The only Medal of Honor to be awarded to a combat photographer is now on display in the Medal of Honor Gallery in the "Price of Freedom" exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Marine Cpl. William Thomas Perkins Jr. died at the age of 20 on Oct. 12, 1967, when he flung himself on a grenade to preserve the lives of three other Marines during Operation Medina, a Marine search and destroy operation in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The Marine Corps posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor for "his gallant actions."

Perkins' mother, Marilane Perkins Jacobson of Lexington, Ky., donated the medal, her son's letters and other personal effects to the museum's permanent Armed Forces Collections in 2015.

"I didn't want his possessions to end up in somebody's brown box in a basement," Jacobson said. "I figured they should go to the Smithsonian."

Perkins' award, his Purple Heart, and photography are exhibited along with his Bell and Howell camera, which shows damage from the grenade attack and is on loan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps. This is the first time the camera and Medal of Honor have been displayed together. Museum Advisory Board member Jeff Garrett, also of Lexington, assisted with the acquisition.

The Medal of Honor is America's highest award for valor in combat. First authorized in 1861 for sailors and Marines and the following year for soldiers, more than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been bestowed for conspicuous and well-documented acts of gallantry in war. The Medal of Honor Gallery tells the story of the nation's highest military honor through artifacts and interactive displays.

The Medal of Honor is America's highest award for valor in combat. First authorized in 1861 for sailors and Marines and the following year for soldiers, more than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been bestowed for conspicuous and well-documented acts of gallantry in war. The Medal of Honor Gallery tells the story of the nation's highest military honor through artifacts and interactive displays.

Jacobson told the Associated Press in 2015 that her son's Medal of Honor was precious to her, "but I can't take it with me. I've just been holding my breath and asking God to give me time to send that where it should be forever."

Her son's love for cameras came from his father, William T. Perkins, who worked for Eastman Kodak, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.

Perkins Jr. joined the Marines "because they were the only ones who said he could probably work with a Mitchell movie camera," Jacobson told the Associated Press. The Mitchell camera was a 35mm camera often used in Hollywood.

The "Price of Freedom: Americans at War" exhibition surveys the history of America's military from the French and Indian Wars to the present conflict in Iraq, exploring ways in which wars have been defining episodes in American history. The exhibition extends far beyond a survey of battles to present the link between military conflict and American political leadership, social values, technological innovation, and personal sacrifice. The heart of the story is the impact of war on citizen soldiers, their families and communities.

Asked what she wants people to learn from her son's effects, Jacobson told AP, "As far as I'm concerned, the war was a waste, and I hate war. Not too many other people threw themselves on grenades to save other people. But I would think they would think he had great character, which he did, and he lived a lifetime in 20 years."

On May 15, 1862, the Battle of Drewry's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, was fought between Union and Confederate forces at a sharp bend on the James River near Richmond, Virginia. Union forces were stationed aboard warships in the river, and Confederate forces were high on a fortified bluff.

Richmond was the Confederate capital and vulnerable to attack by the Union Army on land, and by the Union Navy through the navigable James River. In March 1862, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry ordered the construction of fortifications and the installation of large guns on his property, which was on a 90-foot bluff above the James River, and just seven miles from Richmond.

Early in May, Norfolk fell to Union forces and the Confederate ship C.S.S. Virginia took refuge to avoid capture. This left the James River at Hampton Roads exposed and open to Union warships. At Drewry's Bluff, Confederate forces filled the river with underwater obstructions, including debris, sunken steamers, and pilings to prevent Union ships from reaching Richmond. Then they took up defensive positions in the fort and along the banks.

A detachment of Naval vessels took advantage of the open waterway and made a push for Richmond. The USS Monitor and USS Galena, and gunboats Aroostook, Port Royal, and Naugatuck steamed up the James River. As they approached the bend at Drewry's Bluff, they encountered the obstacles and anchored just below the fort. The Galena opened fire and the Confederates responded. Armor-piercing shots penetrated the Galena causing extensive damage. The Monitor's armor was much thicker, allowing for the shots to ricochet off, but her rotating guns were not able to raise at an angle high enough to fire on the fort. The gunboats encountered problems too. The Port Royal was hit below the waterline and the Naugatuck's gun burst. For more than three hours of intense fire, the Galena took the brunt of the attack.

U.S. Marine John F. Mackie was aboard the Galena and watched as one by one, the naval gun crew was either wounded or killed. Mackie commanded a dozen Marines on the gun deck and led his men to take over operation of the guns. For his "gallant conduct and services," President Abraham Lincoln later personally bestowed the Medal of Honor upon Mackie. He is the first Marine to receive that honor.

With Galena's ammunition running low, the Union fleet eventually retreated. Union troops counted 27 casualties, including 14 dead. Confederate casualties were 15, with seven dead. The Confederates successfully prevented the Union Navy from reaching Richmond.

