Bernie Sanders is the ONE!

I chose this picture of Bernie Sanders because of the masses of people that show up for him and his message for a better America.  One million online contributors have donated to his campaign.  Bernie Sanders does not want or ever need to have a Super PAC.  We the people are his Super PAC.  We the people are the political revolution.  If you care to find out who Bernie Sanders is then you need to Google what his positions are on any issue.  He has voted consistently for the same issues he backs today for his run for President of the United States of America for decades.  He doesn't flip and flop because it polls better to be for or against anything.  Little known fact, Bernie does not pay for polling from his campaign.  It would not change his mind so why spend the money to ask? 

I am an online news junkie and for the life of me I can not see how the main stream media is not picking up on the fact that Bernie Sanders is beating the hell out of Hillary Clinton across the country?  Hillary shows up in Boston and a few folks show up.  Bernie Sanders shows up and the facility can not hold the 32,000 people that want to see him speak.  This is not the first time this has happened.  Seattle maxed out capacity, LA maxed out capacity, and the list goes on.  Everywhere Bernie Sanders wants to speak they have to upgrade capacity sites and still make room for people that can not fit into the facility.  If I were the person with the job of booking Bernie after the first debate, I would be looking at huge football stadiums and asking the recently tax free NFL to support democracy for free.  Cause this is America, the land of the free (bernie sanders is against citizens united decisions by the the supreme court that allows billionaires to buy elections).

Anywho, back to Bernie Sanders.  People put this label on him that he is a Socialist.  Wake up!  Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, was a Socialist!  He broke up the big lobbies that controlled everything.  (bernie wants to break up the too big to fail banks and wall street firms) Teddy even protected land by starting the National Parks program. (bernie knows that global warming is proven by SCIENCE and we need to confront it now as a nation)

Then we have FDR that served four terms because America was broken and broke from the Great Depression.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried every idea that came across his desk to get America back on its feet.  The New Deal was a work in progress.  He put people to work building bridges, building damns, building our infrastructure that we all take for granted today (bernie sanders is proposing creating 13 million jobs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure).  FDR created the first safety net called Social (socialist) Security to take care of our elderly that at the time were shuttered off to poor farms or cast into the street if they had no family to care for them.  That would be the check our retired friends and family get every month to support themselves after paying into a system that is OUTSIDE the federal government budget (bernie sanders wants to expand social security not repeal it).  Then FDR created the GI Bill for all of those that returned from WWII.  One of the most successful programs in history where 5.6 million veterans went to school or got other training to become part of the boom in future years (bernie sanders will pay for his college for all for free is by putting a tax on speculation on wall street.  we bailed them all out, time for pay back).

We can't fail to mention Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, the man that created the boom of the 50's by building our highway system that started right here in Saint Charles, MO.  Then went on to expand Social Security to people that are disabled (bernie sanders wants to expand social security and medicare and not cut it). 

Fast forward to LBJ creating Medicare.  July 30th, 1965.  Holy crap, socialism hit America again.  If you are poor and elderly, this is your medical plan.  Medicare is one of the most efficient healthcare plans in the world today.  You may get away with double or triple billing an insurance company but Medicare with fine your ass for being incompetent.  Fast forward to Obama and he creates the Affordable Care Act that our friends on the right like to call Obama Care.  It is an amazing plan that despite all the doom and gloom opponents has actually dropped the rising costs of healthcare insurance.  17 million people have been added since it inception and the writing of this post.  If more states signed up for expanding Medicare then the number would triple or more of new people paying into the market (bernie sanders wants a Medicare for all system that is paid for)(everything bernie sanders proposes is paid for)

Last but not least, Bernie Sanders has been in the forefront for veterans and fighting to get them the benefits they all deserve for all of his political career.  Most of those bills were killed by the GOP controlled congress because they are such Hawks but do not care about the people coming back home that need care.  Send you to war and forget you after they put the flag down to accept a check from the companies that profited from you service to America.


Rock ON Bernie Sanders!  Loving what you are saying and backing you 100%. You are picking up the momentum and pulling the centrist people on the right like Morning Joe your way as well.  (you don't have any hidden email accounts I hope???).

Papamoka

PS.

For all you young college kids and high school kids that want a future that is better than what your parents had, scream at the top of your lungs who you support!  Vote for Bernie Sanders.  Make your generation the one that made a difference.  Show up at every event in massive numbers.  Bernie can not do this alone.  He needs your voice now and he will need you voice once he is President.  He can't do it alone.  Be a part of the political revolution!

Bohner FU to WWI Last Veteran

In classic double speak that politicians have to practice in the mirror to keep their job, Speaker of the House John Bohner screwed up. The last surviving veteran of World War One, aka WWI, was forsaken a memorial tribute at the capitol rotunda on his passing by the GOP head honcho in charge. The man was 110 years old, he was the last doughboy! This was courtesy of the military pro and we love our veteran’s political party Speaker of the House John Bohner. I’m sure he was thinking out of his ass when he blocked a wake at the capitol rotunda for the LAST VETERAN of WWI.

