26th Edition - September 2012

Slidell Magazine this, that number has increased yet again. I cried as I sat with my coworker and explained to him what had happened. We opted, for publishing purposes, to report the number of casualties from the conflict as an open-ended “over 6500”.

Right now, the exact number is 6561.

I pray you will read this edition two weeks from now, or a year from now, and that number remains the same.

Go Bless Our Soldiers. God Bless America.

Editor’s Letter

By Kendra Maness

“Poor is the nation without heroes…Shameful is the one having them that...forgets.”

–Anonymous In this special issue of Slidell Magazine, we reflect upon the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and show our gratitude for their continuing fight for America’s safety and freedom.

This entire September edition is dedicated to Patriotism, the love of our country. Every story contained in the following pages is about the founding of our nation, the protection of the ideals and beliefs that make us free, and the people who make our country so great.

This edition was inspired by Larry Hess, Chief of Fire District 1. Larry, along with Southside Café owners, Dan DeBlanc and Chris LaGrand, will honor the Heroes of our military with the “Metal” of Honor Car & Bike Show on September 22, 2012 (see page 10 for more details).

magazine

“Memorial Page”, a special dedication to the 4 young men from St. Tammany Parish who lost their lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict.

We are humbled by their sacrifice.

To retrieve the information about the American KIA and WIA in the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict, I accessed multiple websites. Each of these statistics, these numbers, represent a human life someone’s child, someone’s father, or brother, and yes, someone’s mother. Five days before the print of this edition, I typed the number of the fallen heroes on the Memorial Page, said a prayer, and went on to design the remainder of the magazine.

Two days later, a news report prompted me to check the website again and, alas, the number had increased by 9. On the eve of print, as I type

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Kendra Maness - Editor/Publisher Editor@SlidellMag.com Graphics: Alan Lossett Contributing Writers: Alex Carollo Dane Kennedy Nancy Richardson Carol Ruiz Nancy Baldwin Bonnie Vanney Dr. Dennis Peyroux The Storyteller, John Case Storyteller@SlidellMag.com Jockularity@SlidellMag.com Jockularity, Corey Hogue Pet Points, Jeff Perret, DVM DrJeff@SlidellMag.com Frankly Slidell, Frank Davis www.FrankDavis.com Food Spy FoodSpyOfSlidell@SlidellMag.com

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Early in the event planning, Chief Hess called to invite me on board the planning committee and serve as the PR representative. I was honored. Like most Americans, I appreciate the men and women of our military – past and present. However, I am ashamed to say that I wasn’t fully aware of the sacrifices STILL being made by our service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan until I began my research for this edition.

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In the final pages of this special edition, where the “Out Takes” pictures usually are, we have a

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ef o

Extraordinarily Facinating “Ordinary” Person of the Month

by Nancy Richardson

Jeff Argrave September 2012

EDITOR’S NOTE: By rule, The EFO Person chosen each month is a Slidell resident. This month, writer Nancy Richardson chose a Baton Rouge resident,

Jeff Argrave, as the September EFOP. Jeff is a role model for anyone and has served our state and our country valiantly. The service

U.S. Army Specialist Corporal Jeffrey Argrave doesn’t mind talking about getting shot. He recalls the hot, dusty day in May 2010, when he was just 22 years old. It was his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, near Kandahar, just outside of Forward Operating Base Wilson (FOB). Even though he was the leader of his team, he still had to take his turn on guard duty. As he was conferring with the first-timers that he was relieving, an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) exploded on the guard tower.

Trying to explain how it feels to be hit by a “flashbang”, Jeff says, “If you’ve seen the movie The Town, then you can sorta understand what being shell shocked is like.” He recalls that everything went into slow motion, he heard echoes and had ringing in his ears. When he began to get his bearings and could function again, he looked out into the desert and could see 6 flashes of gunfire. “I could see the flashes and then could feel the bullets whizzing past my head.” He and his men started shooting rounds. “I unloaded my magazine and when I bent down to reload, I got hit in my neck behind my ear, but I didn’t know it.

It hit my C-5 vertebrae. The muscle around the spinal cord swelled up and affected

everything from my chin on down… I saw lots of blood, but my initial thought was that if this is how I’m going to die, I’m going to be really angry and I’m going to have to have a talk with someone up there!” The other guys in Jeff’s team in the tower had been trained in what to do but this was their first tour. Without much experience, they were in a state of panic. “What do we do?

Tell us what to do!” they screamed. Calmly, Jeff told them to get him to a medic and then start shooting!

U 6

While Jeff admits that he doesn’t remember all of the specifics, he does know that the medics got to him pretty quickly and were able to get him back to FOB Wilson within a half hour. He still did not think he was shot, just that he was still in shock. Strapped to a gurney and loaded in a helicopter for the ride to Kandahar, Jeff kept trying to move but just thought he was strapped down for safety. All he could move was his chin. It was then that it began to be clear to him that he had suffered a very serious injury.

Jeff says, “I told the medic that if he didn’t get me out of there, I would haunt him for the rest of his life!” Even then his sense of humor was alive and well. It would serve him well throughout the ordeal ahead.

and sacrifice made by this young man for the defense of our nation and the protection of our freedom knows no bounds.

The helicopter took him first to the aid station, then to the FOB, from there to Kandahar, and then on to Germany. But Jeff doesn’t remember a lot of that. “Shock will do that to you,” he says. Within 40 minutes of being hit, he arrived at the Kandahar hospital, where a surgeon telephoned back home to Jeff’s parents. When parents have a son serving in Afghanistan, phone calls in the middle of the night usually aren’t good news. The surgeon told Bob and Melissa Argrave that Jeff had been shot in the neck but then the phone line went dead. It was an agonizing time for Jeff’s parents at their home in Baton Rouge, as they waited anxiously for more news. Once the staff at the hospital had moved Jeff to the other side of the room to get better reception, they called Bob and Melissa back and held the phone to Jeff’s ear. About that call, Jeff doesn’t remember much, just a lot of ‘I love you’s’ back and forth. Back home, Melissa immediately posted his status on Facebook and within a very short time, thousands of people, friends, and friends of friends, knew about Jeff being completely paralyzed.

Jeff woke up a few days later in Germany and realized that all he could do was stare at the ceiling. Someone came into his room and explained to him that, as soon as his breathing improved, he would be moved to Walter Reed Hospital back in the States. During this time that Jeff doesn’t remember, they did exploratory surgery on his abdomen to find out why he had fluid build-up, most likely caused by internal bleeding (but Jeff still isn’t really sure). After his mom and dad arrived, a doctor came into the room to check his stitches and both Mom and Jeff argued that he had a neck wound, not an abdominal injury. In the confusion and extreme circumstances, they were not even aware that an exploratory surgery had been done.

Early on, Jeff wanted to know what was going to happen… what was the prognosis. No one wanted to get his hopes up but they did not fully realize the strength of Jeff’s determination to walk again. Says Jeff, “I’m just not the kind of guy to lay around on my butt the rest of my life!” It was this determination that would drive him through the next year of intense therapy.

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June 2010: The first photo of Jeff taken after his injury.

His father, Bob, keeps the family updated via phone.

Melissa stayed at Jeff’s bed side through the long months at Walter Reed Hospital, while the therapists put Jeff though stretching exercises and light physical therapy, beginning the process of training his body to move again. The strains of Jeff’s injury were made easier by the incredible outpouring of love and support from everyone. Organizations like Support Our War Heroes provided financial aid to cover the expense of Melissa’s flights back and forth to Baton Rouge, to spend time home with Bob and their high school daughter. Melissa’s employer gave her time off with pay and allowed her to do a lot of her work via the internet from the hospital. “Everyone was SO helpful and generous,” Jeff explained appreciatively.

It was at Walter Reed that Jeff first began moving his left leg.

He credits having very positive people around him, which helped immensely. Jeff’s attitude was that it was all mind-overmatter in order to get the improvement he desired. So he sat in bed all day and tried to move. One day, he told a buddy who had flown up to visit, “I can’t even move my toe,” but then, to his amazement, he DID move it! “That was exciting and encouraging!” exudes Jeff.

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August 4, 2010: Jeff’s first steps completely supported by a lift and his physical therapist, Jim.

September 24, 2010: With the help of his physical therapist, Jeff uses a walker for the first time.

October 29, 2010: With only a strap for balance, Jeff takes his first steps without a walker!

About a month after his accident, Jeff was moved to James A. Haley Rehab Center in Tampa, Florida, one of the top 3 rehabilitation hospitals in the country, with some amazing recovery results to their credit. Immediately upon arriving in Tampa, Jeff developed a urinary tract infection. “I was sick as a dog and very frustrated.” He went there full of enthusiasm to get to work but it was 2 weeks before the infection cleared and he could begin his therapy.

“I told my therapist that I wanted to stand up, after only being able to move my legs and arms a bit.” The therapist grabbed him under the arm pits and when Jeff was lifted, he could feel his muscles firing up.

Another encouraging sign!

didn’t want to get his hopes up, preferring instead for Jeff to be realistic. Boy, they sure didn’t know Jeff Argrave.

life. I thought training for the military was tough, but it was nothing in comparison to rehab.” It’s not just physical training, he notes, but mental. He watched others fail under the pressure, and then made it work for him. “I was lucky enough to have come into the hospital with a group of guys who all had similarly positive attitudes.” Jeff’s greatest pleasure was to watch others try harder because of him.

By August (just over 2 months after being shot), therapists put Jeff in a walking harness to start to learn to walk again.

Jeff laughs, “I looked like a newborn deer, everything going every which way. It was like going from age 22 to being a one month old… learning everything over like a baby. Frustrating!” But, Jeff’s indomitable spirit, positive attitude and sense of humor allowed him not to think about what he couldn’t do, but rather what he could do and, of course, what he wanted to do.

Jeff laughs about the initial team meeting at Haley, with all of those responsible for his recovery, to discuss his goals. They asked him, “What are your short term goals?” Jeff’s emphatic response was, “I want to walk out of here! With help or all by myself, I will walk out of here!” The team

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Where did Jeff get the strength? The docs didn’t say that he wouldn’t recover, just that it would be difficult. “I grew up with 2 siblings who were all raised to push, push, push. I wanted to be accepted by my older brother, who was captain of the football team, homecoming king, the whole nine yards. My brother was the golden child, while I was the typical middle child.” Jeff did not strive so much for attention from his parents, because he knew he had that, but Jeff says he was striving for the attention of his older brother. Jeff was confident in his parents’ approval and support, but wanted his brother to envy him for once.

Jeff credits that headstrong mentality, of striving for his brother’s attention, that gave him his incredible drive to achieve.

He pushed himself every minute. “I was not going to be one to sit and feel sorry for myself. If you put a hurdle in front of me, I will go straight for it. Not jump over it, but attack it straight on!”

Asked if he ever felt hopeless, a sure sign of depression, Jeff says he didn’t really have any, except for that first week, and then when the urinary tract infection set him back. Jeff reflects that there were other, short times of ‘Why me?’ but, by keeping his goals constantly in the front of his mind, he was able to keep those bad times at a minimum. He says, “It was THE hardest work I’ve ever done in my whole

What comes next for Jeff, who DID walk out of that rehab hospital in Florida?

While in rehab, someone told him about an organization called Homes for Our Troops, a national non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization committed to helping troops who have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries since September 11. This organization assists severely injured Veterans and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor to coordinate the process of building a home that provides maximum freedom of movement and independence. Now, Jeff is overseeing the build of his new home - a 3000 square foot, totally handicap accessible house in Prairieville, just south of Baton Rouge. This new house has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, all with widened door frames for wheelchair accessibility, a roll-in shower, kitchen cabinets that pull down and much more. The Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) organization provides basically two different floor plans from which to choose. The mortgage is taken care of for 20 years, and as long as Jeff

occupies the home and pays the utilities, no one can take it from him. HFOT hires the contractor who builds the house pretty much with all volunteer help. The VA gives severely injured veterans a one-time $69k house grant to modify or build a handicap accessible home, which the veteran then gives to HFOT. If Jeff sells the house later, he gets his initial $69k back, plus any profit from the sale.

