I Blog Therefore I Am
I started researching a book about the 7th Infantry Division's "Lightfighter" era back in 1998, mostly just for fun. Fort Ord had closed in 1993 and I figured that it would be easy since it was recent history, however when I hit the books I found that the 7thID(L) was almost never mentioned. Books on Panama had gone out of print and I found myself with only a couple of sources for information, one being a Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) paper on "Just Cause" and the other being the Joint Cheif's Official History of Operation Just Cause. It was pretty bleak. I did have a friend, Mike Curran, who'd been with A Co, 2-27 from 1989 through 1993, he would go running with me out at Fort Ord and he would regale me with stories from his days there. That would keep me going off and on until 2001. I injured my back and lost my job and found myself with lots of free time.
I started by reviewing ten years of the Monterey Herald in microfilm at the Monterey Library. Since 2001, I have reviewed microfilm going back to 1940 as my interest in the 7th Infantry Division and Fort Ord's history grew. For others interested in Fort Ord or 7th Infantry history, be aware that the Monterey Herald , which is all on microfilm at Monterey Library , is an excellent source for information. The paper seemed to take great interest in the division and is an excellent resource. This is especially true for the 7thID's WWII campains as well as information on General Joseph Stillwell, who's sister lived in Carmel, CA. Many of the 7th's officers had residences in Carmel, CA, and many of their letters home were printed in the Herald. Later, as local officials fought to save Fort Ord their struggles are well documented.
Then www.7thinfantry.com appeared on the internet, a site owned by Donald Shook Jr. who served with the 7thID during it's transition to pure light infantry with 4-17. I contacted Don and he has been a huge help in my effort to tell the Lightfighter story. Don is also the Secretary for the 17th Infantry Regiment Association - www.17thinfantry.com - and if you've somehow stumbled across this page before his I urge you to to by both websites, especially you Buffalo types, and say hello. From the message board on www.7thinfantry.com I have been contacted by many amazing former Lightfighters, they've all been willing to share their stories and guide me in my search for information. THANK YOU ALL!!! It has been a hard project because the 7thID(L)'s unit histories were not saved, this was mostly do to confusion surrounding the events of the base closure; the 7th was supposed to be relocated at Fort Lewis, WA, and records were packed for shipping but then it was decided to deactivate the unit all together. I've talked to three different men who were at Fort Ord during the deactivation and they said that they witnessed files being tossed into dumpsters.
My luck changed this year. I lucked out and found a pair of books on "Just Cause" on Amazon. The book had a comprehensive telling of 4-17's actions on H hour and also covered 5-21, what was more interesting was what it did not cover. The units of the 2nd Brigade get minimal mention and the 1st Brigade (9th Regiment Manchus) are almost completely ignored. The books both had huge gaps in the story of "Just Cause" and "Promote Liberty", the single largest omission being Operation "Condor". So now I knew the weak spots in the historical records and now had an angle to tell the "Just Cause" story from. Then, my brother (an Air Force veteran) suggested I contact US Southern Command and see what they had in their records and I'll be damned if USSOUTHCOM didn't come through with flying colors! I now have arrival times and dates for all of the units of the 7thID(L) that went to Panama and I have a record of where each unit deployed once they were in the country through February, 1990. There are still gaps in the story though, and I need them filled in, hence this blog.
I will also need to tell about deployments to Honduras for "Cabanas" and "Golden Pheasant", and I need more information on 2nd Brigade's actions during "Garden Plot" during the LA riots. I'm awaiting a response from the National Archives about all of these. I know that USC has an excellent archive on the riots. If you have information about any of these events or if there is something about the 7thID(L) that you think people should know then feel free to contact me. I apologize in advance to being slow in returning e-mails, I am working on improving my response time.
I am out at Fort Ord (the Planet) at least once a week and I will keep you posted on developments out there as they come up.
Thank you for stopping by!
Greg Ferris
I started by reviewing ten years of the Monterey Herald in microfilm at the Monterey Library. Since 2001, I have reviewed microfilm going back to 1940 as my interest in the 7th Infantry Division and Fort Ord's history grew. For others interested in Fort Ord or 7th Infantry history, be aware that the Monterey Herald , which is all on microfilm at Monterey Library , is an excellent source for information. The paper seemed to take great interest in the division and is an excellent resource. This is especially true for the 7thID's WWII campains as well as information on General Joseph Stillwell, who's sister lived in Carmel, CA. Many of the 7th's officers had residences in Carmel, CA, and many of their letters home were printed in the Herald. Later, as local officials fought to save Fort Ord their struggles are well documented.
