Smiling Heroes: Tuskegee Airmen Finally Get Their Due

"Red Tails", the high flying action packed production on the Tuskegee Airmen by George Lucas, opened in theaters nationwide on January 20, 2012. Their heroics is a tribute to diversity, teaching us that courage has no boundaries. Honoring the noble legacy of these great American's is my blog originally posted on March 30, 2007:

The honor is well-deserved but long overdue. More than fifty years after they helped defeat Hitler and the Nazis in World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American young men who received pilot wings and commissions between 1942 and 1946, were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor yesterday at a White House Ceremony.

At a time when these men could not eat, be educated, ride the bus, or use the same restrooms as white men, they chose to bravely serve America. In the face of danger abroad and prejudice at home, they fought to defend liberty though they had not yet fully achieved it for themselves.

As I see the grateful smiles on the faces of these champions of freedom, I am convinced that they are the most honorable and deserving of the word hero.

[Reprinted from www.tuskegeeairmen.org]

The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism. They came from every section of the country, with large numbers coming from New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Each one possessed a strong personal desire to serve the United States of America at the best of his ability.

The black airmen who became single-engine or multi-engine pilots were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee Alabama. The first aviation cadet class began in July 1941 and completed training nine months later in March 1942. Thirteen started in the first class. Five successfully completed the training, one of them being Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a West Point Academy graduate. The other four were commissioned second lieutenants, and all five received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings.

From 1942 through 1946, nine hundred and ninety-four pilots graduated at TAAF, receiving commissions and pilot wings. Black navigators, bombardiers and gunnery crews were trained at selected military bases elsewhere in the United States. Mechanics were trained at Chanute Air Base in Rantoul, Illinois until facilities were in place in 1942 at TAAF.

The outstanding record of black airmen in World War II was accomplished by men whose names will forever live in hallowed memory. Each one accepted the challenge, proudly displayed his skill and determination while suppressing internal rage from humiliation and indignation caused by frequent experiences of racism and bigotry, at home and overseas. These airmen fought two wars - one against a military force overseas and the other against racism at home and abroad.

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The White House Congressional Medal of Honor Ceremony	Click here to visit site
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.	Click here to visit site

Remembering the Dream: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 16th, a testament to his greatness is that nearly every major city in America has a street or school named after him.

After his death in Memphis on April 4, 1968, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. still hold captivating influence and inspiring gracefulness:

On Equality (Birmingham jail, 1963)
"Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration, we were here."

On Nonconformity (1963)
"The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority."

On Civil Rights (Selma to Montgomery, 1965)
"We are moving to the land of freedom. Let us march to the realization of the American dream."

On Peace (1964)
"Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood."

On the Dream of Freedom (1964)
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed...that all men are created equal."

On Freedom (1963)
"So let freedom ring. From the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire let freedom ring. From the mighty mountains of New York, let freedom ring. From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, let freedom ring. But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi..."

On the Future (April 3, 1968 – the night before his murder)
"I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. So I'm happy tonight, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Serving

Calling on President Obama to Commit Resources to Stop the Violence in Chicago

A 14-year-old boy was shot in the neck while walking to school in Chicago on January 12, 2012. One day earlier an 18-year-old was shot and killed. There is no end in sight to years of violence inflicting Chicago youth and hope is fading. I once again call upon President Obama to respond with full force leadership to this tragic epidemic. My initial request to the President on October 6, 2009 as documented here remains critical:

Vincent Bove Blog/Initiative Request to President Obama on October 6, 2009
When asked in an October 1, 2009 press briefing whether the President was going to address the Chicago violence concerns to the Olympic Committee, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs replied

"Obviously it's of great concern to the President, as somebody who lives in Chicago, but would and should be a concern for every American. This isn't a Chicago problem; this is violence -- youth violence is a problem throughout our country. The President is concerned and has asked that next Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder travel to Chicago. They'll meet with officials from the school, meet with students and meet with the community to talk about the issues of school violence and youth violence."

---

"Talking about the issues" is simply not enough. It is time for action; anything less is just more politically expedient rhetoric.

