Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays military. Show all posts

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Happy 243rd Birthday United States Marine Corps

Happy 243rd Birthday United States Marine Corps 10 Nov. 1775 - 2018

For God and country, Semper Fi. I was asked this evening to share a bit of the distinguished history of the USMC and the 100th anniversary of World War I – especially the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Belleau Wood.

I was the keynote speaker at the 243rd Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps 1775-2018. Saturday, 10 November 2018, 1730-2130 (5:30-9:30 pm.) The 4th District of the Department of Maryland, Marine Corps League annual birthday ball at the American Legion Carroll Post 31, 2 Sycamore St., Westminster, MD  21157.

Much of my research into the history of the Marines dates back to the classes I took in the summer of 1972 in Quantico Virginia. I still prize my tattered, torn, and worn 1970 "Concise History of the Unites States Marine Corps 1775-1969," by Captain William D. Parker, USMCR.

For those of you who have served or are currently serving: thank you. Your dedication and service to our country is deeply appreciated. Indeed, that appreciation is the purpose of having a Marine Corps Ball – in addition to the not so minor detail of following Gen. John A. Lejeune's Nov. 1, 1921, Marine Corps Order No. 47 to have a yearly birthday celebration.

Any discussion of the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI must include the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Belleau Wood; which raged for nearly a month, June 1 through June 26, 1918. Many historians consider the battle of Belleau Wood to be the beginning of the end of WWI. The introduction of the Marines in the war effort had a direct impact on the successful conclusion of the hostilities.

The Marine nickname of 'devil dog' can be traced back to the Battle of Belleau Wood. The German officers referred to the Marines as the "Teufel Hunden," which is German for "Devil Dogs," in their field reports. Exhausted, outnumbered, and outgunned, the Marines refused to yield.

On November 11, 2018, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917. 

Approximately 62,000 Marylanders served, 2,000 died, including 31 from Carroll County. According to my friend and fellow historian, Judge Joe Getty, at the time of the war, Carroll County had a "population of only 34,000; 1,200 men and women served with the armed forces. Of those, 14 were killed in action or died of their wounds, twenty died of disease or accidents and two committed suicide."

These young men gave their lives and their future in two military operations that changed the world.

Happy Birthday Marines. For Corps and Country, Semper Fidelis.

Monday, May 15, 2017

My upcoming story this Sunday, May 21, 2017, will be on Sgt. Joe Oreto

My upcoming story this Sunday, May 21, 2017, will be on Sgt. Joe Oreto


Biên Hòa Memories # 32 -  Biên Hòa Air Base 1960-1970 - VNAF

May 15, 2017

On May 29, Carroll County will mark its 150th continuous annual observance of Memorial Day with a parade and ceremonies at the Westminster Cemetery. The annual tradition was first organized by Mary Bostwick Shellman on May 30, 1868.

Please remember why we have Memorial Day. The day is not set aside to have a cookout with hamburgers and hotdogs or eat crabs. It is not day off from work to go buy 3 tires and get one free. I try to keep track of businesses that have Memorial Day sales and then vow, if at all possible, to never-ever do business with them.

My upcoming story this Sunday, May 21, 2017, will be on Sgt. Joe Oreto, who died in Tay Ninh Province Vit Nam up along the Cambodian border, during Operation Toan Thang II, on April 13, 1969.  http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Kevin+Dayhoff&target=all&spell=on

He was 21 years-old and had only been married for six months to a local Westminster girl who lived on Augusta Drive. He was deployed to Vietnam in November 1968, right after he married Georgia Croft, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Croft, Westminster, in October 1968. According to a Carroll County Times article on May 28, 1989, “He was against killing of any kind, but felt he should do his duty," a relative said at the time of his death.

I lost track of the Croft family, many years ago. Have any of my Facebook friends kept-up with the family. Where is Georgia today? Does the family still live in Westminster?

I am amazed by the folks I hear from by way of Facebook. Folks I served with almost 45-years ago. I hear from the families of the folks I have written about, from all over the world.

My law enforcement friends might note that when he was drafted, after two-years of college at St. Mary’s College – then a two-year school, he was a cadet training to be a police officer with the Washington D.C. Police. His father was a U.S. Marshal stationed in Chattanooga, TN.

On May 29, Carroll County will mark its 150th continuous annual observance of Memorial Day with a parade and ceremonies at the Westminster Cemetery. The annual tradition was first organized by Mary Bostwick Shellman on May 30, 1868.

