|
|
Post by Moderator on Oct 13, 2005 10:11:11 GMT -6
AUGUST, 2003 -
While having coffee between appointments at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, we started talking about an excellent version of Echo Taps one of the guys found on the internet. Jeff Seeber began thinking about using Windows Movie Maker to produce a tribute to three service buddies of his, a Navy FMF Corpsman and two Marines, who died from wounds sustained in Vietnam while they were patients at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in 1970.
SEPTEMBER, 2003 -
We met again at our next round of appointments at the VA Hospital. All of us had been looking for patriotic and military pictures and music. Seeber's original intention was to display a few images while Taps played, but now that we knew a variety of high-quality public-domain music was available, he started adding one song after another and choreographed pictures to match the music. Military Salute was born.
NOVEMBER, 2003 -
The video was completed a few days before Veterans Day. We mailed copies to everyone who had provided material and we began sending copies to friends. We decided that each of us would make 10 extra copies and wondered how many years they would collect dust before we used them for something else. By the end of the month, all of us had given away the extras, made 10 more, and had given them away as well.
DECEMBER, 2003 -
We started receiving letters from Military officials and requests via e-mail. The group decided each of us would make 100 copies. All 500 were gone by early the next month.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Oct 13, 2005 10:12:38 GMT -6
JANUARY, 2004 -
We received the first request from an APO address. We started posting notes on internet military forums we frequented and began mailing copies to anyone who wanted one.
FEBRUARY, 2004 -
Each of us started passing out copies at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and we mailed copies to each of the Minnesota Veterans Homes.
MARCH, 2004 -
Others began posting messages about the video on Military bulletin boards and in internet chat rooms. Even though each of us was making 100 or more copies per month, we were beginning to struggle to keep up with the demand.
APRIL, 2004 -
One of the guys had the bright idea to launch a web site. We made up a simple web page and started e-mailing the URL to friends and family.
MAY, 2004 -
Our home page was listed by Google. By May 15th, we were buried under an avalanche of requests. We were spending every waking moment making copies, trying to keep up.
JUNE, 2004 -
Because we could no longer handle the number of requests we were receiving, we decided to limit the offer to groups and to people who promised to make copies for others.
AUGUST, 2004 -
Military Salute became available online.
SEPTEMBER, 2004 -
We mailed the 10,000th copy of Military Salute. The number includes copies we have distributed ourselves, copies made by others (that we know about), and downloads.
OCTOBER, 2004 -
We mailed copies to 122 Veterans Homes and Veterans Nursing Homes, the 4 Area Offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration and the 22 Regional Offices of the Veterans Health Administration in advance of Veterans Day.
NOVEMBER, 2004 -
We mailed copies to all of the independent and USO Armed Forces Service Centers at American airports.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Oct 13, 2005 10:14:30 GMT -6
JANUARY, 2005 -
Prints Of Poetry of Newark, DE agreed to provide 1,000 copies of Military Salute for the 2005 National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
FEBRUARY, 2005 -
We mailed out the 15,000th copy of Military Salute. The number includes the copies we have distributed ourselves, copies made by others (that we know about), and downloads.
MARCH, 2005 -
We added the Discussion Forum & Message Board.
APRIL, 2005 -
Website is now one year old. Military Salute was mentioned in a Jeff Edwards column on Military.com and also in The Joe Foss Institute newsletter.
MAY, 2005 -
We mailed the 20,000th copy of Military Salute. The number includes copies we have distributed ourselves, copies made by others (that we know about), and downloads.
JUNE, 2005 -
We helped Prints of Poetry distribute 1,500 copies of Military Salute from their booth at the Disabled Sports, Recreation & Fitness Exposition at the Minneapolis Convention Center on June 27th, the first day of the 2005 National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
AUGUST, 2005 -
We started our Special Projects program to donate copies of the video to carefully-chosen groups to use for special events and/or fundraising. This is in addition to our ongoing efforts to assist groups that want to make their own copies for a variety of purposes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Mar 8, 2006 11:59:49 GMT -6
MARCH, 2006 -
We sent the 50,000th copy of Military Salute to Operation First Response to be used as a fundraiser for their efforts assisting wounded and injured American Servicemembers and their families.
