Rangel needs a 'Swift boat' kick in the a$$

Charley Rangel's recent calling for the reinstatement of the draft and then insulting our troops has made me dabble in US politics today. First of all, Charley Rangel can call for a reinstatement of the draft all day long as far as I'm concerned. Remember how he introduced legislation in 2003 calling for the same thing and then VOTED AGAINST IT?????

Secondly, Charley is a veteran and as our faithful readers know, Dinah honors all veterans for their service. But when veterans start denigrating those currently in service Dinah gets curious. What could have possibly happened to Charley while he was in the Army that would cause him to make such denigrating and unpatriotic comments about our brave troops while they are at war today?

I decided to see what I could find out about Charley's service.

I didn't find much. Mentions in the MSM were generally limited to his length of service ((1948-1952), his unit (503rd Field Artillery)the war (Korean), his medals (Bronze Star, Purple Heart) I noticed that the Bronze Star got more play than his Purple Heart. Don't know why.

An introduction to a speech by Charley at Harvard included this:
"He served in the US army in the all black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion from 1948 to 1952. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for leading several dozen men to safety after the infamous Chinese army's attack across the Yalu River, an attack that left 90% of his unit killed or wounded." (and Charley was wounded in the foot.)

From Congresspedia:
"Rangel fought for his life on a frozen mountain in North Korea with the 503rd Field Artillery Battalion. He caught shrapnel in his foot on Nov. 30, 1950, and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart," the Daily News reported."

From a 2000 speech, Forgotten Veterans of the Forgotten War there's this: (no mention of his Purple Heart, but his Bronze Star gets a boost with a V for Valor.)
"Those who were overlooked included men like Congressman CHARLES RANGEL and Congressman JOHN CONYERS, senior Members of the House, founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and decorated veterans of that war. Then Sergeant RANGEL was awarded the Bronze Star with ``V'' while he served with the 503d Field Artillery Battalion. And 2d"

From a Roll Call article posted on Charley's hopelessly slow website we get a little more detail:
"Rep. Charlie Rangel, a raspy-voiced 18-term legislator from New York City, has long been a leader among House Democrats. But long before his first election to Congress, Rangel demonstrated his leadership skills as a soldier in the Army's 503rd Field Artillery Battalion 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War.

Caught up in the Battle of Kunu-Ri in what is now North Korea, Rangel led 40 members of his decimated unit to safety from behind enemy lines. He would be awarded a Purple Heart for injuries suffered in the campaign and a Bronze Star for the valor needed to escape near death." And Charley got shot in the foot.

A brief recap of the situation at Kunu Ri can be found here The battle sounded fierce and awful. Hellish. It was a rout.

"No story of the withdrawal from Kunu-ri will ever be complete. Records of many of the units were either lost or not kept at all. Many of the men who could tell the story have not returned. There were countless instances of individual and unit heroism which will forever go unrecognized but without which many thousands more lives would been lost. No one single unit should be singled out for to do so would be an injustice to the others but special mention must be made of the elements of the 2d Engineer Combat Battalion and "A" Battery, 503d who held the hills near the Division CP while other units moved out. Not a man escaped from the northernmost of the two hills. The men of "A" Battery fired their massive 155 guns point blank at the onrushing enemy until they were completely overwhelmed. They stayed to the death so that others might escape.

No account of the withdrawal could ever tell of the suffering endured by the heroic men of the Division. The wounded suffered ten fold. Only those who were there can know of the cold, the hunger, the unutterable misery and heartsickness of defeat.

The losses in men were tragic; the losses in equipment disasterous. More than 5,000 casualties were suffered by the Division in November with 95 per cent of that total inflicted in the last five days of the month. Equipment losses ran from the 95 per cent suffered by the 2d Engineers to lesser rates by other units. Artillery units were particularly hard hit with entire battalions losing all their field pieces and the big majority of their vehicles.

The 2d Division had met the full impact of an overwhelming Chinese force. Although it was battered and forced to fight its way out of a trap it successfully slowed an attack which threatened to destroy the entire Eighth Army. If it had not made the magnificant stand which it did, the lives of tens of thousands of other troops would have been in jeopardy. Even in defeat, the "Indianhead" Division proved to be a rock which held fast, giving other units an opportunity for survival.

Gradually the battered ranks of the 2d Division moved southward, out of contact with the enemy and destined for a period of rest, reorganization and resupply. It's basic organization was intact, and from the remnants of the riddled columns was to emerge an outfit which would make the CCF pay twentyfold for its victory; a Division which was destined to be described as "the most perfect fighting organization in the world", "Second to None".

Not according to Charley. Charley thinks our men and women fighting to keep his (and my) big butt safe are losers and jerks. Well, that being in the Armed Forces sure worked out good for you didn't it, Charley? I wonder if Charley ever acknowledges that?

I'd sure like to hear Charley's war story. Wouldn't you?

Update: By the way, did I mention that when Charley joined the service he was a high school drop out with no future in life. Methinks this belief that all enlistees in today's volunteer army are low income losers from the hood is a classic case of projection. Just sayin'.