100 YEARS
AGO
The 18th Infantry Regiment is again
about the business of making history.
One hundred years ago, the 18th Infantry was also engaged in occupation
duty in hostile territory far from home.
Their surroundings were not quite as hostile as today, but the mission
was very similar. It is interesting how
things change, but seem to stay the same.
In 1904, we were on our second tour in the Philippines (this is our
second tour in Iraq). Our first tour was
from 1898 to 1901 (first Iraq tour was 1991).
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt had declared the war over,
although it took decades (and the lives of many more soldiers) to pacify the
islands. Stationed on the island of
Leyte in 1904, the mission was pacification and nation building. Fortunately, the 18th Infantry was in a
relatively peaceful area. Yet, just a
few miles across the channel on the neighboring island of Samar (4 hour boat
ride), there was death and destruction similar to what is occurring today in
Iraq. The insurgents were called
“Pulajans”, a local word meaning brigands.
Today they would be called terrorists.
They operated in an area of southern Samar where US soldiers were not yet present, and
where they thought they were free from the threat of capture or punishment (the
14th Infantry was stationed in northern Samar).
The 18th Infantry chafed at the restraint that prevented them from
crossing the channel to engage the terrorists.
However, after the US Presidential elections were over that year, the
14th Infantry was finally ordered south to eliminate the problem, which they
did. Meanwhile, the 18th Infantry
continued it’s peacekeeping mission on Leyte.
Today, the mission is similar and the task made difficult by the fact
that, through fear or favor, the insurgents (terrorists) find refuge among the
population. The 18th Infantry will
find and eliminate the terrorists, and eventually bring peace and liberty to
the people of Iraq – just as they did one hundred years ago in the Philippine
Islands – but not without cost. Let us
remember!
In
Memoriam
Captain John F.
"Hans" Kurth
SPC Jason Ford
SPC Tracy Laramore
SPC Clint Mathews
1861 18th INFANTRY REGIMENT 2004_
Report from LTC
Jeffrey A. Sinclair, Commander, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, dated March
31,2004.
Hello to all of
our brothers in the 18th Regiment. I
know it has been
some time since you received an update,
but as you all
know our Regiment has been very busy.
First
and foremost I
want to thank the Association for all the
support to the
Vanguard Battalion throughout our
deployment
preparations, and your continued support as we
execute our mission
in Iraq. The Vanguard Battalion is
really a Task
Force, as of 15 February. We still have
the
guidon of each
individual company, but we also added the
Warlords A Co
1-77 Armor and 3rd platoon from B Co 1-77
Armor to our
force from the Tiger Battalion. We also
have
the pleasure of
leading great soldiers from C Co and D Co,
2nd Battalion,
108th Infantry, based in upstate New York.
The first phase of our deployment ended on
15
February when
the Vanguards closed on Camp New York,
a desert base in
the Kuwait Area of Operations. This camp
offered the team
a final opportunity to validate war fighting
skills from
squad through platoon level. The
soldiers
performed
magnificently and we were often called upon to
train other
units within the 1st Infantry Division.
In March
we began our
Approach March north. This involved 5
individual
combat patrols consisting of 35 to 40 fully
prepared combat
soldiers negotiating over 400 miles of
Iraqi urban
centers and desert terrain to get to our fight in
the Salah ad Din
province (Sunni triangle).
The Vanguards set out to conduct our
directed
mission by
assuming responsibility for the security of one of
the largest and
most complex sectors in Iraq on 13 March
2004. Tikrit and the rural areas of the Sunni
triangle offer
every soldier an
opportunity to conduct missions involving
the destruction
of insurgent cells engaging in anti-coalition
activities to
engagement of local leaders to assist in the
progress of
infrastructure re-building. In a proud
infantryman's
terms, this really means that our guys and
their leaders
are the most incredible men and real everyday
heroes.
LTG Sanchez, the CJTF-7 Commander, made a
personal visit
to see the 2nd Dagger Brigade and
1st Battalion,
18th Infantry. We had an opportunity to
brief
him on
operations in Tikrit and he met with Vanguard
soldiers as he
walked around our Forward Operating Base.
