Sandy's 100th Quilt

The 100th Blanket of Hope made with love and hope for a Hero's recovery by Sandy Mandigo of New York.

I received the first email from Sandy Mandigo asking about making blankets for the patients at Landstuhl back in January of 2007. By March she'd set an ambitious goal for herself - make one quilt each week for a year. Receiving her beautiful quilts became a regular occurance, often together with black fleece caps she'd also sewed.

Sandy's trips to the post office became a regular occurance, too. "Didn't you just send two blankets last week?", she was asked. "Yes, and the week before that and the week before that." So of course Sandy told her post office clerk the story.

Sandy:

I want to thank you for your beautiful quilt you made for our soldiers. My husband recently had emergency surgery at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. Your quilt brightened his dreary room. He is currently deployed to Kuwait. It meant a lot to both of us that there are wonderful people, like you, helping our "heroes." He is now back in Kuwait and recovering very well. He brought your quilt back with him to Kuwait. You and your organization are "angels" to our "heroes." Again, thank you for your kindness.

In October she'd reached her goal ahead of schedule, but by January 2008 she was back! Over the next couple of years Sandy worked on other projects like cool scarves for deployed troops, blankets for returning veterans, and stuffed animals for children at her local hospital. But she continued to send us quilts, too. "Quilts 30 and 31 left New York today", read a typical email.

Then, in January, this email: "Sent 4 more quilts and 10 more hats. The 100th quilt is in there. Don't think I'm giving up just because I reached that mark! I went out and bought enough fleece for 6 more blankets and 15 more hats. Must pace myself so I don't have to get out the credit card. But even that wouldn't stop me. Love, Sandy."

When I look back at my years as a Soldiers' Angels volunteer, some of my most cherished memories are of getting to know the many great Americans out there like Sandy. Thank you, Sandy, for your dedication and your thoughtfulness to those who have sacrificed so much for our country. Love you!

"If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it"

In 1952, during the Korean War, Roy Benavidez enlisted the Texas Army National Guard and later, in June 1955, in the regular United States Army. Benavidez deployed to Vietnam in 1965 with the 82nd Airborne Division as an advisor to an ARVN infantry regiment. He stepped on a land mine during a patrol and was medically evacuated to the United States, where doctors at Brooke Army Medical Center thought he would never walk again. Despite serious injury to his spine, Benavidez walked out of the hospital in July 1966.

Benavidez returned to Fort Bragg to begin training for the Studies and Observations Group (SOG). Despite constant pain from his injuries, he became a Master Sergeant in the 5th Special Forces Group and returned to South Vietnam in January 1968.

On February 24, 1981, President Ronald Reagan presented Roy Benavidez the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat near Loc Ninh, Vietnam on May 2, 1968.

Over the radio at his unit's base that morning, Benavidez had heard the cry "get us out of here!" with so much shooting in the background "it sounded like a popcorn machine."

Reagan reportedly turned to the press and said: "If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it". He then read the official award citation.

Roy Benavidez died on November 29, 1998 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He was 63.

Thank you to the 173rd Sky Angels Fund

Leta Carruth (r.) of the Sky Angels Fund presents MaryAnn Phillips with a generous donation of $2000.00 in support of the Soldiers' Angels Germany mission. Courtesy photo.

The 173rd Sky Angels Fund was created in 2008 to finance a welcome home celebration for the Vicenza-based brigade after their redeployment from Afghanistan that year.

Founders Terry and Cheryl Blaskowski, Gold Star parents of SFC Matthew Blaskowski, were later joined by Mike and Michelle Brennan, Gold Star Parents of SGT Joshua Brennan, and Craig & Kelly MacCorquodale, parents of SSG Ryan Pitts, who was wounded at the Battle of Wanat and medically retired from the Army, worked tirelessly to raise the funds required to achieve their goal, which included travel for the 173rd's wounded soldiers well enough to make the trip from the U.S. back to their respective Battalions in Italy and Germany at the end of OEF VIII.


