Free Republic

Retired Air Force Colonel Bud Day, a celebrated war hero and veteran's activist, died Saturday. He was 88. Day, a Medal of Honor recipient, was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He also received the Purple Heart. William Everett, regional commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said Day was very giving of his free time, attending military ceremonies until his health no longer allowed him to. One of his last appearances was at his own birthday celebration Feb. 24. "Very, very sad," Everett said, of hearing about Day's death Saturday morning. "It's...

Skillfully crafted from tin cans, matchsticks and off cuts, one can only imagine the satisfaction a prisoner of war derived from finishing this stunning model aircraft as he languished in Stalag Luft III. Constructed almost perfectly to scale, his detailed version of a Lancaster Bomber like the one he flew before his capture even bears what appears to be the skull and crossbones logo of RAF 100 Squadron, famous for its night-time raids.Little is known about its maker, other than that he was an airman named E Taylor.     The model was found during a clearance sale at house...

His name was Gregory Boyington. Some called him "Pappy." He served as a combat pilot in World War II with the 1st Squadron, American Volunteer Group. This squadron was known as the Flying Tigers of China. Boyington later served as a combat pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps. He commanded Marine Fighting Squadron 214. Perhaps you've heard of this squadron. It was called the Black Sheep Squadron and was later featured in a TV series called "Baa Baa, Black Sheep." Boyington shot down 26 Japanese aircraft while serving in the Pacific. He was later shot down and spent 20 months...

Servicemembers and veterans were among those who got a sneak peek of the film that promotional materials say tells the story of the "most spectacular rescue missions ever to take place in American history: 'the great raid on Cabanatuan.'" The raid was conducted to rescue the more than 500 U.S. prisoners of war who had survived the Bataan Death March through the jungles of the Philippines. Lt. Col. Henry A. Mucci, working from 6th Army Headquarters in Luzon in the Philippines, was charged with figuring out how to free the POWs before the Japanese army's "Kill All" policy was enforced....

ALTAMONT, New York (AP) -- A soldier held in Japanese prison camps in World War II secretly painted stars and stripes on pilfered paper hidden from his captors, then held the flag up high to greet American planes flying overhead when his camp was liberated. After returning home, Cpl. Millard Orsini consigned the object of his secret work to a closet. He rarely mentioned the war or the moldering flag, and died in 1978 from a heart attack. "He was really a hometown hero who got lost in the cracks," said Tony Ferraioli, who led the effort to restore the...

Sixty years ago today, the Nazis surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in Europe. Ecstatic celebrations erupted from Times Square in New York to Trafalgar Square in London. But no one was happier to know that V-E Day - Victory in Europe - had finally arrived than the 95,000 American troops who had been taken prisoner by Germans and liberated in the days and weeks leading up to May 8, 1945. Among them are the men who make up the Brooklyn Key Chapter of the American Ex-Prisoners of War. Many are now grandfathers and even great-grandfathers who volunteer at...

A website for the documentary "Stolen Honor" “Stolen Honor” investigates how John Kerry’s actions during the Vietnam era impacted the treatment of American soldiers and POWs. Using John Kerry’s own words, the documentary juxtaposes John Kerry’s actions with the words of veterans who were still in Vietnam when John Kerry was leading the anti-war movement. Currently in the final stages of production, Stolen Honor will be available for broadcast and on DVD and VHS video. In addition, you will be able to view excerpts from the program on this web site. “In other wars, captured Americans subjected to the hell...

E-mail Author Author Archive Send to a Friend <% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Print Version April 20, 2004, 9:03 a.m. Explaining EisentragerThe Second Amendment is for individual gun owners. By Dave Kopel As the Supreme Court considers whether the U.S. Constitution protects the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay — it hears oral arguments today in the case — the central issue is the meaning of a case involving illegal combatants from World War II: Johnson v. Eisentrager. No one knows if Eisentrager will be interpreted broadly enough for the government to win the Guantanamo case. But the more the Supreme...

I am a British Citizen who entered Iraq on the 13th of June 2003 to search for my missing half Iraqi daughter (aged 2) and to give out soft toys to Iraqi children. I travelled to Iraq with the full knowledge of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad, the US and UK Embassied in Ankara, the Turkish Prime Minister and also certain units of the US Army. Despite this, I was forcibly captured by the US as I walked down a street in Sulaimaniyah (North Iraq). I was captured on the 4th of July along with soldiers of the...

