The Legacy of the 11th Airborne Division - 2023 11th Airborne Association Speech

Introduction to Down From Heaven

0:00You're listening to Down From Heaven, a podcast that covers the history of the 11th Airborne Division from World War II through today. I'm your host, Jeremy Holm. Thank you for joining me today. Let's jump right in.

0:30Thank you, General Bailey, General Martin, distinguished angels and angelettes, honored guests. It really is a pleasure to be here with you. This has been an amazing week that we have shared together. And I don't know how you feel, but Lindsay and I were just discussing how we feel some sadness about seeing it come to an end.

1:03We have truly enjoyed getting to know you and hearing your stories. And we look forward to continuing our friendships after this reunion is concluded. And we hope to see you in two years. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, really. Thank you to all the officers of the association who have worked so hard to organize this reunion and make it so special for us. Joe and I know Carol behind the scenes and Joanne and Wayne. Thank you all. Thank you so much.

General Joseph Swing's Speech

1:35Forty two years ago, General Joseph Swing, the father of the 11th Airborne, stood at a podium like this one before an association audience like this one in Phoenix, Arizona. General Swing, he was 87 years old and he stopped and he looked around the room as only he could. He had those piercing blue eyes and he said, it is wonderful to see all you troopers here tonight. My, my, you are getting older and your wives are getting younger.

2:10Some of you might be able to relate. But I'm standing here because I failed to follow the Infantry Journal's advice, which is, of course, try to look unimportant. They might be low on ammo. Having published three books now on the 11th Airborne, as well as running a podcast, a YouTube channel, the association's Facebook page, and two websites on the division, I think I made myself look important, and therefore I ended up in Corporal Joe Docher's crosshairs.

2:41Wayne Porter knows exactly what that feels like. It reminds me of the time that General Swing decided to wear his general's stars to the front. Now, this was on Leyte. When his bodyguard, Private Clifford Servius, suggested the general remove his stars, the general said, nothing doing. With a few other colorful words added in. So a Japanese sniper fired a shot right between the general and Private Servius, and the private said, general, I don't care if you get hit, but you are drawing fire in my direction.

3:16So the general, of course, removed his stars, and while I have no stars to remove, I will do my best to make sure that none of you get hit by friendly fire of bad jokes, rambling platitudes, and a drawn-out speech. If General Swing were here today, I believe he would say to all of you troopers what he told his angels on Christmas Eve, 1943. He said, men, you are different from every other branch of service. Be proud of yourselves. To every trooper here, please know that we are proud of you.

Host's Personal Connection to 11th Airborne

3:51As most of you know, my grandfather, 1st Lieutenant Andrew Carrico, served in the 11th Airborne during World War II, and my grandmother, Jane, used to come to these association reunions, and she used to help plan them and organize them, and she was a proud angelette, and she still is. She was a little behind on her dues, which Lindsay and I took care of. So Colonel Stephen Cavanaugh, who served with the 511th PIR during World War II, who was later chief of MACSOG in Vietnam, and he said of these reunions,

4:22The survivors of the 11th Airborne gathered in various cities across the country to tell lies and complain about the vagaries of old age. Wives heard time and time again the stories which they have heard before, and they probably wondered what really went on during our service. Some of the angelettes here know exactly what he was talking about. But I wish I had gone with Grandpa to those early reunions to hear what really went on. They told me stories of wonderful dinners, solemn memorials, hospitality suites,

4:57which were nothing more than glorified bars. I heard a yep. And discussions that went late into the night as this self-described old farts talked of days gone by and friends who never came home. But like many Americans, I was oblivious to what the angels did in the Pacific, Korea, Germany, Vietnam, and at Forts Campbell and Bening. I did not appreciate why Grandpa carried scars on his body and why he was missing a finger on his right hand

5:27and just how close he had come to dying during World War II. I saw the old photographs in his office and the airborne patches on his jackets. I heard the stories, but I failed to truly appreciate what it all meant. I was just too young. But it's ironic because my family has a long history of military service dating back to the American Revolution. Since then, members of my family have served in every major conflict that the United States has been involved in, including both grandfathers in World War II and my father's service in Vietnam.

