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My Hero is my late husband, JD Willson.
No matter what his physical condition, no matter what his financial condition, JD was there for you. He was friend to so many that I cannot even count them all. He was making our country neighborhood into a cohesive whole.
When he walked into a room people began to smile. He created laughter wherever he went. And he made people safe. He jumped in to stop the drunk abusing his wife or girl friend. He was not an uninvolved bystander. He cared.
My sons were his step-sons but he was so completely FATHER. He taught with patience and love. He respected them. And he showed his love in all things great and small.
When he was injured and could barely walk on his own, he went without things he needed for comfort in order to help a homeless mother and her children. This was my husband.
He was a champion for those who needed one, a mentor, a father, a lover and a friend. I felt so safe in his care. And the animals loved him too. He was a hunter and a fisherman but not for sport. When he wasn’t hunting for food he was doing things like putting out huge amounts of food for homeless cats. We always had rescued dogs and cats at our house. He fed the birds and put out salt blocks for the deer. He saved lives and protected property.
JD was the man everyone wanted for a friend. And he was a friend. If you needed help and he could help in any way he was there for you. To me this is a hero of epic proportions. We were all enriched by having him in our lives.
With love, Casey
In my 48 years of being alive I have met many people. Some good some not
so good. A few have left a lasting impression on the woman I have become.
Some of those few I never even had the chance to meet….an example would be
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Others had a profound positive effect on my
life. My father probably would be the one who had the greatest effect on
my formative years.
However, of all those few the two that have influenced me to the greatest
extent have been my children. I have a daughter who is approaching the age
of 16 and a son who will be 13 in about six months. I know most parents
would say their children are a blessing to them but few would say their
children are their greatest teachers.
My circumstances are a tad unusual from the general population. You see I
have a son who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. In the early
days of autism it was pure unadulterated hell. The aggressive behaviors
were so bad that after a day of tracking them they counted up to 400! The
meltdowns would last for 3 or 4 hours at a time. Yet through these early
days to the present I have learned many things because of autism. The
biggest lesson has come in the way of patience.
Autistic brains are wired differently so the autistic individual learns
differently. It takes a great deal of repetition for the autistic mind to
comprehend and retain what it is being taught. So every milestone that is
reached is just that much sweeter than the average parent experiences.
Autism does not equal mental retardation in any way. If anything the
individual that experiences autism has well above average intelligence.
Since my children entered my life my perspective on what is important has
changed drastically, which I believe is the case for most parents.
However, again being in unusual circumstances it has changed even more
drastically then the norm.
My daughter has become a young woman with strong moral convictions. She
believes in righting the injustices that she sees on a daily basis. She is
very much the fighter for the underdog and will go to the mat for her
brother or anyone that suffers at the hands of others, whether it be
emotional, psychological or physical abuse. She does not tolerate
discrimination in any of its forms and all these lessons she learned as a
result of having a brother with special needs.
There was a time when I prayed to God every night to take this thing known
as autism away from my son and subsequently my family. Now I thank God
every night for the life he has given me and mine. The lessons learned
would never otherwise have taken place. We are all better people for them.
If you are interested I have written on this topic before on my personal
blog. You can access that blog at: www.debstake.wordpress.com.
–
Peace and Prayers,
Deborah A Delp
Proud Mother to:
Samantha (15, My Never Ending Beacon of Light)
JR (12 All Good Things in God’s Time)
E-Mail Me @ vaccines_r_toxic@kuhncom.net
AUTISM IS: Treatable, Improvement is real and Recovery is possible!
 I’m here to honor my son…David Kirker
Since as a child when he understood how you play soldier, my son did. His father served in Vietnam as well as my brothers. But David love to play, he would get out his soldiers out and play till his heart was content.
He is still a soldier today in the National Guard. He still goes on the weekends and does his Job. He is a sargent now and still serves his country. He is recently a new dad and you can just see his little son, will grow up to be just like his father. He went over to Iraq 3 times, never knowing if he’d have to go back, but I’m sure he will go if he is called again.
He loves his wife and his 3month old son. He is a kind and dearing son. They are young couple and almost married a year and their son will grow up knowing that he is loved and his world as we know will be kind and loving the way his parents are.
David grew up very much loved. He loved animals and I always thought he would be a vet. But life took a hold of him in a big way. He graduated and then went into the Army for four years and then became a soldier in the Guards. Then graduated from College where he met his wife Christina at Ohio State University.
 This young man should be honored because it was a honor raising him and see him grow into a young man that loves life, his wife , his father and his country. His accomplishments are far greater than his regrets. He is a soldier to be reckoned with. He stood up and went to do his time and is a fantasic soldier. So when you speak of a Hero, he just one of many even though he is on American land, he still thinks of his friends that he has lost over there as well as those who came back.
But he is one that will serve and still hold his head up high to salute our USA. I hope you will honor him as a soldier that will never quit on his country.
Love, Mrs Mary Benson
I would like to salute Rick and Brent Breese of Reno, Nevada. They are brothers who served both in the first Gulf War and again after 9/11/01 in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They have served in the Marines and the Air Force. After serving in both wars both are still in the active military and have deployed.
In between all of that, they almost lost their mutually owned house to a fire. They lost almost everything of value in that fire. Things that could never be replaced. I know because I worked for their restoration company. It was my job to provide the information to the insurance company. Out of over a 100k loss. The Breese Brothers still never stopped. One Brent got married to Kristi who I was lucky enough to call my boss for six months. I have left long ago so that is not why I am writing this.
Brent and Rick still work for our country and still go on missions. They leave behind, wives, girlfriends and children. But when you ask them why. They both say the same thing. We are married to our country first, our family second, that is who we are.
Thank you,
Melody A. Sylvester
Civilian and Patriot
WE’D LIKE TO HONOUR OUR FATHER HERBERT C.FINLEY SR.
WE LOST OUR MOM 2 YRS AGO THIS FEB 21 AND HE’S DOING GREAT I THINK. WE NEVER NEEDED ANYTHING AND HE STILL IS KEEPING IT AND US TOGETHER.
THANKS DAD. WE LOVE YOU DEARLY..
YOUR KIDS ….HERBIE, DAWN, SHAWN
 CPO Brinkley Chief Petty Officer Paul D Brinkley joined the Navy in 1954, just a poor farm boy from Tulot, Arkansas. He wanted to see the world and he did. All the way from California to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Vietnam. He never brought his work home.
At home he was just Daddy and Husband. He saw things that would make regular people (civilians) turn away but not to him. He did what had to be done, the way God would want it to be. His last station was as a Recruiter in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Someone told me once a Veteran is someone who at one point in their life wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’, for an amount ‘up to, and including their life’. That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact! I am thankful for the freedom that men like my father have given us.
My Daddy will turn 73 on February 9th and he is still going strong and serving as an EMT (part time now, he retired again last January), EMT instructor, and Wirth Fire Department Fireman. He also helps them get their Grant Money. As Head Deacon of our Church, he is on the Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief Team. He is my Hero and always will be.
Love you Daddy.
Submitted by his daughter Paula Brinkley Bartee,
White Hat Club at Guantanamo Bay 
  My name is Carrol Cushman I am SFC Melvin L. Cushman’s wife.
If I have forgotten to put anything else in here please let me know. Out of
everyone in my life he has been the only person to believe in me and I am
doing this to let him know that not everything he does goes unnoticed. That
he is loved and appreciated.
My hero is my husband. His name is SFC Melvin L. Cushman and he is in the
Army National Guard. He would tell me that he doesn’t need to be
acknowledged for what he has done but to me he will always be my hero.
He works for the GED Plus program at Camp Robinson in Arkansas and works
with many teenagers for whom really this is their last chance at making something of themselves. They all have an unrelenting respect for him once they get a chance to meet him. I don’t know how many times that they have come up to him so very proud to let him know that they have passed their test and gotten their GED’s and now are on their way to Basic Training. In those moments I see the pride on his face and at that moment I realize why he does what he does.
He is the most unselfish individual I have ever met. He has offered our home
to a soldier in need. He has given his last 20 dollars so that a soldier
could eat. He is always reminding me that the most important letter in the
Leadership is the S and that stands for selfless service.
He himself was facing an MEB and during all of this time he was helping another soldier who has lost his son and is suffering from TBI and PTSD, which in its self has been very trying. Never once did my husband give up on this soldier. There are so many reasons that my husband is my hero but the biggest one is the fact that he stays true to his word and if he says he won’t give up on you he is not going to. He practices every bit of SELFLESS ERVICE. Long nights at work, long telephone conversations to fix a problem of a soldier, unexpected trips, and sacrificing his own time with his family to help others in need.
My brother Robert L. Beverage is a deputy in the Greene County Sheriff’s Dept in Greene County Virginia (Stanardsville Va.)
He puts his life on the line for all those who are in need. He has done things I didn’t think could be possible. This man is my hero in more ways than one. He is my hero because of the excellent job that he does day to day. He is also the greatest husband and father and grandfather.
This man has the highest respect from all that those who know and love him. If there is anything that someone needs, this man goes beyond duty to help. I know of one time that my sister couldn’t get out to get her medicine due to a bad snow storm, and he went to the pharmacy to get her meds and took them to her. There is nothing this man wouldn’t do for anyone. I have never heard from anyone that doesn’t like him.
He works with many departments on his force. He has brought down drug dealers, fugitives from justice, laid his life on the line for other men on the force. This man needs many awards not just because he is my brother, but my HERO. I love him with every breath I breathe and that’s why I write this tribute to him. To me he is the greatest hero on earth.
Love, Debbie, your sister
Sgt.Joseph Alexander Pedigo is My Son and My Hero. He is with the 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Drum New York, currently serving in Iraq.
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Son who is willing to give so much for our great country and it’s people. I am so thankful to Alex and all our wonderful and Brave Military. They are all Heroes.
Submitted by Tamala Gibbons…A Proud Army Mom
My Dad, John Jacob Bowman, is now 84 years in, but he was a seventeen year veteran who fought long and hard during World War II all over Europe. He was a member of the United States Army.
I love him and he is a big inspiration to me and my family. He also provided a good living for my family as a Boilermaker and serving on the local Police Department. He is married to my wonderful mother and now resides in Perry County Indiana. He is my best friend and Dad
Sincerely With Love and Pride in you Dad,
Donna
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