The Latest Greatest Generation

Renita Menyhert

Description

The Latest Greatest Generation

A Bugler praying he will play his best TAPS to honor a fallen Soldier…..

Two football players striving to win the game, and understanding they will use this same determination to complete the successful missions when their military service begins…

A devoted father’s attempt to turn grief into an asset, not only for his son’s sake, but Soldiers as well….

A Staff Judge Advocate officer dedicated to making the Uniformed Code of Military Justice count…..

Guarding a divided city and border or deploying to serve in hostile environments….

Whether it’s war or peacetime, the fact is to be successful in any military endeavor all Soldiers must perform as professionals 24/7. These are stories about GIs I witnessed firsthand exhibiting immeasurable expertise, esprit de corps, and camaraderie. As a result, they made an extraordinary impact on their fellow Soldiers as well as a significant difference in the entire U.S. Army.

Sujets

• History
• Military
• Histoire

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 24 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669843788
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE LATEST GREATEST GENERATION

Renita Menyhert

Copyright © 2022 by Renita Menyhert.
 
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-4379-5

Softcover
978-1-6698-5423-4

eBook
978-1-6698-4378-8
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 03/17/2023
 
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
846042
CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Bugle Calls Have Special Meaning For Soldiers
Chapter 2 Playing For More Than Just Winning
Chapter 3 Cadet Gives All To Army Football
Chapter 4 Look Out! It’s Mad Dog Mcdowell!
Chapter 5 Honduras Offers Army Engineer Bonding Experience
Chapter 6 Special Training For Special Times
Chapter 7 Law & Order: Army Style
Chapter 8 All American Remembers One Of Their Own
Chapter 9 Brotherly Love Grows During War
Chapter 10 Letters Help Vet Remember Korea
Chapter 11 Lost Ring Finds Air Force Pilot
Chapter 12 Air Force Sergeant Offers ‘Hope’ With Orphanage
Chapter 13 A Year ‘Round Christmas Story
Chapter 14 Waking Up To The Berlin Wall
Chapter 15 Sixteen Hours
Chapter 16 Duty At The Berlin Wall
Chapter 17 Border Patrol
Chapter 18 And The Wall Came Tumbling Down
Chapter 19 Vietnam Veterans Share Stories Of ‘Huey’
Chapter 20 Soldier Learns And Shares From Vietnam Experiences
Chapter 21 Medic Finds It Hard To Leave Vietnam
Chapter 22 Vietnam Pow Recalls Horrors
Chapter 23 Photographer Under Fire
Chapter 24 Never Forgotten: Families Mourn Those Who Made Ultimate Sacrifice
Chapter 25 Grueling Journey Gets Soldier Back Safely
Chapter 26 Clues Help Wounded Pilot Survive
Chapter 27 Vintage Vehicle Makes Veteran Say ‘Jeepers’
Chapter 28 Bike Brings Vet And Vietnam Together
Chapter 29 War Makes Brothers Out Of Diehards
Chapter 30 Answering A Different Call
Chapter 31 Scouts And Soldiers Exchange Flags For Flags
Chapter 32 Young Officer Relies On ‘Old Sergeant’ For Guidance
Chapter 33 Stand Up! Hook Up! Jumping Into Operation Northern Delay
Chapter 34 Military Doc In Iraq
Chapter 35 Routine Patrol Turns Into Nightmare
Chapter 36 Female Soldier Rules In Operation Iraqi Freedom
Chapter 37 Running Is Best Medicine For Wounded Soldier
Chapter 38 Young Officer Learns About The Last Salute
Chapter 39 Turning Tragedy Into Success
Chapter 40 Gi Ingenuity Best Medicine In Operation Enduring Freedom
Chapter 41 Learning The Language Helps
Chapter 42 Army Turns Youngster Around
Chapter 43 Sniper Hits His Mark
Chapter 44 War Bonds Company Commander To His Soldiers
CHAPTER 1
BUGLE CALLS HAVE SPECIAL MEANING FOR SOLDIERS

