Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wednesday Hero ~ Col Henry J Cook

Col. Henry J. Cook
Col. Henry J. Cook
U.S. Army

Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, after serving over fifteen years with MOPH, gaining invaluable experience while in the positions of National Aide-de-Camp, Chapter Commander, Region Commander, National Junior Vice Commander and National Senior Vice Commander.

He was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer for thirty-three of the total forty-two years that he was on combined active and reserve duty. His combat tours began in 1967-68 when he operated behind enemy lines in for extended periods of time conducting operations with native guerrilla troops as the Executive Officer of the 4th Mobile Guerrilla. He saw additional combat in 1969-70 when he led a U.S. Special Forces Mobile Strike Force Battalion (MIKE FORCE), consisting of Green Beret officers and sergeants leading Cambodian mercenaries, again working behind enemy lines as well as reacting to attacks on friendly bases, often requiring that his unit be parachuted into hostile drop zones.


Later, he participated in Desert Shield (Saudi Arabia), Desert Storm (Kuwait) and Iraq, and Operation Provide Comfort (Support to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq.

For his valor and military skills, Colonel Cook was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold and Silver Stars, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Combat Diver Badge, Special Forces Tab, and numerous other U.S. and foreign decorations.

Henry Cook is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a lawyer and resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi. He is a member of the Pro Bono Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims. He’s been a member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also serves as a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Other significant contributions to veterans by Henry Cook include: a major role in the creation of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Ocean Springs and helping raise over $500,000 to help MOPH members in Louisiana and Mississippi who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. In addition to MOPH, he also belongs to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Special Forces Association (SFA), Special Operations Association (SOA), Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW).

You can read more about Col. Henry in this PDF file on pages 31 & 32.


These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives
so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.
For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

My Last War ~ Charles M Grist


My Last War:
A Vietnam Veteran's Tour in Iraq

Charles M Grist


The long awaited book by Charles M Grist, my blogger friend, has been released!
I've been reading his blog for several years, and the man can write!!!
This book is about his Iraq tour with the C.O.B.R.A. team.
Knowing what an accomplished writer he is, I know this is going to be a great read.
My copy is on order (hurry up, please!)

To read his blog - American Ranger - please visit here: http://www.americanranger.blogspot.com/

To visit his book web site - My Last War - please visit here:
http://www.mylastwar.com/

To visit the C.O.B.R.A. Team site - please visit here:
http://www.thecobrateam.com/

The book is available at
Barnes and Noble
(where he has been listed in the Rising Star Special Collection - no easy feat for a war book)
and Amazon.








Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Faces of Freedom ~ John Wolfram & Clancy Hatleberg


SEALs in the water and on the capsule


Apollo 11 capsule at Splashdown on July 24, 1969
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins aboard raft with
Navy SEAL Lt Clancy Hatleberg - contamination officer

In the comments of my post on the Apollo 11, a commenter, "Anonymous" left a message:
Hate to nit pick, but those are Air Force Pararescuemen (they support NASA operations) recovering the astronauts at splash down, not Navy SEALs.
Since I took my description from NASA, I was prone to believe NASA rather than the "ever credible" Anonymous (sarcasm off). But, I did research it.

The Apollo 11 capsule was retrieved by members of the Underwater Demolition Team 11 - Navy SEALs off of the USS Hornet. One of the men who secured the Apollo 11 capsule was John Wolfram, a Navy SEAL, who also served two tours in Vietnam. In the above picture, you see the astronauts and Navy SEAL Lt Clancy Hatleberg in their contamination suits, while the flotation of the capsule has been secured by the other Navy SEALs, including John Wolfram. To read the entire story of the recovery, go here - the USS Hornet's page (the ship that retreived the capsule). I'm sorry I don't know the names of the others on the team.

Here is an interview with John Wolfram:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/entertainment/good_day/Ex_Navy_Seal_First_to_Greet_Apollo_11_072009

sorry, I could not get it to embed...

And, here is his new book, which covers his SEAL training, time in VietNam and the Apollo mission.



John Wolfram is now a minister and does much of his ministry work in VietNam.
You can visit him at: http://johnwolfram.org/

Thank you, Anonymous, I learned a lot researching this.

