Was slavery about business?

History is only offense to those who do not learn from it

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2019

While I do hate politics in general, I find it more distressful to witness facts being assaulted because someone does not like what history actually was.

“It shouldn’t be surprising since owning slaves wasn’t a decision predicated on race but on economics. It’s a business decision.” — Republican state Rep. Werner Horn

I am an Independent because I no longer believe either party represents what I think. This is in no way a defense of a politician I know nothing about. It is however predicated upon the response that forced him to delete what he rightfully pointed out.

This is from the National Museum of American History.

The Business of Slavery Slavery created enormous profits not only for Southern planters and slave traders, but also for Northern cotton-mill owners and investors. Nearly one million enslaved Africans, defined as property, were wrenched from their upper South families. Some bought their freedom; more fought back by running away or even taking their own lives.

While our nation did try try to rectify this with the Civil War, it seems that has also been forgotten. Many African Americans who were freed joined the fight for their independence. After all, it is something they had done since the Revolutionary War. 

They have served in the military ever since the beginning.

If you know history, then you would know that as reprehensible as it was, slavery was always about business and making money using the cheapest labor instead of valuing those who provided the wealth the owners enjoyed.

Slavery existed around the world as one nation conquered another.

History of Slavery from History World
Slaves in Babylon: 18th century BC

Information about slaves in early societies relates mainly to their legal status, which is essentially that of an object - part of the owner's valuable property. The Code of Hammurabi, from Babylon in the 18th century BC, gives chilling details of the different Rewards and penalties for surgeons operating on free men or slaves. But it also reveals that the system is not one of unmitigated brutality. Surprisingly, Babylonian slaves are themselves allowed to own property.

But the first civilization in which we know a great deal about the role of slaves is that of ancient Greece.

A free man beating an enslaved man.

Slaves in Greece: from the 7th century BC

Both the leading states of Greece - Sparta and Athens - depend entirely upon forced labour, though the system in Sparta is more properly described as serfdom rather than slavery. The distinction is that the helots of Sparta are a conquered people, living on their own hereditary land but forced to work it for their Spartan masters. Their existence is a traditional rural one to which certain rights remain attached.

The slaves of Athens, by contrast, have no conventional rights. But their condition varies greatly according to the work they do.

The most unfortunate Athenian slaves are the miners, who are driven often to the point of death by their owners (the mines are state-owned but are leased to private managers). By contrast other categories of slaves - particularly those owned directly by the state, such as the 300 Scythian archers who provide the police force of Athens - can acquire a certain prestige.

The majority of Athenian slaves are domestic servants. Their fortune depends entirely on the relationship they develop with their owners. Often it is close, with female slaves looking after the children or acting as concubines, or a male slave running the household as a steward.

No free Athenian works in a domestic capacity, for it is considered shameful to be another man's servant. This inhibition applies equally to a subsidiary position in any form of business.

As a result male slaves in Athens do all work of a secretarial or managerial nature, for in these contexts they are unmistakably somebody else's personal assistant. Such jobs include positions of influence in fields such as banking and commerce.

Slaves in Rome: from the second century BC

The same loophole, offered by the self-esteem of free citizens, provides even greater opportunities to slaves in imperial Rome. The most privileged slaves are the secretarial staff of the emperor.

But these are the exception. In the two centuries before the beginning of the empire (the last two centuries BC) slaves are employed by Romans more widely than ever before and probably with greater brutality. In the mines they are whipped into continuing effort by overseers; in the fields they work in chain gangs; in the public arenas they are forced to engage in terrifying combat as gladiators. There are several slave uprisings in these two centuries, the most famous of them led by Spartacus.

Slaves in the Middle Ages: 6th - 15th century

In the period after the collapse of the Roman empire in the west, slavery continues in the countries around the Mediterranean. But the slaves are employed almost exclusively in households, offices and armies. The gang slavery characteristic of large Roman estates does not reappear until the tobacco and cotton plantations of colonial America (one notable exception is the salt mines of the Sahara).

Nevertheless the slave trade thrives, and the Mediterranean is a natural focal point.

Go to the links above to learn more before more history is deleted. It would be great if the people who are so offended would actually know the basics behind what they complain about today.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. To covet truth is a very distinguished passion."-George Santayana

American history is offensive to Nike?

Ruled by the offended instead of the brave?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 2, 2019

Since when is it OK to obliterate the history of this country and the people who put their lives on the line to live it? 

It seems that anyone who is offended by something is suddenly empowered to dictate to all others. You know the type. Bow down your free will, your own thoughts, and forget about silly things like history and facts.

Their Mom's must have really gotten carried away with telling them "you're special" because evidently, they are all that matters.

The "American" who first thought it was OK to take a knee during a football game while the National Anthem was playing, has just been handed the Nike crown to do with as he pleases. 

It is complete with 13 stars and now, it seems that it is so offensive to him, they have joined the NFL cowards afraid to take a stand for those who paid the price for "Americans" like him to speak his own mind.

Somehow he ended up believing that everyone not only had to hear what he had to say...they had to subject themselves to his power.

I just saw the movie Aladdin and like the song Jasmin sings...I won't be speechless in return.

Nike Nixes ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Colin Kaepernick IntervenesThe Wall Street JournalBy Khadeeja Safdar and Andrew BeatonUpdated July 1, 2019

Nike Inc. NKE -0.53% is yanking a U.S.A.-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sneaker giant created the Air Max 1 USA in celebration of the July Fourth holiday, and it was slated to go on sale this week. The heel of the shoe featured a U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle, a design created during the American Revolution and commonly referred to as the Betsy Ross flag.

After shipping the shoes to retailers, Nike asked for them to be returned without explaining why, the people said. The shoes aren’t available on Nike’s own apps and websites.

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a Nike spokeswoman said.

After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery, the people said. Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.

The design was created in the 1770s to represent the 13 original colonies, though there were many early versions of the America flag, according to the Smithsonian. In the 1790s, stars and bars were added to reflect the addition of Vermont and Kentucky as states. U.S. flag designs continued to change as states were admitted to the union until the 50th star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.read it here

I was born and raised in New England by first generation American parents who understood that this country was worth working hard to make a better place, as well as worthy of risking their lives to defend. My Dad and uncles were all in the military.

Our history began by those who were much more offended by being ruled by someone else, namely, the King of England, than they were concerned about what price they would pay for the freedom they were willing to die for.

For a company to be yield to someone being offended by what so many were willing to die for to obtain equals being ruled by someone else...namely the king of the take a knee stunt no matter what football fans thought of it...or him.

Nice work Nike. Maybe you need to appeal to Heaven for a miracle to get your reputation out of the gutter this time too.

"Appeal To Heaven"
The phrase is a particular expression of the right of revolution used by British philosopher John Locke in Second Treatise on Civil Government which was published in 1690 as part of Two Treatises of Government refuting the theory of the divine right of kings.

Locke's works were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders, being the most quoted authority on the government in the 1760-1776 period prior to American independence. Thomas Jefferson was accused of plagiarizing Locke in certain sections of the Declaration of Independence by fellow Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee.

Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion and Massachusetts General Court establishing the Pine Tree flag as the standard of the Massachusetts navy, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Subsequently, it was used again by the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence.

Do they know that men and women gave their lives to obtain our freedom from England? 

The Revolutionary War (1775-83)

Or the men and women who once again defended this nation in 1812? Or that is what was behind the writing of the National Anthem they protest?

More gave their lives so that everyone would be free?

Civil War (1861-1865)

We are not perfect but so far, most generations have tried to make it better than it was...until this generation decided history no longer mattered and companies like the NFL and Nike gave them the power over the rest of us.

Arizona governor to withdraw Nike financial incentives after shoe company pulls ‘Betsy Ross’ American flag sneakers


More of us are offended they are not only offended, but that they GET TO RULE BECAUSE THE ARE BRATS! Wonder if he'll take a knee on the 4th of July while everyone else is looking up?

The most famous women you never knew

The most famous women you never knew
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 18, 2018

The title is a running joke in Point Man, since that is the way I usually get introduced.  Lots of people have heard of my work, my site but most cannot remember my name or even why they know me.

Putting this video together made me very proud to be a woman but ashamed I never knew about some of these women.

Sure, you heard about Paul Revere getting on his horse to warm about the British coming.

Paul Revere did not gain immediate fame for his April 1775"Midnight Ride." In fact, it wasn't until Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem, which greatly embellished Revere's role, that he became the folk hero we think of today.

But did you know Sybil Ludington also made a ride at the age of 16? Wonder how much fame she would have gotten if Longfellow paid her attention too?

On the night of April 26, 1777, Colonel Henry Ludington, father of 12, veteran of the French-Indian War, and commander of the militia in Duchess County, New York, (just across the state line from Danbury, Connecticut) received a messenger to his house. The British had entered Danbury and found some American military stores, stolen some, destroyed others and drank the whiskey. Drunk, they began ransacking the town, burning and looting.

His daughter got on her horse and rode for 40 miles.

You heard a lot about the men fighting for our freedom but did you know about these women?
Deborah Sampson, Nancy Morgan Hart or Margaret Corbin?

You heard a lot about heroic men with the Medal of Honor but did you know Dr. Mary Edwards Walker received one too? Actually, technically it was twice because Congress officially took it away from her, but she refused to return it. In 1977, she officially received it back, but she died in 1919. 

Those are just some of the women in this video. I hope you learn something watching it, because I learned a lot doing it.

US Women:Trailblazers long before their time

Today there is not going to be a lot of posts going up for a very good reason. A friend asked me to do a video on women trailblazers. I thought, OK, should be easy, since I tracked all this stuff for a long time. Plus, hey, I'm originally from New England, and growing up, we were actually taught history.

Needless to say, it turns out I am shocked by how much I forgot, and even more so by what I never knew.

This is a forgot...

Sybil Ludington became famous for her ride to warn the Patriot militia of the British coming, similar to that of Paul Revere, but Sybil was only 16 years old.

On the night of April 26, 1777, Colonel Henry Ludington, father of 12, veteran of the French-Indian War, and commander of the militia in Duchess County, New York, (just across the state line from Danbury, Connecticut) received a messenger to his house. The British had entered Danbury and found some American military stores, stolen some, destroyed others and drank the whiskey. Drunk, they began ransacking the town, burning and looting.

Col. Ludington's militia, some 400 men, was on furlough. Whether the colonel asked his oldest daughter or the 16-year-old bravely volunteered is unknown, but around 9 p.m., she set off in the rain to warn the men. discover more here

This is a never knew,

Cathay Williams (1844 – 1892), a.k.a. William Cathay, was the first known African American woman to enlist in the United States Army, and the only black woman documented to serve in the US army in the 19th century.

Born a slave in Independence, Missouri in 1844, Cathay worked as a house servant on a nearby plantation on the outskirts of Jefferson City. discover more here

The thing that keeps getting to me is that women have been fighting for this country all along. So why are they still treated as if they do not belong in the military?

