Ranger News

A Fort Benning team, representing the Ranger Training Brigade, won the 2013 David E. Grange Best Ranger Competition this weekend.

Sergeant First Class Raymond M. Santiago and Sergeant First Class Timothy S. Briggs were named the winners of the 60-hour event, which concluded late Sunday afternoon.

Rangers have set the standard for extraordinary selfless service for more than 300 years. Their dedication is tested, even today, in Afghanistan and in operations like Operation Iraqi Freedom. The leadership, discipline and skill sets Rangers bring to the battlefield cannot be replaced by sophisticated weaponry and advanced technologies.

Competitors return to their units with a renewed sense of confidence, which inspires every Soldier they lead, improving combat effectiveness of units worldwide.

Sergeant First Class John M. Gendron and Sergeant First Class Joshua Horsager, a team from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, were awarded second place.

Rounding out the top three, in third place were Sergeant First Class Samuel E. Leritz and Staff Sergeant Christopher Brousard, a team representing the 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning.

The winning team and the teams that finished the competition, will be recognized at an awards ceremony at 11 a.m. April 15 at Marshall Auditorium in McGinnis-Wickam Hall.

Of the 49 teams that started the event on Friday morning, 24 finished the three-day event.

The 2013 Ranger Hall of Fame (RHOF) Inductees listed in alphabetical order are:

SGM Matthew J. Berrrena

MSG Thomas A. Bragg

CSM James F. Dabney

CSM Robert F. Gilbert

CSM Douglass M. Greenway

SGM Patrick R. Hurley

CSM Joseph L. Mattison

CSM Andrew McFowler

SFC Vincent Melillo

MSG Howard H. Mullen

GEN Peter J. Schoomaker

LTC Frederick L. Spaulding

LTG Gary D. Speer

MAJ Carleton P. Vencill

CSM Charles P. Williams

The 21th Annual (2013) Ranger Hall of Fame (RHOF) Ceremony is at 1:30pm, July 24, 2013 at Marshall Auditorium, McGinnis-Wickam Hall (Building 4), Fort Benning, Georgia.

Click here for more information about the Ranger Hall of Fame.

Dr. Frank Edwin South Jr., age 88, of Newark, DE, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, March 4, 2013. Dr. South proudly served during World War II as a Ranger with Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion. He earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service. Dr. South was a Professor of Physiology at the University of Delaware and was head of Health Life Sciences from 1976-82. He had a passion for sailing. He enjoyed sailing with his wife, BernaDeane, from Maine to Key West.

Dr. South is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, BernaDeane; sons, Frank South III and wife Margaret, Rob South and wife Sharon; grandchildren: Harry and Catherine South, Sara and Jacob South, Josh Wheeler and wife Tara, Matt Wheeler; great grandchildren, Grayson and Logan Wheeler.

A service in celebration of Frank's life was held on Friday, March 8, 2013 at St. Thomas Parish, 276 S. College Avenue, Newark, DE.  In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Delaware Humane Society, 701 A Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 or St. Thomas Parish. To express an online condolence, visit www.strano-feeley.com.

He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery at 1 PM on April 3, 2012.

The Secretary of Defense has announced that Army BG Clarence K. K. Chinn has been nominated for appointment to the rank of major general.

Chinn is in Afghanistan currently serving as Deputy Commander for the Regional Command-East, which is a component of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command.  Regional Command East is made up of 14 provinces covering 43,000 square miles, approximately the size of Ohio and sharing 450 miles of border with Pakistan.

Chinn previous assignments:  Commanding General, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk; Deputy Commanding General (Support), 82d Airborne Division; Deputy Commanding General (Support), 82d Airborne Division/Combined Joint Task Force-76, Afghanistan; Chief of Staff, ISAF Joint Command – Afghanistan; Chief of Staff, 82d Airborne Division; Chief, Current Operations Division, United States Special Operations Command; Commander, Ranger Training Brigade; Deputy Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment; and Commander, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade.

