"Christmas With You"

The following video uses images of Fallen Heroes. It's good.

Do I Make You Proud?

nothing

I had some music here, but decided to take it off.

Almost Home

Spc. Eric Salinas, 25, of Houston, Tex., sheds a tear during the memorial service for his friend, Cpl. Carl W. Johnson II, who was killed Oct. 7 when the Stryker vehicle Johnson was driving hit an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq. (Tony Overman/The Olympian)

Body of Primera soldier arrives

Body of Army Spc. Eric Domingo Salinas returns to childhood hometown

By CLARISSA MARTINEZ, Valley Morning Star

August 10, 2007 - 8:54AM

HARLINGEN — The body of Army Spc. Eric Domingo Salinas, killed in Iraq last week, is expected to be returned here early today.

Family members planned to accompany Salinas’ body from Houston as he made a last trip to his childhood hometown.

Salinas, 26, was killed Aug. 2 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

Gracie De Leon, Salinas’ aunt, said that although he moved to Houston when he was 9 years old, Salinas would often travel to the Rio Grande Valley to visit relatives.

“We will make the trip in honor of my nephew,” De Leon said Thursday during a phone interview from Houston. “This is his last trip going home, and we will be with him.”

Salinas and two other soldiers, Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio, and Spc. Cristian Rojas-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Ga., died when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, the Defense Department said in a statement.

All three were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Garcia said a hearse from Funeraria del Angel in Harlingen would pick up Salinas’ body in Houston on Thursday and then return to Harlingen early Friday.

The Primera Police Department planned to meet the hearse at the Sarita checkpoint and escort it into Harlingen.

Salinas was born in Harlingen and raised in Primera, where he attended Wilson Elementary School as a child, De Leon said.

The Valley never stopped being home to Salinas.

America’s Last Patrol will hold a flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m. today at 5th Street and Pacific Avenue, the home of Guadalupe Correa De Leon, Salinas’ grandmother.

Visitation will be held from 1-9 p.m. today at Funeraria del Angel, 2906 S. Expressway 77/83, a funeral home spokeswoman said.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Harlingen, followed by burial at Restlawn Memorial Park in La Feria, the spokeswoman said.

Salinas has ties to others elsewhere in the country.

Stephanie Braswell of Birmingham, Ala., said her son, Spec. Colby Helton, 21, served with Salinas.

“My son and him were brothers,” Braswell said Thursday in a telephone interview.

“He told use that he would pray for us,” Braswell said. “He was the one at war, and he said he’d pray for us. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

When Braswell’s family sent Helton care packages, they included packages for Salinas, and Salinas often wrote letters to Braswell and her family members, offering his prayers to them.

Braswell said she is devastated that when Helton comes home, Salinas won’t be at his side.
De Leon said she asks that her nephew be remembered as a hero.

“He took on a big responsibility that other people wouldn’t necessarily do,” De Leon said. “And he has come back as a hero.”

But, to Braswell, Salinas is already a hero.

“He is everything a hero should be,” Braswell said. “He is an American hero.”

Memorial ceremonies scheduled Friday:

Flag-raising ceremony, 11 a.m.
Home of Guadalupe Correa De Leon
Fifth Street and Pacific Avenue, Harlingen

Visitation, 1 to 9 p.m.
Funeraria del Angel
2906 S. Expressway 77/83, Harlingen

Saturday:
Funeral Mass, 3:30 p.m.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church
412 S. C St., Harlingen

Burial, following service
Restlawn Memorial Park
14166 E Business 83, La Feria

Tear-jerker

"Heaven Was Needing An Angel"

Local Soldier Killed in Iraq

Soldier from Primera killed in Iraq

By ED ASHER/ Valley Morning Star

August 5, 2007 - 10:12PM

HARLINGEN — A soldier who was born and raised in Primera has been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb, his aunt said Sunday.

Army Spc. Eric Domingo Salinas, 26, was killed Thursday while on patrol in Baghdad, his aunt, Gracie DeLeon, said in a telephone interview from Houston.

“We don’t know the details. They triggered an underground bomb … an IED,” she said, referring to an improvised explosive device.

She said Salinas was born in Primera and attended Wilson Elementary School in Harlingen. He moved to Houston with his mother when he was 9 years old, she said.

He was scheduled to return home from his tour of duty in September, three days before his birthday, his aunt said.

He leaves behind a 4-year-old son, DeLeon said.

“He wanted to fight for our country,” DeLeon said.

