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Post by fred on Mar 19, 2007 19:16:46 GMT -6
Gordie and Frank--
My omission: he was assigned to G Company 2 days after he enlisted.
Best wishes, Fred.
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Post by conz on Apr 24, 2007 7:42:42 GMT -6
AZ suggested that I post my resume that D.O. had requested for general viewing, so here it is...
I was born in 1956 on Cape Canaveral, as an Army Brat. My father retired as an Ordnance officer with 28 years of service, including in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and I grew up inside the Service, so I come from "everywhere." I spent half my youth overseas.
I didn't get into West Point the first time I applied, my dream (I'm a third generation West Pointer, CMC '26, PCC '53, CEC '79), so I attended the Univ. of Vermont, my home state of record (I only lived there when Dad was in Vietnam, since we couldn't live there <g>), and was a declared English/History major (didn't require declaration as a freshman, but I did anyway, since I was taking all 200 level courses, having gone to a fancy east coast prep school).
Got into West Point the next year, and graduated in 1979 (last all male class) as a would-be Cavalry officer, about 1/3rd down my class in ranking. "General Engineering" degree, with a specialty in History and Foreign Relations. Spent all four years on the Cadet Riding Team at West Point, competing in hunter-jumper events, my only major sport (it took up all my time, all year). Had an old-school, real horse Cavalry Colonel as riding instructor, as well as a wonderful German woman for dressage instruction.
Went through Armor, and then Armored Cavalry basic training at Ft. Knox, and then Ranger School at Ft. Benning, GA (I went through Airborne School as a Cadet earlier). Also did a summer with the 2nd Cavalry in Bamberg, Germany.
Was a LT in Germany, serving as a Scout Platoon Leader, Assistant S3, Tank Company XO, and battalion S2 (Intel Officer), with the 37th Tank Regiment (2-37 Armor in Erlangen, for those who know).
After Armor Officer Advance Course at Ft. Knox, was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas...about 1983. There I served as a Tank Brigade HQ Company commander, and then commander of A Co, 2-8th Cavalry, an M1 Tank Company. Finished my tour there with Division Operations.
After this field time, I was consigned to a Readiness Advisory Group (to train Reserve and National Guard units in Bde/Bn operations), got bored with the cushy assignment, and left the active army...stayed another five years or so as a Reserve officer, promoted to Major.
I spent the next decade as a technical sales and service engineer in the water treatment industry, and about three years ago the Army called me back in as a contractor to do doctrine and training work for the Future Combat Systems organizations the Army will put on line about 2014...that is my current assignment.
So that's my short resume, should it help in identifying my perspective on things. I'm very military, very Republican, and very Hussarish. <g>
I sympathize with Custer and the 7th, and can see the strengths and weaknesses of the men, and the units, at LBH, based on what was written down, and reading between the lines for what is NOT said by the professional military witnesses.
I like George Custer, because I am cut from the same cloth, but he is no demi-God, and made lots of mistakes, both personal, professional, and tactical. He also achieved some incredibly great things in his life. I want to understand both.
My participation here is to see viewpoints that my background could not create, whether I like them or not, and to share the benefits of my peculiar professional military background with the readers here.
My views are not better, nor worse, than any others...they are merely unique due to my background, as are everyone else's. I enjoy reading others views, discussing the pros and cons of them, and trying to reason things out.
Is that the kind of resume you would like to encourage better participation by all in this forum?
How many other former military men/women do we have around here? I believe Fred is former Army, and AZ is former Marine...
Clair
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dan
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by dan on Jun 10, 2007 14:46:12 GMT -6
Hi, I'm Dan. I'm English and I know nothing about baseball. My main "thing" is Victorian military history and my interest here is in the English & Scots at LBH (there were no Welsh that I was aware of).
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jun 10, 2007 15:36:38 GMT -6
Welcome, Dan! I believe you are correct that there were no Welshmen in the 7th Cavalry at that time. There's a good discussion of the ethnicity of the soldiers at www.lbha.org/FeedbackForum/Ethnicity.htm
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Post by elisabeth on Jun 11, 2007 2:06:57 GMT -6
Hi, Dan, from a fellow Brit. Great to have company in knowing nothing whatsoever about baseball!
Actually, there was one solitary Welshman: William B. James, a sergeant in Co. E, from Pembrokeshire. (I only know this because I've just been reading a back issue of The Crow's Nest, the CAGB's newsletter, which has a big article about him by Peter Russell. It's the Spring/Summer 2004 issue, Volume 4 Number 1, if you're interested.)
