Center For American Values....Pueblo, Colorado

DATE:  April 2, 2016                                         

SITE:  Center For American Values

LOCATION:  101 S. Main Street, Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

“What extraordinary things ordinary people can do when they place service above self”

Set along the very pretty Pueblo Riverwalk was this interesting place. 

Now, now…don’t get all weirded out by the name of this place. This isn’t some ultra-conservative think tank or hideout or anything like that.

It is simply a place where Medal of Honor recipients are, well, honored. They seek to not only honor the recipients but to also educate all visitors about these amazing men. 

When you first walk in, you’ll notice that the walls are covered with pictures. Then you find out that each of those pictures represent a person who made extreme sacrifices to uphold the idea of freedom. 

So why is this in Pueblo, Colorado? Because they are known as the “City of Heroes”. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, upon awarding one recipient, stated “What is it in the water out there in Pueblo. All you guys turn out to be heroes”. 

They have portraits of 150+ recipients; each with a personal quote. Now this quote is totally up to the person, but can relate to the reason the medal was given, or values the person holds, or messages to the future. 

One thing I found fascinating…I’m sure every photographer struggles with choosing just the right picture and trying to get the person photographed to agree. This photographer, however, would choose his 3 best pictures and then let the person choose the one they wanted…How the person chose to be represented…how that person wants ME to see them. 

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor awarded only to military personnel for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States”. 

There are 3 versions, Army, Air Force and Navy (Marines and Coast Guard are awarded the Naval medal).

The medal was established in 1861 for the Navy and 1862 for the Army.

In total, there have been 3,514 medals given to 3,495 persons since 1862. Why the difference? Because 19 people have been recognized twice! The nation’s highest honor and they received two.

Think about it, since 1862, there have been millions and millions of people who have served in our military, and in the 150 since the Medal of Honors existence, only 3,495 people have received it.

And because the Medal of Honor was the ONLY award available, just less than ½ of those medals were awarded for service during the 4 years of the Civil War.

There was some disagreement over whether the medals should be given at all. It was a very European tradition and it was early enough in our history that we were still trying to shed any vestiges of appearing to be European.

The tradition is for the President to present the award but the first 6 medals were presented by the Secretary of War to six Union Army volunteers on March 25, 1863. The men had hijacked a Confederate train. Unfortunately the leader, a civilian, was ineligible to receive a medal.

As the medal is only for military personnel, there are two ways a recipient can be nominated…one, by the approval of their military chain of command and the other by a member of Congress, normally on behalf of a constituent.

In 1917, after concern was expressed that there were honorees who had received medals for reasons other than distinguished service, a review board looked at and removed 911 medals from the honor roll. These included a group who simply reenlisted to guard the capital during the Civil War and 29 members of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral detail.

Since 1941, more than half the medals (61.5%) presented have been posthumously to the recipient’s family.

Finally, in 1963 there was clarification of the “acts” that must be performed in order to be nominated for the award

• While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States; or
• While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or 
• While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in with the United States is not a belligerent party

Just so you know, people are not just given the award and a nice “thanks” and then sent on their way. There are special privileges and courtesies that come along with it, such as…

• Receive a pension above and beyond military pensions
• Receives special entitlements in air transportation
• Eligibility for burial at Arlington National Cemetery
• Children are admitted to military academies regardless of nomination or quota’s
• Invited to all presidential inaugurations and inaugural balls

 

Those are by law, but in addition and I think this is really cool….members of the uniformed service are encouraged to render salutes to recipients as a matter of respect and courtesy regardless of rank or status…in or out of uniform. This would be one of the very few instances where someone may receive a salute from someone of higher rank.

