Speaker Biographies
Keynote Speaker: General David Petraeus
General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the United States Central Command in October 2008, after serving for over 19 months as the Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq. Prior to his tour as MNF-I Commander, he commanded the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. Before that assignment, he was the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, which he led from June 2004 to September 2005, and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, which he commanded from October 2004 to September 2005. That deployment to Iraq followed his command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during which he led the “Screaming Eagles” in combat throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force-Bosnia. Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps.
General Petraeus was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1974. He has held leadership positions in airborne, mechanized, and air assault infantry units in Europe and the United States, including command of a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and a brigade in the 82nd Airborne Division. In addition, he has held a number of staff assignments: Aide to the Chief of Staff of the Army; battalion, brigade, and division operations officer; Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander – Europe; Chief of Operations of the United Nations Force in Haiti; and Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
General Petraeus was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Class of 1983. He subsequently earned MPA and Ph.D. degrees in international relations from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and he later served as an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the US Military Academy. He also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University.
Awards and decorations earned by General Petraeus include two awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the State Department Distinguished Service Award, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, the Gold Award of the Iraqi Order of the Date Palm, the French Légion d’Honneur, and the National Defense Cross of the Czech Republic. He is a Master Parachutist and Air Assault and Ranger qualified. He has also earned the Combat Action Badge and French, British, and German Jump Wings. In 2005 he was recognized by the U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s 25 Best Leaders, and in 2007 he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential leaders of the year and one of four runners-up for Time Person of the Year. Most recently, he was selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals and by Esquire magazine as one of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century.
Commander John J. Adametz, CEC, USN. Adametz’s most recent assignment was that as Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN. During his tour with NMCB SEVEN, the battalion completed deployments to the Pacific Area of Operations in support of Theater Security Cooperation projects in 17 countries and 5 exercises including the first visit by Seabees to Vietnam while embarked on the USS Pelelieu since the 1970’s as part of the Pacific Partnership exercise. In April 2009, NMCB SEVEN completed a historic deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan which included the largest air embarkation of Seabees in recent history. While deployed to Iraq, the battalion was reassigned to Afghanistan. The battalion loaded more than 46 C-17 aircraft and an equivalent amount via sea and shifted to Afghanistan. Upon arrival, the battalion set a defensive perimeter, built 3 miles of berm and 30 guard towers, and constructed Forward Operating Base Leatherneck in preparation for arrival of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade to prosecute the insurgency in the Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan.
Buzz Aldrin was educated at the US Military Academy at West Point, graduating third in his class with a BS in mechanical engineering. He joined the Air Force where he flew F86 Sabre Jets in 66 combat missions in Korea, shot down two MIG-15’s, and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Selected by NASA in 1963 into the third group of astronauts, Aldrin was the first with a doctorate. In 1966 on the Gemini 12 orbital mission, he performed the world’s first successful spacewalk. On July 20, 1969, Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made their historic Apollo 11 moonwalk. Upon returning from the moon, Buzz was decorated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American peacetime award. Aldrin has penned his dramatic memoirs in his recently released autobiography Magnificent Desolation. He continues to inspire today’s youth with his illustrated children’s books: Reaching for the Moon and Look to the Stars.
Mike Ali enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1966. During training at Camp Lejeune, Mike qualified for the 1968 Olympic trials as a sprinter. Before he could compete, he was deployed to Vietnam. While on patrol in the DMZ in October 1967, he sustained life threatening injuries as a result of a near direct hit from a mortar round. Mike survived in spite of the odds, spending the next three years undergoing surgeries followed by five years of rehabilitation. While undergoing surgeries and rehabilitation, he was able to attend and complete college. Mike then worked with a number of law enforcement agencies, including the DEA and the NYC Police Department. In 1999, He was introduced to the Military Order of the Purple Heart and held numerous positions within the organization, including NY State Commander. Mike currently is employed as its Liaison Officer at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor (Museum) in New Windsor, NY. His primary function is to serve as an advocate to all veterans and active duty personnel by assisting them with securing the benefits they have earned and the services they need.
