Latest news with #OperationStandDown
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What's Happening: Boots on the Ground for Heroes Memorial
NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — This weekend the 'Boots on the Ground Heroes Memorial' returns to Fort Adams in Newport. The memorial was created by Operation Stand Down Rhode Island in 2016 displaying over 7,000 combat boots. Each boot represents a U.S. service member killed in action post 9-11 in the Global War on Terror. The placard attached to each boot displays the name and photo of the fallen along with biographical information, military branch, rank and circumstances of death. The Memorial is updated yearly to incorporate additional U.S. service members killed in the ongoing Global War on Terror. In the video above, Ashley Erling learns more about the powerful tribute. Each weekend, Ashley brings you around Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts for a look at what's happening as part of our all-new, expanded 12 News This Morning. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Over 7,000 combat boots brave elements at Fort Adams to honor fallen U.S. service members
Over 7,000 combat boots, each honoring a fallen U.S. service member, are on display over Memorial Day weekend at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current) A late spring nor'easter dumped 2 inches of rain on Newport Thursday. Not exactly the best weather for an outdoor display of over 7,000 combat boots. 'They've been out there for nine years, and they're beginning to show their wear and tear and weather like this does not help,' Erik Wallin, executive director of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, said Thursday afternoon as rain and heavy winds swept through the state. But then combat boots are designed for rough terrain, extreme weather, and heavy-duty use. And the boots on display in the Boots on the Ground for Heroes Memorial are holding up thanks to the TLC from Operation Stand Down staff and hundreds of volunteers. The memorial opened Friday morning under cloudy skies at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. Each boot in the memorial organized by Operation Stand Down has a U.S. flag and a tag with the name and photo of a fallen service member killed in action since 9/11 in the Global War on Terror. The memorial remains open to the public for viewing 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. Admission is free. The boots are organized alphabetically and by state and U.S. territories. Visitors often leave coins on the boots, some are symbolic of a personal connection to the soldier, sailor, Marine or Coast Guard personnel who died. A quarter could mean you were with the service member when they died; a dime that you served with the deceased; a nickel that you were at basic training together; and a penny that you visited and paid your respects and thanked the veteran for their service. With the exception of the possibility of a passing late afternoon shower Friday and a lesser chance on Saturday, Wallin is thankful the National Weather Service forecasts calls for a dry Sunday and Memorial Day. The memorial has been installed each year at Fort Adams since 2019. One year, it rained throughout the holiday weekend and into the following days so the boots could not dry out. Wallin said the boots had to be hauled to the Rhode Island Army National Guard Armory in Warwick to dry out. The boots spend most of the year stored in a trailer. But this past Monday, Operation Stand Down staff drew the grid on the field inside Fort Adams. Over 200 volunteers helped place the boots and flags over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday. 'There was a little bit of mold on them,' Wallin said. Not anymore though. Among the volunteers who came to help set up the memorial this week, the East Providence High School football team helped clean boots. 'We're tremendously blessed, all of us at Operation Stand Down,' Wallin said. 'It's very moving to see a hundred volunteers show up on any one day, both as a tribute to those who have fallen and it's a tremendous recognition of people appreciating the sacrifice and service of our U.S. military. This year there are exactly 7,326 boots, the same number on display last year, Wallin said. More boots are added each year if additional U.S. service members are killed in action in war operations under the specific criteria of the Department of Defense. Each fallen hero is represented by a single boot except for the 29 Rhode Island service members killed who are each honored with a pair of boots. A separate circle with pairs of desert tan boots pays tribute to the fallen veterans from Rhode Island. The rest of the boots are black, acquired through military surplus a decade ago. Since then, the Defense Department has switched over to desert tan boots. 'Unfortunately these have been part of the memorial now for over nine years, and they do begin to show their age,' Wallin said. 'We're kind of at that vector point of having to make a decision about going out and investing in an entirely new set.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Family organizes search after tip about Nashville grandmother's 2016 disappearance
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — More than eight years after a Middle Tennessee grandmother went missing, a tip has Nashville detectives and family ready to search in the Edgehill area. Wanda Walker disappeared in October 2016. News 2 spoke to Walker's granddaughter, who said her family was given a potential new clue in the case. 'There is a picture of my grandmother, and 'Can you help?' That's the question,' Quontesa Chambers, Walker's granddaughter as she read the flyer she made. Chambers and her family are putting together a search team in response to the tip. FEBRUARY 2021 | Family seeks answers after Nashville mother, daughter go missing 17 years apart 'This won't be our first search, our plan is to go out twice a month in the area until we cover all the bases in that particular area,' Chambers said. A tipster told Chambers' family they saw her grandmother in an argument with her then-boyfriend before she went missing. Chambers turned the information over to a Metro Nashville Police Department cold case detective, who confirmed to News 2 that the tip claimed there was 'word on the street' that Walker's body was dumped in the Edgehill area. 'We can go to this location just to cross it off our list because this is a rumor we have never heard,' Chambers said. About a week after Walker disappeared, a significant amount of her blood was discovered in her vehicle, but to this day, her body has not been found. OCTOBER 2024 | 'Something tragic happened': Nashville grandmother still missing 8 years later 'I made it up in my mind that I won't stop until we get justice,' Chambers added. As a result, she's been using her voice, holding marches, and demanding justice. 'It's been tough for this to be the second person in our family to go missing,' she expressed. Walker's daughter also disappeared back in 1999, but detectives believe there is nothing to indicate a connection between the two disappearances. However, Chambers told News 2 she hopes to solve at least one of the cases with the tipster's information. UNSOLVED TENNESSEE: → 'We are going to put our hands to the plow and do what we need to do, and if we find something, we will be grateful. If not, we can cross it off the list and keep doing what we are doing,' Chambers said. On Saturday, May 17 a group met at the Operation Stand Down parking lot to begin search efforts. The detective on the case told News 2 law enforcement is talking with Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation, as well as the city archeologists. If you have any information on Walker's case, you're asked to reach out to Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
