Kanadahar Chronicles - email from Glenn

Hi Everyone....... apparently it's no secret that we are here anymore,
so here is a link that talks about the plane that I'm working on with
some photos. I'll send you more current photos from Kandahar soon.

Glenn

>http://www.defense-update.com/products/p/predatorB.htm

Kandahar Chronicles - Glenn's latest email

Still safe here everyone..... thanks for the prayers.

Thinking about family....... Glenn

My sister, Crystal's, email in reply to below from Glenn

am writing and calling all of my friends and family today to wish them a safe Memorial day. I would like everybody to remember all of those men and women who are putting their own lives on the line so that we can be free and safe. I got a letter from my brother, Glenn, today and they were almost hit by a rocket last night! I am asking everybody to say a prayer for him and his troops to keep them safe. They are not in Iraq and I am not at liberty to say where they are but they are under attack almost constantly. Please say a small prayer for them and for all our men and women that are putting themselves in the line of fire so that we can be safe and free here at home. Thanks and love to all, Crystal

Most recent email from Glenn: Hi....... We sure could use all your prayers here. They narrowly missed us
last night. Real real close. I am thinking about all of you and love you
very much.

Glenn

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day I would like to give thanks and honor to everyone in the military. All the active duty Air Force, Army, Marine Corp, Navy, Coast Guard and National Guard members - plus their family members who serve their country as well.

I am proud to be the granddaughter, daughter, niece, daughter in law, sister, sister in law, ex wife, wife and mother of military men! Most of these men were career military men and gave years of committment and honor to their chosen service. Many years of moving from base to base, separation from family during peace time and war time and countless hours of volunteerism besides the military service.

Today as we spend time with our family - at picnics, barbeques, beaches, etc... let us give thanks and praise to all the service members who have given their lives - the greatest sacrifice - remember that we can enjoy all the many blessings we have here in the United States of America because of there selflessness and courage.

Our family as most families in America, have stories about loved ones who have served. Dad who spent two tours in Vietnam, Jack (my ex father in law) who was trapped for two wks behind enemy lines in Korea, my brother, Glenn (career Navy retired) working for the Air Force in a war zone as we speak...Below you will find an excerpt from Wikpedia about my Uncle Footsie. Above photos of some of my family in military uniform...


Maurice Lee "Footsie" Britt, Jr. (June 29, 1919–November 26, 1995), was an American professional football player, World War II hero, businessman, and Republican politician from Arkansas. He played for the Detroit Lions, was awarded the Medal of Honor, and later served from 1967-1971 as Lieutenant Governor of his home state during the administration of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller. Rockefeller and Britt were the first Republicans to have served in their state's top two offices since Reconstruction.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Medal of Honor citation
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References



[edit] Biography
Born in Carlisle to Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Britt, Sr., Britt was reared in nearby Lonoke. He graduated as the valedictorian of Lonoke High School and then entered the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was supported by an athletic scholarship in both football and basketball. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1941 and played football with the Lions during the 1941 season. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Britt immediately entered the United States Army as a second lieutenant. He saw action in French Morocco, Sicily, and Italy. He landed at Casablanca and was jokingly said to have chased German General Erwin Rommel across all of north Africa.

In February 1944, Britt was fighting in Italy. He was part of the initial invasion at Anzio, where he won a battlefield promotion to captain. On October 10, 1943, Britt did calisthenics to draw German fire at the battleground of Mignano, Italy, which his fellow soldiers referred to thereafter as "Britt's Junction". He managed to repel the Germans, but he lost his right arm. He was awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor for his heroism. He also received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. Britt was the first recipient of the top three combat decorations in a single war.[1]

After the war, he briefly attended the University of Arkansas Law School but left to enter business. He spent twenty years working at a furniture manufacturing company and then running the Beautyguard Manufacturing Company, a producer of aluminum building products.

In 1966, he was elected lieutenant governor.[2] He was re-elected in 1968 but did not seek a third term in 1970, having deferred to his friend and Little Rock neighbor, Sterling R. Cockrill, a Democrat turned Republican. Britt barely defeated the Democratic nominees, James Pilkington in 1966 and Bill Wells in 1968. He was an original Arkansas Republican, having been active in his state's Young Republicans in college. After leaving office, he was appointed by the Nixon administration as district director of the Small Business Administration. He served in that capacity from 1971 to 1985.

