THE U.S. ARMY
U.S. Army uniforms through the years
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FLAG DAY Today is Flag Day, an annual observance of the Second Continental Congress’ official adoption of the stars and stripes in 1777. At the time, they “resolved that the flag of the 13 United States” be represented by 13 alternating red and white stripes and the union by 13 white stars in a blue field, “representing a new constellation.” Now, more than 200 years later and with an updated design, the flag is an American icon. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is the only state to recognize it as a legal holiday.
U.S. Army Sergeant Joey Odoms’ audition to sing the National Anthem from Afghanistan. On 10 November 2016, he performed in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Dillion Baldridge – Youngsville, NC; US Army, Afghanistan, 101st Airborne Division, Cpl., KIA
William Bays- Barstow, CA; US Army, Afghanistan, 101st Airborne Division, Sgt., KIA
Eric Houck – Baltimore, MD; US Army, Afghanistan, 101st Airborne Division, Sgt., KIA
R. Patrick McGinley – Plainville, CT; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Robert ‘Allen’ O’Berry – Kissimmee, FL; US Army, Sgt. (Ret. 20 yrs.)
Marcella Remery – W.Palm Beach, FL; US Army WAC
Harold Roland Jr. – Atlanta, GA; US Army, Korea, 82nd Airborne Division
Richard Stackhouse – Indianapolis, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Lt., B-24 bombardier
Robert Wilke Sr. – Owens Cross Roads, AL; US Army, Vietnam, Lt.Colonel, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Samuel Wilson – Rice, VA; WWII & Vietnam, ‘Merrill’s Marauders, Lt. General (Ret. 37 yrs.), Silver Star (2), Bronze Star (2)
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Martha Cothren with her class
This is a contribution from my brother for the veterans! There is a lesson here that the students of Little Rock High School will never forget. I would presume also that most students would never have given this a thought……
In September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a History teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
‘Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?’
She replied, ‘You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.’
They thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s our grades.’ ‘No,’ she said.
‘Maybe it’s our behavior.’ She told them, ‘No, it’s not even your behavior.’
Martha Cothren
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. Kids called their parents to tell them what was happening and by early afternoon television news crews had started gathering at the school to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, ‘Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.’
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began
Martha Cothren with veterans
placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.
Martha said, ‘You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. They went halfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom you have. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.’
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded the Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 2006. She is the daughter of a WWII POW.
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INCOMING !!
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Verdun Affleck – Timaru, NZ; RNZ Army # 8383, WWII, 20th NZ Btn., driver
Tommy Haynes – Abanda, AL; US Navy, WWII, Sea Bees
Joseph Hillman Jr. – Rock Run, GA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Engineers (Ret. 30 Years)
Ralph Iossa – Madison, NJ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Sgt., 11th Airborne Division
Adolph Kiefer – Chicago, IL; US Navy, WWII, [Olympian swimmer]
Ralph Pierman – Shawnee, OK; US Navy, WWII, Carpenter 1st Mate, LST-471, 3 Bronze Stars
Wilburn Ross – Whitley City, KY; US Army, WWII, ETO, MSgt. (Ret.), Purple Heart, Medal of Honor
Kenji Tashiro – CA; US Army, WWII, ETO, MSgt., 442 RCT / Korea & Vietnam
Leo Thorsness – Walnut Grove, MN; US Air Force, Vietnam, POW, Medal of Honor
Julius Younger – NYC, NY; US Army, WWII, Manhattan Project
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Sgt. Wes Brown & Isky
WASHINGTON — During a routine perimeter check in the desert of Afghanistan, Isky found a roadside bomb. He had come to a complete stop, sitting near the explosive device, patiently waiting for orders from his best friend, Army Sgt. Wess Brown.
The IED – buried two feet deep – was a 120-pound bomb. Isky, a German shepherd military working dog, had just saved countless lives.
For his service, he was honored on Capitol Hill – along with three other dogs – with the first-ever K-9 Medal of Courage. It is the nation’s highest honor for military dogs, acknowledging their extraordinary valor and service, awarded by the American Humane Association.
Isky found at least five deadly IEDs and 10 weapon caches as an explosive-detection dog deployed with Brown in July 2013. The two spent a year protecting U.S. political leaders, including President Barack Obama.
Isky and Brown were with 100th Military Working Dog Detachment and have been together since October 2011.
“After he came out of training from Lackland – he was about 18 months old – I was his first handler to certify with him,” Brown, now 27, said.
While most military working dogs can have two to seven handlers, Isky has only had one: Brown.
“I didn’t PCS,” Brown said. If he had, the dog would have gone to a new handler.
In May 2014, Isky’s military career came to an end.
“We were on a combat mission, one of many,” Brown said. “To avoid an ambush we had to get into the vehicles fairly quickly. While Isky was running up the stairs, I had a hold of him, but he fell off the side and broke his leg in six different spots.”
The leg had to be amputated.
“Once I knew he got injured and knew what was happening, as soon as his amputation was scheduled and his future with the Army was done,” Brown put in the paperwork to adopt him, he said.
Brown has been separated from Isky for only two weeks, and that was while Isky recovered. Even when Isky isn’t with him, Brown carries his picture.
These days, instead of searching for bombs, Isky suns himself on a porch in Virginia with Brown. He has become Brown’s PTSD service dog, and the two comfort each other.
“I have nightmares, I get night terrors stuff like that,” Brown said. “I’ll wake up, and he’s jumped up in bed with me. He kind of does the same thing. I’ll hear him have bad dreams and I’ll wake him up. For all I know he’s chasing a ball, but it sounds to me like he’s having a pretty rough time in some of these dreams. I’ll wake him up and he jumps right up in bed with me. And we both calm down.”
Brown has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress, and has three crushed discs in his neck. He is currently waiting to be medically retired from the Army.
Isky hasn’t been trained as a PTSD dog. But his bond with Brown is strong enough that when Brown has an anxiety attack, Isky knows.
“When I look at him, I feel safe because of everything we did together in Afghanistan. If it wasn’t for him and doing what we did, there would be a lot more people unable to go home,” Brown said.
More than 200 Congressional staffers and 19 members of Congress attended the event to honor military working dogs. The other dogs who earned the Medal of Courage:
From “Stars and Stripes.”
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Civil War mascot memorial
Gunner – Canine air-raid early warning system during the bombing of Darwin in World War II.
What does the celebration mean to Marines across the globe? To General John Lejeune it meant a great deal. On 1 November 1921, he issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921, which provided a summary of the history, mission and traditions of the Corps and directed that the order be read to every command each subsequent year on 10 November.
To see 29 facts you may not know about Marines – check out the USO blog HERE!!!
At the Marine Corps Ball, one key piece of the ceremony is to present the first piece of cake to the oldest Marine in the room, who in turn gives the next to the junior Marine. This symbolic gesture is the passing of experience and knowledge from the veteran to the recruit. We should all emulate their example and take part in history.
To all those who are able – Enjoy the fruits of your labor and revel in the spectacle and unabashed camaraderie that is the U.S. Marine Corps!!
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![US Marine Corps [USMC] [Emblem][1_5]](https://pacificparatrooper.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/us-marine-corps-usmc-emblem1_5.png)
Click on images to enlarge.
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Marvin Jackson – Speedway, IN; USMC, WWII, PTO, Cpl.
Robert Juergens – Cleveland, OH; USMC, Korea
Harry Lord – Jacksonville, NC; USMC, GySgt. (Ret.)
Austin Maloney – Jersey City, NJ; USMC, Korea
Eugene May – Scranton, PA; USMC, WWII, PTO
John O’Leary – Flushing, NY; USMC, Korea, Purple Heart
Leon “Red” Rickman – Wichita, KS; USMC, WWII, PTO
James Sheehan – Framingham, MA; USMC, Lt.Col. (Ret.)
