I got this email from my sister-in-law today, thought I’d share.
On 29 September 2006, 25-year-old Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor (MA2, not EOD2 as stated below) was killed during operations in enemy-held territory at Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when he threw himself on top of a grenade in order to save the lives of his fellow SEALS. As described in the final two paragraphs of a Summary of Action (SOA) regarding the circumstances of his death:
While vigilantly watching for enemy activity, an enemy fighter hurled a hand grenade onto the roof from an unseen location. The grenade hit him in the chest and bounced onto the deck. He immediately leapt to his feet and yelled "grenade" to alert his teammates of impending danger, but they could not evacuate the sniper hide-sight in time to escape harm. Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself onto the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity. The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him.
Petty Officer Monsoor's actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional. Of the three SEALs on that rooftop corner, he had the only avenue of escape away from the blast, and if he had so chosen, he could have easily escaped. Instead, Monsoor chose to protect his comrades by the sacrifice of his own life. By his courageous and selfless actions, he saved the lives of his two fellow SEALs and he is the most deserving of the special recognition afforded by awarding the Medal of Honor.
In April 2008, Michael Monsoor (who had already been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions in a 9 May 2006 incident, when he and another SEAL pulled a wounded team member to safety amidst gunfire) was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His funeral, attended (in the words of President Bush) by "nearly every SEAL on the West Coast," was held on 12 October 2006 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. As shown at the end of the tribute video linked below, during Monsoor's funeral service, as the casket was taken from the hearse to the gravesite, fellow SEALs lined up in two columns to slap and embed the gold Tridents (a pin, pictured above, awarded for successful completion of SEAL Qualification Training) from their uniforms onto the top of Monsoor's coffin:
PO2 (EOD2)(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq , giving his life to save his fellow Seals.
During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego , as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEAL's were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.
The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it. This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero.
This should be front-page news instead of the things we see every day.
We've continuing our feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Sharon of javachip.etsy.com.
To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story? I am a college student at UC Irvine, majoring in Studio Art and hoping to get a degree in Physical Therapy in grad school. I am half Filipino and half (Caucasian) American, and I have lived in the Philippines for my whole life up until college because my parents are missionaries there. I have two passports, I love dogs, I love cats, I love sports, I played rugby and soccer in high school, I played soccer for the Philippine national team when I was a senior in high school and I played for one year for my college team but now I am just playing club soccer and loving it! I love playing the piano, singing, ceramics, finger painting, running around barefoot in mud, playing soccer on the beach, jumping in puddles, drinking hot chocolate or english tea with a hoodie on in my jammies, surfing, baking cookies, eating cookie dough, and just plain eating.
I love to travel and I have been to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Myanmar, Japan, China, Mexico, the U.S., Guam, the Philippines, and I will be adding England and the Czech Republic to the list this summer. I love taking pictures when I travel, and my greatest dream would be to become a photographer for National Geographic. Imagine the opportunities! My favorite things to paint and photograph are people, because I love the idea that you can capture a person or an aspect of a person in an image. I love God and I adore the fact that He is the ultimate Creator and has instilled in each of us a love for creating.
What is your favorite quote? Anything by Victor Hugo from Les Miserables. These are some good ones: “Laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face.” “Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God.” “All those places that we no longer see, which perhaps we shall never see again, but whose image we have preserved, assume a painful charm, return to us with the sadness of a ghost.” “This lowly sand which you trample beneath your feet, if you cast it into the furnace, and let it melt and seethe, shall become resplendent crystal, and by means of such as it a Galileo and a Newton shall discover stars.”
What is your favorite movie? I’m indecisive! I love Batman: The Dark Knight, Bolt, The Incredibles, Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Princess Bride, Transformers The Movie, V For Vendetta, and the first X-men movie. I love action and superheroes and animated films, and I’m a sucker for movies made on ridiculous premises.
What is your favorite TV show? Heroes! And the Office is a close runner-up. :)
What is your favorite song at the moment? (*fin) by Anberlin
What kinds of music do you listen to? A lot of rock and indie music. My favourite bands are Anberlin, Eisley, Emery, Ingrid Michaelson, Iron And Wine, Skillet and Sufjan Stevens. I really enjoy crossover artists/bands that are made up of Christians but not necessarily sold in the “Christian” section of the store. My all time favorite band is Anberlin, and I feel like they really get a good message across.
