Fallen Hero: Cpl P. Zanowick II, USMC

I don't do online voting, I rarely post one of those annoying statuses about father week, son week, whatever week. I don't do any of those silly color games on Facebook and I rarely forward any type of email that promises you either good things or bad things.

This however was a request I would not ignore...this is a request that I am privileged to honor. I have a friend Heidi, whom from the very beginning gets "it". It's hard to explain what "it" is but we are similar in many ways and I am grateful to have her in my life. She is an amazing Military Spouse (Marines) and just an amazing human being.

Last week her husband's battalion lost a brother. My heart aches for the family, the friends and anyone who loved/knew that young Marine.

Please take a moment...say his name, read his story and honor his sacrifice. And thank you dear friend for allowing me to honor this hero.

Fallen Marine's family honors his life

Megan O'Rourke
Miamisburg, Ohio (WDTN) - Tuesday afternoon, the Zanowick family found a peaceful refuge on the back porch of their Miamisburg home. It was a quiet escape from the emotional events that have unfolded over the last few days.

On Friday, 23 year-old Corporal Paul Zanowick Junior was killed by enemy fire while on patrol in Afghanistan.

"I just want people to remember him for who he was," said Ryan Zanowick, Zanowick's wife. "You know not only was he a great Marine, but he was also a great son, brother, husband and father".

Moved by the tragic of events of 9-11, Paul Zanowick Senior said his son knew early on that he wanted serve his country. Zanowick enlisted in the Marines in January, 2008.

"He had such a sense of wanting to protect us," said Paul Sr.

"You don't want this day to happen. That was a huge fear, but i respect what he choose to do and I honor it, but I would gladly have gone instead," he added.

Cpl. Zanowick made the ultimate sacrifice, but it has not gone un-noticed. American flags now hang in his honor throughout the Zanowick's Miamisburg neighborhood. A touching tribute that the family says is helping them heal.

"Overwhelming," said Zanowick Sr. "I just want to thank everybody who has contacted us, tried to contact us, prayed for us. If not for the prayers I'm not sure we could do this".

Humble Service

I have had the wonderful opportunity to be around great people who serve this great nation. What I am most impressed with time and time again is the humility in which they serve. Recently a young man asked some Veterans how they felt when civilians acknowledged their service and whether it motivated them. All the Veterans responded by saying they didn't serve for recognition and then when they were thanked publicly it was almost overwhelming for them. I am awe of the humility displayed by most of our Troops. The young man who has never served but hopes to one day could not understand, he still wanted a real answer. But I think they did answer, it just wasn't one he understood yet. It reminded me of this interview with our latest Medal of Honor Recipient, SSG Giunta. Watching this clip still chokes me up because he truly speaks for many who wear the uniform. I just felt it deserved to be seen again.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Salvatore Giunta
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

Wordless Wednesday, Humbled

USO Bike Run

To go with the pic I posted for the Bike run yesterday, here's a little video from it as well.

30 Days of Us - Day 6

Whatever tickles your fancy....

While at the St. Louis Airport, the boys and I hung out in the USO. When you walk in there is a Missing Man Table or what it is often called POW/MIA Remembrance...I'd like to share what the display means.Those who have served, and those currently serving in the uniformed services of the United States, are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and imprisonment.

Before we begin our activities, we pause to recognize our POWs and MIAs.

We call your attention to this small table that occupies a place of dignity and honor. It is set for one symbolizing the fact that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POWs and MIAs.

We call them comrades. They are unable to be with their loved ones and families, so we join together to pay humble tribute to them, and to beat witness to their continued absence.

The table is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressers.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their Country's call to arms.

The single rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep faith while awaiting their return.

The red ribbon on the case represents the red ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand, with unyielding determination, a proper account of our comrades who are not among us.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted, they cannot toast with us at this time.

The chair is empty. They are NOT here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope that lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to open arms of a grateful nation.

The American Flag reminds us that many of them may never return - and have paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure our freedom.

Let us pray to the Supreme Commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.

Let us remember - and never forget their sacrifice.

May God forever watch over them and protect them and their families.

D-Day June 6

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”

Memorial Day and Fort Hood Memorials

Fort Hood was a huge part of our lives. While it wasn't the first place that we dealt with loss during the current conflicts, it is where we experienced some of the most personal losses. Fort Hood is where I taught my kids a lot about what Memorial Day means and how it should be honored. Below is an article written by a friend who works for the newspaper at Hood about what Memorial Day and the memorials on Fort Hood mean to many.

