By Barbara (Flynn) Redgate and Joseph Flynn
When we were children growing up in a 1200 sq. ft. house with 9 kids and two amazing parents right next to the ocean in Middletown, RI, we never dreamed that we would be faced with the surreal situation we are currently enduring. While we had very little financial means, we were blessed to be raised by two incredible people who instilled in each one of us strong values, very high expectations, and service to this magnificent country. Our dad, Charlie was the son of a WWI, Veteran and an Irish Immigrant mother. After being drafted at the ripe old age of 18 in 1943, fighting in WWII with Patton’s Army, and afterwards in Korea he and his bride brought their sprawling brood back to the place where they grew up, the “City by the Sea”, Newport, RI.
Our dad, Charlie was the son of a WWI, Veteran and an Irish Immigrant mother. After being drafted at the ripe old age of 18 in 1943, fighting in WWII with Patton’s Army, and afterwards in Korea he and his bride brought their sprawling brood back to the place where they grew up, the “City by the Sea”, Newport, RI. This was shortly after Charlie retired as an Army Master Sargent in 1963.
Our Mom, Helen Andrews Flynn, was the Valedictorian of her High School Class and the daughter of the Quarter Master Chief of the Newport Naval Base, (also a WWI veteran) and an Irish Immigrant mother. Her older brother Frank was a 1942 graduate of the US Naval Academy, a Veteran of the WWII Pacific Theater and one of Admiral Rickover’s key partners in the creation of the US Navy’s Nuclear Submarine Program. Uncle Frank had a major influence on all of our lives and went on to raise 12 kids of his own! Despite their lack of means, Charlie and Helen raised us with important principles among them; faith in God, loyalty to family and friends, hard work, education but most of all an undying love for this great Nation, the United States of America.
Helen and Charlie were wonderful role models. After Charlie served his country, he came home and worked as a Manager at a local RI bank. In Helen’s case, after raising her 9 kids went on to teach, sell real estate, and get her undergraduate and law degrees all while raising 9 rambunctious and incredibly competitive kids during the 60s and 70s, not an easy time to raise teenagers. Any of our friends or relatives who frequented our family “cookouts” or dinners knew that they had better come with their ideas and arguments in order because you could always be sure a lively political debate would be raging at the Flynn house along with many beers. Out of that “organized chaos” of 57 Tuckerman Ave Middletown RI, otherwise known as “Sea Lodge” we grew up happy, healthy and of course always together. Newport was a beautiful place to grow up and all of us of course were drawn to the ocean which surrounds the place and still plays a central role in all our lives. We swam; we surfed, lifeguarded, jumped off cliffs, listened to loud rock and roll music, played all kinds of sports and ran our parents ragged with all of our multiple activities.
When it came to education and work, Helen, the intellectual of our family was clearly the enforcer. With Helen there was no room for slouches or whiners. If the Nuns sent you home with a bad grade or bad behavior slip, you would fear her wrath far worse than anything the good Sisters of Mercy who taught us would ever dole out. While we were all far from perfect, we grew up with a strong sense of accomplishment. Helen and Charlie went to every sporting event, graduation, birth, promotion, they could attend and sat by proudly with huge smiles on their beautiful faces.
Like many parents, they were also not immune to heartbreaking tragedy with the death of their eldest child in 1968. Our sister Helen, Lennie as we called her died, at the young age of 21 in an automobile accident. Incidents like this can be knock out blows for many families, but Helen and Charlie despite their shattered worlds, pulled it together and soldiered on through their anguish once again instilling in us a strong sense of perseverance.
Helen and Charlie have long since left us, but their spirit and their tenacity live on within all of us and their 19 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
The Flynn Family has had very little preparation for the situation our family now find ourselves in. Helen and Charlie were proud to raise 4 successful entrepreneurs, a Teacher of the Year, and a dedicated servant to their beloved Catholic Church. Also as the family of a 20-year enlisted man, undoubtedly, their raising of two General Officers, Major General Charles A. Flynn and of course the subject of our current concern Lt. Gen (R) Michael T. Flynn was likely the greatest source of their pride. Many of you are aware of the difficulties currently facing our beloved brother General Mike Flynn and his family.
When General Mike (as we call him) left his last position as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, the 2016 Presidential election was just starting to heating up. As a patriot, his number one priority is to serve America. During that time many candidates reached out to him for advice on national security and he gladly responded. Donald Trump was one of those candidates.
Little did he realize at the time, that his efforts in helping elect President Trump would result in the assassination of his reputation by the highest ranking political operatives’ in the FBI DOJ and White House National Security Council intent on knocking him out and taking down an elected president
– A situation that is still unfolding today
When General Mike agreed to join President Trump in his campaign to be our 45th President of the United States, on the surface they had very little in common with one another. President Donald Trump was a world-famous NYC billionaire real estate tycoon and reality TV show star on his third marriage. General Mike Flynn married to his high school sweetheart had very recently finished a very decorated and distinguished 33-year military career, the last 8 years of which he spent away from his family fighting international terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and all over the world for that matter. But there was one thing that bound them together; they understood that the worst possible thing that could happen to the country they loved is the possibility of the election of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her cronies.
