Thanks

Last night I received the following email message from my friend Paul (Loopy):

Thank you, Kagnew Vets.
Thanks for serving this country and this flag.
Thanks for the difficulties that you who went to Viet Nam faced and endured.
Thanks for being part of a brotherhood that still endures today.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise in dealing with the VA.
Thanks for caring still in your elder years about where this country is going.
Thanks for disagreeing with a modicum of dignity when your brother rants and raves about our government’s direction.
Thanks for agreeing to disagree while still paying respect to the other's viewpoint.
Thanks for all the memories we share of everything that Kagnew represented.
Thanks for welcoming me into this group that has become such an important part of my life in retirement.
Thanks for your friendship.
Thanks for being my brothers.

May each of you have a safe and happy Veteran's Day tomorrow.

I would also like to say thanks to all the Kagnew Vets, especially those who made living in Africa bearable. Long lasting friendships were formed that still exist more than 40 years later.

Thanks to all Vets for sacrificing a part of their life to serve their country.

Thanks to all active military personnel who are now sacrificing, and may or may not become future Vets. I salute all of you.

Finally, a big thanks to Applebees’ Restaurants for serving a free meal to all active military personnel as well as Vets this Veteran’s Day.

The Beach Bum

Semper Fi

Today is my youngest daughters’ birthday. She is now Jack Benny’s perpetual age. How time flies.

We usually have a few drinks together to celebrate, but this year she is 1000 miles away. I’ll just have to have a few extra cocktails tonight. She is in Maryland because her Great-Aunt had hip surgery yesterday. The surgery was successful and soon she’ll be walking around like a normal 85 year old.

Today is also the United States Marine Corps birthday, therefore the title of this Blog. My cousin was a Marine and served two tours of duty in Viet Nam. I have several friends that proudly served in the US Marine Corps; most of them spent at least one tour in Viet Nam. Two guys that I knew in High School died there.

Semper Fi is a shortened version of the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, the Latin for always faithful. They are faithful to the Corps, their fellow Marines, and most of all to our country. They do a job that few of us would consider doing and they do it well. Some die and others are injured for life; both physically and mentally.

Before I started to write this Blog, I stood at attention and rendered a hand salute to all present and past members of the Marine Corps. And then I said Semper Fi plus a prayer for them.

Mister President, please bring our troops home!

The Beach Bum

Saluting

On Saturday I watched two MLB games; the first game was between the Marlins and the Mets and was presented on our local Florida cable sports network the Sun Sports Network.

The second game was on Fox featuring Minnesota at the Tampa Bay Rays.

Both Florida teams won their games.

I should have been happy, but I wasn’t; in fact I was a bit perturbed.

Saturday May 30th was the real Memorial Day, at least in my opinion. The Federal Holiday was last Monday. This change (of dates) was created to give government employees (federal, state and local), as well as bank employees and Wall Street, a three day weekend.

First of all, Memorial Day (Decoration Day) shouldn’t be considered as a day to celebrate, party and shop, but a day to honor our soldiers. It’s a day to honor the dead that served their country. And served it with the ultimate sacrifice; their lives.

Back to Saturday and the ballgames.

Both the Sun Network and Fox switched to commercials when the National Anthem was played. This really angered me. I had planned to stand up and salute (it is now allowed for former serviceman to salute during the Anthem) to honor our fallen soldiers during the singing of the Anthem.

The Cubs (and White Sox) games on WGN always show the singing of the National Anthem before the game and then they cut to a commercial. I usually stand and salute (and get tears in my eyes)!

Saturday was a special day and to salute my fallen comrades I had to go to youtube. This is a shame!

The Beach Bum

Throwing in the Towel

In summer of 1969, I was still in the Army and stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. I lived off post (Laurel, Maryland) with three roommates that had been previously honorably discharged from the same Army unit in which I was currently serving. We all had the same College backgrounds – we were mid 60’s dropouts. That’s what landed us into involuntary servitude in the first place.

We had the party apartment of our complex. There was a major (forty to fifty attendees) theme party (Saturday night) at least once per month, plus a weekly impromptu get together with friends and neighbors. We even had a 3 Keg Perlick Beer Cooler as the focal piece in the living room of our apartment. It was like living in a Frat house, only better.

We had all served in the Army Security Agency (ASA) and our final destination was Fort George G Meade; the home of No Such Agency. I was the only roommate that was still in the Army. I had even bought a George Harrison style wig (I wore it at all the parties – it impressed the young ladies in attendance) to cover up the fact that I was still in the military.

All three of my roommates had done time overseas.

One was stationed at Harrogate, England (it was known as “Menwith Hill”) for two years until it closed down and was turned back over to the Brits. He had some great stories about the local “Birds” and pubs in nearby Leeds.

Another roommate had been stationed in Sinop (The Second Pearl of the Black Sea, AKA “The Rock”) Turkey. This was considered to be a hardship tour (no wives – no women). In this all male environment, sophomoric antics were certain to reach their peak. Occasional trips to the local Karahani (Sp?) relieved them of some of their pent up testosterone.

My third roommate was stationed at Kagnew Station in Eritrea, Ethiopia, East Africa. This was the same place where I had done my overseas duty. He had left shortly before I arrived, but through our conversations we found that we had a lot of friends in common.

On non major party Saturday nights we would sit around talking about our overseas adventures. There were really some great stories told. Of course they were slightly embellished by the teller of the story.

My roommate who had done time in Turkey suggested that we write a book or even a screen play about our adventures in the ASA. Being the most illiterate and youngest of our group (but with the best sense of humor), I was chosen to chronicle our stories and adventures. Besides, they told me that they all had real jobs and I was still in the Army (I never understood their logic).

I spent much of my free time (I had a lot) in my Army Job writing the definitive screen play about our lives in the Military service. I borrowed some concepts from Joseph Heller’s book Catch 22 (without actually plagiarizing him), that I had read in the mid 1960’s.

After supper (after quaffing a few/many beers), I would read my daily writings to my roommates soliciting comments and input. And most of the time they laughed at the dialogs that I had written. This was a good sign.


I was about 3/4's finished with my work of a lifetime, when in February 1970, I saw the Robert Altman movie M*A*S*H. It had better dialog than mine, but the same concept (different time period). I left my work unfinished. I was heart broken.

Several years later (1973), while attending the University of Maryland, I decided to write the ultimate screen play about growing up as a teenager in the late1950’s and early 1960’s. Again I was stymied, this time by George Lucas and his film American Graffiti. I finally gave up. I was twice bitten and twice heart broken.

Although my friends and professors encouraged me to continue writing; I haven’t. I know when to throw in the towel!

The Beach Bum

Up In Smoke

The other day my daughter asked me what I was going to do when cigarettes go up on April first. I believe that she was hoping that I’d say that I was going to quit smoking.

The Federal Government has added an additional sixty-two cents per pack in taxes. Actually it will come to sixty-six cents after adding the Florida State Retail Sales Tax. This is one thing that I never really understood; how can a State Government tax a Federal tax? Some Counties and Municipal Governments also so do this; so you end up paying a tax on a tax on a tax.

The Government claims that they have raised the cigarette tax, partly to discourage young people from smoking. This is a good idea. I’ve been a smoker for more than forty years and I tell young people to stay away from cigarettes. Some of them call me a hypocrite because I continue to smoke. My retort is “Don’t end up like me.”

I’ve tried, several times, to quit and had actually gone nearly nine months smoke free. I’ve used the nicotine chewing gum (which burned my gums and tongue) and the patch and I still craved cigarettes. The doctors said that I have a psychological addition rather than a nicotine addiction. I think that I have both. But I have noticed that I crave cigarettes more when I do certain things.

Why did I start in the first place? When I was young, it was in the vogue to smoke. Several of the best radio and television programs (in the 50’s and 60’s) were sponsored by cigarette companies. Most of my favorite movie and television stars smoked; John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, etc. Even the stars that didn’t smoke pretended to smoke in the movies. This made smoking a lot more attractive than just simple peer pressure telling me that it was cool to smoke.

