I’ve got a friend name of Whiskey Sam
He was my boonie rat buddy for a year in ’Nam
He said I think my country got a little off track
It took ‘em 25 years to welcome me back
“Drive On” – Johnny Cash
So my son and I, on this gorgeous Saturday morning in November, were going about our normal routine - me drinking my coffee, him eating his oatmeal. He’s six years old; many things still go right over him, the innocence of his age still firmly planted - may it last forever.
He looks at me with a smile in his eye and asks me if I knew why he and the rest of his school have Monday off. Of course, I tell him, it’s Veteran’s Day.
“No, Daddy” he says to me, giving me that look I get when I say something completely off the wall as I’m apparently apt to do, “it’s because the whole school was really good. That’s what the principal said on the announcements Friday.”
Now I know my son well enough to know that there are some authorities in his world who are irrefutable and along with his grandmother, the principal is one of those people. I didn’t press the issue. As he continued on with his breakfast, my anger, not at my son, grew.
We just moved to this area (Scottsdale, Arizona) and I haven’t meet my son's principal just yet, so I’m going to hold off passing judgment until I meet the man, but in my mind, this guy’s already got one strike against him. I wonder, when the kids are listening to their morning announcements on the day before Thanksgiving or Presidents Day, will he tell them they’re getting the day off because they were good? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no.
I come from a long line of veterans; my family can trace our service back to the Revolutionary War. Like many Americans, we had kinfolk on both sides of the Civil War, my great grandfathers were in WWI, my grandfather in WWII and Korea, my father, and several uncles were in Vietnam, and I served in Iraq, and will likely go again. My wife honorably served in the U.S. Navy and her family also has a long tradition of service. My son comes from veterans.
I don’t write out that lineage looking for accolades or anything of the sort, I just want you to understand where I’m coming from when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because someone tells an entire elementary school that they’re getting the day off because they’ve been good and not because throughout this nation's history a few men and women have given themselves to something bigger than the individual. That so many, so young said a final farewell to loved ones and country with a promise of their return only to never sees their home soil again.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Clavos
Right back atcha, Benjamin.
Welcome Home, Brother.
2 - Dave Nalle
Unbelievable that the school principal would behave that way. You really ought to take him to task for it. I'd like to hear his justifications.
Dave
3 - gonzo marx
imo, the disconnect between Civilians and the Military started in Korea to some extent...made worse in Nam, and has grown exponentially between Gulf 1 and current Iraq operations
not enough of the Citizenry involved as they were in WW2...nothing Asked of the average Individual...precious few with direct ties to military personnel..and a complete disconnect with the Policies that sent our folks into harm's way
when the Public is told to support our troops by going to the mall, you know there is a Problem
from this ex-military guy to all others who have Served... thanks
Excelsior?
4 - Dave Nalle
when the Public is told to support our troops by going to the mall, you know there is a Problem
Though you have some points, Gonzo, on this one you're dead wrong. The main sacrifices we're making in the current war are economic. We no longer fight war on the scale that we have to conserve fuel or iron or other resources, but it's still enormously expensive. So the sacrifice it imposes on those of us who stay home is financial. This could come in the form of greater taxes, but in the philosophy of the current administration, it's better to generate tax revenue by growing the economy than by increasing the rate of taxation. So additional consumer spending IS a rational form of sacrifice to be made in time of war to help pay the expense of that war.
Aside from directly sending care packages to the troops, which I hope everyone is doing, what would you suggest that civilians sacrifice beyond their money which would have any meaningful impact?
