2010 was an amazing year, we had many accomplishments and uplifting experiences and a couple very sad notes, including saying good-bye to Frank, our WWII veteran and most popular Sheepdog, we still miss him. The entire town felt the loss of West Chester resident Sgt Louis Fastuca in Afghanistan.

The rallies in Jan and Feb were the coldest and windiest since we began in 2007. We held 2 fundraisers and raised $3000 for the Michael Horrocks statue at West Chester University. The Classic Car Owners and Patriotic bikers gave us another huge turnout in the summer. One of our most popular Blue Star Families, Mary and Mark Wilson, moved to Colorado. We got a mascot, Victor. Took part in welcoming home many of our American Heroes. Our table at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference was very popular. We went to Freedom Concert in New Jersey, visited Fort Dix several times and went to New York City to take part in the “No Mosque at Ground Zero” rallies in June and September. We made many new friends, especially new Military Family Members and College Republicans from West Chester University. Found out that Bible Baptist Church in West Chester has the best Veterans Day tribute in the country. Mailed care packages to our troops for Christmas. Combined with the folks on the other side of the street to collect food for the Salvation Army. Shook hands and said thanks to many of our troops and their families at our rallies. We kept our string of consecutive Saturday pro-troop rallies alive.

2010 was our strongest year, we grew in attendence and character. Expectations for 2011 are high, we will continue grow and show public support, pride, and appreciation for our troops. Thanks to all of you for your support and commitment.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year, may our troops be successful in all they do, they are the best of us.

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A West Chester University student sent this poem in tribute to our troops at Christmas. Its so refreshing to see how much this college student appreciates those who serve in our military. He’s a junior and his “soldier’s poem” is terrific.

Mr. Davis, I was inspired to write a poem for Christmas praising America and our troops that I would like to share with you and the Sheepdogs. I don’t write poems ever but I love America and our troops so much that this one just seemed to write itself. Have a great Christmas!

A Patriotic Christmas
By: Bill Hanrahan

The United States of America will succeed
Even if it means we have to bleed
Our cause is just
and victory is a must
For success we will pray
God bless the United States of America today

Thanks Bill – your poem is amazing. At a time when so many young people look at athletes or performers as “heroes”, its nice to know that some students at West Chester University know who our real heroes are. I’m sure the troops and their families will appreciate your poem. I know I do.

A good dog will protect his family and confront danger. Our troops do the same thing, they stand watch, protect the sheep and confront the wolf, that’s why they’re called Sheepdogs.

My dog is the mascot for the American Sheepdogs. His name is Victor, he loves snow because he’s part sled dog.

Victor is 7/8th Shepherd and 1/8th Samoyed Sleddog and comes from a long line of military dogs, he loves the troops, the flag and his country. We live near a field and he loves it. He’s 14-months old. We took time to play in the snow.

If you have a dog, I hope you enjoy him. They’re a lot of work, but they are very loyal and they’re a blessing.

What a Christmas present! We were thrilled and honored to have 3 local soldiers stop by and say hello.

The soldiers are Christopher, a Marine private who recently graduated from Boot Camp, John, an Army private who recently graduated from Boot Camp, and Abbey, a Junior at West Point. In addition, Christopher’s brother Ben, (in red ballcap) also came, he will be going to Marine Corps OCS upon graduation from college in a few months.

These young men and woman are the very best of us, the best of America. You can see the confidence in their eyes and how they take great pride in their service. We respect and admire them and their families so much.

At the end, we sang the National Anthem, recited the Pledge of Alligiance to the Flag, said the Lord’s Prayer for our troops and country, and sang “Silent Night” to remember that we hope our troops, wherever they are, on patrol or on watch, will have a quiet calm peaceful night.

Special thanks to all who came out, especially our three local soldiers. May they have the power, courage, and wisdom to complete their training and missions with success. We are so proud of you and grateful for your service to our country.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TROOPS! MERRY CHRISTMAS MILITARY FAMILIES! GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Let Freedom Ring and the American Sheepdogs sponsored the 2nd annual “Community Christmas Carol Sing-a-long” at the courthouse in West Chester on Friday Dec 24th.

A large crowd of people gathered and exactly at noon we started singing. We had song booklets and sang a dozen Christmas Carols, it lasted about 40 minutes. Many passerbys stopped and joined in. We had about 100 altogether and sounded heavenly.

Special thanks to Colin Hanna, Santa Claus, and all the volunteers who passed out fliers.

Thanks to Skye for the photos.

In addition to our show of support for our troops, the Sheepdogs joined the Chester County Peace Movement in a combined effort to collect food for the local Salvation Army who lost thousands of pounds of food when their refrigeration system failed. The CCPM initiated this idea and we were glad to support it. During the rally, members from both sides crossed the street to thank each other for working together to help the Salvation Army and to wish each other a Merry Christmas. It was a tremendous effort and left both sides feeling positive and good in many ways. We could see that a huge amount of food had been collected. Thanks to everyone on both sides who put aside differences and came together to make this happen.

The Sheepdogs joined with the Warriors Watch Riders and A Hero’s Welcome to give a local Army hero a well-deserved “Welcome Home” in West Chester on Sunday Dec 12.

Spc James came home from Afghanistan just in time for Christmas. He went to high school in West Chester and has been in the Army since 2006. His wife Elizabeth is expecting their first child. We are forever grateful and proud of his service and sacrifice to our great nation.

We collected goodies and items for our troops. Altogether, the Sheepdogs currently have 16 children that are in the service. The boxes were crammed with all kinds of stuff, books, CDs, DVDs, religious medals and prayer cards, snacks, toiletries, socks and love. We will send them to our Sheepdog troops, wherever they are – in the US, overseas, and on ships. Its a blessing for us to do this and we are sure our loved ones will feel the pride we have for them when they open their boxes. Thanks to everyone for contributing and making this happen, especially our Blue Star Moms.

Christmas and Hanukkah – ‘Tis the season to be even more mindful of our brave and noble troops. We want them to know how much we love them. We had a great turnout of regular Americans, veterans, and military family members.

Our troops may be far away from home, but they are in are hearts and minds daily. We take time to sing the National Anthem and pray for their protection and success.

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Patriots from the Sheepdogs, A Heroes Welcome, and Warriors Watch Riders took time to greet two local Marines returning home from Afghanistan at the Philadelphia Airport yesterday, just in time for Christmas.

The heroes, Lance Corporal Brian and Lance Corporal Ishmar, looked a little tired from their long flight, but were touched to see the Flag Line and smiles from these grateful Americans. They were eager to get home and be reunited with their families and fellow Marines.

In May 2009, the Marines from Bridge Company B Marines deployed to Iraq, when they came home 8 months later, Brian and Ishmar volunteered for a quick turnaround tour to Afghanistan in March 2010.

The Company’s First Sergeant and two officers were also at the airport to meet them. Major Jerry, their Company Commander when they were in Iraq, was glad to welcome them home in time for the holidays.

Brian and Ishmar have earned their rest. We are forever grateful for their courage and sacrifice for our behalf. Enjoy your time with family and friends.