Hanoi Jane as Nancy Reagan?!

NOTE: Snopes calls the reports of Hanoi Jane’s actions false.  http://www.snopes.com/military/fonda.asp

I still say who appointed this “mom and pop” team as the “God” of internet truth?  *crew Snopes. “X”

The movie is to be released in October, 2013

AVOID THE MOVIE “THE BUTLER”

Never forget what this miserable woman did and the pain and suffering she caused.

THE MOVIE “THE BUTLER IS BEING SHOT IN NEW ORLEANS.

THE TRAITOR JANE FONDA PLAYS NANCY REAGAN.

AS AN AMERICAN I CAN NEVER FORGIVE JANE FONDA FOR HER ACTIONS IN VIETNAM.

MANY AMERICANS DIED IN THAT WAR AND FOR HER TO CALL AMERICANS SERVICE PEOPLE WARMONGERS IS UNFORGIVABLE TO ME.

SHE WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF 3 MEN WHO DIED AFTER RECEIVING BEATINGS FOR PASSING A NOTE ABOUT THE CRUELTY THEY FACED EVERY DAY WHICH SHE IN TURN TURNED OVER TO THE VIETCONG.

I hope all people, young and old know this…

IF not please read all of this message.

In “my time” it was fairly well known what she did, but over time it seems to have been forgotten or lost in time…

otherwise she never should be asked to perform in any capacity !

Ronald Reagan would be rolling over in his grave!

JANE FONDA AS NANCY REAGAN

This cannot go around too much.

Those of us that were living in those years will never forget that she was a traitor and did a lot of damage to our boys.

She has now been chosen to play Nancy Reagan in her life story.

I am sending this one out because so many do not know this truth…

And also because she was on 3 times this week talking about her new book…

And how good she feels in her 70′s…

She still does not know (or acknowledge) what she did wrong…

Her book just may not make the best list if more people knew…

also…

Barbara Walters said:

Thank you all.  Many died in Vietnam for our freedoms.

I did not like Jane Fonda then and I don’t like her now.

She can lead her present life the way she wants and perhaps SHE can forget the past, but we DO NOT have to stand by without comment and see her “honored” as a “Woman of the Century”.

(I remember this well)

For those who served and/or died. . .

NEVER FORGIVE A TRAITOR.

SHE REALLY WAS A TRAITOR!

And now President OBAMA wants to honor her…!!!

In Memory of LT. C.Thomsen Wieland who spent 100 days at the Hanoi Hilton

[Infamous North Vietnam Prison]

IF YOU NEVER FORWARDED ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE FORWARD THIS SO THAT EVERYONE WILL KNOW!!!

A TRAITOR IS ABOUT TO BE HONORED.

KEEP THIS MOVING ACROSS AMERICA

This is for all the kids born in the 70′s and after who do not remember, and didn’t have to bear the burden that our fathers, mothers and older brothers and sisters had to bear.

Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the ’100 Women of the Century.’

The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot.

The pilot’s name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat.

In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the ‘ Hanoi Hilton.’

Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ’s, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American ‘Peace Activist’ the ‘lenient and humane treatment’ he’d received.

He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away.

During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant ‘s feet, which sent that officer berserk.

In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying career) from the Commandant’s frenzied application of a wooden baton.

From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4E’s).

He spent 6 years in the ‘ Hanoi Hilton’…the first three of which his family only knew he was ‘missing in action’.

His wife lived on faith that he was still alive.

His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a ‘peace delegation’ visit.

They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they were alive and still survived.

Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand.

When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man’s hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: ‘Aren’t you sorry you bombed babies?’ and ‘Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?’

Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper.

She took them all without missing a beat.

At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper…

Three men died from the subsequent beatings.

Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day.

I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years.

I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia; and one year in a ‘black box’ in Hanoi.

My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Banme Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border.

At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs)

We were Jane Fonda’s ‘war criminals…’

When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her.

I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we POWs received… and how different it was from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as ‘humane and lenient’.

Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weight placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.

I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released.

I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV.

She never did answer me.

These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of ’100 Years of Great Women.’

Lest we forget….’ 100 Years of Great Women’ should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots.

There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane’s participation in blatant treason, is one of them.

Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can.

It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget.

RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt, USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron, Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343

PLEASE HELP BY SENDING THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.

IF ENOUGH PEOPLE SEE THIS MAYBE HER STATUS WILL CHANGE

Boston Bomber To Be Buried at Arlington National Cemetery?

I know a retired Marine who would have plenty to say about this feeble excuse…

…if Julie Frein has anything to say about it.

“Tamerlan Tsarnaev, aka: The Islamic jihadist scumbag, aka: the dead Boston  Bomber will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery if one US Air Force Veteran  has her way. Yes, you heard that right. The murdering, older brother who  killed three and maimed hundreds more innocent people at the Boston Marathon,  including an eight-year-old blown to bits has been offered a National Cemetery  burial plot by a USAF veteran named Julie Frein.”

