July 16, 2010 (Dallas, TX) Spc. Jerod Heath Osborne, 20, of Royse City, TX, was laid to rest in Rockwall, TX. After church services concluded the procession made its way to Rest Heaven Cemetery led by local and state police. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders were on hand to ensure the services were not disrupted.
The interment ceremonies began with a bagpiper leading the hearse to the gravesite. Once, the majority of the participants gathered around the gravesite, members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C. performed the military final interment ceremonies.
At the conclusion of the ceremonies, participants offered the family condolences and made their way out of Texas’ scorching summer sun.
Afterward the family stayed behind to witness the casket lowered into the grave. We were blessed to share the moment with the eldest brother SSGT Wau-tash Grillett, who was also serving in Afghanistan. He also was tasked with escorting the remains of his younger brother home. He shared his thoughts about his brother after the funeral.
On behalf of USFallen.org and its viewers, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the Grillett and Osborne families, for allowing us to share in the loss of Our American Hero. We are forever indebted to your dearest Jerod, and the sacrifice he made on our behalf. We pray you find comfort in knowing he will rest in peace, for eternity, among America’s finest who answered her call to duty and did so with valor.
Vernon Baker, who was the only living black veteran awarded the Medal of Honor for valor in World War II, receiving it 52 years after he wiped out four German machine-gun nests on a hilltop in northern Italy, died Tuesday at his home near St. Maries, Idaho. He was 90.
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Mr. Baker received the Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton at age 77.
The cause was complications of brain cancer, said Ron Hodge, owner of the Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries.
“I was a soldier and I had a job to do,” Mr. Baker said after receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for bravery, from President Bill Clinton in a White House ceremony on Jan. 13, 1997.
But in the segregated armed forces of World War II, black soldiers were usually confined to jobs in manual labor or supply units. Even when the Army allowed blacks to go into combat, it rarely accorded them the recognition they deserved. Of the 433 Medals of Honor awarded by all branches of the military during the war, not a single one went to any of the 1.2 million blacks in the service.
In the early 1990s, responding to requests from black veterans and a white former captain who had commanded black troops in combat, the Army asked Shaw University, a historically black college in Raleigh, N.C., to investigate why no blacks had received the Medal of Honor during World War II. The inquiry found no documents proving that blacks had been discriminated against in decisions to award the medal, but concluded that a climate of racism had prevented recognition of heroic deeds.
Military historians gave the Army the names of 10 black servicemen who they believed should have been considered for the Medal of Honor. Then an Army board, looking at their files with all references to race deleted, decided that seven of these men deserved to be cited for bravery “above and beyond the call of duty.”
Four of the men — Lt. John R. Fox of Cincinnati; Pfc. Willy F. James Jr. of Kansas City, Mo.; Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers of Oklahoma City; and Pvt. George Watson of Birmingham, Ala. — had been killed in action. Two others — Staff Sgt. Edward A. Carter Jr. of Los Angeles and Lt. Charles L. Thomas of Detroit, who retired as a major — had died in the decades after the war. Those six received the medal posthumously at the White House ceremony in 1997.
Mr. Baker, the lone survivor among the seven, was greeted with a standing ovation as he entered the East Room to the strains of “God Bless America” played by the Marine Corps Band.
Vernon Baker receives MOH from President Clinton in a White House ceremony on Jan. 13, 1997
As Mr. Clinton placed the Medal of Honor around his neck, Mr. Baker stared into space, a tear rolling down his left cheek. “I was thinking about what was going on up on the hill that day,” he said later.
That day was April 5, 1945. Lieutenant Baker, a small man — 5 feet 5 inches and 140 pounds — was leading 25 black infantrymen through a maze of German bunkers and machine gun nests near Viareggio, Italy, a coastal town north of Pisa. About 5 a.m., they reached the south side of a ravine, 250 yards from Castle Aghinolfi, a German stronghold they hoped to capture.
Lieutenant Baker observed a telescope pointing out of a slit. Crawling under the opening, he emptied the clip of his M-1 rifle, killing two German soldiers inside the position. Then he came upon a well-camouflaged machine-gun nest whose two-man crew was eating breakfast. He shot and killed both soldiers.
