UPDATED BELOW with video of CPL Ayers' ceremony from Fox News as well as video of CPT Myer's, SGT Denton's and SFC Dwzik's Ceremony and additional links added at end of post.
RESPECT
HONOR
LOVE OF FELLOW MAN
CELEBRATION OF LIFE
AWARDS OF VALOR
This past weekend was about all of the above and so much more. It will be impossible for me to find words to fully describe the events. It will be equally as impossible for me to be able to describe the privilege of being able to sit back and watch the men of 2-503 and, more specifically of Chosen Company, interact with each other. I was privileged to sit for hours and listen to them remember all of their Fallen Brothers and to talk about the memories they have of them and about how much they miss them. When it came to the Awards of Valor for those who survived the Battle at Wanat EVERY SINGLE SOLDIER could have cared less about receiving an award. Why? Because they would rather their Brothers in Arms be here and because they were just "doing their jobs."
From the Columbus, GA ledger-enquirer:
“I’m excited and a little bit sad because of the guys that can’t be here,” Dzwik said. “But that’s also why this is important. It’s not, in my opinion, for me. It’s for my men. They fought very hard that day. They fought for each other, and I’m just glad to be here to represent them.”
According to Dzwik’s citation, the platoon sergeant directly engaged the enemy while also directing indirect fire. Additionally, Dzwik led reinforcements to a beleaguered Coalition Force Observation Post and then ensured that several casualties were evacuated.
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Myer said his award will serve as a reminder of what he and his brothers in arms endured on the battlefield that day. At the time of the attack on Wanat, Myer was serving as company commander for C Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.
“I’d really say for all the guys I know that have gotten high level awards, the award itself doesn’t mean as much as what they’ve gone through, the people that they’ve been with as they went through it,” Myer said. “So it means more to me that there’s people here that were there with me that day.”
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Denton was serving as a grenadier in C Company during the attack on Wanat, which is located in the Hindu Kush Mountains, adjacent to the Pakistan border. He said he was happy some of the guys from his old unit came out to Eubanks Field to witness his promotion from specialist to sergeant and the presentation of his award. Denton said the Silver Star is more for his fallen comrades.
“It’s more for the guys that didn’t come home,” he said. “It’s not just for me, it’s for everybody that was out there fighting that day.
“I didn’t want it,” Denton added. “I’m not going to lie. I was just doing my job just like everybody else.”
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My pick for sweetest photo of the weekend below. CPT Myer's son Drew saluting as the National Anthem is played on Monday 30 March at the Airborne Walk at Fort Benning prior to the awards ceremony for CPT Myer, SGT Denton and SFC Dwzik
Most of us who were traveling in for the weekend's events arrived Saturday afternoon. Sky Soldiers flew in from WRAMC and drove in from Illinois, Florida, South Carolina and other parts of Georgia. There may have been others who traveled in but those are the ones I'm aware of. Saturday night COL Ostlund (former 173rd, 2-503 Battalion Commander during the deployment to Afghanistan and now Deputy Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment) and his wife, Heather, hosted a party at their house on Fort Benning. The rain FINALLY stopped in time for the party and a crowd of at least 50 showed up. Attendees included Vietnam Veterans of the 2-503, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of the 2-503, current members of the 2-503, Wounded Warriors from the recent Afghanistan deployment, Rangers, family and friends. The star of the show was COL Ostlund's 2 year old son Brenget. Regretfully I didn't take any photos that night.
For several hours everyone enjoyed the fellowship, told stories and remembered the Fallen. COL Ostlund gave a very touching speech about why everyone was there - to remember the Fallen and to reconnect. He reminded everyone that "Once a Sky Soldier, Always a Sky Soldier". He introduced us to Les Kapelka, a Vietnam Veteran of the 173rd, and his wife who had come from Eufaula, AL. Les is a member of VFW Post 5850 and Secretary-Treasurer of the VFW Southern Conference. It was such an honor to have them join the "younger" men and their families.
