Category: We Remember

Bill sends us the sad news that Floyd Carter, Senior, one of the few surviving Tuskegee Airman, has passed at the age of 95. Aside from flying with the famous fighter group during World War II, he continued his service in the Air Force Reserves during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as serving at home as a detective with the New York City Police Department. From the New York Daily News;

The decorated veteran of three wars and 27 years with the NYPD died Thursday at age 95, leaving a long legacy as a groundbreaking hero pilot and a city police detective.

Carter, who simultaneously rose through the ranks of the U.S. Air Force Reserves and the police, was honored in 2007 with the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bush for breaking the color barrier in Tuskegee.

“We mourn the loss of a true American hero,” read a tweet from the 47th Precinct in his adopted home of the Bronx. “Our community & nation has lost a giant.”

Carter rose to the rank of Air Force lieutenant colonel years after joining the group of African-American pilots at Tuskegee University.

He met his wife Atherine there, where the Alabama native was working as part of an all-female repair crew.

Top Kone sends us the sad news that Clinton, Missouri Police Officer Christopher Morton was killed in the line of duty;

At approximately 9:20 P.M. (Central) Tuesday, Officer Morton and other members of the Clinton Police Department responded to a 911 call in which women could be heard screaming in the background. As officers arrived, a gun battle ensued and Officer Morton and two other officers were hit. Officer Morton succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The other officers were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Kansas City Star reports that the Royals paid tribute to the Army National Guard veteran in 2014;

The Clinton, Mo., police officer who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday night was honored by the Royals in 2014 for his military service in Afghanistan.

Officer Christopher Morton, 30, was killed while responding to a 911 call, was in the Our Heroes seats (now called the Salute to Service seats) on June 5, 2014 at Kauffman Stadium.

Morton was in the Army National Guard, had been twice deployed and returned in May 2014 from Afghanistan. He told the Royals he served as a bridge crew member and radio communications manager.

[…]

The Royals tweeted: “We are saddened to hear the news regarding Clinton, Mo Police Officer Chris Morton this morning. He was honored for his military service at #TheK in 2014. Our thoughts are with his family today.”

Hondo told us that Arnold Harrison was identified by DPAA last year, WFAA reports that he finally made it home from the battlefield in Tarawa where he served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force on his birthday.

“He tried to join the Marines when he was 17,” [John Welnack Sr., 88, his cousin and closest living relative] said of his cousin. “Anybody that would sacrifice their own life for their country, or other people, in my thinking is a hero.”

Honoring a hero is why the North Texas Patriot Guard Riders, and a Dallas Police motorcycle detail escorted the Marine’s casket when his remains arrived at DFW Airport on Thursday and were taken to a funeral home in Sachse.

The same motorcade gave him a hero’s escort again on Friday when his body was taken to its final resting place at DFW National Cemetery. Other members of the Harrison/Welnack family are also buried there, so his extended family found it fitting that he be buried there.

“We’re talking about a 20-year-old man that actually gave up his life, on his birthday his 20th birthday, for this country, in defense of this country. And that’s a powerful thing,” said John Bartis of the North Texas Patriot Guard.

Mick reminds us that today is the 73rd anniversary of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi, the highest peak on the island of Iwo Jima. From the History channel;

During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi’s slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.

Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

Prince George’s County Police Department Corporal Mujahid Ramzziddin was murdered today in Brandywine, Maryland when he stepped in to protect a domestic violence victim from her tormentor, according to Fox5DC;

The shooting occurred on Chadsey Lane in Brandywine, and sources told FOX 5’s Paul Wagner the suspect, who had a protective order against him, used a shotgun to kill the officer, who was not in uniform.

Sources told FOX 5 the suspect took the officer’s gun and then led police on a chase that concluded in the area of Route 210 and Old Fort Road. Officials confirmed that police shot and killed the suspect.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Corporal Ramzziddin was a Marine and a DC Air National Guardsman. He spent five years with the DC Metro Police before his 15 years with the PGC police. A lifetime of continuous service to his country and his community.

Jim, MustangCryppie and Richard send us links to the Daily Caller which reports that the US Military Academy has posthumously appointed JROTC cadet Peter Wang who selflessly gave his life for his fellow students last week to West Point class 2025.

West Point will provide the family of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Peter Wang a letter of acceptance to West Point Class of 2025, which was his dream, and honorarium tokens. His funeral is today. pic.twitter.com/kOb9P5mjdd

— Brittany Wallman (@BrittanyWallman) February 20, 2018

Wang’s neighbor told Fox News recently his dream was to attend the U.S. military academy at West Point.

Additionally, the Army has awarded a medal to each of the cadets killed in the tragedy;

Three Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets killed in the Florida school massacre have been awarded medals by the US Army, according to a report.

The family of Alaina Petty, 14, was presented with the Medal of Heroism during a memorial service Monday, the Army told The Daily Beast.

Relatives of 15-year-old Peter Wang were expected to receive the medal during his memorial service on Tuesday, while the family of Martin Duque, 14, will be given the medal on Saturday.

The medal recognizes JROTC cadets whose performance “involved the acceptance of danger and extraordinary responsibilities.” The Army program trains potential officers

Stars & Stripes reports that Private First Class Emmanuel Mensah who perished in an apartment fire while he was home on leave after completing his Advanced Individual Training, was awarded the Soldiers Medal as well as the New York State Medal for Valor for rescuing his neighbors from the conflagration;

He entered the burning building at least four times before being overcome by smoke…Mensah could have remained safely outside after first escaping the fire himself, but “it was not in his nature to stand by without doing whatever he could to help,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas Kadavy, director of the Army National Guard, who presented the military medal to Mensah’s father.

Being a soldier was his dream;

The New York Times reported that he had initially tried to join the Marines shortly after immigrating, but his father wanted him to pursue an education instead. Still, the younger Mensah persisted and eventually joined the Army National Guard.

After joining as a permanent legal resident in late 2016, he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen at a military base in Georgia last fall. He was slated to begin drilling with a Brooklyn-based military police unit in January.

The New York Daily News reports that JROTC cadet Peter Wang’s classmates are lobbying for a military funeral for him. They say that he held the door open for them to escape the gunfire in the Broward County, Florida Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week. He saved many lives while losing his own in the conflagration;

Jesse Pan, 34…said Wang’s parents, Hui Wang and Kongfeng Wang, moved to Parkland a year-and-a-half ago because he wanted to join the school’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

He wanted to be a role model for his younger brothers ages 13, 11 and 5.

“It is really sad because they moved here because of the school. He told them he wanted to join the Army and attend West Point in the future. He wanted to learn leadership skills and improve his character. He changed a lot when he joined. He started helping people.”

Peter, the son of Chinese immigrants who moved from Brooklyn, deserves a military-style funeral because he died saving his friends’ lives, Pan said.

“His parents told me he was holding the door to help them escape. He took bullets for them. His body had so much damage. He was shot in the chest, arms and brain.”