Terrific Tuesday: Where were county officials when Joe got his award?
Joe Johnson is a true American Hero and now awarded the French Legion of Honor.
Hey it’s Terrific Tuesday again. How’s everything in your neck of the woods? So far it has been a good week. We’ve had smoke over the mountain out our way yesterday and this morning my daughter remarked it smelled like Cracker Barrel outside. Ha! Not the food, but the fireplace…. Hopefully it will rain hard on the fires tomorrow.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Joe Johnson get his French Legion of Honor. What a great man. I have happily known Joe since I was a teenager. He is a a great man, I repeat, now in the company of many other famous and great people honored over 200 years. His came because he helped liberate a country from Nazi tyranny in June 1944. Did you know about 59,000 military died in the Viet Nam War and over 52,000 American flyers died in WWII? Just so you know what a dangerous time it was to be up in an aircraft. Johnson flew 65 missions in a B-26.
It will be few and far between the people any of us will ever see from our area get such an award. I am so glad I could. Hundreds turned out over two days on Sunday to his reception, open to the public, at Fincastle UMC and on Monday at The Glebe where he received the Legion of Honor. A glorious turnout. But someone was missing in a glaring way. If I missed you I apologize, but I was looking at my pics of two days. Here it comes.
I have a bone to pick. I was hugely and sadly surprised by the lack of elected officials and county higher ups who didn’t show for Joe Johnson. They had two days to do it, too. Only Jack Leffel, John Alderson and Del. Lacey Putney I saw at either event. Two judges came and one Lieutenant from the Sheriff’s Department. Retired Treasurer Benton Bolton came out. The event yesterday was over in 30 minutes or less. You had two hours to drop by on Sunday at the reception for him.
I admonish you the high and mighty–”You can do better than this.” I see you at business openings, ball games, political functions and events for your kind, etc. But a citizen of this county is honored with a prestigious international award and you were nowhere to be seen. A war hero nonetheless. Makes me wonder what you think of the regular citizens of this county except as a tax base. You don’t mind making big cuts to the things every day people use and yet you don’t scrutinize yourselves nearly so well as I sees it, and I calls it as I sees it.
It isn’t like there hasn’t been plenty of press about the whole affair.
So there, I’ve said it. Take issue with me the next time you see me and I am going to wave the flag in your face. An American war hero received an international award for bravery and risking his life for others in a war against tyranny. Where the heck were you??? “You shoulda and you didn’t. Shame on you! I think one of those “where as” proclamations by the Board of Supervisors is in order. Call yours, readers, if you agree.
Send Col. Joe Johnson a card to:
Col. Joseph Johnson, USAF, Ret., c/o Fincastle United Methodist Church, PO Box 63, Fincastle VA 24090.
See ya next week!
April 17, 2012 - 1:00 PM
As the daughter of a Navy D-Day veteran, the wife of a Vietnam veteran, the niece of a Navy pilot, and the aunt of an airmen currently deployed, I am troubled by the disgraceful behavior from our elected officials. My dad received a certificate from the French government honoring his involvement in D-Day. He has it proudly framed and shows everyone who comes to his house.