Pics of W We Like -- Smooch

Sorry. Or not. We don't despise the Bushes here. No hatin' goin' on at Boom3, not even for the bluebloods anyway.
W smooch pic found at Jumping In Pools.

Russell J. Proctor, Army, Staff Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Four days ago.

Russell J. Proctor, 25

Army, Staff Sergeant
Based: Ft. Hood, Texas
4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Supporting: Operation New Dawn
Died: June 26, 2011
Diyala province, Iraq
Gender: Male
Hometown: Oroville

Great soldier and a great man, had the honor to go through basic training and serving with him in Iraq, see you on the high ground brother.

— Ernest Ramos
June 28, 2011 at 8:16 p.m.

From the Sanctuary of Mary:

Staff Sgt. Russell J. Proctor, age 25, of Oroville, California, died on June 26, 2011, in Diyala province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Russell was serving his third tour in Iraq. He entered active duty in June 2005.

Russell is the oldest son of Russell Proctor Sr. and his wife Renee, of Oroville, California.

Let us pray to God the Father, Jesus, all of the saints and all of the angels that Russell J. Proctor is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.

Read more about Army Staff Sergeant Russell J. Proctor 

at Chron.com, 

in the Mercury News 

and at Freedom Remembered

Also killed was Pfc. Dylan J. Johnson, 20, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Army Pfc. Dylan J. Johnson

Died June 26, 2011 serving during Operation New Dawn

Dylan J. Johnson, 20, of Tulsa, Okla.; assigned to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 26 in Diyala province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Russell J. Proctor.

James M. Treber, Army Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

James M. Treber, 24

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: June 29, 2008
Khosrow-E Sofla, Afghanistan
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Imperial Beach
High School: Mar Vista Senior High (Imperial Beach)
Burial: Cremated

I told him from day one, 'You're supposed to bury me, I'm not supposed to bury you.' I told him, 'I love this country, but I don't know if I love it enough to give up a son for it.'
— Gordon Treber, father

Treber, who had recently married, died six weeks after arriving in Iraq for his first combat tour. He and two other soldiers drown when their vehicle crashed into a canal. One of Treber's last acts was to free another soldier from his seatbelt and give him his airpocket. "He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe," the lone surviving soldier said to a military news service.

In addition to his father and mother, Treber is survived by his wife, Tamila, of Fayetteville, N.C.; his stepmother, Nicole; two brothers, Gordon Treber Jr. of San Diego and Daniel Hunt of San Mateo, Calif.; two sisters, Barbara Hunt of Orange and Angel Hunt of Modesto; and his grandparents, Paul and Kate Treber of Colton, Ore., and Nathan and Thelma Jacques of Mohave Valley, Ariz.

Do please read more about Army Sgt. James M. Treber here, here and here. And look at photographs here.
Sergeant James M. Treber is also remembered on the Oregon.gov page.

This post honoring Army Sergeant James M. Treber is a slightly edited reposting of the remembrance at Boom3 on June 29, 2010.

See also, Honor My Hero

First Couple -- Sarah and Todd Palin In Iowa Tonight

The Undefeated

Pella Iowa

Victory Film Group

Bristol Palin says:

Mom ‘definitely knows’ whether she’ll run for president.

We say if Mom definitely knows then Dad definitely knows too.

We'll leave it up to the Palins, but we definitely know what we definitely want the decision to be. Definitely.

Full Disclosure: I'm an Iowa grad.

Shin W. Kim, Army, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Shin W. Kim, 23

Army, Sergeant
Based: Ft. Carson, Colo.
2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 28, 2007
Baghdad (southern part), Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Fullerton
High School: Sunny Hills High (Fullerton)
Foreign Country of Birth: South Korea
Burial: Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier

He could get anything with that smile. It made him one of the more popular kids in high school. He was definitely one of the cooler kids. We never figured him for a soldier.
— Shinae Kim, sister

Kim was born in South Korea and was awarded U.S. citizenship posthumously. He volunteered to be a medic and planned to attend USC and become a pharmacist after his enlistment.

Read more about Shin Woo Kim here, here and here.

Reposted from Boom3, Monday, June 28, 2010

Jason W. Morrow, Marines, Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Jason W. Morrow, 27

Marines, Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 27, 2006
Taqaddum, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Riverside
High School: Buena Vista High (Corona)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery

Morrow was a machine gunner on a Humvee when he was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Balad. He died June 27. His body arrived in the United States on the Fourth of July, his father's birthday.
Jason Morrow had taken the machine gunner's role just over a week after the previous gunner, one of his best friends, had also been killed by a roadside bomb, said his father, William Morrow.