Sandra Shepard – Cincinnati, OH; USMC, Vietnam
Donald Shockey – Savannah, GA; USMC, Lt.Col. (Ret.)
Jerry Vovcsko – Springfield Center, NY; USMC
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“Wounded Warrior” painting by: US Marine Michael Fay
On this date in 1782, in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington created the “Badge for Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged in silver, with the word Merit etched. It was to be presented for any one meritorious action and it permitted the wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoree’s name and regiment were to be inscribed in “The Book of Merit.”
Purple Heart certificate given during the Korean War
Only three soldiers are known to have been awarded this medal during the Revolutionary War: Elijah Churchill, William Brown and Daniel Bissell Jr. The Book of Merit was lost and the medal was virtually forgotten. In 1927, General Charles Summerall sent an unsuccessful draft bill to Congress to revive the Badge.
Patch for Afghanistan
General Douglas MacArthur took up the cause, hoping to get the medal reinstated for the bicentennial of George Washington’s birthday. He succeeded – 22 February 1932 the US War Department announced the creation of the “Order of the Purple Heart.”
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, New Windsor, NY
This medal is awarded to members of the US Armed Forces who have been killed or wounded in action against an enemy. It is also given to soldiers who have suffered maltreatment as prisoners of war.
The ‘impersonal chaos of war’ display in the Hall of Honor
The most Purple Hearts awarded to any individual soldier is nine (9) to USMC Sergeant Albert Luke Ireland; five (5) for World War II and four (4) for his action in the Korean War.
Total Casualties as of May 27, 2013
| Total Serving | Battle Deaths | Other Deaths | Total Deaths | Wounded | ||
| Revolutionary War | 4,435 | 4,435 | 6,188 | |||
| War of 1812 | 286,730 | 2,260 | 2,260 | 4,505 | ||
| Mexican War | 78,718 | 1,733 | 11,550 | 13,283 | 4,152 | |
| Civil War | 2,213,363 | 140,414 | 224,097 | 364,511 | 281,881 | |
| Spanish American | 306,760 | 385 | 2,061 | 2,446 | 1,662 | |
| World War I | 4,734,991 | 53,202 | 63,114 | 116,316 | 204,002 | |
| World War II | 16,112,566 | 291,557 | 113,842 | 405,399 | 670,846 | |
| Korean War | 5,720,000 | 33,746 | 3,249 | 36,995 | 103,284 | |
| Vietnam War | 8,744,000 | 47,355 | 10,796 | 58,151 | 153,303 | |
| Desert Storm | 2,225,000 | 147 | 235 | 382 | 467 | |
| Enduring Freedom | 1784 | 318 | 2.286 | 9,675 | ||
| Iraqi Freedom | 3483 | 890 | 4,422 | 31,935 | ||
| Totals | 580,182 | 430,370 | 1,010,876 | 1,478,096 |
Charles Andres III – Harvey, LA; US Army, WWII, Lt.Col. (Ret.), Purple Heart
Anthony DiTommasso – Providence, RI; USMC, WWII, PTO, Purple Heart
Herbert Faulk – Alcatraz, CA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Purple Heart
Kenneth French – Charleston, MI; US Army, WWII, Purple Heart
Joseph Gallagher – Radcliff, KY; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, Lt.Col. (Ret. 37 years), 2 Bronze Stars, 3 Purple Hearts
Keith James – Easley, SC; US Army, Vietnam, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
William Kiernan – Williamsburg, VA; US Army, WWII, Corps of Engineers, Purple Heart
Herdis McCrary – Green Bay, WI; US Army, Korea, 2 Purple Hearts
Albert Russo – Ambridge, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, 2nd Ranger Batt., bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts
Noel Seeburg Jr. – Chicago, IL, US Army, WWII, PTO, Capt., Bronze Star, Purple Heart
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Admiral Raymond A. Spruance w/ his staff
In other areas of the Pacific during this month_____
16 March – as the Japanese 12th Destroyer Group returned home. HIJMS Shirakumo and the cargo ship, Nichiren Maru, were sunk by the US submarine Tautog off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.
18-19 March – a US task force group bombarded Mili Island in the Marshalls from air and sea. The battleship, USS Missouri was hit by a shell from a coastal gun and was the only ship damaged. A two-day bombardment at Wewak on enemy positions on the northern coast of New Guinea were carried out by US destroyers.
20 March – the invasion of Emirau Island by the USMC 4th Division went without a hitch. There were no Japanese on the island, and so the marines were able to make an unopposed landing and complete a circle of enemy-held Rabaul. Work began on turning the island into a powerful base. The first airfield was ready by May, and was followed by a bomber base.
30-31 March – Under command of Adm. R. A. Spruance, Commander 5th Fleet, including carriers, fast battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, attacked the Western Carolines. Carrier-based planes struck at the Palau group with shipping as primary target. They sank 3 destroyers, 17 freighters, 5 oilers and 3 small vessels, and damaged 17 additional ships. The planes also bombed the airfields, but they did not entirely stop Japanese air activity. At the same time, our aircraft mined the waters around Palau in order to immobilize enemy shipping in the area.
Part of the force struck Yap and Ulithi on 31 March. Although the carrier aircraft encountered active air opposition over the Palau area on both days, they quickly overcame it. Enemy planes approached the task force on the evening of 29 March and 30 March, but were destroyed or driven off by the combat air patrols. During the 3-day operation US plane losses were 25 in combat, while the enemy had 114 planes destroyed in combat and 46 on the ground. These attacks were successful in obtaining the desired effect, and the operation in New Guinea went forward without opposition from the Western Carolines.
31 March – Japanese Adm. Koga and Adm. Fukudome headed to Mindanao, P.I. in 2 separate seaplanes. After encountering a storm, Koga’s aircraft disappeared and was never seen again. Fukudome, with the plans for Operation Z in a briefcase, went down off the waters of Cebu. He and most of the flying boat’s crew were rescued by guerrillas. [2 escaped and made it back to Japanese HQ]. The head of the local guerrillas, Lt.Col. James Cushing, radioes MacArthur via Col. Wendell Fertig.
Fukudome had convinced his captors that he was Koga and MacArthur ordered Cushing, “the enemy prisoners must be held at all costs.” But Cushing exchanged Fukudome for a ‘truce’ between the local guerrillas and enemy Col. Onishi’s troops. The briefcase, with TOP SECRET stamped on its contents, made its way back the Gen. Mac by way of a submarine.
Fukudome was returned to Japan in disgrace. Adm. Soemu Toyoda replaced Koga as Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, with Adm. Ryunosuki Kusaka as his Chief-of-Staff.
Click on images to enlarge.
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https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/national-korean-war-veterans-armistice-day/
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Tatsuo Asamen – Westmorland, CA; WWII Relocation Camp; US Army, Korea, 71st Mil. Gov’t. HQ
Dave Bald Eagle Jr. – Cheyenne River Rez, Sioux Falls, SD, US Army, WWII
Tubencio Carpio – Moline, IL; US Army, WWII & Korea
Robert Cox – Hoover, AL; US Navy, WWII & Korea
John Jerome – Hanover, MA; US Navy, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, (Ret. 25 yrs.)
Richard Kogut – Celoron, NY; US Air Force, WWII, Korea & Vietnam (Ret.)
Tony Lukasavge – Sweet Valley, PA; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Michael Palazzo – Wild Wood, FL; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Edward Roche Jr. – Chesapeake, VA; US Army, Korea, 64th Field Artillery Batt. Medical Corps, Bronze Stars
Harold Smith Jr. – Ithaca, NY; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT, Bronze Star
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The Things That Make a Soldier Great
The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon's mouth, nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.
'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run--
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be--the humble spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there,
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now--he's fighting for them all.
by: Edgar A, Guest
31 May 1886, soldiers from John A. Andrew Post 15 of MA & the George G. Meade Post 38 of NY @ the Soldiers & Sailors Monument on Boston Common – pix by: Elmer Chickering, courtesy of Boston Public Library
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*** PLEASE READ***
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Following is the estimate of the total number of Americans KIA since the Civil War:
For Remembrances Days in other countries…
Click on images to enlarge.
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KIA on Tarawa and buried in grave “D” of the East Division Cemetery. Almost all were from A and B companies and are still listed as missing. Located through Missing Marines.com
Athon, Frank L; # 27 shrapnel wound head
Baumbach, Elden; bayonet wound chest
Bayens, John Richard; #3 shrapnel head and chest
Cruz, Jacob; #29 gun shot wounds head
Dekker, Howard R; #1 gunshot wounds head and chest
Fahy, John M; # 28 gunshot wounds, head
Fricks, Hugh D; #20 gunshot wounds head and chest
Galland, Mervin D; # 25 gunshot wound, chest
Gillen, John E; #6 gunshot wound right chest, shrapnel
Hancock, J.L.: #15 shrapnel, head
Hatch, Robert J; #10 gunshot wound, groin
Hayden, Harold W; #22 gun shot wounds, head
Hill, Jack; #30 shrapnel, chest, groin
Hoffman, John W; #19 gunshot wound chest
Jenks, Robert D; #23 shrapnel head and chest
Johnson, Thomas F; #17 shrapnel, chest
Likens, Kenneth W; #12 shrapnel, head, chest buried 11-23-43
Livermore, Joseph R; #9 bayonet wound, throat, buried 11-23-43
Mccall, Quentin; #5 gunshot wound, head
Miller, Charles D; #11 gunshot wound, head, chest
Morris, Jerome B; #7 shrapnel, chest, buried 11-23-43
Resser, George R; #2 gunshot wounds, head
Stambaugh, Jack R; #14 gunshot wounds, chest, groin, saber wound throat
Stoddard, Donald D; #18 shrapnel, head
Summers, Arthur B; #21 gunshot wounds, head, chest
Tuhey, Raymond J; #24 gunshot wound head
VanZandt, Jack Bensen; #4 gunshot wound, head
Wallace, Charles E; #16 gunshot wound, head, chest, buried grid location: KN-283072-D-2
White, Glenn F; #26 shrapnel, head, chest buried 11-23-43
Whitaker, Channing
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Christmas 1950, Korea
“Home for Christmas” was the rallying cry as United Nations forces, spearheaded by American troops, were well on their way to clearing the entire Korean peninsula of Communist North Korean forces who had invaded South Korea in June, 1950. Then, in late November, in the dead of one of the coldest Korean winters on record, more than 300,000 troops from the Communist People’s Republic of China poured across the Yalu River and entered the war bent on the annihilation of U.N. forces and the installation of a Communist dictatorship for all of Korea. Within a few short days all hopes for a joyous Christmas were dashed. General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of all U.N. forces in Korea, said, “We face an entirely new war …”
Approximately 120,000 Chinese troops battered and besieged U.N. forces around the port city of Hungnam, in northeast Korea. When the U.N. command decided that the Hungnam area could not be held, a mass sea evacuation of troops, equipment and about 98,000 refugees began in mid-December.
At Taegu, South Korea, Norman Deptula, left, stands with two soldiers from the 581st Signal Radio Relay Company after they had been evacuated out of North Korea.
COURTESY OF NORMAN DEPTULA
It was a bone-chilling, dark, dingy day, and amid the clamor, the confusion, and the dockside noises accompanying a forced evacuation, my company boarded a freighter and we began a cold, forbidding, four hundred-mile journey to South Korea’s southernmost port city of Pusan. Upon arriving in Pusan, we clambered aboard an unheated train, plunked ourselves and our gear onto hard wooden benches and tried, unsuccessfully, to cover the broken windows, through which howled icy blasts of air. Our train would take us north, to the town of Kyong-ju, a seventy mile trip.
