Senator Daniel Inouye served in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. At the time of his death, he was America's second-longest sitting Senator, which is not at all surprising considering he could easily be considered one of World War II's hardest men to kill.
 
This Japanese-American, who faced discrimination and segregation, had every reason to sit this war out if he so chose with a bitter heart. But considering he was raised by a father who told him the following upon enlisting by his account: “My father just looked straight ahead, and I looked straight ahead, and then he cleared his throat and said, ‘America has been good to us. It has given me two jobs.

It has given you and your sisters and brothers education. We all love this country. Whatever you do, do not dishonor your country. Remember – never dishonor your family. And if you must give your life, do so with honor.”

Daniel Inouye was born in 1924 Honolulu Hawaii, which as a second-generation or Nisei Japanese American, would put him in quite an awkward spot as a young 17-year-old man when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. And while as a patriotic young man, he served as a medical volunteer in that attack, he would find himself out of place in a nation suddenly consumed with national security.

On the mainland of America, thousands of Japanese Americans would find their way into internment camps. In contrast, in Hawaii, where the population was up to a quarter Japanese heritage, it was merely deemed unfeasible. Martial law and curfews were put into place while a ban on Japanese American enlistment was enacted.

As a result, Inouye chose to pursue a career in medicine by pursuing pre-med studies at the University of Hawaii. However, when the United States drop its ban on Japanese American enlistment in 1943, Inouye quickly enlisted in the Army and volunteered to be a part of the completely segregated all-Nisei 42nd Regimental Combat Team.

Made up primarily of second-generation Japanese, these men would get their chance to contribute to the war effort as they were shipped to Europe, and posterity would prove this to be one of the most decorated units of the war.

 Inouye's capabilities were quickly recognized as he was promoted to Sergeant within the first year. His unit participated in campaigns in Italy before being moved to France after the D-Day invasion. While in France, he was further promoted to Lieutenant and awarded the bronze star for his actions in combat.

He also picked up what would be a consistent streak of luck when he was shot in the chest by a bullet only to be saved by a pair of silver dollars he kept in his pocket. These lucky charms would remain with him until he lost them, and things subsequently got really interesting.

Just weeks before the end of World War II, Inouye found his unit fighting near San Terenzo in Tuscany, Italy, during April of 1945. Despite having realized that he, unfortunately, lost his lucky silver dollars, that wouldn't stop a young Inouye from pressing the attack as if he had a guardian angel riding his shoulder the entire time.

They were attacking one of the last German strongholds in Italy against a backed-up yet determined German Army where Inouye would lead an assault on the heavily defended known as Colle Muscatello.

As the attack pressed on against heavy machine-gun fire, Inouye stood up and was struck in the stomach by a German bullet. While such a wound would send most men back to the medics, Inouye was no such man.

Pressing on as if it never happened, he continued to rake the German gun positions with Tommy Gunfire and grenades as he led his men on a ferocious charge. Such action would be enough gallantry for one day if Inouye were any other man, but he was decidedly anything but any other man.

Approaching another machine gun position, Inouye prepped a grenade and stood to throw it when he was struck in the elbow by a German grenade launcher. Despite the fact that the grenade nearly severed his entire right arm, Inouye looked down at his then useless arm, pried the live grenade out of his immobile hand, and threw it at the German position scoring a kill.

Then, beyond belief as if hearing the words of his father to honor both his family and country, he picked up a Tommy Gun with his left arm and continued the assault. It was only when he was struck again in the leg and lost consciousness from the loss of blood that his body finally relented.

Despite his horrific wounds, Daniel Inouye survived. His right arm would be amputated without anesthesia, and for his actions, he would be awarded nothing other than the Distinguished Service Cross. Despite his gallantry in combat, no Asian American would receive the Medal of Honor by the end of World War II.

As the territory of Hawaii went on to become a State, Inouye would go on to become a Senator for the State, who never lost an election in his public service career. In the year 2000, Inouye and his unit of the 442nd would finally get the honor due to their service as the nation realized their conspicuous gallantry had been overlooked. President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Daniel Inouye along with 20 other members of this relatively small unit, the Medal of Honor.

Their bravery in combat is beyond dispute by any historical standard as these men represented the best of America in World War II. And among them was this short future United States Senator that would prove hard to kill in the arena of combat or politics.

