ALEXANDER JOEL ESTRELLA 

From: consig006@aol.com
Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 01:56:38 EDT
Subject: Seeking sponser
To: info@pownetwork.org


  Dear Sirs :

                   My name is Alex Estrella,  former Army vet with 82nd airborne,
1st 75th rangers,  special forces, and 101st airborne,  participant in panamanian
conflict and desert storm.  after returning from vietnam almost 2 yrs ago, I returned
with questions yet unanswered, and with doubt. I am trying to find sponsers for a
2nd trip to vietnam , to include laos this time,  is there a remote possibility that
this network can help me bring one of our own's back home ?

                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                                   alex

Posted on Fri, Jul. 27, 2007

• Gee, I am so glad to see that Alex Estrella is alive and well! He left me after coming to North Carolinaan and marrying me. He left four days later telling me he had been recalled and was having to go to Iraq.!! All I have to say is “Small World isn’t it, Alex!”

  Comment by sherry estrella — 6/30/2004 @ 7:32 pm

Miami Herald

..... Estrella, a former U.S. Ranger who served in the Gulf War, read about Witmer in the newspaper. He decided to march in her honor, and to raise money for an orphanage in Baghdad where Witmer volunteered, and for Project ChildHelp, a Miami-based group that supports programs for abandoned, special-needs children in the Dominican Republic.

So far, though, Estrella's efforts have only raised $130 .....

Project ChildHelp, Inc. and Runner Alex Estrella Join to Help Raise Funds for Orphans....
... Alexander J. Estrella is a graduate of Miami Edison Senior High School, and served in the U.S. Army both overseas and state-side. He took part in military campaigns in Panama (Operation Just Cause) and in Saudi Arabia (Desert Shield/Storm)....

Remembering Michelle
  Unusual Tribute by a War Vet Helps Mother of U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq 

... When Alex Estrella, a former Ranger who served in the first Gulf War...

.... But for the former military man who served with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne during Operation Desert Storm...

MILWAUKEE (AP) - A former U.S. Army ranger in Florida...
... Alex Estrella, 45, of Hollywood, Fla., said by phone Tuesday that he didn't know Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, who died April 9 in an ambush in Baghdad, but he felt a sense of responsibility to her because he was in the first Gulf War....

March 3 of 1988 he returns to the U.S. from KOREA.

In April of 1989 he is sent to Kentucky,
where it seems he STAYED until he was sent to Ft. Leavenworth from May 21 1992 till May 28 1993.

There are no duty stations noted for  overseas assignments for Saudi, Kuwait, Afghanistan or Iraq.

Note absence of SOUTHWEST ASIA SERVICE MEDAL.

Note absence of ARMED FORCES EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL.

Note absence of RANGER TAB.

His Special Forces Association was with Reserves.
"...Special Forces connection in 1981 seems to be a Reserve Unit.  (HHD 3rd SFbn 11th SFGA  Coral Gables, FL.) ..."

"...He did have some Airborne time with the 82nd and with 101st at Ft. Campbell KY...."

1. Description: A bronze medal 1 ¼ inches wide, with the words "SOUTHWEST ASIA SERVICE" across the center background. ...

3. Criteria: a. Individuals authorized the Southwest Asia Service Medal must have served in support of Operation Desert Shield or Desert Storm, in one or more of the following areas, between 2 August 1990 and 30 November 1995: Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, that portion of the Arabian Sea that lies north of 10 degrees North latitude and west of 68 degrees East longitude, as well as the total land areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Individuals serving in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Jordan (including the airspace and territorial waters) directly supporting combat operations between 17 January 1991 and 11 April 1991 are also eligible for this award.

    b. To be eligible for the award, a service member must be: attached to or regularly serving for one or more days with an organization participating in ground/shore military operations; attached to or regularly serving for one or more days aboard a naval vessel directly supporting military operations; actually participating as a crew member in one or more aerial flights directly supporting military operations in the areas designated; or serving on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days, except, if a waiver is authorized for personnel participating in actual combat.

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal:

Hanoi Jane Fonda