DVIDS Spotlight

The Songtan Veterans of Foreign Wars, or V-F-W, located just outside Osan Air Base, Korea, dedicated a wall to honor women in the military. Rear Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, was proud to speak at the event.

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The highest-ranking female in the Pacific Region visits the Osan Air Base community for a special occasion. Specialist Aaron Loy reports.

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The wall dedication was the first of its kind in Korea to honor women in the military.

With the Annual Naha Haari Dragon Boat Race quickly approaching, the Navy Women’s Dragon Boat team pushes their limits to get prepared. Corporal Wes Cole takes us down to Naha, Okinawa where the members of the team learn to work together to take this year’s title. Includes sound bites from Donna Aponte, Coach, Nirai Kanai. Also available in high definition.

Tech. Sgt. Jamie Meadows-Valley traveled to Ukraine to adopt 2-year-old Oleksandra from an orphanage. Jamie, her husband, Master Sgt. Ernie Valley, and the couple’s children have embraced Oleksandra as part of their family, where she has made remarkable strides since coming to America. (U.S. Air Force video/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

note: the music for this video is © 2014 Samuel Morse, however it has unlimited copy and distribution license when used in conjunction with this video.

On June 19, 2014, President Barack Obama will award Corporal William "Kyle" Carpenter, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret), the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Corporal Carpenter will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as an Automatic Rifleman with Company F, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division (Forward), I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Available in high definition.

SGT Londre Capron and SGT Jhonallynn Capron, who are married, reenlist together at a ceremony at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Includes sound bites from Sgt. Londre Capron, 91D Generator Mechanic. Hometown: Miami, Fla. and Sgt. Jhonallyn Capron, 88M Transportation. Hometown: Federal Way, Wash. Also available in high definition.

The Make a Wish foundation granted a special wish for a young boy battling cancer at Old Fort MacArthur Museum in San Pedro during Old Fort MacArthur Days.

When a cook aboard USS Mississippi set foot on the shores of Naval Shipyard Pensacola in 1914, he had no idea that the photographs he took on his off-duty time would lay the groundwork for 100 years of Navy photography.

Although the photographer rating had yet to exist in the Navy, Walter Leroy Richardson was doing the job, documenting aerial and ship maneuvers, crew movement and daily operations. Recognizing the value and necessity of documenting and creating a visual history of its activities, the Navy asked him to do it officially.

The rows are neatly lined - this is a farm, after all. Its principle crop is Christmas trees. However, its true purpose seems to be the sale of home and family, of comfort, of peace and safety ... of silence.

A sharp, shrill metallic buzz slices the early morning tranquility. It sounds like a chainsaw at first, but soon reveals itself as a four-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle.

Wally Kaenzig sits at the helm, gleefully carving a path through the fresh-fallen snow. He laughs - zipping around with the wild abandon of youth. Wally is 94 years old. If anyone has earned the right to laugh, it's Wally. He spent 26 days in hell.

Wally is a survivor of Iwo Jima.

4th Marine Regiment commands Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Four during Integrated Training Exercise 2-15 Jan. 12 - Feb. 22. Includes sound bites from Master Gunnery Sgt. Adam C. Walker. Also available in high definition.

note: Video from 0:15 to 1:17 is courtesy of the National Geographic Society.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repatriated dozens of illegally smuggled ancient artifacts to the government of Egypt, including a Greco-Roman style Egyptian sarcophagus, at a ceremony Wednesday at the National Geographic Society in Washington. The return of these ancient artifacts was made possible by “Operation Mummy’s Curse,” an ongoing five-year investigation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) targeting an international criminal network that illegally smuggled and imported more than 7,000 cultural items from around the world.