Federal prosecutors alleged that Melzer intended to spark a jihadist terror attack on his own unit or any other that took up its location in order to undermine the United States abroad and further the goals of O9A, a largely United Kingdom-based group that has sympathized with al Qaeda. verso bottom right in pencil "Ambush of 173rd airborne / Iron Triangle 9/1965" in pencil on stamp "2/2k8" Signed in pencil on verso lower right: "Tim Page 8/25" Circular stamp on verso lower right: "chromacolour.com.au * / ARCHIVAL / ILFOCHROME / CLASSIC" Cataloguing data may change with further research. [48], On 20 June, Company C, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry (C/2-503) discovered the bodies of a Special Forces CIDG unit that had been missing for four days on Hill 1338, the dominant hill mass south of Dak To. The anguished cries of the wounded are what they remember most. Short Range Ambush Platoon 1968 - 1969. [38], The brigade was the first unit sent into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps, introducing the use of small Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. Published Mar 3, 2023 10:30 PM EST. TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. [The 173rd] were good soldiers and did their fair share, said Steve Stark, who was an artillery liaison specialist with 6th Bn., 29th Artillery, 1st Bde., 4th Inf. On Nov. 20, 1967, Pfc. Yashinski, Michael E. SGT. Task Force Black left Hill 823 to find the PAVN who had attacked B/4-503. Peters, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, is best known for being indicted last year on completely separate charges of election tampering and misconduct, after she allegedly breached voting equipment to try to prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen. In October 2019, Melzer and his unit were deployed to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. This legislation sends a strong message that Florida is a safe place to raise children. 94,278 11 months ago. Women in the military: Moving beyond firsts, Issues with the Armys Europe-based equipment trigger readiness alarms, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Black Vietnam vet at last getting his due: Medal of Honor, Junior NCO promotions have collapsed heres the data, and why, Army artillery officer dies during assignment in Thailand. Division doctors at Dak To kept busy, too, often getting by on only three or four hours of sleep a night. 24. Michael Casey, Clark Dougan, Denis Kennedy, Shelby Stanton, et al., D/16 Official Army History January March, Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 17:39, Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, 161st Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (ABN), 201415 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, 34th Bercsnyi Lszl Special Operations Battalion, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, United States Army Center of Military History, "The United States Army - 173rd Airborne Brigade", The 173rd Airborne Brigade History, Our History, "3d Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment - Lineage and Honors - U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)", "173rd Airborne Brigade becomes a brigade combat team", "Army to pair National Guard, Reserve units with active-duty units", The 173rd Airborne Brigade YouTube Channel, "The United States Army | 173rd Brigade Support Battalion"To Our Utmost", "Texas National Guard Patch Ceremony to initiate Army of One - Texas Military", "Pilot program links Reserve components with active units for training", "174th Infantry Brigade Homepage: History", "On Operations | VietnamWar.govt.nz, New Zealand and the Vietnam War". [5] Under Williamson, the unit trained extensively, making mass parachute jumps. Headquarters, 173rd Airborne Brigade. At 6:58 p.m., a Marine Corps fighter-bomber mistakenly dropped two 500-pound bombs on the U.S. position. In 2020 he was told he would be transferred to a sensitive base in Turkey, which is when he allegedly began plotting the attack. By October, the 173rd, the 4th Infantry Division, and six ARVN battalions were moved to Dak To. NVA snipers made the going slow, but B Company finally reached the perimeter by dusk. In the days leading up to the fight for Hill 875, 4th ID units sought out the enemy south of Dak To. These warnings, however, made little impression on the paratroopers, who were about to become victims of their own overconfidence. arrested for plotting to attack Baltimores energy grid. Melzer and O9A also transmitted this information to a purported member of al Qaeda in order to "maximize" the chances of an attack on his unit or future units at the location, the Justice Department said Friday. A recon patrol made the first contact on Nov. 2, briefly skirmishing with NVA, resulting in one U.S. KIA. A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to provide a Europe-based neo-Nazi, Satanist, and pro-jihadist group by giving it classified information to attack his unit, federal prosecutors said Friday. [3] With combat experience already earned in other similar mountain regions in 2007 and 2008, the Brigade distinguished itself in combat regularly against the Taliban and fought tenaciously against them, while still promoting and attempting to legitimize the Afghan government. One of the most notable units to operate out of a FOB was the brigade's 74th Long-Range Surveillance (LRS) detachment. Div., charging up the south slope. [139], Sixteen soldiers have been awarded the Medal of Honor for service with the 173rd IBCT(A) and its subordinate units. Greeley, a combined search and destroy effort by elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade, and Army of the Republic of (ARVN) 42nd Infantry Regiment and Airborne units. He allegedly pledged his allegiance to O9A and relayed sensitive information about his unit's upcoming deployment including the location, movement and security of the service members. These formations were termed "brigade combat teams". Soon, U.S. air strikes and artillery fire were being called in, but they had little effect on the battle because of the dense foliage on the hillside. Every objective was taken. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team has received 21 campaign streamers and several unit awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Dak To during the Vietnam War. Task Force Gun Devil included Headquarters and Service Battery, 3-319th (including two provisional maneuver platoons); Company D, 2504th; Company B, 1508th; Company A, 1-325th; a military police platoon (4th PLT 13th MP Co.); a rotating Romanian mechanized infantry battalion; a Canadian dismounted infantry company (3rd Bn Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry); and an Afghan National Army company advised by French special forces. Casper platoon was part of the HHC 173rd Airborne Brigade and its members wore the brigade patch. [58] At 10:30, as the Americans moved to within 300 metres (984ft) of the crest, PAVN machine gunners opened fire on the advancing paratroopers. [70] The brigade was inactivated on 14 January 1972 at the fort,[5] and its assets were used to form the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a parachute component within the airmobile 101st. A former U.S. Army private was sentenced on Friday to 45 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to charges that he had shared sensitive information . After. [5], In mid-1968 at the instigation of II Corps commander General L Mng Lan, I Field Force, Vietnam commander General William R. Peers paired with the Brigade with the ARVN 22nd Division in Bnh nh Province in what was almost a replica of Operation Fairfax. "He deserved punishment, but he also deserved the chance to prove he could do something positive with his life. [3][27][28][29][30][31] Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong (VC) quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas". [102] In the early 2007, the 173rd again deployed to Afghanistan, as Task Force Bayonet, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF 0709),[102] their first deployment as a fully transformed brigade combat team. As part of this intensive training, Melzer learned details about the purpose, layout, and security of the Military Base. The brigade served mainly in Kirkuk for the next year. The jungle is laced with vines and thorns, and in it live diverse snakes, a million leeches and about half the mosquitoes in the world. Another historian called the terrain probably the wildest in South Vietnam if not all Southeast Asia., CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR SOCIETY PHOTOS. He was awarded the Medal of Honor nearly 60 years after he was nominated. In May 2020, the Army told Melzer he would be assigned to another unit slated for deployment where they would be guarding a military base. Melzers sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods. (Department of Justice). Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Ethan Phelan Melzer, aka Etil Reggad, 24, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information on June 24, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who imposed todays sentence. Florida parents are worried about the radical, prurient agenda that has become pervasive across most forms of media, specifically targeting young children, Yarborough said in a statement. Mariah Y. Gonzalez). After he was notified of the assignment, Melzer joined his new unit and attended weeks of training, including classified and unclassified briefings, to prepare for the deployment. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. A former member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison on Friday for plotting with a white supremacist group to attack his fellow soldiers, officials . In a strictly military sense, the Dak To fighting has been a victory for the allied forces, war correspondent Peter Arnett was forced to admit in an Associated Press report filed after spending 10 days at the scene. Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect.. Under the direction of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 1/50th formed this special collection of hand picked volunteers. Eric Melzer, a 24-year-old from Kentucky, shared location and layout information about a sensitive U.S. military installation to the violent, anti-government, neo-Nazi organization Order of Nine Angles. It was the first U.S. Army. New. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility within 18 hours. He was arrested by the FBI on June 10, 2022 after investigators claimed he gave sensitive military information to the Order of Nine Angles, a British neo-Nazi Satanist group with pro-Jihadi views that encourages extreme violence in an effort to destabilize society and attempts to overthrow what it views as Jewish control of global culture and economics. Melzer also wrote that he was expecting results and was willing to die to further the agenda of the Order of the Nine Angles. The NVA poured thousands of troops into an area where the borders of Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam meet. The Justice Department will use all available resources to disrupt and bring to justice those who would aid foreign terrorist organizations and use violence to harm our men and women in uniform or any American anywhere., Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. During fierce, close-quarters fighting, some of the paratroopers made it into the PAVN trench line but were ordered to pull back as darkness fell. They earned the nickname Tien Bing (Chinese: ), literally Sky Soldiers, from the Taiwanese paratroopers. Marvinny and two other attorneys on Melzer's defense team argued in a sentencing memo last year that Melzer should get 15 years, plus 10 years' supervised release. Reproduced from VFW Magazine, March 2006 issue, article