Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Junell | Raleigh, North Carolina – WWII Veterans of the 30th Infantry Division and their...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - Soldiers and Airmen lined the walkway leading to Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 29, 2016 while rendering salutes to the WWII Veterans visiting as part of the 30th Infantry Division’s 70th reunion.
Although WWII has been over for decades, the 30th, known as Old Hickory, is still fighting a battle of a different kind; the battle for recognition.
“The 30th Infantry Division was deemed by S.L.A. Marshall to be the most outstanding Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations in WWII,” said retired Army Chaplain Melissa Culbreth, who serves as the 30th Infantry Division Association’s Reunion Chair. “However, they were never awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.”
The Presidential Unit Citation is awarded to military units for gallantry, determination and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions.
“These guys set the stage for us to win WWII,” said Culbreth. “They held hill 314 at Mortain. They broke the Siegfried Line. By breaching the Siegfried Line, they set up the path of march to take out Hitler.”
The recommendation for the 30th to receive the award went up through the Gen. of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower and was sent to D.C. before it was denied.
“From 1946 through the next few years it kept getting pushed up, but then the people working there retired,” Culbreth said. “In the ‘50’s the awards were closed for WWII and since then nobody has had any luck.”
A few years ago, the 30th Infantry Division Association’s president, Lt. Col. Wes Morrison, who served with the 30th in Iraq after it had been reorganized into a Heavy Brigade Combat Team, took up the mantle of for the citation.
“He asked me ‘How do we make this happen,’” Culbreth said. “Our historians and the history detachment did a huge amount of research and we made another proposal.”
She said the proposal went up to the Department of the Army before being denied again.
“They said if they awarded the 30th the medal then they would have to award the other eight divisions recommended for it,” Culbreth said. “Well the other eight divisions weren’t declared the most outstanding Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations, now were they.”
The fight did not end there. Culbreth and Morrison are not the only ones behind the push for the Presidential Unit Citation.
The Adjutant General for North Carolina, Maj. Gen. Greg Lusk served as the 30th Brigade Commander while the unit was deployed to Iraq in 2009, is also motivated to see the WWII Veteran’s be honored for their accomplishments in Europe.
“The TAG looked at me and said ‘We need a letter writing campaign,’ O.K. Let’s talk Sir,” Culbreth said. “So I started on online petition.”
Just to get the White House website hosting the petition to act, it must receive 100,000 signatures in 30 days. Currently the petition is close to 1500 signatures and they have until August 13, 2016.
Although Culbreth doesn’t expect to get that many signatures, she is hoping they will get at least 20,000 and then they can take what they have and use it as leverage.
“My theory is we see how many signatures we can get and have Gen. Lusk push it up to D.C. and see if one of our congressmen or senators will present it to Obama,” she said.
Her hope is that on the President’s last Veteran’s Day in office he will honor the Old Hickory WWII Veterans with the Presidential Unit Citation.
“This is honoring guys who 70 years ago were fighting for our freedom,” Culbreth said. “These are amazing men and to think they’ve been this long and not received the honor they deserve, it just breaks my heart.”
During the visit to Joint Force Headquarters, the WWII Veterans of the 30th Infantry Division had on opportunity to sign the petition on computers set up just for that purpose.
Peter Munger, who served with the 30th’s 120th Infantry Regiment during WWII, is one of many hoping the unit finally gets the award.
“I think it would be terrific,” said Munger, who traveled all the way from Niagara Falls for the reunion. “I really do, because that’s one of the few decorations that’s really earned by all they people in the unit. I hope we get it.”
To learn more about the Presidential Unit Citation for “Old Hickory” WWII heroes and to support the White House petition for a PUC, visit the 30th Infantry Division Association webpage at www.30thinfantry.wordpress.com.
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2016 16:19 |
| Story ID: | 205852 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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