FbL has the “gouge,” and we all know an ounce of gouge is worth ponds of other stuff…

It is reason to celebrate, the big total was over $192K, with >$32K arriving for the cause, without “team” designation.

Don’t forget, this is a year ’round need, so keep the interest up as you can all year long!

Well, the Navy/Coast Guard Team “lost,” but many wounded warriors won a reconnection to life this ValOUR-IT fund drive. Here is the first post I committed to with John, the Armorer:

MSGT Roy Benavidez, US Army was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 2nd, 1968 in the Republic of Vietnam. He went out to help rescue his friend from an incredible firefight, ended up saving 8 of the team, recovering all of the dead, and being wounded over 40 times during close combat. On return from the rescue, the medical personnel thought he was dead.

Senator John McCain opens the first chapter of his book “Why Courage Matters” with the story of MSgt Benavidez. The medal award, initially awarded as a Distinguished Service Cross by General Westmoreland and later upgraded to the MOH, was delayed many years, was conducted at the White House. This is how the President began the ceremony:

On February 24, 1981, President Ronald Reagan presented him the Medal of Honor. During the ceremony President Reagan turned to the gathered press and said, “you are going to hear something you would not believe if it were a script.” He then read Master Sergeant Benavidez’s citation:

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P.

Rank and Organization: Master Sergeant. Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group, Republic of Vietnam

Place and Date: West of Loc Ninh on 2 May 1968

Entered Service at: Houston, Texas June 1955

Date and Place of Birth: 5 August 1935, DeWitt County, Cuero, Texas

Citation:

Master Sergeant, then Staff Sergeant, United States Army. Who distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely glorious actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance and requested emergency extraction. 3 helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. Sergeant Benavidez was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters returned to off-load wounded crew members and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant Benavidez voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. Prior to reaching the team’s position he was wounded in his right leg, face and head. Despite these painful injuries he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team’s position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy’s fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader. When he reached the leader’s body, Sergeant Benavidez was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant Benavidez mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gun ships to suppress the enemy’s fire and so permit another extraction attempt. He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed with additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed 2 enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant Benavidez’ gallant choice to voluntarily join his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least 8 men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

In honor of the service of MSGT Benavidez, the Navy named a ship after him: USNS BENAVIDEZ (T-AKR 306). This ship is a “RO-RO” (roll on-roll off) ship, used to transport heavy wheeled equipment to a battle zone, such as tanks self-propelled artillery.BENAVIDEZ is one of the ships of the Bob Hope Class RO-RO ships. Some specs:

The USNS Benavidez is a non-combatant vessel built by Litton-Avondale Industries in New Orleans, La. The launching/christening ceremony is scheduled for next summer. The ship will be crewed by civilian mariners and operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C. The LMSR ships are ideal for loading U.S. military combat equipment and combat support equipment needed overseas and for re-supplying military services with necessary equipment and supplies during national crisis. The ship’s six-deck interior has a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 390,000 square feet and its roll-on/roll-off design makes it ideal for transporting helicopters, tanks and other wheeled and tracked military vehicles. Two 110-ton single pedestal twin cranes make it possible to load and unload cargo where shoreside infrastructure is limited or non-existent. A commercial helicopter deck enables emergency, daytime landings. The USNS Benavidez is 950 feet in length, has a beam of 106 feet, and displaces approximately 62,000 long tons. The diesel-powered ship will be able to sustain speeds up to 24 knots.

Logistics is what wins wars. The USNS BENAVIDEZ is part of the logistics train to keep forward operating troops supplied and supported with heavy equipment.

The USNS BENAVIDEZ was delivered to the Military Sealift Command in 2003 and has been a player in the ongoing GWoT as noted in this MSC press release in 2005:

[…]
Since her delivery to the Navy in September 2003, the 950-foot Benavidez has made 10 trips to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism. The ship has transported 1.9 million square feet of combat cargo, enough to fill 33 football fields from end zone to end zone.
[…]

End note: MSgt Benavidez passed away in 1998. The “Valor Remembered is working to make a memorial to MSGT Roy Benavidez. Read about that effort here.

Bonus reading: The Original LCS Ship in the Sunday Ship History series at Eagle1’s place. Hint: It also is a story about a Medal of Honor Winer.

We didn’t make the planned goals, but…many chose to send in checks.

First cut is here. Despite the totals shown on the web, the collections so far are up to $168.370.91, and more is bound to come in. Some money got donated via the first widgets and they are scouring that info. The Navy/Coast Guard Team accounts for $20,081.75. Toss in there is already over $29K that came in the mail with no team designations, we still did a respectable job.

So, it’s still a lot of money to do what we planned. I’m sure more news will follow inthe next few weeks of the grand totals for the fund drive.

BZ, everyone!

Update - The “known” Navy/Coast Guard Team:
Chaotic Synaptic Activity
Shira bat Sarah
enrevanche
Marvin’s Word
CDR Salamander
Grouchy Old Cripple In Atlanta
Searchlight Crusade
Here, There and Back Again
Information Dissemination
pamibe
EagleSpeak
NWOhio4Fred
NavyWife
NoisyRoom.net
Scarlett Crusader
American Geek
Ballseye’s Boomers
The Wood Shed
Bobo Blogger
Shot In The Dark
An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog
iamnot
Screw Liberals
Tailhook Daily Briefing
Brain Shavings
A Work In Progress
Rhymes With Right
Andi’s Answers
Under the Sea
United Conservatives of Virginia
Thought You’d Never Ask
Butter Side Down
Striped Bass Fishing New England
The Thomas
The Online Lunchpail
Fred Fry International
Last Refuge of a Scoundrel
Doc in the Box
Whether it amounted to one donation, or many, it made a difference - From the Sea!

