Awesome People
 

We have all kinds of 'people' threads, but, not one for awesome people. Well, now we do.

To start the thread off right, I'd like you to meet Cameron Lyle, if you haven't heard of him before.

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He is an Awesome People™.

~from ABCNews, April 23, 2013

1 in 5,000,000...

I hope he plays the lottery and wins. BIG

Awesome

Here's an awesome...

Vance T Barfoot, (1919-2012), made the news at age 90 when his homeowners association told him he couldn't put up a flagpole. He did anyway. They told him to take it down. He told them to go pound sand. They backed down when the press got wind of a Medal of Honor winner being denied the right to fly his flag every day.

http://cellar.org/2014/barfoot.jpg

May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy, Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in 1940, set out alone to flank German machine gun positions that were raining hell on his buddies. He picked his way through a minefield and proceeded to single-handedly take out three enemy machine gun positions, returning with 17 prisoners.
Then after lunch, he took on and took out three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.

Barfoot retired as a Colonel after serving in Korea and Vietnam

WIKI says

U.S. Army MSG Roy P. Benavidez:

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I met Roy, professionally, though I didn't know him personally. He was a guest speaker at graduation ceremonies at Fort Sam Houston, TX (Army Medical Department Headquarters and campus) in which area (San Antonio) Roy was retired, now buried, and where I was assigned as an SF medical instructor for one of the medical phases (didactic) of the Special Forces Qualification Course teaching SF medical specialist candidates.

I've met five Medal of Honor recipients, attended an NCO breakfast with one and even had Easter dinner with another (short story for another time). They didn't know me from Adam; but, they all showed humility and graciousness.

I'd be willing to bet arrogance and a gargantuan ego don't leave enough room for putting others first and thus being able do perform these feats of heroism.

Short Story
 

You'd win that bet. Those are enduring traits.

While I was a student at the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, CA, I was stuck there without enough time to fly home for Easter. As the ranking NCO I had administrative duties as a student leader; so, I put on my dress uniform and went to Easter dinner in the enlisted mess hall to ensure everything was going well for the other students there.

As I was sitting down at a table with my dinner tray, a full colonel came into the enlisted mess wearing his dress uniform accompanied by a woman in civilian attire. They went through the food service line; then, paused and looked around until he saw the SF insignia on my uniform. They came over to my table and he asked if they could join me.

As I invited them to sit down I saw Donlon on his nametag. It rang a bell as the name was required learning during SF training on unit lineage and historically key personnel: a *Captain Donlon was the first SF Medal of Honor recipient. I immediately looked to the top ribbon on his uniform and there it was, blue field with 5 white stars, the Medal of Honor.

I tasked a student at the next table with rounding up all the SFers present in the mess hall to join me with our distinguished guests. They stopped in the middle of their dinners, up and moved their dining tables together with ours and were appreciative of Colonel and Mrs. Donlon, there for language training themselves, spending their holiday with the troops. It's about the only time I wished I was better at small talk because I was embarrassingly at a loss for words.

*TRIVIA - There's a one word disparity between what the award citation says and what Special Forces Schools teaches in the qualification course. That disparity is actually pointed out during training. It's long been one of the ways those who actually went through the SF qualification course could identify those who just claim they did in three questions or less.

I would be humbled and I'm sure tongue tied in his presence.

I would ask any of them, When you were doing what they gave you the CMoH for doing, were you telling yourself it was for God & Country, or to benefit friends and yourself?

I'd bet a lot it was a kill them before they kill my friends and myself. Someone had to do it and they were the one who stepped up because of happenstance & confidence, but not their Eagle Scout Oath, Mom's apple pie, or baseball.

There've been a number of studies on the psychology behind heroism in combat. Essentially, they do it to save the people they're with, enabled by a strong sense of responsibility for those who are dependent on them. Confidence has less to do with it as some have gone into those situations expecting to be killed; but, they still had to try. They all know part of it is happenstance, that there are posthumous awards, and that there are comparable unwitnessed acts that never received official recognition.

It's easy to believe for every Medal of Honor winner there's at least a hundred equally impressive actions going unrecognized. I've read a few stories about people's actions that were nominated for medals, but shot down. Not just the Medal of Honor, but lessor decorations too. I'd read it and wonder how in hell they made that determination. :rolleyes:

That's why Obama had Medal of Honor recommendations that were declined reassessed and why other decorations don't mean much outside of the military.

