Freedomrsquos Voice The Monthly Newsletter of the

Military History Center 112 N Main ST

Broken Arrow OK 74012 httpwwwokmhcorg

ldquoPromoting Patriotism through the Preservation of Military Historyrdquo

Volume 6 Number 1 January 2018

Important Date

March 15 ndash Oklahoma Vietnam Veterans Day

The MHC will host its annual Oklahoma Vietnam Veterans Day observance in the evening of Thursday March 15 The February newsletter will contain detailed information In the meantime please mark your calendars and plan to attend this important patriotic event

Wreaths Across America

MSGT Vincent Donaldson (US Army Ret) Susan Virdell Dan Eiler Teresa Eiler and Lindsey Donaldson

Wreaths Across America is a national volunteer organiza-tion ldquoEach December on National Wreaths Across America Day our mission to Remember Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington Na-tional Cemetery as well as over 1200 additional locations in all fifty US states at sea and abroadrdquo

In 2017 Wreaths Across America Day was December 16 Lindsey Donaldson (MHC volunteer) organized a group of volun-teers to lay wreaths on veteransrsquo graves in Floral Haven Memo-rial Gardens in Broken Arrow MHC docents Mitch Reed and Janet Viel and MHC volunteer Susan Virdell were among the volunteers

The MHC congratulates Ms Donaldson and all other volun-teers for their patriotism and generosity of time in performing this important patriotic activity

MHC volunteer Susan Virdell laying a wreath on a veteranrsquos grave ndash Wreaths Across America Day

Museum Hours and Admission Fee

Tuesday ndash Friday 1000 ndash 400 Saturday 1000 ndash 200 Closed Sunday and Monday and major Federal holidays

Adults ndash $500 Members and Children under 18 ndash Free

For more information call (918) 794-2712

wwwokmhcorg

Support the Military History Center

We believe the MHC provides a valuable service to the lo-cal community especially to veterans and students by ldquoPro-moting Patriotism through the Preservation of Military His-toryrdquo We ask for your financial support to help the MHC con-tinue our educational endeavors and to help our ongoing mis-sion of promoting patriotism and honoring our veterans for the sacrifices they have made and are making to keep Amer-ica free

For more information please contact the Military History Center at (918) 794-2712 to learn how you can be a financial supporter or click on the link below to go to the MHC website at wwwokmhcorgdonate

Monetary donations as well as gifts in kind are tax de-ductible subject to IRS regulations

MHC Christmas Party

The MHC held its annual Christmas party on December 21 MHC Presi-dent Tom Mancino addresses the attendees From left to right Peter Plank (Board Secretary) Dennis Hoch (docent) Jean Bailie (MHC Execu-tive Assistant) Tom Mancino Ken Collins (docent in the doorway) and Claudia Price (volunteer)

TU Honors Hometown Hero

MHC docent Dennis Hoch Oscar ldquoJuniorrdquo Nipps and TU Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr Derrick Gragg

At a basketball game on January 14 University of Tulsa paid tribute to World War II veteran Oscar ldquoJuniorrdquo Nipps as their South Pointe Auto Mall Hometown Hero As a trooper of the 5th Cavalry ldquoBlack Knightsrdquo Regiment 1st Cavalry Division he was one of the liberators of the Philippines in 1945 When Junior was introduced the crowd burst into sustained cheering and ap-plause Patriotism is alive and well among TU fans The MHC congratulates Junior on receipt of this special honor He is a native of Broken Arrow who spends most of his spare time at the MHC where we affectionately refer to him as our living artifact

Hero of Samar

Gunners Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr

Paul Henry Carr was born at Webbers Falls (Muskogee County) Oklahoma on February 13 1924 He was living in Checotah (McIntosh County) Oklahoma when he enlisted in the Navy on June 29 1942

On October 25 1944 he was serving as a Gunnerrsquos Mate Third Class on the destroyer escort Samuel B Roberts (DE-413) or Sammy B as her crew called her On that day Task Unit 7743 of which Sammy B was a part engaged a superior Japa-nese force off the eastern Philippine island of Samar Carr served as the gun mount captain of the aft 5-inch gun In Sammy Brsquos final action he led his gun mount team in firing 324 rounds in thirty-five minutes GM3 Carr was found dying at his station gripping the last unfired round Soon afterwards the Japanese commander lost his nerve and retired from the battle giving the Americans a victory and saving the Leyte landing force from po-tentially severe damage

GM3 Paul Henry Carr was buried at sea His name is en-graved on the Tablets of the Missing in Manila American Ceme-tery He was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for his actions during the battle The heroic young sailor was just twenty years old Samuel B Roberts finally sank from the pounding she re-ceived from the much heavier Japanese guns The 120 surviving crew members spent fifty hours in life rafts before rescue On July 27 1985 the Navy commissioned the frigate USS Carr (FFG-52) in honor of the World War II hero Carr was de-commissioned on March 13 2013 and eventually sold to the government of Taiwan

