pedro martori

---------------
Heroes
Remembering and celebrating freedom fighters.

here are a lot of people we call heroes these days. Like so many
superlatives, the word is cheapened by such use. The builders of the 9/11
memorial at the World Trade Center site are using it to describe both the
innocents killed at their desks and the firemen and police who risked and
often lost their lives trying to save whoever they could. Our history is
rich with such selfless heroism. On the Fourth of July we celebrate those
heroes who, in the Declaration of Independence, staked their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor on our freedom. As we remember them, we
must also remember the millions who have fought to keep us free, and the
heroes among them. Over the past few months, I have been privileged to work
and talk with a number of men whose valor in combat met the highest of
standards, the toughest of criteria. They are among the few, so very few,
who have done so and lived to tell the tale.

Since 1863, when the Medal of Honor was first awarded to Army Private
Jacob Parrot for his part in the Andrews Raid, about 40 million Americans
have worn the uniform of our country in time of war. Only 3,440 of them have
been awarded the Medal of Honor. Our nation's highest military honor is
awarded by the president, on behalf of the Congress, to members of our armed
services who, while engaged in combat, distinguish themselves conspicuously
by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives, above and beyond
the call of duty. Only 137 of these men still live. On the list that
includes the names of Teddy Roosevelt, Sergeant York, and Audie Murphy, you
will find these names.

TOMMY AND MIKE
There are only three Navy SEALs who have been awarded the Medal of
Honor. Sen. Bob Kerry is one. Tommy and Mike are the other two. When you sit
down to dinner with the two of them, you can't see how two people so
different from each other could be so close. And then you hear why.

Tommy - then Lt. Thomas Norris, USN - was the leader of a SEAL unit
operating in the northernmost part of South Vietnam (or maybe it was the
southernmost parts of North Vietnam, though he wouldn't say) rescuing downed
American pilots. On April 10, 1972, Norris led a small patrol a mile across
enemy lines to rescue one pilot, and on the 11th, led two unsuccessful
attempts to rescue a second. On the 12th, he succeeded in rescuing the
second pilot, but while directing air strikes to cover their retreat, Norris
was separated from the rest of his unit. Thinking Norris was dead, they
withdrew with the rescued pilot. But Mike went back for his skipper.

Mike - who was Tommy's #2 man - was told by the retreating patrol that
Tommy was dead, but Mike couldn't leave him behind. Mike went back - through
a mile of heavy fire - and found Tommy severely wounded. As Mike tells the
story, he put all the pieces of Tommy he could find back together, grabbed
him and the unconscious South Vietnamese soldier who was also there, and
beat it to the beach. Tommy is a slight man, about five-nine, and not more
than 150 pounds. Mike is a huge bear of a man, probably six-three and 250
pounds. Mike tied Tommy to his back, the Vietnamese to his front, and swam
out into the ocean. Over two hours later, the three were picked up by a
rescue boat.

RON, BARNEY, BRIAN & WOODY
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is chartered by Congress, but
unfunded. (They fund the NEA, but not the CMOHS. Go figure). A few of us
decided to help do something about that. Three Medal recipients volunteered
to serve on the committee with us. Ron Ray, Harvey C. "Barney" Barnum, and
Brian Thacker are the three Medal recipients I've come to know best. They
helped us organize the recent Congressional Medal of Honor Society Golf
Classic fundraiser. Another recipient, a generation older and always ready
to help, Hershel "Woody" Williams is the chaplain of the Society, a rather
quiet guy. All four are modest, not anxious to talk about their experiences
in combat. They want to talk about each other, and how they can continue to
serve America.