I call upon President and Mrs. Obama to establish a Stop the Violence Olympics for Chicago—nothing less than a full-force effort and allocation of resources equal to that of the effort and resources that would have been necessary to host the Olympics. If hosting the Olympics would have been worth the effort, then the saving of lives from senseless bloodshed is so much more worth it.

According to various published reports, over 500 students have been shot, more than 100 fatally, since 2006. Most recently, the beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert has captured the nation's attention.

AP Report 3 Charged in Beating Death of Chicago Student (1:28)

<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VwgGHrDdX0">Play the clip on YouTube</A>

These sobering statistics of violence and death in Chicago indicate a state of emergency and beckon an immediate collaborative response from every level of the government and community. The eyes of the nation must now turn to Chicago, not as a city preparing for the Olympic Games but as a city committed to transforming a culture of violence into one of opportunity and hope.

LETTER TO PRESIDENT AND MRS. OBAMA

October 6, 2009

President and Mrs. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President and Mrs. Obama,

Now that lobbying for hosting the 2016 Olympic Games is behind us, a more urgent task is at hand. It is time for an Olympian effort to end the bloodshed plaguing the communities of Chicago.

I implore you to make the elimination of violence in the windy city a top priority of your administration. If we agree that it would have been a worthwhile investment to prepare the city to host the 2016 Olympics, how much more is the value of human life? We must work to find a way to save lives, reduce hostility, and create a national model for the "audacity of hope" in all our urban areas suffering the scourge of senseless brutality.

So I propose that the White House declare a Stop the Violence Olympics for Chicago. As immediately as is possible, an organizing effort should be made on the same scale as would have been necessary to prepare the city for the Olympics. Resources from throughout government, private industry, and the local community must be brought together in a collaborative effort that will serve notice that violence will no longer be tolerated.

In addition, a torch should be lit in the city and remain burning as a reminder and symbol to all that we are serious about bringing change and hope to the affected Chicago communities.

President and Mrs. Obama, with the eyes of the nation and the world upon the devastation in Chicago, the time has come to stand with courage and certainty to answer the question "Can they stop the violence on the streets of Chicago?"

The only answer must be the same as the mantra of your Presidency—a resounding "YES WE CAN!"

Respectfully,

Vincent J.Bove

READ MORE

Beating Death Of Derrion Albert, 16, Caught On Video	Click here to visit site
508 Chicago Students Shot in 16 Months	Click here to visit site
2008 saw increased violence in Chicago, statistics show	Click here to visit site
CeaseFire The Campaign to STOP the Shooting	Click here to visit site
Google Search: Chicago Violence	Click here to visit site

Fort Lee High School: Dedicated to the Power of Character

On December 13, 2011, I returned to Fort Lee High School to address 250 freshmen. The presentation titled Be a Person of Character: Change the World followed my previous character education events there:

Over 1,000 students from Fort Lee High School in Bergen County, New Jersey assembled on March 15-16, 2011 for a character development initiative titled The Power of Character: Rising Above the Storms. This was a follow up to the program previously presented at the school on May 10 and 11, 2010 titled Be a Person of Character: Change the World.

As the featured speaker for the program, aside from an honest assessment of concerns vital to American society including a head-on collision of a crisis of violence and character deficiencies, the tragedy in Japan as well as protests throughout the Middle East were presented. Character was emphasized as the necessary solution to the problems facing national and international concerns.

Concerns impacting American youth were also addressed including:

• Bullying/Cyberbulling
• The Impact of Divorce
• Gangs, Guns, Drugs
• Prescription Drug Abuse
• Driving Under the Influence
• Teen Suicides including Phoebe Prince, Jessie Logan, Megan Meier and Tyler Clementi
• High School Dating Abuse/Toxic Relationships
• Facebook/Texting/Email Conduct

Despite these issues, the students of Fort Lee High School were empowered with the message:

"You Have The Power To Change The World By Helping Each Other Do What Is Right."