Two West Virginia senators and a documentary filmmaker are expressing their dismay after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) blocked a movement to allow Frank Buckles' body to lay repose in the Capitol Rotunda.

Buckles, the last living American World War I veteran, died in West Virginia at the age of 110 last week. Shortly after his death, Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin III released statements urging Boehner to reconsider.

"My resolution is simple. It would have provided a fitting tribute to Frank Buckles – the nation's last Doughboy," Rockefeller said in a statement posted to his Web site. "Surely, Speaker Boehner can agree that the Congress should pause for a moment to pay its respects to Mr. Buckles and all our World War I veterans." – New York Daily News

Frank Buckles did nothing to the Democrats or the Republicans other than be the last man out of this world that served his country in World War One. And this is something that Bonehead has a problem with? WTF is wrong with him and the rest of the GOP? Apparently, they only support people in uniform while you are actually in the line of fire. Guns, bullets, and God bless our troops. After that their seems to be a middle finger that keeps coming up over and over again when it comes to veterans.

Screw the Republicans if they think that a 110 year old man that was the last surviving man from WWI does not deserve a national tribute. Plant the old geezer at Arlington is what Bohner said. We’ll send a bugler that will put down a boom box, hit the play button and hold a fake bugle to his lips.

Bullshit doesn’t always come from the back end of a bull. Sometimes it is right in front of you and we call him the Speaker of the house.

Papamoka

Bachmann Backpedals on VA Cuts

Thanks to people like you that responded to this and other blogs, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is reversing her position on cutting disabled veteran benefits. Click HERE for the original post that first brought up the subject. Thankfully, she saw the public outrage over this issue and decided to remove this particular section from her proposals on reducing the size of our federal government.

We have this to report from her congressional web page…

"One point on my discussion list was a $4.5 billion proposal that would affect payments made to our veterans. That discussion point has received a lot of attention and I have decided to remove it from consideration. The problem of government spending must be solved, but not on the backs of our nation’s war heroes. I have always been a proud supporter of the United States military and I continue to stand with our veterans. In the months ahead I look forward to working with our Veterans Service Organizations to ensure that we fulfill our commitments to those who sacrificed so much in their brave service for our country.” Michele Bachmann

We will keep you updated when she pulls another batshit loon move. I’m sure it won’t be long.

Papamoka

Just Stay

I received this in an email from my sister Mary and I can't help but think that there is a rare but remote chance that it is true. People are funny and Marines are even funnier when it comes time to simple actions for another person. God bless our men and woman in uniform and SCREW YOU Michele Bachman when you think about screwing over our nations veterans!

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned.. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, But I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

"I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman's Name?"

The Nurse with Tears in her eyes answered. "Mr. William Grey"

And that my friends is how veterans feel about one another and their families. They love their brothers in service and care for them beyond the point of being in service to our nation. It is a blood that can't be given but earned and that is something Michele Bachmann and her ilk will never understand.

I'm not a Marine but I am the son of a man that served as a medic caring for Marines. God bless the Marines and all that serve our country.

Papamoka

Memorial Day Past Thoughts

Times are tough right now in America but they have been far worse, more severe than our simple lives could ever believe. In our time children are no longer born at home but in hospitals where any problem that develops can immediately be taken care of with a highly educated medical staff. Not many folks in generations gone by could boast about that precious gift and yet they survived to see another generation come up behind them, and yet another one after that.

My Dad was a World War II Veteran and Korea Veteran and entered the Navy at the ripe old age of seventeen. Commerce High, here in Worcester, gave him and all the other boys diplomas before they left for active duty regardless of the fact that they never finished all the required work to get one. Many of those boys never made it back home and there is a small memorial at Britain Square in the city to remember them all. Most people don’t even see it and yet one neighborhood woman goes out of her way to make sure it is well cared for and presentable for the public. Nobody asked her to do it, she just does it. She probably does it because she remembers what it was like to lose so many boys to a war we didn’t start. She was probably just a young teen age girl at the time, maybe she lost a brother or two or three in the war. She doesn’t talk about it, she just pulls the weeds and plants the new flowers every year.

As a young man I found it ironic that my father was so proud of his own military service and yet when any of his own sons discussed joining the military he would go off the deep end with rage. His reasoning, the horror he endured, survived, and was scarred by was never given as an answer as to why not, it was just his word. Jack never wanted one of his sons to ever go through the hell he did and when you think about it, what parent would? He only talked about his experiences in his later years and the horror he went through as a young man was beyond words.

