The Everyday Patriot Project

  Commander Thomas Steven Vander Woude was born on April 24, 1942, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He graduated from Cathedral High School and then from Creighton University. He was an avid basketball player. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1965 in response to the Vietnam War.   He served as a fighter pilot and was assigned to the USS America. His service ended honorably in 1969. After Vietnam, Commander Vander Woude became a commercial airline pilot. He also volunteered his time coaching youth basketball programs. After retiring as a pilot, Commander Vander Woude became the Athletic Director and coach for Christendom College. Commander Thomas Steven Vander Woude died on September 8, 2008, saving his youngest son from drowning after he had fallen into a septic tank. He rests at the National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, in Triangle, Virginia.  A petition for canonization has been filed with the Diocese of Arlington. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project h...

  Staff Sergeant Garland Vance Hailey was born on July 21, 1953, in Wadesboro, North Carolina. He graduated from Anson County High School and attended Morgan State University before enlisting in the US Army in October 1970 in response to the Vietnam War. He trained as a combat medic, serving at the end of the Vietnam War. Staff Sergeant Hailey remained in the Army after Vietnam. He served throughout the country, served two tours in Korea, and was currently stationed in Germany when Staff Sergeant Garland Hailey deployed with the 236th Air Ambulance to the Persian Gulf in response to Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War in December 1990. On January 19,1991, Staff Sergeant Garland Vance Hailey would die during his service. After returning from a retrieval mission and carrying patients, the helicopter he was flying in crashed. He rests at Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** *******...

Colonel James Alfred Moss was born on May 12, 1872, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated from the Collegiate Institute of Baton Rouge before attending West Point, graduating in 1894. The youngest cadet at the time to do so. He was assigned to the western frontier, creating the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, and leading the unit on a 2,000-mile bike ride from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri. Colonel Moss was then assigned to the 25th Infantry, leading the unit to Cuba, before transferring to the 25th Infantry, and deploying to the Philippines. He briefly served as the superintendent of Sequia National Park and was the aide de camp to Major General Corbin. In WWI, he commanded the 367th Infantry, serving more than a year in the trenches of France. After the war, Colonel Moss served as the Deputy Provost Marshal General and the Secretary of the Quartermaster and wrote more than 33 military books, including "The Officer's Manual" and "The Origin and Signifi...

  Mess Management Specialist Apprentice Jeffrey Arnold Settimi was born on April 11, 1965, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from South Side High School in 1983 and enlisted in the US Navy with a two-year contract shortly after graduation in September 1983. MMSA Settimi served in Panama, returning to Fort Wayne in 1987.   In November 1989, MMSA Settimi reenlisted in the US Navy and was assigned to the USS Saratoga. He deployed to the Persian Gulf in August 1990 to support Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War. He died during his service on December 22, 1990, after the ferry Al-Tovia capsized in Haifa Bay, while returning from shore leave. MMSA Jeffrey A. Settimi rests at the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Indiana. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to her travel writings at  www.take...

Lieutenant Jane Louise Kendeigh was born on March 30, 1922, in Oberlin, Ohio. She attended nursing school at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic before enlisting in the US Navy in 1944. She trained as a transport nurse and was assigned to Naval Air Transport. Lieutenant Kendeigh became the first flight nurse to enter Iwo Jima, arriving on March 6, 1945. She worked on medical evacuations in Iwo Jima and the Mariana Islands before becoming the first flight nurse to begin evacuations in Okinawa, on April 7, 1945 —a mere seven days after the battle began. After the war, Lieutenant Kendeigh continued nursing in civilian hospitals in San Diego, California. She died on July 19, 1987. Her ashes were scattered at sea. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to her travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also read her b...

Staff Sergeant Edwin Brian Kutz was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on December 27, 1964. He graduated from Ramona High School in Riverside, California, in 1983 and immediately enlisted in the US Army after graduation. He trained as a cavalry scout and was assigned to the 7th Cavalry. Staff Sergeant Kutz was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. In July 1990, Staff Sergeant Kutz deployed to Germany in response to troop buildup for Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War. Staff Sergeant Kutz died during his service on February 26, 1991. During the Battle of Phase Line Bullet, several troops, including Staff Sergeant Kutz, were caught in the crossfire between enemy forces and US tanks and struck by friendly fire. He rests at Fairview Cemetery in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to her trave...

  Staff Sergeant Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was born on August 19, 1919, in Englewood, New Jersey. He graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1937 and Princeton University with a Bachelor's in Public and International Affairs.  He enlisted in the US Army on December 8, 1942, trained as a machine gunner, and deployed to the European Theater of WWII with the 84th Infantry. Staff Sergeant Forbes received a gunshot to the thigh during Operation Clipper in November 1944. He spent months in the hospital and was honorably discharged in August 1945. After returning to New Jersey, Staff Sergeant Forbes won a seat in the New Jersey Senate from 1951 to 1957 and attempted to win the governorship of New Jersey.   He left politics in 1957. Staff Sergeant Forbes joined the family business, Forbes Magazine, in 1957. He took sole control of the magazine after his brother Bruce's death in 1964. He took up hot air ballooning in 1972 and set six world records, including being the first...