Why is it that members of the military still act as if it was only the males responsible for our freedom?

Anyway, back to work on the video. Just wanted to share some of those thoughts. The more I work on this video, the more proud I am of being a woman in this country. Maybe if more young women would spend time learning about how we arrived at this place, in this time, they'd be even more encouraged to do whatever it is they want to do, no matter what people say.

Washington Crossed the Delaware on Christmas Morning

1776
Washington crosses the Delaware
This Day In History

During the American Revolution, Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack came after several months of substantial defeats for Washington’s army that had resulted in the loss of New York City and other strategic points in the region.

At about 11 p.m. on Christmas, Washington’s army commenced its crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully braved the icy and freezing river and reached the New Jersey side of the Delaware just before dawn. The other two divisions, made up of some 3,000 men and crucial artillery, failed to reach the meeting point at the appointed time.
read more here

How to celebrate Christmas weekend like George Washington
Philly.com
Natalie Pompilio, For The Inquirer
December 25, 2015

Groups of soldiers in the snow at Washington Crossing Park in Bucks County

Everything you think you know about George Washington's leading his troops across the Delaware River on Christmas Day 1776? It's probably wrong, especially if you're basing your knowledge on a certain oil painting.

Those who want a more accurate depiction of that event can journey Saturday to Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, where more than 300 reenactors in appropriate colonial dress - including the good general himself - will re-create scenes from that night 239 years ago, crossing the river to New Jersey in replicas of the actual craft used by the Continental Army.

"It's a fun event, a great event, but it's also a very serious commemoration," said Joseph Capone, executive director of the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. "We don't want to forget the soldiers' sacrifices. We don't want to lose that history."

The crossing is one of multiple regional activities commemorating a period of 10 days as 1776 ended and 1777 began that helped turn the course of the Revolutionary War for Washington and his ragtag army.
read more here

Until We Finally Rest at Arlington

Until We Finally Rest at Arlington
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos

No one has to tell us what freedom really means.
Your boots were back on last night in your dreams.
As for me, no one told me I'd be fighting a war
with memories of things I never saw.
But I'll do what other wives have done since Lexington
fighting this last battle until we finally rest at Arlington.

I still love you as much as I can
but to tell you the truth, you're not the same man.
The man I knew wouldn't push me away
he'd be doing whatever he had to do to stay.
If you're afraid I'll stop loving you,
then darling you don't have a clue
that after all the years we've been through
there isn't anything I won't do for you.

Tell me you don't deserve me in your life
and I'll tell you I'm glad I'm your wife.
PTSD doesn't have to defeat or rob tomorrow
replacing this love of our with sorrow.
So I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of you
like the only person on earth that really knows what is true.

You did what few others have done
from the first battle at Lexington
when brave men fought for freedom to be obtained
and all those who came after to to keep it retained
when all was said and done
the battle back home had just begun
to find your place back at home
feeling as if you had to fight alone.

I know you changed since those dark days
but I also know there are different ways
to change again and live a happier life
to feel all the love I promised when I became your wife.
But fighting wars should never be easier for any of you
then being back home remembering what you had to do.

The grieving you do comes from an unselfish heart
and that was within you right from the start.
It took love to be willing to lay down your life
and courage to endure all the strife.
You may wonder why God let it all happen
but you really need to look again
at all the compassion surrounding you
when your friends were willing to sacrifice for you too.

So please search for all that now
so that you can live a better life somehow.
And the sadness in your eyes will melt away
when you understand that I'm going to stay
and fight for you as hard as you fought back then
until the day we finally rest at Arlington.

Marine's 1st Commandant in 1775 Was a Quaker?

Marine Corps 240th Birthday
Marine Corps Times
November 9, 2015

This story is provided and presented by our sponsor Pioneer Services, the military division of MidCountry Bank, which has provided financial services to the men and women of the Armed Forces for nearly 30 years. For more information, visit PioneerServices.com.

Tuesday, November 10, marks the 240th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Its roots date all the way back to 1775 when it was established as the Continental Marines. The Second Continental Congress first commissioned Marines to man two vessels in the Continental Navy. Their original purpose was to provide on-board security forces and to protect the Captain and his officers.

Soon after, they would be used to conduct amphibious combat missions and raids during the American Revolution. One of their first missions was to raid a British armory in the Bahamas just months after the first two battalions were created.

In the air, on land, and at sea, a Marine must be equipped and ready to fight wherever duty calls. With Veterans Day just around the corner, we should all be sure to thank the Marines in our lives for the sacrifices they’ve made to protect our freedom and security, “from the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.”

To commemorate its birthday on Tuesday, we’ve put together five facts you might not have known about the USMC.

The First Marines Were Recruited in a Tavern
The first commissioned officer of the Continental Marines was a man named Samuel Nicholas. He was part of a well-known Quaker family from Philadelphia, and was nicknamed “the Fightin’ Quaker.” He was appointed the 1st Commandant in 1775 and took charge in recruiting locals to fight for America’s independence from the British.

And where did he turn in his recruitment efforts? To local taverns of course! One of his first recruits was Robert Mullan, the manager of Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Nicholas appointed him as the Chief Marine Recruiter and he would use the allure of cold beer and camaraderie to recruit new Marines. This is why the Tun Tavern is officially acknowledged as the birthplace of the Marine Corps.
read more here

Veterans Screwed By Congress Since 1779

Veterans Victims of Weak Congress
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 25, 2015


History repeated!

