, Wyoming
Julia Desmond, Davidson, North Carolina
Henry Dunkelberger, Washington, D.C.
Shelby Fairleigh, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
Kenny Figueroa, Houston, Texas
Kiera Fobb, Homestead, Florida
Cecilia Gault, New York, New York
Alysa Goethe, Bettendorf, Iowa
Lily Haffey, Lexington, Kentucky
Emma Hall, Franklin, Tennessee
Susan Hepburn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Madeleine Horner, Leucadia, California
Jonas Hosmer, Potomac, Maryland
Charlie Kadado, Macomb, Michigan
Jordan Kahrhoff, St. Peters, Missouri
Andrew Liang, Alpharetta, Georgia
Topanga McBride, Windsor, Colorado
Grace McManus, New York, New York
Joseph O’Connor, Bayside, New York
Kaj Lund Olsen, Greenbank, Washington
Maria Ordoñez, Miami, Florida
Isabelle Quinn, Woodway Washington
Miranda Rector, Los Angeles, California
Mariah Reynolds, Cincinnati, Ohio
Kayla Rudess, New City, New York
Erin Sheena, Bellaire, Texas
Christian Snyder, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Jeremy Sutton, Chicago, Illinois
Maya Williams, Phoenix, Arizona
Alexandra Zhang, Washington, D.C.
Now get to work, Everyone!
Source: Scholastic News Online
Editor’s Note: If you would like to be a Young Chronicle Reporter, we are looking for you. You can contact us at dan@youngchronicle.com
Hero of Service – U.S. Army Reservist Major Alan Kozlowski
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Nov. 11, 2009
Editor’s Note: This is to honor all past, present and future Americans who fight and give their lives to defend this country on a daily basis.
We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
SALAH AD-DIN PROVINCE, Just before the end of his deployment to Salah ad-Din province in Iraq, U.S. Army Reservist Major Alan Kozlowski had the pleasure of completing a project he and his team had been working on for months: A shipment of over 100 wheelchairs arrived in Tikrit and were distributed to medical facilities around the city.
The wheelchairs, intended for general civilian use, had been difficult to come by, Kozlowski said. And it was harder still to get them delivered to Tikrit.
“You can’t just go online and order these things,” he said. “It took us about three months from inception to final delivery. There was a lot of coordinating.”
Working with non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in Baghdad, Kozlowski and his team coordinated the procurement and delivery of the much needed wheelchairs.
“It was a great project for us to pursue,” he said. “Just as we were leaving, 100 wheelchairs showed up.”
As commander of a Civil Affairs unit during the 2007-2008 deployment, Kozlowski led missions like this all the time.
Civil Affairs teams, Kozlowski said, “Are the folks who help the local population during a time of war… providing essential services once things have been destroyed.”
He described the work they did as “very multifaceted”. Soldiers on Civil Affairs teams must learn about the local culture and people so they can effectively partner with them on the reconstruction projects they lead, he said.
“That is the rewarding part of helping these folks out,” he said. “They’re stuck in the middle. We work to give them some relief.”
Rebuilding sewer lines and medical facilities were two of the major projects Kozlowski focused on during the deployment.
“What the army and the entire military [are] doing now is trying to go to a full spectrum operations structure of warfare. Not only do you have offense and defense but you also have stability operations. That’s a big part of Civil Affairs,” he said.
Kozlowski’s company of 32 soldiers was spread throughout the province, with teams of four or five soldiers based in the cities of Tikrit, Balad, Bayji, and Samarra. He credits his first sergeant, Command Sergeant Major Ray Pockett for helping him “build a cohesive unit that could work together,” he said.
Kozlowski was awarded a Bronze Star for his work during that deployment, both leading his unit and executing so many successful Civil Affairs projects, according to the award citation for the medal.
While he was proud of the “creativity and foresight” he and his unit used to do their jobs, he said he was humbled when he found out he was going to get a Bronze Star.
“I honestly thought that I was just doing my job,” he said.
Rather, Kozlowski named two men he had looked up to: Pockett and General David Petreaus.
Of Pockett he said, “I respect him as a great NCO and a great leader. He inspired me to look at the human element of organizations and make sure that people are taken care of.”
“As Civil Affairs we do it for the folks being effected out in Iraq and Afghanistan. But someone needs to do it for the people in the organization,” he said. “I admire [Pockett] and still talk to him.”
Kozlowski also looks up to Petreaus “as a great leader who recognized that there is more to war than being on the offense or being on the defense,” he said. “He understands the entire concept to include the human element…I truly admire Gen. Petreaus.”
Source: US Military
Medal of Honor Recipient – Captain Steven L. Bennett U.S. Air Force
By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
November 11, 2009
Each week we at the Chronicle will be honoring one of these true heroes.
We will call it Medal of Honor Recipient of the Week.
We hope you will join with us to honor these true heroes. Who have given us the greatest sacrifice that one could give their life, to save their fellow soldiers?
We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com
This Week’s Hero: Captain Steven L. Bennett U.S. Air Force. 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Pacific Air Forces.
Place and date: Quang Tri, Republic of Vietnam, 29 June 1972.
Entered service at: Lafayette, La.
Born: 22 April 1946, Palestine, Tex.
Citation:
Capt. Bennett was the pilot of a light aircraft flying an artillery adjustment mission along a heavily defended segment of route structure. A large concentration of enemy troops was massing for an attack on a friendly unit.
Capt. Bennett requested tactical air support but was advised that none was available. He also requested artillery support but this too was denied due to the close proximity of friendly troops to the target.
Capt. Bennett was determined to aid the endangered unit and elected to strafe the hostile positions. After 4 such passes, the enemy force began to retreat. Capt. Bennett continued the attack, but, as he completed his fifth strafing pass, his aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile, which severely damaged the left engine and the left main landing gear.
As fire spread in the left engine, Capt. Bennett realized that recovery at a friendly airfield was impossible. He instructed his observer to prepare for an ejection, but was informed by the observer that his parachute had been shredded by the force of the impacting missile.
Although Capt. Bennett had a good parachute, he knew that if he ejected, the observer would have no chance of survival. With complete disregard for his own life, Capt. Bennett elected to ditch the aircraft into the Gulf of Tonkin, even though he realized that a pilot of this type aircraft had never survived a ditching.
The ensuing impact upon the water caused the aircraft to cartwheel and severely damaged the front cockpit, making escape for Capt. Bennett impossible. The observer successfully made his way out of the aircraft and was rescued.
Capt. Bennett’s unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.
Source: US Military
Marine Corps Happy 234th Birthday!
By Stacey *Mamasid * D.
November 10, 2009
Semper Fi! Today is the Marine Corps Birthday 2009, a day we remember because my husband served as a proud Marine in Vietnam. Tomorrow is Veterans’ Day so it only seems appropriate to celebrate the USMC birthday today.
November 10 marks the 234th birthday of the Marine Corps. Thank you to the soldiers who served and the families who shared them. Also thank you to the soldiers currently serving and risking their lives everyday. For those who survived battle like my husband, welcome home.
Although my husband and some of his brothers were rendered disabled in the war, you can tell a Marine a mile away. The straight back, proud face and noble attitude is present in all of them to the end.
Ronald Reagan, at one of his few brighter moments, once said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But the Marines don’t have that problem.”
Will you celebrate the Marine Corps birthday 2009 with your favorite soldiers? If you don’t have “one of your own”, please take quiet time to appreciate these brave people who serve us everyday. Happy Birthday USMC!
Please take a few minutes to watch the Commandant of the Marine Corps., General James T. Conway, deliver the 234th Marine Corps birthday message, “Carrying On A Legacy of Valor”.
Source: Gather
Honoring our Veterans and Their Families Across America
By Paul Vallely
MG US Army (Ret)
November 10, 2009
The 11th of November is remembered as the day when the First World War officially ended, with the signing of the Armistice by the Germans – on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918; certainly a whole lot of 11s to make this significant day difficult to forget.
Initially, the day was commemorated as Armistice Day, as proclaimed by the President of the United States Woodrow Wilson in 1919, a year after the historic day.
As other wars since the First World War came and went, it became apparent that there are other veterans that need to be remembered other than those who served in World War I that ended on Armistice Day.
It was a shoe store owner from Emporia, Kansas, Al King, who came up with the idea to expand the reach of Armistice Day to include all American veterans, regardless of which war they fought in. President Dwight Eisenhower signed this inclusion into a law on May 26, 1954, and on November 8 that same year, Armistice Day became known as Veterans Day.
On Veterans Day weekend, one might want to commemorate the sacrifices of our beloved American our beloved “Heroes” by taking time to enrich our knowledge on the lives that they lead and the challenges that they face. We love and cherish them so for their sacrifices and their service across the globe.
I will be joining Wayne Newton and John Dawson in Phoenix this week to celebrate and honor our Veterans. My wife, Muffin, daughter Dana and I celebrate our SON, Scott, on this day whom we lost in Special Forces in April 2004.
I would like to tell you a little bit about my son, who I am very proud, love and miss to very much. Which I title:
A True American Hero
Private First Class Scott Paul Vallely was an Infantryman assigned to Company D, Support Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he was attending the Special Forces Preparation Course.
On March 13, 1975, Scott came into the world on an unusually snowy day at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California . He grew up and graduated from high school in Lafayette, California. Scott was an outstanding athlete in many sports, and ultimately received a football scholarship to Colorado State University. After college, he began a career in the media field, then made the decision to join the United States Army and to serve his country.
He entered the Army in October 2003 and completed Infantry Advance Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2004. He was then assigned to 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Airborne) where he attended the Basic Airborne Course.
His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Parachutist Badge and the Rifle Marksmanship Badge.
Not only was Scott a loving grandson, son and brother, but a true friend to everyone he met. He is at peace and we thank God for watching over him and all of us.
PSALM 91
We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods.
This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. For he rescues you from every trap and protects you from the fatal plague. He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor. Now you don’t need to be afraid of the dark any more, nor fear the dangers of the day; nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning.
Though a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, the evil will not touch me. I will see how the wicked are punished, but I will not share it. For Jehovah is my refuge! I choose the God above all gods to shelter me. How then can evil overtake me or any plague come near? For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will steady you with their hands to keep you from stumbling against the rocks on the trail. You can safely meet a lion or step on poisonous snakes, yes, even trample them beneath your feet!
For the Lord says, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name. When he calls on me, I will answer; I will be with him in trouble and rescue him and honor him. I will satisfy him with a full life and give him my salvation.”
God be with them ALL. Rest easy………
Published by Stand Up America
Source: Soldiers Memorial Fund