Dave
5 - gonzo marx
History gives you all those answers, Vox...
how about starting with putting those "War" costs on Budget, rather than off...so it doesn't skew the economic numbers for propaganda purposes?
how about paying for adventurism NOW, and bearing the sacrifice of the costs of failed policy rather than leaving it for the "next guy" and future generations to clear over half a trillion dollars in war Debt?
how about actually accomplishing the stated goals for "promoting Democracy" in Afghanistan, much less our *allies* in Pakistan (you know, the only Muslims who actually have fucking nuclear missiles?)
how about actually spending the money that has been Authorized for Iraq on what the troops need, rather than attempting to sneak in billions for stealth bombers for a strike into Iran (this latest "supplemental" has that very clause in it)
or even spending some of that domestically to produce the things they need
where are the drives for materials for the troops?
or the outrage of mercenary contractors earning multiples of what our soldiers do, with NO accountability?
it was stated - "what would you suggest that civilians sacrifice beyond their money which would have any meaningful impact?"
do notice the sly shift there...we are talking monetary sacrifice...but the President, and others, claim that going to the mall and buying shit you don't need is somehow "sacrificial" rather than holding drives to raise funds for the armored personnel carriers that are more IED resistant
how about War Bonds to pay for it all, rather than plopping the Debt onto the National high interest credit card?
now, we could get into removing the Source of the conflict...Oil...
i'll leave it to the Readers to think about the Sacrifices and progress required of ALL Citizens to work towards that goal
Excelsior?
6 - Zedd
Even though no one asked me...
Dave,
I would suggest that civilians sacrifice their time and read up on issues so that they can vote intelligently and prevent this fiasco from reoccurring. I would suggest that they vote for the candidate with the most practical solution for ending this chaos of a war.
"Supporting the economy" only makes war neat and tidy. We go to war to support some junkies' need for greed and possession. We the people bail them out by going FURTHER into personal debt. All at a time when healthcare costs are off the charts and people are losing their homes left right and center.
I don't think you thought this out. You cant throw money at this solution.
7 - Lumpy
I don't know what world some of you are living in, but through fundraising drives at work I've contributed to funds to buy GIs better vests, send them socks (of all things), phone cards, books to read and toys to give out to Iraqi kids. Around here all they have to do is send an email and welkk do our best to get them what they need, though I guess that mainly benefits the few units with friends or relatives who work here. I have to think the same thing goes on I'm other offices around the country and not just at defense contractors like us.
8 - REMF
"Around here all they have to do is send an email and welkk do our best to get them what they need..."
What they NEED is for us to get the fuck OUT of that shithole...
9 - Clavos
"What they NEED is for us to get the fuck OUT of that shithole..."
...and bring them back to THIS shithole.
10 - Dave Nalle
I had chats with a couple of youngish Iraq War vets over the weekend and the one thing they both agreed on - aside from how much better things were there than they had been - was how eager they were to go back and see the job they started finished. It may be a shithole, but I think it has become their shithole and they understand the idea of commitment and responsibility. They also find the attitude displayed by MCH and some others here pretty damned arrogant and condescending, but I'm not here to speak for them. They expressed an interesting writing for BC so maybe they'll be along in due time to give us some first-hand insight.
Dave
11 - Clavos
I hope all the veterans (yes, even you, emmy) had a GREAT day!
And I hope all the rest of you who are Americans reflected on your freedoms, even dinged as they are at the moment...
You're welcome.
12 - SFC SKI
Amen, and right back at you all, we few.
13 - REMF
"They also find the attitude displayed by MCH and some others here pretty damned arrogant and condescending, but I'm not here to speak for them."
- Dave Nalle
For an opposing point of view, see the Iraq Veterans Against the War web site.
(MCH)
14 - Lee Richards
#4:
"So additional consumer spending IS a rational form of sacrifice to be made in time of war to help pay the expense of that war."
This is perhaps the most insensitive, self-justifying single remark I've ever read on this site. I'd be ashamed to have written it, especially on Veteran's Day.
Those who truly sacrifice their time, family life, innocence, limbs and lives in the armed forces may be serving their country, but so are those strolling the malls, charging big-screen TVs at Wal-mart, and making the Saudis richer by trading up to a new gas-guzzler!! What an insincere "I have other priorities", trickle-down kind of half-assed sacrifice that is.
Dave, you really seem to have forgotten what the words "rational" and "sacrifice" mean. Visit a VA hospital and show them the Rolex you bought for THEM--and then take a good long look at what they got for you.
To Benjamin: You are so correct!
15 - Joe
The only disconnect between civs and military is what you see on the news. The thing is that military backers just aren't as loud and shrill and irritating as the hippie lib haters. Silent majority? I don't know. I sure as hell want to think so; I don't like the idea that America is turning into France.