Our friend and TWS Member, Colonel Donald (Doc) Ballard, MOHR, is a retired colonel with the Army National Guard and a former member of the United States Navy. Doc's Medal of Honor was received for heroic actions in the Vietnam War in which he acted as a Corpsman attached to a Marine Corps Unit on the front lines. Now in his retirement years, Col Ballard works constantly to support the causes of Veterans and promote better care for them in the future.

One of Doc's most outstanding initiatives is in support of the Forgotten Veterans Program where, as a Funeral Director, he provides free burials for Veterans whose family are unable to cover the funeral costs.

In order to raise funds for the Program, Doc is offering to sign a copy of an exceptional book called "Medal of Honor Quotes" which contains inspirational quotes from numerous Medal of Honor Recipients from WWII to OEF Afghanistan, including one from Col Ballard himself.

The cost of this book, personally signed by Col Ballard, is only $20 plus $5 Postage. All proceeds will go to the Forgotten Veterans Program.

If you are interested to receive this book and support a very worthy cause, please contact us at admin@togetherweserved.com and we will respond with an order form.

Speaking of Eisenhower, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery once said, "nice chap, no general." General George Patton once lamented that it was too bad that Eisenhower had no personal knowledge of war. General Omar Bradley would write that Eisenhower "had little grasp of sound battlefield tactics."

That might seem like some pretty harsh criticism considering the West tends to look back on Eisenhower as the man who led the allies to victory in Europe. His iconic status was further cemented in history when he became President of the United States in 1952.

However, the historical facts would prove that Eisenhower was but a LtCol at the start of 1941 and an officer who had never personally seen combat. Yet, that wouldn't stop him from getting the keys to one of the largest military force the world has ever known.

A Mediocre Rise to Power
Dwight D Eisenhower entered the halls of West Point in 1911 with a greater chance of becoming a football star than the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. However, a football injury to his knee would not only end his football career but almost his military career as well. After graduating from West Point in 1915, his knee injury almost caused him to miss out on his commission as an officer in the Army.

Were it not for the intervention of West Point's chief medical officer; the world may never have heard of a cadet by the name of Dwight Eisenhower.

He was given his commission and assigned to the 19th Infantry at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. After the United States joined World War I, Eisenhower was promoted to Captain and given orders to Camp Colt, Pennsylvania, where he would help train the newly formed Tank Corps.

While Eisenhower, like most young Officers of his day, longed for deployment to war, he would be denied. Rather, Eisenhower and his unit were given orders for a November 18th deployment to France, but the unfortunate timing of the November 11th armistice ensured Eisenhower would miss out on the entire war.

And while Eisenhower would not have the opportunity to distinguish himself in combat, he was making quite a name for himself as a trainer, organizational expert, and strategic thinker. During the years between the wars, Eisenhower would bounce through numerous commands and seemed well on his way to a rather unremarkable military career.

He would, however, serve closely with a few high-ranking generals such as Gen. Douglas MacArthur as they prized his efficient administrative ability. As 1941 rolled around, Eisenhower was still a Lt. Colonel, but the tides were about to change as mediocrity would give way to an unprecedented rise through the ranks.

A Leader of Generals
Eisenhower would first get a chance to truly distinguish himself during the late 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers, which were a series of training exercises designed to evaluate the United States military's readiness for war. At this point, a "full bird" Colonel, Eisenhower served as Chief of Staff of the Blue Army, and by the time the maneuvers had wrapped up, Dwight D Eisenhower would finally be able to call himself General.

As a Brigadier General at the start of World War II, few still could've predicted that this man would surpass in rank the various Generals already ahead of him given his lack of combat experience.

But what Eisenhower lacked in combat, he made up for with political intuition and the remarkable ability to work with the complex personalities that made up the military leadership of the Allies. Perhaps it was his time serving directly under the notoriously difficult MacArthur, but Eisenhower did not seem to be phased by the vast array of Generals who could only be described as the World War II equivalent of a diva.

In addition, the war would require a certain amount of diplomacy with heads of state. At one point, Eisenhower was so trusted he was allowed to communicate with Joseph Stalin himself.

After briefly serving under Chief of Staff George C Marshall, these interpersonal abilities were recognized, and that, along with his known organizational and administrative skills would propel him into power. The rest is history that we all know too well. He would become the Commanding General of the European theater of operations in 1942, and before the war was over, he would be the Supreme Allied Commander of it all.

Being the person holding the keys to this mighty military machine at this moment of its victory was a good spot to be in.

