Memorial Remembrance

[Suzuki Johnny]

#MedalofHonorMonday: Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger earned the Medal of Honor on this day in 1966 during the Vietnam War.


Pitsenbarger was a pararescue medic and had been off duty when a call for help came from members of the 1st Infantry Division. He volunteered to go out in a helicopter to help organize a rescue effort.
After each of the nine casualties were recovered, Pitsenbarger refused evacuation. He insisted on staying behind to continue to aid the men who were still trapped and was wounded several times in the process. When enemy forces breached the American perimeter, Pitsenbarger was among those killed. His action, and the effort to get him the Medal of Honor, are depicted in the 2019 film “The Last Full Measure.”
https://mohmuseum.org/medal_of_honor/pi ... william-h/

[Suzuki Johnny]

U.S. Navy LCdr Maxwell F. Leslie, commanding officer of bombing squadron VB-3, ditches in the ocean next to the heavy cruiser USS Astoria, after successfully attacking the Japanese carrier Soryu during the Battle of Midway, on June 4, 1942. Leslie and his wingman Lt(jg) P.A. Holmberg ditched near Astoria due to fuel exhaustion, after their parent carrier USS Yorktown was under attack by Japanese planes when they returned. Leslie, Holmberg, and their gunners were rescued by one of the cruiser's whaleboats. Note one of the cruiser's Curtiss SOC Seagull floatplanes on the catapult at right.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Medal of Honor. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:


Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on April 4, 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60 mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith's extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division 'Rock of the Marne,' and the United States Army.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Ball turret gunner Staff Sergeant Maynard Smith of the 306th Bombardment Group, is presented with the Medal of Honor by Secretary of War Henry L Stimson in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress at Thurleigh Airfield, USAAF Station 111, England.
First NCO airman to receive Medal of Honor.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Airborne All The Way!
Staff Sergeant Darrell C. "Shifty" Powers was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company , 2nd Battalion , 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II.Story
Story by Chuck Yeager:
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 ..." at which point my heart skipped.
At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.
I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero ... and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes.. And it 's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.
He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough for me. "
The Giant Killer book & page honors these incredible war heroes making sure their stories of valor and sacrifice are never forgotten. The book which features the incredible life of the smallest soldier, Green Beret Captain Richard Flaherty and several of the other heroes featured on this page is available on Amazon & Walmart. God Bless our Vets!

[Suzuki Johnny]

On this day in 1945, Lieutenant Commander George Street earned the Medal of Honor during World War II. While on its first war patrol, the USS Tirante (SS-420), commanded by Lieutenant Commander George Street, entered enemy-held Cheju harbor on Quelpart Island near Quelpart Island, Korea, on the night of April 14. Fully aware of the great risks he was taking in a shallow harbor filled with mines, armed combatants and surface radar, Street slid the Tirante quietly into the harbor, where he found and demolished the 4,000-ton Japanese merchant ship Juzan Maru, as well as two more Japanese ships as the Tirante left the harbor.
Learn more about this expert submariner below:
https://mohmuseum.org/medal_of_honor/st ... ge-levick/

[Suzuki Johnny]

Remembering Louis Van Iersel, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the US Army and the Marines and fought in WWI and WWII, was honored in Sierra Madre, where a US Postal Service Office was named after him. Louis Van Iersel was an immigrant from The Netherlands, he was aboard a British vessel bound for the United States in February 1917, when the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine. In the panic he rigged the boatswain's chair that lifted 27 British sailors to safety, and was awarded a civilian decoration in the name of King George V. As soon as he disembarked in New Jersey he applied for American citizenship and enlisted in the US Army. He served in France as a Sergeant in Company M, 9th Infantry, 2d Division. Van Iersel was awarded the CMOH for distinguishing himself at Mouzon, France, on November 9, 1918. "While a member of the reconnaissance patrol, sent out at night to ascertain the condition of a damaged bridge, Sgt. Van Iersel volunteered to lead a party across the bridge in the face of heavy machine guns and rifle fire from a range of 75 yards.
Crawling alone along the debris of the ruined bridge he came upon a trap which precipitated him into the water. In spite of the swift current, he succeeded in swimming across the stream. Disregarding the enemy fire, he made a careful investigation of the hostile position by which the bridge was defended and then returned to the other bank of the river, reporting this valuable information to the battalion commander."
His actions were credited with saving over 1000 lives. During his WWI service, he also received 14 additional decorations for valor, including two Croix de Guerre from France. Van Iersel became a US citizen in 1919, changed his first name to Louis, and eventually settled in Los Angeles, where he worked as a city engineer for many years. During WWII, he joined the US Marine Corps and served with the 3rd Marine Division in the Bougainville Campaign. At the time of his death (June 9, 1987) at age 93, Van Iersel was believed to be the most highly decorated surviving World War I veteran. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery; there is also a cenotaph for him at Sierra Madre Pioneer Cemetery near his home in Sierra Madre, California. We salute and honor his valiant service and sacrifices for our country.
https://fallenyetnotforgotten.com/