Remember the book (later the Mel Gibson movie), We Were Soldiers Once,
and Young? That battle took place in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. In that
same place, in June 1966, Ron Ray was an army captain leading ambush
patrols. When one of his patrols was cut off, and attacked by a much larger
enemy force, Ron led reinforcements through a mile of mountainous jungle,
and then led the attack on the Viet Cong at close quarters. When an enemy
hand grenade landed near two of his men, Ron threw himself on the ground
between the grenade and the two soldiers, saving their lives. Severely
wounded, Ron kept up the fight. He just wouldn't quit. Now he's one of those
people you'd love to have as a friend and neighbor. He's just a great guy to
be around.

It's no less a pleasure to have Barney or Brian around. Barney looks
like a college professor. Well, maybe not. His tie is too straight, his
shoes too shiny to pass as the typical academic. In coat and tie, you don't
see the picture that accompanies his Medal citation. Col. Harvey Barnum is a
Marine with a capital "M." In December 1965, Barney was a lieutenant serving
in Quang Tin province when his unit was cut off from the battalion, under
murderous fire. Barney - without regard for his own safety - found his dying
company commander and gave aid to him, then removed the radio from the back
of the dead radio operator nearby and took command. Braving heavy fire all
the while, Barney organized a counterattack and led it, enabling the
battalion to take its objective.

Brian Thacker hardly gets a chance to talk when the other guys get
rolling. He's a quiet fellow, and seems content to listen. Brian is a real
intellect, and has a lot to say if you take the time to pry it out of him.
His story - like that of his comrades - is simply hard to grasp for those of
us who haven't been there and done that. Brian was an Army lieutenant in
1971 at a forward-fire base in Kontum Province. His unit was overrun by
North Vietnamese that vastly outnumbered them. Brian stayed in his exposed
position for four hours, rallying the troops and directing air strikes on
the enemy. When his unit pulled out, Brian stayed - alone - providing cover
fire as they withdrew. He was badly wounded himself, but managed to escape
and evaded capture for eight days until the friendlies found him. And then
there's Woody.

If you go to the Marine Memorial in Arlington, Virginia on the Fourth
of July, and stand behind it, the fireworks burst over the Mall behind it, a
spectacular faux-battle above the bronze men. The statue is taken from Joe
Rosenthal's famous picture of the Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi
on Iwo Jima in February of 1945, probably the most famous image from World
War II.

Woody Williams is a quiet, gentle man, quick to smile or say a kind
word. He lives in a small town in West Virginia where he teaches a Sunday
school class for adults. Woody was a demolition sergeant with the 3rd
Marines on February 23, 1945, in the midst of that brutal battle. Thousands
of Marines died taking Iwo Jima. More would have but for Woody.

Marine tanks were trying - in vain - to open a corridor for the
infantry to advance past a network of Japanese concrete pillboxes, mines,
and volcanic sand. What the tanks couldn't do, Woody did. His medal citation
says, "Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for four4 hours
under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own
lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers,
struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out
one position after another." My father was there, somewhere in that battle.
It may be that one of the lives Woody saved by his heroism was that of Capt.
Harold Babbin, USMCR.

Ordinary heroes? There ain't no such thing, not among this group. They
may have started as ordinary men, but each found something inside himself
that raised him to risk his life above and beyond the call of duty. There
are many thousands of others who have fought bravely and well, and many of
them have not lived to celebrate their heroism. We must do it for them. By
remembering, and by appreciating what they have preserved for us: a freedom
unknown anywhere else in the world. Happy Fourth of July.

- NRO Contributor Jed Babbin was a deputy undersecretary of defense in
the first Bush administration, and is now an MSNBC military analyst.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.nationalreview.com/babbin/babbin070203.asp


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


"Jaltevapark" <jaltevapark@aol.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
20030703205101.18648.00000040@mb-m17.aol.com...


