Tomorrow, on Friday 12 May 2017, the Army will celebrate Military Spouses Day as a part of the annual observance of National Military Appreciation Month.
During Desert Shield/Storm, the spouses of our soldiers stayed in Germany, committed to our mission, were part of the fabric our TEAM, and played an integral role in the success of VII Corps. The organization of spouses during our deployment became the precursor to today’s doctrinal Family Readiness Groups.
General Franks has asked us all to take time on Military Spouses Day to remember the particular role that the spouses of VII Corps soldiers played in the eventual success of our campaign in the desert 26 years ago.
Do you think that Desert Storm should have its own memorial in our nation’s capital alongside the WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Korea memorials?
Such a memorial is in the works and you can help by writing a letter to ensure that the memorial is built in the optimal location.
Background
The VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association Board, including General Fred Franks, has been working closely with our friends at the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association. This group is working tirelessly through the approval and funding efforts necessary for a Desert Storm Memorial to be built in Washington, D.C.
The Memorial has been authorized by Congress by way of enabling legislation that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014. Additionally, President Donald Trump recently signed into law a resolution permitting the Memorial to be built in a “Prominent Area I Location” just like the existing memorials mentioned above.
The Next Step is Crucial
The list of possible locations has been narrowed from 100 down to two:
In Washington, D.C. at 23rd and Constitution – directly across from the US Institute of Peace and near the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Memorials (preferred)
Across the river in Arlington, D.C., adjacent to the Memorial Traffic Circle
The two site options: The preferred site is outlined in white dashes in the Northeast portion of the photo
The National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC) is holding a hearing on 16 May 2017 to commence the final phase of the site selection process.
The VII Corps DSVA Board agrees with the National Desert Storm Memorial Association that the first option is, by far, the preferred location for our memorial.
“We have to be on the D.C. side of the Potomac River at 23rd and Constitution.” General Fred Franks
VII Corps Commander during Desert Shield/Storm
The Letter Writing Campaign
The NCMAC is accepting letters of support for the 23rd & Constitution location from now until 2 May 2017. You can join Veterans of Desert Storm, military organizations, concerned citizens, as well as members of President Bush’s Cabinet in 1990-91 by adding your letter of support.
Instructions
Write a letter of support in your own words using the talking points and linked documents below.
Send the letter as an attachment (Word Document, PDF, scanned document) to glenn_demarr@nps.gov. Note that there is a distinction between an attachment and the body of an email. The letter must be an attachment to be considered a letter of support.
Share this page with fellow veterans and supporters of the VII Desert Storm Veterans Association.
Talking Points
The 23rd & Constitution location is near the National Mall and other popular D.C. attractions.
The less-preferred location in Arlington is also the future location of memorials for 21st Century conflicts Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. We feel that it is more appropriate for the Desert Storm Memorial to be built near the sites memorializing other 20th Century conflicts.
We feel that the proximity of the 23rd & Constitution location to the Vietnam Memorials is especially appropriate. General Franks and many other Desert Storm commanders also served in the Vietnam War.
For more details, please see the following documents:
The Corps of Cadets honored the service of retired Gen. Fred Franks Nov. 1 at Washington Hall. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1959, Franks served for 35 and a half years and later became the Chair and visiting scholar of the Simon Center for Professional Military Ethic. On the first of November, Franks’ 80th birthday, his career came full circle as he bid a Soldier’s farewell to the Corps.
“Gen. Fred Franks has done more to advance the Army profession than anyone I know,” Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr. said during Franks’ farewell dinner. “His drive, his commitment to excellence, and his passion for our Army has never faltered… He is, above all, a Soldier.”
My wife Denise and I and on behalf of our President Col (ret) Mark Rado and our newly elected VII Corps Desert Storm Association Board wish our VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans and Families all the very best this Veterans Day 2016 and every day. This continues to be a special year as you know. We commemorate 25 years from our rapid 250 kilometer 89-hour attack as part of the Coalition 24-28 February 1991 operation that liberated Kuwait. We did all that as a team. We commemorated this special year with over 300 of you at our 25th Reunion in February in Washington DC. By reading each name at our Memorial Service we were able to remember and honor those of our ranks who in Lincoln’s words ‘gave that last full measure of devotion’ and their Families. This year as a special honor we laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington. Our Reunion Dinner followed with an inspiring talk by the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and VII Corps Veteran, General (ret) Marty Dempsey.
Thank you for your courageous and selfless service to our Nation in accomplishing all we did together in VII Corps with great skill from our training, courage, discipline, teamwork, and yes, sacrifice, during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Our grateful appreciation as well to our Families who served with their own brand of courage, those in the USA, UK, and those staying in already forward deployed locations in Germany. You all made a difference when it counted, as do this post 9/11 generation who serve today with great skill, selflessness, and sacrifice, in current operations worldwide, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. I value our wartime service with all of you and remain honored to have been your commander just as Denise values the invaluable Family contributions at home. We both continue to treasure the friendships over these now more than 25 years.
