Our hearts & minds are on Desert Storm vets 

We honor all 3AD who served on this 35th Anniversary Victory Day

 

On this the 35th Anniversary of the Official Cessation of Hostilities in Operation Desert Storm, we ask you to pause and consider the memories of three of the leaders who led our troops. Our Chaplain Jeff Gibson leads us in prayer to remember our fallen.

 

Many of our brothers and sisters still struggle with these events. Please reach out and express our shared support.  Reach out to the families of the fallen, remind them that their loved ones will not be forgotten.

V/r

Tony O.

Anthony L (Tony) Olson, President, Association of 3d Armored Division Veterans

tony@olsoncpa.com  -  508-335-3703

 

Paul Funk, LTG (R), EdD

In my opinion, Desert Storm was the greatest First Battle the US Army has ever fought! (This is in reference to BG Bill Stoeffts' book by that title written well before DS). We won an overwhelming victory over an army supposed to be one of the best in the world. In my opinion the Iraqi Army we fought (mainly Republican Guards and top armored formations) was probably pretty good--BUT our Army was at that moment A Great Army! We absolutely overwhelmed and destroyed the forces we fought. The Spearhead Division played a central role in that victory! It was not that our equipment was so much better (some was, some was not).

 

 This victory belongs to the quality of Spearhead Soldiers and their junior leaders! (The NCOs and the officers, Colonel and below.) These warriors were extremely well trained -- in my judgement, the best trained soldiers who have ever fought a "First Battle" in our history, and because of their quality AND that training almost nothing went wrong as we drove that Spear through the heart of the Iraqi's best. This great Division was not lucky, it was simply the best armored division in the world at that time!!

 

Joe T. Hill, CSM (R); Honorary Sergeant Major 37th Regiment

Fellow Spearhead soldiers and families, I feel humility and pride to have been part of the Spearhead Division and Jayhawk Corps up front with the soldiers on HQ’s 77 Abrams tank with one of the finest and well-trained crew ever assembled. One thing should be clear to all our citizens regarding Desert Storm, and that is the victory was victory in history to that point in time! It was the quality of our soldiers and their superb training that gave us this great victory. Our equipment was good, but it was the courage and skill of our soldiers. From the time we put our Spearhead band on the berm crossing into Iraq all the way to the Persian Gulf, victory was achieved. It was the character and absolute teamwork at all levels by all formations which defeated the enemy.

 

When we moved to KKMC after the war, we were leaving all that equipment sitting in the desert and it looked so lonely without our brave men and women manning them. On this our 35th anniversary, it is an honor and privilege for me to pay tribute to a remarkable group of Spearhead soldiers who gave their heart and soul to service of our great nation.

 

Robert Fulcher, COL (R)

Our unit, 4-18 Infantry, was alerted for war. We received our Mission, conducted a mission analysis, developed the Theater Specific Training Plan, and deployed to Saudi Arabia. Our mission analysis required us to: conduct a movement to contact; execute a hasty attack; and maintain contact with the enemy to defeat and destroy him. Our home station training only needed to incorporate desert operations. We added increased distances and increased logistical requirements in our training. Upon completion of our home station training, which included our theater specific training, we deployed to Saudi Arabia.

 

We deployed to Saudi Arabia and prepared for the onward moment to our Assembly Area. Once our full complement of equipment arrived we continued training on movement formations, attack formations, and actions on the objectives. We were ready to conduct operations. We engaged the enemy and destroyed him to the point where the enemy lost the will to fight. We completed our follow on assignments. We then prepared for redeployment to Germany. During the war we sustained one Soldier Killed in Action (KIA). We will never forget Jay Scott Lindsey, our one KIA.

 

 

Jeff Gibson, Chaplain

Almighty God, We gather in spirit to remember the brave souls of the Gulf War who have been called home. We honor those who fell in the heat of the "100-Hour War," and those who have since succumbed to the invisible burdens of their service.

• For the Fallen: We remember those whose lives ended in the desert wind. May their sacrifice be held in your eternal light, and may their names never fade from our nation's memory.

• For the Departed Veterans: We lift up those who returned from the sand only to face new battles at home with health and hardship. We thank you for the years they gave us after the war and ask that they now find the perfect rest and healing that eluded them on earth.

• For the Grieving: Comfort the families who still feel the empty chair at the table. Turn their mourning into quiet pride, know their loved ones stood for freedom when the world called.

May we be worthy of the peace they fought to secure. Amen.

 

We say their names in remembrance and note information on 3ad.org:

Michael Bishop, SPC

Young M. Dillon, SGT

Kenneth B. Gentry, SSG

Tracy Hampton, SGT

Ronald S. Jones, SGT

Joseph G. Kime, CAPT

Edwin B. Kutz, SGT

Scott Lindsey, CPL

Gary Maham, PFC

Phillip D. Mobley, SPC

Henry J. Sanders, 1SG

Christopher H. Stephens, SSG

Adrian L. Stokes, PFC

Roy J. Summerall, SSG

Peter L. Swano, SPC

Charles F. Walker, PFC