Clarence “Bud” Anderson is a WWII Triple Ace who flew the P-51 Mustang Old Crow, while assigned to the 357th Fighter Group “Yoxford Boys,” 8th Air Force, Leiston Field, United Kingdom. The 357th Fighter Group was credited with shooting down 609 1/2 enemy aircraft in only 15 months, a pace no other fighter group equaled. The 357th, also produced 42 aces, more than any other group. Bud was the leading ace of the 363rd Fighter Squadron with 16 1/4 victories. At 87, Bud is an active pilot, maintaining his Certified Flight Instructor Rating (CFI). In July 2008, Bud was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Bud has been featured on many special TV and Video Productions. Most recently the History Channel and the Military Channel. Video clips from these can be viewed on YouTube.
National Finance Officer Boyd Barclay served as MOPH Oklahoma State Department Commander in 1995-96 and as National Commander from 1998-99. He has served the MOPH as National Finance Officer for eight years. He served his first tour in Vietnam as the Fire Support Coordinator for Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines attached to 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines. He then attended flight school and returned to Vietnam, flying Huey gun ships for VMO-3. Barclay served in the United States Marine Corps from 1963-68 and was medically retired in January 1968 as a Captain. His decorations include the Silver Star, Purple Heart and Air Medal.
David Bellavia is a former army staff sergeant who served in the First Infantry Division (Task Force 2-2). He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor for actions he took in a fierce urban firefight in the Battle of Fallujah. He has received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Conspicuous Service Cross. He has also been nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross. He chronicled this fight in the critically acclaimed book “House to House: An Epic Memoir of War” (2007, Free Press). David co-founded Vets for Freedom and recently founded the Warrior Legacy Foundation, a charity designed to restore the dignity of service. He has co-written a screenplay on the war that is in pre-production, and he has returned to Iraq numerous times as a reporter.
Patriot Bircher is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a Government Relations Consultant in Washington, DC where he was President of Neill and Company, Inc., a lobbying and public affairs company that specialized in Middle East business and politics. In addition to Military Order of the Purple Heart, he is a member of the American Legion. He was on the Board of Directors of the American Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA), the Board of the National Defense Industry Association, the Board of the Tangier American Legation Museum, and the Board of Directors of Angel Flight America, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free transportation to medical patients in need of assistance. Patriot Bircher and his wife Carol now reside in Lady Lake, Florida.
Colonel Frank Caldwell joined the Marine Corps at Quantico, VA in 1942. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Parachute Battalion. He saw action against the Japanese on Guadalcanal, Vella La Vella and Bougainville, in the British Solomon Islands. After parachute battalions were deactivated, he was assigned to join the 5th Marine Division, having been promoted to Captain and commanding officer of F Company, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines. His unit landed on Iwo Jima on D-Day, February 19, 1945 and left March 26, 1945, the end of combat. Fox Company captured more ground than any other company in the Battle of Iwo Jima. For a single battle, his unit suffered the highest killed-in-action rate of any Marine Company in U.S. history. Near the end of the campaign, he continued to fight with no officers and very few NCOs remaining. For his efforts on Iwo Jima, he was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart. Caldwell later served in Korea. He retired from the military in 1973.
Evangeline Coeyman graduated from Emmaus High School in 1939, and matriculated into St. Luke’s School of Nursing, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from which she graduated three years later. Coeyman joined the Army Nurse Corps as a second lieutenant and arrived in England on June 8, 1944. She was assigned to the 59th Field Hospital of the 90th Infantry Division. The field hospital consisted of 18 nurses, an 8-person surgical team, 4-6 doctors and 50-70 corpsmen. It came ashore on Utah Beach on July 31. The hospital followed Patton’s army across Europe. Coeyman participated in providing medical assistance to GI’s following the Battle of the Bulge and saw the General several times. The most unforgettable horrors were the cocentration camps, Gosen and Mauthausen, which Coeyman aided in liberating.
Colonel Roger H.C. Donlon is the first American to receive the Medal of Honor for valor in Vietnam, and the first member of the Special Forces to receive the award. In May of 1964, Donlon and his team were deployed to an outpost at Nam Dong, near the border with Laos. On July 6, the outpost came under heavy attack from two-battalion sized force of Vietcong. The ensuing battle lasted five hours, with Donlon directing the defense despite the incessant barrage of mortar shells, grenades, and small arms fire. Despite sustaining several serious wounds, he continued to fight off the advancing enemy soldiers while administering first aid to his own wounded men. His leadership was responsible for the ultimate victory against a large and well-prepared enemy. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Johnson on December 5, 1964.
