Vegas
09-04-2007, 07:44 PM
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=656102
Bruce Crandall is 74 but in this room full of heroes, he's the new guy.
"I'm the rookie. I carry their bags," Crandall said Monday night at his first Congressional Medal of Honor Society convention.
Even though it's been more than four decades since the day he flew 22 helicopter missions under intense enemy fire to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers during the Battle of Ia Drang, Crandall received the Medal of Honor in February from President Bush. The battle was featured in the Mel Gibson film "We Were Soldiers."
Ever since the light blue ribbon and gold-colored five-point star was placed around his neck, Crandall's life has been a whirlwind. He has traveled throughout the United States from his Washington state home to attend military functions and events. Now he's in Green Bay with more than 60 of the 109 living Medal of Honor recipients as the weeklong convention got under way with a private reception for recipients at the Radisson Hotel.
Though other Medal of Honor recipients have clued him in on what to expect - the honor and sometimes the burden of earning the nation's highest military award - Crandall is still getting used to being called a hero. As he looked around the banquet room filled with men who proudly wear the Medal of Honor, he talked about all the history and heroism, the selfless acts and bravery his fellow recipients represented.
"It'll never sink in - the responsibility," said Crandall, who was a major with the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division on Nov. 14, 1965, the day he flew all those missions in the Ia Drang Valley. "I didn't understand right away, but I quickly understood what an honor this is."
John Finn has had plenty of time to understand the significance of the Medal of Honor. At 98, he's the oldest living recipient. Finn has been attending conventions since 1945.
He arrived toward the end of an informal gathering of recipients Monday night and when the other heroes saw him, many rushed over to give him hugs, kiss him on the cheek and shake his hand as he balanced on two black canes.
"This is our rascal," said one recipient, while another chimed in, "98! Can you believe it?"
"Oh hell, all I got to do is keep breathing," Finn said.
Finn wasn't a young apple-cheeked kid when he earned the Medal of Honor. He was a 32-year-old Navy lieutenant stationed at the Naval Air Station in Kaneohe Bay on Dec. 7, 1941.
Pearl Harbor heroism
During the first attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese warplanes, Finn started firing a .50-caliber machine gun mounted in an exposed section of a parking ramp. Even though he was wounded, Finn kept firing away at the enemy planes. After getting medical aid, he returned to the airfield and supervised the rearming of returning U.S. planes. He said he was the only Medal of Honor recipient from the Pearl Harbor attack who was not on a ship.
When asked what the Medal of Honor means to him, Finn scrunched his face and said he had heard, before the day of infamy, that Medal of Honor recipients would automatically get promotions and pensions.
"I thought, I hope to God I never get a Medal of Honor because what would I do as a warrant officer? It scared me to death - what would I know about being a warrant officer?" Finn said.
Gary Wetzel, 59, is one of the young guys even though he received the Medal of Honor in 1968 in Vietnam. A helicopter gunner, Wetzel lost his left arm but managed to fire his gun to help stave off an enemy attack.
The Oak Creek man is active in veterans affairs and rode his Harley-Davidson motorcycle more than 5,000 miles last week from Indianapolis to Reno, Nev., to help raise money for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
"What we try to do is show (the newest veterans) the support for what they're doing," said Wetzel, who enjoys getting together with fellow Medal of Honor recipients at the annual conventions.
This is the first time the Medal of Honor convention has been in Wisconsin. The recipients will take part in numerous events this week, including a memorial service for fallen Medal of Honor recipients, school visits, autograph signing at Lambeau Field and breakfast on a farm in Denmark.
"When I get in a room with these guys," Wetzel said Monday night, "I think of all this history. It's such a trip."
Bruce Crandall is 74 but in this room full of heroes, he's the new guy.
"I'm the rookie. I carry their bags," Crandall said Monday night at his first Congressional Medal of Honor Society convention.
Even though it's been more than four decades since the day he flew 22 helicopter missions under intense enemy fire to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers during the Battle of Ia Drang, Crandall received the Medal of Honor in February from President Bush. The battle was featured in the Mel Gibson film "We Were Soldiers."
Ever since the light blue ribbon and gold-colored five-point star was placed around his neck, Crandall's life has been a whirlwind. He has traveled throughout the United States from his Washington state home to attend military functions and events. Now he's in Green Bay with more than 60 of the 109 living Medal of Honor recipients as the weeklong convention got under way with a private reception for recipients at the Radisson Hotel.
Though other Medal of Honor recipients have clued him in on what to expect - the honor and sometimes the burden of earning the nation's highest military award - Crandall is still getting used to being called a hero. As he looked around the banquet room filled with men who proudly wear the Medal of Honor, he talked about all the history and heroism, the selfless acts and bravery his fellow recipients represented.
"It'll never sink in - the responsibility," said Crandall, who was a major with the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division on Nov. 14, 1965, the day he flew all those missions in the Ia Drang Valley. "I didn't understand right away, but I quickly understood what an honor this is."
John Finn has had plenty of time to understand the significance of the Medal of Honor. At 98, he's the oldest living recipient. Finn has been attending conventions since 1945.
He arrived toward the end of an informal gathering of recipients Monday night and when the other heroes saw him, many rushed over to give him hugs, kiss him on the cheek and shake his hand as he balanced on two black canes.
"This is our rascal," said one recipient, while another chimed in, "98! Can you believe it?"
"Oh hell, all I got to do is keep breathing," Finn said.
Finn wasn't a young apple-cheeked kid when he earned the Medal of Honor. He was a 32-year-old Navy lieutenant stationed at the Naval Air Station in Kaneohe Bay on Dec. 7, 1941.
Pearl Harbor heroism
During the first attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese warplanes, Finn started firing a .50-caliber machine gun mounted in an exposed section of a parking ramp. Even though he was wounded, Finn kept firing away at the enemy planes. After getting medical aid, he returned to the airfield and supervised the rearming of returning U.S. planes. He said he was the only Medal of Honor recipient from the Pearl Harbor attack who was not on a ship.
When asked what the Medal of Honor means to him, Finn scrunched his face and said he had heard, before the day of infamy, that Medal of Honor recipients would automatically get promotions and pensions.
"I thought, I hope to God I never get a Medal of Honor because what would I do as a warrant officer? It scared me to death - what would I know about being a warrant officer?" Finn said.
Gary Wetzel, 59, is one of the young guys even though he received the Medal of Honor in 1968 in Vietnam. A helicopter gunner, Wetzel lost his left arm but managed to fire his gun to help stave off an enemy attack.
The Oak Creek man is active in veterans affairs and rode his Harley-Davidson motorcycle more than 5,000 miles last week from Indianapolis to Reno, Nev., to help raise money for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
"What we try to do is show (the newest veterans) the support for what they're doing," said Wetzel, who enjoys getting together with fellow Medal of Honor recipients at the annual conventions.
This is the first time the Medal of Honor convention has been in Wisconsin. The recipients will take part in numerous events this week, including a memorial service for fallen Medal of Honor recipients, school visits, autograph signing at Lambeau Field and breakfast on a farm in Denmark.
"When I get in a room with these guys," Wetzel said Monday night, "I think of all this history. It's such a trip."