Jeff is quick to note his appreciation of all the help and support he’s gotten along the way, which includes house materials donated from the local merchants. Jeff gratefully brags, “Homes for Our Troops and Support Our War Heroes really do go above and beyond for the troops.”

When asked about the house, Jeff laughs, “Whatever woman I end up marrying will marry me for the closet and master bath – they’re so HUGE.” Jeff is realistic about his future and the probability of being confined to a wheelchair. He says that being so dependent was the hardest part to deal with, making his current independence that much sweeter. Mostly, though, the accident has improved his self image and self worth. He likes how he’s turned out and strives to keep improving and growing

and walking is still arduous, he will need his electric wheelchair for school. He’s still unsure of his major but thinks that he would enjoy something in the social work field or teaching. He wants to help others.

August 2012: Jeff with parents Bob and Melissa Argrave at his future home site. in independence. “It’s really hard to live with your parents after you’ve been out on your own,” muses Jeff. He looks forward to moving out of his parent’s house and beginning the next phase of his life.

Once the house is finished (sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year), Jeff wants to go back to school, starting with a community college until he gets his strength up to take a full class load, perhaps at LSU, where his sister will be a freshman this fall. Since he is still weak

“I was SO lucky,” says Jeff. “I felt bad for the guys who had to watch me succeed guys who were hurt worse and full recovery just wasn’t there for them.” He says, “I bust my butt every day in the gym to strive to get better. I just want to get back to being able to write or type.” His fine motor skills and manual dexterity are improving because Jeff strives for improvement every day. “If you strive for a high goal and miss, you’re still better off than having done nothing,” a wise-beyond-his-years Jeff Argrave states.

Jeff’s need for his brother’s approval still drives him to improve. He and his brother have a special relationship and they push each other to achieve. “We’re brothers, we fight, we argue, but it’s our way of showing love.”

Jeff Argrave received a Purple Heart for his service and sacrifice for our country.

Meeting him was truly inspiring and we are humbled and grateful to share his story.

Thank you Jeff!

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Presented by Southside Café and St. Tammany Fire District #1

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September 22 nd, 2012 • 11am - 7pm

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Don’t Miss This!!

The City of Slidell’s Optical Illusions: In 3D! Slidell City Hall Show runs thru Sep. 22

Saints vs. Redskins HOME GAME • Noon

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Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

Technology Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

Pontchartrain Inv. Mgmt Financial Workshop “Retirement Strategies for Women” • 6pm

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Technology Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting PinPoint Mailing Services 3-5pm

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Girl Talk Puberty: Ages 9-13 SMH • 6:30-8:30pm

Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Puppet Show 4:30pm Slidell Library

Seniors Day

Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

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Infant & Child CPR SMH 6:30-9pm

Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

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Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

WORK$Pays Job Fair Slidell Municipal Auditorium 10am-1pm

Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

Small Business Support Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

Storytime Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Slidell Library

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Chamber Monthly Luncheon Gov. Edwin Edwards 11:30am-1pm Harbor Center

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Storytime Ages 0-5: 6:30pm Slidell Library

Rumble On The Gulf

Storytime Ages 0-5: 6:30pm Slidell Library

Rumble On The Gulf

Storytime Ages 0-5: 6:30pm Slidell Library

Rumble On The Gulf

Storytime Ages 0-5: 6:30pm Slidell Library

Rumble On The Gulf

Fan Up! Pep Rally!

The Arcade Theater Olde Towne 5-8pm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDY!!

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THU Trim Kids EVERY FRIDAY Ages 7-12 SMH 4:30-6:30pm

LSU VS Idaho Home • 7pm

Teen Movie Forrest Gump Slidell Library • 2-4pm 15

9-1-1 & Homeland Security Open House Old Covington Court House 9am-12noon

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Chamber Golf Classic Oak Harbor Golf Club The Accidental Artist Opening Reception City of Slidell Art Gallery 7-9pm Show runs until 11/30

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Associated Wholesale Grocers Job Fair Harbor Center

Trim Kids EVERY FRIDAY Ages 7-12 SMH 4:30-6:30pm

Breakfast Briefing LA Secretary of State Tom Schedler Pinewood Country Club 8am

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Mayor Drennan’s Wild Game Cook-Off Fritchie Park 11am-3pm

LSU VS Auburn Away • TBA

Dinosaurs!

Ages 5-11 Slidell Library 4-6pm

LSU VS Gators Away • TBA

Camellia City Farmer’s Market Olde Towne: 8am-12noon

Pearl River Roller Derby Harbor Center

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ACT Practice Test Slidell Library 9am-1pm

LSU VS Towson Tigers Home • TBA

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“Grease” “Grease” Cutting Edge Theater 8pm Cutting Edge Theater 2pm

Public Policy Committee Chamber Boardroom 8am

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“Grease” Cutting Edge Theater 8pm

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Friday, October 5, 2012

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14th Annual East St. Tammany Chamber Golf Classic

Education Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

Diabetes Education & Support • SMH 6:30-7:30pm

1987 Vietnam War Film Starring Robin Williams Slidell Library 5-7:30pm

1957 World War II Film Slidell Library 5-7:30pm

Teen Cooking Club Vietnamese Spring Rolls Slidell Library • 6pm

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Saints at Green Bay AWAY • 3:25pm

Bayou Jam Redline • Heritage Park 5:30-7:30pm Home & Garden Show Castine Center

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Saints vs. Chiefs HOME GAME • Noon

“A Year with Frog & Toad” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm

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Saints at Carolina AWAY • Noon

Steinhauer Craft Show Harbor Center

“A Year with Frog & Toad” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm

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“Willy Wonka” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm

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S E P T E M B E R

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

by Carol Ruiz

Most of us remember writing a DAR essay in our grammar school years. Being so young, few of us realized the impact The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have had on our country and the preservation of its history.

It is that beautiful banner of patriotism that runs through everything DAR does and thus connects us today so succinctly as Americans with the society’s original beginnings.

The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 by four women whose common bond was the fact that each had fathers or grandfathers who were patriots of the American Revolution. Their goals were lofty - promote American history and education, preserve historical American documents and art objects, and remember those who aided in America’s independence – guided by an unwavering sense of patriotism.

I consider myself patriotic. I know all the beautiful songs, the pledge. We fly our flag out front and I make a habit of thanking soldiers for their service. But the level of patriotism and service that this organization has been able to sustain for over 122 years is astounding.

Their membership is strong and diverse; from housewives and single-working mothers, to Congresswomen and famous actresses. All members are devoted to lending service to their fellow countrymen, whether it’s on a grand scale (such as joining the over 3,000 delegates representing the membership of Daughters at DAR Continental Congress each year) or in small ways (like stuffing care packages for our troops and handing out flags to school children).

In the eyes of DAR, it all makes a difference.

It’s about helping others and promoting love of country through self-sacrifice.

Any woman 18 or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership.

The DAR society defines a “patriot” as one who provided service or direct assistance in achieving America’s independence.

The DAR Museum in Washington, D.C. houses many rotating collections of pre-Industrial American art spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, and features virtual and on-site tours.

It boasts 31 period rooms and 2 galleries, with

a collection of over 30,000 decorative and fine arts objects including furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles and silver. There are educational tours and programs for children and adults of all ages.

The upcoming exhibit, “Fashioning the New Woman”, will show the exciting changes in fashions between 1890-1920, when American women were being redefined by new roles and activities outside the home and into the workforce.

The St. Tammany DAR chapter is a vibrant and active one, recently celebrating their 50th anniversary. Each year, they award a scholarship to one college student who plans to earn a degree teaching American history. Every

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November, you can find the local DAR chapter members celebrating Veterans Day with the residents of Greenbriar Nursing Home and then returning during the holiday season to bring Christmas baskets and lots of smiles. The St. Tammany Chapter also participates in the American History Essay Contest for 5th - 8th graders, challenging them to take a new look at American history. High School students are encouraged to make a submission for the Christopher Columbus Essay contest where DAR has partnered with the National Italian American Foundation.

A century-old document certifying membership in DAR

This past June, the local DAR chapter held a flag retirement ceremony in Heritage Park. During this beautiful, tradition-laden ceremony, aged American flags are “disassembled” with reverence and respect, honoring their service to our country as a symbol of freedom. The flag remains are then incinerated and the ashes buried. It is a reflective and stirring ceremony that more Americans should witness, especially our younger generations.

Education has long been an important part of the DAR mission. On a national scale, The Daughters of the American Revolution awards multiple scholarships to students showing dedication to the pursuit of degrees in diverse disciplines including history, law, nursing, and education. Parents and high school students are encouraged to visit their website, www.DAR.org and check out all of the scholarship opportunities available.

After being introduced to this society of amazing women, that happen to be over 800,000 strong, I realize that the spirit of DAR is a spirit of service at its core. Service, not only to veterans and their families, but to all Americans. This includes welcoming new Americans citizens to our country with open arms at naturalization ceremonies, reinforcing patriotism and the chance to experience the American dream! Thank you to The Daughters of the American Revolution for showing us all how to spread patriotism in our neighborhoods, communities, and in our country!

God – Home – Country For More Information, visit

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Christmas Eve 1971 I will call him Bob. That is as much as he wants to share about who he is. The passing of forty-one years has changed his perspective of Vietnam very little. I say that because I tried to interview him in 1994 and the interview was very short. He told me that he never got much pleasure out of talking about killing someone or being shot at. That was the end of the conversation. This time, I hoped he would be a little more open and he indicated that he would be.

he had a patriotic duty and dodging the draft was not an option. He admitted that he had no idea, until years after the war ended, why we were in Vietnam.

And he says he does not fully understand i t t o t h i s d a y. H e emphasized that understanding it was not important. It was not for him to question.

Going was just his duty.

Physically, he has changed a lot since the 1994 interview attempt. At sixty-six years of age, he looked much older.

When I arrived for the second interview, I could see him through the side light of the door, seated in a recliner watching television - a rerun of Gunsmoke. It took him some time to get the recliner to tilt forward, and when it deposited him on his feet, I could see he was unsteady.

He remembered me. I suppose that is why he agreed to see me again. I was pleased when he told me he had at least one incident that he wanted to relate to me.

I knew of him because we had a common interest. He had been associated with a good friend of mine who was Missing In Action in Vietnam.

His name was Danny, and Danny is still Missing In Action. Bob was obsessed with seeking closure for the family, but I suspect that he was trying to find closure for himself too. I was curious to know exactly how he knew Danny, but I never did solve that mystery; in this interview, he only briefly alluded to him.

I learned that five years ago, Bob had suffered a heart attack. I also learned that, due to the fact that he had been exposed to Agent Orange, he was eligible for Veteran’s disability. He did not accept it. He told me about it though, as if he were proud that he had declined it.

We talked about him being drafted.

He made it clear to me that he was no hero, and dreaded having to go.

But Bob was raised to believe that

Bob told me that he had taken ROTC in college and this allowed him to be inducted as a PFC, Private First Class.

He had not been in Vietnam long when he was promoted to an E4, known in the Vietnam-era as a “specialist”.

After awhile, he became more talkative and revealed the following incident to me. This is his story, not mine. Since he talked more than my story spacing allows, I will paraphrase.

It was Christmas Eve 1971 and we were on a reconnaissance patrol somewhere in South Vietnam known as Sector 28. [He interjects that he suspects they were actually in Laos.]

