Families United Update

I am sure by now, that many of you know, I am a strong supporter of the US Military and their missions in Iraq & Afghanistan. I grew up around the military and I worked for the DoD out at the National Training Center (11th ACR, OPFOR baby! HUA! Ft. Irwin) in California. I subscribe to many support groups and have many active and retired military friends. I wanted to post this update in the hopes that in light of the Democrats wanting to advance their commitment to defeat by trying to sign into law a bill working AGAINST the troops, that those of you who read this, will sign the petition.

It's hard to lose a family member. We all have. But when that family member is a US military member, it's even harder when day after day they are assaulted by the continuing drumbeat of the Democrats wanting to surrender. The thing that most anti-war types don't realize, is that these families sacrficed their sons, daughters, father's and mother's in our name. And they are deeply offended by that constant drumbeat of bringing the troops home before the mission is completed. Many of them, and friends of mine who are serving over there, don't want to leave until the mission is done. We have the finest military the world has ever seen, bar none. The Democratic Party is run by a bunch of aging 60's hippie types that think this is Vietnam again. Well, kids, it ain't.

If we leave the mission in Iraq & Afghanistan unresolved, the personnel that died in the conflict will have died in vain. For what? because the Democrats want to embarrass the President and to them, "Blowhard Smarming" is more of a threat than radical Islam. The thing they forget is, unlike Vietnam (where they cut & ran the first time), the terrorists will follow us home. Anyone remember Sept. 11, 2001? The libs don't, they forgot. Anyway, here is the petition that Families United want to send to Congress, please sign it and show your support for our men & women in uniform and pass it on to your friends or direct them here.

Our Petition

My name is John Ellsworth and I am the father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth U.S.M.C. who was killed in the fight for Fallujah on 13 NOV 2004. I am the Vice-Chair of Families United for our Troops and their Mission

As you know, Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We are a grassroots coalition of Gold Star families, veterans, families with loved ones in harm's way, and Americans who share a deep appreciation for our men and women in uniform and support them in their efforts to make America safer by winning the War On Terror. Now is the time to join together as one voice to show support of America.

We at Families United have recently started an on-line petition to show support for our troops and will be delivering it to our Congressmen around September 11th 2007. We are requesting your help in order to achieve our goal of ONE MILLION SIGNATURES!

I am also requesting that you forward this link to all of your friends and family.

We will need every signature we can get. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-america-petition.html I believe that this is too important to ignore any longer and we need to let our troops know America really does support them, even if Congress doesn't.

If you have any questions, ideas or helpful information on how to get this message out to more people, please feel free to contact me at MichiganFamiliesUnited@Yahoo.Com

Thank you in advance,

John M. Ellsworth, National Co-Chair - Families United for our Troops

Proud Father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth

Killed in Action / Operation Iraqi Freedom

13 NOV 2004

Forums on Congressional Support of our Troops and their Mission.

Forums will be held in 15 cities across the United States to debate the issue of war powers - Congressional Support of our Troops and our Commander in Chief. These forums will be presented by The Federalist Society. Families United is offering our support to these events to enable the message to be heard that Congress needs to support our Troops and their Mission and to provide the troops with all the tools necessary to be successful including manpower, funds, equipment and the complete support of the American people! .

We are looking for patriots to attend these forums. In addition, we are looking for people - specially veterans - who are willing to speak out on this topic. With the recent votes in Congress, it is imperative that our voices are heard. If you will be able to attend, please send me an email with Attend and the city you can attend in the subject line (Merrilee@familiesunitedmission.com). Please let me know if you are available for media interviews following the events.

The first 4 forums are scheduled for next week in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio and Denver, Colorado. Other locations will include Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Louisville, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tampa

Schedule:

Pittsburgh Mon Apr 2 Location / Time TBA

Cleveland Tue April 3 11:45 AM, The City Club of Cleveland, 850 Euclid Ave 2^nd Fl

Columbus Wed, Apr 4 Noon, Athletic Club of Columbus, 136 E Broad Street

Denver Wed Apr 4 Noon, The University Club, 1673 Sherman Street

Time of Remembrance - Washington DC May 20, 2007

Is Time of Remembrance on your Agenda? This is a special time to honor our heroes, past and present. It is also an opportunity to meet other Gold Star families. Families United is planning dinner on Saturday night, has tickets available for the Wash Monument and we are planning a family ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery for all families. There are still a few rooms available at the hotel if you have not yet made your arrangements. If you are planning to attend Time of Remembrance, please contact Merrilee@familiesun itedmission.com for more information..

Just a quick reminder that the block of hotel rooms in Washington DC will be released on April 6. If you have not made your reservation, do so today.

Families United Committees

We would like to involve as many members of Families United in the activities we do in support of our troops. To make this happen, we are creating committees which will work on the various aspects of our organization. Two of those committees are Events and News.

Events Plan events that can take place on special dates in all states

A sub-committee will assist individual states with ideas.

News Researchers who have time to research and verify the events of our military that is not heard in the mainstream media.

If you are interested in participating in one of these committees or have ideas to share, please contact me at Merrilee@familiesunitedmission.com.

Did you know that your contribution is tax deductable? Families United remains dedicated to making the voices heard of the many Gold Star families, Blue Star families, and veterans who have sacrificed so much. With your help, we can continue to ensure that the men and women of our armed forces and their families are honored for the sacrifices they make to guarantee our freedoms!