Volume 11 Issue 1 September/ October 2013

Central Florida Chapter

Officers:

President Elmer Hawkins

Phone 386.679.3814 Email EHawkins23@aol.com

Vice President Greg Melnick Phone 407.619.6516

Email GregMelicklaw@gmail.com

Treasurer Art Dreves

Phone 407.647.5879 Email fossilart@icloud.com

Secretary Chris Hoey Phone 407.645.4817

Email Chris.Hoey@yahoo.com

Chaplain Russ Kaufmann

Phone 407-275-3653

Email 1stsgtK@msn.com

Sgt at Arms Charles Ross

Phone 407 647 4820 Email celticrage8@embarqmail.com

Membership Chair Mike Galyean Phone 407.740.5097

Email koolade@embarqmal.com Chapter Rep. Elmer Hawkins

Newsletter Editor: Mike Galyean

(with a lot of help from Nancy)

Next

Meeting:

Saturday, Oct. 5

10:30 a.m.

<<<<>>>>

Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub

544 West Fairbanks Ave.

Winter Park, FL 32789

Ph.407.645.2050

<<<<>>>>

Be a recruiter… Give or send this newsletter

to a Marine you know in Central Florida

The “Ooo Rah”

Newsletter of the Central Florida Chapter 1st Marine Division Association

The FMDA reunion in Milwaukee has come and gone. Our chapter was well repre-sented. Three of the chapter members now hold offices or serve on committees. Mike was elected to serve another two year term as Secretary. Carl Miller has been appointed to be a Director of the FMDA Scholarship Fund and I will serve on the Finance Committee, Mike and I will continue to serve on the scholarship selection committee. This is the proof that our chap-ter is going all out to support the FMDA. The reunion for 2014 will be in Charleston, South Carolina. Being that close to Cen-tral Florida, we should have several of our members in attendance, start planning now. You will be informed of the dates and hotel as soon as we get that information. I have taken part in another reunion in this city and can assure you that there is much to see and do. The chapter officers have canceled plans for a MC Birthday SOS Breakfast this year. I am asking each of you to show your Marine Spirit and help with our visits to the VA

Nursing Home where we host bingo games and trivial pursuit on the second Thursday of

those months when we do not have meetings. We really need members to purchase and take

sodas and snacks to share with those veterans residents of the VA Nursing Home. They look

forward to these visits, some arrive 30 minutes early and are reluctant to leave. Those of us

who have participated over the years look forward to meeting with these HEROES. Please

see if you can find the time to join us. WE NEED YOUR HELP. Semper Fi Hawk

Cpl Mike Pomakis, originally from Lynn, Massachu-setts, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1966 at age 18. He sur-vived boot camp at Parris Island and completed Radio Opera-tor training at Camp Pendleton before deployment to Vietnam as a replacement in September 1966. He served in Vietnam attached to India and Mike com-panies 3rd Battalion 7th Marines as the forward observer radio operator for 81s. He participated in Operation Prairie at the DMZ and Operation DeSoto at the southern edge of the I Corps area. On his return to CONUS he was stationed with 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune and did a MED cruise attached to Fox 2/2 starting in January 1968 aboard the USS

Freemont APA 44. His last duty station was at the Marine Barracks at the Naval Air Station in Argen-tia, Newfoundland, Canada where he met and married Janet, his wife of 44 years. He was one of the last Marines to serve at this post. After discharge in 1970 he worked as an electrician, both on land and at sea, and as a marine engineer on offshore supply tugs, Canadian icebreakers, search & rescue vessels and defense research vessels. He lived in Canada for over 40 years and has re-cently retired with his wife to their new home in Winter Garden. In 2005 he took a trip through Military Historical Tours back to Vietnam with his wife. Mike’s account of his return to Vietnam will make an interesting program you don’t want to miss.

October 5 Meeting—“A Return to Vietnam” Presented by member Mike Pomakis

LCpl Pomakis, July 1967

Editor’s Note:

Tim Broughton was a

charter member of

the Central Florida

Chapter, 1st Marine

Division Association.

He attended the very

first reunion of the

association held in

New York City soon after WWII. It was a sad loss for our chapter, when

Tim reported to his ultimate duty station on May 17, 2013. This narrative

of the battle at Pelileu was written for his grandson a good many years ago

when he was a student at Lake highland Prep. It was given to Mike Galyean at

Tim’s funeral with permission to publish it. Rest in Peace, Sgt. Broughton!

