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McCarran Airport Representing Another Country? |
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Written by Steve Sanson
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Wednesday, 11 April 2007 |
A fellow veteran contacted me several weeks ago outrage at McCarran Airport. Chuck Lombardo Senior Master Sergeant Retired from the Air Force and served our country honorably for over 22 years.
Lombardo informed me that for over two years the Customer/Information Service Representatives in Terminal Operations at McCarran International Airport have been wearing buttons on their Red Blazer Jackets that represent an active Military Fighting Force in Scotland with its motto "Ne Obliviscaris" this means "Do Not Forget."
After learning about this I did an investigation on the button that represents the Argyll and Southern Highlanders a Scotland Military Regiment and discovered the following history:
As a result of the wide-ranging Cardwell reforms of the British Army the 91st and 93rd were merged in 1881. The 91st became the 1st Battalion and the 93rd the 2nd Battalion.
Territorial regrouping gave Sutherland to the Sea-forth as their recruiting area. The counties allotted to The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were Argyllshire, Stirling, Clackmannan, Dumbarton, Renfrew and Kinross. Significantly, the recruiting area remains the same today. Stirling Castle became the Depot and the home of the Regiment.
They became Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The Princess took a close interest in Her Regiment which they repaid with respect and very real affection. Princess Argyll designed the new regimental badge herself, elegantly combining the Argyll Boar's Head and the Sutherland Wild Cat, surmounted where suitable by her own cipher and coronet. The motto of the new Regiment was the old 91st "Ne Obliviscaris" and 93rd "Sans Peur".
In the matter of uniform the 93rd prevailed: The Sutherland tartan was very similar to the original 'dark green Campbell tartan with the black line' in which Lochnell had first raised the 91st. The Swinging Six sporran with its six white tassels and the feathered bonnet both derived essentially from the 93rd as was the badgerhead sporran worn by the officers and senior NCOs. The Kilmarnock bonnet disappeared and all ranks wore the glengarry whenever they were in trews and for less formal parades.
The raising of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, in April 1799, was an even more feudal affair than the raising of the 98th. In the remote and mountainous north, Elizabeth Countess of Sutherland delegated the task of raising a Sutherland Regiment to her cousin Major-General William Wemyss of Wemyss. He assembled 259 men from the recently disbanded Sutherland Fencibles and most of the rest were drawn from the Countess's tenantry by a process which, though highly original, amounted to a form of conscription.
General Wemyss would assemble the available young men of each parish and would walk down the line carrying a large, silver-bound, horn snuff mull, with an attendant bearing a bottle of whisky. Each likely young man was invited to step forward and take snuff with the General and, having drunk his dram, was understood to have been attested without further formality. The only fierce objections came from the parents; and most of these the Countess was able to reconcile by the grant of a more advantageous lease.
The 93rd wore the same tartan as the 91st. Lochnell called it 'the Campbell Tartan,' the 93rd referred to theirs as the 'Sutherland Tartan.' It is exactly similar to that worn by the Regiment today.
There were only three Englishmen, two of whom, however, had good Scots names; and in any case all three were discharged within two years as unfit for service. Right from the start the 93rd became the most solidly and characteristically Highland of all the Scottish Regiments and it remained so to the day in 1948 when it went into what the War Office called 'suspended animation.'
Unlike the 91st, from 1800 to 1815 the 93rd had a relatively peaceful existence. They sailed, in July 1805, to recapture Cape Colony from the Dutch. There, like the 91st, they had their baptism of fire and won their first -- for many years their only - Battle Honor. Cape Town was surrendered and there they remained for eight uneventful years.
The Regiment's distinctive character sprang from the close territorial connection of nearly all the officers and men. They even grouped together in the companies all the men from any one parish. Almost all came from households where morning and evening prayers and Bible reading were an integral part of family life. Almost every private had his own Bible; and the later reputation of these men for steadfast endurance undoubtedly sprang from the deeply rooted religious habit established in their early years.
It was noted in Plymouth, when they returned to England in 1814, that 'their religious tenets were free of all fanatical gloom,' and that 'they always promoted that social cheerfulness characteristic of the homes from which they came.'
In 1808 while serving in the Cape of Good Hope the men of the 93rd Highlanders felt the need of a Kirk Session, and without further ado elected one, and engaged a minister whose stipend was paid for by the soldiers from their own pockets. This Kirk Session has continued in existence in the 93rd, 2nd Battalion, and now in the 1st Battalion to this day.
All in all, it was a very cheerful and united body of men, much given to Highland dancing, which set sail in 1814 to take part in the British government's latest folly: an attempt to capture New Orleans.
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are honored to have Her Majesty the Queen as their Colonel in Chief. She was appointed by King George, VI on her 21st Birthday in April 1947 whilst still Princess Elizabeth and has visited the Regiment on very many occasions since then, some of which are recorded in the display of photographs in the 'Modern' Room.
In 1948 in common with all other Line Regiments the 2nd Battalion (the old 93rd) went into suspended animation but its traditions have been carried on by the 1st Battalion, which has since seen service in many parts of the world including three years in Palestine keeping the peace between Arabs and Jews, and the Korean War in which it was one of the first two British units to reach that theater and where it fought with great distinction, Major Muir winning a posthumous Victoria Cross on Hill 282.
