MG Ben Corell
Commanding General of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division

Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for being here with us today to help us honor our deploying Soldiers and our families. For the many of us who have deployed previously, we fully recognize that the support received by our Soldiers as we deploy to do our nation’s work and the support for our families from our neighbors and networks here in our nation’s heartland is unprecedented. We are truly grateful for all of your support as we begin this journey. I know we will need your continued support while we execute this mission, and as we return back home to our families next year and begin to transition back into our normal routines as citizen-Soldiers.

While we are here today to pay tribute and say farewell to our deploying Soldiers, I also want to thank and recognize all of our family members.

I know that one of the most difficult sacrifices during a deployment is carried on the shoulders of our families. The concern that looms for all of us who will soon be leaving is ensuring that our families are well taken care of and supported while we are gone. My responsibility is to ensure our Soldiers are fully focused on the mission we have been asked to perform over the coming months. I ask for all of you that remain at home to look out for each other and help each other out when and wherever you can.

As we go forward, our Soldiers will be surrounded everyday by hundreds of service members in the same situation. While we will miss our homes and families, we will stand strong together and look out for each other as we execute our mission.

Our families on the other hand, are spread throughout the region and often don’t have close contact with others going through this experience of a family member serving away from home.
It is our families that quietly fill the void that exists when a family member has been called away to serve. A father, a mother, a brother or sister, a son or daughter. Someone who has an important role every day at home. Our Family Readiness Groups, our “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program” and other supporting organizations are full of capable people who are experienced and ready to help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them — they can be a solid lifeline if you find yourself needing some help.

We could not do this without the sacrifice and support from our families. Know that I am grateful for what you all do to allow us to continue to serve. You all are absolutely the heartbeat of the Red Bull division.

In honor of our families, please stand with me and help me thank them for their critical role in supporting the needs of our nation and our Soldiers. Thank you.

I am grateful for the tremendous community support we enjoy here in the Midwest. We thank our civilian employers. We know you share in the burden as well, by missing part of your team when we are away. We thank our elected officials and other community leaders for being here with us today. On behalf of our Soldiers, I thank you all for the unwavering support you’ve demonstrated over the years and continue to show us today.
Thank you all for being here today to help send us off and for your continued support.

Today, we start a new chapter in the history of the 34th Infantry Division. An organization that represents a proud record of service, sacrifice, and accomplishment. A reputation earned by those who came before us throughout our nation’s history.

This division carries with us the proud legacy of those who have gone before us: the 1st Minnesota Infantry who repelled Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg; service in WWI; the first U.S. division to enter Europe during WWII; subsequently leading the landings into North Africa that facilitated the defeat of the German Africa Corps; attacking into southern Italy and fighting through tough terrain, brutal weather conditions, and ultimately defeating a determined enemy in the Italian Campaign; the division that spent more consecutive days in combat than any other allied division in WWII, solidifying the legacy of the Red Bull Division.

In more recent years, our Red Bull Soldiers have helped maintain peace in places like Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Sinai Peninsula. We have served our communities and our state during disasters and when major national events were held here in Minnesota. Our Red Bull Soldiers have fought our nation’s enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan. In doing so we have lost friends — our brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our nation wearing the Red Bull insignia.
Today, we stand prepared for the next chapter in our division’s legacy, deploying back to the Middle East and assuming responsibility for our mission. We return to the Middle East almost a decade after this division headquarters spent a year in Iraq. This chapter in our history will see the Red Bulls responsible for mission command of Operation Spartan Shield, a mission designed to build partner capacity in the Middle East ­— building regional self-reliance and increased security.

Increased stability and peace in the Middle East is a vision we can all embrace. While we will be located primarily in Kuwait, our area of operations will include 13 countries through four time zones. This area is populated by over 550 million people and contains 22 ethnic groups speaking 18 languages. The footprint of the division’s responsibility will include more than 9,000 U.S. Soldiers and five subordinate brigades.

We are well suited for this mission. We are an experienced, well-prepared, highly capable organization of Citizen-Soldiers.

Our ranks contain school teachers, engineers, police officers, doctors, lawyers, college professors, mechanics, accountants and dozens of other professions.

We represent the very best from our communities and our state. The work ethic and can-do attitude this nation was founded upon is in our DNA. We are well trained and have the equipment we need to perform our mission. We are focused, we are ready.

