LEATHERNECKM31

Enemies list.....

How did I qualify as a right-wing terrorist threat to my country government in the Homeland Security warning "Right wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" authored by the nation's leading dyke and the fifth-columnist we hired as president (sic)....... let me count the ways:

According to Der Feurer, here's the tip off when organizing search and destroy missions against "right-wing radicals" who must be eradicated--those who:

• ---are concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty---check!
• oppose legislative restrictions on firearms--- check!
• are returning war veterans as particular right-wing threats to national security---check!
• hate particular religious, racial or ethnic groups... check!
• are anti-government, and reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority---check!
• reject federal government authority entirely---check!
• are individuals and groups dedicated to a single issue anti-abortion or opposing illegal immigration---check, double-check!
• participate high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition in anticipation of firearms restrictions and bans... check! 
• and who are “Returning veterans who possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists”... right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize veterans in order to boost their violent capacities. (only if I have to---beaucoup check!!!)

And just to convince any remaining conservative of the communist aims of this administration....the report warns law enforcement to watch for suspicious individuals who may have bumper stickers for third-party political candidates such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. (First Amendment... what First Amendment?)

The country has been warned to be on the look out for those with “radical” ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes.

So....

"Hello, my name's Gary, I am a 100% disabled Amercian veteran, and I'm a right-wing, terrorist threat to national security."

"Welcome, Gary."

I recall the very moment I became a threat to the nation; it was Oct. 15, 1969, about 0430 when my Air Force MATS medevac jet touched down at Travis AFB, loaded to the gunnels with stretcher cases, amputees, the sightless and the more or less "ambulatory".

Eight of us who were to remain more or less on the West Coast and strapped in stretchers were placed on the tarmac just outside a building which we assumed was the chow hall; we'd been promised a "steak and eggs" breakfast... our first meal home as combat wounded.

"Just a minute," they said, and parked us. It began to rain. We pulled the thin "army" blankets over... just like we'd never left 'Nam. After about five minutes I pulled the wet blanket off and looked around.... my group resembled a line up outside Graves Registration. 

Screw this...  I wasn't gonna be dead after all that had happened... I pulled the blanket down on my chest and folded my arms, staring, blinking up into the rain from a cold, gray sky.

About 20-30 minutes later someone asked us what we were doing there, No. 4 stretcher said we had no idea and delivered it in bush-speak... with all but a few four-letter short words that started with an "F".

Air Force said we had to hurry to get aboard the outbound medevac to our respective military hospitals... one stretcher said we'd been "hurrying" for about an hour.   

Fifteen or 20 zoomies arrived, lifted and carried us away from the chow hall... where someone else was eating our steak. As we were hustled toward the flight line, a big sign on the front of the building came into view:

        "WELCOME HOME. YOUR COUNTRY'S PROUD OF YOU"

Somewhere in this country there are seven other untrustworthy guys--jarheads, corpsmen and doggies---in their late 50s or early 60s with whom I shared my homecoming almost 40 years gone... we are now considered threats to the nation.

That's fine with me; fine with us... we join tens of thousands of young hard-chargers with fresh visible and invisible scars with whom we have been labeled as enemies of the state.

We revere the association.

Keep pushin' you sonsabitches, just keep pushin'.

Christmas with full honors

Just back from a half day at the Dallas VA for two "comp & pen" (disability increase exams) appointments.

I take heart that federal employees are hard at work on Dec. 24. The same cannot be said of Congress.

More or less a typical visit. My 10 a.m. appointment finally occurred at 10:58 a.m. The neurologist to told me that essentially I'd been booked for a redundant exam, so it turned out that I was actually early for my 11:30 a.m.

At the VA you get used to socialized medicine... I got up at 6:45 a.m. and drove an hour to be there plenty early for my 10 o'clock. 

Anyway, the exam went well; it seems he'll recommend an increase to the review board which decides such things.  This process has taken a year... for all you guys wondering what H.O.C. (HillaryObamaCare) will feel like.

I'm not complaining, only reporting. There are other veterans, older vets, with problems far worse than mine.

The clinker of the day came when I walked toward the travel pay window (we get reimbursed based on mileage for traveling to a distant VA hospital).

