Artist Creates Giant Rendition of Purple Heart Medal

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 8, 2007 - When Gen. George Washington created the Purple Heart Medal in 1872, he probably never envisioned it would be so huge. Literally. Artist Roger Baker mowed a 1,000-foot long rendition of the medal, covering 850,000 square feet, into a field at Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Hamtonburgh, N.Y., near the town where the first awards were presented to Revolutionary War soldiers. Baker said his creation is a "gift of art" to the American public.

The art work was unveiled Aug. 5, two days before the medal's 75th anniversary. The park is in the same county as The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, near where the medal was initially established.

"I've never dealt with the emotions involved with loss and tragedy associated with war," Baker said. "This forced me to think about it, and I couldn't stop thinking about it, and it brought up some feelings and I had to pursue those feelings."

Baker said the project happened after a chance meeting with a Military Order of the Purple Heart official. A quick series of local meetings with officials of The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the Orange County Commission of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, and it was a done deal.

The gently sloping field -- a mixture of grass and purple clover, which lends the design it signature color -- will last for another six to 10 days without any touch-ups, Baker said. His hope is he will be allowed to maintain the artwork until Veterans Day.

"Because of the nature of what it is and what it stands for, (we'd like) to allow as many people as possible - the American public, veterans - to be able to come out and experience it," he said. "If we get the green light to keep this maintained up until Veterans Day, that means by that time ... the first-frost picture of it will be unbelievable.

"Then we wait for the first light snow," he added. "The snow lands on the low-cut areas. It disappears on the high-cut areas ... (making) it look like it was etched into alabaster."

Baker's field art portraiture, which ranges from 500,000 to 1 million-square feet, has been featured on CNN and NBC's "Today Show," and in the New York Times. He has mowed likenesses of the Statue of Liberty, Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein and Jimi Hendrix into fields.

Washington established the "Badge of Military Merit," as the Purple Heart Medal was originally known, in a nearby New York town on Aug. 7, 1782. It was awarded to three soldiers during the Revolutionary War before falling into disuse.

Its use wasn't again proposed until World War I, when then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Pelot Summerall requested Congress revive the medal. That movement died in 1928, but three years later, his successor, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, quietly requested the medal's design be retooled.

On the observance of George Washington's 200th birthday, under general orders of the War Department, the medal was revived with a new design and a new name. However, it still was thought of as an Army decoration; it wasn't until 1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt extended the medal to those serving in other services who were wounded in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman carried that action a step further, retroactively granting the medal to any qualified servicemember back to April 5, 1917.

Pace Urges Interagency Cooperation in Government

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 8, 2007 - Marine Gen. Peter Pace today urged students at National War College here to work on improving interagency cooperation throughout the government. Pace spoke at the convocation for the college's class scheduled to graduate next year. About 60 percent of the class's 244 students are from the Defense Department, and most of the rest are from other government agencies.

"As we look to the next 10, 20, 30 years of combating an enemy that is not going to confront us tank on tank, we're going to need all the agencies of national power to be responsive inside the enemy's loop," Pace told the students. "We do not have a mechanism right now to make that happen."

Pace called for legislation along the lines of Goldwater-Nichols to reform the federal interagency process. The act put in place policies and processes that encouraged joint knowledge among the military services and emphasized their potential for collaboration.

Among other things, the legislation increased the responsibility of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, established the position of vice chairman and increased the responsibilities of the combatant commanders.

Now, Pace said, the country needs a similar act to encourage all agencies of the U.S. government to cooperate.

He said the interagency climate, as it exists, does a good job of promoting dialogue about an issue. It also does a good job of laying out for the president what the problem is and recommended solution is, he said.

Though the various departments work well when the president makes a decision and they take on their tasks, the agencies tend to operate inside their "stovepipes," the general said.

Pace said nobody below the president has the ability to control "the process to make people do things."

"It takes you back to why we needed Goldwater-Nichols," Pace said.

Officials could take the same concepts contained in Goldwater-Nichols, Pace said, and expand it to cover the entire national government.

Pace also called on the 31 international officers in the class to treat their classmates as friends, "which means to me that you be open with your criticism in how we operate as a nation."

The chairman said the 10-month course is an opportunity to open the dialogue and see each others' viewpoints. The class gives students the freedom to say what they are thinking and why they are thinking it, Pace said.

"Friends are very direct with each other, and we appreciate your time," Pace said. "We will most benefit from the time you spend with us by you being as direct with us as you can allow yourself to be." This will allow the future military leaders of all countries involved to explore their common ground and look for ways to bridge any differences.

"I believe fundamentally there is no nation on the planet that is so big that it can do all that must be done by itself," Pace said. "And there is no nation on the planet that is so small that it cannot have significant strategic impact by the way it does its business."

This was Pace's sixth convocation during his terms as vice chairman and chairman of the Joint Chiefs. On Oct. 1, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen takes over as chairman and Pace retires, ending his 40-year military career.

"I hope you have as much pride in who you are right now as we have in you," Pace told the students. "You really are the best of the best, and ... the United States needs the best officers and civilians.

"I feel very good – as I look at 1 October for me to step down – that our nation's military is in good hands," he continued. "My son had six years active (duty in the Marine Corps). He's in the reserves. If he has to go to war and be under your command, I am going to feel very comfortable. That's not a general talking to subordinates. It's a Dad talking to potential commanders about that which is most precious to me."

Military-Writers.com Annual Recognition

Military-writers.com, a website dedicated to listing servicemembers (active and honorably discharged) who have written books, annually recognizes servicemember’s contributions through its “Military-Writers.com Annual Recognition Program.”

In 2007, Military-Writers.com had one form of recognition, “Military-Writers.com Book of the Year.” In 2008, in order to recognize the ongoing career successes and community service aspects of servicemembers, Military-Writers.com will have two forms of recognition: “Military-Writers.com Author of the Year” and “Military-Writers.com Book of the Year.”

Military-Writers.com Book of the Year:
The “Military-Writers.com Book of Year 2008” focuses solely on the written contribution made by the servicemember. It is that book found by the panel of judges to be the most significant literary contribution made by a servicemember in the previous year. Entry requirements are:

The servicemember is listed on www.military-writers.com. (There is no charge for listing on the website and interested servicemembers need only visit the FAQs section of the website and submit the necessary information; The book was published in 2007; and, The application and three copies of the book are received by December 31, 2007.

Military-Writers.com Author of the Year:
The “Military-Writers.com Author of the Year” recognizes published servicemembers continuing career and community services successes. Entry requirements are:

The servicemember is listed on www.military-writers.com. (There is no charge for listing on the website and interested servicemembers need only visit the FAQs section of the website and submit the necessary information; The servicemember published a book anytime prior to December 31, 2007; and, The application and three copies of the any book published by the servicemember are received by December 31, 2007.

Award:
Selected authors will receive:

A Plaque indicating their award;
Press release distribution through the website; and,
Front page exposure on the website throughout the award year.

More information and applications can be found on the website at www.military-writers.com. Military-Writers.com currently lists 36 current or former military servicemembers and their 76 books.

Vice President Praises Troops, Those Who Support Them

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - Vice President Richard B. Cheney yesterday praised U.S. servicemembers waging the war on terror and their fellow Americans who support them as they put their lives on the line. "We're not a country that takes our military for granted," the vice president said during an address to the Marine Corps League's national convention in Albuquerque, N.M. "Even in the quietest of times, Americans have always understood that our men and women in uniform are the ones who assure stability and keep the peace."

That message resonates even more so when the country is threatened. "In wartime, we have daily reminders of the kind of courage and skill that protects us all and preserves freedom for the next generation," Cheney said.

He noted that the country's fighting men and women have faced "long deployments, setbacks and tough conditions -- tracking terrorists on frozen mountain ridges in Afghanistan to carrying heavy packs and 60 pounds of body armor in the 120-degree heat of the desert."

These hardships haven't deterred them one bit, he said. "They have soldiered on in every circumstance, and they have stuck together, as Americans always do."

Cheney noted that on July 4, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, witnessed 588 men and women serving in Iraq participate in what may have been the largest re-enlistment ceremony in history.

