Natural Wonders
We would like to thank “Union of Americans” “Reader S3” for sending us the following slide show. The pictures are truly spectacular. ~ Editor
Category: Human Interest
Headlines Tell The Story (September 19 – 25, 2010)
Week Beginning September 19, 2010
At “Union of Americans” we offer a review of some of the previous week’s significant news. This is done by listing headlines of that week. If you would like to view an entire article, simply click on that headline.
Human Events (9/21/2010)
DREAM Act a Nightmare for America
“Acts of courage, valor and willpower have no expiration date…”
On September 20th Army Sgt. Robert Bearden’s ‘acts of courage, valor and willpower’ finally acknowledged after 66 years. In a ceremony held in his honor at Ft. Hood, Army Sgt. Robert Bearden lifted himself from his wheelchair and received 13 medals and badges for heroism that he displayed on and after D-Day. Among the honors he received were the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Prisoner of War.
Sgt. Robert Bearden was with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was the last paratrooper to leave the last drop plane. The outfit did not have the best of luck. They missed their drop zone; one paratrooper got caught up during the jump and even though Sgt. Robert Bearden tried to save him, the man died of a broken neck; some of the regiment drowned in the very river they were assigned to guard; Bearden had a bullet go through his fingers; and another soldier lost his nose. On ‘D-Day-plus two’ Bearden was captured and held as a prisoner of war until January 31, 1945.
For more details about Sgt. Robert Bearden’s ‘acts of courage, valor and willpower’ simply click on D-Day Paratrooper, 87, Saluted at Fort Hood.
Bearden proudly wore a uniform like the one he wore on D-Day complete with brown combat boots. He even had an American flag with 48 stars on it. Maj. Gen. William Grimsley presented the 13 medals and badges in front of an audience of 100.
Maj. Gen. William Grimsley stated during the ceremony “…acts of courage, valor and willpower have no expiration date, and that’s why we’re proud to be able to do this.”
The Advisors of “Union of Americans” full agree with that sentiment. We would like to extend our thanks, appreciation and gratitude to Sgt. Robert Bearden and all who have served America. It is through your dedicated patriotism, unselfish acts and heroic deeds that America is the great nation it is. ~ Editor
42 Years to “Do the Right Thing”
President Obama has finally said something that we feel all Americans can agree with. He stated, “…it’s never to late to do the right thing.” President Obama was awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger.
The ceremony finally answered the questions of U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger’s children as to how their father died on March 11, 1968. They had been told that he had died in a helicopter accident while serving our country. To them he has always been a hero. Now, 42 years later, they know that he is a hero’s hero.
Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger died by enemy fire after saving the lives of three comrades in Laos. He single-handedly held off the North Vietnamese while helping to evacuate wounded comrades after their base on a remote Laotian mountain. The next morning after helping three wounded comrades into rescue slings, he was fatally wounded by enemy ground fire.
For 42 years his wife and children were not allowed to know of the fact that he gave his life so that others could live because the mission was “Top Secret”. But they always knew that he died “doing his job” as he considered serving our country.
To read more about the ceremony and to view a short video of President Obama presenting the award simply click on Obama Awards Medal of Honor Posthumously.
On behalf of all the “Union of Americans” “Patriots” we would like to “do the right thing” and thank Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger and all of the other unsung heroes for serving our country. It is only by their acts that the American People can be safe, secure and look forward to a bright future. ~ Editor
Strength Forged Through Sacrifice. Never Forget
The commissioning of USS NEW YORK (LPD-21) on November 7, 2009 was the first milestone in USS NEW YORK’s entry into the United States Navy fleet. The USS NEW YORK (LPD-21) has a special mission in the war on terror.
From flight deck to crew quarters, the LPD of the 21st century is state-of-the-art in design and technology, superseding four older classes of amphibious landing craft. She is a San Antonio-class LPD (Landing Platform, Dock) warship. The lead ship in the LPD series, USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD-17), was followed into the Navy fleet by USS NEW ORLEANS (LPD-18), USS MESA VERDE (LPD-19), USS GREEN BAY (LPD-20) and USS SAN DIEGO (LPD-22).
She is one of three new amphibious assault ships named after places in three states where more than 3,000 people were murdered in the infamous terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The other two: USS ARLINGTON (LPD-24) named for the Virginia county in which the Pentagon is located, and the USS SOMERSET (LPD-25) named for the Pennsylvania county where American Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field.
All three ships will go to sea with steel in their bows that was salvaged and re-formed from all three terrorist attack sites: LPD-21’s from the World Trade Center, LPD-24’s from the Pentagon building’s structural girders and LPD-25’s from the meltdown of a crane used to excavate the airliner wreckage. All three ships embody the strength and determination of the people of the United States: to recover, to rally, and to take the fight to the enemy.