*****

This is a true story about the invasion of Peleliu, a small island in the Palau group in the Central Pacific. The invasion took place on September 15, 1944 by the First Marine Division composed of the First Marine, Fifth Marine, Seventh Marine, and Eleventh Marine Regiments. The First Marines, Fifth Marines, Seventh Marines are Infantry Regiments, the Eleventh Marines is the Artillery Regiment. The First Marine Division Air Wing also took part in the assault on Peleliu along with many Navy ships and an Army Division in reserve. I am not going into great detail of the battle for Peleliu; I am going to pass on to you some of the events that took place prior to “D” day and the actual landing. For three days I sat on the deck of the LST listening to the radio transmissions from the aircraft that were bombing the beaches and reporting to their command aircraft carrier what gun emplacement and block houses that they thought they had destroyed. As the senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) in charge of one half of the communication platoon for the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, I had a map of Orange Beach which was the battalion’s landing area. As the planes reported what enemy emplacements they had destroyed, I marked them off on the map, and we would know where the enemy fire on the beach would be coming from. If you were able to sleep the night before the landing, we arose about 1:00 A.M. to eat our prelanding and possibly your last breakfast of steak and eggs. (In those days of WWII, it was customary to serve Marines steak and eggs prior to every landing as it may be your last good meal for many a day.) We boarded our LVT’s to leave the mother ship for our move to the line of departure to mill around and form the assault waves for the dash to the beach for the landing. We went in under the heavy fire from the battleships and cruisers. This fire was direct to the landing areas, about fifteen feet over our heads—the concussion would pull at your helmet and take it off your head if the chinstrap was not fastened. As we hit the beach my group was to head to the airstrip and get to the other side of the strip and set up the command post for the battalion…but guest what? All the reported knocked out enemy defense positions were still there, very few of them were destroyed by the rockets, bombs and big guns of the battleships. (continued on page 4)

PAGE 2 THE “OOO RAH” VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1

Visit our website http://CFC1stMarDiv.com

Thanks to our “webmaster” Rick Dreves, Acuity Marketing Communications, Inc. Rick is the son of member Art Dreves. The “Ooo Rah” newsletter may be accessed at the chapter’s website. Articles and letters are welcome.

WAR IS “HELL”

…DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU

THAT IT ISN’T! By

Tim Broughton

Mark Your Calendars

Saturday, October 5… Chapter meeting– Fiddlers Green Irish Pub

Saturday November 2 … Chapter Executive Commit-tee meeting, location tba

Saturday, November 9 … Orlando’s Vet-erans Day Parade

Saturday, November 9… Central Florida Marine Foundation Birthday Ball

Sunday, November 10—Happy Birthday, Marine!

Monday, November 11 … Veterans Day

Thursday, November 14 … VA “Happy Hour Trivia and Bingo”

************************ The Central Florida Veterans, Inc. (CFVI) meets the LAST Tuesday of each month at the VA cafeteria, Raymond St., Orlando, 5:30 p.m. (dinner served)

**** The Larry E. Smedley Detachment of the Marine Corps League— second Tuesday—7:00 - Holy Smoke BBQ. 3000 Curry Ford Rd. (corner of Curry ford & Crystal Lake Av.) Orlando, FL...come early

The Marines landed on the beaches of Peleliu

at 08:32 on 15 September, 1944

Page 3

Volume 11 Issue 1 The “Ooo Rah”

YOU ARE INVITED!

Central Florida Marine Foundation… Birthday Ball

238 Years serving as the nation’s 911

Date: 9 November 2013—- -Location: Rosen Centre Hotel 9840 International Drive Orlando, FL 32819

Time:1800 - Cocktails 1845 - Ballroom doors open

1930 - Birthday Ball ceremony begins Followed by Dinner and Dancing Guest of Honor: John L. Estrada,

15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Music: Live Band: Paradise

Photography: Photographer will be avail-able at 1800.

Special Room Rate: $99.00 plus tax. Rate good through 4 October. Call 407-996-9842 to make a reservation and ask for the Marine Corps Annual Birthday rate.

