Custer’s Best

Piss-Ant, Potentate Politicians

In regione caecorum rex est luscus

In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is King

Piss-Ant, Potentate Politicians

In the 1930s between Belgium and Poland, a piss-ant, potentate politician decided that he was going to get rid of an entire group of people upon whom he blamed his country’s ills, calling them vermin (Ungeziefer) and deplorables (bedauernswerten). He was devious enough, however, to know the populace would not accept that in one bite, so he used an incremental approach. First the deplorables were not allowed to sit on the same park benches as “regular” people. Different benches? No big deal. Later, they could not be treated by regular physicians, attend regular schools, own their own businesses, retain their citizenship and on it went.

Then the piss-ant, potentate politician said that the bedauernswerten must live in their own communities apart from regular people, and were transported to overcrowded urban ghettos in eastern Europe, where they were confined and worked, unpaid, for the government.

Because they were out of sight and out of mind of regular people, the piss-ant, potentate politician finally ordered that the deplorables be murdered. And so they were. But in Warsaw, the doomed people fought back. Or actually a few did; of the 56,065 people there about 1,000 younger people fought. The rest decided it was better to pray on your knees than die on your feet, and told the fighters that resistance would only make the piss-ant, potentate politician angry. But the youngsters – being youngsters – told those who would not fight, Shtup es in toches and fought anyway, until all of them were killed in combat by the piss-ant, potentate politician’s special troops that wore skulls on their uniforms. But at least they went out on their own terms.

Meanwhile, those who would not fight believed that they had avoided the piss-ant, potentate politician’s ire, only to be loaded onto railway cattle cars, transported to Vernichtungslager (extermination camps), and marched into gas chambers, where carbon monoxide from large diesel engines did its gruesome work. The choking-to-death took about twenty minutes, after which the piss-ant, potentate politician’s henchmen yanked out the victims’ gold teeth and searched the bodies for any hidden jewelry.

Decades later, in a country located between Canada and Mexico, piss-ant, potentate politicians – unfortunately, not only the usual suspects, but also some from the other side of the aisle – concluded that their nation’s Constitution gave way too much power to the unwashed common citizens – termed deplorables by many of the elites – upon whom they blamed their country’s ills and that their “rights” had to be swiftly and ruthlessness curtailed. So the piss-ant, potentate politicians got their lackies in social media – such as YouTube and Facebook among others – to attack freedom of speech, banning recalcitrants. Using a pandemic from China, they also banned public gatherings including religious services, and continued to go after more firearms, which the Constitution had allowed as a basic right, but many piss-ant, potentate politicians had their own security guards, lived in gated communities, and couldn’t care less about crime in your neighborhood.

Then the teachers’ unions, renowned lapdogs and sycophants of piss-ant, potentate politicians, got into the act, refusing to conduct actual classes in many public schools. They conducted virtual classes using technology, all the while knowing that some students had no access to such technology. End of year comprehension tests meant nothing and the vast majority of students in 2020, 2021, and counting, were bumped up to higher grades, regardless of how ill-prepared they were. What the union leaders did not mention was that nationally, more than 20% of public school teachers with school-age children enroll them in private schools, almost twice the 11% rate for the general public. Talk about a chef who won’t eat what he cooks.

Then the piss-ant, potentate politicians enlisted the help of some members of the medical community – including the omnipotent Center for Disease Control – to opine on pandemic vaccines, effectiveness of paper and cloth masks, efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and zinc, and the actual lethality of the virus and its variants, as well as issue orders that they are not legally allowed to do under the Constitution.

Finally, many of the piss-ant, potentate politicians decided that it would be a good thing for people who had received the vaccination to publicly show “proof” of that before being allowed in public places, which only goes to show you that modern piss-ant, potentate politicians really do study the past, as the piss-ant, potentate politician back in the day had a similar tactic – making his deplorables wear a yellow Star of David.

Which gets to our question of the day: when are you going to tell the piss-ant, potentate politicians and their flunkies to Shtup es in toches! Because all roads can lead to Warsaw

Piss-Ant, Potentate PoliticiansFrench MacLean2022-07-30T08:21:29-05:00

If You Are…You Need a Gun

The “typical” gun owner is often characterized by non-gun-owners as a right-wing, red-neck, beer-guzzling, low-IQ Neanderthal who is just itchin’ to unleash his trigger finger. But times have changed, and now a whole lot of those non-gun-owners – who used to be dismissive of guns — truly need a firearm, whether you are a Pabst or an Armand de Brignac Brut kind of person.

