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Dear Eric and other List Members, Yes it's the same guy - as a moments search on the internet would have ascertained (see eg. http://www.mishalov.com/Liteky.html, which contains an interesting piece from the SF Chronicle about how Charles returned his Medal of Honour to protest the United States' dirty wars in Central America during the 80's) - he's out in Iraq with Voices US. Of course, the claim that he is a 'pro-Saddam appeaser' is garbage. I appreciate that these are not your comments but those of your 'source' (whose name and telephone number appear at the bottom of your e-mail by the way) but it seems a shame that this sort of mud-slinging should appear on the list when Charles is - not for the first time - risking his life for others. Warrior or no, Charles' actions' seem a hell of lot more heroic than dropping bombs on people from a great height. Best wishes, Gabriel voices uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Herring" <eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk> To: "CASI list" <soc-casi-discuss@lists.cam.ac.uk> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 10:49 PM Subject: [casi] A Clarification - medal of honor > I am forwarding this from a former USAF source > > > Came across a report from the Gannett News Service that alleges a > Medal of Honor recipient (one "earns" the medal, never "wins" it) is in > Iraq as part of the pro-Saddam appeaser crowd. (I do READ all > sources.) > That said, I went to the official list of Medal of Honor holders and > find an Angelo J. LITEKY, but no Charles or "Charlie." > Could be the same guy, but note the citation reads he was a Chaplain, > not a warrior, brave none-the-less, but not a trigger-puller. > So. . .a) this guy is NOT the Angelo Liteky that earned the medal and > is a liar (and not the first one to claim the Medal of Honor), or b) he > is the guy, but one must keep in mind he's a Chaplain, not a warrior, > so his appeasement action is no great surprise. (And, by the way, IF > he is the guy, and if he uses his identification with the medal as some > sort of qualifier, he would be stepped on by all the other recipients > who do support military action. Additionally, Medal holders remain out > of politics, as a tradition. So if this is the guy, he is tarnishing > the history and tradition of the Medal. . .a Medal dedicated to > selfless sacrifice. > Oh, one last thing. There is NO "Congressional" Medal of Honor. It > is the Medal of Honor. Those in the military know this, as apparently > news reporters do not, as they always call it the "congressional" Medal > of Honor. Congress pays no role in awarding the medal. "The Medal of > Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force > which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services > of the United States. Generally presented to its recipient by the > President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it > is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor." > <http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm> http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm > Thought you might find useful, just to dispel the mistaken impression > that he was some Rambo-type that had "seen the light," as it were. > > > LITEKY, ANGELO J. > Rank and organization: Chaplain (Capt.), U.S. Army, Headquarters and > Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade. place and date: Near > Phuoc-Lac, Bien Hoa province, Republic of Vietnam, 6 December 1967 . > Entered service at: Fort Hamilton, N.Y. Born: 14 February 1931, > Washington, D.C. Citation: Chaplain Liteky distinguished himself by > exceptional heroism while serving with Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th > Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He was participating in a > search and destroy operation when Company A came under intense fire > from a battalion size enemy force. Momentarily stunned from the > immediate encounter that ensued, the men hugged the ground for cover. > Observing 2 wounded men, Chaplain Liteky moved to within 15 meters of > an enemy machine gun position to reach them, placing himself between > the enemy and the wounded men. When there was a brief respite in the > fighting, he managed to drag them to the relative safety of the landing > zone. Inspired by his courageous actions, the company rallied and began > placing a heavy volume of fire upon the enemy's positions. In a > magnificent display of courage and leadership, Chaplain Liteky began > moving upright through the enemy fire, administering last rites to the > dying and evacuating the wounded. Noticing another trapped and > seriously wounded man, Chaplain Liteky crawled to his aid. Realizing > that the wounded man was too heavy to carry, he rolled on his back, > placed the man on his chest and through sheer determination and > fortitude crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels > to push himself along. pausing for breath momentarily, he returned to > the action and came upon a man entangled in the dense, thorny > underbrush. Once more intense enemy fire was directed at him, but > Chaplain Liteky stood his ground and calmly broke the vines and carried > the man to the landing zone for evacuation. On several occasions when > the landing zone was under small arms and rocket fire, Chaplain Liteky > stood up in the face of hostile fire and personally directed the > medivac helicopters into and out of the area. With the wounded safely > evacuated, Chaplain Liteky returned to the perimeter, constantly > encouraging and inspiring the men. Upon the unit's relief on the > morning of 7 December 1967, it was discovered that despite painful > wounds in the neck and foot, Chaplain Liteky had personally carried > over 20 men to the landing zone for evacuation during the savage > fighting. Through his indomitable inspiration and heroic actions, > Chaplain Liteky saved the lives of a number of his comrades and enabled > the company to repulse the enemy. Chaplain Liteky's actions reflect > great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest > traditions of the U.S. Army. > --- End Forwarded Message --- > > > ---------------------- > Dr. Eric Herring > Department of Politics > University of Bristol > 10 Priory Road > Bristol BS8 1TU > England, UK > Office tel. +44-(0)117-928-8582 > Mobile tel. +44-(0)7771-966608 > Fax +44-(0)117-973-2133 > eric.herring@bristol.ac.uk > http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics > http://www.ericherring.com/ > > Network of Activist Scholars > of Politics and International Relations (NASPIR) > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naspir/ > > > [ Converted text/html to text/plain ] > [ Quoted Message removed at request of Eric Herring ] > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. > To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss > To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk > All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk > _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk