Office of the Commanding General
Headquarters, 1st Armored Division
"Operation Desert Storm"
APO New York 09761
April 22, 1991
Fellow "Iron Soldiers":
This pamphlet stands as testimony to the personal sacrifice of
all members of the Old Ironsides team, who deployed from Europe
in support of Operation Desert Shield and fought with valor and
distinction while defeating the "best" of the Iraqi
Army during Operation Desert Storm.
Our odyssey began on 8 November 1990 when President Bush ordered us to deploy to Southwest Asia. Through the weeks and months which followed, you persevered in the face of extra ordinary challenges, overcame anxiety and fear and ultimately made the impossible seem routine. You met every challenge from shipping equipment and deploying to a foreign country, to learning the ways of the desert and dramatically winning on the battlefield on a scale unparalleled in the annals of modern warfare.
In the years to come this pamphlet will remind you of your magnificent contributions in freeing the people of Kuwait from the tyranny and oppression of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi Army. I'm exceptionally proud of each and every one of you - you have earned a place in the history of our great Division, and the U.S. Army, and, the admiration of a grateful nation and the free world!
I am honored to have led you in this historic endeavor!
"IRON SOLDIERS”!
Ronald H. Griffith
Major General, U.S. Army
Commanding