May Jun '10 Saber.indd - First Cavalry Division Association

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MAY/JUNE, 2010 8th CAV News Michael W. McGhie 17495 Cold Springs Dr. Reno, NV 89506-8821 (775) 972-4210 mmcghie@prodigy.net http://www.angryskipper.org Four years ago (this issue) I took over writing this column f r o m m y good friend Jim ROW- ELL. Jim succeeded the late Job “Joe” CHRISTOPHER who wrote the column for several years. Like many of you today, I looked forward to receiving my Saber every other month and enjoyed reading the articles and catching up on Division doings. Since taking the column I’ve really enjoyed the photos and stories many of you have mailed to me and I have particularly enjoyed conversing with Korean War Veterans from the 8th Cavalry Regiment. During the last decade I have watched Korean and Vietnam Veterans getting together at reunions and sharing their memories, good and bad. Almost all of them are combat veterans and that makes for interesting stories that can only be shared by those who have experienced combat. I am one former “Grunt” that appreciates the jobs non-combat soldiers did and do and I always thank them for their service, but I know Jim ROWELL,f ormer 8th Cav columnist that with few exceptions they do not share the close brotherhood that combat veterans have. Unfortunately the veterans who served in Korea are fading. Most are near or beyond 80 years old and those of us who served in Vietnam are dying younger and faster than any former combat soldiers of the previous three wars. The reasons are mainly from exposure to chemicals that came from U.S. made defoliants, from the many hazards of the jungle, like diseases or parasites and/or from the wounds they received that shorted their lives. This is eventually going to dwindle down the number of attendee’s at reunions and unless we can get the younger veterans to join up and participate. They will not have the division or regiment associations when they get old enough to really enjoy the old friendships unless some of them start participating now. Those of you who made the military a career have the friendships you have made over the last 20 to 30 years. Some of those friendships even go beyond the bond created in combat. You spent a lifetime constantly running into old friends at different times in different places and it was like one huge family. It seems to me about 50% or more of the reunion attendees were career soldiers. But will the future retirees have the same division loyalty that it takes to sustain these associations We’ll have to hope for that but in the mean time if you know any Persian Gulf or Iraq War Veterans, try to convince them to join up. Where are all of our Gulf War Veterans Most are out of the service now and should be getting together with us. Where are all of the Iraq War Veterans Last year at Fort Hood an Iraq War Veteran told me that his war was nothing compared to Vietnam. I told him I would not have traded places with him and some day I’d like to sit down and swap stories with him. Sooner or later the effects of war will begin to haunt these Veterans and hopefully they will seek out their former combat buddies and start attending reunions. The only advice I can give the younger troopers is not to wait until you are old to get in touch with combat brothers. If you do you’ll feel awful when you learned they have passed away before you could see them again. Now is the time for you to get in touch and involved. Older veterans can be a big help to you young vets when it comes to VA problems too. There are so many reasons for you to join an association and get your buddies to meet you at the reunions. As I was in the process of typing this newsletter, my March-April issue arrived. Of course I always sit down and read all of the articles right away. In reading Jim STANFORD’s 5th Cav News, I see he shares my deep respect for veterans of WWII, the Japan Occupation and Korea. Jim has written how much he enjoys hearing their stories and sharing his experiences with them. One of America’s darkest hours in warfare history involved the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Unsan, North Korea, November, 1950. I refer to it as the 8th Cav’s “Little Bighorn”. The Regiment was overrun by two divisions of Chinese Infantry. The biggest mistake General McARTHUR ever made in many people’s opinions was underestimating and ignoring the Chinese threats of retaliation. Hundreds of 8th Cavalry Troopers suffered and many died in Chinese POW camps until a truce was declared in 1953. Only a real jerk would not be humbled to be in their