Then, when I joined the Army, in the mid 1960’s, I was encouraged to smoke by the cadre (“Take 10 and light them up if you have them”). We also received a free four pack of cigarettes in every box of C or K rations. In the PX (Post Exchange) cigarettes cost 20 cents per pack or $1.80 per carton. They were even less expensive overseas where you could buy them (Tax and Duty Free) for $1.05 per carton in the PX and for under a dollar in the commissary.

As far as I know, the US Military is part of the Federal Government (DOD). Therefore the Federal Government promoted the smoking of cigarettes, even though studies existed that linked cigarette smoking to cancer and lung disease (there were even warning on the packs when I was stationed overseas). The Government encouraged me to smoke and now they are taxing me (more and more) for my mistake of listening to them.

In 1970, the following message began to appear on cigarette packs; Warning, The Surgeon General Has Determined that Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health.
I was still buying cigarettes in the PX at Fort Meade for $2.75 per carton at this time.

In my opinion, any Federal Tax on cigarettes should not be paid by military veterans who continue to smoke.

Also, I recall President Obama’s campaign rhetoric saying that there would be no new taxes on the middle class. The majority of smokers are either in the middle class or close to the poverty level (Social Security or pension). Senior (62 and older) smokers should also get a tax exemption on any Federal Cigarette Tax (past, present and future).

If we are taxing cigarettes (at the Federal level) because they are hazardous to our health, why don’t we also tax Fast Food equally? Trans fat and Cholesterol are known producers of heart disease.

Now I’m not picking on McDonald’s, but here’s a link to wikipedia’s nutritional breakdown of the Big Mac. Add to this a large order of fries (how can anyone eat a Big Mac without French Fries) and the fat content will almost double.

If President Obama is going to tax the middle and lower income classes he should do it equally!

The Beach Bum

Right Man, Wrong Cabinet Position

How ironic it is that on the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President elect Barack Obama has named retired General Eric Shinseki (who was as born in Hawaii to Japanese-American parents) to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Personally, I like this guy, because, at the cost of his job, he stood up against the Bush Administration’s policies in Iraq.

However, I don’t think that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should be a former high ranking military officer. But if it must be a retired General or Admiral; Mister Obama made a good choice. General Shinseki is a Viet Nam Vet who led his troops in combat. He wasn’t a desk jockey officer.

But I feel that he would be better suited to be the Secretary of Defense. In his June 2003 retirement speech, Shinseki admonished those who display "mistrust and arrogance" in military leadership and warned against over-committing the Army.

But if I were the President elect the person that I would chose for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, would be one who never rose above the rank of Lt. Colonel or Navy Commander. Preferably a Doctor who spent his/her enlistment time in a military or VA Hospital. Or perhaps a retired CPO, Gunny or Master Sergeant, that had spent time with his troops rather than performing administrative and command functions.

Although I don’t believe that General Shinseki is the right person for the job, I do believe that he will do an excellent job as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

The Beach Bum

Dit Dah - Alpha

Yesterday, one of iGoogle’s Tips of the Day, brought to you by WikiHow, was How to Learn Morse Code.



I know Morse Code but I read the article anyway because I was very curious to see what was written on the subject. WikiHow is editable by users just as is Wikipedia . This means that if a person believes that he is knowledgeable about any given subject, can post or they can edit a post. I've read some great stuff on Wiki, but they again I’ve read some erroneous BS there also.

In 1966 I took a 12 week course in Morse at the United States Army Security Agency Training Center and School at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The best I did was 24 groups (a group is 5 letters or numbers) per minute. After this class I went on to another class that didn’t use Morse Code.

By the time I arrived at my overseas duty station I was lucky to copy 20 groups per minute. But for what I did, Morse was not really a requirement; I was a Communications Analyst working Search and Development. It did pop up occasionally but it was usually at a speed (equivalent to 15 groups per minute or less) that I could copy with a stick (pencil). If it was too fast for me to copy, I would call in a Pro (AKA a Ditty Bopper). These guys were amazing at taking Morse at breakneck speeds.

The only thing that I could understand at high speeds was the standard communications system check; the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs back 0123456789.

I haven’t used Morse Code for more than 40 years. I occasional hear it the background of a movie or television program. On occasion I will rewind and play it back to see if I can understand what is being sent. Rarely, if ever do I get it on the first rewind.

Maybe I should take a refresher course. There is a Morse Code Translator where you can type or copy text and chose a playback speed. First you translate into Morse symbols and then you can play it as you read. I found this site about three years ago, for a friend, but never tried it. I tried it this morning and was barely able to copy at 12 WPM. I try again after I’ve had a few cocktails.

.-/ -- .. -. -.. / .. ... / .- / - . .-. .-. .. -... .-.. . / - .... .. -. --. / - --- / .-- .- ... - .

The Beach Bum

40 Years Ago

On this date, October 18th, in 1968 (40 years ago) at 11:10 am, Ethiopian Standard Time (GMT +3), I was walking on the tarmac of Asmara International Airport. I was about to board a flight to Athens, Greece, then on to Rome, Italy and from there to JFK Airport in NYC. Including layovers and time zone changes, it was a travel time of 77 hours.

As I reached the top of the boarding stairs, I gave a final salute (this was a tradition) to the guys that were seeing me off on my long voyage home. They returned the salute and I boarded. No tears on either side, just smiles and laughter.

Although you were losing a buddy, a friend, and a brother, you were happy for them. They were going home, as you would be doing yourself in the near future. I went through this ritual many times during the 6 months before I left Kagnew Station, Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia.

I have kept in contact with several of my olds friend from Kagnew. Many of us couldn’t wait until our tour of duty at Kagnew was over; so that we could return home to the States to see our families and friends. Today we will admit that we should have stayed there until the termination of military service commitment. It was a great tour of duty and some of the best times of our lives; only we didn’t realize it at the time.

The Beach Bum

The Last Fire Drill

In a comment posted to one of my Blogs, a friend said that I should write some Kagnew Station stories in my blog. I feel that most of the stories that I tell about Kagnew Station, Eritrea, Ethiopia, East Africa are a little too obscene for this blog. Most of them cannot be toned down without losing the true essence of the story.

While looking through my files I found a story, written in 1999, that I could post to this blog. But before I post the story I must first give you some background information.

Artwork by Roxie HowardKagnew Station was a communications monitoring post located in Asmara, Eritrea (8200 feet above sea level). It reached its peak (no pun intended) in the late 1960’s and its closing began in 1973 with the withdrawal of the largest unit stationed there; The Army Security Agency. I had the good fortune of being there during the prime years (1966-1969). Subsequently I am the antagonist in a chapter of Michela Wrong’s non fiction book about Eritrea.

All that being said, here is a homogenized story about life at Kagnew Station in the late 1960’s. This is for you Pal Val.

It was the summer (rainy season) of 1968. Company "A" had just gotten a new Company Commander (LBJ – a sobriquet given to him because of his physique). I was on "A" trick, sharing a two-man room on the second floor with Little Willie. We were working Eves on the next to last day of the cycle. That night, after work, knowing we only had just one shift to go before our 48-hour break, we did what came natural; went downtown to savor some of the local nightlife.

At the ungodly hour of 0645 the Company fire alarm went off. I, as well as others, thought that this must be the real thing. Usually in the past we had always been warned of upcoming Fire Drills. Most of the guys would shack up downtown to avoid participation.

Grabbing what we could to cover ourselves, we headed for safety in the street in front of the barracks (I wish I had a picture of this). Guys came out of the barracks in sheets, in blankets, in under shorts and some with towels wrapped around their waist.

The alarms and noise in the street had also awakened the dependants living in the family housing across the street from A Company. As we gathered, they gathered, waiting for the Fire Trucks to arrive.

Out of the building comes the new CO. He sarcastically congratulates us on our ability to vacate premises in orderly fashion. Boos and hisses followed. Most of "A" Trick dropped their cover, walking naked back to the barracks and bed. The dependants living across the street were appalled at sight of us being au natural. Some of the guys even waved the distinguishing mark of their sex at the dependants. The families complained to the Post Commander. From that day until the day I left Kagnew that October, we didn't have another fire drill.

The Beach Bum

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. The original holiday was called Armistice Day to commemorate the signing of the peace agreement that ended World War I. This agreement was signed on the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month in 1918.

Later in a presidential proclamation, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed that day as Veterans Day. A day to be set aside to honor all that served in the Armed Forces. Being that I am a US Army Vet from the Viet Nam era, this Holiday is of great importance to me. As well as it should be to all of us. Veterans whether they were combative or non-combative contributed to our freedom and to sustain the American way of life.

Yesterday I went to the local Wal-Mart with my daughter. As I wandered through the aisles in the store I came upon an old man. We may have been the same age, but he looked much older and haggard that I do.

This old man was wearing a faded Baseball Cap with the words Phu Bai on it. Phu Bai was the home of the 8th Radio Research Field Station and not too far south from Hue, Viet Nam. This is a place that I knew well because several of my Army buddies were stationed there in the late 1960’s.

I initiated a conversation with him by asking him if he had been in the Army Security Agency. He told me “No, I was in the Infantry and the MP’s.” I next asked him when he was stationed there. He replied 1965-1966.

He then asked me if I was in Phu Bai; I replied that I was stationed in Africa, but knew several guys that had been there. We spoke for a few more minutes. I wished him a good Veterans Day and shook his hand and thanked him.

He then asked me why I was thanking him. I told him that it was because no one else, besides family and other Vets do. There were never any Welcome Home Parades for Viet Nam Vets. As well as there hadn’t been for 1990’s war in the Mid East, nor will be one for the Vets of the Iraq War. We both were tearing at this time. I shook his hand again and smiled.

If you know any Vets call them today and thank them. It will mean more to them than you can possibly imagine.


The Beach Bum

Jar Heads

I read an article on Chicago Tribune.com today that really upset me.

Why did this article get my dander up? Basically, it was for two reasons. First the Marine Corps Sergeant involved should have had better sense, but because he's a Jar Head, he didn't think (his military training taught him to react rather than think). Secondly the DOD should not have any say in limiting a persons “First Amendment Rights”.

The DOD Directive issued in 1996 and renewed in 2003, says “members of the Armed Forces are prohibited from participating in off-post demonstrations when they are on duty, in a foreign country, when their activities constitute a breach of law and order, when violence is likely to result, or when they are in uniform.”

What is the DOD saying? We can’t disagree with the current administrations policy? Are they saying that people who are willing to give up their lives for their country, have also signed away their First Amendment Rights.?

Follow me on this one.

The current oath that a person takes when joining the military is: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

Did our beloved President give an order to the military not to protest his War in Iraq? I can just hear him now "I don't care how many of you young people die, as long as you obey my directives".

How many of our soldiers actually know or are taught the military regulations or the Uniform Code of Military Justice? Who in the Marine Corps actually see the DOD Directives? These are guys and gals that are out there doing a job, for their misguided management. They obey and follow orders! For a Marine - that's all there is.

Look at the keywords in the enlistment Oath. “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Maybe I’m wrong, but I believe the Constitution of the United States gives us the right to protest. If you are supporting the Constitution you are therefore supporting those rights granted in the 1st Amendment.

I openly protested the Viet Nam War, while in the military in the mid 1960’s. My Dad, a WWII Vet was also against that War. He called it “Johnson’s War” and blamed LBJ for killing JFK to prolong the War (but that’s an entire different subject) and I agreed with him, which was a very rare thing for me to do at that time.

What honks me off is that this Marine Sergeant (who obviously served his country well) will get a less than honorable discharge for something that wasn’t fully explained to him (the fact you cannot wear any part of your uniform while protesting the "War in Iraq"). But our military prefers not to explain things to their troops. To our Government they are just expendable bodies (numbers), and this is a shame.

I Support Our Troops!

The Beach Bum

A Return To Normality

It’s back to normality for me. I have spent the past five days cavorting with a group of my old Army buddies. The members of our group that are still allowed to drink alcoholic beverages consumed them in mass quantities. Given the choice of taking prescription medicines to prolong my life or to continue to drink alcohol and kill myself; I chose the latter. Pleasure is much more important to me at this juncture in my life than keeping myself alive and being totally miserable in doing so.

We spent most of the time telling stories about the time that we spent in Eritrea (Ethiopia, at that time). We had four newcomers to our group this year and we heard a bunch of new tales. Including one about me (extremely exaggerated and embellished), which I emphatically denied. The Tale-Teller was confusing me with another friend, but nonetheless it was a good story.

Unfortunately some of the regular reunion attendees were unable to attend this year or it would have been the largest reunion that we have had in the past five years. We spent a lot of time talking about them and cutting them down (since they were not there to defend themselves). We also signed a Happy Birthday card for Donald Rumsfeld (one of last year's reunion attendees), who will be 75 years old in a few weeks. Some of the comments on the card were hilarious.

At the Saturday Night Banquet we all took turns berating ourselves and others in our group. It was like a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. When it was my turn, I saluted our fallen comrades with a toast. Somehow I managed to do it without choking up.

Thank you, my Brothers! I had a great time and can’t wait until next year’s reunion, which is already in the planning stages.

The Beach Bum

Assualt on the Liberty

Forty years ago today I was sitting in a communications operations center high in the mountains of Eritrea, East Africa. It was a stressful time, as we were in the middle of the 6 Day War and working 12 hours on and 12 hours off with no break days in between.

A friend came running into our room at the Ops Center and told us to go to a certain radio frequency and put it on our speakers. My room (Search and Development) was one of the only rooms with speakers; everyone else had to use headsets plugged into our Collins R-390 receiver's.

The Israelis had just bombed the USS Liberty and what we were listening to was a call for help from the crew. These were Navy guys doing the same job that we did; Communications Intelligence. We could hear yelling and screaming in the background. The words that I remember hearing the most are “We’ve been hit”. It was repeated over and over again.

The crew of the Liberty was primarily a bunch of non-combat geeks, the same as we were up on “the mountain”.

At first we believed that the Arabs did it. This was a logical assumption as Israel was our ally. Why would they attack an American ship that was basically unarmed? Later that night through intelligence sources we found out that it was indeed the Israelis that attacked the Liberty leaving over 30 dead and over 100 wounded.

This was during the Johnson Administration and Secretary of Defense McNamara rushed to cover it up because of all of the problems that we were having in Viet Nam. The Israelis issued a statement saying that they thought the Liberty was an Arab ship. Bull, all US ships are clearly marked and fly our flag high on the mast.


A friend, Jim Ennes, a Liberty survivor, has written an excellent book about the events on June 8, 1967 called “Assault on the Liberty”. He is also quoted in James Bamford’s second book about the No Such Agency – Body of Secrets. Jim's website is at USS Liberty Memorial It’s worth a look!

Previously classified tapes (intercepted) of the Israeli Pilots that attacked the Liberty have now been made public. These tapes inexplicably prove that the Israelis knew that they were attacking an American ship. They saw our flag!

I have received many emails today about the Liberty and about the events that happened 40 years ago today. We (who were in Asmara on that day) all remember the event too vividly; these are memories that will be etched in our minds forever.

I have been accused of being anti-Semitic. I’m not, I am anti-Israeli. Why? Because of the unprovoked attack on the USS Liberty 40 years ago and the loss of many American lives. I will never forget nor forgive the events of June 8, 1967.

The Beach Bum

Duke

100 years ago this past Saturday my childhood hero was born in Nowheresville, Iowa. Marion Michael Morrison would later be known as John Wayne; actor and patriot. He epitomized what I believe to be a real man. In real life he was the same person as the characters that he portrayed in the movies. A movie critic once said that John Wayne never acted, that he just played John Wayne.

