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Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Green High senior goes extra mile for those who walk and jog the park trails
Community, school and military news roundup
Tragedy to hope: Family creates foundation for bereavement therapy
Visiting new Navy ship brings back memories for Doylestown man serves on USS New York in 1930s
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Blogs:
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Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
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For your Saturday entertainment …
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Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:38 p.m. EST, Nov 07, 2009
CANTON:The shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, were on the minds of veterans during a special program at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday honoring those who have served.
''It's devastating,'' Russ Furney, 81, a Marine during the Korean War era, said of the shooting rampage Thursday at an Army base in central Texas. Thirteen were killed and 30 were wounded.
Furney, of Canton, was one of a few hundred veterans who attended a special Veterans Day program Saturday sponsored by the hall of fame, the Army, Disabled American Veterans and 11 Good Energy. The program featured Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who lost both legs above the knee in a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2007.
Gadson, a West Point graduate who dreamed of playing in the National Football League and was a linebacker on the West Point football team, spoke of how he became honorary co-captain of the New York Giants and finally got a Super Bowl Ring in 2008 when the team won the Super Bowl.
Gadson, an Army War College Fellow at the Institute for World Politics, asked for prayers for those killed and wounded at Fort Hood.
''It's truly a tragedy,'' he said. ''I can attest that the power of prayer works. Please keep those families in your prayers.''
What is important in life, Gadson said, is service.
''It is about what we put in and not what we get out,'' he said.
A group of 20 veterans being treated at the V.A. medical center in Butler, Pa., drove to Canton for the program. They included Iraq war veteran Jason Turner, 27, of Parkersburg, W.Va., a schoolteacher.
''You feel sorry for everyone involved,'' Turner said of the Texas shootings.
Christopher Tomayko, a certified recreational therapist at the Butler hospital who brought the group to Canton, said there was a feeling of ''total disbelief'' among the veterans he works with over the Fort Hood incident.
Donna Kuglics of Green, mother of Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, 25, who was killed in Iraq in June 2007 in a roadside bombing, spoke of being a Gold Star mother. She told the crowd of veterans how her world changed when three Air Force officials arrived at her home to notify the family of her son's death.
''I can't even begin to describe at that one precise moment how we felt,'' she said.
In school, she said, getting a gold star meant you had done exceptional work.
''Unfortunately, this is not the same gold star I am speaking of,'' she said. ''I am speaking of a Gold Star that says a family member, a mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter or sibling not only did their best but gave their all and gave their life.''
Her son, a Green High School graduate was halfway through his second tour in Iraq when he was killed. ''His halfway point is now frozen in time,'' she said. ''Matthew will be forever 25 and forever missed.''
At the end of her speech, she received a standing ovation.
Stephen A. Perry, president and executive director of the hall of fame, said many people consider NFL players and hall of fame members heroes but the players, the league and the hall of fame believe those in the military are the real heroes.
He called veterans ''America's true heroes because they commit themselves fully on a real battlefield.''
Veterans and current members of the military got free admission Saturday to the hall of fame.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
CANTON:The shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, were on the minds of veterans during a special program at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday honoring those who have served.
''It's devastating,'' Russ Furney, 81, a Marine during the Korean War era, said of the shooting rampage Thursday at an Army base in central Texas. Thirteen were killed and 30 were wounded.
Furney, of Canton, was one of a few hundred veterans who attended a special Veterans Day program Saturday sponsored by the hall of fame, the Army, Disabled American Veterans and 11 Good Energy. The program featured Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who lost both legs above the knee in a roadside bombing in Iraq in 2007.
Gadson, a West Point graduate who dreamed of playing in the National Football League and was a linebacker on the West Point football team, spoke of how he became honorary co-captain of the New York Giants and finally got a Super Bowl Ring in 2008 when the team won the Super Bowl.
Gadson, an Army War College Fellow at the Institute for World Politics, asked for prayers for those killed and wounded at Fort Hood.
''It's truly a tragedy,'' he said. ''I can attest that the power of prayer works. Please keep those families in your prayers.''
What is important in life, Gadson said, is service.
''It is about what we put in and not what we get out,'' he said.
A group of 20 veterans being treated at the V.A. medical center in Butler, Pa., drove to Canton for the program. They included Iraq war veteran Jason Turner, 27, of Parkersburg, W.Va., a schoolteacher.
''You feel sorry for everyone involved,'' Turner said of the Texas shootings.
Christopher Tomayko, a certified recreational therapist at the Butler hospital who brought the group to Canton, said there was a feeling of ''total disbelief'' among the veterans he works with over the Fort Hood incident.
Donna Kuglics of Green, mother of Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, 25, who was killed in Iraq in June 2007 in a roadside bombing, spoke of being a Gold Star mother. She told the crowd of veterans how her world changed when three Air Force officials arrived at her home to notify the family of her son's death.
''I can't even begin to describe at that one precise moment how we felt,'' she said.
In school, she said, getting a gold star meant you had done exceptional work.
''Unfortunately, this is not the same gold star I am speaking of,'' she said. ''I am speaking of a Gold Star that says a family member, a mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter or sibling not only did their best but gave their all and gave their life.''
Her son, a Green High School graduate was halfway through his second tour in Iraq when he was killed. ''His halfway point is now frozen in time,'' she said. ''Matthew will be forever 25 and forever missed.''
At the end of her speech, she received a standing ovation.
Stephen A. Perry, president and executive director of the hall of fame, said many people consider NFL players and hall of fame members heroes but the players, the league and the hall of fame believe those in the military are the real heroes.
He called veterans ''America's true heroes because they commit themselves fully on a real battlefield.''
Veterans and current members of the military got free admission Saturday to the hall of fame.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 02:07 PM, 11/11/2009
Thank you to all veterans past and now for
your ultimate sacrifice, all gave some, and some gave all, GOD BLESS EACH ONE of you, and watch over our soldiers in action, as we salute them.
AMERICAN AND PROUD OF IT!
