Weekly Newsletter 4/28/2008

Fellow HHAFFAers:

Sorry about the delay in sending out the newsletter. I had a GREAT weekend and haven't had time to sit down at the computer to write it. But today is a day off, so here we go:

Another BEAUTIFUL Spring week is forecast, so I hope everyone gets a chance to come walk with us on Tuesday!

--Our "Tour of Iraq" is continuing! We meet every Tuesday evening at 6 pm at the Thornton Park Pavilion. If you cannot attend the scheduled walk, please walk on your own and email me every Sunday with your week's total mileage, so that I may keep track of our progress! Grand total (as of 4/27/2008): 78 miles! (Eeeeeeeek! We can do better than that! I haven't heard from most of you--even "the regulars" who show up for our weekly walks!) -

-Relay For Life! Reminder to all HHAFFA Hoofers: Please sign up online ASAP (see Relay For Life email from 4/22/2008). Also, Relay For Life is scheduled for June 20-21, but all donations must be turned in to me by June 8th!

--Mothers, grandmothers and spouses of those serving in the active duty military--don't forget that you may receive a free corsage for Mother's Day! Three local florists have agreed to participate. Please call Bailey's flowers (279-5046), the West End Flower Shop (275-6422), or Three Hearts Flowers in Mitchell (849-9595) before Friday, May 2nd to reserve your flower.

--Don't forget to continue to send letters of support, cards, boxes, etc to Casey Woods, Timothy Sailing and every other service member you know! Our young men and women serving in our military deserve our support--it's the motto of our organization--"We Support Our Troops"!

--We've received two "Thank You"s this past week--one from Deborah Wheelock and the other from Ashley Medlock! Deborah says, "Keep us in your prayers and many thanks for the care package", and Ashley says, "I would like to thank you for all the support you have shown me through the cards and care packages." It is not only an honor to show our support to these fine women and all the other troops, but it is a pleasure! And I think everyone who participates would agree!!

--We received an email from Jordan Zollman's mother. She is very concerned about Jordan and would like everyone to send him words of encouragement. She mentioned that he and his wife, who have been married less than a year, need all the help, support and prayers they can get. Jordan's address is:

Jordan Zollman
230th MP Co 1st PLT
FOB Kalsu
APO AE 09312

and his email address is: jordanzollman@hotmail.com

--We also received an email from Lisa Henry. Her son, Joel Henry is now a married man!!!! Congratulations to Joel and his bride, Nichole! Lisa requests a card shower of congratulations!! Their address is:

Mr and Mrs Joel Henry
209 A Forrell Drive
Copperas, TX 76522

Let's shower them with love and support!!

Until next time--
Remember to keep ALL our troops, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers!
God Bless Our Troops!
Nancy Peabody

Weekly Newsletter 4/20/2008

The weather this week is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL! Let's get out and play!!

--MOMS (Mothers of Military Servicemembers)/Spouses Meeting will be held on Monday, April 21st at 6 pm at the HHAFFA office (620 H St). This is a wonderful opportunity to get together with other moms and spouses and share stories, get information, and have a wonderful time with others who share your thoughts and feelings! (And I baked my famous chocolate chip cookies, but don't worry--I'll have DIET Sprite to go with it!!)

--Our "Tour of Iraq" is continuing! We will meet again this week at the Thornton Pavilion on Tuesday, April 22nd at 6 pm! If you cannot attend the scheduled walk, please walk on your own and email me every Sunday with your week's total mileage, so that I may keep track of our progress! So far, I have had a total of 23 miles reported to me--please remember to let me know your total!! --Relay For Life!! Relay For Life is scheduled for June 20-21, but all donations must be turned in to me by June 8th! Please let me know if you would like to be a "HHAFFA Hoofer", and I will get you all the information you need!

--Sixteen (16) boxes filled with Girl Scout cookies were sent out on Saturday for local National Guard troops deployed to Iraq! Please continue to get us your deployed soldier's address as soon as you get it, so that we may get a box to them!