Soldiers of the Red Bull division, I’m proud to lead you, and even prouder to serve with you. I am privileged to be a part of this great organization. We will do the work that our nation has asked us to do.

Within our formation, we have Soldiers that join us from 11 different states. Each of you have different backgrounds, experience, and diversities. You are all Red Bull Soldiers. Together, we will do our job, we will take care of each other, we will work to leave our deployment experience as better people and a better organization as a result of our time away from home, and we will come back home together when our work is done.

I thank you all for being here with us today. Thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, and your active support of our Red Bull family. We could not do this without you. I look forward to that future moment that we will see all of you again as we return next year after completing our mission.

Attack! Attack! Attack!

Download a PDF of MG Ben Corell’s remarks here:
http://34id.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Major-General-Corell-Deployment-Ceremony-Remarks.pdf

Learning the customs and courtesies of a foreign nation before traveling to the area is designed to combat culture shock and is a pre-emptive way for Soldiers to build an understanding of the way of life in that nation. The PTAE team allows this training to be brought to the Soldiers rather than relying on traveling to an Active Duty post.

With minimal travel, Red Bulls are given the chance to go deep into the thick of the woods on Camp Ripley’s land navigation course to find designated points, low crawl through sand and tall grass to neutralize an enemy bunker, and practice first aid during a combat life saver class.

The Minnesota PTAE team exists for Soldiers and their families’ to mitigate time apart from each other, said Simonet. Since the state has all the resources and assets it needs to conduct this training, it saves nearly a month of training away from family at a pre-mobilization station out of state.

The new commander of the Red Bull Infantry Division in Rosemount understands all the emotions experienced when a son or daughter is deployed in combat to protect Americans and their freedoms. Major Gen. Ben Corell has three sons who have chosen to protect and serve. More…

Decorated veteran Augustus Blocksom was a man of his time, but times were changing. He exemplified Progressive Era America prior to the Great War. Blocksom participated in all the major US Army campaigns for nearly a half-century. He fought American Indians, Spaniards, Chinese and Filipinos. He brought that experience to Camp Cody, New Mexico where he assembled units from across the mid-West to form the 34th Infantry Division in 1917.

Blocksom’s leadership and experience was critical in the development of the 34th Infantry Division in its first year. In the austere desert environment, Blocksom took ill-equipped and inexperienced soldiers of many races, languages and nationalities and guided them through tough military and social training to form a cohesive, combat-ready US Army infantry division. Unfortunately, at age sixty-three, Blocksom faced mandatory retirement before he could deploy to France, but his division was formed and ready.[1]

Augustus Perry Blocksom Jr.’s regular Army career began upon his graduation from the US Military Academy at West Point in the top third of his class. This sharp cadet was noted for his “remarkable powers of mental concentration.”[2] In 1877 he was commissioned Second Lieutenant and began the first of many Cavalry assignments in the 6th Cavalry in Arizona. He commanded Company C (Indian Scouts) and fought Apaches on multiple occasions. In 1884 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Ohio State where he married his wife of forty-six years, Sarah Griswold Beaumont Leuffer. In 1887, he accepted a second teaching position in Cavalry and Law at the Fort Leavenworth School of Application. Two years later he returned to frontier duty to fight Apaches in Arizona and Dakota Indians in South Dakota.

Capt. Blocksom fought in the Spanish-American War in Santiago de Cuba on July 1, 1898, when he was wounded in the assault on San Juan Hill. He received the Silver Citation Star from General Franklin D. Baldwin “for most gallant conduct under heavy fire of shrapnel and small arms at San Juan Hill. He performed arduous services in trenches at the siege of Santiago under intense heat and desultory fire of the enemy; deserves every consideration of the government.”[3]

This die-hard cavalryman declined a promotion to Major in the 27th US Volunteer Infantry in 1899. He stayed in the Cavalry where his promotion took four more years.

In 1900, he commanded the 6th Cavalry in the Chinese Campaign and was again cited for gallantry. He received his second Silver Citation Star for his charge against the Boxers in Tientsin. According to one account, “Two hundred men of his command charged across a Chinese graveyard against several thousand insurgents and routed them.”[4]

Capt. Blocksom served in Manila, Bogo, and Malabang, Philippines during the insurrection. Maj. Blocksom served as an Inspector General in the 1st Cavalry at Fort Clark, Texas in 1905. After another tour of the Philippines, and a short stay at Fort Des Moines with the 6th Cavalry he was quickly promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and full Colonel.