presence. It’s sad that so few Americans know about Unsan. Don’t ever let anyone get away with using the term “Conflict” when talking about the Korean War. I received a phone call from Bob WLODARSKI (7th Cavalry Japan occupation 1948-51) who informed me that the remains of Stanley ARENDT, L Co, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, have been identified and returned to his hometown of Naperville, Illinois for burial. I have not yet received the official DOD report yet, but Bob mailed me the newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune Dorothy STEWART receives the flag at her brother Stanley ARENDT’s funeral service. dated 30 March, 2010. Stanley’s sister Dorothy STEWART accepted the flag at his memorial service as he was buried with full military honors. Stanley’s brother Jim ARENDT would like contact with anyone who served with his brother especially if they were in his unit at Unsan, North Korea. Jim can be reached at (630) 209-9108 or on-line at . If there is anyone out there who served with Bob during the Japan occupation, he’d like to hear from you too. He can be reached at (847) 259-8752. Thanks Bob, I will take the newspaper clipping to the Canton reunion and give them to the association to archive. By the time you receive this issue my wife and I will have been to the 8th Cavalry Association reunion in Canton, Ohio and the Division Association reunion in Bloomington, Minnesota. You know I’ll take about 1000 photographs (or Page 8 more) and select the ones I think you’ll enjoy for the July-August issue. Digital cameras are great, aren’t they You can take as many pictures as your memory card will hold and delete all of the bad ones. I wasted a lot of 35mm film in my days and I’m sure most of you did too. Correction: In the last issue of Saber I stated that the 3rd Brigade remained in Vietnam with elements of the 1st Brigade (1-7C and 2-5C) in mid 71 to mid 1972. The entire 3rd Brigade did not remain. The 2-8C and the 1-12C stayed the rest of the brigade came home in 1971 with the rest of the division. That was pointed out to me by Kevan MYNDERUP who is the Webmaster for the “Jumping Mustangs” (http://www.jumpingmustangs.com). Kevan served in C 1-8C in 1968. He also writes a site for C 1-8 (68) “Death From Above” at . Check out his web sites and if you served in the 1-8 Cav in Vietnam you should get hooked up with the Jumping Mustangs and get to one of their reunions. They have been around for nearly 20 years now that I know of. Thanks for the heads-up Kevan. I am certainly going to make mistakes now and then and I hope someone will let me know when it happens. Letters: Mostly e-mails this period and most of those were Troopers asking to be listed on the “Locator Pages” of my Angry Skipper Web Site. For those of you who are new to the Internet or have yet to find my web site be sure to check out the locator pages for all 1st Cavalry Troopers who served in A Vietnam scene at The American History Museum in Washington DC. Vietnam. The format makes it simple to find your unit and all troopers listed by year of service. A direct link to the locator pages is . I have more than 2000 troopers listed. The Division Association’s Historian also has an E-mail locator for all years of services in the Cav on its web site at so get yourself listed and find your old buddies. I also received e-mail from former D 2-8 Vietnam Vet Randy DUFFY who served in White Skull Platoon in 1969 and a nice note from my good buddy Paul COLLINS of Boston. Massachusetts. This is truly the most rewarding part of being involved in the Saber, the Regiment Association and my former combat unit “Angry Skipper”. I have met and associated with some really true American heroes along the way. Ron SMOOT who served in A 1-8C 1967-68 recently wrote me and is hoping to find Al SCODIN (possibly from Chicago) and/or Ron SUMMERS from Minnesota. Trooper SMOOT can be reached by e-mail at . Reunions: There will probably be information about the upcoming Veteran’s Day reunion in Washington, DC in this issue. Check in the index on page 1 to see where it is located. Many of you know the Division has been hosting a reunion in DC for many years on this special day in November. If you haven’t been to DC, to the “Wall”, to the Korean War Memorial or the new WWII memorial, Vet Day is a great time to load the family, grandkids and all, and visit our National Mall. There is so much to see and you’ll rarely find DC room rates as low as the Cav Assn. gets them. This is the last reunion of the year. Don’t sit through the winter wishing you had gone to DC in November. Ben GUTHRIE, 8th