Tag Archives: Marine

Marine veteran bicycles through Williams to benefit charity

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marine-640-15-06-05-02

marine-640-15-06-05-01WILLIAMS — Last Friday, June 5, Air Force veteran, Detective Bob McCarty, escorted Marine veteran Toran Gaal through Williams on his bicycle trek to Arlington. His mantra is, The only limits in life are those we set on ourselves.

Toran left San Diego Monday June 1 followed in the chase car by Brian Reilly with the goal of reaching Arlington, Virginia in 52-days. You can follow the ride at Toran’s web site or on Twitter.

Both men are amputees from Afghanistan, but Torin does not concentrate on that. He meets in competition, surfs, does public speaking tours and even finds time to coach basketball.

On the ride he carries two flags. The American flag; the symbol of the freedom for which he fought. The other is the Marine Corps flag which represents him—the Marine. In his continuing service to the Marine Corp, this ride is to benefit the Semper Fi Fund.

3-star: Marine Corps ‘prepared to assist’ with recovery of Tahmooressi from Mexico

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Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) - Marine Corp Times

Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) – Marine Corp Times

(June 18) – As veteran Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi nears three months in a Mexican prison, a Marine Corps three-star general says the Marine Corps is standing by to help him.

Tahmooressi, who left active duty in 2012, was arrested by Mexican officials March 31 after crossing the border at San Ysidro with guns and ammunition in his truck in what he claims was an innocent mistake. His plight, reported by a number of media outlets, has spurred a massive wave of public support.

In a letter this week to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead said the Corps has limited ability to help Tahmooressi, but was willing to do whatever possible to bring him back.

“I understand … this matter rests appropriately within the U.S. Department of State’s capable hands,” Milstead said. “While it is not within the Marine Corps’ purview to unilaterally intervene in matters involving a foreign government, I assure you that we are prepared to assist as necessary to the greatest extent permissible under law.”

Read more at The Marine Corp Times

Marine Vet Held by Iran to Kerry: Don’t Set Bad Precedent by Trading for My Release

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From Free Amir Facebook Page.

From Free Amir Facebook Page.

The news cycle is currently focused on the swap to release Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — five Taliban commanders for the Idaho native — but many Americans still remain held abroad by nefarious regimes or terrorists.

One of those, a Marine veteran who served with distinction in Iraq, specifically said last fall that, even though his unlawful imprisonment in Iran was taking a horrible toll, he would not want his release to come from any sort of swap with Iran.

From our Yellow Ribbon Project story on Flagstaff, Ariz., native Sgt. Amir Hekmati:

Amir took his case directly to Kerry in a letter smuggled out of prison and obtained by the Guardian in September. After thanking Kerry for lobbying on his behalf, Amir stressed that the confessions on false charges were “obtained by force, threats, miserable prison conditions, and prolonged periods of solitary confinement.”

“This is part of a propaganda and hostage taking effort by Iranian intelligence to secure the release of Iranians abroad being held on security-related charges. Iranian intelligence has suggested through my court-appointed lawyer Mr. Hussein Yazdi Samadi that I be released in exchange for 2 Iranians being held abroad,” Amir wrote in the letter confirmed authentic by his family. “I had nothing to do with their arrest, committed no crime, and see no reason why the U.S. Government should entertain such a ridiculous proposition. I do not wish to set a precedent for others that may be unlawfully (obtained) for political gain in the future.”

Read more at PJ Media

Free Amir Web Site (Facebook)

Donald Trump says he’ll pay for fallen warrior burials cut by shutdown

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Billionaire Donald Trump has offered to pick up paying a “death gratuity” to families of four soldiers and a Marine who died in combat in Afghanistan over the weekend after the Pentagon announced it is suspending immediate payments to families of combat fatalities because of the government shutdown.

When service men and women are killed in combat, the Pentagon normally pays families $100,000 to cover funerals and the cost of families to travel to receive the remains of their loved ones.

The Pentagon suspended those payments after the government shutdown, stirring outrage on Capitol Hill.

Read more at BizPac Review

Marine kills two at Quantico base, takes own life

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WASHINGTON | Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:04pm EDT

(Reuters) – A Marine shot dead two fellow service members at a base in Quantico, Virginia, then killed himself, the Marines said on Friday.

The shootings took place late on Thursday near the officer candidate school at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, and all three people who died were active-duty Marines, base commander Colonel David Maxwell said.

“The shooter, an active-duty Marine, was pronounced dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by law enforcement at the scene,” he told a news conference carried by local media.

Maxwell gave no motive for the shooting and an investigation is under way. The two slain Marines, a man and a woman, were permanent personnel assigned to the officers school, as was the shooter, he said.

Read more at Reuters News

Semper Fi, Unless It’s Not Convenient

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By Bill O’Reilly

Jon Hammar saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, but his most brutal foreign experience was in Mexico. Last August, the 27-year-old former Marine corporal was incarcerated by Mexican authorities in Matamoros for trying to register an antique shotgun with customs agents. Foolishly, Cpl. Hammar followed instructions given to him by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Brownsville, Texas. He registered the gun with them and brought the paperwork to the Mexicans to get their stamp of approval in order to carry the gun through the country. Hammar and a friend were driving a Winnebago, hoping to have a nice surfing vacation with some hunting on the side.

Even though the Mexican authorities clearly saw that Hammar was trying to follow the rules, they seized the Winnebago and locked the corporal up in the notoriously corrupt CEDES prison anyway. There he was threatened by other inmates and told by guards that he could buy his way out of the hellhole by paying money to the “right people.”

Hammar’s parents, who live in South Florida, immediately contacted the State Department and were told to be patient. And so they were. Three months later, Hammar was still incarcerated and had not even seen a judge, and things were becoming increasingly desperate.

That’s when his parents gave up on the State Department and contacted the media.

Read more at Townhall.

Marines egged while collecting toy donations

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By Bethany Crudele – Staff writer
Posted: Wednesday Nov 7, 2012

Four Marines who were collecting donations from early morning commuters on behalf of Toys for Tots in San Angelo, Texas, were the targets of a barrage of eggs, according to police. The Marines managed to escape being hit.

The incident occurred shortly before 6 a.m., according to San Angelo police. The department received several calls about the occupants of a pickup truck throwing eggs at pedestrians and other vehicles in town.

The pedestrians were the Marines, volunteers for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, who had set up shop at the intersections of Arden Way, Avenue N and Sherwood Way to collect new Christmas toys to be given to less fortunate children in the community.

The truck almost hit one of the Marines as it sped by — and almost collided head-on with another vehicle — before hitting a traffic island a short while later, according to Lt. Mike Hernandez, a police spokesperson.

The driver, Hunter Holbert, 18, was arrested and charged with reckless driving and criminal mischief. Two other 18-year-olds, Brandon Garcia and Taylor White, and an unidentified juvenile male, all passengers in Holbert’s vehicle, were also cited for criminal mischief.

Hernandez said the four Marines had several cartons of eggs thrown at them that the group allegedly stole from a nearby Wal-Mart. While he doesn’t think the men intentionally targeted the Marines, he still found the incident upsetting.

Read more at the Marine Corps Times