Watch what Obama does for a 99-year-old Medal Of Honor winner.

[Elwood P Dowd]

67 years ago, John Finn received The Medal Of Honor. He is our oldest living MOH winner and had never been to The White House.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#29884837

[lonestarnot]

1. John Finn!

:patriot: Here's to hoping you live to be 120! :patriot:

[Ex Lurker]

20. point of clarification

The MoH is not a prize, and one does not "win" it. One is awarded or receives it. It might seem like a minor point, but it matters.

[Richard Steele]

35. That's actually a good point. They are "Medal of Honor Recipients", not "winners".

I doubt that any MOH recipient did what they did
because they were trying to 'win a prize'.
That's not a small difference, and it does matter.

Thank you.

[Elwood P Dowd]

37. Poor choice of words on my part but

my youngest living uncle (he fought in the Pacific during WWII) has used that word himself. I received the Army Commendation Medal when my two Army years were over in 1972, and he told a friend I "won" a medal. Sometimes we just fuck up and use the wrong word.

[Ex Lurker]

40. BTW, I like your screen name

one of my favorite movies.

[Richard Steele]

41. Well I certainly wasn't trying to jump on you for your word choice. Far from it.

People who actually RECIEVE medals are perfectly welcome
to use the word "won" in my opinion, because that word doesn't
mean the same thing to them as it does to us folks who have never
been shot at more than 3 days in a row.

If you have a medal, I think you have the right to talk about it
any way you want.

I think the word "won" has a very unique meaning to people
who have been in combat. They use the word because they knew
people who took the same risks they did and LOST.

If you have a medal, I'll respect your choice of words if you choose to say
you "won" it, because I've never been in your position, I hope I never will be,
and I am in no position to tell you how to describe how it happened.

[BlooInBloo]

39. Was just gonna say that - thanks!

[Ex Lurker]

21. sorry, this should be below the OP n/t

[Cha]

2. That dropped a

tear or two..thanks, Elwood. What a story John Finn has and so good to see him in the Oval Office with the President:patriot::patriot:

[Cha]

3. And, you know what's really nice, too?

That they showed that on the 6 o'clock news..something the corporatemedia can't manipulate.

[Mind_your_head]

4. John Finn

:patriot:

(Thank you Barack Obama for taking the time to notice/remember/recognize/honor) :patriot:

[goclark]

22. Tear drops at the way that our President relates to everyone

He and his staff know just how to touch the hearts of the American people.

What happened to the total ownership of the military by the Republicans?

I think that President Obama and his wife ( by honoring the Military Families) in such a beautiful way have brushed the myth away that only Republicans can wear a flag pin.

Have you noticed that Obama wears his all the time and he does it with such class.

:patriot:

[parasim]

5. That was awesome. thanks. nt

[uppityperson]

6. He finally got to visit the White House. Very nice. k&r

[rockymountaindem]

7. Wow! I remember reading about him in a book when I was a kid

Awesome.

[Historic NY]

8. God Bless you John Finn..hero.

[TahitiNut]

9. As the ceremony (unannounced to the press) went on, John Finn needed help out of and back into ...

... his wheelchair. (It seemed clear that he was determined to be seen standing on his own two feet during the ceremony and next to President Obama.) Well, we've got a fella in the White House who didn't think to summon others to assist John. Inconsiderate? No. As I watched on TV, I could see Obama both adjusting the position of the chair and giving John Finn assistance.

It may not seem remarkable, but I can't recall another President who didn't summon one of his retinue to do the trivial "hands on" stuff. Obama doesn't think that way. He hasn't lived that "privileged life" long enough, it seems, to 'elevate' himself above such mundane things. Even for a Medal of Honor recipient.

Thank God.

[Dervill Crow]

10. What a great observation.

:thumbsup:

[grace0418]

11. You can tell his mother and his grandmother taught him respect and good manners.

He's a class act, our president. A true gentleman.

[kster]

13. Obama's got it going on, he successfully makes idiots out of these

people at the same time. Obama is one sharp guy.

http://www.poetryinlife.com/blog/2004/08/cnncom-delegates-mock-kerry-with.html

[EFerrari]

19. A human being. Thank God. n/t

[goclark]

23. And unlike Bush he has good old fashioned Manners

It's like the manners a grandmother teaches.
It just comes naturally :patriot:

[LuckyLib]

27. Yes, indeed, Tahiti. And we see it in every interaction he has. He's conscious of what is

going on around him. Talk about tuned in. This President is there.

[TahitiNut]

28. He's comfortable with who he is ("in his own skin") and is 'out-focused.'

His manner portrays respect for others and a keenly tuned sense of rapport. It's rare to see "people skills" that're so well-grounded in real values -- so natural.