Because now, it might be a matter of life or death. Recently in Decatur, Illinois, a teen was arrested for allegedly breaking into his 60-year-old neighbor’s home and trying to kill him because that neighbor is gay. So if you identify as LGBTQ…you need a gun for protection. LGBTQ people are nearly four times more likely than non-LGBTQ people to be victims of violent crime. You may never actually have to shoot in self-defense, but then again, why take a chance?

If you identify as a woman…you need a gun for protection. 19.3 million women in the U.S. have been stalked in their lifetime. 1 in 4 have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime. 1 in 7 have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed. 1 in 5 have been raped in their lifetime. You may never actually have to shoot in self-defense, but then again, why take a chance?

Smith & Wesson Model 19

If you live in a rough neighborhood… you need a gun for protection. In 2021, 701 men and 90 women were murdered in the Windy City. 640 were black, 29 were white, 105 were Hispanic, and the major determinant was where they lived. The City of Chicago is installing 426 “Bleeding Control Kits” in 269 buildings across the city. Officials say the kits could help save lives in an emergency such as falls and penetrating injuries. Let’s get real; the kits are there to treat gunshot wounds, a tacit admission that the powers that be cannot prevent you from being shot; they have retreated to a position where they “hope” that you will not die from a gunshot wound.

If you live in a rich, safe neighborhood…you need a gun for protection. 875 South Bundy Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles; case closed.

If you know one or more males in your neighborhood who have violent tempers… you need a gun for protection. Almost half of all male killers are younger than 25. Less than one-third of male killers rely on firearms as their weapon of choice. That means that two-thirds of male murderers use some other means of killing – not firearms. You can defeat that attempt with a firearm. Why take a chance?

If you identify as male…you need a gun for protection. Almost 80% of all murder victims in the U.S. are male. You may never actually have to shoot in self-defense, but then again, why take a chance?

If you are an Asian-American…you need a gun for protection. Hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent in the U.S. have skyrocketed, especially in large urban areas, where the legal gun ownership process can be especially onerous. Determining motivation of a criminal – who is never apprehended – is almost impossible: did the perpetrator rob and kill a Chinese-American store owner because of race or because of the cash register? You may never actually have to shoot in self-defense, but then again, why take a chance?

If the proponents of gun control ever get their way, it will not be the rich political elites who are murdered; they talk a good game, but live in gated communities, in exclusive neighborhoods, and either have personal security details, or flaunt the law and have their own firearms on the sly. By denying the means to defend everyone else, the anti-2nd Amendment mob expose themselves as homophobes, anti-woman, racists of all stripes, and whatever fancy term applies to setting up elderly people living alone to be victimized.

A society, country and culture can be measured, in part, by how well it protects the most vulnerable among them, whether they are unborn babies, children, or people who look different, think differently, believe differently or come from different backgrounds. The right to life; the right to self-defense; are inherent rights of every human being. No government can legitimately deny you that right.

But they try to. So if you own a firearm, great. Make sure you keep it secured. And help everyone you know learn how to shoot and how to legally obtain a firearm. Because: man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, Hispanic, Asian-American, atheist, religious, young adult or senior citizen …you need a gun for protection.

If You Are…You Need a GunFrench MacLean2023-10-08T14:36:28-05:00

The Po Po Report Now Podcast

Paul Ciolino

Sometimes I have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, but once I found how easy it is to watch Podcasts, I was glad I did. First, you can listen whenever you want; second, you can listen more than once; and third, for the ones I have found, all the commercials are cut out of regular broadcasts.

Take the Po Po Report broadcast that used to be every Saturday night from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on WLS Radio, 890 AM. Led by Paul Ciolino, a former policeman and now a private investigator, the show delves into police, crime and punishment in Chicago, so you know that they are never at a loss for material. They talk about street crime, transgressions by political bosses — giving kudos to special police officers and slamming crooks. Po Po is just one of the nicknames for the police in Chicago, hence the name.

