04/24/11

The Llano Military News Group is a civilian organization dedicated to supporting those military men and women from the greater Llano, Texas area that are now serving in the United States Armed Forces and their families.

Wall of Honor

Now Serving in the United States Armed Forces

• Private First Class Alyssa Williams, Army, Ft. Polk, Louisiana

• Master Sergeant Bobby Bostick, Army, Colorado

• Mate 2nd Class Bobby Graham, Navy, John C. Stennis Carrier

• Petty Officer 3rd Class Bonita Cook Sommers, USNR

• Bradley Parker - need info

• Private Brandon Fountain, Army, FOB Paliwoda, Iraq

•  Boyce P. – need info

• Specialist Carlos Castelan, Army, Korea

• Charles Brewer, Navy, Afghanistan

• Tech Sergeant Cody Inman, Air Force, Aviano AB, Italy

• PFC Cody Myers, Army, Ft. Hood, Texas

• Captain Colin Alexander, Air Force, Misawa AFB, Japan

• Sgt. 1st Class Cynthia Kling, Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas

• Senior Airman Dare Weihs, Beale AFB, California

• Derek Almond, Navy, USS Samuel B. Roberts, Florida

• Staff Sergeant Dustin Isbell, Air Force, Vandenburg AFB, California

• Lieutenant Colonel Ed Williams, Army, Ft. Polk, Louisiana

• Chief Warrant Officer Glenn Long, Navy, USS Carter Hall

• Glory Wells Gomez, Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota

• Grant Harden, Army, Ft. Hood, Texas

• Major Harald Aagaard, Marine Corps, Camp Lejune, North Carolina

• Specialist Jake Thompson, Army, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma

• James Michael Glenn, Army, Georgia

• James Oliver -- need info

• Jason Klinger, Marine Corps

• Sergeant Jason Smith, Army, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas

• Jeremiah Harpster, Army, Ft. Benning, Georgia

• Lieutenant Jim Turner, Navy, USS Montpelier

• Senior Airman Jody Inman, Air Force, Iraq

• Sergeant John Evers, Army Reserve, Camp Mabry, Texas

• John McCarroll, Navy, USS Stennis, California

• Specialist John Phillips, Army, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina

• John Sturdevant, Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas

• Specialist Jordan Hudson, National Guard, Iraq

• Staff Sergeant Joshua Arms, Air Force, Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas

• Joshua P., Navy, Great Lakes, Illinois

• Senior Airman Justin Fry, Air Force, Altus AFB, Oklahoma

• Katie Willard, Air Force, Andrews AFB, Texas

• Kyle Wooten, Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

• Lance Corporal Curtis L. Rogers, Marine Corps, Japan

• Private Marcos Steelman, Army, Ft. Hood, Texas

• Matt Hayden – need info

• Matt Hoffman, Army, Ft. Hood, Texas

• Airman 1st Class Matthew Morris, Air Force, Germany

• Private Michael Hamilton, Army, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina

•  Michael Tumlinson, Marine Corps Recruiter, Round Rock, Texas

• Private 1st Class Nathaniel Bagley, Army, Camp Clark, Afghanistan

• Sergeant Nicholas Muratori, Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, California

• Nicky Martin -nee info

• Pat Hodges, Coast Guard, Galveston, Texas

• Chief Rick Inman, Navy, USS Harry S. Truman

• Robert Barnett, Army, Ft. Campbell, Tennessee

•  Lance Corporal Robert (Bubba) Bender, Marine Corps, Afghanistan

• Specialist Ron Busby, Army, Virginia

• Sergeant Roper Mikulenka, Army, Ft. Polk, Louisiana

• Ryan Waterbury, Naval Reserve

• Captain Scott E. Scott, Army, North Carolina

• Sean Jackson, Marine Corps, Colorado

• Tech Sgt. Steven Wiley, Air Force, Hurlburt Field, Florida

• Talon Saverance - need info

• Tim McCray, Air Force, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming

• Private Travis Tucker, Army, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas

• Vernon Denson-- need info

• Vernon Simpson, Jr., Air Force, Sheppard AFB, Texas

• Mate 2nd Class Welchie Spangler, Navy, Japan

• Spec. Zachary Helm, Navy, USS Michigan, Washington

Llano Military News Group Announcements

Armed Forces Day Rally

Llano Courthouse Square, May 14, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.

Llano County and the Llano Military News Group will host the 2^nd Annual Armed Forces Day Rally on Friday, May 14 at 11am on the Llano Courthouse Square. All of the active-duty service men and women with a tie to Llano County will be honored this day with a special acknowledgement of the 71 service men and women who grew up and went to school here in Llano County.

The Highland Lakes Honor Guard will open our event with the Posting of the Colors and Posting of the Service Branch Flags. Speakers will include Llano County Judge, Wayne Brascom, Llano City Mayor, Mike Reagor, and Llano American Legion Commander, Allyn Rub. There will be special patriotic music by Allan & Courtney Reed. Everyone is invited to particpate by carrying a flag or making a poster or banner to display at the Rally.

We are asking for everyone’s support for these men and women who give their all in defense of our country and our freedoms---there are many things you can do!!

• Write letters & cards of thanks. Children can write notes or just color a picture for a soldier.
• Provide items to include in care packages.
• Give donations to cover costs of mailing. The cost to mail the packages are $11.95 for one overseas package and $13.95 for one package mailed stateside. Kari Miller will be doing a video & editing (at no charge) to send to our soldiers, but materials & packaging will cost $5 each totaling $335.00.
• Thank a family member of  the active military and see if you can help them in some way. Through helping pay bills, babysitting, to just giving them a shoulder to cry on or a hug of support or thank you for their sacrifices as well.

