In everyone's life there comes a day when you feel deep in your soul you need to help another human being. Whether it's to run an errand, or help a friend move, we can always step up to the plate and take a swing at the problem for those we care about. Today, I am stepping up to the plate and I hope you will join with me by standing with me while I pick up my bat and begin the long swing to hit this ball over the fence for a sweet HOMERUN for some very special heroes! How can you help me, by reading the following story and then sharing it with everyone you know who has ever put on the uniform of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
I first learned about this group a few years ago, as I was researching my first book about World War II. I had a few connections to this group because my niece joined this legacy when she graduated West Point and subsequently her brother Jack followed in her footsteps a few years later as he joined them in Italy, Afghanistan and Iraq. Then last year I decided to add another book to the series I am currently working on, one about Vietnam. While attending a military reunion last summer, I learned more about them from men I came to admire greatly over the course of a long
weekend in Tampa Florida. Over the last year, I have delved into many
archival stacks at the National Archives and more recently at the Army's wonderful research facility, Ridgeway Hall at the Army Historical and Educational Center located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There I learned even more about this special group who has served our country proudly and mostly distinctively. I was fascinated by this group for a very special reason, because of a very special man who was once part of this unit in Vietnam, a hero who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
While conducting my research for my upcoming book, I have covered every aspect of that timeframe, but for personal reasons I have searched long and hard on two very special units, but today I want to only talk about one of them, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, specifically A Company, 1st Battalion 503rd Infantry. This was the unit one of my favorite heroes served with during his time in Vietnam. His name was Sgt. Raymond S. Inslee. My beloved Ray was killed in action in March of 1970 while on patrol with his unit. Because of the closeness of our families and because I knew him personally growing up, I took this loss very hard. It was as if I had lost a brother, because that's how I thought of Ray, as my other older brother. I have never forgotten my darling Ray and wanted to honor him by learning as much as I could about his unit for my upcoming book. Maybe in some way I could connect with him in a very special way and I have and so can you.
During a recent conversation with his brother Bobby, I learned that he had found someone who knew Ray while in Vietnam, my prayers had been answered. I was so excited I almost jumped out of my skin. His name is Larry Hampton. I was excited and without hesitation I contacted him. Emails were exchanged and he invited me to join him and the rest of the 173rd Airborne Brigade for a very special event in Atlanta Georgia on October 7th of this year. This is where you all can help me honor the memory of my hero... Help me spread the word about this very special event.
If you know of a soldier who has worn the uniform of the 173rd AIRBORNE, or any uniform of the United States Army, encourage them to join the 173rd Airborne Brigade in their efforts to raise $500,000 to build a monument in memory of their fallen at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The day's events begin with a special ride from the Convention Center in downtown Atlanta to the HiFi Amphitheatre for a benefit concert with music of Big and Rich, Lynard Skynard and many more as they salute those in uniform of the 173rd past and present. There is also a motorcycle ride to Atlanta from Charlotte North Carolina that Larry Hampton is leading in memory of his brothers who never made it home from the battlefields of Vietnam. For more information on this wonderful day of celebration to honor all those in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, please go to www.173rdairborne.com and scroll down to "DAY OF HONOR". If you are like me and love to ride on the back of a motorcycle and live in the MD, VA, WVA, NC, SC or GA area, here is your excuse to ride one more time before the cold weather sets in, join this special ride to honor those who sacrificed their lives for all of us, contact Larry Hampton at 1bigdog1@bellsouth.net, register and pay your $50 bucks a rider and help
them reach their goal on October 7th. If you can't make it to the event
and sill want to help them, go to www.173rdairbornememorial.org and donate something to the effort. Remember every little bit helps because the faster they raise this money, the faster this monument can be built... "it's time we did something to honor these fallen heroes! I will be there, will you?
Help me keep my hero's memory alive for not only my family, his family, but for his brothers in uniform and for future generations of the 173rd Airborne Brigade so that they will never forget my hero and the legacy they are entering into as they train to protect America!
God Bless the Sky Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, may they fly with God's wind and gentle hand beneath their silken canopy to safe landings to fight for freedom for all the world!
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