We Lost Another Hero - Rest in Peace Col Bud Day, USAF(ret)

Colonel Bud Day who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War died yesterday at the age of 88.

Day served our nation during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War and was the most highly decorated American since Douglas MacArthur.

After getting out of the Marines when World War II ended, Day finished high school then attended college and law school on the GI Bill. While attending school he stayed military as a member of the Army Reserves eventually getting a commission as a reserve Air Force officer and orders to flight school. He was called up for the Korean War and afterwards remained on active duty. He was shot down in Nam and broke his arm in three places when he ejected from his plane. He was quickly captures by enemy forces and was tortured and interogated. When his captors let their guard he escaped and evaded re-capture for 12 days and had actually made it back to South Vietnam when a Viet Cong unit shot him twice and took him back to North Vietnam. He was held as a Prisoner of War for over five years. His first cellmate was a near dead John McCain who Day helped nurse off death's door.

After release from prison, Day fought for veterans benefits particularly health care for disabled vets. He was often asked why he didn't go into politics and he would answer it was same reason he never made general - because he spoke his mind and didn't sugar coat things. He wasn't kidding about that. There was nothing "politically correct" about Colonel Day. You never had a doubt about the sincerity of his opinions. His strong comments in 2004 about John Kerry being a traitor and his more recent comments regarding Islam are testiment to his candor.

Colonel Day, Thank you for your service and may you Rest in Peace.
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Medal of Honor 

Citation: On 26 August 1967, Col. Day was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was immediately captured by hostile forces and taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and severely tortured. After causing the guards to relax their vigilance, Col. Day escaped into the jungle and began the trek toward South Vietnam. Despite injuries inflicted by fragments of a bomb or rocket, he continued southward surviving only on a few berries and uncooked frogs. He successfully evaded enemy patrols and reached the Ben Hai River, where he encountered U.S. artillery barrages. With the aid of a bamboo log float, Col. Day swam across the river and entered the demilitarized zone. Due to delirium, he lost his sense of direction and wandered aimlessly for several days. After several unsuccessful attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured by the Viet Cong, sustaining gunshot wounds to his left hand and thigh. He was returned to the prison from which he had escaped and later was moved to Hanoi after giving his captors false information to questions put before him. Physically, Col. Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself. Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Col. Day's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces.

Undefended Freedom Doesn't Exist

Defense of the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is not just about the Patriot Act and whatnot. No, the biggest violators of our constitutional rights are law enforcement at local, state and federal level looking for short cuts.  Our courts have allowed law enforcement to do bad things because societally "we" generally agreed some crimes were so bad extraordinary measures should be taken to protect us. 

1. Stopping a car for no reason to see if the driver is intoxicated? Clearly unconstitutional, but we didn't scream because drunk driving is bad and blah, blah, blah. 
2. "Stop and frisk" where cops can go up to people on the street and search them? No chance that is really constitutional, but crime is high in some areas so we'll allow cops to spit on the constitution if it temporarily lowers crime rates in an area. 
3. Fill in the blank __________________  with what ever high profile crime so horrified people that they demanded "something oughta be done."

When do police violate our rights? When we beg them to. No, people don't directly and openly ask law enforcement to violate our rights. No, people screamed at politicians to "ensure ______ never happens again" and politicians in turn write legislation unlikely to ensure bad people won't do bad thing but will sound good on the campaign trail. Allowing infringement of our rights does nothing but give a false sense of security. There are probably hundreds of other examples where we gave away our constitutional guarantees of freedom thinking we were only giving away the freedoms for crooks. Wrong! Gone for the "crooks" also means gone for you.  

I am not anti-law enforcement. However, law enforcement like any government bureaucracy is prone to excess. An "ends justifies the means" mentality quickly develops and often is encouraged in how we reward and promote in law enforcement. 

Any right not zealously guarded will not long last and that includes every right delineated in the Bill of Rights. Also, we can not pick and choose to defend only those portions of the Constitution we like. Allow today's hack politician to crap on a right you don't exercise (2nd Amendment, maybe?) and you forfeit the rights you care strongly about. 

I'll finish with a great quote from President Reagan:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”