ALL ABOARD! : Veterans Off to Washington

Kim Foster, president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, directs veteran J.B. Redmond at Joppa Shrine Center. (Photo: Harlan Kirgan/The Mississippi Press)

WOOLMARKET -- THE BIG DAY IS HERE!

www.mgchonorflight.org

Catch today's printed Mississippi Press and online updates for first Honor Flight for WWII vets.

Honor Flight: Last Call for the Big Day

Bilbo Rodgers of Pascagoula, James Beasley of Natchez, and Henry Little of Pascagoula are among the WWII veterans making the first Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight. (Photos from Meet the Heroes)

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI -- Today marks the final day before nearly 90 veterans from World War II will board a flight to Washington, D.C., where they will view the monument built in their honor as well as several other war tributes.

The first Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight begins about 5 a.m. at the Joppa Shrine Center in Woolmarket, where members will load buses to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport for the trip to the nation's capital.

MEET THE HEROES: A tribute and history of the veterans vailable at The Mississippi Press.

The veterans are expected to receive a coastwide send-off in the morning and a hearty Welcome Back at the airport when they return Wednesday night about 7:30 p.m.

ROTC students and various other military groups, cheerleaders, high school bands and other students, businesses, residents and coast government officials are expected to number about 3,000, according to Wayne Lennep of Moss Point, vice president and spokesman for Honor Flight.

Soldier Dancing the Carlton

In the midst of war, some soldiers still find time to laugh and play.


Take a look at this soldier who found time to do The Carlton while rockets flew overhead.
Humorous. The joy of life on top of an armored tank.

Ironic yet oddly appropriate to laugh while handling stress and hardship ... as 'good soldiers' do.








Some other videos:



Israelis in Hebron
A touching tribute:
A Soldier: For My Wife

Military in Pakistan Kill Osama bin Laden

PAKISTAN -- U.S. military personnel and citizens across the country have been celebrating since late last night at the news that Navy SEALs in Pakistan have killed Osama bin Laden.

President Barack Obama made the announcement shortly before midnight, also calling former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to let them know what happened.

Bin Laden, founder of the terrorist group Al-Qaida, has been responsible for numerous attacks on American interests across the world dating back to the early 1990s.

American Rejoice Over the Death of bin Laden
NBC's Today Show Monday, May 02, 2011

Bin Laden had been the target of a U.S. military death hunt for the past 10 years, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field.

At the time, President Bush had vowed that the U.S. would hunt for bin Laden until justice was served. He made a similar statement after learning of bin Laden's death.

Media reports said bin Laden was killed while living in a mansion in Abbotabad, a town about 35 miles north of Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. American forces captured his body before he was buried at sea with 24 hours after his death, according to Islamic law.

According to the Today Show, a decision was being made about how to show the body for proof that bin Laden is dead.

U.S. Forces Hunt Down, Kill Osama bin Laden
NBC's Today Show Monday, May 02, 2011

Legion Post 1992 to Hold Cruise-In

GAUTIER -- A cruise-in will be held Saturday, April 30, at American Legion Post 1992 to help support the Honor Flight scheduled for May 11.

Jen Walton said that chicken plates will be served from noon until 3 p.m. The cruise-in takes place from 4 to 8 p.m.

Keesler Reopens Gate at White Avenue

BILOXI -- The White Avenue gate to Keesler Air Force Base has reopened, authorities said.

The entrance, two blocks north of the beach, was closed Friday because of a waterleak.

Motorists were rerouted to Bayview Drive and Pass Road gates instead. The leadk has been fised, according to information on Keesler website. -- By Donna Harris, Sun Herald, April, 24, 2011

5 Years of Memories for Patrolman Byrd

HURLEY -- This Sunday, March 27, will mark five years of memories of the too-short but full life of Patrolman Terry Micheal Byrd.

The Pascagoula motorcycle officer was killed in 2006 when he tried to avoid a vehicle waiting to turn in traffic and instead was thrown into the path of an oncoming dump truck. The truck subsequently ran over Byrd during the traffic accident on Chicot Road.

April 11 will mark the birthday of the young officer, who was 27 years old when he died while on his way to visit a sister and her newborn son. He was born in 1979.

Hog Wild Party Set for National Guard

LUCEDALE -- This coming weekend will bring on a Hog Wild Homecoming for the 287th Engineering Company when the National Guard unit returns from a year-long tour in Afghanistan.

City officials said Saturday's event will take place at Lucedale City Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to media report

The 130-member unit left the city and their families in March 2010, and will return to a feast of barbecue, ceremony, and gathering of family, city officials and residents.


Lucedale National Guard Unit's Return to be Marked with 'Hog Wild' Party
March 01, 2011 The Mississippi Press

Honor Flight Meets with Volunteers in OS

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight organizers have about three weeks to gather final monies needed to send some 90 veterans to the nation's capitol May 11.

The call for more volunteers garnered about 30 residents at a meeting Wednesday night in this city, according to reporter Harlan Kirgan at www.gulflive.com/themississippipress.

"Basically what this meeting is about is fundraising," said MGC Honor Flight President Kim Foster. "all the money to be raised needs to be raised by April 1."

She said $15,000 has been collected in the last two weeks.

Honor Flight Ramps Up Fundraising

Gulfport Officially Opens Robert Curry Public Safety Center

GULFPORT -- While police staff already have moved in the new Robert J. Curry Public Safety Center, personnel with the city's court system will soon follow suit, according to local media.

On Thursday, Gulfport officials and employees and the public turned out for the official opening of the $22 million building in downtown. Police personnel moved in during December last year, according to reporter Anita Lee at http://www.sunherald.com/

"We're finally home," a beaming police chief, Alan Weatherford, said, "and we're in a state-of-the-art facility that was built for law enforcement."

City Celebrates New Home for Police, Courts @ sunherald.com

Gulfport Opens New Safety Center, Honors Fallen Police Officers @ wlox.com

The building was named for former police officer Robert Curry, who was killed in 2008 while helping to escort a funeral procession on U.S. 49. Curry's mother, Dorothy Gibson, attended the dedication of the new public safety center, which was built to house police and court system staff.

"He will always be sadly missed," said Gibson at wlox.com. "We thank God for giving us Rob for just a little while."

See photographs of the dedication ceremony at sunherald.com

Among the more than 200 people who attended the ceremony for the Robert J. Curry Public Safety Center were his wife, Leslee Curry, and their two children, teenager Krysten and grade schooler Trevor.

"I love it. It's very good for all the officers and for the whole department. It's a good reminder of Rob, and to keep his memory alive," said Leslee Curry to wlox.com reporter Elizabeth Vowell.

According to the news reports, the building includes rooms named for seven other Gulfport police officers who died in the line of duty. As well, a monument to the fallen officers stands outside the building.

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/)