Hero of the Week 57

Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is....

Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell was born on December 17, 1962, in Danville, Virginia. He grew up being raised by his mother and step-father before he chose to start working in law enforcement. By the year 1996, he was employed as a security guard down in Atlanta, Georgia. But nothing could have ever prepared him for the events that come in July.

That month, the world was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Summer Olympics. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the olympics had more than 10,000 athletes from 197 nations that came to compete. This was coupled with over 2 million visitors who came to attend the games from the stands, while more than 3.5 billion watched from their television sets. Despite having a high security presence, nobody could have predicted an impending disaster.

On the night July 17, thousands of people gathered in the Centennial Olympic Park for a concert by the band, Jack Mack and the Heart Attack. Richard Jewell was doing a routine grounds check when he spotted a suspicious looking green knapsack under a bench near the NBC sound tower. Following his job's protocol, Richard quickly informed the Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers of the suspicious bag. When the responding officers, opened the bag, they discovered three pipe bombs surrounded by three inch long masonry nails. 

Knowing that the bomb could go off at any second, the officers and security guards (Richard Jewell included) immediately began to organize an evacuation of people in the area. Just three minutes later, the bombs went off. More than 100 people were caught in the blast and received various injuries. When the dust settled, 2 people were dead and 111 were wounded. Due to the early warning and evacuation efforts by the security however, hundreds of people were successfully saved from the bombing. This was directly due to Jewell's discovery and alerting authorities to the bomb's location.

For a short period, Richard Jewell was heralded by the press as a hero who had saved many people from being killed in the bombing. Unfortunately the public's attitude changed when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) got a leak from the FBI saying that the latter had named Jewell as a suspect in their investigation. The public's view of him quickly soured, and Jewell went from, "hero" to "villain" overnight. 

For the next 88 days of his life, he was heckled by news media who followed him as he went to work and came home. His movements were also routinely monitored by FBI agents who believed he was indeed the terrorist. Jewell was advised by his attorneys not to speak to the media and mostly tried to go about his business. But when the FBI began to pressure him into waiving his Miranda rights, and searched his home twice, he hired an ex-agent to administer a polygraph test (which Jewell passed). Once the results of his polygraph were revealed, the FBI began to ease back on their investigation. On October 26, 1996, Jewell received a letter from the FBI saying that he was no longer a suspect. A year later, Attorney General Janet Reno, expressed regret over the agency's leaking of information to the AJC and offered an apology to Jewell and his family.

Despite being cleared by the FBI, Richard Jewell's life was never the same again. Many people still believed that he something to do with the bombing. He later sued many of the news agencies that had accused him of being the terrorist (some had even compared him to serial killers). Although some of the agencies settled out of court, the case against the AJC has still not been resolved. Ultimately, Richard Jewell was not officially exonerated until 2005, when the real perpetrator of the Centennial Park Bombing (a former soldier named, Eric Rudolph) was arrested and plead guilty to carrying out the attack along with three other bombings.

Sadly, Richard Jewell never got to confront the AJC in a court of law. On August 29, 2007, he passed away due to heart failure from complications of diabetes. He was 44 years old. Even today, Richard Jewell is not widely remembered as a hero who did his job when he was needed. I believe that he should be remembered as a great American hero who fought back against domestic terrorism and made a critical difference in saving many people from dying a terrible death. Hopefully some day, he will finally receive the credit and respect he was so wrongfully denied.

https://www.ajc.com/news/opinion/years-later-still-lose-sleep-over-the-centennial-olympic-park-bombing-here-why/ev1xfMrlsHtRU08v3qut6K/

https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/1fd2d7ae-10d8-474b-9bf1-d1558af697be

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/30jewell.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/O/Olympic%20Games

Hero of the Week 56

Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Jan Karski

Jan Karski was born on June 24, 1914, in Lodz, Poland. Although he was a baptized Catholic, Karski grew up in a neighborhood where most of the residents were Jewish. He attended college at Lwow University and majored in demographic studies. He originally wished to work as a civil servant in Poland's foreign affairs. Sadly, Karski's dreams were cut short when Poland was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939. After the defeat of Poland's military, Karski joined the Armia Krajowa (the Polish underground). For the first couple of years, he acted as a courier between resistance cells. 

