Afterward, General Douglas MacArthur awarded Congressman Johnson, who held a commission in the Naval Reserve, a Silver Star.
There is only one member of that bomber crew still alive. He reports that during their abortive mission, they did not even see any Japanese aircraft. Johnson spent a great deal of time bragging about his Silver Star. I think the whole episode is a terrible reflection on both Lyndon Johnson and General MacArthur.
If you ever see General Norman Schwarzkopf in his dress uniform, you might notice a red, white and blue ribbon at the top of his rows of decorations. That is the Silver Star, and he was awarded three of them. Here’s the story behind one of them:
In May of 1970, Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzkopf was a battalion commander in Vietnam. He got the news that a detachment of his troops had stumbled into a mine field. He immediately flew to the site in his helicopter. He had just arrived when one soldier stepped on a land mine and was writhing on the ground, screaming. Schwarzkopf later related that the thought occurred to him, “The buck stops here.” He ran into the mine field and jumped on top of the soldier to pin him down to keep him from setting off any more mines. Another soldier, possibly a medic, came forward to try and dress the soldier’s wounds, but set off a second mine that severely injured Schwarzkopf’s artillery liaison. Ironically enough, Schwarzkopf’s courage in charging into the mine field probably saved his own life, because that second mine would probably have killed him.Happily enough, Schwarzkopf and all three soldiers made it home alive.
People who know that story know why Schwarzkopf has such a great reputation with his men. He’s a man who will do whatever it takes to keep his soldiers safe.
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