Soldiers bring back memories and medals

[USAMU]

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Eight Soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit
returned from the Athens Olympics with memories, memorabilia and a medal. Seven shooters and a gunsmith of the Army Marksmanship Unit
marched with the U.S. Olympic Team in the Olympic Opening Ceremony and the shooters competed on the Athens Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Range for the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. The third time was a charm for Maj. Michael E. Anti, 40, who won a Silver Medal. This was Anti's third Olympics and he finished in second place in the Men's Three
Position Free Rifle competition. If not for an unfortunate mistake of
shooting an extra shot in the kneeling position in the qualification
round for which he was penalized 2 points, Anti would have won the
Gold Medal; he finished a mere 1.4 points from the winner. "Aside from
winning the Silver Medal, walking into the Olympic Stadium in Athens
for the Opening Ceremony is a day I will never forget," Anti said.
"The atmosphere is just electric. The crowd was amazing; they cheered
the entire time we marched around the stadium. "I was nervous all
during the competition, but it was a positive nervousness that was
controllable and just enough to keep me sharp ad focused," Anti
continued. "After I won the Silver Medal, it felt like a lifelong
weight was taken off my shoulders. It had been a dream of mine for
many years and to finally have my dream come true was an amazing
feeling of accomplishment." Anti also competed in the Prone Rifle
Match in which he finished in 24th place.
"I was not happy with my performance in the Prone Match; I really felt I
had a good chance to medal in that event," Anti said. "However, I am
thrilled that the USA won the Gold Medal in Prone; my teammate (Matt
Emmons) shot an amazing score to win the Gold."
Anti, an infantry officer, from Winterville, N.C., also competed in the
1992 and 2000 Olympics, finishing in 9th Place in 2000 in the
Three-Position Rifle competition and in 18th Place in 1992 in the Prone
Rifle event. He is attached to the USAMU through the World Class Athlete
Program. He and his wife, Anne, live at Fort Benning with their two sons,
Matthew and William.
"My goal in the immediate future is to give back to the Army whatever I
can," Anti said. "I am deeply grateful to the Army for giving me the
opportunity to represent our nation. I dedicate my performance to all the
Soldiers who serve our nation and I hope that I did them proud."
Sgt. 1st Class Shawn C. Dulohery, 39, of Lee's Summit, Mo., shot extremely well in the Men's Skeet competition and went into the finals tied for third place, just 2 points behind the leader. After the finals, Dulohery
was in a three-way tie for the Bronze Medal, which was decided by a shoot
off. Dulohery missed his first shot in the shoot off and ended up in 5th
place. "During the shoot off for the Bronze, watching the (target I missed) sail across I sky untouched was the lowest point of the Olympics for me,"
Dulohery said. "It seemed as though everything went into an extreme slow motion once I pulled the trigger. "Words cannot explain the feeling I had at the Opening Ceremony," Dulohery continued. "The sense of energy that fills the stadium is incredible; you are simply in a state of awe. Just being able to represent the red, white and blue is truly a huge honor; it is a double honor to have represented all the personnel in the Department of Defense." This was the first Olympics for Dulohery; the infantry Soldier, who lives in Midland, Ga., said his goal is to redeem himself in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker, 30, competed in his second Olympics in
Men's Air Rifle. After overcoming trigger problems in the first half of the match, Parker came back to make the finals with a score of 594 points
out of a possible 600. His deficit, however, was too much too overcome,
and although he shot a decent final of 100.5 points out of a possible 109
points, he ended up in 8th place overall after the finals - less than 3
points away from a medal. "I was prepared for the competition; I was nervous but ready to shoot," Parker said. "Afterward, I was not happy. I felt like I was prepared to shoot well but it didn't happen. The worst part of the Olympics was coming home with no medal. "The Opening Ceremony was a wonderful experience," Parker continued. "All of the U.S. athletes were excited to walk into the stadium. The infantryman from Omaha, Neb., finished in 5th place in the 2000 Olympics, barely missing a medal by seven-tenths of a point. The Soldier and his wife, Andrea live in Fortson, Ga., with their infant son, Thomas. He said his future goal is to win at the 2008 Olympics.
Although the third time shooting Skeet in the 2000 Olympics resulted in a
Bronze Medal for Sgt. 1st Class James "Todd" Graves, 41, the shooter came home empty-handed from Athens. Graves competed in the same Skeet match as Dulohery but finished 1 point behind his teammate, which was enough to keep him out of the finals and put him in 9th place overall.
"I felt really good going into the match and I was shooting very well,"
Graves said. "After the match, I was a little angry because I think I
should have shot better. The worst part was watching the award ceremony knowing I wasn't out there. However, it was really great watching my friends shoot and win medals." Graves, who is from Laurel, Miss., said he thinks he has one more Olympics in him and that his goal is a Gold Medal. The infantryman finished in 15th place in Skeet in the 1996 Olympics. In the 1992 Olympics, he took 11th place in Skeet and 29th place in Trap. He and his wife Tracy, live in Cusseta, Ga., with sons James and Cody.
