They were thrust together 41 years ago in the highlands of Vietnam, self-described misfits who went on to tally a remarkable legacy as members of the first U.S. Marine sniperscout platoon trained exclusively in a combat zone.
On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, they met again, older, grayer, wiser for the experiences at the Winchester home of the man who personally selected and trained them to become among the deadliest marksmen of the Vietnam War.
Dave Sehmel, who now owns a construction company in Dallas; Gary Reiter, a retired school teacher from Spokane, Washington; Ed Kugler, a business consultant and author who published an acclaimed book based on his two tours of duty as a sniper in Vietnam; and Walt Sides, owner of Winchester Exchange, and who, as a 25-year-old Marine Staff Sergeant, was tasked into molding his three now 60-ish charges and 30 other young Marines into the elite and highly skilled killing fraternity of sniper scouts.
“Picture what it was like, as a Marine sergeant, looking at these guys and knowing you have to train them,” Sides said Wednesday May 23, 2007, shortly after returning from Washington-Dulles International Airport, where he, Reiter and Sehmel went to reunite with Kugler, the first time the four had physically been together since their days in Phu Bai, Vietnam.
This weekend, the four, and an estimated 500,000 others, will participate in Rolling Thunder XX, a mass rally in support of prisoners of war and those who are missing in action. The ride is held annually in Washington, D.C. Sides is one of the original founders of the group, which was formed in 1986 when he and four other vets determined that something must be done to “never forget” those who were imprisoned or never accounted for in Vietnam.
On that Wednesday, however, the mood was purely one of remembering shared times and fallen comrades, and celebrating their lives in the four decades they’d been apart. The goggled over pictures, beers in hand, of the four together, reed-thin, shirtless, all in their early 20s, gathering around a roasting hog one of the snipers had taken for treat. Other pictures included comrades who never returned home.
Remembering their days in the bush, which at times amounted to months on end searching for targets of opportunity, Kugler recalled “we didn’t look much like Marines, with long hair and stuff.”
Most of Wednesday’s conversation consisted of reminiscences that clearly tugged long-repressed heartstrings.As he had when he brought them together in Vietnam,Sides is still, and always will be, the man in charge; the hardearned respect forged decades ago is unmistakable even today. Sides estimated the four men gathered on his lawn wereresponsible “for better than 300 confirmed kills.”Their unit, dubbed “The Rogues,” tallied hundreds of morelong-distance kills during the war.
“And that’s not counting God only knows how many waterbuffalo,” Sides said, launching peals of laughter.
Grouped around Sides’ customized, V-8 equipped “trike,”which will join an estimated 200,000 motorcyclists this weekend,Sides outlined the unique role of his mission.
“The Marines were training snipers down around DaNang, but this was the first ever sniper platoon completely trained in a combat zone,” Sides said.
“Now, you might find a Marine Corps historian that willdispute that, but then . . . ”
Ironically, several of the men had been in contact over theyears; Kugler had stayed in touch with Sehmel. Four years ago,while surfing the Internet, Reiter found a Web site advertisingKugler’s book, “Dead Center,” and immediately recognized his old Vietnam buddy. That led to the three eventually talking over the telephone, but never a full-fledged reunion.
Later, Reiter and Sehmel got together at a gathering forformer sniper-scouts. That was when they realized they had another common bond: They both rode Harley-Davidsons.
That reunion lead to the pair travelling to Washington,D.C., for another sniper reunion, which coincided with Rolling Thunder XIX.
There, they spotted a kiosk, set up near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with a name on it that sent shivers up their collective spines: Walt Sides.
“It can’t be,” they said to each other. The Walt Sides who had recruited them for sniper training 40 years earlier, was, they believed, dead, the victim of a fire.
“We had heard he died, along with another Vietnam friend, in a tavern fire,” Reiter said.
“Personally, I found it hard to believe, because I didn’ think fire was tough enough to kill old Walt Sides.”
After an hour of searching, they found their old mentor, who was busy trying to handle the logistics of squaring away the hundreds of thousands of participants in the annual rally.
