Major Thomas Egan: Why'd you do it? (Originally published 24 Dec 08)

I originally posted this 17 years ago today (24 Dec). And it bears repeating.

This story was in the paper... although, unfortunately, not on the Columbian web.

It is the story of a retired Army Major, one Thomas Egan; a veteran of 2 years on the Korean DMZ, a Master's graduate of the University of Oregon; a retired Oregon Army National Guard officer. He was found dead, apparently frozen to death, next to a bottle of booze, in Eugene, Oregon within the past few days.

Unfortunately, the story speaks for itself. Sometimes, the desire to destroy one's self can overwhelm all other instincts.

I never knew you, Major, but we served in the Army together at the same time. I have no idea what happened to you, but I wish I did... and I wish it could have been fixed.

Tomorrow is Christmas. If you know someone who needs help, take the time and the effort to try and get that help to them. Major Egan had help available, but made bad choices when it came to using it.

As I look outside at the foot of snow, I ask myself: "how many Major Egans are there? Is there more that could have been done?"

Probably not.

But I wish there had been.

Good bye, Major. From all accounts, you served us honorably and well. I never met you, but I won't forget you.

I could have been you.

************************************
Soldier’s death resonates
Homeless veteran froze to death though services were available
By JACK MO (Eugene) Register-Guard

EUGENE, Ore — Thomas Egan was a scholar and a decorated soldier. He was also a homeless alcoholic whose life ended last week when he froze to death in Eugene during an unusually long and harsh cold snap. His body was found covered in snow near the corner of West First Avenue and Blair Boulevard, a bottle of liquor by his side.

News of the demise of the longtime Eugene resident troubled many local veterans — especially those who knew that with some effort and some help, the man they called Major Egan could have had a roof over his head.

Memorial for Maj. Thomas L. Egan ret.

“The whole National Guard community is taking this very hard,” said Bud Dickey, a vocational rehabilitation coordinator with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ community reintegration service center in Eugene.

“It’s very disturbing for all of us, because Major Egan was retired and could have been drawing his (veterans’) benefits,” Dickey said. “He had options that he did not access.”

Egan collected monthly Social Security checks, but the amount was a pittance compared with the payments he was entitled to as a retired military veteran. When he turned 60 in July, Egan became eligible to receive $909 each month in National Guard retirement income, Dickey said.

Then Lieutenant Egan

Egan also could have applied for a separate pension check based on unemployability. “That would have gotten him an apartment if he wanted one,” said Jay Rea, a Springfield resident who served under Egan in the National Guard in the late 1980s. “I shed a tear when I heard he died,” Rea said. “It breaks my heart because he was the friendliest guy, and so smart.”

A New York native, Egan joined the Army in 1971 after graduating from Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn., with a bachelor’s degree in history. He was stationed at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea for two years, and was reassigned to the Oregon Army National Guard in 1977.

Earned master’s degree

Egan earned his master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1983, and ultimately attained the rank of major with the National Guard.

He retired honorably in 1991, following a 20-year military career during which he was awarded several service medals and ribbons.

Dickey said Egan’s desire to drink made him ineligible for VA housing programs that require sober living.

Egan had declined to enroll in substance abuse treatment programs offered through the veterans agency, Dickey said.

According to those who knew him, Egan worked sporadically. He did some landscaping, and most years helped deliver telephone books.

Sometimes, he found an apartment to stay in for a while. At other times, he lived on the streets. In August, Egan spent two weeks at the Eugene Mission — which is less than one block from the spot where a passer-by discovered his body last week.

Mission officials said Egan never caused any trouble there, and could have stayed any time. Dickey said Egan has no relatives in Oregon, and tracking down members of his extended family on the East Coast has been challenging.

Dickey, who served five years with Egan in the National Guard, is helping to direct an effort to have Egan interred at the Roseburg National Cemetery.

“He will be buried as a veteran in a veterans’ cemetery,” Dickey said. “He was a good soldier, and we’re going to get him the burial he’s due.”

************************************

More thoughts on Reiner/Trump.

 Anyone reading my remarks, here or anywhere else, knows that I'm a Trump supporter.

The alternative, in either term, would have been a disaster.

The problem is that it seems he never took PoliSci 101.

This was my FB post on the issue:

I care about RR as much as he cared about me.

THAT SAID...

We all have choices to make in our lives. We all have examples to make for our families. And we have to consider both the opportunity and the public face responses make.

By all means, use this self-justification to act the way the left did when the President was shot. Or when Charlie Kirk was slaughtered.

Ponder it when next you're in church.

I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, suggesting that you be anything other than what you are. I'm not suggesting that you express sympathy or condolences.

I am a strong supporter of the President and what he's trying to do. I'm the only one in my family that can make this claim. Further, that does not make me blind to his faults and, as a retired political professional, it does not stop me from wincing when he screws up unnecessarily.

At the end of the day, what was accomplished with his statement? What advantage was secured for himself or the GOP? How was our ball moved forward? Besides making him feel better... how are we better off?

THAT'S the reality we're in. I'd appreciate it if someone reading this can explain it to me. But I admit I don't see it.

I understand that the left operates purely out of hatred as they've been programmed to do. Reiner was a Grade A example of that.

But when you do react the way the left has reacted, the next time the left perpetrates another death of someone on the right (as they inevitably will) don't get angry. Don't engage and tell them what you REALLY think of them.

After all, when the time came to set an example... what example did YOU set?

Tis the season. To avoid becoming a target.

Sadly, in addition to celebrating the birth of Jesus, it's the season to get shot by terrorists.

I've made it clear, and reiterate that in the modern era of crime generally and terrorism particularly, we all should be armed; an armed society being a polite society notwithstanding.

The point of this post is simple. And it can save your life.

Typically, we're going to a great many locations that shooters would tend to go... otherwise known as "soft targets."

There isn't enough security available to provide armed guards for them all.

If you react to the criminal activities of this era, then you're already armed.

You're not going to be wandering around with a locked and loaded M4 rifle. But you likely may have a handgun that you've practiced with, understand the function of, and can take off "safe" (if you carry with it in safe mode) and can operate in pitch darkness, without looking.

You're generally aware of cover and concealment that's available. You're generally aware of the people around you and ABSOLUTELY aware of where your family members in the soft target environment are at all times.

Which brings us to the point of this post.

Put yourself/family in situations like those of the recent shootings.

What.
Do.
YOU.
DO?
(The Bondi Beach massacre should put to rest the insane idea that either voluntary or involuntary DISARMAMENT somehow protects you OR society. See, the criminals/terrorists killing us really DON'T care about your anti-gun laws that we typically don't enforce regardless.)

The time to ponder these issues is NOT once the bullets start flying.

NOW is the time.

In a "negative shooting environment," there's only so many things you (or anyone else) CAN do.

My priorities are to protect my family and protect the innocents around me.

But what would you do to achieve that goal?

As it turns out, the massacre by Muslim terrorist shooters saw at least 3 heroes who disregarded their own safety in confronting and attempting to disarm those murdering unarmed people in a soft target environment.

All 3 were shot. Two of them were killed. The most successful was shot twice but ultimately disarmed one of the shooters. And it is of note that this man, Ahmed Ahmed, is a Muslim as well.

But these people didn't go through a checklist of religion or race before they acted.

They acted. They may not have thought through their efforts first.

But for the couple who wound up dead, their math was relatively simple: these guys are likely going to kill us anyway, so let’s go down swinging. And their effort, their sacrifice was as noble as that of any heroic figure who put the lives of the innocent ahead of their own.

The video of Ahmed indicates something different.

Unarmed, he had both cover AND concealment. Had he continued covered and concealed, he likely would have survived this shooting.

His math was different.

He instantly made the decision to likely risk/end his own life to stop the threat. He picked his spot.

And he acted.

And he nearly died in that process.

What would I have done in the same circumstance? What would you have done? What would you have your family do?

Well, if you’re armed, you can do a hell of a lot more than become a target.

I would like to believe that 8 years in combat arms provided me with the programming and abilities I would need, particularly since I would be armed and most shooters are NOT prepared for returned fire.

The situations go far beyond the “if only” phase post mortems once the smoke clears.

I’m not going to tell you what to do or not do. YOU have to find out on your own.

*I* know what *I* would do. And that would include defending your life with my own.

But that’s my PERSONAL decision, made not in the heat of the moment, but after a great deal of consideration, a great deal of training, a great deal and a great deal of studying the actions of those others pulling the triggers to make their political/religious/societal point.

NOW is the time to plan. NOW is the time to determine what you would or would not do. NOW is the time to discuss this with your family in an age-appropriate way. NOW is the time to, perhaps, introduce them to the reality of the world we live in today.

Since, if you find yourself in the midst of one of these situations, it’s way too late.

Rob Reiner

I NEVER agreed with Reiner's politics. But I will NOT become one of THEM to tear their house down to make mine look bigger.

Here's the reality:

I'm not going to live my life on hatred of the left.

I'm not going to become one of them to show any level of moral superiority.

I'm not going to be one of them. We cannot demand decency from the left if we're incapable of providing it ourselves.

A simple solution for Sen. Mark Kelly's act of sedition.

All he has to do is hold a press conference wherein he would demand of the President and SecWar his immediate recall to active duty so he could request a court martial.

For him, there's no down side.

If he's correct.

Politically, his demand would be explosive. It would either force the President or SecWar to make a decision to act, or force them to shut up about it. Failing to act is an act by itself.

If they refuse, then he can claim he and the other Scumbag 7 (I made Sen. Gallegos an honorary member) were right and the President was merely posturing and playing games.

What does he and his fellow fringe-left nutjobs have to lose? What's the worst that can happen? What possible downside can there be?

If he's correct.

If he faces a court-martial and is convicted... well... That might be bad.

Very bad.

But hey, since leftists believe Sen. Kelly's got nothing to worry about, then what's the hold up?

Put your money where your mouth is, Senator.

If you've got the guts. @MarkKelly @ElissaSlotkin @JasonCrow @ChrisDeluzio @ChrissyHoulahan @repGoodlander @senrubengallego

When a mass shooting doesn't fit the narrative: where's the description of the shooter(s)?

A day or so ago, there was a mass shooting at a birthday party in Stockton, CA, where 4, including 3 children, were killed in what authorities are claiming was a targeted attack. Additionally, several were wounded. There were several witnesses.

Authorities claim it was a "a targeted shooting."

The shooter(s?) are still at large. Authorities insist they're doing everything they can to track the shooters down.

Are they?

So... where's the description of the shooters?

Doing everything they can except provide a description? Or police sketches of those pulling the trigger?

There's nothing out there beyond the height (5'6") and one of the shooters was wearing black pants?

Why is that?

They obviously know more. They likely have cell phone video of those involved (they seem to conclude there may have been more than one) yet they've released no pictures and no video of the incident.

How come? How does keeping the pictures/description of the shooter(s) secret increase the chances of finding him/them?

If the shooter(s) were white, they'd already have videos, pictures and posters up. We all know that.

"Doing all they can" does not include keep the identities of those involved in this horrific crime a secret.

Why?

This article is an example: Stockton mass shooting: Manhunt underway after 4 killed, 11 injured at child's birthday party

Why would you put out an article about a "manhunt" with no description of WHO you're "manhunting?" KCRA3?

Stockton Police Department?  Stockton Mayor Fugazi? California Governor Gavin Newsom?