Patriotic Employer - Blogged by N8

Shortly after returning home. I wanted to recognize my civilian employer for their support for myself and my family while I was gone. So, I put together a framed award with a German license plate, a couple of military coins, and an engraved presentation award.

I dressed in my dress whites and presented it to them at the City Council Meeting.



It was really neat standing in front of the mayor and everyone. I got a little choked up during my presentation, but still managed to hold it together. It was a neat experience.





Afterwords, I was interviewed by a lady from the newspaper. A couple weeks later, a story about me turned up. It was cool to see.

Special Independence Day Guests - Blogged by N8

The thing I love about working in a place like this is that we constantly have very special visitors that come through. I've met more general officers and politicians than some people in the Pentagon. I've seen more celebrities than Hollywood. I've seen more athletes than the Olympics. They all have one thing in common: They know that supporting your troops takes more than cheering them on from your living room sofa.

On Saturday, the 3rd, we had a few special guests come through. The first was someone I had the privilege of meeting briefly last December. Gary Sinise came through again!



This time wasn't as rushed as last time. In fact, he toured the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center and I got to do part of the brief. He was very interested in donating to us, so I got to give him our literature and explain different parts of it. He was very down to earth and interested in what I had to say. I have been very impressed with his patriotic spirit and really appreciate his support.

The other special visitor was, in my opinion, the most amazing distinguished visitor I've met. His name is Leo Thorsness, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.



Mr. Thorsness was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for an air engagement he was involved in during the Vietnam War. Two weeks after receiving it, he was shot down and spent 6 years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. He was also a senator for the state of Washington.

It was an honor to meet him and to talk to him about his experience. He was so cool! When he first came into the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center, he completely by-passed our Colonel and started talking to me and asking me questions about our program. I felt really awkward because our Colonel started giving the rest of his group our brief and he kept talking to me. So, I quickly tried to get him to listen to the brief and said, "Sir, I think that some of the questions you have will be answered in our Command Chaplain's brief." He looked at our Colonel and then back to me and said, "Oh, what does he know? You're the one that does all the work around here!" I had tears in my eyes from trying to hold in the laughter. He also informed us that before he became an officer he was a Chaplain's Assistant, so I have a special bond with him. It was an honor to shake the hand of a living Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

They made it a very relaxed afternoon where everyone had a few minutes to meet and chat with our VIP's. They even sat down and had lunch with us. What a neat 4th of July!

Christmas VIP Visits Blogged by N8

With the approaching Christmas Holiday, it is tradition for the USO to have celebrities visit the troops who are deployed overseas. So, we had a recent visit from a few celbrities this last Sunday.

The first one I got to meet was Anna Kournikova. I was really excited to meet her because she used to date my favorite hockey player of all time, Sergei Fedorov.



The next one I met was Dave Attell. He's a comedian famous for his show on Comedy Central "Insomnia".



I had never heard of this next guy before, but he was really nice. His name is Nick Bollettieri. He's a famous tennis coach.



The biggest celebrity there was Billy Ray Cyrus. He was a lot taller than I thought he'd be.



My favorite person there, however, was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. He is the former Chief of Naval Operations and now has Colin Powell's old job. He was super nice and even gave me a coin. I think that is the most valued coin in my collection, so far.





On my way back to my apartment, I swung by my office and my boss Chaplain M was there. I htought it odd for him to be there on a Sunday, so I asked him why. He said the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, was coming and he told me to stick around so I could meet him. So, he came in and we talked about the Wounded Warrior Center for a while. When he left, he thanked us for our service and gave us each a coin! So, I got coined twice in the same morning!