[Suzuki Johnny]

Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall led more than 900 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam. His heroics were numerous, but it was his quick thinking during an aborted mission in 1965 that led him to save the lives of dozens of soldiers — something for which, four decades later, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Crandall was born on Feb. 17, 1933, in Olympia, Washington. He grew up like many boys his age, enjoying the game of baseball, and playing it well enough to become a high school All-American.
Crandall had dreams of being drafted by the New York Yankees, but instead, he was drafted by the Army in 1953. He went to aviation school and received his commission as an officer a year later.
For roughly the first decade of his military career, Crandall's job was mapping. He flew fixed-wing aircraft for topographical studies in Alaska, then headed to Libya, his first overseas assignment, for two years to help map the desert as an instructor and unit test pilot.
In 1956, Crandall married his wife, Arlene. They went on to have three boys.
As they built their family, Crandall built his resume. For a while, he was based out of Panama and Costa Rica, where he flew thousands of miles to chart remote mountains and jungles in Central and South America. He then helped develop air-assault tactics as a platoon commander while assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division.
In 1963, Crandall reported to Fort Benning, Georgia, to help lead a new air cavalry unit. He was the liaison for the 18th Airborne Corps in the Dominican Republic Expeditionary Force in early 1965 before he left to be a commanding officer on his first deployment to Vietnam.
Once arriving in-country, then-Maj. Crandall took charge of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, the first major division operation of airmobile troops. He was well-respected by his soldiers, who gave him the nickname "Old Snake" — derived from his call sign, which was Ancient Serpent 6.
On Nov. 14, 1965, Crandall's flight of 16 helicopters took troops on a search-and-destroy mission from an area called Plei Me to Landing Zone X-Ray, a remote spot in the Ia Drang Valley.
On his fifth trip into the valley, the enemy had targeted the site. As Crandall and eight other unarmed helicopters landed to drop off troops, they came under such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the other helicopters to abort the mission.
As Crandall flew back to his base of operations, he realized that the men who were now surrounded at Landing Zone X-Ray desperately needed more ammunition than they had. So he took it upon himself to help: He adjusted his base of operations to Artillery Firebase Falcon, which was closer to the besieged site. Then he gathered volunteers to help him deliver ammunition to the trapped soldiers and evacuate the wounded. It wasn't his mission, but he couldn't stand by while the men on the ground were suffering.
Despite the heavy enemy fire, Crandall and another helicopter piloted by Maj. Ed Freeman, flew back to Landing Zone X-Ray, delivered much-needed ammunition and began loading their choppers with seriously wounded soldiers. Crandall did that flight 21 more times throughout the rest of the day and into the evening, only stopping once. He knew that he had done all he could for the battalion on the ground.
Crandall's decision also offered a necessary morale boost at a pivotal time. The pilots around him saw what he was doing and were inspired to land their own aircraft to help. Conversely, the soldiers on the ground realized they weren't alone in the fight: They had more supplies coming and a team to evacuate their wounded.
Crandall and Freeman were credited with evacuating about 70 wounded soldiers that day. Both men earned Distinguished Service Crosses for their actions.
Crandall continued serving heroically in Vietnam. In January 1966, he was commended for rescuing 12 wounded soldiers during a dense jungle operation. Crandall then went back to the states for a bit for more schooling, but he eventually redeployed to Vietnam to fly Huey gunships in support of the 1st Cavalry Division.
About four months into that second tour, Crandall's helicopter went down. He suffered a broken back and other injuries that left him hospitalized for five months.
Once he recovered, he remained in the Army and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska in 1969. He hopped around to a few more duty stations before suffering a stroke, which ended his flying career.
Even then, he continued to serve in the Army in other capacities until he retired in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel. That same year, Crandall earned a master's degree in public administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He spent a few more years in California working for the local government before he and his family moved to Mesa, Arizona, to continue his government service as a civilian.
Around the turn of the century, a decades-long paperwork delay was finally pushed through that nominated Crandall and Freeman's Distinguished Service Crosses be upgraded to Medals of Honor. But — having been known to always put his men before himself — when Crandall found out Freeman had also been nominated, he insisted that his own name be withdrawn. Records show he said that if only one of them could get the high honor, he wanted it to be his wingman.
So in 2001, Freeman received the Medal of Honor for his 1965 actions. Six years later, Crandall would finally receive the honor, too.
A High Honor … Finally
On Feb. 26, 2007, the Medal of Honor was placed around 74-year-old Crandall's neck by President George W. Bush during a White House ceremony. Several of Crandall's fellow soldiers were there to celebrate his achievements.

