🔹Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL, chased four men through four counties while armed with two 9mm Berettas because they killed his dog, DASY. – Source
Luttrell was the sole survivor of a US Navy SEAL team ambush by Taliban fighters. He was saved by members of the Sabray tribe under the Nanawatai principle of the Pashtunwali code which requires a tribe to safeguard an individual against his enemies at all costs. – Source
🔹The original Navy SEAL Team 6 was formed after a failed Delta Force mission and was given its team number in order to confuse Soviet Intelligence as to how many teams there actually were (there were only 2 at that time). – Source
🔹Bill Shepherd, first US Navy SEAL that became a NASA Astronaut and first commander of the ISS, was asked what he does best in his astronaut candidate interview. He answered: “Kill people with a knife.” – Source
🔹There was a Navy SEAL so elite that they created his own unit just for him. He kidnapped Admirals and infiltrated US military bases. His name was Richard Marcinko. – Source
Marcinko
🔹During the Vietnam war, Navy SEAL teams One and Two amassed a combined kill/death ratio of 200:1. – Source
🔹The brain of a Navy SEAL is trained to alter the way the amygdala processes fear. – Source
🔹Navy SEALs that killed Bin Laden got stealth series flashlights as a ‘thank you’ from the company. – Source
🔹The Navy SEALs who killed Bin Laden were the same team that rescued the American captain held hostage by Somalian pirates in 2009 – Source
🔹The runner up of the first ever Ironman was John Dubar, a US Navy SEAL. He was winning during the marathon until his support crew ran out of water and decided to give him beer instead – Source
Dunbar, Monsoor, SEALS, Monsoor funeral
🔹During the funeral of Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, every Navy SEAL on the West Coast came to the funeral, took off their golden trident off of their own uniform and slapped it onto his wooden coffin covering the whole coffin in golden tridents. – Source
🔹The trident worn on the uniforms of Navy SEALs is officially designated as the “Special Warfare Insignia,” but is sometimes called the “Budweiser,” named in part for the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) course, the grueling twenty-five week special warfare school. The trident also has an uncanny resemblance to the Anheuser-Busch logo.
🔹An aerospace engineer attached to the Navy SEALS was charged in federal court for building a plane from scratch to “more easily visit his wife”. – Source
🔹The Belgian Malinois is the preferred “war dog” of the Navy SEALs. They are highly trained special ops experts, even trained to operate a parachute, “jumping either in tandem with their handlers or solo, if the jump is into water.” – Source
🔹Chris Kyle, a sniper on the US Navy SEALs, eliminated so many enemies that Iraqi insurgents gave him the nickname “The Devil.” – Source
Navy SEALS make up less than 1% of all United States Navy personnel, but despite their small numbers they make a huge strategic impact on every operation of which they’re a part.
Because of the specialized training, SEALS can’t just do combat coming from the sea, but they’re trained in desert, urban and jungle conditions, and can handle explosives and jump from airplanes. They’re trained in every useful skill.
Though they’re trained in a variety of ways, Navy SEALS specialize in combat in surprise strikes from the sea as well as a secretive return to the sea. This allows them to strike and return clandestinely numerous times doing the most damage possible, and achieving aims that larger troops couldn’t manage without being noticed.
🔹For $10,000 former Navy SEALs promise to teach you what they have learned for a week and then, if your skills are up to par, “unleash you on the most exciting and terrifying 36-hours of your life.” – Source
Rudolph Giuliani is best known for being mayor of New York during the September 11, 2001 attack. In 2008, Jack Dennis had the opportunity to meet Giuliani in San Antonio, Texas.
The American leader expressed his thoughts on his personal change, compassion, hope and faith during the disaster.
“Most people are surprised to know that I changed more from having prostate cancer than from September 11,” Giuliani stated, backstage at the Alamodome, where he was to give a speech later. “Dealing with the cancer forced me to gain the wisdom about the importance of life and the lack of control we have over death.”
“I needed the confidence and character I gained from coping with the cancer to prepare me to deal with, and even survive, the trials of September 11,” the former mayor said.
