Cousin Andrew Williamson Reports from Afganistan

Cousin Andrew Williamson in Afganistan

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Williamsons!

Did you know we have a member of our extended Williamson family on active duty in Afghanistan?  Andrew Williamson is on his second deployment and sent the following email.  Before you read his update from the front, let's first place Andrew in the family tree for reference.

As far as I know, Andrew is the only member of our extended family currently on active duty in a war zone.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  I would like to highlight all members of our family on active duty.  The good news, Andrew's deployment is nearly over.

I emailed Andrew a month or so ago and asked him to send a quick update from the front.  Andrew responded with the following email and photos.  

Andrew and his Platoon on patrol

Well this is my second tour in Afghanistan, the first was from April 2007 to July 2008 in Nuristan Province which is in the north eastern part of the country. This tour started in March 0f this year and we will be home before the 1st of September. It seems like this tour was almost as long as the first one but in reality it is almost a year shorter. I'm pretty sure it is because I have a family of my own now and I miss them like crazy. 

Our mission during this deployment was to prepare the Afghan National Army to take over and do everything on there own instead of NATO forces running the show. We spent a little more than half of our time doing patrols with ANA to villages in the area. The rest of the time we supported a Route Clearance Package, which went up and down the main roads clearing all the IEDs. Sometimes we did this on our own which was a little scary. 

Our Platoon was very fortunate not to lose any of our guys. We had a few guys get injured but all are doing fine now. We are also very successful during our time here. The ANA we worked with are a completely different group, a complete night and day difference. We also found many caches of weapons and IED material, along with about 15 IEDs on the roads. 

All in all this was a good deployment. We didn't lose anybody and we were successful in our mission. Its definitely time to go home though. The guys are ready to get out of here and see there families and get back to normal life. I cant wait to see the family and the new house. 

i hope that works for you Victor, I will try to send some pics later on but It might have to wait till we get home. The Internet is not so hot here. 

 Another of Andrew's photos.  Afghanistan resembles Utah in may ways.
Strange to think such a beautiful place could be in such a mess!

We are all proud of Andrew and the service he is giving our country.  Andrew's email is 

 andrew.williamson2@us.army.mil  If you'd like to drop him a line.

Simply,

Victor

Aunt Bev's Photo Album. Spearfish, South Dakota. 1973/74

From the Fortress of Solitude

Pleasant Grove

Hello All,

Tonight in our digital gathering we pass around more pictures from Aunt Bev's family photo album documenting the every growing Mattson clan in the early 1970's.  These pictures were taken at the Mattson home in Spearfish, South Dakota.  Aunt Bev's handwriting can be seen in the margins.  Please excuse the scanner for cutting off the part of the descriptions.  What you can read is good enough to make out the meaning.   

Several of the photos are dimming with age.  Others are color shifting and darkening.  The distortions are due to the actually photo and age.  I did my best to correct the color.  Other photos are displayed in both their poor state and in black and white.  By removing the color, I was able to bring some clarity to the photo. 

The gems in today's post are 

1.  Joseph's first photo at 1 week old. 

2.  Kirk off to his first day of Kindergarten. 

Simply,

Victor

Our Cousin at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Mattson, McCrillis Line

From the Fortress of Solitude

Pleasant Grove

Hello All,

The middle of August and the temperatures are still in the mid 90s here in Utah Valley.  I'm anxious for Autumn and cooler weather.  I think most Americans are ready to see the back side of the summer of 2012.  

Today in our digital family reunion we discover a 1st cousin 7 times removed who fought and died in the battle of Bunker Hill at the start of the Revolutionary War.  

I begin with the Relationship Chart:  

William McCrillis (1749 - 1775)

is your 1st cousin 7x removed

Willaim McCrellis (1708 - 1781)

Father of William

John McCrellis (1675 - 1743)

Father of Willaim

Daniel McCleres (1706 - 1763)

Son of John

Robert McCrellis (1749 - 1819)

Son of Daniel

John K. McCrillis (1775 - 1868)

Son of Robert

Joseph McCrillis (1808 - 1890)

Son of John K.