The Carroll County Maryland Vietnam Memorial Park at the corner of Willis and Court Street, next to the historic Courthouse was dedicated on May 28, 1990. Ever since then many of us who served, stateside, as I did, or were deployed, have spontaneously gathered there after the Memorial Day Services at the Westminster Cemetery.

There we pay homage to our friends, colleagues, and loved ones from Carroll County who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, to tell their stories for them...

The faces of the nineteen names on the monument, 17 killed in action, one missing in action, and one prisoner of war, are frozen in time. Some we knew. Some we didn’t. But they were all someone’s son or father or brother or uncle – or a cherished childhood friend. Their faces have been silent for many years, but they all have a story to tell.

The first person listed on the Carroll County Vietnam memorial was Ronald Kenny, February 1966. The last was Herbert Mulkey, Jr., March 1971. The deadliest year for Carroll County – and the war – was 1968, when Carroll County lost seven men to the memorial.

In past columns, I have shared the stories of eight of the eighteen fallen heroes from the Vietnam War whose faces are etched in the black granite memorial in the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park on Willis Street.

The stories of Fred Magsamen, Christopher Jesse Miller, Jr., Stanley Groomes, Joseph Blickenstaff, Herbert Eugene Mulkey, Jr., James Norman Byers, Ronald Kenny, and Sherman E. Flanagan, Jr., have been re-told in hopes that they will not be forgotten.

Of the 19 names on the monument at the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial, two served in the famed 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) – known as the Black Horse Regiment.

On July 18, 2009 members of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Air Cavalry Troop – the Black Horse Regiment, came from all over the world to hold a memorial service to remember the fallen from the Vietnam War at the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park at Willis and Court Streets in Westminster.

Oreto was stationed at the Bien Hoa Air Base, about 16-miles above Saigon and killed in Tay Ninh Province up along the Cambodian border, during Operation Toan Thang II.

Not that any of the Vietnam years – or the 1960s were easy, but 1968 and 1969 were especially difficult years.

Many folks who grew-up in the 1960s remember Walter Cronkite for many different reasons. I mention this because in the late 1960s, I referred to his newscast as “Walter Cronkite and the blues.”

It was sometime after the Tet Offensive began on January 30, 1968 that I wrote one my first essays on Vietnam. I called it “There is nothing casual about casualties.”

In that essay, which I have since, unfortunately, lost, I questioned the strategy of the war; especially why Cronkite was so fixated on the numbers. 

I suggested in the essay that all those numbers had a painful personal story and that something was wrong with the picture… I felt that the death of American servicemen – in ever-increasing numbers – was certainly more meaningful than a statistics box on the screen over the shoulder of Walter Cronkite.

I guess I got into a little hot water over the essay… I guess that’s a long story for another time; but by the end of 1968, 536,040 American servicemen were stationed in Vietnam, an increase of over 50,000 from 1967. In 1968 the war cost 14,584 Americans their lives - a 56 percent increase over 1967.


For those not familiar, there is a YouTube about the Biên Hòa Air Base 1960-1970: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTLV-9pR_-k

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The last words of SPC Jordan Shay



April 20, 2017 by Kevin Dayhoff

I awakened early this morning to an odd email that enigmatically resulted from a series of events from 2009 – August, late summer 2009. On any given day, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast, much less, recall events from eight-years ago.

But it came to me quickly. The email came from a commenter on a post on one of the several ‘milblogging’ conflict-blogs that I followed a number of years ago. Some of which involved writers, and folks I knew, or areas of the world in which I was somewhat aware, or had colleagues, or friends, or friends of friends who were participating in operations in the area.

Many of them were sad, and often reminded me in many ways of reading about the events involved in the Boer War, as depicted in the Bruce Beresford, 1980 cult classic, “Breaker Morant,” about un-real events in 1901, in South Africa - or Peter Weir’s 1981, “Gallipoli.”

Storytelling about unremarkable specific events in a character’s life that are compelling because they provide an insight into a larger narrative about war, conflict, heroism, empire – and ordinary folks involved in ordinary events who step-up to accomplish extraordinary accomplishments that defy any reasonable explanation.

Through Aber Lenses,” http://throughamberlenses.blogspot.com/, was written by SPC Jordan Shay who was serving as an infantry fireteam leader in the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment in Iraq; placed like Diyala Province.

Shortly after his post, “The Promised ‘Real’ Post,” was published in August 2009, he was killed in action on September 2, 2009. He poignantly left behind, dedicated friends, avid readers who had gotten to know him through his excellent writing, and a loving family and girlfriend.