He said he was impressed, too, to read about Marine Cpl. Gareth Hawkins, who recently was injured in a roadside attack as he began his third deployment to Iraq. News reports about the incident note that Hawkins "asked to complete one piece of unfinished business before being rushed via ambulance to undergo surgery at the hospital at the local Marine base," Cheney told the group.

"He wanted to re-enlist for another four-year hitch. That's the kind of dedication that makes our whole nation proud," the vice president said.

He thanked members of the Marine Corps League who look out for their interests and support programs that benefit the troops, particularly those wounded on the battlefield, as well as their families.

The league's work is particularly important "as the nation confronts a continuing danger, as American soldiers and Marines slug it out against merciless enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

"Being Marines, you have valuable perspective on what our military is dealing with at this very hour," he said. "And because you're leaders in your communities, your help is very important as we remind fellow citizens of the nature of our broader war on terror, the stakes of our country and the need for a systematic and a decisive victory."

Cheney praised the league members for placing their country's interests above their own. "As Marines, you know what it means to put self-interest and personal convenience down at the bottom of the list, well behind the call to duty, the code of honor and the needs of the nation," he said. "So I thank you for your service."

Military Promotes Immunization Awareness

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - In recognition of National Immunization Month in August, Defense Department leaders are encouraging awareness across the military about the benefits vaccinations have provided to servicemembers over the years and their importance to readiness now. In a message released yesterday, Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, noted the military has a long history of immunization benefits, dating back to George Washington's inoculation of the Continental Army in 1777. Today, even though many diseases have been contained, immunizations are still important to the health of troops and their families, and to the accomplishment of the military's mission, he said.

"Since (1777), we have used vaccines to offer our forces safe and effective protection from many deadly infectious diseases," Casscells wrote. "Today we use vaccines to protect people based upon their location, age and mission."

August is a good time to promote immunization awareness, because parents are getting ready to send their children back to school, and health care providers are preparing for the influenza season, Army Col. Randall Anderson, director of the Military Vaccine Agency, said in an interview today. Vaccination schedules begin at a very young age and continue past retirement, so every military member, family member and retiree needs to be educated about immunizations, he said.

"Many people are concerned about vaccinations; they don't understand vaccination schedules. So it's good to have all the educational materials to remind them, help alleviate their fears and let them know about many of the services that are available to them," Anderson said.

Military members who deploy overseas receive specific immunizations based on where they travel, Anderson said. Other servicemembers and family members are vaccinated based on their age, gender, location and other factors. Parents need to be aware of what vaccinations are required by the state they live in and the school system, particularly as children prepare to go back to school, he said.

The Defense Department uses only vaccinations approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and every year new vaccinations are developed, Anderson said. For example, in 2006 a vaccination was approved that protects against human papillomavirus, which is responsible for cervical cancer. Also, military researchers are involved in developing vaccines for AIDS and malaria, he said.

Information about vaccinations is available at the Military Vaccine Agency Web site: www.vaccines.mil. The Defense Department also developed the Vaccine Health Care Centers Network as a resource for people within the department who have concerns about immunizations.

Reservists Rush Aid to Utah Mine; Navy Begins Diving at Minnesota Bridge

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft are rushing equipment needed to rescue six miners trapped in a cave-in in Huntington, Utah, and Navy divers are ready to begin work at the site of the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis. The Department of Labor asked for the aircraft to move a seismic vehicle, a shelter, an auxiliary truck and a small number of people to Utah. Pentagon officials said two planes and crews from the 911th Airlift Wing, based in Pittsburgh, flew needed equipment to the site today.

The seismic vehicle is to be used to listen for signs of life in the collapsed mine, labor officials said.

In Minneapolis, about 30 Defense Department personnel are working in support of state and local authorities. "The Navy diving detachment is on site and the salvage team consists of 18 personnel and six-man support team," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The divers, part of Mobile Dive and Salvage Unit 2 in Little Creek, Va., will search for bodies at the disaster scene and move tons of rubble from the bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1.

Freedom Walks Total 157 Nationwide

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - Planning for the 2007 America Supports You Freedom Walk is well under way in the nation's capital as well as in 41 states across the country. The inaugural America Supports You Freedom Walk, created by Pentagon employees to commemorate the attack on the building and honor the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, was held Sept. 11, 2005. America Supports You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

As of today, 1,231 people have registered for the national Freedom Walk, part of a series of events commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks.

"That's kind of ... on track (with last year,)" Stephanie Linder, the national Freedom Walk coordinator, said. She added that the number of walks scheduled across the country seems to be on a high-speed rail. Organizers have registered 157 registered Freedom Walks across the country so far. "As of last year at this time, we had ... 39 walks," she said.

A handful of those walks cover the Hampton Roads region in Virginia. "Eight cities -- Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg -- all are hosting Freedom Walks," Linder said.

Students aren't to be outdone by their grown-up counterparts. One Texas school system is contributing to the number of walks registered. "Killeen Independent School District has 50 separate schools," Linder said. "Each school will have a Freedom Walk."

More students will learn about Freedom Walks in a couple of weeks when they return to school and get their first Weekly Reader issue of the year.

As the publication for students did last year, it has published a piece telling its readers how they, too, can organize Freedom Walks. Last year's article caught the eye of Sebring, Ohio's Colton Lockner, then 9, whose uncle had been deployed to Iraq.

When he asked his mom and his principal, they gave him the green light, thinking it would be a school event. Little did they suspect that he could rally nearly half of his town's 4,800 residents to participate.

Lockner, now 10, is featured in this year's Weekly Reader article, Linder said.

"The reason Colton was featured was because that's how he learned about Freedom Walk last year," she said. "It's kind of an encouragement (for other students). 'He did it, so can you,' basically is the message."

She hopes the article will create a surge of student- or school-organized walks.

More than 15,000 walkers participated in the 2005 inaugural walk to remember those who lost their lives and honor the nation's veterans. That walk began at the Pentagon and ended on the National Mall with a performance by country singer Clint Black.

The 2006 America Supports You Freedom Walk, which took place on Sept. 10, began on the National Mall with a brief opening program before walkers crossed the Potomac River bound for the Pentagon. In addition to a patriotic program featuring opera singer Denyse Graves, beams of white light shone from the building's center courtyard honoring the people who lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon.

This year's America Supports You Freedom Walk will be held on the morning of Sept. 9 and will look similar to its predecessors. Walkers will begin at the Lincoln Memorial and walk to the Pentagon, where, as in years past, they will enjoy a patriotic program.

Those interested in participating in the national walk can register through the America Supports You Freedom Walk Web site, www.americasupportsyou.mil/freedomwalk The site also helps people find Freedom Walks near their communities and provides information on how to organize Freedom Walks.

A list of registered walks and when they're taking place can be found on the Freedom Walk Web site.

Army Reserve Transforms in Unstable Climate

By Staff Sgt. Christine L. Andreu-Wilson, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - The Army Reserve is changing from a strategic reserve to an operational force, that force's top general said. The difference between a strategic reserve and operational force is that the Army Reserve will follow a more predictable routine, Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz explained in a recent interview with Soldiers Radio and Television. Soldiers will be able to plan to deploy once every five years, he said.

"We are deployed in about 18 to 20 countries around the world. There are reserve soldiers in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Germany, Panama, Belize, Djibouti, Africa, and Korea. We are engaged around the world as a force," Stultz said. "The reserve components have so much capability that the (active) Army relies on."

Though the Army Reserve has a 205,000-soldier force, more than 180,000 reserve soldiers have been mobilized, Stultz explained. There are 25,000 to 35,000 Army Reserve soldiers mobilized routinely, Stultz said.

"If we're going to be an operational reserve, we've got to look outside of the box that we're living in right now," Stultz said. "We are no longer a one-weekend-a-month, two-weeks-in-the-summertime force. What we are now is an operational reserve. That means on a predictable basis you will be expected to be called up and mobilized to deploy to defend your nation. Our goal is to get to a five-year model."

Stultz explained that officials hope to support soldiers by providing a more holistic approach to reservist service. This means providing and maintaining "continuity of support, continuity of care for their family while you're using this soldier on a repeated basis," he explained.

"What I can't do is expect a family to switch health care every time the soldier gets off of active duty. We've got to figure out a way to say that families are going to have continuous care," Stultz said.

The general said he is working on concepts that embrace a cost-share approach to employee benefits in which an employer of a mobilized reservist would receive financial incentives to continue to pay for benefits for a deployed soldier. But he stressed these were merely conceptual notions.

