A collection of my favorite stories
Prayers in a Pandemic (Military Officer 10/1/2020)
Letters to home (Fayetteville Observer 12/8/2015)
Four families of service members share how handwritten letters have helped connect them to their loved ones.
I love you, I love you, I love you: The West Letters
Teresa west, mom of a Marine Corps recruit, shares letters her son mailed home from boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Return to writer: the vrba letters
Linda Vrba shares letters her husband mailed home from Vietnam. Her husband was killed in action just two months after arriving in country.
I'll keep them forever: The Riley Letters
Michelle and Rodney Riley share letters their son Joey Riley mailed home from basic training at Fort Benning, GA. Riley was the last paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division killed in Afghanistan.
Keep it up, Darling: The Hamilton letters
Julie Smith, daughter of a World War II veteran, shares letters she discovered just before her mother died at 93. Her father died when she was just 3 years old. The letters - thousands of which were sent from Europe, Germany, Czech and Austria - offer Julie a glimpse into the love story of her parents.
Full story: https:www.fayobserver.com/article/20151204/NEWS/312049810?templlate=ampart
Four families of service members share how handwritten letters have helped connect them to their loved ones.
I love you, I love you, I love you: The West Letters
Teresa west, mom of a Marine Corps recruit, shares letters her son mailed home from boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Return to writer: the vrba letters
Linda Vrba shares letters her husband mailed home from Vietnam. Her husband was killed in action just two months after arriving in country.
I'll keep them forever: The Riley Letters
Michelle and Rodney Riley share letters their son Joey Riley mailed home from basic training at Fort Benning, GA. Riley was the last paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division killed in Afghanistan.
Keep it up, Darling: The Hamilton letters
Julie Smith, daughter of a World War II veteran, shares letters she discovered just before her mother died at 93. Her father died when she was just 3 years old. The letters - thousands of which were sent from Europe, Germany, Czech and Austria - offer Julie a glimpse into the love story of her parents.
Full story: https:www.fayobserver.com/article/20151204/NEWS/312049810?templlate=ampart
Safety Above All: Jumpmaster instructor Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas O'Herron has high standards for every paratrooper who comes through his classes (Fayetteville Observer 11/19/2015)
If you don't listen closely, you might miss something the caffeine-fueled, slick-talking Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas O'Herron spits out.
The veteran jumpmaster instructor paces back and forth at the Advanced Airborne School, talking faster than a spokesman closing an infomerical.
And with an average of 600 paratroopers under his direction in a single basic airborne refresher class, he doesn't have time for excuses, tardiness or broken equipment.
Almost every conventional paratrooper on Fort Bragg has interacted with O'Herron, a barrel-chested soldier typically seen under a black baseball cap
If you don't listen closely, you might miss something the caffeine-fueled, slick-talking Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas O'Herron spits out.
The veteran jumpmaster instructor paces back and forth at the Advanced Airborne School, talking faster than a spokesman closing an infomerical.
And with an average of 600 paratroopers under his direction in a single basic airborne refresher class, he doesn't have time for excuses, tardiness or broken equipment.
Almost every conventional paratrooper on Fort Bragg has interacted with O'Herron, a barrel-chested soldier typically seen under a black baseball cap
Dog calms 'ruff' procedures (Fayetteville Observer 4/9/2017)
Boston, a 3-year-old Maltese ball of white fluff, darts in and out of rooms at Dr. Lisa Gushin's dental office to check on patients.
His first stop was a room in the back, where a woman was preparing for a root canal. He visited with her, before dashing into a different room where a man was sitting up after a teeth cleaning.
Boston paced around the office for a few minutes before he jetted off again. A woman was getting ready for a teeth cleaning and Boston was needed.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20170409/dog-calms-ruff-dental-procedures
Boston, a 3-year-old Maltese ball of white fluff, darts in and out of rooms at Dr. Lisa Gushin's dental office to check on patients.
