A Hero's Salute... and Ralph Peters Ft. Hood's 9/11

11/7/09: Updated below the legend with an opinion of Ralph Peters. Thank you, Ralph. A timely message!

A first responder to a lone gunman's attack at Fort Hood Nov. 5 renders honors at retreat after aiding his fellow soldiers. U.S. Army photo

Our hearts are heavy... Our prayers and thoughts are with our sons and daughters and their sons and daughters at Ft. Hood.

Be sure to read Greyhawk's initial reporting on those who were killed yesterday... and be sure to check back at Mudville Gazette often for updates.

11/7/09

New York Post

Fort Hood's 9/11

By RALPH PETERS

On Thursday afternoon, a radicalized Muslim US Army officer shouting "Allahu Akbar!" committed the worst act of terror on American soil since 9/11. And no one wants to call it an act of terror or associate it with Islam.

What cowards we are. Political correctness killed those patriotic Americans at Ft. Hood as surely as the Islamist gunman did. And the media treat it like a case of non-denominational shoplifting.

This was a terrorist act. When an extremist plans and executes a murderous plot against our unarmed soldiers to protest our efforts to counter Islamist fanatics, it’s an act of terror. Period.

When the terrorist posts anti-American hate-speech on the Web; apparently praises suicide bombers and uses his own name; loudly criticizes US policies; argues (as a psychiatrist, no less) with his military patients over the worth of their sacrifices; refuses, in the name of Islam, to be photographed with female colleagues; lists his nationality as "Palestinian" in a Muslim spouse-matching program, and parades around central Texas in a fundamentalist playsuit — well, it only seems fair to call this terrorist an "Islamist terrorist."

But the president won’t. Despite his promise to get to all the facts. Because there’s no such thing as "Islamist terrorism" in ObamaWorld.

And the Army won’t. Because its senior leaders are so sick with political correctness that pandering to America-haters is safer than calling terrorism "terrorism."

And the media won’t. Because they have more interest in the shooter than in our troops — despite their crocodile tears.

Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan planned this terrorist attack and executed it in cold blood. The resulting massacre was the first tragedy. The second was that he wasn’t killed on the spot.

Hasan survived. Now the rest of us will have to foot his massive medical bills. Activist lawyers will get involved, claiming "harassment" drove him temporarily insane. There’ll be no end of trial delays. At best, taxpayer dollars will fund his prison lifestyle for decades to come, since our politically correct Army leadership wouldn’t dare pursue or carry out the death penalty.

Maj. Hasan will be a hero to Islamist terrorists abroad and their sympathizers here. While US Muslim organizations decry his acts publicly, Hasan will be praised privately. And he’ll have the last laugh.

But Hasan isn’t the sole guilty party. The US Army’s unforgivable political correctness is also to blame for the casualties at Ft. Hood.

Given the myriad warning signs, it’s appalling that no action was taken against a man apparently known to praise suicide bombers and openly damn US policy. But no officer in his chain of command, either at Walter Reed Army Medical Center or at Ft. Hood, had the guts to take meaningful action against a dysfunctional soldier and an incompetent doctor.

Had Hasan been a Lutheran or a Methodist, he would’ve been gone with the simoon. But officers fear charges of discrimination when faced with misconduct among protected minorities.

Now 12 soldiers and a security guard lie dead. 31 soldiers were wounded, 28 of them seriously. If heads don’t roll in this maggot’s chain of command, the Army will have shamed itself beyond moral redemption.

There’s another important issue, too. How could the Army allow an obviously incompetent and dysfunctional psychiatrist to treat our troubled soldiers returning from war? An Islamist whacko is counseled for arguing with veterans who’ve been assigned to his care? And he’s not removed from duty? What planet does the Army live on?

For the first time since I joined the Army in 1976, I’m ashamed of its dereliction of duty. The chain of command protected a budding terrorist who was waving one red flag after another. Because it was safer for careers than doing something about him.

Get ready for the apologias. We’ve already heard from the terrorist’s family that "he’s a good American." In their world, maybe he is.

But when do we, the American public, knock off the PC nonsense?

A disgruntled Muslim soldier murdered his officers way back in 2003, in Kuwait, on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recently? An American mullah shoots it out with the feds in Detroit. A Muslim fanatic attacks an Arkansas recruiting station. A Muslim media owner, after playing the peace card, beheads his wife. A Muslim father runs over his daughter because she’s becoming too Westernized.

Muslim terrorist wannabes are busted again and again. And we’re assured that "Islam’s a religion of peace."

