The Everyday Patriot Project

Sergeant Young Min Dillon was born on November 28, 1963, in Seoul, Korea. His family was repatriated to the Colorado area while he was young, and he graduated from Aurora schools, enlisting his the US Army shortly after his high school graduation. He was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division and deployed to the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm / Desert Shield. On February 26, 1991, shortly before the tank assault on Hussein's troops, Sergeant Young Min Dillon earned a Silver Star. He, racing against the start time of the assault, would travel back to operations to pick up a replacement radio for his M113. He would complete the repairs on the radio under fire. He would then enter the gun turret of the M113. Unfortunately, a US round would fall short of its target and hit his turret. Sergeant Young Min Dillon rests in Denver, Colorado's Fort Logan National Cemetery. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a....

Corporal Isaiah Mays was born on February 16, 1858, as an enslaved person, in Carter's Bridge, Virginia. He enlisted in the US Army in September 1881 and was assigned to the 24th Infantry and sent to Arizona Territory. Corporal Mays earned a Congressional Medal of Honor during the Wham Paymaster Robbery.  On May 11, 1889, Corporal Mays was assigned to the security detail, moving payroll from Fort Grant to Fort Thomas.   They were attacked by a group of eleven men.  Corporal Isaiah Mays would, under fire, crawl over the desert territory to get reinforcements. After his contract ended in September of 1893 and he retired from the military, he remained in the West, working as a general laborer in Arizona Territory.  He fell ill in 1922 and entered the Arizona State Hospital, dying there in 1925. Corporal Isaiah Mays was initially interred in the hospital's cemetery, but on May 29, 2009, the Old Guard Riders re-interred him in Arlington Cemetery with ...

Corporal Clifton Thiemer "Tip" Speicher was born on March 25, 1931, in Gray, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the US Army in January of 1951, shortly before his 20th birthday, and deployed to Korea for the Korean War with the 223 Infantry Regiment that June. On June 14, 1952, Corporal Clifton "Tip" Speicher earned a Congressional Medal of Honor while his unit attempted to take an important sector. His unit was pinned down by machine-gun fire, and while wounded, Corporal Tip Speicher left his cover and charged the machine-gun embankment, receiving additional wounds. He disabled the nest by killing two enemy fighters with his rifle and one with his bayonet. Corporal Speicher crested the hill with his unit before succumbing to his wounds. Corporal Clifton Speicher rests in the Beam Cemetery in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, a...

Private First Class John Joseph Deasy was born on November 6, 1886, in Ballinadee, Ireland.  He immigrated to the United States and began working at the Blair County Hospital as an attendant.  He enlisted in the US Army on April 3, 1918,  in response to World War I and deployed to France. Private First Class John  Deasy was assigned to the 320th Ambulance CO of the 80th Division and would carry wounded out of the Meuse-Argonne, the Artois Sector, and St. Mehiel until his discharge on June 9, 1919. After the war, he worked as a policeman. Private First Class John Joseph Deasy died on November 18, 1953, and rests at the Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. * 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...

Sergeant Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in Boston, Massachuttes.   He was always very industrious, selling newspapers and cards and shining shoes while growing up. He also began performing in theater while still in grade school. He would continue in his goal to be an actor, although his parents wished that he would have attended college. Sergeant Leonard Nimoy's officially launched his acting career at the age of 17, when he took on the role of Ralphie from Awake and Sing by Clifford Odets. He would perfect his craft through acting classes at Boston College and the Pasadena Playhouse, although, after enrolling in Konstantin Stanislavsky's courses, Sergeant Nimoy became a committed method actor. In 1953 he enlisted in the US Army Reserves and was assigned to the Special Services unit, where he was charged with creating shows and events for troop entertainment. Sergeant Nimoy finished his contract honorably in 1955. He returned to acting after his di...

Brigadier General Jacob Zeilin was born on July 16, 1806, in Philadephia, Pennsylvania.  He attended the U.S. Military Academy from 1822 to 1825 but left before his graduation and wouldn't be commissioned into the US Marine Corps until October 1, 1831. His first station was shore duty in the Philadelphia and Virginia yards before being assigned to the USS Erie in 1832. In 1936 he returned to shore duty, this time at yards in Massachusettes and New York, before being posted to another boat aboard the USS Columbus in 1842 Brigadier General Zeilin patrolled to Brazil and along the coast of South America before moving to the USS Congress in 1845 to support the Mexican-American war. He participated in the Conquest of California, the action at San Gabriel River, the Capture of Los Angeles, and the Battle of La Mesa. He was briefly assigned the Commandant of San Diego before he returned to Mexico for the capture of the Guaymas and Mazatlan. Brigadier General Zeilin would then ...

Chief Warrant Officer Thalia Suzanne Ramirez was born on May 15, 1984, and spent most of her childhood in Kenya, where she attended the Braeburn Academy. She enlisted in the US Army shortly after repatriating to Texas.  Initially, Chief Warrant Officer Thalia  Ramirez trained in Water treatment but would switch careers and enter the cavalry after training to be a helicopter pilot. She was an avid Call of Duty player. Chief Warrant Officer Thalia Ramirez deployed to the Logar providence of Afghanistan, and on September 5, 2012, her Kiowa helicopter crashed after taking fire. She rests at Arlington. * 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  and US military biographies at  ...

Storekeeper First Class Hector Eugene Wade was born on February 7, 1918, in Greenville, South Carolina. He was raised in Virginia and eventually settled in Columbia, North Carolina. Storekeeper First Class Hector Wade enlisted in the US Navy during World War II and served aboard the USS Fury and USS Kerstin for the duration. He returned to Columbia, North Carolina, to raise a family. He retired to Tarpon Springs, Florida, where, on February 13, 2012, Storekeeper First Class Hector Eugene Wade died. He rests in the Oakwood Cemetery in Columbia, North Carolina. * 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  and US military biographies at  www.everydaypatriot.com Her online photography gallery can ...