Bruce Crandall on a New Documentary Show
The Pentagon Channel's new program "Icon" debuts with the story of retired Army Lt. Col. Bruce P. Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor at the White House for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in November 1965.
posted by wretchardthecat at 3/02/2007 04:29:00 PM
10 Comments:
How pleasant to hear good news. This gentleman (meant in the classic sense) is an epic hero.
I second Allen's comment.
That battle, and someone else who was there, and who later died at the WTC, Rick Rescorla. Epic is the right word.
A buddy of mine was a Marine Corps Aviator in Nam around this time. I think he told me he flew 35 missions one day, hauling ammo in and wounded out.
As it says on America's most moving monument: "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."
Tony: ...hauling ammo in and wounded out...
1. With Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley commanding Walter Reed, supporting our troops meant letting them recover from their honorable wounds in a run-down moldy ward infested with rats and cock-a-roaches and drug-dealers right outside an unmonitored door, such that the injured men were pulling sentry duty every night just to give each other a sense of security! And none of these men ratted out their commanding officer.
2. Six months ago, Major General George Weightman took charge of Walter Reed. Apparently he did not conduct a zone inspection before, during, or after the change-of-command ceremony, because even a blind man would give BLDG 18 a hit.
3. The Washington Post came around to check on the men, found the appalling conditions they are recuperating in, and wrote it up. The blogosphere and MSM ran with the story, and it even flushed the floaters Zsa Zsa, Britney, and Anna Nicole Smith down the news cycle toilet.
4. Francis Harvey, the US Army Secretary fired Weightman. Well and good, a CO is responsible for everything that happens at his command, including any bad publicity that bubbles up to the top of the FOX News/CNN/MSNBC 24 hour wringer.
5. Harvey appointed Lt. General Kevin Kiley as CO of Walter Reed again. The families of the silent men in Ward 19 are outraged, because Kiley knew about the problems for years and did nothing about it.
6. Robert Gates, the US Secretary of Defense, fired Francis Harvey and named Major General Eric Schoomaker as permanent commander of Walter Reed, simultaneously putting the rest of the brass on notice that after the passing of Don "Vito" Rumsfeld, the new Don of the Corleone Family (so to speak) isn't just some weak college boy who never got mixed up in the rackets.
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Thanks for repeating the newspaper story, it's great that this wrong has been addressed and those at the top of the chain of command paying the price for not doing their duty. Did I miss how that story relates to heroism and the awarding of the Medal of Honor to Col. Crandall for his magnificent performance on that hot day in the Ia Drang?
M Simon's post on the Subject
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Tony,
As you know, the combination of psychedelic drugs and the Vietnam War is reputed to have been responsible for innumerable "Flashbacks"
Ms T simply demonstrates that Postmodern Information Overload can produce "Flashforwards" when one is exposed to a triggering stimulus.
Simon sez, H/T The Corner
Hal Moore's son Steve, Reports the Details of the Ceremony
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