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Heroism

Single Payer Advocate Quentin Young Dies At 92

March 9, 2016 Russell Mokhiber, www.singlepayeraction.org , , ,
By Russell Mokhiber for Single Payer Action. Berkeley, CA - Dr. Quentin Young, past president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and from 1992-2014 the organization’s national coordinator, died on March 7 in Berkeley, California where he had been under the watchful eyes and care of his daughters and other family members. He was 92. In addition to his work with PNHP, Dr. Young co-founded and chaired for many years the Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. “Dr. Young was known for his sharp, clear-eyed analysis of social and economic problems, particularly in health care, his deep commitment to social justice and racial equality, his quick wit, his insuppressible optimism, personal courage, and his ability to inspire those around him to join him in the battle for a more equitable and caring world,” said Robert Zarr, president of PNHP.

A USS Liberty’s Hero’s Passing

August 19, 2014 Ray McGovern, www.consortiumnews.com , ,
Terry Halbardier, who – as a 23-year old seaman in 1967 – thwarted Israeli attempts to sink the USS Liberty, died on Aug. 11 in Visalia, California. It took the U.S. government 42 years after the attack to recognize Halbardier’s heroism by awarding him the Silver Star, a delay explained by Washington’s determination to downplay Israeli responsibility for the 34 Americans killed and the 174 wounded. On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, the Israeli military attacked the USS Liberty, an American spy ship which had been monitoring Israeli transmissions about the conflict. Intercepted Israeli communications indicated that the goal was to sink the Liberty and leave no survivors. Warplanes and torpedo boats had already killed 34 and wounded 174, when Halbardier slid over the Liberty’s napalm-glazed deck to jury-rig an antenna and get an SOS off to the Sixth Fleet. The Israelis intercepted the SOS and broke off the attack immediately. In effect, Halbardier prevented the massacre of all 294 onboard. Still, the infamy of the attack on the Liberty was two-fold.