This event is designed to provide information and updates regarding Retiree benefits and to thank Retirees for their service to the nation. Representatives from more than 20 organizations that support Retirees will be available for one-on-one assistance. Additionally, all military Retirees attending will receive a special Retiree Commendation Package upon registration. Refreshments will be provided.

Retirees with military identification cards or a post decal may enter post at any gate. Visitors to the installation with neither must obtain a one-day pass at Gate 4. Valid driver license, registration and proof
of insurance is required for all vehicles to receive a pass.

For more information call 270-798-5280/3310.

Austin Peay State University has been named by G.I. Jobs magazine as Military Friendly School for 2010.

The honor ranks APSU in the top 15 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide, according to a letter from the magazine’s publisher, Rich McCormack.

Military Friendly Schools were chosen based on a postsecondary institution’s policies, efforts and results used to recruit and retain military and veteran students, the letter noted. One significant effort was in March 2009, when APSU opened the new Austin Peay Center @ Fort Campbell facility, further strengthening its commitment to educating military personnel. Of the four institutions offering classes at Fort Campbell, Ky., APSU has the highest enrollment.

In addition, APSU’s Office of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the Education Services staff at Fort Campbell, Ky., has worked to educate veterans, soldiers and their families on the benefits and requirements of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which went into effect Aug. 1st.

APSU will be included in the magazine’s listing, Guide to Military Friendly Schools, which will publish in September. Military Friendly Schools are not ranked in the list.

For more information about Military Friendly Schools, go online to http://www.militaryfriendlyschools.com.

WASHINGTON

The 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act passed the House Friday by a vote of 415-3. It includes the following investments requested by Congressman Tanner:

Support for a Veterans’ Nursing Home in Montgomery County

“It has long been clear to us in Middle Tennessee that there is a need for a long-term care facility to serve the large veteran community in and around Montgomery County,” Tanner said. “This vote by the U.S. House instructs the VA to more closely study the need, which we feel will make it clear to VA why this investment should be higher on its priority list.”

VA construction projects are decided at the discretion of the VA and cannot be directly funded by Congress. The proposed 140-bed veterans home in Montgomery County is currently ranked 70^th on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs list for construction priorities.

Physical Fitness Center, Fort Campbell

The bill invests $900,000 to construct a 44,347-square foot Army Standard Physical Fitness Center to serve family members on the south side of Fort Campbell Army Base. Fort Campbell’s current conditioning and training facilities do not adequately meet the community’s needs.

Chapel and Multi-Purpose Complex, Fort Campbell

This $14.4 million investment calls for construction of a 1,200-seat chapel and family-life multi-purpose facility important for worship services, large gatherings and classroom education. Current facilities were first constructed during World War II and cannot adequately meet the needs of the families on base today.

“These investments support the military families sacrificing in service to our country and those veterans who have served us in the past,” Tanner said. “We are working to better meet quality-of-life standards for servicemembers and their families and taking another step toward construction of a veterans nursing home to serve those who have sacrificed for their country.”

In accordance with the House’s new appropriations transparency guidelines, Congressman Tanner has posted detailed information about these requests on his Web site, www.house.gov/tanner.

The Senate still must consider its version of the legislation.

About Congressman John Tanner

Tanner, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and Tennessee Army National Guard, represents the 8^th Congressional District in West and Middle Tennessee. Co-founder of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, Tanner serves on the Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Social Security Subcommittee, and on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Tanner chairs the U.S. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and is serving a two-year term as NATO PA President.

After hours and hours of travel, the  soldiers put feet to pavement on U.S. soil, but had to wait through formal ceremonies before the hugs, kisses, tears and smiles could happen. Most poignant were the images of soldiers seeing their babies, born while they were in Iraq.  Even after the families gathered, soldiers were separated and required to take part in a “reintegration” briefing before finally heading home.

This group is the first of several that will be returning home in coming weeks.

Clarksville Online was on hand to capture these images of 200 member torch team made up of the 2nd and 3th BCT, returning home from a 15-month tour of Iraq. (All photos by Bill Larson)

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Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Nichols, who serves as executive director and chief operation officer of the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation, will present, “Wings of Liberty: The New Museum Coming to Town,” at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7 in Woodward Library.

Students are encouraged to attend. The event is free and open to the public.

