Currahee

Currahee is a Cherokee word that means "we stand alone." In the early days of World War II when the paratroop infantry was in it infancy and training at Camp Tacoa, GA there was a hill they used to run. It was called Currahee and it was "three miles up, three miles down" ("hi ho silver!" for those familiar with the miniseries). The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division adopted "Currahee!" as their motto. One company in the 506th was E (Easy) Company, a company made up of three platoons of some of the most incredible everyday heroes of the era. If you have seen the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers then you know what I am talking about.

I currently fall under Task Force Currahee and 101st here in Afghanistan. This task force traces it's lineage back to this Band of Brothers and are very cognizant of their proud heritage. On Saturday COL Johnson, the TF Currahee commander came to the FOB and presented us with our 101st Abn Div combat patch. Patches, histories and traditions play a big role in Army culture. Entry into a unit allows you to wear a patch on the left shoulder of your uniform. The patch is either unique to your unit of some level of your higher headquarters. That patch changes when you move to a new unit. When you deploy with or serve under a unit in a combat environment you are authorized to wear that unit's patch on your right shoulder forever, no matter where you go or who you serve with.


The Patch of the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagle dates back to US Civil War.











Being a student of culture and history I am humbled and honored to wear the same patch that so many great men have worn over the years, not just in WWII but in Korea and Vietnam, and now Afghanistan and Iraq. In the Shakespearean play Richard V a speech is given by the King on St Crispen's Day on the eve of battle wherein he says, "From this day to the ending of the world/But we in it shall be remembered-/We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;/For he to-day who sheds his blood with me/Shall be my brother..." I along with my brothers here have been welcomed into this group, though unworthily as we may feel, the names Stacie Shafran, Kimberly Riggs, Nestor Sosa, Nelson Figueroa, Colin Mayo Wily Cooey and dare I say Jackson Irish will now stand along side those of Dick Winters, Lewis Nixon, Wild Bill Guarnere, Babe Heffron, Buck Compton, Bull Randleman, and Ronald Spiers. We pale in comparison to what these great men did but we have ourselves accomplished something here and no one can take that from us.



PRT Paktya waiting to receive their combat patches. SrA Mayo holds the gidon, behind the guidon is 1SG Ruble. Front row from left to right: SrA Davidson, Capt Kruezberger, Capt Parris, TSgt Cheney, MSgt Bryant and 1LT Irish. Between Parris & Cheney you can see my supply NCO SSgt Figueroa.




Wow, I haven't sounded this jingoistic in some time. It's kind of nice to know that it's still in there, somewhere deep down.


COL Johnson, Task Force Currahee commander places the 101st combat patch on 1LT Irish.