**********
Continuing to find information about the Navy SEALs in this operation.
Add in Greg McParltin, who also wrote a book, Combat Corpsman

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Farewell Marine Corps Col Kenneth Reusser


Retired Marine Corps Col. Kenneth L. Reusser
January 20, 1927 - June 20, 2009

Veteran of WWII, Korea, Vietnam
Considered the most decorated Marine Aviator in history



Retired Marine Corps Col. Kenneth L. Reusser has passed away and been laid to rest in the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. The Patriot Guard Riders were there to honor him -

Reusser was called the most decorated Marine aviator in history and was shot down in three wars in the Pacific theater - World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Colonel Ken Reusser's distinguished combat record:
-flew 253 combat missions in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and was shot down in all three, five times in all.
-59 medals included two Navy Crosses, five Purple Hearts and two Legions of Merit.

Ken Reusser enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a seaman recruit on August 23, 1941, and entered flight training. In April 1942, he completed flight training, was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, and in May 1942 left for the Southwest Pacific. Upon arrival at Guadalcanal, was assigned to VMF-122, flying the F4F-3. On his first combat mission, he was credited with a probable kill of a Mitsubishi "Betty." In October of that year, he was injured during a ditching and spent 6 months in a hospital.

Ken returned to the Pacific in 1944 flying F4U's from USS Hollandia, (CVE 97) off Okinawa. He led a flight of Corsairs intending to shoot down a Japanese KI-45 "Nick" high-altitude photo reconnaissance airplane gathering information for the day's Kamikaze flights. With altitude frozen guns, the only weapon left was the Corsair itself. Ken and his wingman severely damaged the tail of the KI-45 with their propellers. It entered a graveyard spiral, breaking up before hitting the water. Ken and his wingman shared the kill. Each was awarded the Navy Cross.

In 1950, Ken found himself again in combat, flying F4U's from USS Sicily, (CVE 118). He was awarded a second Navy Cross for making two very low-level passes down a street to identify, through a building's windows, what was hidden inside. He then led a flight back, destroying the target. Exiting the area, with only 20mm guns remaining, he made a firing pass on a ship moored to a camouflaged pier. Loaded with fuel, the ship exploded, flipping the Corsair inverted. After righting the airplane, Ken returned to USS Sicily where the severely crippled F4U was pushed over the side for being too damaged to repair.

During the Vietnam War, Reusser flew helicopters. He was leading a Marine Air Group in a rescue mission, when his own "Huey" was shot down. He needed skin grafts over 35 percent of his badly burned body. He retired from the Marine Corps in July 1968 due to his combat wounds.

Reusser raced motorcycles to help pay for college and earning a pilots license before World War II. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he worked for Lockheed Aircraft and the Piasecki Helicopter Corp. He remained active in veterans groups.

Reusser is survived by his wife, Trudy; and sons, Richard C. and Kenneth L. Jr.


UPDATE:
To view the photos of his service at Willamette Cemetery go here:
http://www.wwiiwarheroes.org/kenneth_reusser/index.htm
Thank you, Q.

To read Q's story of how we don't remember our heroes and the service for this hero:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=16565528&blogId=497180920

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Coming Home ~ Major Perry H Jefferson

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the Air Force Honor Guard carry the remains of Air Force Maj. Perry Jefferson to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., April 3, 2008. Jefferson, who went missing in action in Vietnam 39 years ago, was an intelligence officer with the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron. More than 150 people attended Jefferson's service to watch Colorado's last reported Vietnam-era MIA service member be laid to rest.
DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. MikeR. Smith, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Major Perry Henry Jefferson
Born August 13, 1931 - Casualty April 3, 1969
Laid to Rest Arlinton National Cemetery April 3, 2008 - 39 years later
Welcome Home ~ Rest in Peace

The final member of the Colorado Air National Guard missing in Vietnam has returned home to his resting place in Arlington National Cemetery ~ Major Perry H. Jefferson, U.S. Air Force, of Denver, Colorado.

Dozens of men from the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Squadron who served in Vietnam with Maj. Perry Jefferson of Denver, flew via a Wyoming Air National Guard C-130 to Arlington National Cemetery to attend the ceremonies. The Patriot Guard Riders were also in attendance. The pallbearers were followed by the POW/MIA flag bearer.

Maj Jefferson's Arlington Tribute page is here: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/phjefferson.htm

Article from Buckley Air Force Base: http://www.buckley.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123080285

Video of Maj Jefferson's Brother: http://cbs4denver.com/local/Major.Perry.H.2.613846.html



Retired flight chief Art Sharpley, right, and dozens of Vietnam War veterans and Colorado National Guard members board a Wyoming Air National Guard aircraft traveling to Washington, D.C., for an interment and remembrance ceremony at Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery for Major Perry Jefferson.


