Military Brats Registry Blog

Find Your Military Brat "Home" on Google Earth

2007-07-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I so luv this site and i especially luv the sharing of the stories. i plan to submit my story but in the mean time i thought i would share this....

http://maps.google.com is a wonderful site to look up satellite photos of former and present military bases.

I "grew up"/have my fondest memories of Erding, Germany back in the mid '60's where my dad was stationed. It is rumoured that Elvis spent the night there. That base was closed to American military in the later '60's.

Viewing the satellite photos of what was once the base--now the center for monitoring the autobahn--and the surrounding area....was so wonderful.

Thank you for reading,
Michelle Patterson

Operaton Kid Comfort

2007-07-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Comfort! Create! Unite!

Operation Kid Comfort, the Armed Services YMCA program that creates photo-transfer comfort quilts and pillows to America's littlest heroes, the children of our deployed service men and women, and provides an opportunity for America to unite in support of our military.

Each Operation Kid Comfort quilt includes nine images of the deployed parent, child and family printed on fabric and is offered to children five years and younger. Operation Kid Comfort pillows are made for children six years and older, and include one large image of the deployed parent and child. We encourage families to provide images that keep special memories in tact, such as a birthday, holiday, family outing or a favorite shared activity between parent and child.

As a free program, launched on Make-A-Difference-Day, October 25, 2003, Operation Kid Comfort is proud to have served more than 2,000 children of the Fort Bragg/Pope AFB community, and more than 5,000 children of America's military nationwide and in Germany. Operation Kid Comfort has been highlighted throughout the media, including Army Times and CNN Extra Effort Series. Additionally, Operation Kid Comfort was honored to receive Raytheon's Best New Program of the Year Award at a Congressional luncheon on Capital Hill in May of 2004. To listen to an interview that relays the beginnings of Operation Kid Comfort between the program founder, Ann Flaherty, and Dick Gordon of NPR's The Story with Dick Gordon, please visit: http://thestory.org/archive/Operation_Kid_Comfort.mp3/mediafile_view

We rely on our many volunteers, grants and contributions to keep our program strong. With ever-increasing deployments, demand for OpKid quilts and pillows have increased dramatically. Your support of $25 will purchase the necessary materials for making one quilt, plus assist with childcare for our volunteers.

Please visit www.operationkidcomfort.blogspot.com for more information about Operation Kid Comfort. If you have any questions or know a family that can utilize the services of Operation Kid Comfort, please email operationkidcomfort@gmail.com or call 910-436-0500. And please leave comments on the OperationKidComfort blog so the young brats know that you care!

The Armed Services YMCA of Fort Bragg/Pope AFB is a non-profit 501 (C) (3) organization. Contributions to the Armed Services YMCA are tax-deductible.

Armed Services YMCA
Physical Address: Bldg. 2-2411 Jackson Street, Fort Bragg
Mailing Address: 208 Thorncliff Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28303
Phone: (910) 436-0500
Fax: (910) 436-0018

Military Brat Dissertation

2007-05-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

My name is Leslie Hinkson and I am a graduate student at Princeton University. I am currently finishing my dissertation which looks at students who attend DoD schools and asks the questions -
1) Why do they do so well on standardized tests compared to their public school counterparts in the States; and
2) Why are racial gaps in test score performance smaller (particularly in the schools overseas).

At the end of July I will be leaving Princeton for the U. of Michigan where I will be working to finish this project and hopefully turn it into a book. I have conducted interviews (but through a snowball sample that primarily includes my family, some of their friends, and students here at Princeton) and would like to conduct more interviews, this time with people who aren't so closely connected to me (which should increase the number of diverse experiences and voices). I am looking for individuals who have attended domestic and/or DoD schools, parents of these individuals, and teachers from the DoDEA system to develop a better understanding of how military culture and structure affects families and schools in ways that seem to produce extraordinary results in the students that go through the DoDEA system.

If you are interested in taking part in an interview, either over the telephone, via e-mail, or face-to-face, please contact me at lhinkson@princeton.edu. I believe this project has the potential to help inform educators on how to reduce racial gaps in academic performance and would help bring to light the extreme importance of maintaining and expanding access to base schools for the countless dependents Stateside who deserve this service.

