A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....05-26-03....Memorial Day - Remembering SSGT. Richard A. Fitts

dansangel

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, daisyscarlett, dansangel, dutchess, Mama_Bear

Memorial Day

~Remember~

Today as we celebrate Memorial Day
It is important to remember.....
Remember that the day is more than hot dogs and hamburgers
More than picnics and fishing
More than boating and baseball
More than just a day off from work.....
Memorial Day is to remember those that served
Those that sacrificed
Those that suffered
Those that gave all
So that we may live free.


Let us all remember and give thanks.

~dansangel~

Staff Sergeant Richard A. Fitts

I wore this man's MIA bracelet while attending high school back in 1972-73. A similar faded and folded picture accompanied it, giving the man a face that I could carry in my heart. Last year during Memorial Day weekend, a fellow FReeper kindly posted the URL to the "Virtual Wall." Although the bracelet was long gone, misplaced in one of the many moves I have experienced over the past three decades, I never forgot the name that was engraved on the stainless steel: Staff Sergeant Richard A. Fitts.

I followed the posted link to the Virtual Wall and proceeded to look for that brave soldier's name. My heart skipped a beat as I found it. Then, reality sunk in. His name was listed among the killed in action. Feelings of grief for a man I never knew but carried in my heart all these years, overcame me.

Further research on my part yielded the following synopsis (taken from the Massachusetts POW/MIA website):

SSgt. Richard A. Fitts was born on February 23, 1946 in Weymouth, Mass. He entered the Army in January,1966. In Vietnam, Fitts was part of Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) which was a joint service high command unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (though it was not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA) which provided their "cover" while under secret orders to MACV- SOG. These teams performed deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction missions in Laos and Cambodia which were called, depending on the country and time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions. On November 30, 1968, Sgt. Richard A. Fitts, Sgt. Arthur E. Bader, Cpl. Gary R. LaBohn, SSgt. Klaus D. Scholz, Maj. Samuel K. Toomey, Cpl. Michael H. Mein, 1Lt. Raymond C. Stacks were passengers aboard a Vietnamese Air Force CH34 helicopter (serial #14-4653) as their team was being transported to their reconnaissance mission area in Laos. Details of their mission was classified at that time, and remains classified in early 1990. However, information received from some of the family members indicates that the mission was related to disarming an enemy munitions store.

The helicopter was flying at 4,000 feet when it was struck by 37mm anti-aircraft fire,went into a spin, crashed in a mass of flames and exploded. The helicopter crashed about 10 miles northwest of Khe Sanh, just into Laos east of Tchepone. The crash site is in heavy jungle, near a stream. From the time the aircraft was hit until the time it impacted out of view, the helicopter was under observation and no one was seen to leave the aircraft during its descent. No ground search was initiated because the location was in a denied area. Later visual search indicated that the pilot's hatch was open, and his helmet was seen 25-30 feet from the helicopter, but no survivors or bodies were seen. All the personnel aboard the aircraft, however, were not declared dead, but were declared Missing in Action, which was procedure when no proof of death existed.

When the war ended, and 591 Americans were releaesed from prison camps in Southeast Asia, not one man who had been held in Laos was released. Although the Pathet Lao stated publicly that they held "tens of tens" of Americans, no negotiations occurred which would free them at that time, nor have any occurred since.

In March 1988, the area in which the helicopter crashed was excavated by a joint Lao/ US technical team. Human remains consisting of 17 teeth and 145 bone fragments, none measuring over two inches, were recovered. The remains were returned to the U.S. Army Central Identification (CIL) in Hawaii.

On January 3, 1990, it was announced that the remains of Richard Fitts had been positively identified from the material recovered at the crash site. That identification was determined by the government's conclusion that two of the 17 teeth belonged to Fitts. Fitts' parents, after having an independent analysis conducted on the teeth, felt assured that the teeth belonged to their son, and subsequently buried them in Boston, Massachusetts. The remaining 15 teeth and 145 bone fragments were said to be unidentifiable.

Barely a month later, on February 8, 1990, the Department of Defense announced that the remainder of the crew had been positively identified and would be buried, along with the Vietnamese crew, in a mass grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Fitts' name was included on that tombstone along with the other Americans because the Pentagon believed some of the bone fragments belonged to Fitts. Thus, even though the remains were scientifically unidentifiable, the cases were closed on these individuals.

Critics of the U.S. Government's identification of the entire crew of the helicopter point to a similar incident some years ago. In 1968, unidentifiable remains attributed to a group of U.S. Marines killed near Khe Sanh on February 25, 1968 were buried in a mass grave in St. Louis. One of the deceased was identified as being Marine Sgt. Ronald Ridgeway.

Five years later, Ridgeway was released from a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, giving rise to considerable speculation as to the validity of the positive identification of the other remains buried in St. Louis.

There are still over 2300 Americans who remain prisoner, missing, or otherwise unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Nearly 600 of them were lost in Laos. The U.S. Government, by early 1990, had received nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in Southeast Aisa. Many authorities believe there are hundreds of Americans still alive today, held captive.