As of this date 5/25/09, we have had 4,300 people die in Iraq and Afghanistan. All of these kids bravely signed up for duty, went into combat as volunteers in service to our nation. Some on their fourth or fifth tour of duty. Every single one of them is a hero in my heart and my prayers go out for each and every single one of them. Same goes for all the men and woman still in the field of battle and most folks forget about them.

Memorial Day has come and gone and most of us back here at home spent it having fun times with family and friends and that is a blessing we owe to the people that served, died, and paid the ultimate price generation after generation before us. Our barbecue weekend introduction to summer is a good time for all and we just need to think back as to why it is all possible. No offense to my German or Japanese readers but I’m glad that I can’t understand a single word you say. Thank you Dad! God rest your soul Dad, I love ya and thank you for all the Marines you patched up as a Navy Medic in WWII.

Somewhere in Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever our troops are deployed is a young kid wondering if he or she will be remembered too if they happen to pay the ultimate price for America? I hope so. Can the next generation come to the task of what our parents or grandparents endured and passed on? All I can say is that they are going to have to.

You will never be forgotten as long as I have a single breath in my lungs. Fox News did this tribute up right back in 2006...

Video Link



Papamoka

BUSH ADMINISTRATION HELPS ROLL UP "WELCOME BACK" MAT FOR RETURNING VETERANS

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES



Back in the 1980's comedian Richard Belzer had a routine poking fun at President Reagan. Sarcastically referring to Reagan as "the most sensitive man in America," Belzer would voice words that his target never used. It was comedy, the warping of reality to get a laugh.

In one segment, he remarks on unwed mothers, welfare recipients....and veterans. I cannot recall the exact wording, but it was something like, "Unemployed vets.....just keep on marching fellas." It indicated either an insensitivity to veterans in trouble or suffering from a tin ear when it comes to recognizing a simple decency. It was, perhaps, unfair. But comedy is unfair, even if making a point; that point being....what do "we" owe veterans?

So here we are two decades later. In Belzer's America, Ronald Reagan was addressing Vietnam veterans. However, unlike that time, we have a full-blown conflict on our hands. The president who started it is still in the White House. He's the decider. He's the man in charge. Et cetera & ad nauseum.

And, of course, he CARES about veterans. So why am I seeing a story like this from AP's Hope Yen: RETURNING TO WORK A PROBLEM FOR RESERVISTS?

WASHINGTON - Strained by extended tours in Iraq, growing numbers of military reservists say the government is providing little help to soldiers who are denied their old jobs when they return home, Defense Department data shows.

The Pentagon survey of reservists in 2005-2006, obtained by The Associated Press, details increasing discontent among returning troops in protecting their legal rights after taking leave from work to fight for their country.

It found that 44 percent of the reservists polled said they were dissatisfied with how the Labor Department handled their complaint of employment discrimination based on their military status, up from 27 percent from 2004.

SNIP,

"Most of the government investigators are too willing to accept the employer's explanation for a worker's dismissal," said Sam Wright, a former Labor Department attorney who helped write the 1994 discrimination law protecting reservists.

"Some of it is indifference, some of them don't understand the laws involved," Wright said. "But the investigators establish for themselves this impossibly hard standard to win a case. As a result, reservists lose out."

Under the law, military personnel are protected from job discrimination based on their service and are generally entitled to a five-year cumulative leave with rights to their old jobs upon their return. Reservists typically file a complaint first with a Pentagon office, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), which seeks to resolve the dispute informally.

If that effort fails, a person typically can go to the Labor Department to pursue a formal complaint and possible litigation by the Justice Department.

A report by the American Bar Association as early as 2004 noted problems in which the government was "not seen as an aggressive advocate for the returning veteran." A presidential task force chaired by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson earlier this year found that agencies could do a better job of educating troops and veterans. The report did not address government enforcement of the law.

I know what the explanation is for this: watch the film "Airplane!" and wait for the segment where two political pundits are discussing what to do about the passengers stuck on a crippled airliner that might not make it. One commenter says, "They bought their tickets; they knew the risks....I say LET 'EM crash!"

Of course it will not be spoken thusly in public, but many companies will mouth patriotism. Many will flap their yaps about "supporting the troops" which has become as damaged a cliche as the "war on drugs" or the "war on terror." No one can adequately define them because.....well, they just aren't there to be defined.

I look upon the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts as a national football game. We're all for cheering the guys and gals out on the field. But if dead, injured, or finished with their duty the powerful step over them to keep sending replacement players into the fray.

It's shameful, but then "shame" is a word to describe a condition or attitude that requires contrition. And there is the rub: many have no ability to be contrite about anything. Serving your country is all fine and dandy, but geez louise....don't think for a moment that doing so is going to interfere with COMMERCE.

If there is a federal law that requires employers to take back returning veterans then it should be obeyed. It's a damned shame we even NEED such a law in the first place, but sometimes the legislature recognizes that the excesses of greed and expediency interfere with national security, whatever about common decency.