He emphasized
that we were all volunteers and we accept
the
sacrifice. He also said that our
families did not
volunteer for
this and that we owe them a great debt of
gratitude. We all share this view in our Task Force and
the
men of the 18th
Regiment are truly humbled and thankful
for our ladies
who support us from the home front._The Battalion is currently in a unique
phase. Every
company is
assigned a key sector that they must deny to
the enemy and
destroy any anti-coalition forces in it.
During
the day Company
Commanders, platoon sergeants and
squad leaders
are engaging local leaders and tribal sheiks
to work issues
of security and quality of life services.
Every
night brings new
lessons for our young soldiers as they
rapidly
transition into combat savvy warriors.
The purpose
and confidence
of these soldiers, coupled with their great
motivation,
makes serving this organization a remarkable
experience every
single day. The challenge we have now
is to capture
the events in every busy day to ensure
accuracy for the
honored lineage of our regiment.
I think it is
fitting to close this update with a
reminder to keep
the families and friends of our fallen
brothers in your
prayers. These losses touched our entire
team and an
endless group of friends and fellow service
members. Words could not describe the open compassion
among every
soldier and the strong spirit that this loss will
not change our
legacy of success. We fight each day for
our country, our
families and without question, on every
dark night, for
each other.
"First to
Battle"
Jeffrey A.
Sinclair
LTC IN
Vanguard 6
Night in the city Tikrit
March 30/31, 2004_
*** 1st BATTALION WEB PAGE ***
http://www.schweinfurt.army.mil/118/website.htm Use it to keep informed about 1-18 INF
during the deployment. _
Update on our
Battalion
- a special
report from an infantry platoon leader.
[Editor's note -
this young man shall remain anonymous, but
his words reveal
a look into life in combat that is real. It brings
back vivid
remembrances of another time and place.]
Hey I am still alive! We suffered some casualties the other
day. We lost two good Americans, and everyone is
kinda
down, but it is
a part of the job. This place is crazy and dirty.
I have already
had strep throat and a giant boil. I am
lucky to
shower once a
week and, well, it isn't even summer yet!
These people are
shady, they wave to you and smile for the
most part, but
the other day we did a raid and found a load of
weapons and
explosives. They will shake your right
hand and
stab you with
the left. I know not everyone is like
that but
finding the [bad
ones] is not very easy and usually it is them
who initiate the
attacks (primarily with IEDs) and the scary part
about IEDs is
that there is trash everywhere in this
Godforsaken
land. and, well, just about anything is
used when
making an
IED. It is nerve racking driving down
the road
wondering if the
next piece of trash is either gonna blow in the
wind or rip me
to shreds. This is fun!!!! Seriously though, we
are well
equipped and you don't need to worry. Could you
send this to
...? Let her know I am ok and miss
her! I hate
doing a mass
e-mail, but I am up to my neck in work and
patrols! I think about her everyday and hope some day
I will
get mail to her
and some from her!!!(we still don't have a
system in place
yet!!) I miss her and want to call her,
but it is
sketchy on the
phones, they are usually full or not working and
when I do have
time to use them (which is seldom because I
am out for 48
hours at a time usually doing patrol after patrol),
I am busy doing
some other [stuff] like dealing with strep or
giant growths
that appear on my body from living in filth.
I
have so much
more to say, but I gotta go. We have an
all
night mission
tonight. We had Spectre gunships
lighting up
the city last
night. It was surreal. Someone got lit up last
night, that is
for sure! I love you all and miss
you. This place
is crazy and I
have only been in combat a week!!!! Love ...
18th INFANTRY NEWS
Ben Sternberg
will be laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery on
Friday
afternoon, April 30, 2004. Meet at the
Visitor Center at
2:30pm. Ben lead
the 2nd Battalion in North Africa and Sicily,
and was the
Regiment's Executive Officer in Europe.
It is reported
that Jack Requarth, WWII, died in January.