Read more: http://conservativevideos.com/2013/05/boston-bomber-to-be-buried-at-arlington-national-cemetery/#ixzz2SnLniwt4

Willie, Joe, and Bill in WWll

Courtesy of a veteran friend I “met” while on JibJab; a considerable amount of my postings came from e-mails received from him.

Willie,Joe, and Bill in WWII

Get out your history books and open them to the chapter on World War II.  Today’s lesson will cover a little known but very important hero of whom very  little was ever really known. Here is another important piece of lost U.S. History.

Makes ya proud to put this stamp on your  envelopes… 

Bill Mauldin  stamp honors grunt’s hero. The post office gets a lot of criticism. Always has, always will. And with the renewed push to get rid of Saturday mail  delivery, expect complaints to intensify. But the United States Postal Service deserves a standing ovation for something that happened last month:

Bill Mauldin got his own postage  stamp.

Mauldin died at age 81 in the early days of 2003. The end of his life had been rugged. He had been scalded in a bathtub, which led to  terrible injuries and infections; Alzheimer’s disease was inflicting its cruelties. Unable to care for himself after the scalding, he became a  resident of a California nursing home, his health and spirits in rapid  decline.

He was not forgotten, though. Mauldin, and his work, meant so much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home.  He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin’s drawings of his muddy,
exhausted, whisker-stubble infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.

Mauldin was an enlisted man just like the soldiers he drew for; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs their laughs, his heartaches their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him.

He never held back. Sometimes, when his cartoons cut too close for comfort, superior officers tried to tone him down. In one memorable incident, he enraged Gen. George S. Patton, who informed Mauldin he wanted the pointed cartoons celebrating the fighting men, lampooning the high-ranking officers to stop.  Now!

“I’m beginning to feel  like a fugitive from the’ law of averages.”

The news passed from soldier to soldier. How was Sgt. Bill Mauldin going to stand up to Gen. Patton? It seemed impossible.
Not quite.  Mauldin, it turned out, had an ardent fan:  Five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe .. Ike put out the word: Mauldin draws what Mauldin wants. Mauldin won. Patton lost.

If, in your line of work, you’ve ever considered yourself a young hotshot, or if you’ve ever known anyone who has felt that way about him or herself, the story of Mauldin’s young manhood will humble you. Here is what, by the time he was 23 years old, Mauldin  accomplished:

“By the way, wot wuz them  changes you wuz
Gonna make when you took over
last month, sir?”

He won the Pulitzer Prize, was featured on the cover of Time  magazine. His book “Up Front” was the No. 1 best-seller in the United States.

All of that at 23. Yet, when he returned to civilian life and  grew older, he never lost that boyish Mauldin grin, never outgrew his excitement about doing his job, never big-shotted or high-hatted the people with whom he worked every day.

I was lucky enough to be one of them. Mauldin roamed the hallways of the Chicago Sun-Times in the late 1960s and early 1970s with no more officiousness or air of haughtiness than if he was a copyboy. That impish look on his face remained.

He had achieved so much. He won a second Pulitzer Prize, and he should have won a third for what may be the single greatest editorial cartoon in the history of the craft: his deadline rendering, on the day  President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial slumped in grief, its head cradled in its hands. But he never acted as if he was better than the people he met. He was still Mauldin, the enlisted  man.

During the late summer of 2002, as Mauldin lay in that California nursing home, some of the old World War II infantry guys caught wind of it. They didn’t want Mauldin to go out that way. They thought he
should know he was still their  hero.

“This is the’ town my  pappy told me about.”

Gordon Dillow, a columnist for the Orange County Register, put out the call in Southern California for people in the area to send their best wishes to Mauldin. I joined Dillow in the effort, helping to spread the appeal nationally, so Bill would not feel so alone. Soon, more than
10,000 cards and letters had arrived at Mauldin’s bedside.

Better than that, old soldiers began to show up just to sit with Mauldin, to let him know that they were there for him, as he, so long  ago, had been there for them. So many volunteered  to visit Bill that there was a waiting list. Here is how Todd DePastino, in the first paragraph of  his wonderful biography of Mauldin, described  it:

“Almost every day in the summer and fall of 2002 they came to Park Superior nursing home in Newport Beach , California , to honor Army  Sergeant, Technician Third Grade, Bill Mauldin.  They came bearing relics of their youth: medals, insignia, photographs, and carefully folded newspaper clippings. Some wore old garrison caps.  Others arrived resplendent in uniforms over a half century old. Almost all of them wept as they filed down the corridor like pilgrims fulfilling some  long-neglected obligation.”

One of the veterans explained to me why it was so important:  “You would have to be part of a combat infantry unit to appreciate what moments of relief Bill  gave us.

You had to be reading a soaking wet Stars and Stripes in a water-filled foxhole and then see one of his cartoons.”

“Th’ hell this ain’t th’  most important hole in the world. I’m in it.”

Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Last  month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a  first-class postage stamp. It’s an honor that most generals and admirals never receive.

What Mauldin would have loved most, I believe, is the sight of  the two guys who keep him company on that stamp. 

