Princess Diana Memorabilia

The Cincinnati Museum Center is currently the home of a traveling exhibit on the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. The wife has shown some interest in attending, and I have to admit a bit of curiosity myself.

After all; I was there. I was in England during the public courtship and marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The TV was full of the courtship and the Wedding; you couldn't walk 10 feet anywhere with out bumping into someone selling souvenirs. And this was 70 miles away.

In the City of London you literally could not move. the short stroll from the tube station to anywhere; normally a 10 minute walk was now an hour. The whole country; Hell; the whole world turned out in London for the Wedding of the Century.

I admit I bought a few souvenirs. A vendor had set up a stall in the Lobby of the NCO Club, and she was rather persistent. And attractive. Okay; she was attractive and I was the persistent one. At any rate, during the course of 20 minutes I wound up with 3 plates, guaranteed to go up in value. The whole Wedgwood Pottery thing, very collectable. It was a good spiel.

And they were collectable. Until the Divorce of the Century. D'oh! I thought future Kings couldn't do things like that?

Okay; bury these 'priceless' things in the attic; maybe one day they will be worth something again.

And now we are in 2014. The interest in Diana seems to be peaking again. Let's take a look; see if these old relics are worth anything.

 Well; they are worth something. Depending on the seller, less  than what I paid for them in real dollars 33 years ago, or what I did pay for them without an adjustment for inflation; about 10 bucks each. Persistent and attractive remember?

Stuff 'em back in the attic; maybe they'll be worth something in another 35 years.

If You Don't Laugh, You Ain't Normal

That first post was short, but with a long video.

So how about another short post with another long military related video.

I found this over at the The Borderline Sociopathic Blog For Boys site; always very entertaining.

I did spend a few years serving, but I don't remember anything like this video happening. But then maybe we were this young and dumb.

Or, maybe its because I see lots of Green- Army and Marines.

Didn't see any blue in here at all.

But then again I could be prejudiced.

Does That Go For My Man Chuck, Too?

Guess what I just found out. This means all of the Jokes can now stop, right?

You know the ones about how soft the Air Force is?

And now I know where BUFF's get the ability to scare the ground away!

Honor and Respect

Veterans are a special breed.

We have done things no civilian probably has. Some of us had it easy. I like to brag, especially around guys who were in the Army or Marines at the same time I was in the Air Force, that in four years of service to my country I never spent a night without a soft mattress under my butt and a cold beer in the fridge a few steps away.

I especially like to let that 'slip out' after the conversations about 6 weeks in the field during training with only a Saturday Night Shower; or tales of being at sea for 6 months.

But even those guys had it easy, compared to the combat vets. The men who fought from Normandy to Berlin. The men who had ships blown out from under them in the Pacific. The men who then spent two years in Korea. Or Vietnam; the Gulf War; Iraq or Afghanistan or countless other situations where our military men and women have willfully gone into harm's way.

There are other, earlier wars, going all the way back to the Revolution, but veterans of those conflicts are no longer with us, according to Wikipedia.

There are those who hope our country creates no more combat veterans, I among them. War is, as General Sherman described it, Hell. The fewer young men and women we put into that Hell the better.

But I know that is, at least for now an unattainable goal. The world is not full of peace and light and unicorns.

It's full of Iran and Al-Qeada.

We cannot fight Al-Qeada with good will and happy thoughts. We have tried that in the past.

It caused September 11, 2001.

We are seeing the effects again of our slackening resolve against Al-Qeada, with the increasing attacks in Afghanistan. This isn't the 1960's. We can't be the proverbial hippy, poking daisies in the gun barrels we face. The finger on that trigger isn't a well disciplined National Guardsman; its an uneducated young Moslem, hyped up on thoughts of revenge for imagined slights.

So we will, by necessity, create another generation of veterans. We'll send them off to do our dirty work, pray for them while they're gone and honor them when they return; either with a parade, or a flag-draped casket. It is only through our resolve to create and use that force, and, more importantly, the willingness of our young men and women to volunteer to do that dirty work, that this country is and will remain free.

