Yesterday, at National Airport, an Honor Flight of World War II veterans landed and, as Chris Muller notes, they got a marvelous welcome to Washington. Headed into Memorial Day weekend, it’s good to be reminded that people do think of this as more than just a three day weekend that officially kicks off the summer. Thank you, soldier!
As Cody Green lay dying, Sergeant Mark Dolfini stood guard outside his room. In crisp dress blues, wearing his NCO sword, Dolfini gave silent testimony to the courage that Green had demonstrated his entire life. Green’s example inspired the Marines he so admired.
Cody Green never stood on the yellow footprints of Parris Island, never qualified at the rifle range, nor wore a set of dress blues, but the 12-year-old who’d wanted to be a Marine all his life was made an honorary Marine for his bravery in his fight with leukemia. “They decided Cody, with the strength and honor and courage he showed through the whole thing, he should be a Marine,” Cody’s father David Snowberger told WLFI.
His obituary is posted on legacy.com:
Cody E. Green, 12, of rural Flora, died Saturday, April 28, 2012, at 12:45 p.m. at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis. He was diagnosed with A.L.L., a form of leukemia, in late 2001. He was treated and was in remission until a relapse in 2007, treated again and was in remission until relapsing again October 15, 2011. He had been a patient at Riley since March 2, 2012. He never asked “Why Me,” and fought the illness with grace and humility, never complaining about his treatment or care, saying “Thank you,” to the many health care professionals that cared for him. For this, he was rewarded with Honorary Marine from the United States Marine Corps.
Semper Fi, Devil Dog. We’ll see you on the other side.
Thanks to the folks at Unconventional Military Art for sharing this via Facebook and to Barbara Mikulski at snopes.com for the confirmation.
Filed under: Films, Henderson, Veterans | Tags: Class of 1967, USMA, Viet Nam, West Point
Last night, we went to see a screening of Into Harm’s Way, which is a terrific film. Actually, I should say, I know that 79 of the 94 minutes of the film are terrific.
It’s being shown as part of the GI Film Festival here in DC this week and my wife, two of her executives and I took my mother-in-law, whose husband LTC Richard Henderson served two tours in Viet Nam.
Synopsis
When 846 young men entered West Point in 1963, they signed up with an American Army at peace. At their graduation ceremony in 1967, the Vietnam War was raging. Into Harm’s Way is a story of Army officers who lead and lost soldiers in combat.
It’s a story of fathers and sons and duty to country. It’s a story of glory and sacrifice. Into Harm’s Way is the first person chronicle of the West Point Class of 1967.
The film is really well done, with the interviews emphasized and punctuated with impressionistic depictions of the events that the veterans are describing. In particular, as one is describing his encounter with a mortally wounded enemy soldier, the depiction of that’s soldier’s eyes adds a chilling effect as he describes the scene.
My mother-in-law, Mary Lou, was particularly moved by the film. One of the interviewees was the widow of one of the men in the Class of 1967 and they played some of the tapes he’d sent home from Viet Nam. Dick had also sent home tapes and photos, so she could identify with the emotions and experience. We’ll likely pull up those photos and listen to the tapes soon.
I would heartily recommend the film to everyone. They are looking to include it in film festivals going forward and I’d think that if you’re having an air show, a historical re-enactment or a gathering of ROTC students, this would be a fine film to view. I’d also recommend it for the Viet Nam on Film course I took back as an undergrad (I actually took it twice), if they still offered it.
Unfortunately, I missed the first 15 minutes of the film. Typically, the blame for this would be my own as I am often late. This time, I dropped off the four ladies a full 20 minutes before the scheduled start. It took me a while to find a parking spot (this was shown in the Congressional Auditorium in the US Capitol Visitor Center, though I was able to park just a block away) and STILL got through security and into my seat a full five minutes before the scheduled start. This was, unfortunately, 15 minutes into the film as they started 20 minutes early.
So much for the team-building exercise for my wife’s executive team.
Update: The good news is that the nice folks who run the festival made up for it by giving us two tickets for Sunday morning’s screenings. Waiting on the word about whether they can get us a DVD of Into Harm’s Way so that we can see the full movie.
Filed under: 506th, Band of Brothers, Veterans, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, Army Air Corps, B-25, Buchenwald, Doolittle Raid, France 1940, Hedy Lamarr, Joe Muccia, John McGrath, Marcus Brotherton, Torpedoes
“I demand satisfaction!” is a cry of an earlier time when I man could seek redress on a field of honor for slights suffered at the hands of others. If you long for such times, as opposed to the endless blathering of slanders and disagreements found on the internet, you will surely enjoy this video, courtesy of our friends re-enacting Easy Company.
- I may be going out on a limb here, but I don’t think any current leading ladies of film hold any technical patents, but Hedy Lamarr was far different, as Valerie Curl pointed out on her EpiphanyBlog, “In 1942, at the height of her Hollywood career, she patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was two decades ahead of its time.”
- Robert Seale took some excellent photos of 3 of the 5 surviving Doolittle Raiders. The 70th anniversary of those “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” is approaching (18 April 2012) and he got to fly with Doolittle’s co-pilot, Colonel Richard E. Cole, in Larry Kelley’s B-25, Panchito.