Take a look at it.  There’s Willie.  There’s Joe.

And there, to the side, drawing them and smiling that shy, quietly observant smile, is Mauldin himself. With his buddies, right where he belongs. Forever. 

What a story, and a fitting tribute to a man and to a time that few of us can still remember. But I say to you youngsters, you must most seriously learn of and remember with respect the sufferings and  sacrifices of your fathers, grand fathers and great grandfathers
in times you cannot ever imagine today with all you have. But the only  reason you are free to have it all is because of  them.

I thought you would all enjoy reading and seeing this bit of American
history!

THE FINAL INSPECTION

PLEASE
DO NOT HOLD ON TO THIS.
SOMEONE HAS TO HOLD OUR COUNTRY IN THEIR HANDS.
SEND THIS ON, AND ON AND ON

THE FINAL
INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced
God,
Which must always come to
pass.
He hoped his shoes were
shining,
Just as brightly as his
brass.

‘Step forward now,
soldier,
How shall I deal with
you?
Have you always turned the other
cheek?
To My Church have you been
true?’

The soldier squared his shoulders and
said,
“No, Lord, I guess I
ain’t,”
Because those of us who carry guns,

Can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,

And
at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn’t mine to keep…

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fears…

And
sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fear.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,

It
needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,

But
if you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was a silence all around the
throne,
Where the saints had often trod.

As
the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

“Step forward now, you soldier,

You’ve borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,

You’ve done your time in Hell.”

Author Unknown~

 

Like those fleeting moments of sunset… We Remember – Video tribute

This YouTube video was sent via e-mail. Like those fleeting moments of sunset; we are losing the few remaining ones Tom Brokaw dubbed “The Greatest Generation”.

First seen – Supermarine Spitfire.  After the Spitfire,  a B-25 “nose shot”,  A Grumman F-6-F Hellcat, Odd tail shot of Century series Korean War era Jet belies it’s type. Douglas DC-3′s (AKA C-47′s, “gooney birds”)  Head on shot of an F-18 Hornet – Perhaps the Superhornet variant.   A group of P-51-D Mustangs – Folks these did not see action until 1944; too bad the B and C models are seldom shown which were the ones to finally turn the tide against the Luftwaffe [Toward the end of this video, there is a very short archive clip of perhaps the C models.]  Actual footage of Spitfires, and stills of those valiant ones. AT-6 “Texan Trainer, w/ B-25 in background. A Grumman SBD “Dauntless” divebomber (the ones who sank three Japanese carriers at Midway) and a F4U-4 Corsair to its left, followed by Acrhive shots of them,  a most famous and much used footage of a B-17-F Flying Fortress in a banking turn during take-off.  The old Vet is by a B-17 -G Flying fortresses; the chin turret was to reduce losses from hair raising head on attacks by Luftwaffe pilots.

An F-4-F “Wildcat” that bore the brunt of the bad days in 42; (Butch O’Hare flew this one)

http://partneringwitheagles.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/butch-and-easy-eddie-true-account/  A Cutiss P-40-E “Kittyhawk” then archive clip of a P-40-B “Tomahawk”, with E models after.

Other gut wrenching memories.  I cannot describe the degree of sadness I feel for the loss of life and sacrifices made…

Fifty-nine years ago – World War II: Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid

If you were born in 1926, lied about your age to join the USAAF,  became a member of a B-17 crew in England in 1943, and survived the war, you would be 86 years old today.

This single raid cost us SIXTY-NINE fortresses, not sixty as described in the following article from

Military History

 The article herein seems to have been a victim of revisionists, though largely intact. I remember reading well over twenty books on WWII, many were personal accounts from the men who fought in it on both sides. Sadly, the fact remains that the Schweinfurt raid, meant to deprive the German war machine of ball bearings, was ineffectual. The Germans were back to full production in three months. They never suffered from a material lack of ball bearings.

This generation, dubbed “The Greatest Generation” in Tom Brokaw’s book is -to paraphrase General Douglas MacArthur- “fading away”.

Our young adults know little, if anything of these events. Many know little or nothing of the Cuban Missile Crisis in ’62, let alone the sacrifice made by so many in WWII, no thanks to the public school system.

Our crews faced a myriad of opposition; the Germans had twin engine fighter bombers that would stay out of the B-17 gunners range, while lobbing air to air rockets at the formations rear. The single engine ME 109′s and FW 190′s would make hair-raising head on attacks at the nose of the B-17′s; their only serious weak spot, peeling away at the last second.

Many of these were not suitable for dogfighting, as the Germans had augmented their armament – one version of a FW190 would have six 20mm cannon, pairs of them in nacelles under each wing, in addition to the standard one in each wing and nose machine guns. Others were weighed down by -are you ready- 40mm cannon, one under each wing. One hit from these would instantly bring down a Fortress. The P-47′s would have to abort their escort just outside of Germany proper. One pilot, author of his personal account “Thunderbolt!” (since deceased) had said to the effect that “as soon as we turned away, the sky darkened with German fighters”.  This raid became known as “Black Thursday”.  Although a “chin” turret under the nose of the B-17′s were then added to eliminate their weakness to  frontal attack, a second raid on Schweinfurt later that year resulted in another sixty Fortress being destroyed.