Our Board decided to move this year’s Reunion from Washington DC to Houston, Texas to be closer for more of our members. Details are listed on our VII Corps DSVA website to include an opportunity to sign up to attend. Denise and I hope to see you at our 26th Reunion February 26, 2017.
All the very best to each of you and your Families this 2016 Veterans Day.
JAYHAWK!
Fred M. Franks
General, US Army (retired)
Chairman VII Corps DSVA Board
We have been asked to share some information regarding a study being conducted by the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI:
“Dear Gulf War Veteran,
“We would like to tell you about the research being done at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in conjunction with The University of Wisconsin – Madison and invite you to participate. This research is aimed at understanding brain function of pain and the impact of weight-training exercise in Persian Gulf Veterans who served during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and who experience chronic muscle pain. This work is supported by the Department of Veteran Affairs.”
General Franks, President Bush dictated the brief note below earlier today:
Dear Fred,
Please convey to the entire VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association my thanks for the very kind birthday wishes. Your warm sentiments mean a great deal to me.
With respect and lasting gratitude for your service to our country.
As we approach the sacred day of Memorial Day in America where we honor and remember our men and women who died in military service, Denise and I, on behalf of our newly elected Association President Mark Rado and our new VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association Board, are reaching out to you and your Families to thank you for your own service and your service in VII Corps during Desert Storm.
To remember our own fallen this 25th Anniversary year of our victory in 1991, on 27 February at our VII Corps Reunion Chaplain Col (ret) Wayne Lehrer conducted a military Memorial Service, as he has done each year, where our past Association President MG (ret) John Altenburg read each of the 111 names of our VII Corps Desert Storm Soldiers who in Lincoln’s words, “gave that last full measure of devotion.” One of our former commanders, this year LTG Karen Dyson, gave commander remarks as is appropriate at these ceremonies.
This year in special commemoration following our Memorial Service, CSM (ret) Harold Shrewsberry, Association Vice President and I, accompanied by former division and major unit commanders and CSM, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery to honor and remember our 111 Fallen. We said at the end of Desert Storm 25 years ago that “we will never forget” and we have not forgotten our VII Corps comrades nor as a Nation all those who have fallen in military service.
May we all pause in our own way this Memorial Day 2016 in deep remembrance to honor and remember those Soldiers who gave it all in military service–and their Families. We value our service with each of you and look forward to seeing many of you at our Reunion the weekend of 24-26 February 2017 in Houston, TX.
Fred Franks
Gen, US Army (retired)
Chairman, VII Corps DSVA Board
(Picture Above) VII Corps DSVA new Board of Directors installed on 23 April 2016 in Springfield, VA at a called Board meeting.
SPRINFIELD, VA: On Saturday 23 April 2016 the VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association installed new members to their Board of Directors at a called Board Meeting. New officers were voted on at the 27 February 2016 called general membership meeting in Arlington, VA.
New officers installed were: Colonel Mark Rado – President, Stan Lenox III – Vice President, CSM(R) Violet McNeirney – Secretary, CSM John McNeirney – Treasurer, MG(R) John Altenburg – Legal Counsel, COL (Chaplain) Wayne Lehrer – Chaplain, BG(R) Ed Dyer – Scholarship Committee Chair, CSM(R) Harold Shrewsberry – Golf Tournament Chair, COL(R) Art Hoptop – Historian. General Fred Franks, USA-Ret will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.
General Fred Franks, USA-Ret – Chairman of the Board of Directors thanked the outgoing Board members for their distinguished service and welcomed the new Board Members.
Written statement will be forthcoming from the new President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
To the Members of VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association:
Your able leader and my respected friend, General Franks, wrote me about your upcoming 25th reunion, and I am very happy to have the opportunity to send greetings to all gathered for this milestone occasion.
The decision to commit our sons and daughters to battle is never easy for a President. But after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, we had no choice but to take a stand against this act of aggression. I had full confidence in the ability of our military to complete our mission, and VII Corps exceeded my expectations -no surprise there. You maintained a legacy of operational excellence, and the role you played in achieving our objective was immeasurable.
Both Barbara and I have a special place in our hearts for the military members and families who served during Operation Desert Storm. Also close to our hearts are memories of heroes who never came home, and I join you in paying special tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
This Navy man and former Commander-in-Chief salutes every veteran in attendance and thanks you for your service to our country. I hope that this reunion is an occasion marked by pride in your selfless contribution to a successful mission. Certainly, my pride in each one of you knows no bounds.
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