GM3 Carrrsquos memorial in Greenlawn Cemetery Checotah Oklahoma

The Tet Offensive

Fifty years ago this month at dawn on January 30 1968 on the first day of the Tet holiday truce Viet Cong forces supported by large numbers of North Vietnamese troops launched their largest and best coordinated offensive of the Vietnam War up to that time They pushed into the center of South Vietnamrsquos seven largest cities and attacked thirty provincial capitals from the Delta to the DMZ Among the cities taken during the first four days of the offensive were Hue Dalat Kontum and Quang Tri In the north all five provincial capitals were overrun At the same time enemy forces shelled numerous Allied airfields and bases In Saigon a 19-man Viet Cong suicide squad seized the US Em-bassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of US para-troopers landed by helicopter on the buildingrsquos roof and killed them Nearly 1000 Viet Cong were believed to have infiltrated Saigon and it took a week of intense fighting by an estimated 11000 US and South Vietnamese troops to dislodge them

By February 10 the offensive was largely crushed except at Hue but with heavy casualties on both sides The former impe-rial capital of Hue required almost a month of savage house-to-house combat to regain Efforts to assess the offensiversquos impact began well before the fighting ended On February 2 President Johnson announced that the Viet Cong had suffered complete military defeat General Westmoreland echoed that appraisal four days later in a statement declaring that Allied forces had killed more enemy troops in the previous seven days than the United States had lost in the entire war up to that time

Militarily Tet was decidedly an AmericanSouth Vietnamese victory but psychologically and politically it was a disaster The offensive was a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese but the size and scope of the communist attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese by surprise The early reporting of a smashing communist victory went largely uncorrected in the media and led to a psychological vic-tory for the communists The heavy US and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive coupled with the disil-lusionment over the earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war accelerated the growing disenchantment with Presi-dent Johnsonrsquos conduct of the war Johnson frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam announced on March 31 1968 that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election (Historycom)

US Marines move through the hamlet of Dai Do after several days of intense fighting

Oklahoma Okie

1LT Leonard L Cox

Leonard Lorenza Cox was born at Sand Springs Oklahoma on May 10 1915 His family later moved to Tulsa where he graduated from high school He graduated from Oklahoma AampM College (now Oklahoma State University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 Cox joined the Army Air Force in 1941 He at-tended flight school at the AAF Central Flying Commandrsquos 2549th Army Air Force Base Unit at Chickasha Field (now Chickasha Mu-nicipal Airport) Chickasha Oklahoma He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Force on September 15 1941 By 1943 Cox was a first lieutenant assigned to the 324th Bom-bardment Squadron 91st Bombardment Group (H) Eighth Air Force stationed at Bassingbourn England Oklahoma Okie was 1LT Coxrsquos third B-17 The first two had been heavily damaged in combat and removed from service Cox was flying his second ship on a bombing mission over Germany on May 21 1943 His Distinguished Service Cross Citation describes what happened on his way back to base

ldquoThe President of the United States of America authorized by Act of Congress July 9 1918 takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Leon-ard L Cox (ASN 0-422385) United States Army Air Forces for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-17 Heavy Bomber in the 324th Bombardment Squadron 91st Bombard-ment Group (H) EIGHTH Air Force while participating in a bomb-ing mission over Germany on 21 May 1943 against enemy ground targets in the European Theater of Operations The air-craft which he was piloting was seriously damaged by enemy fire and as a result was unable to stay in flying formation with the remainder of the group On the return trip to a friendly air base Lieutenant Cox sighted a badly crippled aircraft being attacked by enemy fighters In spite of the condition of his own aircraft he immediately elected to remain with the other aircraft which had exhausted its ammunition supply and give it protection Af-ter a long flight he successfully warded off the enemy attack and accompanied the crippled aircraft to the point where its crew were forced to abandon it in the sea After assuring himself that the crew were safe in their dinghies he returned to a friendly air

base meanwhile making arrangements for their rescue The out-standing courage and self-sacrifice displayed by Lieutenant Cox on this occasion reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United Statesrdquo

When Cox received his newly delivered B-17F a few days later he named her Oklahoma Okie In 1943 ldquoOkierdquo still had negative connotations originating from the Dust Bowl Era Cox hoped to change ldquoOkierdquo from a name of shame and ridicule to one of pride

By July 1943 Cox had completed his required twenty-five missions In addition to the DSC he was awarded four Air Med-als while flying in the European Theater Instead of taking a desk job or training assignment he chose to learn to fly the newest Air Force bomber the B-29 Superfortress His next combat as-signment was with the 869th Bomb Squadron 597th Bomb Group XXI Bomber Command Twentieth Air Force stationed on Tinian in the Mariana Islands On January 14 1945 now Captain Cox was commander of a B-29 named Pacific Union His mission that day was Nagoya Japan

The early B-29s were plagued by frequent mechanical issues including unexplained engine fires The engines were under maximum stress on take-off and while climbing to cruising alti-tude fully loaded with fuel and bombs Not long after take-off northwest of the Marianas Pacific Unionrsquos number three engine caught fire Cox jettisoned the bombs in preparation for a return to base but fragments from the burning engine struck the air-craft damaging it Cox attempted to ditch in the ocean but the center section of the B-29 exploded just before she struck the water Captain Cox and five crewmen were killed The other four crew members were rescued by the Navy about a third of the way from the Marianas to Iwo Jima