 

I post this in remembrance; and as a warning to those who simply don’t understand the idea of peace though strength.  “X”  Please read the summary before watching the video.

Schweinfurt-Regensburg Summary:

The summer of 1943 saw an expansion of US bomber forces in England as aircraft began returning from North Africa and new aircraft arrived from the United States. This growth in strength coincided with the commencement of Operation Pointblank. Devised by Air Marshal Arthur “Bomber” Harris and Major General Carl Spaatz, Pointblank was intended to destroy the Luftwaffe and its infrastructure prior to the invasion of Europe. This was to be accomplished through a combined bomber offensive against German aircraft factories, ball bearing plants, fuel depots, and other related targets.

Early Pointblank missions were conducted by the USAAF’s 1st and 4th Bombardment Wings (1st & 4th BW) based in the Midlands and East Anglia respectively. These operations targeted Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter plants in Kassel, Bremen, and Oschersleben. While American bomber forces had sustained significant casualties in these attacks, they were deemed effective enough to warrant bombing the Messerschmitt Bf 109 plants in Regensburg and Wiener Neustadt. In assessing these targets, it was decided to assign Regensburg to the 8th Air Force in England, while the latter was to be hit by the 9th Air Force in North Africa.

In planning the strike on Regensburg, the 8th Air Force elected to add a second target, the ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt, with the goal of overwhelming German air defenses. The mission plan called for the 4th BW to hit Regensburg and then proceed south to bases in North Africa. The 1st BW would follow a short distance behind with the goal of catching German fighters on the ground refueling. After striking their targets, the 1st BW would return to England. As with all raids deep into Germany, Allied fighters would only be able to provide an escort as far as Eupen, Belgium due to their limited range.

To support the Schweinfurt-Regensburg effort, two sets of diversionary attacks were scheduled against Luftwaffe airfields and targets along the coast. Originally planned for August 7, the raid was delayed due to poor weather. Dubbed Operation Juggler, the 9th Air Force struck the factories at Wiener Neustadt on August 13, while the 8th Air Force remained grounded because of weather issues. Finally on August 17, the mission commenced even though much of England was covered in fog. After a brief delay, the 4th BW commenced launching its aircraft around 8:00 AM.

Though the mission plan required both Regensburg and Schweinfurt to be hit in rapid succession to ensure minimal losses, the 4th BW was permitted to depart even though the 1st BW was still grounded due to fog. As a result, the 4th BW was crossing the Dutch coast by the time the 1st BW was airborne, opening a wide gap between the strike forces. Led by Colonel Curtis LeMay, the 4th BW consisted of 146 B-17s. Approximately ten minutes after making landfall, German fighter attacks began. Though some fighter escorts were present, they proved insufficient to cover the entire force.

After ninety minutes of aerial combat, the Germans broke off to refuel having shot down 15 B-17s. Arriving over the target, LeMay’s bombers encountered little flak and were able to place approximately 300 tons of bombs on target. Turning south, the Regensburg force was met by a few fighters, but had a largely uneventful transit to North Africa. Even so, 9 additional aircraft were lost as 2 damaged B-17s were forced to land in Switzerland and several others crashed in the Mediterranean due to lack of fuel. With the 4th BW departing the area, the Luftwaffe’s prepared to deal with the approaching 1st BW.

Behind the schedule, the 230 B-17s of the 1st BW crossed the coast and followed a similar route to the 4th BW. Personally led by Brigadier General Robert B. Williams, the Schweinfurt force was immediately attacked by German fighters. Encountering over 300 fighters during the flight to Schweinfurt, the 1st BW sustained heavy casualties and lost 22 B-17s. As they neared the target the Germans broke off to refuel in preparation to attack the bombers on the return leg of their trip.

Reaching the target around 3:00 PM, Williams’ planes encountered heavy flak over the city. As they made their bomb runs, 3 more B-17s were lost. Turning for home, the 4th BW again encountered German fighters. In a running battle, the Luftwaffe downed another 11 B-17s. Reaching Belgium, the bombers were met by a covering force of Allied fighters which allowed them to complete their trip to England relatively unmolested.

Aftermath

The combined Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid cost the USAAF 60 B-17s and 55 aircrews. The crews lost totaled 552 men, of who half became prisoners of war and twenty were interned by the Swiss. Aboard aircraft that safely returned to base, 7 aircrew were killed, with another 21 wounded. In addition to the bomber force, the Allies lost 3 P-47 Thunderbolts and 2 Spitfires. While Allied air crews claimed 318 German aircraft, the Luftwaffe reported that only 27 fighters had been lost. Though Allied losses were severe, they succeeding in inflicting heavy damage on both the Messerschmitt plants and the ball bearing factories. While the Germans reported an immediate 34% drop in production, this was quickly made up by other plants in Germany. The losses during the raid led Allied leaders to re-think the feasibility of unescorted, long-range, daylight raids on Germany. These types of raids would be temporarily suspended after a second raid on Schweinfurt sustained 20% casualties on October 14, 1943.