When we finally arrived at our destination, we were a cold, tired, unkempt, dispirited group. Even though we recovered from our strep throats, our colds, and other assorted ills, the awful memories of the suffering, the violent deaths, the brutal unremitting cold, and the destruction which we had witnessed and endured left scars that would never heal.
The days flowed on, one into another, and soon Christmas would be upon us. “Home for Christmas” was a forlorn hope, but we still hoped to be able to observe, in some small way, the birth of the Prince of Peace, here, in the midst of war. Then, the tiniest of miracles occurred! Someone, possible an archangel disguised as a comrade in arms, said that the Catholic church in Kyong-ju would be holding a midnight Mass and transportation would be made available for anyone who wished to go. Our prayers were answered, and we would be privileged to help celebrate Christmas in a very special way.
Before boarding the trucks that would take us to the church on that Christmas eve, we exchanged holiday greetings with our comrades who had been assigned to guard duty patrolling the company perimeter. It was a clear, cold, starry night; someone began to quietly sing, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
The exterior walls of the small church were pockmarked and some of the windows were broken. We noted with surprise that there were separate entrances, one for men and the other for women and children. The men of the parish entered through the door on the left and we followed them to the left side of the church where we sat on tiny wooden chairs. As the women entered through their entrance on our right, they covered their heads with white shawls, took off their shoes, which they placed in neat rows at the rear of the church, and picked up straw kneeling mats from a large pile that was stacked near the door. Infants were carried on the backs of their mothers, supported there by wide bands of cloth which were tied above their mothers’ waists.
While waiting for the Mass to begin, I glanced around and saw that the ceiling had many shallow cavities, each one marking a spot where a chunk of plaster had come loose and fallen. The church was unheated, but no one really noticed. An inner warmth radiated from the few candles on the altar and also from small, colorful silk banners which were suspended from the craggy ceiling. The banners, on which were written Korean figures, carried, we assumed, Christmas greetings. However, in deference to the American guests in the congregation, one banner proclaimed, in bright letters, “Mahry Xmas!” The spelling may not have been perfect, but the sentiments of those wonderful people was obvious and I, for one, would not have wanted it any other way.
1950 Christmas, Korea
A complete Nativity scene filled the area to the left of the altar, which was draped in silk and decorated with flowers and candles; a “real” Christmas tree, completely trimmed with tinsel, ornaments, and garland, stood on the other side of the altar. The sight of that beautiful tree set off a whole train of memories of another Christmas tree occupying, at that very moment, a place of honor in a warn, loving, caring home 10,000 miles away which was “Untouched by the evil that is war …”
Schoolchildren from the parish, ably and lovingly shepherded by Korean nuns, occupied tiny chairs at the very front of the church. The large, heavily starched, snow-white headpieces of the sisters stood in sharp contrast to our wrinkled, stained, and torn trousers and parkas, but such was the love and gratitude that was showered upon us that we did not, even for a moment, feel ill at ease.
At the rear center of the church stood an old, rickety, out-of-tune organ which was played by one of the Korean nuns. She accompanied a choir of schoolgirls who sang Christmas carols. Even though the choir occasionally sang off key, we knew what carols were being sung because we could, with some difficulty, recognize the music that was played and, while the choir sang in Korean, we sang with them, but in English. It was a riot of sounds, but to our ears it was positively joyous and — almost — heavenly.
Father Kim, the celebrant, said the Mass in Korean, but when it ended, he turned to face the congregation and, in halting English, extended, to the Americans in particular, his personal holiday greetings and then, in a final emotional gesture, he gave us his blessing. “The Mass is ended; go in Peace.”
Many Christmases have come and gone, but when the approach of winter heralds the beginning of another Christmas season, my thoughts and memories traverse the many years and the thousands of miles and I recall a very special Christmas in a tiny jewel of a church in Kyong-ju, Korea, and for one brief shining moment, the war is forgotten. I’ll never know what happened to Father Kim and his devoted flock, but I sincerely hope and pray that they have a truly Blessed Christmas.
Published 24 December 2015, by Norman Deptula in Star and Stripes magazine
Always yield to a vehicle packing a Slammer!
