Former U.S. Astronaut, Senator John Glenn Dead at 95

John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the U.S. Senate, died Thursday. The last survivor of the original Mercury 7 astronauts was 95.

Read more at Newsman

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Conservative warrior Andrew Breitbart dead at 43

Andrew Breitbart collapsed and died shortly after midnight [Thursday, March 1]. He was a new media entrepreneur, author of Righteous Indignation and former liberal turned conservative defender, who spoke recently at CPAC (full speech). Andrew Breitbart was a pioneer of new media websites including BREITBART (News), BIG GOVERNMENT, BREITBART TV, BIG HOLLYWOOD, BIG JOURNALISM and BIG PEACE. All websites featured an In Memoriam message by Larry Solov, President of Breitbart.com, LLC. Close friend and collaborator Matt Drudge wrote,

"DEAR READER: In the first decade of the DRUDGEREPORT Andrew Breitbart was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. We shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what's happening. I don't think there was a single day during that time when we did not flash each other or laugh with each other, or challenge each other. I still see him in my mind's eye in Venice Beach, the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20's. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today... MDRUDGE"

Rush Limbaugh describes Breitbart as a "Bulldog for the Cause." BIG GOVERNMENT has been posting comments from conservative notables all day (see list of links below the fold). Rest in peace Andrew Breitbart and heartfelt condolences to his family. His life was way too short but he packed a lot into it... fearlessly. Photo: foia.tv

1. In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

2. Breitbart's death to be reviewed by L.A. County coroner

3. Walsh: 'We must continue his good fight'...

4. ...'not the end of his crusade, but its beginning'

5. Palin: 'Thank God for his inspiration and leadership'

6. Carlson: Andrew 'willing to do things that scared him'

7. Breitbart’s Greatest Moments: ‘Man Against The Mob’

8. Rep. McCotter: Breitbart 'Gave His All to Serve His Fellow Human Beings and This Country'

9. Reuters: 'He knew how to take a punch. And he liked throwing them.'

10. Romney: Breitbart 'brilliant entrepreneur'

11. Rick Santorum Reacts To Andrew's Death

12. Congressman Gohmert Makes Touching Tribute To Breitbart On House Floor

13. Liberals celebrate death of Andrew Breitbart

14. MSNBC Mocks Breitbart with Cartoons

15. Huffington Praises Breitbart's Passion, Exuberance, Fearlessness

16. Rush: Breitbart Exposes Liberal Media Bias Even in Death

17. Guardain: Breitbart married new media with political principle

18. Gutfeld: 'He Was Fun Personified'

Farewell, Andrew Breitbart

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Oldest surviving Medal of Honor recipient dies

LOS ANGELES TIMES, 5/28/2010 - John Finn dies at 100. The retired Navy officer was the only one still alive among those who were awarded the medal for actions during the Japanese attack of Dec. 7, 1941.

Excerpt: "Born July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles, John William Finn attended high school in Compton and enlisted in the Navy at age 17. Before being stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Finn had served in the Philippines, the Panama Canal Zone and China and aboard ships in the north Atlantic. ∴ At Kaneohe Bay, he was a chief petty officer and an aviation ordnance chief assigned to maintain the weaponry on a PBY Catalina flying boat squadron. ∴ When the attack began, Finn found a .50-caliber machine gun in the armory and mounted it on an instruction platform, which provided him with no protection. Despite his wounds, he kept firing and reloading for more than two hours."

Photo right: John Finn salutes at the groundbreaking ceremony for the USS Oklahoma memorial at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2006. (Lucy Pemoni / Associated Press)
Photo left: No citation or date at Canadian Press Read More......

French heroine who saved 102 Allied pilots from the Nazis, dies aged 105

Andree Peel, who was known as Agent Rose, helped 102 British and American pilots escape from her native France. ∴ The resistance fighter was imprisoned in two concentration camps but was liberated and went on to settle in Long Ashton, Bristol, after the war. ∴ She was the most highly decorated woman to survive the conflict and was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by her brother, General Maurice Virot. Read more at Mail Online... (wonderful photos)

With gratitude, God bless and rest in peace. --bc Read More......

Band Of Brothers Hero, Darrell 'Shifty' Powers Dies

(Circulating via email/Hat tip: Trey Sisson CDR XO (VFA-115) Embarked USS RONALD REAGAN) Author Unknown: One of the "Band of Brothers" soldiers died on June 17, 2009. ∴ We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. ∴ I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle”, the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . ” at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?” At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said “I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem.” I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said “Yes. And it’s real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart was in my throat and I didn’t know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I’d take his in coach.

He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet
way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the
veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

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"A nation without heroes is nothing." --Roberto Clemente

Photo: From Wikipedia Read More......

Robert Strange McNamara dead at 93

FOX NEWS reports that [the former Secretary of Defense] “died at home in his sleep Monday morning, his wife Diana … said he had been in failing health for some time. Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was president of the Ford Motor Co. when President John F. Kennedy asked him to head the Pentagon in 1961.” Read More......

Kemp Brought America Back from 1970s

NEWSMAX, 5/3/2009 by Jeffrey Bell = There were two big ideas that changed the world in the 1980s: Supply-side economics and a bold strategy for winning the Cold War. One was the handiwork of Jack Kemp, the other of Ronald Reagan. ∴ It’s important to understand that the first, introduced into American politics by a then-young Kemp in the 1970s, preceded the second. No look back on the life of Jack Kemp is complete without the recognition that, without Kemp’s success, the Reagan-led peaceful victory in the Cold War could never have happened. Read more at Newsmax...

Jack Kemp died of cancer on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at age 73. Rest in peace good friend. Read More......