From the Americal Journal, the quarterly newsletter and magazine of the Americal Division Veterans Association, comes a combat infantryman’s story–John Hastings, who earned his CIB in Vietnam as a sniper, Recondo and Ranger in G Company, 75th Ranger detachment of the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).

His story is found on pages 29-32 of the aforementioned publication, and this episode is an audio narration of that article.

As you will hear in this audio episode, John Hastings left a stateside position in the National Guard and volunteered for Vietnam. He went to Recondo School in country (which led to being a Ranger and wearing the black beret of the 75th Ranger Detachment in Chu Lai — G Company), and where he eventually became a sniper (after several days of sniper training at the Sniper School in Chu Lai).

You can see the subdued CIB on his tiger-stripe fatigues as one of the Recon units of the Americal.  This article highlights the tremendous esprit de corps of the Rangers, as delivered by the man himself who walked in the shoes of the Recon Rangers of the Americal–a combat infantryman of the Vietnam War.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and the Americal Division Veterans’ Association. All rights reserved.

In this episode of the H21 Southern Chapter, Austin-based Combat Infantrymen’s Association, we narrate for you the article that appeared in the 2009 Winter Edition of The Salute Newsletter (one that goes out to all Army veterans, regardless of MOS, campaign or service). This article deals with the multi-branch effort of the 1983 invasion and capture of Grenada, in which the Army played a vital role–especially with the Delta Force, the Rangers and the 82nd Airborne Division.

For the pdf document of that article, click here:

In what is commonly referred to as a “brushfire action” (very similar to what military historians refer to, as well, for the Panama invasion, known as “Operation Just Cause”), the operation in Grenada was the beginning of the steppingstones that would lead to better inter-operation and cooperation of the branches of the military to accomplish the overall mission from the Unites States high command–in this case, the President of the United States at that time, Ronald Reagan.

The Southern Branch Chapter, H20, of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association has contacted an individual who served as an infantryman during Operation Urgent Fury. We hope to have an interview with this CIB award-winner in the near future in another episode.

A salute to all the men who took part in the operation and put the US Army, and the rest of the military, back on the path to effectiveness–which would later pay off in big dividends during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Copyright (c) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation, The Salute, and The United States PsyOp web page for the Grenada campaign. All Rights Reserved.