Donald Rumsfeld has passed aged 88. I am an unapologetic admirer of this great American who I think is the greatest Secretary of Defense in US history. I think the above video is a prime example of why I remain such an admirer of the man. (Oh and I can highly recommend his book Known and Unknown.)
Not only was he a Navy fighter pilot and a hero who ran into the flames of the Pentagon on 9/11, I feel people don't understand the extent of the sweeping changes Rumsfeld was able to make on the military which today is a much more nimble and streamlined fighting force than before Rumsfeld took the reins as Secretary of Defense for a second time.
Probably my favorite piece of trivia about Donald Rumsfeld was about how good an athlete he was. He barely missed making the US Olympic team as a wrestler and in Washington DC circles in the 1970's Rumsfeld was viewed as pretty much a ringer when it came to baseball or softball.
Here are a couple of links on Rummy that I enjoyed over the years:
The Day Rumsfeld Met Elvis Presley
I can also recommend the Rumsfeld documentary The Unknown Known
He wasn't a navy fighter pilot - he flew patrol (anti-submarine) planes.
ReplyDelete