The world’s largest 10-K running event is Saturday morning in Atlanta. But the reach of Georgia’s famous Peachtree Road Race also extends to overseas war zones.
In Atlanta, it’s now 40 years that Independence Day morning again will bring a stampede of 55,000 runners sweating down Atlanta’s famed Peachtree St. And it’s been the past few years that troops who’ve run the race and now serving overseas have carried the Peachtree spirit with them.
More than 3,000 military members are competing in specially-organized Peachtree races in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Groups involved include the 108th Calvary Division of the Georgia National Guard out of Macon.
Retired Colonel Tom McKenzie has run the race in Atlanta and overseas. He says the camaraderie for the so-called 'military-Peachtree’ is unmatched:
"There are some folks that have run the race in Iraq, and now they’re running in Afghanistan. It’s a testament to the folks who have continuous deployments, and the families who have to sacrifice. Those folks have the tough job."
McKenzie is the official ‘starter’ for the military Peachtree races. He will give the ‘go’ via phone at the Atlanta starting line for the bulk of the races Friday night (July 4th morning for military races).
A federal appeals court says the wife of a U.S. soldier incapacitated by brain injury in a wreck during a fuel convoy in Iraq cannot sue the civilian contractor delivering the fuel. Sgt. Keith Carmichael, of Atlanta, was a gunner assigned to ride in a tanker truck operated by Kellogg, Brown & Root during the 2004 convoy. He was thrown and pinned beneath the truck when the civilian driver failed to negotiate a curve. Annette Carmichael sued KBR and its former parent company, Halliburton, claiming the civilian contractor, not the military, was responsible for the accident. In Tuesday's 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it found "no judicially manageable standards" to settle the suit and upheld its dismissal by a lower court.
A decorated U.S. Army soldier from south Georgia has died in Iraq. The Department of Defense said Command Sgt. Major Benjamin Moore Jr. of Waycross died Friday of injuries that were not combat-related. He was 43. Moore earned 55 medals and had served in the Army since June 1983.
In this 2008 photo provided by Samuel Goldwyn Films, brothers, from left, Isaac, Jake and Joe Rademacher pose in Decatur, Ill. Jake followed his two younger brothers to Iraq, filming them and their comrades for a film "Brothers at War," that will open in military towns in North Carolina and Georgia. (AP Photo/Samuel Goldwyn Films, Amy Denney) - AP
Jake Rademacher finally got to go to war.
It wasn't the way he had hoped – his childhood dream to attend West Point was dashed when poor eyesight kept him out. Instead, he followed two younger brothers to Iraq, filming them and their comrades for a film "Brothers at War," that opens this weekend in military towns in North Carolina and Georgia.
"My curiosity was more than intellectual," Jake said. "I had a personal reason to know what my brothers were going through..." Another filmmaker who hadn't wanted to go to West Point might not have been as interested in going to a war zone.
"Wanting to be a soldier played into my willingness to go to the edge of the fight and be there when the bullets were flying by my camera. ... and bring the audience with me."
The movie intertwines the story of the three brothers and other family members, along with soldiers at war and families at home. The film's inside, personal look at the battlefield and the homefront attracted the attention of actor Gary Sinise, who helped find distribution for the movie and eventually became its executive producer.
"This is a brother who wants to know about his own brothers. That gives it a heart," said Sinise, who last year received the Presidential Citizens Medal. The medal recognizes U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation. He was recognized for his work with the USO and with a group he co-founded, Operation Iraqi Children.
"You watch this young filmmaker go from somebody who doesn't know what he's getting himself into into someone who learns a helluva lot about his brothers, who gets to know them better than he did before and by doing that, gets to know a lot about himself."
Jake, 33, is the oldest of five brothers and two sisters who grew up in Decatur, Ill. He went to Iraq in 2005 and 2006, before the surge and, over time, embedded with four combat units.
One revealing scene occurs between U.S. snipers as they wait for insurgents to emerge. The two men talk about whether flowers are an appropriate Christmas gift for a girlfriend – one says yes, one says no – and a teddy bear that one bought for his girl, with her name on the front and soccer number on the back.
On his first visit, he was stationed with his brother, now-Maj. Isaac Rademacher. But that assignment, which consisted of hanging out for days with reconnaissance troops near the Syrian border, drew the disdain of his other brother, Staff Sgt. Joe Rademacher, a sniper who didn't think Jake had experienced the realities of war.
Joe so repudiated Jake's experience that he declined to hug Jake when Jake returned from his first trip to Iraq. It's one of the more excruciating scenes in "Brothers at War," when Jake jumps on Joe, and Joe backs away.
So Jake took up his brother's challenge and returned to Iraq, this time to the Sunni Triangle, at one point being shot at as he filmed and narrowly avoiding a roadside bomb that injured two Iraqi officers.
Joe, 23, "felt like I hadn't gone deep enough into the experience," Jake said. "I hadn't been in a sniper hide site ... things so important to his experience. It was a surprise to me that my little brother rejected my experience when I came home."
