Jumping Without A Chute

16 Years Ago Today

Long time readers of this blog know that I post this every year and I will continue to do so in order that we never forget. On October 3, 1993 these brave men gave their lives in Mogadishu, Somalia. Some of you have seen the movie "Blackhawk Down", that was their story. However, it is important that we remember them and the fact that they weren't characters in a movie created by some imaginative screenwriter. They were real people, with families, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Honor their memories and sacrifice.

3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regt.
SGT James Joyce
SGT Lorenzo Ruiz
SGT Dominick Pilla
CPL James Cavaco
CPL James Smith
PFC Richard Kowalewski

160th SOAR
CW4 Raymond Frank
CW4 Clifton Wolcott
CW3 Donovan Briley
SSG William Cleveland
SSG Thomas Field

1st SFOD-D (Delta)
MSG Gary Gordon (MOH)
SFC Randy Shughart (MOH)
MSG Timothy Martin
SFC Earl Fillmore
SFC Matthew Rierson
SSG Daniel Busch

10th Mountain Div.
SGT Cornell Houston
PFC James Martin

3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regt.
SGT James Joyce
SGT Lorenzo Ruiz
SGT Dominick Pilla
CPL James Cavaco
CPL James Smith
PFC Richard Kowalewski

160th SOAR
CW4 Raymond Frank
CW4 Clifton Wolcott
CW3 Donovan Briley
SSG William Cleveland
SSG Thomas Field

1st SFOD-D (Delta)
MSG Gary Gordon (MOH)
SFC Randy Shughart (MOH)
MSG Timothy Martin
SFC Earl Fillmore
SFC Matthew Rierson
SSG Daniel Busch

10th Mountain Div.
SGT Cornell Houston
PFC James Martin

3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regt.
SGT James Joyce
SGT Lorenzo Ruiz
SGT Dominick Pilla
CPL James Cavaco
CPL James Smith
PFC Richard Kowalewski

160th SOAR
CW4 Raymond Frank
CW4 Clifton Wolcott
CW3 Donovan Briley
SSG William Cleveland
SSG Thomas Field

1st SFOD-D (Delta)
MSG Gary Gordon (MOH)
SFC Randy Shughart (MOH)
MSG Timothy Martin
SFC Earl Fillmore
SFC Matthew Rierson
SSG Daniel Busch

10th Mountain Div.
SGT Cornell Houston
PFC James Martin

Memorial Day

Good Friday

I see His Blood Upon the Rose

I see his blood upon the rose And in the stars the glory of his eyes, His body gleams amid eternal snows, His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower; The thunder and the singing of the birds Are but his voice—and carven by his power Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn, His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea, His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn, His cross is every tree.

-Joseph Mary Plunkett

My Lent

   Will last longer than 40 days. Not unlike Christ, I am in the wilderness away from those I love and hold dear. The reason for this is the Army which has sent me to Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri for what will be five months of training as an Engineer Officer.

   This post is one of the most isolated in the Army and perhaps, that is appropriate considering the season that is upon us. The surrounding area, time available, and absence of most distractions presents a unique opportunity for discernment and spritiual growth. Lessons already learned include the fact that I have grown beyond whoever it is I once was. My family is the focus of my life, their absence is a source of pain, pain that hopefully will also purify and bring into greater focus my love for and responsibility to my wife and children.

   So now I turn my time to prayer, discernment, internal development, and spending time with my family in whatever way I am able. A time of prayer and purification awaits.

At Fort Benning

For BOLC II, (Basic Officer Leader Course [part] II.) Will post my mailing address when I get it for those who would like to send cards and letters, (keep it clean.) Being separated from my family for 7 months will seem like an eternity, your thoughts and prayers for all of us would be especially appreciated,

Rest In Peace: Father Richard John Neuhaus

From CNA

New York, Jan 8, 2009 (CNA).- Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, the famous convert to Catholicism and editor of the journal First Things passed away this morning in New York at 9:30 a.m. EST.

CNA was informed of Fr. Neuhaus’ death through an announcement from George Weigel who stated, "Father Richard John Neuhaus was called home to the house of the Father at about 09:30 EST today. May God grant him the reward of his labors, and give consolation and peace to those who loved him and who will carry on his work."

Continue reading the story

  Cardinal Dulles and Fr. Neuhaus are home, while we mourn their passing, we rejoice in their reward.

