Honor a Vet, Post their Pic & Bio here

Very cool thread! I've gotta find the pics I have of my Grandpa to post up on here. He served in WWII and I believe Korea as well.

My best friend.
He was a Army Paratrooper and Special Forces in Vietnam in the late 60's.
Later he was a HALO instructor.




Sorry about your brother Lambo.
Before I graduated from "Poly", 1955, I joined the USMCR and went active after graduation, 1956.

My Great Uncle

Joseph Ross.

Pic and bio: http://www.thevillager.com/vil_95/josephross84.html

He was in one of the first waves to hit Normandy in 1944 and photos of him in combat were in Life magazine.

My Dad.
Born and raised in the Ozarks of Arkansas, enlisted in the Army in 1945 at the age of 18. He was aboard a troop ship headed for the Philippines when the war ended. It was, as he put it, "One happy boatload of GI's".
Happy until they got to the Philippines and found out there were still lots of Japanese up in the hills that hadn't gotten the word yet, and it was their job to find 'em and tell 'em about it.
"Hey, y'all! Wars over, we won. Come on down!



My Grandfather served in WWI, two Uncles that went to Korea, one came back with a Silver Star but he won't talk about it and another Uncle that was in Viet Nam. Got pics of all of them but none are digital.

My Dad was in a maint. battalion in Vietnam. Said he was trained to maintain the wire guided anti-tank system, but never had to work on those much. He wasn't there long as he did some training duty in the states before shipping over. About the only unique thing I can remember is that he said they actually landed on a beach in Vietnam as part of some publicity. He said they hit the beach, there were people all around, they walked across the beach, got into trucks, and drove off to where they were camped. I always thought that was pretty funny.

My nephew just did a project for school and gathered up a bunch of pictures of him from that time. I don't have a good way to post them. He said his group worked on the weapons side of all sorts of equipment from bazookas and rifles up to self propelled howitzers.

Great grand Father buried somewhere in France... WWI.
Grand Father was in the RIA between the wars, served through them in the Medical Teams went on to recieve an OBE.
Unlce in WWII went on to recive amongst other things a Military Cross
Dad served through three wars in the Indian Subcontinent never did win a medal though saw action in all of them.
Cousin I was very close to KIA in counter terror ops in Kashmir
Another one killed in a flying accident...

Numerous other friends and family some have retired in peace, while other have been KIA or lost in accidents.

I am the first in several generations who is not in the forces as a career.

my grand father I believe is the last person to serve in my family (that I know of at least). He died when I was 1 of a stroke.... survived his years in the Navy I believe it was. It's a shame I never got to really meet him.

If I can dig up a photo I'll scan it.

Here's my paternal grandfather back home from France in 1919. I don't know what unit he was with or anything about his military service. His brother, my great uncle, also served in WW I and experienced burned lungs from mustard gas that affected him the rest of his life. On Dec. 8, 1941 he was still lined up in front of the recruiting office with all of the other men in town (small town) but they told him he had fought his war and to go home.



Here's my dad around 1951 shooting what has to be a 7.5" 1st generation Colt SAA. He served in the Pacific Theater with the USN 1942-1945. He died in a stupid accident in 1957 and I don't remember him at all. Mom had to sell all of his guns (including the Colt 1911 he brought back from the war) because she needed the money.



Lambo, my sincere condolences to you and your family on your brother's loss at such a young age. No matter how worthy or worthwhile a war seems the loss of the young men seems like such a tragic waste.

My Grandpa served 21 years in the military. 2 years in the Navy and 19 in the Army. He was in the Navy on a minesweeper (the name escapes me right now..) during the cuban missile crisis. Then he joined the army and was a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne and served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. He retired from the army in the early 80's, then worked as a welder for the next 20 years before retiring for good.

We owe more than we can imagine to the men and women that have served this great country in which we live.

(I apologize for not posting a picture but i want to make sure its ok with him first, and possibly get a picture from when he was in service)

I do not have pics at this time, but my Dad served 20 in the Navy and my brother served 6 in the Navy. Thanks to them and all of those who have served.

Staff Sergeant Duncan H. Domey, currently of the Vermont National Guard, who I am honored to call my friend.

