One of the bravest, most extraordinary acts of valor American troops are known to do in combat is throwing themselves on a grenade to save their brothers and sisters in arms. Few survive such a selfless act of heroism. Even fewer get the opportunity to risk sacrificing their lives for a fellow service member twice. 

Oscar P. Austin was a Marine who did just that. It happened on the same fiery night in Vietnam, and he did it to save the same person. For his selfless bravery in saving the life of his fellow Marine, he would receive the Medal of Honor.

Austin was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1948, just a couple of years after the end of World War II. As he came of age, American involvement in Vietnam began to ramp up. A few months after he turned 20 years old in 1968, he joined the Marine Corps to do his part. He was a good Marine and was promoted to private first class within six months. 

He became an assistant machine gunner, and by early 1969, he was sent to South Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. Austin and the 2/7 Marines arrived just in time to fight against another massive coordinated attack from the North Vietnamese, similar to the surprise Tet Offensive launched the previous year. 

On February 22, 1969, elements of the People's Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong guerrillas simultaneously launched artillery attacks and large-scale assaults across South Vietnam. Their targets were South Vietnamese cities and towns, along with American military installations, like the Marines' bases around Da Nang. 

More than 100 targets across the south were hit during the coordinated assaults. They were largely repulsed by U.S. artillery, airpower, and the overwhelming skill of American ground forces. Many American troops lost their lives. 1969 marked a grim milestone for the Vietnam War. It was the year that American combat deaths in the country exceeded those of the Korean War.

Austin and his friend, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Douglas Payne were on duty at an observation post near Da Nang on February 23, 1969, when the countrywide assault finally came to them. The enemy suddenly attacked with heavy machine-gun fire, small arms, and grenades. When the shooting started, Austin took cover in a defensive fire position, but he quickly realized Payne wasn't with him.

Payne was down on the ground dozens of yards away, wounded and in the open in the middle of an enemy attack. With complete disregard for his own safety, Austin left the foxhole, covered the ground between him and his friend, and under heavy enemy fire, tried to drag him to safety. 

As he approached his wounded friend, Austin saw a grenade land near his friend's wounded body. He instantly threw his body between the explosive and Payne, absorbing the blast and shrapnel meant for Payne. He was seriously wounded himself but refused to quit. 

Austin got back up and headed for Payne. As he reached out to his friend, he saw an enemy soldier with his weapon pointed at Payne, who was then unconscious. Once more, without a second thought, he threw himself between his friend and certain death, absorbing a hail of bullets. 

Douglas Payne survived the war because Oscar Austin gave his life twice. In August 1970, Oscar P. Austin's mother received her son's posthumous Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. When the U.S. Navy named a destroyer after Austin, the USS Oscar Austin, Payne was present at the commissioning ceremony with the surviving members of the Austin family. 
 

Have you claimed your FREE Military Service Plaque yet? This attractive custom presentation, which can be accessed via the 'Plaque" button on your Profile Page, contains a visual summary of your military service including service photo, ribbon rack, badges, primary unit patch, and sleeve insignia.

Your plaque is very versatile. It can be printed out as an 11"x 6" landscape print and framed. You can also upload your Plaque to your cellphone which is perfectly sized to display as a convenient Veteran ID or printed out as a business card.

Login to Together We Served today to view your FREE Military Service Plaque and add any information needed to complete.

Few battles in American history resound so powerfully in our collective memory as that of the Alamo. The Battle of the Alamo had everything we could ever want in an epic story. It featured a handful of defenders fighting for freedom, facing down an overwhelming but cruel enemy, and among those defenders were some of America's most legendary names. 

When the defenders of the Alamo were killed to the last man, it inspired a country to take up arms and win their freedom, lest they all meet the same fate. The Texians who fought at the Alamo may not have won the battle, but their sacrifice helped win the war and freedom for their country. 

For years before the battle, Texas enjoyed a swell of population and the autonomy to grow far from the heavy hand of government from Mexico City. When General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came to power in 1832 and changed all that. By 1835, he consolidated power and tried to rule through a more centralized government. Mexican immigrants across the country took up arms, but nowhere was the rebellion more vocal and violent than in Mexican Texas. 

By the end of 1835, Texians had expelled Mexican troops from Texas, convened a governing council, and formed an Army led by Commander-In-Chief Sam Houston. Santa Anna was livid at the losses, declared the new volunteers of the Texian Army to be pirates, and that his forces would take no prisoners. He also mounted a 6,000-strong force called the Army of Operations to quell the revolt. 

Standing in Santa Anna's way were an estimated 182 Texians and volunteers under the command of William Travis, manning an old Spanish mission called the Alamo at San Antonio de Bexár. Stopping the Mexican Army at San Antonio was critical because of its strategic location at the Texian crossroads. If Santa Anna captured the mission, he could march anywhere in the young country. The volunteers remained in the fort.

When the Mexican Army arrived, there were 18 cannons and 150 men to defend the Alamo. James Bowie met with a Mexican envoy before the battle. Santa Anna demanded the Texians surrender at discretion, which meant the Mexican general would decide what happened to the men after they surrendered. For the Texians in the Alamo, the battle meant victory or death. Travis responded to the terms with a single cannon shot. 

Santa Anna Moved on ​​Bexár, occupying the town with 1,500 troops, then raised the red flag signifying there would be no quarter. Over the next two days, the Mexican force fired 200 cannonballs at the fortress as the two sides skirmished outside the Alamo walls. Bowie became ill and bedridden as Mexican reinforcements arrived. There was no word from anyone about Texian reinforcements. 

By March 4, the Mexican Army was ready to assault the Alamo, a move the Texians knew was imminent. At 2200 the next day, the Mexican guns went silent, and many of the Texians fell into a deep sleep. Four columns of 1,800 Mexican soldiers prepared to assault the Alamo, with 500 cavalry troops left to prevent any escape. At 0530, they moved, silently approaching the walls and killing three guards who fell asleep on duty. The Texians only awoke when buglers sounded, and the troops screamed, "Viva Santa Anna!"

By then, they were already in musket range. Still, they were at a disadvantage. Texian rifles were much more accurate, and the Brown Bess muskets the Mexicans were using could only be fired by the front row of infantry. Many Mexican soldiers died from being shot in the back by the untrained conscript soldiers. 

In mass formations, they were also prime targets for defending artillery. The Texians fired everything they could out of the cannons, including horseshoes. Mexican troops attempted to scale the walls using ladders but were shot for their efforts. Texian defenders were beginning to use so many shots they ran out of preloaded rifles. 

William Travis was killed in the first attack. Mexican soldiers fell back and regrouped, only to make a second failed attempt at an assault. In just fifteen minutes since the buglers played, they began to make their third attack. It looked like another failure, but Santa Anna sent in his reserves, who scaled the walls and opened the doors from the inside. 

Mexican troops poured into the Alamo, taking the defenders' cannon and each of the walls in turn. Those who could make their way to the barracks and the chapel to make a last stand. Texians who couldn't make the barracks fled toward the San Antonio River but were cut down by Mexican cavalry. 

Using the captured cannon, the Mexicans shot open the doors of the barracks and killed everyone inside, some in hand-to-hand combat. Bowie was killed in his sickbed. In the chapel, the last of the Alamo defenders fired their last cannon shot and fired a volley from rifles before being bayoneted. Combatant survivors were executed on Santa Anna's orders. 

A third of the Mexican force involved in the attack were killed or wounded. Yet, he still held a six-to-one advantage over the Texians. Combined with the victory at the Alamo, he assumed the Texians would flee, and that would be the end of the Texas Revolution. Instead, Sam Houston's army received hundreds of volunteers.

