69-year history of U.S. tanks in Germany comes to an end in 2013
By unitedweroll on Apr 4, 2013 | In Military News and Support
Whether you are old enough to remember the arrival of our first tanks in Europe for D-Day in 1944 or your memories came from the many movies centered around military activities in which battles with tanks in that part of the world were featured, it is hard to actually recall a time when US tanks were not there. As the last 22 Abrams tanks are on their way home, this may bring an assortment of memories and emotions for Americans from our Veterans of WWII to Baby Boomers. I fear that younger Americans may not be near as aware of this part of our history.
I, for one, would love to see a documentary type history in video and in print of the US tanks and the soldiers who manned & maintained these incredible machines, as they helped to bring freedom to occupied areas and to support infantry movements. Further, I would like to see this information included in classrooms across our country so that young Americans can understand the efforts it has taken by so many over the years to maintain freedom in the world and here at home, as well as some of the "tools" from tanks to P-51's that have played such an important role.
We salute the soldiers who maintain the current fleet of tanks in our military arsenal and we appreciate the legacy that they also protect and carryon today.
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Command Assists Departure of Battle Tanks From Europe
By Army Staff Sgt. Alexander A. Burnett
21st Theater Sustainment Command
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany, April 4, 2013 - The last 22 Abrams main battle tanks assigned to U.S. Army Europe armored combat units began the final portion of their journey back to the United States at the 21st Theater Sustainment Command's Theater Logistics Support Center Europe railhead here March 18, ending a 69-year history of U.S. tanks in Germany.
German railway loadmasters with the Theater Logistics Support Center Europe control an Abrams main battle tank as it is loaded onto a rail car at the TLSCE railhead, March 19, 2013. The tank was among the 22 of the last U.S. battle tanks to leave Germany. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander Burnett
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
The tanks arrived at the railhead in the early hours of March 18, and the members of TLSC-E had 24 hours to get them ready to move. Host-nation civilians worked 12-hour shifts to get each tank inventoried, marked, secured and fastened. Each step in securing the tanks was crucial for the trip.
"These tanks must be meticulously accounted for and secured to their rail cars," said Jurgen Mohrhardt, the railhead branch manager for the Supply Activity Europe, TLSC-E and a native of Schopp, Germany. "We are here to ensure these tanks are properly retrograded and accounted for. We want them to make it back safely to the United States. ... The team here did an amazing job getting them ready to move."
To ensure the physical security of the tanks on their journey, six military police soldiers from the 21st TSC's 18th Military Police Brigade accompanied the train to the port of Bremerhaven, Germany.
At Bremerhaven, the 22 tanks were loaded onto a vessel called The Honor of Arc, an American roll-on, roll-off vessel that allows vehicles to drive onto the deck, as opposed to loading them with a crane. Charleston, S.C., was the destination of the tanks and four of the military police escort detail.
"It is an honor to be one of the soldiers escorting the last battle tanks out of Germany," said Army Sgt. Jeremy Jordan, a military police noncommissioned officer assigned to the 529th Military Police Company and a native of Houston. "As these tanks sail back to the U.S., we are closing a chapter in history."
The U.S. Army first brought tanks to the European continent during World War II in 1944, beginning in France with D-Day. By September 1944, the first tanks from 5th Armored Division had pushed forward into Germany. After World War II, the majority of the Sherman tanks used were sent back to the United States.
During the Korean War, a new surge of U.S. tanks arrived in Germany to act as a defense force to protect Western Europe from the Soviet threat. Tanks remained in Germany throughout the years to deploy in support of missions in the Middle East. At its peak, Germany was home to 20 U.S. armored divisions, which amounts to about 6,000 tanks.
"There have been tanks in Germany since 1944, and now there are none," said Andrew M. Morris, the U.S. Army Europe historian and native of Boulder, Colo. "For most of that time, the U.S. was a tank-heavy army. This marks the end of an era, both for the armored history in Germany and the U.S. military."
"Moving these last 22 tanks symbolizes a change in warfighting methodology," said Ingrid Boger, the TLSC-E public affairs officer. "This is the end of a long tradition and history of having battle tanks in Germany."
The last tank to be loaded onto the vessel was the "Casa Loca" -- "The Crazy House." As the single-metric-ton war machine climbed the ramp onto the vessel, it signified the end of an era in Germany, Morris said.
"It's a major change in orientation from being a heavy force oriented on the defense of Western Europe to a deployable expeditionary force able to go anywhere," he added.