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

Your Mini-Plaque is very versatile. It can be printed out on regular 8 1/2" x 11" photo paper as a 11"x 6" landscape print, or at any smaller size depending on the frame you choose. You can also upload your Mini-Plaque to your Mobile Phone, which is perfectly sized to display as a convenient Veteran ID or, if you use Facebook, you can upload this to your Facebook Page and display this as your Facebook Page Cover - a nice touch for Veterans Day!

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

 

For 19-year-old Pat Finn, a Minnesota Marine with Item Co, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, the night seemed colder and darker than any of the others he'd experienced since landing in Korea. His Battalion had just arrived at a desolate, frozen lake he would remember for the rest of his life: the Chosin Reservoir.

 As the sun went down on November 27, 1950, and temperatures sank to 20 degrees below zero, Marines at Yudam-ni, a small village on the west side of the Chosin Reservoir, hunkered down for what they hoped would be a quiet, uneventful night.

"The war was all but over," Finn recalled in his diary written weeks later from a hospital bed in Japan. "You'll be home by Christmas," he'd been told.

But his buddy, Eddie Reilly, wasn't buying it. In his usual pessimistic tone, he told Finn, "Pat, I don't like the look of all this, it sounds too good." For the next four hours, the two Marines scraped and dug into the frozen, rocky ground, Reilly constantly reminding his friend that if something went wrong, a fighting hole would save them from flying bullets and shrapnel.

"I hate this place," Reilly said for what seemed like the hundredth time, "but we're not going to get caught with our pants down, keep digging!"

When the hole was finally finished, Finn and Reilly, both exhausted, squeezed into what they believed would be a safe haven for the night. Minutes later, their lieutenant yelled, "Saddle up!" Their platoon was heading to higher ground.

Nothing, not even a foxhole, would save them from the horror that unfolded over the next eight hours. Finn, Reilly, and hundreds of their fellow Marines were attacked by thousands of Chinese. In the first onslaught of a major Communist offensive that would alter the course of the war, Chinese soldiers, under direct orders from Mao, had launched a vicious attack to annihilate the 1st Marine Division. Wave after wave of Chinese descended on the Marines.

 Overwhelmed and outmanned, Finn and his buddies were overrun by the Chinese. With enemy soldiers breaking through their defenses, close-in fighting, sometimes hand-to-hand, erupted. "They were mixed in right with us," Finn remembers. Hundreds of white-clad Chinese, oozing a pungent garlic smell, swarmed over Finn and Reilly's position.

"About that time, Pat Garvin from Detroit threw an illumination round," Finn recalled. The Chinese "with their white jackets looked like ducks in a shooting gallery." Silhouetted against the lit sky, they were mowed down by machine-gun fire, but as soon as they fell, men running behind them grabbed their fallen comrades' weapons and charged ahead. "They just kept coming," Finn remembers.

In the chaos of the attack, the young Marine ran straight into a Chinese soldier. "I went to shoot him and 'click,' my rifle was frozen." Stunned and realizing he was about to get hit, Finn yelled, "He got me!" A Marine heard Finn scream and fired a round at the Chinese fighter. The soldier died instantly.

When the sun came up the next morning, an estimated 300 frozen, grotesquely twisted Chinese corpses littered the snowy North Korean hillside. Famed Korean War historian Roy Appleman, in his seminal work on Chosin, Escaping The Trap, wrote, "Silence prevailed on the hill."

In a bloody, 24-hour period, the Korean War had changed. General Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of UN Forces in Korea, was shocked. He had previously told President Truman and the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Chinese would not enter the war. They wouldn't dare, he had boasted.

With "135 American dead, 725 wounded, and 60 missing" in just one day and thousands more dying over the next month, the American public was also stunned.

Finn and his buddies would eventually fight their way 14 miles to Hagaru-Ri, where they would link up with remaining American units in the area and then "attack in another direction" to the port of Hungnam nearly seventy miles away.

On the first night of the breakout from Yudam-ni, the Chinese attacked again. When the fighting ended the next morning on Hill 1520, only 20 Marines out of a company of nearly 250 were still standing. The rest were dead, wounded, or missing. Finn was amongst the survivors.