I rounded the wall that shielded the play clerk's window from view and fixed on the counter where I could fill out the necessary form.

I waited for the man ahead of me and then presented my paperwork and my ID card. The whole process took about two minutes, I got my pay voucher and stepped back.

At that point behind me, a vet in a wheelchair, an angry vet missing one leg, in a wheelchair growled:

"Maybe next time you can get in the back of the line and wait your turn."

Momentarily shocked because I had not seen the man before... shielded as he was by the six foot-long wall, I said:

"I'm sorry I didn't see you there."

'YOU DIDN'T SEE ME?!!," Angry Vet said with the somewhat justifiable outrage that the disabled have a right to feel in an overwhelmingly "abled" society.

"You were behind the wall and I was looking forward," I said, hoping to explain the faux pas to his satisfaction.

"Yeah, I'm used to dealing with you people," he hissed.

"First of all, I'm not a 'you people', I'm a vet just like you. I wished you'd have said something to me and you wouldn't have had to get so upset. Again, I'm sorry."

Disability only gets you certain amount of leeway in my world. 

He pushed past me to the window without another word.

Sadly, it could have been a very civil and gracious encounter following my unintended gaffe, but it was not to be.

It was clear that my brother veteran preferred his righteous indignation to a "Pardon me, Sir". "Thank you very much, Sir."

Merry E'ffing Christmas.

Now both of us have to grind on that the rest of the day.

In truth, he reminds me a lot of... me.

But this makes me feel good:

WASHINGTON - Starting next year, the Army will provide full military honors for all soldiers killed in action when they are laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

The change in policy means funerals for enlisted soldiers now will also include the horse-drawn caisson and other honors previously given only to certain soldiers such as officers and Medal of Honor recipients.

Just one of the military phrases greatly mis-understood by the public is "buried with full military honors."

This means that the vast majority of us only rate "with military honors" when it comes to the final rendition of Taps... these days most likely "played" by a fake bugler with a fake bugle which sounds a decent recording of the mournful salute. 

Essentially "full military honors" means the entire dignified, funereal pomp and circumstance--think: President Kennedy's 1963 somber procession to Arlington.

President Reagan's funeral procession is shown above.

"Honors": Standard graveside honors can be provided enlisted service members by the appropriate branch of service. These honors include:

• A casket team
• A firing party
• A bugler

Full-honors: In addition to the standard military honors, Medal of Honor Recipients, regardless of rank, commissioned and warrant officers (and sometimes top staff NCOs can receive:

• An escort platoon (size varies according to the rank)
• Horse-drawn caisson
• A military band
• A military chaplain

The "firing party" is also confusing for the public. When seven riflemen fire three times in unison, it is a 3-volley salute used by all branches of the military.

It is not a 21-gun salute, despite the fact that 21 individual rounds have been fired.

"The 21-gun salute" is a naval tradition and is completely different.

Fired by a battery of artillery pieces, each of three pieces (ore more) fires in turn until 21 reports (or 19-gun or 17-gun, depending on the deceased's rank), have sounded.

This great honor is based on rank for general officers, presidents, other high-ranking officials, because when a cannon is fired, it partially disarms the ship, therefore firing the cannon represents trust and respect. 

Finally in this relatively small war with limited combat deaths, this honor is long overdue for those who have given the very most in a vicious, unforgiving and critical war. 

And as we finally and more fully honor these fine young men and women... our very best and brightest..., keep in your heart the gravely wounded and those who at this very moment stand on the wall around the world so that we can sleep safely in warm beds.

If we all began right now and spent the rest of our days thanking them and the Gold Star families for their service and sacrifice, it would not be enough... not nearly enough.

Christmas with full honors

In the finest tradition of the Marine Corps....

Two Marines have been posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for saving dozens of comrades' lives by stopping a terrorist attack on a Marine and Iraqi police outpost in Ramadi Iraq, the Marine Corps has announced.

Security film showed that the two Marines, Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, never flinched as they continued to fire into an oncoming dump truck filled with approximately 1,000 pounds of high explosives.

The Marine Corps reported via Blackfive.net:

Haerter (below right) a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. It was during a standard length watch at a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked a small gravel road lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point.

