Harry Patch, 111, passed away quietly at about 9am BST today.   He was the last surviving British army vetaran from World War I.     A more detailed story can be read online from The Times.     The BBC has published a photo tribute to him online.

His death comes only a week after the passing of Henry Allingham, 113,   the last founding member of the RAF.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, of his passing, “..The noblest of all the generations has left us, but they will never be forgotten. We say today with still greater force, We Will Remember Them…”

The article states:

…The Ministry of Defense called Patch “the last British survivor of the First World War,” although 108-year-old Claude Choules of Australia is believed to have served in the Royal Navy during the conflict…

Mr. Patch served in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, so it is only fitting that tributes to him are being led by the current Duke of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales.

Claude Choules, who served in the Royal Navy, is now considered to be the last surviving veteran of WW1 to have served in the British forces.     He currently lives in Australia, and is apparently a citizen of that country, and is why Mr. Patch was the last surviving British veteran.   I think the writer was sloppy in saying “believed to have served” as I am not aware of any questions surrounding Mr. Choules’ service.

Only three confirmed veterans of WW1 still survive.     In addition to Mr. Choules, there is John Babcock (who served for Canada), and Frank Buckles (the last surviving US veteran).

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Tipisa 326 eX2001-1

… Man walked on the Moon.     It truly was a great leap for mankind.   Alas, due to a lack of national will and poor political leadership on this issue, the legacy of this achievement has been squandered.     Instead of making great strides in space exploration, our astronauts today are barely able to achieve low Earth orbit.

I am amazed that a significant portion of Americans today doubt we ever landed on the Moon.     In my opinion that is an colossal display of ignorance.

After the break are several clips from the CBS News coverage of this event.     I am posting them both in honor of the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing and the recent passing of Walter Cronkite.       Pay attention to what Vice President Agnew has to say (in part 3, I think) when asked for a comment about this great event.

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I’m sure most who read this blog now know about the death of Walter Cronkite.     However, there was one detail buried in CBS’s coverage of this story that those involved in Scouting might find interesting:

…Walter Leland Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on November 4, 1916, the only child of a dentist father and homemaker mother. When he was still young, his family moved to Texas. One day, he read an article in “Boys Life” magazine about the adventures of reporters working around the world – and young Cronkite was hooked…

I do not know how active Cronkite was in the Boy Scouts, or if he was even a member at all.

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Happy Bastille Day to our friends in France!

In honor of the occasion I share a great scene with you from the film, “Casablanca”.

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Representatives of thirteen British colonies, in Congress assembled, declared their independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.     Thus was born the United Sates of America.       The United Kingdom would not recognize this independence until the Treaty of Paris was signed seven years later.

After the jump is a clip from the recent miniseries, “John Adams”.

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Tu Cubin Noonie 508 S47

Happy Canada Day to my friends to the north. Last year I posted some anecdotes of my time traveling in this country, living near its border, and shared a fitting tribute for this day. Long live “The Maple Leaf Forever“.     Alexander Muir was inspired to write this song in 1867, the year of Canada’s confederation, by the sight of a large maple tree on his property in Toronto.

I think the flap pictured here, 508 S47,   might be the only Canadian related Order of the Arrow patch.     I find that hard to believe, but can’t find another one right now.   This was issued for the 10th Canadian Jamboree in 2001, held on Prince Edward Island.

Another musical tribute to the Dominion of Canada is after the jump.

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I would hope I don’t have to tell too many people what happened on June 4, 1944.     There has been a lot of coverage of events marking this anniversary all day in the media.   However, there has been less coverage of the actual event being marked on this day.   General Dwight D. Eisenhower explained to his troops what they were about to do:

You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41.

The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeat in open battle man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

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Marian Anderson

In 1939 Marian Anderson was a great contralto, a star of the European operatic stage,   yet she was barred from singing on many stages in her home country simply because of the color of her skin.

In 1939 she was refused permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) to sing for a racially integrated audience at Constitution Hall.     This is said to have upset Mrs. Roosevelt, then First Lady, greatly who resigned her D.A.R. membership in response.   The Roosevelts along with the NAACP, arranged for an outdoor concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday (April 9th) 1939.

A brief newsreel clip of these event can be seen on YouTube.

In conjunction with the commemoration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, this famous concert will be commemorated in Washington, D.C. today.

Near the end of her singing career, Marian Anderson sang at the inauguration of President Kennedy.     The Boy Scouts of America presented her with the Silver Buffalo award in 1990.

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I’m going to stray from patches to show you a clip of one of the most eloquent (?) speeches recently delivered in the US House of Representatives.   It also gives me a chance to pick on my friend Robert Mathis…

You might wish you had captions or a translation for this.     The “gentle lady… gentle woman” from Florida also wore a rather unusual gown.

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Irena Sendler

Earlier today my mother sent me a short video from Glen Beck’s tv show.       TV puts me to sleep, so I don’t watch his show.   The story behind the video was one I feel I need to share.

On May 12, 2008 a great woman passed to her eternal reward.

Irena Sendler was born in Warsaw in 1910.         In 1940 she found herself working as a social worker in Warsaw during the German occupation.     The tragedy of the Warsaw ghetto should be well known to all.     As a social worker she had free access within the city during the Nazi tyranny, allowing her to enter and leave the ghetto.     Using this access she was able to help thousands of Jewish children escape.

She was captured by the Gestapo in 1943, severely tortured and sentenced to death.   Zegota was able to bribe the German guards and secured her release.     After the war she was imprisoned by the communists, in part for her resistance activities during the war.     She was recognized at Yad Vashem as one of the “Righteous among the Nations”.         She was praised by Pope John Paul II for her wartime efforts.

Read her Wikipedia entry and watch the video after the jump for more about her story.

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