This page www.a-1-8.org: /Docs/activeunit/04-01hearing.php last modified on April 12, 2005 10:42 AM
| A-1-8 Chapter of the 4th Infantry Division |
Active Unit News
Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"
President, Americans Remembered, Inc. - http://www.americansremembered.org
President, 22nd Inf Regt Society - http://www.22ndinfantry.org
Past President/Historian - Nat'l 4th Inf Div Assn - http://www.4thinfantry.org
babcock224@aol.com
Click to Send us your news
======================
>From KWTX TV - Waco, Temple, Killeen, TX:
4th I-D Return Nearing Completion
Ryan Kelly
After waiting 12 months, Carol Hearron is finally happy her husband has returned from his year long mission in Iraq.
"I've just tried to stay busy, there's been rough days, there have been bad days, but I'm glad it's now finally over," said Hearron.
For the past month, Carol has sung the national anthem at a majority of the return home ceremonies for the 4th ID soldiers, finally getting the chance Wednesday to sing for her husband's returning unit.
"The first few flights were a little hard," said Hearron. "Watching them reunite, knowing that mine wasn't there and I would leave and feel like I had forgotten something."
Carol is not alone. Thousands of families and friends have waited for up to 12-months while their loved ones serve overseas. With each return, a relationship on hold is reunted.
"I love my wife," said Carol's husband Specialist Michael Hearron, "but leaving them, especially with a newborn son, that was terrible."
Approximately 11,500 soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division have returned to Fort Hood. Officials expect that the remaining few thousand soldiers will make it home within the next few weeks.
======================
A Few Words From Bob:
This is the last time you will hear these words of advice from me - and you've heard them many times before. This comes from a guy with lots of experience in dealing with veterans from WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, and our current soldiers and reflects some of the ideas and regrets of those who came before you. Hopefully you will not ignore this common sense advice:
- Make sure your soldier gets the full names, social security numbers, home addresses, and any other pertinent information on all of his or her buddies in Iraq - and send them home to you for safekeeping. That includes those attached to his/her unit from other support type units - all the fellow soldiers, and even Iraqi civilians, that have been important. Don't let them say it is on a company roster they can get later. (It is already later). Their support unit personnel that they worked so closely with are not on their unit roster, so they need to get ALL the full names (not Shorty or Tex but full names) of everyone, including commanders above them, that they worked with. Trust me, your soldier will thank you in the future for holding their feet to the fire and making them do that. In the future, 15 or 25 or 50 years from now, they will want to find those buddies that shared this memorable time with them. Without preserving the information now, it will be an uphill battle to find it in the future. Troops will start moving to other units, ETSing, PCSing, scattering to the four winds in no time, in some cases it is already happening - so don't let your soldier make the same mistake of not getting full names, social security numbers and permanent addresses. (For those worried about Social Security number security - my personal philosophy is I trust my combat buddies not to abuse that information. Others may feel differently, do what makes sense to you on SS#, but get all the info you can).
- You are already into the chaos and excitement of redeployment, but still find a little time to organize and preserve the mementos you have saved from this deployment - letters, pictures, these updates, things your soldier sent home, the personnel rosters they are going to insure they get, etc. If you do nothing more than buying a plastic box with a lid (and label) on it, at least keep it all in one place so it doesn't get lost. Again, I speak from experience. Fortunately, my wife and parents both did that for me so I have great memorabilia from my tour in Vietnam. I've talked to far too many vets who have lost things that they wish they had saved.
- And a new piece of advice - send your soldier a camera if he/she doesn't already have one (or encourage them to buy one at the PX). It can be several disposable cameras or a cheap camera with plenty of film, or a digital camera with plenty of memory sticks - whatever you can afford. Encourage them to not only take pictures of their buddies - but also have their buddies take pictures of them. Squad, platoon, company, and unit task force pictures will all be valuable mementos and memories for the future. It's too late to get pictures of Iraq, but there will be lots of time to get pictures of all your buddies now that you're back home. Don't put it off - DO IT NOW! Get copies of pictures that your buddies took in Iraq - digital photography makes that cheap and easy now. They should have too many pictures rather than not enough. People, places, things, surroundings, the unit's pet dog - all are memories that they will be glad they have when they look back at this year sometime in the future. And their kids and grandkids will thank them for having pictures to support their stories. I carried a $12 Kodak Instamatic 104 in an ammo pouch when I was in Vietnam and got lots of great pictures that I still treasure today. Again, in the future, they will thank you for pushing them to do this. And make sure they get lots of good pictures of themselves as well as of all the other things and people. Final piece of advice on this - I encourage wives of all battalion and company/battery commanders to encourage their Soldier to make that a command emphasis in his/her unit. Group pictures should be an item on each unit's training schedule over the next two to three weeks. And when that has been done, get a list of names of those in the picture and make sure your soldiers get a copy. Also send a copy to Ceilia Stratton in the 4ID Museum - CD digital format is fine for her purposes.
