Summer is Here!

Summer is finally here! And amid high oil prices, flooding in the Mid-West, and fires on the West Coast - it has been a challenging time for our Country.

This month I've selected 4 stories (yes, there were many others to choose from) that I think you will find inspirational. I know they all made a big impression on our office and it is our honor to share them, at least in brief.

And of course, there will be more great stories coming your way and we have a number of folks all around the Country doing amazing work that will be on display this coming December as we carry out our mission, to Remember; Honor; and Teach.

Virginia Leads The Way

This seems fitting that Virginia would lead the way as it currently has the longest list of participating locations because of all the Civil War era veterans cemeteries.

Rev. Rocky and Sam Tinsley are working hard for the event at Richmond National this coming December, but we also want to say thanks for their efforts in garnering the state-wide recognition!

In the picture to the right, Sam Tinsley, Rev. Rocky Angone, Jr. and Cliff Troutmann proudly display the proclamation.

11 Year-old Makes the Most of Arlington Experience

I took my 11 year old grandson on the trip to share the experience and there are no words to express what this adventure did for both of us. I had hoped it would give us the opportunity to talk about the sacrifices of wars, present and past, and the price paid for the freedoms we enjoy, but I had no idea of the impact it would have on both of us.

When Wyatt was handed his wreath, I expected him to walk to the closest headstone and lay it down, but he hesitated, then said he wanted to look at the names and "see who they were." We found a few markers with names of service men and women from nearby states, but after looking at a few, Wyatt decided that he wanted to find one that was, "from far away because nobody will come to visit them." We looked at names, dates, ages, and the impact of some of the soldiers being younger than his daddy or his cousin was becoming apparent as he teared up and asked if he could go get a few more wreaths to place for other soldiers.

Wyatt wrote down the names of the soldiers he had placed wreaths for and we've been trying to find addresses for family members because he wanted to send them a picture and a letter to let them know someone was taking care of them (although we haven't been very successful).

After our wreath laying, we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Kennedy sites; imagine my surprise in finding out he knew nothing about either of those things! It was a priceless opportunity to share a history lesson with him.

We have the 2008 date already on the calendar and look forward to giving back to those families that have given so much.

Thank you Ellen, for sharing such a wonderful account of the day, and one that so truly captures the essence of the Wreaths Across America mission.

Eighteen Year-Old Kyle Nappi Wants Your Stories

In Kyle's words, " have a big interest in history, specifically WWII. I collect military medals, patches, badges, insignia, field gear, and a very unique thing, veteran autographs. I have a scrapbook collection of autographs from military veterans who served during WWI, WWII, Korea , Vietnam, Gulf War, and the present war in Iraq.

I have been interested in history for over 5 years now, and I have collected the autographs and stories from nearly 1,600 veterans in 20 countries. The oldest veteran was 111 years old and the youngest is presently serving in Iraq. I have autographs from Pearl Harbor survivors, D-Day veterans, airman, POWs, USS Indianapolis survivors, Holocaust survivors, and even German soldiers! Back in June, I was interview by PBS, to talk about my collection for "The Columbus WWII Roadshow" (a local program starting before Ken Burns’ series of "The War." You can find this interview on YouTube under "Kyle Nappi."

If you would like to communicate with Kyle and possibly help him make contact with veterans and their stories, you can email Kyle at Kyle Nappi

And last but not least, One Amazing Lady

We were fortunate to make contact with Jeanne's lovely sister Laura, who shared the following story:

When the United States entered WWII, our father joined the Navy and became a member of the Seabees. He was killed in action on Saipan in the South Pacific in 1945. I was 2 and a half and Jeanne was celebrating her first birthday. Our dad saw her one time.

Our mom eventually remarried and our stepfather, Frank Lopez and our brother Frank became part of our family. He was wonderful to us and our brother was a very special part of our lives.

Our mother kept our dad alive in Jeanne and us so as we grew up I know we always had a sense of duty to him and to our Country.

Jeanne had a passion for the American Flag. She loved flying it on the 40 foot flag pole in her front yard and had one on the tree in the back yard. She loved flag pins on her jackets and coats.

Jeanne, her husband, John and I were very lucky to have tickets to the dedication of the WWII Memorial in Washington. We are Gold Star children and members of No Greater Love. What a wonderful experience that was.

This brings us to Wreaths Across America. We started reading about it a few years ago and Jeanne and I talked about the beauty and the honor that was evident from the Arlington pictures. She loved the generosity of the gift of wreaths. Last November I told her that I had made up my mind to go to Arlington on December 15th. Jeanne didn’t hesitate. She said, “I am coming, too.” What a wonderful day we had. What a spirit to the crowd. Jeanne and I took our first wreaths and set out to find headstones of WV fallen. We found and put wreaths on as many as we could. We watched in awe as the rows of white markers turned to rows of white and red and green. We took pictures and pictures and more pictures. Jeanne made donations of wreaths in her friends’ names as Christmas presents so we got pins and pictures of graves of their states and she sent them in her cards. We were among the last to leave Arlington that day as Jeanne wanted to straighten every wreath and puff every bow and make sure every name could be read. I am not sure how many we did, but we got our walk in that day.

The last thing we did before leaving Arlington was to visit the newest graves. We talked of the heartache of the families of those young fallen heroes. We talked of the children who would never know their moms or dads as they grew up and the families that would never be. Our hearts went out to the parents who were there just visiting their children and not wanting to let go. Jeanne and I had lived this and we cried for their pain. We had our calendars circled for our return this December 13th.

Jeanne Thomas passed April 10, 2008 and it is great solace to her family that she is now with her parents.

This newsletter is dedicated to Jeanne, to all those who carrying the torch to Remember; Honor; and Teach. We are proud to have 4 such wonderful stories to share with you this month.

Highest regards and see you in July!