Around 21:00 several of the Soldiers, girlfriends and family members made their way back to the hotel where most of the out of towners where staying. A party ensued until around 0330 Sunday morning with about 30 or more people having a grand time. Rumor has it many others were at the Ostlund's until around the same time. What a night!
A few photos of the merriment at the hotel:
On Sunday 30 March 2009 everyone from the Fort Benning area traveled to Snellville, GA for the Silver Star Presentation and Celebration of Life Cermony for CPL Jonathan Ayers. We arrived to one of the greatest sights one could. The Patriot Guard Riders were standing in formation at the entrance to the Shiloh High School auditorium. There had to have been at least 100 great American Veterans and Patriots standing in two lines with American flags flying proudly in the breeze.
When this gentleman from the PRG was introducing CSM Meyers, COL Ostlund and CPT Myer (who was off camera) it was incredibly moving. At one point when he was thanking them and their Soldiers for doing what they do to protect this nation and our freedom he had to pause momentarily because of his emotion. That, my friends, is what these amazing Patriots (many of whom are Veterans) are all about. The Patriot Guard Riders do what the do so well and so respectfully at their own expense and on their own time. Definitely National Treasures in my book.
We made our way into the Auditorium and took our seats. Not long after that the Patriot Guard Riders entered the building and completely surrounded the auditorium as they stood with their flags. If you haven't seen a sight like this it's impossible to explain it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo of the entire auditorium. This is the best I could do from my seat:
There were around 50 Sky Soldiers in attendance in their Class A uniforms and a few others in civilian clothes due to either 1) being out of the Army now or 2) their Class A uniforms being in transit from their prior duty station and unavailable for them to wear. It was an impressive sight. The members of Chosen Company (5 of whom in attendance were at Wanat with CPL Ayers that fateful day 13 July 2008) were seated together on the front row center. All of the other Sky Soldiers and their spouses/signficant others were seated together on the front rows on the right of the auditorium. A true brotherhood.
COL Ostlund and CPT Myers both participated in the ceremony. Jim Hanson from Blackfive.net captured their remarks on video:
The ceremony was a true celebraton of CPL Ayers' life. In my opinion Brig Gen Joseph Schroedel "stole the show" with his many uplifting and humorous remarks about CPL Ayers and his family. CPL Ayers' mother, Suzanne; his father, Bill; and his brother Josh also shared many great remarks and stories with us. Please take the time to watch the video and listen to a little about CLP Ayers and those who served with him.
And I would be completely remise if I didn't mention the Shiloh High School Air Force Junior ROTC members. Their participation in the program was done with exceptional dignity, honor and precision. It was more than evident during the program that they has spent countless hours practicing all of their duties. A big HOOAH (sorry, don't know the Air Force one) for a job WELL DONE. CPL Ayers was a member of the Shiloh High School Junior ROTC program and was instrumental in their program receiving many awards and top honors during his tenure.
After Brig Gen Schroedel finished his remarks the members of 2-503 Chosen Company marched onto the stage to stand behind the family as CPL Ayers' family was awarded his Silver Star posthumously.
UPDATE: From Fox News:
Prior to leaving Snellville several of the Soldiers who had served with CPL Ayers (many during the Battle at Wanat) along with their family members went to pay their respects at CPL Ayers' grave. It was the first opportunity they had to do so since many had been Wounded and were in the hospital and others were either still in Afghanistan or redeploying back to Italy at the time of his funeral.
After the Celebration of CPL Ayers' life we traveled back to the Fort Benning area and relaxed in preparation for Monday's events. Here are a couple of photos of the relaxing time we had:
It is impossible to describe what it was like to witness 1SG Beeson and his men interacting that night. Heartwarming to say the least. They spent a lot of time remembering their Fallen Brothers. They also spent time reminding each other of some of the crazy things they had done and been through. I wish I had a dollar for every time 1SG Beeson shook his head and said, "I had no knowledge of that at the time and it's a good thing I didn't".
