The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Sgt. John P. Bonnassiolle, U.S. Army, of Oakland, Calif. He will be buried Tuesday in San Francisco.
On April 29, 1944, he was aboard a B-24J Liberator with nine other crewmen. They failed to return following a bombing mission over Berlin. German documents captured after the war established the aircraft had crashed near the town of East Meitze, Germany, north of Hannover. German forces removed the remains of three crewmen from the site and buried them in a cemetery in Hannover.
In 1946, The U.S. Army’s Graves Registration Command located the remains of the men buried in Hannover and reburied them at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, after confirming the identities of two of the three.
In 2003, a German citizen began excavating the East Meitze crash site and turned over human remains to U.S. officials. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team traveled to excavate the crash site in 2005 and 2007, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment — including identification tags for Bonnassiolle and three other crew members.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of Bonnassiolle’s sister — in the identification of his remains.
More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
United States Army Sgt. Charles P. Whitler will be buried Sept. 2 in his hometown of Cloverport, Ky.
In early November 1950, Whitler was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, occupying a defensive position near the town of Unsan by the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head.” Two enemy elements attacked the U.S. forces, collapsing their perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Whitler’s unit was involved in fighting which devolved into hand-to-hand combat around the 3rd Battalion’s command post. Almost 400 men were reported missing or killed in action following the battle.
In late November 1950, a U.S. soldier captured during the battle of Unsan reported during his debriefing that he and nine American soldiers were moved to a house near the battlefield. The POWs were taken to an adjacent field and shot. Three of the 10 Americans survived, though one later died. The surviving solider provided detailed information on the incident location.
Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 58 years. Through interviews with eyewitnesses, experts evaluated circumstances surrounding Whitler’s captivity and death and researched wartime documentation of his loss.
In May 2004, a joint U.S.-North Korean team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, excavated a mass grave near the “Camel’s Head.” An elderly North Korean man reported he had witnessed the death of seven or eight U.S. soldiers near that location and provided the team with a general description of the burial site.
The excavation team recovered human remains and other personal artifacts, ultimately leading to the identification of seven soldiers from that site, one of whom was Whitler.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA - which matched that of Whitler’s sister and niece - in the identification.
More than 2,000 servicemen died as prisoners of war during the Korean War. With this accounting, 8,022 service members still remain missing from the conflict.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1420.
Well, in my last post about this I said I didn’t want to take on Mr. I Won’s speech of Tuesday night, but I have to tell you, it continues to rankle. I’m not at all surprised by what he said ~ and didn’t say. He was just being his usual progressive li’l self and, as he has proven time and time again, he is most certainly not able to be anything else.
Above all else, it establishes his distaste for foreign policy except, of course, when he feels the need to apologize to our mad dog adversaries for the evil United States, his dislike of the Military and his inability to ever admit that he was wrong.
Yes, he “praised” the Troops for all their sacrifice and hard work, but no mention of all the good they did: schools built, neighborhoods reclaimed, businesses able to reopen, water and electricity availability, breathing room for a new government to form, no more rape and torture rooms, children getting medical treatment for the first time ever and the caches of weapons found that will no longer will be used against the Iraqi people.
Nope. That would be just too much for the Grand Narcissus.
Well, over at the War on Terror News, the editor has rewritten the speech and a fine job he has done. Go over and read it and see if that isn’t the speech you would have preferred to hear from this CinC:
My Dear Americans, I have chosen this moment to declare the “combat mission” in Iraq is over. Our Troops will still be in harm’s way and there will still be shots fired by and at them, but I made a campaign promise to “end the war” and have ALL Troops out within 16 months, without precondition. This speech is designed to claim my promise fulfilled, though I did nothing to achieve the current successes in Iraq, nor to overcome the challenges that persist there. In fact, the current Troop levels were not my doing either. I inherited that from President Bush, just as I did the decreased violence there.
And ~ I have this to say to all news talking (stupidly) heads:
Stop asking if the Iraq War was worth it!! Did you think for one minute how trying to get someone to invalidate the effort there, to say that our Fallen and Wounded Warriors’ sacrifices in service to our country were in vain, makes a Gold Star parent or spouse of a Fallen Warrior feel?! Try talking to the Troops about the pride they feel for a job well done in spite of your negative blabbering and KIA counts. Those KIA numbers that you spout, damn near gleefully, were the Troops buddies, brothers and sisters-in-arms. How dare you be so small-minded and contemptible in your reporting?
