|
Al Lowe :
"The thing about Caldwell's report, it's obvious that it was in response to a telephone call, either from Wing or brigade HQ. *If Caldwell, who was Acting CO at the time due to an injury, Maj. Scott was in hospital, or on medical leave.
IF Caldwell had any doubts, that was his chance to express them and likely stop any medal from being awarded, or at least, delay things even further. *So, if he had doubts, why not express them?"
He did. Take a look at item 2.
I won't even bring up the accounts which state that Horn took off with two others to look over the damaged airfield, or reports from balloon companies or observation squadrons. The sole basis for the report and the claims was "Personal evidence only". Since the VC was never awarded on such a basis, those words would rule out the award of a VC--or should have.
(Too bad they didn't. Bishop would have probably gotten a bar to the MC and we wouldn't be arguing over this. And it would not have diminished the man in the slightest.)
I'm sure that there are examples of "mute witness"--a soldier found dead at his post, the evidence of a ferocious lone firefight all around him, but no officer witness, no VC.
The animus against Bishop is his lonely status as the only man awarded a VC on his own say so. Jerrard did nothing to forward his own VC; he was a POW and knew nothing of it. After the war he was asked if under the circumstances he thought was entitled to it. He referred the questioner to the officers who wrote the citation, since he had little memory of the event. (That seems to be the case with Barker as well--little memory, and unconscious of the award he was pushed for.) From all accounts, including the Austrian ones, Jerrard was in the middle of a deadly fight and spent some of it soaked in gasoline, but he fought all the way down--he deserved something for that fight.
|