Please Pray For Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

From Raymond Arroyo's Blog:

I don't often ask for favors, but I am hoping that you can oblige me on this one. My friend (and frequent on air co-host) Father Richard John Neuhaus is very ill and could use your prayers. I ask you to remember him in prayer as we begin this new year. Here is a bit of a note that Jody Bottum, the editor of First Things was good enough to send my way:

"Fr. Neuhaus is in the hospital here in New York. Over Thanksgiving, he was diagnosed with a serious cancer. The long-term prognosis for this particular cancer is not good, but it is not hopeless, either, and there is a possibility that it will respond to the recommended out-patient chemotherapy treatment.

Unfortunately, over Christmas, he was taken dangerously ill with what seems to be a systemic infection that has left him very weak. Entering the hospital the day after Christmas, he was sedated to lower an elevated heart rate and treatment was begun for the infection. Over the last few days, he has shown some signs of improvement, and there is a reasonable expectation that he will recover from this present illness—sufficiently, we hope, that he will be able to begin the chemotherapy for the cancer."

I saw Father Neuhaus in New York after Thanksgiving, following his last hospital stay. He was weakened but in great spirits. Surrounded by his community, a brandy in one hand, he held forth on an array of subjects with his usual wit and candor. There is no one inside or outside of the Church like him. I ask all of you to pray for his recovery and that he may be granted the strength to return to the work he so loves--the work we so need him to continue. Thank you, Raymond

***UPDATE***1/7/08 Father Richard's situation is apparently dire at this hour (12:45 Eastern). Your prayers are truly needed now.

Happy New Year

This one begins far more placidly and happily than the last one. I wish you all health and happiness for 2009.

Rest In Peace: Avery Cardinal Dulles

   Avery Cardinal Dulles, one of the the brightest theological lights in the North American firmament, (and a symbol of hope for the eventual rebirth of the Jesuit Order), has died. He passed away on Saturday.  Pope John Paul II, elevated then Father Dulles to the rank of Cardinal in 2001. Like Cardinal Newman before him, he served as an example to the world of how the truth of the Catholic Faith called great minds of other faiths to itself through the Truth of the Gospel.

Fratres has an excellent overiew of his career here.

29 Years Ago

Fulton J. Sheen returned home. If you look to the left of the page, you can read about the impact of his words and writing on my reversion. I often pray for more Bishops like Archbishop Sheen to defend the Church and The Faith.  Sadly, there are more Gumbletons, Trautmans, Mahonys, and Lynchs than there are Sheens. Chaput, Burke, and others are often outnumbered by the lukewarm and cowardly who mistake moral minauderie for ministry.

   Fr. Benedict Groeschel once quoted his grandmother who said, "We get the Priests we deserve." Let us Ora et Labora, pray and work, to deserve more Archbishop Sheens.

Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Tui, Jesus
Sancta Maria
Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae
Amen.

Rest In Peace: CW5 Randy Niedt

   Today I attended the funeral for CW5 Randy Niedt, the Command Chief Warrant Officer for the state of  New Jersey. CW5 Niedt passed away suddenly last Tuesday, he was 47. He is survived by his wife, COL Roberta Niedt and their two daughters.

   Too often during war do we forget that soldiers still die off of the battlefield. While the 50th IBCT is deployed in Iraq, Chief Niedt worked constantly to ensure that the families of those deployed soldiers were taken care of; a job that required as much skill and finesse as a division commander in the Green Zone. Chief Niedt is not a casualty of OIF but, the soldiers of the NJARNG have lost an ally as valuable as their battle buddy. He will be missed.

   Requiem aeternam dona eio Domine, et lux perpetuam luceat eio.

One Year Ago Today

At 7:09 p.m., we welcomed into the world and into our lives our daughter Gianna. We are blessed by her presence and I am doubly blessed to have two wonderful daughters in my life. In addition, she shares a birthday with a woman who in addition to being a wonderful wife and mother, is also a gifted poet and voice for the beauty that is the true soul of the Iranian people, Sheema Kalbasi. I wish them both a Happy Birthday!

Veteran's Day 2008

The following are the remarks I made today at the Franklin, NJ Township Veterans Day Commemoration:

   Thank you very much Mayor Levine, on behalf of MG Glenn K. Reith, the Adjutant General for the State of New Jersey and on behalf of the over 6,000 members of the National Guard of the State of New Jersey, thank you for the opportunity to address you and share in this commemoration today.

  Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow veterans, 90 years ago today at the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day, of the 11^th month across Europe, the guns fell silent.  The horror that was World War I was over. It saw 20 million dead at its conclusion. At least the same number bore physical wounds and the millions who returned home sometimes carried wounds unseen.

It was in honor of them and of the conclusion of what was known as “The War to End All Wars”, that this day was originally set aside as a day of solemn remembrance.

21 years later, World War II soon put an end to the idea of a War to End All Wars but, the day of commemoration and remembrance remained and still remains. A day where we honor all those who serve and who have served.  I am honored to speak to you today and consider it a profound privilege to stand in the presence of warriors who have served our nation in time of peace and peril.

   What is it that sets a veteran apart? How many times have you walked by someone who served? Probably more than you will ever know. There is no way to identify a veteran on sight. Often they are the most physically unremarkable of people. They are short or tall, thin or, well not so thin, they are of every complexion, creed, race, and ethnicity in creation. They come from all economic, social, and educational backgrounds. No one group has the market cornered on service to our nation. They are usually not professional athletes, or great artists, or musicians, they shy away from celebrity. 

   No, there is no way to see someone and know that they are a veteran and yet they still stand apart. Why? We could spend years applying the greatest minds to this effort, Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, even Dr. Seuss, I am sure all would venture a theory. Why do they do it? What makes them different?  The answer is quite simple and was summed up by an unknown author who said:

“A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check Made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor”

The veterans who stand before you today, and those no longer with us, stepped forward. Whether of their own volition or at another point, courtesy of their friends and neighbors and the local draft board does not matter. They stepped forward despite risk, despite the hardship and delays that occurred in their own lives, despite the sometime prevailing opinion of the day which embraced an unhealthy and narcissistic love of self at the expense of neighbor and nation, despite all these things, they stepped forward.

Today, they step forward so that we may honor them; not with fleeting mementos that wither and die like the laurel wreaths given by the Greeks nor should they be honored with sales on cars and clothes and other things that fill up our newspapers and televisions in the weeks prior to this day. We honor them with humble gratitude for their sacrifice and their example.

   Not all are called to serve, and not all who wish to serve have the opportunity. Each of us has a path that we must follow in our lives. The doctor spends his life training to heal, the teacher spends her life perfecting her craft so that her students leave her classroom prepared to face the world and make it better. Warriors are called to protect that world.

Our veteran’s are not better than other citizens. They are not more worthy of citizenship, they are not mythical heroes awaiting their own marble statues, and they are not disposable plastic army men to be cast aside at a whim.

Our veterans have a perspective of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship unique to themselves. While all citizens have an idea of their rights, it is only our veterans who understand their costs. With this understanding comes both a sense of joy at seeing what a beautiful thing has been achieved through sacrifice as well as a terrible sadness knowing what the sacrifice has entailed. It is in joy, sacrifice, and sadness that we see the foundation of a Republic that our Founding Fathers prayed would endure.

   Napoleon once remarked that the borders of an empire were marked by the graves of its soldiers. Since 1636, when the first organized militias were formed to protect our first colonists, the borders of liberty have not been marked by the graves of our soldiers but instead they are marked by the living breathing peoples whose liberty has been ensured by your courage and sacrifice.

The borders of our nation and of every nation conceived in liberty have been, are, and will be guarded by warriors like those veterans who stand before you now.  They deserve our respect, our gratitude, and our love.

   On this day of days make sure these are given. On every day that you see them, make sure they are never denied. Thank you, God Bless you and may God Bless the United States of America

.

In The State of Minnesota

There are approximately  1,211,167 citizens of that state who are absolute morons and who have proven they should be allowed nowhere near a litter box let alone a ballot box. You idiots atually voted for Al Franken proving that intolerance, bigotry, and stupidity are alive and well among some in the Minnesota Democratic Party.

An Open Letter To Catholics Who Voted For Obama

   Peace Be To You,

It is quite ironic that, on the eve of Guy Fawkes Day, you too have betrayed your faith much the same way he was betrayed. The teachings of the Church are clear as are the teachings of the Holy Father and of the Bishops.