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/aerialcampaigns/p/regensburg.htm

Personal account: The Schweinfurt Raid
http://www.stelzriede.com/ms/html/mshwm8c.htm

 

As we approach Veterans day – Thanks just isn’t enough…..Cemetery Watchman

Thanks just isn’t enough….. Cemetery Watchman .

Full dress was hot in the August sun.  Oklahoma summertime was as bad as ever–the heat and humidity at the same level–both too high.

I saw the car pull into the drive, ’69 or ’70 model Cadillac Deville, looked factory-new. It pulled into the parking lot at a snail’s pace.  An old woman got out so slow I thought she was paralyzed; she had a cane and a sheaf of flowers–about four or five bunches as best I could tell.

I couldn’t help myself.  The thought came unwanted, and left a slightly bitter taste: ‘She’s going to spend an hour, and for this old soldier, my hip hurts like hell and I’m ready to get out of here right now!’  But for this day, my duty was to assist anyone coming in.

Kevin would lock the ‘In’ gate, and if I could hurry the old biddy along, we might make it to Smokey’s in time..

I broke post attention.  My hip made gritty noises when I took the first step and the pain went up a notch.   I must have made a real military sight: middle-aged man with a small pot gut and half a limp, in marine full-dress uniform, which had lost its razor crease about thirty minutes after I began the watch at the cemetery.

I stopped in front of her, halfway up the walk. She looked up at me with an old woman’s squint.

‘Ma’am, may I assist you in any way?‘

She took long enough to answer.

‘Yes, son. Can you carry these flowers?  I seem to be moving a tad slow these days.‘

‘My pleasure, ma’am.‘

(Well, it wasn’t too much of a lie.)

She looked again. ‘Marine, where were you stationed?‘

‘ Vietnam , ma’am.. Ground-pounder. ’69 to ’71.‘

She looked at me closer.

‘Wounded in action, I see.  Well done, Marine..   I’ll be as quick as I can.‘

I lied a little bigger:

‘No hurry, ma’am.‘

She smiled and winked at me.

‘Son, I’m 85-years-old and I can tell a lie from a long way off..   Let’s get this done. Might be the last time I can do this. My name’s Joanne Wieserman, and I’ve a few Marines I’d like to see one more time..‘

‘Yes, ma ‘am. At your service.‘

She headed for the World War I section, stopping at a stone. She picked one of the flower bunches out of my arm and laid it on top of the stone.

She murmured something I couldn’t quite make out.. The name on the marble was, Donald S. Davidson, USMC: France 1918.

She turned away and made a straight line for the World War II section, stopping at one stone.  I saw a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek.

She put a bunch on a stone; the name was, Stephen X. Davidson, USMC, 1943.

She went up the row a ways and laid another bunch on a stone, Stanley J. Wieserman, USMC, 1944.

She paused for a second and more tears flowed. ‘Two more, son, and we’ll be done‘

I almost didn’t say anything, but, ‘Yes, ma’am. Take your time.‘

She looked confused..

‘Where’s the Vietnam section, son? I seem to have lost my way.‘

I pointed with my chin.

‘That way, ma’am.‘

‘Oh!’ she chuckled quietly.

‘Son, me and old age ain’t too friendly.‘

She headed down the walk I’d pointed at. She stopped at a couple of stones before she found the ones she wanted. She placed a bunch on, Larry Wieserman, USMC, 1968, and the last on Darrel Wieserman, USMC, 1970.

She stood there and murmured a few words I still couldn’t make out and more tears flowed.

‘OK, son, I’m finished. Get me back to my car and you can go home.‘
Yes, ma’am. If I may ask, were those your kinfolk?‘

She paused.

‘Yes, Donald Davidson was my father, Stephen was my uncle, Stanley was my Husband, Larry and Darrel were our sons. All killed in action, all Marines.‘

She stopped! Whether she had finished, or couldn’t finish, I don’t know.

She made her way to her car, slowly and painfully.

I waited for a polite distance to come between us and then double-timed it over to Kevin, waiting by the car.

‘Get to the ‘Out’ gate quick.. I have something I’ve got to do.‘

Kevin started to say something, but saw the look I gave him. He broke the rules to get us down the service road fast. We beat her.

She hadn’t made it around the rotunda yet.

‘Kevin, stand at attention next to the gatepost.

Follow my lead.‘

I humped it across the drive to the other post. When the Cadillac came puttering around from the hedges and began the short straight traverse to the gate, I called in my best gunny’s voice:

‘Tehen Hut!

Present Haaaarms!‘

I have to hand it to Kevin; he never blinked an eye–full dress attention and a salute that would make his DI proud.  She drove through that gate with two old worn-out soldiers giving her a send-off she deserved, for service rendered to her country, and for knowing duty, honor and sacrifice far beyond the realm of most.