A truck packed with thousands of pounds of explosives entered the area where Haerter and Yale,(shown below) were standing guard. Realizing the vehicles intentions Haerter and Yale, without hesitation, stood their ground, drew their weapons and fired at the vehicle. The truck rolled to a stop and exploded, killing the two Marines.

"I was on post the morning off the attack," said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tupaj, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, Police Transition Team 3, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. "I heard the SAW (M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon) go off at a cyclic rate and then the detonation along with a flash. It blew me at least 3 meters from where I was standing. Then I heard a Marine start yelling 'we got hit, we got hit.' It was hectic."

In the face of a committed enemy, Haerter and Yale stood their ground, in turn saving the lives of numerous Marines, Sailors, Iraqi policemen, and civilians. Both Marines displayed heroic, self-sacrificing actions and truly lived up to the Corps' values of honor, courage, and commitment.

“They saved all of our lives; if it wasn’t for them that gate probably wouldn’t have held,” Tupaj said. “The explosion blew out all of the windows over 150 meters from where the blast hit. If that truck had made it into the compound, there would’ve been a lot more casualties. They saved everyone’s life here.”

Above: L/Cpl. Haerter's mother, Joanne Lyles, holds her son's burial flag presented to her at Oakland Cemetery last April 28.

And another:

Marine Sgt. Jeremiah Workman, now a drill instructor received the Navy Cross last May for his actions Fallujah, Iraq, 2004.

According to the citation:

... while serving as a squad leader for the Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, Workman repeatedly exposed himself to a hail of enemy fire to retrieve isolated Marines trapped inside an insurgent-infested building.

Ignoring heavy enemy fire and a storm of grenades raining down on his position, Workman fearlessly laid down enough cover fire to allow the trapped Marines to escape.

After seeing the first group of wounded Marines safely to a neighboring yard, Workman rallied additional Marines to his side and provided more cover fire for an attack into the building to rescue other Marines still trapped. He continued to fire even after receiving numerous shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs after a grenade exploded in front of him, stated his citation.

Workman's efforts did not stop after the second rescue attack. Ignoring his wounds, Workman once again united his team for a final assault strike into the building to retrieve remaining Marines and to clear the building of insurgents.

"Basically, we got ambushed," Workman later said. "There were insurgents on the second floor in a bedroom. We fought our way up the stairs. There were grenades going off around us (and) small arms fire everywhere."

The Navy Times reports that a Navy Cross was awarded in 2007 to a member of our sister service--a Navy medical officer--during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.

And he’s not authorized to wear the award — second only to the Medal of Honor.

That’s because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified.

And so does his identity.

So secret was the mission that the Navy did not include the officer when queried as to the number of sailors who have earned the Navy Cross since Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the citation, which is not classified, the unnamed lieutenant wasn’t caught in one brutal firefight but two. The citation does not identify the country but references Afghan personnel who were part of a “joint operational unit” on a mounted patrol with Americans.

Unclear whether night or day, the patrol was ambushed and pounded by “extremely heavy fire from rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.” The lieutenant got out of his truck to return fire and pulled a wounded Afghan commander behind the engine block and away from the bullets.

Still under fire, he extricated a wounded American, the driver, who was “trapped behind the steering wheel” of a stricken vehicle.

Read conclusion here.

Careful readers will note that he was a Navy "medical officer", presumably not tasked with doing what he did. There are numerous jobs in the medical service; chances are he is not a physician, but there are no details.   

The lesson here is that our military is the best... even those who by training are not supposed engage directly in combat, can still act professionally and heroically in the face of war's necessity. 

It also means that for whatever reason, we will not see a living Recipient awarded the Medal of Honor. It has been clear for years now that there is a bias against those who survive their incredible heroics, like this mystery Navy Lieutenant.

It will be a very long time, if ever, before we learn why America is being prevented from celebrating the nation's highest award to a young serviceman who can hear his citation being read for the first time.

Two-hundred and thirty-three years of rompin', stompin' glorious history..........

I spent my first Marine Crops Birthday, at age 20, in the cozy confines of MCRD's 2nd Recruit Battalion, Plt. 2084--Nov. 10, 1968.

Today is my 40th anniversary as a Marine and the Corps' 233rd years of service to the greatest nation in history since its founding in 1775.

