During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Hillary Clinton professed that half of Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables.” Based upon her statement, it may be reasonable to conclude that Hillary’s followers, in the liberal wing of politics, find that those voters who oppose gun control on purchases by citizens less than 21 years of age should also be thrown into the basket of deplorables. However, the history of our nation expresses a strong and vibrant case for preteens and teens owning and using guns in a responsible manner. The most glaring examples are noted during times of military conflict when this age group rises to the occasion of preserving liberty and uses weapons of war in protection of our republican form of government.
In the Revolutionary War, Jeremiah Levering, age 12, along with hundreds of other soldiers 16 years and younger, fought the British to secure our freedom from the King of England.
Joseph Burger, a 14-year-old Union Army soldier who fought in the American Civil War, received the United States’ highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor. Burger also received a battlefield commission to the rank of captain at the age of 15.
In the Revolutionary War, Jeremiah Levering, age 12, along with hundreds of other soldiers 16 years and younger, fought the British to secure our freedom from the King of England.
Joseph Burger, a 14-year-old Union Army soldier who fought in the American Civil War, received the United States’ highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor. Burger also received a battlefield commission to the rank of captain at the age of 15.
During World War II, the Alaska National Guard was called up into the Army of the United States. As a result, the territorial governor, in seeking to protect Alaska’s border, called for local citizens to rise to the occasion to defend against an invasion by Japan. With their own guns in hand, citizens of all ages, including preteens and teens, organized into a 6,300-member volunteer militia known as the Eskimo Scouts/Alaska Territorial Guard. When the Japanese invaded Alaska, bombing Dutch Harbor and occupying four of the Aleutian Islands, it was the bravery exhibited by teenagers, preteens as young as 12, and others in the Eskimo Scouts which resulted in repelling the Japanese through combat operations.
Bringing this type of citizen militia closer to our home, the governor of Maryland, in response to the absence of the Maryland National Guard, called on citizens, using their own firearms, to form into “Minuteman” units. In a 1942 photograph of the fourteen Tilghman Island Minutemen shown training with rifles, one of those volunteers was a young teenager.
Additionally, there were many heroes in World War II who were teenagers. Among them was a 16-year-old Marine, Bernard Hoffendaffer, who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and after the war became a Methodist preacher serving six churches in West Virginia; Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in World War II, who at age 19 was awarded the Medal of Honor and after the war became a Hollywood legend; Calvin Leon Graham, who at age 12 was the youngest to serve in the U.S. Navy, received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals for his bravery and wounds received during the Battle of Guadalcanal; and George H.W. Bush, a bomber pilot, who at 19 years of age was the youngest Naval aviator in history and was wounded in combat. Bush later became President of the United States.
During the Korean War, David Hackworth, at 15 years of age, was given a battlefield commission to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
During the Viet Nam War, David A. Christian, a 19-year-old 2nd Lieutenant led many search and destroy combat missions. Wounded seven times, Lieutenant Christian was among the most decorated soldiers of that war.
Bringing this type of citizen militia closer to our home, the governor of Maryland, in response to the absence of the Maryland National Guard, called on citizens, using their own firearms, to form into “Minuteman” units. In a 1942 photograph of the fourteen Tilghman Island Minutemen shown training with rifles, one of those volunteers was a young teenager.
Additionally, there were many heroes in World War II who were teenagers. Among them was a 16-year-old Marine, Bernard Hoffendaffer, who fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and after the war became a Methodist preacher serving six churches in West Virginia; Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in World War II, who at age 19 was awarded the Medal of Honor and after the war became a Hollywood legend; Calvin Leon Graham, who at age 12 was the youngest to serve in the U.S. Navy, received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals for his bravery and wounds received during the Battle of Guadalcanal; and George H.W. Bush, a bomber pilot, who at 19 years of age was the youngest Naval aviator in history and was wounded in combat. Bush later became President of the United States.
During the Korean War, David Hackworth, at 15 years of age, was given a battlefield commission to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
During the Viet Nam War, David A. Christian, a 19-year-old 2nd Lieutenant led many search and destroy combat missions. Wounded seven times, Lieutenant Christian was among the most decorated soldiers of that war.
This article was published in The Star Democrat newspaper,
Ron Frampton writes from Tilghman Island.
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