Hi all. Sorry for the delay in updating. We have been moving forward on a bunch of things.
First of all, if you are planning to attend Kevin’s celebration of life on Sunday, June 11, in Rye, NH, and you haven’t RSVPed, please do so by sending an email (subject line: RSVP) to [email protected]. I have a feeling there are many people who are planning to attend but haven’t RSVPed. (And just a reminder, everyone in the Weaponsman community is invited.)
Second, if you know somebody (maybe another teammate) who has mentioned that he is coming, but is not a Weaponsman reader, tell that person to RSVP.
Why do I care so much about RSVPing? Because we are only going to have food and seating for the people who have RSVPed. You don’t want to be the hungry standing guy who didn’t RSVP.
I don’t think Kevin mentioned it much in the blog, but in the last few years, he had become interested in cooking. This is the guy who thought “oven” was always preceded by “microwave” up until about 2012. He really liked cooking for other people and did some interesting experiments. They didn’t all work, but he made up for the occasional error by always making a lot of food. Sunday dinner at our house might be burgers and tater tots. Dinner at his house was a seven-course extravaganza.
My point is that he would really feel bad if people came to his party and there was nothing to eat. So RSVP!
Now for some bullet points.
- We got to visit Zac (Small Dog) yesterday at his new home. He’s doing great! My sister-in-law and her husband, who are wonderful people, have a lot of experience with dogs and they’ve made him very comfortable and happy. How much does he remember about his life with Kevin? Hard to say. But I hope he’ll always remember, at least a little.
- We really need to get in touch with a friend of Kevin’s named Joseph Cunningham. If any of you folks know Joseph, would you please ask him to reach out to me through the [email protected] email address?
- We won’t need any help paying for the celebration or blog upkeep, such as it is, but thanks so much to all those who have offered.
- Does anybody have a simple way of getting a copy of a DD-214? We can’t find Kevin’s.
- It may take a while, but we expect Kevin’s final resting place to be at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, which is in Boscawen, NH.
- I’m now updating the blog with my own account, which is awesome.
Keep the pictures and stories coming, and if you’re coming June 11, don’t forget to RSVP!
Kevin was a former Special Forces weapons man (MOS 18B, before the 18 series, 11B with Skill Qualification Indicator of S). His focus was on weapons: their history, effects and employment. He started WeaponsMan.com in 2011 and operated it until he passed away in 2017. His work is being preserved here at the request of his family.
23 thoughts on “Latest Update: Please RSVP if attending Kevin’s celebration”
Thank you for the update Brendan! I won’t be able to attend, but I will be there in heart and mind.
Thanks, Brendan.
Thanks for updates. I wish I could come. And it will be a great regret that I can’t. I hope some one will give us a report if the event
Great news on all fronts.
thanks for the updates Blog Brother.
Re: DD-214-the official Archives.gov website claims to be able to provide emergency service. I’ve put a link to their site on my nickname. Here’s what they say (their website has links.)
“Emergency” Requests and Deadlines
If your request is urgent (for example, upcoming surgery, a funeral, etc.) tell us the nature of the emergency and your deadline in the “Comments” section of eVetRecs or in the “Purpose” section of the Standard Form (SF) 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records.
Fax your request to our Customer Service Team at 314- 801-0764.
Call our customer service staff at 314-801-0800 if you have questions or require same-day service. Due to the large number of calls we receive at this number, hold times are often long. However, once you reach a technician, he or she will be happy to assist you with emergency service.
If your burial request involves interment at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery, contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 or visit the National Cemetery Administration website. We work directly with the Veterans Affairs staff to obtain records to verify service for burial benefits. If the veteran is not going to be interred at a National Cemetery, the requester may fax the SF-180 or signature page from eVetRecs (including signature of the next of kin and proof of death) to the Customer Service Team at 314-801-0764.
It might be worth a check at the county registrar’s office. It’s voluntary to file a copy of your 214 there but I did it here. Worth a shot and it’s low hanging fruit on the effort scale.
Thank you for the updates and open invitation, Brendan. I have RSVPed.
I’m 2.5 hours away from Rye, NH. I’ll have to miss a bit of church, but I think this is certainly worth it.
If anybody needs a ride from anywhere between CT and Rye, reply to the comment and we’ll figure it out.
Considering the effort that Hognose put into this blog, I would encourage all who can go to go. Sure, it will be awkward, sad, most likely humorous in some way and who knows what else. Then again, that’s life. As a lowly reader of Hognose’s work, I sincerely hope the readership’s attendance is respectable. Despite, of course, my own presence….
I don’t know about your locality, but our county’s has a Veterans Affairs Liaison who is an outstanding individual and handles things like this routinely. Call your county courthouse and ask.
Every congresscritter’s local and DC office also has a veteran liason staff member.
If the VA is laggard, give your representative a call; budgetary power translates into pretty quick service once Congressman X’s staffer calls.
Wait, Hognose was a chef, too? Was there no end to what this Renaissance man’s could do?!
Thanks for the update, Brendan. Please do keep us posted on the grave. I won’t be able to make it to the memorial service, but I’d like to be able to stop by and pay my respects the next time I’m in NH.
I’m glad to hear that Zac is doing well.
-John M.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert A. Heinlein
It appears Hognose agreed with RAH.
Thanks for update, this James has RSVP’d(a lot of James here!).Again, any need a ride from Manchester airport(closet,about 30 miles or so) to or from area can help out that weekend Friday thru Sunday, call me @508-654-2434 when you have flights locked in and can get you to Portsmouth/Hampton region, me car with driver is limited to 4,5 in emergency.
As I work in Boston and Hampster drove thru Boscowen today and exit for Veterans Cemetery.
Thanks Brendan, it’s good to hear Zac is being well looked after. I always enjoyed the updates on him that Kevin posted.
Also – what John M. said about the cooking! Where did Kevin’s talents cease?
Thank you Brendan. As well as an ex-grunt I’m also a chef, so hearing this about Kevin was a nice surprise.
As I’m on the wrong side of the planet I won’t be attending the celebration for Kevin corporeally, but will certainly be there in spirit.
I’ve also started gradually reading the archived blog posts from day one. I’m profoundly grateful for the many years of technical education, informed commentary and razor-sharp wit that lie ahead of me.
Best wishes to you, your Dad and the rest of your family.
Brendan,
I’m a couple time zones away and will not be able to make it. I have reached out to one of my SF Brothers in NH who may have served with Kevin (I had been “meaning” to do that before now) and will instruct him to RSVP if he will attend. Bein SF he requires “instruction” now-and-again.
Are you sure you don’t need any financial contributions? If you find that to be the case in the future please let me know; I’m not stupidly flush but can always help in a good cause.
On the 11th of June I will raise a glass to your brother. Best wishes to you and your family in this difficult time.
Gratifying to read. Thanks so much for keeping us all up to date. (You already have good info above on the DD-214.) Continued prayers to your family & here’s to a robust celebration.
I miss what you did, Kevin
Sorry you went so soon, you were just a few months older than me…
Hope there is healing for those left behind.
Tragic news. What a great talent, lost to us. That is all the more reason to preserve the blog, by all means.
I am unable to attend the service: distance (Oregon) and attending to my wife’s new medical condition. Otherwise, I’d seriously consider hitching up the RV for a cross-country.
Propinate nobis similibusque. Perpaucis reliquis. (Here is to us, and those like us. So few remain.)
I return day after day; hoping that this blog and its author will be somehow resurrected.
Godspeed Hognose, give em hell.
Duncan,I also visit,but realize to a degree has ended.The best we can do is remember “Hognose and little dog 2” in archives.Hognose struck me as a man who would be happy to be remembered but for us to also live our lives to the fullest we can.I will say though a sad day in some ways look forward to meeting those who can come in June and also celebrate the life of Kevin,and offer for rides from Manchester airport to area still open for any that could use it
I sure miss Kevin, I miss coming here several times a day to read about news events and his thoughts. I miss interacting with all you guys/ So much has been lost along with a great Man
Just read about Hognose passing, please accept my deepest condolences. I am not a regular reader, just passed through every couple of weeks to check in, loved his stories from his time in service, and his knowledge of history and weapons was awesome. We will add him to our roster of friends on the other side and tip a few drafts in his memory at our next gathering. Rest in Peace, Brother, the guidon shall remain secure in our keeping.
Hoc Nos Defendere