One Brick Short

It’s time to even up on all those military affairs that get stuck on this blog like roaches in a motel. There’s the usual litany of the brave who’ve fallen in our Middle East battles and the continuing find of Americans killed in action from previous wars but today there’s a difference. Like the golden drop of Retsyn in a Certs breath mint, the Tic-Tac of the Old School, there are a couple of minty-fresh twists in the entry.

HELPING OTHERS

   
A team of Japanese and Americans are visiting Attu Island, Alaska, in search of burial locations of Japanese soldiers from the 1943 battle. The team flew in on a C-130 to the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Attu Island. They will use ground-penetrating radar to help locate remains and guard against unexploded ordnance.
 
“In June 1942, a unit of the Japanese Army occupied Attu, capturing and imprisoning many of its inhabitants. U.S. forces began action to recapture the small island in May 1943, where fierce hand-to-hand battles led to about 540 American and 2,300 Japanese deaths,“ a release from the Department of Defense states.

In 1953, 235 sets of Japanese remains were recovered on Attu and reburied at Ft. Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska. The Japanese later disinterred those remains, cremated them as part of a religious ceremony and reburied them at the same location.  The Japanese government assisted U.S. investigators in June 2007 in a visit to Iwo Jima in search of information related to American MIAs.

HELL OF A WAY TO GO…

.

That’s what happened to two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, who recently were identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class George W. Koon of Leesville, S.C.; and Sgt. 1st Class Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Ky., both members of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, were recently buried in Leesville, and Arlington National Cemetery respectively.

Koon and Tye were captured by Chinese forces during intense enemy fire in a battle inside North Korea, and subsequently died while in captivity from both malnutrition and medical neglect.   

According to the DoD, Koon, assigned to the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, and Tye, assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment were both advancing north of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 25, the Chinese Army counterattacked the Americans in what would become known as the Battle of the Chong Chon (River). This combat was some of the fiercest of the war, and the 2nd Division initiated a fighting withdrawal to the south.

That’s when they, and others, were taken prisoner and forced to move to a POW camp along the Yalu River. They were found in a mass burial site located 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri, along the route the prisoners were forced to take by their Chinese captors. Remains of several soldiers were found at the site, including Koon and Tye. 
 
TOLLING BELLS

It’s time to honor those of us who have volunteered to serve our country’s interests—whether or not they are interests with which we all agree—and have given their lives on our behalf. Let the bell toll for:

Staff Sgt. Chad A. Caldwell, 24, of Spokane, Wash., died April 30 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained while conducting dismounted combat operations. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

Sgt. Jerry L. DeLoach, 45, of Jackson, Ga., died July 7, 2007, at Fort Knox, Ky. He had been medically evacuated from theater, and died of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Knox.

Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence D. Ezell, 30, of Portland, Texas, died April 30 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. He was assigned to the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, Fort Carson, Colo.

Spc. Jeffrey F. Nichols, 21, of Granite Shoals, Texas, died May 1 in Baghdad from wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Polk, La.

Lance Cpl. Casey L. Casanova, 22, of McComb, Miss.; Cpl. Miguel A. Guzman, 21, of Norwalk, Calif.; Lance Cpl. James F. Kimple, 21, of Carroll, Ohio and Sgt. Glen E. Martinez, 31, of Boulder, Colo. died May 2 in Al Anbar province, Iraq, supporting combat operations.  They were assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Spc. Jeremy R. Gullett, 22, of Greenup, Ky., who was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. and Staff Sgt. Kevin C. Roberts, 25, of Farmington, N. M., who was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky., died May 7 in the Sabari District, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Spc. Alex D. Gonzalez, 21, of Mission, Texas, died May 6 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered small arms fire and a rocket-propelled grenade attack. He was assigned to the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.
 
Pfc. Aaron J. Ward, 19, of San Jacinto, Calif., died May 6 in Al Anbar, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came under small arms fire while conducting cordon and search operations. He was assigned to the 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.
 
Sgt. Isaac Palomarez, 26, of Loveland, Colo., died May 9 in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Spc. Mary J. Jaenichen, 20, of Temecula, Calif., died May 9 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury.  She was assigned to the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Pfc. Ara T. Deysie, 18, of Parker, Ariz., died May 9 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit came under rocket-propelled grenade fire.  He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Spc. Joseph A. Ford, 23, of Knox, Ind., died May 10 in Al Asad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 152nd Cavalry Regiment, 76th Brigade Combat Team, Indiana National Guard, New Albany, Ind.

God speed to you all. There are more to come, already filtering into the Inbox. See you later.

Mac