Houston surprised Santa Anna while his army was in camp, catching it completely by surprise in the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. Within 18 minutes, the Mexican Army was routed, half of it destroyed, and Santa Anna himself was captured the next day. Texas had won its sovereignty.

Do you have old photos from your service days stashed away in a drawer or in a shoe box in your attic? Old photos fade with time and if they are not scanned and preserved digitally, they risk eventually being lost forever.

This is where TWS can help. We have just invested in a high quality Fujitsu book and photo scanner that can scan any size of photo or yearbook. As a service to our members, we would like to offer you a free photo scanning service for your most significant photos from your service which we will then return to you, in original condition, along with a CD containing your photo files.

In addition, we can upload your photos for you to your Photo Album on your TWS Service Profile which will also appear in your Shadow box and available to you to access or download at any time.

Please contact us at Admin@togetherweserved.com for full details on this Free Service.

When a war breaks out on your front lawn, and your chimney explodes from enemy fire, it’s time to find a new place to live. Neighborhoods like those are no place to raise children. That was Wilmer McLean’s opinion, anyway. That’s exactly what he did when the Battle of Bull Run erupted in front of his property. 

The first shots of the Civil War were undoubtedly fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Fortunately for the defenders of the fort, no one was killed during the exchange (although one Union soldier did die when the salute cannon exploded). 

The real fighting didn’t break out until three months later when the Confederate Army and the Union Army met in the first real engagement of the Civil War at the First Battle of Bull Run… or the First Manassas, depending on which side you were on. They’re the same battle. 

Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard commandeered the house of a local man named Wilmer McLean as a headquarters during the battle. As the general and McLean sat in his dining room during the battle, a Union cannonball hit McLean’s chimney, the shot falling right into the fireplace. Beauregard thought it was comical. McLean didn’t think it was so funny. 

McLean was too old for military service, but he was a merchant who helped supply the Confederate forces. Despite his need to be close to the fighting, he felt having a house on the actual front lines of the Civil War might be dangerous for his family, so they moved a little distance to the south.

They moved to a little place called Appomattox Court House. 

This, of course, was the place where Gen. Robert E. Lee would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in April 1863. The two men would meet here and discuss the most honorable terms of surrender – and they would do it in Wilmer McLean’s parlor. 

After the two generals signed the surrender and left McLean’s house, the lower-ranking officers on their respective staffs began to loot the house. They took whatever they could get their hands on as souvenirs of the surrender. One of them even took a doll from McLean’s daughter. 

More than a decade after the war, McLean moved his family back to Manassas, now that it was safe from masses of infantry and his dining room was cleared of artillery shells. 

Together We Served has a growing archive of more than 23,000 Boot Camp/ Basic Training Graduation Photos which we now display on your Military Service Page and Shadow Box. We also have a growing collection of Yearbooks which we will be made available on the site shortly.

We are still searching for Boot Camp/ Basic Training Photos and Yearbooks. So if you have yours available, please contact us at Admin@togetherweserved.com.

Either you can send us a scanned file of your photo or you can send it to us for scanning. We will add this for you to the Recruit/ Officer Training section of your Military Service Page.

All photos and yearbooks will be returned to you in the original condition along with a CD containing your scanned photo.

World War II as a global event unfolded over more than a decade, impacting countries in different ways and at very different times. Undoubtedly, Americans identify the war's start consistent with the Pearl Harbor attack and declaration of war by Japan on December 7, 1941, but the beginnings of the conflict date much earlier to 1931 with Japan's invasion of Manchuria. In recognition of their brutal ambitions and the escalating political activities in Europe, the US became deeply immersed in war planning and preparations beginning early in the 1930s. But, with an overwhelming isolationist stance gripping the US and a resulting lack of Federal funding, those actions identified by the military as critical to national defense had to be deferred. Only with tensions heightening around Japan and the outbreak of war in Europe during 1939 was President Roosevelt able to declare a limited national emergency, and in doing so, appropriate meager funding. The Marine Corps hurriedly formed long-sought defense battalions. One such unit, the 7th Defense Battalion, was deployed to Samoa in February 1941, making it the first US Marine force to ever operate in the South Pacific. Frenzied and facing both shortages of manpower and competing priorities in war preparations, the 7th Defense Battalion was granted authority in May to form the first native reserve battalion, 1st Samoan Battalion USMC. These Barefoot Marines were activated July 1, 1941, and fully expected to defend their beaches at any time facing down an invasion by the Japanese.
  
War planning conducted throughout the 1930s contemplated aggression from different sources with color-coding to distinguish planning documents, Plan Orange representing Japan. By 1936, one outcome of this planning was a recognition of the need for five defense battalions (nicknamed the Rainbow Five due to color-coded war plans) deployed across strategic US holdings in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor, Wake, Midway, Johnston, and Palmyra Islands. Charged with responsibility for the defense of all Pacific naval bases, the Marine Corps concluded that Guam could not be defended. By manning the Philippines, the Army became accountable for its defense. In contrast, Samoa was viewed as indispensable in the chain of communications linking the US (West Coast), Australia, and New Zealand, making it essential to hold the line against the Japanese extending from Midway to Samoa, Fiji, and Brisbane. So, by late 1941 the newly formed Defense Battalions were deployed, but many battery emplacements were incomplete, and much of the antiaircraft artillery and other weapons had not been unloaded from ships, including Pearl Harbor. As foreseen in war planning, Pearl Harbor and Midway were attacked on December 7, Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines on December 8. Guam and Wake Island fell to the Japanese on December 10th and 23rd, respectively, with the ultimate fall of the Philippines on May 8, 1942.

The South Pacific islands are often misleading by their titles. Islands can actually be atolls, coral outcroppings, or island chains (some inhabitable and others not), and Samoa is no different. Samoa is, in fact, a collection of islands comprised of Western Samoa that includes two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller inhabited islands (Manono and Apolima), and several smaller uninhabited islands. Immediately east of Western Samoa lies American Samoa that once again is a collection of islands. In February 1941, the 7th Defense Battalion occupied Tutuila, the largest island in American Samoa and home to the capital, Pago Pago. Following the assault on US Pacific bases in December 1941, there was recognition that Western Samoa was vulnerable to occupation by the Japanese and enabled direct assault on American Samoa. This belief was fueled by the construction of an airfield on Tutuila, completed in three months on a 24x7 schedule and making it a priority target. Accordingly, troops of the 7th Defense Battalion not already consumed by construction on neighboring territories were rapidly deployed to all islands in the group.

For the three hundred fifty men of the 1st Samoan Battalion, their first taste of combat came on January 11, 1942, when a Japanese submarine surfaced at 2:30 am just off Tutuila. The submarine shelled the naval base for approximately seven minutes, submerged, and disappeared into the darkness, having inflicted only minor damage and wounding two marines. Onshore tensions ran high for an extended period, unsure if this was the beginning of an invasion by the Japanese. But this was, in fact, the only direct attack on Samoa, and it was later suggested that Japanese war plans never contemplated incursion that far south. However, it is more likely that the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 1942) and Midway (June 1942) blunted Japanese ambitions and ensured that Samoa did not become a battleground. Instead, most units deployed to the South Pacific were routed through Samoa, making it the largest base and training center in the Pacific, eventually teaming with more than 10,000 troops.

The most distinguishing characteristic of the men comprising the 1st Samoa Battalion was their uniform. Scantily clad by any military standard, the dress attire consisted of a khaki summer garrison cap, a simple white t-shirt, a khaki, i.e., lavalava bordered in red and featuring an embroidered Marine Globe and Anchor emblem with rank chevrons. Enlisted men were armed with M1903 Springfield rifles and carried M1923 cartridge belts to complete the uniform- no footwear. Fashioned after traditional native garb, the uniform was intended to be welcoming for new recruits while meeting the functional needs of a jungle environment.

