Map the Fallen

http://www.mapthefallen.org/


Outstanding project.

Night Stalkers honor their fallen

Col. Clayton N. Hutmacher, right, and retired Master Sgt. Tim Cash lay a wreath at the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment memorial Wednesday. (Jake Lowary/The Leaf-Chronicle)

160th adds one name to its memorial wall

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment added just one name to its memorial wall this year, but that soldier's death affected the unit just as any other casualty.

On Wednesday at Fort Campbell, the 160th, commonly known as the Night Stalkers, paid respect to its fallen comrades just a few days before the Memorial Day holiday.

Pfc. Blaine Adams died Nov. 28, 2008, during a water survival training exercise and was the only Night Stalker added to the wall this year. Five names were added to the wall in 2008, six in 2007 and eight in 2006.

Col. Clayton Hutmacher, regimental commander, called Adams "a highly motivated young man" and "an example of courage and sacrifice" in his remarks during the memorial ceremony attended by hundreds of family members and fellow soldiers.

"It's personal for all of us when we lose somebody," Hutmacher said.

Staff Sgt. Benjamin "Levi" Pigman, 25, a native of Hamilton, Mont., and engine mechanic for the 160th, also died this year after finishing the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville on April 25.

Since its creation in 1981, 81 names have been added to the memorial wall at Fort Campbell, 33 of those since 9/11. Twenty-six of the deaths have come in Afghanistan and two in Iraq.

Hutmacher said he struggled to find a way to properly recognize the sacrifice of those who have died, and came up with four words, or "simple thoughts": honor, remembrance, grief and thanks. "They were dedicated and gifted soldiers," Hutmacher said. "Their service and contribution as soldiers have had a lasting impact."

Later Wednesday, the regiment dedicated six new buildings on the 160th compound to the honor of six of their fallen comrades.

Staff Sgt. Kerry Frith, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jamie D. Weeks, Sgt. Thomas Allison, Maj. Stephen Reich, Master Sgt. James "Tre" Ponder and Maj. Matthew Worrell all had buildings named in their honor.

"We are who we are as Night Stalkers because of them," Hutmacher said.

RIP Night Stalker

Special Operations Aviation Soldier died following marathon participation

Staff Sgt. Benjamin “Levi” Pigman, 25, died April 25, 2009, at Nashville General Hospital after he collapsed following completing the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville earlier that morning.
Pigman was a native of Hamilton, Mont., and volunteered for Army service in October 2001. Following basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., advanced individual training at Fort Eustis, Va., and Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga., he successfully assessed with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) as a helicopter engine mechanic. Pigman arrived to his first duty station with the 2nd Bn., 160th SOAR(A), at Fort Campbell, Ky., in July 2002.
He is a combat veteran with five deployments, four in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan and once in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His military training includes U.S. Army Airborne School, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Warrior Leader Course, Airloaders Course Special Operations Aviation assessment and training program and Combat Life Savers training. Pigman’s awards include four Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global on War Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Aviation Badge, Parachutist Badge, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon and Army Service Ribbon.
Pigman is survived by his father and step mother, Ronald “Chip” and Anne Pigman and his three brothers, Timothy Pigman, Tyler Pigman, and Dillon Pigman of Hamilton; and his mother and step father, Pamela D. Koreski and Chris Koreski, also of Hamilton.

RIP Ranger Pat Tillman 5 years ago today

RIP Ranger

Memorial to Warriors

Special Operations Soldiers honor fallen comrades with new memorial

RELEASE NUMBER: 090421-01
DATE POSTED: APRIL 21, 2009
Special Operations Soldiers honor fallen comrades with new memorial

Kabul, Afghanistan (Courtesy of CJSOTF-A Public Affairs, April 21, 2009) -Soldiers from the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan unveiled a memorial dedicated to its fallen brethren killed in Operation Enduring Freedom during a ceremony at Camp Vance, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan April 9.
new memorial

It was a somber occasion as formations of Soldiers observed a moment of silence while the monument, dedicated to those CJSOTF-A Soldiers who have died in service to their nation, made its second debut.

