View Full Version : CBS News Alert - Bob Howard piece tonight
CBS News is doing something on Bob Howard tonight - I'll post a link in the Bob Howard thread once CBS post's it on their web-site. :lifter
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Source is here (http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/03/25/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4893191.shtml). FYI, there's embedded video of the president laying a wreath.
March 25, 2009 5:34 PM
President Obama announced late this morning that he would join Medal of Honor recipients at the Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns. His visit is in honor of National Medal of Honor Day.
“Today we pay our respect to those who distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty - the recipients of the Medal of Honor,” the president said in a statement released after his afternoon appearance at the famed cemetery.
“Medal of Honor recipients are the foremost example of greatness in service and sacrifice,” he added. “Their bravery and humble strength continues to reassure our nation of the strength of its character and ideals even in these difficult times.”
Col. Robert Howard, who is believed to be the most decorated American soldier in history, stood next to President Obama this afternoon and spoke to CBS News’ David Martin.
Howard told Martin about his experience in Vietnam, which won him a pretty spectacular phone call.
“I said who's calling? He said it's General Westmoreland. This is on a 314, that's a field telephone. So I get back to the bunker and I get on the telephone and it's General Westmoreland and he's the chief of the staff of the army in Washington,” Howard explained in the interview.
“He says I want to be the first to tell you you've been, you're going to receive the Medal of Honor. I said sir I think we're going to have a little problem receiving. You know we're under attack. He said I know you guys can handle it.”
It is...noteworthy...that the president made no mention of this event during last night's press conference when he was throwing Bush the Younger under the bus by arguing:
...unfortunately, over the last several years, all too often the VA has been under-resourced when it comes to dealing with things like post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, dealing with some of the backlogs in admission to VA hospitals.*
_____________________________
* Source is here (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/us/politics/24text-obama.html?pagewanted=all).
Was this on the CBS evening news, or later tonight?
Red Flag 1
03-25-2009, 17:29
Great clip Sigaba.
Thanks!
RF 1
From CBS here (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/25/eveningnews/main4893409.shtml).
Robert Howard was the toughest, bravest cat in the jungle, but he deserved a better war than Vietnam. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor three times for three separate operations behind enemy lines.
But, as CBS News correspondent David Martin reports, when President Nixon finally awarded him the nation’s highest honor, the ceremony was actually delayed by anti-war protests. He was a war hero at a time when Americans didn’t believe in either the war or its heroes. He was wounded 14 times and has no business being alive.
“Here I come face-to-face with a platoon of enemy soldiers and so I’m standing with my weapon like this, and they fire directly at me and I fell backwards like this, and I didn’t get killed,” Howard explained.
That was just the beginning of the fire fight for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. It ended when, out of ammunition, he called in a 2,000-pound bomb.
“I said 'I want you to put it right on our position',” Howard said. “It blew us and the enemy up. Next thing I know, we’re still alive.”
He’s still picking shrapnel out of his body.
“I got a piece that’s coming out of my side on this side this morning,” he said. “It bothers me.”
Howard says he doesn’t think he’ll ever get it all out.
America loves war heroes. There was Sgt. York in WWI, Audie Murphy in WWII. But in Vietnam, there were only scapegoats. Except there’s Robert Howard, who single-handedly captured 44 enemy soldiers and brought them back alive for questioning.
“I carried a damn enemy soldier for nine days because he was important and other people were trying to kill him,” Howard said.
He did five combat tours in Vietnam and is about to pay his fifth visit to the troops in Iraq.
“I teach them how to survive on the battlefield,” he said. “I teach them how to weigh courage and fear. You can balance that.”
He can walk through the streets of Manhattan without anyone knowing who he is or what he’s done. Until today, when President Obama found out who Robert Howard is. Together, they and the 37 other Medal of Honor winners from WWII, Korea and Vietnam laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Robert Howard is an unknown hero no longer.
He was Commander at Camp Mckall when I was in Phase I. Besides smoking us, I remember him telling a bunch of us wide eyed privates some of his stories. I regret being so naive at the time as not to truly appreciate his talks.
What I remember most is. Months after Phase I. He recognized a bunch of us Privates at a store down town and came up to us to say hello.
Thanks for posting the link, Sigaba. I posted the info under the 'Above and Beyond' forum so it'll be saved with the rest of the remarks on Bob Howard.
Now - the CBS News piece, which I know was meant to 'honor' those who were awarded the MOH, was severely tarnished IMO by the following remarks:
...he deserved a better war than Vietnam.
He was a war hero at a time when Americans didn't believe in either the war or its heroes.
But in Vietnam, there were only scapegoats.
He can walk through the streets of Manhattan without anyone knowing who he is or what he's done. Until today, when President Obama found out who Robert Howard is.
Robert Howard is an unknown hero no longer.
The on-going use of such stereotypical language to continue the Dan Rather era of the victimization of Vietnam vets among the MSM is [civil words fail me here in attempting to express my contempt for this continued tripe]. :mad:
And Bob Howard is now known solely because the COTUS (Community Organizer of The United States) has finally been forced to learn who he is? :mad:
Anyway, Bob's portions of the interview showed exactly the type person he always has been - self-effacing, dedicated, sincere, forthright, and truly patriotic.
A toast: To Bob Howard! May this nation continue to deserve the dedication and sacrifices of such men to upholding her ideals.
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Team Sergeant
03-25-2009, 20:43
He was Commander at Camp Mckall when I was in Phase I. Besides smoking us, I remember him telling a bunch of us wide eyed privates some of his stories. I regret being so naive at the time as not to truly appreciate his talks.
COL Howard was the Commander at Camp Mckall when I went through, smoked us too.
There's no words in the US dictionary that can discribe his mental toughness it needs to be witnessed.
He is not unknown or will ever be unknown to us. I've little doubt he was unknown to the president until today (and the rest of the democratic party).
TS
Richard--
Thank you for your comments.
Like you, I found the editorializing very distasteful and inappropriate.
Ha, great clip. Glad he finaly got the recognition. He was there when I went through also. On his intro speach in the JFK theatre, he said to the group of us sitting there, "I can jump in there and kill half of you before you know WTF is going on"....and I believed it.
Great man
He came to 1/10 and spoke to us. After hearing him speak, we were all ready to run thru a brick wall with him. And he still looked pretty "F" ing bad in his blues later that evening. Impressive and humble individual.