Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Thousandth Man
One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it’s worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.
‘Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for ‘ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of ‘em go
By your looks or your acts or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don’t matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.
You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of ‘em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he’s worth ‘em all,
Because you can show him your feelings.
His wrong’s your wrong, and his right’s your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men’s sight—
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can’t bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot—and after!
Great point by Gingrich
Verbatim Post
NC Patriots of ’61 – Corporal Charles Skinner Riggan
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial Commission"
North Carolina Patriots of ’61 – Corporal Charles Skinner Riggan, Warren County
The son of Jerry and Mary Johnson Riggan, Charles was born 27 October 1842 at Vaughan, North Carolina. He enlisted at age eighteen on 16 August 1861 at Littleton, and joined Company B, 30th North Carolina. That unit was organized at Camp Mangum on 7 October of that year, sent to Weldon first, then to Wilmington, and on to Richmond to join Anderson’s Brigade. He was in the fighting at Chickahominy, Chancellorsville, and took shrapnel in his right arm at Spotsylvania in May 1864. He returned to duty quickly and received a shoulder wound at Cedar Creek, the last major engagement in the Shenandoah Valley. Corporal Riggan was among General Lee’s Tarheels at Appomattox on April 12, 1865.
Corporal Riggan was active in postwar United Confederate Veterans reunions, and Wellman’s History of Warren County shows him in a group photo with twenty other North Carolina veterans at the 27 August 1903 dedication of the Warrenton Cemetery Confederate monument. “Uncle Charlie” danced well into his eighties, smoked cigars moderately, and the Warrenton United Daughters of the Confederacy held a grand reception in honor of his 100th birthday. He was presented with the Southern Cross of Honor on 30 May 1945 by the Pickett-Buchanan Chapter, UDC in Norfolk, Virginia. Corporal Riggan crossed the river to join his comrades in grey on 26 March 1947.
(Source: Charles Skinner Riggan, Prof. Jay S. Hoar, Confederate Veteran, Volume Two, 1997)
NC Patriots of ’61 – Corporal Charles Skinner Riggan
How Does Confederate History Mesh with Black History?
Watch How Does Confederate History Mesh with Black History? on PBS. See more from Independent Lens.
Re-re-post of Mad Dog Shriver with new info from his SOG pilot
A Veteran's Day re-post from 2010 SFC Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver
The Untold True Story of "Mad Dog" Shriver
'A most unforgettable character"No one else could engage the machinegun that trapped Shriver's men -- it was up to Mad Dog. Skittish Yards looked to Shriver and his half-grin restored a sense of confidence. Then they were on their feet, charging -- Shriver was his old self, running to the sound of guns, a True Believer Yard on either side, all of them dashing through the flying bullets, into the treeline, into the very guts of Mad Dog's great nemesis, COSVN. And Mad Dog Shriver was never seen again."==========
Ultimately he received 26 decorations including 2 Silver Stars, the Soldiers Medal, 7 Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and 3 Army Commendation Medals for Valor. While listed as MIA he was promoted to E-8.
Discussion at the table differed concerning his last weeks. One guy who had talked to him after he returned from his last leave said that Shriver had said he was very uncomfortable in civilian life and was afraid how he would adjust. Others said that he had a death wish. One said that when he departed on that last mission he knew he would not return. All agreed that he knew he would not return from Viet Nam alive. He left behind very little, his smoking jacket, less then a dollar worth of MPC, and of course, Klaus.
His last mission is well documented on the internet, so I will not be redundant, but most of the NCO’s in SF prefer to remember him as the leader, who, with NVA on all sides, refused extraction, saying, “No, No, I’ve got em right where I want em, surrounded from the inside.“
First of all I am sorry it took me so long to get
back. It seemed that for a while the weight of the
earth was on my shoulders. My wife is doing much
better and we have stopped making two and three trips
to the hospital / doctor weekly. It was a scary time.
I first met Jerry (Mad Dog) in 1967 while I was
assigned to the 170th Assault Helicopter Company and
then the 57th Assault Helicopter Company. I had
arrived in country in June and after being in
processed and given a bunk, I was told not to get too
comfortable as I would be leaving in the morning for
FOBII. Being a new guy, I had no idea what that meant
so I ask.
Couldn't understand why everyone was laughing
especially after I found out it had to do with Special
Forces. Berry Saddler had set me up for that one.
Man, they were the green berets.
After arrival the next day I was assigned to fly with
Chief Beatty, who was probably the best mission pilot
ever. He and I were a little older than the rest of
the crews so we kind of hit it off from the start. I
was 25 and he was about 10 years older. Old men in
those days. After quick tour of the compound and
introductions he briefed me on who was who. Jerry
already had the reputation as being a team leader that
got the job done. Most of the time he did it a little
too well and his extractions were always a little
dicey. Chief said that if you ever went down Shriver
was the man to be on the ground with. He took care of
his team and his aircrews.
What kind of guy was Jerry? In short, he was one of a
kind. He was an operator in an extremely hostile
environment and damn good at what he did.
He was very intelligent and able to carry on
conversations on just about any subject. He was a
deeply caring man as evidenced by his compassion for
his indigenous personnel. He was a loner and only
kept company with those that he chose to keep company
with. More often than not, if he wasn't on a mission,
he was out in the local yard village making sure they
were ok. On the physical side, other than being very
fit, Jerry would not have stood out at a distance.
However up close he was had almost a surreal
appearance. Most striking were his eyes. They were
cold, steel gray. They showed no emotion and seemed
to look deep into you with an icy stare. His cuspids
seemed be a little larger than normal and stood out
when he smiled. The two combined would send a chill
down the old spine.
Do I think that Jerry became a POW? Only if he was so
incapacitated that the choice was not his. He had a
sizable price on his head and he knew it. If he was
the man that I think I knew he would have gone out
fighting and making sure that they paid a dear price
for it. Is it possible that he was captured? Yes but
not likely. I have read about Charles Norris so can't
add or detract from his story. I know that there were
and continue to be reported sightings of Caucasians
being "held". Early on I might have bought into that
but it has almost been 30 years since it all ended. I
would question the ability of someone being able to
survive in those conditions but there is always hope.
Having pulled Jerry out of the bush a couple of times
I can see him charging head long into danger to save
his comrades even if it meant his own demise. He was
that kind of man.
As for Klaus aka Dufus Dog by the aircrews. I have
never heard anything about what happened. I am sure
that those who were serving with Jerry at the time
cared for him. I was working SOG when Jerry brought
him back from Taiwan after R&R. The dog was a pitiful
sight but he was Jerry's dog so we treated him like a
AKC full blood. Now that was when Jerry was around.
If not, he would provide a little entertainment for
us. For some reason that poor dog took to the chopper
crews like a duck to water. If we were sitting around
waiting between missions or on hot pad standby, he
would seek us out and then park his butt right in the
middle of the group. Then he would just start looking
around, kind of studying each person. It wasn't long
until we discovered that if you made a loud noise or
if you popped him in the backside with a rubber band
he would jump up and bite the person he was looking
at. Great sport and the cause for much laughter when
a "new guy" was brought in. Then one day while we
were playing our little game, Klaus was struck from
behind just after his attention was diverted outdoors.
A brand new SF officer was walking by. Any guess who
got a rude introduction to Klaus? Any question who
caught hell? It was worth the butt chewing to see the
look on his face. We all loved that dog.
I have been wearing Mad Dogs bracelet since I found
out he was listed as missing. After that tour, I lost
contact with most of the guys and didn't keep up with
who was doing what. Someone had told me that he had
been killed and his body recovered while still
operating out of Kontum. I had accepted that and
never looked back. I don't remember how I learned
that he was missing but as soon as I did I ordered his
bracelet. I have gone through quite a number as well
but continue to wear one 24/7 and have made a promise
that I will continue until he is home or I am gone.
My son has picked up the task and he too now wears his
24/7 and until.
I have several stories that I will share in the future
and if you would like I can include you in my mailings
on stories etc about Nam and aircrews. Some of them
are really funny and some are even heroic. We were a
little bit nuts then and the years have done very
little to correct that.
Tell your Dad "Welcome Home" and thanks for caring
about Jerry. He is a true American patriot.
Tom
From Tom Carrell-January 21, 2003
Ron Paul and Mitt Romney are in it for the long haul
Soon after the caucus, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry re-evaluated their campaigns with Bachmann dropping out and Perry vowing to stay in the race until the South Carolina primary on January 21st. While this race is far from over, it is beginning to take shape. With Bachmann gone and Perry almost irrelevant, there are five Republicans left looking to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Jon Huntsman has remained an invisible man since he entered the race for President. He has failed to gain any traction among the conservative electorate, and has raised very little money to fund his campaign. Although he might surprise a few people in New Hampshire on Tuesday, he does not have the money, organization, or support to make it to Super Tuesday and will likely drop out of the running if he does not perform well in the Granite state.
The candidacy of Newt Gingrich has been floundering since a few weeks before the Iowa caucus and is not going anywhere anytime soon. His fourth place finish on Tuesday hurt him badly, and his finances and campaign organization leave much to be desired. With his falling numbers, Gingrich would be lucky to win any state before Super Tuesday.
Probably one of the more surprising stories of the campaign season has been the sudden rise of Rick Santorum, whose peak came at just the right moment: He came within eight votes of winning the Iowa caucus. As impressive as Santorum's near victory was, it will not reflect the voting trend in later states. According to a recent poll conducted by the Washington Times, Rick Santorum's support only rose four percent in New Hampshire after his performance in the Iowa caucus. Even if the momentum of the caucus were moving more in Santorum's direction, he has still shown himself to be a mediocre fundraiser. The former Pennsylvania Senator will not be able to sustain his campaign on a shoestring budget as he did in Iowa. A nationwide campaign requires a great deal of money, which he just does not have.
The only two candidates with the resources, money, and organization to run a national campaign are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.