-Caveat Lector- Heroes and villains Clinton awarded medal to the wrong man By David M. Bresnahan © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com A disabled volunteer risked his own life to save the lives of others during the terrible Midwest flooding of 1993 only to find that someone else would receive the recognition and award from President Clinton. On July 21, 1993, Merl E. Johnston, 43, was getting his small boat ready to help his brother salvage belongings from his flooded house. The Solomon River, just south of Bennington, Kansas, was far over its banks. Sheriff Ken White and the Ottawa County Rescue Squad were trying to save a young girl trapped on a telephone pole in the flood. They were unable to rescue her. Johnston was in the area and went to their aid. With no thought for his personal safety, Johnston was able to get the frightened girl in his small boat and bring her to safety. "I realized they weren't going to get her out the way they were going," explained Johnston, "so I pulled my boat sideways and let the current wedge the boat against the telephone pole. While holding the boat in position with one arm, I reached down with the other and managed to pull her into my boat." The sheriff refused to get in the boat, but Johnston made sure the rescue squad could get to him before he left with the girl. Once the girl was safe, Johnston hurried off to help his brother. The fire department had brought some sand bags to help protect the house when a call came about some men trapped in the flooded river. Johnston quickly volunteered his services again. He and a firefighter took his boat back to the same area where he had rescued the girl. "There were three men in the back of a pickup truck that had washed off the road," Johnston told WorldNetDaily. "We had a little trouble getting to them because of all of the stuff in the water and a fence." The unselfish efforts of Johnston resulted in another safe rescue. Even after he got them safely to a farm house, he stood waist deep in the water to direct a rescue crew to the proper location in the dark. Johnston was not looking for attention, nor did he consider himself a hero because of his valiant efforts. After each of the rescues he just continued finding other ways to help people in distress. The only reason he became concerned was because of the deception he perceived when he learned that Sheriff White would receive a presidential award for the rescue Johnston performed. Prior to the awarding of the medal, Johnston tried to make known to everyone involved that there was an error. He was ignored. Former Kansas Gov. Joan Finney, a Democrat, was informed of the mistake, but she ignored Johnston and provided Sheriff White, a Democrat, with her private plane to go to St. Louis for the ceremony. Shortly after the flood, President Clinton arrived in St. Louis to hand out medals. Sheriff White was held up as a hero on national television while Johnston was ignored. Johnston claims he didn't fit the political plans of the day. It was at that time that Clinton was pushing his plan for thousands of new police officers, and giving an award to a sheriff gave him an opportunity to push that plan, according to Johnston. He provided video tapes of the rescue, taken by the sheriff's men, to prove his claim. When even that was ignored he realized there was purposeful deception, not just a mistake. Johnston decided to complain. He sent several letters to Clinton asking for a correction of the error. Johnston was a civilian employee of the Army. He asked the Army to argue his case, but no one wanted a political problem. Nearly a year later, Johnston found the results of his efforts to expose the deception. "I came into work, opened the janitor's closet, and there was my medal. It was lying on a shelf with a note attached," he described. "Mr. Johnston: Here is your medal," read the note. He was given the Department of Army, Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service medal instead of the Presidential recognition award. A short time later Johnston's 15 years as a federal employee came to an end. He says he was fired because of his certified letters to Clinton. His disability prevented him from obtaining other work, and government red tape delayed his disability pension for a year while he nearly lost everything he had. "I know from personal experience that President Bill Clinton is a phony," said Johnston. David M. Bresnahan, a contributing editor for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of "Cover Up: The Art and Science of Political Deception," and offers a monthly newsletter "Talk USA Investigative Reports." He may be reached through email and also maintains a website. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. 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