We were up bright and early on Monday morning to attend the Awards Ceremony for CPT Myer, SPC Denton (but not for long that day), and SFC Dwzik held at Fort Benning on the Airborne Walk. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. I credit Heather Ostlund for making the rain go away.
The ceremony began with SPC Michael Denton being promoted to SGT Denton
COL Ostlund made a few remarks about the Chosen Few and those being awarded Medals of Valor. He also recognized Medal of Honor Nominee SGT Kyle White (November 9, 2007 Ambush) and Distiguished Service Cross Nominee SGT Ryan Pitts (Battle of Wanat) who were in attendance.
Then the Commanding General of Fort Benning, Major Gen Michael Barbero made remarks:
CPT Myer, SGT Denton and SFC Dwzik were called forward to receive their awards presented to them by Major General Michael Barbero
CPT Myer and SGT Denton were presented the Silver Star for their actions at the Battle at Wanat. SFC Dwzik was presented the Bronze Star with V Device for his actions at the Battle of Wanat.
Jim Hanson from Blackfive captured the awards ceremony on video. Thanks Uncle Jimbo!
COL Ostlund shares incredible facts and information about the men of Chosen Company. I encourage you to watch this video.
I was quite shocked at the amount of media at the event. After the Awards were given each of the three men were approached by the media for interviews. I have a couple of photos of SGT Denton being interviewed but didn't capture any photos of CPT Myer or SFC Dwzik being interviewed.
UPDATE: Click here to view video from WLTZ - NBC 38
And the "money" quote of the day from SGT Denton when the CNN reporter approached him for the THIRD time about an interview, "Didn't you say you were from CNN?", Her reply, "yes". SGT Denton, "I'm not interested." That's my guy! You see, CNN, if you hadn't been so nasty for so long to our military personnel to the point of, in my opinion, distrust, you might have had a shot at the interview. A real shame. SGT Denton is a stand up man and a stand up Soldier with amazing stories of heroism to tell about his Fallen Brothers and all those with whom he has served as well as what he endured. SGT Denton probably wouldn't want me to mention this in the post. He knows how proud I am of him anyway. This was just icing on the cake for me.
A few more photos after the ceremony:
I want to express my most sincere appreciation to both Major Gen Barbero and COL Ostlund as well as the members of their respective staffs for making the awards Ceremony on Monday a first class event. I also want to express my gratitude to MAJ Perry Jarmon, Dep Chief of Public Affiars, 1st Army and his staff for all they did to make CPL Ayers' ceremony first class. Without an enormous amount of work in a short amount of time by all of these people the events of this weekend would not have come together as they did.
The Battle at Wanat is a difficult memory for the families, friends and Brothers in Arms of the Fallen Heroes. I believe the events of the past few days have done such honor to the Fallen and I hope the events have helped a little more in the healing process of those who survived.
There are no words in the English language to convey how honored I am to have been able to attend these events and to spend time with these men, so many of whom have become great friends.
Additional links:
http://www.army.mil/ Vicenza Soldiers Honored For Bravery In Afghanistan
www.blackfive.net - Blog post #1
www.blackfive.net - Blog post #2 (with video)
www.blackfive.net - Blog post #3
www.thisainthell.us - Blog post
Valor Citations for CPL Ayers, CPT Myer, SGT Denton and SFC Dwzik
UPDATE: Print story from WLTZ 38 News
UPDATE: From 11Alive.com
UPDATE: Assoluta Tranquillita - a Candian Troop Supporter
UPDATE: Must scroll down to Four More 173rd Paratroopers Receive Awards for Actions During Battle of Wanat
UPDATE: Must scroll down to For Gallantry in Action
CPL Jonathan Ayers Silver Star (Posthumously)
CPT Matthew Myer Silver Star
SGT Michael Denton Silver Star
SFC David Dwzik Bronze Star with V Device
From ksat.com
Silver Star Awarded To BAMC Patient
Army Spc. Aaron Davis Awarded Silver Star, Purple Heart
Definite tissue alert for this one.
"I want this ceremony to be a celebration," said the corporal's father, Bill Ayers. "He was military. He liked spit-and-polish type things and would fuss at us if our shoes weren't cleaned just right. Pride in his country was paramount."
From Newsblaze.com
Published: March 26,2009
Atlanta-Area Soldier Will Be Honored Posthumously Sunday
Amid a formal gathering of family, friends, Soldiers, civic and public officials, Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel (commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division) will present a posthumous Silver Star medal to Bill and Suzanne Ayers, the parents of Army Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga., March 29.
Ayers, 24, of Snellville was killed in action July 13, 2008, while as a machine gunner, he defended his unit against a vicious enemy attack.
His unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team from Vicenza, Italy, came under the deadliest attack since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan when the outpost was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the Kunar Province.
After graduating from Snellville's Shiloh High School, Ayers enlisted in the Army in April 2006 and went straight from basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga., to the 173rd.
"I want this ceremony to be a celebration," said the corporal's father, Bill Ayers. "He was military. He liked spit-and-polish type things and would fuss at us if our shoes weren't cleaned just right. Pride in his country was paramount."
Also, the mayor of Snellville, Jerry Oberholtzer, has proclaimed March 29 as "Corporal Jonathan R. Ayers Day" in the City of Snellville.
Oberholtzer said he and the residents are honoring Ayers "not only as a community hero but as a true American hero."
When Bill and Suzanne Ayers receive the Silver Star on behalf of their son March 29, they will be receiving the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is, also, the third highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy.
From the LedgerEnquirer.com
Posted on Thu, Mar. 26, 200
Benning soldier's family to accept Silver Star for fallen son
Three Fort Benning Soldiers will soon be presented with Silver Stars and another will be given a Bronze Star with "V" device for their actions while deployed to Afghanistan in 2008.
In a ceremony to be held March 30 at 10 a.m. at the Airborne Walk on Eubanks Avenue, Capt. Matthew R. Myer and Spc. Michael T. Denton will receive Silver Stars while Sgt. 1st Class David L. Dwzik will be given a Bronze Star with “V” device for their gallantry in action during the Battle of Wanat, Afghanistan, on July 13, 2008.
At a separate ceremony at 3 p.m. on March 29 at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga., the family of Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers will be presented his Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Wanat, which is being awarded posthumously.
Myer, Denton and Dwzik were members of Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team during the Battle of Wanat. Nine soldiers from their company were killed in action that day and 27 more were wounded.
During Chosen Company’s 15-month deployment to the Kunar and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan, 16 of their soldiers were killed in action and 50 were wounded.
Prior to the award ceremony Denton will be promoted to sergeant.
The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States and is presented to servicemembers who distinguish themselves by extraordinary heroism. It is the third highest award presented for valor.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team is based in Vicenza, Italy.
There are 10 Silver Stars and 4 Bronze Stars with V Device for Valor being awarded to Soldiers who fought at the Battle of Wanat. Additionally one Distingushed Service Cross is pending. To say those men were in a hell on earth that day is more than an understatement.
Those of you who follow this blog know that I have had the honor to get to know many of these men and their families. I have been especially honored to have gotten to know and spend a lot of time with many of the Wounded Warriors. It is an honor I do not take lightly.
Over the past week or so many people have worked tirelessly to make sure the awards ceremony and celebration of life for CPL Ayers as well as the awards ceremony for CPT Myer, SFC Dwzik and SPC (P) Denton are meaningful and well attended. Sky Soldiers and family members from around the southeastern United States as well from as far away as Illinois and New Hampshire are driving and flying in for these events as a way to honor their brothers in arms.
Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive.net and I will be attending. What a special honor it will be on Sunday to join the Chosen Few and other Sky Soldiers in celebrating the life of CPL Ayers and on Monday when they attend the awards ceremony at Fort Benning. It's actually turned into a bit of a mini reunion and the Sky Soldiers are anxiously awaiting the weekend to be able to reconnect and be together again to remember those whose lives were lost during the deployment and to strengthen a bond that I can't imagine could be any stronger.
Links to additional stories about the Battle of Wanat:
A couple of days ago when I posted this story about Sgt Walter Singleton, MOH Recipient I had no idea that National Medal of Honor Day was this week.
My friend, Major Pain at One Marine's View posted this story recently about a flight attendant who asked the passengers to ring their call button if they could name one of the Medal of Honor recipients from the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Only one man rang his call button and was able to do so. The flight attendant then asked if any of the passengers could name an American Idol winner. The call buttons went off like crazy. I don't know about you all but when I read the story it made me sad, angry, disgusted and bewildered at the state of our nation.
Defenselink has a great site honoring Army SFC Paul R Smith, Marine Corporal Jason L Dunham, Navy Lt Michael P Murphy, Army Specialist Ross A McGinnis and Navy Petty Officer Second Class Michael A Monsoor. Medal of Honor Recipients from Iraq and Afghanistan engagements.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society site is probably one of the most comprehensive sites I've found with information about all recipients. Did you know there have been 19 Double Recipients of the Medal of Honor? I had no idea until I spent time at the site.
I doubt any of the major media outlets will make a big deal - daresay even mention it at all - about Wednesday being National Medal of Honor Day. But I'll sure take a few minutes to revist the sites about and to say a prayer of thanks for these great American Heroes.
UPDATE: I found this link to a story in Stars and Stripes that was written by one of the 98 living Medal of Honor Recipients, COL Robert Howard. COL Howard has a great message in his article. Please take the time to read it.
From McClatchydc.com
Posted on Monday, March 23, 2009
U.S. troops confront disciplined, wily, mobile Afghan insurgents
The 10th Mountain Division in Asmar, Afghanistan
ASMAR, Afghanistan — When the young American lieutenant and his 14 soldiers glanced up at the rock face, they thought that the major who'd planned the mission must have been kidding.
Elijah Carlson, a strapping, blue-eyed Southern Californian and a self-proclaimed "gun nut," gripped the crumbling rock, tugged backward by 90-pounds of ammunition and gear. "If we fall back, we are dead!" he whispered to Lt. Jake Kerr, the platoon leader.
In seconds, a rock shot loose beneath one soldier's boot and dropped 20 feet onto another soldier below, sending him tumbling 15 feet to the base and cracking his bulletproof side plate.
What transpired over the next 16 hours was the kind of clash that's led Kerr's commanders in the Army's 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., to conclude that there's no "victory" waiting around the next bend in Afghanistan, only a relentless struggle with a fleet-footed, clever enemy. For Kerr, a recent West Point graduate who specialized in counterinsurgency, it was the first face-off with an often-elusive opponent and a case study in the complex politics of rural Afghanistan.
Kunar, where Combat Company of the 1st Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division's 32nd Infantry Regiment is stationed, is one of the most violent provinces in Afghanistan. Asmar is just 10 miles from the border with Pakistan's Bajaur Tribal Agency, which has been a sanctuary for al Qaida and Afghan Taliban leaders.
The mission was to disrupt the men and weapons infiltrating from Pakistan and root out their staging bases in Afghanistan. The Americans had hoped first to confer with village elders, but after intelligence indicated that insurgents were in the area, they moved in with heavy machine guns.
Kerr's platoon moved for three hours in the darkness. Each time they thought they'd reached the peak, the land shot up farther. The unit came across enemy fighting positions, piled high with rocks and littered with food wrappers.
Afghan and American intelligence reports said these were "Bakt Ali's men," insurgents who lay claim to nearby villages in central Kunar. Ali is a senior Taliban guerrilla leader in Kunar who's thought to have direct ties to Abu Ikhlas al Masri, an Egyptian al Qaida leader in Pakistan. At each dug-in position, Kerr recorded the GPS coordinates of unmanned enemy positions, down to the 10th digit.
