This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Real Soldiers

  • NRA Life of Duty; Outlaw Platoon Pt III trailer

    The folks at NRA’s Life of Duty sent us the their trailer for the third part of their long-anticipated full length feature of one of my favorite books of all time “Outlaw Platoon” written by former Lieutenant Sean Parnell and our buddy John Bruning.

    In 2006 Lt. Sean Parnell and the men under his leadership, known as the Outlaw Platoon, deployed to one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, less than 10 miles from the Pakistani border. Their mission was to disrupt and destroy this network at all costs – to seek out enemy positions and thwart the movement of insurgent forces into and out of the safe haven of Pakistan. After a year in some of the most intense combat imaginable in a 360-degree battlefield, the only thing Sean Parnell and his men wanted to do was survive.

  • Seventy Years Ago Today: Black Sunday

    We of the other services sometimes chide our Air Force brethren for not being “hardcore” enough. And in some respects, that’s certainly true.  The Air Force lifestyle is in general  considered the least stressful of any of the military services.  Ground combat it ain’t – by design.

    Still, some in the Air Force are certifiably hardcore at times.  And seventy years ago today, “hardcore” doesn’t even begin to describe the actions of a group of roughly 1650 Army Air Forces personnel.

    Today marks the seventieth anniversary of one of the most costly US operations in World War II:  Operation Tidal Wave.  This operation was a large-scale bombing raid on oil facilities near Ploesti, Romania.  It was executed by elements of the 8th and 9th Army Air Forces.

    As in many wartime operations, politics played a part.  The operation had been agreed to by the POTUS and British Prime Minister at their conference in Casablanca in January 1943.

    It wasn’t solely a political target, though.  The Ploesti oil facilities were chosen as the operation’s target as they were believed to be a critical part of the “Achillies heel” for the Axis war effort:  POL production.  Postwar analysis was to show that this assessment regarding Axis POL production was correct – even if for many reasons Ploesti turned out not to be a single point of failure.

    (more…)

  • Medal of Honor for SSG Ty Michael Carter

    Ty Michael Carter

    Army.mil reports that SSG Ty Michael Carter will be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at COP Keating on Oct. 3, 2009. The White House ceremony is scheduled for August 26th.

    The 54 members of B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment were attacked by more than 400 enemy fighters with heavy automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, firing from high ground surrounding the outpost. The enemy infiltrated two areas of the COP, killing eight U.S. Soldiers and injuring more than 25.

    Carter — who was a specialist at the time — ran a gauntlet of enemy fire to resupply ammo to fighting positions. He picked off numerous enemy with his sharpshooting and risked his life to carry an injured Soldier to cover, despite his own injuries from RPG rounds.

    “I was pleasantly surprised, but I wasn’t shocked,” said retired 1st Sgt. Jonathan G. Hill [Carter’s platoon sergeant at COP Keating]. “In my heart I knew deep down inside that it was going to happen eventually, because knowing what he (Carter) went through and knowing the extraordinary circumstances that he and everyone else had faced, there was no way that something like this could be passed up. … I couldn’t be prouder.”

  • Merrill’s Maurauder inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame

    Vincent Melillo

    The Columbus, GA Ledger-Enquirer reports that among this year’s 16 inductees into the Ranger Hall of Fame is retired 94 year-old Master Sergeant Vincent Melillo, an original member of the famed Merrill’s Marauders. Their actual designation was the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) or Unit Galahad.

    They began as 3,000-man force in India where they began their training in October 1943. In February, 1944 they marched 1000 miles from India, over the Himalayas into Burma and behind Japanese lines with their 700 pack animals. By the time they finished operations in August, 1944, they had only 130 men left who could be considered combat effective, only two of those had not been wounded or ill.

    In August 1944, the 5307th became the 475th Infantry and ten years later, the 75th Infantry, and therefore the predecessors of today’s 75th Ranger Regiment. According to the Ledger-Enquirer article, MSG Melillo was awarded his Ranger tab earlier this year, I guess he earned it.

    MSG Melillo retired from the Army in 1965. There are only 18 surviving members of the Marauders.

    Other Rangers inducted this year;

    Gen. Peter Schoomaker; retired Lt. Gen. Gary Speer; retired Lt. Cols. James Dabney and Frederick Spaulding; retired Maj. Carleton Vencill; retired Command Sgt. Majs. Andrew McFowler, Doug Greenway, Bill Smith, Charles Williams, Robert Gilbert and Joe Mattison; retired Sgt. Majs. Matthew Berrena and Pat Hurley; and retired Master Sgts. Howard Mullen and Thomas Bragg.

  • Airman earns second Silver Star

    Ismael Villegas

    In the Air Force Times, is a story about Tech Sergeant Ismael Villegas who has been awarded a second Silver Star for his actions in Afghanistan in 2011;

    During a battle early in the mission, a friendly element was pinned down by hostile fire. Villegas ran toward the troops to get a sight on the insurgent’s position. While completely exposed to the small arms fire, Villegas coordinated with an overhead remotely piloted aircraft and fixed-wing air support to drop 14,000 pounds of bombs.

    In another instance, Villegas volunteered for a patrol to explore the area, and his team came under enemy fire. The group was inside a structure, stacked up on a door, when an RPG hit. Shrapnel shredded the wall in front of them and hit a Green Beret soldier next to him.

    “I heard the screams, so I grabbed him, pulled him back and began directing air support in the area,” he said.

    Villegas moved between his team and the enemy, providing additional cover fire and controlled close air support within 60 meters of him to stop the onslaught and help the patrol fight their way over the kill zone.

    From Stars & Stripes;

    A Silver Star citation credited Villegas, a native of Mexico City, with controlling 40 aircraft that dropped 32,500 pounds of bombs over his 18-day mission. It also said he constantly risked his life during a series of engagements.

    Thanks to David for the links.

  • A Promise Kept

    Two days ago, a US Korean War veteran landed in Pyongyang, Korea.  His name is Thomas Hudner.

    Hudner was a Naval aviator during the Korean War.  On 4 December 1950, his wingman – Jesse Brown – was shot down near the Chosin Reservoir.

    Hudner located the crash site, and noted his wingman was still alive. He then crash-landed his own aircraft near the remains of Brown’s plane.  He attempted to save his wingman.

    Sadly, Brown was severely injured – possibly fatally.  And in any case, Hudner was unable to free him, even after air-rescue arrived.

    Hudner stayed with his wingman until he’d lost consciousness.  The he departed with search and rescue.

    Brown’s last words to Hudner were a whispered, “If I don’t make it, please tell Daisy I love her.”  (Daisy was Brown’s wife.)  Hudner agreed. 

    Hudner’s last words to Brown were, “We’ll come back for you.”

    Hudner indeed kept the first promise: he sought out and told Mrs. Daisy Brown her late husband’s final words. And although it’s taken over 62 years, he’s now kept both promises.

    Hudner is in Pyongyang with a JPAC search party. They have secured permission to search for Ensign Jesse Brown’s body near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

    . . .

    For the record: ENS Jesse L. Brown was the first African-American Naval Aviator. He was also the first US Navy officer killed in Korea. Obviously, that means that LT(JG) Thomas Hudner was white.

    Doug Sterner’s excellent site “Home of Heroes” has a wonderful article that gives much more background on LT(JG) Hudner and ENS Brown. Go there and read it; it’s definitely worth your time. Keep a kleenex or two handy.

    Doug’s article is entitled “No Man Should Die Alone”. I probably don’t need to explain what that means to anyone reading this site.

    For his actions that day, ENS Jesse Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Sadly, it also came with a posthumous Purple Heart.

    For his actions that day, LT(JG) Thomas Hudner was later awarded the Medal of Honor.

  • Staff Sgt. Zachary Kline; pararescueman earns Silver Star

    Zach Kline
    Maj. Gen. Frank Padilla pins a Silver Star on Staff Sgt. Zachary during a ceremony July 14, 2013, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Kline is a 306th Rescue Squadron pararescueman. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christine Griffiths)

    Eggs sends us a link to the AF.MIL about Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Kline for rescuing two Army pilots under fire in Afghanistan last year;

    According to the award citation, Kline was a part of a rescue team tasked to recover two U.S. Army pilots from an OH-58D Kiowa that had gone down. While on the ground, Kline fought enemy fire while coordinating with aircraft by radio to target threats located behind his position.

    During the engagement, an incoming round ignited fuel within the wreckage, which then erupted in flames. He continued to push through enemy fire to an alternate site while still guiding overhead aircraft to adversarial positions by radio.

    “He leaves us with an example of an Airman that bands together with other Airmen to get the job done and to save others so that they may live,” Padilla said. “When Zach leaves our Air Force he’s going to leave it just a little bit better because of his accomplishments while he was here.”

  • Marcus Taylor; saving the world

    ROS sends us a link to the story of Marcus Taylor, who the article describes as an Army Ranger (his profile on AKO makes me think that is true) recently returned from Afghanistan.

    Ranger Marcus Taylor told KOMO that he heard kids screaming and car horns about 4 a.m. Monday and saw flames at a nearby apartment building.

    He rushed over and was told someone was still on the top floor of the two-story building. Taylor heard rustling, kicked in a sliding glass door and told residents to come to the sound of his voice. All escaped.

    Taylor was treated for cuts to his right leg. A woman was treated for smoke inhalation. Nineteen people were displaced by the fire.

    See, there is a need for door kickers in the real world.