They deserve so much more than any of you have ever given. And that should make you hang your heads in shame. But I know it won’t since none of you appear to have any sort of conscience.
Thank you Kathi. For the fourth year now you’ve been kind enough to put together this look back at the past year of posts for us. xoxoxox
Wednesday Hero - 2009/2010
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. (Applause.) Everybody have a seat. Well, listen, (uh oh - when a politician says “listen”, what follows is usually BS) I am extraordinarily honored to be with all of you today, and I want to thank General Pittard, I want to thank Command Sergeant Major Dave Davenport, who have shown such extraordinary leadership here.
I wanted to come down to Fort Bliss mainly to say thank you and to say welcome home.
I’m going to make a speech to the nation tonight. It’s not going to be a victory lap. It’s not going to be self-congratulatory. (The fact that he felt he had to say that shows that that is exactly what he’d like to do.) There’s still a lot of work that we’ve got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us. But the fact of the matter is that because of the extraordinary service that all of you have done, and so many people here at Fort Bliss have done, Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself, and America is more secure. (It’s a wonder he didn’t choke as he said that.)
Now, I just met with some Gold Star families, and yesterday I was at Walter Reed. (His second visit since becoming their C in C. They don’t have golf at WR, I guess) And there are no moments when I feel more keenly and more deeply my responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief than during those moments. I know we lost 51 fellow soldiers from here in Fort Bliss. (”We”? “We”?? Did you even know any of the Fallen?) A lot more than that were injured, some of them very severely. A million men and women in uniform have now served in Iraq. And this has been one of our longest wars. (Like they didn’t know that…? Oh. I guess he was talking to the cameras.)
But the fact of the matter is that there has not been a single mission that has been assigned to all of you in which you have not performed with gallantry, with courage, with excellence. And that is something that the entire country understands. (Well, not the entire country - as anyone who reads the comments on the troops at sites such as Media Matters, Huffington Post and Daily Kos can attest to…)
There are times where, in our country, we’ve got political disagreements. (Yeah, like the whole time President Bush was in office - you all on the left cut him no slack, ever, whether it made sense or not.) And appropriately we have big debates about war and peace. But the one thing we don’t argue about is the fact that we’ve got the finest fighting force in the history of the world. (Applause.) (No thanks to you and those on your side of the political spectrum.)
And the reason we have it is because of the men and women in uniform, in every branch of service, who make so many sacrifices, and their families make those sacrifices alongside them. (Gee, I bet they didn’t know that at all. Good thing he was there to tell them!)
And so the main message I have tonight and the main message I have to you is congratulations on a job well done. The country appreciates you. I appreciate you. (Boy, that was hard for him to get out out of his mouth.) And the most pride I take in my job is being your Commander-in-Chief. (Except for the irritating distraction it is from his “transforming America”.)
It also means that as we transition in Iraq, that the one thing I will insist upon for however long I remain President of the United States is that we serve you and your families as well as you served us. (Uh huh…you might want to remind the Progressive Caucus of that. Just sayin’.)
So we spent a lot of time over the last couple of years making sure that we’re increasing our support of veterans: that we are making sure that our wounded warriors are cared for; that some of the signature injuries of our war, like post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, (I bet they were so glad to be informed what those are. Though I’m sure that they all know someone experiencing those.) that we are devoting special services there; that we’ve got a post-9/11 GI bill that ensures that you and your family members are able to come back and fully contribute and participate in our economy; that our veterans are constantly getting the care and honor that they have earned.
So that’s part of my message to the country. And one of the great things about the last several years has been to see how unified the country is around support of our veterans and of our men and women who are currently serving. (Yes, there are quite a few who don’t believe that our Troops are baby-killers, murderers and/or psychopaths “just kicking in doors and terrorizing the Iraqi people”.)
Now, I know that, as I said at the beginning, our task in Iraq is not yet completed. Our combat phase is over, but we’ve worked too hard to neglect the continuing work that has to be done by our civilians and by those transitional forces, including some folks who are going to be deploying I understand today. And I’m going to be talking to them later. (There’s that “we” thing again. How long has he been C in C? Well, I guess he could consider continually fighting against the Iraq war as Senator as “working hard”.)