Captain Kathryn Donovan, CEC, USN serves as the Executive Officer, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington. Previous assignments include Assistant Operations Officer, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington; Commanding Officer, Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion TWO, Iraq; Action Officer, Director Navy Staff, Pentagon; Executive Assistant, Commander, Navy Installations Command, DC; White House Fellow, Department of Health and Human Services, DC; Operations Officer, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVEN, MS; Public Works Officer and Officer in Charge of Construction; Naval Air Station, MS; Staff Civil Engineer; Naval Magazine, Philippines; Officer in Charge; Construction Battalion Unit FOUR ZERO TWO, Pensacola, FL; and Assistant Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL. She earned an MSE from George Washington University, an MBA from University of West Florida, and a BSME from United States Naval Academy. She earned the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal and Joint Service Commendation Medal, in addition to other awards.
Lorenzo Dufau earned his place in American history as one of 150 black men aboard the USS Mason when it sailed in the Atlantic during World War II. The USS Mason earned its place in American history as the first naval ship to be manned by a predominately African-American crew. He was twenty-one years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Dufau felt the way many Americans did. It was time to defend his country. Dufau volunteered as soon as he heard that the United States Navy had opened its doors to African-Americans.
Sergeant Matthew Eversmann enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in December 1987. He spent over eight years with the Third Battalion, Seventy Fifth Ranger Regiment. While serving as a sergeant in the Ranger Regiment, he traveled the world. In August 1993, Eversmann and his company deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia in support of Operation Gothic Serpent. His decorations include the Bronze Star with Valor device and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Eversmann recently returned to the U.S. after serving 15 months in Iraq. He retired from the Army as an Infantry Company First Sergeant after 20 years of service. He is co-author of The Battle of Mogadishu (2004).
LTJG Christopher Fairfield, CEC, USN is from Dalton, MA and a graduate of Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the nation. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida he received a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy in September of 2006. LTJG Fairfield’s first assignment was to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) THREE, homeported in Port Hueneme, CA. He deployed twice with the battalion, the first to Okinawa, Japan where NMCB THREE performed peacetime construction for the Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa and III Marine Expeditionary Force and the second to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, supporting contingency construction for I Marine Expeditionary Force as Multi-National Force West. Following his assignment to the Seabee’s he reported to Officer-In-Charge of Construction Bethesda and is currently assigned as a project manager overseeing BRAC construction to facilitate the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda.
Richard Falvey joined the army in August 1942. He volunteered for the paratroops, took his basic training at Toccoa, GA and completed Ft. Benning parachute school on Dec. 25, 1942. He was assigned to HQ Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He jumped into Normandy about 1:15 AM, June 6, 1944 and landed near Foucarville. He joined a newly formed bazooka platoon for the September 17, 1944 parachute drop into Holland. He was wounded in Bastogne, Belgium. After treatment at an aid station, he was sent back to the line. He returned to the U.S. with Hitler’s and Goering’s autos that were “captured” at Berchesgaden, Austria. He was assigned to the Treasury Department and accompanied these cars on a Victory Bond Drive from Washington, D.C. to Denver, CO. “Red” was discharged on Dec. 20, 1945. Richard married in 1948 and had three children. He was employed as a brakeman and conductor by the New York Central Railroad and retired in 1982. Currently he participates as a consultant in the 2nd Battalion HQ Company – 506 PIR, 506 Re-Enactors Inc.
Bob Feller was a star pitcher for the Cleveland Indians during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Feller immediately enlisted in the United States Navy, where he was assigned to command a 24-man gunnery squad on the battleship Alabama. After a year of service in the North Atlantic, Feller and the Alabama were sent to the Pacific, where he participated in eight invasions including Iwo Jima. Feller was discharged in August 1945, after almost four years of service. He returned to baseball and resumed a career that led to his induction into the MLB Hall of Fame.