Our patrol was composed of eleven men and led by a First Lieutenant named Daryl Samuels. Daryl was from Mobile, Alabama - a fellow southerner. I felt like he was a hometown boy and he felt the same about me.

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For our mission to be successful, we had to observe the activity at a certain location important to the enemy and return without being detected. If the enemy discovered our presence in the sector, it would jeopardize a future major offensive and subject our troops to unnecessary casualties.

[He interjects again, “Or at least that was what I assumed our mission was.”]

Even on this reconnaissance mission, we looked forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Perhaps it was the memories from our childhood or maybe it was that we knew there would be an international ceasefire declared at midnight. It was not that we looked forward to any celebration, because we would have to spend Christmas in the same silent posture that we had maintained for the two previous days. There would be no hot food; even cigarettes had to be smoked underneath our shirts to hide their glow in the darkness.

At 11:55 PM, just before Christmas morning, all hell broke loose and my remembrance of Christmas has never been the same since. We were hit from all sides by small arms fire, obviously at close range and obviously by a force that outnumbered ours. We countered as we had been trained and, within five minutes, the enemy retreated. At exactly midnight, we notified headquarters of the enemy engagement that was now under control. We then retreated about a kilometer away from the enemy, but we felt their presence in an eerie way. It was like you could smell them.

Miraculously, only one member of our group was wounded. His name was Ben and it was the kid’s first patrol. He had only been in country about thirty days. His wound was what we called a “sucking chest wound”. That is a shot through the lung. I had seen this once before and, although critical, that person survived.

The medic took the usual steps, which included cutting a piece of plastic from a poncho and binding it close to the wounded soldier’s chest. This would seal the wound and allow his lungs to hold air. It was similar to patching a tire tube. This would allow him to maintain at least some of the second hand air we pumped into him as we took turns with mouth to mouth resuscitation. The medic then injected him with an ampoule of morphine.

We didn’t notice that midnight had passed and it was Christmas Day. We watched in silence, as each breath Ben tried to take got shorter and shorter. We were getting enough air to him, but I think that the mouth to mouth kept the medic from being able to stop the bleeding. He died at 12:15 AM Christmas morning.

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Without looking up, the Lieutenant said, “Guys, set your watches back to 11:45. Nobody dies on Christmas Day.” No one questioned the order.

A few minutes later, we experienced the arrival of Christmas morning for the second time. With our position already known to the enemy, someone started a chorus of some Christmas song. I think it was “Deck The Halls”, followed by all of the Christmas carols we could remember.

Sometime just before daybreak, we took Ben’s body and wrapped it in a poncho. Someone had a small American flag and we ripped the red stripes out, made a ribbon, and tied the lifeless poncho with a big red Christmas bow. I remember it like it was yesterday.

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I have often wondered why we did that. I suppose that gesture had different meanings for each of us. Maybe it was a symbol of respect, but somehow I think that it being Christmas made us need to do something special.

Soon, daybreak came and our revelry ended as austere as it had begun.

Not three hundred feet away, we could see the enemy, almost in clear view. We hoped they knew about the Christmas Day ceasefire. For an hour or more, the tension and fear were unbearable. There was no way out, as we suspected the enemy had surrounded us, and we were not heroes who cared to call in air support that could just as likely kill us as them.

Finally, Lt. Samuels stood up and started to sing in a rich Southern drawl, mixed with a Hebrew cadence, a song that I later learned was a favorite of Hanukkah. When he had finished, in very poor English, but understandable, we heard the enemy say, “Sing Rudolf.”

With each song, they came closer, with no visible arms. And in the strangest of circumstances, we, in a matter of speaking, shared Christmas Day together. If anyone knew that tomorrow we would kill each other all over again, it was not apparent.

We notified HQ that our mission had failed, told them of the fatality and requested a chopper to evacuate us. When the chopper arrived, the commander of the Viet Cong Company and his men stood back in a posture of respect as we loaded Ben’s body on board. Lt. Samuels then instructed the medic to give all the remaining morphine to the enemy, as they had several of their own that were wounded and in pain. We all swore we would never tell that he did that. If you were not there, you would not understand.

I was the next to last to board and, over the noise of the engines, I think I could hear them singing words they did not understand about red nosed jingles. But somehow, there was something I think they did understand. The ceasefire was welcome and it was Christmas.

In 1993, I was allowed to visit Vietnam as the U.S. and the Vietnamese Government had established diplomatic relations.

[He adds, “I paid my own way.”] Records from both governments were being examined, in part, to help locate our MIA’s. I was interested in your friend and mine, Danny.

Apparently they had checked me out and, before I left, the discussion turned to the discrepancy in the time of the reported battle in Sector 28 and the official time of Ben’s death during that encounter. I was not prepared to talk about that, so I told them, “It must have been two different battles. I don’t really remember.” No one pursued the matter.

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After he related the above story, I asked him why he had chosen to tell it to me. He answered, “It is the only one of a few stories with a happy ending.”

I tried to get more out of him but with little success. I asked him if he had ever seen the Vietnam Memorial Wall. He said that he had. He went there after they added Danny’s name.

He followed me to the car and asked me to send him a copy of Slidell Magazine and this article if it were published.

He then said, “You know, you would think they would have learned after that war, but they didn’t. But if I was able...”

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He stopped in mid-sentence, then continued, “No, I am too old now.”

John Case September 2012 SELF SERVICE CAR WASH

Mayor Freddy Drennan’s

Wild Game, Seafood & BBQ Cook-Off Benefiting Community Christian Concern of Slidell

“Touching one life at a time”

E

Everyone chases the American dream: raise a family, have a nice place to live and food on the table. Not everyone is as fortunate as others; sometimes a helping hand is needed.

The late Slidell philanthropist, Dudley Smith, combined his faith in God and a desire to help people in need and joined the pastors of the Greater Slidell Ministerial Alliance to start Community Christian Concern (CCC) in 1983.

Their goal was to combine all of their resources together in one place, instead of someone in need being sent from one church to another.

Now, a thrift store, pantry, warehouse, reception area and several offices help the truly needy of Slidell and Pearl River with urgent problems requiring immediate, short-term solutions.

CCC Director Debbie Schimmeck puts it very simply, “We give people the opportunity to make changes in their life through our services.”

Counselors are trained to assess each individual and provide assistance if needed. That assistance could be food, clothing, temporary shelter, and personal needs. If necessary, the counselors can refer clients to other agencies for longer-term solutions. Food and clothing items are distributed to families all year round. CCC partners with all levels within the community including government, civic and other nonprofit, faith based organizations, churches and corporate companies.

On September 29th, the CCC will have its biggest fundraiser, Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan’s 9th Annual Wild Game, Seafood and BBQ Cook-Off. Mayor Drennan got the idea when he held a fundraiser during his first bid for public office. It was such a huge success, he thought it would be a great idea to do it annually. While Chief of Police in Picayune, Mississippi, he started a program to help the homeless and needy in that community. Knowing the great work being done by the CCC, Mayor Drennan felt they would be an ideal beneficiary of the hugely popular event.

This annual event takes place at Fritchie Park from 11am-3 pm and the competition is challenging and delicious! Every type of pork, beef, wild game, fowl and seafood can be smelled cooking at the event.

Anything goes when it comes to cooking by the individual teams! Entrance fees are only $50 and teams are invited to enter up to the day of the event.

At the Mayor’s tent, you may be eating buffalo, deer, wild turkey, elk or his famous brisket. Crawfish pie is a specialty at one tent and fried catfish with a special sauce at another. In years past, roast quail, baked red fish, alligator sauce piquant, shrimp etouffee, BBQ ribs and even nutria stew has been served!

Mayor Drennan and CCC invited everyone to come join the fun!

For team registration, sponsorships, or tickets to the Cook-Off or to volunteer at CCC, call 985-646-0357 or visit www.cccslidell.org Mayor Freddy Drennan’s 9th Annual Wild Game, Seafood and BBQ Cook-Off Tickets, $12 per person in advance, $15 at gate

All You Can Eat Music by: Joe and Missy of “Witness” • Silent Auction items, Live Auction at 3pm with sports memorabilia, artist prints and more! Food, Fun, & Entertainment

• “Janet’s Korner”, the gently used clothing and thrift store which takes up a small portion in the front of the CCC building, is opened to the public. They sell clothing, shoes, school uniforms, household items, books, toys, jewelry, furniture and appliances, all at low prices.

All proceeds from the shop go directly to CCC. • Since its founding, CCC has helped over 100,959 people.

• In 2010, the CCC serviced 4,895 individuals and 1,909 families, distributing 76,678 lbs. of food and 5,004 articles of clothing.

• The CCC also operates The Miramon Center, a transitional men’s housing facility on Carey Street. With room for twelve residents, the center mentors men as they work on their individual needs, assisting them with the resources and referrals needed to become selfsufficient. Local churches, employers and organizations sponsor residents, who must be working before being accepted. Residents may stay up to six months and maintain a savings account for permanent housing upon completion of the program.

Making ₵ents

of your money

by Mike Rich

An Unlikely (Financial) Hero My dad was a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II. When I was growing up with my brother and sister, we pictured him as our hero, shooting guns and driving tanks. In reality, he was a radar operator at a base in Hawaii for almost four years and never saw combat. His two brothers, however, didn’t fare as well. Both were killed just months apart in the European theater. My dad lost his

brothers, and, even though my family had pictures of them, I never had the pleasure of meeting and growing up under the care of my uncles Fred and Dominic. Fortunately, they were the only war casualties in my parents’ large extended families, but, like my uncles, many of the other WWII heroes of families in my hometown of Chicago Heights, Illinois, never came home.

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One of the first things my dad did when the war was over and he got back home and married my mom was buy life insurance.

My uncles’ deaths had had a big impact on him, and my dad told me later, when I was old enough to understand, that he realized how fragile life was and did not want to risk leaving his family with no money in case he died prematurely.

My dad’s insurance was whole life, and he bought as much as his housepainter’s wages would allow. It wasn’t a lot of coverage, but he added to it over time and, after a few years, the death benefit and cash value really started to build. He would show me his annual statements, and I could tell he was proud of how his asset was growing, and even prouder because he was protecting his family.

As happy as my dad was about his life insurance, I don’t think he ever understood just how financially powerful it actually was.

And, even though I followed his lead and purchased whole life insurance myself when I was a young husband and dad, I didn’t know how powerful it was, either, until I became a financial advisor and started digging into its inner workings.

As I met with clients and learned more about the importance of life insurance in their financial plans, I discovered that every dollar someone puts into a whole life insurance policy actually does the work of at least ten dollars more. I actually began to think of life insurance as a “family hero.” Here’s what I discovered about this amazing financial tool:

1

You get a guaranteed death benefit, income tax-free to your beneficiaries;1

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2

Whole life policies have a cash value, and it grows tax-deferred;

3 Unless you increase the amount of coverage, your premiums will never go up, which gives you a potential hedge against inflation;

4 The insurance company uses a guaranteed interest rate to calculate cash values, which means that no matter how dismally low CD and other savings interest rates might go, the one in your whole policy stays right where it was when you bought it; 5

A whole life insurance policy can earn dividends, and some really good companies have paid dividends annually for 150 years or more;2

6 The cash value in your policy is not counted as a family asset when

applying for student financial aid (check with your tax or legal advisor to see if this applies to your specific situation);

7 The policy is self-completing in case of disability, which means that the insurance company will pay your premiums while you are disabled and can’t work (the disability rider requires an affordable additional premium);

8 You can annuitize the cash value for a guaranteed income stream, something that could come in real handy during retirement (my dad did this); 9 The death benefit can be paid in advance to you in case of a chronic or terminal illness, which means that the policy can take the place of “use-or-lose” long term care insurance in many cases (this requires the selection of an accelerated benefit rider); 10 If you need money for whatever purpose and don’t want to deal with a bank, you can access your cash value through a policy loan. You don’t have to answer any nosy financial questions, sign a mountain of forms, or jump through loan committee hoops. You simply pick up the phone and tell the person at the other end that you want your money. They expect you to pay it back, of course, but you can take a long time to do it (loans affect policy benefits, including the dividend, if payable);

11

The cash value is not correlated with the ups and downs of the stock market. When your premium payment, interest, or dividend are applied to your cash value, the money stays there and, unlike what your investments in the stock market might do, the amount never goes backwards (unless you take money out of the policy).

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, so it’s a great time to learn about the importance of an overall asset protection strategy – term insurance, whole life, or a combination of both – as part of your financial plan. So, call Andy, Chris, Lee, Steve, or me for a complimentary appointment.

You’ll be a hero to your family if you do.

Pontchartrain Investment Management 2242 Carey Street Slidell, LA 70458 985-605-5064 Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA, SIPC. Benefits are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company.

1

Dividends are not guaranteed. They are declared annually by the company’s board of directors.

2

Riders are additional guarantee options that are available to an annuity or life insurance contract holder. While some riders are part of an existing contract, many others may carry additional fees, charges and restrictions, and the contract should be reviewed carefully before purchasing.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

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Frankly

By Frank Davis

“The Way to a Soldier’s Heart is Through His Stomach. . .”

Unless I miss my guess, I think it must have been Betsy Ross who first uttered those words as she fed the regiment of hungry soldiers who went to her house that day to pick up the American flag after she threw the last couple of stitches in the ol’ Red, White, and Blue! Of course, I’m convinced that she was just being nice since she obviously had no idea exactly what the troops in the field were chowing down on whilst they were in the service of the Continental Army. History tells us it certainly wasn’t anything gourmet, that’s for certain!

Last time I checked, the overworked word “gourmet” did not encompass English Anzac wafers, the Egyptian brittle cracker called “dhourr”, all the Roman biscuits the sitting Caesars referred to as “buccellum”, the Royal Navy’s snack cracker they named “hardtack”, King Richard’s hard, dry staple biscuit cited as “Biskit of Muslin”, along with the Z-Rations, all the A, B, C, D, K, Jungle, Mountain, and combat rations, plus all the way up to today’s MRE’s (Meals Ready To Eat).

We’re told it was first served during World War I in France.

During that campaign, U.S. Marine forces on the front line were fed meals that were prepared by the U.S. Army from their field kitchens in the rear. As the story goes, during one battle, the Marines moved ahead so fast that the Army Mess Company couldn’t keep up with their advancement. And what’s more, on that particular evening, the Army cooks prepared a new recipe—roasted beef chipped and simmered in a rich white cream gravy.

When Napoleon Bonaparte commented that “an Army marches on its stomach”, I doubt that he had any idea that this was the fare his warring Frenchmen would consume daily to provide nourishment and the fighting spirit it would take to win a war. Soggy foxholes, cannon rounds, bayonets, rain-soaked uniforms, wet shoes and blistered feet - all on a ration of hard, dry crackers? That took real dedication and commitment to country!

See, up until this time, the “standard gourmet military meal” (officially recognized and introduced by the U.S. Marine Corps) had not yet been devised! What it was eventually became a surprisingly popular foodstuff. Let me share with you the story of every American’s favorite military meal. Here’s the story of SOS:

Immediately the soldiers sent pots of it up to the front lines. However, it turns out that it took the cooks’ staff all night to find the location of the fast moving Marine Brigade. Consequently, the creamy recipe was not delivered until the next morning.

Not wanting to waste good food, but not having plates and bowls and forks and spoons to serve it properly, the Marine First Sergeant in charge ordered that the meat and gravy (the sauce) be ladled over dry slices of open-fired toast and handed to each man.

The exhausted soldiers, being unbelievably hungry by that time of the morning, didn’t complain one bit. Instead, they downed the “delicacy” with gusto and requested that

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the dish be served again, but with the proper plates and tableware. And, yeah. . .based on its appearance alone, the guys formally named it “Creamed Chipped Beef On Toast”, better known as the acronym S.O.S (s--t on a shingle).

Ironically, in spite of the name being the brunt of numerous jokes over the decades, the recipe is still served today, once or twice a week, on most military bases (especially at U. S. Marine bases).

True gourmands explain that this is one dish that obviously can reach the heart through the stomach!

Want the classic recipe? As an official U.S. Army veteran who has eaten more than his share of S.O.S., I’ll be happy to give it to you: 1/2 lb. ground beef or chipped chuck roast 1 Tbsp. bacon fat, vegetable shortening, or butter 3 Tbsp. all purpose flour 2 cups whole milk (add more milk if you want it thinner) 1/8 tsp. salt Black pepper (to taste) 8 slices of dry white toast Using a large, anodized skillet (12”-14”), crumble and brown the beef in the fat and salt, remove the pan from the heat, and let cool slightly.

Next, mix the meat and flour until all of the meat is covered (plan to use all of the flour). Then place the skillet back on the heat and slowly stir in the milk, whisking it constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens to a creamy texture. (The flour should boil a minimum of 1 minute to take out the raw taste).

When ready, serve it over the toast (the shingle) and salt and pepper it to taste.

“So in the end,” Seth McEwen spoke with a glint of a tear in his eye, “when all is said and done, we can not only appreciate “the fighting” our fighting men have done to protect us and our country all this time. We can also appreciate that they’ve done it on Anzac Wafers, C-Rations. K-Rations, hardtacks, and MRE’s.”

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Support Our War Heroes

by Kendra Maness

“There is no higher priority than caring for those who have made personal sacrifices in the defense of our nation.”

– Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defense 2006-2011

S

upport Our War Heroes is founded on the belief that there are many heroes in our lives, and that all service members in the US military are heroes.

The purpose of this foundation is to assist service members who sustain life altering injuries and to continue to support them into the future, as necessary.

Support Our War Heroes (SOWH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan foundation in support of our men and women in uniform from all branches of the military. It is established in the private sector and is not affiliated with the United States military. Says founder Suzy McDaniel, “We are a non-political organization. We are neither in support of, or against, the war. We don’t take a stand on that at all. It’s not about that. It’s about helping the men and women who put their lives on the line for this country and sustain some kind of life altering injury during their service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Our mission is very specific. Whether you think it’s right or wrong that we’re there, it’s about helping the heroes.”

22

Suzy McDaniel’s own life-changing experience led her to conceive the idea of SOWH. “I was thrown off a horse and was hospitalized with a lot of injuries. I had surgery for a torn rotator cuff and they put me in rehab at Slidell Memorial Hospital.

There was a gentleman in rehab who had some very, very serious injuries. One side of his face looked completely normally and the other side of his face was just….gone.

His ear, his eye – gone. I thought he had been in a chemical accident. So everyday, I see him struggling really hard in rehab, learning to walk, talk, and move again. He was in a wheelchair at the time and he had the symptoms of a stroke victim. They [the physical therapists] were trying to get him to use his upper body and some of his legs to get him walking again.”

What Suzy learned about this man would change her life, and the lives of dozens of Louisiana and Mississippi soldiers, forever.

“I found out that the reason he was similar to a stroke victim was because he was in a roadside bombing in Iraq and had lost part of his brain. It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

That man’s name was Corporal Carl Sampson, a resident of Picayune, MS and a soldier in the Army National Guard.

Suzy remembers, “I never thought that people who sustained that kind of injury would be here, right here, at Slidell Memorial. I thought they would be at Walter Reed, or at some military place being cared for. When I learned of his story, I was truly troubled by it.”

Suzy couldn’t stop thinking of Paul. “It was almost like guilt.

I felt like, here I am, going about my business with my little utopia in Slidell…while this guy I don’t even know, who lives right up the road, is going over to Iraq in defense of our country and our freedoms. I’m not even aware of it. Meanwhile, he basically gives his life….but he’s still alive. I was so overwhelmed. I wanted to do something for him and others like him.”

Through prayer, and inspired by Paul’s courageous recovery, Suzy and four friends (“the best people I know”) founded Support Our War Heroes.

SOWH benefits Louisiana and Mississippi soldiers who have been seriously wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan as they struggle to rehabilitate from their injuries and resume a normal, fulfilling, civilian life. Many of their injuries are traumatic amputations, brain and spinal cord injuries, and shrapnel wounds that will retire them from military service.

The organization is also dedicated to helping the children and family members of the service personnel who lost their lives in the conflict.

SOWH helps through recognition, advocacy, short term assistance, and planning for the future.

Recognition The foundation hosts “In the Company of Heroes”, an annual fundraising event, which honors the sacrifice and courage of our men and women in uniform. In addition, the SOWH website displays the stories of the brave warriors from our area who have been injured or killed in the Iraq/ Afghanistan conflict.

Advocacy The foundation advocates on behalf of the wounded service members and the families of the wounded and deceased, to ensure that all benefits due are received, and that proper and long term medical care is provided. Suzy explains, “There was one soldier who was rated 30% disabled. But he couldn’t work. So instead of a 100% disability, he was only getting a couple hundred dollars a month. He was a Mandeville resident, had 4 kids and a wife and couldn’t return to work because of his disability from an injury suffered while in Iraq. Mike Wells and Matt Cole, two of our heroes that have received help and are now helping others, kept telling me, ‘There’s something wrong here, he can’t even get around. He should be rated 100% disabled. They rated him wrong when it happened and they need to go back and revisit this.’ But a lot of the soldiers just don’t know how to navigate through the bureaucracy of the military or the VA,” Suzy said. “These soldiers are dealing with their injuries, their kids, their family, financial problems, learning how to adjust to their disabilities.

It’s overwhelming.”

After 14 months of phone calls and follow-ups made on the soldier’s behalf, SOWH helped to get the military to re-evaluate him and he was correctly deemed 100% disabled. “It changed his life forever,” Suzy says. “You have to have a lot of patience and tenacity when dealing with the military. The best people to advocate for the injured heroes are the ones that have been through it themselves. I’m not trying to knock the military in any way - they’re wonderful and they truly care 23

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24

about their soldiers and their families.

But, the military is so big that, inevitably, things fall through the cracks. That means that some people don’t get the services they are entitled to or need. That’s where we come in to help them.”

Short Term Assistance When a military member sustains life altering injuries, sometimes financial crises arise. Support Our War Heroes Foundation offers assistance with any immediate needs within the service member’s family - whether financial, psychological or physical - which arise from the rehabilitation or medical care the soldier is receiving. This includes programs to support families visiting their loved ones in military hospitals. (For Jeff Argrave, Slidell Magazine’s EFO Person for September, Support Our War Heroes paid for his mother’s flights from their residence in Baton Rouge, to Jeff’s rehabilitation center in Washington and Tampa. SOWH also helped to relieve some of the financial strain placed on the Argrave family, allowing Jeff’s mother to stay in the hospital with him for 5 months while she learned how to care for Jeff with his severe injuries.) Shortterm assistance also includes private counseling for spouses and family members.

Planning for the Future The Foundation offers assistance to service members and their families with the planning and reconstruction of life after the rehabilitation concludes. This includes private sector employment searches, business planning and financial planning.

SOWH also has a scholarship program for the dependent children of deceased/severely injured service members. In 2008, college scholarship plans in the name of each qualifying child were started. These plans are funded annually by Support Our War Heroes. Suzy notes, “There are 19 children currently in the program. Each year, we make a contribution to the fund so it’s constantly growing. When they reach age 18, we have these funds for their college. It’s tax free for them and can only be used towards their education.”

SOWH is an all-volunteer organization and all of the funding for SOWH comes through donations. “95% of all donations are given directly to our military members and/or dependents,” Suzy says. “The only costs are our website and printed materials, things like that. We’re very proud of that. All Board Members

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and Officers work as volunteers and receive no compensation.

