Interesting story

[Sisco]

On 12/11/2022 at 7:12 PM, GStephen said:

 

When his squad leader was killed, Corporal Billy B. Thompson took charge in the face of an overwhelming Korean force. Ignoring the heavy fire and charging enemy, Cpl Thompson rushed a critically wounded Marine to safety, returned to his squad, and reformed them into defensive positions. When they ran out of ammo, Thompson braved enemy fire to retrieve more from an adjacent unit. His leadership and actions enabled his squad to completely halt the enemy advance. For his heroism, Cpl Thompson was awarded the Silver Star.

"...serving as a Fire Team Leader of Company D, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 23 April 1951. With his squad leader killed and another comrade seriously wounded during a night attack on his sector when a large hostile force, supported by withering automatic-weapons, mortar and small-arms fire, advanced to within a few feet of his position, Corporal Thompson bravely carried the wounded man to safety in the face of heavy fire and immediately returned to his post. Finding the squad badly depleted, disorganized and short of ammunition, he promptly assumed command, established a new firing line and, personally obtaining ammunition from an adjacent unit, directed a devastating volume of fire upon the attackers which completely halted the assault and inflicted heavy casualties on the hostile troops. By his outstanding courage, exceptional leadership and aggressive fighting spirit, Corporal Thompson served to inspire all who observed him."

My uncle Bill

Thank you for sharing.

[Sisco]

Command Sargent Major Basil L. Plumley:

Basil L. Plumley, from West Virginia, is a legend in the U.S. Army for his exploits and was awarded a medal for making five parachute jumps into combat. 

Legendary American soldier who fought in World War 2, Korea and Vietnam and was immortalized in the book & film, 'We Were Soldiers.'

In World War 2 he fought in the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno and the D-Day invasion at Normandy
In Korea he fought with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment
In Vietnam he served as sergeant major in the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

A native of Shady Spring, West Virginia, Plumley enlisted in the Army in 1942 and ended up serving 32 years in uniform. In World War II, he fought in the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno and the D-Day invasion at Normandy. He later fought with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in Korea. In Vietnam, Plumley served as sergeant major - the highest enlisted rank - in the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

'That puts him in the rarest of clubs,' said journalist Joseph L. Galloway, who met Plumley while covering the Vietnam War for United Press International and remained lifelong friends with him. 
It was during Vietnam in November 1965 that Plumley served in the Battle of la Drang, the first major engagement between the U.S. Army and North Vietnamese forces. 

That battle was the basis for the book 'We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young,' written nearly three decades later by Galloway and retired Lt. Gen. Hal G. Moore, who had been Plumley's battalion commander in Vietnam.

'To be combat infantry in those three wars, in the battles he participated in, and to have survived - that is miraculous.'
This hero died of cancer in 2012 at age 92.

[98Z5V]

^^^   He was a Leader, all the way through and through.  I wrote a paper about him in a class assignment at a school I had to go to.  Badass, all the way.  

[Cunuckgaucho]

Badass wishes it was Plumley

In a world were most read history this man lived 

[Sisco]

Navy SEAL Medal of Honor Hero Ed Byers

December 9, 2012 Eastern Afghanistan:
Edward Byers was the second Navy SEAL to burst through the door of the house where the Taliban was suspected of holding an American doctor. The first Navy Seal into the house was immediately hit by enemy fire and went down. 

Byers without hesitation rushed into the darkened room. Wearing body armor and night-vision goggles, and shot several hostiles with controlled bursts. 

Sensing bodies grabbing for him he quickly transitioned into grappling and held his own with two hostiles while calling out for the hostage. A voice replied from a few feet away: "I'm right here."

Byers disengaged with the hostiles and dove onto the doctor to cover his body from the now fully engaged firefight commencing in the close quarters. With a free hand, Byers grabbed a nearby captor by the throat and pinned him to the wall and within a fraction of a second another member of the six-man SEAL team shot and eliminated the target dropping him from Byer's grip. By the end of the brief firefight, five Taliban wold be killed.

"Anyone who's been in combat knows that in those moments, you either react or you get killed," Byers said recently, recalling the harrowing operation.

In the chaos, the Doctor, aid worker Dilip Joseph, was rescued, and the SEAL team member ahead of him, 28-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, the first man who entered the house died from his gunshot wound.

Later that year, Byers, a member SEAL Team 6, stepped from the shadows — the unit operates covertly, and its existence often goes unacknowledged by the military — to receive the Medal of Honor while at the White house.

Byers, 36, is the sixth SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor, and the eleventh living service member to receive it for actions in Afghanistan.

But he doesn't consider himself a hero. That distinction, he said, belongs to the men who fought alongside him, particularly Checque. "The award was truly his," Byers said after the ceremony. "He was an American hero. He died a warrior and he died to bring back another American. I believe our nation owes him a debt of gratitude."

The rescue operation began with the SEAL team hiking four hours over mountainous terrain to reach the compound in the Laghman Province, Afghanistan were the Taliban were holding Joseph, according to the official military account.

Joseph said about the operation, that he believed the Taliban would have killed him if it wasn't for the SEALs.