Nathaniel C. Fick is the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security, a non-partisan national security and defense policy research organization in Washington. Prior to joining CNAS, Fick served as a Marine Corps infantry officer, including combat tours in Afghanistan in 2001-2002 and Iraq in 2003. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller One Bullet Away, recognized as one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The Washington Post in 2005. Fick serves on the boards of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College. He holds an A.B. degree in Classics from Dartmouth, an MPA in International Security Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Ralph Griffiths joined the Marines when he was 17 years old. He was a part of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment, 5th Division since its beginning in 1944. He participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima, serving and training with every flag raiser for one year. He received a Purple Heart and Presidential Citation after being wounded by the same shell that killed flag raisers Sergeant Michael Strank and Corporal Harlon Block. After months in the hospital he rejoined his old outfit and trained for the invasion of Japan. When the war ended, he was sent to Japan as part of the occupation force in 1945.
Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr. graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946. After attending flight school, he was designated a Naval Aviator in August of 1949. On December 4, 1950, while serving with VF-32 during the Korean War, he crash-landed his own plane near the Chosin Reservoir in an effort to rescue Ensign Jesse L. Brown, another pilot whose plane had been shot down. For his heroism on that occasion, then-Lt. (Junior Grade) Hudner was awarded the Medal of Honor―the first Navy Medal of Honor to be awarded during the Korean War.
Captain W. Bryan Jackson graduated and received his commission from the U.S. Military Academy in May 2005. He was assigned to 2-3 FA “GUNNERS” in Giessen, Germany in December 2005. Jackson met his Infantry unit in Kuwait, en route to Iraq and served as the Fire Support Officer for A/1-36 IN “SPARTANS” in January 2006. Jackson was injured by machine gun fire on 27 September 2006, when his unit was ambushed by an armed insurgent force. During recovery, he underwent over a dozen surgeries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Jackson was awarded his Purple Heart by President George W. Bush at a ceremony in WRAMC on 22 December 2006. Less than a year later, The Secretary of the Army presented Jackson with the Distinguished Service Cross for extreme gallantry in Iraq. He is the 7th Soldier since the Vietnam War to receive the DSC. Jackson served a year-long tour in Korea with a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Battalion before assuming duties as Command Speechwriter for the Commanding General, U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Jimmie Kanaya, the son of Japanese immigrants, Jimmie was devoted to both his family and his country. But his dual loyalties were challenged by the racist backlash of post-Pearl Harbor hysteria. In early 1942, Jimmie’s parents were relocated to an internment camp and although he was already in the army, the government initially treated him as a suspect and refused to allow him to actively fight. In 1943, Jimmie joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a special unit made up of Japanese-American soldiers. Despite his best intentions to set an example of excellence in service, things tended to go wrong for Jimmie in combat, but he earned a Silver Star just months before he was captured by German soldiers. After multiple failed escape attempts, he was eventually liberated at the end of the war.
Mary Pat Kelly has told various stories connected to Ireland. Her award-winning PBS documentaries and accompanying books include To Live for Ireland, a portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume and the political party he led; Home Away from Home: The Yanks in Ireland; and Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason. She wrote and directed the dramatic feature film Proud, starring Ossie Davis and Stephen Rea, based on the USS Mason story. She’s written several other books and is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine. Mary Pat Kelly worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter for Paramount and Columbia Pictures and in New York City as an associate producer with Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, and wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Abby’s Song. She received her Ph.D. from the City University of New York. Born and raised in Chicago, she lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her husband, Web designer Martin Sheerin from County Tyrone.
Sergeant Marco Martinez, USMC, once a gang member, became the first Hispanic American in the War on Terror to receive the Navy Cross, the second-highest award a U.S. Marine can receive, second only to the Medal of Honor. His combat heroics have been described in the pages of the San Diego Union-Tribune, USA Today, National Review, and the Navy Times, among other publications. Only 26 years old, Martinez now attends college in Southern California while working full-time in nuclear security.
