Idaho bar’s immigration-related free beer promo sparks praise and violent threats
Idaho bar owner Mark Fitzpatrick said his saloon has been flooded with both praise and outrage after a promotion offering “free beer” to anyone who helps Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) identify and deport an illegal immigrant went viral.
The Old State Saloon’s promotion, which was posted Nov. 29 on X, was viewed nearly 8 million times. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also reposted it, generating both excitement and online attacks, including threats to burn down the business and kill its outspoken owner.
“At Old State Saloon, we really aren’t strangers to speaking out boldly about conservative Christian values and truth and putting the truth out there,” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital, adding that speaking in a world with “deception” and “evil” causes people to get “really upset.
Fitzpatrick said his bar’s first controversial promotion came in 2024 when he launched “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month,” featuring discounts and free beer for heterosexual men, women and couples throughout June in response to Pride Month.
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The saloon owner said his latest idea was inspired by four years of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policiesdescribing them as a “complete disaster” that incentivized “some of the worst of the worst people in the world to come into this country
While his promotion was meant to promote the efforts of law enforcement and ICE, Fitzpatrick said it was quickly attacked online, and the saloon has posted several social media exchanges this week with individuals strongly disagreeing with its conservative ideology.
“What liberals want to do is they attack you,” he said. “They go on attack and they start calling you names.
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Fitzpatrick said his family has been threatened, and he has received “disgusting” messages and voicemails, including threats to torch his saloon.
“People are just outright saying I should die for this,” he said.It’s really, really despicable.
Fitzpatrick urged anyone dismissing his promotion to visit his bar, asserting that “if any of those liberals actually came in and were willing to talk,” they would meet someone who “would sit down with them and talk and listen to what they have to say.”
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Fitzpatrick remains unfazed, saying the negative comments only make him want to “double down.” His saloon has also continued to offer new promotions throughout the month, including “Manly American Monday,” where men who support ICE get a free beer just for walking through the door.
The bar also offers free beer on Tuesdays to ladies who “tattle” on illegal immigrants by calling ICE, along with a Wednesday special shaving 10% of the bill for heterosexual couples.
“The way I look at it is they’re kind of disclosing like their wickedness right to us in public and showing us who they are,” Fitzpatrick said in reference to the online attacks and threats he’s received.
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Fitzpatrick has also received “overwhelming support,” including encouraging mail and cards, amid the negativity and threats.
“At my saloon when I’m there after a long day of dealing with just wickedness and all the calls and everything else, people are there and they’re there just to come in and meet me and support me and encourage me,” he said.
Fitzpatrick does not expect many patrons to claim their freebie, but he did say that Ryan Spoon, vice chair of the Ada County Republican Central Committee in Idaho, claimed his after he provided evidence that he helped ICE make an arrest.
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Fitzpatrick added that the promotion is “not really about beers.”
“I think the way it’s working is it’s drawing attention to the issue and conversations are happening,” he said.
President hosts Kennedy Center honorees in Oval Office as fundraising hits record milestone
EXCLUSIVE: The Kennedy Center Honors has raised a record $23 million for its 48th annual celebration, nearly doubling the $12.7 million raised last year under President Biden, as President Donald Trump begins his tenure as chairman of the Kennedy Center, Fox News Digital has learned.
According to the Kennedy Center, the $23 million total marks the largest fundraising haul in the 48-year history of the Honors, which was launched in 1978 as the institution’s highest recognition of lifetime artistic achievement.
While Kennedy Center Honorees have visited the Oval Office privately in past years, Trump on Saturday hosted the first official, on-camera ceremony recognizing the recipients inside the Oval Office, introducing each honoree ahead of Sunday night’s gala.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told Fox News Digital that the center “nearly doubled last year’s fundraising, reaching a historic $23 million dollars,” calling the Honors “one of our nation’s highest celebrations of the performing arts.”
Trump’s expanded role as chairman and his direct involvement in the weekend’s events, officials say, have contributed to what they describe as “intense interest and momentum” around the program.
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Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital the new benchmark reflects unprecedented donor enthusiasm.
“The record-breaking $23 million in contributions to the Kennedy Center Honors is a testament to the extraordinary support for our mission and affirms a vibrant future for this beloved American institution,” she said.
During Saturday evening’s Oval Office ceremony, a first in Honors history, Trump personally introduced each of the 2025 honorees. “Great honor,” he began. “And I’m delighted to welcome to the Oval Office… our truly exceptional 2025 Kennedy Center honorees.”