It's a GREAT relief to me to see an emotionally healthy human being in the White House. It's actually rare. Ike was not bad, actually. JFK was close. LBJ not so much - insecure and overcompenating. RMN was a neurotic. Ford was not bad but TOO team-oriented. (Yes, it can be done too much, imho.) Ronnie was an empty shell - mentally gone. GHWB was far too exploitative. Bubba was too crotch-oriented. Smirk belongs in a prison for the mentally insane. Obama is the most balanced and sane I've seen. (I can't remember Harry well enough to compare.)

[MiniMe]

30. I noticed that too Tahiti

And also noticed that Obama was assisting. It was touching indeed.

[Stargazer09]

33. We finally have a President to be proud of

He acts like a human being, and not some sort of... Well, suffice to say, President Obama continues to earn my respect and admiration.

:patriot:

[MajorChode]

12. Thanks for posting this

And there's nobody better to tell the story than Brian Williams.

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Picture ...

[Lasher]

15. You know, I think I saw John Finn interviewed in a Pearl Harbor documentary.

Said he kept getting hit with shrapnel and it hurt like hell. Pretty sure it must have been him.

[peacetalksforall]

16. A side point - can someone watch this again and capture that news from

Iraq about packing up and post it on its own thread with video coverage? It's quite amazing. Thousands and billions of pounds of equipment. Said it will take two years to move out.

It follows Brian Williams. The reporter appears to have a European accent - he's not introduced and no one to sign off to in the way of a MSNBC host.

[FrenchieCat]

18. I saw it! Good video, that I hope a lot of folks saw!

[peacetalksforall]

17. Congrats to all who set up this man's visit and honor. So nice to hear something good. If only our

country was about good, not crime.

[Renew Deal]

24. Wow

:patriot:

[Jefferson23]

25. Congratulations to Finn, and Obama, always the class act, way to go!

[DUlover2909]

26. I imagined what it might have been like for him at Pearl Harbor.

Much younger, and maybe with his shirt off, some stuble on his face, and smoking a cigar as the bullets and shrapnel flew all around him, amid the smoke, noise and chaos, still he remained blasting away into the sky at the marauding zeros. Angry. Determined to defend his ship and his country.

[Elwood P Dowd]

29. I should have added....

I watched the ceremony on MSNBC. Obama took the time to shake the hand and talk with every single MOH recipient that was there. Class Act!

Edit to add this from Stars and Stripes:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61611

By Patrick Dickson, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Wednesday, March 25, 2009


ARLINGTON, Va. – President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate National Medal of Honor Day.

Four Medal of Honor recipients joined Obama in placing the wreath as a crowd of some 800 visitors looked on, thrilled to be in the presence of the new president.

Rebecca Medley and Rustin Albrecht were in town with a group of eighth-graders from West Side Union School District of Lancaster, Calif.

“Amazing,” Albrecht said. “We didn’t expect it. We had a wreath-laying ceremony set, and they canceled the school one, so we could come and see this. There was no way that these kids could ever expect anything like this.”

After the solemn ceremony, Obama walked a greeting line of 35 of the living 98 Medal of Honor recipients, stopping to chat with each.

Last in line was the 6-foot, 7-inch Robert Foley, an Army captain awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics in Vietnam. Foley must have said something about playing some one-on-one with the President, who laughed and replied, “You can take me inside, no doubt about it!”

<snip>

[MiniMe]

31. I was at BWI airport last summer, and our plane was late

It turned out that it was a plane full of WWII vets that this organization would fly in to see DC. They handed out flags to the people who were waiting for the outgoing plane, and people lined their path and just stood and waved the flags and applauded. Some of them could walk on their own, but many of them were in wheelchairs. Most of them were crying as they went past, they really appreciated this greeting, and were really touched by it. I was waving my flag and crying along with everybody else. It was a really touching moment and I was proud to be part of it. Apparently there is a group that arranges these trips and turns out for their arrival at the airport and their entire tour. It takes place on the weekend, so everybody was doing it on their time off. Most people just said thank-you as they went by. But the tears of the vets was really touching.

btw, it took forever for them to come off the plane because of all the wheelchairs.

[Historic NY]

32. I saw Capt. Bucha MOH past president...I know him.

[Stargazer09]

34. That was a very nice video to watch

Thank you for posting the link. I don't watch the news very often anymore, so I often miss the good stories.

[jillan]

36. That was beautiful. Thanks for posting!

[deaniac21]

38. OMFG, Obama is awesome!