More than a Name on a Wall

MoonHowler

All our fallen warriors are important.  However, some hold a special place in our hearts, as individuals.  We cherish them not just for who they are but for their families and friends.

This past year I had my XX high school reunion and touched base with many old friends from Charlottesville.  I talked with Brenda, a high school friend.  We somehow got on the subject of Charlie Milton, who was killed in Vietnam.  Charlie was a high school chum of mine and a little more than that to her.  We both had a good cry and promised to go to The Wall together.  I had already located Charlie a number of years ago.  It still breaks my heart.

Did I mention that this song in the video, was written by another classmate, John Rimel.  He and Jimmy Fortune co-wrote More than a Name on a Wall together.  One of their friends had been killed in Vietnam.  It was so good to see John and he had changed so much.  He was tall, distinguished, and still so very talented.

As I close, I think of my friend Mark and his wife who lost their son in Iraq.  Colin was certainly more than a name on a wall to his family and friends.

Maybe its time for us as a nation to start thinking about the cost of war in human terms.   I have gotten so I can barely stand to go to The Wall any more.  That’s my generation.   My mother felt that way about the WWII Memorial.  She never went.  Perhaps neither of us has the stomach for war.

 

Tribute: Some Gave All

MoonHowler

Some have given all since before we even were a country.  There have been approximately 1.1 million American casualties in all our wars.

Those numbers do not reflect the number of Americans who have been maimed by war.

death

Something to consider:

When men talk about war, the stories and terminology vary – it’s this battle, these weapons, this terrain. But no matter where you go in the world, women use the same language to speak of war. They speak of fire, they speak of death, and they speak of starvation.

Abigail Disney

 

Memorial Day Weekend, 2016: A Tribute to Warriors

MoonHowler

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Moonhowlings.net will pay tribute to those who have fallen. I hope you will drop by to help us remember those who gave all. On Memorial Day proper, Monday, George Harris will share his thoughts with us.

So, as we move into the holiday weekend, let’s remember that many, many warriors have not returned and that some who have will never be as they were.

Freedom has a huge price tag.

If you see a vet, I have never met one yet who doesn’t beam when you thank them for their service.  Rolling Thunder is usually a big giveaway.

Thanks to all our special vets here at Moonhowlings!  Thanks for your service!

Kelly**, George, Steve, BS, Moe, Starry,  Ivan, Cargo….Roll call!  Who have I left out?

 

 

** a special shout out!!!!

Israeli killer goes to prison for life

MoonHowler

ben david

Washingtonpost.com:

JERUSALEM — The ringleader of a group that kidnapped and burned alive a Palestinian teenager two years ago — a revenge killing that shocked many here because of its savagery — was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison plus 20 years.

Yosef Haim Ben-David was convicted of murder and kidnapping last month. Ben-David, 32, the owner of an eyewear shop in Jerusalem, lived in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. He is married with a young daughter and is the son of an ultra-
Orthodox rabbi.

The killing of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in 2014 was part of a summer of violence that contributed to the war between Israel and the Islamist militant movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Before his sentence was read in court Tuesday evening, Ben-David made a brief statement. “I apologize for what happened,” he said. “I ask forgiveness of the family for all that happened.”

Ben-David said he had served as a volunteer for one of the emergency response teams that assist ambulance crews at the scenes of accidents and attacks. “I attended to both Jewish and Arab bodies,” he said. “I always considered the human form and respect for the dead to be holy.”

Good.  Ben-David did a horrible, evil deed.  His country, Israel,  found him, tried him,  found him guilty and sentenced him to prison for killing a Palestinian youth.   He is getting what he deserves.   Can we safely assume that when Palestinians  kill Jews their country will hunt them down, prosecute and sentence them to prison with equal vigor?  That doesn’t seem to be happening.

 

RIP, Joe Medicine Crow

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

According to Crow tradition, a man must fulfill certain requirements to become chief of the tribe: command a war party successfully, enter an enemy camp at night and steal a horse, wrestle a weapon away from his enemy and touch the first enemy fallen, without killing him.