Checque was the team's point man, according to military officials. As the SEALs approached the compound, a guard noticed them. Checque shot him. He and Byers rush to the door, which was covered by layers of blankets. Byers began ripping the blankets away, and Checque went inside. He was immediately shot in the head by AK-47 fire.

Byers, a medic from Toledo, Ohio, said that after leading the doctor, Joseph out of the house, he joined the others who were trying to resuscitate Checque, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Byers has also received, two Purple Hearts during his years of service.

[98Z5V]

6 minutes ago, Sisco said:

The rescue operation began with the SEAL team hiking four hours over mountainous terrain to reach the compound in the Laghman Province, Afghanistan were the Taliban were holding Joseph, according to the official military account.

That's a seriously fucked up piece of terrain.  It's just north of J-Bad.  Jalalabad, damn near on the Pak border.  I was in that exact area - and all around it to the north and south.  That was late 2003, winter time.  Up there in the mountains fucking around in the snow.  Some of the valley floors that we were inserted into were at 8,000 feet.  My job after that...  climb.  Gain the high ground.  I don't miss that place.  

[Sisco]

11 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

That's a seriously fucked up piece of terrain.  It's just north of J-Bad.  Jalalabad, damn near on the Pak border.  I was in that exact area - and all around it to the north and south.  That was late 2003, winter time.  Up there in the mountains fucking around in the snow.  Some of the valley floors that we were inserted into were at 8,000 feet.  My job after that...  climb.  Gain the high ground.  I don't miss that place.  

That is completely understandable. Thanks for the input. The Afghans born in that area probably have lungs the size of elephants.

[unforgiven]

These men make one proud to be an American 🇺🇸 Forever loved 

[98Z5V]

12 hours ago, Sisco said:

The Afghans born in that area probably have lungs the size of elephants.

Man, they're like mountain goats.  With no shoes.  Unreal.  

[Sisco]

Been a while on this thread.

"There are many secrets in us, in the depths of our souls, that we don't want anyone to know about. There's terror and repulsion in us, the terrible spot that we don't talk about. That place no one knows about -- horrifying things we keep secret. A lot of that is released through acting."
   Charles Durning's first job in the entertainment field was as an usher at a burlesque house. His career officially started as a singer with a band at the age of 16, before going into acting. His first professional play was in Buffalo before he went off to war.
   Durning was part of the first wave of soldiers to land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Durning was the only member of his unit to survive the assault. 
   In March 1945, Durning was moving into Germany with the 398th Infantry Regiment when he took a bullet to the chest. That bullet effectively ended Durning's service; he spent the rest of the war in the hospital recovering from his wounds. He received his third Purple Heart and discharged in 1946 with the rank of private first class. In addition to his Purple Hearts, he received a Silver Star for his actions during the war, but later in life, he refused to talk about the details of his service, describing the memories as too painful.
   Despite the wounds he received in WWII (he was shot in the legs and hip by machine-gun fire), he went on to become a professional dancer and dance teacher. He taught at the Fred Astaire studios and relied upon it when he couldn't find acting work.
   "Dancing came easy for me. Acting came hard."
   Durning passed away in 2012, and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. 
   Happy Birthday, Charles Durning!

[unforgiven]

Wow that's a great share brother, never would have thought.

[98Z5V]

That's an amazing piece of history - I never knew that.  Thanks for posting that Al. 

[Cunuckgaucho]

Thanks for finding that story, it's important to bring these stories to light.

[Sisco]

What it's really like to be in an actual gunfight...
"The cacophony of sounds is debilitating," he said. "And then you can turn to the smells. You begin to stink, and your mouth turns cotton. You're always feeling for your ammo pouches. You can hear when a bullet hits a man. The smells are horrible, and everybody's afraid.” - John Reitzell

John Reitzell went to Vietnam in the spring of 1970 as a 23-year-old second lieutenant in the Army infantry.

The year-long experience was as challenging as one would expect.
"It was not very pleasant. There's nothing worse on Earth than a nasty gunfight, and I was in multiple combat close-quarter battles," the now-retired colonel said.

He was a rifle platoon commander in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in the central highlands, the mountain jungles. He spent the last eight months of his tour as an operations officer for N Company, a long-range reconnaissance patrol company, with the 75th Rangers, 173rd Airborne Brigade. 
"I was actually wounded four times, but three of them were minor," Reitzell, who received a Purple Heart, said.

He was wounded twice in the same fight about an hour apart in the jungle northeast of An Khe, Aug. 26, 1970.
"This was just a meeting engagement. Two forces just ran into each other," he said.

Reitzell can give a vivid description of what it's like to experience a firefight. 
"The cacophony of sounds is debilitating," he said. "And then you can turn to the smells. You begin to stink, and your mouth turns cotton. You're always feeling for your ammo pouches. You can hear when a bullet hits a man. The smells are horrible, and everybody's afraid.”

But as a young platoon leader, he learned that "it's up to you to ensure that your men know that somebody’s in charge and you’re equipped to fight."