Interesting facts about some recipients…

• There are 19 people who received the award twice…14 for separate actions and 5 who received both the Army and Navy medal for the same action
• Since WWII, 851 medals have been awarded with 523 of those posthumously
• One has been awarded to a woman, Mary Edwards Walker. In fact, hers was taken away during the 1917 review and then restored in 1977
• President Lincoln met privately with the first six soldiers to win the Honor
• There has been only one Coast Guardsman to receive the medal
• 65 Canadians have received the honor while serving in the U.S. military, most in the Civil War
• The youngest recipient was an 11 year old drummer in the Civil War (the youngest in the 20^th century was a 17 year old who shielded his fellow squad members from grenades)
• The 4 Unknowns entombed at Arlington are recipients of the medal…the Vietnam remains were identified and the family asked for the Medal of Honor assigned to those remains. The request was denied saying the award was for ALL Vietnam unknowns, not specifically this one.
• There are 5 foreign unknowns who have been designated with the Honor..British, French, Romanian, Italian and Belgian.
• Although the law says there must be an act of valor, there have been exceptions…Charles Lindbergh and Major General Adolphus Greeley
• The last person to receive two medals was in 1918
• There have been father and son recipients… Arthur MacArthur Jr. & Douglas MacArthur and also Theodore Roosevelt & Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
• Theodore Roosevelt is the only president to have received the Medal of Honor
• Five pairs of brothers have received the medal

The nomination and awarding of the Medal of Honor has not always been inclusive. Although a review was done in 1917, no one looked at whether some were being excluded for the reason of race, religion or sex.

A 1993 study to ensure that prejudice or discrimination had not deterred the nomination of some, it was found there were no medals awarded to any soldier of African American descent who served in WWII. Ten people who had received the Distinguished Service Cross were instead awarded the Medal of Honor.

A similar study in 1998 looked into the nomination, or lack thereof, for Asian Americans. In this case, the panel found 22 instances where the Medal of Honor should have been given and they were in 2000.

In 2014, as part of a Congressional mandated review, an additional 24 medals were given to Hispanic, Jewish and African Americans.

 I read several things about how the law protects someone saying they received the award, the wearing of the medal, and even how it’s made. Special protections under U.S. law makes it illegal for any unauthorized adornment, sale or manufacture. Curiously, since a Supreme Court decision in the early 2000’s, said it is illegal to wear a medal you were not awarded BUT you can say you received one without actually having done so.

A politician in California…figures…declared he was the recipient of the Medal of Honor. When it was found that he hadn’t, he was sentenced to jail time. He took his case all the way to the Supreme Court who ruled that his First Amendment “free speech” rights had been violated and the sentence was struck down. You’re kidding…apparently lying about receiving the highest honor in the military is protected by the First Amendment. All I can do is shake my head in bewilderment.

Not everyone may agree that we should have fought the wars, or conflicts, that the U.S. have been involved with…but you have to agree that these men took up arms when asked to by their country. They left their families and normal life and fought for the idea of freedom. These men, whose pictures line these walls, are the heroes we should be looking up to.

Ludlow Tent Colony / Massacre....Ludlow, Colorado

DATE:  04/01/2016

HISTORICAL SITE:  Ludlow Tent Colony

LOCATION:  Del Aqua Canyon Road, Ludlow, Las Animas County, Colorado

MARKER #:  85001328

 DEDICATED:  June 19, 1985

“Ludlow Tent Colony Site has been designated a National Historic Landmark   This site possesses national significance in illustrating the history of the United States of America”

MARKER PLACED BY:  National Park Service United States Department of the Interior

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

I had a tough time with this historical site. I come from a Union family and I understand what Unions have gained for the American worker. That being said, spending 30+ years in State Service, most of those in a supervisory or managerial role, the Union has soured me. While I firmly believe Unions were needed at one time in America, whether they are needed these days is something I really struggle with.

Doing the research on this site, I found myself constantly looking for the “ulterior motive” of the Union. Yet, time and time again, I was reminded that although the Union’s side is certainly going to come down with the company being the “bad guy’…archeological evidence also sides with the Union. That’s not to say the Union did not do things to incite the situation, but maybe that was what was needed.