The Library Athenaeum series, launched in 2007, has three purposes:

• To conduct events that promote and enhance the intellectual life of the University and the region.
• To reach out to students and make connections with them in places other than the classroom.
• To portray the library as a place to share, explore, discuss and think about ideas and events.

The Library Athenaeum will consist of speeches or presentations, panel discussions, debates, readings and performances. Faculty, staff and students are invited to submit proposals for future presentations. Proposal forms and additional information can be found on the Library Athenaeum Web site at http://library.apsu.edu/events/athenaeum.htm.

For more information about the Library Athenaeum series, contact Joe Weber, director of library services at APSU, by telephone at 221-7613 or by e-mail at .

This is a reprint of Mr. Kucinich’s Op/Ed statement:

America must move from the errant, retributive justice of 9/11 to a healing, restorative process of truth and reconciliation.

Before the Congress adjourns, I will bring forth a new proposal for the establishment of a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, which will have the power to compel testimony and gather official documents to reveal to the American people not only the underlying deception which has divided us, but in that process of truth seeking set our nation on a path of reconciliation.

We suffer in our remembrance of 9/11, because of the terrible loss of innocent lives on that grim day. We also suffer because 9/11 was seized as an opportunity to run a political agenda, which has set America on a course of the destruction of another nation and the destruction of our own Constitution. And we have become less secure as a result of the warped practice of pursing peace through the exercise of pre-emptive military strength.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It is not simply 9/11 that needs to be remembered. We also need to remember the politicization of 9/11 and the polarizing narrative which followed, locking us into endless conflict, a war on terror which has wrought further terror worldwide and which has severely damaged our standing worldwide as an honorable, compassionate nation. As we were all victims of 9/11, so we have become victims of the interpretation of 9/11.

Our government’s external response to 9/11 was to attack a nation which did not attack us. Indeed on the first anniversary of 9/11, the Bush administration issued a well-publicized stern warning to Iraq which was part of a campaign to induce people to believe Iraq had something to do with 9/11.

The deliberate, systematic connection of Iraq with 9/11 has led America into a philosophical and moral cul-de-sac as over one million Iraqis and over 4155 US soldiers have died in a war which will cost over $3 trillion. Additionally, soldiers from 23 other countries have died in the Iraq war.

We attempt to unite Iraq by further dividing it. We talk about restoring Iraq while taking steps to place control of its vast oil wealth in the hands of US oil giants. And we intend to impose upon the Iraqi people the cost of rebuilding a country which our government ruined, keeping a once prosperous nation lashed to debt and poverty for a long, long time. Iraq has paid for 9/11. We all continue to pay for 9/11.

The heartbreaking loss of the lives and injuries to America troops further binds us to the Administration’s illogic of the Iraq war: We remember our troops’ sacrifice by demanding more sacrifice; we support our troops by continuing the war.

The dominant color of our new national security since 911 is neither red, white nor blue. Everyday is orange. Everyday reminders of fear of 9/11 become banal.. Yet we no longer hear the airport announcements nor see the orange colored warnings because they have commonplace standards in our new national security state, as is the Patriot Act, wiretapping, and a host of invasions of privacy and diminution of civil liberties. The Constitution has been roundly attacked by the very people who took an oath to defend it.

There is a powerful desire across America for change, not necessarily from control by one political party to another, but a change from living with lies to living with truth.

Over two dozen nations, facing peril within and without, deeply divided by politics and war have travelled down a path of restoring civil society through a formal process of reconciliation. At some point within each of those countries it was understood that the way forward is shown through the light of truth. This process is not without pain because it requires a willingness to study evidence to which eyes had been averted and ears had been closed. But in the process of truth and reconciliation, nations found new strength, new resolve, new commitment.

The South African Truth and Reconciliation enabled that nation to come to grips with its past through a public confessional, bringing forward those who committed crimes and having the power to grant amnesty for full disclosure of crimes against the people. Of course, our path may necessarily be different: High US government officials stand accused in Impeachment petitions of violating national and international law. Our continued existence as a democracy may depend upon how thoroughly we seek the truth. I will call upon the America people to join me in supporting this effort.

The truth can move us forward, as a unified whole, so that we can one day become a re-United States. 9/11 is the day the world changed. It is the day America embraced a metaphor of war. If we are open to truth and reconciliation, we may one day be able, once again, to embrace peace.

Editor: This column appears as an op/ed piece on Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s site.

Lt. Colonel Charles W. Dryden (USAF-Retired) died June 24 after a brief illness. He would have been 88 years old in September. As reported in Nashville’s The Tennessee Tribrune, Colonel Dryden and his bride of 32 years, Marynal Morgan Dryden, never stopped living life to the fullest.

Funeral services held on July 1 celebrated his life. The services were held at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta. He lay in state from 9 to 10:30 AM that morning. He was eulogized the Reverend Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

He was born Charles Walter Dryden on September 16, 1920 to Jamaican parents Charles Levy Dryden and Violet Buckley Dryden. Dryden recalls in his book, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman, how at two years of age, he would call call out, “Air’pwane! Airpwane! and tearing paper into bits and throwing them into the air to tell the world he wanted to fly airplanes.” After many setbacks and tribulations, he did fly airplanes, living out his dream. Then he lived to write about living out that dream, and later, with a renaissance of his career, enjoyed the celebrity his stellar career afforded him.

Following graduation from NYC’s Peter Stuyvesant High School, he earned a BA in Political Science from Hofstra University and later earned a MA in Public Law and Government from Columbia University. In August, 1941 he was selected for Aviation Cadet Training at the Tuskegee Army Flying School in Alabama. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt on April 29, 1942 in a class of only three graduates. His was the second class of black pilots to graduate in the history of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He served in the famed 99th Pursuit Squadron, later the 332 Fighter Group, which served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen broke the Army’s ban against black pilots serving in aviation units and established an outstanding record of performance in bomber escort cover and combat during World War II. On June 9, 1943, then Lt. Dryden in his P-40 nicknamed “A-Train” led a fight of six pilots engaging enemy fighter aircraft in aerial combat over Pantelleria, Sicily. It was the first time in aviation history black pilots of the U.S. Army Air Corp engaged in combat. Dryden’s career covered 22 years and also included combat missions in Korea, duty assignments in Japan, Germany and ten different bases in the United States. He also served as an Air Science professor at Howard University and retired in 1962 as a Command pilot with 4,000 hours flying time.

He was on the board of directors of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, a member of the Atlanta Metro Lions Club, and Quality Living Services, the Atlanta Chapter-Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.. He helped found the Atlanta chapter in 1978, served as president, and twice as vice and national convention chairman in 1980 and 1995. He was inducted into the Honorable Orders of the Daedalians, the Kentucky Colonels and the Palmetto Gentlemen of South Carolin, the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. In March 2007, President Bush conferred the Congressional Gold Medal on Lt. Col. Dryden and all Tuskegee Airmen. He was often a speaker to youth and college students encouraging them to seek careers in military and civilian aviation.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Atlanta Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Lt. Col. Charles “A-Train” Dryden Education Award Fund, Contact Floyd Stanfield, at 404-217-6393 or Quality Living Services- contact Irene Richardson at 404-699-1686.

Details for this story extracted from ‘The Tennessee Tribune’

For three years, I received medical attention from the Clarksville clinic; they were always professional and I was always left with an appreciation of their services. By following their medical advice, my injury from Vietnam and duty in Germany continued to improve.

The VA is also focused on the spiritual welfare of its patients. At the VA Medical Center, Chaplains are on staff and space is dedicated to serve as “chapels.”

The Department of Veteran Affairs requires that their chapels be open to all faiths. This policy is similar to the guidelines in the use of Army Chapels, too. In the Army, the chapel’s religious symbols such as the Cross aren’t afixed to the building as a permanent attachment unless the symbol could be covered when the chapel wasn’t being used for worship. In the Army, a chapel could be and often is another facility for all faiths including Christian.

When a retired chaplain and VA officials removed Christian symbols from the chapel, Rev. Barrington, a Baptist minister, protested the action and insisted that non-Christians should find another room for worship, prayer and meditation.

Again, VA and military chapels are expected to be open to the members of all faiths. Religious symbols, such as the cross, may be displayed during Christian worship but are not to be displayed permanently.

The mission of the VA is to make its chapels available to veterans of all faiths to worship while remaining free from proselytization.

As Christians, let’s appreciate the neutrality of the VA chapels and respect all faiths, which means providing a practical means for them to worship as they choose.

THE MISSION: RUN ONE MILE FOR EVERY SERVICE MEMBER KILLED IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.