Standing in its humble grandeur in front of the CJSOTF-A headquarters, aptly draped in an olive drab parachute, the new memorial was rededicated at the site of the new headquarters which moved to a new location on Bagram Airfield.

“Today, once more, we set in stone the anchor which honors our past, and sets a standard of excellence for the future,” said the CJSOTF-A Commander, Col. Gus Benton II.

Ninety six names have been etched into the marble stone of the memorial over the past seven years beginning with Sergeant 1st Class Daniel Petithory, of Cheshire, Mass. who was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, of Fort Campbell, Ky. Petithory was killed in action Dec. 5, 2001.

“We are here today,” said Benton, “to honor the selfless service and sacrifice of the men of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force; to preserve the memory of their service to their nation, and set an example for future generations; so that they will never forget and will continue forward.”
remembering the fallen


“These soldiers to whom we pay special homage are much more than names on a wall or gravestone,” Benton added, “they are symbols of our march toward a time when the world order will stand for justice, democracy, and economic freedom.”

Benton, along with the CJSOTF-A Command Sergeant Major, Terry Peters, slowly peeled away the chute to reveal the newest tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

“It is absolutely critical for us to both remember and to mark the occurrences of that incredible loss of life for something much greater than ourselves,” said Peters.

“We take the time here to recognize them because we understood them before when they were alive, we appreciated them in their passing, we honor them every day and we will always remember what they have meant to both us and this great nation,” added Peters.

“Let us not mourn in sadness for the loss of these extraordinary men,” said Benton, “but rather revel in their greatness, be honored to have served alongside them, remember them, and thank God that such men lived. De Oppresso Liber.”

--usasoc--

RIP to the last of the "Bedford Boys"

Last surviving D-Day 'Bedford Boy' dies at 94

When World War II broke out, the "Bedford Boys" left home to serve. Many of them didn't come home — so many that the community had among the greatest losses per capita on D-Day.

Now the last survivor has died.

Elisha Ray Nance died Sunday in Bedford, a spokesman at Tharp Funeral Home and Crematory said Monday. He was 94.

Nance was among 38 National Guardsmen from the close-knit community of Bedford who were in Company A of the 116th Infantry, a spokeswoman at the National D-Day Memorial Foundation said. On June 6, 1944, 19 were killed when they landed on Omaha Beach at the start of the D-Day invasion. Two more died later.

The great loss from a town of 3,200 and its surrounding area led Bedford's selection as the site of the D-Day Memorial.

RIP Russell E. Dunham MOH

Medal of Honor recipient dies at 89

Although he survived World War II to receive the Medal of Honor and was the region's most decorated veteran, Russell Dunham now has joined the ranks of those that live on only in memory.

Dunham, 89, died of congestive heart failure in his sleep at 12:56 a.m. Monday at his home in Godfrey.

Citation from Wikipedia

DUNHAM, RUSSELL E.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kayserberg, France, 8 January 1945. Entered service at: Brighton Ill. Born: 23 February 1920, East Carondelet, Ill. G.O. No.: 37, 11 May 1945.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. At about 1430 hours on 8 January 1945, during an attack on Hill 616, near Kayserberg, France, T/Sgt. Dunham single-handedly assaulted 3 enemy machineguns. Wearing a white robe made of a mattress cover, carrying 12 carbine magazines and with a dozen hand grenades snagged in his belt, suspenders, and buttonholes, T/Sgt. Dunham advanced in the attack up a snow-covered hill under fire from 2 machineguns and supporting riflemen. His platoon 35 yards behind him, T/Sgt. Dunham crawled 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward the timbered emplacement shielding the left machinegun. As he jumped to his feet 10 yards from the gun and charged forward, machinegun fire tore through his camouflage robe and a rifle bullet seared a 10-inch gash across his back sending him spinning 15 yards down hill into the snow. When the indomitable sergeant sprang to his feet to renew his 1-man assault, a German egg grenade landed beside him. He kicked it aside, and as it exploded 5 yards away, shot and killed the German machinegunner and assistant gunner. His carbine empty, he jumped into the emplacement and hauled out the third member of the gun crew by the collar. Although his back wound was causing him excruciating pain and blood was seeping through his white coat, T/Sgt. Dunham proceeded 50 yards through a storm of automatic and rifle fire to attack the second machinegun. Twenty-five yards from the emplacement he hurled 2 grenades, destroying the gun and its crew; then fired down into the supporting foxholes with his carbine dispatching and dispersing the enemy riflemen. Although his coat was so thoroughly blood-soaked that he was a conspicuous target against the white landscape, T/Sgt. Dunham again advanced ahead of his platoon in an assault on enemy positions farther up the hill. Coming under machinegun fire from 65 yards to his front, while rifle grenades exploded 10 yards from his position, he hit the ground and crawled forward. At 15 yards range, he jumped to his feet, staggered a few paces toward the timbered machinegun emplacement and killed the crew with hand grenades. An enemy rifleman fired at pointblank range, but missed him. After killing the rifleman, T/Sgt. Dunham drove others from their foxholes with grenades and carbine fire. Killing 9 Germans--wounding 7 and capturing 2--firing about 175 rounds of carbine ammunition, and expending 11 grenades, T/Sgt. Dunham, despite a painful wound, spearheaded a spectacular and successful diversionary attack.

RIP Col. James E. Swett MOH

World War II Marine Pilot Was Awarded Medal of Honor

James E. Swett, 88, a Marine Corps ace pilot during World War II who received the Medal of Honor for knocking seven Japanese dive bombers out of the air in 15 minutes during his first combat operation, died Jan. 18 at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Calif. He had congestive heart failure.

RIP Sir

Medal of Honor Citation

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES E. SWETT
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as a division leader in Marine Fighting Squadron TWO TWENTY-ONE in action against enemy Japanese aerial forces in the Solomon Islands Area, April 7, 1943. In a daring flight to intercept a wave of 150 Japanese planes, First Lieutenant Swett unhesitatingly hurled his four-plane division into action against a formation of fifteen enemy bombers and during his dive personally exploded three hostile planes in mid-air with accurate and deadly fire. Although separated from his division while clearing the heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire, he boldly attacked six enemy bombers, engaged the first four in turn, and unaided, shot them down in flames. Exhausting his ammunition as he closed the fifth Japanese bomber, he relentlessly drove his attack against terrific opposition which partially disabled his engine, shattered the windscreen and slashed his face. In spite of this, he brought his battered plane down with skillful precision in the water off Tulagi without further injury. The superb airmanship and tenacious fighting spirit which enabled First Lieutenant Swett to destroy seven enemy bombers in a single flight were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Nuts! RIP Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard

WWII officer who said `nuts' to Germans dies

Retired Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard, a paratroop officer who suggested the famously defiant answer "Nuts!" to a German demand for surrender during the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, has died. He was 93.

Kinnard, a career soldier who in later years was the principal architect of the Army's concept of using helicopters in infantry warfare in Vietnam, died in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 5, his family told The New York Times.

A native of Dallas, Kinnard graduated from West Point in 1939 and spent 30 years in uniform, retiring in 1969.

He parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with the newly organized 101st Airborne Division and was decorated for heroism during its drive against German forces in the Netherlands.

When Hitler launched a surprise counteroffensive in December, the 101st, then in France, was rushed into action and seized key road junctions at the Belgian town of Bastogne, where the Americans were quickly surrounded by the enemy.

On Dec. 22, Kinnard, then a 29-year-old lieutenant colonel and the division's operations officer, was present when four German couriers arrived at the American lines under a flag of truce with a written demand to surrender in two hours or face annihilation.

Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, the 101st's artillery chief and acting division commander in the absence of Maj. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, laughed and remarked, "Us surrender? Aw, nuts," and then wondered aloud how he should reply.

As recalled later by himself and other witnesses, Kinnard suggested that McAuliffe tell the Germans "what you just said ... nuts."

McAuliffe scribbled: "To the German commander: Nuts! The American commander."

On the way back to the defense line, a U.S. officer explained to the puzzled Germans that "nuts" meant the same thing as "go to hell."

The paratroopers held against further attacks and four days later the siege was broken by Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's tank forces. The massive German counterattack — the last major offensive effort by Hitler's forces — collapsed two weeks later.

In the 1960s, Kinnard, a trained aviator, was a key developer of the Army's helicopter "air assault" concept at Fort Benning, Ga., and first applied it in combat in Vietnam as commander of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

A memorial is planned for March 19 at Fort Myer, Va., according to the Army Times.

RIP Ranger Robert Prince

Major Robert Prince 6th Ranger Battalion passed away New Years day 2009. Major Prince was a leader of the liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. Those actions were told in the book and movie The Great Raid and the book Ghost Soldiers. Major Prince was also inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.

World War II's 'Great Raid' hero dies
Robert Prince led daring mission to free Allied POWs

The great raider has died.

Robert Prince, a Seattle native and Army Ranger who was the assault force commander of the daring World War II mission to liberate Allied prisoners that was portrayed in the 2005 movie "The Great Raid," passed away New Year's Day in Port Townsend, his family confirmed.

RIP Sir

New school honors Master Sgt. Gary Gordon

Gordon Elementary School opens in Harnett

The school is named in honor of the late Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon, one of two Fort Bragg soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for actions in Somalia in 1993.

“We are officially the Gordon Patriots, in honor of Gary Gordon,” Young said. “We felt like to be the Patriots was the best way to honor him since to give your life for your country is the most patriotic thing you can do.”

Gordon received the nation’s highest military award posthumously for actions in the battle of Mogadishu, featured in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.” A dedication ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 27.

The Gordon Patriots that is outstanding!

RIP Lt Commander Roy H. Boehm

Legendary 'First SEAL' passes away

Roy Boehm of Punta Gorda, a cantankerous retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who fought three wars, started the Navy's first SEAL team and shared his harrowing adventures --and his battles against military bureaucracy --in an autobiography, has completed his last mission.

Roy Boehm, who had struggled with health problems for many years, died at home Tuesday night. He was 84.

Wikipedia entry

RIP Major John P. Pryor

John P. Pryor, 42, surgeon and soldier

John P. Pryor, 42, of Moorestown, the dedicated leader of the University of Pennsylvania's trauma team and a decorated major in the Army Reserve who wrote eloquently about the painful parallels between battlefield deaths and urban homicides, was killed on Christmas by enemy fire in Iraq while serving as a combat surgeon.

Dr. Pryor deployed Dec. 6 and was with a risky frontline surgical unit when he was killed by shrapnel from a mortar round. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq.

"Since an early age, Dr. Pryor was involved in the care of the sick and injured," he wrote of himself in the third person. "He was certified in CPR when he was 14 years old, joined the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Ambulance Corps at 17, and became a N.Y. State Emergency Medical Technician at 18," adding that it was "emotionally very challenging" to balance his dedication to family and country. "He hopes and prays," he wrote, "for forgiveness from his family and colleagues."

Welcome Home Air Force Maj. John Lee McElroy

RIP Sir.

Kentucky airman killed in Vietnam to be buried

Forty years after his death in a daring rescue mission in Vietnam, a Kentucky airman will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in what his son calls a "Christmas family miracle."

Air Force Maj. John Lee McElroy, of Eminence in north-central Kentucky, will be interred next Thursday with his crewmates, who died when their C-130 aircraft was shot down on Mother's Day in 1968 while evacuating soldiers from a military base being overrun by enemy forces.

In May 1968, McElroy's crew volunteered to fly into a Special Forces base being overrun by enemy forces, his son said. Other aircraft had already been shot down trying to evacuate troops, he said.