And that law needs enforcement by the executive. It requires the chief executive of the nation to step on a few toes to ensure that these returning reservists are granted the full extent of that law. But President Bush himself has declared the "haves" and "have-mores" as his base. If this story gets the attention it deserves, like Katrina and Walter Reed, expect photo ops of the president solemnly declaring that he will do something. Yeah. Sure. Almost seven years in office and NOW he might find a problem?

I hark back to the first year of the Kennedy administration. The major steel companies had announced that they were raising the prices of their products. Not because of any inflationary pressure; no, they just wanted more money. The executives were invited to the White House. During a break of the jaw-boning session, Kennedy was seen to exit the conference room in a state of deep anger.

Turning to an aide he said, "My father was right; they're all just sons of bitches." He was referring to the attitude of men whose greed was impaired neither by decency or the thought of the common good.

Anybody who turns their back on a returning soldier/airman/sailor/marine is a son of a bitch, too.

And so are those who allow them to get away with it. What a lousy way to approach Veterans' Day.
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Cross-posted at Michael Linn Jones.com

CURRAHEE'S 3 MILES UP, 3 MILES DOWN; THOUGHTS OF VETERANS' DAY

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES



I'm sure most everyone who writes of things political undergoes a form of what I call blankness. It's not any form of "writer's block." It's more of a reaction to an accumulation of evidence that the political process has become so defunct, so corrupt, so self-loving that one can reach a point of asking, "What does it all matter, anyway?"

Of course it doesn't take but a day or two of looking at news stories to put fire in the gut, and a writer must walk that tightrope of venting their spleen without offending readers with the expletive language our "leaders" deserve.

A couple of times a year, though, I take a mental respite to dwell on other subjects that may not be exactly pleasant, but at least can leave you with a good feeling inside. Such diversions are necessary for a balance; we get to contemplate a different time, with different people who didn't talk all that much but definitely walked the walk.

A recent visit to Toccoa, Georgia brought home to me several things that frankly I hadn't thought of before. That always happens when visiting places with a history. You go seeking one thing and come away with a lot more than you intended.

Toccoa is a small town in the northeastern part of the Peach State. In the downtown area is the Stephens County History Museum and the Currahee Military Museum. I went there because after watching the "Band of Brothers" series I wanted to see what was left in place there from the 1940's.



The museum is housed in the former train depot. It was at this spot that all the troops arrived by train, and also where they departed. The building was added on to in order to house the quantity of material available to the museum. Within the museum are the stables used for housing enlisted men in Aldbourne, England both prior to and after D-Day.

There is much in the museum pertaining to the "Band of Brothers" but also many individuals' items from around the country. One is quickly reminded that Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Regiment was but one of many, although now the most famous.

Seven or eight miles away is the site of the original Camp Currahee. Today the land is owned by the Milliken Company. The only remaining structure is the chow hall from the 1940's. Viewers might recall the scene where the sadistic Capt. Sobel ordered spaghetti for the men and then announced they were climbing Mt. Currahee immediately.

The road itself to the top of Currahee is still there. It's unpaved, and a fairly steep drive. At my age I was fatigued just by the DRIVE up there, and can only imagine....even with youth and health on your side....how daunting a chore it was to run those 3 miles up the mountain and the 3 miles back down.

Toccoa/Currahee is well worth the visit. The staff at the museum were as nice, polite, and helpful as could be.

As I left the area I thought about what I'd seen. On Veterans' Day we are supposed to remember veterans...that seems simple enough. World War II is the main focal point for such remembrance, but with the greatest respect not the only conflict. We all KNOW that but other wars don't hold the imagination like WWII.

And that's a shame, because even the Currahee Military Museum exposes patrons to items that date back further than the 1940's. There are World War I exhibits, as well as items from the Civil War, to mention a few.

It is perhaps proper that we focus on those who fought, and died, in combat. But, we don't let the light shine very brightly on the other people. I'm speaking of the service troops...the men who served even if not in combat. Or the ferry pilots who flew aircraft across the Atlantic whatever the weather...and many of those were women.

I extend my purview of Veterans' Day to those who served not in uniform at all, but did their duty....and still do. They are the invisible veterans...the wives and husbands, the fathers and mothers of those in the armed services who wait...and pray. Many times their prayers were not answered, but they carried on their lives anyway.

The spirit of those young men who ran up and down Currahee in the early 1940's can be found a century before, and a century after. Although as wars go Korea and Vietnam don't hold the aura of World War II, the men who fought and died in those places were no different than the men of Shiloh or the men and women of Baghdad.

Studying veterans...their actions, their motives, their way of thinking....is as fine an antidote to the grinding frustration of politics. We have to have faith in something earthly, a belief that people are at their core decent and good. Much evidence today indicates otherwise, and that is where one must be careful in discerning between fictional heroes and real-life ones.