- Speaking of re-enacting, there is apparently an event over in south-west Michigan that might be fun if you’re nearby, Lest We Forget: WWII Public Display and Battle Recreation. There will be a vehicle parade, beach landings, a public battle and a hangar dance. It will be held at the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport and the beaches of St. Joseph.
- At the GI Film Festival (don’t forget to help out Firewatch) there will be a film on The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald. Betsy Miller, in the Military History group on LinkedIn, had recently pointed out the fate of some American airmen who got trapped in the Holocaust, pointing us to the National Museum of the US Air Force for more information.
- Volunteer fireman and Easy Company veteran, John “Jack” McGrath passed away. McGrath was a humble man, not eager to tell his stories, leaving dedicated Easy Company researchers like Marcus Brotherton and Joe Muccia lamenting that they couldn’t learn more from him. Joe noted that, “in fact he spent more time asking me about my war”.
Filed under: Films, Marines, Veterans | Tags: 10th Marines, Danilo Prieto, Firewatch, GI Film Festival, Navy Memorial
Firewatch is a short film by Marine Danilo Prieto, who deployed to Afghanistan with Sierra Battery, 5th Battalion, 10th Marines. Sergeant Prieto wants to come to Washington, DC to see the film screened at GI Film Festival 2012 (Firewatch will be shown with 7 other short films Sunday morning, 20 May 2012, starting at 10am in the Naval Heritage Center, at the Navy Memorial). Unfortunately, he lives in California, so, in order to make it to the Festival, he has posted a Kickstarter project to raise funds for the trip. If you donate, he’ll send you the link or a DVD of the film as thanks for your support. If you’ve ever stood a fire watch when you’d rather have been spending time drinking with your buddies, send Prieto the $20 or $30 you’d have spent on drinking in a bar, then get your buddies together (have them buy the drinks) and sit down at your place with the DVD when it arrives. Honor your fallen brothers, like Prieto’s friends CPL Binh Le and CPL Matthew Wyatt. You won’t regret it.
If you live in the DC Metro area, I expect we’ll see you at the Festival, right? It’s 14-20 May 2012 and ticket prices are quite affordable.
Filed under: Gettysburg, Marines, Navy, Understanding Battles | Tags: Naval Academy
Spot on. Great to see midshipmen actually on battlefields….
Filed under: Navy, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: April Fools, Divorce, Manliness, Pentagon
This spring day, I think it’s time to share some irreverence. We survived April Fool’s, but it’s still April, right?
- If you blog on WordPress and haven’t heard of Mikalee Berman, then you haven’t been paying attention. She’s one of the funniest, most irreverent and yet insightful writers I’ve read in a while. You’re sure to enjoy her Peep edition post: How My Marriage Ended with a Brick: Peep Edition.
- In reading her posts, I also found a good set of rules for any man who wants to actually BE a man, written by one of her more irreverent readers.
- Walk the Prank: There’s a great story in the Wall Street Journal about the portrait of “Ensign Chuck Hord” that used to hang in the Pentagon. According to the plaque on the portrait, Hord was lost at sea in 1908. There is, of course, more to the story. Thanks to Dale Wilson for posting this in the Military History and Strategy group on Linked In.
Filed under: en Francais, Leadership, Marines, Navy | Tags: American Civil War, Attitude, Naval Academy, Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson
In reading the Washington Post this morning, I came across a story of a group of Naval Academy midshipmen who spent their spring break following in the footsteps of “Stonewall” Jackson. Dr. Joe Thomas, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, teaches leadership at the Academy and led the group on the hike last month. Near dusk on Day 3 of the hike, having covered 55 miles already, Thomas reminded the midshipmen of one of the great truths of leadership, “Optimism is a force multiplier.”
In the Shenandoah Valley, just northwest of Swift Run Gap where they’d hiked that day, lay the battlefields of Cross Keys and Port Republic. In both battles, aggressive optimists defeated larger forces. Looking at General Jackson’s career, you can see many instances in which his aggressiveness, optimism and force of personality determined the outcome of the battle. Jackson was no giddy cheerleader brandishing slogans, but a supremely eccentric and socially awkward man who had an incredible talent and great confidence. Despite having been branded “Tom Fool” as a professor at VMI, at First Manassas, he earned his nickname for standing like a stone wall and allowing others to rally on the Virginians.
