This iconic March 17, 1973 file photo shows released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm being greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif.,  as he returns home from the Vietnam War. In the lead is Stm’s daughter Lori, 15; followed by son Robert, 14; daughter Cynthia, 11; wife Loretta and son Roger, 12. On Thursday, May 24, 2013, some 200 former POWs, almost all of them former pilots, will reunite for a three-day celebration at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba LInda, Calif., that coincides with the 40th anniversary of a star-studded White House dinner hosted by President Nixon to honor their sacrifice. At the time, Nixon was embroiled in Watergate, but the former prisoners, now in their 60s and 70s, credit him with their freedom and have no qualms about expressing their loyalty for the 37th president. This photo won the Pulitzer Prize for News Photography in 1973.

By Associated Press, www.ap.org

Marine, dog reunited in surprise ceremony

By MACKENZIE ELMER | Associated Press, www.ap.org

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan, he told the yellow lab who was his constant companion that he’d look her up when he returned home. “I promised her if we made it out of alive, I’d do whatever it took to find her,” Gundlach said.

On Friday, he made good on that vow with help from some sentimental state officials in Iowa who know how to pull off a surprise. Since leaving active duty to take classes at the University of Wisconsin this summer, Gundlach, of Madison, Wis., had been seeking to adopt 4-year-old Casey.

The 25-year-old learned Casey had finished her military service and had been sent to the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, where she was used to detect explosives. Gundlach wrote to State Fire Marshal Director Ray Reynolds, explaining the connection he felt with the dog. He even has a tattoo on his right forearm depicting Casey with angel wings and a halo, sitting at the foot of a Marine. “He’s been putting a case together for the last two months, sending me pictures … it just tugged on your heart,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds decided to arrange a surprise. First, he got in touch with the Iowa Elk’s Association, which agreed to donate $8,500 to buy another dog for the agency. “We have a motto in our association that as long as there are veterans, the Elks will strive to help them,” Iowa Elks Association president Tom Maher said.

Then, Reynolds came up with a ruse to get Gundlach to Des Moines, telling Gundlach he needed to come to the state Capitol to plead his case in front of a “bureaucratic oversight committee.”

When Gundlach arrived with his parents, Reynolds told them the meeting had been delayed and invited them to join an Armed Services Day celebration in the rotunda. There, hundreds of law enforcement officers, military personnel and civilians were seated, keeping the secret — until they brought out Casey.

When Gundlach saw Casey, he put his head in his hands and cried. She licked his face, wagging her tail furiously. “It was a total surprise,” he said. “I owe her. I’ll just try to give her the best life I can.” His father, Glen Gundlach, seemed just as surprised. “It’s unbelievable … the state of Iowa, I love ‘em,” he said.

Gov. Terry Branstad officially retired Casey from active duty during Friday’s ceremony, thanking the dog for a “job well done.” During the 150 missions they performed together, Gundlach said Casey never missed an explosive — she caught three before they could be detonated. He credits her for making it back home safely. “I wouldn’t be here … any kids I ever had wouldn’t exist if Casey hadn’t been here,” he said.

Story by Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In honor of Armed Forces Day, May 18, many American citizens will witness a wreath laying ceremony on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This ceremony will be conducted by our most-senior noncommissioned officers in our military – the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Sergeant Major of the Army, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.

Our 33rd President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a day for citizens to come together and thank our men and women for their patriotic service in support of our great nation. This single day celebration stems from the unification of the Armed Forces under our Department of Defense.

Armed Forces Day is only made possible because of the brave men and women who have proudly worn the cloth of our nation. For over two centuries, U.S. troops have served all over the world – all hours of the day and night — on land, at sea and in the air, protecting our homeland and ensuring America’s freedom.

In honor of all service members – past and present- we ask our nation to take a moment this Armed Services Day to reflect on the freedoms that we are blessed to have. *To connect with the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on social media, you can follow him on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.

Navy identifies Va. Beach SEAL killed in training

Posted to: Military Virginia Beach, by Mike Hixenbaugh, The Virginia Pilot

A Virginia Beach-based Navy SEAL was killed Wednesday, and seven other sailors were injured when their Humvee overturned during a training exercise in Kentucky. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan H. Kaloust, a 23-year-old SEAL based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, died in the accident at Fort Knox, the Navy announced Friday.

