Marine LCpl Dale Peterson died April 23 while conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. He was with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Tomorrow morning the Patriot Guard Riders will pass my house on their way to Burns, on the far east side of the state, to meet LCpl Peterson's final plane home. They will serve as escorts throughout his services.
Dale was a son of Burns in Eastern Oregon and Redmond in Central Oregon.
He graduated from Redmond High School in 2005, and joined the Marines when he graduated from high school. His teacher, Georgia Hendricks, remembered Dale for his upbeat spirit and positive attitude. "He was very bright, a great young man.
We loved him here and had a lot of respect for his abilities and natural talent, and his ability to make other people feel good," she said.
Dale's widow, Marine LCpl Regina "Reggie" Peterson, said that "he chose Camp Lejeune because he knew they were going to deploy. It breaks my heart, but I also couldn't be prouder.
He was doing what he wanted to do."
His father said, "this is about a boy who had the courage to go in the military and fight and die for his country."
Dale is survived by his wife, Reggie, a Bend native; his mother, Dorothy, of Burns; his father and step-mother, Greg and Kathy of Redmond, and three sisters.
SSG Brian Oswalt, 4087 W Harvard St, Boise ID 83705
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time.
Farewell, LCpl Dale Peterson, and Walk with God.
Rescue attempt of the Iran Hostages:
Crews make final checks on three of the eight RH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters lined up on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in preparation for Operation Evening Light, the Navy code name for the rescue mission to Iran. For the mission to go forward, six of the eight RH-53s had to make it into Iran in working order. Two were damaged in a severe sandstorm and had to turn back.
Six of them did make it. But just before heading out to their next staging point, one developed a hydraulic problem, and the mission was scrubbed.
A rendevous area for the C-130's and the helicopters inside of Iran, was called Desert One.
After they lost three helicopters, it was clear that the mission would have to be cancelled. The aircraft refueled and the Special Operations team loaded onto the C-130, it was determined that one of the helicopters had to be moved. It hit the C-130, causing the plane and the helicopter to erupt into a fireball.
The plan for a volunteer force of Joint Special Operations Group to inflitrate Tehran and rescue the hostages ended in equipment failure and a final ball of fire. They has risked all for a daring plan, endured sandstorms and still eight US sericemen died in the Great Salt Desert near Tabas, Iran.
Some of the charred bodies were taken through the streets of Tehran during massive protests.
Secret operational documents were also discovered in the wreckage and put on display for the international media to examine.
April 25, 1980 A defining moment for President Jimmy Carter, for the American people and for America s military. At 7 a.
m. a somber President Carter announced to the nation, and the world, that eight American servicemen were dead and several others were seriously injured, after a super-secret hostage rescue mission failed.
SGT John D Harvey, 21, Roanoke, VACPL George N Holmes, Jr, 22, Pine Bluff, AR
SSG Dewey L Johnson, 32, Jacksonville, NC
MAJ Richard L Bakke, 34, Long Beach, CA
MAJ Harold Lewis, 35, Mansfield, CT
TSGT Joel C Mayo, 34, Bonifay, FL
MAJ Lynn D McIntosh, 33, Valdosta, GA
CAPT Charles T McMillan II, 28, Corrytown, TN
"The sheer audacity of the mission, the enormity of the task, the political situation at the time.
When I reflect on the results - both positive and negative - I'm awed.
The very soul of any nation is its heroes. We are in the company of giants and in the shadow of eight true heroes.
"
- General Hugh Shelton, April 2000Visiting Arlington National Cemetery, I always stop at the memorial marker for those lost on this mission - picture shown above. Even though I remember the event vividly, I spent many days reading everything I could to know what had happened. One of the most interesting things I found was the report on the investigation of the event - archived at Jimmy Carter's Library - and the positives and negatives of the mission.
From this tragedy the Special Operations Command was born - a unification of the Special Operations Forces which made them more effective in communication and working together. The ability to refuel at a remote site was also begun. This was not President Carter's brightest moment.
It was an incredibly sad day for our military and for our country. I will ever honor them for trying to rescue their fellow Americans, regardless of the risky and flawed plan they were given.
To read more, go to the
When we think of military combat medicine, we think of hospitals treating combat wounds.
But, there is more to it. Soldiers get sick, get hurt, and have all of the needs that most of us have. Clinics to deal with this are created in the midst of the war zone.
For an aviation unit, they have the additional duties of flight physicals.
Col. Stephen Ulrich has been documenting his experiences for the Central Ohio News.
In this installment, he discusses life at the Mustang Aviation Clinic.
"Sick call in the Army is a long noble tradition for sick soldiers and those who need to get acute sore throats and other illnesses treated. Also, chronic medical problems often flair up under the stresses of deployment such as wearing heavy body armor, exposure to smoke, fumes and dust and just long days of walking on loose gravel.
"
"Hearing is an important aspect of aviation medicine. Hearing is at risk in aviation due to constant exposure to loud noises. The loss of hearing can dramatically affect communication for the crew member and/or pilot which can be dangerous.
The army has come a long way in recognizing and preventing hearing loss in aviators. The automated hearing test allows Sgt. Hugo to download previous hearing tests in the system so that we can easily see if there is any significant change in the soldier's hearing since the last exam.
"
To read the rest of Col Ulrich's story, go here:
Royal Air Force's 847th Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force
Maj.
William D. Chesarek, Jr. has done something no other U.
S. service member has done since WWII. On March 21 of this year, Maj.
Chesarek was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross, by Queen Elizabeth, for saving lives and in recognition for his bravery during combat operations in Iraq. Maj. Chesark was assigned as an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force's 847th Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force in 2005 and was the pilot of the RAF's Lynx Mk7 helicopter.
On the evening of June 10, 2006, Chesarek was providing radio communication relay for British ground troops conducting a company-sized search operation near Amarah, Iraq. Listening to radio transmissions, he overheard that a vehicle involved in the operation had became disabled and a crowd of insurgents was firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at the company.
According to his award citation, "Chesarek elected to fly low over the area in an attempt to distract the crowd and if possible, to engage the insurgents.
" Because the crowd was so close to the ground troops, instead of engaging his machine gun, he "opted instead to provide bold, harassing, very low level flight over the area in an attempt to disperse the crowd."
You can read Maj. Chesarek's story in it's entirety .
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.
For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll.
The Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group, were honored today with the Congressional Gold Medal. Over 300 of the pilots and support crew were in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol Building for the ceremony.
This group of men were the first Negro pilots in the United States Army Air Corps.
They flew as bomber escorts in the European theater, and have the distinction of being the only escort group to never loose a bomber to enemy fire in over 200 missions.
Yet, they were subject to segregation and discrimination - both during the war and afterwards. It was common for salutes not to be given or returned.
President Bush said he would like to "offer a gesture to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities," saluted the airmen. The airmen stood, returned the salute and applauded.
Dr.
Roscoe Brown, a former commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, thanked the President, the House and Senate for "voting unanimously to award this medal collectively to the the pilots, bombardiers, the navigators, the mechanics, the ground officers, the enlisted men and women who served with the Tuskegee Airmen."
President Bush added, "I benefited from what you and so many others did. It is a rich history.
I stand so proudly before you today, but I know in the depth of my heart that the only reason I'm able to stand proudly before you today is because you stood proudly for America 60 years ago."
The combat record of the Tuskegee Airmen speaks for itself:
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