By February 1944, the war in the Pacific had moved significantly north to the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein and Eniwetok) and west to the Marianna Island chain (Saipan, Guam, and Tinian). With US forces unilaterally advancing across the Pacific Theatre, orders were given to dismantle the war effort in the Samoa Group. By the summer of 1945, the naval base had reverted to its peace time status as a permanent base, including anchorage facilities, fueling station, repair depot, and weather station. Likewise, the 1st Samoan Battalion was disbanded, and the men returned to civilian life. However, they were changed by their wartime experiences. In 1941, undermanned and with little training, it was recognized the unit could at best defend against a small raiding force but would not be detoured—American Nationals with no obligation to serve. Every man was a volunteer. And for one desperate moment in time, these brothers stood together in defense of their homeland and one another, leaving their fingerprint on history and those who would come after them.

TWS has nearly 2 million members who served in a wide range of units, ships, squadrons and duty stations. Get more people to your Reunion by sending your Reunion information to us in the following format and we will post it for free in our Reunion Announcements on Together We Served, in emails that go to our members and in our Newsletters.

Please contact us at admin@togetherweserved.com with the following details of your Reunion:

Service Branch Reunion Applies To:
Your Reunion Name:
Associated Unit or Association:
Date Starting:
Date Finishing:
Place Where Held:
City:
State:
Contact Person:
Contact Phone Number:
Contact Email Address:
Website:
Other Comments:

Lt. Col. James Harvey had one wish for much of his Air Force career. He wanted the 332nd Fighter Group - the Tuskegee Airmen - to be recognized for winning the Air Force-s first-ever aerial gunnery competition. 

"We were the original -Top Gun,-" he told AARP Studios. "Our competitors didn't think we were real. We were Black and flying this obsolete aircraft. We weren't supposed to win it."

Harvey was drafted into the Army in 1943 as an Army Air Corps engineer. Just a few years earlier, he'd seen a group of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks flying over his home in Pennsylvania, which planted the idea of flying one someday into his mind. So when the chance to apply to the Air Corps- Aviation Cadet Training Program came up, he jumped at it. 

In October 1944, he graduated from the Tuskegee Flight Program and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Like many of the new Tuskegee Airmen, he was assigned to replace pilots in the 332nd fighting in Europe. Although Harvey never saw action during World War II, he and his fellow Black pilots continued serving. 

The postwar Tuskegee Airmen would make history just a few years later, but their accomplishment went unrecognized for decades afterward. 

Despite what the movie "Top Gun" will tell you, the U.S. military's first real-world "Top Gun" program wasn't set up by the Navy. It was an Air Force program that first took place in 1949. Tuskegee Airmen Capt. Alva Temple, 1st Lt. Harry Stewart, 1st Lt. James H. Harvey III and alternate Halbert Alexander, competing in P-47N Thunderbolts, would win it. 

In January 1949, the chief of staff of the Air Force put a call out to all USAF fighter groups to send their three top scorers to represent their group at the first Top Gun "Weapons Meet."

The airmen went to Las Vegas Air Force Base, now called Nellis Air Force Base, and pilots competed in five events - aerial gunnery, dive bombing, skip bombing, rocket firing and panel strafing. Lt. Col. James Harvey calls it the "highlight of my career."

Harvey has a reason for being proud of his team-s achievements. Despite flying obsolete aircraft, they led the 10-day event almost every step of the way. Their competitors were flying the P-51 Mustang and the P-82 Twin Mustang fighters.

"It didn't matter, though," Harvey said. "It's the skill of the pilot that determines what's gonna happen. They were there to compete, and we were there to win."

The competition is now called "William Tell," and the winner of the annual event has their name added to the list of past winners in the Air Force Association-s yearly almanac. For 46 years, the winner of the 1949 competition was listed as "unknown." It wasn't until 1995 that it finally listed the winner as the 332nd Fighter Group. 

"When it was announced that we, the 332nd, had won the trophy, the room was quiet," Harvey recalled. "There was no applause or anything like that. Because we weren't supposed to win it. Little did I know this was the last time the public would see the trophy for 55 years."

The trophy sat in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, for much of that time. Harvey went on to fight in the Korean War, becoming the first Black jet pilot in combat, flying 126 combat missions. He retired in 1965. 

Historian Zellie Rainey Orr discovered the trophy and the story of the 332nd-s epic "Top Gun" victory. In 2004, the trophy was finally put on display in the Air Force Museum. Harvey-s wish that Nellis Air Force Base would recognize the win took a few more years and intervention from AARP.

AARP's Wish of a Lifetime program seeks to change the way society views the values of older people by granting them one of their lifelong wishes. AARP learned about Lt. Col. Harve's story and looked into the true story. The result was that Nellis Air Force Base recognized the victory with a commemorative plaque posted there in January 2022, honoring the achievement of the Tuskegee Airmen. 

"It proves that if you believe in something and you stay at it, you'll finally get the recognition you deserve," said Harvey, who turned 98 in 2021. "This plaque, finally, after many years, will be at the top, number one."
 

Available for Together We Served members only! Together We Served has two hard-working Marines devoting their time and energy to help our members find long-lost friends who are not yet members of our Together We Served.

If you are looking for someone, email us at admin@togetherweserved.com with name, approximate age, where they were from, last known address, marital status, and name of spouse. We'll do our best!

When the U.S. military absolutely, positively needs something built in a hurry, they call on the Navy's elite construction crews: the Seabees. With more than 14,000 active and reserve personnel on the roster, there seems to be nothing they can't build -- even if the bad guys don't want them there. 

With the motto "Can Do," Navy Seabees have been seen in some of the world's most troubled hotspots. From the islands of both theaters of World War II to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan today, the road to victory was paved by Seabees.

1. "Seabees" is a play on words.

The Seabees' name isn't actually "Seabees." The unit's official name is United States Naval Construction Battalions, or CB, for short. It's much easier to say "CB" or "Seabee" than "United States Naval Construction Battalions" or even "construction battalions." 

A name like Seabees also lends itself to the easy creation of morale patches and insignia, which are all the rage in the military, if you haven't noticed. 

2. Its original mascot was a beaver.

This makes sense when you think about it. The beaver is an industrious mammal at home in both the water and on land. Frank Iafrate, designer of the original logo, was instructed to create one using a Disney-type character, according to the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum. Iafrate then discovered the beaver runs away when threatened. That's not a good mascot for the U.S. Navy, especially during World War II.

"Then I thought of a bee. ... The busy worker, who doesn't bother you unless you bother him. But provoked the bee stings. It seemed like an ideal symbol," Iafrate told CNN in 2015.

3. The Navy needed fighting construction workers.

Even in the days of World War II, the U.S. military had no problem contracting out construction projects to third parties. Unfortunately, civilian construction workers building critical infrastructure aren't allowed to fight back when attacked. Under international law, they could be considered guerrilla fighters and might be executed when captured. 

A construction crew that also happens to be a military unit, however, would make a pretty big surprise for any enemy that thought they were about to get an easy win on any given day. Attacking Japanese troops would learn quickly they were fighting construction workers trained by the Marine Corps. 

Hence their other motto, "We build, we fight."

4. Seabees were the oldest and highest-paid sailors in WWII.

In recruiting the first Seabees, the Navy was looking for the same seasoned skilled tradesmen found on any major construction site in America. They had to be talented and fast, even if they were a little bit older than other recruits. As a result, they received higher rank upon entering the Navy than most other recruits, too. 

In order to fill the Seabees' ranks with these skilled workers, physical standards and age limits were waived for any recruit under age 50. Some 60-year-olds still managed to slip through, so the mean age for a Seabee during the war was 37 when the average age for the rest of the military was just 26.

