Valor: Honoring Vietnam

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CONTENTS S E RV I N G T H E FA L L E N / 2 W O M E N WA R R I O R S / 5 G R E AT E X P E C TAT I O N S / 1 2 HONORING VIETNAM / 20 S U P E R H E R O E S WA N T E D / 3 8 FOCUSING ON FREEDOM / 43

Ma rc h 19 67. P h a s e o n e o f o p e ra t i o n “Ju n c t i o n C i t y,” t h e wa r ’s b i g g e s t o p e ra t i o n s o f a r, h a s n o t p ro d u ce d m u c h — b u t t h e t ro o p s ke e p t r y i n g . A l l t h re e b a tt a l i o n s o f t h e 17 3 rd U. S . a i r b o r n e b r i g a d e m a d e n ew h e l i co p te r a s s a u l t s to t h e e a s t o f t h e i r f i r s t o p e ra t i o n a l a re a a n d b e g a n p h a s e I I o f “Ju n c t i o n C i t y.” He re t h e p a ra t ro o p e r s o f 1 s t b a tt a l i o n , 17 3 rd a i r b o r n e b r i g a d e , a re l a n d e d a n d h e a d f o r t h e j u n g l e s o f C z o n e to b e g i n a n o t h e r s e a rc h f o r t h e e l u s i ve u n i t s o f t h e 9 t h V i e t Co n g d i v i s i o n . T h e a s s a u l t to o k p l a ce s o m e 6 5 m i l e s n o r t hwe s t o f S a i g o n . a p p h o t o / fa s s

WWW.UTAHVALOR.COM UTAH MEDIA GROUP / 4770 South 5600 West, West Valley City UT 84118 / 801-204-6300 / utahmediagroup.com PROJECT TEAM / Brent Low, Publisher / Jed Call, Marketing Director / Michelle Bridges, Project Manager / Megan Donio, Project Coordinator Tyler Pratt and Chad Zavala, Creative Support / Advertising: 801-204-6300 Valor: A Salute to Utah’s Veterans and Military is a publication of Utah Media Group and distributed in partnership with Deseret News and The Salt Lake Tribune. Copyright © m ay 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any format without consent of Utah Media Group. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication and assume no liability for errors, inaccuracies or omissions.

O N C O V E R : 19 6 6 . Ma r i n e c ro s s i n g a r i ce p a d d y w h i l e o n p a t ro l , h o l d i n g a n M - 6 0 m a c h i n e g u n , V i e t n a m .

p h oto q u e s t /g e t t y i m ag e s

S E RV I N G T H E FA L L E N ‘O N B E H A L F O F A G R AT E F U L N AT I O N . . .

W E T H A N K YO U F O R T H I S H O N O R ’ b y M i c h e l l e B r i d g e s a n d Ro b e r t We l s h va l o r

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bluster y bree z e is blowing on an ear l y spr ing day where mour ners gather in the cemeter y of the smal l centr al Utah town of Fountain Green. It is just c hil l y enough to c ause those awaiting the c asket of D r. Rober t H. Foster to be a bit restless. Among the somber funer al attire wor n by famil y and f r iends and the dress unif or ms wor n by sons and gr andsons stand in contr ast. And in the distance, members of Hil l Air Force Base ’s honor guard also wait ... Al l too soon, with attention to detail, precision in step and salute, stoic in tr adition and re verence, the honor guard fulfil ls the bur ial r ituals f or one of their own as a final honor, and to say fare wel l f or one last time.

Nor m Nelson, commander of Box Elder Count y ’s VFW Post 1695 explains his group’s reputation f or their prof essionalism in conducting a militar y honor guard f or funer als. The f or mat depends on whether its Ar my, Navy, Mar ine, Air Force or Coast G uard— al l of them do it just a little diff erentl y. “ We do the gun squad first, sound Taps, then f old the flag and present it to the famil y. That ’s the proper way to do it. We pref er to do it the same way eac h time. ” Amer ic an histor y of militar y funer al honors is c losel y tied to the bugle c al l of Taps, per haps the melody most easil y recogniz ed and likel y to render emotion. Its str ains are ful l of melanc hol y, yet somehow restful and ful l of peace. Its ec hoes linger long af ter the bugler has stopped. Taps was w r itten dur ing the Civil War as a replacement f or “ Lights

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O ut, ” the tr aditional c al l at day ’s end. But, the more emotive Taps was quic kl y adopted throughout the militar y, and in 1891 it bec ame standard at militar y funer al ceremonies.

Myth off e rs that afte r a hea v y day of f ighting, both sides took a br eak to tend to their w ounded and bur y their dea d. The bugle r w ould play Taps and a r ifle salute w ould signal the y w e r e f inished.

The Union A r my’s Col. Butte r f ield w ent out on the battle f ield and br ought ba ck an injur ed soldie r who succumbed to his w ounds. Only late r to disco ve r it was his o wn son, f ighting f or the Conf ede rate A r my. The young man ha d enlisted while attending school in South Car olina.

Butte r f ield asked f or a small band to play music but was told he could only ha ve a t r umpet bec ause the boy was a Conf ede rate soldie r, so the y w e r en’t going to give him all the honors that a Union soldie r was getting e ven though he was the colonel ’s son.

The gun salute protocol has e vol ved o ver the years.

In 1810 the War Depar tment defined the “ National S alute ” as the number of states in the Union—17 at that time. In 1841, it was f or mal l y established at 21 guns. Onl y a select f e w, howe ver, are entitled to it.

For the t y pic al veter an ceremony, a “gun vol le y ” of three soldiers is the standard, when requested.

The 21-gun salute c ame about with the old w ooden ships. W hen a ship was coming into the harbor the y w ould f ir e the guns on the por t m ay

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O c to b e r 2 0 0 5 . A b u g l e r p l a ys Ta p s a t m e m o r i a l s e r v i ce s f o r 1 2 m e m b e r s o f t h e A r m e d Fo rce s , o n e G re e n B e re t a n d 1 1 Ma r i n e s , w h o d i e d i n V i e t n a m 19 6 8 . g e r a l d m a r t i n e a u / t h e wa s h i n g t o n p o s t / g e t t y i m a g e s

side to let the harbor kno w those guns w e r e empt y. The harbor w ould answ e r ba ck letting the ship kno w the y ha d gotten the message. Then the ship w ould f ir e the guns on the starboar d side letting the harbor kno w the ship was completely unar med and it was coming in f r iendly.

Nelson explains the Amer ic an flag means “e ver y thing ” to his veter ans. “ We do what we do f or the red, white and blue.

Red f or the blood we shed that f reed us as a nation. Blue f or loyalt y, white f or pur it y. W hen the flag is f olded, what ’s lef t on the outside? The blue and the white. It is to remind us what that flag stands f or. You know the f reedom that many take f or gr anted. We know what it cost. ” The flag is a f inal gift f r om the nation’s go ve r nment f or the se r vice of the individual that is being bur ied. The bur ial flag is special. It ’s 5-f eet by 9.5-f eet and ma de to f it o ve r the c asket. The flag f olds 15 times—once in half, again in half and the t r iangular f old up has 13 f olds. It ’s f olded ve r y neat and when you get thr ough and t ur n the flag o ve r, it should ha ve one star at the top, thr ee in the ne xt r o w, f ive on the ne xt r o w—that ’s a 50-star flag.

Ever y Ar med Forces veter an, with a disc harge not stated as dishonor able, and active-dut y or active-reser ve personnel have the r ight to be bur ied with patr iotic flour ishes by a militar y honor guard. Militar y funer al honors inc ludes f olding and presentation of the flag of the United S tates and the sounding of Taps. And a gun vol le y if warr anted. There is no cost f or the ceremony ; it is the nation’s way of showing its gr atitude to those who have faithful l y def ended our countr y—the final demonstr ation of honor it c an pro vide. m ay

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A MOMENT OF REMEMBERANCE Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day from the tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags. For us, now, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. During that first national celebration, former Union General James Garfield, (later 20th President of the United States) made a passionate speech at Arlington National Cemetery. Moved

by Garfield’s words, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of some 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers interred there.

In 1873 New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday commemorating those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars. But, it wasn’t until 1971 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that established Memorial Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution passed in December 2000 asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans, “to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.”

—by Robert Welsh

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Fr a n c e s G re e n , M a rg a re t ( Pe g ) K i rc h n e r, A n n Wa l d n e r a n d B l a n c h e O s b o r n l e av i n g t h e i r p l a n e , “ P i s to l Pa c k i n’ M a m a ,” a t t h e f o u r - e n g i n e s c h o o l a t L o c k b o u r n e A A F, O h i o , d u r i n g WA S P f e r r y t ra i n i n g B - 17 F l y i n g Fo r t r e s s . u . s . a i r f o r c e p h o t o

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WOMEN WA R R I O R S T H E E V O LV I N G R O L E O F W O M E N I N T H E M I L I TA RY b y S a ra h Ry t h e r Fr a n co m va l o r

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el l “ Mic ke y ” B r ight was on l y 19 when she a n swered the c al l t o s er ve as a Wom a n A ir f orce S er vice P ilot ( WA SP) dur in g Wor ld War I I .

S h e received the sam e flight tr ain in g a s the m a le c adets an d s h o r t l y t h e reaf t e r received her win gs. S he logged hun dreds of hours in se ve r al plan es , and se r ve d va lia n tl y towin g ta rgets, fl y in g sta ffin g m ission s an d m o re. B r ig h t , al ong w i t h the m a ny WA SPs who fle w beside her, p layed an ess en t ial ro le dur in g Wor ld Wa r I I. Yet, desp ite their ser vic e, WA SPs weren’t con sidered veter a n s un til 1977. Today, t h e y are stil l p rohibited f rom bein g bur ied a t A r lin gton Nat ion al Cem eter y, a n in justice tha t B r ight, n ow in h er 9 0 s , is hop in g wil l c ha n ge.

Ma ny thin gs have c ha n ged f or wom en in th e milit ar y sin ce the tim e B r ight received her win gs a n d s er ved h er coun tr y in 1943. Today ’s wom en m ilita r y m emb ers s er ve Ne l l B r i g h t r ight alon gside the m a le coun ter p a r ts, e ven in c ombat courtesy photo roles. In August 2015, t wo wom en were the first t o bec ome Ar my R angers, p a vin g the way f or future f em a le accom p lishmen t s . Yet , despi t e t h e advan cem en ts a n d accom p lishm en ts our wom en ser vic e members h ave exper ien ced dur in g the p ast se ver a l dec ades, un ique c h al len ges pe r si st —c ha l len ges like hea lthc a re an d fitn ess, fam il y ba la n ce, h ar as s men t and assau l t. B ut on e thin g is c lea r : the roles a n d resp on sibilities o f women ser v i ce mem bers are becom in g in crea sin gl y essen tial, an d today ’s women are re ady and wil lin g to step up to the c hal len ge of ser vin g our coun t r y.

S E RV I N G W I T H F O RT I T U D E 1st S g t . Tam ar a L. S ower gre w up in a m ilita r y fam il y, a n d s h e al way s k ne w t h at she too would on e day join the ser vice. “ It was lik e a famil y t r adi t i on, ” she say s. “ T he m ilitar y had al way s treated our fam il y re al l y, real l y we l l , and j oin in g was a way f or m e to give bac k to m y coun tr y an d wh at t h e mi l i t ar y h ad given m e. ” m ay

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‘G L A M O U R , H E L L ! I T WA S H A R D WO R K .’

THE GIRLS They called themselves “girls.” They came from a variety of backgrounds. They came in different shapes and sizes. Yet, they all had one thing in common: a love of flying. Overcoming the skepticism of many military leaders, they proved women could fly all kinds of military aircraft as well as the men and do it more safely. Of the 25,000 women who applied to become a WASP, only 1,830 were accepted for training, and 1,074 won their wings. These remarkable women were pioneers, yet they toiled in virtual anonymity. They paved the way for the eventual acceptance in 1977 of women pilots in the U.S. military.

g e t t i n g o f f t h e g ro u n d The groundwork for creation of the WASP was laid several years before the U.S. entered World War II. In 1939, Jackie Cochran wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, presenting the idea of using women pilots in non-combat roles. Separately, Nancy Harkness Love in 1940 wrote to Lt. Col. Robert Olds who was organizing a Ferrying Command within the Army Air Forces, suggesting that experienced women pilots could help ferry aircraft. Both Cochran’s and Love’s suggestions were rejected, but the two determined women were not about to give up.

Only a month after Pearl Harbor, the leadership of the U.S. Army Air Forces were desperate for pilots. Working separately with Cochran and Love, the USAAF began a complicated process that eventually led to the creation of the WASP program, one of the unheralded but vital programs of World War II.

a co m p ro m i s e Though they were seeking essentially the same end, Cochran and Love were competing against each other. Cochran wanted to create a women’s flying corps in which women were trained to become military pilots (the Women’s Flying Training Detachment or WFTD), while Love’s idea was to recruit women who already had experience as pilots that would fly military aircraft (the Women’s Auxiliary Fly Squadron or WAFS).

Solving the problem, the USAAF adopted in the fall of 1942 a two-pronged solution: Cochran’s WFTD would train less experienced pilots who would then join the more experienced pilots of Love’s WAFS. On July 3, 1943, the WFTD and the WAFS were consolidated into a single branch under Jackie Cochran.

The WASP was born.

h a r d wo r k The life of a WASP trainee was anything but glamorous. The trainees went through the same intense regimen as their male counterparts. Training days started at 6:15 a.m. and were filled with calisthenics, classes, flight simulator training and flight training (both day and night), concluding with study hall and bed at 10:00 p.m. The living quarters were cramped with six trainees to a bay and two bays to a bathroom. Rattlesnakes,

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A g r o u p o f WA S P t r a i n e e s l i s t e n t o t h e i r i n s t r u c to r. n at i o n a l m u s e u m o f u . s . a i r f o r c e p h o t o

scorpions, locust infestations and other assorted west Texas critters were common hazards.

Despite the perils of training, The Girls survived, spurred by the prospect of winning their wings and fulfilling their dreams of flying. By the time the WASP were disbanded, 60 percent of those who started training graduated from the program.

Disproving the doubters of the period, the WASP flew virtually every kind of military aircraft in the USAAF arsenal, including large bombers such as the B-17 “Flying Fortress,” the B-24 “Liberator,” even the biggest airplane of the war, the B-29 “Super Fortress.” In addition to ferrying these machines around the country, WASP also performed other flying duties such as test piloting, target towing, shuttle services, aerial dogfight simulation, ground training and tracking.

going home For a variety of reasons the WASP were never incorporated into the USAAF. As a result, many of the benefits accorded Army personnel were not given to the WASP. In addition, influential journalists in the American press disliked the WASP and wrote stories that reflected negatively on the program.

Despite the outstanding record of the WASP and vigorous efforts of Jackie Cochran, Gen. “Hap” Arnold and other supporters of the program, in October 1944 the WASP were sent letters informing them that they would be disbanded on December 20 of that year.

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T hough she al way s p lan n ed to en list, S ower firs t ear n ed her bac helor ’s degree in music educ at ion , wit h a m in or in A sia n studies. S he la ter ser ved a mis s ion f or T he Churc h of Jesus Chr ist of L a tter-d ay S ain t s in the Korea Mission . Up on her retur n , sh e f elt t h e tim e was r ight to en ter the m ilitar y. In 1 9 8 9 , s h e join ed the U.S. Na vy a n d wa s sta tion ed out o f Hawaii. “ T hose first f e w years gave m e som e won d er ful exp er ien ces—it was a buildin g ston e f or what I wo uld becom e, ” she rec al ls.

( a b o v e ) J a c q u e l i n e Co c h ra n , d i re c to r o f t h e WA S P, s h a re d co m m a n d w i t h Gen. “Hap” Arnold. u.s. air force photo

A f ter n ea r l y eight years in the Navy, S ower tr a n sf erred to the A r m y in 1996. Jo in in g t h e A r m y was a n in credible exp er ien ce, s h e s ay s , addin g tha t it was a n op p or tun it y f or h er t o g row in dep en den tl y as a wom a n an d cooper at ivel y with her p eers.

( r i g h t ) T h e WA S P wa n te d a u n i t m a s co t a n d t h e y c h o s e “ F i f i n e l l a ,” a g r e m l i n w h o s u p p o s e d l y p l a ye d t r i c k s o n t h e m w h i l e t h e y we re f l y i n g . Wa l t D i s n e y h a d d e s i g n e d s u c h a g re m l i n f o r a m ov i e , a n d t h e WA S P a s ke d f o r p e r m i s s i o n to u s e D i s n e y ’ s c re a t i o n a s t h e i r m a s co t . D i s n e y g ra c i o u s l y co n s e n te d , a n d t h e WA S P p r o u d l y wo re F i f i n e l l a p a tc h e s o n t h e i r u n i f o r m s .

In 2006, S ower wa s dep loyed to Ir aq, wh ere s h e ser ved f or n ea r l y t wo yea rs. “ I lo ved tha t ex per ien c e.

It wa s a n op p or tun it y to real l y get to kn ow wh o you are. I m ade f r ien dship s tha t you would n e ver im age—the sup p or t sy stem is un brea ka ble, ” s h e s ay s , while ac kn owledgin g there were se ver al c h al len ges throughout her exp er ien ce. “ B ein g a way f rom yo ur fa m il y is the toughest p ar t. ”

Shocked and disappointed, the women pilots packed their belongings and went home. Although they were grateful to have served their country and felt their contributions to the war effort had been substantial, many wondered what they had done wrong. However, they moved on, many getting married and having families.

Others went on to careers in aviation, some even founding their own companies. But they kept in touch with each other and held periodic reunions to keep alive the camaraderie they had established.

S ower was deter m in ed to m a ke the best o ut o f t h e situation . S he say s she en joyed workin g wi t h peo ple f rom diff eren t cultures, a n d wa s e ven a ble t o put h er Korea n la n gua ge skil ls to use. “ For m e, the deploy men t to Ir aq was extrem el y fulfil lin g, ” she say s.

redemption The WASP story might have ended with the disbandment of the group. However, events 30 years later would bring the sought-after recognition for which they had wished.

When the U.S. Air Force decided in 1976 to train women to fly and proudly announced they would be “the first women to fly for the military,” the surviving WASP got angry.

Finding powerful allies in the Army and Congress, the WASP began a public relations campaign so persuasive that in 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed a bill making the WASP a part of the military. Although they received no back pay or death insurance, they finally were accorded the recognition that they existed, that they had provided valuable service to their country and that some had been killed while doing so. As good as The Girls were, accidents and aircraft malfunctions were bound to happen. Of the 1,830 WASP trainees and graduates, 38 died in the line of duty. Still, the WASP had an exemplary safety record exceeding the safety record of their male counterparts.

—courtesy of Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah, Hill Air Force Base Museum

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In 2016, S ower reac hed 27 years of ser v ic e in t h e m ilita r y. S he p la n s to stay in the m ilitar y un t il s h e ’s n o lon ger able to ser ve. “ I wan t to p ut in mo re t h an half m y lif e, ” she say s. T hough there ha sn’t been a sin gle day tha t S ower has regretted her d ec is ion t o dedic ate her lif e to m ilitar y ser vice, there h ave b een tough tim es alon g the way. “ I ’ve had a lot of c ha l len ges a n d p ushbac k bec aus e I ’m a wom an , ” she say s. “ Wom en have to d o t h e j o b t wice as wel l to ea r n their r a n k. We ha ve t o us e o ur gr it to p ro ve oursel ves. T hat m en talit y is s t il l t h ere today. B ut, I ’m of the m in d that if you tel l me t h at I c an’t do som ethin g, I ’ l l p ro ve you w ron g. I s ee t h at sa m e a ttitude in a lot of the wom en . ” S ower say s she doesn’t thin k the role of women in the m ilita r y is c ha n gin g, but the sign ific a n c e o f t h at role is growin g. S he say s that stereot y p es o f women p ersist a m on g m any throughout the m ilita r y, h owe ver, she ’s excited to see a sign ific a n t shif t in the min d s et of youn ger ser vice m em bers. “ Mil len n ia ls here have n o issues with f emales an d their roles, e ven the n e w com bat roles, ” she s ay s . “ I t ’s m ore of the p eop le who have ser ved f or dec ad es t h at a re havin g a ha rd tim e in tegr a tin g that c hange. ” va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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To he l p wom en i n t h e mi l i t ar y reac h grea ter le ve l s o f su c c e ss, S owe r cre at ed t h e S i st e r s- in -A r m s me nt o r i n g p ro g r am. Th e pro g r am h o l ds qua r ter l y e ve n t s t o c on n e c t m i l i t ar y l e ader s w i t h yo u nger ser vice me m b e rs. “ We st i l l h ave pu sh bac k and st r u ggles, so we h o p e t h e p ro g r am w i l l h e l p br i ng ment o r ship an d le ad e rshi p t o m o re peo pl e. ” (For mor e i n f or mation a bou t t h e p r o g ram, con ta ct So w e r a t ta ma ra.l.so w e r. m il @ ma i l. mi l ) .

