Silver Star Awarded to Marine Sergeant Phillip McCulloch - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

It's not often that we have the video of an award ceremony for the Silver Star so here you go:

U.S Marine Sgt. Phillip McCulloch of Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battallion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego, is awarded the Silver Star medal aboard MCRD San Diego, Calif, February 10, 2012. Sgt. McCulloch was awarded for actions in Sangin, Afghanistan with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. (U.S. Corps Motion Imagery by LCpl Cameron Royer and Mr. Canaan Brumley)

 

More here.

 

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The S.F. Brotherhood...

Posted By Blackfive

This is an interesting story about connections. Thought you'd enjoy it.

Then-Bolivian Army Corporal Rod Mendoza (left) watches as then-U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Fensom (center), of 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), runs through reaction-to-contact drills during a 1997 Joint Combined Exchange Training exercise in Bolivia with the country's Manchengo ranger battalion. In the past 14 years, Mendoza has left the Bolivian Army and joined the U.S. Army's Special Forces regiment, served on several deployments and is now an instructor for the Special Forces Qualification Course. Fensom is now a sergeant major, and the deputy commandant of the David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Bragg. (Photo courtesy of Sgt. Maj. Patrick Fensom)

RELEASE NUMBER: 120111-01
DATE POSTED: SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

Where this brotherhood began

One small gesture of friendship by a team of Special Forces Soldiers set one young Bolivian corporal on a path toward wearing his own American green beret

By Dave Chace
SWCS Public Affairs Office

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Jan. 11, 2012) – In 1997, eight Special Forces Soldiers traveled to Bolivia to train and advise a battalion of Boliv­ian Army rangers. Beyond running the battalion’s light infantry certification training, the Special Forces team used their downtime to refine their own techniques and tactical proficiency; and they allowed a motivated 20-year-old Bolivian Army corporal to par­ticipate in their team training sessions.

For then-Sgt. 1st Class. Patrick Fensom and his teammates on Operational Detachment-Alpha 716, part of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), this training was routine. A few hours of internal team training events during a six-week Joint Combined Ex­change Training deployment was usual, and if one or two host-nation soldiers wanted to come along and see how American forces did business, they were welcome.

For then-Bolivian Army Corporal Rod Mendoza, however, this experience came to define the next 14 years of his life. The Army’s Special Forces community is small, and friends are often reunited throughout their careers, but Fensom never expected to see Mendoza again; let alone to see him 14 years later as a Special Forces sergeant first class, training future ODA com­manders at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

“In Bolivia, military service is mandatory, so I was doing my time [in the ’90s] and then I volunteered for ranger training,” Mendoza said. “Real American SF guys came to train us for a peacekeeping mission we were preparing to do with the United Nations. When they showed up, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is awesome!’”

Fensom, now a sergeant major and the deputy com­madant of the David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Offi­cer Academy, part of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, was a Special Forces weapons sergeant on the 8-man team assigned to train Mendoza’s unit, Bolivia’s Manchengo battalion.

“With the Manchengo battalion our mission was specifically to get them to a level where they could get certified by the United Nations to conduct peacekeeping operations,” Fensom said. “The training incorporated a lot of light infantry, medi­cal and communications tasks, with equipment or­ganic to their unit.”

“We got along with a lot of the Bolivian sol­diers, but [Mendoza] was one of the soldiers who wanted some extra train­ing,” Fensom said as he flipped through an old photo album at his desk, pointing at photos of a young Men­doza on a rifle range. “[Our team] always took some time to conduct team training during deployments, and Mendoza was one of two Bolivian soldiers we invited to train with us.”

Mendoza said he wouldn’t have been able to be­friend the American team if it hadn’t been for their ability to connect with him on a cultural level.

“[Our team] could converse pretty well in Spanish, and of course all our lessons were taught in Spanish,” Fensom said. “That really was a key to building that rapport; and if you didn’t speak Spanish really well, you had the Bolivian soldiers there to interact with.”

“They spoke some good Spanish, like [then-Sgt. 1st Class Arthur Lilley],” Mendoza said. “He was a great Spanish speaker, and it was a good way to establish a friendship.”

At the end of the JCET, Mendoza gave Lilley his Bolivian green beret as a gift; Lilley reciprocated, giving Mendoza his own American green beret, complete with the 7th SFG(A) flash and the American Special Forces regimental insignia.

Mendoza finished his service in the Bolivian army in 1998, and spent some time as a firefighter at the Bolivian airport before moving to his wife’s home in Puerto Rico.

