In a move that can only be classified as gutsy, Obama gave a speech defending war while accepting a peace prize.

In his acceptance speech, Obama told Nobel Committee members and guests in Oslo that achieving peace must begin with the recognition that the use of force is sometimes morally justified.

“Make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms,” he told the crowd.

It was just nine days ago that Obama announced he is sending an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in an effort to step up training of Afghan security forces and root out insurgents operating on the border with Pakistan.

The president also used the Nobel platform to exhort allies to help eradicate terrorist extremism in Afghanistan.

“I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it,” he said, urging support for NATO and saying peacekeeping responsibilities shouldn’t be left to a few countries. (source)

Long story short, when Virginia was only 26, she went on a hunting trip in Turkey and accidentally shot herself in the leg. Sadly, the injury was so extensive that the doctors couldn’t save the limb and had to amputate.

But that didn’t stop her from making history. She ended up as a clerk in France and was trapped when Nazi Germany invaded in 1940. She snuck out of the country and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Britain. SEO was created by Winston Churchill and was an effort to wage war in ways that didn’t involve direct military engagement. Known as the “Baker Street Irregulars,” they engaged in spreading propaganda and spying.

Virginia was sent to German occupied France to spy. The Nazis were aware of her presence, but not who she was. She was known to them only as “the woman with the limp”. Virginia spent 15 months on her first tour – most spies only spent three.  She spent most of that time in France assisting the Resistance, helping them receive supply drops from the Allies.

In 1942 she was forced to flee over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain when German troops were moving forcefully through France.

When she returned to London, Virginia signed on with the American intelligence office, the Office of Strategic Service. They sent her back to France in 1944 disguised as an elderly woman. This time she operated in a much more guerrilla fashion – destroying bridges, sabotaging trains, and causing overall havoc for the German forces.

Keep in mind that she only had one leg – and she managed all this.

Virginia Hall was the only woman during World War II to receive the US Distinguished Service Cross. I believe that she more than deserved that honor.

Sir Douglas Bader dies in 1982 at the age of 72. This year the Blue Plaque was awarded in his memory.

“He overcame his disability and even now when you see disabled people coming back from war, doing the marathon, doing some extraordinary activities, I feel pretty sure that somewhere in their backgrounds the name Douglas Bader is something where there’s a referral point – he did it and we wish to continue that.”

This man is a real inspiration. Most people would call him handicapped, but despite not having his legs, Bader was able to accomplish so much.

A 1943 graduate of Toppenish High School, he (Eberhart) served as a first scout in I Company of the 242nd Infantry Regiment of the famed 42nd Rainbow Division, landing in Marseilles in December 1944 and fighting his way through France and Germany along the Maginot and Siegfried lines.

“I always went first,” he says. “It was the loneliest job in the world.”

Some of the units he served with suffered casualties of 80 percent or more. And while there were many close calls, he was never wounded.

“Everybody else was picked off around me,” he says. “You wonder about survival. I just chalk it up to luck. That’s all it is: bad luck or good luck.”

Toting a 9-pound M1 Garand rifle, Eberhart conducted patrols behind enemy lines, dug foxholes, and dodged shrapnel, explosions and artillery fire.

Dee Eberhart certainly was a hero and his actions in WWII commendable. The medals awarded to him are:

* Bronze Star

* Combat Infantryman Badge First Award

* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal

* Good Conduct Medal

* American Campaign Medal

* World War II Victory Medal

* Honorable Service Lapel Button

* Expert Badge with carbine and rifle bars