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July |
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July |
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July 07 Sunday, July 1st
Support Our
Troops Pride Ride
Sign Up began
at 11:30 am
Arrived
at
Quaker Steak and Lube at 2:30pm
All Bikes rode
for free
Our
members that attended this event were |
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Cancelled Clay couldn't get it put together in time |
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Cancelled
July 14th Clay couldn't get it put together in time |
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We're Sad
to report we have lost another Tennessee Soldier in Iraq
Bob "Bulldog" President of Rolling Thunder's Chapter TN1 sent this article out from Woodbury about the funeral coming up on July 4, 2007. This is going to be a very special funeral and He expects that Cannon County will really turn out for this family.
Iraqi Freedom Claims the Life of a Woodbury Soldier "The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. 1st LT Frank B. Walkup, IV, 23, of Woodbury, Tenn., died June 16 in Kirkuk, Iraq, from injuries sustained in Rashaad Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during dismounted operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii." That was the official offering of the Army about the death of First Lieutenant (1st. Lt.) Frank Walkup IV, but it is not that simple to the family of the Lieutenant who lives on New Street here in Woodbury. His father says that the family learned of his death late Saturday night by two representatives from Fort Campbell. His father who is a former Army Sergeant with the Rangers has always known of the danger a soldier is subjected to. But still he has now experienced what most of the civilian population will never have to do and that is give up his son to the cause of world peace. The senior Walkup told me that his whole ancestry was military; father's grandfather's uncles and even great-grandfathers. He said his son Frank grew up in the shadow of a "grunt sergeant" all of his life and always considered the military a way of life. Besides his father he leaves his mother and eight siblings and a wife of less than two years. Lt. Walkup was to have turned 24 three days after his death. As the father explained it his son and his crew were on patrol in Kirkuk in a Humvee when they saw something suspicious and Frank (LT.) exited the vehicle and approached the object. It was then remotely detonated fatally wounding the Lt. The remainder of his command was not injured; the standard chain of command would call for the Lt. to send one of the subordinates, however the senior Walkup said that his son was a true leader and it was not below him to do that job himself. Lt. Walkup had been in country for ten months and in that time period he had lost 12 members of his platoon and had three Hummers blown out from under him. His father said that losing those men was very hard on his son; he was close to his men. The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was not on the side of the road as are many because it was inside the confines of a town or village and the insurgents have to be close to detonate it, unlike running over a switch with a vehicle which would activate the bomb. A statement was found on the internet labeled Patriot Forums from the second in command of the platoon that Walkup led, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Christopher Noell tells of the relationship of 1st Lt. Frank Walkup; it reads in full. "1st Lt. Walkup was my platoon leader. The loss of 1st Lt. Walkup can be felt from the newest Private to the oldest Soldier. He impacted everyone he came in contact with. His excitement for life and the love of it will be missed. I sit here just not fully understanding why he was taken; he had everything going for him. A loving family and wife, a bright future. His dreams were to have a construction company, something small that he could operate with his father, Big Frank. 1st Lt. Walkup, or Spartan-6 as he was called; and I, early on swore always to take point no matter what. We would be Leaders, leading from the front and never letting our Soldiers see us down. As Rangers we lived up to that, but he laid his life down leading from the front, keeping his Soldiers out of harms way and in the end putting himself into it. I will never forget his smile, his laugh and his honesty. He will always be the standard for a Platoon Leader in my heart and mind. Frank, you were one of a kind brother. I love you and miss you." It was signed "Never Surrender, Never Retreat" SFC Christopher Noell Spartan-7. In a May 30 article of the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) the Lt was interviewed and some of his comments were written into the story. His mother Mitzi Walkup found them on the internet during the night after they were told of their son's death. "Frank probably never knew he was in the article" she said. The article shows that the men of his command had compassion for the Iraqi people. They had stopped and discussed water situations and supplies for the local school where the teachers had been pressured to shut down by the terrorists (leave or die) so they left. "It is like we are fighting ghosts out here" Lt. Walkup tells the CSM reporter. "We have a huge area to cover, and you may not see that much going on here, but we have proof enough that they are out here". Lt. Walkup received the rank of 2nd Lieutenant from ROTC the day before he graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. That is where he met his wife to be Sabita Maharaj. Maharaj was a tennis player for UT and in her junior year she was ranked 50th in the nation. The couple married December 2005 following graduation, the couple had not been married long before the Lt. was being shipped to different places for training, such as Ranger School in Fort Benning, Georgia, 29 Palms California and Hawaii. Hawaii is where the couple made their home. His company, stationed at Schofield Barracks, was called up for deployment to Iraq. His wife Sabita was the daughter of Sais and Janet Maharaj. She was born in Florida but will most likely be living in Dallas, Texas after the funeral. First Lieutenant Frank B. Walkup IV is the first military death from Cannon County to be killed in any U.S. war since Harold Lawton Basham was killed in Vietnam. This county has given many to the cause of freedom from oppression around the world. In front of the Courthouse is a monument dedicated to the servicemen who had given their all. There were 22 killed in World War I, 36 in World War II, one in Korea and one in Vietnam and now Lt. Walkup from Operation Iraqi Freedom will be put on the monument for everyone to see and remember. In side the Courthouse there many pictures of the former veterans from Cannon County, as you can tell we are proud of our military here in Cannon County. The Veterans and Concerned Citizens for Cannon County Veterans will be attending the funeral of Lt. Walkup which will be full military honors.
We ask that
the citizens come out and represent this county with their American
Flags to show support for this local hero and to comfort his family.
Plans are being made for a Patriotic Veterans Group to come and honor
the fallen soldier. Lt. Frank B. Walkup IV will be buried in the
Riverside Cemetery west of Woodbury. His burial will be at 10:00 AM
July 4th; that is so appropriate for a military man. 1st Lt. Frank B. Walkup, IV
June 19,
1983 - June 16, 2007 Visitation and Services: Funeral services will be held at theWoodbury Church of Christ at 10 am, Wed., July 4th with Bro. Shane Peyton officiating. Full Military honors will follow in the Riverside Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 1 - 4 pm and from 6 - 8 pm Tues., July 3 at Woodbury Funeral Home. For those wishing to do so, donations may be made to the Woodbury Funeral Home for the family to donate to the Cannon Co. High School Athletic Assoc. Obituary: Frank was born in Memphis, Tn. on June 19, 1983 and died in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Sat., June 16 from injuries sustained in Rashaad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Div., Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He is survived by his wife, Sabita Maharaj Walkup; Parents, Frank & Mitzi Walkup of Woodbury and Melissa Oaks of Memphis; 9 Siblings, Franz, Mitch, Kevin, Nina, Andy, Emily, Jake, Josh, & Taylor; Grandparents, Frank & Joyce Walkup, Faye Burdine, Claude & Audrey Barron, Glenda Knight, & Bobby R. White; Great grandparents, Frank B. & Kathleen Mitchell, and Ruth Walkup. He was a 1st Lt. in United States Army Infantry where he was trained as Airborne, Air Assault, and Ranger qualified. He was commissioned as 2nd Lt. on May 5, 2005, the day he graudated from UT Knoxville. He was also a graduate of Riverdale High School, and a member of the Woodbury 1st United Methodist Church.
Woodbury
Funeral Home
Nashville Tennessee
Dear
Thunder Makers of Chapter One: Knoxville Tennesse Chapter TN3 These folks have requested Rolling Thunder's presence at their Son's Service. Let's all do what we can to honor their request.
We realize
that this service is well out of our area, being held during the
middle of the week, given to us on short notice and that most of you
folks already have plans for the 4th, but if it's at all possible for
You! to attend his family as well as the folks of Cannon County would
really appreciate You! being there.
The nearest
hotels are 23 miles away in McMinnville, TN, so this won't be an easy
task for us long distance travelers.
"President"
Rolling
Thunder TN 3 and National Members that attended
his
service were
Directions from: Cracker Barrel Old Country Str 716 N Campbell Station Rd Knoxville, TN 37934 US To: 100 E Water St Woodbury, TN 37190-1236 US Driving Directions 1. Start out going NORTH on CAMPBELL STATION RD. (0.19 miles) 2. Merge onto I-40 W via the ramp on the LEFT. (118.46 miles) 3. Take the TN-141 E exit- EXIT 254- toward ALEXANDRIA. (0.24 miles) 4. Turn LEFT onto TN-141. (0.26 miles) 5. Stay STRAIGHT to go onto TN-53. (7.98 miles) 6. Turn LEFT onto US-70/NASHVILLE HWY/TN-26/TN-53/MCALLEN FOUTCH MEMORIAL HWY. Continue to follow US-70/TN-26/TN-53/MCALLEN FOUTCH MEMORIAL HWY. (5.24 miles) 7. Keep RIGHT at the fork to go on TN-53. (14.87 miles) 8. Turn RIGHT onto MCMINNVILLE HWY/US-70S/TN-53/TN-1. Continue to follow US-70S/TN-53/TN-1. (0.67 miles) 9. Turn RIGHT onto N MCCRARY ST. (0.07 miles) 10. Turn RIGHT onto E WATER ST. (0.00 miles) 11. End at 100 E Water St Woodbury, TN 37190-1236 US Total Estimated Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes Total Distance: 147.99 miles |
July 5th
Informal Meeting at Coyote Joes
Nothing
special just an atempt to get everyone together
Those
who attended were
Clay,
Clell, Scott, Mary, Lee, John Widing, James Wade, Matt, Pam, Donna,
Lenny, Vito,
|
This is a Confirmed TN3" Mission !!!! Call to Action !!!! July 6th
Tractor
Pull in Sevierville, TN |
They
requested our presence to help them open it with
a
tribute to our Veterans.
There was at
or around 50 motorcycles leading this ceremony.
Who had to be
on the grounds by 6pm Friday
Some of the Folks that helped pull off this Event were
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Marine
Corp |
Lee Tractor |
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Staging
location and Time
Everyone
staged at the Lowe's Lumber on Chapman Hwy near Gov. John Sevier Hwy.
at 5 pm
Kickstands
went up at 5:30 Sharp
for the ride
to the fair grounds
Somehow
we had an email clash
so
once again for sorry for the short notice as well as the confusion
===============================================================
Rolling
Thunder members who attended were
Scott,
Mary, Clell, Donna, Lee, Lenny, Joyce, James wade, Matt, Ken, Sue
Non
Members who attended were
Jame's
wife Doris, Phyllis & Virgil
Chapter TN3 Meeting at Quaker Steak and Lube
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July 14th
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