Letter #1
Letter #1
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Corporal Daron Stenvold Day 6 of Desert Storm January 22, 1991
Dear Family and Friends:
I am writing to all of you so that you are informed of the events and happenings that have occurred, concerning Daron Stenvold's deployment to Saudi Arabia.
In 1986, Daron signed on to be a Marine Reservist for 6 years. Currently, he is a Corporal and his primary job, as a reservist, is a heavy equipment driver for the Motor Transport units. He is classified as a 3551 and\or 3533. However, when he was called for duty in the gulf, the Commanding Officers reminded ALL Marines that their primary job, while at war, was to be infantry men (a Grunt or 0311). This means carrying an M-16 semi-automatic rifle (shots are fired in 3-round bursts) and trudging through the sand at the front line, near the Kuwait border. If the need arises, each Marine may be called upon to perform his or her state-side job, but they have stressed to all of them, not to count on it. As a side note, Daron told us that there's a possibility that his unit will be guarding an airbase in Saudi. He wasn't positive of this, but that's what it looks like it might be.
On friday January 4th, 1991, at approximately 2:00 p.m., while at work at Northgate Computers (where he is a Technician), Daron received a call from his Commanding Officer (Marine Wing Support Squadron - 471, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing) that stated: "You hereby are ordered to involuntary active duty for Presidential call up in support of Operation Desert Shield". (He had been on Alert for the previous 2 weeks). He asked for and received an immediate leave of absence, packed up his things and was gone from work within 2 hours.
His orders detailed that he will remain in active duty for a period of 12 months.
He was initially told that they were going to leave in 5 days, the following Wednesday (1-9-91). This 5-day notice was good compared to other members of his unit which previously had only been given a 24 hour notice! He was to leave at 5:00 a.m., that Wednesday, on a C-5 Military Transport airplane, with 37 other fellow Marines, bound for Camp Pendleton, California. From there, he was to leave for Saudi Arabia on January 11th., that Friday. This flight would have been a 13 hour, very uncomfortable, flight. The C-5 airplane is basically a giant, hollow metal tube. The soldiers are lined up in rows along the inside of the plane, strapped against the outer wall by big mesh webbing to keep them from getting knocked around. There is a shower curtain in the middle of the wide open space in this plane, were they can go when mother nature calls. So basically, you are strapped against a violently shaking metal wall for 13 hours. Not a pretty sight. Each Marine carries 400 lbs. of equipment!
After getting the call on the afternoon of 1-4-91, he was called to spend the weekend at the Drill Center in Minneapolis. This is typically an 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. detail, but they were told that they might not let people go home in the evenings, because they have had some problems with possible defections. However, the time off was allowed. They spent the weekend going over what do about wrapping up their affairs and different situations on how and what to do with family members, because they had to plan on being gone for 1 year. You can imagine the hardship this has caused alot of families. Even though Daron is single and has no dependents, there is an amazing amount of things that need to be taken care or closed out. I have been granted the power of attorney over Daron's affairs and he had a very busy week writing letters and going to see people, notifying them that he will be gone for a year.
After finishing that weekend of 1-5-91 at the Drill Center in Minneapolis, the date for leaving for California had been pushed back by 2 days, until Friday, Jan. 11th. at 7:00 a.m., flight # 667, gate 45. Our roommate, Mike, has a camcorder, so he brought this along to the send-off and got everything on tape. The night before the flight, I got on the phone and managed to get 17 people to show up at the airport to see him off. We all met at 6:15 a.m. at the airport. People who were in attendance were as follows: Jason and Daron Stenvold, Kamie Stenvold, Jan Horob, Jackie Hand, Toni Amundson, Scott Oberlander, Brit Horob, Eric Sand, Tom Seykora, Tim VanPutten, Roger and Sandy Amundson, Amy Seykora, Cara Bruns, Kathy Gerber and Mike Fischer. Once again, I would like to thank all of you who were there, for getting up so early to show support for Daron. We all care alot for Daron and I'm sure he felt it that morning!