Giuliani found himself surrounded by firefighters, police officers and emergency workers on that fateful day in 2001. The worst attack on American soil became the most successful rescue operation in our country’s history under his leadership.
That evening, as Giuliani prepared for bed, he found solace in the words of Winston Churchill and “realized that courage doesn’t simply materialize out of thin air.”
Giuliani attended hundreds of funerals and visited Ground Zero daily.
“I grew physically and emotionally exhausted,” he recalled. “When I saw the families of the victims, I was revived knowing if they can do this, I can do it.”
“Courage begins years before, sometimes in our early childhood, as we develop our character,” he spoke. “Every choice we make in life can strengthen or weaken our character.”
Here are highlights of Mr. Giuliani’s views.
“When I was in my teens, I seriously planned to become either a priest or a doctor as I have always been faithful and enthusiastic about my faith in God and helping others. Religion was a favorite topic I enjoyed talking with my teachers about. Prayer and faith in God provided me with the strength I could not acquire from any other source. When things are tough, it’s always a good idea to pray for the guidance and strength necessary to get us through.”
“Most of my time as mayor was spent under the maxim that it’s better to be respected than to be loved. September 11 unlocked compassion in me that I typically reserved for my family and very close friends. I discovered that revealing your love and compassion does not weaken leadership. It makes it stronger.”
“Allowing doubt, fear and worry to overtake us is an inevitable path to failure. I could not afford failure after September 11. It was very necessary to reach inside and push the doubts away, and even out, of my thinking.”
“I’ve spent much of my reading on learning about how great leaders that I admired grew up and forged the character each had to deal with different substantial challenges. Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt came to mind. ‘Then only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’”
“Love can spark deep moments of profound goodness. When I saw the love of our heroes in New York who looked beyond their own safety or what was best for themselves and focus on the lives and safety of others, I learned that love can help us push aside differences to share our humanity and those things that we have in common.”
“I prayed with these brave men and women. I became very close and was able to learn from these firefighters, police officers and emergency responders, not to mention ordinary every day civilians. At the root of all of this, it was love, and not so much the sense of duty, that caused those firefighters to run into the flaming towers to save those he or she had never met. Love can so powerful it can help us be kind to even those who are cruel to us.”
The famous Italian diver Enzo Mallorca recalled “when I first started thinking about setting freediving records, the medical experts kept saying that a man could not stay alive diving deeper than 165ft [50m] because his lungs would not make it.”
“Doctors were creating barriers for us and I admit that at the time it worried me,” he admitted. “Even Aristotle claimed a man could dive no deeper than 30 ft.”
In September 1960, he successfully descended to a depth of 45m, in the process setting the first of 17 wworld records in the variable buoyancy category.
Two months later, he extended this to 49m.
Enzo Mallorca died at 86 in 2016.
In August 1961 he set a new record of 50m in the “constant weight” category, in which there are no additional buoyancy aids and the diver must descend and ascend with their own fin power. The Italian media dubbed him Lord of the Abysses.
Years later, Enzo dove into the sea of Syracuse and was talking to his daughter Rosanna who was aboard the boat. Ready to go in, he felt something slightly hit his back.
He turned and saw a dolphin. Then he realized that the dolphin did not want to play but to express something.
The animal dove and Enzo followed.
At a depth of about 12 meters, trapped in an abandoned net, there was another dolphin. Enzo quickly asked his daughter to grab the diving knives. Soon, the two of them managed to free the dolphin, which, at the end of the ordeal, emerged, issued an “almost human cry” (describes Enzo).
Rosanna and Enzo
(A dolphin can stay under water for up to 10 minutes, then it drowns.)
The released dolphin was helped to the surface by Enzo, Rosanna and the other dolphin. That’s when the surprise came: she was pregnant!
The male circled them, and then stopped in front of Enzo, touched his cheek (like a kiss), in a gesture of gratitude and then they both swam off.