WLS was OK, but when the pandemic came, the radio station cut back and started making demands that Paul was not prepared to live with. So Po Po became a big time podcast, that is far more real than following rules from a radio station. In fact, the only rule is that the subject has to be interesting! And it is every week.

Paul is my age; in fact we were in the same infantry company in Germany in the mid-1970s. Being the only two guys from Illinois, I would swing by the company arms room, which he ran, and checked what the latest was in Chi-town. A few years later, Paul got out of the Army and went into law enforcement, finally becoming a private investigator.

Let me sum him up: if I ever was arrested for a major crime I did not commit, Paul Ciolino is the private detective I would want on my side. He has been involved in the OJ Simpson Case, the Oklahoma City Bombing Case, the Amanda Knox Case in Italy, and several capital murder cases in Illinois that proved that the wrong people were sitting on death row, which led to a policy change on the death penalty in Illinois.

Right now, Paul is working on the mysterious death of boxer Arturo Gotti, who died on July 11, 2009. Brazil and Canada have weighed in over the years on the cause of death, with a lot of so-called experts settling on Suicide. Once again, Paul is the voice of reason in an increasingly irrational world, and is working on a special network presentation that Arturo was murdered. If you are out in Las Vegas anytime soon, take Murder and give the points.

Now Paul is the savvy old-timer; his partner on the show is Lupe Aguirre, a younger lawyer and police officer; my guess is early 40s, so he knows the current state of play in the police department (like how a police lieutenant can take a nap on duty), as well as the Millennial scene, not that too many listeners care about the latter. You want Chicago accents, often politically incorrect language, and stuff on crime you won’t find anywhere else. This is it. You hear about murders every weekend in Chicago. You’ll hear about them here too, but you will also hear that there is probably a serial killer loose in the city that may have murdered 51 women in Chicago. That’s right, 51 women and a whole lot of the media hasn’t bothered to really cover it.

They talk about the abysmal arrest rate on murder cases and why that is so. They hand out the “Jagoff of the Week” which is derogatory street slang meaning a person who is stupid or inept.

The guys also give you tips about using Uber drivers and other things to keep you safer in Chicago. Supposedly the show even has a following in Statesville, the replacement prison in the state for the infamous Joliet Prison. It is worth your time, so go to the podcast. In a perfect world, you could have a couple of beers every week with Paul at a Chicago watering hole; this is the next best thing.

The Po Po Report Now PodcastFrench MacLean2023-08-09T09:49:30-05:00

New Book on Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk 1943 Published !

This man knocked out 77 enemy armored vehicles in World War II as a panzer gunner. Do you really want to take him on in tank combat?

I always wanted to write about Kursk, and not have “just another” recount of the fight. Not a rehash of Tiger tanks at Kursk but a whole new treatment of the machines and men at this pivotal battle: Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943 which is published by Schiffer.

They were as hard as Krupp steel and as swift as greyhounds, the men who crewed the Waffen-SS Tiger tanks at the Kursk Offensive in July 1943. Primarily enlisted men, not only did they fight – and fight well – at one of the largest tank battles in history, they also later formed the nucleus of Tiger operations in key future battles. Franz Staudegger, Michael Wittmann, Bubi Wendorff and Bobby Woll became household names as the men who rode the Tigers to victory, but over 200 other crewmen had fascinating careers as well.

The SS men who fought in these Tigers were not ten feet tall, although the Russians may have believed that during those few days that the Tigers shook the earth at the attack on Kursk in central Russia. No, these men were far more ferocious than huge physical goliaths. These soldiers had no concept of defeat. This is their story.

At Kursk, often described as the “Greatest Tank Battle in History,” the Wehrmacht fielded a total of just 120 Tiger tanks, including 35 operational Tigers from the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in its powerful Leibstandarte, Das Reich, and Totenkopf divisions. The Tiger became a legend, but any tank is only as good as its crew. For the first time, we know the identities of over 220 Waffen-SS Tiger crewmembers at Kursk – not just the few dozen officers, but the enlisted men as well.

Their biographies are stunning: some were veteran panzer men; others were previously in the infantry and a few had just transferred from the Luftwaffe. Eight would win the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross; others would receive very few medals. Eighteen would die at Kursk, while thirty-five would be wounded. And the survivors? Unfortunately for many an American, British, Russian tank crew, these SS Tiger men in their black uniforms would go on to form the deadly nucleus of the Waffen-SS Heavy Panzer Detachments that fought at Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Berlin.

Daily battle maps show the location of each of the three Tiger companies in the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. Original German Luftwaffe aerial photos show the terrain taken within days that the Tigers rolled over it. Over 110 photographs of Waffen-SS Tiger tanks, crewmen, award documents, anti-tank ditches, including many from private archives never before published show you what life was like from combat to eating a meal.

Before the offensive, German Colonel General Heinz Guderian, one of the “fathers” of modern armored warfare, who wanted the offensive postponed, dramatically chided the Führer, Adolf Hitler, to his face with this acerbic question: “How many people do you think even know where Kursk is?”

You are about to find out.

Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943

New Book on Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk 1943 Published !French MacLean2023-08-19T08:13:28-05:00

American Hangman Published!!!

American Hangman

(September 23, 2019) American Hangman: MSgt. John C. Woods: The United States Army’s Notorious Executioner in World War II and Nürnberg is published and you can start ordering now. The book is fabulous; the price of $29.99 is an excellent buy considering that it has 108 black and white photos from the period, several of which are from the family with their kind permission, and where he resided that I guarantee you that you have never seen before. The work is 256 pages, with endnotes and sources that dispel all the myths surrounding this fascinating character. Most importantly, this is what I call a “one off” book. Once you read this, you will know everything you would want to know about the “American Hangman.” There are no other books about him. There are a few magazine articles, first published in 1946 and continuing occasionally to today, but most of the information in them is extremely inaccurate which you’ll see.

But don’t worry; his actual life is more interesting than the myths about him were.

You will be able to read, from primary official documents, the details of every man for which John Woods was the assistant or primary hangman. He did not, as magazines claimed, hang 347 men, nor did he hang, as he once claimed, 200 men. Some were American soldiers; others had been German or Austrian war criminals. Then there were the last ten men Woods would ever hang, the top Nazi war criminals that had been condemned to death at the International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg. Only Hermann Göring cheated Woods as he took poison just hours before his schedule execution. You’ll read about that too and also about how Woods hanged Julius Streicher, one of the ten men, after Streicher had “disrespected” Woods on the scaffold!

But the story goes much deeper and reveals his young days, his short stint in the United States Navy about 1930, almost missing his wedding ceremony just after Prohibition was lifted, his brush with the law bouncing checks, driving a truck for a hearse company, joining the United States Army in 1943 and fighting at the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 as men died in bunches around him.

Did you know that John Woods could smoke a cigarette and blow smoke out of his ears? Well, his nieces remembered that and a great deal of additional information about a man who adored his wife, loved dogs, liked to make officers uncomfortable, had an affinity for Wild Crow bourbon whiskey, had a storehouse of entertaining stories to tell his friends and who botched more than a few hangings, the reports of which made it back to the War Department in Washington, DC.

After reading this book, you will feel that not only do you know about John C. Woods but that you would have enjoyed having a beer with him. In fact, one of the characters in this book used to do just that in various pubs at Le Mans, France almost every day for six months in 1945. He’ll fill you in on details that the US Army never knew about the “American Hangman.”

But beware, it might not stop with a beer; as John might tell you: “I never saw three quarts of whiskey disappear so fast in my life.” (Said to True: The Man’s Magazine at Fort Dix, New Jersey in November 1946, concerning his team having a few drinks after the Nürnberg hangings.)

An easy read, in deference to my Army Buddies, American Hangman sheds crucial light on the death penalty in the US Army in Europe in World War II, the execution of Nazi war criminals, and the effects of participating in an execution on the part of those ordered to carry it out. And his mysterious death? Well you’ll just have to hold off reading that last chapter till you get through the rest of the book!

For much of World War II, history books have described the influence that commissioned officers have had on shaping significant events. Now it’s time for you to meet the man that went from private to master sergeant in one day and who had officers, from lieutenant to brigadier general, dancing to his tune.

American Hangman Published!!!French MacLean2023-08-19T08:15:37-05:00

Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gold and Guns

(August 27, 2016) Schiffer Publishing has received Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gold and Guns: The 1874 Yellowstone Wagon Road and Prospecting Expedition and the Battle of Lodge Grass Creek.

The book is available now !