“I didn’t know Puerto Ricans were allowed to join the U.S. Army, but as soon as I found out, I decided I didn’t want to be a firefighter, I wanted to join the U.S. Army,” Mendoza said. He enlisted as an indirect-fire infantryman and asked for an assignment with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, in or­der to be as close as possible to the heart of the Army’s Special Forces. His experience in an infantry unit was a great introduction to the U.S. Army, he said.

“I liked serving in the Bolivian Army, but I always viewed the U.S. as having the best army in the world – as it is, of course, with the quality of its training, equip­ment and capabilities,” Mendoza said.

“The first thing I did after becoming a U.S. citizen was to go to Special Forces Assessment and Selec­tion, because that was my dream,” Mendoza said. “I was finally going to become one of those cool guys I saw while I was in the Bolivian army!” Mendoza was selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course to become a Special Forces weapons sergeant.

“Of course there were lots of things I didn’t know, and I quickly saw the diversity in the things Special Forces groups can do and the areas they deploy to, especially after 9/11,” Mendoza said. “I saw the ca­pability and how much we can do with just a team of 12 men. It’s amazing, and I’m so grateful to be here.”

“In a later JCET I learned how important it is for you as a team in a foreign country to represent your country; you actually build relationships with local soldiers,” Mendoza said. “And that’s what [ODA 716] pretty much did to me, they were my inspiration to join the U.S. Army later on. I didn’t even speak Eng­lish, but I dreamed of joining the Special Forces, and life took me there.”

Mendoza ran into Lilley, then a first sergeant in the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, after beginning the SFQC.
“He couldn’t believe it – in fact, he thought I was still in the Bolivian Army, because we were still wear­ing BDUs,” Mendoza said. “He was so excited, and said that he was going back to 7th SFG(A) to be a team sergeant, and to stay in touch – maybe I could go to his battalion.”

Mendoza invited Lilley to attend his gradua­tion ceremony from the SFQC, but Lilley couldn’t make it – he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Men­doza was due to report to 7th SFG(A) follow­ing his graduation, and as a sign of friendship, he donned the green be­ret he’d received from Lilley in Bolivia in 1997 at his regimental first formation ceremony – the ceremony where new Special Forces Soldiers are first allowed to wear their beret.

Sadly, Mendoza never had the opportunity to serve alongside his friend. Master Sgt. Arthur L. Lilley was killed in action on June 15, 2007 of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire in Afghanistan.

“We’ve lost so many good men, and to see that Art’s memory is continuing in Mendoza and some other guys, that’s huge. That’s really honoring the memory of a quality NCO,” said Fensom, who wears a bracelet with Lilley’s name as a personal reminder of his service.

Mendoza went on to serve five years in 7th SFG(A), becoming a Special Forces intelligence ser­geant during that time. He served three combat de­ployments in Afghanistan, but his first Special Forces deployment had been as part of a JCET to Guatemala in Central America. His experience training with Lil­ley and Fensom’s team in 1997 made him want to be a similar mentor and inspiration to other young soldiers.

“[Guatemala] was a great experience for me be­cause of my experiences in the Bolivian Army,” Men­doza said. “We trained this Ranger-equivalent unit, and I was picturing myself back them, so to me it was easy to interact with those soldiers because I knew their lingo. I think we did a lot of good.”

Mendoza reported to SWCS in November 2011 to become an instructor for potential Special Forces of­ficers attending the SFQC. He hadn’t expected to run into Fensom again; Mendoza hadn’t heard about him for years, and figured he’d gotten out of the military – until he saw Fensom addressing a group of Senior Leader Course students. Both Mendoza’s classroom SFQC training and Fensom's NCO Academy are located in Fort Bragg’s Kennedy Hall.

“I recognized [Fensom’s] face – of course, he’d had hair back in Bolivia,” Mendoza said. “I ran into him and told him that he’d been on ODA 716 and served in Bolivia, and he was like, yeah, how do you know that?” Fensom said that he remembered exactly who Mendoza was as soon as he found out he’d been a part of the Bolivian Army.

“He’s an instructor, mentoring future Special Forc­es Soldiers,” Fensom said.

“This job is interesting, because I can talk to future team leaders, and tell them how important it is to get a good relationship with host-nation soldiers and leaders,” Mendoza said. “And I can speak from the perspective of a member of the host-nation’s military.”

“This is a tremendous story, but it’s not about me or our team, it’s about what we do in Special Forces,” Fensom said. “Not only did we communicate our les­sons in his language, but we were a tight team back then, and I think that was captured in our non-verbal communications.”