Official Press Release

Air Force Officer Missing In Action From Vietnam War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Maj. Perry H. Jefferson, U.S. Air Force, of Denver, Colo. He will be buried April 3, 2008 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

On April 3, 1969, Jefferson was an aerial observer on board an O-1G Bird Dog aircraft on a visual reconnaissance mission over a mountainous region in Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam. The pilot of the aircraft, then U.S. Army 1st Lt. Arthur G. Ecklund, radioed Phan Rang airbase to report his location, but contact was lost soon after. An extensive, three-day search and rescue effort began, but no evidence of a crash was found. Hostile threats in the area precluded further search efforts.

In 1984, a former member of the Vietnamese Air Force turned over to a U.S. official human remains that he said represented one of two U.S. pilots whose aircraft was shot down. In 1994 a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed two Vietnamese citizens regarding the incident. The witnesses said the aircraft crashed on a mountainside, the pilots died and were buried at the site. They said two other men were sent to the site a few days later to bury the pilots. The team excavated the crash site described by the witnesses and found aircraft wreckage. No human remains were found.

In 2000, the remains turned over in 1984 were identified as Ecklund's.

In 2001, a Vietnamese national living in California turned over to U.S. officials human remains that he said were recovered at a site where two U.S. pilots crashed. These remains were identified in 2007 as Jefferson's.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in identifying Jefferson's remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at [u]http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Last Colorado Air Guard MIA Laid to Rest in Arlington Cemetery
By Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith, USAF Special to American Forces Press Service

ARLINGTON, Va., April 4, 2008 - The remains of Colorado Air National Guard Maj. Perry H. Jefferson, who vanished during an observation flight 39 years ago over the jungles of South Vietnam, were at last laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Three days of events here were a high-profile attempt to put closure to a missing-in-action mystery, but what exactly happened to the intelligence officer and his Army Reserve pilot, then-1st Lt. Arthur Ecklund, during their fateful observation flight may never be known.

A closed-casket viewing was held at a funeral home here April 1. Families, fellow servicemembers, veterans and friends to both men attended full-honors funerals April 2 and 3, which started at the Old Post Chapel on Fort Myer, Va., followed by platoon, band and caisson escorts to their gravesites on the nation's most sacred property.

Ecklund was interred at Arlington on April 2; he was previously interred in Knoxville, Ill., by his family in 2004. The Reservist attended Arizona State University and was drafted in 1966. He attended helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft training prior to his combat deployment.

More than 150 people attended Jefferson's services here, including nearly 100 from Colorado who watched the state's reported last Guard Vietnam MIA put to rest.

Jefferson was an intelligence officer at Colorado's 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which flew the F-100C Super Saber. He received his bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist College and worked for Aramco in the Middle East before joining the Air Guard. His wife, Sylvia, died in 1992.

Jefferson and 375 other Colorado Air Guard members deployed to Phan Rang, Vietnam, in April 1968. They were the first Air Guard fighter squadron assigned to active duty in Vietnam.

For retired Col. Don Neary, an F-100 pilot who served with Jefferson, thinking of his friend still brought up a mix of tears and happy memories of home at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., and deployed to Vietnam.

Neary said Jefferson didn't need to fly on visual reconnaissance missions from Phan Rang.

"I think what his motivation was he probably wanted to be a pilot, ... but also the aircraft was our forward air control airplane," Neary said. "I think it gave him an appreciation for us, and he went out to get that experience for when he would come in and brief us in the morning."

On April 3, 1969, 37-year-old Jefferson was flying aboard an O-1 Bird Dog observation aircraft piloted by 24-year-old Ecklund. They never returned to their base.

Defense officials said a three-day search found no evidence of a crash, and hostile forces in the area prevented other searches. Both men were listed as MIA.

"We were within a month of coming home," said Maj. Gen. John L. France in "Colorado Pride," a Colorado Air Guard history book.

France was the unit's operations officer in Vietnam and later served as Colorado's adjutant general. In the book, he shares the moments leading up to Jefferson's disappearance.

"Clyde Seiler and Don Neary were on (an F-100) mission together; Clyde got shot down and went into the jungle, ... (and with) no parachute, he didn't get out. ... Then, we lost Perry Jefferson a few days after Clyde. It was a rough time," France said.

