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Served in 3 wars.Joe E. Sites, Jr. (August 9, 1924 – October 27, 2013) Joseph Edward Jr. was the son of the late Joseph Edward Sites, Sr. and Olivia Stearn Sites. Joe’s beloved wife, Naomi of almost 60 years passed away on March 24, 2010. Joe and Olivia have one daughter, Diana Sites.Mr. Sites is survived by his only daughter, Diana K. Sites, of Petersburg, two sisters; Sheila Rose Garrick (Dee Dee) of Rockledge, FL, Diana Alt of Rockville, MD, and one brother, James Sites of Harrisonburg, VA, and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Michael ’Mike’ Sites and two sisters, Patricia Niswander and Olivia Delena “Peggy” Sites, who died in infancy.Joe grew up in Upper Tract, WV, and graduated from Franklin High School in 1941. Joe and his brother Jim both went to Potomac State College in Keyser, WV before enlisting in what was then the US Army Air Corps, hoping to become a pilot. Brother Jim followed soon after as a Navigator. Joe Jr. became a US Army Air Corps Pilot.The US Army Air Corps officially became the United States Air Force and a separate military service/branch on September 18, 1947, with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947. The Act created the National Military Establishment, later renamed the United States Department of Defense, which was composed of four of the five branches, the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and a newly created Air Force.The Sites family has a bit of Scotch-Irish blood, through the Adamson’s, and Joe’s brother Jim was known as his “Irish twin”, being born only 15 months after Joe. Growing up, Joe and Jim were always together. Having been homeschooled by their mother at one point, Jim kept right up with Joe in studies, and the two ended up in the same graduating class at Franklin High School. Thus, the brothers headed to Potomac State College in the fall of 1941 and continued their bond as roommates. Jim recounts that he was “mature in a lot of ways, but very naïve in many others,” as a 15-year-old heading out into the world beyond Pendleton for the first time. Joe always took care of his younger brother and vice versa.(from Jim, Joe's brother) At 94 years old, Jim still remembers clearly his and Joe’s time at Potomac State but recounts the details with an air of mystery. He related that they certainly had a lot of “fun” and pulled some shenanigans with the other Pendleton boys, but very firmly left it at that. The War was on, and for young men who could only think about when and where they might deploy, the school was simply not the top priority. Joe and Jim have always been extremely private people, and so many of what may have been the best stories of their college misadventures will forever remain with their “crew”.Jim said that from childhood on, Joe was always fascinated by machinery, and was keen to be a pilot. Jim recalls Joe always being the one who got to run the tractor when farming, while Jim had to work with the horses. When Joe enlisted into the Army Air Corps, he entered into 18 months - 2 years of extensive training. He learned to fly starting with a Piper Cub, and as his skills increased, he was trained on increasingly complex aircraft. Each level of training and different aircraft involved Joe transferring to a different Air Corps base. Joe went to 3-4 flight schools and ended up trained to fly combat missions in fighter jets. Jim attended six months of Navigation school in Hondo, Texas. Neither Jim nor Joe saw combat, though, because just as their training ended, the War was over. Jim left the service and used his GI Bill funds to attend Virginia Tech where he studied Engineering and roomed off-campus with the newly married David and Marie Eye. Joe stayed enlisted but left the Military briefly to come home, marry Naomi Berg, and try his hand at taking over the family farm. Joe found that farming did not suit his temperament, and so, after a little while, he re-enlisted in the Air Force and made it his career.Joe flew the Convair F-106A Delta Dart. It was a supersonic, lethal, all-weather delta wing interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through 1988. Convair developed the fastest and most sophisticated fighter of the Cold War to protect the U.S. from Soviet bombers. During the Cold War years.Joe would retire 20 years later as a highly decorated Major having served as a fighter pilot in WWII, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. He flew over 300 missions in Vietnam alone and received Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster (equaling two distinguished Flying Crosses), two Bronze Stars, and ten Air Medals. He became one of the few soldiers serving in three different wars; WWII, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. (Please read specific Distinguished Flying Cross Citation below)Citation to Accompany the Award ofTHE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS(FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER)TOJOSEPH E. SITES, JR.Major Joseph E. Sites, Jr. distinguished himself by extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an F-100 Pilot near Saigon, Republic of Vietnam on 27 December 1967. On that date, Major Sites flew his aircraft under conditions of adverse weather in the face of intense hostile ground fire in support of elements of the United States Army in heavy combat. With determination and great skill, Major Sites flew his aircraft on repeated attacks on the hostile position, drawing hostile fire. With complete disregard for his own personal safety, Major Sites neutralized hostile forces thereby relieving the pressure of friendly units. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Major Sites reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Airforce.The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is our nation’s highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement. It is awarded "...for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight". As a valor decoration, it ranks fourth in order of precedence and is awarded to recipients for heroism while participating in an aerial flight. The Distinguished Flying Cross medal was established by an Act of Congress on July 2, 1926, and the first Distinguished Flying Cross citations were presented to the Pan American Good Will Flight pilots on 2 May 1927 by President Calvin Coolidge. President Coolidge also presented the first Distinguished Flying Cross medal, on 11 June 1927, to then-Captain Charles A. Lindbergh of the Army Air Corps Reserve, for his solo flight of 33 ½ hours and 3600 statute miles.After retiring from the military Joe became the owner/operator of Sites Oil Company in Petersburg. He became a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, the VFW post #6454, and the American Legion Post #78 in Petersburg. Joe was also a member of the Potomac Highlands Wounded Warrior Outreach program.Sheila Garrick (a.k.a. “Dee Dee” to her family), Joe’s sister shared: ‘The story we younger ones heard around the home was Joe always had a hunger to fly, maybe stemming from his seeing an old plane land in one of the fields at home, the pilot coming to Upper Tract supposedly hoping to take the locals up as passengers for pay, of course. Since this happened during the depression, I doubt he had many customers. Regardless, it stirred a spark in Joe. Now I'm not sure if this is really true, but we were told Joe went out the window onto the back porch roof (which would have been the second level of the house), with all intentions of flying off....supposedly brother Jim knew what was about to happen, ratted him out to Mom or Dad, and his first flight was soon aborted! (Don't know if an umbrella was involved or not)’(Dee again) I do know for certain Joe was the best brother, son, and husband anyone could ever hope to have. He had a very dry sense of humor, and you had better be a "straight-shooter" with him, or go on your way.....he had no patience for self-important people. AND, along that line, I never, ever heard him saying anything about what he did his entire career, except fly jets. I had no idea about his awards until the time of his death, which says a lot about the person he was.Dee affectionately added: ‘Joe never talked about his experiences, and most of the family was surprised to learn (after his death) of his many awards and achievements. That's just the type of fellow he was. Joe was rather reserved until he really got to know you, had a keen, but dry wit, and one of the best brothers a girl could have. So I enjoyed his company and miss him very much.’Dee: ‘Mom did say that Joe had to stuff himself with bananas in other to meet the weight requirement to join the USAAF, as he was a tall, very slim young man. He barely made the minimum requirement, but he did. He was selected for pilot training, and the rest is history. Flying was his love, and he told Mom if something should happen to him, particularly during the Viet Nam era, to know he died doing what he loved.’Having the same last name, Sites, and actually being double 4th cousins, I always kinda swelled up with pride when I drove by their farm along US 220 & saw the ‘Joe E Sites’ painted on the big red barn just south of Upper Tract proper. Another attraction to this Sites family was that Joe’s brother Mike & wife Nancy purchased not one but two special cars from my grandfather, Bert Sites at Sites Chevrolet. One was a 1969 Camaro Indianapolis Pace car and the other a 1957 Corvette convertible. Sterle Lambert purchased both these collector automobiles and owned the 1957 Corvette for over 23 years. I guess you might say that this special Corvette lived over half its life in Upper Tract between Mike & Sterle.Jim and Joe were at Potomac State with a number of boys from Franklin. They included Jimmy Anderson, David Eye, Benny Auld, Harry Byers, and Richard Kile. Jim was 15 when he went to Potomac State, and Joe was either 16 or 17 (they were 15 months apart in age). As their time went on, more and more boys were drafted, and so Jim says he lost focus on Academics, and focused more on having fun. David Eye was drafted into the Infantry, Benny Auld went into the Navy, and