Sgt. 1st Class Bret E. Erickson, who qualified for both the Men's Trap and Men's Double Trap teams, almost did not make it to Olympics to compete. About a month before scheduled to head to Athens, Erickson, who will be 44 years old Sept. 26, suffered what everyone assumed was a heart attack but was actually a bifisicular block. While running during physical training, Erickson collapsed, but luckily, two of his fellow USAMU teammates revived him with cardiopulmonary and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Erickson got a pacemaker put in at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was able to make it to the Olympics. Erickson finished in 13th place in both events, shooting a 130 out of 150 in Double Trap and a 118 out of 125 in Trap. "Before and during the match I felt great, on top of my game; I had been shooting better than I had in 10 years," Erickson said. "I was very disappointed that I didn't win a medal. I had a lot of bad luck with the wind. But I was excited I had a chance to represent my country and the military; it's the greatest honor in the world.
I was happy just to be there and being able to compete, especially after
what happened the month before; it was good just to be breathing,"
Erickson continued. "Now, I'm just sitting back and looking at what I've
done for the past 20 years and thinking about what I'm going to do in the
future. The scariest thought is that I might never be able to do this
again. I've done it for so doggone long, it's my life." The mortarman from Bennington, Neb., came in 20th in 1996 and in 16th in 1992 in the Olympic Trap competitions. He and his wife Lisa, live in Buena Vista, Ga., with their two children, Mara and Cole.
"The Army Shotgun Team filled four of a possible eight positions they
> competed for to make the 2004 Olympic Team; this in itself is an awesome accomplishment for any team," said USAMU Shotgun Team Coach Dean O. Clark. "Sergeants Erickson, Graves and Dulohery were well equipped, trained and prepared for the Olympic Games. They shot well and unfortunately had more targets taken from them due to windy conditions than they missed. My hat is off to them. With the support of the Army, the Gold will be in our sights in 2008. "I'm proud of their dedication and performance, especially Shawn Dulohery," Clark continued. "On his battlefield he advanced to the finals and a perfect score in the final round placed him in a three-way tie for the Bronze Medal. With the second sudden death miss and out, it was just not meant to be his day."
This was the second Olympics for Sgt. 1st Class Daryl L. Szarenski, 36, of Saginaw, Mich. Szarenski took 13th place in Men's Air Pistol with a score of 579 out of 600 and 15th place in Free Pistol with a 554 out of 600.
The infantryman finished in 25th place in Free Pistol in the 2000 Olympics.
"I made no mistakes and had a great performance," Szarenski said. "After the competition, I felt like someone kicked me in the teeth. The closest feeling I can compare it to is a farmer who works his butt off for a crop of wheat and at the last minute a hailstorm wipes it out. Well I have four more years to wait for the next harvest. But, it is better to compete and lose than to be afraid of losing and never trying." Szarenski and his wife Amy, a former USAMU international pistol shooter, live in Seale, Ala., with their two children, Hannah and Luke. He said his goal is to win everything he can until he wins an Olympic Medal. "Daryl will be making some changes in his training program that will hopefully help him achieve his future goals," said USAMU International Pistol Coach Frank Briggs. "There's just outstanding competition at the Olympics and he shot his average, what he's programmed to do. It would have been nice to shoot above his average, but if you can shoot your average in a major competition like this, it's an accomplishment in itself."
Spc. Hattie J. Johnson, who turns 23 years old Sept. 18, took 14th place
in Women's Air Rifle. Johnson shot the highest score of her career in
international competition, but her score of 394 out of a possible 400 was not high enough to get her into the finals as the cutoff for the finals
was a 396. "Before the competition I felt prepared and ready to shoot," Johnson said. "During the competition, my hardest shots were my first and last shots; all the shots in between felt like a regular match. Afterward, I felt good about how I competed but very tired." A first-time Olympian, Johnson, of Athol, Idaho, was the only female active duty Soldier on the Olympic Shooting Team. She joined the Army in 2000 right out of high school. The combat medic said she is retiring from shooting and that she is looking forward to her future. Johnson leaves the Army Sept. 21 and starts work as a manager in training at the Ann Taylor Loft store in Peachtree Mall, Columbus, Ga. She is married to former USAMU service rifle shooter Staff Sgt. Robby Johnson of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, of Fort Benning and they live in Columbus. "All of our rifle shooters shot very well," said USAMU International Rifle Coach Richard N. Hawkins. "They prepared well and put their heart into it. They left no stone unturned; they did everything they could to prepare and train for the competition. "I'm very pleased with their results," Hawkins continued. "Hattie and Jason shot very well and of course Mike shot exceptionally; all three of them had very good competitions. The USAMU rifle shooters are going to try it again in 2008 and bring home the Gold."
Sgt. 1st Class Charles P. Gartland, 39, a USAMU gunsmith, was chosen by USA Shooting to be the official gunsmith for the 2004 Olympic Games.
"When we walked out of the tunnel into the Olympic stadium and saw all
those people waving U.S. flags, it made me very proud to represent the
United States," Gartland said. "Watching Major Anti win the Silver Medal
was the best part of the Olympics." Originally from Bardstown, Ky., Gartland and his wife, Gennie, live in Buena Vista, Ga.
Staff Sgt. Elizabeth "Libby" Callahan, 52, of the Army Reserve finished in 19th place in Sport Pistol and 30th place in Women's Air Pistol. The
retired Washington, D.C., police officer lives in Marlboro, Md., and is
part of the Army World Class Athlete Program. Army Reserve Maj. David Johnson was the U.S. Olympic Rifle Team coach and retired Master Sgt. Erich Buljung was the U.S. Olympic Pistol Team coach; both are former U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit members. Retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Lloyd Woodhouse was the U.S. Olympic Shotgun Team coach.