The work that continues is absolutely critical: providing training and assistance to Iraqi security forces because there’s still violence in Iraq, and they’re still learning how to secure their country the way they need to. And they’ve made enormous strides thanks to the training that they’ve already received. But there’s still more work to do there. (Umm…he just said that. Maybe he needs to remind himself.)
We’re going to have to protect our civilians, our aid workers and our diplomats who are over there, (“Have to”? I should hope that was a given.) who are still trying to expand and help what’s going to be a long road ahead for the Iraqi people in terms of rebuilding their country.
We’re still going to be going after terrorists in those areas. And so our counterterrorism operations are still going to be conducted jointly. But the bottom line is, is that our combat phase is now over. We are in transition. And that could not have been accomplished had it not been for the men and women here at Fort Bliss and across the country. (I do believe they know that, Mr. C in C.)
The other thing that I’m going to talk about this evening is the fact that we obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan. And a lot of families have been touched by the way in Iraq. A lot of families are now being touched in Afghanistan. We’ve seen casualties go up because we’re taking the fight to al Qaeda and the Taliban and their allies. (Is this all news to him? Maybe he should start reading more Milblogs and less Huffington Post.)
It is going to be a tough slog, (By takeing time away from your golfing and vacations, maybe?) but what I know is that after 9/11, this country was unified in saying we are not going to let something like that happen again. (Well, for about 3 months, until the Dems decided to politicize it all.) And we are going to go after those who perpetrated that crime, and we are going to make sure that they do not have safe haven. (”Crime”? You mean that Act of Waragainst this country that killed near 3000 innocent people and destroyed quite a few buildings?)
And now under the command of General Petraeus, we have the troops who are there in a position to start taking the fight to the terrorists. And that’s going to mean some casualties and it’s going to mean some heartbreak. (Ah. Another little known fact, esp. for all those in uniform. Oh, it’s just grand to have someone so knowledgeable to keep us all so informed.) But the one thing that I know from all of you is that when we put our minds to it, we get things done. (By hook or by crook - just ask Nancy!) And we’re willing to make some sacrifices on behalf of our security here at home. (How often has he been to Iraq or Afghanistan…?)
So to all of you, and to your families, I want to express my deepest gratitude, the gratitude of Michelle, the First Lady, (like they didn’t know who Michelle was - sheesh! Oh that’s right. Our troops are only in the military cuz they’re stoopid.) and our entire family. But also I just want to say thank you on behalf of the country, because without you we couldn’t enjoy the freedoms and the security that are so precious. (Nevermind that he’s doing his best to destroy those very freedoms. No. No. Pay no attention.) And all of you represent that long line of heroes that have served us so well generation after generation.
You know, when I was talking to the Gold Star families there, there were some widows dating back to World War II, and then there was a young woman who had just had a baby and had just lost her husband. And that describes the arc of heroism and sacrifice that’s been made by the men and women in uniform for so many generations. You’re part of that line, part of that tradition, part of that heroism. (Good grief, does he really believe he needed to tell all that to this group of people? He really has absolutely no connection to the men and women who make up the Military, does he?)
So what I’d like to do is just to come around and shake all of your hands personally, to say thank you to all of you, to say thank you for a job well done, and to know that you are welcome home with open arms from every corner of this country. People could not be prouder of you, and we are grateful. (Be sure to watch this part on the video. It was so not easy for him to get that out.)
Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.) (Tepid, at best, to say the least.)
A rally talking about returning to God and good American values is fearful, bad, racist, offensive and dangerous.
A mosque being built near Ground Zero by shady business people and an Imam who has uttered insulting statements about America, whose wife calls those who oppose this venture as “Islamophobes” is A-OK.
We were there. It was anything but fearful, racist, offensive or dangerous. A lovely time spent with other folks who were polite, happy, helpful and positive.
If we all did everything that we have a legal right to do, we could not even survive as individuals, much less as a society. So the question is whether those who are planning a Ground Zero mosque want to be part of American society or just to see how much they can get away with in American society?
Can anyone in his right mind believe that this was intended to show solidarity with Americans, rather than solidarity with those who attacked America? Does anyone imagine that the Middle East nations, including Iran, from whom financial contributions will be solicited, want to promote reconciliation between Americans and Muslims?
