Read this.

***

Did you read it yet? This story is so flabbergasting, I’m going to walk you through it here to ensure you don’t miss it. There’s no clearer illustration of just how unreality-based and ignorant the Left is in this country.

Here is the Navy Cross citation for Danny P. Dietz, Gunner’s Mate Second Class, United States Navy:

For extraordinary heroism in actions against the enemy while serving in a four-man Special Reconnaissance element with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE, Naval Special Warfare Task unit, Afghanistan from 27 to 28 June 2005. Petty Officer Dietz demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan. Operating in the middle of an enemy-controlled area, in extremely rugged terrain, his Special Reconnaissance element was tasked with locating a high-level Anti-Coalition Militia leader, in support of a follow-on direct action mission to disrupt enemy activity. On 28 June 2005, the element was spotted by Anti-Coalition Militia sympathizers, who immediately revealed their position to the militia fighters.

As a result, the element directly encountered the enemy. Demonstrating exceptional resolve and fully understanding the gravity of the situation and his responsibility to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz fought valiantly against the numerically superior and positionally advantaged enemy force. Remaining behind in a hailstorm of enemy fire, Petty Officer Dietz was wounded by enemy fire. Despite his injuries, he bravely fought on, valiantly defending his teammates and himself in a harrowing gunfight, until he was mortally wounded.

By his undaunted courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and absolute devotion to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz will long be remembered for the role he played in the Global War on Terrorism. Petty Officer Dietz’ courageous and selfless heroism, exceptional professional skill, and utmost devotion to duty reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for the cause of freedom.

Here is more about Dietz’s bravery:

The rescue helicopter had crashed. The Navy SEALS were wounded by Taliban gunmen, vastly overpowered and outmanned in the remote region of Afghanistan.

Danny P. Dietz kept fighting.

More than a year after the 25-year-old Navy SEAL from Littleton was killed, he has been awarded the nation’s second-highest military honor, the Navy Cross.

The award – one of only 20 given for valor since fighting began in Afghanistan and Iraq, and second only to the Medal of Honor – will be presented to Dietz’s widow and parents during a ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 13. The medal will also be presented posthumously to the family of Dietz’s teammate, Matthew Axelson, of Cupertino, Calif.

The pair were part of an elite team of four SEALs on a reconnaissance mission “tasked with finding a key Taliban leader in mountainous terrain near Asadabad, Afghanistan,” according to a Navy news release.

On June 28, 2005, “They were spotted by anti-coalition sympathizers, who immediately reported their position to Taliban fighters. A fierce gunbattle ensued between the four SEALs and a much larger enemy force with superior tactical position,” the Navy release said.

The SEALs radioed for help, and a responding Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing eight more SEALs and eight Army NightStalkers. It was the worst single combat loss for the SEALs since the Vietnam War.

According to the Navy, “Despite this terrible loss, the SEALS on the ground continued to fight. Although mortally wounded, Axelson and Dietz held their position and fought for the safety of their teammates despite a hail of gunfire. Their actions cost them their lives, but gave one of the other SEALs an opportunity to escape.”

Here is the beautiful statue memorializing Dietz that the anti-gunners in Littleton, Colorado are protesting:

Source: Denver Post

The fog of moral equivalence overtakes Littleton:

With its green lawn, jungle gym and picnic gazebo, Berry Park is an unlikely battlefield, but the local flap over the statue of a fallen war hero set to be placed here brewed into a national conflict Thursday.

The Internet, talk radio and cable news spread the word of some parents’ concerns about the planned bronze sculpture of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz holding his automatic rifle.

“There’s no middle ground here, and that’s unfortunate,” said Emily Cassidy, one of a handful of Littleton parents who say the statue with the gun should not be near three schools and two playgrounds at the southeast corner of South Lowell Boulevard and West Berry Avenue.

“We’re continuing to try to spread our message,” Cassidy said. “The message is not against Danny Dietz, his family or the war. It’s location, location and the audience that will view it.”