In fact, the USS New York (LPD-21) is the latest in a long line of warships named for the state and city of New York. Compared to previous USS NEW YORKs, each of these modern-day ships is a swift and agile giant. The LPD-21, for example, cruises significantly faster and her waterline is 111 feet longer than the long-ago decommissioned battleship USS NEW YORK (BB-34).
As force-projection platforms, USS NEW YORK and her sister LPDs are designed and equipped to operate with maximum stealth and tactical flexibility. Her components include…
- The V-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft
- Three types of helicopters
- 14 expeditionary fighting vehicles (EFVs) and/or several air-cushioned landing craft (LCACs) for across-the-beach deployments of U.S. Marine Corps and Special Forces personnel.
Special features of USS NEW YORK (LPD-21):
- Her bow stem includes seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center’s twin towers
- Construction with World Trade Center steel encouraged by Governor George Pataki of New York State and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City
- Name given by then Secretary of the Navy Gordon England
- Her keel was laid in August 2004
- When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, 1,200 shipyard workers opted to keep on working.
- She was christened at Northrop Grumman’s Avondale, Louisiana shipyard on March 1, 2008
- Ship’s motto: ‘Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget.’
- Seven rays of sunlight signify the crown atop the Statue of Liberty and the seven seas.
- Central focus placed on the Twin Towers and the bow of the ship, forged from Twin Towers steel.
- Breastplate of the phoenix bears the colors of first responders from the New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
- Blood drops represent the fallen.
- Three stars for those earned by the battleship USS NEW YORK (BB34) in World War II at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and North Africa.
Headlines Tell The Story (September 12 – 18, 2010)
At “Union of Americans” we offer a review of some of the previous week’s significant news. This is done by listing headlines of that week. If you would like to view an entire article, simply click on that headline.
Wall Street Journal (9/16/10)
Primaries Stoke Turmoil
31 Democrats Rebel on Taxes as Tea Party Gaines Pose Dilemma for GOP Leaders
Wall Street Journal (9/15/2010)
Obstacle to Deficit Cutting: A Nation on Entitlements
Wall Street Journal (9/15/2010)
Japan Pushes Down Yen
Wall Street Journal (9/15/10)
Tea Party Claims Big Win
Upstart Candidate Beats GOP-Backed Congressman In Delaware Senate Primary
Wall Street Journal (9/14/2010)
Bank Rules Win Muted Praise
Wall Street Journal (9/14/2010)
Cuba to Cut State Workers In Tilt Toward Free Market
Wall Street Journal (9/14/2010)
AIG Plots End to U.S. Aid
Headlines Tell The Story (September 5 – 11, 2010)
At “Union of Americans” we offer a review of some of the previous week’s significant news. This is done by listing headlines of that week. If you would like to view an entire article, simply click on that headline.
Wall Street Journal (9/11/2010)
Tough Bank Rules Coming
Wall Street Journal (9/11/2010)
Elite Flee Drug War in Mexico’s No. 3 City
Wall Street Journal (9/10/2010)
Karzai Divides Afghanistan In Reaching Out to Taliban
Wall Street Journal (9/09/2010)
Obama Launches Fall Fight
Frames Midterm Votes as Battle Over Economy; Republicans Fire Back Rival Proposals
Human Events (9/06/2010)
Why Can’t Obama Get Campaign Law Straight?
Human Events (9/06/2010)
Enforcing Immigration Laws Would Save Taxpayers Millions
Labor Day
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”
But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.
Courtesy of: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm
If You’re In Pursuit of the Atlantic Salmon
We wish to congratulate Peter C. Power on his creation of the “Atlantic Salmon Reserve”. The “Reserve” is located on the Kola Peninsula in Russia. It’s an area that I have visited in the past and consider to be among the best fly fishing waters available to American anglers.
My experience in the area goes back some 10 years when the Peninsula was first being developed. It has since become one of the top rivers for those pursuing salmo solar, the Atlantic Salmon.
We urge all those who have spent hours in pursuit of the Atlantic Salmon to check his website, http://www.kharlovka.com to get a picture of the river and the angling to be had. ~ dhb
National Aviation Day
In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed August 19 to be National Aviation Day. The day coincides with the birthday of Orville Wright, who piloted the Wright Flyer. He and his brother Wilbur are given credit for building the world’s first successful airplane with aircraft controls that enabled them to steer the plane. Orville Wright made the first flight for 12 seconds and 120 feet around the site of Wright Brothers National Memorial on December 17, 1903. They were not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft but they are the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed wing flight possible. The Wright brothers’ status as inventors of the airplane has been an issue of debate, particularly as there were competing claims regarding other early aviators. Another national observation in the United States is Wright Brothers Day on December 17 each year.
Each year the president may issue a proclamation to: designate August 19 as National Aviation Day; call on government officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on the day; and invite people living in the United States to observe the day with appropriate exercises to further stimulate interest in aviation in the United States.
Courtesy of TimeAndDate.com