How long have you been creating? Since I was teeny tiny.
What inspires you? Beauty. I enjoy finding it in the strangest places. One of my friends told me that she liked how I make the mundane seem beautiful. That’s how I feel that God transforms us, he beautifies the ordinary. “Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite.” - Sir Francis Bacon Beauty, of whatever kind, invariably excites the human soul to tears. - Edgar Allen Poe Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.). I get crazy ideas all of a sudden and I drop everything and make it. It usually involves paintbrushes, watercolours, acrylics, India ink, or just pencils. It’s either that or my camera jumps into my hand and make me take fifty billion pictures. Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create? I like soft music, Indie folk usually, like Iron and Wine or Sufjan Stevens. But I also have this weird thing where I really like watching House when I paint.
What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress? When I was working on my portfolio for AP art, my first piece was not looking at all how I wanted it to, and I was very disappointed. My art teacher just told me to stick with it and keep reworking it. He told me something I never forgot: “If you get it right away you will end up with a boring piece of art. It is the struggle that adds character, the layers and layers that build up to make a complex piece of art that has so much more value than a piece that took no time at all.” It is so true! Now one of my signatures in my art is how I just go for it and slap on that dark brushstroke with confidence, because I know that I can rework it and build on top of it. It was always something I did with drawing, but it took me a while to find myself as a painter.
What's your favorite piece that you've done? This is great, because it is that piece that I was just talking about, the one I didn’t like at all. It took me forever to keep tweaking it and reworking it but not I absolutely love it.
What's the best advice you were given when starting out? From my art teacher again, it was to be willing to use anything. You have materials all around you that are much less expensive than things you can buy in an art store and work just the same. Be creative even when it comes to tools!
Do you have any advice to give others? When you get your great ideas, just sit down and work on them, it always works best when you are excited about something. Then take a step back and look at what you’ve done. If you look at your creation with fresh eyes it allows you to see things you may have missed or come up with new ideas. Look at it in a mirror, upside down, from 20 feet away. And this goes for everything, not just painting! :)
What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically? Well, artistically as in painting? Not really, just passing my classes I guess. But artistically as in musically, I’m starting a band! I’m the lead vocalist, haha, it’s really chill and not a big deal, but it’s still going to be a lot of fun.
Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour.
In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together, butter, sugar, vanilla seeds and vanilla extract. Add eggs and mix until well incorporated.
Mix together the dry ingredients and slowly add it to the egg mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and spread evenly, add hazelnuts to the top.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until brownies are set and begin to pull away from the side.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. Once cooled, remove brownies from pan and cut into 1 1/2-inch squares for individual bites.
For the frosting:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and slowly add the powdered sugar. Add grenadine and mix until a frosting consistency is reached.
Place frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto individual brownie bites.
We've continuing our feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Susan of Wagscreations.etsy.com.
To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story?
My name is Susan Foskin. I am a Christ-loving, fun-having, dog-hugging, wife to the most wonderful man I know. I strive for perfection (oftentimes too much) and like to work hard, and am learning to play hard too (something that doesn't come so easily).
What is your favorite quote? I actually have two favorites right now… "Coincidence is God choosing to remain anonymous." And “The Best use of a life is to spend it on something that outlasts it.” I have the first quote on my outgoing email and the second quote I put on a huge sign on my living room wall.
What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is really generic but I am in love with things like St. Elmo’s Fire, Ocean’s Eleven, & When a Man Loves a Woman.
What is your favorite TV show? I don’t watch much TV so if I have to pick one, it’d have to be Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” since that is really all I watch on a regular basis.
What is your favorite song at the moment? Favorite song at the moment…depends on where I am (work, home, car, etc..) I would say that it is either “Slow Fade”, or Vivaldi’s Concerto in d Minor, or anything by Toby Keith. I know it is rather spread out, but really it depends on where I am and what I’m doing.
What kinds of music do you listen to? Christian (hymns, rock, etc..), classical, 80s rock, and country
How long have you been creating? I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been selling my creations for about 4 years.
What inspires you? I’m not sure what it is, but God just delivers various ideas and inspirations for me to work with to me and I run with them. I may see a set of colors together on something else and think, “oh, that’d look really good mixed together on something I make”, or wonder how I can mix a particular patter or something on one of my designs.
Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.). I usually have something in my head for a day or two and play around with it mentally for a little bit and then sit down in my craft room and start working on it. I often have several projects going at once (if I don’t, check my pulse!), and bounce back and forth from one to another. Many times, the project will take a direct turn from where it started in my head to where it ends up because in my rummaging around to find the perfect item that I was looking for in a drawer or canister, I will find an item that will work even better and take it a slightly different direction.
Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create? I’m probably one of the few people that prefers silence and the sound of my dog sleeping/snoring at my feet while I create.
What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress? My biggest artistic disaster to date was a huge batch of clipboards that I was taking to a show and they had to be finished. I thought that I’d finish them in the hotel room, but I didn’t factor in the humidity of the location (from what I have at home) or the time needed appropriately. So they really did not turn out good at all, thus causing us to run really low on inventory for that show and high on stress.
What's your favorite piece that you've done? I have several pieces that I really like, but one of my favorites is a domino necklace that I wear quite often that says, “Life is Good, Eternal Life is Better” and has a small silver cross on it. I like this piece because it has opened the door to allow me to share my faith with people. For instance, just yesterday, I wore it and a lady read it and said, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” (meaning having Eternal Life) and so I was able to share with her about Jesus Christ and how he died on the cross and stuff. It is not one of my bigger pieces, but I believe that it is a bigger piece in the grand scheme of things. This necklace is coming to my shops in the next week or so.
What's the best advice you were given when starting out? Don’t give up. If you love it, then keep doing it.
Do you have any advice to give others? Find what you are good at AND what you love, not just what sells. Because if you make something that sells a ton but you don’t enjoy making it and find great pleasure and love while creating then it is the same as any other job.
What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically? I am working on getting into 2 other stores and I will hopefully be accepted into the local Mistletoe Market show in October (the Junior League show) here in Oklahoma City. I am also looking for wholesale shops to get into.
We've started a new feature in the team blog, to coincide with Self Portrait Thursday. Each week we'll feature another team member. We're continuing things with Kelli of KelliRene.etsy.com.
To start, please tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story? My name is Kelli. I'm married with two adorable cats and I love the Lord.
I've lived in many different places and currently live in Northern Virginia. I love to make stuff and I love to learn new processes in order to make stuff. :-)
What is your favorite quote? Biblical: 24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24
Hamlet: "'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature. Possess it merely. That it should come to this! " Shakespeake
What is your favorite movie? Right now it's Slumdog Millionare. LOVE that movie!
What is your favorite TV show? House
What is your favorite song at the moment? Irene by Toby Mac
What kinds of music do you listen to? I like all kinds of music as long as it is GOOD within that genre.
How long have you been creating? For as long as I can remember. It started with crayons and legos at a very young age.
What inspires you? God's word. Nature. Music. Sometimes a misinterpretation when I look at something inspires me to something new.
Please describe your creative process (the how, the when, materials, etc.).
Um. I don't think there is a process. I'm very disorganized and usually go solely by what I am being inspired to make. It's more of what comes through me than what I think to do. I have a hard time focusing on one material alone. I think I suffer from ADD in the creative world!
Is there any kind of music you listen to when you create? Nothing to busy or too loud. I prefer listening to the voices of female singers for some reason. It lifts me up. I like music I can sing along with and can understand what they are saying. Cesaria Evora is one of my favs. I like Sheryl Crow a great deal too.
What's your biggest artistic disaster to date? How did it help you progress? Oh, I've made some pretty horrendous paintings! You know, you try to rework them and rework them and then they turn to mud. I've learned that it is dangerous to fall in love with an idea. And, I've learned that canvases are wonderful because you can paint over them!
What's your favorite piece that you've done? I raised a very pretty vase in my holloware class simply by heating and hammering a flat sheet of copper. It is amazing what metal can do through heat and force. It became a pod shaped vase. Sadly, I lost it in our move. :(
What's the best advice you were given when starting out? The best advice... hmm.... I've been given so much good advice. I think the best advice I have received is that there is never 'one right' way to do something. There are many routes to get to the same destination. All valid. Kind of like our walk with the Lord.
Do you have any advice to give others? Always give credit to God in all that you make. Because every good thing, even our designs, come from Him. And, don't let other people's opinions dictate your own designs. Stay true to your vision.
What's coming up for you; any big plans artistically? Yes. I am going back to school for a psychology degree. My goal is to have a job that helps people and to make art my fun and my release again. I no longer want art to be my 'job'.
