Posts tagged 2011
US Marines Ready for Egypt Rescue Mission
Jan 28th
Posted by MARK THOMPSON Friday, January 28, 2011 at 5:09 pm
The U.S. Marines have a pair of warships — the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce — just hanging around the southern end of the Red Sea waiting to see if they’re needed to rescue U.S. diplomats and citizens from Cairo. They’re half of the Marines’ 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a mini-armada that recently dispatched 1,400 of its 2,000 Marines into Afghanistan. But they’ve got a “fair number” of helicopters, and Marines, still aboard. “They’re not in the on-deck circle yet,” a military official says. “They’re kind of getting ready to come out of the dugout.” Meetings in Washington through Friday night and into the weekend will determine if they’re ordered to carry out a NEO — a non-combat (but potentially dicey) evacuation operation.
Dick Winters 1918-2011 American Hero
Jan 12th
Major Dick Winters, who died on January 2 aged 92, was one of the US Army’s most revered service
men of the Second World War; his exploits were later chronicled in the book and television series Band of Brothers.
FROM INDEPENDENT As commander of E Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Winters and his company proved instrumental on D-Day in ensuring the successful American landings at Utah and Omaha beaches. He would later lead his paratroopers through the forests of France, Belgium and Holland before ending his war in Hitler’s alpine retreat.
The 2nd Battalion’s specific remit for the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 was to secure “Causeway 2”, which linked Utah Beach to the hinterland. The Germans had flooded the fields in between and the planned night-time capture of the causeways was vital in ensuring the eventual success of the amphibious landings.
The operation did not get under way smoothly, as Allied aircraft were faced by withering flak which forced troops to be dropped far away from the target area. Furthermore, the aircraft containing E Company’s Commanding Officer and First Sergeant was shot down, making Winters effective commander.
To make matters worse, Winters had lost his weapon during the drop, and 90 per cent of his men were unaccounted for. But he and 13 other members of “Easy” Company did manage to set up headquarters in a farmhouse, where at daybreak they received intelligence that four German 105mm Howitzers, manned by a full platoon, were firing on Utah Beach; they were ordered to destroy the guns.
In the ensuing attack, Winters ordered half of his squad to unleash an enveloping hail of machine gun fire, while another section of his men took the left flank and hurled hand grenades at the first gun. With this Howitzer duly disabled, the remainder of Easy Company (with the aid of “Dog” Company) made a full assault on the German trenches, spiking the other guns with TNT.
FROM WKIPEDIA
Major Richard “Dick” D. Winters (January 21, 1918 – January 2, 2011)[1] was a United States Army officer and decorated warveteran. He commanded Company “E”, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II.
Winters parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day, and fought across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany. Later in the war, Winters rose to command the 2nd Battalion. Following the end of hostilities Winters was discharged from the army and returned to civilian life, working in New Jersey.
In 1951, during the Korean War, Winters was recalled to the Army from the inactive list and briefly served as a regimental planning and training officer on staff at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Although issued orders for deployment, he was not sent to Korea. After his discharge he worked at a few different jobs before founding his own company and selling farming products.
Winters was featured in a number of books and was portrayed in the 2001 HBO mini-series Band of Brothers by Damian Lewis. He was a regular guest lecturer at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He retired in 1997.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY Monday, Jan. 17th, 2011 starts at 11:00 am at the Boulder Court House near Pearl St.
Jan 10th
At Boulder High there will be live music, a fair of local agencies addressing human rights, and children’s activities. Hear members of Boulder ADAPT, singers from Sudan, the gospel choir of the Second Baptist Church, and rapper Jonny 5 of the Flobots.
This celebration has been planned by representatives from a dozen local agencies & schools.
For more information, contact Carmen Atilano at the City of Boulder 303-441-3141.