Cpl Jason W. Morrow, USMC, Operation Iraqi Freedom; Operation Enduring Freedom
Our son Jason Morrow had always wanted to be a Marine since childhood. He was granted his most precious dream on December 9, 2002. He lived his dream, loved his family, and protected the innocent to the fullest.  He was liked by all who knew him; he loved those he knew. His love was baseball and hotdogs with his favorite team the Angels; he loved family events where he could be himself; and be a Marine, who are and will always be the BEST on this planet. He was loved by so many but no one loved him more than us; his family who knew him best. He will be missed but not forgotten. He will always be our HERO.

July 04, 2007
Dearest Son-

It has been a year since we met you at Ontario Airport. All I know is that your father and I stood in silence and wept as they brought you out from the flight with Old Glory on your casket. Your father and I have never felt such heart ache. I know you are safe now, I know you are in a better place now; but you are loved and still very much missed by your family. You had what most people never find in a life time, true friends. You would have been so proud of Tim, your brother from another mother. We miss you. Thank you for your wonderful memories that you left with all of us. We continue to miss you.
~  Kristin Morrow, Riverside, California

Read more about Corporal Jason W. Morrow in the LA Times.

Visit Corporal Morrow's Guest Book.

Marine Corporal Jason W. Morrow previously remembered at Boom3 on Sunday, June 27, 2010.

The Olden Days -- 1000 Words

Today's other, real, adult, non-silly thoughts from New York:

World Trade Center

One World Trade Center

Ground Zero

WTC

Sports Sunday -- Dean Potter, The Aerialist

In his own words:

I do turn into quite the sloth. I’m saving every last bit for the send, and often I won’t talk. I go into a ­meditative bubble. Everything I eat, I’m imagining the food dissolving and going into the right muscles. I was in a similar state in 2002 when I free-soloed Super Couloir and made the first ascent of California Roulette on Patagonia’s Fitz Roy. I lived in a cave because I couldn’t deal with normal inter­action. I couldn’t deal if I saw fear in somebody else—if they feel it, it enters me.

The Aerialist, Dean Potter.
Read the whole story in Outside Magazine. July 2011.

Dean Potter On The Line Solo At Taft Point

Photographer Jeff Cunningham

In Jeff’s, words, “it was a beautiful day in Yosemite. Dean had a high line set up there that he measured as somewhere between 99 to 100 feet. He had walked the line leashed a few times when I saw him untying from the tether. I figured he was just taking a break. Instead, he stepped up to the line and started walking it with confidence and determination. It’s hard to imagine what it must feel like walking across a rope with over a thousand feet of air below, but it was obvious to me that Dean was exactly where he was supposed to be…”

Climb&More

Manuel A. Ceniceros, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Manuel A. Ceniceros, 23

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
Regimental Combat Team 1 Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 26, 2004
Anbar province, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Santa Ana
High School: Valley High (Santa Ana)
Burial: Santa Ana Cemetery, Santa Ana

A painfully shy teenager who hadn't distinguished himself in school, Ceniceros gained confidence and a sense of identity in the Marines. His fellow Marines were his brothers. His dog, a Labrador mix named Tank, was usually wearing some kind of Marine Corps bandanna.

"My husband, for most of his life, had never felt like he owned anything or stood for anything, because he was so quiet and so shy. When he was in high school, he wasn't known for anything at all. But when he became a Marine, it was like he owned that."
— Elizabeth Ceniceros, widow

Manuel A. Ceniceros is also survived by his mother, Angela De La Cruz; his aunt, Stella Gallegos; and cousins Alfred Gallegos Jr., Victor D. Gallegos, Daniel R. Gallegos and Freddy Gallegos.

Read more about Lance Corporal Manuel A. Ceniceros 

at Military Times 

and the LA Times. 

Find messages and remembrances at Fallen Heroes 

and in Lance Corporal Manuel A. Ceniceros's 

Guest Book.

Lance Corporal Manuel A. Ceniceros previously remembered at Boom3 Saturday, June 26, 2010.

Saturday Night Pretty -- Pop -- Regina Spektor - Fidelity

Trig Palin Interlude -- Trig With His Mom

This one's from Fox 

back when Huggies & Papa John 

pulled their ads from the 

perverts at Wonkette. 