Isaac supported his brother's endeavor from the start, knowing how badly Jake had wanted to be a soldier.
"It did hurt his ego when I got in" West Point, said Isaac, 32, who recently was promoted to major and now is the operations officer for an armored cavalry squadron at Fort Bragg. "At the same time, he was happy for me. It's got to be hard to watch your younger brother succeed at something you tried to and it just didn't happen."
While he made the movie to teach civilians about war, Jake said soldiers and their families tell him it's helped them as well because it's allowed the troops to open up about their experiences.
The movie "illustrates and captures what it's like to be a soldier in Iraq," Isaac said. "A guy can sit there with his family and point at the screen and say there, that's almost exactly what I did over there. It gives you a start point to open that conversation."
Dr. John Burson speaks during an interview at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009. Burson, 74, a retired ear nose and throat specialist from Carrolton, Ga., was at Fort Benning finishing a week-long training course before being deployed for a 90-day rotation with the 101st Airborne Division. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Dr. John Burson balked when a skeptical Army staffer asked him to undergo a three-day physical exam to make sure he was fit to deploy as a field surgeon to Afghanistan.
"Look, I'm training to run a half-marathon," replied Burson, 74, a retired lieutenant colonel. "You come down and check to see if I can make it."
Burson won the debate and was declared fit for duty. The ear, nose and throat specialist from Carrolton wrapped up a weeklong training course this week at Fort Benning before his scheduled deployment Friday for a 90-day rotation with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division.
The first of two stints in Iraq proved unforgettable back in 2005, he said. Burson was among several doctors assigned to keep watch over an imprisoned Saddam Hussein.
The fallen dictator, who was three years younger than Burson, told him: "I'm glad they sent me one with gray hair this time."
"He likes to say, 'Where else can a 74-year-old go and have fun?'"said Barbara Burson, his wife of 53 years. "I don't know if I see it as fun, but he enjoys doing it. And anyone would feel good about being able to contribute."
In Afghanistan, Burson will oversee a medical staff treating about 1,000 soldiers. He'll likely spend much of his time working in a base clinic, but could be called to treat soldiers wounded during combat patrols. When he served in Iraq, it wasn't unusual for him to work through mortar rounds being fired at his base camp.
"There's an element of risk,"Burson said."But statistically it's probably not any more hazardous than driving to work."
Lt. Col. Twanda Young said about 400 soldiers, reservists and civilian contractors go through the Fort Benning training center she commands each week, preparing to join units already overseas. Burson isn't the only gray-haired volunteer she's seen — but she said his abilities make his age irrelevant. Click here for more GPB News coverage about Fort Benning and military affairs.
As Barack Obama began the first full day of his presidency, there was a homecoming for troops returning from Iraq.
About 80 troops from the army's 63rd Signal Battalion Company B came home early this morning. They reunited with family and friends in a gym at the Fort Gordon army base near Augusta, after serving in Iraq for 15 months.
These troops return home to a new president, one who wants to end the war. Obama has said he wants to pull troops out of Iraq during the next 16 months.
"I'm happy to have a new president, and I'm ready for change," said Sgt. Kimberly Miller, declined to say who she voted for. "Hopefully the deployments will slow down and all of our comrades will get home safely."
During their time in Iraq, Miller and her fellow troops maintained communications, such as internet and telephones, for the army.
Soldiers assigned to a Fort Stewart-based unit are back home after serving a year in Iraq. 139 Members of the 416th Transportation Co. were honored by families and friends last night at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. The 416th deployed in July 2007 to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Army said the unit was responsible for moving and transporting heavy equipment.
A Georgia soldier has been killed in Iraq. The Army says Sgt. Kenneth W. Mayne of Fort Benning died last Thursday of wounds from a roadside bombing earlier in the week. The 29-year-old was among two soldiers killed in that blast. Mayne was based at Fort Hood, Texas.
Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning. (Courtesy)President George Bush on Monday granted $350 million dollars for a new army hospital in southwest Georgia, as the facility it will replace commemorates its 50th anniversary.The funds for Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning are part of an emergency Iraq War funding bill.Hospital Director Colonel Harry Warren says the center plans to open a traumatic brain injury clinic for wounded soldiers:
"In fact, we already have funding before the new hospital for an outpatient clinic along these lines, actually, next month."
Army officials say repairs are being made to the present facility, which is beset with rusty plumbing, an underpowered electrical system and a leaky roof.The hospital serves the region, and will continue functioning until the new, 500,000 million dollar facility is built over the next four-to-five years.
Rep. Sanford Bishop, 2nd Cong. Dist. (in suit), Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, and Martin Army Community Hospital officials wield ceremonial swords to cut a 50th birthday cake. (Dave Bender)
An influx of some 30,000 troops, families and dependents is expected when the Army's Armor School at Fort Knox moves down to Fort Benning as a part of the Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).
Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at FortBenning, and here for more on the BRAC plan.
Fort Benning's aging Martin Army Community Hospital will be rebuilt to the tune of $350 million, if a vote approved by the House last week passes a Senate vote and is signed into law by President George Bush.
Army officials say the facility suffers from significant infrastructure problems, among them a corroded plumbing system, an overtaxed electrical system and a decaying roof.
A hospital spokesperson says they want to build a traumatic brain injury clinic, for troops wounded in battle.
Officials say a new facility would serve some 100,000 soldiers and dependents in coming years, as part of the national Base Realignment and Closure program.
The bill also includes funding for medical facilities at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Riley, Kansas.
The bill now faces a Senate vote.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and here for more on the BRAC plan.
Fort Stewart soldiers recently back from Iraq will gather this morning for a special ceremony to honor their fallen comrades. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team will get together to honor 29 fellow soldiers who died in the most recent deployment. The Brigade's 4,000 troops returned home to Georgia in March from a 15-month combat tour in Iraq.
The family of a soldier from middle Georgia say he was killed in Iraq.Thirty-nine year old Sargeant Davy Nathaniel Weaver died Sunday when his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device.Weaver was on his third Mid-east tour.
He is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons, and his mother who said her son signed up for the military in 11th grade and served ever since.
New barracks at Fort Benning near Columbus are awaiting soldiers returning soon from Iraq. The quarters include flat screen TV's and semiprivate bathrooms. The construction is part of Fort Benning's expansion. By the year 2011, Fort Benning will add about 5,100 soldiers to its current permanent population of about 25,000.
Relieved family and friends joyously greeted over 250 US Army soldiers of the 598th Maintenance Company, and an advance force of the Third Brigade as they stepped off the plane at the post's Lawson Airfield, close to midnight on Wednesday.
Both units served 15-months in the Baghdad area. The advance troops will prepare for the main force of 3,000 troops, who are due back in several planeloads in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, over 160 soldiers of the 63rd Engineering Company are preparing for a similar combat tour in Iraq. Specialist Adam Wilson says he's grateful the army will look after his wife and children while he's gone:
"If she gets run down, or gets in a predicament, then hope is close by; that's a huge load of my shoulders to know that she's not alone."
Wilson's unit is to leave on Sunday, and will serve 15-months.
The Defense Department on Thursday announced the death of Staff Sgt. Jeffery Lee Hartley, 25, of Hempstead, Texas.
Hartley died Tuesday of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath his vehicle, according to the DoD.
Joining the Army in 2001, Hartley served as a radioman in the Signal Corps, with the 3rd Brigade at Fort Benning, near Columbus. He was unmarried and deployed to Iraq in March, 2007.
Hempstead is about 50 miles northwest of Houston.
(The Associated Press)
Click here for more GPB news coverage of Fort Benning.
Sgt. Darren Dhanoolal, of Columbus was killed on Monday in the Baghdad area when a roadside bomb exploded by an armored vehicle he was driving.
The Army has not yet released an official statement of Dhanoolal's death, although his family has been notified.
Dhanoolal and his wife were last together during Christmas, and was due back in the States in several weeks, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.
His body was flown back to the States on Wednesday, and funeral arrangements are being made.
Dhanoolal was 26-year-old.
Ft. Benning officials say 74 of their soldiers have been killed since their first deployment to Iraq five years ago, and 25 from Dhanoolal's brigade since last March.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Ft. Benning and other military installations in Georgia.
Maj. Britton Yount, Iraqi interpreter Ammar Mahdi Hadi at Ft. Benning. (Courtesy of The Bayonet/Bridgett Siter)
An Iraqi interpreter who worked hand-in-hand with a Ft. Benning-based US Army major and coalition forces throughout Iraq, is now making a new home in Columbus, together with his wife and eight-month-old daughter.
29-year-old Ammar Mahdi Hadi, in his three years working as an interpreter, says he saw 20 friends and colleagues killed for such duty:
"People were starting to get suspicious. If they recognize I love Americans, we would not be safe," he said. "I want better for my daughter. I wish for her that she does not live in that bloody world."
Major James Yount worked closely with Hadi, who fled Iraq several weeks ago with his family, according to a just-released report in the post newspaper, The Bayonet.
Hadi is now employed as a construction worker at Ft. Benning. He, his wife and baby girl are learning the sights, sounds, and tastes of a new life in America.
Family members say an Army sergeant from LaGrange has been killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, a week after his first wedding anniversary.
Relatives told the LaGrange Daily News that 21-year-old Sergeant Corey Spates, 21, died Sunday morning in the Diyala province.
His wife and parents were notified by the Army on Sunday evening.
The family said they were told there were multiple casualties in the blast, but that the Army would not release details until the next of kin of all victims had been notified.
Spates, who attended Troup High School, had left for his second deployment in November. He and his wife celebrated their first anniversary last week.