For questions regarding the Birthday Ball Contact: Ms. Jan Baka jan.baka@ecs-federal.com

Work: (407) 745- 3029 ~ Cell: (407) 758-0968 :

Central Florida Marine Corps Foundation (CFMCF) Birthday Ball Committee

P.O. Box 781754 Orlando, FL 32878-1754

Marine Corps Birthday SOS Breakfast Cancelled for 2013

For several reasons, the officers of the Central Florida Chapter have put aside plans for an SOS breakfast this year. We are appreciative to member Jack Paxton for his willingness to co-chair with Mike Galyean to put on this year’s birthday “SOS Breakfast.” Since the birthday falls on a Sun-day, we were unable to have the event on the actual birthday. The Birthday Ball is on the November 9, so we chose Nov. 16, in order to not compete with the Ball, (almost a week away from the actual birthday.) In addition, Mike will be attending the Birthday Ball at the American Embassy in Berlin and would be unavailable for the week prior to the scheduled date on Nov. 16. A lack of people willing to accept planning responsibilities, combined with the other listed circumstances make it necessary to cancel for this year. We hope to reestablish this important and enjoyable event for 2014. Stay tuned!

PAGE 4 THE “OOO RAH” VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1

(Continued from page 2—”War is Hell”)

We were pinned down on the beach until the tanks were put ashore. In the meantime, one of the LVTs with our communication equipment on board was hit by the enemy’s defensive rockets, mor-tars or artillery, killing some of our men and destroying some of our communication equipment. The enemy was throwing everything they had at us--machine gun fire, rifle fire, mortars, artillery—sinking many of our landing craft bringing troops ashore. A buddy and I were laying behind a downed coconut tree when one of the 280 millimeter mor-tars landed on the other side of the tree, but it did not ex-plode—it was a dud. (When you heard and saw this 280 mm mortar coming in, it looked like a 30 gallon hot water tank like you have in your home.) While we were pinned down on the beach, I looked up and saw one of our planes get hit by anti-aircraft fire; it started streaming oil from the dam-aged engine, the plane then circled and landed on the air-strip. I noticed it was a Cor-sair, one of the newest that the Navy had. When the plane stopped right in front of the coconut tree we were behind, the pilot had trouble opening the damaged cockpit cover. My buddy and I ran out to the plane to help the pilot out; he blew the cover off the plane, we took him back to the beach, put him in a LTV and he returned to one of the ships off shore. Finally enough troops got organized and along with a couple of flame throwing tanks, the enemy took off to the wooded area on the other side of the airstrip, that is the ones who were not killed by the infantry troops and the tanks. We then moved out around the end of the airstrip to the wooded area. As we went across the end of the airstrip, I ran into the new Second Lieutenant Shepherd, our commu-nication platoon commander. (Note: this was his first combat land-ing; he had picked up 3 Thompson Submachine guns, 4 rifles, and a Browning automatic rifle. I asked him what he was going to do with all those weapons; he said we might need them—he was a walking arsenal.) After we got across the airstrip, the enemy launched a counterattack using 14 tanks running down the airstrip along with a group of infantry. The tanks were demolished by our tanks and infan-try were all killed. This all happened the first day of our landing on Peleliu; on the second day after landing, we held a beachhead of approximately 3,000 yards and 500 hundred yards in depth, but we paid for it with 1,100 battle casualties the first day of which 210 were deaths. In the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines Communication Platoon, we had 17 casualties out of 43 men in the platoon. This is just a narrative of the operation on the first day of the landing. This island is approximately 6 miles long and 2 miles wide with the airfield that was used as an emergency landing strip for dam-aged aircraft returning from bombing raids on Japan. The battle cost us, the First Marine Division 6,786 casualties of which 1,300 were killed in action. About 10,000-12,000 enemy were killed in this opera-tion.

The Marines of the

1st Marine Division at Peleliu

1st Marine Division Association 403 N. Freeman Street Oceanside, CA 92054 Phone (760) 967-8561

2nd Line (760) 967-1386 Fax (760) 967-8567

Email: oldbreed@sbcglobal.net

~IMPORTANT~ Central Florida Chapter members need to be members of the 1st Marine Division As-sociation...contact the FMDA office or visit the website for membership information.

Retired Sergeant

Major... "Do you re-

member that stuff

they used to put in

our coffee during

the war, to make us

forget about

women?"

Retired General... "I think you mean salt peter.”

Retired Sergeant Major... "Yep, that's the stuff. I think it's beginning to work!"

Volume 11 Issue 1 The “Ooo Rah” Page 5

Thousands of Marine Veterans earned medals for bravery every day.

A few were even awarded.

'Home at Last'

“Home at Last” dedicated the home for Cpl. Ronald “CJ” Bar-

nes and his wife Katy Barnes on 24 August, with a flag raising and

dedication at the home (210 Oakland Avenue, Oakland, FL) followed by

a 10:00 am dedication at Oakland Presbyterian Church Christian Life

Center. Special guest and speaker was Marine General James L.

