When Things Go Right............

We'll be hearing about Aurora for a long time yet, along with the calls for and end to civilian body armor sales, no internet sales of ammunition, registration of buying ammo, and limits on possessed amounts subject to inspection by local authorities working for the Feds.

What we probably won't be seeing or hearing about at the national level is things like this.

No Guns, No Violence....

....or not.

JERUSALEM - A Palestinian man plowed an enormous construction vehicle into cars, buses and pedestrians on a busy street Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding at least 45 before he was shot dead by an off-duty soldier.

I honestly don't know whether to regard it as good or ill, but a massive portion of Americans seem to be unable to comprehend that murder is a matter of motivation, rather than means. I have at hand around my desk this moment, at least ten devices not intended to harm anyone that will do the job just fine, although inelegantly. I see very little, if anything, that would stop a determined attack against me without incurring a high risk of injury to me.

And for the alleged lady with a pistol who responded first: Good for you, and practice your anti-armor drills. Two in the torso and a third in the thinker, and you probably won't have that problem of a temporary stop.

"To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence." - Sydney Smith

Just saw The Wife off to home after a four day pass. I'm fortunate beyond what I deserve in the spouse I have. My, or more properly our, second deployment with a teenage boy, three dogs, and a century-plus old house to manage on her own for over a year, and not a complaint out of her. Plus she took time off work to fly half way across the country to spend few days with me, even though it's a major disruption to the juggling act she has to do with work and home.

So:

Thank You. My life would be so much less without you. I hope I'm able to be worthy of the personal sacrifices you've made for me.

I love you, and I'm a better person because of your love.

Memorial Day 2007

Honoring the memory of those who made the greatest sacrifice.

Heroes: PVT Stephen C. Sanford

I was reading Kim Du Toit's article on the MSM's lack of coverage on contemporary heroes. Well said, and unlikely to change in the near future. However, there are sources that do report our modern heroes, such as the Army Times and the Dept. of Defense website.

Marine Gen. Pace awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to Army Pvt. Stephen C. Sanford of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, for displaying extraordinary courage during the evacuation of casualties from a home in Mosul while under intense enemy fire, according to Army officials. Although shot in the leg during his squad’s initial assault attempt, he still accompanied his squad during its second assault. Once inside the house, Sanford provided a heavy volume of suppressive fire while the casualties were evacuated. He continued to engage the enemy while escorting wounded soldiers from the house, according to the award citation. Sanford returned to the house a second time to provide covering fire for the final withdrawal of casualties. When the last soldier leaving the house was shot in the neck, Sanford began performing CPR. Sanford was shot twice more in the back while trying to revive the other soldier. He returned fire and killed an insurgent while receiving two more potentially fatal gunshot wounds, the citation stated. He continued returning fire while helping his wounded comrade until he was incapacitated by his own loss of blood.

I've never heard of him. And that's a shame, because his actions are an example of a soldier at his finest. He was medically retired. To earn that discharge, your injuries are bad enough that you will have to work around the damage every day, the rest of your life. I hope there's a daily block of instruction during Basic Training on these events to instill the idea of what one Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman is capable of. These individuals are an inspiration to me; I wish they had more of an opportunity to do the same for the rest of the public.