WEB RINGS MECHANICAL  POSTCARDS ABOUT PRIVACY POLICY GUEST BOOK

 

 

 

Liberty Rising

My Liberty Rising gallery emphasizes the resilience of the American spirit and the triumph of freedom over terrorism. There are 25 renderings here, all of which are my own original creations.  These graphics are free. Use them for your site or in your emails.  It would be wonderful to launch Lady Liberty into the ethers.  Take whatever you want. Click the image and use the "save as" feature to download the image to your computer.

Back From Iraq: A Letter from Home

 

My brother-in-law, USMC Colonel Duane Silvestri, came back to us from Kuwait, An Nasiriyah, Ad Diwaniya, An Najaf, Karbala, Al Hillah and Baghdad--dusty, dangerous and deadly places all. While Duane was gone, his wife, Teri, gave birth to their son, Aiden. Duane's mother, Helen Silvestri, was with Teri when the baby was born. Everyone in the family waited for the day when our Marine would come home safely.  Someone else waited too--Jordan Waugh, a boy who had not even met Duane yet. The subsequent meeting of the boy and the man, and what brought them together, is detailed in a July 4, 2003 feature story, reprinted here with the permission of The Daily World .  Mute the volume if you do not want to hear Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."  (But then again, who wouldn't want to hear it?)

 

 

No Fly Zone in Iraq

This video is not typical of my work but it seems inconceivable to me that American soldiers have to rely on supplies funded not through the government but by the people--family, friends, and groups. Did you ever dream there would come a time when you might be asked to buy body armor?  With that in mind, this link will take you to a video featuring an acoustic guitar solo accompanied by a presentation of photographs taken by others in Iraq. Music and lyrics by John Vanko. 

This video is also available on YouTube and MySpace.

 

 

 

For Those Spending Christmas in Iraq

 

While Christmas is over, hostilities in Iraq are not.  I created this site in December 2003 as a tribute to military personnel who would not be coming home for Christmas.  I'm going to keep the site as it is.  The links page still provides current information about how you can express your appreciation for sacrifices made by our military and their families.

 

Other sites:

 

Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Tim Rivera maintains the remarkable web site that includes short profiles of the fallen.

 

Casualties in Iraq: The Human Cost of Occupation
Edited by Margaret Griffis

 

Department of Defense online statistics

 

We miss and love you Mom/BBR! Happy 4th!


During the Revolutionary War, several patriots made flags for our new nation. Among them were Cornelia Bridges, Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross, and Rebecca Young, all of whom were from Pennsylvania, and John Shaw of Annapolis, Maryland.

Although Betsy Ross, the best known of these persons, made flags for 50 years, there is no proof that she made the first Stars and Stripes. It is known that she made flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy in 1777. The flag popularly known as the "Betsy Ross flag," which arranged the stars in a circle, did not appear until the early 1790's.

 

 

WEB RINGS MECHANICAL  POSTCARDS ABOUT PRIVACY POLICY GUEST BOOK

 Unless otherwise stated, copyright held by Barbara Beck-Ramsay, ©1980-2008

 Unless otherwise stated, copyright held by Jason P. Silvestri, ©2008-2009