================================================== ===========
http://members.aol.com/Guanabacoa/che.html


DON'T KILL ME ...I AM WORTH MUCH MORE TO YOU ALIVE !
Che Guevara at the moment of his capture.
================================================== ===============

pedro martori

---------------
Heroes
Remembering and celebrating freedom fighters.

here are a lot of people we call heroes these days. Like so many
superlatives, the word is cheapened by such use. The builders of the 9/11
memorial at the World Trade Center site are using it to describe both the
innocents killed at their desks and the firemen and police who risked and
often lost their lives trying to save whoever they could. Our history is
rich with such selfless heroism. On the Fourth of July we celebrate those
heroes who, in the Declaration of Independence, staked their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor on our freedom. As we remember them, we
must also remember the millions who have fought to keep us free, and the
heroes among them. Over the past few months, I have been privileged to work
and talk with a number of men whose valor in combat met the highest of
standards, the toughest of criteria. They are among the few, so very few,
who have done so and lived to tell the tale.

Since 1863, when the Medal of Honor was first awarded to Army Private
Jacob Parrot for his part in the Andrews Raid, about 40 million Americans
have worn the uniform of our country in time of war. Only 3,440 of them have
been awarded the Medal of Honor. Our nation's highest military honor is
awarded by the president, on behalf of the Congress, to members of our armed
services who, while engaged in combat, distinguish themselves conspicuously
by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives, above and beyond
the call of duty. Only 137 of these men still live. On the list that
includes the names of Teddy Roosevelt, Sergeant York, and Audie Murphy, you
will find these names.

TOMMY AND MIKE
There are only three Navy SEALs who have been awarded the Medal of
Honor. Sen. Bob Kerry is one. Tommy and Mike are the other two. When you sit
down to dinner with the two of them, you can't see how two people so
different from each other could be so close. And then you hear why.

Tommy - then Lt. Thomas Norris, USN - was the leader of a SEAL unit
operating in the northernmost part of South Vietnam (or maybe it was the
southernmost parts of North Vietnam, though he wouldn't say) rescuing downed
American pilots. On April 10, 1972, Norris led a small patrol a mile across
enemy lines to rescue one pilot, and on the 11th, led two unsuccessful
attempts to rescue a second. On the 12th, he succeeded in rescuing the
second pilot, but while directing air strikes to cover their retreat, Norris
was separated from the rest of his unit. Thinking Norris was dead, they
withdrew with the rescued pilot. But Mike went back for his skipper.

Mike - who was Tommy's #2 man - was told by the retreating patrol that
Tommy was dead, but Mike couldn't leave him behind. Mike went back - through
a mile of heavy fire - and found Tommy severely wounded. As Mike tells the
story, he put all the pieces of Tommy he could find back together, grabbed
him and the unconscious South Vietnamese soldier who was also there, and
beat it to the beach. Tommy is a slight man, about five-nine, and not more
than 150 pounds. Mike is a huge bear of a man, probably six-three and 250
pounds. Mike tied Tommy to his back, the Vietnamese to his front, and swam
out into the ocean. Over two hours later, the three were picked up by a
rescue boat.

RON, BARNEY, BRIAN & WOODY
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is chartered by Congress, but
unfunded. (They fund the NEA, but not the CMOHS. Go figure). A few of us
decided to help do something about that. Three Medal recipients volunteered
to serve on the committee with us. Ron Ray, Harvey C. "Barney" Barnum, and
Brian Thacker are the three Medal recipients I've come to know best. They
helped us organize the recent Congressional Medal of Honor Society Golf
Classic fundraiser. Another recipient, a generation older and always ready
to help, Hershel "Woody" Williams is the chaplain of the Society, a rather
quiet guy. All four are modest, not anxious to talk about their experiences
in combat. They want to talk about each other, and how they can continue to
serve America.

Remember the book (later the Mel Gibson movie), We Were Soldiers Once,
and Young? That battle took place in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. In that
same place, in June 1966, Ron Ray was an army captain leading ambush
patrols. When one of his patrols was cut off, and attacked by a much larger
enemy force, Ron led reinforcements through a mile of mountainous jungle,
and then led the attack on the Viet Cong at close quarters. When an enemy
hand grenade landed near two of his men, Ron threw himself on the ground
between the grenade and the two soldiers, saving their lives. Severely
wounded, Ron kept up the fight. He just wouldn't quit. Now he's one of those
people you'd love to have as a friend and neighbor. He's just a great guy to
be around.