I met him in 1995 at college. I was surprised to hear that he had decided to join the Army in 1999, but I supported him. He started out as active duty with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, where he was trained as a mortarman (11C). He served in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan where he earned his Combat Infantryman Badge.

In 2003 he joined the New Hampshire Army National Guard's C Company 3/172 Infantry (Mountain), the only National Guard unit to wear the Mountain tab. Soon afterward the unit was activated and he spent 12 months in Iraq as part of OIF, where the unit conducted convoy ops. He was hit by an IED in 2004 and suffered minor injuries, but remained on duty and finished his tour. I joined the unit in 2005 and served under him in the mortar section despite that I knew nothing about mortars (I'm an 11B). In 2007 he transferred to the Vermont National Guard to instruct at the Mountain Warfare School.

The story of C Co. 3/172 in Iraq is recorded in the documentary The War Tapes. SSG Domey was one of the camera operators for this documentary, although he himself does not often appear in the film.

SSG Domey also serves as a full-time police officer in a small New Hampshire town.

He is a gentleman and a true friend.

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M2 Carbine - my Dad was the NCOIC of the HALO Committe back in the mid 60's at Ft. Bragg. His name was Raymond Norton. His original team was A-24.

My son. Currently about to end his third combat tour. Had a hard time with a photo so I posted the link instead. Sorry.

http://www.parkbull.com/newsextra/kylesharpmedal.html

Lance Corporal Clyde Saxon. Click on the link to his photograph and information on the Virtual Wall below.

Known as 'Popcorn,' Clyde would rather fight than eat. But it never surprised me he got killed trying to help his squadmates.

And to my friend who uses the username JShirley on this board. He's on his way back to the US from Afghanistan right now. Link to John's blog http://jrshirley.blogspot.com/

Godspeed, John.

God bless all wo served and are currently serving. Theirs is, without a doubt, the highest calling one can aspire to.

Don't apologize, Bailey... and thanks for posting the link. You truly have a son to be proud of, there

This is for my Mom's cousin, 1st Lt. Ben W. Rogers, Jr., U.S. Army, O-528267.
"Dub" was from Garland County, Arkansas(Hot Springs)who upon graduation from collage was commisioned as a 2nd Lt. having been in Senior Army ROTC in school.

He was sent to Camp Shelby, MS to become a platoon leader in the Anti-tank Co.& help train the Japanese-American enlisted men in the newly formed 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Initially, all of the officers were caucasian, which was to change later in WW2 due to the high casuality rate.

They wound up entering combat near Belvedere, Italy in June 1944 after being assigned to the Fitfth Army, 34th division & teamed up with the battle tested 100th Battalion(all Hawaiian enlistees).

In August '44 the AT Co. was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force for training in preparation for the invasion of Southern France.
On August 15, '44 they are towed by C-47's in gliders & land in Le Muy, France. They hooked back up with the 100th on October 11, '44 in Bruyeres.

The end of October, '44, the 100th/442nd RCT rescued the "Lost Battalion" (the AT Co. was not a part of the rescue of the Texans).

"Dub" gave his life for this country on November 14, 1944 during what was called the "Champaign Campaign" near Nice,France. He is resting in the U. S. Military Cemetary in Epinal, France. I hope to meet him & shake his hand some day.

Regards, Hud

My Fathers Navy uniform, he was the tailgunner on an SBD Divebomber (ie:ensignia of wings with machine gun) served in the Marianna's, Pacific theater. War ended a few months after he arrived.



Late father-in-law's uniform.....US Army, heavy equipment operator, helped build the China-Burma road.



Brother in-law's keepsakes.....He wouldn't go to see Mel Gibson's movie "We Were Soldiers", said he lived it and that was painful enough.



Number one son while stationed in Afghanistan.....so thankful he made it back. Bronze Star and Bronze Star w/Valor

This is my Mom during World War II, during her enlistment with the WACs. Three of her brothers also served in the Army; one in the Philippines, one in France/Germany and one in Italy. And all came back from the war.

CDR Orlando A. Suarez, USN 1958-2004.
(shown as LCDR)
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1958 and brought here by his parents who fled after Castro took over Cuba. They started all over here in the US with nothing but the clothes on their backs. A fierce U.S. patriot, he served in the US Navy for 27 years (12 years as enlisted, rising to the rate of Chief Hospital Corpsman before being selected for NROTC and an eventual commission). As enlisted, Orlando was a corpsman attached to the Fleet Marine Force Recon and was one of the guys who recon'd the beach before our Marines went into Beirut in the early 80s. As an officer, he served on the USS Francis Scott Key as a JO, on the USS Boston as Engineer Officer, and as Executive Officer on the USS Nevada. He was the XO of the USS Nevada when he tragically died in 2004 in a sudden accident while training as part of the Navy's Pacific Northwest triathalon team. His son in law ironically also serves right now as a nuclear submarine JO on the USS Georgia.

A picture from happier days when we served together as JOs on the USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN 657). This was from when we were out on patrol in 1991. I never had a blood brother but Orlando and some of the other guys from my boat are as close as I'll ever have to brothers. We miss you Orlando and are proud to have been your shipmate, rest in peace.

VFW Post 6466, Harrisville, Michigan in greens. Two Korean War Vets on left, two Vietnam Vets on Right. I'm second from right. Thanks for a great thread. By the way, our post has members of all of the armed services from all wars from WWII to Iraq/Afghanistan. All served proudly.

John G. Clementi, my grandfather. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He served in the US Army in World War II and some concentration camps during his tenure. He was proud of his service, but never wanted to be a soldier and rarely spoke of his days in the service. After seeing concentration camps, that's understandable. He said the most important thing he learned in the Army: Never volunteer for anything. He passed away 2 years ago after more than 90 wonderful years on this planet.

He is truly the greatest man I have ever known and is responsible for everything good about me. I miss him tremendously.

Gunnery Sergeant Rankin, R.
My Father
In 1965, my father joined the navy as an Aviation Ordinance Mate. 4 years went by and he learned the error of his ways. In 1969, Pfc Rankin graduated Boot Camp at MCRD Parris Island (I can forgive him for that) and went to Camp Lejeune for Infantry Training Battalion where he was trained as a machine gunner. As he told me when I asked him about the war he said, "I could write my name with an M60." When he went to Vietnam in 1969, he served as point man, machine gunner, grenadier, and eventually squad leader. He didn't tell me a lot of war stories, but the ones he did would take too much space for this post. In early 1970 he was shot in the arm during a patrol in what he referred to as "Sherwood Forrest." After the firefight he was treated for minor wounds and continued the patrol. The same day, they were ambushed by NVA Regulars. An RPG rocket exploded behind him and he took shrapnel in the back of the head, torso, legs and arms. He was medivaced by a CH46 and the story stops there. It picks up in the Phillipenes. The doctor told him he would have to amputate his hand because he couldn't move it. Long story short, he told the Dr. to "pack sand" and let him have his hand even if he couldn't move it. I don't know when he got full range of motion back, but he got it back.
In the 1970's military police became an MOS. He was one of the first. That job gave him his USMC Career. He received meritorious promotion for LCpl, Cpl, and Sgt. After spending some time as an MP, he became a Drill Instructor and picked up SSgt. After his tour as a DI, he went back to PMO. He was promoted to GySgt and eventually retired.

I don't know what ribbons he has, but he was a hero. He served in all but 3 states in the US and he's been to more countries in the world than I can remember. If I could be like any Marine in the history of the Corps, it wouldn't be Chesty Puller, Dan Daily, or any of those folks. It would be for Gunnery Sergeant (retired) Ronald Rankin, Sheriff, McKenzie County, ND.

Maybe I am just an emotional sort ,but this thread brings a tear to my eye.

My ancestors stepped off the ship Elizabeth Anne in 1635 and I guess they packed a rifle in every war since. Not many professionals, just a bunch of farmers and fishermen who took up arms when called.
Grandfather served in the ambulance corps, WW1, bore the results of gas for the rest of his days. Father served in the Pacific, infantry, 77th div. WW2.
Two brothers in Vietnam.
And a special thanks to my Father in Law, who I never had the chance to meet. He was in the anti tank mine platoon of an Infantry Co., 97th Div., WW2.
And to Captain Jonathan C. and his son who responded to the alarm at Concord.


AND THANK YOU ALL THE VETS RIGHT HERE ON THR. Know that you have our eternal gratitude for your service to our country.
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