Happy Holidays from Toby Keith and the US Military!

My Dad's Father

scan0083, originally uploaded by rroepsch.

This is a picture of my Grandfather from Iowa at his First Communion. How cool is that?

Garden Repair

I love the Boston Bruins Bear, but in this case he gets more love than usual.  Did you hear about the stupid female Bruins "fan" who kicked a hole in a pillar in the women's restroom, then fell down.  Here is the Bear's response.  It's amazing how he can present a sense of disgust in how he repairs the damage.

Veterans Day 2010, Derry, NH

Here is the text of the speech I gave as guest speaker at Derry's Veterans Day commemoration:

Good Morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. On this day of remembrance, this day of reflection, this day which is simply dedicated to those who protect and who have protected our nation and our liberty – our Veterans. This day was born in 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11^th to be Armistice Day.  That year, the American Legion, which I am a proud member, was also born. The Legion was created to help the 2 million Americans who served in Europe during World War I re-integrate back into their hometowns and to maintain the connection to those with whom they had served. That connection was and is critical for those returning from war so they can regain the life they left and incorporate their experiences into their communities. Our communities flourish because of the vast and varied experiences of our veterans.  We’ve all learned to make the best of the hand we are dealt, and learned that “fair” is a four letter word, because life isn’t. But most importantly, we bring millions of human touchpoints from all over the world back to our towns to enrich them. Even through the pain and horror of war, there can be dignity, decency and purpose. And … if we found no such thing, we are resolute not to allow that which is surely evil to follow us home.

In 1980, I turned 19 in Air Force boot camp and learned more in those eight weeks than I had learned in my life. I learned to be tolerant of others – 50 young women living in one room will do that to you!

 I learned at 19 that there is absolutely nothing that I cannot do when I wish to do it. That is a wonderful thing to know about yourself and I thank the many women who served in the military throughout our history for making it possible.

When I got out of boot camp, I found that many of those I served with were somewhat less tolerant of women in “their” military and were not shy to let me know how they felt. What surprised me was that my assertive and unyielding response often took them by surprise. I would ask “did you really think that I would not respond harshly when you told me I don’t belong? When you tell me that I am going to get you killed someday?” So I became very intolerant of people telling me I didn’t belong. But that chip I carried on my shoulder became worn down and polished as those people either learned that we do belong or to keep their mouths shut.  But it took a long time … and it still rears its ugly head from time to time.

During my eight years in the Air Force, they taught me the Russian language and how to be an Intelligence Analyst. How cool is that?? That was my mission on a little US base in Iraklion, Crete and on another island base called Akrotiri, Cyprus. It was there that on a warm and hazy October morning in 1983 we were startled awake to banging on our doors.  The Marines our detachment was supporting in Beirut were attacked and they were sending some of the most serious casualties to our little base.  Since it was a British base, the responsibility for transferring the remains of a Marine who didn’t make it fell to us. With Old Glory’s field of blue carefully placed on the casket over his heart, we carried him from the hearse to  the C-130 so he could go home.  I can still feel the thin steel handle digging into my fingers as we walked up the ramp.

After finishing my GI-bill education at the University of Maryland I sought a commission and found the Coast Guard the most friendly to women. After 17 weeks of pushups and being yelled at in Officer Candidate School (which I would gladly repeat tomorrow if I had the opportunity!) I was tossed into the grinder of Coast Guard missions. I learned how to coordinate many boats, ships and aircraft during Search and Rescue missions, then be tossed in front of the TV cameras to talk about the lives we saved and how people can keep themselves from becoming casualties. I helped coordinate the search for the fishing vessel Andrea Gail of “Perfect Storm” fame and the Air National Guard rescue swimmer who was lost at sea during that storm. I escorted President Clinton during the End of WWII Commemoration in Hawai’I in 1995. I’ve policed up cigarette butts, cleaned latrines and shoveled dirt. I helped coordinate the media during the search for JFK Jr.’s plane.  I’ve had to explain to mothers, fathers, wives and children why we were no longer going to search for their loved one. I learned that this was their significant event and my solemn duty.  I must be calm and dignified.