He went on to call the group “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center honorees ever assembled.”
This year’s recipients include George Strait, members of the rock band KISS — Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley (posthumous) — Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor and Sylvester Stallone.
Trump singled out each in turn, praising Strait as a “country music legend,” Crawford as a “great star of Broadway,” Gaynor as “the disco queen,” Stallone as “one of the true great movie stars,” and KISS as “the incredible rock band.”
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Trump also unveiled the Honors’ new medallions, redesigned and donated by Tiffany & Co. “We will be presenting this year with the Kennedy Center Honors medallions, which will be designed this year with the help of the fantastic team at Tiffany and Company,” he said.
The new medallion features a gold disc etched with an image of the Kennedy Center, flanked by rainbow colors representing the breadth of art disciplines celebrated by the Honors.
The reverse side includes each honoree’s name in script above the date of the 2025 Medallion Ceremony, and the medallion hangs from a navy-blue ribbon “associated with dignity and tradition,” according to the institution’s description.
The honorees will be formally recognized Sunday evening during a star-studded celebration at the Kennedy Center following a State Department reception, which Trump noted “was never done before” because “we never had a president hosting the awards before. This is the first.”
This year’s class spans five decades of American cultural achievement. Strait, known as the “King of Country Music,” holds more than 100 million RIAA certifications and remains the only artist to chart a Top 10 hit every year for more than thirty years. KISS has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and remains one of America’s most enduring rock groups.
Crawford is internationally known for originating the title role in “The Phantom of the Opera.” Gaynor has achieved global stardom across five decades and is a two-time Grammy winner.
Stallone, an Academy Award–nominated actor, writer and director, has shaped generations of filmgoers through the “Rocky” and “Rambo” franchises.
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The Kennedy Center itself, founded in 1971 as the national living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, hosts more than 2,000 performances each year. The Honors began in 1978 and have become a defining fixture of Washington’s cultural calendar.
Trump also highlighted ongoing renovations to the Kennedy Center building, which he said are being carried out “at a level that nobody’s ever seen before,” noting congressional funding for major upgrades — including improvements to acoustics. “The sound is so fantastic,” he said. “If it’s built with bad sound, you never get it fixed.”
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The 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors will air Dec. 23 on CBS and will stream on Paramount+, with live access for Premium subscribers and next-day streaming for Essential subscribers.
Officials say the weekend’s events, from the FIFA World Cup draw to the Oval Office reception to Sunday’s gala, reflect a new chapter for the institution as it enters its first full year under Trump’s leadership and prepares for the next phase of renovations, programming, and donor expansion.
Hollywood elites Roberts and Penn blast ‘trauma industry,’ call for return of ‘shame’
Julia Roberts and Sean Penn are weighing in on cancel culture in 2025.
During an interview with Variety, Roberts and Penn discussed their illustrious careers and bringing “shame” back into the entertainment industry.
While discussing Roberts’s recent film, “After the Hunt,” the actress shared a pivotal moment for her when she was mingling with her cast mates and realized that “listening” is what’s missing from culture in today’s generation.
“Luca [Guadagnino] and Andrew [Garfield] and Ayo [Edebiri] and Chloë [Sevigny] came to our house and sat for days and days at our kitchen table, and we had all these conversations,” Roberts began.
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“We’re in this time of a lot of talk therapy, a lot of what I’d call the trauma industry. I think shame is underrated these days.”
“Really bright people do not jockey for their position. They share their ideas and their feelings and then they listen intently. It’s the listening that I feel we’ve gotten the farthest from in culture, because conversations get so intense so quickly, and you’re just waiting for that break so that you can say, ‘OK, but this is why I’m right. This is why what I believe is better,'” she continued.
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“It was so nice to have the time and to be with truly bright people, and hearing what everybody had to say. We didn’t necessarily tell all our characters’ secrets. But it was just a great playground of thought,” Roberts concluded.
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Penn chimed in, “‘Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable’ — I just wanted to go, ‘Thank God somebody’s saying this.'”
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“We’re in this time of a lot of talk therapy, a lot of what I’d call the trauma industry. I think shame is underrated these days,” he continued. “It’s got a bad name this decade. Why shouldn’t people be ashamed of things? Hold on to it for a while and reenter with some more humility.”
