29 December 2010

Update!

Sorry the updates are not coming very quickly...there is so much going on right now!

We are working on the website right now; I will keep you posted on the progress as often as possible.  In the meantime, please keep spreading the word about the blog, have people "follow" it so that they can be kept up-to-date!

Be sure to check the Volunteers Needed tab and Donations Needed tab in order to help with the project!  Any and all help is welcome, contact me so I can give you more specifics if you need them!

Thank you all and I will post updates as often as I can!

Angela

10 December 2010

Cajundome Re-Dedication

On Veteran's Day, 2010 the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana re-dedicated the Dome to my father.  The ceremony was very nice and the updates done to the monument and the area surrounding it are wonderful.

Plaque placed at existing monument at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana
My husband and children joined me along with my father's brothers and one of his sisters.  I was honored to have several other people attend as well.  Mike Brown, the backseater that was with my father when he died.  Jim Hodgson, the Director of the OV-10 Association and a family friend, flew to Lafayette to be with us and I greatly appreciate that.  Many others that took time out of their schedule to be there.  Finally, Raymond Boute, my father's best friend in high school, was able to make it.  I had talked to him years ago and was actually able to meet him.  That was a fantastic surprise and I was so thankful to be able to meet him and spend time with him.

Below are some pictures of the event and those that attended with me.  The monument seen in the pictures has been there since 1987 and will be professionally cleaned to match the bronzing in the above picture.  The Cajundome has gone to great lengths to make this a very nice display.  If you are ever in the Lafayette area, please stop by and take a look!  You won't be dissappointed!

Jim Hodgson, Angela Bennett-Engele, monument to Capt. Steven L. Bennett and Mike Brown


Jake Buck, Angela Bennett-Engele, monument to Capt. Steven L. Bennett and Elizabeth Engele.  My kids are just wonderful!
 Again, we had a wonderful time.  A big "Thank you" to the Cajundome and all others involved in making it happen.  They presented me with a very large flower arrangement as well, it is beautiful and on my mantel at home!  Thank you so much for your hospitality.  Everything from the ceremony to the luncheon was wonderful.

Below is the speech I gave at the ceremony.  I am including it in this post as I feel it represents a story...much like that like which I am asking you to send me!  Still looking for stories, be sure to send them in!

Angela Bennett-Engele's Speech:

Thank you all for coming today, this Veteran’s Day, to celebrate the Cajundome’s 25th Anniversary!  A special thank you to the Cajundome and to the 82nd Airborne Division Association’s Acadiana Chapter as well as the Lafayette Rotary Club and all others involved in today’s event.
I’d like to thank them for their role in bringing my father’s story to life for those who live here, in this city, which meant so much to him.  He went to school here, from Youngsville Middle School (where the library is now proudly named after him) to Youngsville High School (where he was the co-captain of the football team…known quite affectionately as “the Ox”) to USL where he learned to fly and loved it, met my mother, graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and upon graduation joined the Air Force.  He asked my mother to marry him at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse here in Lafayette…just a piece of useless trivia for you!  Finally, and fittingly, he was buried here…at Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery, off Pinhook…where he belongs, at home.
I remember in 1987 when the Cajundome was originally dedicated to my father and how much my family appreciated it then.  To be invited to and included in the rededication now is especially nice as we visit the Cajundome whenever we are in town.  Although I live in Texas, whenever I come to town I drive by and stop to take a look and grab a picture or two!
I believe my father would have been humbled and quite a bit amazed to have an arena dedicated to him in his home town.  I think he would have been proud to be such an integral part of the city.  Many of his family still lives here and what an honor it is for them to have this memorial local for them to visit!
I was pleased when I learned of how interested the public had been to learn more of my father and of who the man was on the memorial in front of the Cajundome.  It proves that people have not turned a blind eye to the importance of paying respect to those who have fought and died for our country.  I am even more pleased to hear that the Cajundome committee and those other groups and organizations involved did not turn a deaf ear to the pleas for more information but rather decided to educate their community further.  It shows what strong ties you have with your patrons, and they will appreciate being heard.
I hope that all who visit here will take the time to look at the new additions which are being added as well as the memorial previously placed here.  In reviewing what is put up, I hope it instills in them a need to learn more about others who acted in ways like that of my father.  He was not the only hero to come out of Vietnam, or of any other war.  If memorials like this do one thing, other than honor my father, I hope they bring awareness to the sacrifices that all men and women make on a daily basis for all of our freedoms and rights as American Citizens.
Every time I see or hear of a memorial being held for any service member, I feel proud to know that if nothing else, that group of attendees will leave feeling a sense of patriotism in a way that…up until that day…they have never felt before.  There is something about things like this type of event, which causes pride to well up inside of me.  I hope you all feel it too.  I hope you all take it with you when you leave.  I believe it is the spirit of those who have gone before us, coming back…in the form of all things American…the flag, the flyover, the monument, the pride of patriotism.  They didn’t die for nothing, they died for us!  That’s a good thing, thank you all for coming!