5. A Seabee unit could do almost anything.

With just more than 1,100 skilled men and officers, a Navy construction battalion could be deployed and build almost anything. It was made up of four companies of construction workers and deployed alongside medical, dental, and logistics personnel, along with all the other kinds of professions a unit needs in the field.

As construction projects became bigger and more complex, multiple CB units were deployed to the same projects. By the end of the war, the Navy had more than 258,000 men working in the Seabees, well short of the number it needed. 

6. Black Seabees filled in for fallen Marines at Peleliu.

The need for cargo handlers increased throughout the war; Black men were drafted to fill those ranks in segregated units. The 17th Special CB unit was attached to the 1st Marine Pioneers the day they landed on Peleliu. As Japanese resistance stiffened, the 17th CB began hauling ammunition to the front and carrying the wounded to the rear. 

As the fighting on Peleliu ground on, more and more Marines were falling to enemy fire. For three days, the Black sailors of the 17th Special Construction Battalion filled in for those who were killed or wounded by the enemy. 

7. The original Seabees built projects in every theater.

Seabees were paving the way to victory for the Allies every step of the way. They built more than 400 projects at the cost of $11 billion in the Caribbean, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, England, France, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, China, Alaska, the Philippines, and most of the islands in between. 

An estimated 300 Seabees were killed in action, and another 500 were killed in construction accidents. The Navy's go-to construction crews also earned five Navy Crosses, 33 Silver Stars, and 2,000 Purple Hearts. 

I was just 19 years old. The Vietnam War was going fast and furious. The draft was imminent, so I decided to take a four-year hitch in the Navy. I thought a boat sounded better than a foxhole. During boot camp, they ask about your preferences for training and your job. After a visit home, I got my second choice and headed for Naval Air Station Memphis, a training base, to learn the intricacies of becoming a jet engine mechanic. 

After five months, for some reason, they designated me as an instructor, and I was sent to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, VA. Not bad duty. I spent just over a year instructing new guys on becoming Plane Captains on the A6A Intruder. It’s a job where you are a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None. You check the planes for their readiness to fly, and if you find any problems, you call in the experts, of which there were many. This plane was an all-weather, carrier-based, sub-sonic bomber. A movie made about it in the 90s, called Flight of the Intruder - you can still see it on Netflix. The Navy and the Marine Corps operated it.

After just over a year, I heard stories about carrier life and wanted to go on a cruise other than the training carrier USS Lexington in Pensacola. After I put in for a transfer to a sea-going squadron, it took the Navy only three weeks to assign me to Attack Squadron 35, onboard the USS Enterprise (the Big E), leaving Alameda Naval Station in Oakland on Jan. 2, 1968. This was arguably one of the busiest times in the Vietnam War.

On the way to the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam, we stopped in the Sea of Japan due to the North Koreans taking our ship, the USS Pueblo. After a couple of weeks of threatening them, we proceeded to Vietnam. 

There were a lot of memories of the eight months I spent on this ship, some better than others. When you have planes flying in combat and being targeted, you lose some to anti-aircraft and missiles. And, due to the very nature of landing planes on ships, it’s a dangerous endeavor. We lost our squadron CO and Navigator the third day we were on the line. At the end of the cruise, my squadron only had half of our original complement of 16 airplanes. And, some of our crews were in the Hanoi Hilton for the next few years. So, when something good happens, we really take it to heart. 

This particular May day it was a beautiful, clear day. You could see forever. The Air Boss up in the bridge controls all flight activity on the ship, and planes are taking off and landing in the pattern. So, when he announced that a certain young Lieutenant had just won a dog fight with an enemy MIG and requested permission to do a Victory Flyby, we were all excited. The Air Boss mentioned that the plane - an F4 Phantom with two big engines and afterburners - would be approaching the ship from Aft, and if we wanted to watch, he would be here in about 5 minutes. Over 5000 men were working on that ship, and I would bet that all but those down in the bowels of the ship were going to do their best to get to a spot where they could see it. It was an unusual request and even more weird that they cleared the pattern and let him do it in the midst of flight ops. 

The curvature of the earth can be seen at about 18 miles from the flight deck. We saw a tiny speck just coming over the horizon. And it got to us quickly just over the surface of the water. He was roaring, and when he got just a midship on the port side, he pulled back on his stick and hit the afterburners and twirled straight up in the air till he was a speck again. I thought of a boy with a big toy. When he came around and landed, he was given a rock-star reception, and we all felt as though we had been in that cockpit with him. And that is my best memory of my time in the Navy.

Bob McElroy 
email maccat7@gmail.com
7280 Smokeywoods Ln
Cincinnati, OH 45230

HELP US SUPPORT THE 1.5 MILLION VETERANS WITH DEMENTIA

Now in our 45th year of operation, Capital Caring Health was one of the first hospice and advanced illness care providers established in the U.S. in 1977. 

Our Mission from the beginning as a non-profit is caring for all - regardless of their ability to pay.

Beginning in 2022, we are spearheading a national drive to provide every Veteran suffering from devastating dementia with a companion robotic dog or cat - free of charge.

These Pets are proven in numerous clinical studies to provide joy and comfort to dementia sufferers including reducing agitation and preventing depression and loneliness. In many cases medications can also be reduced. 

The Pets interactively react to human touch, movement, and voice like real pets. As we like to say, no need to feed or walk or clean up after them - just enjoy their LOVE!

We are seeking donations to provide the first 100,000 pets to Veterans suffering from Dementia. To learn more or donate go to capitalcaring.org/companionpets. 

DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT-BELOW ARE RESPONSES FROM THREE RNS SENT TO THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION ABOUT THIS PROGRAM:

"The robotic pets are wonderful and a true companion for our residents. Thank you very much for the robotic pets and the support of this wonderful program." 
From Amanda Miller, RN at Salem, VA Home for Veterans.

"One of the Vets who has received so far is convinced this is his cat from home and is totally attached!" 
From Megan Harling, RN at Perry Point Home for Veterans.

"I received 4 cats and 4 dogs delivered to my office. At the moment, two of the residents with Dementia have received 1 dog each. The first resident began smiling and continuously patting it on the head and rubbing its back. The other resident held his hands out and embraced the dog with a hug and smiled. Engagement with the dog seems to calm him down." 
From Cheryl Acree, RN at Veteran Home in Richmond, VA
 

While the United States military and coalition forces prepared for the imminent battle with Iraq's military forces, Operation Desert Storm, January of 1991, a second international crisis unfolded in the famine-stricken country of Somalia, where a full-scale bloody civil war erupted. Warlord General Mohammad Farah Aideed rebel forces were attempting to overthrow the Somali government. The fighting threatened Americans and Foreign diplomatic missions based in Mogadishu, Somalia, as the Somali government was collapsing under the weight of the bloody civil war. This is an incredible story that has not been told of heroism in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The story was simply lost because it occurred in the immediate lead-up to Operation Desert Storm and hardly received any media attention. 
 

On January 2, 1991, Italian officials in Mogadishu made a fruitless effort to arrange a cease-fire among the factions. When this effort failed, U.S. ambassador James K. Bishop realized that he didn't have many options left, and on that day, January 2, 1991, he made the call to Washington D.C. to be rescued. Ambassador Bishop's message was clear and straight to the point. "If a U.S. military rescue force does not arrive in time, there will be no one to rescue"... 

This is the untold story and true events of Operation Eastern Exit.

About Trent LaLand
Trent LaLand grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Arsenal Tech High School in June of 1982.

In December of 1982, Trent enlisted in the Marine Corps, and in April of 1983, he shipped out to Boot Camp, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. In his journey in the Marine Corps, he traveled all over the world.

In August 1990, he was deployed to Operation Desert Shield with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 2nd Marines, 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, embarked on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Guam (LPH-9)

Trent shares the true events of Operation Eastern Exit in his book titled "Night Mission to Mogadishu." 

