Dhimmi This!

Staff Sgt. Darrell Ray Griffin Jr.

This is the 100th post for this website.  I have waited for a while before posting the 100th because I wanted it to be about something significant, something inspiring.  It turns out that the 100th post will not be written by me, but will be a link.  It is a link to the story of an American warrior, Staff SGT Darrell Ray Griffin Jr. (known to his family and friends as Skipper). Staff SGT Griffin was killed on March 21, 2007 while on patrol in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq.  Staff SGT Griffin was on his second deployment when a sniper's bullet claimed his life.  Alex Kingsbury of US News & World Report had interviewed Staff SGT Griffin on March 3, 2007.  The article is posted here.  An excerpt from the story follows:

Four days before his death, Army Staff Sgt. Darrell Ray Griffin Jr., an infantry squad leader in Baghdad, sent an E-mail to his wife, Diana. "Spartan women of Greece used to tell their husbands, before they went into battle, to come back with their shields or laying on them, dying honorably in battle. But if they did not return with their shield, this showed that they ran away from the battle. Cowardice was not a Spartan virtue ... Tell me that you love me the same by me coming back with my shield or on it."

    This article is a true must read.  Staff SGT Griffin was a warrior who participated in and witnessed the worst parts of war, but he did not do so as a thoughtless uncaring machine.  The tragedy that he witnessed left its mark upon him, but as a real warrior he strove to understand the experiences and to grow to be a better man because of them.  He worked to learn from what he had seen. Godspeed Staff SGT Griffin and may God console your family for their loss.

    Also, take the time to click on the "Related News" links on the left of the page. The photo above is a self portrait taken by Staff SGT Griffin.

Emails from Staff SGT Griffin to his father

DOD Identifies Casualty

Update on House for Wounded LANG Vet

House of Heroes gets some guardian 'Angels'

By: David P. Powell

05/03/2007

"May no soldier go unloved," the official motto of Soldiers' Angels, a nonprofit foundation launched in 2003 by the mother of an Iraq soldier, took on new meaning this week when the foundation made a $10,000 donation to the Western Center for Technical Studies' "House of Heroes" project.

The project, in which WCTS students are constructing a home for the family of injured Louisiana National Guardsman James Johnson, was imperiled last month when the school learned that no transportation for the completed house had ever been formally arranged. Since that discovery, the WCTS has been seeking $18,000 to pay for new transportation arrangements.
Spring-Ford Area School District Superintendent Dr. Marsha Hurda said Monday that Soldiers' Angels may be able to single-handedly foot the bill for the house's voyage to Lake Charles, La. Spring-Ford operates the WCTS in conjunction with the Pottsgrove and Upper Perkiomen school districts.
"They have committed $10,000, and they feel very strongly that they'll be able to raise the additional $8,000," said Hurda.
"It looks like they're closing in on the entire financial obligation," said Lt. Colonel Chris Cleaver, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard, when reached via telephone Tuesday.
The Soldiers' Angels donation was facilitated by the Louisiana and Pennsylvania divisions of the National Guard, which raced to the project's aid after early reports on the House of Heroes' plight suggested that the National Guard had reneged on an agreement to transport the house. In reality, the National Guard never had a formal agreement with the project.
Cleaver said that most of the credit for the recent effort should go to the Louisiana National Guard.
"All our hats are off to the Louisiana National Guard. There has not only been the spirit of helping this noble cause, but some serendipity as well," Cleaver said.
The house will be partially disassembled for the trip to Louisiana. Later this month, about 30 students who built the house are scheduled to travel to Louisiana to reassemble the house and give it some finishing touches.
According to Cleaver, they'll have plenty of help. Cleaver said the Louisiana National Guard reached out to a former company commander who was in the construction business.
"It's in good, knowledgeable hands down there. They'll have cranes, licenses, port-a-johns, all the different little items [the House of Heroes] will need," Cleaver said.

NOTE: Donations can be made to SoldiersAngels.org and make a note on the donation that it is for the "House for Heroes in Pennsylvania".

or directly to

Western Center for Technical Studies, Attn: House for Heroes, 77 Greater Ford Road, Limerick, PA 19468

Payable   to “House for Heroes”.

Soldiers' Angels is a 501(c)(3) so donations are tax deductible, I am not sure about donations directly to the school.

Alexander Raises $200,000 for Attorney General Race in Two Weeks

Alexander Raises $200,000 for Attorney General Race in Two Weeks

MAY 02, 2007 XXXX  08:43:22 AM CDT

Republican A.G. Candidate Launches Statewide Media Campaign

Shreveport-Royal Alexander, Republican candidate for Attorney General, announced today that his campaign has raised over $200,000 in just the first two weeks of his candidacy. Alexander, who is running to unseat Democrat Attorney General Charles Foti of New Orleans, stated, “Our message of new leadership in the Attorney General’s office is apparently resonating and in terms of fundraising, it is resonating a whole lot quicker than we had ever hoped for. Everywhere we have turned to ask for support doors have been opened to us, and opened wide.”

Alexander also announced the launch of a statewide media blitz which will feature outdoor advertising, a web site launch, and radio commercials. The campaign’s initial statewide media effort will also entail a high-tech friend-to-friend campaign beginning with the campaign’s huge e-mail database.

“We want to get out our message of positive change and you have to have the resources to do it. We are getting the resources we need and we are now actively going to spread our message of putting people ahead of politics in the Attorney General’s office,” added Alexander. “We are thankful to everyone who has come forward to support our campaign in this short time, but this is just the beginning. We want to keep up our efforts at this aggressive pace, we want to make sure that we have the resources we need to be victorious on Election Day,” commented Alexander. Alexander’s support has come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from doctors to farmers, rural and urban, and those in between.

Royal Alexander is a native of Shreveport. Prior to his position as Chief of Staff to Congressman Rodney Alexander, he served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Division of Administrative Law, State of Louisiana. Alexander has also served as attorney, of counsel, with the law firm of Smith and John in Shreveport, Campaign Consultant and as Congressional Aide to former Congressman Clyde C. Holloway, as attorney with the law firm of Jeansonne and Remondet with offices in Shreveport, Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houston, and as a law clerk for the Honorable Rebecca F. Doherty, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Louisiana. Alexander received his J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he served on Law Review and Moot Court Board and has a B.A. from Louisiana State University-Shreveport.

See: PoliticsLac.com

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