16 - Martin Lav
NALLE,
You've done it again, congratulations! The problem with you and people like you, namely this administration is that while you beat the drums for war and sacrifice, you go on the wires and tell the world how well things are going. While you pretend that this is a walk in the park and American's should go on with their daily lives and spend their money at the mall, you insult the American military and their families. The problem with this war is that it's not a just one and while the American warriors are doing their duty and their families are bearing the brunt, the rest of the American public thinks that our President lied to us and continues to and we are at odds with supporting our warriors, while not supporting their commander in chief. I would gladly grow my own vegetables, ride a bike to work, save soap, recycle tin cans and anything else our country needed from us or asked from us if I believed it was a worthwhile cause and my duty as an American were called upon.
I guess all they need from me is to shop at the mall, keep my eyes and ears open during stage ORANGE alerts (what happened to those?) and make certain we don't elect any chicken shit democrats into power, so the chickenhawk republicans can continue to protect us.
To the author, Happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service and to all our Veterans. Too bad our Country does not fund your health and welfare like they fund the machine.
17 - handyguy
I will ask a couple of questions that may sound naive:
Why, even though the scale of the Iraq war is so much smaller than Vietnam, is it still enough to stretch our military resources [in terms of manpower at least] to the brink?
Didn't we have 500,000 or more troops at some points in the Vietnam war - and casualty rates much higher than Iraq?
Is this mostly because of the draft - Johnson and Nixon could send those large forces because the draft made the numbers possible?
Some have argued for re-instating the draft, not to get more men killed but to reinforce and spread more evenly the sense of duty and sacrifice. It might cause Congress to think twice before authorizing a questionable war.
Or not.
Just wondering what anyone's thoughts are.
18 - handyguy
I did find a document that seems to answer my questions in part:
Throughout the Cold War, end strength of the U.S. active duty force never dropped below 2.0 million personnel and peaked at over 3.5 million during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. From 1989 to 1999, end strength dropped steadily from 2.1 million to 1.4 million, where it has remained.
Force structure dropped even more, with active Army divisions, for example, going from 18 to 10. Expectations that military requirements would also diminish, however, were not realized...
19 - Joe
Martin Lav [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor] You can pretend to support the troops but with comments like yours you demonstrate your ignorance. You think we're only at war if you have to bike to work and save soap?!? Grow up. I'm guessing you also think terrorists are freedom fighters and GW Bush is worse than Hitler.
Reality, [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor] do you speak it?
20 - handyguy
[sigh] Nice to see the conversation is getting ... civilized.
21 - Martin Lav
Handyguy,
In my opinion, building support for the War by instituting the draft is kinda like, school busing was in the 80's.
I mean there was a draft in place during WWII, but that in itself didn't make people support the War more. I mean being attacked by the Japanese and having Hitler take over half of Europe, pretty much sealed the deal. We went to War for a just cause and I guess, like Joe-Dick Poster above suggests, maybe we should declare war on GWBush, since it appears just to me.
22 - Clavos
Handy,
"Why, even though the scale of the Iraq war is so much smaller than Vietnam, is it still enough to stretch our military resources [in terms of manpower at least] to the brink?"
Short answer: No draft.
23 - SFC SKI
Actually, until about 1992, the US Army had almost twice as many divisions as it does now, (and each of those divisions had more Soldiers than a division does today).
Don't you guys remember the downsizing of the military in order to reap the peace dividend?
24 - handyguy
Re: the peacetime downsizing:
It seemed to make sense at the time. Now it looks like we overdid it. Of course, some of us think the most recent military adventures were wasteful, foolish, and dangerous. And without those adventures we wouldn't be stretched so thin.
25 - handyguy
Martin--
I am not suggesting that we should re-institute the draft to increase support for the war. The result could well be quite the opposite - and that could in fact be healthy.
I strongly support a national service requirement that would include non-military options. Most of us are way too soft and selfish. It wouldn't be a magic solution, but it's worth trying. [I know it is politically a dead dog.]
[PS I turned 18 just as the Vietnam draft was ending, so I missed that quandary.]