Fensom said it was a proud feeling to see Mendoza serving at this level, as an NCO in the United States Special Forces community.

“It makes you realize that this is probably happen­ing at so many levels, daily, with what special-opera­tions Soldiers are doing,” Fensom said. “You see a guy achieve his dream, and he’s doing the same thing that we were doing back then, and that’s just too cool.”

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Reckless

Posted By Grim

Check her website, too.

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Daniel Rodriguez - From COP Keating to College Football - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

Daniel Rodriguez, former Army sergeant and combat wounded veteran takes us on his journey from the military as he aspires to play college football. Sergeant Rodriquez fought and was wounded at COP Keating in Afghanistan when he filled the breach in the line during the fight. Filmed on November 23 2011.

Just watch this...Thanks to the Parachute Cutie for sending the link.

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Band of Brothers Nurse Augusta Chiwy - Someone You Should Know - The Night Before XMas in Bastogne

Posted By Blackfive

"A black face in all that white snow was a pretty easy target. Those Germans must be terrible marksmen." - Augusta Chiwy on her surviving German shells and bullets while rescuing wounded Americans during the Battle of the Bulge

You probably don't know Augusta Chiwy.  She just didn't patch up paratroopers...she went out to the battlefield and got shot at picking up wounded troops on litters and shelled and bombed in her own hospital...but you may remember this image from the Band of Brothers series (episode 6)...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/chiwy.jpg/

"Anna" - the character name - is the the nurse on the right. Her real name is Augusta Chiwy.  And her story is pretty damn amazing as told by Martin King - a British author who has spent 20 years in the Ardennes researching the Battle of the Bulge. He provided this article to Army News Service and is working on a book about Augusta Chiwy.

African Nurse Saved GIs at Battle of Bulge
By Martin King
Courtesy of Army News Service

BASTOGNE, Belgium, Feb. 22, 2011 – It was a bitterly cold winter morning when Augusta Chiwy's tram pulled into Brussels Central train station, Dec. 16, 1944.

The aid station where Augusta Chiwy volunteered on the Rue Neaufchateau in Bastogne, Belgium, was destroyed by German bombs on Christmas Eve 1944, killing 30 American soldiers. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

On that very same day at 5:30 a.m., green troops of the 106th Golden Lion Division were rudely awakened from their winter sojourn by a hellish barrage of incoming artillery shells, "screaming meemies," accompanied by the menacing rumble of Tiger and Panther tanks on the move. Just over the German/Belgian border, out in an area known as the Schnee Eifel, three German armies had assembled almost under the noses of the allies.

Brussels was still alive with commuters going about their daily routines when Chiwy arrived at the train station. She had been working at St. Elizabeth General Hospital in the Flemish town of Louvain and was on her way to visit relatives in Bastogne.

Above the din of collective voices at the station, the public address system droned out monotone information about trains, platforms and destinations, adding that, "There will be no departures for Luxembourg or Bastogne. Passengers wishing to reach these destinations should take the 7:50 to Namur."

Chiwy noticed an inexplicable sense of urgency in many of the assembled passenger's demeanors as she boarded the train for Namur about 30 miles south of Brussels. The train stopped there, and passengers wishing to go to the next destination were herded into open cattle trucks and taken as far as Marche. From there, Chiwy hitched a ride from a GI who took her to the center of Bastogne.

She arrived in Bastogne around 5 p.m. and noticed that it was a hive of activity as news was beginning to filter through of an all-out German attack to the north and east of the city. In anticipation of the approaching storm, Bastogne civilians were leaving in droves and all roads west quickly became gridlocked with a seemingly endless trail of human traffic.

Bastogne was an old market town and natural junction where seven roads converged. The German army's high command had decided many months previous to the actual attack that it was going to be a prime strategic objective, but no one there had expected what was about to occur during the coldest winter in living memory.

Chiwy had already decided that it was best to go to her uncle's house first to see if she could gather some more information on the situation. Her uncle, Dr. Chiwy, had a practice close to the main square and the young nurse wanted to know if she could help out. By that time of night the civilians and military personnel still there could audibly make out the booming sounds of distant artillery shells exploding a few miles away.

Within a few days of her arrival in Bastogne, the U.S. Army had sent reinforcements to the city. The first to arrive were 2,800 men and 75 tanks of the 10th Armored Division. The following day on Dec. 18, the 101st Airborne Division arrived around midnight and almost immediately began taking up positions at the allocated roadblocks around Bastogne in support of the existing teams. These groups proved to be a stubborn barrier that would allow the necessary time to build Bastogne's defenses and prepare for the German army's main assault.

