Posted on 02/10/2006 1:57:56 PM PST by llevrok
We don't need to honor any more rich white males
So says one member of the University of Washington Student Senate.
Gregory Pappy Boyington...graduate of the Univeristy of Washington (went to High School in Tacoma), winner of the medal of honor, shot down 28 enemy aircraft, was a prisoner of war for 20 months, and apparently does not - according to the student senate - deserve a memorial on campus. Apparently we are told that he "is not the type of person we want to honor" and some even went so far as to liken his duty in WW2 to murder. One of the biggest antagonists of the proposal was apparently the leader of the student Democratic Party. How sad.
This issue is particularly interesting to me because I personally knew Pappy Boyington, not so much as a friend, but as a regular visitor to the Chino Air Museum and Air Show. I met him on numerous occassions and thoroughly enjoyed his willingness to tell me stories about his experiences - and I must say it was HEAVEN to this young man who'd rather feel his way around a restored Corsair than hang out at the mall with his contemporaries.
Pappy was famous for once saying: "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum." And he knew this from personal experience. Pappy's childhood wasn't easy and he and his mother had to work VERY hard to get him through school - he was no rich boy and neither did he live off government grants...personally I wonder if those students who "shot this memorial down" could remotely say the same? And he was a real human being who did not hide his faults, particularly with alcohol and marital problems. Like all heros, no one is a "super" hero. While Pappy could work hard, he could "play" hard too and landed himself in trouble from time to time. Here is a more detailed story...from the University of Washington oddly enough.
Also, clearly, the student who made the racist statement never met him because I will tell you that you could not mistake the Sioux in him. And while he did write a best-selling book (best selling authors are a dime a dozen), he was never really a rich man...rather he spent most of his last days wandering through Air Shows reliving the glory days, never in any grand luxury that I saw. He seemed a very nice man, who despite his personal problems did some extraordinary things to help defend freedom and defeat tyranny and injustice.
But, have our Washington youth revised history so much as this? To compare Boyington (or for that matter any of our WW2 vets) to murderers? What are these kids being taught today? They don't deserve those 20 months Pappy spent being tortured and beaten in a Japanese prison camp...they don't deserve any of what our grandfathers and grandmothers sacrificed to free Europe and the Pacific. Is it perhaps because those precious people are soon to be gone that we feel free to engage in leftist amnesia? I'm angry about this...how dare these snot nose, hemp-wearing, pot smoking, drum beating, dreadlock wearing, "gee when is the financial aid check going to arrive", brat kids diss Pappy Boyington?
Maybe REAL rich white guys ought to be offended (like Bill Gates and Paul Allen) and stop donating money to the UW and then the Student Senators will find they don't have the time to be in the student senate because they need to get themselves real jobs.
If any WW2 vets read this blog, please accept my apology on behalf of the University of Washington - and particularly thier ignorant student senate. We remember what you all have done. My kids will remember too.
Spoiled Rich White Kids should keep their stupid opinions to themselves
She should change her name to Mrs. Ed.
Baa Baa Black Sheep was a pretty cool show.
I actually met him when I was a young, at an air show.
Very nice to a couple of 12 year old hero worshiping kids. Loved his Corsairs, and spent about 20 minutes talking to us about them.
Men like him are the reason the punk kids on that college campus can whine about "social justice" and all the other mindless crap they drivel on about.
I'd give a good bit to hear Pappy give them a piece of his mind.
Liberals, read: communists, just HATE the fact that we are not communists. They seek to destroy all heros of the US as a means to weaken us.
Hmmmm... Wonder what these "peace-loving", "enlightened ones" think of abortion...
My father was in a hospital in Italy the day I was born. These brats at UW have no concept of sacrifice, honor, duty or history.
They call it "Red Square".
Gag me please!!!!!!!!
Where does this kid get off???
Her parents are probably alive and speaking english because people like Pappy kept the Japanese and Germans from taking over the West.
Is there no common sense or sense of historical significance on college campuses anymore?
and the comment...a man who killed people.
This woman is obviously mentally challenged, as she cannot tell the difference between "murder" and "declared war".
I would guess she would say the same about the guys who helped take down the flight in Pennsylvania on 9/11 too?
It would have, in her mind, been better if that plane had been flown into another building and killed 4x as many.
Get a grip on history...get a life!
I have been listening to "War Stories II" by Oliver North the last week or so.
I have always considered myself an amatuer historian. Boy did I find out how amatuer I was.
Great listen....you should do it. Well done, documented and includes Oliver interviewing the real guys and letting their words speak for themselves.
Have you guys heard about the flower child/guy from the 60's who has written a book called...
ready to gag????
The Greater Generation. He has the audacious, ignorant arrogance to claim that those of the 60s counter culture generation that dropped out, drugged out and protested the war were greater than the "greatest generation".
He is probably Ms. Miller's Dad!!!
Outstanding post! We owe so much to these great men. The fact that he readily admitted his troubles makes him all the more human.
It is true.
As a volunteer contractor too!
He was flying in the mid 30s I believe according to Oliver North's "War Stories II". Certainly BEFORE Pearl Harbor.
President Emmert asked me to respond on his behalf to your message about
the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) Senate
debate regarding a memorial to honor Col. Boyington.
