White Screen Blues...

Not sure if anyone noticed that I evaporated this past week...

My laptop developed a 'white screen', would not shut down...leaving me no other choice than to donate it to a laptop graveyard. Apparently, there is a wacky virus circulating which my laptop caught. I had the option of removing the virus for a mere two hundred bones, or simply replacing the entire machine. I chose option #2. Sounds easy enough...except taking into account the data on the infected laptop. It all had to be transferred, however this virus was able to hide many files and applications. Transferring the data should have taken several hours...not several days. Long story short...I'm back with a new laptop...not so sure I'm a fan yet of this keyboard. I'll keep you posted.

May Almighty God Bless and protect each and every Airman, Soldier, Sailor and Marine.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Servicemembers killed in action are frequent and easy targets of identity theft, officials with the Internal Revenue Service told Military.com, adding a potential financial nightmare to the lives of the grief-stricken families of the fallen.

Erica Paci, whose husband -- Army Sgt. Anthony Paci -- was killed in Afghanistan in March of 2010, discovered in early June that his identity had been stolen when her accountant received a notice from the IRS rejecting her 2010 joint tax return. The IRS said that a return had already been filed under her husband’s social security number and that Paci had to wait up to six months to get her tax refund while they investigated the incident.

“Mostly it makes me angry,” Erica Paci said. “It just makes me angry that there are people out there that would target people that are suffering and try to make money off it.”

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office found that tax-related identity theft has increased nearly five-fold since 2008. And thanks to a free, searchable online database of social security numbers and death information, deceased persons are easy targets, said John Sileo, an identity theft expert who deals regularly with the military.

“It’s basically a list of people whose identities you can steal,” Sileo said.

The Social Security Administration is required under the Freedom of Information Act to release the social security numbers of deceased persons. The data base, known as the Social Security Death Index, is available for purchase through the Commerce Department. The listing was originally intended to be used by businesses to ensure that employees were not using stolen IDs, Sileo said. But it is also available to thieves via a free search engine on websites specializing in genealogical information.

Learn how you can avoid identity theft.

The identities of KIA servicemembers may be even easier targets than most deceased Americans because their deaths and surrounding information, such as mother’s maiden name, are often featured in media reports, Sileo said. And unless the thief seeks to use the information to access health care or other military benefits, families likely won’t notice the serivcemember’s identity was stolen until tax time, if ever, he said.

“There’s no one there to notice it when it happens,” Sileo said. “Because there aren’t measures in place to stop the theft of the identity, why not take somebody who is never going to protest?”

John Robertson, Erica Paci’s accountant, said he has advised her to contact the credit bureaus and other financial institutions about the theft to avoid any more harm. So far, he said, it appears the only financial damage has been to her pending tax return.

But because Sgt. Paci was military, both Robertson and Erica Paci are concerned that the theft could have even greater implications. All of her military death benefits, including healthcare for their three children, are linked to Sgt. Paci’s social security number.

Sgt. Paci’s information could also be used to access sensitive military data similar to a New Zealand case in which Sileo was involved.

“There was a case I worked on ... where a bunch of New Zealand military members’ IDs were used to generate passwords and military documents for [Israeli spy agency] Mossad,” Sileo said. “These were all dead Kiwis who were all ‘working’ for the Israeli spy agency. I have no question that there are many deceased still walking around in some other form -- it’s infuriating and it’s really sad.”

After mourning her husband for more than a year, knowing that someone today may be maliciously using his identity is sickening, Erica Paci said.

“If that is the case and there is someone taking it to the next level, that actually makes me feel like someone kicked me in the stomach,” she said. “Just the thought of a person walking around and saying they are him and going into a bank and spending money -- it literally is a cross of anger and a pain of sadness. It brings back the grief pain.”

The Paci case is not an isolated incident, an IRS official confirmed. Although the IRS is not the cause of the identity theft, they are often the first to detect it and end up inheriting the problem. And while an agency official said they have caught over $929 million in fraudulent refunds before payout, the problem continues to grow.

Amanda Hand, whose husband Spc. Andrew Hand was killed in Afghanistan in July, 2010, has been trying to get her tax refund since February when she was told by the IRS that her husband’s identity had been stolen. With her husband’s death benefit and life insurance in a trust fund for her children, she was planning to live in part off the refund.