Marching on Into History
After the war, Eisenhower was far and above widely viewed as a national hero. And while the allied generals who served with Eisenhower respected his abilities as a politician and administrator, they still wouldn't pull their punches when it came to judging his military capacity. Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke would record in his journals as of late 1942 that as a military General, Eisenhower was "hopeless. He submerges himself in politics and neglects his military duties, partly, because he knows little if anything about military matters."

American Admiral John Hall who helped land the 1st Division on Omaha Beach, would write that Eisenhower "was one of the most overrated men in military history."

While history rightly looks kindly upon the effort and leadership abilities of Gen. Eisenhower, it can't ignore the fact that the contemporaries of his day thought very little of his ability to command in the field. Perhaps one might make the case that these men known to be military divas of a sort were just having a tough time swallowing the pill that the man who just a few years prior was a LtCol with no combat experience was now their boss.

Then again, history could also make the case that only a man such as Eisenhower could've led these various personalities to victory in the greatest war the world has ever seen. But Eisenhower appeared to live just fine with the criticism as Supreme Allied Commander, and President of the United States. Not too bad of a resume to go on one's gravestone.

Together We Served has a growing archive of more than 10,000 Boot Camp/ Basic Training Graduation Photos which we now display on your Military Service Page and Shadow Box. We also have a growing collection of Yearbooks which we will be making available on the site shortly.

We are still searching for Boot Camp/ Basic Training Photos and Yearbooks. So if you have yours available, please contact us at Admin@togetherweserved.com.

Either you can send us a scanned file of your photo or you can send it to us for scanning. We will add this for you to the Recruit/ Officer Training section of your Military Service Page. 

All photos and yearbooks will be returned to you in original condition along with a CD containing your scanned photo. 

 

As a German plane buzzed overhead, nurse Helen Dore Boylston dropped face down in the mud. Boylston, an American nurse, serving at a British Army base hospital near the Western Front in 1918, had been running between wards of wounded patients that night, trying to calm their nerves during the air raid. Now, all she could do was brace herself for the hissing bomb that hurtled toward her. She covered her eyes and ears against the deafening roar and "blood-red flare." About a half-hour later, finally realizing she had not been hurt, Boylston stopped shaking.

Boylston's vivid account of her World War I experience as a nurse, published in 1927, depicts her work with the first Harvard Unit, a U.S. medical team that treated more casualties than any other group of American doctors and nurses during the conflict. In May 1917, U.S. medical teams became the first American troops to arrive in the war zone, and many remained through mid-1919.

Over 22,000 professionally-trained female nurses were recruited by the American Red Cross to serve in the U.S. Army between 1917 and 1919 - and over 10,000 of these served near the Western Front. More than 1,500 nurses served in the U.S. Navy during this period, and several hundred worked for the American Red Cross. Additionally, a handful, like Boylston, worked in American units of the British and French armies. The U.S. military rejected for overseas service nurses who were African Americans or immigrants, despite drafting men from these groups.

Although Allied military leaders wanted to keep the (female) nurses far from danger, they soon realized that many more combatants' lives could be saved if wounds were first treated near the front rather than at far-away base hospitals. Numerous nurses served at front-line casualty clearing stations or with forward units. In August 1917, U.S. Army nurse Beatrice MacDonald, on duty at a casualty clearing station, came under enemy fire during an air raid, and fragments of shrapnel from a bomb blast sliced through her eye. After being evacuated, MacDonald refused orders to go home, reportedly stating, "I have just started doing my bit." With only one eye, MacDonald remained on duty in France until after the armistice and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

War nursing's more common hazards included infected fingers, sickness, and physical strain. "My back is busted in two tonight. Slowly, [moving] down the ward, doing the dressings and making the beds," Boylston wrote in her diary. This frequent changing of dressings and application of antiseptic, though physically exhausting, served a critical medical function in the pre-antibiotic era: It became the most effective method for healing infected war wounds and prevented many limb amputations.

In her diary, Boylston also described the social side of war - how ever-present reminders of mortality and the transience of military life lent special intensity to otherwise ordinary human relationships. For nurses, close friendships became indispensable, while romances served as welcome distractions or led to engagements.

But Boylston differed in some respects from most U.S. military nurses. She was 23, and came from an affluent family, while many U.S. Army and Navy nurses had working-class or rural origins. Laura Huckleberry, who served in Base Hospital №12, the "Northwestern Unit," more typically exemplifies these nurses. In 1909, she left the Indiana farm, where she grew up to study at the Illinois Training School for Nurses in Chicago. After graduating in 1913, Huckleberry worked as a public health nurse investigating contagious diseases in the city's immigrant neighborhoods. When Huckleberry's unit sailed to France to take over a British hospital at Dannes-Camiers, she was 29 and already dating the man she would marry, John Erle Davis. During her time at war, Huckleberry wrote over 150 letters to Davis, who was also stationed in France.

