[102] The 173rd IBCT(A) officially relieved the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division on 6 June 2007.[102]. Members and associates of O9A have also participated in acts of violence, including murders. [20] The brigade was also the only separate brigade to receive its own tank company,[21] in the form of Company D, 16th Armor. [3] The reorganized brigade consolidated at a single location in Vicenza, Italy. [97] The Turkish forces were eventually released. As the father of four young boys, I know that childhood is as special as it is short. For example, Melzer subscribed to encrypted online forums where he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers, in addition to far-right, neo-Nazi, and other white supremacist propaganda. 173rd Airborne Brigade deploys to South Vietnam The lead element of the 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers"), stationed in Okinawa, departs for South Vietnam. Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect.. [61], The battle of Hill 875 had cost 2-503 87 killed, 130 wounded, and three missing. As of the sentencing, Melzer is no longer a part of the Army, although it is not immediately clear when between his guilty plea and now he was discharged. [47] In August of that year, the brigade received its distinctive unit insignia. At 06:58 the following morning, Alpha Company began moving alone up a ridge finger and triggered an ambush by the 6th Battalion of the 24th PAVN Regiment. I wouldve died successfully . The unit was supposed to guard an isolated, sensitive military base. The dust-offs started coming within 30 minutes. Specifically, they sought to destroy Special Forces camps at Ben Het, about five miles east of the Cambodian border, and at Dak To, some 10 miles east of Ben Het. The affidavit claims that Peters then attempted to kick an officer, and shouted when ordered to stop kicking. Within a week these units began to fall apart due to desertions. ALSO IN THE NEWS: Americans belief in God hit an all-time low about 6 months ago here's why. Several months later, encouraged by the apparent success of joint operations with the 22nd Division, Peers directed the organization of a Task Force South with two battalions of the Brigade "pairing up" these units with several Ranger battalions and the 44th and 53rd Regiments of the ARVN 23rd Division south of Bnh nh. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Company D, 16th Armor was engaged in a battle that took place on 4 March 1968 at North Tuy Ha. "WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 11 November, 2012 - 3 February, 2013. Peters, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, is best known for being indicted last year on completely separate charges of election tampering and misconduct, after she allegedly breached voting equipment to try to prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen. According to court documents, Melzer planned a jihadist attack on his U.S. Army unit in the days leading up to a deployment to Turkey and sent sensitive details about the unit including information about its location, movements, and security to members of the extremist organization Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and pro-jihadist group. On 23 November, 2-503 and 4-503 were ordered to renew their assault while the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry assaulted 875 from the south. A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to provide a Europe-based neo-Nazi, Satanist, and pro-jihadist group by giving it classified information to attack his unit, federal prosecutors said Friday. [3][27][28][29][30][31] Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong (VC) quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas". . Lozada stayed behind and poured deadly machine-gun fire on an advancing NVA force, allowing his company to safely withdraw. [71] These inactivations, along with subsequent reorganization of U.S. Army divisions, saw several divisional brigades stationed in bases that were far from the division's headquarters and support units. From April 1969 until its withdrawal from South Vietnam in 1971, the brigade served in Bnh nh Province. As Peers' successor in March 1969, Lt. Gen. Charles A. Corcoran, reflected, "Barnes may have just been keeping the lid on the situation." In approximately October 2019, MELZER deployed abroad with the Army to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Barnes manned a machine gun after its crew had been killed. In the process the American officers tried to increase pressure on local enemy forces through intensive patrolling and to encourage ARVN battalion, company, and platoon-level leadership through longer, more decentralized operations. The platoon was surrounded and wiped out with 22 killed and one missing. In an instant, he leaped on the device, shielding the blast with his body. After. Sky Soldiers serving in Vietnam received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1,736 Silver Stars and more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. In the days leading up to the fight for Hill 875, 4th ID units sought out the enemy south of Dak To. While there, he consumed extremists propaganda from O9A and the Islamic State. In fact, the first significant contacts were made by its elements on Nov. 3-4 around Hill 1338. | These warnings, however, made little impression on the paratroopers, who were about to become victims of their own overconfidence. . [15] The maneuver battalions of the Vietnam era 173rd trace their lineage to the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, which successfully assaulted the fortress island of Corregidor in the Philippines by parachute and waterborne operations, thereby earning the nickname "The Rock". Artillery support was rendered ineffective by the limited range of visibility. Sky Soldiers Killed in Iraq. [62] Combined with noncombatant losses, this represented one-fifth of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's total strength. "Operation Rapid Guardian III 10 Years Ago", "U.S. forces find suspected gold cache in Iraq", "Enemy, Arms Captured During Operation Bayonet Lightning", "TIOH Heraldry Special Troops Battalion, 173 Airborne Brigade", Infantry Training Reinforces