"Revolutionary War veterans, like Martin, found themselves victims of a weak government unable to pay them and of conflicts between American republican ideals and the military institutions veterans represented."

Military Times reported on the VA Choice Act in September of 2015 and pretty much the trouble was summed up by Senator Isakson.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said 7.5 million more medical appointments have been made under the VA Choice program this year than last.

“A lot of people have said VA Choice is a cop-out," Isakson said. "But you just don’t provide health care to 6.5 million veterans by snapping your fingers. We don’t have the money in the federal government to provide all the health care to veterans if we wanted to. We have to empower the private sector through programs that work."

The trouble is none of this was new and they should have actually planned for the 22 million veterans they forget about all the time showing they had no intensions of caring for when they can't even take care of the "6.5 million" veterans. Then again, maybe veterans are right and Congress wanted the VA to be broken so they could sell off care to private sector health care providers they always complain about.

Department Veterans Affairs Data

Isakson said VA Choice needs “time to work,” but added that the program, which last year received $10 billion in funding intended to last through 2017, along with health care provided at VA facilities, has “a long way to go” to reach the goal of providing seamless, quality care to veterans.

Yes, you read that right. $10 Billion going into the private sector for a couple of years.

The trouble is that members of the House and Senate seem to forget that have been in charge all along. Revolutionary War Veteran Entitlements

Revolutionary War veterans, like Martin, found themselves victims of a weak government unable to pay them and of conflicts between American republican ideals and the military institutions veterans represented.

The first veterans pension movement began during the war, when officers lobbied Congress in 1779 for half pay for life.

Public outcry charged officers with attempting to establish a military aristocracy on the backs of the civilian population.

After the war, officers responded to the failures of government support by forming a hereditary veterans organization called The Society of Cincinnatus, an allusion to an ancient Roman general who gave up his military power to save the republic. The society provided some mutual support, but only officers could join, leaving enlisted soldiers like Martin to fend for themselves.

Veterans have been fighting wars and then fighting the government for what they need afterwards since the beginning of this nation and hearing the same reply.

“Scarcely a day passes without some striking evidence of the delays and perplexities springing merely from the want of precedents. ”
Representative James Madison to Edmund Randolph, May 31, 1789

The Congress of the United States established by the new Constitution met for the first time at New York City’s Federal Hall on March 4, 1789. It is arguably the most important Congress in U.S. history. To this new legislature fell the responsibility of passing all the legislation needed to implement the new system, solving the difficult political questions left by the Constitutional Convention, setting up the rules and procedures of the House and Senate, and establishing the roles of its officers such as Speaker of the House and President of the Senate.

In 1932 veterans protested when the promises made to them were not kept.

As World War I drew to a close in 1918, millions of American veterans returned home to the promise of a cash bonus — compensation for their overseas service.

There was a catch, though: The money would not be paid out until 1945.

Then, the Great Depression struck. Millions of Americans were left hungry and homeless. Veterans of the war were desperate for relief.

So in 1932, a group of veterans in Portland, Ore., led by a man named Walter Waters, decided to go to Washington to lobby for early payment of their promised bonus.

You can read even more of the real history of what was not done for our veterans on Encyclopedia.com United States Department of Veterans Affairs


WCSH 6 News AUGUSTA, Maine-- Maine hospitals say they've been having trouble getting paid by the Veterans Administration., and the debt is in the millions of dollars.

The VA says often the problems are the result of veterans seeking services which are not pre-approved by the VA, creating long delays as hospitals try to work their way through the complex federal system to seek payment. Last year, Congress and the VA created a new system called "Choice", for veterans living in rural areas more distant from VA facilities. But Jim Doherty of the VA at Togus says that system is funded separately from regular VA medical programs, and the process for using it is still fairly new.

USA Today reported back in March of 2014

Federal law requires that such emergency expenses be covered by the federal government even if the injury or illness is not related to the veteran's service-connected disability.

But when GAO looked at a sample of 128 of these claims brought by non-VA hospitals in 2012 seeking reimbursement and that were later denied by the VA, investigators discovered mistakes in half of them, the report says.

In November of 2014, AZ Central reported on one of their veterans having to deal with unpaid medical bills

In New York this was reported by WKTV News on May 29, 2015

After returning to the U.S., Ready says he was employed as a computer network analyst, but due to company downsizing, lost his job, so when he went to the emergency room at Oneida Healthcare on Dec. 29th of 2013, he says he told hospital staff he had no insurance after being informed he needed an emergency appendectomy and he said he would need to go to the Syracuse VA Hospital.

Ready says Oneida Healthcare staff told him the surgery would be covered because it was an emergency situation, but he says the VA has not paid any of the bills, now 18 months later.

Tampa VA has this on their site
Emergency Care in Non-VA Facilities

In 2001, the U.S. Congress provided VA with authorization (called the Mill Bill) to pay for emergency care in non-VA facilities for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. The benefit will pay for emergency care rendered for non-service-connected conditions for enrolled veterans who have no other source of payment for the care. However, VA will only pay to the point of medical stability. There are very strict guidelines concerning these types of claims. Veterans and their non-VA providers should be aware that these claims must be filed with the VA within 90 days from the last day of the emergent care.

Do I need to get approval before going to the emergency room?
No. If you are an eligible veteran, and a VA facility is not feasibly available when you believe your health or life is in immediate danger, report directly to the closest emergency room. If hospitalization is required, you, your representative or the treating facility should contact the nearest VA within 24 hours to arrange a transfer to VA care by calling the VA Transfer Center at (813) 972-7614.

