This was really more of a skirmish than a real battle, but let the history books reflect the following facts concerning the MOM attack. This successful mission was carried out by 5 brave solders, who sacrificed their bodies by daring to strike this city unaccompanied by the main squadron, and captured it against all odds during a scorching heat wave.
I had some doubts about the Modesto attack today. I was a little concerned about leaving our AVs unattended for 2-4 hours in the number one car theft hot spot in America and it was also a weather hot spot as the temp soared to a high of 107, but everything turned out fine and it was a great day. Our vehicles were untouched and we found fun ways to deal with the heat. We marched slower than normal, drank lots of water, and took advantage of the many shady spots along the way. However, the coolest thing we did was about half way through the march, when Dan suggested we jump into a water fountain. Man, that was awesome. We soaked our heads and shirts and stayed cool for hours. We also discovered that Modesto had a direct tie to Petaluma through the American Graffiti movie. Most of the film was shot in Petaluma, but bits of it were shot here in Modesto, and the co-writer and director of the movie, George Lucas, was born and raised in Modesto. And now you know.....the rest of the story.
After the march and a short R&R, we convoyed 10 miles to the Costco in Turlock and received permission to make camp there for the night. We also enjoyed their famous rollers (hotdogs), pizza, churros, and drinks. Larry joined us about 1900.
Mission status for day 2 of 16: Completed 2nd of 21 scheduled attacks for a total of 19 miles on the ground and 148 convoy miles.
