Saturday, May 10, 2008

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty















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The intimacy of the experience of World War II is passing to join the memories of other wars, whose only link to our national recollection, remain stored in the archives, among fading relics and forgotten memorials.

Today, World War II is taught and remembered by touching on the exploits of the leaders and strategies used by all sides. The personal memories are replaced with bullet points that spin a political position, dependent upon the current view of being either right or left in one's viewpoint. The stories of courage and personal dedication are largely lost to memory and in today's self-indulgent world, are discounted as sacrifices that any rational person would defer from making.

The blogger, CDR Salamander dedicates every Friday as Friday, to remembering the deeds of those whose bravery during time of war has been largely forgotten. This week, he links the story of the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber whose dedication to duty and courage is so fantastic that one would believe it to be fiction, without the visual record created, courtesy of the History Channel. Take the time to watch the videos and read the story of Captain Jay Zeamer and his bombardier Joseph Sarnoski who both won the Medal of Honor, as the bomber named Old 666 completed it's lone mapping mission over enemy territory in the South Pacific and single combat, took on 17 Japanese A6M Zeros as they struggled home, Wings of Valor II- Jay Zeamer and Joseph Sarnoski.


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