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| Why the New York Times buried Maj. Bruce Crandall's Medal of Honor on page 15. |
| 2007-03-01 |
| Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal . . . Two men have received the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq: Army Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith, who died defending some 100 fellow soldiers, allowing their withdrawal; and Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who died after he dove atop a live grenade to protect his squad. (Cpl. Dunham's act was the subject of a 2004 Wall Street Journal story by reporter Michael M. Phillips and later a book, "The Gift of Valor.") Bruce Crandall's Medal of Honor, at an emotional remove of 42 years, offers a chance to ponder just where the military stands now in the nation's life. The particulars of Lt. Col. Crandall's act of heroism, and what others said of it at the awarding of the medal on Monday, offers we civilians a chance to understand not merely the risks of combat but what animates those who embrace those risks. . . . At issue today is the question: Is that ethos worth it, worth the inevitable sacrifice? And not only in Iraq but in whatever may lie beyond Iraq? The secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey, went on in this vein: "The courage and fortitude of America's soldiers in combat exemplified by these individuals is, without question, the highest level of human behavior. It demonstrates the basic goodness of mankind as well as the inherent kindness and patriotism of American soldiers." An American soldier in combat demonstrates "the basic goodness of mankind"? And the highest level of human behavior? This was not thought to be true at the moment Maj. Crandall was flying those choppers in Vietnam. Nor is it now. To embrace the thoughts of Gen. Schoomaker and of Secretary Harvey is to risk being accused of defending notions of American triumphalism and an overly strong martial spirit thought inappropriate to the realities of a multilateral world. This is a debate worth having. But we are not having it. We are hiding from it. In a less doubtful culture, Maj. Crandall's magnificent medal would have been on every front page, if only a photograph. It was on no one's front page Tuesday. The New York Times, the culture's lodestar, had a photograph on its front page of President Bush addressing governors about an insurance plan. Maj. Crandall's Medal of Honor was on page 15, in a round-up, three lines from the bottom. Other big-city dailies also ran it in their news summaries; some--the Washington Post, USA Today--ran full accounts inside. Most schoolchildren once knew the names of the nation's heroes in war--Ethan Allen, John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur, the Swamp Fox Francis Marion, Ulysses S. Grant, Clara Barton, Billy Mitchell, Alvin York, Lee Ann Hester. Lee Ann who? She's the first woman to win a Silver Star for direct combat with the enemy. Did it in a trench in Iraq. Her story should be in schools, but it won't be. All nations celebrate personal icons, and ours now tend to be doers of good. That's fine. But if we suppress the martial feats of a Bruce Crandall, we distance ourselves further from our military. And in time, we will change. At some risk. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #6 We in the submarine community know of the Congressional/MSM conspiracy of WW2, when a jackass Congressman in 1942 had to brag that the Japanese "were so stupid about setting their depth charges too shallow". Of course, the NYTwits wanted to print it but couldn't because of wartime censorship. So. they printed it in their overseas editions, where the Jap embassey's could read about it. Consequently we started losing more subs. |
| Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 2007-03-01 20:11 |
| #5 Wasn't the MSM complaining a couple of months ago because so few medals had been awarded in Iraq? Seems to me I saw a segment on the evening news where they had a general trying to justify the situation: it's hard to get a medal for being hit by an IED. And the ROE don't allow you to chase an Iraqi in a loin cloth behind a hooch and shoot him in the back. |
| Posted by: KBK 2007-03-01 16:18 |
| #4 This is a really well written article that seems to be moving a lot of people today. I posted it right after Mike and, as I type, Dennis Prager is on the radio talking about it. We've gotten so used to this sort of behavior from the MSM that we tend to take it for granted, which makes us complacent about its pernicious effects. More hell needs to be raised about this subject. I salute Daniel Henninger and Dennis Prager for doing their part. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2007-03-01 13:26 |
| #3 Mac, No, Mac, the worst act of MSM treason ever was during WWII when the Chicago Tribune deliberately revealed that we had broken the Japanese military code. FDR did the smartest thing possible. He totally ignored it and the Japs never caught on. |
| Posted by: E. Brown 2007-03-01 09:36 |
| #2 I think we give the MSM too much credit. Why is it that in spite of all the bull on the MSM, we have young men and women from all walks of life who still go into the military. It's not only the poor but the priveleged who are going in as we communicate. Bruce Crandall is my hero. |
| Posted by: Art 2007-03-01 09:35 |
| #1 Most Americans are button-burstingly proud of our military, and we should be. It's only the traitors in the Democratic Party and the MSM who work overtime to denigrate them and falsely minimize their accomplishments. Am I questioning Dem/MSM patriotism? Damned straight I am. I suspect in WWII a lot of them would have been interned for the duration and a few of them would have been shot. |
| Posted by: mac 2007-03-01 06:59 |