His first stop was a room in the back, where a woman was preparing for a root canal. He visited with her, before dashing into a different room where a man was sitting up after a teeth cleaning.
Boston paced around the office for a few minutes before he jetted off again. A woman was getting ready for a teeth cleaning and Boston was needed.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20170409/dog-calms-ruff-dental-procedures
Grandson requests letters to his World War II grandfather in lieu of birthday gifts (Fayetteville Observer 3/7/2018)
By the time Jim Schmidt was 16 years old, he was a seasoned combat veteran who'd fired dozens of mortar rounds at German tanks before he was kicked out of the Army and the Navy.
Now 90 and living in Fayetteville, Schmidt's hearing and airborne wing tattoos have faded a little, but not much else has changed. The surly veteran who jumped into Sicily with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II at the age of 14 doesn't understand what all the fuss is about as he recalls his service.
But his grandson, Henry DeHoop - who turns 14 this year - marvels at how his grandfather was jumping into war when he was Henry's age. His grandfather's stories made an impression. So instead of birthday presents, Henry launched a surprise letter-writing campaign, asking people tot share their war memories in letters to Schmidt.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20180307/it-just-makes-me-so-proud-of-what-hes-done-for-our-country
By the time Jim Schmidt was 16 years old, he was a seasoned combat veteran who'd fired dozens of mortar rounds at German tanks before he was kicked out of the Army and the Navy.
Now 90 and living in Fayetteville, Schmidt's hearing and airborne wing tattoos have faded a little, but not much else has changed. The surly veteran who jumped into Sicily with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II at the age of 14 doesn't understand what all the fuss is about as he recalls his service.
But his grandson, Henry DeHoop - who turns 14 this year - marvels at how his grandfather was jumping into war when he was Henry's age. His grandfather's stories made an impression. So instead of birthday presents, Henry launched a surprise letter-writing campaign, asking people tot share their war memories in letters to Schmidt.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20180307/it-just-makes-me-so-proud-of-what-hes-done-for-our-country
Army chaplain connects with soldiers through physical training (Fayetteville Observer 4/4/2016)
When Father Luke pulls out his Bible, soldiers scatter.
So when the chaplain was plopped into the middle of a combat zone less than a year after joining the Army, he knew he had to be creative to reach fellow soldiers.
He started Holy Smokes - a lounge time after Sunday night mass when Capt. Lukasz J. Willenburg, who is affectionately called Father Luke, cracked open boxes of cigars shipped to Bagram Airfield from the states. A division band played jazz in the background as Willenberg led casual conversations about anything the soldiers could entertain.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/article/20160404/News/304049858
When Father Luke pulls out his Bible, soldiers scatter.
So when the chaplain was plopped into the middle of a combat zone less than a year after joining the Army, he knew he had to be creative to reach fellow soldiers.
He started Holy Smokes - a lounge time after Sunday night mass when Capt. Lukasz J. Willenburg, who is affectionately called Father Luke, cracked open boxes of cigars shipped to Bagram Airfield from the states. A division band played jazz in the background as Willenberg led casual conversations about anything the soldiers could entertain.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/article/20160404/News/304049858
Soldier injured in artillery accident awaits his moment of mobility (Fayetteville Observer 3/5/2015)
The moment Sgt. Cory Muzzy dreams about hasn't arrived.
He's spent the last eight months undergoing surgeries and tenaciously pushing himself during rehabilitation appointments - all for the moment he will be able to walk on his own again.
Despite the progress the 25-year-old has made in recoveries over the past year, Muzzy's biggest achievement - mobility - is yet to come.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/article/20150305/news/303059649
The moment Sgt. Cory Muzzy dreams about hasn't arrived.
He's spent the last eight months undergoing surgeries and tenaciously pushing himself during rehabilitation appointments - all for the moment he will be able to walk on his own again.
Despite the progress the 25-year-old has made in recoveries over the past year, Muzzy's biggest achievement - mobility - is yet to come.
Full story: https://www.fayobserver.com/article/20150305/news/303059649
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