Marines And Hov Lanes

[MalahatTwo7]

I tried to post this yesterday but kept getting the "Sorry! The administrator has specified that users can only post one message every 15 seconds." Message. Even when I had not yet POSTED. Oh well.....

Marine Corps To Close I-395 HOV Lanes
POSTED: 9:21 am EST November 9, 2006

QUANTICO, Va. -- The U.S. Marine Corps is about to do something not even the White House could do, shut down northern Virginia's high occupancy vehicle lanes on a Friday.

Interactive Traffic Maps

The restricted lanes on Interstate 395 will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday from Washington's 14th Street Bridge to State Route 234 in Dumfries, Va. The HOV lanes will be reserved for several hundred buses taking guests to the dedication of the new Marine Corps Museum on the Corps 231st birthday.

Friday is also the day the nation observes Veterans Day, and a representative said restrictions could be lifted because traffic volumes are typically lower on federal holidays.

Copyright 2006 by nbc4.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MARINES!

[MalahatTwo7]

Here is an update and further information.

I-395 HOV Lanes To Close For Museum Dedication
President To Dedicate New Marine Corps Museum

POSTED: 9:21 am EST November 9, 2006
UPDATED: 7:59 am EST November 10, 2006

QUANTICO, Va. -- Drivers on Interstates 95 and 395 can expect some lane changes Friday morning because of the dedication of the new National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va.

In anticipation of expected traffic concerns, the Virginia Department of Transportation will closing the high occupancy vehicle lanes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., from Washington's 14th Street Bridge to Virginia State Route 234 in Dumfries.

Slideshow: Images From New Museum of the Marine Corps

Officials said the HOV lanes will be reserved for several hundred buses taking guests from the Stafford Regional Airport and the Pentagon to the museum dedication ceremony.

VDOT spokesman Ryan Hall said this is the first time VDOT has agreed to close HOV lanes for an event.

President George W. Bush and former Senator John Glenn are scheduled to attend the dedication.

The $90 million facility features a timeline on the Marines and exhibits on World War II, the Korean and the Vietnam War.

And there's an area dedicated to what boot camp is like.

An interactive 360-degree motion simulator puts museum-goers in the pilot seat of an F-35 Joint Striker Fighter and visitors can test their marksmanship on a laser-simulated rifle range.

The ceremony takes place on the 231st anniversary of the Corps.

The museum opens to the public on Monday and is expected to draw as many as 600,000 visitors a year.

On The Web:
National Museum of the Marine corps: Click Here
Interactive Traffic Maps: Click Here.

Copyright 2006 by nbc4.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[pkfd7505]

Ahhh yes the Marine Corps ball, now THAT there is a party my friend. Here is a link to a nice PPT about the 231st birthday.

Happy Birthday to the Corps!

Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Semper Fi!

[voyager9]

Ahhh yes the Marine Corps ball, now THAT there is a party my friend.

Wait, I thought Marines didn't have.... Oh nevermind...

[pkfd7505]

Wait, I thought Marines didn't have.... Oh nevermind...

Hey, you can get anything on Ebay.

[doughesson]

Happy Birthday to all Marines.I went Navy but looking back,the Corps tried harder to recruit me.Oh,well,hindsight and all.

[DaSharkie]

I have given a sizable portion of coin to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Sadly I could not make it the dedication, but in the next month or so I plan on making it there.

And to my fellow Marines, and the few 8404 Corpsmen out there, Happy Birthday. For 231 years we have proudly served.

Let us not forget our Warriors deployed.

Semper Fidelis.

[Ladder8]

Happy Birthday to all of the Marines out there, past and present!

And for those who have served,

Welcome Home!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZFVQKLjLXgM

[DaSharkie]

Hey, you can get anything on Ebay.

Hey, the Army needs someplace to get their own balls.

[pkfd7505]

Hey, the Army needs someplace to get their own balls.

ROFLOL, think they have the budget for the amount of balls they would need to buy though?

[gunnyv]

Happy Birthday Marines. As much as I've been impressed by all I've seen of the new Museum, I want to tell you a story of why it exists.

I just returned from the funeral of Cpl Gary Koehler of 1/8, who was KIA in Iraq on 1 Nov. We did the best we could to honor our fallen Brother, and support his family. It seemed somhow odd to be shaking hands and saying "Happy Birthday" to each other at such a solemn occasion. As sad as it was, it was still special being around Marines today.

LCpl Koehler, 21 years old, was on his 2nd tour in Iraq. He was told he would be promoted to Cpl later that day, when he returned from a patrol he had volunteered for. He was on point, and shouted a warning to his mates just before the IED detonated and killed him. The other 24 Marines survived. "No greater love..."

[pkfd7505]

"No greater love..."

" hath a man then this... that a man lay down his life for his brothers."

I had to finish it Gunny. Rest in peace LCpl Koehler.

The Final Inspection
The Marine stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you Marine,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
The Marine squared his shoulders and
said, "No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here,
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was a silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Marine waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God,
"Step forward now, you Marine,
You've borne your burdens well,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

[gunnyv]

While we're here on the Marine page:

(CNN) -- President Bush announced on Friday that the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.

In April 2004, Dunham was leading a patrol in an Iraqi town near the Syrian border when the patrol stopped a convoy of cars leaving the scene of an attack on a Marine convoy, according to military and media accounts of the action.

An occupant of one of the cars attacked Dunham and the two fought hand to hand. As they fought, Dunham yelled to fellow Marines, "No, no watch his hand." The attacker then dropped a grenade and Dunham hurled himself on top of it, using his helmet to try to blunt the force of the blast.

Still, Dunham was critically wounded in the explosion and died eight days later at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

"As long as we have Marines like Corporal Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty," Bush said Friday as he announced that Dunham would receive the award. Bush spoke at the dedication of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia.

"His was a selfless act of courage to save his fellow Marines," Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Huff of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, was quoted as saying in Marine Corps News that April.

"He knew what he was doing," Lance Cpl. Jason A. Sanders, 21, of McAllester, Oklahoma, who was in Dunham's company, was quoted as saying by Marine Corps News. "He wanted to save Marines' lives from that grenade."

In various media accounts, fellow Marines told how Dunham had extended his enlistment shortly before he died so he could help his comrades.

"We told him he was crazy for coming out here," Lance Cpl. Mark E. Dean, 22, from Owasso, Oklahoma, said in Marine Corps News. "He decided to come out here and fight with us. All he wanted was to make sure his boys made it back home."

"He loved his country, believed in his mission, and wanted to stay with his fellow Marines and see the job through," Vice President Dick Cheney said when speaking of Dunham's heroism at a Disabled American Veterans conference in July 2004.

The Scio, New York, native would have been 25 years old on Friday.

In a letter urging Bush to honor Dunham with the Medal of Honor, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, called the Marine's actions "an act of unbelievable bravery and selflessness."

Dunham's story was told in the book "The Gift of Valor," written by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Phillips.

Dunham will be the second American to receive the Medal of Honor from service in Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith was the other, honored for action near Baghdad International Airport in April 2003, in which he killed as many as 50 enemy combatants while helping wounded comrades to safety. Smith was the only U.S. soldier killed in the battle.

[cellblock]

Happy B-Day USMC from a former Army Tanker.

[hwoods]

Well........

Hey, the Army needs someplace to get their own balls.

Always a few extras at the Bowling Alley.....