Col. Blocksom was promoted to Brigadier General during his service in Texas where he repelled border raiders from Mexico. General Funston, Department Commander said, “The duties performed by General Blocksom during the border raids of the summer and fall of 1915 were of the most trying and exacting nature, and he met every situation with judgment. He had numerous opportunities to involve us in serious international complications, but never once lost his head. He has shown himself to be a most dependable officer, and has a record to be proud of. I strongly recommend his promotion.”[5]

In 1917, Blocksom received that promotion and command of the 34th Infantry Division at Camp Cody, New Mexico. Later that year Maj. Gen. Blocksom and his immediate staff toured the battlefields of France. According to his American Red Cross field director, “It is the intention to have all the Division Commanders visit France for a couple of months in order to put them into immediate personal touch with the way things are done over there. Then they come back to their posts primed to put the finishing touches on their troops before taking them across.”[6]

As Maj. Gen Blocksom’s Camp Cody command came to a close, he believed his soldiers were ready for the fight. “I am very grateful to all of them for the cooperation which we have received here,” he said. “I consider that this division is progressing very favorably as a result of the school work and the program of training which has been adopted. We hope now to be across the water in a few months.”[7] Unfortunately, when the division deployed to France it was broken up to support other commands.

In April 1918, Blocksom earned an honorable discharge from the National Army and transferred to a Regular Army command the Hawaiian Department as a Brigadier General until his retirement in November.

Blocksom left Camp Cody with the great appreciation of his soldiers. “Cody’s ‘Grand Old Man,’ beloved by every man in the Deming camp and a dynamic leader in American military circles for years, is to leave his command in the 34th division, the camp which he has guided and directed since its inception and institution among the foothills of the New Mexican desert, for a broader range of activities in the great American possessions in the Pacific.

In leaving Camp Cody for his new post, brigadier general Blocksom leaves as many friends and devoted well-wishers as there are men in camp, besides his wide circle of friends in civilian life. During his connection with the Deming camp, he has been popular with both officers and enlisted men and many expressions of regret at the transfer are heard on all sides. But what is lost to the sunshine division, is gained by the Hawaiian department and all Cody stands up to bid God speed to its retiring commander, congratulating the Pacific lands of Hawaii upon its invaluable acquisition.”[8] Having served forty-one and a half years he was promoted to Major General, Retired in 1930. At seventy-six years, he died in Miami, Florida and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

According to West Point, “When we examine his record, consider the services he has performed and the findings of his superiors in rank as to how they were performed, we have no hesitation in saying that he not only served his country well, but unusually well.”[9]

###

1. Companies, batteries and regiments of the 34th were broken up and nearly all personnel were reassigned to other commands in France. Reduced to a skeleton of cadre NCOs and officers, the 34th remained at Camp Cody just long enough for new draftees to refill its ranks. The reconstituted division then went to France, but by the time it arrived in October 1918, it was too late to see action. The 151st Field Artillery and the 168th Infantry Regiment, serving under the 42nd Rainbow Division, earned battle streamers for Aisne-Marne, Champagne 1918, Champagne-Marne, Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne, and St. Mihiel. The 125th Field Artillery, 135th Infantry, and 136th Infantry also earned a WW1 streamer with no inscription.
2. “Sixty-Third Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York June 9, 1932,” United Stated Military Academy Library, accessed July 05, 2017.
3. Michael Robert Patterson, “Augustus P. Blocksom: Major General, United States Army,” Arlington National Cemetery, August 9, 2007, accessed January 08, 2018,
4. Norris F. Schneider, “Historical Sketches,” The Zanesville Signal, A Democratic Newspaper.
5. “Sixty-Third Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York June 9, 1932.”
6. “One Week in Deming, New Mexico,” Edwin H. Brown to wife, September 23, 1917, Minnesota Historical Society, St Paul, MN.
7. “Maj Gen. A. P. Blocksom Wishes Division “Happy New Year”,” Trench & Camp (Deming), August 1, 1918.
8. “Cody Loses Gen. A. P. Blocksom in Transfer to Hawaiian Post,” Trench & Camp (Deming), April 25, 1918.
9. “Sixty-Third Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York June 9, 1932.”

Bibliography

“Augustus P. Blocksom.” Wikipedia. August 22, 2016. Accessed July 05, 2017.

