Wreaths for Warriors
It was a cold and windy Saturday when hundreds of volunteers got together at Arlington National Cemetery to place wreaths on the headstones of veterans buried there.
I met three people who walked to Section 60 to lay wreaths for the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Juan Casiano's fiancee, Maria Ortiz, is buried there. Amy Neiberger-Miller's brother, Christopher, also lost his life in Iraq and was laid to rest in Section 60.
Their willingness to stand out in the frigid weather and tell me about their loved ones meant a lot to me. I did my best to tell our viewers about Specialist Neiberger and Capt. Ortiz in reports I did for our newscasts on December 15th.
There is a third person that I met that day. Laurie's brother is not buried at Arlington, but she wanted to participate in the wreath-laying to honor those who have served. Her brother, John, took his own life in January. His sister says he was never the same after he returned from a deployment to Kuwait. Her story on the toll of suicide in the military aired on our 6 p.m. news December 20th. The image that stays with me is stopping the interview to hug Laurie as she stood their in the cold crying for her brother.
The Center for American Progress issued a new report on the quality of life in the military the same day as my story on Laurie and John. You can check out the report on http://www.centerforamericanprogress.org/.
One of my colleagues, Peggy Fox, also did a report on our 5 p.m. news on December 20th. Her story is about the Purple Heart awarded to her brother-in-law by President Bush. Click here to see her story.
I hope your holidays are filled with love and peace. I will chat with you again in the New Year.
I met three people who walked to Section 60 to lay wreaths for the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Juan Casiano's fiancee, Maria Ortiz, is buried there. Amy Neiberger-Miller's brother, Christopher, also lost his life in Iraq and was laid to rest in Section 60.
Their willingness to stand out in the frigid weather and tell me about their loved ones meant a lot to me. I did my best to tell our viewers about Specialist Neiberger and Capt. Ortiz in reports I did for our newscasts on December 15th.
There is a third person that I met that day. Laurie's brother is not buried at Arlington, but she wanted to participate in the wreath-laying to honor those who have served. Her brother, John, took his own life in January. His sister says he was never the same after he returned from a deployment to Kuwait. Her story on the toll of suicide in the military aired on our 6 p.m. news December 20th. The image that stays with me is stopping the interview to hug Laurie as she stood their in the cold crying for her brother.
The Center for American Progress issued a new report on the quality of life in the military the same day as my story on Laurie and John. You can check out the report on http://www.centerforamericanprogress.org/.
One of my colleagues, Peggy Fox, also did a report on our 5 p.m. news on December 20th. Her story is about the Purple Heart awarded to her brother-in-law by President Bush. Click here to see her story.
I hope your holidays are filled with love and peace. I will chat with you again in the New Year.
posted by Phyllis Armstrong at
7:12 PM
1 Comments:
Phyllis,
Your Patriot blog is wonderful. Thanks for all you do for our soldiers and their families. I got an e mail from my son in Afghanistan this morning, thank you Jesus! The first in several weeks. Although he said it's bitter cold and some of the places they lay their heads are damp and muddy at best, he is well in good spirits. He said that he has had good luck avoiding the flying lead but doesn't know how long his luck will hold. He asked me to thank everyone for the letters and goodies, you included!
I'll send more when I have it.
Regards,
Rick Armstrong
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