To honor them, every year we set aside a day to recall and honor those men and women, their service, and their sacrifice.

Today is that day.

Take a minute today to thank a veteran you know; I think they have earned it.

It's Been Twenty Years; Get Over It

As usual I was looking for something else and found this article.

Well, damn the bad luck.

I feel sorry for the guy. One incident twenty years ago has ruled his entire life ever since.

But that is HIS FAULT, nobody else's.

And of course, it's coming up again now because of an agenda.

How many of us can point to one incident in our past, back when we were young and dumb, that has had a profound influence, for good or evil, on where we are now? And how many times has it been us who has tied ourselves to that incident, especially for evil, and has not allowed the world to move past that incident? Even though the rest of the world has long forgotten that part of our past?

To me, just the fact that this guy has failed to let go of a 20 year old incident, and has allowed it to create who he is marks him as a loser.

Two other interesting points. Well, to me anyway:

The incident that caused his downfall happened somewhere I am well acquainted with; the RAF Mildenhall NCO Club. If I had a nickel for every drink I've hoisted in that place...

I'll admit to having been rip roaring drunk in there a time or two.... Dozen. But you know what? I never kissed a male friend in the joint.

I ain't ever been that drunk.

Part two of why this is interesting?

Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the founding of the US Air Force.

A New Guilty Pleasure

I saw This on Instapundit today, and I think I have found a new guilty pleasure.

The article that lead me there, President Obama To Receive Honorary Green Beret, Induction Into Special Forces Association, was hilarious, once I was sure it was satire. Some of the other titles are obviously satire.

At least, I hope. But then, a course like this would have been welcomed, back in my day.

They have a whole section for each branch of the Service. The Air Force Section has articles on such varied topics as:

Brave Airman Sends Steak Back At DFAC, Fights For Well Cooked Meal; and ISAF Drops Candy To Afghan Children, Kills 51.

There seems to be a certain lack of political correctness involved here; classic satire.

Back in my day we didn't have this Internet thingy, but we did have the bathroom walls. In an effort to control the writing on the walls, our young second lieutenant had legal pads hung in all of the stalls in our duty section. 

There were various things written on the pads, including a rather lengthy treatise on how we need to rise up and act as one to fight the tyranny of the Strategic Air Command.

I don't know whether it was my handwriting that was distinctive, or maybe it was the writing style or the opinions expressed where identifiably mine, but the next afternoon when I showed up at the office, I was immediately called into the NCOIC's (Non-Commissioned Officer, In Charge {and no, I'm not making that up}) office, and was confronted with my previous post, as it were.

After being asked if I had written the treatise, and confirming I had, I was told it was very well written satire, but there were other young Airmen in my section who may not be as well versed in the art of satire, and may take the satire as truth, and things like this may cause those other young Airmen trouble within the unit.

I smiled, nodded, and confirmed I would not write any similar treatises, for the sake of my fellow young Airmen.

All the while I was wondering: "What makes him think this is satire? I was serious as Hell!"

Well, That Worked Out Well

By now I suppose you know that yesterday we lost Margaret Thatcher. Without a doubt the world would be a much different place if she had not had a such a prominent place in it. She was Ronald Reagan's right hand when it came to battling the Communists in the 1980's, including cleaning out a few socialists in Great Britain.

We are richer for having known her; and poorer for our loss.

Technically, Mrs. Thatcher was once my boss.

The US military overseas is usually a former conqueror. When we set up a base, we do under our rules. England is and exception, because the bases were set up during WWII, for the most part, and we came as Allies. So when  you are in the US Air Force, and stationed in England, you are not on an American air base, but an Royal Air Force base, and under the command of an RAF officer; who is under the command of the Queen (currently) and her Prime Minister.

When I was in England, that was the Iron Lady.

(Well now; ain't this embarrassing!

Here I am in the middle of a blog post about the death of one of England's greatest Prime Ministers, and I hit the Internet for a few facts.

And one of the facts I find out is that, like Mark Twain, the reports of her death have been greatly exaggerated. Well, Twain's death is no longer greatly exaggerated, but, I digress.