Aside from restructuring the force and reinventing the partnership between employers and the Army Reserve, Stultz said, warrior citizens must revamp their mentality.

"We had an Army that was built around the Cold War mentality," Stultz said. "Now, we're going through the process of changing the military. With the invasion into Iraq, we mobilized the Reserve in 2003 and have utilized the force non-stop since then," he said.

Reengineering the Army Reserve is an arduous undertaking given that the force has to transform itself while it fights the global war on terror, Stultz said. But he credits its people with the progress being made in Army transformation.

"Today's Army Reserve is the most professional, most competent, best trained, and the most dedicated Army Reserve force we've ever had," Stultz said. "I am in awe of the soldiers that we have in our ranks, their dedication. These soldiers are professionals."

Stultz also spoke of his recent trip to Iraq and his interaction with two soldiers he promoted.

"I promoted two soldiers with master's degrees. One had a degree in public administration and the other in molecular biology," Stultz said. "A month ago, I spoke with a young (specialist). I said, 'What do you do for a living, soldier?' He said, 'I am a pilot for Continental.' I said, 'What are you doing here?' He said, 'I'm serving my country, sir. I love it.'

"That's who's in our ranks right now," the general said. "These are dedicated Americans who want to serve their country and see the Army Reserve as a way of doing that and maintaining their career."

(Army Staff Sgt. Christine L. Andreu-Wilson is assigned to the 204th Public Affairs Detachment.)

Powell Presents Purple Hearts; Postal Service Reissues Stamp Honoring Medal

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

Aug. 7, 2007 - Retired Army Gen. Colin Powell presented Purple Heart Medals to two wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here today, as the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new stamp honoring the medal and those who wear it. The medal, which features George Washington's family crest and the first president's silhouette set against a purple heart, is awarded to U.S. servicemembers wounded by an instrument of war in an enemy's hands.

Powell received a Purple Heart after a booby trap wounded him in 1963 near the Vietnam-Laos border. The general today told the audience of nearly 150 servicemembers, families, friends, and hospital officials that the Purple Heart is unique because it's "the only decoration which you are entitled to as a wounded warrior."

"You may be recommended for other decorations, but this is the one that you are entitled to," he said. "It is something that is owed to all of our wounded warriors by a grateful nation, and is given in the name of the president.

"It's the least the American people can do to recognize those of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who have been willing to step forward to serve the nation, serve the cause of peace, freedom and democracy around the world," the general said.

Powell presented Purple Hearts to two such servicemembers who were wounded by improvised explosive devices in separate incidents in Iraq: Army Sgt. Robert Evans, of 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, from Fort Benning, Ga., and Army Pfc. Marcus LaBadie of 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, from Fort Hood, Texas.

"Because I have a Purple Heart now, and because I've been through it and I've walked in their shoes, I have more respect for the other soldiers who have Purple Hearts," Evans said after Powell pinned his shirtfront with the medal.

Civilians who wish to honor Purple Heart recipients now need to look no further than their local post office. John Potter, postmaster general and chief executive officer of the U.S. Postal Service, and Powell unveiled an eight-foot replica of the Purple Heart stamp that today becomes available to the public.

"The reason that we're here today is because the stamp has touched this nation and its people so deeply, and they've let us know that," Potter said. "It's not only the stamp itself that resonates so strongly, (but) it's what the stamp stands for, what it represents."

The stamp commemorates servicemembers' sense of duty, dedication to service, spirit of valor, and willingness to sacrifice, the postmaster general said.

"By using the Purple Heart stamp on their cards and letters, our citizens salute you and your role in protecting our great nation," Potter said.

The 41-cent stamp is the third issue of the Purple Heart postage stamp and goes on sale nationally today to coincide with two significant dates in the medal's history. Today marks the 225th anniversary of the Badge of Military Merit, the predecessor of the Purple Heart Medal, which was first awarded 75 years ago.

Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of the Tricare Management Activity, thanked audience members for helping acknowledge one of the country's oldest military badges by witnessing the stamp's unveiling.

"This is truly a legacy in terms of the Postal Service and their support of our men and women in uniform services," he said.