btq96r

If this were President Bush standing at the podium and saying that these men were being awarded the MoH due to the fact that when they performed their acts of heroism, they were overlooked for racial reasons, it couldn't see it being an issue.  It would be the same thing it is today- doing the right thing even if years later.  But, because of all the racial undertones real or imagined with President Obama, we have debates like this thread.  Never mind that this initiative was part of the 2002 Defense Appropriations bill.  Passed in 2001, a year when the President was a Republican, the House of Representatives was controlled by Republicans and the Senate was a 51/49 split between Democrats (including an independent that caucused with them) and Republicans.  The leading thoughts that this is some racially biased thing President Obama is doing don't pass the smell test.   The military is representative of society and back then, a sizable portion of our country was racist.  To think that those thoughts weren't part of the beliefs for Army leadership who were raised in that environment isn't realistic  I can absolutely believe that not being white or being Jewish instead of Christian made getting them the recognition they deserved more trouble than it was worth for some.  And by some I mean those who had to process these awards several echelons removed from the units these men served in while under fire.  If their race was enough to be a factor in denying them the award, it's enough of a factor to be mentioned when we correct that.  People should be proud that we looked back and publicly said said "this was wrong" and got these men the recognition they deserved.    I get that there are probably hundreds more of every race/ethnicity/skin color that aren't recognized when they should be.  Garlin Conners is hardly alone in this regard.  But I challenge anyone to look at this list, click through the names, read the stories and tell me who among them may have been awarded the MoH for their race, religion or skin color instead of their actions that day after looking at their heroism without the racism of the days they served in clouding peoples views.

Greetings all.   New to TGO, not TN.  I first came here in 2001 when I was assigned to Fort Campbell.  I stayed "assigned" there for the next eight years with four deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq taking up three and a half of those years.  I decided to keep TN as a state of residence while I was an Army contractor and am currently attending MTSU full time to earn a degree and enjoying a nice change of pace.   I'm interested in reading the forums, seeing if there are any can't pass up deals to add to my firearms collection and am contemplating the merry-go-round process for adding an SBR if the cash flow remains solvent.  Local shooting information is also great to get.  I'll be data mining the forums here, I'm sure.   I'll probably also spend some time in the Current Events and Politics area since those are subjects near and dear to my heart.  I may love firearms and defend the 2nd Amendment with all my heart, but I've been called center left plenty of times.  I'm sure I'll be defending a few positions by myself :cool:   I'm also a Lifetime Member of the Second Amendment Foundation.  If you haven't heard of them, take a moment to Google the name and see for yourself the fine work they are doing in courtrooms for the 2nd Amendment.  They know how to win, that's for sure.   This looks like a great forum.  Hope to be a productive part of it.   -BTQ