The fund drive is over for 2007. Navy/Coast Guard took up rear guard, to ensure no one was following. That was an obvious chice, when we saw how we ran out ahead of everyone before the first sun rose on the first day of the collection drive.

Congratulations to the Army Team, who managed to let the Marines tease them a little, while sitting there, acting cool about the pseudo lead the Marines managed to get, but for a fleeting day or two.

Net result? Lots of money was raised to help those who need a replacement capability for the ones they lost in serving us.

Next Monday, I begin posting about ships named after Army heroes.

Got up early, went to pound the keyboard with some history of some person with a naval heritage and ships named for them, but, alas, something was amiss at the host, which, has been an excellent place to host my stuff.

Kept trying all morning, yet, I still kept getting errors.

Went out for some deliveries after lunch and turns out one of my customers waded ashore at Utah Beach. I also stopped at Jim, Sr’s house to say thank you.

Today, I think I’ll just ask for a bye and return next week, with my pile of material to satisfy a bet. I have the first installment already under my control, but in the meantime, if you’re the praying type, pay some well-to-do donor suddenly finds the donate to the Navy/Coast Guard Team button and puts us across the finish line for the ValOUR-IT fund raiser. Add to the prayer the specifics of “before midnight 11/12/2007 and for the donation to come in via the net.”

Check this out…

After it’s over, but you have to get in on it before then, Information Dissemination, will hold another contest.

So….get your “ticket” to enter before midnight tomorrow night…that’s under the Navy/Coast Guard Team, not any other team.

Who knows…it could launch your blog/website to a whole new level.

Go and grab the operations notebook in CIC and make the following correction to the current operations order:

“DATES: 10/29/2007 - 11/11/2007″

CHANGE TO READ

“DATES: 10/29/2007 - 11/12/2007″

Annotate the change page when you’re done marking up the document.

Reason for the change: You have the Monday holiday in order to make your final contributions to the ValOUR-IT 2007 Fund Drive!

Sometimes you just gives, sometimes you gets…

Besides just laying out some hard earned money for the great feeling of helping to put lives back together, some people have volunteered to part with their “stuff” (for a price - name yours!) for the highest bidder.

Navy/Coast Guard’s own SteelJaw Scribe has a factory model of an F/A-18C up on the block for your collection.

Get over there and grab some stuff (and chip the bid price in towards more ValOUR-IT donations)!

Nice to have. A tangible memento and reminder of your commitment to supporting the troops. Also a conversation piece to have the opening to tell stories about what Soldier’s Angels does for our troops and their families..

Enough marketing. How, you ask? Details here. If you have a spare $25 (but thing more, WAY more) to donate…a coin can be yours, too! (Psst! Donate to Navy/Coast Guard!)

There is wonderful news coming out of Iraq these days. Charts show IEDs are down, attacks on Coalition bases are down, engagements with terrorists and insurgents are down, civilian deaths are down. Down, down, down. And all while there are more soldiers walking and living among the locals.

But there’s something hidden going on here that doesn’t make the headlines: the injured. For every loss of life among American soldiers, several others are usually wounded.

It is those publicly-uncounted wounded that Valour-IT serves. While their buddy is laid to rest, they are the ones fighting for their lives in a hospital bed. As the family of the fallen is carried in the arms of their friends and fellow military families, the wounded soldiers are wondering what their lives are going to be like with broken bodies that will never be the same again. As their buddy is being laid to rest with honors, the politicians make a quick sweep through wards filled with wounded that will still be there after the camera flashes stop. The families of the living struggle to put one foot in front of the other and the wounded wonder if the prosthetic feet are as good as everybody says. The fallen’s loved ones dream of the day it will stop feeling like a knife in their chest, and the wounded hope that when the haze of the painkillers lifts, the PTSD and TBI won’t be as bad as they seem right now.

Loved ones whose hearts are aching in loss reach out to those around them, express themselves, plan memorials for their fallen hero, bellow out the rage over what has been ripped from them, mourn the futures lost.

Not so for the warfighter, whose connectedness is dependent on who visits or calls that day, and who is now discovering that the greatest indignity of severed nerves, shattered bones, and amputated limbs is that the soldier who once walked the streets in confidence and power is now cared for like a baby until he can find a way to make things work again.

Give that soldier something he can do for himself now–a way to express himself, write about his fallen brother, blow out the rage over the violence done to his body and build the courage to face the future that seems so impossible for now. A laptop will do that–give him confidence, dignity, self-expression, connectedness with those who will help him find a new equilibrium in his world-turned-on-its-head.

Giving out from 30 to 100 laptops per month since June, Valour-IT is in more demand than ever. We literally scraped the bottom of the barrel with our last delivery of laptops, and Soldiers’ Angels has said they cannot allocate any more funds for us until March 2008. We are filling vital gap that the government has missed, but we cannot do it without funding.

Don’t turn your face away from this just because it’s easier to think things are getting better, or because it’s too uncomfortable to think of their suffering while you are whole. They don’t want your pity; just your support. What better way to support them, to show you believe in their recovery and their future than to give them a laptop that they can operate regardless of the depth of their injuries. Please, help us help them.

I know how much it means to the guys who are stuck lying on their backs, unable to use their hands to so much as scratch. Being fed, bathed, taken care of like an infant—not exactly a fitting role for a warrior who’s used to being the one who helps others. It sure as hell wasn’t a role that I wanted, although there were many people who came to see me who helped…At that time I had no use of either hand. I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels. And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers’ Angels provided me with a laptop and a loyal reader provided me with the software. I can’t wait to do the same, to give that feeling to another soldier at Walter Reed.

–Chuck Ziegenfuss, inspiration for Valour-IT

The button is up top center to make a donation.  Little donations help, as do big ones.  Oh, and pass the word about this program.