Today, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day. Show gratitude, America. Without the many sacrifices of veterans over history, German would be the continental language of a Nazi-ruled Europe and al-Qaida would have a theme park ride at Magic Mountain called “Crash and Burn.”
Today is also Gen. George S. Patton’s birthday. Just born up the road in San Marino, Calif. to a hereditary family of soldiers, he finished fifth overall in the pentathlon as the only American competitor in that event during the 1912 Olympics. As the U.S. Army’s youngest “Master of the Sword” at it’s Mounted Service School, he modernized the Army’s cavalry saber techniques and was the inventor of what became known as the “Patton saber.”
With the advent of mechanized warfare in WWI, however, Patton switched from horse-flavored cavalry to the new car-smell cavalry of tanks and shortly thereafter established the first Army school of tank warfare while serving in France during the war. He also received a Purple Heart for attacking and destroying a German machine gun nest while on foot. “Old Blood and Guts” was one of only two survivors.
Mr. Obama, by comparison, won the intramural Nobel Peace Prize for the hors d’oeuvre table steeple chase in the Copenhagen 100 yard dine-and-dash during his failed bid to secure the Chicago Olympics.
While serving under “Black Jack” Pershing during the Mexican revolution in 1916, then-Lt. Patton killed Julio Cardenas, the commander of the personal bodyguard of Pancho Villa. Patton then drove his armored car back to Army headquarters with the carcass of Cardenas strapped to the grill like a hood ornament.
Who wouldn’t like to see Osama bin Laden bagged and tagged in similar fashion?
George Patton is, in my opinion, exemplary of the American warrior ethic we need now in this prissified and politically correct world; no politics, no B.S., no dithering on the ground. Imagine if President Obama had to discuss the requirements of blood and treasure to secure an Afghanistan victory with Gen. Patton instead of Gen. McChrystal. I’m sure it would have been an interesting “shout-out.”
And regardless of whatever sins Patton committed over his career, one thing is clear, he bled “red, white and blue” and woe unto any foe of our republic. And woe unto any coward who’s too gutless to live up to the oath he took to defend the country especially if he’s some winsome waffler from the Windy City parked safely behind a teleprompter micro-managing acceptable troop losses against the political calculus of his next election.
Somebody needs to be slapped.
By now, everyone has heard the name of terrorist-goat boy, Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan. Spare me the narrative that Muslims will be targeted in the backlash of the Fort Hood massacres. Folks, the death toll scoreboard still reads “13 dead non-Muslims to 0 dead Muslims” and I don’t see any non-Muslims with torches and pitchforks chanting impieties outside of any mosques lately.
Never forget, folks, that Maj. Hasan was a self-declared “Muslim first and an American second.” This is a direct betrayal of his oath as an American officer. While in uniform, he executed 13 innocent people as he screamed “Allahu akbar.” As we are in a current state of war this is not only murder, it’s also treason in its classic legal sense. Let’s also not forget his betrayal of his Hippocratic oath to “first, do no harm.”
Is it an inconvenient truth that while Obama was cautioning us “against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts,” his own CIA has already had the facts on Maj. Hasan over his pro-jihadist rhetoric and public lectures for many months now? It’s pretty clear that the president missed his 3 a.m. wake-up call as he has sleepily walked from the golf course past the graveyard during the worst terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001.
At least Cpt. Candypants will have another great ghoulish photo-op with the grieving families at Fort Hood much like he did last month at Dover AFB. As his Chief-of-Staff Rahmbo Emanuel likes to say, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”
Say “Cheese,” everybody!
Do the names Ayman Abdelrahman Taha, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan or James Michael Ahern ring a bell? Few people know that Army SSG Taha, Cpl. Khan or Maj. Ahern, as American Muslims, were all awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for exemplary conduct against armed belligerents and made the ultimate sacrifice during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Was it a betrayal of their faith to serve their country? It’s veterans and the families of veterans that live to tell their tales and help remind the rest of America who we are.
Steve Breen grieves with and for the families of Fort Hood, Texas. He can be reached at dulcamarax@yahoo.com.