I visited the 4th Infantry Memorial numerous times, I could never walk away without taking pictures.

Fort Hood’s memorials to the lives lost in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are much more than the stone, bronze and granite of which they are made.

As Fort Hood will join the nation in observing Memorial Day on Monday, the post’s monuments are seeing more visitors who leave flags, photographs and mementos.

On Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember and honor the sacrifices of veterans, memorials and cemeteries host ceremonies and an influx of visitors, but the post memorial monuments are permanent displays that are always open and available.

Click to continue reading

5,480

To date that is the number of Troops we have lost in Iraq & Afghanistan. Please remember as we go through the Memorial Day weekend of those 5,480 families who are missing their loved one.

In World War II we lost over 400,000, the contrast is amazing, the loss is just the same.

I dedicate this video to ALL of our losses, from our current campaigns to those from wars past.

Freedom Friday, May 28, 2010

Today begins for many, a 4 day weekend. I hope everyone stops for a moment and remembers what Memorial Day is all about.

Soldier Christmas - #3

THE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
By Barbara Cox

There's a chill in the air and the sweet smell of pine
Friends coming together it's Christmas time
Children playing with sleds on the new fallen snow
Toys in store windows have their eyes all aglow

Chapel bells ringing from the old town square
Decorations on Main Street being put up with care
Christmas shoppers beginning to fill the malls
Where trees are adorned with garland and balls

Out Christmas shopping I spotted a sign
Santa's Work Shop, with children in line
I walked up closer so that I could hear
What the children wanted from Santa this year

When from in line I saw a young lad
By the look on his face, I could tell he was sad
I walked up closer so that I could see
As he took his turn upon Santa's knee

Santa, I don't want toys under the tree
All I want is my Daddy, here with Mommy and me
It's been so long since he's been gone
When he left the grass was still green on the lawn

You see, We're in the Military and he had to go
And Mommy and I miss him, more than you know
When I'm in bed and she thinks I'm asleep
She reads over his letters and starts to weep

But, if you can't do it, I'll understand
Since Daddy's been gone, I'm Mom's little man
As you deliver your presents, give a message from me
We gave up Christmas with Daddy, So children stay free!

Christmas at Main Street Music Hall

Last night the family attended Christmas at Main Street Music Hall in Osage Beach, MO. They invited Military members and their families as special guest. Last week Kevin came home with a flier and we thought it looked interesting so we went. When we got there, they gave Kevin a plaque called a "Hero Award" with his name on it thanking him for his volunteer service to our country. We got pretty good seating in the theater and we were told to make sure afterwards to come by and get gifts for the kids.

The show was AWESOME! At the beginning, I was real emotional as they sang "I'll Be Home for Christmas". For those who have been reading this blog for the last couple months you know I'm so happy and grateful to have Kevin home so yes I get to be a big emotional sap. They sang traditional Christmas songs and fun Christmas songs and had some silly acts as well. After intermission right as the second act was about to start, they honored the Military. I was surprised that not as many active duty military took advantage of this special event but it was pretty neat to have so many people clapping and honoring Kevin. They even took a moment to honor our Veterans and I got to stand.

The second act was so good, they focused on the real meaning of Christmas and sang some of my favorite hymns. They had the most beautiful rendition of "Mary, Did You Know", oh it brought tears to my eyes. It was just beautiful.

After the show they told the Active duty military to stick around and get some gifts that were donated. This is where the evening took a turn for me. On the flier we got, it mentioned that kids 10 and under would receive free gifts. I thought this was kind of weird but okay...not a big deal. As we were waiting to let Daniel get his gift, they handed Kevin a big gift bag with some tools in it. They were handing out gifts to the Active Duty Military. That was pretty nice. Well as Daniel was getting his gift, people were kind of being crazy and pushy. Some of the toys were kind of pushed all over and so Neil picked up a box of shoes to move them so they wouldn't get stepped on. At that moment, one of the men in charge said VERY rudely to Neil, "Put those shoes down, you are not under 10!" and then he shoved the remaining toys back so no one else could reach them. Now...was that really necessary? I don't think it was. Poor Neil was so stunned, that he looked like he was going to cry. I had to step away because I really wanted to let that man have it! I took the boys and went to the back of the crowd, I was talking to Neil, making sure he was okay. Neil is my most sensitive child who has to deal with some emotional issues/disorders. He has really come into his own the past couple years, but incidents like this can really make him backslide.

