Archive for August, 2010
On a day when many were in Washington for a Restoring Honor event, another Honor and Remember event, one that has been repeated for the past 130 years was taking place in Brooklyn, NY.
The Prison Ship Martyrs Memorial is the single largest mass grave of American POWs in the world. The remains of 11,500 patriots are entombed within the mausoleum upon which the memorial is built. These men, many captured at the Battle of Brooklyn (Itself the first and largest battle of the Revolutionary War), were imprisoned within the floating hulks of decomissioned British warships that were anchored in Wallabout Bay, later the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. What is most unique about this group of patriots is that each and every one of them had the opportunity to walk free. All it would have required was to forsake their belief in Liberty and swear allegiance to the King of England.
None did.
So for months and years they froze and sweltered in the hulls of those airless hulks. When disease wrenched the last breath from their bodies their carcasses were unceremoniously bundled into long boats and dumped in shallow graves along the shore.
No one knows how many perished. Only one ship, HMS Jersey, kept records which showed eight men a day on average perished within her holds. There were at least ten other ships which kept no records. Continental Army accounts compiled after the war showed twenty thousand died in captivity, the great majority of whom were confined in the prison ships, and an untold number of captured Navy seamen and privateers as well.
The Society of Old Brooklynites have been the custodians of this memorial since before it was constructed.
Each year they hold the memorial remembrance in August at the base of the monument where they place a wreath.
And every year there are speakers who relate the history of the Battle of Brooklyn, the Prison Ships, and the relationship to veterans and patriots of the past and present.
But for the vast majority of Americans, this is an unknown subject, an unknown monument, and forgotten patriots.
Thank God there are some who will keep the eternal flame glowing.
The following is a guest editorial by the parents of Navy Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis , Jr., who was killed in the suicide bomb attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
Justice Denied to the Cole Sailors Again
Yesterday the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration has shelved the prosecution of the terrorist responsible for the deaths of 17 American sailors aboard the U.S.S.Cole.
In a slam to the families of the victims and to the survivors of the bombing, the Obama administration move only underscores the lack of commitment of the President and Attorney General to prosecute the war on terror.
Update: Parents speak out
We previously reported on the USS Cole:
AAR Remember the USS Cole memorial at the NYC Muslim Day Parade
Letter to Yemeni President Saleh
More here.
This man’s sign says it all:
As an out of work Union Carpenter, I’d rather starve than earn a bloody check from this job
Hundreds from across the country joined him in that sentiment at the Stop the Mosque Rally at Ground Zero today.
Local News Media covered the story:
Here’s an excellent video:
Update: Lefty Thug Curses Holocaust Survivor!
Andy Sullivan and Tim Brown organized this event.
The next big Stop the Mosque Rally will be on September 11, 3pm.
Melanie Morgan, patriot and radio talk show host, turned the tables on her long term nemesis, Code Pink, yesterday!
Here’s a prior confrontation from the Code Pink siege of a Marine Corps Recruiting Station.
Melanie Morgan facing off against Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin in Berkeley
Yesterday, Melanie and a group of intrepid conservative protested outside a fund raiser for Jerry Brown at the home of Jodie Evans, another Code Pinko. Using the lefties own tactics of protesting outside private residences, Melanie and company managed to disrupt the event by laying down on the sidewalk in front of the entrance and confronting Jodie Evans about the large donation Code pink made to the families of the terrorists from Fallujah, Iraq, during the height of the Iraq War.
My hat is off to Melanie Morgan!
Today we had the honor of welcoming the hundreds of riders who drove their motorcycles into New York City from the Pentagon as part of the America’s 9/11 Ride sponsored by the America’s 9/11 Foundation. Our own Frankie Bania was on the ride and I got a chance to welcome him in the middle of Seventh Ave!
Here’s the video of all the bikes exiting the Holland tunnel into the city!
The bikes proceeded uptown to the hotel where they were parked on all the adjoining streets.
There were many police rider contingents from around the country.
This family, from Australia, got to pose on a Police bike from El Paso, Texas!
Later there was a rally where a top of the line Harley Davidson was raffled off, and a police bike was donated to one of the forces that had riders on the trip! The night concluded with entertainment, but I only stayed through the first song by the country western singer John Adam Murph.
Gold Star Father Leonard T. Wahl was an Air Force Vietnam Veteran. In 2004 he lost his only son, Sgt. Gregory L. Wahl, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. A few weeks ago Len stood with us at the Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero Rally in New York City.
Gold Star Father Len Wahl and Escaped Sudanese Slave Simon Deng
Last friday, while traveling locally to visit his grandaughter, Len suffered a massive heart attack.
Today, the Patriot Guard Riders and Gold Star Family members from Long Island Gathered to honor the memory of a great American.
Rest in Peace, Len.
Last Sunday Code Pink and all the usual suspects staged a protest in support of the Wikileaks traitor Pvt. Bradley Manning.
Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive did several interviews with the media, here he is with the local CBS affiliate.
CNN aired interviews with both sides, leading with Suzy (Medea) Benjamin. I laughed out loud when she mentioned “in the United States I know and love“. The only reason she is in America is because Cuba threw her out when she complained that the Castros weren’t communist enough!
Newsy did an excellent video with background and other views:
Fred Peterson being interviewed
Uncle Jimbo of BlackFive being interviewed
Concrete Bob with his "Osama Loves Code Pink" sign
Toothless Dawg wrote an after action report on the national GOE website:
Well, it was pretty disorganized to begin with. Code pink and their affiliated communist retards said they were going to meet up at the Amtrak Station in the town of Quantico. I was sitting about 100′ from the amtrak station to monitor their arrival. Even saw one get a ticket from the MPs for some reason … maybe being entitled…
Others arrived in groups of 2 – 6, wearing their ‘arrest Bush’ and ‘Stop the war in Iran’ T-shirts. I swear I think I recognized some of them from when I faced them in the 60s … they still haven’t taken a bath or washed their clothes.
The newest Gathering of Eagles Weekly Troop started a few weeks ago in Middletown! Last Saturday they were visited by the Citizens 4 Freedom Tea Party group who snapped some excellent photos:
Carl O’Flanagan the Orange County Coordinator for GOE writes about the day here!
The Gathering of Eagles Poughkeepsie Troop Rally was joined by Tea Party Patriots from the Orange/Sullivan 912 Group and the Citizens 4 Freedom group to honor American Servicemen on Memorial Day Weekend!
Gathering of Eagles: NY 