Sgt. 1st Class Sean Cooley Remembered

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Feb. 3 will mark six years that Sgt. 1st Class Sean Michael Cooley lost his life while fighting in Northern Babil Province, Iraq.

Cooley died during 2005 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

An Ocean Springs resident, Cooley was assigned to the 150th Engineer Battalion, 155th Armor Brigade of the Mississippi National Guard in Lucedale.

See other information at FallenHeroesMemorial and MilitaryTimes.

http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/

http://www.militarytimes.com/

Cooley was the 21st soldier with Mississippi ties to die in the war on terror, and the fifth Mississippi National Guardsman to die in Iraq, according to MilitaryTimes.

Michael Green Memorial 2011

GAUTIER -- January 07 this year marks three years for remembrance of Major Michael Lee Green, who was killed in Afghanistan during 2008.

Born April 6, 1971, Green was 36 years old when he died after a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle. Ironically, Green was training militia recruits how to detect and dispose of roadside bombs. Although he was serving in Afghanistan, he was stationed in Germany.

Green was returned to a hero's welcome and funeral services at First Baptist Church of Gautier, where residents in South Mississippi lined the roadway from his native city to the U.S. National Cemetery in Biloxi.

The Patriot Guard Riders helped with ceremonies at the funeral home in Pascagoula, church and funeral route to Biloxi.

See pictures from the day of the service at http://www.flounderwear.com/.

Read the official obituary at O'Bryant-O'Keefe Funeral Home in Pascagoula (4811 Telephone Road, Pascagoula.)

(http://www.obryantokeefe.com/)

Highest Veteran Count in Mississippi Declines

GULFPORT -- The highest number of veterans in Mississippi live in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, but the total had fallen since 2000, according to the lastest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The bureau said the decline is partly due to Hurricane Katrina, which in general has reduced the population of the three coastal counties since the storm five years ago.

Full Story:
Coast Has Most Vets, But Numbers Show Decline
The Sun Herald/Dec. 29, 2010
Story by Michael Newsom

Flying Jennies Train for Deployment to Afghanistan in January

The "Flying Jennies"



TSgt Dana Kelley of Ocean Springs prepares a parachute for an airdrop off an 815th Airlift Squardron Super Hercules airplane during a training mission Tuesday at Keesler Air Force Base. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan/The Mississippi Press)

A C-130J-30 at KAFB

Holiday Mail to Heroes Sent to national Red Cross in D.C.

Resurrection High School students dress as elves to collect signed greeting cards to send to military personnel through Holiday Mail for Heroes, a program by the American Red Cross, during Downtown for the Holidays on Dec. 3 in Delmas Plaza in Pascagoula.

PASCAGOULA -- Holley Cunningham said that 8,040 greeting cards were collected during November and the weekend of Dec. 3-4 for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign sponsored by the American Red Cross.

This year is the first time residents in Jackson County have participated in the national campaign, which provides cards for those who want to wish military personnel a happy holiday, and also allows residents to purchase individual cards for their own personal Christmas message.

Cunningham, a 17-year-old senior at Resurrection High, mailed the cards Dec. 7 to Washington, D.C. "I was told they should arrive (Dec. 10)," she said.

Resurrection High School Senior Gathers Christmas Cards for Soldiers
November 25, 2010 @ www.gulflive.com/themississippipress

Holiday Mail for Heroes Hailed at Downtown Fest

PASCAGOULA -- Holley Cunningham has collected 8,040 cards during the local Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign, sponsored nationally by the American Red Cross.

Cunningham, 17, collected the cards during November and this past weekend, beginning with Downtown for the Holidays event on Friday night and on Saturday at sign-up stations at Jerry Lee's Grocery on Ingalls Avenue and at Singing River Mall in Gautier.

More information may be obtained at www.redcross.org.

Volunteers Work to Bring Honor Flight to Mississippi Veterans

About 500 veterans of World War II living in South Mississippi would be eligible to participate in the Honor Flight program that flies the former military members to the Washington, D.C., for a daylong trip. Residents are working to bring the program to local veterans.

Booth Hopes High for Honor Flight

M.L. McCormick Jr. listens to Dr. Barry Booth speak about Honor Flight South Alabama and its program to fly World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. for a one-day visit. Booth spoke to about 100 residents attending a meeting of Jackson County United Methodist Men at Dantzler United Methodist Church in Moss Point on Thursday, Nov. 18. (Harlan Kirgan/Mississippi Press).

Read the full story:

Mississippians challenged to launch Honor Flight

The Jackson County Veterans Memorial is nearly complete. Moss Point city officials expect to allow the public in public during a grand opening ceremony in late December after another construction project near city hall is completed.

Construction Postpones Jackson County Veterans Parade, Program

JACKSON COUNTY -- Chamber CEO Carla Todd said celebrations for Veterans Day were canceled this year because of ongoing construction at the memorial site in Moss Point. Mayor Aneice Liddell expects the veterans memorial to open by late December when work on other downtown improvements are scheduled to be completed. A grand opening is being planned.

Breakfast for Veterans at Gautier High

GAUTIER -- It was all about Anthony McDaniel.

The Veterans Breakfast held Monday, Nov. 08, at Gautier High School put the school's 2006 graduate at the center of attention. This year marked the 11th time for the event that honors local veterans of all wars for their service to the U.S.

McDaniel, a Marine, lost both legs and left hand during a mine explosion in August this year while serving in Afghanistan.

Veterans Tower Planned for Gautier

A Veterans Tribute Tower is in the works for Gautier. Plans are to build the tribute in front of Gautier City Hall on U.S. 90. (Photo by Verdin Co.)