Governor Kemp Recognizes Outstanding Public
Safety Personnel
E
Real Hero Report |
Kemp)
Cooper,
Covington
Police
Department
(Photo courtesy
Governor Brian
Kemp)
spend Thanksgiving 1940 at Fort Jackson, S.C. conducting initial
Guard participating in the Carolina Maneuvers while aviators of
the 128th Observation Squadron trained at Lawson Field at Fort
Benning.
As families gathered around the table for Thanksgiving in
1942, Georgia Guard Artillery units were participating in the
Louisiana Maneuvers while other units trained at Camp Blanding.
Battalion repelled Japanese bombing runs on Papua New Guinea.
The 101st continued to defend airspace over Papua New Guinea
in 1943 while units bound for the European Theater of Operations
continued training.
By Thanksgiving Day, 1944, seven battalions of Georgia
179th Field Artillery Battalion was supporting operations near
Field Artillery Regiment were stationed near Langweiler,
Germany. The guns of the 230th Field Artillery Regiment were in
action near Langendorf and Lohn while the 945th Field Artillery
in the vicinity of Dieuve, France during the Loraine Offensive.
Meanwhile, Georgia Guard aviators of the former 128th
the 483rd Bombardment Group.
Korean War
With the outbreak of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, the
Brigade was activated. The Soldiers spent Thanksgiving of 1950
at Fort Bliss Texas before being dispatched to locations from
American industrial centers.
Georgia Air National Guard aviators were mobilized in 1950
the skies over Korea before returning to the United States in 1952.
Desert Shield/Desert Storm
Nearly 40 years would pass before Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers
were again called to overseas service. Following Iraq’s invasion
of Kuwait in 1990, more than 500 Georgia Guardsmen of the
190th Military Police Company, 1148th Transportation Company
Arabia where they experienced Thanksgiving in a foreign country.
By the end of 1990, nearly 5,300 Georgia Guardsmen had been
mobilized.
Iraq and Afghanistan
Since September 11, 2001, more than 21,000 Georgia Guard
Soldiers and Airmen have deployed overseas. On Thanksgiving
Day 2019, Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the 1st
Battalion 171st Aviation Regiment received Thanksgiving
lunch served by Col. Dwayne Wilson, chief of staff of the
the Thanksgiving meal were Lt. Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli,
commander of U.S. Army Europe as well as Col. Jason Fryman
and Command Sgt. Major Jeff Earhart, command team of the
Medical Company departed November 30 in support of Operation
Inherent Resolve.