As you can see, there have been too many times that Congress has listened to veterans, claimed to be fixing the problems while veterans are forced to see history repeated. Maybe it is time for yet one more massive protest of veterans seeking relief from this endless battle they have fight after they fight battles Congress sent them into in the first place!

US Navy Stood The Watch For 240 Years

U.S. Navy celebrates its 240th birthday
WTKR.com
BY BECCA MITCHELL
OCTOBER 13, 2015

Norfolk, Va. – October 13th marks the 240th birthday of the United States Navy.

On that day in 1775, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and voted to outfit two sailing vessels – the Andrew Doria and the Cabot, with ten carriage guns, swivel guns and a crews of 80 men. The ships were to sail out for three months and intercept transports of munitions and stores meant for the British army in America.

INTERACTIVE: U.S. Navy’s 240th Birthday

Soon, those two ships expanded into a Continental Fleet, an idea deemed crazy by some members of Congress. However, that fleet soon grew into an important force and the Continental Navy expanded to more than 50 vessels over the course of the Revolutionary War.
read more here

When Folks Forget She Served Too!

Over the years I've heard it all. Or, so I thought until I started spending more time with female veterans. How many times has a male veteran been thanked for serving standing right by the side of a female veteran totally ignored? It happens all the time when folks forget She Served Too!

On August 8, 2015 at 9:00 am we're going to do something about that. If you are in the Orlando area come to VFW Post 4287. We're doing a video/photo shoot with male and female veterans. Wear a black T-shirt. If it has a military or veteran graphic that is fine otherwise we don't want to see anything that does not tie into service. You can wear your hats and anything else you want to but it has to be a black T-shirt.

For more information email woundedtimes@aol.com or call 407-754-7526.

VFW A.E.M Post 4287
3500 S. Goldenrod Rd.
Orlando, Fl 32822

Just as a reminder of military women here are some things that do not get enough attention.

Inside the military program that put women in combat New York Post

Army Veteran, Paralympian Encourages Wounded Warriors

Department of Defense

Women in the U.S. Army

March 24, 2014 | Fred Hermstein

Women in the U.S. Army
From the American Revolutionary War to the present recent overseas contingency operations, women have served a vital role in the U.S. Army. Ever since Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley ("Molly Pitcher") replaced her husband when he collapsed at his cannon, women have continually proven that the narrow stereotype, limiting their choice of occupation, was wrong. As women expanded into different roles in the U.S. Army, it was clear that the heart of a warrior was not limited to one gender.

U.Va. student project aims to allow women in combat

Four University of Virginia law school students - assisted by a professor and a high-flying law school alum - are gearing up to fight for the right of women to serve in combat, and they're interested in finding women in the military who want to join them.

Their effort, dubbed The Molly Pitcher Project, seeks to end military policies that categorically bar women from serving in units engaging in direct ground combat. The project takes its name from the woman who took over loading and firing a cannon after her husband fell ill during a Revolutionary War battle.

Who was Molly Pitcher?

Molly Pitcher, From Wikipedia,

Molly Pitcher was born Mary Ludwig circa October 13, 1754, near Trenton, New Jersey. During the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Monmouth, she carried pitchers of water to soldiers, thereby earning her nickname. After her husband collapsed during the battle, she took over the operation of his cannon. Honored in 1822 for her bravery, she died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on January 22, 1832.

Military Women Worked Hard For The Country

Time to treat military women right!
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 9, 2015

When you think about women serving in the military, it is all too easy to forget how much they do in fact contribute as well as risk. The get killed and wounded, but we don't talk about that very much.

"She Works Hard For The Money"
Original Song by Donna Summer
She works hard for the country
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the country
So you better treat her right

Twenty-eight years have come and gone
And she's seen a lot of tears
Of the ones who come in
They really seem to need her there
It's a sacrifice working day to day
For too many hours too little pay
But it's worth it all
To hear them say that they care

She works hard for the country
So hard for it, honey
She works hard for the country
So you better treat her right

Already knows, she's seen her bad times
Already knows, these are the good times
She'll never sell out, she never will
Not for a dollar bill
She works haaaaard

She worked hard for the country
So hard for it, honey
She worked hard for the country
So you better treat her right

I was driving home from work with that song stuck in my head at the same time I was thinking about next month. A group of us decided that it was time to honor military women/veterans simply because "She Served" and earned a lot more attention than they have been getting.

In the process of talking about what we're up to, I talked about Mary Edwards Walker and how she received the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. (You, know the war that everyone is talking about when it it comes to the Confederate flag but not talking much about the men and women fighting during it.) Anyway, folks have been befuddled hearing about this. A woman with the Medal of Honor? Why not since they have received every other award as well plus sacrificed their lives since the beginning.

Who was the first military woman killed in action? Although women have served in the US Armed Forces only since 1901, women served on the battlefield with the armed services from the time of the American Revolution. On Dec. 11, 1775, Jemima Warner was killed by an enemy bullet during the siege of Quebec.

Military women have been killed in action throughout every war.

More than 400 U.S. military nurses died in the line of duty during World War I. 543 WWII, 17 nurses were killed in Korea, 8 during Vietnam and 16 during Desert Storm.

Back to the Medal of honor. The first woman to become a prisoner of war was also the first and only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.

Only Woman Medal of Honor Holder Ahead of Her Time
When the Civil War started, the Union Army wouldn't hire women doctors, so Walker volunteered as a nurse in Washington's Patent Office Hospital and treated wounded soldiers at the Battle of Bull Run in Virginia.

In 1862, she received an Army contract appointing her as an assistant surgeon with the 52nd Ohio Infantry.

The first woman doctor to serve with the Army Medical Corps, Walker cared for sick and wounded troops in Tennessee at Chickamauga and in Georgia during the Battle of Atlanta.

Confederate troops captured her on April 10, 1864, and held her until the sides exchanged prisoners of war on Aug. 12, 1864.

Walker worked the final months of the war at a women's prison in Louisville, Ky., and later at an orphans' asylum in Tennessee.

The Army nominated Walker for the Medal of Honor for her wartime service. President Andrew Johnson signed the citation on Nov. 11, 1865, and she received the award on Jan. 24, 1866. Her citation cites her wartime service, but not specifically valor in combat. Walker's citation reads in part that she "devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health. She has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war for four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon."

The War Department, starting in 1916, reviewed all previous Medal of Honor awards with the intent of undoing decades of abuse. At the time, for instance, the medal could be freely copied and sold and legally worn by anyone.

Past awards would be rescinded and future ones would be rejected if supporting evidence didn't clearly, convincingly show combat valor above and beyond the call of duty. Mary Walker and nearly 1,000 past recipients found their medals revoked in the reform. Wearing the medal if unearned became a crime.

The Army demanded Walker and the others return their medals. She refused and wore hers until her death at age 87 in 1919.

President Jimmy Carter restored Mary Walker's Medal of Honor on June 11, 1977. Today, it's on display in the Pentagon's women's corridor.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

Deborah Samson Gannett, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, was one of the first American woman soldiers. In 1782, she enlisted under the name of her deceased brother, Robert Shurtleff Samson. For 17 months, Samson served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. She was wounded twice. She cut a musket ball out of her own thigh so a doctor wouldn't find out she was a woman. Years later, in 1804, Samson was awarded a pension for her service. Also during the Revolution War, in 1776, Margaret Corbin fought alongside her husband and 600 American soldiers as they defended Fort Washington, New York. In the Mexican War, Elizabeth C. Newcume dressed in male attire and joined the military at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1847, she battled Native Americans in Dodge City. Ten months later, she was discharged when her gender was discovered. In July 1848, however, Congress paid her the land and money she was owed for her service. A History of Women in the U.S. Military

Oh but there are so many more.

Distinguished Service Cross, 6 women

Navy Cross, 4 women

Silver Star, 3 women. Mary Roberts Wilson, WWII, Sgt, Leigh Ann Hester, Iraq and Spec. Monica Brown Afghanistan.

Air Medal, Lt. Reba Whittle WWII and three crewmembers of a surveillance plane

Col. Ruby Bradley, most decorated military woman served during WWII. She was a POW in a Japanese prison camp. 2 Bronze Stars, plus 32 more. But she wasn't the first. That was 1Lt Cordelia Cook, an Army nurse during WWII.

You can read the rest here at Women Medal Recipients showing, contrary to popular belief, women have earned every medal for their service to this country.

Demographic Characteristics Department Veterans Affairs
• According to data from the 2009 American Community Survey, 1.5 million Veterans in the United States and Puerto Rico were women. Women represented about 8 percent of the total Veteran population in 2009.

• Twenty-nine percent of all living women Veterans served only during times of peace. Almost half of all women Veterans have served during the Gulf War Era (August 1990 to the present).

• The median age of women Veterans in 2009 was 48, compared with 46 for non-Veteran women.

• In 2009, 19 percent of women Veterans were Black non-Hispanic, compared with 12 percent of non-Veteran women. In contrast, the percentage of women Veterans who were Hispanic was half that of non-Veterans (7 percent compared with 14 percent).

• Women Veterans were more likely to have ever married than non-Veteran women. In 2009, 83 percent of women Veterans were currently married, divorced, widowed, or separated compared with 74 percent of non-Veteran women.

• In 2009, 23 percent of all women Veterans were currently divorced compared with 12 percent of non-Veteran women.

• Thirty-nine percent of all women Veterans under the age of 65 had children 17 years old or younger living at home in 2009, compared with 35 percent of similar non-Veteran women.

The list of what women have done in our military is far too long for a post. There are simply too few hours in a day to truly do these women justice.

Wreaths Across America Honors Fallen Back to Revolutionary War

Wreaths Across America ceremony honors fallen colonial soldiers
Newark Post Online
By Josh Shannon
Mon Dec 15, 2014

NEWARK POST PHOTO BY JOSH SHANNON
Wreaths Across America
Kevin Conley's service dog Angus, who helps him control his PTSD symptoms, mingles among the crowd at the Wreaths Across America ceremony at Pencader Heritage Museum on Saturday.

As part of a nationwide observance, dozens gathered Saturday near the site of the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge to lay wreaths in honor of the 24 colonial soldiers who died in the only Revolutionary War battle fought in Delaware.

“When our forefathers came to this ground in 1777, on their lips and in their minds was what freedom really stands for: independence and liberty,” State Rep. Earl Jaques told the crowd gathered at the Pencader Heritage Museum on Route 72. “They gave us that with their blood and with their ultimate sacrifice.”

Jaques, a brigadier general in the Delaware National Guard, was one of 10 people chosen to lay the wreaths, which are part of the Wreaths Across America program.

The effort began in 1992 when the Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, had a surplus of wreaths and arranged to have them laid on graves at Arlington National Cemetery. The tradition continued, largely unnoticed, until 2005, when a photo of the wreaths went viral online.