As with all Marines, I've never said "I was in the service" or "the military" when asked, for The Corps is the only branch which bestows upon each of its members its very title... "Marine"; I have been fortunate beyond measure to have earned the honor of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor.

It is my life's most important accomplishment... simply to have been deemed worthy by such a renowned and honored group. Other accomplishments are what I've done, Marine is what I am. 

Because of this membership, I have broken bread with generals, senators, shared a ration of grog with Medal of Honor Recipients, discussed air combat tactics with legendary aviators, and laughed with a well-known actor or two about having served in the same locales, both famous and infamous, sometimes decades apart.

And even more remarkably, I have been accepted by all as a peer, because we are all Marines first, regardless of age or life's station.     

I have flinched under the hand of the Corps' near-miraculous and always successful training known simply as "boot camp."  

I quickly learned the Marine language much of which is rooted in the Corps' infantsy aboard U.S. Navy warships. There are scuttlebutts, overheads, pogey bait and geedunk, hatch, squad bay and ladderwells.

Aboard the fledgling Nation's first naval vessels Marines protected the captain from mutiny, ran the brig, served as sharpshooters and boarding parties. 

The Corps' first Medal of Honor was earned by Cpl. John F. Mackie for such shipboard service in the early days of the Civil War.

"Onboard the USS Galena at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff, heavy fire from Confederate forces killed or wounded much of the crew. Cpl Mackie bravely risked his life to lead the gun operation for the remainder of the battle."

Ironically, the fort at Drewry's Bluff was a training base for the Confederate Marine Corps.

The latest Marine Medal of Honor Recipient was also a corporal; Jason Dunham gave his life for his fellow Marines in Iraq  four years ago. In between these heroes 295 other Marines earned the nation's highest award. 

I have prayed over dead and dying comrades and traced their names on a dark wall in the nation's capitol.

Marines have shared their last food, water and cigarettes with me, and even their letters from home..... small joys and sacrifices not available to the unknowing and often unappreciative who sleep soundly in warm beds.  

I have reached levels of fatigue and exhaustion I thought impossible, yet pushed through it for the simple reason that I refused to let my fellow Marines, including all those back to 1775.

For Marines, the history of the Corps is not simply required reading for young privates, it is a living presence that both haunts and inspires until life's flag is folded. To a man, the first Marines who made the amphibious landing at DaNang, Vietnam, in 1965 were filled with thoughts of Iwo Jima, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Inchon and scores of other assaults throughout history by the storied "solders of the sea".            

They knew they were being watched.

Short of death very few suffered more than my good friend and comrade John MacDonald, "Johnny Mac", for his time as a Marine. Shot in the back as he assisted a wounded member of his squad, Johnny Mac skipped off death like a flat rock on a lake so many times, even he didn't know the number.

He fought through partial paralysis, more than 30 surgeries and myriad generalized heath problems associated with his type of wounding which required daily, sometimes hourly courage that would test anyone in robust health. Throughout most of his sadly too short life, he was above all a Marine.. wrily dismissing his ongoing trauma as the cost "of serving with America's finest".         

So here's to the memory of the WWI corporal I met 20-some years ago with the Purple Heart on his dress blue blouse at what proved to be his last Marine Corps Birthday.  

... and here's to my Marine buddy Maj. Dave Carver, one of the Corps' few Distinguished Pistol Marksmen and his four Purple Hearts--he gave as much as he received. 

... and to the memory of Johnny Mac and his father who lie close to one another at Riverside National Cemetery where they continue to argue about  "The Old Corps" and "The New Corps", which of course now, ironically, is the "Old Corps" as well.

... to our Commandant as he continues leader our beloved Corps in this period of great challenge and testing by our enemies. Commandant James T. Conway's Birthday Message here.

... to the brand new Marine I met at our local birthday celebration Saturday last night, fresh from the grinder at MCRD San Diego who knows much, but has much to learn. He and the oldest Marine present shared the traditional first pieces of the birthday cake.

  ... and to former Marine and National Guard Capt. Kevin Mansfield, who will celebrate today by seeking out any nearby jarheads in Iraq.

.... to the memory of "Pappy", "Chesty", "Red" Mike Edson, "Speedy", Jack Lucas,  "Howlin' Mad" Smith, Laurence Allen, Smedley, Mitch Paige, Brian Keith and Lee Marvin...     

... and to all comrades, and all Marines past, present and or accounted for....

Happy Birthday and Semper Fidelis.

"It's the Chicago way..."

He may be new on the block, but it's a very old block.

Here's a glimpse of the "new politics" offer by a just another thug politician from the south side of Chicago, except this one has a funny name and doesn't look anything like U.S. presidents.

Richard J. Daly, Chicago mayor (1955-76) who stole the 1960 election by turning out the dead on the South Side of Chicago in sufficient numbers to carry Illinois for JFK. Remember him and read about a new democrat party thug (courtesy of Breitbart.com)

Obama not only aired a response ad to the spot linking him to (terrorist bomber) William Ayers, but he sought to block stations the commercial by warning station managers and asking the Justice Department to intervene. The campaign also planned to compel advertisers to pressure stations that continue to air the anti-Obama commercial.

Several of the stations owned by Sinclair Communications which broadcast the Ayres ad have been flooded with more than 93,000 e-mails from the Obama machine.

Change and Hope?

Here's a tidbit from Friday night's debate...  McCain mention's a KIA bracelet he was asked to wear by the family of a dead solider from the Iraq War; his never-served-a-day opponent for CnC quickly responded by saying "me too" but had to look down at his KIA bracelet to remember the man's name. But he was so unfamiliar with Sgt. Ryan D Jopek's, right, he butchered it.

Not that anyone gives a damn, but Sgt. Jopek's father, recently said on a Wisconsin Public Radio show that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it.

Obama obviously refused.... more than content to drag the young man's corpse around with him even if it would result in only one November vote. 

The daft-dodging coward Bill Clinton "loathes" our military; John Murtha calls them "murders"; Harry Reid declared their war "lost" two years ago; Dick Durbin equates our patriots with Nazi storm troopers and communist mass murderers, and John Kerry claims their are too stupid to get an education, so they're "struck in Iraq."

Obama's "New Politics"? There's nothing new here. Those who vote for any democrat for national office is not suborn hatred of our military as the above listed bastards, but worse... they enable them to keep undermining our national defense and dragging America down.

And yet it does no good to blame these cheap opportunists; they are just symptoms of the underlying infection... the unions, trial lawyers, the communists, socialists, hedge fund managers, criminals, your neighbors and your sister-in-law who keep them in power.

And so may end a once great country; brought down not from without, but within.

United Socialist States of America

When some Third-World, banana republic dictator such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez nationalizes one or more of a nation's industries, true capitalists and free-market advocates 'round the world shake their heads and wonder how a country could degenerate to such depths.   

What do American capitalists say when the Third World banana republic is the United States?   

George Bush and Congress can spin it any way their choose, but they have saddled us with bottomless financial pit by seizing troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a bid to help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis.

In the biggest financial bail-out in history, the government announced yesterday that the feds will acquire $1 billion of preferred shares in each company without providing immediate cash, and has pledged to provide as much as $200 billion to the companies as they cope with heavy losses on mortgage defaults.

I have freely admitted in that past that economics is my worst suit, in fact, even expert tailoring wouldn't remedy it.

Perhaps I can count on faithful readers Hap Arnold and Major Dave to forward their thoughts on this bit of very serious malfeasance and what it's likely to mean now, especially as we're on the verge of a new presidential administration, and for our future. 

For one thing, I'd like to know how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac execs got away with cooking the books and none of them are going to jail, as did the late Ken Lay of Enron infamy.

The WSJ saw this coming and warned warned us six years ago.

But where was the rest of MSM (which was all over Enron like white on Hillary Clinton)?

Where was/is the outrage from conservative members of Congress?

And where was the American taxpayer?

Writing in Forbes Magazine just a few days ago, Harold Gold recalled the following:

One good reason President Clinton was "obsessed" with deficit reduction: H. Ross Perot had garnered 19% of the popular vote in 1992, enabling Clinton to edge out President George H.W. Bush in the general election. And deficit reduction was a key plank of Perot's platform.

Also, at the time, 40% of the American public told pollsters the deficit was the country's most important economic problem; today, that number is 2%. You can't really expect politicians to tread where voters don't want to go--even if smart people like Warren Buffett think this is one of the country's biggest long-term problems.

Speaking of Hillary (who claimed she tried to enlist in the Marine Corps in the early 70s but was shown the door by a sexist recruiter who wouldn't enlist a female), The Messiah has suddenly remembered that he considered joining the military and "actually always thought of the military as an ennobling and, you know, honorable option."

Remarkably, Obama, despite writing two autobiographies and running for president for two years, has never uttered a word about his almost stint in the military.  

Moreover, Obama can plan in infinite detail, a speech before a bunch of Krauts ("Ich bein ein Beginner"), but didn't have any time to drop by and visit wounded US soldiers. It would be "inappropriate", he said when confronted after canceling his hospital visit because he couldn't bring in the new media or his PR people for a photo op. 

JustOneMinute has the full story on how fate intervened to deprive us of the first black George S. Patton of the post-Vietnam era.

Gawd I hate these pathetic beta males who in their youth refused to serve yet later fabricate a patriotic past buy claiming they were "thinking about" taking the oath to defend the country to their deaths, but of course never getting remotely close to seeing a trigger, let alone pulling one.

And I hate them in this order:

1. Military deserters.

2. Draft dodgers who fled their country like thieves in the night rather than serve.

3. Draft dodgers who faked illness or injury (like that stalwart neocon and he man rocker Ted Nugent did during Vietnam).

4. Horses' asses who never served, but claim to have... often awarding themselves medals, war stories and suffering which they've stolen from dead heroes.

5. The Obamas who insist that they were being noble... just before they were not. 

Hummm, first time I've ever rated Obama that high for anything.  

Un-American Airlines

A years and a half ago I wrote:

The AMR/American Airlines Foundation makes charitable and in-kind contributions in four categories... Community Development (yep, "environment" and "recycling"), Arts and Culture (yep, "minorities" and "diversity'), Education (a partnership with the United Negro College Fund), and Health and Welfare (yep, AIDS and cancer).

There's also a category titled "What we don't support"... among specific others: "veterans organizations"; you see where AA's heart (sic) is.

It's always useful to know where someone sits before they tell you where they stand.

and now this from The Wash Times:

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.

American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.

"... the soldiers don't pay a dime, our waiver of the fees amounts to a discount to the military, not a discount to soldiers," said Tim Wagner, spokesman for American Airlines. "Soldiers should not have to pay a penny of it."

First of all, it's obvious that Little Timmy never spent a day in uniform, but it's also no excuse.

Secondly, he entirely dodged the ethical question and passed the buck to "the military". What these courageous young people will remember is that one of the last Americans they encountered before heading to war demanded cash.    

And lastly, Timmy, how 'bout you charge the rest of your customers another 25 cents... oh, and keep the change, ya ratbastards.

Which brings me to a favorite topic...  the very sizeable portion of the public which lacks patriotism and love of country; a smaller sub-group hates the country and our military.

Well why not... millions of citizens were given the aid and comfort to do so by President Bill "I loathe the military" Clinton.

The former group is comprised of the lazy, the self-involved and those who neither feel or show gratitude whatsoever for those who made their freedom possible. 

The later group is hardcore in its dedication to transforming our country into some socialist experiment unrecognizable as America.

Chicken or egg, one group could not exist without the other.

Indifference, a soft, comfortable life, and the all-volunteer military has allowed most Americans (and I believe the number is well over 51%) to shirk all responsibility to the nation. (Above photos courtesy of American Thinker.)

Whenever I encounter a young person 17 or older I always ask, "Have you considered joining the military?" I do this knowing that most will say "no", but what I'm after is why do so many of them react to the question with the same incredulity they'd exhibit if I'd asked them to give up their cells phones and iPods.

Faithful LM31 readers know of our Medal of Honor Host City Program... the simple mission of which is to honor those who wear the nation's highest award for valor, and to make sure young people here have a chance to meet them and be inspired by their patriotic message.

After one such talk which featured the inspiring remarks of five Recipients, I asked a couple of male high school students--juniors or seniors--my question.

One, lacking even the ability to fashion an answer to an adult's question, just mumbled; the other said, "I'm not joinin' any army."

