[Rebels1972] Don't mess with old Texans

Fri Sep 17 18:59:55 CDT 2010

> From Edinburg, Texas
>
>  God Bless America
>
>On June 15, 1919, Van T.  Barfoot was born in Edinburg, TX -- probably
>didn'tmake  much news back then.  Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944,
>near   Carano , Italy , Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the Army 
>in 1940,
>set  out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was
>coming  down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through  a minefield,
>took  out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners
>of war.
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>
>If that wasn't  enough for a day's work, he later took on and 
>destroyed  three
>German tanks sent to retake the machine gun  positions.
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>
>That  probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the 
>war, but  it
>did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a  colonel after also 
>serving in Korea and
>Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of  Honor.
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>
>What did  make news last week was a neighborhood association's quibble  with
>how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the  American flag outside 
>his suburban
>Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be  flown on a house-mounted
>bracket, but,  for decorum, items such as  Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were
>unsuitable.
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>
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>
>He had been  denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was 
>facing  court
>action if he didn't take it down. Since the  story made national TV, the
>neighborhood association has rethought its  position and agreed to 
>indulge this
>old hero who dwells among  them.
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>
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>
>"In the time I  have left I plan to continue to fly the American 
>flag  without
>interference," Barfoot told The Associated  Press.
>As  well he should.
>And if any of his  neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, 
>they might want  to
>read his Medal of Honor  citation.
>It  indicates he's not real good at backing  down.
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>
>Van T. Barfoot's Medal of  Honor citation:
>
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>
>This 1944 Medal of Honor  citation, listed with the National Medal of  Honor
>Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T.  Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 
>45th  Infantry:
>"For  conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life 
>above and  beyond
>the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano , Italy . With  his 
>platoon heavily
>engaged during an assault against forces well  entrenched on commanding
>ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot moved off alone  upon the enemy left flank. He crawled
>to the proximity of 1  machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it 
>with a hand
>grenade,  killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the  German
>defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his  tommygun
>killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy  machinegun crew
>then abandoned their position and gave themselves  up to Sgt. 
>Barfoot. Leaving
>the prisoners for his support squad to  pick up, he proceeded to mop 
>up positions
>in the immediate area,  capturing more prisoners and bringing his 
>total count to
>17. Later  that day, after he had reorganized his men and 
>consolidated the  newly
>captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored  counterattack 
>directly at
>his platoon positions. Securing a  bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed
>position directly in front  of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a 
>distance of 75
>yards his first  shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, 
>effectively disabling  it,
>while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the  crew 
>of the disabled
>tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them  with his tommygun. 
>He continued
>onward into enemy terrain and  destroyed a recently abandoned German
>fieldpiece with a demolition  charge placed in the breech. While 
>returning to his
>platoon  position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his 
>Herculean  efforts,
>assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a  position of safety.
>Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism,  demonstration of magnificent 
>valor, and
>aggressive determination in  the face of point blank fire are a perpetual
>inspiration to his  fellow soldiers."
>
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>
>If you got  this email and didn't pass it on - guess what - you 
>deserve to get  your butt kicked!
>I sent this to you, because I didn't want to get  MY butt  kicked.
>WE  LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!
>
>
>
>
>
>Here's another Medal of Honor winner who had a slightly less 
>wonderful reception:
><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hooper_(soldier)>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hooper_%28soldier%29 
>
>
>
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