Memorial Day: A Tribute To Those Who Made And Keep America Free

It's Memorial Day, which marks the start of Summer, but more importantly it is the day we remember those who served to make our country undoubtedly the best country in the world.  Thank you to all of those who have and currently do protect our freedoms.

I'm currently sitting here enjoying a Sam Adams Summer Ale watching baseball, because well I love baseball, and Sam Adams Summer Ale is delicious.  In the background is a picture of a custom made gate from Charleston, SC, that hangs in my house.   Charleston obviously played a huge role in multiple American wars (Revolutionary War/Civil War), and the South Carolina flag is arguably the most recognizable in the country.  With that having been said, here's some of the most badass Americans who helped make sure we could enjoy beer and Summer without fear or persecution.

Nathan Hale:  American Revolution - There are many famous people who through their sacrifice helped to form this country, but Nathan Hale's story continues to stick in the minds of Americans.  Most people know the grade school story.  Nathan Hale was a spy for the Americans who was caught by the British and hanged.  His last words were, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."  First of all, those words are pretty impressive to utter when you've got mere seconds to live.  Secondly, there has been some debate as to what was said, but all scholars pretty much agree he was composed and articulate and gave a rather impressive last speech.  What a lot of people don't know is that the reason he was hanged is because George Washington asked for volunteers to spy on the British position for their invasion of Manhattan.  Hale was the only volunteer.  At 21 years old he infiltrated British lines and successfully gathered the information needed.  After the British burned the island, Hale attempted to escape back across Long Island Sound and was found with incriminating documents.  He was hanged the next morning.   He wrote letters to an American officer and his mother shortly before his death, but the British refused to mail them after reading them, because they were afraid of the inspiration and fervor his words would evoke among the colonists.  His death went out as a rally cry to American patriots and farmers, carpenters, and shopkeepers volunteered by the thousands to take up arms against the greatest military army ever assembled.

George Mallon: World War I - While serving in France during "The Great War," George Mallon was separated from his company along with 9 other soldiers due to intense fog.  Mallon and the 9 other soldiers attacked 9 machinegun nests, and no one was killed.  Read that again, 10 Americans attacked 9 different German machinegun nests, and not one American was killed.  Mallon even personally attacked one German soldier with nothing but his fists.  Mallon wasn't done.  He and his men came upon 2 more machine gun nests, whereupon Mallon ordered his men to attack from the flank while Mallon rushed headfirst at the machinegun nests by himself.  They ended up taking over 100 men prisoner as the Germans likely sat there in the fog asking where the hell did these guys come from?

Daniel Inouye: World War II - A lot of people know former U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye for his long and great service to state of Hawaii.  What a lot of people don't know is the story of his service during the Second World War.  Daniel Inouye was living in Honolulu, Hawaii and was on his way to church, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Inouye rushed to help the wounded soldiers and sailors and spent the next 5 days without sleep, patching up American servicemen.  Inouye then tried to enlist in the Army, but because he was of Japanese descent he was denied and it wasn't until 1943, when two Japanese-American units were created, that he was able to enlist. Inouye signed up immediately.  Inouye was sent to Italy to fight against German troops, and what happened next is going to make no matter what you do today pale in comparison.  While in an intense fire fight, Inouye began throwing grenades to destroy German bunkers. When attempting to throw another grenade, he was shot through the stomach.  With a bullet hole in his stomach, Inouye grabbed a bag of frag genrades and charged at the enemy.  He continued throwing grenades at German positions and used his Thompson machinegun on anything that dared to walk in front of him.  Upon attacking his third German bunker, a German soldier fired a rifle mounted grenade at Inouye and hit his target, completely destroying Inouye's right arm.  Inouye, who was drunk on adrenaline and patriotism looked at his arm, which still had the grenade in it, pried it out with his left hand and lobbed it underhanded at the German soldier, who promptly met his maker.  He then cleared out the bunker with his Thompson, changed his magazine (with one hand) and began looking for more Germans to kill.  He ended up propping himself up against a tree and preceded to kill anything without an American uniform on, literally single-handedly.   He went on to fix his arm with a hook, and God help anyone who was dumb enough to ask how he got that hook.  

Clifford Wooldridge:  Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom -  Clifford Wooldridge was serving in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan in 2010.  I'm not an expert at all on Afghanistan, but apparently the Helmand Province is not where you want to be stationed.  It's prime heroin country, which the Taliban have used for decades to support the regime.  Furthermore, it's on the border with Pakistan, allowing Taliban fighters to pour over the border in waves and attack American and Afghan soldiers.  Before the events that would become the stuff of legend, Clifford Wooldridge already had a pretty rough go in Afghanistan.  He had two separate vehicles blown up by IEDs in one campaign, whereby he likely should have been killed.  After leading his fellow Marines into a heavy Taliban-infested region, Wooldridge and his fellow Marines came under fire.  Rather than fight the traditional battle, Wooldridge separated from his men and charged across an open field firing at the Taliban.  He then provided cover for his men to join him.  Wooldridge then prevented an ambush on an American convoy by killing multiple Taliban fighters.  He wasn't through yet.  While positioned behind a wall, Wooldridge came upon 4 Taliban armed fighters.  He charged over the wall and emptied his weapon killing three of them, but running out of ammunition before being able to kill the fourth.  So, he hopped back over the wall while taking fire and then decided if he didn't have any bullets he would have to do what came naturally.  He climbed over the wall, grabbed the Taliban fighter's gun at point blank range, wrestled it away from him and then proceeded to beat him to death with his own gun.  The Taliban did not take this incident well.  Could you imagine the conversation for those guys who witnessed this and lived?  "Well what happened?" "Umm this American, umm he ran out of bullets, then took our guns and beat us to death with our own guns."  

Thank you again to all those who help keep us safe.  It's these men and women who work day and night, so that our enemies can't sleep day or night.