This was a time when character counted.
Case in point- George Herbert Walker Bush, born into a wealthy family, he enrolled in the Navy right after the attack on Pearl Harbor and turning eighteen- skipping college. He became the youngest fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater. He did not dodge service by (falsely) claiming bone spurs like the current president.
Today September 2, 1944, piloting a torpedo bomber and attacking radio towers on the Japanese held island of Chi Chi Jima, Lieutenant Bush's plane- second in the attack on a facility heavily defended with anti-aircraft guns, was hit. Bush continued the attack, released his weapons and turned the plane out to sea. He yelled "hit the silk" to his two crewmembers. Neither survived. Bush was rescued by the Submarine USS Finback and his first words were "happy to be aboard." He spent a month on the sub as it continued its patrol.
Reflecting on his experience decades later, Bush simply stated that there was not a day that went by that he didn't think of his friends and crewmembers who did not make it.
But this was a man cut from a different cloth, and from a time when character counted.
Before the world ever heard of him, George Herbert Walker Bush was a hero and a great American.
13 comments:
WWII was a time before the legal profession, including the judiciary, became garbage. President Trump brought the fight to lawyers like Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris for the American People, and won. That is an accomplishment no one else could do. President Trump has my respect on that basis.
Really 4:51? Out of everyone in this great county of ours, the only possible person who was capable of bringing the fight to corruption was... a corrupt real estate developer and reality tv host? Someone whose name was synonymous with greed before he ever entered politics? Get serious.
Let’s just focus that one was a coward with no dedication to his country who used wealth and a fake condition to dodge service and the other volunteered as soon has he turned 18, sought out combat and bravely acted when under fire to complete his mission. The differences are as simple and plain as that.
I have NEVER voted for a Republican but, President George Bush was a hero and will always be a hero. McCain was a hero too.
@5:27. Read carefully. "President Trump brought the fight to lawyers like Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris for the American People, and won." Trump is not Mother Teresa. Trump is not a "savior" like Obama. Trump is one man, warts and all, against the behemoth legal profession. Now is the time for someone to pick up his mantle.
Rumpole, your blog is evidence that you believe in the good fight. But even you understand the danger, so you remain anonymous. Donald J. Trump puts his name out there, brazen, brash and in gold plate. There has been a literal target on Trump's back since 2015, and he almost got assassinated. The bravery of GHW Bush is commendable, motivated by patriotism, and shows why the military needs 18 year-olds with testosterone, piss and vinegar. Sometimes luck plays a part too.
John McCain was also a hero and great American. I didn’t forget him. Yesterday was the anniversary of the day GHWB was shot down. We should also remember McCain’s long service and suffering as a POW before becoming a great senator and leader. He would have been a great president. He should have won in 2000. It just was never the right time for him. That’s the way things work out. There’s probably 50-100 other politicians who served and made sacrifices. Bob Dole was injured in WWII. Nixon served in the Pacific theater near front lines (where he honed his poker skills). Of course JFK’s exploits are well known as are Ike’s. Who am I missing here ?
Who are we missing? Daniel Inouye, US Senator for Hawaii (1963-2012), and all the Japanese-American soldiers who fought the Nazis while their own county held their families in American concentration camps, see Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944). Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld concentration camps in America.
Who are we missing? The Code Talkers, Native American soldiers who used their tribal language as U.S. Marines on the battlefield to transmit secret message that the Japanese could not decipher. Native American soldiers, who as children, were prohibited from speaking their tribal language in American schools.
Who are we missing? The Tuskegee Airmen, African-American military pilots and airmen who were finally permitted to fight in World War II (due to necessity) while still segregated at home in Jim Crow America. Likewise with the all-Black units in the segregated American military, who were reluctantly granted permission to fight on the front line, because We the People needed them, not because of a belief in their civil or human rights.
John Kerry, the target of not just bullets in Vietnam but swiftboating, a form of GOP rat-f*cking.
John McCain's loss in 2008 wasn't due to bad timing, but to his cynical choice of Palin as a running-mate.
Every president has a target on his back.
President Kennedy served and his older brother was killed in WW II
When I pondered who are we missing I was referring to politicians not the other heroes of WWII and after. And if you mention the Tuskegee airmen do not forget the African-American drivers of the Red Ball Express who drove all of the supplies across Europe after the Normandy landings; took the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions to Bastogne at tremendous personal risk and bravery, and brought supplies to all the troops including Patton's Third Amry after he disengaged a battle and traveled a 100 plus miles and relieved the soldiers at Bastogne. And BTW there were many a bar fight in the months, years, and decades later because no member of the airborne would ever agree to need to be rescued by anyone. Being surrounded was their normal state of operating conditions. Any member of the 3rd Army who told a member of the airborne at Bastogne that they rescued them was usually met with a swift punch to the nose and beyond.
Sen Tammy Duckworth whose helicopter was shot down during the the Iraqi war.
Bush was a hero, a great patriot and a spy until the day he died. I was a lifelong Democrat until recently. This younger generation has no respect for military or anyone who served this country. I used to think that although we have our differences, when it comes down to it, if anyone threatened our freedom, republicans and democrats would fight side by side. I no longer believe that. The Democratic party has been hijacked by radical Islam, gays for Gaza, and the DSA. In other words, people who hate America. Say what you want about the republicans and maga but you will never hear either of those say they hate America. Or, that they want to abolish the Constitution, empty prisons, open borders, redistribute wealth etc. Personally trump makes my skin crawl but just because he got out of serving doesn’t mean he doesn’t love this country. Many wealthy and famous families got out of serving in WW II. Using family deferments, age exemptions, studio interventions for actors. John Wayne got several deferments one argued that his “morale boosting films were vital to national interest.” Frank Sinatra and his “pictured eardrum”. Curious considering his profession. The list goes on but that doesn’t mean they didn’t love this country. I don’t hate Trump as much as I used to. I hope the damage he’s done isn't irreparable. But there’s no doubt in my mind that he loves this country.
And only one comment about heroism by a woman: serving in the military and than as senator.
Post a Comment