“My refund is supposed to be almost $8,000,” Hand said. “It’s just everything all at once just hitting us, and I just don’t know what to do about this IRS thing anymore. ... There’s somebody out there that’s taking money from a Soldier who died, taking that away from his family and that’s wrong, really wrong.”

Hand said she feels like the IRS has given her a runaround, refusing to answer questions about the investigation or give her information about when her refund will come through.

The IRS, which runs a hotline for identity theft victims, also has a separate partnership with DoD. providing military members free tax filing help through on base tax centers. They do not, however, have a specific office or phone number dedicated to helping families of the fallen sort through identity theft.

“We do want to work with the victims of this and help with this as much as we possibly can,” said Julianne Fisher Breitbeil, an IRS spokesperson. “We’re very well aware that this is an incredibly stressful time for them.”

Source: military.com

Love Those F-16's!

F-16 fighters of the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, perform during a Romanian - U.S. airshow at Kogalniceanu airport, 250 km east of Bucharest June 8, 2011.
Source: militaryphotos.net

My Baby is Twenty-Two!

It feels like only yesterday.

It feels like only yesterday, I met my baby boy... a sweet gift from God.

It feels like only yesterday, he smiled at me for the first time.

It feels like only yesterday, I cried as I watched him climb into the school bus.

It feels like only yesterday, he came into the house covered in mud from playing in the creek.

It feels like only yesterday, he went on his first camping trip.

It feels like only yesterday, he ran his first Cross Country Meet.

It feels like only yesterday, I watched him walk across the stage and receive his diploma.

It feels like only yesterday, I hugged him as he boarded the plane for Air Force Basic Training.

It feels like only yesterday, we danced at his wedding.

It feels like only yesterday.





John, I wish you the Happiest Birthday ever! May this new year of your life be filled with many Blessings.
I am so deeply proud of you.
I love you so very much.

Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself.
Follow you heart and nothing else.
And you can do this if you try.
All I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

So Much More Than a Transfer Case! (Part II)

I was able to find the name of the fifth Soldier killed in Iraq on Monday. His name is Robert Hartwick...and here is his story and his face.



COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Hocking County solder was among the two Ohioans and five Americans who were killed Monday in Iraq.

Army Spc. Robert P. Hartwick, 20, of Rockbridge, Ohio, died when insurgents launched an attack on his base, according to the Pentagon. Hartwick was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment.

Hartwick graduated from Logan High School in 2009.

Killed were Spc. Emilio Campo, Pfc. Michael Cook, Pfc. Christopher Fishbeck, Spc. Robert Hartwick, and Pfc. Michael Olivieri.

The soldiers deployed to Iraq in November 2010. They were part of the 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, supporting the development of Iraq forces and the improvement of civilian life in central Iraq.

Each of the soldiers had served less than two years and were on their first deployment.

Cook, 27, was from Middletown, Ohio, the Pentagon announced.

Source: 10tv.com

So Much More Than a Transfer Case!

A U.S. Air Force C-5 cargo plane arrives at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, with the transfer cases containing the remains of Army Pfc. Micahel C. Olivieri of Chicago, Pfc. Christopher B. Fishbeck of Victorville, CA, Pfc. Michael B. Cook of Middletown, Ohio and Emilio J. Campo of Madelia, MN. Our soldiers were killed in Iraq. These transfer cases contain the remains of our heroes. I am posting photos of their faces (unable to find all faces, yet!) and stories of their lives, so they are remembered and never forgotten!

May Almighty God Bless these brave Warriors!
May Almighty God comfort the families who love them so!

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MADELIA, Minn. -- 20-year-old Sgt. Emilio Campo, Jr. has been killed in Iraq. Campo, an army medic from Madelia in Southern Minnesota, was killed Monday in combat.

His community is feeling the loss.

It's the last week of school at Madelia High School, where teachers and students say they can't stop thinking about Campo.

"It's been heartbreaking," said Samantha Dawn Bestick, a classmate of Campo's. "He would just make friends where ever he went. He was really happy. I don't think I've ever seen him mad."

