Back to the normal routine today.

Posted by: andy at 02:40 AM | Comments (346)
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Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:16 PM | Comments (836)
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That a man lay down his life for his friends.

There is no greater love.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:34 PM | Comments (276)
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Happy Memorial Day to one and all.

Here are a couple of quotes from To Set The Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, which was one of the books I recommended in this Sunday's book thread.

In the spring of 1969, U. S. Army Chief of Staff General William C. Westmoreland gave a presentation to the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. He concluded with this story: I recently had the privilege of decorating a young Captain for valor in Vietnam. He was in command of a battery of 105 howitzers. They started taking mortar fire. He had a then-experimental countermortar radar that showed the mortar fire was coming from a nearby village. All of his instincts and training said to traverse his guns and silence the mortar, but he didn't do that. Instead, he ordered his men to take cover and led a platoon to the village on foot. As they got there, they saw the villagers were gathered in the center of the village, so they silently moved forward behind the buildings. In the middle of that gathering there was a ten-foot diameter pit in the ground, and in the pit, three enemy soldiers holding guns on the villagers while the mortar crew fired at the American artillery position.

The Captain and two of his men went in low, screening themselves behind the villagers, lobbed grenades, and yelled. They and the villagers fell away from the pit. The grenades went off in the pit. They ran forward and cleaned up the situation, and that was that. No friendly casualties.

As I was pinning on his medal, I asked the Captain how he got so smart. He said, "Oh, you could always expect 'em to pull a stunt like that when there was an American TV crew in the province."[Empasis mine]

Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain knows his war.

— Col. Ben H. Swett, USAF (Ret.), Vietnam veteran, 1969-70

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:43 PM | Comments (253)
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While we've been remembering the true meaning of Memorial Day all weekend here at the HQ, the National Moment of Remembrance is officially at 3pm local time and is quickly approaching for us East coast Morons and Moronettes.

One comment I've seen repeatedly made by folks who don't have personal remembrances of lost loved ones or fellow servicemen is along the lines of "what can I do?"

As someone who's fortunate to have had all of his close relatives who have served return home, I'm in this boat myself.

I think most of the regulars here are highly cognizant of the fact that our freedoms have been paid for with the blood of our servicemen, and even if it's not directed at someone we knew, we hold them and their families in our hearts every day, not just one weekend a year.

But when I think of someone who asked "what can I do" and then set about doing something that really made a difference, I think of Zachary Fisher.

Zachary Fisher, with his brothers Martin and Larry, built a fortune as a real estate developer in New York City. That fortune has since been devoted to a wide variety of philanthropic initiatives, from supporting the New York Police Department to funding charitable projects in Israel. But the Fisher family, and Zachary himself, are best known for their extensive work on behalf of AmericaÂ’s military service members and veterans.

...

Throughout their lives, Zachary and his wife, Elizabeth, had an unusually deep respect for the men and women of the United States military. “It’s a privilege to live in this great country of ours,” Fisher said in an interview late in life. “I owe them.”

Zachary Fisher never served in the military. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he attempted to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was denied, however, due to a knee injury he sustained while working as a teenager on a construction site. Undeterred, Fisher volunteered his building expertise for civil defense, helping build coastal fortifications along the Atlantic seaboard.

...

Soon after the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, the Fishers offered an additional $10,000 to each of the families of fallen service members. Having come to the conclusion that the death benefits given to families of fallen military personnel were too low, the Fishers created the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Its mission was to supplement the governmentÂ’s benefits, in all future cases, with as much as $25,000 cash. The Fishers continued these efforts for more than two decades, closing the direct-payment program only after the federal government significantly increased the monetary benefits offered to the families of service members killed on active duty.

Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher are perhaps best known for launching the Fisher House Foundation. In 1990, Fisher learned about a service woman who had recently received medical treatment at a military hospital. Her husband, unable to afford a hotel, spent the duration of her hospitalization sleeping in his car. Fisher was shocked to learn that the military made no provision for the families of hospitalized veterans and service members—and he decided to do something about it.

Read the whole thing for an inspiring story of the difference one person can make in the lives of our military families, to whom we so much.

And if you're so inclined, please feel free to make a donation to the Fisher House Foundation.

Posted by: andy at 10:25 AM | Comments (55)
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***MUST CREDIT THE WASHINGTON POST***

It may say more about Washington than White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler that sheÂ’s known in the West Wing for her fabulous shoes.

Ruemmler first attracted attention for her glam heels as a Justice Department prosecutor trying Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling in 2006, when she sported what The Wall Street Journal described as “stunning 4-inch bright pink stiletto spikes.”

A legal affairs blog “Above The Law,” called her a “star litigatrix” as a result. ”Litigatrix indeed,” the blog wrote. “Just because you work for the DOJ doesn’t mean you have to shop at DSW.”

Posted by: JohnE. at 09:15 AM | Comments (255)
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In August of last year I had the opportunity to attend the American Legion's National Convention. The highlight for me was the opportunity to hear now General John Kelly speak.

The General's speech was alternatively motivating and emotional. I'll culled out some of the highlights in a post at the time but Memorial Day seems an ideal time to revisit it......

“The Real 1%” wasn’t the title of Genera Kelly’s address but it could have been. In a speech that was alternatively motivating and moving (it wasn’t allergies, I was tearing up), the General covered a wide variety of topics. From the continuing War on Terror (it’s in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, not just Afghanistan) to the nature of the enemy we fight (“I don’t know why they hate us and I don’t care”) to the dark side of the focus on “diversity” the General covered a wide range of topics.

The most moving part of the GeneralÂ’s talk was when he addressed the disparity in the burdens born by the 1% who volunteer to serve (and their families) and the vast majority who have no direct contact with anyone in the military. An even smaller subset have paid the most frightful price imaginable.

One of the reasons I jumped at the chance to come to LegionÂ’s convention is in my early time here at the HQ a lot of what we were doing focused on Iraq and Afghanistan. My first post as an Open Blogger was about Scott Beauchamp and it was something I felt very strongly about, as did most of the readers here. Since Vietnam the leftwing in this country has sought to downplay the heroism and virtue of the military. More dangerously, they sought to portray veterans as dangerous and damaged people who were victims. Only the faults of the few were to be discussed, never the virtue of the many. Well, the playing field has changed with the advent of alternative and online media. Now we have a platform to push back against the liberal narrative and to highlight the courage, sacrifice and valor of those who willingly serve our nation.

As General Kelly explains, itÂ’s important to those who serve that we who benefit from their protection realize the source of our security. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 08:10 AM | Comments (58)
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Me and @MikeTally73 were talking this morning and he shared this story about his father's service in Vietnam.

When I was a kid (1984 or so), we visited the Vietnam Memorial. I remember my dad searching for his fallen comrades. He looked in the book, found the panel, then I remember him tracing the names with his fingers, tears in his eyes.

Below is a list of 1/9th losses on that day in March, way back in 1966. Each one has a story, and I wish I knew them to tell them. Maybe one day.

Today is not Veteran's Day. It's Memorial Day. I respect and appreciate every man and woman who served, and who serve today. But today, this day we remember those who gave all, like those who served with Mike's dad. Roll call below. more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:06 AM | Comments (58)
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Posted by: andy at 03:20 AM | Comments (132)
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You know what that means...

...the "long hot summer" of scandals is now officially in full swing. Indictments, frog marching, perp walks, its all on the table baby.

Unless of course you're in the north east. Then you're still getting snow.
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:50 AM | Comments (83)
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