Enzo Mallorca once said, “Until man learns to respect and speak to the animal world, he can never know his true role on Earth.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. stands as a symbol of America’s honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War.
Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of 58,267 (including those added in 2010) men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. The Memorial is dedicated to honor the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country of all who answered the call to serve during one of the most divisive wars in U.S. history.
The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized.
The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.
There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
8,283 were just 19 years old.
The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.
In one small section, Jack Dennis found three ‘Dennis’ names.
997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.
1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.
31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.
54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia.
8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.
244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.
Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.
West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
Visiting the Wall
Vietnam Veterans Memorial is located north of the Lincoln Memorial near the intersection of 22nd Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW.
Visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial can be a very emotional experience for visitors. Please be respectful of others while you visit.
🔹To locate a name on the wall, use one of the catalogs available near the entrances of the memorial. The names are listed alphabetically by last name in the catalog. Each listing provides a panel number and a row number.
🔹To locate the name entry on the wall, look on the bottom corner of each panel for its panel number (e.g. 24W) and then count down the rows starting from the top. As an indexing aid, every other panel has pip marks on every tenth row to help users count the rows.
🔹Typically five names appear on each row (six appear where names have been added to the wall since 1982). Rangers and volunteers are often available to assist you.
Parking is available along Constitution Avenue. Be sure to read the signs for restrictions and time limits. Handicapped parking is available on the south side of the Lincoln Memorial.
Interstate 395 provides access to the Mall from the South. Interstate 495, New York Avenue, Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, George Washington Memorial Parkway, and the Cabin John Parkway provide access from the North. Interstate 66, U.S. Routes 50 and 29 provide access from the West. U.S. Routes 50, 1, and 4 provide access from the East.
In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic swimmer who earned eight gold medals and broke several world records at European championships for finswimming, had just completed a 12-mile run with his brother Kamo when they saw a trolley bus crash into a dam reservoir. The trolley bus sank 80 feet offshore at a depth of 33 feet.
It was September 16, 1976 when Karapetyan risked his own life to save over three dozen people from drowning in the reservoir Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
Despite zero visibility, he managed to kick in the back window, injuring himself in the process. He proceeded to save 37 people trapped in the bus, one at a time, for hours.
Using the routine he had developed from his swimming training, Karapetyan fell into a rhythm. He took five breaths, dove down for two passengers, and kicked against the top of the bus for momentum as he returned to the surface with the people in both arms.
He had instructed Kamo to stay at the surface and ferry passengers to the bank of the reservoir, as he dove again and again. Karapetyan’s own legs were bleeding, sliced open by broken glass, but that did not deter him.
The two-man lifesaving effort lasted about 20 minutes, before a rescue crew arrived, some of whom moved in on kayaks.
Because of the flurry of action and lack of clear government records, it’s unknown how many people the Karapetyan brothers saved; they estimate about 30. Some survivors freed themselves. Forty-six people died.
Karapetyan after rescuing about 37 people, is shirtless at the bottom center.
The combined effect of the cold water and his inquiries from breaking the glass window led to his hospitalization for 45 days after the incident, during which time he developed pneumonia, sepsis, and lung damage which ended his athletic career.
For years, his story wasn’t known, until an article about the event identified him by name in 1982. In 1985, he happened to pass by the Sports and Concert Arena when he witnessed a fire break out and rushed inside, again saving people trapped inside one at a time until he collapsed. He was again hospitalized with severe burns and lung damage.
He retired at the age of 24, having set 11 world records. Karapetyan held 17 world championship titles, 13 European championship titles, and seven Soviet championship titles.
He was born in 1953. As of 2022, Karapetyan says that he wouldn’t change a thing. Diving into Yerevan Lake that day cost him his athletic career. But he would do it again.
“There was no other choice,” he said. “I knew that it wouldn’t be right if the world’s fastest underwater swimmer was there and didn’t even try to help. Nature and humanity would have judged me. God probably would have judged me.”
Texas trucker Joe Buttons honked at his Oklahoma cousins waving flags and banners above as he drove his rig under a large group of supporters this weekend.