[Suzuki Johnny]

WWII uncovered: John Morgan: Medal of Honor Recipient: POW: Inspiration for Twelve O'Clock High
"John C. Morgan: Draft-classified 4-F goes on to serve with the Air Forces of three nations, flies 26 combat missions (he says it really was only 25 and a half) with the RCAF, RAF and the AAF, earns this country’s highest decoration for valor, and spends 14 months as a POW. No American who survived World War II paid his dues more fully than that tough, tenacious Texan" - National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force
John Morgan broke his back as a young man working in the oil fields of Texas, and was refused enlistment in the US Army as 4-F, medically unqualified. Before the US entered World War II, Morgan joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, recalling, "They didn't ask me if I ever broke my back, and I didn't tell them."
"Morgan enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on August 4, 1941, and then joined the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons in 1942. He trained at Saskatchewan and Ontario, Canada, and Church Lawford, England. He transferred to the Eighth Air Force of the US Army Air Forces upon its arrival in England. Morgan qualified as a Flight Officer in March 1943 and as a Second Lieutenant eight months later."
Morgan flew B–17s from England with the 325th, 326th, and 813th Bomb Squadrons. On December 17, 1943, he received the Medal of Honor for his actions as copilot of a B–17 during his fifth mission with the US Army Air Forces, a raid targeting Hannover, Germany, on July 26, 1943.
He was in the copilot's seat when his B–17 was attacked by a large force of enemy fighters. The plane was severely damaged, and the pilot, hit by a frontal attack, fell over the steering wheel, tightly clamping his arms around it.
Second Lieutenant John Morgan's Medal of Honor Citation reads as follows:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while participating on a bombing mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe, 28 July 1943. Prior to reaching the German coast on the way to the target, the B17 airplane in which 2nd Lt. Morgan was serving as copilot was attacked by a large force of enemy fighters, during which the oxygen system to the tail, waist, and radio gun positions was knocked out. A frontal attack placed a cannon shell through the windshield, totally shattering it, and the pilot’s skull was hit by a .303 caliber shell, leaving him in a crazed condition. The pilot fell over the steering wheel, tightly clamping his arms around it. 2nd Lt. Morgan at once grasped the controls from his side and, by sheer strength, pulled the airplane back into formation despite the frantic struggles of the semiconscious pilot. The interphone had been destroyed, rendering it impossible to call for help. The waist, tail, and radio gunners had lost consciousness from lack of oxygen and, hearing no fire from their guns, the copilot believed they had bailed out. The wounded pilot still offered desperate resistance in his crazed attempts to fly the airplane. There remained the prospect of flying to and over the target and back to a friendly base wholly unassisted. In the face of this desperate situation, 2nd Lt. Officer Morgan made his decision to continue the flight and protect any members of the crew who might still be in the ship and for 2 hours he flew in formation with one hand at the controls and the other holding off the struggling pilot before the navigator entered the steering compartment and relieved the situation. The miraculous and heroic performance of 2nd Lt. Morgan on this occasion resulted in the successful completion of a vital bombing mission and the safe return of his airplane and crew.
Given the opportunity to return to the States Second Lieutenant Morgan refused. He wanted to defend his country. On March 6, 1944 Morgan was the pilot of a B-17 leading the first major USAAF attack against Berlin when he was shot down and captured and held in Stalag Luft I for the remainder of the war. Second Lieutenant Morgan was the only Medal of Honor recipient to become a POW after receiving the award.
"In 1948 Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr. published their novel "Twelve O'Clock High" and used Morgan as a model for a primary character, Lt. Jesse Bishop. The wording of his actions appearing in his citation was used as dialogue in the script to describe the actions of Bishop under similar circumstances, and like Morgan, Bishop's character was awarded the Medal of Honor and later became a POW. (United States Air Force/Historical Support Division)
John returned to the United States after the war and worked for Texaco. He was separated from active duty on January 29, 1946, but remained in the Reserves. Morgan was promoted to Major in July 1950. In June 1951, he was recalled to active duty and assigned to Technical Training Command as an Operations and Training Officer. After being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel Morgan went off active duty again in August 1953 but continued in the Reserves.
Lieutenant Colonel John Morgan, World War II Hero, Medal of Honor recipient and Prisoner of War passed away on January 17, 1991 at the age of 76 years old. He lies in rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Lest We Forget.
#ww2uncovered #HonorourVeterans #ww2 #worldwartwo #worldwar2 #WorldWarII #MedalofHonor #medalmonday #WWII #WWIIveteran #wwiihistory #ww2veteran #ww2history #ww2planes #pilot #pilots #greatestgeneration #lestweforget
Original description and photos sourced by the United States Air Force/Historical Support Division, American Air Museum in Britain, National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force and National Air Force Museum.

[HARRIS]

ANYONE THINK TODAY'S SNOWFLAKES COULD OR WOULD, OR EVEN COME CLOSE TO WHAT HE DID ...?

[Herb]

ANYONE THINK TODAY'S SNOWFLAKES COULD OR WOULD, OR EVEN COME CLOSE TO WHAT HE DID ...?

