Category Archives: Vietnam
4th of July 2021
SEEMS WE DON’T SAY IT ENOUGH – SO, I’M TRYING TO FIX THAT RIGHT HERE – GOD BLESS THE USA!!!
We can rant and we can complain, but we should thank the troops for giving us the right to do so! Today we celebrate our country’s birthday. Traditional BBQ’s, fireworks, family and friends, we have a day off and have a ball! – and to whom do we owe it all? You guessed it_____
THE SOLDIER’S POEM
When this is over
And we come home again,
Forget the band
And cheers from the stand;
Just have the things
Well in hand –
The things we fought for.
UNDERSTAND?
_____Pfc C.G. Tiggas
ONLY A SAILOR
He’s only a sailor on the boundless deep,
Under foreign skies and tropical heat.
Only a sailor on the rolling deep,
In summer rain and winter sleet.
Fireworks and cookouts
And time spent with friends.
Swimming and playing
The good times never end.
But lest we forget
The reason for today
Let’s all say it now
Happy Independence Day!
Freedom’s Price!
Today we celebrate freedom
thanks to those who came before.
Those brave men who fought and died
in each and every war.
Freedom always comes at a price,
And while we celebrate
We should tip our hats to the heroes
who made our country great.
Red White and Blue
Hamburgers and hot dogs
cooked on the grill,
Fireworks in the night
giving us all a thrill.
The country all decked
in red white and blue.
Friends all saying
‘Happy 4th of July to you.’
Where does your state rate in its patriotism?
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-patriotic-states/13680
Comic hero from the 1940’s , courtesy of Balladeer…
https://glitternight.com/2021/06/18/first-fighting-yank-stories-from-the-1940s/
FUN FACT:
Denmark is the only country outside of the United States that holds an official 4th July celebration. Celebrated annually since 1911, thousands of people from across the country gather in Rebild National Park in Jutland for picnics, speeches and to sing some American classics. Known as Rebildfesten, its organizers claim that it is is the biggest celebration of US independence outside of the USA.
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4TH OF JULY HUMOR –
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Farewell Salutes – 
Walter S. Belt Jr. – KS; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
James Cummings – Minneapolis, MN; US Atmy, Korea, 11th Airborne Division
Jack DeTour – USA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, B-25 pilot and instructor
Max Foster – Brownstown, IL; US Army, WWII, radio operator
Philip T. Hoogacker – Detroit, MI; US Army, Korea, Pfc # 16315593, 1/29th Infantry Reg.; POW, KIA (Pyongyang, NK)
John E. Hurlburt – Madison, CT; US Army, WWII, PTO, Sgt. # 20126929, 105/27th Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Saipan)
James A. Kilgore – El Paso, TX; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 187th RCT, Pvt. > Colonel (Ret. 30 y.), Bronze Star, Silver Star
Frank Kokernak (101) – Dudley, MA; US Army, WWII, ETO, medic
Rogene Laut – Minister, OH; US Army WAC, WWII, nurse
Jerome Lerner (100) – San Francisco, CA; US Navy, WWII, Lt. JG
Chad Peyton – Chandler, TX; US Army, Iraq, Captain, pilot, Bronze Star
Donald H. Rumsfeld – Taos, NM; US navy, pilot / 60 years of public service
Bernard J. Sweeney Jr. – NYC, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, Sgt., # 32645733, Co I/330/83rd Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Hürtgen Forest, GER)
James C. Willis – Albuquerque, NM; US Air Force, Qatar, Lt. Col., 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Sq/Heavy Construction Engineers
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MEMORIAL DAY 2021
Our nation marks Memorial Day to honor and pay tribute to brave Americans who gave their life for this country. Many generations have sacrificed in defense of our nation, our liberty, and our desire to improve our country. On Memorial Day, we humbly honor these incredible patriots and have a solemn duty to uphold their legacy.
