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Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millet wears his Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and other medals earned in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He served as honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association, and was active in veterans events almost to his death Nov. 14, 2009. U.S. Army photo[/caption] WASHINGTON – Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millett, who received the Medal of Honor during the Korean War for leading what reportedly was the last major American bayonet charge, died Nov 14.
Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millet wears his Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and other medals earned in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He served as honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association, and was active in veterans events almost to his death Nov. 14, 2009. U.S. Army photo[/caption] WASHINGTON – Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millett, who received the Medal of Honor during the Korean War for leading what reportedly was the last major American bayonet charge, died Nov 14.Millett, 88, died in Loma Linda, Calif., after serving for more than 15 years as the honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association.Millet received the Medal of Honor for his actions Feb. 7, 1951. He led the 25th Infantry Division’s Company E, 27th Infantry, in a bayonet charge up Hill 180 near Soam-Ni, Korea. A captain at the time, Millet was leading his company in an attack against a strongly held position when he noticed that a platoon was pinned down by small-arms, automatic, and antitank fire.Millett placed himself at the head of two other platoons, ordered fixed bayonets, and led an assault up the fire-swept hill. In the fierce charge, Millett bayoneted two enemy soldiers and continued on, throwing grenades, clubbing and bayoneting the enemy, while urging his men forward by shouting encouragement, according to his Medal of Honor citation."Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill," the citation states. "His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder." Millett was wounded by grenade fragments during the attack, but he refused evacuation until the objective was firmly secured. He recovered, and attended Ranger School after the war. In the 1960s, he ran the 101st Airborne Division Recondo School for reconnaissance and commando training at Fort Campbell, Ky. He then served in a number of special operations advisory assignments in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He founded the Royal Thai Army Ranger School with help of the 46th Special Forces Company. This unit reportedly is the only one in the U.S. Army to simultaneously be designated as both Ranger and Special Forces. Millet retired from the Army in 1973. "I was very saddened to hear Colonel Millett passed away," said Army Maj. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr., the current commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. "He was a rare breed -- a true patriot who never stopped serving his country. He was a role model for thousands of soldiers, and he will be missed." Millet was born in Maine and first enlisted in 1940 in the Army Air Corps and served as a gunner. Soon after, when it appeared that the United States would not enter World War II, he left and joined the Canadian army. In 1942, while Millet was serving in London, the United States entered the war. Millet turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy there and eventually was assigned to the 1st Armored Division. As an antitank gunner in Tunisia, Millet earned the Silver Star after he jumped into a burning halftrack filled with ammunition, drove it away from allied soldiers and jumped to safety just before the vehicle exploded. He later shot down a German fighter plane with a vehicle-mounted machine gun. As a sergeant serving in Italy during the war, his desertion to join the Canadian forces caught up to him. He was court-martialed, fined $52 and denied leave. A few weeks later, he was awarded a battlefield commission. After the war, he joined the 103rd Infantry of the Maine National Guard, and he attended college until he was called back to active duty in 1949. In addition to the Medal of Honor, Millett earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit and four Purple Hearts during his 35-year military career. After his retirement, he remained active in both national and local veterans groups from his Idyllwild, Calif., home. His son, Army Staff Sgt John Morton Millett, was a member of the 101st Airborne Division returning from duty in the Sinai on Dec. 12, 1985, when a charter plane crashed upon takeoff after stopping at Gander, Newfoundland. He was one of 256 soldiers killed in the crash. On Feb. 7, 1994, Millet was honored with a ceremony on Hill 180, now located on Osan Air Base, South Korea. The ceremony became an annual one, and the road running up the hill was named "Millet Road." In June 2000, Millet returned to Seoul, South Korea, and served as keynote speaker at the Army's 225th Birthday Ball at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. All eight of the then-living Korean War Medal of Honor recipients attended the event. This year, Millet served as the grand marshal of a Salute to Veterans parade April 21 in Riverside, Calif. He died Nov. 14 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Loma Linda, of congestive heart failure. A memorial service for Millet is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 5 at the National Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in California. (Courtesy of Army.mil.) Nov. 20, 2009: American Forces Press Service
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SOUTHWEST ASIA – He was there, and then he was gone. It was just a glimpse on the night of Oct. 31. She continued to exit the C-130 Hercules that had just landed at an air base here, still scanning her surroundings to see if it could be.
