In this episode of the H21 Southern Branch, Austin, Texas, chapter of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association, we deliver the summary of the events in Austin, Texas, during the Veterans’ Day 2009 parade and ceremony.

As you will hear in this podcast episode, we had representation from Bobby Briscoe, Tony Martinez, Duane Williams, John Torres, Fred Castaneda and our newest member of the CIB, Don Bailey. They participated in the Veterans’ Day parade in downtown Austin, Texas, from the Congress Street bridge from Riverside Drive to the State Capitol.

Actually, there was an administrative error because the parade cadre did not have the CIB Association application on the list. Thus, the 82nd Airborne Division Association (represented by Fred Castaneda and Don Bailey) invited the group to march with them.

What was interesting was that the Army Band from the 36th Infantry Division at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas, was marching right in front of the team. This gave us the best place to march to the cadence, and definitely, the group was STRAC and looked great and marched perfectly–to represent the rest of the members and to pay honor to those veterans in uniform–past or present.

After the march to the entrance of the State Capitol, we met several folks who were interested in joining the CIB Association (as well as other paratroopers who wanted to move their memberships to the local chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association).

At the State Capitol, at the 11th hour, there was the ceremony which highlighted Rosalinda Babin, the mother of Alan Babin, local hero and Grand Marshall for the Parade. His story is told in the blog of AlansAngels and In their Boots, and he was described as a wounded warrior in the memorial Day activities of 2007.

At the foot of the south steps of the capitol was a mock-up of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In front of this tomb were the wreaths placed to honor those who fell in combat during all military operations since the Civil War.

Of course, the CIB Association joined the 82nd Airborne Division Association to place the wreath appropriately and represent the organizations.

The Austin-American Statesman newspaper had a series of photos in their gallery which depicted pictures from the events (the URL is at

http://www.statesman.com/news/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=200410).

And, yes, our own team was shown marching (however, the newspaper incorrectly stated that the group was the TAVV organization and not the CIB/82d Airborne combination).

The next meeting of the CIB Association Austin, Texas, chapter will be in the joint meeting with the 82nd Airborne Division Alamo Chapter in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, 12 December 2009, for the Christmas meeting and installation of the new officers for 2010. More will be delivered in the newsletters and email.

Copyright (c) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This is a special episode of H21-Southern Branch-Austin, Texas, chapter of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association. We publish this because of a special event that occurred–the premiere screening of the first in a series of a documentary video that concerns the returning veterans from the Middle East.

As you will hear in the audio mp3 file of this podcast episode, the screening was for the first episode of a multi-year project called In Their Boots. This will be a video, and it will be broadcast weekly from the first episode on 2 July 2008. However, this will not be on television. Rather, it will be on the web at http://www.intheirboots.com.

What was so special about this screening? It centered around a local hero in the Central Texas area–Alan Babin. Yes, his story will be the first in this series which will be broadcast live on the web on July 2nd, 2008:

As you may remember from our earlier podcast episode number 5 that described the ceremonies from the Memorial Day event in Pflugerville, Texas, Alan Babin was honored by the members of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association:

As a wounded warrior from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Alan’s spirit and dedication touched the heart of all the CIB Association members.

Even though Alan Babin was not an Infantryman with an MOS of 11B, he was a medic that was wounded while trying to aid an Infantryman that needed medical assistance under fire from the enemy. Thus, he was the veteran-of-honor at the Memorial Day ceremony when he took the wreath of his beloved 82nd Airborne Division Association and delivered it to rest alongside the other flowers and wreaths to pay tribute to those who have fallen in all the wars and all the campaigns for the U.S. military.

What was encouraging is that this was Alan’s first time in his iBot (self-propelled wheelchair) and did not need assistance in going to lay the wreath. Rosie Babin, his mother, provided this footage of video that captured the moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqMgTzGDJfM

The aftermath of Alan Babin’s struggle for recovery is one of the most inspiring role-models of courage, determination, attitude and “guts” that would make any combat infantryman proud to know this young man.

Alan Babin, we salute you, and we thank you for teaching us the meaning of the word “hero”–not just in combat, but also for the courage it takes in recovery and success, for we know that you will make it. Airborne! All the Way!

In Their Boots premieres on 2 July 2008 with the story of the Babin family and Alan’s experiences of his recovery. Take it from us, this is one episode you do not want to miss.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation and the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus. All Rights Reserved.