- I'll also repeat this following piece of my personal advice that I included in the update on 1-21-04: Editor's Note: There are a few points that I feel strongly about and want to make along the way. Having gone through the redeployment process after my year in Vietnam, there is nothing I've put in the updates the past couple of weeks that I don't agree with (if I don't agree with a suggestion, I just don't publish it). Now it's time for one of my strong recommendations.
I've often said, if I were President of the United States, I'd pass a law that didn't allow service members to make large dollar expenditures for the first 30 days after their return from a combat zone. Foolishly, I traded a perfectly good 1965 Mustang (with 35,000 miles on it and almost paid for) in the summer of 1967 for a fancy new Chevrolet Caprice that I couldn't afford. My sole reason for doing it was that the Mustang wasn't air conditioned and I didn't want to ride around in the summer in a car that wasn't air conditioned after spending a year in the heat of Vietnam. For the next several years, I struggled with car payments that I couldn't afford.
After a year of not focusing on finances, our soldiers (at least I was guilty of it) have lost perspective of the value of money to a certain extent. So - if you agree with me, you can save this recommendation and show it to your soldier when he/she wants to spend big money within the first month of arrival back home.
I highly recommend you give it at least 30 days to let reality settle back in, let the reality of the loss of special combat pay get back into the family budget, and save yourself many months of digging out of a financial bind that you could get yourself in to. Take it from a guy who carried the scars of a bad financial decision for several years as I went through my mid 20's.
And as my favorite philosopher, Forrest Gump, would say, "And that's all I'm going to say about that...."
=======================
Texas Rangers - First Pitch Ceremony
First pitch: The United States Army 4th Infantry Division, which was instrumental in the capture of Saddam Hussein during its year of service in Iraq, will be honored with the first-pitch ceremony when the Rangers open their home season April 9 against Anaheim.
Sixty-three members of the unit, which is based in Fort Hood, Texas, are scheduled to participate in the ceremony. Among that group will be 15 recipients of the Purple Heart. The first pitch will be thrown by Col. Don Campbell, division chief of staff.
=======================
Troop Rotation to Iraq Continues, Units Assuming Control
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2004 – The largest rotation of U.S. forces since World War II continues in Iraq, Defense Department officials said today. In all more than 250,000 U.S. service members are affected.
Planning for the rotation began months ago. New units worked with units in Iraq to learn their new missions and to plan the movement. In December, new units began flowing into the region, and in January, they began the relief-in-place process. Officials expect the rotation to continue through May, when 110,000 U.S. service members will be in place.
They will replace the 130,000 Americans who have been serving in the region. When the rotation is complete, about 80,000 soldiers, 25,000 Marines and 5,000 Air Force and Navy personnel will be in Iraq. Fourteen brigades will have replaced 17 brigades.
To date, about 95 percent of the service members deploying to Iraq have arrived in the region. More than 90 percent of the cargo has arrived, and more than 60 percent of the personnel due to return to home stations have done so.
Some moves already have occurred. Task Force Olympia has relieved the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul. The largest unit in Task Force Olympia is the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (called the Stryker Brigade) from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 101st has returned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Other units leaving the region are the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C.; the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; the 1st Armored Division based in Germany and Fort Riley, Kansas; the 173rd Airborne Brigade from Vicenza, Italy; and the 4th Infantry Division based at both Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Carson.
Arriving Army units include the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood. The division also will command the 39th Brigade Combat Team from the Arkansas National Guard. The division will relieve the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad, and is due to take over responsibility April 15.
The 1st Infantry Division from Wurzburg, Germany, and Fort Riley, Kansas, has relieved the 4th Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Tikrit and Kirkuk, respectively. The 30th Brigade Combat Team of the North Carolina National Guard also is part of the 1st Infantry.
Last week, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., relieved the 82nd Airborne Division and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the hotspots of Fallujah, Ramadi and the western part of Iraq. The 1st MEF also will command the 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley and the 81st Armored Brigade of the Washington State National Guard.
While the number of American forces is dropping, Iraqi assets will more than make up the cut. A new Iraqi army brigade should be operational by the time the coalition returns sovereignty to an Iraqi government June 30. In addition, units of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps will work with the units. Baghdad officials said more than 210,000 Iraqis are involved in security work in the country.
=======================
A Wife's Perspective on Her Returned Soldier
I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for the families of our deployed soldiers over the past year, and for your ongoing efforts. My husband deployed last April in the midst of a lot of confusion and uncertainty. He is in the 978th Military Police; he is a mechanic. We have done this before, as he has been in the miiltary for nearly thirteen years, but it really doesn't get any easier.
It has been quite a year. We went almost two months between the last call from Kuwait and the next call we got from him, which was a response to a Red Cross message. We very nearly lost my father after surgery. From that point on, calls became more regular, even though he and the platoon he was with were living in the desert with no buildings, no amenities, no nothing. His determination over the last year only compounded what I already knew. Twelve years ago, I married the most amazing and selfless man in the world. He has sacrificed so much for the good of so many others, most of whom he will never meet. He made sure to send the children AAFES coin pogs in his letters to them and carried their drawings and letters in his wallet throughout a country he never wants them to visit.
His unit returned early Saturday morning. Everything went well. Many of the families exclaimed at the excitement of the event, but it wasn't exciting to me. Seeing the plane land and watching the formation march into the deployment center at Fort Bliss meant that my life could once again return to normal. I could take my home phone off forwarding to my cell phone. I would no longer have to check my e-mail fifteen times a day. And the dread of a phone call from a military number would go away.
He is home now. Things are so good. We don't do a lot of balloons and signs - no big parties (yet). Now I have a chance to make a real dinner every night while he helps take the kids to Karate and violin and better yet, he gets to make dinner too, while I take the kids. The little ones are smiling more, even though they are adjusting to having another body in the house and another authority figure. I am having to relearn how to sleep with someone next to me, which isn't going so well, but I will not complain. I am grateful for the Diet Coke he brought me last night when we were watching TV. I like having him make the bed sometimes and now I don't have to look at a full trash can and wonder when I will feel compelled to take it out.
Life is good. I am thankful.
=====================
59 Years Ago Today - 4ID in Germany:
1 April 1945 - D+300
The Division Provost Marshal reported that he had located five Allied Prisoner of War Inclosures in the Division Command Post area, a total of 384 prisoners of war. All the camps were reported short of rations, so arrangements were made to furnish the necessary food.
The disposition of the large number of American prisoners of war being released by our advancing troops presented a problem at this time. It was stated that those imprisoned more than sixty days would be evacuated through medical channels and those of less than sixty days through reinforcement channels.
An estimated battalion of antiaircraft artillery and small disorganized groups of enemy strongly defended Wurtzburg. Enemy resistance in the 4th Infantry Division sector was light and scattered.
The 4th Infantry Division continued the advance to the northeast in the direction of Wurzburg with the 8th and 22nd Infantry Regiments abreast and the 12th Infantry in division reserve. Increased resistance was encountered throughout the period and march units were harassed throughout the day and during the hours of darkness by enemy jet-propelled aircraft. The Division's objective was reached and preparations made for support of the 12th Armored Division's attack on 2 April.
The 8th Infantry Regiment with the 29th Field Artillery Battalion; Company A, 70th Tank Battalion; Company A, 4th Engineer Combat Battalion; Company A, 4th Medical Battalion; and Company A, 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion attached, continued the advance at first light in the direction of Wurzburg following elements of the 12th Armored Division. A continuous shuttle movement was made throughout the day east through the 22nd Infantry Regiment's zone of action and then northeast toward the regimental objective immediately south of Wurzburg. By 1300, against increasing resistance of small arms, mortar fire, and direct fire from antiaircraft weapons, the leading elements of the combat team closed in the vicinity of the objective close behind the forward elements of the 12th Armored Division. Several attacks by jet-propelled enemy aircraft were made upon motor columns of the combat team throughout the day.
The 12th Infantry Regiment with the 42th Field Artillery Battalion; Company B, 70th Tank Battalion; Company B, 4th Engineer Combat Battalion; Company B, 4th Medical Battalion; and Company B, 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion attached, remained in reserve. At 0655, the entire combat team began a shuttle movement forward and closed in an assembly area in the vicinity of Hardheim by 1930.
The 22nd Infantry Regiment with the 44th Field Artillery Battalion; Company C, 70th Tank Battalion; Company C, 4th Engineer Combat Battalion; Company C, 4th Medical Battalion; and Company C, 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion attached, advanced to the east beginning at 0600, then northeast toward the regimental objective in the vicinity of Grunsfeld. Small arms fire and a moderate amount of artillery fire was encountered in Heckfeld at 1020 but this did not deter the advance. By 1305 the advance units had reached Luada where a heavy amount of artillery was encountered. By the close of the period, the 2nd Battalion advanced as far as the village of Kurtzbronn where Company E took over 200 prisoners of war. In the interim the 1st and 3rd Battalions continued on to the northeast securing the regimental objective.