Then she saw him again. Her face lit up as she joyfully greeted her husband at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing reception area.Although she was ecstatic to see her husband for the first time in six months, Air Force Capt. Kieran Dhillon-Davis, the newly arrived chief of the wing’s mental health services, didn't come here to see him. She came to take his place.Her job is to ensure mission readiness by providing mental health services such as individual therapy, tobacco cessation aid and suicide awareness training to airmen and soldiers. She also focuses on behavior change and on stress and anger management. Her husband, Air Force Capt. Luther Dhillon-Davis, the departing chief of mental health services, soon would return to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, the couple's home station. But for now, he was focusing on managing the hand-off and preparing his wife for a successful stay. "I was eagerly anticipating her arrival," he said. "I was and still am excited to get to share with her this transition." Over the next 14 days, he facilitated the transfer by seeing patients alongside his wife, providing her with continuity, detailing location-specific information and showing her around the wing. He noted how grateful he was to spend time with her over the changeover period, saying it was the "closest thing to a traditional mid-tour break," they would get. The couple became acquainted when 23-year-old Kieran Dhillon enrolled in a neuropsychology class on the nature of emotion in the summer of 2002, after seeing 24-year-old Luther Davis's name on the class's roster at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif. Over the next four years, Luther Davis would create a holiday for his college sweetheart: "Blue Day," named after her favorite color and a commemoration of their engagement. Both would join the Air Force and start their residency, and they would combine and hyphenate their last names in a wedding ceremony at a winery in Temecula, Calif. They celebrated their third wedding anniversary separately on May 28, shortly after Luther left for his deployment. They knew there would be sacrifices when both entered the Air Force. The couple agrees that getting deployed back-to-back is not an ideal situation, but they are learning to deal with the challenges it brings. "I've had to learn how to be supportive without being there physically," admitted Luther, a 31-year-old Wichita Falls, Texas, native. When the couple informs people of their situation, the response they normally receive is, "Geez, that sucks! Why couldn't they work something different?" he said. Kieran explained that their career field is critically undermanned, and constant deployments have left a shortage of airmen capable of deploying. They agree the situation could have been far more stressful if they were deployed to separate locations. As their two-week overlap drew to a close, the couple sat beside each other, smiling, laughing and getting lost in somber moments of silence -- moments that soon were ended by the realization that the KC-10 Extender was waiting on the ramp to take him home, and the two would have to say goodbye again. In the upcoming months, Luther will re-integrate into the 82nd Medical Group and serve the airmen of Sheppard Air Force Base, and Kieran will continue to hold the line as the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's only clinical psychologist. Reflecting on her husband's departure, the 30-year-old Redland, Calif., native said she has only the mission at hand on her mind, and plans on “doing what I have been called out here to do, just like everyone else." The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and aerial refueling in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. (Air Force Senior Airman Stephen Linch serves with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs office.) Nov. 19, 2009: By Air Force Senior Airman Stephen Linch-Special to American Forces Press Service
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Army Spc. Meirong Wang hands out mail at her forward operating base in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. A native of China's Fujian province, Wang serves with Task Force Mountain Warrior. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Melissa Milner[/caption] NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 28, 2009 – A native of China’s Fujian province who was not in the United States long before she decided to serve her adopted country says the dedication of her fellow soldiers helps to inspire her own service. Army Spc. Meirong Wang was about to finish her college degree and start teaching high school physics when she was granted the opportunity to leave China and travel to the United States. “When you see a different country, it’s not about the country or the area, it’s about the people,†she said of her decision to leave China. “People are brave to stand up for the things [they] want to fight for.†Wang said she is proud to be here, and cited the discipline required in the military as something that makes it different from any other career. “As long as you maintain discipline, you want to do better,†she said. A human resources specialist for Task Force Mountain Warrior’s 4th Special Troops Battalion, Wang uses her discipline to better herself every day. “Specialist Wang makes my job easy,†said Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Coulter, Wang’s noncommissioned officer in charge. “Her work ethic, attention to detail and willingness to take on responsibilities [make her] the type of soldier leaders want and the Army needs.†Though Wang’s discipline and desire to do better drive her every day, Coulter said, she still faces some challenges as she works to overcome the language barrier. “Specialist Wang has identified that as a weakness, and has improved her English tremendously,†he said. “As leaders, we identify our weaknesses and seek self-improvement. Wang has many characteristics of a leader, and that is just one of them.†Wang attributes much of her success to her fellow soldiers and leaders. In the process that led to her being named as Task Force Mountain Warrior’s soldier of the quarter, Wang had to face many challenges and her teammates helped her to prepare. Even though the competition was an individual event, she noted, it still took a team effort for her be selected. “So many people stood behind me and supported me,†Wang said, adding that her leaders want her to be a good leader as well. “They also tell my comrades we need to support each other to be good leaders,†she said. Coulter proudly recalled how Wang’s fellow soldiers helped her prepare for the evaluation board. “Specialist Wang and her co-workers pulled together as a team; they went to the gym together, woke up early and did physical training,†he said. “And the team drilled her with evaluation board questions daily.†The support paid off in Wang’s selection as soldier of the quarter. “There’s no way I could win this board without everyone here,†she said. Coulter said it’s typical of Wang to give credit to her leadership and fellow soldiers. “She is an unselfish soldier [who] exemplifies selfless service,†he said. Wednesday, 28 October 2009: By Army Spc. Eugene H. Cushing whom serves in the Task Force Mountain Warrior public affairs office- Special to American Forces Press Service.
Army Spc. Meirong Wang hands out mail at her forward operating base in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. A native of China's Fujian province, Wang serves with Task Force Mountain Warrior. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Melissa Milner[/caption] NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 28, 2009 – A native of China’s Fujian province who was not in the United States long before she decided to serve her adopted country says the dedication of her fellow soldiers helps to inspire her own service. Army Spc. Meirong Wang was about to finish her college degree and start teaching high school physics when she was granted the opportunity to leave China and travel to the United States. “When you see a different country, it’s not about the country or the area, it’s about the people,†she said of her decision to leave China. “People are brave to stand up for the things [they] want to fight for.†Wang said she is proud to be here, and cited the discipline required in the military as something that makes it different from any other career. “As long as you maintain discipline, you want to do better,†she said. A human resources specialist for Task Force Mountain Warrior’s 4th Special Troops Battalion, Wang uses her discipline to better herself every day. “Specialist Wang makes my job easy,†said Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Coulter, Wang’s noncommissioned officer in charge. “Her work ethic, attention to detail and willingness to take on responsibilities [make her] the type of soldier leaders want and the Army needs.†Though Wang’s discipline and desire to do better drive her every day, Coulter said, she still faces some challenges as she works to overcome the language barrier. “Specialist Wang has identified that as a weakness, and has improved her English tremendously,†he said. “As leaders, we identify our weaknesses and seek self-improvement. Wang has many characteristics of a leader, and that is just one of them.†Wang attributes much of her success to her fellow soldiers and leaders. In the process that led to her being named as Task Force Mountain Warrior’s soldier of the quarter, Wang had to face many challenges and her teammates helped her to prepare. Even though the competition was an individual event, she noted, it still took a team effort for her be selected. “So many people stood behind me and supported me,†Wang said, adding that her leaders want her to be a good leader as well. “They also tell my comrades we need to support each other to be good leaders,†she said. Coulter proudly recalled how Wang’s fellow soldiers helped her prepare for the evaluation board. “Specialist Wang and her co-workers pulled together as a team; they went to the gym together, woke up early and did physical training,†he said. “And the team drilled her with evaluation board questions daily.†The support paid off in Wang’s selection as soldier of the quarter. “There’s no way I could win this board without everyone here,†she said. Coulter said it’s typical of Wang to give credit to her leadership and fellow soldiers. “She is an unselfish soldier [who] exemplifies selfless service,†he said. Wednesday, 28 October 2009: By Army Spc. Eugene H. Cushing whom serves in the Task Force Mountain Warrior public affairs office- Special to American Forces Press Service.
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HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2009 – Within a week of arriving here, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gary Mishoe is preparing his motor pool for his unit’s takeover of counterinsurgency operations in the province.
From preventive maintenance to headlight and tire checks on the unit’s Humvees and 7-ton trucks, Mishoe works to ensure his fellow Marines will have safe and operable vehicles throughout their deployment. Mishoe, a 27-year-old Marine from Virginia Beach, Va., is deployed as a motor transport operator with Regimental Combat Team 7, which will conduct counterinsurgency operations in support of Afghan forces throughout the province.But his path from Virginia Beach to Afghanistan was not a simple high school-to-boot camp route.Within a year of graduating from high school in 2002, Mishoe secured a spot on the assembly line at a car assembly plant in Norfolk, Va. His job was simple: assemble drive shafts. The task earned him about $75,000 a year. Life was good. “I felt very secure. I had a good job, an apartment, bought a new car and had a family,†Mishoe said. “I thought I was going to retire there.†But four years later, the assembly plant couldn’t survive a weakened economy and its effect on the auto industry. He received three months notice that the plant was shutting down. “I got a $100,000 severance package. But I still needed a job,†said Mishoe, who had a wife, toddler and baby on the way. The Virginian’s life revolved around the auto industry as far back as he can remember. His mother had worked at the same assembly line 10 years earlier. “When I was in high school, I would wash some of my mom’s co-worker’s cars. I was a kid, washing these people’s cars, and then I found myself working right next to them on the assembly line,†he said. Following the layoff, Mishoe traveled up and down the East Coast, securing modeling gigs at New York fashion shows, and eventually following his wife to Atlanta. It was there that he decided to accept a commitment he’s always had on his mind: to enlist as a U.S. Marine. He knew the challenge ahead. “I knew it was going to be hard,†he said. “I knew I had to work for it. But I was willing to do it.†Mishoe knew he was enlisting in a wartime Marine Corps, and was fully aware of the chance that he may deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan. “I wanted to come out here and do what Marines do,†he said. “I’ve been training since boot camp to do this, and here I am.†Mishoe enlisted Aug. 11, 2007, and after graduating from Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., he completed follow-on training at Camp Geiger, N.C., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where he learned how to become a motor transport operator. “Working for Ford was tougher, not because of the job itself, but because of the lack of a team attitude. I was doing the job by myself,†he said. “There’s a lot more pride in the Marine Corps. If you’re struggling, there’s always someone to help. There’s always that team spirit.†Mishoe looks forward to heading out of the forward operating base and into the country roads, driving convoys and leading Marines. “I want to learn about the Afghan culture, what they’ve been through,†he said. “I believe that we are helping them in a turning point in their civilization. It’s good that we are here.†He also hopes to do some soul-searching. “The Marine Corps has helped me become a better father, husband and person,†he said. “Now, I want to learn about myself, about my limits,†he said. After completing his yearlong deployment, Mishoe said, he hopes to secure a spot at the Marine Inspector/Instructor staff at Chesapeake, Va., about 15 miles from the Ford plant where he used to work. The days of the lucrative assembly line are a distant memory, and the plant’s closing may have been a blessing in disguise. “I’m thinking about the here and now, and the future,†Mishoe said. “My prayers were answered. I got what I wanted. I’m a Marine.†(Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Luis R. Agostini serves with Regimental Combat Team 7.) October 27, 2009: By Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Luis R. Agostini- Special to American Forces Press Service 
Redistributed by www.SupportOurTroops.org
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Marine Corps Lance Corporal Brent A. Smith goes through ammunition clips to ensure they all have the same and correct number of rounds, Aug. 9, 2010. Smith is the first Marine to be named Marine Corps Ammunition Technician of the Year. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kentavist P. Brackin[/caption] CAMP SCHWAB, Japan – An ammunition technician with Ammunition Company, 3rd Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, is the first Marine selected to receive the Marine Corps Ammunition Technician of the Year Award.
Marine Corps Lance Corporal Brent A. Smith goes through ammunition clips to ensure they all have the same and correct number of rounds, Aug. 9, 2010. Smith is the first Marine to be named Marine Corps Ammunition Technician of the Year. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kentavist P. Brackin[/caption] CAMP SCHWAB, Japan – An ammunition technician with Ammunition Company, 3rd Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, is the first Marine selected to receive the Marine Corps Ammunition Technician of the Year Award."I was kind of shocked really when I heard I was receiving this award,†Lance Cpl. Brent A. Smith said. “I kind of felt like I was up there with ‘Chesty’ Puller." The late Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell “Chesty†Puller was a combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War, and the most-decorated U.S. Marine in history.The Ammunition Technician of the Year Award is designed to recognize Marine Corps ammunition technicians, private through sergeant, who have set themselves apart from the rest of their peers through hard work, dedication and sound decision making, officials said."It is a great honor to have an ammo tech from 3rd Supply Battalion represent the company here on Okinawa," said Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Deering, officer in charge of Ammunition Company, who recommended Smith for the award. Smith works with several other ammunition technician Marines to issue ammo to units across Okinawa, giving out anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 rounds of various types of ammunition in a day. "Ammunition technicians seem to be overlooked sometimes," Smith said. "No one notices when their ammunition is delivered on time, but they sure notice when they are on the gun line and there is nothing to put downrange. You can go a few days without food, maybe a couple of days without water, but you wouldn't last a minute without ammunition." Deering said the new award is good for the ammunition community in the Marine Corps. "I am excited to see how this award will transform our community in the future," he said. "It is a great program, and I think that through recognition, Marines may become more competitive. We all like bragging rights." Smith said he’s proud to be the first Marine to receive the award. “I know that I have set the bar for myself and for other Marines who push for this award in the future," he said. Sept. 9, 2010: By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kentavist P. Brackin- Marine Corps Bases Japan