Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
Greed – Power – Money – Control
Public Domain
As Shakespeare said in his play Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” A fish rots from head to tail, and so do corrupt government systems.
They rot from top to bottom.
When the truth is depicted as a threat (Mind War) to those who govern a country, you no longer have a democratic state. Only some things can be disclosed to the public in real time.
America’s Combat Camera traces its roots back to the Civil War when photographers produced iconic images of battlefields, soldiers and the devastating realities of war. These images provided a new level of realism and immediacy to the public’s understanding of warfare. During World War I, airmen captured over 18,000 photos. By World War II, the First Motion Picture Unit was established in Culver City, California, where the first Army Air Force Combat Camera units got their start.
The attacks of 9/11 united a divided country and inspired a fierce and passionate generation of service to America’s defenders. Marine Corps Corporal Robert Steinbrecher was one of the first to raise his own hand as a teenager, though he’d have to wait until he graduated.
His sister Anna Keithly reflected fondly on their early years.
“Growing up in the Steinbrecher family was and is an amazing and glorious experience. Robert and I are a part of seven children born to Donald and Catherine Steinbrecher,” she shared.
Raised mostly by a single mother and as an only child, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jacqueline “Jackie” Escobar spent her life pursuing things against the odds. She lived vivaciously, every single day.
“We were married for 18 years; I appreciated that her mother raised her to be strong and independent. Jackie was super feminine yet also tough as nails,” her husband David Escobar, Army Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) recalled. “She would ride horses until the horse bucked her off. Then she would get right back on.
Commander Scott Hyung-Wook Kim immigrated to the United States with his family from South Korea when he was just 10 years old. He never dreamed he’d make his way back decades later in service to the Coast Guard.
“Scott was the second son in a family of three kids. He was gentle and kind, a good son to his mom and his younger sister still to this day says he was their mother’s favorite child. Scott was always helpful with the small business his parents owned in Philadelphia as the first generation immigrant from South Korea,” his wife Soo Kim shared.
We have words for people who lose their spouses or their parents. But when a parent buries a child, there’s nothing in the English language that translates. This is a surviving mother’s story of her sweet boy and the legacy of life and goodness he left her to share with the world.
Before he was a captain in the Air Force or flying around the world in a fighter jet – Jeffrey Braden was a mischievous boy. He was the baby of the family, following three sisters and loved to make his family laugh.
The Vietnam War was a tumultuous time in American history and it’s only recently that the veterans of the conflict began to share their stories. This is for the more than 58,000 who can’t.
Marine Corps Captain William “Bill” Griffis, III was a Texas native who grew up in San Angelo as the oldest of three children. When he was in high school, he was on the track and field team, was a member of the Zocolos (a fraternity of the YMCA) and was active in his church youth group.
Though Bill and his future wife, Sally, knew each other growing up, it was not love at first sight.
Join the Navy, see the world! The late Navy Command Master Chief Jeffrey Garber saw this slogan and raised his right hand to serve, protect and explore. And boy did he go far.
“Jeff grew up in rural Nebraska and the first 14 years of his life were spent in Seward, Nebraska, on his grandparent’s farm and then in town,” his wife Amy Garber shared. “During these years he loved exploring the farm with his brothers, playing football, riding bikes in town with friends, playing sports, attending church every Sunday with his family, and basically just living a small-town life.
Army Brigadier General Thomas (Tom) C. Carroll was a life-long Alaskan, proud soldier and described as an “old soul” by his wife, Bonnie. It’s no wonder, given his beginnings.
Tom’s father, Thomas P. Carroll, was stationed in Europe during World War II when he met his mother, Kathleen, in Northern Ireland. As the tale goes, his father swept her off her feet. They were married December 13, 1942, in Armagh, North Ireland.
His father was later cited for bravery in action against a German machine gun platoon during the invasion on Normandy Beach.
Matt Daud was a pilot for United Airlines for 40 years before retiring to work for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors on their care team in 2022. Though he always had a passion for the families of those who serve, this mission was personal: it was about his son, Christopher.
“As a baby, Christopher had permanent joy at being part of this world. Ever a great big smile on his face with eyes alert and curious. I often held him so he was looking out at the world. As he grew, his energy, which was constant, translated into athleticism.