Harry Byers got drafted into the Army. Jim had introduced Harry to a nice High School girl from Keyser named Ginny, and Harry and Ginny later got married. Joe enlisted into the Army Air Corps/ Air Force, which left the younger boys, Jim and Richard Kile by themselves at Potomac State. After Joe left, Richard and Jim became roommates. In order for Jim to avoid the Draft, he went ahead and enlisted at the age of 17 into the Army Air Corps. Jim celebrated his 18th birthday at Miami Beach, FL, doing basic training there. Richard Kile went into the Navy. Jim says he doesn’t remember if he (Jim) actually ever even graduated from Potomac State, because he didn’t go through the graduation ceremony, but he did receive enough credits there later to matriculate into Virginia Tech.One of his beloved nieces, Michelle Sites is Pendleton County Librarian. Michelle introduced me to Joe’s brother, her Uncle Jim, who is presently doing fine and residing in a senior living facility in Harrisonburg, VA area.Joe’s distinguished career, spanning three wars, undoubtedly has spawned rumors. I’ve heard a few. One of which has Joe Jr. flying his F106A fighter jet up the South Branch River valley over their Sites’ Family farm south of Upper Tract and wing-waggling his F-106A at his brother Mike & wife Nancy who were walking thru their fields and waving back. Awesome!Legends come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Joe Jr. got his Legend Wings the hard way, he fought for them, and in three separate wars. He is one of the top most highly decorated soldiers/veterans that Pendleton County has produced. Well done, Joe, well done.In closing: These things were near & dear to Joe - his wife Naomi and their daughter, Diana, his home in West Virginia, his family, his nation, and flying…and flying he did!

The first thing one will note upon addressing the question of who God was referring to in Isaiah chapter 1 is the great amount of deletions and edits the Jewish scribes did to protect their belief system, especially the law of Moses. Much of the text of Isaiah 1 that had no reference to corrupt religion or spiritual leaders was left alone, because it did not demean the Jewish faith and because it seemed to support the belief that a Messiah would come and eventually relieve the people of all their misery.Isaiah knew, however, that the misery the people were experiencing was caused in great part by their religion and spiritual leaders—something the Jewish scribes obviously didn’t want the future generations of Jews who would read their records to consider.Isaiah had access to most of what was written and kept by Jewish scribes. He borrowed much of the symbolism found in the Psalms, which were attributed, erroneously, to King David. David had nothing to do with the composition of Psalms. He was too busy worrying about the corruption of his kingdom and his own personal lusts. And yet the Jewish scribes and historians made David one of their legendary heroes. To honor him, they interpolated the phrase “A Psalm of David” throughout the text.David’s chief musician actually wrote all of the Psalms in honor of the king. But to glorify the king and give him all the credit, the Jewish scribes interpolated “To the chief Musician” as if David wrote it to the musician, when he had nothing to do with its composition. The accurate description would have been “From the chief Musician.” Regardless, Isaiah borrowed symbolism from the poetry to relate certain meaning into his prophecy.The overall message of Isaiah in chapter 1 is undeniable. Isaiah condemns the foolish laws and statutes of the Jews, as well as the foolish belief system and ordinances created by the moderns church like unto the ancient Jews—the church formerly known as the LDS/Mormon Church.Isaiah makes a stark distinction between the “law of the LORD” and the laws that the Jewish and Mormon leaders made up to express their religious beliefs. The “law of the LORD” expresses concern for the poor and needy of the world, who are more often than not neglected so that people can follow the “law of Moses” (and the law of Brigham Young, the pretend successor to Joseph Smith, Jr.) and build their churches and temples and pay homage and tithing to religious leaders, who cared more about the image of “the church/religion” than they did about the poor and needy. Isaiah challenges the Jewish and Mormon faith and prophesies their eventual overthrow.Although the majority of Isaiah writings were written down and edited by Jewish scribes, it is not necessary to distinguish between what Isaiah actually wrote with his own hand and what a scribe wrote and attributed to what he said. The message behind his words, either written or spoken by him, is what is most important.Consider the following verses in chapter 1 of Isaiah, correctly translated from Greek:1:2 Hear and give ear, O earth! For the LORD hath spoken from the heavens: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.1:3 Israel doth not know me. And although they calleth themselves my people, they do not consider me or my ways.1:4 Ah sinful nation, ye are a people laden with iniquity, and your children, the seed of your flesh are corrupt and all of them are evildoers. Ye have all forsaken the LORD and have gone backward away from him. Ye have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, and his wrath is that he is no longer with you.(Jews and Mormons have a big problem with what Isaiah said about them because they sincerely believed that they were obeying God by attending to the duties and obligations that were required of them by their priesthood leaders. Isaiah is using allegory to describe their hypocrisy. He compares the people to an ox that obeys its owner’s (their spiritual leaders’) every command and the stubborn ass that is only compliant when it is getting fed. He later describes this same hypocrisy as the people honoring God with lip service instead of doing actual deeds of righteousness, because their leaders are teaching them incorrect principles.)1:5 If ye are striken more and more, will ye continue to revolt and turn away from him? That which ye have imagined in your head and thought is of God, is not. And that which ye do from the heart is not his ways. Behold, your whole head is sick and your whole heart is weak.1:6 Ye are as one body. The people are the feet that support their leaders, who are the head of the body. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness found; but the body is full of wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores. And your wounds have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment, because there is no physician among you who can heal the body.(The leaders of the Jews and the Mormons are the wealthiest and best educated in society. Isaiah uses the term “physician” to illustrate one who is educated and affluent, but in this case, doesn’t know what to do to solve the decline of society’s health.)1:7 Ye and your beliefs are like a country that was once treasured by the LORD, but has been overthrown by strangers and left desolate. And when the LORD shall come into your country, your cities shall be burned with fire and your land shall be devoured by strangers in your presence.(True messengers (prophets) were sent to the Jews and a true messenger has warned the Mormons today and explained how to live properly and how to organize their society in a way that would benefit everyone equally. (Today, the true messenger’s plan is called the Humanity Party.)1:8 And if ye would seek unto the LORD, then he would take ye into the city of Zion and be your father, and ye would become the daughters of Zion, and your cities would become as a cottage in his vineyard, where he would nourish you and protect you. Ye would become as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and eat forever the cool fruit of the vine. But ye are not citizens of Zion, but are a besieged city like unto Sodom and Gomorrah, whose fruit is evil and whose vineyard is burnt with fire.(When the people did what the true prophets asked of them, they prospered and experienced a general sense of peace and equality. “Zion” was the term used by all prophets to describe a society of people living in peace and equality.)1:9 And except there be left a very small remnant of you who have stayed faithful to the LORD of hosts, ye would be like unto Sodom and Gomorrah when the LORD shall come. And all of your cities, yea, even every one, will be burned with fire.(“Fire” is a symbolic term used by true messengers to describe the real truth, or that which advanced humans (Gods) know but mortals do not. Being “burned with fire” simply means that one will be confounded by the real truth. A good example of this figurative expression is when someone who thinks they are smart is confronted with something that counters their intelligence with something that makes much more sense than what they think they know as truth. The “learned” one becomes flush with anger, almost as if a fire is started in their mind because they don’t know how to respond to the real truth. The downfall of all societies has always been and will always be the way in which they care for the poor and needy among them. True messengers sent among the Jews attempted to explain the proper way to live as human beings upon this earth. These true prophets were taught the ways that advanced human societies live in other worlds. There are certainly no poor or needy in advanced societies. The prophets told the people that someday these advanced beings would come to the earth and establish Zion and bring peace and equality to all the inhabitants of the earth. They would eliminate the means by which the poor and needy exist and cause all those who supported public laws and policies that caused poverty and need to burn with fire as they heard the real truth being presented by advanced human beings.)1:10 Now hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; and give ear unto the law of your God, ye people of Gomorrah.1:11 Ye have kept the law of Moses and it has done nothing for you, and it has burdened me from its beginning. For do ye know to what purpose is the multitude of the sacrifices that ye make unto me? saith the LORD: Do ye think that ye keep the fullness of my law with your burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts? Do ye think that I delight in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats? I delight not at all in the shedding of any blood, but ye have put these things before me.1:12 And when ye come to appear before me, who is it that hath told you that I required these things at your hand? Is it not those who tread my courts that have told you to do these things? I have required none of these things as an offering from your hand. The whole of the law is an abomination unto me.1:13 Bring no more of your vain oblations before me. The incense that ye offer upon the altars ye have made by your hands is an abomination unto me. Your traditions wherein ye assemble so that ye can observe the new moons and honor the sabbaths, I cannot bear any longer. All of these things are an iniquity before me, even the solemn assemblies that your leaders hold to appoint these things for you and command them of you.1:14 They have appointed unto you to worship days of new moons and given you feasts that honor me, when they honor themselves thereby. My soul hateth all of these things: they are a trouble unto me and I am weary to bear them.1:15 How can I hear you when ye spread forth your hands and make many prayers and obey a law that ye have been given by those who do not know me and assembly against me? Behold, ye honor me with your lips and the acts of empty promises, yet your hands bear the blood of those whom ye despise and for whom ye care not. For greater is your concern for the law of Moses than for the poor and the needy among you. Behold, I cannot hide mine eyes from beholding your acts.1:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Wash yourselves and make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 1:17 Learn to do well to the lambs among you; seek judgment for the poor and needy and relieve them of their oppression. Care for the fatherless and do not let the pleas of the widow fall upon deaf ears. Do not let their blood remain on your hands.(Isaiah rips apart the Jews’ and the Mormons’ religious beliefs, ordinances, rituals, and everything else that has absolutely nothing to do with the establishment of Zion. Isaiah knew that all religions, all belief systems, all ordinances, rituals, or anything that mortal humans have invented through their vain and foolish imagination that has nothing to do with the way one human being treats another will be obsolete and inconsequential to human existence.)1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD of hosts. What value hath your laws if ye have the blood of the innocent lamb upon your hands? Is not the blood of the poor and needy among you of more worth than the blood that ye shed through sacrifice? O earth, how great are your sins! Though your sins be as scarlet, if ye turn again to your God and forsake those things that are an abomination before him, they shall be turned as white as snow. Though your hands be the color of crimson, if ye no longer make sacrifice of the innocent lamb, then shall its wool remain unblemished before me.1:19 If ye be willing to give up the traditions that bind you down and make you an abomination before me and become obedient to my word, then all shall eat the good of the land:1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel against my word, then there shall be great turmoil among you and ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.(Isaiah was referring to the inequality that existed and the fact that many people were not being fed “the good of the land.” People were more concerned with their religious traditions than they were about the poor and the needy. There is a powerful and rich modern-day religion that gives a perfect example of what Isaiah is addressing here. The church formerly known as the LDS/Mormon Church is the richest church (per capita) in the modern world. Mormons believe in the Book of Mormon, a source of scripture that they value more than they do the Bible. The Mormons believe that salvation comes through the ordinances and rituals that they receive in their temples. Mormon temples spot the earth and are some of the most ornate and ostentatious buildings constructed.)1:21 Your leaders have turned the faithful city of Zion into an harlot! If it was full of proper judgment, then righteousness would lodge in it. But instead it is full of murderers because of those among you who suffer and die because of its sins.1:22 Your leaders have corrupted the words of the LORD and changed them to an abomination. They were once pure as purified silver, but now the silver has become full of dross. The cup in the hand of the LORD which he gave unto you full of good wine is now mixed with water.(As mentioned above and compared to the ancient Jews, the LDS Church’s Book of Mormon contains a very good example of what Isaiah refers to as “murderers.” Not only are the people considered “murderers” because they allow the poor and needy to die without interceding to help them, but they “murder” their righteousness. Isaiah called anyone a “murderer” who leads another into spiritual destruction. He comments that the religious and secular leaders had corrupted the “pure religion, undefiled before God” and turned it into an abomination.)1:23 Thy princes have rebelled against the word of the LORD and have become the companions of thieves who steal from the poor and needy to fulfill the corrupted law. Because of their rebellion, the people also rebel against me. Behold, every one loveth gifts and the vain things of the world. They think that greater are the rewards offered them by their leaders than the reward of a righteous judgment of the fatherless and poor; and the cause of the widow they cannot hear.(Mormon leaders would rather build temples and religious monuments and hoard their investments in a funds worth hundreds of billions of dollars “to fulfill the corrupted law”, rather than use these funds to care for the poor and needy. Isaiah’s reference to the leaders of the people (“thy princes”) being “companions of thieves” can be related to modern-day secret dealings that use backroom agreements to combine the efforts and desires of the rich and powerful political, religious, and business leaders to control and manipulate the laws that govern society. Believing that they are acting under the inspiration of God, these leaders, who more often than not personally ascribe to some type of religious belief, combine their ability to persuade the people with the power and rule of law to force the people to submit to their desires. Religion uses the power of persuasion to control the masses. Politics uses the power of threat and force. Combined in secret, or rather, working in unison with each other without the people being aware of what they are doing, these two forces maintain the structure of human society.)1:24 Therefore, when the Lord shall come, even saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel of all the earth, he will say, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies and all those who have changed my word and corrupted my law. And the city of Zion shall once more contain my word and be full of the pure wine.1:25 O Zion, I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away the dross that corrupts my silver, and take away all the tin made by corruptible hands.1:26 And I will restore thy righteous judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of the LORD, a city of righteousness, a faithful city.1:27 And the city of the LORD shall be called Zion because it is redeemed with the law and statutes of the LORD, and those who are converted within her will become righteous.(The basis of all human peace and happiness will always be centered on how humans treat each other. True prophets know that unless all people are treated equally, peace (Zion) cannot be established upon the earth. Their message is that one day advanced human beings who know how to establish peace and happiness will come to the earth and make the changes needed to establish unconditional human equality. In figurative prose, the “law of the Lord” symbolizes everything that will make humans equal. The “city of the Lord” symbolizes the state in which humans exist in equality.)1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners and all they that forsake the Lord shall be destroyed and consumed by the fire of his judgments.1:29 And those who are converted within the city of the LORD shall be ashamed of the oaks of Bashan which ye have desired instead of the Lord. And ye shall be confounded for the gardens from which ye have chosen to harvest your food.1:30 For the leaf of the oak fadeth in the heat of the sun and the harvest of your garden hath become tow, because it hath no water. 1:31 And the strong among you shall become as the tow to be burned, and those who made the tow shall cause it to spark, and both the maker and the tow shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.(Throughout chapter 1 of Isaiah, Isaiah has juxtaposed the true “law of the Lord” to the corrupted practices of religious worship. Attending church, performing esoteric religious ceremonies and ordinances, and worshipping an unknown God in fear and trembling has nothing at all to do with establishing a peaceful society (Zion) in which human beings are treated with equality. Isaiah, as well as all true messengers, knew this. The rest of Isaiah’s prophecy continues this theme. It is a theme that would echo throughout time and become the foundation for the main message of the most popular and influential prophet in the history of the human race—Inpendius, whom the mythical Jesus Christ of the New Testament was patterned after. The modern Mormons would do well to remember Matthew 25’s Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, which warn that we will all be found on the left hand of the True Christ at the last day, if we fail to shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and administer relief to the sick and afflicted, instead of displaying the homeless with a billion dollar-plus City Creek Mall in Salt Lake City.)