The Everyday Patriot Project

  First Lieutenant Donaldson Preston Tillar III was born on May 13, 1965, at Fort Still, Oklahoma and grew up in Highland Falls New York.  He attended Miller School and James O'Neil High School, where he played lacrosse before entering the US Military Academy at West Point.   First Lieutenant Tillar graduated from West Point in 1988, trained as a helicopter pilot, and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.  He continued both to play and to coach lacrosse throughout his career. He deployed with the 1st Infantry to Saudi Arabia in the Fall of 1990 to support Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War. On February 27, 1991, First Lieutenant Tillar would die during his service when his helicopter was shot down. He rests at Emporia Cemetery, Emporia, Virginia. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem...

  General Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Abilene, Kansas, on October 4, 1890. He graduated from Abilene High School in 1909. After high school, he worked at a creamery to contribute to his brother's college tuition for more than a year before receiving an appointment to West Point in 1911. He graduated from West Point in 1915. During World War I, he commanded a tank training center at Camp Colt and, in 1922, was in the Panama Canal Zone with General Fox Conner. He graduated from the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, in 1926 and then reported and toured for the War Department until 1929. In 1933, he became General Douglas MacArthur's aide. At the beginning of World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Chief of Staff of the Third Army and, later, in 1942, the Commander in Chief of the Allied Forces, commanding Operation Torch and D-Day. He was also the governor of the US Occupied Zone. After he retired from active service, General Dwight D. Eisen...

  Corporal Tibor Rubin was born on June 18, 1929, in Paszto, Hungary. In March 1944, when Nazi forces began their occupation of Hungary, his parents unsuccessfully tried to send him to Switzerland to avoid imprisonment. However, he was captured and sent to the Mauthausen Concentration camp. Corporal Tibor Rubin was liberated by American forces on May 5, 1945. Unfortunately, his father, stepmother, and youngest sister all died in Nazi camps. He emigrated to the Los Angeles area in May 1948 and worked as a butcher until February 1950, when he entered the US Army. Corporal Tibor Rubin trained as a rifleman and deployed to Korea with the 1st Cavalry Division. On October 30, 1950, with his unit overwhelmed, Corporal Rubin singlehandedly defended the Raegu-Pusan road for 24 hours so that his unit could withdraw. Eventually, on November 2, 1950, Corporal Rubin was severely injured and captured by the Chinese. He would spend the next 30 months as a prisoner of war.  During his impris...

  First Lieutenant James Robert Kalsu was born on April 13, 1945, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He graduated in 1963 from Del City High School and the University of Oklahoma in 1967. He was a noted football player throughout high school and college. He was named All-American in 1967 and was drafted in 1967 by the Buffalo Bills. First Lieutenant James Robert Kalsu earned the title "Rookie of the Year" in 1968. He was also a member of the ROTC in college and, after the 1968 season, began active duty with the US Army. First Lieutenant Kalsu deployed to South Vietnam in November 1969. He would die during his service on July 21, 1970, from heavy artillery fire during the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord. First Lieutenant James Robert Kalsu rests at the Resthaven Garden Cemetery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem...

  First Lieutenant Michael Neal Monroe was born in Auburn, Washington, on October 27, 1963. He graduated from Auburn High School and the University of Washington. Monroe was a musician and an athlete, participating in football, swimming, and cycling. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1986 and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Battalion. First Lieutenant Monroe deployed to the Persian Gulf in August 1990 in response to Desert Storm/Desert Shield and the Gulf War.   First Lieutenant Michael N. Monroe would die during his service on October 30, 1990, after a jeep accident during a night patrol. He rests at Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn, Washington. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to her travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also read her book reviews at  www.riteoffancy.com ...

  Chief Yeoman Loretta Perfectus Walsh was born on April 22, 1896, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from St. Patrick's High School. In response to World War I, she enlisted in the US Navy on March 17, 1917, becoming the first (sanctioned) woman to enlist in the US Navy in a non-nurse capacity and the first female yeoman. She was assigned to the US Naval Shipyards at Philadelphia and maintained their clerical records. Chief Yeoman Loretta Perfectus Walsh was released from active duty in July 1919 and remained in the reserves until March 17, 1921.   She died on August 6, 1925, from tuberculosis and rests at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Olyphant, Pennsylvania.   Her service was commemorated in two books, "Cross Currents: Navy Women from WWI to Tailhook" and "The First, The Few, The Forgotten: Navy and Marine Corps Women in WWI." The USS Constitution named one of its 24lb long guns "Perfectus" in her honor. * Read about a.d. elliott's Ever...

  Master Sergeant Maiko was born in June 2011 in the Netherlands. In October 2012, he entered training at the Shallow Creek Kennel in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania. He joined the US Army in January 2013. Master Sergeant Maiko was assigned to the 75th Rangers, where he worked as a Multipurpose Canine, detecting IEDs and assisting with building clearance. Master Sergeant Maiko died during his service on November 25, 2018. He diverted enemy fire during a raid, saving his handler and several other rangers while in the Nimruz Providence of Afghanistan. *Biographer's Note* As a dog, he was considered an asset, not a soldier, and technically did not have a rank. I'm using my prerogative as a taxpaying US citizen to assign him the rank of Master Sergeant.  Colonel Kitfre Oboho will just have to accept it. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virgini...