Everyone who has served is human, with frailties and faults. But frankly, if I were asked to choose which gift is greater....a grant for billions from Washington, or the blood of a soldier who bought me and my heirs a little time to make the world right.....I'd have no hesitation in embracing the latter.

It's all well and good to thank veterans each year. It's wonderful and I applaud anyone who does.

All I ask is that you consider carefully what you're thanking them FOR.
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Cross-posted at Michael Linn Jones.com
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Kindly featured at MemeOrandum

A LITTLE REMINISCING

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

Who knows how the human memory works? My father's memory is such that at age 83, I can tell him the same joke twice within a month and he'll not remember being told more than once. Yet it is a fact that if his old body could find its way into the cockpit of a P-51, within 45 minutes he would be able to fly it as he had in 1944-45. Our memories seem to always hold nuggets that never fade.

This one dates back to 1968. The memory kicked it loose after following all of the debate of who is, and isn't, a true patriot these days. It is true so far as I can at least attest to the fact that I was there and witness to most of what happened. And it is, I think, a nice little diversion from the chest-beating righteousness that goes for discourse these days.

My brother was 3 years older than me, and graduating high school in 1968. For those of you who don't know or remember, 1968 was not a very good year. Dr. King was assassinated, as was Bobby Kennedy. The Tet Offensive made a shambles of LBJ's Vietnam policy. And, millions of American youth graduated high school pondering their chances in the you-ain't-just-kiddin lottery known as the Draft.

Some guys went to Canada or Sweden rather than submit to the draft. Some took drugs to disqualify themselves at the draft physical. Some took advantage of political connections and got admittance into the various forms of the National Guard.

But most took their chances and obeyed the law without any of the options available to the sons of the influential. As we know, many died in Vietnam. Many returned wounded in one way or another. The war was a mess from beginning to end, but the valor of the men who served finally was recognized years and years after it was displayed.

In that Spring of 1968, my brother had talked me into joining the local chapter of the Sea Scouts. The unit owned a 31 foot sailing sloop that was kept at the local yacht basin. We rarely actually went out in it, but it was a great hang-out for the weekends. One of the brother's fellow high school seniors was in the Scouts, and was a regular visitor to the sloop.

At the time he was infatuated with the daughter of a Circuit Court judge and talked incessantly about her. I don't know whatever happened with that unrequited romance, but this young man who I'll call Dean was enthusiastic about everything. In the midst of the growing clarity of the real-life dangers confronting high school graduates at that time, Dean's thinking was exactly the opposite of so many in his age group.

He WANTED to go to Vietnam. His plan, while insane, was simplicity itself. He was going to join the Navy the day he graduated. He was going to put in for duty on a Patrol Boat River (PBR) and wanted to go up the Mekong Delta. A PBR was equipped with a twin 50 caliber machine gun in the bow. That's what he wanted to do: shoot "those twin 50's" as he put it, and with a lot of gusto.

I'm not really sure if he cared what he shot it. I remember him saying Vietcong, trees, buffalo....it didn't matter. Our first reaction was to accuse him of doing an "Alice's Restaurant" routine whereby his ardor for war would assure him of duty ANYWHERE but Vietnam. But, as time went on it became obvious he was quite sincere in this. For a while he had the reputation as the craziest guy in town. He lost that title in late May when another schoolmate got fired from his bagboy job at a Publix Supermarket and mailed in a bomb threat.....after signing his name to it. It was just that kind of year.

Along comes graduation. Sure enough, Dean enlisted in the Navy the day after the ceremony. The recruiter wanted to know what he wanted to do in the Navy. He kept his promise: PBR, Twin 50's, Mekong Delta, gimme lotsa ammo.

So he went through basic training, and of course the Navy starts to take a closer look at those who made it through the regimen. And what, pray tell, did Dean REALLY want to do? After a nanosecond of consideration: PBR, Twin 50's, Mekong Delta, and as much ammo as the damned boat can carry, when do I start???

And just like Joseph Heller laid out in Catch-22, the Navy in its wisdom knew that anybody wanting to go to war that badly, particularly THIS war, was too unstable to trust with real weapons. Dean was intent on de-foresting Southeast Asia single-handed with a machine gun, and that just wouldn't do.

So what did they do with him? He was assigned to Pearl Harbor for his entire 4 year enlistment. Dean was most likely the ONLY sailor thoroughly disgusted at being based at Pearl Harbor between 1968 and 1972. The closest he came to combat was as an extra in the film, "TORA! TORA! TORA!"

I look back now, as an adult and see this skinny 18-year-old kid full of bravado. But that is not accurate. Youth breeds bravado, but there was true bravery there, too. The decades obscure many details, but not that which is most important. And Dean, wherever he is, was more than willing to stand the post, as the saying goes.