VFW Memorial Wall

2007-05-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

In honor of Memorial Day, VFW is launching The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall Campaign.

As a tribute to all of the proud men and women who have served our country and live on in our memories, we are building a virtual memorial on our website- The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall.

The goal of the campaign is to collect the names of 10,000 veterans - spanning every generation - and memorialize them in the inaugural launch.
The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall will be viewed by the thousands of people who visit our site each year and serve as a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom.

We want to ensure that not one single veteran is ever forgotten.
They helped make this the greatest country in the world. And we have a duty to make sure that their dedication to this country is remembered long after they are gone.

Add your loved one’s name to The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall today.

But hurry! You must send your submission by Memorial Day May 30th in order for your loved one to be a part of the inaugural launch of The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall.

Once The VFW Veterans Memorial Wall is launched, we will email you the link so that you can view your loved one’s name and share it with others.
Thank you for remembering our veterans!

Military Brats Create "Soldiers Are" Video

2007-05-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Mr. Curtis, I, too, am a military brat. But I am able to keep in contact with the brat life by teaching on a military base: Ft. Benning, Georgia. A group of our children (grades 2-5) created a tribute to their fathers and all Soldiers. If you are interested, you can find the project here: "Soldiers Are" Movie

Thanks, Mary Barnette

Military Brats Store Affiliate Program

2007-04-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Do you have a Military Brat related website or alumni organization and want to earn commissions for sales in the Brat Store? Well, the Military Brats Registry Brat Store now has an affiliate program to help you earn money for sales in the Store (https://www.shop.militarybrat.com)!

You can choose to promote one particular product such as the "Proud to be a Military Brat" Lapel Pin or Bumper Stickers, or you can earn a commission on all items in the store.

We will provide you with a link and banner to add to your site and send you a check (or you can use paypal for faster payments) each month. There is no minimum sales amount to begin earning commissions. We want to help your site stay online in return for helping the Military Brats Registry!

If you're interested in participating, please contact us and we'll let you know what to do to get started.

Thanks for your support!

"Once a Brat, Always a Brat" by Marilyn Morris

2007-04-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy the following interview with Brat author Marilyn Morris about her book "Once a Brat, Always a Brat"

Q: Why the title, "Once a Brat, Always a Brat?"
A: When I was in Linz, Austria, from 1948-1952 as a middle-schooler, we were told over and over "never cross the Danube River" which lay right outside our back yard. The Russian Zone of Occupation was across the bridge. This admonition was ingrained in my memory banks. In 1995, when my daughter and I took a trip to Europe and most importantly, to Linz, we ended up taking a wrong turn and much to my horror, we were on the bridge, crossing the Danube River.
"Stop," I yelled in knee-jerk reaction. "We can't cross the river! It's the Russian Zone."
My companions looked at me like I was crazy.
I managed to mumble something like, "Well, sorry. When we lived here, we were never supposed to cross the Danube. It was the Russian Zone, then."
We proceeded into the Forbidden Zone (in my mind) until we found a spot to turn around, much to my relief.
"So, Mom, do you feel better now?" my daughter teased.
"Sorry I scared you," I apologized. "But Once a Brat, Always a Brat…."

Q: What is your favorite memory of growing up military?
A: My parents told me at an early age that I was very fortunate to travel all over the world. Some kids never had the opportunity, as I discovered when I was in the 5th grade in Junction City, KS (Ft. Riley). I had been to the Far East and some kids hadn't been out of the county.

Q. How did growing up military affect your life long-term?
A. I found after two failed marriages that I was unable to sustain a long-term relationship. The constant meeting and leaving friends left me with a feeling of "This, too, will end, so don't get too close to anybody." It was easier to keep relationships on a superficial level.

Q: Would you want to change anything about your childhood – such as having one place to call home?
A: I was very fortunate in that I was able to spend all three high school years in one place, Lawton OK, a place that I still call "home." I was accepted by the civilian kids as well as those from nearby Fort Sill OK. I will always be very grateful to my parents for buying the house we were renting when my Dad was ordered back to Korea so we would be assured of staying in one place while I was in high school.