02 November 2010

The latest in the story line...

Still working on my project to collect memories of America's wars from those who were directly involved as well as those who were affected by it!  I am gathering information and making notes on what needs to be done with the information.   I am also still waiting for YOUR story to hit my email or snail mail.  It can be in text, video, audio or photos with captions.  Memoirs can be "the good, bad, and the ugly."  Please send it to angelaengele@gmail.com.  If you would like to mail your story to me through snail mail, please email me for that address.

There is no story that is too insignificant.  Every memory matters.  Be sure to ask your wife, your child, your cousins...we have all lived through an American war in some way.  I will also need your permission to use your information; once I receive your story, I will send you a release form.

While attending a local FAC reunion here in Ft. Worth over this past weekend, I met several people who are interested in working on this project.  They are not only interesting personally, but they also can provide some good information for us!

One of the first volunteer positions we need will be that of a professional website developer. We have a web host, and need someone who can design a professional website which will meet our needs for the first year.  Please let me know if you know of anyone.

This project is well worth the efforts of us all.  Please stay posted, and continue passing this link on to others, asking them to start from the first blog.  I am working quickly to move this forward so that I can  let you know all the details.
Stay in touch and I hope to receive your story soon!

Keep it going!

Angela Bennett-Engele
Phone:  214-601-8055

Email:  angelaengele@gmail.com

24 October 2010

Continuing the story line...

I have gotten such a wonderful response and have found a mentor or two in the process as well!  I urge you all to continue to submit your stories to me.  Further, and equally as importantly, I ask you to please forward this link to anyone you know that may be interested.

http://storiesbehindthefrontline.blogspot.com/

It is so important to click on "FOLLOW" once you are on the blog.  This will keep you informed with any updates and/or changes that occur on the site or with my project.  I hope to get TONS and TONS of followers in the not too distant future!

Currently, I am looking for an attorney that would be willing to give me legal advice...gratis!  Eventually, there may be a way to begin a payment schedule but for now, I need to receive answers to some questions and need to do that with no money out of pocket.  This project is starting to roll...in the direction I envisioned...and I do not want to stop that ball!  If anyone knows of an attorney, preferably one with a heart for military personnel or military projects, please put them in touch with me.  I will not take much of their time at first and we can discuss how much they are willing to be available to me at no charge.  Send them to my email:   angelaengele@gmail.com   Once we have touched base through email, I will pass on further contact information.

I would like to go ahead and take the time to thank everyone for being so supportive and encouraging up to this point!  You are making it so easy for all the pieces to just fall into place.  From my husband to my ex-husband, to my cousins and complete strangers...you are all wonderful and thank you all for your help. 

If you would like to help, here is what I need as of now:

1.  Stories:  I want "The Soldier" in words...whether it comes from the soldier themselves, their spouse, child, best friend, old classmate, relative...old co-worker.  Doesn't matter.  I just want people's stories about what a soldier is to them.  I also want from the soldier, or immediate family member, what being in the military is like for them.  Whether they have served during war time or not, regardless of their MOS (front line, office, medic, etc.).  In my mind once you have signed up...you have served your country in a way that many of us haven't.  You have taken a path that many people never will.  What does it mean to you?  What has it done for you?  What has it changed for you?  Help us know you.

2.  Help me find an attorney (prefer one near or in Texas, I live near Dallas) that would be willing to assist me with some preliminary questions that I will go into detail about with them.