I guarantee you that the Obama administration’s non-response to the Ft. Hood attack will mock the memory of our dead.

Ralph Peters’ latest novel is "The War After Armageddon."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/fort_hood_xjP9yGrJN7gl7zdsJ31vnJ#ixzz0WCPg3GPk

George, Laura Bush visit wounded Hood soldiers

The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Nov 7, 2009 10:05:55 EST

FORT HOOD, Texas — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.

The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood’s military leaders and hospital staff for the “amazing care they are providing.”

AND WHERE IS OUR ESTEEMED PRESIDENT???

2:45PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The White House en route Camp David - South Lawn

We Have Not Forgotten

Your brothers miss you... even as they have returned to Iraq.

We remember you. We tell your story. We still mourn. And we bear witness. And there are those that carry the name that will tell the story to a whole new generation.

Rest in Peace.

Troops in A'stan Need Your Help NOW!!

UPDATE FROM TANKER BABE: all the basic necessities have now been covered! In less than 36 hours, the basics for 56 soldiers have been donated by great and caring Americans! HOOAH! However, the project is not done... we are still hoping to replace the rest of their other personal gear via the American Legion's efforts (see next paragraph & the original blog post.) Bless all who honor our military men & women!!

[from The Burn Pit: UPDATE: OK, link is now active for credit card donations. I just did mine and it went through. Make sure you only click the "donate" button once. Tomorrow I will have info up for those who wish to donate via check or send in items.]

As you all know, this past weekend, an American Combat Outpost was overrun in Afghanistan and 8 American soldiers were killed and many wounded. What many people do not know is that the soldiers who are still there (but pulled back to a Forward Operating Base) lost everything but the clothes on their backs.

This from a friend at the American Legion:

Everything the men of Bravo Troop 361 Cavalry had with them that they were not wearing was destroyed in the battle for Combat Outpost Keating. [snip] These men have lost friends, lost their outpost, and lost all their belongings. One who made it out wrote that “most people back home don't even know -- no one gives a shit”. Well, many of us do.

You can check at TankerBabe's website for a list of basic necessities for which she & others are trying to get commitments (extra clothing, towels & wash clothes, undershirts... things like that.)

If you can commit to providing certain things on her list or wish to make a cash donation towards these basic necessities, please email TankerBabe at tankerbabelc@gmail.com or Mark at the American Legion MOTHAX@LEGION.ORG

Additionally, the American Legion is setting up a relief fund that will be collecting money to replace the soldiers' iPods, DVDs, PCs and other such "comfort" items (which are NOT issued by the Army) that make serving in some of the most Heaven-forsaken country on Earth bearable.

And you can prove [you care] by giving whatever you can to try and buy these guys things like running shoes, and other essentials, as well as some comfort items like iPods and DvD players. The American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warrior has kicked in $1000 to start the Combat Outpost Keating Relief Fund... I intend to get these items out by the end of next week. ANY amount you can give, no matter how small will help us prove that we do care.]

The whole story (including details of the battle and the aftereffects) can be found at this post at the American Legion Blog "The Burn Pit" The Battle for COP Keating and How You Can Help

The American Legion will be posting the contact information for the Legion's COP Keating Relief Fund there shortly.

Please pass this information on to friends, families and colleagues. If you are a member of a club or church group that might wish to help, please be sure to involve them, too!!

And be sure to read Greyhawk's roundup of information before, during & after at Mudville Gazette.

Many Thanks!

-- Some Soldier's Mom

PS To the azzholes out there who are writing these incredulous blog posts about how the U.S. spends so much on defense yet we have to have private fund raising to give these soldiers this stuff: You are f@#$%^ MORONS!! Your total IGNORANCE of all things military is showing! If you read Tanker Babe's info closely enough, you will see that she makes clear that the Army is replacing the basics -- one set each (usually... except ACUs). The call is to help provide for additional things & EXTRA sets of socks, boots, running shoes, EXTRA towels & soft blankets, etc. (which all soldiers everywhere also provide themselves!) The American Legion effort is addressing PERSONAL and COMFORT items like DVDs, iPods, maybe laptops...

So you should either PUT UP or STFU... 'cause you are the exact same group of people who would be whining and shuffling if the military gave that kind of stuff to the troops.

