Military Terms, Abbreviations, Acronyms 1 Taken by Surprise 1,2,4 Meet the Military: Charles Maultsby 2, 3 Did You Know: Origin of Shrapnel 2, 3

The Visit (part 1) 3 the Western Allies' des- Easter Greeting 3 ignation for the fast attack craft (German: Schnellboot, or S- This Day in Military History 4 Boot, meaning "fast boat") of the during World War II. The “E” stood for “enemy.”

acronym for “Landing Ship, Training is the cornerstone of any the exercise. military organization and is an inte- Tank” (or tank landing ship); the General Eisenhower wanted the naval designation for vessels gral part of preparing for any mili- tary operation. The invasion of Eu- training to be as realistic as possi- created during World War II to rope began on D-Day, June 6, 1944, ble. In the weeks leading up to the support amphibious opera- when Allied troops landed on the exercise, pillboxes and dummy ene- tions by carrying vehicles, cargo, beaches of , France to my entrenchments were constructed along the bluffs to simulate what and landing troops directly onto begin the long, arduous process of they would see at “Utah” beach. an unimproved shore defeating . The prep- aration for the landing at Normandy Troops and their equipment would These terms came from took years to plan and execute. American embark on the same ships they would transit HMS Azalea during the invasion and from the same ports. the “Taken by Surprise” article. and British troops were gathered in small towns and villages across England, and ships and Each man would carry exactly the same equipment equipment were readied - waiting for the order from they would be using and would arrive on the beach via LST landing craft where the men would off-load General Dwight D. Eisenhower to launch the invasion. and wade to shore. Machine guns on the bluffs In the months leading up to the invasion, the troops would be firing blank rounds and explosions were to spent a considerable amount of time training, not be set off to help simulate the sights, sounds and only for the invasion, but for combat operations that smells the soldiers would experience as they landed. would continue until Germany capitulated. While it This was expected to be a dress rehearsal on a grand was difficult to simulate the sounds, smells, fear and scale. confusion of the battlefield, efforts were made to make the training as realistic as possible. On many The week-long exercise in April 1944 was going very occasions, English citizens were inconvenienced as well and lessons that would eventually be used to improve the invasion of Normandy were being noted training operations affected their towns and villages. and incorporated into the Operations Order for the Near the end of 1943, over 3,000 people in and actual invasion (known as “”). On around the area of of were given the night of April 27, the last convoy of LSTs arrived notice that they would have six weeks in which to in and was preparing to off-load their sol- leave their homes. No explanation was given as to diers when they were intercepted by a flotilla of nine why they were to vacate even though many suspect- German E-boats (fast-attack torpedo boats) lurking in ed that it had to do with a military operation. Nearby the area. The E-boats had picked up the heavier than Slapton Sands at Lyme Bay, was a perfect place to normal ship communication and had moved in to stage an ambitious training exercise, codenamed investigate. The eight LSTs were caught by surprise “Exercise Tiger.” The beach had a coarse gravel cov- and were sitting ducks to these fast torpedo boats. ering and the bluffs overlooking the beach resembled The Allied flotilla’s only escort, a what the Allies would face when storming the beach- HMS Azalea, spotted the German E-boats, but too es at Normandy. Troops who were slated to land at late to adequately warn the LSTs or thwart the at- the French beach on the Cherbourg Peninsula tack. codenamed “Utah,” were selected to participate in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Editor’s Note: I drew my inspiration sary to take flying lessons and so- for this feature from Colonel Mar- loed on his sixteenth birthday. He tin’s article from the applied for the Army Air February 2017 Patriot Corps cadet program News, in which on his eighteenth Charles Maultsby was birthday; only to suffer Shrapnel is a type of antiperson- mentioned in passing. the disappointment of nel projectile named after inven- Fascinated by this seeing the program's beating every other military fighter- tor, Major General Henry Shrap- man, I wanted to suspension at the end pilot team in the U.S. and rest of nel (pictured below), an English share the rest of his of World War II. the free world. story with you. The artillery officer. Shrapnel projec- The Korean War pro- From there the Colonel became a tiles contained small shot or