*Blocksom, Augustus P. “A Retrospect and Prospect of War.” Journal of the Military Service Institution XXXV (July-Dec 1904): 215-26. Accessed July 6, 2017.

*_____. “An Ideal Drill Regulations.” Journal of the US Cavalry Association XII, no. 41 (March 1899): 176-80. Accessed July 5, 2017.

*_____. “Discussion on “Letters on Cavalry“.” Journal of the US Cavalry Association 1, no. 1 (March 1888): 377. Accessed July 5, 2017.

*_____. “Visual Drill Signals.” Journal of the US Cavalry Association XVI, no. 57 (July 1905): 91-4. Accessed July 5, 2017.

*_____. “War Lessons for Laymen.” Journal of the Military Service Institution XXVII (July-Dec 1900): 17-25. Accessed July 5, 2017.

*”Cody Loses Gen. A. P. Blocksom in Transfer to Hawaiian Post.” Trench & Camp (Deming), April 25, 1918.

Davis, Henry Blaine. Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, 1998. (Copy wanted.)

*”Died. Major General Augustus Perry Blocksom.” TIME, August 31, 1931. “Died. Major General Augustus Perry Blocksom, 76, who fought successively against Apaches, Sioux, Spaniards, Boxers, Filipinos; at Miami, Fla.; of old age.”

*Forsyth, William W. “An Ideal Drill Regulations.” Journal of the US Cavalry Association XIV, no. 49 (July 1903): 4-20. Accessed July 5, 2017.

“General Blocksom, Indian Fighter, Dies.” (Zanesville), July 1931. See Patterson.

*”Maj Gen. A. P. Blocksom Wishes Division “Happy New Year”.” Trench & Camp (Deming), August 1, 1918.

*“MG Augustus Perry Blocksom.” Find A Grave. November 12, 2012. Accessed July 05, 2017.

*Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. (New York: Random House, 2002). eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed January 8, 2018). Regarding the investigation of the Brownsville Raid of 1906, see Wikipedia.

*”One Week in Deming, New Mexico.” Edwin H. Brown to wife. September 23, 1917. Minnesota Historical Society, St Paul, MN.

*Patterson, Michael Robert. “Augustus P. Blocksom: Major General, United States Army.” Arlington National Cemetery. August 9, 2007. Accessed January 08, 2018.

*Reveille (Deming), 1917-18.

*Schneider, Norris F. “Historical Sketches.” The Zanesville Signal, A Democratic Newspaper.

*“Sixty-Third Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York June 9, 1932.” United Stated Military Academy Library. Accessed July 05, 2017. This report contains a portrait and obituary. Higher resolution portrait image requested, 5 July 2017.

Spanish-American War Report.

*Thayer, Bill. “Cullum’s Register.” George W. Cullum’s Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, since its establishment in 1802. Accessed June 29, 2017.

Thrapp, Dan L. Al Sieber: Chief of Scouts. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.

Tucker, Spencer. Almanac of American Military History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Regarding the investigation of the Brownsville Raid of 1906. See Google Books.

Who Was Who in America. A component volume of Who’s Who in American History. Volume 1, 1897-1942. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1943.

Compiled by MSG Daniel Ewer, MNNG Command Historian
* Source available from MNNG

JOHNSTON, Iowa – Brig. Gen. Benjamin J. Corell, Deputy Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, assumed command of the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls” during a ceremony in Rosemount, Minnesota, on December 9, 2017.

Headquartered in Minnesota, the division has been commanded almost-exclusively by members of the Minnesota National Guard since 1968.

“Typically there’s been very few people who have been allowed to command the 34th Infantry Division that didn’t come from the state of Minnesota,” Corell said.

Though Corell can’t claim to be a Minnesota Soldier, he is a Red Bull Soldier through and through.

“I’ve spent almost my whole career wearing the Red Bull patch,” Corell said.

Of his 32 years in uniform, Corell has worn the 34th Infantry Division for all but a few. At the beginning of his career he belonged to the 47th Infantry Division, before the 34th Infantry Division was reactivated in the early 90s.

The only time he took the Red Bull off was to serve a one-year tour as the deputy commander for NATO Multinational Division-Southeast in Bucharest, Romania.

The making of a division commander

Corell, originally from Strawberry Point, Iowa, joined the Iowa National Guard in 1986 for a $5,000 cash bonus. He and his wife Beth had a growing family to support.

