Snow Shuts Down Nations Capital

God bless those who value duty and honor above inconvenience...

Air Force, DOD pioneer passes away

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- The first woman to serve as major general in
the Air Force, and the Department of Defense, passed away Feb. 15.

Retired Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm is credited as the single driving
force in achieving parity for military women and making them a viable
part of the mainstream military.

The Portland, Ore., native became a two-star general in 1973 after a
career that began 31 years earlier in 1942 when she enlisted in the
Army. General Holm entered Women's Army Air Corps in January 1943
where she received a commission as third officer, the WAAC equivalent
of second lieutenant.

General Holm also became the first woman to attend the Air Command
and Staff School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 1952.

She was promoted to brigadier general July 16, 1971, the first female
Airman to be appointed in this grade. She was promoted to the grade
of major general effective June 1, 1973, with date of rank July 1,
1970 -- the first woman in the armed forces to serve in that grade.

In recognition of General Holm's pioneering career, Air Force
officials renamed the Air Force Officer Accession and Training
Schools at Maxwell AFB the Jeanne M. Holm Officer Accession and
Citizen Development Center in June 2008. Its mission is Air Force
officer recruitment and training within the Air University.

General Holm was also an author of two books about women in the
military. "Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution" came
out in 1982 and was updated in 1994. Four years later she wrote "In
Defense of a Nation: Servicewomen in World War II."

During World War II, General Holm was assigned to the Women's Army
Corps Training Center at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., where she first
commanded a basic training company and then a training regiment. At
the end of the war, she commanded the 106th WAC Hospital Company at
Newton D. Baker General Hospital, W.Va. She then left active
military duty in 1946.

In October 1948 during the Berlin crisis, she was recalled to active
duty with the Army and went to Camp Lee, Va., as a company
commander. The following year she transferred to the Air Force, when
a new law integrated women in the regular armed forces.

General Holm served in a variety of personnel assignments, including
director of Women in the Air Force from 1965 to 1973. She played a
significant role in eliminating restrictions on numbers of women
serving in all ranks, expanding job and duty station assignments for
women, opening ROTC and service academies to women, and changing the
policies on the status of women in the armed forces. During her
tenure, policies affecting women were updated, WAF strength more than
doubled, job and assignment opportunities expanded, and uniforms modernized.

The general retired in 1975. She served three presidential
administrations: special assistant on women for President Gerald
Ford, policy consultant for President James Carter and first
chairperson of the Veterans Administration's Committee on Women
Veterans for President Ronald Reagan

Colonel Robert L. Howard, USA/Ret Dies

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, a Medal of Honor winner and one of America’s most decorated soldiers, died Wednesday in Waco after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Howard, 70, formerly of San Antonio and father of Waco resident Melissa Gentsch, served five tours of duty in Vietnam and is the only soldier in our nation’s history to be nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three sep-arate episodes.

Although the Medal of Honor can be awarded only once to an individual, men who served with Howard said he deserved all three, according to a Web site posted to honor Howard and other soldiers.

Howard will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, expressed condolences to Howard’s family in a statement Wednesday.

“As one of America’s most decorated veterans, Colonel Howard inspired everyone he met to consider their own commitment to our nation’s essential values, and was the bravest soldier I ever met. His unshakable commitment to freedom, displayed in countless episodes of battlefield gallantry, lives on in the actions of our military men and women who continue to serve in hostile conditions overseas,” Perry said.

Howard grew up in Opelika, Ala., and enlisted in the Army in 1956 at the age of 17. He retired as a full colonel in 1992 after 36 years of service. During Vietnam, he served in the Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and spent most of his five tours in the top-secret special operations forces, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.

“He was a national treasure and a great warrior during a time that our country turned its back on our soldiers,” said Howard’s son-in-law, Waco Assistant Police Chief Frank Gentsch. “He always continued working for the soldiers throughout his career and even in retirement. He made trips all over the country and all over the world visiting soldiers.”

3 times nominated

The first of his three Medal of Honor nominations was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, our country’s second-highest honor. His second and third nominations were simultaneous for two separate actions, and the Medal of Honor was awarded for the first of them and was presented to him by President Richard M. Nixon at the White House in 1971.

The other nomination was downgraded to the Silver Star. Howard was wounded 14 times in 54 months of combat duty in Vietnam. He was awarded eight Purple Hearts.

His story is told in John Plaster’s book, SOG: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

Give 'em Hell Harry!

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S.Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated,Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating,"You don't want me You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!

What to Send in Military Care Package

Meeting & Duty Schedule for CY 2010

---DINNER----------- DUTY WEEK
---Meeting
07 JAN 10------- 11-15 JAN 10
25 FEB 10------- 01-05 MAR 10
15 APR 10------- 19-23 APR 10
03 JUN 10------- 07-11 JUN 10
22 JUL 10------- 26-30 JUL 10
09 SEP 10------- 13-17 SEP 10
28 OCT 10------- 01-05 NOV 10
16 DEC 10------- 20-24 DEN 10

Thank You All !