3.  Let me know if you would be interested in volunteering on any projects (many of which can be done through email if you live far from me) and can take as little or as much time as you have.  I do not have these "committees" in place yet, but once I discuss some particulars with an attorney, I expect some things to begin rolling fairly quickly and will need some volunteer support.

4.  Follow my blog and pass my blog on to others.  Even if you cannot help in ANY other way, you CAN follow this blog and pass it on to others!  That is a GREAT help to me!  Without the support, none of the rest of it can happen!

If you have any questions OR suggestions, please email me!  Thank you so much for the wonderful response so far, I hope to keep the momentum going and going!

Keep it going!

Angela

21 October 2010

Day two in the story line!

I am so excited about this endeavor!  So far, so good!  I already have one official follower on the Blog Site...with many more to come, I am sure!  I have shared the link on my Facebook page as well as on some of the Yahoo groups I am a member of.

Through those mediums I have gotten several responses already.  Thank you all so much for responding so far!  I am very positive that this project will make us all proud and will bring so many people together.

I remember a long time ago I spent a lot of time trying to find people who knew my father, in doing that I was able to find all but just a few members of his Pilot Training class from Webb AFB that had graduated in 1970.  I found so many of them, in fact, that they ended up having a reunion and invited me to it and they did a dedication...a kind of "missing man" dedication to my father as he was not with them for the festivities.

I cannot tell you how therapeutic I feel that reunion was for those men...as well as for their families and for me.  I received numerous phone calls from wives saying, "Prior to you calling my husband, he never spoke of the experiences in Vietnam.  After you called...it was family meeting time...he opened up!  He's been different ever since!  It is wonderful!"  I truly believe people just need to feel valued and heard.

I also believe strongly that many people cannot vocalize when they can write.  In many ways we can get to know someone in ways we never thought possible just by reading what they have to say.  I look forward to hear all the stories I receive.

I want stories detailing experiences on and off any battle field.  I do not want stories only relating to my father, only relating to Vietnam, only relating to war.  If you are currently active duty and have just signed up and are currently serving as a Medic, state-side...write me!  I want to know what you are experiencing! 

Our military, through all it's faults, remains the strongest and proudest around.  I want to show that, I want the pride and patriotism that made you enlist to show through!  God Bless America and God Bless You!
Angela

20 October 2010

The beginning of my search!

Here we go!  My first attempt at a blog!  I am attempting to write a blog in an effort to get you to help me complete a project that has been working in my mind for over 20 years!  I have wanted for years to bring the military way of life to light in a more personal way; a way in which had never been done.

My father, Capt. Steven L. Bennett, was killed in Vietnam on June 29, 1972 and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. 



While this was a great honor for our family, it was also a great responsibility for us to bear.  We did and do so with great pride, but every day I wish that I could give back to those men and women who so bravely serve our great country with the same pride and dedication that my father served with.

This brings me to my project.  There are several levels to this endeavor of mine; starting with this one, the blog.  This blog will serve as a means by which I can reach out to people and ask for their stories.  I want stories from service men and women, their spouses, children, comrades, etc.  I want to know what service means to you, to your loved ones.  I want to know what you have experienced being in the service, or have experienced being the family member of a service member.

For example, I would write about how my father passing when I was 2 1/2 had an impact on my life, both in a positive and in a negative way.  My father's backseater may write about his days as a Marine, or he may write about that fateful day with my dad, or he may write about what it has been like to be a survivor and meet the family of the deceased...who knows, I just want you to write about what you feel and what you know.

I want a face to a name.  I want people to see you through your words, feel you through your phrases, understand you through your expressions.  I believe that it is time for us to understand you as human beings, not as uniforms, tanks, guns, helmets or planes.  People used to ask me how I could attend dedications and remain so calm and not get emotional.  I used to tell them that I would just focus on an object, a plane or a picture and that would keep me from thinking of my father or of the sad emotions involved with the moment.  Then it dawned on me...I think America in general is doing the same thing.  We have focused on the helmet, the tank on the TV.  We aren't taking the time to get to know the individual, but I think we want to...I know we need to.

Please start submitting your stories.  I will fill you in with what we will be doing in the future.  You can continue with me or opt out at any time, I do hope you will continue with me down this exciting path.  I believe wholeheartedly in your service and feel very strongly in telling your stories...please let me!

Thank you for your time, we'll talk soon!