In 1912, Colorado had a death rate among miners of 7.055 per 1,000 employees compared to a national average of 3.15.

September 1913, miners went on strike against the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation, owned by the Rockefeller family and Standard Oil, protesting low pay, dangerous working conditions and the companies interference and influence on every part of their lives. Think “company town”.

The miners and their families were immediately evicted from the company owned shacks. 

The United Mine Workers Union brought in tents and they were raised all over the foothills nearby, and the miners continued to strike. The land had been leased by the union and was a strategic move. Tents were place near the mouths of the canyon where non-union workers, called “scabs”, would have to pass to get to work and were constantly harassed by the striking workers and their families.

The Rockefellers/Standard Oil guys had to escalate the situation since eviction alone didn’t stop the strike.

“Private detectives” were hired to supposedly protect the new workers but also to harass the miners. When they attacked the tent colonies. The miners fought back and some were killed. The detectives would randomly fire into the tents at night or circle the tent colony with a machine gun mounted on the car. They called this the “Death Special”. In order to protect their wives and children, many miners had dug pits under the tents.

The Rockefellers then approached the Governor who approved the use of the National Guard. The strikers thought the National Guard was there to protect them but quickly learned they were brought in to break the strike. As time went on, National Guardsmen left to return to their regular jobs and the State agreed to replace the guards with some of the “private detectives” with the Rockefellers paying the wages.

On April 20, 1914, two companies of the National Guard attacked the largest of the tent colonies, home to about 1,000 men, women and children.

It started with the National Guard shooting directly at the tents early in the morning. The miners fought back and one of the leaders of the strike was killed while negotiating a truce.

It was thought it would be better for the woman and children to go into the pits dug beneath the tents….they would be safe there.

At dusk, the Guard set fire to the tents, shooting at the families as they ran into the hills.

But the real tragedy was found the next day when a pit was uncovered and there was the bodies of 11 children and 2 woman.

The “massacre” outraged Americans but really didn’t do anything for the plight of the miners. Federal troops were brought in and finally the strike was broken without any gains for the miners in December 1914.

In the end, 66 men, women and children died during the “Colorado Coalfield War”. Over 400 miners were arrested with 332 indicted for murder and only 1 man, a leader of the strike was convicted. That conviction was overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Twenty-two National Guardsmen, including 10 officers, were court-martialed. All of these were acquitted except one lieutenant convicted of assault. He received a light reprimand. So really, no one was held accountable, on either side, for the violence that lasted over a year.

But, the massacre did cause congress to ask for an investigation and was instrumental in the implementation of child labor laws and the eight hour work day. In addition, Rockefeller had reforms developed, including worker representation and no discrimination against union workers. Did he do this out of the goodness of his heart? Having seen the light? Nah, he did it to rehabilitate his own reputation.

“On April 20, 19114, the State Militia unleased an unwarranted attack on striking coal miners and their families living in a tent colony at this site. Eleven children and two woman suffocated in a cellar beneath a tent when flames engulfed the overhead shelter. Militia rifle and machine gun fire claimed the lives of at least 5 strikers, an 11 year old boy, and an 18 year old passerby.

The unexpected attack was the fateful climax of miners attempting to achieve freedom from oppression at the hands of coal company officials. Miners were forced to live in company owned camps, buy from company owned stores, and educate their children in company dominated schools. Miners worked unduly long hours under hazardous conditions for meager pay.

On Sept. 23, 1913, miners struck in protest of these conditions, calling for recognition of the United Mine Workers Union. Eventually, the alleged peace keeping militia became infiltrated with company gunmen, leading to this – The Ludlow Massacre.   UMWA L.U. 9856, Dist. 15”

 
(Please keep in mind the above was written solely by the UMWA and may or may not take into account accurate descriptions of the siege and attacks…although, as I state before, archeological findings do give credence to their side of the story)

Song written by Woodie Guthrie about the Ludlow Massacre