Trent LaLand is a licensed Minister and a member of New Beginnings Fellowship Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He works at R.T. Moore in Indianapolis, Indiana as a warehouse associate. Indianapolis is the place he calls home..

The book is available through Amazon.

Paper Back $10.75
Kindle Edition $4.50
 

If you wish to make a post to our new Bulletin Board - People Sought, Assistance Needed, Jobs Available in Your Company, Reunions Pending, Items for Sale or Wanted, Services Available or Wanted, Product or Service Recommendations, Discounts for Vets, Announcements, Death Notices - email it to us at admin@togetherweserved.com.

Service Reflections Video of the Month

#TributetoaVeteran - SH2 Antwone Fisher, U.S. Navy 1977-1989

Are You a Writer?
As you know, TogetherWeServed is always looking for interesting articles to post to our forums and in this newsletter. Have you written any military-related articles you would like to share with a broader audience? Send your submissions to admin@togetherweserved.com, and you may see it in an upcoming issue.

TWS Flyers Available
Do you have a reunion coming up and would like to spread the word about Together We Served? We now have flyers available that help explain a bit of who we are and what we do.

Send your requests to admin@togetherweserved.com. Please include your name and address, along with how many flyers you require.

TWS Invite Cards
Did you know we have Together We Served invite cards that you can hand out to any veteran you meet? It even has a place to put your name, service branch, and member number, so you get credit for the invite.

If you would like some cards, email us your name and address to admin@togetherweserved.com, and we will get them in the mail to you. 

Association Chapter Logos

Does your association chapter have a different logo from your state or national association chapter? We are working on programming that will allow us to add chapter logos. If you have one, please email it to admin@togetherweserved.com, and we'll get it added for you as soon as the programming is complete.

VA and Other News

VA Disability Claims Process:
The VA Disability Claims Process is comprised of eight different steps. There are a few factors that will determine how long each of the eight steps will take to be completed; factors such as the complexity of the case, the type of evidence provided by the claimant, and the amount of evidence that needs to be gathered in order to support the claim. It is imperative that you provide as much evidence as possible when submitting your claim in order to minimize unnecessary hold-ups and processing time.

STEP 1: Claim Received - Your Disability claim has now been received by the VA. If you applied for your Disability online, you should be able to see that the claim has been received by the VA within an hour. If you submitted your claim through standard US mail, you will need to allow mailing time plus an additional week for the VA to process and record receipt of your claim. Anything you are able to do online will make many of the processes much quicker. Online applications can be completed at the web address listed here: http://www.vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/default.asp.

STEP 2: Under Review - Your claim has now been assigned to a representative and is being reviewed in order to determine whether or not additional evidence is needed to support your claim. If there is no additional information needed your claim will be moved immediately to the preparation for decision phase.

STEP 3: Gathering of Evidence - The Veterans Service Representative assigned to your claim will now start requesting evidence to support your claim. These evidence requests can be made of you, medical professionals, government agencies, and anyone else that might be able to support your Disability claim. If at any time throughout the steps in the claim process it is determined that any further evidence may be needed from any resource, your claim will return to this step. This is not an uncommon occurrence.

STEP 4: Review of Evidence - All required evidence has been received and is now being reviewed by the Representative assigned to your claim. If upon review it is determined that additional evidence is required, the claim will be sent back to step. 

STEP 5: Preparation for Decision - In this step, your Representative has recommended a decision and has begun the process of preparing the necessary documents to detail the decision they have made.

STEP 6: Pending Decision Approval - The decision recommendation documents are now reviewed, and a final award approval on your claim is made.

STEP 7: Preparation for Notification - Your VA Disability Claim decision packet, in its entirety, is now prepared to be mailed to you.

STEP 8: Completion of Claim - Your VA Disability Claim decision packet has now been mailed to you via standard US Mail. This packet will include all of the details of the decision made, and if your claim was approved, it will include details of the awarded benefit you will be receiving. You must allow adequate, standard mailing time for this decision packet to arrive before you contact a VA call center.

Veteran 2 Veteran Facebook Group

 

Army, VA honor Black soldiers hanged in the aftermath of the 1917 Houston Riots pledge to review their courts-martial.
BY ROSE L. THAYER

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Jason Holt's family has preserved a letter that his uncle, Army Pfc. Thomas Hawkins wrote nearly 105 years ago.

The letter and the events it describes led Holt on a decades-long journey to clear the legacy of his uncle, who was one of 19 Black soldiers executed in 1917 and 1918 after courts-martial found them guilty of charges stemming from a race riot in Houston that left 19 people dead.

Hawkins professed his innocence in his letter. On Tuesday, Holt said he felt one step closer to clearing his uncle's name. The Department of Veterans Affairs unveiled a sign at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio to acknowledge the race riots that led to Hawkins' court-martial and death sentence and the changes that trial sparked in the military justice system.

That acknowledgment isn't justice, but it's a step forward, Holt said.

"Initially, it was a very well-concealed fact what took place in 1917. It was not talked about, but many family members, including ones that are here today, we've been advocating," he said. "The approach today is to work collaboratively with the administration, and hopefully, we'll get some level of clemency that will come about through their good graces."

Hawkins wrote the letter to his mother and father on Dec. 11, 1917, the day that he was hanged.

"When this letter reaches you, I will be beyond the veil of sorrow. I will be in heaven with the angels," Hawkins wrote. "I'm sentenced to be hanged for the trouble that happened in Houston, Texas, although I am not guilty of the crime that I'm accused of. But mother, it is God's will that I go now and in this way."

Holt, an attorney in New Jersey, read from the letter during Tuesday's ceremony about a sign meant to educate cemetery visitors on the events known as the Houston Riots and the Camp Logan Mutiny of 1917.

"To many, the Houston Riots is simply a footnote in history," Holt said. "But for us, the family members, it's a little different. For us, it's a time when we know that we lost someone dear to our family."

Hawkins was a soldier from North Carolina assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 24th Infantry Regiment. It was a unit of the Buffalo Soldiers, the nickname given to Army regiments of Black troops who served beginning in 1866.

In the summer of 1917, the battalion was sent to Houston to guard Camp Logan, one of many training sites that the Army established during World War I. Racial tension began immediately between the Black soldiers and white Houston police officers, through ongoing slights and open hostility that built into a volatile situation.

On Aug. 23, 1917, racial tensions boiled over, culminating in a two-hour riot through the city. Four soldiers and 15 white civilians, and police officers died.

By December, the Army orchestrated the first of three courts-martial at Fort Sam Houston for 118 Black soldiers charged with mutiny and murder, among other lesser charges. They were all represented by one Army officer who had some legal experience but was not a practicing attorney. After the three trials, 19 soldiers were hanged, including Hawkins.

Seventeen of those 19 men were eventually buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery under gravestones that only bear their names and death dates, which was customary at the time for executed soldiers. The gravestones stand in contrast to those around them because they lack rank and service branch, birth dates, and any wars in which the troops served.

The sign installed Tuesday at the cemetery states the trials were "flawed by serious irregularities."

Earlier this month, the Army began a review process of the trials, which could result in clemency for some or all the soldiers. The request to review the case came not just from family members of those who died but also retired general officers, said Gabe Camarillo, undersecretary of the Army, who attended Tuesday's event alongside Donald Remy, the deputy VA secretary, and three descendants of soldiers who were hanged.

"Thanks to the very rich and deep historical record, there's ample documentation that they can currently undertake to review it to provide that broader context," Camarillo said. "At the conclusion of that process, the Board of Correction of Military Records will make recommendations to the secretary of the Army for any relief that would be appropriate."

Remy said if any outcome of the Army's review calls for an update to the sign, the VA will do so.