There's a similar phenomenon with the characterization of military service. The federal government issues discharge papers both with and without the type of discharge on it. In some states it's unlawful for an employer to ask for a job applicant's type of discharge (honorable>---<dishonorable).

Do they still do "general" discharges too?

I believe there are 5 types of discharges and General is still one of them. There's Entry Level, Honorable, General, Other Than Honorable, and Dishonorable. I'm waiting for them to come out with an Accidental Discharge for former Commanders-in-Chief.

"Other Than Honorable" sure fires the imagination.
Well it's not down to Dishonorable(F), but not up to General(C), more like between criminal and acceptable... a D. :eyebrow:

That one must be for the politically incorrect.

I bet they are really interesting studies.

I've read studies on the other side of the coin - cowardice. Or rather, desertion and the fact that cowardice/fear of battle seems to rarely be a factor.

Desertion is a big umbrella with a myriad of reasons for it. Some have been known to desert because they got a Dear John/Jane letter from their romantic interest back home. Cowardice in the face of the enemy; however, has even been the subject of televised ethics debates with distinguished panelists (e.g. Supreme Court Justices, war correspondents, lawyers, human rights activists, first echelon military combat officers ... etc. all on the same panel).

The reasons for desertion under fire are fewer. They run along the lines of undiagnosed predisposition to panic attacks, mental fatigue and sense of doom, nervous breakdown ... etc. Most everyone experiences fear in combat; but, that can usually be overcome by peer pressure and training to the point where reactions to danger become reflexive.

The consensus; however, is that the damage done by someone turning and running in the face of the enemy is so great (demoralizing friendlies and emboldening enemies in addition to resulting immediate loses) that this umbrella is labeled cowardice and all those caught in the act will be shot by their own regardless of etiology because the damage is all the same. That can be the only way to make the spot correction under those circumstances. It isn't human nature to put the mission and other lives at risk to sort out why someone turned and ran; or, to try and figure out if they will fire on friendlies to get away.

"We must all hang together, or surely, we will all hang separately."

I've never spoken to a MOH soldier, but I have seen one. It was PFC Desmond Doss. He's a hero to me. This man was a conscientious objector, who faced great ridicule and persecution. Never, ever think a man is weak or a coward because he refuses to fight for religious convictions.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, April 29, 1945 – May 21, 1945.
Entered service at: Lynchburg, Virginia
Birth: Lynchburg, Virginia
G.O. No.: 97, November 1, 1945

He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards (180 m) forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards (7.3 m) of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet (7.6 m) from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards (91 m) to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards (270 m) over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

Take a moment of your day to watch this documentary. See if you are as in awe of this simple man as I am.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKdwsWdH3A4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWheAfEFi_Q#t=142

http://www.desmonddoss.com/

*nods*

There's been some really interesting stuff done on the psychology of desertion. Particularly for the modern era.

I know far more about desertion in the 18th/early 19th centuries though :P

One of the things that is quite striking about the scholarship though is the apparent degree of similarity of motive and incidence across different time periods and different army types.

Heh. Went looking for my MA thesis online and found this:

http://books.google.co.uk/books/abou...AJ&redir_esc=y

Did not know it showed on Googlebooks. That is kinda fucking cool.

Well that is pretty fucking cool!

Tony UT Undertoad

http://cellar.org/2014/tony.jpg

An important blazing star in the Information Technology universe, like his contemporaries Bill Gates, Larry Page and Larry Ellison.

At great risk to his personal stability and financial future, he surfed the Dot Org wave to establish one of the solidly stable
cornerstones of the internet… Cellar Dot Org.
At great personal sacrifice, for twenty four years he’s worked tirelessly to keep this institution free from Easter Island hackers
who everyone knows have brought down some of the former giants like Netscape, MySpace, and Cosby.

Despite a schedule which would kill mere mortals, plus constant interruptions from Warren Buffet, Suze Orman and Wall Street
bankers begging advice, he’s been able to provide for family, allowed his mother to pursue her teaching career.

Civic responsibility has always been important to UT, so without fanfare he's quietly emptied the local mental institutions,
orphanages, homeless shelters and animal shelters............... Oh, and prevented EBOLA from coming here.

If that sounds like UT is all work and no play, nay nay, I say. He's a respected musician in the hot Philly/Jersey Shore music scene,
and sought out Feng shui adviser to the hip and wannabe hip.