F I N D I N G S T R E N GT H I N A DV E R S I T Y L ance Cpl. Jelena Cantrel l enlisted in the U.S. Mar ine Cor ps near l y an entire year bef ore gr aduating f rom high sc hool. “A Mar ine recr uiter c al led me up out of the blue and wanted to meet. I signed up that day, ” she rec al ls.

S tanding at 4-f oot, 10-inc hes tal l, Cantrel l might seem smal l, but she is one tough Mar ine. In fact, she joined the Mar ines bec ause she kne w it would be the toughest c hal lenge she could possibl y exper ience. “ I was the onl y f emale in my high sc hool who e ven considered the militar y, let alone the Mar ine Cor ps.

Bac k then there were 198,000 Mar ines, less than 2,000 were women. I wanted a diff erent c hal lenge. ” On June 6, 1982, just one week af ter her 18th bir thday and high sc hool gr aduation, Cantrel l f ound herself at boot c amp in Parr is Island, S outh Carolina. Her platoon star ted out with 70 women but was whittled down to near l y half that siz e by gr aduation. “ It was real l y hard, but it was an amazing exper ience, ” Cantrel l say s. “ I lear ned so muc h. It taught me discipline and stabilit y, and how to work as a team, under str ucture and under pressure. Joining the Mar ines was lif e-c hanging. ”

“IN THOSE DAYS THEY KICKED YOU OUT FOR GETTING PREGNANT.” Kay Henderson Partridge s e rv i c e : 1958-63 Army, 1976-80 National Guard, 1981-85 Air Force, 1989-94 Army Reserves, 1995-96 Civil Service f ro m : Roanoke, VA n ow : Honeyville, UT I came to BYU for school. A nurse recruiter from San Francisco came and talked to my nursing class. I enlisted at 18 and let the military pay for my last two years of college.

I went on to Texas and worked in the pediatrics ward, which is the worst place to work because the kids are really, really sick or they’re really, really rambunctious.

Someone told me Okinawa was a good place to go so I filled out my papers. I worked surgical and recovery room. If you know anything about nurses, the young ones get the night duty. I had a pretty good night life at the hospital. I was engaged but that didn’t mean I didn’t date. I was always a good girl so I didn’t worry about things. I had a great aunt who used to say, “When you’re married, you’re married; when you’re not, you’re not.” I wasn’t married yet. I met my husband Dick at BYU. We went together for six years before we married in 1962. When I was first in the service you couldn’t serve if you had children. I got pregnant and they kicked me out.

Ka y Pa r t r i d g e e a r n s 1 s t Lt . b a r s .

For the next decade, my focus was on raising my family and following my husband’s p h o t o c o u r t e s y o f k ay pa r t r i d g e naval career. Dick was often off on TDYs (temporary duty assignments) leaving me on my own to raise our family. Dick once wrote a letter so I could be stationed with him.

Just because they tell you they’re going to station you near somebody doesn’t mean you’ll get it. I didn’t know any better in those days. While in the Philippines, my husband was the branch president for the LDS Church. We had young men that were being shipped to Vietnam and they would stop in the Philippines and ask for a blessing. They were just young boys crying.

They were scared to death. That’s what I remember most about Vietnam.

My military service is “broken” with several gaps between tours and with different branches. I was recruited for the Utah National Guard for the 144th Evac Hospital. Then did a stint in the Air Force. At the time, an Air Force nurse won a Supreme Court case to be able to serve with children. I went back in with five kids, later having two more. Next were the army reserves. When my oldest son was considering the military, an Army recruiter mentioned nurses were being allowed to retire at 68, not 55, like everyone else. I signed up; then the Gulf War happened. So they froze me and kept me. I was stationed in Ft. Lewis, Wash., causing my husband and I to live in different states for several years, he finally moved to be with us. I retired in 1996 with 18 years, 9 months and 13 days of active duty, and five years in the national guard. A temporary retirement act let me complete my remaining two years working for the Bear River Association of Governments, an area agency on aging. So I retired for real with 20 years.

If there was one thing I’d pass along to younger service members, it is to keep a diary, keep records. You simply can’t remember everything. Keep a record so you can learn. —VALOR

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( a b o v e ) Je l e n a Ca n t re l l f a ce d m a n y c h a l l e n g e s t h a t we re a d i re c t re s u l t o f b e i n g a wo m a n . S h e s a ys t h e re wa s m o re g o o d t h a n b a d a n d d o e s n’ t h a r b o r a n y n e g a t i ve f e e l i n g s towa rd t h e Ma r i n e s . ( l e f t ) Ta m a ra L . S owe r h a d m a n y wo n d e r f u l ex p e r i e n ce s d u r i n g h e r t i m e i n t h e Nav y a n d A r m y.

To h e l p wo m e n i n t h e m i l i t a r y re a c h g re a te r l eve l s o f s u cce s s , S owe r c re a te d t h e S i s te r s - i n -A r m s m e n to r i n g p ro g ra m . p h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f ta m a r a l . s o w e r and jelena cantrell

Cantrel l was resol ved to be the best Mar ine she could be, and her deter mination showed. S he ear ned se ver al honors, gr aduated second in her c lass, and consistentl y received high conduct scores. S he was e ven one of five Mar ines selected to work in c lassified mater ial control while stationed at Camp Pend leton in Calif or nia.

Though Cantrel l absolutel y lo ved her exper ience in the Mar ines, she faced se ver al c hal lenges while ser ving—some c hal lenges that stil l haunt her today.

Many of the c hal lenges Cantrel l exper ienced were a direct result of being a woman, she say s. For example, she was disciplined f or the tip of her bobby pin showing in her hair, as wel l as when her unif or m didn’t fit proper l y.

“Cammies are not made f or women—women have hips. I tr ied on e ver y siz e, and none of them fit me r ight. The y al l opened up at the bottom. I didn’t have a c hoice—the y just didn’t fit. I had to stand in personnel inspections bec ause the y didn’t like it, e ven though the y kne w there was nothing I could do about it. ” One of Cantrel l ’s toughest exper iences was working with an administr ative c hief who activel y asser ted his opinion that women didn’t belong in the militar y. “ He belie ved that women have a cer tain place, and that the militar y wasn’t it—the militar y was a man’s workplace, ” she rec al ls.

Things bec ame especial l y difficult when she gave m ay

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bir th to her first c hild. “ I worked the day he was bor n, then had 30 day s of leave and 30 day s of light dut y.

W hen I c ame off of light dut y, I had to do a five-mile r un and then take a phy sic al fitness test the ver y next day. ” Cantrel l remained committed to ser ve, but the c hal lenges mounted and culminated with a horr ify ing assault that c hanged her lif e f ore ver. Her gr it and deter mination began to fade. And when she wasn’t per mitted to visit her ailing gr andmother, who passed away dur ing the time she was supposed to see her, Cantrel l decided to leave the Mar ines. “ I ’d had too muc h. ” Despite the many c hal lenges she exper ienced throughout her ser vice, Cantrel l say s there was more good than bad and doesn’t har bor any negative f eelings toward the Mar ines. Instead, she hopes that the bias and problems she exper ienced as a woman wil l continue to impro ve. “ The bias against women stil l goes strong, e ven today, we know that. W hile there were many that accepted us and treated us like we were par t of the group, there are al way s those that want to beat us bac k down—who thought we weren’t meant to be there and weren’t good enough, ” she say s. “ If the y would just lay that bias aside, things would get better. We are not male or f emale, we are a team, working together to def end our countr y. ” va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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B R I N G I N G J OY TO T H E D E S E RT Sgt. J il l S te vens S hepherd joined the Ar my Reser ve while stil l in high sc hool. “ It was t wo weeks af ter my 18th bir thday, ” she rec al ls. “ I was looking f or adventure.

I wanted to do something diff erent. I saw the Ar my as an oppor tunit y f or so muc h—to ser ve, to gain an educ ation, have ne w exper iences and adventures, and to meet lots of people. ” W hile being in the Ar my Reser ve brought many of the exper iences S hepherd was looking f or ward to, her ser vice bec ame e ven more meaning ful just six months af ter she joined on S ept. 11, 2001. “ I couldn’t belie ve it. No one could belie ve it. I al way s wanted to ser ve, but my idea of ser vice was altered. I kne w my lif e was going to c hange—the whole wor ld was going to c hange. S ept. 11 brought a diff erent f ocus. ” S hepherd continued to ser ve and went through extensive tr aining to prepare f or deploy ment. In 2004, she was deployed to Af ghanistan where she ser ved f or near l y t wo years. “ I was a medic in the aviation unit st Bagr am Air Base. I helped take c are of soldiers and pilots whene ver the y were sic k, ” she rec al ls. “ We did se ver al diff erent missions to the vil lages and pro vided aid and teac hing to the people. I lo ved it. ” S hepherd say s she especial l y enjoyed working with people f rom al l o ver the wor ld. “ We helped the people of Af ghanistan in their diff erent vil lages, as wel l as the diff erent ar mies that we ser ved with. The Eg y ptian ar my was there and we were able to work alongside their nurses. It was amazing to see how the y oper ate.

We worked with people f rom Poland. There were so many diff erent people. I lo ved that. ” W hile ser ving in Af ghanistan, S hepherd made it her personal mission to br ing joy into as many lives as possible. “ I looked f or ne w way s to ser ve there. I f ound way s to help soldiers around me by doing things like decor ating f or holiday s. I wanted to boost mor ale, ” she say s. “ I thought, ‘ I c an tur n the deser t into something.

I c an make it more pleasant. ’” S hepherd say s being a woman soldier pro vided diff erent oppor tunities to ser ve. S he points to her abilit y to aid women and c hildren who were onl y al lowed to be c ared f or by f emale soldiers and medic al pro viders. “ If we weren’t there, the y wouldn’t have gotten c are, ” she say s. “ I enjoyed knowing that I was able to ser ve in diff erent way s to help those women and the gir ls of Af ghanistan. ” S hepherd adds that she and the other women ser ving worked just as hard as their male counter par ts to get the job done. “ I worked my butt off in the militar y to keep up with the men. I kne w the y were stronger and faster, but I kne w I could be just as fast. I could do any thing that I put my mind to. ”

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J i l l Steve n s S h e p h e rd s aw t h e A r m y a s a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r s o m u c h — to s e r ve , to g a i n e d u c a t i o n , h ave n ew ex p e r i e n ce s a n d a d ve n t u re s , a n d to m e e t l o t s o f p e o p l e .

S h e m a d e i t h e r p e r s o n a l m i s s i o n to b r i n g j oy to a s m a n y l i ve s a s p o s s i b l e — l i ke d e co ra t i n g f o r h o l i d a ys . photo courtesy of jill stevens shepherd

W hile in the ser vice, S hepherd ear ned five medals and was the first woman to finish the Af ghanistan Mar athon. Upon her retur n bac k to Utah, S hepherd kept reac hing f or more. In 2007, she ear ned the title of Miss Utah and competed in the 2008 Miss Amer ic a Pageant, where she made it to the final 16.

S he later gr aduated summa cum laude f rom S outher n Utah Universit y with a degree in nursing. Today, she is the mother of three young c hildren and continues to work as a nurse. W hen off er ing advice to anyone thinking about joining the militar y, S hepherd say s get ready f or an amazing, lif e-alter ing exper ience. “ For any soldier, male or f emale, the militar y pushes you mental l y, phy sic al l y, emotional l y. It helps you realiz e what you’re c apable of. It prepares you f or lif e. Get ready to grow. ” Sarah Ryt her Franco m i s a Sal t L ake-b ased f reel ance w r i te r an d ed i to r who has mo re t han 10 years o f exp eri ence cove r i n g U tah’s co mmuni t y. Sarah served as managi ng ed i to r o f Uta h B u s i n e s s magazi ne f ro m 2 008 to 2 014 , and now co nt ri b utes to s eve ral magazi nes and p ub l i cat i o ns.

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“IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER HAD THE FEELING OF TEMPTING DEATH.” Staff Sgt. Stephanie Lewis s e rv i c e : Utah National Guard 19th SFG h o m e tow n : Utah CAMP WILLIAMS—Everyone has aspirations to do something bigger than themselves. For Staff Sgt. Stephanie Lewis, her dream was to jump out of aircrafts 13,500 feet above ground.

Lewis, a parachute rigger of seven years and section chief for Alpha Company, Group Support Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), graduated as the only female in a class of 65 from the U.S. Navy Military Freefall (MMF) School Oct. 17, at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, San Diego, Calif. MFF courses are generally reserved for service members in male-dominated, Special Operation fields. Parachute riggers, including female riggers, are the only authorized personnel who can attend MFF schools.

The five-week course comprised of intense, high-tempo training, pushed Lewis’s physical and mental endurance. Students endured extensive training in equipment familiarization, aircraft procedures and exits, body stabilization, canopy control and landings, and emergency procedures. Lewis performed 21 accelerated freefall and MFF operations from a civilian-contracted, UV-18 Twin Otter at 13,500 feet AGL and conducted high-altitude, combat equipment and nighttime airborne operations.

“It was the first time I’ve ever had the feeling of tempting death,” said Lewis about the MFF jump. “It’s not normal to jump out of a plane, let alone at 13,500 feet. Ultimately you are falling to your death unless you do something about it.”

Lewis is currently attending the U.S. Army Basic Military Freefall School at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., as the only female in the course. She will graduate from the four-week-long course in May, earning her wings as the first military-freefall-qualified female in the 19th SFG(A) and Utah National Guard.

Lewis said she hopes her MFF experience along with achieving what no other female has accomplished will push other female soldiers to overcome personal obstacles and use their gender for strength and not a hindrance in their military career.

“No matter how tough it gets, don’t give up,” said Lewis. “Don’t listen to your negative thoughts or to anyone who tells you that you can’t. I believed in myself, and ultimately, that’s all that matters.”

—by Staff Sgt. Ashley Baum, Utah National Guard

St a ff S g t . Ste p h a n i e L ew i s l e a p s f ro m a U. S . Nav y U V- 1 8 Tw i n O tte r a t 1 3 , 5 0 0 f e e t a b ove g ro u n d l eve l ove r Mo n s o o r D ro p Z o n e a t Ni c h o l s F i e l d , S a n D i e g o, Ca l i f. ( c e n t e r l e f t ) L ew i s f re e f a l l s f ro m a s t a r t i n g a l t i t u d e o f 1 3 , 5 0 0 f e e t a b ove g ro u n d l eve l . ( t o p l e f t ) L ew i s d e p l oys h e r p a ra c h u te a fte r f re e f a l l i n g f o r 5 0 s e co n d s . ( b o t t o m l e f t ) L ew i s p ro u d l y s t a n d s w i t h S F s o l d i e r s a fte r co m p l e t i n g h e r f i r s t m i l i t a r y f re e f a l l a i r b o r n e o p e ra t i o n a t G ra n t- S m i t h Fa r m , Ce d a r Fo r k , U t a h . L ew i s i s t h e f i r s t f e m a l e i n t h e h i s to r y o f t h e 19 t h S p e c i a l Fo rce s G ro u p ( A i r b o r n e) to b e co m e M F F q u a l i f i e d . p h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f s ta f f s g t . s t e p h a n i e l e w i s a n d s ta f f s g t . a s h l e y b a u m

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G R E AT E X P E C TAT I O N S FIVE FEMALE COLONELS MESH AS UNIQUE C O L L A B O R AT I V E L E A D E R S H I P T E A M b y M a j . J e n n i f e r Ea to n u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d

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he re ’s n o sh o r t age o f se ni o r o f fi cer ap titude ha r n e sse d at R o l and R . Wr i g h t Ai r Na tion a l G u a rd B a s e. I n aro u nd- t h e- c l o c k m ilita r y f a s h i on , e x p e r t l y -t r ai ned, h i g h l y - e du c at ed air m en s t e e p e d i n t h e pro f essi on o f ar ms accomp lish a n i mpre ssi ve m y r i ad o f st at e and f e de r al i ni t i a tives as pa r t o f t he Ut a h Ai r Nat i onal G u ard ’s mi s sion . In a c onve rge n c e o f t al e nt u ni q u e t o t h e o r g aniz a tion’s 7 0 -ye a r h e r i t a ge, fi ve o f t h ese cu r re nt seni o r leaders h a pp e n t o b e f e m a l e co l onel s ser v i ng co l l abor ativel y i n ke y p o si t i on s.

C o l on e l s C h r i st i ne Bu rc k l e, J o i nt Force H e ad q u a r t e rs d i re ct o r o f st af f ; Mar y Enges, Utah Ai r Na t i on a l G u a rd se ni o r l e g al co u nsel ; S u e Melton , 1 5 1 st Ma i n t e n a n ce G ro u p commander ; Kr istin S t re u k e n s, 1 5 1 st O per at i ons G ro u p com m a n der ; a nd J u l i e An d e rson, 151st Mi ssi on S u ppo r t Group c omm a n d e r, ha ve a combi ne d t o t al o f mo re than 130 ye a r s o f m i l i t a r y ser v i ce among t h em. Th e i r resum es a re a s v a r i e d a s any g ro u p o f u ni f o r me d co l leagues, th ou g h on e a sp e ct o f t h ei r co l l e ct i ve e xper ien ce is i de nt i c a l — a l l c onsi de r t h ei r gender connection a c oi nc i d e n c e, n o t a q u al i fi e r.

En t e r t he p a r adox o f t h e mi no r i t y. Th e se wom en a re c on fi d e n t t h a t det e r mi nat i on and t al en t, n ot c h rom o som e s, a re re sponsi bl e f o r t h ei r pro f ession al ad van c e m e n t — ye t , t h e f act re mai ns; t h e re would be no f e a t u re st o r y i f t h e g ro u p consi st ed i nst e ad of five ma le c o l on e l s.

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A br ief in troduction to the wom en a t t h e h elm of the Uta h A ir Na tion a l G uard (U TA NG ) quic k l y disp els the n otion tha t any thin g other than met t le a n d m er it lan ded eac h a sea t a t the execu t ive t ab le.

Fur ther m ore, if addressin g this histor ic gen d er dy n a m ic en cour ages m ore talen ted wom en to c on s id er m ilita r y ser vice, then the qua lifier is one al l five colon els are wil lin g to accep t.

W ith bac kgroun ds a s var ied a s any t wo s er vic e m em bers, eac h of the wom en highlighted is a t r ailb laz er in her own r ight who en joy s ful l en dorsemen t f rom the highest r an kin g m em ber of the orga n iz at ion , M a.

Gen . Jeff erson B ur ton , Uta h Nation al G ua rd ad j ut an t gen er a l.

B etter kn own as “ TAG, ” B ur ton is resp on s ib le f o r the readin ess an d tr ain in g of m ore tha n 7,000 s o ld iers an d a ir m en . On e of his top leadership p r io r it ies is an on goin g com m itm en t to f oster in g a cult ure o f diversit y an d in c lusion .

“Cer ta in l y, the A ir G ua rd leadership c ompo s it e is sign ific a n t f rom a her itage stan dp oin t, but mo re im p or ta n tl y, these leaders rep resen t som e o f t h e m ost ta len ted, dedic ated p rof ession als in o ur r an k s , ” B ur ton said. “ T heir outsta n din g p er f or m an c e is a testa m en t to the fact tha t orga n iz a tion s thr ive wh en in dividua l diff eren ces are le ver aged to max imiz e m ission eff ectiven ess, readin ess a n d p roduct ivit y. ” m ay

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Co l o n e l s ( l e f t t o r i g h t ) K r i s t i n St re u ke n s , Ju l i e A n d e r s o n , S u e Me l to n , a n d C h r i s t i n e B u rc k l e p o s e w i t h Un i te d St a te s A i r Fo rce C h i e f o f St a ff G e n . Ma r k A . We l s h I I I ( c e n t e r ) d u r i n g h i s v i s i t to U t a h i n O c to b e r 2 0 1 5 ( c o l . m a r y e n g e s n o t p i c t u r e d ) . In a d d i t i o n to h o s t i n g a n a l l - c a l l w i t h m o re t h a n 4 0 0 p e r s o n n e l , We l s h re ce i ve d b r i e f i n g s o n t h e U t a h A i r Na t i o n a l G u a rd ’s l e g a c y, m i s s i o n , c a p a b i l i t i e s a n d p a r t n e r s h i p s . He a l s o a tte n d e d a l u n c h w i t h co m m a n d e r s f ro m a c ro s s b a s e , f a c i l i t a te d a p i l o t ro u n d t a b l e d i a l o g u e s e s s i o n , a n d f o r m a l l y re co g n i z e d s o m e o f t h e W i n g ’s exce p t i o n a l p e r f o r m e r s . u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d / 1 5 1 s t a i r r e f u e l i n g w i n g

1 C O L . C H R I S T I N E B U RC K L E

com m a n der, state hum an resources officer an d 1 5 1 s t A ir Refuelin g W in g vice com m a n der.

O n e k e y m e m b e r o f TAG ’s l e ader sh i p t ea m , Col. C h r i st i n e B u rc k l e i s re sponsi bl e f o r f o r mu l atin g an d de vel o p i n g l on g - r a nge pl ans and pro g r ams, as wel l as s h or t - t e r m p l a n n i n g f o r t h e Ai r G u ard i n h e r role as Joi nt Fo rc e H e ad qu ar t er s di re ct o r o f st af f.

T hough she ’s p a r tial towa rd the tim e s pen t in m ilita r y hum an resources bec ause it “con n ec t ed h er t o the p ulse of the organ iz a tion” an d p ro vided invaluable in sight in to her A r m y coun ter p a r ts, the t r an s it ion f rom the flight lin e to the sup p or t wor ld was t h e mo s t e ye-op en in g.

O r i g i n a l l y c om mi ssi one d t h ro u g h t h e Reser ve O f fi ce rs Tr a i n i n g Co r ps ( ROTC ) , and now i n her 27th ye a r o f m i l i t a r y ser v i ce, Bu rc k l e beg an h e r Air Force c a re e r a s a n a v i g a to r on t h e KC - 135 S t r at o t anker. Her re s um e i n c l u d e s t ime as t h e Mi ssi on S u ppo r t F light

“ I lef t the m a le-dom in ated op er ation s wo r ld an d sudden l y f oun d m y self resp on sible f or leadin g a flig h t that con sisted m ostl y of wom en , ” B urc kle sa id . “ I t was the first tim e in m y c a reer tha t I had to paus e an d con sider how we m en tor wom en in the A ir Fo rc e. ”

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YESTERDAY & TODAY HONORING UTAH WOMEN SERVING IN THE MILITARY Since 1901, when the U.S. Army established the Army Nurse Corps, officially allowing women to serve in uniform for the first time, the barriers to complete integration and equal opportunities have been gradually, but often grudgingly, chipped away. Now women have achieved the top ranks and levels of responsibility in the Armed Forces. With the recent lifting of restrictions on women in combat roles, females now have unlimited opportunities to serve and advance careers.

About 280,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, and females account for 20 percent of new recruits. They constitute 14.5 percent of the active duty force U t a h Mi l i t a r y Wo m e n s Me m o r i a l .

(1.4 million) and 18 courtesy photo fort douglas museum percent of the 850,000 strong reserve components. With the unprecedented level of deployment to conflict zones, women in the Armed Forces have been increasingly subjected to the rigors and risks of war.

In spite of these dramatic gains, many female military personnel feel insufficiently recognized, respected and valued for their service and sacrifice. To help rectify this situation, a Utah Military Womens Memorial is being installed at the Fort Douglas Military Museum on the University of Utah campus.

The key feature of the Memorial at present is a pair of statues in a gazebo on the Museum grounds. One represents an Army nurse from the earliest days of World War I, wearing an ankle length skirt. She is addressing a contemporary Marine wearing full “rattle battle” combat gear. Perhaps they are discussing the remarkable changes in opportunity and equality that women have witnessed over the years. The statues rest on a base of Red Butte sandstone chosen to match the historic district of Fort Douglas. The statue was done by Springville artist Jerime Hooley.

The biggest challenge for the Memorial, apart from fundraising, is to develop an interactive video system to tell the story of women in the military. This system would allow Museum patrons to search by service, years, conflicts, and other criteria.

The sponsor of the Women’s Memorial is the Utah Military and Veterans Affairs Committee (UMVAC) and they are seeking volunteers. UMVAC is a Section 501c(19) Veterans Organization and contributions are tax deductible. Memorial supporters can purchase bricks for $100; the engraved bricks will be installed in a wall to recognize donors.

—by Dan Hudson, Project Chair, danhudson40@hotmail.com

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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

B ecom in g a first-tim e m om a t the sam e t ime als o added an other dim en sion f or B urc kle. “ T he cumulat ive eff ect of this n e w f em ale group dy n a m ic a n d a b aby o f m y own m ea n t a p rof oun d shif t in how I relat ed t o t h e c ha l len ges wom en face in balan cin g their p ers on al an d p rof ession al lives, ” she sa id. B urc kle is quic k t o n o t e work-lif e balan ce issues a re cer ta in l y n ot exc lus ive t o wom en , exp lain in g “there ’s been a n o ver al l s h if t in the fam il y dy n a m ic a n d m en are step p in g up t o o as tr adition al roles are bein g rea l loc ated. ” Wa tc hin g the m ilitar y adap t a n d t r an s c en d stereot y p es ha s been in sp ir a tion a l f or B urc k le wh o ec hoes TAG’s belief tha t there ’s in heren t value in blen din g skil l sets a n d bac kgroun ds. “ I look a t the f em ale col lea gues I have in t h e A ir Na tion a l G uard an d I recogn iz e tha t eac h h as a distin ct skil l set the y br in g to the ta ble, ” s h e s aid .

“O ur diff eren ces m a ke us stron g an d at the c o re o f it a l l is p rof ession a lism . ” In Jul y, TAG n om in ated B urc kle an d th e S en at e con fir m ed her eligibilit y f or p rom otion to th e r an k o f br igadier gen er a l. T his m ean s there is the po t en t ial that she could becom e the first f em ale Uta h Nat ion al G uard on e-sta r gen er a l on the A r m y or A ir s id e. “ It would be an histor ic m ileston e, but c er t ain l y n ot an isola ted e ven t, ” sa id B urc kle. “ We h ave a ver y ta len ted p ool of f em a le leaders com in g up t h ro ug h the r a n ks. ” W hile her or igin a l goal was to ser ve f or 20 years t o ear n a retirem en t, B urc kle say s she ’ l l con tinue t o len d her skil ls to the A ir G ua rd a s far as her p a t h c arr ies her, n otin g she ’d be hon ored if on e day her d aug h t er a n swered the c al l as wel l. “ B ein g a role m odel is im p or tan t to show women that the m ilita r y is a great op p or tun it y, ” B u rc k le s aid . “ It ’s on e of the on l y in dustr ies where we t r ul y s ee equal p ay f or equa l work, where adva n cem en t is mer it based, an d where op p or tun ities a boun d thro ug h h ard work a n d high stan da rds. ”

2 C O L . M A RY E N G E S Hard work a n d high stan da rds are p a r a mo un t , but a s Col. Ma r y En ges, who ser ves a s U TA N G s en io r lega l coun sel is quic k to p oin t out, there ’s go t t o be a n elem en t of le vit y to e ven the m ost s er io us o f p rof ession s.

In fact, En ges c huc kles a s she rec a l ls the firs t t ime she m et then -Ma j. B urc kle. “ It was r ight bef o re 9 /1 1 , I wa s a br a n d n e w m em ber of the A ir G uard wh o didn’t real l y kn ow anyon e, a n d there was a n airc r af t m ay

2016

Co l o n e l s Ma r y E n g e s ( l e f t ) , U t a h A i r Na t i o n a l G u a rd s e n i o r l e g a l co u n s e l ; a n d C h r i s t i n e B u rc k l e , Jo i n t Fo rce He a d q u a r te r s d i re c to r o f s t a ff, co n f e r o fte n o n l e g a l i s s u e s re g a rd i n g p e r s o n n e l , p o l i c i e s a n d p ro ce d u re s .

A i r Fo rce l e a d e r s re l y o n JAG p ro f e s s i o n a l s to e n s u re t h ey f u n c t i o n w i t h i n t h e s co p e o f t h e i r a u t h o r i t y a n d p a ra m e te r s o f t h e Un i f o r m Co d e o f Mi l i t a r y Ju s t i ce . u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d / m a j . j e n n i f e r e at o n

mi s ha p, w h i c h m e ant I nee de d t o get on t h e f l ight lin e i mme d i a t e l y, ” sa i d Enges. “ L i k e o u t o f a mo vie, here c ome s C h r i s B u rc k l e, spee di ng t ow ard t h e scen e a s f a s t a s he r f l i g ht - l i ne veh i c l e wo u l d go —sh e sm iled, ye l led ‘ ho p i n , ’ a n d we ’ve be e n f r i e nds si nce. ” L i k e B u rc k l e, Enges c ame f rom t h e active-dut y c omp on e n t a n d spent t i me wo rk i ng as a t r adition a l G ua rd sm a n b e f o re j o i ni ng t h e f u l l - t i me f o rce. Her re s um e i n c l u d e s wo rk as a ci v i l i an at t o r ne y f or Hil l Ai r Fo rc e B a se, f o r Ar my Tr ai ni ng and Doctr in e C om m a n d , a n d a s one o f t h e k e y me mber s selected to la unc h 1 0 1 st I n f o r mat i on O per at i ons F l i g h t .

A s t h e st a t e ’s on l y f emal e Ai r Nat i onal G u ard JAG, E nge s n o t e s t he re h ave be e n i nst ance s w h e re bein g a woma n ha s p re se nt e d o bst ac l es du r i ng pro f ession a l e nc o u n t e rs. “ I re m e m b e r c omi ng t o base f o r an exe rcise ver y e a r l y i n m y G u a rd c aree r ; we we re al l cr ammed in to one ro om a n d t h e o pe r at i ons di rect o r w as givin g a b r i e fi n g, ” sa i d En ges. “ O ne ge nt l eman l o ok e d a t m e, d umb f o u n d e d , a n d bl u r t ed o u t , ‘do yo u k now you’re th e on l y wom a n i n t h i s ro om? ’ My nat u r al resp on se wa s ‘sh u t u p, I ’m t r y i ng t o l i st e n!’”

O ve r t he ye a rs, Enges h as fi ne - t u ned a polite, but d i re c t a p p ro ac h t o re f e rence s t o h e r abi l i t i e s a s the y pe r tai n t o ge n d e r. “ I ’ve h ad u n i t commande r s t e l l me t h e y ne ed a m a le JAG t o h a n d l e w h at e ver i ssu e t h e y ’re de al i n g with, b ut I ’ve a l w ay s had seni o r l eader su ppo r t t o tactful l y e d uc a t e t h e m t h a t I ’m j u st as except i onal l y tr ain ed a nd e q u i p p e d t o a s si st t h em as any mal e co u nter p a r t, ” E nge s sa i d . m ay

2016

For En ges, the bottom lin e is that women wil l a l way s have obstac les to sur m oun t to p ro ve t h eir plac e a t the head ta ble. “ You ha ve to be com p eten t an d exc el a t wha t you do, ” she sa id. “ T he n otion that women have to be t wice a s good to get ha lf as far s t il l h o ld s tr ue in m any circum sta n ces. ” T ha t sa id, En ges belie ves “the beaut y o f t h e m ilita r y is the fact tha t in creased resp on sibilit y an d recogn ition a re in deed m er it ba sed. ” In fact, tha t ’s exactl y why she con siders t h e A ir G uard ’s curren t f em a le colon el leadership c ompo s it e to be p er f ectl y n atur a l. “ T here are tr ap s an d n ay sayers who wo uld h ave f oun d an d exp loited deficits if deficits ex is t ed , an d that ’s the c a se whether you’re a m a n or a woman , ” s aid En ges. “ T hese p osition s ha ve to be ea r n ed t h ro ug h dedic ation a n d distin ction . ” En ges en cour a ges wom en in un if or m to on e a n other by buc kin g the stereot y p es of a n d com p etition . “ T here ’s n ot en ough tim e we have to en cour age on e an other bec ause if fa ils, we al l fail, ” she said.

empower c at t in es s f o r t h at ; on e o f us

In the vein of mutual sup p or t, En ges rec en t l y sta r ted a n on p rofit f oun da tion f or f em a le vet er an s .

T hough stil l in its in fa n c y p lan n in g sta ges , on c e laun c hed, she hop es it wil l ser ve as a n invaluab le resource through a va r iet y of p rogr am s a n d ret reat s .

In the m ea n tim e, she hop es to con tin ue t o s er ve wel l a n d fa ithful l y f or a s lon g as she c an , d is pen s in g on -tim e, on -target legal advice to her col leag ues . va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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Co l o n e l S u e Me l to n , 1 5 1 s t Ma i n te n a n ce G ro u p co m m a n d e r, co n d u c t s a m o ra l e v i s i t w i t h a i rc ra ft m e c h a n i c s wo r k i n g i n a KC- 1 3 5 h a n g a r. Me l to n e s t a b l i s h e s m a i n te n a n ce p r i o r i t i e s a n d d i re c t s s u p p o r t f u n c t i o n s to m e e t o p e ra t i o n a l o b j e c t i ve s a n d re t u r n a i rc ra ft to f l y i n g o p e ra t i o n s i n a s a f e a n d e ff i c i e n t m a n n e r. u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d / m a j . j e n n i f e r e at o n

3 C O L . S U E M E LTO N T he i d e a o f se r v i ng f o r as l ong as yo u c an ta kes on ne w m e a n i n g i n th e G u ard, w h e re c are e r s sp a n n in g t h re e d e c ad e s a re no t u ncommon, as e v i den ced by t h e n e x t c o l on e l , S u e Me l t on, w h o h as more than 3 0 yea rs o f m i l i t a r y se r v i ce u nder h er be l t . As 151st M a i n t e n a n c e G ro u p commander, Me l t on i s re sp on sible f or 2 4 4 c om b a t - re ady mai nt enance pe r sonn el who ge ner a t e m i ssi on - re ady KC - 135 ai rcr af t and as socia ted e q ui pm e n t .

A s a wom a n i mme r se d i n a mal e c are er field, M e lt on say s ge n d e r h as ne ver h ad an i mpact on her mi li t a r y c a re e r, n o t i ng sh e al mo st pref er s it to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t . S he fi nds f ee l i ng i so l at ed by vir tue of b e i ng i n a c om m a nd ro l e mo re o f a c h al l en ge than b e i ng a m i n o r i t y in t h e wo rk pl ace. “ T he y say c om mand i s l one l y, and bei ng a f em ale doe s ad d a n e x t r a dy nami c t o i t , bu t mai nt e n an ce is wh e re m y he a r t i s, ” Me l t on sai d. “ I spe nt som e tim e a way i n t h e L o g i st i cs R e adi ness S q u adron, and when I c a me b ac k t o t a k e command, i t w as l i k e comi ng hom e. ” Fo r a n o u t si d e r w al k i ng i nt o a me e t i ng where e xe c u t i ve c h a i rs h ave be e n pre v i o u sl y o ccup ied by me n, t h e c on t r a st o f a g ro u p o f wome n mi ght be a li t tle st a r t l i n g, Me l t on say s, t h o u g h sh e h as yet to noti c e a ny r a i se d e ye brow s. W h at ’s mo re, sh e s ay s, the e xpe r i e n c e o f c o l l abo r at i ng w i t h a g ro u p o f f em a le ve r s u s m a l e k e y l eader s h as act u al l y be e n p rett y s i mi l a r. “ We m ay j ok e a l i t t l e di f f e rent l y, and t h ere m ay be a mo re p e rson a l t o u c h —me ani ng we may f eel m ore c omf o r t a b l e t a l k i ng abo u t o u r per sonal l i ves t han with ma le c o u n t e r p a r t s , bu t at t h e end o f t h e day, we ’re work i n g t hro u g h i s su es and t h at ’s u ni ver sal , ” she sa id.

C o o p e r a t i on , gi ve and t ak e, and l o ok i ng at what ’s b e s t f o r t h e o rg a n i z at i on f rom a bi g - pi ct u re st an dp oin t h a ve m ad e t h e wo rk i ng rel at i onsh i ps successful, M e lt on b e l i e ve s. S h e ’s pro u d t o be i n su c h good c omp a ny a n d h o p e s t h at wome n o u t si de t h e G ua rd, pa r t i c u l a r l y t h o se w h o are consi de r i ng j o i nin g, wil l s e e t h a t t h e m i l i t ar y i s mo v i ng i n t h e r i g h t direction .

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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

4 COL. KRISTIN STREUKENS A s the officer in c harge of m ore than 1 0 0 pilo t s a n d sup p or t p erson n el, Col. Kr istin S treuken s , 1 5 1 s t Op er ation s Group com m an der, leads within a c areer field tha t r ivals Melton’s in ter m s of m a le- f emale r atios. S he say s the ke y to successful comman d is actual l y the sam e tool she ’s al way s utiliz ed , an d it tr an scen ds gen der or c areer field.

“Com mun ic ation , ” say s S treuken s.

On e of on l y t wo f em ale p ilots in the s quad ron , she m a kes it a p oin t to rem in d her col leag ues an d subordin a tes tha t e ver yon e has a diff eren t wo rk plac e in ter action com f or t le vel an d eac h p osition on t h at sp ectr um deser ves resp ect. “ Ver ba l l y esta blishin g boun da r ies c a n be awk ward a t first, but you c a n’t be n er vous about doin g it f o r f ear of n ot bein g accep ted, ” she sa id.

A s a m em ber of the un it f or 10 yea rs bef o re ta kin g the rein s, S treuken s was acutel y a ware o f an orga n iz ation al culture tha t like m any oth er fl y in g un its wa s c ha r acter iz ed by com mun ic a tion bas ed on siblin g-like sp arr in g, jestin g a n d bac k - h an d ed m ay

2016

TURNING 70 MILESTONE FOR UTAH AIR NATIONAL GUARD In November, the Utah Air National Guard will celebrate its 70th anniversary of extending global vigilance, global reach and global power for America. With a proud heritage steeped in excellence, the organization traces its lineage back to the end of WWII when President Franklin D. Roosevelt directed the activation of new postwar National Guard units.

Current missions include training and operational aerial refueling, airlift and aeromedical evacuation, intelligence, airspace control, cyber infrastructure and information operations. More than 1,400 airmen lend technical expertise and professionalism through military operations and daily activities designed to bolster state and federal projects and priorities.

A number of events scheduled throughout the year will culminate in a formal evening celebration Friday, Nov. 4 in Salt Lake City. While venue details are still to be determined, individuals are encouraged to contact Col. Christine Burckle, Joint Force Headquarters director of staff, at 801-245-2298 to receive more information as it becomes available.

b r i e f h i s to ry o f t h e u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g ua r d

c omp l i m e n t s. W hi l e no t mal i ci o u s i n nat ure, she re c og n i z e d i t a l so w asn’t e f f e ct i ve o r h e al t hy.

S t re u k e n s h a s s e e n some po si t i ve c h ange i n the p a st f e w ye a rs, a n d t h ro u g h h e r l e ader sh i p, sh e con tin ues to m o ve t he o rg a ni z at i on f o r w ard t h ro u g h p olicies th a t h e l p re c o g n i z e pe o pl e and accompl i sh men ts in a more p o si t i ve, f o r m al manne r.

S t re u k e n s’ l e ad e r sh i p st y l e al so bu c k s a num ber of s t e re o t y p e s. “ T h e re w as an expect at i on t h at as a f em a le c omm a n d e r I ’d b e pr i mar i l y emo t i onal i n my decision ma ki n g, a n d t h a t hasn’t be e n t h e c ase ” S t re u k en s sa id. “ I ’ve t r i e d t o m a k e o bj e ct i ve de ci si ons. ” T h ro u g h t hi s o bj ect i ve appro ac h , sh e ’s a lso e s t a b l i she d a n a tmo sph ere w h e re adv ancem en t is pe r f o r m a n c e b a se d, r at h er t h an seni o r i t y based. “ M y l e ad e rshi p t e am and I t ak e a f resh l o ok e ver y ti me t h e re ’s a n o p po r t u ni t y f o r promo t i on, bec a use e ve r yon e d e se r ve s t o pl ay t h e mo st i mpo r t ant role in th e i r ow n d e st i ny, ” sh e sai d.

