Hero of the week

The fourth was with us!

By Jeff Bacon on May 4, 2017 Hero of the week, Stories, Uncategorized

[UPDATE: Thanks for the support on May 4th – Wyakin raised over four thousand dollars that will be used to support the men and women who served and sacrificed for their country. I truly feel we are all in this together and have an obligation to – in the words of a country song – turn around and help the next one in line. It is an honor to be counted in your number.] The organization where I donate a lot of my time serves wounded and injured veterans as they pursue degrees and careers. Today – and today only…

I am a Veteran

By Jeff Bacon on January 10, 2017 Hero of the week, Stories, Videos

I Am a Veteran by Andrea Christensen Brett [Sent to me by Cliff – Army helo pilot, Vietnam Veteran, Purple Heart recipient]

Mack Machowicz

By Jeff Bacon on January 5, 2017 Hero of the week

Most deaths have nothing to do with combat, but that doesn’t make it easier for those left behind. This moving tribute to a fallen SEAL shows that although we all die, we still can fight in our own ways. Mack’s motto: Not Dead, Can’t Quit. (click on the image to read the tribute) [Sent to me by Marv, retired Chief Warrant Officer)

Purpose

By Jeff Bacon on December 6, 2016 Hero of the week, Videos

Too many veteran programs concentrate on sad stories, personal tragedies and breathtaking heroism. The vast majority of veterans fall somewhere in between. The challenge they all face during transition is in finding new purpose, because in the military they had it. The goal for all of us should be to help them discover and attain a new, equally satisfying purpose in the private sector. This excellent and emotional video (8 min) describes the Wyakin program through the eyes of three wounded veterans. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I support this foundation because it empowers wounded and injured veterans…

Thanks

By Jeff Bacon on November 24, 2016 Hero of the week

Today I give thanks for the love and safety of my family and the warm embrace of friendship. I thank the Lord that we live in a country where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are so much a part of our lives that we rarely even stop to think about how lucky we really are. And I give thanks for those who have sacrificed to make all of that possible. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

In honor of CIV

By Jeff Bacon on November 17, 2016 Hero of the week, Stories

In May of this year, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Charlie Keating IV was killed in northern Iraq when his quick reaction force confronted over a hundred ISIS fighters who were threatening to overwhelm a small American advise-and-assist team and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces it was supporting. A US Naval Institute article from May 4, 2016 describes the scene: “The U.S. advise-and-assist team – composed of fewer than a dozen U.S. troops — was in the town of Tel Askuf when the force of more than 120 ISIS fighters pushed into the area. The ISIS force was made up…

Amazing Grace

By Jeff Bacon on November 11, 2016 Hero of the week, Stories, Videos

My father was a World War II veteran, an experience that he credited for changing his life for the better. A high school dropout and part time troublemaker, he joined the Navy two days before his 18th birthday, on June 6, 1944. D-Day. He loved the Navy until the day he died, marrying his beautiful bride on the same day ten years later in Emporia, Kansas, the town where Veterans Day was first created, and where my mother and brother (and family) still live. One of my father’s favorite songs was Amazing Grace. It was played during his memorial service…

(USMC photo)

United States Marine Corps

By Jeff Bacon on November 10, 2016 Hero of the week, Stories, Videos

(If you haven’t seen the video at the top of the page, take five minutes and watch it.) “On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved the resolution to establish two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. This date marks the official formation of the Continental Marines.” 1st Commandant: Major Samuel Nicholas (1775-1783) From its founding days before the Revolution to today’s ongoing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other deadly places around the world, the Marine Corps has unblinkingly answered the clarion call whenever the nation needed protectors. More than those serving in…

Obstacle Course

By Jeff Bacon on October 27, 2016 Hero of the week, Stories

Every day I get the privilege of working with some incredible human beings. Each of them has suffered a life-altering injury in service to the country, and as we get to know each veteran, we learn what overcoming challenges really means. To me, it might be dealing with some lingering knee pain. To Wyakin Warriors like Colby Morgan, it is dealing with blindness that resulted from receiving a series of shots as he prepared to deploy to Afghanistan. His body reacted to them by damaging his eyes. What would you do as a suddenly-blind teenager whose Army career was so…

TLAM being fired from USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53)

OEF – October 7, 2016

By Jeff Bacon on October 6, 2016 Hero of the week, Stories

Fifteen years ago on October 7 a U.S. led coalition began Operation Enduring Freedom in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on the United States a few weeks earlier. US and coalition forces used Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (or TLAM for short), air strikes, precision bombing, and special operations to begin it all, soon followed by more conventional boots on the ground. For the first time since NATO’s inception in 1949, Article V was invoked, which states, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against…

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