Twenty-three years ago tonight
This is republished from three years ago;
Twenty years ago, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry attached to the Third Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division (from the Third Brigade of the 2d Armored Division (Forward)), was the only US unit in Iraq. We were fifteen clicks from the Saudi border, screening for the sweep east of Schwartzkopf’s “Hail Mary” strategy. For two days we had been watched by Iraqis and had a little contact. with some reconnaissance elements. However on February 17th, my gunner spotted 5 T-55s about 1500 meters in front of our defilade position and I called for indirect fire. The first response came from an Apache unit. The pilot ignored his instruments and fired the wrong grid coordinate, directly to my west, striking two vehicles in our own Scout platoon anchoring our far west flank.
COB6 was the platoon leader of the platoon between my platoon and the Scout elements. Despite the orders of our company commander (a phrase that I use in several other stories involving COB6 and our commander), COB6 pulled his vehicle off the line and rushed to the burning vehicles (An M3 and and an M113 from the GSR unit). COB6 and his crew pulled the broken bodies from the vehicles with burning ammunition exploding around him and shielded the injured Scouts with his own body. Two of those scouts were dead, but three others owe their lives to COB6 and his crew.
Needless to say we stopped calling for Apaches and after slamming two TOWs into a berm about a hundred meters in front of us, we used artillery fire. My first ever call for indirect fire in total darkness. The following morning, M1s found the T-55s 5000 meters north of the spot my gunner had spotted them.
These are the names of the members of 1/41 we lost throughout the war;
Tony R. Applegate
David R. Crumby
Manuel M. Davila
Anthony W. Kidd
David W. Kramer
Jeffery T. Middleton
James C. Murray, Jr.
Robert D. Talley
Talley and Middleton were killed that night.
We had the highest casualty rate of any other infantry unit in the war, I say it’s because both sides were shooting at us.
And, oh, yeah, my granddaughter celebrates her 23d birthday today, too.
Category: Historical
Thank you.
I knew Jeff Middleton when I was in College before he enlisted, we were in ROTC MS2 my Freshman year, and he was hell bent for leather about being enlisted before he became an Officer. He was that kind of guy that could get along with anybody, and he didn’t let anything get in his way. I remember reading about his being lost in the school newspaper, and I left school later that year after I enlisted. I’ve also seen where his name is engraved in the Memorial at the Southwestern corner of the City Park there in Juncion City and paid my respects.
R. I. P., Jeff, you’re missed.
It never gets any easier, does it?
Happy birthday to your granddaughter.
The rest of it makes me angry.
All the more reason to read this poignant quote.
The Olympic athlete who scored four goals against the evil Russians yesterday during their hockey match, T.J. Oshie was asked how it felt to be heralded as a “national hero”. His response should be etched in every locker room;
“The American heroes are wearing camo,” he replied. “That’s not me.”
Rest in peace, brothers.
Keep telling that story Jonn…those men deserve to be remembered
God Bless the Fallen. Gone but definitely not forgotten.
I remember the first night of the ground war. I was an 18 year old providing intel analyst in the AF. We got to sit anxiously and wait to see if our analysis/reports ensured the air crews and ground combat teams made it safely through engagements with Iraqi forces. Long hours working and very little sleep when not on shift. But nothing like what y’all had to endure on the ground in Iraq.
Good on you Jon. I read the blog everyday no matter what. Keep up the good fight getting real information out to the masses!
Hat’s off to you Jonn and a sharp, Hand Salute Sergeant. Thank your for sharing your story. Enemy fire and friend fire both. (I never really liked the “friendly fire” term because those rounds don’t turn into nerf balls just because they are headed the wrong way.)
Anyway, thank you again Jonn for your service and all my respect to you and especially your friends who were lost. God bless them and hold them in his eternal arms.
Great video as well.
I lost a friend to fraticide (with you Sparks – what’s “friendly” about getting shot at, regardless of the source)during Desert Storm. His name was Dodge Powell – can’t say we were close running partners but we knew each other. He was in the 82nd Engineers whose Motor Pool was right across from our barracks (4/14FA) in Bamberg. He just married a local girl before deploying and ended up getting fired up by an M1’s coax while herding EPWs one night. Lucky me, I was chosen to drive the CAO around and as Dodge was to be buried outside of Bamberg, I got to meet his family who flew in from Florida. Very decent people. At the time they hadn’t been told all of the details of how he had died. That whole experience is something I’ll never forget. RIP to you too Dodge Powell.