S t re u k e n s e c ho es Mel t on’s bel i ef t h at t h e f em a le le ade rsh i p d e m o g r aph i c i n t h e Ai r G u ard ’s executive b oa rd ro om se e m s t o be a non- i ssu e f or m ale c oun t e r p a r t s, w hi c h mak es i t par t i cu l ar l y f r ustr atin g wh e n sh e e n c o u n t er s gender di v i si ve scenar i o s outside th e o rg a n i z a t i on . m ay

2016

On Nov. 18, 1946, the Utah Air National Guard organized at Salt Lake City Municipal Airport and received federal recognition. Its 191st Fighter Squadron, a fighter-bomber unit, was equipped with F-51 D Mustangs (F for “fighter”), formerly P-51 (P for “pursuit”). During its early years with the F-51 D, the unit earned prominence as one of the U.S. Air Force’s most respected aerial gunnery competitors.

During the Korean Conflict, UTANG pilots deployed to Japan and South Korea where they flew more than 100 missions. One Utah pilot, Captain Cliff Jolley shot down seven Soviet-made MIG-15 aircraft, making him the first Air Guard “Ace” of the war. During the Vietnam War, Utah Air Guard crews flew 6,600 hours of support missions for American forces. During the Middle East Crisis in August of 1990, Utah Air Guard pilots were some of the first to volunteer to support Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1999, many members were deployed to Europe in Support of Operation Allied Force.

Since the attacks of 9/11, members of the Utah Air National Guard have been activated for worldwide duty in support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and continue to support numerous NATO operations and Air Expeditionary Forces rotations. At home, the Utah Air National Guard stands ready to support the state during an earthquake, flood, civil disturbance or major disaster.

The Utah Air National Guard is one of the most versatile, best equipped teams in the nation. Uniquely postured through unparalleled capabilities, it will continue to excel as a valuable state and federal resource well into the future.

—by Major Jennifer Eaton, Utah Air National Guard

va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

17

A co m m a n d p i l o t w i t h m o re t h a n 4 , 5 0 0 h o u r s , 1 5 1 s t O p e ra t i o n s G ro u p Co m m a n d e r Co l . K r i s t i n St re u ke n s a d d re s s e s a i r m e n d u r i n g a f o r m a l “Co m m a n d e r s Ca l l .” St re u ke n s i s re s p o n s i b l e f o r a l l U TA N G KC- 1 3 5 f l y i n g o p e ra t i o n s . In a d d i t i o n to a i r re f u e l i n g , t h e a i r f ra m e i s a l s o c a p a b l e o f p rov i d i n g a e ro m e d i c a l - eva c u a t i o n s u p p o r t a n d t ra n s p o r t i n g t ro o p s a n d c a rg o to ex te n d g l o b a l re a c h , f o rce p ro j e c t i o n a n d h u m a n i t a r i a n a s s i s t a n ce t h ro u g h o u t t h e wo r l d . u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d / m a j . j e n n i f e r e at o n

“ I re c e n t l y a t t e nded a t act i cs co u r se w h e re I wa s the onl y f e m a l e i n t h e ro om w i t h 25 mal e co u nt er p ar ts, ” s h e sa i d . “ O n e b r i e f er, a f emal e i nt e l l i gence officer, gre e t e d t h e g ro u p w i t h ‘ h e y g u y s’ onl y t o rea liz e her mi s tak e, a w k w a rd l y bac k pedal i ng, and mak e a big deal out o f t h e e rro r, w h i c h onl y made i t wo r se. ” W he n a sk e d lat er by a f e l l ow at t endee if the s i tua t i on i rr i t a t e d h e r, “ ye s, abso l u t el y, ” w as S treuken s’ a ns we r. “ No t b e c a u se t h e re ’s any t h i ng si ni st er a bout a n u n d e rst a n d a b l e mi st ak e, bu t r at h e r, bec a use ad d re ssi n g i t l a t e r, di scre e t l y, wo u l d h ave be e n a better s olut i on , ” sh e sa i d . “ No one w ant s t o dr aw atten tion to th e m se l ve s a s t h e onl y f e mal e i n t h e ro om, an d we d on’t w a n t a nyon e e l se do i ng i t e i t h e r. ” S t re u k e n s a l so ag ree s w i t h Mel t on’s asser tion that me e t i n g s a m on g th e f emal e co l one l s are e xtrem el y c oop e r a t i ve, n o t i ng t h at t h e g ro u p i s i n heren tl y tr a nsp a re n t a n d par t i cu l ar l y adept at cu t t i ng to the c h a s e w i t h o u t ge t t i ng t er r i t o r i al .

W he n i t c om e s t o w h at sk e pt i cs may t h i n k about th e A i r G u a rd ’s f e mal e l eader sh i p, S t re u k en s say s s h e d o e sn’t se e h ow anyone co u l d asser t that the c omp o si t i on w a s de si g ne d t o mee t a q u ota. S he

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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

belie ves TAG “ ha s a gen uin e a p p recia tion f o r wh at wom en br in g to the ta ble, regard less of bac k g ro un d . ” Notin g that the wor ld is on l y gettin g m o re d ivers e, S treuken s f eels the Op er ation s Group wil l c on t in ue to work toward a hea lthy orga n iz ation al cult ure e ven p ast her ten ure.

5 COL. JULIE ANDERSON O rga n iz ation al growin g p a in s are c er t ain l y som ethin g Col. Julie An derson , 151st Mission S uppo r t Group com m an der, c a n relate to a s a 30-year vet er an of the Uta h A ir Na tion a l G uard. “ It was a diff eren t culture bac k then , ” s h e s aid .

An derson rem em bers a tim e when there were n o women in leadership p osition s, whic h m a kes her es pec ial l y than kful to have f oun d m en tors who n ot on l y belie ved in workp lace equalit y but a lso p ro vided op po r t un it ies to p ro ve herself through in crea sed resp on sibilit y.

T he on l y Utah n a tive in the group, loc a l h er it age has p layed a dr ivin g f orce in An derson’s p ro f es s ion al c areer. S he p oin ts to retired B r igadier Gen er al R o lan d m ay

2016

Co l o n e l Ju l i e A n d e r s o n ( r i g h t ) , 1 5 1 s t Mi s s i o n S u p p o r t G ro u p co m m a n d e r, t a l k s w i t h one of her Security Fo rce s S q u a d ro n t ro o p s a t t h e Ro l a n d R . Wr i g h t A i r Na t i o n a l G u a rd B a s e m a i n g a te . A n d e r s o n’s ro l e i s o fte n re f e r re d to a s t h e “ B a s e Ma yo r,” a s s h e i s re s p o n s i b l e f o r i n f ra s t r u c t u re , s u p p o r t , s e r v i ce s , a n d m o re t h a n 5 0 0 A i r m e n f ro m a va r i e t y o f c a re e r f i e l d s . u ta h a i r n at i o n a l g u a r d / m a j . j e n n i f e r e at o n

Wr i g ht , l o c a l W W I I h ero and base namesak e, a s a ke y fi gure i n t he A i r G u ard ’s j o u r ne y t ow ard i nc l usion .

wil l be retur n ed when the Op er ation s a n d Ma in t en an c e Group s en ter their dep loy m en t c yc les n ext s ummer. ”

An d e rson re m e mber s h i m as “ t h e epi tom e of i nc lu si ve n e ss; ” some one w h o v al u ed e ver y contr ibution a nd t re a t e d e ve r yone f ai r l y.

An derson say s she real l y en joy s work in g wit h f em a le col lea gues who off er diff eren t p e rs on alit ies a n d a col lective “ wil lin gn ess to fin d the mid d le groun d. ” An derson a lso shares the op in ion that t o d ay ’s m ilita r y is a grea t environ m en t f or wom en , ex plain in g, that with the n ecessa r y skil ls, abilit y to ad apt , an d a dedic ated work ethic, a nyon e c a n be success ful.

“ He t o l d m e I h ad an o bl i g at i on t o pave the way f or o t h e r wom e n in t h e Ai r G u ard and t h at it was a re s pon si b i l i t y I n e e de d t o t ak e se r i o u sl y, ” An derson said.

We l c om i n g e ve r yone i nt o t h e Ai r G u ard has b e e n i m p o r t a n t t o Ande r son w h o i s pl e ased tha t the d e fi n i t i on o f d i ve r si t y h as c h anged. “ I t ’s more tha n ge nd e r d i ff e re n c es, ” sai d Ande r son. “ We em br ace d i f f ere n t st y l e s o f l e ader sh i p, i nno v at i ve- p roblem s ol vi n g, a n d c re a t i ve so l u t i ons t o re so u rce c h al len ges. ” Mu c h l i k e M el t on and S t re u k ens, An derson b e li e ve s t h e g ro u p do es a g re at j o b approac hin g prob l e m s w i t h a b i g - pi ct u re per spect i ve. “ We a l l ge n u i n el y t h i nk abo u t h ow o u r d ecision s a f f e ct t he o rg a n i z at i on as a w h o l e and no t just our i nd i v i d u a l g ro u p s, ” sh e sai d. “ Th ere ’s a l o t of give a nd t a k e, a n d i t y i e l ds g reat re su l t s de spi t e reduced re s ou rc e s f o r t h e W i ng. ” T h i s i s e sp e c i al l y i mpo r t ant f o r Ander son who c omm a n d s t he l a rgest o f t h e t h ree g ro u ps and curren tl y h a s on e t h i rd o f her per sonnel de pl oyed.

S h e ad m i t s, “ I re l y on t h e o t h er g ro u ps to assist wi t h su p p o r t fu n c ti ons r i g h t now, k now i ng t he fa vor m ay

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It ’s a sen tim en t a l l five of the colon els ec h o wholehea r ted l y. Usher in g in the n ext gen er at ion of f em ale leaders rep resen ts a bittersweet en d eavo r f or eac h of the colon els, but also the c ap st on e o f an in delible legac y. “ It ’s in sp ir in g to look at these wom en an d k n ow t h at m y con tr ibution s to the future of the A ir G uard wil l be va lued a n d resp ected, ” said Ma j. Jay m ie S t epan ek , who join ed the organ iz a tion three yea rs a go. “ T h ere ’s n othin g m ore m otiva tin g tha n the fact tha t I k n ow I have e ver y equal op p or tun it y to fil l on e of th o s e s eat s som eday. ” Maj . Jenni f er Eato n serves as t he U t ah Ai r Nat i o nal G u ard Jo i n t Fo rce Head q uarters Pub l i c Aff ai rs Off i cer. She ho l d s a Bac h e l o r o f Sci ence i n Pub l i c Rel at i o ns f ro m t he Uni versi t y o f F l o r i d a an d a Master o f Art s i n Co mmuni cat i o n Management f ro m We b s te r Uni versi t y. She has p ract i ced p ub l i c rel at i o ns f o r 16 ye ar s i n th e p ri vate, no np ro f i t and government secto rs. Her co mme n tar y, news and f eat ure sto ri es have ap p eared i n numero us mi l i tar y an d ci vi l i an p ub l i cat i o ns, and she i s t he reci p i ent o f mul t i p l e A i r Fo rce j o urnal i sm and p ub l i c aff ai rs award s.

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HONORING

VIETNAM COURAGE, HEROISM, SACRIFICE A C O M P I L AT I O N O F M E M O R I E S b y J o h n S . Re e d h i s t o r y p r o f e s s o r / u n i v e r s i t y o f u ta h

R

o ugh l y 27 mi l l i on A mer i c a n m e n c am e of dr af t age be t we e n Augus t 1964 and M a rc h 1973. E l e ven mi l l i on s e r ve d in the m ilitar y, and of the s e, 2,150,000 i n V i et na m. E ac h one wi l l re m e m be r a dif f e re nt war bas e d on his m ilitar y o c c u pa t iona l sp ec i a l t y (MOS), whic h ye ar s he s e r ve d, and whe re he was s tat ione d.

R o u ghl y 35 p erc ent of t h ese men s e r ve d in dire ct com bat z one s and the re m aining 6 5 pe rc e nt i n l og i st i c a l or sup p or t pos it ions with muc h le s s r is k of be com ing com bat c a s u a l t i es. T h e D ef ense D ep a r t ment Cas ualt y Anal y s is S y s te m’s lis ts a total of 58,220 U . S . m i l i t a r y d ea t h s d u r i ng t h e V ie t nam War, inc luding 46,233 battle de aths : kil le d i n ac t i o n or d i ed of wound s rec ei ve d in com bat. T he m os t dange rous ye ar s to s e r ve “ in c o u nt r y ” were 1967 t o 1969, wi t h 40,042 de aths .

S o m e of t h ose wh o ret u r ned h om e f rom V ie t nam dur ing the 1960s and 1970s we re di s i l l u s i oned b y t h ei r e xp er i enc e, with s om e unable to re -inte g r ate the m s e l ve s into c i v i l i a n l i f e, of t en d r i f t i ng, una ble to “com e hom e. ” O the r s re m aine d in a “s e e m l y r u dd e r l e ss” mi l i t a r y a s t h e na t i on s t r ug gle d to re build its Ar m e d Force s de cim ate d i n l e ade rsh i p a nd mor a l e o ver t h e ne x t de c ade. Ho we ve r, the vas t m ajor it y of “ Nam Ve ts ” re t ur ned t o wor k, a t t end ed col le ge or t r ade s c hool and be c am e bus ine s s pe ople, pro f e ssi o na l s, c r a f t smen or p ubl i c e m plo ye e s . O ve r t im e, the y be c am e s pous e s , pare nts a nd g r a nd p a rent s, g a t h er i ng a nd building the ir f am ilie s .

A nd a s t i me p a ssed , wh et h er or not the Unite d S tate s ac hie ve d its war aim s in S o u th e a st A si a , a l l V i et na m vet er ans are e nt itle d to the thanks , re s pe ct and g r at it ude o f th e i r f el l o w c i t i z ens.

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A p r i l 19 67. R i f l e m e n o f t h e 9 t h Re g i m e n t 3 rd Ma r i n e d i v i s i o n c ro s s r i ce p a d d i e s i n p u r s u i t o f t h e V i e t Co n g i n V i e t n a m . a p p h o t o

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1954-1964 T H E A DV I S O RY P E R I O D A f t e r t h e Fre n c h C o l oni al War ( Fi r st I ndo c hin a Wa r ) a g a i n st t he C ommu ni st V i et Mi nh en ded wi t h t h e su rre n d er o f t h e Frenc h par atroop ga r r i son a t D i e n Bi en P h u , t h e 1954 G en e va C onf e re n c e c re a t ed f o u r so verei g n st at e s o ut of th e f o r m e r Fre n c h I ndo c h i na: t h e Ki ngdom s of L aos a n d C a m b o d ia, t h e ( C ommu ni st ) Demo cr atic R e pu b l i c o f V i e t nam ( No r t h V i et nam) , and the ( non - C om mu n i st ) Re pu bl i c o f V i e t nam ( S outh V i e t n a m ).

In 1 9 5 9 t he No r t h V i et namese r u l i ng p olitb ure a u d e c i d e d t o “resu me t h e st r u g g l e ” t o un ite a l l V i e t n a m e se t e r r i t o r y u nder a si ng l e C ommun ist re gi m e, a n d o rd e re d t h e const r u ct i on o f t h e “ Ho C h i Mi n h Tr a i l ” ro ad ne t wo rk t h ro u g h L ao s a n d C a m b o d i a t o su p p l y so u t h er n “ V i e t C ong ” ( VC) gue r r i l l a f o rc e s, a nd t h e U.S. e xpanded i t s s m a l l mi li t a r y ad v i so r y mi ssi on i n S o u t h V i e t nam in to a la rge r t r a i n i n g and l o g i st i c al ef f o r t , i nc l udin g Ar m y h e l i c o p t e r u ni t s t o t r anspo r t S outh V i e t n a m e se A r m y ( ARV N) u ni t s i nt o bat t l e. In ad d i t i on , S p e c i a l Fo rces ( G re e n Be ret ) Al ph a team s or ga n i z e d i n d i ge no u s Mont ag nard t r i besmen in c a mp s a l on g t he L ao t i an and C ambo di an borders to ob se r ve a n d i n t erdi ct No r t h V i e t namese t r affic on th e H o C h i Mi nh Tr ai l . Howe ver, t h e A RVN wa s u n a b l e t o p rot ect i t s bo rde r s o r de st roy VC uni t s, a n d i n e a r l y 1964 U.S. Pre si dent Ly ndon B. J oh n son f ac e d a g r ave deci si on: i nt ro du ce Amer ic a n grou n d c om b a t u n i t s i nt o S o u t h V i e t nam o r face a s m a l l A si a n n at i on “go i ng C ommu ni st on his wa tc h . ”

Ma y 19 6 5 . Ma r i n e h e l i co p te r d e l i ve r i n g s u p p l i e s to S o u t h V i e t n a m e s e s o l d i e r s . b e t t m a n /g e t t y i m ag e s D e ce m b e r 19 6 4 . U. S . G re e n B e re t t ro o p s t ra i n S o u t h V i e t n a m e s e s o l d i e r s i n m a r k s m a n s h i p w i t h l i ve a m m u n i t i o n . S g t . St a n l ey Ha ro l d ( l e f t ) a n d Ca p t . Ro b e r t L o p e z o f t h e U. S . S p e c i a l Fo rce s a re a m o n g t h o s e p i c t u re d . p h o t o q u e s t / g e t t y i m a g e s

T he Au g u st 1964 G u l f o f Tonk i n i nciden t, i n w hi c h No r t h V i et namese t o r pe do cr af t a tt ac k e d t wo U. S. dest royer s, t h at may h ave been i ns i d e t h e i r t e rr i t o r i al w at e r s, g ave J oh nson the oppo r t u n i t y t o b e g i n ret al i at o r y ai r st r i k es, whic h C ong re ss e n d o rsed w i t h t h e G u l f o f Ton kin R e s o l u t i on a u t ho r i z i ng t h e i ndefi ni t e u se o f the U ni t e d S t a t e s’ mi l i t ar y f o rce. S i mu l t ane ousl y, Nor t h V i e t n a m beg an t o mo ve i t s fi r st re gular a r my (N VA ) u n i t s i nt o S o u t h V i e t nam, and the U. S. a i r c a m p a i g n cont i nu e d. W h e n t h e ARVN c ont i n u e d t o d e t e r i o r at e, J oh nson o rde red t h e first U. S. c om b a t u n i t s, Mar i ne amph i bi o u s bat t alion s a nd A r m y a i r b o r n e i nf ant r y, i nt o S o u t h V i etn am i n s p r i n g 1 9 6 5 t o secu re ai r fi e l d compl e xe s a t Da Na ng a n d B i e n Ho a. W i t h i n wee k s t h ese un its we re c on d u c t i n g o f f ensi ve pat ro l s, and t h e U.S. grou n d w a r i n V i e t nam h ad beg u n.

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“I WAS JUST A SURFER DUDE FROM CALIFORNIA. BUT I FOUND OUT I LIKED THE MILITARY. I LIKED WHAT WE WERE DOING. IT WAS A BIG ADVENTURE.” Sydney “SKI” Ingram y e a rs o f s e rv i c e : 1969-1977, Army Special Forces, Green Berets, Army Reserves f ro m : Redondo Beach, CA n ow : St. George, UT I was 19 years old and getting ready to go on a mission for the LDS Church. Back then they only took so many missionaries because of the draft. I got my letter from Tricky Dick Nixon before a letter from the prophet, so … As a kid, I always wanted to be a fireman so I thought training as a medic would get me there.

Training for the Green Berets was difficult. First we had to learn how to jump out of airplanes. It’s all physical. They do whatever they can to wear you down. It’s run, run, push-ups, run, run, push-ups, push-ups, run, run, all day long. Then, it’s Special Forces—28 days of “hell.” You work all the time and you get very little sleep. You’ve got to pass all these courses that shows you “ S K I ” In g ra m have leadership and know your stuff. Then on to specialty training, courtesy photo I went to medic school. Then you all come back together and work as a Green Beret A team for a couple of weeks out in the jungles of North Carolina. It’s intense. When you’re not learning, you’re working. To go to a Green Beret unit in those days, you really had to have combat experience. I didn’t have any so I went to Vietnam as regular infantry with the 75th Rangers to “practice” In Vietnam the U.S. Army fielded three my combat skills. I spent a year in the jungle. We did recon, search and destroy types of “special operations” forces: missions—we went hunting for the enemy.