Chiwy set to work as a nurse by assisting both civilian and military wounded wherever she found them. These efforts didn't go unnoticed. GIs from the 10th Armored Division were on the lookout for medical supplies and personnel to assist with their Aid Station on the Rue Neufchateau.

On Dec. 20, Bastogne became a city under siege. The ever-decreasing perimeter had reduced a once-beautiful city to a blood-soaked and battle-ravaged collection of skeletal smoldering ruins. The only safe places were the dank freezing cellars of ruined houses where remaining civilians and soldiers huddled together for safety and warmth. They survived on basic rations and shared whatever supplies they could find. Chiwy hadn't had a warm meal since she left Louvain and had also been reduced to this grim subterranean existence.

On the morning of the Dec. 21, Chiwy left the safety of her uncle's cellar and along with Nurse Renee Lemaire, she volunteered to work for the 20th AIB, 10th Armored Division at the aid station on Rue Neufchateau where Dr. John Prior was in charge. The situation there was desperate. There were hardly any medical supplies, save for a few bags of sulpha powder and a couple of vials of morphine.

While Lemaire helped make the wounded soldiers as comfortable as possible, Chiwy dressed their wounds and never once shied away from the gory trauma of battlefield injuries.

On at least one occasion, Dr. Prior asked Chiwy if she would accompany him to a battle site east of the Mardasson hill. She was wearing a U.S. Army uniform at the time because her own clothes had become so dilapidated and blood stained. She was well aware that if she would have been captured by German forces it would have meant instant death for collaborating with the "Amies," the German name for the American soldiers.

During a raging blizzard Chiwy calmly loaded up onto a deuce-and-a-half and went to the outskirts of Bastogne. When they arrived there, she actually went out onto the battlefield with Dr. Prior and the two litter-bearers to retrieve wounded soldiers.

Mortar shells were falling close by and German heavy machine guns were raking the ground around Chiwy's small frame as she tended the wounded, but despite this she focused on her duties undaunted. Dr. Prior said the bullets missed Augusta because she was so small, to which Chiwy retorted, "A black face in all that white snow was a pretty easy target. Those Germans must be terrible marksmen."

The skies above Bastogne had cleared on Dec. 23, and C-47s had dropped desperately needed supplies, but the very next day on Christmas Eve, those clear skies gave the German Luftwaffe a chance to send out a few of their remaining bomber squadrons over the city to cause even further death and destruction.

A 500-pound bomb fell directly on the 20th AIB Aid Station, instantly killing 30 wounded U.S. soldiers, along with nurse Renee Lemaire. Chiwy was in the adjacent house with Dr. Prior and a lieutenant when the bomb hit. She was blown clean through a wall, but miraculously survived unscathed.

On the following day, the remaining wounded were taken to the 101st headquarters at the Heintz Barracks where Chiwy worked until they were all evacuated when Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army arrived Dec. 26.

Surviving members of the 10th Armored Division recently signed a letter of appreciation for her service to them during the battle. Her efforts had never been officially recognized until then.

This month, a letter was also received from King Albert II of Belgium stating that he acknowledges Augusta Chiwy's service and will officially recognize her courage and sacrifice during the Battle of the Bulge.

Which brings us to King Albert II's awarding Augusta a knighthood...Alexander O sent me this photo from Friday, June 24th, 2011, of Augusta Chiwy becoming a Knight (Lady) of the Order of the Crown from King Albert II of Belgium.  Here is a photo of Lady Chiwy:

Here is a video that Martin King put together. 

  

More about the doctors and nurses at the Bulge after the jump...

Continue reading "Band of Brothers Nurse Augusta Chiwy - Someone You Should Know - The Night Before XMas in Bastogne"

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MSGT William "Spanky" Gibson - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

In May of 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, a sniper hit MSGT Gibson in the leg, essentially destroying his knee. The result was that his leg had to be amputated before being sent back to the states for treatment.

After his recovery from his injury, MSGT Gibson was asked by GEN Mattis if there was anything that he do for him. Gibson asked to go back to Iraq and GEN Mattis complied. He was the first above the knee amputee to serve in combat.

President Bush said this, "When Americans like Spanky Gibson serve on our side, the enemy in Iraq doesn't got a chance."

While I agree with the President, I think what MSGT Gibson did was lead and inspire Marines...Always Faithful.