I retired in July 2001 – being a single mother was catching up to me and my ability to remain mobile.  After 9/11 I really wanted to be able to contribute again so I was intrigued when I was offered a position in Baghdad Iraq as an Army contractor in late 2005.  They hired our group to come up with a media marketing campaign designed to thwart the enemy’s ability to find safe havens to make and plant IEDs. It was a challenging task certainly, but in the seven months I was in Iraq, during the most deadly time of the conflict, we made a dent in the casualties. I believe the seeds we planted and the work which continued after I left saved the lives of Americans and our Allies and contributed to the hope of the Iraqis and the relative peace there today.

The men and women returning from these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the other places terror lives need us to be understanding. Many are invisible. Many are homeless and hurting already.  Some women returning are having an awful time.  Suffering from traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, and sexual trauma, they are returning to claim the children they left with relatives, then becoming homeless because they are suffering from symptoms of these injuries. It is gut wrenching to hear stories that some wish they had an obvious physical injury so they’d be taken seriously.  That breaks my heart.

 It took me over a year to “come home” from Iraq after I got back to the US. I was angry at people who seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much over things I thought were frivolous.  Didn’t they know that three Marines were killed today? Didn’t they realize that Soldiers are in a firefight that will orphan many of their children? I was very angry and it put a few more edges on that chip I carry around. It is a joy to me when I meet other veterans and can talk about my service. When you find out someone is a vet, there is so much you don’t have to explain.  You can have nothing else in common, but that shared experience is just ….well it’s wonderful.

Many of the veterans returning home to New Hampshire are invisible to us too.  As National Guard, they come home and then scatter back to jobs they hope they still have or businesses they hope haven’t been run into the ground in their absence. They are supposed to be so happy to be home that nothing can be bad.  Before coming home they fantasize and maybe secretly dread the homecoming because they are changed and home has moved on without them. The veterans of World War I had veterans organizations like the Legion and the VFW to give them an opportunity to find the part of home that hadn’t moved on - The part they could relate to.  I recommend that all returning veterans be given the first year of membership in the veteran’s organization of their choosing as a benefit of honorable service that is just as important as educational and health benefits.  I’ll be writing our new members of Congress with this recommendation and I ask you to do so as well.

Then the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan can make these organizations their own and ensure the needs of this generation of combat veterans are properly considered.

The warrior ethos holds sacred the notion of leaving no one behind on the battlefield. We must be diligent to ensure it applies as deeply when we come home.

Thank you and God Bless America.

Bruins Opening Night

Bruins Opening Night, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

We had so much fun at the game last night. The Bruins looked fantastic in a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitols.

Lynn English 1979 Graduation

Maureen Roepsch, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

I found this picture of me at my graduation.

To My Dad - Thought I'd Share This - from May 2001

It should be no surprise to anyone here that my Dad loved to eat. So I suppose it is fitting that my first memory of him is waking up to the sounds and smells of him cooking corned beef hash and eggs before he went to work and us eating breakfast together, just the two of us. I was his little princess and he was and is my hero.

My Dad always made me believe that I could do anything in the world as long as I worked hard and never forgot the little guy. I knew every day of my life that he loved me no matter what and everything I ever did or accomplished was simply to make my parents proud of me. For I felt that if they who are such good human beings were proud of me then I must be doing okay.

My Dad taught me a great deal about being a good human being. My father also taught me that you must not compromise your principles for any reason whatsoever because if you do, you cease to control your destiny and you allow others to control you.

He taught me how to field strip an M-1 rifle and how to perform inspection arms without getting my thumb stuck in the bolt. He taught me that to disable an attacker you jam your thumbs into their eyes all the way to the elbow or jam your heel into the instep – that would take the wind out of their sails, by golly.

Dad always told me not to trust anyone, DTA he said, but I know he did trust. Instead I followed his example and trusted and loved unconditionally and was disappointed when that trust was broken, (however seldomly) and was not particularly eager to allow the same person another shot at me.

He was a walking treatise on the art of leadership and war. I found that much of the leadership style I evolved into as a military officer came from the years of relentless quotations from great military leaders I was often subject to. He taught me that life was often unfair but not to whine about it, just suck it up and carry on.

