Feat of Heroism.

Today in the news is word that one of the Canadian soldiers wounded in an Afghanistan car bombing performed one of the great feats of heroism of our time.  Angry in the Great White North has started a campaign to get him a Victoria Cross.  I think his wife should get another one.

Here's what we know:

With part of his leg blown off, Master Cpl. Paul Franklin wrapped a tourniquet around his thigh, then went to help three other wounded passengers after a suicide bomber destroyed the military vehicle he was driving.

"He's a medic, so he had the wherewithal to do that," Audra Franklin said from her home in Edmonton, proudly describing her husband's heroic actions yesterday in Kandahar.

From her composure as she sat watching replays of the footage on TV, it was hard to tell her husband had just lost his lower left leg and had his right leg shattered.

"I want to make sure that the face of the Canadian military family is one of a strong person, who can deal with this," she said.

Read the whole article, its worth knowing.  The guy lost his lower leg and foot on one side from the blast, and had multiple fractures in the other leg.  That hurts.  He shrugged it off, tied off the leaker, and went in to save his buddies.  Two of whom are still alive, probably because he fixed them up.  I agree with Angry, that's Victoria Cross, Andrew Mynarski territory this guy just entered.

This is the kind of guy Paul Martin's Liberal Party wants us to be afraid to have in Canadian cities.  I'm not making this up.  This is the kind of guy Paul Martin's Liberals have refused to buy proper vehicles and equipment for, for twelve years.  The kind of guy who hasn't got any Canadian air support because our antique F-18s can't fly that far.

I'll wager that the Liberals are viewing this man's bravery and sacrifice with a mixture of  calculation, disdain and horror.  They'll be trying to figure out how to spin this for maximum effect to prop up their sagging numbers and avoid the splash from that obscene ad campaign of theirs.  They'll be thinking what a sucker this guy is to get himself blown up for a glorified photo-op and flag showing operation, as they scramble to manage the media response.  They will be feeling the cold breath of retribution on their necks, because if they don't keep control of the country their past sins will come quickly to light.  That'd be my somewhat cynical best guess today.

I think Canadians generally and Paul Franklin in particular deserve better leaders than that.  Good thing there's an election on, eh?

The Phantom