These servicewomen are leaders, pioneers, change-makers and survivors

‘People Constantly Mistake My Mother for a Spouse, Not a Veteran’

The New York Times
By Lauren Katzenberg
March 8, 2019

These servicewomen are leaders, pioneers, change-makers and survivors. Here’s what their family members have to say about them.

The Times recently asked servicewomen and veterans to share stories about their military service for a project planned for today, International Women’s Day. I wasn’t surprised that we received more than 650 submissions to our reader call-out. But reading the dozens of accounts that poured in each day filled me with a renewed sense of appreciation and frustration for these women’s service. Too many had to force their way into an institution that has been designed for and upheld by men for generations. Too many were told they didn’t belong. And too many felt the physical and mental consequences of disrupting and threatening the male-dominated status quo in ways that should have been punishable — and yet were repeatedly ignored by senior military leaders.

This collection of stories is both a celebration of women’s military service and a reckoning of what they’ve endured. It’s also a recognition that the military still has a long way to go before we see any real resemblance of gender equality. As Capt. Ja’Mia Rowland wrote: “I have become accustomed to being the only person in the room who looks like me.” You can read her story and 39 others here.

The Times also asked readers with a woman in their family who serves or served to tell us about that person. Here is a selection of those responses.

People Constantly Mistake My Mother for a Spouse, Not a Veteran 
Randi Mahoney, New Boston, Mich.

My mother, Amy Hodge, was attached to the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum in New York, during which time she deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia. She told me that while there she pulled over 300 dead bodies out of a river that were contaminating the local drinking water; she was involved in firefights; she held a friend while he died. The biggest challenge I’ve seen my mom face is the lack of recognition that she even served. When she walks into any veteran event or local post, she is instantly written off as a wife, and her stories and experiences are ignored, even though nine times out of 10 she is the most badass person in the room.

read more stories like that here

First Female Infantry Company Commander for Michigan National Guard

Michigan National Guard Gets First Female Infantry Company Commander

Military.com
By Matthew Cox
7 Mar 2019

Kemppainen said in a March 5 Michigan National Guard news release. "I didn't set out to become the first of anything. I only want to look back and know that I made a difference, that I encouraged others to do more, and be more, and give more. The fact that I am opening doors for women is great, but I want my actions to be an example of what doing it right looks like, regardless of gender."

Capt. Amie Kemppainen takes command of Company B, 3rd Battlion, 126th Infantry at a ceremony at the Grand Valley Armory in Wyoming, Michigan Saturday, March 2nd, 2019. (U.S. Army/Lt. Col. John Hall)

U.S. Army Capt. Amie Kemppainen made history recently by becoming the first female officer to take command of an infantry company in the Michigan Army National Guard, and among the first female infantry company commanders in the entire Army.

Kemppainen, who took command of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, in a March 2 ceremony, is a member of a growing sisterhood that has stepped forward to volunteer for infantry, armor and other direct-action jobs after the Pentagon opened up all combat-arms jobs to women just over three years ago.
read more here

Women's History Month with 'Trailblazers' campaign

VA's Center for Women Veterans kicks off Women's History Month with 'Trailblazers' campaign

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will celebrate the start of Women’s History Month in March with a kickoff event on March 6, from 2-4 p.m. at the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Sponsored by VA’s Center for Women’s Veterans, the event will feature 15 women Veterans representing all branches of military service in a 2019 campaign titled “Trailblazers: Women Breaking Barriers,” celebrating the contributions of women Veterans in honor of Women’s History Month and continuing through the rest of the year.

"Women Veterans are one of the fastest growing demographics within VA, and will represent nearly 20 percent of the U.S. Veteran population by 2045,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “VA is proud to serve all our nation’s Veterans, and the Center for Women Veterans does a great job reminding all Americans of the strong service and sacrifice of women Veterans through these innovative campaigns.”

The following women will be featured in the Trailblazers campaign:

Robinann Alex, U.S. Navy; Pappilion, Nebraska
Cathy Bennett-Santos, U.S. Army; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Patricia Collins, U.S. Army; Alexandria, Virginia
Diana Danis, U.S. Army; Bloomington, Nebraska
Kyleanne Hunter, U.S. Marine Corps, Leesburg, Virginia
Michele Jones, U.S. Army; Jacksonville, Florida
Judy Keene, U.S. Coast Guard; Washington, D.C.
Ginger Miller, U.S. Navy; Accokeek, Maryland
Tonja Myles, U S. Army; Zachary, Louisiana
Amanda Plante, U.S. Navy; Santee, California
Linda Singh, Army National Guard; Bowie, Maryland
Cassie Strom, U.S. Air Force; St. Louis, Missouri
Wilma Vaught, U.S. Air Force; Falls Church, Virginia
Melissa Washington, U.S. Navy; Lincoln, California
Tanya Whitney, U.S. Army; Sorrento, Louisiana

The campaign will provide a platform for the featured women to share stories about their military service and how their unique experiences in uniform led to their continued roles as leaders and advocates in their communities.

The event is open to the public. Please RSVP to join VA in celebrating these women Veteran Trailblazers. Registration deadline for the event is March 5.

Participants and invitees are invited to explore WIMSA’s exhibits and learn more about women’s service in the military by visiting www.womensmemorial.org.

For more information about the Center for Women Veterans and the Trailblazers Initiative, visit www.va.gov/womenvet or contact Alohalani Bullock-Jones at 00w@va.gov.

The Trailblazers campaign is sponsored in part by Veteran Canteen Services, whose mission includes emphasizing the importance of service to Veterans and supporting VA’s overall mission. For more information about VCS, visit www.vacanteen.va.gov or www.shopvcs.com.

You have the power to climb out of the valley and #TakeBackYourLife

This is a video I did last year.

Medal of Honor medal of Civil War Soldier found

Nonprofit claims to have found Medal of Honor recipient's family

Civil War soldier's relatives thankful for return of medal
Click Orlando
By Troy Campbell - Reporter
February 27, 2019

ORLANDO, Fla. - A military nonprofit organization said Wednesday that it found the living relatives of a Civil War soldier News 6 first told you about Monday.

A couple of house flippers in Orlando reached out to News 6 after finding a Medal of Honor inside a home they purchased and planned to renovate.

Within minutes of the story airing, people from across the county began to call and email information about soldier Mark Wood.

Col. Zachariah Fike with Purple Hearts Reunited said that he located Wood's third-generation nephew and fourth-generation niece.

Kathy Tafel said that she received a call from Fike, telling her that her distant relative's medal had been found.

"This (is a) Medal of Honor that has been found in some house that apparently I'm connected to, and he's looking for my dad," Tafel said.

Fike said that it's believed Wood's Medal of Honor was one of the first two-dozen ever awarded by then-President Abraham Lincoln. He said the award was given for his role in what's now known as the Great Locomotive Chase, where Union soldiers attempted to cause damage along a Southern railway, to halt Confederate soldiers.
read more here

MOH Marine Maj. Henry Courtney Jr. belongs in hometown

Nonprofit in dispute over Marine’s Medal of Honor agrees in principle to hometown display

STARS AND STRIPES
By MATTHEW M. BURKE
Published: February 20, 2019

The foundation’s board includes Medal of Honor recipient Army Col. Walter Marm Jr., who received the award for actions taken during the Vietnam War, and Doug Sheehan, the nephew of Doug Munro, the Coast Guard’s only medal recipient.

Marine Maj. Henry Courtney Jr. received the Medal of Honor posthumously for leading a daring assault on Okinawa's Sugar Loaf Hill on May 14-15, 1945. COURTESY OF COURT STORY

A Pennsylvania nonprofit dedicated to educating Americans about citizenship and community service has agreed — in principle — to send a Marine hero’s Medal of Honor back to his hometown for display following a protracted fight.

The family of Marine Maj. Henry Courtney Jr. has been seeking the return of his medal from the Valley Forge-based Freedoms Foundation since around 2015, family members previously told Stars and Stripes.

They accused the foundation of breaching the agreement over how the medal would be used and requested it be sent instead to the St. Louis County Historical Society’s Veterans Memorial Hall in Duluth, Minn., which has a substantial Courtney display.

At first, the Freedoms Foundation, which was founded in 1949 by a group that included future President Dwight Eisenhower, refused. Courtney’s family members then took their fight public.
read more here

Ret. Major General Marcelite Harris buried at Arlington

Marcelite J. Harris, first black female major general, is buried in Arlington

NBC News
Gewn Aviles
February 7, 2019

She retired from the Air Force in 1997 as the nation’s highest-ranking black woman in the Department of Defense.

Marcelite J. Harris. in 1990AP file

Marcelite J. Harris, the first black woman to serve as a major general in the U.S. military, was buried with full military honors Thursday morning in Arlington National Cemetery.

Harris, who died on Sept. 7, at 75, didn’t always envision herself breaking records in the military.

Born Jan. 16, 1943, in Houston, she wanted to move to New York City to become an actress, but there was one obstacle.

“Her father told her she could only move to New York if she had a job after graduating college,” her daughter, Tenecia Harris, 37, told NBCBLK. “But that’s not really how acting works.”

Upon graduating from Spelman College in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in speech and drama, Harris couldn’t find a job performing, so she signed up for the Air Force instead. She quickly moved up the ranks, becoming the first female aircraft maintenance officer and one of the first two female officers commanding at the Air Force Academy.
read more here

Georgia Air National Guard, first black female pilot

Georgia Air National Guard prepares to deploy its first black female pilot

Air Force Times
By: Kyle Rempfer
54 minutes ago

The Georgia Air National Guard is about to deploy its first black female pilot, Guard officials announced this week.

1st Lt. Andrea Lewis, an E-8C Joint STARS copilot with the 116th Air Control Wing, is already the first black female pilot in the history of the Georgia ANG.

1st Lt. Andrea Lewis, an E-8C Joint STARS pilot, already serves as the first black female pilot in the history of the Georgia Air National Guard. (Georgia ANG)

Soon, she’ll also be the first to deploy, said 2nd. Lt. Dustin Cole, a Guard spokesman, in a statement provided to Air Force Times.

Joint STARS use side-looking radar to locate and track moving objects behind enemy lines.

It is the Air Force’s only operational airborne platform that can maintain real-time surveillance over a corps-sized area of the battlefield, according to the service. And the 116th Air Control Wing, Lewis’ unit, is the only one that operates the E-8C and the Joint STARS mission.

Cole said he wasn’t able to release where Lewis’ deployment is taking her, due to operational security concerns.
read more here

Wounded Times Broke 4 Million Because of You

On this day in 1983, I arrived at the library, selected a stack of clinical books and a dictionary because of the words "shell shock."

Today, my site reached a stunning 4 million page views and it is all due to word of mouth. In other words, because of all of you in all these countries!

You have read about how a Wounded Combat Medic's love story ended too soon 94,580 times

You have read For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice 36,535 times.

Within the 29,902 posts on this site over the last 11 years, you have shared their stories, supported causes, contacted politicians and said a great deal of prayers!

You have proven over and over again, that the troops and our veterans do matter and you are interested in what happens to them. 

You share their successes as much as you grieve for them when they suffer.

I cannot find the words to express what all of this means to me today because without you!

Female Marines make history again

Female Marines have come a long way

Legend has it that the first woman Marine was Lucy Brewer who supposedly served, disguised as a man, on hoard the frigate Constitution in the war of 1812. While there is no evidence that Miss Brewer ever wore a Marine uniform there can be no question about Opha Johnson, who on 13 August 1918 enrolled in the Marine Corps to become America's first woman Marine. Her enlistment was a reflection of the dramatic changes in the status of women wrought by the entry of the United States into World War I.

All-female Marine platoon will train alongside men for first time in history

CNN News
January 4, 2019

A platoon of female Marine recruits will make history Saturday when they report for training with a historically all-male battalion for the first time in the Marine Corps.

The approximately 50 female Marines will train alongside five platoons of male Marines of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, according to a news release.

“The decision was made by Marine Corps leadership in support of training efficiency,” the release says.

The all-female platoon comes three years after the Department of Defense began accepting women for all armed combat positions in January 2016.
read more here

December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia

National Guard Birth Date December 13, 1636

We recognize December 13th as the birthday of the National Guard. On this date in 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts. 

Based upon an order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court, the colony's militia was organized into three permanent regiments to better defend the colony. 

Today, the descendants of these first regiments - the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard – share the distinction of being the oldest units in the U.S. military. December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard's oldest organized units is symbolic of the founding of all the state, territory, and District of Columbia militias that collectively make up today's National Guard.

Belated Happy Birthday to all the members of the National Guard for what you do for us everyday!!! The wish may be delivered late, but you guys are never late!

10,000 torches in remembrance of WWI's End

10,000-torch display in London marks 100th anniversary of WWI's conclusion

ABC News
By DAVI MERCHAN LONDON
Nov 6, 2018

An installation commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I has opened in London.

Yeoman Warders, commonly known as a "Beefeaters," stand by after lighting the first of thousands of flames in a lighting ceremony at the Tower of London, Nov. 4, 2018.

Called "Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers" and featuring approximately 10,000 torches, each illuminated every evening by more than 250 volunteers, is an act of remembrance for the lives lost during the war.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley Received Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor: Trump awards nation's highest military honor to Vietnam veteran

USA TODAY
Tom Vanden Brook and David Jackson
Oct. 17, 2018

Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley is honored during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House Oct. 17, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley’s astounding heroism in Vietnam 50 years ago speaks for itself, so loudly that Wednesday he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump at a White House ceremony.

Canley's daughter Patricia Sargent knows how her father took command of the undermanned Company A, First Battalion, First Marines despite shrapnel wounds during the bloody battle of Hue in 1968. How he set up a base while caught in a “deadly crossfire,” drew fire by darting into the open so his Marines could seize a building and carried wounded Marines to safety while exposing himself to the enemy.

"John raced straight into enemy fire over and over again, saving numerous American lives and defeating a large group of communist fighters," Trump said in conferring the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. He lauded the former gunnery sergeant for "unmatched bravery" and fearlessness.

"Despite sustaining serious injuries – very, very serious injuries – he continued to face down the enemy with no thought for his own safety," Trump said.

The audience gave Canley a prolonged ovation, complete with Marine shoutouts of "Oorah!"
read more here
From CSPAN

MOH Benjamin Wilson

No rifle, no problem — soldier single-handedly killed dozens of enemies, including 4 using his E-tool

Military Times
J.D Simkins
October 13, 2018

His mad scramble provided the time necessary for his unit to arrange an orderly withdrawal, during which time Wilson was wounded once again. Despite his mounting injuries, he continued to provide cover fire as his men moved down the hill. Wilson would go on to receive the Medal of Honor for his herculean feats that day, but his story doesn’t end there.

Benjamin Wilson was in Hawaii when the Japanese unleashed their infamous attack on Pearl Harbor during the morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941.

Benjamin Wilson received both the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross for actions that took place within a week of each other. (Army)

The Washington state native had enlisted in the Army as an infantryman only a year before the attack and found himself stationed at Oahu’s Schofield Barracks, watching as Japanese planes devastated the unsuspecting naval base.

Despite the timing of his enlistment, however, Wilson would miss combat entirely during World War II, attending Officer Candidate School in 1942 and getting subsequently assigned to stateside training roles despite multiple requests by the young officer to lead men into combat. At the war’s conclusion, Wilson would go back to Washington to work in a lumber mill, but the life didn’t agree with him, and the desire to serve called Wilson back to the Army.

Because the service was drawing down its officer ranks, Wilson signed back up as a private, but quickly rose through the ranks due to his previous experience.

It didn’t take long before he found himself as a first sergeant on the front lines of the Korean War, where he would become a legend among his men.
read more here

Kids hungry to learn about veterans from veterans

Program 'desperately seeking' veterans to speak to Elgin-area students
Daily Herald
Elena Ferrarin
October 5, 2018

John Oliver, principal at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin, said he's excited to have veterans back in November after they spoke in fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms last year. One thing is to learn about wartime in textbooks, but it's entirely different to ask questions of veterans who served in submarines, aircraft carriers and military support, he said.

A program that invites Elgin-area veterans to speak in classrooms around Veterans Day was so successful that many more volunteers are needed this year.

Don Eageny of Elgin was among veterans who spoke in November at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin as part of the "Veterans Voices" program. More volunteers are needed this year.
Courtesy of Gail Borden Public Library

There have been about 130 requests for speakers for the "Veterans Voices" program and about 40 veterans have signed up so far, or about 20 short of the ideal, said librarian Tish Calhamer of Gail Borden Public Library. 

"People's lives tell stories, and this is a great way to teach kids what it means to serve and what Veterans Day is all about." Calhamer said.
read more here

Eighth graders discover "Incredibly Stupid" Vietnam veteran wise guy

Eighth-graders win second place for documentary about Vietnam veteran
Capital Journal Online
By Max Wirestone, Special to The Capital-Journal
Posted Sep 29, 2018

“There’s a lot people out there who do amazing things,” Christensen said. “But they don’t get credit or recognition for it. And I think they should.”

If there is a wave of student documentaries next year at Washburn Rural Middle School, gifted facilitators Lindsay McDowell and Alice Bertels will know why.

That is because two of their students — eighth-graders Megan Christensen and Meredith Kucera — won second place in the national Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes’ 2018 Discovery Award competition. The contest encourages middle and high school students to research and uncover the stories of positive role models whose contributions to history aren’t well-known.

Their winning documentary, “The Incredibly Stupid One,” is a profile of U.S. Navy veteran Douglas Hegdahl, who gathered critical intelligence from the North Vietnamese camp where he was held captive by pretending to be illiterate and mentally disabled.

The students were drawn to the project not because of the documentary aspect but because of their interest in the subject matter. read more here

Seaman Apprentice Douglas Hegdahl

Hegdahl, who was considered by the Vietnamese to be worthless in terms of intelligence information, was one of the first prisoners offered an early release. He didn't want to go and tried to behave so that he would be detained — at one point, when Tom Hayden was touring the prison camp, Hegdahl gave him the finger.

But his roommate pulled rank and ordered him to go, knowing that Hegdahl's remarkable memory would provide the government invaluable information and the families of prisoners immeasurable comfort. Hegdahl memorized the names of more than 300 fellow POWs, along with their Social Security numbers and an identifying trait such as a pet's name for confirmation.

LZ battle on home front

When your ride is a helicopter
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
August 19, 2018

LZ Landing Zone

In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.) 

In commonwealth militaries, a landing zone is the cartographic (numeric) zone in which the landing is going to take place (e.g., a valley). The landing area is the area in which the landing is going to take place (e.g., the field where the aircraft are to land). The landing point is the point on which aircraft are going to land (e.g., a point of the field). Each aircraft has a different landing point.

From John C Wolf video  

Usually I know days ahead of doing these videos what the topic will be. This time, all I could think about is a Vietnam veteran named John Wolf and how his ride was a helicopter.

I posted the following on August 17, 2018 and could not get it out of my head.
read more here

First America woman to die in Vietnam jumped with 101st!

Inside the Daring Life of a Forgotten Female War Photographer
National Geographic
Nina Strochlic
August 17, 2018

But her tally of conflict zones would end in Vietnam, where she became the first American woman correspondent to die in action. Years later, other journalists reported that Vietnamese Airborne troops were still reminiscing about the small, foul-mouthed woman who’d jumped with them.

Dickey Chapelle was one of history's most fearless conflict journalists—and the first American woman to die on the job.

THE 36 HOURS before Dickey Chapelle leaped off a tower with the Screaming Eagles were terrifying. She was 41 years old and parachute jumping for the first time. But fear never lasted for the pioneering war correspondent, and she quickly proclaimed it among “the greatest experiences one can have.”

It was 1959 and Chapelle had hooked up with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, on the border between Tennessee and Kentucky. She’d been working as a war correspondent since 1942 and had reported on dozens of conflicts. She’d been called “the polite little American with all that tiger blood in her veins” by Fidel Castro; held in solitary confinement during the Hungarian uprising; and affirmed as the first correspondent accredited by the Algerian rebels. After learning with the Screaming Eagles, she became the only woman authorized to jump into combat with paratroopers in Vietnam.
read more here

Wolfie the Grunt told no trauma for him?

When you discover the following, you'll have a better understanding why I have done this for over 36 years! It is because of veterans like John C. Wolf~

Wolfie the Grunt takes personal 8mm movies of a Combat Assault in Vietnam
John Wolf
Published on Nov 7, 2014

I bought a 8mm Yashica movie camera during a stand down from combat. Took movies during the stand down and then decided to hump the camera into the bush on our next mission. I took footage during our airmobile assault. After blocking out Vietnam for 36 years I decided to use my footage to pay tribute to those soldiers that were ambushed and killed on Easter Sunday 4-11-1971. I never expected that video to be seen 1.5 million times and the rest of my videos to be seen 1 million times for a total of 2.5+ million currently. In this version I decided to add personal narration.

Now that you have seen this, what comes next will help you to understand that this generation of veterans has waited far too long for their service to be really honored, beyond parties and parades. That this generation of veterans have been, and still are, the forgotten generation.

This is what Wolfie wrote about his life and what honor/vindication he still fights for.

‎John C Wolf‎ to Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Yesterday at 12:50 PM ·

I am still waiting for my Notice of Denial (NOD) to be review and given a decision. It was filed in 2016 and I was told it would take 277 days for a decision. Well needless to say that was a lie. 

For 8 years I have been treated by the VA Mental Health department here in Jacksonville and given 4 prescriptions to help with my nightmares, depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. I was combat Infantry Vietnam and awarded a Combat Infantry Badge (CIB), a Bronze Star and Air Medal as well as other honorable ribbons.

I experienced 3 major traumas, 
1. I had only been in country for about 3 weeks and my squad was out on a search and destroy mission and we were ambushed and two new buddies in front of me were killed, one died in my arms. 

2. I went over to another platoon to see some buddies and meet the new platoon leader, Lt. Hata. He was from a town near my home at the time in the Los Angeles area and talked for over an hour. I left to return to my platoon position, but turned around to wave goodbye. Lt Hata was waving at me and suddenly he was shot in the head and killed. I was devastated. 

3. On April 11, 1971 Easter Sunday, Chaplain Merle Brown came out and brought us hot food, gave us communion and then Easter Sunday Services. He ate lunch with us and I had the blessing of sitting right next to him and he became my new friend. His helicopter was later ambushed while leaving the ground, the explosions killed Chaplain Brown as well as 10 others. I watched as this happened, I was devastated and traumatized for his loss.

In the denial of my compensation request and in a statement to Congressman John Rutherford, the VA C and P said I never experienced trauma in combat. Duh?

I was interviewed 1 time by the blond lady in Gainesville. Many of you probably have experienced with I have: DENIAL. The VA recently sent me to have a private non-VA doctor do an interview of me for PTSD. I have recently learned the blond investigator that turned me down is under investigation by the VA because there have been so many complaints about her decisions.

For all those that are filing for compensation and have or will submit letters from family and Vets they served with, do not have them put any comment in their letters with what is considered a diagnosis, i.e. PTSD, Insomnia, etc. Gainesville will take those letter and throw them into the garbage as though they were never received therefore they say they have no evidence of your problems.

My case is unique, because as some know I bought a 8mm film movie camera and took it into the bush. 

I filmed our air mobile assault the day before Chaplain Brown was killed. Years ago I took the footage and made a tribute video for those killed on Easter Sunday and posted to YouTube. History Channel contacted me and asked if they could get my original 8mm film reels and use them in Vietnam in HD documentary. I did and they upgraded the footage to HD and sent the file to me. This footage has been used in 4 other documentaries and they have been viewed over 85 million times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvIkTGmCmg4

I am on a mission to get this murderer lady in Gainesville fired and make the President and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to clean up C and P and get what Vets deserve. If you are having the same problems as I, please contact me in hopes my experiences can help you and others too.

Army 1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner MOH

Grandson of WWI's 'Sgt. York' Will Attend Medal of Honor Ceremony
Military.com
By Richard Sisk
25 Jun 2018

On Tuesday, Pauline Conner will accept the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor for her husband, who died in 1998 at age 79

They were Appalachian farm boys and crack shots who were distantly related by marriage, and now they are both Medal of Honor recipients for their "above and beyond" actions in separate wars.

Sgt. Alvin C York (US Army)

Army Sgt. Alvin C. York, believed to be the most highly decorated American soldier of World War I and made famous in a 1941 blockbuster movie, and Army 1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, one of the most highly decorated soldiers of World War II, first met when York came to the parade for Conner's homecoming in May 1945 and spoke at the Clinton County Courthouse in Kentucky.

That was where Pauline Conner, or Miss Pauline as she is known in the county, first saw the man who was to become her husband. He was all of about 5-foot-6 and maybe 130 pounds -- "probably," she said with a laugh at a Pentagon briefing Monday.

Pauline, who was Pauline Wells at the time, said her future husband didn't make a good first impression. She recalled with a smile turning to her mother, Tressie, and saying "my God, Mama, that little wharf rat couldn't have done all of what they said he'd done."
read more here

A Hero of D-Day Helped Make V-E Day

A Hero of D-Day Helped Make V-E Day Possible
Military.com
By James C. Roberts
8 May 2018

Victory Day in Europe graphic. 

(U.S. Navy graphic by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Cat Campbell)

James C. Roberts is president of the American Veterans Center.

In the course of heading the American Veterans Center for the last 20 years, it has been my privilege to get to know a multitude of our country's military heroes. As we commemorate V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945), one of these heroes stands out: Army 2nd Lt. Leonard "Bud" Lomell.

Then-1st Sgt. Lomell is indelibly connected to a second famous date: June 6, 1944 -- D-Day, the day American, British, Canadian and other Allied forces landed at Normandy on the French coast to begin the Liberation of Europe.

Without the success of the Normandy landings, there would likely never have been a V-E Day.

The D-Day landings were a massive undertaking -- possibly the largest the world will ever know -- comprising 7,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles, 11,500 airplanes, and 156,000 troops. It was accomplished against great odds, including difficult weather and heavy seas.

Looking back on this near-miracle, historian Stephen Ambrose wrote that if he had to select one man most responsible for the success of D-Day, besides Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander of the operation, it would be Leonard Lomell.
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