Category: Paint me surprised by this
In the run-up to the 2024 Presidential election, President Joe Biden vowed not to use his presidential authority to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. He has doubled down multiple times through states and his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, but now he has backtracked and pardoned his son, who was convicted of lying on an ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) Form 4473 and was accused of tax evasion.
Hunter Biden was arrested and successfully prosecuted for lying on an ATF Form 4473 that he filled out when he purchased a revolver from a Delaware gun shop. The firearm was recovered from a dumpster after his lover and dead brother’s wife disposed of it. When Hunter purchased the handgun, he was an addicted user of crack cocaine. Hunter would mark that he was not an unlawful user of drugs on the form.
After being charged, the younger Biden was offered a sweetheart deal not in line with those provided to others accused of lying on the government form. The judge rejected that deal, sending the case to a jury trial. He would be convicted on all charges and was waiting for sentencing. Even after the felony conviction, his father would maintain that there was no chance that he would pardon his son.
Hunter Biden was also facing charges of tax evasion. He allegedly hid large sums of money from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Hunter has always blamed his tax issues on his addictions. There have also been accusations of Hunter selling access to his father when Joe Biden was Vice President. Critics claim that the President’s son made millions from the scheme, leading some on the Republican side of the aisle to refer to the family as the “Biden Crime Family.”
Late Sunday night, President Joe Biden would break his promise not to use his presidential power to pardon his son. He claimed that the Democrat-run Department of Justice (DOJ) targeted his son for political reasons. He claimed his son did nothing wrong when lying on the 4473 because there wasn’t a victim. President Biden said almost no one is charged with lying on a 4473. Quick research shows that several hundred people each year are charged with lying on the ATF gun purchase form.
The President wrote: “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”
The DOJ issued a press release in January of last year stating that it is “aggressively pursuing those who lie in connection with firearms transactions.” The ATF and the DOJ are taking a hard line on those who lie when purchasing a firearm. The press release included examples of Americans charged and convicted of the same crime as Hunter Biden. Many wonder if President Biden will pardon these Americans as well.
United States Attorney Robert J. “Bob” Troester wrote: “Federal law prohibits knowingly making any false statement in connection with purchasing, or attempting to purchase, a firearm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) requires prospective firearm buyers to complete ATF Form 4473. This Form requires buyers to answer several questions, including those about the buyer’s competency, criminal history, drug use, immigration status, and history with domestic violence. Applicants who knowingly make false statements may also face criminal prosecution for a felony and up to 10 years in federal prison.”
The ATF even had an operation that included going after people lying on a 4473. “Project Safe Neighborhoods” was a nationwide effort to catch and prosecute those lying on a 4473. The ATF and the DOJ disagree with the President’s accusation that lying on a 4473 isn’t a big deal. According to both agencies, the crimes are serious, and the government should be pursuing the violators with all available resources.
“Keeping guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them is of paramount concern,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “We will use the tools available to us to pursue those who use a straw purchaser or lie when trying to buy a gun. We will continue to work closely with ATF and our law enforcement partners to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands by holding accountable those who lie to get them.”
President Biden also insists that his son’s alleged tax evasion should be forgiven because of his addiction to crack cocaine at the time the crime was committed. Many will point out that the U.S. prison system is full of people who commit crimes because of their addictions. This contradiction causes many to think that President Biden is acting hypocritical by pardoning his son, not just for going back on his promise but for his push to prosecute aggressively those citizens who commit similar crimes. Others claim this is an example of a two-tiered justice system where the rich and powerful can commit crimes with impunity, even though Biden has stated many times in the past that “no one is above the law.”
Hunter Biden issued a statement on the pardon after it was made public by the White House. He blamed politics for his convictions. Hunter said he would dedicate his life to helping people who are “sick and suffering.” He thanked his family for supporting him through his trials.
Hunter Biden’s Statement: “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction — mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport. Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends. In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages.
In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded. I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
Hunter Biden’s legal team has filed motions with the courts in both cases to have them dismissed because of the pardon.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons
Police in New York want the legal ability to seize firearms during a domestic violence call – even if no arrests were made. However, instead of going through normal legal channels and obtaining a search warrant or court order, police just want the legal ability to take the guns on their own.