From these founding principles, forged and tested in fire, we have built a land in which we — difficult as it may be — agree to “tolerate” each other. I do not require, nor do I seek to compel, your “approval.” Beware if you seek to compel mine.
Fred Thompson on Mosque:
GZ Imam: mosque only controversial b/c elections this year. Um… maybe more b/c of all those funerals nine years ago. #ftrs #tcot
“Some [essays] suggest a kind of Christian triumphalism and the desire to convert the other that is not present in the treatment of Islam,” he said. “My impression is that there is certainly a divergence of approaches and impressions that should not appear in a Regents exam of this caliber.”
Ah! The all too familiar human condition strikes again.
Our guest tonight is Claire Shackelford, a Mil-spouse and Mil-Mom, who will talk about Military family life and practical ways to support our Troops.
You may know Claire from You Served, CJ and Troy’s BTR blog and show. If not, come on by and meet her. Heck, come on by in any case - the more the merrier.
You can bet there will be some good info and a real good time!
Some things are so self-evident that it seems bizarre that anyone would oppose them. When you’ve put your life on the line for these, and the right of others to argue against them, it can be a great annoyance that they ignore the evidence in doing so. Worse than being ignorant of the facts, which I am willing to excuse by reason of a news media that purposely distorts, is being willfully ignorant, and worse yet is when one is not ignorant of the facts but continues to argue with lines that sound convincing but the partisan knows to be false before stating them.
On 9/11/2001, I was training, training to defend this Nation against any enemy, even the unknown enemy that chose that day to attack. It was an enemy I had not studied in depth, because I did not believe we’d ever do anything to stop it. Until that day, Americans, and their politicians, were willing to accept that the relatively small number of the flock killed by terrorists was acceptable to avoid the costly wars that confronting the enemy would take to end it. “Experts” told potential victims of terrorists that if they avoided travel to hotspots they could reduce the risk and that if they still found themselves in a bad situation, complying with the dictates of terrorists would be their best chance of survival.
Though the MSM still rarely acknowledges that 9/11 was preceded by other attacks by the same enemy or that the enemy has roots running back to the 70’s, the facts demonstrate that we’ve had many years to come to grips with it. On 9/11, America was caught off guard, because we were willfully ignorant of the enemy and what it would take to defeat an enemy that thought so differently than do we. As we approach the 9th anniversary, we’ve had many more years to figure out why these things occurred, as well as how to defeat that enemy. Our Troops are willing and able to do so.
But there is one thing that is in short supply: acknowledgment of the patience required. Our enemy counted on American impatience and short attention span when it attacked….
Did you know that more than 17,000 military voters were disenfranchised during the 2008 presidential election?
Did you also know that thousands more will be disenfranchised this year despite congressional efforts to fix the problem?
The Military Voter Protection Project (www.MVPproject.org)–a project of Vets for Freedom Educational Institute (VFF-EI)–exposed this travesty a few weeks ago in The Washington Times and continues to fight to protect our military voters on forums like Fox News Channel.
The MVP Project is led by a Navy veteran, Eric Eversole, who served on active duty in the Navy JAG Corps and currently serves as a Reserve officer. Eric has a long history of battling for our military members’ right to vote and isn’t afraid of a fight.
“The MVP Project will not stand by as our military members have their voices silenced during another election. We will stand up and force states to comply with the MOVE Act. We will assist military voters with the registration and absentee voting process and increase voter participation. And, we will ensure that their votes are counted on election day. You can count on the MVP Project to defend the rights of those who defend us.”
See if you can help out in any way - head over to the site and learn more.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2010 - The redeployment of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Iraq demonstrated the changes that have happened in the country, the brigade’s commander said today.
In a telephone interview from Kuwait, Army Col. John Norris spoke about the unit’s road march from Baghdad to Kuwait.
The extensive media coverage of the unit’s departure from Iraq was a tremendous honor for his soldiers, Norris said, but some of the focus on the brigade being the last full combat brigade out of Iraq ignores the real situation.
“There’s still a significant amount of work to be done, and these guys with the ‘advise and assist’ brigades remaining here have enormous capability and enormous capacity and will be able to work with Iraqi security forces,” the colonel said.
The spin from the media was that this was the end of the mission, Norris said.
“We do not want to shadow the capability that remains in Iraq: 50,000 soldiers in advise-and-assist units is a large signature that will allow Iraqi forces to improve,” he said.