NOT always a good idea.
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Michael Beazley – Kalkohe, NZ; RNZ Army, Vietnam
Louis Bonacasa – Manorville, NY; US Air Force, Afghanistan, KIA
“Remembering Our Fallen”, courtesy of: Cora Metz @ A Fresh Start
Michael Cinco – Mercedes, TX; US Air Force; Afghanistan, SSgt., KIA
Dennis Condom – AUS; RAIF, Korea, POW
Willard Holmes – Dubois, ID; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co. C/187/11th Airborne
Scott Jamar – Sweetwater, TX; US Army, Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer, KIA
Joseph Lemm – W>Harrison, NY; US Air National Guard, Afghanistan, KIA
Meadow Lemon III – Wilmington, NC; US Army, (Harlem Globetrotter)
Chester McBride – Savannah, GA; US Air Force, Afghanistan, KIA
Peter Taub – Philadelphia, PA; US Air Force, Afghanistan, SSgt., KIA
Adrianna Vorderbruggen – Washington, D.C.; US Air Force, Major, KIA
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Nov 26
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Originally posted on Pacific Paratrooper:
TO SHOW MY THANKS TO ONE AND ALL… For my previous Thanksgiving posts – CLICK HERE and HERE! What was seen on the home front 1941-42… 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…
USS Antietam, Arthur Mulroy (second from the left, front row)
Arthur Mulroy, born 12 October 1935, turns 80 today. This US Navy veteran I am very proud to call my cousin.
Artie well remembers enlisting in the Navy in 1952 and having received orders to board the USS Antietam (CV-36). The Essex-class aircraft carrier, the second U.S. ship to bear the name, was recommissioned for service at the outbreak of the Korean War. She was redesignated an attack carrier (CVA), and then as an antisubmarine warfare carrier (CVS). In 1952, she was fitted with a port sponson to make her the world’s first true angled-deck aircraft carrier. The Antietam earned 2 battle stars during the war.
USS Antietam, while Arthur was on board
Arthur remained in the Navy until 1956. He re-enlisted in 1959. He married and his first daughter was born in 1960; a son and another daughter would later follow. In May of 1962, Artie was transferred from New York to Norfolk, Virginia and worked on ViceAdmiral O’Byrne’s staff. It was here that history records the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Arthur was part of the team that organized and deployed the ships for blockade and possible war.
Arthur Mulroy left the Navy in 1963 and pursued a career in banking while he and his wife Patricia raised their family and a grandchild.
Arthur Mulroy at his granddaughter’s wedding.
It seems apropos to me that tomorrow is the 240th US Navy Birthday and Friday, 16 October, is the Anniversary date for the Cuban Missile Crisis. I hope you enjoy the links I previously posted for those days.
Click on images to enlarge.
“And when the Captain’s around, you call me Chief – not Master,. Got it?
You…ah…been Chief for very long?
Martin Anderson – Brentwood, CA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Antietam (DV-36)
Allen “Burk” Burkett – Jacksonville, FL; US Navy, Korea, Vietnam, USS Los Angeles (CA-135), Antietam & Yellowstone (AD-27), Master Chief Yeoman (Ret. 21 years)
Arthur Doyle – Boston, MA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Antietam (DV-36), pilot
Theron Fosdick – Winchester, NH; US Navy, Korea, Cmdr. (Ret. 25 years), USS Antietam (CV-36), pilot
Morris Gill – Waco, TX; US Navy, Korea, USS Antietam (CV-36)
Albert Grad – Milwaukee, WI; US Navy, Korea, USS Antietam (CV-36)
Thomas Long – St.Paul, MN; US Navy, Korea, USS Antietam (CV-36)
Walter Sayre – Paramus, NJ; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Antietam (DV-36)
August Stornelli – Oakfield, NY; US Navy, PTO, WWII, USS Card (CVE-11) & Antietam (DV-36)
Gardner Wales – Rochester, NY; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Antietam (DV-36)
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