They are all gone now but their actions still effect our world. So I still say that WWI was a disaster of the first magnitude to the ENTIRE Western World. Grumpy
A centenarian Royal Navy veteran took full advantage of an appearance on live television to express his sorrow at the state of modern Britain, saying he and his comrades fought for freedom that has been frittered away, eliciting what critics called a “patronising” response by show hosts.
Royal Navy and Arctic Convoy veteran Alec Penstone told Britain’s ITV breakfast show “the sacrifice wasn’t worth” what the country has since become, mourning the loss of freedom he and his friends fought and died for.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Friday for a segment on the upcoming Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day on November 11th, Penstone was asked what the events commemorating fallen troops from the two World Wars meant, and what his message to the country now is.
Far from the feel-good sentiments the piece had evidently been set up for, 100-year-old Penstone remarked: “I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones.
“All the hundreds of my friends, everybody else, who gave their lives. For what? The country of today. No, I’m sorry, the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result that it is now.”
Comedian Adil Ray, best known for creating Citizen Khan, a BBC comedy about a “British Pakistani” family living in “the capital of British Pakistan” — Birmingham, England — quickly interjected to ask of the veteran: “what do you mean by that, though?”.
Penstone continued: “what we fought for was our freedom. We find that even now, it’s a darn sight worse than what it was when I fought for it”.
Ray’s co-host Kate Garraway, a former journalist and news presenter, placed her hand on Penstone’s shoulder and reassured him that people of her generation did appreciate the sacrifice of the veteran and his friends, before announcing that he was to be presented with a compact-disc of Second World War-era popular music in thanks.
British academic Professor David Betz was among those responding to the turn of events, calling Penstone’s remarks “heartbreaking” and the response from the television hosts “patronising” and “simply infuriating”.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron (L) greets 98-year-old British D-Day veteran Alec Penstone during the UK Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion’s commemorative ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II “D-Day” Allied landings in Normandy France, on June 6, 2024. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to a profile by the Royal British Legion, a prominent veterans organisation, Penstone was a young man when the Second World War broke out and initially volunteered as a messenger for the Air Raid Precautions organisation in London during the height of the Blitz.
He said of his time in London during some of the worst bombing of the war: “The moments at 15 years of age, pulling bodies out of bombed buildings you grow up very quickly.”
His father, a veteran of the Great War, made Penstone vow not to serve in an infantry role due to the horrors he’d witnessed in the trenches in the Great War. So he joined the Royal Navy as a submarine-detector, and ended up in one of the most deadly assignments of the Second World War, on the Arctic Convoys. He also served in mine sweeping to clear the sea ready for the D-Day landings, and in the far east, fighting Japan.
The Imperial War Museum states of the Arctic Convoys delivering materiel to the Soviet Union to help them fight Nazi Germany:
Conditions were among the worst faced by any Allied sailors. As well as the Germans, they faced extreme cold, gales and pack ice. The loss rate for ships was higher than any other Allied convoy route.
Over four million tons of supplies were delivered to the Russians. As well as tanks and aircraft, these included less sensational but still vital items like trucks, tractors, telephone wire, railway engines and boots.
While appearing on television today, Mr Penstone was seen wearing the distinctive white beret and badge of the Arctic Convoy Club, a veterans organisation for survivors which disbanded in 2005, given it had so few surviving members.
On his left breast he wore a rack of British medals from his war service including the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Arctic Star, the Pacific Star for service in Burma, and Defence Medal for his service in the ARP.
Separately on a red ribbon, Penstone wore the insignia for a Knight of the Légion d’honneur for role in liberation of France. In 2024, Penstone was personally greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron and thanked for his service.
On his right breast, Penstone wore several Russian Medals including Medal of Ushakov for convoys, and USSR-era convoy medals.
While these are not authorised for wear by Britons in uniform, it is normal practice for British veterans of the Arctic Convoys to wear them on the right breast in this way.
The Night Stalkers, officially known as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), were created in April 1980, out of the ashes of the disaster at Desert One, the failed attempt to rescue American hostages held in Tehran after the Shah of Iran was overthrown.
President Carter ordered Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James Holloway to devise a plan for a successful second attempt at rescue.
Holloway looked to the U.S. Army for pilots and personnel to be trained in short-notice Special Operations Missions. The Army looked to the 101st Aviation group of the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, since they had the most experience in helicopter operations. Personnel from several 101st battalions were selected, but since the majority came from the 158th Aviation Battalion, the new unit was dubbed Task Force 158. Training began for the unit, with CH-47s and UH-60 Blackhawks. The OH-6 Cayuse from the days of Vietnam was resurrected and conducted training in a secluded part of the base.
After the first class completed their training in the fall of 1980, a second rescue operation, dubbed “Honey Badger,” was scheduled for early 1981, but was called off at the last minute when the Iranians released the hostages on the morning of President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.
Task Force 158 was recognized as the premier Army Aviation unit, and their special training was not going to be wasted. On October 16, 1981, the Task Force was transferred into a separate unit from the 101st and was redesignated as the 160th Aviation Battalion. The original class of Night Stalkers called it “The Day the Eagles Came Off.”
There were several unit name changes over the years, and in May 1990, the unit was redesignated the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
Recruitment for the 160th comes from volunteers throughout the Army, as well as selections made by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command based on the unit’s required MOS’s. There are positions available for Enlisted, Warrant, and Officers in certain MOSs.
