It's been a tough year for me. My dad, H.C. Walton passed away several months ago and I quit my government job to go to work for myself in the family plumbing business.
Deanna is Postmaster of the Post Office here in Ronceverte. She's been there for about thirteen years now.
Jennifer is now substitute teaching in Botetourt County, Virginia. Nora Patrice celebrated her first birthday November 12 and both her and Jennifer are doing great.
Other Comments:
I am enjoying being away from the Army, but can say I truly miss the friends I made along the way. There is not a day goes by I don't think of you all, and pray for your safe return.
To those of you out there that shared a beer with me over the years, I'll not soon forget you. My house is always open for you all. I might even buy the first round.
To those that had a hand in getting me put out of the Army, look out for your bad Karma. SGM Wells, how's that job at McDonalds treating you?
Gulf War/Defense of Saudi Arabia/Operation Desert Shield
From Month/Year
August / 1990
To Month/Year
January / 1991
Description
On this day August 3 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To support Operation Desert Shield, Bush authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. troops and resources in the Persian Gulf.
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and hard-line Iraqi nationalists had always believed Kuwait should be part of Iraq, but nationalist propaganda aside, acquiring control of Kuwait’s oil fields was Hussein’s primary interest. In addition, control of Kuwait represented a strategic military objective should Iraq be forced into a war with its western-friendly Arab neighbors. Hussein calculated incorrectly that the United States and the United Nations, who were closely tracking Iraq’s military buildup along Kuwait’s borders, would not try to stop him. However, when Iraqi ground forces entered Kuwait on August 2, 1990, President Bush immediately proclaimed that the invasion “would not stand” and vowed to help Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in their efforts to force the Iraqis from Kuwaiti land.
On November 29, 1990, the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of “all means necessary” to remove Hussein’s forces from Kuwait, giving Iraq the deadline of midnight on January 16, 1991, to leave or risk forcible removal. After negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraq’s foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, failed, Congress authorized President Bush to use American troops in the coming conflict.