I wonder why there were so few. Was there less emigration from Wales than from the rest of Great Britain? Or did the Welsh emigrants gravitate towards other jobs?
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Post by Diane Merkel on Jun 11, 2007 6:52:03 GMT -6
I stand corrected. Now I'm trying to figure out why a Google search of the website didn't pick up "Wales." Oh, no, Google isn't infallible!
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Post by fred on Jun 26, 2007 15:04:49 GMT -6
In my usual, "I'm in a hurry"-rush, I just noticed this. For anyone interested, here's your breakdown:
1. Ireland 97 (16.84%) 2. Prussia/Germany 76 (13.2%) 3. England 25 (4.3%) 4. Canada 11 (1.9%) 5. Scotland 7 (1.2%) 5. Switzerland 7 (1.2%) 7. Denmark 6 (1.1%) 8. France 3 (0.5%) 8. Italy 3 (0.5%) 10. Sweden 2 (0.4%) 10. Norway 2 (0.4%) 12. Wales 1 (0.2%) Australia 1 (0.2%) Spain 1 (0.2%) Russia 1 (0.2%) Poland 1 (0.2%) Greece 1 (0.2%) Hungary 1 (0.2%)
As for the Welshman:
SGT James, William Batine – b. Pencnwc Farm, in the parish of Dinas (midway between the port of Fishguard and the medieval town of Newport), County of Pembrokeshire, Wales, 3Mar49. Hazel eyes, light hair, light complexion; 5’9” tall. Enlisted 5Feb72. Civilian occupation was coachman. Promoted to corporal on 27Jan75 and to sergeant on 3Mar76. KIA • He was the 6th of 9 children and the oldest boy. His parents were John James, a farmer, and Eleanor Batine, married on 2Mar39 at Haverfordwest. * The James family had lived in Pembrokeshire for centuries and claimed direct descent from the ancient earls of Ormonde. * After their marriage, the James’ set up home at Pencnwc where they farmed 80 acres. • John James died suddenly in 1863 at the age of 51. Under the terms of the father’s will, the various leases and property he owned were liquidated and the proceeds invested in stocks and public bonds of Great Britain to produce an income for Eleanor and the children. One brother and 2 sisters subsequently died and were buried with the father in Bryn Henllan Cemetery near Dinas Cross. Eleanor lived on in Swansea, South Wales, with her only surviving son, John Clement James, and she died there on 2Mar85 at the age of 73. * John, a bachelor, died at Swansea on 17May1903 at the age of 52 and was buried with his mother at Bryn Henllan. He was the last in the line of the Pencnwc James’, so the male line of the family died out. • Having worked as a builder or carpenter in Narberth, about 10 miles east of Haverfordwest, William, fluent in Welsh and probably English, sailed for America in 1870. He wound up in Chicago. • One of his great-uncles was a major-general in the Indian Army. Another uncle, Francis Batine, was an ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot. • Served in the 1873 Yellowstone Campaign, the 1874 Black Hills Expedition, and in Alabama in 1875 before his company returned to D. T. and its station at Fort Totten. The unit arrived at Abraham Lincoln on 17Apr76 for the campaign against the Sioux. • Chances are, he was killed in Deep Ravine.
Best wishes, Fred.
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Post by BrokenSword on Jun 26, 2007 16:10:02 GMT -6
Dan & Elizabeth-
Elizabeth- "I wonder why there were so few. Was there less emigration from Wales than from the rest of Great Britain? Or did the Welsh emigrants gravitate towards other jobs?"
For what its worth-
The Welsh immigrated to this country (as other nationalities have) in 'waves' during the 18th & 19th centuries - reflecting economic, social or religious difficulties in their native lands. It would appear that experienced iron and steel workers as well as miners of all types were in heavy demand in those years and the Welsh expertise in those areas fit the pistol perfectly. Iron and steel making industries were beginning to soar about mid-19th Century.
During the ACW all general immigration was halted with the exception of Welsh (and Cornish) miners and iron/steel workers. Those skills as well as well organized Welsh support communities provided those immigrants something of a leg up on other nationalities.
Iron and steel-making skills seem to have made them the 'high-tech' skilled job applicants of their day. Steel and iron forging need fire and alot of it - coal mining boomed as well.
M
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Post by romulus on Jul 18, 2007 20:35:12 GMT -6
I've just joined, but I've been a military history fan since I was a child. Firstly the Civil War got me in, and this moved to the Indian wars which, of course, included GAC. I've read many books about him, the latest being Little Bighorn & Isandlwana by Paul Williams, a fascinating read.
R
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