Troop Salute

The freedom that we enjoy in this country, and the freedom that we help other nations secure around the globe, is never free. We honor our service men and women here because the job they have volunteered to do to secure that freedom comes with a significant amount of risk to their lives.  These brave individuals put their lives on the line to make the world a better place. Today we salute a soldier who sacrificed his life to protect others. Today we salute Sergeant First Class Jeremy W. Griffin of the United States Army Special Operations Command. Sgt. 1st Class Griffin was killed in action by small arms fire during combat operations in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on Monday is this week. He was 41 years old. Griffin, who was from Greenbrier, Tennessee, served as a Special Forces communications sergeant with 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He was on his fourth combat deployment. "He was a father, he was a husband, he was a son, he was a Green Beret and he was an American hero," Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said. "The loss of Sgt. 1st Class Griffin is felt across the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Family and the entire Special Forces community," Col. Owen G. Ray, commander, 1st Special Forces Group said. "He was a warrior ? an accomplished, respected and loved Special Forces Soldier that will never be forgotten. We ask that you keep his Family and teammates in your thoughts and prayers." For his bravery and his dedication to the service, the nation, and his teammates; and for his ultimate sacrifice, today we salute Sergeant First Class Jeremy W. Griffin of the United States Army.

There are a lot of obvious reasons to join the military. We talk about all the benefits and the educational opportunities, and the life lessons that are available to our service men and women. Today's troop is showing us another benefit of military service that we may not have thought about prior. Today we salute Staff Sergeant Shane Durkin of the United States Army. Staff Sergeant Durkin has served 16 years in the army thus far, and is still going strong. The benefit that Durkin shows to us today is one he may not have even realized himself.  That benefit is impressing one's father-in-law. This salute was written to us by Shane's father-in-law Mark Wright. While so many others struggle to forge a relationship with their in-laws, or to even find common ground, Shane Durkin's father in law is so proud of him, he's letting the whole world know. "He's the father of my three grandchildren and he's my daughter's knight in shining armor." Says Mark with pride. He goes on to say that Durkin represents our nation's strength and character. It's obvious these two are close; Mark says that Shane presented him with the American Flag that flew over his base in Afghanistan. For his service to the nation, and for setting the example for all sons-in-law, today we salute Staff Sergeant Shane Durkin of the United States Army. 

Members of the same family serving together is something we talk about a lot on the Troop Salute. While we know a family tradition of service is not uncommon, the individuals we are saluting today bring another level of commitment to that family service, and they are the first to accomplish this very lofty achievement. Today we salute Major General Maria Barrett of the United States Army and Brigadier General Paula Lodi also of the US Army. These two Army Generals that we salute today are sisters. Major General Barrett is not only the senior officer of the two, but she is older sister to Brigadier General Lodi. Having two service members is not at all uncommon for one family, and even having two officers is not unusual, but having two Generals serving at the same time in one family is extremely uncommon. And there has never, ever been another occurrence of two sisters achieving the rank of General. This is the first time in the 244 year history of the US Army that it has ever happened. Brigadier General Lodi is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Army's Surgeon General's office, and was just promoted to the rank in July, while her sister, Major General Barrett, commands the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command. Both are outstanding officers and outstanding soldiers according to the Army Chief of Staff. And we think that both of these women are icons of strength, intelligence, perseverance, and possibility. And that is why today we salute: Major General Maria Barrett of the United States Army and her sister, Brigadier General Paula Lodi of the United States Army.

Today's salute comes from Sharron Taylor, written to us in honor of her father. "My dad, Troy E. Nelson, served in the U.S. Army during WW II. He was a medic with the 12th Armored Division, 43rd Tank Battalion, known as The Mystery Division. While he was in Frankfort Germany he got to meet his brother-in-law for the first time. Dad always wanted to go back and see what the country looked like, because he only remembered it as war torn and destroyed. I so wanted to do this for him but never was able.  Sadly, he is gone now and I miss hearing his "war stories". He and my mom celebrated 66 years of marriage; I miss them both so much, so thank you for this opportunity to honor them." Her dad had said he wanted to go back and see the country and meet the people because he was never at war with the citizens or the landscape, but he was there to defend freedom. Nelson never made it back to Europe, but Europe enjoys freedoms today because they were defended by Nelson and the other men from our American military that traveled there to fight for it. And that is why today, we salute Troy E. Nelson of the United States Army.

Today we salute a troop who followed his parent into the service of this nation.  Like so many others who we've saluted here, growing up with tales of service and the connection to our military led this American to do his part. Today we salute Samuel Corman of the United States Navy. Before you draw too many conclusions about this Sailor, there is one detail that makes this story a little different that so many others that you hear. Samuel followed his mother into the service and into the Navy. Corman's mother Shannon was an active duty Sailor in the navy for 6 years, and was still a member of the Navy reserves for most of Samuel's childhood. "He is proud of his mother's service", says his girlfriend Leanne who asked me to salute Samuel. "I think it's really cool that he is doing the same job that his mom did in the Navy, and I think it's also really cool that he is so proud of the fact that he's following her."  She said. Corman is military police in the Navy as was his mother before him. For continuing a tradition of service, and for following his mother into the service of this nation, today we salute Samuel Corman of the United States Navy.

