Commensurate Honorarium
I was working in my yard last evening; my nearly 60ish neighbor, who I hardly ever see —much less speak to —walked over to where I was pulling weeds.
He asked, “Did you hear about Michael Jackson?”
Of course, I knew that Jackson was pronounced dead a few hours earlier, but I replied, “No … what now?”
“Oh gosh,” he said, “He just died at a hospital in Los Angeles.”
“Really,” I asked. “You mean the singer?”
“Yes –Michael Jackson, the king of pop. So young, too,” he said.
“Well, what about ‘Too Tall’ Freeman,” I asked.
“Who?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear about Major Ed Freeman, an Army chopper pilot during the battle for Ia Drang Valley? “
“No, afraid not,” he answered.
“He passed away last August; Medal of Honor recipient.”
“Never heard of him,” he said.
“Well then, what about Major Bruce Crandall?”
“No, I’ve never heard of him either,” he replied.
I pursued my line of questions: “Have you not even heard of the battle for Ia Drang?”
“No,” he answered.
“So then, if I understand this … you don’t know anything about two Army majors, both of whom won the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of more than seventy troops; who, over a period of ten hours, continuously flew helicopters into a hotly contested LZ during a battle that defined all subsequent conflicts in the Vietnam War; but you do know about the death of some fruitcake-child-molesting singer who accomplished not a damn thing for his country. Is that right?”
I suspect my neighbor won’t speak to me again for at least a year … and that’s fine. The question remains: why do America’s true heroes die anonymously, with no mention of their passing in the mainstream media, while idiotic people who are not fit to shine the shoes of men such as Ed Freeman and Bruce Crandall gain so much notoriety, and command the awe of an adoring public?
As long as we have citizens like this running around claiming the title American, don’t talk to me about morality.
From the film, “We were soldiers, Once …” recounting the battle of Ia Drang Valley. Then LtCol Hal Moore, U. S. Army, who commanded these troops, served as the principle advisor in the making of this film. Disable Playlist device in sidebar before starting YouTube presentation.
He asked, “Did you hear about Michael Jackson?”
Of course, I knew that Jackson was pronounced dead a few hours earlier, but I replied, “No … what now?”
“Oh gosh,” he said, “He just died at a hospital in Los Angeles.”
“Really,” I asked. “You mean the singer?”
“Yes –Michael Jackson, the king of pop. So young, too,” he said.
“Well, what about ‘Too Tall’ Freeman,” I asked.
“Who?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear about Major Ed Freeman, an Army chopper pilot during the battle for Ia Drang Valley? “
“No, afraid not,” he answered.
“He passed away last August; Medal of Honor recipient.”
“Never heard of him,” he said.
“Well then, what about Major Bruce Crandall?”
“No, I’ve never heard of him either,” he replied.
I pursued my line of questions: “Have you not even heard of the battle for Ia Drang?”
“No,” he answered.
“So then, if I understand this … you don’t know anything about two Army majors, both of whom won the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of more than seventy troops; who, over a period of ten hours, continuously flew helicopters into a hotly contested LZ during a battle that defined all subsequent conflicts in the Vietnam War; but you do know about the death of some fruitcake-child-molesting singer who accomplished not a damn thing for his country. Is that right?”
I suspect my neighbor won’t speak to me again for at least a year … and that’s fine. The question remains: why do America’s true heroes die anonymously, with no mention of their passing in the mainstream media, while idiotic people who are not fit to shine the shoes of men such as Ed Freeman and Bruce Crandall gain so much notoriety, and command the awe of an adoring public?
As long as we have citizens like this running around claiming the title American, don’t talk to me about morality.
From the film, “We were soldiers, Once …” recounting the battle of Ia Drang Valley. Then LtCol Hal Moore, U. S. Army, who commanded these troops, served as the principle advisor in the making of this film. Disable Playlist device in sidebar before starting YouTube presentation.
posted by Mustang @ 00:01
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