Once Daron arrived at Camp Pendleton in California (the same place where his basic training\boot camp was held), they were all given a series of 6 or so shots. Two in each arm and two in the rear. They were a combination of antibiotics and other stuff you need whenever you go over seas. 2 weeks prior to this, Daron and I were in Minot N.D. celebrating Christmas, and we both came back with unusually bad colds. When Daron got these shots, it compounded his illness 4 fold and so this just made his short stay in California pretty miserable. While in California, each Marine was divided up into 4 man "Fire Teams". This is the way that Marines fight wars, in groups of 4. The men in your group become your family because your life may depend on any one of these guys. While talking to Daron about this on the phone, he said he felt confident of the abilities of the other members, except one. His last name is Turnupseed. I just pray that he can hold his own weight when it comes to pulling the trigger, and obviously, so does Daron.
They all woke up at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday (01-15-91) morning and were issued their M-16 rifles. Last I heard, they were all still awake at Midnight the same day! That's 22 hours being wide awake! And on top of that, to have a bad cold! The next day, Wednesday the 16th, they sighted in their M-16 rifles at 400 meters! That means they were aiming and hitting targets that were about 4 1/2 football fields away!! Some serious firepower if you ask me! As Daron told me, "I can knock the Towel off of any sand-kickers head from over 400 meters away!" I might add that Daron has received several rifling awards and has been classified as an "Expert Marksman" while target shooting in the Marine Corps.
On Wednesday, 1-16-91, they were scheduled to leave at 5:00 a.m. for Washington D.C. on a C-5 airplane. From there, they were to fly to Italy and then have Air Force Fighter escort into Saudi Arabia. Complete travel time for this arrangement would have been 24 hours (from the time they left California until the time they landed in the desert). For some reason, they didn't get that flight, so the next plan was to take a commercial TWA 747 that same night at 5:30 p.m. When it came time for that flight, they were all aboard with all of their equipment, and then the War started. Can you believe it, the very minute they were on the plane! TWA officials immediately told the Marine Commanders that they were not going to send their planes over seas and they would have to find another way to get the men there. So everyone had to get back off of the plane and wait for further instructions. They were then told that they would send everyone over by ship, for two reasons: it's safer and there were no planes, either commercial or military, that were available. A boat trip over there would have taken at least 22 days! We received a call from Daron the next day, 1-17-91, at 1:30 p.m. saying they were getting back on the same plane they were kicked off of the night before, and were definitely leaving within about a half an hour. As it turned out, he called again that same night, Thursday, 1-17-91, at 11:00 p.m., this time from New York, saying that they didn't go to Washington D.C. after all, but instead, to New York. They were, at that time, waiting for a flight to Rome, Italy. Hence, I can only assume that he has finally made it to Saudi Arabia sometime around Saturday, January 19th, 1991.
Let's do a re-cap of significant Dates and Times: (all times are given in Minneapolis (Central) time)
01-04-91 Was called for Duty at approx. 2:00 p.m. 01-05-91 Spent that Saturday and Sunday at Drill Center in Mpls. 01-09-91 Was scheduled to leave for California. 01-11-91 Re-scheduled 7:00 a.m. flight to California. 01-16-91 Scheduled to leave at 5:00 a.m. for Saudi Arabia on a C-5 airplane. 01-16-91 Re-scheduled to leave at 5:30 p.m. for Saudi Arabia on a TWA 747. 01-17-91 Left for Washington D.C. at approx. 2:00 p.m. (went to N.Y. instead) 01-17-91 In New York at 11:00 p.m., waiting for flight to Rome. 01-19-91 Expected arrival in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabia time zone is 9 hours ahead of Minneapolis (Central) time. Therefore, if it is 9:00 p.m. on a Monday here, it is 6:00 a.m. the next day, Tuesday, in Saudi Arabia. Typically, all the fighting has been taken place during the evening and early morning hours. That means that Noon our time, is when fighting is just beginning over there. The fighting typically has ended around 8:00 p.m. our time. Let's move on to information dealing with Saudi Arabia.
