WE NEED YOUR HELP! ... Statue of Medal of Honor recipient headed to scrap heap

Shocking news from Stamford CT.

For the last year the City of Stamford has proposed to spend $7 million of tax payers funds to renovate Veterans Memorial Park. Details were not made public until December 16. A local business district development organization headed by Sandra Goldstein, was appointed to head the project.

Memorial Park includes stone monuments with the names of Stamford Veterans who served and died during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It includes the bronze statue of Master Sergeant Homer L. Wise, recipient of the Medal of Honor, during World War II, one of the most decorated soldiers of the war and a resident of Stamford until his death in 1974. He was wounded three times by German snipers and mortar round which landed a few feet from the fox hole he was in.

The statue was dedicated on May 26, 2013, before one of the largest crowds to ever attend a military ceremony in Stamford. The keynote speaker was Paul W. Bucha, recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam in 1968. The Master of Ceremonies was Morton Dean, former CBS and ABC news anchor and correspondent.

The statue was designated a Historic Landmark by the State of CT. The statue was paid for with private funds and is owned by the Homer L. Wise Memorial Committee, Inc.

It was announced on December 16, 2015, that the master plan for the park calls for the removal and stockpiling of the statue of Medal of Honor recipient master sergeant Homer L. Wise. (see pages 23 and 29) stockpiling means that this magnificent work of art honoring one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II is going to end up in the scrap heap. To be replaced with a memorial to Brian Bill a soldier killed in Afghanistan. Brian Bill was a very brave solider. Homer L. Wise was honored by the city of Stamford for the fact he was a Medal of Honor recipient. Further the monument with the names of those killed during World War II, Korean war and Vietnam all deserve special recognition and will not be honored beyond the name on the stone monument.

“As I have told the rest of these young men who have been here before me, I would much rather have that medal around my neck than to be President of the United States. It is the greatest honor that can come to a man. It is an honor that all of us strive for, but very few of us ever achieve.” President of the United States Harry S. Truman, October 12, 1945 after presenting 15 World War II heroes with the Medal of Honor.

Tell me what is their reason for destroying this statue of a Medal of Honor recipient.

Link to Master Plan to Renovate Veterans Park, Stamford CT and remove and destroy the bronze statue of Medal of Honor recipient Homer L. Wise.  See pages 23 and 29.  The writers of the plan deemed it unnecessary to identify Sgt. Wise with his name.  Instead they used initials HW.

Please Email (or Call: 203-977 4140 (M-F, 7:30am - 4:30pm) ) your OBJECTION to destroy the Homer L. Wise  statue to Mayor Martin at the City of Stamford.
(Email: dmartin@stamfordct.gov)

$25 MILLION AWARDED TO PORT ST. LUCIE. FLORIDA FOR VETERANS NURSING HOME NAMED AFTER MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT ARDIE R. COPAS HERO OF VIETNAM WAR

Washington, DC,  December 10, 2015, The Department of Veterans affairs announced today they have released $25 million to pay for a Veterans Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The home will be named for Medal of Honor recipient  Ardie R. Copas, who was killed in action in Cambodia, on May 12, 1970.  He was born in Fort Pierce, Florida

According to Steve Murray, Director of Communications of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, “the home would be the first state veterans home to offer all private rooms. Spouses including those of the same sex, will be allowed to share rooms as long as both are military veterans and need services.”

President Obama, on March 18, 2014, awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, at a ceremony at the White House

Medal of Honor Citation SPECIALIST FOURTH CLASS ARDIE R. COPAS

COPAS' DAUGHTER, SHYRELL JEAN COPAS , 
RECEIVES THE MEDAL OF HONOR 
FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA
ON MARCH 18, 2014, AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Specialist Four Ardie R. Copas distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Machinegunner in Company C, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy near Ph Romeas Hek, Cambodia on May 12, 1970. That morning, Specialist Four Copas' company was suddenly attacked by a large hostile force firing recoilless rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons. As Specialist Four Copas began returning fire, his armored car was struck by an enemy recoilless round, knocking him to the ground and injuring four American Soldiers beside the vehicle. Ignoring his own wounds, Specialist Four Copas quickly remounted the burning vehicle and commenced firing his machinegun at the belligerents. Braving the hostile fire directed at him and the possible detonation of the mortar rounds inside the track, Specialist Four Copas maintained a heavy volume of suppressive fire on the foe while the wounded Americans were safely evacuated. Undaunted, Specialist Four Copas continued to place devastating volleys of fire upon the adversary until he was mortally wounded when another enemy round hit his vehicle. Specialist Four Copas' daring action resulted in the safe evacuation of his comrades. Specialist Four Copas' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.