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The Keils - A Family You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

"Enough bedrooms to have kids. We've got a lot of time on our hands." Tracy Keil talking about having just one requirement for their new home in 2007.

 

This video will be the best four minutes you'll spend today...We last saw the Keils in 2007...

 

[Thanks to SSG Keil's Aunt Deb for sending the update!]

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Someone you must remember - William E. Barber

Posted By Crush

William E. Barber served in three wars: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He enlisted in 1940, becoming a Marine parachutist instructor, then attended Officer Candidate School. After graduation, Barber deployed to the Pacific Theater as a platoon leader. He earned the Silver Star at Iwo Jima for the daring rescuing of two wounded Marines and the Medal of Honor during the Chosin River Campaign of the Korean War. He served as Commander of Third Reconnaissance Battalion in Okinawa, then deployed to Vietnam to run a psychological operations campaign, for which he was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat "V."

His Medal of Honor citation is a must-read:

For The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain William Earl Barber (MCSN: 0-28331), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and without detriment to the mission of his command in combat with the enemy in Korea., from 28 November to 2 December 1950, as Company Commander of Company F, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces near the Chosin Reservoir, in North Korea. Assigned to defend a three-mile mountain pass along the division’s main supply line and commanding the only route of approach in the march from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, Captain Barber took position with his battle-weary troops and, before nightfall, had dug in and set up a defense along the frozen, snow-covered hillside. When a force of estimated regimental strength savagely attacked during the night, inflicting heavy casualties and finally surrounding his position following a bitterly fought seven-hour conflict, Captain Barber, after repulsing the enemy gave assurance that he could hold if supplied by airdrops and requested permission to stand fast when orders were received by radio to fight his way back to a relieving force after two reinforcing units had been driven back under fierce resistance in their attempts to reach the isolated troops. Aware that leaving the position would sever contact with the 8,000 Marines trapped at Yudam-ni and jeopardize their chances of joining the 3,000 more awaiting their arrival in Hagaru-ri for the continued drive to the sea, he chose to risk loss of his command rather than sacrifice more men if the enemy seized control and forced a renewed battle to regain the position, or abandon his many wounded who were unable to walk. Although severely wounded in the leg in the early morning of the 29th, Captain Barber continued to maintain personal control, often moving up and down the lines on a stretcher to direct the defense and consistently encouraging and inspiring his men to supreme efforts despite the staggering opposition. Waging desperate battle throughout five days and six nights of repeated onslaughts launched by the fanatical aggressors, he and his heroic command accounted for approximately 1,000 enemy dead in this epic stand in bitter subzero weather, and when the company was relieved only two of his original 220 men were able to walk away from the position so valiantly defended against insuperable odds. His profound faith and courage, great personal valor, and unwavering fortitude were decisive factors in the successful withdrawal of the division from the deathtrap in the Chosin Reservoir sector and reflect the highest credit upon Captain Barber, his intrepid officers and men, and the United States Naval Service.

Col. Barbler passed away in 2002, but he is someone we must remember. For a nation that doesn't honor its veterans is a nation that doesn't deserve them.

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108 Hours - A Thank You and Mission Complete

Posted By Blackfive

RE:  108 Hours

Many of you figured out who it was that we were transporting to Iraq. Mr. Robert Stokely provides a Thank You and AAR of a sort for you all to read. My deepest gratitude goes out to the amazing men and women of TigerSwan, Delta Airlines, the National Rifle Association and Soldiers' Angels (especially Patti Patton Bader, and Ricky John and the Louisiana angels).

We had to choose a mission commander, someone with deep Iraq experience, a man who knew routes, convoy ops, force protection, and most importantly, could make tough decisions while literally under fire. That man who deserves the most thanks is my friend and brother, Toby Nunn, who we chose to be the Mission Commander.  This mission was successful because of him, this is his victory.

Last, I get too much credit for making the impossible happen. I really appreciate Robert's thanks, but really what makes things like this happen is all of you who donated and helped to spread the word. It was, quite simply, the right thing to do.

So our goal was for Robert to find some peace.  Did he?  Read on and find out for yourself...

It is now 0215 hours 11 Nov 11. I can't sleep. Not unusual this time of the month. The moon waxes full and draws me into being awake. There is enough moon light in the Georgia night to see without artificial light. A little more full than on the night of August 16, 2005 when SGT Mike Stokely was killed by a powerful IED blast on a lonely road near Yusufiyah Iraq. In the earliest moments of being notified of his death a few hours later, I felt immense guilt for not being there to protect him, and even though I could rationalize my feeble ability was not sufficient match for the skill he possessed much less the skill of the team of soldiers at his side that night. I felt even more guilt for not at least being there to hold him in his final moments, if only to offer the same comfort I offered him when I held him in my arms as a sick baby just 23 years before. How did I go from a car seat to a Flag Draped Casket in such a short period of time?