Jones, Jr., former National Security Advisor to the President, member

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 32nd Marine Corps Commandant and NATO

Supreme Allied Commander.

The home recipient, Cpl Barnes and his wife, Katy, are natives

of West Palm, Florida and graduates of Palm Beach Gardens High

School. Cpl Barnes, also known as CJ enlisted in 2009 shortly after

high school graduation. Following boot camp, he completed engineer school at Camp Lejeune. As a member of the

3rd Marines 4th Battalion, CJ deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011. Less than a month later, CJ stepped on an IED

pressure plate or land mine. His injuries resulted in the

loss of both legs and damage to his arms and face. Katy

joined him at Walter Reed Army Hospital and they were

married later that year. CJ and Katy welcomed their first

child, a son, on March 20, just days after the ground

breaking. The Barnes home is the fifth Home At Last

home.

Home at Last, a special project of West Orange Habitat for Humanity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was the idea of William C. Criswell, a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy Seabees. West Orange Habitat for Humanity established the project in 2007 to meet the special housing needs of permanently disabled combat wounded veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. The project is dedicated to presenting one mortgage-free home each year to a veteran. The projects are completed entirely by donations and in-kind contributions of construction labour and materials with more than 90% of contributions being used for the homes. We hope to have a program dedicated to the outstanding project.

The plaque outside was designed by Cpl. Barnes. Any combat Marine can appreciate the bottle of A-1 and the saying he

chose, ”Only the dead have seen the last of war.”

Corporal Ronald “CJ” Barnes and his wife Katy

during the construction of their “Home at Last.”

The dedication of the home in Oakland, Fl, was attended by sev-eral hundred people who were treated to comments by former

Commandant and NATO Supreme Commander General James Jones. A wonderful reception followed with delicious BBQ pre-

pared by 4 Rivers in Winter Park. ABOVE: Central Florida

Chapter, 1st Marine Division Association members attending

(left to right): Rick LeBlanc, Gen. Jones, Bill Tate, Bill Ami-

don, Mike Galyean, David Smith. Seated: Cpl. Barnes

Page 6 Volume 11, Issue 1 The “Ooo Rah”

. Corps’ most decorated regiment welcomes new sergeant major

By Sgt. Alfred V. Lopez | 5th Marine Regiment | September 11, 2013

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Marines and sailors serving with the 5th Marine Regi-ment bid farewell to a 30-year veteran, Sgt. Maj. Alberto Ruiz, and welcomed their newest senior enlisted Marine, Sgt. Maj. Clifford Wiggins, during a relief, appointment and retirement ceremony at the Camp San Mateo helicopter landing pad here, Sept. 6. The Fighting Fifth honored Ruiz, a Laredo, Texas, native, for his outstanding years of service after he relin-quished his position to Wiggins, a native of Cincinnati. “We’re sad to say goodbye to such an outstanding leader as Sgt. Maj. Ruiz,” said Col. Jason Bohm, com-manding officer, 5th Marines. “But, we’re also glad to welcome someone of the same caliber as him.” Bohm, a native of Oyster Bay, N.Y., noted during his speech that both Marines were previously appointed to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion. before assuming their post with the Corps’ most decorated regiment. “They really have a good stock of sergeants major there at 3rd Tracks,” Bohm said to the crowd with a smile. Ruiz enlisted in the Marine Corps during February 1984 and re-ported to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Calif., for recruit train-ing. He served with 1st and 3rd Battalions, 1st Marines; Headquarters Bat-talion, 1st Marine Division; and 1st Intelligence Battalion, I Marine Expedi-tionary Force. He also served with 5th Battalion, 11th Marines; 9th Com-munication Battalion, I MEF; and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268, 3rd Marine Aircraft Group.

2013★★★CITY OF ORLANDO★★★★★

V E T E R A N S D AY PA R A D E Hosted by Mayor Buddy Dyer and the Mayor's Veterans Advisory Council

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

S AT U R D AY,

N O V E M B E R 9 DOWNTOWN ORLANDO | 11 A.M. - 1 P.M.

Parade begins at the corner of Orange Ave. and Robinson St.