Upon verbal orders of the CG XXI Corps, two battalions of the 22nd Infantry were attached at 2250 to Combat Command R of the 12th Armored Division.
Thanks to Philippe Cornil at www.revive-it.com.
====================
What Our Families Are Hearing From Our Soldiers in Iraq:
1) The celebration at Fort Hood on Tuesday, March 30th was held at Starker Gym and the Army went all out to welcome home their soldiers! Through a cloud of smoke, Matt and over 200 soldiers came running into to the gym, single file, to THUNDEROUS applause. After they got in formation (we still hadn't spotted our son, 3-16 FA), everyone sang the National Anthem and said a prayer together. The crowd was then allowed to dismiss the soldiers. People were going in all directions to find their soldier, but we decided to stay put and let our son find us. We were getting worried when we didn't see him - I mean, everyone else was already latching on to a soldier! I can tell you this: I was thinking he hadn't made this flight, when all of a sudden, he was standing nose to nose with his wife!! Her eyes were SO BIG!! We were warned there would be lots of crying, but he wasn't having any of that! In his typical comic way, he had snuck up on us by crouching behind other people. I was totally prepared to be in tears by then, but ALL of us were laughing. I can't begin to tell you how good it was to see he hadn't lost his wonderful sense of humor!! We knew he was exhausted, so we fed him his favorite meal of Mexican food and headed back home. He will have a few days of R & R with his wife and daughter and will be getting his regular leave in May.
2) Wanted to let you know that my son returned from Iraq Friday afternoon to Fort Carson, Colorado. I was not able to be there but his new bride and brother were. Only 30 minutes after they were dismissed he called me. Those are probably the most wonderful words I've ever heard....."Hi Mom, I'm back!" His unit is 1/68 Armor, B Co.
3) So very glad to report that my son is safely back at Ft. Hood. He had a few days off and promptly got in his truck and drove all the way to Georgia to visit his girlfriend. Oregon was too far away for a short weekend drive, so that was ok with us. One of his first purchases was a cell phone. Because of his previous duty in Germany and transition time, this is the first time in about a year and a half that I've been able to pick up the phone and call him! So now he's used to my almost daily phone calls just because... In 18 days I'll be able to wrap my arms around him - that's when we arrive in Killeen for the Welcome Home celebrations. .... Many friends and family have commented they didn't know how I managed all year - staying positive, not freaking out at every news story. I told them it was a combination of things - your daily updates, prayer, e-mail messages with my son, wonderful supportive friends, and most recently the Commander's updates from our super star FRG leader. I encourage anyone who has a loved one 'over there' to find out if there is an update such as yours or the FRG and tap into it. It is absolutely a 'sanity saver'.
4) We were able to welcome back our son at Ft.Hood (4-42FA) on the 14th of this month. Just to be there and experience the welcoming home ceremony for the soldiers was the greatest. But to be able to HUG my son and to know that he was back for good was so very wonderful. We were able to spend quite a bit of time with him before he had to start back to work and I look forward to when he will be able to come home so all the family and friends can welcome him home and he can cut his yellow ribbon from one of the trees in the front yard. The other yellow ribbon will remain until all of our soldiers are out of Iraq.
5) My husband's unit made it home yesterday, except for my husband and seven other guys. They need to stay behind to make sure the vehicles get on the boat. He said it is slow over there and it could be as late as April 10 before he makes it back to the States. (Keep the faith - these are the details that have to be done to wrap up the mission.... He'll be home soon).
