National Park Foundation Invites Americans to Honor Veterans Day by Supporting The Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign

/PRNewswire/ -- The National Park Foundation is inviting all Americans to honor Veterans Day 2009 by supporting the campaign to complete the Flight 93 National Memorial. The memorial will honor the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, who overtook the 9/11 terrorists aboard their flight and presumably thwarted efforts to launch a further attack on Washington, D.C.

A groundbreaking ceremony at the crash site marked the beginning of the construction process, as the campaign to support the memorial continues. To date, roughly one-third of the money needed has been raised to complete the Flight 93 Memorial. To make a contribution to the Flight 93 Campaign, visit: www.honorflight93.org. A video of highlights from the emotional groundbreaking ceremony was also released today on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CXjMgtDlYw.

"All of America should be helping on this effort because they were heroes for all of America," said Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Our nation's capital belongs to everybody in America, and if this plane, Flight 93 had hit its intended target who knows what the consequence would have been to the entire planet."

"Veterans Day is a time when we celebrate and honor the selfless men and women who have served the nation in times of need. The story of Flight 93 clearly resonates with the thousands of veterans who have visited the temporary memorial," said General Tommy Franks, honorary co-chair of the Flight 93 Campaign. "American Veterans are known for their commitment to getting hard jobs done. We are going to follow their example and complete the fundraising for the Flight 93 Memorial in time for the tenth anniversary of 9/11."

Many veterans who have visited the Flight 93 Crash Site have left tributes including a pair of combat boots, a Purple Heart, dog tags, and a brick from an Iraqi compound.

In a weekend editorial in the Washington Post about the groundbreaking, Gov. Tom Ridge, who is an honorary chairman of the Flight 93 Campaign, and Gov. Rendell wrote that, "The story of Flight 93 is a parable for our times that calls on each of us to be our best selves -- and to value and respect that spark in one another."

The National Park Foundation is running the campaign to complete the Flight 93 Memorial. To support the effort, please visit www.honorflight93.org.

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Historic Brandywine Battlefield Falls in Tough Times of the Economy

PP Note: Although the Americans lost this famous battle which lasted only one day in September 1777, it was a turning point for patriots. The battle at Brandywine demonstrated the resolve of the Americans and gave inspiration that they could wage war and defend their beliefs. Out of the estimated 26,000 troops who fought in the battle, the Americans lost some 1200 patriots.

Thomas Paine said of this battle, "Those who expect to reap the blessings of Freedom, must... undergo the fatigue of supporting it. The event of yesterday is one of those kind of alarms, which is just sufficient to rouse us to duty, without being of consequence enough to depress our fortitude. It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequence will be the same."

History is important, and we should all do our part to preserve our American heritage.
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The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

Brandywine Battlefield Park May Close

This appears to be a very sad "sign of the times."

The state park at the site of the largest land battle of the Revolutionary War, fought on September 11, 1777 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, is about to close for lack of funding. How can a National Historic Landmark be in jeopardy?

The future of the Brandywine Battlefield is being threatened by the loss of state funding needed to keep the gates open and the site functioning. The Revolutionary Times battle event has been cancelled for 2009. This event brings reenactors to the park along with others who establish camps, display crafts and recreate life in colonial times. This event has been the centerpiece of the Battlefied's calendar for years.

The rest of the park is expected to close soon and all employees there will be laid off.

A website has been established as a grass roots campaign to keep the Brandywine Battlefield open and bring back the Revolutionary Times battle event. Donations and other assistance are being solicited.

You can find the Save Brandywine Battlefield Park web site at http://www.savebrandywinebattlefield.com.

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Arts Across Georgia

Andersonville National Historic Site, Rolling Thunder Chapters from 11 States, Georgia Southwestern State University to Honor Nation's POWs/MIAs, Sept

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rolling Thunder's 2008 Ride Home -- a multi-day annual activity held in conjunction with the National Park Service's Andersonville National Historic Site and Georgia Southwestern State University to recognize and honor the nation's Prisoners of War (POW) and those Missing in Action (MIA) -- will be held in Andersonville and Americus, Ga., Sept. 17-20, 2008.

