 |
  |
||||||||||||
»Home
»Video »History of Post Cards for Soldiers »Letter To Senator Schumer 10/01/07
Chicago Commemorates
Veterans Day with a Public Ceremony at Soldier Field. |
|
|
(Click on images for larger view!)
Monday
was quite a day as we were visited by the court jesters of Washington,
Code Pink! In their usual idiotic attire they spouted their usual
incomprehensible nonsensical garbage but little did they know who they
were fooling with! Obviously they never heard that song about Bad
Bad LeRoy Brown from the Southside of Chicago! Folks from our part
of the country DO NOT tolerate idiots very well nor for very
long! Until the day I die, I will NEVER forget watching Joe, a Veteran
and Proud American, chase the goofball Pinkos down the street with our
megaphone in hand. They ran like the cowards they are. By
the way, did I happen to mention Joe is about 6'5" of pure Chicago guts
and glory. It was a sight that the Capitol Police did not
interrupt as they were enjoying it as much as we were! They only
came back later to feed the poor fellow they leave out on this corner
all the time.
They
brought this misguided miscreant a paper plate with his daily ration of
green stuff that I guarantee you even my dogs would turn away. The
portion was about as big as my fist, and I have small hands! I
guess old George Soros doesn't believe in spending his billions feeding
his poorly equipped army of misfits. He obviously doesn't believe
in equipping his court jesters with clean clothes either. I have seen
homeless folks in Chicago with cleaner clothes and appearance than this
group!
Monday went extremely well with cars honking and well wishers with thumbs up passing by. Also had many tourists from foreign countries asking if they could take our picture and wishing us well. Students from California interviewed Joe with many good questions about why we were out there and what we stood for. His answers were the BEST! He talked about America, freedom and liberty and he reminded them that 9/11 happened because the warnings from the terrorists were ignored prior to 9/11. Americans paid a terrible price and our country changed forever on that horrible day. Joe and Mary were the Heroes of the day! As Joe chased, Mary got his backside! They are a dynamic duo and I love these great Chicago folks.
Tuesday was even better and more eventful than Monday. The court jesters did not show up but we later found out why. We were asked to assist in the delivery of 65,000 signatures from Americans who are calling on lawmakers to resist calls for a premature withdrawal from Iraq as the fight for a year-end spending bill heats up. A great Irishmen and Navy Chief, Patrick McCarthy of The Gathering of Eagles, replaced us at our post and covered the corner while we delivered these precious petitions. Megan of Freedoms Watch led the brigade that consisted of one of my Heroes, Merilee Carlson , a Gold Star Mother and fearless leader of Families United For Our Troops and Their Mission, her husband. God Bless them for their never ending efforts on behalf of our Soldiers and our country. Also in the entourage were Matt James, a wounded Iraq war veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, LTCOL Bob Stephenson USMC and his wife and a retired Marine Corps W-4, his wife, Joe and his very lovely wife Mary and myself. What a respectable entourage we made! First stop was Mitch McConnell's office where lo and behold, guess who was sitting (literally on the floor!) and all over? If you guessed the Code Pinkos you get the prize of the day. It was a disgusting collection of dirty people lounging all over this office and I nominate that poor girl who mans his office as the Hero of Tuesday! The petitions were successfully delivered to the offices of Congressman Boehner, Pelosi, Reid and Senators McConnell and McCain.
Stay tuned folks. I will finish this update later. Got to get ready to man the post this morning. Mary and Joe must return to Chicago today (good luck with your flight guys and if you can't get back, you know where to find me!) Today I will have the honor of serving with Capt. Larry Bailey, Chairman of the Gathering of Eagles, along with another Hero of mine, Chris Hill, National Director of The Gathering of Eagles. Code Pink better look out today as these fellows are as tough as Joe!
Stay tuned...