Huckleberry's letters highlight the fact that U.S. Army and Navy nurses served without rank or commission, and that this lack of status created problems. After the Colonel in charge of Huckleberry's unit unceremoniously replaced their beloved chief nurse with a younger, prettier woman, Huckleberry fumed to Davis in a letter. "If we had the commissions we should have had before leaving the U.S.A., we would not be at the mercy of such men. They would have to give a reason not only to us but to headquarters for such performances."

Some nursing leaders agreed. A campaign to accord the U.S. military nurses rank, which coincided with the Woman's suffrage movement, led in 1920 to a compromise in which U.S. Army and Navy nurses were accorded "relative ranks" of Lieutenant, Captain, and Major. Actual commissions would have to wait until 1947.

But the battle for these original commissions is not over. Huckleberry and Davis's youngest son, Michael W. R. Davis, who has woven his parents' letters together with diary entries from others in a forthcoming book - has launched a campaign to get the U.S. Army and Navy to posthumously commission his mother and the other World War I U.S. nurses. This act, Davis believes, would be a fitting way to honor these pioneering and largely unappreciated women veterans on the centennial of the war.

The Army has launched an investigation into allegations of lowered training standards and "moral cowardice" among Army leaders in charge of the school that trains soldiers into Green Berets.

The accusations were lodged in an anonymous email. It was sent by a writer purporting to be speaking on behalf of an undisclosed number of trainers at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In the letter, the author says that over the past two years, a drive to increase the number of Special Forces soldiers has resulted in fundamental standards being removed, and the training cadre fear it could threaten the future of the force.

The anonymous author alleges that the school's commander, Maj. Gen. Kurt Sonntag, and other members of his command staff have put careerism ahead of building a quality force in their efforts to produce more of the elite Green Berets.

"[The school] has devolved into a cesspool of toxic, exploitive, biased and self-serving senior Officers who are bolstered by submissive, sycophantic, and just-as-culpable enlisted leaders," according to the email, shared with Army Times and other media outlets. "They have doggedly succeeded in two things; furthering their careers and ensuring that Special Forces [are] more prolific but dangerously less capable than ever before."

Sonntag penned a response that both refutes many of the accusers' points, defends the quality of the graduates during his tenure, and expresses concern about some issues raised in the email that "warrant further evaluation."

Specifically, the email alleges that a command directive at the school bars remedial training or physical punishment for student infractions. Instead, the directive says only counseling or Uniform Code of Military Justice actions would be taken.

The email author also alleged that students are no longer required to pass physical standards such as a 15-foot rope climb while carrying 25 pounds, a 5-mile run under 40 minutes, and a 12-mile ruck march in under three hours, among others.

The writer alleges certain students, who he lists by name in his email, tried to bribe and blackmail instructors into passing them when they failed events. The email also offers examples of students with connections to family or friends in command positions that helped them graduate when they had failed events.

The email also criticizes the school's former senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. David Gibbs.

During an open forum with staff about putting graduates into operational units even though they failed to pass previously mandatory standards, the email's author wrote that Gibbs said:

"We push some of these issues forward [to the Regiment] because we believe that the Groups can succeed in fixing those problem graduates when they arrive. That is an amount of risk we willingly accept because after all, it's much easier to get a tab removed at Group if he doesn't pan out, than to risk relieving what's basically a fully qualified student who might have been able to fix himself and become a solid Green Beret."

In his written response, Sonntag flatly states that no fundamental standards for Special Forces training have been removed, and neither have academic or character performance standards been adjusted.

"Let me be clear, I would be proud to serve with each and every one of our Special Forces Qualification Course graduates, and I stand behind the quality of every Soldier we are sending to the operational force," Sonntag wrote.

If you wish to make a post to our new Bulletin Board - People Sought,  Assistance Needed, Jobs Available in Your Company, Reunions Pending, Items for Sale or Wanted, Services Available or Wanted, Product or Service Recommendations, Discounts for Vets, Announcements, Death Notices - email it to us at admin@togetherweserved.com.

Service Reflections Video of the Month 

#TributetoaVeteran Lt Wes Holland, U.S. Navy (Ret), 1986-2008

Are You a Writer?
As you know, TogetherWeServed is always looking for interesting articles to post to our forums and in this newsletter. Have you written any military-related articles you would like to share with a broader audience? Send your submissions to admin@togetherweserved.com, and you may see it in an upcoming issue.

Looking for Army and Marine Corps Volunteers Memorial Team
Do you have a passion for making sure that all of our Fallen are not forgotten? This is the team for you. We have Fallen profiles that have either been orphaned or created by someone who has not been online for a very long time, and there is nothing in those profiles. TWS is working to make sure that all of our Fallen profiles are as complete as possible.

If you're interested in joining our Memorial Team, please contact us at admin@togetherweserved.com.