“I needed extra money because I had three kids and they were hungry all the time,” Corell laughed.

At 24, Corell was a little older than many of the recruits joining right out of high school. “When I went to [basic training], they called me grandpa,” Corell said. Corell was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Oelwein, Iowa as a new private. His commander at the time encouraged him to go to Officer Candidate School. “I wasn’t sure what that was, but I went,” Corell said.

He returned to Company B as a second lieutenant and started down a long path of leadership assignments that took him through every stage of command in the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

“We’ve kind of paralleled paths through our whole career,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard.

Orr and Corell served as platoon leaders in separate companies in 1-133rd Infantry at the same time. Later, as they moved through their careers, Corell was often one of Orr’s trusted subordinates.

“I was a little bit ahead of Corell in the career management program as we look at career progression,” Orr said. “I was always in a higher level of command responsible for the organizations he was a part of.”

Orr said Corell was a part-time Soldier for the majority of his career. Corell owned a business, did volunteer work in his community, raised a family, helped on the farm, and served the Iowa National Guard one weekend a month and, typically, for a few weeks in the summer.

“He is the epitome of what I would say is a traditional Guardsman,” Orr said.

Despite his traditional status, Corell’s service has been rather non-traditional. He has served on five overseas deployments – one of them, coined The Long Deployment by Iowa Red Bulls, lasted nearly two years.

“He’s deployed at every level,” Orr said. “He probably has more deployments and deployment time than any other officer in his equivalent position in the country.”

His experience commanding, and deploying, at every level on his way to division command, makes him uniquely qualified for the job, according to Orr.

“In addition to his personal skill sets [and] his dedication, his overall military background makes him the right person for the position,” Orr said.

In July 2017, Corell was named Orr’s deputy adjutant general of the Iowa Army National Guard, a position he will continue to hold in the near term while serving as the division commander for the 34th Infantry Division. This poses a unique and challenging situation reminiscent of his years as a traditional drilling Soldier – holding one job during the week and another on drill weekends.

“My mind works logically, and it’s about what’s the priority of the time,” Corell said, sure that he’s ready to balance his two roles.

For the first time in recent history, the position for the 34th Infantry Division commander will be an Iowa National Guard billet, meaning Corell will not have to transfer to the Minnesota National Guard – an opportunity that will keep him connected with the Soldiers he’s worked with through the years.

The Long Deployment

While many Iowa National Guard Soldiers have encountered Corell during his 32 years of service, few worked as closely with him as retired Command Sgt. Maj. Joel Arnold, a former Iowa National Guard Soldier and 34th Infantry Division command sergeant major.

“The thing I appreciate about his leadership style is that he absolutely demands and allows subordinates to do their job,” Arnold said.

Arnold first served as a squad leader under Corell when he commanded Company B, 1-133rd Infantry in 1996. Later, Arnold would be Corell’s command sergeant major at both the battalion and brigade levels.

“He was always very, very respectful and faithful to his senior Non-Commissioned Officer,” Arnold said. “He recognized clearly the line of responsibility between officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, and as a commander he allowed me full range and supported the recommendations and decisions I made as his sergeant major.”

In 2005, Corell and Arnold took the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry to Iraq for what was sure to be a routine combat deployment for two seasoned infantrymen. Almost two years later, the battalion returned.

“We started getting inquiries from families back home about, ‘Hey, we hear you’re getting extended,’ and at that time, we didn’t know it,” Corell remembered.

The rumors were true and in early 2007, Corell received news his battalion was staying in Iraq for up to an additional 180 days.

“We were outside the wire every day and there was an enemy out there that was aggressively trying to do as much damage to our formation as they could,” Corell said. “So we had to keep our heads screwed on straight.”

Arnold said Corell made his expectations clear to the battalion’s leadership.

“He kept his leadership team together and made sure everyone knew that the Soldiers in the unit were going to be taking their clues off our reaction,” Arnold said.

And then, Arnold said, the 1-133rd Infantry went back to business as usual.

Attack! Attack! Attack!

A decade later, Iowa Red Bulls still refer to the time spanning 2005-2007 as The Long Deployment. Though there’s little fanfare about the length of their stay in Iraq, because, perhaps, that’s the Red Bull way.

In WWII, the 34th Infantry Division – whose motto is “Attack! Attack! Attack!” – spent more days in consecutive combat in the European Theater than any other division in the U.S. military. In Corell’s office, there’s a photo of him sitting in front of a Red Bull emblem with a WWII veteran.

