“I want to make it clear to all of you that I shall never give the order ‘abandon ship’, the only way you can leave the ship is if she sinks beneath your feet.”
Admiral Earl Mountbatten, 1949, order to his crew while commander of HMS Kelly.
On August 19 I attended Cathey Post 384’s outstanding dinner honoring Sergeant Henry Lam of Richmond Station and Officer Charles Simpson, Solo Motorcycle Officer assigned to Central Station. Both honorees were very deserving. As always, Cathey Post had a full house at their annual event. Department of California Commander Hugh Crooks and his lovely wife were in attendance, as well as Department Adjutant William Siler. Area Two Commander Paul Rodriguez, Ways and Means Committee member Michael Bloom, and their enchanting wives were also present.
On August 13, 1918 Private Opha Mae Johnson became the first woman to pin on the eagle, globe, and anchor. Johnson was the first of 305 women to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserve, according to the Marine Corps History Division. Women were accepted in noncombat roles in the Marine Corps in order to “free a man to fight.” They took over clerical roles and became recruiters so more men could be sent to France during World War I. At that time, women were not allowed to serve in war zones. During the war, most women served at Headquarters, Marine Corps.
The female Marines were called “Marinettes,” and they did not go through boot camp. Less than a year after Johnson was sworn in, on July 30, 1919, orders were issued to separate all women from the Corps, due to the end of the war. The last day for active-duty female Marines was August 11, 1919. It wasn’t until World War II that women again were allowed to serve in the Marine Corps.
The VA wants all veterans exposed to nuclear bombs and tests to know they have resources available to help them. These so called “atomic” vets are those who were prisoners of war near detonation sites in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII and those who participated in above-ground nuclear tests between 1945-62 in the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. Southwest. VA says the “key to getting treatment and compensation lies in establishing the amount of radiation to which a veteran was exposed.” The Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) maintains a database of participants in U.S. atmospheric nuclear tests since 1978.
In 2003, the Pentagon and VA created, based on the Veterans Benefits Act, the Veterans Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction to monitor programs that determine levels of radiation veterans received and audit compensation claims decisions. 21 radiation-related cancers are eligible for compensation from VA. VA also maintains the Ionizing Radiation Registry to track the health of vets exposed to radiation during their service. The registry is free of charge to atomic veterans and they need not be enrolled in VA health care to be eligible.
For more information, access these websites: www.vbdr.org, www.dtra.mil and www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation; or call (202) 461-1020.
Now that the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are less than a year off, service members are setting their sights on making the cut for the U.S. teams. Nine military boxers were among 80 of the nation’s top amateur fighters duking it out for slots on the U.S. boxing team at the Olympic trials in Mobile, Ala.
Army Specialist Carrie Barry, 30, is among the female boxers hoping to make history next year. A 10-time national champion, and once ranked fifth in the world, Barry has certainly known the thrill of victory but has always been denied a chance at Olympic glory: Boxing is among the last holdouts to admit women into the Games. All that changes next year, as the U.S. women’s boxing team makes its Olympic debut in London. Barry will have to win a championship bout in Ohio in October to earn a spot in the women’s trials early next year, said Army sports spokesman Tim Hipps.
Meanwhile, Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft and Staff Sergeant Josh Richmond have already been nominated to the U.S. shooting team, with other military shooters expected to join them soon. Army Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers, a top-rated heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler and 2008 Olympian, is among several military grapplers expected to make the cut. Laura Gorinski, a Naval Academy midshipman, already has posted a qualifying time to make the U.S. swimming team, while Air Force Major Robert Bremer, a 2008 Olympic veteran, is considered a front-runner for the modern pentathlon.
A south Bossier City, La., homeowners association has sued to force a family to remove a front yard sign supporting their Marine son’s military service because it violates subdivision rules. The Shreveport Times reported that the Gardens of Southgate filed the suit in July against Timothy and Jodi Burr, who have lived in the subdivision since 2006. The Burrs placed a large multicolored banner with a picture of their 20-year-old son, Lance Corporal Cory Burr, and the phrase “Our son defends our freedom” in January after he was deployed to Afghanistan. Jodi Burr says her family will fight the suit and does not intend to remove the sign. The Burrs contend signs supporting schools or teams are visible throughout the neighborhood.
A man noticed that his neighbor’s car was covered with leaves, grass, branches, dirt, and blood. “What in the world happened to your car?”
“I ran into a lawyer,” said the neighbor.
“Well,” said the man, “that explains the blood. But what about the leaves, the grass, the branches, and all of the dirt?”
His neighbor replied, “I had to chase him all through the park.”
Police-Fire Post 456 meets on the second Tuesday of every month at the Veteran’s War Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, room 214. Meetings start at 1800 hours and refreshments are served at the conclusion of the meeting. Any veteran who has not yet joined should contact me at 558-5455, or at gc1207@comcast.net.
