Continuing its push to see Frederick Mayer receive the Medal of Honor, the Office of Strategic Services Society on Sunday sent a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh urging him to reopen the case. The OSS Society, a nonprofit organization that celebrates the accomplishments of the OSS during World War II, last week released a statement saying it believes Mayer, the “real ‘Inglourious Basterd,’” deserves the nation’s highest award for valor. The society’s statement came as the White House tomorrow will present the Medal of Honor to 24 soldiers from World War II, Vietnam and Korea who didn’t receive the…
A handful of soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division have become mini-celebrities in South Korea after appearing on a popular (and somewhat cheesy but hilarious) reality television show about the Korean military. “Real Men” features Korean celebrities experiencing some aspect of military life while being embedded with South Korean troops, Stars and Stripes reported. In a three-minute YouTube clip, the Americans are shown with their Korean counterparts. The men laugh and joke, as one soldier is first said to resemble “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin, then Voldemort as portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the “Harry Potter” movie series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnFWzBYay4 “People will…
Want a sandwich? Soldiers better have a knife and fork handy — if they’re in the British army. Sandwiches and rolls are banned from an officers’ mess in England because the way soldiers eat them is “frankly barbaric,” says an army commander, Maj. Gen. James Cowan, quoted Wednesday in The Telegraph, which cites a report in the Sun. “Quite a few officers … seem to be under the impression that they can eat their food with their hands,” Cowan says in a three-page letter on standards at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire, home of 3 UK Division. He also targets the use of…
[HTML1] Retired Staff Sgt. Travis Mills is a quadruple amputee who was critically injured by an IED while out on patrol during his third tour in Afghanistan. On Friday, he jumped out of a freakin’ airplane at 13,000 freakin’ feet while attached to a member of the Golden Knights parachute team. The Army documented the entire event in the skies above Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., and Mills is just fun to watch. When the plane is climbing to 6,000 feet, the cameraman inquires how Mills is feeling. Mills, with a huge grin on his face, says he’s ready to…
Actor Harold Ramis, who died Monday at the age of 69, leaves behind a lengthy film repertoire including “Stripes,” the 1981 movie about the hollow Army years between the end of Vietnam and before the Reagan military buildup. Ramis co-starred with Bill Murray in the film about two screw-ups who join the Army looking for some type of direction. SPOILER ALERT: The two end up invading Czechoslovakia in an experimental Army recreational vehicle to rescue their unit. While “Stripes” is no “Citizen Kane,” it’s a classic comedy that captures how America felt about its military at the time. Most of…
Sgt. 1st Class Steven Janotta recently shared his idea for a retirement medal with the readers of Army Times, and he’s since garnered thousands of supporters. Now one soldier has gone so far as to lobby the commander-in-chief himself. On Feb. 5, a White House petition was created compelling President Obama to consider instituting a retirement medal. The petition (which has a LONG way to go to reach the 100,000-signature threshold for actual consideration) states: “If a Soldier continued faithful service for at least two decades or more to the US Army; then, their service and this significant event should…
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno on Conan last night.
The Army’s top officer, now a seasoned veteran of late-night TV talk shows, appeared on “Conan” last night and encouraged the nation’s employers to hire soldiers leaving the service. “I believe they have so much to contribute,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, in the guest chair next to host Conan O’Brien. There are “no better employees than those who served the country,” he said to applause from the audience. Odierno talked up the Army’s Soldier for Life program, which supports the transition of soldiers into civilian life, saying “there is still a lot of work to do” as soldiers and…
As seven soldiers head for the Winter Olympics, the call is out for one of them to be picked as flag bearer for the U.S. during the Parade of Nations in Sochi, Russia. NBC raised the question, and its list of top picks for flag bearer on the NBC Olympics website includes two from the Army contingent: Capt. Chris Fogt and veteran Steven Holcomb. The list includes several other Olympic competitors. A Facebook page for soldiers, U.S Army W.T.F! moments, is rallying soldiers to vote for Fogt, an Iraq veteran who’s on the bobsled team Night Train, along with Holcomb,…
State of the Union addresses are by many accounts a political kabuki play and have been for years. President Obama’s highly observed and analysed speech will feature planned applause lines and choreographed nods, all while he highlights his priorities and signature achievements. He will do the talking, and members of Congress will clap, stand, grimace — or use their choice of guests — to speak for them. And tonight, veterans and family members of fallen service members will be among these honored guests, symbolically emphasizing legislators’ key issues. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is bringing Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee, who endured a…
He’s a vet who gives a voice to other vets — and now he’s headed to the State of the Union address next week. Eric Marts, a blind Iraq war vet who hosts a radio talk show about veterans issues, is going as a guest of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, next week. His program is called “Heroes of the Heartland.” Heitkamp met former Master Sgt. Marts last summer when she traveled the state to listen to the issues facing North Dakota veterans, she said in a press release. “Each year, I ask someone special, someone who represents the very best from…