--We received a "Thank You" from Jeremy Crane, and I wanted to include a portion of it for all of you to enjoy: "I just want to thank you and the rest of the HHAFFA so much for the package and the card. It is really nice to know that there are people like you guys out there who really do care."

--Jeremy also stated that there was a young man in his unit who has 6 children and his family could not afford to send him anything. Jeremy said, "I know you are busy, but if there is any way you could do something for him I know it would make his day." So, let's make a young soldier's day!! Let's send cards, letters and boxes, and let him know that the people of Lawrence County care! Remember our motto--"We Support Our Troops"!!!!
His address:
Timothy Sailing
C Troop
1-152 RSTA
APO AE 09333-3359

--HHAFFA wants all mothers and grandmothers of those serving in the active duty military and all military wives to have a free corsage for Mother's Day! Three local florists have graciously agreed to participate. Please call Bailey's Flowers (279-5046), the West End Flower Shop (275-6422), or Three Hearts Flowers in Mitchell (849-9595) before Friday, May 2nd to reserve your flower.

--We have a local soldier, stationed at Ft Lewis, WA, who has had a very difficult time this past year and could sure use our support. He will be leaving for Iraq in September. I think it would be wonderful if we could all send a card, letting him know we care!
His address:
Casey Woods
812 Dock St
Box 3-13
Tacoma, WA 98402

Remember to keep ALL our troops, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers!
God Bless Our Troops!
Nancy Peabody

Weekly Newsletter 4/13/2008

Greetings!

--Our "Tour of Iraq" is continuing! We will meet again this week at the Thornton Pavilion on Tuesday, April 15th at 6 pm--weather permitting! If you cannot attend the scheduled walk, please walk on your own and email me every Sunday with your week's total mileage, so that I may keep track of our progress! I LOVE to walk, so please let me know if there are other days that would be better for you, and we will schedule more than one walk per week! Remember-- email me with your week's total mileage every Sunday!

--Relay For Life!! I will be sending another email this week to those who have signed up to be a "HHAFFA Hoofer"! Please let me know if you would like to join the team, and I will get you information! Remember that the Relay For Life is scheduled for June 20-21, but all donations must be turned in to me by June 8th!

--The next MOMS (Mothers of Military Servicemembers)/Spouses meeting will be held on Monday, April 21st at 6 pm at the HHAFFA office (620 H St). This is a wonderful opportunity to get together with other moms and spouses and share stories, get information, and have a wonderful time with others who share your thoughts and feelings!

--We have now sent out over 50 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to our deployed service members in Iraq and afghanistan. (Thank you, Scott and Denise Sproles!) This Saturday, April 19th at 2:30 pm, Jennifer Posson will be having her National Guard FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting at the HHAFFA office (620 H St), where they plan to pack boxes of GS cookies. Please contact Jennifer, if you have any questions: jposson@insightbb.com

--I received a "thank you" from Jordan Zollman last week, and I just wanted to pass on what he had to say: "Thank you for all the support. The HHAFFA is really great. It means a lot to me when I receive a package."

--I hope everyone had the opportunity to read the Guest Column by Mark McKnight in Thursday's Bedford paper. He is in Iraq, and he wrote about his remembrances of growing up in Bedford. If you missed it, it is posted on the HHAFFA blog: www.hhaffa.blogspot.com

--Amanda Kirby's father-in-law passed away last week and was buried on Friday. Amanda's husband, Michael Kirby, made it home from Iraq in time for the funeral. Please continue to keep their family in your prayers.

Remember to keep ALL our troops, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers!
God Bless Our Troops!
Nancy Peabody

Reflections from Baghdad

Reflections from Baghdad of growing up in the limestone capital of the world
COL Mark E. McKnight
BNL class of 1979

It’s twenty hundred hours in the evening. That’s 8 p.m. to most people and the temperature is easily over 95 degrees. The day has not been particularly good or bad. Such is the day-to-day nature of combat. I have recently begun to journal my thoughts and memories as a means of escaping for a few minutes from the stress and worry of soldiering. Soldiering is, at my stage of an officer’s career, more mental than physical, but it is soldiering away from home, family and friends never-the-less.