He had lived through one of the most terrifying nights at Chosin. In a brief lull in the fighting that night, he had tried to save a group of Marines hit by mortar fire. "They were all close to death," he remembered. "One was still conscious. He asked me to give him a cigarette and cover his legs because they felt frozen. He didn't have enough legs to cover." There was nothing Finn could do. The man died minutes later.

Before daybreak, another mortar attack took place. A round landed "about four feet" from Finn's foxhole. "I was protected from all the shrapnel," he told his father, "but the blast threw me right out of the hole." The Marines behind him, already mortally wounded, lying on the ground and begging for help, were all killed. "It was good in a way; it put the four boys behind me out of their misery. They were really in misery, believe me," he wrote.

 "All of my buddies were killed," Finn continued in a letter to his father dated December 10, 1950. "Remember me telling you about Eddie Reilly? He was killed. That really hurt. He treated me like a big brother. All night long, he would keep coming out of his foxhole to see that I wasn't wounded or anything." That was the last time he saw his friend. PFC Edmund H. Reilly was listed as "Killed In Action" on December 2, 1950.

He also lost his buddy, Jerry "Peanuts" Caldwell, a 17-year-old high-school football standout. "He was a great guy. He would stay in the barracks writing and reading the Bible while we were at the slop shoot," Finn recalled. Another good friend, David Flood, went missing, and three days later, a Chinese soldier was killed wearing the Marine's jacket. "It was one of the eeriest feelings I had during the entire war," Finn explained. "Knowing my buddy had died, and his body had been stripped of its clothes was hard to take."

By December 9, Finn was in Japan. He had made it down the MSR and had been evacuated by air to a US military hospital where he was being treated for severe frostbite. In typical Marine bravado, he said, "You and mother will never know how close you came to collecting that $10,000 I used to joke about."

Looking back on his Chosin odyssey, Finn realizes the epic ten-day breakout to the coast was a defining moment of the Korean War and his life.

After recovering in Japan and returning to the US, Finn married started his career and had five sons. He worked for the same company for 48 years and retired as its CEO in 2000. After a divorce from his first wife, he remarried. His second wife, Arlene, was with him when we met in Seoul last month. During my interview with the couple, I asked Pat how he coped with what he'd been through at Chosin. "I drank," he answered matter-of-factly.

"For so long," he told me, "I tried to put the war out of my mind, lock it away, or erase it. But it was always there." His life eventually changed, and he has been sober now for 45 years.

 As I talked with his wife, it was obvious how empathetic she is towards her husband and how knowledgeable she is of what happened to him during his time in Korea. She's a psychologist, and her understanding of what he experienced at Chosin and how to deal with it shines through in her words and actions. "For so many years," she explained, "he coped by avoiding memories, thoughts, and feelings related to his war experience."

Thankfully, Pat can now talk about the war with his family and friends, go to Chosin Few reunions, and even allow complete strangers who sit next to him during a bus tour to interview him. "He can actually enjoy the present," Arlene said enthusiastically.

Pat and Arlene, thank you for your friendship and for sharing this remarkable story of sacrifice and survival. Mr. Finn, I salute you, your Marine buddies who never came home, and all the servicemen who fought in the Korean War.
 

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. 

 

In the early morning hours of March 24, 1945, a massive WWII airborne operation known as Operation Varsity launched with an attempt to deploy 17,000 American and British Airborne troops across the Rhine River. It was the largest single-day airborne operation in history.

C-47 Transport Planes Release Hundreds of Paratroopers during Operation Varsity.

In the final months of WWII, Western Allied Forces advanced east into Germany. This meant crossing numerous rivers, many of which no longer had standing bridges. The Rhine River was especially treacherous, with steep banks and swift currents, providing German forces with a natural defensive barrier.

Planning got underway to deploy airborne forces on the east side of the Rhine. The principal mission was to seize and hold the high ground five miles north of Wesel, Germany, and to facilitate the ground action and establish a bridgehead. The soldiers would then hold the territory until the advancing units of the British 21st Army Group joined them, allowing them to advance to northern Germany. Extensive photo reconnaissance identified suitable drop zones. This operation would be part of Operation Plunder and would involve troops from the 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division.  