This reminds one of the great writers that were killed in World War I. Spc. Shay had gifted voice that brought to life the moment by moment otherwise unremarkable daily events that would become a part of greater collage of a war zone – that made sense, because it made no sense.

To be certain, I did not know Spc. Shay, but to be reading his writing, just before his death, quickly became a touchstone that gave you chills and a pause for thought – a trigger event, if you will, for all the folks on the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial that I knew – or knew of through mutual friends and family. Carroll County was much smaller in those days and in many ways, much-much more closely knit.

I learned early in life, by way of writing experiences, leadership events, the Marine Corps, the Vietnam War, advocating for Civil Rights, sports, or binge-reading southern gothic literature; that success in life is hinged upon how well one deals with tragic setbacks, extreme difficulty and abject failure. The unexplained sudden loss, and totally unpredictable random setbacks that seem to have no relationship to how hard you tried.

During the Vietnam War, we did not talk about the war, our military service, or G_d forbid, our feelings. Even those of us, like me, who never deployed and stayed stateside. And we sure as heck did not write about our experience on a website that could be accessed from all over the world. We kept to ourselves to ‘protect ourselves’ against all the folks in society who brandished the peace symbol, burned the flag, and plead for tolerance for their point of view, who heaped scorn upon us.

The post, “The Promised ‘Real’ Post,” is compelling – as are the heartfelt and meaningful comments, for a change, that filled-in many of the missing pieces of the puzzle. One writer wrote, “This is very painful. We writers take loss very hard, especially when one as young as Jordan passes. We realize that he had so little time to share his gift, and regret he didn't get to share more. But these words --what he saw, how he thought, what he felt, will be with the world forever. Writing was part of his legacy…”

We seem to have some sort of primal-programming to accept loss, and move-on quickly. I guess when the dinosaur ate your best friend, you were not going to survive, if you hung around wallowing in grief when the dinosaur choose to chase you for dessert.

Rest in peace brother, your watch is over we will take it from here, you duty is done here, God has your place in heaven.

Or better yet, paraphrased from someone far brighter than me, “God will be merciful to his good soul. Thank you for your service, dedication, and sacrifice. Rest in Peace. Semper Fidelis from an old Marine. Now for the last time, set that weapon down on pods, on the deck of Heaven's chow hall.”

There are no guarantees in life. Every morning I put on the “The Whole Armor of God” God will be merciful to his good soul. Thank you for your service, dedication, and sacrifice. Rest in Peace. Semper Fidelis from an old Marine. Now for the last time, set that weapon down on pods, on the deck of Heaven's chow hall.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Ephesians 6: 10-18

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Related:

The last post of 5/20 Milblogger Jordan Shay KIA Iraq Sept 2 2009



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Thank you Jordan for all your work. Rest in peace, your labor is done. We salute you. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. Kels, let us know if there is anything you need. 

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Amesbury soldier killed in Iraq by Marie Szaniszlo |Friday, September 4, 2009|http://www.bostonherald.com|Local Coverage


A 22-year-old Amesbury soldier was killed this week on his second tour of duty in Iraq, town officials said.

Jordan Shay, an E4 leader in an attack company assigned to the 5th Battalion of the 20th Infantry regiment, was killed Tuesday, said Kristen LaRue, director of veteran’s services.

Details about how Shay was killed have not yet been released. But he belonged to the 3rd Stryker Brigade, based in Fort Lewis, Wash., and was on his third tour of duty, LaRue said.

The day before he was killed was the last time he logged on to his MySpace [website] page, where a clock counting down how many days he had left in the Army is still running.

“Our hearts and our prayers are with the Shay family,” she said. “As a community, we are standing together to assist the family in any way.”

Flags have been lowered to half-staff across town in memory of Shay, who graduated from Amesbury High School in 2005.



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Friday, September 04, 2009


At times he must have been no more than two hundred feet from me, but I never had the privilege to meet Jordan Shay. Together we chewed up the most inhospitable terrain on earth, and back on Ft. Lewis, we worked daily in the same dilapidated Korean War era barracks. The only connection I shared with Jordan was through the comments section of his blog, which I keep linked on the top of the page under our unit crest. Though our companies faced a heated inter-battalion rivalry, Attack Company was always in the thick of combat with my company, Battle. They shouldered a far greater burden than us, sustaining eight KIAs to our two. Jordan, at 22 years old, saw more combat than a lot of crusty old vets before he could legally buy a beer. For his third combat tour with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, Jordan started a blog to chronicle his experience. He named it Through Amber Lenses, the color of his sunglasses. He wanted to explain to the world what he saw with a bright amber tint.

