Salute And Honor on Holiday Hiatus

NOTICE TO SALUTE AND HONOR FOLLOWERS:

Except for special events, this blog will not post updates during December 2011.

However, please follow 2011 posts that may be updated and edited for additional coverage of some events during the year.

THANK YOU so very much for your interest, and KEEP FOLLOWING us. 

During this hiatus, please add your comments to 2011 and previous posts. ALSO, let us know what you'd like to see in future posts to SaluteAndHonor.blogspot.com

Vivian Austin -- 228-623-8883

Wounded Warrior Walk to Help Veteran

BILOXI -- The Wounded Warrior Walk across the Biloxi Bay Bridge will help Army Sgt. Sjosterner Ellis of Columbus. 

The walk took place Saturday, Nov. 26, under sunny skies, and saw numerous active duty military personnel, veterans, their family members, and community residents make their way across the expanse between Biloxi and Ocean Springs.

Donna Anderson of Ocean Springs, a wounded warrior case manager at Keesler Air Force Base,      and Ret. Air Force Staff Sgt. Naomi Mathis founded the walk's sponsor, Combat Wounded Veterans of South Mississippi, during February.

www.WoundedWarriorProject.org

CWVSM helps veterans with every day financial problems while they wait for Veteran Administration benefits. So far, according to Anderson, they have provided aid to five veterans who have made the transition back to civilian life.   

Ellis, a Purple Heart recipient, was wounded while serving in Iraq, according to media reports.

Walk Raises Money for Wounded Vets
Sun Herald/Sunday, November 27, 2011
Photo Gallery: Wounded Warriors Project 

South Mississippians Walk for Warriors
WLOX TV-13/Saturday, November 26-27, 2011

Operation Never Forget Wants New Home for Seabee Baldwin

BILOXI -- Claudia Baldwin wants to see the bust of her husband -- Builder Chief Joel Baldwin -- put on permanent display at the Seabee base or at the Naval Construction Training Center. Right now the bust is at Negroto's Gallery in Biloxi, where it was unveiled on Monday.

Operation Never Forget Honors Local Hero
Sun Herald/Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011

Baldwin, a builder chief at Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 (MCB-7), died in Iraq during 2004.

Operation Never Forget, according to the Sun Herald, is a nonprofit charity that memorializes fallen service members with bronze bust statues. About 24 busts have been created since 2007, and more are in progress. Each statue costs about $6,000, and are paid for through community fundraisers, the media quoted Operation officials.

New Faces Join Veterans at Breakfast

Donald Evans (left), who served in the Persia Gulf, and Jimmy Cox, an Army infantryman, attended the Veterans' Breakfast on Monday. Cox was a first-timer, but Evans has attended about 12 years. Assistant Superintendent (top) Bernard Rogers, school board officials Dan Marks and Mike Concannon were at the military celebration for local veterans.

Wally Molby, who turns 80 on Wednesday, served in the Air Force during the Korean War. "This thing here is the most wonderful thing that's happened to me since I've been a veteran."

GAUTIER -- Jimmy Cox was among the first-time veterans who attended the Veterans' Breakfast held Monday at Gautier High School.

Teachers, students, and district officials have sponsored the morning meal and honor program for 12 years.  

"I've been intending to come and I've always been working," said Cox. "I set aside time to come this year."
Cox served in the infantry from 1969 to 1970 during the Vietnam War. "This is wonderful," he said of the breakfast.

Cox's friend Donald Evans has attended the Veterans' Breakfast almost since its inception.

"I do it every year," he said. "I missed the first year."

He comes because of the honor and to meet friends. "A lot of these guys I've been knowing since my childhood. I didn't know they were Vietnam vets."

Evans served in the Navy, and jokingly says that his friends put on the wrong uniform. "These guys just signed the wrong papers."

(Look for more information, quotes and photographs in future updates.)