In Baghdad, a terrorist who was in the middle of conducting a training for future militants, accidentally blew up an entire class, killing 21 of his students, and himself. The group was part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terror group that has been participating in a string of attacks in the United States.
The incident may be viewed as a metaphor for the many lives lost in the wake of foreign and domestic terrorists’ relentless attempts to convert the nation into an extreme-religious state. In this turn of events, it appears that many innocent lives may have actually been spared. In fact, in one recent attack alone, 7 innocent people were killed.
According to recent reports, it was rumored that the instructor was in the process of showing his students how to use a suicide belt. As he was teaching, the live suicide belt actually detonated, resulting in mass fatalities.
XENIA, Ohio — On a winding road, past a stand of sycamores outside his Ohio home, CBS News found Jim Martin, 70 years after his first trip to France.
Jim was one of the first Americans in combat in Europe.
“They called us the tip of the spear,” he says.
Jim was a private in the 101st Airborne, one of the paratroopers dropped behind German lines in the hours before the D-Day landings.
“We wanted to get out of the plane quickly, because it was hitting the plane,” he says. “Planes were blowing up, and we wanted to get the hell out of there.”
They were inviting targets as they drifted toward the ground and the enemy.
Asked what was going through his mind as he slowly descended through the clouds into hostile territory, Jim says, “Fascination, because of all of this fire coming up towards us.”
“It was absolutely fascinating to see all these various colored tracers coming up there,” he says.
Their mission was to keep the Germans from reinforcing their troops on the dunes. Jim and his comrades landed right in the middle of those German reinforcements.
“That was a slaughter house,” he recalls. “There was SS all over the place, and they just slaughtered us. My colonel was lost. My company commander was lost.”
But what was supposed to be three days of fighting in Normandy went on for a month.
Jim Martin was one of the first Americans in combat in Europe.
“That’s the way we were trained, we accepted that,” Jim says. “And no matter how many people are there against you, what the odds are doesn’t matter. We’re going to win.”
Jim went from Normandy to fight in Holland, where he was wounded; from Holland to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium; and from Belgium to Berchtesgaden, Germany — Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the Bavarian Alps.
Jim says he thought he was going to die “every day.”
“You just have to accept it,” he says. “If you’re going to worry about dying all the time, you can’t fight.”
Jim is 93 now, one of the few left who can talk firsthand of a time when he says right was right and wrong was wrong, and everyone knew the difference.
And here’s the best part: This week, he’s going back to Normandy, where he intends to parachute — yes parachute — onto the same soil he touched seven decades ago.
“I’m not usually looking for records or anything, but that would give me a great deal of satisfaction,” he says.
Bon voyage, Jim.
U.S World War II veteran Jim Martin, 93, of the 101st Airborne
As a fellow Vietnam vet myself, I agree with almost everything stated in this article. My eyes were misty by the time I read the last line. Although it’s primarily about Marines (God bless them!), many others and I can identify with the descriptions stated here.
VIETNAM GENERATION by Jim Webb; Former Secretary of the Navy
The rapidly disappearing cohort of Americans that endured the Great Depression and then fought World War II is receiving quite a send-off from the leading lights of the so-called 60s generation. Tom Brokaw has published two oral histories of “The Greatest Generation” that feature ordinary people doing their duty and suggest that such conduct was historically unique.
Chris Matthews of “Hardball” is fond of writing columns praising the Navy service of his father while castigating his own baby boomer generation for its alleged softness and lack of struggle. William Bennett gave a startling condescending speech at the Naval Academy a few years ago comparing the heroism of the “D-Day Generation” to the drugs-and-sex nihilism of the “Woodstock Generation.” And Steven Spielberg, in promoting his film “Saving Private Ryan,” was careful to justify his portrayals of soldiers in action based on the supposedly unique nature of World War II. Continue reading →
“Walking Point” is a proposed one-hour documentary that tells the emotional story of six Vietnam War veterans as they relive their dramatic and dangerous tour of duty leading infantry troops on special missions.
Over 4000 dogs served in the Vietnam War — the largest concentrated effort toward the use of canine teams in U.S. combat history. These highly trained German Shepherds served as the eyes and ears of the infantry. The scout dogs and their handlers had one of the most dangerous jobs in Vietnam. They walked point — ahead of infantry troops. Their job was to detect dangers such as trip wires, mines, snipers and enemy troops.
Nearly 40 years after the Vietnam War, six veterans who served in the 42nd Infantry Platoon Scout Dog with the 101st Airborne Division have reunited to talk about their experiences and the extraordinary bonds held with their K9s — some of them are sharing these stories for the first time.
Two Air Force Pilots, Major Howard V. Andre Jr. and Major James E. Sizemore, were recently buried at Arlington National Cemetery and were honored with a flyover by civilian pilots. The Air Force pilots were Killed In Action over Laos during the Vietnam War and their remains were only recently discovered and returned for proper burial at Arlington. This Flight of Honor was truly awesome for the other pilots to plan and conduct it.
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NOTE: Due to military budget cuts. the Air Force no longer does flyovers
The MXT135 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has a range of roughly 7,800 feet – and is to be deployed in Afghanistan soon. I would call it the “Equalizer.” Some call it the “Punisher”.
The rifle’s gun sight uses a laser range finder to determine the exact distance to the obstruction, after which the soldier can add or subtract up to 10 meters from that distance to enable the bullets to clear the barrier and explode above or beside the target. Continue reading →
Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972 