Mike

I wish I could give that about 4 thumbs up!

I was at the VA’s mental health clinic yesterday and met a man about my age who told me of his son. The young man is a Purple Heart Iraq and Afghan veteran and is an alcoholic. Two divorces and one wife told him that when he was in the Army he didn’t have to work. So many misconceptions of the military and war. Two weeks of hard work and boredum interrupted by two hours of shear terror.

Harry, i was there for Tet also. Thank you for your service.

I joined up in ‘66 very shortly after HS graduation. I was never sent to Viet Nam but deeply admire the courage and patriotism of those who did. I lost 7 of my HS friends over there.
For those who served anywhere in overseas conflict - Welcome Home! Your country is proud of your service!





.

There’s a high cost for our country’s freedom and security. And of course it falls disproportionately on the shoulders of our servicemen and women - the 1% who serve. My sense is today with our all volunteer military the country is more appreciative and supportive of our servicemembers. Sadly, that wasn’t the case in past conflicts and it breaks my heart to think about all the men and women, past and present who live with their physical and emotional wounds every day.

Thank you all for all you have done.

Its getting better…..

On June 17, 1783, Congress received a message from soldiers of the Continental Army stationed in Philadelphia, which demanded payment for their service during the American Revolutionary War. The soldiers threatened to take action that day if their complaints were not addressed. Congress ignored their message, but the soldiers did not act on their threat. Two days later, however, the Congress received word that a group of about 80 soldiers had left their post at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Philadelphia, and had joined with the soldiers stationed at the city barracks. The group of approximately 500 men had effective control over the weapons stores and munition depot.

George Washington, on hearing of "the mutiny" on the 24th June, sent 1500 troops under the command of Major General William Heath and General Robert Howe, who came out of retirement, to suppress the mutiny. Some of the mutineers ended up in a state of arrest, and Congress called an investigation into the event.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/whe...c-77fdc23a1159 Every generation of soldiers has problems, but most haven’t left the military only to later be attacked by it. But that’s what happened to thousands of veterans who served in the trenches of World War I. In 1932, 17,000 former soldiers marched on Washington, D.C. to demand wartime pay owed to them.

Hoover ordered the military to remove the protesters from the city at once. Gen. Douglas MacArthur — then the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff — led the 12th Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment into the fray.

The cavalry regiment contained six Renault FT tanks commanded by Maj. George Patton. The Army troops, with bayonets affixed to their rifles, charged into the shanty town and launched tear gas into the crowds.

Patton’s tanks crushed the makeshift buildings.

The veterans fled across the Anacostia River, and Hoover ordered the assault to stop. But MacArthur saw the protesters as communist agitators intent on overthrowing the U.S. government, and continued the operation.

More than 1,000 injured veterans ended up in area hospitals. One veteran died and a veteran’s wife miscarried.

MacArthur ....... in my opinion he was a terrible man. Sure he and his father both were awarded a Congressional Medal Of Honor but I always suspected they were given because of connections. He did this and then in WWII cost many men their lives because his ego had to fight for the Philippine islands when he could have gone around them with the same outcome.

I think William Manchester, the brilliant author and a Marine rifleman who lived through hell in the Pacific, and carried those scars for the rest of his life said it best about MacArthur;

"He was a great thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of men and the worst of men, the most protean, most ridiculous, and most sublime. No more baffling, exasperating soldier ever wore a uniform. Flamboyant, imperious, and apocalyptic, he carried the plumage of a flamingo, could not acknowledge errors, and tried to cover up his mistakes with sly, childish tricks. Yet he was also endowed with great personal charm, a will of iron, and a soaring intellect. Unquestionably he was the most gifted man-at-arms this nation has ever produced".

[QUOTE=Daniel Carter;265060] The theater was occupied by 4 people so I don't think it will have a wide audience.

No surprise there. It's a shame one of the Kardashian's never served, the line would have wrapped around the building!! My heart goes out to all the high school history teachers still pitching today. I'm sure they'd have an easier time selling payphones. :banghead:

[QUOTE=Steve Cambria;265125]Many times I have thought about making a career change and teaching History or Civics (or what ever they call it today) but I can imagine the guidelines that teachers have to teach through today and given the political sensitivity today, I doubt it would take long for parents to take offense for something said or discussed in class.

It's easy to talk about how ignorant of history and civil procedure "kids are today" but let's be honest, there are a lot of parents who are pretty ignorant themselves. In fact, I wonder how many people could actually pass the US Citizenship Test, immigrants are required to pass. Regardless, it is only through personal curiosity that we can understand the complexities and nuisances that are part of our history. In short: it takes time and effort to really cover, let alone comprehend the long term implication of historical events.

"They Shall Not Grow Old" is an impressive demonstration of how modern technology can give us a new perspective of events (without re-writing history) and I enjoyed watching it and I thought it humanized trench warfare, but it isn't groundbreaking in terms of learning new information about WW1. If you are interested in WW1 I recommend the book "A World Undone" a comprehensive history of the war. I also recommend watching the PBS documentary "The Great War." https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexp...lms/great-war/

JDG

I have been a history nut from the time of my first library card. Have had the good fortune to be surrounded by WW2 vets growing up and hunted from the camp of a WW1 vet until he died at 101. His stories were hilarious and then he would throw in one about the rats. Those men had a profound influence on my life. Not a one ever complained of his lot or regretted it. My dad said many times that he would not take a million dollars for the experience nor give a nickel to do it over again. I have said the same thing of my own experiences.