Cowards die a thousand deaths. The valiant taste of death but once.
Several years into the Long War our coalition allies, on the whole, have produced a rather miserable contribution to the death and destruction of the Free World's enemies.
As such, a case could be made for the return of the body-count.... the enemy's, not ours--as it is now.
--South Korea's participation has been disappointing; South Korea stationed 3,200 troops in Iraq, but it did so only after formal combat operations ceased. Worse, Seoul insisted that all its troops be stationed deep inside Kurdish territory, where there was virtually no danger of combat.
Anyone who has seen the "ROKs" in action knows them to be tough, determined, when needs be, ruthless fighters.
This assessment also applies to Korean shop owners during black riots in LA.
No reason not to "let 'em out".
--Japan? Grateful to us as always. Japan's troops only perform non-combat roles which means they are a net security drain, instead of a net security enhancement. The Dutch have had to protect the Sons of Nippon, which must enrage the valiant Dutchmen who survived the unspeakable horror of Jap death camps 65 years ago.
According to Ted Galen Carpenter of the Cato Institute in a 2006 article, "At the peak level of support, the coalition (not counting the British) consisted of 37 nations and a paltry 30,000 troops. It is now (early '06) down to 27 nations and fewer than 10,000 troops."
Of course now, it's much less.
Nonetheless, I've been remiss in not writing often enough about the sacrifices and battle honors of some of our allies.
Corporal Willie Apiata
One of only 13 living recipients of the United Kingdom's Victoria Cross, he is the only New Zealander and the only living Maiori Recipient.
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Last year he was awarded the UK's highest valor award for saving the life of a gravely wounded SAS comrade during a fierce firefight in Afghanistan four years ago.
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Apiata, from all I've read, is the epitome of a warrior and a man; they are some men you see in uniform and simply say, "The guy's a stud."
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Apiata would be a welcome addition to any army in the world. He is shown, right, wearing a korowai over his uniform, and gripping a greenstone patu, during a traditional Maiori ceremony in his honor near his father's ancestral home yesterday.
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The last New Zealander awarded the Victoria Cross was Squadron Leader Leonard Henry Trent in 1946. Trent was earned the medal for gallantry over Amsterdam in 1943 when he guided a formation of Ventura bombers to their target while under continuous attack from German fighters. Six other New Zealanders have won the Victoria Cross while serving with other forces.
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Johnson Gideon Beharry
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Beharry is the first recipient of the Victoria Cross since the posthumous awards to Lieutenant Colonel H. Jones and Sergeant Ian John McKay for gallantry in the Falklands War in 1982.
He is the first living Recipient of the VC since Keith Payne and Rayene Stewart Simpson, both Australian, for actions in Vietnam in 1969, and the first living recipient of the VC in the British Army since Rambahadur Limbu, a Gurkha, in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation in 1965.
He is the UK's youngest living VC.
Beharry, a 25-year-old lance-corporal at the time of his VC action in 2004, was cited for twice saving lives of several of his comrades by by taking the initiative and driving through devastating small arms and RPG ambushes in Iraq. On the second occasion he was seriously wounded when his armored vehicle was hit by RPGs; fighting to remain conscious, he again saved his vehicle and the soldiers inside by driving out of the ambush.
He later underwent brain surgery and was still recovering months later when he learned would be awarded the Victoria Cross by the Queen.
--And just so you'll know that our country is not the only one with yellow rat bastard cowards in the news media.... according to the The Telegraph, a planned 90-minute drama about Beharry was canceled by the BBC allegedly because it was "too positive and would alienate members of the audience" opposed to the war in Iraq. Click here for story.w
August 2006 -- Just five days before his scheduled return to Great Britain, Budd died of injuries sustained during a fire fight with Taliban forces, probably as result of friendly fire. The incident occurred during a routine patrol in Sangin, Helmand Province.
On 14 December of that year it was announced by the Ministry of Defence that Budd would be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, only the 13th award of the medal since the end of the Second World War.
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In his last heroic action Budd spotted four Taliban about 50 meters from his position, and directed his men to flank the enemy who had entered a cornfield.
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Once spotted again the Taliban opened fire on the troops, then another group of Taliban opened up fire from a wall further back. The British soldiers took heavy fire, kneeling or lying down trying to take cover. One soldier received a bullet in the shoulder, and another was shot in the face.
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Realizing his section were taking heavy fire and were likely to be killed, Budd got up and rushed straight through the corn in the direction of the Taliban, now just 20 metres away.
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Budd opened up on them in fully automatic; and contact was immediately broken; Taliban fire lessened which allowed the rest of his section to withdraw back to safety so the casualties could be treated.
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After withdrawal, Budd was declared missing in action and most of A Company was sent back to find him. Apache and Harrier air support was called in to beat the Taliban back.
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An hour later, Budd was found beside three dead Taliban. It was clear he had killed the three Taliban, but had himself been killed in the process.
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As with our Medal of Honor, other awards of the Victoria Cross are under consideration, but the process is is closely held until the Defence Ministry releases the decision.
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Iraq Coalition troop casualty figures (all deaths) are:
US--4,071, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, Australians two, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of May 6, 2008.
Afghanistan
US--425, 94 British, 82 Canadian, 25 German, 23 Spanish, 16 Dutch, 14 Danish, 12 French, 12 Italian, six Romanian, five Australian, four Polish, three Norwegian, two Czech, two Estonian, two Portuguese, two Swedish, one Finnish, one South Korean.
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