On August 6, 2011 our nation was rocked by tragedy when a CH-47 Chinook carrying 38 Warriors was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade in the Wardack Province of Afghanistan killing all 38 people on board. Of those who died, 17 were U.S. Navy SEALs, 5 were U.S. Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Command Support personnel, 5 were crew members from the U.S. Army's 7th Battallion, 158th Aviation Regiment and 2nd Batallion, 135th Aviation Regiment, 2 were special operations U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen (PJ's) and 1 Combat Controller from the Air Force Special Operation Command (AFSOC); also on board was a highly trained U.S. military dog.
Sadly, the event was reminiscent of a blow we felt a little over six years ago on June 28, 2005, when we lost 11 U.S. Navy SEALs and 8 of our U.S. Army's Night Stalkers in Operation Red Wings. Until August 6th that had been the single worst loss of life in the Special Operations Command in Afghanistan. The similarities and immense number of casualties served as a chilling reminder of the grief felt six years ago.
DS&S Tactical, a company founded by a Veteran of Somalia, is making a total of four custom knives to honor our fallen Warriors. These knives will be auctioned and sold to the highest bidder with 100% of the proceeds made going to charities which will help military families. The first knife in the series, and the one you see below will benefit The Navy SEAL Foundation in honor of the fallen heroes of 8/6/11 Tangi River Valley "Extortion 17".
For those of you who have watched me on my mission to Honor Them in the past year you know that any organization willing to give back to military or veterans and their families is always going to have my full and unyielding support. So I ask you to please share this very worthy cause with as many people as you can so that we can help DS&S Tactical raise as much money as possible to give back to those who have given so much. As always, I thank you for your support and all you do to Honor Them.
"All gave some ~ Some gave all"
From the DS&S Tactical website:
Because we can:
DS&S will offer a separate knife for charity auction, in remembrance of each of the military services represented in the lives lost at the Tangi River Valley. Below, is the knife marking the lives and accomplishments of the Navy SEALs who died that day. In the coming weeks, we will produce three other blades: One for the Army, one for the Air Force - and we will also produce one to benefit Military Working Dogs. All four knives will be produced by us and 100-percent of the proceeds will go to charity to benefit military families...
The Tangi River Bullshark - now ready for handle and sheath construction - and the special nano-infusion process, which will make the steel as much as 100 times stronger than it is now.
This is a close-up pic of the raw engraved blade which will be infused with single-walled carbon nano tubes - truly super steel .... and one of a kind.
A special thank you to DS&S Tactical for allowing me to post this information from their site.
A few other pictures of the Tangi River Bullshark
Nano Tubes are applied.
They begin to fill in the cut channels and link together
The blade once it's coated
The blade once it's cured