L’optimisme est un multiplicateur de force
En lisant Washington Post ce matin, j’ai trouvé une histoire d’un groupe de officiers aspirants d’Académie Navale qui ont dépensé leur coupure de ressort suivant dans les marchepieds de « Stonewall » Jackson. Dr. Joe Thomas, un lieutenant-colonel Marin retiré, enseigne les qualifications de leader à l’académie et a mené le groupe sur la hausse le mois dernier. Près du crépuscule le Jour 3 de la hausse, ayant déjà couvert 55 milles, Thomas a rappelé les midshipmans une des grandes vérités de la conduite, « Optimisme est un multiplicateur de force. »
Dans la vallée de Shenandoah, juste le nord-ouest de la Course Rapide Passage où elles avaient augmenté ce jour, étendent les champs de bataille des Clefs en Travers et de la Port République. Dans les deux batailles, les opportunistes agressifs ont défait des forces plus grand. Regardant la carrière du Général Jackson, vous pouvez voir beaucoup d’exemples dans lesquels son agressivité, optimisme et force de personnalité ont déterminé les résultats de la bataille. Jackson n’était aucun slogan brandissant de majorette étourdie, mais suprêmement un excentrique et un homme socialement maladroit qui ont eu un talent incroyable et une grande confiance. En dépit de l’marquage à chaud « imbécile de Tom » comme un professeur à École militaire de la Virginie, chez le premier Manassas, il a valu son surnom pour se tenir comme un mur en pierre et permettre à d’autres de se rassembler sur les Virginians.
Today, I spent the day in Crystal City, attending the 138th Annual Meeting of the US Naval Institute. I had joined the Institute a few years ago, after getting Gators of Neptune as a Christmas present. I’ve joined a few other organizations to help increase my knowledge, get exposure to veterans and, perhaps, an audience for this blog and future writings. I belong to the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division due to the Operation Dragoon and Colmar Pocket seminars that I help out with, and I belong to the Marine Corps Association & Foundation due to my interest in their history. I expect I will continue to add to this list as time passes.
The meeting was terrific. VADM Daley started the meeting by reading the Mission and Vision statements of the Institute aloud. This was music to my ears, as last year there was a tremendous alarm when the Board had decided to reword the mission to identify the Institute as an advocate for sea power (I read about it first on CDR Salamander’s blog.) The mission has returned to proper focus after much pressure from the membership:
To providing an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.
I think the experience of the past year has done a great deal to improve the Institute. The uprising of the membership may have served as a reminder of exactly what it is that the Institute is – a membership organization. The strength of the Institute is its members, as VADM Daley pointed out in his comments. He noted how the staff has been energized by the feedback from the membership and that communication is central to the completion of the Mission.
One of the key goals of this association of naval minds (officer AND enlisted) is to expand the active duty membership. It was noted that USNI is basically invisible to the junior officers and enlisted personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. That needs to change. With the recent update of the website (launched last Friday) and with plans to roll out an app with the next 2 to 2-1/2 months, they’re making strides to reach them. The Admiral also noted that members could sponsor undergraduate gift memberships ($20 for students, about 5000 students in NROTC, USNA and USCGA) to expand exposure to new officers. So, if anyone has about $100,000 and wants all those undergrads to become members, bring it on!
In the discussion about the prime value that the Institute provides, RADM “T.C.” Cropper cited “Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal”, which he uses every day to train his leaders how to fight. Of course, there was a little chuckle at this moment, because that particular book is not published by the Naval Institute Press, though it does exemplify the type of books the Press publishes and, as another member in attendance noted, the Institute “owns the bibliography” having published so many books on naval history in the past.
Admiral Daley noted that he expects a rich harvest of leadership lessons from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from junior officers who fought those wars and the Naval Institute Press stands ready to publish those works. A common theme of the day was that the Institute is a dynamic entity that is dependent upon an engaged membership. Having met a few of the younger authors at the Awards Dinner (CDR Matthew Harper, who wrote “Chinese Missiles and the Walmart Factor” and CDR In H. Ha, who wrote “Away All… Hovercraft!“), I know that they’re already engaging some bright young minds. I have great expectations going forward.
I would encourage everyone to go check out the Institute, read some articles, buy some books (eBooks even!) and consider joining. You’ll find a serious-minded dedicated community standing ready to share knowledge and welcome new ideas.
For another report on the meeting, check out the Steel Jawed Scribe’s blog.
Filed under: Homefront, Veterans | Tags: Denzel Washington, Fisher House, Kate Deyermond, Kathy Griffin, Russ Littel
I’d seen on Facebook a great photo of Denzel Washington down in San Antonio with several soldiers. There was an urban legend attached to it, but what Denzel did for the Fisher House was almost as good as the legend.
Our friend Kate managed the Fisher House here at Walter Reed when we met her and her husband, Russ, so we got to see what they’re like. The Fisher House provides a “home away from home” for military families while a loved one is hospitalized for illness, disease or injury. Sometimes, soldiers in rehabilitation have their families stay for months, which they would never be able to do otherwise. One of the great things for Kate and Russ was that many famous people would come by for events or just to thank the soldiers for their service. This meant that Kate and Russ got to meet a lot of those folks – Kate even appeared in an episode of Kathy Griffin’s “My Life on the D-List”.
In the urban legend, after visiting the Fisher House in San Antonio, Denzel Washington asks, “How much does it cost to build one of these?” Given the number, Denzel pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for that amount. Great story, but a bit of an exaggeration. Just like me (perhaps the only similarity between Denzel Washington and myself), he doesn’t carry a checkbook around with him. However, his reputation for generosity is well-earned and he did, in fact, send a substantial check to help sponsor the Fisher House. Cary Clack of the San Antonio Express explained of the six-figure check, “It wasn’t enough to build one facility, but went a long way toward helping to build one.”
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We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in ... France 