By G. WILLIAM GLIDDEN
Five years ago, on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, at 9:30 in the evening, members of the National Guard unit in Morrisonville, Company B, 2/108th, arrived back home after a year in Iraq. It was a cold and dark night for their three-hour trip from Fort Drum. For some, it would be the last trip, for others a return to Iraq would be in the future. One wonders what went through their minds on that trip. For it was a time in which the military began to approach counterinsurgencies with a new, a changed outlook.
Recently in Oslo, Norway, President Obama remarked, "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history." Obama laid out circumstances in which war is justified — in self defense, to come to the aid of an invaded nation, and on humanitarian grounds. The following is a short history of New York's contributions in the past decade.
In 2004 soldiers in New York's 27th Enhanced Separate Infantry Brigade, from a number of communities throughout the North Country, served to accomplish stability and security in Iraq. During the year casualties in the 2/108th included: On Easter Sunday, 2004, Staff Sgt. Troy Mechanick, Sgt. James MacDonald and Specialist Timothy Durie received wounds during an enemy attack on their convoy. On June 16 Christopher M. Paiser of Dannemora, hit by a 127-millimeter rocket during an enemy mortar attack on his unit's compound, is now partially blind. On Aug. 6, they received Purple Heart Medals in a ceremony held in the Empire State Plaza, Albany, near the Purple Heart Memorial.
Three battalion members did not return home with the battalion due to enemy action: (1) Specialist Nathan Brown, 21, of South Glens Falls (Company C) — the attack on Easter Sunday; (2) Sgt. Angelo Uvanni, 27, of Rome (Company D) — sniper in Sumarra; and (3) Specialist Frederick Akintade, 34, of Brooklyn (Company A) — Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
While members of the 2-108th served in Iraq, family and friends kept them in their hearts and minds for 15 months. Twice a month on a Wednesday evening, youths of the 96th Regiment Corps of Cadets at the Morrisonville Armory wrote to members of the 2-108th. Words of remembrance sent from home for the guard members. The Morrisonville Family Readiness Group (FRG) also met to initiate actions of support. On Sunday evening, Jan. 2, 2005, families greeted the returning warriors at Fort Drum. The FRG initiated a receiving ceremony at the Morrisonville Armory on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005.
In March 2007 the 27th Brigade Combat Team, again with members of 2/108th from Clinton County, began preparations to deploy, this time to Afghanistan. They began their deployment on Jan. 16, 2008; and returned to New York on May 2, 2009. During the year, in addition to training Afghan security forces, humanitarian joint assistance operations with Afghan communities became part of the ongoing outreach effort and support to the Afghan government and its people.
Upon return of the 27th from Afghanistan, they were honored and recognized for their service during a Freedom Salute Award Ceremony, which is part of the New York National Guard's new reintegration program. The Freedom Salute Award, sponsored by the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon, is a dedication to the soldiers, families and employers of personnel in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Noble Eagle.
Today, in the Lake Champlain-Hudson River corridor, New York's guard members continue to assist their communities more than ever before in various projects as well as assist government in its fight against terrorism:
During the past decade, in Saratoga Springs, the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center has fulfilled the promises made to New York veterans that their history would never be forgotten or forsaken. Through the various museum galleries New York now provides the opportunity to remember the rich heritage of its history.
With the approach of the 70th anniversary of American involvement in World War II, the 100th anniversary of American involvement in World War I, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, invitations are extended to come and visit the museum in Saratoga and the War of 1812 museum and Clinton County Historical Association located on the museum campus in Plattsburgh.
The Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration in September also continues to grow larger each year. We invite you to participate. The next meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 4 p.m. at the War of 1812 museum theater.
G. William Glidden, retired major, NYRNG, is vice president of NYS Military Heritage Institute. He lives in Plattsburgh.
