Here’s a eulogy for a long-serving US Air Force veteran, a decorated hero who saw active service in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan:
“Lieutenant Colonel Victor J. Fehrenbach, a fighter weapons systems officer, has been flying the F-15E Strike Eagle since 1998. He has flown numerous missions against Taliban and al-Qaida targets, including the longest combat mission in his squadron’s history. On that infamous September 11, 2001, Lt. Col. Fehrenbach was handpicked to fly sorties above the nation’s capital. Later he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has received at least 30 awards and decorations including nine air medals, one of them for heroism, as well as campaign medals for Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is now a flight instructor in Idaho, where he has passed on his skills to more than 300 future Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force weapons systems officers. Since 1987, when Fehrenbach entered Notre Dame on a full Air Force ROTC scholarship, the government has invested twenty-five million dollars in training and equipping him to serve his country, which he has done with what anyone would agree was great distinction. He comes from a military family. His father was a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, his mother an Air Force nurse and captain. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has honored that tradition.”
So writes Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Why was this profile of this heroic, dedicated and experienced pilot needed? Is he dead?
Nope. Lieutenant Colonel Victor J. Fehrenbach, two years short of being able to retire with a full pension, has been discharged from the US Military… because he’s gay.
It’s disgusting and shameful and a sign that more than 100 days into President Obama’s new America, not much has changed for one persecuted minority.
If the President of America allows the brave men and women who risk their lives in the nation’s defence to be treated like this, then he doesn’t deserve to be President, and America doesn’t deserve to have heroes.
There’s more on this story, with some video reporting, over at the Towleroad blog.
