Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman

An e-mail about Ed "Too Tall" Freeman has been circulating for years. Literally. While I agree with the intent of the forward, which is to highlight Americans' general disregard for true heroism in favor of shallow pop culture, the e-mail use has not been completely accurate.

I ran across the factual details and think it will make an appropriate "forward" this Memorial Day (5/31/10). The accurate portion of the circulating e-mail goes like this:

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'Ed Freeman... A True Hero'

You're an 18 or 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965. LZ Xray , Vietnam . Your infantry unit is out numbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses.

And, he kept coming back...... 13 more times..... and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
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For his bravery under fire, Ed Freeman received the Medal Honor in a ceremony on July 16, 2001:

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, and welcome to the White House...

By all rights, another president from Texas should have had the honor of conferring this medal. It was in the second year of Lynden Johnson's presidency that Army Captain Ed Freeman did something that the men of the 7th Calvary have never forgotten. Years passed, even decades, but the memory of what happened on November 14, 1965 has always stayed with them.

For his actions that day, Captain Freeman was awarded the distinguished Flying Cross, but the men who were there, including the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Crandall, felt a still higher honor was called for. Through the unremitting efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Crandall and many others and the persuasive weight from Senator John McCain, the story now comes to its rightful conclusion.

That story began with a battalion surrounded by the enemy in one of Vietnam's fiercest battles. The survivors remember the desperate fear of almost certain death. They remember gunfire that one witness described as the most intense he had ever seen, and they remember the sight of an unarmed helicopter coming to their aid. The man with the controls flew through the gunfire not once, not 10 times, but at least 21 times. That single helicopter brought the water, ammunition and supplies that saved many lives on the ground, and the same pilot flew more than 70 wounded soldiers to safety...

As a boy of 13, Ed Freeman saw thousands of men on maneuvers pass by his home in Mississippi. He decided then and there that he would be a soldier. A lifetime later the Congress has now decided that he's even more than a soldier because he did more than his duty. He served his country and his comrades to the fullest, rising above and beyond anything the Army or the nation could have ever asked...

Commander Seevers, I'll now ask you to read this citation of the newest member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and it'll be my honor to give him his first salute.

COMMANDER GEORGE SEEVERS: ...The president of the United States of America, authorized by act of Congress, March 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of the Congress the medal of honor to Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November, 1965, while serving with Company A, 229th, Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Cavalry Division Air Mobil (ph). As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at landing zone X-ray in the Idrang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition, after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone, due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire, time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water and medical supplies to the Paceeds (ph) battalion.

His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival without which they would almost surely have experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area, due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life- saving evacuation of an estimates 30 seriously wounded soldiers, some of whom would not have survived, had he not acted.All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements.

Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army. (CNN Transcripts)

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Captain Ed "Too Tall" Freeman, American hero and Medal of Honor recipient, passed away in August 2008.

May God bless all of our Armed Forces personnel this Memorial Day.

Credit Crisis Warning

A quick update on new warnings sent by the Weiss Research team...

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Heads up people. Something very big is happening in the global credit markets — something you darn well better pay attention to.
The very same “Credit Crisis” indicators that were flashing red before the stock market meltdown of 2007-2008 — the ones Martin and I used to get our subscribers out of almost all stocks, and “short” the market via inverse ETFs — are flashing red again.
Pay attention and you might save your portfolio. Ignore them and you could get slaughtered. (Mike Larson, "Credit Crisis Indicators Going Bonkers Again! Batten Down the Hatches!" 05-28-10)

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Additionally, the Fitch's credit rating for Spain was downgraded this weekend, so the European sovereign debt issue continues to spread. Meanwhile, American political and government financial leadership continue to tell us that the economic recovery is still doing well. Who do you want to put your money on?

Weiss Ratings

I want to keep in front of everyone the market info coming from the Weiss Research team. Among the latest is their re-acquisition of their proprietary rating service. With that, Dr. Weiss comes out with guns blazing...

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Later this morning, Weiss Ratings is issuing a landmark press release, warning that 20 giant U.S. banks are still vulnerable to serious financial difficulties — and even failure. (I’ll name them in a moment.) ("Weiss Ratings: 20 Giant Banks Still Vulnerable," 05-24-10)

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Prior to that, Martin Weiss issued this interesting challenge to the other high profile rating services...

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Dear S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch,
You are the world’s three dominant rating agencies, largely controlling the ratings of bonds and debts issued by thousands of corporations, municipalities, and sovereign governments. I am the chairman of Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency. And today, I challenge you to promptly take the bold action that you have so far avoided — to downgrade the long-term credit rating of the U.S. government in order to help protect investors and prod Washington to fix its finances. ("Weiss Ratings’ challenge to S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch: Downgrade the Long-Term Debt of the United States Before It’s Too Late," 05-10-10)

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Plenty more to be found at Money & Markets.