Entering a 'powder keg.'

When the battalion arrived in Houston, they entered what civil rights activist Malcolm X would have referred to as a "racial powder keg," said James Jones III, an associate professor of history at Prairie View A&M University, located northwest of Houston.

Military service was one of the few professions available to Black men during that time that would allow them to build a career. But uniformed Black men were also a target of white aggression, he said.

"The Camp Logan incident is so representative and emblematic of America at this time. You have to remember that the 24th [Infantry Regiment] had actually served internationally. They had been in Cuba [and] they participated in a Spanish American War," Jones said.

Many of them said they experienced less racism during those deployments than they did at home, which builds the context surrounding the Houston Riots, Jones said. So, the soldiers were not prepared for the level of hatred awaiting them in Houston.

"It was truly a different situation, more intense than they had ever experienced," Jones said.

On the day in August when the riots broke out, it began with the arrest of a Black woman by white police officers, Jones said. A private from the battalion intervened and offered to help her, but the police officers beat him and arrested him. Cpl. Charles Baltimore goes to inquire about the private, only to be beaten and arrested himself.

Rumors circulate at Camp Logan that Baltimore had been murdered, which caused members of the battalion to react, Jones said. At about the same time, soldiers believed a group of armed white people were heading toward the base. The situation devolved, soldiers took arms, and what was meant to be a march to police headquarters became a riot.

Afterward, the Army sent the unit to Fort Sam Houston, where the mass courts-martial began. In one, 63 soldiers were tried at once, making it the largest court-martial in US military history, said Richard Hulver, historian for the VA's National Cemetery Administration.

The first trial lasted 25 days with about 200 witnesses, he said. It had to be held in the post chapel because the courtrooms weren't large enough to hold that many people. Some soldiers were coerced to testify against other soldiers, and, in the end, it was never clear who had fired shots that killed.

The court-martial resulted in 13 men found guilty and hanged one day after the verdict was approved. All were hanged at once before sunrise and buried next to the gallows in numbered graves. Each was buried with a glass bottle with their name inside.

Two more courts-martial followed, and six more soldiers were hanged. Two men's bodies were returned to their families.

Of all 118 men on trial, seven were acquitted, while others found guilty received various prison sentences.

The public reacts

"The legacy of the first court-martial was, there was such a public outcry about that, the Army changed its appellate process," Hulver said. "Their burial site becomes a site of public interest immediately. People start coming, and the Army actually has to put guards up to keep people out."

In 1937, visitors to the site became such a problem that Maj. Gen. James K. Parsons, the commander of Fort Sam Houston, had the soldiers' bodies moved to the cemetery, which was then under the Army's command. The commander marked each grave with the headstone, allowed for executed soldiers under the policy for the time.

President Woodrow Wilson stepped in following the third trial, commuting the sentences of 10 soldiers from death to prison, Jones said. In his statement, Wilson also said the trials were properly handled, and all investigations were thorough.

"On the one hand, he's soothing the white conscience that we got them. But at the same time, he's telling Black soldiers, 'We appreciate your work.' It's one of those classic examples of serving two masters. He does it well. It was very admirable," Jones said.

The Army did not include a timeline for their review of the cases.

Charles Anderson, a Texas-based distant cousin of Sgt. William Nesbit, another soldier, hanged for mutiny in 1917, attended Tuesday's ceremony. Anderson brought with him a photo of Nesbit's grave, where he'd written in marker the soldier's full military service on the headstone. Like Holt, he would like to see his relative's name cleared.

Anderson said he first learned of the Houston Riots and his relative's involvement when researching Nesbit's grandfather. On his path to learn about the history and educate others, he's connected with the descendent of a white Houston police officer killed in the riot.

"Coming here to just be a part of something that's actually recognizing these guys is just amazing. It's amazing to know that they're getting this attention right now," Anderson said.

Remy, the VA's deputy secretary, said the ceremony and addition of the sign is just a "small measure of the dignity" that these soldiers have long deserved because their service was marred by racial injustice.

"This day, in some small way, reflects the progress that we have made as a nation since these men were interred here," he said.

'No vacation' for military families displaced by contaminated water in Navy housing
BY WYATT OLSON

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii - Lacey Quintero knows how to handle the stresses of military life. A Navy veteran, the 36-year-old mother of two, is married to a Navy officer stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.

"We've been through multiple deployments as a family," Quintero said on Feb. 10 while seated on a picnic table outside the Navy Exchange on the outskirts of the base.

"I, myself, am a veteran with multiple deployments under my own belt, and I know how to handle these things, no problem."

But she has reached a breaking point. She, her husband Matthew, and their two daughters, ages 3 and 5, have been wracked with headaches, nausea, rashes, and a host of other symptoms as a result of drinking and washing with contaminated tap water from the Navy's water distribution system.

They've essentially lived in hotel rooms since the end of October, due first to her husband's transfer in the fall to Hawaii and then, in early December, being among the thousands of families displaced from homes in military communities near Pearl Harbor after petroleum contamination was discovered in a well used by the Navy.

That well was immediately shut down and isolated from the Navy's other two wells.

The Navy has spent the past two months flushing its water system of contamination as families adjust to hotel life until they can return to their homes.

The Navy has divided the roughly two dozen military communities on and around the base into 19 zones to manage the cleanup. Water pipes and appliances within homes are being flushed sequentially, beginning with those closest to the contaminated well and moving outward from there.

The Hawaii Department of Health has declared tap water in the first two zones, Red Hill Housing and Pearl City Peninsula, safe for all uses.

Quintero, like many others, however, remains skeptical that the water in the Navy's system will ever be dependably safe. Despite the costs breaking a lease, she and her husband have sought housing outside of the military community.

'Not a vacation'

Navy spouse Tracey Contreras bristles over suggestions by some that military families lodging temporarily in hotels are living the good life, lounging beside swimming pools and dining in swanky restaurants along Waikiki Beach's bustling Kalakaua Avenue.

"This is not a vacation," Contreras said during a Feb. 9 phone interview from the small hotel room she shares with her husband, a petty officer first class, and her mother, who is paralyzed below the waist and recovering from a form of blood cancer. "This is not fun for us."

Contreras, 46, moved to the hotel with her mother shortly before Christmas while her husband Eduardo was still in the Middle East on the tail end of a two-year deployment. He rejoined her shortly before the new year.

"My mother is in a hospital bed, and she has to have a wheelchair," Contreras said. "We were given one room with one bed. I had to ask them if they could remove this tiny couch from the room, and then I myself had to call in a medical company and rent a hospital bed for her."

Hotel policy prevented them from bringing along Contreras' two beloved dogs, Lady and Breezy, who had to remain in the family's water-contaminated home in Earhart Village on the joint base.

Last fall, Contreras said she and her mother began experiencing stomach pains. Contreras developed sinus problems, for which she frequently showered in hot water in hopes the steam would be beneficial.

Contreras said she lost most sense of smell from that condition, but her mother began complaining of a bad smell coming from the water.

Contreras soaked their Thanksgiving turkey and vegetables in tap water before roasting them.

The oven belched a strange smelling smoke that even she could smell, she said.

When she touched the roasted turkey with a carving knife, "it, like, imploded," Contreras said. "The spine of the turkey, every vertebra, came apart in pieces."

They went ahead and ate it.

"Then we were both super, super sick," she said. News reports about the Navy's tainted water came out at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Contreras vacillated between anger and anguish as she recalled those events, fuming that the water was contaminated under the Navy's watch while initially downplaying residents' complaints, grieving that she gave that water to her ailing mother and two dogs.

Died in her arms

On Jan. 19, the day the Navy flushed the pipes of her home, Contreras was in the house holding Lady, the small dog she confesses as her favorite.