Roberts replied, “Real humility.”
Massachusetts church under pressure to remove controversial Nativity display
ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, as well as the Archdiocese of Boston, are calling for the removal of an “ICE was here” sign that was placed at a Nativity scene at a Massachusetts church.
“The actions of the activist reverend, Stephen Josoma, are absolutely abhorrent and add to a dangerous narrative responsible for a more than 1,150% increase in assaults on ICE officers,” Lyons told Fox News Digital in a statement.
A Nativity scene at St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, a suburb of Boston, shows an empty manger with a sign reading “ICE was here,” along with contact information for a group that monitors immigration enforcement in Massachusetts.
Rev. Stephen Josoma, the pastor at St. Susanna, said the church’s peace and justice group organizes a display annually. Josoma told Fox News that they, “try to see what would it be like if Christ was born into the context of the world today, what would he be facing?”
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Josoma calls the Nativity scene “religious art,” and shared with Fox News Digital that it’s intended to “evoke emotions in people.”
“It’s supposed to affect people deeply, it’s supposed to move people, it’s supposed to change people,” Josoma said. “So, if this evokes a strong reaction, it’s maybe good to take a look at that.”
Lyons added that Josoma “has become infamous for using his pulpit to advance his activist agenda and has now caught the attention of the Archdiocese of Boston, which has publicly condemned his most recent political stunt. On behalf of ICE and our many law enforcement professionals in Massachusetts — many of whom are practicing Catholics and first-generation Americans — I applaud the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese for taking a stand against such a dangerous and extremist narrative.”
The Archdiocese’s Secretary for Communications and Public Affairs, Terrence Donilon, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the sign was “divisive political messaging,” and called for its removal.
“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging,” he wrote.
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The statement further said that the church’s norms “prohibit” using sacred objects for any other purpose than, “the devotion of God’s people.”
“St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church,” wrote Donilon. “The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose.”
Josoma has used controversial Nativity scenes in the past. He has used them to send messages about gun control, climate change, and also reportedly had Baby Jesus placed in a cage separated from his parents during Trump’s first presidency in 2018.
Other churches across the country have also used Nativity scenes to criticize ICE and highlight immigration issues.
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In Illinois, a church showed a manger scene that depicted baby Jesus’ hands zip-tied together and gas masks on Joseph and Mary.
The church, Lake Street Church of Evanston, said the scene “reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices.”
Indiana stuns defending national champion to claim conference title: ‘glory to God’
Indiana hung on to win the Big 10 title 13-10 on Saturday after Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding missed a 27-yard field goal in the final minutes. The victory marks the Hoosiers’ first outright conference championship since 1945, after a shared win in 1967.
The Hoosiers were four-point underdogs going into the game against the defending national champions, with the top seed in the College Football Playoff on the line. Now, before the playoffs even start, Indiana has arguably clinched its most successful season in the modern era.
“I want to give all the glory to God. We were never supposed to be in this position, but by the glory of God, the great coaches, the great teammates, everybody around us, we were able to pull this off,” Indiana quarterback Fernandeo Mendoza told Fox Sports after the game.
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Mendoza passed for 222 yards with one touchdown and one interception to help pull off the win.
Indiana wide receiver Charlie Becker, who caught six passes for 126 yards, also said, “all glory to God,” to Fox Sports after the win.
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“The Hoosiers are real, and we’re here,” Becker said.
Indiana, now 13-0, will now look to win its first national championship ever in the college football playoff, as their statement win over Ohio State should all-but ensure the No. 1 seed when the tournament begins.
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Meanwhile, Ohio State is still likely to get a first-round bye despite the loss.
Deadly mushroom outbreak leaves one dead, others with severe liver damage
Health officials in California this week warned the public about foraging for mushrooms after a deadly outbreak struck the middle of the state.
The California Poison Control System has identified at least 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning that left one adult dead and several others, including children, with severe liver damage.
One might even need a liver transplant.
The poisoning was likely caused by the death cap mushroom, which is easily confused with edible mushrooms. Officials warned to also watch out for the destroying angel mushroom, which also grows in California.
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Residents in California’s Monterey County became sick after eating mushrooms found at a local park and another outbreak happened in the San Francisco area.
Symptoms can range from mild to moderate, depending on how much of the mushroom was consumed, and include stomach cramping, diarrhea, nausea, organ failure and liver damage and, in rare cases, death, the poison center said.