“When I was a kid, my dad was a Marine Corps vet and he would take me to the Legion Hall…and that’s where I first saw the Red Bull,” Corell said. “It was on WWII veterans that were from my hometown. The respect that the other members of those associations gave to those WWII vets was noticeable to me, even as a kid.”

The feeling of pride among Red Bulls is palpable, and visible in the Iowa National Guard – Maj. Gen. Tim Orr and Brig. Gen. Ben Corell being just two among many Red Bulls who rose through the ranks in the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

“We have tremendous history and lineage with the 34th [Infantry Division],” Orr said, “so this is a big deal for an Iowan to command the 34th Division. This is history.”

Orr also pointed to the service Red Bull Soldiers gave in WWII and to the impact Red Bull deployments have had on small Midwestern towns as they’ve sent their sons and daughters to war.

“We’ve got blood and sacrifice that has come out of the 34th that relates back to our communities and relates back to our families,” Orr said.

Moving the ball down the field

“I can’t think of any time that I thought to myself, ‘God, I wish I hadn’t done this,'” Corell said, looking back on a career full of hard work and nights away from his wife Beth and his three sons.

As a father to three young boys in the beginning, Corell was aware he was setting an example.

“I didn’t overtly ask them to join,” Corell laughed, remembering teaching his sons to rappel from trees in the backyard and hosting a weekly Meals-Ready-to-Eat night.

All three of Corell’s sons serve as Soldiers in the Iowa National Guard and all three wear the 34th Infantry Division’s Red Bull patch.

With a career spanning three decades, Corell said he’s not ready to quit just yet.

“I can look back and say I’ve had a great career,” Corell said. “But I still feel I have something left to offer – in this position here and as the division commander of the 34th Infantry Division. I’m excited about moving the ball down the field in the time that I have left here.”

With two offices in two states, Corell’s ability to influence future leaders expands.

“The majority of my career, I’ve been the commander of something,” Corell said. “And when you are the commander, either you’re able to make a decision or you’re able to lead others to help them make a decision. And if you can do that effectively and successfully, then you probably should have the opportunity to command at the next level.”

As Corell assumes his next level of command, one thing is certain: his pride in the Red Bull and the Midwest Soldiers who wear the patch is strong.

“As I look at my experience as a Red Bull Soldier, I couldn’t be prouder,” Corell said. “Not only of the service and sacrifice of those that went before us, but of the service and sacrifice of those that I’ve served alongside in my career.”

December 12, 2017
by Staff Sgt. Christie Smith
Iowa National Guard Public Affairs

Brig. Gen. Ben Corell takes command of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division from Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen during a ceremony December 9th, 2017 at the Rosemount Armory in Rosemount, Minnesota.

WINTHROP, Mass. – Settled in 1630, Winthrop is one of the oldest communities in the United States. Service members of all branches of the military from this seaside town just north of Boston have fought on behalf of their state and nation since the Revolutionary War. On Saturday, Sept. 16th, Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the commanding general of the Minnesota-based 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, participated in a ceremony that honored one of Winthrop’s own: Pvt. 1st Class Andrew Biggio.

Like so many young men of his era, 19-year old Winthrop native Andrew Giovanni Biggio raised his hand to volunteer for service in 1944. He was assigned to B Company, 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division. An infantryman, Biggio fought valiantly with the Red Bulls, liberating the Italian towns of Viterbo, Cecina and Liverno. His heroic actions in combat earned Pvt. 1st Class Biggio a Bronze Star Medal.

Since the Italian peninsula was essential to the success of Nazi Germany’s military efforts, the Nazi regime fortified various west-to-east “lines” across the country as they retreated north. Constructed substantially by slave labor, one of the most impervious was the “Gothic Line,” stretching throughout the northern part of the Apennine Mountains. The “Gothic Line” consisted of more than 2,000 well-fortified machine gun nests, bunkers and observation posts.

In the allied attempt to break the “Gothic Line,” soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division’s 135th Regiment charged up impossibly steep terrain to force the Nazi retreat. It was during this effort that Biggio was killed on Sept. 17, 1944, on Hill 599.

According to Massachusetts State Senator Joseph Boncore, a Winthrop native who represents the area in the state legislature, “In Winthrop, a town of about 17,000 people, there were more than 60 fatalities in World War II.” He continued, “It is not uncommon to see intersections or squares dedicated to local heroes, but we rarely take the time to honor those great Americans, and Winthrop is grateful we are doing so today.”

