This post was contributed by Marilyn Aagaard Martin from www.mmartinbooks.com.

Several months ago my daughter invited me to accompany her on a two-day business trip to Washington, D.C. I readily accepted. And early on the first Saturday in February of 2005, Laura and I flew out of Orlando headed for Dulles Airport. We had two extra days to tour our nation’s capital. I was excited not only to spend time and see the sights with Laura, but also to fulfill a personal vow I made twenty-four years ago
when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was erected.

Stashing our luggage in our hotel room about three hours later, we set out for Pennsylvania Avenue, both eager to begin our visit in the city of memories. We wandered for hours. As I walked down the steps of the Lincoln memorial my emotions began to build. My long-held promise was nearing an end, for just across the way was the granite wall.

“Sir,” I addressed a guard near the entrance, “I graduated high school along with a tall, redheaded soldier whose name I’m sure is engraved on the wall.” Supplying his last name, I asked if they were listed in alphabetical order. The guard explained they’re listed by the war year, the month, and then the day of the week in which a man died.

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VA Joe.com was contacted by Jessie Findlay over at Nickelodeon recently with this announcement. Help spread the word!

“The Nickelodeon news series “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” is looking for kids of soldiers currently home from deployment who are willing to be interviewed about the readjustment process. We’re looking for a few well-spoken kids around 11 to 15 years old to talk about how life has changed now that Mom/Dad has come home - particularly those dealing with a physical injury, divorce or PTSD. This show will recognize that war affects whole families, acknowledge the sacrifices of American troops and their families - especially their kids, and portray the good feelings that come with being reunited. Filming will be completed by the end of February.

Interested families please contact Coordinating Producer Jessie Findlay at Lucky Duck Productions -jessie@nicknews.com. Thank you. “

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Honor Your Heroes by Submitting Their Stories: American Hero Award

VA Mortgage Center.com has launched a contest for honoring veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The American Hero Award, which comes with a prize of $5,000, will be awarded to the veteran who receives the most votes on the company’s website.

This year’s theme calls on citizens to “Honor Your Hero” by nominating friends and family members they think deserve to be recognized. Nominations will be accepted on the website until December 14, 2007. All nominations should explain why the nominee deserves to be recognized in 300 words or less.

Ten finalists will be selected and an open online vote will be used to determine the winner. Finalists will have their photograph and bios featured on the VA Mortgage Center.com voting page. Along with the $5,000 donation to the winning Veteran, VA Mortgage Center.com will be awarding $500 to each of the ten finalists.

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Sgt. Willard T. Partridge
35 years old from Ferriday, Louisiana
170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade
August 20, 2005

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FBL talks about her milblog Fuzzilicious Thinking.

Question: What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I never attended Kindergarten (started my education in a one-room school)

2. I’m a vegetarian

3. I like to do embroidery

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I’ve been blogging for about two years.

I got started because I had a lot of friends who were milbloggers, and it looked like fun.  Still, the idea of me blogging seemed rather self-absorbed because I didn’t think I had anything unique to offer, so they had to talk me into it.  Literally days after I started blogging, I began working on the development of the Valour-IT (Voice-Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops) charity project, and the blog soon became about giving Valour-IT a regular presence beyond its official websites.  I felt I had to keep going because of that, and now I’m hooked.  

Question: What is your military experience?

I’m a civilian. My father served a tour in Vietnam, but left the Army soon after I was born and died when I was 11-years-old. Basically, I was introduced to the military by the milblogs and and have since been “adopted.”

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

My two most favorite are Argghhh! and Neptunus Lex, which were instrumental in getting me blogging.  I particularly appreciate the deployed milbloggers, and my recent favorites in that category are and Acute Politics and Badger 6.  If I started mentioning the others I enjoy, I’d have a never-ending list. 

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

I’m at what seems to be the tail-end of a months-long writer’s block and my readership has been declining lately, so I’m not sure “successful” would be a correct descriptor. But… to the extent I’ve had any success or acclaim, it’s been a result of the support and mentoring of other bloggers.

The biggest factor was my pre-blogging connections.   I’d been reading milblogs for about a year and was a well-established commenter (”Denizenne”) at Argghhh! before I started blogging, so John Donovan was kind enough to link my new blog and continue regularly spotlighting me.  His also put my Valour-IT posts in front of other big milbloggers and top-tier blogs like Michelle Malkin, Instapundit, NRO Corner, etc.  Neptunus Lex did similar things for me.  Villainous Company (fellow Denizenne of Argghhh!) also helped by asking me to guest blog.  I owe all three of them so much, both personally and as a blogger.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

I’m looking for a job in military non-profits or Veterans Support Organizations. Anybody know of any openings out there?

Most importantly, I think my readers and fellow bloggers are amazing. Blogging is a great leveler–I’m often taken aback when I think of the things I’ve participated in and the extraordinary people I have gotten to know I never would’ve encountered otherwise. They have literally changed my life, and with their support and leadership I’ve done things I never would’ve imagined two years ago. I feel extremely proud and lucky to be a part of the milblog community.

