General issues call to support troops
Before the crowd lined the streets of Uniontown for the festive 74th annual Americanism Day parade Tuesday, an Army general with roots in Fayette County urged Americans to support members of all branches of military service who protect the country’s freedom. Maj. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, whose father was born in Grays Landing, was the main speaker at the Americanism Day dinner at American Legion Post 51 in Uniontown and one of the parade marshals.
Helmick, the commander of the Army’s Southern European Task Force Airborne based in Vicenza, Italy, told the 300 veterans and their spouses at the dinner that they could go to sleep that night with the freedom that veterans, soldiers, sailors, Marines, National Guard members and reservists fought for.
“It’s not a matter of if we’re going to be called to fight again, it’s when,” said Helmick.
He said the demands on the military are great, but those who serve accept the challenge.
“We give a lot to our soldiers and we expect a lot from them,” Helmick said. “We will be ready. You don’t have to think twice about it.”
He said there are more than one million people serving the military in active or reserve roles.
More than 80 percent of the Army’s personnel have combat experience and more than 14 percent are women, he said.
The current conflict in Iraq, Helmick said, has forced the military to require soldiers to serve longer deployments, work longer hours and fight an enemy that doesn’t value human life.
It is not uncommon for an Army soldier with five to seven years of service to have been deployed two or three times. The length of the deployments has increased to 15 months from 12 months, he said.
Helmick said during the year he commanded the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, 50 of his soldiers were killed and hundreds were wounded.
To date, about 3,300 service members, including 170 from Pennsylvania and one from Uniontown, have been killed there, he said.
Service members experience a roller coaster of emotions while they are deployed.
“Some days it’s great. Other days you lose your best friend,” Helmick said.
He said when he visits wounded soldiers they all say they want to return to duty to finish their jobs.
The 9-11 terrorist attacks triggered the fighting in the Middle East, but the American military is stationed in a number of other countries including Korea, he said.
“Fifty years later, we still have soldiers in Korea,” Helmick said.
He said friends and family of fallen soldiers feel emptiness, but the will and support of American citizens is necessary for soldiers to continue fighting.
“Today shows America we care,” Helmick said.
The last time he said he was in the county was in 1986 to visit his father, who was a sergeant and 28-year Army veteran.
“He loved the Army. He loved Grays Landing,” Helmick said.
The medals Helmick earned in his 30 years of service in the Army shined as he walked the parade route through downtown.
Having Helmick speak at the dinner and serve as one of the parade marshals was a treat for Joe T. Joseph, the Legion’s Americanism chairman.
“Something special is happening today in Uniontown,” Joseph said. “It just thrilled me to no end.”
“We should all be very proud that we are Americans,” Uniontown Mayor James Sileo, a World War II veteran, said. “Citizens of Uniontown have a long history of patriotism.”
He said it is the responsibility of all Americans, not just soldiers and veterans, to be patriotic.