Posts Tagged ‘US Army’

Article: Memorial Day…

Posted: 24 May 2013 in Coast Guard, Hero, Memorial Day, Military, US Air Force, US Army, US Marines, US Navy, Veterans
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Memorial Day seems to be forgotten for its original intent. Now people think it’s a long weekend signifying the start of summer and a time to break out the BBQs.

Please remember our fallen brothers and sisters this weekend. Fly the flag. Remember that your weekend BBQ came at a great price. Freedom is never free.

Memorial Day

By RU Rob

While Memorial Day in the United States often induces thoughts of the beginning of summer, BBQ’s and a long holiday weekend, it is not celebrated as intended. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being its birthplace but was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Traditional observance of Memorial Day has sadly diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day as well as its importance to many who have lost someone in the service to the country. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected and have fallen into a state of disrepair. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.

There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50′s on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights.

via Memorial Day – Rhino Den | Military Stories, MMA News, Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy.

Bradley Manning Pleads Guilty…

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 in Military, US Army
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I think it’s a hanging offense.  How many Soldiers died as a result of this asshole?

But I’m no lawyer.

Bradley Manning pleads guilty in WikiLeaks case

FORT MEADE, Md. – The Army private arrested in the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 charges that could send him to prison for 20 years, saying he was trying to expose the American military’s “bloodlust” and disregard for human life in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Military prosecutors said they plan to move forward with a court-martial on the 12 remaining charges against Bradley Manning, including aiding the enemy, which carries a potential life sentence.For the first time, Manning directly admitted leaking the material to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and detailed the frustrations that led him to do it.

via Bradley Manning pleads guilty in WikiLeaks case | Fox News.

Facts About Medal of Honor Recipient Clinton Romesha…

Posted: 17 Jan 2013 in Hero, History, Meddal of Honor, Military, Military History, US Army, Veterans
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…is well worth your time.

11 Facts About Medal of Honor Recipient Clinton Romesha

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
January 17, 2013 3:59 pm

Former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha (ROE-muh-shay), 31, will receive the Medal of Honor next month for heroic actions during the day-long attack on Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan.

More than 300 Taliban attacked Keating early in the morning of Oct. 3, 2009, from all four sides and from higher ground. Armed with recoilless rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine guns, and rifles, the Taliban swarmed the site, occupied by only 53 Americans and two Latvians. A score of Afghans stationed there had abandoned the site. Mortars hit Keating every 15 seconds during the first three hours of the attack. Taliban breached the site and destroyed 70 percent of Keating with a fire.

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Today in History…

Posted: 7 Jan 2013 in Military, Military History, US Army
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…in 2006, a UH-60 Blackhawk crashed near Tal Afar.

12 souls perished that day.

Why is it significant? Well, it’s significant because my friend was killed in that crash.

And as I do every year since then, I honor his memory and those of the other 11 that were lost that day.

Doug was my friend. He was my son’s godfather. He was an honorable man. He is sorely missed all the time. He was my last platoon leader that I had in the Army. He was the best of the bunch. And I don’t say that lightly.

Jan. 7, 2006: A Black Hawk helicopter carrying eight U.S. troops and four American civilians crashed near the northern city of Tal Afar, killing all aboard.

Here’s the names of the souls lost that day: Maj. Stuart M. Anderson, 44, of the 3rd Corps Support Command; Maj. Douglas A. LaBouff, 36, Capt. Michael R. Martinez, 43, and 1st Lt. Joseph D. deMoors, 36, all of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment; and 1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell, 25, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chester W. Troxel, 45, Spc. Michael I. Edwards, 26, and Spc. Jacob E. Melson, 22, all assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment. From Dyncorp International, Arsenio Domingo, 40, and Robert Timmann, 49, were killed in the crash. Both were members of a Civilian Police Advisory Training Team working with Iraqi police officers. I don’t know the names of the other two civilians lost in the crash.

A salute to my friend and those that died with him.

MAJ Doug LaBouff Scholarship Flyer 2012

This is Doug. He was just promoted to Major.

Rest easy, sleep well my brother.
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell…

I still cry when I think about it too much.

RIP General Schwarzkopf…

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 in Hero, Military, US Army, Veterans
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…rest in peace General.

They’ll be standing at attention at Fiddler’s Green as you roll in. Job well done General.
Desert Storm commander Norman Schwarzkopf dies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn’t care much for his popular “Stormin’ Norman” nickname.

The seemingly no-nonsense Desert Storm commander’s reputed temper with aides and subordinates supposedly earned him that rough-and-ready moniker. But others around the general, who died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78 from complications from pneumonia, knew him as a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who preferred the somewhat milder sobriquet given by his troops: “The Bear.”

That one perhaps suited him better later in his life, when he supported various national causes and children’s charities while eschewing the spotlight and resisting efforts to draft him to run for political office.

He lived out a quiet retirement in Tampa, where he’d served his last military assignment and where an elementary school bearing his name is testament to his standing in the community.

Schwarzkopf capped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991 — but he’d managed to keep a low profile in the public debate over the second Gulf War against Iraq, saying at one point that he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and the Pentagon predicted.

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Daniel Inouye (Medal of Honor) Dead…

Posted: 17 Dec 2012 in Hero, Meddal of Honor, Military, Senate, US Army, Veterans
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…at the age of 88.

H/T Ace of Spades.

Rest in peace sir.

He was a highly decorated WWII veteran. His Senate career started in 1963.

His Medal of Honor citation:

Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper’s bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

He loved America.

Another Stall in Fort Hood Terrorist’s Trial…

Posted: 4 Dec 2012 in Axis of Idiots, Domestic Terrorist, Failure, Islam, Military, Muslims, Politics, Shooter, Terrorism, US Army, WTF Files
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…as the judge is removed for not being impartial.
This is pretty pathetic. This asshole should have been tried in the same year (2009) this happened, or at the latest in 2010.

Here it is three years later, and the Army is still dicking around with this guy.

Judge Removed in Fort Hood Shooting Rampage Case

The military’s highest court ousted the judge in the Fort Hood shooting case Monday and threw out his order to have the suspect’s beard forcibly shaved before his court-martial.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled that Col. Gregory Gross didn’t appear impartial while presiding over the case of Maj. Nidal Hasan, who faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 shootings on the Texas Army post that killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen others.

But the court said it was not ruling on whether the judge’s order violated Hasan’s religious rights. Hasan has argued that his beard is a requirement of his Muslim faith, although facial hair violates Army regulations.

“Should the next military judge find it necessary to address (Hasan’s) beard, such issues should be addressed and litigated anew,” judges wrote in the ruling.

Hasan appealed after Gross ordered that he must be clean-shaven or be forcibly shaved before his court-martial, a military trial.

The court-martial had been set to begin three months ago but has been on hold pending the appeals.

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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…

Posted: 29 Oct 2012 in Hero, Military, US Army, Veterans
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…still guarded through hurricane Sandy.
Members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, maintain their vigilance through all weather, even hurricanes.
Pride swells for such devotion.
Hooah!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Remains Guarded Through Hurricane Sandy
Katie Pavlich

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery will remain guarded through Hurricane Sandy. Photos of a soldier diligently performing his duties were posted on the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Facebook page.

(Spc. Brett Hyde, Tomb Sentinel, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), maintains his vigil during Hurricane Sandy while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Oct., 29, 2012. In 1948 the Old Guard assumed the post following the unit’s reactivation in the nation’s capital. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jose A. Torres Jr.))

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29 Years Ago Today…

Posted: 23 Oct 2012 in History, Military, Military History, Terrorism, US Army, US Marines, US Navy
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…220 Marines, 18 Sailors and three Soldiers, were killed and sixty Americans were injured when a truck bomb disguised as a water truck detonated outside the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

RIP brothers.

1983 BEIRUT BARRACKS BOMBING

The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing was a major incident on October 23, 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War. Two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut housing U.S. and French members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon, killing hundreds of soldiers, the majority being U.S. Marines. The blasts led to the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force from Lebanon, where they had been stationed since the Israeli 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

The bombing

On October 23 1983, around 6:20 am, a yellow Mercedes-Benz truck drove to Beirut International Airport, where the 1st Battalion 8th Marines, under the U.S. 2nd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps, had set up its local headquarters. The truck had been substituted for a hijacked water delivery truck. The truck turned onto an access road leading to the Marines’ compound and circled a parking lot. The driver then accelerated and crashed through a barbed wire fence around the parking lot, passed between two sentry posts, crashed through a gate and barreled into the lobby of the Marine headquarters. The Marine sentries at the gate were operating under their rules of engagement, which made it very difficult to respond quickly to the truck. By the time the two sentries had locked, loaded, and shouldered their weapons, the truck was already inside the building’s entry way.

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RIP CSM Plumley…

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 in History, Military, Military History, US Army, Veterans
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…report to Fiddler’s Green!

America has lost a true icon of leadership and a great Soldier.
This is a little late, but I’m not letting it slip by unnoticed.

Rest in peace Sergeant Major. Your mission is accomplished.

Enjoy the company of your brothers in arms at Fiddler’s Green.

Here’s the obituary:

CSM (ret.) Basil L. Plumley
January 1, 1920-
October 10, 2012

Columbus, Georgia- CSM Basil L. Plumley, 92, died Wednesday October 10, 2012 at the Columbus Hospice House, Columbus, Georgia.

Funeral services with Military Honors will be held 1:00 p.m. Tuesday October 16, 2012 in the Infantry Center Chapel, Ft. Benning, Georgia with burial to follow in the Main Post Cemetery, Ft. Benning, Georgia according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus, Georgia. The family will receive friends Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

CSM Plumley was born in Blue Jay, West Virginia, the second son and fifth child of an electrician Clay Plumley and his wife Georgia, both of West Virginia stock. Plumley was also preceded in death by his wife, Deurice who died on May 28, 2012, his grandson, Kenneth Kimble, two brothers and three sisters.

He is well known for his actions as Sergeant Major of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Battle of Ia Drang (1965). General Hal Moore praised Plumley as an outstanding NCO and leader in the book We Were Soldiers Once…And Young. The sergeant major was known affectionately by his Soldiers as “Old Iron Jaw.”

Plumley enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 31, 1942 as a private, having completed two years of high school. His civilian occupation was listed as semiskilled chauffeur/driver of bus, taxi, truck, or tractor.

Plumley is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During World War Two, Plumley made four combat jumps with the 82ND Airborne Division: OPERATION HUSKY (Sicily), OPERATION AVALANCHE (Salerno), OPERATION NEPTUNE (Normandy), and OPERATION MARKET GARDEN (Holland). He also made one combat jump in Korea with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Yongju.

He retired as a command sergeant major on December 31, 1974. After his retirement he worked 15 years for the Army at Martin Army Community Hospital as a civilian and retired again in 1990.

Plumley’s awards and decorations include the Silver Star (one Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (one Oak Leaf Cluster and Valor Device), Purple Heart (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Air Medal (one silver and three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Presidential Unit Citation (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Word War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal (with Arrowhead device and three campaign stars), Vietnam Service Medal (with one silver and three bronze campaign stars), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal for Korea, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Master Combat Parachutist Badge (with gold star, indicating 5 combat jumps), Vietnam Army Basic Parachutist Badge, and the Order of St. Maurice. He is one of only 324 known recipients of the third award of the Combat Infantry Badge .

CSM Plumley received the “Doughboy Award” in 1999. The Doughboy Award is presented annually to recognize an individual for outstanding contributions to the United States Army Infantry. The award is presented on behalf of all Infantrymen past and present.

He was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the film We Were Soldiers.

Survivors include his daughter, Debbie Kimble, his granddaughter, Carrie Brown and her husband Jeff, his great grandchildren, Carson Brown, Jackson Brown, numerous nieces and nephews.
Flowers will be appreciated and donations may be made to National Infantry Foundation, 1775 Legacy Way, Suite 220, Columbus, Georgia 31903 or those wishing to donate online can do so at www.nationalinfantrymuseum.com in honor of CSM (R) Basil Plumley or to the Columbus Hospice Inc. , 7020 Moon Road, Columbus, Georgia 31909 or those wishing to donate online can do so at www.columbushospice.com in honor of CSM (R) Basil Plumley.

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