Webster Smith, battered but unbowed.
Denzel Washington? Or Tyrese Gibson? Who would you cast in the lead role?
So here's how David Collins sees the Webster Smith story, as it seems to be shaping up for the inevitable major motion picture.

Webster's the handsome, smart, young Black cadet at the Coast Guard Academy, son of an academy graduate, excellent student, star of the football team.

He's also a ladies' man, and in time he's dating one of the ranking female students of the cadet corps, also smart, beautiful, a darling of the academy brass. She's white.

She gets pregnant, has an abortion, and, eventually, news of the unfortunate development in their affair works its way up the ranks. Leaders in the cadet corps are not supposed to get pregnant.

It doesn't take long for an academy investigation to come down hard on Smith, bringing a wide assortment of charges, including rape. He's taken out of the cadet population, made to do hard labor while not in class and ordered not to have any contact with his fellow students. Presumed innocent?

Smith is eventually brought to court-martial, a public spectacle, the first of its kind in the school's 130-year history. No other cadet has ever faced this kind of response to a sexual-assault complaint. And there are lots of them every year, by the Coast Guard's own accounting.

Of the numerous charges finally whittled down to 10 for his trial, Smith is found guilty of four of the original. The others melt away with the preposterousness of much of the testimony: a witness, his girlfriend at the time, so intoxicated she couldn't remember what happened in an encounter with Smith; another who was kissed at a party but continued a friendly, budding relationship with him.

In a fade-away scene from the trial, a tearful Smith, in dress uniform, his wrists cinched in tight cuffs behind his back, is led past his accusers and paraded before a pack of press photographers.

As the story turns, though, the convictions come under attack in an appeal brought by one of the country's most prestigious law firms, which appears to have taken up the case as a pro bono civil rights cause.

It turns out the only sexual assault charges against Smith that stuck came from a woman who had lied in the past about the consensual nature of another sexual encounter with a service person. But the judge at Smith's court-martial did not let the jury hear testimony about the witness's previous lie about being sexually assaulted.

It doesn't take a Hollywood story line or smart Washington lawyers to conclude that Webster Smith was railroaded, a 21st-century lynching.

The Coast Guard surely knows this.

Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice was transferred from his post as superintendent of the academy soon after the Smith trial and allowed to retire early. An internal Coast Guard investigation later revealed that Van Sice had made “questionable” comments to one of Smith's accusers, prior to the court martial, suggesting the detrimental effect the trial was going to have on his own career.

A task force formed by the Coast Guard in the wake of the trial concluded that the academy has lost its mission, that there is a strong link at the school between sexual assault and alcohol abuse, and that minority cadets feel marginalized and mistrusting of the administration.

Sadly, this post-mortem reckoning and disciplining of academy leaders has not yet helped clear Webster Smith's name.

Just this week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security dismissed a racial discrimination suit brought by Smith on what amounted to a technicality. The department, which oversees the Coast Guard, said he couldn't challenge the findings of the military court martial through the civilian complaint forum.

Actually, the racial discrimination complaint was not directed at the outcome of the court-martial, but at the fact that he was court-martialed at all, unlike all the white cadets before him accused of sexual assault.

An academy spokesman, Chief Warrant Officer David M. French, made matters worse by saying that the Homeland Security decision “validates” the school's actions in the Webster Smith case. In fact, it does no such thing.

By the time the final movie script is finished, though, maybe the academy stonewalling will have stopped and Smith, as the music swells, will finally step up, in full dress uniform, to receive his academy degree, a commission, and maybe even an apology.

A True American Hero and 9/11 Patriot is Captain LeRoy Homer, the pilot of UA-93. On September 11, 2001, LeRoy was flying with Captain Jason Dahl on United Flight 93. Based on information from several sources that day, we know LeRoy and Jason were the first to fight against the terrorist threat to the airplane. LeRoy has received many awards and citations posthumously, for his actions on Flight 93, including the Congress Of Racial Equality - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - Drum Major for Justice Award and the Westchester County Trailblazer Award.





Not much has been said in the mainstream media about LeRoy W. Homer Jr..
At an early age, LeRoy W. Homer Jr knew that he wanted to be a pilot. As a child, LeRoy assembled model airplanes, collected aviation memorabilia and read books on aviation. LeRoy was 15 years old when he started flight instruction in the Cessna 152. Working part-time jobs after school to pay for flying lessons, he completed his first solo at 16 years old, and obtained his private pilot's certificate in 1983.

In the fall of 1983, LeRoy entered the Air Force Academy, and graduated with the Class of 1987, 31st Squadron. After completing pilot training in 1988, he was assigned to McGuire AFB in New Jersey, flying the C-141B Starlifter. While on active duty, LeRoy served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and later supported operations in Somalia. He received many commendations, awards and medals during his military career. In 1993, he was named the 21st Air Force Aircrew Instructor of the Year. LeRoy achieved the rank of Captain before his honorable discharge from active duty in 1995.

LeRoy continued his military career as a reservist, initially as an instructor pilot with the 356th Airlift Squadron at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, then subsequently as an Academy Liaison Officer, recruiting potential candidates for both the Air Force Academy and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. During his time with the Reserves, he achieved the rank of Major.

LeRoy continued his flying career by joining United Airlines in May 1995. His first assignment was Second Officer on the B727. He then upgraded to First Officer on the B757/767 in 1996, where he remained until September 11, 2001.


September 11, 2001, was a defining moment in American history. On that terrible day, our Nation saw the face of evil as 19 men barbarously attacked us and wantonly murdered people of many races, nationalities, and creeds. On Patriot Day, we remember the innocent victims, and we pay tribute to the valiant firefighters, police officers, emergency personnel, and ordinary citizens who risked their lives so others might live.
After the attacks on 9/11, America resolved that we would go on the offense against our enemies, and we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor and support them. All Americans honor the selfless men and women of our Armed Forces, the dedicated members of our public safety, law enforcement, and intelligence communities, and the thousands of others who work hard each day to protect our country, secure our liberty, and prevent future attacks.
The spirit of our people is the source of America's strength, and 6 years ago, Americans came to the aid of neighbors in need. On Patriot Day, we pray for those who died and for their families. We volunteer to help others and demonstrate the continuing compassion of our citizens. On this solemn occasion, we rededicate ourselves to laying the foundation of peace with confidence in our mission and our free way of life.
By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2007, as Patriot Day. I call upon the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day. I also call upon the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and remembrance services, to display the flag at half-staff from their homes on that day, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent Americans and people from around the world who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.




While the loss of life on 9/11 and subsequent heartache was tremendous, we can be thankful that these misguided individuals were unsuccessful. They brought down the World Trade Center, but not the White House. Captain LeRoy Homer would rather die than fly his UA-93 jumbo jet into the White House. It is because of Captain LeRoy Homer and others that the White House is still standing today. There is no "Ground Zero" in Washington, DC because of Captain LeRoy Homer.