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General (ret) Peter Pace at the Wall
This has been hitting the blogosphere since Sunday. CNN also broadcast a piece about it. You can watch Barbara Starr talk about unpopular wars or you can read the words of a retired Lieutenant Colonel:
From: Edwards, Lloyd, LtCol, USMC (Ret), CTR, OSD-ATL
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 12:15 PM
Subject: Fw: This Speaks volumes
I suspect General Pace would be embarrassed by any attention paid to this act of loyalty. History will debate his effectiveness as CJCS, but their is no debating his decency as a leader. I wanted to share with you what we saw in Washington DC last week.After the mid-term brief, we toured the Mall and made the usual stops at the WWII Memorial, the Wall, Lincoln Memorial, etc. At the Vietnam Wall we saw something unbelievable. We noticed three small index cards at the base of the Wall.
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I knelt down for a closer look and noticed that a 4-star general's rank was pinned to each card.
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The cards were personally addressed and said something like:
These are Yours - not mine!
With Love and Respect,
Your Platoon Leader,
Pete Pace 1 OctThe Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had laid down his rank for his boys who died in Nam just the day before! I later found out that 1 Oct was also the same day he stepped down as chairman.
So, Peter Pace steps down as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, heads to the Wall, and leaves his stars - the representation of his successful career - because his men are responsible for that career. And some of those men are on the Wall....
Update: This action by General (ret) Pace should not be a surprise to regulars...
October 17, 2007 • Permalink
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» General Pace retires, remembers his troops killed in Vietnam from EXCALIBUR
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Tracked on Oct 25, 2007 9:37:59 AM

































What a lovely gesture
From a 2005 article:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=31329
Posted by: Mr.Sparkle | October 17, 2007 at 09:50 AM
Wow.
What a leader of distinguishing character.
Posted by: LL | October 17, 2007 at 10:07 AM
Omg, I have no words, except THANK YOU.
Posted by: Maggie45 | October 17, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Not to put too fine a point on topic but if I might be so bold as to correct a closing statement Barbara Starr made... General Pace did not serve a second term as CJCS due to the contentious, despicable and generally sorry excuse for leadership we have self-serving in our Senate.
Those illustrious U.S. Senators who were expected to use the Pace/CJCS Senate confirmation hearings to pitch a tantrum over U.S. policy. All this while we have warriors fighting and dieing in foreign lands to suppress and/or kill those who would attack us in our beds.
My eternal gratitude to General Pace and the countless U.S. patriots like him, always ready. Thank you for your outstanding service.
Posted by: bthun | October 17, 2007 at 10:40 AM
A giant of a man. Thanks for posting this. It's good to be reminded how a class-act officer behaves when he retires.
Posted by: Deltabravo | October 17, 2007 at 10:42 AM
Well, there you have it. A man of honor, integrity and strength. Cause it took all of those things to do the right thing. THAT is leading by example! Congratulations, enjoy your retirement, sir.
Posted by: defendusa | October 17, 2007 at 10:55 AM
Gen. Pace has Honor and that's something that CodePink and the rest of the Lefty Loons know absolutely nothing about.
Semper Fi! Gen. Pace.
Posted by: thebronze | October 17, 2007 at 11:05 AM
General Pace's act shows the man's fundamental decency and honor. He is one hell of a man, and I thank him and all of his fellow Marines for their exemplary service to America.
I'm ex-Air Force but I'll aways have The United States Marine Corps' back. Semper Fi.
Proud Infidel
Posted by: Proud Infidel | October 17, 2007 at 11:27 AM
a sad but nice thing to do.
Posted by: mindy1 | October 17, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Sheer class.
Gen. Pace reportedly refused to resign so as not to give the message that he was abandoning the troops in a time of war. He forced DoD's hand, and Gates took the step to remove him. There are times when you don't go quietly into that good night.
Previously, Gates had intended to keep Pace on for another term, but as bthun says above, Demmies warned they would nail him to the wall (or at least try) as a proxy for the "Bush war."
Posted by: jordan | October 17, 2007 at 11:58 AM
The entire country owes General Pace a debt that cannot be repaid. His years of selfless service speak for themself.
This act speaks volumes about what kind of leader the General is. He never forgot who he was, just one man leading others, and asking them to do extraordinary things.
I am sorry to see him go. Should he ever decide to lead a mission into Hell, I shall follow him there with 2 gas cans and a lit match.
Posted by: Deebow | October 17, 2007 at 12:56 PM
My sentiments exactly (although, as correctly noted, he did not retire).
S/F, General Pace.
Posted by: MaryAnn | October 17, 2007 at 12:59 PM
An officer and a gentleman, to be sure.
Posted by: Marieanne | October 17, 2007 at 01:20 PM
I'll second that!!!
Posted by: Old Tanker | October 17, 2007 at 01:35 PM
When you look up Leader of Men in the dictionary, you will find General Peter Pace's photo.
Class, Integrity, Humility, Courage, Bravery, And Love of his Fellow Men, and Ruthlessness in his Attack on the enemies of his beloved country. An officer with all the distinguished qualities of the Marine Corps' Finest Leadership.
Congress isn't worth his spit.
And I am grateful in the extreme that he chose to serve my country, all of you here, my family, and even myself, as the best that our Leadership has to offer, and for the distinguished record of care for our troops, attention to detail, and determination in accomplishment of his assigned missions that he has exhibited his entire life.
Thank you, General. There ain't many who deserve that title. You are one I can name so as the first who comes to mind. Ever. God Bless.
Subsunk out.
Posted by: Subsunk | October 17, 2007 at 11:46 PM
And I second Deebow's sentiments. Pass over one of those gas cans. Hell ain't hot enough to phase us yet.
Subsunk out.
Posted by: Subsunk | October 17, 2007 at 11:48 PM
I hope a really talented biographer gets the rights to do his bio. I want my children to read about men like him to understand what words like valor, honor, duty, sacrifice, loyalty, commitment, love, respect, service, gentleman, and Marine really mean.
Posted by: douglas | October 19, 2007 at 03:42 AM