Posted on 05/12/2004 11:48:48 AM PDT by SJackson
(FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., May 12th, 2004, 12:30 p.m.) -- A military police battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on Wednesday for extraordinary heroism in Iraq, receiving it for the second time in unit history.
The award Wednesday for the 716th Military Police Company was especially gratifying to the soldiers because it contrasts news out of Iraq about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military police officers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
"I think you should take this story and put it right over top of the other one," said Terri Dorn, commander of the 194th Military Police Company within the battalion.
"There are so many good things that the military police do, so many good things that these soldiers have done and it's kind of sad to have an individual incident happen and it just kind of clouds over all the good things that we've been doing," said Dorn, 32, of Green Bay, Wis.
The 716th Military Police Battalion is the only one in Army military police corps history to receive the award, which honors actions that set it apart from others in the same war, said battalion commander Lt. Col. Aston Hayes.
The 716th first received the Presidential Unit Citation for its defense of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1968.
The latest award is for its work in southern Iraq while attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force for major combat. It provided security to the Marines, detained prisoners of war and conducted convoy operations.
Its force of 1,200 later moved into seven Iraqi cities to rebuild police operations and rebuild infrastructure.
"You once again stood up and held your heads high. The 716th knew what it was supposed to do in another one of our nation's wars to earn yourselves a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award the government has to give," said Marine Col. John Sweeney. "There's no doubt here the every soldier here earned that, and we are thankful for that."
Sweeney, chief of staff of the 1st Force Service Support Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, spoke at the ceremony Wednesday where award was presented.
The 716th was the largest military police battalion in Iraq for major combat. Its partnership with the Marines is believed to be the first time an Army military police battalion was attached to a Marine unit during combat operations, Hayes said.
After the Marines returned home, the 716th supported a coalition of Polish and Spanish armies in southern Iraq.
On Oct. 17, 716th battalion commander Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando was killed by hostile fire in Karbala. Hayes was flown to Iraq from Fort Riley, Kan., to take command of the 716th.
Combined, the battalion was awarded 27 Purple Hearts to those injured in combat -- including four awarded posthumously to those killed.
The unit's history dates to World War II when it helped guard troops and equipment transporting in and out of Jersey City, N.J. Since Vietnam, it has deployed to Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, and Saudi Arabia for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
It is the most decorated military police battalion in the Army.
Let us look back 33 years to 31 January 1968. We find not only one hero but a multitude to remember. On that fatal day in South Vietnam at least twenty-three (23) U. S. Army military policemen gave their lives while performing their duties. Seventeen (17) were serving with the 716th MP Battalion in the city of Saigon and three were with the 95th MP Battalion in Long Binh and My Tho, just north of Saigon. Meanwhile, one was a member of the 93rd MP Battalion at Qui Nhon and another was with the 14th MP Battalion.
In recognition of their bravery and courageous actions on 31 January 1968, one man received the Distinguished Service Cross and twenty (20) were awarded the Silver Star, five of those being posthumous awards. The 716th MP Battalion suffered the greatest amount of deaths that day and also had the most men receiving medals for their valor. Sixteen of the twenty Silver Stars and the only Distinguished Service Cross went to members of that battalion.
During the last part of January 1968 the 716th MP Battalion was composed of companies- A, B, and C and they were reinforced by the 527th MP Company and Companies C and D of the 52nd Infantry. Company A lost three (3) men in the battle for Saigon and two (2) of those men, Sgt Michael A. Grieve and PFC Roland M. Bowen were awarded the Silver Star posthumously. None of the men serving in Company B were killed in the battle yet three members received medals. One of those men was PFC Paul Healey, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. Besides Healey, SGT John H. Shook and Spec 4 Charles R. Miller received the Silver Star.
It was Company C that suffered the most casualties during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Nine (9) men from their ranks lost their lives and seven were awarded the Silver Star. Those men were: 1st Lt. Gerald L. Waltman, Spec 4 Ronald P. Kendall, Spec 4 Alvin F. Troyer, Spec 4 John R. VanWagner, Spec 4 James C. Wilson, PFC Jerome A. Jefferson, and PFC Steven W. Sears.
The units attached to the 716th did not escape mortal casualties. Four men of the 527th MP Company lost their lives, yet none were awarded Silver Stars. The men of companies C and D of the 52nd Infantry lost one man and four (4) of Company C were awarded Silver Stars: SFC James R. Lobato, SSGT Herman Holness, Spec 4 Vincent R. Giovannelli, and Spec 4 Bruce McCartney.
Outside of the area of Saigon, military policemen were in engagements with the enemy as dangerous and desperate as those in Saigon. Three men serving with the 95th MP Battalion at Long Binh and My Tho lost their lives and two of those received the Silver Star posthumously: SFC Willie L. Richardson, Company D, 52nd Infantry, attached to the 95th MP Battalion at Long Binh, and Specialist 4th Class Leon J. Shrum, serving with the 148th Platoon of the 95th Battalion at My Tho.
The 93rd MP Battalion at Qui Nhon suffered only one known death, Spec 4 Sergio J. Gherardini with the 66th MP Company and he received a Silver Star posthumously. Spec 4 Kevin Hurley of the 97th MP Battalion also received the Silver Star and yet that battalion reported no deaths. In addition to those mentioned above, PFC Terry L. Riegel of Company C, 14th MP Battalion and Spec 4 Walter J. Soutar of an unidentified unit were also killed.
So, for this month, we have enough heroes to recall one a day. Courage and bravery is one of the most admirable qualities of human beings and warfare is the best test of those qualities. These men were placed in the right place and were required to respond to life threatening circumstances, and they performed with great valor.
You answered that question yourself.
I'm not sure what else I can say....
"Law and Order"
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Sorry to make a correction to such a great article, but given my FReeper name, I had to do it: It was the 502d Infantry; not the 52d Infantry (specifically it was 1-502IN)
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