New York State lawmakers plan to reintroduce a bill during the next legislative session that will go farther than the state’s Safe Homes Act of 2020, which allows officers to seize firearms found during a consensual search when police respond to a domestic dispute.
New York State Senator Peter Harckham, a Democrat from Westchester County, has sponsored a bill that would
“mandate” officers to confiscate all firearms left out in the open during a domestic call.
“This is not gun control, this is gun safety; and this is domestic safety,” the senator told Spectrum News. “This is keeping the victims of domestic violence alive. We had two fatalities through domestic violence and firearms in my district in the last month. This is very real. This is very deadly and this is not a permanent seizure.”
Senator Harckham’s bill would allow police to keep the seized weapons for five days – most likely to seek restraining orders or other legal options – before returning them to their rightful owners. Also, police would likely extend this five-day time limit as needed.
Tom King, president of New York State’s Rifle & Pistol Association, balked loudly about the new bill.
“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law,” King told the reporters. “That means a search warrant or an order from a judge to confiscate the firearms, and they’re doing this without that.”
King pointed out the more than 100 New Yorkers who had firearms seized under the state’s newly expanded red-flag law. This group contacted King’s nonprofit seeking help getting their guns back. Some have already paid more than $10,000 in legal expenses, King said.
Takeaways
The main problem with the new bill is that it offers police yet another illegal mechanism to seize someone’s guns.
Our federal law does not allow law enforcement to go traipsing through someone’s home looking for firearms that were never used in a crime, which they will then seize for no evidentiary value.
These types of laws are passed solely for one reason – harassment. They want to harass gun owners. They want gun owners temporarily disarmed and then forced to make several trips to the police station to get their property returned, at great cost, too. Don’t forget that.
Today, gun owners have fewer rights in places like New York than they do in free states. This new bill will only make it worse.
Article courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Click here to support the project.
Seaborne troop movements and massive military imports were critical to both sides in the Spanish Civil War, 193639. This triggered two unique undersea campaigns, each involving foreign submariners. The Republican Submarine Force consisted of 12 boats built in Spain to U.S. designs in the 1920s. They were manned by crews loyal to Madrid’s leftist government, but the officer corps was so decimated by executions and defections that the boats were ultimately commanded by Soviet captains overseen by Spanish political commissars. Franco’s Nationalist submarine force, on the other hand, included 2 submarines transferred from Italy and 4 “Legionary” submarines flying the Spanish flag, but manned by “volunteer” Italian officers and crews. In addition Mussolini secretly ordered other units of his large submarine force to sink neutral ships with cargoes destined for Republican Spain. Outraged neutrals cried “Piracy”, and also organized international naval patrols to combat the anonymous Captain Nemos.
The Naval Situation
The Spanish Fleet remained largely under the control of the Naval Ministry in Madrid, including the battleship JAIME PRIMERO, 3 cruisers, 15 destroyers and 12 submarines. Most naval officers sympathized with the Franco-led revolution, however, creating mistrust and hostility between commissioned and noncommissioned ranks. In view of the uncertain allegiance of the officers, Minister of Marine Jose Giral y Pereira abruptly dismissed them by radio, appointed Chief Engineers to command, and ordered arms distributed to crewmen. A tragedy followed. Of the 764 officers and midshipmen on active service at the outbreak of the revolution, 320 officers were executed by lower deck committees within three months, and 290 more resigned or were expelled. This catastrophe destroyed the effectiveness of the Republican Navy, and gave Minister Giral notoriety as the assassin of the officer corps. The Nationalists soon overran the naval bases at Ferro) and Vigo, where they took over the old battleship ESPANA and the modem cruisers ALMIRANTE CERVERA, CANARIAS and BALEARES. From these circumstances the opposing submarine campaigns developed.
The Republican Submarine Campaign
The oldest submarines in the Spanish Navy were six B-Class boats built at Cartagena in 1921-23 to Electric Boat Company designs. They were 210-foot, 835-ton submarines, somewhat similar to American R-Boats. They were capable of 16 knots on the surface and were armed with four 18-inch bow torpedo tubes and a three inch gun. Manned by a crew of 28 under the command of a Lieutenant, their rust-pitted hulls were not considered safe below a depth of 66 feet.