“I could spot them in the crowd up there and heared them loud and clear,” Buttons said. “On the cell (phone) they told me how proud they were of me–all of us. We just thank everybody for lining the streets and overpasses. It’s like patriotism is back.”
One of his relatives told him later they counted 688 18-wheelers “and hundreds of cars, vans, pickups, RVs, and occasionally a motorcycle or two.”
“Everybody asks how many trucks are in the convoy,” Buttons offered. “Hell, I don’t know because it changes so much.”
He explained that some trucks join them on their way east and “then a few that leave us after a few hours. There is a constant flow of families and everybody driving beside us, honking their horns and wishing us luck.”
“We see everybody from every color and every age,” he continued. “It just makes us feel good. It tells us they are on our side of freedom, no matter your age or sex or whatever. We are all Americans—together.”
“They said, with a drone and people on the overpasses counting, it looks like we are up to over 600 trucks and at least that many more of cars and all,” Buttons said. One thing we know for sure–it’s growing and it’s growing fast.”
“When they say ‘the convoy,’ it’s not about just one line of trucks going to Washington,” he explained. “There’s more than one route. We have tributaries of highways leading the charge, the convoys will all meet up.”
“We heard someone say if they could measure all of these trains (vehicles on highways), single file and add them up, right now it would be about 65 miles long.”
While national mainstream media ignores, downplays or distorts news of the convoy, local, social media and independent coverage is strong.
You may not have known that Uncle Sam was a real person! In case you’re unfamiliar, “Uncle Sam” is the famous patriotic character we see on the poster that reads, “I want you for U.S. army.”
Born Samuel Wilson in 1766, the real-life Uncle Sam worked as a meat packer in Troy, New York. During the War of 1812, he supplied troops with meat that he shipped in barrels.
The barrels contained the branding “U.S.,” short for “United States,” but people often joked that it actually stood for “Uncle Sam.” The trope eventually spread far and wide, and the rest is history (literally).
Painted by noted U.S. illustrator James Montgomery Flagg, the image first appeared on the cover of the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie’s Weekly magazine with the title “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?” The U.S. would not declare war on Germany until April of the next year, but the storm signals were clear. The image was later adapted by the U.S. Army for the poster with the new, unforgettable call to action. More than 4 million copies of it were printed between 1917 and 1918.
This photo above of Wilson was taken sometime in the 1850s, and is the only known photograph of him.
As midnight ended the first day of America’s great trucker convoys, over 976 trucks and other vehicles settled down in Arizona and beyond. The People’s Convoy group reported donations totalling $464,731 directly to their organization website:
Along the way supporters greeted and thanked the truckers with flags, banners and chants of TRUCK JOE BIDEN. Food, water, letters from children and even 25,000 gallons of fuel were provided.
Despite the downplay and propaganda from mainstream media, independent and patriotic news providers reported the facts and enthusiasm of the cause.
The send off crowd sang ‘Amazing Grace’ with the Truckers before they left California.Shared live on Internet. Great America Pizza provided food and fuel in Arizona.Crowds gathered to welcome the Convoy into Arizona to rest for the night.
Millions of Patriots Supporting, Praying and Cheering Along Routes
American Truckers launch The People’s Convoy, a peaceful and unified transcontinental movement for freedom, on February 23, 10:00 am, from Adelanto Stadium in California.
This verse was read and shared by thousands before they embarked:
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10
Citizens are supporting the Convoy For Freedom by:
Praying for their safety and success.
Attending their send off rallies and cheering them along the routes.
Sharing information about The People’s Convoy on social media and by email.
Living not by lies or fear.
As The People’s Convoy begins their peaceful and unified transcontinental movements for freedom, hundreds of truckers are hearing encouragement and blessings from speakers including FLCCC President Dr. Pierre Kory and Godspeak Church Pastor Rob McCoy.
“The truckers are joined by freedom-loving supporters from all walks of life on this peaceful and law-abiding transcontinental journey for freedom,” one spokesperson said Tuesday night.
