January 21, 1977
In his first act as president, Jimmy Carter pardons all Vietnam-era draft dodgers – pleasing amnesty groups, but angering veterans. The blanket pardon included hundreds of thousands who left the United States or failed to register with Selective Service. Military AWOL were not included in the pardon.
This past Veterans Day, Peggy and I were to join our Boy Scouts at the 82nd hospitality suite. We got seriously lost in Arlington and missed the greeting of the scouts – but Rich O’Hare had everything under control and all went well. Since men are famous for not asking for directions, I will from now on borrow a phrase to let the wife know that I always know exactly where we are …
Vietnam I 1968
Ran across this on eBay. I have never seen one of these offered before – it’s the first volume. Here’s the link.
Book sold for $129.26 … hope it went to one of our guys.
Vietnam II 1969
Our 39th reunion will be in August 2007 in Harrisburg, PA.
To defray convention expenses, the Central PA Chapter is raffling off a brand new Harley. There will be a maximum of 2,500 tickets sold at $20 each. It will be raffled on August 18, 2007. I have a number of tickets if you want to take a chance. Please send a check, made out to Central PA Chapter, by April 1st to:
Rich O’Hare
4075 Old River Trail
Powhatan, VA 23139
I will fill out info and send you the stub. Good Luck!
Since our last update the Panthers have been busy in Salah Ad Din Province and they have been making a difference every day. We have been aggressively tracking down and eliminating IED cells in our area, and we have made the roads an extremely deadly place for anybody who think about emplacing an IED.In Samarra, LTC Viet Luong and the 2-Panthers found several huge caches that included over 200 rounds of artillery and mortar rounds, 15,000 rounds of various small-arms ammunition, and over 1,100 blasting caps. They are keeping the most dangerous IED cells off-guard and second-guessing about where we will strike them next.
However, 2P has not been the only unit taking the fight to the enemy. Our Paratroopers at 1-Panther just conducted an operation in the town of Siniyah to isolate and capture some well-known terrorists. Siniayh is West of the city of Bayji and is the first city you reach in Salah Ad Din after crossing the desert from the Syrian border. In coordination with the provincial and local Iraqi leadership, LTC Scott Harris and his Paratroopers cordoned the entire city and then with the assistance of 618th EN constructed a berm around it. After restricting all movement of people, with the exception of those with medical needs and incoming supplies, they entered the town on Dec. 14. After clearing the town, they proceeded to badge all the town’s legal residents. As a result of their efforts they have seen a huge decrease in the number of IEDs in their areas.
In Tikrit, Task Force Loyalty and Barry Di Ruizza have worked hard to make Tikrit and the surrounding area safe from terrorists and insurgents. Even after the execution of Saddam Hussein, outside observers were surprised by the relative calm in Tikrit.
Outside of Balad Ruz, the Paratroopers of 5-73 have been hunting down some of the most dedicated and skilled Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq. Not only have they destroyed IED making and training facilities, they have killed and captured many of these terrorists.
Our special troops battalion along with our support battalion are also doing a great job in sustaining our force, and our Iraqi partners in the province.
As many of you probably know, our biggest challenge is working with our Iraqi partners and bringing them up to a level of competency where they can sustain themselves and create a safe and secure environment for the people of Salah Ad Din. We have placed special emphasis on helping the Iraqi Police, and we have added additional Police Transition Teams to help in this endeavor. The Iraqi Army here makes progress everyday, but they still have some problems sustaining themselves. They have good leadership and their soldiers are ready to fight. CSM Lambert and the other NCOs from the Brigade helped develop an NCO train-the-trainer course to help the Iraqis develop and enable their NCOs. As you all know, the strength of the NCOs makes or breaks a unit. By this summer they should be able to fully sustain themselves and will be able to plan and execute the majority of missions here.
Our Provincial Reconstruction Team, led by Ms. Stephanie Miley, has also made great contributions towards the reconstruction efforts here in our province. From creating vo-tech schools to starting up a fertilizer plant in Bayji to helping to creating an independent judiciary in the province; their efforts are the good news that you don’t hear about in the main stream media.
Stephanie has also helped greatly in teaching the provincial leadership, to include the governor and the provincial council, in the need to introduce greater amounts of transparency and accountability into the governing system. From creating budgets, publishing minutes, and inviting the media to council meetings, these are dramatic steps in creating a stable and functioning provincial government here. Reconstruction in Salah Ad Din is a part of the entire system of governance and will be sustained long after we leave here.
The great efforts of all our Paratroopers have come with a great cost. These past months we have lost some great Paratroopers. 1-Panther lost their command sergeant major, CSM Donovan Watts, and another great Paratrooper, CPL Christopher Mason; 2-Panther lost a great platoon leader, 1LT Michael Cerrone and his gunner SPC Harry Winkler; 5-73 lost two of their officers, CPT Rhett Schiller and CPT John Dennison, in the fight for Balad Ruz. Our thoughts and prayers are with all their families.
Although it was difficult being away from home during the holiday seasons, we made the most of it here and we received more care packages than we knew what to do with.
Thanks to all who contributed, it really made the Paratroopers’ day. Our very own Honorary Sergeant Major of the Regiment, CSM (R) Ted Gaweda, spent a little over a week with us along with the All-American Chorus. Both were a big hit with the Troopers.
I am very proud of every one of our Troopers. They continue to uphold the finest traditions of the American Paratrooper. They have gained the respect of the Iraqis and are working hard to make Iraq a better place. We realize the news from Iraq at home seems grim and everyone is second-guessing policy decisions, but you can rest assured – THE PANTHERS ARE ON POINT.
ATW!! H-Minus!! P6
It’s 4MB, but worth the wait – turn your speakers up!
New links have been added to the links section:
COLONEL JOSEPH R. FRANKLIN, then a first lieutenant, received the Distinguished Service Cross because of his extraordinary heroism in Korea on the night of 6 July 1952. His platoon, occupying an outpost on a tactically important ridge, was subjected to an intense artillery and mortar bombardment immediately followed by a smashing hostile attack. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Lieutenant Franklin moved from position to position through heavy fire, encouraging his men and directing their efforts as they fought to hold back the charging enemy waves. Learning that the perimeter had been breached and that a number of enemy were in the outpost, he led a bayonet charge against the hostile troops. When the automatic rifles used by one of his men refused to function, he gave his carbine to the automatic rifleman, continuing to engage in the struggle with his pistol and grenades. As he led his men against the enemy, a hostile grenade hit him in the shoulder. Before the missile exploded, he pushed two comrades to the ground, enabling them to escape injury or death. When the first two friendly counterattacks failed to dislodge the foe, Lieutenant Franklin organized and led a third charge. Aggressively continuing to advance, even after the ammunition for his pistol had been expended, he killed three of the enemy with accurately hurled grenades. Under his leadership, his men succeeded in driving the hostile troops from the outpost and retained control of the tactically important position. The extraordinary heroism exhibited by Lieutenant Franklin throughout this action reflects great credit on himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the military service.
During his US Army career he has received 13 individual valor awards from the US Army and 5 from the government of Vietnam. He is the most decorated officer in his West Point class of 1950, receiving every award for valor awarded by the US Army except one. He commanded every unit from a Ranger platoon of 25 men to an airborne brigade of 7,000 men in 48 months of combat in two wars. He was wounded twice. In Vietnam, COL Franklin served as Battalion Commander of the 1/505 PIR 82nd Airborne Division, followed by assignments as 173rd Airborne Brigade Deputy Commander and SOG Deputy Chief. He is airborne and ranger qualified, as well as being a rated Army aviator. He was the deputy of the Peers Commission who investigated the My Lai massacre and was responsible for writing the report that went to the President of the United States and other senior officials.
In the book of Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hirsh, COVER UP, about the Peers Commission Hirsh writes that General Peers called Colonel Franklin, “the most qualified officer in the United States Army for the jobâ€, in testimony before a secret sub committee session of Congress. Franklin was given less than 12 hours to leave the Congo (Brazzaville), a communist oriented country, when the Prime Minister complained to the US ambassador about his alleged activities attempting to bring down the government. He is a member of the Legion of Valor, an organization of those who hold one of the two highest US awards for valor. He was a student at the French War College (Ecole Superiure de Guerre) in Paris for two years. This school is essential in the French Army to become a general. He was featured in a newspaper article for a charitable project he worked on in the mid ’80’s.
Col Franklin, PhD (doctorate in African studies) lived in a Roman Catholic Monastery for seven years, 1995-2002. His principle duty in the monastery was raising funds through various business ventures for charitable purpose. He professed poverty, obedience and chastity in the monastery. He was a principal in a 60 Minutes documentary TV program where he was a protagonist against a senior officer he had relieved in combat who falsely accused him of war crimes. It was the longest segment produced to that time and won the Emmy award that year. CBS was sued for 60 million USD as a result of this program and Franklin was their principle witness. CBS won the suit, after an evidentiary dispute went to the US Supreme Court.
COL Franklin nows lives in Florida and maintains his military affiliations. Here is a copy of the 3rd Infantry Division ‘Watch’ featuring COL Franklin.
I hope you and yours have enjoyed a very joyous and rewarding Christmas and New Year holiday. Things here at the 82nd slowed slightly during the half-day schedules. Shortly after Christmas, we received a deployment order for 2nd Brigade to move to Kuwait. By mid-month, they’ll be set and in place there. The Division’s headquarters and 4th Brigade will head for Afghanistan later this month for a year-long tour. The headquarters will be assuming the role as Combined Joint Task Force-76. 3rd Brigade continues to make huge strides in OIF as they near the half-way point in their tour. The same holds true for the 82nd Sustainment Brigade. Obviously, the Combat Aviation Brigade is flexing its muscles as well to support requirements in both theaters. As you can see, we’re pretty busy around here, but you know we’d have it no other way.
On behalf of MG Rodriguez and CSM Capel, I’d like to wish you all a happy and hopeful 2007. Please keep your eyes on the news as your Paratroopers accomplish their missions. Keep them and their families in your prayers.
The website has been updated over the holidays, and I’d like you all to check out PFC Riley, our newest Manifest Call honoree. This young man is quite a shooter! We’ve hung some of the more recent stories on the site as well.
http://www.bragg.army.mil/82dv/default.htm
All the Way! Airborne!
Major Tom Earnhardt
Public Affairs Officer
82nd Airborne Division
(910) 907-1946
The 82nd Airborne Public Affairs Office has been added as a perment link (on the right side of the page).