Combat Skills, Commander: Media reports on Afghanistan outpost battle were exaggerated, "ABC News: Even 500Lbs Bombs Couldn't Stop Taliban", "U.S. troops quit remote Afghan base after attack", "Army Prepares for Next Rotations in OEF", "DOD Announces U.S. Army In Europe Force Structure Changes", Ukraine crisis: France suspends delivery of Russian warship; US to send 200 troops as Putin talks of ceasefire, "Nagyszabs amerikai-magyar hadgyakorlat lesz", USAREUR to increase Baltic presence ahead of Russian war game, 173rd Airborne Brigade to head north and south, Russia's Zapad war games unnerve the West, "United States of America vs. Ethan Phelan Melzer", "U.S. Army Soldier Charged in Neo-Nazi Plot to Attack Fellow Troops", "Soldier Used Upcoming Deployment to Plan Deadly Attack on Unit, Indictment States", "US Army soldier accused of trying to help Satanic neo-Nazi group attack his own unit", "U.S. Yashinski, Michael E. SGT. On the afternoon of 21 November, both battalions moved out to take the crest. Battle for Hill 875 - or the Siege of Dak To - The 2nd battalion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade with over 300 soldiers advanced up this hill with artillery . The 173rd participated in various operations with the objective of ensuring security and subduing Taliban insurgents in the mountainous regions along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, near the Hindu Kush. I would've died successfully cause another 10 year war in the Middle East would definitely leave a mark," authorities said. A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced Friday to 45 years in prison, the maximum, for plotting what prosecutors described as a "murderous ambush" overseas on members of his own troop. Melzer joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018 and infiltrated its ranks as part of an insight role to further his goals as an O9A adherent. Ethan Melzer, 24, of Kentucky, pleaded guilty last year to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information. Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade served five tours in the Middle East in support of the War on Terror. It was reorganized in December 1921 at Mobile, Alabama, redesignated on 23 March 1925 as the HHC 173rd Brigade, and redesignated as HHC 173rd Infantry Brigade on 24 August 1936. [129], Captain Willard, a fictional character portrayed by Martin Sheen in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, was a member of the 173rd assigned to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group. It was a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army's V Corps and after June 2013, subordinate to US Army Europe.. A gavel rests on the judges bench in the courtroom of the 39th Air Base Wing legal office at Nov. 14, 2019, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The NVA poured thousands of troops into an area where the borders of Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam meet. Melzer and O9A also transmitted this information to a purported member of al Qaeda in order to "maximize" the chances of an attack on his unit or future units at the location, the Justice Department said Friday. Her awards include a 2021 Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Award and an Honorable Mention from the Military Reporters and Editors Association for her coverage of crime at Fort Hood. Ethan Phelan Melzer, aka Etil Reggad, 24, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information on June 24, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who imposed todays sentence. (U.S. Army Photo by Visual Information Specialist Davide Dalla Massara) Read more Image Jumping in July, 173rd Airborne at Aviano [There were] heaps of dead after that bomb, a survivor remembered. On 14 June 2009, the 173rd IBCT(A) was announced as one of the brigade combat teams deploying to Afghanistan, and the unit prepared to once again return. The artist, Queensland, Australia; purchased by MFAH, 2010. Melzer was taken into custody by the FBI on June 10, 2020. mfah.org/terms. Gen. John W. Barnes officially ended the unit's pair-off program and replaced it with Operation Washington Green, an intensive area security effort with territorial and paramilitary forces in Bnh nh Province. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. On November 8th 1965, the 173rd Airborne Brigade on "Operation Hump", war zone "D" in Vietnam, were ambushed by over 1200 VC. Headquarters and Headquarters Company "The defendant believed he could force the U.S. into prolonged armed conflict while causing the deaths of as many soldiers as possible," the Justice Department said in a previous statement. The 173rd Airborne Brigade prides itself on being a forward stationed high-readiness unit, available to deploy to U.S. African, European and Central Commands within 18 hours of notification. [76] However, this plan fell through when the government of Turkey would not allow offensive operations to be conducted from its soil, and the entire 4th Infantry Division was left stuck on ships in the Mediterranean for the opening of the operation. In April 1967, I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. [63] For its combined actions during operations around Dak To, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Consequently, the HHC 173rd Infantry Brigade was designated as the 87th Reconnaissance Troop in February 1942 and activated on 15 December 1942. Those of us fortunate enough to be there will. [5] The infantry battalions and the brigade headquarters remained in Vicenza, Italy through the transition. [141][142], Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions as a rifle team leader in Company B, 2503 INF (Airborne) when his squad was caught in a near-ambush the night of 25 October 2007 during Operation Rock Avalanche in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. Want to write for Task & Purpose? Former Pvt. [5], In mid-1968 at the instigation of II Corps commander General L Mng Lan, I Field Force, Vietnam commander General William R. Peers paired with the Brigade with the ARVN 22nd Division in Bnh nh Province in what was almost a replica of Operation Fairfax. According to court documents, Melzer planned a jihadist attack on his U.S. Army unit in