"She made this cry like I've never heard before," she said. As she was carrying Lady upstairs to get her away from the hubbub, the dog gasped for breath, coughed, vomited, and died in her arms.

"This is the dog that's been by my side - my family," she said. "When my husband's been away, she's been my cuddle-bug."

Despite the flushing, the water in her home remains tainted. In a video she provided Stars and Stripes shortly after the interview, a strange, rainbow-tinged vapor curls up from a pan of water just drawn from the tap.

She expects her family will have no choice but to move back into the home once the Hawaii Health Department declares her zone as having safe water. She is skeptical, however, about official pronouncements on tap-water purity.

She has contacted rental agents about housing elsewhere but found the family could not afford what they would need.

"We're not officers or anything; we don't make a ton of money," she said.

'A robust picture'

Many of those displaced by contaminated water are not satisfied that only a tenth of homes will be sampled and tested in any given zone before the water is declared safe.

During a Navy daily livestream briefing on Facebook on Feb. 11, Capt. Darren Guenther, Chief of Staff for Navy Region Hawaii, read a submitted question that many were asking: "How can I be 100% sure my water is OK if it's not been tested?"

The Interagency Drinking Water System Team - whose members come from the Navy, Hawaii Department of Health, and US Environmental Protection Agency - developed and approved the plan to begin with an initial sampling of 10% of houses in each neighborhood Guenther said.

"But that's just the start of a long-term testing and monitoring process," he said.

The Navy will test an additional 5% of homes during three months following the initial testing, Guenther said.

"That gives them a robust picture of the entire zone," he said.

At the four-month mark, the Navy will test another 10% of homes or buildings and do so again every six months for a two-year period.

"Cumulatively, by the time the first two years of testing has concluded, as many as 60% of all the structures will have been tested," Guenther said.

The science of cleansing

Some residents regard the testing scheme as unreliable because of the widespread inconsistency of contamination from house to house.

Bonnie Russell, who, along with her Navy husband Lawrence, a Petty Officer First Class, and four children were displaced from their home in Caitlin Park, is among those leery of the testing protocol.

"I just wish they were testing more than 10% of the houses because when they did the initial home testing - and I had requested my house be tested - [contamination] showed up as trace," Russell said during a Feb. 7 phone interview.

"But two doors down from me was the highest result in any private home," she said.

"I'm not sure I'm ever going to trust the water in the sink again."

The Navy did little to bolster her confidence, Russell said, after the service earlier this year issued guidance to residents for cleaning household items of petroleum contamination.

They were directed to clean children's items that are porous, such as bottles, pacifiers, and sippy cups, with dishwashing detergent.

Russell said she and other residents asked the Navy to provide the scientific basis used to determine that commercial dish soaps could remove petroleum contamination.

Unsatisfied with the response, Russell contacted four of the world's largest detergent manufacturers, including Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, and asked if any of their dish soaps were effective at removing petroleum contamination from porous surfaces.

All four responded that their products had not been tested to perform such a task, she said.

On the other hand, the Navy's guidance to residents for cleansing porous surfaces in items such as coffee machines, ice makers, and water dispensers was to simply run large quantities of water through them.

"It's all very contradictory," Russell said. "Why is plain water going to clean out my dishwasher or refrigerator or water dispenser, but not a baby bottle?"

'All of this inside our bodies'

Back at the exchange, Lacey Quintero said her family is in the process of moving into a 1,200 square-foot apartment in a community beyond the Navy's water system. They signed a lease for the apartment, sight-unseen.

The Quinteros arrived in Hawaii from San Diego on Nov. 6 and checked into the Navy Lodge on Ford Island.

"We began drinking tap water at the Navy Lodge," she said. "That's the first day we were sick. I personally have been sick since that day."

They moved into a home on Nov. 21 at Officer Field on the joint base. They were not there long.

"Everyone in my family took drastic health downturns when we moved in," Quintero said. Their daughters could not sleep at night, plagued with full-body rashes and canker sores in their mouths.

"But I had to stop focusing on my kids because my husband and I were so ill," she said. "We were up at 3, 4 in the morning just vomiting, with diarrhea, violent stomach cramps, burning like fire in our throats."

The family stopped using the water on Nov. 29, after news broke about possible contamination. They moved into a Waikiki Beach hotel on Dec. 4 when the Navy offered to pay for temporary lodging.

The Navy has flushed the family's house twice, Quintero said. But petroleum fumes in the home give her "an instant headache" upon entering.

Lab tests she and her daughters underwent this month revealed highly elevated levels of toxins associated with petroleum products.

The risks of moving back into Officer Field are too great to chance, Quintero said.

"Now that we have all of this inside our bodies, we can't afford to have any more put in," she said.

Coast Guard Lieutenant launches candle business during pandemic
BY SANDRA J. PENNECKE

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Tribune News Service) - With a background in hazardous substance training, Savannah Kuntz is aware of the science behind candles and indoor air quality.

So when Kuntz, a Coast Guard lieutenant, started Even Keel Candle Co. in October 2020, she focused on sustainably sourced and ethically made hand-poured vegan soy candles.

"By making your own, I know exactly what goes into them and exactly what doesn't," Kuntz said.

Her candle-making dates back ten years when she started it as a hobby. Friends and family members received candles as gifts, and as her knowledge expanded, it kindled her interest in the clean candle industry.

During the pandemic, Kuntz, like many, spent more time in her Virginia Beach home and decided to create a side business.

Within the first three months of launching, Kuntz said she had shipped her products to every state in the US.

Although she maintains a busy schedule working full-time, Kuntz makes time on the weekends and off-duty for her role as a candlemaker.

She said social media tools such as Facebook Business Manager have enabled her to plan out her posts for weeks in advance.

Her collections include more than a dozen fragrances in winter, essentials, and apothecary scents. She also created a line of reed diffusers. The Even Keel website explains clean candles as "no unhealthy chemicals, additives, dyes, or funny business."

Candles are sold in 8-ounce ($16), 14-ounce ($20), and 21-ounce ($30) jars. Customers can recycle candle jars for discounts on future purchases.

Her nod to the nautical term runs deep for Kuntz, who grew up in a small Ohio town on the South Shore of Lake Erie.

"My family runs a marina; I was always on the water and loved sailing," she said.

By the age of 5, Kuntz donned a life jacket and soloed at the helm of an Opti sailboat.

A 2017 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, Kuntz majored in management and is working on her Master of Business Administration through the American Military University.

As a response officer, she said her primary job is to serve as a federal on-scene coordinator representative leading a team that provides investigations for pollution response, proper cleanup, and environmental restoration along the Virginia coastal zone.

"We get to do some pretty amazing missions every day," Kuntz said.

Erin O'Brien, a real estate agent with Howard Hanna, burns Even Keel candles at home and at her office. She said she loves to support locally owned small businesses and loves that Even Keel is owned by a member of the military.

"I love knowing that they are all-natural and the time that Savannah puts into making sure they are clean and sustainable," O'Brien said.

As for Kuntz, it's all just another part of her mission.

"It's a great stress reliever for me because you're creating something," she said. "This is the chance that I get to step back and say, 'We've got smooth sailing days ahead.'"

For more information, visit evenkeelcandle.com.

A ransomware gang's internal drama leaked after it backed Russia
BY JAMIE TARABAY

One of the world's most successful ransomware groups is reeling from a massive dump of its own internal data after the cybercriminal gang aligned itself with the Russian government.

Conti, a cybercriminal group that researchers say is based in Russia, has extorted millions of dollars from US and European companies in recent years. It provides affiliates around the world with malware that they deploy against victims in exchange for a cut of the ransom payments.