Run for the Fallen raced through Clarksville Saturday, a little-heralded event that deserved far more attention than it received. Despite Saturday’s (August 2) oppressive heat and humidity, the runners, friends, family, military and former military honored their commitment to run one mile for every service member killed in Operation Freedom, running a route that traversed Fort Campbell Boulevard, and Riverside Drive before coming to a temporary halt at the Clarksville Jaycees adjacent to the fairgrounds, where welcomed refreshments including cold drinks and fresh fruit were provided.

Randall Holder displays his father's flag for Run for the Fallen racers

As the seemingly tireless runners arrived, they were greeted by cheers and applause from a small but enthusiastic group of Clarksvillians, including Clarksville online author Debbie Boen and a young man named Randall Holder.

Scott Combs cheered on his wife, Casey

Soft spoken Randall told Debbie that his flag had laid on his father’s casket. Leon William Holder had served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Randall is a vet of Desert Storm and his grandfather served in WWI. The Holder family has always felt a deep dedication to this country. And growing up in a military family always brought him knowledge of other cultures and an extended family that included all the military. Holder’s flag became the backdrop for many photos of the day’s runners.

On Flag Day, June 14, 2008, a dedicated team of runners began running across America from Fort Irwin, Califronia, to Arlington National Cemetery, one mile for every Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, and Marine killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For ten weeks, team members will mark each mile with an American flag and sign cards in an a political reflection of remembrance of each service member. The coast-to-coast route covers four thousand miles over 13 states.  (You can look up the name/location of your soldier and his flag on a flickr link on the Run for the Fallen website.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Larry Faust and Tina Dotson prepare to run the next segment of Run for the Fallen

Boen was early on the scene, soon joined by Scott Combs and Boris Becker. Combs’ wife was in the run; Scott said that his wife Casey had heard about this event through a web site of the running group called R3. A small crowd began arriving, including Larry Faust and Tina Dotson, who were getting ready to take up the run from Fairgrounds Park to Montgomery Central High School on the way to Cunningham. They were running to remember and pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. Tina’s husband has been deployed 13 times. Some of their friends have not made it back.

With a police and military escort, the runners ran through the city, flags in hand and held high, as their fans waited until the last of the runners arrived at their indoor “cooling station.”

Videographers film the entire hjourney for a documentary

At the Jaycees, each runner was presented with a gift. Inside the air-conditioned facility, platters of fresh cold fruit, bagels, and an assortment of drinks were ready to serve. Music for the event was provided by J.B. Parker and his grandfather, Vernon Green.

While a core group of runners are going cross country, they also collect part time runners along the way, people who join up to run one, ten ot twenty miles of the race for their loved ones. The next leg of this unique commemorative journey was a ten mile stretch toward Cunningham.

Run for the Fallen is traveling with a team of videographers filming this journey for a documentary to follow the run.

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Photos by Bill Larson and Debbie Boen

Runners pause for photo with American Flag

Run for the Fallen wait for the arrival of runners

The Army escort takes a break

Clarksville Police escorted the runners across town

The first runners arrive at the Jaycees

Awaiting the arrival of the Run for the Fallen team

Major General (Dr.) Irene Trowell-Harris will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Women Veterans of America National Convention in Nashville, September 12-14th. She is the Director of the Center for Women Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Trowell-Harris will address the convention on Saturday, September 13. Nashville-Clarksville Chapter 20 will host this year’s convention.

General Trowell-Harris is a registered nurse with a diploma in nursing from Columbia Hospital, School of Nursing, a masters degree from Yale University, a doctorate from Columbia University and Flight Nurse Wings from the Aerospace School of Medicine.

In 1963, this South Carolina youth took an uncharted flight from the cotton fields of South Carolina to the pinnacle of success as a nurse, educator, military officer, mentor and role model. Her flight made unscheduled stops, ran into turbulence, reached unexpected heights and traveled internationally.

General Trowell-Harris was the first woman and female in National Guard History (in 349 years) to command a clinic; and the first African American woman in National Guard history (in 357 years) to become a general officer; the first person in National Guard history to have a Tuskegee Airmen Chapter (1998) and a Mentoring Award (1999) named in her honor.

