This Military Service Page was created/owned by
MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Anderson, Babe Ruth (Big Tech), MSG.
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Contact Info
Last Address Fayetteville, NC
Date of Passing Jan 02, 2012
Location of Interment Rockfish Memorial Park - Fayetteville, North Carolina
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Unofficial Badges
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Last Known Activity:
Babe R. Anderson FAYETTEVILLE - Babe Ruth Anderson, 85, of Fayetteville, died Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville. Babe was born May 1, 1927, in Jefferson County, Fla. Raised by his grandfather, his primary aspiration was to join the military. He joined the Marines initially and then the Army, where he had a distinguished career for more than 20 years. Many of Babe's Army buddies affectionately called him "Big Tech." He walked fast and looked straight ahead. He was often asked the question, "Where are you going, Big Tech?" His reply would be, "Oh, man, I am just moving on." Babe's calling was to be a soldier. He wanted to be a great soldier and he lived up to that expectation. Babe loved his country and the Armed Forces. He also loved his wife Esther, to whom he was married for more than 50 years before her death, and his children and his grandchildren. Babe was a World War II veteran and served in Korea with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne), the only Black Ranger outfit in the history of the U.S. Army. He earned a Purple Heart while serving in Korea. Under President John F. Kennedy's administration, Babe joined an elite group of special soldiers called Green Berets. These soldiers are highly skilled and trained in areas few soldiers would ever be interested in pursuing. They were trained to endure the toughest of conditions and succeed. They are very highly regarded. The Green Berets became a very real distinction of excellence among Special Forces. Under the Kennedy administration, Babe was part of the first team of military advisers sent to Vietnam. The U.S. Special Forces team was sent to organize the Montagnards, the mountain people of Vietnam. Babe enjoyed and held a great fondness for the mountain people. He would often recount stories about them. His children enjoyed listening to these stories. Babe would soon return to Vietnam as a combat soldier. He completed several tours there and earned another Purple Heart while serving there. He retired from Special Forces in 1967. In 1968, the U.S. State Department hired Babe through its Agency for International Development. He returned to Vietnam and served until 1972. He subsequently worked for the U.S. Postal Service, from which he also retired. In later years, Babe was a patient at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville, where he received excellent care from a dedicated staff. He was preceded in death by his loving and devoted wife, Esther; and his daughter, Judge Linda Faye Anderson. Surviving to cherish his memory and legacy are his children, Jessina Gray (Jim) of Madison, Ala., James Carlton Arrington (Ruby) of Goldsboro, Catherine W. LeBlanc of Fayetteville, Richard A. Watson (Shirley) of Los Angeles, Queen Esther Harper (Roosevelt) of Philadelphia, and Lennie Jean Portis (Lewis) of Philadelphia; 15 grandchildren; sister-in-law, Gladys Whitley; and other relatives and friends. Graveside services with full military honors will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, in Rockfish Memorial Park, Fayetteville. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, at New Stoney Hill United Holy Church, 1003 N. Poplar St., Goldsboro, with the family present from 6 to 7 p.m. The family will receive friends at other times at the residence of his son, James Arrington, 114 Friendswood Drive, Goldsboro. The funeral cortege will depart the Arrington residence at 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Services entrusted to Haskins Funeral Home of Goldsboro.
Korean War/UN Summer-Fall Offensive (1951)/Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Hill 851)
From Month/Year
September / 1951
To Month/Year
September / 1951
Description
All three of the 2nd Division's infantry regiments participated, with the brunt of the combat borne by the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments, along with the attached French Battalion. The attack began on September 13 and quickly deteriorated into a familiar pattern. First, American aircraft, tanks and artillery would pummel the ridge for hours on end, turning the already barren hillside into a cratered moonscape. Next, the 23rd's infantrymen would clamber up the mountain's rocky slopes, taking out one enemy bunker after another by direct assault. Those who survived to reach the crest arrived exhausted and low on ammunition. The inevitable counterattack would then come--waves of North Koreans determined to recapture the lost ground at any cost. Many of these counterattacks were conducted at night by fresh troops that the North Koreans were able to bring up under the shelter of neighboring hills. Battles begun by bomb, bullet and shell were inevitably finished by grenade, trench knife and fists as formal military engagements degenerated into desperate hand-to-hand brawls. Sometimes dawn broke to reveal the defenders still holding the mountaintop.
The battle progressed for two weeks. Because of the constricting terrain and the narrow confines of the objectives, units were committed piecemeal--one platoon, company or battalion at a time. Once a unit could no longer stand the strain a replacement would take its place, until the 23rd Infantry as a whole was fairly well shattered.
Several units up to company size (100-200 men) were wiped out. The Americans employed massive artillery barrages, airstrikes and tanks in attempts to drive the North Koreans off the ridge, but the KPA proved extremely hard to dislodge.
