This is the second half of a letter written by Rusty Huerlin, a family friend, to Ced. Both Rusty and Ced are living in Alaska and they have become good friends.

As most of our freight was for Wainwright, we were able to take on passengers there – storm bound Eskimos unable to return to Barrow in their boats heavily loaded with coal. So we left there towing five whale boats and had 25 Eskimos to sweeten the forecastle and share with us the four bunks when the next storm came up. We had then run into ice – icebergs 20 feet high, and got forced outside of them and land. Most of this was fields of bergs and we wound around it for a day in getting in close to land. This ice ran nearly down to Wainwright but once getting inside of it the water was smooth. 60…

US Marine in Iraq: Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003

By Richard S. Lowry, Illustrated by Howard Gerrard

Osprey Warrior Series Book 106

Paperback, 64 pages, heavily illustrated

Published by Osprey Publishing July 2006

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1841769827

ISBN-13: 978-1841769820

Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.1 x 9.7 inches

U.S. Marine in Iraq details the experiences of two Marine enlistees from recruitment through Boot Camp, Infantry School, mechanized combined arms training at Twentynine Palms, deployment aboard ship and eventual combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the invasion of Iraq.  The story follows the Marines’ actions as part of the Second Marine Regiment through the battle of the bridge at An Nasiriya and the fight to capture Baghdad.

One section which will be of interest to wargamers is the integration of a Marine infantry battalion with Amphibious Armored Vehicles (AAV) and M1 Abrams tanks to basically transform them into mechanized infantry.  There are various ways a…

Soldier in Japan delivers presents as ‘Father Christmas’

After 71 years, a yearly tradition continued with the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and 25th Infantry Division all joining forces on December 4 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, to wrap presents to ship to the Holy Family Home in Japan.

The 25th Infantry Division shared photos of soldiers taking part in the annual tradition, tweeting, “It’s a long standing tradition, and it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter what nation you’re from, in the bigger picture, people help people.”

4 Dec. 2020, presents for orphans, (pic by: SSgt. Thomas Calvert

On Christmas Day in 1949, the 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds” were overwhelmed by the sight of tiny, barefoot children living in the decaying Holy Family orphanage in Osaka, Japan. The soldiers accompanied a Red Cross representative to the crumbling home that was brimming…