It’s all going to our heroes.”

Suzy and the SOWH Foundation have never been stronger in their commitment and determination.

“Support Our War Heroes is in it for LIFE,” Suzy says.

“It does get kind of rough, though. It was easy to raise money in the beginning, in the first few years of the conflict, as our soldiers were coming home injured or deceased - everybody was supportive. Now, that we’re in this for over a decade, a lot of people have gotten weary of the situation. It’s kind of difficult to keep carrying the torch,” she says. “But not for us. When we adopt a hero, they’re our family. Our mission is into the future, as necessary. The truth is that the injuries that these soldiers sustain when they are 26 years old are even more magnified when they’re 46 years old. Our mission is into the future. These guys are injured FOREVER so we’re here for them forever.”

Editor’s Note: Corporal Carl Sampson has been brave and courageous in his recovery. After the doctors told his family that he might never walk or talk again, he has defied the odds and is doing both. He still has extreme limitations, but is an inspiration to all who meet him. Carl Sampson was awarded the Purple Heart and Magnolia Cross for his heroic service.

For more information on Support Our War Heroes Foundation or to read the stories of the Heroes in our area, visit www.SupportOurWarHeroes.org

You can help Support Our War Heroes!

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F P

ort ike

by Nancy and Bill Baldwin

I

I had not been to the State Historic Fort Pike since Katrina. Why had I not taken advantage of an amazing piece of history right near us and taken all my visiting family and friends to see the old Fort?

After all, seniors, Veterans and young children can visit for free. I remember when we visited about 12 years ago, the large brick fort with its drawbridge and moat. Within was a small museum telling a tale of hardships for the many brave military soldiers who were to come and go to protect New Orleans from an invasion by sea. I am told that former soldiers would find the Fort much the same as it was in the 19th century.

Construction of the current Fort was begun in 1819 (just imagine, almost 200 years ago!) with the first bricks being laid by both slave and free labor from New Orleans, Covington, Biloxi and Mobile.

Major General Totten, a graduate of West Point, helped General Simon Bernard, a French engineer, design and organize a defense system which included Fort Pike and Fort Macomb. Major William Chase was the builder of Fort Pike, as well as other forts in Louisiana and different states. It was mostly finished in 1827 and named in honor of a military hero from the War of 1812, General Zebulon Pike (the same explorer and soldier whose name is known in Colorado for Pikes Peak).

My husband and I went back again to this old State Historic Site. We were greeted

26

by Joseph Yarbrough, Historian, Skip Jones, Assistant Manager, and Art Schick, Maintenance and valuable helper. Joe Yarbrough is very knowledgeable about the fort’s construction and history and is an outspoken advocate for the preservation and restoration of Fort Pike. We learned about salt water intrusion undermining the 2800 cypress logs that are holding up the continually cracking foundation.

Joe continues to study and preserve the fort’s history with documented facts and pictures, which he shared with us.

We saw the casemates that were built for cannons, the blacksmith shop, the small room with a fireplace at each end to warm

men on cold nights. We spotted a few air vents to let out the hot smoke of gunfire and forged steel and the heating of cannon balls in the hot furnaces. The citadel in the center of the fort with loopholes for rifles was originally designed as a stronghold in case the walls were stormed. A “citadel” usually serves as the strongest part of a fort and it is positioned to be the last line of defense should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system.

During its active years, from the late 1820’s through 1890, Fort Pike did not endure a major battle, but witnessed American history in the making with many different troops coming through

the Fort. As early as 1830, it was a staging area for many en route to Florida. During the Mexican War in the 1840’s, it was used for soldiers bound for Texas and Mexico. During the 2nd Seminole War of 1836, soldiers crowded with their wives, children and slaves into the casemates of Fort Pike.

I could just envision sleeping men in crowded rows of slung bunks and men on watch waiting and hoping they could not be reached and demolished if British war ships were able to get within range of the muddy island of Petites Coquilles (“The Island of Shells”). Back in 1812, when General Andrew Jackson was preparing to defend New Orleans from British invasions, he sent orders to blow up the fort if they found themselves unable to hold out. This was not necessary because Jackson’s force won the decisive battle at Chalmette in 1815 and no major battle was fought at our Fort Pike.

The barracks were renovated sometime in the 1850’s and a second floor was added to catch breezes from the lake. General Beauregard, a native of St. Bernard Parish, is the most famous Civil War soldier associated with Fort Pike. He was one of the U. S. Army engineers in charge of rebuilding and remodeling Fort Pike in the early 1850’s. Beauregard gave his services to the newly formed Confederate government. He lived his life out in New Orleans and is buried there in a conspicuous tomb.

Before the start of the Civil War in 1861, our Fort saw action!

The Federal Commander of Fort Pike, Sergeant Bosworth, had buried explosives and filled gun boats with armed men. He swore to defend the fort while the last man stood, or torch and blow it up and perish with the Star Spangled flag in ruins. However, he was ordered to surrender Fort Pike after an eleven day standoff, just days before Louisiana seceded from the Union. Confederate General Lovell’s Continental Guard lowered the U.S. flag when they took command and hoisted a pelican flag over the Fort.

Confederate Major Clinch took command and they remained for 13 months during the Civil War. When other forts fell to Union forces in 1862, Major Clinch and his Confederate troops were ordered to evacuate Fort Pike. The citadel burned twice - when retreating Confederate troops torched it in 1862 and in 1887, leaving the current brick shell of the old fort.

However, the Fort wasn’t deserted for long as Union troops arrived in gunboats and took possession, hoisting the Stars and Stripes. The old fort was once again in the hands of those who had built her, but she was hurt. The lieutenant’s log said: “Fort somewhat damaged. Guns spiked, buildings burned, including the citadel”. The Union used the Fort during training their many troops in the use of heavy artillery and as a protection outpost for New Orleans. Fort Pike has been the training site for many hundreds of soldiers and officers during the Civil War. Twelve future generals received training as junior officers at the fort, six for the Confederacy and six for the Union Army. Union Army Captain P. B. S. Pinchback served at Fort Pike as one of the very few black officers in 1862-63. He moved up the ranks to become Louisiana’s first black governor!

It was also a base for running gunboats patrolling Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, Mississippi Sound and the Gulf until the end of the Civil War in 1865. A detention center was there too for captured Confederate troops. Throughout the war,

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Fort Pike received orders, reinforcements, ammunition, etc., from Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island. Also, the fort had ties with New Orleans by one telegraph line, a shell road, and a daily lake steamer.

An 1863 map in the Library of Congress shows there were also two railroads in use by Fort Pike during the Civil War. It was the time of heavy Union troop concentrations at the fort, when discipline became necessary for the troops.

Contraband stores nearby were supplying alcohol which caused problems; drunken threats, stealing, sleeping at posts and general laziness. In 1863, there were more than 550 Union troops, both black and white, at the fort which had been designed to hold about 450 men. Poor weather put many on the sick list and a few died in the New Orleans hospital. Several soldiers who died of disease at the fort were buried at the fort’s cemetery, now under water.

Others were buried outside the fort on burial grounds which were later moved to Chalmette. Conditions were so bad that men began deserting their ranks. In 1867, a Yellow Fever epidemic swept through New Orleans. Because of their desolate location, the fort’s occupants were isolated from supplies, but were saved from contracting the deadly disease.

In 1867, a new hospital was built on the site of an old one near the fort. In 1869, hurricane damage to the two year old structure was repaired and the new medical facility was supplied with a two-wheeled ambulance cart, two more wagons and six mules. Food at the fort had improved, but there was no adequate green garden because of the salt marsh surrounding the

grounds. The fort’s drinking water was mostly from a 25 foot cistern of stored rain water.

It takes my breath away to think of the conditions the brave men had to endure.

Though the enlisted men had the worst times, the daily life of the officers was boring and frustrating. Rations were stored in extremely wet places without air circulation. (But what can anyone expect when the foundations were resting on a wooden raft of cypress logs to keep the fort from sinking into the oozing lake?) And then there were the hot summers! Maybe there were some cool breezes through the rifle ports! Duty at the fort during the war was reported to be monotonous, but at least safe. Some of the Union troops who left the fort during the war were thrown into battle at other places and suffered many casualties from enemy action and disease.

As I stood atop the fort, overlooking the Rigolets with the ghosts of soldiers past, I could really appreciate the sacrifices they made in all their training and preparations to defend and protect New Orleans and surrounding areas.

Visit this ‘fortress in the wetlands’ and renew your valuable knowledge by enjoying a day with family and friends at Fort Pike! Watch for news about car shows and re-enactments to be held there this fall!

Information used from Historian Joseph C. Yarbrough “Pike, a Fortress in the Wetlands”,

by Bertram H. Groene & the Office of State Parks Baton Rouge, LA Photographs by Joseph Yarbrough and Bill Baldwin

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Health & Fitness

By Dennis M. Peyroux D.C. The United States of America was founded in 1776 based on the belief that all people should be independent and free from oppression.

The birth of this great country would have never occurred if it was not for the brave women and men who fought for freedom and independence for all people. These women and men have demonstrated the ultimate patriotism by giving their life for this great country.

As a civilian, it is difficult to understand the number of sacrifices our military personnel must make to protect and serve. The first day an individual enters the military, and every day thereafter, there is a nonstop pursuit to remain at maximum fitness. Because of this requirement, the choice to serve in the United States Military can be intense, to say the least. This journey begins during boot camp where every soldier will begin their journey to achieve their peak fitness level.

It is important to stay fit, regardless of an individual’s occupation, level of activity, or age. During my sixteen year experience as a Chiropractor, I have seen many veterans who have served our country and did so with

great patriotism. Now, years later, they suffer with stress-related illnesses which manifest themselves in the form of physical symptoms and ailments. These symptoms are directly associated with a decrease in functioning and a feeling of unwellness. When the major stressors are removed and the patient is treated based on their complaints, their health improves, mobility increases, and they have a better state of mind.

Stress can be the foundation of many physical problems for different individuals. There is emotional stress, physical stress and mental stress. All can be linked to various health problems. The physical stress of decreased functioning related to pain and discomfort can be directly related to any type of physical trauma or it could even be related to something that happened years before. All of the falls and tumbles related to attempts at being a weekend warrior, or trying to rekindle the old days by performing those athletic moves that we used to, can all cause physical stress on the body.

Chemical stress often affects the body in a variety of ways. People need certain chemicals

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There are seven major signs of stress: headaches, sinus problems, sleep disorders, irritability, moodiness, pain in the body, and digestive problems. All need to be addressed in order for the body to remain harmonious and functioning properly.

I would like to invite everyone for a free evaluation to see if chiropractic care may be right for you to decrease the stress you are dealing with in your life. This is a free, no obligation chance for you to see if I might be able to help you with your health problems.

I look forward to changing your life by improving your performance level!

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Music notes

by Dane Kennedy

Let Freedom Ring

C

Close your eyes…Think about your life as an American. Cast your thoughts into the founding history of The United States.

Consider the process that established Our Nation. Now, what songs come to mind when you think about America? There are many different patriotic songs, and each one stirs a different emotion within us.

Once heard, these songs become forever etched into our hearts. Equally as dramatic are the inspirations for the writings and the passionate performances of the songs that speak to the principals that The United States of America was founded upon.

Knowing a little about each of these patriotic songs’ history is often as inspiring as the song itself. Knowing when the song was written, the state of our nation, the location of the composer as they penned the verses – each of these things help create an image to the words and melody of our best known patriotic tunes.

“The Stars Spangled Banner” is recognized as our national anthem, by way of a Congressional Resolution in 1931.