On the night of March 23, British ground troops crossed the Rhine and launched an intense assault near Wesel, securing nine small bridgeheads. At 6:00 a.m. on March 24, airborne troops were given the green light. A huge armada consisting of more than 1,500 American aircraft and gliders carrying more than 9,000 soldiers, rendezvoused with the British airborne armada of 1,200 aircraft and gliders carrying 8,000 soldiers. They met in the skies near Brussels, Belgium, and formed a column two-and-a-half hours long. To draw away enemy fighters during the operation, the 15th Air Force consisting of 150 heavy bombers, flew one of its longest missions and bombed Berlin.

 Paratroopers filed out over the drop site while gliders cut loose over the landing area. Concealed flak positions, sniper and mortar fire, caused casualties. After landing, the soldiers fought off German attempts to infiltrate their defensive positions. In the process, they captured German prisoners.

Stuart Stryker served in the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. During Operation Varsity, he parachuted to a landing near Wesel. When his company attacked a strongly defended building, another platoon became pinned down by intense fire. Stryker voluntarily ran to the head of the unit calling for soldiers to follow him. He charged the German position and was killed just 25 yards from the building. His attack provided a diversion that allowed other soldiers to take the position, where they captured over 200 soldiers and freed three American airmen held as prisoners. Stryker was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. In 2002, the US Army named its new armored fighting vehicle "Stryker" in his honor.

Operation Varsity was deemed a success, and soldiers captured bridges, strongholds, and secured towns, allowing troops to advance to northern Germany. British and American casualties were lower than military experts anticipated but still numbered more than 2,000. The two divisions also captured 3,500 German prisoners.

Together We Served has a growing archive of more than 10,000 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 making 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 original condition along with a CD containing your scanned photo. 

 

When servicemen poured into the United States at the end of WWII in 1945, parades were held, celebrations happened across the country, and families wept with joy that their sons had returned home safely.

But then the tough work began for America and many other nations: bringing home the bodies of those who had fallen in battle. Whenever possible, young men were shipped to their native country so that they could be buried among their loved ones, and families could visit their graves to pay tribute.

Those families deserved at least that much, governments and public sentiment agreed since their sons had given their lives for a cause they believed in - ridding the world of fascism and a brutal dictator.

In spite of efforts from countries around the globe, however, not all the bodies of young men were found and shipped home.

Some were buried where they fell for decades and remained there, because a lack of political will, or political tensions, or financial burdens forced nations to halt the process indefinitely. It has been well over seven decades since D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, the climax of Allied fighting that brought the war to a close.

Some soldiers lay in formal cemeteries throughout the world and on former battlefields. Still, others lay in graves that were marked with a makeshift cross or rifle stuck vertically on the spot, mute testament to the serviceman who gave his life. Some were not marked at all.

But America has never ceased looking for and shipping home servicemen who took part in that terrible war, and recently one more step was taken in the long ordeal of getting these men stateside.

Remains brought from home Hawaii in mid-July were part of the Battle of Tarawa, which was part of a much larger battle, Operation Galvanic.

The U.S. State Department joined forces with History Flight Inc., a charitable organization that worked on the repatriation for more than ten years. In a recent announcement about the project, U.S. acting Secretary of State Richard V. Spencer told United Press International (UPI): "Today, we welcome home more than 20 American servicemen still unaccounted for from the Battle of Tarawa, (in the Pacific) during WWII.

We do not forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and it is our duty and obligation to return our missing home to their families and the nation. Thank you to everyone who took part in this repatriation." (This branch of the state department is called the POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), and its mission is to find and repatriate fallen American soldiers from around the world).

The battle was a bloody one for both sides, as Allied forces struggled to wrest control of the islands from the Japanese during Operation Galvanic.

Approximately 1,000 marines and sailors were lost in the fight; another 2,000 were injured. More than 3,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives, as well as an additional 1,000 Korean soldiers.

The statement from U.S. officials added that "servicemen killed in action were buried where they fell or placed in large trench burial (sites) constructed during and after the battle." But often attempts to bring those soldiers home were hampered by several factors, including records that were found but then went missing or were never were discovered at all.

In this case, there may, in fact, be more than 22 men; because they are remains with little or no identifying features like dog tags, the state department is not yet sure. Now the process begins of sorting through the bones and other detritus and matching them with men who served in that particular battle.

