Reuben Gant Posted July 1, 2005 Share Posted July 1, 2005 Lt. Michael McGreevy commander of a Navy Seal Team was Killed in the Chinook Rescue Operation in Afhganistan. 1992 Portville Central Grad. RIP. With all the talk of Iraq, lets not forget the troops in Afghanistan. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=...id=444919&rfi=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_USN Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Four NAVY SEALS are missing. They are on an E&E in Afgan. A 4 man Observation Post Team of Navy SEALS came in contact with 100 taliban fighters. They called for help and tried to Escape and Evade. 16 Brave Souls said...hey..lets get on this Chinoock in the middle of the night and land on the side of a mountain.....and help them out....Imagine that? Who does that? NAVY SEALS do that! They crashed and died. One was from Portville, NY. Thank God for these men. Could you do that...I doubt it. Everyone needs to pray for the 4 men on the E&E...because if your captured by these people....they will peel you like an onion.....Gods Speed Brothers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 My father's uncle Oscar was a SEABEE back b/w the end of WW2 and through Vietnam. There were a lot of missions either where he was the only one who came back or there was one other guy. To the men and women who did and do this kind of work, we owe a debt of gratitude. He always put some kind of alcohol, usually Scotch, into everything he drank. He did this to "kill the germs." He died a few years ago, but he lived a good life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Do you have it right? The SEALS are special ops. The SEABEES are engineers, building landing strips, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Do you have it right? The SEALS are special ops. The SEABEES are engineers, building landing strips, etc. 374017[/snapback] Yeah. Hence, "We build, we fight" and the logo of the bee with a machine gun and monkey wrnech and hammer. They often landed just after the initial assault troops. As I understood, they were like SEALS and had that training (I could be wrong about this tho), only much of the time they built stuff in the midst of hell coming down on them. Kind of similar to how my brother is an Air Force Raven, and in doing so, he also automatically has the qualfication to be an Air Marshal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 Yeah. Hence, "We build, we fight" and the logo of the bee with a machine gun and monkey wrnech and hammer. They often landed just after the initial assault troops. As I understood, they were like SEALS and had that training (I could be wrong about this tho), only much of the time they built stuff in the midst of hell coming down on them. Kind of similar to how my brother is an Air Force Raven, and in doing so, he also automatically has the qualfication to be an Air Marshal. 374084[/snapback] You're extremely wrong. CB's in WWII were middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be middle-aged construction engineers. They were not middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be commandos. As far as I know, that hasn't changed much in the past 60 years. They did build - and fight - in hell. But they weren't really trained for it, and certainly not trained like SEALs. Which, frankly, makes a lot of what they did that much more impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 You're extremely wrong. CB's in WWII were middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be middle-aged construction engineers. They were not middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be commandos. As far as I know, that hasn't changed much in the past 60 years. They did build - and fight - in hell. But they weren't really trained for it, and certainly not trained like SEALs. Which, frankly, makes a lot of what they did that much more impressive. 374103[/snapback] OK, I thought of them sort of the way UConn does - were they at least the forerunners to NAVY SEALS? The impetus for SEALS? And did anyone back in WWII receive training the way the SEALS do now? Jus' wondering..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 OK, I thought of them sort of the way UConn does - were they at least the forerunners to NAVY SEALS? The impetus for SEALS? No. Completely different beasts. And did anyone back in WWII receive training the way the SEALS do now? 374135[/snapback] Yes. I want to say they were UDT's (Underwater Demolition Teams), but I'm not positive they were called that back then. At any rate, there were a bunch of guys, Navy or Marine (can't recall which), trained to swim to the beach (and not with the equipment they have today - they went with shorts, fins, a utility belt, maybe a breathing apparatus) and plot the location of obstacles 12 or so hours before an assault. Used exclusively in the Pacific, to the best of my knowledge. Now I've got to go to the library and look it up...I hate giving "Yeah, but I don't remember the details" answers when I should remember the details... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Now I've got to go to the library and look it up...I hate giving "Yeah, but I don't remember the details" answers when I should remember the details... 