As dawn broke over the rocks, company commander Maj. Andy Knight, of Ann Arbor, Mich., set out on foot in the valley 700 feet below. Kerr would provide support from his eagles' nests as Knight attempted to clear two villages where, he said, residents had complained of insurgent intimidation. Accompanied by a reporter, Knight and a detachment of American and 14 Afghan soldiers stepped carefully along mud dikes, greeting Afghan children and their parents with a cordial "Sengay?" — "How are you?"
What Kerr, from Lake Placid, N.Y., heard from his perch above the valley was a surprise: Unseen men along the valley floor were shouting to one another like an oral tag team, passing the news that "the Americans have arrived."
Within minutes, three men, one in a white shalwar kamis — a loose pajama-like shirt and pants — another in a black one and a third in a brown shawl and gray pants, sprinted down the valley from the west with machine guns toward Knight's patrol, which was walking along a dry, rocky streambed about 1,000 feet away.
Kerr, 25, part of a new generation of American warriors schooled at West Point in the raw lessons of fighting counterinsurgencies in the Islamic world, spotted them instantly.
"They were running at Major Knight with AK-47s," Kerr said after the battle. "We opened up on them, and they began firing. But we had the three men outgunned, and they dove for cover in the streambed."
In the valley, the hiking party splashed through irrigation channels and dove for cover amid tall bushes that lined the stream. The chatter of machine guns fired from both sides echoed off the ridges and stone walls.
Knight, who played tight end on the Army football team, shot past in a blur to the front of the marching party. He didn't yet know that two of the insurgents had been hit. They were pulling themselves on their bellies through the rocks, desperate to reach a bend in the stream.
Within five minutes, two Apache attack helicopters buzzed the valley, scanning for enemy positions and listening to Kerr direct them to the target. "I was shooting tracers down at the two fighters crawling in the stream, and the other man in a brown shawl was shooting back," Kerr said.
Hidden behind a wooden shack, Knight's party could see the two Apaches sweep down, ripping up the stream bed. The insurgents had slipped just out of Kerr's sight, however, back up a bend in the stream and away from Knight's party. When the Apaches unleashed their Hellfire missiles, the men already had vanished.
"Dawg 1,6!" Knight snapped into his radio to Lt. David Poe, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., a few hundred yards away, as he crouched in the rocks. "Are you near the woman in the green dress, tending to the animals? We are moving towards your location."
Almost all the males in the valley had gone missing, but Afghan women were trying to keep spooked cows and goats from fleeing. As Knight's party climbed into the rocks above the stream and dashed along the mountainside, a woman in a black shawl appeared, waving her arms and wailing, berating U.S. and Afghan forces as they passed. An Afghan soldier shouted back, incorrectly, "Back in your house, lady! They shot first!"
Knight stopped to catch his breath. "Do we have maps of these villages?" he demanded of Lt. Eric Forcey, 23, of Lynchburg, Va., who was at his side.
"No, sir," Forcey replied. "For all intents and purposes, they do not exist."
"I think they've existed for a long time, Forcey; the mapmakers just have not found them," the major replied.
"Yes, sir."
WIth "shhh-thwamps, shhh-thwamps," two more Hellfire missiles crashed into the rocks.
With constant translations of the enemy radio chatter in Pashtu, picked up through electronic eavesdropping, and the major's narration of the battle, events appeared to turn. "I think one of them is badly injured," Knight speculated. "They will have to make a decision to drag him out or leave him."
The U.S. forces, augmented by the 14 Afghans, were deliberate, at times cumbersome. From above, Kerr's men heard radio traffic indicating that the insurgents had slipped into a larger village farther up the ravine.
Enemy radio chatter also indicated that the helicopter strikes were landing just in front of the house from which Bakt Ali's men apparently were talking.