The written history of the song composed

nds: a B e v i L ss Witne

by Francis Scott Key, as a poem, is a story of great hope for our nation in a time of turmoil. In September 1814, following the Burning of Washington and the Raid on Alexandria by the British, Francis Scott Key set sail from Baltimore, flying a flag of truce. His mission was to secure the exchange of prisoners, one of whom was a friend of Key’s.

During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay. He observed that the fort’s smaller “storm flag” continued to fly, but by morning, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger, 15-star, 15-stripe “Star Spangled Banner” flag had been raised. Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. The original manuscript copy of his “Star Spangled Banner” poem is now on display at the Maryland Historical Society and the very flag that inspired the poem is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution.

“My country tis’ of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing”…These words, penned by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831, are the opening phrase of a composition that served in de facto as the national anthem for decades. Smith, a seminary student, wrote the lyrics in a mere 30 minutes. Additional Abolitionist verses were added in 1843 by A. G. Duncan, prompting Martin Luther King to recite the first verse of the song (also known as “America”) in his historical “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. It was also performed by Aretha Franklin in 2009, at the Presidential Inauguration of Barak Obama.

One of the most soulful performances of an American classic has been the emotional and charismatic version of “America the Beautiful”, sung by Ray Charles. His powerful rendition of this inspiring song made it a fan favorite for his live performances. Katherine Lee Bates wrote the words as a poem published in 1895. Samuel A.Ward composed the musical structure for this emotionally impacting song.

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“God Bless America” was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin while serving in the U.S. Army in New York. In 1938, with the rise of Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish and a first-generation European immigrant, felt it was time to revive it as a “peace song”, and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938 sung by Kate Smith, on her radio show. The most known performance of this song was an impromptu one. During a live television broadcast on the evening of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, members of the US Congress broke out into an apparently spontaneous verse of “God Bless America” on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Modern day artists have moved us with their pennings and performances as well. Lee Greenwood had written “God Bless the USA”, but never released it. He performed the nationally acclaimed song at the 1984 Republican Convention for President Ronald Regan. The song gained greater prominence during the Gulf War as a way of boosting morale and its popularity skyrocketed after 9/11. Lee Greenwood says of his song, “It keeps having a different kind of life. I mean, during the Gulf War, it was a song of the war for General Schwarzkopf. After Hurricane Katrina, it was a song for life and hope, and then after 9/11, it was a song of unity and rebuilding. It just makes me really proud that I’ve done something for the country and for my family.”

“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” (The Angry American) speaks loudly to the personal side of some listeners. Inspired by his veteran father’s death and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, country music star Toby Keith rallied his thoughts and emotions into an anthem for angry Americans. In a tumultuous and frightening time in American history, angry was precisely what many American citizens were. It only took Keith 20 minutes to write the song. At first, Keith refused to record the song and only sang it live at his concerts for military personnel. The reaction was so strong that the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones told Keith it was his duty as an American citizen to record the song. “It’s your job as an entertainer to lift the morale of the troops,” Jones said to Keith. “If you want to serve, that is what you can do.”

The songs of American patriotism, old or new, resonate in the content, with thoughts and emotion embracing the characteristics of a proud American. We should remember these words, these songs, and pass them to our future generations to embrace the principals that formed this nation. “We the People” sing these songs with expressive devotion for and to our country and those who protect her. As we sing the songs of an American Patriot, let us constantly be reminded of what the phrase “Proud to be an American” means; and what we can do as individuals to write another verse in the songs of our time in history.

Let Freedom Ring!

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SLIDELL PAYS IT FORWARD

New York Says Thank You

by Alex Carollo

I

n the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina, ordinary folks from around the nation came to Slidell’s aid to help in the city’s recovery efforts. Church groups, firemen, families, boy and girl scouts, handymen, volunteers, teachers and college students put on their boots and tool belts and brought supplies, toiletries, blankets, food, bottled water and smiles to the Gulf Coast to help a region devastated by one of the country’s largest natural disasters.

New York City received the same outpouring of support from volunteers from around the country in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011. Jeff Parness, an entrepreneur and businessman from New York who lost his best friend and business partner, Hagay Shefi, during the attacks, still remembers the kindness of strangers who came to the aid of his city in its time of need.

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Two years later, Jeff and his two boys were watching CNN. Anderson Cooper was reporting from Harbison Canyon, California, interviewing children from a daycare center that was destroyed by wildfires that ravaged San Diego County in 2003.

Five-year old Evan Parness’ eyes were glued to the television screen as kids talked about losing their homes and their toys. Evan turned to his dad and said, “Daddy, I have plenty of toys. Let’s take some to those kids.”

The Parness family went door to door in their apartment building, collecting toys and money from their neighbors. Four days later, they were traveling in a U-Haul packed with toys and supplies, on their way to deliver the goodies to California. Parness put a banner on the side of the truck that read “New York Says Thank You.” They also stayed and helped to rebuild the daycare center. From that road trip, the idea of the New York Says Thank You Foundation (NYSTYF) was born.

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Each year since then, over a 2-3 day period on the anniversary of Sept. 11, the small, grass-roots foundation has sent firemen and volunteers from New York to help rebuild communities devastated by man-made or natural disasters. In 2004, they travelled to Utica, Illinois, to help a community devastated by the F3 tornado that ravaged the town and claimed the lives of nine people.

In 2005, the world watched as Hurricane Katrina breached the Gulf Coast leaving death and destruction in her wake. Parness heard the story of Tony Nata, a six year old boy who was battling Leukemia.

In the midst of Tony’s radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the family was shuffling between a FEMA trailer and a relative’s

home. Katrina had destroyed the Nata’s home on Highway 11 as well as the dock where Tony and his family enjoyed fishing. In September 2005, the NYSTYF and 150 volunteers from around the country came to Slidell to help the Nata family repair their home and rebuild their much-loved fishing dock.

“We heard that New York firemen were in town working with the Lion’s Club, so Chris Kauffman (Chief of Administration for Fire District 1) asked me to ride by to see if there was anything that we could do,” said Erik Kreppein, Fire Prevention Officer from St. Tammany Fire District 1. “The next day, I went back and helped the guys. I met Jeff, a born and bred, through and through New Yorker and one hell of a guy.”

A few months later, Kreppein received a call from Parness. Young Tony Nata was about to receive a bone marrow transplant, and he and the donor – his four year old sister, Ally – both needed a safe, germ-free environment. Parness and the volunteers returned to Slidell to build a special clean-room for Tony and Ally to recover. Kreppein arranged for their housing and even brought his truck, trailer and tools to the worksite and worked alongside the volunteer crew for two days.

After the bone marrow transplant, Tony spent some time in remission and he and his family enjoyed fishing on their new pier. On June 19, 2007, Tony passed away.

During his time working with the NYSTY crew, Kreppein learned a little more about the foundation. He became friends with Parness and the firemen. They exchanged phone numbers, then parted ways. A few months later, Kreppein received another call from Parness.

“Jeff invited me to represent Slidell and come up to DeGonia Springs, Indiana. Middle of cornfields, out in nowhere land,” said Kreppein.

“I still wasn’t sure what this whole New York Says Thank You thing was about, but a friend and I made the trip. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an amazing experience.”

In 2006, a tornado rolled through the small town of 300, killing 25 people and decimating the Baker Chapel. The small chapel was the only non-residential building in the town and it served as the church, social hall, daycare center, municipal hall and Sunday school for the community.

compound after it was destroyed by a tornado. Three generations of the Vincent family had run assisted living centers for disabled veterans on their ranch. Since the small town had not been declared a disaster area, the family was unable to receive assistance from FEMA. But the NYSTY volunteers were able to step up and build a beautiful new home for the Vincents and the veterans that they serve.

Kreppein says that the amount of planning and the volunteer coordination impressed him.

“For an organization only three years young, Jeff was able to bring all these people together.

There were the local people, the volunteers from New York and around the country. Even the Amish sent volunteers,” said Kreppein. “It slowly dawned on me what this was about, paying it forward, as people say. Each year, people from the previous trip showed up to help the next community in their time of need.

It was impressive. I got back to Slidell, and I couldn’t stop talking about going again next year. It was like an addiction. Chief Larry Hess told me that the next year, I could take a guy off of each shift. We got a group together, and we went to Texas.”

In 2007, Erik and the team from Slidell joined Jeff and the NYSTY volunteers in Groesbeck, Texas, to help rebuild the Vincent family

“The guys came back excited and Chief said, the next year, I could take two guys off every shift,” said Kreppein.

In 2008, an EF-5 tornado nearly wiped Greensburg, Kansas off the map. An unbelievable 95 percent of the town was destroyed in a matter of minutes. Kreppein, Parness and over 200 volunteers helped rebuild the massive 14,000 square foot Main Pavillion of Greensburg’s 4-H County Fairground in what is perhaps one of America’s largest barn-raisings in history.

In 2009, an F3 tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in Little Sioux, Iowa, killing four young scouts and injuring dozens of others.

Kreppein and the Slidell volunteers were there to help rebuild the camp, and using salvaged timbers, they erected a chapel in honor of the scouts who lost their lives.

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“My guys stayed up all night to make sure the roof was done before the closing ceremony,” said Kreppein.

In 2010, the Slidell group was joined by volunteers from St. Bernard and they headed to Mena, Arkansas. “Our guys pretty much finished a house in two days. Jeff assigned the hardest project to our group and boy did our guys shine,” boasts Kreppein. “I’m no spring chicken, but our guys have the reputation of being the bad asses, the guys who get things done!”

In 2011, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Kreppein and the Slidell/St. Bernard group joined Jeff and 300 volunteers in Ellajay, Georgia, to help Susan Littlejohn rebuild her animal rescue. The volunteers built a 10,000 square foot barn to house 60 rescue animals – horses, donkeys, alpacas, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and birds – that were also used as therapeutic companions for disabled children, senior citizens and juvenile offenders.

In 2011, Kreppein was featured in a documentary film, New York Says Thank You. “Over the last couple of years, we had a camera crew follow us around at each site. I had a bit part in it,” explains Kreppein. He was able to attend the premiere at the 2011 Tribecca Film Festival in New York City. “At the premiere,

there was the red carpet deal and the whole nine yards. It was really something.”

This year, Kreppein and 22 other firemen and volunteers from Slidell, Lacombe and St. Bernard are heading to North Dakota. In 2011, the small town of Mynot suffered unprecedented flooding. Over 4,000 homes were damaged and destroyed. The plans are to help some of the residents rebuild. But that’s not all.

“Jeff found a special project,” says Kreppein.

“It turns out that the only person from North Dakota to die in the terrorist attack on 9/11 lived in Bottineau, ND. Her name was Ann Nelson and one of the things on her bucket list was to build an adaptive ski resort for disabled children and wounded warriors. When Jeff heard about this, that was it. He raised 1.5 million dollars to make her dream a reality. That’s this year’s trip.”

Kreppein is honored to have the support of his fellow firemen, St Tammany Fire District 1 and the Slidell community.

“I’m proud of my guys,” says Kreppein. “When we go, we take vacation time and we spend our own nickels on travel, supplies and other expenses.”

Kreppein says that he and the Slidell volunteers have been fortunate to receive several generous

donations from Slidell citizens, businesses and organizations that have donated money to help defray costs for each trip.

“After Katrina, Slidell was fortunate to receive help from all over the country,” says Kreppein. “I’m honored that we can continue the tradition, to pay it forward to other communities in need. That’s what America is about.”

“I’ll keep doing it every year,” vows Kreppein, “even if I have to ride around on a Hoveround.”