America sent 16 million soldiers, pilots, marines, sailors, and other military personnel overseas to fight the Nazis during WWII.

Of those millions, more than 400,000 men died, according to DPAA's website. And of those many deaths, there are still almost 73,000 in unknown graves somewhere in the world.

Of those 73,000 still missing, DPAA believes that approximately 30,000 of them are "recoverable." And it fully intends to keep searching, and keep bringing men home, whenever possible. It's a grim task, but one the United States military feels duty bound to undertake.

TWS has over 1.7 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:

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The popular myth of cyborg soldiers, a warfighter enhanced with augmented tech providing bionic eyesight and superhuman battlefield performance, may soon be a reality.

 According to a recent report from the Biotechnologies for Health and Human Performance Council study group, there are a number of emerging technologies that could be battlefield ready by 2050.

The US Army has long been a supporter of new tech for their soldiers. However, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq put paid to any headroom that remained in the budget for such research.

The Defence Department study looked into the feasibility of installing brain implants and their military applications alongside the ethical, legal, and social questions the new tech raises.

It was predicted that symbiotic human and machine tech would become widely available in the coming decades, driven by the commercial civilian interest in future communications and control apps.

One of the predictions causing most excitement envisages the 'direct neural enhancements of the human brain for two-way data transfer,' which would be expected to translate on the battlefield to real-time interaction with assets such as weapons systems and reconnaissance drones.

These neural implants would mean better instant communication with personnel and soldiers on the ground and throughout a central network across distances, revolutionizing tactical military capabilities.

The potential speed and clarity of communication through direct data exchange through the chain of command, run via such a neural implant network, was said by the report to be aimed at ultimately blowing away the 'fog' of war.

The report warns that the procedures for implanting microelectrodes directly into the brain would be invasive, especially when extended across the surface of the brain.

It was recognized that the potential reversibility of such a procedure could make acceptance of these enhancements difficult for military personnel and wider society.

Specialized army units such as the Rangers or perhaps the Navy Seals may well become early adopters should it be proved that new tech can make the difference regarding 'capability, lethality, survivability, and overall battlefield superiority.'

Research into non-invasive alternatives, such as scalp-wear, is also being investigated.

Enhanced vision tech was predicted to be battlefield ready by 2050. However this reaches a new level of invasive procedure with the entire eyeball being replaced and a data feed passing directly into the optic nerve.

The enhancement is envisaged as being capable of decoding spectrum information beyond that currently visible to the human eye, other data streams, and communications.

The report states that this would offer warfighters 'enhanced computational capabilities, which would allow for target identification, selection, and data sharing with other individuals or military systems.'

The report also appears to expect that the stimulation of the brain at a single neuron level will speed communication to a point not currently possible.

Some of us might be excited to see video gaming style enhancements coming to a battlefield in the near future, while others might be worried that this could mark the beginning of a slippery descent.

The report itself ends with a disclaimer that this is not current US Military policy but simply an advisory document.

Before such new tech could be employed, an entire raft of new legal and ethical codes of practice would need to be developed alongside it.

The security framework required to ensure that new tech enhancements were retained in a manner that did not undermine the US Military also does not currently exist in a form that would enable their implementation.

Until such time as we see a fully tech integrated battlefield, there will be a lot more work for the Pentagon's compliance boards to do.

The report recommends global assessments of societal awareness and perception of human-machine fusion technologies.

From Terminator to Star Trek to Iron Man, this tech has had many fictional iterations, but perhaps one day in the not too distant future, our soldiers may be benefiting from imagination made real.
 

Please visit your very own Together We Served Military Store which contains thousands of items to peak your interest including custom shirts and caps, jackets, decals, badges, as well as items for your automobile and home.

Here you can also purchase custom Together We Served branded merchandise. Please check out our range of TWS ball caps, polo shirts, T-shirts, jackets and windbreakers HERE.

The TWS Store is offered in cooperation with Military Best, one of the most trusted suppliers in the United States, who offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on all items purchased. Many items are made in the USA and a proportion of the proceeds from your purchase help support our military's underfunded MWR programs.

We appreciate your feedback. Please send your comments to admin@togetherweserved.com regarding what you like, what you like less and if there are any additional items you would like us to stock.  

 

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 - EN3 Mike Passaretti, U.S. Coast Guard, 1964-1968

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.

Looking for Army and Marine Corps Volunteers Memorial Team
Do you have a passion for making sure that all of our Fallen are not forgotten? This is the team for you. We have Fallen profiles that have either been orphaned or created by someone who has not been online for a very long time, and there is nothing in those profiles. TWS is working to make sure that all of our Fallen profiles are as complete as possible.

If you're interested in joining our Memorial Team, please contact us at admin@togetherweserved.com.

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

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

NEW 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.

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If you do, please contact Diane Short at admin@togetherweserved.com to discuss doing a presentation for your reunion.

VA and Other News

For all the latest updates on how the worldwide Covid-19 crisis, click here: 

Army Europe delivers supplies to northern Italy
By Kyle Rempfer
Army Europe helped deliver medical supplies to northern Italy this week to help hospitals overwhelmed by patients during the coronavirus pandemic, the command said in a series of social media posts.

Members of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade coordinated the load-out and delivery of approximately 100 hospital beds, 100 mattresses, 10 stretchers, 40 bedside screens, 25 adjustable IV poles, several folding wheelchairs, 25 medical cabinets, and more than 900 linens, an Army official said in an email.

The deliveries - along with those from many other countries and entities - come as Italian authorities struggle to contain coronavirus infections and worry it will spread to the south in a country that's already among the worst hit by the pandemic in Europe.

Italy, which has an older population than most of Europe, has seen more fatalities than any other country. The latest data shows more than 7,500 people have died from the virus there, according to Reuters.

"We take this public health crisis seriously and understand how important it is to come together during this challenging time," Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli said in a statement.

"This mission is part of our ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19 and demonstrates the U.S commitment to our NATO ally and the people of Italy during this crisis," he added.

Cavoli notably began working remotely earlier this Month along with other members of his staff after he may have been exposed to the novel form of coronavirus at a conference.

Since then, cases among U.S. military personnel have increased considerably.

As of Wednesday, there were about 175 cases per million troops, a rate that is actually higher than the greater U.S. population, which according to the CDC is sitting at 135 cases per million, Military Times previously reported.

The widespread of U.S. troops in Asia and Europe, as well as the constant movement of personnel and equipment across continents, increases the risk of exposure for them.

Army Europe's deliveries were part of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency's humanitarian assistance program and were made in coordination with U.S. diplomats and Italian authorities, according to the command.

Iraqi military says 2 rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone
Samy Magdy, The Associated Press and Qassem Abdul-Zahra, The Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's military on Thursday said at least two rockets hit inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government and home to the American Embassy, in the first attack following a brief lull in violence from earlier this month.

The attack came as the U.S.-led coalition pulled out of a second base elsewhere in Iraq, in line with a planned drawdown.

Iraqi officials also said the U.S. renewed a sanctions waiver enabling Iraq to import crucial gas and electricity from Iran, but with a shorter deadline.

The two projectiles struck near the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraq's police and military forces, the military statement said. The command center is a few hundred meters (yards) away from the U.S. Embassy, which is a regular target of rocket attacks.

There were no casualties, according to an Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

No rockets had been fired at the Green Zone since last Tuesday when three hit an area near the embassy. That was the fourth rocket attack in the span of a week targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, after assaults on the Basmaya training camp and two separate attacks on Camp Taji. Both bases are near the Iraqi capital.

The first attack on Camp Taji killed three coalition servicemen including two Americans. That prompted U.S. airstrikes against what U.S. officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Iraqi militia group believed to be responsible for the attack.

However, Iraq’s military said those airstrikes killed five security force members and a civilian while wounding five fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization including an array of Iraqi militias, including some Iran-backed groups.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have vowed revenge for the attacks.

Thursday morning's attack came as a state-imposed curfew to contain the spread of the new coronavirus was extended for a second time until April 11, according to an Iraqi Cabinet statement. The effective lockdown prohibits large public gatherings and has shuttered all businesses except essential ones like pharmacies and supermarkets.

An Iraqi army statement said it was enforcing the curfew by allocating army units to assist police forces on the street and to cordon off areas if a flare-up of virus cases occurs.

