Heroes

Have you ever know of a true hero? To ME, a "hero" is one who has displayed great acts of bravery in the face of overwhelming danger to self. And with that, I have known some real heroes.

In my many writings (and rants), I get very reflective, wave the red, white & blue, and refer to my past military service in one way or another. Yes, I served in the U.S. Army, and I am a Combat Veteran. I was an Infantry Soldier, served in the rice paddies and jungles of Vietnam, and I served with honor.

But I want to be very clear. I was NO hero. Like I said, I have known heroes, and I am NOT one. I served in a combat unit, but that does not make me a "hero". Hundreds of thousands of other soldiers did too. In all honesty, I was an average soldier in many respects. I did what I was assigned to do. I did it to the best of my ability. And I advanced in rank in what I felt was at an appropriate rise as I would have expected under our conditions.

But "heroes" went beyond that. In the face of danger to "themselves", and that of the unit, they did things that would make most shutter. There were times when I would be almost frozen with fear, and it took the willingness of my "brothers" to watch over this "Friggin New Guy" (FNG), and help me gain the courage to move forward, when that was the last thing I wanted to do. (Frankly, much of my time those the early weeks, was spent trying to not let any of my buddies down while staying alive!)

Today though, I feel that our society has used that title of "hero" too loosely, and such people as movie stars, pop singers, and sports figures, have had that title thrust upon them. In fact, a very few of them have ever placed themselves in actual danger of great bodily harm or death for their fellow man. I worry that our kids will see false heroes, and fail to see and appreciate the real heroes out there.

But "hero worshiping" someone who has never placed themselves in harms way for his fellow man, just seems very wrong to me. I guess "worshiping" anyone is wrong, and a true hero would never want "worship". Most of them are very humble, even denying, of their contribution. We can learn a lot from them.

We find that in most cases, such heroes NEVER felt like a hero themselves, nor ever planned on being a hero. Most of them, for commitment to duty, or personal sudden emotions of the moment, stepped out to help their buddy, ignoring the obvious danger to themselves. Most of them, had they really thought it through, might not have done what they did. Or so they'd tell you. In most cases, I'd reject that. The need for such heroic action would not have changed, really, and the character of such a person would still have risen up. And that too, is the mark of a hero.

In today's world, heroes walk among us, unbeknown to most, and they aren't sports figures, actors, or even a President. They are otherwise average people, like our neighbors, or the man or woman working beside us. They don't boast, and they'd deny they didn't do anything "heroic", and that what ever they did ... "Anyone would have done the same thing."

I have known such people. And likely, there are others around me that I don't know. Maybe its the aging WWII Vet from down the street, helped to and from the car by a family member. Or maybe the young quiet grandpa a few doors down, who served bravely in Korea, or the young woman who recently came home from a tour in Afghanistan, and of whom may be a true "unsung" heroes. And yet, there are no TV Awards Special, no ESPN interviews, and no White House ceremonies in their honor. But there are those soldiers who only came home, because someone else went above and beyond to help make that possible.

To such everyday heroes .... while I might or might not know you, Thank You! I expect I am only here to say that, because some of those around me in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, did things that made it possible for me to come home.

Most humbly yours,
Dan

Benghazi, and one man's view

On Sept. 11, 2012, an outpost of our Libyan Embassy was attacked, along with a Central Intelligence Agency annex, four of our guys were killed.

After a year, and Obama's promise to hold those who did that responsible, NO arrests and NO counter actions have taken place. NONE! (Even though one of those terrorists involved has been identified and even interviewed by 2-3 news agencies.)

I won't go into all the things that precluded at the attacks, but will take a look at the attack time-line, and the lack of response to save any of our four guys.

Sept. 11th, 2012
9:40 pm, Benghazi, Libya time (3:40 pm Washington DC time) - The first sounds of gun fire and explosions occurred at the Benghazi compound perimeter.

10 pm (4 pm DC time) - [20 minutes - Tic Toc]
Those inside, to include U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, along with Sean Smith, had come under on-going direct fire from armed terrorists who had breeched the compound walls and gates.
An alert is sent to the CIA security team at an annex about a mile away, the State Department, and to the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, that the compound was under attack.

11 pm (5 pm DC time) - [1 hr 20 mins - Tic Toc]
A U.S. surveillance drone arrives over Benghazi. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey meet with President Barack Obama. According to testimony from Panetta, at a 5 o’clock prescheduled gathering, the president left operational details, including knowledge of what resources were available to help the Americans under siege, “up to us.”

12:07 am (6:07 pm DC time) - [2 hrs 27 mins - Tic Toc]
The State Department sends an e-mail to the White House, the Pentagon and the FBI indicating the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia claimed credit for the attack.

2 am (8 pm DC time) - [4 hrs 20 mins - Tic Toc]
Embassy Station Assistant Chief Hicks informs Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that they need to evacuate all Americans from Benghazi. At about the same time, an eyewitness captures on video Stevens being pulled from the smoke-filled building.

4 am (10 pm DC time) - [6 hrs 20 mins - Tic Toc]
The attackers launch a full-on assault against the CIA annex, dropping mortars on the roof. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods are killed in the attack. (An unknown number of U.S. personnel were also wounded, and those identities and details have been kept from the Oversight Committee on Benghazi.)

10 am (4 am DC time) - [12 hrs 20 mins] The four dead had been recovered, and along with all the survivors, departed on the last plane out of Benghazi.

So - from the time the gun fire started and the Embassy compound was stormed, to the last man killed on the rooftop at the CIA Annex building, over 6 hours of gun battles and mortar attacks took place .... and NOT A SINGLE Military Response Team was put into the air. NO Gunships, NO armed drones, NO Airpower, NO Special Ops, NOTHING was even put into motion.

Some in DC, stated that they didn't "think" such assets could get there on time. HOW COULD THEY KNOW how long the assaults would take? What IF Doherty and Woods were able to hold off the assault on the CIA Annex for several more hours? WHO was coming? WHO was already in the air, while assault plans were made and finalized? NO ONE!

For the life of me, I can not wrap my head around the fact that THIS Administration DID NOTHING to even get a Military Response team into motion, from very the start of the Embassy attack. And then, for the on-going attacks, spread over a mile away to the CIA Annex, for over 6 hours....and still NO Assets put into motion?

Even IF they would be too late to save anyone....to NOT have them in-route and even circling off the coast while mission plans were made, is UNBELIEVABLE to me.

But Obama went to bed at some point that night, and then went to Las Vegas for a "political fund raiser" that next day of Sept. 12th!

Imagine this - Your home is being broken into by several armed men ... you call 9-1-1 ... gun shots ring out while you're on the phone ... the Police Dispatcher radios the Police Officers of the call and gun shots ..... the Police Officers are told by their Patrol Supervisors to hold off heading toward the scene until they know more ... and the Dispatcher tells you, "Sorry sir, but until we know what we're up against, we're not sending anyone!" THAT is essentially what Obama and Staff did to those in Benghazi!

THAT, to me, should have been enough reason to Impeach Obama, and charge Leon Panetta with dereliction of duty! And if anyone reading this is not disgusted and pissed off ... they ain't paying attention and only see their beloved "Black President"!

By the way - Just MY view - But for ANY Military Commander to sit in silence while this goes unchallenged, is also committing a dereliction of duty to those under their command. Silence, is condoning!