In Memoriam

Last week marked the 43rd anniversary of the night SPC 4 Donald Steven Waite was killed near Quang Tri, South Vietnam on February 9. Donald, or Donnie as his family called him, was a soldier in Alpha Company of the 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was from Omaha, Nebraska and was the brother of Karen McGrane who is a longtime friend of my mother. My Armed Forces Day display in May 2010 was dedicated to Donnie.

As stated, Donnie was with A Co 1/502 which had been stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky before arrival in Vietnam in December 1967. February saw 1/502 in the middle of operation, “Jeb Stuart”. Many logistical problems occurred under the constant moving concept used by the Brigade. There was a great shortage of clothing, batteries, LSA, all types of class IV barrier material, demolitions, hand grenades, trip flares, booby traps, and claymore mines.

During the day of Feb. 8, the 1st Battalion continued search and destroy operations southeast of Quang Tri. Light contact was made during the day. Aerial observation and other sources had given 1/502 credit for 250 NVA killed for the period Feb. 4-8 1968. But during the night of Feb. 8, Alpha Company and Bravo Company were infiltrated by enemy sappers. Attacks were very heavy. During the night and into the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 9, eight 502nd men were killed with an additional 19 being wounded in action. Eleven NVA were killed. Among the dead were the following:

SSG Benard John Caron

Canada / Age 31

SP6 Charles J. Crawford, Jr.

Jersey City, New Jersey / Age 20

CPL Clyde Lawrence De Mello

El Cerrito, California / Age 18

SP4 Thomas Norton

New York, New York / Age 20

SP4 Charles Edward Novel

Dyersburg, Tennessee / Age 21

SP4 Benjamin John Terejko, Jr.

Solvay, New York / Age 20

2LT Douglas Burem Wade

Kingsport, Tennessee / Age 20

SP4 Donald Steven Waite

Omaha, Nebraska / Age 19

So this is my salute to Donnie. A kid doing what he loved, just trying to stay alive and make his way home. You are missed by many. You will always be remembered.

Unit Schedule for 2011

We held a unit meeting at Brewsky's Bar & Grill on Sunday, January 30th and finalized the remainder of our 2011 schedule. We might not get to everything on this list, because it's a nice ambitious list, but we'll sure try! Some of the dates and times may change. We'll see you in the field!

Sunday, February 13
Unit admin meeting 3:00PM

Brewsky's Bar & Grill

Saturday, February 26 - CANCELLED
Outdoor Option - Winter training event at Little Sioux, Iowa
Indoor Option - Air & Space Museum / Admin & drill training

Sunday, March 6
Outdoor Field Training Event & Drill
Fort Atkinson, Nebraska

Sunday, March 27
Indoor or Outdoor Field Training Event
Date and location to be determined

April 16 & 17

2011 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 69th Anniversary Reunion

Air & Space Museum

Saturday, April 30
Outdoor Field Training Event - Campaign Hats & Wools
Fort Atkinson, Nebraska

Saturday, May 21 (TENTATIVE)
Armed Forces Day Exhibit - Air & Space Museum

Saturday, June 4
Military Timeline Event - possible overnight bivouac
Ft. Atkinson, Nebraska

June 24, 25, 26
Tactical battle hosted by 508th PIR - Little Sioux, Iowa

Monday, July 4
Annual 4th of July Parade - Ralston, Nebraska

July 9 & 10 (TENTATIVE)
25th Annual John C. Fremont Days - Unit display & recruiting event
Fremont, Nebraska

August 26, 27, 28
90th Annual 2nd Infantry Division Assn. National Reunion
Sheraton Westport Hotel, St, Louis, MO 63146

Saturday, September 3
Drill Training Event - Ft. Atkinson, Nebraska

October
2nd I.D. Sponsored Tactical Event - Possibly at Grand Island, Nebraska urban combat site
Date to be determined

November 2011
Veteran's Day Parade or Exhibit - Location to be determined

Ed Mauser Passes - Omaha's Easy Company Veteran

Ed Mauser, Omaha's very own "Band of Brothers" veteran, died at his home on Friday, January 21 at the age of 94. Ed was the oldest surviving member of the 101st Airborne Division's famed "Easy Company" of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He parachuted into France during the early morning hours of D-Day and fought his way across Europe through Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and finally ended up capturing Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Mauser was a Private First Class and rifleman in Easy's 2nd Platoon. In addition to earning two Bronze Stars, he also earned two Purple Hearts for shrapnel wounds suffered in Belgium.

Mauser was a native of Peru, Illinois. He was working in the wristwatch department at the Westclox clock factory in LaSalle, Illinois, when the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was drafted into the Army about six weeks later at age 25. His first Army outpost was with the horse cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas, which soon transformed into a mechanized cavalry unit. Mauser was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and volunteered for paratrooper training. After the war he went back to work for Westclox and married Irene Furlan. Both were children of Slovakian immigrants. They were married 58 years. Mauser moved the family to Omaha from Illinois in 1960. He repaired watches and learned the jewelry business at the Time Center shop. He was a member of the American Legion in Millard.

Edward “Babe” Heffron, a fellow Easy Company veteran, was saddened by Mauser's death. “It's a shame,” Heffron said. “Ed was a good soldier. He went through his share of hell.” Lynn “Buck” Compton was Mauser's platoon leader. They parachuted from the same C-47 on D-Day. “We had a lot of esprit de corps in our outfit,” Compton said. “We were pretty close, and we were proud of our unit.” Mauser enjoyed all of the Band of Brothers glory, but he rejected any attempts to paint him as a hero. “No. I was no hero," Mauser said. "I was one of the guys. That's all.” With the passing of Ed Mauser, there are now 35 known living veterans of Easy Company.

Medal of Honor Event

On Saturday, January 15, five recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor gathered for a public speaking engagement and autograph session at the Strategic Air & Space Museum near Ashland, Nebraska. The five in attendance pictured left to right, Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who was awarded the medal for his actions during a 2007 battle in Afghanistan, Captain Thomas Hudner, who crash landed his Corsair to try to save another pilot during the Korean War, Colonel Donald Ballard, a Vietnam War hero and U.S. Navy Corpsman, Chief Warrant Officer Hershel "Woody" Williams, who won the medal for his actions on Iwo Jima, and Sergeant Peter Lemon who was a 1st Air Cavalry recipient from the Vietnam War. They are shown here with Shane Sedlak, a local 12 year old who drew portraits of each of the Medal of Honor guests.
SSgt Giunta and Col. Ballard stand together before the speaking portion of the day. I was very inspired to be so close to these men, standing in the presence of these true heroes.
I was pretty impressed with SSgt. Giunta's dress uniform. The highly polished black leather jump boots looked amazing with the blue dress trousers bloused in them. The black jump boots definitely harkened back to the Airborne uniform of the early 1960's.
Here CWO "Woody" Williams poses with some fellow veterans who were there in support of the Medal of Honor guests and all other veterans. These guys are motorcycle enthusiasts who do a lot to support the local veteran community.

I took a stroll through the rest of the museum after the Medal of Honor event just to take it all in. I had to stop by my favorite airplane in the museum's collection, the B-17G Flying Fortress. Every time I stand before this amazing old "Queen of the Skies" my mind is filled with awe and wonder at how it must have felt to be a part of the Eighth Air Force's daylight bombing runs. You have to have a lot of respect for those brave souls who flew around in these bombers day in and day out.

Women on the Home Front Event

Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive!

On Saturday, August 14th the retirement community of Pacific Springs Village held an event to celebrate and commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the end of World War II. So by invitation, Dave, Jeff and I went to represent the 2nd I.D. and put on a display to honor our World War II veterans and their service. Over 400 people were in attendance at the event, many of them residents of Pacific Springs Village and their families. The Avi8ors musical group performed a "USO style" show featuring popular songs from the 1930's and '40's. There was also a lot of great food from the 40's era which the fellas and I devoured over a quick break in the action. Dave represented the U.S. Army, Jeff took care of the Navy, and I proudly donned the Eagle, Globe and Anchor once again to honor the U.S. Marines. It was a really fun and family friendly event and one that I was extremely glad to be a part of.

Indianheads in the Hedgerows

I uncovered three really unique photos online this week capturing the 2nd Infantry Division in the hedgerows of Normandy. Great photos! I am assuming that they are still frames from some 2nd Division combat footage shot during the Normandy campaign. It's just neat to see the patch and the uniforms as they were really worn in combat. Enjoy!!!