…”A statue of a soldier holding a child would send a better message,” said Calvin Freehling, a Vietnam veteran from Indianola, Neb., who e-mailed The Denver Post. “An automatic weapon doesn’t signify protection. It signifies violence. I’m 64 years old now, and I’m tired of violence.”

Ann Levy of Denver, who calls herself a “peacenik,” would like to see Dietz’s sacrifice honored in a different way.

“They should be putting up a peace dove instead,” she said. “The question is do we stand for peace or do we stand for war?”

Dietz fought valiantly for his men and for his country. The statue in his honor is a respectful, reality-based portrayal of the grit, strength, and determination it takes to defend our nation. And the moobats want to substitute a freakin’ peace dove?

I can’t say it better than Dietz’s widow:

Reached at home Thursday in Virginia Beach, Va., Patsy Dietz, Dietz’s widow, said she sympathizes with the message that guns and schools shouldn’t mix, especially in the community where the Columbine shootings took place.

But to use her husband to forge such a political statement about guns is irresponsible, she said.

“It’s a parent’s job, including these parents who are protesting, to teach their children the difference between two thugs who murder their classmates and a soldier who died fighting for their freedom,” she said. “Danny represents every soldier and sailor who has fallen, and for them to take this stand, well, that’s offensive to me.”

Comparing the guns at Columbine with the weapon in her husband’s hands is like comparing a criminal’s knife with a surgeon’s scalpel, she said:

“One is used to take lives,” she said. “And the other is used to save them.”

***

Kudos to the city of Littleton, which is so far standing by Dietz and the memorial. It’s scheduled to be dedicated this July 4. The city’s Historical Museum Director put out the following memo responding to anti-gun groups’ objections:

Tim Nimz memo

From: Tim Nimz, Museum Director

Date April 4, 2007

Re: Military memorials in the United States

Although there appears to be no definitive hard count of military-themed memorials and monuments in the United States, my research indicates that it is safe to state that they number in the thousands. Military historians estimate that there have been more than 100,000 military engagements in the nation’s 11 major wars and countless smaller actions since the late-18th century, each of them desperately important to the soldiers who fought in them, their families and loved ones, and the country they represented. Inevitably, memorials and monuments, both large and small, were erected to commemorate these conflicts and to honor the men and women who served. For example, the Civil War generated at least 1,538 military memorials; World War I produced at least 950; and the Vietnam War at least 62.

Many of these memorials are located in highly public areas. Through the first half of the 20th century, it was quite common to find a war memorial in town and city squares throughout the country. Since the end of WWII, these more generic “war” memorials have given way to monuments honoring specific individuals. Martial-themed statues, in particular, have always been very popular, dating from the time of the American Revolution through the current War on Terrorism. Most major cities, and many smaller ones, prominently display these statues in public spaces, including parks, intersections, and the grounds of government facilities. Perhaps most famous is the Minute Man Statue, commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord which opened the Revolutionary War, located in Minute Man National Historical Park in suburban Boston. Certainly, no space in the United States is more public than the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Mall, visited by approximately 24 million people each year, hosts three major war memorials for WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

A great many of these monuments depict soldiers in uniform and carrying their service weapons, although few show the soldiers engaged in combat. The Minute Man, mentioned above, is armed with a flintlock “Brown Bess” musket (the same weapon that the opposing British Army used). Service weapons, usually sheathed or unsheathed cavalry sabers or swords, appear in many of the 56 martial-themed statues in the District of Columbia, including almost all of the equestrian statues that dominate the major street intersections. The Korean War Memorial on the Mall features statues of 19 service men in a patrol formation carrying typical military equipment, including M-1 and M-14 rifles. The Three Servicemen Statue, located next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (the famous “wall”) on the Mall, depicts three soldiers with M-16 rifles and an M-60 machine gun. The Colorado State Capitol in Denver has two military statues on the grounds, a Civil War monument/memorial with a Union soldier with gun in hand, and a statue of Joseph P. Martinez, the first Hispanic Coloradan to receive the Medal of Honor, carrying his service weapon.

Feedback page for the city of Littleton is here.

comments (0)   trackbacks (7)