Kentuckians at War

Although the U.S. is withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the war is not over for more than 60 members of the Kentucky National Guard in Frankfort. They were honored in a farewell ceremony Tuesday as they prepare to go to Afghanistan in the next several weeks. The members – officially Agribusiness Development Team 4 – will focus on teaching Afghanis how to be agriculturally self-sufficient in a war-ravaged nation.

When 21-year Army veteran Floyd E. Douglas was laid to rest at Mill Springs National Cemetery in Pulaski County last month, 17 men and women, all veterans wearing the uniforms of the various military services, were there to render full military honors. They saluted the casket. They fired the traditional 21-volley rifle salute. They carefully removed the American flag from the casket, folded it in the prescribed manner, and presented it to the Douglas family, along with the shell casings from the salute. Finally, they completed the service with an emotional playing of taps.

A soldier with Kentucky and southern Ohio roots was in one of the last units to leave Iraq over the weekend. According to family members, U.S. Army PFC Codie Breeze, a 2009 graduate of Bracken County High School, was on one of the last convoys of American soldiers to leave Iraq.  Breeze is with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Delta Co. 2 Battalion 5 Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood, Texas.

The U.S. this week closed a chapter in its War on Terror, officially ending its mission in Iraq after nearly nine years of combat. The pullout of U.S. troops from the embattled country drew mixed opinions among Hardin County veterans, some of whom have been directly affected by the conflict. Ronnie Thompson Jr., an Elizabethtown resident who was injured in late 2004 when an IED struck his Humvee, had his military career end after the roadside bomb put him on a challenging road to rehabilitation. On Thursday, Thompson said he feels the close of the Iraq War is long overdue and it is time to trust that the Iraqi government can rise up and take care of its own without falling prey to insurgent forces.

An investigation by the McClatchy news organization casts some doubts on the official account of Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer’s actions. Meyer, a Kentuckian, received the medal for actions in Afghanistan in 2009. The official account of the Marine’s story describes how he ran into enemy fire to retrieve his fallen colleagues and Afghan fighters. It tells of him leaping from his vehicle’s gun turret and killing at least eight insurgents.

"Crucial parts" of the story that Marine Corps officials told about Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer's bravery in Afghanistan are "untrue, unsubstantiated or exaggerated, according to dozens of military documents" that McClatchy Newspapers has examined and reporting done by a McClatchy correspondent who survived the ambush in which Meyer performed heroically.

In a long report based on extensive research, correspondent Jonathan S. Landay writes that:

There is a picture Tom Hunter likes to look at of his son. The little boy is 3 years old, with platinum blond hair and Mickey Mouse house shoes. This photo, Tom Hunter says, is Jimmy, before he was Staff Sgt. James Hunter, decorated Army journalist, casualty of war. “I think this shows his personality, even then,” Tom Hunter said, pointing to James Hunter’s small hand, slightly covering the right side of his face.

“Rollover! Rollover!” was the refrain bursting forth from a simulated Humvee suspended in the air, slowly working its way beyond its tipping point to an upside down position. The voices cracking over the speakers embedded in the Humvee were those of the soldiers of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command during a simulation in the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer at Fort Knox.

Two Kentucky National Guard soldiers from the 149th Brigade Support Battalion who returned from Iraq surprised their children at school Thursday.
Sgt. 1st Class Darrell Brookins walked up behind his son, DJ Brookins, 9, during a morning assembly at Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School. “It was very exciting,” Darrell Brookins said. “DJ is really special. He’s really inspiring.” During the assembly, students were given a math problem to solve, which was to determine how long a soldier has been overseas if he or she has been there since June 4, which is when Darrell Brookins was deployed.

LaRue Dillon was working as a secretary in Birmingham, Ala., when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, killing thousands and launching America’s entry into World War II. A few months later in 1942, the U.S. military opened its doors to women for the first time, and Dillon and her roommate enlisted together. Her decision was part patriotism, part youthful wanderlust. “You know how you do things when you’re a teenager – I just wanted to go,” Dillon, 93, said a few weeks ago from her Scott County home.

Blanche Johnson was studying at the Deaconess School of Nursing in Evansville, Ind., when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. She had no idea then that what President Franklin D. Roosevelt so famously proclaimed "a date which will live in infamy" would become a defining moment in her life as much as in the lives of an entire generation. So, what possessed a young woman — 21 years old and fresh out of nursing school — to go to war?

They witnessed history at Pearl Harbor, and lived to tell about it. Vaughn Drake, 93, of Lexington, and Frankfort's Herman Horn, 91, are among the area's last living Pearl Harbor survivors. Indeed, Drake is the last known survivor still living in Lexington. Statewide, only 15 survivors are still listed with the Kentucky Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, according to chapter president Jon Toy of Mount Sterling. The chapter once had more than 100 members.