May they rest in
peace!
_
Care Package Program
The Honorary
Sergeant Major reports that letters and care
packages may be
sent to the address below:
Soldier's Rank
and Name
Company, 1-18
IN, 2BCT, 1IN DIV (FWD)
OIF 2, FOB
DANGER
APO AE 09392
It works best
when letters and packages are sent to named
individuals. Therefore, we recommend that you address them
to the Company
Commander or First Sergeant, by name, and
they will get
them to individual soldiers. Company Commanders
and First
Sergeants are:
HHC: CPT Todd Grissom; 1SG Deon
Stanfield
A
Co: CPT David Krzycki; 1SG Stanley Varner
B Co: CPT David Arnold; 1SG Matt Cloyd
C Co: CPT Aaron Coombs; 1SG Lorenzo Farrow
A Co, 1-77 Armor: CPT Kevin Bolke; 1SG
Alan Hummel
As we
experienced in Vietnam, thievery en route is a problem.
Take extra
precautions to seal the package inside
and out.
Always put two
(2) sealed envelopes in the package. One
containing a
list of package contents, with instructions for
distribution,
and the other a personal letter to the intended
recipient(s). For example, a letter addressed to the CO
that
says,
"please give to the 3rd Platoon Leader", or a letter to the
1SGT with,
"this is for 1st Squad, 1st Platoon."
Also, please
include a
stamped, self-addressed return envelop so that the
soldier can
acknowledge receipt. The soldier need
only write
on the back of
your content list, "Contents received.
Thanks."
Then put it in
the SASE and we know it reached them.
Hopefully, he
will write more.
It is recommended
that you put most things in baggies. The
postal service
is none to gentle with packages, and
temperatures in
Iraq reach 130 . Baggies keep things
together
and protect
against spillage or melting. Baggies
filled with pop-
corn are better
than newspaper or Styrofoam for filler.
In
addition,
soldiers find uses for plastic bags (to keep the sand
out) and they
can eat the pop-corn.
When you send
care packages, please email or call or send
a postcard to
CSM Carter, so that he can track the progress
of our care
package program and make specific "requests"
where
needed. Let him know when you sent it
and to whom.
Thanks. Address is: CSM Naman Carter (USA/Ret), 8502
Quail Tree Road,
San Antonio, TX 78250-6517. Tel/Res:
(210)
680-0264. Email: <sugarhillapts@hotmail.com>
_
2004 REUNION +++ 28 JULY - 1 AUGUST
+++ CHICAGO, IL
_
Comments from the Honorary
Colonel
Last January's visit to our Battalion was
different from all prior visits that CSM Carter and I have made. As always,
we sensed an air
of dedicated professionalism. But, on this one, we also sensed a special
attitude of confident and clear-eyed
readiness. The
troops certainly seemed curious about the Iraq deployment, set to begin within
a few days of our visit. But, a
spirit of quiet
confidence shone through. They were really ready!
Naman and I were told by the Division
Commander, MG John Batiste, and the Brigade Commander, COL Randal
Dragon, that
they had specifically picked our Vanguards for the toughest job in the 1st
Infantry Division's area of
operations--Tikrit
and vicinity. The reason, both said, was that they're a good unit. Simple as
that.
A bit more detail. Naman and I left San
Antonio and Seattle, respectively, on Monday, 12 January, and met up at
Frankfurt
Airport the next morning. From that point on, we were again part of our
Battalion. The commander, LTC Jeff
Sinclair, and
CSM Doug Pallister, brought us up-to-date that afternoon and early evening. We
spent the next morning on the
rifle range in
BDUs and boots with B Company, CPT "Hans" Kurth and 1SG Matt
Cloyd--both friends from previous visits.
Each soldier
fired three magazines, under the direct control of his squad leader, in what
the schedule called "reflexive fire
training."
