Monday, March 8, 2010

FR Exc! Heroes Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA

http://elizabethhowell.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/cernan.jpg

Posted on Monday, March 08, 2010 12:01:36 PM by MindBender26

FR Exclusive American Heroes; Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA

I am just off phone with a member of the American Heroes tour group stuck in Qatar. The four, Armstrong, Cernan. Lovell and Ritchie have been planning this tour to see the real front-line troops for months, so they could give some visual support and morale boost to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But now they are stuck in a rear area in Qatar, because some Washington Weenie claims it would be too dangerous for them to move any farther forward, as was the locked in plan.

Remember who these men are. Neil Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to walk on the moon. Gene Cernan went to the moon twice and was the last man to walk on the moon’s surface. Jim Lovell also went twice, first on Apollo 8 which orbited the moon on Christmas day and then again when he saved Apollo 13 from almost certain disaster when a fuel talk exploded enroute to the moon. Air Force Brigadier General Steve Ritchie is a legend in the aviation community. He was the only Air Force ace in Vietnam, meaning he had five air combat victories over MiG-21s. At age 67, he still flies the double-supersonic F-104 Starfighter in thrilling air shows. These are true American heroes, the kind of heroes our soldiers and Marines want to see, not some drugged up rock and rap band. This is not an easy trip for these men.

In many ways, it may be their swan song. Armstrong is 78, Lovell 81, and Cernan 75. They saw this as their one last chance to give back to the this generation of the military men and women protecting America from terrorists. Stop and think about it. These four men could be anywhere, living well, but they chose to be in the desert, with the young men and women currently defending America. But someone weenie is Washington is now prohibiting it.

This trip was not some last minute program. It has been planned to the minutest detail for 4 months. But now, is someone in the Obama administration afraid some good news out of the combat theater would make Obama look bad? Are they afraid of what the troops might say when the cameras are on?

Make no mistake about it. These four men know the dangers involved. They have seen 100 times this much danger in their lives and have now made the intelligent and informed decision that if it helps the troops in any way, they are willing to answer the bugle call one more time. In fact, they are now furious that they are being held in the rear areas, not allowed to be with the troops in actual daily danger, as they were promised.

I am now conveying a personal request from one of them, (and he speaks for all four) Get on the phone, call the White House at 202-456-1414 and tell them to let these last American heroes make the sacrifice they want to make. They have flown half way around the world on MATS flights to do this. Some of these men are intensely private individuals, and at their age, deserve to sit home if they want to. But no, at age 80+, they are there in Southwest Asia, trying to win one more for America, to do something for the troops, this one last time.

Call the WH now, tell Obama to take his political shackles of these true American heroes, and today’s troops they want to honor.

(ATTN: Members of accredited media. FReepmail me with your contact phone and paper or other outlet name and I will give you direct e-mail/international cellphone to one of the four. Sorry, I cannot do this for everyone.)

Call the WH now. Tell Obama to be as “brave” as these real American heroes are!

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