The C-130 left the base with about 150 South Vietnamese soldiers and their families aboard, he said.

Cpt Robert Yllescas passes

For those of you who have been following his wife's blog you already know that the Cpt has succumbed to his injuries suffered over month ago. His family was staying at the Fisher house which runs an outstanding charity. He leaves behind a wife and 2 little girls.

Thank you for your service Sir.

Welcome home Ranger Cpl. Librado Luna

Soldier Missing in Action from Korean War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Cpl. Librado Luna, U.S. Army, of Taylor, Texas. He will be buried on Nov. 25 in Taylor.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Luna's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Luna was assigned to the 8th Army Ranger Company, 25th Infantry Division, then attached to B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion as part of Task Force Dolvin. The 8th Army Ranger Company was deployed on Hill 205 in Kujang County along the leading edge of the U.S. position. On November 25, the Chinese Army struck in force in what would become known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. Task Force Dolvin, including the 8th Army Ranger Company, was forced to withdraw to the south. Of the 91 men from B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion and the 8th Army Ranger Company, only 22 made it to safety. Ten men, including Luna, went missing on November 26 near Hill 205.
In 1998, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (D.P.R.K.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site in Kujang County where a girl had uncovered possible American remains on a hill near her school. The site correlates with the area where members of the 8th Army Ranger Company fought as part of Task Force Dolvin. The team recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Luna's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

Family happy to finally bid soldier proper farewell

Family happy to finally bid soldier proper farewell
Updated: 11/24/2008 7:43:47 PM
By: Karina Kling

It's been nearly 60 years since one Central Texas soldier went missing during a Korean War battle.

But Saturday the remains of Army Cpl. Librado Luna were
brought home.

His family will finally give him a proper burial Tuesday, decades late. They said it's been a long journey, 58 years in the making.

It was the early stages of the Korean War, late November 1950, when Pvt. 1st Class Cpl. Luna found himself on the front lines of a battle on historic Hill 205, which would later be known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.
More Information

Members of the 8th Army Ranger Company, part of the 25 Infantry Division, were under attack from the Chinese army.

As soldiers were ordered to get off the hill, Luna was one of four in his company who remained.

"On the day he went missing in action, that night was his 18th
birthday," Luna's nephew, Saul Salazar, said.

But Luna's body was never found, and the mystery kept his family searching for answers. His siblings never stopped carrying Luna's memory with them.

"It's as if he lived through them and their stories, and
we being the next generation, we kept it up and we always talked about him and hoped," Luna's niece, Susie Mokry, said.

Salazar and Mokry never met their uncle, but they made it
their mission to know him. A few years ago, their sister gave them DNA samples.

Then earlier this month, army officials confirmed partial remains of Luna's were found years ago by North Korean school children preparing to plant trees on what would have been Hill 205.

"We honestly never thought this was going to happen. We were
hoping - but none of this," Salazar said.

Now 58 years later, on what would have been Corporal Luna's
76th birthday, he'll be laid to rest in Taylor on Tuesday. A
proper burial, his family said, will finally give them closure.

"What's in the casket is his, and he's here with us now," Salazar said.

Not just pictures anymore, but a piece of their uncle finally paid tribute, they said, he so deserved.

"Everyone of us will be proud Tuesday, and will be standing
really tall," Mokry said.

Funeral services for Army Corporal Librado Luna will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Taylor.

A burial with full military honors will follow at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Cemetery.

Looks like the National League of Families could use some help

via the Castle Argghhh!!!

My adopted POW/MIA is SFC Gunther H. Wald

Happy Veterans Day and Thank You

One veteran's perspective
By Col JACK MORONEY

Article published Nov 11, 2007
One veteran's perspective
By JACK MORONEY
Veteran's Day means a lot to some, a little to others, nothing to many, and is often confused with Memorial Day by most.

