On this date 115 years ago the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was formed in Columbus, Ohio, by Spanish-American war veterans of the 17th US Infantry.

The purpose for the VFW is to help disabled or needy veterans,their widows and orphans, and to promote patriotism through education and service in local communities.

To be a member of the VFW you must meet the following criteria: be an active or honorably discharged officer or enlisted person,be a citizen of the United States, and to have served in the armed forces during any foreign war, insurrection or expedition.

September 17th is the Constitution's birthday.  This date is also known as Constitution Day.

Did you know that South Carolina had four signers of the Constitution?  These men were John Rutledge, Pierce Butler, Charles Pinckney, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was born in Charleston, SC.  He was a soldier in the Continental army and helped successfully defend Charleston at the Battle of Sullivan's Island.  He later represented SC at the Constitutional Convention were he became one of the four signers from SC.  He was also appointed as the Ambassador to France and even ran for president twice, but lost both times.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney died on August 16, 1825 after a life a service to his country.  He is buried in St. Michael's Church yard in Charleston,SC.

Retired New York City Fire Department Paramedic Chevalo Wilsondebriano was on duty at his station in Queens, New York on September 11, 2001.

He heard the calls for backup coming across his radio and he and his partner took their mobile emergency unit to the scene.  On a normal day, it would only take 30 to get to Manhattan from Queens, but on this day, it  took over an hour.  He wasn't fully aware of what was going on as he was driving to the scene.  He received a phone call from his girlfriend begging him not to go as she was telling him exactly what was happening.  He told her he had to go and help his friends.

He and his partner parked their emergency vehicle in front of World Trade Center 7 which was very close to the North Tower.  They had not been there long when they heard a terrible rumble.  They knew the tower was going to fall and quickly started running away from the falling building.

He and his partner made it away safely and went back later to help those in need of medical attention.

Firefighter Wilsondebriano spoke at Patriots Point today to honor those who died on 9/11/2001.  He is pictured above with my son and me.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources had a great post today we would love to share- all about the tubeworm Diopatra!  Check it out here on Facebook or visit our informative page that is a part of Science Spotlight here.  This worm is a part of our diverse coastal ecosystem, and even makes a cameo appearance in the new edition of Oscar I Am!  See if you can find our very own tubeworm in the new Oscar and the Invaders!

Richard Cole is celebrating his 100th birthday today. 

Cole served as co-pilot to Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle during the raid on Tokyo, Japan.  The purpose of the raid was to boost American morale while decreasing Japanese morale.

Cole trained briefly in Columbia, SC for the raid before being to transferred to Florida for further training.

After the raid, Doolittle and Cole crash landed their plane in China.

All 80 airmen involved in the raid received the Distinguished Flying Cross.  Lt. Col. Doolittle received the Congressional Medal of Honor and a promotion to Brigadier General in addition to his Distinguished Flying Cross.

Cole remained in the China/India/Burma theatre serving in the Army Air Corps.

Pictured above are Doolittle (front left) and Cole (front right) with the rest of their crew for the raid.

On this day, in 1945, the Japanese officially surrendered to the Allied Forces.

The formal signing  ceremony was held on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Pictured above is General Douglas MacArthur who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.  He and Admiral Chester Nimitz signed for the United States followed by leaders from the rest of the Allied Nations.

Pictured below is a reproduction of the signing that is located on tour 4 on board the USS Yorktown.