FR Exc! Heroes Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA

Personal phone call | MB26

[MindBender26]

FR Exclusive American Heroes; Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA

I am just off phone with a member of the American Heroes tour group stuck in Qatar. The four, Armstrong, Cernan. Lovell and Ritchie have been planning this tour to see the real front-line troops for months, so they could give some visual support and morale boost to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But now they are stuck in a rear area in Qatar, because some Washington Weenie claims it would be too dangerous for them to move any farther forward, as was the locked in plan.

Remember who these men are. Neil Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to walk on the moon. Gene Cernan went to the moon twice and was the last man to walk on the moon’s surface. Jim Lovell also went twice, first on Apollo 8 which orbited the moon on Christmas day and then again when he saved Apollo 13 from almost certain disaster when a fuel talk exploded enroute to the moon. Air Force Brigadier General Steve Ritchie is a legend in the aviation community. He was the only Air Force ace in Vietnam, meaning he had five air combat victories over MiG-21s. At age 67, he still flies the double-supersonic F-104 Starfighter in thrilling air shows. These are true American heroes, the kind of heroes our soldiers and Marines want to see, not some drugged up rock and rap band. This is not an easy trip for these men.

In many ways, it may be their swan song. Armstrong is 78, Lovell 81, and Cernan 75. They saw this as their one last chance to give back to the this generation of the military men and women protecting America from terrorists. Stop and think about it. These four men could be anywhere, living well, but they chose to be in the desert, with the young men and women currently defending America. But someone weenie is Washington is now prohibiting it.

This trip was not some last minute program. It has been planned to the minutest detail for 4 months. But now, is someone in the Obama administration afraid some good news out of the combat theater would make Obama look bad? Are they afraid of what the troops might say when the cameras are on?

Make no mistake about it. These four men know the dangers involved. They have seen 100 times this much danger in their lives and have now made the intelligent and informed decision that if it helps the troops in any way, they are willing to answer the bugle call one more time. In fact, they are now furious that they are being held in the rear areas, not allowed to be with the troops in actual daily danger, as they were promised.

I am now conveying a personal request from one of them, (and he speaks for all four) Get on the phone, call the White House at 202-456-1414 and tell them to let these last American heroes make the sacrifice they want to make. They have flown half way around the world on MATS flights to do this. Some of these men are intensely private individuals, and at their age, deserve to sit home if they want to. But no, at age 80+, they are there in Southwest Asia, trying to win one more for America, to do something for the troops, this one last time.

Call the WH now, tell Obama to take his political shackles of these true American heroes, and today’s troops they want to honor.

(ATTN: Members of accredited media. FReepmail me with your contact phone and paper or other outlet name and I will give you direct e-mail/international cellphone to one of the four. Sorry, I cannot do this for everyone.)

Call the WH now. Tell Obama to be as “brave” as these real American heroes are!

[Earthdweller]

Excuse me? Didn’t we let code pink (for God’s sake) go to Iraq? Someone please tell me this isn’t political bigotry...nah...couldn’t be./s

[Allegra]

This is crazy. Hollywood actors/comedians and musician-types go to these war zones quite frequently.

Senators and Representatives (some of them of advanced ages) go in there quite a bit as well. It's not always in the news, but we would get lots of e-mails from the Public Affairs Office advising us that Sentator So-and-So and Rep. Thingamajig was coming onto a base for any who would like to meet with them.

So, barring these adventurous heroes just doesn't make any sense at all.

[Allegra]

They are not active military, they are on a goodwill tour and that makes them in effect, tourists. There is no logical, military, or realistic reason to put those men in harms way and in my opinion someone with far greater insight than we have decided that.

See my post #82. Good grief, if people like Kelly Pickler and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders could come into the Green Zone back when things were positively insane with the mortars and rockets, then there is no reason that these astronauts should be barred from visiting.

[BradyLS]

If Bob Hope could go to Vietnam to put on star-studded shows, four of America’s greatest living legends should be allowed to visit our troops anywhere in the world they want, anytime they want.

[BradyLS]

I was a “space junkie” as a kid. I followed all the manned moon missions and SkyLab. I wish someone would have told me the significance a place like Purdue held for the space program when I was young, living just two hours from the place.

[meadsjn]

FR Exclusive American Heroes; Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA

What the heck do any of these guys know about Community Organizing? [/sarcasm]

[Marty62]

Take a chill pill.
Your meds must be wearing off.

[MindBender26]

Tehy have earned that right!

[Enchante]

before “Namibia” there was “South West Africa”

I’m old enough to remember when “SWAPO” (”South West Africa People’s Organization”) was a darling of the left

[yarddog]

Forget Steve Ritchie, I would just like to meet his wife.

Oh, I just realized she would be over 60 now.

[BradyLS]

Wasn’t that a lunar lander simulator? I did footage of him bailing out of one of those in the movie “In the Shadow of the Moon” a few years back.

He’s flying it pretty much as you see there. Then he ejects, his body going straight up and out of the camera’s field of view. The craft is stable for half a second longer, then it pitches over and crashes. Finally, you see Neil descend in a parachute a few seconds later.

[headstamp 2]

I can’t believe the ages of these men.

Seems you have it fixed in your mind how young they were and that’s all you can see them as.

[Doogle]

Steve Richie..Ritchie left active service in 1974 and had a distinguished career in the Air Force Reserve before retiring in 1999. With more than 3,000 flight hours, 800 combat hours, and decorations that include four Silver Stars and 10 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Ritchie is a role model and exemplar of what he would call his three Ds — “duty, desire, and determination.”

[Hot Tabasco]

This is the real deal.

Definitely a conspiracy in the making................sheesh!

[Salvation]

**In many ways, it may be their swan song. Armstrong is 78, Lovell 81, and Cernan 75. They saw this as their one last chance to give back to the this generation of the military men and women protecting America from terrorists. Stop and think about it. These four men could be anywhere, living well, but they chose to be in the desert, with the young men and women currently defending America. But someone weenie is Washington is now prohibiting it. **

This is outrageous that Obama will not let them go.

Obama is the one who needs to go bye-bye.

[Marysecretary]

he’s a wee-wee kinda guy...

[MindBender26]

Steve is single !

[NonValueAdded]

Maybe they should appear outside at Obama’s Space Program funeral on April 15th, and talk about how the prez wants to keep any good news about manned space flight out of the news.

Brilliant!!! I'm series. "Let us continue the tour or we're headed to Kennedy Space Center for April 15th and will speak our minds" (then do it anyway) :)

And let's name names ... WHO IS THE REMF SAYING NO???

[afnamvet]

Having had the opportunity to be entertained by the USO and other groups in Vietnam, I find this action by this CIC to be despicable.

These gentlemen are our heroes and would provide a huge morale boost to our troops.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I don't have all the facts, so don't nobody flame, but.....The only problem I now have about this is that now the WHOLE WORLD knows they are going and where they currently area, and you can bet Islamofascists in and around both of those countries would consider this CODEL-type group a prime hit soft-target, and they would now probably have to armour up ten-fold and come in at night with lights off. I have no idea, but there may well have been actionable intelligence gleaned that they were in danger. In principle I am all for this, but I also know how the jehadi works and it might not be particularly advisable at this time--is what I am thinking instinctively. Best to just come in, quiet, make the rounds, and get the hell out of such places. I would say, if Iraq and Afghanistan are scrapped, just have them return via Korea and go up to the DMZ. They will be safer there and the guys and gals in service up there face just as brutal an enemy, but the environment is much more easily controlled.

Bush's one day covert trip to Baghdad on Thanksgiving a number of years ago was a textbook case of prudent travel by high level American VIPs to war zones in the Middle East infested with Islamobastards. In my view, this delegation has been compromised. Too much press. If al-Jazeera or somebody like that carries this, it's over. Washington has "weenies" alright, but sometimes they have solid people as well who know when and when not to go forward on something. It is just conjecture on my part, but this also has to now be figured into the equation.