Kentuckians at War

A flight carrying 71 Tristate veterans and their escorts departs at 8 am. Tuesday from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Washington to see visit national memorials. Honor Flight Tri-State is a nonprofit organization that flies World War II and Korean War veterans to their memorials in Washington at no cost. The flight returns at 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.  Read more...

A new Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame will honor people who came back and made a positive impact on their community. Organizers of the private Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., are planning to select a first-ever class of up to 20 inductees in November. Nominations are being sought.

Thousands of volunteers gather this weekend for a clean-up at America’s Civil War battlefields.  From Maryland to California, they’ll clear away winter-time debris and make the parks ready for summertime visitors.  At the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, organizer Joan House says they’ll work on 500-acres of battlefield just acquired for the site.

A Lexington based organization that supports military personnel serving overseas is expanding its program.   For several years, Military Missions has shipped care-packages to soldiers.  This holiday season, the organization has launched an ‘Adopt-A-Hero’ program.  Military Missions Volunteer Larry Neuzel says donors can send items to specific service men and women.   “We have some in Kuwait.  I saw one the other day from Korea, so anybody that’s overseas that have gone to our website and we have a place on there where you can add a hero.  We do this all year long, not just at Christmas time.

In hindsight, we know the Battle of Perryville permanently removed Kentucky from the Confederacy.  But, it was a Southern victory and, at the time, the issue was in doubt. 

FRANKFORT – Gov. Steve Beshear Wednesday announced that a team of Kentuckians will work to find better ways to help military service members, veterans and their families with substance abuse and mental health challenges. “When those who have sacrificed so much already need help with substance abuse or mental health issues, we have to be ready with resources to support them as they heal,” Beshear said in a statement released by his office. “The team is expected to develop recommendations on how best to make that help available for the military and veteran families who need it."

Kentucky this week marks a major milestone at one of its historic sites. Over the weekend, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Richmond was commemorated.  Joining in Kentucky’s Civil War commemoration was Pulitzer prize winning author Mark Neely.   Neely, who spoke last week at Eastern Kentucky University, won the prize in 1991 for his history, The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties.  Neely told WEKU’s John Hingsbergen that the US Constitution helped the Union with the war.

In an unexpected development, an Iraqi refugee pleaded guilty in federal court in Louisville to terrorism-related charges.Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 24, of Bowling Green, pleaded guilty to five counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to terrorists, four counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, two counts of making false statements on an immigration form and conspiracy to possess, receive, transfer and export surface-to-air missile launcher systems.

More than 200 National Guard soldiers were reunited with their families after a year apart at a welcome-home ceremony on Saturday afternoon at Home of the Freedom ball park in Florence. The 1204th Aviation Support Battalion, based in Independence, was the last Kentucky unit to leave Iraq as U.S. troops were withdrawn in December. The soldiers were then sent to Kuwait, where they provided maintenance, logistics and communications support.

Mourners saluted at the funeral for Army Pfc. Dustin Gross held at the Montgomery County High School Thursday. Gross was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan last week after being in the country just about six weeks.

The Japanese government surrendered to Allied forces in 1945, but World War Two came to an official end in April, 1952, when a peace treaty went into effect.  Witnessing the declaration of peace, 60 years ago, were members of the 24th Infantry Division Band.  The American soldiers were in Japan on occupation duty.

Relatives of Kentuckians who died in Vietnam are being urged to submit photos and other remembrances of their loved ones to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.   Eastern Kentucky University later this week hosts a touring version of the Vietnam Memorial.  Lee Allen with the Memorial Fund says his organization launched a national campaign to get photos of all those people named on the wall.   Of the one thousand 58 Kentuckians who died during the Vietnam War, Allen says 625 pictures are still being sought.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense says the country has made a turning point in its military history, including a new defense strategy with $487 billion of spending cuts; but he says it’ll take more sacrifice to maintain the U.S. position as a global leader. Panetta addressed an audience over 1,000 at the University of Louisville’s Papa John Stadium Thursday night. This was the first visit from a sitting Defense Secretary to U of L’s McConnell Center for Political Leadership lecture series.

Managing personal finances can present unique challenges… especially to military families.  Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions is offering a revised ‘Financial Field Manual’ to those families.  State spokeswoman Kelly May says it’s meant to help military families steer clear of scams.

The University of Louisville is trying to encourage members of Kentucky’s National Guard to take advantage of the school’s programs. U of L signed a memorandum of understanding with Kentucky’s National Guard Friday that’ll increase the university’s effort in offering programs and services that could benefit soldiers, said Renee Finnegan, executive director of military initiatives for U of L.

Three members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) 4th Brigade Combat Team (Currahees) were honored Monday for bravery under fire in Afghanistan last June. Their citations were pinned on them by Col. Valery C. Keaveny Jr., the commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 506th Infantry Regiment.