Sunday, April 14, 2013

Vietnam Veteran Receives Purple Heart 45 Years Later


All I can say is, “It’s about time….”

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ARMY VETERAN AWARDED PURPLE HEART 45 YEARS AFTER INJURY
Fox News
April 14, 2013

A North Carolina veteran has been awarded a Purple Heart 45 years after he was wounded in Vietnam.

The AshevilleCitizen-Times reported Friday that U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-North Carolina, presented Dockie Brendle his third Purple Heart during a special afternoon ceremony at the Charles George VA Medical Center.


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Posted by:
Charles M. Grist

Friday, April 12, 2013

Korean War Chaplain Awarded Posthumous Medal Of Honor


The story of Catholic Chaplain Emil Kapaun is unbelievably inspiring. Please read about this remarkable American soldier below.

What is equally unbelievable is how long it took for Captain Kapaun to be honored.

It is also reported that the Vatican is considering sainthood.

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ARMY CHAPLAIN GIVEN POSTHUMOUS MEDAL OF HONOR
Fox News
April 11, 2013

President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor Thursday to an Army chaplain from Kansas who risked his life dodging gunfire to provide medical and spiritual aid to wounded soldiers before dying in captivity more than 60 years ago during the Korean War.

"I can't imagine a better example for all of us, whether in uniform or not in uniform, a better example to follow," Obama said after presenting the nation's highest military award for valor to a nephew of Capt. Emil Kapaun during a ceremony in the White House East Room.


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Posted by:
Charles M. Grist

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Walking Down The Far Side Of The Hill – What It’s Like To Be Retired


I’ve got to tell you that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – especially when you’ve spent your entire life with a Type A personality. Being either a military man or a cop has occupied most of my time since I first left home for the Citadel at age 18. Since then, it’s been hard just to fit all the adventures into one lifetime.

Now I’m no longer running patrols or dodging bullets in the jungles of Vietnam. I’m not on a plane making a crash landing in Vung Tau. I’m not on a C130 getting ready for a parachute jump. The convoys along Route Irish in Baghdad are over. I’ll never again stand in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace in Babylon, Iraq. I’m not a street crimes officer on a robbery stakeout. I’m not a detective interviewing some suspect trying to get him to confess. I’m not a patrol officer doing a felony stop. I’m not chasing a burglar or car thief through alleys and apartment complexes. I’m not wrestling with a shoplifter. I’m not looking over the top of my Glock at a guy who just pulled a knife on me. These experiences are all in the past.

Life is very, very tame at 64.

The good part is that my wife Debbie and I get to spend most of our time together instead of apart. She doesn’t have to worry about me getting shot by some street thug or ambushed by terrorists. I don’t have to deal with scumbags, cope with the deaths of both good guys and bad guys, and it’s no longer necessary to put up with the political horse manure in the military and law enforcement communities.

We’ve traveled some, and we’ll travel more. But the last three years since my retirement have been mostly a time of adjustment. The big adventures may be over, but the small adventures will be of our own making. We went to Idaho and Montana last year. This year it may be Mount Rushmore or perhaps the Alamo and Tombstone. We’ll figure it out.

Regardless, my greatest blessing from God has been to live the last forty years of my life alongside my wonderful wife. Debbie and I are walking down the far side of the hill of life together, and we shall deal with whatever obstacles we may encounter - as we always have. After all, life is all about enjoying the good times in between the bad times.

The mission of life continues…..

Posted by:
Charles M. Grist