A video tribute to Veterans.
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Honor Lance Corporal Anthony Schmitt – October 25
Friends in the Palos, Hickory Hills Area:
Thursday, October 25th, 2012, at 7:30pm, The City of Hickory Hills is honoring a returned Marine Veteran of Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Anthony Schmitt will be honored by the City Hall at the City Board meeting. Many of you could not make his return caravan on Saturday but will have a chance to honor him on the 25th. Please come and show how much you respect this young Marine for what he has done for us. He risked death every day for us. We can at least come to a meeting for 30 to 45 minutes to honor him. Tony leaves soon and will be going to Jordan so he will again be in harms way. Do not forget!
Happy Flag Day!
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution which stated that the “flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that the “Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”
On June 14, 1877, one hundred years later, the first Flag Day observance was held.
Remember to honor Old Glory, today and always!
Read more about This Day In History here.
On This Memorial Day
Today, Monday, May 28, 2012, we celebrate Memorial Day.
Memorial Day was originally called “Decoration Day.” It was a day of remembrance, honoring those who had died while in service to our nation.
General John Logan proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868. It was first observed on May 30, 1868, with flowers placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Congress did not make it a National Holiday until 1971.
On this celebration of Memorial Day, take some time to give thanks to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Say a prayer for the families of our service men and women, that they be guided by God’s love and given the strength to carry on while their loved ones are protecting the freedom of everyone in this great country.
Decoration Day
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1882)
Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry’s shot alarms!
Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
Or the drum’s redoubling beat.
But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.
All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!
Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.
Homes 4 Heroes
Kudos to Homes 4 Heroes, an organization that helps rebuild homes for our veterans.
There is a wonderful article about this organization into the Tinley Park Patch here http://tinleypark.patch.com/articles/local-group-moved-to-rebuild-homes4heroes.
The mission of the Homes 4 Heroes:
Our wounded warriors returning to their homes are faced with a variety of accessibility problems. Homes 4 Heroes, a charitable organization, donates a wide range of services at no charge to allow our heroes to properly access and use their homes. We are a group of citizens who saw an unacceptable situation and needed to act. We saw our wounded soldiers rescued and wonderfully nursed back from their injuries only to be sent home to houses that were never meant to accommodate their disabilities.
We think they deserve more. Hopefully you will find a way to join us in helping these heroes.
Visit their site at http://www.homes4heroes.us/
Helping Our Heroes: Past & Present
As the days of May become warmer, we are all getting ready for Memorial Day.Take advantage of this special offer by HAYS Cleaning and also consider supporting our service men and women by contributing to care packages. HAYS Cleaning, with the help of local businesses and individuals, sent 15 boxes to the troops overseas last December. We hope to send another shipment this July.
May 16, 2012 – HAYS Cleaning, Inc. is pleased to announce the “Helping Our Heroes” Past and Present Special! This event honors Memorial Day, and the many Americans who served in the United States Armed Forces, as well as recognizing Independence Day and the men and women who continue to protect our freedoms today.
In recognition of Memorial Day, HAYS Cleaning will provide a complimentary residential cleaning for Veterans of the United States Military, spouses of active servicemen and parents of veterans or servicemen. This complimentary service will include up to three (3) hours of residential housecleaning.
To take advantage of this offer, please contact HAYS Cleaning by calling 708-598-3819 or emailing mary@hayscleaning.com. Call or email by June 8, 2012, to schedule your appointment for services within 30 days. Veteran or current Military Identification must be provided in order to receive the complimentary cleaning. Limit one complimentary cleaning per household. Offer valid for new and existing residential customers. (Service to locations outside of our normal service area may be required to purchase additional service hours.)
In recognition of Independence Day, HAYS Cleaning will also be collecting Care Package items for Soldiers stationed overseas who continue to protect our freedoms. Items may be dropped off at Roberts Road Bible Church, 8419 S. Roberts Road, Justice, IL 60458, Monday-Saturday, 10am-2pm, from now through July 4, 2012. HAYS Cleaning will be sponsoring the shipment of the items to military locations. Monetary donations for the care packages may be sent to HAYS Cleaning or Roberts Road Bible Church; please make your check payble to “HAYS Cleaning, Inc.” and label your donation “Care Packages for Soldiers.”
Supporters will be listed on the “Helping Our Heroes” website, sponsored by HAYS Cleaning, at http://www.helping-our-heroes.com.
Roberts Road Bible Church is a “Light House,” located at 8419 S. Roberts Road, Justice, IL 60458. People from various backgrounds come here to be touched by the “Hero’s Hand.” For more information on the church, please call 708-598-2330 or visit http://www.rrbchurch.org.
HAYS Cleaning Inc. was established in 1979 and has grown from a hobby of owner/operator Mary James. The people at HAYS Cleaning want to make a difference, not just do a job! We believe liking what you do for “a living” delivers results our clients see and value.
HAYS Cleaning, Inc. is located at 9428 S. 78th Ct., #3, Hickory Hills, IL 60457. For more information on the “Helping Our Heroes” offer or the Care Packages, please call 708-598-3819, visit www.hayscleaning.com or email mary@hayscleaning.com.
When a Helper Becomes a Hero
I picked up the Southtown Star Newspaper today and the cover story was about Eugene Twardy, a World War 2 veteran. Mr. Twardy is 85 years old. At the end of many months, he struggles to make ends meet, often having to choose between buying food and medicine. On many of these months, he asks for donations at the very busy intersection of Pulaski Road and 63rd Street, in Chicago.
As I continued to read the story, I learned that through the years Eugene and his wife, Elaine, raised several children. He worked for most of his life, he earned two Master’s degrees and he came into hard times financially mainly due to medical issues experienced by both he and his wife.
Reading further, I discovered that a Good Samaritan, Edward Sajdak, stopped last fall to give the veteran $10. It seems the two have since struck up a friendship of sorts, with Eugene referring to Edward as his “Santa.”
I admire Eugene for wanting to maintain his independence. I am saddened, however, that a veteran, a man who worked hard his whole life, has to resort to begging for donations to make ends meet. He should not have to choose between food and medicine, nor should he have to beg for money to close that $200 gap at the end of the month.
May God bless Mr. Sajdak, and all of the other folks who take the time to help our veterans. One person can make a difference.
One further note: The article mentioned Mr. Sajdak is a Cook County Deputy Sheriff; turns out he is also my husband’s chief at the Criminal Court House. For those who often have a dim view of our law enforcement professionals, stories like this one about one man helping another prove that anyone can be a hero.
~Karen
Do you know someone else who has helped one of our heroes? Send us your story by filling out the form on the “Contact Us” page!
Read the full article here: http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/10049605-522/wwii-vet-holds-tight-to-his-freedom-even-if-it-means-begging-to-get-by.html
Generosity in Abundance
During this week leading up to Thanksgiving, we have experienced the generous and giving nature of folks firsthand!
The Helping Our Heroes program has been blessed with a generous donation by Ann and Jim McLelland, of the Mack Companies.
We have also received support from the Family Christian store, in Hodgkins, Illinois; they have placed a box for collecting items for our soldier care package program.
HAYS Cleaning is collecting items for soldier care packages through November 30, 2011.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…
“On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as “the Great War.” Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.”
From The History Channel