In 1986, Britt came out of political retirement to seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination. He polled only 3,116 votes (13.9 percent) to 13,831 ballots (61.9 percent) for former Governor Frank D. White. A third candidate, Wayne Lanier, received 4,576 votes (20.5 percent) in a low-turnout primary. White was thereafter defeated in the general election for a second time by future U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Britt was a leader in civic affairs too. He was past state chairman of the Crippled Children's Hospital, Easter Seals, and the Federal Executive Association. He was a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and received the National Collegiate Athletic Association Sports Achievement Award.

Britt died of heart failure in the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock. He was the only lieutenant governor in state history to lie in state at the State Capitol Rotunda. The coffin was open, and Britt's military coat hung from the back of his favorite rocking chair, which was placed next to the body. His medals and a military cap were placed on a nearby table. An Army Sergeant stood at the head of the casket throughout the six hours that Britt lay in state.

Services were held in the Calvary Baptist Church of Little Rock, where Britt was a member. Burial was in the National Cemetery in Little Rock.

Britt had three daughters, Andrea Schafer and Nancy McDurmont, both of Lonoke, and Patricia Anne Britt of Falls Church, Virginia; two sons, Maurice Lee Britt, III (born ca. 1950), and his wife, Dee Britt, of Royal, Arkansas, and Timothy Watson Britt (born ca. 1955) of Little Rock; one brother, B.A. Britt (born ca. 1925) of Carlisle; twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. His obituary does not mention his wife because she died around the same time that he did. Britt was a distant cousin of the late Henry M. Britt of Hot Springs, the 1960 Republican gubernatorial nominee against Orval Eugene Faubus.


[edit] Medal of Honor citation
His Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Disdaining enemy hand grenades and close-range machine pistol, machinegun, and rifle, Lieutenant Britt inspired and led a handful of his men in repelling a bitter counterattack by approximately 100 Germans against his company positions north of Mignano, Italy, the morning of 10 November 1943. During the intense fire fight, Lt. Britt's canteen and field glasses were shattered; a bullet pierced his side; his chest, face, and hands were covered with grenade wounds. Despite his wounds, for which he refused to accept medical attention until ordered to do so by his battalion commander following the battle, he personally killed 5 and wounded an unknown number of Germans, wiped out one enemy machinegun crew, fired 5 clips of carbine and an undetermined amount of M1 rifle ammunition, and threw 32 fragmentation grenades. His bold, aggressive actions, utterly disregarding superior enemy numbers, resulted in capture of 4 Germans, 2 of them wounded, and enabled several captured Americans to escape. Lt. Britt's undaunted courage and prowess in arms were largely responsible for repulsing a German counterattack which, if successful, would have isolated his battalion and destroyed his company.[3] - piece on Footsie from Wikkipedia

Kandahar Chronicles - newest email from Glenn

Hi Everyone....

Nothing new to report. This place reminds me of "Ground Hog Day"
movie. Wake up everyday and nothing different ever happens. Ha ha ha.
Anyway, still here and still keeping my head down. I will write you
guys more and send pictures when I get the Internet hooked up in my
room.

Love ya....... Glenn

got this letter - my response is posted below it...

Hi Barbara,

The average gas price in Florida is $3.83 per gallon -- prices in Newberry might be even higher. So what is Big Oil's solution? Not cutting into their record multi-billion dollar profits to reduce your pain at the pump. Instead, oil execs testified before Congress Wednesday that their solution is to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Please act now to protect the Arctic Refuge»

Our own government estimates that drilling in the Arctic will only affect gas prices by two pennies per gallon ... in twenty years. But our polar bears could be extinct in less than 50 years.

Barbara, if you believe polar bears and their Arctic Refuge home are worth more than two cents per gallon, tell your senators to protect the Arctic Refuge permanently»

Thank you!

Rebecca Young,
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team




Polar Bears Are Worth More than Oil


Known as America's Serengeti, the stunning Arctic Refuge teems with wildlife such as caribou, snow fox, polar bears and millions of migratory birds.
Forwa

Letter I wrote in response to above

Dear Rebecca,

Tell me about yourself. Do you live in or have you visited Alaska? As an Alaskan, I am very concerned about my home state's resouces and preservation - one reason: my children and grandchildren still live there.