Six C-Class submarines had also been built at Cartagena in 1928-30 under Electric Boat license. They were 247-foot, 1144-ton boats with a speed of 8.5 knots submerged and had a three-inch gun and four bow and two stem 21-inch torpedo tubes. With an operating radius of 4000 miles and a complement of 40 men under a Lieutenant Commander, they could operate safely down to 270 feet.
In the early morning hours of July 18th the Naval Ministry in Madrid ordered the submarines at Cartagena to load warheads and sail immediately to blockade the port of Melilla, Morocco. Since the Minister of Marine was unsure of the allegiance of the officers, he ordered the boats to report directly to him every four hours. The submarine radiomen had been cleared by Madrid for loyalty to the government, and were told to pass operational orders to lower deck committees to ensure compliance.
Off Melilla the Flotilla Commander disposed his wolfpack on a nine-mile semicircle, with instructions to dive on station at dawn on the 20th. He ordered his captains to intercept the rebel transport MONTE TORO, to ascertain whether she carried troops, and if she resisted to sink her.
The Flotilla’s officers were reluctant to open fire on a Spanish transport, but all submarines were in position by 0900 on July 20th. Conflicting orders then arrived from naval headquarters, instructing the Aotilla to abandon the blockade and recross the Straits to patrol off Malaga, Spain. Commander Bosch requested confirmation of these contradictory orders, but in Madrid senior officers were defecting and the naval staff was clearly in chaos. He therefore continued to blockade Melilla. This decision sparked dissension aboard the submarines, however, as suspicious crewmen argued with the officers about which of the conflicting commands was authentic and should be obeyed. At 1440 Madrid reconfirmed the orders to withdraw northwest to Malaga, and the subs departed. The bungled blockade of Spanish Morocco lost the Republican Submarine Force its one opportunity to contain the revolution, and exposed the wavering allegiance of its commissioned ranks.
Disaster then struck the Spanish Navy from within. On July 21st, 9 officers from four B-Ciass boats were arrested along with 6 submarine base officials; all 15 were then executed for treason. Three weeks later 20 officers from the Cartagena submarines who were incarcerated aboard the prison ship ESPANA No.3 were shot along with 132 other naval officers. These atrocities destroyed the Republican Submarine Force’s leadership, professional competence, morale, discipline, and aggressive spirit.
A grave strategic mistake followed in August when the now decimated Submarine Force was ordered north to show the flag off politically important ports in the Bay of Biscay. Remote from base support in the Bay of Biscay the Republican submarines achieved nothing.
The experience of two Republican submarines are of particular interest:
• C5 departed Cartagena for the Bay of Biscay on August 22, 1936. On the night of August 31st off Cape Mayor she fired a torpedo that hit the 15,700-ton Nationalist battleship ESPANA, but the warhead failed to detonate because of a defective exploder or too large a track angle. Ordered back to the Mediterranean with her sister ships, C-5 vanished with all hands off Ribadesella about December 30th. The cause of her disappearance is unknown, but her captain, Lieutenant Commander Jose Lara y Dorda, is said to have stated his intent to overpower his crew and defect, which may have precipitated C-5’s loss.
• C-6 was dispatched to the Bay of Biscay on August 15, 1936, but the crew arrested the captain and sailed back to Cartagena, where they charged him with failure to attack the ESPANA and CERVERA when the warships were within range. Under a junior officer C-6 again sailed for Biscay on September 1st, but was recaJJed to the Straits on October 2nd. She returned north to the Biscay campaign under Captain Burmistrov of the Soviet Navy, but stiJJ achieved no results. An aircraft bomb put her out of action at Gijon, where she was scuttled on October 20th, 1937.
Obsen,ations on the Republican Submarine Campaign
The Spanish Civil War demonstrated again the critical need for professional competence and leadership in undersea operations. The tragic Joss at the outset of experienced submarine officers destroyed the Spanish Navy’s morale, discipline and offensive spirit, leading to malingering, sabotage and defection. Although ideological fervor ran high in the crews, the failure of the campaign demonstrated that submarines cannot be commanded by committees, nor by unpopular foreigners monitored by political commissars. The absence of high-level direction in Madrid and Cartagena also doomed the Republican submarine campaign. With no consistent strategy against Nationalist warships or supply Jines, submarines were dispatched to areas chosen for political effect where they were employed against unsuitable targets. Without logistic support, and exposed to air raids in unprotected ports, they were put out of action or defected. The net result was 8 submarines lost with over a, hundred men, and no damage to the enemy.