the days leading up to a deployment to Turkey and sent sensitive details about the unit including information about its location, movements, and security to members of the extremist organization Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a white supremacist Satanist, neo-Nazi, and pro-jihadist group. Meltzer, who ascribed to the groups ideals of promoting extreme violence to accelerate and cause the demise of Western civilization, aimed to essentially cripple the units fire-teams with the inside information he was providing, according to documents. $6.98 delivery Mar 14 - Apr 4 . Name: walter d. {whity} elmore Email: maryaelmore@yhoo.com B1: Submit Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009 Time: 09:10:34 PM News. (Markus Rauchenberger/Army) A former Army private who pleaded guilty last year to plotting. [6] During the operation, some of the troops discovered at least two caches of Iraqi gold, totaling more than 2,000 bars. [76] The original plan was for the 173rd to be attached to the 4th Infantry Division as a flexible force of airborne troops to complement the heavy weapons of the division's three brigades. Vietnamization, as later conceived in 1969, was not an objective, and, in fact, the entire effort represented a return to the old strategy of pacification, with American combat operations now tied much closer to the overall task of local security. arrested for plotting to attack Baltimores energy grid. He also allegedly said he shared Biden's debate strategy during the 2020 campaign with Kushner. They were ambushed by approximately 1,200 VC fighters, suffering 48 deaths. But Murphy says that during the actions around Dak To, 376 Americans were killed and 1,441 wounded. "Operational Report Lessons Learned (1 May 1969 31 July 1969)." [115], In 2017, some 600 personnel (1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment) were deployed to the Baltic countries to be positioned in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia for six weeks to coincide with the duration of the joint Russian/Belarusian strategic Zapad 2017 exercise that began 14 September 2017.[116][117][118]. In essence, Washington Green was a second Operation Fairfax, but without the presence of ARVN regulars. Engineers of 1st Air Cav at Chu Phong Mt. "Melzer joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018 and infiltrated its ranks as part of an insight role to further his goals as an O9A adherent," the DOJ said. Soldiers accidentally entered and secured a sunflower oil factory next to the airfield while it was operating. On 1 December 1951, the troop was inactivated and released from its assignment to the 87th Infantry Division. The 173rd secured these areas with company sized detachments, often patrolling the 4th ID's sectors with two unarmored M998 cargo Humvees at any given time. MICHAEL LEVENSON. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images), "Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and Cypriot troops train on the M4A1, Tavor x95, MG3, Negev 7.62, and RPG-7V in Larnaca . The 8th of November is a significant date in our Brigade's history as the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment repelled an ambush of 1,200 Viet Cong and continued their mission throughout the Battle of Dak To despite their losses. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct a combined arms exercise in Germany. [108] 42 soldiers from the brigade lost their lives during the deployment. (67.1 51.8 3.2 cm), Museum purchase funded by the Mundy Family Foundation, courtesy of David and Stephanie Mundy. [103] Throughout their 15-month deployment, the brigade participated in more than 9,000 patrols throughout the region. "Grand Junction Police approached Peters in a bagel shop in Feb. 8, 2022, to execute a warrant related to her iPad, on which she is suspected of improperly recording a court hearing for her deputy clerk," said the report. He was dead, but he kept me warm.. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team has received 21 campaign streamers and several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War. The single deadliest day of Dak To was Nov. 19, when 83 Americans were killed and 110 wounded. [79][80][81], The 173rd Airborne Brigade was made part of Task Force Viking, a special operations task force that contained elements of the 10th Mountain Division[82] and the 10th Special Forces Group. At the same time that Hello Dollyopened at NhaTrang airbase, a company of 173rd Airborne had walked into an ambush in Viet Cong base zone, known as the Iron Triangle. By Nov. 19, the NVAs 174th Regiment, moving south along the Laos/Cambodia border, had covered the retreat of the 66th Regiment. First Military Choice. TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. The army apologized and promised to improve their procedures for defining training areas. "Melzer subscribed to encrypted online forums where he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers," the Justice Department said. Regt., and supporting units such as the 335th Aviation Company. The Americans reacted to the NVA buildup by launching Operation Mac-Arthur, with the 4th Infantry Division assuming operational control over the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Melzer began active service as an Army infantryman in June 2019 and deployed that October to Vicenza, Italy, as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. By unlawfully disclosing his unit's location, strength, and armaments to other O9A members and jihadists in furtherance of this ambush, Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers . When he learned in 2020 that his unit would help guard a sensitive military installation overseas, he transmitted location, schedule and security information to the O9A subgroup known as RapeWaffen Division, prosecutors said. [68], After widely publicized reports by battalion commander Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert, investigators confirmed that military interrogators of the 173rd Airborne Brigade "repeatedly beat prisoners, tortured them with electric shocks and forced water down their throats". If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please
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