Everyday Patriot

  Private Dorothy Lee Horner Fails was born on July 6, 1965, in San Manuel, Arizona.  She graduated from the Mammoth-San Manuel High School before enlisting in the US Army Arizona National Guard in July 1990, where she trained in motor transport. She was assigned to the 1404th Transportation Company and Private Dorothy Lee Horner Fails deployed to Saudia Arabia for Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War during the autumn of 1990, where she transported battlefield supplies and POWs. Private Dorothy Lee Horner Fails died during her service when a Saudi Arabian bus collided with her transport vehicle.  She rests at the Taylor Cemetery in Taylor, Arizona. **************************************** a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to the travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also read her book reviews at  www.riteoffancy.com  and US military biographies at...

  Captain George "Papa Bear" Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 2, 1895. He graduated from Crane High School and the University of Illinois with a degree in civil engineering, where Captain George Halas was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. He also played football, basketball, and baseball for the "Fighting Illini" before enlisting in the US Navy for World War I. He played football for the US Navy at the Great Lakes Training Station and earned the MVP for the 1919 Rose Bowl (the last two years of WWI, the Rose Bowl was not played by collegiate teams but rather by teams formed by the US Military service members)  After the war, Captain George "Papa Bear" Halas began his career with professional athletics, first in minor league baseball, before being drafted by the New York Yankees in the outfield. Captain Halas played 12 games before an injury ended his professional baseball career.  Captain George Halas returned to Chicago and began working at t...

  Corporal Albert George Haddad Jr was born on April 20, 1968, in Dover, Delaware. His family settled in Lewisville, Texas, while Corporal Haddad was young and graduated from Lewisville High School. Corporal Albert Haddad played on the offensive line on the high school team and was known for his drive, commitment, and sense of humor. He planned on becoming an architect. Corporal Albert G. Haddad graduated in 1986.   He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1988, training as a helicopter crew member, and was assigned a door gunner with the light helicopter squadron. He served aboard the USS Caron before Corporal Albert George Haddad Jr. deployed to the Persian Gulf with the USS Shasta for Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War. On February 3, 1991, Corporal Albert George Haddad Jr. died during his service when the UH-1N Huey he was aboard crashed in Saudi Arabia. He rests at the Flower Mound Cemetery in Flower Mound, Texas.  * Read about a.d. elliott's Eve...

Private John Winston Leftridge was born in Bedford County, Virginia, on October 18, 1837. His early life is a mystery, and it is suspected he may have been born enslaved and escaped to Ironton, Ohio, in his late teens or early twenties.   In response to the US Civil War, Private John Winston Leftridge enlisted in the US Army in 1862 and was assigned to Company F of the 100th Regiment, US Colored Infantry.   He and his unit were responsible for guarding rail lines throughout the northern Tennessee and Kentucky frontier and fought in the battle of Nashville. Private Leftridge left the US Army in December 1865. Private Leftridge returned to Ironton, Ohio, working as a laborer until 1902, when the after-effects of the war debilitated him enough to seek treatment at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. He returned to Virginia following his discharge from the care facility in 1903. He died on August 20, 1918, and rests in the Old Lick Cemetery in Roanoke, Vir...

  Navy Airman Brent Allen McCreight was born on September 25, 1967, in Lima, Ohio.  When he was young, his family moved to Eminence, Kentucky, and Navy Airman Brent McCreight graduated from Eminence High School in 1986. He was very outdoorsy and spent a lot of time hunting and fishing.  Navy Airman Brent A. McCreight also enjoyed golfing and played basketball competitively in high school.  He was also voted the "wittiest" in his high school class.   Navy Airman Brent McCreight enlisted in the US Navy shortly after his high school graduation. He deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Saratoga in August 1990 in response to Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shiel and the Gulf War. On December 22, 1990, while returning to the USS Saratoga from shore leave in Haifa, the ferry Navy Airman Brent McCreight was aboard capsized, and he drowned.  Navy Airman Brent Allen McCreight rests at the New Castle Cemetery in New Castle, Kentucky. * Read about a.d. elliott...

  Surgeon Anita Newcomb McGee was born in Washington, D.C., on November 4, 1864. She attended private schools in the Washington, D.C., area. She was educated in Europe at Newham College and the University of Geneva before graduating with her medical degree in 1892 from Columbian College (now Georgetown University). Surgeon McGee also took specialized courses in Gynecology from John Hopkins University.  Civically active, Surgeon Anita Newcomb McGee was a founding member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was among the organization's first officers. Additionally, Surgeon McGee joined the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Women's Anthropological Society of America. In 1898, when the Spanish-American war erupted, Surgeon Anita Newcomb McGee worked in the Daughters of the American Revolution as the Director of the DAR Hospital Corps to screen nurse applicants for U.S. Army training camps and deployment to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philip...