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To all the men and women who attended Into the Piney Woods-
I am yet foggy-headed despite 10 1/2 hours of coma-like sleep and 4 cups of coffee this morning. As such, I know this note will not be as complete as it should be.
As Tom and I said in the friggid rain atop Forest Road 360 on the eastern edge of the Sandstone Trail- THANKS to all the folks who attended the event. So many came from staggering distances- a full company from across the Atlantic and others from near and far. We were humbled that all of you would sacrifice time and money to join us in the Kisatchie wilderness.
The teamsters, ox drover, and cavalry-men deserve special thanks. They pushed themselves as hard as any of us on foot, all while tending to their animals. Despite the rugged terrain, they moved our food, ammunition, and other essentials without a word of complaint. In talking to the muleskinner and several of the mounted men, I am told their their horses and mules will require a week or more to recover from the strain.
I also want to thank the men who churned out the hardcrackers we ate- Rick Biddle, Cody Mobley, Phil McBride, Phil Graf, and Cody Farrell baked a massive number of crackers. Several bore burn marks from daily battles with their ovens!
The greatest and most heart-felt words of thanks are due to the men who continually answered the call when a man was sick or injured. Phil McBride, Hank Van Syke, and Phil's wife, Ms. Nita, deserve more praise and thanks than I am capable of expressing. Every day of the event they extracted men who required aid. I am aware of at least two trips to the hospital in Natchitoches and there were numerous other evacuations made before a man reached critical condition. When the rain and cold began to beat us down on Thursday night, Phil and Hank answered the call twice in the middle of the night to pull out men showing signs of hypothermia. I imagine Phil, Hank, and Nita managed less than five hours of sleep per day and tended to sick and ailing men without a complaint. I have heard they prepared cooked meals for convalesents. Phil also spent most of one night in the hospital with a man who required extra care. He told me that he wouldn't want to be alone in a strange place without someone there to help. What fine people those three folks are. If you care to thank anyone, thank them.
I will close by saying thanks to my friend Tom Yearby. Tom is a man I lean on hard for his wisdom and smarts. Cold, wet, and shaking beneath the muleskinner's tent fly in the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning, Tom was more than my equal in helping to plan the best way to get everyone out as safely as possible.
I don't know as though anyone had "fun." Maybe so, maybe not. The event was not billed as a chance to have fun but rather to get a taste of soldiering is all about. From the heat of Tuesday, the cool of Wednesday, the rain of Thursday and Friday, and the many miles of trail woven throughout, I hope that those who came gained a deeper appreciation of what the folks in blue and grey endured for four years.
Thanks much to you all and especially to Phil, Hank, and Ms. Nita.
Respectfully,
I am yet foggy-headed despite 10 1/2 hours of coma-like sleep and 4 cups of coffee this morning. As such, I know this note will not be as complete as it should be.
As Tom and I said in the friggid rain atop Forest Road 360 on the eastern edge of the Sandstone Trail- THANKS to all the folks who attended the event. So many came from staggering distances- a full company from across the Atlantic and others from near and far. We were humbled that all of you would sacrifice time and money to join us in the Kisatchie wilderness.
The teamsters, ox drover, and cavalry-men deserve special thanks. They pushed themselves as hard as any of us on foot, all while tending to their animals. Despite the rugged terrain, they moved our food, ammunition, and other essentials without a word of complaint. In talking to the muleskinner and several of the mounted men, I am told their their horses and mules will require a week or more to recover from the strain.
I also want to thank the men who churned out the hardcrackers we ate- Rick Biddle, Cody Mobley, Phil McBride, Phil Graf, and Cody Farrell baked a massive number of crackers. Several bore burn marks from daily battles with their ovens!
The greatest and most heart-felt words of thanks are due to the men who continually answered the call when a man was sick or injured. Phil McBride, Hank Van Syke, and Phil's wife, Ms. Nita, deserve more praise and thanks than I am capable of expressing. Every day of the event they extracted men who required aid. I am aware of at least two trips to the hospital in Natchitoches and there were numerous other evacuations made before a man reached critical condition. When the rain and cold began to beat us down on Thursday night, Phil and Hank answered the call twice in the middle of the night to pull out men showing signs of hypothermia. I imagine Phil, Hank, and Nita managed less than five hours of sleep per day and tended to sick and ailing men without a complaint. I have heard they prepared cooked meals for convalesents. Phil also spent most of one night in the hospital with a man who required extra care. He told me that he wouldn't want to be alone in a strange place without someone there to help. What fine people those three folks are. If you care to thank anyone, thank them.
I will close by saying thanks to my friend Tom Yearby. Tom is a man I lean on hard for his wisdom and smarts. Cold, wet, and shaking beneath the muleskinner's tent fly in the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning, Tom was more than my equal in helping to plan the best way to get everyone out as safely as possible.
I don't know as though anyone had "fun." Maybe so, maybe not. The event was not billed as a chance to have fun but rather to get a taste of soldiering is all about. From the heat of Tuesday, the cool of Wednesday, the rain of Thursday and Friday, and the many miles of trail woven throughout, I hope that those who came gained a deeper appreciation of what the folks in blue and grey endured for four years.
Thanks much to you all and especially to Phil, Hank, and Ms. Nita.
Respectfully,
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