TWS Brochures Available
Do you have a reunion coming up and would like to spread the word about Together We Served? We now have brochures available that help explain a little bit about who we are and what we do.

Send your requests to admin@togetherweserved.com. Please include your name and address along with how many brochures you require.

NEW TWS Invite Cards
Did you know we have Together We Served invite cards that you can hand out to any veteran you meet? It even has a place to put your name, service branch, and member number, so you get credit for the invite.

If you would like some cards, email us your name and address to admin@togetherweserved.com and we will get them in the mail to you.

Do You Have a Reunion Planned for the Norfolk Area?
If you do, please contact Diane Short at admin@togetherweserved.com to discuss doing a presentation for your reunion.

VA and Other News

ONE MISSION. ONE VOICE.
Roughly half of Veterans in this country aren’t connected to VA or a Veteran Service Organization. Mission Roll Call is trying to reach all Veterans, to learn how to serve them better. Every Voice Matters. Stand and be counted; make your voice heard.

100% Service-connected disabled Veterans and Space-A Travel
When Congress signed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act last year, 100% service-connected disabled Veterans became eligible for Space Available Travel. Better known as 'Space-A' or military hops, Air Mobility Command (AMC) maintains an extensive network of flights throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Supplementing this network, several Air National Guard and Naval Aviation Units have flights available.

To be eligible for Space-A flights, Veterans must have a permanent and total service-connected disability rating. These Vets must also obtain a DD Form 2765, Department of Defense/Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card (TAN).

The Space-A Program fills surplus capacity and seating on DOD aircraft. A popular perk among retirees, now eligible Veterans can take advantage of the program and fly for free. So, whether the Veteran is looking for a getaway to Hawaii or a trip to catch-up with their Veteran brothers and sisters on the other side of the country, the Space-A travel program can fly you there.

Some things to know before flying Space-A:
Disabled Veterans, along with retirees, are in priority group 6. This means active service members on emergency leave, post-deployment respite and other important transportation needs will have priority.

A contingency plan and resources, including commercial airfare, need to be available in case of a scheduling change or sudden unavailability.

Dependents of disabled Veterans are not eligible for Space-A travel.
Eligible Veterans looking for flights should review schedules at AMC passenger terminals. Most AMC terminals, on military bases or at commercial airports, have a Facebook page that posts flight schedules and seat availability. Once a flight and destination are selected, the Veteran can register in person at the terminal or by email/fax.

Disabled Veterans, with a little flexibility and patience, are taking to the sky for free with Space-A travel and seeing more of the country thankful for their service and sacrifice.

For more information including eligibility, locations, schedules, baggage, contact info, and; to register for the Space-Available Travel Email Sign-Up visit the Air Mobility Command - Space Available Travel Page.

Company to pay $1M for selling Army subpar grenade launchers
By: The Associated Press

DENVER - A Colorado weapons manufacturer has agreed to a $1 million settlement for allegedly shipping subpar grenade launchers to the U.S. Army, the Department of Justice announced Dec 3rd.

Capco LLC supplied the Army with M320 grenade launchers between July 2016 and March 2018 even though company officials knew the launchers' barrels did not meet specifications, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said. The company also knew that two shipments included launchers with firing pins made of the wrong type of steel but did not tell the Army after conducting an internal investigation, prosecutors said.

"We entrust our defense contractors to manufacture equipment of the highest quality for the men and women who serve our country in the U.S. armed forces," Dunn said.

Capco did not admit any liability in the settlement and said in a statement Tuesday it has no reason to believe its products were unsafe or ineffective.

"As a company, this chapter has made us smarter and stronger," Capco CEO Cordell Bennigson said. He added that the company had improved it's quality and compliance systems.

The government was alerted to concerns about Capco's production process by James Cole, who was a quality engineer at the company. He told the company's vice president of operations and a manager about the faulty parts in April 2017 but was ignored, The Denver Post reported.

Cole said Capco retaliated by laying him off five months later, according to a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act in November 2017. He will receive about $235,000 of the $1,025,429 settlement.

Capco's statement did not mention Cole. Capco is based in the western Colorado city of Grand Junction.

What you need to know about the Navy's sea and shore tour reforms
By: Courtney Mabeus 

More than 50,000 sailors will feel the impact of the Navy's most recent overhaul of sea and shore tour lengths.

The Navy announced the update in an administrative message Monday to its enlisted career management policy, known as Sea Shore Flow.

The policy prescribes the length a sailor can expect on their first sea and shore tours and every tour to follow along a 30-year career trajectory.

"This was a necessary adjustment to ensure that we have the right people in the right billets to maintain our operational readiness across the Fleet," said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John B. Nowell Jr. in a statement accompanying Monday's update.

The updates affect sailors in 47 ratings. Of those, 20 ratings will see longer sea tours, 22 will have their sea tours cut short, and seven will see longer shore tours.

This is the first update since 2016 when 13 ratings saw more sea time, and 15 saw a drop. Three years ago, 42 ratings saw no change to tour lengths.

This time, there was no change for 41 ratings.

The sea-shore flow system maps out tour lengths so that every sailor in a given rating will serve about the same amount of time at sea and shore over a 30-year career.

The policy caps sea tours at five years, but sailors are allowed to extend that if they want.

Sailors within 12 months of a planned rotation are not affected by the update. Those outside of their 12-month window will have their planned rotation date adjusted in their electronic record.

Detailing windows will shift accordingly, too.

As the force grows and demands change, the Navy must realign tour lengths to reflect those needs, Fleet Master Chief Wes Koshoffer said in an interview with Navy Times.

Each update is a reflection of several variables, including accessions, demand for billets from the fleet, and the need for support from the shore.

"We are a seagoing Navy," Koshoffer said. "We're in great power competition. A layman might think you can just put sailors at sea forever and that would fix the problem. That's really not true. In order to have a healthy Navy, you have to have balance."

Of the 20 ratings that will see increased sea duty tour lengths, 14 will feel the extension during their first tours.

That works out to 23,597 sailors out of a total 30,058 who will see more time on sea duty overall, according to documents provided by the Navy to Navy Times.

Another 21,667 sailors will see less time on sea duty, including 12,329 sailors from 11 ratings during their first sea tour.

To Koshoffer, that reflects a need to focus on filling gaps at the apprentice level.

"That's sort of what we're chasing," he said.

This update also closes what Koshoffer called "persistent gaps at sea" in recent years.

He used the mineman rating as an example. The billet can expect to see a 12-month increase for sailors on their first sea tour, with no increases for the second and fourth tours and a decrease of six months by the third, according to the update.

That update reflects a need that the Navy has right now as it counters threats by Iran, Russia and China.

"It is a maritime era and the ability to know, if you look at the world situation with straits and choke points, and these strategic or maybe tactical locations in places all over the world, the ability to detect and deal with mines and minefields is a high priority mission for us right now," Koshoffer said.

"We're building capacity at sea right now to deal with mines and central to that is the minemen rating."

Navy IDs sailor killed by Fort Story gate runner
By: Courtney Mabeus 

Ricky Temores and his little brother Oscar had a ritual whenever they watched scary movies.

Oscar, who shared a room with Ricky, would slip into his brother's bed and cover his foot with his own to let him know he was there. Separated by birth by only a year, Oscar began doing it when they were around 8 or 9, and it lasted into their early teens.

If one of the brothers woke up from a nightmare, "we would instantly know that we were right next to each other," Ricky Temores said.

That act symbolizes the sort of sailor Oscar Temores would become: a protector and defender.

Master-At-Arms 3rd Class Oscar Temores, 23, died after his patrol car was struck while responding to a civilian gate runner at Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story in Virginia Beach during the weekend, the Navy confirmed.

Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story's commanding officer, Capt. Joey Frantzen, told reporters Monday that the civilian - who has not been identified - was on base for a "very short period" after driving a Chevrolet Silverado pickup through an outbound lane at Gate 8 before striking Temores' patrol car head on..

Temores died shortly after arriving at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, where the other driver was also taken.

His family has set up a Go Fund Me fundraiser. Ricky, 24, and Temores' younger brother, Benny, 21, remembered Oscar as a fearless child, a smart aleck who often got into trouble for his antics, like pulling a trampoline under the basketball hoop.

"He was just a giant ball of energy, and strength," Ricky Temores said.

Growing up in Lemoore, California, Oscar had wanted to join the Navy from an early age.

"It's almost like he was put there as a catalyst for his future," Ricky Temores said.

Later, he joined the Naval Junior Officers Reserve Training Corps in high school. He enlisted in February 2018 and was assigned to the Virginia Beach base in June of that year.

"His personality was perfect for a police officer, but the police officer that everybody loved," Ricky Temores said.

Ricky Temores said the family last saw Oscar in person in May when he flew home to surprise his mother for her 47th birthday.

In addition to his immediate family, he is survived by his wife and a two-year-old son, Damien.

Capt. Frantzen asked that information about the suspect be given to the Virginia Beach Police Department, which is leading the probe into the sailor's death.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents are assisting the local authorities.

"Petty Officer Temores was a remarkable individual and dedicated sailor, who contributed greatly to the security of our base and country," Frantzen said in a statement Tuesday. "He had great pride in his service to our country and a great love for his family. He was an exceptional representative of the young people of today who volunteer to serve in our military forces. He will be greatly missed."

Virginia Beach Police Master Police Officer Linda J. Kuehn said the investigation continues.

She said that the suspect was not being pursued by police at the time. The department is awaiting a hospital toxicology report to determine if alcohol was a factor in the crash, she added.

Following a vigil attended by more than 130 mourners at Saint Theresa chapel on Fort Story Monday, Ricky Temores said their mother learned more about the sailor her son had become.

"He was very involved and a leader in helping other people grow into what they wanted to because he had reached his goal, and he just wanted to see other people reach theirs," he said.

Veteran's Causes
Operation Teammate
  I am a retiree of the U.S. Air Force, headquartered here in Augusta and founder of the nonprofit Operation Teammate – inspiring military children.

Looking For

Lost Bible
I came into possession of this bible belonging to 2ndLt James Rice and would like to return it to the family. If you have any information, please contact me at the email address listed below.

David Plavchan
msp3019.dp@gmail.com

Veterans and Families of Veterans from Cayuga County, New York 

We are looking for Veterans and their families from Cayuga County, New York to tell us their service stories. Their history and sacrifice must not be forgotten.

Please contact Linda Townsend at heroes@pbcschools.org.


 

There are few regimes and organizations in European history so universally condemned for their evil actions as the Nazis. Their leader, Adolf Hitler, led Germany into infamy in the Second World War, committing unspeakable crimes against humanity. However, another lurid element in the story of the Fuhrer's monstrous beliefs comes from his obsession – and that of his close advisors – with occult and esoteric practices.

From the members of sinister secret societies to SS Officers carrying out rituals in ancient castles, here are four Nazis with dark and mysterious links to the occult.

The SS Occultist: Heinrich Himmler
Himmler is remembered as the infamous author of Hitler's so-called "Final Solution." He was a key figure in the Nazi regime and a powerful player in the German government. However, his obsession with the occult has also added a lurid mystery to his life and career.

It is claimed that Himmler was an active practitioner and believer in black magic. He is thought to have studied and followed many ritualistic traditions, including necromancy and ancient Germanic paganism. There are numerous accounts of his attempts to contact the dead, a practice he carried out at the sinister Wewelsburg Castle, in north-east Germany.

This castle became a stronghold of the SS Order, and Himmler envisioned the location as the center of a new Nazi-dominated world order, to be established after a mythical final battle. His personal fascination with sorcery, spiritualism and the occult as a whole colored and influenced his political ideologies and, by extension, those of the Nazi party itself.

As a close confidant of the Fuhrer and an influential political figure in the party, Himmler added a strangely fantastical element to the already monstrous legacy of the Nazi regime.

Himmler is remembered as the infamous author of Hitler's so-called "Final Solution." He was a key figure in the Nazi regime and a powerful player in the German government. However, his obsession with the occult has also added a lurid mystery to his life and career. It is claimed that Himmler was an active practitioner and believer in black magic. He is thought to have studied and followed many ritualistic traditions, including necromancy and ancient Germanic paganism. There are numerous accounts of his attempts to contact the dead, a practice he carried out at the sinister Wewelsburg Castle, in north-east Germany.

The Traitor: Rudolf Hess
Of the many high-ranking Nazis who associated themselves with esoteric and occult beliefs, few could claim such a legacy as Rudolf Hess. Not only did he promote these practices and raise many occultists to positions of power within the regime, but his actions also brought the same beliefs into infamy among his comrades.

Hess was a member of the Thule Society, an organization dedicated to the occult, and even went so far as to have extensive maps drawn up of supposed networks of spiritual energy. The story of his flight to Scotland - an act that Hitler perceived as a massive personal betrayal - is a remarkable one in itself, but following the news that the Fuhrer's own deputy had vanished across the North Sea, the Nazi's Gestapo forces commenced "Aktion Hess."

This process involved rounding up and imprisoning Hess's associates, including his wide-ranging network of occultists and ritualists. By positioning himself squarely at the center of the occult movement and then falling from grace so spectacularly, Hess doomed his fellow practitioners to a very sudden end. Everything from fortune-telling to astrology was outlawed, and the Nazi party's infatuation with black magic was over.

The Fortune-Teller: Karl Ernst Krafft
 While his seemingly supernatural gifts would eventually be his undoing, Krafft's uncanny abilities seemed in life to be both a blessing and a curse. Originally born in Sweden, the man was fascinated by astrology and clairvoyance. He was a committed supporter of the Nazi regime, but in 1939 he made a remarkable prediction. There would, he claimed, be an assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler between the 7th and 10th of November.

At the time his claims received little attention but following the detonation of a bomb in the Munich Beer Hall on November 8, everything changed. Hitler had already left the building by the time the explosion occurred, and although seven people were killed and almost 70 more injured, the target of the attack escaped unscathed. Soon afterward, word of Krafft's prophecy reached Rudolf Hess, and the fortune-teller was arrested. However, he managed to convince his interrogators that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and that his gifts were genuine.

Krafft was well-liked by Hitler himself and was ordered to begin an evaluation of the prophecies of Nostradamus that would favor the Nazi worldview. However, his own gifts were his undoing; following Rudolf Hess's flight to Scotland, the Nazis instituted a massive crackdown against many of the occultists involved with the perceived traitor. Krafft was arrested and died in prison in 1945.

The Secret Society: Johann Dietrich Eckart
Adolf Hitler has often been seen as the subject of various prophecies. Perhaps most notable is the Nostradamus verse in which the fortune-teller wrote, "Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers; the greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister", along with references to a "Child of Germany."

One man who believed in Hitler's almost mythical status was Johann Dietrich Eckhart. A member of the mysterious Thule Society, he and many of the group's members, believed that a German messiah was prophesied to enter history eventually. This figure would return the nation to its former glory, avenge their defeat in the First World War and undo the humiliation imposed upon them with the Treaty of Versailles.

Eckhart met Hitler in 1919 and was certain that this man was the savior he believed Germany had been promised. The man went on to shape Hitler's ideologies considerably, sculpting the beliefs and worldview of the Nazi party. Along with Rudolf Hess, this is yet another example of the shadowy Thule Society's influence over the Nazi regime.

While the evils perpetrated by the Nazis are a matter of undeniable historical fact, the thought process and belief systems behind their actions will always remain a subject of debate. While there were many different influences that formed the twisted ideologies of Hitler and his followers, the impact of the occult adds another layer of mystery to the genesis of evil.

Having my feet firmly planted in the camps of archive photography and military history, I was bound to be drawn to this absorbing and often extremely personal book from Dan Brookes and the late Bob Hillerby. They recount their experiences of serving in Vietnam and offer a deep insight into the world of combat and general photography orchestrated by the US Army.

This is a difficult book to put down.

Mr. Hillerby tells an eye-watering tale of his life as a combat photographer, often in danger, ever on the alert to get the shot and stay alive.

His stories of serving with the Air Cavalry Division are stirring, to say the least. But the thing that underpins all this is his deep knowledge of his subject and the photography itself. He has left one of the most credible accounts of the war I’ve had the honor to read.

I’ve loved photography for fifty years, and this book takes the reader right into the heart of it in ways that aren’t immediately apparent. Messrs Brookes and Hillerby cherish the medium and its history, and they take us to what they describe as the most photographed war in history and offer convincing proof to back up the claim.

What shocked and saddened me was to learn just how much of that material has been scrapped by the US government in recent years; but this is by no means unusual because photo archives are often an immense drain on space, money, and labor.

We live in straightened times where luxuries like photo archives fall victim to more pressing needs.

I am reminded of a decision made by the British air ministry in WWII to scrap a vast archive of glass plate negatives from the Great War period to make the foundations of a runway. Needs as needs must.

While Mr. Hillerby’s combat diary is enthralling, the accounts from Mr. Brookes are no less fascinating. His experiences working in photo labs and doing photography of his own are a great read. The two men were mates, and the moments they catch up with each other are really nice.

They both paint pictures of interesting characters, gung-ho types, and the time servers found in any army. There are the inevitable bar girls and chancers and a fair sprinkling of REMFs to take in.

The photography is excellent, and this all adds to a book that is an essential read to anyone interested in the Vietnam War or conflict photography in general.

The authors recognize some of the best-known press snappers covering the conflict, and I detect a degree of frustration that the military snappers have failed to receive anything like similar recognition for their feats.

Fair play. A wonderful exhibition of Sir Don McCullin’s work was held in London earlier this year, where many of his classic photos from Vietnam were on show along with his helmet and some of his equipment. A Nikon that took a bullet was a standout item from the show.

Legends like McCullin are bound to stand out, but there is clearly room to learn more about the military men working without any of the fandom attached to them.

The authors take us on a much darker journey when they introduce the work of army snapper Ronald Haeberle who had the presence of mind to photograph the My Lai massacre as it unfolded. His photographs became vital evidence in the prosecution of the men who inflicted the horror. We also meet Tony Swindell who recorded other excesses.

There is no question that a degree of bitterness towards specific figures, some well-known, is intense for the authors of this book. I found these chapters to be something of a digression from the broad theme of the book and took away a real sense that Mr. Brookes had a few things to get off his chest. While these things are challenging for the reader, it is vital to have these accounts available. They take some of the caricatures out of a conflict that have been set in place by movies and the like.

This is an at times difficult book to read, but it is essential stuff. It is a book by war photographers who were also soldiers and it offers a different vibe as a consequence. I am really pleased to have read it and have no hesitation in recommending it.