One of the things that AK was closely observing, was the Nazis persecution of Poland's Jewish population. Karski was instructed to sneak into the Warsaw Ghetto and gather information on the atrocities that were being committed. He later described his experiences many years later, "My job was just to walk. And observe. And remember. The odor. The children. I saw a man standing with blank eyes. I asked the guide: what is he doing? The guide whispered: He's just dying. I remember degradation, starvation, and dead bodies lying on the street. My guide just kept saying, 'look at it and remember'. And I did remember."

After observing the Warsaw ghetto, Karski was smuggled by the AK into a Durchgangslager (a transit concentration camp). This camp that was located in the town of Izbica, was meant to be a temporary station for Jews being transported to the death camp called, Belzec. While disguised as a guard from Estonia, he secretly documented the atrocities being committed against the prisoners and their eventual destination. 

Although he was unable to sneak into Belzec itself, Karski was able to complete at least four reports of the atrocities that he had witnessed. The AK then smuggled him out of Poland, across France, and eventually into Great Britain. Once there, he presented his reports to the Polish government-in-exile. On December 10, 1942, Polish government-in-exile published a 16 page brochure titled, The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland. This brochure was the first official document informing the Western public about the Holocaust in German-occupied Europe. Unfortunately, many of the people who read this report (especially in the United States) dismissed it was too incredible to believe. 

For his part, Jan Karski continued to submit reports about what he witnessed. He spoke with many of the Allied leaders (including President Roosevelt) and informed them of the massacres being committed in Poland. He also spoke to religious leaders and activists. Sadly, many of his reports were brushed off by the public as atrocity propaganda.  The Western Allies would not fully accept the authenticity of Karski's reports until their soldiers began liberating concentration camps in the final months of the War in Europe. 

After World War II ended in Europe, Jan Karski immigrated to the United States and became a citizen in 1954. He then became a professor at Georgetown University where he taught International Affairs and comparative government for the next 40 years. One of his students was the future president, Bill Clinton. Karski was also prominently featured in the 1985 documentary film, Shoah (during which he became good friends with, Elie Wiesel). He died on July 13, 2000, at the age 86. On May 29, 2012, Karski was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Throughout his life, Jan Karski showed great courage and dedication to helping those in need by spreading word of their plight. He put his life on the line many times and played a major role in recording the story of one of the greatest tragedies in human history and spreading the knowledge of it to the entire world. In doing so, he helped to ensure that the tragedy of the Holocaust will never be forgotten. I believe that he should be regarded as one of the greatest men in history.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jan-karski

https://www.jankarski.net/en/about-jan-karski/jan-karski-life.html

https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/karski.html

https://blog.europeana.eu/2019/01/jan-karski-witness-to-the-holocaust%EF%BB%BF/

Hero of the Week 55

Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Walter Morrill

Walter Goodale Morrill was born on November 13, 1840 in Williamsburg, Maine. For most of his early life, he lived on his parent's farm. However, when the future of his country was in jeopardy, Walter Morrill would answer the call of duty and face challenges he never could have imagined.

Part 1

When civil war broke out between the Northern and Southern states, Morrill enlisted in the 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry. Fifteen months later, he was transferred to Company B of the 20th Maine. He saw combat at Williamsburg, Malvern Hill, Fair Oaks, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. These experiences turned him into a battle hardened soldier. But at the battle of Gettysburg, Morrill would face a challenge much greater than he ever anticipated.

The Battle of Gettysburg officially began on July 1, 1863. By July 2, the Union Army of the Potomac had been pushed back into a fishhook formation on the outskirts of the city. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia then began to focus their assaults on the two flanks of the Federal army. The Federal right was at Culp's Hill while the Federal left was at a place called, Little Round Top. If either side gave, the whole flank would cave in. 

In the thick of the fighting was the 20th Maine under the command of Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. For most of the day the regiment held off repeated attacks by the Confederate Army. But they soon began to run low on their ammunition and half of their complement was killed or wounded. In desperation, Col Chamberlain decided to order a bayonet charge on the Confederates as soon as the latter began their next assault on Little Round Top. 

It was Captain Morrill's Company B that would lead this charge. Throughout the battle, Company B had taken the some of the worst of the 20th's casualties. By this time, there were only 44 soldiers that were able to continue fighting (plus 14 men from the 2nd US Sharpshooters). Despite this, all of them fixed bayonets when Morrill gave the order. Hiding behind a stonewall, the men of Company B anxiously waited for the bugle that sounded the charge. 