I have included two maps with this letter. One of the entire world, with the Middle East countries darkened\highlighted. The other map is a close up view of just the Middle East countries with labels for each country.
Soldiers may and will receive all mail and\or care packages that are mailed to them. However, it may take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks or more for them to receive their mail, but they will get it. Keep this in mind if you send dated material or perishables. There will not be any access to phones while stationed in Saudi Arabia. Daron has an address book with him that contains all of your names and addresses. Before I forget, here's Daron's address:
Stenvold, Daron J. Cpl. 502-70-2774 6th MTBN - B Company I MEF FPO San Francisco, CA 96608-9501
Please address the envelope exactly as it appears above. This format will insure prompt and efficient delivery. As far as contents of letters go, just write about anything, but be positive! Try not to write about depressing subjects. Write about your day-to-day activities, things that happen at work, things on T.V. Remember, he will have virtually no contact with things that happen in America, so if anything happens that makes the NEWS, he won't know about it unless we tell him!
Let me say a few words about sending mail. . . . . SEND ONCE A WEEK !!!
On a serious note, we've all been hearing and seeing about the Gulf Crisis since Aug. 2nd, 1990, and one thing always stands out while I sit watching interviews of our soldiers over there. And that is the need for them to get mail. That one little postcard, or that short little paragraph on a half sheet of paper, or that 5 page letter, means so much to them. It literally gives them the will-power to make it and hang-on just one more day. It is their only contact with the outside world. Imagine yourself stranded on a desert island, and you haven't had contact with any of your close friends or family for 5 years, when suddenly a bottle washes ashore and in it, a torn piece of paper that reads: "Hello, thinking of you . . . hope to see you soon. Hang in there! Take care. We love you!"
Now, right there, your will to live has just been restored for at least another 5 years, and all it took was that simple little note.
So please, I ask of each and every one of you, send something, anything, at least once every week. We need to show Daron that we are here for him and that we need him to come home safely!
When you do write, make sure you make reference of your previous letter (write a little bit on what was in your last letter), so that Daron knows if one of the letters you send him has gotten lost in the mail. (i.e. you could write inside each letter the total number of letters you've sent to him.)
The following is the list of close personal friends and families that this letter is being sent to. Everyone that you see here will be receiving this letter:
Ahlman, Ken & Jean Amundson, Roger & Sandy Bruns, Cara Chesney, Doug & Marcia Chesney, Paul & Lee Dice, Josephine Gerber, Kathy Gerber, Dave & LaVonne Gillett, Harlan Hand, Denny & Jackie Hartung, Jim & Shirley Hauge, Jim & Penny Hinchley, Bill & Genelle Horob, Gary & Jan Jacobson, Todd & Bonnie Jahner, Dennie & Francie Karsch, Kendall Knudson, Ed & Mildred Knudson, Allan & Kari Makelky, Mark & Joanne Miller, Gary & Denise Nelson, Alisa
Oberlander, Curt & Jan Randall, Joleen Richmond, Jenny Sampson, Sue Sand, Maridale Sand, John Sand, Jim Seykora, Mainerd & Ruth Seykora, Tom Seykora, Amy Shapiro, Beth Shumila, Marie Signalness, Raymond & Deloris Stenvold, Deloris Stenvold, Joey & Beth Stenvold, Mike & Shirley Stenvold, Kamie Stenvold, Tom & Twyla Stenvold, Dewayne VanPutten, Ken & Joanne Walter, Tom & Sandy
Please don't hesitate to call me if any of you have any additional questions and or comments. It would be nice to here from you.
One final note, when I find out any new information, I will pass it on to you, and as he writes to some of you, please let me know if you find out anything interesting.
Signing off for now, Sincerely,
Jason D. Stenvold Marine Brother
P.S. Please write Daron at least once a week !!! |