Two U.S. Marines Wounded After Stopping Islamist Terror Attacker on French Train in Belgium (VIDEO) (Update: Gunman ID’d as Ayoub el Khazzani)

HEROES: US Marines always at the ready …

Two U.S. Marines were reportedly wounded after they stopped an Islamist terror attacker aboard a French train traveling through Belgium. The terror suspect was wielding a box cutter and an AK-47. The suspect opened fire aboard the train injuring several individuals. CNN International reports, the struggle was brief, bloody and chaotic as three Americans ,  a civilian, an Air Force member and a National Guard member,  jumped into action and quickly tackled the suspect preventing a most certain massacre aboard the train.

They have yet t officially call this an act of terrorism; however, if it walks like a duck … The suspected gunman, a Moroccan national, was on the radar screen of European counterterrorism agencies for his radical jihadist views, the European counterterrorism official said.

The train was speeding through Belgium when the man emerged from the train bathroom, shirtless with a rifle — possibly an AK 47 — slung over his shoulder, the Americans said.

The three men — a member of the Air Force, an inactive National Guard member and a civilian — responded quickly, possibly preventing a deadly attack on the high-speed Thalys train.

The suspect had a box cutter or some other bladed weapon, authorities said.

“My friend Alek (Skarlatos) yells, ‘Get him,’ so my friend Spencer (Stone) immediately gets up to charge the guy, followed by Alek, then myself,” Anthony Sadler said in an interview with CNN.

“The three of us beat up the guy,” Anthony said. “In the process Spencer gets slashed multiple times by the box cutter, and Alek takes the AK away.

Dramatic footage shows aftermath of French train attack

UPDATE I: The Telegraph – Hero off-duty soldiers and British IT worker describe beating French train terrorist unconscious.

Chris Norman, the British man on board the train who helped tie up the attacker, has praised Spencer Stone’s bravery in helping an injured passenger who he said had been shot, even though he was badly injured himself.

He told reporters: “Once we had actually finally been able to get the guy under control, then Spencer, who is Alek’s friend, went to help the guy who had been shot, because there was a person who had actually taken a bullet wound and he was losing a lot of blood.

“So Spencer, he had a couple of cuts in the back of his neck, and his thumb was nearly cut off, actually probably saved the life of the other guy as well.

“So, it was really amazing. I think Spencer is the real hero of this.

“He was the guy who got up – Spencer first, Alek, Anthony, and then I came in at the end of it.”

UPDATE II: Correction, Three Americans are heroes in preventing terror attack on train.

In any case, the actions of U.S. Airman First Class Spencer Stone, of Sacramento, Oregon National Guard Spc. Alek Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadler, a Sacramento State University student described as a longtime friend of Stone’s, meant there was no worst case scenario.

And so Aug. 21, 2015 will not join the list of dates of horrific carnage that have come to be associated with modern terrorism. It will not be recalled as the deadliest attack since Sept. 11, 2001, or simply 9/11, which it could well have been. It won’t be remembered as deadlier than 11-M, the March 11, 2004, terror attacks on commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, that left 191 dead. It won’t eclipse the carnage of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris earlier this year, which began on Jan. 7 and ended Jan. 9, and left 17 victims and three attackers dead.

UPDATE III: Gunman Identified as Ayoub el Khazzani.

Obama Finally Lowers White House Flags to Half Staff 5 Days After 4 US Marines & 1 Navy Sailor Murdered in Terror Attack in Tennessee

IT TOOK LESS THAN 5 HOURS FOR THE OBAMA TO COLOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN RAINBOW COLORS, BUT 5 DAYS TO LOWER THE FLAGS IN HONOR OF THE US MILITARY FALLEN IN CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE. 

