Happy 232nd Birthday Army!

That's right! The United States Army was founded on 14 June 1775. Anyone who has seen the Army Colors with all of it's battle streamers will be awed. Here are the campaigns fought by the U.S. Army. Sobering, no?

Revolutionary War

LEXINGTON 1775
TICONDEROGA 1775
BOSTON 1775-1776
QUEBEC 1775, 1776
CHARLESTON 1776, 1780
LONG ISLAND 1776
TRENTON 1776
PRINCETON 1777
SARATOGA 1777
BRANDYWINE 1777
GERMANTOWN 1777
MONMOUTH 1778
SAVANNAH 1778, 1779
COWPENS 1781
GUILFORD COURT HOUSE 1781
YORKTOWN 1781

War of 1812

CANADA 1812-1815
CHIPPEWA 1814
LUNDY'S LANE 1814
BLADENSBURG 1814
MCHENRY 1814
NEW Orleans 1814-1815

Mexican War

PALO ALTO 1846
RESACA DE LA PALMA 1846
MONTERY 1846
BUENA VISTA 1847
VERA CRUZ 1847
CERRO GORDO 1847
CONTRERAS 1847
CHURUBUSCO 1847
MOLINA DEL RAY 1847
CHAPULTEPEC 1847

Civil War

SUMTER 1861
BULL RUN 1861 ("FIRST MANASSAS") FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE)
HENRY & DONELSON 1862
MISSISSIPPI RIVER 1862-1863
PENINSULA 1862
SHILOH 1862
VALLEY 1862
MANASSAS 1862 ("SECOND MANASSAS") FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE
ANTIETAM 1862 ("SHARPSBURG") FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE
FREDERICKSBURG 1862
MURFREESBOROUGH 1862-1863
CHANCELLORSVILLE 1863
GETTYSBURG 1863
VICKSBURG 1863
CHICKAMAUGA 1863
CHATTANOOGA 1863
WILDERNESS 1864
ATLANTA 1864
SPOTSYLVANIA 1864
COLD HARBOR 1864
PETERSBURG 1864-1865
SHENANDOAH 1864
FRANKLIN 1864
NASHVILLE 1864
APPOMATTOX 1865

Indian Campaign

MIAMI 1790 - 1795
TIPPECANOE 1811
CREEKS 1813-1814, 1836 - 1837
SEMINOLES 1817-1818, 1835-1842, 1855-1858
BLACK HAWK 1832
COMMANCHES 1867 - 1875
MODOCS 1872 - 1873
APACHES 1873, 1885 - 1886
LITTLE BIG HORN 1876 - 1877
NEZ PERCES 1877
BANNOCKS 1878
CHEYENNES 1878 - 1879
UTES 1879 - 1880
PINE RIDGE 1890 – 1891

Spanish American War

SANTIAGO 1898
PUERTO RICO 1898
MANILA 1898

China Relief Expedition

TIENTSIN 1900
YANG-TSUN 1900
PEKING 1900

Philippine Campaign

MANILA 1899
ILOILO 1899
MALOLOS 1899
LAGUNA DE BAY 1899
SAN ISIDRO 1899
ZAPOTE RIVER 1899
CAVITE 1899-1900
TARLAC 1899
SAN FABIAN 1899
MINDANAO 1902-1905
JOLO 1905, 1906, 1913

Mexican Border Service

MEXICO 1916-1917

World War I

CAMBRAI 1917
SOMME DEFENSIVE 1918
LYS 1918
AISNE 1918
MONTDIDIER-NOYON 1918
CHAMPAGNE-MARNE 1918
AISNE-MARNE 1918
SOMME OFFENSIVE 1918
OISE-AISNE 1918
TPRES-LYS 1918
ST. MIHIEL 1918
MEUSE-ARGONNE 1918
VITTORIA VENETO 1918

American Campaign

ANTISUBMARINE 1941 -1945

Asiatic – Pacific Theater

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 1941-1942
BURMA 1941-1942
CENTRAL PACIFIC 1941-1943
EAST INDIES 1942
INDIA-BURMA 1942 - 1945
AIR OFFENSIVE, JAPAN 1942 - 1945
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS 1942 - 1943
CHINA DEFENSIVE 1942 - 1945
PAPUA 1942-1943
GUADALCANAL 1942-1943
NEW GUINEA 1943 - 1944
NORTHERN SOLOMONS 1943 - 1944
EASTERN MANDATES 1944
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO 1943 - 1944
WESTERN PACIFIC 1944 - 1945
LEYTE 1944 - 1945
LUZON 1944 - 1945
CENTRAL BURMA 1945
SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES 1945
RYUKYUS 1945
CHINA OFFENSIVE 1945

European – African – Middle Eastern Campaign

EGYPT-LIBYA 1942-1943
AIR OFFENSIVE, EUROPE 1942-1944
ALGERIA-FRENCH MOROCCO 1942
TUNISIA 1942-1943
SICILY 1943
NAPLES-FOGGIA 1943-1944
ANZIO 1944
ROME-ARNO 1944
NORMANDY 1944
NORTHERN FRANCE 1944
SOUTHERN FRANCE 1944
NORTH APENNINES 1944-1945
RHINELAND 1944-1945
ARDENNES-ALSACE 1944-1945
CENTRAL EUROPE 1945
PO VALLEY 1945

Korean Service

UN DEFENSIVE 1950
UN OFFENSIVE 1950
CCF INTERVENTION 1950-1951
FIRST UN COUNTEROFFENSIVE 1951
CCF SPRING OFFENSIVE 1951
UN SUMMER-FALL OFFENSIVE 1951
SECOND KOREAN WINTER 1951-1952
KOREA SUMMER-FALL 1952
THIRD KOREAN WINTER 1952-1953
KOREA SUMMER 1953

Vietnam Service

VIETNAM ADVISORY 1962 - 1965
VIETNAM DEFENSE 1965
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE 1965-1966
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE II 1966-1967
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE III 1967-1968
TET COUNTEROFFENSIVE 1968
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE IV 1968
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE V 1968
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE VI, 1968-1969
TET 69/COUNTEROFFENSIVE, 1969
VIETNAM SUMMER-FALL 1969
VIETNAM WINTER-SPRING 1970
SANCTUARY COUNTEROFFENSIVE 1970
VIETNAM COUNTEROFFENSIVE, PHASE VII, 1970-1971
CONSOLIDATION I 1971
CONSOLIDATION II 1971-1972
VIETNAM CEASE-FIRE 1972-1973

Armed Forces Expeditionary

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1965-1966
GRENADA 1983
PANAMA 1989-1990

Southwest Asia Service

DEFENSE OF SAUDI ARABIA 1990-1991
LIBERATION AND DEFENSE OF KUWAIT 1991
SOUTHWEST ASIA CEASE-FIRE 1991-1995

Kosovo Campaign

KOSOVO AIR CAMPAIGN 1999
KOSOVO DEFENSE CAMPAIGN

Afghanistan Campaign

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Campaign

Iraq Campaign

A battle streamer is placed with the Army Colors for each campaign. I can't put up pictures at work, but I'll do so this evening.

GO ARMY!

Remembering D-Day

I cannot do the memory of D-Day the same honors that others have bestowed before. I could try, but I would fail.

President Reagan said much and said it well. His speech commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the bravery at Point-Du-Hoc are stirring. It begins:

"We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers--the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war."

Read the rest.

UPDATE: Found some cool video (via MKH)

Ia Drang Valley, 1965

41 years ago today, the 1st Cavalry Division was in the fight of its life in the Ia Drang Valley. Their epic battle was documented by its Commander, Hal Moore and a journalist, Joe Galloway. Later, parts of the book were made into a movie by Mel Gibson... We Were Soldiers Once... and Young. The battle rages for a few more days. In that time, check out the book or movie and learn about the U.S. Army's first battle against the North Vietnamese Army regulars. One piece of history that was saved may be read here.

It reminds me of The Old Guard toast...

Toaster: "Here's to us and those like us!"

Everyone: "Damn few left!"