by Tim Dyhouse. [51][52], The battle around Dak To became more costly as 4-503 of the 173rd was ordered to occupy Hill 823, south of Ben Het Camp, for the construction of Fire Support Base. Within a week these units began to fall apart due to desertions. Five times troopers tried to hold him back, yet Watters persisted in aiding and carrying the wounded back to safety. Soldier charged with plotting 'mass casualty' attack on his own unit", "Army soldier charged with giving classified info to satanic neo-Nazi group", "Press Release - Statement regarding incident in Cheshnegirovo", "Big and Rich talk about inspiration behind their '8 November', "Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0886", "Medal of Honor Recipients Vietnam (A-L)", "Medal of Honor Recipients Vietnam (M-Z)", "Readout of the President's call with Specialist Salvatore Giunta", "Former sergeant to receive Medal of Honor for Afghanistan actions. Artillery support was rendered ineffective by the limited range of visibility. [111] Also in mid-2013, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (ABN) moved from Schweinfurt, Germany to Grafenwoehr, Germany. parade field at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza Italy, to help uncase the colors of the most valorous,. Melzer and his unit also received in-depth training about and practiced for numerous threat scenarios at the Military Base, including how to respond to various potential terrorist attack scenarios. A former soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to plot with a hate group to attack his unit. [25] The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; and the 1st Cavalry Division quickly followed the 173rd into Vietnam, the first of what would eventually be 25 U.S. Army brigades to serve in the country. Because of intense PAVN sniper and mortar fire (and the terrain), it took until nightfall for the relief force to reach the beleaguered battalion. [141][142], Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions as a rifle team leader in Company B, 2503 INF (Airborne) when his squad was caught in a near-ambush the night of 25 October 2007 during Operation Rock Avalanche in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. [50], In response to the destruction of Alpha Company, MACV ordered additional forces into the area. After the brigade finally left South Vietnam in 1971, the greater portion of the province reverted to VC control. The following day, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's (ARVN) elite 1st Airborne Task Force (the 5th and 8th Battalions) and the 3rd Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division (5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry; and an additional infantry battalion) arrived to conduct search and destroy operations north and northeast of Kon Tum. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Read the full press release at the DOJ's website. Although its roughly 4,000 soldiers . 3. . 16 December 1967. In May 2020, Melzer was reassigned to a unit preparing for deployment. [62] Combined with noncombatant losses, this represented one-fifth of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's total strength. The 173rd Airborne Brigade fielded the 1st, 2nd and 4th battalions of the 503rd Inf. Ambush by VC Foiled, March 1970 Ambush by VC Foiled from Vol. Junger later wrote a highly acclaimed book, War, and, with Hetherington, produced the award-winning documentary, Restrepo, about the deployment. [71] These inactivations, along with subsequent reorganization of U.S. Army divisions, saw several divisional brigades stationed in bases that were far from the division's headquarters and support units. Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Attempting for Murder Fellow Service Members in Deadly Ambush. In May 2020, Melzer was informed his unit would be deploying to another overseas location to guard a sensitive U.S. military base. Address: 18458 East Orkney Street, Azusa CA 91702-0219. [W]ho gives a f---? he wrote. Among the first ground combat troops in northern Iraq, Haynes parachuted in this time with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. A former soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to plot with a hate group to attack his unit. Regt. Melzer, a private, was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which was deployed to Italy. Following is a description of the unit which operated from Late Summer of 1968 and was disolved just prior to the Battalion move to Phan Thiet on September 1, 1969. Exactly five years ago today, Veterans from the 173d Airborne Brigade gathered on the. [citation needed]. Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson took command of the unit,[3][25] which was chartered to serve as the quick reaction force for the Pacific Command. 738 173rd Airborne Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights Custom Content EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING BOARDS CART SIGN IN Editorial Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All The proposed bill is the latest among a string of measures targeting trans youth. Leading up to that climactic end, the 173rd Airborne Brigade fought several engagements south of Ben Het. According to the PAC, the maximum penalty for such a "prohibited corporate contribution" is five years in prison and fines of 200% of the value of the contribution. A U.S. soldier wears an Army Airborne patch during military drills in Kazlu Ruda, Lithuania, on March 1, 2022. prosecutors alleged that Melzer intended to spark a jihadist terror attack on his own unit. [78] VCorps was not able to surround Baghdad as quickly as it had hoped because of a lack of available forces in the north. Rick Holmes of C company, 2nd battalion, 503rd infantry, 173rd airborne brigade, sits down on January 3, 1966, in Vietnam. . The brigade also participated in Operation Bayonet Lightning in 2003, capturing weapons and materials that the Department of Defense claimed were possibly for use against coalition forces. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The memo depicted Melzer as a product of neglect, abuse and a troubled family who found himself "in thrall to a bizarre satanic cult" and doubled down on his involvement when subjected to a Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 on base, where he was " drinking heavily, and spending far too much time online.". Air Force). The 173rd Airborne Brigade serves as the conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The training took place at the Yavoriv training center near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. [84] As the preparations for the brigade were in their final stages, it moved 10 trains and 300 trucks worth of equipment to the air base, as well as 120 busloads of soldiers. The dust-offs started coming within 30 minutes. William G. Cromie's medal was presented by Maj.. U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct an ambush on Cypriot troops during a force-on-force squad-level blank fire training exercise in Larnaca, Cyprus, Feb. 16, 2023, as part of Exercise Silver Falcon 23. When his weapon jammed, an NVA bullet ripped into his head. Hebert's patrol was caught in a midnight ambush as it crossed what has become known the "Bridge of Death." For example, Melzer subscribed to encrypted online forums where he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers, in addition to far-right, neo-Nazi, and other white supremacist propaganda. [86] The force had been strung out over a 10,000-yard drop zone, and it took 15 hours before it was completely assembled. [3][24], On 26 March 1963, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) was assigned to the Regular Army and activated on Okinawa. Seven soldiers from the brigade lost their lives during the deployment. The Order of the Nine Angles, a U.K.-based anarchist operation that espouses antisemitic and satanic beliefs, is known for encouraging its membership to infiltrate the military, among other organizations, with the goal of dismantling from within, according to court documents. Accessed 26 November 2015. While stationed abroad, Melzer consumed propaganda from multiple extremist groups, including O9A and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which is also known as ISIS. While there, he consumed extremists propaganda from O9A and the Islamic State. It was then, they contend, that Melzer broadened his extremism diet, consuming propaganda from the group then known as ISIS, or the Islamic State. Masthead | By integrating these support elements, the unit became able to maintain its fighting forces with all that is required to keep the ground soldiers supplied and moving. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. [64], The intense fighting during the Battle of Dak To took a heavy human toll on the 173rd. In fact, the first significant contacts were made by its elements on Nov. 3-4 around Hill 1338. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Opposing them at one time or another were the NVAs 24th, 32nd, 66th and 174th regiments, totaling 7,000 men, constituting the NVA 1st Infantry Division. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. At 06:58 the following morning, Alpha Company began moving alone up a ridge finger and triggered an ambush by the 6th Battalion of the 24th PAVN Regiment. [34] The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment[35] and the 161st Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery[36] were attached to the brigade for one year in 1965. A former Army paratrooper was sentenced to 45 years in prison Friday for plotting with a violent extremist group to ambush and kill members of his own Italy-based unit, federal law enforcement officials said. A class of prime youth shredded in seconds. A second base was opened in Vicenza called Del Din and is the current headquarters of the 173rd. Former Pvt. [25] They took their theme song from the television series Rawhide. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 2/503rd 2014-2015 Supporting the Veterans, Soldiers and Friends of the 4th Infantry Division Since 1919. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. We were surrounded, and we were firing in all directions.. Murdoch's alleged hand-off of the confidential information to Kushner was revealed this week as part of the $1.6 billion Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News and the Fox Corp. Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division. In October 2019, Melzer and his unit were deployed to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The 173rd was also assigned Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry. In September 2014, about 200 soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Regiment, 173rd BDE participated in the Rapid Trident exercise near Lviv in western Ukraine. [47] In August of that year, the brigade received its distinctive unit insignia. [85] Though the brigade's movement was impeded by Italian protestors, the Italian police provided escort operations to the brigade and ensured that it reached the Air Base without incident, and was not significantly delayed. [140] Lloyd G. McCarter and Ray E. Eubanks earned the medal while fighting with the 503rd Infantry in World War II, while 13 other soldiers earned medals fighting under the 173rd in Vietnam; John A. Barnes III, Michael R. Blanchfield, Glenn H. English Jr., Lawrence Joel, Terry T. Kawamura, Carlos J. Lozada, Don L. Michael, Charles B. Morris, Milton L. Olive III, Larry S. Pierce, Laszlo Rabel, Alfred Rascon, and Charles J. The Vietnamese then unleashed B-40 rockets and 57mm recoilless rifle fire on the Americans. Regt. The next day, Pfc. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images), Black Vietnam veteran receives long-awaited Medal of Honor.
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