Jim Laughter         

We all heard the sad news recently about the death of Mr. Frank Buckles, the last surviving veteran of World War One.  He was truly an American hero.  But someone I know posted a statement on Facebook that struck me the wrong way.  And even though his statement was well intended, I'm afraid I took exception to it.  His statement was that he wished there were more men like Mr. Buckles for our young people to look up to. 

My contention is that there are more men like Mr. Buckles; more than we can possibly imagine. And not just men.  We have numerous women standing in harm's way every day. Anyone brave enough to wear the American uniform and fight an enemy that can't be seen or even clearly identified certainly qualifies as an American hero.

Heroes aren’t born–they happen. Heroes emerge from situations. A combat soldier doesn’t go into battle with the intention of saving his friends from a fortified enemy. He doesn’t plan to risk his own life in an attempt to save fellow soldiers trapped in a crossfire of enemy bullets. No, heroes are not born. They rise from the shadows and background, and they risk everything in a single moment of selflessness for the benefit of others.

 Let's not hang our hats on the memory of just one man.  Let's honor that man.  Let's respect his service.  But at the same time, next time you see one of our men or women in uniform, take a moment to thank him or her for their sacrifice.

  And while I'm venting, let me say one more thing about our military heroes.  Not all heroes are still in uniform.  We have veterans living among us that only wore the uniform for a few year, but who stood the chance of paying the ultimate price of freedom.  Many of them served in Viet Nam, then came home to disgraceful demonstrations with self-righteous knot-heads calling them all kinds of terrible names, and accusing them of unthinkable acts. Some of those veterans live on our city streets and sleep in our public parks, forgotten and abandoned by the very people (us) that they fought for.  Look around you. Chance are there is a veteran within 100 yards of you right now.

 

 Well, that's my vent for today.  I'm not asking you to kiss a veteran, but I am asking you to respect the sacrifice they made. Whether they were wounded or not doesn't matter. It's the uniform that matters, and what that uniform stands for, which is greater than any single individual.

 

 

You Would Never Have Guessed:

Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 as age 76 , which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27 )

His death reminded me of the following story:

Some people have been a bit offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3- and 4-star generals at Arlington National Cemetery.  His marker gives his name, rank (PFC) and service (USMC). Nothing else. Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys? Well, following is the amazing answer:  I always liked Lee Marvin, but didn't know the extent of his Corps experiences.

 

In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces often in rear echelon posts where they were carefully protected, only to be trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima . There is only one higher Naval award...  The Medal Of Honor!

If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery.

Dialog from 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson': His guest was Lee Marvin Johnny said,  'Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima ...and that during the course of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded.

'Yeah, yeah... I got shot square in the bottom and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi. Bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys getting' shot hauling you down. But,Johnny, at Iwo I served under the bravest man I ever knew... We both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach. Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion because his men's safety was more important than his own life.

On another note, there was this wimpy little man (who just passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name. He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat

After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life. He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm. 

America's real heroes don't flaunt what they did; they quietly go about their day-to-day lives, doing what they do best. They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy.  Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst.  Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened.  Take the time to thank anyone that has fought for our freedom..

With encouragement they could be the next, Lee Marvin, Captain Kangaroo or Mr.Rogers.

 Thanks to my friend, Rachel Bretthauer in Phoenix, Arizona for sending me the following information for my hero page. May we never forget. 

 The  prize doesn't always go to the most  deserving....  
 

Irena  Sendler

A 98 year-old lady named Irena recently  passed away. During World War-2, Irena, received permission to  work in the Warsaw  Ghetto as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. But she had  an ulterior motive. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.)  At great personal risk,Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box. She carried a burlap sack in the back of her truck (for larger kids).  Irena also had a dog that she trained  to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her  time of doing this, Irena managed to smuggle out  and save 2,500 small children and infants. When she was caught, the Nazi's beat her severely, breaking both of her legs and arms. 

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar buried under a  tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried  to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family.  Most  had been  gassed. Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or  adopted. 
 

Recently,  Irena was up  for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was  not  selected.   However,  Al Gore won for a slide show on Global Warming, and Barack Obama won for a speech on  peace -- a peace he has yet to produce.

In   MEMORIAM  - 63 YEARS  LATER

  It is  now more than 60 years since World War II in  Europe  ended. In memory of the 20 million Russians, 10  million Christians, 6 million Jews and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned and  starved with many of the world's  people looking  the other way!

  Now,  more than ever, with extremist  Muslims claiming the Holocaust to  be a myth, it's imperative to make sure the  world never forgets, because Muslim extremists  are trying to do it  again.

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