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In honor of a few buddies who gave all
TrinityScrimshaw
Member Posts: 9,350 ✭✭✭
It really hits home hard when you have personally know those who have fallen. I knew and worked with three of the below Military Policemen[:(]
Rest in peace mighty warriors, your brothers will take it from here.
Trinity +++
THOUGHTS ON COMMAND IN COMBAT
A commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do. The Army gave me the honor and the privilege of being a commander; then they asked me to lead thousands of soldiers in combat. As the Commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade for the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I only wanted two things; accomplish all missions and send every soldier back home alive. From the initial invasion of Iraq in late March, until our one year deployment was over, we accomplished all missions. However, I failed to bring every soldier back home alive. I accept full responsibility for that and will have to live with this fact the rest of my life. The following are the names of the great Americans I failed to bring back home:
SPC Narson Sullivan 411th MP Co.
SGT Travis Burkhardt 170th MP Co.
SPC Eric Hull 307th MP Co.
SSG Bobby Franklin 210th MP Co.
PFC Charles Sims 549th MP Co
LTC Kim Orlando HHD, 716th MP Bn.
SSG Joseph Bellavia 194th MP Co.
CPL Sean Grilley 194th MP Co.
PFC Rachel Bosveld 527th MP Co.
SGT Aubrey Bell 214th MP Co.
SGT Nicholas Tomko 307th MP Co.
SSG Aaron Reese 135th MP Co.
SPC Todd Bates 135th MP Co.
The heroes above are not just names but human beings that gave their lives because they believed in something greater than themselves. How many Americans can say that about what they do everyday? They gave their lives to accomplish the mission we were given, which was to liberate the Iraqi people and help create a safe and secure environment in a country that had been oppressed by a brutal regime for 30 years. Regardless of what their duty position was, everyday they went about accomplishing whatever mission they were given, regardless of the danger they faced. Today they are looking down on us, knowing they gave everything they had so people they didn't even know would have an opportunity for a better life; a quality of life that is just a small percentage of what most Americans enjoy everyday. We must continue the fight so the heroes listed above will not have died in vain.
We gave each of our fallen comrades a fitting memorial and mourned their loss. Each time, I knew these heroes left wives, husbands, children and other loved ones behind. They were all volunteers and each had their reasons for joining the Army and defending their country. They all had great plans for the future, but none of them had planned on dieing in combat. These soldiers will never see their children graduate from high school, will never attend their weddings, will never coach their little league baseball teams.
During our one year we had contact with the enemy 395 times and we awarded 180 purple hearts as a result of wounds received during these attacks. Some of the surviving soldiers will never be physically the same and none of us will ever be emotionally the same. Things that were real important before the war just don't seem important any more. In the movies, combat sometimes seems glamorous. But in the movies, after the cameras are turned off, the actors get up, wipe away the fake blood and go home. In real combat, slain soldiers do not get up and do not go home. I will never forget the soldiers that perished while under my command and our nation will never be able to pay them or their families the debt they are owed. May they rest in peace. Freedom is not free!
Colonel Ted Spain
February, 2004
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."(Proverbs 22:6)
Rest in peace mighty warriors, your brothers will take it from here.
Trinity +++
THOUGHTS ON COMMAND IN COMBAT
A commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do. The Army gave me the honor and the privilege of being a commander; then they asked me to lead thousands of soldiers in combat. As the Commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade for the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I only wanted two things; accomplish all missions and send every soldier back home alive. From the initial invasion of Iraq in late March, until our one year deployment was over, we accomplished all missions. However, I failed to bring every soldier back home alive. I accept full responsibility for that and will have to live with this fact the rest of my life. The following are the names of the great Americans I failed to bring back home:
SPC Narson Sullivan 411th MP Co.
SGT Travis Burkhardt 170th MP Co.
SPC Eric Hull 307th MP Co.
SSG Bobby Franklin 210th MP Co.
PFC Charles Sims 549th MP Co
LTC Kim Orlando HHD, 716th MP Bn.
SSG Joseph Bellavia 194th MP Co.
CPL Sean Grilley 194th MP Co.
PFC Rachel Bosveld 527th MP Co.
SGT Aubrey Bell 214th MP Co.
SGT Nicholas Tomko 307th MP Co.
SSG Aaron Reese 135th MP Co.
SPC Todd Bates 135th MP Co.
The heroes above are not just names but human beings that gave their lives because they believed in something greater than themselves. How many Americans can say that about what they do everyday? They gave their lives to accomplish the mission we were given, which was to liberate the Iraqi people and help create a safe and secure environment in a country that had been oppressed by a brutal regime for 30 years. Regardless of what their duty position was, everyday they went about accomplishing whatever mission they were given, regardless of the danger they faced. Today they are looking down on us, knowing they gave everything they had so people they didn't even know would have an opportunity for a better life; a quality of life that is just a small percentage of what most Americans enjoy everyday. We must continue the fight so the heroes listed above will not have died in vain.
We gave each of our fallen comrades a fitting memorial and mourned their loss. Each time, I knew these heroes left wives, husbands, children and other loved ones behind. They were all volunteers and each had their reasons for joining the Army and defending their country. They all had great plans for the future, but none of them had planned on dieing in combat. These soldiers will never see their children graduate from high school, will never attend their weddings, will never coach their little league baseball teams.
During our one year we had contact with the enemy 395 times and we awarded 180 purple hearts as a result of wounds received during these attacks. Some of the surviving soldiers will never be physically the same and none of us will ever be emotionally the same. Things that were real important before the war just don't seem important any more. In the movies, combat sometimes seems glamorous. But in the movies, after the cameras are turned off, the actors get up, wipe away the fake blood and go home. In real combat, slain soldiers do not get up and do not go home. I will never forget the soldiers that perished while under my command and our nation will never be able to pay them or their families the debt they are owed. May they rest in peace. Freedom is not free!
Colonel Ted Spain
February, 2004
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."(Proverbs 22:6)