6:00I will never forget going to the Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. with my dad and touching the name of First Lieutenant Dennis Holm, his cousin, who was killed there on May 22, 1967. It was the first time that I really understood the cost of our freedoms. While I have always possessed a deep respect for our military, I chose a different path. Some of you know this already, but when I was in high school, I entered the fast-paced world of Olympic bobsled.

6:30I have never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, but I have jumped into hundreds of perfectly good bobsleds to race them down the track at over 80 miles an hour. I think it's a lot of fun, but when I asked my grandfather which he thought was crazier, parachuting into combat, or going down the bobsled track, he looked at me, he laughed, and he said, you're crazy. Maybe so. But there are some similarities between bobsled and the army, of course.

7:01We both did more PT than we ever thought humanly possible. Our food at times was probably banned by the Geneva Convention. You polished your boots. We polished the blades on the bottom of our bobsled. We both learned to work as a team, and that discipline brings success. And we gained a lot of experience taking orders, something our wives hoped would make us good husbands. But it was a thrill to stand on the medals podium, to represent our country, to hear the national anthem play

7:33as they raised the flag behind us. As I got older, though, Grandpa and I talked more about the war, and I came to realize just how incredible his team, the 11th Airborne Division, was. That is why I chose to wear the division patch on my bobsled uniform to our races to represent the angels wherever we went. The more Grandpa and I talked, the more I realized that my medals paled in comparison to his. I got to do something I loved for this country.

8:06He was willing to give his life because what he loved was this country. Many in this room felt that way both during their military service and feel the same today. One angel told me, if they needed me, I'd go back. He was 94 when he told me that. Foster Arnett, who served in the 11th during World War II, was a proud member of this fine association. He wrote, I'm a big fan of this country. We've got a lot of flaws,

8:36but generally speaking, we are the greatest nation in the history of the world. I could not agree more.

11th Airborne's History and Legacy

8:44The 11th Airborne has a long history of serving this greatest nation to defend the very freedoms and rights that, let's be honest, many Americans take for granted today. Thomas Jefferson once said, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth enjoy. When my grandfather was a fresh 90-day wonder who needed his NCOs to show him what to do, in 1942, his father sent him a letter.

9:16My great-grandpa was a Silver Star recipient who experienced the horrors of trench warfare in World War I. And he wanted to send his son a letter knowing what his son would soon see in World War II. He said, As Americans, we reserve solely and fully for ourselves certain rights which even our government has never once thought of taking from us. Yet today there are men who have said, become slaves of our political creeds and surrender quietly to us those things labeled self-respect,

9:47self-determination, and self-government, or we will take them from you by force. Again, this is 1942. He continued, The American soldiers who are now prisoners of Japan's rising sun are still keepers of more real freedom than the soldiers of Imperial Japan have ever known. When the angels fought on Leyte or Luzon or served in Japan or jumped into Korea or labored to develop aerosol techniques at Benning or saw combat in Vietnam

10:17or are currently serving in Alaska at J. Bear and Fort Wainwright, it has always been to protect and preserve our freedoms. Indeed, when the division gyroscoped from Fort Campbell to Germany in 1956, the 11th Airborne became known as the Shield of Bavaria. Some of you know you were there. The angels have always stood as a shield against the tyranny and deprivations that engulf so much of this world. That, more than anything, is the true legacy of the 11th Airborne.

10:48That is your legacy. As a historian, it has been my privilege to interview many angels about their military experiences to better understand the 11th Airborne story. And I want to thank every angel in this room who has shared their stories with me this week. I wish this reunion could go on for days and days so we could have more time together, but I will be calling and I want to hear more of your stories. It has all taught me that the division's history

11:19is overflowing with tales of duty, brotherhood, and sacrifice. One angel said at his 100th birthday party, Thank you for talking to me about the war. All my buddies are dead. I have no one left to talk to. Thank you for telling our story. That is my goal. Through my books, our podcast, our efforts to build the websites and on Facebook and so forth. To tell the story of the angels. That is the promise that I made my grandfather

11:50and that is the promise that I make to you today. That I will continue to do my best to tell the story of the mighty 11th Airborne Division. Some stories, of course, will never be told. They are too sacred and too private. Such are the realities of military service, known only too well by those who pledge to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And I believe that all the troopers here who made that oath would echo the sentiments of Sergeant James Wilson, who said,

