THE DEMISE OF REAL HEROS
IGNORANT WANNABES EXITE THE IGNORANT AND PROMOTE THE COWARDS.
D.L. BLEWITT, J.D., Dec., 2016
D.L. BLEWITT, J.D., Dec., 2016
In two weeks, it would have been my brother’s birthday. We were born 11 months apart and both independent with strong beliefs and values based on a long line of family tradition. We had divergent political views, but respected those of others, each fighting for them in different ways. We both had a reverence of the Constitution and honored the Posse
Commutatis principals. I lately published a piece of the two Distinguished Flying Crosses he was awarded. He was a hero. Not a coward. He saved lives, not take them claiming he was in fear of being hurt. He remained a target while calling in positions under fire. He didn’t brag. He just did his job. He, like many of my generation were conflicted with the divergent views during the time of the Viet Nam war. He was a soldier, I was not. He was a hero, I was not. But we both stood up for what we believed in. And we both defended each other’s right to believe.
Once a superior officer informed him that because of some of my activities, his career advancement might be jeopardized. His answer, “I thought freedom of speech was what I am fighting for.” We disagreed on the Viet Nam war policy, but not on our basic rights to believe and express those beliefs. I saw him stand by the bullet holes in his helicopter after he was attacked. He utilized all his training. He had desert, ocean, artic, and jungle survival schools. He trained with special anti-terrorist forces in Italy, Germany, Spain and England. He was in Egypt during the Blue Light exercise, resulting in a coup, and trained Navy pilots for the Iranian rescue mission.
His mission was to save lives, even at risk to his own. He rescued downed pilots flying the largest helicopter made. After Viet Nam, he was with special forces anti- terrorist squads and trained all over the world. In the process, he earned two distinguished flying cross awards. He was a hero. He didn’t shirk. He didn’t wait for orders to perform a rescue.
When he retired, he gave speeches to various groups about the military training of police. He was dead set against it. He told me that he had been to over 80 countries in the world. He observed that in every one of these countries where military performed law enforcement, there was a dictatorship.
“I’m trained to kill, not make arrests. It would be bad policy to put someone like me in any form of law enforcement. I see officials clamoring to sell military weapons to police department and train them in the philosophy of School for the Americas, which we operate to train South American military how to deal with the peasantry. Police in this country get to play with military equipment like children play with toys.” Police are trained to view citizens as possible enemies, not people served.
I remember a discussion we had after the tragic shooting at Columbine High School. He was shocked that law enforcement officers waited outside until the premises were thought to be safe before entering. He was outraged. “Even an unarmed conscientious objector medic would have rushed in immediately to help save lives and not wait until it was safe. My brother’s peers were trained that the lives of others were to be thought of first. Their mission was to save lives, not to be safe. He branded them as cowards. Every time he went up in his helicopter, he feared for his life or safety. Yet he went. He did his job even while under attack.
I’ve thought of that a lot in the past few years. In 40 years of law practice and many friends in law enforcement, I have never met an officer that shot at or killed a suspect. They were proud of this. My brother flew rescue helicopters in war zones to rescue downed pilots. His ship was not armed and he did several missions under fire. There is a photo on the internet showing him standing in front of a 50mm hole in his helicopter. His mission came first. Saving lives came first. He was a real hero, not a wannabe like the new generation of law enforcement. He went from B52 bombers to rescue helicopters because he thought saving lives was more important than taking them. No cowardly drone piloting for him. I can’t imagine what he would say today about the homicidal behavior of our police. I do know that he would have been on a crusade to prevent the militarization of our police. Real warriors don’t wait to be safe, they act to save lives. Cowards take lives to save their own.