Ref: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119695
Related Sites:
21st Theater Sustainment Command
United We Roll World Tour Show at Stardust Radio Network Inc Tues 4-2-13 & Wed 4-3-13
By unitedweroll on Apr 2, 2013 | In Military News and Support
United We Roll World Tour Show
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376th AEW
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817 EAS C-17 Pilot / Transit Center at Manas
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Salute to Army 1st Lt John E Terpning, returned to family after last flight on May 7, 1944
By unitedweroll on Mar 30, 2013 | In Military News and Support
With 73,000 Americans still unaccounted for after WWII, our hearts are grateful as this B-24D pilot is finally rejoined with loved ones.
Missing World War II Pacific Theater Pilot Identified
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2013 - The remains of a serviceman from World War II have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors, the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office announced in a DOD news release issued today.
Army 1st Lt. John E. Terpning, of Mount Prospect, Ill., will be buried on April 3 in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. On May 7, 1944, Terpning was a pilot of a B-24D Liberator aircraft that departed Nadzab, New Guinea, on a bombing mission.
Due to mechanical troubles, the B-24D was delayed in departing the airbase and was unable to join the formation after takeoff. The aircraft, Terpning, nor the nine other crewmen aboard the plane were seen after takeoff. In 1946, the War Department declared all ten men to be presumed dead.
In 1973, a Papua New Guinea Forest Department official reported a wartime aircraft in the mountains northeast of the city of Lae. In October 1973, a team of Royal Australian Air Force members responded to the report and visited the site, where they found aircraft wreckage that corresponded to that of a B-24D.
At that time the RAAF recovered possible human remains, which were transferred to the U.S. Army Mortuary in Tachikawa, Japan. However, given the limited technology at that time, no human remains were individually identified. In 1974, the remains were buried as a group at Arlington National Cemetery.
In April 2008, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team was sent to investigate and survey the crash site. The team recovered aircraft wreckage from a B-24D and additional remains, including a radio call sign data plate that matched the aircraft.
To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools such as dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA, which matched Terpning's brother.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 73,000 Americans are unaccounted-for from that conflict.
Ref: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119658
Related Sites:
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
DOD News Release
United We Roll World Tour Show at Stardust Radio Network Inc Tues 3-26-13 and Wed 3-27-13
By unitedweroll on Mar 25, 2013 | In Military News and Support
United We Roll World Tour Show
Stardust Radio www.stardustradio.com
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This Tuesday, we bring 4 new visits with deployed members - two from the
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Interview #1 (appr 1:10pm) - SSgt Kristina D Stanley
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376 ECES - Transit Center at Manas
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4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division "RAIDERS!"
CTF 4-2 / Afghanistan
Interview #4 (appr 2:57pm) - SGT Jacob F Price
2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment - "Tomahawk"
CTF 4-2 / Afghanistan
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If you are not able to stay through the show this afternoon,
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After the repeat show has been broadcast, an MP3 copy will be posted
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MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL & MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!
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OUR UNITS
376 Air Expeditionary Wing
Transit Center at Manas
Republic of Kyrgystan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transit-Center-at-Manas
--------------------------------------------
Combined Task Force 4-2
4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division "RAIDERS!"
4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment - "Manchu"
2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment - "Tomahawk"
1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment - "Rock of the Marne"
2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment - "Blackhawk"
2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment - "Viking"
702nd Brigade Support Battalion - "Forge"
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4SBCT2ID
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Wishing All A Blessed and Peaceful Easter!
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To Our Military Members & First Responders
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Thank You!
******************************************************
Stardust Radio Network Inc
Supporting Our Military For 11+ Years
Listening Instructions
To hear our broadcasts - go to www.stardustradio.com and click the Listen Live button. A sound box from Live 365 will appear where you can adjust the settings to suit your listening pleasure. If you see red colored bars in the volume indicator, that means that station sound is buffering and it will turn to green and begin to play shortly. There is no fee for the service as provided.
Local Area Riverside, Iowa - Tune in to 1690 AM radio
Past Show MP3 Tapes - Are available on our show archive site at www.stardustradio.info. Go to the main page, click on the United We Roll button on the left, then scroll down to the show you wish to hear or download. Left click the link to listen or right click to download. There is no fee for the downloads.
**************************************************************
For more news & articles on current happenings, please visit our United We Roll sites at:
Stardust Radio – www.stardustradio.com
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