12:22I never regretted making that oath. Jim was a friend. He was a paratrooper in the 511th PIR's Company B. He was one of the last living raiders on the Los Banos internment camp, where the 11th Airborne Division rescued over 2,100 men, women, and children from behind enemy lines on February 23, 1945. Jim died two years ago, but he was proud to be an angel. He told me,

12:53we were the best there ever was. And if there ever was a motto for the 11th Airborne, that is it. I have spent 12 years studying the history of the division. Unsurprisingly, I have discovered that most angels have two loves, their spouse and the Airborne. Whichever they love more, you'll have to ask them. But my grandfather said, there is a feeling of closeness and love for your fellow men in combat that is different from any other feeling that you can have.

13:24I have heard that expressed by some of you this week as you talked about your buddies who are now gone. Since 1943, over 500 angels have given their last full measure in combat. That number is quite higher when you consider the 187th RCT's losses in Korea and the former 11th Air Assault troopers who saw action in Vietnam. So thank you, General Bailey, for leading our memorial service earlier today. Each of us is indebted to our fallen.

13:55Some of their names are well known. Manuel Perez, Elmer Fryer, Lester Hammond, Joe Baldonado, and Richard Wilson, all of whom were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Others were known only to their families and their buddies. Here are a few examples. When Company C of the 511th Parachute Infantry was ambushed on Leyte in 1944, Sergeant Elton Henry ordered 1st Platoon's 10 remaining troopers of the platoon

14:25to slip into the river to escape. A wounded Francis Perez begged his comrades to shoot him rather than leave him for the Japanese.

14:35As 1st Platoon's remaining troopers moved out, Newton Terry refused to go, saying, I cannot leave my friend Francis behind. Neither were ever seen again. On February 8th, 1945, when the 188th Paraglider Infantry's 2nd Battalion was pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Major Charles Loper, who volunteered to lead the mission, saw that his men were taking casualties and unless they moved, more would be killed. Thinking of their safety,

15:07Major Loper stood up to attack shouting at the Japanese, Come on and get us, you lousy no-goods. His men followed his example and eliminated the enemy machine gun, but sadly the Major was killed in the assault. His wife Loretta was presented with his distinguished service cross alongside their two-year-old son.

15:28Private Gordon Fengstad joined the Canadian Army at age 16, but his age was discovered and he was sent home, but his mother, seeing his great passion for the airborne, gave his permission to join the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion where he saw action in France, Holland, and Germany. After World War II, Private Fengstad joined the 11th Airborne in 1946 in Japan where he served two years before returning stateside with the division. Two years later, on September 29, 1950,

15:59as a member of the 187th Regimental Combat Team, Gordon went into combat again on Korea's Kimpo Peninsula. There, after more than a decade of military service, Private Gordon Fengstad was killed. He was 26. On May 18, 1966, Staff Sergeant Jimmy Stewart was part of a six-man squad defending a position near An Khe, Vietnam. Jimmy had served in the 11th Air Assault Division and after his five

16:29comrades fell wounded, Staff Sergeant Stewart ignored an opportunity to withdraw and held their position alone for four hours against a North Vietnamese company who attacked three times. Jimmy decided he would not leave his men behind. He threw enemy grenades back at the attackers and crawled through fire for more ammunition and when a friendly platoon arrived to support, 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Jimmy Stewart was killed, assisting their efforts to counterattack

16:59while his buddies were safely evacuated. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. And let us not forget our new Arctic Angels. On April 27th of this year, 2023, two Apaches from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment crashed near Healy, Alaska. Three Angels lost their lives that day. Stuart Wehment, Kyle McKenna, Christopher Aramo. Like the American flag,

17:30the red on our division's shoulder patch reminds us of the bloodshed by those who have served and fought to protect our country's freedoms.

