Vets - Vietnam Era

In the photo below JFK, President and combat veteran, was speaking to our USNA Class of 1967 during our Plebe Summer on August 1, 1963. We had reported to the Academy just a few weeks earlier on June 26, thus beginning our four-year grind as Midshipmen. This was, of course, a necessary prelude to the careers that many would follow. Sadly, President Kennedy died just a few months later in Dallas. 

Normally I don’t do this, but a Naval Academy classmate, Bruce Wright, posted the following on FaceBook today, so I decided to share it. It pretty much sums up what many of us experienced back in 1967 and in the years that followed. It’s a bit “stream-of-consciousness” but tells the story well. 

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We left home as teenagers or in our early twenties for an unknown adventure. We loved our country enough to defend it and protect it with our own lives. We said goodbye to friends and family and everything we knew. We learned the basics and then we scattered in the wind to the far corners of the Earth. We found new friends and a new family. We became brothers and sisters regardless of color, race, or creed. We had plenty of good times, and plenty of bad times. We didn’t get enough sleep. We smoked and drank too much. We picked up both good and bad habits. We worked hard and played harder. We didn’t earn a great wage. We experienced the happiness of mail call and the sadness of missing important events. We didn’t know when, or even if, we were ever going to see home again. We grew up fast, and yet somehow, we never grew up at all. We fought for our freedom, as well as the freedom of others. 

Some of us saw actual combat, and some of us didn’t. Some of us saw the world, and some of us didn’t. Some of us dealt with physical warfare, most of us dealt with psychological warfare. We have seen and experienced and dealt with things that we can’t fully describe or explain, as not all of our sacrifices were physical. We participated in time-honored ceremonies and rituals with each other, strengthening our bonds and camaraderie. We counted on each other to get our job done and sometimes to survive it at all. We have dealt with victory and tragedy. We have celebrated and mourned. We lost a few along the way. When our adventure was over, some of us went back home, some of us started somewhere new, and some of us never came home at all. We have told amazing and hilarious stories of our exploits and adventures. 

A bunch of us: Navy and Marine helicopter pilots

We share an unspoken bond with each other, that most people don’t experience, and few will understand. We speak highly of our own branch of service and poke fun at the other branches. We know, however, that, if needed, we will be there for our brothers and sisters and stand together as one, in a heartbeat. Being a Veteran is something that had to be earned, and it can never be taken away. It has no monetary value, but at the same time, it is a priceless gift. People see a Veteran and they thank them for their service. When we see each other, we give that little upwards head nod, or a slight smile, knowing that we have shared and experienced things that most people have not. 

So, from myself to the rest of the veterans out there, I commend and thank you for all that you have done and sacrificed for your country. Try to remember the good times and make peace with the bad times. Share your stories. But most importantly, stand tall and proud, for you have earned the right to be called a Veteran. I’m a VETERAN! If you are a Veteran, please Stand Tall and Proud.

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And let me add just a thought: to all the veterans who read Bruce’s words, be thankful that God gave you the opportunity to serve others. You and I survived, but that was God’s doing, not ours. But through it all, we were willing to do as Jesus reminded us: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” [Jn 15:13]. When you come right down to it, that’s what we were all willing to do. Blessings and God’s Peace.

Pray for Our Country

Okay, I’ve been around a while, and during those many years have lived in the South, the Northeast, the Middle Atlantic, and the always strange West Coast. I’ve also traveled extensively throughout the world and schmoozed with the natives in many European and Asian nations. During most of those years, I found that much of the world admired, and sometimes even feared, the United States, if not always publicly, certainly privately. And it wasn’t just our industrial and military power that caused others to envy America. For many, particularly those who understood us best, their admiration centered on our long history of governmental stability. Ours has always been a nation that, despite changes in political leadership, has managed to demonstrate a strong and abiding faith in its constitutional foundation. Although many nations in the world are older than the United States, very few have governments that have survived as long as ours.

Sadly, given what’s happening in our nation today, I fear this stability might not last much longer. We have become a divided nation in which a growing, vocal, and very active gang of radical socialists hope to effect permanent change in our nation and its government. They are feared by those in the Democrat party who need their votes for reelection, and consequently the so-called moderates agree to further the bulk of the socialists’ radical legislative agenda. Much of the nation, certainly most of those who usually exercise their right to vote, are inherently conservative, in that they see no need to change a system of government that has served generations of Americans rather well. For almost 250 years, despite occasional stupidity, mistakes, and moral and ethical lapses, as a nation we have done remarkably well. 