The sailors were taking part in a field exercise when the vehicle flipped, said Lt. David Lloyd, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group Two. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, Lloyd said.

Seven other Beach-based sailors – including five SEALs – suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from a hospital. Lloyd called it “tactical training,” but he said the details are considered sensitive and could not be released.

Kaloust, a native of Massapequa, N.Y., joined the Navy in March 2011 and completed basic SEAL training last year. He was a standout wrestler at Massapequa High School and competed at Binghamton University, where he graduated with a degree in political science before enlisting. Kaloust is survived by his parents and sister.

His mother, Irene Kaloust, answered the phone at her home in Massapequa and said the family was not prepared to speak with reporters. “Thank you for considering my son to be newsworthy,” she said.

Pat Popolizio, now the head wrestling coach at North Carolina State University, coached Kaloust at Binghamton. News of the death hit him like a punch to the stomach, Popolizio said Friday. Kaloust wasn’t recruited to wrestle in college; he walked on to the team his freshman year. Popolizio said Kaloust worked harder than his teammates and eventually earned a scholarship.

“He was not the most talented when it came to wrestling, but you could put him in any room with any team in the country, and he would hang in there,” Popolizio said. “You could not mentally or physically break this kid.”

Kaloust was usually the first guy to arrive at practice and would hang around afterward for one-on-one workouts with Popolizio. The two would wrestle after every practice, an informal tradition spawned by Kaloust’s desire to get better.

“He was always wanting to work out after, and, you know, I’m a bit bigger than him, so I’d tell him, ‘We’ll go until you break.’ He would never break. We’d end up being there for 30 or 40 minutes,” Popolizio said.

He knew Kaloust wanted to join a special operations unit but didn’t know he had completed the grueling, monthslong training to become a SEAL. He wasn’t surprised. “It’s a terrible loss,” Popolizio said. “He would have done great things, but I guess God had another plan.”

This marks the second fatal SEAL training accident this spring. In March, Chief Petty Officer Brett Shadle, also a Beach-based SEAL, died during parachute training near Tucson, Ariz. Another SEAL was injured in that accident.

The Navy has used parts of the 170-square-mile Fort Knox for training since World War II. The Army post is about 50 miles southwest of Louisville and is home to about 14,000 military personnel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mike Hixenbaugh, 757-446-2949,

mike.hixenbaugh@pilotonline.com

Waltzing with Eisenhower: A Collection of West Point Dance Cards, 1915

By Rebecca Onion, From www.slate.com. The Vault is Slate‘s new history blog.

By ANDREA RICH, @arichPO, www.publicopiniononline.com

Every mom dreams that her children, once grown, will be successful and happy, doing something meaningful with their lives. Of all the mothers who get their wish, a small group of them get it at the price of their children being far from home or even overseas, often in harm’s way. They are moms of military personnel, and find comfort and strength in their fellow military moms through a group called Blue Star Mothers of America Inc.

Suzanne Mazzei of Waynesboro is a Blue Star mom. She and her husband, Robert, have three children: Nick, Daniel and Kristen. The oldest is employed as an inventory specialist with greatseats.com; the youngest is finishing her sophomore year at Penn State University.

Daniel is a member of the United States Coast Guard. After high school, Daniel worked a few different jobs, trying to find something that he could really enjoy and apply himself to. “He took a year, but he didn’t find anything he loved,” Suzanne said.

All the Mazzei children spent part of their childhood summers with their grandparents, who live on the Florida Keys. Daniel loved the water, and became a certified scuba diver. After that first year of his adult life, Daniel told his parents he was going into the military. “I felt dread at first,” Suzanne said. “He said ‘military.’” She was mostly afraid that he would be sent overseas, and put in harm’s way. “I felt relief when he said Coast Guard. Overseas missions are few and far between,” she said, and  he recognized that protecting this nation’s shores and waterways would appeal to him.

Daniel reported for eight weeks of boot camp in Cape May, and for Suzanne, it was a difficult time. During boot camp, contact with the family is extremely limited. In that period of time a family may get to speak to their soldier twice.

