Some Interesting Family History That I Just Learned

I went out to my sisters house a couple or few nights ago, to go through some of my mom's photo albums and other memorabilia with the purpose of taking what I wanted to save. My sister and brother-in-law  split up and finally sold the house and have to get things out of it. Since my mom is in an assisted living facility, she has no room for it so I took virtually all the old photo albums and a few small trinkets that bring back memories.

Among the picture albums, I found some old family papers and old family photos of my maternal grandfather and his family going back two generations before him. I did not know him well, in fact only met him when I maybe was in my mid-teens, more likely in my late teens, maybe even in my young twenties; I am bad on timelines from back then, don't ask why. I visited him fairly often once we found out he lived in our neighborhood, he and my grandmother had parted ways many years before and my mother had not seen him in decades and suddenly there he was close to home. He lived only a few blocks from us. When I visited him, I did some small chores for him and we talked more of current events and jawboned more than talking his history. Anyway, among his photos was an awards brochure from the New York City Sanitation Department in 1943. When I paged through it, I saw he was awarded a medal by then mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. I read on and found the reason why he got that medal, it was the NYC Dept. of Sanitation Medal of Valor. (Who woulda thunk that someone working for the garbage department could win a medal of valor - but he did - as did four others in that ceremony.) We don't have the medal (unless it is yet to be found) but I do have the certificate he was awarded with it, too bad it is in really bad shape, torn and missing pieces. Anyway I guess I should mention why he was awarded that medal of valor.

On September 6, 1942 (72 years ago yesterday), my maternal grandfather, Robert Oppel, was an oiler on a NYC Dept. of Sanitation tug boat in District 56, Queens. As it ploughed the waters of the East River... Heck, let me tell you verbatim how they said it, back then, using the words from the awards pamphlet:

"About 4PM on September 6, 1942, while working on a tugboat, Robert Oppel heard the screams of an eight-year old boy, who had fallen into the East River. He plunged into the water, swam over to the child and brought him to safety. He rendered first aid treatment pending the arrival of medical assistance."

My mother was 17 soon to be 18 when that happened, my grandfather was no spring chicken at the time. Judging by his photo in the booklet, I would say he was in his late 30s to mid- forties. I am not too sure but I also think he was estranged from the family by then, already for a long time. I  know my mother did not think much of her father especially since he basically abandoned her and her brother and their mom many years before we found him living close to us. Yet, she was proud enough of him to save this stuff and a few other things of his as well as his family photos and some family papers dating back to the mid to late 1800s after he passed on.


That's the photo of him that they used in the
1943 awards pamphlet. As you can see there is
also a photo of a Sanitation Dept. tug boat, I am
guessing the one he served on and of what looks
to be a tug crew (he may be the guy to the left).
Also his Port Security card from 1955.

My mom was also good enough to help take care of him once they were back in touch after all those years of separation. Had she not been of that ilk, I guess I would never have met him, she could just as easily have never introduced me, my brother or sister to him but she did and we all connected. Family bonds meant something back then, to most people, more than they do today to way too many. Even if those bonds were broken they could be mended again or made anew if not mended. Ironic thing is she wound up marrying a bum much worse than her father may have been to her; my father was truly a monster and thankfully left us too, but then again this is not about my father or mother but about something I only found out about my grandfather a couple of days before its 72 anniversary.

I will admit I am pretty awestruck by it. It's not everyday that you learn one of your relatives saved another person's life at peril to his own life. Pretty cool in my book. I'd like to think I'd do likewise in a similar situation. Anyway - a hat tip to Grandpa Oppel - whether he is I heaven looking down on me, or down lower and looking up at me, for whatever else he did or did not do in his lifetime. (All about which I have no clue but I'd like to know. I suppose I likely never will learn any more about his endeavors and adventures, little to no chance of that now but then at least I found out about this.) Oh well, that's it - just something of our family history that peaked my interest from out of the blue almost 72 years to the day from when it happened.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ed Freeman - A True Hero - Let His Memory Not Fade

On August 20, 2008, a true hero left this world. He died from the ravages of Parkinson's Disease, yet he had faced death many times before. On November 14, 1965, back when I was 10 and thought playing army was cool, Ed Freeman was going through hell in the la Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. Amazingly enough, it was Ed's choice to pass through the gates of hell, and not just once, but time and time and time again - in order to save soldiers he probably never had met before. He medivac'd 30 seriously wounded soldiers, and brought in supplies for countless others that helped change the tide of the battle, a battle which was one of the most fierce of the whole war.