Beverly Perlson
Founder, The Band of Mothers and
Very Proud Mother of
Sgt. J. P. White
Bronze Star Recipient
Wednesday
was another great day. So many Congressman have come out to
thanks us for being there. Special thanks to Capt. Larry Bailey,
Chris Hill (who came out in full dress regimental kilt and he looked
AWESOME!!!) and Katie O'Malley of The Gathering of Eagles, Melanie
Morgan of Move America Forward, who Seriously Confronted Code Pinkos
today!!! (Thank you Melanie and that makes her the Hero of this day
and Joe, you can relax!), and Merrilee Carlson and the great folks
from Families United For Our Troops and Their Mission. Also,
special thanks to the very nice patriotic man from Pakistan who held a
sign in support of our soldiers all morning!! That's all for
now, got to get ready to get to my post!
What a week!!! I am amazed at how many folks stopped by to thank us for being outside Ms. Nancy’s office in support of our troops. They tell me this was an unprecedented event, really never been done before. To demonstrate in support of our Soldiers and play patriotic music outside a congresswoman’s office for an entire week! I enjoyed every minute of it!! I never saw Ms. Nancy, Harry, Chuck or Dick and maybe that is why they are called the most “do nothing” Congress in history! They are doing nothing!
Thursday and Friday went very well and we actually moved over to the Senate on Friday so we could catch the Senators on their way to vote. Thank you Cindy and again Ron Kirby, for coming out on Friday. I must say that by Wednesday, many Republican Congressmen/women came out and thanked us for being there. They asked us to stay as long as we could because we were “getting to them!” On Thursday this “little” man (and I mean that in more ways than one!) came across the street to tell me that “we” would do much better out here if we would stop playing this “old time” music as it was “irritating” people!!! My response was “Well, I would venture to guess the folks this beautiful patriotic music is irritating are unpatriotic people and thanks for sharing this with me. I will be sure to keep playing this CD over and over and over again!” Thanks to Congressman Putnam, who sent Florida Orange Juice to us on Monday morning, it was delicious and much appreciated. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn from the great state of Tennessee came out and even took pictures with us! Congressman Tim Walberg of Michigan came over to thank us, as well as Jean Schmidt of Ohio, Mary Fallin of Oklahoma and John Culbertson of Texas. Congressman Boehner drove by, stopped and thanked us. So many other Congressman and Senators walked by giving us the “thumbs up’ and thanked us. Everyone asked me to thank my Son for his service. Please forgive me if I have not mentioned all the names of everyone who came out to support us. I’m a half a century old now and the memory just isn’t what it use to be! One member in particular came out and gave us Afghan money and he shared with me that his son is currently serving in Iraq. A passersby stopped, held our signs, thanked us and took pictures. I am really quite surprised that 99% of those legislators who came out to encourage us and thank us were Republicans!!! Where were all those Democrats who say they support my son and all our Soldiers???!!!
First and foremost I want to send out a big thank you to Dan and the Capitol Police for your kindness and courtesy during this week. We not only have Soldiers serving overseas, we have these wonderful American Patriots who STAND all day long protecting our Capitol and all the folks inside and outside of these buildings. In my humble opinion you are just like our Soldiers and frankly, you are Noble Heroes, every one of you. I do not know how you restrain yourselves from reaching out and TOUCHING some of the loonies, but you do. God Bless All of You and as I tell my brave Son in Afghanistan, Stay safe and warm and keep a good eye out! I will keep you in my daily prayers and with a mother's heart, I thank you!
Special thanks to Ginny Simone, Cam Edwards, John Popovich, and the NRA News Crew for once again giving me air time on their radio show. They have offered so much support for my Son, all our Soldiers, and The Post Card for Soldiers Book. They just don’t talk the talk that they support our Soldiers, they walk the walk! Through them I have learned about the NRA and how much support this organization provides to our Soldiers. Thank You! In addition, it was an honor to be on the G. Gordon Liddy Show. Thank you, Mr. Liddy, for the air time and your STOIC support of our military.