Even if gastrointestinal symptoms improve, serious complications can still occur, including liver damage, the poison control center warned.
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“Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can lead to liver failure,” Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “Because the death cap can easily be mistaken for edible safe mushrooms, we advise the public not to forage for wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season.”
Mushrooms grow in abundance during California’s rainy season — October through March — but the poison control center warned that “eating the wrong wild mushrooms can cause serious illness or even death.”
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Hundreds of poisonings are reported to the center each year, most causing severe illness and sometimes death.
Half of the roughly 4,500 mushroom poisonings reported across the U.S. in 2023 were in children, according to the National Poison Data System annual report, who may pick and eat them while playing outside.
Americans flee high-crime, pricey cities — new report shows where they’re finding peace
With many Americans leaving high-cost, high-crime cities behind, a new study found that daily life in some U.S. communities is significantly more “relaxed.”
A new ranking by LawnStarter shows that many pockets of calm exist far from urban centers, which are ripe with stress and instability.
The study analyzed 500 cities on 42 metrics related to well-being, including sleep quality, mental health, commute times, access to nature, financial stability and recreation.
Wealthy suburbs and tech hubs with high incomes and reliable local amenities help shield residents from some of the stresses many other parts of the country deal with, the lawn care service’s report found.
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San Jose took the top spot among large cities, mainly for its mental and physical well-being scores. San Francisco and Seattle, which have ample outdoor access and high salaries, followed closely behind. Suburban havens in midsize cities also topped the list, including Sunnyvale, California; Naperville, Illinois; and Carmel, Indiana.
Smaller cities such as Newton, Massachusetts; Mountain View, California; and Woodbury, Minnesota, also ranked highly with strong scores in mental health, finances and social support.
LawnStarter noted that 26 of the top 30 cities have median household incomes of $106,000 or more, well above the national median of about $84,000.
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At the bottom of the rankings were cities such as Flint, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; and Detroit. They had high smoking rates, elevated blood pressure, inadequate sleep and long-term economic strain drag down quality of life, according to the findings. Other cities faring poorly, such as Memphis and Cleveland, battle high crime, traffic fatalities and persistent poverty.
While California cities dominated the top tier thanks to high incomes and positive wellness factors, parts of the Pacific Northwest, like Spokane, Washington, and Eugene, Oregon, landed on the opposite end with some of the nation’s highest depression rates, a trend often linked to long, dark winters and seasonal affective disorder.
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Many large urban centers face intense pressure from record-high housing costs, deteriorating infrastructure and illegal immigration surges that strain public services, according to multiple reports. As a result, many Americans have already fled high-cost cities in search of safer neighborhoods, more space and a lower cost of living.
Many Americans are increasingly leaving high-cost metro areas in search of safer neighborhoods, more space and a lower cost of living, according to Business Insider.
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The New York Post reported that both New York City and Los Angeles have seen major worker losses as residents flee to cheaper, lower-stress cities in the South.
Residents are especially fleeing California, South Florida, Long Island and New Jersey “in droves” for the South, according to a July report from personal finance magazine Kiplinger. Those moves are primarily driven by surging housing costs, overcrowding and a sharply higher cost of living. Nearly two-thirds of movers went to lower-cost Southern and Sun Belt cities, the outlet reported, places that often overlap with the nation’s most relaxed and least stressed communities.
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“Public policies that provide income security, safe housing, good nutrition, health insurance and family-friendly workplaces would go a very long way in reducing stress nationwide,” Boston University sociology professor Deborah Carr said in the LawnStarter report. “However, that is a big wish list that is difficult to achieve.”
Actor Richard Gere breaks silence on Academy Awards absence over political stance
Actor Richard Gere offered a rare remark about his nearly 20-year absence from the Oscars during an interview with Variety Wednesday, telling the outlet he was rather unfazed by the academy’s decision.
Gere disappeared from the show after he went off-script while presenting at the 1993 Academy Awards, denouncing China’s “horrendous, horrendous human rights issue” in Tibet.
“I didn’t take it particularly personally,” Gere told Variety. “I didn’t think there were any bad guys in the situation. I do what I do, and I certainly don’t mean anyone any harm. I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion.
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“I mean to harm human rights abuses, but I try to stay as close to where His Holiness comes from … that everyone is redeemable, and, in the end, everyone has to be redeemed or none of us [are]. So, in that sense, I don’t take it personally.”
During the interview, Gere said his activism was inspired by his longtime friend, the Dalai Lama, who is the subject of “Wisdom of Happiness,” a 2025 documentary he executive produced.
Although Gere told Variety his absence “never came up” in his conversations with the Dalai Lama, he recalled reacting strongly when he was pitched a script for a biopic about the spiritual leader.
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“It was the silliest script I’d ever read,” he told the outlet. “It was the CIA literally carrying him out of the Potala Palace [in Tibet] in the middle of the night. They were trying to honor the invasion of Tibet and the escape of His Holiness after he’d been threatened by the Chinese, but it was just a ridiculous, silly story. It was like Rambo coming and getting him out.”
As noted by People, “Gere didn’t return to the Oscars stage until Feb. 24, 2013, nearly 20 years after he made his unscripted remarks.”
People added, “Gil Cates, the then-show’s producer [in 1993], was quoted as saying, ‘Does anyone care about Richard Gere’s comments about China? It’s arrogant.’”
Fox News Digital reached out to the press office of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for comment.
The “Pretty Woman” actor also commented on the state of the country and President Donald Trump, suggesting that even the Dalai Lama couldn’t change the president or the “astonishing” effect he’s had on the country.
Gere said that hearing the Dalai Lama speak made him reflect on how the United States was on the “very wrong track,” but he doubted the Tibetan spiritual leader could influence Trump.
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“I don’t know that it would touch him,” Gere said. “I would hope that it would. I would pray that it would. But, boy, I don’t know how you explain what he has done to this country, what it feels like to be an American now, 10 or 11 months in. It’s just astonishing. It’s beyond what anyone could ever imagine.”
He encouraged Americans to take responsibility for the leaders they elect and instead support people who can create a better world.
“If we want a world a certain way, then we have to elect leaders who have a similar vision to us and will lead us towards this higher level of possibility — who we are as individuals and how we can create a world, a society where people can live with each other rather than this battlefield every day, all day long, with the craziness,” Gere said.
“Especially, as I say, coming from this very crude mentality that is now in our leadership.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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Pearl Harbor survivor reveals what he ‘can’t forget’ about Japanese attack
Pearl Harbor survivor Ken Schubring enlisted when he was just 17.
“Everything seemed to lean toward that being in the cards sooner rather than later,” the 103-year-old told WANF-TV this week, days ahead of the anniversary of the 1941 attack. “So not much of a decision to be made.”
Schubring ended his guard duty on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, then went to eat.
“I went to eat breakfast after my duty and shortly before 8 a.m., an explosion shook our bunkers,” he said at a Veterans Day ceremony at the National WWII Museum this year, according to Spirit America. “Everyone rushed outside.”
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“The sky was full of airplanes, dive bombers,” he continued. “I hit the deck, crawled to a ditch nearby… and stayed there until the first wave had finished.”
In another interview, Schubring told CBS News that despite his age, the attack was something he “can’t forget.”
And as one of just 13 Pearl Harbor survivors remaining alive as the 84th anniversary of the assault approaches on Sunday, he’s a rarity.
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His son, Ken Schubring Jr., told CBS he wants Americans to remember the “sacrifice” of those who experienced Pearl Harbor.
“I mean, the sacrifice that was given that day and then, subsequently years later, I mean, you can’t put a price on that. You can’t forget it,” he said.
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn said it was a “pleasure” to help Schubring get to the WWII Museum ceremony last month.
“God bless the veterans who have served our country so courageously,” she wrote on X last month. “It was a pleasure to help WWII Veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor Ken Schubring Sr. get to this ceremony so that he could be honored for all that he has sacrificed for our nation.”
After Pearl Harbor, Schubring became a flight engineer on B-29 bombers, flying missions in the Pacific.
“We’d fly straight over Iwo Jima or around it to our targets,” he told WANF. “The bombings were individual bombings.”
Schubring still remembers where he was when he heard the Japanese had surrendered.
“About two hours into our return from a bombing raid over Osaka … the radio announced Emperor Hirohito had asked for an armistice,” he told the station. “The war was over.”
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Even after he left the military, Schubring continued to fight for justice, working for racial school integration in Athens, Georgia, where he was school board president.
“I remember getting called a lot of bad things, but my dad never wavered,” his son told CBS of the at-the-time controversial policy.