On Wednesday, America will observe the 70th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which shocked the nation, crippled the U.S. fleet and thrust Americans into the middle of the biggest war in history. It remains a defining moment in history that affects us to this day. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association now lists just 15 attack survivors alive in the state, according to chapter president Jon Toy of Mount Sterling.

Charles Lydian Sr. served three years as a general service engineer in World War II, building roads and supplying ammunition, regularly in a combat zone. Yet for all his service, Lydian’s children say he didn’t talk much about the war when he talked about his experience. This week, Mike Lydian accepted six medals on his father’s behalf, five-and-a-half months after Charles Lydian passed away at age 92.

An inch-long piece of shrapnel from a Japanese bomb or artillery shell fired 67 years ago led to a ceremony Monday for Master Sgt. Joe Schmidt, where he was finally awarded the Purple Heart -- and 13 other medals. Schmidt, who turns 90 on Jan. 1, was a spotter for his artillery unit on the Philippine Island of Leyte in October 1944 when he was wounded. “I was running back to my plane when it just came down and hit,” Schmidt recalled.

A tattoo on the neck could prevent someone from serving in the military, and a Kentucky lawmaker wants to make sure people know this when entering tattoo parlors. State Rep. Ron Crimm, R-Louisville, pre-filed a bill that would require tattoo parlors to post a sign reminding patrons of the military restrictions.

Millions of Kentuckians gather around the dinner table tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving. It can be an especially emotional time of year for military veterans. Kentucky Public Radio’s Brenna Angel talks with Lieutenant Colonel Shontelle Adams of the Kentucky National Guard’s 198th Military Police Battalion about what he’s thankful for.

Preparing Fort Knox soldiers for a deployment to Afghanistan is serious business. The Army devotes considerable resources to training and preparation that it doesn't stop with the soldiers. Today, that also includes soldiers' families as they're told what to expect from a deployment.

Standing alongside his new Harley Davidson motorcycle Friday, Cpl. Donald Hole wiped away tears as his fellow soldiers crowded in around him. Hole is a member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, which returned from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in April. In February, Hole’s daughter, Megan, 25, was murdered in Indiana. As Hole flew back to the states, his fellow soldiers pondered a gift for him. Spc. Joseph Catlin, who has been friends with Hole since 2009, said they collected money for flowers, but also wanted to give Hole something else.

Tears flowed down Spc. Jack McMillan’s face as he met his 8-week-old daughter, Kendall, for the first time Thursday afternoon. Overcome with emotion, he embraced his wife, Ashley, and his family who had traveled to Fort Knox to welcome him home after a year in Afghanistan. McMillan was one of more than 50 soldiers who returned as part of an advance party for the redeployment of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky President Wil James waited until 11 a.m. Friday to announce a new initiative to help armed forces personnel returning from service more quickly join the workforce at Toyota. His announcement came at almost at the same time as a 95-0 vote by the U.S. Senate to pass the "Vow to Hire Heroes Act," which provides businesses with tax incentives to hire veterans, and job training to help veterans returning from overseas.

Elfren Padilla, a U.S. Army veteran, watched the Hardin County Veterans Day Parade on Saturday to support members of the Fort Knox Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps marching in it. “It’s a good reminder ... of all the people out there doing something so (youths) can have all the privileges and rights that they have,” he said. Padilla, a Radcliff resident who works with JROTC, said some, especially young people, tend to criticize things they consider wrong in the world and don’t do anything to resolve the problem.

Elfren Padilla, a U.S. Army veteran, watched the Hardin County Veterans Day Parade on Saturday to support members of the Fort Knox Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps marching in it. “It’s a good reminder ... of all the people out there doing something so (youths) can have all the privileges and rights that they have,” he said. Padilla, a Radcliff resident who works with JROTC, said some, especially young people, tend to criticize things they consider wrong in the world and don’t do anything to resolve the problem.

Eastern Kentucky University was among more than 180 colleges and universities to observe the Remembrance Day National Roll Call. Starting early this morning, campus and community volunteers read the names of all the casualties of the conflicts.  

If a trio of men can realize their shared dream, Georgetown would be the home of a national museum to honor veterans from the Korean War and Vietnam to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Web site — Vmmky.org — was launched in late October to publicize and raise money for the National Veterans Memorial Museum. The museum would be "devoted to the history, service and memory of veterans of the United States armed forces," according to its incorporation papers. Its directors are Lexington resident Todd Strecker, Georgetown Mayor Everette Varney and Scott County Realtor Obey Wallen.

Veterans of America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home.  Withdrawals are underway in both countries.  While the wars are winding down, their legacy will live on in America through their veterans.   Over the last ten years, an estimated two-point-three million Americans fought in those wars.  Today, we hear about their experience through the stories told by eight Kentuckians.