Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

9 April 2010
Washington (KRG.org) – The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq’s Representative to the United States, Qubad Talabani addressed the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery commemorating Iraq Liberation Day. Members of American and Iraqi forces, including members of the Peshmerga, attended the event, alongside veterans and family of those soldiers who have fallen in support of Iraq’s freedom.

“On this day, it is appropriate and right for us to commemorate the sacrifices made to liberate Iraq from decades of brutal tyranny under Saddam Hussein,” said Mr. Talabani. “So to be absolutely clear: Iraq thanks you. I thank you. And the people of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, most of all, thank you.”

During the ceremony, members of American and Iraqi forces laid wreaths at the joint gravesite of fallen soldiers from the U.S. and Iraq. Ms. Hayyam Sami Mahdi Al-Shather and Ms. Debra Argel-Bastian, whose husband and son respectively are buried at the site, attended and spoke at the event. Iraqi Air force Captain Ali Abbas Rubaie, Ms. Al-Shathers deceased husband is the only Iraqi buried at Arlington Cemetery.

Other speakers included General Nasier Arkan Abadi, Vice Chief of Staff, Iraqi Joint Forces of the Republic of Iraq; U.S. Brigadier General Judd Lyons, Adjutant General of Nebraska; and Ms. Wendy Hoffman, National President of Blue Star Mothers of America.

“Today, we must thank those who have helped us get to where we are,” Mr. Talabani said. “Because although we face complicated political problems, the majority of the political forces and people who guide Iraqi society want to live in peace. They want to live up to the promise that American forces have given us.”

The third annual Universal Remembrance Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery ended with a reading of a keynote address from KRG Minister for Peshmerga Affairs by Representative Talabani.


Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

National Veterans Day Observance

Pray instead of Protest

Dear Editor,

A few weeks ago, several groups of people banded together to “protest” the death of 4,000 of our soldiers in the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. For several weeks beforehand they watched as the numbers crept up, looking for the death that would signal the symbolic turn to 4,000.

For their protest march, which actually comprised a number of different grievances all gathered for one rally and parade, they placed little crosses in the ground to symbolize each of those lost protecting our freedom.

We support their right to gather, their right to discuss and their right to disagree; after all, it is our sons and daughters who are fighting in every corner of the globe so that they can have that right. What we find unacceptable is the group’s hijacking of our children’s service and memories to promote their protest, a protest that most of us strongly disagree with. Do they have the permission from each of the families of the fallen to use their child’s name and memory? Do they really believe that those families and those sons and daughters want their sacrifices used for propaganda that cheapens what they have given?

No one grieves more than a mother for a child who has made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, and no one has the right to cheapen or waste that sacrifice by using the deaths of our children for their propaganda. Our children are our blessings, our pride and our joy. We are the Blue Star Mothers, the proud mothers of children who have volunteered to serve our country. We have our shared memories of raising our children, we pray for them daily no matter where they are. We are the ones who wait for phone calls, letters and e-mails, and who rush to locations across the country to welcome them home, whether it is safely into our arms, for healing in a hospital or to lay them gently in the ground.

The men and women who serve are not a tool for protests. They are not a number to be discussed and argued over. They are serving a noble purpose. Those who say they support the troops but disagree with the war should change their tactics. Our children will come home when the job is done. Let’s support them to get the job done. Instead of rallies of protest, why not gather cards and letters of support, simple but necessary supplies that our troops need, food items, etc., and bring them to Blue Star Moms to send overseas. Instead of protesting on a corner, hold a car wash and use the money to purchase needed equipment in a rehab facility. Instead of signs of protest, fly signs reminding people of what you are grateful for that our country offers — that will stop traffic! Look for the similarities, not always the differences, that make us the United States of America.

Fly your flag, celebrate that all of us in America have the freedom to choose, and then, please pray for our children who have chosen to defend the freedom for all of us.

