OPERATION DESERT STORM & MCAGCC
This episode of Big Blend Radio’s Military Monday Show features Mike Guardia, a US Army Veteran, and awarding-winning military historian and author. Mike gives an overview of the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm, and discusses the role Twentynine Palms, California played in the military operation. Listen to his interview here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on PodBean or SoundCloud.
The Marines first came to Twentynine Palms in 1952. Since then, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center has trained thousands of proud Marines, many of whom were deployed during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. On March 21, 2003, the First Marine Division crossed from Kuwait and began Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Gateway to Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms is a desert destination and art community. Known as the Oasis of Murals, the city is home to over 60 pieces of public art including murals, sculptures, and various art installations. The recently restored mural “Desert Storm Homecoming and Victory Parade” by Chuck Caplinger (partially pictured in the YouTube podcast) shares the story of when the troops came home from the Persian Gulf in 1991. More than 40,000 people crowded into the city for “The Mother of All Victory Parades.”
The pictured mural “Operation Iraqi Freedom” by Don Gray is dedicated to the men and women of the Armed Forces, especially the Marines and Sailors from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms. Marines from MCAGCC are depicted in this 100-foot mural in scenes taken from actual photographs, including the historic toppling of the 40-foot bronze statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad by 1st Tank Battalion and the rescue of Shoshana Johnson and seven POWs by the 3rd LAR.
Learn more about Mike Guardia and his military history books at www.MikeGuardia.com
