Hero Stories for January 2014

(NOTE: I met with Andrew O'Brian today to talk about the high rates of suicide. He's an amazing guy and doing some great work. He's written a book and is doing a national speaking tour to help this with PTSD. HeroBracelets is going to actively help with his project. You can find his site, book and many videos at http://wyshproject.org/ WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. Andrew O'Brien had a tough time growing up, so he joined the Army looking for family and a life's mission. But in Ir...

Nancy Cederman knew this much about her uncle’s life: Kendall Morrow was born in 1915 in Canada, the first of five children and the only son of Edwin and Mable Morrow. Some years later, he immigrated to the United States with his family, settling just across the Canadian border near Buffalo, N.Y. He became a citizen, found work as a mechanic and married. In November 1942, as his new country reeled from the attack on Pearl Harbor less than a year before, Morrow enlisted in the Arm...

Cpl. Brian E. Babineau, a Gardner, Mass., native and a warehouse clerk with Supply Company, 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, shakes hands with Lt. Col. Jesse A. Kemp, the commanding officer of Supply Battalion, after receiving the Navy Commendation Medal for saving a young girl’s life at North Topsail Beach, N.C., July 14, 2013 at an award ceremony at the French Creek barracks aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., January 10, 2014. Babineau swam out into the ocean and brought ba...

By Amaani Lyle American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2013 – In a show of commitment and support to those who serve alongside uniformed service members, 60 new corporations joined the Military Spouse Employment Partnership in an induction ceremony here today. With a prolific career in both government and the private sector, Frank Vollrath, assistant secretary of defense for readiness and force management, praised MSEP’s global success rate. “The family, and the...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 13, 2014) -- The Enlisted Voluntary Early Separation Program and Enlisted Involuntary Early Separation Program have some important changes that took effect Jan. 1. VOLUNTARY SEPARATION The Enlisted Voluntary Early Separation Program is designed for Soldiers who have employment offers and want to separate prior to the expiration of their term of service, or ETS. They can now request getting out up to 180 days prior to their ETS. Soldiers can request the s...

HeroBracelets.org is about to launch a new line of bracelets, necklaces and pendants called The HomeFront Collection! We're asking families of those deployed around the world to help us create a line of custom jewelry that will keep their loved one's closer all the time. If you've got suggestions or ideas, let us know!  Our first new piece is the single jewel bracelet in sterling silver. Each bracelet is completely handmade by master silversmith and custom stamped with your personal mes...

CHARLESTON, W.Va., Jan. 13, 2014 – Members of the West Virginia National Guard’s chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive enhanced response force package, along with members from West Virginia, Ohio and District of Columbia civil support teams, have been working around the clock drawing water samples from across West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley to determine levels of contamination remaining in the water supply. Army Staff Sgt. David R...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Patrolling between a tree line and a row of buildings, Staff Sgt. Timothy Williams and his squad heard the sharp cracks of rifles and immediately realized they were being ambushed. Outnumbered and under heavy enemy fire, Williams, a section leader with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, found himself relying on his instincts and training to protect himself and his Marines.Williams, a native of Hudson, Mich., received the Silver Star Medal and the Pu...

Corporal Joshua M. McKee, a rifleman with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, received the Bronze Star medal with combat distinguishing device during an award ceremony aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 27.“Receiving the Bronze Star is more than an honor,” said McKee, 23, and a native of Lake Placid, Fla. “But when it’s all said and done, I was just doing my job.”The bronze star medal is an individual military aw...

Winning best performance for large ensemble band last year just wasn’t enough. After being so close to winning the Marine Corps Band of the Year Award in 2012, the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band went into 2013 with a newfound hunger and a chip on their shoulder, and it paid off. The MarForPac Band was recognized as the Marine Corps Band of the Year during a ceremony here, Jan. 9. After more than a year of dedication – not only to music, but to all aspects of Marine Cor...