Archive for May, 2011

Safetyheroes.org Gonzo-styled Fund Raiser for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund

Monday, May 30th, 2011 at 5:40 pm 
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Safetyheroes.org is proud to announce that it will be hosting a fund raising event on June 30, 3011 at the Grove in Anaheim just prior to the Ted Nugent concert. All proceeds will go directly to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

Date: June 30, 2011
Time: 6-8 p.m. (Ted Nugent concert follows)
Place: City National Grove of Anaheim – Terra Rosa Room 2200 East Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA

All VIP-Gonzo attendees will be provided with a complimentary ticket to the MotorCity Madman Ted Nugent concert which immediately follows.

Contact: Mark Peacock/Kelly Atherton at 949-660-7762
or by email: mark@safetyheroes.org

 

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OC Memorial Day Event Honoring Veterans

Monday, May 30th, 2011 at 1:57 pm 
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Published: May 26, 2011
Updated: May 30, 2011 10:38 a.m.

Memorial Day: A time to reflect on the cost of freedom

By TOM BERG
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Memorial Day 2011

[img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8w-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kd-1.jpg]120
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, from left, shares a laugh with Ret. Army and UMAVA members Antonio Mendez and Frank Ramirez in Orange at the American Legion during the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting on May 21. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8w-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kh-1.jpg]10
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, left, speaks with AMVETS Inspector General Terry McCarty in Orange at the American Legion during the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting on May 21. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8w-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kj-1.jpg]10
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, 63, speaks during a recent United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting at the American Legion in Orange. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8x-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2js-1.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, 63, speaks during the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting at the American Legion in Orange on May 21. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8x-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kn-2.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, 63, speaks to a crowd at the American Legion in Orange during a recent meeting of the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA). ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8x-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kp-2.jpg]00
Antonio Mendez listens to Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio speak during a recent meeting of the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) at the American Legion in Orange. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8y-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2k9-1.jpg]00
Terry McCarty, Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio and Jan Moorehead, from left, pose during the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting at the American Legion. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty8z-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kv-1.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, right, embraces with Ret. USMC Alexander Madrigal at the American Legion in Orange during a meeting of United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA). ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty90-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2k1-2.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, 63, holds a photo of himself that was taken when he was 19 years old. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty90-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kf-1.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, 63, displays his Purple Hearts at the American Legion in Orange. In 1968, he was shot so badly that buddies feared his head might fall off in their hands. Around him lay the dead from “Suicide Charlie” Co., of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty90-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kl-1.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, right, speaks with UMAVA founder, Fred Bella during a recent meeting of United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA). ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br> [img src=http://safetyheroes.org/wp-content/flagallery/memorial-day-2011/thumbs/thumbs_llty91-b78795222z-120110526181346000gnvvh2kb-1.jpg]00
Sgt. Ret. USMC Pastor Frank Orzio, right, speaks with UMAVA Commander Francisco J. Barragán at the American Legion in Orange during the United Mexican-American Veterans Association (UMAVA) meeting on May 21. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<br> <b>Meta Data</b><br><b>Image Width</b> 560<br><b>Image Height</b> 420<br>

This military chaplain is easy to spot.

He’s the one with no left leg. No right ear. No jawbone.

He knows, firsthand, the meaning of Memorial Day. He knows the cost of it, too.

In 1968, he was shot so badly that buddies feared his head might fall off in their hands. Around him lay the dead from “Suicide Charlie” Co., of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.

Decades later, doctors still are trying to piece Frank Orzio 63, of Santa Ana, back together.

“They want to do more grafting,” he says. “After a while, you say, ‘The heck with it. My face is lop-sided. Accept me the way I am.’ ”

For many, today is a day to spend at the beach. Not Orzio. Read the rest of this entry

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Ceremonies in Orange to honor fallen US soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan

Friday, May 13th, 2011 at 4:50 pm 
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Published: May 13, 2011
Updated: 7:57 a.m.

Flag ceremony conjures honor, sacrifice

BY DAVID WHITING
BY DAVID WHITING
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Some say if you haven’t seen war you don’t understand.

But we should try.

A helmet balanced on a gun balanced on shoes is the makeshift memorial that is displayed on Wednesday's during these ceremonies in Orange to honor fallen US soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

 

A young woman puts a bugle to her lips and Taps fills the air as the Stars and Stripes slowly drops at the Orange Circle.

Two-dozen battle-hardened Camp Pendleton Marines salute. Some are too young to drink but are old enough to have served in places like Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, a desolate place that has seen too much bloodshed.

Nearly 100 of their brothers in previous wars — wars with such names as Hue, Inchon, Tarawa — salute as well, stiff right hands to eyebrows. Another 100 people — some young, some graying — put their hands over their hearts.

The souls of 57 American men and women in uniform killed during the month of April are with us, each of their names having been read aloud just moments before.

Yes, those of us who never served don’t truly understand. But with the help of veterans such as the ones at the plaza we learn.

And we come to know the meaning of such words as honor, patriotism, sacrifice. Read the rest of this entry

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