This message was reinforced with a call to action as inspired by the writings of Rachel Scott, the first student killed at Columbine High School:

• Eliminate Prejudice
• Dare to Dream
• Choose Your Influences
• Kind Words
• Start a Chain Reaction

The Power of Character was also encouraged by a review of various teens throughout the nation who contribute to society through their good example, community service and selfless dedication to others.

A special commendation is due to Principal M. Priscilla Church for her dedication to the students of Fort Lee High School, Teacher Carol Burghardt for coordinating this character initiative and the Fort Lee Education Foundation for their generous sponsorship.

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Fort Lee High School	Click here to visit site
Fort Lee Education Foundation	Click here to visit site
America's Youth: Transforming the Nation through Character	Click here to visit site

Honoring American Military Sacrifices

The American Battle Monuments Commission administers, operates and maintains 24 permanent American burial grounds in 10 different countries throughout Europe, North Africa, Latin America and the Philippines. The commission also maintains 25 breathtaking Federal memorials, monuments and markers. These are the most hallowed shrines of their nature in the world, sacred and serene landscapes and masterpieces of art and sculpture.

Established by Congress in 1923, the commission's objective is to commemorate the service, achievements and sacrifice of United States Armed Forces where they have served oversees since 1917 and within the United States when directed by public law. Although the commission honors the fallen, it also serves the living who visit to pay homage, reflect and be inspired. These grounds and memorials are priceless jewels of American history that present countless stories of devotion that enrich us by validating American heroism.

Presently there are 124,913 United States war dead interred at these cemeteries as follows:

• 30,921 of World War I
• 93,242 of World War II
• 750 of the Mexican War

Additionally, 6,149 American veterans and others are interred in the Mexico City and Corozal Cemeteries.

On June 6, 2007, the dedication of the new Normandy American Visitor Center in France took place.

Sixty-three years after Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to turn the tide of World War II in Europe, this center tells the story of the 9,387 Americans buried there and put the D-Day landings and follow-on battle in Europe in perspective as one of the greatest military achievements of all time.

The $30 million visitor center was dedicated and opened to the public on June 6, 2007 during the annual D-Day commemorations. The center is situated in a wooded area of the cemetery approximately 100 meters east of the Garden of the Missing. Normandy is the American Battle Monuments Commission's most visited cemetery, receiving approximately one million visitors each year.

Today, as in generations past, America is served by courageous patriots, many whom pay the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve our liberty. The bravery, selflessness and commitment of the American military must remain immortalized, appreciated and honored.

Visit the American Battle Monuments Commission Site

Winston Churchill: Enduring Icon of Leadership

Winston Churchill stands not only as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century but one of the most influential in all of history. For those truly interested in leadership training and development, the life of Winston Churchill is a shining example and a true inspiration.

His oratorical genius was able to motivate and inspire England while also able to sting the heart of the enemy. Consider his words broadcast on the BBC on June 18, 1940, just a few hours after hearing the devastating news that the French had capitulated to the Nazis:

"The news from France is very bad and I grieve for the gallant French people who have fallen into this terrible misfortune… What has happened in France makes no difference to our faith and purpose. We have become the sole champions now in arms to defend the world cause. We shall do our best to be worthy of this high honor… We shall fight on unconquerable until the curse of Hitler is lifted from the brows of men. We are sure that in the end all will be well."

[Reprinted from The Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century – http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/
churchill.html]

Winston Churchill
The master statesman stood alone against fascism and renewed the world's faith in the superiority of democracy
By JOHN KEEGAN

His was a bleak inheritance. Following the total defeat of France, Britain truly, in his words, "stood alone." It had no substantial allies and, for much of 1940, lay under threat of German invasion and under constant German air attack. He nevertheless refused Hitler's offers of peace, organized a successful air defense that led to the victory of the Battle of Britain and meanwhile sent most of what remained of the British army, after its escape from the humiliation of Dunkirk, to the Middle East to oppose Hitler's Italian ally, Mussolini.