"Well, then why not enlist in the Marine Corps?"

"They're all the same," he said walking quickly away.    

How did we come to this?

Easy... parents, schools, and popular "culture".

Not since the Revolution have so few given so much for so many.... ingrates. 

How is it that in the greatest, richest, most tolerant, most advanced country in the world which welcomes all.... most of those who benefit will not encourage, support, or respect the military, let alone serve?

Our patriotic high water marks were WWII with perhaps WWI a distant second. 

These are the only times in the pathetic history of our "domestic front" that our troops could feel the nation united behind them.

What about the other 226 years?    

There has been only one time in my 60 years that the country rose as one... for the NASA space program which put us on the moon.

Yet during the same period, the military, even young, handicapped veterans, were under siege, disrespected, ignored and ridiculed... by their fellow citizens.

Thus far we've always had just enough to survive.

Enough motivated young men and women willing to die for their nation.

Enough political will not to become France.

Enough common sense to see the nexus between vigilance and freedom.

Enough technical, scientific and manufacturing capabilities to make sure the fight, when it comes, is fought on someone else's shore.

And the average American, if such a category still exists, doesn't spend 10 minutes a year doing anything even mildly patriotic or supportive of our troops.

I'm increasingly skeptical that we'll have "enough" from here on.  

The Great Escape

"The Digger" is dead.

Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Eric Dowling, one day short of his 93rd birthday, slipped away last night in a nursing home near Stoke Bishop, Bristol.

Dowling's real life exploits as a POW in the infamous German camp, Stalag Luft III, inspired the Charles Bronson character in "The Great Escape".

The airman was one of 250 planned escapees but failed to make it out of the camp on March 24, 1944, because the he was behind the 77th prisoner who was spotted by guards.

Like the vast majority of war veterans portrayed on film (with the exceptions of Audie Murphy and Oliver Stone)--geez, I hate to put those two in the same sentence--Dowling was none to pleased about Steve McQueen's film.

He believed the iconic motorcycle fence-jumping scene... "was rubbish".   

Click the above link to read the Telegraph's tribute. (A tip of the helmet to faithful reader Fire@will.)

For me, the worst part of his struggle would have been the actual digging through a dark, dank hole not much bigger than your shoulders; the pure Sysiphisian torment of the task must have been physically, emotionally and mentally defeating.

Obviously, that's how Dowling got his nickname.

It's been said before... "where do we get such men?"

Well, some of them come from my Marine Corps.

Corporal Garrett Jones , who lost a leg in Fallouja, would be remarkable under any circumstances, but one thing makes him more remarkable than most "amps"... he wanted to return to his unit, now in Afghanistan.

And not just that, he no doubt bitched and complained and fought to remain on active duty and in a combat zone (62 soldiers, airmen or sailors have lost limbs in combat and returned to active duty; the Corps doesn't have a firm count on the number of Marines who've returned. Those who have returned to duty in Iraq or Afghanistan is estimated at a dozen.)

My bias has always been that losing a leg below the knee, "BK", is a far better outcome than losing it above the knee, "AK".    

He brought five high-tech legs to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment headquarters in Afghanistan where he works in intelligence. The prosthetics require a great deal of maintenance--especially in the high desert environment of Afghanistan--which he performs every day. 

And what says Jones about all this "hard core, oorah" right stuff he possesses?

"If I were to get the opportunity to leave the wire, I would be throwing gear on in a second, happily," he said. "I miss being outside and operating. . . . Believe me, the first opportunity, I'll be there."

Predictable.

Do yourself a a favor and read the whole LA Times story.  

Here are some more young vets who don't have to go back... going back again.

Blackfive.net sends out our kind of reporters--US Iraq veterans:

For those of you familiar with milblogs (military web logs) this story is heartening for its guts and implications.

Because of the efforts of Veterans for Freedom, eight Blackfive embeds, all Iraq/Afghanistan vets, will be posting the much-needed truth.

Check Blackfive often for their reports; the group just made it to Kuwait.  

Now... and then

Here's a good one about The Clintons' favorite source of ready cash... Tyson Foods. Debbie Schlussel reports that:

Well, folks, here it is--the beginning (or maybe the middle) of the end of America as we know it. Tyson Foods is now ending employees' paid day off for Labor Day and, instead, giving 'em the paid day off for the Muslim festival, Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. It is the most important holiday in Islam.