Joe Medicine Crow was the last person to meet that code, though far from the windswept plains where his ancestors conceived it. During World War II, when he was a scout for the 103rd Infantry in Europe, he strode into battle wearing war paint beneath his uniform and a yellow eagle feather inside his helmet. So armed, he led a mission through German lines to procure ammunition. He helped capture a German village and disarmed — but didn’t kill — an enemy soldier. And, in the minutes before a planned attack, he set off a stampede of 50 horses from a Nazi stable, singing a traditional Crow honor song as he rode away.

“I never got a scratch,” he recalled to the Billings Gazette decades later.

Medicine Crow died Sunday at 102, according to the Gazette. He was the Crow’s last war chief, the sole surviving link to a long military tradition. But he was also an activist, an author, a Medal of Freedom recipient and a vital chronicler of the history of his tribe.

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Millennial commitment to fighting ISIS reverses with personal involvement

MoonHowler

Boots on the Ground

NPR.org:

In the wake of the Paris attacks, a majority of young Americans support sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS, according to a wide-ranging new poll from the Harvard Institute of Politics.

The institute has asked millennials about the idea of American boots on the ground at three different times this year, and the survey results have fluctuated somewhat, but there seems to be a “hardening of support.”

In this most recent survey, 60 percent of the 18- to 29-year-olds polled say they support committing U.S. combat troops to fight ISIS. But an almost equal number (62 percent) say they wouldn’t want to personally join the fight, even if the U.S. needed additional troops.

The disconnect in joining the fight comes down to how millennials feel about the government writ large, according to Harvard IOP Polling Director John Della Volpe.

“I’m reminded of the significant degree of distrust that this generation has about all things related to government,” said Della Volpe. “And I believe if young people had a better relationship with government … they’d be more open to serving.”

Yesterday, Wolve slapped down information on this subject–that millennials by about a 60-40  spread wanted the US to commit troops to combatting ISIS.  That seemed strange coming from young people.   Millennials make up more than 1 in 3 workers in the US work force and are defined as having ages ranging from 18 to 34 in 2015.

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A date that will live in infamy: Remembering Pearl Harbor

MoonHowler

 

74 years ago today.  On the east coast, people were just kicking back, relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.

I once asked my mother what she thought when she heard it. She told me that most of them didn’t know anything about Pearl Harbor. She also said she had no idea that Sunday afternoon on December 7, 1941, how drastically all their lives would be affected.

That date will live in infamy, as long as one person who knew someone of that era lives. After that, who knows. At the time, the attack was seen as a dastardly, cowardly act. It was and should still be seen that way.

Most of those who fought at Pearl Harbor that day are dead or they are very old men. However, a tremendous rallying call went out that day that called millions of young men to come serve their country and defeat the “Japs.” (forgive me, that was the expression for the enemy in those days)

Pearl Harbor is where it all began and it had a life altering affect on all of us who came afterwards. Pearl Harbor etched its mark in what it really means to be an American.

Your thoughts on this day?

Freedom: what if…

MoonHowler

american nazi

What if WWII had not been won by the allies?   Amazon prime tickles our imagination in a great series called “The Man in the High Castle.”  Season one is on Amazon prime now and I am addicted to the show.  I can’t come up for air.  I am watching the Tech game and watching and listening to “The Man in the High Castle.”  I am on episode 7.

What really comes to mind is freedom and how fragile freedom really is.  I can’t possibly not think about the sacrifices my parents’ generation made to guarantee our freedom.

This series really gives a good picture of how it all could have been.  What if America were divided into 2 nations?  What if Japan and Germany ruled?  How would our lives be different today, especially under the WWII regimes?

Addendum:  I am finished the series.  What a scary show.  Please note, the flag is from the series, not from me.

The point of the post, which obviously is not being picked up, is that our freedom is very fragile and often taken for granted by Americans–those of us who have it.  Were it not for the sacrifices of many, especially from the Greatest Generation, we would not have our freedom.  “The Man in the High Castle” is just one story of what our lives might be like were it not for those from the Greatest Generation.

 

 

 

Anti-refugee bill on house fast track

MoonHowler

congress icon

Politico.com:

The fallout from the Paris terrorist attacks will begin to play out on the House floor Thursday as the chamber is set to approve a bill to block any refugees from Syria or Iraq from entering the country unless they pass a strict background check and receive government certification.