After Capt. John F. Runyon, his company commander, who was white, joined the group, a German soldier hurled a grenade that hit Captain Runyon in his helmet but failed to explode. Lieutenant Baker shot the German twice as he tried to flee. He then blasted open the concealed entrance of another dugout with a hand grenade, shot one German soldier who emerged, tossed another grenade into the dugout and entered it, firing his machine gun and killing two more Germans.
Enemy machine-gun and mortar fire began to inflict heavy casualties among the platoon. Lieutenant Baker’s company commander had gone back for reinforcements, but they never arrived, so the remnants of the platoon had to withdraw. Lieutenant Baker, supported by covering fire from one of his soldiers, destroyed two machine-gun positions to allow the evacuation. Seventeen of the men in the platoon had been killed by time the firefight ended.
The next night, Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy minefields and heavy fire.
Lieutenant Baker received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest award for bravery. Asked a half-century later whether he had ever given up hope of being awarded the Medal of Honor, he seemed surprised. “I never thought about getting it,” he said.
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Tom Davenport
Vernon Baker, a World War II veteran, received the nation’s highest military award in 1997.
Freddie Stowers, a black veteran of World War I nominated for the medal in 1918, finally received it posthumously from President George Bush in 1991.
Vernon Joseph Baker was born on Dec. 17, 1919, in Cheyenne, Wyo., the son of a carpenter. After his parents died in an automobile accident when he was 4, he and two older sisters moved in with their grandparents, who also lived in Cheyenne.
The youngster developed a penchant for trouble, so he was sent to Boys Town in Omaha at age 10. He stayed there for three years, then earned a high school diploma while living with an aunt in Iowa.
He joined the Army in June 1941 and was sent to Camp Wolters, Tex., for basic training — his first trip to the Deep South. When he boarded a bus to the camp after stepping off the train, the driver shouted a racial epithet and told him to “get to the back of the bus where you belong,” he recalled years later in an interview with The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash.
When he began to show leadership potential, he was sent to Officer Candidate School, graduating as a second lieutenant in 1942. He went to Italy in 1944 with the 92nd Infantry Division’s 370th Regiment, which was composed of black enlisted men and black junior officers but had white officers in senior positions.
In October 1944, Lieutenant Baker was shot in the arm by a German soldier, and when he awoke from surgery he noticed that he was in a segregated hospital ward.
After the war, he remained in Italy for three years, then returned to the United States and re-enlisted. He stayed in the Army until 1968, then worked for the Red Cross at Fort Ord, Calif., counseling needy military families. After his first wife, Fern, died in 1986, he retired and moved to a rural section of Idaho to pursue his love of hunting.
Mr. Baker’s survivors include his second wife, Heidy; three children from his first marriage; a stepdaughter; and a stepgrandson.
Asked at the awards ceremony how he had felt about serving in a segregated unit, Mr. Baker replied: “I was an angry young man. We were all angry. But we had a job to do, and we did it. My personal thoughts were that I knew things would get better, and I’m glad to say that I’m here to see it.”
July 15, 2010 (Dallas, TX) Spc Jerod Heath Osborne, 20, of Royse City, TX, remains arrived in Greenville, TX on a charter plane Wednesday July 14, 2010 at 1300 hours (1:00 PM). The temperature was a scorching 98 degrees as family and friends waited for his arrival.
Upon touchdown his plane was welcomed by the Greenville Fire Department and an honorary water-bridge. Once the plane parked, members of the 1st Cavalry, Ft. Hood, TX, conducted a dignified transfer on the tarmac. The family was escorted to the hearse to welcome their loved one home.
The procession led by various Fire-trucks from surrounding communities. Also, present were 200 Patriot Guard Riders to help escort the procession as it made way to the funeral home.
Osborne was assigned to 4th Squadron, 73rd Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. He was killed in action July 5 in Yakuta, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit using an IED.