I'm proud to have known him. While not a "war hero" in the sense that he never saw the combat he craved, he was, and is one nevertheless. Like many of the true heroes; those men and women who do things for differing reasons, Dean placed himself between a civilian life of endless choices and death itself. He, and those like him, are heroes precisely because they never would see themselves as such.

As for me? I ain't no hero. Never would claim that title in a million years. But I've known a few.

And sometimes that's more than good enough. Selflessness sometimes runs like wet paint and touches others.

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This piece kindly featured at MemOrandum

WHAT ABOUT PHONY PATRIOTS?

Picture courtesy of Normandy American Cemetery
Colleville Sur Mer

By Michael Linn Jones

This latest furor over comments made by Rush Limbaugh is like a chord sharply struck. It points out more the growing divide in the nation than anything else. I'm reminded of those days in the 60's, when people were requested to drive with their headlights on if they were for the war, or leave them off if they were against. On those days you could see how divided the country was on Vietnam.

Oddly, though, the nation was not divided on veterans. There was bipartisan support for treating veterans in a way that the rest of the world had never attempted. The "G.I. Bill" at the end of World War II helped provide many with college degrees or training. The medical services of the Veterans Administration were available to any ex-serviceman or woman, provided they were honorably discharged.

Over the decades, the benefits of the G.I Bill shrank. Adjusted for inflation, the amount of funding for schooling is not at the level it was in the 40's and 50's. However, support remained constant for medical services.

That is, until this century. In 2003 the Congress voted funding for the Iraq War. Within minutes it also voted to slash spending for the VA. In print and on the air this can be debated, but the proof of eating, as they say, is in the pudding.

It is a fact that President Bush did not veto the VA cuts. It is also a fact that his administration foresaw a CUT in VA spending for 2008, using the same myopic idiocy that has shown up elsewhere. A cynical view would see this as part of the "starve the beast" strategy whereby the services will become so restrictive that veterans will just give up and go elsewhere. We are reminded of the golden virtues of the "free economy" and how those needing medical attention should have thought of that when they were young, etc.

The end result are those little things that mean a lot. Like diabetics being limited to 50 test strips A YEAR. Like any veteran who attempts to enroll in the VA now must not earn more than $32,000 a year. Oh, and those folks in Afghanistan and Iraq? Well, they get VA coverage for two WHOLE YEARS...for FREE! After that, adios and good luck.

So, if Rush Limbaugh is so deeply and patriotically committed to those in our armed forces, let him prove it. It would be refreshing if he used his golden EIB microphone to blast anyone who has been involved in cutting services to veterans. And I'm sure he can find a good number of Democrats, too.

It is more than extraordinary that today, 63 years after D-Day, one can visit Normandy and find the French folks as thankful now to those Crosses and Stars of David in their neat rows as they were in 1944. And here? Those who serve are forgotten as soon as they return home.

I hate to be like a boil on the butt here, but I would be more impressed with Mr. Limbaugh if he shifted his focus a bit from debating whether the troops support President Bush to how well our government supports those who sacrifice their freedom so that he can enjoy his. I've heard many times Rush's philosophy that makes it clear that the money he earns should not go to the government; that he should be allowed to keep it. It's his, by God, etc.

Could he make an exception in this case? Is it asking too much?

Sadly, it is.

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Loss of the Greatest Generation

Picture courtesy of Dinoto Funeral Home

I hate to steal the line from Tom Brokaw but I admire his work and his tribute to the many veterans of World War II. For some of us World War II is a history that many never have the chance to understand from the point of view of those that served during the war. For that matter, many of the brave men and women that served never talked about it. They did what our nation asked and returned home changed but lived an amazing life none the less different for it.

Our veterans from World War II are fading into the final adventure that is part of life and I think it only just to pay tribute to them for the sacrifices they made when not only our nation needed them but the world needed them. I’ve posted several lost military service people here on Papamoka and I am proud of what I have posted on their behalf. I am truly thankful for all of our military people and when they have a loss so do I in my heart.

I grew up knowing my father served in World War II and in Korea. He never spoke of the horrors of his service till his later years. His later years took him from me but all the books and events he never missed when it came to veterans he passed on to his youngest son. My father and my friend was always a family man first. He lived for his family first and the past was just what it was. Jack O’Keefe didn’t bring the war home to Manor Road, he brought family to Manor Road. As much as my mother made us feel that home was our entire families home, Dad made sure that it was just that by just being our Dad. He wasn’t perfect but he was not a push over for any bull that any of his seven children could pass on at any given time.

While the pages of Military persons that are dying in Iraq or Afghanistan are filling up on the internet I find it kind of ironic that the people that fought to defend the atrocities in Europe are being laid to rest by the thousands every single day without any tribute. If any man or woman that served in any battle or war there is no generation that we as a nation should be more thankful too than the WWII Veterans.