I have a copy and it is gorgeous. There are 342 color and black and white images, several dozen of which are color maps of the three battles and about 30 locations, where the wagon train made camp for the night, during its 80-day journey. The photos, most of which previously have never been published, show period weapons, as well as warrior and wagon train participants. It is on the Schiffer website with ISBN13: 9780764351518

This is the story of 150 of the most adventurous scouts, gold prospectors, gunslingers, buffalo hunters, and Civil War veterans of both sides—they may have been the deadliest collection of shooters to ever hit the trail. This is the most detailed work ever produced on the obscure legend of the 1874 Yellowstone Wagon Road Prospecting Expedition in the Montana Territory—the product of multi-year research across the country, and visits to the three significant battlefields and expedition route of over 500 miles—an event that impacted the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Numerous legends of the West rode on the expedition, later playing key roles in the Great Sioux War of 1876. Their adversaries now were the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne—some of the greatest light cavalry to ever gallop over the North American continent. And watching their every move were Sitting Bull, Gall, Hump, Crazy Horse, and a renegade chief named Inkpaduta, ready to strike.

As part of the book are in-depth descriptions of three pitched battles in 1874 between the wagon train and the Lakota/Northern Cheyenne warriors that hopefully will now be part of the lexicon of the Wild West:

The Battle of Rosebud Creek

The Battle of Great Medicine Dance Creek

The Battle of Lodge Grass Creek

The book also lists warriors involved in these fights and provides detailed information on several renowned scouts during that era such as George Herendeen, William T. “Uncle Billy” Hamilton, Jack Bean, “Muggins” Taylor, Addison M. Quivey, Zadok “Zodiac” Daniels and Oliver “Big Spit” Hanna.

It also describes exploits of heroes you have never met. John Anderson, a former slave, who had fought in an all black unit in Kansas in the Civil War, was on the trek. At the Battle of Great Medicine Dance Creek, both the frontiersmen and the warriors stopped in their tracks to watch an epic fight to the death, with knife and tomahawk, between Anderson and a Lakota chief!

John’s photo is in the book, as is perhaps the only photo in existence of scout “Muggins” Taylor, who two years later rode from the Little Bighorn battlefield to the Fort Ellis telegraph office with a note from General Alfred Terry on the debacle that became known as Custer’s Last Stand. Fortunately for Taylor, much of that route had been the same as he had scouted with the wagon train in 1874.

As a special feature, the book presents information that may link John “Liver-Eating” Johnston with the wagon train. And using new genealogy resources, such as Ancestry.com, the book traces the lives of many of the participants on the wagon train, whether they later again got the itch to search for gold, ended their days at Deadwood in the Dakota Territory, or whether they practiced medicine outside of Tombstone in the Arizona Territory during the “Gunfight at the OK Corral” era.

The epilogue of the book documents the re-creation of Jack Bean’s nearly one-mile shot against a single Lakota warrior that we attempted, during the preparation of the book, to duplicate at the exact location it occurred.

The work is also a history of the wild territory of Montana, including the Montana Vigilantes, no nonsense territorial governors such as Sidney Edgerton and Benjamin F. Potts, the wild town of Coulson, and the search for the mythical Lost Cabin Gold Mine. Much like today, it has an element of the political elites taking advantage of hard-working regular folks, who ultimately had the last laugh and lived the way they desired.

Perhaps most importantly, the book sets the stage for the Great Sioux War of 1876, which became the cataclysmic event in the nation’s expansion to the west.

Many of the significant incidents on the expedition happened within 30 miles of the Little Bighorn, so for those visitors to that battlefield, this book shows you numerous additional locations to visit during your trip, including GPS information to make navigation easy. In fact, if you visit Fort Phil Kearny, near present-day Buffalo, Wyoming and adjacent to the Fetterman Fight, follow with an examination of the 1874 Yellowstone Wagon Road and Prospecting Expedition—as shown in this book—and visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield, a total stretch of 93 miles, you can put the entire Lakota and Northern Cheyenne fight with the United States Army during the gold-rush on the Plains into perspective.

Did I mention the Boothill Cemetery?

Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gold and GunsFrench MacLean2021-06-28T19:16:58-05:00

VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016

VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association, Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016

Let me start this with something I hope that you will take to heart. My father, who died last summer at age 91, had been an infantry private first class in the Ninth Infantry Division in the Hürtgen Forest and Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He had always wanted to see his old buddies again, but for one reason or another, he never made it to a reunion and regretted that till the day he died.

So, if you have ever wanted to get back together with your buddies from Desert Storm, this is it!

The twenty-fifth anniversary is here upon us; where has the time gone? At age 63, I’m not waiting for the 50th reunion, although if I’m around for it, I’ll go to that one also.

Every veteran of VII Corps from Desert Storm, and especially in my case every veteran of the Third Armored Division “Spearhead,” is warmly welcomed to gather outside our nation’s capital (primarily Crystal City, VA) at the end of February to meet with old comrades and friends, catch up on what everyone has been doing since we were “young” and most importantly pay our respects to the true heroes of that war, our comrades in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice and died before they could grow old and do all the things that we sometimes take for granted.

First, this is not just a gathering of “old,” retired generals, although many will certainly be there. But those folks did not win the war; you did…the “skeeter-wings,” the specialists, the buck sergeants, the first sergeants and the CSMs, so please attend if you can make it, and be sure to tell the folks you have stayed in contact with to go as well.

Registration

Online registration for the 25th Reunion is available at this link: http://25.desertstormvets.org/

You can purchase your banquet tickets, register for your hotel room at the special rate of $99 per night and also see updated schedule of events. The special rate of $99 per night for hotel rooms will be available until 5 February 2016.

Here are some of the events planned, as I know them in late January; please check often: http://25.desertstormvets.org/

This will be updated on a regular basis with latest information as related to the reunion.

All units

Friday, 26 February, beginning 3:00 pm, out of town guests check in at Crystal Gateway Hotel at leisure. After that, check in across from registration at the VII Corps Reunion Ops Center to get your name badges for all attendees and guests as well as memorabilia items for distribution to all attendees.

Third Armored Division (Spearhead)

Friday, 26 February, gathering beginning at 6:00 pm at the Crystal City Sports Pub, 529 South 23rd Street, Arlington VA 22202 (the only charge is what you consume food and beverages.)

VII Corps Artillery

Friday, 26 February, reception in the Jackson Room (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel) from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. There will be a cash bar and “heavy” hors d’oeuvres. (I guess “heavy” is to make sure all the tankers attend.)

Saturday, 27 February, buffet breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00 am in the Jackson Room (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.)

All units

Saturday, 27 February, 10:00-11:00 am, General Membership Meeting, VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion Association across from check-in desk, Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.

All units

Saturday, 27 February; Memorial Service Arlington Cemetery: 1:15 pm, depart Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel for Memorial Service (Transportation buses will be provided free of charge); 2:00 pm, VII Corps DSVA Annual Memorial Service at Fort Myer Memorial Chapel to honor the 111 Soldiers who served in VII Corps during Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Lieutenant General Karen Dyson – Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management & Comptroller) – will be the guest speaker. LTG Dyson was a company commander in VII Corps (7th Finance Group) during Desert Shield & Desert Storm; 3:25 pm, depart Memorial Service for Arlington National Cemetery for wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier; 4:00 to 4:30 pm, Changing of the Guard and VII Corps DSVA Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; 4:45 pm, depart Arlington National Cemetery for Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel.

All units

Saturday, 27 February; 7:30 to 10:00 pm, VII Corps DSVA 25th Annual Banquet – Grand Ballroom (Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel). This is for all attendees. Guest Speaker will be GEN Martin Dempsey USA-Ret) – 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who got his “start” as XO of the Third Brigade, Third Armored Division during Desert Storm. I am pretty sure that LTG (USA-Ret) Paul Funk, our Third Armored Division commander will be there.

Addresses:

E-Mail Address: viicorpsvets@gmail.com

Regular mailing address:

VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association

2425 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, Virginia 22201

Points of contact:

Email these folks to get more information on specific topics:

VII Corps Artillery

Stan Lenox at 512-897-7751 or by e-mail at slenox@austin.rr.com.

Third Armored Division (Spearhead)

Rob Goff at 540-422-9588 or by e-mail at lrgoff3@gmail.com OR Bob Reeves at 254-231-8970 or by e-mail at robert.reeves54@gmail.com.

First Cavalry Division

Jim Bob Rollins by email at acpac@consolidated.net.john.

