New Stolen Valor Act

President Obama on Monday signed into law the latest version of the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime for people to pass themselves off as war heroes by wearing medals they didn't rightfully earn. The legislation passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming majorities. An earlier version, passed in 2005, was struck down in June 2012 when the Supreme Court ruled that lying about military heroics was constitutionally protected speech unless there was intent to gain some benefit or something of value by fraud. The law signed Monday at the White House includes such a provision, making it illegal to make the claims with the intent to obtain money, property or other tangible benefits.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/06/03/obama-signs-new-stolen-valor-act.html

"True valor lies between cowardice and rashness." -- Miguel de Cervantes

National Anthem - Chicago Blackhawks

The most stirring and uplifting version of the Star Spangled Banner anthem must surely be the experience in Chicago before the beginning of each Blackhawks hockey game. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs in full swing and the Blackhawks with the best record in the National Hockey League, the crowd at the United Center on west Madison Street in Chicago is louder than ever. It has been a tradition in Chicago for over 25 years to start cheering, applauding, screaming and whistling from the first note of the anthem in crescendo through the last note. Nowhere is the U.S. National Anthem performed with a louder, more enthusiastic, inspiring and patriotic effort.

Many who have experienced it will say it sends chills down the spine. The noise from 22,000 fans is almost painfully deafening. If you have never been to a Blackhawks game in Chicago, perhaps this short video clip will give some idea of what it's like during the anthem at the "Mad House on Madison." This particular one contains many signs and flags honoring U.S. troops who were viewing via a live broadcast to the Middle East.

Remembering Lawton

Artillerymen from all over the globe have trained at Fort Sill and most have vivid memories (good and bad) of adjacent Lawton south of the post. Lawton was once Oklahoma's third largest city behind Oklahoma City and Tulsa; but now it is fifth - surpassed by Norman and Broken Arrow. In the 1960s when our 2nd Battalion 94th Artillery was re-formed and trained at Fort Sill for service in Vietnam, Lawton was a $1 cab ride from anywhere on Fort Sill. Here are a few iconic symbols of Lawton from the 1960s ...

Bianco's Demolished - End of an Era
Dinner options in 1960s Lawton were mostly limited to Bianco's Italian Restaurant on 2nd Street or Wright's Steakhouse on Cache Road. Rose Bianco, herself, was a Lawton institution. She died a few years ago and worked at the family restaurant well into her 90s. When Kaye and I were married at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in 1966, our reception moved from the church to Bianco's and then to the Officers' Club on post. There were failed attempts to preserve Bianco's as an Oklahoma historic landmark. Rose's family was unable (or unwilling) to keep it going. The sign was auctioned off and there is an attempt to sell jars of spaghetti sauce from her recipe online. Here's a photo of the wreckers taking it down.


Holy City of the Wichitas
In the 1930s, the federal WPA financed various construction projects around Lawton including the road to the top of Mt. Scott and a replica of old Jerusalem on land north of Fort Sill's west range in the National Wildlife Refuge. (Good luck trying to get the federal government to finance a Holy City these days.) Structures and scenes for each of the 14 Stations of the Cross were erected using locally quarried stone. The Passion was portrayed over several hours starting around 3 a.m. and ending with the Resurrection at sunrise on Easter morning. Its popularity peaked in the 1940s with over 150,000 visitors in observance on the surrounding hills and thousands of radio stations from all over the country broadcasting the services. During the mid-60s when we were there, it still attracted over 40,000 worshipers.


Drive-Ins
Muscle cars and drive-ins were ubiquitous in the 1960s and an army town like Lawton had more than its fair share of each.


Old Downtown Lawton
Downtown Lawton - especially at night - was a wild, tempestuous place. Known as the "impact zone" to artillerymen, C and D streets were loud and often unruly with bars, pawn shops and brothels. But the good old days were gone forever when the city completely leveled the old impact zone and replaced it with an indoor mall. Here is a view in the 1960s before the mall.

Meers
Last - but not least - is the old restaurant and store in the abandoned mining town of Meers in the mountains west of Mount Scott. Home of the "Meersburger," this shack is still an attraction and many generations of artillerymen have walked those those doors just so they could go home at talk about it.

“An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted” -- Arthur Miller

Jane Fonda Apologizes Again

Jane Fonda tells Oprah Winfrey "that thing" she did in North Vietnam was an “unforgivable mistake” and talks about what she learned when she apologized to a group of Vietnam Veterans in an episode of Oprah’s Master Class.

If she is apologizing for giving aid and comfort to the enemy (which is, obviously, what she was doing), then she should apologize for that. She seems to be saying that she was tired at the time and that they tricked her. I still don't understand what her "apology" is actually for. Do you? Is this a genuine apology or is she just being an actress?


"Apology is only egotism wrong side out." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

U.S. Removes Last Tank from Germany

Jay Wilmeth saw this story: there are no more U.S. tanks on German soil. Auf wiederSehen!

US Army's last tanks depart from Germany By John Vandiver | Stars and Stripes | Published: April 4, 2013
"STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. Army’s 69-year history of basing main battle tanks on German soil quietly ended last month when 22 Abrams tanks, a main feature of armored combat units throughout the Cold War, embarked for the U.S.
From World War II on through the Cold War, tanker units were a heavy presence in Germany. At its peak, Germany was home to 20 NATO armored divisions, or about 6,000 tanks, according to the 21st TSC."
More.

Women in Artillery Units

Here is a story about women in artillery units dated Apr 01, 2013 published in Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer by Drew Brooks ...

Women Break Ground in Combat Roles
"The question of whether women can serve in Army roles previously restricted to men is being answered on Fort Bragg, where the male-only world of artillery has opened to female soldiers. Last summer, the 18th Fires Brigade began a pilot program aimed at introducing female officers to what were once all-male units.
The program began even before then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the repeal of rules against women serving in male-only positions.
Nearly a year later, the brigade is preparing to break ground again when it receives the first female-enlisted soldiers in an artillery unit in May."
More.

Here is what former 2/94 FA battalion commander and retired Lieutenant General Richard Trefry had to say when asked Friday, 25 Jan 2013 by NewMax's Paul Scicchitano about Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's announcement in January to allow women to serve in combat units ...

Ex-Lt. Gen. Trefry: Women Not Fit for Combat Infantry
"Retired Lt. Gen. Richard G. Trefry, for whom the Army’s Lifetime of Service Award is named, tells Newsmax that he believes Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is making a “mistake” in lifting the Pentagon’s long-standing ban on women serving in combat.
“I’ve served in combat. I’m a male and I just have often thought that I would not want my wife, my sister, my mother to experience some of the things that I experienced and what I saw,” explained Trefry in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. 'It’s just that simple.'
Trefry spent 33 years on active duty service in the Army and saw combat in Vietnam and Laos before going on to serve as Inspector General of the Army for his last six years under three chiefs of staff and secretaries of the Army."
More.

Meanwhile ...

Female Marines Fail Infantry Officer Course
"The only two women to participate in the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course (IOC) failed ongoing tests to determine which infantry positions should be available to women, according to the Marine Corps Times:
The women failed the introductory Combat Endurance Test, a punishing test of physical strength and endurance, officials at Marine Corps headquarters said Tuesday. The latest class began March 28 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with 110 lieutenants participating. Ninety-six men passed the initial endurance test. Twelve men and two women — the only female Marines taking part — failed.
The two women both volunteered to participate in the IOC. Two other women had previously volunteered in September but also failed.
More.

Leave a comment if you have one.

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"I do not believe in using women in combat, because females are too fierce." -- Margaret Mead

"I think women are too valuable to be in combat." -- Caspar W. Weinberger

Whistleblower: VA Hiding Veteran Health Data

Is the VA up to their old tricks? This article was published in military.com Mar 14, 2013 by Bryant Jordan

2/94 FA Reunion, 2004 - Part 2 (Remarks by General Gray)

I have extracted the complete speech by Al Gray, USMC from the recording made by Darrell Gutsche at the 2004 Reunion and compressed it as a streaming YouTube video. We are fortunate that Darrell took it upon himself to act as the battalion videographer and saved the memories of that reunion in a video record. Part 1 included my introduction of General Gray. This is Part 2, after-dinner remarks by General Gray. Part 3 should be ready in another week and will summarize the evening with highlights from Gray's remarks and his signing of memorabilia later auctioned to raise funds for the battalion. General Gray is best known to the 2nd/94th as the 12th Marines S-3 who controlled artillery fire direction operations in the DMZ and also as the commander of the precarious combat base at Gio Linh where 2/94 firing batteries fought for about a month each with elements of the 12th Marines during the spring and summer of 1967 while enduring a daily barrage of incoming enemy rockets, mortars and artillery.



"A veteran is someone who, at some point in his/her life, wrote a blank check payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount 'up to and including my life.'" -- Unknown

Medals for Drone Pilots?

Our Nobel Peace Prize-winning President, who apologized to the world for Bush's water-boarding of three terrorists caught on the battlefield (none of whom were killed), has now, at his own discretion, killed almost 5,000 people (including some very bad guys) using predator drones. Drones are controlled by "cyber pilots" sitting in an office behind a computer screen using a joy stick.

Now, there is a new service medal for these drone pilots and other cyber warriors. Soon after its announcement on Feb. 13, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Military Order of the Purple Heart both slammed the decision to rank the award higher than the Bronze Star with Valor device and the Purple Heart - both medals earned in physical combat or through direct enemy action. Is this yet another example of the Army brass and the Joint Chiefs allowing their civilian masters to water down the U.S. military? What's next, drone pilots filing for PTSD? Anyway, here's the story ...

DoD Stands Behind Controversial Drone, Cyber Medal

Obviously, it's a much safer way to fight; but, does it warrant a high precedence combat medal? Here's is a clip of our very efficient cyber warriors in action executing a drone strike ...



"Two words for you: predator drones. You will never see it coming.” -- Barack Obama

2/94 FA Reunion, 2004 - Part 1

Captain Greg Smith introducing General Alfred M. Gray, 29th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps as the dinner speaker at the 2004 Reunion of the 2nd Battion (175mm Guns) 94th Artillery, U.S. Army at Washington, DC September, 2004. General Gray's remarks to follow as Part 2.

General Gray who, as biographer Scott Laidig's recently titled book suggests, preferred to be known as Al Gray, Marine, was a Major and the S-3 of the 12th Marine Regiment on the DMZ in 1966 when he wrote the request to General Westmoreland that the Army's 2nd battalion, 94th Artillery be re-routed as we sailed across the Pacific on the USS Eltinge. As a result, our battalion of 175mm guns landed at Da Nang and instead of Saigon and headed north where we were operationally attached to and fought with the 3rd Marine Division. The Marines were being out-gunned on the DMZ by Russian-made artillery with a longer range than anything the Marines had and our 175 guns, with the longest range (20 miles) of any artillery weapons in the world, changed all that.

Al Gray went from private to four-star general and was one of those legendary American military heroes who would lead from in front: a pure warrior. All of us were changed forever for having fought with him.



"There are higher things in life than the soft and easy enjoyment of material comfort. It is through strife, or the readiness for strife, that a nation must win greatness.. .A rich nation which is slothful, timid, or unwieldy is an easy prey for any people which still retain those most valuable of qualities, the martial virtues." -- Theodore Roosevelt

"Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war." -- Otto von Bismarck

Scott Laidig's book about General Gray

I received an email today from Scott Laidig who is one of General Al Gray's biographers.

Part One of Al Gray, Marine has just been published. The hard copy version can be purchased from the publisher for $50 here ... http://www.potomacinstitute.org/index.php/publications/books/algray

I just bought the Kindle version on Amazon for $10.

Our 2nd Battalion 94th Artillery connection goes back to 1966-67 when Gray was a Major and ran the 12th Marine Regimental Artillery Fire Direction Center that had operational control over our Army battalion of 175mm Guns. After we were first attached and found ourselves fighting with the Marines, I remember having heard sarcastic comments from some Marines like "we're safe now the Army's here." But we earned their respect and the Marines - particularly Major Al Gray - came to depend on our massive, long-range firepower. Some of us got to know Gray very well while serving with him when he was the commander at the Gio Linh combat base - where we were attacked constantly and suffered our greatest casualties. During quieter times, he would stop by occasionally and participate in a softball games with us at Camp Carroll and Dong Ha. He was a good friend of the battalion and a valuable connection to the 3rd Marine Division.

When I organized the 2004 reunion in Washington, DC, our own GEN Trefry helped me get Gray as the speaker at our reunion dinner. After Vietnam, he went on to become a four-star General and the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Storm in 1991. GEN Gray was always rather informal. Every time I talked with him on the phone, he always identified himself as Al Gray; so, I guess it's not surprising that Scott titled the book, Al Gray, Marine. Scott interviewed some of us who are honored to be included in the book.



"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985

"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!" -- Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945

"Take me to the Brig. I want to see the 'real Marines'." -- Major General Chesty Puller, USMC - while on a Battalion inspection.

Band of Brothers ... and sisters, too?

Senior defense officials say Obama's Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs to females ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57565479/panetta-lifts-ban-on-women-in-combat/



The world's first politically correct war machine - how nice. Will our women have to fight in the trenches and duck incoming up through the second trimester before getting maternity leave? Will the misogynist Muslims do more to them that just cut off their heads when they are captured? Will all the girls have to register for the draft now when they are 18? Will they need steroids to lift those 50 caliber machine guns and 200 pound artillery projos? When the Drill Instructors refer to recruits as "ladies," I guess it won't be considered a pejorative term anymore.

Military Expenditures

Pierre Poilievre, Canadian MP, speaking about Economic Freedom to the Canadian Parliament last April. We are funding the Chinese army and cutting back on our own because we're broke. If this doesn't scare you, it should (30 second clip) ...


(Sent in by Darrell Gutsche. Full clip at http://youtu.be/wWkUaJId7pM)

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” -- Winston Churchill

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.” -- Alexis de Tocqueville

History of the French and American wars in Vietnam

This chronological video presentation by the History Channel provides a reasonably accurate narrative of the war in Vietnam between Communism and Capitalism. It picks up with the French re-assuming control of their Southeast Asia colonial empire in 1945 after World War II and ends with the North Vietnamese Communist victory over South Vietnam after the American army withdrew.



"You fools! Don't you realize what it means if the Chinese remain? Don't you remember your history? The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff French shit for five years than to eat Chinese shit for the rest of my life." -- Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam DMZ Firebases - 2008

As more veterans return to a Vietnam that is becoming a major tourist destination, it has become obvious that very little remains of the old firebases which are hardly recognizable. The DMZ area, however, continues to be the most impoverished part of the country. This clip has been around a few years but is one of the better ones posted by returning veterans.



“Being over seventy is like being engaged in a war. All our friends are going or gone and we survive amongst the dead and the dying as on a battlefield.” -- St. Jerome

What were we fighting for?

I believe we were fighting for the cause of freedom in Vietnam - just as our fathers fought for freedom in World War II. And freedom always wins - eventually. It's hard-wired in the human DNA. The thugs that usurped freedom using violence - Hitler in Germany, Stalin in Russia, Mao in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Pol Pot in Cambodia, etc. - by murdering tens of millions of their countrymen in an attempt to force centralized government control over the lives of their people all ultimately lost to the forces of freedom.