As they heard the Confederates move in close, the bugle for the bayonet charge was sounded. With Captain Morrill at their head, the men of Company B let out a shrill scream and charged down the hill into the Confederates. They were quickly followed by the rest of the regiment. Caught by surprise and demoralized by their own high casualties, many of the Confederates threw down their arms and surrendered. The rest all broke and ran. As they did, Captain Morrill had the men of Company B fire a final volley into the retreating Confederates. This volley is credited with eliminating any chance of a rally from the Confederates. With that, the assault on the Union left at Little Round Top ended. By the end of July 3, the Confederate Army retreated from Gettysburg and victory was won for the Union.

Although much of the credit for the 20th Maine's heroic stand was given to Colonel Chamberlain, he personally credited his soldiers for the victory. Among those he honored was Captain Morrill. Chamberlain wrote that, "he (Morrill) and his skirmishers fell upon the enemy as they were breaking, and by his demonstrations, as well as his well-directed fire, added much to the effect of the bayonet charge that cleared the front of nearly our entire brigade". Captain Morrill had displayed great heroism and courage at the battle of Gettysburg. However, his service and dedication to his country would not end there. Just several months later, his leadership would be put the test once again.

Part II 

Approximately four months after the battle of Gettysburg, Captain Morrill found himself once again in the thick of a major battle. His unit would be spearheading a daring night attack on a Confederate fortification at a place in Northern Virginia called, Rappahannock Station.

Despite winning a major victory at Gettysburg, victory for the Union was still very far away. In the aftermath of the Gettysburg Campaign, General George Meade reorganized the Army of the Potomac and launched an invasion of Northern Virginia in pursuit of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. What followed the would be a series of minor engagements from October to November called, the Bristoe Campaign. 

Most of the campaign was fought in the month of October. Although casualties were relatively light, by the beginning of November, neither side had a clear advantage on the other (both armies had not yet recovered from their losses at Gettysburg). General Lee had pulled the Army of Northern Virginia back to a position behind the Rappahannock River. However, he left behind a pontoon bridge that crossed the river at Rappahannock Station. This bridgehead was a small but essential part of Lee's defenses on the Rappahannock River. 

General Meade new this too and sent a small portion of the Union Army under the command of General John Sedgwick to capture it. To take the bridgehead at Rappahannock Station, General Sedgwick planned to launch a daring night attack on the Confederate garrison. The men who would be spearheading this attack were 300 soldiers from the 6th Maine and 50 volunteers 20th Maine. The man who would lead the charge was, Captain Walter Morrill. The Confederates were entrenched in a semi-circle position on the north bank of the Rappahannock just beyond a railroad. Under the cover of darkness, Morrill and his volunteers slowly moved across an open plain toward the Confederate right. 

At 3 AM, the Yankees let out a shrill yell and charged at bayonet point. Soon the entire field erupted with the sounds of bullets and cannons. Despite taking some severe casualties, Morrill's unit cut its way through the Confederate lines and quickly seized the pontoon bridge that crossed the Rappahannock. By doing this, they cut off the Confederate army's escape route. In desperation, the Confederates attempted to launch a counter attack to retake the bridge, but the rest of the Union army quickly descended on them. Within less than an hour, the battle was over. The Union Army had suffered just over 400 casualties. The Confederates on the other hand lost 1,670 (mostly captured) out of the 2,000 man garrison. Upon learning of the defeat at Rappahannock Station, General Lee realized that his flank was now open to direct attack and was forced to pull his army back to a new defensive line. Thus concluded the Bristoe Campaign.

Epilogue

The credit for the victory at Rappahannock Station was largely credited to Captain Morrill and his small group who spearheaded the attack. For his heroism and leadership that night (and also at Gettysburg), he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Walter Morrill would go on to participate in more than a dozen more battles and engagements and reach the rank of Colonel. Despite being wounded twice, he survived the war and returned to Maine were he raised a family and worked as a landlord.  He died on March 3, 1935, at the age of 94.

Walter Goodale Morrill showed great courage and leadership during the War between the States. Throughout the conflict he continually placed himself at the head of his soldiers and made a key difference in several battles. More often than not, not enough credit goes to men like him. He definitely deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest heroes of the Civil War.

  

https://emergingcivilwar.com/2015/11/18/we-went-and-staid-too/

http://www.pittsfieldhistoricalsociety.org/col-walter-g-morrill/

https://bangordailynews.com/2013/11/08/news/night-attack-in-virginia-cost-washington-county-dearly/