The lost crewmembersrsquo names are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pa-cific at Honolulu

On December 31 1943 Oklahoma Okie flew her last mission destined for Bordeaux France The bomber flight was instead diverted to Cognac to bomb a German air base Oklahoma Okie was shot down by antiaircraft fire and crashed with no survivors near the village of Lesperon

The names of the crew of Oklahoma Okie are inscribed on a memorial in a churchyard in Lesperon France

Battle of New Orleans

The 7th Infantry Regiment defending the right of the American line at the Battle of New Orleans In the bottom left foreground two of Jean Lafittersquos pirates are shown servicing the gun Several of his men were expert artillerymen The 7th Infantry is the United Statesrsquo fifth oldest continuously serving regular army regiment Because the regiment fought behind a breastwork of cotton bales at New Orleans its first ma-jor battle it later adopted ldquoCottonbalersrdquo as the regimental nickname

The Battle of New Orleans was the final and most important battle of the War of 1812 It was actually a series of battles fought between December 14 1814 and January 18 1815 The most important and decisive of the battles and the one that eve-ryone remembers occurred on January 8 two hundred three years ago this month

The war is sometimes called the second American Revolution because the British had not accepted the outcome of the first one Over the following years the British navy had impressed (kidnapped) more than 5000 sailors off American merchant ships They had stirred up and armed the Indian tribes on the frontier Neither did they accept Napoleonrsquos right to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States They believed it still rightfully belonged to Spain A peace treaty was signed at Ghent in Flanders (now in Belgium) on December 24 1814 Word did not reach the United States until February 14 when President Madison received the treaty The Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 15 formally ending the war The treaty not-withstanding the British intended to keep New Orleans and con-trol of the lower Mississippi River had they captured the city

Major General Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee militia com-manded a motley force of two under-strength regular army reg-iments ndash 7th and 44th ndash a company of marines the West Tennes-see militia including a small cavalry force contingents of the Louisiana militia including the New Orleans free black battalion 2000 Kentucky militiamen who arrived mostly unarmed a com-pany of Mississippi territorial dragoons local citizen volunteers a contingent of fewer than 100 Choctaw warriors and part of Jean Lafittersquos pirate gang Altogether he had about 5300 men They made their stand behind an 800-yard long line called Rodri-quez Canal in reality an enlarged drainage ditch An earthen berm reinforced in places with cotton bales was constructed behind the canal Jackson faced about 6000 British soldiers fresh from easy victories around Washington including burning the public buildings in the capital They were reinforced by four West Indian regiments mostly Jamaicans and a battalion of Highlanders sent from Spain The British were commanded by

General Sir Edward Packenham a brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington and a proven commander who had won battlefield honors in the Napoleonic wars The battle on January 8 opened when Pakenham launched an early morning attack all along the line American cannon and rifle fire raked the massed British infantry Few British soldiers actually reached the earthen berm The earthworks and barri-cades of cotton bales were so effective that fighting lasted only half an hour The British suffered 2037 casualties 291 killed including Packenham and many of his officers 1262 wounded and 484 captured The Americans suffered just thirteen dead thirty-nine wounded and nineteen captured

Louisiana militiaman Jean Hyacinthe de Laclotte painted this scene of the battle from sketches and notes he made during the fighting

At mid-day the British asked for a truce to retrieve their wounded and bury their dead They withdrew from the field ten days later New Orleans and the American west were saved The British never again challenged the United Statesrsquo right to in-dependence Secretary of War James Monroe wrote History records no example of so glorious a victory obtained with so lit-tle bloodshed on the part of the victoriousrdquo

Repulse of the Highlanders by Col Charles H Waterhouse USMCR de-picts United States Marines repulsing redcoats of the 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland Highlanders) The participation of marines in the Bat-tle of New Orleans is almost unknown outside the Marine Corps Formed in 1799 the Sutherland Highlanders have a storied history in the British army When the Army was reorganized in 2006 the regi-ment was made a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

Oklahoma Vietnam War MIAs

This month and over the next eleven months we will be tell-ing the stories of Oklahomarsquos thirty Vietnam War MIAs whose remains have not been recovered The stories will be featured in the month the MIA went missing or was confirmed KIA The names of all the MIAs are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Hon-olulu Hawaii and for those confirmed or presumed dead on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC

Missing in action does not mean that the Defense Depart-ment doesnrsquot know what happened to the service man MIA means only that his remains have not been recovered A great many MIAs sailors lost at sea for instance have been confirmed by witnesses to have been killed or were aboard ship when it sank On the other hand many Vietnam War MIAs have not been accounted for and we donrsquot know exactly what happened to them

Captain James P Gauley ndash MIA

James Paul Gauley was born at Ringwood (Major County) Oklahoma on March 22 1939 He entered the Air Force in 1961 In 1967 he was assigned to the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron 288th Tactical Fighter Wing Seventh Air Force based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand He was a fighter pilot fly-ing F-105 Thunderchiefs On January 10 1967 his mission took him over the Plain of Jars in northern Laos where he was shot down by ground fire Witnesses report that his parachute failed to open after he ejected His body was never recovered

A memorial has been erected for Captain Gauley in Memorial Park Cemetery at Enid Oklahoma

First Lieutenant Wayne C Irsch ndash MIA

Wayne Charles Irsch was born at Tulsa Oklahoma on April 25 1942 He was a graduate of Central High School where he was a star athlete He entered the Air Force on September 25 1965

On January 8 1968 he was a 1st Lieutenant assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Night Owls Squadron 8th Tactical Fighter ldquoWolfpackrdquo Wing Seventh Air Force based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base On that day his mission was interdiction of North Vietnamese traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeast-ern Laos 1LT Irsch was piloting an F-4 Phantom His backseat man was LT Colonel Norman M Green As the Phantom made its target run it was hit and disabled by intensive 37mm anti-aircraft fire from the gun he was attacking

The crash site was soon discovered but no sign of life Itrsquos not known whether the two airmen were killed in the crash or were able to eject and were captured In either case the Laoti-ans never claimed them as prisoners and neither have their re-mains been recovered

On January 9 1974 the Air Force declared 1LT Irsch pre-sumed dead and promoted him to Captain He has a memorial headstone In Fort Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Captain Irschrsquos Memorial headstone Ft Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Oklahoma Okie

1LT Leonard L Cox

Leonard Lorenza Cox was born at Sand Springs Oklahoma on May 10 1915 His family later moved to Tulsa where he graduated from high school He graduated from Oklahoma AampM College (now Oklahoma State University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 Cox joined the Army Air Force in 1941 He at-tended flight school at the AAF Central Flying Commandrsquos 2549th Army Air Force Base Unit at Chickasha Field (now Chickasha Mu-nicipal Airport) Chickasha Oklahoma He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Force on September 15 1941 By 1943 Cox was a first lieutenant assigned to the 324th Bom-bardment Squadron 91st Bombardment Group (H) Eighth Air Force stationed at Bassingbourn England Oklahoma Okie was 1LT Coxrsquos third B-17 The first two had been heavily damaged in combat and removed from service Cox was flying his second ship on a bombing mission over Germany on May 21 1943 His Distinguished Service Cross Citation describes what happened on his way back to base

ldquoThe President of the United States of America authorized by Act of Congress July 9 1918 takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Leon-ard L Cox (ASN 0-422385) United States Army Air Forces for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-17 Heavy Bomber in the 324th Bombardment Squadron 91st Bombard-ment Group (H) EIGHTH Air Force while participating in a bomb-ing mission over Germany on 21 May 1943 against enemy ground targets in the European Theater of Operations The air-craft which he was piloting was seriously damaged by enemy fire and as a result was unable to stay in flying formation with the remainder of the group On the return trip to a friendly air base Lieutenant Cox sighted a badly crippled aircraft being attacked by enemy fighters In spite of the condition of his own aircraft he immediately elected to remain with the other aircraft which had exhausted its ammunition supply and give it protection Af-ter a long flight he successfully warded off the enemy attack and accompanied the crippled aircraft to the point where its crew were forced to abandon it in the sea After assuring himself that the crew were safe in their dinghies he returned to a friendly air

base meanwhile making arrangements for their rescue The out-standing courage and self-sacrifice displayed by Lieutenant Cox on this occasion reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United Statesrdquo

When Cox received his newly delivered B-17F a few days later he named her Oklahoma Okie In 1943 ldquoOkierdquo still had negative connotations originating from the Dust Bowl Era Cox hoped to change ldquoOkierdquo from a name of shame and ridicule to one of pride

By July 1943 Cox had completed his required twenty-five missions In addition to the DSC he was awarded four Air Med-als while flying in the European Theater Instead of taking a desk job or training assignment he chose to learn to fly the newest Air Force bomber the B-29 Superfortress His next combat as-signment was with the 869th Bomb Squadron 597th Bomb Group XXI Bomber Command Twentieth Air Force stationed on Tinian in the Mariana Islands On January 14 1945 now Captain Cox was commander of a B-29 named Pacific Union His mission that day was Nagoya Japan

The early B-29s were plagued by frequent mechanical issues including unexplained engine fires The engines were under maximum stress on take-off and while climbing to cruising alti-tude fully loaded with fuel and bombs Not long after take-off northwest of the Marianas Pacific Unionrsquos number three engine caught fire Cox jettisoned the bombs in preparation for a return to base but fragments from the burning engine struck the air-craft damaging it Cox attempted to ditch in the ocean but the center section of the B-29 exploded just before she struck the water Captain Cox and five crewmen were killed The other four crew members were rescued by the Navy about a third of the way from the Marianas to Iwo Jima

The lost crewmembersrsquo names are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pa-cific at Honolulu