From a favorite Army friend:

My reply would be simple. Would you rather the Army buy Body Armor or Socks? The stuff's expensive. If you say both, you don't understand competing demands. Both cost money; to buy one, you have to forsake some quantity of the other. Every item the Army buys has a priority. Socks are a lower priority than other things. I'm sure the Army has a warehouse full of socks somewhere, so lets focus on logistics. It isn't like the supply officer can run to wal-mart. They are in Afghanistan. It isn't the asshole of the world, but you can smell it from there. Everything has to be brought in either by trucks on nearly non-existent roads or by aircraft. Sure, those C-17s look big, until you stock them with essentials like food, ammo, medical supplies, mail, repair parts, petroleum, oil, and lubricants for weapons, building supplies for defenses, and water--for 500 people, for a week or a month.

So now it's a logistics priority. Where do uniform items fall on the supply priorities? Well below the other things mentioned. Mail has an immeasurable effect on morale, so it almost ALWAYS gets priority, right behind bullets, chow, and bandages. Broken uniforms can be fixed with a (much smaller) sewing kit. Uniforms wear out a lot faster when they don't get washed often, even faster when they are hand-washed. When water has to be flown in, washing clothes isn't at the top of the list of things you use water for.

Instead of reasoning with you about supply chain metrics or the priorities of resupply, I'll just ask you to pony up five fucking dollars, the cost of a Latte and Biscotti, and buy a damn pair of socks for a deployed soldier. Then spend an extra five dollars (might have to forgo renting a couple movies this weekend) and mail them to someone whose highlight of the week might just be that single pair of fresh, clean socks he received in the mail. Take stock of your cushy -assed life and do something for someone else for a change. Stop bitching about how much the government spends on defense, and help a soldier out. Right now, it doesn't matter WHY there's a shortage, it only matters that there IS a shortage, and the fastest way to fill that gap is by the American People stepping up and taking action themselves. Nobody's asking YOU to pick up a rifle or put YOUR life at risk. They're just asking you for a pair of fucking socks.

Better yet, keep your money and your fucking stamps. I'm sure those same men would rather go barefoot until their feet bleed than accept a gift given begrudgingly. If you're pissed off about the need, fill the need, then petition congress for a redress of grievance -- like the way DoD can't supply adequate socks. It's a right those soldiers DON'T have, that they are fighting for you to keep.

-- No Nom

Godspeed, Darrell "Shifty" Powers

From Blackfive, with permission.

Airborne Icon and Hero Passes On - Godspeed, Darrell "Shifty" Powers

Posted By Blackfive

Update July 20th, 2009: Today we're doing a Virtual Memorial for Shifty Powers. Please blog, FaceBook and Twitter about Shifty. For Twitterers, at the WLF Twitter (@warriororg), we're using #shiftypowers to raise awareness.

"I could hear bullets and shrapnel hitting the plane. As I jumped out the door, I could see that the left motor was on fire." - Darrell Shifty Powers talking about jumping over Normandy, France, on D-Day.

Many, many of you have sent me notice that Shifty Powers of the heroic Easy Company, 2-506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, died on June 17th. I had no idea that he had passed on. I have written here a lot about Easy Company and even have an autographed photo (Bill Guarnere) on my desk of the jump into Holland (Market Garden).

If you use GoogleNews (any combo of Darrell and/or Shifty Powers), there are less then ten notices of his death. There are less than four articles about his passing on from "old media" news agencies.

Reader Mark send the link to a NBC piece on Shifty. Good that they recognized him.

Quite frankly, this is an affront to a genuinely good man. Shifty Powers received two Bronze Stars and a CIB and fought in every campaign that Easy Company was in. He was severely injured on his way home in a truck accident (the irony is that the men of Easy rigged the lottery to go home so Shifty would be first, but he ended up being one of the last to get home after an extensive hospitalization).

This email has gone viral about Shifty:

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

"A nation without heroes is nothing." - Roberto Clemente

Here is a clip of the men of Easy Company (Shifty too) talking about heroes...

However, I particularly like this quote from his daughter...in the SWVA online edition:

...Johnson said her father kept a busy schedule up until the end. Two

years ago, he visited soldiers stationed in South Korea and Japan. Last

September, had he not fallen ill, he would have traveled to Iraq.

He kept a busy schedule up till the end. Two years ago, he visited
soldiers in South Korea and in Japan. Last September, had he not fallen
ill, he would have made a stop in Iraq.

“I had his suitcase packed,” Johnson said.

Missing the trip overseas disappointed him, she said, especially the worry of disappointing the soldiers there.

“My daddy was a simple man, not complicated and very comfortable with himself and approachable,” Johnson said. “He spoiled us. Right now I don’t feel as safe. I know I’ll never be as loved.”...

Godspeed, Shifty. I'm sure the Jumpmaster has you cleared on the manifest.

Airborne!!!

