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'Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise Your glorious name''. Chronicles 29:13 

Today's military tribute pays homage to Private Andrew Untiet of Waterford, WI. 



PRIVATE ANDREW UNTIET ..... WE SALUTE YOU !!

PVT ANDREW UNTIET

Private Andrew Untiet was born on April 2, 1991 in Port Washington, WI to Faith and Don Untiet.  He has two older sisters, Laura and Sara.  Andrew's parents divorced when he was five years old and he moved to Franklin, WI with his mom and sisters and then right before his freshman year in high school he moved to Waterford, WI, with his mom and sister, Sara.

Andrew has always been active, playing youth football, high school football, golf, driveway basketball with his sisters or simply riding his bike to a friend's home.  Whatever the case, Andrew was always moving.  The last two years of his high school  he also worked at a statewide grocery chain, Pick N Save. 


Andrew decided in his senior year of high school to go to Universal Technical Institute in Glendale Heights, IL, for auto/deisel mechanics instead of enlisting in the Army.  He did very well at school but could not find a job, so he decided to join the Army.  A few of his classmates from UTI joined him on this journey, as well.

His mom, Faith, step dad Kevin, father Don, and step mom Marna, are all very proud of his decision to serve his country.  Andrew follows in the footsteps of family members that have also served this great nation.  They include two uncles, one in the Army and the other in the Air Force, as well as both his grandfathers, who served in the Coast Guard. 

We are indebted to you Private Untiet for your selfless service to our country.  We will be praying for you and your family.  Godspeed, young hero, Godspeed.

Today's military tribute is a little late.  But Thursday is a great day to pay homage too, don't ya think? Yea, me too!  Meet Private Trevor Welch. 


Born August 23, 1991 to Judy Welch. They moved from Nichols, WI in 1993 to Clintonville, WI where he grew up with his mother, his older brother Tim and his older sister Morgan.  Trevor also has a little boy Landon, 22 mo. old, who is is very proud of his Daddy and is missing him very much every single day.  Private Trevor Welch, WE SALUTE YOU!!

PVT TREVOR WELCH

When Trevor was younger he had a dream to be a soldier. His dream became a reality when he left for Fort Benning, Georgia on June 8, 2010. Like alot of kids, he played Army or cops and robbers in the backyard  at friends houses. Trevor and his friends were always shooting paintball guns or air soft guns. He saw many of his uncles and aunts either serve in the military or are serving now.

He has had family members in the Air Force, Air Force Academy, Marines and the Navy. He is the first to enter the Army. This was a big motivator and a family tradition that he wanted to follow.

Trevor enlisted in the Army, at the end of his Junior year of high school, at the age of 17, June 9, 2009. He enlisted under the Delayed Entry Program. He then met with recruiters weekly to get mentally and physically prepared for his leaving the following year. Trevor also followed the family tradition of his brother and sister and graduated after 1 semester his senior year. He was involved in soccer, shooting paintball and air soft guns with friends, disc golfing, skiing, skateboarding, video gaming and computers.

Trevor is doing his basic training at Fort Benning, GA and has been chosen to be a squad leader. After basic training he plans to go to Fort Myers, Virginia to train for the Honor Guard (also called the old guard). The honor guards primary role is to provide funeral honors for fallen comrades and to guard national monuments. They may also serve as "guardians of color" by displaying and escorting the national flag on ceremonial occasions at official state functions. They also provide detachments for review by visiting heads of state. This is a very honorary position which requires alot of priceision and discipline.

Trevor's family is supporting him 100% and will always be here for him throughout his dreams of serving his country. They all miss him and love him dearly.

Sisters, will you keep the Welch family in your prayers?  This extraordinary young man is making a great sacrifice for our nation and his young son.  Godspeed, young soldier, Godspeed.

Seeing my son for the first time in 10 weeks after his graduation from basic training.  He has earned the right to be called an American Army Soldier.  He wears a beret with a blue patch that does not compare to the beautiful blue in his eyes and his right arm is patched with a beautiful flag that is red, white and blue!

1 Chronicles 29:11 "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all"



His majesty never ceases to take my breath away! For more devotions, go to the Internet Cafe.

Today's military tribute is to Pvt Justin Jose Bustamante.  He was born August 24, 1989 to Paula and Jose (Joe) Bustamante in Santa Monica, California.  His primary years were in the City of Angels, Los Angeles, California and his junior high and high school years were spent in Bakersfield, California. Justin's maternal grandfather served our great nation in the Air Force and his Father served in the Army National Guard.  Justin Bustamante, WE SALUTE YOU!!!

May your Sunday be overflowing with this knowledge! 

My dear bloggy sisters,

I received disturbing news today.  I received a phone call from my son, which was great on one hand because to hear his voice brings such a tremendous joy and a sense of relief. but I did find out that Joshua has been ill.  He has been in the infirmary for four days with an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis.  He still sounded very congested to me. 

My mom and I leave a week from today and I will be seeing those precious blue eyes of his in 8 days.  I would like to ask you to be praying for him.  Would you please pray that he is healed of this infection and he also hurt his hip on a run so pray for healing of that also.  I so appreciate my praying sisters! Thanking you in advance and loving that our God is still in the healing and miracle business! Nothing is too difficult for Him!  Praise His wonderful name!!

Psalm 66:20 "Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me"

Joshua 24:15 "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" 



For more Word-filled Wednesday, go to Internet Cafe Devotions.