In northern Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition pulled out of Qayara airfield on Thursday in line with plans to withdraw from bases across Iraq and consolidate in Baghdad and at Ain al-Asad Air Base in the country's western desert. The plan was in the works since late last year, a senior coalition military official said last week, and accelerated when Iraqi forces proved they were capable of facing the threat from the Islamic State with limited coalition assistance.

Qayara is the second Iraqi base coalition-troops have pulled out from this month. Coalition spokesman Myles Caggins said several hundred troops would depart the base in the coming days and $1 million worth of property would be transferred to the Iraqi government at the handover ceremony in Qayara.

Troops withdrew from al-Qaim base on the border with Syria last week.

"Our partnership continues with the Iraqi security forces, but in the future, you will see less coalition troops in fewer places with fewer bases," said Caggins.

France said late Wednesday that it will pull out all of its military forces from Iraq, citing the need for French forces to help fight the new coronavirus at home. Caggins said, however, that only French trainers had gone home over coronavirus fears and that France continues to provide advisers and air support.

"We think in some time, maybe some weeks, the French trainers will come back," he said.

Meanwhile, three Iraqi officials said the U.S. will keep letting Iraq import gas and power from neighboring Iran without facing American sanctions. But the officials said Washington has reduced the deadline by which Iraq would need to prove it is making headway in becoming energy independent.

There was no immediate confirmation from U.S. officials.

The last waiver was granted Feb. 13 for a period of 45 days. Officials said they received word Thursday from U.S. officials that the next waiver would expire in 30 days. The U.S. has applied stringent sanctions on Iran that punish any country trading with it. The U.S. waiver enables Iraq to avoid penalties while paying Iran billions of dollars for energy imports.

The issuance of the last waiver came amid fraught U.S.-Iraq ties following an American drone strike that killed the top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, near Baghdad airport on Jan. 3.

Iraq remains highly dependent on Iranian natural gas to meet electricity demands, especially during the scorching summer months when imports account for a third of consumption. Late payments by Baghdad for Iranian power and gas have resulted in interruptions in recent years. In the summer of 2018, these interruptions were a factor that led to destabilizing protests in the southern oil-rich province of Basra.

Looking For

2nd Battalion 503rd 1970 Vietnam

A relative is searching for information related to her cousin and how he was KIA. PFC Terry Adam Bryson was KIA on 2 February 1970.  At the time he was assigned to B Co, 2/503 in the 173d Abn Bde. The notification the family received and the unit sitrep for the day indicated that the only KIA in the Bde that day was in B Co and that the casualty was killed by a mine or booby trap. One report was that he may have been in E Co but the unit daily sitrep had him in B Co. I have tried to find the name of the company commander at the time without success. If anyone was there or knows any details please reply to me with contact information and I will forward it to the lady searching for details. 

Darrell Elmore, C and D Cos 2/503 1969/70  

moeelmore@aol.com

Available for Together We Served members only! Together We Served has two hard working marines that devote their time and energy to help our members find long lost friends that are not yet members of our site.

If you have someone you are looking for, please send name, age they would be now and where they were from to us at admin@togetherweserved.com and we'll get them on the case for you.

 

Lockheed Maritn and Sikorsky have unveiled their very different concept for a military helicopter - the SB>1 Defiant.

 According to a statement from Sikorsky, the new aircraft is designed to fly twice as fast as today's conventional helicopters while boasting "advanced agility and maneuverability."

The craft is designed for a crew of four and has a cabin that can carry 12 combat-ready troops or eight medevac litters.

There are plans for an alternate version that will share many of the same features as the fly-by-wire drivetrain but will have a different fuselage and more armor. This variation will be more of an attack ship.

The two firms jointly announced that the new helicopter will meet the Army's needs for attack and assault missions while servicing the Marine's "long-range transportation, infiltration, and resupply missions." They called the capabilities of the new vehicle "unmatched" for the needs of the US military.

The SB>1 Defiant has a cruising at 250 knots and hovering at 6,000 feet.

The rotor blades are foldable and ridged. They are designed to create less downwash when coming down to the ground to pick up troops or supplies.

 The cabin size is another improvement over the Blackhawk. The Blackhawk can carry 11 troops while the Defiant can carry 12 comfortably.