The attention led to an influx of funds and volunteers, and the project expanded. Today, more than 540,000 wreaths are laid at 900 locations in all 50 states and in cemeteries on foreign soil.
read more here

Labor Day For Some Since 1636

When it comes to having a day off it is great to remember those who "labor" for our freedom everyday but are usually forgotten.

December 13th, 1636
When the National Guard's oldest regiments met for their first drill on the village green in Salem, Massachusetts, they were barely three months old, organized on December 13th, 1636, the date we now celebrate as the National Guard birthday.

Minutemen
"Without these "ready in a minute" men, our history may have been written in a very different way."

The Minutemen playing a crucial role not only in the Revolutionary War, but in earlier conflicts.


Although the terms militia and minutemen are sometimes used interchangeably today, in the 18th century there was a decided difference between the two. Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war. Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength.

Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen, performing additional duties as such. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle.

Although today Minutemen are thought of as connected to the Revolutionary War in America, their existence was conceived in Massachusetts during the mid-seventeenth century. As early as 1645, men were selected from the militia ranks to be dressed with matchlocks or pikes and accoutrements within half an hour of being warned. In 1689 another type of Minuteman company came into existence. Called Snowshoemen, each was to "provide himself with a good pair of snowshoes, one pair of moggisons, and one hatchet" and to be ready to march on a moment's warning. Minutemen also played a role in the French and Indian War in the 1750's.

A journal entry from Samuel Thompson, a Massachusetts militia officer, states, "...but when our men were gone, they sent eleven more at one minute's warning, with 3 days provision..." By the time of the Revolution, Minutemen had been a well-trained force for six generations in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Every town had maintained its 'training band'. The adversity that this region faced — Native-American uprisings, war with France, and potential for local insurrections, social unrest, and rioting — provided ample reason to adhere to a sound militia organization. In his recent book, perhaps David Hackett Fischer puts it best, "The muster of the Minutemen in 1775 was the product of many years of institutional development...it was also the result of careful planning and collective effort." (p. 151). By the time of the Revolution, Massachusetts had been training, drilling, and improving their militia for well over a hundred years.

Paul Ryan and the Government Raiders

Paul Ryan and the Government Raiders
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 9, 2013

Most people in my age group listened to Paul Revere and the Raiders. Yesterday what is going on in Washington got me thinking about the real Paul Revere. I am a Boston native so it irks me when I hear people like Paul Ryan being called part of the Tea Party since they really have nothing in common with the revolutionary figures that risked their lives for the sake of the whole nation they wanted to create.

"Even as his business did well, Revere took stock of the situation around him. As others struggled, he sensed that his own livelihood could soon be affected unless issues with the British were soon addressed."
(Paul Revere biography)

Senator Cruz was speaking as if the government shutdown is still about the Affordable Healthcare Act and Paul Ryan, along with many of our elected in the House don't seem to really know what it is all about considering they've already taken away billions from what the country spends when sequestration kicked in. Most of us are scratching our heads wondering how these government raiders managed to hop onto their high horse and get enough power to destroy what they were voted into to run.

Shutdown worsens historic blizzard that killed tens of thousands of South Dakota cattle
NBC News
By M. Alex Johnson
Staff Writer
October 8, 2012

An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state's $7 billion industry — an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.

As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.

Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet, The Weather Channel reported.

Ranchers have no one to ask for help or reimbursement. That's because Congress has yet to pass a new farm bill, which subsidizes agricultural producers.
read more here

Oklahoma Pipeline Explosion Sparks Large Fire, Prompting Evacuations (VIDEO)
Huffington Post
Posted: 10/09/2013

An explosion on a pipeline in northwestern Oklahoma sparked a large and roaring fire on Monday night, CBS News reported.

According to News9, firefighters from Oklahoma and Kansas were called to the scene near the town of Rosston.
read more here

Add those to what was reported yesterday with 'Just disgusting': Outrage after shutdown delays payment for families of fallen and VA furloughs 7,000 employees, closes regional offices. The debt limit is to pay for what the Congress has already spent. The money it costs to run this country is something else they were supposed to take care of but their idea is to just let it all go to hell. Did they ever once consider the simple fact that when the nation does well, so do businesses? Did they remember this?

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Seventh-generation Soldier Reflects on Heritage

Seventh-generation Soldier Reflects on Heritage
American Forces Press Service
by Sgt. Christopher Calvert
Sep 16, 2013

FORT HOOD, Texas – For many service members, joining the military is a choice to serve their country and better their own lives. For one 1st Air Cavalry Brigade soldier, it’s a choice that runs deep in his bloodline for more than 200 years.

Army Sgt. Robert George III, a signal support systems specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st ACB, 1st Cavalry Division, is no stranger to the military. It’s been a part of his family’s heritage since his fifth great-grandfather fought in the Continental Army.

In fact, the Tucson, Ariz., native has had members of his family fight in most major armed conflicts since the 18th century, including the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I and Operation Desert Storm.

Cpl. John Albright, George’s fifth great-grandfather, fought during the Revolutionary War in Valley Forge and the Siege of Yorktown. Albright was taken prisoner twice, once by the British for 11 months after the fall of Fort Montgomery, and once by Native Americans during the fall of Fort Stanwix, where he was forced to carry heavy loads to Canada before receiving his freedom in a trade.