The Mazzei family also received a letter from the Coast Guard telling them that Daniel had gotten sick and spent two days in the medical ward. For a mom, that’s not nearly enough detail.

She leaned heavily on an active support group of Coast Guard moms, who support each other on their group’s Facebook page. “Other moms knew what he was going through. They get tested, have swim tests” and such during boot camp. “It’s physically and mentally exhausting” for the soldiers. Suzanne said other mothers whose children had made it through boot camp were able to keep her spirits up. When she learned he was sick, they assured her that the Coast Guard’s priority was his health, and that they knew he would not be pushed or tested until he was healthy enough to succeed. “The moms assured me they were taking care of him,” she said.

It’s been two years since Daniel joined the Coast Guard. He married in December, so now his wife, Carlie, who was Miss Maryland 2011, is with him and they have an apartment where he is stationed. Daniel is assigned to the Aids To Navigation Team San Francisco.

“He loves it. He loves his job. I wish it was a little closer,” Suzanne said. “That’s the hard part, not being able to see him on holidays, Mother’s Day.” The family has been out to see him a couple of times, but in the military you don’t take a few days off when your folks come out, so those visits are limited.

Suzanne is continually thankful for the support of the Coast Guard moms. Having only lived in Waynesboro for four years, the challenge is that there aren’t many Coast Guard families around. She learned of Blue Star Mothers, which supports all branches of the military, and found their South Central Pennsylvania chapter based in the Hanovr/Gettysburg area.

Last week she joined a handful of other members from the chapter at a proclamation signing with the Franklin County Commissioners as her first official interaction with the chapter. “I want to be more active with something more local,” Suzanne said. What sets military moms apart? “All moms are proud of their kids. Because our children have chosen to do something to help the United States as a whole, it’s a special, different kind of pride,” Suzanne said. “I’m so proud of him. I’m glad he’s happy.”

About the group

Blue Star Mothers of America was founded 70 years ago to “perpetuate the memory of all men and women who have served our country in the Armed Forces, and to be patriotic, educational, social and for service; to maintain true allegiance to the government of the United States, and to educate members and others not to divulge military, naval or other government information; to assist in veterans’ ceremonies, to attend patriotic rallies and meetings, to foster true democracy and to care for the unsupported mothers who gave their sons to the service of the Nation…” (from www.bluestarmothers.org)

From the Associated Press, www.ap.org

DALLAS (AP) — After selling his Dallas oil and gas company and moving to Europe, Robert Edsel found himself in the art-drenched Italian city of Florence. Standing on the city’s famous medieval covered bridge — the Ponte Vecchio — he began to contemplate how so many famous sites and works of art in Europe survived the destruction of World War II.

With the answer, Edsel, the businessman who had developed a love for art, found a mission: Honoring and continuing the work the Monuments Men, a group from Western Allied countries made up mostly of those with an art expertise who worked with the military to protect cultural treasures as battles were waged and, in the years after the war, returned works of art to their rightful owners.

His work over the years — from founding the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art in 2007 after his return to Dallas to writing three books, including, “Saving Italy,” released this week — has helped bring their story out of scholarly circles and to the public’s attention. That recognition is set to skyrocket in December with the premiere of a movie based on Edsel’s book, “The Monuments Men,” directed by and starring George Clooney.

“I think what they were involved in was pretty epic: Every work of art somewhere on the road during World War II, then finding these things and getting them back. I think they’ve earned the right to be recognized by name,” Edsel said.

Clarissa Post, a Sotheby’s art expert, said Edsel’s vision always included bringing the story to a wider audience. “It was always: Let’s think big here. What are we going to do to bring this message forward? Because if we can bring this message forward to a wider audience, we can then really do something to honor these people who were involved,” said Post, who started her career at the auction house researching the provenance of works, especially those that might have been involved in the art theft by the Nazis.

After his move to Europe in 1996, Edsel’s musings started to put things in motion. By 2001, he had returned to the U.S. and focused more on the story of the roughly 345 men and women from 13 countries who were part of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section. The group was proposed by a commission established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 to promote the preservation of cultural properties during war.

“I had friends asking me what I was working on and I’d say, ‘The only thing I’m really interested in is this whole story about World War II and what happened to all of the art.’ And lunch after lunch and dinner after dinner, I never had anybody stop me and said they that they knew about it,” Edsel said.

He tracked down Lynn Nicholas, author of “The Rape of Europa,” which details the Nazi plunder of art and the efforts by the Western Allies to save it, telling her he wanted to make a documentary on her book. Learning filmmakers already were working on it, he became a co-producer. He started compiling photographs to tell the story of the Monuments Men, which eventually became his first book: “Rescuing Da Vinci.”

He interviewed Monuments Men and got access to letters written by those who had died. “I felt that the beating heart of the story was these letters that the Monuments Men wrote home during the war,” he said.

The resulting book, “The Monuments Men,” chronicles the experiences of members in northern Europe, including Harry Ettlinger, now 87. Ettlinger, who lives in New Jersey, fled Nazi Germany with his family the day after his bar mitzvah in 1938 and returned to Europe in 1945 with the U.S. Army. Ettlinger, fluent in German, volunteered to be a Monuments Man. His first assignment was to help interview Adolf Hitler’s personal photographer and later went on to help return works of art tucked away in salt mines. He said that the group’s work earned respect from the German people. “They didn’t quite understand how you could come along and give things back,” he said, adding, “It gave you a good feeling.”

Over the years, Edsel’s foundation also has worked to continue the mission of the Monuments Men, which had members overseeing the restitution of stolen works of art for up to six years after the war ended. His foundation, for instance, has been contacted by those who realized something taken as a souvenir during WWII is a historical artifact and has helped with the repatriation of items, including the return to Germany of an album of photographs of artwork Hitler planned for his “Fuhrermuseum.”

Following their service as Monuments Men, members returned to their careers, including as architects, artists, curators and museum directors. Lola Scarpitta-Knapple, of Los Angeles, is grateful Edsel’s work has brought attention to the group that included her late father, Salvatore Scarpitta Jr., an artist.

“It’s amazing how so many people can know about something that’s so interesting but nobody takes the bull by the horns,” she said. “And Robert has the energy, the intellect and the heart to have done that. And for that all Monuments Men are happy. Because I think they all wanted to talk about it in the way that was in the public arena because it was so important.”

___

Online:

Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art: http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org

JERUSALEM –  Once a year, Israel’s Jewish war veterans don suit jackets and uniforms dripping in Red Army medals, the shiny bronzes and silvers pinned to their chests in tight rows like armor.

About 500,000 Jews served in the Soviet Red Army during World War II. Most of those still alive today — about 7,000 — are said to live in Israel.

Every year on Victory Day, which falls on Thursday this year, they parade in uniform throughout Israel to celebrate Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union.

Afterward, they return home to their modest apartments, where some tick off the days in solitude — and poverty.

“The ceremonies are beautiful. People like to come and say nice words. But nice words don’t put food on your plate,” said Abraham Michael Grinzaid, 87, head of an association of Soviet war veterans. “The rest of the year, no one thinks of us.”

About 1.5 million Jews fought in Allied armies, including 500,000 in the Red Army, 550,000 in the American army, 100,000 in the Polish army and 30,000 in the British army, according to Israel’s Holocaust museum Yad Vashem.

Some of those who fought in the Red Army served in the highest levels of command. About 200,000 Soviet Jewish soldiers fell on the battlefield or into German captivity. Those who survived built families and careers in the Soviet Union, until the Communist regime collapsed and many of them ended up in Israel.

They formed a veterans’ association, opening 50 chapters across the country. Today, most of them are nearly 90 years old, but they gather regularly for lectures and concerts. Some sing in the 42 veterans’ choirs nationwide.

Israel is home to the world’s largest population of Holocaust survivors. Memorials to Holocaust victims and underground partisans are aplenty. But only in recent years has the Jewish state begun to salute its Jewish war veterans.

That’s mostly because many of the veterans immigrated just two decades ago and key war archives are only now being opened, allowing researchers to discover the full extent of Jewish soldiers’ role in fighting the Nazis, said Red Army scholar Yitzhak Arad.

It wasn’t until last year that Israel erected its first monument to Soviet Jewish soldiers who served in WW II. A museum dedicated to Jewish Allied fighters is still under construction.

Grinzaid, of the veterans association, complained that some Soviet war veterans in Israel receive government stipends amounting to just $50 a month, a pittance compared to the financial support Israeli Holocaust survivors receive.

But Roman Yagel, the head of another group of Soviet veterans, countered that veterans receive generous Israeli support. He accused Grinzaid of securing stipends for undeserving veterans who did not fight on the battlefield with weapons in hand — one example of bitter political infighting within the Soviet veteran community.

Holocaust survivors are frequently invited to speak about the horrors they experienced. But Soviet war veterans arrived in Israel as pensioners and most never learned Hebrew so few Israelis know their stories.

Grinzaid was 17 ½ when he enlisted in the Red Army. He was a paratrooper and served in an intelligence unit, earning five medals for his participation in battles across Europe. When Russian President Vladimir Putin came to Israel last year, he shook his hand.

Another Soviet veteran, Matvey Gershman, 87, helped liberate the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. He remembers walking past storerooms filled with women’s hair and children’s shoes. Suddenly, he stumbled upon a woman sitting and crying. “I said, ‘Grandmother, why are you crying? It’s all over,’” Gershman recalled. “She lifted her head, looked at me, and said, ‘I am 20 years old.’”

Gersham used to march in Israel’s annual Victory Day parade before he had heart problems. One year, he walked to the parade with his daughter and grandson, wearing his navy blue uniform featuring a cascade of medallions. Israeli teenagers on the street pointed at him and laughed. “They treated him like he was a clown,” said his daughter, Rimma. “He doesn’t want to go out with these medals on anymore. He’s embarrassed. They don’t know what it is at all.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama announced Tuesday that companies participating in a program to help veterans find work have hired or trained 290,000 veterans and military spouses since August 2011, nearly tripling the original goal of the program with about eight months to spare. Obama said Tuesday that the program called Joining Forces has also generated pledges from businesses to hire or train another 435,000 in the next five years.

The new hiring projections came at a White House event with veterans and company executives that also featured President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden. The president said that too many companies still don’t recognize the skills that service members acquire as part of their military service. If they can saves live on the battlefield, they can work in an ambulance or hospital, and if they can oversee a convoy of equipment, they can help oversee a company’s supply chain, he said. “Too often, just when these men and women are looking forward to the next chapter of their lives, they are stuck in neutral,” the president said.

Overall, the unemployment rate for veterans is actually lower than that for non-veterans. The nation’s youngest veterans are the exception to that longstanding trend, with nearly one out of five under the age of 25 looking for a job. The unemployment rate last year was also in double-digits for those 25-34. Overall, the unemployment rate for those veterans serving since the Sept. 11 attacks stood at 9.9 percent last year, a significant improvement from the previous year.

But Mrs. Obama said more help is needed. She called on private companies to step up hiring to keep up with the demand that will occur as nearly 1 million members of the military become civilians in the next few years.

“These efforts are about so much more than a paycheck. This is about giving these men and women a source of identify and purpose,” she said. “This is about providing thousands of families with financial security and giving our veterans and military spouses the confidence that they can provide a better future for their children.”

The statistics announced Tuesday are based on totals provided by companies participating in the program. The first lady’s office said the Joining Forces program collects information from each company on either a monthly or quarterly basis.

Obama noted that he has proposed a permanent extension of a tax break that Congress approved in late 2011. Employers get up to a $5,600 tax credit for hiring a veteran out of work for more than six months, or up to $9,600 for hiring a disabled veteran out of work for the same amount of time. The White House has also been encouraging governors and state legislators to make it easier for veterans to apply their military experience when trying to get a professional license or credential at home. But, in the end, it’s up to private companies to do the hiring, the first lady said.

The emphasis on jobs for veterans gives the White House a chance to focus on an issue where there’s been progress. Meanwhile, lawmakers and veterans groups are focusing more attention of late on resolving a disability claims backlog for veterans that has gotten worse in recent years. Lawmakers from both parties have recently called on the president to get more involved and to set a clear plan for resolving claims more quickly, but they offered no specific recommendations on what changes are needed.

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

On the Net:

Joining Forces Initiative: http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces