 - Last login: 1 hour agoChuckSimmins
- Chuck is a 52 year old married guy from Rochester, New York, USA.
- Likes 65 pages, 6 photos • 5 fans • Received 2 reviews
- Member since Feb 13, 2008
I am an accounting professional, and EMT. I tend to libertarian / conservative in my perspective on life, and consider myself a lapsed Catholic (the Church left me). I am married to a lovely woman I met on the Internet, before the World Wide Web got popular, and we have a family of four cats.
I was born and raised in a small town in upstate New York. Went to St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, and finally fell into this profession. Discovered computers in college where we learned on a Xerox mainframe (!). I've been a member of the Lions' Clubs, a volunteer firefighter, and for the last twelve years a NYS certified EMT-D. From about 1986 to 1992 I ran a small, portrait photography business, and a few of those photos will turn up on my blog from time to time. I continue to be interested in photography.
I married for the first time at age 40. My wife and I met on the Internet, through a mail list serve, before the World Wide Web.
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 The President wept openly as the ceremony to honor Navy SEAL PO2 Michael Monsoor proceeded at the White House today.
Here are his remarks on this occasion:
The Medal of Honor is America's highest decoration for military valor. Over the years, many who have received the medal have given their lives in the action that earned it. The name of Petty Officer Michael Anthony Monsoor will now be among them.
In September 2006, Michael laid down his life for his brothers in arms. Today, we remember the life of this faithful Navy SEAL. And on behalf of a grateful nation, we will present Michael Monsoor's family with the Medal of Honor that he earned.
I welcome the Vice President. Secretary of Defense Gates, thank you for coming. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Peake; Secretary Don Winter of the Navy; Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and wife, Deborah; General James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Annette; Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, and wife, Ellen; Senator John McCain; Congressman Ed Royce; Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.
Previous Medal of Honor recipients, thank you for joining us.
I appreciate Chaplain Burt; Navy SEALS -- the finest warriors on the face of the Earth; the Monsoor family, and everybody else.
The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it. Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did. This son of Orange County, California, grew up in a family where helping others was a way of life. Mike's father was a Marine; his mother a social worker. Together, they raised their four children to understand the meaning of service and sacrifice.
From a very early age, Mike showed the strength of his own convictions. Apparently going to kindergarten wasn't one of them. Mike had no complaints after the first week of school -- until someone broke the news to him that he had to go back the next week. (Laughter.) Many mornings, Mike refused to put on the nice clothes for school. Instead, he insisted on wearing mismatched outfits. Mike's mother soon discovered there was no stopping the determined young boy from mixing plaids and stripes. And years later, there would be no stopping an even more determined young man from donning a uniform of Navy Blue.
In some ways, Mike was an unlikely candidate for the Navy. He suffered from terrible asthma as a child. On some nights, his coughing fits would land him in the hospital. But Mike would not lie low for long. He strengthened his lungs by racing his siblings in the swimming pool. He worked to wean himself off his inhaler. He built himself into a superb athlete -- excelling from sports like football to snowboarding.
 After enlisting in the Navy, he began preparing for the ultimate test of physical endurance: SEAL training. Less than a third of those who begin this training become SEALs. But Mike would not be denied a spot. In September 2004, he earned the right to wear the Navy SEAL trident. More at this link
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