I was with Bco 82nd Eng.. I remember that night.. I believe he predicted his own death in a dream.. Him and his driver was taken out immediately and a few other squad members were attacked as they exited the 113..
R.I.P. to the fallen soldiers. Hand salute to you and your unit.
Rest easy, comrades. You will not be forgotten.
Thanks for sharing that, John.
Rest in Peace Warriors.
I recall watching a History channel documentory on Desert Storm back in the 90′ s that mentions that friendly fire incident. I was wwith HHC,3rd Brigade 1st Ad out of Bamberg. I certainly remember 82d Engineers. One of the dependents who worked at the Bamberg Law Center had a husband husband was a Staff Sergeant in one of their companies.
God bless you and the fallen, Jonn.
Thanks for this reminder of service past and those honored dead.
From one 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment veteran (1997-98)
Dragoons!
Straight and Stalwart!
Thanks for sharing this, Jonn. Watching it made me remember that I attended leadership academy with a guy that became the first USAF casualty in desert storm. His death was also accidental by friendlies. RIP, SSgt Campisi (sp?).
Funny guy. He caught a lot of crap in the beginning of academy. Due to an accident while repairing an A-10 Warthog, he had a busted pinky. When he saluted, it jutted off in the opposite direction. He was always getting corrected for it, until his story filtered through the instructors.
Disregarding good advice is done at one’s own peril. Disregarding orders is done at the peril of others. Hayles disregarded explicit orders not to go on the mission. And that’s where he failed. He was where he should not have been and that put him in position to do what he should not have done—trust personal perception, not instruments. His arrogance and stupidity cost American lives. He should not be rewarded for what it. But for between $10,000–$15,000, he’ll be happy to speak with your or your group about it. Here’s the link:
http://www.keyspeakers.com/bio.php?2333-ralph-hayles
“Lt Col Hayles was singled out for blame, discipline, and public vilification. His “accident” was similar to many others – a combination of mistakes and equipment failures that led to a fatal result. And like many others, the last person to touch it (in this case the trigger) is blamed for all of the consequences.” BULLSHIT Hayles. You disobeyed orders, killed American troops and have the balls to call it an accident and blame others and your equipment. I think I’ll have to go to one of his little seminars so I can publicly bust him out. This one hits near and dear.
Yeah, the only “equipment failure” was between his ears. His targeting stuff showed the correct coordinates (you can see it right on the screen) but he didn’t believe his instruments. He calls out a different set of coordinates than what appears on his screen. He was only two or three clicks off.
For what it’s worth: the GAO report concerning this incident can be found here:
http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat5/149432.pdf
Hayles’ assertion that “equipment malfunction” is to blame is, to be charitable, incorrect. From the GAO report linked in my comment above (see “Results in Brief”, pp. 2-3; emphasis added): Our investigation revealed human error to be the primary cause of the February 17, 1991, fratricide incident. The Apache Battalion Commander, who led the team of three Apaches, read the wrong grid coordinate on his navigation system while flying as copilot/gunner. As a result, he misidentified the target vehicles’ location as being north of the line of friendly vehicles and in the exact location of one of the reported enemy sightings. Relying on this erroneous information, the Ground Commander authorized the Apaches to engage the targets. The Apache Battalion Commander fired his helicopter’s 30millimeter gun at the targets, but the gun emitted only a few rounds before jamming. He then fired two Hellfire missiles at the targets, killing two soldiers, wounding six others, and destroying a U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle and an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. Following an Army investigation of the incident, the Apache Battalion Commander was relieved of command for failing to exercise command and control over the Apache team by becoming personally engaged in the fighting. We agree with the investigation’s overall findings. However, the investigation did not address the issue of the Commander’s fatigue, which may have been a factor in the incident. We found no evidence that equipment failure caused the incident. Some observers have speculated that the failure of the Apache Battalion Commander’s 30-millimeter gun significantly contributed to the accident, since it would have caused less damage and therefore could have provided an opportunity for the friendly vehicles to identify themselves. However, the two accompanying Apaches each had a working 30-millimeter gun that could have been used for firing warning shots, had this been the intent of the Apache Battalion Commander. Instead, he fired his Hellfire missiles soon after his gun jammed, opting not to use either of the accompanying Apaches’ operational guns. We also found no evidence to indicate that the Apaches’ navigation systems were functioning improperly. In addition, although the Apaches’ radar… Read more »