Note: This is an updated version of a Memorial Day blog I wrote about five years ago, both celebrating and mourning personages of the past who can only be reached by memories today. It’s funny how people in your life are there, flashing bright, briefly and with intensity, and then they are gone. This is especially true of military service in general and wartime duty in particular. You mourn the loss of guys you were close to— literally a [...] READ MORE
It’s time to stop pledging allegiance to the Grim Reaper of Russia! Trump and his allies insist that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine were he still president. And Russia did not make aggressive moves on his watch, something former aides and others credit to his erratic behavior and direct threats that left world leaders uncertain of how Trump would respond to a provocation. —Associated Press (March 29, 2022) The attempt of the Trump-inspired “America First” campaigns [...] READ MORE
Why can’t we remember the lessons of getting in and out of wars? We’ve had a tough time getting out of other countries’ wars, and we still haven’t figured out how to do it effectively. One option is not getting involved in these hostilities in the first place, either as advisors or combatants, but that’s not the American way. It’s become even worse as we sink deeper into the War on Terrorism, which is really the enemy [...] READ MORE
Uncle Sam’s call became more of a challenge during the Vietnam War. Frederick Richard “Rick” Ohler’s name is just one of about 58,000, mostly men and barely old enough to be treated as adults had they avoided military service. They are all dead. Rick, at 24, was one of the older soldiers in the 519th MI Battalion and, like many of us, he was an intelligence analyst. Our compound was in a rather rural place known as [...] READ MORE
Talk is cheap and real heroes typically have little to say. I’ve come to learn, as a Vietnam vet, that the real heroes of that ill-advised war are a silent, almost invisible group. The guys who do all the talking, all the bragging, their license plates personalized and their vehicles papered with stickers trumpeting their veteran status and affiliations, aren’t necessarily the real heroes. This is not only true of Vietnam, but of Korea, World War II [...] READ MORE