Donald Mates served in the 3rd Marine Division and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima, landing on February 24, 1945. After midnight on February 27, Mates’ eight-man patrol came under heavy assault from Japanese forces. During fierce hand-to-hand combat, Mates watched as his friend and fellow Marine, Jimmy Trimble, was killed in front of his eyes. Mates was severely wounded and underwent repeated operations for shrapnel removal for over 30 years. In recent years, he has helped the World War II Veterans Committee begin the “James Trimble III Scholarship” in honor of his fallen friend. Mates was also be the recipient of the Pentagon’s 2009 Military Hero Award.
Commander Paul J. Odenthal, CEC, USN reported to the FIRST Naval Construction Division in 2009 to serve as Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics, FIRST Naval Construction Division. Other tours included Commanding Officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion ONE THIRTY-THREE; Combat Systems Technical Schools Command, Calif., as the Staff Civil Engineer and Public Works Division Officer; Company Commander, Mobile Construction Battalion FIVE, Calif., Public Works Officer, Naval Air Station, Fla. In 2002, he reported to the NATO Headquarters South Atlantic, Portugal as the Infrastructure Branch Head. In 2004, this command transformed into Joint Headquarters LISBON and he became the first Chief Engineer of NATO’s only sea-based capable, standing Joint Task Force Headquarters. In 2005, he transferred to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic in Norfolk, VA., for duty as the Director of Contingency Engineering. Commander Odenthal holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University, and a M.A. in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. His military decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, among other decorations.
Al Ortiz was commissioned a Master Sergeant and Platoon Leader of 1st Platoon, Company E. and served on the Regimental Combat Team – Korea from December 1951 to July 1952. Most of his combat which he was involved in was in the Chorwan Valley in the center of Korea. Most of it was hand to hand combat, on Old Baldy and Pork Chop Hill. Wounded several times he was treated at a MASH hospital. He has served at the US Department of Commerce, Department of Health Education and Welfare. His other decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge, the Korea Service Medal, the UN Medal, Six Purple Heart Medals, the Japanese Occupation Medal, The Good Conduct Medal, the Defense Service Medal, The Government of Korea War Service Medal, The Government of Korea Peace Medal, A US Unit Citation, and a Korean Government citation.
Paul Rogers. On December 7, 1941, Rogers was working at Boeing Aircraft, Wichita, Kansas. He was classified 3A and did not have to go into the service, but he knew he had to serve or he could not have lived with himself. He joined up in August 1942. On June 6, 1944, he parachuted into France. He landed outside Ste. Mere-Eglise in a large, tall tree. He joined up with the 82nd and fought with them for eight days until he found his Company E, 506th.. When he met them, many men had been lost, and he was made Master Sergeant. On July 12th, he left France and returned to England. The next jump was on September 17th into Holland. He fought into Eindhoven and then onto Nuenen. He was wounded and was flown back to England. After six weeks, he rejoined the company in Mourmelon. On December 17th, he was transported to Bastogne. The 506th was sent through Germany to Austria. They saw beautiful country, the Eagles Next, and not so beautiful things like prisoners (dead and alive) who had been used for labor by the Germans. They also took many German prisoners. In September, he went home and tried to forget some things and remember others. After 38 months, there were many things to remember.
Colonel Edward Shames was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and was in naval school when the United States entered World War II. He volunteered for the paratroops in September 1942 and was assigned to I Company in the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne. Shames then transferred to HQ company and, after receiving a battlefield commission at Carentan, joined Easy Company―now known as the Band of Brothers―as a 2nd Lieutenant after the Normandy invasion in July 1944.
Brigadier General Connie Slewitzky received her ANC commission in 1957. Her overseas assignments included service in Hawaii, Europe, Vietnam, and Korea. Under her tenure as Chief, the number of active duty ANC spaces in hospitals expanded, and the Corps made significant progress in improving the education and training of the Reserve Components. Additionally, General Slewitzke established the Workload Management System to define staffing needs based on patient acuity. She received the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal, among other awards and honors.