Not the snowflakes and the way the admin is purging the military of anyone that would be capable of the feats shown in this thread, there will not be anyone that would be willing or able to do equivalent acts.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Remembering Elsie Ott, an Army Nurse Corps Second Lieutenant who became the first woman to receive the U.S. Air Medal. Born in 1913, in Smithtown, New York. After graduating from highschool, Elsie Ott attended the Lenox Hill Hospital School of Nursing in New York City and worked for several different hospitals. After joining the U.S Army Nurse Corps in 1941, she was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. and stationed in Louisiana, Virginia and India where she was assigned to an air evacuation unit.
On 17 January 1943, within about twenty-four hours of arriving at her new unit, Lt. Ott was aboard an aircraft in route from Karachi, India, to Washington, D.C., with five patients bound for Walter Reed Army Hospital.
She was a member of the flight crew that made the first ever intercontinental evacuation of patient by aircraft. Usually, a trip from Karachi to Washington D.C. would take three months by ship. However, crews finished this mission for one week.
During the flight, Lt Elsie Ott kept detailed notes that improved patient care as the Army continued to develop its innovative aeromedical evacuation procedures. She noted that an oxygen tank, wound dressing material, extra coffee and blankets were mandatory for future missions. She also noted that her required uniform was impractical, and she requested not to wear a skirt during these duties.
This was the first aerial evacuation flight in nursing history. It was also the pioneer movement of transporting wounded soldiers by air over such a great distance (11,000 miles). For her meritorious service, Lieutenant Ott became the first Army nurse and first female soldier awarded the Air Medal.
2nd Lt. Elsie Ott passed away in 2006.
We honor her service.

[Suzuki Johnny]

At age eight, Edgar Schmued first saw an airplane in flight and decided that aviation was to be his life's work. Edgar embarked on a rigorous program of self-study to become an engineer, and later served an apprenticeship in a small engine factory. He also designed several innovative engine components for which he received patents. In his spare time, he continued the self-study of aviation. His experience in Germany led to employment with the General Motors Corporation in Brazil, and later with a General Motors subsidiary in the United States, the Fokker Aeroplane Company, where he began his career as an airplane design engineer. In 1935, North American Aviation was formed in Los Angeles, California. The talented and inventive Schmued, by now a citizen of the United States, was employed by North American as a preliminary design engineer and later became chief of Preliminary Design. During his long tenure at North American, he contributed greatly to the design of many airplanes. By far his most famous design was the highly successful P-51 Mustang of World War II. His adaptation of the then new laminar flow wing and other innovations made the P-51 performance outstanding in all respects and its flying qualities superb. This aircraft was still winning races and setting speed records for piston engine-powered airplanes decades after its production had ended.
Edgar Schmued was inducted into the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 1991.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Lawrence Joel (February 22, 1928 – February 4, 1984) was a United States Army soldier who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While serving in South Vietnam as a medic with the rank of specialist five assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503d Infantry in the 173d Airborne Brigade, Joel received the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor for his heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong that occurred on November 8, 1965. He was the first medic to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War[1] and the first living black American to receive this medal since the Spanish–American War in 1898.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. SP6 Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gunfire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self-administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Through this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his pain, he continued his search for wounded, exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating 13 more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of one man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As 1 of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, SP6 Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gunfire to the wounded men. After the 24-hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered 410, snipers continued to harass the company. Throughout the long battle, SP6 Joel never lost sight of his mission as a medical aidman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. SP6 Joel's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Honoring Major Henry Alfred Commiskey, Sr. today. Commiskey was the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in the Korean War.
As a first lieutenant, he was presented the Nation's highest decoration for valor by President Harry S. Truman in a White House ceremony on 1 August 1951. He was cited for fearlessly leading a charge up a hill and killing seven enemy soldiers in hand to hand combat.
The action occurred 20 September 1950 near Yongdungpo, Korea, on the outskirts of Seoul.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice!! #Warriors2US ❤
#military #veterans #firstresponders #army #usmc #navy #airforce #coastguard

[Suzuki Johnny]

Remembering Ernest Childers, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions in World War II.
Ernest Childers was born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on February 1, 1918. A Muscogee Creek Indian, after graduating from the Chilocco Indian Agriculture School in Chilocco, OK, Childers enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard in 1937 as a Private and was assigned to the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. After the U.S. entry into World War II, he was sent to Europe and by September 22, 1943, he was a second lieutenant serving with 45th Infantry Division, 180th Infantry Regiment, in Italy.
On that day, at Oliverto, he single-handedly killed two enemy snipers, attacked two machine gun nests, and captured an artillery observer. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor seven months later, on April 8, 1944. He was the first Native American to earn the medal since the Indian Wars of the 19th century.
Ernest Childers reached the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring from the Army. He died at age 87 and was buried at Floral Haven Memorial Gardens in his birthplace of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Before his death, a middle school was named in his honor, Ernest Childers Middle School and the Veteran's Administration Medical Center Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma is named in his honor, the Ernest Childers OutPatient Clinic.
We are eternally grateful for his service.
https://fallenyetnotforgotten.com

[Suzuki Johnny]

Sgt. Elbert Kinser posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions #OnThisDay in 1945 on Okinawa. He saved the lives of his squad by diving on a grenade during battle. He was 22 years old. Rest In Peace, Sir.
#WWII #USMC #WeRememberThem #16MillionStrong

[Suzuki Johnny]

On this May 6, 1968, Specialist Fourth Class Robert Martin Patterson earned the #MedalofHonor for his actions during the Vietnam War.
When Patterson’s squad was pinned by heavy fire from enemy bunkers, he fearlessly and unhesitatingly charged the bunker complex. In this action he singlehandedly destroyed five enemy bunkers, killed eight enemy soldiers, and inspired his platoon to continue their advance.
https://mohmuseum.org/medal_of_honor/robert-patterson/

[Suzuki Johnny]

The incredible story of POW Navy Pilot Dieter Dengler and his escape from a prison camp in Laos.