Volume 11 Issue 1 The “Ooo Rah” Page 7

66th Annual Reunion – 1

st Marine Division Association

12 August – 18 August, 2103 Milwaukee, WI

The Marines of the 1st Marine Division Association and their families met at the Sheraton Brookefield Hotel for a wonder-

ful week of excursions, meetings, dining and reacquainting with old friends. When the first choice for a hotel fell through (which would have been downtown), we went to “plan B.” The Sheraton Brookefield was a super hotel and met all of our needs, how-ever, since it was in the suburbs of Milwaukee it was a little difficult to get to downtown from the hotel. Some wonderful excursions were planned for the group including tours of “House on the Rock,” “Old Wisconsin,” Harley-Davidson Museum, the Miller Brewery, Mitchell Domes and the Edelweiss River Tour. The 1/5 Vietnam Chapter had a great dinner at an off-site location on Thursday night which was attended by close to 100 Marines and their wives. The Central Florida Chapter was also well represented with four members and the wives of three. It was great to have this time together and get to know each other. The four Central Florida Chapter members’ homes are spread out across Central Florida with Bill Duffy from Lady Lake, Carl Miller from Indialantic, Elmer Hawkins from Daytona Beach and Mike Galyean from Winter Park. At the Director’s Meeting on Friday, the results of the officers election were announced. The officers of the association for the coming two years are: President - A.J. Burn (Pennsylvania); Vice President – Vince Rios (New York); Treasurer – Jim Zalpis (California); Secretary – Mike Galyean (Florida); Sgt at Arms – George Sager (California); Chaplain – Denny Weisgerber (California); Legal Officer – David Franklin (California); Deputy VP East – Carl Wenhold (Pennsylvania); Deputy VP Central – Ed “Tex” Stitler (Texas); Deputy VP West James Fossos (California). The main piece of business that will be of interest to most members is that it was approved that USAA would be offering a credit card to 1

st Marine Division Association members. The

association will receive a stipend for every card issued and will also receive a donation based on the amount of purchases made on the card. ALL association members are urged to take advantage of this offer when it comes available...watch your Old Breed News for details. The military ceremony added to the inspiration of the Saturday night banquet. Major General Lawrence D. Nicholson, the newly assigned commanding general of the 1

st Marine Division was introduced, along with the division Sergeant Major, Sgt.

Maj. Michael P. Barrett. General Nicholson’s comments after dinner brought a rousing round of applause from the Marines pre-sent who were ready, by the end of his comments, to re-enlist!. The Selection for the 2014 association reunion site was Charleston, SC next August. This is about as close as the reun-ion will ever be (unless we want to “host” again.) Make your plans now to attend.

On the Edelweiss boat tour: Galyeans, Duffys, and Millers Central Florida Chapter members after the banquet on Saturday

night. L to R...Elmer Hawkins, Carl Miller, Gen. Nicholson, Mike

Galyean and Bill Duffy.

Bill and Sharon Duffy

Lady Lake Carl and Susan Miller

Indialantic

Mike and Nancy Galyean

Winter Park

In order to belong to the Central Florida Chapter, you must... Join the 1st Marine Division Association

World War II ~ North China ~ Korea ~ Cold War ~ Vietnam ~ Gulf War ~ Iraqi Freedom ~ War on Terror

Call the 1st Marine Division Association in Oceanside, CA at (760) 967-8561 or email oldbreed@sbcglobal.net for information

Central Florida Chapter

Select Membership type: ___ Regular ($15) ~ ___ Associate ($15) ~ ___ Life ($150) ~ Active Duty($5) ___ ___ New ___ Renewal

PLEASE PRINT: __________________________________________________________________________________ (Rank / Grade) (First Name) (Middle Initial) (Last Name)

____________________________________________________________ _____________________________ Number and Street or P.O. Box #) Spouses name

________________________________________________________________________________________________ (City) (State) (Zip)

I was with: (list two units, max) ________________________________________________________________________ (Company - Battalion - Regiment/Squadron - Group)

WWII____ China____ Korea____ Cold War____ Vietnam____ Gulf War____ Iraqi Freedom____ War on Terror____

Email address: ________________________________ Phone No. (___) ____________________ Recommended by _____________

Please enclose $15 for Regular / Associate Membership; $150 for Life Membership; $5 for Active Duty

Make checks payable to: Cent. Fla. Chap., 1st Mar. Div. Assoc. ~~~ Return to Mike Galyean, 746 McIntyre Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789

Central Florida Chapter

1st Marine Division Association

746 McIntyre Ave.

Winter Park, FL 32789

Be a recruiter… Give or send this

newsletter to a Marine you know in

Central Florida