“He wanted to see the world, see different people and different cultures. It was something he always wanted to do.”

He loved sports, particularly soccer and basketball, and he liked to dance.

“He was the clown of the family. He was always making everybody laugh. He was always coming out with silly things to do to entertain us,” she said.

“He was a great person.”

His grandmother and other relatives still live in the Valley, she said.

She said the family expects his body to be returned to Houston. The family is planning funeral services at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Harlingen and burial at Restlawn Memorial Park in La Feria.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Rudy Garza Funeral Homes, she said.

A family counselor at Rudy Garza in La Feria said Sunday that they expect to receive the body in about two weeks.

Salinas is the second soldier from the Harlingen area to be killed in Iraq.

Great Media Clip

Remember Me

A Little's Enough

"A Little's Enough"

When all is said and done
Will we still feel pain inside?
Will the scars go away with night?
Try to smile for the morning light
It's like the best dream to have
Where every thing is not so bad
Every tear is so alone
Like God himself is coming home to say

I, I can do anything
If you want me here
And I can fix any thing
If you let me near
Where are those secrets now
That you're too scared to tell
I'd whisper them all aloud
So you can hear yourself

Green trees were the first sign
The deepest blue, the clearest sky
The silence came with the brightest eyes
And turned water into wine
The children ran to see
The parents stood in disbelief
And those who knew braced for the ride
The earth itself then came alive to say

I, I can do anything
If you want me here
And I can fix anything
If you let me near
Where are those secrets now
That you're too scared to tell
I whisper them all aloud
So you can hear yourself

I'm sorry I have to say it but you look like you're sad
Your smile is gone; I've noticed it bad
The cure is if you let in just a little more love
I promise you this, a little's enough

trying again with the Soldier video

Soldier

Add to My Profile | More Videos

sad

Couldn't get the video to work - at least on my computer - missing some plug-in. Go to:

http://ca.upyourmusic.yahoo.com/#v=110143

To view the video - well worth the time.

Fight For Me - great video!

Marine Corps Silent Drill Team

Awesome!

I remember - do you?

Remember Me video

A mother asked....

A mother asked President Bush,

"Why did my son have to die in Iraq ?"

Another mother asked President Kennedy,
"Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam ?"


Another mother asked President Truman,
"Why did my son have to die in Korea ?


Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt,
"Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima ?"


Another mother asked President W. Wilson,
"Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France ?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln,
"Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg ?"


And yet another mother asked President G. Washington,
"Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge ?"


Then long, long ago, a mother asked...
"Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die
On a cross outside of Jerusalem ?"

The answers to all these are similar --

"So that others may have life and dwell in peace,
Happiness and freedom."


This was emailed to me with no author and I thought the magnitude and the simplicity were awesome


IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE...


TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!

Lord of the Bouncy

Something to make you smile

Who's trusting who?

Another awesome devotional. Really made me think - especially with what our family's been going through.


God has been dealing with me about something I have never heard anyone address or ask. He has been asking me, "Do you TRUST ME as much as I TRUST you???" Wow! Now THAT is a tough question! It's not a tough question to answer.....due to the fact that I am quite SURE, I do NOT trust Him as much as HE trusts me. What makes it a tough question is the fact that I absolutely do NOT have a good answer as to "WHY" I don't trust Him as much as He trusts me. Are you with me? Let's face it, God trusts us like crazy! Think about it. He places us in positions to watch over His church, His children, His creations, and we constantly mess up, flub up, and fail, yet He continues to trust us. He trusts us to spread the Good News of Jesus to the world, He trusts us to deliver the truth, He trusts us with His money He allows us to use and have, and the list goes on and on. How do we know He trusts us? We know it because He never gives up on us.....regardless of how much we mess up. With all our faults, doubts, quirks, complaints, and a host of other things too long to list, He STILL TRUSTS US! HE STILL BLESSES US! HE STILL LOOKS OUT FOR US! HE IS STILL FAITHFUL TO US!

OK, now let's look at the other side of this equation; "us trusting Him." He has a PERFECT track record! And I do mean PERFECT! He takes care of us, He blesses us beyond our wildest imagination, He forgives us, He loves us, He corrects us in a way that makes us want to get right instead of feeling like a failure; and He does all of this NO MATTER WHAT! So, WHY is it that we don't TRUST HIM the way we should when He has such a GREAT track record??? WHY do we think He will NOT show up ON TIME??? WHY do we TRY TO FIX IT OURSELVES BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY THINK HE IS GOING TO SHOW UP TO FIX THINGS??? Wow, kind of eye-opening, huh?