First Infantry Division

Doug Morrison at 703-772-7614 or by e-mail at Dm371482@gmail.com.

Second Armored Cavalry Regiment

David Boyce at 623-451-5637 or by e-mail at dboyce1@cox.net.

First UK Armoured Division

John Geis by e-mail at 1UKXX-G5-SO1-US@mod.uk

VII Corps DSVA Ops Center

There will be an Ops Center set up in BIN 1700 which is located across from the check in desk at Crystal Gateway Marriott. All attendees can pick up their name badge as well as memorabilia items we are distributing and also receive information on all events that will take place during the weekend. Please do not hesitate to contact viicorpsdsva@gmail.com for any questions you may have.

Every single one of you did something quite special and remarkable back then; please come back to the reunion so that we can all meet again.

VII Corps Desert Storm Reunion, 26-28 February 2016French MacLean2022-10-08T17:52:18-05:00

Company M, Seventh Cavalry, Little Bighorn Battle Roster

Seventh Cavalry insignia

The following company roster is found in Custer’s Best:

CPT Thomas H. “Tucker” French (Company Commander) [CW] [V2] (MB) {7}

1LT Edward G. “Bible-Thumper” Mathey (detached to command the pack train) [V3]

2LT James G. “Jack” Sturgis (detached with Company E) (KIA)

1SG John “Paddy” Ryan (Company First Sergeant) [CW] [V3] (RS) {3}

SGT Patrick “Patsy” Carey (WIA) [V2] (MB) (RT)

SGT John McGlone [V2] (PT)

SGT Miles O’Hara (KIA) [V2] (AG)

SGT Henry C. Weihe [aka Charles White] (First Duty Sergeant) (WIA) [V2] (AG) (RT)

CPL Henry M. Cody [aka Henry Scollin] (KIA) (AG)

CPL William Lalor [V2] (MB)

CPL Frederick Stressinger (KIA) [V2] (MB)

Trumpeter Charles “Bounce” Fischer (MB)

Trumpeter Henry C. Weaver [CW] (MB)

Saddler John “Jack” Donahoe [V2] (PT)

Farrier William D. “Tinker Bill” Meyer (KIA) [V2] (MB)

Farrier George “Cully” Weaver (MB)

PVT Joseph “Joe” Bates [aka Joseph Murphy] (MB)

PVT Frank Braun (DOW) [R] (AG)

PVT Morris Cain [R] (MB)

PVT James W. Darcy [aka James Wilber] (WIA) [R] (RS)

PVT Henry H. “Harrison” Davis [CW] [V3] (PT)

PVT Jean B. “Frenchy” Gallenne (AG) (H/H)

PVT Jacob H. Gebhart [aka James J. Tanner] (DOW) [R]

PVT Bernard “Barney” Golden (MB)

PVT Henry “Tom” Gordon (KIA) [V2] (AG)

PVT George Heid (MB)

PVT Charles Kavanaugh [CW] (MB)

PVT Henry Klotzbucher (Company Clerk) (KIA) (MB)

PVT George Lorentz (KIA) [V2] (MB)

PVT Daniel Mahoney [R] (MB)

PVT John H. “Snopsy” Meier (WIA) (AG)

PVT Hugh N. Moore [V2] (MB)

PVT William E. “Bill” Morris (WIA) [R] (RS)

PVT Francis “Frank” Neely (AG)

PVT Daniel J. “Dan” Newell (WIA) (AG) (T/B)

PVT Edward D. Pigford (WIA) [R] (MB) {2}

PVT William E. Robinson (detached service as an assistant to Dr. Henry Porter)

PVT Roman “Henry” Rutten (WIA) [V2] (RS)

PVT Hobart Ryder (RS)

PVT William W. Rye [R] (MB)

PVT John Seamans [R] (MB)

PVT Robert Senn [R] (MB)

PVT James W. “Crazy Jim” Severs [V2] (MB)

PVT John “Big Fritz” Sivertsen [V2] (MB) (RT) (T/B)

PVT William C. “Bill” Slaper [R] (MB)

PVT George E. Smith (KIA) [R] (MB)

PVT Frank W. Sniffin (Company Color Bearer) [R] (MB)

PVT Frank Stratton [R] (MB)

