FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Sky Soldiers ~ November 26, 2012

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[Kathy in Alaska]

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Sky Soldiers
173D Airborne Brigade

All info and photos from this website.

           

BRIGADE HISTORY

 

The 173D Airborne Brigade was activated on the island of Okinawa on March 26, 1963. From its beginning, it proved to be an aggressive and unique unit led by (then) Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson who established realistic training throughout the Pacific Region.

The "TIEN BING," as the Nationalist Chinese paratroopers called the 173d, loosely translated to SKY SOLDIER, made thousands of parachute jumps in a dozen different Pacific area countries. The Brigade was the first Army ground combat Unit sent to the Republic of South Vietnam in May, 1965. The major portion of the brigade landed at Bien Hoa Airfield and found an area that had been battered frequently by enemy raids and shelling attacks.

The 1st and 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment along with the 3rd Battalion of the 319th Artillery.  comprised the foxhole strength of the 173d. They were well supported by their own Support Battalion and Troop E, 17th Cavalry, D Company, 16th Armour.  The First Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, and the 105 Field Battery, 1 RAR AUST Group were later attached to the Brigade during the first year.  In Late August, 1966, the 173d received another Infantry Battalion, the 4th, 503rd which arrived from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. A 3rd Battalion was formed in early 1967 at Fort Bragg, N.C. and was shipped to Vietnam to join the Brigade on October 2, 1967. 

In the combat operations to follow, the paratroopers made their superb training payoff. They were the first to go into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps. They introduced the use of small, long range patrols. They fought the battles of the Iron Triangle, conducted the only major combat parachute jump in the Tay Ninh area, and blocked NVA incursions during some of the bloodiest fighting of the war at Dak To during the summer and fall of 1967, culminating in the capture of Hill 875. Elements of the brigade conducted an amphibious assault against NVA and VC forces as part of an operation to clear the rice-growing lowlands along the Bong Song littoral.

The troopers of the 173D Airborne Brigade (Sep) wear their combat badges and decorations with pride. During more than six years of nearly continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations. 13 Medal of Honor winners, over 6,000 Purple Hearts, the only Combat Parachute Assault of the War, and sadly, over 1700 names of Sky Soldiers on THE WALL. The Brigade was deactivated on January 14, 1972 at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

The Brigade was reactivated in 2000 in Vicenza, Italy. No longer a separate Brigade, the 173d became the Southern European Task Force, early intervention element for Europe, Africa and portions of Asia, just as the original unit had the same responsibility in the Pacific prior to deployment to Vietnam. Operation Iraqi Freedom found the Brigade making it's second combat jump. This time into Northwest Iraq to secure the Northern Airfield and area. A year later it was subsequently redeployed to Italy to refit and retrain for deployment to Afghanistan where it is currently engaged in combat operations.

 

RECIPIENTS OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR

SGT Larry S. Pierce 20 September 65	PFC Milton L. Olive 22 October 65	Sp5/SFC Lawrence Joel 8 November 65
Sp4 Alfred Rascon 16 March 66	SGT/CSM Charles B. Morris 29 June 66	SP4 Don L. Michael 8 April 67
PFC John A. Barnes III 12 November 67	MAJ (Chaplain) Charles J. Watters 19 November 67	PFC Carlos J. Lozada 20 November 67
SSG Laszlo Rabel 13 November 68	CPL Terry T. Kawamura 20 March 69	SP4 Michael R. Blanchfield 3 July 69
	SSG Glenn H. English, JR. 7 September 70

 

Click the link for the video, with an introduction by Kris Kristofferson.  This song is the story of a Sky Soldier.

 Big & Rich - 8th of November video

Said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.

He was dropped in the jungle
Where the choppers would rumble
With the smell of napalm in the air.
And the sergeant said, "Look up ahead"

Like a dark, evil cloud
1,200 came down
on him and 29 more.
They fought for their lives
But most of them died
In the 173rd Airborne.

(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.

Now he's fifty-eight
And his ponytail's grey
But the battle still plays in his head.
He limps when he walks,
But he's strong when he talks
About the shrapnel they left in his leg.

