Afghanistan to Arlington —

We Are Sentinels of History & Our Fallen

Photo: Alex Quade and 7SFG ODA team members pay tribute at the grave of the Flipper-75 crew lost in Afghanistan.

By Alex Quade, War Reporter, Honorary SFA National Lifetime Member

Photos courtesy Alex Quade (unless otherwise noted)

At Arlington National Cemetery, battle buddies from “that Chinook shootdown op in Afghanistan” – Special Forces ODA-726 teammates, an Apache Longbow helicopter pilot, and a blonde pony-tailed war reporter gal in a baseball cap — honored those taken too soon.

“A nation can be judged in part by how well it honors its heroes,” President George H.W. Bush – who I interned for – once said. And that’s what our motley crew was there to do.

We thanked them for their service and sacrifice. We shared memories and stories. We left SFA Chapter 78 Sentinel magazines, notes, photos, flowers, and flags.

But for the 400,000-plus heroes resting around us, we were virtually alone in the sporadically pissing rain.

We paid tribute to…

OGA friends who’d worked alongside our SF brothers… such as Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann, the first American KIA in Afghanistan after 9/11. The CIA Special Activities Division paramilitary ops officer was with 5SFG “Horse Soldiers” at the fortress of Qala-i-Jangi. Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters assassinated Spann during a prisoner uprising.

Photo: The grave of Johnny Michael Spann.

We paid tribute to…

SF Medal of Honor recipient friends no longer with us… such as SGM Jon Cavaiani, who I last saw at SOAR (Special Operations Assoc. Reunion) wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt, drink in hand. He always gave me a huge smile and hug. And, my mentor COL Robert L. Howard — who I called “Ranger Bob.” He emailed me advice at 0430 almost daily. He taught me everything that mattered.

Photo: SGM Jon Cavaiani MOH recipient autograph to Alex

Photo: The grave of SGM Jon Robert Cavaiani.

The last time I was with those two SF MOH recipients at Arlington – while they were still alive – was National Medal of Honor Day, March 2009. They’d invited me to pay tribute to our nation’s Fallen, along with thirty other living MOH recipients. President Barack Obama unexpectedly joined us at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There, he and Bob (who was the MOH Society’s President), and three other recipients laid a wreath.

President Obama called the recipients “the bravest of the brave,” who “embody the best of American values and ideals.”

“Their bravery and humble strength continues to reassure our nation of the strength of its character and ideals even in these difficult times. We owe these heroes a debt of gratitude that our nation can never fully repay,” President Obama stated. Adding, “We must never forget their sacrifice and will always keep the Fallen and their families in our thoughts and prayers.”

Photo: MOH group photo at Arlington Cemetery shot by Alex Quade, 2009

Photo: President Obama and MOH Society President Robert L. Howard, Arlington Cemetery, National MOH Day, March 2009. (Courtesy CMOH Foundation).

Photo: Left to right, COL Howard, Alex Quade, MAJ Drew Dix and COL Roger Donlon.

Humble strength… described my mentor.

“It’s not about uttering words, but living by them,” Bob, ever the teacher, told me later after I snapped an MOH group photo. He shared more “Quiet Professional” lessons with me that night at the USO Gala, as fellow SF MOH recipients COL Roger Donlon, and MAJ Drew Dix nodded in agreement.

“It’s not about uttering words, but living by them,” Bob, ever the teacher, told me later after I snapped an MOH group photo. He shared more “Quiet Professional” lessons with me that night at the USO Gala, as fellow SF MOH recipients COL Roger Donlon, and MAJ Drew Dix nodded in agreement.

Ranger Bob was in hospital a few short months later.

“You need to Continue the Mission of telling the stories of our Special Operators — for their families that resent their continued deployments and absence — and so America doesn’t forget,” he tasked me, at his bedside.

“This is no bullshit!” He was serious. “I challenge you to stay alert, stay safe, watch your back, and return home to share your stories and experiences with the public that need to be reminded,” he pointed his finger at me.

The last thing SF MOH recipient “Ranger Bob” Howard said to me was, I “can kiss him in his coffin.”

I kiss his headstone every time I visit him now, in Section 7A, by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And, I take his deathbed tasker “to Charlie Mike,” seriously — which my battle buddies know well.

Photo: Alex Quade and Bob Howard, December 2009, Texas.

Photo: Alex pays tribute at his grave, 2021.

Which is why we paid tribute to…

Fallen brothers-in-arms from various Global War on Terror operations downrange… especially from “that Chinook shootdown op” we were on in Afghanistan — which happened on a Memorial Day weekend, past.

We read letters to the air crew buried together. Those Heroes resting peacefully before us, due to the Green Berets and Apache pilot around me, who fought valorously to carve order out of chaos, secure the crash site and recover their remains.

Photo: 7SFG Battalion CSM Joff Celleri

Photo: the ODA 726 logo stitched on Joff’s baseball cap from downrange, which he’d given to Alex. He’d written the names of fallen SF brothers on the inside of the cap.

Which is why we paid tribute to…7SFG Battalion CSM Joff Celleri — who’d given me his ODA-726 baseball cap from downrange with names of fallen SF brothers he’d Sharpie-penned inside — asked me to read his letter out loud for him. In it, he publicly shared for the first time, something personal he’d already shared with me. Something his family, his Command, and even his ODA-726 teammates didn’t know about. Shortened version of Joff’s letter below:

“Today I want to ensure we remember the legacy of the Flipper-75 crew. From the moment the round impacted the CH-47, until the last trigger squeezed from my M-4 to ensure we recovered all the HEROES that were part of the crew — this event impacted my life.