From that moment on, the trio laid preparations to meet again for Rolling Thunder XX. Now, toasting each other with beer, the foursome, and their assorted spouses and several other veterans who will be riding together this weekend, could only smile.
“This is just awesome, totally unbelievable,” Sehmel said. Kugler could only say it was an “incredibly special” occasion.
Reiter, perhaps, summed it up the best:
“We’re all luckier than hell. We’re truly blessed to have all gotten out of a situation like that.”
‘Lawyer of the left’ also represents alleged killer of U.S. soldier, helped Clinton during Lewinsky WND
An attorney and top foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama is coming under fire for representing controversial figures, including an accused human rights abuser, an alleged murderer of a U.S. soldier and even the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan.
Greg Craig, who has been termed the “lawyer of the left,” represented John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981 by firing six bullets at the president as he left a hotel. Craig was reportedly the architect of Hinckley’s successful defense in which he was found not guilty by reason of insanity, even though reports by the federal prosecution found Hinckley sane.
As a partner in the high-powered Washington, D.C., law firm of Williams & Connolly, Craig represented former Bolivian Defense Minister Carlos Sanchez-Berzain in a federal lawsuit of “crimes against humanity” due to his alleged role in the suppression of labor union riots in 2003 that resulted in the deaths of 67 people.
Sanchez-Berzain is loathed in Bolivia for allegedly turning the army loose on protesters in what was described as a brutal massacre of unarmed men, women and children, some of whom were reportedly shot at point-blank range.
Craig currently represents Pedro Miguel Gonzalez-Pinzon, president of the Panamanian National Assembly, who is wanted in the U.S. for the 1992 murder of a U.S. Army soldier and the attempted murder of another.
Gonzalez, a harsh critic of the U.S., is accused of murdering the solider, Zak Hernandez Laporte, on the eve of President George H.W. Bush’s visit to Panama in 1992. The FBI is said to have credible evidence proving Gonzalez’s guilt.
The accusations and Gonzalez’s Panamanian government position are a primary reason the U.S. has halted a U.S.-Panama free trade accord.
The American Future Fund this week called on Obama to fire Craig, stating in an ad campaign that someone who “has a history of defending corrupt foreign leaders and murderers” could offer severely misguided advice to the Illinois senator.
The AFF launched a YouTube video petitioning for Craig’s ouster……..
In a January editorial, the Dallas Morning News called on Obama to fire Craig if the attorney doesn’t drop the Panamanian as a client:
“Mr. Obama has made clear that the White House is no place for influence-peddlers and special interests. … This is one instance where he needs to show presidential decisiveness by asking Mr. Craig to choose between the campaign and involvement in a legal case where hot-button bilateral issues – and a Senate vote – hang in the balance,” read the editorial.
Obama repeatedly has attacked Sen. John McCain for purportedly allowing lobbyists to serve as top advisers.
The Political Punch blog run by ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper noted:
“There’s a big difference between a lobbyist, who is paid to interact with lawmakers such as Mr. Obama, and a lawyer, who works with the courts. But in this situation, Gonzalez’s indictment has complicated passage of the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement.”
Craig recently said at a forum that Obama’s campaign is aware of his involvement in the Gonzalez case.
“I have removed myself from participation in discussions with the candidate or his advisers on relations between the United States and Panama,” Craig said.
Obama has been on the record stating he opposes any trade act with Panama due to the Gonzalez case.
But Obama has not addressed Craig’s defense of other unsavory characters such as Hinckley. Craig also has represented Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in the 1991 Palm Beach, Fla., rape case involving the senator and his accused nephew, William Kennedy Smith, who was acquitted of all charges. Craig was an aide to Kennedy in the 1980s. In 2004, Craig was counsel for then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan during investigations that year of the Oil-for-Food scandal. Craig, an anti-war protester in the 1960s, also successfully represented Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the Cuban father of Elian Gonzalez during the 2000 child custody dispute that ended in the forcible seizure of Elian by U.S. marshals and the boy’s return to Cuba. According to reports, Craig was heavily involved in the decision to seize Elian. The outcome was seen as a major victory for Cuban President Fidel Castro. Craig is a top foreign policy adviser to Obama. His foreign policy experience includes serving as Sen. Ted Kennedy’s senior adviser on defense, foreign policy and national security issues from 1974 to 1988. In 1997, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appointed Craig as a top senior adviser and as director of policy planning.
