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September 3, 2007
Walter Reed FReep 124 - Aug 31, 2007 - "My Life for Freedom"
There's no better way to start an AAR than with a good photo of of our MOAB, with flags flying gloriously in the background.
Honor Roll for FReep 124
Tom the Redhunter, PrezUSA222, 3DJoy, tgslTakoma, Kristinn, Mr & Mrs Trooprally, Olney-Keith, Cindy-True-Supporter, Albion Wilde, VAFlagWaver, Jimmy Valentine's Brother, Lurker Bill, Yak and Yak's Girl, Bruce and Kristy, Chief, T.J., Plea Deal, Taco Mama, DaNang68, and Sensi Ern.
Gathering of Eagles
Proudly holding her flag is Air Force veteran T.J. She served 20+ years in Strategic Air Command and is now with Gathering of Eagles (besides her day job). As I suppose most people reading this know, this September 10 and 15 will be GOE II on the mall in Washington DC. This to counter the communists of International ANSWER and other groups such as Code Pink, who will be holding an anti-war protest.
A Man In Touch With His Inner Self
Everyone thought Jimmy Valentine's Brother looked good tonight
Meanwhile, standing proud with his American Flag on the opposite corner was Yak. Beside him is Yak's Girl, and in the background Albion Wilde is putting up one of our banners
During the FReep we noticed a car pull up and stop right by the main entrance. A soldier, "Rocky", jumped out and went to all 4 corners, shaking everybody's hand and saying "Thank you!" as he made his rounds. We learned that he had served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, and that some time ago he had been wounded in Afghanistan. He said that he has seen us out here each and every Friday, and just wanted to stop by and say thanks.
He showed Mrs Trooprally his tatoo.
In what other country would a soldier even think to have this sort of tatoo? We are so fortunate to live in a country such as this, and to have men like him in our Army.
While this was going on, another soldier jumped out of his car while the light was red and quickly shook hands with a few FReepers by the main entrance. Timing it perfectly, he made it back to his car just as the light turned green.
Often soldiers will stop by and tell us thank you for what we are doing. Like most of the other FReepers, I think, I always feel a bit weird when this happens; they're the ones risking life and limb, and all I'm doing is standing on a streetcorner in Washington DC.
A bunch of FReepeers gathered of the corners opposite the main entrance. Here are Bruce, PrezUSA222, VAFlagWaver, Kristy, 2 friends, and Lurker Bill.
Here is PrezUSA222 in for foreground, with tgslTakoma on the far side of the MOAB. PrezUSA222's sign is right, too; the "surge" is most certainly working. Check out this article by Frederick Kagan that appeared on NRO today.
The Return of "Large Marge"
Meanwhile, down the street, the Pinkos gathered as usual. Periodically throughout each FReep we go down to take a few photos and see what they're up to. This time we were presented with the most frightening sight of the evening: The return of the Pinko we call "Large Marge". Actually, she seems to have gone on a diet during her absence. Here she is if you can stand to look. Marge is the one on the left
Here's a wide angle shot which captures their entire protest area. By the end of the evening it looked like they had about a dozen people
"They can Kiss My Ass"
Not too long after we took these photos, Mr Trooprally and I were on one of the corners near the main entrance when a soldier came down the street carrying a McDonald's bag. He passed us by and went down to where the Pinkos were standing. We could see him speaking with them but decided to hold our ground and not go down to see what was happening. After 10 or 15 minutes he came back, and Mr Trooprally asked what was said
Soldier: "Don't bother talking to them because they're ignorant!"Mr Trooprally: "Is that your official comment?"
Soldier: "My official comment is 'They can kiss my ass!'"
And that about sums my attitude too.
If you can't get to D.C. to join us but would like to do something for the wounded, you can find a wealth of ideas by FReepmailing Albion Wilde, Cindy-True-Supporter, VAFlagwaver, or PleaDeal.
Come join us every Friday night between the hours of 6:30pm to approx 9:30pm.
Directions to our Walter Reed freep location from the Takoma metro station
* You can find all of Tom the Redhunter's photos for this FReep and more on myPhotobucket site
* You can find all of Mrs Trooprally's photos for this Freep on her Photobucket site.
* Thank you to BufordP for maintaining the BIG LIST of all Walter Reed FReeps.
* Thank you always to Kristinn and tgslTakoma for all the work they do. Kristinn is president of the DC chapter and our chief organizer, and tgslTakoma hauls the MOAB, flags, most of the signs, and our "picnic table" back and forth every week. Thank you to Mr & Mrs Trooprally because they also transport and store many of our signs and banners.
* Tom the Redhunter blogs at The Redhunter
* Plea Deal blogs at Sempter Gratis
Posted by Tom at September 3, 2007 10:22 AM
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