"The 2008 Ride Home, which is supported this year by Rolling Thunder(R) chapters from 11 states, is part of a series of events conducted jointly with the National Park Service in Andersonville to honor those former POWs from all wars who have returned home and remember those who are still listed as MIA," said Jim Moyer, Ride Home board chairman.

According to Moyer, more than 1,000 Rolling Thunder members are expected to gather in Andersonville and Americus to honor an estimated 100 former POWs scheduled to attend this year's program of events as guests of Rolling Thunder.

While Friday, Sept. 19, is the official National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the four days of recognition activities begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, with a convocation sponsored by the National Park Service and hosted by Georgia Southwestern State University at the Student Success Center in Americus.

The guest speaker will be Joseph Hudson of Alamogordo, N.M. He was a 23-year-old U.S. Army specialist with the 507th Maintenance Group, Fort Bliss, Tex., who was shot three times, captured and held by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Army from March 23, 2003 until April 13, 2003.

On Thursday, Sept. 18, through Saturday, Sept. 20, the Park Service will host Bataan Death March survivor Colonel Glenn Frazier at the National Prisoner of War Museum at the Andersonville National Historic Site. Frazier, who was an underage U.S. Army volunteer from Fort Deposit, Ala., in 1941, will be autographing his book, "Hell's Guest," which is his account of three harrowing years as a prisoner of war.

On Friday, Sept. 19, the official National POW/MIA Recognition Day, Rolling Thunder's formal activities will begin at 10 a.m. with a tribute service, "Keeping the Promise, We Will Not Forget" at the First Baptist Church in Americus.

Scheduled speakers include: U.S. Air Force Major General Albert G. (Jerry) Rodgers whose final active duty assignment was Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics at Tactical Air Command Headquarters at Langley, AFB, Va.; U.S. Navy Captain Ronald Harrell, Commander of the FFG (Fast Frigate) Class Squadron 14 at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; Stephen E. Thompson, Family and Veteran Liaison for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Honolulu, Hawaii; and, Dr./Rev. Chuck Gass, the staff chaplain at the VA Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla.

A Rolling Thunder escort to the tribute service for the former POWs is scheduled to depart for the Baptist church from the Wal-Mart parking lot in Americus at 9 a.m.

At 1 p.m. that afternoon the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville will unveil a commemorative plaque honoring POWs from the U.S. Army's 42nd "Rainbow" Division.

Formed in August 1917, the "Rainbow" nickname was given to the division after Colonel Douglas MacArthur, the new division's Chief of Staff (and ultimately its commander), remarked that "the 42nd Division stretches like a Rainbow from one end of America to the other" because it was comprised of National Guard units from 26 states and the District of Columbia.

The division, which saw service in both World Wars, was deactivated in 1946; however it returned in 1947 as a National Guard Division for New York, the state of its birth. Currently headquartered at the Glenmore Armory in Troy, N.Y., the division includes Army National Guard units from 14 states: Connecticut, Main, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Activities on Friday will continue at 4:30 p.m. with Rolling Thunder's annual tribute dinner followed by a candlelight remembrance ceremony scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Both activities will be at the Windsor Hotel in Americus.

The Missing Man Table, which honors the nation's POW/MIAs, will be the focal point of the evening. The single round table with six empty place settings symbolize Americans from each of the five services -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard -- and civilians who cannot attend and will be participating in the evening's activities in spirit only.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Rolling Thunder's Annual POW Recognition will begin at 10 a.m. at the Rostrum at Andersonville National Cemetery. The ceremony honors POWs who have returned home from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf wars.

A Rolling Thunder Heroes Escort Ride is scheduled to depart for the Andersonville National Historic Site from the Wal-Mart parking lot in Americus at 9 a.m.

The 1-14th Aviation Regiment from Fort Rucker, Ala., will open the 10 a.m. ceremony with a helicopter flyover of an AH-64D Apache Longbow and an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.

A Roll Call of former POWs attending the ceremony will precede a special presentation to each.

Music will be provided by the U.S. Marine Band stationed at the Albany Marine Corps Logistics Base, SSgt Kristine Streng conducting.

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