Bumper Stickers We Heart -- Kerry

Gettysburg, PA

June 2011

Yes We Cannabis -- Paul, Frank

Joint Effort? Barney Frank, Ron Paul Team Up on Marijuana Bill

Reps. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Ron Paul (R., Texas) don’t always see eye to eye on policy matters, but the Massachusetts liberal and Texas libertarian are teaming up to introduce a bill that would end  the federal prohibition on marijuana, leaving it up to each state to set marijuana policy.

Read the whole thing in the Wall Street Journal

Stickers We Heart Files.
As spotted in Arkansas.

Thomas E. Retzer, Navy, Petty Officer 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

Thomas E. Retzer, 30

Navy, Petty Officer 1st Class
Based: Dam Neck, Va.
Interior Communications Electrician, Navy SEAL
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: June 25, 2003
Gardez, Afghanistan
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
High School: Mt. Whitney High (Visalia)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Dieg0


From NAVYSEALS.com

Specialty:
Navy Seal
BUD/S Class:
198
Rank:
Petty Officer First Class
Age;
30
Home:
San Diego
Assigned:
Naval Special Warfare Development Group
Died:
June 26, 2003
Operation:
Enduring Freedom
Details:
Retzer was wounded on June 25, 2003, after his convoy was attacked outside of Gardez, Afghanistan.  He was transported to Bagram Air Base Hospital, where he died of his wounds on June 26, 2003.
Awards:
Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor (2)
Purple Heart
Other Awards:
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2)
Good Conduct Medal (2)
National Defense Service Medal
Meritorious Unit Commendation
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Contributions:
Retzer was part of a dedicated Naval Special Warfare team fighting the Taliban, a fundamentalist regime that a U.S.-led coalition knocked from power in Afghanistan in 2001, but has continued to conduct guerilla operations, particularly along the Pakistan border. Retzer worked to help ensure al Qaeda terrorists could not train in, nor launch strikes from Afghanistan since their lethal attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

Thomas Retzer was a native of California who was an avid athlete and outdoorsman. He enlisted in the Navy in 1988 directly after graduating from high school, and became an Interior Communications Electrician. Retzer was working on a mathematics major at San Diego State University when he left to do for what his father said was really “the only thing he wanted to do:” become a Navy SEAL.
Retzer graduated from BUD/S in 1994. He distinguished himself as a SEAL operator during combat operations in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2003, earning two Bronze Stars with combat “V” for valor.
On June 25, 2003, Retzer was killed while engaged in a fierce firefight after his convoy was attacked outside of Gardez, Afghanistan. He received gunshot wounds to the head and chest, but lived 24 hours before succumbing to his injuries.
Thomas Retzer is remembered with the greatest respect and gratitude by his fellow SEALs, the Navy, and the nation.
Memorials:
Petty Officer Retzer’s service and sacrifice touched service members of all ages and experience:
A BUD/S student wrote gratefully, “Nothing but the utmost respect for the man and the family behind the man. Thank you for your sacrifice.

A SEAL just graduated wrote the family, “I just wanted to say that in searching for guidance within this job of ours, it is great men like your Tom that the men of the Teams turn to when looking for the way they should do their job.“

A fellow shipmate said Thomas Retzer was “a brave, proud, selfless man, a good husband and loving father,” and that “The sacrifice that he made for our country will not ever be forgotten.”

A Vietnam War veteran stated, “The sacrifices Petty Officer Retzer made and the deeds he performed shall remain alive in our memories for generations to come.

Retzer’s wife praised both her spouse and his fellow SEALs: “I am so proud of my husband and thankful to his very brave and steadfast teammates who continue the mission unseen. Tom was in good company.”

From the Pacific Beacon:
Thomas is survived by his wife, Courtney, his sons; Leif and Owen; his father, James; his mother, Leona, his brothers, James, Justin and Michael; his father and mother-in-law, Thomas and Sandra Wasley; his sister-in-law, Lindsey Wasley; best friends, Jerry and Teresa Shick; and a host of family, friends and teammates. Tom was a consummate friend, husband and father. He was the guy who would stop to change the tire of a stranger in the rain, make a 30-second call from a world away just to tell his wife he loved her, and never missed a chance to read his boys a bedtime story. In his career, Tom was a driven, dedicated professional warrior. But at home, he was a kindhearted, easygoing guy with an infectious belly laugh who enjoyed a good workout, a good beer and really ugly Hawaiian shirts. Tom had an enduring love for his family, his teammates and his country with a profound dedication to protecting the ideals of the American spirit.

