Charlie Rangel "Since Kunu Ri .. I have never, never had a bad day."

sabrina 1

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Sat Jul-31-10 03:14 PM
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Charlie Rangel "Since Kunu Ri .. I have never, never had a bad day."

Edited on Sat Jul-31-10 03:18 PM by sabrina 1

Since Kunu Ri, and I mean it with all my heart, I have never, never had a bad day

Rep. Rangel was referring to his service in the Korean War and the incident for which he was awarded a Purple Heart for his injuries and The Bronze Star for his valor in the 'face of death'.

This week he revised that statement, slightly.

After Rangel enlisted in the U.S. Army, he served from 1948 to 1952 and during his time in the Korean War he became a War Hero:

Charles B. Rangel

During the Korean War, he was a member of the all-black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division. In late November 1950, this unit was caught up in heavy fighting in North Korea as part of the U.N. forces retreat from the Yalu River. In the Battle of Kunu-ri, Rangel was part of a vehicle column that was trapped and attacked by the Chinese Army. In the subzero cold, Rangel was injured by shrapnel from a Chinese shell. Some U.S. soldiers were being taken prisoner, but others looked to Rangel, who though only a private first class had a reputation for leadership in the unit. Rangel led some 40 men from his unit, during three days of freezing weather, out of the Chinese encirclement; nearly half of the battalion was killed in the overall battle. Rangel was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds and the Bronze Star with Valor for his actions in the face of death. His Army Unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and three battle stars.

He was born in Harlem and grew up poor. His father left the family when he was six years old. He and his two sibling were raised by his single mother who died in 1995. He left school at 16 but later went back after being discharged from the military and went to achieve enormous success in his educational career:

Rangel would later view his time in the Army, away from the poverty of his youth, as a major turning point in his life: "When I was exposed to a different life, even if that life was just the Army, I knew damn well I couldn't get back to the same life I had left." After an honorable discharge from the Army at the rank of staff sergeant, he returned home to headlines in The New York Amsterdam News. Rangel finished high school, completing two years of studies in one year and graduating in 1953. Rangel then received a Bachelor of Science degree from the New York University School of Commerce in 1957, where he made the dean's list, and, on full scholarship, obtained his law degree from the St. John's University School of Law in 1960.

Rangel is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans. He is a member of the fraternity's World Policy Council, a think tank whose purpose is to expand Alpha Phi Alpha's involvement in politics and social and current policy to encompass international concerns.

He eventually found his way into politics and was first elected to Congress in 1970 and began serving in 1971. He has been re-elected by huge margins, sometimes as high as 88% - 90% ever since.

During the Bush administration he was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War. I will never forget the effort he made and thank him for it.

Rangel was an adamant opponent of the George W. Bush administration and of the Iraq War.<35> Feeling powerless to stop the latter in the Republican-controlled Congress, he said in 2007 that he had suffered from nightmares: "It was my lowest point ever in my 37 years in Congress ... It was a sad period where you saw lives being lost and you couldn't do anything about it."

His many achievements as a politician are listed in the above link. People who know him well say he never wanted to be anything other than a member of Congress where he was able to do so much for his constituents.

Anyone who called Dick Cheney 'mentally disturbed' publicly and George Bush 'our Bull Connor' is okay by me.

But it is not Dick Cheney a war criminal who lied this country into war, torture supporter, outer of an Undercover Agent, shooter of a friend in the face, chickenhawk with five deferments from a war he supported who is under fire in this great democracy. Such crimes, we are told, need to be 'put behind us'.

Okay then. If such horrendous and treasonous crimes are to ignored, why is Charlie Rangel being asked to 'end his career with dignity' over what, having now read the charges, seem to me to be pure trivia BY COMPARISON!

If Cheney, Bush and the rest of that criminal cabal are to be treated like royalty in this country, what message does this send regarding the 'Rule of Law'? If Karl Rove and his minions are to be exonerated for using the Justice Department to influence elections and Tim Geithner can be confirmed after admitting that he knowingly cheated on his taxes, not to mention the rest of the corrupt Wall St. criminals who have been rewarded rather than prosecuted for their role in the collapse of the U.S. economy then someone needs to explain what exactly Charlie Rangel has done that we should be particularly excited about?

And if the DOJ can forgive the Rove minions, then I forgive Charlie Rangel and I condemn any hypocrite who has stood by and allowed all those crimes to go unpunished, worse, rewarded, who now points a finger at Rep. Rangel.

I could go on listing all the reasons why Charlie Rangel was reelected over and over again and why we, during the nightmare years of Bush looked to him and a few others like him, for leadership. But it would take too long.

I'll just say ~ Thank YOU Rep. Charles Rangel for all you have done for this country. Do not even think of going anywhere until the Rule of Law is re-established in this country and I know we can count on you to say so.

They want us to forgive and forget? War Crimes? But not Charlie Rangel, War Hero, Political Activist with over 50 years of real service to his country? I don't think so!