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Freedom Is Not Free It Comes At A Cost

by Dale Buchanan
5/31/2021 / Holidays

Memorial Day: A Tribute To Those Who Paid the Ultimate Cost

Memories take me back to childhood and teenage years. Memorial Day and Fourth of July were HUGE, AWESOME celebration days! Not because of time off or a long weekend. They were days to be thankful for the tremendous sacrifice that our soldiers had made to gain or preserve our freedom. They were a time to celebrate the great, free country in which we live.

Those were the times when we unashamedly respected the flag. We proudly recited the pledge of allegiance. Our hearts swelled with pride, and sometimes tears flowed as we sang the Star-Spangled Banner. As a child, I remember the day our town celebrated our own Congressional Medal of Honor soldier, Sgt. Einar Ingman, for his heroism and courage near Maltari, South Korea, in 1951. The town gave him a new car and a boat.

But it came to him at extreme cost. He lost his left eye, lost hearing in his left ear, and even after many surgeries, he had memory problems for the rest of his life.[i]

Here are some mind-boggling statistics – just numbers to us today – but significant to individuals in America and the lives of multitudes of family members. Each of these numbers represents one life given to preserving our freedom.[ii]

Revolutionary War 4,435 - many more outside of direct military action

War of 1812 2,260

Mexican War 13,283

Civil War 618,000

Spanish American War 2,446

World War I 116,516

World War II 405,399

Korean War 36,574

Vietnam War 58,220

Gulf War 383

Iraq/Afghanistan War 6,773 – This number only thru May 2017

Plus – many other smaller wars and conflicts.

I thought it might be well for us to remember some forgotten heroes of some of our wars. They are relatively unknown names now, but very important in the history of America and the lives of their loved ones.

Isaac Davis, First Officer to Die in the American Revolutionary War

Isaac Davis, a gunsmith, and a militia officer, commanded a company of Minutemen from Acton, Massachusetts. Davis determined that his company would be just as well equipped and prepared as the British. He used his skills as a gunsmith to supply nearly every man with a bayonet and the cartridge boxes needed (rather than re-loading using powder horns) so they could re-load as quickly as the British. He then made sure to train his men in marksmanship. Because of his actions, the Acton company was the best prepared in Massachusetts.

Paul Revere, of the Sons of Liberty, warned the town of Concord and its militia that the British were coming to confiscate their gunpowder and weapons. They removed most of the supplies.

The British, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, came to Concord on April 19th, 1775, to confiscate supplies but found little. Then they started burning wooden gun carriages. At this point, the provincials decided to attack the approximately 100 British forces occupying the North Bridge. The Minutemen, marching two abreast with Isaac Davis, Major John Buttrick of Concord, and Lt. Col. John Robinson of Westford at the head of the column. The British fired warning shots and then let loose, firing a disorganized volley. At the head of his company, Isaac Davis was shot through the heart and killed. But the provincial soldiers behind Davis returned fire and were able to drive the British into retreat. So, the provincials won this victory at this famous Battle of Concord.

Isaac Davis left behind his wife and four children.

Seventy-five years after the battle, the famous Minute Man statue was erected on the approximate site of his death, with the facial features of Isaac Davis. His remains are now interred beneath the monument.[iii]

Andre Cailloux, Black Civil War Hero

Andre Cailloux, a black slave born in 1825, was emancipated at age 21 and married Felicie Coulon, a freed slave. He was one of the early organizers of the Louisiana Native Guards. He then enlisted 100 men, including working slaves, runaway slaves, and free Black men. When New Orleans fell to the Union, the Native Guards disbanded. The Union put Gen. Benjamin Butler in charge, and he needed troops. He turned to the Native Guards who offered their services. Cailloux’s company became the colored company carrying the banner for the 1^st Regiment.

On May 27th, 1863, Union General Nathaniel P. Banks initiated an attack on the fortified Confederate positions at Port Hudson. Cailloux was ordered to lead his 100 man company against the sharpshooting Confederate troops. It was the initial assault against Port Hudson in a protracted siege of several weeks. The assault he led was almost a suicidal mission. He led in several increasingly futile charges. His company suffered heavy casualties, but Cailloux shouted encouragement to his troops in French and English. On his last charge, a Minie ball tore through his arm and left it dangling. He was seriously wounded, but he continued to lead the charge until a Confederate artillery shell killed him.

Because of Confederate resistance, Union forces could not retrieve his body until after the victory at Port Hudson on July 8^th. The funeral procession, observed by thousands, and funeral were conducted on July 20th, 1863.

He left a wife and five children.[iv]

Frank Luke, World War I “Ace of Aces” Aerial Combat Hero

Frank Luke, whose father emigrated from Germany, was born in 1897, the fifth of nine children, in Phoenix, AZ, and grew up in that city.

He enlisted in the Aviation Section, US Signal Corp, in 1917. He received pilot training in Texas and California. After commissioning as a 2^nd Lieutenant, he was deployed to France for further training and was assigned to the 27^th Aero Squadron. The 27^th was under standing orders to destroy German Observation Balloons. Between September 12 – 29, 1918, Luke is credited with shooting down 14 German balloons and four planes on a total of ten sorties.

On his last mission, he was shot and wounded seriously and forced to land near Murvaux, France. While trying to make his escape, the German infantry approached him. He drew his Colt Model 1911 pistol and fired several rounds at them before he died.

At the time of his death, he was known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster” and the American “Ace of Aces.” He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in May 1919. Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, AZ, was named after him, and a memorial statue of him was erected on the state capitol grounds in Phoenix. He was 21 years old at the time of his death. Both of his parents survived him.[v]

1^st Lt John R. Fox, World War II Hero, Black Field Artillery Soldier

1^st Lt. John R. Fox was born in Cincinnati, raised in Wyoming, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University. After joining the Army in 1940, he transferred to Wilberforce University, participated in ROTC, and graduated with a degree in engineering. He received a commission as a second lieutenant in 1941. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, John was ready.

The Army assigned him to the Cannon Company, 366^th Infantry Regiment, 92^nd Infantry Division (an all-Black division known as the Buffalo Soldiers). In the Italian Campaign, he was a forward observer attached to the 598^th Field Artillery Battalion.

On December 26th, 1944, he was part of a forward observer party. They had volunteered to stay behind in the Italian village of Sommocolonia. American forces withdrew from this village when the Germans overran it. The German Wehrmacht soldiers continued attacking. Fox and the members of his observation party took a position on the second floor of a house to call in defensive artillery fire.

The Germans were attacking in strength near his observation post, so he kept calling in artillery fire closer and closer to his position. The Germans surrounded his position and Fox again called in artillery fire. His Commander warned him, “Fox, that will be on you!” The last communication from Fox was, “Fire it! There’s more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!”

Fox was killed in that artillery barrage – and also about 100 German soldiers. It stopped the Wehrmacht’s attack. Because of that action, the US forces were able to launch a counterattack and retake the position from the Germans a few days later, on January 1st, 1945.

In the early 1990’s it was determined that the military did not even consider Black Soldiers for the MoH in World War II because of their race. Fox and six other African Americans who served in WWII were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 12th, 1997, by President Bill Clinton. He made the presentation to his widow, Arlene Marrow.

At the time of his death, Fox was survived by his widow and their 2-year-old daughter, Sandra.[vi]

Private First Class Melvin Louis Brown, US Army soldier, Hero in the Korean War

Melvin Brown, one of ten children, was born and raised in Mahaffey, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Army at age seventeen in October 1948, served eighteen months in Japan, and then the Army deployed him to Korea in July 1950.

Private First Class Melvin Brown served in Company D of the 8^th Engineer Combat Battalion. On September 4th, 1950, his platoon was securing Hill 755 (the Walled City). The enemy counterattacked using automatic weapons and small arms.

Brown took a position on a 50-foot high wall and delivered heavy rifle fire on the enemy. After using up all his ammunition and having been wounded, he stayed at his post and threw grenades at his attackers, causing many casualties. His comrades tossed other grenades to him. He left his position and risked his life to retrieve those grenades and throw them at the enemy. After he became weaponless, he drew his entrenching tool and calmly used it to deliver a crushing blow one by one upon the heads of ten or twelve of the enemy that peered over the wall. His daring action inspired his platoon and they went on to repel the attack and hold their position.

His brave action cost him his life.

President Truman presented the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to Melvin Brown’s father on February 16th, 1951. Several locations have been named in his honor, including a Korean War Memorial Park in Fort Hood, Texas, and a parade ground at Camp Howze, South Korea.[vii]

Thomas W. Bennett, US Army Medic, Conscientious Objector, Hero in Vietnam War

Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Thomas grew up as a Southern Baptist. He was intensely patriotic but also a conscientious objector. During college, he opposed the Vietnam war. However, when his draft notice came, he enlisted as a conscientious objector willing to serve. This classification is distinguished from a conscientious objector who will not serve in the military in any way. Because of his convictions, he trained as a field medic.

After arriving in Vietnam in January 1969, the Army assigned him to Bravo Company, 1^st Battalion, 14^th Infantry in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This unit was involved in many demanding patrols in dense, mountainous terrain.

On February 9th, he served as a platoon medical aidman with the 2^nd Platoon, Company B. It came under intense fire from a numerically superior enemy unit. Bennett risked his life as he made repeated trips giving life-saving aid under fire and carrying wounded men to safety. His platoon sergeant recommended him for the Silver Star. Later, On February 11th, under heavy enemy fire, at Chu Pah Region, Pleiku Province, Republic of Vietnam, he treated one wounded man. He began running toward another seriously injured man and was mortally wounded.

President Richard Nixon presented the posthumous Medal of Honor to his mother and stepfather on April 7th, 1970.[viii]

Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, Navy Seal, Hero in Afghanistan War.

A son of Irish American parents, his father a Vietnam vet, and a former district attorney, Michael Murphy grew up in Patchoque, NY. As a young person, he was active in sports and was also known as a protector of helpless people. Michael graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a double major in political science and psychology. He was engaged to his college sweetheart, Heather Duggan, with their wedding scheduled for November 2005.

He accepted an appointment to US Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. Later, Michael completed Seal training and earned his SEAL Trident. He was deployed in Jordan, Qatar, Djibouti, and finally Afghanistan in early 2005. He was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE as an officer in charge in Alpha Platoon to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

Murphy was the Commander of a four-man reconnaissance team to kill or capture a top Taliban leader. The team was flown by helicopter and dropped off in a remote mountainous area east of Asadabad, Kunar Province. Somehow, Taliban forces were alerted and surrounded and attacked the small team. After Murphy called for help, an MH-47 Chinook helicopter loaded with reinforcements was dispatched for rescue but was shot down with an RPG, killing all 16 aboard, of whom eight were SEALS. Murphy and two others on his team were killed, while the fourth man survived. All three of his men received the Navy’s second-highest honor, the Navy Cross, for their part in the battle.

Murphy was killed on June 28th, 2005. He had left his cover position going to a clearing to get a clear signal to ask for help and was met with a hail of gunfire. After being shot more than 14 times, Michael picked up his phone again and finished the call. While being shot, he signed off saying “Thank You,” then continued fighting until he died.

President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor posthumously on October 22nd, 2007, to his parents at the White House.

Michael Murphy left behind his parents and his fiance.[ix]

Being Thankful for the United States of America

The USA is one of the greatest and grandest human democracy experiments in all of human history. The country was founded on godly, Christian principles. That is why you can see Scripture verses inscribed on many public buildings in Washington DC and other cities along the East coast. That is why America is one of the first countries to offer help to other countries in times of natural disasters. Psalms 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Does America have problems? Sure. But one of the strengths of our free America is that we can admit our problems – speak our opinion about them and then work together on them.

People are fleeing from many other countries because of oppression and lack of freedom and opportunity. And many of them are coming to the USA. If America is so bad (as many politicians and academics say), why are we having such big problems with people wanting to come here? Could it possibly be that America is a better place to live than all these other places?

I am proud of America: of our great beginnings, of our great founding fathers, our strong military, our capable and competent police and first responders, and I’m proud of the great churches throughout the country that have stood firm on the principles of God’s Word.

I am highly thankful for the countless thousands who have given their lives for this great country – and countless thousands more who have been crippled and permanently handicapped because they served America. And I am also very thankful for those veterans who survived without being handicapped and can lead a normal life today.

Memorial Day – What a Great Day to be Thankful and to Honor Those Who Have Given Their All So We Could Have Our Freedom and Opportunities.

[i] Einar H. Ingman Jr. - Wikipedia

[ii] CHART: How Many Soldiers Died in Each U.S. War? | KQED

[iii] Isaac Davis (soldier) - Wikipedia

[iv] Andre Cailloux, Civil War Hero - African American Registry (aaregistry.org

[v] https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/896

[vi] Field artillery Soldier became a World War II hero | Article | The United States Army

[vii] Melvin L. Brown - Wikipedia

[viii] Thomas W. Bennett (conscientious objector) - Wikipedia

[ix] Michael P. Murphy - Wikipedia

Dale Buchanan is an ex-Baptist pastor and retired accountant who started his writing career a couple of years ago. He desires to honor the Lord with his writing, win the lost to Christ and encourage Christians to make Christ the pre-eminent person in their lives. Contact Dale: research.djb@gmail.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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