PVT David “Sandy” Summers (KIA) (MB) (H/H)

PVT Levi M. Thornberry [R] (MB)

PVT Rollins L. “Robert” Thorpe [R] (AG)

PVT Henry J. “Jim” Turley (KIA) [V2] (AG)

PVT Thomas B. “Happy Jack” Varner (WIA) [R] (MB)

PVT Henry C. Voight (KIA) (MB)

PVT James “Jim” Weeks [R] (MB)

PVT John V. Whisten (MB)

PVT Charles T. Wiedman (WIA) [R] (MB)

PVT Charles H. Williams (MB)

Not Present at the Little Bighorn

SGT William Capes (Powder River Camp)

PVT John Dolan (Powder River Camp)

PVT James McCormick (Powder River Camp)

Wagoner Joseph Ricketts (Powder River Camp)

PVT Walter Sterland (Powder River Camp)

PVT Ferdinand Widmayer (Powder River Camp)

Farrier William Wood (Fort Rice)

PVT John Zametzer (Fort Rice)

Legend:

CPT=Captain; 1LT=First Lieutenant; 2LT=Second Lieutenant; 1SG=First Sergeant; SGT=Sergeant; CPL=Corporal; PVT=Private

KIA= killed in action; WIA=wounded in action; DOW=died of wounds; CW=Civil War veteran; V1=Battle of Washita veteran; V2=fought Indians on 1873 Yellowstone expedition; V3=veteran of both Washita and Yellowstone campaigns; R=recruit (less than nine months service); AG=on advance guard mission; RS=on 1SG Ryan’s timber scout mission; MB=with main body in valley; PT=detailed to pack train; RT=remained in timber during retreat; H/H=believed to have been a horse-holder; T/B=trained as a blacksmith

{2, 3, 7}=estimated number of enemy warriors that the trooper shot during the entire battle

Company M, Seventh Cavalry, Little Bighorn Battle RosterFrench MacLean2016-01-19T06:58:18-06:00

New Book Distributor for Europe

(March 12, 2014) Schiffer Publishing has hired Gazelle Book Services to sell and distribute Schiffer publications in Europe. This will shorten delivery time and reduce postage costs. The information on this distributor is:

Gazelle Book Services White Cross Mills Hightown Lancaster Lancashire LA1 4XS UK Tel: +44 (0) 1524 68765 Fax: +44 (0) 1524 63232 E-mail: sales@gazellebooks.co.uk

For those readers in Germany or those travelers fortunate enough to be able to visit Munich, Germany, another bookstore can also assist you in finding the books found on this website. In my 40 years experience, the Christian Schmidt bookstore is one of the best military bookstores in the entire world. You can spend hours in there browsing! Ask for Gabi; they speak perfect English. You can take the U6 U-Bahn from the center of the city in the direction of the Klinikum Grosshadern and get off at Grosshadern, one stop before the end. It is marked in blue on U-Bahn maps.

Christian Schmidt Buchhandlung
Sauerbruchstrasse 10
D-81377 Muenchen
Germany

Email: info@christian-schmidt.com
Web Page: www.christian-schmidt.com
Phone: (49) 89 703227

New Book Distributor for EuropeFrench MacLean2023-08-19T08:17:07-05:00

US Army Executions World War II in Europe and Africa Data

(March 9, 2014) Due to numerous requests by readers, we have added a table showing the names, dates of execution and places of execution for all 96 American soldiers executed in World War II in Europe and North Africa, the subject of The Fifth Field. Included at the top of the table, which is found in the published work section for The Fifth Field, is a photograph of the last face that probably 34 American soldiers ever saw before they were hanged — that of US Army hangman, Master Sergeant John Woods. Previously published biographical information on Woods has been mostly incorrect, as until two years ago, Woods’ official personnel records had never been released to the public. The Fifth Field is the first work to incorporate those files and shows that Woods had been in the US Navy in 1930 but had been discharged for psychological reasons. He also had never been an assistant hangman in Texas and Oklahoma — as he had claimed in 1944 to help secure the position as hangman, which took him out of a combat engineer unit slated for frontline duty, and also elevated him from the rank of private to master sergeant in just one day!

US Army Executions World War II in Europe and Africa DataFrench MacLean2023-08-19T08:17:55-05:00