This was one of the boldest strategic decisions in history. Convinced that Hitler could not invade Britain while the Royal Navy and its protecting Royal Air Force remained intact, he dispatched the army to a remote theater of war to open a second front against the Nazi alliance. Its victories against Mussolini during 1940-41 both humiliated and infuriated Hitler, while its intervention in Greece, to oppose Hitler's invasion of the Balkans, disrupted the Nazi dictator's plans to conclude German conquests in Europe by defeating Russia.

Churchill's tendency to conduct strategy by impulse infuriated his advisers. His chief of staff Alan Brooke complained that every day Churchill had 10 ideas, only one of which was good — and he did not know which one. Yet Churchill the romantic showed acute realism in his reaction to Russia's predicament. He reviled communism. Required to accept a communist ally in a struggle against a Nazi enemy, he did so not only willingly but generously. He sent a large proportion of Britain's war production to Russia by Arctic convoys, even at a time when the convoys from America to Britain, which alone spared the country starvation, suffered devastating U-boat attacks.

From the outset of his premiership, Churchill, half American by birth, had rested his hope of ultimate victory in U.S. intervention. He had established a personal relationship with President Roosevelt that he hoped would flower into a war-winning alliance. Roosevelt's reluctance to commit the U.S. beyond an association "short of war" did not dent his optimism. He always hoped events would work his way. The decision by Japan, Hitler's ally, to attack the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, justified his hopes. That evening he confided to himself, "So we had won after all."

America's entry into the Second World War marked the high point of Churchill's statesmanship. Britain, demographically, industrially and financially, had entered the war weaker than either of its eventual allies, the Soviet Union and the U.S. Defeats in 1940 had weakened it further, as had the liquidation of its international investments to fund its early war efforts. During 1942, the prestige Britain had won as Hitler's only enemy allowed Churchill to sustain parity of leadership in the anti-Nazi alliance with Roosevelt and Stalin.

Churchill understandably exulted in the success of the D-day invasion when it came in 1944. By then it was the Russo-American rather than the Anglo-American nexus, however, that dominated the alliance, as he ruefully recognized at the last Big Three conference in February 1945. Shortly afterward he suffered the domestic humiliation of losing the general election and with it the premiership. He was to return to power in 1951 and remain until April 1955, when ill health and visibly failing powers caused him to resign.

It would have been kinder to his reputation had he not returned. He was not an effective peacetime Prime Minister. His name had been made, and he stood unchallengeable, as the greatest of all Britain's war leaders. It was not only his own country, though, that owed him a debt. So too did the world of free men and women to whom he had made a constant and inclusive appeal in his magnificent speeches from embattled Britain in 1940 and 1941. Churchill did not merely hate tyranny, he despised it. The contempt he breathed for dictators — renewed in his Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Mo., at the outset of the cold war — strengthened the West's faith in the moral superiority of democracy and the inevitability of its triumph.

"The first duty of a university is to teach wisdom, not a trade; character, not technicalities."
Winston Churchill, House of Commons, September 19, 1950

READ MORE

The Churchill Centre	Click here to visit site
The Time 100 The Most Important People of the Century	Click here to visit site

Robert Waters School, Union City, NJ: Creating a Culture of Character and Achievement

Robert Waters School in Union City, New Jersey is to be commended for their dedication to character, achievement and community building. By launching the new school year with a professional development day on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, the school expressed its leadership to addressing these critical educational concerns.

As the keynote speaker, I presented a program titled Creating a Culture of Character and Achievement: Conflict Resolution, Motivating and Community Building to over 100 educators. It was followed by a lively exchange of staff break out sessions and presentations by group leaders with the goal of making Robert Waters School an exceptional educational experience for the new school year.