According to his step-father, “he jumped on an IED to save the lives of others. He was a really good kid. He never got into trouble or into drugs,” he said. “He is a hero and will be sorely missed,” he said as he choked up with emotion.
Osborne is scheduled for final interment with full military honors on Friday.
Week ending Jul. 10, 2010the US Department of Defense released the names of 18 military personnel who died, while serving in the United States armed forces. The DoD also announced the return of one MIA from WWI. This episode is dedicated to Rex Castillo (Jerry Castillo’s father) and Greg Missman in memoriam.
Welcome viewers. These weekly episodes pay tribute to brave men and women who answered the call of our country and died while supporting our nation’s wars. We focus on the warrior as a human whose lives have impacted families, friends, and our neighbors around the world. Your respectful comments are welcomed and serve as memorial tributes to our fallen soldiers. Political opinions and debates are best suited elsewhere.
Read more below.
Fallen Description:
Staff Sgt. Marc A. Arizmendez, 30, of Anaheim, Calif. 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.
Staff Sgt. Christopher F. Cabacoy, 30, of Virginia Beach, Va. 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau, 33, of LaGrange, Ky., 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Spc. Keenan A. Cooper, 19, of Wahpeton, N.D. 73rd Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
WWI MIA Pvt. Thomas D. Costello of New York, N.Y., 60th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division,
Sgt. Andrew J. Creighton 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Pfc. Jacob A. Dennis, 22, of Powder Springs, Ga., 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Sgt. Louis R. Fastuca, 24, of West Chester, Pa., 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Italy.
Spc. Ryan J. Grady, 25, of Bristow, Okla., Special Troops Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Bradford, Vt.
Pfc. David A. Jefferson, 23, of Philadelphia; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.;
Spc. Roger Lee, 26, of Monterey, Calif. 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany
Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38, of Columbus, Ga., 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Spc. Morganne M. McBeth, 19, of Fredricksburg, Va., 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Spc. Clayton D. McGarrah, 20, of Harrison, Ark., 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Spc. Jerod H. Osborne, 20, of Royse City, Texas. 4th Squadron, 73rd Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Pfc. Michael S. Pridham, 19, of Louisville, Ky. 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.
Sgt. Jordan E. Tuttle , 22, of West Monroe, La., 156th Army Band in Bossier City, La., and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Orleans, La.
Capt David A. Wisniewski, 31, of Moville, Iowa, 66th Rescue Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
Pfc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of Omaha, Neb. 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Spc. Jerod Heath Osborne, age 20, was born February 23, 1990, at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX, and passed away July 5, 2010, in Afghanistan. He was on active duty as a combat medic in the 82nd Airborne stationed there. When Jerod was young, his family moved from the Rockwall, TX, area to Seattle, WA, and then to Honolulu, HI, for five years. He never met a stranger and knew all of the people near his home and on the beach. The family moved back to the Rockwall area to help care for his grandfather, who died in 1997. The family decided to stay and made Rockwall their home.
Jerod graduated from Rockwall-Heath High School in 2008, after spending his senior year preparing to go into the Army to become a medic. Jerod began his Army career in boot camp in Ft. Leonard Wood, and then was assigned to the 182nd Airborne. He transferred to Ft. Benning, GA, for training, then in March of this year transferred to Ft. Bragg. Jerod received several medals for his dedication above and beyond regular duty. On March 26, 2010, he was sent to Afghanistan after a visit with family and friends.
Jerod is survived by his parents: Sharon Grillett and husband Gary of Rockwall, TX, and Allan G. Osborne, III, of Caddo Mills, TX, sister: Hayley Grillett, brothers: Wau-tash, Nako and Nah-tah-ni Grillett and grandparents: Charlotte Henson of Rockwall, TX, Marilyn Osborne of Baltimore, MD, and Patricia Burchwell of TX.
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July 15, 2010 (Dallas, TX) Spc Jerod Heath Osborne, 20, of Royse City, TX, remains arrived in Greenville, TX on a charter plane Wednesday July 14, 2010 at 1300 hours (1:00 PM). The temperature was a scorching 98 degrees as family and friends waited for his arrival.