Isabel Deanora McCrilles (1851 - 1896)

Daughter of Joseph

Vesta Althea Dennis (1892 - 1978)

Daughter of Isabel Deanora

Violet Mae Pierce (1918 - 1987)

Daughter of Vesta Althea

Violet married Walter Mattson

to

Luella, Linda, John and Marvin

to

Us

Cousin William McCrillis served in Capt. Simon Marston’s Company.  Capt. Marston was under Colonel Joshua Wingate.  William enlisted on Apr. 23, 1775 and served 2 months 17 days.  Killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

The Battle of Bunker Hill

The sun was shining from a cloudless sky a little past noon on June 17, 1775 when a British force of 1500 men landed on Charlestown Heights in Massachusetts. Their objective: a surprise attack to nullify the threat posed by "rebel" batteries on the peninsula.  However, the night before   for nearly twelve hours   the Americans had worked non-stop building their main fortification on Breed's Hill which lay at the foot of Bunker Hill to the north.

At daybreak on the 17th gazing through the morning fog, British General Howe was astonished to see a six-foot high earthwork   a mushroom fortress   that seemingly appeared overnight. "The rebels," he exclaimed, "have done more work in one night than my whole army would have done in one month." British cannons immediately opened fire from the ships offshore but the patriots continued work on the intrenchments without harm.
By mid-afternoon General Howe ordered his troops to advance and open fire. As the British moved forward, the Americans remained as silent as the tomb. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," was the order passed along the lines. When that moment came, the word "FIRE!" was shouted, and whole enemy platoons were mowed down and shattered, retreating to the foot of the hill.


Howe rallied his forces and repeated the attack with the same crushing results. Not to be discouraged, Howe rallied his men a third time, ordering them to use only their bayonets. After a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, the Americans were driven out.
In that final assault American General Joseph Warren and British Major John Pitcairn were killed. While the exact number of casualties varies among historians, the Americans were estimated at 441 killed and wounded... with the British casualties at 1,150 killed and wounded.

In all of the twenty battles of the Revolution, Bunker Hill exacted a heavy toll on British officers. In this one battle alone one-eighth of the British officers in the entire War were killed and one-sixth were wounded on that day.

Following the earlier skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the battle of Bunker Hill was significant in that it overruled any real hope of conciliation. The outcome of the battle rallied the colonies and moved a lethargic Congress to take action. Bunker Hill showed the Americans that the British were not invincible. It showed the British Government that the "rebels" were a serious opponent, that "the mightiest army in all of Europe" had a real fight on its hands.

Aunt Bev's Photo Album. Post 3. 1972/73

From the Fortress of Solitude

Pleasant Grove

Hello All,

I can see another fire on the opposite side of Utah Lake through the Great Room's large window overlooking the valley.  The wind is beginning to pick up and its very hot.  This summer may go down as one of the hottest on record for northern Utah.  

Today I please to post more photographs from Aunt Bev's photo album.  These pictures take us from 1972 into 1973.  

Pictures taken in front of the Williamson home at 2214 38th Street, Rapid City.

 

Bev's handwritten notes are to the side of the photos.  Kirk is in the left.  The gentleman on the right is Bev's father.

These pictures were taken in California at Christmas 1972.  John, Bev, Kirk and Gina were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Mattson at their home in Harbor City, California.

More from Christmas 1972.

Grandpa Mattson died in 1973.  The family gathered for the funeral (picture on the right).  I'm not sure what's happening in the picture on the left.

Matt is one of Aunt Linda's boys. Shane Mattson is also with Kirk on the left.  The Mattson's gather on the right, sadly, Uncle Marvin was cut off in the picture.  In the photo Left to Right. Marvin, Linda, Grandma Violet, Luella and John.

Bev's mother is helping Gina hold Angie

Kirk watching Angie.  Angie one week old.

Kirk's 4th Birthday