View full article for table data
The Nationalist Submarine Campaign
Concerned over growing military shipments from Moscow, General Franco declared a blockade of Loyalist ports in the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay, and directed Nationalist warships to intercept cargoes destined for the Republicans.
To carry out the naval blockade Mussolini transferred two ARClllMEDE class submarines to the Nationalist Naval base at Palma. Before their transfer to the Spanish Navy these boats had already carried out three patrols for the Nationalists totalling 48 days at sea. Their names were not stricken from the Italian Naval List but were assigned to two new BRIN class submarines on the ways at Taranto. Mussolini also supplied four Spanish “Legionary” submarines: !RIDE, ONICE, FERRARIS, and GALILEI. He loaned these boats to the Nationalist Navy with a crew of Italian “volunteers” operating under Italian control, and in addition secretly ordered other submarines to attack designated neutral ships carrying cargoes destined for Madrid. While these clandestine boats operated under Italian control, they were instructed to fly a Spanish naval ensign if forced to the surface to give Mussolini deniability for their actions. This unorthodox blockade was not popular with the naval high command in Rome.
The Nationalist submarine antishipping campaign got off to a fast start. Three Republican ships were torpedoed: The Spanish merchant ship CIUDAD de CADIZ was sunk off the Dardanelles, and the Spanish merchant ship AMURO destroyed. Before the end of August, a Spanish steamer was shelled by a submarine off the French coast, a French passenger ship chased into the Dardanelles by a submarine, and the Soviet freighter TUNIY AEV departing Algiers for Port Said was sunk by an Italian “Legionary” submarine.
August ended in an explosion of depth charges after the “Legionary” submarine IRIDE fired a torpedo at the British destroyer HMS HA VOCK on passage in the Western Mediterranean. The torpedo narrowly missed HA VOCK, which then picked up !RIDE on sonar and called other destroyers to the scene. A deliberate depth charge attack followed that shook up IRIDE but failed to put her out of action (HAVOCK got her revenge in October, 1940, by sinking IRIDE’s sister submarine BERILLO off Sidi Barrani). London vigorously protested the attack on HA VOCK, but Rome denied responsibility.
In the first week of September, the British tanker WOODFORD was sunk near Valencia, and the Soviet steamer BLAGAEV sunk by a submarine in the Aegean off Skyros. Moscow claimed that it had “indisputable proof” that Italy was responsible for sinking the TUNIY AEV and BLAGAEV, and broke off relations when Rome denied involvement and the attacks continued.
British and French diplomats, anxious to dissuade Mussolini from forming a closer alliance with Hitler invited Italy to participate in an international conference at Noyen, Switzerland to organize anti-piracy measures.
On September 14, 1937, in the absence of Italy, the Noyen Conference authorized patrolling British and French warships to counterattack submarines or aircraft attacking neutral vessels in international waters. On that day Mussolini secretly called off his undersea campaign except for the four “Legionary” submarines. The Noyen decision in effect restricted Nationalist submarines to attacks within Spanish territorial waters.
Rome decried the Noyen Conference, but, not wishing to be excluded, demanded that Italian warships participate in the anti-piracy patrols. The British agreed, knowing from decoded messages that Italian submarine attacks had now been suspended.
On November 21st a prowling Italian submarine torpedoed the 7975-ton Loyalist cruiser MIGUEL de CERVANTES off Cartagena, putting her out of action for months. At the end of January another British ship was sunk off Valencia by a Nationalist submarine, and on June 15th the British ship DELL WYN was destroyed off Gandia.
A total of 91 Italian warships and submarines participated in the Spanish Civil War, during which Italian “Pirate” submarines are said to have sunk 72,800 tons of shipping without suffering any losses. Audacious covert operations by clandestine submarines with “volunteer” crews on loan from a neutral power proved highly effective in the Spanish Civil War. Similar undersea guerilla warfare based upon the covert nature of submarine warfare could well be repeated in a future naval conflict.
Tom Paine
[The above article is digested from “Chapter I 0 – Spanish Submarines” of Tom Paine’s annotated submarine bibliography] .