I am not sure, but I think I saw a salute returned from that Cadillac.

Instead of ‘The End,’ just think of ‘Taps.‘

As a final thought on my part, let me share a favorite prayer:

‘Lord, keep our servicemen and women safe, whether they serve at home or overseas.

Hold them in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us.‘

Let’s all keep those currently serving and those who have gone before in our thoughts.  They are the reason for the many freedoms we enjoy. ‘In God We Trust.’ Sorry about your monitor; it made mine blurry too.

If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under!  [Ronald Reagan]

The movie that made Chuck Norris tear up

New project earns highest accolades from legendary tough guy

 by Bob Unruh

A movie debuting Friday, “Last Ounce of Courage,” already is a one-of-a-kind as the only film ever to earn the “Chuck Norris Seal of Approval.”

The veteran martial arts champion, action movie and “Walker, Texas Ranger” star loves it so much it’s the only film he’s promoted, aside from the ones in which he appeared.

Actor Marshall Teague, who plays the lead in the movie, told WND that when he gave his longtime friend Norris a rough cut of the movie to review, he was hoping for some advice.

What he got from Norris was even more than an unqualified endorsement, as the legendary tough guy asked for permission to promote the film.

Read Drew Zahn’s review of “Last Ounce” that addresses Christians and soldiers, and get a sneak peak at reactions to the project.

How much did it impact Norris?

“When we finished the film, I must say Carlos was misty,” Teague told WND.

Wait, that can’t be. Chuck Norris Fact No. 16 says, “Chuck Norris never uses a stunt double, except during crying scenes.”

Or maybe what Teague was seeing was just the result of Fact No. 93, “Chuck Norris uses Tabasco sauce for eye drops.”

The movie, Teague tells WND, is about faith, family and freedoms.

“I’m talking about the freedoms we as a nation enjoy every day, speech, religion, the freedom to gather,” Teague said.

The story revolves around the mayor of a small town, where Bob Revere, played by Teague (“Roadhouse,” “The Rock” and “Armageddon”) is challenged by the apathy that is eroding America’s basic freedoms.

It’s bound to be a success.

“This is the only movie in my life that I’ve ever promoted that I’m not in,” Norris said in an interview about the project. “I just want to encourage … everyone to go see this movie. You will not be disappointed.”

See the interview:

Teague told WND that the U.S. is the greatest country on earth, but people have stopped noticing.

“Wake up people,” he said. “Take a moment of your day and realize what you have, what has been given to you by people, our forefathers. They saw in the future how great this country could be.”

In a commentary for WND, Norris wrote: “I will also let you in on a little secret about the movie: The mega-inspiring speech given by Marshall Teague’s character near the end of the movie from atop a downtown building was unscripted and flowed from his patriot passion in a way that rivals the best patriotic or faith orator.”

He continued: “There is no more perfect time than right now for the release of ‘Last Ounce of Courage,’ being roughly two months away from electing a new president. It can help us take back America. In particular, it can help motivate the 30 million evangelical Christians who stayed home during the 2008 election when Obama won the presidency by 10 million votes.

“This general election could be our last chance to save our republic as our founders created and knew it, and it’s going to take all of our last ounces of courage to do it.”

See the movie’s trailer:

THIS CLIP WAS GEARED FOR CHURCHES… To hell with PC; this is the trailer that lays it on the line! “X”:

TODAY IS THE 14TH.   FIND OUT IF YOUR CITY IS SHOWING THE FILM HERE:  [CLICK ON THE "FIND THEATERS" TAB]
http://www.standusa.com/last-ounce-of-courage/

Teague told WND there have been changes in the U.S., people converse via computer rather then speaking face-to-face, events are moving faster, and there are so many more deadlines and pressures.

But, he said, Americans “need to stop … and really take time and go meet your neighbor, and say hello.”

The mutual relationship that can result, he said, is called “respect.”

It’s needed now more than ever, because, as Ronald Reagan said, freedom is never more than one generation away from being lost, Teague said.

“Our country was formed by a people who saw the future,” he said. “It is our responsibility to keep this nation great and stand by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”

He continued: “When one voice connects to another, and another, and another … what you end up with is a choir of voices that can be heard across the nation.”

Teague said the project also honors the nation’s military, whose sacrifices have continued to protect freedom, as well as the youth, through the character who challenges Teague in the movie.

It’s a Veritas Communications project by the film company dedicated to making films with a purpose.

In a statement released announcing the decision to award “The Chuck Norris Seal of Approval” to the movie, Norris said, “I neither star in, nor do I have an above-the-line credit on, or other affiliation with, ’Last Ounce of Courage. ‘

“Yet allowing the use of my ‘Official Seal of Approval’ is the least I can do to support a project so consistent with my core values and life principles. In addition to the film’s basic reminder that our precious freedoms are not always free, Marshall Teague gives the performance of his career as a small-town mayor who is inspired by his grandson to take a stand when a public religious display honoring his fallen son in Iraq is targeted for removal. No one should miss the message of this motion picture or his moving performance.”

http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/the-movie-that-made-chuck-norris-tear-up/

   ANOTHER CLIP FOR VETERANS:

CIA BOOK REVIEW ………..Verified!