Dieter Dengler (May 22, 1938 – February 7, 2001) was a German-born United States Navy aviator during the Vietnam War and, following six months of imprisonment and torture, became the first captured U.S. airman to escape enemy captivity during the war. Of seven prisoners of war who escaped together from a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos, Dengler was one of two survivors (the other was Thailand citizen Phisit Intharathat). Dengler was rescued after 23 days on the run.
DieterDengler was born and raised in the small town of Wildberg, in the Black Forest region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He grew up not knowing his father, who had been drafted into the German army in 1939 and was killed during World War II on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1943/44. Dengler became very close to his mother and brothers. Dengler's maternal grandfather, Hermann Schnuerle, claimed he refused to vote for Adolf Hitler in the 1934 elections. Subsequently he was paraded around town with a placard around his neck, was spat upon, and was then sent to labor in a rock mine for a year. Dengler credited his grandfather's resolve as a major inspiration during his time in Laos. His grandfather's steadfastness despite the great risks was one reason Dengler refused a North Vietnamese demand that he sign a document condemning American aggression in Southeast Asia.
Dieter grew up in extreme poverty but always found ways to help his family survive. Dieter and his brothers would go into bombed-out buildings, tear off wallpaper, and bring it to their mother to boil for the nutrients in the wheat-based wallpaper paste. When members of the small group of Moroccans who lived in the area would slaughter sheep for their meals, Dieter would sneak over to their lodgings to take the scraps and leftovers they would not eat and his mother would make dinner from them. He also built a bicycle by scavenging from dumps. Dieter was apprenticed to a blacksmith at the age of 14. The blacksmith and the other boys, who worked six days a week building giant clocks and clock faces to repair German cathedrals, regularly beat him. Later in life Dieter thanked his former master "for his disciplined training and for helping Dieter become more capable, self-reliant and yes, 'tough enough to survive'".
After seeing an advertisement in an American magazine, expressing a need for pilots, he decided to go to the United States. Although a family friend agreed to sponsor him, he lacked money for passage and came up with a plan to independently salvage brass and other metals to sell.
In 1956, when he turned 18 and upon completion of his apprenticeship, Dengler hitchhiked to Hamburg and spent two weeks surviving on the streets before the ship set sail for New York City. While on the ship he saved fruit and sandwiches for the coming days and when going through customs the agent was astonished when the food tumbled out of his shirt. He lived on the streets of Manhattan for just over a week and eventually found his way to an Air Force recruiter. He was assured that piloting aircraft was what the Air Force was all about so he enlisted in June 1957 and went to basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. After basic training, Dengler spent two years peeling potatoes and then transferred to a motor pool as a mechanic. His qualifications as a machinist led to an assignment as a gunsmith. He passed the test for aviation cadets but was told that only college graduates were selected to be pilots and his enlistment expired before he was selected for pilot training.
After his discharge Dengler joined his brother working in a bakery shop near San Francisco and enrolled in San Francisco City College, then transferred to the College of San Mateo, where he studied aeronautics. Upon completion of two years of college he applied for the US Navy aviation cadet program and was accepted.
Dengler would do whatever it took to become a pilot. In his inaugural flight at primary flight training, for example, the instructor told Dengler that if he became airsick and vomited in the cockpit that he would receive a "down" on his record. Students were only allowed three downs then they would wash out of flight training. The instructor took the plane through spins and loops causing Dengler to become dizzy and disoriented. Knowing he was about to vomit and not wanting to receive a "down", Dengler took off his boot, threw up into it and put it back on. At the end of the flight the instructor checked the cockpit and could smell the vomit, but couldn't find any evidence of it. He didn't get a "down".
After his completion of flight training Dengler went to the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas for training as an attack pilot in the Douglas AD Skyraider. He joined VA-145 while the squadron was on shore duty at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. In 1965 the squadron joined the carrier USS Ranger. In December the carrier set sail for the coast of Vietnam. He was stationed initially at Dixie Station, off South Vietnam then moved north to Yankee Station for operations against North Vietnam.
On February 1, 1966, the day after the carrier began flying missions from Yankee Station, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Dengler launched from the Ranger with three other aircraft on an interdiction mission against a truck convoy that had been reported in North Vietnam. Thunderstorms forced the pilots to divert to their secondary target, a road intersection located west of the Mu Gia Pass in Laos. At the time, U.S. air operations in Laos were classified "secret". Visibility was poor due to smoke from burning fields, and upon rolling in on the target, Dengler and the remainder of his flight lost sight of one another. Visibility was poor, and as Dengler rolled his Skyraider in on the target after flying for two-and-a-half hours into enemy territory, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire.
"There was a large explosion on my right side," he remembered when interviewed shortly before his death in 2001.
It was like lightning striking. The right wing was gone. The airplane seemed to cartwheel through the sky in slow motion. There were more explosions—boom, boom, boom—and I was still able to guide the plane into a clearing in Laos.
He said: "Many times, people have asked me if I was afraid. Just before dying, there is no more fear. I felt I was floating."
When his squadron mates realized that he had been downed, they remained confident that he would be rescued. Immediately after he was shot down, Dengler smashed his survival radio and hid most of his other survival equipment to keep Vietnamese or Lao search parties from finding it. The day after being shot down Dengler was apprehended by Pathet Lao troops, the Laotian equivalent of the Viet Cong.
He was marched through the jungle, was tied on the ground to four stakes spreadeagled in order to stop him escaping at night. In the morning his face would be swollen from mosquito bites and he was unable to see. After an early escape attempt he was recaptured while drinking from a spring. According to Dengler he was tortured in retaliation:
I had escaped from them, [and] they wanted to get even. He was hung upside down by his ankles with a nest of biting ants over his face until he lost consciousness, suspended in a freezing well at night so that if he fell asleep he might drown. On other occasions he was dragged through villages by a water buffalo, to the amusement of his guards, as they goaded the animal with a whip. He was asked by Pathet Lao officials to sign a document condemning the United States, but he refused and as a result he was tortured as tiny wedges of bamboo were inserted under his fingernails and into incisions on his body which grew and festered.
"They were always thinking of something new to do to me." Dengler recalled. "One guy made a rope tourniquet around my upper arm. He inserted a piece of wood, and twisted and twisted until my nerves cut against the bone. The hand was completely unusable for six months."
After some weeks Dengler was handed over to the Vietnamese. As they marched him through a village, a man slipped Dengler's engagement ring from his finger. Dengler complained to his guards. They found the culprit, summarily chopped off his finger with a machete and handed the ring back to Dengler.
"I realized right there and then that you don't fool around with the Viet Cong", he said.
Dengler had trained in escaping and survival at the Navy SERE survival school, where he had twice escaped from the mock-POW camp run by SERE instructors and Marine guards and was planning a third escape when the training ended. He had also set a record as the only student to gain weight (three pounds) during the SERE course; his childhood experiences had made him unafraid of eating whatever he could find and he had feasted on food the course instructors had thrown in the garbage.
Dengler was eventually brought to a prison camp near the village of Par Kung where he met other POWs. The other six prisoners were:
Phisit Intharathat (Thai)
Prasit Promsuwan (Thai)
Prasit Thanee (Thai)
Y.C. To (Chinese)
Eugene DeBruin (American)
Duane W. Martin (American)
Except for Martin, an Air Force helicopter pilot who had been shot down in North Vietnam nearly a year before, the other prisoners were civilians employed by Air America, a civilian airline owned by the Central Intelligence Agency. The civilians had been held by the Pathet Lao for over two and a half years when Dengler joined them.
"I had hoped to see other pilots. What I saw horrified me. The first one who came out was carrying his intestines around in his hands. One had no teeth - plagued by awful infections, he had begged the others to knock them out with a rock and a rusty nail in order to release pus from his gums". "They had been there for two and a half years," said Dengler. "I looked at them and it was just awful. I realized that was how I would look in six months. I had to escape."
The day he arrived in the camp, Dengler advised the other prisoners that he intended to escape and invited them to join him. They advised that he wait until the monsoon season when there would be plenty of water. Shortly after Dengler arrived, the prisoners were moved to a new camp ten miles away at Hoi Het. After the move, a strong debate ensued among the prisoners with Dengler, Martin and Prasit arguing for escape which the other prisoners, particularly Phisit initially opposed.
As food began to run out, tension between the men grew: they were given just a single handful of rice to share while the guards would stalk deer, pulling the grass out of the animal's stomach for the prisoners to eat while they shared the meat. The prisoners' only "treats" were snakes they occasionally caught from the communal latrine or the rats that lived under their hut which they could spear with sharpened bamboo. At night the men were handcuffed together and shackled to wooden foot blocks. They suffered chronic dysentery and were made to lie in their excrement until morning.
After several months, one of the Thai prisoners overheard the guards talking about shooting them in the jungle and making it look like an escape attempt. They too, were starving and wanted to return to their villages. With that revelation, everyone agreed and a date to escape was set. Their plan was to take over the camp and signal a C-130 Hercules flare-ship that made nightly visits to the area. Dengler loosened logs under the hut that allowed the prisoners to squeeze through. The plan was for him to go out when the guards were eating and seize their weapons and pass them to Phisit Intharathat and Promsuwan while Martin and DeBruin procured others from other locations.
"I planned to capture the guards at lunchtime, when they put down their rifles to get their food. There were two minutes and twenty seconds in the day when I could strike." In that time Dengler had to release all the men from their handcuffs.
Escape
On June 29, 1966 while the guards were eating, the group slipped out of their hand-cuffs and foot restraints and grabbed the guards' unattended weapons which included M1 rifles, Chinese automatic rifles, an American carbine and at least one sub-machine gun as well as an early version of the AK47 automatic rifle, which Dengler used during the escape from the POW camp. Dengler went out first followed by Martin. He went to the guard hut and seized an M1 for himself and passed the American carbine to Martin. The guards realized the prisoners had escaped and five of them rushed toward Dengler, who shot at least three with the AK47. Phisit killed another guard as he reached for his rifle. Two others ran off, presumably to get help, although at least one had been wounded. The seven prisoners split into three groups. DeBruin was originally supposed to go with Dengler and Martin but decided to go with To, who was recovering from a fever and unable to keep up. They intended to get over the nearest ridge and wait for rescue. Dengler and Martin went off by themselves with the intention of heading for the Mekong River to escape to Thailand, but they never got more than a few miles from the camp from which they had escaped.
"Seven of us escaped," said Dengler. "I was the only one who came out alive."
With the exception of Phisit, who was recaptured and later rescued by Laotian troops, none of the other prisoners were ever seen again. DeBruin was reportedly captured and placed in another camp, then disappeared in 1968.
Rescue
Escape proved to be hazardous. Soon, the two men's feet were white, mangled stumps from trekking through the dense jungle. They found the sole of an old tennis shoe, which they wore alternately, strapping it onto a foot with rattan for a few moments' respite. In this way they were able to make their way to a fast-flowing river.
"It was the highway to freedom," said Dengler, "We knew it would flow into the Mekong River, which would take us over the border into Thailand and to safety."