Today, freedom is under assault here in the United States. Everyday, more and more power is concentrated politically in Washington and economically on Wall Street. The casualty is individual freedom. It's loss has not been sudden and shocking but subtle and, at times, imperceptible. Who is the enemy now? Is it the devil as Paul Harvey says in this 1965 radio broadcast (below) that has recently received wide circulation? Or is it the do-gooders? After all, isn't the road to hell paved with good intentions? Or could the enemy be ourselves?

Paul Harvey's remarks here are almost 48 years old now - stated about the time we were all training to fight against Communism in Southeast Asia in the mid-1960s. Many of his comments have proven to be prophetic. Listen for yourself ...


(Turn up audio.)

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961

"L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs (hell is full of good wishes and desires)." -- Bernard of Clairvaux

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." -- Pogo (Walt Kelly), 1971

The Real Estate Bubble in Vietnam

The commercial real estate market in Vietnam is still languishing after the same 2008 bubble that burst in the West hit the booming economy in our old stomping grounds. Ten years after North Vietnam's successful invasion of South Vietnam in 1975 (two years after all the American combat troops left) the new, united country was more impoverished than ever and gave up on Communism in 1986. The urban construction has stalled, however and new commercial buildings in Hanoi (pictured at right) are unused, unfinished and sitting in disrepair. According to a recent Bloomber news article, commercial rents are down 22% and expected to fall another 15%.

Saigon, (pictured below) has slowed also but not as much as Hanoi. The central bank chief, Nguyen Van Binh, said in April the level of bad debt at some lenders may be “much higher” than reported. Bad debts in Vietnam’s banking system may have accounted for 8.82 percent of outstanding loans at the end of September, Nguyen Van Giau, head of the National Assembly’s economic committee, told legislators in Hanoi Nov. 13. How ironic that Ho Chi Minh and his followers spent 50 years and millions of lives to force Communism on the Vietnamese people only to abandon it after ten years and move to an open market economy similar to what existed in the conquered South. Apparently, there is no humorist like history.


"It was patriotism, not communism, that inspired me." -- Ho Chi Minh

Medical History Should Include Military History

This article was in the New York Times today. If you don't use the VA for medical care, make sure your private doctor includes your military medical history in your medical record.

Medical History Should Include Military History, Doctor Says
By JAMES DAO

Seven weeks after his induction into the Army in 1966, Dr. Jeffrey L. Brown was sent to Vietnam, where he spent a year treating front-line soldiers, sometimes under fire. He knew next to nothing about weapons when he went, but returned a battlefield doctor. Back home, he got married, started a family and opened a pediatric practice. Decades later, Dr. Brown, now 72, developed ailments which, he thought, seemed “consistent with his age.” So he was surprised to learn not long ago — from reading a newspaper article — that at least one of those ailments, ischemic heart disease, has been linked to exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange, which was used widely in Vietnam.

It dawned on him that no physician had ever asked him whether he was a veteran, much less taken his military health history (which included not only exposure to Agent Orange, but also dengue fever.) Even the resident physician who performed his intake exam at a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic did not do that kind of thorough history. “I had never had a civilian doctor ask if I was a veteran, ask pertinent follow-up questions, provide me with preventive counseling or screen me for medical and psychological illness that might have occurred from my deployment,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Those musings prompted Dr. Brown, who teaches pediatrics at New York Medical College and Weill Cornell Medical College, to write an essay titled “The Unasked Questions” that was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In it, Dr. Brown lays out a simple proposal: The American medical system, he says, needs to begin systematically asking adult patients whether they are veterans and, if they are, ask them some detailed questions about their health histories during their service.

The public health implications, he says, are significant. There are more than 21 million veterans in the United States today, including nearly one in six of all males between the ages of 35 and 64. But the majority – about 60 percent — receive their health care from private doctors, not from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Yet few of those private doctors even know whether their patients are veterans — whose military experiences, particularly in combat zones, could have had profound effects on their health many years later.

