The Everyday Patriot Project

Private First Class Edward James Tipper Jr. was born on August 3, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan. His family returned to Ireland, and he spent his childhood there before returning to the Detroit area, where he worked at the J.K. Hudson department store before World War II. PFC Tipper attempted to enlist in the US Marines following the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, but was rejected due to dental problems. Instead, he enlisted in the US Army on August 24, 1942, and volunteered for the 101st Airborne.   He was assigned to E Company, 2nd Battalion. PFC Tipper trained at Toccoa, Georgia, and then Aldbourne, UK, before completing his first combat jump on D-Day, June 6, 1944. After landing, PFC Tipper was part of the Battle of Carentan and the attack on Marmion Farm, where he was severely injured in a mortar explosion, losing his right eye and breaking both legs. He spent his remaining service in the hospital. He was honorably discharged from the US Army in August 1945. After...

  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...