She has numerous civilian and military awards including the Legion of Merit. She is a distinguished alumni of Columbia University; awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Medical University of South Carolina (1997), has received South Carolina’s highest award, the Order of Palmetto and was recognized by the South Carolina Board of Education, WIS TV and Southern Bell Calendar program as an outstanding citizen and role model (1994) for young people. Dr. Trowell-Harris mad history again on October 8, 1999 when she was inducted (charter inductee) into the Teachers College, Columbia University Nursing Hall of Fame. She was selected based on the fact that she is a distinguished nursing leader and have and outstanding contribution to the advancement to the profession.

Major General Trowell-Harris is the highest ranking (2 star general) African American woman in the National Guard and is assigned as the National Guard Assistant to the Director, for Human Resources Readiness, and the Chairperson for the Human Resources Quality Board. Her duties focus on readiness, diversity, and mentoring. She is advisor to the Air National Guard (ANG) Committee of Advisors (the executive leadership body of the ANG). In her civilian life she is Director, Northeast Region, Office of Healthcare Inspections, Office of Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.

As the highest ranking woman in the Air National Guard, Gen Trowell-Harris’ greatest treasure in life is mentoring and helping others reach their potential and goals.

All women veterans, irrespective of membership status are encouraged to attend this convention. Active military women servicemembers and their spouses, family members are also invited to attend.

A Convention Registration Form, in downloadable format, is available at the group’s website: <http://wvachapter20.tripod.com/convention.html>. For more information, please contact MaryAnn Woodward-Smith, Womens Veterans Program Manager, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, at 1-800-228-4973, ext. 5130 or Stacey Hopswood, Women Veterans Network member at 931-553-5173.

One by one, as a bell tolled a single chime and the words “Absent, not forgotten” were spoken by people in the viewing stands, Vietnam veterans carried thirty-three empty chairs draped in the black and white POW-MIA logo, carrying the names of Tennessee soldiers still missing from the Vietnam War, to “center stage” and saluted.

To the side, another veteran lit a candle for each name called. Gery Ezell read the roster of the missing. Reverend Elijah Oliver gave the benediction for this vigil.

Dozens of Vietnam veterans and their families gathered in Public Square Sunday evening to honor their fallen comrades, Tennessee’s 33 POWs and MIAs of the Vietnam War. The event was sponsored by Chapter 396 of the Vietnam Veteran’s of America, who launched this annual service in 1989 when the fate of forty-three Tennessee soldier serving in Vietnam did not return. In the intervening years, 10 soldiers have been returned, the most recent in 2005.

State Representative Joe Pitts was the speaker for the event, noting not only those who have fought in past wars but those who currently serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. “They should be honored,” he said. Senator Rosalind Kurita and James Patterson of the State Veteran’s Service were also present for this solemn ceremony. Neither the mayor nor any city councilors attended.

The Wester family opened the service with three songs: our National Anthem, God Bless America and America the Beautiful.The Montgomery County JROTC posted the colors and a single chair was placed close to the speakers, symbolizing those who could not be there.

Members of the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club, the Legacy Veterans Motorcycle Club, and the 2nd Brigade Motorcycle Club, turned out in large numbers for the vigil, lining the bikes in precise rows not unlike parade rank. As each of the clubs’ members carried their soldier’s chair to the front line, they paused to stand at attention and salute. For so many of us who have lost loved ones to Vietnam or other conflicts, it was a poignant moment.

The bikers, dressed in jeans, many wearing sunglasses and sporting beards, wearing vests emblazed with their club logos, were also symbolic of an era of protest, of soldiers honoring their pledge to fight for the United States even as protests over the war erupted stateside. They stood together, unified, in solidarity with the fallen friends.

The ceremony has been expanded to honor every American who has served their country in the military, said Maryanna Christy. Christy and several audience members noted that at the time the flag was raised to begin this event, the city hall doors began opening and closing, and didn’t stop until the ceremony ended.

Though inspirational and moving, there was one “sore spot” noted by virtually all who attended. Once again, the city’s Pillar of Fire/Pillar of Clouds, designed as a perpetual tribute to America’s soldiers, was unlit. The veterans in attendance were “not happy” with that omission. Clarksville Online has documented the fact that this is the second Memorial Day that flame has been out. It was also out on Veteran’s Day.