After a period of Public Duties in Edinburgh including the presentation of New Colours by Her Majesty in 1953, the Battalion was dispatched at short notice to British Guiana 'in aid of the Civil Power'. No action was required on this occasion and, following service in Berlin (1955/56) the next move was to Egypt for the Suez Operation, where the Battalion landed but did not see any action. This was followed by Internal Security duties in Cyprus for 18 months (1957/59). The first tour in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) as an armored infantry battalion took place from 1959-62 and when that ended they returned to Scotland for ceremonial duties which included the granting of a number of Freedom of the Burgh ceremonies.
'Confrontation' proved to be the next active service tour for the Battalion, in 1964 they moved to Singapore and from there they carried out three, six month tours of duty in Borneo.
On their return to Plymouth in 1967 they were almost immediately selected to serve in Aden where their task was to keep rival Arab factions from interfering with the British plans for granting Independence to the inhabitants of Aden. The successful reoccupation of Crater under the command of Lt. Col. CC Mitchell which received international acclaim was the main event during this tour of duty.
On returning to England the astonishing decision to disband the Argyll's came as sad and unwelcome news, however, thanks to the "Save the Argyll's" campaign, which received world wide support, the decision was rescinded. The Battalion was reduced to Company strength but in 1972 was re-formed.
The reformation took place at Kirknewton, since when the Battalion has seen service in Northern Ireland on a large number of occasions, Osnabruck, Catterick, Ballykelly, Cyprus, Edinburgh, the Falkland Islands, Colchester and once again BAOR, this time Minden, Folkestone and Edinburgh where Her Majesty presented new Colours to the Battalion in 1996. In addition various training exercises have also been carried out in Canada, Kenya, the Falklands and Belize.
The beginning of the 21st century saw the Battalion's contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process being recognized by the award of the Wilkinson Sword of Peace, as well as a change of role.
The Battalion has become an integral part of 16 Air Assault Brigade and has seen service in Iraq where it helped recruit, train and deploy units of the new Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and to assist in bringing security and stability to the area north of Basra under extremely dangerous conditions.
As part of the process of being accredited as a fully trained Air Assault Battalion the Argyll's took part in a large scale Air Assault Exercise in October 2004. The Battalion is now 'Fit for Role,' It is undertaking a tour in Bosnia between March and September 2005.
What lies ahead? The world of the British Army has shrunk since the days of the Empire but despite a reduction in overseas garrisons there are still tremendous opportunities for members of the Battalion to serve and train in such diverse locations as Canada, Kenya, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Poland, Russia, Bosnia, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Falkland Islands, South Africa and Sweden.
Information about the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders button can be found at http://www.aboutscotland.com/argylls/.
I did my due diligent and left a voice message for Ralph LePore Assistant Director for McCarran Terminal Operations. LePore had Chris Jones Public Information Administrator for McCarran Airport contacted me. When I asked Jones about the button he told me "No Comment".
I contacted Randy Walker Director of Aviation for McCarran and he is on vacation. I also sent an E-mail to Virginia Valentine Clark County Manager and Rory Reid Chairman for Clark County Board of County Commissioners.
Valentine contacted me and told me that she is unfamiliar with the issue I found this to be odd, because I had a letter from Lombardo to Valentine dated February 2, 2007, explaining the issue in great detail.
Let me be clear on this matter we are not a war with Scotland, Scotland is one of our allies. If you did not serve in the United States military nor had a member of your family serve or died for our countries freedoms you may not have a concept about the importance of a 'simple button.' Some people may say that it is just a button.
To those who serve and to the family and friends to those who serve it is not just a button. We are at war and this should not be taken in a nonchalant manner. If they wish to wear a button wear one that supports our troops whom are at war. We have over 24,000 American troops wounded in the current war. We have another 3,200 American troops died in this current war. We have over 150,000 American troops that are in combat in this current war.
We have a great tradition that goes back to when we first received our freedoms from the British in 1776. We have a long list of logos and mottos example Semper Fidelis the United States Marine Corps motto for "Always Faithful".
You could say well we at McCarran Airport knew nothing about the representation of this button. Well, now you know. It could have been an honest mistake a nice Blazer from a catalog.
If someone approached airport personnel and told them a particular item represents discrimination, believe me when I tell you the airport will remove it from their property, but why not this?
This button represents a Scottish military fighting force that is active today. The Scottish people are happy the Americans would want to represent and honor them at an American international airport, but are they doing the same? It is a good thing to support other troops in other countries yet we should always support our own first!
Why in the world would our International Airport want to represent another countries military fighting force when we have our own to represent who need our support at this time?
We need to represent our own military fighting force you cannot claim ignorance for too long.
E-mail: SteveWSanson@cs.com phone 702 283 8088
Website: www.VeteransInPolitics.com.
Listen to Steve Sanson weekly every Saturday at our NEW TIME at 2PM Pacific time on "Face the Tribune" at www.AllTalkRadio.net.
On April 14, 2007, my guest will be Bruce Russell Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3848 and Mike Lamb Commandant of the Greater Las Vegas Marine Corps League Detachment 186. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 April 2007 )
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