Craig’s embrace of Obama turned some heads due to the attorney’s high profile representation of Bill Clinton during impeachment hearings over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. When the Senate refused to convict Clinton on accusations of perjury, Craig was seen as the politician’s savior.
But Craig admonished Sen. Hillary Clinton in a March posting on Obama’s site:
“Hillary Clinton’s argument that she has passed ‘the commander-in-chief test’ is simply not supported by her record,” he wrote.
“Obama possesses the personal attributes of a great leader – an even temperament, an open-minded approach to even the most challenging problems, a willingness to listen to all views, clarity of vision, the ability to inspire, conviction and courage,” Craig argued.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
Incredible isn’t it? The associations of Obama are mind-boggling. Actually Obama fits in perfectly with these people, all peas in a pod.
This country will not be the same after 4 years of Obamessiah. In my opinion and my impression is that Obama is not really an American. He treats his country with the disdain and detachment of some foreign leftist. Therein lies a big danger as well.
The resumes of the Obama ‘folks’ is coming out in dribbles and drabs; but heavy with warnings.
Repubs should make a scrolling ad; resume like; with the highlights of ‘work experience/background’ of those close to Obama.
Could say a great deal; in small amount of space/time.
Rolling Thunder members and others spoke at the annual Memorial Day Rally honoring their fallen comrades and vowing to continue their efforts on POW/MIA issues. Special guests were the families of Staff Sargeant Keith “Matt” Maupin, a prisoner in the Iraq war whose remains were recovered in March 2008, and Private Byron W. Fouty and Sargeant Alex R. Jimenez who were both captured May 12, 2007.
Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught USAF (Ret.) delivered the keynote address.
This event was held on a stage at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Rolling Thunder was founded by motorcycle enthusiasts who were veterans of the Vietnam War.
“POW/MIA : YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN”
1,804 Americans remain missing in Vietnam. Since the war ended over 6,000 reports concerning Americans still alive in Southeast Asia have been received by the government. 600 Americans were lost in Laos (The Black Hole), NOT A SINGLE MAN WAS EVER RELEASED. The Pathet Laos government stated on several occasions that they held prisoners, yet our government NEVER NEGOTIATED FOR THEIR FREEDOM. These men were abandoned by the government for which they bravely fought.
POW/MIA Statistics
World War I – 3,350
·World War II – 78,753
·Korea – 8,170
·Vietnam – 1,783
·Persian Gulf – 2
We can thank Senators John traitorous rat snake Kerry and his good bud John McCain for these POW’s stats. In their rush to “normalize” relations with Vietnam, they ran roughshod over the POW/MIA hearings.
The select committee, established August 1991, was tasked with the mission of resolving the lingering POW/MIA issue by either gaining the release of American prisoners of war believed to be alive under the control of Hanoi, but never released, or explaining what happened to the missing prisoners.
It has been made obvious that McCain and Kerry were more interested in using the Select Committee as a means to justify lifting the U.S. Imposed Trade Embargo against Vietnam then resolving the issue of missing U.S.Service men and POW’s. The Select Committee was formed because of the volumes of intelligence pointing to the existence of LIVE POW’s still in captivity.
McCain, the “former POW” wasted NO time making headlines by alleging that most of the activists involved in POW/MIA issue were only in it for the money. He stated in front of a room full of cameras, ” The people who have done these things are not zealots in a good cause. They are criminals and some of the most craven, most cynical and most despicable human beings to ever run a scam.”
In two sentences McCain effectively branded nearly ALL the activist POW/MIA families and Vietnam Veteran activities as ” despicable” and “criminals.”
About 350,000 bikers gathered in the nation’s capital to participate in the rally, which has attracted prestigious guests, including President George Bush, in the past, The Washington Times reported.
“First thing, this is about supporting America and our folks in the military, past and present. It’s about love of country, love of bikes. People have a calling to be here,” said Pete Ries, who has been to the event at least six times.
Money raised through raffles and other events is donated to needy veterans and their families.
“We donate our time, no one gets any compensation and 100 percent of the money we raise goes to help vets or their families,” said Artie Muller, Army veteran and Rolling Thunder founder.
Honor Guard March
Military vehicles in parade
Quilt of Tears
Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network displays “A Quilt of Tears” showing support for the families of veterans who died during the Vietnam War.
Drum and Fife Corps
A drum and fife corps marches along the Reflecting Pool while the speaker program begins in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Women’s Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
Many of the memorials in Washington, DC are decorated with wreaths for Rolling Thunder and Memorial Day.
One of the guests this year is John Amos
Best known for his roles in TV’s West Wing, Good Times, and the miniseries Roots, Amos is also a Vietnam-era honorary U.S. Coast Guard veteran and is a veteran of the N.J. National Guard. On his breaks from TV and films, he devotes his time to supporting veterans causes and to mentoring children at risk throughout the U.S. and the world.
A long-time fan of country music, in late 2007 he released his first country music CD featuring patriotic-themed songs aimed at saluting the U.S. Armed Forces. His involvement in Rolling Thunder came about through a chance encounter last November at a Veteran’s Day rally in Nashville. There, he met Bob Ousley, president of Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 Tennessee, who invited him to participate in this year’s Memorial Day events
.
“I spent time with Bob and his chapter members after the rally and I was blown away by their passion and commitment to the POW/MIA cause,” Amos said. “People forget that for families of troops left behind, there is no closure. Rolling Thunder makes sure that the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who put their lives on the line are never forgotten. I’m a veteran myself, so I’m only too happy to lend my name and my presence to this effort,” he added.
NEWS VIDEO for today of Rolling Thunder…..This is one not to miss and hear what Artie Muller – Rolling Thunder
National Executive Director has to osay about Nancy Pelosi in the video!!!!! God bless you Artie! VIDEO link
Please feel free to visit my POW/MIA Tribute page there have been some updates.
……..I will be adding more photos as they come in.
Some more about President Bush meeting with Rolling Thunder could be titled……heh heh Marine One, meet the choppers of Rolling Thunder!
Note that one report said about 350,000 bikers and other reports say even a higher numebr. The main thing is this grows every year and I am so proud of this group Rolling Thunder. One day before I die I would love to go to this. It is a goal of mine.
UPDATE: More photos added
President Bush, center, walks with members of the Rolling Thunder, Sunday, May 25, 2008, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz )
President Bush was given a leather vets and cap by Rolling Thunder.
President Bush also met with some of the group’s organizers, and described the parade of motorcycles — many adorned with the American flag — as “a magnificent sight. “I am just so honored, and I want to thank you and all your comrades for being patriotic and loving our country as much as you do,” said Bush.
Among the motorcyclists were four Bush administration officials, all of whom on Harleys: White House chief of staff Josh Bolten (a Hog fan from way back). Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, and Edward P. “Eddie” Lazear, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, who sported a leather Harley vest and a black bandanna.
Rolling Thunder Storms Into Nation’s Capital DOD
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2008 A chain of about 750,000 motorcycles ridden by Vietnam veterans and military supporters blazed through the nation’s capital today as part of the 21st annual Rolling Thunder rally.
In addition to offering vets a chance to reconnect with their brothers-in-arms and honor fallen comrades, the ride aims to raise awareness about issues concerning prisoners of war, troops missing in action and veterans’ benefits.
President Bush this afternoon arranged for Rolling Thunder founder Artie Muller to be delivered by helicopter to the White House, where the two discussed topics at the heart of Muller’s nonprofit group.
“I am just so honored to welcome you back,” Bush told Muller at a news conference on the White House’s South Lawn after their meeting. “I want to thank you and all your comrades for being so patriotic and loving our country as much as you do.
“Our troops appreciate you, the veterans appreciate you and your president appreciates you,” added Bush, calling it a pleasure of his presidency to get to know the leaders of the motorcycle rally.
The parade circuit whizzed riders past national landmarks such as the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall, the U.S. Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial, where group organizers held a ceremony as riders continued to speed past along nearby Constitution Avenue.
Addressing the crowd gathered at the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial just beyond the sun-drenched reflecting pool, Muller said he urged the president to help advance legislation that will bolster the Rolling Thunder effort.
“And I just want to say, ‘Thank you very much,’ because you are America, you are the true patriots of this country, you come here year after year, put up with the rain the heat,” he told the crowd. “And you stuck by [the group’s mission], and we’re getting something done.”
Meanwhile, servicemembers past and present, plus family members and other spectators cheered riders on as the convoy roared from the Pentagon parking lot to the National Mall here ahead of tomorrow’s Memorial Day observance.
Former Army Spc. James Yorke, a veteran of the Vietnam War, said he rode here from Richmond, Va., to participate in his fourth Rolling Thunder ride as a way to connect troops with the civilians they serve.
“Americans should think about the people who gave it all,” Yorke said, referring to those fallen military members who he said should be remembered over Memorial Day. “They were asked to do a job just so we could live in this country — that’s all they were asked to do.”
Also on hand for the holiday were brothers Gary and Jeffrey Elker, who rode their hogs more than 200 miles here from Middlesex, N.J. Gary is a retired Marine corporal who enlisted after the Vietnam War. Jeffrey didn’t wear the uniform, but he said he has buddies whose names are listed on the memorial wall among the more than 58,000 killed in Vietnam.
“It’s a weekend away to honor our fallen veterans,” said Jeffrey Elker when asked to describe the meaning Rolling Thunder holds for him.
Gary Elder, on his 17th ride today, said he also makes the annual trek to show support for military veterans. He added that there’s a common thread between past and present servicemembers.
“They’re willing to sacrifice for everybody else,” he said. “They believe in honor, integrity, and what’s going on in this country, and they’re willing to fight for it; I was.”
George Leiter, a former Marine sergeant who served from 1972-76, motored from Manchester, Pa., for his fourth ride. Over this Memorial Day weekend, as both of his sons wear the Army uniform, Leiter said he hopes his fellow citizens remember the people who answered the nation’s call.
“It’s important for Americans to consider all the veterans, whichever war they were in, whether they were in a combat zone or not,” he said. “I think they’ve just got to think of their freedoms, and what they have, and how important it is to have a strong military, and to support your military.”
When the security of our land is threatened,
We call on our soldier’s might,
To go wherever they’re needed,
To defend us day and night.
They leave their loves ones behind,
A great price our soldiers must pay.
Let us salute their courage and bravery,
May we remember them each time we pray.
Each time we spot “Old Glory”
Waving for all to see,
Let’s think of all the soldiers that have
Kept it flying proud and free.
This great country is tolerant
Of cultures from other lands,
But, when they attack our precious freedom
We will punish with a heavy hand.
Our soldiers are tried and true,
Tempered like carbon steel,
Born of American Spirit;
Raised with American will.
Remember our fallen heroes that died,
So freedom may grow,
To nations around the world,
Wherever our warriors may go.
Barack Obama: “I think its time for us to end the embargo of Cuba…” Barack Obama, speaking at the University of Southern Illinois, 1/20/2004
“I am no fan of the Cuban embargo, but removing it now – or announcing a presidential trip to meet with Raul Castro – would indicate that America views this familial transfer of power as real change, rather than what it is: a maneuver meant to leave the brutal Castro legacy intact.”
Benny Avni, Op-Ed, “Obama Vs. Bad Guys: To Talk Or Not To Talk?” The New York Sun, 2/25/08
‘We Think There Should Be No Negotiations Or Conversation With Raul Castro Until He Has Released All Political Prisoners And Made Moves Toward Democracy,’ Said Orlando Gutierrez, Directorio Cubano’s National Secretary.”
Carmen Gentile, “Obama Faces Heat From Cuban Exiles,” The Washington Times, 5/18/08
Campbell Brown: “You had said in a previous CNN debate that you would meet with the leaders of Cuban, Iran, North Korea, among others, so presumably you would be willing to meet with the new leader of Cuba.”
Campbell Brown, CNN/Univision Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Austin, TX, 2/21/08
Barack Obama: “I would meet without preconditions”
Sen. Barack Obama, CNN/Univision Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Austin, TX, 2/21/08 “pre•con•di•tion: noun – something that must come before or is necessary to a subsequent result”
Barack Obama: “I would meet without preconditions” (from CNN Debate)
“I’ll concede you cannot meet with foreign leaders — with terrorists rather — and those that lead rogue nations without some conditions.”
Democrat Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford: NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 5/18/08
Barack Obama: “I would meet without preconditions” (from CNN Debate)
“I would not say that we would meet unconditionally — of course there are conditions”
Former Democrat Sen. Tom Daschle. CNN’s “America Morning,” 5/20/08
Barack Obama: “I would meet without preconditions” (from CNN Debate)
“This is a fellow who I think shorthanded an answer that in fact was the wrong answer”
Sen. Joe Biden, ABC’s “This Week,” 5/18/08
Wild Thing’s comment……..
The video is made by the RNC, imo it is not very well done. It is way too wordy , too much text, for the viewer to read easily. Very poorly constructed ‘ad’.
Apparently the The GOP will not hire conservatives who are clean, articulate, good writers and know how to get the message out. heh heh
MEMORIAL CEREMONY – 5-23-08 – A patriotic ceremony honoring the service and sacrifice of America’s military members is scheduled in the Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day, May 26, 2008. The 140th observance of Memorial Day will be hosted by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr., commanding general, U.S. Army Military District of Washington and Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region. U.S. Army photo
Paying tribute – Airmen at a base in Southwest Asia held a “final guardmount” ceremony May 15 to honor those who have fallen in combat. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Domonique Simmons)
PBS unites our nation with the award-winning National Memorial Day Concert honoring the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all of those who have given their lives for our country. The event, which has become the memorial service for our entire nation, is co-hosted by Gary Sinise (CSI: New York) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), two actors who have dedicated themselves to veteran’s causes and supporting our troops in active service.
The top-rated show will be broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, May 25, 2008 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. (check local listings) before a concert audience of 300,000, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Radio and Television Network.
The all-star cast includes Gladys Knight, Sarah Brightman, Idina Menzel, Denis Leary, Charles Durning, General Colin Powell and Rodney Atkins in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Erich Kunzel.
A song sung by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles, and a pictoral slide show dedicated this to the men amd women of the Armed Forces.
He looked down into her brown eyes and said, ?Say a prayer for me?
She threw her arms around him whispered, ?God will keep us free?
They could hear the riders coming he said, “This is my last fight
If they take me back to Texas they won’t take me back alive”
There were seven Spanish angels at the alter of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home
She reached down and picked the gun up that lay smokin’ in his hand
She said, ?Father please forgive me I can’t make it without my man?
And she knew the gun was empty and she knew she couldn’t win
But her final prayer was answered when the rifles fired again
There were seven Spanish angels at the alter of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home
There were seven Spanish angels at the alter of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home
Alright John help me now
There were seven Spanish angels at the alter of the sun
They were praying for the lovers in the valley of the guns
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels took another angel home.
The new national headquarters of the Communist Party USA! ( CPUSA) CPUSA 2008 Electoral Policy Investigations show ties to radicals who shaped him, helped launch his political career
Frank Marshall Davis
Barack Obama had extensive ties with extreme anti-American elements, including agents of the Moscow-controlled Communist Party USA, in Hawaii and Chicago, according to two new reports released yesterday in Washington, D.C., by two experienced internal security investigators.