I am all for drilling in the refuge! Most Alaskans are. That doesn't mean I am not an environmentalist! I am the biggest champion/defender of our state's abundant resources and do not want to damage one of the world's last wilderness areas. We Alaskans, are the steadfast stewards of our beautiful home! We take that responsibility very seriously! I am tired of people from "outside" Alaska (those literally outside and the "greenies" who have moved up from California and Washington State) telling us how to manage those pristeen resouces....
When outsiders concerned about the oil pipeline sent out petitions stating how intrusive and how much damage the pipeline would cause in the refuge, they made some of the following ridiculous statements:

1. Caribou herds will be disrupted.
2. Trees will be destroyed as well as tundra

These well intentioned people did not take the time to get informed! Caribou herds have not suffered due to the pipeline. 19.2 million acres make up the refuge - of this 8 million acres is dedicated as wilderness - caribou travel the coastal plain in June and July (this plain extends from the coastal area to foothills of Brooks Range) this is only a portion of the entire refuge! The oil pipeline that is in place now has had little impact on the herds there! In fact, they use the pipeline - the warmth of the piping heats the ground underneath and this melts snow/ice enabling the caribou to graze.

Trees destroyed? I will admit some trees were destroyed to build the pipeline, but much of this region is treeless.

We need to stop our dependence on foreign oil. This means using the resouces we have in the U.S. I know that studies show that even with the use of Alaska oil - we would still have to acquire 2/3 of our oil from others, but let us use our own first, so we gain some independence from Middle East nations who ban imports from us - yet want us to buy from them!

I am not saying that we don't need to be a vigilant "watchdog" and once these pipelines are in place - keep an unwavering eye on the companies running them. Look what happened with the Exon Valdez! However, the Valdez accident happened once the oil was on board ship. Make shipping regs/captain requirements stricter!

As far as polar bears are concerned - what the heck do they have to do with a gas pipeline? They live in the waters/coast to the west and north of where the pipeline would run. They would not be impacted at all! They are impacted by global warming - and if the U.S. can be ingeniuous enough to send a man to the moon, then we certainly can be proactive and smart enough to come up with strategies/use our own resources in ways that we control the amnt of warming! Before you pick a cause = get informed! Watch Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" - Instead of worrying about a pipeline that would be miles and miles away from where these gorgeous animals live northwest and northern coast and waters, worry about saving our polar ice cap! Save the ice cap - save the bears! Recycle, drive hybrids, use special energy saving light bulbs, etc., etc., etc!

Note: You could say that Alaska's past history serves as an advertisement for American colonialism. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, a colonial economy developed in which much of the territory's natural wealth (minerals, furs, salmon, timber) was extracted from the region and used elsewhere for the profit of absentee business interests. The U. S. Maritime Act of 1920-- referred to as the Jones Act, after its sponsor, Senator Wesley Jones of Seattle--stipulated that all commercial ships travelling between American ports had to be American-owned and American-built. All merchandise entering or leaving Alaska had to be transported by American carriers, which meant that all shipping had to go through (you guessed it) Seattle! The Supreme Court ruled that, because Alaska was not officially a state, the Constitution's provision that one state should not hold sway over the commerce of another did not protect our Alaska. Routing ships through the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert would have been much cheaper for Alaskans; nevertheless, under the Court's ruling, the Jones Act allowed Seattle business interests to charge much higher than average prices for shipping. This in turn raised the cost of living in Alaska and funnelled Alaskan dollars out of the territory and into the pockets of Washington businessmen. Another piece of discriminatory legislation, the White Act of 1924, was referred to as the "Magna Carta of fishery conservation" by both federal officials and industry spokesmen. In fact, the White Act favored the big companies' fish traps and worked against the development of small operators in Alaska.

You could argue that this is reason to keep the big oil companies out of our state. There is definitely a precedence for "outsiders" telling us how to handle our states vast resources of minerals, oil, wildlife, etc, etc..etc...we don't want or need misguided "greenies' , oil companies or government sending out misinformation to the general public. Let us take care of our beloved state!

79! and he keeps on going and going and going...

Dad has spent countless hours volunteering at the Catholic churches and Knights of Columbus organizations he has attended over the years. Recently, he was honored to be chosen to advance to 4th degree in the Knights. This ceremony took place in Oklahoma City. Dad was also named Deputy Commander of his churche's chapter of the Knights of Columbus.