Grand Valley Blue Star Mothers, Colorado Chapter #4
Theresa Bloom,
Wendy Hoffman,
Ricki Gavell,
Karol Feltman,
Julie Dominguez,
Patricia Wheeler,
Anne Marie Boden,
Suzanne Daniels,
Sheila Decocq,
Robin Wade,
Juli Ingram,
Kathy Gosselin

Grand Junction Free Press - Letters to the Editor: "Pray instead of protest"

See also Mothers of Veterans take Exception to Protests

Anti-war Protestors take to Grand Junction streets and park

"Anti-war Protestors take to Grand Junction streets and park

Posted: March 30, 2008 05:12 PM MDT
Updated: March 30, 2008 05:12 PM MDT"


BY CRYSTAL COSTA
Sunday night, about one hundred anti-war protestors marched in Grand Junction. They left Lincoln Park at about 4:00.
They made their way to protest in front of the Capco Incorporated Building. That's the company who the protestors say, locally manufactures equipment and supplies being used in the Iraq War. They say they want to shine a light on companies that are "making money while blood flows in Iraq."
Before the protestors left to march, they spent the afternoon at Lincoln Park. Over 100 people were there to listen to Iraq War Veterans speak. They say they wanted their message heard loud and clear, demanding an end to the war.
KJCT8.com - Grand Junction, Montrose - Weather, News, Sports Anti-war Protestors take to Grand Junction streets and park:

Climbing over Skeletons and Shadows

My hardest decision on posting this seems to be what blog to put it on. While it would be great for our Blue Star Mothers chapter blog it is also one of those "lets not make it worse" scenarios.

Let me start by boldly stating that Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc has been around for 65 years. We were chartered by congress in 1960. Grand Valley Blue Star Mothers, the local Grand Junction chapter (Colorado #3) was chartered in November of 2007. Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc, currently has a membership base of approximately 4500 members (moms) nationwide. We are a Veterans Service Organization that is authorized by the U.S. Code: Title 36; Section 943, as of January 26, 1998.

We are NOT involved with Homefront Heroes. Homefront Heroes was founded in 2002 by founder and director Phyllis Derby in Grand Junction. The community of Grand Junction, and other residents of the State, welcomed the opportunity to be able to support the troops through a local organization. That is, until it soured and left a bad taste for many.

Fast forward to the chartering of Colorado Chapter 3 in November of 2007. I was previously a member of New Mexico chapter 1 where I was actively involved and met dozens of Blue Star Moms at convention in Albuquerque in the summer of 2007. When I learned we would be moving to Grand Junction I looked for a local chapter and when I found there still wasn't one I set the chartering process into motion. I wrote into the local paper, told the national membership chair of my plans and contacted several charitable organizations on the internet that seemed to have a local affiliation. With 5 other moms we were granted a charter on Nov 23rd, 2007. We now have 17 members and 5 associates.

Our first 'event' was the veteran's day parade in November and we were greeted with what I considered somewhat mixed emotion. It was my first knowledge of the former Homefront Heroes and I was told there had been a 'few' problems and it no longer existed. Some comments suggested our timing might be good because the community still had a desire to give while others thought we had a huge obstacle to overcome. It turns out the latter might have been closer to the truth.

At subsequent events and efforts at garnering community support I seemed to hear the previous organizations name more than I really needed to. I also heard many negative comments that seemed to group us together. We are NOT a resurrection -- we are NOT the same group with a new name. As one enlightened citizen suggested, we are NOT a 'fly by night' charity. As the days progressed so did the stories I heard about what 'had reallly happened' and the more confused I got. The stories ran the gamut of embezzlement by the founder to storage lockers of rotted goods that were never sent to the troops as believed. I was told they were still operating underground (interesting scenario for a non-profit)and I was told they were disbanded and their 501(c)3 status had been revoked.

After a recent event at the mall where I was verbally attacked for a variety of incidents and happenings I have no knowledge of I decided to try and come up with a solution. It was depressing to host a large event at the mall and be shunned by over 50% of the shoppers and to leave with our donation baskets and cups close to empty. Many of the mall patrons even shied away from signing a valentine. I also decided to see what the real story was on the defunct Homefront Heroes.

An aquaintance confided that she avoided attending larger events with us because of her prior involvement with Homefront Heroes but she hasn't been a large source of information. She has attended events in the shadows and passed out steakhouse gift cards that were "from Homefront Heroes but I don't say so" I suggested they be donated to Blue Star Mothers and was told the organization was thriving on the eastern slope. I suggested evrything from this side go over there to make a clean break for the community. She mentioned they were still hoping to revive it and that audits had been done and were available for viewing.

A check on the Colorado State website showed the name is still in use and registered but there is no record of State charities registration. A further check on the IRS form 78 shows the 501(c)3 status is not in effect as of Dec 2007.

An internet search on Homefront Heroes turned up some interesting facts. For one thing, they still claim to be in operation in Grand Junction although the rumors of them being underground might have a basis in reality. The website is not homefront heroes but militarysupportgroup .com . They are still selling magnets, they are still accepting donations, and they still have a full board of directors for Grand Junction. A second website procalims them to be somehow involved with A local check cashing store http://www.cashnowcolorado.com/homefront.html although on a phone call to one of the offices I was told 'We don't have a website' and when I gave her the URL she seemed quite shocked and said she was going to see that it was taken down immediately.

Then I received a call from a girl scout troop who had seen us on the news and want very much to be able to donate cookies to the troops again and asked would we work with them. I felt good but was taken aback when asked if we needed them to box them and pay the postage as well so they wouldn't rot in storage. My explaining that we were scrambling to have enough items to fill packages and storage was the least of our concerns were met with her stories of previous negative publicity with Homefront Heroes.

Again I searched not only through Google and Yahoo but also through the online archives of the Free Press. I found several stories of the growth of Homefront Heroes, of the large cookie campaigns and of the communities donations to the Steakhouse gift cards. Nothing negative appeared anywhere in the archives. It seemed I was to stay in the dark until I made one more internet search through the Sentinel's archives. I found it listed on a page of the top stories of the year but a click on the link informed me the story had been removed. The headline, however, divulged a name -- a different name than I had encountered in my research of Homefront Heroes.

I then did a search on the name Sarah Kenney and found probably more than I wanted to know. The original story from the news article is included at http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/002191.html and is there through the cuortesy of Google cache. For any who do not know, web pages remain in storage in a cache for years after they are deleted. The story is a tragic tale of a young soldier who jumped in front of a young Iraqi girl to save her from a bullet and was killed leaving his pregnant wife and family behind. Homefront Heroes had submitted the press release, complete with photos to the Sentinal and were raising money for the bereaved widow and her family. The story was a fraud.

More details can be found in the write up by the mudville gazette, including other facts they gleaned from the sentinel before they were deleted. The involvement of Homefront Heroes is fuzzy but questionable. The story itself had too many verifiable details to have been submitted without verification. One would also have to question the Sentinel. In fact it had too many storybook characteristics to be accepted at face value but it was -- and it was published and the community rallied in support. However it did run -- and was a bogus story for apparently illicit purposes -- and has left Blue Star Mothers of the Grand Valley with a hurdle to climb -- but climb it we will!

A more complete article, also from caches of the Sentinel's archives can be seen here. And the Free Press did indeed have coverage, in fact they did plenty of investigating to help uncover the scam. A report on this is in the Vail Daily

Update 2/9/08
This article covers some of the other comments we have been confronted
with. I gather Homefront Heroes was involved in more than one episode of
negative publicity.
an excerpt... "Huffman and fellow ex-board member Tom Logsdon
spoke with reporters in a press conference called by the former board shortly
after 11 a.m. — held in front of the Grand Junction Police Department at the end
of interviews they had with police that started at 10 a.m. Huffman said herself,
Logsdon and his wife, Sherry, and Carrie Harmeyer presented “written and verbal”
financial information to Grand Junction Police Lt. Greg Assenmacher and Chief
District Attorney’s Investigator Gil Stone." An article is in the GJ Free
Press archives.