On December 31 1943 Oklahoma Okie flew her last mission destined for Bordeaux France The bomber flight was instead diverted to Cognac to bomb a German air base Oklahoma Okie was shot down by antiaircraft fire and crashed with no survivors near the village of Lesperon

The names of the crew of Oklahoma Okie are inscribed on a memorial in a churchyard in Lesperon France

Battle of New Orleans

The 7th Infantry Regiment defending the right of the American line at the Battle of New Orleans In the bottom left foreground two of Jean Lafittersquos pirates are shown servicing the gun Several of his men were expert artillerymen The 7th Infantry is the United Statesrsquo fifth oldest continuously serving regular army regiment Because the regiment fought behind a breastwork of cotton bales at New Orleans its first ma-jor battle it later adopted ldquoCottonbalersrdquo as the regimental nickname

The Battle of New Orleans was the final and most important battle of the War of 1812 It was actually a series of battles fought between December 14 1814 and January 18 1815 The most important and decisive of the battles and the one that eve-ryone remembers occurred on January 8 two hundred three years ago this month

The war is sometimes called the second American Revolution because the British had not accepted the outcome of the first one Over the following years the British navy had impressed (kidnapped) more than 5000 sailors off American merchant ships They had stirred up and armed the Indian tribes on the frontier Neither did they accept Napoleonrsquos right to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States They believed it still rightfully belonged to Spain A peace treaty was signed at Ghent in Flanders (now in Belgium) on December 24 1814 Word did not reach the United States until February 14 when President Madison received the treaty The Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 15 formally ending the war The treaty not-withstanding the British intended to keep New Orleans and con-trol of the lower Mississippi River had they captured the city

Major General Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee militia com-manded a motley force of two under-strength regular army reg-iments ndash 7th and 44th ndash a company of marines the West Tennes-see militia including a small cavalry force contingents of the Louisiana militia including the New Orleans free black battalion 2000 Kentucky militiamen who arrived mostly unarmed a com-pany of Mississippi territorial dragoons local citizen volunteers a contingent of fewer than 100 Choctaw warriors and part of Jean Lafittersquos pirate gang Altogether he had about 5300 men They made their stand behind an 800-yard long line called Rodri-quez Canal in reality an enlarged drainage ditch An earthen berm reinforced in places with cotton bales was constructed behind the canal Jackson faced about 6000 British soldiers fresh from easy victories around Washington including burning the public buildings in the capital They were reinforced by four West Indian regiments mostly Jamaicans and a battalion of Highlanders sent from Spain The British were commanded by

General Sir Edward Packenham a brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington and a proven commander who had won battlefield honors in the Napoleonic wars The battle on January 8 opened when Pakenham launched an early morning attack all along the line American cannon and rifle fire raked the massed British infantry Few British soldiers actually reached the earthen berm The earthworks and barri-cades of cotton bales were so effective that fighting lasted only half an hour The British suffered 2037 casualties 291 killed including Packenham and many of his officers 1262 wounded and 484 captured The Americans suffered just thirteen dead thirty-nine wounded and nineteen captured

Louisiana militiaman Jean Hyacinthe de Laclotte painted this scene of the battle from sketches and notes he made during the fighting

At mid-day the British asked for a truce to retrieve their wounded and bury their dead They withdrew from the field ten days later New Orleans and the American west were saved The British never again challenged the United Statesrsquo right to in-dependence Secretary of War James Monroe wrote History records no example of so glorious a victory obtained with so lit-tle bloodshed on the part of the victoriousrdquo

Repulse of the Highlanders by Col Charles H Waterhouse USMCR de-picts United States Marines repulsing redcoats of the 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland Highlanders) The participation of marines in the Bat-tle of New Orleans is almost unknown outside the Marine Corps Formed in 1799 the Sutherland Highlanders have a storied history in the British army When the Army was reorganized in 2006 the regi-ment was made a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

Oklahoma Vietnam War MIAs

This month and over the next eleven months we will be tell-ing the stories of Oklahomarsquos thirty Vietnam War MIAs whose remains have not been recovered The stories will be featured in the month the MIA went missing or was confirmed KIA The names of all the MIAs are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Hon-olulu Hawaii and for those confirmed or presumed dead on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC

Missing in action does not mean that the Defense Depart-ment doesnrsquot know what happened to the service man MIA means only that his remains have not been recovered A great many MIAs sailors lost at sea for instance have been confirmed by witnesses to have been killed or were aboard ship when it sank On the other hand many Vietnam War MIAs have not been accounted for and we donrsquot know exactly what happened to them

Captain James P Gauley ndash MIA

James Paul Gauley was born at Ringwood (Major County) Oklahoma on March 22 1939 He entered the Air Force in 1961 In 1967 he was assigned to the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron 288th Tactical Fighter Wing Seventh Air Force based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand He was a fighter pilot fly-ing F-105 Thunderchiefs On January 10 1967 his mission took him over the Plain of Jars in northern Laos where he was shot down by ground fire Witnesses report that his parachute failed to open after he ejected His body was never recovered

A memorial has been erected for Captain Gauley in Memorial Park Cemetery at Enid Oklahoma

First Lieutenant Wayne C Irsch ndash MIA

Wayne Charles Irsch was born at Tulsa Oklahoma on April 25 1942 He was a graduate of Central High School where he was a star athlete He entered the Air Force on September 25 1965

On January 8 1968 he was a 1st Lieutenant assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Night Owls Squadron 8th Tactical Fighter ldquoWolfpackrdquo Wing Seventh Air Force based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base On that day his mission was interdiction of North Vietnamese traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeast-ern Laos 1LT Irsch was piloting an F-4 Phantom His backseat man was LT Colonel Norman M Green As the Phantom made its target run it was hit and disabled by intensive 37mm anti-aircraft fire from the gun he was attacking

The crash site was soon discovered but no sign of life Itrsquos not known whether the two airmen were killed in the crash or were able to eject and were captured In either case the Laoti-ans never claimed them as prisoners and neither have their re-mains been recovered

On January 9 1974 the Air Force declared 1LT Irsch pre-sumed dead and promoted him to Captain He has a memorial headstone In Fort Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Captain Irschrsquos Memorial headstone Ft Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Battle of New Orleans

The 7th Infantry Regiment defending the right of the American line at the Battle of New Orleans In the bottom left foreground two of Jean Lafittersquos pirates are shown servicing the gun Several of his men were expert artillerymen The 7th Infantry is the United Statesrsquo fifth oldest continuously serving regular army regiment Because the regiment fought behind a breastwork of cotton bales at New Orleans its first ma-jor battle it later adopted ldquoCottonbalersrdquo as the regimental nickname

The Battle of New Orleans was the final and most important battle of the War of 1812 It was actually a series of battles fought between December 14 1814 and January 18 1815 The most important and decisive of the battles and the one that eve-ryone remembers occurred on January 8 two hundred three years ago this month

The war is sometimes called the second American Revolution because the British had not accepted the outcome of the first one Over the following years the British navy had impressed (kidnapped) more than 5000 sailors off American merchant ships They had stirred up and armed the Indian tribes on the frontier Neither did they accept Napoleonrsquos right to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States They believed it still rightfully belonged to Spain A peace treaty was signed at Ghent in Flanders (now in Belgium) on December 24 1814 Word did not reach the United States until February 14 when President Madison received the treaty The Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 15 formally ending the war The treaty not-withstanding the British intended to keep New Orleans and con-trol of the lower Mississippi River had they captured the city

Major General Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee militia com-manded a motley force of two under-strength regular army reg-iments ndash 7th and 44th ndash a company of marines the West Tennes-see militia including a small cavalry force contingents of the Louisiana militia including the New Orleans free black battalion 2000 Kentucky militiamen who arrived mostly unarmed a com-pany of Mississippi territorial dragoons local citizen volunteers a contingent of fewer than 100 Choctaw warriors and part of Jean Lafittersquos pirate gang Altogether he had about 5300 men They made their stand behind an 800-yard long line called Rodri-quez Canal in reality an enlarged drainage ditch An earthen berm reinforced in places with cotton bales was constructed behind the canal Jackson faced about 6000 British soldiers fresh from easy victories around Washington including burning the public buildings in the capital They were reinforced by four West Indian regiments mostly Jamaicans and a battalion of Highlanders sent from Spain The British were commanded by

General Sir Edward Packenham a brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington and a proven commander who had won battlefield honors in the Napoleonic wars The battle on January 8 opened when Pakenham launched an early morning attack all along the line American cannon and rifle fire raked the massed British infantry Few British soldiers actually reached the earthen berm The earthworks and barri-cades of cotton bales were so effective that fighting lasted only half an hour The British suffered 2037 casualties 291 killed including Packenham and many of his officers 1262 wounded and 484 captured The Americans suffered just thirteen dead thirty-nine wounded and nineteen captured

Louisiana militiaman Jean Hyacinthe de Laclotte painted this scene of the battle from sketches and notes he made during the fighting

At mid-day the British asked for a truce to retrieve their wounded and bury their dead They withdrew from the field ten days later New Orleans and the American west were saved The British never again challenged the United Statesrsquo right to in-dependence Secretary of War James Monroe wrote History records no example of so glorious a victory obtained with so lit-tle bloodshed on the part of the victoriousrdquo

Repulse of the Highlanders by Col Charles H Waterhouse USMCR de-picts United States Marines repulsing redcoats of the 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland Highlanders) The participation of marines in the Bat-tle of New Orleans is almost unknown outside the Marine Corps Formed in 1799 the Sutherland Highlanders have a storied history in the British army When the Army was reorganized in 2006 the regi-ment was made a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

Oklahoma Vietnam War MIAs

This month and over the next eleven months we will be tell-ing the stories of Oklahomarsquos thirty Vietnam War MIAs whose remains have not been recovered The stories will be featured in the month the MIA went missing or was confirmed KIA The names of all the MIAs are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Hon-olulu Hawaii and for those confirmed or presumed dead on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC

Missing in action does not mean that the Defense Depart-ment doesnrsquot know what happened to the service man MIA means only that his remains have not been recovered A great many MIAs sailors lost at sea for instance have been confirmed by witnesses to have been killed or were aboard ship when it sank On the other hand many Vietnam War MIAs have not been accounted for and we donrsquot know exactly what happened to them

Captain James P Gauley ndash MIA

James Paul Gauley was born at Ringwood (Major County) Oklahoma on March 22 1939 He entered the Air Force in 1961 In 1967 he was assigned to the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron 288th Tactical Fighter Wing Seventh Air Force based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand He was a fighter pilot fly-ing F-105 Thunderchiefs On January 10 1967 his mission took him over the Plain of Jars in northern Laos where he was shot down by ground fire Witnesses report that his parachute failed to open after he ejected His body was never recovered

A memorial has been erected for Captain Gauley in Memorial Park Cemetery at Enid Oklahoma

First Lieutenant Wayne C Irsch ndash MIA

Wayne Charles Irsch was born at Tulsa Oklahoma on April 25 1942 He was a graduate of Central High School where he was a star athlete He entered the Air Force on September 25 1965

On January 8 1968 he was a 1st Lieutenant assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Night Owls Squadron 8th Tactical Fighter ldquoWolfpackrdquo Wing Seventh Air Force based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base On that day his mission was interdiction of North Vietnamese traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeast-ern Laos 1LT Irsch was piloting an F-4 Phantom His backseat man was LT Colonel Norman M Green As the Phantom made its target run it was hit and disabled by intensive 37mm anti-aircraft fire from the gun he was attacking

The crash site was soon discovered but no sign of life Itrsquos not known whether the two airmen were killed in the crash or were able to eject and were captured In either case the Laoti-ans never claimed them as prisoners and neither have their re-mains been recovered

On January 9 1974 the Air Force declared 1LT Irsch pre-sumed dead and promoted him to Captain He has a memorial headstone In Fort Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Captain Irschrsquos Memorial headstone Ft Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Oklahoma Vietnam War MIAs

This month and over the next eleven months we will be tell-ing the stories of Oklahomarsquos thirty Vietnam War MIAs whose remains have not been recovered The stories will be featured in the month the MIA went missing or was confirmed KIA The names of all the MIAs are inscribed on tablets in the Courts of the Missing in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Hon-olulu Hawaii and for those confirmed or presumed dead on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC

Missing in action does not mean that the Defense Depart-ment doesnrsquot know what happened to the service man MIA means only that his remains have not been recovered A great many MIAs sailors lost at sea for instance have been confirmed by witnesses to have been killed or were aboard ship when it sank On the other hand many Vietnam War MIAs have not been accounted for and we donrsquot know exactly what happened to them

Captain James P Gauley ndash MIA

James Paul Gauley was born at Ringwood (Major County) Oklahoma on March 22 1939 He entered the Air Force in 1961 In 1967 he was assigned to the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron 288th Tactical Fighter Wing Seventh Air Force based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand He was a fighter pilot fly-ing F-105 Thunderchiefs On January 10 1967 his mission took him over the Plain of Jars in northern Laos where he was shot down by ground fire Witnesses report that his parachute failed to open after he ejected His body was never recovered

A memorial has been erected for Captain Gauley in Memorial Park Cemetery at Enid Oklahoma

First Lieutenant Wayne C Irsch ndash MIA

Wayne Charles Irsch was born at Tulsa Oklahoma on April 25 1942 He was a graduate of Central High School where he was a star athlete He entered the Air Force on September 25 1965

On January 8 1968 he was a 1st Lieutenant assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Night Owls Squadron 8th Tactical Fighter ldquoWolfpackrdquo Wing Seventh Air Force based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base On that day his mission was interdiction of North Vietnamese traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeast-ern Laos 1LT Irsch was piloting an F-4 Phantom His backseat man was LT Colonel Norman M Green As the Phantom made its target run it was hit and disabled by intensive 37mm anti-aircraft fire from the gun he was attacking

The crash site was soon discovered but no sign of life Itrsquos not known whether the two airmen were killed in the crash or were able to eject and were captured In either case the Laoti-ans never claimed them as prisoners and neither have their re-mains been recovered

On January 9 1974 the Air Force declared 1LT Irsch pre-sumed dead and promoted him to Captain He has a memorial headstone In Fort Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

Captain Irschrsquos Memorial headstone Ft Gibson National Cemetery Oklahoma

First Lieutenant Robert W Burnes ndash MIA

Robert Wayne Burnes was born at Ninnekah (Grady County) Oklahoma on January 27 1941 He was a 1959 graduate of Lind-say High School (Lindsay Oklahoma) He attended the Univer-sity of Tulsa on a track scholarship but graduated from Central State College (now Central State University) at Edmond Burnes was living in Edmond with his wife and child when he enlisted in the Marine Corps Edmond is his military city of record