17:39Yes, the 11th Airborne has decades of service and sacrifice for America. Indeed, this year marks the 80th anniversary since our beloved division was first formed at Camp McCall, North Carolina, in 1943. Two years later, the Angels jumped on Luzon's Los Banos internment camp. One of those rescued internees, Scotty Whiteman, said of his delivering Angels, Thank God there were men like you who did what you did for so many of us. I wish to echo

18:10John's words to every angel and trooper in this room. Thank God that there were men like you who did what you did for so many of us. Please know that there are many of us who are grateful for what you did. You embody the words of the patriot Thomas Paine who wrote, If there must be trouble, let it be in my day that my child may have peace. Because each of you were willing to face trouble in your day,

18:40millions of us have lived in peace. That is your legacy. One Division history states that the 11th Airborne was a crucible that turned boys just off the farms and streets into highly trained combat soldiers with the will to fight and win. As the saying goes, we sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. I for one sleep more peacefully knowing that there is a division of angels

19:10on the rosters of the United States Army once more and that there were men like you who served so honorably in it. As Division Commander General Lyman Leibnitzer told his angels in 1950, this division always stands ready to meet any challenge which may come its way. With a proud heritage to inspire, the 11th Airborne stands always ready to take up the sword of democracy and freedom wherever it may be called.

19:41No wonder World War II angel William Skinner wrote that he was part of the greatest military group there ever was, the 11th Airborne Division, and then he added, how proud I am to belong to this elite group. How proud Lindsay and I are to belong to this elite group, the 11th Airborne Division Association, and to have the privilege of sharing the angels' legacy with the world, and to have shared this week with you, we are grateful for your

20:11friendships, for your acceptance this week. We know we were the young kids on the block, but it has been nice to sit with each of you. But this

Call to Action for Association Members

20:20must be a team effort for us to continue the association. Many family members told me that their troopers were proud to serve but talked little about that service. I would like to extend an invitation to every trooper in this room to please sit down with your loved ones. Please tell them why you chose to serve, what your military service means to you. Tell them what this country means to you. Tell about your buddies who have passed on. Please be their voice. Do not let these chapters of airborne

20:51history go unwritten. You may think that your story does not matter, but I am here to tell you that it does. I'm holding in my hand a small vial of dirt. It isn't much to look at. A soil scientist might find it interesting, but the average person just sees a jar of dirt or vial of dirt. But to a very small group of people, this is the most valuable dirt on the planet. This soil was taken from the

21:22drop zone where Company B of the 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division, jumped on February 23, 1945, to liberate the Los Banos Internment Camp internees. How precious this soil is to those 2,100 men, women, and children who were rescued that day from imprisonment, starvation, and death. Now, I know that some of you here may feel old as dirt, but your service

21:53is part of the soil that secures the freedoms and future of our great nation. Your personal airborne story matters. It matters to your family, it matters to your friends, it matters to this association, and it matters to your country. And I would be happy to help you record your story if you need it. That invitation is always extended.

22:17For a time, there was a belief that the 11th Airborne Association would dissolve when the last angel made the final jump. Fortunately, with the division's reactivation in Alaska, this no longer needs to be the case, but we have to work together. Please invite your airborne buddies to join. Please invite your families and your friends to join. Everyone is welcome here. Please join the association's Facebook page and help share that. And please continue to send your stories and your

22:48photos to Joanne, who does such a marvelous job putting the voice of the angels together. Colonel Orrin D. Hardrock Hogan, the 511th PIR's first commander, he would often stand during the regiment's early months of training at McCall and Polk, and he told his paratroopers, you men are at a crossroads. We as an association are at a crossroads. Instead of fading away like old soldiers, we are in a position to welcome our modern Arctic angels and to pass

23:19them the baton of membership and involvement for decades to come. And we all can in our own ways work to preserve, protect, and promote the legacy of our mighty 11th Airborne Division. We owe it to our buddies who have gone before. To paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, it is for us the living to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which the angels who fought in Leyte, Luzon, Korea, and Vietnam have thus far so

23:49nobly advanced that we here highly resolve that our dead shall not have died in vain. They shape who we are today, and they urge us to live up to America's and this association's full promise. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. So thank you, veterans.

24:21Thank you for answering your country's call. We will never forget what you have given us. God be with you till we meet again at the next reunion, whether it be in Branson or heaven. While the Marines may sing that the streets of heaven are guarded by their fallen, we all know that the gates are defended by the angels. Thank you very much. To learn more about the history of the 11th

24:52Airborne Division, please subscribe to this podcast or visit www.11thairborne.com today, or consider purchasing one of our books on the 11th Airborne in World War II, When Angels Fall, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II, or Down from Heaven, the 11th Airborne Division in World War II, Volumes 1 and 2. All books are available wherever military history books are sold.