Another Update........ More Details on the Junction Daily Blog

Parade of Lights

Despite winds gusting over 30 mph, biting horizontal sleet and winter storm warnings in effect -- we assembled the float and (did I mention the winds) after a delayed start made it through the parade in tact -- well, mostly.

Here is a photo of the Grand Valley Blue Star Moms float in the Parade of Lights.

Stop before you gripe

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - C.S. Lewis

Michelle Malkin » Stop before you gripe: "My column this week reflects on pain, compassion, gratitude, and some simple Thanksgiving advice. Feel free to share your favorite Thanksgiving traditions, recipes, and prayers here. I’m making a Thanksgiving tree with my kids. We trace their hands on colored construction paper, write down the things they’re thankful for, and tape up the tree and the hand leaves in the dining room. My kids are my greatest blessing."

Click on the heading above to read the entire column and information on the
Johnson family -- a family that has endured the worst -- from severe head
injuries in an IED attack to the loss of lives in a car crash.

I am that woman

" I AM THE WOMAN

I'm the woman standing behind you in line at the grocery store, eyeing the newest Support Our Troops magnet. The look on my face is unworried but my thoughts are miles away on some military base I've never seen.

I'm the woman in the next car with the windows rolled up. The radio is playing "My Wish". But you can't hear it because you're talking to a family member or friend on your cell phone. You see the U.S. Armed Forces sticker on the back window of my car but you don't know that by the end of that song I am fighting back tears and missing my baby boy.

I'm the woman who visits the Air Military One Source web site at odd hours of the day and night to find some kind of comfort for that lost feeling that has been a part of my life everyday since my son left for basic training.

I'm the woman who has fought an inner battle, trying to accept the path that the son I love has chosen.

I am the woman who said a tearful "good-bye" to a boy on his way to join the Army.

I am the woman who knows that her boy is now a man.

I am the woman who spends hours on the Internet learning everything she can about the Military and the life that her son has chosen.

I am the woman who finds herself crying and not really knowing why.

I am the woman who looks at the calendar to see how many days must pass before her son comes home on leave.

I'm the woman who swells with pride every time she sees her son standing tall and proud in his uniform.

I am the woman who cried real tears of pride and joy on the day her son graduated.I'm the one who spots a US Military sticker, license plate, or flag and feels some sort of connection with its owner, knowing that I'm not alone in this bittersweet situation.

I am the woman who carries her cell phone with her everywhere she goes.

I am the woman who is proud every time that cell phone rings and it is her son taking time out of his new life to say "I love you Mom."

I am the woman who tries her hardest to go about her everyday life.

I am the woman secure in the knowledge that she has raised an awesome son.

I am the woman who has found a new relationship with God.

I am the woman who hates going to bed at night while her son is not in his room but rather in a JSS many miles from home.

I am the woman who tries not to miss her son, the woman who tries not to cry whenever she hears his name or even the mention of a soldier.

I am the woman with a new found love for her country and its flag.

I am the woman who now cries when she hears the National Anthem.

I am the woman that is embarrassed that she didn't "get it" until her son took his oath to serve our country.

I am the woman who wears her Blue Star Mother pin with pride…everyday… because her son is in the United States Armed Forces …everyday.

I am the woman with a small red and white banner with a blue star in the middle of her front window.

I am the woman who never wants to cover the blue star with a gold one.

I am the woman who was terrified when her son was sent off to war.

I am many things.A mother, A wife, A daughter, A sister, A friend

But now, I am also the proud mother of a Soldier.