“This convoy is about freedom and unity,” they announced.” “The truckers are riding unified across party and state lines with freedom loving people of all colors and creeds. Everyone is welcome to participate by attending the launch rally and/or by following the big rigs in their own vehicles.”
First 4 Days: Truckers, Bikers, RVs, and Other Vehicles Main Convoy RouteAcross America
Day 1: CA to AZDay 2: Through AZ (Snow expected)Day 3: AZ to TXDay 4: TX to OK
The People’s Convoy Message
The 23 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a rough road for all Americans: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and – not least – financially.
Good therapeutics and the hard work of courageous, frontline doctors and nurses contributed to declining COVID-19 cases and severity of illness. It’s time to re-open America. It’s time for elected officials to work with American workers to and restore accountability and liberty – by lifting all mandates and ending the “state of emergency.” Americans need to get back to work and living in a free and unrestricted manner.
Adjoining Routes
Truckers Are Ready
Many non-mainstream media reporters, photographers and staff will embed with the Convoy. Note: As of this writing Newsmax, Eric Bolling, Maureen Steele, The Epoch Times and other journalists, media outlets and podcasters are joining.
Retired military and security experts are assisting the convoy and spearheading logistics to ensure a 100 percent safe, lawful, and peaceful journey.
“We have the freedom our forefathers and veterans have continually died for over the past two hundred years. Just visit our National Cemetaries and view the rows of sacrifice on the grounds. This freedom needs to be defended whether foreign or domestic,” was a message passed around by supporters to truckers before they left. “All of us must fight these communists. I know this because I am a cold war veteran. This time they have attacked us from the inside via money and political means.”
“Our representatives seem to be very quiet during these times, why? God bless all of you in this endeavor to retain our freedom that we still have today,” wrote FireDogRazor54. “To my brothers and sisters in Canada, your blood has been shared in the past many times and I know personally that you do not quit, defend the Maple leaf! To all I repeat ‘esprit de corps’. Post this message on your trucks!! To the police, go 10-7 with the blue covid flu for about a week, just saying. Where is our clergy? Tend the flock and ward off the foxes!”
Gunsmoke was a popular radio program and later, a legendary television series that featured 635 episodes from 1955-1975. The series featured actor James Arness as the first marshal of Dodge City, Kansas.
In reality the first sheriff and city marshal of Dodge City was my great-great grandfather, Charlie Bassett. He was the uncle to my great grandmother, Missouri Bassett, the mother to my maternal grandfather, Bassett Arthur.
Charles Bassett (October 30, 1847 – January 5, 1896) was one of the founders of the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, served as the first sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, as well as city marshal of Dodge City. His deputies included Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.
Charles E. Bassett was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Benjamin Bassett and Julia (née Norton) Bassett.
On February 14, 1865, Bassett enlisted in the Union Army at Frankford, Pennsylvania (now a part of Philadelphia). He received a $100 bounty for signing on for one year as a private in Company I of the 213th Pennsylvania Infantry, a volunteer regiment. Bassett was mustered out of his volunteer regiment in Washington, D.C., on November 18, 1865. He served a little more than nine months, not for the year he had signed. This was most likely the result of an Army cutback after Lee’s surrender in April.
Charles E. Bassett spent the period between late 1865 and early 1873 drifting around the West, serving various stints as a miner, bartender, and buffalo hunter. He was most likely in the neighborhood of what would become Dodge City, Kansas, when his father, Benjamin Bassett died in Philadelphia on January 2, 1872.
Long Branch Saloon
Bassett opened the original Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City in late 1872 in partnership with Alfred J. Peacock. Eventually, Bassett and Peacock sold the Long Branch. The saloon changed hands several times until Luke Short became one of the owners. Short’s partnership in the Long Branch would cause one of the high points of Bassett’s life in 1883.