The bill, which was crafted by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), is expected to pass with a big bipartisan margin. A sizable number of Democrats are likely to cross the aisle and vote for it, despite White House opposition, said lawmakers in both parties. Some rank-and-file Democrats are concerned about looking soft on national security even as French authorities continue to track down suspects from last week’s deadly attacks.

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Another government shutdown?

MoonHowler

Politico.com:

A cascade of Republicans on Monday implored the Obama administration to scrap plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States next year, saying they pose an unacceptable security risk in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

And, in a dramatic twist, the sudden standoff is raising the possibility of a government shutdown next month.

Throughout the day a host of Republican governors around the country, wary that refugees could end up in their home states, blasted President Barack Obama’s plans. But those governors lack real sway over the process, and some are asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to insert a provision in the Dec. 11 spending bill that would bar more Syrian settlers.

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Daddy Bush knew….

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost.com:

Former President George H.W. Bush takes some unexpected swipes at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, key members of his son’s administration, over their reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks, in a new biography of the 41st president, Fox News reported on Wednesday.

In “Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey Of George Herbert Walker Bush,” author Jon Meacham quotes Bush as saying that Cheney and Rumsfeld were too hawkish and that their harsh stance damaged the reputation of the United States, the cable news network said.

Speaking of Cheney, who was vice president under President George W. Bush, the senior Bush said: “I don’t know, he just became very hard-line and very different from the Dick Cheney I knew and worked with,” according to the report.

Cheney served as defense secretary during George H.W. Bush’s 1989-1993 presidency

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Netanyahu suggests Palestinian caused final solution

MoonHowler


Washingtonpost.com:

There is no Israeli orator tougher and more pugnacious than Benjamin Netanyahu, but even his allies expressed bewilderment — and shock — Wednesday after the prime minister asserted that a Palestinian religious leader gave Adolf Hitler the idea to annihilate the Jews.

In a speech here Tuesday evening, Netanyahu sought to explain the surge in violence in Israel and the West Bank by reaching for historical antecedents. He said that Jews living in what was then British Palestine faced many attacks in 1920, 1921 and 1929 — all instigated by the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, who allied himself with the Nazis during World War II.

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Is the US military turning a blind eye to sex abuse in Afghanistan?

MoonHowler

From the New York Times editorial:

The incidents of sexual assault on children described by American service members who served in Afghanistan are sickening. Boys screaming in the night as Afghan police officers attacked them. Three or four Afghan men found lying on the floor of a room at a military base with children between them, presumably for sex play.

No less offensive is that American soldiers and Marines who wanted to intervene could not. According to an account in The Times by Joseph Goldstein, they were ordered by their superiors to ignore abusive behavior by their Afghan allies and “to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

The Pentagon’s indulgent, even complicit, attitude toward pedophiles among the Afghan militias that it funded and trained is indefensible, at odds with American values and with international laws Washington has taken the lead in promoting.

Pervasive sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan. It is especially pronounced among armed commanders who control rural regions and hold sway over the population there. The practice is known as bacha bazi, or boy play; powerful Afghan men often surround themselves with young teenagers as a mark of social status.

By instructing American soldiers and Marines not to interfere, even if the incidents occurred on American bases, the Pentagon has chosen — reprehensibly — to sacrifice vulnerable children in order to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militias it needs to fight the Taliban.

Some American service members who opposed the policy have been disciplined or seen their careers ruined because they fought it. In one case, Dan Quinn, then a Special Forces captain, beat up an Afghan militia commander in 2011 for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. The Army subsequently relieved Captain Quinn of his command, and he has since left the military. Now the Army is trying to retire Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a Special Forces member who joined Captain Quinn in the beating.

Continue at the New York Times.

Where is the press?  Where is the Pentagon?  The military brass turning a blind eye to this kind of reprehensible child abuse is simply unacceptable on all counts.   No human being should be used as a sex slave, especially children.  I don’t give a rat’s ass what the customs are.

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WWII: A data visualization

MoonHowler

These numbers are simply amazing. Estimates suggest that over 60 million military and civilian lives were lost during this conflict that began September 1, 1939 and ended in August, 1945. The Soviet Union suffered the hugest losses. Comparisons are staggering.

Perhaps when the cable news just seems too depressing, it might be uplifting to see the progress we have made in the “peace department” since WWII.

Visit the Washington Post following this link to see the world map.