News 6 Mashup: Aug. 24, 2020
Here are the top stories for the week of Aug. 24, 2020, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:
New Army App: Digital Garrison
The Army has a new app—Digital Garrison—to help you stay up to date on what’s going on at your installation. This powerful tool consolidates multiple websites into a single, digital access point. Digital Garrison offers access to community resources including gate closures, installation announcements, and push-notifications during emergencies, recreation opportunities, and services. You can also use the app to connect with local events, find nearby restaurants, and see what the Exchange has on sale. Additional features and updates will be ongoing to improve user experience, reported Army.mil. “One of the first major updates will include local commissary information and a link to Click2Go, the Defense Commissary Agency’s online grocery ordering portal and curbside pickup service,” where that service is available, said Army.mil. The Army is encouraging feedback for the app to help improve the experience and services that the app offers. Learn more at Army.mil.
Data Shows Soldiers Were Heavily Impacted by 2008, 2009 Recession
Federal News Network reported that “new Census data analysis shows the recession of 2008 and 2009 hit one segment of the population particularly hard: Soldiers who left the Army during it.” The report showed that, of the 650,000 soldiers who left the Army between 2000 and 2015, infantry and combat veterans fared “worse than average on both employment rates and earnings for those who did find work.”
WWII Medal of Honor’s Story in New Book, Upcoming Movie
A recently released book chronicles the life and experience of WWII Medal of Honor recipient, Staff Sgt. Henry E. “Red” Erwin. The book, Beyond Valor: A World War II Story of Extraordinary Heroism, Sacrificial Love and a Race Against Time was written by Erwin’s grandson, Jon Erwin, and author, William Doyle. Red Erwin sustained burns to his body after a white phosphorus charge popped back up the chute in a B-29 Superfortress over Japan. The charge exploded in his face, burning his nose and clothing. He then grabbed the charge, which was still burning at 2,372 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Military.com, and crawled to the front of the plane where he moved a desk that was blocking a window, opened the window, and threw the charge out before collapsing. His odds of surviving were next to none, and he saved the other airmen on board the plane. Red Erwin survived his burns and then went on to spend “37 years counseling patients and advising on the benefits for the then-Veterans Administration-in Alabama,” reported Military.com. Jon Erwin and his brother, Andrew, are filmmakers and plan to also make a movie about their grandfather. Read Red Erwin’s powerful story at Military.com.
This Week in History
On Aug. 24, 1814, during the war of 1812, British troops marched on Washington, D.C. and set the White House on fire. President Madison was meeting with generals on the battlefield and had left his wife, Dolley, at the White House. He instructed her to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Dolley and her servants collected important documents and managed to save a full-length portrait of President George Washington. She escaped before the British arrived, who ate a meal from food stolen in the kitchen and ravaged the house before setting it ablaze. Read the harrowing account at History.com.
