Saturday, March 30, 2013

SSG Jason R Arnette: We will remember and honour



Reprint of original posted in 2010....


Name: Arnette, Jason
Birthday: 11/07/1982
Date of Death: 04/01/2007
Age: 24
Rank: SSG
Service: Army


"It's funny how things roll in your direction when you think everything is all good in the hood. Life can switch momentum on you in a flash but don't let it get you down as long as you can do something about it." - Jason Arnette in an email to his sister.


That is taken from a profile CJ did of this fallen hero on They Have Names.

I have written about Jason and his family a couple of times. A year ago, I wrote about a bridge being named to honour his service and sacrifice:
Friday, April 3, 2009

SSG Jason Arnette: A bridge connecting hearts

Today in Amelia County, Virginia, a very special ceremony is being held to rename a bridge as the SSG JASON R ARNETTE MEMORIAL BRIDGE. [...]



Jason was a fine soldier, whose whole attitude in life was one of determination, honor, loyalty.




Jason Arnette

Mum Mickey gave a speech at the bridge dedication, which went - in part:


...One of Jason's dreams was to be the BEST OF BEST. He pushed himself to do the Best that he could strive for. That is the example he set for all us all. He wanted to go down in the record books being famous. And I guess he got that wish. He will never be Forgotten.
He wrote a letter for my Birthday one year: let me read some of it to you now;
Dear Mom,
So your little man has now grown up. Ready to step in to the world stronger than ever. Just to let you know that you are my motivation with all things, all through life you have made me feel like I am the best at whatever it was I was doing or have done. I want to thank you for loving me the way you do. One thing I will always remember about myself is I always had my mother to keep me safe, I always had your love, and you pushed me along for all things and you would fight for me no matter what. Thank you Mom I will always love you. Love, Your little man Dayday...
[...]

I would like to quote another Gold Star Mother;
  • America is blessed to have dedicated men and women who voluntarily commit to service in our armed forces. They stand in defense of the values and principles that made our nation great.
  • God gives the heart of a warrior to those who are willing to answer the call for freedom and justice. They willingly sacrifice in hopes of contributing to a better world, Give honor where honor is due- to God who calls, to the grateful nation who sends, to the brave hero who goes and to the loved ones who prayerfully stay behind....

Go here to read more of that day. I also included Mickey in My Heroes of the Year: The Families column here.

Beloved son, brother, husband, friend and HERO; three years since that day when Jason gave his all, his life matters, will always matter. The boy, the man, lives on in all who love him.

Jason Arnette
(courtesy They Have Names)

On the Arlington Cemetary site, there is this about Jason:
Purple  Heart Medal
..."My son lived and died doing what he liked doing," his mother, Michelle Arnette, said last night. "He loved the discipline and the structure."


The bigger the challenge, his mother said, "the more he aspired to do it." During his five years in the Army, she said, he served one tour in Korea and was sent three times to Iraq.


Her son, she said, was "a special young fellow" who was so friendly that "he never met a stranger." At Amelia County High School, he had been in the ROTC and had played soccer, she said. Those who played with him remained among his closest friends, she said.


At 13 and again at 16, she said, Arnette and others from Amelia's Faith Christian Church traveled to Guatemala for the building projects.


In school, Arnette was a year ahead of Shenandoah Sky Hughes; they became close while he was in the Army and married in 2004.


"He was ready to start a life," his wife said last night. "He wanted kids. He would have been a really great father."


Arnette was adventurous, a lover of sports and the outdoors, and wanted to become a history teacher, his wife said.


She said he "accepted everybody" and believed he could "connect with anybody."...
[...] He loved to tell stories, she said, and "he loved me very, very much."


Go read more about this special young man here.
...They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them....




We will remember them

I promise you, Jason: I WILL always remember and honour you, and your family, with gratitude, respect and love.

ADDENDUM:

A friend, and brother in arms, shared a story about Jason, that truly shows who he is. He gave me permission to add it here. Read on:

Russ Davis
All I can give you on this day is a story....

On our second tour, when we were at Liberty, everyone was super excited because we were gonna get a Popeye's Chicken next to the PX. Those of us who'd served in Korea were especially jazzed because in Camp Casey, Popeye's was the most popular place to eat. Jason and I decided that when it opened, we'd roll down to the PX together and score some of that rad biscuit w/Cajun gravy action. LOL

The days rolled by, the days got hot, and the surge got tiresome. Yet those of us in the know, knew what kind of cullinary perfection awaited us in just a few weeks, and that made everything a bit more endurable. LOL

Finally, the day was almost there. We were getting giddy. One night, while I was asleep in my rack, I heard a few rocket impacts about a mile off. Didn't think much of it. (You know where this is going...;>) The next day, Jason hopped behind the wheel of one of the company Humvees, I hopped in the shotgun seat, and somebody else jumped in the back. We sped down the road, ready to stand in a 2 hour line for some cullinary radditude. We got to the PX..........and froze.
The one friggin time Ali Babba fired a rocket and hit anything of value was this. Although the rocket was fired at aprox. 0200, and therefore (thank Christ) no one was there to get hurt, one of the rockets landed plumb on the roof of our beloved, unshriven Popeye's!! I jumped out of the Humvee, grabbed a scorched biscuit, raised it to the sky, and screamed with all my indignance - "WWWWHHHHHYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!"...

After we policed the area in order to make sure that no consumable chicken was left, (Never leave a drumstick behind....) We hopped back into the truck, and headed back to our pad. 1/2 way through, we began to chuckle. I don't know who said it first, but the 3 of us realized that we had a story strait out of "M*A*S*H to tell someday.

That's why I liked Jason. He could find the humor in anything.;>
Much love,
Davis

Thank you for sharing this, Russ, and thank YOU for your service..

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Some Gave All: Lance Corporal Jamie Webb

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), died in an ISAF Hospital in Afghanistan on 26 March 2013.


Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire)(MoD picture)


Lance Corporal Webb died as a result of wounds sustained during an insurgent attack on his patrol base in the Nad ‘Ali district of Helmand province on 25 March 2013.

Lance Corporal Jamie Webb was born on 6 October 1988 in Wilmslow, and attended Wilmslow High School and Macclesfield College. He enlisted in the British Army aged 18 and joined 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment in September 2006. His first posting with B Company took him to Ballykinler, Northern Ireland on Operation Banner.

On return from Northern Ireland, Lance Corporal Webb again deployed on operations, this time to Iraq on Operation Telic 11. He spent 3 months in Iraq with B Company involved in security operations. In January 2009, Lance Corporal Webb moved from B Company to C Company where he continued to shine as an intelligent, fit and enthusiastic soldier. 

Lance Corporal Webb subsequently deployed with 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (1 MERCIAN) on 2 tours of Afghanistan. On his first tour in 2010, as part of Operation Herrick 12, he served as a rifle section second-in-command in the Nahr-e Saraj area operating with the Danish battlegroup. Although he was only a private soldier at the time he undertook the role of a junior non-commissioned officer and developed a reputation for hard work, strong leadership and reliability.

As a result of his performance on operations in Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Webb was recommended for promotion and successfully completed a junior non-commissioned officer cadre in October 2011. He was immediately promoted from private to lance corporal and assumed the role of infantry section second-in-command.

Lance Corporal Webb deployed on his second tour of Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 17 in October 2012, as part of Transition Support Unit Nad ‘Ali, led by 1 MERCIAN battlegroup. Working as a Company intelligence collator and section second-in-command he displayed a sharp, analytical mind and a deep understanding of the operational environment and the Afghanistan campaign.

Lance Corporal Webb was a justifiably proud Mercian Regiment soldier; despite his young age and short time in the Army he achieved a huge amount. He deployed on 4 operational tours and developed a reputation for being a highly capable junior commander. He was an outgoing, upbeat and popular member of C Company who will be sorely missed by his brothers-in-arms. Lance Corporal Webb leaves behind his much loved parents Dave and Sue, and his close family.

Lance Corporal Webb’s family have paid the following tribute:

We are so proud of Jamie being a Mercian soldier. Jamie is loved by his dad, Dave, mum, Sue, and his close family and friends.

Lieutenant Colonel Phil Kimber MBE, Commanding Officer 1 MERCIAN, said:

A real character, a totally professional soldier and a great friend to many, Lance Corporal Webb was exactly the type of man you wanted around. Always with a smile on his face, always willing to engage in some witty and mischievous banter, he really did lift the morale of all around him.
He was also an outstanding professional; bright, engaging and hugely talented. He had an obvious gift for intelligence work, which ensured he was at the heart of all that his company did on this tour. Despite his relatively junior rank he had a huge amount of operational experience having deployed to Northern Ireland, Iraq, and twice to Afghanistan. No matter what else he did, he was an Infantry Lance Corporal at heart and as such he was a talented and inspirational junior commander.
Lance Corporal Webb was surrounded by his friends when he was injured. These friends and all in 1 Mercian Battlegroup will miss him terribly. We have lost a great soldier and a great friend. Despite our grief we are acutely aware of the indescribable loss his family will now be feeling and it is his family that our thoughts and prayers are now with....


Go here to spend time learning about this Fallen Hero from those who know and love him..

NEVER forget the sacrifice...

"We Rise Again in the faces of our children......"

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wednesday Hero

This post was suggested by Gail
 
Maj. Thomas C. Griffin
Maj. Thomas C. Griffin 96 years old from Cincinnati, OH July 10, 1916 - February 26, 2013 
 
U.S. Army  
 
 
Maj. Thomas C. "Tom" Griffin, a B-25 bomber navigator in the audacious Doolittle's Raid attack on mainland Japan during World War II, passed away on February 26. His death at age 96 leaves only four surviving Raiders. Griffin died in a veterans nursing home in northern Kentucky. He was among the 80 original volunteers for the daring April 18, 1942, mission. When they began training, they were told only it would be "extremely hazardous," coming in the aftermath of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and a string of other Japanese military successes.
 
You can read more about Maj. Griffin here These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
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Monday, March 25, 2013

Pakistan: What about the girls?

There is not many a day goes by that I do not think about the future of the girls and young women who have been forced to live under the neanderthal - brutal - boot of the Taliban...

I have written a few columns about the dismal plight of these young females who could be the future of their cultures, but for the murderous determination of the radical Islamists.

I will have more to say in the future, as I do keep watch on these girls, but for now, a video I feel compelled to share that came to me via a friend  (thanks, Carla.)


Medal of Honor Day












March 25 marks Medal of Honor Day – a day set aside to pay respects to service members who distinguished themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.

Citations for Medal of Honor recipients describe feats of courage, strength, and resilience. Recipients overcame the paralysis of fear, and in some cases, they persevered in spite of wounds that would normally be so painful as to be disabling. Some of these heroes willingly gave their lives for the sake of their buddies.

While it is worth setting aside a day to remember the extraordinary service and sacrifice symbolized by the Medal of Honor, it is even more important share that legacy with current and future generations.

In recognition of Medal of Honor Day, here are eight surprising facts about the award.

1. The earliest actions for which the Medal was awarded took place before the Civil War had even begun (Feb. 13-14, 1861).  Bernard J.D. Irwin was an Assistant Surgeon in the Army when he voluntarily went to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom who was trapped with 60 members of the 7th Infantry. Irwin and 14 men began the 100-mile trek to Bascom’s forces riding mules. After fighting and capturing Apaches along the way, as well as recovering stolen horses and cattle, Irwin reached Bascom’s forces and helped break the siege. The Medal of Honor was awarded to Irwin on Jan. 24, 1894 – more than 30 years after he performed his heroic deed.

2. Originally, the Medal of Honor was only awarded to enlisted service members. On March 3, 1863, this was extended to include officers as well.

3. There are three versions of the Medal of Honor: U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. Members of the U.S. Marines Corps and U.S. Coast Guard are eligible to receive the Navy version. Each of the armed services maintains their own regulations governing the award.

4. Only one woman has received the Medal of Honor and her award was temporarily rescinded. President Andrew Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to Dr. Mary E. Walker on Nov. 11, 1865 for her work as a Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon in a series of battles from First Bull Run in 1861 to the Battle of Atlanta in 1864. Caught by Confederate troops and arrested as a spy, she also spent four months as a Prisoner of War. Although her award was rescinded along with hundreds of others in 1917, upon the passage of legislation that stated the medal could only be given to persons who had engaged in “actual combat with an enemy,” Walker’s Medal of Honor was restored on June 10, 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.


Many more interesting facts here.


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Cindy
 
2nd Lt. Hyman Markel
 
 
 
 
2nd Lt. Hyman Markel 88th Division, 351st Infantry Regiment U.S. Army 
 
 Hyla Merin grew up without a father and for a long time never knew why. Her mother never spoke about the Army officer who died before Hyla was born. The scraps of information she gathered from other relatives were hazy: 2nd Lt. Hyman Markel was a rabbi's son, brilliant at mathematics, the brave winner of a Purple Heart who died sometime in 1945. Aside from wedding photos of Markel in uniform, Merin never glimpsed him. But on February 17, decades after he won it, Merin received her father's Purple Heart, along with a Silver Star she never knew he'd won and a half-dozen other medals.
 
You can read more here These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
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Monday, March 11, 2013

***UPDATE***: England, MY England!:Falkland Islanders vote to remain British

UPDATE from the Beeb:



Falklands referendum: Voters choose to remain UK territory

 The people of the Falkland Islands have voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory.

Of 1,517 votes cast in the two-day referendum, 1,513 were in favour of keeping the current status, while just three votes were against.[Yes, emphasis mine!]

There was a turnout of more than 90% from 1,672 British citizens eligible to vote in a population of about 2,900. 

It follows pressure from Argentina over its claims to the islands, more than 30 years after the Falklands War.
Dick Sawle, a member of the island's legislative assembly, said it was an "absolutely phenomenal result which will send out the strongest possible message to the rest of the world about our right to self-determination - a right that was fought for in 1982, and which we have honoured tonight."...

Yes, there is more - and other interesting links to videos - here.     Take THAT, Argentina....





I have written about the British Falkland Islands many times here, here, and here (for starters. )  Two hundred and fifty five British Servicemen gave their lives in 1982 to defend British sovereignty.

From RTE:

Falkland islanders vote in referendum on sovereignty







Residents of the Falkland Islands are voting in a sovereignty referendum aimed at countering Argentina's increasingly assertive claim over the British-ruled territory.

Diplomatic tension between Britain and Argentina has flared up more than three decades since they went to war over the South Atlantic archipelago.

There are around 2,500 residents living on the Falkland Islands.

They will cast ballots in the two-day referendum in which they will be asked whether they want to stay a British Overseas Territory.

Officials are expected to announce the result tomorrow night.

A near-unanimous Yes vote is likely, prompting Argentina to dismiss the referendum as a meaningless publicity stunt.

A high turnout is expected, however, as islanders embrace it as a chance to make their voices heard.
"We hope the undecideds, or the uninformeds, or those countries that might otherwise be prepared to give the nod to Argentina's sovereignty claim might have pause for thought after the referendum," said John Fowler, deputy editor of the islands' weekly newspaper, the Penguin News....


Read the rest here.


I fully expect the Islanders to state loud and clear that they ARE British.


Lest We Forget
 

British Medics gain Freedom of the City

A great story about some of my favourite people!

Read on:



Army Medics marched through the streets of York on Saturday 9 March 2013 when they received the Freedom of the City.

The honour was bestowed on the troops following their service to the city during the floods in 2000 and their lifesaving role on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Commanding Officer of 34 Field Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Jaish Mahan said “We are incredibly grateful to the people of York for granting us this Freedom and I know it means a lot to every single one of us in the unit because it has confirmed our faith in a community that we very much regard as home.”

The Lord Mayor said: “The Freedom of the City is a rare accolade which the City Council grants only to the most deserving of regiments and military bodies. Today you will join other distinguished recipients of this coveted honour.”

Fifty-five soldiers from 34 Field Hospital, normally based at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall formed up in Duncombe Place, York before marching through the city to music from the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band.

Photo by Cpl Gabriel Moreno; Crown copyright.

(c) MoD

Friday, March 8, 2013

Women and the British Military

Since it IS International Womens Day and all, a few stories from the MoD:

Pioneering Royal Navy women meet across generations

 Wartime heroine Beth Hutchinson with Lieutenant Commander Polly Hatchard

 

Wren Booth, today known as Beth Hutchinson, was awarded the British Empire Medal for her outstanding bravery in 1944: the first to be awarded to a female in the Royal Navy. 

Visiting Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton to commemorate the honour, Beth met another pioneering woman; Lieutenant Commander Polly Hatchard, the Royal Navy’s first female air engineering officer. 

On the night of 18 November 1943, near Royal Naval Air Station Machrihanish, Scotland, Wren Booth, with complete disregard for her own safety, dragged a Fleet Air Arm observer from a crashed Swordfish aircraft. She removed his smouldering clothing with her bare hands, beating out the flames while explosions in the aircraft scattered debris over them. She drove the airman 9 miles to a doctor, but by the time she arrived he had died.

 Wren Booth, pictured during the Second World War [Picture: via MOD]


There is much more about this now great-grandmother here.

First female RAF search and rescue commander 

7 March 2013

 Group Captain Sara Mackmin is the new commander of the RAF Search and Rescue Force

One of the Armed Forces’ top female aviators has recently taken command of the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force.

High-flying 44-year-old, Group Captain Sara Mackmin, will oversee all RAF search and rescue operations across the UK and the Falkland Islands. 

The appointment is Group Captain Mackmin’s latest groundbreaking move in a career that has seen her achieve a number of firsts in the RAF.

After serving in the Balkans flying Puma helicopters she became the UK’s first female helicopter instructor and in 2000 was the first female to command an operational flying unit as a squadron leader.

In 2008 she repeated the feat as a Wing Commander.

Much more here.

Sergeant Beth Wilson in Afghanistan




In today’s Regular Armed Forces, women are making a growing impact, with the last decade seeing the number of women increasing from 8% in 2000 to 9.7% in April 2012.

For female officers, it’s an even better story, with the number of women increasing from 8.9% to 12.4% in 2012. While over the same period, women serving in the other ranks have gone up from 7.8 to 9.1%.
Sergeant Beth Wilson is deployed in Afghanistan on her first tour of duty with 4 Armoured Engineer Squadron, 21 Engineer Regiment.

Sergeant Wilson’s key role involves the reconnaissance of engineering tasks.

This involves checking out potential route builds, improving security bases for soldiers and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and preparing bases for closedown and handover to the ANSF ahead of transition to Afghan-led security across Helmand province.

Based in Lashkar Gah for her tour, Sergeant Wilson said:
I was deployed on a brigade ‘main effort’ to conduct recces of several routes to enable the building of 2 new partnered checkpoint locations.
It’s fulfilling doing a recce role on operations as I feel like I’m testing all my learning from training and get to be part of an effort to make a real difference.

Sergeant Wilson’s achievements to date include being the first female high assurance searcher in Northern Ireland, the first female instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering, the first female to complete the field sergeants’ course at the Royal School of Military Engineering and the first female to work as part of the Boat Troop on operations in Iraq.

More from Sgt Wilson here

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Al-Qaeda in the US

From Secure America Now comes this:

Thursday, 07 March 2013

Al-Qaeda in the United States: An Important New Study by the Henry Jackson Society


A new report by the Henry Jackson Society reveals that the Islamist terrorist threat comes significantly from within the United States, not just from without.



According to the new report, Al-Qaeda in the United States, of the 171 al-Qaeda or al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists who either committed acts of suicide terrorism in the U.S. or were convicted in U.S. civilian or military courts from 1997 to 2011, 54% were American citizens, and more than a third were born in the United States.


"Moreover, 36% of all individuals were U.S. born, indicating that these were citizens who had grown up in the U.S. rather than having moved there later in life. Therefore, this statistic dispels the myth that the terrorist threat is primarily external."

The Henry Jackson Society is a British-based think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues. The authors, Robin Simcox and Emily Dyer, are research fellows at the Henry Jackson Society.

If you are one of those that doesn't know that homegrown terrorists exist - and are operating in ALL our countries you are choosing to remain wilfully ignorant.

Time is long past when we should all be paying close attention to what is going on.  Period.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Michael
 
U.S. Army 
 
This week's  Wednesday Hero is honoring eight Men who were awarded the Medal Of Honor during the Battle of Peleliu, a bloody fight that took place between September - November of 1944 in which nearly 2,000 Marines and Soldiers were killed and another 8,000+ were wounded or went missing. 
 
The eight MOH recipients were: Corporal Lewis K. Bausell, 1st Battalion 5th Marines Private First Class Arthur J. Jackson, 3rd Battalion 7th Marines Private First Class Richard E. Kraus, 8th Amphibian Tractor Battalion Private First Class John D. New, 2nd Battalion 7th Marines Private First Class Wesley Phelps, 3rd Battalion 7th Marines Captain Everett P. Pope, USMC, 1st Battalion 1st Marines Private First Class Charles H. Roan, 2nd Battalion 7th Marines First Lieutenant Carlton R. Rouh, 1st Battalion 5th Marines
 
 
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
 
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Operation Proper Exit: Wounded Warriors Visit ISAF HQ

Mar 4, 2013
Troops with Operation Proper Exit visit ISAF HQ to have a meal with troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Hurricane Sandy Victims face Relocating, Repairs and Foreclosure

 In case you doubted it, the waves from the disaster that was Hurricane Sandy continue to ripple through the lives of local residents, as they struggle to regain some normalcy.  Read on:

From WYNC News:

Thursday, February 28, 2013


Laurie and Christopher Nunziato bought two small homes next to each other in the Midland Beach section of Staten Island in 2005. They lived in one house and rented out the other. The family hadn't planned on evacuating for Sandy until they saw water flowing into their neighborhood from the beach.

"We kinda panicked," said Laurie Nunziato, who was pregnant at the time. "I said, 'We need to get out of here' and basically told the kids to, 'Grab a coat, grab shoes and, let's go!'"

The family survived. Nunziato gave birth shortly after, but their houses did not do as well. Midland Beach was hard hit by Sandy and several homes in the neighborhood are still empty and in need of major repair

Some have been bulldozed.

At the Nunziatos house, mud-covered toys and a handwritten prayer in child’s writing were seen scattered near the driveway, during a visit earlier this month. Stuffed into the family’s mailbox was a FedEx envelope from Bank of America stamped “extremely urgent”...

There is more -here

From an earlier story:

City is Counting on Federal Housing Vouchers to House Poorest Sandy Victims

Tuesday, February 26, 2013


WNYC

The city plans to use federally funded housing vouchers to place some of the poorest Sandy victims in private apartments. But vouchers must still be approved by the federal government and there's concern they may not come soon enough to keep some families from ending up in shelters.

Roughly 1200 households are staying in hotels scattered across the city. Either the city or the Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering the cost. Originally, through landlords it works with, the city had set aside hundreds of low income apartments for these families only to realize that many were too poor to qualify for them.  At a city council hearing Tuesday, officials said families were being visited by caseworkers who were trying to help them apply for other options such as public housing as well as get them mental health services,  home health aides and substance services when needed.

Advocates for the poor said prior to the storm many of these families were living in rented rooms, illegal basements, and crowded boarding houses - all precarious housing situations.  They are calling for an infusion of federally funded Section 8 vouchers which are permanent subsidies that have no end as long as families continue to meet the income requirements. ...

NASA: Winter Storm Across Central US