My 70th Birthday Gift

My daughter, Jennifer, and Greg at their
wedding.

On my 70th birthday, my son-in-law, SSG Greg
Van Horn was called up by a Marine company commander to help get rid of some
snipers who were hidden in a building in Fallujah. Greg was a Bradley commander
and the company's Master Gunner. The snipers were wrecking
havoc on the Marines. Greg drove his Bradley to the area, called in for
permission to fire, and destroyed the building - killing all 6 ad possibly 7 of the
terrorists. Pictured in the foreground is Greg's Bradley and in the background
is the burning building. With much appreciation, the Marine officer gave Greg
this picture that recorded the event. On this tour he was engaged in almost
daily heavy firefights.

Charlie 2/7 in Iraq, November 21, 2004. Greg is the soldier
looking down, standing just to the left and behind the soldier at the far right
and just to the right behind the soldier holding the rifle.

Upon his return from his first tour in Iraq, Greg applied for and was accepted to the helicopter school at Ft. Rucker,
Alabama. After getting his Warrant and completing helicopter school, he was
assigned as an Apache pilot and was sent back to Iraq for a second tour. This
tour, he says, is pretty much boring. While he was in heavy firefights almost
daily on his first tour, after months on this second tour he has yet to fire a
shot. Things have really calmed down in Iraq. He flies almost daily supporting
ground troops and convoys. He is hoping his third tour will be to Afghanistan
where he feels he can better use his gunnery expertise. Pictured above is his
Apache Longbow D. He is now a Chief Warrant Officer 2.