Read more about Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas E. Retzer 

at SEAL Team Spartan 

and visit Officer Thomas E. Retzer's Guest Book.

Andrew F. Chris, Army, Specialist -- Rest In Peace

Andrew F. Chris, 25

Army, Specialist
Based: Ft. Benning, Ga.
Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 25, 2003
Baghdad, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Poway
Burial: Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Ala.

Dad, I did this for you.

— Andrew Chris, at his father's gravesite before deploying

Chris' grandfather fought in World War II, his uncle was a special operations soldier in the Army, his father belonged to an Army airborne division and his brother Derek served in the Navy. A native of Alabama, he had lived in California for years.

From Military Times:

Army Ranger Andrew Chris called his brother on June 22 to let him know he was headed overseas.

“He said, ‘This is the last time I’m going to call you from the States,’ ” Josh Chris recalled.

Andrew Chris died just a few days later. The Florence, Ala., native was killed along with another Ranger on June 25 when a vehicle packed with explosives on the side of a Baghdad road detonated.

“He went through some of the most rigorous training in the world just to be a Ranger,” Josh Chris said. “But he loved it. He’d go on a 20-mile hike with a 60-pound pack and call me that night and be in a great mood.”

Chris, who lived in San Diego, followed a long line of relatives into the military. Both of his grandfathers served in World War II, his father served in the Army, his uncle in Special Forces and his brother Derek in the Navy. Josh Chris said knowing that his brother died doing what he loved has made it easier to accept.


“He was spiritually and emotionally ready,” Chris said.

Read more about Army Specialist Andrew F. Chris at
Lead the Way, 

Fallen Heroes, 

the Advocate 

and at...NPR. 

Visit Specialist Andrew F. Chris's Guest Book.

Honoring Specialist Andrew F. Chris's fallen colleagues at Lead the Way

Shabbat Shalom -- Jews of Barbados

Conservative Synagogue in Barbados.
From Kosher Delight

Carlos Pineda, Marines, Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Carlos Pineda, 23

Marines, Corporal
Based: Camp Lejeune, N.C.
8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 24, 2005
Fallouja, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: Los Angeles
High School: James A. Garfield Senior High (Los Angeles)
Foreign Country of Birth: El Salvador
Burial: Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier

Pineda was born in El Salvador and came to the U.S. as a child. He was in the process of becoming a citizen. Pineda was rescuing casualties when he was shot and killed.
Ana Pineda said her husband was something of a romantic. The day before he died, she received a package from him -- a gold charm with her name on it. A letter she received after his death said, "The Marine Corps may have my body, but you'll always have my heart."
In addition to his wife, Pineda is survived by his mother, Silvia Hernandez; his stepfather, Jose Luis Hernandez; a half brother, Jose Luis, 7; and a half sister, Natalie, 5.

Read more about Corporal Carlos Pineda in the LA Times and Military Times.
Find pictures and memories at Marine Corporal Carlos Pineda's Guest Book.

This updated repost is from Boom3, Thursday, June 24, 2010.

Long Island Sound With Boys & Bikes

Spring. June 18, 2011. Sunset.
From the bluff in Northport.

Dick Cheney -- In My Time

To be released on August 31, 2011. 

Pre-order now.

Devoted daughter Liz Cheney speaks.

A sampling of previous Cheney posts:

1000 Words -- Cheneys

Dick Interlude

Bowing Lessons

1000 Words

Veashna Muy, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

Veashna Muy, 20

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Camp Lejeune, N.C.
8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: June 23, 2005
Fallouja, Iraq
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Los Angeles
High School: Jordan High (Long Beach)
Burial: Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Long Beach

Muy, born in Long Beach, was the son of Cambodian refugees who came to the U.S. after the Vietnam War.
The 20-year-old was among six troops killed in a suicide car-bomb attack on their convoy in Fallouja, Iraq. Five Marines, two of them women, and a female sailor were killed in the attack.

Read more about Lance Corporal Veashna Muy at Military Times 
and at LA Times. 
Visit Lance Corporal Veashna Muy's Guest Book.

This is an updated post from Boom3, June 23, 2010.