"Everything went into slow motion," he said. "And I made a valiant effort to touch everyone and let them know 'Hang in there, Smitty.' You learn how to lead by learning how your people respond to you in a gunfight."

One of his men with N Company, Patrick "Tad" Tadina, became a jungle fighting legend. Tadina, the Vietnam War's longest continuously serving Ranger, died May 29, 2020, at age 77.
"He had 109 kills. I can vouch for that many," Reitzell said.
 
Besides the Purple Heart, Reitzell has three Legions of Merit, five Bronze Stars (two with “V” for valor), the Joint Meritorious Service Medal, five Army Service Medals, five Air Medals and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. During his tour, he spent three weeks in the hospital recuperating from his wounds before returning to the field. He came home in the summer of 1971.

He said he was treated "shabbily" when he returned to the United States. He didn't get spat on, but he did get called "baby killer" by a female protester at the Seattle airport. Reitzell received a welcome reception when he got home to Monroe, Louisiana.
The son of a World War II veteran, Reitzell graduated from Northeast Louisiana State College, now called Louisiana-Monroe, in 1969 with a bachelor's in pre-med with a specialty in chemistry. He was commissioned through the Army ROTC. He became a master parachutist in 1972.

"I wanted to serve my country because my dad had. That was in my DNA. I was going to serve my country at the point of the spear," he said. 

His 28 years in the infantry included serving in Special Operations. He served in Vietnam, Korea, Germany and the Iraqi desert.

Story by Skip Vaughn

[98Z5V]

Fantastic find, and wonderful background, brother.  Nice one. 

[unforgiven]

Great story, amazing 🍻🍻🇺🇸

[Sisco]

A little different story…

Why are there bugs on the Blackbird windshield ?

Another weird thing was that after a A-12 flight the windshields often were pitted with tiny black dots, like burn specks. We couldn’t figure out what in hell it was. We had the specks lab tested, and they turned out to be organic material—insects that had been injected into the stratosphere and were circling in orbit around the earth with dust and debris at seventy-five thousand feet in the jet stream. How in hell did they get lifted up there? We finally figured it out: they were hoisted aloft from the atomic test explosions in Russia and China.” 
― Ben R. Rich, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
Photo Peter van Stigt
~ Linda Sheffield Miller

[98Z5V]

There are so many great books about the SR-71 Blackbird - and they're all out of print now.   Command a high price, if you can find one these days. 

For that reason, finding some of the stories on the 'net are invaluable.  Living legacy, history, and the most amazing aircraft ever developed.  Ever.

Interesting fact - it was the RS-71 aircraft.  When it was unveiled, publicly, President Johnson fukked it up, and reversed the letters.  Real story.  So, they went with it.

Tough to figure out - was it Johnson that was dyslexic that messed it up?  Or was it a stenographer that got it wrong?  Hard to say, when the predecessor was the RS-70 aircraft...  

Check it out - there are more stories on the web now...

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/sr-71-or-rs-71-how-the-legendary-blackbird-got-her-designation/

[98Z5V]

This is my most favorite SR-71 story, ever - and the book is out of print, damnit.  "Sled Driver" is the book.

I would love to have this as a coffe-table book, but not pay today's prices - if you can find one.

Ground Speed Check...

Here's the written story:

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-tells-story-behind-famed-ground-speed-check/

Here's the video of Pilot Brian Shul, telling the story...  

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by 98Z5V

[sketch]

Classic fuckery!

[98Z5V]

That Marine Corps pilot that thought he was the BADASS that day...   got put in check... 

[unforgiven]

Another great read 🍻🍻

[Sisco]

14 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

This is my most favorite SR-71 story, ever - and the book is out of print, damnit.  "Sled Driver" is the book.

I would love to have this as a coffe-table book, but not pay today's prices - if you can find one.

Ground Speed Check...

Here's the written story:

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-tells-story-behind-famed-ground-speed-check/

Here's the video of Pilot Brian Shul, telling the story...  

 

I heard that one-a classic. Actually got a chance to look around an A-12 Ox Cart, the CIA predecessor to the SR 71. The Minneapolis Air National Guard base was trying to put a military Air Museum together in the 90’s. It wasn’t well known but was open to the public. I took my son there on a winter afternoon. They had one volunteer manning a table out front. I happened to notice that they had a big black jet that was unmistakably a Blackbird or an Ox Cart outside in the back. I asked the guy if I could look at it. As we were the only ones there, he said go ahead. It was minus the engines, but intact otherwise. Pictures weren’t allowed, but we spent twenty minutes walking around and looking in it. A very interesting texture to the skin. Reminded me of shark skin but smoother. They also had a Mig-15, which was amazingly small, and a few other military aircraft. About six months later it got preempted by a more important museum and shipped out. Pretty cool to see one in person. Also have seen the SR-71 at the military park in Mobile, Alabama.

[shooterrex]

The Air and Space museum by Dulles has a SR-71 and a space shuttle inside the building.

Lots of neat aircraft but also a section of aircraft guns.

[unforgiven]

This is a cool place a Air Force Colonel led the tour.https://g.co/kgs/vQ9GQx