Chinn is a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Annual competitions pitting soldiers against one another to crown the next best Ranger or drill sergeant or warrior or hand-to-hand fighter have been scaled back or postponed in light of the Army’s budget crisis. Read more from Army Times…

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, March 13, 2013) Captain Andrew Michael Pedersen-Keel, 28, of Madison, Conn., died Mar. 11, of wounds received from small-arms fire in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C., and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pedersen-Keel was commissioned as an Infantry Officer after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 2006. After graduation he attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course and the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga. Following his training, he was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Hood, Texas.

In June 2008, Pedersen-Keel deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months with the 3rd BCT where he served as a company executive officer and platoon leader. Upon completion of the deployment, he volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course. After completing the Special Forces Qualification Course and language training, he was assigned to the 1st Bn., 3rd SFG (A) as a detachment commander in August 2012. He deployed with the unit to Afghanistan later that year.

His military education includes U.S. Army Airborne School, U.S. Army Ranger School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Combatives Level I Course, Sniper Employment Leaders Course, Pathfinder Course, Maneuver Captain's Career Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, and the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course.

Pedersen-Keel's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (2), the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Air Assault Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Pathfinder Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Ranger Tab, and the Special Forces Tab.

He is survived by his parents and sister.

Gordon H. Mansfield, 71, died of aortic disease at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center on January 29, 2013. Formerly of Alexandria, Va., he lived in St. Michaels, Md., and Naples, Fla.

A combat-wounded veteran, he dedicated his life to veteran’s service. He joined the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) board of directors in 2009 following his role as the deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from 2004 to 2009. He served as acting secretary of Veterans Affairs from October 1, 2007 through December 20, 2007.

From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Mansfield served as the VA assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs, functioning as the senior legislative advisor to the secretary of Veterans Affairs and representing the VA’s programs, policies, investigations, and legislative agenda to Congress.

Before joining the VA, Mr. Mansfield was the executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), an organization that represents and advocates for paralyzed veterans. As the executive director, he oversaw daily operations of PVA’s national Washington, DC office. Mr. Mansfield held several positions at PVA from 1981 to 1989.  Mr. Mansfield served as assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1989 to 1993. Prior to 1981, he practiced law in Ocala, Florida.

Mr. Mansfield was born Sept. 15, 1941, in Pittsfield, Mass.  After graduating from Villanova University he joined the US Army in 1964 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. While serving as company commander with the 101st Airborne Division during his second tour, he was wounded in the Tet Offensive of 1968, sustaining a spinal cord injury. For his actions under fire, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was medically retired at the rank of captain.  His other combat decorations include the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Mr. Mansfield was inducted into the US Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 1997 and the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame in 2007.

While recovering from wounds sustained in Vietnam, he began studying for his law degree at American University, and eventually graduated from the University of Miami in 1973.

Mr. Mansfield also received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Robert Dole Service to Our Nation Award, Disabled American Veterans Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year Award, and was inducted into the Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame.

His first marriage, to Suzanne Petroske, ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Linda Coughtry Mansfield of St. Michaels; two sons from his first marriage, Gordon P. Mansfield of Leesburg and Leon Mansfield of Ashburn; three sisters; one brother; and four grandchildren

Wake will be at Everly-Wheatly at 1500 West Braddock Road, Alexandria, Va., on Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, from 4 to 8 p.m. with Mass at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at 11 a.m.

Interment at Arlington National Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

Contributions in Mr. Mansfield's honor may be made to the Fisher House, Wounded Warrior Project or Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Edward A. (Ted) McLogan died suddenly January 25, 2013 at his home in Ann Arbor.  He was born April 2, 1920 in Flint to Edwin and Helen (Austin) McLogan, graduated from Flint Central High School and The University of Michigan, class of 1942.  Ted was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. An ROTC graduate, he entered active service with the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant.