It will be interesting to see how Tyson calculates which day it is, since Muslims are never really sure on which day or two it falls until right before--and since Shi'ites and Sunnis frequently feud about when it falls.

Same thing happened with Cinco d-f'ing Mayo once the full on flood of wetbacks began invading our homeland and taking up positions in every state in the union.

This is but a small example of how our country is being attacked from within as well as without. Every facet of our lives has been breached... religion, marriage, patriotism, law, popular culture, language, entertainment and especially education.

The left's fifth columnists started opening open the gates during the 60s and now the barbarians are inside... "Gentlemen, prepare to defends yourselves."

This from 1999--I'm sure you remember: "Stupidity no color but ignorance sure is transparent. And ignorance showed through last week when Anthony Williams, the new black mayor of Washington, D.C., accepted the resignation of Public Advocate David Howard, who is white. Howard's offense was sounding offensive: In a staff meeting, he used a perfectly good word - ''niggardly'' - to describe the administration of a fund.

Which led to this: Wisconsin University student Amelia Rideau is upset that her professor used the 'N-ardly' word at least twice: Once on Jan. 25 during a class on 14th-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and once in a subsequent class to explain the word’s meaning.  Ms. Rideau was outraged, and is demanding the UW implement a speech code which would punish anyone using what she described as 'offensive' language - including the 'N-ardly' word.  She urged the university not to require proof of intent before punishing verbal villains such as her professor.

She's never heard of "due process" either.

I'm sure you'll agree the funniest thing in this story--other than affirmative action which allowed Ms. Rideau past the ivy-covered walls-- is that the Wisconsin Star-Trib used "N-ardly"; Or as Ms. Rideau pronounces it... "nard-lee". 

And if a newspaper is too frightened to use a perfectly good word, then a great deal of the battle for wisdom over ignorance is already lost. 

Now comes this:

Commissioner Defends 'Black Hole' as Racist Term

Dallas County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections and other court paperwork.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, white, said that central collections "has become a black hole" intro which paperwork falls.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, black, interrupted him with a loud  "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole." That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, (surprise) to demand that Mayfield apologize for his racially insensitive analogy.

The honkey commissioners just laughed.

As a briefly famous black general said... "Don't git stuck on stoopid."

This from the WSJ via Debbie S.: The Department of Homeland Security has a new strategy to help deal with illegal immigration: self-deportation. This new "voluntary, self-deportation" program with a name as stupid as the idea: "Operation Scheduled Departure."

The numbers of course are staggering...

• 550,000 illegal aliens have received final deportation orders.
• 31,000 illegal aliens have been rounded and detained.
• Thus-- if ICE can only grab 31K of 550K ordered to be deported there's but a 5.6% chance of being caught. Wetbacks w/o a deport order have even less chance of being picked up by one of only 84 ICE fugitive teams.
• No wetback in his right mind heads south.

You're doin' a fine job "Cherty"

No for something to cleanse the palate:

Heroes

World War II hero and respected actor, Charles During received a tip on the hat with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a couple of days ago.

He is the very last actor of his generation who also gave so much to our country in the military.

Like so many of the tough, unpampered men of his generation he lied about his age and forged his mom's signature on his enlistment papers.

Durning was in the first wave at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. He was captured during the Battle of the Bulge six months later; incredibly he survived the Nazi SS massacre of American POWS near Malmadey Belgium.

(Most people are unaware that the SS massacred more than 360 US POWs and more than 100 civilians during this time in the area around Malmadey.....  here. Durning was among some 40 Americans who escaped from the Malmadey group.) 

Durning was awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts--one for being hit in both legs by German machine-gun fire.

Watching him in the great TV series "Rescue Me" with Denis Leary, it's clear his wounds caught up with him.  

Durning is well-known for participating in various functions to honor American veterans. He was the past chairman of the U.S. National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans

He is also a well-known participant in the National Fourth of July Celebration on the Washington DC Mall. 

We won't have him much longer, and then that era--so familiar to the WWII generation and fans of the great movies from the 30s, 40s and 50s-- will, save for memories, be gone.