Socialism Fails

Advocates of socialism have for years pointed to European nations as proof to their arguments that centralized economies work. Several Euro-zone nations have implemented varying degrees of government subsidies and social services without introducing the cruelties of communism or some other form of totalitarianism. Consequently, some of our own citizens have wondered why America cannot climb onto the European socialist bandwagon. Indeed, several guests on talk shows over the past few months have treated those who warn of socialism’s dangers as if they are merely conjuring up a false “bogeyman.” According to them, there is nothing to fear from socialism.

Those honestly seeking truth have understood all along the dangers of socialist economies. Whether implemented with or without totalitarianism, socialism always fails. It cannot support its own weight. As a saying goes, “socialism works great until it runs out of other people’s money.” Look at those same European nations that have been held up as socialism’s models. They are in chaos. Their economies are collapsing. In fact, they would have collapsed already if not propped up by external infusions of capital. How did they achieve these dire straits? After running out of their own money to support their redistribution of wealth scams from the productive to the unproductive, they commenced massive borrowing. For awhile, accumulating sovereign debt works; therefore, socialism continues to appear to work. Citizens and politicians remain duped and willfully ignorant of the truth. Eventually, though, the bills come due, and creditors stop accepting more debt as payment of debt. In other words, they can no longer pay their credit card bills with credit cards. So entire nations wake up to the reality that they are bankrupt. What happens to government social services then? Ask the citizens of Greece; they are experiencing it firsthand.

What does this have to do with Americans? We are on the verge of finding out, friends. If it were just that we will be losing the European portion of global economic recovery, that would be bad enough. Unfortunately, it’s worse. Compare America’s spending, debt, and deficits to those of failing European nations, and we sadly discover that our numbers are no better. In fact, they are worse than some of those nations already facing austerity measures. In all likelihood, we are seeing the proverbial chickens come home to roost as a result of our lifetime of unnecessarily reckless runaway spending. It will not be a pretty picture. But that’s socialism for you.

Remarkable Event

A remarkable event took place on May 6th. Across this nation, citizens gathered to pray for America. At the service I attended, we prayed for God’s blessings upon America’s leaders, business men and women, educators, military personnel, and many more. What are God’s blessings? They are described throughout the Bible, such as Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Sadly, some organizations think there should be laws against such things. The freedom from religion foundation (ffrf) has gone to court to declare the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. Not only do they not want God’s blessings for themselves, they do not want God’s blessings for anyone else. Every representative to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 expressed the belief that the citizens of America could not create and sustain the kind of government necessary to secure liberty unless they practiced “Christian forbearance” toward each other. During its contentious beginning, Benjamin Franklin moved that each Assembly be opened with “prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations… and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.” After such prayers were instituted, Dr. Franklin declared, “May we… continue, under the influence of republican virtue, to partake of all the blessings of cultivated and Christian society.” The actions of organizations like the ffrf are completely foreign to our Founders who wrote our Constitution and its first ten amendments. History has taught us well that, whether benevolent or malicious, any government that attempts to replace the blessings of God with the virtues of man is necessarily and inevitably totalitarian.

National Day of Prayer

As unbelievable as it may be, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. According to the Associated Press article filed on April 16th, "U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote that the government can no more enact laws supporting a day of prayer than it can encourage citizens to fast during Ramadan, attend a synagogue or practice magic. 'In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual's decision whether and when to pray,' Crabb wrote." (Todd Richmond, "Federal judge rules Day of Prayer unconstitutional," A.P., 4/16/2010)

National Day of Prayer services will be held on May 6, 2010. If you have never attended one of these services before, I submit that it is more vital than ever that you attend. I have attended the service at the Miami County, Indiana, courthouse for several years and have never witnessed a very large turnout. I realize that there are legitimate conflicts that prevent attendance. I even attended the service held in Howard County for several years before realizing that one was held at the Miami County courthouse. At the same time, I am also aware that many more Christian brothers and sisters could support and attend this service than otherwise do. Regardless of where and when you attend, I believe that the challenge has been issued to Christians in America to stand up against the foes of our dear Savior and to clearly demonstrate that we do not intend to stand idly by and watch the rich, vital Christian heritage of our nation be dismantled through deception.

While I will strive to take no action that violates the instructions of Christ, I do not intend to give in quietly to the outright lies of these organizations seeking to remove the witness of the Christian faith from the public forum in America. I personally believe that being present at this year’s National Day of Prayer services is one way to demonstrate that we have no intention to accept such a frivolous and damaging ruling. Let as many of your Christian brothers and sisters as you can know of this challenge so that we may call upon the name of the Lord to continue to bless us with His presence.

I Am Conservative

A forwarded e-mail:

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.

If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.

If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.

A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.

Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.

A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.

A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.

A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

Well I forwarded it to you so where does that put me?