Soldiers do curious things for some of the dumbest reasons. Referring to the Medal of Honor, General George Patton once opined, “I’d give my immortal soul for that little blue ribbon.” That is objectively insane.
Table of contents
Medals and Awards
I never met an inspiring soldier who chased awards. The true heroes I have encountered were, to a man, humble. Jack Lucas threw himself on two grenades at once in the opening salvoes of the invasion of Iwo Jima, rightfully earning the Medal of Honor in the process. When this indestructible Marine found out I was a veteran, he thanked me for my service. I wasn’t worthy to polish that man’s boots.
Like others of his rarefied caliber, Jack deferred the glory to those who did not come home. I am ever amazed that, as a people, we can create such men as these. Of all the silly baubles that drive soldiers to ridiculous heights, be they funny hats, uniform patches, or scraps of colored ribbon, none should be so dreaded as the Purple Heart. To earn that medal, you’ve got to bleed.
The Purple Heart
George Washington thought that one up. The award was first called the Badge of Military Merit, and it was established on 7 August 1782. The medal bears Washington’s likeness even today. Washington only presented three of the awards, though he empowered his subordinates to deliver more. The Badge of Military Merit then languished unused until 1927.
While several military men worked on the project, it finally came to fruition under the leadership of Douglas MacArthur. The specific details of the modern Purple Heart were designed by an Army heraldic specialist named Elizabeth Will. The finalized award was formally resurrected on 22 February 1932, the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth.
The Purple Heart was awarded retroactively for wounds received during World War 1. MacArthur himself was the first recipient. It was standardized across all services in December of 1942. However, the Purple Heart is a military award no sensible person covets.
A Circuitous Path
Born on October 27, 1910, William Gail White was the youngest of three children born to a Presbyterian minister and his schoolteacher wife. White attended High School in Bakersfield, California. From the very beginning, he wanted to be a soldier. White volunteered for a summer training program called the Citizens Military Training Camp (CMTG) and was designated honor trainee. Upon graduating in 1929, White began competing as part of the Ninth Corps Area CMTG Rifle team.
A superb marksman, White was recommended for a commission as a Second Lieutenant, but he was too young. He enrolled in the San Jose Teachers College in 1930 but dropped out and enlisted in the US Marine Corps. In the summer of 1930, White was assigned to the USS West Virginia as part of its Marine detachment.
Exactly The Right Type of Person
White excelled as a Marine. He set the Marine Corps record with the Browning M2 machinegun, scoring 396 out of 400 on the 1,000-inch range. After eleven years as a Jarhead, William White left the Marines for civilian life. He worked for Shell Oil until 1941. However, with war approaching, White enlisted again, this time as an Army Private at age 31. He was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Regiment of the 7th Division stationed at Fort Ord, California. During one training mission in California, White crossed the Salinas River alone on an inflatable air mattress to gather intelligence on enemy dispositions. This earned him the nickname, “The Salinas River Sea Serpent.”
By the summer of 1944, White had indeed become a commissioned officer. Now 34, he was assigned as the Executive Officer for the 3rd Battalion, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division. He later commanded his own battalion. White made Major 25 months to the day after enlisting as a Private. Suffice to say, it takes considerably longer than that today. By late June, White was moving into Carentan, France, to relieve the 101st Airborne after they assaulted Normandy.
William Gail White Attracted Pain
Major William Gail White was utterly fearless in combat. While advancing through the accursed Norman hedgerows, White struck out at a run, rallying his men to follow. Throwing himself onto the far berm, he spotted a pair of German machinegun positions sited to produce a crossfire in the next open field. The next American to arrive was a BAR man. White did not feel that he had time to direct the man’s fire, so he snatched up the BAR himself.
He then neutralized both positions before swapping magazines and striking out with the heavy gun for the next berm. Meanwhile, the poor BAR gunner who had lugged the massive weapon throughout training and the landings in France scurried behind shouting, “But Major, when do I get to use it?” White responded, “Never mind when you get to use it. Throw me another damn magazine…”
Normandy in the summer of 1944 was a dangerous place. White and his unit were facing the 17th SS Panzergrenadiers along with elements of the 5th and 6th Fallschirmjager Regiments. These elite troops fought fanatically for every yard of French dirt. On 5 July, Major White was hit in the chest by a 9mm round fired from a German MP40 submachinegun. This bullet struck him a glancing blow, blooding him badly without penetrating anything vital. Later that same day he caught a grenade fragment to his forehead. Those two injuries bought him two Purple Hearts in a single day.