Here are some recent pics of dad cooking breakfast (which he does every weekend) and dinner for the families of the First Communion students...

Kandahar Chronicles

Glenn is hanging in there. Says the food is nasty, so he has resorted to eating MREs! meals ready to eat
The food must be bad, grin!

excerpt from his latest email:


"Well been here a week now, only ? weeks to go !!! Yes, I am
already counting.
Don't worry about me eating MRE's...... they are really
pretty good. All the MRE's come with food warmers, you just add about
1/2 ounce of water and it heats the food so hot you can't touch it.
Good choices too, like Chili Mac, Beef Stew, Chicken Ala King, Beef /
Chicken Enchilada, Chicken Pasta, Pork Ribs, and the list goes on and on.
They are not too bad. Heat is really really awful. 111 yesterday
and 114 today. And it is going to get hotter still, up to the 130's
within a month supposedly. Ouch !!!"
I received this pic from him today...looks healthy and is adapting to life there....

Happy 29th birthday, son! Can't believe you are that old! The time has flown by! I love you and hope you have the best b'day ever! Tried to call u - will try later.

Happy 29th Birthday Chris!

John Denver when he was part of the Chad Mitchell Trio

Glenn arrived safely!

Glenn arrived safely - all info i have at present.

Kandahar Chronicles

Pictured: Glenn on mom's lap and me circa 1958


Glenn (my 50 yr old brother), left for Kandahar, Afganistan yesterday, May 11th. He is a civilian employee working for Lear Corporation. He is thinking his tour there will last 4 - 6 months - hopefully - not longer! Pray for him! Any info/news he sends me will be posted on here.

Happy Mother's Day

My protector and champion
Of God's love - a shining, pure light
Tender and gentle in spirit
Heaven graced us with your presence
Ever selfless in your caring
Ready with comfort and wisdom

B. McClain

Johnny - News Flash

My youngest, Johnny, who will be 23 on June 18th called yesterday with some great news! A few wks ago, while competing in LA/Phoenix, he was thrilled to have another company come on board as a sponsor. They are sending him to skateboard competitons here and in Europe. Part of his schedule will be LA again May 30th for a magazine photo shoot, then on to Minneapolis (June) and Amsterdam, Holland (December)! The deal includes: all expenses paid, plus equipment and clothing! He is thrilled and we are so proud of him for following his dream/passion and making it come true!Luckily, his boss at work has sons involved with the Anchorage Aces - they know what it is like to compete in a sport/what it takes, so they have given Johnny the "ok" to miss work and travel to competitions! How great is that?

Johnny on Youtube

Below you will find some video of Johnny skateboarding...there are several here, just click replay or on one of the first pics and you will see him....the first 3 or 4 are him and the rest just came up when I embedded this youtube video. ...if video pauses on its own stop it and start it over!

johnny sellers

johnny sellers

johnny sellers

johnny sellers

Poor Tiffany!

Tiffany pictured on right in light blue shorts

We arrived bk safely from the mtns of northern Georgia. On our return, Tiffany was complaining about her jaws hurting. Turns out her wisdom teeth were impacted, so I called and got her an appt with an oral surgeon this am. He took a look at them and they were out in 15 mins! She is recuperating at our house as we speak. Luckily, her finals were finished (all A's) and she doesn't start the summer classes she is going to take until next wk! Because she has been taking summer courses the past two years - she has enough credits to be considered a senior, but I think she is keeping her junior status for now. She told me this pm that she is planning on continuing with her school once she gets her Bachelors - double majors in Finance and Psychology. Plans on entering the grad program when her Bacherlors' degrees are completed.

George (her boyfriend) is arriving today from St. Augustine to spend the next few days (his b'day is Friday. We were planning a surprise cookout/party for him tomorrow night, but I think Tiff will have to stick to yogurt, mashed potatoes, and ice cream!

Travelin again!

Rocky's sister, Tammi, rented a cabin up in the mtns about a six hr drive (northern Ga. - Talking Rock, Ga. to be exact) from us. They invited us to come up tomorrow and stay thru Sunday. We decided to go, since Rocky's mom is coming down from North Carolina - as well as another one of Rocky's sisters, Terri. We are going to get up early am and head up. Just wanted to let you know that we are going to be out of town - fishin, swimmin, and eatin!

love ya!

Barb