What I read when I checked his most recent comment section hit me straight in the gut. "RIP Jordan." I rushed to the DoD announcement page and found nothing. Through a Google search I confirmed my worst fear: Jordan Shay, 22 years young, killed in Iraq.


Be sure to check out Spc. Jordan Shay’s blog: http://throughamberlenses.blogspot.com/

Here, pasted below, I want to preserve his last post:

Be sure to go here: http://tinyurl.com/ncujtm   http://throughamberlenses.blogspot.com/2009/08/promised-real-post.html to read the comments – and perhaps say a few words of thanks and condolences.  Keep his family and Kels in your prayers as you enjoy Labor Day, brought to you by the sacrifice of Spc Shay and too many others like him…

2009 (16)
August (7)
July (3)
June (4)
May (2)

20090905 sdsom last post 5 20 Milblogger Jordan KIA Sept 2 2009

http://twitpic.com/glk1a The last post of 5/20 Milblogger Jordan Shay KIA Iraq Sept 2 2009 http://tinyurl.com/njusfk



Be sure to go here http://throughamberlenses.blogspot.com/ leave TY & condolences http://tinyurl.com/ncujtm

Keep his family & Kels n your prayers as you enjoy Labor Day brought 2 you by t sacrifice of men & women n uniform


20090904_ArmyofDudesmokebannerfinal
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

November 11, 2007: the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Reprinted by request

November 11, 2007: the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Reprinted by request on June 26, 2013: Veterans Day: 

“The Wall” at 25

November 11, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff (998 words)




This year Veterans Day is also the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  The Memorial, well known as “The Wall” was dedicated on November 13, 1982.

“Remembering Vietnam - The Wall at 25,” is the subject of a stunning original Smithsonian Channel Documentary.  The program will be simultaneously web-streamed on the Smithsonian Channel Website - www.smithsonianchannel.com with its on-air broadcast to DirecTV subscribers on Channel 267 this evening at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

My colleague at The Westminster Eagle, Heidi Schroeder and I were provided an advance copy of the documentary.  We had been contacted for research information by Lynn Kessler-Hiltajczuk last summer.

Ms. Kessler-Hiltajczuk is a writer-producer for Alexandria-based LK Productions and served as an independent producer for the program.  She was looking for additional information on Lance Cpl. Muriel Stanley Groomes, a Carroll Countian who was killed in Vietnam on Nov. 2, 1968.

Ms. Schroeder writes that in “addition to a history of The Wall's construction and interviews with veterans, the documentary provides a sneak peek into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, which features over 100,000 items that have been left at The Wall.”

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs calls the program "the best documentary film about the wall I've ever seen."  After reviewing it several times, I could not agree more.

In the many years since the dedication of The Wall, the memorial has evolved into a national shrine for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam – an often misunderstood and inaccurately reported conflict. 

It has also become a tribute to the American veterans who served our country in that long-ago war thousands of miles away from the comfort of our living room. 

Veterans such as the current Carroll County State’s Attorney, Jerry F. Barnes, (and former Frederick County assistant State’s Attorney) who choose to forego what would have been an easily available draft deferment in May 1968 and joined the Army.

It was in that month, that the 1966 Westminster High School graduate received his draft notice.  According to a biographical sketch written by former Maryland State Delegate Carmen Amedori, Mr. Barnes joined a number of draftees from Carroll County “on a school bus at the (Westminster) Post Office downtown,” and headed to Fort Holabird in Baltimore – and then promptly to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

There Mr. Barnes opted to eschew being drafted for two years and enlisted for three years.  At first he wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but after a series of events, he signed up for Special Forces - the Green Berets.

Mr. Barnes’ Vietnam experience was one of a number of sketches by Ms. Amedori which appears in a new publication from the Historical Society of Carroll County, “Tours of Duty – Carroll County and the Vietnam War,” by Gary D. Jestes and Jay A. Graybeal.

In a recent phone interview Mr. Barnes talked about his service in Vietnam from September 16, 1969 to September 16, 1970.  Mr. Barnes began his Special Forces – Green Beret training in January 1969. 