Major White Kept Collecting Bullets
In the next forty-eight hours, Major White was wounded three more times. He was first struck in the shoulder by a piece of shrapnel from an artillery round. What put him down, however, was a bullet along with grenade fragments that synergistically shredded his forearm.
These wounds, his fifth and sixth, physically removed a substantial portion of his forearm and rendered him unconscious. Three inches’ worth of bone was visible when they evacuated him. He awoke to, “The face of the most beautiful blonde angel he had ever seen.” The exhausted Army nurse did her best to clean his battered body and brought him something to eat. Despite his being declared a critical surgical case, White still had to wait three days for space in a crowded operating theater.
Army surgeons reconstructed his forearm as best they could and covered the wound with a skin graft from his thigh. White later joked, “Every time my leg itches I have to scratch my arm.” However, the damage to his forearm muscles was severe, preventing him from using a weapon. This should have been his ticket back to the Z.I. (Zone of the Interior—Stateside).
Not Done Fighting
Major William Gail White still felt he had more war left to fight. When evacuated he had stashed a captured Walther P38 pistol in his gear. The hospital staff had stored the German weapon in their supply room. White retrieved it and spent hours trying to squeeze the double-action trigger. When finally he could reliably activate the weapon, White felt he could return to his unit. He subsequently went AWOL and caught a ride back to the continent from England.
White tried to find his old unit, but this was a chaotic time. While fighting as a replacement in Luxembourg he was showered in fragments from yet another German hand grenade. That was Purple Heart number seven.
As Tough As They Come
We lack the space to do this man justice. White was captured by the Germans but escaped, liberating another fourteen Americans in the process. This earned him the Silver Star. On 10 December 1944, White earned his second Silver Star during combat in Strauss, Germany. This action saw him eliminate three enemy machine gun positions, two Pzkfpw Mk IV tanks, and two self-propelled guns while capturing 31 German prisoners. Along the way, he caught a burst of machine gun fire to the belly. That was his eighth Purple Heart.
As a physician, this is tough to imagine. White was evacuated to England for a major belly surgery and colostomy. He subsequently crashed on the operating table. The surgeons had the chaplain administer the last rites, yet he miraculously recovered.
Major William Gail White: Back At It
After less than a month, White had his colostomy reversed. Two days after that he slipped out of the hospital and caught a C47 back to the war zone yet again. 48 hours before he had been pooping in a bag. Good Lord, what a man.
While fighting around the Elbe River, Major White was wounded a ninth time, his last before the German capitulation. However, this shot-up old hero wasn’t quite done. He later deployed yet again for the war in Korea.
By now White was more than 40 years old. During one engagement in Korea, communist forces shot the antenna off of the radio he was carrying. Another bullet also took off his cap. He later counted six bullet holes in his parka. Soon after, while serving as an advisor to a South Korean special forces unit, White made a one-round confirmed kill on a running North Korean soldier at 900 yards over open sights using an M1 Garand rifle.
White was eventually shot through the right chest with a Chicom rifle round. This was his tenth and final wound. Despite lots of surgery and a laborious recovery, the man still would not die. He subsequently went on to complete Airborne school and serve as a Ranger instructor. William White eventually retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.
The Rest of the Story
The morality of employing two atomic bombs to end the war in the Pacific has been debated ever since the bomb bay doors opened on the Enola Gay back in August 1945. However, it is a historical fact that these two bombs ultimately saved countless lives on both sides by negating the need for an amphibious invasion of the Japanese home islands.
During WW2, the US government manufactured 1,506,000 Purple Heart medals. Most of these were planned for use in the aftermath of Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan. After the war, nearly 500,000 remained in storage. Even accounting for those that were lost, stolen, or wasted, as of 2000, the national stockpile still stood at around 120,000. The Purple Heart medals that are awarded to service personnel today are all more than 75 years old.
Lieutenant Colonel William Gail White, the frag magnet, finally died of natural causes on 6 April 1985. He was 74 years old. White was interred at Maplewood Cemetery in Kinston, North Carolina. Eventually, old age did what the Wehrmacht and the communist Chinese could not. Wow, what a stud.