FW: Every Friday at the Pentagon

[ENRIQUE M LABAO]

--- On Sun, 12/14/14, Robert Rice <rdri...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Robert Rice <rdri...@hotmail.com>
> Subject: FW: Every Friday at the Pentagon
> To: "David Biwer" <david...@gmail.com>, "Dik Labao" <diki...@sbcglobal.net>, "Ed Williams" <crat...@hotmail.com>, "Gary Zintak" <gzi...@gmail.com>, "Jimmy Head" <bjd...@sbcglobal.net>, "John Guilloehon" <johngui...@sbcglobal.net>, "John Wilson" <wilso...@gmail.com>, "Neta Rice" <rice...@gmail.com>, "Randy Corbett" <rdco...@hotmail.com>, "Randy Kimmey" <kimme...@verizon.net>, "Robert Stanley" <bobst...@yahoo.com>, "Ron Clour" <ronc...@yahoo.com>, "Will Purvis" <wilp...@yahoo.com>
> Date: Sunday, December 14, 2014, 4:41 PM
>
>
>
>
>  
> From:
> jpe...@ec.rr.com
> To: jpe...@ec.rr.com
> Subject: FW: Every Friday at the Pentagon
> Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 12:59:23 -0500
>
>   Regards,  Jeffrey
> T. Pensak (Jeff)430 Upland Drive, Wilmington,
> NC  28411-9475Cell:
> 910-409-3360email:
> jpe...@ec.rr.com From: James Monaco
> [mailto:mona...@bellsouth.net]
> Sent:
> Saturday, December 13, 2014 11:12 PM
> Cc: bob falk;
> JOHN BONNER; cag, cliff ; Scott Cox; dennis; nick ditulli;
> mike dodd; roy hall; dave howard; jim lancaster; george
> mara; gerry p; JEFF PENSAK
> Subject: Fw:
> Every Friday at the Pentagon  On Saturday, December 13, 2014
> 1:07 PM, Duane Young <leo...@bellsouth.net>
> wrote:  Subject: Every Friday at the
> Pentagon  You may recall that Joe
> Galloway is the correspondent author of "We were
> Soldiers Once, and Young" story of the enormous,
> critical 1st Cavalry battle in Viet Nam. 
> The story below is very moving account of Army Strong for
> today's wounded warriors.  An
> interesting and moving story. If you haven't seen this
> before.EVERY FRIDAY
> AT THE PENTAGONIt really
> breaks your heart to know that we didn't know this goes
> on every Friday, well at least I didn't know. Instead, I
> guess the media feels it's more important to report on
> Hollywood stars as heroes. I hope this article gives you a
> sense of pride for what our men and women are doing for us,
> every day, as they serve in the armed forces here and
> abroad.Mornings at
> the Pentagon
> By JOSEPH L.
> GALLOWAY
> McClatchy
> Newspapers
>  Over the
> last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air
> Force personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty
> that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers,
> horribly wounded and facing months or years in military
> hospitals.
> This week,
> I'm turning my space over to a good friend and former
> roommate, Army Lt. Col. Robert Bateman, who recently
> completed a yearlong tour of duty and is now back at the
> Pentagon.
> Here's
> Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony
> that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon
> with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning.
> It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of media critic
> and pundit Eric Altermanat the Media Matters for America
> Website. "It is
> 110 yards from the "E" ring to the "A"
> ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is newly
> renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the
> lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the
> corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some
> civilians, all crammed tightly three and four deep against
> the walls. There are thousands
> here.
>  This hallway,
> more than any other, is the `Army' hallway. The G3
> offices line one side, G2 the other, G8 is around the
> corner. All Army. Moderate conversations flow in a low buzz.
> Friends who may not have seen each other for a few weeks, or
> a few years, spot each other, cross the way and
> renew.
>  Everyone
> shifts to ensure an open path remains down the center. The
> air conditioning system was not designed for this press of
> bodies in this area.
>  The
> temperature is rising already. Nobody cares. "10:36
> hours: The clapping starts at the E-Ring. That is the
> outermost of the five rings of the Pentagon and it is
> closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is
> low, sustained, hearty. It is applause with a deep emotion
> behind it as it moves forward in a wave down the length of
> the hallway.
>  A steady
> rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the
> soldier in the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with
> his presence. He is the first. He is missing the greater
> part of one leg, and some of his wounds are still
> suppurating. By his age I expect that he is a private, or
> perhaps a private first class.
>  Captains,
> majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels meet his gaze and
> nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago
> when I described one of these events, those lining the
> hallways were somewhat different. The applause a little
> wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in
> the burden ... Yet.
>  Now almost
> everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the
> wheelchair, also a combat veteran. This steadies the
> applause, but I think deepens the sentiment. We have all
> been there now. The soldier's chair is pushed by, I
> believe, a full colonel."Behind
> him, and stretching the length from Rings E to A, come more
> of his peers, each private, corporal, or sergeant assisted
> as need be by a field grade
> officer.
>  "11:00
> hours: Twenty-four minutes of steady applause. My hands
> hurt, and I laugh to myself at how stupid that sounds in my
> own head. My hands hurt. Please! Shut up and clap. For
> twenty-four minutes, soldier after soldier has come down
> this hallway - 20, 25, 30.. Fifty-three legs come with them,
> and perhaps only 52 hands or arms, but down this hall came
> 30 solid hearts.
>  "They
> pass down this corridor of officers and applause, and then
> meet for a private lunch, at which they are the guests of
> honor, hosted by the generals. Some are wheeled along. Some
> insist upon getting out of their chairs, to march as best
> they can with their chin held up, down this hallway, through
> this most unique audience. Some are catching handshakes and
> smiling like a politician at a Fourth of July parade. More
> than a couple of them seem amazed and are smiling
> shyly.
>  "There
> are families with them as well: the 18-year-old war-bride
> pushing her 19-year-old husband's wheelchair and not
> quite understanding why her husband is so affected by this,
> the boy she grew up with, now a man, who had never shed a
> tear is crying; the older immigrant Latino parents who have,
> perhaps more than their wounded mid-20s son, an appreciation
> for the emotion given on their son's behalf. No man in
> that hallway, walking or clapping, is ashamed by the silent
> tears on more than a few cheeks. An Airborne Ranger wipes
> his eyes only to better see. A couple of the officers in
> this crowd have themselves been a part of this parade in the
> past.
>  "These are our
> men, broken in body they may be, but they are our brothers,
> and we welcome them home. This parade has gone on, every
> single Friday, all year long, for more than four
> years.Did you know
> that? I didn't.Be a Patriot
> and send it on its way.    This email is free from
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