Dodge had turned into an unruly city with little law enforcement, a town that the Hays City Sentinel had christened “the Deadwood of Kansas … Her corporate limits are the rendezvous of all the unemployed scally-wagism in seven states. Her principal is polygamy, her code of honor is the morals of thieves, and decency she knows not … ” The Kinsley Graphic newspaper was somewhat less kind, naming Dodge the “ … the Beautiful, Bibulous Babylon of the frontier.” And it was in Dodge City where Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Warp, and the Masterson brothers would earn their early reputations as lawmen settling this unsettled berg.
On June 5, 1873, the citizens of Ford County, Kansas, chose Bassett as their first sheriff. His headquarters were in Dodge City. Bassett was re-elected twice, serving until 1878.
Charlie Bassett
On September 18, 1877, Sam Bass and his gang robbed a Union Pacific train of $60,000 at Big Springs, Nebraska. The bandits were reported in Kansas and Sheriff Bassett went out after them. Bassett’s posse included Bat Masterson and John Joshua Webb. The group was unsuccessful in their pursuit of the train robbers.
By Kansas law, Bassett could not seek a third successive term as sheriff of Ford County. On November 6, 1877, Bat Masterson was elected sheriff of Ford County, replacing Bassett. One of his first acts was to appoint Bassett as his under-sheriff.
In addition to serving as Bat Masterson’s under-sheriff, Bassett was also serving as assistant city marshal under Bat’s brother, City Marshal Edward J. Masterson. He was still serving as sheriff when he got the appointment during December, 1877. The Dodge City Times reported, “Sheriff Bassett has been appointed by Mayor [James H.] Kelley to assist Marshal [Edward J.] Masterson in preserving order and decorum in the city. Mr. Bassett has had thorough training and is a good man for the place.”
On January 27, 1878, Dave Rudabaugh and four others attempted to hold up a train at Kinsley, Kansas. On February 1, a posse led by Sheriff Bat Masterson captured two of the robbers – Dave Rudabaugh and Edgar West. Charlie Basset assisted his two bosses, Sheriff Bat Masterson and Marshal Ed Masterson, in the capture of two more of the train robbers right in Dodge City.
Ford County encompassed some 9,500 square miles, a large portion of southwestern Kansas. It was a lot of territory into which outlaws could quickly vanish. In their pursuit, Bat called upon Wyatt Earp as well as appointing his younger brother James Masterson and friend Bill Tilghman deputy sheriffs. Dodge City also had its own city marshal, Ed Masterson, and a local police force. Dodge was a tough town, and it needed every lawman it had.
Bat and Ed Masterson
As county sheriff, Bat’s rule of thumb was to buffalo an armed man first and then ask questions later, a technique he had learned from Wyatt in which the barrel of a six-shooter is firmly applied to the head of miscreants. It was a controversial practice but Wyatt and Bat always defended its use. And it was clearly posted on the way into Dodge that no guns were to be worn within the city limits. Often ignored by cattlemen, a great part of every law officer’s duty was to enforce the rule. And at times, with a bunch of liquored up cowboys running rampant, it could be a deadly job.
In April 1878, Ed Masterson was shot at point-blank range doing just that, disarming a drunken cowboy who had openly ignored the rules. Ed returned fire and downed two men before he stumbled across the street and collapsed. He died 40 minutes later.
Marshal of Dodge City
The murder of Marshal Ed Masterson by two Texans named Jack Wagner and Alfred Walker on that April 9th prompted (after Ed Masterson’s funeral) the Dodge City Council to appoint Bassett as city marshal at a salary of $100 a month. On May 12, Wyatt Earp was appointed as Bassett’s assistant marshal at a salary of $75 a month. Bat had not been in Dodge City, the night his brother was murdered.
On July 29, 1878 James “Spike” Kenedy (1855-1884), the son of the wealthy cattle baron Mifflin Kenedy (1818-1895) attempted to shoot Mayor James H. Kelley. He was stopped from doing so by Marshal Bassett. Kenedy paid his fine and court costs and left town. Within three weeks, the young Texan was back in Dodge and in trouble again. According to the court docket for August 17, 1878, Kenedy was again brought into court by Marshal Bassett. This time it was on a charge of being disorderly. After paying his fine, Kenedy was told by Marshal Bassett to get out of Dodge and stay out.