Highly selective and rigorously trained My first close call with the enemy came when I’d been “in country” for about small units equipped with cutting-edge two weeks. We were out on patrol. I’m the comms guy so I had a radio on my military technology newly developed back, pack weighs about 25 pounds. We had a top-notch sniper with us. We for unconventional warfare. Special were up on this little hill and could hear some firing off to our left. We walked Forces (SF or Green Berets) organized over and saw some NVA shooting at South Vietnamese soldiers. By the time we and supervised mobile strike (Mike) were given the OK to shoot them, they were in this village. Now we can see the forces containing South Vietnamese whole village, but we can’t see the bad guys. We call in for help to cut them tribal peoples in highland border areas off and block them in. We’re running down this trail and our sniper is right in to monitor North Vietnamese traffic on front of me, he trips a trip wire and pulls a hand grenade out of a tin can and the Ho Chi Minh trail. After 1965, infantry the spoon pops off; and its rolling down the hill in front of me, it’s an American divisions in Vietnam organized Longhand grenade and they always go off. I just keep running forward and the Range Patrol Scout Companies (Lurps) for hand grenade keeps rolling between my legs. It didn’t blew. It was a dud. We high-risk reconnaissance patrols in their continued down into the rice paddies, waters up past our knees, walking in line areas of operation. Lurps had to be very across from each other, totally exposed to the firefight going on between the tactically skilled to gather intelligence.

NVA and American units we’d called in for help. The enemy looked right at us, If detected, they fought their way to I thought we were dead. We came up on the dike and the enemy had gone to pre-planned locations for helicopter ground, disappeared. extraction. Military Assistance Command Vietnam—Studies and Observation I had a lot of close calls. Before I left for the military, my religious leaders told Group (MACV-SOG, pronounced “Mac me that if I had to go to war I would be safe. Bullets are flying, hand grenades Vee Sog”) operated in the deepest are flying, mortars are flying, not one time was I ever hurt. Not once. I didn’t do secrecy. Its missions included “deniable” anything crazy but I didn’t shy away from battle. Some guys get shot at and go reconnaissance and offensive crossto pieces, they hunker down and hide behind something, others won’t come out. border operations into Cambodia I was not like that, I was always ready to go. Full force toward the gunfire. and Laos, inserting agents into North After active duty, I went on to be a police officer and an instructor with a Vietnam, and “snatch” operations to seize Green Beret reserve unit (training to be a firefigher was harder than infantry or kill senior Communist officials and, on training or the police academy). The Army made me the person I am today. Not several occasions, attempts to recover everybody had the great experience I had in the military. Vietnam wasn’t all living American POWs before the prisoner nasty and terrible. It was war, I understand that. I tell people to think about the releases in early 1973. good things you learned in the military or the service, think about the friends, think about the person it made you, or hopefully, made you. You can’t put a price on that. —VALOR

SPECIAL FORCES

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ON THE FLIGHT LINE H I L L A F B’ S RO L E I N T H E V I E T N A M WA R c h a n g e s as t e n s i o n s m o u n t Bold changes throughout the Department of Defense in the early 1960s left the Air Force facing a set of new and exciting challenges. The establishment of the Air Force Systems Command by President Kennedy in March 1961 created an organization which would assume weapons systems responsibility from research and development through testing and evaluation. This, along with the Air Force Logistics Command, which included the Ogden Air Material Area here at Hill and similar depots that provided support engineering, supply, and maintenance, would now establish the concept of the weapon system organizationally.

One development that directly impacted Hill Air Force Base (AFB) was the closure of four of the Air Force’s nine Air Material Areas. Hill’s workload increased significantly from these closures from 1965 to 1968. One such example is the reassignment to Hill AFB of all intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) depot maintenance workload and logistic management responsibility. This included the Atlas, Titan I, Titan II and the development Minuteman ICBMs. Hill AFB gained significant responsibilities when in May 1965 the Air Force Logistics Command announced the transfer of Specialized Repair Activity (SRA) duties to Hill for all F-4C and RF-4C aircraft instruments along with many of its other onboard systems. The largest program the base gained was the SRA responsibility for the RF-101 which was performing the majority of the tactical reconnaissance, strike evaluation, and “pathfinder” missions over North Vietnam. Hill AFB would overhaul over 40 RF-101 aircraft before passing the responsibility for its weapons system over in 1966. And after 11 years of service at Hill, the last of over 2,400 maintenance cycles of the F-101 Voodoo passed through the Hill depot lines during September 1968. The RF-101 would continue to play a crucial role in Southeast Asia until 1970.

r e t u r n o f t h e b -26 i n va d e r The initial policy of the U.S. and President Kennedy was that the primary task of U.S. personnel in Southeast Asia was training Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) armed forces personnel to defend themselves. With their limited technical expertise and aging facilities, we were to equip the South Vietnamese air force with a similar aircraft that could be easy to fly and maintain. With large numbers available in storage, the Douglas B-26 Invader made its return. Under Operation Farm Gate, both B-26 and RB-26 aircraft were taken out of storage, overhauled at Hill AFB, and shipped to South Vietnam as early as January 1961.

Time, heavy usage, and operating conditions in Vietnam all took their toll on the B-26s and by late 1964 all were removed from Southeast Asia. This led to even stronger modifications to previous models of the B-26K “Counter Invader” which sported an upgraded engine and reinforced wings, among other changes. The B-26K returned to Southeast Asia in 1966, and all engineering responsibilities were transferred to Hill. These

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D o u g l a s B - 2 6 K Co u n te r Inva d e r (s/n 6 4- 17676 ) . Wa s exD o u g l a s A- 2 6 B -4 0 - D L Inva d e r (s/n 4 1- 3 9 59 6 ) . Co nve r te d

by O n Ma r k E n g i n e e r i n g to B - 2 6 K a s (s/n 6 4- 17676 ) . No t a Ma r t i n B - 2 6 Ma ra u d e r.

Mc D o n n e l l F-4 C- 1 8 - M C (s/n 63- 7 5 1 0 . c/n 5 2 2 ) . upgraded light bombers would prove to be heavy hitters in the interdiction campaigns on the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia. Hill AFB supported the B-26 until 1972, when they were finally retired.

t h e f -4 p h a n to m i i :

p roj ec t s p e e d l i n e

Starting with the arrival in 1964 of a single heavily damaged F-4C aircraft from McDonnell plant in St. Louis, Missouri, Hill AFB went on to become the maintenance logistical support center for what many consider to be the workhorse of the Vietnam War. This damaged aircraft would serve well in training the base’s maintenance personnel. A year later, two repairable F-4C aircraft arrived as maintenance prototypes for the program. 120 days of work would be performed on the two aircraft, leading to the creation of “Project Speedline.”

Eventually, Hill would turn out an average of 250 F-4 aircraft a year under “Speedline.”

The feature that greatly aided Hill’s ability to perform such rapid support was the introduction of the Immediate Response Distribution System (IRDS) in 1967 by the base’s Data Service Division. Tracking and acquiring available F-4 spare parts was vital to keeping up with the demand for both Air Force and Navy aircraft. This allowed Hill to provide the best logistical support of the F-4 in Southeast Asia.

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1965-1967 T H E B I G-U N I T WA R

D o u g l a s C- 1 2 4 C G l o b e m a s te r I I (s/n 5 2 - 1 0 87. c/n 4 3 9 9 6 ) .

Southeast Asia caused mission delays and sometimes mission cancellations. Hill AFB responded to this unacceptable situation in July 1966 by converting their current repair facilities into a production line dedicated to fabricating 100 Centerline Stores Support Fitting Repair Kits. Working around the clock, seven days a week, Hill produced the needed kits that manufacturers could not keep up with. Within a month, the kits were on their way to Southeast Asia, far ahead of the original schedule.

s o u t h e as t as i a a i r l i f t

(seair)

Although Hill AFB had supported the Southeast Air war effort in some way since the mid-1950s, logistics support had become one of the installation’s most significant responsibilities by 1966. Concerned with providing the best possible logistics support in the theater, Military Airlift Command (MAC) began the routine airlift of airmunitions directly from Hill to Southeast Asia in March 1966. The operation was simply termed Southeast Asia Airlift, or “SEAIR,” SEAIR relieved some of the pressure on staging and storage areas at current sites. Direct flights from Hill also reduced transit time by an average of seven days.

The first SEAIR flight, a C-124, left Hill AFB on March 3, 1966. By the end of the month, 17 aircraft had left Hill bound for bases in Southeast Asia: 14 C-124s, one C-130, and two C-133s carrying a total of 198.6 tons of cargo. By that time, MAC had committed its newest cargo aircraft, the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, to the SEAIR operation. The first arrived at Hill AFB on April 1, and departed carrying almost 60,000 pounds of airmunitions for the combat zone. The second C-141 left three days later carrying over 70,000 pounds.

At the beginning, MAC had estimated just three flights per week. During the month of April 1966 alone, 49 SEAIR flights departed Hill AFB. Over time, other priority items were shipped by air and sea under the SEAIR banner. One such example was in May and June 1966 when a total of 22 tons of a-26A aircraft support equipment and parts were shipped from Hill. After two years of operations, 867 MAC missions had been flown from Hill, carrying over 20,000 tons of priority airmunitions to Southeast Asia.

—courtesy of Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah, Hill Air Force Base Museum; photographs courtesy of the Edward S. Felleson Aviation Collection and ItsAviation.org

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B et ween sum m er 1965 an d Jan uar y 196 8 , t h e U. S. wa r in V ietn a m wa s ba sed on t wo exp a n din g eff o r t s : on e on the groun d a n d on e in the air. E ven t ual l y, se ven U.S. com bat division s, sup p or ted by a vas t in f r a str ucture of p or t facilities, roads, lo g is t ic al base c am p s, an d tactic al fire ba ses, sp read o ut o ver f our cor p s tactic al a reas: I Cor p s in the far n o r t h , I I Cor p s in the cen tr a l highlan ds, I I I Cor ps aro un d S a igon , an d IV Cor p s in the Mekon g River D elt a.

Con curren tl y, Op er a tion “ Rol lin g T hun d er, ” an exp a n ded a ir c am p a ign aga in st Nor th V iet n am, used U.S. A ir Force a ircr a f t based in T ha ilan d an d U.S. Navy a ircr a f t c a rr iers on “ Ya n kee S t at ion” in the S outh Chin a S ea to str ike Nor th V iet n ames e sup p l y ba ses f eedin g the Ho Chi Min h Tr ail an d selected in dustr ia l targets suc h as steel mil ls an d electr ic a l gen er atin g p la n ts to “sen d a mes s age ” to the Com mun ist leadership to withd r aw t h eir f orces f rom S outh V ietn a m , or a t lea st ag ree t o a n egotia ted settlem en t to the war. Howe ver, t h is d ual eff or t failed to in tim ida te the Nor th V iet n ames e, f or t wo p r im a r y reason s.

First, howe ver a ggressivel y their un it s c amp aign ed, the 470,000 U.S. soldiers in S o ut h V ietn am could n ot sea l off al l the Ho C h i M in h Tr ail br a n c hes in to S outh V ietn a m . S ec on d l y, in the face of the a n ti-aircr af t r ada rs, gun s an d mis s ile sy stem s sup p lied to Nor th V ietn am by t h e S o viet Un ion , the a ir c a m p aign , m icro-m a n aged f rom t h e W hite House, wa s n e ver a ble to reduce t h e flow of sup p lies in to S outh V ietn a m below t h e po in t that would im m obiliz e NVA or “m a in f o rc e ” VC un its, or convin ce the Com mun ist leaders h ip t h at it wa s facin g an existen tia l threat. T his was als o the er a of “dum b bom bs” that could be d ro pped on en em y ta rgets by fast-m o vin g str ike a irc r af t . I t thus required la rge attac k f or m a tion s to d es t roy k e y ta rgets, an d Nor th V ietn a m ese a n ti-aircr af t s y s t ems bega n to ta ke a hea vy tol l of U.S. a ircr af t , wit h roughl y 600 p ilots e ven tua l l y held c a p tive.

B y late 1967, the wa r seem ed to a n in c reas in g n um ber of votin g Am er ic a n s to be s t alemat ed , while m any f oreign p olic y “ wise m en” f rom pre vio us p residen tia l adm in istr a tion s bec a m e conv in c ed t h at V ietn am wa s distr actin g the Un ited S ta tes f rom t h e S o viet threa t to Wester n Europ e. Meanwh ile, an a n ti-war/an ti-dr af t p rotest m o vem en t de velo ped on col lege c a m p uses. T he “m ake lo ve, n ot war ” an t iwa r coun terculture m o vem en t gre w in n umb ers an d m ass-m edia visibilit y. va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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“ONCE YOU SMELL BURNED FLESH IT NEVER LEAVES YOU.” name:

Bob Pagnani 1973-77 Army f ro m : Boston, MA n ow : Eureka, UT s e rv i c e :

I wanted to be an operating room tech. So after basic, I headed to Texas to begin training as a medic. While waiting for classes to start, they asked for volunteers to work with patients in the burn center. I figured if I could work the burn ward, I could work anything and do it anywhere.

Before you even got through the doors there were big containers of Brute and Old Spice colognes. You were told to splash it on your face and hands. Next, were large jars of Vix to rub under your nose. I remember the first week or two was just terrible.

We were told most of the burns were from napalm. Many of our patients had no arms, no legs; for some, their faces were gone. It was hard seeing a veteran laying in bed with no limbs saying, “Please just kill me, what life do I have?” In those days there was no regulation on narcotics. It was whatever they wanted, they got. They’d beg for more and more drugs, “Why’d you save me? Tell you what, if you let me die or give me more morphine I’ll make you my beneficiary.” We went through classes where we were taught not to listen to the patients.

You could see where their boots had burned to their legs—the laces, the metal, the zippers—especially the pilots … I remember one guy whose zippers in his boots were burned in to his feet. For treatment, we would have to submerge the patients, scrape off the damaged skin and clean the burned flesh in preparation for skin grafts and stuff. I remembering seeing pictures where patients had cages placed over them so the sheets, basically nothing could touch them. They would try to keep the burns cool, just trying to keep the heat off. Guys were just lying there and say, “Why, why did you keep me alive? My family doesn’t come see me, they don’t recognize me.”

Same thing for the dying … you would get to know patients and know they are dying, it’s a terrible thing where you hear, “I want my mommy. Then, I want my daddy. Then, I want my brother, anybody.” Or they’re so drugged out, they believe when you say, “I’m your dad, I’m your brother, I’m listening.” You just have to hold their hand for a little while … We were taught to play those roles as the caregiver.

And the screaming … those are the things that stay with me.

I did three months on the burn ward, after that, no more. I didn’t go on to be an OR tech, after that I couldn’t. But I did continue as an EMT/Paramedic for the rest of my military service and as a civilian career. —VALOR

( T O P ) Ma y 19 67. U. S . Ma r i n e s t re tc h e r b e a re r s r u s h a s e r i o u s l y wo u n d e d l e a t h e r n e c k a c ro s s t h e s a n d to a n eva c u a t i o n h e l i co p te r a t a b e a c h h e a d a t t h e m o u t h o f t h e B e n Ha i R i ve r i n V i e t n a m’s d e m i l i t a r i z e d z o n e . T h e Ma r i n e wa s wo u n d e d w h e n a No r t h V i e t n a m e s e a r t i l l e r y b a r ra g e h i t t h e A m e r i c a n u n i t . a p p h oto /r i c k m e r ro n ( C E N T E R R I G H T ) Ja n u a r y 19 6 6 . A n A m e r i c a n s o l d i e r c a r r i e s a V i e t n a m e s e c h i l d t h ro u g h a r i ve r d u r i n g a b re a k i n f i g h t i n g d u r i n g t h e V i e t n a m Wa r. r o l l s p r e s s / p o p p e r f o t o / g e t t y i m a g e s ( B O T T O M R I G H T ) Ma y 19 6 9. Me d i c s r u s h a n i n j u re d p a ra t ro o p e r to a n eva c u a t i o n h e l i co p te r d u r i n g f i g h t i n g o n ‘ Ha m b u rg e r Hi l l ’ i n t h e V i e t n a m Wa r. b e t t m a n / g e t t y i m a g e s

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‘ROLLING THUNDER’: THE AIR WAR AGAINST NORTH VIETNAM During the 1950s the U.S. Air Force developed intercontinental ballistic missiles, high-altitude strategic bombers, and low-altitude nuclear strike aircraft. During “Rolling Thunder” (1965-68) the Air Force mounted an open-ended conventional “iron bomb” campaign against an enemy nation with no decisive targets to destroy, while the Johnson administration imposed controls on target selection to reduce international criticism of the U.S. war effort. U.S. strike aircraft used a limited number of highly predictable air corridors between their bases in Thailand and targets in North Vietnam, while sophisticated antiaircraft weapons, and technology supplied by the Soviet Union, took a rising toll of aircraft downed and pilots captured. A typical airstrike included F-105 or F-4 bombing aircraft, F-4 escort fighters to protect the bombers against North Vietnamese MiG fighters, “Iron Hand” F-105s to destroy North Vietnamese gun and missile radars, KC-135 refueling tankers, search and rescue helicopters to recover downed pilots, and older piston engine A-1 “Sandys” to protect helicopters at the rescue site. High-performance reconnaissance aircraft flew low-altitude photo missions before and after each strike to record target damage. Flying from aircraft carriers on “Yankee Station” in the South China Sea, U.S. naval aviators struck North Vietnamese coastal targets with F-4, A-4 and A-6 aircraft, and faced the same fierce opposition, and mounting losses.

“I MET MY FIANCE AT BASIC. HE WENT TO VIETNAM AND I FOLLOWED.” Shelly Haven Schneeweis s e rv i c e : 1969-72 Army, combination of 26 years n ow : Sandy, UT During my final year of nursing school, a recruiter for the Army Nursing Corps came and talked to us about serving. After completing my boards, I went to Ft. Sam for basic, then on to Ft. Polk in Louisana, when I volunteered for a year in Vietnam.

My experience in country was good, probably because of Joel. Our assignments were about a mile apart, he was at the 93th Evacuation Hospital and I was at the 24th. On my days off I had someone to talk to and do things with. We had a built-in support system with each other. Otherwise, you counted on the people who you worked with, who you socialized with—they became our family. And you said, “I’m going to keep in touch” and then you don’t. You may never see them again, but you will always have a connection.

S h e l l y S c h n e ewe i s . courtesy photo

I worked the medical ward. We took care of all the medical issues that came through—malaria, black water fever, venereal diseases. My soldiers could talk and walk, you got to know them a little bit, but you didn’t spend a lot of time getting too close to people. I encountered illnesses that I had never dealt with. Black water fever required us to keep the patient peeing, if you didn’t, they plugged up and died. I lost my first soldier that way. You try to say, “well it’s not my fault;” but it’s hard not to take it to heart. You always think what could I have done better.

After Vietnam, I finished my three-year commitment at Valley Forge, PA. I took an 18-year break to raise my family before returning to active duty with most of my time spent at Ft. Douglas. After nearly 26 years of service, I retired in 2010 to spend time with my husband, Joel. —VALOR

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1968

K H E S A N H VA L L E Y A N D THE TET OFFENSIVE

I n l a t e 1 9 6 7 , t h e se ni o r U.S. commander in V i e tn a m , G e n . W i l l i am We st mo r l and, appro ved a t e mp o r a r y Ma r i n e C o r ps base i n t h e Kh e S a n h Va l le y, ro u g h l y 2 5 mi l es i nsi de S o u t h V i etn am ne a r t h e L ao t i a n bo rde r, as a j u mpi ng - o f f poin t f or a p o ssi b l e fu t u re U.S. o f f e nsi ve du e we st (that ne ve r o c c u rre d ) t o se ver t h e Ho C h i Mi nh Tr ail.

K h e S a n h d i st r act ed U.S. i nt el l i ge nce o f ficers f rom w h a t t he No r t h V i e t namese w as act ual l y pla nn i n g : t h e Te t O f f ensi ve o f J anu ar y - Fe br ua r y 1 9 6 8, i n w hi c h 84,000 V i et C ong fi g hters i nfi lt r a t e d m o st of t h e l ar ge st ci t i e s i n S outh V i e tn a m . T he y d re w on pre v i o u sl y c ac h e d we a p on s a nd e x p l o si ve s a n d at t ac k ed S o u t h V i e t nam ese mi li t a r y a n d go ve r nment al ce nt er s, and a sel e ction of h i g hl y - m e d i a v i si bl e t ar ge t s su c h as t h e U.S. e mb assy c om p l e x i n S ai gon and t h e C i t adel in Hue C i t y.

