Sunday, December 4, 2011

Free Books and American Heroes

Free Books:

If you like to read as much as I do and you have an Amazon Kindle or Amazon Kindle Fire, you can get DAILY announcements of FREE books for your Kindle:

If you would like to have the daily emails of free Kindle books and other Kindle news sent to your inbox sign up here.

I just finished downloading SEVEN free books. I don’t know when I’ll get to read them, but this may be my only chance to get them for free. The ones I’ve gotten so far have been wonderful.

Yesterday, I downloaded one called Curious Folks Ask 2. I’ve learned so much just from the few pages of that book I have read.

American Heroes

Old man who defied his homeowners association and refused to take down

The flagpole on his property and the large flag that flew on it. Now you can

           Find out who, exactly, that old man was. He was a Choctaw Indian to begin with. 

On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg, Mississippi.

Didn't make much news back then. http://www.army.mil/americanindians/soldiershonored/g_vanbarfoot.html

Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano , Italy ,

Van T. Barfoot,who had enlisted in the US Army in 1940, set out to

Flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming

Down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield,

Took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned

With 17 prisoners of war.

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If that wasn't enough for a day's work, he later took on and

Destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.

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That probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the

War, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a colonel after

Also serving in Korea and Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of Honor.

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What did make news was a neighborhood association's quibble with

How the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside

His suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be

Flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such

As Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable.

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He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was

Facing court action if he didn't take it down. Since the story made

National TV, the neighborhood association has rethought its position

And agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them.

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"In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without

Interference," Barfoot told The Associated Press. As well he should.

And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they

Might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he's not

Real good at backing down.

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Van T. Barfoot's Medal of Honor citation:

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This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor

Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry:

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If you got this email and didn't pass it on - guess what - you deserve

To get your butt kicked! I sent this to you, because I didn't want to get

MY butt kicked.

WE ONLY LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE...

BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE! AND, BECAUSE OF OLD MEN

LIKE VAN BARFOOT.

Until next time…

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