Apparently the entire thing was a Twitter hoax. Rather appropriate; in England a Twit is a fool.

In my defense, I heard the rumor as breaking news on Hannity's radio show yesterday, and took it as Gospel. He never said the 'BREAKING NEWS' was from a dippity-dang Twitter post.

Well; now what? Do I continue with the post, or save this for when the news of her death has NOT been greatly exaggerated?

I guess I will just soldier one in the face of adversity, in the best British fashion.)

I have another, somewhat more personal, connection to Mrs. Thatcher.

A few years ago I met an extraordinary women as a part of a special project I am connected with. As she and I were having lunch, she mentioned that just the day before she had had lunch with Maggie Thacher to celebrate Mrs. Thatcher's birthday.

I felt doubly honored.

It has been said that we anever more than 7 handshakes away from the President (I would prefer to be more than that from our current President, but, I digress); that afternoon I was not only ONE handshake away from Ronald Reagan- I was one handshake away from Margaret Thatcher.

How many other Rednecks can make that claim?

Nostalgia Road Trip Anyone?

You of course remember the other day, when I mentioned how sometimes the littlest thing sets off my nostalgia engine for things Air Force related?

Well, a mention of North Dakota is a previous post had me pulling up a Map of Lakota, ND. I have been to Lakota. I stopped there for snacks and soft drinks when ever i was in that part of the Missile Field. You kinda had to; there was no place else to stop for 30 miles in any direction.

Anyway, pulling up the map to see the distance between Grand Forks and Lakota had me checking the route; straight along Highway 2; right past Larimore.

I may have stopped in Lakota several times, but I spent almost every other weekend in Larimore for awhile. I had a friend who lived there, and we would spend either Friday or Saturday night at his place when we hit the local bars. If I remember correctly, at the time there were two in Larimore; The Red Dog Saloon (founded 1901) and the Larimore Improvement Association (The Imp). This was back in  '78-'79.

These two bars were next door to each other, and actually had a communicating door, so if you caused too much trouble in the one, they threw you out through the communicating door. Hell, it was 20 below outside; throwing a drunk out there was a death sentence.

The interenets is a wonderful thing. Larimore still exists. No surprise there. The Imp still exists too, as does the Red Dog. I remember the Red Dog as being on the south west corner of the main street- Towner Avenue- and The Imp being next door,  just to the south. Google Maps street view confirms my memory; right at the corner of West Front Street and Towner Avenue in downtown Larimore.

Who knew? So much has changed in the world in the last 30 some odd years. It's nice to know somethings have remained the same; right down to the PBR sign out front.

I wonder if a 30 hour road trip is too far for a couple of beers?

Some Memories Just Won't Die

You know I let an anniversary slip by yesterday. It was July 22, 1982 that I became a civilian, after 4 years and 4 days of military service.

It's hard to believe I have been a Civilian that long. Hell, at the time I got out I would have sworn I had already spent 30 years IN the Air Force.

Today; 30 years later, I still don't get through a week with remembering something about that 4 years. I of course have mementos around, but usually it is someone, something or some event that triggers an old memory.

Just tonight I was driving down a suburban street and ran across a sign that said 'SPEED BUMP", and a couple of home-built speed bumps. It put in mind of the Trailer park that once (maybe still is? Yep. Still is) outside Grand Forks Air Force Base. The one gravel street down the middle of that park was nothing more than a series of ruts and potholes. A friend of mine lived over there, and I can tell you it was terrible. Everybody complained about the condition of the road. The guy who owned the place had a solution though. He just put a Speed Bump sign and went about his business.

Every time I had to do some small repetitive task at work I recall some of the things I had to do as part of my job. Paperwork. My God, Napoleon believed that an Army moved on its stomach; The Air Force believed it was pushed by its mountain of paperwork. From after form after form. And all of them had numbers. And effective dates. Heaven help you if you used and outdated form. Or used a 1356b, when the 1357a was actually required.

I still recall the first form I was introduced to in Basic Training (3743 BMTS- Basic Military Training Squadron. MOTTO: Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way {amazing what the minds remembers, ain't it? But don't ask for my cell phone number}); the 341. And no, I don't remember the suffix letter. I don't believe there was one. A 341 was a disciplinary record. the form itself had to folded just so; I think in half length-wise, and then in half again, then the top half inch was folded over and that tab was used hold the form under the flap of your left breast pocket, left side of the pocket. This way when an infraction was committed, the 341 was 'pulled', filled in by your MTI- Military Training Instructor- and then became part of your 'PERMANENT RECORD'.

I had the dubious pleasure of having a 341 pulled one Sunday morning while I was on Dorm Guard. Which reminds me of another funny story. Each training squadron was filled with Flights of 50 men or 50 women. Some thing I don't recall- so maybe I never knew- was how many flights were in each Squadron. But any rate, each flight had what was called a sister flight, so you had a group of 100 that went through Basic together. Did I mention that the 3743 BMTS was a training Squadron for women? Yep; 900 women, or there abouts, and 100 men. And the US Air Force did their level best to keep us separated.

But I told you that story to tell you this one.

Because we were in a female squadron, our flight had one male MTI, and one female MTI, as did our sister flight. Our female MTI was Airman First Class (A1C) Budd. I am fairly sure that she was not issued a first name.

Any rate, there I am on Sunday morning doing my stint as Dorm Guard. There is a knock at the door. I look out the window in the door to see who is beating the door down on a Sunday morning. It's A1C Budd. I knew who it was. I had seen her everyday for the last 4 weeks. But regulations required I ask for an ID. So I did. As usual, she began some tirade about 'Don't you know who I am; how can you not recognize your own MTI and so on. But I knew the drill, and stood my ground. She produced her ID, which I examined through the door, and then let her in.

As I stood back and opened the door A1C Budd entered the dorm. As she came abreast of me, she looked at me with an inquiring look. "Aren't you supposed to say something?", she asked. Basking in the glow of my recent success with the ID procedure, my mind went temporarily on vacation. So my mouth took over control. I said, "UH.... Good Morning Ma'am?"

And I had a 341 pulled. The one that I had folded Day One of Basic, 4 weeks ago. And had been in my pocket through 4 weeks of July and August Texas heat. It had lost some of its shape. Hell, it had lost MOST of its resemblance to a solid object. I'm not sure I could have even been unfolded. She accepted the 341 and marched to the MTI office. I don't know if she ever filled it out or not.

What was my infraction? As a warning to men in my Flight I was required to shout "Lady Entering the Dorm" when ever we had females in the dorm. But Hell; she wasn't a Lady.

She was my damn Drill Instructor.

Buffs don't take off. They scare the ground away.

I know I haven't posted much lately (lots going on; sorry), but I had to post this.

Found through Instapundit this morning, this article is a must read for all us old SAC warriors.

The headline is a comment on the article that was too good to pass up.

Especially if you have ever watched a B-52 take off.

This video is a little long, but is great to watch multiple BUFF's 'scare the ground away'

Ready For the Next War?

I found this article through Instapundit this morning, and I have to disagree with the premise of the article.

Two things I will say first: One- Air Power was developed to save men on the ground; and Two- The Military always plans to fight the last war.

The article talks about how the Air Force budget is being cut, and air power being returned to the Army because that's how it works best in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fair enough. Local theater rules.

But to use the War on Terror as a basis for determining the future of the entire military force set up is crazy.

What will the next war be?

If we are again taking on a rogue regime in a low tech area, then this plan will work, just as it has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But what if we're not? What if we are fighting China or Russia?

Sure carpet bombing in a limited war, like the War on Terror, is not an acceptable option. Does that mean we will never be in a situation where massive conventional bombing will be required?

Control of the air means control of the ground. We didn't over run Iraq in 36 days because our Army and Marine Corps was invincible (although they are incredibly capable); we did it because we controlled the air.

Look at it this way. One of the things that made space travel semi-affordable was the space shuttle; a reusable space vehicle. Think of an F-22 as a reusable cruise missile. A cruise missile is a great delivery option for a nuclear warhead. No crews are put at risk, and the cost is less than the risk of losing a plane and crew.

But to drop a conventional weapon that way doesn't make fiscal sense.

You also miss out on the psychological impact of men on the ground seeing a sky dark with bombers, each delivering a 40 ton payload.

Reducing our "need" for the technology of bombers and fighters also reduces our technological and manufacturing edge, something else I have been fighting agaisnt for the last few years.

Our military needs to be ready to fight any war; both the last one and the next one. The way Obama is going I wonder if we will be ready for ANY war.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Can't Do

I be honest. I ain't got time right now to do a post on this issue.

But I have to, because of some dipstick Judge in California, who decided her power is greater than that of Congress.

I don't understand he ruling. I haven't read it, and probably won't. She made her decision first, and then pulled some sort of legal 'reasoning' out of her hindquarters to support it the best she could. So who cares what she says to support her "impartial' decision.

The Judge was Virginia Phillips. This is her bio.

Berkley Law School. That kind of explains her fuzzy thinking doesn't it? I just wonder who it was who bought her this seat from Clinton?

You tell me; how does banning gays in the military violate their free speech rights? Because they can't 'TELL' anyone they are gay?

So? The United States Military isn't a standard less organization. Each standard has a reason. What's next? Because the Army won't allow blind snipers they are again in violation of the 14th Amendment? What other sort of qualification will next be on the chopping block to reduce our military readiness?

Hell, I want to be a damn Navy Seal. The fact that I can't stand water shouldn't disqualify me. It's a meaningless standard that violates my 14th Amendment rights. And that they won't let me enlist because I'm 50 does too.

If the Joint Chiefs, the President and the Congress all have determined that being openly homosexual is not conductive to good order and discipline, then who is this idiot in a robe, who probably has never been closer to the Amy than when she listens to that dippy song about the Kent State shootings 40 years ago, to decide otherwise?

Over turn the policy, that's fine. We appeal and a higher court is able to determine that she was full of crap and everybody goes home happy.

Why the injunction to stop the policy? Injunctions are only supposed to be issued if there is significant evidence of harm to a party. I still don't see it.

Oh well; in January we can not only reinstate the policy, we can impeach her and send her back to where ever it was Clinton pulled her from to sit on the bench.

One other thing that bothers me in this discussion too is how they always manage to trot out somebody who talks about how well they served their country while gay, and it didn't cause a discipline issue.

Duh. It was because NOBODY ASKED AND NOBODY TOLD.

Who are the stupid dipsticks who actually fall for that?

You may have gathered from my tone that I am PISSED.

There is ONE entity on the face of this Earth that can protect us from a war on our soil; the United States Military. I don't like some damned idiotic judge messing with military policy and what very well could affect military readiness, because she "FEELS" it is the "Right thing to do". Based on her years of military service I suppose?

Edited and added:

I am also reminded by a friend that DADT was developed because the Uniform Code of Military Justice requires discharge for any member found to be homosexual, and now that DADT has been declared void and not to be enforced, any gay member can be summarily discharged.

Talk about your unintended consequences.

And this judge was too un-informed to even realize what her injunction did.

Dipstick.

The BUFF

I just ran into this article while out and about on the web.

One point I found interesting; today all of these planes are older than their crews, and in some cases older than the crews' parents. Shortly, they will be older than the crews' GRANDPARENTS.

And it is still an effective warbird.

Here is the US Air Force site for the plane, and Wikipedia has a great article as well.

Having served in SAC back in the day, on a B-52 base, I have seen my share of these birds on the ground and in the air, and constantly wondered how in the world these things were able to fly, much less loaded with 35 TONS of bombs.

The article says the USAF is flying about 85 of these birds, which is probably about half of what was built. I saw a video a few years back of the Air Force destroying dozens of these planes in Arizona as part of some treaty or the other, and it was a sad sight. They also salvaged a whole bunch of the nose art from the destroyed birds, and the Air Force Museum in Dayton had probably 2 dozen of them on display at one point a couple of years ago.