“As good medical practice, a factory worker with a two-year history of exposure to low-grade radiation or chemical and smoke inhalation would have his or her occupational history noted and flagged for long-term follow-up; medical conditions like cancer and emphysema might not become evident until many years later,” Dr. Brown writes in his essay. “But if these same health risks occurred during a Gulf War deployment, this information might never find its way into the patient’s health record.” Had such military medical histories been routinely prepared in the past, many Vietnam veterans with illnesses that have been linked to their service might have received treatment or disability benefits many years earlier, he says.

Dr. Brown offers a few policy changes. First, he says, medical schools should start teaching students how to take a military health history. Those medical histories might begin with simple questions like these: When and where were you stationed? Were you physically injured? Were ever exposed to Agent Orange? Were you ever treated for parasitic or tropical diseases? Were you affected psychologically by your military experiences? He also recommends that medical schools encourage discussion about the major stresses facing veterans today, such as suicide, substance abuse and occupational disability. And he says that residents who receive training at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals take enhanced courses in dealing with veterans.

Since the essay was published, Dr. Brown says, he has received letters from other doctors who are military veterans saying that they, too, have been amazed by how rarely civilian doctors ask their patients whether they ever served in the military. Until that question is routinely asked, Dr. Brown concludes in his essay, “Patients who have been wearing their ‘I am a Veteran’ caps when visiting the physician will have good reason to continue doing so.”

"With tens of thousands of patients dying every year from preventable medical errors, it is imperative that we embrace available technologies and drastically improve the way medical records are handled and processed." -- Jon Porter

Agent Orange: Environmental Impact

This paper was written for a graduate history seminar on environmentalism. It is a historiographical essay on the use of herbicides by the American military in Vietnam during the war. Human rights, morality, politics and health problems are not specifically addressed. Those concerns will be addressed in later essays. The focus here is on the American use of herbicides as a tactical measure to fight the war in Vietnam. For optimal reading view, click the "full screen" icon at the bottom right of the text window.
Agent Orange Environmental History

"Vietnam was as much a laboratory experiment as a war." -- John Pilger

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." -- Napoleon Bonaparte

"The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust our own government statements. I had no idea until then that you could not rely on them." -- J. William Fulbright

Generals and their Privates

Darrell Gutsche sent me the link to a Rush Limbaugh (who never had a good word to say about anyone) commentary on the Petraeus sex story. Remember, if you have something nasty or salacious to say, don't email it - especially using free, public email servers like Yahoo or Google's gmail.

LIMBAUGH: "You know, folks, you have to think, with Bill Clinton watching all this, all these affairs going on in the military, Bill Clinton's gotta be kicking himself for dodging the draft. I mean, look at what he missed! You know what this is? This is The Real Housewives of West Point."



LIMBAUGH: "There's no institution out there that we can trust that has not been politicized, that hasn't been corrupted, even the CIA. It's being reported that General John Allen exchanged between 20,000 and 30,000 e-mails with the other woman here in the Real Housewives of West Point, Jill Kelley. I don't want to prejudge this, folks, but it sure seems to me that we have way too many generals taking orders from their privates. You know who else is potentially a big winner in this is Anthony Weiner. I mean, Anthony Weiner gets tossed out for couple of text photos and so forth. He's a piker compared to what is going on here."



"I did not have sexual relations with that woman. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never."
-- President Bill Clinton (Later convicted and disbarred.)

Dong Ha, Vietnam 1967

Forty-five year old video footage of the Marine base and air field at Dong Ha where almost all of us flew in and out of many times. Maybe you will recognize some of the scenes ...



"So they've got us surrounded, good! Now we can fire in any direction, those bastards won't get away this time!" -- General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, USMC (the only Marine to be awarded 5 Navy Crosses).

“Remember that diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a bigger rock” -- from Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines

Vietnam Zippo Lighters

Soldier sentiments on Vietnam era Zippo lighters ...

NIU ROTC

Want a glimpse of how the Army trains potential officers in college these days? My grandson Kevin's ROTC battalion at Northern Illinois University sent nine cadets (Kevin was the only freshman) to Western Illinois University last weekend for the chance to earn the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. ROTC units from twelve mid-western schools including the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Iowa State Univertsity and Wheaton College. There were almost 300 cadets in total participating.

The German Army permits members of other allied military units to compete for this badge which the U.S. Army allows its soldiers to wear on the dress uniform. The test sets rigorous standards and includes Track and Field events, marksmanship, swimming and a two hour hike with full military gear and 35 pound ruck pack. A German Army officer is required to be present to observe the testing.

Kevin had never fired an Army weapon before. In his first attempt with the 9mm pistol, he missed every target. He went back in the line to await a second chance and then hit enough to qualify for the bronze version of the proficiency badge. After the swimming competition, he said he wanted to go back to the range and fire again. This time, he inadvertently had his thumb in the wrong position using a two-handed grip and the recoil mechanism on his first shot ripped a gash in his thumb. He came out with blood dripping down his hand and went into the men's room to clean it. Someone helped with a bandage for it. Then, he went right back to the pistol range and, with a bloody hand, hit every one of the targets thereby earning the gold version of the badge. This proves my theory that bleeding soldiers rarely miss.

The track events were very easy for Kevin and it was the main reason that they allowed him as a freshman to participate. He won the 5K race so handily that he lapped the second place finisher beating him by over a minute. He's still barely 18 but it looks like we might have another Lieutenant Smith in the family in four years.


(Turn up sound.)

"An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass." -- George Washington

This time the Cavalry never came to the rescue

The dominant topic on military websites and at military reunions this fall is the shocking abandonment of Americans who fought for seven hours in Benghazi, Libya before finally being overrun and massacred by Al Qaeda on the anniversary of the infamous 9/11 attack. President Obama did nothing and gave an order to military assets in the area to "stand down." His challenger, Governor Romney, in front of an audience of 70 million Americans during the presidential debates chose not to question this betrayal. Romney may know how to run the economy better than Obama, but neither man is qualified to be Commander-in-Chief based on this show of leadership. Neither man has ever worn their country's military uniform; neither has ever been the target of a shot fired in anger.

The responsibility to aid and defend Americans under attack is sacrosanct. Both of these men should beg the forgiveness of every American in uniform and take an oath that it will never happen again. Compounding this failure of leadership, has been the subsequent attempt by the Obama administration to cover it up. Where is the press? Where are the Woodward and Bernsteins of the Vietnam era? In another time, surely there would have been talk of impeachment for such dereliction of duty.

Our UN ambassador and our Secretary of State - two more individuals who never served in our military - were told to blame the whole thing on a YouTube video. Disgraced and discredited, these two persons have not been on a talk show since. What does it say about a country when less than 1% of its people volunteer to defend it and we have to send our women out now to help with the fighting? Troop suicides are averaging one a day and Ted Turner says on CNN that this is a "good" thing. God help Obama and Turner if either ever gets trapped overseas and the U.S. military decides to "stand down" and watch their bodies be dragged through the streets.

Darrell Gutsche sent this video in which summarizes what happened. Romney is not mentioned but if he continues to ignore his responsibility to speak up, he is guilty of non-support as well.



"It's hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse." -- Adlai E. Stevenson

World's Biggest Cave is in Vietnam

No wonder we couldn't find those guys. A couple of divisions could hide in a cave this size! It's Son Doong cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park which is about 35 miles north of the DMZ and east of the Ho Chi Minh trail (out of our range).



“They see only their own shadows or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave” -- Plato

“If there hadn't been women we'd still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girlfriends.” -- Orson Welles