I did not compose this, nor do I know who did. It arrived as an email
forward and had several edits and crossovers. I have cleaned up some of the
typos and present it here -- because I am that woman.

"From a Canadian Cadet to an American Soldier: I am that Woman:

Home for a Visit

On Monday, after a full day of waiting on rescheduled flights, Dallas finally arrived at the airport in Albuquerque. We made it back to Farmington just after midnight and were surprised by an awesome decorating job on the deck by the Blue Star Mom's. Tuesday evening the Blue Star Mother's and several other friends dropped by for cake and a huge welcome home.

Handled with Care

"by Blue Star Moms


Mother forms Preble County branch of organization that helps provide for soldiers
BY MICHELLE MANCHIR
STAFF WRITER

Jayne Jacklin had her heart broken. Then she had a heart attack.
Just two days after the Eaton, Ohio, resident found out her only child, Kevin, 22, was being deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division to Iraq last December, her heart couldn't handle the stress.

'My son is my life,' she said.
Jacklin, a case worker for Children's Services in Preble County, recovered with the help of the Preble County chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America Inc.
The national not-for-profit organization was first formed during World War II, when women were rallied to volunteer and work as they had never in U.S. history. The organization provides support for active duty service personnel and assists veterans' organizations.'"

more...
Handled with Care:

Blue Star Mothers Convention

65th Annual Convention, Albuquerque, NM

Unlike conventions where its all fun and games the BSM convention is all about business -- and an opportunity for delegates from all over the nation to assemble and have elections, determine by-laws, etc.

There were great reports from some of the chapters and many of the committees. We had speakers from the military and the VA.

And -- there was even a little fun and games. On Big Dipper night we got our chance to play. I'm the Rosie on the left -- there were quite a few of us there. In the second photo are all the members from our chapter (Farmington, Four Corners, NM Chapter 1) that attended convention. We did a USO show for Big Dipper.

Blue Star Mom's send love to U.S. Troops

Photo by Terry Faust Main Story: "Blue Star Moms send care packages laced with love to U.S. troops abroad"


BY JAN WILLMS

Serving in Afghanistan or Iraq can be a challenging task these days.But that burden can be somewhat lightened for a young man or woman in the military when it feels like a dozen mothers are sending love from home to each service member.That description of the Blue Star Moms, a Saint Paul branch of the Blue Star Mothers of America, was recently offered by Army Staff Sergeant (SSG) William “Jesse” Kelley, 3rd Special Force Group Airborne, US Army.His mother, Pattie Kelley, joined the Blue Star Moms, a group of mothers who have a child currently serving or who has served in any branch of the military. “Finding and joining the Blue Star Moms has had a definite and obvious positive effect on my mother and her well being,” Sgt. Kelley said. “The same way military members understand and can be sympathetic to military issues other service members have, so can military moms understand each other in unique ways and rely on one another for support.”Pattie agreed. “It’s just been a lifesaver,” she said.Her son, Jesse, joined the military five years ago and is in the active army branch. After basic training, he went to Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas, which provides intelligence training for all branches. He attended airborne school, learning to “jump out of a perfectly good plane,” as his mother puts it. He spent a year in Korea, and then was at FT. Briggs, NC, his home base. He became attached to the 3rd Special Force Group Airborne and found out he was going to Afghanistan.When she knew he was going on his first deployment, Pattie found out about the Blue Star Moms and attended some meetings in north Minneapolis. Less than a year ago, Cindy McLean started a chapter in Saint Paul.“We meet the first Tuesday of each month,” said Pattie, who serves as chaplain and is on the board for the Saint Paul chapter. She said anyone can also send out an e-mail saying they need to talk, and any members who can will get together and provide support.Support is the primary benefit the group has to offer.“Nobody knows what you’re going through more than another mom,” Pattie said. “My family is so supportive, as are friends, but nobody knows like another mom. They are experiencing exactly the same thing.”

More...:

BSM Raffle Tickets