While it is a day to honor those men and women who served in this nation's military, it is how the veteran perceives this day that might surprise those who, for one reason or another, never wore their country's uniform.

There are two distinct groups of veterans: those who served a tour in the military and then left to pursue civilian life, and those who chose the military as a profession and remained until retirement.

While service to one's country can often be a life-altering event for either group, I have found that it is the military retiree whose metamorphosis is most complete.

Those who serve and elect to return to civilian life are still basically who they were before they entered military service. There are exceptions of course, but those who return to civilian pursuits are once again the teacher, the mechanic, the professional business person and easily integrated back into society as a member of a civilian community.

The person that retires from active duty has no such identity, very rarely has ties to any civilian community and has learned a hard lesson that you make but very few close friends in the military. He is best defined not by who he was as a civilian but what he did in the military. It is the common thread that binds us all into that band of brothers that have stood for and with each other through indescribable experiences that defy understanding by those who were not witness to those events.

The more elite and demanding the units in which the retiree served, the greater the loss of his connection to civilian identity because there is just no parallel personal or professional civilian category into which he easily fits.

Things change over time, but over decades nothing is recognizable to most returning veterans. Many retirees' chosen path is not akin to a job but rather an all-consuming profession requiring total commitment to each other, their unit and the mission incurring significant, and sometimes unimaginable, physiological, psychological and personal costs.

Despite the portrayals in movies, there are no motivational sound tracks in the background and no glorious visions of striving for the greater good of God and country, just plain gut-wrenching emotions, pain, effort and selflessness to help each other get through to the next event.

I find it amusing that many folks who wish to honor veteran's or "support the troops" do so in blissful ignorance thinking that those of us that chose to serve stood on freedom's frontier at the behest of some ignominious military leader when the truth is that the military is the last card played by the politicians when all other elements of national power have failed. Civilians do not seem to understand that they have been stakeholders all along in the events experienced by veterans because of the very politicians that they have voted in or out of office. I have always thought that the best way to honor a veteran would be to have the entire Congress mustered on the veranda of Lee's Mansion within Arlington National Cemetery. Standing there they can see Washington, D.C., but in the process they have to over look the headstones of thousands of veterans lying in mute testimony to the folly of bad political decisions, political bickering and personal agendas.

It is not the veteran who needs Veteran's Day. For many of us the pride, the shadows, the pain and the tattered memories are with us every day. Veteran's Day is really for everyone other than the veteran so they never forget that we are still walking among them trying to be part of their lives although we have all willingly spent a good portion of ours by taking up the torch for those who could not or would not serve.

Jack Moroney is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who served in Vietnam. He was an Army service member from 1965 through 1993.

Col Moroney was laid to rest in Arlington National with full military honors on Election day 2008. A true warrior poet who will be greatly missed.

RIP Col thanks to you and all Veterans on this day.

John Ripley, Vietnam War hero passes

John Ripley, Vietnam War hero, dies at age 69

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, who was credited with stopping a column of North Vietnamese tanks by blowing up a pair of bridges during the 1972 Easter Offensive of the Vietnam War, died at home at age 69, friends and relatives said Sunday.

Ripley's son, Stephen Ripley, said his father was found at his Annapolis home Saturday after missing a speaking engagement on Friday. The son said the cause of death had not been determined but it appeared his father died in his sleep.

In a videotaped interview with the U.S. Naval Institute for its Americans at War program, Ripley said he and about 600 South Vietnamese were ordered to "hold and die" against 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers with about 200 tanks.

"I'll never forget that order, 'hold and die'," Ripley said. The only way to stop the enormous force with their tiny force was to destroy the bridge, he said.

He earned the "Quad Body" distinction for making it through four of the toughest military training programs in the world: the Army Rangers, Marine reconnaissance, Army Airborne and Britain's Royal Marines, Miller said. He was also the only Marine to be inducted in the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

RIP

Operation Urgent Fury 25 years ago today

Salute to the veterans and in rememberence of the19 who gave all.