Soon after arriving at Cam Ranh Bay he assigned to the first of three “A-Camps” in Kon Tum Province which is located in the Central Tay Nguyen Highlands.  The “A-Camp” counterinsurgency concept is still being used to this day in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Kon Tum province he served at A-241 Polei Kleng; A-244 Ben Het; A-245 Dak Seang – about 20 miles from the Laotian border as one of approximately 10 American “advisors” serving with several hundred Montagnard tribesmen in the “Civilian Irregular Defense Group” counterinsurgency program.

In Vietnam, Sgt. Barnes served with the 5th Special Forces Group and a “typical” assignment was to go out on 8 to 10-day operations as (more often than not) the lone American with a contingent of South Vietnamese Special Forces counterparts – or Montagnards, to monitor and patrol the Ho Chi Minh trail.  “Our objective was to interdict and disrupt the supply activities of the trail.”

“It was while out on one of these patrols that Barnes’ heroic actions earned him the first of two Bronze Stars for valor,” according to Ms. Amedori.

Mr. Barnes explained that he was with 20 Montagnards 18 miles from the Laotian border “manning a radio relay station for a larger operation farther out when we were attacked as dusk by a (contingent) of the North Vietnamese regular Army.” 

The ensuing firefight lasted throughout the night.  “We took some casualties and before it was all over, it took calling in an artillery attack, then Cobra helicopter gunships followed by suppression fire from C-130’s, known as “Puff the Magic Dragons,” and finally two fighter jets to save them.

Before returning home he was awarded a second Bronze Star and the Combat Infantry Badge among a number of recognitions.  He turned down a number of Army re-enlistment offers and served the remainder of his enlistment stateside with the 10th Special Forces with the famed 10th Mountain Division in New England.

After his honorable discharge in June 1971, he utilized the GI Bill and graduated first from the University of Baltimore and went on to graduate from the University of Baltimore Law School in June 1977.

“I actually started as an intern with the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1976,” said Mr. Barnes.  With the exception of four years with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s office he has been with Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office ever since.  He served as an Assistant State’s Attorney until he was first elected to the office of Carroll County State's Attorney in November 1994.

Mr. Barnes has “tried as best I can to attend all the Veterans Day ceremonies...  It is important to remember individuals who have dedicated their lives for the establishment and preservation of our freedoms.”

It is important that this Veterans Day, we remember the service of Sgt. Barnes and countless other veterans.  God bless them all for their dedication and commitment.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
E-mail him at: kevindayhoff at gmail.com

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Monday, May 28, 2012

#Memorial Day 2012 To those who serve thank you



#Westminster's Matthew Seidler among honorees at #Memorial Day observance http://tinyurl.com/82j22z3

Airman 1st Class Matthew Seidler, http://twitpic.com/9q4lc1, of Westminster, died in January, and will be one of seven Marylanders honored at ceremonies at the annual Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens’ Memorial Day observance, in Timonium.




It was less than six years ago that Matthew Seidler accepted his diploma as a member of Westminster High School's Class of 2006.

He is recalled by classmates as a good friend, serious worker and talented artist and video production student.

It was less than six months ago that Matthew Seidler was healthy, happy and pursuing a job that his family said he felt he was called to do — serving in the U.S. Air Force as a member of an elite explosive ordinance disposal squadron.

Yet this Monday, May 28, Airman 1st Class Matthew Seidler will be remembered on the first Memorial Day since his death in January, while serving his country in Afghanistan.


The Westminster native will be one of seven Marylanders honored at ceremonies at the annual Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens' Memorial Day observance, in Timonium, an event that traditionally pays tribute to Marylanders who have fallen in the line of duty over the past year… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/neighborhoods/westminster/ph-ce-seidler-memorial-0527-20120523,0,4272840.story


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For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam http://tinyurl.com/c52g3sk

Eagle Archive: For Memorial Day, we recall a fallen soldier who made sure we remembered others


On Monday, May 28, Carroll County will mark its 145th annual observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and ceremonies at the Westminster Cemetery.

In 1967, our community noted the 100th anniversary of Westminster's Memorial Day observances. According to local historian Jay Graybeal, who wrote about the occasion for the Historical Society of Carroll County in 1997, "Participants came from sixteen states and one newspaper estimated that the crowd numbered 15,000 people."

Ironically and tragically, it was just one year after that centennial celebration that Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr., 38, a Westminster attorney — and a member of the 100th anniversary committee — was shot down and killed while flying a mission over the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam on July 21, 1968. He was flying an F-100 "Super Sabre" jet fighter at the time of his death.

According to an article in The Baltimore Sun's Carroll County edition, "Flanagan was believed to be the first Guardsman to die in Vietnam who was called to duty during that period." … http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0527-20120526,0,2171783.story#tugs_story_display

For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam



For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam http://tinyurl.com/c52g3sk

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Eagle Archive: Wampler's life of service made him an apt participant on #Westminster #Memorial Day http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx


Atlee Wampler was a tall man who maintained a military bearing forged in heavy combat throughout WWII, all his life

Wampler served as the #Westminster #Carroll Co #Memorial Day parade marshall from 1947 until his death in 1991 http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx


On May 28, Carroll County and Westminster will mark the 145th observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and three-days of activities — thanks to all the hard work of American Legion Carroll Post No. 31 and leaders like Skip Amass, coordinator of this year's activities.

The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan's May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 — which called upon people to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.

She gathered a group of schoolchildren for that task, and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.

As with all the many stories in Carroll, the hands and hearts of countless individuals and community organizations have guided and nurtured the observances over the years. The list is long and celebrated.

However, one of the names historically synonymous with Memorial Day is particularly worthy of note — Atlee Willis Wampler Jr… READ MORE: http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0520-20120519,0,5649787.story



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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives - by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr



[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
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Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams



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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives - by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr



[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr

To those who serve thank you http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr

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Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams



Next Monday is Memorial Day. For many it is more than a holiday, it is a day when we gather as a community to express our gratitude to our country’s men and women in uniform, who by their sacrifice cannot be with us to enjoy the day… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5122

This year, Westminster and Carroll County will mark its 145th observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and four-days of activities.

The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan’s May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers. She gathered a group of schoolchildren for the task and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.

[…]

Last week I wrote about a local community leader, Atlee Willis Wampler, Jr., who served as the Westminster Memorial Day parade marshal for more than 44 years, from just after World War II until he passed away March 11, 1991.

[…]

That said, I have grown exhausted with the gut-wrenching existentialism and overwhelming fatigue that accompanies covering military funerals for the paper.

I was quite struck by a May 6 article in The Washington Post by Ian Shapira, “Barbara Robbins: A slain CIA secretary’s life and death,” about a little-known Vietnam War casualty from a bombing that occurred in Saigon March 30, 1965.

According to the article, “The CIA director revealed only a few details about the 21-year-old woman, a secretary among spies. In the agency’s annual memorial service for employees killed on the job, then-Director Leon E. Panetta announced that a new name had been inscribed with calligraphy inside the CIA’s Book of Honor: Barbara Annette Robbins, who had volunteered to go to Saigon during the Vietnam War…

[…]

The story of Ms. Robbins is compelling and evocative. Yet for me, what I found particularly haunting was the black and white picture of a very young American, in a far-off land, defending our freedoms, staring right at us.


The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams




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'Skip' Amass leads the charge for Westminster's 145th Memorial Day observance


Keeping the focus on community, service ... and good weather



Not long after the sun comes up on Memorial Day, and hours before Westminster's 145th Memorial Day parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m., Arnold "Skip" Amass will be on site, helping set up the TV cameras and tying up last-minute loose ends.

Most of all, he'll be praying for good weather during an event that he's been busy planning almost from the moment that last year's 144th Memorial Day parade wrapped up.

"To give you some idea of the scope of this project, the committee that's working on this with me has about 145 people on it," said Amass, who for the past 15 years has also been the voice of the parade, providing commentary for Carroll County's public access TV channel 19's live coverage of the event.

This is the first year he's taken on the far more demanding role of principal coordinator.


"The people on the committee, who meet at the American Legion, represent just about every organization and every government in the county, including the library, the farm museum, the police departments," said Amass, 80, himself a Korean War veteran and long-time member of Westminster's Carroll Post 31 American Legion Post… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/ph-ce-skip-amass-0604-20120523,0,1578592,full.story

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#Westminster 2012 #Memorial Day Celebration Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary

Westminster 2012 Memorial Day Celebration
Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary

Saturday, May 26

* 9 a.m.-2 p.m. -Antique car show on the City of Westminster parking lot in front of City Hall, Longwell Avenue, Westminster. Entries by the AACA Gettysburg Region Antique Car Club, the Street Cars of Desire and the Free State Corvette Club.

* Noon-5 p.m. - Carroll County Farm Museum - Military reenactors depicting the life and times of soldiers during the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait and other conflicts. There will be demonstrations and displays and encampments. Also jeep rides for kids and a rock climbing wall. Free admission to events.