Today's Military Tribute is for PVT Micah Reuscher. He is in Charlie Co along with my son, Joshua. His mother, Pam and I have become friends. We understand the hard moments. We understand the joyous tears over a two minute phone call and we "get it" when we feel like our insides are ripping apart because our son's smiles, voices, faces, demeanors and so much more are not within our grasp and certainly not within our soothing abilities and forevermore will be men, not the boys we let go of just weeks ago and it feels like an eternity. We have eleven days until we see them at their basic combat training Family Day.We might all breathe again correctly on that day....of course, it will be once we have our faces placed just at the right angle in the nook of their necks. mmmmm

PVT MICAH REUSCHER

Private Micah Reuscherwas born to Pam Slinger and she calls him her "miracle baby". He was born in Tampa, Florida and then moved to Waverly, Iowa.
"I could give you a long list of Micah's accomplishments, but none of them would even come close to helping you understand the kind of person he is. In order to help you know anything about him, I would have to tell you about his heart. Micah is my miracle baby. My oldest son was born severely handicapped and after extensive genetic testing, I was advised not to try to have more children. However, 5 years later I had Micah and he was perfectly healthy.

Pam says that when Micah was three years old he declared he was going to become a policeman, live next door to his mother and protect her and to this day he has never waivered from that pledge! His thoughtfulness and respect of not only his family but others is recognized in the fact that the relationships Micah has today, he has literally had since preschool. There is no limit to what he would not do for a loved one. He is fully loyal and committed to God, family and country. His mother, Pam, admits he is not perfect but says the one thing she can definitely attest to is that her son walks out his Christian faith.


I was touched by her words: "he treats others the way he wants to be treated, he does not anger easily, he does not boast, he is truly happy for the successes of others and not envious".I could be wrong, but it sure sounds like Micah is a 1st Corinthians 13:4 man. So glad to know they are still out there! PVT MICAH BEAUSCHER WE SALUTE YOU!!!!!



Pam recalls a letter recently where Micah mentioned that he missed the annual events at home (4th of July, the fair, etc) and then he said "That is just another things I gave up to do something great so I'm okay with it." In that statement, you can sum up Micah. He knows that what he is doing is bigger that himself and the sacrifices and the work are all worth it. Because ultimatly, being a cop and living next door to protect his mom isn't enough....now he's doing that very thing on a MUCH bigger scale! He's not content to just protect his mom. He's going to protect everyone! And he isn't going to wait for the threat to come to our doors, he's going to do what he can to keep the threat from ever getting CLOSE to our doors.



Some interesting facts about Micah:  He has always been very athletic and during his high school years he participated in basketball, soccer, cross country, baseball and football! Micah's goal has always been to be in law enforcement and more recently SWAT.  SWAT reqiored a degree om police science and a minimum of 4 years of military service to even qualify to apply.  Following his graduation from high school, he completed the first year of his degree and enlisted in the Army in February 2010, deciding to complete his education and military requirements simultaneously.  Micah left for BCT in June 2010 and he loves it!!

Sisters. will you join me in praying for Micah and his family?  I know I already feel safer knowing he is learning the skills to protect this great natiion and God has given him some wonderful skills in preparing his heart for the road ahead.  Godspeed, young hero, Godspeed!

Today's Military Tribute is dedicated to PFC Chase Savage.  His mother and I have become friends because our sons are in the same Charlie Company Battallion and we share the same angsts and the same joys from time to time given the situation.  This is her son.  Today we say, PFC Chase Savage, WE SALUTE YOU!

PFC Chase Savage

Chase was raised by his parents, Darren and Elizabeth Savage in southeastern Illinois. He comes from a long line of military service with family who served in the Navy, Marines, and Army in the American Revolution, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and Korea. To those who know Chase, his patriotism and service to his community and his country are a part of the fiber of his being. He is a leader who has mentored students and worked with Big Brother/Big Sister programs and as a volunteer at a youth sports camp.



He has been in the Indiana National Guard since 23 July 2009 (so he was 17 at the time he took the oath). He turned 18 in January of 2010.  During his tenure at high school he played soccer all 4 years, he wrestled 2 years, he ran track 2 years, he ran cross country 1 year.  He volunteered with the Humane Society, he was President of Student Council his senior year and in Student Council all four years of high school. 










PFC Chase Savage is a very recent high school graduate. He was the recipient of the Patriot Award given by the ROTC program at the University of Southern Indiana (USI), Evansville, Indiana. After completing One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Benning, Georgia, Chase will return to southeastern Illinois and volunteer as a trainer for the Peer Jury in his hometown of Mount Carmel, Illinois and continue to train monthly in Evansville as a member of the Indiana National Guard. In January, Chase will begin as a freshman at USI where he plans to study philosophy while participating in ROTC. Over the long term, Chase plans to study law and ultimately participate in the Army’s JAG Corps.






Fun Facts:

Funny saying...imagine a kid (Chase) standing in front of a TV with a headset on, playing Xbox, saying to kids online, "Hey, are you old enough to play this game? I didn't think so. Your mom bought this game for you. I think you need to sell this game on e-bay until you're old enough to buy it for yourself."


One of his favorite movies is Death at a Funeral, Buddy the Elf, Where the Wild Things Are, Stepbrothers, Star Wars, Thank You for Smoking

Elizabeth has great pride in her son, and as you can see, he is a rare breed of a young man.  Will you keep him in your prayers with me? I know I feel safer knowing PFC Chase Savage will be protecting our country and I am grateful for his service. 

Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace."