Veterans Day 2017

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I on "the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month" of 1918. Today, this holiday honors the men and women who have defended the United States through service in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

In my family I knew only three veterans, all uncles, one serving in World War I and the other in World War II. 

My Great Uncle George, standing on the left with his fire brigade in Jacksonville, Florida, served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in World War I, the Great War. To him, this day was Armistice Day. I was ten when he died and didn't know him, but much of what he was as a veteran is present in my house. His portrait hangs just off our foyer. The pocket Bible he carried is in a keepsake cabinet nearby along with his military issue binoculars and a silver-plated swagger stick - a gift from his unit - made from machine gun shells casings and the Seal of the U.S. Army. The last item is one he never saw, but it summarized everything he did as a soldier. That item is the flag that covered his coffin. To my knowledge, it's still in the original triangle fold made the day he was buried sixty years ago.

The other veterans, Uncle Hollis - better known as "Red" - and Uncle Charles both served in the Pacific during World War II. In 1943-44, Red was assigned to Barber's Point Naval Air Station in Hawaii while his brother-in-law, Charles, served at Pearl Harbor. The facilities were a mere five miles apart but almost one year passed before they knew they were so close. On hearing the news, they resolved to meet for a photograph at the first opportunity. And here it is, taken at Waikiki with Red (l) and Charles (r) together at last.

Both returned safely to their Potomac Valley hometowns in the Appalachian Mountains near Cumberland, Maryland. Hardly a decade passed before the declining economy in the region forced them to relocate to better job opportunities. Red moved his family to Akron, Ohio and a career with Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Charles took his family to the booming oil industry in Houston, Texas and work in real estate management. Both are gone now, along with their wives, Edith and Dorothy, and contact with the cousins is infrequent these days.

I am not a veteran. I'll never experience how military service shapes a person inside. But I do count many veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf. Afghanistan, Iraq wars and other military operations among my friends.  They taught me more than any book that the cost of freedom is not free.  Each of them paid a very personal price that enables us to enjoy life in this bountiful nation today.  On this, their day of honor, I offer up to all of them my sincerest admiration and thanks for their service.

Afghanistan In History

Christopher Booker, writing for telegraph.com, tells us why today's conflict in Afghanistan will be very difficult for the West to resolve.

Under Fire in Afghanistan

"Don't worry . . . We're armored and heavily armed when we go out."

My son assured me that his NATO keepers took good care of their civilian employees. He was right. Yesterday, he emailed this picture showing how a Taliban sympathizer tested the bullet-resistant glass on their SUV.

The first installment of his Afghanistan experience is still in draft on my computer. I asked him to report primarily on people, daily life and the culture at large, and balance it with the military presence. What could fulfill that request better than the picture of a solitary vendor patiently waiting for customers at his colorful stand as seen through a bullet-marred window? My wishes for a deep depth of field on Afghanistan have been put into a very proper perspective.

Report From Afghanistan: An OTR Scoop

My son is on temporary duty in Afghanistan until sometime this summer. He wrote last week that he may be starting to enjoy his work a bit too much. To give you a reason why, I'll just say that he's one of the few people in the world who can say they have a graduate degree from a university with a department of war studies. The kid isn't a soldier in the usual sense; he's fighting this battle as an expert in tribal conflict. He's taking very good notes - I hope some pictures - on his observations and impressions of life in a country torn by almost thirty years of war. The good news for Old Tybee Ranger readers is his agreement to let me edit his work and post it each week. That's the plan; we'll see how it goes. Look for the first report in the next week or so.

Hot and Windy with Occasional Incoming

Fox News is reporting that President Obama has announced to leaders in Congress that he will end combat operations in Iraq on August 31, 2010. I think that's a great day for the last plane out of Baghdad because skies will be clear with 10 mph winds out of the northwest and a high temperature of 108 degrees.

Wow. The need to soothe the agony of the anti-war left in Obama's camp must be critical. I guess the lefties think all those computer simulations and models popped out "08312010" in response to the question, "When can we stop fighting?" Such an announcement really has no meaning, but it does bring the Islamofascists closer to reality. I can see them inside their caves in the Hindu Kush typing the information and other notes onto their calendar page under the heading, "Things to Do." They may have reason for concern as our combat forces in Afghanistan may be 140,000 soldiers stronger than it is today. Six from one, half dozen to another. On the other hand, those forces could be returning to American soil. But don't worry, American combat soldiers won't be fighting in Iraq.

One thing I learned from my political science professors was that war, by definition, is seldom a unilateral experience; historically, it has required an opposing force. I would like to think that military history and experience, rather than strong ideology, will drive our decision making. However, we already know President Obama has little training in history, military or otherwise, and limited executive experience in the real world. Thus, he announces the end of our combat operations to the world "08312010." That is eighteen months from now and a signal to our opponents to work overtime to embarrass the United States and weaken our foreign policy. His advisers should know better.

I wonder what the weather will be on "11022010?" I predict that it will be Tuesday.

More Horizons

Both of my sons are traveling this week. One of them is nearing the end of a five-week trek across the the eastern Mediterranean from Turkey, through Greece, and into Egypt. This week, he's "vacationing" in Dahab, a former Bedouin fishing village on the Red Sea. His older brother leaves this evening for his second trip into the Himalayas, this time to Afghanistan. The journey will be long for him both in time and deep history, as he will be there several months among those whose ancestors composed the Rigveda almost 4000 years ago. It will be a professional and intellectual adventure for him.

I expect my sons will return to the United States as changed individuals, both in terms of maturity as citizens of the world and their appreciation for the bountiful goodness their country affords them.

Today, I am content to explore the world through the experiences of my children, if they choose to tolerate my intrusions. And, while the boys are on the road physically, their sister explores ancient language here at home. For me, it is the best of both worlds, but I look forward to the time when my daughter can explore other lands through the lens of her specialized studies.

There was a time, years ago, when I came so very close to taking an adventure into China, but had my plans changed by another significant event. The thirty years that have passed since then still lead me to the east, but the destination has changed. Should the trip happen, it will be into Nepal, Tibet, and the shadow of Everest.