File this one under, the its about time file. Well America, you voted for a president, not once, but twice, who said he would fundamentally change America. How’s that working out for you? Yesterday, Barack Obama finally ordered the lowering of the American flag to half-staff at the White House and other public buildings. Of course it was only after pressure mounted against him to do so as the president finally ordered the lowering of the flag some 5 days after the terror attack in Chattanooga, TN where 4 US Marines and one Navy sailor was killed. Critics argued that Obama lowered the flag immediately following other mass shootings like Sandy Hook and it was mere hours after the SCOTUS ruled on same sex marriage that Obama had the White House showered in rainbow colors.

President Obama has ordered flags at the White House and other public buildings to fly at half-staff after mounting criticism over the delay in honoring five armed forces members killed last week by a gunman.

Obama’s proclamation calls for the flags to remain at half-mast through Saturday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on July 16.”

“Our thoughts and prayers as a Nation are with the service members killed last week in Chattanooga. We honor their service. We offer our gratitude to the police officers and first responders who stopped the rampage and saved lives,” Obama said in a presidential proclamation released Tuesday.

“We draw strength from yet another American community that has come together with an unmistakable message to those who would try to do us harm: We do not give into fear. You cannot divide us. And you will not change our way of life.”

Obama announced his decision hours after Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff.

Ahead of Obama’s decision, conservatives lined up to pan the president for failing to lower the flag. They noted that various governors around the country have done so and that the White House had lowered its flag after other mass shootings.

It is disgraceful that a Commander in Chief would wait this long to honor fallen military heroes. And only because he was pressured to.

Chatanooga, Tennessee Terror Attack Death Toll Rises to 5 … 24 Year Old Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith Has Passed Away From Injuries

Sadly, a 5th military individual has passed away as a result of the Chatanooga, Tennessee terror attack …

24 year old Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith passed away early this morning from injuries he suffered as a result of Thursday’s terror attack on the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Smith has been shot several times with wounds to his right arm, back and abdomen. Smith suffered extensive damage to his colon and liver in the shooting. Petty officer Smith underwent several surgeries and died around 2:17 a.m. Saturday. Smith was from Paulding, Ohio and tragically leaves behind a wife and three young daughters under the age of six (pic of Smith and two of his little girls).

Click HERE to watch VIDEO via FOX News

The Navy said Saturday the sailor shot in Thursday’s attack at a military support center in Chattanooga, Tenn. has died.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 24, was one of three people injured when a gunman opened fire at the center, killing four Marines. The shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism.

Fox News spoke to Smith’s step-grandmother Darlene Proxmire who confirmed he died early Saturday.

Smith was shot three times when a gunman opened fire at the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Thursday morning. He was struck in the right arm, back and stomach, family members told a Kansas newspaper, the Salina Journal, according to the Chattanoogan.

He underwent several surgeries and died around 2:17 a.m. Saturday. His wife and other family members were with him at the hospital when he died.

Those brave men we have lost:

The sailor’s death comes in addition to the four U.S. Marines killed at the scene. They have been identified as Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells, of Cobb, Georgia; Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, of Hampden, Massachusetts; Sgt. Carson Holmquist, of Polk, Wisconsin, and Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, of Burke, North Carolina.

A devastated step-grandmother, Darlene Proxmire, talks about Randall Smith.

Sailor from Paulding one of Chattanooga shooting victims:

His step-grandmother, Darlene Proxmire, told NewsChannel 15 Smith was a great baseball player and even got a scholarship to play in college. She said he hurt his shoulder and joined the Navy shortly after. Proxmire said she first heard about the shooting when a friend left her a voicemail.

“I immediately turned it on CNN and wow it was awful,” Proxmire said.

Smith’s mother is in Chattanooga with him.

“It’s hard to understand how somebody can hurt somebody that’s serving for you. For your freedom, for your safety,” Paula Proxmire said.

Proxmire said she never worried about Smith joining the military.

“Because he was never shipped over there where, you know, the fighting and all that was at,” Proxmire said. “He loved the Navy. He loved it in there.”

It was on U.S. soil when the unthinkable happened.

“It’s terrible,” Proxmire said. “You think oh that’s not going to happen to your family, but by gum it can. It can happen anywhere.”

EXIT QUESTION: How many people must die before we take terrorism seriously in the United States?

Epic Fly-By of Beachgoers Courtesy of the Blue Angels

HOW AWESOME IS THIS … THE BLUE ANGLES BUZZ THE BEACH.

If you have never seen the Blue Angles live and in person, I strongly suggest you put it on your bucket list, you will not be disappointed. And you wondered why the tower did not give Maverick permission for a fly by and buzz the tower. The power of these aircraft are simply unbelievable and need to be seen up close and personal to truly appreciate. ENJOY, THE FOLKS ON THE BEACH DID!

VIDEO via MrJasonmx3

Washington Free Beacon:

During an air show in Pensacola, Fla., on Saturday the Navy’s Blue Angels performed a flyover of the beach that was close enough to blow beach umbrellas out of the sand and into the sky.

The maneuver was performed by Blue Angel No. 5, a F/A-18 Hornet flown by Lt. Cmdr. Mark Tedrow. Tedrow is a Pennsylvania native who has been with the Blue Angels since September 2011, according to his biography on their site. He has 2,200 flight hours and 212 carrier-arrested landings. He has also earned the Strike Flight Air Medal as well as the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

Memorial Day – 2015: A Debt We Can Never Repay … Remembering, Thanking & Honoring Our Military Heroes For Their Service & Sacrifice

REMEMBERING AND HONORING OUR MILITARY HEROES WHO GAVE ALL … BECAUSE FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE.

On this Memorial Day 2015, Scared Monkeys sends a special thank you to all of the military men, woman and their families who have sacrificed their lives to that We, the United States of America, remain the home of the free because of the brave. We thank from the bottom of our hearts those who we can no longer thank in person for their sacrifice to this great Country. Thank you and God Bless you, we shall never forget you your service and sacrifice.

Please take time today to remember what this day is truly about and the men and women that we have lost.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 – King James Version)

America has lost so many lives to protect the freedoms and liberties that we hold to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We have lost so many brave souls to not only protect our Freedoms, but the freedoms of others from tyranny.  On this day we remember that Freedom is never Free and all those that gave all in their service and sacrifice to us.

The words of President Ronald Reagan, Arlington National Cemetery, May 31, 1982:

“The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves.” [...]

“As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. And let us also pledge to do our utmost to carry out what must have been their wish: that no other generation of young men will every have to share their experiences and repeat their sacrifice.”

Remarks at Memorial Day Ceremonies Honoring an Unknown Serviceman of the Vietnam Conflict – 5/28/84

I can remember like it was yesterday, but in fact it was more than 25 years ago, when I stood in Arlington National Cemetery for the funeral of my Uncle and namesake. I can remember the sound of Taps and the 21 gun salute as tears flowed down my face as I laid to rest my hero. A man that gave so much for his country and for me. A man who was the toughest and most honorable, proud and yet humble man I have ever known. By all accounts he should have died in the Ardennes forest during WWII, but God had other plans. However, in many respects he did lose all as he came home forever changed. My uncle volunteered for WWII at age 18, although, when I review the records he was actually 17. He, like 5 of his brothers, took part in WWII. However, my Uncle Red saw the most action in Patton’s 3rd Army. Much of what he witnessed, he took to his grave as he lost so many Brothers in Arms. When he came home some 4 years later after having defeated the Nazis, his own mom, my grandmother, did not recognize him.

As always and on a personal note I say thank you and you are missed to my uncle Red who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My uncle served in Patton’s 3rd Army where he received the following medals. a silver star. bronze star and multiple purple hearts.  So often he did not want to talk of what went on during his military server and his heroic efforts during WWII; however, true heroes are also humble. It was not until much later when I was in college and became a history major with a specialty in US military warfare and tactics did my uncle open up and provide me with the truth of what he experienced during his military days, some of that time spent in the Ardennes , better know as the Battle of the Bulge.

Thank you from your nephew and namesake, Red

A thank you to all that made the greatest sacrifice for us. May we honor your sacrifices and make you proud.