CIA book review. For the historical record…

As President George W. Bush’s top speech writer, Marc Thiessen was provided unique access to the CIA program used in interrogating top Al Qaeda terrorists, including the mastermind of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM).

Now, his riveting new book, “Courting Disaster”, How the CIA Kept America Safe (Regnery), has been published.

Here is an excerpt from “Courting Disaster”:

“Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed Pakistani tactical assault forces move in and surround a safe house in Rawalpindi . A few hours earlier they had received a text message from an informant inside the house. It read: “I am withKSM.”

Bursting in, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into custody. In the safe house, they find a treasure trove of computers, documents, cell phones and other valuable “pocket litter.”

Once in custody, KSM is defiant. He refuses to answer questions, informing his captors that he will tell them everything when he gets to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken to America to see a lawyer Instead he is taken to a secret CIA “black site” in an undisclosed location.

Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete control of Americans. He does not know where he is, how long he will be there, or what his fate will be.

Despite his circumstances, KSM still refuses to talk. He spews contempt at his interrogators, telling them Americans are weak, lack resilience, and are unable to do what is necessary to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their goals. He has trained to resist interrogation. When he is asked for information about future attacks, he tells his questioners scornfully: “Soon, you will know.”

It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series of “enhanced interrogation techniques” approved for use only on the most high-value detainees. The techniques include waterboarding.

His resistance is described by one senior American official as “superhuman.” Eventually, however, the techniques work, and KSM becomes cooperative-for reasons that will be described later in this book.

He begins telling his CIA de-briefers about active al Qaeda plots to launch attacks against the United States and other Western targets. He holds classes for CIA officials, using a chalkboard to draw a picture of al Qaeda’s operating structure, financing, communications, and logistics. He identifies al Qaeda travel routes and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make sense of documents and computer records seized in terrorist raids. He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and helps officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist communications. He provides information that helps our intelligence community capture other high-ranking terrorists, KSM’s questioning, and that of other captured terrorists, produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports, which are shared across the intelligence community, as well as with our allies across the world.

In one of these reports, KSM describes in detail the revisions he made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as the “Bojinka plot” to blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000 passengers over the Pacific Ocean .

Years later, an observant CIA officer notices the activities of a cell being followed by British authorities appear to match KSM’s description of his plans for aBojinka-style attack.

In an operation that involves unprecedented intelligence cooperation between our countries, British officials proceed to unravel the plot.

On the night of Aug. 9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al Qaeda terrorist suspects. They find a USB thumb-drive in the pocket of one of the men with security details for Heathrow airport, and information on seven Trans-Atlantic flights that were scheduled to take off within hours of each other:

*United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco departing at 2:15 p.m.;

*Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto departing at 3:00 p.m.;

*Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing at 3:15 p.m.;

*United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at 3:40 p.m.;

*United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington departing at 4:20 p.m.;

*American Airlines Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 p.m.;

*American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 p.m.

They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid explosives. And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the suicide bombers had prepared.”

Today, if you asked an average person on the street what they know about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be able to tell you much.

Few Americans are aware of the fact al Qaeda had planned to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope and magnitude.

And still fewer realize the terrorists’ true intentions in this plot were uncovered thanks to critical information obtained through the interrogation of the man who conceived it: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

This is only one of the many attacks stopped with the help of the CIA interrogation program established by the Bush Administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Editor’s Note: For other foiled terrorist plots, see page 9 of “Courting Disaster.”

In addition to helping break up these specific terrorist cells and plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence community with an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda Until the program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence officials say, well over half of the information our government had about al Qaeda-how it operates, how it moves money, how it communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks targets, how it plans and carries out attacks-came from the interrogation of terrorists in CIA custody.

Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: “I know this program has saved lives. I know we’ve disrupted plots. I know this program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell us.”

Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said: “The facts of the case are that the use of these techniques against these terrorists made us safer. It really did work..”

Even Barack Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has acknowledged: “High-value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country.”

Leon Panetta, Obama’s CIA Director, has said: “Important information was gathered from these detainees. It provided information that was acted upon.”

And John Brennan, Obama’s Homeland Security Advisor, when asked in an interview if enhanced-interrogation techniques were necessary to keep America safe, replied : “Would the U.S. be handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these types of detention and debriefing activities? I would say yes.”

On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491, closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all interrogations by U.S. personnel must follow the techniques contained in the Army Field Manual.

The morning of the announcement, Mike Hayden was still in his post as CIA Director, He called White House Counsel Greg Craig and told him bluntly: “You didn’t ask, but this is the CIA officially nonconcurring”. The president went ahead anyway, over ruling the objections of the agency.