LTC Sharon Stanley-Alden is an Army brat and was raised on Army posts around the U.S. and Europe. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1967, she received her BSN from Duke University in 1968. She served on active duty in the Army from 1966-1972 and from 1978-1993. Assignments included Valley Forge General Hospital, 71st Evacuation Hospital (Pleiku, Vietnam), Fort Sam Houston, Fort Carson and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). She specialized in Critical Care nursing and held faculty appointments in Licensed Practical and Associate Degree nursing programs. She retired from the military in 1993 and worked in the Peace Corps’ Office of Medical Services, as Clinical Nursing Director for the Vaccine Healthcare Network at WRAMC, as a Clinical Trials Monitor at Fort Detrick, and as Director of Student Health at Shepherd University in WV. LTC Stanley-Alden returned to active duty in 2008 and is a Senior Nurse Case Manager for the Warrior Transition Battalion-Europe in Germany. She expects to serve until 2012.
Herb Suerth enlisted in the Army on November 11, 1942 at age 18. He was called to active duty March 1943 and sent to Europe in July 1944. He managed to volunteer for parachute infantry and joined the 101st Airborne in August, 1944. He was assigned to E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in late November 1944. He first saw comabat in Fay, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. He was seriously wounded January 10, 1945; and spent 18 months in the hospital, 9 months in bed, and 4 months in skeletal traction while recovering. After the war, Suerth married and had nine children. He currently resides in Wayzata, MN.
Amos “Buck” Taylor was an original member of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He joined the Company in the summer of 1942 while at Camp Toccoa, GA. Buck was one of the 4 members of 3rd Platoon who hailed from the “Keystone State” that were known as “The Four Pennsylvanians”. He rose to the rank of Sergeant and fought with the 3rd Platoon of E Company in Normandy, Holland & Bastogne. After the war Buck worked with the US Government until he retired. He and his wife Elaine are very active in E Company reunions and projects supporting our current day Soldiers serving overseas.
Senior Chief Builder (SCW) Cloves Tennis, USN has been assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR since May 2009 following an Individual Augmentee (IA) assignment to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). His duty stations include Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE, Port Hueneme, CA, THIRTY-FIRST Naval Construction Regiment, Port Hueneme, CA; Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, Port Hueneme, CA with deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I and II (OIF I and II). During OIF I, he served as Task Force Mike Bridge Platoon Commander constructing five logistical re-supply bridges. During OIF II, he served as the assistant convoy security team commander completing over 250 convoys throughout the Al Anbar Province. Senior Chief Tennis is a qualified Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist and Master Training Specialist.
Keni Thomas, a recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor, enlisted in the Army in 1991. Deployed to Somalia, Task Force Ranger’s primary mission was location and capture of the criminal warlord Mohammed Farrah Aideed. On October 3, 1993, he was involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, which was later recounted in the highly successful book and movie Black Hawk Down. After departing the Army, he served as a counselor for problematic youth. Currently, he is a national spokesperson for the Hero Fund and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college educations to the children of our special operations personnel killed in combat or training. In addition to speaking engagements for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to Boy Scouts, Thomas is an award-winning Nashville recording artist and country star. Keni tours with his band nationwide and abroad and has a new album, “Gunslinger.” Proceeds from the album benefit the Hero Fund. Thomas and band were featured in the movie Sweet Home Alabama, and he worked as a military advisor on the movie We Were Soldiers. He has been featured on Good Morning America, and served as a military analyst on CNN, PBS, NBC Dateline, Fox and the History Channel.
LT Ryan W. Thrun, CEC, USN is from St. Petersburg, Florida and joined the U.S. Navy in 2003 while obtaining a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. In 2005 he was commissioned as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps. LT Thrun has recently returned from Afghanistan serving a 1-year Individual Augmentee billet. While in Afghanistan, he served as the engineer for Joint Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktika located at Forward Operating Base Sharana. He was responsible for the planning. design, execution, contract management, and quality assurance of over 60 construction projects within the province of Paktika. In addition, he along with his team continuously mentored and supported the local Afghan leadership helping build a recognizable and effective form of legitimate government. LT Thrun is currently stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Major Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. He was soon assigned to the 97th Bomb Group, the first operational B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, where he served as navigator aboard the Red Gremlin along with pilot Paul Tibbets and Tom Ferebee, bombardier. While serving in Europe, the crew of the Red Gremlin was given a number of important missions, including transporting Generals Mark Clark and Dwight D. Eisenhower. On August 6, 1945, Van Kirk, Tibbets, and Ferebee, now aboard a B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, took off from Tinian for mainland Japan. Six and a half hours later, they deployed the first atomic bomb in history over the city of Hiroshima. Van Kirk was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star and 15 Air Medals for his service.
