Rough Men and Women Stand Ready on This Memorial Day

3-1 CAV is so fortunate to have Chaplain Randall. He is my daily inspiration and I know he has helped SO many Soldiers. I feel blessed that the guys and gals of FOB Hammer have Chaplain Randall to lead them and inspire them to keep their faith. My thanks to Chaplain Randall for all the lives he touches!

Rough Men and Women Stand Ready on This Memorial Day

28 MAY 2007 MEMORIAL DAY FOB HAMMER IRAQ

(An article that will appear in the Hammer Times)

by Chaplain Anthony Randall

“People sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” George Orwell. This is the most difficult Memorial Day I have ever experienced as we remembered the lives of SPC Jonathan Winterbottom and SPC Victor Toledo-Pulido, two of our finest 3-1 CAV Soldiers, and members of the “rough men” (and women) of the Sledgehammer Brigade Combat Team.

It is a somber day, a day of lament, when we pause to reflect on those who gave the fullest measure of devotion…their lives for the preservation of our great Republic and the principles and freedoms it has stood for over 200 years.

It is a weekend where most Americans gather for a family barbeque, a softball game, an early morning golf tournament, putting the boat on the water for the first time with the water skis, or enjoying America’s pastime in a ballpark to see their child in a Little League game or follow their favorite major league team. Most Americans see it as a three or four day weekend to escape work and as the opening weekend to the summer months all because “rough men (and women) stand ready”…

On Sunday I walked the line as the Troopers from A/3-1 CAV staged their vehicles under the cover of darkness prepared and ready to SP in order to establish a patrol base in AO Hammer. As I walked up to each vehicle, dark shadows transformed into the faces of “rough men” silhouetted in the incandescent glow of radio and computer screens and burning ambers at the ends of cigarettes.

“How are we doing Men?” I ask. “Hey Chap, we’re good.” As they recognize the familiar voice of “Blackhawk Shepherd.” “Are you really? How ya’ feelin?” I reply. “Well, a little nervous, and a little anxious I guess” comes a reply from the chapped lips of a cavalry scout. “May the Lord surround you with horses and chariots of fire just as he did Elisha” I respond. “Hey, that’s from the Kuwait sermon before we deployed to Iraq right Chap?” “Yep, 2 Kings 6, Brother. The Lord delivers Elisha’s enemies into his hands. Whenever you are fearful or anxious ask the Lord to give you eyes to see his heavenly hosts surrounding you, and may you know there will always be more of us than there are of them.” I try not to sound to “preachy” and grab one of their arms with an affirming grip. “Chariots of horses and fire. Huah. I like that one Chap, that’s tight.” We pray and I walk on to another vehicle.

On the hood of a vehicle sits two Soldiers, PFC T, a fellow Colorado native, and CPL G who just pulled a “bad guy” out of a vehicle and detained him 24 hours beforehand. I stopped and chatted for a few minutes complimenting CPL G on his decisive actions from a day before and then agreeing with PFC T that we were going to spend a day skiing the chutes and steeps at Steamboat when we get home. He grew up in Steamboat and that is my favorite place to ski in Colorado...next to Arapahoe Basin that is. I've had all of my near death experiences and injuries at those two places. A moment of sentiment for separated shoulders, bruised ribs, lacerations, and nearly catching hypothermia. Thank you.

“Can I pray for you guys?” already putting my hands on their shoulders. “Absolutely Sir” and we prayed. When finished PFC Taylor told me he had to show me something, and proceeded to pull out a small velvet pouch. He handled it reverently as he slowly opened each flap to expose a St. Michael’s medallion and a Crucifix. “They were my grandfather’s. Before I came to Iraq my grandmother gave them to me. He carried them in the D-Day assault on Normandy and throughout the entire war in Europe.” I affirmed him in how awesome of a gift that was, and that as he carries those icons into battle may they remind him of God’s constant presence and protection in his life.What is your tradition? Why do you serve today in the long line of so many who have served in the past? It reminded me of why I joined the military. My dad got his start in the military as an enlisted man who loaded nuclear weapons on fighter jets in the early 60s in Germany. Then there was the WWII veteran, Mr. Julian, at church who was like a grandfather to me as a child. Upon my graduation and commissioning as a 2LT from West Point he gave me one of his Lieutenant bars that he wore in the Normandy Invasion as a platoon leader, and by the end of the war had liberated concentration and POW camps as a company commander. And there was Mr. Pfeifer on my paper route who jumped into Normandy with the 101st ABN DIV. He landed in a tree. Stuck in his harness and shot in the leg he continued to engage the enemy until his comrades could cut him down.

My uncle the Army Dentist, my aunt the Army Nurse, my crazy Uncle Ronnie the Devil Dawg whose stories are always just a little to “stretched” to believe, my father in law, Harry, who was a Pearl Harbor veteran, or my nephew, Chris, another Devil Dawg Recon Sniper and Desert Shield/Storm vet.

And what is it that you remember about those who have fallen? I think of two men, CPT Russell Rippetoe and CPT Josh Byers, both killed in action in Iraq in 2003. Russell and I are from the same home town, went to rival high schools, even had mutual friends, but we never met each other from my recollection. He served in the 3rd Ranger Battalion during OIF I. While in seminary and serving as a pastor in Colorado I had several favorite run routes. My favorite was the CPT Russell “Ranger” Rippetoe run route. About 1 ½ miles from my house his parents had erected a flag pole and small garden next to the running path by their house in his memory. No matter my split times, my heart rate, the freezing temperatures, or the heat of the day I always stopped, saluted, took a knee, and prayed to God to always keep fresh in my mind why and how I serve.

CPT Josh Byers was my classmate from West Point. He was an incredible Christian and combat leader as a troop commander in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. We were friends through mutual acquaintances at school, but did not hang out to much together because at the time I wasn’t exactly walking the “straight and narrow.” I admired him from a distance, for his faith, for his example…and I still do today.

And that my Sledgehammer Brother’s and Sister’s is how we celebrate and remember Memorial Day. We remember and emulate the “rough men” (and women) who have stood in the face of evil and said, “Not today, not tonight, not tomorrow.” And so now it is our turn, this Memorial Day to stand in that same gap, “rough men and women” prepared and ready to take the fight to the enemy for the peace of our country and our families. Steadfast and determined. Army Strong. Sledgehammer.

– Blessings