101st Airborne

Division Association,

Michigan Chapter

Michigan
Screaming Eagle

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Articles of Interest

(Extracted from the October 15th, 2021 edition of The Michigan Screaming Eagle -MSE)

At the time of our enlistments, we took an Oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. For many of us, our Oath did not expire when we received our discharge papers; it was not time-limited. For many, we feel duty bound to uphold our Oath throughout our lives, and we feel honor bound to “Leave no one behind!” an integral part of our Warriors’ Creed.

The desperate, frenzied, and chaotic scramble to leave Afghanistan in August 2021 was perhaps best captured in the August 16th headline in the Wall Street Journal, “Saigon on Steroids!” For those Screaming Eagles from the Vietnam Era, it reawakened vivid memories of Black Hawks desperately trying to evacuate more than 7,000 civilians and personnel from the roof tops in Saigon from April 29th - 30th, 1975. 

For those Eagles from the Global War on Terror nearly 50 years later, the images of Afghans falling to their deaths from the tires and wheel wells of C-17 military aircraft rolling down the runway at the Kabul airport are forever etched in their memories. The lack of a coherent exit strategy from Afghanistan does not reflect poorly on the brave and patriotic young men and women who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq, many of whom volunteered for multiple deployments. 

They went to war for our nation; they did everything that was asked of them. They fought honorably and with valor with their comrades. We cannot -we must not, leave our Eagles from Afghanistan and Iraq behind, feeling alone, forgotten, and betrayed, as did so many Vietnam Eagles from fifty years ago who were shunned, shamed and looked down upon when they returned home. We must let them know that they are not alone -they are not “Lone Eagles”. They are members of Michigan’s Airborne/Air Assault community: They are our brothers and sisters.

We must do everything we can to not leave any Michigan Eagle from the Afghanistan, Iraq, or Vietnam Wars behind! Many Michigan Eagles feel angry and betrayed. Many believe that their sacrifices were for nothing. And, too many feel profoundly alienated from themselves, their families, communities, and society-in-general. All too often, they are left alone to fight their own personal Wars of Terror, repeating and reliving their traumatic war-time experiences by themselves. Overlooked, left behind, and too often forgotten, their personal Wars of Terror can be never-ending, lasting a life-time, much longer than the nation’s 20-year War on Terror. 

We must let our Lone Eagles know that their sacrifices were not in vain! We must let them know that they have not been forgotten. All too often, the only viable solution for too many has been suicide, in one form or another. The current “Crisis of Suicide” continues and is all too real. As a chapter, we are doing whatever we can to reach out and connect with our brothers and sisters to provide as many life-altering opportunities and life-enriching experiences as possible so that, indeed, “No one is left behind!”  

Any financial contribution received in support of “Operation Lone Eagle” -whatever the amount, is deeply appreciated. (Click here to access this article and some of the ways you might contribute to “Operation Lone Eagle”) … Thank you!

• The Crisis of Suicide in Our Military