Do you recognize the soldier in the center of these photos?
It's Jeff, leading his battalion as they arrived home after completing their mission in Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
It was a seminal moment for Jeff, his fellow soldiers, and their families.
This week Jeff will experience a full circle moment.
He will be at The Mall in Washington, DC for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial.
Jeff, and hundreds of his fellow Desert Storm veterans. It will be an incredibly moving event honoring all those involved in the shortest war in American history.
The length of this war does not, and should never, minimize its importance.
If nothing else, the swift timeline highlights the critical factors that led to the this effort’s success.
In the weeks leading up to the dedication Jeff has been working hard to ensure the event gets plenty of coverage and attention.
Roughly 600,000 American troops were deployed in support both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, nearly 400 died.
These men and women all deserve to remembered and honored.
The expected completion date of the memorial is 2024.
The groundbreaking will be streamed LIVE on Thursday, July 14th, starting at 8:45 am ET.
If you can, we hope you will join!
Desert Storm offers lessons we should continue to learn from.
It was a time when the nation came together to support the military and their families. The "yellow ribbons" of support were everywhere.
Furthermore, it ended America’s estrangement from its military that had occurred during Vietnam. The military became one of the most respected institutions in the nation, almost overnight.
While American unity was at a high point, the world also came together in a common cause. The UN Security Council supported this effort, as did the Russians.
A coalition of 34 nations pushed an aggressor out of a country that it had invaded without any true justification. (Does this sound familiar?)
Additionally, the looming threat of Chemical and Biological warfare tends to get brushed aside when talking of Desert Shield/Storm.
This important history is also reflected in our current events.
Earlier this week President Biden left for Saudi Arabia in an attempt to improve US-Saudi relations. Desert Shield was launched to protect the Saudi monarchy in many ways from being overturned and the country occupied. It is interesting that the Kuwaiti government has donated a significant amount of money for the monument and will have a delegation present to include Ambassador Al Sabah.
While America closed a chapter on the past with a victory in 1991, we must continue to do what is right, today, and into the future.