Patriot Dennis Wallot started life a little rough. He quit high school and joined the Army in September 1965, so he could be somebody. He served as an enlisted man for the next three years before leaving the service as a sergeant. After spending a year training as a ranger in the States, he served in Vietnam in 1966/67 as a combat soldier with the 1st Cavalry Division. During his tour of duty he fell in a pungi pit and was out of the field for two weeks. When he rejoined his unit, he was shot through both legs on September 30, 1967. He spent his last year of duty in Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania. He was discharged on September 30, 1968, just as all his classmates were getting out of high school. Finding work was tough, so after a six year stint in college, he earned a degree. He continued schooling, received a Master’s, and now operates his own business as a financial planner with over 1,000 clients. Patriot Wallot currently holds the office of Chairman of the National Financial Committee for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Captain Linda Wert directly commissioned with the Army Nurse Corps in December 2004 and entered active duty in September 2005. After completing Officer Basic Course at Fort Sam Houston, TX, she was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center working on the Post Surgical Ward as a staff charge nurse. In October 2007 she deployed with the 86th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Campbell, KY to The Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, Ibn Sina Hospital. During the 15-month deployment, CPT Wert worked as Charge Nurse of the Intermediate Care Ward caring for U.S. military personnel, Coalition Forces, Iraqi civilians, Iraqi detainees, and Iraqi military. CPT Wert is currently serving as a senior instructor at the 68WM6 LPN Nursing Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Shelby Westbrook was s a self-sufficient young man with an inner-strength born out of early tragedy. His parents died when Shelby was just 12 years old. He moved from his small town home to live with his brother in Toledo, OH, where he attended an integrated high school, free of the sting of racial prejudice. After Pearl Harbor, he was keen to sign up for the nation’s first all-black air corps. It was only when he entered the U.S. military that Shelby’s eyes are opened to racial injustice. Shelby decided to be the best pilot in the entire war –convinced that his actions will be the most eloquent testament to his right to equal treatment. He became one of the Tuskegee Airmen, a First Lieutenant in the 99th Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force.
Edgar Whitcomb is the former governor of Indiana. During World War II, he was an Army Air Corps Navigator in the Philippines. He was captured and later escaped from the Island of Corregidor before being recaptured and sent to Manila where he was interrogated and tortured. Living under an assumed civilian name he was eventually repatriated to the U.S.. One year later he returned to the Philippines to fly combat missions against the Japanese.
James A. White joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and fought in the battle of Iwo Jima as part of the Third Marine Division from February 24th to March 26th, 1945. He joined Donald Mates and Jimmy Trimble in their eight-man patrol on the fateful night of February 27. After Trimble was killed and Mates severely wounded, White ran to Mates’ aid and almost single-handedly beat back the Japanese attack. His experience of hand-to-hand combat on the island was featured in an article by Leatherneck Magazine and he is the subject of a book about the Battle of Iwo Jima. He married in 1950 and has eight children.
Sergeant Jeremiah Workman was born on August 26, 1983 in Marion, OH. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000, and in 2004, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines where he served in Weapons Company as a team leader and later squad leader. In September 2004, he deployed to Iraq and participated in Operation Phantom Fury―the second Battle of Fallujah. His actions in leading the rescue of Marines trapped in a house by enemy fire led to his being awarded the Navy Cross―second only to the Medal of Honor. He would go on to become a Drill Instructor and is currently assigned to Training and Education Center Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, MCB, Quantico, VA.
Jack Yusen was a funny, likable kid, raised in Queens, and has an unmistakable New York accent to prove it. When he joined the Navy at the end of 1943 Jack was the ultimate rookie, wet behind both ears and far too young to be tangling with U-boats. In October 1944 Jack found himself fighting against impossible odds off the coast of the Philippines. His ship was sunk, and he and his shipmates were left floating in shark-infested waters for 72 hours. The same happy-go-lucky attitude that made him seem inexperienced became his greatest asset during this ultimate test. Jack served as a Navy-Seaman 1st Class on the USS Samuel B. Roberts, (Destroyer escort, Butler class).
