I just love this photo. It'a a KEEPER!!!

Here's Taylor and Dusty!

Hey how did you get into my desktop?? It couldnt be becasue I post photos pf the boys everywhere I go (well them and my Dad) I see this fishin days photo every morning when I log on to the pc... .Surprise surprise Thanks Marion I will have tp post the one my friend found online late last night. It was just wild she emails me and says try this webpage they have a photo albumn of Dustys unit maybe you will find him. I was sleeping in the recliner pretending I was doing something constructive on the computer...so I go tho the page look at the wrong class of recruits...almost call it quits find the right page and oh my Gawd there he is!!! Talk about owing my buddy a nice relaxing lunch... so here ya go

front row last on the right & the best lookin guy in the bunch

I have sat down numerous times and tried to put into words how special this was for all of us and have failed miserabley. So here goes there is a lot to say ...

First and foremost I have never been prouder of Dusty. This was his time and he did such a fine job. The other soldiers were so close to my little man it amazed me. I cant tell you how many times I heard Uncle Dusty... and there were tears when it was time to say good bye. How special it was to see my son made a difference in their lives. This is a man that has struggled for some time with himself, and he was never sure of himself, that he had what I knew he had to offer.Well it was obvious in their actions and their words that he is all I knew he would come to be. I have always told him he could do anything , be anyone he wanted to be that he just had to want it bad enough. He wanted it bad enough. He wears success well. Since we have gotten home he has gotten phone calls from the guys asking him what should I do about this etc...

I am proud of the fact that he didnt quit. that he did what he needed to do. But I am more proud that he was there for a lot of very young scared boys that have no choice but to be men now.I wish I could tell you about one of the young men who Dusty took under his wing but it is something he asked me not to repeat So I will respect that but to say I am very proud that my little man was a friend and a refuse for a very frightened young man, he didnt have much of a family life before he joined the Army , but found family in my son. He is the young man who said you are the brother I never had on the back of his unit photo, I met him he looked like a little boy. I pray that he is the man he will soon be forced to be to survive the days that are ahead of him. I could go on about this kind of thing because it seems the young men were so much alike . Very young and unsure. They were Dusty 4 years ago...

I met the DS Link who I imagined ot be 6 ft 6 and 250 pounds of mean son of a bitch, who actually turned out to be a 6 ft 6 slim Opie Taylor looking man..Very gentle and quiet but owned every young man he trained with respect & admiration. The DS who from day one had a problem with Dusty and did his best to beat him down was gone. He was relieved of duty. There was an inquiry the day before graduation. They asked the platoon if he ever "put hands on them" Dusty said hell no... which was a lie. But he said I wouldnt give the son of a bitch the satisfaction to think he broke me. Becasue he didnt, he just made me drive on... But it turns out there were plenty of soldiers who did tell. So he was just gone.. I had so hoped to meet him , but I am sure its a blessing I didnt because I would have liked to shake his hand and ask him you didnt think you could break my son now did you....well I imagine it many different ways and the rest arent anything I would find lady like so I will leave it at that.

I met a Ranger from the 6th Ranger Battalion from the PTO. He was amazing. 80 + and looking as sharp as a tack... met another fine gentleman who served with the 10th Armored Div. who served under Patton. He asked me where I was from and when I told him he said well a damned Yankee... we talked for quite some time. I saw him the next day he gave me a big old smooch and his grandson just shook his head and laughed.. He cried when he spoke about Patton He was so much the Greatest Generation.. He also told me he is from New Orleans ..and glad he left when he did but its not a problem he comes from a family of 17 he will just stay with each sibling for a month and he is good to go... He still has all of his family How amazing. I met an Officer who had 2 silver bars (I think) who was from the 3rd Infanty Div. He had a scar on his face that almost went down his entire face. It was something thsat took my breath away. He served in Iraq the same sime D.T. did and recongized the names on my bracelet. The young men on my braclet were killed in action when the war first broke out. So before the day was over I found him and I gave him my bracelet. I have wore it for 2 years or more but I knew I would find a rightful owner someday, That was the day. He was shocked when I offered it to him He said oh no I cant take that. I told him I have been looking for the right man and I know that is you. He took it with tears in his eyes and proudly put it on his wrist and thanked me. He said I think of them all the time and never thought I would see this bracelet much less own it. . I apologized to him that is was in such sad shape it was so worn and scratched and faded, but he said oh my it has character. I can tell you wore this every day and that makes it even more special that you didnt forget the sacrifices made by these young men. It was such a special moment for me I will never forget, becuase it was equally special for him if not more.

So now I have started my journal of what the day meant to me, and there is so much more ... all of it made me so proud to be an American and to be part of it was just amazing. I cant ecer express how proud my sons have made me. They are growing right in to the next Great Generation before my eyes and I am damn proud of both of them

The best part of everything was watching all of Dusty’s friends come up to him after the turning blue ceremony and especially after the graduation. turning blue was amazing. When they recited the Soldiers Creed I cried when they recited the Infantryman Creed I cried when the DS recited the Drill SGT Creed guess what ??? I cried

After the ceremony, before they went back to the barracks, they all hung out on the parade field. Many, many guys came up to Dusty and thanked him for all his help. Most of them called him Uncle Dusty.

Many guys signed Dusty’s unit photo. I’ll write what five or six of them wrote. I wont put their names because of privacy ...but here are a few

Uncle Dusty,

You my friend are one of the finest gentlemen in the platoon. Thanks for the many times you have handed out advice. Your experience has helped myself and others. Best of luck jumping out of Blackhawk’s, man.

