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July 2, 2005 I should not have been shown how to “Google”. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Justin D. LeHew, Navy Cross (36); Army 1st Lt. Christopher P. Dean, Silver Star (1); Army SPC Micheaux Sanders, Silver Star (11); Air Force Tech. Sgt Robert A Roberts III, Distinguished Flying Cross (1); Army First Sgt. Michael Grinston, 2 Bronze Stars with “V” (valor) (5); Marine Sgt. Mauricio Guervara, Bronze Star with “V” (2); Air Force Major Thomas “T.O.” Hanford, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses (1); Army Air Corps Chief Warrant Officer CW3 Almous Irby, 2 Air Medals with “V” (8); Army Staff Sgt. John Lewis, Bronze Star with “V” (3); Army SPC Jeremy Church, Silver Star (6); Army Sgt. Lorenzo Nathan, Bronze Star with “V” (1); Army Sgt. Sholah Yi, Bronze Star with “V” (3); Army SPC Blair Boyette, Bronze Star with “V” (3); Marine Lance Corporal Thomas Adametz, Silver Star (16). I don’t believe you know many of those named above. If you heard the names, I don’t believe you know why or how they earned their awards for valor under fire in the war against terrorism. Last month the “Stars and Stripes” published a 32 page insert; detailing the exploits of these volunteers who are fighting to keep Americans from dieing in America. I was curious. What set off my curiosity was the fact that all the stories that were presented were written by “Stars and Stripes” staff writers; where normally the pages of the “Stripes” are filled with articles from AP or Reuters. What started me on my “Google” searches was the overall tone of the presentation which began with a rehash of the Pat Tillman “friendly fire episode” and was generally down beat from there. I wanted to know how much of this information was reaching the homeland. I know most of you probably do not subscribe to the “Stars and Stripes”. The paragraph above gives you the service, the name, the rank and the award of each soldier. The number in parentheses is the number of hits on a “Google” search. Every soldier had at least one hit because the “Stars and Stripes” does have an on line version. What appears in print will normally appear at their web site. What is intriguing is the lack of hits for the major news sources. There were no FOXNEWS, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Reuters, or any of the major papers; with an exception I found even more interesting from the “New York Times” in an on line piece that made the enemies out to be at a real disadvantage because our soldiers were so much better trained and equipped. The article actually tries to generate sympathy for the evil and bastardly enemy murderers. ( http://www.christusrex.org/www1/news/nyt-8-28-04b.html ) Now consider these exceptions: Army Air Corps Major Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Purple Heart (56). I flew once with the Major before she was seriously wounded on her mission in November 2004. No, I didn’t personally know her, but her chopper took me on one of my many flights. I remember her because I am always struck by the shape of a woman in a flying suit and the fact that she had oriental features with the name “Duckworth”; which I found interesting. Major Duckworth lost both her legs when her chopper was hit by enemy fire. She is alive and well and is now an advocate for veterans and the National Guard. She is also in rehab to return to flying. She’s got guts. Major Duckworth shows 56 hits on “Google” and counting, because she remains active in the news and the severity of her wounds allows the national media to remind the general population of the horror of war. Another glaring exception is Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, Medal of Honor with over two million hits on “Google” from every possible news service. The medal was awarded posthumously to his son in a White House Ceremony that could not be overlooked by the media. Yet, the media would not fail to remind us that now; Paul’s son had no father. Then there is Marine Lance Corporal Holly A. Charette. Corporal Charette was killed in a recent ambush against a convoy in which she was traveling. I know I don’t have to elaborate because “Google” is showing 18,000 hits and only three days ago it was showing 12,000. The bulk of these stories are not so much about the bravery or the activity of Corporal Charette. The Bulk of her mentions are a result of her being a female in a combat zone and being killed. Abu Gharib and the disaster there registers over 70,000 hits. A search for Guantanamo and torture registers over 600,000 hits. Baghdad Car Bombings register almost 700,000 hits. What are you hearing? With such a preponderance of bad news it is no surprise that people would react to any speech from the President with contempt. But then, the “Stars and Stripes” front page the other day showed a small picture of the President while he spoke at Fort Bragg and a three quarter-sized spread of a G.B.Trudeau “Doonesbury” anti-war cartoon with a caption extolling the virtue of Trudeau in giving away profits of his book of “War Comics” to the “Fisher House Foundation”. This is an honorable gift, but I can’t help but question the motivation, and the fact that Trudeau got a better front page spread than the President did with his National Speech. Here are some book titles you may want to check out: “Slander”, “Treason”, “Bias” and “Arrogance”. They’re on “Google” too. ------------ About the Author: Michael John McCrae has contributed over 300 articles to Useless-Knowledge.com. Email: macswordV@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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