The Stryker brigade was based in western Baghdad and worked daily with Iraqi security forces in that key area. At one time, the area was a dividing point between Sunni and Shiia Muslims, and literally was a tinderbox. But the unit - based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. — found an increasingly permissive environment as its deployment went along.
During that time, the Iraqi security forces made tremendous progress, Norris said.
“Iraqi security forces provided all the protection for the unit from Taji to Kuwait,” he said. “There was no contact with enemy, and that’s entirely because the Iraqis did such a good job.”
The unit marched out of Iraq to give the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, more options, Norris said. “As a part of the responsible drawdown of forces, our brigade would have started redeploying in July in a phased approach,” Norris explained.
But the Iraqi parliament - elected in March - still had not formed a government. The brigade staff looked at the situation and made a recommendation that the brigade stick around and march out, Norris said, enabling the brigade to stay somewhat longer to provide a strategic force for the command.
“Unbeknownst to us, it also provided a relief valve for the rearward movement of theater property,” Norris said. “The option of us driving south relieved the pressure on some of the theater mobility assets.”
Once the decision was made, the tactical road march was planned. The brigade was spread out all over western Baghdad, and the mission was to get 2,200 soldiers in 350 vehicles out of the area.
The brigade moved out over two days, with each battalion forming one of four serials. “That was the general basic concept up front,” Norris said. They made the decision to move at night, since temperatures during the day rise to 120 degrees or more. It also served to keep the American presence off the roads when most Iraqis use them.”
The 350-mile road march would be a tempting target for al-Qaida in Iraq or other terror groups. Planning included the American commands in Iraq and Kuwait. It also included Iraqi security forces.
“We moved from Baghdad and did a rest overnight at Camp Adder [in Talil, Iraq] and then moved south to Kuwait,” Norris said. “It was a good plan, and it went flawlessly. I couldn’t be more proud. There was no enemy contact and very few maintenance issues, flat tires and all recovered by us.
“We were able to move all four of our serials into Kuwait as originally scheduled, with the last crossing into Kuwait on the morning of the 19th,” he continued.
Norris called it “a pretty awesome experience” for him as a commander to realize the unit completed its year-long mission with all the soldiers safely into Kuwait.
The unit will case its colors tomorrow morning and begin the flight back to Joint Base Lewis-McChord early next week.
Please don’t forget the Troops still in Iraq. It’s not all peaches and cream and they need to know more than ever that we are behind them all. It’s still really hot there and will be getting cold in the next couple of months. Go to a Troops support site and adopt a Troop - even just a card or letter every now and then means so much.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2010 - Pentagon officials today released the Defense Department’s final review of recommendations issued by an independent panel in the wake of the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting spree on Fort Hood, Texas.
Among the department’s top priorities, as outlined in the review, are boosting on-base emergency response capabilities, improving law enforcement and force protection information sharing with partner agencies, and integrating force protection policy, a Defense Department news release said.
In a memorandum signed Aug. 18, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he carefully considered the panel’s recommendations — detailed in the report titled, “Protecting the Force: Lessons Learned from Fort Hood” — and is directing the department to take “appropriate action” to address the initiatives detailed in the follow-on review.
“I expect department leaders to place great priority on implementing these recommendations,” Gates said. All actions are aimed at contributing to the safety and health of military forces, the release said.
Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, allegedly opened fire at a Fort Hood facility where soldiers were processing for overseas deployments. He has been charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.
“The tragic shooting of U.S. military personnel at Fort Hood … underscored the need for the [Defense Department] to thoroughly review its approach to force protection and to broaden its force protection policies, programs and procedures to go beyond their traditional focus on hostile external threats,” Gates said.
Earlier this year, an investigative panel detailed 79 recommendations in its report centered on improving force protection and tightening gaps in personnel policies, emergency response mass casualty preparedness and support to Defense Department health care providers. In April, Gates directed the Defense Department to immediately implement 26 of the 79 recommendations while a review of the remaining 53 recommendations continued.
The final review’s initiatives “will significantly improve the department’s ability to mitigate internal threats, ensure force protection, enable emergency response and provide care for victims and families,” Gates said.
The review puts forth “concrete actions” for the majority of the recommendations, Gates said. In some cases, however, further study will be required before the department can take additional steps.