The training to become a member of the 160th is intense, to put it mildly. A recruit arrives and is assigned to the Green Platoon, where they receive intensive training in areas such as first responder, teamwork, combatives, land navigation, and weapons. Weapons training includes thousands of rounds of practice with the M4 rifle, M9 9mm, M17 9mm, and the Kalashnikov AK-47 & AK-74.
The Green Platoon is used to weed out any substandard soldiers who do not have what it takes to be a Night Stalker. Any soldier who passes this course proceeds to the Basic Night Stalker Course.
Pilots arrive as Basic Mission Qualified. After passing a series of skills tests on leadership, experience, and oral review boards, a process that can take up to three years, the pilot is designated fully mission-qualified.
A Night Stalker flight medic can be qualified as a special operations combat medic after completing a 36-week combat medic course at Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
“I pledge to maintain my body, mind, and equipment in a constant state of readiness, for I am a member of the fastest deployable task force in the world, ready to move at a moment’s notice anytime, anywhere, arriving time on target plus or minus 30 seconds.”
The 160th became known as the “Night Stalkers” because they pioneered the Army’s nighttime flying techniques, giving it the capability to strike undetected in the darkness. They continue to develop new technology and tactics for the battlefield. In every major combat operation since Grenada, the 160th has demonstrated that they live by their motto, “Night Stalkers Don’t Quit.”
Boeing MH-47G Chinook: This ain’t your father’s Chinook. The CH-47 Chinook, which took its first flight in 1961, has been involved with every conflict since then. It’s a tandem rotor heavy lift helicopter designed initially for troop and cargo transport. It has been heavily modified over the years for the 160th SOAR.
Sikorsky MH-60L/M: The L model is a Direct Action Penetrator version of the Black Hawk that’s been configured as a helicopter gunship and used exclusively by the 160th SOAR. Most are equipped with twin M-134D Miniguns.
McDonnell Douglas MH-6: This helicopter dates back to the OH-6 Cayuse, which was used during the Vietnam War. Now highly modified for the Night Stalker Mission
General Atomics MQ-1C Surveillance Drone: This drone is the Eyes of the Night Stalkers, providing pre-operation intelligence as well as real-time surveillance.
The Night Stalkers are based in three different locations.
The 160th has participated in numerous operations from its inception. Here are just a few of them.
Operation Just Cause: 1989 marked the debut of the Night Stalkers, who spearheaded the operation to remove Dictator Manuel Noriega from Panama.
Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and the Global War on Terror: Beginning in 1991, the Night Stalkers have participated in hundreds of missions throughout the Middle East. In 2003, they took part in the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch, who was taken prisoner during the Battle of Nasiriyah. Also in 2003, Saddam Hussein, who was captured in Operation Red Dawn, was exfiltrated to Baghdad International Airport by a SOAR MH-6 Little Bird and placed into custody.
The Battle of Mogadishu: In October 1993, the 160th was tasked, along with U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operators, to participate in Operation Gothic Serpent.
The result was the Battle of Mogadishu, which was the subject of a book and movie entitled Black Hawk Down. The Night Stalkers were stationed in Somalia, as part of Task Force Ranger, alongside a multinational group tasked with capturing Mohamed Farah Aidid, a local warlord who had declared himself President of Somalia.
On this day, the 160th was on a mission to capture two of Aidid’s top men. The Delta operators successfully captured Aidid’s henchman while air units were taking heavy fire.
A Black Hawk, call sign Super Six-One, was hit by an RPG round and crashed. A ground-based rescue operation began. During the rescue mission, a second Black Hawk, Super Six-Four, was shot down a few blocks away.
With resources stretched, D-Boys Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon volunteered to be inserted and provide security for the site, knowing the outcome was unlikely to be good.
The pair arrived and found the pilot still alive. Despite their heroic efforts, the site was overrun, and they were killed. As the Night Stalkers leave the area due to fuel and ammunition shortages, they assured their brothers that they will return, and used their loudspeakers to repeat the motto, “Night Stalkers Don’t Quit.”
Of the 18 soldiers killed in the operation, five of them were from the 160th. Delta operators Shughart and Gordon were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, the first MOH recipients since the Vietnam War.
Operation Neptune Spear — The Hunt for Bin Laden: In May 2011, the 160th took part in a raid on the compound of Usama bin Laden. The Night Stalkers used a pair of specially modified stealth Black Hawk helicopters to insert Navy Seals on the target.
Upon insertion, the tail rotor on one of the Black Hawks struck a compound wall and crashed. The SOAR crew was able to extract themselves from the wreckage and provide cover for the SEAL team. All personnel were able to exfiltrate in the second Black Hawk, making the mission a success despite the loss of the Black Hawk.
While not confirmed, it is rumored that the stealth model Black Hawk is challenging to fly due to the added technology, as helicopters are not stealthy to begin with.
From Grenada to the present, Night Stalkers have been involved in countless operations. Over the years, their constant push to improve has led to advancements in technology, enabling them to perform their mission more safely and efficiently. This technology carries over to regular units of all military branches and has undoubtedly saved many lives.
The Night Stalker Memorial Wall, located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, lists the names of 94 Night Stalkers who have “Borne the Battle.” It serves as a poignant reminder of the high cost paid by these soldiers and their families in service to their country.