@LangmanVince Do you want justices to only rule in your favor every time? I want them to review the case before them and judge it against the constitution. Sometimes it goes in your favor and sometimes it doesn't. Democrats want to pack the court so it always goes in their favor.
In 1945 the USS Indianapolis secretly delivered the parts for the atomic bomb that would hit Hiroshima.
Days later, mission done, a Japanese submarine put two torpedoes into her. She sank in 12 minutes.
Nearly 900 men made it off the ship alive and into the open ocean. Then it got worse.
No one knew they were missing. Three separate Navy stations picked up the distress signals and every one of them ignored it. One officer thought it was a Japanese trap. Another had ordered not to be disturbed.
So the men floated. For almost five days. No food, no fresh water, burning by day and freezing at night. Some drank seawater and went insane. And the whole time, the sharks were circling and feeding. It is considered the worst shark attack in human history.
When rescue finally came by accident, only 316 of the nearly 1,200 crew were still alive.
The Navy needed someone to blame for the disaster. They chose Captain Charles McVay, one of the men who survived it. He became the only U.S. captain in the entire war to be court-martialed for losing his ship to the enemy.
At his trial the Navy did something almost unheard of. They brought in the Japanese commander who sank the ship to testify against him. Instead, the enemy captain told the court that zigzagging would have made no difference and that McVay did nothing wrong.
They convicted him anyway.
For years afterward McVay got hate mail from the families of the dead. Some sent letters every Christmas telling him he murdered their sons. In 1968 he walked onto his front lawn and shot himself, holding a toy sailor he had kept since he was a boy.
Case closed. For fifty years.
Then in 1996 an 11-year-old named Hunter Scott watched Jaws with his dad and got hooked on the 30 second speech about the Indianapolis. He made it his sixth grade history project.
He tracked down and interviewed nearly 150 survivors. He dug through more than 800 documents. And buried in there he found what the Navy had left out, including that they knew enemy subs were operating right on the ship's route and never warned McVay.
A kid's school project turned into a national story. It reached Congress. In 2000 lawmakers passed a resolution clearing McVay's name and President Clinton signed it. The Navy officially cleared his record in 2001.
The captain the Navy spent decades blaming was finally exonerated by a sixth grader.
Hunter Scott grew up and became a naval flight officer.
The first time I met Lindsey Graham, I was 11 years old in a hotel lobby and he had just attended a political event with my Dad. He sat down next to me and told me that he loved my Dad. I remember liking his deep southern accent and smile and immediately felt comfortable around him - he somehow seemed younger, hipper and more interesting than most of the political figures that rotated around my Dads orbit.
From the time he met my Dad they were fast friends and political comrades. In fact there are few memories I have of my Dad's political career and my life accompanying it that don't somehow involve Lindsey. He and Senator Joe Lieberman spent decades of their lives traveling together, fighting for the same causes on the Senate floor, spending holidays together and fighting for their version of the American dream. Those who followed them know they affectionately referred to each other as "The Three Amigos". My Dad was the soul of the group, Joe was the heart of the group and Lindsey was the fire and humor. Their combination bonded them as friends throughout their lives. That friendship is something that is so rare in politics, it is nearly extinct but I got to witness it first hand. They spent their lives united as friends and allies. They were brothers.
The memories I will hold dear of Lindsey is that was always the person you hoped you sat next to at a dinner party. Charming, very, very, very funny - like so funny he truly could have had a career in stand up comedy. He had an acerbic quick wit and he could win over even his deepest distractors. He was always full of stories that were always engaging and entertaining. He was literally never, ever boring. At his best he was filled with light and was always the last person to leave any table for work or fun. In fact, I used to joke with my Dad that I couldn't go out to dinner with him and my Dad as an adult unless I didn't have work the next day because they would always stay so long at the table and shut down the restaurant. Lindsey and my dad were also both Hams and would take every selfie, talk to every waiter and person in the place. Life around them was a big and alive in every possible way humans can be.
Lindsey brought humor and loyalty to my Dad's political defeats and was a constant source of support for my mother after my Dad's passing. As a politician his skills were unmatched which is why he won so many elections and was well on his way to winning another. When he spoke to voters he was direct, straight and felt their pain. He also loved people. He wasn’t one of those politicians who had to fake it, he loved being in elected office and serving our country.
The news of his sudden passing is shocking and deeply saddening for me and my family. Like many relationships in life, mine with Lindsey was complex in later years. I choose to remember the endless laughter and joy he brought to my family so many times, in so many ways. These memories are some of the most precious of my life. I hope that he is at peace and I hope he is in heaven drinking a white russian and fishing with my Dad and Joe.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." — Philippians 1:21
I want everyone to know my deep sense of gratitude to Josh Harris and the entire Burgundy and Gold organization for this honor. But this recognition is not for me alone.
It should be shared with my forever teammates, coaches, and ultimately YOU, the fans.
You and I are forever tied to 44
You gave me breath
I gave you heart.
And I hope more laughs than tears.
~ Riggo