But the times are changing, so much so I encourage all Americans, regardless of political party, to turn to our loving, forgiving God and plead that He will bless and protect our nation, its future, and its people. As Catholics we are not locked into any political party. We look not to the vagaries of political machinations, but turn instead to the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and to the timeless teachings of the Church. In the spirit of this hope, I offer the following thoughts, asking all to join me as we pray:

For the forgotten. So many in our nation, and throughout the world, are simply overlooked by all levels of government and, yes, even by churches. These forgotten included the abject poor who must survive at society’s depths, those who suffer from generational poverty, mental illness, and addictions, those who are somehow forgotten by governmental and other programs. So often we turn to government, assuming only it can address the problems of those in greatest need. But government programs are inherently inefficient and plagued by bureaucracy and its many failings. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must get our hands dirty and take a healing walk through our communities, providing the help, encouragement, and love that others need. And remember, Jesus healed the physically ill and cast out demons, but His primary focus was on the spiritual health of those He encountered. Pray for the conversion of the poor, the forgotten, those tossed aside by society. And pray for the wealthy, for the elites who actually believe they are better than the rest of us. Pray that they may learn the humility of the Son, who emptied Himself for our salvation. Oh, yes, and pray for yourself, that you will do God’s will in the tiny slice of creation In which He placed you.

For the Fragmented American Family. Far too many, including too many Christians and Catholics, have caved in to the evil of so-called same-sex marriage. Marriage is a sacramental reality, one given to us by God Himself, and as Sacred Scripture and 2,000 years of Church teaching remind us, marriage can exist only between a man and a woman. Divorce, too, is at a high, and perhaps even more disturbing, many couples are simply not getting married, preferring instead to live outside the marriage bond. Children, of course, suffer most from the dissolution of the family. Far too many couples have also accepted a contraceptive mentality, one that includes the travesty of abortion, simply for the convenience of their lives. Pray for the families of our nation, and pray especially that they will be accepting of God’s gift of life. And pray, too, for the unborn and for those who seek and perform abortions. Ask the Holy Spirit, the “Lord and giver of life,” to work within the hearts of our politicians, our judges, and our people.

For those who protect us. So many, today both man and women, willingly devote their lives to the defense of our communities and our nation. Many, far too many, are seriously injured or lose their lives in this selfless effort. Let us all remember that these are true American heroes, who along with their families suffer the physical, mental, and spiritual wounds that most Americans will never experience or even understand. As a nation, and as individuals, we owe these courageous men and women, especially our veteran warriors, our deepest thanks. 

For our Church. The Church throughout the world, but especially in our nation, is under attack, particularly by the political left. This, of course, is nothing new. The Catholic Church has been attacked by the Nazis or national socialists, and by the communists, the international socialists. Today, religious freedom, once considered the first of our freedoms, has been tossed aside by many politicians for whom ideology trumps all personal freedom. Pray that out nation holds fast to the God-given freedoms enshrined in our constitution, so that we may, as Catholic Christians, “make disciples or all nations.” 

Finally, the absence of faith is fear, so be not afraid! Keep the faith! The God who loves us, the God who gave His Son for our redemption, is in charge. He will bring all to completion. Our nation, like all nations, is nothing more than an ephemeral human society that will eventually fade away. But God remains and will be with us forever.

One Thing After Another...

We seem to live in an odd world in which the strange has become normalized.  

Shakespeare, just another dead white male. Consider the University of Pennsylvania (or simply "Penn," as it prefers to be called). Penn is an Ivy League school that commands big bucks for offering its students, in the words of the Penn administration, "an unparalleled education informed by inclusivity, intellectual rigor, research, and the impetus to create new knowledge to the benefit of individuals and communities around the world." I suppose that means they promise some sort of education to their students. To confirm both the inclusivity and intellectual rigor of a Penn education, activist students -- apparently a horde of frenzied English majors -- tore down a portrait of William Shakespeare, whom they dislike, and replaced it with a photo of Audre Lorde, whom they esteem. Lorde, it seems, is a black, lesbian poet who quite probably, like her student devotees, believes she is far more relevant than the Bard. 

The head of Penn's English Department, an academic named Jed Esty, decided that the portrait should not be returned to its former place of honor because Shakespeare, a white male, was the antithesis of diversity. And for those of you who might be paying for a child to attend Penn, listen to what else Professor Esty had to say:

"Students removed the Shakespeare portrait and delivered it to my office as a way of affirming their commitment to a more inclusive mission for the English department...We invite everyone to join us in the task of critical thinking about the changing nature of authorship, the history of language, and the political life of symbols."

The problem for the few thoughtful students at universities like Penn is that to succeed they must parrot this gibberish in their papers and on their exams. Failure to do so would be seen as symptomatic of reactionary uniformity, the opposite of the progressive diversity (paradoxically, a diversity that demands conformity) the school hopes to instill in its charges. You can read more about this incident at Penn here.

Wounded but not healed. After the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the U.S. Congress provided $7 billion in compensation to the families of the victims of the attacks. Each family received an average of $1.8 million. I mention this here not because I disagree with the compensation but simply to make a comparison with the following.

Ten years ago, Dusty Kirby, a Navy corpsman serving with the Marines in Iraq, was severely wounded by an Iraqi sniper. The bullet shattered his jaw and caused serious damage to his mouth. Even after a life-saving surgery and 30 subsequent operations Dusty remained in excruciating pain and suffered from brain injury and PTSD. He could not chew food, speak normally (he'd lost 1/3 of his tongue), or smile since he had almost no teeth left. 

Then, after almost ten years, Dusty turned to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation an organization that, through its affiliate Marine Assist, arranged for specialized reconstructive surgery at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital. The result was miraculous. The surgeons repaired his jaw and later provided a completes set of dental implants. He can smile, eat and speak. Here's a news story on this young hero.

To me the sad thing about this story is that Dusty Kirby, a Navy corpsman whose service was dedicated to healing wounded Marines, had to turn to an outside organization to receive the healing he needed. These surgeries were not paid for by the United States government who apparently did not consider it important to return this young man to normalcy.

We can pay $1.8 million to the families of 9-11 victims who sadly were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but then treat our warriors horribly. These underpaid men and women return again and again to the war zone, placing their lives on the line to ensure our security. The very fact that the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, Marine Assist, and many other similar organizations have to exist is a scandal. 

And what about our senior officers and Defense Department officials, you know, the folks whose job it is to care for the people under their command? Do we ever hear them screaming about the poor treatment wounded veterans receive? How many have resigned in protest? How many have taken the case to the public? 

Obama and Israel. Look at a map of Asia and Africa. Draw a line from Turkey south to Somalia and then expand that line into a large rectangle that stretches eastward to Pakistan. Within that box there's one democracy, Israel. All the rest are either military or theocratic dictatorships. They are all Muslim majority nations. And they all hate Israel. By the way, if you're using a map printed by the Palestinian Authority, you won't find Israel on it.

The United Nations, an organization made up largely of nations ruled by thugs, passed its latest anti-Israel (actually anti-Jewish) resolution and for the first time the United States failed to exercise its veto. Our ambassador instead abstained, which it the same as voting 'Yes' since it yields an identical result.

We therefore sided with the terrorists and the nations that support them. This, of course, is nothing new for our president who just thinks the world of his friends who run Iran, the same nation that his own State Department claims is the world's leading supporter of terrorism.

Rouhani and Obama Celebrating

I'll write more about this at a later date. Let me just say that January 20th can't come soon enough.

Carrie Fisher, R.I.P. I really don't pay too much attention to show biz types, their work, their lives, and their deaths. But I was especially saddened to hear that Carrie Fisher died today at the age of 60 after suffering a major heart attack last week aboard a United Airlines flight from London to LA. 

Because Fisher became ultra-famous as a teenager in her role as Princess Leia in the first of the Star Wars movies, most of us probably never accepted the fact that she had aged along with the rest of us. I know I'll always see her as the young, spunky, intergalactic heroine she played so well. 

Princess Leia, Armed and Dangerous

The daughter of two genuine Hollywood celebrities -- actress Debbie Reynolds and crooner Eddie Fisher -- Carrie Fisher suffered much during those 60 years. Drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, strained and shattered relationships all contributed to a deep sadness that seemed to plague so much of her life. 

But it's important to realize that she was more than an actress who reached her peak of fame 30-40 years ago. She was also an extremely talented writer. I'm not a big fan of Hollywood fiction (or non-fiction), but I truly enjoyed her autobiographical novel, Postcards from the Edge, which I suspect was an honest and painfully humorous depiction of the humanly dysfunctional film industry. She wrote a number of other best-selling novels and was in demand as a screen writer and fixer of scripts. 

I'm sure she will be missed by those who knew and loved her. I pray that the Lord receives her with mercy. Rest In Peace.

Veteran Statistics

Our federal government's failure to address the health needs of veterans might well have something to do with the fact that a growing number of Representatives and Senators never served in the military and have no first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by veterans.  The below graph (courtesy of the Pew Research Center) clearly shows how the number of veterans in Congress has decreased from 75% to 20% over the past 40-50 years.


This apparent lack of concern for veterans' issues on the part of politicians might also be influenced by the fact that the number of veterans is steadily decreasing. Veterans today make up less than 7% of our nation's population (estimated at 317 million) and as the below graph shows, that percentage will continue to decrease. (The graph can be found on the VA's website.)

Public Crosses

What exactly is a public cross? Well, first, I don't include the crosses one encounters on churches or in churchyards and cemeteries. After all, one expects to find crosses atop steeples and on church property. The crosses I refer to are those unexpected ones, those crosses (or crucifixes) that have been purposely placed where they can be seen and approached by the public. Whether they're on public or private land matters not. The reality is, they are there; they can be seen by all who pass by.

I suppose the first public cross I remember seeing was in post-war Germany. In 1951 my family lived in Heidelberg where my father was stationed for nearly a year. During that time we took many short trips around the country, including several to the mountains of Bavaria. On one of these trips, around Christmastime, we stayed at a small ski lodge for about a week. Each morning, if the weather permitted it, Dad would take my older brother and me on a hike along one of the many trails that wound through the nearby forest. As a seven-year-old boy with a new pair of leather alpine boots that Mom and Dad had just bought for me, I couldn't have been happier and considered these hikes to be true adventures. It was really all very Hansel and Gretel-ish and I expected we might well come upon a spooky forest cabin, complete with a wicked witch, or maybe even a troll. Instead we encountered a cross.

We saw it on our first hike. After only a few hundred yards, we were confronted by a wayside shrine perched on a small hill right above the path. The shrine was actually a crucifix not unlike the one pictured above. Jeff and I followed our dad up the few steps leading to a stone bench at the foot of the shrine. This beautiful spot had obviously been designed as a place for prayer and meditation and that's exactly what we did. I remember the three of us saying the Our Father together and then, after Dad brushed the snow off the bench, we sat down for a while and enjoyed the view of the nearby mountains. 

After this experience I began to notice these shrines (called Bildstöcke in German) wherever we went during those wonderful months in Germany. Almost all were skillfully made, and many are hundreds of years old. Not all of them, however, were crucifixes. Some were Marian shrines displaying either a statue or picture of the Virgin Mary. And some, like the shrine pictured at left, include both a crucifix and a statue of Mary. 

Those beautifully crafted shrines I encountered in Germany 60 years ago were erected simply to remind us of the goodness of God. Almost always located in a place of beauty, they point to the glory of God's creation. It's as if those who built the shrines were telling future generations to take a moment to thank God for all His wondrous gifts, for the gifts of our world, our salvation, and our very being. But whatever their theme, these wayside shrines were so very different from anything I had seen in the United States. One certainly didn't come across such things in our 1950s suburban New York town.

Today, of course,we encounter an increasing number of roadside shrines along our American highways and streets, but unlike those in Bavaria, these seemingly makeshift shrines are memorials to people who have lost their lives, usually in car accidents or as a result of some other tragedy. I can certainly sympathize with those who suffer from the sudden and tragic death of a family member or a close friend, but to me there's something slightly grotesque about these shrines which are often littered with a collection of personal items or other mementos. Although they are usually centered around a cross, they seem designed less for the worship of God and more as odd memorials to the person who died. It's almost as if those who constructed them are afraid that without the shrine the deceased person might be forgotten. There's just seems to be something tragically unfaithful about this. But then, I suppose I should avoid attributing motives to others.

The Germans, of course, are not alone in their construction of shrines designed for all to see. On our recent trip to Ireland Dear Diane and I visited the ancient site at Clonmacnoise in County Offaly where we found several of the old high stone Celtic crosses. The earliest of these crosses, dating from early medieval times, were decorated with geometric designs, while the later crosses were carved with Biblical scenes.There are over three hundred of these magnificent old high crosses scattered throughout Ireland.

The photo at left shows one of these ancient crosses, complete with its carved scenes from Scripture. I suspect that, like the stained-glass windows that later graced the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, these carvings were excellent reminders of those Bible stories the people heard proclaimed and preached at Mass. The cross in the photo was moved inside  to protect it from further erosion from wind and rain. A full-sized replica was placed outside where the original once stood.

I find it interesting that in Ireland these crosses are celebrated as an important part of the nation's heritage, while in the United States groups like the ACLU, and too often the government itself, seem to find any display of our own religious heritage unacceptable.

One recent news story involves a cross erected in California's Mohave desert in 1934 as a memorial to World War I veterans. The cross was a centerpiece of the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial, the only World War I Memorial designated by Congress as a National Memorial. The ACLU, of course, thinks the cross is a disgraceful and egregious violation of the principle of separation of church and state (a principle, by the way, which does not exist in our Constitution). Ultimately, a lower court finding against the veterans was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in a close (5-4) decision. Justice Kennedy, who sided with the majority, wisely stated: "The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement [of religion] does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm".

But that's not the end of the story. Not long after the Supreme Court's favorable ruling, someone decided to steal the seven-foot cross. When the veterans replaced it with a new and virtually identical cross, the National Park Service took it down and claimed that only the original cross approved by Congress could be erected on the site. A subsequent lawsuit by the veterans against the Obama administration resulted in a land swap in which the veterans gained ownership to the small piece of land on which the memorial is located. Since then the veterans have erected a new cross which still stands today. The entire legal battle to keep the cross took almost 13 years.

More on public crosses in my next post...

Am I a Terrorist?

An interesting question. Am I a terrorist?

I admit it's a question that had never before occurred to me. But with the release of the Department of Homeland Security's report on domestic terrorism among right-wing extremists, it would seem I have some serious soul-searching to do. The report -- its full title is Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment (try saying that quickly three times) -- performs a unique and invaluable service to the American people by identifying those among us who pose a serious threat to our way of life and to the fulfillment of the president's political agenda. My personal thanks to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (pictured below perfecting her homeland security skills).

After reading the report (the unclassified version is only ten pages long -- click on the above link), I realized that among those most likely to commit acts of domestic terrorism is...me! That's right, I am apparently a potential domestic, extreme, rightwing terrorist...and I never even knew it.

First of all, I'm a veteran. And since I wore the uniform of our country for 30 years -- giving the military more time to radicalize me -- I suppose that makes me an even stronger candidate. In the words of the report, radical rightwing extremist organizations can easily "radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." The report seems to equate all veterans with Timothy McVeigh, the only veteran specifically mentioned in the report...and probably the only veteran DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has ever known. (She was involved in the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing.) And so, to all you veterans out there: Watch out! They're coming to take you away. Please go peaceably.

Secondly, I'm prolife or, as the report phrases it: likely terrorists among rightwing extremists "include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration." The Obama administration would never, of course, call us prolife, a tag that carries a far too positive connotation. I suspect I get a double whammy from this one because not only am I prolife, but I also belong to an organization that has backed the prolife cause for about 2,000 years, the Catholic Church. To all you prolifers out there, remember, resistance is futile.

As for immigration, I'm all for it. Thanks to immigration my grandparents were able to become Americans after leaving the hellhole that was 19th Century Ireland.The only pride I have in my Irish heritage relates to the thanks I give that my ancestors were smart and industrious enough to leave the blasted place. But when it comes to illegal immigration, I'm of a different mind. If our political leaders, our representatives, believe that our immigration laws need to be changed, then they should change them. But that takes courage, and might endanger their reelection chances. It's much easier simply to ignore existing law and pay lip service to the protection of our borders. I would rather see our government focus more of its energy on the source of our immigration problem: encouraging the reformation of the corrupt regimes to our south that lead their people to flee in such large numbers. But, again, that would take courage...and so the illegal immigration problem persists. I see no change in the offing.

Secretary Napolitano lumps folks like me, those concerned about the proximate and long-term effects of illegal immigration, right in there with today's wacko nativists. And so, once again I apparently fall into the potential terrorist category. I can already feel the tasers.

But that's not all. Secretary Napolitano also sees a threat from those who believe that the Bill of Rights, specifically the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution, protects the citizen's right to bear arms; i.e., to own and carry a gun. She indicates that "a correlation may exist between the potential passage of gun control legislation and increased hoarding of ammunition, weapons stockpiling, and paramilitary training activities among rightwing extremists." Apparently the secretary is aware of congressional plans (and administration support) to pass new gun control legislation, and worries that "rightwing extremists—as well as law-abiding Americans—" might take to loading up (so to speak) on weapons in advance of such governmental action.

Uh-oh. Strike four. I have always accepted the Founders guarantee of my right to own a firearm -- although I will neither confirm nor deny that I currently possess anything that goes BANG -- and once again find myself smack dab in the middle of another demographic that identifies me as a potential domestic, rightwing, extremist terrorist.

There's more, but I'm too shocked to go on. I never intended to be a terrorist, but I am obviously guilty. No trial is necessary. Just send me off to Guantanamo...oh, wait...they're closing that place. Can't send me there. OK, send me to San Francisco. That would be a lot worse. I'll just pack my one small bag, sit by the front door, and await the knock in the night.

Pray for me.