A great plane, flying since before I was born, and not scheduled to retire until after I do.

One final question; do they plan on keeping these planes flying for so long because they are the epitome of design, or because we can't do any better today?

PS: BUFF? It is a very endearing name for these veteran war planes.

Where Did That Come From?

So there I am, out in the pasture hitting golf balls with the Young'un like every other red-blooded American grandpa, when we heard the sound of a jet flying low and slow. Luckily I was carrying my iPhone, so I pulled it out and fired up the camera, just in time to see this monster clear the trees to the south east.

I snagged a couple of shots, which gives you some idea of how slow it was going.

I remember when these first went into the air in the early 70's. GE in Cincinnati made the engines, so the Air Force flew one into Lunken Airport so the guys who made the engines could see the final product. They were allowing folks to walk through the plane, so it was a BIG deal.

Dad took us over to see the largest thing to ever take to the air, and we couldn't get near it. Not just the plane; we couldn't even get near the airport.

But I do remember the sight of it from the road; surrounded by people who looked to be about as tall as the wheels. EVERYTHING around it was dwarfed, including the hangers, meant for small aircraft. Aircraft that could danm near fly through the cargo bay of a C-5.

While I was in the Air Force I spent the first couple of years on a SAC base, and didn't think I would see anything larger than a B-52 that could actually take to the air.

The I went to a MAC base, and ran into the C-5 again, up close.

WOW; what a massive mountain of magnesium! To think there is enough power in the universe to get this thing in the air empty, much less loaded with 135 tons of men and material.

If you don't think this is a great country, seek out a C-5 and watch it take off. That is technological might my friend.

And Now Lets Look at the Tape

How I Spent My Afternoon

Late this morning we got buzzed by a B-17, flying low and slow. By the time I figured out what the noise was and got outside I just saw the last of it disappearing into the trees.

An hour later when It flew over again I was a little better prepared, and got a shot of the tail end, again just disappearing into the trees.

So this afternoon I decided to camp out on the back porch with the video camera. I would be ready.

The B-17 has to be my favorite WW-II bomber. I don't know why. Maybe it was its record for survivability; or maybe just the shear numbers of them produced. Maybe it is all the guns; leaving no corner unprotected.

They were unheated, unarmored and were shot down over Germany in surprising numbers; but it ain't just me; the B-17 has a massive fan club. I have to get a picture today. Video would be even better.

So for the last 3 hours I have sat on my back porch, jumping every time I heard what I believed to be the rumble of a multi-engined prop plane. The helicopter I jumped up for was not a rookie mistake. It was an old piston engined one, and the echo caused by the porch roof made me mistake it for B-17.

The old pickup without a muffler, coupled with the neighbor's air conditioner and the damned porch roof echo was an easy mistake to make too. Especially if you want it to be a Flying Fortress.

I know I heard it twice, flying just south of me and below the tree line. But could have been an echo coming up the river valley.

Pretty shortly I will need to go to get ready to leave for my Father's Day Dinner, and I still have got nothing to show for my afternoon's labors.

This is supposed to be MY DAY DANG IT!!!

I just need the rest of you to cooperate!

So, here I am finishing up this blog post when I hear the rumble I have been listening for all afternoon. I grab the camera and fly outside. YEP! There it is!

So the camera takes its sweet time to boot up, and I have trouble locating the plane in the sky. Then it goes behind one of my trees!

When it comes out the other side I am ready. I get some fine. long distance footge of her flying away.



And yes; I think it was worth it.

And BLOGGER ate my video!!!!!

This Video Fulfills Two of My Passions

This video combines cars and history.

Made in 1943, it is a contemporary account of the start of the WWII Jeep.

If you have 10 minutes it's a fun little video, but you have to wonder how those soldiers stayed in during the hill hops. The original didn't have seat belts of course.

The jeep pictured is a modern restoration, but I had to include it. It is a USAAF Jeeep after all.

My Sunday morning surfing led me to this on one of the sites I regularly visit, The Truth About Cars, an interesting site, if you like cars.

One of the things this article reminded me of was when I was in the Air Force. I am unsure how much of what I know is still classified (probably none of it; it was a LOONNGGG time ago), so I'll leave out some details, but basically I worked in an office that tracked U.S. Air Force vehicle traffic in a Minuteman Missile Field. We had specific routes the vehicles had to follow between the sites and the base and also had specific times that these routes took.

If you arrived at your destination too early, you were either speeding- and got written up- or you had taken an unauthorized route- and got written up.

Some folks knew the time frame for arriving at a site and would delay calling in to our office to announce their arrival on site until the specified time. But they would occasionally lose track of the time and call in late, or forget to call in at all, and we would need to track them down, to make sure the Russians (or the Canadians) hadn't hijacked them.

These folks thought they were scamming the system, but forgot that the time they checked in on the site with security would be logged. You may not have called us until the proper time for a 55 MPH trip, but Security knew you were there 25 minutes earlier than that. Can you say BUSTED?

Does anybody seriously think the government will turn their back on the few extra bucks a speeding ticket will bring in, if all it takes is the evidence from your own GPS?

Give it 5 years- or less if we can't get rid of the Democrats and RINOs- an your handy little On-Star won't just be sending the cops when you've hit a tree; it'll be sending them around when it discovers you're speeding on you way home from the bar.

The Eleventh Day of This Month has Special Meaning

Veteran's Day is today. Originally called Armistice Day- and called that by my Grandmother until the day she died- originally it was set to commemorate the end of The War to End All Wars. World War One ended at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. November 11, 1918.

Veteran’s Day was not moved to create a 3 day week end, like so many other Federal Holidays were because of that connection to a specific date. After the second War to End All Wars the day was renamed to commemorate all veterans. Most schools will be in session tomorrow, and unless you work for the government or a bank, you’ll be going to work. Probably one of our least celebrated holidays; unless you sell mattresses or used cars.

And that’s a shame.

It was the Veterans of the Revolutionary War who earned our Freedoms initially; The Veterans of the War of 1812 who secured them. The Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic kept the country whole in the Civil War, and it was the Doughboys of WWI and the GIs of WWII who fought back the forces that would have made it harder to keep our freedoms.

Countless battles of the Cold War were fought on all corners of the globe; Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and the Cuban Missile Crisis, plus the years on watch in Europe and Japan preventing an attack. Veterans all.

Over the last 240 some years men and women of all backgrounds all raised their right hands and took the same oath I did to protect the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Yes, I am a Veteran (Air Force 70’s and 80’s). So was my Dad (Navy in the 50’s) both my granddads (Paternal was a Marine who fought in the Philippines 1916- 1918; Maternal was Army in Europe for the same period) several uncles (Army in Vietnam; Navy and Air Corps in WWII); an aunt (WWII WACS) and a Great- Great Grandfather fought with the Confederacy in the Civil War. So far none of my sons have volunteered, but I do have a neighbor who is a Marine, preparing to go overseas. So I have a stake in today.

But I’m torn. Memorial Day we celebrate our fallen comrades and family; today should be for the veterans who are still with us. The trouble is I don’t know a single vet who wants praise for their service. Recognition that we have served and sacrificed for our country, but we were just doing our jobs; you don’t earn praise for doing what’s expected of you. Praise is for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Thanks we’ll accept. Recognize that we have done our best to keep the country as free as it was when our predecessors handed the duty off to us. Shake our hands and buy us a beer.

Sometime today, take a minute to Thank a Veteran.

Sometimes I wonder about using the Internet for some things.

I just put up a post that mentioned the Air Force.

Immediately in the side bar I had a link to this site. Offering badges for sale.

One of them is a Chaplin's Badge. Seriously; is there much call for a Black market Chaplin's Badge?

Just for the record, for those of us who may not recognize it, that is the official US Air Force Buddhist Chaplin badge.

Just one of those things a may ponder if I am ever struck by a bout of insomnia.