MEMORIAL DAY 2010

In the twenty five years I wore the War Suit, the deal was you could do anything - murder and treason excepted - and they'd cover for you; you’d answer to the Old Man, sure, but the unit takes care of it’s own. But there was one task we were told that no matter what, come Hell or high water, we could never eff-up:



Funeral Detail.



Honor.



The dead have no voice, so we speak for them. Our war dead truly sacrifice themselves. They give their lives in far-off, miserable combat zones - often at young age - for causes that more often than not they barely understand, or if they did, could care less - especially considering the circumstances.



They give their lives for the most honorable of causes; in defense of the Nation, that we may enjoy the gifts of peace and freedom. This is the meaning of the phrases: “To have peace, arm yourself for war,” and “Freedom isn’t free.”




. . . so we honor them.




The Cenotaph, London




Honor to the crew of my uncle's Wellington bomber FU-D - Charleroi, Belgium.




The Irish Brigade Memorial, Gettysburg




This Memorial Day, we are treated to the spectacle of pot-fiend-doper-head-zombie-killer Harrelson impersonating a real man:

Not quite John Wayne.



In the film The Messenger Woody once more indulges his penchant for scandalizing America by throwing manure in our faces; this time sinking lower than his sicko Natural Born Killers piece of garbage.







Funeral duty - and every nuance and ancillary duty attached and associated to it - especially the family notification - is the most hallowed and sacred duty a soldier can be called upon to perform. This unenviable task must be performed with utter professionalism and the utmost respect; the family of the fallen interfaces with the face of the nation, at their weakest and most vulnerable point.



Now I'm not naïve, and I'm not fooling myself - the next time a member of the funeral party takes advantage of the widow in her moment of weakness will not be the first - every and any possible form of interaction between human beings has already taken place; there is nothing new under the sun - but to dedicate a movie to the conduct portrayed in the film; to explore this, to exploit this theme is not art, nor is it intended as entertainment.



It is propaganda: anti-military, anti-American propaganda - nothing less - and it is disgraceful.



Heroes . . .





. . . they dwell in Valhalla . . .





"Only the Dead have seen the End of War" - Plato


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RIDDLE ME THIS BATMAN

When is a photo-op not a photo-op? When the press is only informed "on condition of secrecy"


"The White House kept Mr. Obama's plans off his schedule, informing a small group of traveling reporters in advance on condition of secrecy."

"Mr. Obama was expected to observe a somber moment on the tarmac of the base without public comment." I don't think we've heard the last of this, however . . .

Make no mistake about it, Barack Obama is a shrewd political operator; every move he makes is calculated for the maximum political effect.

These past couple of weeks have seen the media on a renewed full-court-press to relive the heady days of 1968 - remember a little thing called the Tet Offensive? That's when we met the Viet Cong and the NVA on the battlefield and wiped the floor with them. 45,000 dead Communists later, Walter Cronkite announced to the world that America was losing the war. This maneuver is known as "Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory".

The truth is, we won Vietnam. We won it in 1968 right after Tet. Then we won it again a year later. Then we won it again during the Christmas bombings. The trouble is, we never consolidated our victories with an invasion of the North. We won and we won and we won until we got tired of winning, and then we packed up our bat and ball and went home. Millions of Viets died in the ensuing Communist bloodbath.

STORMBRINGER TRUISM: When you are in a war, the stupidest thing to do is anything but whatever it takes to win it.

True to script the media is at it again: this week I enjoyed the privilege of watching the sublime philosopher Chris Matthews in a discussion with America's greatest military thinker, the brilliant dopesmoker Woody Harrelson.

Woody Harrelson: "I think we should get out of Afghanistan."

Chris Matthews: "Yes I agree with you, I think we should get out."

Woody: "In fact, I don't know why we're even there in the first place. I think we should get out."

Chris: "Yes, it's like Vietnam, after 1968 it was lost. I think we should get out of Afghanistan."

It was sickening to watch this pair of geniuses make the same pronouncements that cost us Vietnam, and cost the lives of millions of Vietnamese. The only thing Afghanistan has in common with Vietnam is that they are both low intensity conflicts.

Afghanistan is nothing like Vietnam: A) the Viets never sneak attacked New York City, causing 3000+ civilian casualties and B) US / Australian / South Korean / South Vietnamese casualties were 4,954 killed; 15,917 wounded; 926 missing in January-February 1968 alone - we've had about that in eight years in Afghanistan.

And so we see the same old equation: ANY number of US casualties is unacceptable to the left. The writing is on the wall - the press is getting into body count math = game over for USA, we're throwing in the towel. No consideration for what this will mean to the people we leave behind, of course.

Right now my buddies in the Stan are reporting to me that the Taliban shot their wad during their Spring Offensive, that they are spent and done for; I am told that we are shooting them like fish in a barrel and that the raghead bodies are stacking up like cordwood. We don't hear a thing about that in the press. Instead, we have a photo op showing The One using dead American servicemen as props.

This is absolutely disgraceful. I predict B.O. will twist this solemn occasion for sober reflection as justification deny General McChrystal's request for more forces.

Then he will go play some more golf.