Little Rock jihad victims to be awarded Purple Hearts
Six years after they were shot by jihadist Carlos Bledsoe, Army Privates William Andrew Long and Quiton Ezeagwula will be awarded Purple Heart medals on Wednesday, July 1st at 10AM in the Arkansas state capitol rotunda. Long was killed by the encounter when Bledsoe went out to kill soldiers and found the two who were on temporary recruiter duty in Little Rock and taking a smoke break. From THV;
Initially, police called it a drive-by shooting, but the Longs argued that it was a terrorist attack.
“To us it was never political. It’s about doing the right thing,” said [the father of Private Andy Long, Daris] Long.
They lead the effort to change the federal law, so acts of violence on U.S. soil can be recognized as combat.
“You’re fighting an enemy on a global basis, not just overseas. You’re not fighting a traditional enemy that recognizes geographical boundaries,” said Long.
Bledsoe admitted that he was on a terrorist-style mission years ago. An injustice has been corrected.
Category: Army News
Good. It’s about freaking time.
Im still on the otherside of this argument. Mostly because where does the line end? When I was at Carson, locals would gang up and fight Soldiers downtown on the weekends, specifically because they were Soldiers. So shoul those that have gotten seriously injured or killed get a PH? I mean they were targeted because they were Soldiers.
Today if I drive down Victory Drive here in Columbus and a gang banger takes a shot at me because I’m in uniform, would I get one for being targeted as a Soldier?
This is my point, where does the line begin and stop. Either way we get targeted, does it matter if the crackpot(s) that do it have an ulterior agenda other than to mess up a service-member?
When any servicemember loses their lives or is seriously injured, it is a tragedy. But unless you are in a combat zone, I dont think anyone should rate a combat medal.
19D2OR4 – Smitty: award of the PH to military personnel injured in terrorist attacks has been authorized for over 31 years. Executive Order 12464, signed on February 23, 1984, authorized the award of the Purple Heart to military personnel injured in terrorist attacks occurring after 28 March 1973, regardless of location – PROVIDED the MILDEP(s) concerned determined that the event was a “terrorist attack”. The latter – the incident having been formally declared a “terrorist attack” – is the only thing that has prevented the award of PHs to these two soldiers. It was also the only thing that prevented the award of PHs to the Fort Hood victims.
Since in both cases (Little Rock, Fort Hood) the perp has admitted he was a terrorist bastard carrying out a terrorist attack in support of radical Islam, I have no problem with these two getting what they should have years ago.
In point of fact, Sailors injured by terrorist attacks by Puerto Rican separatists in the 1970s have been awarded the PH. They’re not the only ones, either.
http://www.caribbeanbusiness.pr/news/sentencing-in-1979-sabana-seca-ambush-navy-continues-decades-old-probe-97025.html
I fully understand that it has been authorized for decades for terrorist attacks. But how long is it until we just start labeling everything as terrorism and the PH gets relegated to NDSM status? That is my fear
A reasonable fear.
At some point, we have to trust whoever is in charge not to make it worthless. Or depend on Congress to step in, when leadership won’t perform its duties faithfully.
Congress has already done that a few times now – a couple of times with the PH, and once with the BSM. They shouldn’t have to, but on occasion service/DoD leadership gets far enough out of line they feel they must.
In view of what is going on now in France, with another terrorist attack last week on a factory, if the French president uses the term ‘terrorism’, which he did, that kind of settles it for me.
But let’s say you’re at Walmart, and two Marines in fatigues are ahead of you in the checkout line, when some jihadis come screaming in yelling slogans and firing AKs.
If they shoot civilians, but miss the Marines, or get taken out by the Marines, the civilians won’t get the PH.
If, on the other hand, the Marines get injured in the process of stopping this attack, they should get it, plain and simple.
I was in Barcelona in 1987 when the USO got blown up, I wonder if those sailors got a P/H? Just wondering I was on Shore Patrol and seen it getting blown up. The pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for that.
Airdale USN: other sources I’ve seen say a couple of Spanish leftist separatist groups claimed responsibility for that one vice Islamic Jihad. Dunno.
Regardless of who was responsible, it appears that the sailors injured in fact did receive the Purple Heart. The individual killed did, and I can’t see any reason why those wounded would not have.
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-01-03/news/mn-32506_1_terrorist-attack
The injustice has not been rectified until they HANG THE S.O.B…..and smitty, wake up! You don’t think anyone should rate a combat medal…..WTF do you call it if not combat?
I call it getting gunned down by a nut job while taking a smoke break. Happens everyday all across the world. Combat is war. Until I see tanks rolling through Little Rock and IEDs blowing up traffic on the interstates, there is definitely no war in Arkansas
So my brother was hurt (26 stitches) when a group of would be Seamen killers chased him and his friends in Norfolk some 30+ years ago. The difference was 3 of them were down, and he killed the guy who was trying to kill him. He tells me that its no different than the South Side where we grew up. Honestly, I don’t know the answer here. I’ve had idiots pull guns on me 9 times while not in uniform. Never had it happen in uniform. So the “anecdotal” evidence is No it shouldn’t be an occasion for Purple Heart. But in this situation? It’s hard to say someone defending the country against aggressors shouldn’t be awarded the Medal. That’s the Barracks Lawyer in me.
Losers..I lived near Camp Pendelton since coming to America. We moved two houses from a place where the Marines would come on weekends.
A group of Marines were being harassed by our local football team. Marines scattered one to our house, with a bloody nose.
We were still outside and papa answered the door and asked in a accent poor fella what happened. He pulled out his ID. I ran to the house to translate.
Papa was pissed, I told Jack to sit and asked how many more are out there. Five. He stayed in and we started searching with flash lights, yelling we’re here to help you. One by one they came out. Papa drove them back to Camp P.
The next weekend, my bro sat in his Van with a pellet gun just as the place closed. He knew the players. Did it again but this we were backing the fellas. He was shooting at the players and papa and I used flashlights and yelled here.
Back to Camp P, but this time papa went to the high school and pointed out the players with my bro. The coach didn’t do crap, so he went to the school district. Although it was not a school day crap, they still got a week of detention. The parents did more.
Players were told to go to Oceanside and shake hands with every Marine walking on Hill St with a sign that says, I’m a future criminal since I like beating Marines with my friends.
My dad sat in his bug to make sure that they did what was ordered. Me, I would of had the parents watching. What happened to those players? Years later I saw one working at Taco bell. Couldn’t handle getting their asses kicked by bigger players. KARMA
Although they weren’t injured in War, their still serving our country.