Cheryl writes:

Since our 173rd Sky Angels have redeployed to Italy now from their third deployment to Afghanistan, and since the purpose of this Military Support ~ 173rd Sky Angels Fund was and is that the monies go 100% to directly support our troops and veterans, we are doing just that by sending you a check that might assist your organization in continuing to support our troops.

We wish to do this in memory of all the Sky Soldiers who were KIA and injured during their multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

On behalf of Soldiers' Angels and our Wounded Warriors at Landstuhl hospital, we'd like to express our deepest gratitude to Leta, the Blaskowskis, the Brennans, the MacCorquodales, and all of the Sky Angels Fund's supporters for their generous donation. Your sons and all of our Heroes of the 173rd will remain forever in our hearts. We are honored to continue our mission of caring for today's Wounded Warriors in their memory.

For the Soldiers on the Ground - BlackHawk MEDEVAC

Part of a series about TF Spartan Combat Aviation in Afghanistan, this story focuses on the courageous efforts of the medical evacuation teams. Produced and Edited by SGT. Robert A. Ham, TF Spartan, 2009.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

Our love and prayers go out to the family and friends of Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter. We are so very sorry for your loss.

Family, friends mourn Marine
Columbia native taken off life support

By CHRIS GRAHAM

Kevin Carpenter watched as doctors turned off his son’s ventilator.

“It took about five minutes, but it seemed like an hour,” Carpenter said by phone Saturday, hours after he watched the final moments of his 27-year-old son’s life.

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter had been hospitalized at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany since Monday after he was shot in the neck while on patrol in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. He was a member of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The bullet severed his spinal cord, his heart stopped and it took officials 43 minutes to revive him. Medical officials declared Andrew Carpenter brain dead.

Kevin Carpenter and his wife flew to Germany last week to spend time with their son.

“We got to tell him we love him. We got to see him. And even though he wasn’t there, we got to hold him,” he said.

Before Andrew Carpenter was taken off life support, his parents shared a final moment with their son.

“We told him we loved him and were very proud of him, and that his wife and son are very proud of him,” Kevin Carpenter said as his voice began to crack.

A Marine spokesman declined comment Saturday, citing military policy that disallows comments on deaths until 24 hours after all family members have been notified.

Andrew Carpenter joined the Marines in 2007 and was serving his second deployment in Afghanistan. Kevin Carpenter said his son was due back sometime this spring.

He married Crissie Ponder in 2010. Crissie is pregnant and expecting to give birth to a baby boy, who will be named Landon, in less than two weeks.

The Marine’s father said officials tried their best to keep his son alive and entertained the idea of flying him back to the U.S. to let Crissie see him, but officials believed he would have died inflight.

“He was seriously degrading every day,” Kevin Carpenter said. “It came time to think of Andy and let Andy go. It was very admirable that she wanted to be with him, but it was safer to put it in the hands of God.”

Cpl. Joseph Davis, who has known Carpenter since childhood and grew up in Columbia, will escort Andrew Carpenter’s body back to Tennessee once he reaches U.S. soil.

Davis said Saturday his friend was always happy wherever he went.

“He lived a full life,” Davis said. “He loved doing what he was doing. He was glad to serve.”

Friends rallied around the family after word spread of Carpenter’s injury. On Friday night, more than a dozen people held vigil outside Columbia Central High School, where Carpenter once attended.

Well-wishers left hundreds of messages on Carpenter’s Facebook page. On Saturday, many thanked Carpenter for his sacrifice.

“You will be missed Andy! Thank you for fighting for our country and being a wonderful person! Rest in Peace. Watch over your family from above and protect them always. Thank you!” one friend wrote.

Crissie Carpenter, who has previously declined comment, also left a note on her husband’s Facebook account.

“I love you, baby. You will always be my soul mate and my best friend forever,” she wrote. “I know Landon will give me those hugs and kisses that I will miss so much. I look forward to seeing you in Heaven one day, baby.”

