Saluting our veterans
This Veterans Day has special significance. Our troopers from Idaho's 116th Brigade Combat Team, deployed in harm's way in Operation New Dawn in the ancient land of Mesopotamia, are back home! For a year in 2010-2011, soldiers from Idaho, Oregon and Montana comprised a force of 2,700 in Iraq, and will celebrate the holidays this year with family and friends. Some 170 soldiers are from North Idaho and we heartily welcome you home and praise you and your families for your sacrifices.
Throughout history, warriors have been recognized with badges of courage. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) rewarded his soldiers with red ribbon that adorned their uniforms as a badge of honor. Since the days of the Revolutionary War, our combat troops have been held in high regard. The United States Military recognizes service with campaign medals, each distinctly designed and worn proudly on dress uniforms, to honor those who served in combat areas.
A combat tour is the prerequisite qualification for membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization. Many of our vets have more than one campaign ribbon, and usually have an appropriate award for valor or meritorious service. To recognize achievement or valor, various medals and ribbons are awarded.
The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award and, due to the nature of its criteria, is often awarded posthumously. The Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross and the Army's Distinguished Service Cross are the highest awards after the Medal of Honor, followed by various awards including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, which is awarded for the combat wounded. Each medal and ribbon has a rank order and is worn on uniforms in a prescribed manner. But who doesn't like to strut their stuff?
If you want to be amazed, just ask a veteran to tell you a story about his or her service. The tough, realistic training the military puts you through is a story in itself. But add a combat tour and you have the makings of an exciting and enthralling ordeal that makes your head spin. From the Machinist's Mate on a Navy ship who makes a gear shaft for the big guns on a Cruiser supporting infantry action on the beach, to the personnel grunt stateside that processes the pay allotment for your family, everyone in the military is important and has a story to tell.
My American Legion and VFW comrade Jim Sheppard served in the Navy in World War II, participated in several beach landings, and was included in footage in the "Victory at Sea" saga about our heroic Navy doing battle in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Jim's stories are lively and action packed. Pappy Boyington Marine Corps League 966 member Tommy Thompson, Korean war vet and Marine Corps Sergeant, tells about the troop ship he was on en route to the "Police Action." He relates to hundreds of G.I.'s swarming the ship, and remembers the sleeping quarters, bunks stacked five high, with almost enough space between them to turn over. Of course his rifle and sidearm took up some of the bunk space. Kudos to you guys!
Comes now a somber remembrance for our troops. With Shakespearian conjecture, as our returning heroes celebrate homecomings and holidays with family and friends, our thoughts turn to those who gave it all, proudly doing their duty to their country.
Our 116th CAV was stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq, where Specialist Favian Cambigue, 20, of Coeur d'Alene, was a member of the Quick Reaction Force. His team was called to action last July 7 when insurgents detonated an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and attacked a convoy at the front gate.
Cambigue found that the explosion ravaged a 116th HUMVEE (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) occupied by Coeur d'Alene's Sergeant Nathan Beyers, 24, Specialist Nicolas Newby, 20, and Staff Sergeant Jason Rzepa, 30. The explosion killed Beyers and Newby. Rzepa was the gunner in the turret, and sustained serious leg injuries from the upward blast of the IED.
At the hospital, his legs were amputated below the knee and he is currently in rehab at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Cambigue's lament is evident while recounting the events. Family notification for the Beyers family was the arduous duty of Captain Steve Keeton, the former Company Commander for Beyers and Newby.
In regret, Specialist Carrie French and Specialist Timothy Kiser were killed in action while deployed with the 116th in Kirkuk, Iraq, in 2004-2005 and will be remembered with honor by families and friends, especially by those that served with them. Hayden's Army Reserve 455th Engineers' fallen heroes, Staff Sergeant Coby Schwab and Corporal Kelly Grothe, are in a place of honor on the hallowed halls of the 455th, KIA during deployment in 2006-2007 in Anbar Provence, Iraq, and shall never be forgotten.
To our veterans, we salute you: "Honor Guard, Attention! Present, Arms!"
Jack Evensizer is a resident of Dalton Gardens.