It's no less a pleasure to have Barney or Brian around. Barney looks
like a college professor. Well, maybe not. His tie is too straight, his
shoes too shiny to pass as the typical academic. In coat and tie, you don't
see the picture that accompanies his Medal citation. Col. Harvey Barnum is a
Marine with a capital "M." In December 1965, Barney was a lieutenant serving
in Quang Tin province when his unit was cut off from the battalion, under
murderous fire. Barney - without regard for his own safety - found his dying
company commander and gave aid to him, then removed the radio from the back
of the dead radio operator nearby and took command. Braving heavy fire all
the while, Barney organized a counterattack and led it, enabling the
battalion to take its objective.

Brian Thacker hardly gets a chance to talk when the other guys get
rolling. He's a quiet fellow, and seems content to listen. Brian is a real
intellect, and has a lot to say if you take the time to pry it out of him.
His story - like that of his comrades - is simply hard to grasp for those of
us who haven't been there and done that. Brian was an Army lieutenant in
1971 at a forward-fire base in Kontum Province. His unit was overrun by
North Vietnamese that vastly outnumbered them. Brian stayed in his exposed
position for four hours, rallying the troops and directing air strikes on
the enemy. When his unit pulled out, Brian stayed - alone - providing cover
fire as they withdrew. He was badly wounded himself, but managed to escape
and evaded capture for eight days until the friendlies found him. And then
there's Woody.

If you go to the Marine Memorial in Arlington, Virginia on the Fourth
of July, and stand behind it, the fireworks burst over the Mall behind it, a
spectacular faux-battle above the bronze men. The statue is taken from Joe
Rosenthal's famous picture of the Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi
on Iwo Jima in February of 1945, probably the most famous image from World
War II.

Woody Williams is a quiet, gentle man, quick to smile or say a kind
word. He lives in a small town in West Virginia where he teaches a Sunday
school class for adults. Woody was a demolition sergeant with the 3rd
Marines on February 23, 1945, in the midst of that brutal battle. Thousands
of Marines died taking Iwo Jima. More would have but for Woody.

Marine tanks were trying - in vain - to open a corridor for the
infantry to advance past a network of Japanese concrete pillboxes, mines,
and volcanic sand. What the tanks couldn't do, Woody did. His medal citation
says, "Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for four4 hours
under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own
lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers,
struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out
one position after another." My father was there, somewhere in that battle.
It may be that one of the lives Woody saved by his heroism was that of Capt.
Harold Babbin, USMCR.

Ordinary heroes? There ain't no such thing, not among this group. They
may have started as ordinary men, but each found something inside himself
that raised him to risk his life above and beyond the call of duty. There
are many thousands of others who have fought bravely and well, and many of
them have not lived to celebrate their heroism. We must do it for them. By
remembering, and by appreciating what they have preserved for us: a freedom
unknown anywhere else in the world. Happy Fourth of July.

- NRO Contributor Jed Babbin was a deputy undersecretary of defense in
the first Bush administration, and is now an MSNBC military analyst.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.nationalreview.com/babbin/babbin070203.asp


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


"Jaltevapark" <jaltevapark@aol.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
20030703205101.18648.00000040@mb-m17.aol.com...


================================================== ===========
http://members.aol.com/Guanabacoa/che.html


DON'T KILL ME ...I AM WORTH MUCH MORE TO YOU ALIVE !
Che Guevara at the moment of his capture.
================================================== ===============

richard white

.... and the relevance of this to *UK* politics is????

