13 APRIL 1941

Corporal J.H. Edmondson, 2/17th Battalion, 1st Australilan Imperial Force (AIF), originally from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, wins the Victoria Cross at Tobruk. It was a posthumous award.


His story HERE


The story of the Rats of Tobruk and their heroic work in Tripoli.

Wednesday Bird HERE


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400 ROUNDS, 17 GRENADES & 30 ENEMIES

Soldier Single-Handedly Beats Back Taliban Barrage.


Last summer, a single Gurkha soldier of the British forces single-handedly beat back a Taliban attack of 30 fighters in Afghanistan with just a chunk of metal and a sandbag after running out of ammunition. Sgt. Pun's extraordinary courage in Helmand province earned him the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at a special ceremony in London:





Facing a surprise attack at a Afghanistan checkpoint, Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, hoisted a 50lb machine gun off its mount to blast at the enemy.

When they kept coming, he launched 17 grenades and picked up an SA80 assault rifle, which jammed on him.

Then he threw the machine gun's metal tripod at his attackers, before fending them off with a sandbag while yelling in Nepali: "I will kill you!"

With nothing left to hand, the exhausted hero finally managed to fire off a Claymore mine, and the blast sent the enemy scattering.

Pun's medal citation said his actions saved the lives of three comrades and prevented the key military position he was guarding from being overrun.

"I was really scared but as soon as I opened fire that was gone. I knew I had to kill them.

"I thought they were going to kill me after a couple of minutes, definitely. Looking back at it, I realise I'm a very lucky guy, a survivor. It is great to get this award. I am very happy."

The sergeant in the Royal Gurkha Rifles told how he was on night-time sentry duty on September 17 last year when he discovered insurgents laying an improvised explosive device at the checkpoint.

He was surrounded and the enemy opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and AK47s.

As the 20-minute battle raged, Sgt Pun raced onto a wall to remove the .50 cal machine gun from its mount so he could lower it enough to aim at the attackers below.

At one point he turned to find a "huge" militant standing behind him ready to pounce and Sgt Pun fired a final machine gun round at him.

He also fired his SA80 assault rifle, but the weapon failed just as another Taliban crept up on him. He said: "I threw it away and grabbed a sandbag to hit him but all the sand poured away. I had nothing left. Suddenly I found the metal rod and hit him with it.

"I threw it at him yelling in Nepali 'I will kill you' and he fell down. They were very determined. They kept coming and coming. In the end I was nearly collapsed."

Sgt. Pun's actions saved the lives of three comrades and prevented the key military position he was guarding from being overrun.


The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross is just one level below the UK's top military honor, the Victoria Cross.









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ITs LIKE WE'RE ON A ROLL HERE

HERO DOG ACCIDENTALLY EUTHANIZED

Target, American Hero Dog.

Target, a dog who saved U.S. soldier's lives in Afghanistan - was accidentally euthanized yesterday at an Arizona animal shelter.

The dog had escaped from his backyard over the weekend. Target’s owner, Sgt. Terry Young, found out his dog had been killed when he showed up at the shelter to claim her.

The county is investigating the accidental euthanization at its Casa Grande shelter.

In Afghanistan, Target snapped and barked at a suicide bomber, who was trying to enter a building on a military base. The bomber instead set off his bomb in a doorway. Five soldiers were injured, several of whom credited Target with helping save their lives.

When he returned home, Young brought Target with him to his home in the Phoenix area.

Young said he found the gate to his backyard open on Friday morning, the day after Veterans Day.

Heather Murphy, a spokeswoman for Pinal County, said Target was found by a nearby resident, who put her in his backyard and called the pound.

Later that night Young saw Target’s picture on a website used by Pinal County’s animal control office, and, assuming the shelter was closed for the weekend, figured she would be safe until he could pick her up Monday.

When he arrived, he filled out some forms and a staff member brought him another dog. Young then showed the employee a picture of his dog. Then he waited for an hour.

According to the Republic, the director of the shelter told him there had been a mistake.



Mistake? OH HELL YEAH there's been a mistake! Here's an appropriate punishment: how about CASTRATION.



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DIED THIS WEEK

NATHAN HALE - 21 September 1776 - New York City

Nathan Hale, a Connecticut schoolteacher and captain in the Continental Army, is executed by the British for spying. A graduate of Yale University, Hale joined a Connecticut regiment in 1775 and served in the successful siege of British-occupied Boston. In the summer of 1776, he crossed behind British lines on Long Island in civilian clothes to spy on the British. While returning with the intelligence information, British soldiers captured Hale near the American lines and charged him with espionage. Taken to New York, he was hanged without trial the next day.


Before being executed, legend holds that Hale said:

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."





He was the first Hero of America.


Honor him.


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BADASS

British Soldier Shot in the Face by the Taliban . . . Spits Out Bullet . . .




from the DAILY MAIL

A brave British soldier who was shot in the face by the Taliban spat out the bullet – then walked nearly two miles for treatment before being rushed home for an emergency operation.

Lance Corporal Luke Reeson, 22, was on patrol in Nad-e-Ali in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan when the insurgent’s bullet hit his Osprey body armour.

But the bullet ricocheted off, smashing into his lower cheek and back out through his mouth.

Despite the bullet shattering his jaw, Lance Corporal Reeson from Torquay in Devon, managed to walk three kilometres with his injury to get medical aid.

The soldier, who was shot in May while serving with the 1 Duke of Lancashire Regiment, Somme Company, has now returned to active duty in Afghanistan.

Luke’s mother Kim Reeson, 43, has dubbed her son Desperate Dan after the strong-jawed cartoon character.

The mother-of-three explained how the bullet bounced off Luke’s body armour, went up into his lower cheek just below his ear, and broke his jaw before bouncing back out through his mouth.

FALLEN HERO

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN

A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."- Author Unknown


Specialist Kyle J. Wright, 22, of Romeoville, Illinois, was killed in action 13 January 2010 when his Stryker vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team; part of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Kyle was a third-generation soldier. “Kyle was a better man than me when I was 22, and was well on his way to being a better man than I am today,” said his father Richard Wright, who was a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division. “He was the most honorable man I’ve ever known in my life.” Wright said the bomb that killed his son went off under the driver’s seat and that Kyle was dead by the time soldiers pulled him from the wreckage.

Wright is the 31st member of the Brigade killed in action since it deployed to southern Afghanistan last summer. All but one were killed by IED’s.

A graduate of Romeoville High School, Kyle Wright reported to Fort Lewis in January 2007 when the 5th Brigade was originally formed, his father said, and he went through intensive Arabic language training when the Brigade prepared to deploy to Iraq.

“He was one of the smarter kids in the outfit, so they tagged him with learning Arabic,” Richard Wright said. “He wasn’t supposed to be driving; they just needed someone with nerves of steel at the wheel.”

His body was escorted home by his brother-in-law, an NCO in the 5th Brigade. Kyle Wright is survived by his parents, three sisters and a brother. He had a serious girlfriend from Tacoma, Washington.



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Kyle will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, in accordance with his wishes. A memorial tribute will be held on February 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Romeoville Recreation Center, 900 W. Romeo Road, Romeoville Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to:

Operation Support our Troops, Illinois
1807 S. Washington Street
Suite 110, #359
Naperville, IL 60565

Donations should be noted: "In Memory of Kyle Wright"








“He was a United States Soldier. Honor him.”




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MARINE WAR DOG HERO

A Marine Corps Military Working Dog recently passed away; please review this touching tribute to a true canine hero:



MWD Flapoor was one of our great military working dogs who was on the front lines with our Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His handler, Marine LCpl Brown, made this tribute video so we can all remember one of our beloved K9 heroes.

MWD Flapoor did two tours in Iraq. During his first tour, in 2005-2006, MWD Flapoor and his handler at the time, Cpl Poelart, were providing security at an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ar Ramadi when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the building. The bomb killed dozens of Iraqis wanting to become police and wounded dozens more.

The bomb set a precedent in that the first military working dog handler, Sgt Adam Cann, was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. MWD Flapoor and his handler were both wounded and awarded the Purple Heart. Cpl Poelart was eventually honorably discharged while MWD Flapoor recovered from his wounds and went back for a second successful tour in Iraq. Thank you for making this tribute LCpl Brown so we can all remember this amazing dog for his sacrifice and service to our country.