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DEL.ICIO.USIt’s finally easy being green
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Louie Favorite / Staff
Kermit parachutes to the ground from atop an Iraqi Border Police fort near the Syrian border.
To get through war you need good body armor, good training and good support. You also need a good laugh.
Enter Kermit the Frog.
Click here to view a Kermit photo gallery.
Actually, that’s Corporal Kermit, of Company H, 121st Infantry, Georgia Army National Guard.
When did the Muppet get a rank? About the same time as Hotel Company’s Cpl. Patrick Heffernan.
Where Heffernan goes, Kermit goes. A digital photo album captures their travels: See Kermit peer through a rifle scope. See Kermit perched on the shoulder of Hotel Company’s Iraqi translator. See him in gunner turret of Heffernan’s Humvee. See him drift through air, parachute billowing against the blue Iraqi sky.
Heffernan e-mails the photos back to his wife, Andie, at home in Gwinnett County. She supports both corporals. When Cpl. Heffernan wanted his own personal Global Positioning System, she bought it. When he asked for a satellite phone he could take on missions, Andie cruised eBay until she found one for $900.
The same is true for Corporal Kermit’s battlefield needs.
Matter of fact, Kermit’s care packages are sometimes better stocked than Heffernan’s. Since arriving in Iraq last August, Kermit has received a .50 caliber rifle, combat knives, a helmet and canteen, all G.I. Joe accessories sized to fit his 12-inch frame. In his latest gift box from home was a parachute with harness. Coming next, a pinup calendar of Miss Piggy.
Out in the sand and dust, Kermit provides hours of entertainment for Company H soldiers. He’s also a goodwill ambassador of sorts. Heffernan said Iraqi children might not know who Kermit is, but when the Humvee pulls into a village, the sight of a frog in camouflage usually breaks the ice.
On a recent humanitarian mission near Tal Afar, Heffernan “secured” Kermit in the Humvee when Iraqi children caught wind of the well-appointed frog. They wanted to get their hands on the handsome green warrior.
The frog has been around for six years, plucked from toy store obscurity when Heffernan was in Ranger battalion at Fort Benning. Never hurts to have a mascot, particularly one that was beloved as a child. Back when things seemed safe and war was a game played in the backyard.
Heffernan is a big, strapping, good-looking guy. Manly man all the way. So there is risk in suggesting that his fuzzy green frog is a stand-in for the more traditional comfort toy: a teddy bear. But does it really matter if a grown man has a plush toy if it helps him get through the extreme stress of war? If it reminds him of home and of his beautiful wife and the life he is hopeful they will have, if he survives this tour of duty?
Heffernan said the green guy is his good-luck charm.
Andie agreed. “Oh, yeah, Kermit is coming back,” she says. “Absolutely.”
Staff writer Moni Basu contributed to this article from Iraq.
Permalink | Comments (29) | Categories: Reports from Iraq
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By Wanda
March 28, 2007 6:51 PM | Link to this
Thank you Andie! Hooah,Wanda proud mom of an Airborne Infantryman,CompanyH We support our soldiers!
By CB
March 29, 2007 10:35 AM | Link to this
Is there a web site for more Cpl. Kermit pictures?
By Lisa
March 29, 2007 11:17 AM | Link to this
So, I wonder how long it will be until Walt Disney demands that these pictures be taken down, and Kermit stop making appearances in the humvee? In this day and age, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he didn’t get some kind of legal hassle over their precious Kermit being portrayed as “pro war”.
By Tara
March 29, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this
Disneyland wouldn’t care. They do not own the muppets, nor did they create them. Jim Henson did. Kermit has done everything else, why not this! Good Job Kermit, America Loves you!
By Mike V
March 29, 2007 11:49 AM | Link to this
Way to go Kermit! We could’ve used him as a mascot for our soccer team too.. Both of you be safe over there.
By Gonzo
March 29, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this
They make it sound like it’s unlikely he’ll come back. Serving in Iraq on a percentage, or even individual basis, is incredibly safe. We’ve sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers over there, and have lost 3,000. Compared to any wars of the past — 1812, Mexico, Cuba, Philipines, the World Wars — we have a better chance of guaranteeing a soldier will come home than any other war in history. I guess there has to be something negative in the story, though.
By Sam
March 29, 2007 11:58 AM | Link to this
Never thought I’d see Kermit like this, but he rocks!
By waldo
March 29, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this
seeing as I recall Kermit and Miss Piggy doing a treo singing with Ozzy Osbourne on the Muppet Show, I doub’t they would take this negatively.
By Monkey David
March 29, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this
Disney bought Jim Henson Productions, so they own the Muppets…
By Peacenik
March 29, 2007 2:08 PM | Link to this
Personally I think Kermit is a liberal and an antiwar protester. Hope Disney sues this guy. It’s almost as bad as Camel Joe.
By William
March 29, 2007 2:23 PM | Link to this
Sues him for what? If he’s not making a profit, what’s the big deal? It’s the same as taking a picture of your kid with Barney and sending it to family.
By Beeker
March 29, 2007 2:27 PM | Link to this
Will Kermit have to buy his own body armor too?
By bedrock guy
March 29, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this
Peacenik:
Hello from Europe. You are a left wing, anti-American A*. Kermit rules. And if Kermit helps maintain the morale of just one American soldier in the fight against Islamfascism, go for it. I dare Disney to sue anybody for using Kermit in a war zone. r/ Bedrock Guy
By Vanessa
March 29, 2007 3:17 PM | Link to this
Peacenik,
Kermit is a liberal and an anti-war protester, but unlike you, he is actually in Iraq trying to make a difference. Like a lot of us, he is anti-war, but very pro-soldier. And he is going to make sure all the troops make it home safe.
You should try to make a positive difference in the world too, instead of just spouting negetivity. And how is being negetive being peaceful?
The troops and their families have enough to worry about, and you’re hoping they get sued by a billion dollar corporation to boot? Unbelievable. It’s people like you and your kind of thinking that turn military families away from the peace movement. You are a hypocrite in every sense of the word.
By Nickie
March 29, 2007 3:35 PM | Link to this
Well said Vanessa!!! Peacenik is too cowardly to put his life on the line for his/her country. Fortunately we have brave men like Cpl. Heffernan, along with Cpl. Kermit, to make up for useless people like that!
By Dan
March 29, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this
Love the video… Kermit’s bad a**!
By StephFarksAlot
March 29, 2007 5:42 PM | Link to this
That’s so sweet. Makes me all happy inside. Thank You CPL. Heffernan! And Kermit! And Mrs. Heffernan!
By Rick
March 29, 2007 9:18 PM | Link to this
God bless both corporals!
By Jordan
March 29, 2007 9:47 PM | Link to this
The inane content of the American news is always good for a laugh. What I can’t understand is how most of you posters are able to go along with this filth. I am astounded by the reactions written here. Full-grown men and women supporting such a feeble stunt. Are you so thoroughly clueless about the immorality of your nation’s actions? Is there nothing in your soul that knows something is wrong with this picture?
By C arol
March 30, 2007 1:04 AM | Link to this
Jordan:
Immorality? WOW, I am always astonished when the public thinks that they know everything that is really going on. Like we publish everything in the news…
If Cpl Kermit keeps the morale up for the troops and keeps them “out of mischief”, then GOD BLESS CPL KERMIT. Our Soldiers, Marines, and Sailors are better off adopting a mascot like Kermit, and entertaining themselves this way than perpetuating activities outside their prescribed missions.
By VoteRonPaul
March 30, 2007 1:40 AM | Link to this
What we tend to forget C arol is that people like Jordan and Peacenik assume that because they think Bush is evil and the Iraq war is evil, then nobody should ever get any enjoyment out of any of it. They might not activly wish harm to the troops (or they might), but they certainly don’t think any American over there should ever have a smile on their face.
Bottom line, there is no point in trying to interact with people of that mindset just like there is no point in talking to the “Nuke Mecca” weenies. The closed minded idiots on both sides need to be ignored and shunned so the rest of us can discuss things with a little less hyperbole and bias.
By Budro
March 30, 2007 11:50 AM | Link to this
Can you people let the anti-war crap go for a minute and let some people smile for a moment? This is not a politically motivated pro-war article.
By Hank
March 31, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this
I’s a man dressed in a frog costume. Get over it people. Ant-war, pro-war, liberal, conservative… horse hooie! You, get a job. You, clean up your yard. Junior, go do your homework. If you want to get worked up over something, pick something that matters like, cancer or poor the dogs and cats at the pound. There are children starving in the inner cities. Sheeeesh already!
By Joe
March 31, 2007 7:50 PM | Link to this
Jordan…you disinformed poor thing you! You ever been in combat? Have you ever gone to a foreign country to help people, like we long have as history. If we sit on our a** and do nothing, we’re slaughtered by the media and the UN. If we take the initiative and strike a blow to radical regimes, then we’re Imperialist. Wake up Jordan…we had our heads in the sand while WW II started…..we have to move aheah and appeasement is NOT an option. Semper FI
By Jim
March 31, 2007 9:50 PM | Link to this
Saw the interview on Fox News. Great job over there. My prayers to you and Kermit.
By lrkr
March 31, 2007 10:02 PM | Link to this
caught it on tv too. very cool. keep kickin a** kermit.
By Priscilla
April 1, 2007 9:36 AM | Link to this
Isn’t it funny that most of the time, when someone is sending a “hate blog” they are brave enough to be rude but not brave enough to sign their name to it? Just an observation.
By jeffstokes
April 1, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this
lol.. this new improved kermit is getting some airplay.
By Ellen
April 1, 2007 4:00 PM | Link to this
Peacenik &Jordan - So one man’s happiness made others happy, too? And you don’t like that? Try looking at it this way: our soldiers are doing what they’re told to do and doing it well; and if they don’t, you may soon be doing what they’re doing - only you may be fighting for your own life here in America. Will you have your blankey with you? If we don’t keep the war there, believe me, it will come here. I’m an older citizen, but I’ll be willing to fight for our freedom - hope you will find reason to change your mind or few will fight for you - well, actually they already are - try to appreciate them.