For more information about the New York Says Thank You Foundation, please visit the website at newyorksaysthankyou.org. To watch the trailer for the documentary or order a DVD or Bluray copy of the film, visit newyorksaysthankyoumovie.com For more information or to donate money to help “sponsor” a fireman, call Erik Kreppein at (985) 6464387. Checks made out to the Slidell Firefighters Association can be sent to St. Tammany Fire District 1, 1358 Corporate Square Blvd., Slidell, LA 70458

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Ochsner North Shore is making strategic investments in medical specialties, technology and its staff to provide the Slidell community health care with peace of mind. These efforts are aimed at providing Northshore residents with access to a variety of high-level clinical specialties and advanced medical technology conveniently located close to home. Local Ochsner resources like Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore and Ochsner Health Center clinics located throughout the region provide patients with access to the full range of expertise and resources of the Ochsner Health System – a global medical and academic healthcare leader offering nationally recognized healthcare through its integrated health system.

Ochsner Critical Care Telemedicine The Ochsner Critical Care Telemedicine is one example of Ochsner using technology and its experienced medical staff to improve patient care. This program is now making the benefits of a remote intensive care unit program available 24/7 to patients in the Intensive Care Unit at Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore in Slidell. An ICU is a hospital unit utilizing specialized equipment and specially trained personnel for the care of seriously ill patients requiring immediate and continuous attention. More Ochsner patients will leave the hospital faster, healthier and with fewer complications, thanks to the “second set of eyes” monitoring every ICU patient.

Ochsner Critical Care Telemedicine connects Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore’s bedside care teams with off-site critical care physicians and nurses using advanced software and continuous remote

monitoring technology from Philips. The software detects and advises clinicians of important trends and changes in a patient’s condition, enabling more proactive care with fewer complications. Use of the 2-way audio-video capability also allows the offsite physician to interact and collaborate with the bedside medical team and the patient’s family to make important, timesensitive patient care decisions.

Studies show this type of care improves patient outcomes and decreases the time patients must stay in ICUs managed by intensivists (physicians trained as specialists in critical care). Specifically, the Philips eICU Program has shown patients are 22 percent more likely to survive their hospital stay and a 23 percent reduction in time critically ill patients must stay in hospital stay. This means patients have better results and are able to go home sooner.

“Ochsner Critical Care Telemedicine will offer increased peace of mind to our patients and families as it will provide additional oversight from trained critical care specialists looking after patients in our ICUs at all times,” said Dr. James Newcomb, VP – Medical Affairs, Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore. “ In addition to the approximately 150 ICU beds that will be monitored across the Ochsner system, capacity will exist to serve other hospitals in the region. As the only healthcare provider in Louisiana with a remote ICU program, Ochsner will serve as a statewide resource to community and rural hospitals which can benefit from expanded critical care staffing and technology.

Ochnser is taking a big step forward in improving patient care by upgrading the tools that physicians, nurses and clinical staff use. Ochsner North Shore took its electronic health record to the next level by implementing the industry-leading Epic software in the hospital and clinics.

This enables Ochsner to work smarter for patients, focus on the details of health care and make it easier for patients to use Ochsner. Working smarter means doctors, nurses and staff will have every piece of a patient’s health information available instantly and updated in real-time. Doctors will be able to better track a patient’s progress and have better information about their conditions. This is especially useful in maintaining the health of patients with chronic conditions.

Epic also integrates best practices and health reminders so doctors can help patients stay on track with recommended screenings and preventive health services to keep them healthier longer.

Ochsner’s technology is not just for physicians and nurses to use.

Epic empowers patients to take better care of their health through the new MyOchsner portal.

MyOchsner provides patients with instant, secure access to their health care information online. Patients can request or change appointments, renew prescriptions, communicate with their doctor, check test results, see parts of the medical records and print immunization records. MyOchsner is available online at my.ochnser.org or by downloading the MyChart® app for iPhones and Android smart phones and tablets. MyOchsner helps patients easily put management of their families’ health care at their fingertips anywhere, anytime.

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It’s September...football season is starting, basketball season is a month away, and baseball is gearing up for the playoffs.

But, I have something special to talk about this month. This article is usually a forum for sports, and how sports affect us. But, September is a month of remembrance – reflecting on how the twin towers fell in 2001, and remembering the soldiers still fighting a war far away from home today. Some of these guys never make it back. Those that do are never the same as when they left. Without question, their heroism leaves a mark on their communities.

The sports world is not immune to these sacrifices. We all know too well of the sacrifice that Pat Tillman made for our country. But there are many athletes, coaches, and other people related to sports that have not only entertained us, but protected us from threats beyond our borders. I intend to honor some of these heroes and I hope that their stories inspire you as much as they did me.

Robert “Rocky” Bleier

was drafted into the Army and sent off to Vietnam after playing just one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bleier’s platoon was ambushed and his right leg was impaled by flying shrapnel in 1969.

Although doctors told him he would never play football again, Bleier, who was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, was inspired by a personal note from Steelers owner Art Rooney and reported to training camp just one year later. He spent two years trying to regain a spot on the active roster, finally achieving his goal in 1974. When he retired in 1980, Bleier had 3,865 rushing yards, 1,294 receiving yards, 25 touchdowns and four Super Bowl championships to his credit.

At age 11,

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A Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet in college, Bob Kalsu was an All-American tackle at the University of Oklahoma. To satisfy his program responsibilities, Kalsu was sent to Vietnam in November of 1969 as a Second Lieutenant. He was killed on July 21, 1970 when his unit came under enemy mortar fire in Vietnam. The previous year he had been selected by the Buffalo Bills in the eighth round of the NFL draft and started the entire 1968 season at the offensive guard position, earning the Buffalo Bills Rookie of the Year honors. He also was the only professional football player to lose his life in the Vietnam War. His wife learned of her husband’s death just hours after she gave birth to their second child.

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller became the first MLB player to volunteer for active duty in World War II, only two days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. After earning five campaign ribbons, eight battle stars, and spending four years dedicated to the war effort as an anti-aircraft gun captain on the battleship USS Alabama, he made his return to baseball. Retiring in 1956 after an 18-year professional career, Feller was a World Series champion and eight-time All Star. He also earned baseball’s Triple Crown, won 266 games, struck out 2,581 players and pitched three no-hitters. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

In between two military stints, Charlie Paddock competed for the United States at the 1920 Antwerp, 1924 Paris, and 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics.

His wins include gold medals in the 100 meter dash and 4x100 meter relay in 1920, as well as a silver medal in the 200 meter race. In 1924, he picked up his second silver medal in the 200 meter. In the first major sporting event since the end of World War I, Lieutenant Paddock of field artillery won the 100 meter and 200 meter events in the 1919 Inter-Allied Games. At the start of World War II, he re-enlisted and advanced to the rank of Captain before crashing his plane while in service in 1943. A military ship was later named in his honor.

Gene Tunney, “The Fighting Marine.”

Despite having received an exemption from military service due to an old elbow injury, boxer Gene Tunney still decided to enlist during World War I and saw action in France. After his military career ended, Tunney went on to record a professional record of 80-1. Those wins included one impressive heavyweight crown win over famed boxer Jack Dempsey. Ten years after being elected to the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Tunney was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

One month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hank Bauer enlisted in the Marine Corps. He remained in service until 1945 when he was injured in the thigh by shrapnel during the Battle of Okinawa.

His second injury in 32 months of combat, he finished his military career earning 11 campaign ribbons, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He began his MLB career in 1948 with the New York Yankees, going on to become a three-time All Star right fielder. He would win seven World Series titles as a Yankee player and one as a manager of the Baltimore Orioles.

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A 13-year Major League Baseball veteran, outfielder Al Bumbry led an infantry platoon in the Vietnam War. In such a devastating war, he had the impressive distinction of bringing all of the soldiers who served under him home safely, earning him a Bronze Star in the process.

Afterwards, he started his professional career with the Orioles and was voted the American League Rookie of the Year in 1973. He also was an All Star in 1980 and won the World Series with Baltimore in 1983.

Dwight Davis won three U.S. men’s doubles titles at the U.S. Tennis Championships and was the intercollegiate singles champion in 1899. He created an international tennis competition, now known as the Davis Cup, in 1900, to pit national teams against each other.

The U.S. won the Cup the first two years the tournament was played with Davis as a teammate. Afterwards, he served in the Army during World War I and received the Distinguished Service Cross for his action in France in 1918. Remaining in the military later in life, Lieutenant Colonel Davis served as the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923-1925 under President Calvin Coolidge before being elevated to the Secretary of War position from 1925-1929.

After playing in nine games for the New York Giants as a rookie “end”, Jack Lummus enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on Jan. 30, 1942. In the first wave of troops to land on Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, he and his platoon remained on the island after the initial day to continue to battle the Japanese. Commanding Company E’s third rifle platoon on March 8, Lummus helped knock out three enemy strongholds despite suffering injuries from grenade shrapnel before being mortally wounded by a land mine. Before dying, he famously told the field doctor, “Well, doc, the New York Giants lost a mighty good end today.” Lummus was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

There are many more sports stars that have served in the military.

Baseball stars Joe Dimaggio, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra and Jackie Robinson and football stars Roger Staubach, Art Donovan, and Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry are just a small sample of people who have done so much more than just entertain us in the arena. This September, I ask that you think of those that have done so much for America and her history. We may see these people as athletes and sports stars but, ultimately, they are Americans. Honor their sacrifice along with the many other men and women who protect our country every day.

Corey Hogue September 2012 Jockularity@SlidellMag.com

by Jeff Perret, DVM

THE ROAR OF LSU

B

PART 2: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

By the Fall of 1989, I’d been caretaker for Mike IV, LSU’s live tiger mascot, for a year and a half. I was lucky enough to get the best student job on campus at the start of my third year of veterinary school, in early 1988. At age 15, Mike IV was an old man at the time, and his reign was nearing its end. Dr. Sheldon Bivin, Mike’s “personal” doctor at the LSU Veterinary School, had made the decision to retire him, and the Baton Rouge Zoo had graciously agreed to take him in and provide a less demanding lifestyle for his final, “golden years”. A search began for a new male Bengal tiger cub to become LSU’s fifth live mascot. Not many people know the story of the cub that almost became Mike V. Early in 1990, an orphaned, 2-week-old kitten came to LSU from a Safari Park in Arkansas. We bottlefed him and cared for him at the veterinary school, and his presence was kept secret at first, because he was so young and fragile.

After only a few weeks, though, when his eyes opened, it became obvious that he was blind. The ophthalmologist at the vet school was consulted, and the diagnosis was confirmed: the cub was completely blind and would never be able to see. The doctors all agreed that the most humane option would be to euthanize him, and Dr. Bivin gave me and one of my classmates the responsibility of humanely putting him to sleep. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

The search resumed, and a few weeks later Dr. Bivin came and sprung me free from a riveting early-morning Clinical Pathology lecture. A tiger cub had been located in, of all places, Alabama! As much as it upset me to miss class, I packed a bag and headed off for a road trip with Dr. Bivin to check out the new prospect.

We drove to the Animal House Zoological Park in Moulton, Alabama, where the owners, Thomas and Caroline Atchison, had offered to donate a four-month-old cub to LSU. In addition to the lions, tigers and bears, we saw cheetahs, camels and countless other exotics.

Finally, after the grand tour, we went into the

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owners’ living room, and met “Stevie.” He was sitting on the couch, and right away we knew he was perfect. Playful, expressive, outgoing, with a handsome face and a great personality. There was a white tiger cub as well, but Stevie was the star of the show. We thanked the Atchison’s, loaded Stevie into a pet carrier, and headed back to Baton Rouge.

We started calling him “Mike” the minute we left the premises.

While arrangements were being finalized for Mike IV at the Baton Rouge Zoo, Mike V took up residence at the veterinary school.

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Now I had two tigers to care for.

We’d have 15 or 20 people at a time gathering in the vet school courtyard or on the front lawn for Mike V’s daily play sessions.

My wife Lisa and 1-year-old daughter, Marie, spent many days putting up with my gloating as I held court and showed off with my new pet. His arrival was the worst-kept secret on campus. He was finally officially introduced at an LSU-Alabama basketball game in late February, 1990. As I recall, he was a clumsy 80 pounds or so at the time. A couple of classmates and I walked him onto the floor of the Maravich Assembly Center at half-time, and got him to chew up a stuffed Alabama elephant, while a young LSU basketball player named Shaquille O’Neal watched. I was also able to take him onto the diamond at Alex Box Stadium for a baseball game, wearing his spiffy new LSU leash and collar. Mike was in great demand for official photo sessions with various other LSU sports teams and campus VIP’s as well. Then, finally, on April 30, 1990, Mike V “took over,” and was officially moved into the tiger cage on campus. The media was there, along with many students and other onlookers. Amid much fanfare and picture-taking, we introduced Mike V to his new home, took him for a dip in the pool, did some interviews with the local news, and generally celebrated the official start of his reign. Once the hype died down some, we loaded Mike IV into his trailer one final time and brought him to the Baton Rouge Zoo, where he spent the rest of his life, finally passing away in March of 1995, at the age of 20.

When I graduated in May of 1990, I passed the torch on to the next lucky student, a nice guy by the name of Rollie Norris, who today practices veterinary medicine in New Orleans. Of course Mike continued to grow, and by the time he reached 250 pounds, the decision was made that, despite his gentle nature, the hands-off policy would have to apply to him now, in the interest of safety. Even if unintentionally, Mike could inflict serious injury to anyone entering his cage. I went back to visit Mike V several times after graduation, while attending LSU football games. Once, in 1997, I tracked down the current vet student care-takers and convinced them to let me tag along, get up close, and take one last ride around the stadium before kick-off. It seemed, from the way he looked at me and sniffed me, that Mike remembered me from the time we’d spent together when he first arrived at LSU. I’d like to think he did. But who knows.

Probably just wishful thinking.

Mike V is gone now. He passed away a few years ago, and Mike VI now resides in the gorgeous new, expanded tiger cage in the shadow of Tiger Stadium. When Mike V died, all of his previous care-takers were given the chance to offer a few thoughts and remembrances to be published in the Vet School newsletter. Just as I’ve been doing in this space for the last 2 months, I was able then to recall some of the best memories of my time at LSU, when I had the privilege of being called “The Tiger Guy.” Really, for a Tiger fan, could there ever be a better job?

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As much as I loved and respected them both, the difference between my 2 years with Mike IV and my 3 months with Mike V was huge.

Mike IV was strictly hands-off. It had always been that way since he’d arrived on campus in 1976 at the age of two. He never was a friendly animal, according to all those who’d had him before me. Mike V, on the other hand, had a naturally playful air about him. And the fact that he was basically raised as a house cat didn’t hurt. I was a care-taker for Mike IV, but Mike V felt every bit like a pet. We’d wrestle, swim in the pool at the tiger cage, throw the football, pounce on each other from behind a bush. It was like having the coolest puppy in the world.

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Welcome to Slidell!

Slidell Newcomer’s Club

by Nancy Baldwin

Opening their arms to the new residents of Slidell is a 300+ member welcoming wagon of fun and friendship, the Slidell Newcomer’s Club! The idea of a Club with a friendly and welcoming attitude was conceived in 1962 by several active Slidell women. This non-profit organization was established when many new families were moving into our community with the need for civic and social activities. Remember, in the 1960’s, Slidell was in the middle of NASA’s lunar landing program. With Michoud in New Orleans East, the NASA complex

in Slidell, and The Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, families across the country were making Slidell their home.

At the first meeting were ladies from the states of Washington, Alabama, California, Texas, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Since that time, the Newcomer’s Club boasts members from all over the world who have settled here either for a short time or for a lifetime. Although membership is generally for women, husbands are included in many of the social activities.

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The Newcomers’ Cooking Club

Newcomer’s has helped ease the transition from another state or country for hundreds of Slidell families. This year, Newcomer’s celebrates its 50th Anniversary of welcoming new residents to the community and providing a new “life” with shared interests and lasting friendships.

In addition to their half-century of welcoming residents to the Slidell community, the Newcomer’s Club will also be celebrating their 35th Annual Mardi Gras Ball in 2013 and the 30th Anniversary of its Annual Arts and Crafts Show, Sell-A-Bration, this October. Wow! Newcomers’ holds a General Meeting/Luncheon the second Wednesday of every month at 10:45am at Pinewood Country Club. The luncheon promises to be an informative meeting with guest speakers, great food, and lots of good company with new friends.

Membership to the Club is affordable for everyone, (especially those who are feeling the financial impact of moving to a new city) only $25 annually. Membership allows you to attend luncheons and join in the Newcomer’s many Interest Groups and Club functions. A newsletter is published monthly to keep everyone informed of current activities and general membership news.

Some of the social activities offered by Newcomer’s are annual picnics, crawfish boils, Halloween parties and Mardi Gras Balls.

Historical items from the Club’s many balls can be seen at the Slidell Museum on First Street.

Newcomers Interest Groups

Pajama clad krewe members at the 2012 Newcomers Ball

Newcomer’s Club also has a long and notable history of giving back to the Slidell community. Dozens of charitable organizations and community outreach programs have been helped by the benevolent ladies of Newcomer’s. Some of these include:

Two of the many reasons for the success of Sell-A-Bration are its FREE admission to the public and that all items at the show are handcrafted - insuring the integrity of a true arts and crafts experience for the vendors and the shoppers.

Book Club

Keep Slidell Beautiful Good Samaritan Ministry food bank Pontchartrain Humane Society Slidell Animal Assistance League Project Christmas Slidell Ladies of Liberty My Girlfriend’s Closet (to benefit Rainbow Childcare) The Caring Center Kids Unlimited Playground K Bar B Youth Ranch Sovereign Grace Church Food Bank Slidell Museum Mardi Gras Exhibit On Saturday and Sunday, October 13 & 14, 2012, the Slidell Newcomer’s premier fundraiser, The Sell-A-Bration Arts & Crafts Show, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with the largest FREE show in the area. Held at Northshore Harbor Center, The Sell-A-Bration Arts and Crafts Show had its beginnings as part of a Tastee Luncheon in 1975. Ladies were asked to bring the recipe of the dish they brought to the Tastee luncheon to create a cookbook for the club. In conjunction with the luncheon, they held an Arts & Crafts show.

The show was brought back and expanded to the Slidell City Auditorium in 1982. By 1989, attendance had grown so much, the show was expanded to a two-day event and attracted crafters from several states. In 2009, the show moved to the Northshore Harbor Center, accommodating 80-100 crafters. The show continues to grow bigger each year.

Newcomers has a wide range of groups to encourage members to make friends and become involved in the community. There is something for everyone!

All of these activities create a great opportunity to get together with others that have the same interests. The first Interest Group was the Garden Club. Now, Slidell Newcomers boasts 28 Interest Groups, including:

Bowling Bridge Bunko Cooking Club Euchre Garden Club Hobbycraft Line Dancing Lunch Bunch For more details, visit

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In Memory of

The Fallen War Heroes of St. Tammany Parish Marine Sgt. Jeffrey Lynn Kirk was a member of the elite Fast Company Anti-Terrorist Security team. At the time of his reenlistment, Sgt. Kirk accepted a position as an instructor at Officer Candidate School. After 9/11, he requested a transfer to ground forces to fight overseas. He was shot during house-clearing efforts in Fallujah in November 2004 and spent the next four weeks recuperating. Sgt. Kirk rejoined his unit in early December and was killed in Al Anbar province of Iraq on December 12, 2004.

From First Sergeant Steven Knox, “This Marine was the benchmark and embodied all the qualities in a Squad Leader that you wanted to give every Marine in your company. This Marine died doing what Marines do, answering the sounds of the guns. When Sergeant Kirk heard the gunfire and that a Marine was down, he went looking for a way into the building from the rear when he was killed. I will never forget this Marine and his tenacious spirit and selfless service to his country.”

Jeff received the “Silver Star” and the Valor in Combat Award, is recipient of 2 Purple Hearts, Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and numerous other awards.

Lance Corporal Justin McLeese of Covington, Louisiana enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Covington High School. He wanted to be a Marine after 9/11 and in his own words, “it is an experience I want in my life”.

From the Bronze Star V Citation: “For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations involving conflict with an opposing force while serving against the enemy...from June to November 2004, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. While conducting complex counterinsurgency operations in Al Karmah, Iraq on 16 September, Lance Corporal McLeese displayed superior dedication to his fellow Marines when he personally led an effort to rescue a Marine trapped under a vehicle. During high intensity urban combat operations in Al Fallujah, Iraq on 11 November, after identifying an insurgent stronghold, his fire team entered the structure, eliminating four enemy combatants. As he searched the bodies for intelligence, an insurgent pretending to be dead jumped up and attempted to shoot Marines in an adjacent room. With great presence of mind, he eliminated the armed insurgent with his shotgun. On 13 November, as he breached a door and entered an enemy fortification, he was hit with a burst of gunfire from insurgents barricaded inside the structure. Despite multiple gunshot wounds, he continued his attack, attempting to throw a grenade in order to eliminate the remaining enemy. Before he could throw the grenade, an improvised explosive device rigged to the house detonated, fatally wounding him. By his zealous initiative, courageous actions, and exceptional dedication to duty, Lance Corporal McLeese gallantly gave his life for his country and reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”

Justin was 19 years old. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star V for Valor in Combat.

His heroism is inspirational.

Robert L. Dusang, of Mandeville, LA, graduated from Mandeville High School in May of 1999. While a student there, he became very active in the Marine Jr. R.O.T.C. program. He was a squad leader in the “Silent Drill” competition and won several awards.

He enlisted in the Army in June of 1999 and was stationed at Fort Polk, La. He was a member of the 1st Squadron, 2nd Army Armored Calvary.

Robert was a Specialist in the U.S. Army and was first deployed to Iraq in May of 2003. He completed his tour of duty which included time in Baghdad and Al Kut, Iraq and was on his way back home. On June 30, 2004, traveling just south of Navistar, the right front tire of the transport truck he was a passenger in blew out. The truck flipped over and Robert was pinned beneath the truck. He suffered a broken neck and massive chest injuries. Robert duSang, 24, was expected home before his birthday on July 22, relatives said. “He was so excited. He couldn’t wait to see his baby girl and hold his wife again,” said duSang’s sister, Jessie Lager, of Mandeville. “He didn’t make it home, but I know he’s at peace.”

Robert was awarded the Bronze Star for his military service as a result of the fatal accident.

U. S. Army Specialist 4, Matthew Christopher Powell of Slidell, LA was deployed to Afghanistan in May 2010 from Fort Campbell KY. Matthew was home on leave in September 2010. His mother says, “He had such a great time. He was struggling with things going on over there but he stood proud as an American soldier. As his leave drew to a close, we drove to the airport on September 21 trying not to cry. Matthew would not let me stay with him at the airport. He told me he had to get his head together to head back to Afghanistan. I left and watched as he walked to the gate. I was so proud of the man he was.” Matthew made it back to Afghanistan safely. Just 3 weeks later, on October 12, 2010, he was riding a military vehicle to get gas and hit an IED. Matthew died from his injuries. He received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Veterans Honor medal and Efficiency Honor Fidelity.

His mother says, “Matthew had so much love in his heart. Everyone loved being around him – he always made people laugh. Matthew touched everyone who knew him with his beautiful smile and personality. We miss him tremendously.

He was a gift from God.”

Over 6500 of our American brothers and sisters have given their lives during the Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn campaigns.

118 of these brave men and women were from Louisiana.

“Poor is the nation without heroes…Shameful is the one, having them,…forgets” - Unknown