Posted on 09/28/2013 8:46:21 AM PDT by KeyLargo
The Greatest Hero America Never Knew The true story of Waco's Col. Robert Howard.
By by David Feherty
The Department of Homeland Security is not doing its job. As proof, I, David Feherty, a 17-year resident of the Dallas area but an Irishman by birth, recently became an American citizen. There goes the neighborhood—but yay, me! The reason I felt compelled to become an American is my Troops First Foundation, a nonprofit organization that does its best to improve the quality of life and future prospects of some of our most severely wounded servicemen and women. I became involved after my first trip to Iraq, on Thanksgiving in 2007, and it was there I first heard the name of Col. Robert Howard.
The name was always spoken with reverence, but I had no idea who he was. Then an Army Ranger I’ll call Leroy (because that’s his name) told me he couldn’t go on my T1F Taliban Pheasant Hunt in South Dakota last year because he had a chance to meet Bob Howard, who was on his deathbed in Waco. Leroy’s decision really piqued my interest. Nobody turns down the Taliban Pheasant Hunt—and, perhaps more telling, nobody goes to Waco without a really good reason. It was then that I decided I had to find out who Howard was.
A-googling I went. And it turned out that Robert Lewis Howard was a Green Beret and a TCU grad. He had appeared in two John Wayne movies, making a parachute jump in The Longest Day and playing an airborne instructor in The Green Berets—not exactly a stretch for him. Howard was the only soldier in the history of the United States to be nominated three times for the Medal of Honor,
(Excerpt) Read more at gunssavelife.com ...
A damn good read. Great article. On a side note and as an avid golfer, the author’s name caught my attention. David Feherty is one of my favorite golf commentators on TV, especially with that thick Irish accent.
More men like this, fewer men like Obama.
Hand Salute!
I had the honor of spending part of a day with Mitchell Paige (USMC MOH Guadalcanal) when he was closing in on 90....like the pictures here, Mitch still had the eyes of a rattlesnake.
I met a man the other day at Mom’s assisted living facility. He is 92. A Marine combat pilot in WWII of course. Still pressed and dressed. Mind clear and wit quick. Still looking for projects. Still leading, coordinating and looking after people. He has outlived wives and children. He misses them but said you gotta keep going until you are called. You either keep busy living or you’re going to get busy dying.
Howard’s son doesn’t come across like his Dad but he is trying to carry on and the old man was just as proud of him as he could possibly be. I don’t envy the young man and wish him all the best. He has massive steps to follow.
Far more men (and women) like this, absolutely no men like Obama...Kerry...Reid....Pelosi....Gore.
bump
Special Forces operations complex becomes Howard Hall
Story
Posted: Thursday, July 11, 2013 6:00 pm
by Maj. Brandon Bissell, 5th Special Forces Group
Bob Howard grew up in Opelika, Ala., in a house on a hill accessed by a single road. At the bottom of the hill living in two houses on either side of the road were two Families, each with several boys that were both older and bigger than him.
Bob was a smart boy. He knew the odds were not in his favor if he challenged the boys to a fight. So every day on his way home from school he would devise a different plan to get past the gang of boys and up the hill to his home without getting into trouble.
On one particular day, Bob received a new pair of shoes. They were not brand new, but they were new to him. He desperately wanted to hold onto them for as long as he could. Realizing the challenge he faced getting past the boys, Bob decided to make a run for it as fast as he could straight up the hill. In better shape than the other boys, Bob made it to his home with his shoes still on his feet.
Reaching the front of his house, he was met by his grandmother, a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense woman, who asked him, “What are you running from? What in the world are you doing?”
He explained to his grandmother about the boys and why he was running. His grandmother looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Boy, don’t you ever run from anything again. Next time you walk up that hill and look those boys straight in the eyes.”
The next day Bob was walking home. As he arrived at the two houses at the bottom of the hill, he took a deep breath and remembered what his grandmother told him. Holding his head high, he walked between the two houses until he came face-to-face with the crowd of boys.
To this day no one knows exactly what happened between the bottom and the top of that hill, but according to Bob when he arrived at his house he was beaten a bit and his clothes were torn, but he had a smirk on his face and his shoes on his feet.
That is a perfect illustration of the way retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard lived his life and it was a fitting story shared with those in attendance at the dedication ceremony of the 5th Special Forces Group headquarters building named in his honor July 3 by his daughter Melissa Gentsch.
Howard served his country for more than 50 years, spending 36 years on active duty in the U.S. Army and the remainder working for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. During his career he participated in two movies, “The Longest Day” and “The Green Berets,” both featuring John Wayne. He died in 2009 from pancreatic cancer...
http://www.fortcampbellcourier.com/news/article_28e74b6a-ea66-11e2-bb6d-001a4bcf887a.html
A damn good read. Great article. On a side note and as an avid golfer, the author’s name caught my attention. David Feherty is one of my favorite golf commentators on TV, especially with that thick Irish accent.
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I fully agree! He also does a great job of interviewing current and former Pro golfers on his 1-hour program on the Golf channel. .....He lives in the North Dallas area and frequently talks about how proud he is to be an American citizen. ....Now, I’m off to read the article.
More stories need to be told to our youth about the courage and bravery of such strong "gardener" men--men who leave the gentle art of tending plants to tend and nurture the cause of liberty.
Are you sure Obama is a man? Male, possibly, but a man....?
What an inspiring story! The press’s (mis)treatment of this man and the others of his generation speaks volumes as to how far our nation has fallen. Just as our military was regaining some respect, the current administration is hurriedly destroying the very ethos that produces such men—and I do mean men.
It is definitely worth reading the extended version after the initial article. Thanks for posting.
American Greatness
June 25, 2013
Colonel Robert L. Howard – The Real Rambo
Colonel Robert L. Howard was born on July 11, 1939 in Opelika, Alabama. He entered military service on July 20, 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, following in the footsteps of his father and four uncles who had served with airborne units in World War II. He was medically retired on September 30, 1992. He lived his last few years in San Antonio, Texas, and died December 23, 2009...
http://www.americangreatness.org/soldiers-stories/colonel-robert-l-howard-the-real-rambo/
Feherty has been on the USO a couple of times, teaching golf strokes with our troops, even on aircraft carriers. If only every immigrant who come has his attitude of being American.
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