After Albright received his liberty, he immediately returned to service to continue fighting for the Continental Army, George said.
read more here

George Washington's wartime 'oval office' getting extreme makeover

George Washington's wartime 'oval office' getting remade
By JOANN LOVIGLIO
The Associated Press
Published: March 31, 2013

PHILADELPHIA — A large canvas tent that served as George Washington's home and command center during the Revolutionary War is being duplicated down to the finest stitch and will serve as an educational tool and ambassador for a new museum coming to Philadelphia's historic district.

The 22-foot-long, 15-foot-wide oval tent, also called a marquee, is being reproduced this summer as part of a new partnership between the planned Museum of the American Revolution and Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg.

While the original will be a centerpiece of the museum, slated to open in 2016, its sturdier new cousin being made in Virginia will be on tour ahead of the museum opening.

"We all know Mount Vernon, but this is a home of George Washington that most people don't even think about," said R. Scott Stephenson, director of collections for the Revolution Museum. The future first president stayed in the field with his troops through the war, living and working in the tent that was the nation's first "oval office" of sorts, he said.

Stephenson and Mark Hutter, Colonial Williamsburg's journeyman tailor supervisor, will pick up 160 yards of hand-loomed linen from a facility in Northern Ireland that was able to produce the fabric to 18th-century specifications. An additional 90 yards of linen making up the inner chambers of the tent are being handmade by weavers at Colonial Williamsburg.

Hutter's team will spend a few days in April at a secret location outside Philadelphia where the tent and some 3,000 other artifacts are being carefully stored and archived until the museum is built. The Williamsburg artisans will get up close and personal with Washington's marquee, examining its seams, grommets, eyelets and thousands of stitches while perfecting their techniques for re-creating the 225-year-old artifact.
read more here

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."
George Washington

War to home Christmas letters saved for history, re-tweet

War to home Christmas letters saved for history, re-tweet
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 25, 2012

At first I thought how lousy it was that so much history is being lost with the technology we have now. Thousands of tweets sent back and forth between the troops and families, pictures and videos replacing hand written accounts of what they are thinking and praying for.

Then I thought about more.

Technology provides us with instant communication across thousands of miles. Could you imagine George Washington sending a tweet crossing the Delaware?

George Washington's Christmas Crossing The weather is cold, but not as cold as it was on this day in 1776, when a raging blizzard tormented the tattered remnants of Washington’s volunteer army.

Back then, there was no one to witness either the misery or the bravery of this heroic band. Today thousands of spectators from all over the world, many dressed in period clothing, are here to watch Rinaldi’s Washington and his men re-enact the event credited with saving the republic.

“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Rinaldi begins, solemnly intoning the words from Thomas Paine’s American Crisis, as Washington did to rally his cold and hungry troops. Parents hush small children; conversation drops to a respectful murmur. “The summer soldier and sunshine patriot, will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country, but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman...”

Think of all the history that would have been lost. How about during WWI when there was a truce between sides. Imagine them on a cell phone later that day taking instant pictures as their wives sent them back pictures of the kids opening their gifts.

The Christmas Truce
On January 1, 1915, the London Times published a letter from a major in the Medical Corps reporting that in his sector the British played a game against the Germans opposite and were beaten 3-2.

Kurt Zehmisch of the 134th Saxons recorded in his diary: 'The English brought a soccer ball from the trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvellously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.'

The Truce lasted all day; in places it ended that night, but on other sections of the line it held over Boxing Day and in some areas, a few days more. In fact, there parts on the front where the absence of aggressive behaviour was conspicuous well into 1915.

I was reading this when I got onto the computer early this morning and thought about Christmas letters being sent home from war.

From war with love: Christmas letters home span centuries but hit same notes
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor

Across three pages — typed on Christmas Eve 1966 from a village in South Vietnam — the soldier’s words to his wife dance seamlessly from a description of singing carols in the jungle to his latest enemy kills to, finally, a vow of eternal affection.

“Last night we had a candle-lighting ceremony ... Gasoline drums welded together end to end with a white Noel on the side. Electric light on top covered by red cellophane ... Reindeer and Santa Claus at front. It was raining,” Army Gen. Sidney B. Berry wrote to his wife. He next reveals how he recently had perched in a helicopter door, firing his rifle at men below: “We all were shooting. And we killed several ...”

“Lovely Anne, I love thee,” Berry closed. “Perhaps the best aspect of this whole period of separation is our increased appreciation and understanding of each other. I love thee, and I will devote the rest of my life to making love to thee.” He signs off: “Thy wearied professional, Sid.”

This time of year, communication from combat lines has long provided a poignant piece of Christmas.

From the Civil War to the Vietnam War, troops ranging from privates to a general struck the same literary chords — no matter the success of their conflict, their era, or the location of their last battle. They often chronicle violence during a moment meant to celebrate peace. They typically express humor, perhaps to put families at ease. And they reveal yearnings to be back with gathered families and friends.

“A lot of people wrote letters to their mothers at Christmas. I guess it’s a time you really start to think about home, really start to think about where you come from,” said Conrad Crane, chief of historical services at the Army Heritage and Education Center.

Some of the letters offered to NBC News were were originally mailed to nieces, parents and wives.
read more here

With technology comes problems. Computers crash, accounts get canceled and files are not saved. There is a lot of history being lost when people don't think of how important all of this is to future generations. Save what you have so that generations from now will learn what we have learned from hand written letters. Print emails, make copies of pictures and save them so that when your children grow up they can learn. We all know we are not getting enough information from the media these days on what is happening in Afghanistan so you are the one to save their voices. Don't just trust Facebook to save all your files because one day they could be just as irrelevant as a lot of sites we used to use.