The men built a raft and floated downstream on ferocious rapids, tying themselves to trees at night to stop themselves being washed away in the torrential water. By morning they would be covered in mud and hundreds of leeches. When they thought they were on their way to the Mekong, they discovered that they had gone around in a circle. They had spotted several villages but had not been detected. They set up camp in an abandoned village where they found shelter from the nearly incessant rain. They had brought rice with them and found other food, but were still on the verge of starvation. Their intent had been to signal a C-130 but at first lacked the energy to build a fire using primitive methods of rubbing bamboo together. Dengler finally managed to locate carbine cartridges that Martin had thrown away and used their powder to enhance the tinder and got a fire going. That night they lit torches and waved them in the shape of an S and O when a C-130 came over. The airplane circled and dropped a couple of flares and they were overjoyed, believing they had been spotted. They woke up the next morning to find the landscape covered by fog and drizzle, but when it lifted, no rescue force appeared.
Martin, who was weak from starvation and was suffering from malaria, wanted to approach a nearby Akha village to steal some food. Dengler knew it was not a good idea, but refused to let his friend go near the village alone. They saw a little boy playing with a dog and the child ran into the village calling out "American!" Within seconds a villager appeared and they knelt down on the trail in supplication, but the man swung his machete and struck Martin in the leg. With the next swipe, Martin's head came off. Dengler jumped to his feet and rushed toward the villager, who turned and ran into the village to get help.
I reached for the rubber sole from his foot, grabbed it and ran. From that moment on, all my motions became mechanical. I couldn't care less if I lived or died.
Dengler recalls, it was a wild animal who gave him the mental strength to continue.
"I was followed by this beautiful bear. He became like my pet dog and was the only friend I had."
These were his darkest hours. Little more than a walking skeleton after weeks on the run, he floated in and out of a hallucinatory state.
"I was just crawling along," he said. "Then I had a vision: these enormous doors opened up. Lots of horses came galloping out. They were not driven by death, but by angels. Death didn't want me."
Dengler managed to evade the searchers who went out after him and escaped back into the jungle. He returned to the abandoned village where the two had been spending their time and where he and Martin had signaled the C-130. That night when a C-130 flare-ship came, Dengler set fire to the huts and burned the village down. The C-130 crew spotted the fires and dropped flares, but even though the crew reported their sighting when they returned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, the fires were not recognized by intelligence as having been a signal from a survivor.
Deatrick has long marvelled at the fact that had he stuck to his original flight schedule on the morning of July 20, 1966, Dieter would not have been at the river to be sighted at that earlier hour. "If God put me on the earth for one reason," Deatrick says, "it was to find Dieter over there in the jungle." As it was, Deatrick describes it as "a million-in-one chance."
-Excerpt from Dengler biography regarding the role of pilot Eugene Deatrick
When a rescue force again failed to materialize, Dengler decided to find one of the parachutes from a flare for use as a possible signal. He found one on a bush and placed it in his rucksack. On July 20, 1966, after 23 days in the jungle, Dengler managed to signal an Air Force pilot with the parachute. A 2-ship flight of Air Force Skyraiders from the 1st Air Commando Squadron happened to fly up the river where Dengler was. Eugene Peyton Deatrick, the pilot of the lead plane and the squadron commander, spotted a flash of white while making a turn at the river's bend and came back and spotted a man waving something white. Deatrick and his wingman contacted rescue forces, but were told to ignore the sighting, as no airmen were known to be down in the area. Deatrick persisted and eventually managed to convince the command and control center to dispatch a rescue force. Fearing that Dengler might be a Viet Cong soldier, the helicopter crew restrained him when he was brought aboard.
According to the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly Dengler said one of the flight crew who was holding him down pulled out a half eaten snake from underneath Dengler's clothing and was so surprised he nearly fell out of the helicopter. Dengler was stripped of his clothes to ensure he was not armed or in possession of a hand grenade. When questioned, Dengler told Air Force pararescue specialist Michael Leonard that he was a Navy Lieutenant JG who had escaped from a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp two months earlier. Deatrick radioed the rescue helicopter crew to see if they could identify the person they had just hoisted up from the jungle. They reported that they had a man who claimed to be a downed Navy pilot who flew a Douglas A-1H Skyraider.
It wasn't until after he reached the hospital at Da Nang that Dengler's identity was confirmed. A conflict between the Air Force and the Navy developed over who should control his debriefing and recovery. In an apparent attempt to prevent the Air Force from embarrassing them in some way, the Navy sent a team of SEALs into the hospital to steal Dengler. He was brought out of the hospital in a covered gurney and rushed to the air field, where he was placed aboard a Navy carrier delivery transport Grumman C-2A from VR-21 and flown to the Ranger where a welcoming party had been prepared. At night, however, he was tormented by awful terrors, and had to be tied to his bed. In the end, his friends put him to sleep in a cockpit, surrounded by pillows. "It was the only place I felt safe," he said.
Dengler's deprivation from malnutrition and parasites caused the Navy doctors to order that he be airlifted to the United States.
Later life and death
Dengler recovered physically, but never put his ordeal behind him. As Werner Herzog described it in his documentary about Dengler, "Men are often haunted by things that happen to them in life, especially in war Their lives seem to be normal, but they are not."
He remained in the navy for a year, was promoted to Lieutenant, and was trained to fly jets. When his military obligation was satisfied, he resigned from the Navy and applied for a position as an airline pilot with Trans World Airlines (TWA). He continued flying and survived four subsequent crashes as a civilian test pilot.
In 1977, during a time when he was furloughed from TWA, Dengler returned to Laos and was greeted as a celebrity by the Pathet Lao. He was taken to the camp from which he had escaped and was surprised to discover that at one point he and Martin had been within a mile and a half of it.
His fascination with airplanes and aviation continued for the remainder of his life. He continued flying almost up until his death. He took an early-retirement as a pilot for TWA sometime prior to 1985, but continued flying his meticulously restored Cessna 195, putting it on static display at numerous California air shows.
In 2000, Dengler was inducted into the Gathering of Eagles program and told the story of his escape to groups of young military officers. Dengler was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurological disorder; on February 7, 2001, he rolled his wheelchair from his house down to the driveway of a fire station and shot himself. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A Navy honor guard was present at the burial as well as a fly-over by Navy F-14 Tomcats.