USS Wasp (LHD-1): #1 in the Fleet

We have this son we are so proud of... gearing up to leave this command but he has been deployed so often or the ship was unavailable in dry dock or staged for deployment... and this was the first time we have had the opportunity to tour his ship, the USS Wasp (LHD-1)! I was bummed that the aircraft and landing craft were not on board, but we did get to see [most] everything else.

After touring this ship, talking with a number of sailors and Marines, and seeing how well run and well kept this ship is, please allow me to say that if any numskull thinks they can save money by cutting back on funding for the Navy -- her systems or her people -- I am here to tell you that you are certifiable. These are some of the most competent, skilled, and dedicated people we have in the military. We came away confident in their dedication and abilities.... proud just doesn't cover it. Bravo Zulu !!! and Oorah !!! Ladies & Gentlemen. And a special BZ to Our Guy on the USS Wasp.

the ready room brought back fond memories for the DH
(the first is with flash, the other under red light)

the stripper pole (no, it's not really; just the nick name)

absolutely a must (lol)

loads of brass... polished to a mirror shine (or painted battleship grey)

she's a beaut, isn't she??

National D-Day Memorial -- A National Treasure!

On the drive between Blacksburg and Norfolk, Virginia, just off US-460 is the small town of Bedford, Virginia. This town lost more soldiers per capita on D-Day than just about any other town in America. Bedford, which is about 100 miles from the nearest large city, is tucked in the green magnificence of the Blue Ridge Mountains: surrounded by all of God's "mountain majesty". Bedford is also home to the National D-Day Memorial... stunningly beautiful, well crafted, reverent to the sacrifices and achievements of June 6, 1944. We had never heard of the Memorial, but it was the best 1-mile detour we have ever taken.

Others will blog today on the operational facts of D-Day and the meaning of D-Day and its (obvious) significance to the outcome of the war -- all of which the D-Day Memorial covers in detail -- but I will share the moving experience the National D-Day Memorial provided. Every regiment, battalion and division from every country that participated on D-Day on every one of the beachheads -- Juno, Omaha, Gold... is celebrated in a series of plaques -- and one for every destroyer, transport, carrier... and hundreds of brass plaques emblazoned with the names of every American killed on D-Day... and busts of the planners and leaders who saw the Allies to and through that horrific and eventually victorious day.

The National D-Day Memorial is set on 20 magnificent acres that contain a huge amphitheater with a mock of the Omaha landing with brass bodies strewn in water while air jets loudly spray the staccato sounds and effects of machine gun fire through the water... as a soldier pulls a buddy through the surf, one lies dead nearby and a trio of Marines struggle up the side of a netted hillside. All immortalized and honored in this Memorial. It is spectacularly landscaped with lush lawns and abundant trees and flowers... and benches and other places to sit and reflect... and perhaps remember those that were lost. When we were there, we saw a number of people shedding tears while running their hand over the name of a loved one on a plaque... and a message left in the guest book, "I miss you, Dad."

This privately founded and funded memorial is on the verge of bankruptcy -- many reasons -- cost, early mismanagement, maintenance... and Virginia legislators are planning to introduce legislation in the US Congress to turn this Memorial over to the US Parks Dept. I urge each of you to drop a quick note to your Congressperson and/or Senator drawing their attention to preserving and protecting this VERY deserving memorial. Or you may give a donation to save this Memorial at the National D-Day Memorial Foundation's site. Having been to the WWII Memorial and The Vietnam War Memorial, I assure you that the National D-Day Memorial is on par with those in its scope, its beauty and its message. We are a Nation of Memorials and Museums and this is a most important reminder of a Momentous day in our and the world's history.

I urge if you are anywhere near Bedford, Virginia please take the drive and visit this memorial -- and if you can't decide where to visit this summer, visit the D-Day Memorial and take the old folks and the kids along -- you will be so very glad you did!

the setting

the great arch is emblazoned "OVERLORD"

the names of the American fallen...

preparing for the 65th Anniversary

Leaders


honoring vessels...

scaling the cliffs

On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied soldiers clambered aboard heaving landing craft and braved six-foot swells, waves of machine gun fire, and more than 6 million mines to claim a stretch of sand at a place called Normandy. Their mission was to carve out an Allied foothold on the edge of Nazi-occupied Europe for the army of more than one million that would follow them in the summer of 1944. This army would burst forth from the beachhead, rolling across Europe into the heart of Germany, liberating millions, toppling a genocidal regime, and ending a nightmare along the way. But it all began on this beach in France, with an army of teenagers on a day called D-Day.

on the beach

leave no man behind