APRIL, 2006 -
We released Welcome Home, a 43-minute tribute to those who served during the Vietnam War.
MAY, 2006 -
We mailed just over 3,000 copies of Military Salute, our busiest month to date.
JUNE, 2006 -
Military Salute and Welcome Home became available again for online viewing and downloading in a Flash version on Google Video.
JULY, 2006 -
The Minnesota Platoon volunteered to be the Bugles Across America Minnesota coordinator for the Echo Taps 2007 project at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis/St Paul, MN on Armed Forces Day (Saturday May 19, 2007) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration.
AUGUST, 2006 -
SWC-TV, a public access cable channel serving South Washington County in Minnesota, added Military Salute to its regular scheduling and began airing the video 4 times per week.
SEPTEMBER, 2006 -
VHS tapes and packaged DVD copies of Military Salute became available for purchase online through YourStoryVideo.net
OCTOBER, 2006 -
The Military Writers Society of America named Military Salute the winner of The 2006 Freedom Award at their Salute to the Military Conference in San Diego, California.
NOVEMBER, 2006 -
We hit a new monthly record for distribution of Military Salute. The total of mailed copies, online viewings and downloads from Google Video added up to 5,154. The monthly total of mailed copies, online viewings and downloads from Google Video of Welcome Home exceeded 1,000 for the first time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Jan 11, 2007 20:48:22 GMT -6
FEBRUARY, 2007 -
Military Salute surpassed the 100,000 mark after a large Defense-related website linked directly to the Flash version available on Google Video. We will no longer count the number of copies distributed.
MAY, 2007 -
We coordinated EchoTaps Worldwide at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on May 19, 2007.
JUNE, 2007 -
We were informed that Welcome Home has been accepted as research material by The Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. It can be found in the Jeff Seeber Collection.
AUGUST, 2007 -
Welcome Home became available on DVD through YourStoryVideo. Now that both Military Salute and Welcome Home are available at no charge on Google Video or for sale through Your Story Video, we will no longer make and distribute copies ourselves.
SEPTEMBER, 2007 -
We launched the Minnesota Veterans Literary Initiative.
NOVEMBER, 2007 -
We began preparations for the 2008 Honor & Remember Ride To Washington in June, 2008.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Jan 11, 2008 13:11:11 GMT -6
JANUARY, 2008 -
We mailed DVDs of both Military Salute and Welcome Home to various fundraising events around the country scheduled for the year. We continued preparing for the 2008 Honor & Remember Ride To Washington in June.
APRIL, 2008 -
The second phase of the Minnesota Veterans Literary Initiative began. The project is now open to residents of all states and territories. We will post poetry and essay submissions in the Military Salute Reference Forum indefinitely.
MAY, 2008 -
Jeff Seeber was invited to deliver the keynote address at the first Heroes United - Gold Star Families event, sponsored by the Minnesota Patriot Guard.
SEPTEMBER, 2008 -
Jeff Seeber was invited to speak at the Tribute To The Troops Concert at the Medina Entertainment Center on September 7.
Jeff Seeber was invited to speak at the Commander's Call for the 210th EIS (Engineer Installation Squadron) of the 133rd Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve, Fort Snelling - Minneapolis, MN on September 21, 2008.
NOVEMBER, 2008 -
We released the United States Flag Manual.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Jan 1, 2009 12:49:32 GMT -6
JANUARY, 2009 -
We completed planning for the 2009 Remember The Fallen Tribute.
APRIL, 2009 -
Jeff Seeber was invited to speak at the opening ceremony of the Tribute To The Troops 3K Walk & 5K Run in Eagan, MN on April 26. The event was followed by Scoops For Troops, a fundraiser that benefits the Fallen Heroes Children's Education Fund and the Wounded Heroes Fund.