In the week before he was killed, in what was my last goodbye and hearing him say "I love you dad", I had joked I would come see him. Yusufiyah was an awful place full of violence where he and his platoon were vastly outnumbered in the area they patrolled. They were there to disrupt the bomb making insurgents and foreign fighters who were staging bombs into Baghdad and to protect roadways that were vital routes in and out of the south of Baghdad. I remember he said I didn't want to come there, but I told him one day I would. And so it was in those first moments of learning of his death I vowed I would go, I would see where he served, and breathe the air he breathed, see what he saw. I had to do it, and could not rest in peace until I did. I had to give it my best try at the very least for I could not stand the thought of dying and not having tried.

In the few months after his death I was at work on a plan to credential as a media person even though I have no journalistic training much less experience. I had a willing outlet and plans were developing when my sweet 13 year old daughter, Abbey and I were rammed by a car running a stop sign at full speed and we rolled and flipped. Abbey was seriously injured but survived, albeit with injuries that took 18 months to fully recover. A few days later ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff was hit by an IED and seriously wounded, suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury. My wife Retta, a quiet women who is gracious and suffers in silence, could bear the thought nor more and simply implored me not to go, saying "We can't take another tragedy...." So I put it aside, for the time being, but vowing one day I would go to where the Moon over Yusufiyah shines.

Last December I felt the call so strongly I could wait no more. I reached out to Matt Burden at Blackfive and asked for his help in formulating an entry plan. Over the next ten months he worked with many others and Soldiers Angels stepped up to the plate and took financial ownership of the trip. More so, they put skin in the game in the name of a Guardian Angel named Toby Nunn who helped plan and coordinate but whose end game primary role was to accompany and look after me on the trip. Toby has the experience to do so being a multiple tour of duty Veteran of Iraq. Today, he is my dear friend and brother. It would take pages to detail all he has done as it would that of Matt Burden and Soldiers Angels including dear friend Ricky John who is Vice Chair of Soldiers Angels.

Matt started the ball rolling fund raising wise in a post last spring titled it 108 Hours, which helped conceal my identity because of my on-going references to where Mike was killed, Moon over Yusufiyah. I have to tell you raising money for such a project is difficult when you can't really share a lot of info with others. But Matt, Soldiers Angels, a radio host name Chris Krok in Dallas TX and many many many others, especially Ricky John and his friends in Shreveport LA did the job. And ;people like Kevin Moss of Chick-fil-A hooked us up with a key contact at Delta named Patty Dejesus, who happens to be a Soldiers Angels Affiliate, and she in turn hooked us up with a Senior VP who sprung us generous airfare sponsorship to get us to the Middle East.

I am less than qualified to talk the details of planning because Matt, Toby and Ricky handled all that. I will leave it to them to tell those details, but suffice it to say it is a complicated process that required the help of so many contacts that came through their experiences and talents. But one area I have a lot of insight is with the Security Team that took us in, safeguarded us, and got us out without a scratch. TigerSwan is co-founded by James Reese and Brian Searcy, both retired Delta Force. You want some locked and loaded, been there and really done that, experienced of the experienced guys looking after you, you want them. And they cut us a deal and then some.

For my part, I trained to get in better shape. First up I changed my diet and lost 25 pounds. Then I started working out with weights to build upper body and back strength to enable me to carry a special marker to place at the site where Mike fell. And I walked with an armored vest weighing 25 plus pounds for five miles at a time to build endurance for the airports we would walk in and in case at some point I had to be on foot I could keep up and pull my load. If nothing else Mike has been a major factor in getting much healthier and most likely extending my life expectancy.

I have traveled the country meeting about 108 Hours and going to fund raisers. Two trips to San Antonio, Washington DC and two trips to Shreveport LA, culminating with a trip October 25, 2011 to Raliegh NC visit TigerSwan HQ and meet Jim Reese, Brian Searcy and their team. Thankfully I have a lot of friends at Delta Airlines and their buddy passes have been a cheap way to get around to all the meetings including the quick morning flight/afternoon return to TigerSwan. It was just a few days to our push-out to Dubai on October 31 late night flight on Delta Airlines. So it was at 2143 Hours Atlanta local time, 108 Hours went wheels up as we lifted off the runaway. I had remained calm and emotions in check until that final taxi out from the terminal. But then, it happened - I looked out the window and there was the Moon nearing its half moon phase. It was too much and I cried, I mean really cried and quietly whispered "I am coming Mike, I am keeping that promise..." Thankfully the run-up of the engines drowned out my sobs and the darkness of the cabinet hid my tears.