The unit returned home in April 1969, and the Air Guard members who served at Phan Rang were immortalized later in the National Guard Heritage Series painting "Scramble at Phan Rang."

Across the nation, 22,745 Army and Air Guardsmen mobilized during the Vietnam War. More than 9,000 deployed to Vietnam.

Jefferson's and Ecklund's case remained unsolved, and there were even rumors of them being seen after the fateful flight.

After defense officials received human remains in 1984 from a suspected military crash, eyewitnesses were interviewed. One witness said the aircraft crashed on a mountainside, and that the pilots died and were buried there. An excavation led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command uncovered the aircraft's wreckage, but no human remains were found at the crash site.

In 2000, the remains turned over in 1984 were identified as Ecklund's. Defense officials said Jefferson's remains were not identified until 2007, after a Vietnamese national living in California turned them in.

The day before Jefferson's interment ceremony, visiting Colorado Guard members walked among blossoming cherry trees to the Vietnam War Memorial to lay a wreath. They also located Jefferson's name on the dark granite and took a rubbing for their military museum.

"Perry was everybody's friend. ... He took off on a normal observation run and never returned. He just vanished," France said.

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office's Web site states "efforts continue to recover nearly 1,800 Americans who remain unaccounted for from Vietnam."

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith serves at the National Guard Bureau.)

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Remembering Vietnam - The Wall at 25 - Documentary


Remembering Vietnam -

The Wall at 25

The Smithsonian Channel is airing this as part of the weekend programming on 'America's War Stories.'

Jan Scruggs calls it the 'best documentary about the wall I've ever seen."

The program will be streamed on the Smithsonian Channel website

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/

Veteran's Day - Sunday, November 11

9pm EST / 6pm PST

For more information, go here.

For those of you who have Directv HD TV -

the Smithsonian Channel airs on 267 -

Remembering the Wall at 5pm EST/8pm PST

Veteran's Day programming will begin Friday, Nov 9 - Sunday, Nov 11

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Vietnam Veterans Memorial ~ Plans Unveiled

Plans for the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Unveiled


The Wall of Faces will feature photos of service members whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.



Other displays will highlight some of the more than 100,000 items left at The Wall.


The exhibits will include images of U.S. service members from all wars, including present military conflicts.
Renderings by Ralph Appelbaum Associates


Site Map of Vietnam Veterans Memorial.



Today at a Capitol Hill news conference hosted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, world-renowned exhibition designer Ralph Appelbaum provided a first glimpse of the exhibits planned for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, an underground facility slated for the National Mall near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“The Center will be a place that reveals the human dimension of the war and honors the value of service and the bonds of loyalty and friendship,” said exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum. “It will allow a new generation of visitors to better understand the human experience of war and the web of lives affected.”

During the presentation, Appelbaum spelled out the specific goals of the Center:
*Enhance the Memorial experience
*Honor those who died
*Put faces with the names of those memorialized on The Wall
*Encourage younger visitors to learn more

He explained how listening, learning, research and discussion with distinguished Vietnam veterans, authorities in charge of the National Mall and everyday Americans have resulted in a clear concept for the Center. And, he showed visuals illustrating the main components of the planned exhibits:

Faces of Service Members: A wall of photos of fallen service members who had their birthday on that particular day, along with any images, letters or other remembrances left at The Wall for that individual.
Display of Values: Words such as Respect, Loyalty, Courage, Duty, Service, Honor and Integrity, combined with excerpts from letters of fallen service members that convey those concepts.
Artifacts Collection: A dramatic series of glass cases that contain selections of the more than 100,000 items that have been left at the Memorial – including personal letters home from men and women in uniform.
Timeline: A factual chronology of military events to give an overview of the span of the war and the key actions.
History of the Memorial: A visual and written history of The Wall and the way it has uniquely influenced the way Americans memorialize and pay tribute.
Resource Center: Interactive stations where visitors, specifically young people, can access additional information.
Legacy of Service: A visual connection between those who served in Vietnam and all Americans in uniform, past and present.

“The Center will be the home of some of the personal items that have been left at the Memorial and that illustrate the loss and grieving—they are eloquent examples of love and friendship,” Appelbaum added. “Here, we give each name a face and explore the universal bond among all veterans of war.”

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Site