Retired Marine Major Frank P. Conway was Sikorsky's experimental test pilot for both the SB>1 Defiant and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. He said that the main benefits of the new helicopter are the increased speed and range and improved maneuverability and agility.

In his words, the SB>1 Defiant is a "hot, sexy aircraft."

Sikorsky is a division of Lockheed Martin. They are partnering with Boeing on the SB>1 Defiant and on the Future Vertical Lift Medium.

The cruising speed of the Defiant is over 100 miles-per-hour faster than the UH-60M Blackhawk. The Blackhawk has a top speed of 183 miles-per-hour.

The Defiant will also have increased power to carry more cargo than average helicopters. Lockheed has not released payload capacity or range numbers at this time.

The firm is, however, bragging about their new foldable, ridged composite rotor blades that create less downwash close to the ground.
 
They also tout the pusher propeller and active rudder, which allows pilots more stability when hovering while boosting acceleration and deceleration in flight.

With its dual rotors and rear pusher propeller, it certainly looks the part of a new breed of military aircraft.

Boeing claims to have delivered over 2,200 AH-64 Apache helicopters to the US military and to defense forces around the world.

As of July 2016, the aircraft had accumulated more than 4.2 million flight hours since the first AH-64 was delivered to the US Army in 1984.

The Sikorsky Blackhawk is used in 29 countries around the world and has been in use for 40 years in different variations.

There are over 4,000 Blackhawks in operation today. The US Army has the most with over 2,000 in its fleet.
 

Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis's storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars.
 
Mattis divides his book into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first part, Mattis recalls his early experiences leading Marines into battle, when he knew his troops as well as his own brothers. In the second part, he explores what it means to command thousands of troops and how to adapt your leadership style to ensure your intent is understood by your most junior troops so that they can own their mission. In the third part, Mattis describes the challenges and techniques of leadership at the strategic level, where military leaders reconcile war's grim realities with political leaders' human aspirations, where complexity reigns and the consequences of imprudence are severe, even catastrophic.
 
Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of warfighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead, and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.

Reader's Reviews
I'm punishing Mattis, giving him four stars instead of 5. Although I've hardly been fair. He is a man of high integrity, intelligence, and obviously superb leadership skills. I stopped reading the book. I just don't care to read about all the tactical maneuvering and war stories that go along with his values. The reality of war remains difficult for me to confront. I was hoping the book was more about his time as Secretary of Defense rather than his career. The book is well written, and I think it will have a broad appeal to anyone who is interested in his career path. How I wish former Secretary of Defense Mattis would run for President.
~Falstaff

I bought this book because in an interview, General Mattis said that he did not comment on the actions of a sitting President. This level of personal integrity was enough for me to buy the book. This book details a long, tough, and thoughtful career. This book is well worth the read, and the General our thanks.
~Leadership

I am a USN Chief Petty Officer (Ret) and absolutely loved this book by the General. As explained in the blurb, it is divided into three sections; direct leadership, executive leadership, and strategic leadership.

Reading is an excellent way to broaden my horizons, and this book did exactly that for me. The Marines, of course, are familiar to me, but this book gave me further insight into their training. I had no idea, for example, that all are trained as Infantry Officers first. And, when they go up the ladder in the 'O's that they are given a new book to study for that position.

This one will explain leadership techniques to anyone that is interested. One of my favorite parts was that the intent of the leader must be understood. The three C's: competence, caring, and conviction were also mentioned. The caring part is so true when being a leader as those junior troops will not only hear that but feel it in their hearts.
~Serenity

A fabulous read from Mad Dog loved the detailed background and inside information about how politicians are bad decisions. I wish he would run for President!
~ Michael Sovereign

About the Authors 
Jim Mattis is a Pacific Northwest native who served more than four decades as a Marine infantry officer. Following two years as the Secretary of Defense, he returned to the Northwest and is now the Davies Family Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Bing West has written eleven books, including, with Jim Mattis, the #1 New York Times bestseller Call Sign Chaos. He served as a Marine grunt in Vietnam and later as an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. He has been on hundreds of patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan, including many operations with General Mattis. He is a member of the Military History Working Group at the Hoover Institution. He lives with his wife, Betsy, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Newport, Rhode Island.