“On Memorial Day Weekend, 2007 – an American CH-47 helicopter, Flipper-75, was shot down in the vicinity of Kajaki Sofia in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. The crash killed seven soldiers: five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian.

Photo: Flipper-75 crash site which claimed the lives of seven soldiers: five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian (who were mistaken for reporters)

Photo: ODA-726 team brothers Cecil and Joff, Helmand, Afghanistan, May 2007.

“Securing the crash site became the priority. We did not know the number of enemy we would be facing. Enemy continued to move towards the site. It became a race between the enemy and us to the crash site. The firefight became more intense. Some of the vehicles were disabled due to enemy fire. We continued to move. We entered the site.

“We secured the site and the enemy intensified their engagement with us. As the CH-47 rounds were cooking off, as the fire of the crash was intensifying, as the enemy rounds were impacting all over us, and the smell of the fumes and bodies burning was assaulting our senses — our JTAC called Danger Close air to ground engagements to stop the enemy from overrunning our position. Thanks to one of the Apache helicopters providing support, we were able to gain control of the situation.

“Stu, the pilot, is a HERO. His story of valor would never have been told to Senior Official military or to America, if not for a reporter named Alex. She tracked Stu down and gained his trust, and got him to talk about it for the first time. Alex was supposed to be on that CH-47.

“Stu’s valor and skills saved the lives of my ODA and other soldiers. Stu maneuvered his Apache low to the ground in order to draw fire from the enemy, not once or twice, but numerous times. Additionally, Stu completely disregarded his own safety. After running low on fuel, he decided to continue providing air support until additional air support came on station.

“As I come to the end of this short writing, I would like to share something. Last year on the anniversary, my family almost lost me. But, the angels who protect our country, who give us this most precious thing called life, protected me that day. They allowed me to continue to live, and continue to serve with the best of the best, the Green Berets.

“I can never un-see what I have seen. I can never undo what I have done. As veterans, we will always carry war blood on our hands. We will always have scars from twenty years of war. But, I ask all veterans to get help and use the resources available for you.

“Remember, our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath and ultimate sacrifice of each soldier who died protecting it. God bless America. God bless all the families of the Flipper-75 Crew. DOL.”

Photo: Apache pilot Stu Pitou, Alex Quade and Joff, Ft.Bragg, NC, April 2021.

Later, Joff shared his letter on social media.

“This is a story I did not know, CSM. It is an incredible story of immense courage, sacrifice and dedication to duty,” retired LTG John F. Mulholland commented. (Mulholland is the former Assoc. Dir. Military Affairs at the CIA, Dep. CMDR SOCOM, CMDR USASOC, JSOC, 5SFG, etc.)

“It certainly brought together elements of some of our country’s most famous units and capabilities… the 82nd Abn DIV, US Army Special Forces, and our great aviators flying both lift and attack in the face of the enemy. May God rest those who fell that day, and may He bless all the great warriors of land and air who won the race… and the day on behalf of Fallen comrades. Lest we forget — Strength and Honor,” Mulholland added.

“Thanks for writing this, Joff. That was an exceptionally tough fight during an intense campaign, and it is time the full story came out,” former Special Operations Task Force-71 (SOTF-71) CMDR COL Pat Mahaney commented.

“America has a lot to be proud of about what happened that day and throughout that campaign—it was ‘One Team, One Fight’, and we all knew it. Am very glad to see the Quiet Professionals are letting more people know what happened, and what we were (and are) capable of. DE OPPRESSO LIBER,” Mahaney added.

Photo: ODA-726, Helmand, Afghanistan, May 2007 (Courtesy SOTF-71).

Photo: Teammates reunite with Alex Quade with their ODA-726 VALOR shirts, April 2021, near Ft.Bragg, NC

Getting that full story out is a responsibility I take very seriously.

ODA-726’s trust in me to share their part of that mission that we were all on, is humbling. These Green Berets fought valorously to ensure our fallen heroes came home to their families. They continue to honor them, their Gold Star families — and everyone on that mission — by taking the brave leap to come out of the shadows to share their story.

“You are the right person to tell this story, Alex. You were there. I pray it gives some closure to the families,” Joff told me.

Closure…

That mission impacted the lives of everyone involved. “Quiet Professionals” like CSM Joff Celleri are leading from the front by encouraging others to seek help (I wish my former cameraman would have, after that op – but that’s another story).

We… are the Sentinels — “the protectors, defenders, guardians” —of history, and of our Fallen. By sharing our stories — we ensure that their service, actions, and legacy live on.

About the Author:

Alex Quade is an award-winning war reporter and documentary filmmaker who prefers flying under the radar downrange and letting her life’s work speak for itself. Former Commanding General of USASFC, and SOCEUR, MG (ret.) Michael Repass describes Alex’s work this way: “War correspondent Alex Quade is this generation’s Joe Galloway, who tells intensely personal stories. Alex nails the essence of sacrifice found in America’s Special Forces operators and their families. Alex Quade is the real deal. She’s spent more time with Special Forces operators in combat zones and back home after deployments than any other reporter. Alex knows them and their families, and is uniquely qualified to tell their intensely-lived, extraordinary stories.” Hachette is publishing Alex Quade’s book on this operation. For more info: alexquade.com

Photo: Alex and Maggie

Photo: Alex and Joe Galloway