Clic here for Virtual Wall memorial tribute.
Posted on 09/24/2003 12:00:22 AM PDT by SAMWolf
As is expected. I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)
The media are determined to turn the victory in Iraq into a failure.
Perception is reality.
A congressman (can't remember his name) was on Greg Garrsion's show last week, and he wanted to know what country the media was reporting about, because it sure wasn't the same Iraq he just returned from.
I know what you mean. It's difficult for me to put my thoughts into words after reading about sacrifices such as these. You are right though, we come away from the Foxhole knowing the spirit of all these Americans, generation after generation. God bless them all.
They're reporting from "Anything that makes Bush look bad Country"
As long as we continue to do that, our freedom should be secure.
For such a small service, the Air Force spec ops types have produced some very gallant heroes.
"09/16/02 - KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman who lost his life in Afghanistan while saving 10 lives and making it possible for seven others who were killed to come home, was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross here Sept. 13."
Cunningham, based at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., was one of eight soldiers from three services killed during an assault on an 11,000-foot-high mountain redoubt near the town of Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.
Maj. Vincent Savino, commander of the Air Force's 38th Rescue Squadron that Cunningham was attached to, gave new details of the engagement that became America's bloodiest battle to date in Afghanistan.
Cunningham was part of a quick-reaction force sent to rescue a group of soldiers pinned down by heavy machine-gun and rocket fire on a mountain slope. One helicopter had already been shot down when Cunningham's unit flew in aboard another.
"They went in under heavy machine-gun fire. The helicopter was hit by a rocket and crash-landed," Savino told the hushed church. "The pilot and co-pilot were wounded. Some of the Rangers on board had been shot."
Cunningham, a paramedic, opened his rucksack and began treating the wounded. But the flames and smoke from the burning MH-47 helicopter forced him and another rescuer to move the wounded soldiers outside. As they maneuvered over the rocky terrain, gunfire and mortar shells rained down from entrenched Al Qaeda and Taliban positions above.
"Jason said they had to get these guys out of there. He ran across a direct line of fire to move the wounded men to another location," Savino said.
He helped move the wounded three times to shield them from enemy fire.
"Jason was going back and forth treating his wounded comrades when he was shot," Savino said. "He was shot but he continued to treat 10 wounded patients. They owe him their lives. The only reason they came home was because of Jason Cunningham. It doesn't make it easier saying he died doing what he loved or that he was a hero, but that's what he was."
Another Californian, U.S. Navy SEAL Neil Roberts of Woodland, also died in the fight.
Before the battle of March 4 and 5, Cunningham had helped rescue eight crew members aboard a C-130 transport plane that had crashed in Afghanistan. He wrote his wife the letter she had earlier read after that experience.
"He'd seen the dangers of what happened there and he was afraid," she said.
A month before his deployment in Afghanistan, Cunningham and his wife saw the film "Black Hawk Down" about a fierce battle between U.S. Army Rangers and Somali gunmen in Mogadishu.
She asked him why it was necessary for 10 men to go back to save one or retrieve a dead comrade.
"He said, 'Wouldn't you want someone to come after me? Those Rangers and pilots can do their jobs because they know someone is coming after them,'" she recalled.
Rest in peace, Airman Cunningham. You have the gratitude and prayers of a grateful nation, and especially the men whose lives you saved.
|
Homecoming
 LTC Parkhurst, Aviation Brigade, shakes the hand of a soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division (M), Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, who has been redeployed to Fort Stewart from Operation Iraqi Freedom. DoD Photo by Catherine D. Johnson  Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, walk across the tarmac and descend the stairwell of the commercial aircraft that brought them home, from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Fort Stewart, Ga.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  Lt. Col. Parkhurst, Aviation Brigade, gets a big hug from a soldier of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, during redeployment to Fort Stewart, Ga. from Operation Iraqi Freedom.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  Chaplain (Maj.) Foxworth greets Lt. Col. Williams as the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment redeploys to Fort Stewart, Ga. from Operation Iraqi Freedom.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  Welcome back posters for soldiers and units cover the wall as an Army band and family and friends wait for the return of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, to Fort Stewart, Ga. from Operation Iraqi Freedom.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  A soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, is thrilled to be reunited with his children again. The soldier is being redeployed to Fort Stewart, Ga. from Operation Iraqi Freedom.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  Chaplain (Capt.) Hammil of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, expresses joy to be reunited with his family again. Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson  1Lt. Timothy Lewis with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, poses for picture with his wife and mother. Lt. Lewis is being redeployed to Fort Stewart, Ga. from Operation Iraqi Freedom.Defense Dept. photo by Catherine D. Johnson
|
Good job, Sam. Thanks so much.
|
Weapons Search
 American soldier Sfc. Soden from the 4th Infantry division searches in the thick vegetation of a orchard during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003. The raid was conducted after intelligence was gathered with a cache of weapons being found buried in an orchard close to houses that were targeted for the operation.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)  American soldier Spc Jeff Barnaby of Mansfield, La., from the 4th Infantry division, carries an automatic weapon found during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003.  An American soldier from the 4th Infantry division digs for hidden weapons during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003.  An American soldier from the 4th Infantry division battles with thick vegetation while searching for weapons during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003.  An American soldier from the 4th Infantry division stands guard over a suspected Saddam loyalist during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003.  A U.S. soldier runs past an armored vehicle 'Bradley' during a joint raid on a farmhouse by the 1st Battalion (22nd regiment) of the fourth Division of the U.S. army and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps on the outskirts of Tikrit, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad September 24, 2003. A machine gun and its ammunition were found during the raid. REUTERS/Arko Datta  A U.S. soldier searches a farm during a joint raid on a farmhouse by the 1st Battalion (22nd regiment) of the fourth Division of the U.S. army and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps on the outskirts of Tikrit, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad September 24, 2003.  U.S. soldiers walk through woods searching for arms and ammunition during a joint raid on a farmhouse on the outskirts of Tikrit, Iraq September 24, 2003.  A U.S. soldier digs out a hidden machine gun during a raid on a farmhouse near Tikrit, Iraq September 24, 2003. A machine gun and ammunition were found during the raid. Photo by Arko Datta/Reuters  American Soldiers from 4th Infantry division drive through an orchard during an early morning raid on a village outside Tikrit, Iraq (news - web sites), Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003. With most of Iraq being desert, such green overgrown vegitation such as the orchard is few and far between.
|
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.