Honor and Privilege.

This post trumps the H&I Fires for 5&6 April and will be the top post 5&6 April.

My Rotary club celebrated it's 90th anniversary last night with a special dinner meeting to rededicate our 1916 Charter as the 210th Rotary Club. Our Charter was water damaged in a flood last year and we literally got it back from the document restorers the day of the party.

We were graced with the presence of one of our Honorary Members - Colonel (R) Roger Donlon. Roger is one of two Medal of Honor holders living in Leavenworth, the other being Lieutenant Colonel (R) Chuck Hagemeister.

What a treat to meet Roger and his wife. Like every other Medal holder I've ever met - just an ordinary joe... except for that little blue Rosette on his lapel...

He's a tall man that the miles have been easy on to external appearances. Chatting with him and listening to the casual name-dropping of Medal holders was... odd. Except it wasn't name-dropping, as Roger and his wife just simply move in those circles, just having come back from where Roger and 13 other Medal holders did the closing bell ceremony for the NYSE.

The funniest stories revolved around parking places. At the Fort we have the usual reserved parking places for Generals and Command Sergeants Major, Disabled, and Fill-in-the-blank Honoree of the month - and Medal of Honor Winner.

My buddy Mike acts as a mentor for a young government intern (in a good way, unlike some others that come to mind) and Mike and Robert went to the golf course clubhouse for lunch. While going in, Robert asked about the Medal of Honor space and Mike explained about Roger and Chuck. Coming out after eating, Mike saw Roger going in and pointed him out to Robert. As they passed by the Medal of Honor parking spot, which was empty, Robert turned to Mike and said "But he didn't park in the spot...?" To which Mike replied - "That tells you more about the man than the Medal." Mike told that story to Roger and his wife, which caused Roger's wife to chime in with her own story.

She doesn't use the parking spots unless Roger is in the car with her (good for her) but she does like to drag Roger along when she goes to the Commissary if she can. One day she was successful at doing so - and Roger was waiting in the car when his wife came out with with one of the baggers with the groceries. She said the young man had a very grumpy look on his face, and after he'd loaded the groceries in the car - he went around to where Roger was sitting behind the wheel and said "You shouldn't be parking here! This is Mr. Hagemeister's spot!"

Obviously, Roger doesn't go to the Commissary much...

Name dropping...

While discussing the recent passing of two Medal of Honor holders discussed in this space, Roger told us yet another Holder has passed to Fiddler's Green. Michael J. Novosel, another Warrior Angel (Dustoff pilot).

Sigh. There are only 113 living holders now. Roger passed on this interesting tidbit about Mr. Novosel - he was shot down himself one day... and was rescued by another chopper - piloted by his son. One month later, Novosel rescued a shot down chopper pilot - his son.

Another Medal holder passes. The rule of threes holds.

NOVOSEL, MICHAEL J.
Mr. Novosel passed away on April 2, 2006.

Rank and organization: Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Army, 82d Medical Detachment, 45th Medical Company, 68th Medical Group. Place and date: Kien Tuong Province, Republic of Vietnam, 2 October 1969. Entered service at: Kenner, La. Born: 3 September 1922, Etna, Pa. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. CWO Novosel, 82d Medical Detachment, distinguished himself while serving as commander of a medical evacuation helicopter. He unhesitatingly maneuvered his helicopter into a heavily fortified and defended enemy training area where a group of wounded Vietnamese soldiers were pinned down by a large enemy force. Flying without gunship or other cover and exposed to intense machinegun fire, CWO Novosel was able to locate and rescue a wounded soldier. Since all communications with the beleaguered troops had been lost, he repeatedly circled the battle area, flying at low level under continuous heavy fire, to attract the attention of the scattered friendly troops. This display of courage visibly raised their morale, as they recognized this as a signal to assemble for evacuation. On 6 occasions he and his crew were forced out of the battle area by the intense enemy fire, only to circle and return from another direction to land and extract additional troops. Near the end of the mission, a wounded soldier was spotted close to an enemy bunker. Fully realizing that he would attract a hail of enemy fire, CWO Novosel nevertheless attempted the extraction by hovering the helicopter backward. As the man was pulled on aboard, enemy automatic weapons opened fire at close range, damaged the aircraft and wounded CWO Novosel. He momentarily lost control of the aircraft, but quickly recovered and departed under the withering enemy fire. In all, 15 extremely hazardous extractions were performed in order to remove wounded personnel. As a direct result of his selfless conduct, the lives of 29 soldiers were saved. The extraordinary heroism displayed by CWO Novosel was an inspiration to his comrades in arms and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance. In Memoriam.

Sergeant Whiskey - Lead Mr. Novosel over to where Rick Rescorla leads the singing. Then do your duty and clean those feet.