My very special thanks to some key people who assisted me and watched over me and made sure I was never alone:
Mary and Joe (Patriot Guard Rider) from Chicago, you have no idea how much your presence those first two days meant to me. We had a great time with the opposing forces in the area and Joe, you can use my megaphone any time! Words can be a powerful tool, especially when spoken by a 6’5” Patriot!!! So glad you are joining us in March!
Chris Hill, National Director of the Gathering of Eagles (my third Son!) Capt. Larry Bailey, Chairman of GOE, Patrick "Chief" McCarthy, Katie O'Malley of Human Events, Laura Youngblood (Gold Star Widow and Veteran, God Bless You and your children!), and Ron Kirby (a relentless "boots on the ground" Soldier who stayed out there most days until 5:00pm and without a coat, you can tell he's a Marine!). Also, special thanks to Gary (ViperAsh, for our telephone chats, you inspire me beyond words). The Gathering of Eagles put "boots on the ground" all over in support of our troops! As Chris Hill says: “You keep fighting for all of us over there and we’ll keep fighting for all of you over here!” (see Chris Hill’s speech on the God Bless Our Soldiers page on this website). These are warriors who hold in their hearts the welfare of their brothers in harm’s way. They are The Band of Brothers and as long as their brothers are in harm’s way, they will take to the streets anywhere, anytime, to garner support and fight for the respect their Brothers deserve! Their boots are relentlessly and endlessly on the ground for our Troops. You are Noble Heroes and you have put the bounce back in the boots of our Soldiers!
Kristinn Taylor, Raoul (you are a one man powerful force), Phil "Troop Rally", Cindy, and Kevin James, all of Free Republic. I had no idea the power of the people in this great organization but they have been at this fight so much longer than the rest of us and let's just say they are very well "connected!" They too are a “boots on the ground” organization and they never stop serving our Soldiers and our country. These folks have been around the DC area for a long time and if you want to know about an organization and/or its members, see these guys! They’ve got the facts!
Their boots are everywhere and they can organize and mobilize many boots in a short amount of time. They are dedicated to our Soldiers and they are always ready to rally in support of our troops!
Merrilee Carlson and her Board Members came out in full force on Tuesday and Wednesday, held signs and offered so much moral support. I cannot thank you folks enough. Tuesday, Joe, Mary and I were lucky enough to be included in the delivery of those beautiful 65,000 signatures to members of the Senate and Congress. We were so proud to be a part of that and thank you for all you do for my Son and all our Soldiers. Merrilee and her folks were visiting Congressman and Senators while there. Merrilee is a Gold Star Mom and I know her Son (from Heaven) is so very proud that his Mom is sticking up for his brothers left behind! Families United For Our Troops and Their Mission are very well organized and advocate relentlessly on behalf of our Soldiers. Through their concerted efforts, I believe they have put more pressure on Congress and the Senate than any other organization. In September, 600 families wearing red Families United shirts converged on the Hill to remind legislators that there are Soldiers out there in harm’s way and they need their supplies and OUR SUPPORT!
Merrilee, thanks to all your Family United folks for all the emails of appreciation regarding our vigil outside Pelosi’s Bldg. They were emails of love and support and they sure were nice to receive. Thanks for forwarding these. The support for our Soldiers is endless and growing and I’m very proud of what all of us are doing. Thank you all!
Click here to see some of the email responses to our vigil in Washington.
Melanie Morgan came out and she was AWESOME, chasing down Code Pink and letting them know we owned that corner that day!!! Melanie, Merrilee Carlson and Families United Board Members, along with Capt. Larry Bailey all sang Happy Birthday to my Son Johnny on Wednesday, his birthday. It was very touching.
Melanie and Move America Forward, through their caravan across the south, collected over 100,000 Christmas Cards for our Soldiers serving overseas!
Now they head to Iraq to deliver these heartfelt wishes for our troops at Christmas. A large portion of those signatures we delivered to the Hill came from the petition on Move America Forward. Talk about service to our Soldiers and this nation!!! Move America Forward has continually “Moved America” with their caravans across the United States, in support of our Soldiers. They have “caravaned” this entire country, rallying Americans in support of our Soldiers. This organization has awakened Americans to that passionate patriotism of days gone by, and for that I am most thankful. They have reminded us that "Freedom isn’t Free" and it is worth fighting for! I believe Move America Forward has rallied and united all of us and through their endless efforts, our Soldiers know they are loved! They have touched our Soldier’s heart with the love and respect they are so deserving of.
My husband and I were lucky enough to be in DC Friday night for the Move America Forward Concert at the Lincoln Theatre, and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Col. Patterson was there, along with Melanie Morgan, Debbie Lee (Gold Star Mom who has NEVER stopped sticking up for her Son and his mission) and Blue Star Mom Deborah Johns and her very brave Son. All the ladies looked stunning! Performers at the concert included Mark Wills, Russ Lee, Melanie Dekker, Diana Nagy, Lloyd Marcus, Kaweah Angel, Christy Ann and Jasmine. The songs and performances were from the heart and some made me cry. It was a memorable evening and a beautiful ending to our mission!
A Very Special Thanks to this organization for their “boots on the ground” reports about the progress in Iraq! Many are active duty Soldiers and these are the guys every Congressman and Senator should be talking to. These Soldiers bring firsthand information from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and these are the guys Nancy, Harry, Dick and Chuck should be talking to. However, based on my experience with the Vets for Freedom in September, some representatives are too busy and they send their “onion” representative out in the hallway to talk to these brave and noble Heroes (click on my letter to Senator Schumer on the home page)! Their reports, more than anything else, have made it clear the “surge” is working! Stay safe and warm and you fellas keep a good eye out too!
Bradley Blakeman, Megan Ortagus and all the hard working folks at Freedom’s Watch, you are this huge umbrella we all are under and the work you are doing is incredible! Thanks to your diligence and organized efforts in reaching out to us, NBC finally agreed to air your wonderful commercials thanking Our Troops. When I think of Freedom’s Watch, I am reminded of that song “Who let the dogs out?” I bet NBC feels that way too!
When you let the word out that our Soldiers are being slighted, the organizations I’ve mentioned above CHARGE!! All these organizations above, under the umbrella of Freedom’s Watch, are making a difference for our troops. What a powerful coalition of Great Americans! Look out “Move On,” we are moving you over and hopefully moving you out!!!
As we crossed the Potomac River on our way to Dulles Airport, I thought of George Washington and wondered what he would say about the state of affairs of this great country he fought so selflessly for. Many politicians back then had left General Washington and his brave Soldiers on the banks of the Delaware River, starving and freezing. You see, those spineless politicians back then felt the war was taking too long and costing too much. Sound familiar? Mind you, Americans back then they were fighting over taxation without representation, not fighting off butchers who have no regard for human life and NO regard for liberty and freedom for all!!! We really don’t have to imagine what General Washington would say, I give you his words:
“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars to be treated and appreciated by their nation.” (George Washington)
And
Knox:
If this attack fails, and we're trapped in Jersey, it's all over.
Gen. George
Washington: It's all over in any event if we
don't try.
I believe General George Washington would be so proud of our efforts this past week on behalf of our Soldiers, and I believe his chest would puff out with pride and he would say “we are trying!” I believe he would be proud that even 231 years later there are still brave American Soldiers who are willing to fight to preserve the way of life he fought so hard to leave us and he would be so proud there are so many of Americans who will not ever desert our Soldiers!
With a mother’s heart, God Bless All of You and Thank You for all you are doing to help my son and all our Soldiers!
Merry Christmas to you and to all our Noble Heroes serving all over the world!
Beverly Perlson
Proud Mother of Sgt. John P. White
Founder, The Band of Mothers