On January 5 1970 Burnes was a 1st Lieutenant assigned to Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 542 (VMA-542) Marine Attack Group 11 1st Marine Air Wing stationed at Da Nang South Vi-etnam He was the navigator of a McDonnell Douglas Phantom II Fighter (F-4B) over Savannakhet Laos when his aircraft crashed killing him His body was never recovered VMA-542 flew its last mission in Vietnam eight days later

Memorial to 1LT Robert W Burnes Arlington National Cemetery

Captain Steven B Johnston ndash MIA

Steven Bryce Johnston was born on January 22 1946 at ei-ther Tulsa or Muskogee Both cities appear in various records His military city of record is Muskogee On January 4 1973 Captain Johnston was assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Night Owls Squadron 8th Tactical Fighter ldquoWolfpackrdquo Wing Seventh Air Force stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base Thailand He was a weapons systems officer on an F-4D Phantom fighter On January 4 he was performing an operational mission in Laos His aircraft was struck by hostile ground fire forcing Johnston and the pilot to eject Voice con-tact was established with the pilot immediately upon landing Captain Johnston landed under a large tree limb and appeared to have a broken neck Examination of his body revealed no signs of life His body could not be recovered due to darkness and hostile fire in the area The pilot who landed safely was rescued Captain Johnston was killed on his first mission in the Vietnam Theater There is no memorial for Captain Johnson other than his name inscribed on a tablet in the Courts of the Missing at Na-tional Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and the Vietnam War Memorial ndash the Wall

Oklahoma Vietnam War MIA Memorial

On September 16 2017 at the POWMIA Recognition Day Commemoration the MHC dedicated its brick memorial to Ok-lahomarsquos Vietnam War MIAs The Memorial contains thirty-two bricks one for each MIA Since its construction two MIArsquos re-mains have been recovered and identified An ldquoRrdquo has been placed on their bricks to denote their status

This Monthrsquos Featured Exhibit

Persian Gulf and Iraq War Exhibit

The Persian Gulf and Iraq War Exhibit displays numerous artifacts related to the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars The former is com-monly known as Operation Desert Shield for the opening air war and Operation Desert Storm for the combined all-services war that began with the opening of the ground attack to drive the Iraqi army from Kuwait The Iraq War initiated in the mistaken belief that Iraq possessed large amounts of ldquoweapons of mass destructionrdquo is also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom The mannequin at the left is dressed in the combat gear of a US Army infantryman of the period The United States service deaths from all causes in the two wars were 294 including one Oklahoman in the Persian Gulf War (1990-91) and 4512 including seventy-five Oklahomans in the Iraq War (2003-2011)

Petty Officer Third Class William Aaron Holt of Sand Springs was the only Oklahoman killed in the Persian Gulf War He was crew chief of an MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter aboard the am-phibious assault ship USS Peliliu stationed in the Persian Gulf On September 14 1991 Holtrsquos helicopter lifted off from Peleliu about forty miles north of Bahrain and almost immediately plunged into the Persian Gulf All six crew members were killed

William Aaron Holt was born in Creek County Oklahoma on June 18 1964 He graduated from Sand Springsrsquo Charles Page High School in 1982 He joined the Navy in 1987 At the time of his death Holt was a member of Squadron HM-15 based at Al-ameda Naval Air Station California PO3 Holt is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery near Mannford Oklahoma

Squadron HM-15 ndash ldquoBlackhawksrdquo

MH-53 Sea Dragon ndash The ldquoBlackhawksrdquo are a mine countermeasures squadron The helicopters drag various instruments through the water to detect and detonate mines

USS Peleliu ndash Decommissioned March 31 2015

ldquoLest We Forgetrdquo

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial ndash Suresnes Hauts-de-Seine France

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial is located high on the slopes of Mont Valeacuterien in Suresnes a western Paris suburb The cemetery was originally established as a World War I cemetery but later twenty-four unknown dead of World War II were interred there The small cemetery of seven and a half acres contains 1541 graves Bronze tablets on the walls of the chapel record the names of 974 World War I missing Rosettes mark the names of any since recovered and identified

Freedom is not free

Freedomrsquos Voice is the voice of MVA Inc dba Military History Center a 501(C)3 private foundation as a service to its members and supporters Contents may be reproduced only when in the best interest of the Military History Center Please direct comments or suggestions to the Editor at newsletterokmhcorg Ken Cook Editor

ldquoLest We Forgetrdquo

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial ndash Suresnes Hauts-de-Seine France

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial is located high on the slopes of Mont Valeacuterien in Suresnes a western Paris suburb The cemetery was originally established as a World War I cemetery but later twenty-four unknown dead of World War II were interred there The small cemetery of seven and a half acres contains 1541 graves Bronze tablets on the walls of the chapel record the names of 974 World War I missing Rosettes mark the names of any since recovered and identified

Freedom is not free

Freedomrsquos Voice is the voice of MVA Inc dba Military History Center a 501(C)3 private foundation as a service to its members and supporters Contents may be reproduced only when in the best interest of the Military History Center Please direct comments or suggestions to the Editor at newsletterokmhcorg Ken Cook Editor