This past weekend there has been a barrage of his movies on several of the Cable Networks. I enjoyed watching five of my favorites; The Man who Shot Liberty Valance, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Sands of Iwo Jima, Rio Bravo and Donovan’s Reef. I cannot recall ever seeing a John Wayne movie that I didn’t enjoy.


An article in the Chicago Tribune stated "Particularly for people overseas, John Wayne is America and the values America stands for: independent, responsible for his actions, loyal—almost to a fault—and somebody who won't take a lot of guff, somebody who believes in what's right."

This is a very good assessment of my childhood hero. This is why I admired John Wayne; the person, not the actor.

When I was in the Army and taking Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood (41 years ago) a member of the Cadre on the Grenade Range told us to just pretend that we were John Wayne when we were tossing a grenade. I did and I scored well.

John Wayne was a die hard Republican. He even supported Richard Nixon (the President that I dislike the most). He would have made a much better President than “Tricky Dick”. But, at that time, it was unheard of for an actor to run for public office. Boy, have times changed.

God Bless you Duke and Happy Belated Birthday!

The Beach Bum

Memorial Day Part II

I have just received an email from a friend, that has a link which relates to my last Blog!

Memorial Day Video

This video really touched my heart. Thank you Lizzie Palmer!

The Beach Bum

Memorial Day

This year Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday, May 28. I’ll be celebrating, or should I rather say, paying homage to our lost soldiers on May 30th. This has been my tradition since 1990. This had been an old tradition that I somehow had lost over the course of the years.

Today I found the following file on my computer – it was dated 5-28-1998.


“Many Americans celebrated Memorial Day last Monday, May 25th, the official government holiday. I was invited to a picnic as well as several Bar-B-Que and Swimming Pool parties. I declined, telling the hosts that I was too busy preparing for my move to Florida. I should have told them the truth.

First of all, I'm not too fond of the fact that the government has changed the dates of certain Holidays to create 3-day weekends. This was supposedly done to decrease Government employee absenteeism (and/or non-productivity) on the day after a holiday falling on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The bottom line is that the employees that would be absent or non-productive are now that way on the Tuesday following the holiday rather than some other day of the week. Slackers are slackers!

Memorial Day, also known as Decoration Day, was established in the late 1860's to honor those who died in our Civil War. The custom was to decorate the graves of those who gave their lives for their country. Later, the 30th of May became a day of commemoration for all American soldiers who had died.

As a child growing up in the 1950's, I recall seeing parades and going to the cemetery with my Dad. There were no picnics, no parties and no department store sales. It was a day that was set aside to honor those that had served their country.

I've been fortunate enough to not see the carnage of war first hand. My Mother’s father fought in WW I. My Dad, as well as his brother, saw action in Europe during WW II and my father-in-law saw WW II action in both the Pacific and Europe. Somehow I was spared the agony of losing a close friend in battle. They were not so lucky.

Until eight years ago, I too, went to picnics and parties on Memorial Day. Like many others I had forgotten why we celebrate this holiday. On Wednesday, May 30, 1990, I decided to visit The Wall (Vietnam War Memorial) in Washington, D.C.



I'm not really sure why, but I felt compelled to go there. I spent about 20 to 30 minutes searching for a name, any name, of a person that I knew. As I touched the Wall, my knees began to tremble and tears poured from my eyes. I had never in my life felt a feeling such as strong as this. The names of so many men from my generation who never had a chance to live their lives, to see their children grow to adulthood or to enjoy the freedom that they were fighting for.

On Saturday, May 30th I plan to visit the RU-8D ASA Memorial at the National Vigilance Park at Fort Meade, Maryland. And, I will once again weep for guys that I never knew.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
I once again cried when reading my words from 9 years ago. I will cry again on Wednesday! As well as we all should.

For those of you that will be going to Picnics and Pool Parties this coming Monday; I ask that you take a moment of your precious time to honor those that died while serving our country and those that served in the military to assure our freedom.

And then do it again on Wednesday.

The Beach Bum