At that point, I was just going to chalk the situation up to the man being overwhelmed with the situation because so many people were hanging around. Oh, can I just mention here that the theater we were at is not huge, when they asked the Active Duty military to stand up, there weren't that many. However, there were TONS of people afterward claiming the free gifts. Integrity people, integrity.

So one of the ladies was talking to Kevin, the boys and I were waiting towards the back when all of a sudden we saw kids OLDER then Neil walking around with some of the free gifts, 2 and 3 of them. Neil looked even more hurt then before. I was SO angry. There were many gifts leftover that they started to just hand out to people waiting. Things that older kids would have enjoyed, why couldn't they have just given those to kids over 10 to begin with? It really was a confusing situation for my boys.

Please don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the gesture and Kevin and Daniel got some really nice things. But when you tell a Military Family that you are going to honor their "FAMILY" you need to make sure you include all of them. Oh and let me add here, that after the show they got all the active duty military to stand on the stage for a group picture. Some of the performers we walking through shaking hands and a couple totally snubbed the females. It was CRAZY. I guess they thought they were spouses, but hey people, WOMEN SERVE TOO!

There was no reason for that man to be as rude as he was, none. You null and void a kind gesture when you follow it with rudeness, I should call him Mr. Grinch because he stole some light from my children. Last night was yet another reminder to me that people lose sight of what Christmas is about.

We had a good night up until that point, the show was AMAZING, we definitely want to go check them out again. As far the Grinch, I will be writing him a letter. If it was unintentional and he was overwhelmed with the situation then an apology to my son should not be a big deal. If it's too much, then that will let me know that we don't need to return back to that venue ever again.

Here are a few pics..it was dark, I have a crappy digital..lol

Soldier Christmas - #2

A SOLDIER'S CHRISTMAS
by Michael Marks

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A Soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"

"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,

I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Soldier Christmas - #1

The Sands of Christmas

By Michael Marks

I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
and looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn’t finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.

And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.

I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
eight hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.

A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens,
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.

Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn’t much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.

They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn’t have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labled “ammunition.”

I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.

There’s nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
to worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.

He looked at me as children do and said its always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote,

God bless you all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you’re not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty and that we can’t repay.

Take a Vet to School 2008

Wow, let's see if I can convey the many emotions that I have felt today. I am so grateful that our school takes pride in Veteran's Day and honors those who have served and are currently serving. Today was Take a Vet to School Day. Students were invited to bring anyone who may have served or who are serving with them for a day full of events honoring our Veterans. I had the honor of escorting CSM Neil Ciotola, our III Corps and Fort Hood Command Sergeant Major. He was gracious enough to come and talk to a total of six classes. Four classes were combined so he went into four different classrooms. He was FANTASTIC, the kids opened right up to him and he was sincere and so real with them. He often got down on one knee as he talked to the students, showing that they were important and he cared about what they had to say. I know the things he was sharing with them touched my heart and I know the comments touched theirs as well. The kids asked funny questions and serious questions and he had an answer for each of them. He shook each of their hands making them feel important. He had everyone laughing and a few crying (good tears). I cannot express how blessed I felt today being able to escort this wonderful Soldier around. CSM Ciotola, thank you for your time and sincerity, you made the day memorable for many of our Silent Warriors today, words are not enough.

After our visits to the classroom, I got to have lunch with my boys. We were treated to a hot dog lunch in a paper bag decorated by the students saying thank you to our Vets. It's times like this I miss Kevin so much, he has never been home to participate in one of these (but he is always being honored). I also missed Michael, it's hard when one kid moves on and your kids are separated.

This afternoon the 5th graders performed songs they had written. Each had a similar theme, they talked about Freedom, Soldiers and our nation. They wrote their own lyrics, I was very touched. I became brave enough to glance around and saw many a Soldier in the audience with tears in their eyes (there is nothing that will make me cry faster than that view). We also had 5th grade students who did some "storytelling". They wrote their own stories about what life is like as a Military Child. They talked about the constant moving, having to say goodbye to their loved ones, friendship and loneliness. One that caused tears in my eyes was about a girl who's father deployed, got injured and is now serving again. All of them spoke with pride and conviction, we could certainly learn from their examples.

It was a wonderful day full of honor and pride. I am so proud of the students who attend CCE and serve honorably. They thanked those who came in and spoke to them (Daniel told me two "old" Soldiers talked to him and he was proud to tell one of them that his daddy wore the same 1st CAV patch that was on his hat!). I want to say that I think we owe gratitude to these amazing Silent Warriors in their service of supporting their Soldiers with pride and honor. So to all serving, those in uniform and those who love the one in uniform, thank you!