The data leak, which lays bare unprecedented details of attack infrastructure, Bitcoin addresses, as well as internal conflicts and accusations, might never have occurred if the ransomware group Conti had chosen to stay apolitical, said Alex Holden, the chief information security officer for cybersecurity firm Hold Security.

"The main thing is that the gang itself contained a number of Ukrainians. It did not differentiate between its members," Holden said. That changed last week after Russian forces attacked Ukraine, shelling military airbases, attacking checkpoints, and killing at least 137 Ukrainian troops.

While the Russian ground invasion played out on television screens around the world, a cyber conflict has occurred in parallel. Hackers on both sides of the conflict launched brute force attacks known as distributed denial-of-service attacks to knock government websites offline.

By the end of last week, Conti surprised many by firmly planting itself in Russian President Vladimir Putin's camp, saying it would use "all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures of an enemy." The announcement caused a fissure within the group; cybersecurity analysts told Bloomberg News, which counts members from Russia and Eastern Europe among its members and affiliates.

"Most Russian-language underground forums don't allow discussions related to political topics," said Oleg Bondarenko, a senior director on the research team at Mandiant. "All such threads are quickly deleted by administrators," and some forums ban accounts that talk of targeting Russian-speaking countries, he said.

Conti issued a more muted announcement soon after its initial message, saying that while the group didn't ally itself with any particular government, it would direct resources at "Western warmongers" and avenge any attempts to target critical infrastructure in Russia or any Russian-speaking region in the world.

"Ransomware is a global operation," said Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst at Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. "You may be based in Russia, but you have to take into account all of the affiliates that are spread out all over the world right now, most likely, who are not fans of Russia. So you can't take a stance like that and not expect there to be blowback."

The blowback, he said, came in the form of chat logs and internal recriminations that dated back 13 months bleeding out into the public with the data leak.

"I've found 150-plus Bitcoin wallets; there's a whole lot of analysis to be done with that," he said. The back-end infrastructure that Conti administrators or affiliates used during ransomware attacks were now out there "for governments or cybersecurity companies to start poking to find weaknesses." While internal structures could be changed, "now we know what the back-end structure looks like, and we know what to scan for, what to look for when they move it," he said.

Investigators have previously used financial data, such as cryptocurrency wallet addresses, to map ransomware hackers' activities and, in some cases seizing extortion funds. Technical data gives security personnel clues on how to block potential Conti hacks in the future.

Hold Security's Alex Holden also described what he'd been able to see of the leak. "We see the financial operations, we see their aspirations, for example, they talk about building their own cryptocurrency, we see them fighting with each other," he said. "One of them recently encrypted a hospital filled with cerebral palsy patients, and we see how they are trying to kick this person out for breaking their code."

The identity of the leaker is not clear, though Holden suggested a Ukrainian cybersecurity researcher was behind the revelations.

If the revelations lead to the end of Conti's domination of the ransomware market, there are still many others standing by to fill that space.

LockBit, a cybercriminal gang that also traffics in ransomware-as-a-service to hackers, released a statement over the weekend listing some of the many nationalities it counts in its community.

"For us, it is just business, and we are all apolitical," the group said. "We are only interested in money for our harmless and useful work. We will never, under any circumstances, take part in cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures of any country in the world or engage in any international conflicts."

Help Find a Marine

While I never met my second cousin, Michael Stacey Massone, I am proud of him for his service to our country. I am seeking information and hoping to find anyone who may have served with Michael. You see, I have heard from family that he was shot accidentally by another marine. Later, that marine tried to visit his mother and apologize for the accident, which she turned him away and would not see him. I am very much seeking this person out because I want to talk with him and tell him he is forgiven. I just want to talk with him. I am concerned for him, and I would like to meet him. I don't know what more I can say, but I hope someone can help me. 

Thanks! 
Leland Waldo
Email Address: Lelandww@yahoo.com

Finding My Father

I was pointed in this direction in hopes of finding my father. Attached is the only photo I have of my father, who served in Saigon, Vietnam, sometime between 1968-1970. At one point, he was stationed in Cat Lai. He was a Military Police during the Vietnam War. My mother have since passed, and I do not have many details about him. She was a bar girl and went by the name of "Nam." Her real name was Net, but very few people knew that. She had his military ID, name, and tag, and it was confiscated by the Vietnam government when they took over. 

I'm posting this picture as my last attempt to try and find him. He'd be between 75-76 years old at this time. He was supposedly from Alaska, but I'm unsure. If anyone recognizes him or can provide guidance on how I could find him, I'd forever be grateful. His first name is either Rae, Ray, Ryan, last Causton, or Carlson. 

Thanks so much!
Charlotte Mehra
milothian@gmail.com

A Flag For My Brothers
My name is Hughey Gresham. A Flag For My Brothers is my non-profit.

Every Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, I put US Flags on Veterans Graves. It's my way of saying Thank You For Your Service.

If you would like to put one on any veteran's graves in your cemetery at no cost to you, please let me know.

My phone number is 404 925-5221.
Thank You in advance

 Hughey Gresham
hugheygresham@yahoo.com

PS I have a Facebook page, A Flag For My Brothers 

Memory Care for Veterans

Based on our research and conversations we have had with community leaders across the US, many veterans who have Alzheimer's are unaware of the available programs that can help maintain or improve their quality of life. So we created a resource that provides comprehensive information on topics like available care options and financial support that can provide assistance during their time of need. You can read more about work here:

• https://www.memorycare.com/veterans/

Amy Franklin
Community Outreach
Memorycare.com
amy@memorycare.com

Understanding Your VA Loan Benefit

The VA loan program is a special program backed by the Department of Veteran's Affairs to help Veterans, service members, and their survivors buy, build, improve, or refinance a home. Borrowers will still need to meet credit and income requirements for their desired loan amount. But, a VA loan may offer better terms and rates than other traditional loan programs. For example, most VA-backed loans are made with a $0 down payment.

There are three different VA loan types available through your private bank, mortgage company, or credit union to eligible applicants:
1. Purchase Loan: to help buy, build or improve your home.
2. Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL):
a. lower your VA-backed monthly mortgage payment by reducing your current interest rate, or
b. refinance your VA-backed adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) into a VA-backed fixed-rate mortgage

3. Cash-Out Refinance Loan:
a. cash-out your home equity, or
b. refinance your non-VA home loan into a VA-backed home
loan

The first step in applying for your VA loan is to obtain your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Your COE is confirmation to your lender that you qualify for the VA home loan benefit. Who qualifies as "eligible"? Those who served:
 90 consecutive days during wartime, or
181 days during peacetime, or
National Guard or Reserves with six years of service, or
Spouse of Service Member who has died in the line of duty or as a result of a service-related disability

You may still qualify if you were discharged for one of the following
reasons:
Hardship, or
The convenience of the government, or
Early out, or
Reduction in force, or
Certain medical conditions, or
Service-connected Disability

The VA home loan program is an amazing benefit for our deserving active-duty service members, veterans, and surviving spouses of veterans. While no one could ever repay you for the sacrifices you've made, the VA loan was created to make your dreams of homeownership just a little easier to achieve. Here are some key benefits of VA home loans for those who qualify:
No maximum loan limit
No down payment required
No income limitations
No monthly mortgage insurance
Competitive interest rates
No prepayment penalties
May be used more than once
May have multiple VA home loans at the same time
May buy two years after a short sale, foreclosure, or bankruptcy
Eligibility does NOT expire
Flexible underwriting guidelines

Utilize your VA home loan entitlement benefits and invest in yourself instead of a landlord. Your BAH is powerful. Even if you'll only be stationed somewhere for a few years, you can purchase a home with your VA home loan benefit and sell it later - putting your earnings right back into your pocket. Don't waste your BAH renting. Call today and start investing in your future.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Elizabeth Kudrna
EKudrna@apmortgage.com