WW II Battleship sailor tells Obama to shape up or ship out !

[ironcowboy]

Just got this, it may have been posted before, but its good enough to come up again!!!

WW II Battleship sailor tells Obama to shape up or ship out !


This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii


for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes


all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body,


he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now.


He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president.


Dear President Obama,





My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.


I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor , allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.


One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.


So here goes.


I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.


I can't figure out what country you are the president of.


You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:


" We're no longer a Christian nation"


" America is arrogant" - (Your wife even


announced to the world," America is mean-


spirited. " Please tell her to try preaching


that nonsense to 23 generations of our


war dead buried all over the globe who


died for no other reason than to free a


whole lot of strangers from tyranny and


hopelessness.)


I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.


After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals."


Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.


I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.


Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.


Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue . You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.


And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts , who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.


One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.


You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.


You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.


And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.


Sincerely,


Harold B. Estes

[NWPA shooter]

Nice find...need younger generations to get the point also.
I did some research and according to Snopes this is Confirmed true.
Link:http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/haroldestes.asp

[Bug44]

Amen! Wish My old man was here, he would be doing the same...

[Morel42]

Knowing I'm painting a big ass target on me.. Just a few things..


1. We are Arrogant.. Nothing wrong with that mind you.. Anyone who goes around saying "We're #1" constantly is by literal definition.. Arrogant..
2. We didn't fight the Civil War to "Free the Slaves" (well not mainly). It was mainly fought due to the fact that Lincon feared that 2 separate nations would be weaker and thus open for European control if not conquered. It was about keeping the Union together. Not about freeing anybody in the manner that history teachers seem to keep needing to vomit out... /ugh
3. Didn't Obama just send 30,000 troops which people have constantly bitched about.. Orr did I miss a memo?
4. America will never live up to it's Ideals.. It's never perfect.. It's never complete.. Hell there have been some times that America has shitted on our "Ideals"...
5. We didn't enter WW2 because we "Stand for Freedom" We entered WW2 (and every other war since the first one) simply because it was in our personal best interest too.. Just like almost every other country on this planet has.. It's just reality.. Not counting a few minor execeptions that ended in disaster due to fucked up planning.. (Bay of Pigs, Somalia etc etc..)

Not saying that I don't respect the feeling behind what he's saying.. Just nitpicking that his examples aren't based on a firm understanding of history.. Which seems to be the standard now adays..

But, hey he earned the right to bitch as far as I'm concerned.. Regardless of my personal beliefs on the matter..

[PeaceAndLove]

I don't get why World War 2 throws everyone into emotional reasoning.

Getting past the criticisms of Obama's style, he's basically saying "add more troops because the generals say so, and you know nothing about war because you are a politician." The credibility of his argument rests on the fact that he worked in the Navy during the last "good" war.

Civilian leadership should not simply blindly follow military advice. If that were the case, we'd have started a nuclear war in 1951 (MacArthur), and 1962 (Missle Crisis). Similarly, generals should not blindly obey the government because they have tactical and strategic knowledge that is relevant.

I wouldn't let this man's letter get me worked up. Just as presidents cannot create jobs out of thin air, I don't think they can create troops out of thin air. It'll come from repeated deployments, bigger bonuses for volunteer enlistment, or drawing on more National Guard since the American people don't want a draft or have their taxes raised to pay for any of this.

What does winning mean anyways? Is Afghanistan really a country? Or do the people do whatever makes the most money (growing opium) and simply support who ever provides security and justice? I hope that the 30,000 troops allocated include a good number of translators. Lack of translators gets troops killed.

American soldiers want to do the right thing and they can provide security and justice. Don't know how they can deal with the heroin paradox though.

[kunsunoke]

Knowing I'm painting a big ass target on me.. Just a few things..

Morel, you're sharing your opinion, same as you always do. No big whoop.

But, hey he earned the right to bitch as far as I'm concerned.. Regardless of my personal beliefs on the matter..

Yeah, he sure has.

Sometimes people forget just what some of the WWII generation actually went through. Something they don't teach in school anymore.