Fourteen hours plus later we touched down in the darkness of a new night at Dubai. Now I have to be honest and admit that even though I was riding in comfort, having been very well attended to and fed continually by the Delta flight crew, that my butt was sore and my back was stiff. I wondered how it was that Mike must have felt given his flight over to Kuwait on May 15, 2005 was not nearly so comfortable nor did he get cabin service like I did and I know for a fact he was crammed in with a plane load of soldiers each with less than the room they needed for their big frames to stretch out. A reminder that my son was a man more than I can ever be and obviously much tougher than me.

From Dubai we departed on Wed. 2 Nov for Amman Jordan, a three hour flight or so back north, but relatively short compared to the pond jump we had just made. In Amman we linked up with Jim Reese and TigerSwan and left the next day, Thursday 3 Nov for Baghdad. I can't tell you how excited I was as we reached the landing pattern for BIAP - Baghdad International Airport. I strained to look over the two seats to my right to see out the window. There we met the TigerSwan Iraq team and headed to their secured compound in downtown Baghdad. There we had final briefings and planning to move south to Yusufiyah the next morning to the site where Mike was killed. Ironically it was the 24th year since my father suddenly died at a much too young age of 62.

But that night I sat on the roof of the TigerSwan compound and just stared at Moon and just drank it in as I sat just 18 miles by air from where that same moon shone down over where Mike fell. I was almost to the Moon over Yusufiyah. As I tried for so many months and days to imagine getting Mike home from deployment, running the scene through my head seeing him march onto a Ft. Stewart parade field and feeling what it would be like to run and embrace him - no bear hug him and feel the excitement and joy of him come home from war, so it was I tried to imagine actually kneeling at the very spot where he fell. Friday 4 Nov was to be that day.

We arose early and loaded up and headed south. Tampa is a route coming in from the south that Mike had traveled into Baghdad when they convoyed up from Kuwait in late May 2005. Now I was on it heading south on it to Mamuhdiyah just to the east of Yusufiyah. For the next few hours we sized up the area and the final security assessment was made. All the while we cris-crossed many roads to the northern sector of Mike's area of operations traveling on roads such as Harley and Fatboy. Got to tell you I am awkward to say the least wearing body armor and head gear. I have even more respect for Mike and all military personnel who do their jobs wearing this heavy cumbersome gear. I learned doing simple things like trying to reach across your body and scratch your elbow is a challenge. I was asked along the way what Mike would think about me making this trip. I can see him laughing at me waddling like a top heavy duck trying to figure out how to bend and move about with the gear on, getting hung up in the door of the vehicle trying to get in and out He would probably be overly worried and cautious about me being there. He would want to protect me, even tell me to not come. He was a protector and that was a great loss to me, for I counted on him to be there in my infirmed years as I grew old, maybe even to carry me in his arms if need be.

As we started moving to the south toward Yusufiyah and the site where Mike was killed, we began to run into Iraqi Army checkpoints. We had to divert at their orders to other routes and finally were diverted to the main road from Tampa into Yusufiyah. We cleared four more checkpoints and then it happened. The fifth checkpoint came news of danger and unacceptable risk ahead and we were turned back. 1.5 miles from the site. I could feel it, I could smell it, I could almost see it in the distance. But it was not to be. My heart broke, I cried and I was so sick to my stomach I wanted to throw up. I wanted it and I was willing to risk anything to get that last 1.5 miles behind me. But, the plan all along was the security team maintained final say for it was their job to keep us safe. They made the call - it was a no go. But they offered to send their personnel alone and at least place the marble engraved 40 plus pound slab I had brought from home to placed at the site where Mike fell. It was tempting. But in the end my feeling and words were if it was too dangerous for me to go it was too dangerous for their personnel to go. We either all went or no one went. I would not let them do the dangerous heavy lifting and me sit up the road in safety.

We pulled back and continued to assess. The decision was made we would try again on Saturday 5 Nov. It was hoped we might get an Iraqi Army escort and during the night it looked as though we would. But the thugs acted up really worse than the day before and the escort was not available. The area was too hot and dangerous. My dream of kneeling at the site where Mike died was over for the time being for we were out of time to make another go of it. Later that day a bomb killed 27 in the area. More confirmation that TigerSwan made the right call.

