Medal Of Honor, Our Legacy, and Respect

[ArfinGreebly]

I was actually looking for something else entirely, and stumbled on this.

It's a little late, and my eyes are a little watery, and . . .

A funny thing happened to a war hero on his way to an NRA meeting and a West Point Speech . . .

On 11 January 2002, Joseph J. Foss of Scottsdale, Arizona . . .

On 11 January 2002, Joseph J. Foss of Scottsdale, Arizona — a major in the USMC during World War II, a colonel in the USAF during
the Korean War, and later a brigadier general with the South Dakota Air National Guard — was attempting to board an America West flight bound for Arlington, Virginia, when airport security held him for 45 minutes while they debated what to do with a variety of suspect items he had about his person. This 86-year-old former governor of South Dakota was on his way to attend a National Rifle Association meeting and to speak to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and he carried with him his Medal of Honor, as well as a Medal of Honor commemorative nail file and a dummy bullet which had been made into a key fob.

Foss was awarded the medal by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II after shooting down 26 enemy planes as a Marine fighter pilot in solo combat in the Pacific. He grew up in South Dakota — after the war he would become governor of that state — and took flying lessons as a young man, then went to war.

The story is here: http://snopes.com/military/medal.htm

I find myself disturbed by this, in ways not easily articulated.

He's just a man, and doesn't pretend to be more than that.

He's lived a real slice of life, but doesn't bandy it about.

He's someone to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude, but someone we recognize not at all.

His is a story of skill, valour, and courage, at a time when we needed it. He's the real deal. He's a man for whom I would hold the door.

He was even officially recognized for his contribution.

There was a time when, if he'd showed up in a bar or club or restaurant and the proprietor had seen that star, he'd have been well and properly served, and on that day he'd have been told, "save it, buddy, your money's no good here."

He's still that guy, but the country for which he fought barely remembers the struggle that riveted the attention of the whole nation.

The symbol of his exceptional service now arouses suspicion among functionaries whose sense of historical perspective is too shallow to appreciate his worth and their debt.

A man whose proper due is our respect and gratitude waits patiently while the highest honor than can be bestowed upon a defender of freedom is scrutinized as if it were the talisman of some dark art.

I just . . . can't . . . well, damn.

And he's not alone.

There are so many of his kind and there is so much we have to learn from them . . . and yet, I feel, we do not ask.

I pray we do not waste this wisdom, I pray enough of us can keep the flame alive.

Next time I'm at the range, I'll quietly render my own salute. Just me and my carbine. And a few ghosts.

 

[Ala Dan]

Congressional Medal Of Honor

demands the utmost respect from all Americans, and from all walks of life.

What I find interesting is the fact that so many of these unsung young
hero's died in the Viet-Nam War by diving on to an enemy grenade to
save other comrades.

S-A-L-U-T-E~!

 

[1911Tuner]

Joe Foss

Lemme see now...Well-known and highly decorated war hero AND a living Medal of Honor recipient...86 years old...is detained by airport security while carrying his CMO, and a dummy cartridge.

Yeah...Somethin' is definitely wrong in America. This was was a travesty of the highest order.

Get a clue people. It's men from age 16-40 of middle-eastern descent who are the ones to keep an eye on in airports. Little old ladies and genuine American heroes aren't the enemy.

 

[DC3-CVN-72]

This just makes me mad.

 

[migoi]

I'm a bit leery...

of judging that attitude of an entire country based on the actions of one power tripping nimrod.

Using that sampling method one could just as easily say the U.S. is overwhelmingly patriotic based on the fact that 14,000 young high school graduates applied for entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy during a time of war.

Broad brushes tend to paint inaccurately.

migoi

 

[rdsharp]

This is the height of foolishness, of course. BUT, it's important to put this into context, both pro and con. This didn't happen yesterday. In fact, General Foss has been dead more than 4 years. The incident occurred 4 months to the day after 9/11. No one was going to be allowed on a plane carrying a knife or a nail file then, and General Foss had to know that. In fact, he wasn't disturbed by the screeners taking the file and the dummy round -- he was allowed to mail them home. http://www.snopes.com/military/medal.htm.

He wanted to retain possession of the Medal, however, to show the cadets at West Point where he was to make a speech.

What makes the situation even worse, with regard to the Medal, however, is that during this period, airport security was bolstered by armed national guardsmen. While it's possible that a civilian at the metal detectors might not recognize a Medal of Honor, there is no way the guardsmen shouldn't have known what it was.

 

[MrDig]

I really find it inconcieveable.
The reality of this situation is very few Americans are aware of what a CMH is let alone what it looks like. How the hell would they know how rare it is to meet a living recipient, especially one from WWII.
WWII Veterans are dying off at a rate of 1200 or 1300 a day. The rarity of a Living CMH veteran from that war gets greater as I type this.
The idiotic security staff is just a symptom of the problem.
The military was reviled for quite some time after Viet Nam, and that lack of respect still has ripple effects like this today.
P.S. Why the devil is it refered to as the "Tomb of the Unknowns" what did we dump a bunch of homeless people in there? It is the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers". These above all others deserve the recognition as Soldiers, not just Unknowns. I know it has never been officially named but this semantic oversite is just wrong IMHO

 

[DF357]

Two years ago the TSA tried to take my son's Eagle Scout medal from him as we boarded a plane. It was in the velvet case it was presented in, in his carryon. They tore the velvet out of the leather box, searching it.

I argued vehemently with them and a supervisor came over, asked me a few questions and let us go on the plane.

Power hungry idiots !


BTW, the Tomb of the Unknowns - used to be called, (don't know if it was official) Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers but that sort of meant only Army vets could be there...as other branches are not called soldiers.

FYI, the Vietnam grave is empty, because they found out who was buried there. I went there last year and was told there would never be another unknown because of DNA testing.