Everyday Patriot

  Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was born in Winchester, Virginia, on October 25, 1888. He attended the Shenandoah Valley Military Academy and the Virginia Military Institute before accepting an appointment to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.  While at the Naval Academy, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd played football and was on the gymnastics team. Unfortunately, he also sustained a severe ankle injury that would plague him his entire career. Rear Admiral Byrd graduated from the academy in 1912. He was assigned to the US Wyoming, where he earned his first valor award by rescuing a sailor who had fallen overboard. Next, rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was assigned to the USS Washington and then to the USS Dolphin while the boats patrolled the Gulf of Mexico in the years leading up to the Mexican Expedition. He was then assigned to the USS Mayflower, where he suffered another ankle injury and was medically retired from active duty. Rear Admiral Byrd remained in the Naval Rese...

  Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on October 5, 1965. She spent her early years in Chicago, Illinois, and Toronto, Canada, before moving to San Antonio, Texas. Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen graduated from Alamo Heights High School and played basketball for the high school team. She attended the University of Texas, studying aerospace engineering, and graduated in 1987. Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen enlisted in the US Navy shortly after college graduation. She attended Officer's Candidate School at the Naval Air Station and completed Naval Aviator training in Corpus Christie, Texas. Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen was then assigned to Key West, Florida, flying the EA-6A Intruders.   In 1993, when the US Navy integrated women into combat roles, Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen was chosen to become one the first women to train flying F-14s at Miramar. She qualified as a combat pilot in July 1994 and was the first woman in the US Na...

  Private First Class Scott Alan Rush was born in Pueblo, Colorado, on February 16, 1971. When he was twelve, his family moved to Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, and he graduated from Spring Lake Park High in 1989. He always wanted to be a soldier and enlisted immediately following high school graduation. Private First Class Scott Alan Rush trained as an explosives expert, was assigned to the 317th Engineering Batallion, and was stationed in Germany. In the fall of 1990, in response to Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Persian Gulf War, Private First Class Scott Alan Rush deployed to Saudi Arabia.   He would die during his service on January 6, 1991, when his sandbag bunker collapsed. Private First Class Scott Alan Rush rests in the Imperial Memorial Gardens in Pueblo, Colorado. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* **************************************** a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia...

  Private Deborah Samson Gannett was born on December 17, 1760, in Plympton, Massachusetts. Orphaned very young, she was an indentured servant during her teenage years and then worked as a summer school teacher and winter weaver. Private Deborah Samson Gannett also supported herself with a small carpentry business.  She was very drawn to the cause of the US Revolution and first enlisted in early 1782 under the name Timothy Thayer, but she could not fulfill her contract after being recognized as a woman. Private Deborah Samson Gannett re-enlisted in May 1782 under the name Robert Shirtliff and was assigned to the light infantry of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment. Private Deborah Samson Gannett fought in the battle of Tarrytown, New York, where she was wounded with two musket shots to the thigh and a sword cut to the forehead. She desperately tried to avoid treatment but was forced to have her head wound looked at by the unit physician. Private Deborah Samson Gannett treated the ...

  Major Audie Leon Murphy was born in Kingston, Texas, on June 20, 1925. The son of sharecroppers, he dropped out of school in the fifth grade to work in the cotton fields and help support the family. Major Audie Murphy also regularly hunted small game and worked at the local general store/gas station.   In response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II, Major Audie Leon Murphy tried to enlist in the military and was turned away from all branches due to his age and small physical stature. Finally, in June 1942, he succeeded enlisting in the US Army after falsifying his birth records. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry and deployed to Casablanca in February 1943. He was then assigned to Sicily in July 1943, then Salerno in September 1943, before Major Audie Leon Murphy participated in the Allied invasion of Southern France in 1944. Major Audie Murphy would earn valor awards at every site. Major Audie Leon Murphy earned a Congressional Medal of H...

  Lance Corporal Arthur Oscar Garza was born on July 10, 1970, in Corpus Christie, Texas.  He always wanted to be a Marine and enlisted in the US Marine Corps immediately after high school.   Assigned to the 1st Marine Division and deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in response to Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War. Lance Corporal Arthur Oscar Garza died during his service on January 26, 1991, due to a vehicle collision while returning from a nighttime scouting and reconnaissance mission. He rests at Santa Gertrudis Memorial Cemetery in Kingsville, Texas. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* **************************************** 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  www.everydaypatriot.com ...