Then www.7thinfantry.com appeared on the internet, a site owned by Donald Shook Jr. who served with the 7thID during it's transition to pure light infantry with 4-17. I contacted Don and he has been a huge help in my effort to tell the Lightfighter story. Don is also the Secretary for the 17th Infantry Regiment Association - www.17thinfantry.com - and if you've somehow stumbled across this page before his I urge you to to by both websites, especially you Buffalo types, and say hello. From the message board on www.7thinfantry.com I have been contacted by many amazing former Lightfighters, they've all been willing to share their stories and guide me in my search for information. THANK YOU ALL!!! It has been a hard project because the 7thID(L)'s unit histories were not saved, this was mostly do to confusion surrounding the events of the base closure; the 7th was supposed to be relocated at Fort Lewis, WA, and records were packed for shipping but then it was decided to deactivate the unit all together. I've talked to three different men who were at Fort Ord during the deactivation and they said that they witnessed files being tossed into dumpsters.
My luck changed this year. I lucked out and found a pair of books on "Just Cause" on Amazon. The book had a comprehensive telling of 4-17's actions on H hour and also covered 5-21, what was more interesting was what it did not cover. The units of the 2nd Brigade get minimal mention and the 1st Brigade (9th Regiment Manchus) are almost completely ignored. The books both had huge gaps in the story of "Just Cause" and "Promote Liberty", the single largest omission being Operation "Condor". So now I knew the weak spots in the historical records and now had an angle to tell the "Just Cause" story from. Then, my brother (an Air Force veteran) suggested I contact US Southern Command and see what they had in their records and I'll be damned if USSOUTHCOM didn't come through with flying colors! I now have arrival times and dates for all of the units of the 7thID(L) that went to Panama and I have a record of where each unit deployed once they were in the country through February, 1990. There are still gaps in the story though, and I need them filled in, hence this blog.
I will also need to tell about deployments to Honduras for "Cabanas" and "Golden Pheasant", and I need more information on 2nd Brigade's actions during "Garden Plot" during the LA riots. I'm awaiting a response from the National Archives about all of these. I know that USC has an excellent archive on the riots. If you have information about any of these events or if there is something about the 7thID(L) that you think people should know then feel free to contact me. I apologize in advance to being slow in returning e-mails, I am working on improving my response time.
I am out at Fort Ord (the Planet) at least once a week and I will keep you posted on developments out there as they come up.
Thank you for stopping by!
Greg Ferris
posted by M Gregory Ferris at 10:26 PM
7 Comments:
I was in C co 3/9 7th ID from 88 to 91. We spent the summer of 89 in the Sinai as part of the MFO mission for 6 months. After we got back we were rocked by an earthquake. A couple of months later we were deploy to Panama for Operation Just Cause. We returned to Panama around Apr 90.
I was in the 7th ID(L) HQ, 707th Maintenance Company Light from May 1986 until September 1990. I deployed for Operation Golden Pheasant and Operation Just Cause. We also ran forward sites in Honduras that Special Ops operated out of, which went into Nicaragua. In Operation Just Cause the 2nd Brigade was deployed North Panama chasing Panama's special forces Battalion 2000. They where reported to have underground bases, none was ever found and no signs of Battalion 2000 was ever found. 9th Regiment operated in Panama City and worked with 82nd Airborne to secure the city. In July 4th, 1990 Week End I sent my family home as I was ETS from Army in August 1990. I got word the week after I had sent my family back home that I could not get out, a hold order was placed and something was going to happen with Iraq and Kuwait. If Iraq went into Saudia Arabia, the 7th ID(L), 82 Airborne, and 101st Airborne (all rapid deployment division) would deploy to Saudia Arabia and have to hold out 7 to 10 days until heavy forces from Europe could arrive. So basically would would form a picket line and stand in place and die. Good thing Sadam never went into Saudia Arabia. I had to wait until September to get out and only then because I had enough years in for them not to keep me. I had served 7 years and back then my obligation was 6 years. Now it is 8 years. If you need more information, I can have a good Idea, I ran a SAMS-2 site and was responsible for all the reports of equipment, we had a 24 hr standing order for everything to be fixed or one for one exchange. So I have a good Idea of what units went where and what they did as we constantly tracked all their equipment.
Great work, I've been waiting 20 years for someone to document the 7th ID(L) in a book, can't wait to read it. I was in B co 4/21 86-92
Have you heard of the high school mountain bike racing team (part of the NICA-affiliated NorCal Cycling league) that has adopted the name Lightfighters, as well as their logo and motto? It was the kids' idea! We train and race on the same Ft. Ord trails that the 7th used, and we often train at night on the Monterey Rec trail, making the motto "We own the night" even more significant. I would like to contact a local veteran who might be able to come out and talk to us sometime this summer, if possible. And your book, when finished, will be a valuable resource for all of us, coaches, parents, and student athletes.
Whoa, this is a really old blog post I'm commenting on. Did you ever write that book?
A co.3/9 inf regt. Fort O. Ca. From 1985-1990 the history that's lost
C 1/32nd 84-87. A huge thing never mentioned about the light fighters at Ft ord during that time period. These were all cohort companies. Then cohort battalions. Such brotherhood has never been seen either before. Or after. Our company is still in contact to this day. Now 2022
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