In this environment, memories which have eluded my recall for years sometimes return in crystal clear images, sounds, smells and textures. My memories of growing up in Bedford are neither glamorous nor extremely adventurous; in fact, they are probably rather routine to the casual observer. They are, however, the memories I have carried with me to many parts of this world and they are the experiences which shaped me as a young boy.

The normalcy of day-to-day life doesn’t always allow much reflection on your past, but serving in an environment like Iraq does often provide the motivation to remember and cherish the little things in your life, much as did I assume it did in Vietnam, Korea, World War II or any conflict.

Before now I had not thought much about my growing up in a small southern Indiana town, but recently I have. Maybe it’s middle age or maybe it’s Iraq. It’s probably a little bit of both. I thought by sharing some of my reflections, not of my current home along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but of my life along the banks of the White River in southern Indiana, maybe they will for a short time take you out of the normalcy of your day.

I apologize upfront for the haphazard flow of these thoughts, but like many things in combat, actions often occur randomly and the memories I have captured for this article came in no particular sequence. Some are just a single word, others I could write whole paragraphs about. Some come with opinions or titles such as “The best cheeseburger in the world.” I mean no harm and in no way intend to hurt anyone’s feelings, but for me some titles will never be debatable, although the cheeseburger title could have had several different categories. Anyway, having made a feeble attempt at a disclaimer, here we go. I hope they spark some memories of your own:

The grade school basketball tournament between: Parkview, Lincoln, Madden, Englewood and Stalker. There was always the build-up pep rally, the opportunity to go down to the office and buy your shaker or beanie. The pre-game meal at Jerry’s. The walk from Parkview to the high school gym for the day long tournament with an evening championship.

Leather Converse all-stars, the first time they came out.

The smell and the shine of the wood floor of the old high school gym. The draftiness of the locker rooms under the bleachers. The up-close and packed-in feeling of the Friday night basketball games.

The momentous passage from the small basketball goals and the ceramic floor, to the regulation 10-foot goals and the wooden floor at the boy’s club.

Wading for golf balls in the creek at Otis Park, big bend and sledding off the big hill.

Traveling to Indianapolis at Christmas to gaze at the store windows on the circle.

The “Santa” show on channel 4, The “Popeye and Janie” show, “Cowboy Bob and the Chuckwagon Theater” featuring “Sourdough, the Singing Biscuit”

Friday night scary movies with Sammy Terry.

The pancake festival on the square and the aroma of fresh pancakes and tent canvas mingled together.

The J.C. Penny store on the corner with the big picture of Mr. Penny over the front door.

The first Hoover’s candy store, the small one in Englewood. The smell of caramel, the rotating assorted nuts display and the huge selection of candy. The best caramel apples in the world.

The Bedford drive-in and the miniature train with the tunnel.

The East 50 drive-in, its Ferris wheel and the best foil wrapped hot dogs I have ever had.

Wards barbershop and their great assortment of pocket combs for sale.

Witnessing “Dick the Bruiser” arrive just before his wrestling match at the National Guard armory. He stepped out of a Cadillac El Dorado wearing his wrestling outfit and cowboy boots.

The mouthwatering smell driving by the Bedford bakery when they were baking bread.

Summer nights listening to the Cincinnati Reds on the staticky AM radio.

The round swimming pool at Thornton Park and the infamous swim test administered by the life guards before you could cross over the rope into the deep end and jump off the diving boards.


A great Saturday: a Long John pastry from Pfeffer’s bakery for breakfast, Johnny Quest on the TV, lunch at Burger Chef, a matinee at the Indiana Theatre and an ice cream sundae from the Woolworth’s restaurant counter.

Hiking back to Stack Rock from Wilson Park.

