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

Category: Real Soldiers

  • “It was the most moving gesture I ever saw.”

    Wednesday, 30 May 1945 dawned as the first Memorial Day after World War II ended in Europe.  War still raged in the Pacific; it would continue there for another 3 months.  But in the US and Europe it was a day for somber ceremonies and remembrances of lost comrades.

    This was especially true at US cemeteries in Europe, where tens of thousands of US war dead were buried.  At some if not all of these ceremonies were held; many political figures and/or senior military officers gave speeches.  I’m sure all of them were worthwhile, and paid appropriate tribute to the fallen.

    But one speech in particular that day was unique.  It occurred at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.

    Sicily-Rome American Cemetery is near the modern Italian town of Nettuno, called Antium in antiquity.  It lies within what had been the US sector of the Anzio beachhead – or “bitchhead,” as those who were trapped there for 4+ months came to call it.  The cemetery was originally intended a temporary resting place for US dead from the Anzio landings and subsequent combat.  It became a permanent resting place for US war dead.

    Today, only 7,861 US fallen remain in eternal rest near Nettuno. However, the cemetery on 30 May 1945 held approximately 20,000 graves.  Most were soldiers who were lost before the fall of Rome – in Sicily, at Salerno, or at Anzio.  (Some years later, the US government gave families the choice to allow fallen relatives to remain with their comrades or be repatriated.  Many of those originally buried near Nettuno – about 60% – were repatriated.)

    A number of VIPs were present at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery that day.  Some were senior military officers; some were political figures.  Several senators were in attendance.

    One of the speakers at the ceremony was the US 5th Army Commander, LTG Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.  (Truscott would later receive a post-retirement honorary promotion and a 4th star, but at the time he still wore 3 stars.)  He had returned to Italy from France to command 5th Army earlier that year.

    When it was his turn to speak, Truscott moved to the podium.

    What happened next was truly remarkable.

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  • Zach Brantley saving the world

    SIGO sends us a link to the story of Zach Brantley a former soldier who was walking with his sister and his nephew in Melbourne, FL when they were approached by a man, Andrew Samaj III, 29, with shotgun. The man told Zach to move away from his sister with the boy, Instead, Zach attacked;

    Brantley tackled the man in the parking lot and wrestled for the gun.

    In the process, the shotgun fired, but nobody was hit.

    Brantley said his sister retrieved his .45 Sig-Sauer from their car, but the gun jammed when she tried to cock it. He said they had to rack the slide several times to clear the jam and then held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived.

    “Her brother saved her life,” said Sgt. Scott Lindsley.

    Kick ass, Zach, kick ass.

  • NRA Life of Duty; Frog Dog

    The folks at NRA’s Life of Duty send us a link to their latest video about a SEAL and his war dog. The video follows them from their selection through their deployment.

  • US Army South Best Warrior Competition 2013

    Our buddy, Headhuntersix, sent us a slew of photos from the US Army South Best Warrior Competition at Camp Bullis, TX. US Army South’s website describes their mission and the units involved in accomplishing that mission. Headhuntersix says that “The mission is huge and pretty cool. Counter narcotics, personnel rescue and re-integration plus all the training we do with Latin American militaries”

    BWC Zero Range_001
    CAMP BULLIS, Texas–Sgt. Andrew French, 512th Geospatial Engineering Detachment, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, fires his M4 Carbine Rifle at the Zero Ranger during the 2013 U.S. Army South Best Warrior Competition at Camp Bullis, Texas May 13. The U.S Army Installation Management Command is hosting the competition here May 13-16. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, U.S. Army South Public Affairs)

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  • Henry Johnson fights off German horde in 1918

    henry-johnson

    Preston sends a link to the story of Henry Johnson who fought off a horde of Germans while he was at an outpost on May 15th, 1918 – I’m sorry we missed the anniversary two days ago, but late is better than never;

    Johnson and 17-year-old Needham Roberts were on night watch duty while stationed in France. A German sniper fired off a round at Johnson’s post, and the soldier wisely prepared by grabbing a box of grenades. After the enemy cut wire surrounding his post, Johnson tossed grenades toward the Germans and surprised them. Numbering about 20 deep, the enemy troops returned fire and grenades. Roberts was injured by a German grenade, but he was able to toss Johnson weapons during his defense.