MAY, 2009 -
The 2009 Remember The Fallen Tribute began.
AUGUST, 2009 -
We completed the 2009 Remember The Fallen Tribute.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moderator on Oct 4, 2009 14:45:43 GMT -6
Just four days after the United States of America was attacked by cowardly terrorists on 11 September 2001, I was sitting at a picnic table outside the Minneapolis VA Medical Center awaiting some test results before a routine clinic appointment.
An eerie silence hung in the air because the aircraft normally arriving and departing nearby Minneapolis / Saint Paul International Airport had been grounded. All of us sitting there speaking in near whispers happened to be Vietnam Veterans. One of the guys asked a rhetorical question that the rest of us were thinking but didn't want to say aloud ... "Does this country have what it's going to take to right this horrible wrong?"
It didn't take long before we had our answer. Within weeks, the latest generation of American men and women to experience war began deploying to fight terrorism around the world. Somewhere along the way, for reasons we will never understand, they decided to liberate hundreds of thousands of Vietnam Veterans while at the same time protecting and defending America from another attack.
We noticed it almost immediately when Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen began mentioning Vietnam Vets whenever they were interviewed as they walked through airports or filed into aircraft at military bases across our Nation.
I will never forget the day when the USS George Washington battle group returned to Norfolk, VA from its extended deployment in the Persian Gulf. They were on their way home but were turned around and sent back into harm's way within hours of the World Trade Center buildings collapsing to the ground. A U.S. Navy Second Class Petty Officer, one of the first Sailors to disembark, was asked what he thought of the cheering, flag-waving throng that had assembled on the pier to greet the ships. He responded, "This is the way the guys coming home from Nam should have been treated". Stunned, I sat back in my recliner and began to cry like a baby. Within hours, I started receiving e-mails from friends around the country asking if I had seen what they saw. Our homecoming had begun, at long last.
As the months went by, I began to think it was finally time for me to publicly remember some of the buddies I served with that everyone but a handful of people had long-since forgotten. I started to assemble a Windows "movie" in their honor. When I mentioned it to some of my fellow patients at the VA Medical Center in August of 2003, they told me they would like to help. Although we hadn't officially created a group or given ourselves a name yet, that was the moment the Minnesota Platoon was born. That was the day when the Military Salute Project started.
I finished the Military Salute video in September, made a few copies, and passed them out to the guys. Later that same day, all four of them offered to help distribute the video to their friends and families. We started the effort with two rules and two rules only ... 1) we would never accept any money from anyone; and, 2) my four helpers would remain anonymous. We have adhered to our self-imposed restrictions ever since and we will continue to do so as long as any of us are alive.
We had no idea that the two videos we eventually produced and distributed for free would lead to being asked for military and veterans-related protocol advice by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Cemetery Administration, numerous state governments, and too many groups and individuals to count.
We had no idea we would be asked to help coordinate military and patriotic events across the Nation and even in other countries. We had no idea we would eventually coordinate our own events, beginning with Echo Taps at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in 2007. We intended to "retire" after Echo Taps because we thought we had accomplished everything we possibly could.
The Military Salute video had been shown at sea onboard the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier for Memorial Day a few years ago, as part of training at the U.S. Navy's Hospital Corps School at Great Lakes, and on a wall in one of Saddam's palaces. It's been shown at Veterans homes, VA hospitals and in classrooms across the nation.
The Welcome Home video had become popular with Vietnam Veterans reunion groups in nearly every state and used during lectures by a Vietnam War recipient of the Medal of Honor. There were many other things that happened, each of which by themselves made all of the effort and expense worthwhile. We thought we had done all we could do. We were wrong.
We had no clue that I would be able to finally visit The Wall on behalf of all five of us during the 2008 Honor & Remember Ride To Washington. We certainly didn't know at the time that the trip to D.C. would result in the 2009 Remember The Fallen Tribute. We never saw it coming that Servicemembers, Veterans and their families would ask the five of us for advice about the experiences, sacrifices and the aftermath resulting from serving during a time of war.