The Killing of Dora Hand
At 4:00 in the morning of October 4, 1878, Kenedy was back in Dodge and fired two shots through the front door of a small frame house usually occupied by Mayor Kelley. One of Kenedy’s bullets killed a 34-year-old woman named Dora Hand. The Dodge City Times noted that “the pistol shot was intended for the male occupant of the bed … who had been absent for several days. The bed however was occupied by the female lodger at the time of the shooting.”
A posse left Dodge City at 2:00 on the afternoon of October 4. Its members were Marshal Charles E. Bassett, Assistant Marshal Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman, Sheriff Bat Masterson, and Deputy Sheriff William Duffey. At 4:00 on the afternoon of October 5, the posse caught up with Kenedy at a location some 35 miles from Dodge. The possemen turned loose a volley on Kenedy. Three shots slammed into Kenedy’s horse, while another shot, supposedly from a .50 caliber Sharp’s, shattered Kenedy’s left arm. Three weeks after the killing of Dora Hand, Kenedy was released for a supposed lack of incriminating evidence. Spike Kenedy returned to Texas to manage his father’s 390,000-acre LaParra Ranch. He died from typhoid fever during December 1884.
Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas
On November 4, 1879, the Dodge City Council appointed James Masterson as city marshal, to replace Charlie Bassett, who had resigned. According to the local paper: “Ex-Sheriff Chas. E. Bassett, accompanied by Mysterious Dave [Mather] and two other prospectors, started out last week in search of ‘greener fields and pastures new.’ They went in a two-horse wagon, after the style in the days of 49.”
After unsuccessfully panning for gold in Colorado, Bassett and Mather drifted successively to New Mexico and Texas. Both men were in San Antonio during the early part of 1881.
Mather remained in Texas for the next two years, but Bassett had grown homesick for Dodge City. His return to Dodge was noted by a local paper, which reported, “Charles E. Bassett, ex-sheriff of Ford County, and formerly city marshal of Dodge City – one of the old timers – arrived in the city last Tuesday after an absence of a year and a half. Charley looks as natural as life, wears good clothes, and says Texas is suffering from the dry weather.”
Kansas City
Bassett did not remain in Dodge City for long. He moved on to Kansas City, Missouri, where he became manager of Webster and Hughes Marble Hall Saloon.
The Kansas City Journal reported his arrival by noting, “Hon. C.E. Bassett, a well known cattle man of Kansas and Texas, returned to this city yesterday, after a brief stay in Dodge City. He will remain here for some time.”
On April 28, 1883, the celebrated “Dodge City War” broke out. Luke Short had been run out of Dodge and headed straight for Kansas City, where he looked up Charlie Bassett at the Marble Hall Saloon. Bassett quickly proceeded to re-establish Short in Dodge City. Quick to respond were Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, along with several others.
The Dodge City Peace Commission
The “Dodge City Peace Commission”, June 10, 1883. (L to R) standing: William H. Harris, Luke Short, Bat Masterson, William F. Petillon. Seated: Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, Michael Francis “Frank” McLean, and Cornelius “Neil” Brown.
The bloodless Dodge City War ended with both sides reaching an agreement in early June 1883. To maintain the shaky truce, the Dodge City Peace Commission was formed, including Bassett. Bassett returned to Kansas City, where he opened the Senate Saloon and obtained the nickname “Senator”. The venture was a failure and Bassett went to work as a bartender in an establishment he did not own.
Final years
Bassett suffered from inflammatory rheumatism during his final years. He went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, with the hope that the water would benefit his health, but he died there at age 48 on January 5, 1896.
Movies & TV
Charlie Bassett has been portrayed in many Western movies. Some of the most notable include:
Kirk Douglas and Earl Holliman
Actor Earl Holliman, who owned the Fiesta Dinner Playhouse in San Antonio back in the 1970s, was cast as lawman Charlie Bassett in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, his first time working with stars Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.