    According to Johnson’s personal account, the Germans attempted to take Roberts prisoner, but he was able to fend them off. Surrounded and stuck with a jammed rifle, Johnson took a bolo knife and began slashing at the Germans. They stabbed and beat him, but he did enough damage to save him and his comrade’s life and was assisted by fellow soldiers who came to their aid an hour after the melee began.

    Johnson and Roberts suffered several wounds; Johnson had 21 wounds and fainted from his injuries en route to a French hospital. Army officials inspected the site of the clash the next morning and found four German soldiers dead and a large cache of weapons. It was said that there may have been more dead soldiers there, and it appeared that many as 32 Germans stormed the post’s fences.

    Johnson’s son was awarded his father’s Purple Heart in 1996 and his Distinguished Service Cross in 2003. The french nicknamed him “The Black Death” and his unit was henceforth known as “the Harlem Hell-Fighters”. He died in 1929 and currently resides at Section 25 Site 64
    in Arlington National Cemetery.

  • Cadets Charles Peel and Daniel Brigman; saving the world

    WECT6 News reports about JROTC Cadets Charles Peel and Daniel Brigman who charged into a burning home to rescue James and Shirley Parker from the choking smoke and fire;

    WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather

    “It was a really thick, choking feeling,” said Peel. “You couldn’t hold your breath for too long or you would start coughing.” The young men said they found James and Shirley Parker struggling in the smoke.

    “She was coughing and wheezing,” said Peel. The boys physically picked them up, with Peel carrying Shirley and Brigman carrying James, and they rushed outside.

    “She was startled…she didn’t know who we were or what we were doing. All she knew was that she was being lifted up,” said Peel. “They were definitely shocked,” added Brigman.

    The story doesn’t end there. Without her oxygen tank, the cadets say Shirley was having a hard time breathing, so they went back inside a second time to look for her oxygen tank. The boys say they had to feel around in the dark in order to find it.

    While many are calling the boys heroes, they say they were just following their instincts and doing what was necessary.

    The two cadets credit their physical training at their JROTC unit which gave them the confidence to enter the burning building twice. They’ve both been nominated for the JROTC Medal of Heroism.

  • Navy Lt. Michelle Lea: Saving the world one person at a time

    IslandPacket.com tells the story of Navy Lt. Michelle Lea, a physician assistant, on her way to work when she came across the scene of an accident in which a hulking garbage truck had T-boned a pickup truck;

    The pickup driver, the lone occupant, was thrown to the passenger side on impact. The truck’s heavily tinted windows prevented a clear view of the interior. Lea climbed quickly into the truck’s bed and looked through the rear window.

    The driver was unconscious and struggling to breathe.

    Lea pushed the upper half of her body through the small window and began performing a “jaw thrust” — a maneuver designed to open the man’s airways without destabilizing his spine.

    It worked.

    He started breathing.

    Paramedics soon arrived and took the injured driver to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

    The man, whose identity has not been released, survived and continues to recover.

    The Navy Public Affairs Office reports;

    “My first thought was that there was no way the driver was alive,” said Lea. “The garbage truck was completely sitting on top of the driver’s seat.”

    Doing what she was trained to do, Lea immediately performed a jaw thrust, which improved the accident victim’s breathing. Soon after, the victim began to regain consciousness, becoming combative and disoriented. Lea stabilized his cervical spine as best she could and remained with the patient until emergency medical personnel arrived on scene.

    “Lt. Lea is an exemplary naval officer and an outstanding physician assistant,” said Capt. Joan Queen, the commanding officer of Naval Hospital Beaufort, who presented Lea with her award. “Her actions upon arriving at the scene of an accident show that she is not only a dedicated health care provider, but an asset to the command, the Navy, and even the local community.”

  • NRA’s Life of Duty; Frontlines Special Report: Boston

    The folks at the NRA send us a link to their report on the Boston marathon bombing;

    NRA Life of Duty presented by Brownells, Inc. and FNH USAhave teamed to bring you a special report straight from the Frontlines of the Boston Marathon. For those present, it was the most horrific experience of their lives. But one group of men had experienced this sort of thing before, half a world away. It was these men who were seen rushing towards the sound of the blast, putting themselves at risk for the benefit of savings lives.

    They also send the latest video from their commentator, Colion Noir;

    In “Coloring the Issue” Colion Noir challenges many of his critics to focus on his message, not his skin color. Tune in every Monday for a new episode.

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