Posted on 01/22/2017 10:37:36 AM PST by redcatcherb412
Charlie Liteky, an Army chaplain in Vietnam who won the Medal of Honor for rescuing more than 20 wounded men but later gave it back in protest and became a peace activist, has died.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
http://signal439.tripod.com/redcatcher199lib/chaplain-liteky.html
BTW AP reporter and Fox, you do NOT WIN a MOH, you EARN it.
You beat me to it...It isn’t “won”....
RIP Redcatcher
ANGELO J. LITEKY.
Rank and organization: Chaplain (Capt.), U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Light) Place and date: Near Phuoc-Lac, Bien Hoa Province, Republic of Vietnam, 6 December 1967 Entered service at: Fort Hamilton, New York Born: 14 February 1931, Washington, D.C Citation; Chaplain Liteky distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving with Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He was participating in a search and destroy operation when Company A came under intense fire from a battalion size enemy force. Momentarily stunned from the immediate encounter that ensued, the men hugged the ground for cover.Observing 2 wounded men, Chaplain Liteky moved to within 15 meters of an enemy machine gun position to reach them, placing himself between the enemy and the wounded men. When there was a brief respite in the fighting, he managed to drag them to the relative safety of the landing zone. Inspired by his courageous actions, the company rallied and began placing a heavy volume of fire upon the enemy’s positions. In a magnificent display of courage and leadership, Chaplain Liteky began moving upright through the enemy fire, administering last rites to the dying and evacuating the wounded. Noticing another trapped and seriously wounded man, Chaplain Liteky crawled to his aid. Realizing that the wounded man was too heavy to carry, he rolled on his back, placed the man on his chest and through sheer determination and fortitude crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels to push himself along. Pausing for breath momentarily, he returned to the action and came upon a man entangled in the dense, thorny underbrush. Once more intense enemy fire was directed at him, but Chaplain Liteky stood his ground and calmly broke the vines and carried the man to the landing zone for evacuation. On several occasions when the landing zone was under small arms and rocket fire, Chaplain Liteky stood up in the face of hostile fire and personally directed the medivac helicopters into and out of the perimeter, constantly encouraging and inspiring the men. Upon the unit’s relief on the morning of 7 December 1967, it was discovered that despite painful wounds in the neck and foot, Chaplain Liteky had personally carried over 20 men to the landing zone for evacuation during the savage fighting. Through his indomitable inspiration and heroic actions, Chaplain Liteky saved the lives of a number of his comrades and enabled the company to repulse the enemy. Chaplain Liteky’s actions reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
I think that is what the phrase “courage of your convictions” means.
We are beginning to go away just as our WWII hero/fathers did...
He may have returned the medal but he still owns it.
Yep; it’s not a competition. I can respect a man who actually earned the award then returned it on principle then spent his life honoring that principle, as opposed to a phony who awarded himself a medal and then surrendered someone else’s in order to pimp himself for a political career.
You should have just STFU on this one...
I know exactly what you are referring to and I agree 100%...
Did you even read the citation???????
You haven’t a clue........
+1
You have an anus too, but that doesn't mean you have to display it in public.......
The only way I'm gonna be shut up here in FR is if I'm banned.And as for reading the citation....OK,I get it.Bravery.Exceptional bravery.Bravery that saved lives.Bravery which,I'm ashamed to admit,I *very* probably wouldn't have shown in the same situation.
But if he,particularly as a veteran of the Armed Forces,was among those chanting "Hey,hey...LBJ" then he contributed,as I said,to the bad guys winning.
People can say I'm wrong here,as I've told others that *they're* wrong.But the only ones who will ever shut me up are the moderators!
Let me guess...you shed tears of joy when you heard that the nation's only Community Organizer-In-Chief pardoned that sweet young thing,Chelsea Manning.
You REALLY do need to read more...He did NOT become a peace activist until 1983 (I don’t think they chanted “LBJ” in 1983)...
Instead of STFU, maybe you should just read before you spout off....
Also, I don’t mean you need to listen to me...who am I?
Your post wasn’t well thought out. We all do it, but this is a different level of story and post.
++++++++++You REALLY do need to read more...He did NOT become a peace activist until 1983 (I don’t think they chanted “LBJ” in 1983)...+++++++++++
So true, and his activism was spurred by Manuel Ortegas dictatorship and the fact the US continued to back him and arm him. Ortegas death squads had a bad habit of killing catholic priests and nuns which with Fr Litekys priesthood background would give any with a like mind impetus to protest to have the US stop the support. Kind of like obama sending arms and money to AQ and ISIS, not many here agreed with that, but aren’t considered anti-american for those thoughts. The chaplains 1967/1968 experiences are irreversible and stand on their own. I attended the Redcatcher reunion in 2013 at Benning and attendees had reached out to Fr Litkey to try to have him attend which unfortunately he didn’t. I would have been proud to see him and shake his hand again.
“You have an anus too, but that doesn’t mean you have to display it in public....... “
The first amendment isn’t about anuses. Why do homos always go to genital areas??
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