I am "blown away" every day how He is taking care of my family, and all the details connected to us. I mean, BLOWN AWAY! Just when I think I have seen it all, and there is no other creative way for Him to come through on something, KAPOW!!! He does it again! He comes through in a way I never even dreamed of! Do you know what I mean? I am talking about everything from finances to feelings to speaking engagements. He just keeps on being faithful and TRUSTING IN ME, and yet, I have doubts as to whether or not "He can do it again!" I have the tendency to think like this: "Oh, I know He came through last week.....but you know....that was a one time thing! What about now? How could He possibly take care of this situation or that situation again?" And yet, He comes through. He not only comes through, but He comes through with a blaze of glory!!! He comes through in AWESOME and INCREDIBLE ways! And He does it consistently.

So, I'll ask it again, "Do you TRUST GOD as much as GODS TRUSTS you???" I don't know about you, but I am going to "flip that switch of faith" and I am going to do my best to move from TRYING TO TRUST to just TRUSTING. Period. No limitations. No pre-conceived ideas. No putting Him in a box that He has to work in. I am just going to TRUST HIM. I am going to TRUST HIM, as much as HE TRUSTS ME. How am I going to do this? The only thing I can think of is to spend either more or less distracted TIME WITH HIM. Why did I choose this? It's because I don't think you or I can trust ANYONE until we KNOW THEM. And we cannot KNOW THEM unless we SPEND TIME WITH THEM. And the MORE we SPEND TIME WITH THEM, then the MORE WE KNOW THEM. And the MORE WE KNOW THEM, the MORE WE CAN TRUST THEM. Right? Right. So,let's DIVE IN and begin to READ THE WORD OF GOD and SPEND QUALITY TIME with THE LORD better and more than ever. Let's do it until we reach the point where we "TRUST" more than we "TRY." Let's do it until WE TRUST HIM, as much as HE TRUSTS US........AMEN!!!

A Sniper's Story

‘For God & Country’: A sniper’s story

A 22-year-old Marine sniper talks about fighting, coming home from Iraq

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16096369/

This program aired on MSNBC. If you go to the link I posted above, you can read an interview. What I find most interesting is the truthfulness that seems to be reported, things we hear our sons say all the time.

I am posting the last little bit of it below:

Doc Block: What is the one thing that makes you angriest about news coverage of the conflict?

Orth: Most news networks will interview us during combat and completely change what we said just to have better ratings. That means the American public does not get the true story on what is taking place in Iraq.

Doc Block: What was it like to come home after combat? How had you changed? Could you go back to living the same life?

Orth: You will never be the same. You approach life differently, the way you think is different. You’ve seen and been through things that people can’t dream up in nightmares, but in the end your life and personal interactions somehow mean more than ever.

Doc Block: How were you received by family? Friends? The public?

Orth: With love and support by most people. Others would ask me questions about what we were doing and why we were over there, and I could see once we were done talking, that they understood a little bit better of why we were doing in Iraq.

Doc Block: Were you aware of the public’s generally negative attitude about Iraq while you were overseas?

Orth: Yes, we all knew that the American people thought negatively about the war but we didn’t care because the media is telling different stories about what is really going on, how could they know the truth unless they were over here fighting the fight?

Doc Block: What are your plans now that you are back? What was the first thing you did when you got home?

Orth: First thing I did when I got home was drink a beer. For the most part I’ve been working on my mother’s house to sell it because she became ill. Other than that I’m just trying to find a job until I can start college.

Doc Block: What are the images from Iraq that will stay with you for the rest of your life?

Orth: Mostly death and destruction like everyone else but also the happy kids that can now play in the streets safely, sitting down and eating lunch or dinner with an Iraqi family, but most of all, the friends and brothers I made.

Doc Block: Emotionally, how hard is it to adjust?

Orth: When I first got back, it didn’t seem too hard, but after a while you sometimes out of nowhere you start to cry or just feel totally alone like there is no one there for you. That’s the really hard part.

Doc Block: Have you experienced any form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Orth: Yes, I think everyone does. I came home the first time and thought any car on the road that got close to me was going to blow up. I couldn’t drive. I would get panic attacks.

Doc Block: If you could go back in time to the moment when you signed up for the Marines, would you do it again?

Orth: In a heartbeat.

REVEILLE

Salute to Veterans