Pvt. 1st Class Biggio’s namesake, and great-nephew, Andrew Biggio coordinated the event. Andrew, a former U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran in the current-day era of Afghanistan and Iraq, former Veteran Service Officer, member of Post 6 of the Italian American Veterans Association and current Boston City Police officer, was the catalyst for the rededication. “He was eager to fight and serve his country. He was sent to North Africa and Italy.” Great-nephew Andrew Biggio continued, “I’ve read all his letters he sent home. One letter in July said he never wanted to see combat again.”

Saturday’s gathering of Winthrop’s veteran community, town leaders, family members and elected officials commemorated the re-dedication of an official marker at the intersection of Main and Hermon Streets.

Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker reflected during his remarks to the more than 200 people in attendance that citizens should seek out the true meaning and history of those who gave the last full measure for their state and nation.

Maj. Gen. Jensen highlighted the spirit of Red Bull soldiers during his address, citing the centennial of the 34th Inf. Div. and its connection to other divisions founded in 1917, like the Massachusetts-based 26th “Yankee” Infantry. “The 34th Division, while initially comprised of soldiers from Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas, expanded to become a division that represented citizens from throughout the nation,” Jensen reflected. “Private First Class Biggio, and the entire Biggio family, exemplify the sacrifice that was necessary to liberate Italy during the world’s most violent conflict. Private First Class Andrew Biggio honors us all with his sacrifice.”

As part of the ceremony, 93-year old Army Pvt. 1st Class Rocco Telese of East Boston, Mass., was awarded a Purple Heart Medal for injuries sustained in the Italian Campaign. Mr. Telese fought with the 85th Division, an adjacent unit of the 34th Inf. Div. during the northward advance in Italy.

The ceremony culminated with Maj. Gen. Jensen, John Biggio, the brother of the late Pvt. 1st Class Andrew Biggio, and other members of the Biggio family unveiling the new sign officially dedicating the square. “This dedication event has been an important event for the community,” said great nephew Andrew Biggio. “Our family has felt his loss for decades, and this memorial sign will hopefully inspire current and future residents of Winthrop to reflect on the true cost of armed conflict. As an American, I am inspired everyday by what my great uncle and ‘The Greatest Generation’ accomplished.”

September 20, 2017
by Col. Kevin Olson
Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs

Soldiers from the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division – many of whom are based in Rosemount, Inver Grove Heights and Faribault – have officially been told to prepare for a possible fall 2018 deployment to southwest Asia.

In a release Sunday, the Minnesota National Guard said more than 500 soldiers will prepare in the next year for the deployment.
If it happens, the deployment is expected to last about a year.

Division spokesman Maj. Scott Ingalsbe said the mission would likely be headquartered in Kuwait, with some troops potentially based in Jordan. The division would provide additional support across neighboring countries as well.

“The Red Bulls maintain a high level of readiness, and over the next 12 months, our soldiers will train for this mission while also preparing their families and civilian employees here at home,” said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the 34th Infantry Division commanding general, in a release.

Ingalsbe said the 34th division would most likely take over the mission currently being filled by the now-deployed 35th Infantry Division out of Kansas City.

The 34 Infantry Division was formed 100 years ago this month, according to the release. It initially trained at Camp Cody, New Mexico, before a deployment to France in the fall of 1918 shortly before the armistice that ended World War I.

“The Red Bulls maintain a high level of readiness, and over the next 12 months, our soldiers will train for this mission while also preparing their families and civilian employers here at home,” said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, 34th Infantry Division commanding general. “The official notification is an important step in the process of building readiness for an overseas deployment.”

The planned deployment is expected to last up to one year. The notified units are based in Rosemount, Inver Grove Heights, and Faribault; however, the soldiers hail from 10 different states and the District of Columbia.

The soldiers will complete a capstone training exercise next June to validate the unit’s collective readiness and capabilities prior to deploying. The exercise, called a Division Warfighter, tests the commander and headquarters staff’s ability to respond to complex challenges in a fictional battlefield scenario.

The notification comes as the 34th Infantry Division commemorates the 100th anniversary of its formation in August 1917. The division trained at Camp Cody, New Mexico, before departing for France in fall 1918, arriving shortly before the armistice that ended the First World War.