More from Uncle Sparky

This is a story sent to my uncle by one of his friends.

"As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him.* ** I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying,'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine.

He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back... I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?'

He had mentioned that he served with the First Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over.

As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me.

One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all aroundand as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name.......'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'

I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt Good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for America."

*Thanks to those who served...and those who supported them. These WWII vets are now dying at about 1,000 a day.

Remember, Freedom isn't Free, thousands have paid the price so you can enjoy what you have today.

Another True Story

The following is from another email from a friend of my Uncle Sparky.

This reminds me of what happened to myself some years ago. I was on the way to K.C. on the turn pike . Needed some gas and as I was about to pay for it there was a bit of a ruckus in the back of the shop. An old man had brought in a flat tire (it was the spare) and the guy in the shop had tore it up with out checking to see if it needed to be fixed. It didn't need any thing but some air. The old man was fuming, you could tell by his clothes he didn't have a lot of worldly goods. He didn't want to pay the charge, which was $5.00. Remember , this was almost twenty years ago that was a lot of money back then. Now it would be ten or fifteen.

The old guy was telling the young guy he didn't think the younger man under stood what was the right thing to do and on and on, really chewing him out about young people didn't care about what was right ect and ect. I intervened, payed the bill, helped the old man load the tire in my trunk telling him I would take him back to his car where he had the flat. It was ten miles back to the old man's car. I wish it had been fifty for he had a story to tell. He was a full blooded NAVAJO who had received the Medal of Honor for his time in ww2. As his story came out I drove slower and slower for he was so interesting, for you see he was a member of the CODE TALKERS. The code talkers had a unwritten language of extreme complexity. It has no alphabet or symbols, and is spoken
only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. He said they served from 1942 to 1945 and the Japanese never were able to break the code.

This year, for the first time, the Navajo Code Talkers are taking part in the New York Veteran's Day parade. You can read more about them here.

Finally!

There was a voice of reason in the Theatre of The Absurd, a.k.a. the UN, when Benjamin Netanyahu spoke yesterday. He asked the audience, "Have you no shame?" regarding their placid nonchalance in accepting denial of the Holocaust of six million Jews.

It's reassuring when someone finally speaks the obvious truth in a world that appears to have gone crazy but no one dares to admit it. G_d bless the Prime Minister of Israel. He gave the speech that an American leader should have given.

American Unilateral Moves Are Bad

At least that's what President Obama said yesterday at the UN as he apologized to the whole world for America's sins, real and perceived.

I'm certain the Polish and Czechoslovakian attendees agreed with him, since he had just unilaterally voided an agreement America had made with them regarding missile defense. No wonder Poland has since ordered their troops to stand down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Greatest Threat We Face

America's greatest threat is not just from a nuclear device, although a nuclear attack would certainly be horrible. Our greatest threat from rogue countries is from ballistic missiles. Such a missile could arrive at its US target within 33 minutes from either Iran or North Korea. It would not only carry a nuclear bomb big enough to wipe out a large city, but also electromagnetic devices that would destroy our entire electrical grid.

Think about it. Suppose Washington, DC and/or New York City destroyed by a bomb and the rest of the country paralysed by lack of electricity. How could we communicate? Carry on business? Take instructions on how to fight back? Get medical care? How long would it take just to get the power back on?

Heritage Foundation has a trailer about their documentary, 33 Minutes. Watch it for more information. Then demand the best possible missile defense system. We need that a whole lot more than we need socialized medicine or yet another "stimulus."

Offensive Coloring Book Removed

According to John Hinderaker in his column,"Airbrushing History," FEMA has removed a coloring book designed to help children cope with massive tragedy. The problem book used examples, including simple pictures, from the 9-11 attacks. His conclusion: “The pace of revisionism is accelerating as Obama's executive branch reviews everything produced by "the previous administration." Eventually the only public legacy of the September 11 attacks will be photos of American soldiers brutalizing detainees.”

Alinsky Seems to Be Ruling (Updated)

After all, his most effective disciple is now president of the United States. Today’s selective outrage over “torturing” the sworn enemies of our country appears to be a well crafted application of “Pick the target, freeze it personalize it, and polarize it.” The campaign has been so effective that even an experienced FOX journalist spewed foul language on air in denouncing the practice.

All of the commotion, of course deflects attention from the message of recent tea parties or continuing questions about smiling photo ops with Hugo Chavez. But the real problem is that continued scapegoating not only harms the chosen victims, but society as a whole. It makes reasoned discussion impossible and encourages mob rule.

The manufactured crisis has become a morality play that ignores several key issues:
1. Each of the enhanced interrogation techniques, including water boarding, was first “tried out” on American soldiers and determined to be safe.
2. Despite Nancy Pelosi’s statement to the contrary, members of Congress were apprised of the proposals and they approved them.
3. George Bush’s greatest accomplishment was to keep the country safe after 9-11; the only way to denigrate that triumph is to disparage the techniques he used. Otherwise, Obama would have either not released the secret memos or he would have also released the memos showing the good information gained thereby.
4. Threatening to prosecute the lawyers who advised the CIA makes giving a legal opinion a possible crime. And it defines the crime in retrospect. Up until now, it has been unconscionable to make a law regarding crime, then punish people who committed the act before it was considered criminal.

See also Wednesday's entry, Obama Finds New Way to Bash Bush.

Also notice that many of those who are outraged about the enhanced interrogation techniques, including Obama, see nothing wrong with tearing arms and legs off of innocent babies during the process of killing them in the womb.

Obama Finds A New Way to Bash Bush

I want to join the chorus condemning the release of secret CIA methods of interrogation. And the shift in policy of allowing the prosecution of the people who formulated them appalls me even more.

In the cold light of day, the methods were merely a step or two beyond fraternity initiation rites. How dangerous can it be to threaten to release a caterpillar or non-stinging insect into the room? In contrast to enemies who behead their prisoners in front of video cameras, the CIA methods were masterful for psychological impact on prisoners without harming their bodies.

Apparently Holder, Obama and other Democrats have forgotten that back in 2002 they wondered if CIA and Bush were tough enough on Al Quaeda suspects and detainees. Now, they now only reveal state secrets to the enemy, they undermine all CIA activities in the future. First, because the psychological impact depends on prisoners not knowing for sure what was about to happen, and secondly because no CIA operative will ever feel secure if approval of activities and techniques from Congress, the President, and the Department of Justice is not enough.

It’s beginning to look like Obama thought his oath of office was to hound and discredit his predecessor at home and abroad instead of protecting the country from enemies at home and abroad.

Obama Thanks Wounded Vets

He is planning to ask them to pay for their war related wounds with private insurance, according to Hot Air. What a way to show appreciation for those who risk their lives to protect us!

Sippican Cottage: My Father Asks For Nothing

The entry at Sippican Cottage tells a charming story about a WWII vet revisiting a
B-24 like the one he flew over the Pacific. I hope everyone reads it, then personally thanks every veteran they know for keeping us safe. Sippican Cottage: My Father Asks For Nothing

The story reminds me of my Uncle Sparky and Aunt Della who both served in WWII. My uncle recently told me that in the last 60 years only four people had bothered to ever thank either of them. My brother was in the Special Forces during Vietnam and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who has ever said thanks. I've posted a few pictures of my Uncle and a few stories about his experiences at my family website, if you would like more WWII stories.