Life is funny, my father never pushed any one of his sons into the military unless we were completely out of control. He cried when he came back home to sign my older brother up for the Navy. He didn’t regret it though. What the child he signed up learned was respect and to this day he knows what that means. If Jack didn’t make that step, our families future and that child’s future would have been very different. That was a very difficult decision and given our fathers experience during war time that he never wanted to see any of his sons experience what he endured that became a life time of pain for him.

Enough of that stuff and here is a tribute to just one other WWII Veteran. I hope and pray that his family does not mind that I post his obituary here.

Over at the Worcester Telegram they have this WWII Veterans obituary…

Robert Thore Gustafson, 88, died Friday, August 24th, at home.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, E. Marcia (Hooker) Gustafson; his two children, The Rev. Lisabeth M. Gustafson and Donald P. Gustafson. Bob was the son of Thore and Clara (Benson) Gustafson. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret Engwall, formerly of Worcester, now residing in Beavercreek, OH. He was predeceased by his sister, Ethel V. Nelson and brothers Walter, Roy, Carl, Ralph "Nick" and G. Herbert Gustafson.

Mr. Gustafson was a lifetime resident of the Worcester/West Boylston area. He grew up in the Quinsigamond area of Worcester. After graduating from South High School in 1937, he joined the Navy, serving throughout World War II. He was serving on a cruiser during the attack on Pearl Harbor and then transferred to submarine duty in the Pacific for the remainder of the war. After returning home from the service, Mr. Gustafson went to work for the New England Telephone Company where he worked for over 37 years. - Worcester Telegram

Thank you Robert Thore Gustafson for your service to not only your nation but to your family as well. My personal thanks to his family and my condolences on his passing. Our nation and the world is a far better place to live in thanks to the people like him that did what they had to do and did it damn well!

Papamoka

Feel Free to thank a Veteran here...

Broken Hearts from a Broken War Strategy

While the President is insistent that we stay the course with regards to the war in Iraq the base of his political support is fading steadily. What were once strong holds of the Republican Party are becoming opponents to the president in what seems to be a never ending parade of funerals for our fallen sons and daughters.

As the President plays on the peoples worst fears the battle truly being fought does not have a definition to declare the war over. There will never be a signing ceremony where the opposing parties agree to an end of the hostilities. In its place we have an endless loop of a war that has the appetite to continue for generations if so allowed.

Each day the numbers of killed in the war in Iraq have become just that, numbers. To many people these numbers have no faces, families, or friends. Have we as a people become numb to the consistent body count that is on the news every single day? That is not the case in small tightly bound communities where everyone knows everyone not just by a face but by a name, who your family is and more importantly as a friend.

As more Republican Senators and Congressman join the ranks opposed to the war the President will dig in deep wearing his cast iron resolve like a life vest. As his strategy for the war in Iraq sinks below the waves and the president clings to the tip of the mast, the only thing certain is that the strategy that was his ship is in fact sinking.

The days of this President’s personal war in Iraq are coming to an end. Not today, or tomorrow but with the increasing loss of support from Republicans in the Congress, and in the heartland.

Papamoka

Flags at Half Mast for Military Fallen In Mass.

In the wake of the Romney is the next best thing to sliced bread as a governor in the main stream media we finally have a Governor that isn’t about what people want to hear or see at the state level. We have a Governor that will do what is right and just by the families that have lost a loved one in service to our nation from Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick today ordered all state buildings have their flags at half mast on the day of the burial for any of our fallen heroes. Governor Deval Patrick has brought forth the sacrifice to all of our minds that many of our families have paid in service to our nation with a simple gesture of respect that these brave men and woman deserve.

Over at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette they have this to say about this issue…

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Patrick orders flags lowered on day of soldiers' burial
The Associated Press

BOSTON— Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday ordered that all flags on state buildings be lowered to half-staff on the day any Massachusetts soldier killed in a war zone is buried.

The order takes effect immediately, and means that all flags on state buildings will be lowered on Thursday for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Newsome of Chicopee.

Newsome died last week of wounds suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Legislation passed by Congress last month would also require all federal agencies in a state to comply with a governor's request that they fly their flags at half-staff to honor a fallen service member.

"We want to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice that these servicemen and women and their families have made to this country and the commonwealth," Patrick said. - Worcester Telegram

I salute Governor Patrick for this declaration. Let us not forget the brave sons and daughters that serve our nation.

Enjoy your fourth of July celebration and just for the hell of it, thank a family member or friend that is a veteran. It can’t hurt and they just might need the hug.

Papamoka

Memorial Day With A TWIST

Contributed by Michael Linn Jones

About two hours drive north of Paris there is a small village; la Neuviille-Houssett. Not far from this village is a farm, dissected by a small lane. This is old country, originally civilized by the Romans and witness to centuries of the horror of warfare. Across the lane from this farm is a Cross, with a small retaining wall holding a bronze plaque.