“I was at the original installation [of this monument]. At that time the City of Clarksville said the flame would burn 365 days a year. The facts is, it burns occasionally. It is almost never lit when there are ceremonies honoring veterans.” — Maryanna Christy

Christy said is the unlit flame is a slap in the face of every veteran

Vietnam Veteran David Nemirow called the omission “an embarrassment. The flame should NEVER be out.”

In a second emotional and unpatriotic hit, a number of American flags at McGregor Park were in disarray, partially torn away and hanging loose in the wind. One veteran said that if the city puts up these flags, they have a “responsibility” to maintain them. “Otherwise, why bother to put them up.”

Given that Clarksville is home to Fort Campbell, which has hundreds of its troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, these omissions have hit doubly hard and triggered significant dissatisfaction among attendees, who see the unlit flame and the dangling flags as “unpatriotic” and “irreverent.”

The city’s omissions were a complete contrast to the meticulously planned and beautifully managed ceremony sponsored by the veterans themselves.

This highly visible flag at Riverside and Commerce remain partially untethered as the Memorial Day weekend unfurls.

Vigil and Flag photos by Bill Larson

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And while all of that is true, we need to take the time to remember and honor the reason we have this holiday: our veterans and our soldiers on active duty.

War has littered America’s historical landscape, beginning with the Revolutionary War that forged the democracy we live in. The Civil War bloodied our own soil in a way that World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam, did not, though those wars took an enormous toll on American soldiers and their families. There have been other battles along the way, inclduing the much more recent and controversial Gulf Wars I and II (a.k.a the Iraq war).

Memorial Day, though, is not about plans or policies or civil disobedience. It is about honor. Respect. That is the starting point of the day.

Many of us have veterans in our families or in our ancestry. My own uncle was a WWII prisoner of war who never understood my opposition to war when Vietnam changed the face of conflict. Nor would he have understood my current anti-war activism. Yet one of the things he and all of our soldiers defended was our constitutional right to disagree. I was proud to be at his side when he passed on, some fifty years after the ravages of war irrevocably altered the rest of his life. I passed his medals on to the next generation — my children and grandchildren. To remember.

Ceremonies, services and vigils are being held around the city, across the country, at various monuments or parks and by various groups, even as 150,000+ American troops continue to put their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of whether we support the current war or not, we should pause and honor the fallen, and those who serve on the front lines as well. We also need to consider the fate of our emotionally, spiritually and physically wounded veterans.

As we move through the weekend, pause and remember, take a moment of silence to honor the fallen men and women of our armed services.

Following approval by the State of Tennessee last summer and special action by the Association Board of Governors in November, vehicle owners/lessees in the Volunteer state may soon have the opportunity to acquire a specialty license plate honoring the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Before Tennessee begins production of the plates, the 101st Airborne Division Association, with its headquarters located on the Tennessee side of Fort Campbell, must pre-sell 1,000 of them at $35 each (additional registration fees apply). If the Association fails to reach the 1,000 pre-sale minimum requirement, all purchase amounts will be returned.

L-R Representative Curtis Johnson, 101^st Airborne Division Association Secretary/Treasurer Sam Bass and Representative Rosalind Kurita stand outside the Clarksville, TN Courthouse with the newly designed 101^st license plate. Photo by 101^st Association Graphic Designer, Catie Rodriquez

Net proceeds from the sale of the plates will be allocated 50% to the 101st Airborne Association; 40% to the Tennessee Arts Commission; and 10% to the State Highway Fund. Sales are restricted by the legislation to registered vehicle owners of Tennessee.

The Board of Governors also acted to establish an “Eagle Spirit Fund” to which members of the Association can contribute “one or more amounts of $35.00” to purchase a 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) special license plate for an active duty Screaming Eagle residing in Tennessee.

The Association has initiated a campaign to get the sales program into action. Joe Alexander, Association President and Knoxville resident, expressed his appreciation to the State of Tennessee for working with the Association on this project, and noted the significance of the program.

“It is important that we give a maximum effort to this project because it is not only a way to secure an ongoing source of revenue for the Association but, even more importantly, it is an opportunity to honor those who have worn the Screaming Eagle patch of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in both war and peace time since its inception in 1942.” — Joe Alexander

The 101st license plate was designed by the Association in conjunction with the State of Tennessee. Legislation to create the 101st Airborne Division plate was introduced by Tennessee State Senator Rosalind Kurita (22nd District) and State Representative Phillip Johnson (78th District).