[Suzuki Johnny]

We are honored to host MOH recipient Leroy Petry on the FOB May 8th to kick off our 22 Days of Light the Fire. He put himself in harms way to save the lives of his brothers in arms in Afghanistan, now he uses his platform to save the lives of our Veterans. True American hero!

Please read his citation below:
Staff Sergeant Leroy A. Petry distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the vicinity of Paktya Province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2008. As a Weapons Squad Leader with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Staff Sergeant Petry moved to clear the courtyard of a house that potentially contained high-value combatants. While crossing the courtyard, Staff Sergeant Petry and another Ranger were engaged and wounded by automatic weapons fire from enemy fighters. Still under enemy fire, and wounded in both legs, Staff Sergeant Petry led the other Ranger to cover. He then reported the situation and engaged the enemy with a hand grenade, providing suppression as another Ranger moved to his position. The enemy quickly responded by maneuvering closer and throwing grenades. The first grenade explosion knocked his two fellow Rangers to the ground and wounded both with shrapnel. A second grenade then landed only a few feet away from them. Instantly realizing the danger, Staff Sergeant Petry, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, deliberately and selflessly moved forward, picked up the grenade, and in an effort to clear the immediate threat, threw the grenade away from his fellow Rangers. As he was releasing the grenade it detonated, amputating his right hand at the wrist and further injuring him with multiple shrapnel wounds. Although picking up and throwing the live grenade grievously wounded Staff Sergeant Petry, his gallant act undeniably saved his fellow Rangers from being severely wounded or killed. Despite the severity of his wounds, Staff Sergeant Petry continued to maintain the presence of mind to place a tourniquet on his right wrist before communicating the situation by radio in order to coordinate support for himself and his fellow wounded Rangers. Staff Sergeant Petry's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States Army.
#operationpatriotsfob #RegroupReFocus #opfob #save22club