Cavalry Regiment Association President, forwarded an E-mail message from Jon GEPHART who found some old postcards of the 8th Cav sent by Trooper John FULLER sometime around 1915. He found them when he was going through his Grandmother’s old pictures. Jon noticed that most of the 8th Cavalry history mentioned in the Saber was WWII or beyond so he didn’t know if these postcards would be of interest to us. Well Jon, they are and we appreciate you sending them. I will share them at the 8th Cav reunions and will put them in the Saber whenever I have the extra space to fill. D 2-8 meets Sam Elliot at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia at Fort Benning. The 8th Cavalry was formed at Angel Island, California on July 28, 1866. COL John I. GREGG told the Troopers that their first goal was to defend the country against its enemies by fighting with “Honor and Courage”. That motto is on our regiment crest to this day. Honor and Courage New Members Continued from pg. 4. CPL CORNEL,L BRIAN S. TX C 1-9C 1003 SGT CORTEZ, JR., SERGIO TX C 3BSTB 1003 REV CORY, CHRISTOPHER CA 1264 1-ASSOC SGT COSTANZO, SR., JAY M. CT E 227AVN 7807 SGT CUNNINGHAM, ADAM C. TX A 5-82FA 0806 MR. CURCI, LANCE TX B 2-5C 0808 1SG CURRY, PHELAN A. TX HHC 1-8C 0906 Continued on pg. 13.
Page 9 9th CAV News - ON POINT Lou “Rocket” Rochat 181 High Oak Universal City, TX 78148 (210) 658-1651 Apache16@aol.com I know that I told all of the loyal readers that my article in the last issue of the Saber would be my one and only article as Lou ROCHAT (Rocket) would resume his old duties and write all future articles. A few days ago COL BOOTH called me and asked if I would consider writing another article because he felt that Lou was not quite up to the task yet. I agreed and began pondering what I could write about that would be of interest to all of you. A couple of days after I spoke with COL BOOTH, I called Lou to check on his progress. He sounded strong and was very enthusiastic about getting on his computer and writing the article for the Saber. He was concerned that he may not have the energy but was ready to try. He mentioned all of this before I told him that COL BOOTH had asked me to write an article. I told him about my conversation with COL BOOTH and he said go ahead because he wasn’t sure if he was up to the task. I made him agree that he should write the article and I would also start working on an article. We agreed that if he couldn’t finish his article then I would submit mine. Now it is Thursday, May 6, 2010 and Lou has been readmitted to the hospital a couple of days ago. He was having trouble breathing and was placed in ICU, diagnosed with pneumonia in one lung. Since then he has started bleeding internally and has to receive a blood transfusion. His heart is apparently beating erratically in spite of the pacemaker and has caused his kidney to fail. With all of this and seemingly no hope of a complete recovery, the family and Lou decided to take him out of the hospital, to return home to be as comfortable as possible with his family around him. Arrangements have been made with Hospice to come in and take care of Lou in his final hours. Lou’s body has been through so much it just can’t take anymore surgeries. People are already contacting me to ask how I am doing and I appreciate everyone’s concern. I am not doing well emotionally however. I never expected to be writing about Lou going home to die. When I gave him a kidney I had every intention of going fishing with Lou and for Lou to enjoy many years of improved health with his family by his side. This was not meant to be. Lou has been discharged from the hospital several times since the transplant on January 13th only to be readmitted a few days later each time. See I’m an eternal optimist and the scenario that is playing out now was never an option for me. It is not as if I didn’t know that this might happen, it is just that I never considered anything but improving Lou’s health. Actually a part of the interview process at Christus Transplant Institute was questions about how would you feel if the recipient rejected your kidney or even died from the transplant. Of course being the optimist, I would respond that I am aware of that risk but it will not bother me. I only said that because to me it was not going to happen. I could only deal with the bright side of the transplant and that after the surgery I would see a marked improvement in Lou. Then within a few days, we would both be out of the hospital looking back on the transplant as just another adventure. But that was not to be as Lou continued to remain in Division Doings Continued from pg. 7. CSM James Norman, 1st BCT, presents a donation check to the Executive Director of the 1st Cavalry Division Association Dennis Webster. Division Memorial. On a rainy day in front of the division’s memorial on Cooper Field, COL Tobin GREEN, 1st BCT’s commander, along with CSM James NORMAN presented CSM (Ret) Dennis WEBSTER, executive director for the 1st Cavalry Division Association, with a check for $2,500 for the division’s Memorial Fund, April 16. “As we went through the process of having a golf tournament and a brigade dining-in upon redeployment, it was a unanimous consensus of everyone involved that we do the right thing with the money in donating it to the memorial fund,” Norman said. Norman and Green pieced together the small, last-minute ceremony which was a surprise for Webster, who was there attending the 3rd BCT’s change of command ceremony. “This memorial was designed by the Soldier’s of the division and it’s [the association’s] honor to keep adding names to it as necessary and we are always appreciative of the support of the Soldiers,” Webster said. Also in attendance to witness the check presentation were MG Daniel ALLYN, 1st Cavalry Division’s commanding general, and CSM Rory MALLOY, the division’s command sergeant major. “The memorial inspires all of us who continue to serve and honor the sacrifice of our fallen heroes who have gone before us,” ALLYN said. “It also adds to the rich tradition and history of our division and the fact that the ‘Ironhorse’ Brigade is donating such a large sum of money to the memorial fund is just awesome.” Malloy said he feels the donation speaks very highly of their command climate. “Without the support from the brigades like 1st Brigade and what they’re doing we wouldn’t have the type of monument like we do to remember our fallen Warriors,” he said Furthermore, each of the units within the division will continue to have morale raising activities and unit fundraisers. And for units like the 1st BCT, more funds will be donated to honor those fallen heroes by contributing to the 1st Cav. MAY/JUNE, 2010 the hospital; but I kept telling myself that it was only a temporary set back and that Lou will get better. I continued this illusion up until last night (Wednesday, May 5, 2010) when Ann called and told me that they were bringing Lou home and arrangements had been made to have Hospice provide the final care for Lou. It was at this moment that I felt like I had been kicked hard in the groin and couldn’t catch my breath. I only slept off and on throughout the night and it is only today I am slowly coming to grip with the reality that Lou’s time on this earth is short. I am not the kind of person that will now second guess if what I did was the right thing. It was the right thing and if I could do it all over again I would. It was a gamble and we lost. To improve Lou’s life and to give him a few more years was well worth the risk. It will however take time for me to be able to accept the fact that it didn’t work. I know that I will get through this, because I have the support of so many people that have been calling, writing, e-mailing and donating to Lou and I. While I will now need emotional support from everyone more than ever, I ask that you all give all of your support and prayers to Ann and the rest of Lou’s family. That will help me more than anything at this time. I want everyone to know that when Lou passes away, this country will lose yet another great hero. But I can assure you that he will not be forgotten! Thanks to all of you for your help during this endeavor. Editors Note: Lou died on 29 May. More information in the next issue. A Post office in Georgetown, Texas will be named after a Lieutenant who died in Iraq while serving with A Troop, 6-9th Cavalry in Iraq. The following is from the Round Rock, Texas newspaper (Brad Stutzman, Editor) and was provided to the Saber by Bob Tagge. On Saturday, May 29 - almost three years to the day after 1st Lieutenant Kile WEST was killed in Iraq - the U.S. Post Office in Georgetown will be renamed in his honor. WEST, a 2001 Hutto High School graduate, will be recognized during an 11 a.m. ceremony, said John STONE, spokesman for District 31 U.S. Rep. John CARTER. Plans for the renaming have been ongoing for months, with STONE coordinating scheduling with postal authorities and WEST’s family members. “It would be appropriate with it being Memorial Day [weekend] to designate it in honor of a fallen soldier,” STONE said. “Also, 1LT WEST was killed on Memorial Day.” WEST lost his life on May 28, 2007, when the Bradley fighting vehicle he