Snow’s drive in, the best cheeseburger in the world, sorry Red Barrel, Satellite, Jerry’s, Hub and Beetle Burger fans. The food stands at the 4-H Fair also provided stiff competition.

Returning pop bottles, mowing yards and de-tasseling corn for summer money.

The dressed fleas at the Lawrence County Museum.

The smell of the walk in freezer at the Bedford dairy and the complimentary cups of ice cream with the wooden spoons.

The bug truck spraying in the summer.

Astronaut glasses with a fill up from the Marathon station.

The snow cone (white paper cones) and the Tastee freeze trucks (the first mobile soft served ice cream)

I hope everyone back in “The Limestone Capital of the World” my hometown Bedford is alright…COL Mark McKnight, BNL class of 1979


Col. Mark McKnight, Chief of Staff
3rd Infantry Division, Task Force Marne
Camp Victory, Iraq
6 April 2008

Weekly Newsletter 4/06/2008

Beautiful weekend! I hope you've had the opportunity to go out and enjoy it!!

--We have now sent out over 50 boxes filled with Girl Scout Cookies, other goodies and lots of love to our service members in Iraq or Afghanistan. Remember to get us addresses of your deployed service members as soon as you get them, so that we may add them to our list! Many thanks to the Tulip Trace Council of Girl Scouts and, in particular, to Scott and Denise Sproles!!

--Our "Tour of Iraq" is in full swing! We will meet again this week at the Thornton Pavilion on Tuesday, April 8th at 6 pm--WEATHER PERMITTING! If you cannot attend the scheduled walk, please walk on your own and email me every Sunday with your week's total mileage, so that I may keep track of our progress! I LOVE to walk, so please let me know if there are other days that would be better for you, and we will schedule more than one walk per week!

--Relay For Life! The following people have signed up to be on the "HHAFFA Hoofers" team: Royce and Nancy Peabody, Joe and Betsy Henley, Wayne and Mary Umphress, Kim Johnson, Melody Gratzer, Amanda Kirby, Kim Price, Tammy Lee, Cindy Gable, Christy Ingram, Jeanne New, Kimberly Sterrett, Trinity Sterrett, Kiersten Wheelock, Lisa Salladee, Bonnie Harper, Bill and Susie Robinson, Andra Jackson, Phil and Susan Inman, Tom and Pat Boscher. If I have left anyone out--please let me know. I have been sending out special emails to any one who has signed up to be a HHAFFA Hoofers team member.

--The Roudebush VA Medical Center has partnered with the Indiana Blue Star Salute to honor our military families, and to thank our Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedon (OEF/OIF) veterans for their service to our country. The event will be held on Armed Forces Day (May 17th) and more information may be found by visiting www.hcbluestar.org . I encourage every person who receives this newsletter who has a family member in the Armed Forces, to go to this website, read the information and submit your information!

--Jeremy Brooking (mother, Deborah, lives in Mitchell) is recovering from surgery. He was injured in Iraq, where a bullet was lodged in his chest, and the surgery removed the bullet. I think it would be a great show of support for his recovery if everyone sent him a greeting! His address is:

Jeremy Brooking
1307 Timberlake Trail
Jacksonville, NC 28546

In closing, I would like to again thank all those people who are actively participating in this organization! We can do so much together! With our numbers, we have the opportunity to go out and contribute great things to our community and its military personnel and their families! Through these activities we can raise awareness of the NUMBERS of service members from our area and the number of family members that are affected!

Please continue to keep Amanda Kirby's father-in-law and family in your prayers. The past few weeks have not brought encouraging news, and they have requested that Michael return from Iraq.

Remember to keep ALL our troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers!
God Bless Our Troops!
Nancy Peabody

John Gebhardt

JOHN GEBHARDT

Wouldn't it be fitting if this went completely around the world!.....

John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing. He is a real Star of the war, and represents w hat America is trying to do.

This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

James Gates U. S. Navy