The Purpose Behind the Everyday Patriot Project



The Everyday Patriot project began nearly twelve years ago, during the first deployment of my oldest son. As the daughter of a Vietnam War combat US Army veteran, the wife of a US Navy veteran, and the mother of two US Army infantry veterans, I have always been aware of the human cost of our military.

However, in 2012, during my oldest son's first Afghanistan deployment, that cost hit me even harder when a widely publicized blue-on-green attack occurred at the post to which my son was assigned.  Like every other parent, I waited on pins and needles in the hope that it was not my son. Two days later, I received the call from the battalion.  My son was safe. However, Staff Sergeant Jordan Bear and Specialist Payton Jones were killed in the attack.  The emotional impact was overwhelming, and my heart still hurts for the families of these young men.  The press rarely mentioned their names and always referred to these men as "service members" or "troops." I began to resent the casualness with which the US military is deployed and the casualness of our media in reporting on them.

I began the Everyday Patriot project to document our service members' humanity, tell a little bit about their lives outside of the military, and provide more than a name to their medals and headstones. Many sites describe their medal citations better than I do—www.cmohs.org and valor.militarytimes.com are two of my favorites. The rest of the information I gather is from public records and newspaper articles. 

I tend to gloss over their military careers and write only the roughest sketches of combat deaths because, to be quite frank, as the mother of two infantrymen who have been under fire, reading about the final moments of any service member's life is absolutely devastating. I've cried for every single one who has died during their service, no matter how long ago. I have found it nearly impossible to describe more than just the barest facts surrounding combat deaths.

It's a labor of love that I will never finish, but it is still worth it.

I write these sketches because our troops are also our people; we must never forget that.

Written with love and support of our troops.

a.d. elliott



****************************************

a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the 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 be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

#TaketheBackRoads

Like my page? Please consider supporting my work by visiting my sponsors, my webshop, or by buying me a cup of coffee!



Popular posts from this blog

A Soldier's Story: Lieutenant Sorrell Booke - Korean War

Image
Lieutenant Sorrell Booke was born on January 4, 1930, in Buffalo, New York. Always a performer, he made impressions for the local radio stations while attending Bennet High School, where he graduated class valedictorian in 1948. After high school, Lieutenant Sorrell Booke attended Columbia University, then moved to Yale University to receive his master's degree. However, his college education was briefly interrupted by his enlistment in the US Army during the Korean War, where Lieutenant Booke served as a counterintelligence officer. In 1960, after many years spent on the stage, Lieutenant Sorrell Booke made his way to Hollywood. He took on several roles in film, including one in the movie Black Like Me, before focusing on television roles. Lieutenant Sorrell Booke was nominated for an Emmy for his role in Dr. Kildare. He also appeared on M*A*S*H and All in the Family before landing his most famous role, that of Boss Hogg, in the television series Dukes of Hazzard, a part h...
Read more

An Airman's Story: Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara

Image
Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara was born on February 19, 1943, in Pollagh, Ireland. He immigrated to the U.S. at one-month-old aboard the USS Baltic and grew up in Parma, Ohio. Staff Sergeant Francis McNamara enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Services on March 19, 1942, in response to World War II and was trained as an ariel gunner. He was assigned to the 11th Bombardment Group and deployed to the Pacific theater. On May 27, 1943, during a rescue mission, the plane he was on, the Green Hornet, crashed into the Pacific. Staff Sergeant Francis McNamara, First Lieutenant Russell Allen Phillips, and First Lieutenant Louis Zamperini were the only survivors and were adrift in the ocean. After 33 days, on June 30, 1943, Staff Sergeant Francis Pershing McNamara succumbed to starvation and exposure and was buried at sea. He is memorialized in the Court of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****************************...
Read more

A Soldier's Story: Sergeant James Oliver Rigney Jr - Vietnam War

Image
Sergeant James Oliver Rigney Jr was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 17, 1948. After his high school graduation, he attended Clemson University and played collegiate football. Sergeant Rigney left college after one year to enlist in the US Army. Training as a gunner, Sergeant James Oliver Rigney Jr. deployed twice to Vietnam with the 68th Assault Helicopter Squadron.   He returned to the US in 1970 and enrolled at The Citadel, where he studied physics. Sergeant James Oliver Rigney Jr. graduated in 1974 and began working for the US Navy at the Charleston Naval Shipyard.  In 1977, Sergeant James Oliver Rigney fell from a submarine in drydock, severely injuring his leg and requiring the reconstruction of his knee. His recovery process was long and was complicated by blood clots. Sergeant Rigney decided during his convalescence to become a writer. He began writing historical works under Reagan O'Neal before writing Western novels as Jackson O'Reilly. Sergeant Ja...
Read more