Investigative journalist Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, a former investigator with the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities, presented evidence Obama was mentored, while attending high school in Hawaii, by Frank Marshall Davis, an African-American poet and journalist who was also a CPUSA member. Sources: WND Israpundit “Communism in Hawaii and the Obama Connection” by Herbert Romerstein
In this report the authors document that in 1948, Davis decided to move from Chicago to Honolulu at the suggestion of what they describe as two “secret CPUSA members,” actor Paul Robeson and Harry Bridges, the head of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen Union, or ILWU.
In Chicago, Davis had worked for the Chicago Star newspaper; in Honolulu, he was hired as a reporter for the Honolulu Record, both identified by Kincaid and Romerstein as “communist front newspapers.”
In his autobiography, “Dreams from My Father,” Obama discusses the influence a mentor identified in the book only as “Frank” had on his intellectual development.
Obama described Frank as a drinking companion of his grandfather, who had boasted of his association with African-American authors Richard Wright and Langston Hughes during the time Frank was a journalist in Chicago.
Romerstein, in addition to having served as investigator with the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities, served in the same capacity with the House Committee on Internal Security and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was the head of the Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation for the U.S. Information Agency. Romerstein is also co-author of the influential book “The Venona Secrets: Exposing Soviet Espionage and America’s Traitors,” which included extensive documentation of the communist activities of Roosevelt administration staffer Alger Hiss.
Kincaid and Romerstein quote Kathryn Takara of the University of Hawaii, who wrote a dissertation on the life of Frank Marshall Davis, confirming Davis was a significant influence on Obama when the senator attended Punahou prep school in Hawaii from 1975 to 1979
A transcript of a 1956 hearing before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee discovered by internal security affairs researcher and writer Max Friedman showed Davis took the Fifth Amendment when asked by the subcommittee if he was or had ever been a member of the Communist Party.
In ithe second report: “Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection” by Cliff Kincaid.
Kincaid and Romerstein present evidence supporting their contention the SDS organization from which the Weather Underground organization and radicals Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn came, received financial contributions from the CPUSA, which in turn receive its funding from Moscow.
Obama’s run for the Illinois state Senate was launched by a fundraiser organized at Ayers’ and Dorhn’s Chicago home by Alice Palmer. Palmer had named Obama to succeed her in the state Senate in 1995, when she decided to run for a U.S. congressional seat.
Nine years before Palmer picked Obama to be her successor, she was the only African-American journalist to travel to the Soviet Union to attend the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, according to an article Palmer wrote in the CPUSA newspaper, People’s Daily World, June 19, 1986.
“There has been no explanation of why Ayers et al. played a role in launching Obama’s political career,” Kincaid wrote.
Kincaid and Romerstein present documentation that Tom Hayden, another major figure in the SDS, is today one of four principal initiators of the “Progressives for Obama” movement, which calls for ending the war in Iraq “as quickly as possible, not in five years.”
According to Kincaid and Romerstein, U.S. Peace Council executive committee member Frank Chapman “blew the whistle on communist support for Obama’s presidential bid and his real agenda” in a letter to the People’s Weekly World after Obama’s win in the Iowa Democratic Party caucuses.
“Obama’s victory was more than a progressive move; it was a dialectical leap ushering in a qualitatively new era of struggle,” Chapman wrote. “Marx once compared revolutionary struggle with the work of the mole, who sometimes burrows so far beneath the ground that he leaves no trace of his movement on the surface.
Kincaid and Romerstein wrote, “The clear implication of Chapman’s letter is that Obama himself, or some of his Marxist supporters, are acting like moles in the political process. The suggestion is that something is being hidden from the public.”
Wild Thing’s comment……..
Every page of Barack Hussein Obama’s life contains links to militant Muslims, hard core communists, virulent Antisemites, terrorists and their enablers, and good old fashioned political crooks. Liberals may argue that each of these relationships does not reflect Obama’s “real thinking”, but only the incurably insane would hold that as a package they do not mirror his ideology and illuminate his character.
Not counting the communist professors he sought out in college and his Stalinist wife, the people Obama admires and hopes to emulate are his father (posthumously), his pastor, and his friend, the terrorist.
……..I will be adding more photos as they come in. 
….Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
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