following is adapted from article by vided the next oppor- member of the USAF Arial Demon- spherical bullets, usually of lead, Charles W. Maultsby tunity to become a jet stration Team, The Thunderbirds along with an explosive charge II, Colonel Maultsby’s pilot, and Chuck (1958-1960), flying the right-wing Maultsby grabbed it, position in the diamond formation. to scatter the shot as well as son. fragments of the shell casing. only to be shot out of He was part of one of the first Charles W. Maultsby the sky during his teams that flew the F-100C Super In 1784, Henry Shrapnel invent- was born in Green- 17th combat mission; Sabre (pictured below with other ed the shrapnel shell for can- ville, North Carolina on and then he endured 22 Thunderbird aircraft), which was the nons, which was later adopted June 7th, 1926. After his mother's months as a Chinese prisoner of first supersonic aircraft in the US Air by the British army in 1803 for death (when he was eight years war all the while suffering Force arsenal. cannons and rifles. old), and subsequent rejection by a "unpleasant" treat- callous father, he went to live with ment. Before Henry Shrapnel invented an aunt and uncle in Norfolk, Virgin- After the Korean his weapon there were several ia. War, he became a earlier kinds of scatter projec- Chuck Maultsby was born to fly and pilot-instructor at tiles. was fixated on aircraft from the Nellis Air Force There was case shot, or canis- time he could walk. He spent much Base, Nevada and ter, first used at Constantinople of his youth hanging around the won a spot on the in 1453. The name "case shot" small municipal airport near his Nellis Fighter Weap- Norfolk home doing anything he ons Team of 1957 comes from the projectile's case had to do to be near airplanes and (the Air Force’s ”Top usually made of metal, which their pilots, while hoping someone Gun” school). This was filled with scrap, musket would offer him a ride. was the team that balls, or slugs. swept every event He worked multiple jobs after at the "William Tell" competition, Similar to the case shot was the school to raise the money neces- CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 grape shot, without a metal case, made from larger iron balls. The grape shot was named from the grape-like ap- Torpedoes slammed into four of the in the waters off of Slapton Sands. were sworn to secrecy. The details pearance of the iron balls. The LSTs, which were within sight of “You could walk to the beach on the of what happened at Slapton Sands grape shop could disable men shore. Soldiers crowded on the floating bodies, “said one survivor. were not reported in the news for at almost 900 yards and was decks were engulfed in flames as The carnage was great as 749 men fear that it would tip the Germans explosions rocked their vessels and lost their lives in this training exer- on the Allied invasion plans set for used extensively during the ignited gasoline in vehicles prepar- cise which was more than were June. Ten officers who had special- 1700's. ing to go ashore. One ship sank so actually killed when the Allies ized security clearances because of Eventually, it was replaced by quickly that it didn’t have time to stormed “Utah” beach on June 6th. their knowledge of the invasion case shot type scatter projec- deploy its life There were many perished in the attack. Because of tiles, which was more effective rafts. Of the 496 3 LST’s from 1944 others who were their specialized knowledge, the soldiers on injured and had invasion of Normandy was nearly at shorter ranges (400 to 700 board, 424 to be hospital- called off until the bodies of all ten yards). drown. Another ized and thus victims were found. With the secre- LST sank with forced to miss cy surrounding the event and with the loss of 202 the actual inva- the passage of time, the true events soldiers. The two sion. of what happened to these brave remaining LSTs men have been lost to the annals of limped back to The dead were history. A Sherman Tank that was port, but suffered quickly buried in recovered from the wreckage in numerous casu- the US cemetery Lyme Bay stands as a memorial to in England or alties. the 749 men who lost their lives in transported home. “Exercise Tiger” the waters off of Slapton Sands. As daylight arrived the next morn- was a closely held secret leading up ing, many dead bodies were floating D-Day and all who were involved CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Editor’s Note: I found this compelling The thought of my dad lying there ther was also a former Marine and story regarding honor among Ma- alone was more than I could stand. 