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Marion “Dakota” Callen Arville Crawford Leonard Dahl Thomas English Wayne Gustafson Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8

Steve Ozburn Jonathan Perkins Chad Randall Haylie Randall Brent Thompson Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14

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STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 3 Sgt. Marion “Dakota” Callen poses for a portrait in Miles City on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Sgt. Callen died July 26, about a month after he was interviewed for this feature. MIKE CLARK Billings Gazette

Callen recalls his campaign to end WW2, and keep Gen. Patton safe

By GRIFFEN SMITH hen Marion “Dakota” Cal- ing one of the fiercest men in U.S. military final push to defeat Nazi Germany in World [email protected] len first got the call to re- history: Gen. George S. Patton. War Two. port to his headquarters “I always remembered how short of a His service took him through iconic Editor’s note: Marion “Dakota” Callen while stationed in Europe fuse Patton had,” Callen said. “He would conflicts like the Battle of the Bulge and also was interviewed and photographed for this in 1944, he thought he yell at me for just having my boot outside of kept him in Europe during the U.S. occupa- series in late June of this year. He died July 26 was in trouble, as many the jeep when we were driving.” tion after the war. at age 96 at the VA Community Living Center W20-year-old young men do. But when he Callen has plenty of stories of life and in Miles City. arrived, he discovered he would be guard- death from the European front during the Please see CALLEN, Page 16 4 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Arville Crawford sits in his home Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 in Billings.

RYAN BERRY Billings Gazette

Arville Crawford: Two-time survivor of the USS Abner Read

By SULLIVAN HUEBNER to assist in the ongoing campaign against the waters and remain a safe distance from They could not have known that during [email protected] the Japanese invasion and occupation of the mines, and he retired to his cabin for the the next few hours, dozens of their com- Kiska. On this particular night, the ship night. rades would perish. At 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, was on an anti-submarine patrol, cruis- The crew on watch could see the moon At 1:50 a.m., while turning back towards 1943, the USS Abner Read ing a three and a half mile span. On one end through partial clouds and mist, and carried the beach at the far end of the patrol line, the was on patrol. was Kiska’s beach; on the other, a suspected on. Sailor Arville Crawford slipped from his Abner Read struck a drifting mine. The rear The 3,000-ton destroy- Japanese minefield. bunk and went to the head. Others huddled er had been dispatched to The commander at the time was satisfied around the lantern used to light cigarettes Alaska’s Aleutian Islands with the vessel’s ability to safely navigate during the midnight watch. Please see CRAWFORD, Page 17 W STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 5 Leonard Dahl, age 97, holds a photograph of himself at age 21 in the U.S. Army.

LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette

During the horrors of war, Leonard Dahl recalls a fleeting act of kindness

By SUE OLP Dahl, 96, lives with his wife, Margue- terey Bay area. joined the fighting in New Guinea in 1944 For The Gazette rite, in Billings. When the Japanese bombed “While I was there, they shipped every- and then the Philippines in 1945. He was Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Dahl was a se- body out except those of us who hadn’t got- awaiting orders to ship out for an impend- eonard Dahl saw the worst of war as nior at Sidney High School in northeastern ten their GI glasses,” Dahl said. “So I took a ing invasion of Japan when the release of a member of the 43rd Infantry Divi- Montana. bunch of training there.” two atomic bombs ended the war. sion during World War II. After graduating that spring, the then- First sent overseas to New Caledonia in In September, Dahl sailed for Japan, But he also experienced a mo- 19-year-old Dahl joined the Army and was 1943, he arrived the day before Christmas, ment of kindness that has stuck sent to Camp Beale Air Force Base in Cali- then waited two months before being as- with him for more than 75 years. fornia, and then on to Ford Ord in the Mon- signed to the 43rd Infantry Division. Dahl Please see DAHL, Page 18 L6 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Thomas English worked to improve justice in Afghanistan

By SUE OLP For The Billings Gazette Tom English is a Bronze Star recipient. As a colonel in the hough Afghanistan’s fu- Army’s JAG Corp., he helped ture remains uncertain, Afghans establish a criminal especially after the cha- justice system of their own. otic withdrawal, Col. LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette Thomas English did all he could during his 14 Tmonths there to bring justice to the country that’s been in upheaval for centuries. From 2010 to 2011, English, 65, of Billings, was tasked with a two- fold mission: to oversee the detainee review board, and help the Afghan government create a criminal justice system based on that country’s laws so they could assume responsibility of detainees. English, who retired in 2014, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974 at age 17, continuing a family tradition. English’s grandfather died in World War I and his father was a 28-year Army vet. One son was an infantry- man in Iraq and another recently joined the U.S. Air Force. “The biggest aspect of it is the camaraderie and the pride of having served my country,” he said. English’s first assignment in the Army was as an MP for three years of active duty and three more years in the Army Reserve. “When I got off active duty, I was a state trooper in New Mexico, a ho- micide detective, also working on my bachelor’s degree,” he said. He remained in the reserves until 1981, when it got to be too much, juggling school and his military duties. English earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of New Mexico in 1985, then completed a law degree from UNM in 1988. He was recruited back into the Army in

Please see ENGLISH, Page 18 August 2021 7 WWII vet Wayne Gustafson receives long overdue honors

By SUE OLP they were invaded on the home- For The Gazette land, we knew how hard it would be.” ittle did Wayne Gustafson Instead, the U.S. dropped its know when he enlisted in first atomic bomb on Hiroshima the U.S. Navy in spring on Aug. 6 and a second on Naga- 1945 how soon World War saki three days later. The war of- II would an end and what ficially ended on Sept. 2. part he would play in re- Gustafson’s ship was assigned Lturning Japanese POWs to their to transport troops and arma- homeland. ment to occupied Japan, as well Gustafson, 94, was born in as supplies to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chinook but spent most of his Guam, Saipan, the Philippines, young life in Hardin, graduating Wake Island and Japan. But its from high school in 1945. In April main duty was to repatriate Japa- of that year, at age 17, he traveled nese soldiers, a trip the ship made to Helena to enlist. Not long after “two or three times.” he graduated and turned 18, Gus- Though there were 60 crew tafson was called to active duty. members onboard and nearly 700 Following boot camp in San Japanese POWs, the prisoners Wayne Gustafson, 94, was born in Chinook but Diego, he was assigned to the never posed a threat, he said. They spent most of his young 300-foot USS LST 915, an am- were relieved to be going home. life in Hardin, graduating phibious ship typically used to Gustafson remembers clearly from high school in 1945. deliver Marines and equipment to when the ship sailed into the har- islands for battles. bor at Sendai, 200 miles north of Courtesy photos Gustafson, a quartermaster, Tokyo. The cheers of the POWs as was navigator aboard the ves- they sailed into port – “It was the sel. He spent most of time in the biggest cheer I’ve ever heard, in- wheelhouse guiding the ship’s cluding football games.” path. Not all of the threats came Gustafson also recalls looking from serving during a war. up into the hills surrounding the “I survived several life-threat- port city, where he saw artillery ening typhoons aboard ship,” pointed toward the ship. he said. “During the height of “It occurred to me how good it one storm the waves were 100 was we were there in peacetime, feet high, tossing us around like not trying to invade the coun- a piece of lumber. Then we lost try,” he said. “It would have been power and the engines were deadly.” swamped with water in the mid- He also remembers returning dle of the night.” to the United States in May 1946, America was 4-1/2 years into sailing from Hawaii to Northern its war with Japan by the time California and seeing an iconic Gustafson joined the Navy. In site. the Philippines, awaiting assign- “The morning of our arrival in ment, he expected an order to in- San Francisco it was really foggy, vade Japan to come at any time, which was not unusual,” he said, an action that would have led to as he helped guide the ship. “All further protracted fighting. of a sudden the fog raised and the “We knew it would be bloody Golden Gate Bridge was right in because the Japanese were fanat- front of us. It was one of the great- ical fighters,” Gustafson said. “If est thrills.” 8 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Wayne “We knew it would be bloody because Gustafson as young Navy man the Japanese were fanatical fighters. in 1945. If they were invaded on the homeland, we knew how hard it would be.” Wayne Gustafson

Gustafson shared a humorous moment 4th and my folks had planned a trip to Min- regarding the end of his military career. nesota.” Honorably discharged in July 1946 from Fortunately, Blaine, his older brother, the Bremerton, Washington, Naval Station, a student at what was then Montana State with the rank of Quartermaster Third Class, College, lived at a frat house and that’s he didn’t have any means of letting his par- where Gustafson landed until his parents ents, who by then lived in Bozeman, know returned. He enrolled at MSC that fall and he was returning home. graduated with a degree in architecture in After a Greyhound Bus ride home 1950. to downtown Bozeman, he lugged his Gustafson moved to Billings and worked 100-pound seabag uphill to his parents’ as an architect for more than 50 years, house and knocked on the door. opening his own firm. Though he retired in “Nobody answered and the house was 2004, he is still known in Billings for many locked,” Gustafson said. “It was over July of the buildings he designed.

STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 9 Steve Ozburn went from enlistee to the heart of Navy work

By GRIFFEN SMITH [email protected]

fter one tour, Steve Oz- burn knew he would be in the Navy for a long time. The 24-year vet climbed from an entry level welding position to supervising 80 people on high- Navy veteran A ranking missions, and training Steve Ozburn is hundreds more during the tail end shown with his of his career. Horses Spirits “I always knew I would go into Healing horse Tyra the military. My grandpa survived at Intermountain Pearl Harbor, and my dad was in Equestrian Center. Vietnam,” Ozburn said. “I got a lot LARRY MAYER, under my belt from it.” Billings Gazette The chief petty officer traveled to 28 countries as he maintained ships and prepared for the possibility of an attack, but his work kept growing to submarine repairs, minesweeping, and a screener for the Navy’s only bootcamp in North Chicago. Ozburn enlisted straight out of high school, and completed boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois. His background in welding from his small town school directed him to do repairs on ships. His first tour was on the USS Austin, which carried Marines and Navy SEALs across the globe. It was there he first experienced combat during a civil war in Libe- ria. His ship stationed off the coast while troops supported an evacu- ation of the U.S embassy and pro- vided humanitarian aid. “We had to be ready for the possibility of attack and have a repair plan,” Ozburn said. He also worked on mending damaged vehicles from the war. With five other welders on the ship, the group had to be trained for anything metal needed for the ship.

Please see OZBURN, Page 19 10 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Veteran Jonathan Perkins holds a photo from his third and final tour of Iraq at his home in Billings. Perkins’ vehicle was struck by an IED twice in two weeks during that tour.

RYAN BERRY, Billings Gazette Even a bomb can’t keep Jonathan Perkins from completing his mission

By SULLIVAN HUEBNER to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Perkins joined way of life. tour in Iraq in 2007 when he told his crew [email protected] the Army. Perkins worked on the logistical side of they were lucky not to have been hit yet by Enlisting was partly rooted in his long- the Army, driving semi-trucks and moving an IED. Little did he know that over the next t was 1995, and Jonathan Perkins’ 21st standing patriotism, and he needed to make supplies between operating bases. He would month they would be hit by not just one, but birthday. Instead of hanging out at a bar, a living. continue to renew his enlistment year after two separate explosions. he was having his head shaved and filing “I did it as a way to provide for my family, year, eventually serving 15 years of active While he generally drove a semi-truck paperwork, getting ready for boot camp. but then it grew on me,” he said. duty, along with three years in the National transporting materials, Perkins was also Perkins grew up in Kalispell where he Soon, he started to look at Army life as Guard. met his wife, Kyla. In 1994 they moved “a brotherhood” and eventually it became a Perkins was 10 months into his longest Please see PERKINS, Page 20 I STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 11 While most people take cover during emergencies, the Guard rushes in

By SUE OLP For The Gazette

tornado. Flooding. A pandemic. When a disaster hits, chances are you’ll find Lt. Chad Randall of the Montana Army National Guard on the ground, ready to help. “That’s why I joined the Guard, Ato give back to the community,” said Randall, a member of the 1063rd Support Maintenance Company, based in Billings. “I’ve done emer- gency work with disaster relief around Mon- tana.” That has included fighting fires in the Lolo National Forest, helping when flood waters invaded Hardin, lending aid when a rare tornado hit Randall’s hometown of Billings in 2010, and most recently, assisting during the COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Billings. He began that assignment overseeing the clerical side of the vaccine clinics on April 20 and completed it at the end of May. “A large chunk of our job was to reassure people, to make sure they were taken care of,” he said. “We wanted to allay their fears as much as possible.” Randall, 31, graduated from West High in 2007 and enlisted two years later. He’d worked at odd jobs, but nothing caught his fancy by the time he walked into a job fair. “The first booth was the Army National Guard and I talked to a recruiter for five minutes and asked ‘Where do I sign?’ ” he said. “I’ve had more opportunity with the Guard than I could have had without it.” Randall’s commitment includes one weekend of training a month and two weeks of training every summer, as well as being ready to go out on assignment. Over the years, Randall’s training has taken him to Kentucky, Maryland, California and Lt. Chad Randall and his Pennsylvania. At first, as part of his training wife, Lt. Haylie Randall met in a support maintenance company, he learned during a rugby game. Both tracked-vehicle mechanics and how to work are serving in the Montana on computers and other electronics, among Army National Guard. other things. “After I enlisted, I signed up for six years at Courtesy photo a time,” Randall said. “I fulfilled two of those

Please see RANDALL, Page 21 12 August 2021 Lt. Haylie Randall, a graduate of Skyview High School in Billings, joined the Army National Guard in 2016. She wants to use her education and training to help reduce the number of suicides among veterans.

Courtesy photo

Military suicides are a problem Lt. Haylie Randall is working to ﬁ x

By SUE OLP put the average number of suicides per day problem and instead of complaining about chology in December 2019, while also a ca- For The Gazette at 17.6. it, I want to be part of the solution.” det in the college’s ROTC program. She was Lt. Haylie Randall would like to do some- Born and raised in Billings, Randall, 24, commissioned as a second lieutenant after ne issue the U.S. military con- thing about that. graduated from Skyview High School in graduation. tinues to battle is the high rate “It’s hard to ﬁ nd someone in the military 2015. She joined the Montana Army Nation- Then she enrolled in graduate school at of suicide among veterans. who hasn’t had a direct connection with al Guard in 2016, following her father who MSUB, with the goal of becoming a licensed A report released in late 2020 someone committing suicide,” said Ran- was a mechanic in the U.S. Army. social worker. Randall believes the degree, by the Department of Veterans dall, a member of the 1063rd Support Main- She attended Montana State University A airs, using 2018 statistics, tenance Company based in Billings. “It’s a Billings, where she earned a degree in psy- Please see H.RANDALL, Page 22 O STORIES OF HONOR | AUGUST 2021 13 Brent Thompson: As rockets rained down, he thought, 100 meters closer and I’m dead

By SULLIVAN HUEBNER [email protected]

orn in Columbus, Brent Thompson was raised in a fi fth-generation farming family. As a member of his high school debate team, he dreamed of becoming a lawyer. However, after seeing his sister struggle through fi nancial aid, student loans, and col- Blege debt, he realized he didn’t want to worry about the fi nancial side of education. He found another option — military service. Thompson followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who served in Vietnam and Korea, respectively. He enlisted through the delayed entry program, shipping out to boot camp straight out of high school in 1997, after helping haul hay on the ranch one last time. Now, at age 42, he has reached the rank of major, is the deputy sta judge advocate in Okinawa, Japan, and has achieved numerous honors and distinctions over his 20 year military career. After completing basic training, Thompson entered the Army infantry, with his fi rst assignment on a Brad- ley fi ghting vehicle. “It was a lot of fun — it’s just a big, green, diesel-powered machine,” he said. “Really, this is just a John Deere with an auto cannon on top.” After winning the soldier of the year competition at battalion level, the battalion’s commander hired him as a personal Humvee driver. Thompson’s experiences encouraged him to follow a newly-found passion — to become a commissioned o cer. He applied for and received the Green-to-Gold scholarship, and studied at Montana State University, graduating with top honors in his department. He then graduated as the distinguished honor graduate from the Army o cer basic course at Fort Knox, receiving a slot at Ranger school where he passed every course on his fi rst try. However, even after receiving his commission and becoming a platoon leader, Thompson held onto his Courtesy of Maj. Brent Thompson dream of becoming a lawyer — at least, his mother Brent Thompson followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who served in Vietnam and Korea, respectively. wouldn’t let him forget.

Please see THOMPSON, Page 22 14 AUGUST 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR HEROES among us Valor, discipline and dedication are more than words; they are character traits. We honor those who exhibit those traits in their service and work, including our veterans at Exxonmobil Billings. Thank you!

A SpEciAl SAluTE TO ExxOnMObil billingS REFinERY vETERAnS in THiS pHOTO And THEiR YEARS OF MiliTARY SERvicE: Blaire Bazaldua, Navy, 8 years; Rick Boyd, Army, 22 years; Charles Dunigan, Navy, 20 years; Bill Hannigan, Air Force, 18 years; Trevor Heinert, Navy, 18 years; Ryan Heller, Marine Corps, 4 years; Anthony Iyodo, Army, 5 years; Bob McMullen, Air Force, 8 years; Kasey O’Reilly, Army, 14 years; Cotton Pinkerton, Navy, 7 years; Jason Randall, Army 15 years; Jerry Scherer, Army Reserve, 6 years; Alan Selway, Navy, 4 years ; Dan Stetler, Army, 6 years; Mike Trang, Air Force, 10 years; Todd Wegner, Navy, 4 years; Bobby Westbrook, Marine Corps, 5 years.

STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 15 Callen From 4

Callen grew up in Glenham, South Da- kota. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Fort Snelling Minnesota. He received the rank of sergeant, which leads a group of a half- dozen soldiers. “It was all I wanted to be,” Callen said. “I was absolutely lucky to have that position and live to make it back to the states.” Callen and his crew traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, dodging German U-Boats before landing in France. From there, the 12th Army, where he was enlisted, pushed east through France and Belgium. He was part of the first ally units to step foot in Germany. He remembered fighting house-to- house on the Western Front. Since he was the non-smoker of his squad, he was tasked with literally sniffing out areas for enemy troops. “They often had a pungent smell from their uniform,” Callen said. “Not many were able to shower then.” The close combat, a dangerous task for foot soldiers, had Callen jumping into foxholes to avoid shelling and navigating carefully through leveled cities. He said he killed many Nazi Germans. He also lost many friends both to the fighting and to disease that ran rampant through war camps. His division, known as the “Old Reli- ables,” was in active combat more than almost any unit in World War Two. It sustained nearly 27,000 casualties by the end of the fighting. He helped liberate the Nazi Dachau con- centration camp, where tens of thousands WALTER P. CALAHAN/For the Gazette of people were tortured and killed. When he Marion “Dakota” Callen shakes hands with members of the National Young Leaders Conference visiting the World War II Memorial in Washington was assigned to Patton, Callen witnessed D.C., in 2012. many close calls to the general’s life. One mission to clear a church for a forward command center left one of Patton’s end of the war. He hoped to show the gen- the Victory Medal, the European African detailing his experiences in Europe. guards dead and the general in the line of eral his home in South Dakota, but Patton Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with a Callen also had three brothers who fire. Callen fought off the enemy with Pat- died in a car accident shortly after the war bronze star, two overseas service bars, an served. His brother Len, who he wrote ton until reinforcements arrived. ended. Callen ended up staying in allied- Army of occupation medal, a combat in- about often in his column, had to survive “Patton was a really strong man,” Cal- occupied Germany until 1946. fantryman badge and a Purple Heart. behind enemy lines on a Japanese con- len said. “The general often said ‘If every- While enlisted in the U.S Army, the At 97 years old, he was living in the VA trolled island in the pacific. one is thinking the same, then only one decorated sergeant served in the 9th In- clinic in Miles City. He had spent most of Sgt. Callen had also remarried during person is thinking.’” fantry Division, 10th Armored Division his life working at a motel in Forsyth and the pandemic in his V.A. hospital in Miles Callen served Patton until nearly the and 34th Field Artillery. Callen received wrote a column for the newspaper there, City.

“It was all I wanted to be. I was absolutely lucky to have that position and live to make it back to the states.” Marion “Dakota” Callen

16 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Crawford From 5 end of the ship was blown away leaving the rest of the vessel floating but listing in the water, the interior exposed. “When I came out of the head, they was announcing over the PA system for number two motor whaleboat to lay up and launch it, because we had men in the water,” said Crawford. “Well, they was in cold water, and they was covered with oil.” That night, the water temperature could have been lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, the blast had breached the vessel’s fuel tanks. Fuel oil seeped out over the water, coating those who fell in. Others A diagram shows the damage sustained by the inside the ship fell through the floor, di- Abner Read during a kamikaze attack on Nov. 1, rectly into the now-open tanks. Fires on the 1944. remaining three-quarters of the vessel filled the cabins and hallways with fumes, caus- ing sailors to choke on thick, black smoke. Crawford joined his crewmates in rescue RYAN BERRY Billings Gazette efforts. Arville Crawford and his wife LaVonne, the “light in his life,” pose together for a portrait at their “When you took a hold of (the men in the home in Billings Friday, Aug. 6, in Billings. water), they just slipped out of your hands,” said Crawford. “It was really hard to hang on to them, you took two guys to get one energy to beach on a nearby sandbar, in case man out. That’s where we lost them all.” anything or anyone could be rescued. The He and the other crewmen pulled 20 men area beneath Crawford’s gun was on fire, The USS Abner Read in San Francisco Bay, from the water. The ship was rescued by a and the only way down was by metal escape California, June 13, 1943. nearby destroyer, the USS Bancroft, which ladders. towed it away from the minefield. Ultimate- “I didn’t want to wait for the ladder,” ly, 70 men were killed, 47 wounded, and one said Crawford. “I jumped down.” missing in action. He vaulted the railing and jumped down Crawford was 19 years old, and the Sec- multiple decks, injuring his back in the pro- ond World War was about to enter its fourth cess. Crawford’s quick thinking and under- year. standable impatience saved his life. “I’m The Abner Read was repaired at the Puget the only one that made it off of that gun,” he Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washing- said. ton, where it was fitted with a new stern and LaVonne Crawford shows a photo of her After reaching the main deck, a crew- readied to sail again. Crawford was back husband Arville from his Navy days at their mate tossed him a lifejacket. “He says, ‘get aboard the vessel the next time it left har- home Friday in Billings. in the water back there and get to swim- bor, having volunteered to remain with the ming!’ ” Crawford wasted no time, leaping ship during its repairs, this time headed to into the waters below and making a beeline the Philippines. suicide bomber approached the ship. The to shore. A plume of smoke rises from the USS Abner There, the Abner Read cruised through vessel’s antiaircraft guns destroyed one of From the beach, Crawford stood with Read after a kamikaze attack on Nov. 1, 1944. tight channels, assisting ground troops in the plane’s wings, but far too late. It crashed other crewmates and watched as the Abner taking islands, and preventing Japanese into the top of the ship, simultaneously Read slipped off the sandbar and disap- vessels from taking control of passageways dropping a bomb down one of the smoke- peared. through the archipelago. “If they got in, stacks, into the engine room. Miraculously, only 24 members of the they would have had the inside shots from From where Crawford was stationed, he crew were lost. Other destroyers in the area the Philippines,” Crawford said. could see where the other cannon used to had responded rapidly to the attack, and Eventually, the Abner Read made its way be, before it was hit by the plane and thrown pulled survivors from the water. After be- to Guam, and then never left. into the water. “The five-inch 38 that we ing rescued and taking a 30-day shore leave, In the afternoon of Nov. 1, 1944, Craw- was on, was blown off, which I wasn’t on Crawford returned to the war. ford was manning a 40-millimeter anti- then, thank goodness,” said Crawford. Had Now, the 97 year-old Washington-born aircraft gun. That put him on the highest he been on it, he would have certainly died World War II veteran and two-time ship- point of the ship, where he could see the alongside the other gunners. wreck survivor lives in Billings, along with five-inch 38-caliber gun on the other side of “After that, we started sinking,” he said. his wife, LaVonne Crawford. He spends his the deck. “The whole ship was open to water, it just days at home, looking back on the time he U .S. Navy photos At 1:40 p.m., eerily similar to the time broke in half.” spent in his hobby of carpentry, sharing war The USS Abner Read after damage from a of the previous mine explosion, a Japanese The Abner Read’s skipper used its last stories, and remembering the Abner Read. Japanese mine on the Alaskan coast. STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 17 The movie, starring Benjamin Bratt, Jo- Dahl When his son, John Dahl, a Hollywood movie and seph Fiennes and James Franco, was based From 6 TV director, directed the 2005 film “The Great Raid,” on a true story of the rescue of more than 500 U.S. POWs at the Cabanatuan prison where he spent 12 days and where he turned Leonard Dahl served as an adviser. camp in the Philippines, in January 1945. 22. He earned the rank of corporal by the Though Dahl was not part of that mission, time he was honorably discharged later that he was able to share his own battle experi- year, after nearly two years overseas. and his platoon had come out of the moun- Though the soldier and the child only ence with his son. “I was glad to get in and I was glad to tains for a few days of rest and recuperation knew each other a few days, they formed Ben Steele, a friend from Billings and get out,” he said of the difficult time. “War when he encountered a little boy – “he was a bond by the time Dahl’s R&R came to an fellow war veteran, joined him on the set is terrible and I did see enough combat and 6 or 7” – and gave him a handful of candy. end. in Australia. Steele, a U.S. Army Air Corps killed a lot of guys.” Dahl thought that was the end of it, until “I had my pack on and my rifle and hel- private in the Philippines, was captured in Afterward, he was ready to forget that the little boy later returned. met, getting ready to go back into combat, 1942. A survivor of the Bataan Death March time and move on. Dahl got married, earned “One day he came over, hands behind and that little kid was crying,” he said. “I and a POW for 42 months, Steele, passed a degree at the University of Montana, and his back, and gave me a hard-boiled egg,” even had tears in my eyes.” away in 2016. enjoyed his family and his career. Dahl said. “Those people didn’t have much Years later, Dahl found a reason to re- “He gave them a lot of information on “I’ve lived in a house on Radcliffe Drive food.” member other moments of his war ex- Japanese prison camps,” Dahl said. for 54 years and had four children,” two The boy invited Dahl into his grass hut, periences, particularly his time in the Dahl’s encounter with Hollywood is an- sons and two daughters, Dahl said. which sat about four feet above the ground, Philippines. When his son, John Dahl, a other thing he likes to remember. As the He remembers another child he met dur- where the soldier also met the boy’s mother. Hollywood movie and TV director, directed credits roll at the end of “The Great Raid,” ing the war, a Filipino boy who shared what The pair spoke English, so Dahl visited with the 2005 film “The Great Raid,” Leonard he said, “you can see ‘Leonard Dahl and Ben little he had with the American soldier. Dahl them for a few minutes. Dahl served as an adviser. Steele, advisers.’”

English “I had to provide From 7 adequate resources so In 1999, English deployed to Bosnia as a detainees could put on a claims officer. He evaluated cases of prop- erty damages potentially incurred during case because it’s all about military attacks. When the claims proved true, English distributed the money. a rule of law. How can we During that deployment he sustained a neck injury, which later prevented him ask other countries to be from being posted to Iraq. Instead, English fair if we’re not fair?” was eventually deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010, where he remained until May Thomas English 2011, mainly in the Parwan Province in northeast Afghanistan. As director of legal operations, one part of his assignments under the command of old girl blown up by a roadside bomb. The Gen. David Petraeus was administrative, Afghan court gave the defendant a 10-year overseeing the detainee review board. sentence, which English saw as a victory It was a balancing act, making sure the while his bosses thought the sentence didn’t case against the detainees was adequately seem tough enough. presented while also assuring the accused “I explained that under Afghan culture, their rights. a death is God’s will,” he said. “It was God’s “I had to provide adequate resources so will that the girl died that day, and therefore Musadeq Sadeq, AP detainees could put on a case because it’s all Thomas English was under the command of Gen. David Petraeus (shown here in 2011), then top a sentence of 10 years was a huge sentence.” about a rule of law,” English said. “How can commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. English is the first to say he doesn’t know we ask other countries to be fair if we’re not what will happen now that the United States fair?” military has largely pulled out of Afghani- His other main duty was to work with many challenges, from working with in- “I didn’t try to make them try cases in our stan. But he did all he could to make sure the Afghanistan government to establish a vestigators he discovered didn’t know how Western view.” the work he began would continue, that the criminal justice system that included po- to read or write to balancing the rule of law He also sought to implement Petraeus’ criminal justice would be a good fit for Af- lice officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, with the customs common to the Afghan directive, to both make the legal system ghanistan. judges and appeals courts so it could take on people. sustainable and to make sure cases were “We did everything we could to secure the responsibility of handling detainees. For example, under Afghan law, a person irreversible. But that didn’t always square their success,” English said. “We tried to English oversaw close to 100 Afghans who is indicted is presumed guilty. with American sensibilities. make sure they could handle what we gave who took on those roles. The task involved “I followed their rules,” English said. English shared one example of a 10-year- them.”

18 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR USN-U.S. Defense Imagery photo Steve Ozburn’s background in welding from his small town school directed him to do repairs on ships. His first tour was on the USS Austin, which carried Marines and Navy SEALs across the globe.

passing through the area. caused damage to the mine sweeper. Oz- on active duty, but he did have another op- Ozburn He then came back to the states, and burn returned to the states after that tour, tion: continuing his role as an educator in From 10 trained on a decommissioned minesweep- and started running barracks back at North Illinois. ing ship before returning to the Middle East Chicago. He had roughly 400 trainees un- “It was about mentoring a person for Ozburn liked the job, and was good at it. to lead aircraft carriers through Iranian wa- der him at all times. the future,” Ozburn said. “It made a huge He earned Petty Officer by the time he left ters filled with mines. On top of his repair On his next tour, he was promoted to impact on me, because I was potentially after six years. But his work was just begin- work, he manned a crane in the back of the safety officer on the USS blue ridge. It was changing someone’s life, and their families ning. He was based stateside for another boat, dropping dunny torpedoes to try and his most difficult job, as he worked directly life, forever. tour, this time repairing submarines. It was explode the mines. above 80 workers for a three-star admiral. He worked there for another four years as tedious work, usually taking a week per sub “Once in a blue moon we would find one It was also a flagship for NATO operations, the safety officer for the camp. When he -re to create a detailed work order. close to the surface,” he said. “The work and the amount of high ranking officers was tired in 2018, he had a long list of awards for It would not be his last. His third tour was a little nerve racking because Iranians hard to keep track of. his service. But that is not why he decided to was onboard the USS Thorn during the would show up in attack boats to our tug- His job went off without a hitch, but it complete a military career. gulf war. Then the US was in the middle of boat-sized ship.” would be his last outside of the states. Oz- “I was just doing my job,” Ozburn said. an embargo near the Horn of Africa, and The boat always had protection from the burn suffered traumatic brain injury after a He now lives in Roberts, Montana, reha- Ozburn’s ship engaged unauthorized boats aircraft carrier, however, and no incidents horse riding accident. He could not go back bilitating mistreated horses.

“We had to be ready for the possibility of attack and have a repair plan.” Steve Ozburn

STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 19 Perkins From 11

tasked with convoy security. During this particular tour, he operated an Armored Security Vehicle, a scout vehicle that drove ahead of the convoy, looking for threats, IEDs, and ambushes. Perkins won multiple awards for finding IEDs during his service, but occasionally one could slip through the cracks. “The first one was just a mine, and it kind of lifted our ASV up and slammed it down,” said Perkins. “No injuries, just disabled the vehicle.” The convoy moved on, the ASV was repaired, and all was good. Two weeks later Perkins would hit another IED, with a drastically different out- come. While traveling through Mosul with a 120-vehicle convoy, air support reported to Perkins that the usual travel route was blocked. He needed to take a new route, passing by an Iraqi police checkpoint. As he passed the checkpoint, a squad- mate in a vehicle behind him noticed something unusual. “One of my buddies in the gun truck behind me said that, as he came through, he’d seen one of the Iraqi police on Photos courtesy Jonathan Perkins the phone,” said Perkins. Jonathan Perkins, second from left, poses with his ASV crew. “And as soon as he hung up, that’s when I got blown up.” A 2005 Hostile forces had planted an IED in the photo of surface of the road. Likely a surplus artil- Jonathan lery shell, these types of IEDs can be quickly Perkins in planted by small teams under cover of dark- Iraq. ness, using gasoline to soften the asphalt and long wires to detonate the explosive from a distance. Perkins and his gunner were knocked unconscious during the blast, which blew open every hatch on the Armored Service Vehicle and flipped the vehicle on its side. The IED left a seven foot wide, four foot deep crater where it had been planted. After regaining consciousness and getting his crew to another vehicle, Perkins and the convoy carried on. “My driver wanted to stop, but I told him to keep pushing through,” said Perkins. “If we hadn’t pushed through, we would have been in what’s called a kill box.” In an IED ambush, the goal isn’t always for the explosion to kill the soldiers in the vehicle. Sometimes, the goal is to disable the vehicle so that enemy forces can close in on and finish off the convoy. If Perkins’ convoy had stopped, the entire group could have been at risk.

Please see PERKINS, Page 21 20 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR Randall From 12

and then I switched over to becoming an officer.” His time in the Army National Guard helped him afford college, and Randall graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Montana State Uni- versity Billings. He will spend four months this year at Fort Lee, Virginia, for officer training. Then Randall will leave for his first deployment, in Kuwait, for about nine months. Unlike most other members of the 1063rd, Randall will head to the Middle East with his wife. That’s because Lt. Haylie Randall is also a member of the company. A shared interest in rugby brought the two together. “We met a little over three years ago,” he said. “She was one of our referees.” The couple married on May 1, and Haylie Randall left for officer training at Fort Lee a few weeks before her husband. It’s nice, Chad Randall said, that both he and his wife have first-hand knowledge of life as a member of the Army National Guard. “It’s a lot easier to understand, as op- posed to somebody who doesn’t share the same thing,” he said. Jonathan Perkins poses in an ASV turret. Randall suspects he will remain part of the military for 20 years before retiring, having already been part of the Guard for 13 years. Asked what he’s learned in that time, Randall summed it up in one word: resil- ience. “The ability to adjust to certain situa- tions, to handle myself under stress,” he said. From dealing with challenges like sleep deprivation, which he did during basic training, to gleaning all he needs to know to be an effective officer, “I’m learning a little more all the time about how much I can take,” Randall said. “The first booth was the Jonathan Perkins sits atop an Armored Pictured is Jonathan Perkins’ Jonathan Perkins poses in front of an Security Vehicle. initial enlistment photo. American Flag. Army National Guard and I talked to a recruiter for Now, he uses the same skills from his that I served with, from the first time I joined Perkins military service in his day-to-day life, to when I got out of the National Guard, and five minutes and asked From 20 driving a semi-truck and hauling fuel in a lot to PTSD and suicide,” Perkins said. “I Montana and Wyoming. However, much think the country needs to be aware of that.” ‘Where do I sign?’ I’ve had Besides being Perkins’ second near- like during his enlistment, his ambitions Perkins believes the best way to help a miss that month, the ambush also ended still lie in service to others. veteran overcome their demons is through more opportunity with the up being one of the largest complex am- “If I could find a nonprofit to work for, I mutual understanding. He feels that while Guard than I could have bushes ever staged in that region. Perkins think I would die a happy man,” said Per- civilians can try to understand the strug- walked away alive, but afflicted with a kins. Ideally, he would want to work with gles that veterans face, they can’t truly had without it.” traumatic brain injury. an organization that assists veterans in ad- relate since they don’t have shared expe- He would serve for three more years be- justing to life back home. riences. “I think only vets can truly help Chad Randall fore being medically discharged. “My biggest thing is I’ve lost 18 people other vets,” he said. STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 21 When one of the company’s soldiers feel H.Randall targeted in a negative way over their gen- After completing basic training, From 13 der, their ethnic identity, sexual orienta- tion, it’s Randall’s job to investigate the complaint and decide how to resolve it. Brent Thompson entered the Army combined with her military experience, “We’re able to stomp it out at the core, will put her in the perfect position to help before it becomes a huge situation,” she veterans and soldiers grappling with men- said. “A lot of times people don’t real- infantry, with his first assignment tal health issues. ize they’re doing it, it’s the way they were “I want to have that connection in a raised. Most often than not, it’s a lack of more organic and true way,” she said. “Be- education.” on a Bradley fighting vehicle. “It was ing part of the military makes it easier to Kuwait will be Randall’s first deploy- do that because you’re not seen as an out- ment, but she won’t be leaving her spouse sider.” behind. She married longtime boyfriend a lot of fun — it’s just a big, green, She doesn’t know if she’ll eventually Lt. Chad Randall on May 1 and the two will seek a position with Veterans Affairs or spend their nine months away together. open a private practice. Either way, her They met on a rugby field, where Chad diesel-powered machine. Really, goal will be to help those struggling to find was a player and Haylie, a referee. their way. “I had gotten injured while playing but this is just a John Deere with an auto Randall already has experience working I wanted to be a member of the communi- in the mental health field. She worked for ty,” she said. “I ended up liking refereeing three years at the Billings Clinic Psychiat- a lot better so I stuck with that.” cannon on top.” ric Center, while earning her undergradu- They each knew the other was a mem- ate degree, and then as a case manager at ber of the Army National Guard but didn’t the Mental Health Center in Billings. know they were part of the same company Her schooling will be put on hold tem- until Chad saw Haylie’s overnight bag, porarily as Randall prepares for her first packed for that weekend’s drill. The first thing new arrivals are taught nine-month deployment to Kuwait with “That’s when he figured it out,” she Thompson is what happens when an air raid si- the 1063rd. She will leave for the Middle said. “We had just started going out and I’d From 14 ren goes off — where to go, what to do, East in September, after completing a only been in the unit a couple of months.” and what to expect. “As they’re teach- four-month officer leadership course at When Haylie returns from Kuwait, “My mom kept reminding me like ing us this, the air raid siren goes off,” Fort Lee, Virginia. she’ll work to complete her degree so that ‘Hey, remember how you said you want to Thompson said. “So we all run for the Part of her responsibility with the Army someday she may be able to help prevent be a lawyer? Don’t lose sight of your goal, bunker, and you hear the rounds, im- National Guard company is to serve as the vets and soldiers from ending their lives just because you’re having fun,’ ” he said. pact and stuff.” After leaving the bunker, equal opportunity leader for the 1063rd. prematurely. With a little bit of maternal prodding, he he learned that the raid had killed a first applied for the Army’s legal education sergeant finishing their tour, two weeks program, and was accepted. away from returning home. “That’s when Following his graduation from the it’s something like ‘holy crap — this is “It’s hard to find program, Thompson was officially a law- real, man.’” yer. However, there was a twist — he be- Thompson’s forward operating base someone in the came a judge advocate, a member of the at that time got the nickname “Rocket Judge Advocate General’s Corps. The JAG City,” due to the near-constant barrage of military who Corps is effectively the Army’s private mortars, air raids, and of course, rockets. law firm, and is also the oldest dedicated His first encounter showed him the real- hasn’t had a direct legal firm in the U.S. ity of the front lines — his next would win At an ordinary law firm, it might take a him a Combat Action Badge. connection with new associate lawyer years to make it into “We received direct fire all the time, the courtroom. In the JAG Corps, it’s dif- so you get to the point where you hear the ferent. air raid siren, if you’re in bed, you’re like someone committing “As a brand new lawyer, fresh out of ‘yeah, I’m just gonna roll over and go back law school, I showed up at my first judge to sleep,’” said Thompson. “But this par- suicide. It’s a problem advocate office, got handed a stack of ticular one, it hit and the building shook, files, and they’re like ‘Hey man, you’re in I hit the floor.” and instead of court on Friday.’ ” Thompson was working at his desk While his role now is primarily in when the rocket struck. As he and his complaining about it, leadership, overseeing other judge advo- partner ran out of the building to the cates, he saw plenty of action during his nearest bunker, they could see the cloud I want to be part of the time as an officer in the field. of smoke. His first tour as a captain was also his “It’s random, like a lightning strike. first time seeing combat. “On my very 100 meters closer, and I’m not talking solution.” first day, it’s like ‘welcome to a combat to you today, I’m gone, I’m dead,” said Haylie Randall zone — I’ve never been to combat before,” Thompson. “Four meters the other way, he said. “I’ve got new guy syndrome.” and I would have barely noticed it.”

22 August 2021 | STORIES OF HONOR AFGHANISTAN Veterans reflect on what’s left after war By JULIE WATSON, KEN MILLER AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER “The very first firefight Associated Press we got in was certainly an mages of the World Trade Center towers aha moment.” collapsing in New York were still fresh in the minds of the first American troops Eran Harrill, Oklahoma National Guard Sgt. arriving in Afghanistan, as the U.S. launched an invasion targeting the Af- ghanistan-based al-Qaida leaders who to-shoulder with my male Marine counter- Iplotted the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. More parts” in a time of war. than 800,000 U.S. troops have served in the Still, Brofer can’t say whether the war Central Asian country since then, in a war was worth it. that quickly expanded to confronting Af- “War is ugly. And sometimes it’s nec- ghanistan’s Taliban and to nation-building. essary and it’s not like we can go back and The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, change anything. We can only change how Gen. Scott Miller, relinquished his com- we respond in the future,” she said. “When I mand in Kabul, and the Taliban took terri- was deployed it was already considered then tory and control of the government, quickly the longest war and I think it’s about time ending the “winding down” of America’s that our men and women came home.” longest war. One-third of the roughly 4 million National Guard troops who served in the post-9/11 wars in After the United States launched a sec- Afghanistan and Iraq served multiple tours, ond war, in Iraq, in 2003, Oklahoma Na- some in well-secured bases in times of com- ASSOCIATED PRESS‌ PHOTOS tional Guard Sgt. Eran Harrill was one of parative quiet, others facing improvised hundreds of thousands of Guard members explosive devices on the roads, mortar and Andrew Brennan holds servicemen bracelets at his home in Baltimore. called to duty as an all-volunteer U.S. mili- rocket attacks on their positions and fire- tary strained to fight two wars simultane- fights. While the U.S. quickly succeeded in bracelet in honor of Nichols for nearly a dec- ously. quelling the al-Qaida fighters behind the ade. He has worked to get a memorial wall Harrill fought in 2011 as part of a combat 9/11 attacks, Americans leave with the Tali- built for 9/11 veterans. unit in Afghanistan’s Laghman Province, as ban in control. Many Afghans fear the re- While he honors those who sacrificed the U.S. surged troops in hopes of crippling turn of civil war, or strict Taliban rule, with their lives, he believes it was a senseless war. Afghanistan’s Taliban. A marketing direc- the Western troops’ departure. “What have we ended up with at tor and business development executive The Associated Press talked to some of the end of it, other than trillions spent, in Oklahoma City, he patrolled alongside a the U.S. veterans of Afghanistan as Ameri- 7,000+ Americans dead, and more than mechanic, a K-9 police officer, students and cans withdrew, after nearly 20 years: two broken generations of warriors?” other Oklahomans. Brennan wrote. “The very first firefight we got in was Army veteran “The only stakeholder group that certainly an aha moment” for the citizen learned anything through this entire peri- U.S. Marine veteran Jennifer Brofer outside her For Andrew Brennan, 36, it’s the days apartment in Los Angeles. Brofer, 38, who now soldiers, Harrill said. the painful memories subside that bother od were politicians: They learned that the works in the film industry in Hollywood, said she “I think we did some good there, may- him. A former Army captain who flew com- American population is so removed from feels proud to have served “shoulder-to-shoulder be helped some people and prevented bat missions, Brennan lost their modern day ‘legions’ that they can with my male Marine counterparts” in a time some loss of life,” said Harrill, 38, who one of his closest friends, do anything with our nation’s all-volun- of war. had always wanted to serve in the mili- pilot Bryan Nichols, when teer military and no one will pay attention tary, while some Guard colleagues had his Chinook helicopter was or care enough to change it.” seen it as a way to bring in money for shot down in 2011, killing 30 tively few female Marines to serve in Amer- college. “Was it worth the loss of life we Americans, seven Afghan Marine veteran ica’s longest war. had? I don’t know, that’s for someone else soldiers and one interpreter. Marine veteran Jennifer Brofer will never A public affairs officer, Brofer was to answer.” It was the single deadliest forget the loud, popping noise. charged with documenting the stories of Back home, Harrill served in jobs that day for U.S. troops during It was on a hot July afternoon in 2010 troops. included leading Oklahoma City’s Black BRENNAN the war. when her convoy rolled over an IED on a “Those moments in Afghanistan really Chamber of Commerce. Brennan spent a week road in Helmand Province four months into put everything into perspective for me. Be- He’s developing a directory aimed at helping recover the bodies. her deployment to Afghanistan. Her heart cause I really didn’t fully appreciate all of identifying which employers are most suit- “As much as I hate admitting it, there froze as she and her fellow Marines stopped the luxuries that I had been afforded prior able for members of the military like Na- are days that go by when I don’t think about and realized what had occurred. But what to my deployment,” such as hugs from loved tional Guard members. Bryan, our crew, and the team guys on the followed were only the sounds of daily life. ones, hot showers and driving down a road That’s after seeing Guard members back of that aircraft. And if I don’t think This was a lucky day. without fear of her vehicle exploding, she struggle with bosses unhappy over time about it and I was that close to it, what do “For some reason it did not detonate,” said. away for training and deployment, includ- most Americans think?” the Baltimore man the former staff sergeant said. Brofer, 38, who now works in the televi- ing managers who reached out to a deployed wrote in an email to The Associated Press. It was a defining moment to be that close sion and film industries in Hollywood, said Guard member in the field to threaten him Brennan has worn a Killed in Action to death, said Brofer, one of the compara- she feels proud to have served “shoulder- with firing if he didn’t return.

STORIES OF HONOR | August 2021 23 YOUR SERVICE INSPIRES US! THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS!

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