************

Uncle Dusty,

Well, to one of the greatest infantrymen I’ve ever had the privilege to know and my best friend. I’ll miss you brother. You’ve inspired me and everyone. I can’t thank you enough. Always keep your head up. Keep in touch. I wish you the best of luck in your career and life. Godspeed. Hooah!

Your friend,

********

Uncle Dusty,

I knew since I met you, Chi-town, that you would be a cool guy. Thanks for being there for me. You are a good friend and one of the best. Keep in touch, Schmit.

*******

Uncle Dusty,

Dude, you rock. Your experience has been ginormously valuable, and your stories just rock. Of all the people in this platoon, I admire you the most, and I hope that there is another “Dusty †at my unit to square me away. You’re smart, you’re funny, but most importantly, you are an honorable man. You will make an awesome soldier.

**************

This next one was from a kid that Dusty used to say this to all the time when he would see him he would shout hey*********Women Want him.... the kid loved it His is short and sweet.

Uncle Dusty,

ROCK STEADY IN THE 101st!

Women want him, men want to be him

**********

Uncle Dusty,

Thanks for always watching out for me and answering all my questions, you’re the best. For the most part, thanks for always being there. The only thing that was/is hard about this training is having to say good-bye Uncle Dusty. I’ll miss you and you better come visit me. Anyway, my little girl paragraph is over, so here’s the manly sentence. Good luck over in the 101st Uncle Dusty

*********

You’re the brother I never had… *********

Well, I know you are PROUD of him and damn, so am I! I just love what you wrote and I loved what the guys wrote to Dusty at graduation. Hooah!

Thanks for posting the photos here and your thoughts on this magnificent day. If you didn't I was going to post some of the things you've been sending me. Just the other day (really I'm not kidding ya Cindy) I thought, wouldn't it be nice to post some of the photos from graduation along with some of the things the men signed on his photo? Then I go into the forum this morning and viola, there they are. I was so delighted to see them!

Marion you are my sibling indeed..I love ya . I knew you would if I didnt. We are just creepy and there is no one I would rather be creepy with

Six more soldiers from the 101st die

Five others hurt in bombings

From C-J and AP Dispatches

Five 101st Airborne Division soldiers were killed yesterday and five others were wounded in a pair of roadside bombings in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

The five soldiers, from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, were on patrol near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, the military's statement said.

Three of the wounded were transported to a U.S. military hospital, and the two others were treated and returned to duty, the statement added. The dead soldiers were not identified.

And the Army said another soldier with the Kentucky-based 101st Airborne had died of injuries suffered when his vehicle was intentionally rammed near Beiji on Thursday.

The Army announced earlier that one soldier had been killed in that incident.

Last night the Army identified those soldiers as Spc. Vernon R. Widner, 34, of Redlands, Calif., and Pfc. Anthony A. Gaunky, 19, of Sparta, Wis.

John Minton, a spokesman for Fort Campbell, where the 101st Airborne is based, declined to comment yesterday.

With the latest deaths, 21 Fort Campbell soldiers have died since returning to Iraq for a second deployment this fall, with 12 of those deaths coming in the past week.

Overall, 90 soldiers from Fort Campbell have died in deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002.

The mounting casualties for the 101st are frustrating, said Greg Bequette of Clarksville, Tenn., a former sergeant with an air defense battery who fought in the first tour when the 101st Airborne helped topple Saddam Hussein.

"We're all saddened by it," Bequette said.

"It's more dangerous now than when we were there before."

"It bugs me. There's no way you can defend against suicide bombers, and when I was there, they were putting IEDs (bombs) inside of dead dogs and Coke cans," he said.

Bequette said he worries about soldiers from his unit who are back in Iraq. "Everybody worries," he said.

Bequette said the community will support the fallen soldiers' families and remember the troops who are fighting.

Oak Grove City Councilman Eddie Cannon said the entire community grieves when a soldier from the 101st is killed.

"It's like losing one of our best friends," said Cannon, who has friends serving in Iraq.

He said about 85 percent of Oak Grove's population is made up of military, military family and military retirees.

"We see these soldiers and pass one another on the road and wave and have them over for barbecues," he said. "We take it very hard when we lose one."

David Gaunky, the father of Anthony Gaunky, who was killed in the incident Thursday, said two other sons are serving their second tours in the region, 24-year-old Adam with the Navy aboard the USS Tarawa, and 22-year-old Don with military intelligence in Iraq, attached to the 18th Airborne Corps. Don's twin brother, Bob, recently left the Navy and also had served in Iraq.

Anthony Gaunky, who was known as Alex, graduated last year from Sparta High School and was sent to Iraq in August.

The family asked that doctors take any viable organs from Alex Gaunky for transplant. His father said that means part of his son lives on and that "he's still trying to save lives."

Fort Campbell troops are assigned to Task Force Baghdad and also are patrolling in northern Iraq around Kirkuk in Task Force Band of Brothers.

About 17,600 troops from Fort Campbell are currently deployed.

Marion and all please keep my young man Dusty is your prayers The update I posted is about his unit He is with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. I am praying the no news is good news thing. I would also appreciate your prayers that he si safe. The thing that troubles me is that they havent been identified. It has been a long night to say the least Thanks for listening Hugs at ya Cindy