Remembering, Memorial Day 2017

Memorial Day is a Federal holiday, observed the last Monday in May, to honor the U.S. soldiers who died while in military service.  The son of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan put it this way:

His life was not taken: It was given, to his country.

I served in DaNang, Vietnam, from February 1969 to February 1970 and then I came home. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the mall in Washington DC has etched on its black surface the 58,307 names of Americans who died during the war there. They came home draped in an American flag.  It includes these two names:  

Barry Lynn Brown, Killed in Action, Vietnam, 1968.

James Clifford McKittrick, Missing in Action, Vietnam, 1967.

Why are these two men so significant to me? Go here and I'll tell you.

Enjoy your long holiday weekend with family and friends.  And the next time you step into a voting booth think carefully about your choice.

Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

Remembering: Veterans Day, November 11, 2016

Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969

We Remember, September 11

Pop, we remember.  Rest in peace. 

Remembering, Memorial Day, 2016

I'm going home
Without the sorrow
Going home
Sometime tomorrow
Going home
To where it’s better
Than before

Going home
Without my burden
Going home
Behind the curtain
Going home
Without this costume
That I wore

Leonard Cohen, from Going Home

Remember Barry Lynn Brown ....


Killed in Action, Vietnam, 1968

Remember James Clifford McKittrick....

Missing in Action, Vietnam, June 1967

Thanksgiving and Thanks for Giving

Yes, tomorrow at this time, this could be you! 

No matter where Americans are, they find time to give traditional thanks for the harvest they just had (Oh, sure! Like shopping counts) by eating too much food, surrounded by relatives, some they like, some they tolerate, and some they can't stand but won't say so until they've had too much wine. We're just nuts that way, but it's the American thing to do and we do it well. The Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving also but I don't think they eat as much as we do.

Thanks to our armed forces for giving us the freedom to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Khowst Province, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Sad

 I can't think of any worthwhile title for this blog entry.

Bruce Plante, Tulsa World

 The Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France to the United States in 1886.

Steve Sack, Star Tribune

Just two nights ago we watched our Netflix movie, Diplomacy, and gave it 5 stars.. It was a heavily fictionalized but fascinating account of how, during World War II, Raoul Nordling, a Swedish diplomat, helped convince German General Choltitz that bombing Paris would be a horrific abuse of power. Part of his argument was the everlasting beauty of Paris.

We've been to Paris. It's beautiful and magic. Our hotel was just 2 blocks away from the Bataclan Concert Hall.

Remember: Veterans Day, November 11, 2015

To our oldest generation:

Thank you for believing that freedom was worth fighting for.

To our youngest generation:

Thank you for volunteering to serve to protect our freedom.

Today, as was true last Veterans Day,  less than 0.5% of the American population serves in our military armed forces. Here's hoping that today, Veterans Day, the other 99.5 % of Americans will take the time to thank a veteran and to thank an active duty service member. They've earned your respect and your thanks. 

How about a little historical context?

In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized sending an addition 500 Special Forces troops and military advisers to assist the pro-Western government of South Vietnam.  This increased the total there to nearly 3,200 by the end of 1961.  By the end of 1962 there were approximately 11,000 military advisers in South Vietnam. By the end of 1964, the numbers had risen to 16,000.

On October 30, 2015, President Obama authorized the deployment of military advisers into Syria.

Don Madden, Da Nang, Vietnam, 1969

We Remember, September 11

Rest in peace, Pop. We still remember.

Party Hearty!

Happy Fourth of July:  Independence Day!

Over Kandahar, Afghanistan

Enjoy the picnic, the cold beer, the hot dogs, the cake and cookies and all the friends and relatives you've gathered in.

Afghanistan, with a World Trade Center flag

Please take a moment to remember, honor and thank those who have volunteered to serve our country and protect your independence.  

Happy Father's Day, 2015

If you know me well you know I can easily be described as quiet, a stoic, and hard-working. You should know I'm also not a quitter. All this came from my father.

He had a tough start - his mother rotated through 5 husbands, which was not exactly model-mother behavior in the 1920's and 30's. He served in the Pacific in World War II and never talked about it. He always, always, always worked.  When the Texaco service station he managed closed down he took a job selling soft drinks at the high school football stadium, just to keep working. For him, exchanging as many as 25 words was a long conversation.  He didn't walk out on a bad marriage*, which meant that whenever I came home there was a father around.

On the down side he was a distant and unemotional father. For the good side, he never ever gave up, never tried to force me to do anything I didn't want to and was proud of me.

He was my father and I am him.
Rest in peace, Pa.

*Unlike my father, I am lucky enough to be married to a good woman.

Remembering, Memorial Day, 2015

Please enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend but take a few moments to ponder why it is we even have a Memorial Day. It is a day for remembering and honoring the men and women who have died while serving in our United States military forces. Go here if you need to put a face to this day.

 

Barry Lynn Brown, Killed in Action, Vietnam, May 5, 1968

James Clifford McKittrick, Missing in Action, Vietnam, June 1967



I didn't have poppies to put by the path where I left a Give-Away pot but did the best I could.

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row...