Modern War Heroes

Many of our veterans have been coming home wounded. Many have been critically injured, with their injuries being so severe that there is no longer any hope or chance of them living completely normal lives again. Many soldiers have undergone amputations, or violent loss of limbs, and others suffer from being paralyzed. The list goes on.

It’s not uncommon for these severe injuries to cause depression in the unfortunate recipient. They often feel useless, and dislike being dependant on others for basic needs. It can be a struggle to find things to be positive about.

Among other activites, one wonderful outlet has been the Paralympics. It can help motivate people and give them something to focus on. Previously, the attendance of the Paralympics has not included many military personnel, but there is hope of changing that scenario.

The Paralympics, held since 1988 at the same site as the Olympic Games, typically feature only a few veterans. The USOC wants to increase military participation, especially given the number of disabled young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and the advances in prosthetic and other medical technology that make sports more accessible and comfortable for those with amputations or other disabling injuries. The Paralympics grew out of a competition in England in 1948 for injured World War II veterans.

“Disability sports improve so many things,” said Mitch Carr, RIC’s fitness, sports and recreation director. “It keeps weight under control and reduces secondary conditions that develop because of a sedentary lifestyle. Then there’s the social impact and improvement in self-confidence.”

The rest of the article has the stories of men and women who have received tremndous benefits from participating in the Paralympics.

A man by the name of Channing Moss,23, was on duty in Afghanistan. He was standing in the turret of the fifth HumVee in a convoy of five. A fellow passenger and teammember, Eric Wynn, was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. As the desolate scenery rolled by, he cautiously noted the ridges along the landscape, seeing them as a perfect place for an ambush.

Unfortunately his prediction came true as Taliban insurgents appeared with AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. The troops quickly returned fire as Wynn attempted to get the vehicle out of harm’s way. Wynn was hit in the face, losing part of his nose and his upper lip was terribly torn and ripped.

“I’m like, ‘What the hell happened?’ I start to look around the truck. It was then that I see Moss.”

When Wynn turned to check on Moss, he was greeted to a horrific sight. An RPG had hit him dead on,wreaking havoc on his lower torso. And sticking out of his abdomen were the tail fins. Moss quickly realized the danger he was in. He had an unexploded bomb inside his body.

“I could see the tail fins sticking out of me,” Moss said weeks later from his hospital bed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “I was thinking: I am going to die this way.”

Despite his worries that he would be left to die, and against regulations, the medics bandaged him the best they could and packed him into a helicopter. They listed the metal bomb inside him as “shrapnel” instead more accurate “live explosive”.

After a harrowing surgery, the doctors were able to save Channing Moss’ life. He had to endure physical therapy and tremendous pain resulting from his injuries, but he’s just glad to be alive.

Follow this link to read the entire story in detail. Nerve wracking to know what this young man had to go through.

Thank you Washington Post for this list of our lost soldiers. We never want to forget the sacrifice they have made.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/

Here is an interesting read. It is an interview of Mr. Matti Hyry from the Finnish Army describing some of his experiences in World War II. As I have mentioned previously in this blog, I think it is really important for us to hear these first hand experiences, especially when talking about our past wars. For many of us, those wars are nothing but a bunch of dry statistics that we memorize for a few tests, then promptly forget. The text in our history books can do nothing to really show what happened in the past. It’s hard for those experiences to be real and alive to us. But hearing these accounts and seeing the pictures taken of these past soldiers can help breathe life into the stories. They help us realize that people just like you and me really did cross oceans and countries to place themselves in harm’s way, and experience things no person should ever have to experience.

Here is the written interview. It’s a little long, but if you have the time, it really is interesting.

This article was written by  a man named Kevin Tillman. Both he and his brother Pat joined the Army in 2002, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Tragically, Pat was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. This article is just one way for Kevin to express his grief and pain over losing his brother.

Our hearts are with you Kevin. You, and every other person who lost a loved one for from home.

I don’t know the backstory to this photo, but it certainly is sweet. Even tough guys can have a soft spot.

This man really saw war in all its grit and gore. In one portion of this article, it mentions that his team arrived on Normandy Beach 3 days after D-Day. I know it would have been a nightmare to be there on D-Day (and I’m not trying to lessen those soldiers’ sacrifice on that day), but I can’t imagine having to look on that gruesome scene three days later.

August 12, 2009 – Brandon Twp. – World War II Army Private Mathew Mersino claims he was just a regular soldier.

However, ask thousands of Great Britain residents enduring the relentless Nazi air-raids via the low altitude V-1, or Buzz, Bombs that terrorized their cities and perhaps his wartime duties were anything but average.

A Detroit native and 1941 Oxford High School graduate, Mersino was drafted in January 1943. He was trained at Fort Eustis, Va., Camp Pickett, Va., and Camp Davis, N.C.there he was trained on 90 mm anti-aircraft guns.

In October 1943, Mersino departed Fort Shanks, N.J. aboard the converted luxury liner-troopship Monarch of Bermuda for Liverpool, England, as part of the 405 AAA Artillery.

Mersino saw his first V-1 bomb near South Hampton as the Germans were pounding England over the English Channel with the “vengeance weapon,” or “Vergeltungswaffe” as it came to be known.

Mersino was in England and joined thousands of Allied forces when they crossed the English Channel during the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France.

“We went in on June 9, D-Day plus three,” said Mersino. “We landed at Normandy and came in with artillery on our way to Sainte-Mère-église, France. On the way, there were remains of the German army including cement pill boxes and guns left behind. One of the few advantages the Allied troops had when they landed was that the big German guns could not swing left or right enough to hit the troops. They actually shot over their heads. The beaches still had blood and remains scattered around—we did not stay there long and moved inland.”

Mersino’s gunnery group focused on the V-1 bombs destined for England as they flew over France.

“The Germans would send those over by just aiming them west at targets. We hit 260 V-1 bombs before they could do damage,” said Mersino. “We were very good shots with our 90 mm gun—I don’t think we ever missed. I had the task of identifying planes by silhouettes against the sky. There was always the risk of hitting our own planes as they flew over.”

Mersino would be radioed the direction the V-1 was coming and coordinate the gunners when to fire.

The 405 AAA Artillery moved into Antwerp, Belgium and liberated the city.

“We took German prisoners all the time. I felt sorry for many of the Germans as we took them back to the American POW camps. Many of the German prisoners spoke English and told me the German Secret Service (SS) would stand behind the German army with guns and shoot them if they ran. They were forced into combat.”

Mersino served as a guard at a German POW camp and a prisoner carved a V-1 bomber out of wood.

“The war was over when he carved the V-1 for me,” he said.

“After the war ended, I was stationed near Marseilles, France where they had formed a baseball team. We played lots of games there and drew fans in to watch before many went home.”

Mersino returned home to Oxford in November 1945, and married Faye Sutton on July 16, 1949 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lake Orion. The couple raised seven children and have 24 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. (source website)

WORTHINGTON, Mass. (WWLP) – A local Iraq veteran will soon have a new place to call home thanks to hundreds of volunteers.

Army Sgt. Peter Rooney lost both legs while on duty in Iraq two years ago when his truck hit a roadside bomb.  From that moment he knew his life would never be the same.

“While we were in Walter Reed we were dreading the idea of coming back home and scouring the area for a handicap accessible apartment,” Sgt. Rooney said.

Thanks to Homes for our Troops he won’t have too. In six months Sgt. Rooney and his wife be the owner of a beautiful home in Worthington. The $275,000 home is free of charge.

The money is donated by those in the community.  All the building supplies come from the pocket of complete strangers who were touched by the story of an American soldier.

Kent Hicks, a local contractor, saw an ad in the paper asking for volunteers.  He called the listed number and weeks later he became the general contractor for the project.  Every week he spends over 20 hours at the site.

“You just make the time,” Hicks said. “Everyone feels that way.”

Sgt. Rooney was deeply moved Friday as he watched the volunteers build his home board by board.

“I’m grateful. I just want to say thank you for everybody, “Sgt. Rooney said. “I know that I was the only one wearing a uniform but these people are definitely the heroes.” (source)

Truly fantastic. It is always heartwarming to hear of a person’s community banding together to help them out. And this man really deserved it. I can’t imagine losing both of my legs and being faced with the everyday challenge that the injuries bring. These people were able to bring a little peace of mind to this brave veteran.

In 1943, authorities at a German POW camp in Poland discovered that three prisoners were missing. A considerable space separated the prisoners’ huts from the perimeter fence, so at first it wasn’t clear how they’d escaped.

But the three inmates had something in common — all three had exercised during the day on a vaulting horse in the yard. On investigating, the Germans discovered a 100-foot tunnel leading from that spot to an opening beyond the fence.

The truth became clear. Each day, the prisoners had carried the horse to the same spot with a man hidden inside. While they exercised, the hidden man had used a bowl to lengthen the tunnel, then hid again in the horse as it was carried back inside. The Germans had used siesmographs to detect tunneling, but the prisoners’ vaulting had masked the sounds of their digging.

All three escapees — Eric Williams, Michael Codner, and Oliver Philpot — reached neutral Sweden and were reunited with their families. (source)

Wow. That is really fascinating. POW’s really had to stretch their imaginations to come up with plans and ideas of escape. What really gets me is how long term some of these plans are. Often the escapes involve digging their way out, and usually they are only able to dig maybe a few ounces a day or risk being discovered when you’re trying to dispose of the evidence. At that rate, it must feel like forever until the prisoners finish their tunnels.

I really just thought this was neat and wanted to share it. It’s photos from World War II. The photos show an airplane factory and the trick was trying to disguise it so that it wouldn’t make a tempting target for bombing. Check it out – it’s really amazing how well the disguise worked!