French photographer wins World Press Photo 13 February 2004 AMSTERDAM — French photographer Jean-Marc Bouju was named on Friday as the winner of the World Press Photo competition. The international jury of the 47th annual World Press Photo, which is run from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, chose a colour image from Bouju that shows an Iraqi man comforting his 4-year-old-son at a Prisoner of War centre near Najaf, Iraq.The picture was taken on 31 March 2003 and can be viewed at http://www.worldpressphoto.nl/index.jsp. Some 4,176 professional photographers from 124 countries participated in this year’s contest, the premier annual international competition...

John Kerry, Another Traitor... I keep hearing Vietnam Veteran everytime this joker makes a speech. Below adds some perspective. As Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, considers a bid for the White House, Americans should know a few things about him that he might prefer go unmentioned - and I don't mean his $75 haircuts. When Mr. Kerry pontificated at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day, a group of veterans turned their backs on him and walked away. They remembered Mr. Kerry as the anti-war activist who testified before Congress during the war, accusing veterans of being war criminals. The...

Friday, January 16, 2004 Iraq's deposed leader Saddam Hussain will be tried in an Iraqi court by Iraqi judges, senior member of the Iraqi Governing Council Mohammed Bahr Al Oloum said. He criticised the US decision to designate the former Iraqi leader, captured by American forces in December, as a prisoner of war. He said the council has protested the decision. "He is not a prisoner of war. He is a war criminal," he told Gulf News on the sidelines of a lecture he gave in Bahrain Wednesday night. "The man was not captured during the war; he was caught...

US officials say the ousted Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, is being treated as an "enemy prisoner of war". A Pentagon spokesman said he was given the status as he was the leader of the "old regime's military forces". The spokesman, Major Michael Shavers, said Saddam, captured by US troops in December, was entitled to all the rights under the Geneva Conventions. But the spokesman did not give further details about Saddam Hussein's conditions of detention. Earlier on Friday, a senior British official said Saddam - who is being held at an undisclosed location and interrogated by the CIA -...

'Invisible Soldier' - Disappearance Shocks Far- Flung Arizona Reservation Community By Lynn Ducey Associated Press Writer Published: Mar 28, 2003 TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) - In this wind-swept town on the sprawling Navajo reservation, an American flag flutters near a trailer home and a swing set moves in the breeze. A stream of solemn visitors silently pass by yellow balloons and signs offering support. "The spirits are there and the angels have gone to keep her safe. Don't worry. We love you," reads one poster taped to a chain link fence. Inside the home are the parents of Pfc. Lori...

Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. - Romans 13:7 (NASB) GALLATIN, Tenn. (BP)--March 25, 2003, Chief Petty Officer Jordan Joseph Garrett, United States Navy (Retired), received honors long overdue for actions that "reflected great credit" upon himself, the United States Navy and the United States of America. When the USS Houston was attacked by Japanese ships on March 1, 1942, Garrett refused to leave the vessel until the third "abandon ship" alert was issued. With two broken feet, shrapnel in his...

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has signed into law a bill promising refugee status to any Iraqi who delivers to the United States a living American prisoner of war from the Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) or any future conflict with the Iraqi government.     The measure, easily approved by Congress earlier this month, expands a law enacted in 2000 that gives asylum to citizens of Southeast Asian nations, China, Russia or North Korea (news - web sites) who bring back Americans held prisoner from the Korean or Vietnam wars. The White...

Remarks by President George W. Bush at the White House ceremony for the presentation of the Medal of Honor to the late Capt. Humbert R. Versace USA July 8, 2002 THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. It's a - this is a special occasion. I am honored to be a part of the gathering as we pay tribute to a true American patriot, and a hero, Captain Humbert "Rocky" Versace. Nearly four decades ago, his courage and defiance while being held captive in Vietnam cost him his life. Today it is my great privilege to recognize...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush presented a posthumous Medal of Honor Monday to Army Capt. Rocky Versace, a Green Beret who defied his Viet Cong captors and was executed in 1965. "He was fluent in English, French and Vietnamese and would tell his guards to go to hell in all three," Bush told a group of about 200 in the East Room of the White House. The audience included Versace's friends and family members, including three brothers. The president gave the framed medal to the captain's brother Steve, who was applauded as he held it over his head and turned...