Ed originally received the Distinguished Flying Cross, but men who fought on the ground that day, with help from Senator John McCain and others, fought for higher recognition for his valiant efforts, and he then received the MOH. Why did they fight for him to receive the medal of Honor, well let me begin with the words of President George W. Bush back in July 2001:

"That story began with the battalion surrounded by the enemy, in one of Vietnam's fiercest battles. The survivors remember the desperate fear of almost certain death. They remember gunfire that one witness described as the most intense he had ever seen. And they remember the sight of an unarmed helicopter coming to their aid."

Yep, Ed flew an unarmed Huey helicopter into a fire zone, and he did so after the commanding officer on the ground, in the middle of that fierce battle, closed the helicopter landing zone and ordered the medivac units to stand down because the fighting was too intense and he did not want to risk the lives of the pilots or crew members.

I guess either Ed did not hear that order, or he chose to disregard it. My guess is the latter, because surely once he landed on the ground in the middle of that fight, someone must have told him he was crazy and that the landing zone had been ordered closed. Regardless of the risk to his own life, Ed made that same trip not once, not twice, not even three times but 20 times. He ferried in ammunition, water and other supplies, and he ferried out men who were seriously wounded - 30 of them. Ed was no brash kid at the time either, he flew those rescue missions just prior to his 38th birthday. Of course he was not alone when he did this, he was the wingman for commander Bruce Crandall who also received the MOH some years later, I think in 2007. Bruce flew 22 missions into that same hell hole. Only two helicopters repeatedly flew in and out of the fire zone, those of Ed and Bruce. Bruce had asked for volunteers, I guess Ed was one of them. Bruce is still with us, Ed Has passed on.

I cannot say more about this without letting you read Ed's citation:

"CITATION: Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: Landing Zone X-Ray, Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam, 14 November 1965. Born: 20 November 1927, Neely, Mississippi. Entered Service At: Hattiesburg, Mississippi Citation: Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water, and medical supplies to the besieged battalion. His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival, without which they would almost surely have experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers -- some of whom would not have survived had he not acted. All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance, and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Now as it reads Ed saved 30 seriously wounded soldiers that day in 14 flights into hell, and while that is more than enough, the truth be told, he flew over 20 missions into hell that day, and flew out over 70 wounded soldiers. Yes he did - even though not stated that way in the citation which you will note only spoke of the 30 "seriously" wounded soldiers he saved. Go here: http://www.medalofhonor.com/EdWFreeman.htm, and go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Freeman to read more about it.

These two men are real men, real heroes, true patriots. Despite my taking the liberty to call Ed and Bruce by their first names, I have never met either of them. I hope they would not mind a guy like me doing that, but it just seemed right, that another American would call them by their first names. I guess I feel that is so because I think we should all know them, know of them, know of their heroism, and be familiar with them to some extent for the things they did for other Americans like us. Though I never met him, Ed Freeman will be missed by me. By the way, you may have heard of Ed before today, and not yet realized it. You see he was honored in the movie: We Were Soldiers in which he was called Ed 'Too Tall' Freeman. His family can stand tall now with his memory in their hearts; he was and is a real hero. In memoriam of Ed 'Too Tall' Freeman, November 1927 to August 2008.

All the best,

Glenn B

A Hero's Lesson...

...hopefully will not have fallen on deaf ears, especially since the lesson was one of true heroism. In today's world of almost 'virtual' everything, it is often difficult to decipher the real from the fantastic, or from the make believe. The purely academic images presented by those who have never truly experienced more than little in life but what are products of the imagination are rampant; therefore mere conceptual views of what a hero should be are oft times confused with true heroism. Because of that confusion it winds up that people today often see a movie actor, a baseball player, a singer, a politician, a doctor, a teacher, a parent, a friend, as a hero; this when in fact that not even one of those folks may ever have completed one truly heroic deed among them in all of the combined years that their lives have spanned.

Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.

The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.

Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.

So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.

One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.

All the best,
Glenn B