Still, this was a shell game with no certainty about the targets' whereabouts, and Knight — who spent a year in Kunar in 2006 and 2007 — knew it. He refused to order an airstrike on the suspected hideout.
Instead, he took Kerr's plea over the radio that, "We can own this valley, sir!" He ordered two Humvees to rush up the stream bed and take up "support-by-fire" positions in front of a group of wooden houses and dispatched Dawg Company's Poe to oversee a group of Afghan commandos, who'd search the village on foot.
The choppers returned from refueling. Once in the village, the Afghan soldiers went house to house, room by room. A cluster of women and children stood on a rooftop. "This is a virtual ghost town, sir," came Poe's report. An Afghan interpreter sniped: "It almost always ends this way."
Kerr and his men were tired and frustrated. No one had found the fugitives' "blood trails," which he'd hoped to follow.
As his men packed in their heavy weapons and began to pull back down the mountain, the insurgents' radio traffic intensified.
"We could hear them actually counting our numbers, and they were saying that they would hit us. A commander told them to wait until we were grouped." The insurgents apparently wanted to target only the departing forces and to avoid destroying the village.
Kerr's team hiked back down the ridgeline, descended about 1,000 feet into the riverbed, linked up with Knight's fighters in U.S. jeeps and reached for water bottles.
Suddenly, an Afghan interpreter, monitoring radio traffic, heard Bakt Ali's commander order the attack. Kerr dove for cover. The pavement exploded with rocket blasts and fire from massive PK machine guns. Carlson, 23, from Torrance, Calif., dropped to his knees, curling into a fetal position under a dirt ledge with his machine gun trained on the crest of the mountain he'd scaled earlier. One U.S. soldier was hit in the groin as he leapt for cover.
Kerr's platoon's work was about to pay dividends, however.
With a rush of satisfaction, Kerr reached into his pocket and pulled out the GPS coordinates of the enemy positions he'd scribbled down that morning. From six miles away at their base in Asmar, a 10th Mountain artillery battery unleashed a torrent of 105 mm howitzer shells onto the enemy positions. In the twilight, .50-caliber machine guns blazed.
The day was over. No one was going back to hunt for the living or the dead. The insurgents had lost fighters, but they'd proved to be a wily, disciplined and mobile force.
The U.S. and Afghan forces had had a reality check. If they didn't already know it, they now understood why they'd been unable to have a peaceful discussion with the village elders. Bakt Ali's forces owned the villages, and until last Thursday, they more or less controlled the entire ravine. It would take more than better maps for the Afghan army and its U.S. allies to wrest control of them.
(Smucker is a McClatchy special correspondent.)
ON THE WEB
It's no secret to those of you who know me that I've become very close to many of the Sky Soldiers and their families. And I hope it's no secret to them that I could not be more honored to have had the opportunities to get to share in their lives. I have never been so PROUD of a group of men in my life and for so many reasons.
There was an awards ceremony at Camp Ederle, Vicenza, Italy on March 20, 2009 to both honor the lives of the nine Sky Soldiers killed in action at the Battle of Wanat on July 13, 2008 as well as to present awards for Valor to six of the Soldiers who survived that awful attack. The awards ceremony in Italy on March 20th was the beginning of a series of awards ceremonies that will be held over the next couple of weeks for those who were a part of this battle. While most awards will be presented to the Soldiers there will be others presented posthumously.
Next weekend Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive and I will be traveling to Georgia to attend two ceremonies related to Wanat. The focus is going to be on honoring the lives of those who died as heroes that day. The Soldiers are insisting on that - no surprise to me. It will be a bittersweet time.
From Stars and Stripes is the following article about the award ceremony in Italy.
Six Vicenza soldiers honored for acts of valor in Afghan battle
I received an email tonight from a friend of mine with a link to this YouTube video.
LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Major kudos to Lloyd Marcus
For information about the New American Tea party including recent Tea Party events and the schedule for upcoming ones click here.