was commanding hit an improvised explosive device as WEST and his crew were trying to rescue a soldier in a downed helicopter. He was 23. The facility that will bear WEST’s name is the U.S. Post Office at 2300 Scenic Drive in Georgetown, located just east of Interstate 35 at the Leander Road exit. At the time of his Memorial Day 2007 death, WEST family friend Cindy ALLEN-LOTT of Hutto said young Kile had developed two passions early on: football and the U.S. Army. The WEST family moved to Round Rock when Kile was in seventh-grade and he completed his high school years in Hutto. WEST competed in football, baseball and track, and also belonged to Future Farmers of America. After graduating from Stephen F. Austin University in 2005, WEST received Army training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen and deployed to Iraq on October 3, 2006. Ron LIVINGSTON, Apache 29 March 1969 – March 1970, 10707 Baldwin Ave., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112, (505) 237-2291, . Division’s Memorial Fund. Long Knife Troops Shapen Skills During FTX FORT HOOD, Texas—Soldiers assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division conducted critical training during their brigade field training exercise on Fort Hood April 7- 18 prior to their upcoming overseas deployment later this year. Troops had the chance to work together as a unit, as they prepared to transition over to their advise and assist mission with the Iraqi Security Forces this fall. “This field training exercise is a major milestone in terms of preparation for our mission in northern Iraq,” said COL Brian WINSKI, the brigade commander. “We’ve conducted, over the last six months, a number of individual training densities, gunnery densities and this is our first opportunity to do collective training focused at the platoon level for the tasks that they’re going to execute in northern Iraq.” Throughout the exercise, which also included key leader engagements, mission planning and battle drill rehearsals, leadership integrated realistic scenarios to prepare troops for working in Iraq. “The cornerstone of this FTX has been the situational training exercise lanes, which are resourced with role players that replicated Iraqi Security Forces, they replicated Iraqi civilians and then we converted a number of the urban ops facilities here on Fort Hood to replicate Iraqi towns,” said Winski, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Performing multiple iterations of various situations and missions that they’re going to face in Iraq, Soldiers refined their standard operating procedures and their reaction techniques. Troops conducted joint planning and mission execution with their “Iraqi Army and police” partners, engaged “civilian Iraqi leaders” to gain their assistance in apprehending criminals targeting the Iraqi people and defended themselves against enemy attacks. Units also took part in mass casualty training (MASCAL), which gave the troops in the brigade the opportunity to refine their basic combat lifesaving skills. The training helped new Soldiers get acquainted with the unit and learn how the unit operates. For all Soldiers, the training allowed them to leave with the highest level of proficiency at the platoon level. “The unique thing to the FTX, at the platoon level, the training is enhanced significantly because the entire brigade is in the field so we’re able to support the training exercises that they’re doing with all the brigade enablers, including our Shadow UAV’s, including the Army aviation support; including doing all their sustainment functions from the field allowing them to focus on the training itself,” said Winski. Division Web Page Tells the First Team Story For all the news on the Division, visit the official web site of the 1st Cavalry Division at , a quality site run by the 1CD Public Affairs office. Check out the Cavalry Charge for some regular updates on the activities of the Division.
Page 1 and 2: 1st Cavalry Division Association 30
Page 3 and 4: Page 3 LIFE APPLICATION/SUBSCRIPTIO
Page 5 and 6: Page 5 5th CAV News Jim Stanford 11
Page 7: Page 7 7th CAV News Robert J. Ander
Page 11 and 12: Page 11 27th ORD/MNT/MSB/BSB News E
Page 13 and 14: Page 13 MAY/JUNE, 2010 New Members
Page 15 and 16: Page 15 ALL THE WAY BRIGADE CHAPTER
Page 17 and 18: Page 17 15th MED/15th BSB Mike Bodn
Page 19 and 20: Page 19 82nd FA News “Can and Wil
Page 21 and 22: Page 21 545th MP COMPANY Sam Reiner
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May Jun '10 Saber.indd - First Cavalry Division Association

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