Using the print button at the top of this story, you can print out the text and the following form to order your plates, or you can copy and paste the form into your Word program on your computer.

101st License Plate Order Form
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Specialty License Plate for Tennessee residents registering privately owned motor vehicle(s)
Questions? Please call ASSN. HQ: (931) 431-0199 ex. 31
(Please print clearly)
1st Plate # preference :
2nd Plate # preference :
Plates can only be numbered from 0000 to 1000. Personlized plates can be ordered when the plate is renewed.
Reserve your Screaming Eagle license plate today for $35, one-half of which will go to the 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION ASSOCIATION, to:
Vehicle Owner’s Name: __________________________________
Street Address:_________________________________________
City: _____________________ State:___ TN Zip Code: ________
County: _______________________________________________
Owner’s Signature: _____________________________________
Telephone (Include Area Code): ___________________________
Present License Plate Number: ____________________________
Check Payment Method:
Credit Card______ Money Order_______
Exp. Date :_____________________________________________
Credit Card #:__________________________________________
Plate cost is $35.00 each
(additional registration fees apply)
Make payment out to the 101st ABN DIV ASSN.
Send form and payment to:
101st Airborne Division Association
PO BOX 929
Fort Campbell, KY 42223
For more information or for plate questions, call (931) 431-0199 ex. 31
ORDER EARLY FOR LOW NUMBERS

As many of you know, I have in the past written articles strongly disagreeing with the Iraq war. I still oppose it and will continue to protest until it is finally ended, and the last American soldier has safely returned home. Now that we have made that clear, I must make something else clear.

 I have nothing but the highest respect for the dedication and the totality of the sacrifices that the soldiers serving our country make. As someone who has served in the military I understand that those who serve in our military are not granted the privilege of being able to cast a moral judgment about the legitimacy of the wars they are ordered to fight, and they share none of the blame so richly deserved by those who intentionally lied us into this conflict.

So on Saturday around dusk I went to Public Square in downtown Clarksville Tennessee in order to conduct what amounted to a one person vigil honoring those lives which have been lost in this unjust and immoral war in Iraq. I said my silent prayers for the souls of those no longer with us, and my continuing prayer for the safe return of those who are still in harms way.

After I was finished, I went for my camera. It is frequently said that a picture speaks a thousand words, so I will let the picture I took speak loud and clear, “Someone has a lot to answer for!” Fuel the flame; honor our soldiers.

On March 15, 2008, the sacrifices of those affected by the conflict in Iraq during the past five years will be honored. Support and sympathy will be expressed for the members of the U.S. armed forces, their families and the people of Iraq.

Citizens will gather at noon Saturday, March 15 at the Amphitheater at the Bicentennial Mall at 600 James Robertson Parkway in downtown Nashville. There will be speakers – most of them veterans and their families, and music – all expressing hope for peace in the future. The program will end on an upbeat note, with a performance by the men’s choral group “Nashville in Harmony”.

At 3PM, veterans, military family members and others will carry a large canvas, bearing the names of Tennesseans killed in Iraq, up the hill to the War Memorial Plaza. The 93 names will be symbolically added to the names of those Tennesseans who have died in previous conflicts. This event, titled “Steps to Peace”, will express the hope that there will be no further casualties to memorialize.

There is continued controversy over the most honorable and responsible way for the United States to wind up its military operations in Iraq. But Americans are united in mourning for the fallen and sympathizing with their families. They are impatiently waiting for all the members of our armed forces currently serving in Iraq to come home safe and sound.

Citizens insist that the veterans of this conflict must receive all necessary assistance to regain their physical and mental health and to readjust to civilian life. And they are determined that the suffering should not be in vain – that the people of Iraq should attain self-rule, the fruits of their labor and resources and the reconstruction of their nation.

“Our attitude towards this conflict mirrors the mood of the season”, said Jane Steinfels Hussain, a member of the Nashville Peace Coalition. “There are springtime cultural traditions throughout the world, mourning death but looking forward to new life and hoping for a better future.” “We are not blind to the death and suffering caused by this conflict. We do
not pretend that everything has gone well. But we express our hope for a more peaceful world in the future and our determination to work for the wellbeing of all.”

Sponsored by the Nashville Peace Coalition, a project of the Nashville Peace & Justice Center.