In particular, he said, the department will strengthen its policies, programs and procedures in the following areas:
– Educating commanders about the symptoms of potential workplace violence and the tools available to them to address it;
– Ensuring commanders and supervisors have access to appropriate information in personnel records throughout a servicemember’s career;
– Improving law enforcement and force protection information sharing with partner agencies and among installations to ensure all relevant personnel are aware of and able to analyze and respond to potential threats;
– Expanding installations’ emergency response capabilities, including enabling enhanced 911 to notify dispatchers of a caller’s location, mass notification and warning systems to guide installation personnel and emergency responders to an emergency, and a common operating picture to ensure emergency responders have access to real-time information in a crisis;
– Integrating force protection policy through the creation of a consultative and policy-making body that will bring together the various entities across the department with force protection responsibilities; and
– Ensuring the department provides top-quality health care to servicemembers and health care providers by hiring additional health care providers, particularly in the mental health field, and ensuring health care providers receive appropriate post-deployment respite and time at home between deployments.
Gates also has directed the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America’s security affairs to continue to lead the follow-on review and to provide regular progress reports to him.
The secretary also emphasized the importance of leadership and the need for intervention when necessary to ensure good order and discipline.
“Force protection, although critical, is not a substitute for leadership,” he said. “Leaders at every level in our military play a critical role.”
Gates pledged to provide leaders with the necessary tools to deal with potential issues among their ranks.
“As the department takes steps to strengthen its approach to force protection,” he said, “I ask leaders and commanders across the force to remain mindful of the unique requirements of the profession of arms - that military service is grounded in an oath to support and defend our Constitution, but also may necessitate the sacrifice of some of the very rights we defend.”
That last sentence is so much horse pucky! Again, instead of addressing the actual problem - jihad - again, the suits decide to tiptoe all around the real issue. Politically correct protection of “Special Victim Groups” that rule our very thoughts and actions and endanger innocent people.
Notice nothing is said about getting rid of the debilitating virus of Political Correctness that is rampant, even in the Military ~ and can ruin a good career. Everyone is terrified to say anything against a “special victim group” member, what with all the “sensitivity training” out there. I mean, this Hasan was spouting jihadist comments to Soldiers at Walter Reed, for heaven’s sake! But because of the PC BS rammed down our throats by the progressives and ACLU-types, no one had the guts to jump the tracks and call out “danger!”
~~~~~~~~
Is this what our Troops are defending? I think not!
Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn’t violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway - and no reasonable expectation that the government isn’t tracking your movements.
Wednesday Hero has never been issued a warning before but I felt it necessary for this one. This post contains graphic descriptions of torture and brutality that some may find it difficult to read.
This weeks Wednesday Hero is dedicated to thousands of men who lost their lives in April of 1942 in what has become known as the Bataan Death March.
On April 9, 1942 Major General Edward P. King, Jr. surrendered 75,000+ men (Filipinos, Chinese Filipinos, and Americans) who had been fighting the Japanese since January of that year when they launched a full scale invasion of The Philippines. They were starving and wracked with disease. Upon their surrender the men were robbed of their possessions and forced into a 61 mile, 5-12 day, march to Camp O’Donnell. Along the way men were brutally beaten, staved of food and water, some had their throats cut, some were beheaded, some died to disease or exposure or untreated wounds and others were simply executed. In all the death tally is unknown but it’s estimated that between 6,000 to as many as 20,000 men didn’t survive the march.
Maj. Richard Gordon: “I didn’t come down with a surrender group. They caught me actually two days after the surrender took place. First thing I did was receive a good beating. And everything I had in my wallet, in my pockets was taken from me. And as I was marched down that road, where they captured me, I passed my battalion commander, Major James Ivy, and he had been tied to a tree and he was stripped to the waist and he was just covered with bayonet holes. He was dead obviously. And he had bled profusely. He had been bayonetted by many, many bayonets. And that’s when I knew we had some troubles on our hands. We were in for deep trouble. And they brought us down into a staging area and put me in with the rest of the thousands that were assembled on the side of the road, and that’s where I spent my first night.”
Here’s a great link with more information and interviews with survivors.
The sacrifice and Hell that these men went through will not be forgotten. I don’t know about anyone else, but I never learned about this while in school. If you’re children aren’t being taught this piece of history make sure that you do it for them. These men must be remembered and honored.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