Q: Have you returned to places you lived around the world? Did they feel the same?
A: I went to Germany, Austria and France while my dad was stationed in Europe, and when my daughter and I went overseas, I returned to those places. At the first house we occupied, #10 Donatusgasse, everything looked as I remembered; other housing areas had long been torn down in a modernization of the city; a trip up to Eagle's Nest, or Hitler's Tea House, was a jolt, in that it is now called Kehlstein Haus and all references to Adolph Hitler have been erased.
The most surprising thing I noticed, though, was when we boarded a train for Paris and a German woman seated in our compartment struck up a conversation with us. In German. And amazingly, I understood her questions and I believe she understood my answers in my middle school, long-unused German.

Q. Is there another book to follow?
A. I've been thinking of a follow-up book to Once a Brat, titled Always a Brat, which focuses more in depth on how my military upbringing has affected my adult life, and have been making notes to follow up at some later time. Right now, I'm following up on several novels in various stages of progress.
My next book, loosely based on my mother's experiences as a young army wife in the military compound of Camp Sobingo, Seoul Korea, is due out soon as an ebook at Mardi Gras Publications.

Thanks, Marc for this opportunity to share my experiences here on your blog. Military Brats share such a unique heritage; it's fun to compare notes with a fellow Brat!

Marilyn

Never Give Up!

2007-03-08T16:37:00.001-08:00

Never give up looking for your long lost friends on the Military Brats Registry! Today, another of my 30 classmates from Bliss Elementary School at Ft Bliss, Texas in 1960-61 found the Military Brats Registry. That makes a total of 17 found. It has taken 10 years since the Registry began, and sometimes I think my friends will never show up. Then, all of a sudden one of them happens to search for Military Brats and ends up at the www.militarybrat.com!

Keep checking...your friends will probably show up too!
Marc

Military Brats Invited to Send Videos

2007-02-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Military Channel is seeking personal videos from members of the U.S. Military to let soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines tell their story directly to viewers.
Real-life moments captured on film by service members will be broadcast on the Military Channel as part of a new on-air programming initiative. Servicemen and women anywhere in the world who brought a camcorder with them on a recent deployment, or those who currently have a camera with them on the frontlines, can submit their videos directly to the Military Channel.

Additional information is available from a recent DOD release: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2762

As well as a recent piece that aired on the Pentagon Channel: http://www.media-file.net/discovery/militarychannel/

Personal videos can be submitted online at www.mywardiary.com, or mailed to the address below. Or email mywardiary@discovery.com for more information.
Mailing Address
MILITARY VIDEOS
Discovery Productions
8045 Kennett Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910

The Military Channel is owned and operated by Discovery Communications, Inc. More information about Discovery and its businesses can be found at www.discovery.com.

U.S. Coast Guard Online History Roster

2006-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Association is trying to gather information about former and current Coast Guard Aviators to create an on-line history repository. What is needed is some basic information and then some special information about awards that aviators received.

Aviator information can be added on-line or can be submitted using the form that can be printed from that page.

The History website also features a "Roll of Valor" where each aviator who has received a medal for valor has his citation available for viewing and printing. Unfortunately, a copy of the citations for all the medals that were awarded have not been located or sent in to the website. We ask that if your parent received a medal ranking from the Coast Guard Silver Life Saving Medal and higher, please have them send a copy of the citation to us or do it for them. A xerox copy of the write up is all that is needed; as we do the rest. Please send the citation to:

Captain Charles Hahn
616 Sea Castle Ct.
Wilmington, NC 28412

Any contributions of a historical interest can be sent to us to place in the repository. If you make a copy that is fine or if you want the original back, we will care for it and return it. In the event that the original is not wanted back, then it will be copied into the digital repository and then the fabric (paper, document, publication, photo, etc.) will be saved for inclusion in the Coast Guard Historical Archives in Washington DC.

What is "Home"?

2006-11-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

You are invited to participate in a study designed to examine how the socialization of military brats shapes their understanding of "home."
Click Here.

The Dandelion

2006-10-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Have you read about the "Official Military Brat Flower"? Go to any page of the Military Brats Registry and click the menu item on the right of the page.