* 3 p.m. - Carroll County Farm Museum - music concert featuring the Westminster Municipal Band and the Old Line Statesmen Barbershop Group.

* 4-7 p.m. - Fried chicken dinner and entertainment at the VFW Post, 519 Poole Road. Cost is $8 adults; $5 children ages 3 to 8. For tickets, call 410-848-9888, Ext. 1, or Deb Carns at 443-677-0361.

* 7-11 p.m. - Heroes Dance at the VFW Post. Ticket $5; call 410-848-9888, Ext. 1, or 443-677-0361.

Sunday, May 27

* Noon-5 p.m. -Events at the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., Westminster, continue with 20th century military reenactors, jeep rides and a rock climbing wall. Free admission to events.

* 3 p.m. - Band concert at the Carroll County Farm Museum featuring the Winters Mill High School Band and Joe and Audrey Cimino performing patriotic songs.

Monday, May 28

* 9:30 a.m.-Noon -145th Memorial Day Parade, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street to the Westminster Cemetery. At the conclusion of the parade observance held at the cemetery with comments by grand marshal Commander Matthew Shipley, USN.

* 2 p.m. - Memorial Day service at VFW Post, 519 Poole Road, with guest speaker, retired Army Chaplain Col. Joel Cocklin, a Westminster native who graduated from Westminster High School in 1965. Also an open house, refreshments and special music. Call 443-677-0361 for details.

#Westminster 2012 #Memorial Day Celebration Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary



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Memorial Day 2012 by Maryland State Senator Joe Getty

Westminster's 145th Consecutive Celebration
Marylanders for Joe Getty
May 26, 2012



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CDR Matthew W. Shipley to speak at the 145th Memorial Day observance in Westminster Maryland http://tinyurl.com/7ygfw5a

http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/ Written by “Heather” on the Carroll County Memorial Day website on March 29, 2012


CDR Matthew W. Shipley, a 1984 Westminster High School graduate, also graduated from Navy recruit training in January 1985, Electronics Technician “A” School in October 1985, Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1987 and the United States Naval Academy in 1991. http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/

Shipley’s tours include Assistant Platoon Commander at SEAL Team EIGHT, test article Officer-in-Charge of a Mark V Special Operations Craft (SOC) at United States Special Operations Command, Operations Officer at Special Boat Unit TWENTY, Mk V SOC Liaison Officer to Special Operations Command European Command, Naval Special Warfare Task Unit (NSWTU) Commander for a Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group, and Platoon Commander at SEAL Team EIGHT.

As a reservist, Shipley served as Executive Officer of Navy Reserve Naval Special Warfare Group TWO Detachment 309, as Executive Officer of SEAL Team THREE deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2006, as NSWTU Commander Manda Bay, Kenya in Oct 2006 – Mar 2007, and as the Commanding Officer of SEAL Detachment EIGHTEEN in Little Creek, Virginia from Dec 2009 – Dec 2011.

Shipley graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He has also completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school, United States Army Ranger school, Military Freefall school, Air Command and Staff College Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) and the Joint Staff College’s Advanced JPME. As a civilian he is a General Electric qualified Six Sigma Master Blackbelt, ISO 9000 auditor, a government contractor, a Constitutional lecturer, and author of an energy-efficiency home-improvement book. He is the son of Michael and Barbara Shipley, and he is married to the former Christine Saseen.

Shipley’s awards include: Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Defense Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various unit, campaign and service awards. http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/

CDR Matthew Shipley to speak 145th #Memorial Day observance Westminster Maryland http://tinyurl.com/7ygfw5a http://twitpic.com/9q5ag8

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CDR Matthew W. Shipley to speak at the 145th Memorial Day observance in Westminster Maryland


http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/ Written by “Heather” on the Carroll County Memorial Day website on March 29, 2012

CDR Matthew W. Shipley, a 1984 Westminster High School graduate, also graduated from Navy recruit training in January 1985, Electronics Technician “A” School in October 1985, Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1987 and the United States Naval Academy in 1991. http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/

Shipley’s tours include Assistant Platoon Commander at SEAL Team EIGHT, test article Officer-in-Charge of a Mark V Special Operations Craft (SOC) at United States Special Operations Command, Operations Officer at Special Boat Unit TWENTY, Mk V SOC Liaison Officer to Special Operations Command European Command, Naval Special Warfare Task Unit (NSWTU) Commander for a Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group, and Platoon Commander at SEAL Team EIGHT.

