Purple Heart Ceremony - Granite Grok

Purple Heart Ceremony

My husband and I attended the Purple Heart Ceremony last Sunday at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Boscawen. Click here for the Monitor’s coverage of the story. Click here for Doug’s post about the event and its meaning.

I am personally grateful and thankful to all our Armed Services and especially those who have given their blood for this country; my husband spilled his blood twice in Vietnam, and He’s very blessed to be alive…but that’s another story. Perhaps like me, you may at some point in your life wonder whether or not you would have the courage to face battle and possibly sacrifice your own life fighting for your country.

It takes a special person with deep conviction and purpose to fight today’s battles as it did in Vietnam and every war. Personally, I think our soldiers deserve, and not to mention earn, every American’s support regardless of their own personal feelings.

While the ceremony started out quite well, it unfortunately seemed to deteriorate and get muddied by, well, what else….politics and politicians. Couldn’t we just show the deep honor and respect due our military without adding in a bunch of self-serving crap? Apparently not!

Senator Sununu, I thought, did a fairly good job. Hey, at least he showed up. The Governor of this fine State didn’t show. But, I just heard on the radio that he was at a baseball game last night supporting the Manchester team. Ya gotta get your priorities in order.

Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter were both no shows. No big surprise, as I don’t think either one of them has the courage to face the Gold or Blue Star Mothers (see the Hodes video where he and his wife, Peggo, did once face the support the mission people don’t just babble on with your cheap talk about "I support the troops.") or the WWWII, Vietnam and Iraq war vets. They’re cut and run politicians worried about their own political careers…rightfully so if some smart people vote in the next election.

However, Ms. Porter did send her Chief of Staff to read a statement. We were lead to believe that she just couldn’t get a plane from DC Sunday to get there for a 2 pm ceremony. Perhaps you read that she was up late Saturday night conducting the nation’s important business. Most people I talked to didn’t believe her lame excuse…how many airlines and planes fly from DC to Manchester in the morning?…and felt that she just didn’t want to come especially since she’s getting ready for vacation and the BIG visit from Pelosi this week.

According to Porter’s Chief, she supposedly called him and he took notes on his way to the cemetery so he could read her heartfelt statement. Nobody I talked with bought that line either. She did go on about her father serving in WWII on the USS something-or-other and that he had been wounded but never got the Purple Heart. She said she regretted not pursuing it for him. I guess we were all supposed to say: "boo, hoo!"

Opps! Sorry, Ms. Shea-Pompous this was supposed to be about honoring our Iraq War purple heart recipients not about you and your history and what you regret. Geez! I didn’t listen carefully to the entire speech because it literally began to make me ill since it just sounded so insincere, especially if you know her voting record, etc.

I barely “tolerated” some of the event (especially the 3-bell ringing deal shamelessly self-promoted by Mrs. whatever her name was on behalf of her WWII husband. It really took away from the honor we should have been bestowing to the Iraq Purple Heart recipient and the quiet gentlemen who finally got his Vietnam PH.

Someone told me that with WWII veterans attending, any ceremony longer than 40 minutes loses their attention. I agree. Well, because someone decided to include way too much and way too many politicians and way too many things, when I glanced around, most of the people in attendance lost focus after the first hour and a half.

My husband wispered in my ear something like: "I just can’t take this any longer" and went elsewhere. He’s paid his dues and certainly can do anything he wants. I stayed out of respect to our military and especially knowing some of the Gold Star families personally, I sat through the entire ceremony even though the purpose of the event seemed to lose focus from an otherwise appropriate beginning.

The Perry Monument gal, who seemed very, very humble, was awarded a medal and while I’m sure she’s provided alot of monuments, etc., it just wasn’t the appropriate place or time in my book to give anyone a medal if they hadn’t spilled their blood for our country. This was supposed to be about Purple Heart recepients. Isn’t spilling ones blood deserving of it’s own ceremony?

I do agree with David Smith, the senior vice commander of the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart that:

“There can be nothing…higher than a soldier who gives his life or gives his blood.”

Jim (whom I know), a Gold Star Dad also said something profound that perhaps ya’ll (for you, Sue) can ponder:

“Whether people believe in the war or don’t believe in the war, you need to believe in our men.”

I believe! Do you believe?

So, America, start believing in our men and supporting them why don’t you? Just because you’re tired of hearing about only bad things about the war because the left-wing media dominates much of the news coverage, get behind the mission and our Armed Forces especially if you want to retain your safety and freedom here in America. There are a lot of very positive things going on in Iraq that you likely never hear about because you, like the left-wing loonies, don’t want to hear them.

God bless our troops and their mission. Thank you soldiers for spilling your blood even if it is sometimes for alot of idiots here in America.

PS: Personal note to Joe Kenney who is likely running for Governor: Get yourself a new PR person who has some class if you want to win. The one you have is way too self-promoting about what she’s done. You need a more professional person supporting you!

 

 

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