While I did not get to the spot in the road where Mike fell, the trip was a great success. The planning was well planned and worked. We went in safe and left safe and I am now home safe as is all those on the team. TigerSwan did a great job and their instincts and knowledge were key to our safety in the end. They hold out hope that another time we can make a go of it and gave me a standing invite to come back when.... But my age and the reality of what is about to happen after the American withdrawal is complete makes that a tough odds probability. But, I will not close the door and if things got to a better state of safety I will go back, but only if the conditions improve dramatically for the stress of this trip was hard on my family. To be expected, for Iraq has bitten us hard. I wanted at least one shot at this and I got it. I got a lot in the deal. I am thankful for what I was given, for 5000 plus other families in the War on Terror will most likely not get such an opportunity. I got to see the area in Baghdad and in Mike's area of operations to the south and I now at least have an understanding of where he was, what he was up against and what it was "like". I kept the promise I made to Mike. I went there. I kept the promise I made to myself. And in the end, I vainly proved to myself that I would not run scared of Iraq the rest of my life. I have faith in God that he had a reason to close the door to that last 1.5 miles and that if he wants me to make the trip and get there one day, it will happen. But if it does not, he has blessed me with so much. As Lou Gehrig, the famed Yankee first baseman said in his farewell speech when the disease named for him struck him down in his prime, "Today I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth." So it is for me.

I went to Iraq to go to a place where Mike was killed, and my actual perception was only of that of a country on a map. But in the trip I got unexpected bonuses. I fast formed a friendship with the TigerSwan Iraq staff - an all Iraqi team. They have families, they have hopes and they have dreams of peace and freedom. I met their dear children who hugged and thanked me for what Mike did. I met an Iraqi dad who lost his civilian son and nephew to a violent bomb blast as they did what young men in their late teens do - just hanging out and trying to enjoy life and friendship, bothering no one. While our languages kept us from understanding the words we spoke absent the help of an interpreter, our hearts and eyes spoke the same language. Grief for sons lost. A broken heart is a broken heart in any language. This Iraqi father offered me comfort and prayers for a better future and for a healed heart. While I offered the same I was caught with the reality that he has the greater suffering. When Mike was killed our war ended. But this Iraqi dad's war continues and what a heavy additional load of pain it must be to live in a continuing dangerous environment wondering what is next for your family, especially in the wake of the American withdrawal. I just wish I had the ability to take this off their shoulders and make it better.

I will leave it to my dear friend Toby Nunn to offer his views and more details. Honestly, I am kind of exhausted from the trip - mentally exhausted, and still trying to process it all. I can't adequately tell you how I feel but suffice it to say in the end it is good. There is a dot in the matrix I want to kneel and touch. I know where it is at. As long as this earth turns, the dot will not move and it will always be there. It is the center of the bulls eye of my dream. In horseshoes close counts, and so it is with my trip to the Moon over Yusufiyah. I got real close. I made it farther than some might have thought and came home safer than some worried I might. I feel restored. I can live life more fully. I can die in peace. I can now look at the Moon over Yusufiyah actually having seen it up close and personal. And I have a good alternate place for the engraved marble slab, which for now is in the safeguarded hands placed on the roof of the TigerSwan compound in Baghdad, where the Moon over Yusufiyah will shine down on it.

You can't really know how much you love a son or daughter until you lose them. I pray that those who read my words or hear my voice will never know such love. Always bear in mind when those moments come that you might want to ring your child's neck to consider how good it feels to hug it. Make memories as you go and don't worry about trying to make them big and fancy. Disney World, and the like are great, but the everyday unplanned moments are much sweeter. Memories sustain you in tough times. Life can be lost, pictures destroyed and film erased. But memories endure our entire life. We need neither light of day or dark of night to see them clearly in our minds. We can enjoy them alone or share them with others. Memories are always available where we may be, what we may be doing, 24/7.

Romans 8:28 - from all things God can work good.

DUTY HONOR COUNTRY.

Remember with Honor.

Thank you Matt, Blackfive Team, Toby, Ricky, Soldiers Angels (and my dear friend and head Angel Patti Patton-Bader) and so many others, some whose names I am yet to learn, but know that I am forever grateful for your help.

Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq
USA E 108 CAV 48th BCT GAARNG

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Veterans Day for the Civilized World

Posted By Subsunk

A Small Tribute For Veterans Day. God Bless 'em, Every One....

 

Semper Fi

 

Made In America

 

Press on.

 

Subsunk

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