Memorial to famous P38 Hero Vandalized!!! Crap!

[RifleLance]

If you have not already heard, a beautiful memorial built by the state of Oregon to honor Oregonian WWII War hero Rex T. Barber has been horribly vandalized this past week.

If you know your WWII history, you know that Barber was the P38 fighter pilot who was credited with shooting down the Japanese plane carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy.  This victory was highly celebrated throughout America during the war, as Yamamoto was also the man who oversaw the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The old Highway 97 bridge spanning the Crooked River Gourge in Oregon was replaced with a brand new modern one in 2003, over this beautiful gorge.  The new Bridge was named after Barber, and a memorial honoring his service to his country was built at a nearby wayside.

Thieves, thought to perhaps be meth addicts, stole a beautiful bronze plaque that was at the center of this memorial, and told the story of his life.  So for just the recycling cost of the copper in the plaque, this beautiful tribute to a P38 hero was desecrated.

Here is a photo of the memorial, showing the plaque in the center:



And here is a closeup of the stolen plaque:



Here is Barber's official service photo:



And here is on of him being awarded the Navy's highest award, the Navy Cross, for killing Yamamoto:



To read more about this terrible story, here are two news reports with more details down below.

This is such a shame that there are citizens living among us who would disrespect an American hero like this.

http://www.bendweekly.com/Central-Oregon-News/4461.html

http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=19101

Let us hope that the Oregon State Police catches these idiots.

Lance

[Rino]

Just curious why the Navy would give an Army pilot the Navy Cross.  You
are right though, it is very disrespectful to have his memorial mangled.

[Engine]

We must be logical and scientific in our pursit of the culprit, and ask ourselves who had the most to gain by this theft. Who, above all others, hated Rex T. Barber? I think the answer is very clear.

Zombie Yamamoto did it.




This does suck though, and I hope it's simply some stupid bored kids who have it returned by the end of the week.

[Hornet33]

Because he shot down the Japanese Navy's most important officer maybe?

You know, kill an enemy admiral and the Navy gives you an award. Just a guess on my part.

[Rino]

Originally posted by Hornet33
Because he shot down the Japanese Navy's most important officer maybe?

You know, kill an enemy admiral and the Navy gives you an award. Just a guess on my part.

     Wonder if Lamphier got one too?  The Air Force pussed out and awarded
them shared credit.  The forensic evidence seems to support Barber's
account of the damage done to the Betty though.  

     I served with the 339th in the 80s, so naturally was interested in the
most important squadron moment.

[RifleLance]

Originally posted by Engine
We must be logical and scientific in our pursit of the culprit, and ask ourselves who had the most to gain by this theft. Who, above all others, hated Rex T. Barber? I think the answer is very clear.

Zombie Yamamoto did it.

This does suck though, and I hope it's simply some stupid bored kids who have it returned by the end of the week.

No, most people here in Oregon suspect Meth Tweekers.  They are a really big problem here, and in some other states too.

A man was snorkeling in a nearby river here, and a meth tweeker thought his head was a nutria varmint swimming in the river.  So he then shot the guy in his head with a .22 LR rifle.

Here is a link to the complete news story:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/5692751.html

And here is his photo:

[

Actually, after looking at this guy's police photo, perhaps he is Yamamoto's ZOMBIE!!  LOL

[Saxman]

SANTA?!

[RifleLance]

I thought I would post a photo showing the pretty Crooked River Gorge, and the highway 97 bridge named after Barber, which you can see in the background.   This new bridge is the closer one, with the old bridge being the one behind it.

The ugly old dude in the foreground is me, on one of my killing trips to eastern Oregon.  Here is the photo:



My hobby is shooting and killing things, both for real, and in games.   I had fun picking off some marmots that were living in rocks at the top of the gorge, which runs for many miles.  I managed to get a couple to slip off rocks when hit, and then plunge way down towards the river.

Here is a photo of a couple of marmots nailed on one rockpile, along with my favorite varmint rifle.

Lance

[FiLtH]

Is it really necessary to show the dead animals Commander McBragg?

[1K3]

Originally posted by FiLtH
Is it really necessary to show the dead animals Commander McBragg?

Don't worry, they are just resting in peace:)

[Ball]

Originally posted by RifleLance
The ugly old dude in the foreground is me, on one of my killing trips to eastern Oregon.  Here is the photo:

 

Wow!! there is someone in that picture?

I can't see anyone.

Are you wearing camouflage?

[PK1Mw]

They don't know who shot down Yamamoto.. When he was shot down, there were two Kate's I believe ( I think they were Kate's, don't remember) and a couple of zekes. Both Kate's were shot down, but by two different pilots, and they were sure which one Yamamoto was in, so they gave credit to both of them.

But you're right that's pretty messed up. Hope they get it back.

[Saxman]

They're not dead! They're just pining for the fjords!

PK: It was two G4M Betty bombers.

[IronDog]

Interesting thing about the Yamamoto shoot down was that Barber and Lanphier got to the point where a lawsuit came out of the matter.See where steal killing will get you:lol.Two Bettys were shot down.A guy named Holmes got the second Betty.The reason a Navy Cross was awarded,was because it was a Navy mission.Lanphier was a Idaho boy,so we tend to believe his version!
ID

[Sweet2th]

Originally posted by PK1Mw
They don't know who shot down Yamamoto.. When he was shot down, there were two Kate's I believe ( I think they were Kate's, don't remember) and a couple of zekes. Both Kate's were shot down, but by two different pilots, and they were sure which one Yamamoto was in, so they gave credit to both of them.

But you're right that's pretty messed up. Hope they get it back.

Yamamoto was in a Betty, not the Kate.