He joined the 25th Division on Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands, from which he volunteered for the special mission that became Merrill's Marauders, the legendary Ranger guerilla force in Burma.  He was awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.  In 2001 he was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.  He frequently gave talks about Merrill’s Marauders to groups and organizations.

At the end of the war, Captain McLogan married his college sweetheart Beatrice Bouchard of Ann Arbor, and together they raised seven children in Flint where he managed the family business, McLogan & Austin China Closet. After the firm’s sale he spent the next 30 years in brokerage and financial services with First of Michigan Corp., and Morgan Stanley in Traverse City. He maintained an active practice until he was nearly 80.

Committed to public service, Ted served as board member and chair of numerous volunteer organizations, including YMCA, Red Cross, Big Brothers, Hurley Hospital, and Flint Public Schools. Ted was a 65-year member and director of Rotary Club.

He was elected to the Michigan Constitutional Convention in 1961 and then managed the successful statewide referendum resulting in its adoption.  He was elected to the Flint Charter Revision Commission in 1965, and twice to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, 1968-72.  He remained devoted to service above self his entire life, and modeled that for all who knew him.

Ted is survived by his wife of 67 years, and their children:  Deborah Nelson, Matthew (Jane Brierley) McLogan, Martha Morrow, Jennifer (Daniel Gurskis) McLogan, Mary (Daniel) Ziegeler, Elizabeth (Robert) Sugar, and Helen (Carl) Chamberlain; 21 grandchildren:  Jessica Cohen, Matthew Nelson, Elizabeth Harvey, Amy Nelson; Katherine, Molly, and Timothy McLogan; Helen and Elizabeth Morrow; Emily, Edward, and Elizabeth Gurskis; Claire, Daniel, and Charles Ziegeler; Sarah, Hannah, and Betsy Sugar; Elaine, William, and Henry Chamberlain; and four great-grandchildren.  Ted is also survived by his brother, James, and by many nieces and nephews.  He was predeceased by his brother Donald and cousin Elaine McLogan Steinmetz.  

In 1985, Ted and Bea left Flint for Traverse City and then Suttons Bay.  Following Ted's retirement, they moved to Bea's hometown of Ann Arbor where they became involved in all things Maize and Blue at University Commons and where Ted joined the VP Club.

Funeral mass will be on Saturday, February 2^nd at 11:00 am at St. Mary’s Student Chapel in Ann Arbor. Memorial contributions may be made to Rotary Charities or St. Mary's Student Parish.  The family is being served by Muehlig Funeral Home of Ann Arbor.

Ranger Steven L. Yuhas, 71, of Austin, Texas passed away on Thursday, January 17, 2013. He served two tours in Vietnam. His decorations and badges include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star, Master Aviator Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab. His book, “Charlie, I’m Sorry I Missed Ya!” was published June 29, 2013.   Steven is survived by his brother Jim, two sons, Brad and Chris, and four grandchildren.

A visitation will take place at Harrell Funeral Home in Austin at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 30, 2013.   Military services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at Fort Sam Houston Veterans Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Ranger Bo Prehar, Georgetown, Texas represented the United States Army Ranger Association at the visitation ceremony on January 30, 2013.

Herbert R. Appel, B Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, WWII, passed away this last Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 at the age of 93. He was a Ranger to the very end. He was a replacement after D-day; a mortar man and company runner. He was wounded in France, re-joined his company in Belgium, and survived 48 hours of shelling in the Hurtgen Forest.

He wrote of this experience, "Many had passed through this crisis, their moment of truth, on D-Day. For myself and most of the new men it had happened in the Hurtgen Forest. I now understand why, as a green replacement, I had not been fully and immediately accepted by many of the D-Day men. Now that I was a full member of the Battalion, it meant more to me than ever before. I was part of it, and it was part of me, more so than any other group to which I had, or would belong."

A memorial service will be held this Saturday at Schumacher and Benner Funeral Home, 359 King Street, Pottstown, PA at 11AM.