Campo was in the Class of 2009 at Madelia. His choice to train as an army medic surpriced no one.

"He was always just helping people. I mean no matter what," said classmate Dustin Van Hale. "It didn't matter who you were or what you were doing, he was always helping you. He was always looking out for everybody."

When word came that Emilio had been killed, his city put up the 4th of July flags in his honor, as his classmates hung yellow ribbons.

Campo's heart was still very much in Madelia.

Madelia High School Principal Allan Beyer said Emilio came to visit his old school when he was home on leave.

"He'd stop and say hi to us in the office and visit. He would visit with teachers. He would go around visit with students," said Beyer.

His picture seems to be on every page of his high school yearbook.

Campo played varsity football, basketball, ran track, was a member of the Business Professionals of America, and sang in the choir.

Madelia Athletic Director Paul Carpenter said he will be missed.

"When he graduated from school there was a big piece of our school missing and leaving when he graduated," Carpenter said.
Emilio's younger brother Hugo is a member of the junior class at Madelia.

His older brother Hector also joined the military after graduating from Madelia.

Friends say his parents have traveled to the east coast to greet their son's body when it arrives back in America.

The army has release no specifics of how Sgt. Campo died, though his death coincides with a rocket attack that killed five American servicemen earlier this week.
Source: kare11.com



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A former Butler County resident is one of five American soldiers who were killed in a Monday rocket attack in central Iraq.

On Tuesday, the Air Force listed Pfc. Michael B. Cook Jr. as one of several soldiers whose bodies were to arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Cook, who lived in Liberty
Twp. from July 2003 to June 2010, was killed on his 27th birthday. He had been stationed in Iraq since November, and his wife, Samantha, is in Fort Riley, Kan. They have two children, Hailee, 7, and Michael B. Cook III, 3.

A 2003 graduate of Salem High School in New Hampshire, Cook’s father and mother — Michael B. and Patti Cook — live in Salem, as do his siblings, Lucas and Kimberly Cook.

The rocket attack was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in a year, according to the Los Angeles Times wire service. The five had been serving as advisers for Iraqi national police at a base in eastern Baghdad.

“There was just this certain spark about him,” said David Conte, who was in Cook’s wedding party in 2004. “You couldn’t quite put a finger on it. It’s hitting me pretty hard right now.”

“Mike left behind a lot,” said Susan Bahrakis, the wife of a cousin of Cook’s father. “He was a very devoted father and a loving brother and he loved his parents so much.”

Cook enlisted in the Army about a year ago, said Bahrakis, who said the young family lived in New Hampshire and Ohio before moving to Kansas.
Source: Middletown Journal


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Army Pfc. Christopher B. Fishbeck graduated from the Field Artillery Automated Tactical Data Systems Specialist Advanced Individual Training course at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.As members of the Army's field artillery team, the course is designed to train soldiers as specialists to operate the advanced field artillery tactical data systems for both cannon and multiple launch rocket systems. The specialists play a critical role in the safe, accurate, and lethal delivery of the field artillery's various fire support systems used to support infantry and tank units in combat. Skills training included methods of computing target locations using computers or manual calculations, ammunition handling techniques, and operating and performing maintenance on related equipment, vehicles, generators, and artillery tactical and data systems.He is the son of Gary D. Fishbeck and Toni Kay of Clovis St., Victorville, Calif.The private is a 2005 graduate of Kennedy High School, La Palma, Calif.
Source: Armed Forces News Services

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Pfc. Michael C. Olivieri of Chicago was also killed. I tried to find a photo and a story of this soldier and was unable to locate anything other than a photo of his transfer case. If any of you are able to find information, please pass it along. So far the name of the fifth soldier killed has not been released.


****Special thanks to Pax for passing along information regarding Pfc. Olivieri and Pfc. Cook...we now have their faces!

Wednesday Hero 06/08/2011

Soldiers render salutes through a rendition of taps during a ceremony May 26 at the Mountain Post Warrior Memorial. Fort Carson honors the lives lost in support of Overseas Contingency Operations by adding names to the memorial stones.

Photo Courtesy Army.mil Taken By Dustin Senger

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.


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Special thanks to Christopher Lee for keeping our Heroes on our hearts and in our minds.