The keynote affirmed the essential role of educators in touching the hearts of the youth entrusted to their care by their example of character, loving kindness, respect, compassion, courtesy, patriotism, empathy, thoughtfulness, diversity and dedication to community partnerships. Some highlights of the keynote included:

• Online Social Networking
• Bullying/Cyberbullying
• Gangs/Guns/Drugs/Violence
• Eleven Principles of Character Education
• Crisis of Character
• Culture of Violence
• Sexting/Text Rage
• Diversity
• Anger Management Principles for Students
• Altruism: Essential for the School Community
• Rachel's Challenge
• Patriotism: Critical to the School Culture
• Shattered Families/Filling the Void
• Early Warning Signs and Timely Collaborative Response
• Building Better Staff/Parent/Community Connections
• Preventive Education Transformation through Character

As with all of my school presentations, the goal was to empower educators to use their own example, especially the virtue of loving kindness as well as all community resources to serve the youth and their families entrusted to their care. Perhaps my closing words crystallize the importance of the role educators have in transforming the classroom, school, community and even the nation:

"Michelangelo and Da Vinci created the statue of David and Mona Lisa, respectively. Through Picasso's Guernica, individuals can see the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. Van Gogh's paintings have captivated and given millions serenity, comfort and inspiration. But above and beyond the mastery of all of the world's greatest artists, only a teacher can mold the heart of a child."

9/11 Remembrance: Honor the Fallen, Honor the Heroes, Transform the Nation

As the nation pauses on Patriot Day, Sunday, September 11, 2011—the tenth anniversary of the day that changed America forever—it is necessary to honor the fallen, their loved ones, and the heroes who served and continue to serve. The remembrance of 9/11 compels us to transform the nation.

The victims from the World Trade Center, Flight 11, Flight 175, Flight 77, Flight 93 and the Pentagon will forever remind us of that fateful day. All across America—in our churches, synagogues, mosques, communities, homes and hearts—we must pray for the repose of their souls and for peace in the hearts of their families and friends. We must also remain vigilant and rededicate ourselves to the virtues inspired by the tragedy: patriotism, compassion and perseverance.

The anniversary of 9/11 also inspires the nation to honor the countless heroes who served victims and their loved ones. These heroes, many whom are unsung, represent the best in all of us and rose to the occasion from every imaginable profession, nationality, religion and ethnicity. America is forever grateful for these dedicated men and women and their tireless service to the community.

May we rise together from the trials and tragedy of that day and commit to a new era of renewal and triumph in our great land.

Thomas Jefferson: Enduring Icon of Leadership

As one enters the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., one is immediately confronted with the conviction and strength of the third President of the United States. Inscribed around the inside of the dome are the words,

"For I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

The sense of awe one experiences upon entering the memorial is so powerful that, to this day, I can clearly recall my visit fifty years ago as a 3 year old child and still feel the presence, strength and influence of Thomas Jefferson, the man honored there.

Thomas Jefferson is truly an American icon for the ages, in his brilliance and dedication to the ideals of democracy. As someone providentially born into a unique period of history, he had the courage to stand against the tyranny of England and to inflame the sentiments of a nation.

[Reprinted from www.bartleby.com]

From Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address
Wednesday, March 4, 1801

Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal and Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative government. Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe; too high-minded to endure the degradations of the others; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them; enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter—with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citizens—a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.

Jersey City Police Department Waterfront Security Event: Community Policing Par Excellence

On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, the Jersey City Police Department held their monthly Waterfront Security Event for corporate representatives, private security personnel, emergency responders and law enforcement officials. This initiative is an outstanding community policing program that forges a unity of effort partnership benefiting security and safety in Jersey City.

As the featured speaker I delivered a presentation titled Layoffs: An Alarming Trend Endangering Company and Community Safety. It identified serious issues in contemporary American society as well as practical solutions and responses including:

• A culture of callousness, violence and death
• Alarming rise of police fatalities
• Company and law enforcement layoffs
• Domestic violence spilling over into the workplace
• Virginia Tech lessons learned: principles of crisis planning
• Workplace violence prevention: warning signs and employee terminations
• Target hardening and security vulnerability assessments
• Threat assessment teams

As with all of my presentations, it concluded with a tribute honoring those making sacrifices serving our nation in the military, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Jersey City Police Department, especially represented by East District Commander Captain Joseph A. Connors and Community Relations Officer Dina Reilly are to be commended for this initiative. It is a community policing program par excellence that fosters law enforcement partnerships with the entire Jersey City community.