Last week I made it back to
Saint William Catholic Church in Janesville for one of their meals that they put on from time to time. This time, the presentation of eats was a breakfast fixed up by their chapter of the Nights of Columbus. It was an early affair that started at Seven a.m. or so in the Parish Hall adjacent to the church. I was surprised I pretty much had the place to myself. I suspect people were going to beseige the place after Mass.
They had set up a buffet style breakfast down at the kitchen end of the facility. There was a couple of versions of scrambled eggs; ample supply of sausage; French toast; fried potatoes; mini muffins; juice; milk; and, plenty of coffee. I made a couple of trips to the buffet.
The tables were thoughtfully set up for the occasion. A fellow kept filling my coffee cup and I had a bit of a chat with him about working all night and trying to get to these functions during the day. I don't always make it. None-the-less, you must keep a vigilant eye on local daily newspapers, weeklies, and Internet sources on local events. You will notice there are not too many weeks in the year that some group, tavern, or church, is not putting on some type of meal.
For the record, this particular post is in regards to the meal that was held on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Find
Saint William Catholic Church at 1822 Ravine Street, off North Arch Street, Janesville, Wisconsin. Call (608) 755 - 5184 for more information on other church activities. Or, visit their Web site at
http://stwilliam.net .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army First Lieutenant Nick A. Dewhirst, 25, of Onalaska, Wisconsin died on Sunday, July 20, 2008, in the Qalandar District of the Khost Province, Afghanistan. Dewhirst was killed when his convoy was attacked by enemy combatants using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to the Company Delta, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The Lacrosse Tribune notes Dewhirst grew up in the town of Medary and that in his younger days he had been and Eagle Scout back in 1999. He had worked as an attendant at the La Crosse Country Club not far from his home. Nick was a 2001 graduate of Onalaska High School. He was on the student council and a member of the National Honor Society. Dewhirst was friends with Adam Servasis another Onalaska graduate killed in Afghanistan in 2006 while serving as an Air Force Senior Airman. The Tribune went on to mention that after high school Dewhirst enrolled in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, with a Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship. He had applied to both the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S Army Academy eventually being excepted by the Army at West Point. He was commissioned as an Army officer in 2006 and assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.
The Fort Campbell Courier said Lieutenant Dewhirst's awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; the Air Assault Badge; the Parachutist Badge; the Ranger Tab; the Special Operations Diver Badge; and, Weapons Qualification M4 (expert).
The Website legacy.com posted obituary information about Nick and mentions his degree at West Point was Mechanical Engineering. Nick also completed Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Key West, Florida. After graduation from the West Point, he completed the Army Ranger Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Afghanistan in March of 2008. Nick was remembered as enjoying recreational rock climbing, scuba diving, and base parachute jumping.
At the time of his death Nick Dewhirst was survived by his parents Randy and Susan Dewhirst; brothers Chad and Chase; and, grandparents Ray and Mary Dewhirst, and Mary June Weiser.
Army First Lieutenant Nick Dewhirst was the 11th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Afghanistan since October of 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
0 American and Coalition casualties in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March 2011
100,444 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,903 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,449 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1533 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
870 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,062 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,944 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
29 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
148 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
2 journalists (regional agencies) have been killed in Libya since March of 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
