Who Am I????? (60's, Korea, Long Island, Korean)

[Grandstander]

I was born in New England, was an honors student at an Ivy League college, and then a decorated member of the army medical corps during WW II where my activities included landing on Utah Beach on D-Day. After the war I got my law degree from the school where I did my undergraduate work. I clerked for a Supreme Court justice and later became a US attorney for my state, the Lt. Governor of my state, and the attorney general of my state.

From there I was tapped for a cabinet post in a new presidential administration. I wound up serving as secretary in two other cabinet positions for this administration, and returned later to head up another cabinet department for a different administration, eventually being appointed ambassador to a major European nation.

For all this public service and achievement, it isn't likely that I would be well remembered had it not been for the dramatic circumstances associated with my exit from my third cabinet post in that first administration.

[skinem]

Elliot Richardson

[Grandstander]

skinem scores

[skinem]

I was born in 1816 and became a US army officer. This young officer had everything going for him. He was a competent soldier who was decorated and promoted for bravery at Buena Vista and Chapultapec in the Mexican War. He had also made a good reputation in Utah, where he had smoothed over a potentially dangerous situation resulting from an Indian massacre. He was so well regarded that he was offered the governorship of that territory, but had not sought this honor and turned it down in order to pursue the career he had chosen.
He led the first US Army detachment to enter the Rocky Mountain region. Four years later at age 43 he severely underestimated the level of discontent of the indigenous people further west and led a severely underarmed detachment of 159 men into hostile territory in what seems to be the belief that a show of force may calm things. While proclaiming peaceful intents, he was questioned by the indigenous people why he had brought two mountain howitzers with him.
Tensions increased as he proceeded further north into the territory. Eventually he was attacked by a loose coalition estimated to number approximately 1200 resulting in a running fight that lasted for a couple of days. He eventually reached a granite pyramid of high ground where he set up defensive positions and rebuffed multiple attacks, finally slipping away at that night when his men had roughly 3 cartridges apiece. He made his way the roughly 100 miles south to the safety of the nearest US Army fort.

This precipitated a wider war in which this man was relieved of his command and died a few years later (in 1865) in disgrace. Following his defeat, the indigenous people were ruthlessly pursued and defeated, effectively ending their resistance in the area. Many are surprised to find that our mystery man and the ones that pursued the locals so tirelessly were sympathetic to them and did not believe the area should be "settled".

One last clue--the high ground our man defended is now named for him, and is such a unique type of geology, that any specific kind of geologic feature like that now bears his name.

[Grandstander]

Edward Steptoe

[skinem]

Correctamundo.

Wow, you're fast...and good! I think you're the first one I've run across that knew that, with it being so obscure.

[Grandstander]

I was a Canadian, born in the early part of the 20th Century. In the 1930's along with an American partner, I co created a fictional American icon, the first of a nearly uncountable number of imitations which were to follow. My creation is still with us in print, films and television. Millions and millions of dollars have been made using my creation, but my partner and I had sold the rights early on to a publisher and even after years of court battles, we only realized 94 thousand dollars as our share of the multi millions our creation has earned for others. We tired to duplicate our original success with other forms of the same thing, but none ever gained any popularity. Then I went legally blind and could no longer work.

Toward the end of my life, the original publisher finally showed a measure of charity and granted my partner and I an annual pension of 20 thousand dollars each. I died in the early 1990's.

[skinem]

Just a guess--Joe Shuster? (I was a Superman fan as a boy...)

[Grandstander]

Your guess has the virtue of accuracy.

[jtur88]

Skinem is still entitled to a challenge, but I'll fill the gap.

I was an American sea captain, and I was born more than 200 years before an international war that would center to a large extent on my legacy.

While still in the US Navy, I commanded a warship in a bizarre war that was fought almost entirely at sea. In a later war of much greater historical importance, I was a US Navy privateer.

Later, I was a corsair, in the navy of a newly independent country that would, more than two centuries after my birth, challenge sovereignty of territory where I had raised the flag. My claim to the territory would then precipitate an international war in recent times. While there, I seized an American schooner, causing an international incident. I later joined the navy of still another country, and fought in battle against my previous employer.

Let's review. I was in the navy of country A, then joined the navy of country B and seized a ship from country A. Then I joined the navy of country C and fought in battle against country B. Country B, in recent years, was still fighting for a place I claimed for it.