6) The BEST phone call I ever got was on March 17,2004! My son called from Germany! Yes! God does answer prayers! I took off work that day, cause - again I had mother's intuition, just knew deep down, he'd be calling. I was right, just about when I thought, "well, I guess it'll be another day," the phone rang at 4:00pm my time in Maryland. The voice on the other end said, "Hello." I said, "Hello", -----"Hey where are you at?!!!" My son answered, "Germany" . I didn't think I would be able to speak -- --had to pause and swallow my tears.... He wanted us to try to get in touch with his room mate to pick him up when he got to Fort Carson -- wanted to make sure he would have a ride home from base! Yes, after I hung up from that call I had a "Melt Down," then finally got myself together and started phoning everyone that has been waiting for their "phone call" that "our soldier" was finally safe!!! (Unfortunately, he had told me and his Dad he didn't want us there for his arrival. So we did what he wanted -- as hard as it was). Then, on March 18 -- about 9:30 am MD time, my son called me at work and said, "Hi, I'm in Colorado safe and sound!!!!" I could barely talk as the relief in my body flooded over me! (If only I could hold him, and touch him!!!) But, I guess I'll get that chance soon enough! My son is in A-Co, 1-8 infantry, from Fort Carson. It is a miracle, that he's back, and I'm sure all the prayers from everyone he knows helped it to happen. Back in May, in Iraq, he had some kind of explosive go off in his face, and had to have pieces of schrapnel removed from his face. Of course, every day was dangerous over there, and with doing missions, breaking down doors and patroling....... As a mom back home, you really begin to wonder if you'll ever see your son again. So, my advice to all is to keep praying. We have lotsa soldiers still there, and lotsa mom's, dad's and families waiting for their miracle, and their BEST phone call ever to happen....... Sometimes, just knowing you have a connection with other people who feel the same way you do helps. My son missed his holiday---only by hours----St. Patrick's Day----but, he said he had one anyway!!! He always said he couldn't deny the Irish side as he has the looks!!!! Maybe, that Irish----tude helped him too!!!
7) I sit here at work and can’t keep from reflecting on those days you’ve counted down for us and the thought of how slowly they were ticking away. Now, I too have only a wake up call before my son gets here from Italy, 173rd ABN. I’m planning to embarrass him to death with a huge banner in the yard with his picture on it telling people he’s home from Iraq and to honk. I have so much pride for our military, both active and reservists, as they have truly stepped up to the plate and made us PROUD. Reading about all the homecomings at the different posts makes me wish I was able to witness one myself just so I could see if I had any more pride to feel. God bless our President, soldiers and their families for wanting the rest of the world to be rid of terror and have the freedoms we enjoy each and every day. Thank you Bob for your updates and the mission you’ve chosen to carry on.
8) Hey Bob, I have read several of these stories from folks that welcomed their soldier home and allowed as how words couldn't describe how they felt. You have heard how just before death, your life passes before your eyes...that's kinda how I felt when I laid eyes on my grandbaby yesterday. His life passed before my eyes.. Th' tall young man that was th' baby child that I rocked and sang to sleep stepped up to me and said, "Hey Paw Paw." Well, I lost it... cried like a baby... I recall before when he was gittin' ready to go a year ago, he looked at me funny when I teared up. Yesterday he stood patiently until I got it out of my system...finally asked, "Paw Paw, you alright?" I said, "I never felt better in my life!!" How did I feel... I felt like climbin' up on th' roof and crowin' like a rooster! I guess th' word would be unadulterated JOY. Gonna miss your updates, Bob... gonna keep your address in my list. Tho I ain't never even met up with you, I consider you a good friend....Paw Paw (Editor's Note: And I consider Paw Paw and many others I haven't met yet in person as my good friends, too. We've been through a lot together).
9) Just wanted to let you know that my Hubby from HSB 3/16 FA came home yesterday. Our boys were about to pop.:-) We have a 6 year old & a 10 & 1/2 month old who is adjusting to daddy well. He was afraid the baby would be scared of him. He (the baby) isn't. It takes a lot of laughter & patience. Hubby feels a little lost, but we are talking about a lot of things. Hard to let go of being "Mom & Dad" for a year. But laughter works wonders.:-) It is well worth it having him home. Nothing better:-) ... We have been Blessed. My Uncle (101st AB) & hubby both made it home safely.Praise & Thank The Lord. Our prayers go out the to families who have lost their loved ones & to the friends & families whose wait is just beginning. We will NOT forget YOU!! Stay strong & keep the faith!!!
10) It's been three weeks since our son returned with the 14th EN BN to Ft. Lewis and I've been meaning to share but busy times and the ease of the 24/7 stress has made me lazy! No excuses right! Even though he was sicker than a dog and had no voice our son was the most beautiful sight I've seen since our grandson was born 18 months ago. He had luckily gotten some meds along the way home and slept
practially. .... Our son said that while the band (those wonderful soldiers who got up and played their hearts out in the middle of the night) played the Star Spangled Banner he was thinking of the ones who didn't return, they will forever be in his and all the other soldiers thoughts. We wish strength and continued support from the military for their families. The 14th Enginneering Combat Battalion are so proud of the work they accomplished on the newly re-named Haight-Jordan floating bridge in
Tikrit, and will never forget the sacrifices made by those two young men, for their country and for the people of Iraq.
=======================
Back to Active Unit Main News Page