   You claim to accept the teachings of the Church, the teachings that state all life is sacred from conception to natural death and yet you have contributed to the election of a man who has yet to find a method of abortion that he doesn't support. You have betrayed millions of unborn children because you bought into lines like hope and change rather than listening to the words of The Man whom Obama claims to be a follower of:

" But whoso shall offend one of these little ones, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." What were you thinking?  There is no justification for your decision. Don't claim Micah 6:8 or speak in the name of social justice, if  you won't defend the defenseless then any other actions or words of yours ring hollow. You need to take time to pause and reflect on whether you truly are Catholic or if you only claim your faith when there is no risk in doing so. The Catholic faith is COUNTER-CULTURAL. The president-elect is not, he is of the world as his actions, (and inaction) have so often proved. I won't speak to you of heavenly judgment. That's between you and God. I only ask that every time you see a child in the next four years, you thank God that at least that child made it despite your vote. Then think about the ones that didn't. Reflect before Communion on the word and what it is you are about to receive. Are you In Communion? Should you receive when on at least some level, you seem to disagree with what your church teaches? The Catholic Church predates the Democratic Party by 1,700 years and the GOP by 1,800 or so. There is a reason for this. The teachings of our faith are eternal, the beliefs of the man you have helped elect and his party shift with the wind.  Before you hammer me and call me a hypocrite, let me state that I freely admit to being a sinner. I am speaking now in a spirit of Fraternal Correction. Our faith is not a cafeteria, there are many Protestant denominations who offer that variety. We have remained what we are in the face of oppression, persecution, and hate and we will continue to do so. Will you stand at the foot of the cross or will you run?

Democracy In Action?

Members of the Black Panther Party armed at a polling place, I guess the Philly PD are stretched thin.

An Honor

I have been awarded the MSM. This means a lot to me.

VOTE

Go vote, make it happen, you have the obligation to cast an intelligent informed vote to help determine the direction of your nation.

Semper Fi and God Speed: COL John Ripley, USMC

From Fox News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, who was credited with stopping a column of North Vietnamese tanks by blowing up a pair of bridges during the 1972 Easter Offensive of the Vietnam War, died at home at age 69, friends and relatives said Sunday.

Ripley's son, Stephen Ripley, said his father was found at his Annapolis home Saturday after missing a speaking engagement on Friday. The son said the cause of death had not been determined but it appeared his father died in his sleep.

In a videotaped interview with the U.S. Naval Institute for its Americans at War program, Ripley said he and about 600 South Vietnamese were ordered to "hold and die" against 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers with about 200 tanks.

"I'll never forget that order, 'hold and die'," Ripley said. The only way to stop the enormous force with their tiny force was to destroy the bridge, he said.

"The idea that I would be able to even finish the job before the enemy got me was ludicrous," Ripley said. "When you know you're not going to make it, a wonderful thing happens: You stop being cluttered by the feeling that you're going to save your butt."

Ripley crawled under the bridge under heavy gunfire, rigging 500 pounds of explosives that brought the twins spans down, said John Miller, a former Marine adviser in Vietnam and the author of "The Bridge at Dong Ha," which details the battle.

Miller said the North Vietnamese advance was slowed considerably by Ripley.

"A lot of people think South Vietnam would have gone under in '72 had he not stopped them," Miller said.

Ray Madonna, president of the U.S. Naval Academy's 1962 graduating class, served in Vietnam as a Marine at the same time and said his classmate saved countless U.S. and South Vietnamese troops.

"They would have been wrecked" if the tanks had crossed, Madonna said. He said Ripley also coordinated naval gunfire that stopped the tanks from crossing at a shallower point downstream.

"He was a Marine's Marine, respected, highly respected by enlisted men, by his peers and by his seniors," Madonna said.

Miller said Ripley, who was born in Radford, Virginia, descended from a long line of veterans going back to the Revolutionary War. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1962, after enlisting in the Marines out of high school and spending a year in naval school in Newport, Rhode Island.

He earned the "Quad Body" distinction for making it through four of the toughest military training programs in the world: the Army Rangers, Marine reconnaissance, Army Airborne and Britain's Royal Marines, Miller said. He was also the only Marine to be inducted in the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

Ripley earned the Navy Cross and Silver Star for his service in Vietnam. He later served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was regimental commander at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, among other postings.

After retiring from the Marines, he was president and chancellor of Southern Virginia College in Lexington, Virginia.

Stephen Ripley said his father had a deep and tenacious love for his country, the Marine Corps and his family.

"My Dad never quit anything and never went halfway on anything in his life," he said. "He just was a full-throttle kind of person and those people that he cared about, he really cared about."

Ripley is survived by his wife, Moline B. Ripley, 67; three sons, Stephen Ripley, 43, Thomas Ripley, 38, and John Ripley, 35; a daughter, Mary Ripley, 39; and eight grandchildren.

Don't We Have An FBI?