Bye bye spammer....
Plink ------|
\|/

pedro martori

---------------
Heroes
Remembering and celebrating freedom fighters.

here are a lot of people we call heroes these days. Like so many
superlatives, the word is cheapened by such use. The builders of the 9/11
memorial at the World Trade Center site are using it to describe both the
innocents killed at their desks and the firemen and police who risked and
often lost their lives trying to save whoever they could. Our history is
rich with such selfless heroism. On the Fourth of July we celebrate those
heroes who, in the Declaration of Independence, staked their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor on our freedom. As we remember them, we
must also remember the millions who have fought to keep us free, and the
heroes among them. Over the past few months, I have been privileged to work
and talk with a number of men whose valor in combat met the highest of
standards, the toughest of criteria. They are among the few, so very few,
who have done so and lived to tell the tale.

Since 1863, when the Medal of Honor was first awarded to Army Private
Jacob Parrot for his part in the Andrews Raid, about 40 million Americans
have worn the uniform of our country in time of war. Only 3,440 of them have
been awarded the Medal of Honor. Our nation's highest military honor is
awarded by the president, on behalf of the Congress, to members of our armed
services who, while engaged in combat, distinguish themselves conspicuously
by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives, above and beyond
the call of duty. Only 137 of these men still live. On the list that
includes the names of Teddy Roosevelt, Sergeant York, and Audie Murphy, you
will find these names.

TOMMY AND MIKE
There are only three Navy SEALs who have been awarded the Medal of
Honor. Sen. Bob Kerry is one. Tommy and Mike are the other two. When you sit
down to dinner with the two of them, you can't see how two people so
different from each other could be so close. And then you hear why.

Tommy - then Lt. Thomas Norris, USN - was the leader of a SEAL unit
operating in the northernmost part of South Vietnam (or maybe it was the
southernmost parts of North Vietnam, though he wouldn't say) rescuing downed
American pilots. On April 10, 1972, Norris led a small patrol a mile across
enemy lines to rescue one pilot, and on the 11th, led two unsuccessful
attempts to rescue a second. On the 12th, he succeeded in rescuing the
second pilot, but while directing air strikes to cover their retreat, Norris
was separated from the rest of his unit. Thinking Norris was dead, they
withdrew with the rescued pilot. But Mike went back for his skipper.

Mike - who was Tommy's #2 man - was told by the retreating patrol that
Tommy was dead, but Mike couldn't leave him behind. Mike went back - through
a mile of heavy fire - and found Tommy severely wounded. As Mike tells the
story, he put all the pieces of Tommy he could find back together, grabbed
him and the unconscious South Vietnamese soldier who was also there, and
beat it to the beach. Tommy is a slight man, about five-nine, and not more
than 150 pounds. Mike is a huge bear of a man, probably six-three and 250
pounds. Mike tied Tommy to his back, the Vietnamese to his front, and swam
out into the ocean. Over two hours later, the three were picked up by a
rescue boat.

RON, BARNEY, BRIAN & WOODY
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is chartered by Congress, but
unfunded. (They fund the NEA, but not the CMOHS. Go figure). A few of us
decided to help do something about that. Three Medal recipients volunteered
to serve on the committee with us. Ron Ray, Harvey C. "Barney" Barnum, and
Brian Thacker are the three Medal recipients I've come to know best. They
helped us organize the recent Congressional Medal of Honor Society Golf
Classic fundraiser. Another recipient, a generation older and always ready
to help, Hershel "Woody" Williams is the chaplain of the Society, a rather
quiet guy. All four are modest, not anxious to talk about their experiences
in combat. They want to talk about each other, and how they can continue to
serve America.

Remember the book (later the Mel Gibson movie), We Were Soldiers Once,
and Young? That battle took place in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. In that
same place, in June 1966, Ron Ray was an army captain leading ambush
patrols. When one of his patrols was cut off, and attacked by a much larger
enemy force, Ron led reinforcements through a mile of mountainous jungle,
and then led the attack on the Viet Cong at close quarters. When an enemy
hand grenade landed near two of his men, Ron threw himself on the ground
between the grenade and the two soldiers, saving their lives. Severely
wounded, Ron kept up the fight. He just wouldn't quit. Now he's one of those
people you'd love to have as a friend and neighbor. He's just a great guy to
be around.