The ASUW Senate, an arm of student government on campus, is a forum in
which students discuss a wide range of issues, including the proposal for
the memorial. After considerable debate, the resolution failed by a
tiebreaker vote. As ASUW Senate Chair Alex Kim described in the message
below, students thought long and hard about their decision and cast their
votes for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons that have been
publicized are addressed in Mr. Kim's report.
According to Mr. Kim and ASUW President Lee Dunbar, who co-sponsored the
resolution, many students felt that we should honor all veterans
appropriately, and not single out one, even though Col. Boyington was a
Medal of Honor winner. It should also be noted that thanks to the work of
Dean Emeritus Brewster Denny and the contributions of many UW alumni,
several years ago the University erected a fitting memorial to UW
students, faculty and staff who lost their lives in World War II.
Different versions of what transpired during the debate have circulated
through the electronic media. I hope you will take a moment to read Mr.
Kim's account. I also hope that regardless of one's point of view on this
issue, the exercise of democracy that occurred at the Senate meeting can
be seen as a meaningful learning opportunity for the students engaged in
the debate.
Sincerely,
Eric S. Godfrey
Acting Vice President for Student Affairs
________________________________________________________________________
It has recently come to our attention that the actions of the ASUW Student
Senate last night have been greatly misrepresented to the student body and
the general public. As such I wanted to clarify what actually occurred.
The Student Senate exists to create official student opinion by bringing
together student representatives from all across campus. The resolution
concerning Colonel Boyington (available online at
http://senate.asuw.org/legislation/12/R/R-12-18.html) cited the Colonel's
exemplary service record, including the fact that he was awarded the Medal
of Honor for service in World War II. The resolution called for the
creation of a memorial in his honor. Passage of the resolution would not
have necessarily resulted in the creation such a memorial, but would have
recommended it to the University of Washington.
The debate within the Senate was fair, balanced, and respectful. Senators
representing a diverse array of viewpoints spoke on the resolution,
raising numerous points as to the merits and demerits of the resolution.
1.) The ASUW Student Senate declined to support the construction of a
memorial for an individual. This in no way indicates a lack of respect
for the individual or the cause, merely that the Senate did not support
the construction of a memorial. The Senate weighed factors such as
financial viability, the logistics of implementation, which historical
points are relevant, and the difficulty in assessing which veterans should
be memorialized over others. Questions regarding these factors were not
addressed in the legislation itself and thus became points of debate
during the meeting.
2.) Senators speak on behalf of the opinions of their constituents.
This legislation has been posted publicly for nearly a month and senators
have used that time to discuss the issues with their constituents. There
is no way to distill a central argument of the Senate for or against any
piece of legislation the Senate discusses. While the vote itself is a yes
or no decision, the reasons senators choose to vote in a particular manner
vary widely. Therefore, it is inappropriate to represent a decision by
the Therefore, it is inappropriate to represent a decision by the Senate
as resulting from any single statement or point-of-view.
3.) No senator speaking in opposition to the resolution suggested that
deaths in war are the equivalent of murder. One senator, in making a
motion to remove references to the number of Japanese planes shot down,
suggested the focus of the resolution should be on the man's service to
his country. The sponsor of the amendment suggested that death in war was
sometimes a "necessary evil" and that the focus of the honor should not be
on the necessary evil, but rather on the service. That motion passed
overwhelmingly. A further amendment to remove the text of the inscription
of the Medal of Honor from the legislation subsequently failed
overwhelmingly.
4.) No senator stated that we should not pass the resolution on the
grounds that Colonel Boyington was a "white male." One senator stated
that we have many monuments and memorials to white males, but did not
suggest this was a reason to not support the resolution.
Throughout the debate in the Student Senate, the tone was very respectful.
If you have any additional questions, please contact:
ASUW President Lee Dunbar (asuwpres@u.washington.edu),
Student Senate Chair Alex Kim (asuwssch@u.washington.edu),
Student Senate Vice-Chair Erin Shields (asuwssvc@u.washington.edu)
or Director of Operations Karl Smith (asuwbdop@u.washington.edu)
Alex Kim
Student Senate Chair
Associated Students of the University of Washington 206.543.1780 (office)
206.669.9562 (mobile)
http://senate.asuw.org/
Office of the President
University of Washington
Room 301, Gerberding Hall
Box 351230
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-5010
Fax: (206) 616-1784
I had two uncles and some cousins who were POWs in Hong Kong. Not all of them survived. I hope the Kamloops Kid (notoriously brutal prison camp guard who was educated in BC) is burning in Hell right now.
This story is on the Big Story with John Gibson, which brought me to this link.
The fact that these idiots are blocking a statue for Mr. Boyington is disturbing.
Do they really have a statue of Lenin in Seattle???
Disgusting people.
Damn right.
The last thing this Soldier wants is societal crybabies being forced into the Armed Forces.
I have enough problems to deal with as it is; I can hardly imagine the anger and frustration of dealing with these @$$holes in my world.
In Ballard, an upscale community across Lake Union from the Space Needle.
Also, the central plaze at UW is lovingly referred to by the facalty and students as Red Square.
The Mariners stadium refuses to fly a U.S. flag where it can be seen from outside the stadium (they probably wouldn't fly one inside if the league didn't demand it).
Seattle 911 records it's greatest number of calls whenever the Blue Angels perform; complaining about those "military" planes.
Folks, this is a good thing. Boyington is too good for UW and Seattle.
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