He puts on a grey suit
Over his Airborne tattoo
And He ties it on one time a year
And remembers the fallen,
As he orders a tall one
And swallows it down with his tears.

(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.

Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965.

(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.

(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around,
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.

The 8th of November
The 8th of November

He said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.
 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[E.G.C.]

Nope, went to Wal-Mart on Sunday. Not a big fan of Black Friday. I think it's quite obvious why.

((HUGS))Good morning, LUV W. How's it going?

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning to everyone at the Canteen. 65º with a chance for showers this PM.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning night owl ((HUGS))

You’re looking a little rough this morning. What you need is work...hehe

How was your Thanksgiving?

[beachn4fun]

Smart. I wouldn’t go on that Friday either. Just silly for people to go and act like that. Do away with Black Friday makes more sense than some of the “embarrassing” things some people have done. And why would anyone want to be squished to within an inch of the last breath is beyond me.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning dear ((HUGS))

How was your Thanksgiving? Any leftovers?

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning beachy and (((HUGS))) to you too.

We have some turkey and a few slices of prime rib left.

[beachn4fun]

Hi dear. What do you do with leftover prime rib?

[Publius]

Oh, it wasn't that bad, Beachie. It's the norm for me. I'll do something similar for Christmas and New Years, and I have my own music rituals for those days.

For example, on Christmas Eve at the Canteen, I'll be posting Christopher Hogwood's 1982 period-instrument version of Handel's "Messiah" just as I did last year. You can really "waller" in that music during the holidays. I'll be posting various other bits of classical Christmas music on that long weekend.

On December 22, my 15th annivsary at FR, I'll be re-posting a short story about James Madison that I posted years ago. I'll ping the Canteen DJ's along with my Federalist Papers ping list for that one.

Life isn't so bad when you're alone but have FR.

[beachn4fun]

LOL

I know you are used to it.

Life isn't so bad when you're alone but have FR.

At least you have that.

15 years? FR has been around that long? WOW!

[luvie]

Great Thanksgiving....thanks! And yours?

Work...meh! :)

[luvie]

Great Thanksgiving....thanks! And yours?

Work...meh! :)

[beachn4fun]

Hey Luvy...my Thanksgiving was good.

BTW, refresh my memory...when is new grandchild due?

[Arrowhead1952]

What do you do with leftover prime rib?

Fry it in a pan and eat it like it is fresh cut.

[luvie]

Callie Amelia is due on about the 6th of January. I’m sure they are ready for her to be here!

[unique1]

Amazing how they hid Lockheed plant during WW II

[HiJinx]

I have seen something similar, but much more rudimentary.
An International Harvester truck plant in northern Libya had trees painted on the sides of the building to make it look like an orange grove. It must have worked, because you could still see faded trees in 1960.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I know you are LOOOONG gone, but hope you had a good Monday.

Mine has been non-stop issues. Lots of people said they got paid the wrong rate, but the person who input their time didn’t indicate a rate different from their default rate. I’ve been typing retros all morning. And it seems I’m getting more of the same for this past week, which I can correct tomorrow.

Happy Monday evening! ((HUGS))

[Kathy in Alaska]

WOW....unique, that is some story! Someone really had a vision and was able to see it work. Thanks for the link. Hiding in plain sight.....

And they mentioned Lakewood, CA...I spent most of my school years there. You never hear anything about it. It was dairy farm country for a long time before they built houses and everything that goes with it. My Dad grew up in Long Beach. His folks did the black out curtains, rationing, etc, while he was away in WWII.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good Evening To Our Valiant Troops, To Our Vets, To Our Families, Our FRiends, Our Allies And To All Canteen Denizens!

Godspeed our Troops around the Globe, especially those in combat!



Evening Colors
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May The Lord Protect And Uphold Our Troops In Their Vital Mission!

May He Keep Safe Their Families During Their Time Of Separation!

May He Preserve And Uphold The American Nation In This Time Of Adversity!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[AZamericonnie]

Good evening Conor! *Hugs*