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Veteran war correspondents Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington want Sundance audiences to feel the sand in their eyes, hear the gunfire and listen to the soldiers' themselves describe their experiences in Afghanistan. The two spent most of 2007 embedded with the 2nd Platoon of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, living with and reporting on 30 young soldiers defending a remote outpost in the Korengal Valley.*** "I think we have succeeded in making you feel like you are on the battlefield for 90 minutes," says Junger.*** "This experience is a rich, intense one in a way that it wouldn't have been if...

Fifty years ago this month, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) fought in close quarters and uphill through deep foliage to take Hill 875 in what became known as the Battle of Dak To. The 173rd Airborne Brigade had already seen action before moving inland to South Vietnam’s Central Highlands in early November of 1967. This support included a role in Operation Junction City in the spring, as well as a search-and destroy (S&D) mission in the vicinity of Tuy Ho on the south-central coast. The 173rd was assigned to Dak To after intelligence reports indicated that North Vietnamese Army (NVA)...

This Memorial Day is special to those of us who served in the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sep.) in Vietnam because this month marks the 50th anniversary of the Sky Soldiers deployment to Vietnam. The deployment marked the beginning of the American takeover of the Vietnam ground war.

Dozens of U.S. Army paratroopers have been hurt during a massive airborne drop in Germany. Sixteen of the 47 injured men are still in hospital, two of them in intensive care after the jump involving 1,000 soldiers went terribly wrong. They suffered head, spine and pelvic injuries.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Medal of Honor recipient and Iowa native Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta will end his Army career in June and move to Colorado to pursue his education, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Giunta has opted not to re-enlist and will leave the Army in mid-June, said Army Spokesman George Wright. He and his wife, Jenny, plan to move to Fort Collins, Colo., where he will attend school. Wright said he didn't know what school Giunta will attend, but Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University. Giunta is the first living service member from the wars...

Forget every movie you've ever seen wherein pampered Hollywood actors smudge their faces with dirt, rub on some fake blood and pretend they are soldiers fighting for their country and their lives on a remote and barren outpost. "Restrepo," a documentary film that follows a 15-month deployment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan - which is now the longest war in American history - is the real thing. Filmmakers Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) were embedded with the small band of a dozen or so soldiers assigned to what President George W. Bush called "the most...

Story and Photo by U.S. Army SFC Matthew Chlosta, ISAF HQ PAO FOB Altimur, Afghanistan--Afghan National Army Soldiers and Afghan National Police officers from Logar and Wardak provinces got the chance to test their fighting and life-saving skills during an integrated competition with U.S. Soldier teammates at forward operating base Altimur on Feb. 13. Hosted by the 173rd Airborne Brigade “Sky Soldiers” the half-day contest, named Operation Common Goal, highlighted the different tasks commonly used in daily joint ANA, ANP, and U.S. patrols. “Three U.S. platoons each have a squad of ANA working together,” said U.S. Army Spc. Bryan...

I received an interesting email this morning that really bothered me, the email stating that City of Roswell, Georgia has filled a complaint against a local auto dealership Carl Black GMC who put forth the effort to help the 173d Airborne National Memorial by building a custom 4X4 with 173d Airborne all over it.. This truck was first displayed at the “Day of Honor” concert in Atlanta, Georgia where country stars like Big & Rich, John Anderson, The Lost Trailers and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd did a benefit concert on behalf of the 173d Airborne National Memorial and help raise...

The American public has more confidence in the military than in any other institution, according to a Gallup poll ... Seventy-four percent of those surveyed in Gallup's 2005 confidence poll said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the military - more than in a full range of other government, religious, economic, medical, business and news organizations. This year's 74 percent confidence level exceeded that of all 15 institutions included in the 2005 survey. Police ranked second, with 63 percent of responders expressing "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in them. Organized...

Website gives Americans info needed to bless overseas service personnel The website AnySoldier.com has capitalized on Americans' desire to uplift our military men and women overseas by providing the opportunity to send care packages filled with needed personal items. Founded by Sgt. Brian Horn, an Army Infantry Soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, AnySoldier.com says generous Americans have used the service to brighten the days of nearly 100,000 personnel to date. While serving in Iraq in 2003, Horn came up with the idea to receive packages addressed to "Any Soldier" and distribute them to buddies who were not getting much...

Kandahar, AFGHANISTAN – In a 20-day mission in northern Kandahar Province, Combined Task Force Bayonet forces engaged Taliban forces in some of the fiercest fighting seen this year. Led by the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, coalition forces kicked off the military operation known as Diablo Reach Back June 7 in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Shah Wali Kot district. The coalition forces included soldiers and policemen from the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, the Romanian Army, and U.S. forces from the 3-319th AFAR, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Diablo Reach...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

VICENZA, Italy — When members of the Southern European Task Force (Airborne) head to Afghanistan in a few months, they’ll be facing hostile conditions thousands of miles from their families. But if local military leaders have their way, those soldiers won’t be worrying about potentially hostile situations within their families. “A soldier who is confident in the state of their marriage is a better soldier,” says Chaplain (Maj.) David Beauchamp of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. “From a chaplain’s viewpoint … what’s going to last longer: the Army career or the marriage? Hopefully the marriage is going to last longer.” But...

Mr. Woodhouse has just published my fathers story about his service and sacrifice in Vietnam in 1969. He did an assume job capturing the details and telling a true story about love, war and freedom. Please read it if you have a moment, it will touch your heart. Click on the beaches living at the website and it is the first two stories on the site.

by Jeff "Mario" Smith, Guerilla Reporter October 8, 2004 Email: jeffsmith@qx.net Gene Kuentzler, Vietnam Veteran, 19th Combat Engineer Battalion, S-3 Operations 1966-1967, tells it like it is in this following internet rant. This factual description of what really happened during TET of '68, when my 173rd Airborne Infantry brother was fighting Communists in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, proves, beyond any shadow of doubt, that our beloved liberal mainstream media are Communist sympathizers. CBS stands for Communist Broadcast System. Hanoi John Fonda Kerry, Tom Hayden, Hanoi Jane, and all the rest of the spoiled naive hippies who assisted the Communists...

Chris Williams went to Fort Benning's famous school for Army paratroopers and earned his wings a few months out of high school with the required five jumps. His sixth jump was at night, into Iraq. Williams graduated Antelope Valley High School, the class of 2002, with pretty good grades. He belonged to the Junior ROTC program there, and he liked it. He's still got friends at the school, though most of his friends now are in the Army. "I was 18 when we jumped into northern Iraq," he said. "It was my first night jump." He returned home on leave...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. God Bless America...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members...

Nothing follows....looking for hard copy.

U.S. troops parachute into northern Iraq - CNN WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - About 1,000 U.S. troops have parachuted into northern Iraq and seized an airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory, CNN reported on Wednesday. The network said the troops were from the 173rd airborne brigade and seized the airfield to clear the way for armored tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. 03/26/03 17:23 ET