Everyone here appreciates our troops.  That's why we do the troop salute. It's a safe bet that just about everyone in Country music appreciates our troops as well. Today's salute is from a very proud mother, she wants us to honor her son for all he did in the service, and all that he does now that he's out of the service.  She also slipped in a fun story that shows just how close Country Music is to our military. Today we salute Ed Linge of the United States Marine Corps. Ed's mother Janet is so proud of her son and his 10 years of service to the nation. Linge was a mechanic on the F-18A and spent much of his service stationed at Miramar Air Station in Southern California. Ed served one tour in Afghanistan that caused him to miss the birth of his first child. He received several medals and commendations while he was in. Janet says that Ed has become a leader in his community of Maple Valley now that he's out.  He's on the board of directors for the junior football league, and he coaches his daughters in softball. Janet had to share a great story from her son's time in the Marines. One night in 1999 he and his buddies went to a casino in Southern California to see a brand new country artist. After the show the artist came over to their table and bought them all a beer. He sat and visited for a while and talked with them about their service. That artist was Brad Paisley. For his service to that nation in the Marine Corps, and for his service to his community now, and for making his momma proud, today we salute Ed Linge of the United States Marine Corps.

Some people are just born with the drive and the desire to serve. When you find someone who is truly born with this trait, you probably couldn't stop them if you tried. Today we salute Rod Hanson of the United States Navy. Rod hasn't worn the uniform of a sailor for a long, long time. He dropped out of high school to join the Navy way back in 1945. When asked what drove him to enlist while there was a huge war raging around the world, Rod says "It seemed like everyone else was doing the same thing." While Hanson was in Basic training Germany surrendered.  Just before he was scheduled to graduate from boot camp, Japan did the same thing. Rod considers himself lucky in that way. He went back to the civilian world and continued to serve his community as a high school wood shop teacher for more than 30 years. After his retirement Rod became a full-time volunteer, working for Habitat for Humanity, for his church, and for his County Food Bank. At 92 years old Rod is still serving the community. Hanson repairs medical equipment for the Non-profit Medical Equipment Bank in Lacey, Washington, so that people who need wheelchairs or crutches, but can't afford them are able to pick them up free of charge. When he is not performing any of these other services, Rod Hanson retires to his home shop and makes handles for hand-powered scooters for people in Central and South America. Rod says he feels best when he's out working, and doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon. For his incredible life of service to this nation, and to his community we proudly salute Rod Hanson of the United States Navy.

ust when we think we've heard all the great stories about all the incredible people who make our military possible, we get messages that completely surprise us. Today we salute both Dennis Dow of the United States Army and the Army National Guard, and the troop that Dennis himself actually asked us to salute: his K9 partner Jag. Jag is a 15-year-old Black Lab Dennis has been working with since 2006. Dennis first joined the Army in 1989. From 1993 until 2006 he moved around in both the Army and then the National Guard, but always wanted to work with the K9's. Dennis' wife was also in the Army at the time, and ended up going off to K9 training school. In 2004, Dennis finally got his chance, when a friend of his wife's from her K9 unit told Dennis that he could get into handling school if he re-joined the Army full time. So at 36 years old he signed back in. In 2006 Dennis was paired with Jag who had just arrived at school after being trained by kids in youth detention. Before the end of their training, Dennis and Jag had orders to Afghanistan. Dennis says he has 100's of stories of Jag making everyone laugh with his antics at the most opportune times, and as many stories of Jag saving their lives as well.  Jag is a special type of Combat Bomb sniffing Dog. Now Dennis says he is elated that he AND Jag are retired and holding down "Fort Living Room" together. For sticking with the service and for keep everyone safe we salute Dennis Dow of the United States Army, and his partner Jag also of the United States Army.

Many of our Troop Salutes come from the moms and dads of those who serve, but some of our proudest also come in from the siblings of our troops, because you just know they probably fought and competed as kids but have now earned respect. Today we salute Private First Class Dylan Thompson of the US Marine Corps, sent in to us by his younger brother Cole. PFC Thompson is only 18 year old. His specialty now is working as a 3521 Motor Transport Mechanic - working on everything from 2.5 ton trucks to Hummers to Buffaloes and replacements and everything in between. He is currently serving at Camp Lejeune North Carolina. Cole asked us to salute him for his bravery and giving of himself to serve our country, and Fitz adds that he hopes Dylan doesn't punch his little brother too hard in the arm the next time he comes home because he is obviously very proud.

Today we salute First Sergeant Brad Michaels of the US Air Force. His son Zachariah wrote in to us after he heard that we do the Troop Salute every Monday, Wednesday and Friday here on 98.9 the Bull, and he knew he had to do one for his dad. First Sergeant Michaels served from 1986-1996 primarily working with munitions. He was a bomb dump assistant at various stations handling all kinds of ammunition, from bullets to bombs, serving in several bases including Germany and Korea. Zachariah says he always knew his father loved him and his family, but wishes they could have spent more time together. Following the Air Force, Brad became a police officer. But when the family had to relocate, and they needed more money, he became a long haul truck driver, which took him away from home for long periods of time. Sadly, Brad then became stricken with ALS - commonly knows as Lou Gehrig 's disease - from which he ultimately passed away. Zachariah says Brad was a wonderful dad who did everything he could for his family and even when he was away, they always knew he loved them.