Sacred Soil Dedication Ceremony (Excerpt)

you when our nation was but a vision of its future greatness a Continental Congress on June 14 1775 authorized the formation of ten companies of light infantry that was the birth of our nation's military six years later on the night of October 14 1781 Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton led a bayonet charge over the abacus to capture redoubt number 10 at Yorktown in the Cullen aiding battle of our war for independence at this time mr. Douglas Hamilton the fifth-generation grandson of Alexander Hamilton will spread soil taken from redoubt ten at Yorktown the granite paver is now being placed on the side there's an inscription of the battle an encased window of soil for posterity nearly 3/4 of a century later we would find ourselves immersed in a great Civil War testing our ability to fulfill the promise of those who secured our independence the bloodiest battle of that horrible war was fought on September 17 1862 at a small place now known as Antietam before the Sun set on that historic date over 25,000 Union and Confederate soldiers mostly infantrymen would become casualties one of the Union heroes wounded that day was private Charles Kemp thorne of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry one of the Confederate heroes that day was criminal Colonel Henry Lewis Benning who led to 2nd and 20th Georgia infantry and a stalwart defense of Burnside Bridge at this time the Honorable Dip Kim thought my apologies the Honorable dick Kempthorne former Secretary of the Interior senator and governor of the state of Idaho and great-grandson of private Charles Kemp Thorne will join mr. Henry Benning piece junior descendant of Henry Lewis Benning in spreading soil taken from the witness tree overlooking Burnside Bridge at Antietam after the turn of the century nations around the world found themselves engaged in the most deadly conflict in history the First World War as the battles in Europe descended into a bloody stalemate of trench warfare the American Expeditionary Forces were deployed to provide much-needed reinforcements before dawn on July 18th 1918 forces from the 1st Infantry Division along with their allies launched an attack from foxholes against enemy trench lines at soir song that battle proved to be the turning point of the war one of the heroes of that fight was lieutenant Samuel Parker who are in the Medal of Honor that day the courage in Darien of the American infantrymen in support of our friends and allies abroad would become a hallmark of his successors in later years one example of that courage was sergeant Alvin York who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions resulting in the capture of an enemy machine-gun nest and it's 32 machine guns while taking a hundred and thirty-two prisoners in the fight at this time Samuel Parker Moss the grandson of lieutenant Samuel Parker and George York the son of sergeant Alvin York will spread soil taken from the French battlefields of World War one less than a generation after the war to end all wars the world found itself entrenched in an even more deadly conflict with the full impact of armored forces and sophisticated air forces with Europe under Nazi control the Allies planned the largest amphibious assault in the history of mankind with landings on Normandy and other beaches On June 6 1944 the sheer courage of the individual infantryman and his leaders secured a foothold on the continent of Europe that would result in unconditional surrender ten months later one of the four medals of Honor earned that day went to Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt jr. who personally led and encouraged the fight off the deadly beaches and secured the high ground for follow-on forces at this time his grandson Theodore Roosevelt the fourth will spread soil taken from Normandy Beach half a world away on February 16th 1945 over 2,000 paratroopers from the 500 and third parachute infantry regiment dropped behind enemy lines simultaneously landing craft carrying nearly a thousand infantrymen from the 34th Infantry Regiment made a coordinated attack on the island fortress of Corregidor the recapture of this critical Philippine island was a turning point in the Pacific War one of the heroes of the fighting in the Philippines who earned his Medal of Honor there was our own hometown hero the late Colonel Bob net infantry soldiers fought these intense battles on Island after Island for nearly four years none was tougher than the battle for Guadalcanal major Charles Davis of the 25th Infantry Division led a furious attack on Japanese positions over a two-day period that broke their resistance and led to a decisive victory for his actions on those days he earned the Medal of Honor at this time his son Kirk Davis will spread soil taken from those bloody beaches where infantrymen of the Pacific Theater fought and died less than five years after the end of the world war two American infantrymen were again fighting alongside allied brothers in arms' this time on the Korean Peninsula over rugged terrain and in frigid temperatures Americans and Korean infantrymen fought side-by-side in what became known as the Forgotten War in Korea there was a hill known as outpost Harry important because it led directly to the capital city of Seoul during the chaotic and interminable night of June 10th 1953 then Sartre matched Master Sergeant ol aleem eyes led to fight to hold outpost Harry despite his unit being outnumbered thirty to one he repeatedly repelled enemy attacks by personal acts of valor and by organizing small groups of resistance for his actions at night he earned the Medal of Honor led from the front by general sun yet packed the south korean infantrymen fought side-by-side with their American counterparts throughout the Korean War as a 30-year old division commander and corps commander he became the most decorated soldier in his nation's history he later became the first four-star general chief of staff chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Republic of Korea army for general Paks personal courage and leadership he twice earned the tegu medal Korea's highest award as well as the US Silver Star he remains today Korea's most respected and revered soldier at this time colonel ola liam eyes and general sun yuk pact will spread soil taken from six historic Korean War battlefields a dozen years later troops trained right here at Fort Benning in the new air mobile warfare were again deployed halfway around the world to a remote land known as Viet Nam soon after arrival this new generation of troops was tested in battle at a place called landing zone x-ray from November 14th through the 16th 1965 the men of 1st the 1st battalion 7th cavalry fought a numerically superior North Vietnamese force in one of the bad Wars fiercest fights under the leadership of then Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and his sergeant major basil Plumlee the enemy forces were defeated and the air mobile concept proved its merit in a baptism by fire at this time general Hal Moore and command sergeant major basil Plumlee well spread soil taken from landing zone x-ray and other battlegrounds in Vietnam beginning with the Allied Coalition of Operation Desert Storm and continuing today American infantrymen have fought in support of the freedom and liberty of our friends and allies in the Middle East today as soldiers are engaged in an epic battle to protect the freedoms their legendary predecessors earned for all Americans as they take the fight to the enemy in the global war on terrorism they have proven themselves to be worthy descendants of their valorous forefathers and they continue in the finest traditions of the infantry as they form the foundation for the next greatest generation at this time command sergeant major Marvin Hill the central command's command sergeant major and general Petraeus's senior enlisted advisor will spread soil taken from battlefields of Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom in doing so he represents all soldiers who have fought and are currently fighting in this heroic battle ladies and gentlemen what you've just witnessed represents the sacrifice of millions of soldiers who have fought and died for the freedom of our great nation has enjoyed over the past 234 years from the Revolutionary War to the desert sands of the Middle East great young Americans have answered the call to defend freedom around the world please join me in recognizing their selfless service you

Channel: The National Infantry Museum

Views: 49,103

Rating: 4.927711 out of 5

Keywords: Ceremony (Quotation Subject), United States Army (Armed Force), Military, Battlegrounds, National Infantry Museum (Location), We Were Soldiers (Film), United States Army Infantry School (Military Post), Soldier (Profession), United States Of America (Country)

Id: CP-lWEqCKgA

Length: 20min 58sec (1258 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 06 2015