At its core, Memorial Day speaks of personal sacrifice for a greater good. It resonates in the stories of ordinary Americans, who fought for a better world and were willing to lay down their lives. Our way of life is shaped by those who have served and those who were lost. We have benefited from their positive influence on our world. It is our solemn duty to honor for our fallen brothers and sisters in arms and their families. This day reflects on heroes from historically distant wars passed and current operations. We honor their legacy and work toward a peaceful future, in which wars are a faded memory.
I encourage you all to keep the legacy of our fallen brothers and sisters in arms alive within your communities. Take time to reflect together with your friends, neighbors, groups, and communities, so those stories and sacrifices are never forgotten.
Respectfully, Colonel Christopher K. Lacouture 913th Airlift Group Commander
The image of the poppy is from: Marylou at natuurfreak3 click on image to enlarge.
I know that many are looking forward to their bar-b-ques and celebrations, especially after a year and a half of lockdowns, and quarantines, but Please take a moment to remember why we have this commemorative weekend.
Also from Marylou is this wonderful Memorial Day ecard…
From: Lt. Colonel Sam Lombardo (Ret.) _____
“This is our Memorial Day/ In our land of the free/ It’s because of those who sacrificed/ Whose graves you’re here to see/ They fought on foreign lands/ And across the open sea/ And paid the ultimate price/ To keep you and I free/ So put all things aside/ And honor this important day/ Which we have dedicated/ As our Memorial Day.”
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NOT YOUR USUAL MILITARY HUMOR – PLEASE click on each to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Wayne L. Adams Sr. (102) – Dolton, IL; US Army, WWII
Carl D. Berry Jr. – Hinsdale, IL; US Army, WWII / US Air Force, Korea
Carl M. Bradley – Shelly, ID; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fireman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Wayne M. Evans – Hamilton, MT; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt., Battery G/59th Coast Artillery Reg., POW/KIA (Cabanatuan Camp, Luzon, P.I.)
Charlton H. Ferguson – Kosciusko, MS; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Musician 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Nicholas H. Hamilton – Las Vegas, NE; US Air Force, pilot
Brenda McDaniel – Springfield, VA; US Army, Nurse Corps
Edward McDaniel Jr. – US Army, Colonel, Medical Corps (MD)
Joseph R. Mooradian – Union Grove, WI; US Merchant Marines, WWII / US Army, Korea
Burl Mullins – Dorton, KY; US Army, Korea, Cpl., Heavy Mortar Co/ 3/31/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
William D. Tucker – Bedford, IA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fireman 1st Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
John Warner – Alexandria, VA; US Navy / USMC, Korea / Secretary of the Navy / 30 y. US Senator
The U.S.O.’s 80th Anniversary
“Until everyone comes home” is the motto of the U.S.O., the nonprofit organization has stuck to that motto, doing its best to bring support and entertainment to American military personnel around the world.
To connect to the organization, please click HERE!
Over the course of the USO’s 80-year history, the organization has seen it all: the beaches of France, the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of Saudi Arabia and the mountains of Afghanistan. But most importantly, the USO has witnessed several generations of service members, military spouses and military families pass through its doors – and has provided them with crucial support by boosting their morale and keeping them connected to one another throughout their time in the military.
Boxing match w/ Sugar Ray Leonard & Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney as referee.
Starting in 1941 and in the eight decades since, the USO has remained committed to always standing by the military’s side, no matter where their service takes them.
Eleven months before the United States’ official entry into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was already creating a support system for the nation’s Armed Forces. Bringing together the Salvation Army, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), the National Catholic Community Service, the National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board, these six organizations formed the United Service Organizations (USO) on 4 February 1941. The USO was created specifically to provide morale and recreation services to the troops.
“Until everyone comes home” is the motto of the U.S.O., the nonprofit organization has stuck to that motto, doing its best to bring support and entertainment to American military personnel around the world.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Jesse Anderson – Boise, ID; National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer 4, instructor pilot
Dale F. Bruhs – Milford, MD; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Millie Hughes-Fulford – Mineral Wells, TX; US Army Reserve, Medical Corps / NASA, 1st female astronaut- 
Michael Gastrich – Cincinnati, OH; US Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class, air crew mechanic/flight engineer
Roland Horn – Des Moines, IA; US Army, WWII, Chief Warrant Officer (Ret.)
George Laubhan – Boise, ID; National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer 3, instructor pilot
Charlotte MacDonough – Boston, MA; Civilian, WWII, made B-17 fuel bladders
Ryan Mason – Carthage, NY & TX; US Army, Middle East, Sgt.
Matthew Peltzer – Napa, ID; National Guard, Chief Petty Officer 3, pilot
George P. Shultz (100) – Englewood, NJ; USMC, WWII, PTO / Secretary of Labor, Treasury and State
Julian Vargas – Silver City, NM; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 187/11th Airborne Division
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Military Radio – Armed Forces Network
1943 ‘G.I. Jive’ sheet music by Johnny Mercer
ARMED FORCES NETWORK
Although American Forces Network Radio has officially been on the air for 60 years, listeners began tuning in at the end of World War I.
A Navy lieutenant in France broadcasted information and live entertainment to troops accompanying President Wilson to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Radio was a novelty then, and little equipment was given to overseas military broadcasting until the United States started gearing up for World War II.
playing music for the troops
Bored soldiers in Panama and Alaska created makeshift transmitters and aired records, according to an Armed Forces Radio pamphlet. The U.S. military was unaware of the broadcasts until celebrities wrote asking how to send the stations recordings.
During the first days of the U.S. entry into World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff members set up military radio stations in the Philippines. Their success paved the way for the Armed Forces Radio Service.
In May 1942, the Army commissioned broadcasting executive Tom Lewis as a major and assigned him to create a viable military radio network.
Its primary goal was to keep morale high, a daunting task when the enemy already was broadcasting to Allied troops, in the personas of the infamous “Axis Sally” and “Tokyo Rose.” Playing popular American music, they tried to demoralize troops with talk about missing home.
On July 4, 1943, the Armed Forces Network went on the air, using the BBC’s London studios. With British and Canadian radio stations, it formed the Allied Expeditionary Forces Program. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted to ensure the stations worked together and all allies were getting the same message.
“G.I. Jive” disc, 1943
To boost morale, AFRS headquarters in Los Angeles produced shows such as “G.I. Jive,” shipping them to stations on special “V-Discs.” By early 1945, about 300 Armed Forces Radio Stations worldwide were broadcasting. (There are some V-discs available on e-bay)
Then came peacetime.
By 1949, just 60 stations were operating. But broadcasters who remained in Europe with the occupying forces took on a new role. Music and information were broadcast from Bremen to Berlin — giving many Europeans their first exposure to American culture and music.
AFN brought jazz, blues, rock ’n’ roll and country and western to audiences starved for music. The shows were so popular that when the leftist Greens Party urged Germany to quit NATO in the 1980s and called for U.S. troops to leave, it made one exception.
“The U.S. military should go home, but leave AFN behind,” a Greens leader demanded.
When the Korean War started in 1950, AFRS leased several portable trailers and followed the troops as “Radio Vagabond.” The American Forces Korea Network was established in Seoul later that year.
While the organization changed its name to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in 1954, the focus remained on radio.
The American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN) was established in 1962, during the Vietnam War, mostly for numerous military advisers there. It served as the backdrop for the 1988 movie, “Good Morning, Vietnam!”
But broadcasting to the troops as the war heated up was no day on a Hollywood set.
During the Tet Offensive, AFVN studios in Hue City were attacked. The staff fought off the Viet Cong for five days before the station manager and several others were captured. They spent five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.
Recently, Armed Forces Radio quickly mobilized for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
A mobile broadcasting van deployed to Saudi Arabia, where the American Forces Desert Network was established in 1991 and broadcast for the first time from Kuwait shortly after the Iraqi occupation ended. Since then, it has become a fixture throughout the region.
Tech. Sgt. Mark Hatfield, 36, was “out in the middle of nowhere … at a secret base detached from civilization” as a structural maintainer on F-15s, with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) during Desert Storm.
About a month after he arrived, AFDN went into operation.
“I remember when they came on line … I had my little transistor radio, and sure enough, there it was,” he said.
Someone also bought a radio for the hangar. “We cranked it because news was coming out left and right about the war,” Hatfield added.
“It was good because that was our only source of real information. You get out in the middle of nowhere, you don’t really hear it from the U.S side of things … uncensored, coming in from the U.S.”
“Good Morning, Vietnam!”
Today, American Forces Radio and Television Service operates about 300 radio and television outlets, serving an audience of 1.3 million listeners and viewers on every continent and U.S. Navy ship at sea.
“As long as there’s military there, we’re going to be there.”
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Military Humor –
Marines from Los Angeles
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Farewell Salutes –
Anthony Bermudez – Dallas, TX; US Army, Kuwait, SSgt.
Edward R. Burka – Washington D.C.; US Army Medical Corps (airborne), BGeneral
Dorothy (Schmidt) Cole (107) – OH; USMC Women’s 1st Battalion, WWII
Hyman Coran – Sharon, MA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, flight instructor
Michael Domico – Westville, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Sgt., radio/gunner
Veronica Federici – Fulton, NY; US Navy WAVE, WWII
Michael Morris – Cass Lake, MN; US Air Force, TSgt., 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (Europe)
Vincent Pale – Philadelphia, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, POW
Claude Spicer – McComas, WV; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, (Ret. 30 y.)
Robert Wendler – Newport, RI; US Navy, WWII, Navy band
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A Christmas Tradition from the Pacific
Soldier in Japan delivers presents as ‘Father Christmas’
After 71 years, a yearly tradition continued with the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and 25th Infantry Division all joining forces on December 4 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, to wrap presents to ship to the Holy Family Home in Japan.
The 25th Infantry Division shared photos of soldiers taking part in the annual tradition, tweeting, “It’s a long standing tradition, and it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter what nation you’re from, in the bigger picture, people help people.”
4 Dec. 2020, presents for orphans, (pic by: SSgt. Thomas Calvert
On Christmas Day in 1949, the 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds” were overwhelmed by the sight of tiny, barefoot children living in the decaying Holy Family orphanage in Osaka, Japan. The soldiers accompanied a Red Cross representative to the crumbling home that was brimming with underfed children in ragged clothes.
Sgt. Hugh Francis Xavior O’Reilly was still raw from the battlefield in those cold winter months following the end of World War II, but the site of those Japanese orphans provided the soldier with a new, gentler perspective.
The following payday, O’Reilly led the Wolfhounds in collecting donations for the struggling orphanage and donated what they could on New Year’s morning.
But for the Wolfhounds, that just wasn’t enough.
Soldiers and their families wrapping presents
Over the next year, the 27th continued to collect funds for the orphaned Japanese children, and by the time Christmas 1950
Soldiers writing out cards to send to Japan
rolled around, the Wolfhounds dragged a sleigh filled with supplies and toys, along with “Father Christmas.”
Now 71 years later, the 27th is still at it.
While the coronavirus pandemic did prevent the soldiers from hand-delivering the gifts to the children at the orphanage, over 600 gifts were wrapped and shipped the roughly 4,000 miles from the soldiers’ base in Hawaii to the Holy Family home in Osaka.
MARINES ALSO DELIVER AN EARLY CHRISTMAS TO AN ORPHANAGE IN SOUTH KOREA!
A couple of children happily receive toys at Jacob’s House orphanage, Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Dec. 22, 2013. Over 300 toys were donated by U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea.
ARMANDO R. LIMON/STARS AND STRIPES
Pacific Paratrooper has also had their own tradition during Christmas…
TO ALL THOSE THAT BELIEVE IN FREEDOM AND PEACE: MERRY CHRISTMAS!! FROM: PACIFIC PARATROOPER!!
PLEASE… REMEMBER THOSE THAT FOUGHT FOR US IN THE PAST…
[To see the pictures that accompany the past and present – CLICK HERE!]
AND THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO PROTECT US TODAY!!!
AND FOR THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO WAIT PATIENTLY AT HOME…
TO ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY … I WISH YOU THE WARMTH AND PEACEFUL CONTENTMENT THAT ARE REPRESENTED BY THIS SEASON !!!
Click on still images to enlarge.
Military Christmas Humor –
Easton, MD–Dec. 22, 2011–This is a Christmas display at the home of Tom and Alice Blair, which includes an F 104 jet, Santa and his sleigh, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, etc. staff photo/Barbara Haddock Taylor} [Sun Photographer] #9306
Aboard the USS Nimitz
Yank mag. 24 Dec. 1943
Farewell Salutes –
Francis Borgstrom – Forsythe, MT; USMC, WWII, PTO
Mamie (Weber) Cook – Deerfield, MO; Civilian, WWII, B-29 riveter
Robert Dutton – Niagara Falls, NY; US Army, WWII
Raymond Erickson – Orton Flat, SD; US Navy, WWII, PBY communications crewman
Alfred T. Farrar (100) – Lynchburg, VA; US Army Air Corps, WWII / FAA engineer
Wesley Grace – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII, ETO, mine clearing
Paul T. Ichiuji – Pacific Grove, CA; US Army, WWII, MISer (Intelligence)
James Mackey – Windsor, CT; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, aircraft mechanic
Alfred Shehab – Cape May, NJ; US Army, WWII, ETO, 102nd Calvary, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Lt. Col. (Ret. 21 y.) / NASA
Lloyd Zett – Loretta, WI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ATO, aircraft mechanic (Nome)
Pre-Christmas post from Star and Stripes – 75th Anniversary
In The Past
1964, a Vietnam Christmas for Bob Hope
Bob Hope brings Christmas cheer to troops in Vietnam
1964 | BIEN HOA, South Vietnam — Bob Hope brought some laughter to a place of war Christmas Eve.
Residents of an outer island of Palau retrieve boxes from the U.S. Air Force’s 1999 Christmas drop.
Airmen prepare for annual Christmas gift drop to Pacific islanders
2005 | ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — Airmen geared up to deliver items to Pacific islanders who can only dream of department stores.
Santa Claus hands out presents to the men of Detachment 35, Company B, 5th Special Forces Group, in Vietnam at the end of 1968. The Air Force lent Santa six C7 Caribou cargo planes for his deliveries in Vietnam. The planes enabled him to visit some 50 isolated outposts – such as this Special Forces camp in Nahon Cho, 80 miles northeast of Saigon – from Dec. 24th until late in the afternoon Christmas day.
JAMES LINN/STARS AND STRIPES |
Eight deer traded in for 6 ‘Santabou’ in waning days of 1968
1968 | NHON CHO, Vietnam — Santa’s reindeer were constantly bogged down in mud and his sleigh broke on the bumpy, snowless airstrips. The Air Force lent Santa six C7 Caribou cargo planes for his deliveries in Vietnam.
In The Present
Staff Sgt. Hector Frietze, right, and Senior Airman John Allum, left, 36th Airlift Squadron loadmasters, wave to the people of the Island of Angaur, Republic of Palau, during the first bundle airdrops of Operation Christmas Drop 2020, Dec. 6. OCD is the world’s longest running airdrop training mission, allowing the U.S. and its allies to deliver food, tools and clothing to the people who live on remote islands in the South-Eastern Pacific region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gabrielle Spalding)
SE PACIFIC – OPERATION CHRISTMAS DROP
Deployed
Service members serve on all seven continents — there is one service member in Antarctica — and on all the seas. Military personnel serve in more than 170 countries.
Service members deployed around the world during Christmas:
- Afghanistan: 14,000
- Bahrain: 7,000
- Iraq: 5,200
- Jordan: 2,795
- Kuwait: 13,000
- Oman: 300
- Qatar: 13,000
- Saudi Arabia: 3,000
- Syria: Unknown
- Turkey: Unknown
- United Arab Emirates: 5,0000
Sailors will man their ships from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico. Navy officials maintain that roughly a third of the Navy is deployed at any one time.
Air Force missileers and airmen are in the silos, by the planes and in the command centers ensuring the nuclear system is ready if needed.
And Please remember the military families !
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Military Christmas Humor –
Humor from deployed Marines
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Farewell Salutes –
Bennie Adkins – Waurika, OK; US Army, Vietnam, Sgt. (Ret. 22 y.), Green Beret, Silver Star, Purple Heart
Bon Nell Bentley – Russellville, AR; Civilian, riveter / US Navy WAVE, WWII / USN nurse / Civilian, nurse w/ Veterans Admin. (Ret. 30 y.)
Pedro ‘Pete’ Coronel – Hereford, AZ; US Army, WWII, PTO, 7th Cavalry, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Lee E. James (106) – Spearman, TX; US Army, WWII, CBI, Colonel (Ret. 27 y.)
William Kinney – Toledo, OH; US Navy, WWII
Levi A. Presley – Crestview, FL; US Army, Sgt. 1st Class
Louis Pugh – Courtdale, PA; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT, 2 Bronze Stars, Purple Heart
Jesse O. Sandlin – Granby, VA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, pilot, 8th AF / Korea, Lt. Colonel (Ret. 28 y.)
Owen Tripp – Tacoma, WA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Bronze Star
Donald Urquhart – New Orleans, LA; US Army, WWII, 81st Infantry Division, Purple Heart
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Thanksgiving from: Pacific Paratrooper
Rakkasans of today.
187th RCT
I WISH TO EXPRESS MY THANKS FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU !!! AND MAY WE ALL BE THANKFUL FOR THOSE VETERANS WHO FIGHT FOR US !!!
US troops in Afghanistan give thanks.
Thanksgiving during WWII…
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day,
My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away;
I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe,
Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck;
The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan,
They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home.
Truly and honestly, from way down deep,
They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast.
These holidays are remembered by one and all,
Those happy days we can always recall.
The ones in the future, will be happier, I know
When we all come back from defeating the foe.
_______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
For those of you living where there is no official Thanksgiving Day on this date – look around – family, friends, Freedom and life itself – all enough to give thanks for each day !
FROM: PACIFIC PARATROOPER – May you all have a happy and healthy Holiday Season !!
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Please be considerate to those who may not be celebrating…..
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Thanksgiving Humor –
Army turkey
US Navy turkey?
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Farewell Salutes –
Holland ‘Dutch’ Chinn (100) – brn: CHI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, mechanic
Denzel Clouse – Terre Haute, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO / Treasury Dept.
Edward Debrowski – Donora, PA; US Navy, WWII, 2nd Class Petty Officer, USS Shannon
Julia Garcia – San Francisco, CA; Civilian, WWII, welder
Harold ‘Hal’ Jackson – Davenport, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, pilot
Thomas Ligotti (105) – Buffalo, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, 70th Engineers
Jennings Mitchell – Athens, AL; US Merchant Marines, WWII, Academy graduate
Eugene O’Thomas – Detroit, MI; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
William Sawyer – Bleffton, IN; US Army, WWII, ATO, Medic (Ret. 20+ y.)
Ronald Webster – Roxbury, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI
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From: Pacific Paratrooper
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Veterans Day 2020 Remembrance and Gratitude
My post for this Veterans Day is dedicated to Sgt. Walter Morgan Bryant Jr., USMC; R.I.P my dear friend!
… there is an old Marine poem… it says: ‘When I get to heaven, To St. Peter I will tell, Another Marine reporting sir, I’ve served my time in hell.” ______ Eugene Sledge, USMC veteran of Peleliu & Okinawa
For the U.S. Marine Birthday, 10 November – CLICK HERE!!
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many Pilots’ planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, Freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen”
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn’t free!!
by: Kelly Strong, posted at vietvet.org
For Remembrance of the Pacific War, from: “The Voice of the Angels” newspaper of the 11th Airborne Association
For All Those In Free Countries Celebrating Remembrance 0r Poppy Day
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For The Military Today –
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert Avrutik – Yonkers, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, radioman
Grover “Spook” Browning – Newdale, ID; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Anthony Colavito – West Calwell, NJ; US Army, WWII, PTO, demolition
James Dunn – Lubbock, TX; US Navy, WWII, Purser, USS Franklin
Morris Horton – Sidney, NY; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. F/187/11th Airborne Division
Adrian Miller – Winamac, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 101st Airborne Division
Albert Sakey – Boston, MA; US Navy, WWII, ATO & PTO, PT-boat radioman
Ottis Stout (101) – TX & CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, B-17 tail gunner
James Thomas – Dry Ridge, KY; US Army, 188/11th Airborne Division
Paul W. Wilkins – USA; US Army, Korea, Cpl., B Co./1/21/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Choch’iwan, SK)
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I have a list of parades and celebrations, if anyone is interested, tell me where you’ll be 11 November 2020 and I will see if I can locate one near you!!
No Veteran Should Be Without a Place to Call Home
Free Help for Homeless Veterans Dial 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838) for 24/7 access to VA services for homeless and at-risk Veterans
Homeless Veteran Chat Confidential, 24/7 online support for homeless Veterans and friends
https://www.va.gov/homeless for more information
Are You a Veteran in Crisis or Concerned About One?
Did you know that VA offers same day services in Primary Care and Mental Health at 172 VA Medical Centers across the country? Make the Connection Resource Locator
Contact the Veterans Crisis Line (1-800-273-8255 and press 1, Chat, or Text 838255.)
Don’t know what number to call?
1-800-MyVA411 (800-698-2411) is never the wrong number
Have a concern, compliment, or recommendation for VA?
Call the White House VA Hotline at 1-855-948-2311
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Current News – Missing In Action
Video from the U.S. Army, filmed 2 weeks ago.
Right now, there are about 82,000 total people still missing from every major conflict since World War II. Of those, 81 are from Nevada. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a government agency that is actively searching for all of those people.
The DPAA is working to get DNA swabs of family members related to those missing so that if and when they’re found, they can be identified. They then work to actually locate the remains of the people missing.
Last year, 217 people were found and identified. About 75% of those are former unknown soldiers. The DPAA researches what is known about the unknown soldiers, then if they are confident they can identify them positively, they’re able to do DNA testing on the remains.
The other way MIA are identified is through a search. The DPAA researches anything from where the person was last seen to where planes went down to where major battles were fought. They conduct interviews with any witnesses then determine the best area to search. Then, they bring in teams of dozens of people and dig for about a month, hoping to find any human remains. Even if it’s just a tooth, that’s all it takes to ID a person and solve the mystery of what happened to them.
The DPAA held a meeting in Henderson to update local families on their loved ones’ cases. Attendees heard updates on new technology being used to search and their own personal cases. There were also chances for family members to give DNA swabs.
For the families of the POWs and/or MIAs – CONTACT
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert C. Agard Jr. – USA; US Army, Korea, Cpl., 2/24/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Taejon, SK
Jacob Cruz – Los Angeles, CA; USMC, WWII, Pvt., Co. D/1/6/2nd Marine
HONOR
Division, KIA (Tarawa)
Elmer E. Drefahl – USA; USMC, WWII, Cpl., USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor)
Henry E. Ellis – USA; USMC, Korea, Pfc., HQ Co./1/1st Marine Division, KIA (Koto-Ri, NK)
Harry Gravelyn (101) – Grand Rapids, MI; US Army, WWII, Captain, Co. D/331/83rd Division
Jesse D. Hill – Highland Park, MI; US Army, Korea, Sgt., Co. C/1/32/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir)
Marilyn Mackson – Lansing, MI; US Army WAC, WWII, Signal Corps decoder
Aurekui Ortiz – San Diego, CA; US Army, Korea, HQ Co./2/187th RCT
Joseph Pincinotti – Charleroi, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. D/457 Artillery/11th Airborne Division
Jimmy Young – Johnson City, TN; US Army, 89th Artillery, 11th Airborne Division
[The MIA’s recovered from the Korean War, and gradually being identified to come home, have been made possible by the joint talks between President Trump and North Korea]
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National Airborne Day 16 August 2020 80 years
The history of United States Airborne Forces did not begin on the training fields of Fort Benning, Georgia, as some believe. In fact, the origin of Airborne Forces in the U.S. military began with a familiar name to American military history, Brigadier General William L. “Billy” Mitchell (1879-1936).
As well as being considered the spiritual father of the United States Air Force, which he advocated for fiercely during his tenure in the military, BG Mitchell was the first to imagine airborne tactics and sought the creation of U.S. Airborne Forces.
Billy Mitchell
It is not recorded exactly when he organized a demonstration of Airborne Infantry for U.S., Russian and German observers. However, according to records at Ft. Benning, Georgia, it is confirmed that BG Mitchell held the demonstration “shortly after World War I” at Kelly Field, in San Antonio, Texas. During the demonstration, six soldiers parachuted from a Martin Bomber. After landing safely, the soldiers assembled their weapons and were ready for action in less than three minutes after they exited the aircraft.
Reprinted and broadcast countless times, High Flight is regarded as one of the world’s great war poems and the greatest anthem of aviation. It is the official poem of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. First year cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy are required to memorize it. Extracts have been quoted in a variety of occasions. The most famous example occurred on Jan. 28, 1986, when President Ronald Reagan, speaking of the Challenger, Space Shuttle disaster, closed his address with the sentence: “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of Earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
– Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY !
These men with silver wings
Troopers from the sky above
In whom devotion springs
What spirit so unites them?
In brotherhood they say
Their answer loud and clear.
“Airborne All the WAY!”
These are the men of danger
As in open door they stand
With static line above them
And ripcord in their hand.
While earthbound they are falling
A silent prayer they say
“Lord be with us forever,
Airborne All the Way.”
One day they’ll make their final jump
Saint Mike will tap them out
The good Lord will be waiting
He knows what they’re about
And answering in unison
He’ll hear the troopers say
“We’re glad to be aboard, Sir,
Airborne All the Way!”
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Military, Airborne Humor –
Para-Toast.
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Farewell Salutes –
Robert Abney – Richmond, IN; US Army, Vietnam, 173rd Airborne Division, Purple Heart
Lynn Adams – Pocatello, ID; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division
James Cook – OH; US Army Air Corps, Japan Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
William Farrell – Augusta, GA; US Army, WWII & Korea, 504/82nd Airborne Division, US Army War College grad, Capt. (Ret. 20 y.)
Trevor Goldyn – USA; USMC, Bahrain, Sgt., 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Albert Hayden – Capr Giradeau County, MO; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Hershel Hegwoods – Forest, MS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 11th Airborne Division, Purple Heart
John Latham (100) – Chicago, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 mechanic, TSgt. (Ret.)
Debrah Lepley – Coshocton, OH; US Army, 101st Airborne Division
Allan Stoll – Bossier City, LA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
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