It's no less a pleasure to have Barney or Brian around. Barney looks
like a college professor. Well, maybe not. His tie is too straight, his
shoes too shiny to pass as the typical academic. In coat and tie, you don't
see the picture that accompanies his Medal citation. Col. Harvey Barnum is a
Marine with a capital "M." In December 1965, Barney was a lieutenant serving
in Quang Tin province when his unit was cut off from the battalion, under
murderous fire. Barney - without regard for his own safety - found his dying
company commander and gave aid to him, then removed the radio from the back
of the dead radio operator nearby and took command. Braving heavy fire all
the while, Barney organized a counterattack and led it, enabling the
battalion to take its objective.

Brian Thacker hardly gets a chance to talk when the other guys get
rolling. He's a quiet fellow, and seems content to listen. Brian is a real
intellect, and has a lot to say if you take the time to pry it out of him.
His story - like that of his comrades - is simply hard to grasp for those of
us who haven't been there and done that. Brian was an Army lieutenant in
1971 at a forward-fire base in Kontum Province. His unit was overrun by
North Vietnamese that vastly outnumbered them. Brian stayed in his exposed
position for four hours, rallying the troops and directing air strikes on
the enemy. When his unit pulled out, Brian stayed - alone - providing cover
fire as they withdrew. He was badly wounded himself, but managed to escape
and evaded capture for eight days until the friendlies found him. And then
there's Woody.

If you go to the Marine Memorial in Arlington, Virginia on the Fourth
of July, and stand behind it, the fireworks burst over the Mall behind it, a
spectacular faux-battle above the bronze men. The statue is taken from Joe
Rosenthal's famous picture of the Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi
on Iwo Jima in February of 1945, probably the most famous image from World
War II.

Woody Williams is a quiet, gentle man, quick to smile or say a kind
word. He lives in a small town in West Virginia where he teaches a Sunday
school class for adults. Woody was a demolition sergeant with the 3rd
Marines on February 23, 1945, in the midst of that brutal battle. Thousands
of Marines died taking Iwo Jima. More would have but for Woody.

Marine tanks were trying - in vain - to open a corridor for the
infantry to advance past a network of Japanese concrete pillboxes, mines,
and volcanic sand. What the tanks couldn't do, Woody did. His medal citation
says, "Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for four4 hours
under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own
lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers,
struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out
one position after another." My father was there, somewhere in that battle.
It may be that one of the lives Woody saved by his heroism was that of Capt.
Harold Babbin, USMCR.

Ordinary heroes? There ain't no such thing, not among this group. They
may have started as ordinary men, but each found something inside himself
that raised him to risk his life above and beyond the call of duty. There
are many thousands of others who have fought bravely and well, and many of
them have not lived to celebrate their heroism. We must do it for them. By
remembering, and by appreciating what they have preserved for us: a freedom
unknown anywhere else in the world. Happy Fourth of July.

- NRO Contributor Jed Babbin was a deputy undersecretary of defense in
the first Bush administration, and is now an MSNBC military analyst.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.nationalreview.com/babbin/babbin070203.asp


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


"Jaltevapark" <jaltevapark@aol.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
20030703205101.18648.00000040@mb-m17.aol.com...


================================================== ===========
http://members.aol.com/Guanabacoa/che.html


DON'T KILL ME ...I AM WORTH MUCH MORE TO YOU ALIVE !
Che Guevara at the moment of his capture.
================================================== ===============

richard white

.... and the relevance of this to *UK* politics is????

Bye bye spammer....
Plink ------|
\|/

richard white

.... and the relevance of this to *UK* politics is????

Bye bye spammer....
Plink ------|
\|/