It was over that seminal issue which would decide the future direction of this country that these two unlikely partners bonded. Make no mistake, our brother, the General, and Candidate Trump foresaw that if Hillary Clinton won the election, America would no longer be the “land of the free” –rather it would be shrouded in a dark cloud of scandalous actions by a cartel of compromised individuals who couldn’t care less about our Constitution and the American way.
The partnership between Candidate Trump and General Flynn led to a successful historic election which changed the course of our nation’s future and exposed the vast corruption that has seeped into our beloved institutions which We The People are currently still battling daily.
There is not enough time to go through all of the Obama-Clinton cabal’s lies and dirty dealings that run the gambit from the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the VA scandal, the Iran Ransom scandal, Uranium One, the pay-to-play Clinton Foundation scandal, Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, and of course the Clinton Campaign and DNC-paid-for Christopher Steele dirty dossier used to gain improper authorization from a secret FISA court to spy on US citizens.
But General Flynn predicted it…he saw it coming and warned us. At a Trump rally late in the campaign, he said, “This is our time. This is our last shot…this election is about the heart and soul of the United States of America…”
His forthright words were feared by a Deep State of political, power-hungry operatives in America. The player-operatives, in the opinions of many, are part of the Obama-Clinton-Comey-Brennan-Clapper-McCabe-Rice-Yates-Ohr…and others cabal. They knew that their nefarious actions, to steal our America, and our way of life would be exposed when President Trump took office with General Mike Flynn by his side.
As reports have indicated, certain anti-American hateful actors put into play an “insurance policy” when the election was over by activating a weaponized intelligence community, consisting of influential and powerful members of the FBI, DOJ, White House National Security Council and others…and so began the political assassination of General Mike Flynn.
Since December 1, 2017, when General Mike took a bullet in court, massive amounts of information have been released to the public that is unraveling every day, not only the Hillary Clinton email scandal, but also the Deep State plot, seemingly designed to undermine America and Overthrow Our Duly Elected President. Many opinions have been written. Leaks are daily, and Americans are now very skeptical of the FBI, DOJ, and others and we are legitimately mad as hell.
The simple fact of the matter is that people fear those who speak the truth. In our brother’s case, the bad actors knew he spoke the truth. He had already proven his might and character during his tenure at the DIA. They had to get him out of the White House as quickly as they could.
To get what they wanted done, they diabolically spied on, ambushed, and framed General Flynn, while working in his White House office. His name was illegally unmasked and a legitimate phone conversation that he had was illegally leaked to a compliant and complicit press. It’s despicable how easy it has been for this cartel to run afoul of our Rule of Law and to make a mockery of our Constitution.
Which leads us to the entire point of this article; we wanted to let everyone know that our family will be forever grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support we receive daily from individuals and groups of people who have so generously helped General Mike with his quest to afford the ever-mounting legal bills by donating to the Michael T. Flynn Legal Defense Fund which was created by our family this past September, 2017. People like General Flynn when asked to serve their country and their President typically do so without question or hesitation. As a military person, it is in their blood. However, they are often ill prepared for the ugliness of political life.
In the case of General Mike this ugliness has been on full display even many months before the election. Because of his outspoken criticism of Obama and Hillary’s failed foreign policy and his deep suspicion of the politicization of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, our brother General Mike Flynn has found himself a target of one of the worst legal, political and media fueled smear campaigns in modern US history. No one can prepare themselves financially or mentally for this type of battle. We knew we had to do something quickly to show our love and support, we implored our brother to let us open The Michael T. Flynn Legal Defense Fund. We knew that the burden to fight this would be financially impossible and morally exhausting. We also knew that there had to be many Americans who would gladly lend their support.
Since we launched the Michael T. Flynn Legal Defense Fund, we have been deeply inspired and humbled by the cards, letters, kind messages, and donations we have received. We never imagined so many people cared so deeply for the future of our nation and for the fate of our brother General Mike Flynn. Our followers are not big shots, political donors or Hollywood millionaires. They are veterans, farmers, factory workers and other hard-working everyday American Patriots from all over this great nation. We want them to know how deeply moved and thankful we are for their support. Our fight is not over, the legal bills will not cease anytime soon, so we will continue to need your prayers and support. You and your families are forever in our hearts. We also know that in addition to God’s support, Helen and Charlie Flynn and our sister Lennie are praying for us all as they look down to us from Heaven. May God Bless You and Your Families and May God Bless the United States of America.
© 2018 Barbara (Flynn) Redgate – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Barbara (Flynn) Redgate: redgatebarbara@gmail.com