100 percent disabled from the Ko- rines that I had to share. But what could I do from here? I rean War. I explained that he was in picked up the phone and called in- the hospital, alone, without anyone The spherical case shot was My dad, Angelo, was in the hospital formation for the Puyallup, Washing- to visit and asked if Sergeant Vanes in Tacoma, Washington. A former more effective because of its ton, Marine Corps recruiting station, would please go and see him. With- bursting shell. It was the direct Marine and veteran of the Korean where I joined the Marines ten years out hesitation, he answered, War, he was having his third knee forerunner of the shrapnel used before. I thought that if I could talk "Absolutely." replacement surgery. to a Marine and explain the situa- so much in , invented tion; maybe one of them would visit Then I asked, "If I send flowers to by Henry Shrapnel in 1784. Hen- A long and very painful operation the recruiting station, would you my dad. ry Shrapnel's invention was the was going to be made even worse deliver them to my dad when you because Dad was going through it I called the number. A man an- go to the hospital?" first air-bursting case shot which, alone. There was no one to hold his swered the phone and in a very con- in technical words, "imparted hand, no familiar soft voices to reas- What happens next? Please be on fident voice said, " directional velocity" to the bullets sure him. His wife was ill and unable Marines, Sergeant Vanes. May I help the lookout for next month’s issue to accompany him or even visit dur- it contained. Henry Shrapnel's you?" of the Patriot News to find out! ing his weeklong stay. My sisters new shell was first used by the and brother lived in California, and I Feeling just as certain, I replied, British against the French in lived even farther away, in Indiana. "Sergeant Vanes, you may find this 1808, however, it was not There wasn't even anyone to drive request a little strange, but this is named after Henry Shrapnel him to the hospital, so he had ar- why I am calling..." I proceeded to until 1852. rived that morning by cab. tell him who I was and that my fa- CONTINUED NEXT MONTH The photo at right depicts a fragment from a World War I era 75-mm. high As a U-2 spy plane pilot, the Colonel instructor and squadron command- and the Air Medal with 19 clusters. explosive shell. found himself in the very dicey pre- er at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, dicament of being detected by the Arizona and then became a staff P.S. The Colonel even retells the The intended de- Russians over their airspace at the officer at Tactical Air Command story of his involvement in one of structive effect of height of the Cuban Missile Crisis of headquarters at Lang- the most embarrass- the shrapnel pro- ing scandals in mili- October 1962. It is true to say that ley AFB, Virginia. He jectile against he very nearly was the cause of finished out his 28- tary history involving the Chief of Staff of men and animals World War III. That particular flight year military career came from the shrapnel balls. also happened to set the record for as the Standards and the Royal Australian The projectile casing, which the longest U-2 flight in history. Evaluation officer for Air Force...! NATO Forces South in merely acted as a carrier for the The next major phase of the Colo- The book's foreword Naples, Italy. shrapnel balls, was not designed nel's life was spent in Vietnam in was written by the to fracture or fragment. Some 1967 where he flew 216 combat Colonel Maultsby Colonels friend, Mar- tin Caidin, author of missions (a full third of those mis- was married to his Colonel Maultsby World War I era shrapnel projec- sions were flown in North Vietnam). wife, Jeanne, from over 50 books includ- tiles contained a mixture of two He was awarded the Silver Star for 1949 until his death in 1998 at age ing "Cyborg" (that sized balls. The smaller balls, became Television's "Six Million gallantry in action for his mission in 72. He and Jeanne had three sons. intended for anti-personnel use, Dollar Man”) and close support of American ground Maultsby was awarded 18 decora- constituted approximately ninety tions for his military service includ- "Marooned" (which became a mov- troops in dire straits. per cent of the shrapnel round. ing the Purple Heart, Silver Star, ie starring Gene Hackman, Gregory After the Vietnam experience, Col. Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Peck and Richard Crenna). The remaining percentage of Maultsby continued as a pilot- Cross with three oak leaf clusters, larger balls were included to disable or kill horses. The intended destructive effect of high explosive rounds came from the action of the high explo- sive charge coupled with the fragmentation of the projectile casing. Whereas a shrapnel round was intended to kill or injure people and animals, high explosive rounds were originally designed to damage or destroy inanimate objects such as build- ings and field guns. Source: Article by Mary Bellis on inventors.about.com website.

01 Apr 1884 - Florence Blanchfield the time had spent 30 years in the (pictured at right), an American Army Nurse Corps, with being 5510 Falls of Neuse Road nurse who was the first woman to “largely instrumental in securing full Raleigh, NC 27609 become a fully ranked officer of the military rank for nurses.” (919) 876-0585 U.S. Army, was born on this day. She was the first woman to She marshaled her arguments for [email protected] “full” rather than “relative” rank at www.fbcweb.net receive a commission in the Regular Army. In making the presentation hearings before a succession of of her commission in a ceremony in Congressional committees. Full rank 1947, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was won on a temporary basis in paid tribute to the heroism of the July, 1944, and was made perma- (919) 817-0706 Army nurses. The War Department nent by the Army and Navy Nurse Corps Law of April 16, 1947. [email protected] credited Colonel Blanchfield, who at

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Don King ([email protected]) Each of us makes plans for the Jesus never promised us that we are called according to His pur- details of our life. Our dreams may would not have troubles along the pose.” We may have to endure

help us shape our life plans – that way. In fact, we will have difficul- some hardships, disappointments, Joe Wilson - 3 idyllic life we envision for ourselves. ties until Jesus returns for us and and unanswered prayers in the Deborah Martin - 10 However, as we live life, often the that is a reality you can bank on. present to reach the bright future Joshua Ingersoll - 17 dreams or idyllic life that we have But Jesus did promise us that He God has in store for us. If you trust Pat Mesley - 20 envisioned for ourselves is inter- would never leave us or forsake us. Him to guide your life, you can en- Micah Palmer - 26 rupted by the unforeseen circum- So as a believer, you can count on dure the unforeseen circumstances Becky Watkins - 29 stances that happen along the way. hardships and disappointments. of your life knowing that our Lord is Ivey Palmer, Ed Salerno, While planning your life is im- Occasionally, your life may be with you along the path. Kimberly Stewart - 30 portant and pursuit of Godly rocked by an unforeseen event that dreams encouraged, sometimes will change the course of your life. As a Christian, you can expect your these plans and dreams do not However, in the times of suffering, life to be tested along your journey. Andy & Teresa Ralph - 3 come to fruition. Sometimes, our distress or bewildering circum- That testing produces the faith you plans will be all laid out and are stances, you can rest assured that need to grow in Christ as you learn seemingly within our reach when Jesus is in the midst of your storm to trust Him in spite of the circum- “life just happens” around us and guiding, directing, and molding you stances around you. When you MAILBAG FOR ANDREW FOLZ our plans are postponed or even to fit the future He has brought confess your weakness honestly derailed. It may be an illness, loss about for you. Many years ago, a before God and pray according to For those who would like to His Word, you will realize that God drop Andrew Folz a note of of a job, death of a family member famous country music song de- or even self-destructive habits or clared “Sometimes I Thank God for has you firmly in His hand and will encouragement, his de- bring you through the circumstanc- ployed address is: decisions that change the course of Unanswered Prayer.” I can indeed our life. When this happens, it is tell you that I have thanked God es of life to His expected end for Andrew Folz natural to be disappointed, disillu- often that He did not answer some you. In the end, is there really any 1 ECEG sioned and sometimes even of the truly sincere prayers that I other place that you would rather Unit 61239 crushed by events that are beyond prayed to Him in the past. Romans be? APO AE 09309-1239 our control. However, we have a 8:28 tells us: “And we know that “very present Help in times of trou- all things work together for good to ble.” them that love God, to them who

Please continue to pray for Ashley Huskey cently in Afghanistan and will require exten- as she is being treated for vasculitis. Please sive rehab. Please continue to keep Brian keep Phil Wagher in your prayers for contin- and Ivey Palmer in your prayers as they min- ued health and strength. Andrew Folz, ister to soldiers and families at Ft. McCoy, son of Ken and Cheryl Folz, is de- Wisconsin. This past month they found out ployed overseas with the Air that they will be moving to Fort Hood, Texas Force. Please keep Andrew and his in the near future. Please continue to keep family in your prayers during this our new President, Donald Trump, and his period of separation. Redgie Cham- administration in your prayers! bers requested prayer for relatives ~ Colonel Martin Ricco and Tammy Barrentos. The Brian Palmer Family Next Month: Conclusion of “The Visit” Ricco was seriously injured re-

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4