Kevin Carpenter said arrangements have not been finalized but he expects his son’s body will arrive in Columbia sometime this week.

“It’s a devastating loss, but we’ll get through it,” he said.

"Every day is worth it that you save a life"

Veteran freelance cameraman Vaughan Smith spent two weeks embedded with a DUSTOFF crew from TF Shadow, 214th Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. He lets flight medic SGT Tyrone Jordan of Charlotte, NC tell much of the story - about his patients, his job, and the impact this work has had on his life.

Thank you and well done to SGT Jordan and all of our DUSTOFF crews. We love you!

Warning: MEDEVAC videos contain distressing images. The most graphic content is between minutes 2:30 - 5:00, showing a Marine who has sustained a traumatic bilateral amputation of his lower extremities. Most of the patients gave permission to the photographer for their faces to be shown. Where obtaining permission was not possible, their identities have been obscured.

From blindness back to combat - this time, as a platoon leader

Second Lt. Peter Sprenger lost an eye in Iraq but returned to active duty after completing a college degree. Above, he was working with his platoon in Deh Yak, Afghanistan. Photo: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times.

"From 2002 through June 2010, according to a database on American combat trauma, 1,735 troops suffered eye wounds because of explosions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Of these, five American troops permanently lost sight in both eyes and 122 others lost sight in one eye."

While the last two numbers are relatively low due to the implementation of protective eyewear there are cases, like that of 2LT Sprenger's, where injuries are sustained in the relative safety of the FOB.

After writing a recent article about about eye injuries, C.J. Chivers of the NYT At War blog didn't even have to leave Afghanistan to research a follow up story.

By any reasonable measure, Specialist Peter Sprenger, a radio operator in an Army infantry company, could easily have been dead. It was Dec. 19, 2003, in Talafar, Iraq. An Iraqi man driving an explosives-laden car had breached his company’s perimeter. American soldiers fired at him with light machine guns, but the driver accelerated toward the company command post.

Specialist Sprenger had not been inside the post. When gunfire erupted he knew he had to get to the radios. He began sprinting toward the tent as the attacking driver gathered speed, headed to the same place. The specialist did not have time to put on his protective kit. He wore no body armor, helmet or ballistic eye protection. And now man and bomb were converging.

When Specialist Sprenger and the vehicle were perhaps 50 feet apart, the car exploded, disappearing in a thunderous flash. The blast wave and shrapnel slammed into the specialist’s side. He was blown from his feet to the ground. Blinded, bleeding heavily, almost stunned, he somehow remained conscious, at least for a while.
...

As he was evacuated to the United States, he was one of those soldiers who had lost sight in both eyes. For weeks he was fully blind. Doctors worked on his other wounds. His body was laced with shrapnel, and, he said, “I also required a bone graft into my jaw, six teeth implants and retinal reattachment and cornea transplants three times.”

With time and treatment, the sight to his left eye was restored. But on his right side, he said, “the eye surgeries ultimately failed.” Sight in that eye had been lost.

Read about 2LT Sprenger's road to recovery and return to active duty - and combat - here.

Top Marine General in Afghanistan: Insurgents "off-balance and afraid"

Marines on patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand province. Throughout the province Marines and Afghan forces conduct 500 patrols a day. At night, special operations personnel kill or capture insurgent leaders. LAT photo.

Maj. Gen. Richard Mills briefs from Afghanistan:

Fighting has "dropped off to virtually nothing" in the Sangin district of Afghanistan, where two dozen Marines from Camp Pendleton were killed and more than 140 wounded in the fall and early winter, the top Marine general in Afghanistan told reporters Thursday.

After weeks of fighting with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton, those insurgents who survived have either fled or gone into hiding, Maj. Gen. Richard Mills told a group of San Diego reporters via teleconference.

Some have gone north into a mountainous area, with Marines in pursuit, he said.

Insurgents, Mills said, are "off-balance and afraid" and unable to receive supplies or reinforcements from Pakistan because Marines have disrupted their "rat lines." Hundreds of insurgents have been killed, he said.

Still, Mills, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), stopped short of declaring victory. He said he expects the insurgents, once the winter is over, to attempt a counter-offensive to regain control of Sangin and other areas in Helmand province, which had long been a Taliban stronghold.

"Is there still some tough fighting for those [U.S.] troops who come here in spring or summer?" Mills asked. "Yes, there is."

Another factor helping the Marines is a deal with the Alikoza tribe in which the tribe would receive construction contracts in exchange for intelligence and other help in the fight against the Taliban, Mills said. The Taliban is "desperate to break the agreement" by attempting to intimidate tribal members but has failed to do so, he said.

About 20,000 Marines and sailors are in Helmand province, about half of them from Camp Pendleton. In the spring, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is set to return to California, to be replaced by the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, also from Camp Pendleton.

Mills, also set to return to Camp Pendleton in the spring, gave an upbeat assessment of the Marine mission in the province. Schools are opening, village markets are thriving, Afghan security forces are gaining in competency and a key road project from Sangin to the Kajaki dam is close to completion, Mills said.

Once completed, the road will allow work to begin on a long-stalled effort to install an additional turbine at the dam and provide additional electricity to Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Throughout the province Marines and Afghan forces conduct 500 patrols a day, he said. At night, special operations personnel kill or capture insurgent leaders.

The Marines returning soon to Camp Pendleton will "come home with honor" from having bested the Taliban in numerous villages but "the Marines behind us are going to have a good amount of work to do," Mills said.

JIEDDO: Better IED detection reduces casualties 37% in Afghanistan

USA Today:

The military has reduced the number of troops wounded or killed by homemade bombs in Afghanistan by 37% since August by improving its ability to find the explosives before they blow up.

About one-sixth of the bombs used by insurgents in January ended up wounding or killing troops compared with the one-quarter of such bombs that caused casualties in August, according to figures from the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, the Pentagon's agency for combating makeshift bombs.

In January, 215 IED attacks wounded or killed troops compared with 341 attacks that caused casualties in August. That dramatic reduction occurred even though the number of IEDs planted has remained at between 1,300 and 1,500 a month during that time.

"IEDs are still responsible for the greatest number of our casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we are making progress against the enemy's effective use of them," Lt. Gen. Michael Oates told USA TODAY.

In 2010, IEDs wounded or killed 7,800 troops in the U.S.-led coalition, according to data released to USA TODAY. That accounts for nearly half of all casualties.
...

Oates cited some factors that have eroded the effectiveness of the homemade bombs:

•Increasing the number of teams that scour roads for IEDs from 12 in 2009 to 75 today.

•Encouraging the 30,000 servicemembers ordered to Afghanistan last year by President Obama to mix with Afghan civilians, earn their trust and receive tips on where bombs have been planted.

•Expanding use of planes, drones and balloons with cameras and other sensors to spy on insurgents and detect where they have planted bombs. From Jan. 30 through Feb. 5, for example, the Air Force flew 371 surveillance missions.

"They have darkened the skies in Afghanistan with airplanes looking for these guys," Pike said.

Despite the gains, Oates said he expects fighting to be "vigorous" this spring, when weather improves. Insurgents will still plant 1,300 to 1,500 bombs per month, he said.

"The enemy has a will to win and the capability," Oates said. "And he has a very good chance to inflict casualties on us."

Troops on foot patrol remain particularly vulnerable, he said. There has been a "significant spike" in the number of those soldiers and Marines who step on bombs in the past year.

"You have a homemade explosive planted in the ground, it produces a lot of natural shrapnel," Oates said. "It's dirty, so you get soil and rocks that penetrate deep into tissue. They tend not to kill, but to blow off arms and legs."

ANA and TF Storm Break Trail

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army soldiers move through Kharwar District to prevent the Taliban’s freedom of movement on February 12. Afghan and U.S. soldiers assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division’s Task Force Storm braved more than 3 feet of snow in some areas during the patrol. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Cooper T. Cash, Task Force Patriot)