Scott Whyte as Charlie Bassett in Wyatt Earp’s Revenge (2012)
Pineland Initiative will expand Foundation’s scope of programs and services to now include pre-9/11 Green Berets and families
The Green Beret Foundation (GBF) announced recently the launch of the Pineland Initiative, a new campaign which will focus on expansion of the Foundation’s scope of services to now include pre-9/11 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers and their families.
The Pineland Initiative, launching in 2022, will reflect a 3-year phased approach to growth and expansion of existing programs and services in order to accommodate the needs of the pre-9/11 Green Beret population.
🔹One key aspect of this expansion will be the welcoming of additional Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) onboard GBF staff to meet anticipated greater need for assistance with the preparation and prosecution of Veterans Affairs benefits and disability claims.
🔹These new VSOs will bring with them the added benefit of providing a Foundation presence geographically located at each of the five Active Duty Special Forces Groups, and two National Guard Special Forces Groups, located around the country.
The name “Pineland” pays tribute to the shared legacy of Green Berets, past and present.
GBF Executive Director and Green Beret, Brent Cooper, explains: “Pineland, a fictitious country located in North Carolina where U.S. Army Special Forces trainees consummate their training and selection with the legendary Robin Sage exercise in unconventional warfare, is a universal term that all Green Berets recognize and hold dear.”
“It is a key rite of passage on the path to earning the coveted Green Beret,” Cooper explained. “Being immersed in this fictitious country is a defining experience in all Green Berets’ lives, so it is also the perfect name for this pivotal moment in the GBF’s history, where we can now expand our services to Green Berets of all generations.”
“Though we’ve helped many Green Berets and their families, the job will never be done until we are in a position to help all Green Berets–past, present, and future,” Cooper noted. “The bond between all Special Forces soldiers across the generations is strong. We had to do more, and the Pineland Initiative is how we plan to go about doing so.”
This new initiative for GBF is well-timed, as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Army Special Forces will be commemorated this coming June 19th. With Pineland being the first initiative in GBF’s history to support Green Berets of all generations, “There’s an opportunity to honor those that laid the groundwork to make the Green Berets the world’s premier, elite special operations force,” Cooper says.
GBF is asking that those wishing to support the Pineland Initiative campaign consider making a commitment of support to the Foundation at the amount of just a $12 monthly recurring contribution.
🔹The number 12 is symbolically significant to the Green Beret community, as it is the number of Green Berets on each Operational Detachment Alpha team–a fact which emphasizes that the Pineland Initiative will be a team effort.
🔹GBF offers multiple means by which supporters may choose to give, including one-time contributions and monthly recurring donations.
🔹For every dollar donated to the Green Beret Foundation, $0.84 goes directly to support the existing programs that the Pineland Initiative will now make available to pre-9/11 Green Berets and their families.
GBF provides support to wounded or injured Green Berets, ensuring that their hospital stay, recovery, and rehabilitation is more comfortable, along with other financial support for family needs not covered by the Department of Defense.
GBF supplements the care that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Health Agency provides to ensure total long-term health of a Green Beret’s mind, body, and spirit.
A program to provide a welcoming community of support to families of Green Berets. This includes the Steel Mags program–the exclusive program of wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of Green Berets–and educational scholarships provided to the children and wives of Special Forces soldiers.
GBF provides Gold Star and Surviving Families with support, tools, and financial assistance to navigate through the death of their Green Beret, assisting families in building long-lasting, supportive relationships within the Special Forces community.
With the Next Ridgeline Program, GBF provides current and transitioning Green Berets with the resources and tools they need to be successful in their next careers, along with Veterans Affairs benefits and disability claims preparation and prosecution.
GBF has now expanded their ability to accept donations, beyond the traditional means of accepting support through recurring donations and corporate matching programs. To streamline the giving process for donors, they now have partnerships with AmazonSmile, Ebay Giving Works, PayPal Giving, the Combined Federal Campaign, and Network for Good. Cryptocurrencies are also accepted.
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