Armed Forces Day is celebrated each year on the 3^rd Saturday in May. On the calendar is also a Armed Forces WEEK which is celebrated the 2^nd Saturday of May and ends on the 3^rd Sunday of May. Unlike Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, most people are unaware of these important days to honor all of the men and women who are currently serving our country.

The first Armed Forces day was celebrated in 1950, 60 years ago. It was a day marked by 10,000 troops & veterans marching past the President of the United States in Washington DC. An estimated 33,000 partcipants initiated that day in New York City.

According to the New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: “This is the day on which we have to welcome the opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces…to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won’t be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in the line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.”

The (LMNG) Llano Military News Group was established in November 2008 to help build community support for our local service men and women. It started with 19 names on the list, it has now grown to 71 active-duty who went to school in Llano County—and new names are being added as they are brought to our attention. The LMNG mainly consist of the families of Llano County’s active-military.  The LMNG works with the Llano American Legion throughtout the year to sponsor special projects and events such as “Christmas from the Homefront’ and Armed Forces Day and also mailing a “care” package to each of Llano’s active miliary. Although, she does not want the recognition the group is headed up by Ms Tommi Myers the mother of one of those soldiers and who is also Llano’s Citizen of the Year for 2010.

 Service does not end with the uniform---it is shared by the entire community.

                        Please support our Armed Forces!

April 8, 2010

Re Armed Forces Day Rally

Hi everyone --

We will have a meeting on Tuesday, April 13 at 5:30 PM at the Llano American Legion Hall.

We're in the final stages of planning the Armed Forces Day Rally for 2010.

The date, time and place have been set -- Friday, May 14 at 11:00 a.m. on the Llano Courthouse Square (inside the courtroom if raining).

There will be many items on the agenda, including:

1) Booth at the Crawfish Open -- Randi Mikulenka will have a booth set up on Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17 and will need help manning it. The booth will have cards for people to send a note of thanks and also a donation jar

2) Program particulars

    Speakers,  Music, etc. 

3) Fundraising/Sponsorship for the event

4) Mailout to service men & women

5) Insert into the Llano News (similar to what they do for grads

    and football)

6) Filming the event/making a DVD to send to service men and women

7) Addition of a "wall of honor" to list service men and women with a connection to Llano

This is a partial list of the items needing to be discussed. If you have additional items to add to the agenda please let me know. Also, if you have any suggestions or comments please send them -- last year was a really wonderful event, it was also our first and we learned a few things from it and know of some changes that need to be made.

We want to make this year's event SPECTACULAR and honor all of our service men and women!

Thanks for all of your help and support

March 8, 2010

The Llano Military News Group met this past week to begin planning for the Armed Forces Day Rally scheduled for Friday, May 14. Last year we had an awesome event to honor and acknowledge our active-duty service men and women and we’re hoping to make this year’s event spectacular!

There are almost eighty men and women serving our country that grew up here in Llano County and went to school here. Many of their families still live here, and the Llano Military News Group has become a support group of sorts and a way to share information and build community support for our local service men and women.

Berit Aagaard Pace was in town the week of our meeting and was able to attend. Many of you may remember Berit – she worked as a nurse at the hospital and raised her family here in Llano. Her son Harald is in the Marine Corps and Berit wrote an article that we would like to share with you that really brings home the point that “service doesn’t end with the uniform”. Lives are touched and changed and many times totally turned inside out and upside down when you have a family member serving in the Armed Forces and her story touches on that. These are her words:

Over and over we hear “Support our Troops! Support our men and women in uniform!” We all do. We must be grateful for their service and sacrifices; for their courage and giving up years of their lives so that we here at home can feel safe and secure.

Precious little attention is given to the families left behind though; the wives, the sons and daughters. The troops overseas, both men and women, are busy doing a job they have chosen, while the families at home are left alone not only with their constant worries for their loved ones far away; they also have to cope with the little inconveniences that seem to happen when daddy is away. The drain is plugged; the mower won’t start; the roof leaks, etc.

Daddy is missed for ball games, for family reunions, birthdays, Christmas, the birth of a baby. My son, USMC Major Harald Aaraard and his family is no exception. He was at home for the birth of his twin boys, but left a week later and missed the first seven months of their lives. When his youngest turned six in September, daddy had been gone for five of his six birthdays.

His group of Marines was deployed to Iraq (again) in August, scheduled to return again in March. Power above determined that the Army was to replace the Marines in Iraq early, and that the Marines might be home for Christmas. Not knowing the exact date, and not being certain that their early return would really happen, my daughter-in-law chose not to tell the boys, but surprise them instead if and when the return was a reality.

On December 20th she woke the boys and told them there was a special delivery from Santa at the airport and that they had to pick it up right away! Imagine the surprise and joy of the boys when they discovered daddy was home for the holidays! It was truly a blessed Christmas with so much to be thankful for. Berit Aagaard Pace

Each and every family of our service men and women can tell you stories like the one above – the missed holidays, the happy homecomings, etc. But also each and every one of those families will also tell you how proud they are. Each of these men and women give a lot of themselves in their service to our country and protecting our freedom to be and do as we wish here in the United States . They don’t ask for anything, but a sincere thank you is always appreciated. If you or your church, organization, business, etc. would like to send a note of thanks their way, please contact our group at llanomiltarynews@yahoo.com or call at 325-423-5010 – they would love to hear from you!

Tommi Myers