This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2024) |
Formation | 1971 [1] |
---|---|
Founder | Carmella LaSpada [2] [3] |
Type | Non-governmental organization |
Legal status | Charity |
Purpose | humanitarian, morale |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Location |
No Greater Love (NGL) is an American humanitarian, non-profit organization founded in 1971 [1] by Carmella Laspada [2] [3] and is dedicated to providing programs such as wreath-layings, remembrance tributes, and memorial dedications, for those who have lost a loved one in the service to the country or by an act of terrorism. To date,[ when? ] NGL has dedicated 11 memorials located in Arlington National Cemetery [ citation needed ] and sponsors numerous other programs.
The name is derived from the verse John 15:13 from the Bible. [4]
As a White House Special Projects Aide during the Vietnam War, LaSpada organized a USO tour to the Philippines and Japan in 1966 [5] with her friend, the journalist and humorist Art Buchwald.[ citation needed ] Visiting a military hospital, she met a battle-injured medic who had seen 35 men in his unit die before he himself was mortally wounded. The young man asked that she promise to do something so that his comrades and their grieving families would be remembered. She agreed, accepting from him a black scarf, a symbol of his unit, to seal her promise. [6] One of her first efforts came following a trip to Bethesda Naval Hospital; when she asked the amputee veterans what they would like, they replied "visits from pretty girls and athletes." [4] She enlisted her friends in Washington and members of the New York Yankees, including Mickey Mantle, to visit. [4]
LaSpada sent questionnaires in 1971 to children of soldiers known to be held as POWs in Vietnam, or those who were listed as MIA, in which she asked them to list their favorite sports teams or players. [2] She then organized visits from the teams to more than 2,000 children around the U.S. for Christmas or birthdays. [2] Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas placed the first phone call to one of the respondent children of the campaign. [3] A dedicated group of volunteers from Georgetown University aided in mailing Christmas presents that year. [7]
LaSpada began the organization with no funding, covering operating costs from her own resources and with some help from the Disabled American Veterans. [8] The organization was sponsored by Joe DiMaggio, Jesse Owens, Arnold Palmer, and Ted Williams, among others. [2] Initially, offices were donated and furnished by four AFL-CIO unions: [4] painters, sheet-metal workers, iron workers, and firefighters. [9] LaSpada did not begin taking a salary for her efforts with the organization until 1992, at which point she began drawing a wage of $30,000 US annually. [10]
Four of the athletes (Unitas, Brooks Robinson, Ted Williams, and Don Schollander) LaSpada had recruited in helping to provide moral support to the children of POWs and MIA soldiers wrote a letter for North Vietnam Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng in the hopes of opening a dialogue regarding the soldiers, but never received a reply. [11]
In 1981, Roger Staubach served as the president of No Greater Love; Steve Garvey served as its vice-president. [5]
LaSpada resigned her role with No Greater Love when she accepted the position as Director for the White House Commission on Remembrance. [12]
NGL has initiated many programs to encourage remembrance and increase morale of those affected by war:
Angola was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. In the 15th century, Portuguese colonists began trading, and a settlement was established at Luanda during the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence, which ended in 1974 with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola achieved independence in 1975 through the Alvor Agreement. After independence, Angola entered a long period of civil war that lasted until 2002.
Memorial Day is one of the federal holidays in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States.
Phan Thị Kim Phúc, referred to informally as the girl in the picture and the napalm girl, is a South Vietnamese-born Canadian woman best known as the nine-year-old child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, titled "The Terror of War", taken at Trảng Bàng during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972.
An Armed Forces Day, alongside its branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the armed forces, or one of their branches, of a sovereign state, including their personnel, history, achievements, and perceived sacrifices. It's often patriotic or nationalistic in nature, carrying propaganda value outside of the conventional boundaries of a military's subculture and into the wider civilian society. Many nations around the world observe this day. It is usually distinct from a Veterans or Memorial Day.
Denise Anne Christina Drysdale is an Australian television presenter, variety entertainer, actress, singer, dancer and comedian. She is often affectionately known as 'Ding Dong', a nickname invented by fellow performer Ernie Sigley. She was formerly a co-host of the morning show Studio 10.
The Michelin Guides are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic areas. The acquisition or loss of a star or stars can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes the Green Guides, a series of general guides to cities, regions, and countries.
Mary Kate McGeehan is an American actress and screenwriter. Her acting career has spanned several decades and she has appeared in a number of TV productions throughout the 1980s, 90s and 2000s into the 2010s. She is the daughter of American actor Patrick McGeehan and Lawrence Welk biographer Bernice McGeehan, and was born on October 7, 1953.
Carmella Cammeniti is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Natalie Blair. She appeared on a recurring basis from 2003 to 2005, then became a main character from 2006 to 2008, before making a final guest appearance in 2011. Carmella was created as a replacement for Nina Tucker, portrayed by Delta Goodrem, who was written out of the series when Goodrem became ill. Her early storylines, including a romance with Connor O'Neill, were originally intended for Nina. The daughter of a protective gangster father, Carmella was initially a "fun, feisty" character. She gradually became "tortured [and] depressive", with storylines which saw her attract the attention of a stalker, become a nun, suffer facial scarring, develop an addiction to prescription medication and lose her husband after a bushfire.
Earle Foxe was an American actor.
Robert Louis Vogel is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1972. Vogel was a mainstay on the offensive line that protected quarterback Johnny Unitas, appearing in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V with the Colts. During his career, Vogel was selected to five Pro Bowls and earned five All-Pro selections.
Joan Banks was an American film, television, stage, and radio actress, who often appeared in dramas with her husband, Frank Lovejoy.
The National Moment of Remembrance is an annual event that asks Americans, wherever they are at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to pause for a duration of one minute to remember those who have died in military service to the United States. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying time off of work for the national holiday. The Moment was first proclaimed in May 2000 for Memorial Day that year, and was put in law by the United States Congress in December 2000.
No Greater Love, also known as Danielle Steel's No Greater Love, is a 1996 American made-for-television romantic drama film directed by Richard T. Heffron. The film is based upon the 1991 novel of the same name written by Danielle Steel.
Mixed Blessings, also known as Danielle Steel's Mixed Blessings, is a 1995 American made-for-television romantic drama film directed by Bethany Rooney. The film is based upon the 1993 novel of the same name written by Danielle Steel. It contains three stories of couples who are facing parenthood for the first time. Scott Baio, Bess Armstrong, Gabrielle Carteris, and Bruce Greenwood lead the all-star cast.
Arnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative rabbi who served as a military officer and military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school. He then served as a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. He promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. In 1984 the President of the United States spoke on his eyewitness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. After retiring from the military he was National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General.
Full Circle is a 1984 romance novel by American Danielle Steel. It was adapted by Karol Ann Hoeffner into a 1996 television film starring Teri Polo. It is Steel's seventeenth novel.
Guy A. J. LaBoa is a retired United States Army officer. A veteran of the Vietnam War, his senior command assignments included the 4th Infantry Division and the First United States Army.
Ephraim Grizzard and Henry Grizzard were African-American brothers who were lynched in Middle Tennessee in April 1892 as suspects in the assaults on two white sisters. Henry Grizzard was hanged by a white mob on April 24 near the house of the young women in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
Carol Ann Elizabeth Drazba was one of the first two American nurses killed in the Vietnam War. She was from Dunmore, Pennsylvania and died in a helicopter crash.
The Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy was an American football award presented by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) to the most valuable player (MVP) of the National Football League (NFL) from 1955 to 2008. It was the only NFL MVP award whose winner was chosen by a poll of NFL players. By 1975, the Jim Thorpe Trophy was described by the TimesDaily as "one of the pros' most coveted honors." In 1983, the Del Rio News Herald called it the "highest professional football award, period." Earl Campbell was the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons, capturing three straight from 1978 to 1980. Quarterbacks Charlie Conerly (1959) and Roman Gabriel (1969) won the trophy despite not being voted to the NEA's All-Pro first team in their respective seasons—Johnny Unitas was named to the first team over Conerly, while Sonny Jurgensen got the nod over Gabriel.