Brothers,
Greetings from the new SigEp Patriots Project (SPP) home office in the barracks on Royal Air Force (RAF) Alconbury in the United Kingdom! Before I left the States, I had the pleasure of going to a homecoming event near Old Dominion University (ODU) last Friday where I met a number of great brothers including a number of SigEp Patriots continuing the VA Xi tradition of service to the nation. There were Army, Navy and Marine Corps veterans, as well as VA Xi Patriots serving in the reserves and in ROTC at ODU. Thank you for your service.
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| Outside Mojo Bones in Norfolk, VA; 12 OCT 2012 |
16 OCT 2003
On this date, Persian Gulf War and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM Veteran, TX Rho Brother Lieutenant Colonel Kim S. Orlando, U.S. Army made the ultimate sacrifice when he was killed in action in Karbala, Iraq. Brother Orlando was attempting to negotiate with armed men who were congregating after curfew on a road near a mosque. The Iraqis opened fire killing three soldiers and wounding seven others. All the soldiers were assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and Kim was the commanding officer of the battalion. At the time, he was the highest-ranking Army officer killed in hostile fire in Iraq.
Kim was known for never hesitating to lead his soldiers personally, whether on a three-mile run in below-freezing temperatures or on patrol in the streets of Karbala. Major Darryl Johnson, of the 716th Military Police Battalion, said Colonel Orlando was “constantly moving to the front and disregarding his own safety.” The battalion comprised no fewer than 400 soldiers, and Kim made it a point to learn the name of each one, said Sergeant Major Rodney Smith, a battalion member. “For a battalion commander to know your name, that touches anybody,” Smith said.
He enlisted in the Army as a military policeman in 1982 and was commissioned at Fort Benning, GA in 1986. Kim was promoted quickly, and was picked to study at the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, VA — an exclusive honor for military policemen. When he was killed he was 43, and posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Respect can be paid to Brother Orlando at the Nashville National Cemetery in Nashville, TN. Kim made the ultimate sacrifice, and SPP pledges that his life and service will always be remembered.