374139[/snapback] Getting old sucks, doesn't it Tom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Getting old sucks, doesn't it Tom? 374191[/snapback] I've got a library of several hundred military history books (at least...could be more). It's not that I'm getting old, it's that my brain's filling up... Yes, even my over-developed Kazoo-like cranium has a limit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 I've got a library of several hundred military history books (at least...could be more). It's not that I'm getting old, it's that my brain's filling up... Yes, even my over-developed Kazoo-like cranium has a limit... 374192[/snapback] And, by the way...I looked it up. It was UDTs that supported the landings at Iwo in the week previous to the actual invasion by setting up markers on or near the beach and clearing obstacles just offshore. And took vicious casualties doing it, too. They'd be the forerunners to the SEALs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Four NAVY SEALS are missing. They are on an E&E in Afgan. A 4 man Observation Post Team of Navy SEALS came in contact with 100 taliban fighters. They called for help and tried to Escape and Evade. 16 Brave Souls said...hey..lets get on this Chinoock in the middle of the night and land on the side of a mountain.....and help them out....Imagine that? Who does that? NAVY SEALS do that! They crashed and died. One was from Portville, NY. Thank God for these men. Could you do that...I doubt it. Everyone needs to pray for the 4 men on the E&E...because if your captured by these people....they will peel you like an onion.....Gods Speed Brothers.. F'n A. Not just the SEALs, either. There are some members of this board that have put themselves at risk for a brother in arms. There are some that volunteered, but were not chosen. There are some that would do it again. There are some that don't know, because they've never been there, but if they were to find themselves in that situation, they'd be right beside you. God, I love this country. Seabees? Just a bunch of guys using bulldozers and hammers, constructing bases. Bases in freaking war zones. (Hey USAF "Red Horse", whaddaya say?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede316 Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 hey..lets get on this Chinoock in the middle of the night and land on the side of a mountain.....and help them out They firmly believe "Leave no man behind"....Nobody I'd rather have on my side. God bless them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerjamhead Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 You're extremely wrong. CB's in WWII were middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be middle-aged construction engineers. They were not middle-aged construction engineers drafted to be commandos. As far as I know, that hasn't changed much in the past 60 years. They did build - and fight - in hell. But they weren't really trained for it, and certainly not trained like SEALs. Which, frankly, makes a lot of what they did that much more impressive. 374103[/snapback] Give your average squid a rifle and the truth gets contorted and twisted like a pretzel. Some people just can't be humble... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Give your average squid a rifle and the truth gets contorted and twisted like a pretzel. Some people just can't be humble... 374398[/snapback] CB's were on the Iwo airfields while they were being fought over. Iwo gave the trained and experienced Marines hell; for an untrained middle-aged engineer to unhesitatingly walk into that combat zone is pretty f'in ballsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 When I see a reference to 'combat engineers', I automatically think of the guys who built the footbridges across the Meuse in the dark, mere yards in front of the Maxim gunners, so the AEF could cross... As for the SEALs, this is a Cliff-notes version of their history: http://www.navyseals.com/community/navyseals/history.cfm Interestingly, no mention of Navy Special Warfare units (they still weren't officially called SEALs before 1962) south of Key West, in the general vicinity of the Bay of Pigs thingy...even though I know someone who was there. Guess that might still be classified? And if you want to know Lt. McGreevy, you need to read this: Remembering our heroes, both of the past and present John T. Eberth Olean Times Herald, July 3, 2005 Almost every day I take my 17-month-old son, Kevin, for a walk around the village of Portville. We start out in Chestnut Hill Cemetery, passing the graves of men who fought with his great-great-great-grandfather Louis Halter in the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Kevin doesn't understand, but I stop his stroller and read some of the names carved in stone to him, explain why a monument to Civil War veterans greets everyone at the cemetery's entrance. I tell him that without people like his great-great-great-grandfather, the world we live in would be much different. After the cemetery we walk to Portville Pioneer Memorial Park off Main Street. We stop at the monuments to men who gave their lives in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. I'll read some of the names to him, the names of men who left Portville to serve their country in far away places and never came home. People probably think I'm crazy, kneeling down to talk to a toddler. I stop at those places Portville hallowed in honor of the sons she sacrificed because I don't think it's ever too early to teach Kevin how to say thank you to a veteran. It's never too early to remind him to pray for those who gave their lives in defense of his country. After the park we usually head up Main Street to Brooklyn and then down the hill behind Portville Central. We walk down the side of the school, past the football stadium and then past the track. The next time we take that walk, I'll stop Kevin's stroller next to the track, get down on one knee and tell him the story of Lt. Michael M. McGreevy. LT. McGREEVY WAS a 1997 graduate of Annapolis and a Navy SEAL commander. He died Tuesday when a Taliban missile struck the Chinook helicopter he and his SEAL team were in over eastern Afghanistan. Lt. McGreevy was also a 1993 graduate of Portville Central School. He distinguished himself in the classroom and on the school's track team, winning The Times Herald's 1993 Davies-Foy Scholar/Athlete Award. He's the only male athlete in the school's history to receive the award. For years he also held the school record in the 800-meter run. His mother, Pat, called his former coaches Thursday to let them know her son was dead. Portville track coach Gary Swetland said Friday he feels privileged to have had the chance to coach someone like Lt. McGreevy and to have called him a friend. His voice quavered as he struggled to talk about the former student who grew to become a leader of men. "I salute him and I think all of America should," he said. "He was just a great, great American." HE REMEMBERS when Lt. McGreevy joined the track team. "I remember thinking when he was an underclassman, 'Oh, my gosh, what a struggle this is going to be,' ", he said. "Mike had shin splints and it was just painful to watch him run. But he wouldn't quit. I don't think I've ever seen an underclassman compete successfully in more pain with shin splints than Mike. "By the time he graduated as a senior he had established the Super 8, setting the school record in the 800. He had become the superior middle-distance runner in Western New York and he did it from the back of the pack." Lt. McGreevy wasn't just tough on the track. His friend and fellow classmate Larry Welty, now a sixth-grade science teacher at Portville Central, remembers him looking out for underclassmen on the track team. Lt. McGreevy would protect them from bullies and mentor the fledgling runners. "He was always helpful, always trying to help the other guys on the team," Mr. Welty said. He was just as tenacious in the classroom. Mr. Swetland said Lt. McGreevy wanted to learn German but it wasn't offered at Portville Central. "He taught himself German and passed the Regents exam and I'm sure he did well," he said. "Mike never let an obstacle stand in his way." Mr. Swetland said Lt. McGreevy was also a natural leader, a talent his classmates, teachers and coaches recognized and respected. "He distinguished himself because he could inspire anyone to be the best they possibly can be," he said. "That was the greatness of him." Coach Swetland said Lt. McGreevy is survived by a wife and 1-year-old daughter. He added that he died doing what he always wanted to do, serve his country. The next time I walk Kevin by the track at Portville Central School I'll tell him that a young man named Michael McGreevy once ran the 800-meter race there faster than anyone else ever had before. I'll tell him about a varsity athlete who went out of his way to protect younger kids from bullies, who grew up to become a man who defended his country from terrorists. I'll tell my son a hero from his hometown once walked that ground. And I'll tell him to never forget. (John T. Eberth is a Times Herald staff writer.) 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Reuben Gant Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 I had the priviledge of playing golf today with a CB. He said he served in the Meditteranean in WWII. He said the great things about the CB's was there was the feeling they could build or do anything. He said he could remember three times specifically that men he was with were running bulldozers under heavy fire. He got too choked up to tell me any more but I felt honored to be playing him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 I had the priviledge of playing golf today with a CB. He saidhe served in the Meditteranean in WWII. He said the great things about the CB's was there was the feeling they could build or do anything. He said he could remember three times specifically that men he was with were running bulldozers under heavy fire. He got too choked up to tell me any more but I felt honored to be playing him. 376099[/snapback] CB's definitely weren't the predecessors of SEALs...but that doesn't mean they weren't brave and dedicated as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Just as I was reading this, it was reported that the last man's body has been found. Downed US Seals may have got too close to Bin Laden Another source noted that Murphy’s unit bore all the hallmarks of a long-range sniper team sent to hunt down a particular target. US Navy Seals are trained to spend long periods operating clandestinely. “The fact that the US did not send in several hundred troops for a sweep instead of the four-man recon team strongly suggests the team’s mission was to fix a very high target before it could flee from an airmobile assault,” Wretchard said. With all of the firepower they faced, they ran into something important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Just as I was reading this, it was reported that the last man's body has been found. Downed US Seals may have got too close to Bin Laden With all of the firepower they faced, they ran into something important. 378513[/snapback] Good. Bring in the daisycutters and turn that whole area into a pile of dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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