L ike the faithful town crier from days of old, military bugle calls blast throughout Army posts worldwide jostling sleepy Soldiers awake, announcing meal time, proclaiming the end of the duty day, and as only the Army could, orchestrate a gentle reminder it’s bed time followed by a nostalgic serenade.
More than a few favorite anecdotes have sprouted from these distinctive bugle calls; ones the military population continues to delight in regardless of how long ago they occurred. There’s the meticulous Soldier who religiously set his watch as well as the rest of the clocks in his house to Reveille at 0600 hours (6:00 a.m.) and the dedicated Army mother who equated Assembly with nap time for her children at 1300 hours (1 p.m.). And the infamous complaint the calls weren’t loud enough for those hard-core personnel strictly regulating their day in accordance with the revered tunes.
So it’ not surprising lighthearted tales continue to flourish from Soldiers, both past and present, who find themselves deeply affected by these eloquent, musical tones.
Lona Rogers, United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) Cadet Candidate (CC) at Fort Monmouth, N.J. is up long before Reveille, but says the shrill morning call to duty definitely boosts her motivation. “It’s your sign to wake up,” Rogers said. “You have a job to do so let’s go do it. It’s getting everything ready for your mission of the day.”
The Fort Monmouth Retiree Group, who more than 60 years ago began their first day of basic training, clearly remembers Reveille as a dreaded “screeching noise” and swears the only thing worse was being thrown out of bed by a training sergeant if you weren’t up.
“Then there were mornings when you were jolted awake by the painstaking rattling of the inside of a trash can,” Bill Allison, a World War II (WWII) and Korean war veteran, reminded the group.
“Back then there was also pay and mail calls which we’d scramble for as much as mess call,” grinned Joe Rankin, a WWII glider plane veteran.
And no other organization in the world quite knows how to end a duty day like the U.S. Army. The sharp, dignified tones of Retreat, accompanied by Soldiers performing this particular tradition with such brilliance and precision, is nothing less than spectacular. The ceremony instantly commands pride and admiration from anyone taking the time to share it with them.
Ed Devlin, a retired Director of Training, Plans, and Mobilization, believes the custom of halting work on a military installation to honor the Retreat Ceremony means more than just recognizing duty hours are over.
“It’s parallel to stopping and smelling the roses as you go through life,” Devlin said. “Bugle Calls keep us in touch with things that were important in the past and important now. Ignoring Retreat means missing a whole lot more than just music.”
Although it’s been over six decades since Air Commander Robert Peterson began his 19th bombing mission over Germany, he agrees with Devlin’s sentiment completely. That mission became his last when he was shot down and spent the next 18 months in a prisoner-of-war camp. “It wasn’t until I saw a Retreat Ceremony I knew I was home,” Peterson said.
“Retreat is the bugle call I’m most familiar with because I’m always at Lacrosse practice when it’s being played,” said Dan Russo, another USMAPS CC. “We totally stop what we’re doing and come to attention. And with everything so quiet it gives you time to think about all the people before you and through history who have done this exact same thing.”
“Whether that flag is going up or down, it’s sacred,” Lona Rogers added. “It’s one of those symbols we have carried over from the beginning of this country. You have to hold onto it tightly because when you lose it, you’ve lost all the basic principles we were founded on.”
Sergeant 1st Class Alan Templeton was barely 19-years-old when he reported to the Berlin Brigade in West Berlin, East Germany over 20 years ago. He says participating in Retreat ceremonies in one of the most controversial cities during the Cold War was an extraordinary experience in his career. “We were located quite close to the East Berlin guard towers and I remember seeing them look down while the bugle was playing. I couldn’t help feeling they were truly envious.”
If there’s one Soldier on this installation that passionately appreciates bugle calls it’s Tom Helmick, another Fort Monmouth Retiree and WWII Navy veteran. “Back then those calls weren’t just sounds, they weren’t just music, they meant something! And they didn’t come out of a boxed recorder. They were played professionally and proudly by a living, breathing Soldier.”
That talented, flesh and blood bugler, so revered by his fellow Soldiers has indeed been replaced by machines at most Army posts. Here at Fort Monmouth, bugle calls are heard by a digital recorder located in Vail Hall. Seven times a day, Sunday through Saturday and holidays, Reveille rings out at 0600 hours (6 a.m.) followed by Recall, Mess Call, Assembly, Retreat, and Tattoo, closing with Taps at 2200 hours (10 p.m.)
“The bugle calls are on a micro processor chip,” explained Charles Fuller, Contract Representative for Administrative Telephone Service Contract, “and it’s virtually maintenance-free.” A retired master sergeant who’s been monitoring bugle calls here for several years, Fuller says he always enjoys them. “Whenever I hear Retreat and Taps I still get a chill up my back, and the rest of the calls always give me a good feeling.”
Acute chills is the only way to describe how new U.S. Army recruit, Timothy Rider, and his fellow servicemen felt when they arrived late one evening at Fort Knox, Ky. to report for basic training. “A cattle car picked us up and then dumped us off in front of some barracks. About that time Taps began playing. All we knew was that this was the Army funeral song so we thought some drill sergeant was playing a special rendition to warn us what the next thirteen weeks would be like.”
For Jeremy James, a former USMAPS CC and now in his last year at the United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA), hearing Taps for the first time was nothing short of exhilaration. “My heart was beating happily when I heard Taps that night because I knew I’d succeeded in what I set out to do. I did more pushups than I’d ever done in my life that day and knew I was on my way to a great future.”
But coming out of a