The killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer continues to draw protests from all cities in the country.
Ed gives the latest update on the situation, including some of the violent crowds which gathered in some states.
Listeners share their thoughts on the topic as well.
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Ed also received an email from a listener, Rich, over the weekend, who talks about his father, a WWII Veteran, and the process for awarding a Bronze Star:
Dear Captain,
Every year as your Memorial Day show approaches I swear I will send along this information to you so you can spread the word to your listeners. Afterwards I kick myself for not.
First allow me to say that my wife and I both have an extra ‘bounce’ in our step when waking up to the Arm Forces Medley at the start of your show.
Both born in the 1940’s we grew up respecting the military, American Legion, etc. And yes I recall watching ‘Victory at Sea’ with my pop and hearing the theme music and see the roll deck in the opening scene.
My father in Law landed Omaha Beach D+17 with the 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, WIA 9/11/44 at L’Orient, FR and transferred to 503rd, MP Nancy Fr. (Which was Gen. Patton’s personal MP unit).
My dad was on a minesweeper (USS Chimo) that swept the channels off Normandy for days before the invasion, and was anchored off Utah Beach as C-n-C for minesweeping activities from June 7 to 17.
I would image if you ended your Memorial Day Show with TAPS, there would not be a dry eye in your audience. My pop said he and his shipmates would go up on deck at sundown to hears TAPS played from
somewhere on the beach each night. The sound was always very emotional to him till he passed in 1989.
Now the reason for the email!
In 1947, the Bronze Star Medal was authorized for all those who earned the Combat Infantry Badge or the Combat Medical Badge, according to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards.
In researching my father-in-law’s army military history I ran across the law authorized by congress in 1947 that gives a Bronze Star to service men that earned their CIB.
I downloaded the form on-line and submitted it with a copy of his DD214. The request can only come from a blood relative. I, as son-in-law did not count, so Pat had to sign it and
I dropped it off at Rep. Keating’s office in Hyannis. They of course fumbled & bumbled it for weeks, with staff leaving, tasks being picked up in the Plymouth office, etc.
Finally a staffer from another congressional office came to work in Hyannis, was familiar with the process and forwarded to papers to the right office in DC. After 6 months, we got the call to come to the Hyannis office.
Rep. Keating himself was there to present the medal to my wife “on behalf of a grateful nation”.
Each medal he had earned plus the Bronze Star was duplicated and those that could be came engraved with his name on the back. Very emotional and fitting for the ‘greatest generation”
World War II veterans who received Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Medical Badge eligible for Bronze Star
By Staff Sgt M Triggs, USA
WASHINGTON (ANS)-World War II veterans who earned the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) or the Combat Medical Badge are eligible to receive another award to honor their heroism, the Bronze Star.
Twenty-Two Bronze Star Medals were recently awarded in a small community in Goshen, Ind. A few were given posthumously, but most veterans were able to enjoy the moment with family and friends.
After the tears stopped flowing for veteran Lovell "Buzz" Burdette, he began his acceptance speech. He thanked all 15 of his family members who attended the event on the local Veterans of Foreign Wars.
From his son to his great-granddaughter, 85 year-old Buzz repeated the words "thank you" through shivering lips.
"It was a very emotional moment," said Ronald Burdett, Buzz's son.. "Receiving the Bronze Star Medal was just a tidbit of an award for a man that is as amazing as my dad," Burdett said. "He endured much and showed immeasurable honor, courage, and commitment."
Exactly what Buzz's heroic acts are in unknown to his family because he talks very little about his experiences during the war, according to Burdett. "He was proud to serve, and he talked about some of his buddies, but he didn't come home bragging about taking other peoples lives."
In 1947, the Bronze Star Medal was authorized for all those who earned the Combat Infantry Badge or the Combat Medical Badge, according to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards.
The medal was designed to honor the infantrymen who endured the greatest hardships and the medics who accompanied them on the front lines, officials said.
When the son of a World War II veteran was restoring lost copies of his father's record, he found out from the National Personnel Records Center out of St Louis that the father was one of many who never received the Bronze Star Medal.
John Piecuch, a Vietnam veteran, said he was surprised to find that his father, Stanley Piecuch, was eligible for the medal. Moved that his father died without knowing he had earned the award, Piecuch spearheaded the drive that got the recognition of 22 others in the small county.
"These men are proud, not boastful, and I wanted as many of them as possible to get the honor they deserve," Piecuch said.
The chaplain for the local Goshen VFW, Piecuch put announcements in the local newspapers stating that he was looking for the veterans who had earned the CIB.
He started his pilgrimage in Febuary and said that from the time he started to the event in June, two veterans died before they could be honored.
"It's sad that there are thousands of veterans who don't know that the Bronze Star Medal is automatic as long as their discharge papers states that they received the CIB." Piecuch said. "Out of the 22 men we honored, only three knew they were eligible."
Officials from the National Personnel Records Center say that they don't know how many veterans are eligible for the medal or who still have not received the award, because a massive fire in 1963 destroyed most of the official military personnel files from World War II.
Piecuch believes that there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands based on the number of eligible recipients from the small town of Goshen,
"There has to be more out there who deserve recognition," Piecuch said. "They went to war and quietly came back home, went to work and built this country."
The 18 men from Goshen, along with two sons and two widows who accepted the medal on their loved ones behalf, received the Bronze Star Medal with their names engraved on the back and a photocopy of a congratulatory letter from President George W. Bush and another from his father, former President George Bush.