The monument, standing about 15 feet high, looks out upon a rising field, facing a hillock where on a cloudy night in 1944, an American bomber crashed at nightfall. The aircraft split in half, and all the crew were ejected. Local men dragged the men away from the flames. They were carried to the farmhouse. Three men survived, and the other four died. One was a young man from West Virginia. He died on a kitchen table, with Last Rites being read by a local priest. Aware of the fact that the dying man was Protestant, this priest did not care; a man of God performed his duty. This particular priest turned out to be the kind of man who did a lot of things not expected of him.

The West Virginian in question was the bomber's tailgunner, a SSgt. Wetzel Kimball. Several years before he had fallen in love with a girl from Jackson, Tennessee named Camille Owen. Camille had to accept the loss of her husband, a common experience in those days.

The village priest, Father Heroux, dedicated himself to bringing closure to the families of the dead airmen. In 1946 Fr. Heroux raised the funds necessary to erect the original Cross, at the same site where it stands today. He travelled to the U.S. after the war and met Camilee and other family members of the crew.

In 1948 Camillle opted to have her husband's remains returned to the United States from his resting place at Epinal in France. He was finally laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2001, the local people of la Neuville-Houssett learned the details of the old Cross along the farm lane. Without government involvement or support, a huge amount of money was raised, and the result is what you see in the photograph. It is, if I may say so, as much a testimony to the gratitude and good hearts of good people as it is a remembrance of dead soldiers.

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Near the southern border of the Netherlands is a small town named Margraten. Nearby is an American cemetery from World War II. Please watch this short video; it'll only take a moment of your time. It's important that you do so because within the clip is a short mention of the fact that the people of that area regularly visit the graves of the 8,000 men buried there.

What the video does not show is that following World War II, and also 9/11/2001, a system of "adopting" American graves took place. These people waited their turn to have "their" American to lay flowers upon at every American holiday, such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and so on. They WAITED to have the opportunity to express their thanks to men who died long before many of them were even born.

Camille Kimball never remarried. She died a widow in 2003. After 59 years, she and her husband were finally reunited at the Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. The love of one person for another can be most powerful, and in this case stretched for decades.
The story of the Kimballs is an interesting and poignant one. But you don't need to dwell upon them. In any city or town in this country there are cemeteries, and in each of them lies some man or woman who served us up gifts that we love but take for granted.

Sad to say, yet I'm proud to say, certain human beings in France and the Netherlands do not take these gifts for granted. It is part of their tradition that whatever frustrations they may feel in trying to figure out Americans, their gratitude is more than just talk. They walk their walk and, as in the case of Margraten, compete to do so.

Perhaps without knowing it, they are simply responding to the request of a dying Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan." He said, "Earn this. Earn this day."

If people an ocean away can do this, why cannot we start a similar tradition? On this Memorial Day, before you go off to your well-deserved rest or fun, take a moment to do something you've probably never thought of doing. Pick up some flowers...anywhere, it doesn't matter. Find the grave of a veteran and do no more than say "thanks."

You'll have a whole year to think about what you've done to earn that gift.

*****Funeral Ceremony has linked to this post...

USMC Snubbed by VFW for Burial Reception

Picture courtesy of the Boston Herald

According to 96.9 FM Talk in Boston and Eagan & Braude the reception post the burial of a Rockland, MA native son, Walter K. O’Haire who was killed in Iraq serving in the United States Marine Corp was snubbed by the local VFW for a Bingo game. Apparently, the contract from the local Son’s of Italy was iron clad and the reception for a fallen soldier was passed on by the VFW to host the Bingo night.

I’m speechless.

Was the hall built for veterans and their families or was it built for Bingo players? Our kids are being killed serving our country and yet Bingo is a higher priority in the minds of the local VFW?

Fallen Rockland Marine is laid to rest
By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Updated: 10:38 AM EST

A hush fell over the hundreds in Rockland who clutched flags and saluted yesterday as the mournful procession arrived carrying the casket of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Walter K. O’Haire on what would have been his 21st birthday.

From inside a limousine, his uncle, through tears, saluted back to the crowd, which included local schoolchildren, military families, area soldiers and veterans. Then the slow cadence of bagpipes began, breaking the silence.

“Wally saw himself as defending his country and his family,” said the Rev. James Hickey at Holy Family Church in Rockland. “All of that stuff was so important to him.” – Boston Herald

There is no logical explanation for why this happened and yet the mother of the 21 year old man holds no animosity toward the VFW. She buried her son and that was something that she needed to focus on and I offer my heart felt prayers to her and her family.

Papamoka

***** US Military has linked to this post...

Margery Eagan covers this in her column over at the Boston Herald...

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