Adm Winnefeld, General Fraser, flag and general officers, guests. Thank you for attending and hope the evening is enjoyable and memorable.
It’s not often but we are fortunate to have 2 four stars at the same event. Admiral Winnefeld will be formally introduced later but I want the audience to be aware there are only 9 Combatant Commanders in the world. When the President of the United States, as Commander in Chief, issues a military order it’s the Combatant Commanders that execute it. We have one of those 9 commands in our community in the U.S. Transportation Command and it is headed by General Fraser who is with us tonight.
I want to thank our supporters for this evenings event: Enterprise, a leader in auto leasing, and friend to the military, provided table wines and sponsored our reception; Anheuser Busch Inbev, who provided the beer you are enjoying tonight; Boeing, mfr of the world’s greatest acft; Innoventor, a premier engineering company; Edward Jones, a prominent brokerage and investment company; Marcone, a national appliance parts distributor; Daugherty an award winning technology company; Webster University, an international College serving several military members; Tri-Rinse a defense contractor; Olin an ammunition manufacturer, and the St. Louis Science Center who partnered with The office of Naval Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Would the Sea Cadets and NJROTC students stand. These are an impressive group and your support helps us in their development.
We are celebrating the 1812 bicentennial. If you were an army audience I would offer this was a land war, but since this is the navy birthday and primarily a naval audience I will tell you the truth, it was primarily a naval battle. It began when the Royal Navy, blockaded the eastern seaboard disrupting trade and impressing 4000 American merchant sailors into British naval service. Major Naval Battles took place off New York, Baltimore, New Orleans and in the Great Lakes. You may not know there was a naval battle on the Missouri river just west of here known as the Battle of Sink Hole. Ft. Bellefontaine was the furthest west military post at the time and was located a few miles north of here. The Naval Museum in D.C. sent displays which are in the back of the room and worth viewing.
We witnessed a moving tribute to our POW’s and MIA’s. Let me make it more personal by bringing it closer to home. There are three Missourians I want to mention. This empty seat represents LTJG Joseph Vaugn Murray, A-6 pilot from VA-85 flying off the Kitty Hawk on Feb 18 1966 in a 3 plane formation. From 6,000 ft he was #2 to make a pass dropping two 1,000 lbs on a target in North Vietnam. He was unable to pull up and impacted the ground at high speed. No ejection was witnessed but his remains were never found and he is listed as MIA. This seat represents Col John Clark flying an RF-4 over North Vietnam on March 12 1967 and was shot down by AAA spending the next 6 years in captivity. He flew over 60 combat missions. This seat represents Col Bill Reich. A flight of four F-4’s engaged a formation of Migs in aerial combat. During that fight his plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He was burned, had a broken arm and found unconscious by the North Vietnamese. He spent the next year in captivity and wrote this statement about his experience.
“My future was in doubt, yet the first night, my morale was raised by contact with other Americans. A togetherness of American prisoners was apparent; a unity that the Vietnamese were never able to break, even though that was their highest goal.
What was a POW? A man who was unsure of his future, but never lost faith in his return to his family and friends; a man who missed his family so badly he hurt, yet was willing to stay away longer if his country required it. Food was never good – soup and a side dish twice a day. Meat could be measured in an ounce a week. Boredom was a persistent enemy. Companionship was most important and solitary confinement the most inhumane treatment.”
Col. Clark, we are pleased you and Col. Reich are dining with us tonight and want you to know we honored this seat for you during your captivity and for others like you.
Would the Vietnam Vets stand. I want to recognize Sid Staton representing the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Sid fought during the Tet Offensive and was wounded shortly thereafter in a search and destroy mission. Despite public perception the Tet Offensive was a decisive U.S. victory. Sid, we are proud of your service.
I want to recognize our WW11 vets. Would they please stand. Frank Boo, Adm Fletchers Yeoman, served on the USS Yorktown when it was sunk during the Battle of Midway. We celebrate the 70th year of that battle. It was a turning point against the Japanese Fleet. January 5, 1945 shortly after participating in the battle of Leyte Gulf, Bob Herman was on a carrier escort CVE 78 off the Philippine coast when his ship suffered a Kamikaze attack (Leyte Gulf described as the largest naval battle in history). Jack Taylor, who flew F-6F Hellcats off the USS Enterprise, received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medals. Jack’s affection for the Enterprise led to his company’s name. I heard stories about the Enterprise in my youth. My father served on that ship as an aviation electrician mate repairing F-4U Corsairs and influenced my decision to join the Navy. There may never be a generation to so decisively win a war as the ww2 generation.
I would like to honor other war veterans in the room. Are there any Korean Vets? Pls stand. Gulf War veterans pls stand. Your service to country is greatly appreciated.
For the Navy, Teddy Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents. He was the first to really see the relevance of sea power. In the late 1800’s he visited the war college and met Alfred Mahan, the father of naval strategy, who influenced his presidency on sea power. Roosevelt saw the U.S. as an emerging economy and wanted to negotiate favorable trade agreements and treaties. He saw the navy as a tool for foreign diplomacy and sent a Flotilla of ships around the world showing the US Flag in several ports.
He wanted a civilian organization to influence public support and established the Navy League in 1902 as an advocate for sea power. That is our role. Your attendance tonight helps us in that regard. I can’t thank you enough for your presence and support.