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Highlights From Milblogs Around the Net

• Brand new kennels for military working dogs. [Chaotic Synaptic Activity]
• PTSD: some symptoms include feelings of despair, lack of emotions, detachment, hopelessness, uncontrolled anger and irritability. [SGT Stryker]
• Massive trouble trying to receive a refrigerator. [Badgers Forward]
• Troy is combining his Military and Afghanistan blogs into a single blog. [Bouhammer.com]

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Highlights From Milblogs Around the Net

• “Maybe it’s a parasite… Or maybe she is pregnant.” Awww.  Looks like kittens.  [SGT Dock’s Holiday]
• More reasons to stay and fix the situation in Baqouba. [The Cool Blue Blog]
• A direct link — via Lebanese Hezbollah special ops — of Iranian involvement in combat against U.S. forces in Iraq.  [Choatic Synaptic Activity]
• All about TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injuries).  How they differ from PTSD, the treatments given, outlook, screening process, etc. [A Soldier’s Mind]
• A heart-warming thank you letter to every soldier from the “proud wife of a USMC 100% Total & Permanent disabled combat Vietnam Veteran.” [Gazing at the Flag]

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Victoria Parnham talks about Victoria Parham’s Military Spouse Blog

Question: What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I’m interested in learning to ride a motorcycle, preferably a Harley
2. I’m an Humanitarian
3. I’m an introvert

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I’ve been blogging online since 2003. As an active duty military spouse, I found sharing my relocation experiences with other spouses therapeutic. I’m also self-employed and maintained an online blog to keep my clients up-to-date with my military travels and their projects.

Question: What is your military experience?

I’m an Army veteran. After 20 years, my husband retired in October 2004.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

ArmyWifeToddlerMom
Hooah Wife

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

In lieu of maintaining my blog, I also host a talk radio podcast created exclusively for military spouses called Military Spouse Talk Radio, I’m always looking for military spouses to come on the show to share their stories, experiences and lessons learned, they can learn more by visiting: www.militaryspousetalkradio.com.

I’m also involved in a new video sharing website called Military Spouse Channel, created exclusively for military spouses, soldiers and families. The site allows you to share videos, photos, and audio (for free) with the public or privately, to learn more visit: www.militaryspousechannel.com.

I also train military spouses (through Department of Defense Contract) on how to start, grow, and manage an online business in cyberspace. I invite any spouse who has always dreamed of starting his/her own business to apply at no cost: www.vsscyberoffice.com/vbo.

Even though my husband retired back in 2004, I’ve remained actively involved in the military community even till today: providing mentorship and resources.

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It includes unit roster lists, draft registration cards, news reels, POW lists 

Ancestry.com, a Web site designed to allow users to trace their family history, announced today that it has posted what it describes as the largest collection of U.S. military records available and searchable online.

The U.S. Military Collection, which includes 90 million names, spans more than four centuries of American history, from the 1600s through the Vietnam War, Ancestry.com said.

Read more at ComputerWorld.com

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Andi talks about milblogging on Andi’s World.

Question: What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. That I love old-style heavy metal music (Tesla, etc.), which is usually a big shocker for people when they find out.
2. That I hate the name of my blog, “Andi’s World,” but it’s too late to change it. I’ll probably be stuck with it forever. Almost daily, flashes of the movie, Wayne’s World come to mind. Party time. Excellent. Ugh… What was I thinking?
3. As much as I love my fitness program, if I could exist solely on dark chocolate, I would.

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I’ve been blogging just over two years now. I accidentally stumbled across Mudville Gazette one day and began following the links. I was fascinated with what I found – a huge “virtual” military community. Two hours and countless links later, I had discovered the world of Milblogs and I was hooked. I thought I had something to offer and knew that I wanted to join the Milblog community, so I started Andi’s World.

Question: What is your military experience?

I’m the wife of an active-duty soldier.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

There are so many outstanding Milblogs. It’s difficult to choose just a few, but I love to read the blogs of those who are on the frontlines. There is no substitute for Boots on the Ground. I particularly enjoy Acute Politics, Badgers Forward, Bouhammer and The Fourth Rail (Bill Roggio). As a milspouse, I also understand that the homefront is always affected by the battlefield, so spouse blogs, like SpouseBUZZ, are an important part of the Milblog community. Mrs. G of Mudville Gazette is back with her Dawn Patrol, which is a great resource. Other daily must-reads for me include Milblogging.com, which hosts the largest index of Milblogs in the world, and Mudville’s “MilBlogs” site, which is a group Milblog and is constantly updated with interesting information and commentary. I visit dozens of Milblogs daily. It’s very hard to pick “favorites.”

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

Persistence. Bloggers invest a lot of time in their work. Some days it’s easier to do so than others. For new bloggers, if you love blogging, keep at it. Although most of us don’t write for numbers alone, it can be discouraging if you think you have decent content and are writing about worthy topics but nobody is reading. Step away from the site meter for a while and just write from the heart. Persistence pays off.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

I would just like to remind everyone that the 2007 MilBlog Conference will be held on May 5 in Arlington, VA. Please join us if you can. I also want to thank Lane for giving me the opportunity to participate in this blog interview.

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