We started Operation E-mail, a project we kept as quiet as we could, and never dreamed we would be swamped with dozens of e-mails every day for more than two years from Servicemembers stationed around the globe who were looking for somewhere "safe" to vent to people who had some idea what they were going through.
Along the way, we became involved with groups such as Bugles Across America, the Patriot Guard Riders and Tribute To The Troops, just to name a few. Because of those groups and our involvement with DoD and the VA, I have been asked to give speeches and to say some of the things my brother and sister Vietnam Veterans have wanted to say since the wonderful men and women who have served since 9/11 brought us back from the perimeter where we had exiled ourselves.
I have had the honor and privilege of meeting countless Servicemembers, Veterans and especially their families ... Gold Star and Blue Star ... from nearly every state and territory. I have met an amazing cross-section of patriotic Americans who never wore a uniform, yet realize how crucial it is to stand for those who stood for us. And all along the way, I have heard "Welcome Home" a countless number of times, and each time it affects me the same way it did when I heard it for the first time in early 2002.
When we began planning the Remember The Fallen Tribute in 2008, we knew that it would be our final project as a group, mainly because we had no choice. Our respective medical situations have deteriorated to the point where we no longer have the energy.
All five of us are fighting numerous service-connected problems, including some nasty new complications courtesy of a variety of cancers caused by Agent Orange exposure. More importantly, we refuse to commit to coordinating an event when we know there's a good chance we might not be able to see it through to the end. That's the reality now. It's time for us to stop before we reach for "a bridge too far" and then regret it.
For the last eight months or so, we have been gradually shutting down all of our group activities. Requests for protocol advice dropped off with the change in administrations, so now we refer those questions to the newly-opened Protocol Offices for each of the federal departments.
We found a large group that specializes in working with Global War On Terror Veterans who can respond quickly and provide much more assistance than we could ever dream of offering. We prepared and released the United States Flag Manual for people to consult instead of asking us their questions via e-mail.
There is one thing we will continue to do for as long as we can. Since 2004, we have pooled equal shares of cash and then donated the money to individuals and groups who meet the criteria we developed. I will pick the recipients each year and then distribute the money.
I will continue to maintain the various Roll Calls of Minnesota's Fallen that require updating, namely those who served in the Global War On Terror and deceased Minnesota Patriot Guard Riders. I will handle small projects that come along as I am able, such as one that will be announced in a week or so. Other than that, I will attempt to make as many PGR events and missions at Fort Snelling National Cemetery as I can, but they will necessarily be few and far between.
Mentioning individual's names risks trouble, but there are a few people I simply must recognize because we shared experiences that literally changed my life ...
To my brother Vietnam Veterans who helped me too many times to count, both publicly and privately ... Jim Benson, Dave Winkler, Dave Woodward, Bob Wateski, Jim "Irish" Lewis (may he rest in peace), Ron Mackedanz, Denny Padora and Jim Mortel ... THANK YOU!
To the members of the Honor & Remember Platoon not already named who got me to The Wall after three failed attempts spanning 30+ years, especially John Foster ... THANK YOU!
Most of all, to my best friend who has put up with me for nearly 25 years in more sickness than health and more worse than better, to my wife, Candace ... THANK YOU! None of what has been accomplished by me or my group would have been possible without your support.
Finally, on behalf of the five of us who call ourselves the Minnesota Platoon ...
To everyone who has helped us along the way, everyone who has participated in one of our events, everyone who wanted to participate but could not for whatever the reason, and to all those who have helped me attend PGR events and missions when Candace was unable to do so ... THANK YOU!
To the wonderful men and women who have worn a uniform since September 11, 2001 ... and your magnificent families ... for bringing us back into the real world and restoring our faith in the Nation we stood for ... and will always stand for ... THANK YOU!
May God bless all of you and may God bless the United States of America.
Respectfully,
Jeff "Doc" Seeber
On behalf of the Minnesota Platoon
October 4, 2009
|
|