My Dad carried on by enjoying the real things in life – dedication to his family and as a master to a craft that too few appreciate. My father gained much joy from being a gunsmith and marksman, but I feel his greatest joy was the love he shared with his family, including not only his wife, children and grandchildren, but the uncles, aunts, in-laws and out-laws and dear, dear friends for whom he was simply “Tomus.”

My Dad could have taken on a lot of overtime to enrich us materially, but despite some gentle but unsuccessful prodding from my Mom, he usually passed on it in order to spend more time with those he loved. Don’t get me wrong – his penchant for adrenaline lives on in my brother and me – he loved being a cop. How many professions allow one to end stories with the words “Ram him” and the bad guy either caught or running down the street handcuffed to a six foot length of wrought iron railing. His storytelling capability was legendary and the ability to mine fresh stories may have been his favorite part of the job.


I always knew without a doubt how much my father loved me, but I never really knew the subtleties until the other day when I absentmindedly started looking through his wallet. I don’t know why I did. The picture case that came with the wallet was empty. But I looked in one of the pockets in the back and I pulled a tattered corner and out spilled a pile of pictures. My beautiful mother on their wedding day, pictures of me as a baby all worn from forty years of changing them from wallet to wallet, my sisters and brother, all four of his beloved grandchildren, my brother at Fenway Park and finally his mother’s obituary.

I didn’t know why the sight of those pictures struck me so until I realized that I was looking at pure love spilled out on the table, and my Daddy had, in that split second, given me a shot of bittersweet joy, enough to last a lifetime.

I am very confident that each time I say a prayer and remember to take the time to be patient enough to listen for the whisper of God’s answer, I will also hear the whisper of my earthly father guiding me as always to the right path. He never let me down and I will try mightily to live up to his great example.

Mary Genevieve Bowdren Ahern

Mary Genevieve Bowdren Ahern, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

My Nana, Mary Genevieve Bowdren Ahern is second from the left. My Mom thinks this was 1929ish on Cape Cod

Doggles for military working dog

Doggles for military working dog, originally uploaded by The U.S. Army.

Love this! Chillaxin puppy :)

Bobby Orr Arriving for the Statue Unveiling!

Lynn Beach

Lynn Beach, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

This picture was taken of me and my sister Kris in 1971. In case you missed the significance of the shirt I am wearing - it says "Unbelievable Bobby Orr" in black on the unmistakable gold of the Boston Bruins. Just in case anyone thought I was a late comer to hockey fandom!

Dave and the Beez!

Dave and the Beez!, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

We had soooooo much fun at the Bruins game. They are up 2-1. Go B's!

Allison, Aunt Claire and Eric Roepsch

Allison, Aunt Claire and Eric Roepsch, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Thomas and Carole Roepsch Wedding 1955

Thomas and Carole Roepsch Wedding 1955, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Thomas, Eric and Maureen Roepsch 1974

Thomas, Eric and Maureen Roepsch 1974, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

"After the Christmas Party"

"After the Christmas Party", originally uploaded by reenie61b.

I love this picture. It is from a slide that I never remember seeing until I scanned it. Buried treasure!

Carole and Kathryn Ahern

Carole and Kathryn Ahern, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

This is my Mom on the left and my Auntie Kate on the right. They are so beautiful!!

Roepsch Family Easter May 1968

Roepsch Family Easter May 1968, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Tuukka Rask, Derek Repucci and me at Ziggy's in Montreal

Tuukka Rask, Derek Repucci and me at Ziggy's in Montreal, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Are They All In The Back Of That Truck?

Are They All In The Back Of That Truck?, originally uploaded by Prince Of Slides.

This cracks me up about Vegas. You can get a girl in your room delivered faster than a pizza!

My First Flip Video - Hah!

My First Flip Video - Hah!
Originally uploaded by reenie61b

Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Here is Dave helping Tiger putt!

Curling!

I fell in love with curling at these Olympics!

Dave at Nellis AFB Golf Course

Dave at Nellis AFB Golf Course, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

18 Holes at Nellis AFB Golf Course - $25, New visor -$20, Golfing with my honey while the Air Force Thunderbirds practice formations overhead - Priceless!!

My New Kitchen

My New Kitchen, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Here is another view from the back door.

My New Kitchen

My New Kitchen, originally uploaded by reenie61b.

Here is one view of it. I love it!!