Alert: Haiti: ‘I was deported to a country I never lived in’

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Alert 3 February 2025

Haiti: 'I was deported to a country I never lived in' Migrants who have been deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti – the two Caribbean nations that share the island of Hispaniola – have been talking to the UN about the challenges of returning to a crisis-ridden country they barely know. Read more

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Media Invitation Announced for United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed et al. Pre-Trial Hearing

View Online IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Invitation Announced for United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed et al. Pre-Trial Hearing Feb. 3, 2025 The Department of Defense invites media to cover pre-trial proceedings in the case of United States v. Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarek Bin 'Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, scheduled for April 23 – May 16, 2025. The defendants are charged in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.  The proceedings will be conducted at the Expeditionary Legal Complex located in Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) Cuba and will be transmitted to a closed-circuit television site at Ft. Meade, Md. Media choosing to travel to NSGB will pay round-trip airfare ($800); coverage window is determined by flight schedule. Specific ground rules for coverage at NSGB will follow registration. The primary purpose of this invitation is to cover the military commissions. Tours of the detention facilities are not available. Requests for reporting on Guantanamo topics unrelated to the military commissions—such as the naval base facilities or personnel—must be coordinated in advance. Coverage windows: •    April 22 - 26 •    April 26 – 3 May •    May 3 – 10 •    May 10 - 17 *Media may choose to stay more than one week. Registration: Click here for registration. Please select the "Khalid Shaikh Mohammad et al" case from the drop-down selection on the registration form. Enter the specific requested dates as shown above. Deadline: All requests must be received no later than noon EST, Friday, February 7. Additional details of travel logistics will be provided separately. By submitting the online request form, interested media will begin the travel process, and the Office of Military Commissions (OMC) will contact the media to assist in travel preparation. CCTV Site: Media choosing to view the hearing, from the media-designated viewing site at Fort Meade, Md., must send requests via email to osd.mc-alex.OMC.mbx.omc-pa@mail.mil with e-mail subject line matching the court case and the following information: name, position, news organization and contact information. Contact the OMC Public Affairs Director, Mr. Ron Flesvig, for additional information: ronald.flesvig2.civ@mail.mil or 571-372-3713.  Case information can be viewed at the Office of Military Commissions website: https://www.mc.mil.

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Medal of Honor Monday: Army Capt. Willibald Bianchi

View Online Medal of Honor Monday: Army Capt. Willibald Bianchi Feb. 3, 2025 | By Katie Lange   Thousands of men died during the brutal Bataan Death March in the Philippines during World War II. Army Capt. Willibald Charles Bianchi was one of the soldiers who stood out as a leader and caretaker. He survived more than two years in captivity before losing his life as the islands were being retaken by the Allies. For his valor and selflessness, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor. Bianchi was born March 12, 1915, in New Ulm, Minnesota, to Joseph and Caroline Bianchi. He had one older sister and three younger sisters, and he went by the name of Bill. Bianchi's family lived on a poultry farm. As the only boy in the family, he was often called upon to help his dad with daily tasks. Sadly, Bianchi's father died in a farming accident when he was still in high school, so the teen had to quit school to take over the farm and support his family in his father's absence. Eventually, however, Bianchi was able to complete his schooling through the University of Minnesota Farm School in St. Paul. Afterward, he enrolled in South Dakota State University to major in animal science. While there, he played football and was active in ROTC. He also worked as a janitor and did furnace work to pay his way. In June 1940, Bianchi graduated and was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant. As soon as he could, he requested to be sent overseas because he wanted to see action, according to the Minnesota Medal of Honor Memorial website. Soon enough, he got his wish. In April 1941, Bianchi was sent to the Philippines to serve with the 45th Infantry and the Philippine Scouts, who were a group of native troops trained by U.S. soldiers to fight off Japanese aggression. Unfortunately, that training didn't happen quickly enough, as the Philippine Scouts saw some of the very first action of World War II in the Pacific. On Dec. 7, 1941 — the same day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor — the enemy also bombed Clark Field, an Army air base on the island of Luzon. Soon after, the Japanese invaded, forcing Allied troops to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula and to Corregidor Island to hold off the enemy until the U.S. Navy could bring supplies and reinforcements. On Feb. 3, 1942, Bianchi's unit was on the western part of the peninsula when a rifle platoon of another company was ordered to wipe out two strong enemy machine gun nests. Then-1st Lt. Bianchi volunteered to go with them and lead some of the men. When the fight kicked off, Bianchi was shot twice through the left hand, but instead of stopping for first aid, he tossed aside his rifle and began shooting with his pistol instead. When he came across the first machine gun nest, he quickly silenced it with grenades. Bianchi was shot twice more in the chest, but again, instead of getting help, he climbed onto a U.S. tank and took command of its anti-aircraft machine gun. He blasted the second enemy machine gun position until he was shot again and completely knocked off the tank. Bianchi spent a month recovering from his wounds before returning to duty and being promoted to captain. On April 9, 1942, the Philippines fell to the Japanese. Bianchi and about 75,000 other American and Filipino soldiers were captured as prisoners of war. They endured the famous Bataan Death March across 65 miles of terrain in which they were brutally abused. Many men died on the trek, but as a leader, Bianchi moved through the marchers to try to lift their spirits and get them to keep going. Bianchi spent time in several POW camps, each of which had horrible living conditions. At each one, Bianchi continued his role as caretaker, bartering with their captors for food for himself and other starving prisoners. "Many servicemen wrote to Bianchi's mother following the war, telling her that they owed their lives to her son," the Minnesota Medal of Honor Memorial website said. By December 1944, Allied troops had begun to retake the Philippines, so the Japanese had started transferring all its POWs to the mainland using what survivors referred to as "hell ships" due to the extremely harsh conditions they endured on them. Bianchi was first put on a ship called the Oryoku Maru. When it was attacked by Allied aircraft, Bianchi survived, but he was transferred onto a Japanese POW ship, possibly called the Enoura Maru, that was anchored off Taiwan, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency website said. Many of these ships were unmarked, so Allied aircraft were unaware they were filled with American POWs. Sadly, Bianchi died on Jan. 9, 1945, when a U.S. Navy aircraft dropped a 1,000-pound bomb on his ship. Stories of Bianchi's valor eventually made it out of the Philippines. On June 7, 1945, his mother received the Medal of Honor on his behalf during a ceremony at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Later, famed Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur wrote to Bianchi's mother to honor her son and his fellow soldiers. "It was largely their magnificent courage and sacrifices which stopped the enemy in the Philippines and gave us the time to arm ourselves for our return to the Philippines and the final defeat of Japan," MacArthur said. Bianchi's body was never recovered, so his name is enshrined on a marker at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, as well as on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. The 29-year-old never married and had no children, but his mother and sisters kept his memory alive by donating his Medal of Honor and other decorations to the Brown County Historical Society Museum in his hometown, which displays those items for visitors. New Ulm also named a street for Bianchi in 1955 and renamed its American Legion in his honor in 1990. At Bianchi's alma mater, SDSU, a memorial and scholarship were established in 1998. Two years later, a monument in his honor was also dedicated at the school.  This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday" in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor. More Stories of Valor   Experience: The Highest Awards for Valor

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