As a reservist, Shipley served as Executive Officer of Navy Reserve Naval Special Warfare Group TWO Detachment 309, as Executive Officer of SEAL Team THREE deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2006, as NSWTU Commander Manda Bay, Kenya in Oct 2006 – Mar 2007, and as the Commanding Officer of SEAL Detachment EIGHTEEN in Little Creek, Virginia from Dec 2009 – Dec 2011.

Shipley graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He has also completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school, United States Army Ranger school, Military Freefall school, Air Command and Staff College Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) and the Joint Staff College’s Advanced JPME. As a civilian he is a General Electric qualified Six Sigma Master Blackbelt, ISO 9000 auditor, a government contractor, a Constitutional lecturer, and author of an energy-efficiency home-improvement book. He is the son of Michael and Barbara Shipley, and he is married to the former Christine Saseen.

Shipley’s awards include: Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Defense Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various unit, campaign and service awards. http://carrollmemorialday.com/commander-matthew-w-shipley/

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#Westminster's Matthew Seidler among honorees at #Memorial Day observance http://tinyurl.com/82j22z3

Airman 1st Class Matthew Seidler, http://twitpic.com/9q4lc1, of Westminster, died in January, and will be one of seven Marylanders honored at ceremonies at the annual Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens’ Memorial Day observance, in Timonium.




It was less than six years ago that Matthew Seidler accepted his diploma as a member of Westminster High School's Class of 2006.

He is recalled by classmates as a good friend, serious worker and talented artist and video production student.

It was less than six months ago that Matthew Seidler was healthy, happy and pursuing a job that his family said he felt he was called to do — serving in the U.S. Air Force as a member of an elite explosive ordinance disposal squadron.

Yet this Monday, May 28, Airman 1st Class Matthew Seidler will be remembered on the first Memorial Day since his death in January, while serving his country in Afghanistan.


The Westminster native will be one of seven Marylanders honored at ceremonies at the annual Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens' Memorial Day observance, in Timonium, an event that traditionally pays tribute to Marylanders who have fallen in the line of duty over the past year… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/neighborhoods/westminster/ph-ce-seidler-memorial-0527-20120523,0,4272840.story


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For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam http://tinyurl.com/c52g3sk

Eagle Archive: For Memorial Day, we recall a fallen soldier who made sure we remembered others


On Monday, May 28, Carroll County will mark its 145th annual observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and ceremonies at the Westminster Cemetery.

In 1967, our community noted the 100th anniversary of Westminster's Memorial Day observances. According to local historian Jay Graybeal, who wrote about the occasion for the Historical Society of Carroll County in 1997, "Participants came from sixteen states and one newspaper estimated that the crowd numbered 15,000 people."

Ironically and tragically, it was just one year after that centennial celebration that Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr., 38, a Westminster attorney — and a member of the 100th anniversary committee — was shot down and killed while flying a mission over the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam on July 21, 1968. He was flying an F-100 "Super Sabre" jet fighter at the time of his death.

According to an article in The Baltimore Sun's Carroll County edition, "Flanagan was believed to be the first Guardsman to die in Vietnam who was called to duty during that period." … http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0527-20120526,0,2171783.story#tugs_story_display

For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam



For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam http://tinyurl.com/c52g3sk

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Eagle Archive: Wampler's life of service made him an apt participant on #Westminster #Memorial Day http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx


Atlee Wampler was a tall man who maintained a military bearing forged in heavy combat throughout WWII, all his life

Wampler served as the #Westminster #Carroll Co #Memorial Day parade marshall from 1947 until his death in 1991 http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx


On May 28, Carroll County and Westminster will mark the 145th observance of Memorial Day with an expanded parade and three-days of activities — thanks to all the hard work of American Legion Carroll Post No. 31 and leaders like Skip Amass, coordinator of this year's activities.

The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan's May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 — which called upon people to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.

She gathered a group of schoolchildren for that task, and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.

As with all the many stories in Carroll, the hands and hearts of countless individuals and community organizations have guided and nurtured the observances over the years. The list is long and celebrated.

However, one of the names historically synonymous with Memorial Day is particularly worthy of note — Atlee Willis Wampler Jr… READ MORE: http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0520-20120519,0,5649787.story



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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives - by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr



[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
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Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Tentacle Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Reflections on #Memorial Day by Kevin E. Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/br3hams



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Recently on Explore Carroll and Eagle Archives - by Kevin Dayhoff http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr



[20120526 To those who serve thank you] http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr

To those who serve thank you http://tinyurl.com/7q46ksr
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