Text 17783, 118 rader
Skriven 2008-06-12 20:23:01 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
     Kommentar till en text av Roger Nelson
Ärende: Re: Have fun with this one
==================================
Roger,
 
RN> To most of the above history lesson, I say 'So what?'  Your attempt to
RN> belittle the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor, regardless of
RN> what you think or believe, only belittles you in the eyes of others.
 
Having gone through the freely available list of recipients of the
Congressional Medal of Honor, there is no doubt on my mind that several were
awarded as morale boosters.
 
The "massacre at Wounded Knee" as General Nelson Miles described it himself saw
a force of 500 US soldiers of the 7th Cavalry all armed with repeater rifles, 4
Hotchkiss guns and one Gatling gun pitched against an Indian encampment of 120
men plus 230 women and children with 10-15 elderly fire arms plus bows, arrows,
spears and clubs. A main portion of the Indians suffering from smallpox.
 
After the "engagement" 178 Indians were killed, 89 wounded. That is 267
casualties out of a total of 350 (a 76% casualty rate). Many of the non-wounded
fled and died of hypothermia on the Plains and are unaccounted for.
 
The US troops suffered 25 dead and 39 wounded. Nearly all US casualties were
the result of "friendly fire" (a 13% casualty rate). That's what happens when
you surround a group of people and everybody starts firing at point-blank range
into the crowd.
 
I'm not inventing these figures, Roger, it's historic fact.
 
20 Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded for a military engagement which
lasted between 10 minutes and an hour. that's a medal every 30 seconds to every
3 minutes. It's just disproportionate, at that rate the second world war should
have yielded between 643,680 and 3,862,080 Medal of Honor recipients .... With
16,451,639 servicemen and -women deployed that would mean an equivalent of 1
Medal of Honor recipient per 4 to 25 military personnel.
 
Roger, please get real about this particular issue.
 
Currently, Native Americans are urgently seeking the recall of what they refer
to as "Medals of Dishonor".
 
Also there is a discrepancy between these twenty medals handed out following
the events at Wounded Knee and the fact that only 3 were awarded among the
64,000 South Dakotans that fought for four years of the Second World War.
 
Definitely, Roger, there are worthy recipients as there are also a number of
morale boosters in difficult times when conflicts were going the wrong way.
 
In the case of Wounded Knee, 2 Medals of Honor were repealed during the course
of 118 years, the remaining 18 were left in place and are a disgrace for every
other valid recipient.
 
These 18 are:
 
* William G. Austin
  While the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish
  line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the
  enemy
* John E. Clancy
  Twice voluntarily rescued wounded comrades under fire of the enemy.
* Mosheim Feaster
  Extraordinary gallantry.
* Ernest A. Garlington
  Distinguished gallantry.
* John C. Gresham
  Voluntarily led a party into a ravine to dislodge Sioux Indians concealed
  therein. He was wounded during this action.
* Mathew H. Hamilton
  Bravery in action.
* Joshija B. Hartzog
  Went to the rescue of the commanding officer who had fallen severely
  wounded, picked him up, and carried him out of range of the hostile guns.
* Harry L. Hawthorne
  Distinguished conduct in battle with hostile Indians .
* Marvin C. Hillock
  Distinguished bravery.
* George Hobday
  Conspicuous and gallant conduct in battle
* George Loyd
  Bravery, especially after having been severely wounded through the lung.
* Albert W. McMillan
  While engaged with Indians concealed in a ravine, he assisted the men on
  the skirmish line, directed their fire, encouraged them by example, and
  used every effort to dislodge the enemy
* Thomas Sullivan
  Conspicuous bravery in action against Indians concealed in a ravine.
* Frederick E. Toy
  Bravery.
* Jacob Trautman
  Killed a hostile Indian at close quarters, and, although entitled to
  retirement from service, remained to the close of the campaign.
* James Ward
  Continued to fight after being severely wounded.
* Paul H. Weinert
  Taking the place of his commanding officer who had fallen severely
  wounded, he gallantly served his piece, after each fire advancing it to a
  better position
* Hermann Ziegner
  Conspicuous bravery
 
You have to accept that valid criticism must be possible and not hide behind
bombastic wording.
 
I've always been the firstone to go along with critics of the Belgian
attrocities in the Congo.
 
People in the Netherlands accept that their colonial rule was ruthless and
bloody. The Brits recognise their share in Colonialism, the French too, etc...
 
The prime-minister of Australia recently officially appologised to the
aboriginals for the wrongdoings against their ancestors and just the other day
the Canadian prime-ministers equally appologised to the Indian people in Canada
for the bad treatment they got from the whites.
 
So ... ??? Nothing from the US?
 
 \%/@rd

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