(Naman and I would have called it
"quick reaction fire," I believe.) In any case, the junior leaders
were running the
training,
something we both were glad to see. That good day popped up at once in my
memory when we got the sad news this
week about the
Battalion's losses on its first day of operations. (Details elsewhere in this
newsletter.) We've since been told
that our troops
reacted to that roadside IED ("improvised explosive device," as our
forces in Iraq label them) very aggressively,
and that all of
them (and especially including our medics) did us proud.
On the next day, we saw that
"readiness" meant not just people, but also vehicles and equipment. As the CSM and
I walked through
the motor pool and troop barracks, talking with soldiers all along the way, we
got the strong impression that
your Vanguards
had been thorough and timely in preparing for the Iraq deployment. Outloading
began just a few days later.
And so, Vanguards are now again in harm's
way. Our soldiers and their families know they're in our thoughts and
prayers. We
mourn our losses and will miss them greatly. For your part, please think long
and hard about taking part in the
"package-sending"
program now being put together by CSM and Mrs. Carter. We can all remember how
mail (especially
packages) from
home lit up our days in combat. And most of us didn't face temperatures of 137
degrees F. Those days will
be coming too
soon. Our soldiers need to be sure that they're very high on our priorities
lists. We can't let them down.
Duty First!
George M. Tronsrue, Jr., Colonel, USA
Retired, Honorary Colonel, 18th Infantry Regiment
Email from Battalion
to Honorary Colonel, dated Sunday, March 14:
"Dear
Vanguards; Yesterday we took our first
causalities of the war in B/1-18 IN. SGT Kalous, SPC Press, and SPC Lovell are
wounded. SPC Jason Ford was killed in action. Additionally, we lost our dear friend, CPT
Hans Kurth. Hans was leading a
patrol in Tikrit
when he was ambushed by the enemy. His
vehicle, the second of three was struck by a command detonated,
improvised
explosive device (IED) consisting of multiple 57mm shells at a range of less
than 10 feet. His patrol was then
engaged by small
arms fire from an unknown number of attackers.
The patrol returned fire, ... Hans was a dear friend to us
all. Physically and mentally, he was a truly
dedicated solider. We will miss his
leadership greatly. SPC Ford was another fine
soldier and his
loss will be felt. Fortunately, SPC
Press, SPC Lovell will return to duty shortly.
SGT Kalous will recover, but has
suffered an
amputation on one leg. ... I ask for your thoughts and prayers for the task
force. Pray particularly for the fallen and
wounded, ...
Know that your Vanguards stand firm, are dedicated, and are doing well.
..."
Courage and
sacrifice ... the long and distinguished tradition of the 18th Infantry
continues ...
_ 18TH INFANTRY REGIMENT ASSOCIATION
FIRST CLASS
MAIL
18TH INFANTRY REGIMENT
ASSOCIATION
George Gentry,
President
1331 Hackett Ave
Long Beach, CA 90815
www.18inf.org
18th Infantry History books
available
18th Infantry WWII Book "American Iliad"
Reports indicate
that American Iliad, written by Robert Baumer, is on schedule and will be
available on May 1st. Copies of this
book (of approximately
424 pages) will retail for $24.95 plus $4.00 shipping. The print run will be limited, so advance
orders
are a good way
to guarantee getting a copy. The
deadline for discounted pre-publication orders is past, but regular orders may
still be made by
contacting the publisher: The Aberjona Press, PO Box 623, Bedford, PA
15522. Phone orders are also
welcome,
toll-free, at (866) 265-9063, using VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or
Discover credit cards.
18t Infantry Civil War Book "That Body of Brave Men"
That Body of
Brave Men is enjoying a successful first edition and is currently available at
bookstores. While this 600+ page
book is about
the Regular Brigade, Army of the Cumberland, it is primarily an account of the
18th Infantry during the Civil War.
Mark Johnson has
done an exceptional job of weaving primary documents into a readable
story. This is a must read for those
who enjoy
reading about the Civil War and those who love and appreciate the history of
our great regiment.
Published by the
18th Infantry Regiment Association, a non-profit organization chartered by the
State of Georgia.
Editor: George
Gentry, 1331 Hackett Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815. 562-596-8097. HQ18INF@aol.com