Most importantly, his selfless dedication has provided us a stable shelter from reality.
So although he's worshipped here, many don't realize the extent of his influence and size of his fanbase.
His base is huge because all your base belong to him.


Hip Hip Hooray :cheerldr: Hip Hip Hooray :cheerldr: Hip Hip Hooray :cheerldr:

:notworthy

Me Too

I'm reasonably certain that Bob Welsh is an Awesome People.

Bob's a storyteller. Here's one of 'em:

Ok, it took three months, but I finally ran across another Awesome People.

While doing some research for Popdigr on Lou Diamond Phillips, I learned that he is named after an old Leatherneck named Lou Diamond.

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In fact, they call him 'Mr. Leatherneck':

~ Lou Diamond Phillips' IMDb page

I can see in war time, how a soldier who was very good at fighting would be allowed slack when it came to dress and behavior. But I don't understand how he got away with not saluting, wearing jeans, or generally doing as he pleased, during peace time. I would think it should be high & tight when there was no war on.

Cuz he was ♪ ♫awesome♪ ♫.

Awesome is another word for bigger target than the rest. :haha:

I've just been in a glum mood all day. Not for anything in particular - stuff gets to me like the no money thang, but today wasn't particularly worrisome or eventful on that front - just woke up with the glums and haven't been able to shake it.

Are you trying to tell us awesome people have down days too? ;)

wtf....that was supposed to be in the what's bumming you out thread....how did it get in here?

*shakes head*


But yeah - awesome people have bad days too lol

Haha. Bruce just called you awesome.

Ha ha, you're awesome!

:mock:

Nah, my comma stopped off to take a piss and didn't catch up in time. tis Dana what be awesome.

Bethanie is an Awesome People™.

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For those unfortunates born without squint muscles:

Yes. She is.

Thayne Hamilton and his late wife Chris...

...these are Awesome People™.



Grey Muzzle Sanctuary

Grey Muzzle Rescue's Gofundme page

The folks at TalkItUpTV are pretty cool, too. Here's their YouTube channel.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Robert Valentine is an Awesome People™:

Cellar, meet Ridge Quarles, he is an Awesome People™:

Yep.

alex lyngaas is an awesome person.

That borders on weird, trying to get mom laid and all...

...But, he do love his Mammy! That is clear. And love is awesome.

Harriet Thompson is an Awesome People™.

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Touching story from out Beestmonster way:

Michigan boy, 15, completes 57-mile walk with brother on his back

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A 15-year-old Michigan boy on Sunday completed a three-day, 57-mile walk across the state, carrying his younger brother on his back, as part of a campaign to raise awareness for Cerebral Palsy.

Hunter Gandee started the long trek with little brother Braden, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, on Friday morning in Lambertville, Michigan, an unincorporated community near the Ohio border.

The brothers reached the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, joined for the final leg by friends and family. ...

... Hunter Gandee said the walk was not intended as a fundraiser, but rather an awareness campaign about the debilitating condition. During the hike, though, he rallied support to raise $200,000 toward the construction of a handicap accessible playground at Branden's school. ... cont'd.

Look at the determination on the older brother's face. Their folks must be so proud of them.

I thought this story sounded familiar...

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I remember reading this story (the first time 'round). Absolute awesomeness.

Although a couple years old, Darnell is an Awesome guy...

Sher Polvinal is an Awesome People™.



House With a Heart

Peter Murray is an Awesome People™. The Lynn Headwaters staff, and the folks at North Shore Rescue are pretty damn Awesome People™, too.

They all came through for Fraser The Dog after he had a rough day.

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Outstanding. :thumb:

I think pretty much everyone who knows who Dave Grohl is is aware that he's a pretty Awesome People™...But, we might as well make it official:

Guy comes to a Foo Fighters show, holds up a sign that says "It's my birthday, can I play drums?". You know what Dave did. We all know what Dave did. What did Dave do? He said get your ass up here, that's what he did.

And dude did, too:



Dave Grohl, you fuckin' rock, man!

Birthday dude was so stoked!

I wish I liked his music. That's the only way he could be better.

I'm not too wild about the Foo Fighters'music either. Some of it's good.

Dave did do the best cover I think I've ever heard though. The White House was recognizing Paul McCartney for whatever reason, and Dave came out and knocked "Band On The Run" outta the park with what I think was probably Paul's band, I've seen him (Paul) with one or two of those guys since.

It was completely awesome.

Damn. This was 5 years ago!

Check it:



:devil: