Company C 1/153rd Infantry Regiment needs your support

By Ethan Nahté

Armed Forces Day occurred last Saturday. Memorial Day Weekend, as well as the day itself is happening May 29. Active military, as well as veterans and those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms are on the minds of many if not most of the United States population. 

Many in this area either served, or knew someone who served, in Company C 1/153^rd Infantry Regiment. The veterans of Charlie Company did quite a bit for the good ol’ USA. They are now requesting a little support to honor the brave individuals who served in 1/153rd Infantry Regiment Veterans trained and deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II during the time period of 2003-2005.

Company C 1/153rd Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 3rd “Greywolf” Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Combat Team conducting combat operations attached to 1st Cavalry Division 9th Battalion with one platoon being attached to the Battalion 153rd Task Force. 

During the year-long-plus deployment, the Task Force conducted over 2,200 combat patrols and 42 Task Force Level operations against enemy insurgents on and around Haifa Street in Baghdad, Iraq. 

One hundred and seventy-six Purple Hearts were awarded to task force members with 78 being awarded to Charlie Company service members related to injuries received during combat operations. 

They lost five task force members to injuries, one being their own, during this deployment. They have lost several members of Charlie Company to various causes since returning home. Many of the veterans have faced multiple physical and mental hardships. 

A Charlie Company Reunion was designed as an opportunity to fellowship, check in with each other and continue to recognize and support the group’s heroic efforts.

The reunion will be held once again at the Mt. Harbor Resort & Spa on Lake Ouachita in Mount Ida, Arkansas, October 19 – 21. 

Activities will include a BBQ social, Lake Ouachita boat tour, horseback riding and banquet. Representatives from the DAV and VA Health System will be on hand for company unit members to ask questions and for assistance as needed. 

Suggestions of what they need from those willing to sponsor this event and these veterans: items for giveaways, monetary donations to cover food, lodging and event costs, items to go in gift bags for veterans, etc. Your donation will go a long way in ensuring that this event can be held, providing a chance for the veterans to check in with each other, to be honored, and appreciated.

Your support for this event will not go unnoticed. They will recognize the generous sponsors in their promotional materials and at the event itself. 

They will be selling tickets for door prizes like muzzleloaders and crossbows. The meal for the banquet in 2017 was bigger than they anticipated with 210 veterans, spouses and family members, costing $6,800. 

They do not charge the veterans and their families for the meal, but they do have to pay for their own lodging.

For more information or to donate, contact retired 1st Sgt. Russell C. Carmack at 479-216-1445.

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Ethan Nahté

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