T h e o u t c om e o f t h e Te t O f f ensi ve was prof o u n d l y i ron i c: a g r ave C ommu ni st def eat i nvol v i n g t h e d e at h s o f ro u g h l y 50,000 o f their fi gh t e rs, i t c re a t e d a br i e f w i ndow o f o ppo r t un it y f or t he S o u t h V i e t n ame se go ve r nme nt t o i nt ro duce t h e re f o r m s c r i t i c al t o mo bi l i z i ng i t s pe o pl e f or long- t e r m su r v i v al . U nf o r t u nat el y, at t h e sam e t i me, Te t c onv i n ced nu me ro u s pu bl i c fi g u res in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t h at S o u t h V i e t nam w as a lost c a us e, a n d t h a t t he onl y i mpo r t ant q u est i on was h ow q u i c k l y t he U. S. co u l d ext r i c at e i t se l f f rom the c onf l i c t , re g a rd l e s s o f t h e f at e o f S o u t h V i et n a m .

Te t a l so c re a t e d a pr act i c al di l emma f or Pre s i d e n t J oh n son and t h e J o i nt C h i ef s o f S taff.

O f 1 9 A r m y d i vi si ons wo r l d- w i de, fi ve were s ta t e si d e, fi ve we re i n Eu ro pe su ppo r t i ng NATO, t wo we re st a t i on ed i n Ko rea, and se ven were in S out h V i e t n a m . To w h at ext e nt co u l d t h e U.S. c ont i n u e t o re l y sol el y on a mi l i t ar y o f dr af t e es to f ac e fu t u re c on t i n ge nci es?

B e f o re Te t , Presi dent J oh nson h ad t r i e d to a voi d “a l a r m i n g � th e vo t i ng pu bl i c by mo bi l izin g na ti on a l g u a rd o r ar my re se r ve u ni t s f o r V i etn am s e r vi c e, i n st e ad rel y i ng on t h e S e l e ct i ve S er vice S y s t e m t o d r a f t yo u ng men t o repl ace c asu alties a nd so l d i e rs re t ur ni ng t o t h e st at es af t e r the c omp l e t i on o f t h ei r one - ye ar V i e t nam t o u r. In Ja nu a r y 1 9 6 8 , Presi dent J oh nson y i e l de d t o the pre s s u re a n d m o b i l i z e d a smal l nu mbe r o f Nat ion al G ua rd a n d A r m y Re se r ve u ni t s.

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A p r i l 19 6 9. A c rew m a n o f a U. S . Nav y i n s h o re p a t ro l c ra ft ( P C F ) f i re s a n M 2 . 5 0 c a l i b e r m a c h i n e g u n a t e n e m y p o s i t i o n s o n t h e s h o re , a s P C Fs h e a d f o r a l a n d i n g p o i n t to p u t V i e t n a m e s e t ro o p s a s h o re d u r i n g t h e V i e t n a m Wa r, Re p u b l i c o f V i e t n a m . A n A m e r i c a n f l a g f l i e s ove r t h e s o l d i e r s . u . s . n av y / g e t t y i m a g e s

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FIRE BASES AND AIRMOBILITY

( T O P ) 19 6 8 . Ac t i o n f ro m O p e ra t i o n Pe g a s u s : A m e r i c a n s s o l d i e r s a i d i n g S o u t h V i e t n a m e s e f o rce s to l i ft t h e s i e g e o f K h e S a n h . l a r r y b u r rows /t i m e m aga z i n e /g e t t y i m ag e s

( R I G H T ) Ma rc h 19 67. A n A m e r i c a n infantryman of the 25th Division g i ve s a h e l p i n g h a n d to a b u d d y w h o s l i p p e d i n to a h o l e , s l i p p i n g n e c k d e e p i n to t h e m u d wa te r o f t h e P l a i n o f Re e d s s o m e 3 0 m i l e s n o r t hwe s t o f S a i g o n , V i e t n a m .

Mo s t o f t h e ye a r s t h e P l a i n o f Re e d s c a n o n l y b e t rave l e d by b o a t . In t h e m i d d l e o f t h e d r y s e a s o n , p a r t o f i t i s d r y, t h e re s t swa m p s . a p p h o t o / j o h n t . w h e e l e r ( L E F T ) Ma rc h 19 6 9. A U. S . Ma r i n e c a r r y i n g t h e b a s e - p l a te a n d tube of his 81 MM mortar leads a p l a to o n d ow n a t ra i l i n a n a re a f i ve a n d o n e - h a l f m i l e s s o u t h o f D a Na n g , S o u t h V i e t n a m . a p p h o t o / graham mcinerney

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Vietnam, unlike World War II, was not a war in which U.S. forces conquered key terrain in sequential conventional offensives, and in which American soldiers moved inexorably toward victory, sleeping each night in a different foxhole, barn, or, in cities, in a requisitioned civilian house.

If there was a “typical” combat soldier’s experience in Vietnam, it revolved around the infantry/artillery firebase: a fortified camp, almost always on a hilltop, out of which would radiate daily short-range reconnaissance or security patrols, and airmobility, or the use of helicopters to “insert” units into distant landing zones (LZs) from which units searched for Communist base camps inside South Vietnam. Helicopters were also used to “prep” LZs with machine gun and rocket fires, especially when they were defended

by Communist troops, or “hot.” At night, infantry units “in the boonies” established circular night defensive positions or NDPs, with interlocking small-arms fire and carefully placed claymores—anti-personnel mines. After longer patrols, units assembled at different LZs for helicopter “extraction” and return to their fire base or a larger base camp for a brief period to rest and replace casualties. Each firebase had numerous underground troop sleeping, command and ammunition supply bunkers, with as much overhead protection as could be improvised out of issued and “scrounged” materials.

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A p r i l 19 67. A wo u n d e d U. S . s o l d i e r o f t h e 1 s t In f a n t r y D i v i s i o n , 2 6 t h In f a n t r y Re g i m e n t , 1 s t B a tt a l i o n , re ce i ve s f i r s t a i d a fte r b e i n g re s c u e d f ro m a j u n g l e b a tt l e f i e l d s o u t h o f t h e Ca m b o d i a n b o rd e r i n V i e t n a m’s wa r z o n e C . A re co n n a i s s a n ce p l a to o n ra n i n to e n e m y b u n ke r s , a n d t h e i r re c u e r s we re p i n n e d d ow n f o r f o u r h o u r s i n f i g h t i n g . a p p h o t o

“I DID NOT WIN THE PURPLE HEART. I EARNED IT.” Dee G. Gibson

s e rv i c e :

1967-70 Army, 25th Infantry

n ow :

Roy, UT

I probably feel the worst about receiving the medal. I feel it was an inadequate wound. However, I was wounded and I did draw blood. I was inside of a bunker and we started receiving incoming shells. For some reason that night, the enemy actually had their stuff together. They took out five of six our guns. But the second round that came into our compound, lit right in the doorway of our bunker. If it hadn’t had been for my section chief, I dare say I wouldn’t be here today. He had a broken jaw and several other head wounds. I received a small shrapnel wound above my eye that burned like hell. Anyway, I was medevaced, went into the hospital with several others from my gun section who had received much worse wounds than I. I was told at that time, “Why did they send you in?” The medic bandaged my head and sent me in. End of story. That’s all I got. They patched me up. I was back in the field the next day. I didn’t think anymore about it.

I got home before I even knew I had been awarded the Purple Heart. It was never presented to me. I thought well I’m just out, no big deal. My mother said it is a big deal. She sent a letter to Rep. Gunn McKay and within two weeks I got a package in the mail with my medal in it. Even then I wasn’t sure I was going to put it on. When I came home from Vietnam, I said I’d never put the uniform back on again.

A year later I was down on my luck. I was unemployed and had just gotten married; wasn’t doing well financially. A gentlemen came by and said, “I understand you’re a little low on cash. I know of a job you only need to spend a couple times a month at.” Well, I joined the Army Reserves, and 20 years later I retired. I think there were many veterans who saw much more action than I did. As I’ve grown older, my Purple Heart has grown to mean a lot to me. —VALOR

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“IT’S A CATEGORY OF WARRIORS THAT ARE SET APART FROM OTHER WARRIORS BECAUSE WE HAVE SHED OUR BLOOD.” Tom Montez s e rv i c e : 1967-70, Army, 101st Airborne Infantry n ow : Riverdale, UT I got to Vietnam in 1969. Right after the Tet Offensive of 1968. By then the Viet Cong had been pushed out of the south. We were fully engaged with the NVA units. Several days after I had got there, I saw my first combat—I watched Morris Mendez get killed on the trail. That opened my eyes and made me realize it was going to be a long year.

I’d been there six months when in June, on Friday 13th, we air assaulted into a river valley. That’s when I earned my first Purple Heart. On our way in we could see the muzzle flashes coming off the hill and people were popping red smoke, which meant it was a hot landing zone. We jumped off the helicopters, landed at the base of a mountain and were ambushed with To m Mo n te z o n t h e t ra i l . grenades. I got a piece of shrapnel in my courtesy photo arm. That night 12 of my 13-man crew were medevaced out—except for me. I stayed in the field with an ace bandage on my arm.

Up to that point, I was a strapping 18-year-old kid whose thinking was I could win the war by myself. After getting wounded that day, I realized I wasn’t invincible. I was shaking in my boots. That night I went on an ambush to ambush those that had ambushed us.

My earned my second Purple Heart 33 days later on July 6. That one I was medevaced to the rear after having ripped open my shoulder from a land mine.

My first Purple Heart medal arrived several weeks later. A big-shot colonel came out into the field and gave medals to my platoon. He pinned them on us and said, “You have truly been baptized in combat.” That’s the kind of baptism you don’t want. My second Purple Heart, I didn’t receive the actual medal or certificate until the day I left Vietnam. When I was processing out and getting on the “freedom birds” to come back to the United States they went through my records and gave them to me right on the spot. So I didn’t receive my second one in the field.

Getting the Purple Heart was not something I wanted. Now that I have it, it is a prestigious medal. But it’s not something you’d want to wish on your worst enemy. Because when you’re engaged you don’t know the degree of the wound you’re going to get.

‘WE BELONG TO AN ELITE BROTHERHOOD’ b y Ro b e r t We l s h m i l i ta r y o r d e r o f t h e p u r p l l h e a r t

G

en. George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, created the “ Badge for Militar y Mer it ” on Aug. 7, 1782. The badge was presented to soldiers for “any singular l y mer itor ious action, ” and their names were inscr ibed in the “ Book of Mer it. ” (Book was ultimatel y lost, and the decoration largel y forgotten until 1927.)

In 1932, to mark the bicentennial of Washington’s bir th, Gen. Douglas MacAr thur worked to re vive the medal. It was intended to commemorate braver y, but more to recogniz e soldiers with wounds— as the general stated, “those who have shed their blood on the battlefield. ” The P ur ple Hear t differs f rom most other decorations in that an individual is not recommended for the decoration; rather, he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific cr iter ia. The medal, per regulation, is awarded in the name of the President of the United S tates to any member of the Armed Forces of the United S tates who, while ser ving under competent author it y in any c apacit y with one of the Armed S er vices af ter Apr il 5, 1917, has been wounded, killed or has died af ter being wounded. A P ur ple Hear t is given for the first wound suffered, but for each subsequent award an oak leaf c luster is worn rather than another medal.

I wouldn’t give it up. Initially, when I first got mine, I used to think it was an “inefficiency ribbon” because obviously you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Over time I’ve grown to accept it as something to be honored with. It wasn’t until years later when I got involved with the VFW that I realized although there’s a lot of veterans of foreign wars, very few of them have the Purple Heart. We like to say the road to freedom is paved with Purple Hearts. Other veterans who don’t have a Purple Heart seem to look at it as an honor that they don’t want, but they do admire. —VALOR

The exact number of P ur ple Hear ts awarded is not known, but the best estimate is between 1.5 and 2.0 million soldiers, sailors, Mar ines, and airmen. And, Maj. Gen. Rober t T. Freder ic k was awarded an impressive eight P ur ple Hear ts in Wor ld War I I, which is thought to be the record for any soldier in a single conflict.

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1969-1973 T H E V I E T N A M I Z AT I O N P L A N In Ma rc h 1 9 6 8 , Presi dent J oh nson deci de d n ot to r un f o r re - e l e c t i on and pu t h i s ef f o r t s i nt o fi ndin g a ne go t i a t e d se t t l e m ent f o r t h e w ar. Th e Par i s Peace Ta lk s t ha t b e g a n i n May o f t h at year dr ag ged on unti l J a n u a r y 1 9 73 be f o re be ar i ng f r u i t , and that f r ui t w a s p o i son o u s f o r S o u t h V i e t nam. He a lso e nde d “ R o l l i n g T hu nder ” and de c l ared a u ni la ter al e nd t o U. S. a i rst r i k es ag ai nst No r t h V i e t n am ese ta r ge t s, a l t ho u g h he al l owed t h e ae r i al i nt e rd iction of t he H o Ch i Mi nh Tr ai l i n L ao s and C ambodia to c ont i n u e.

T he d e m o c r a t i c c andi dat e f o r presi dent i n 1968, V i c e Pre si d e n t Hu ber t Hu mph re y, w as narrowl y d e f e at e d by R i c ha rd Ni xon, w h o h ad c l ai me d t o ha ve a “s ec re t p l a n” t o end t h e w ar, w h i c h h e re vealed a f t e r h i s i n a u g u r at i on t o be “ V i et nami z ation . ” V i e t n a m i z a t i on w as i nt e nded t o h ave t wo c los e l y - c o o rd i n a t e d compone nt s: u pg r ades to the e qui pm e n t , t ac t i c al c apabi l i t i e s and pro f e ssion a l le ade rshi p o f t h e ARV N, and a g r adu al dr aw -down of U. S. c om b a t f o rces k e ye d t o t h e ARV N ’s a bilit y to d e f e a t Com mu ni st f o rces i nsi de S o u t h V i etn am .

H owe ve r, t he d r a w dow n sc h edu l e be c ame e nt an gled wi t h Ni xon’s p o l l i ng nu mbe r s and dome st i c politics, i nc lu d i n g t he Wa ter g at e sc andal .

A f t e r a b r i e f U.S. “ i ncu r si on” i nt o C ambodia in M ay 1 9 7 0 , a n d a n abo r t i ve ARV N at t ac k i nt o L aos i n Fe b r u a r y 1 9 7 1 , bo t h t ar ge t i ng su ppl y com p lexes on th e H o C h i Mi nh Tr ai l , No r t h V i et nam seiz ed th e i n i t i a t i ve a n d i nv ade d S o u t h V i et nam a lon g th re e m a j o r a xe s d u r i ng t h e “ East e r O f f e nsive ” of 1 9 7 2 . H owe ve r, eno u g h U.S. av i at i on u ni ts a n d tac t i c a l ad v i so rs remai ne d i n S o u t h V i e t nam to a l low a d e sp e r a t e ARV N t o de f eat No r t h V i et n am ese a r mo re d f o rc e s wi t h t h e h e l p o f massi ve B -52 s t r i k e s, a n d “ L i n e bac k e r O ne, ” a br i ef rene wal of U. S. a i rst r i k e s on No r t h V i et nam, w h i c h saw use of th e fi rst st e e r a b l e “smar t bombs” ag ai nst h ea vil yd e f e n d e d sm a l l t a rget s su c h as br i dge s. “ L i n e b ac k e r Two, ” l au nc h ed i n De cember 1972, s t r uc k p re v i o u sl y o f f - l i mi t s t ar get s i nsi d e the c a pi t a l H a n o i a n d t h e po r t o f H ai ph ong, and fin a l l y moti v a t e d No r t h V i e t nam t o si g n t h e Par i s Accords i n J a n u a r y 1 9 7 3 , w h i c h , f at al l y f o r S o u t h V i etn am , a l lowe d N VA u n i ts t o re mai n i nsi de i t s bo rders.

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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

Au g u s t 19 6 4 . A U. S . j e t p l a n e ro a r s o ff t h e d e c k o f t h e a i rc ra ft c a r r i e r Co n s te l l a t i o n i n t h e G u l f o f To n k i n , w h e re t h e ve s s e l i s o n p a t ro l . T h e ra i d o n No r t h V i e t n a m e s e P T b o a t b a s e s , m a d e by p l a n e s s u c h a s t h e s e , m a y g i ve A s i a n n a t i o n s a f re s h i n s i g h t i n to U. S . m i g h t a n d i n te n t i o n s i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a . a p p h oto /p o o l

VIETNAM ERA DRAFT The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to “raise and support armies,” and federal court decisions have confirmed its authority to pass legislation conscripting or “drafting” young men into military service without their consent, which occurred during World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Before 1969, the Selective Service System of the Vietnam Era channeled young men into either the Army or college, with four-year “II-S” deferments available to men remaining in academic good standing until graduation, after which they were classified “I-A” or eligible

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“I WAS DIFFERENT. I HAD SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE HAD. AND IT WAS WHAT WAS GOING TO GET ME THROUGH.” name: f ro m :

Larry Cesspooch Ft. Duchesne, UT

s e rv i c e : n ow :

1970-73 Navy Neola, UT

When I was a junior in high school I met this girl and we fell in love. Of course, way back when, segregation was a big issue. When we got together, her dad said, “this thing isn’t goin’ happen. I can do something about this.” We got stranded overnight in the snow on New Year’s Eve. All our friends thought we’d run off to Stateline and got married. The next morning my dad comes in, wakes me up, “The bishop’s out there with the sheriff.” So, I go out there and he says, “I know you’re 23rd on the lottery and we’re just gonna help you get in sooner.” Long story short, a week later I was shipping out to San Diego.

After boot camp, I went on to flight school and then radioman school. As part of a flight crew, you had to know your part. I was a radioman. When I got to the Philippines, we flew into what was called Yankee Station. We’d fly in passengers, cargo and mail. Everyday, three hours out, drop your load, wait for turn around, that’s about four to six hours, and then we’d leave.

We went throught all the tail hook and catapult shots. Flight school can simulate the weather, turbulence and the sea; but it’s not reality. One time, the commanding officer on deck was waving our pilot off, but this JG was determined to land. You have three guy wires to hook up too. We missed all three, bounced off and hit full throttle again—that was one time I soiled my flight suit.

L a r r y Ce s s p o o c h i n d re s s w h i te s . c o u r t e s y p h o t o

Because of my predicament going in, I was rebellious. I hated the Navy. I hated having to serve. I hated having to salute. “Yes, sir. No, sir.” And haircuts, all that. One time I didn’t salute a junior officer and he put me on report. I had to go in front of the captain. I said, “Sir, where I come from everybody is the same. ‘We eat, shit and piss in the same hole.’ And this just isn’t what I know.” The next day he put me with a crew where we were all pretty much the same. Long hairs. Our plane captain, “Wild Bill Melbie,” was just like us, a loose operator. We didn’t have to salute him, say “sir,” and go through all that crap; but we always got the job done.

On the flight deck, you’ve got all this emotion. You can always smell the jet fuel. After a particularly bad trip, I got out of the plane and went toward the back of the hanger deck. I could smell the pungent aromas of burning sweet grass and cedar. I looked around but saw no one. Reflecting on the ways of my people, it helped me realize that if I was going to make it through this thing I’d have to hold onto something. All these other guys are freaking out but I had this thing that was mine. I began to realize that I was different. And that’s what started me praying, started me thinking this other way that I’m Indian for a reason, that I’m Ute for a reason, that I have a language for a reason. It got me to settle down. I use it every day. —VALOR

S o l d i e r s ex p e r i ce “ p h ys i c a l s” a t Ft . D o u g l a s w h i l e b e i n g i n d u c te d f o r s e r v i ce i n V i e t n a m .

for induction. Members of National Guard and reserve units were exempted from induction as were some public safety occupations. Men physically, mentally or morally unfit for military service were classified IV-F. Deferments were actually granted, and eligible men drafted, by “draft boards” of prominent local citizens, who were subject to their own political opinions and social prejudices, and who imposed those prejudices on the young men 18-26 years old that they processed. Numerous studies confirmed that poorly-educated White, Latino and African-American

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photos courtesy of nara

men from low-income rural and inner city families were disproportionally drafted and assigned to combat duty in Vietnam. In 1969, responding to criticisms of the draft as socially biased, President Nixon replaced the unwieldy deferment architecture with a lottery selection process and no student deferments, but at that time the war was winding down and relatively few college students were thus drafted. In January 1973, all of the military branches transitioned to an all-volunteer basis, ending the “Vietnam draft.”

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“WE DID FIVE OR SIX TRAYS OF JELL-O A DAY.” name:

Dave Wilson 1970-74 Air Force f ro m : Syracuse, NY n ow : Layton, UT s e rv i c e :

When I first started in the hospital back in the ‘60s, I remember having one of the ladies come up and ask, “You want to know how to cook?” And that’s how I got started.

My original orders were for “firebase Vietnam.” We hit Anchorage, Alaska, and that’s where I stayed. (Alaska and Hawaii are considered an overseas, foreign assignment.)

When you go through cook training you’re given the opportunity to cook in the field or in dining halls, they train you for everything you might face. I was trained for a lot more. Our whole outfit went down and trained with D ave W i l s o n i n g a s m a s k . courtesy photo the Green Berets in case we had to go out and be in a field hospital or a firebase. They taught us to take the tents, lay them out; that’s complete operating room, complete kitchen, everything—all up and operational within 24 hours.

Ju l y 19 6 9. U. S . Ma r i n e C p l . Ed wa rd I . Ra i t h o f Newa r k , N . J. , ( l e f t ) s u m s u p f e e l i n g s a b o u t l e av i n g V i e t n a m a s h e s t a n d s awa i t i n g d e p a r t u re a t D a Na n g , we a r i n g h e l m e t w i t h “g o o d bye V i e t n a m” o n i t a n d c a r r y i n g a n A m e r i c a n f l a g .

O t h e r m e n a re u n i d e n t i f i e d . a p p h o t o / g h i s l a i n b e l l o r g r e t A p r i l 19 6 8 . Tro o p e r s o f t h e 8 2 n d A i r b o r n e D i v i s i o n o n a n o p e ra t i o n n e a r Hu e s i t i n t h e s a f e t y o f t h e i r s a n d b a g g e d h o l e a n d p l a y a q u i c k g a m e o f b l a c k j a c k . Fo r a t a b l e t h ey u s e a n e m p t y s a n d b a g . a p p h o t o / j o e h o l l o way

When they needed a dietary cook to help with air evac, I asked: “How can I help?” Officers would come in on airevacs with minor wounds, major ones … We had guys coming home with stomachs missing … one came through with a broken jaw along with shrapnel in his neck area. He couldn’t have regular food so we would blend it up almost to the consistency of water so he could eat it but we still had to maintain the nutrition value. Other guys would have to have meals like a soup with no flavor because they couldn’t swallow. That made it hard and we had to experiment a bit to see what they could actually handle. You want some flavor so they don’t choke on it, yet you don’t want to make it over exuberant … they’ll just regurgitate it all back up again. You had to know how bad he got hurt, what are they going to do when he gets to a better hospital, how well will he travel— you had to take everything into consideration.

But the main job for a cook is: if there’s a place to cook food for the troops, you cook. Staples? Spam and rice. MREs and C-rations aren’t very good. Plenty of times when you’d open your cans and see it wasn’t good enough for human consumption. You learned to be a little creative. Doctoring them up with spices, whatever you could find. The biggest thing that was emphasized was Thanksgiving and Christmas.

They wanted to make sure everybody had a hot meal.

The guy on the flight line protecting the planes can’t do his job if he can’t get something to eat. Same with the doctors and the nurses, they all looked forward to taking a break. Somebody’s got to help them out. —VALOR

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“MY TIME AS A PRISONER OF WAR MADE ME AWARE THAT I WAS MORTAL. IT STRENGTHENED ME.” name:

William “Bill” Spencer 1966-76, 1980-91 Air Force f ro m : Texas n ow : Bountiful, UT

s e rv i c e :

Everybody’s experience was different. I was shot down on July 5, 1972, toward the end of the war. Based on where we were located, there would be no rescue attempt. The goal was to evade if we could, maybe get to the coast—but it was a long shot. The enemy saw my ‘chute coming down so I was policed up pretty quick. I had a .38 pistol and they had automatic weapons. I threw my pistol down, got on my knees and raised my hands so they would see I wasn’t going to resist ‘cause there were about 20 or 30 of them.

B i l l S p e n ce r wa s re l e a s e d o n Ma rc h 2 9, 19 7 3 , a fte r n i n e m o n t h s a s a p r i s o n e r o f wa r. c o u r t e s y p h o t o b i l l s p e n c e r

U.S. PRISONERS OF WAR During World War II, 124,079 U.S. Army and Army Air Force personnel became prisoners of war, with 27,465 of these held by the Japanese. While 90 percent of the worldwide total returned to the United States, only 60 percent of those held by the Japanese survived. During the Korean War, 7,100 became POWs, roughly 38 percent of whom died in captivity. Another 8,177 were missing in action and later declared dead. At the time of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, the U.S. Department of Defense listed 2,646 U.S. service personnel or civilian government employees as physically unaccounted for. These were divided into two groups. Roughly 1,350 were prisoners of war as confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, missing in action believed taken prisoner, and missing without information. Another 1,300 were reported killed in action but their remains not recovered.

The great majority in both groups were Air Force, Navy, and Army aviators whose aircraft or helicopters were shot down in areas controlled by Communist troops. During “Operation Homecoming” in February 1973, the North Vietnamese released 591 service members. Subsequently, a widely-held popular belief emerged that either (a) large but undocumented numbers of U.S. POWs died in North Vietnamese custody, or (b) they were held back in “jungle camps” for obscure political reasons. While these beliefs are embraced by many Americans, numerous Defense Department officials and congressional investigating committees have concluded that no living U.S. POWs were held in Southeast Asia after 1973.

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They took me in, took all my clothes off but my underwear, blindfolded me and tied me up with what I would call venetian blind cord, about where your elbows almost touched in the back. I was paraded from village to village. I could hear people and ... they just did some bad things at that time— they pushed you around, ran into you with sharp things, threw rocks at you, stuff like that. That was a period of like maybe an hour and a half. They put me in a truck, then in a little hut and gave me some water and left me alone. Then that night they put me in a truck and took me to the Hanoi Hilton. I arrived the next morning and was put in the section called Heartbreak Hotel at the Hah Lo Prison. There were a couple hundred of prisoners, some of which had been there nearly eight years.

I was threated. They were going to hang me, they put a noose around my neck. They tied me up for some period of time so that I lost feeling in my thumb and some fingers. They threatened to kill me. I was denied food and rest. I couldn’t sleep. Mosquitos were really bad and all they have to do was not give you a mosquito net and let you fight the mosquitos all night and then interrogate you during the day. I was treated poorly but my treatment was much better than those we called “the old guys.” They were tortured in the most horrible ways.

I was released on March 29, 1973. We were all released in shoot-down order. Part of our code of conduct was not to be released out of sequence.

We flew to the Philippines, where we went into the hospital for a couple days before we were flown in separate groups to Hawaii and subsequently in different aircrafts to our general area. I was flown to Texas and went through a two- or three-day physical debriefing. We were released for 90 days convalescent leave. Originally I was going to get out of the service, but I decided to stay in. I was prohibited from overseas duty during the Gulf War by my superiors, due in part to being a POW. He said you’ve already fought a war.

When asked, I talk about my experiences; but I don’t go out of my way to relive it. I have mixed emotions about the war, I’m somewhat bitter that the war was conducted the way it was and so many people paid the ultimate price. I consider the man who fought on the ground and the men who were imprisoned so much longer than me … they are my heroes. —VALOR va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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1974-1975 T H E A F T E R M AT H A f t e r t h e U. S. cong re ssi onal el e ct i ons o f 1974, a ne w ge n e r a t i on o f yo u ng po l i t i ci ans vo t e d t o reduce mi li t a r y a i d t o S o u t h V i e t nam j u st as t h e first oil c r i s i s t r i g ge re d r a m pant i nf l at i on and Presi den t Nixon b e gan t o sl i d e t ow ards h i s i mpe ac h me nt . D u r in g 1973 a nd 1 9 7 4 , t h e S o u t h V i et namese Ar my and Air Force we re f ac e d w i t h cr i t i c al sh o r t ages o f ammun ition , f ue l, sp a re p a r t s f or ai rcr af t and ve h i c l es, and m edic al s upp l i e s.

Fi n a l l y, i n sp r i ng 1975, t h e NVA l au nc hed a h i gh l y m e c h a n i z e d fi nal o f f e nsi ve. S o u t h V i etn a m ese Pre s i d e n t T hi e u o rdered t h e e v acu at i on o f n or ther n S out h V i e t n a m , bu t o rde red ARV N u ni t s t o def en d th e ap p ro ac he s t o S ai gon, expect i ng U.S. ai r p ower to i nte r ve n e. H owe ver, Presi dent G e r al d Fo rd refused to re le a se U. S. B - 5 2 s based on G u am o r ai rcr af t c a rr ierb a s e d st r i k e a i rc r a f t . I n t h e l ast day s o f Apr i l , the U.S. a mb a ssad o r t o S o ut h V i et nam o rde red an e v acua tion pla n w hi c h d e p e n de d on an o rder l y u se o f fi xed-win g tr a nsp o r t a i rc r a f t o ver a pe r i o d o f se ver al day s to e vac u a t e U. S. S t a te Depar t me nt and Def ense Attac he Of fi ce (DAO ) st af f, U.S. Mar i ne embassy gua rds, a nd t h o u sa n d s o f S o u t h V i et namese empl oyees. T he e vac u a t i on w a s q u i c k l y o ver t ak en as t h e NVA c losed th e fi xe d - w i n g a i rcr af t r u nw ay s at Tan S on Nhut a i r b a se w i t h i n d i rect ar t i l l er y on Apr i l 29.

H owe ve r, t he NVA di d no t fi re on e v acua tion h e li co p t e rs. Ma r i ne h e l i co pt e r s o f t h e Nin th Amphi b i o u s B r i g ade f l y i ng f rom U.S. Nav y ship s of th e S e ve n t h F l e e t ai r l i f t e d o ve r 6,400 U.S. and S outh V i e t n a m e se p e rson ne l f rom t h e DAO compo un d an d th e U. S. e m b a ssy. At no on on Apr i l 30, NVA tan ks b ur s t on t o t h e g ro u nds o f t h e pre si dent i al pa lace a n d th e S e c on d I n d o c hi nese War e nded. U.S. nav al f orces re mai n e d i n t h e S o u t h C h i na S e a f o r se ver al weeks to pi c k u p re f u ge e s e sc api ng i n smal l bo at s, h e licop ters a nd sm a l l a i rc r a f t . Many o t h er S o u t h V i etn am ese mad e t he i r w ay i n t o re f u gee c amps i n Th ai l an d. O ver 1 3 0 , 0 0 0 S o u t h V iet namese ref u gee s we re e ven tual l y re s e t t l e d i n t h e U ni t ed S t at e s.

John S. Reed has been a member of the history faculty of the University of Utah since 2000, teaching courses in U.S. political, economic, foreign relations, and military history. He vividly remembers drawing a very high draft number in the summer 1970 lottery, which meant he was not drafted to serve in Vietnam.

Later, however, he became an army reservist, and served for 26 years, with one deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, as a staff off icer during the “surge” of 2007-2008. His research interests include the post-1898 history of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts, the last 11 months of World War II in Europe and the Pacif ic, and the social distribution of combat risk in the U.S. from 1942 to the present.

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Ma y 19 7 5 . A S o u t h V i e t n a m e s e h e l i co p te r i s p u s h e d ove r t h e s i d e o f a n A m e r i c a n s h i p to m a ke wa y f o r o t h e r h e l i co p te r s to h ave ro o m to l a n d i n t h e h a s t y eva c u a t i o n a t t h e e n d o f t h e wa r. r o l l s p r e s s / p o p p e r f o t o s / g e t t y i m a g e s

“WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE THE HELICOPTERS. WE SCRAMBLED BIG TIME.” name:

Craig Dickason 1972-75 Navy, 1979-84 National Guard f ro m : Hawthorne, CA n ow : St. George, UT s e rv i c e :

We were out at sea for three and a half months waiting for the fall of South Vietnam to happen. We knew it was going to happen; we just didn’t know when. The USS Blue Ridge was the command ship and we’re out there with all of our amphibious ships watching things unfold.

Refugees were stealing helicopters to come out to the safest place they knew—us. They would hover over the deck and just cut the engine because they didn’t know how to land; they landed the hard way by crashing them. We were shoving birds over the sides because we had no place to put them. We could carry two. We put the best ones up front and tied them down. Everything else either had to be crashed or tossed over the side.

This one pilot would fly out, empty his passengers, lift off, fly out to sea, push the stick away and then ditch it. You’d see him jumping and think that’s not right on the water. He was like 40, 50 feet up. It’s not like he’d put the landing gear in the water. This guy was a fool, but he seemed to be having a good time. He did it over and over and over. Honestly, watching this guy was amazing. We thought for sure he would lose his head. With a helo free rolling, they’d almost roll over on top of him. Those rotor blades were right there. The captain’s gig would go out, pick him up and bring him back to the ship. He’d pick up another ‘copter and go back out again. He made a dozen runs that day.

It lasted 7 to 9 hours total. We had 150 people on board but thousands were airlifted out. Afterward, we headed toward the Philippines and hooked up with other ships and transferred refugees. —VALOR

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‘ T H I S I S O U R WA R . W E N E E D T O O W N I T.’ b y D e n n i s H ow l a n d a n d M i c h e l l e B r i d g e s p r e s i d e n t o f t h e u ta h s tat e c o u n c i l o f v i e t n a m v e t e r a n s o f a m e r i c a n

T

he 50th commemor ation of the V ietnam War star ted in 2012 when the president signed a proc lamation at the V ietnam Veter ans Memor ial Wal l. He designated the next 13 years until Veter ans Day 2025 as the time to honor the war. In his remarks, the president said one of the most painful c hapters in histor y was V ietnam. Most par ticular in the way our troops were of ten blamed f or a war the y didn’t star t, f or the deeds of a f e w and shamed f or their ser vice; when we should have celebr ated and pr aised them f or ser ving with valor. And that ’s why o ver the next 10 years, we need to resol ve to ne ver let it happen again.

Recentl y, the S ecretar y of Def ense and the S ecretar y of Veter ans Affairs issued a ne w and acceptable definition of who is a V ietnam veter an. It is any man or woman who ser ved in unif or m in the militar y f rom No v. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975. No matter where eac h ser ved, the 6 mil lion that suppor ted the war or the 2.7 mil lion that ser ved with “ boots on the ground, ” al l are V ietnam veter ans.

There are some that don’t accept the ne w definition bec ause the y ’ l l say you didn’t get your butt shot at, shot up or kil led. The reason why it c hanged is bec ause the first name on the Wal l was kil led in 1956 in V ietnam. His son was kil led nine years later in V ietnam. Their name was Fitzgibbons. We had 6 mil lion around the wor ld that suppor ted us—somebody bur ied our c hildren, bur ied 58,000 of our brothers and sisters; when we pic ked up a r ifle to fire bac k it didn’t magic al l y appear, somebody sent that to us; when our wounded were taken out of V ietnam and put on hospital ships bef ore the y c ame home, somebody took c are of them. W ithout them we could not have f ought that war. The y were the onl y ones that welcomed us when we c ame home, the y were the ones al way s ser ving in the militar y and kne w we were out there fighting. S o a V ietnam veter an is any body that either f ought that war or suppor ted it.

MEMENTO OF 50 YEARS As a lasting recognition of the nation’s thanks, the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Lapel Pin is given to military veterans who served during the Vietnam War. “A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You” is embossed on the back, closest to the heart of the wearer. The official name of the Commemoration is included to remind each veteran that this is a national initiative.

Living U.S. veterans who served on active duty at any time during the period of time from Nov. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location are eligible to receive one pin. For more information visit online at vietnamwar50th.com.

—courtesy of Department of Veterans Affairs.

Many have perse vered in Utah to gain recognition f or V ietnam veter ans. It is now a matter of law that Marc h 29 is V ietnam Veter ans Day. Road signs went up this spr ing designating I-84 as V ietnam Veter ans Highway and I-80 is official l y par t of the nation’s P ur ple Hear t Tr ail. V ietnam Veter ans of Amer ic a is leading the eff or t in r aising funds and working hard to br ing a replic a of the Memor ial Wal l to Utah. It wil l be 80 percent of the siz e of the one in Washington, D.C., whic h means it wil l be about 320 f eet long.

L ay ton Cit y has given par t of Commons Park f or a per manent home.

W hat I tr y to get people to understand about V ietnam, is that we could let it destroy us, we could tr y to adjust to it or we could live with it. May be what we ’re seeing and doing today f or V ietnam veter ans wil l help them understand who the y are and how the y got f rom point A to point B. W hen I lef t V ietnam in 1967, I stood at the plane and vowed to my best buddies that I lef t behind, that I would al way s honor them and our veter ans. In silent pr ayer I asked: “ Tel l me what to do?”

I ’ve spent the past 47 years listening and doing my best. m ay

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SUPERHEROES WA N T E D VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES CONNECT CITIZENS AND VETERANS b y J ’ N e l Wr i g h t va l o r

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a ny ye a r s a go a s a c o l l e ge s t u d e n t s e e k i n g an internship at the local hospital, a kind re p f rom h u m a n re s o u rc e s g a ve t h i s yo u n g wom a n a t o u r o f t h e f ac i l i t y. T h e y w a l k e d p u r p o s e l y t h ro u g h a m a z e o f c o r r i d o r s u n t i l t h e y s t o p p e d i n f ron t o f a s i m p l e wo o d e n d o o r. “ T h i s i s t h e o f fi c e f o r o u r vo l u n t e e r s , ” t h e re p s a i d q u i e t l y. “ Ta k e go o d c a re o f t h e m . T h e y a re h e re b e c a u s e t h e y w a n t t o b e, a n d t h a t m a k e s a l l t h e d i f f e re n c e i n w h a t we c a n ac c om p l i s h . ”

Ut a h n s a re k now n f o r t h ei r ent h u si asm f or volun t e e r i n g. Ac co rdi ng t o a re cent su r ve y by the C or p o r a t i on f o r Nat i onal and C ommu ni t y S er vice, Uta h r a n k s No. 1 i n t h e nat i on f o r i t s vo l un teer in g e f f or t s. An d , i t ’s an h ono r Ut ah h as ear ne d f or the 1 0 t h c on se c u t i ve ye ar. “ Ut a h n s a re n’t k now n f o r w ai t i ng f or the go ve r n m e n t t o so l ve e ver y pro bl em. I n o u r s tate, we ac t i ve l y l o ok f o r way s we c an mak e a di f f eren ce, an d we ro l l u p o u r sl e e ves and ge t t o wo rk , ” po sted Go v.

Ga r y H e r b e r t . “ I t i s an i nf e ct i o u s at t i t u de f or givin g of ou rse l ve s a n d on e o f t h e t h i ng s t h at mak es our state s o gre a t . ” Anyon e c a n (and sh o u l d) vo l u nt e e r h i s or her t i me f o r a wo r t hy c au se. Bu t t h ere are som e whose e f f or t s i m p ac t t hi s commu ni t y i n i mmeasu r able way s.

S ure l y on e a f t e r n oon o f readi ng t o a pat i en t a t the VA Ho sp i t a l i sn’t c h ang i ng so ci e t y. Bu t on a p erson al le ve l , t ha t m om e n t c an t r ansf o r m t h e l i ves of those e xpe r i e n c i n g som eone ’s c ar i ng. Th at gest u re br in gs t h e m ho p e a n d re m i nds t h em t h e y mat t e r t o som eon e.

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S im ilar sup p or t m ean s the wor ld to ou r vet er an s a n d m ilitar y com mun ities. In a fa r a way p lac e wh ere m any f ea r bein g f orgotten a lm ost a s muc h as f ear in g f or the sa f et y of Am er ic an s, the m en an d women o f our A r m ed Forces, a lon g with their fam ilie s , d es er ve our tim e, as wel l as our gr a titude.

We hon or those whose wil lin gn ess to ser ve ab o ve a n d be yon d have set the stan da rd. For the Habit at f or Hum an it y workers who build a w h eelc h airaccessible r a m p or build a n en tire hom e f or a vet er an .

For the eff or ts of Utah’s Patr iot G uard Rid ers , wh o s e un flin c hin g sen se of p a tr iotism p rotects families in gr ief while c heer in g them on when the y sta r t mo vin g f or wa rd. It ’s n ot un com m on to see a bur l y Pat r io t Rider in the sta n ds while the c hild of a fal len s o ld ier fin ds a ba se hit.

W hether we work on e-on -on e readin g wit h a veter an or join a tea m of thousa n ds in sup po r t o f a n a tion a l e ven t, the m ir ac le of volun teer in g un c o vers the hum a n sp ir it, an d tha t m akes al l the dif f eren c e in what we c a n accom p lish.

CONNECTING THE CENTER AND THE COMMUNITY CENTRAL UTAH VETERANS HOME, PAYSON

It ’s a sun ny sp r in g day a n d som e of the res id en t s of the Cen tr al Uta h Veter an s Hom e are on t h eir way to Hil l A ir Force B ase Museum . T his is jus t on e o f the va r iet y of activities the y en joy a s a gro up. I t ’s al l p a r t of Director Jeff Han son’s vision to take res id en t s m ay

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Ce n t ra l U t a h Ve t e r a n s H o m e ’ s p o p py f i e l d s g a r d e n a n d J u l y 4 t h f e s t i v i t i e s . c o u r t e s y p h o t o s o f c e n t r a l u ta h v e t e r a n s h o m e Ve te ra n s p a r t i c i p a t e i n we i g h t l i ft i n g a n d o t h e r a t h l e t i c eve n t s d u r i n g t h e N a t i o n a l Ve t e r a n s W h e e l c h a i r G a m e s . c o u r t e s y p h o t o s o f n at i o n a l veterans wheelchair games

U t a h Pa t r i o t G u a r d R i d e r s a i m t o s e r ve a n d p r o t e c t m o u r n i n g f a m i l i e s o f f a l l e n s e r v i c e m e n a n d wo m e n . c o u r t e s y p h o t o s o f d av i d r i c h a r d s o n Vo l u n te e r s f o r H a b i t a t f o r H u m a n i t y r e n ova t e h o m e s t o m e e t c h a n g i n g n e e d s o f ve t e r a n s . c o u r t e s y p h o t o s o f l e a n n h i l l a m

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out i n t o t he c om mu ni t y w h i l e i nv i t i ng t h e com mun it y to t he ce nte r. T h o u g h s t i l l re l a t i ve l y n e w t o t h e a re a — t h e h om e h a s b e e n o p e r a t i n g f o r t wo a n d a h a l f ye a r s — t h e s u r ro u n d i n g c om mu n i t y h a s b e e n q u i c k t o e m b r ac e t h e ve t e r a n’s h om e f a m i l y a s h on o r a r y members of their families. “ We h a ve re c e i ve d d on a t i on s a n d vo l u n t e e r s f rom a l l k i n d s o f l o c a l o r g a n i z a t i on s , ” s a i d K a t i e Pa r t r i d ge, re c re a t i on t h e r a py d i re c t o r. From l a r ge c om p a ny d on a t i on s t o t h e d a u g h t e r o f a ve t e r a n w h o s h a re d i c e c re a m w i t h re s i d e n t s , t h e d e s i re t o s h a re on e ’s t i m e a n d re s o u rc e s i s c on s t a n t a n d r a re l y t u r n e d a w ay.

A q u i c k s c a n a ro u n d t h e m a n i c u re d g ro u n d s s h ow s t h e re s u l t s o f a n E a g l e S c o u t s e r v i c e p ro j e c t , o r t wo. “ We w a n t p e o p l e t o f e e l go o d a b o u t b e i n g h e re, ” s a i d Pa r t r i d ge. “An d we w a n t t h o s e w h o vo l u n t e e r t o f e e l we l c om e a n d h a p py t h a t t h e y c a m e by. ”

U TA H V E T E R A N H O M E S Fo r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t vo l u n te e r i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s , p l e a s e co n t a c t t h e i n d i v i d u a l h o m e s .

Fo r vo l u n te e r h o u r s exce e d i n g 1 0 h o u r s , p l e a s e b e p re p a re d f o r a s e c u r i t y b a c kg ro u n d c h e c k .

CENTRAL UTAH VETERANS HOME 1551 N. Main St., Payson UT 84651, 801-465-5400 SOUTHERN UTAH VETERANS HOME 160 N 200 East, Ivins UT 84738, 435-634-5220 GEORGE E. WAHLEN OGDEN VETERANS HOME 1102 North 1200 West, Ogden UT 84404 801-334-4300 WILLIAM E. CHRISTOFFERSEN SLC VETERANS HOME 700 S. Foothill Dr., Salt Lake City UT 84113

“ Pe o p l e j u s t w a n t t o s u p p o r t o u r ve t s , ” s a i d C om mu n i t y R e l a t i on s D i re c t o r Tony Te r vo r t . “An d we l o ve h a v i n g t h e m h e re. ” Am on g o t h e r d u t i e s , Te r vo r t i s b u s y m a k i n g a r r a n ge m e n t s f o r t h e u p c om i n g a n n u a l c a r s h ow t h a t t h e y h o s t a t t h e e n d o f J u n e.

o f t h e C e n t r a l Ut a h Ve t e r a n s H om e a re o p e n a n d we l c om i n g.

I f yo u h a p p e n t o c a t c h a ny o f t h e s t a f f p e e k i n g o u t t h e w i n d ow, c h a n c e s a re t h e y a re t r ac k i n g t h e p ro g re s s o f t h e g row i n g p o p p i e s t h a t a re e x p e c t e d t o b l o om by M e m o r i a l D ay. T h a n k s t o a ge n e ro u s d on a t i on f rom H om e D e p o t , t h e c o u r t y a rd h a s b e e n c onve r t e d i n t o a M e m o r i a l Po p py G a rd e n i n s p i re d by t h e p o e m , “ I n F l a n d e r s Fi e l d s . ” A s a s y m b o l l on g a s s o c i a t e d w i t h w a r ve t e r a n s , t h e p o p p i e s w i l l b e p a r t o f a c om mu n i t y e ve n t w h e re f a m i l i e s c a n d e d i c a t e a p o p py t o a l o ve d on e w h o s e r ve d . From t h e g a rd e n s a n d t h e i n t e r i o r b i rd d i s p l ay t o J e a n n e a t t h e f ron t d e s k , t h e h a l l s

A s mu c h a s t h e s t a f f a n d re s i d e n t s a p p re c i a t e a l l t h e y re c e i ve, t h e y a l s o re c o g n i z e a n e e d t o g i ve b ac k .

“A p o r t i on o f c a s h d on a t i on s go i n t o a f u n d t h a t t h e re s i d e n t s ge t t o d e c i d e h ow t o s p e n d , ” s a i d H a n s on .

An d , t h e y p u t i t t o go o d u s e. Pa r t r i d ge d e s c r i b e d h ow re s i d e n t s e n j oy p u t t i n g t o ge t h e r d e p l oy m e n t k i t s f o r t h o s e i n t h e m i l i t a r y o r d on a t i n g m e a l s d u r i n g t h e h o l i d ay s . T h e i n t e r ac t i on b e t we e n t h e ve t e r a n’s h om e a n d t h e c om mu n i t y i s n o t h i n g b u t p o s i t i ve a n d s u p p o r t i ve. T h e s e c re t m ay b e w h e n yo u a re v i s i t i n g, i t f e e l s l i k e h om e.

801-584-1900

BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS Rebuild. It’s a common of families facing hard times and a need for change. Rebuild a life that has fallen apart, rebuild after personal loss, rebuild in the hopes of a promising future. For some people it’s a mental journey; for the people of Habitat for Humanity—it’s literal.

Since 1991, Habitat for Humanity has inched closer to its goal to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the earth.” That’s a tall order, but the people of the Utah County community measure up to the task. By volunteering their time, builders enable Habitat for Humanity to provide critical home repair, preservation grants and no-interest loans up to $5,000 to low-income homeowners, seniors and veterans living in Utah County.

Kena Jo Mathews, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Utah County, explained that the majority of service for veterans happens through the Neighborhood Revitalization Program. By partnering with Home Depot,

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volunteers have been able to renovate homes to be more livable for the changing needs of veterans.

“There’s something satisfying about being able to see what we do. With Habitat for Humanity, there’s a wall or a ramp so that volunteers can immediately see their service in action,” Mathews said. “Plus, volunteers are learning skills they can use in the future.” Construction happens four days per week, Wednesday through Saturday, with two shifts each day. Volunteers don’t need experience to help. “We have experienced construction teams and volunteers to help train new volunteers,” said Mathews.

Mathews and her staff especially appreciate the times they are able to help a military family. “We really love the opportunities to serve the military who have given so much for us. We feel it’s important to give something back.”

For more information on service opportunities and upcoming volunteer programs, please visit habitatuc.org

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SAYING GOODBYE

STRIVE, LIVE, CONQUER

THE PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS

36TH NATIONAL VETERANS WHEELCHAIR GAMES

We regret to inform you …

At this moment you remember the last thing he said, the way he looked, and the last time you hugged him goodbye.

That’s part of the numbing experience that surfaces from news that a loved one has suddenly died. Those final moments of saying goodbye are what sustains us as we heal.

Imagine the heartache a family experiences when a stranger seeks to steal that moment, to rob them of that final physical connection with someone who paid the ultimate price for the sake of freedom.

That is an experience the Patriot Guard Riders hope to eradicate from history. They are not political, but their aim to hold patriotism to the highest standard is what motivates this group to serve and protect the mourning families of fallen servicemen and women.

Ten years ago Wayne “Bighorn” Hunting joined this volunteer group out of anger courtesy photo and a disbelief that someone would disrespect the funerals of our heroes. “Now, I find it ironic that those protesters created a need for the PGR and inadvertently created such a wonderful collection of people,” he said.

The Patriot Guard is free to join, and Wayne says their membership includes “all walks of life.” “Our riders range from very affluent members to people that are just struggling to survive.” Despite the differences, one thing they all share is a love for this country and a profound respect for the men and women who sacrifice to protect it.

The PGR lives up to its rough and ready image, but there is a soft side. “Here in Utah we do what we call ‘Love Bears,’” explained Wayne. “We give the children under 18 years old a KIA love bear. Those bears have been hugged by all of our members in attendance, and they ride on different bikes throughout our involvement in funeral services, viewings and such. We fill them with love and tears shed for their loss. We hear stories of how cherished they are by the children.” It is a small gesture that carries a huge impact for those grieving a lost loved one.

What do you get when you combine 20 events, 500 talented athletes, 1000 wheels, and a busload of helping hands? You get the 36th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. From June 27 to July 2, Salt Lake City will host the largest annual wheelchair multi-sports event in the world.

The Games are presented by Paralyzed Veterans and Department of Veteran Affairs. This event is open to all U.S. military veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition as a result of spinal cord injury, certain neurological conditions, amputations or mobility impairments, and who receive care at VA medical facilities or military treatment centers.

According to Paralyzed Veterans of America, this is the only veterans service organization dedicated solely to serving veterans with spinal cord injury or disease that is congressionally chartered. The people of PVA have proudly worked to ensure benefits, healthcare, employment and rehabilitative sports for veterans for nearly 70 years.

“The aim of the games is to empower veterans with disabilities to live more active and healthy lives,” said Heather Brown, recreation therapist at the VA SLC Health Care System in a recent interview. “Ideally, I hope their participation propels them toward more recreation in the future, which improves their quality of life.”

Now the people of Salt Lake City have the opportunity to share in this exciting experience. An event of this caliber depends on thousands of volunteers to provide a safe and positive experience for the veteran athletes. Events range from archery to weightlifting, and each event requires a staff of volunteers to make it happen.

The challenge of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games is to strive, live, and conquer. It’s a belief that carries the power to inspire a generation of people with varying abilities to believe in themselves and expect nothing less than total victory from their efforts. With that kind of power taking over Salt Lake City this summer, its impact will change lives—including those cheering from the sidelines.

For more information on volunteering opportunities and athlete registration for this year’s National Veterans Wheelchair Games, please visit wheelchairgames.org

But the PGRs’ capacity to serve extends beyond the striking presence at a grave service. They ride out to the airport to send off our soldiers and lead the crowd in cheers to welcome them home. “If the family requests it, we attend the funerals of honorably discharged veterans and first responders, and we are involved with Hero Flight and our Help on the Homefront (HOTH) program,” said Wayne. “We do whatever we can to help veterans or family members of our service people.”

For more information about The Patriot Guard Riders and their service opportunities, please visit pgrut.org or patriotguardridersofutah.org. m ay

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H i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s a tte n d 2 0 1 5 Fre e d o m Ac a d e m y.

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FOCUSING ON FREEDOM ‘ T H E F U T U R E I S I N G O O D H A N D S .’

ACADEMY PUTS LEADERSHIP INTO ACTION b y 1 s t Lt . B r i a n M o s s u ta h n at i o n a l g u a r d

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o r m o re t han 50 ye ar s, st u dent l eaders f rom h i g h sc ho o l s t h ro u g h o u t t h e st at e o f Uta h ha ve a t t e n d e d t he Ut ah Nat i onal G u ard ’s Freedom Ac ad e m y. D e l e g a te s nomi nat e d f o r t h e ac adem y are s tud e n t - b o d y o fficer s beg i nni ng t h ei r se nior year.

Th e y ha ve b e e n sel e ct ed by t h ei r pr i nci pal as the re pre se n t a t i ve f o r t h ei r i ndi v i du al h i g h sc h o ols.

T he f o u n d a t i on o f Fre e dom Ac ademy is built upon t he p re v a i li ng adage, “ Fre e dom I sn’t Free. ” D ur i n g t h e we e k - l ong e vent , del e g at es “ l i ve ” in the b a r r ac k s a t Ca m p W i l l i ams i n Bl u f f dal e an d sp en d t i me p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n act i v i t i e s at C amp W il liam s, R ola n d Wr i g h t A ir Nat i onal G u ard Base, an d other go ve r n m e n t fac i l i t i es and bu si ne ss l o c at i ons. D ur in g Fre e d om Ac ad e m y, par t i ci pant s are i mme r sed in a c ur r i c u l u m o f ac t i vi t i e s, g u est speak e r s, and fi eld tr ip s wi th a c e n t r a l f o c u s on f re e dom, l e ader sh i p an d selfde vel o pm e n t .

Fre e d om Ac ad emy pro v i des de l e g at es o ppo r tun ities t o g a i n i n - d e p t h u nder st andi ng h ow f reedom is gi ve n , how i t i s pro t e ct ed, and h ow i t c an be ta ken a way. Am on g t h e se act i v i t i e s i s a v i si t t o t he Uta h S ta t e Ca p i t o l , w h ere de l e g at es are addre sse d by sta te re pre se n t a t i ve s i n l ear ni ng h ow l aw s are de velop ed to pro vi d e c i t i z e n s t h e f ree dom o f c h o i ce. D u r in g the vi s i t , p a r t i c i p a n t s h ave t h e o ppo r t u ni t y t o h ear f rom Go v. G a r y R . H e r be r t . D u r i ng t h e go ver no r ’s 2015

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address, he sp oke with them about their fu t ure: “ Yo u are the leaders of tom orrow, ” sa id Her ber t . “ T h ere is rea son f or m e as go ver n or of this great s t at e t o be op tim istic, bec a use I kn ow the qua li t y o f t h e in dividua ls tha t you are an d who you rep re s en t wit h your c lassm ates, a n d I f eel like the future o f Ut ah , an d hen ce Am er ic a an d the wor ld, is in go o d h an d s bec a use of you. ” Delega tes a lso lear n how f reedom s are p ro t ec t ed as the y p a r ticip ate in activities with the Uta h Hig h way Patrol. UH P officers p ro vide activities f ocus ed on t h e dan gers of dr ivin g while un der the in fluen c e o f d r ug s or a lcohol a n d while textin g. Not on l y do p a r t ic ipan t s lear n how the Highway Patrol p rotects c it iz en s ’ f reedom s, but also how those f reedom s c an be t ak en away when la ws a re n ot upheld.

Am on g the exp er ien ces of Freedom Ac ad emy is a n op p or tun it y f or delegates to listen t o a pan el of in m ates at the Utah S tate Pr ison . D ur in g t h eir visit, p ar ticip a n ts lea r n how cer ta in lif e c h o ic es c an p er m an en tl y a lter their lif e goals. From the in mat es ’ stor ies, the y see first-ha n d how f reedom s c a n b e t ak en away.

Freedom Ac adem y a lso invol ves del eg at es in activities to de velop an d stren gthen their lead ers h ip skil ls. Eac h p a r ticip an t ’s skil ls a re tested d ur in g t h e va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

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U t a h N a t i o n a l G u a rd ’ s Fre e d o m Ac a d e m y g i ve s s t u d e n t l e a d e r s a s e r i e s o f a c t i v i t i e s t h a t b u i l d s o n t h e t h e m e : “ Fre e d o m I s n’ t Fre e .” c o u r t e s y p h o t o f r o m u ta h n at i o n a l g u a r d

L e ad e rshi p R e ac t i on C o u r se. D u r i ng t h e course, pa r ti c i p a n t s a re a bl e t o pr act i ce l e ader sh i p i n action , te a m p l a n n i n g, a n d de vel o pi ng st r at e g i es t o resol ve c onf l i c t s a n d o ve rcome o bst ac l es.

T h e p ro g r a m al so pro v i de s o ppo r t u ni ties f or s e lf - d e ve l o pm e n t . A v ar i e t y o f di f f e rent c ha l len ges a re p u r p o se f u l l y i nc l u de d as par t o f t h e Freedom Ac ad e m y ’s c u rr i c ul u m. W h i l e de l e g at es may b e facin g a va r i e t y o f l i f e c hal l enges, w h e t h er i t i s o vercom in g s e lf - l i m i t a t i on s o r so l v i ng pro bl ems at t h eir high s c h oo l , t h e y a re c h al l e nged t o o ve rcome these li mi t a t i on s. O n e o ppo r t u ni t y del e g at es h ave f or selfd e vel o pm e n t i s t o par t i ci pat e i n a spe e c h cont est. “ You ne ve r n e e d t o f e e l ash amed o f yo u r f ai l u re, bec a use your fa i l u re s a re w h at dr i ve yo u t o become t h e p erson you are t o d ay, ” sa id one par t i ci pant du r i ng the 2014 s pe e c h c on t e st .

Am on g o t h e r c h al l e nges, del e g at es h ave the oppo r t u n i t y t o t e st t h e i r phy si c al and me nt al abilities on t he A r m y Na t i onal G u ard ’s 30- f o o t c l i mb in g a n d r a pp e l t owe r. T he y re l y on a ser i e s o f c l i mbi n g holds to s c a l e t he t owe r and t h e n f re e r appe l f rom the top.

Pa r ti c i p a n t s ha ve to t r u st i n t h e i r abi l i t i e s and rel y on th e i r t r a i n i n g a s th e y t ak e t h e bac k w ard st ep off the e d ge o f t he t owe r t o beg i n t h e i r 30- f o o t de cen t to the grou n d b e l ow.

At t he c on c l u si on o f t h e we e k - l ong e vent , delegates le a ve Fre e d om Ac ade my h av i ng g ai ne d a grea ter und e rst a n d i n g o f t h e me ani ng o f f re e dom, de velop ed a nd p r ac t i c e d t he ir l e ader sh i p sk i l l s, and l ear ned how

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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y

M O R E YO U T H P RO G R A M S AMERICAN LEGION BOYS & GIRLS STATE Designed to develop leadership and promote civic responsibility in young men and women. continue. weber.edu/boysstate or continue.weber.edu/girlsstate JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAMS Programs exist for military branches for Army, Navy and Air Forces. To see if your local high school offers a program, contact veterans.utah.gov UTAH NAVAL SEA CADET CORPS Regional program designed to develop interest in seamanship and strong moral principals. Assists with the Jake Garn at Hill AFB. utahseacadets.org JUNIOR CIVIL AIR PATROL Places aviation as a cornerstone and guides youth through a self-paced program. blackhawk.utwg.org

to o vercom e obstac les a n d resol ve con flict. Freed om Ac adem y p ro vides eac h delegate with op p o r t un it ies that p ro vide them a grea ter un dersta n din g o f t h eir role as leaders in their high sc hools an d the l ead ers h ip role the y m ay on e day fulfil l in their com mun it ies , cities, state a n d n a tion .

L ea r n m ore a bout the Utah Na tion a l G uard ’s Freedom Ac adem y at fr eedo ma c a demyutah.o r g .

1st Lt . Bri an Mo ss i s a p ub l i c aff ai rs o ff i cer f o r t he 1 5 1 s t A i r Ref uel i ng Wi ng, U t ah Ai r Nat i o nal G uard .

m ay

2016

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Hill Air Force Base is opening its gates to the public June 25-26 to witness first hand the pride and precision of the U.S. Air Force including the awe inspiring U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Army Golden Knights, Breitling Jet Team and a number of other spectacular aerial performers and demonstrations. Admission and parking are free. www.Hill.af.mil/WarriorsOverTheWasatch

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