A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama ordered the release of four Justice Department memos that described in detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other high-value terrorists. This time, not just Hayden (who was now retired) but five CIA directors -including Obama’s own director, Leon Panetta — objected. George Tenet called to urge against the memos’ release. So did Porter Goss. So did John Deutch. Hayden says: “You had CIA directors in a continuous unbroken stream to 1995 calling saying, ‘Don’t do this.’”

In addition to objections from the men who led the agency for a collective 14 years, the President also heard objections from the agency’s covert field operatives. A few weeks earlier, Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the Clandestine Service to meet with the President. It was highly unusual for these clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office, and they used the opportunity to warn the President that releasing the memos would put agency operatives at risk. The President reportedly listened respectfully-and then ignored their advice.

With these actions, Barack Obama arguably did more damage to America ‘s national security in his first 100 days of office than any President in American history.

Constitutionality – The Establishment clause; Atheism discussed.

Establishment Clause

• Overview
• Resources

The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion.

Although some government action implicating religion is permissible, and indeed unavoidable, it is not clear just how much the Establishment Clause tolerates. In the past, the Supreme Court has permitted religious invocations to open legislative session, government funding of bussing and textbooks for private religious schools, and efforts by school districts to arrange schedules to accommodate students’ extra-curricular religious education programs. The Court has ruled against some overtly religious displays at courthouses, state funding supplementing teacher salaries at religious schools, and some overly religious holiday decorations on public land.

One point of contention regarding the Establishment Clause is how to frame government actions that implicate religion. Framing questions often arise in the context of permanent religious monuments on public land. Although it is reasonably clear that cities cannot install new religious monuments, there is fierce debate over whether existing monuments should be removed. When the Supreme Court recently considered this issue in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005), and McCreary County v. ACLU, 545 U.S. 844 (2005), it did not articulate a clear general standard for deciding these types of cases. The Court revisited this issue in Salazar v. Buono (08-472), a case considering the constitutionality of a large white Christian cross erected by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars on federal land in the Mojave Desert. While five justices concluded that a federal judge erred in barring a congressionally ordered land transfer which would place the memorial on private land, there was no majority reasoning as to why. Three Justices held that the goal of avoiding governmental endorsement of religion does not require the destruction of religious symbols in the private realm, while Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas concluded that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring this complaint.

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/establishment_clause

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

Contained in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, this clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion. It also prohibits the government from preferring one religion over another, preferring religion over nonreligion, or vice versa.

http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment   (Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute)

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:27 pm

 

The separation of church and state -

Mt Soledad Cross

The establishment clause is rather plain about intent.

Designed to not establish a state religion, and  prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion.

So why should a memorial, erected by veterans, ”Constitutionality”  be put to question merely because it’s on federal land? 

We’re not a nation of Atheists, though that fraction of the population is no longer small. Wikipedia, a secular entity, has an article on “Demographics of atheism” which I note had categorized the results:

(see article  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism)

As such, topics such as the sower and the seed, and tares, were, of course, not addressed, though this excerpt was noteworthy:

The Canadian Ipsos Reid poll released September 12, 2011 entitled “Canadians Split On Whether Religion Does More Harm in the World than Good,” sampled 1,129 Canadian adults and came up 30% who do not believe in a god.  Interestingly, the same poll found that 33% of respondents who identified themselves as Catholics and 28% Protestants said they didn’t believe in a god.  Italics my emphasis – “X”

This of course, to those who believe, shows the percentage of tares among the above religious groups. Moreover, their numbers seem to be increasing, not just in Canada, but worldwide.

 Another excerpt, on the U.S. :

USA

A 2004 BBC poll showed the number of people in the US who don’t believe in a god to be about 9%.^[11] A 2008 Gallup poll showed that a smaller 6% of the US population believed that no god or universal spirit exists.^[36] The most recent ARIS report, released March 9, 2009, found in 2008, 34.2 million Americans (15.0%) claim no religion, of which 1.6% explicitly describes itself as atheist (0.7%) or agnostic (0.9%), nearly double the previous 2001 ARIS survey figure of 0.9%.^[37] The highest occurrence of “nones”, according to the 2008 ARIS report, reside in Vermont, with 34% surveyed.^[38] According to a study conducted by Gallup in May 2010, 16% of Americans declared they have no religious affiliation. ^[39]

The latest statistics show that a lack of religious identity increased in every US state between 1990 and 2008.^[40] However less than 2% of the U.S. population describes itself as atheist.^[41]

Hmmm… I still maintain that if we were “80% Christian”, we would NOT be facing the current situation, both in leadership and finance.  Remember, Apostacy is among the last of prophecies that must occur before our redemption; it is now widespread.

 Our system of government is USELESS without a MORAL public. An amoral public elects amoral leaders…

James McHenry  Signer of the Constitution

[P]ublic utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience.(Source: Bernard C. Steiner, One Hundred and Ten Years of Bible Society Work in Maryland, 1810-1920 (Maryland Bible Society, 1921), p. 14.)