In recent years, the numbers of remains returned from Vietnam and excavated in Laos has increased dramatically. Government strategists happily point to this as "progress" on the POW/MIA issue, although most of these remains are still unidentified. Indeed, many families, having had independent studies of the remains to assure accurate identi- fication, now have answers to long-awaited concerns about their loved ones. However, when remains are positively identified, the U.S. Government closes the books and the search for that missing man ends. Can we afford to close the books on an American who may be alive waiting for his country to bring him home?

How many will serve in the next war knowing they may be abandoned?

How many, indeed?

Each person reading this today, Memorial Day 2003, must make a vow:

Never must we ever allow another member of our military to serve his or her country, preserving our freedom, in the fear that they will be forgotten.

May God Bless our military members abundantly, and may He place His bloodline of protection around each and every one.

Thank-you...*ALL* of you, who haved selflessly served your country, past and present.

We Will Never Forget!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 05-24, 05-25-03 ... The Week In Review

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
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God Bless Our Military

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Daisyscarlett; Dansangel; Dutchess; Mama_Bear; and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~

We ask Lord, that You guide the leaders of our great country in their hour of decision. The burden that has been placed on their shoulders is overwhelming. We ask that with Your infinite wisdom You guide them gently to the right decisions.

Please give us the strength, Lord, to get through each difficult and devastating day that faces each of us and our country. Protect and guide our Military that are now being called to duty, strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OhioWfan........................son mystery-ak..........son, husband Gogrammy................grandson Inspectorette...................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew anniegetyourgun...........nephew Pippin....niece,nephew,loved one Doug from Upland......son-in-law weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater..........cousin WaterDragon..son-in-law,grandson BeforeISleep...................son Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne.........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells..................active duty LadyX....................grandson LongCut..................active duty Trish.......................active duty The Mayor................niece fawn796..................nephew

Maigrey................cousin ladtx....................2 sons Mama_Bear...........nephew gator girl............husband severa................husband MozartLover...........nephew LBGA........................son SpookBrat...........nephew Himyar.....................son boxerblues............2 sons the piper...................son sheeza...............husband kemathen7...........husband Diver Dave................niece deadhead................cousin JimRobinson.....2 nephews Armymarinemom.....3 sons Consort...........2 daughters Darheel..................niece dixie sass.............nephew BeAllYouCanBe.........son AgThorn.............2 sons kneezles...........son MozartLover...........son

[Diver Dave]

Flags, flowers and balloons decorate graves at San Joaquin National Cemetery as loved ones pay their respects Sunday.

San Joaquin National Cemetery lies amid the western hills of California's Great Central Valley. The cemetery does not have the groomed lawns so often associated with National Cemeteries, but instead bears resemblance to the surrounding countryside.

From today's Modesto Bee... photographs by Ted Benson...

SANTA NELLA -- Under a brilliant blue sky with white mare's-tail clouds, hundreds of small American flags snapped in the wind at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery.

"It's a day to remember those who died," said Stephanie Mason, who came from Modesto with her mother, her husband, Bob, and their sons Tommy and Timmy for Sunday's Memorial Day ceremony.

Her father Paul Kish, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, is buried there.

Flowers and flags fluttered on the graves amid the yellow hills. A balloon tugged at its string.

"Look, someone has brought a newspaper," Truoc T. Scheidt, 61, said to Robert Silva, 75. A neatly rolled Sunday paper was left, with flowers, at one grave.

Scheidt, a veteran's widow, and Silva, a widowed veteran, met at the cemetery three years ago, they said.

"Now, we use Memorial Day as our anniversary," Silva said. "It's funny how life is."

He placed one bunch of the pink hydrangeas on the grave of Can- dida, his wife of 43 years.

Scheidt placed the other hydrangeas on the grave of her husband, World War II veteran Alvin H. Scheidt.

Candida Silva and Alvin Scheidt died two weeks apart in 1998 and were buried next to each other.

After arranging the flowers, Truoc Scheidt and Robert Silva unfolded their chairs and sat to visit the graves.

Hundreds of others gathered at a rippling memorial pool for a ceremony.

"To give part of your life to serve your country, whether one year or 30 years, is the definition of heroism," the Navy's Javier Hinojos, of the USS Shiloh, told the crowd.

Carla Williams, the cemetery's director, asked those present to observe a moment of silence in honor of those who died for their country.

No military planes flew over the sun-bleached hills, although they usually do.

The flyover was omitted for national security reasons, master of ceremonies Brian Griffin said.

Songs remind Korean War vets

Korean War veterans gathered afterward to hold their own remembrance -- complete with music many of them hadn't heard since Korea.

"If that's scratchy, it's because those are off of old 78-rpm records that are 50 years old," Lew Horyza said of a jazzy tape, with a woman singing in Japanese.

Horyza, president of the Santa Clara Chapter of the Korean War Veterans, said he'd taped the music from a set of old records a fellow veteran had lov- ingly saved.

Dick Barboza, of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3199 in Modesto, said he remembered the songs on the tape very well.

"We heard it so often, we thought it was our national anthem," Barboza said of one bouncy dance number.

Mike Glazzy, another Korean War veteran, said he could remember a disc jockey who'd played that song "all the time." Japanese stations were the only ones soldiers could pick up in Korea, he said.

Gary Hall, who served in Vietnam from 1967-68, stood with the black prisoner of war-missing in action flag.

"That POW flag stands for everyone who did not come home," said Hall. "The veterans who died, the MIAs and POWs gave all."

[deadhead]

Thanks for sharing this photo.

God Bless John A. Stone, F Company, 33rd Ohio Regiment

[LadyX]

You are a wonder, Sistah....no 'wonder' Mama loved you best..:((

(A loving LOL...:))

[WVNan]

Thank you Dansy. We went out this morning to put a flag on the grave and found that someone had already put one there. I think maybe the American Legion may do that for the military graves. John Stone was born in 1838. We can't find the date of his death. He is listed in the 1880 census. He enlisted in the Union Army 9/5/1861 and was given a medical discharge 10/15/1863. Reason given, Erysipelas (whatever that is). He and his wife Rbecca (Baldwin) Stone had 9 children. The last one was born in 1880 and her name was Lottie. She was my husband's grandmother on his father's side.

[LadyX]

For some reason, this gif I 'lifted' from TC would not post before!
Thanks for 'freeing' it, Dave..:))

[dansangel]

now a gigantic, unrecognizable area..:))

You've got *that* right. I often wonder how much nicer FL would be if about half the population decided to leave. ;-)

[dansangel]

You're quite welcome, ((((Nan)))))

I looked up Erysipelas on Google. It pulled up many hits, but This One on Erysipelas is a good place to start.

[WVNan]

How many times must I tell you, Mama did not love me best. She loved us equal. Now hesh up.

[WVNan]

Euwwwwwww! That sounds nasty. Sounds like he had a small wound that got infected.

[WVNan]

I love this graphic and it seems appropriate to the day and the subject.

<--Click this

[dansangel]

Yeah, it didn't sound good. Thank the good Lord for antibiotics!

[dansangel]

That's a beautiful graphic, Nan. Do you have a photo of your Civil War hero?

[WVNan]

No we don't. We have looked and looked, but we've never found one. I don't know if there are any military pictures of his regiment or not, and if so where they could be found. We didn't even know who he was until we moced to WV. Hubby didn't know anything about his family beyond his grandparents. When we moved here where his ancestors lived, we began to dig into the past and found a lot of his forebears. We found out somehow that he was buried in the cemetary in Gallipolis, Ohio, just across the river. We went over one day to look for his stone and when we got there the cemetary was HUGE. But not to be deterred, we started a systematic search. It didn't take us too long to find it. It was a gratifying moment. I sure would like to have a picture of him, but that family didn't keep too many records. There are still gaps in our search. They were simple rural people and just keeping body and soul together was hard enough.

[JulieRNR21]

Soldiers

In Arlington and Flanders Field,

They rest in row by row.

They fought and died for liberty

to preserve the peace we know.

They fought upon the beaches

of many foreign lands.

They fought for right and glory

for which our country stands.

They marched to war with courage.

They fought the battles thru.

They only thought of victory,

our peace they would renew.

On distant shores and jungle wars,

they would for peace persist.

They gave their lives for freedom,

no greater cause exist.



For honor, truth, and glory,

they fought and died together,

side by side in trenches deep.

They're remembered now and ever.

In Flanders Field and Arlington,

and in jungles and oceans deep,

our boys will rest forever.

We pray they rest in peace.


Jack E. Barnett (Author)

[dansangel]

Thank-you for bringing that sad and lovely poem here (((((Julie)))))). The magnitude of the fallen heroes lies in the visuals of those cemetaries. And, in the beauty of those written words.

[dansangel]

They were simple rural people and just keeping body and soul together was hard enough.

That is so true.

You might have some luck with some of the genealogy sites. .45MAN has used some of those sites to try to find relatives of his mother's. He hasn't had any luck, but one lady responded that she might be a distant cousin. His mother was from Lithuania and he never knew her, so he'd really like to find out more information.

[dansangel]

P.S. My daughter and son-in-law are now neighbors of yours. They moved to Fairfax, VA this past weekend. I miss them already, but it was a good move. Besides, we hope to be back in FL before too long, so we were bound to be separated one way or another.

Feelin' kinda blue. :-(

[JustAmy]

This picture is from last year at Fresno Memorial Gardens' Memorial Day Services. I could not make it this year; hopefully I will be able to make it to a small cemetery later this afternoon.

We will never forget!!!

[WVNan]

Oh Dansy, I know you must be missing them something awful. The empty nest never seems as empty when our kids are near-by. But far away is far away. God give you comfort and lots of e-mail. Fairfax is a goodly distance from where we are. We are on the western edge of WV. So, there is about two state's length between us and the D.C. area. It takes my brother-in-law 6 hours to drive over here from D.C. Funny, I used to have to go to D.C. back when I lived in Miami and my folks lived in Del. I flew.

[shaggy eel]

,,, thoughts are with you on Memorial Day.

Regards from Wellington, New Zealand.