91 years ago today The Great War, the War to End All Wars, official ended.

Twenty one years later, the second World War started, and horrors even greater were seen and experienced by soldiers and civilians alike.

On May 26, 1954, President Eisenhower officially changed Armistice Day–a day to honor those who fought in WWI–to Veterans Day, to honor all veterans.

Five years later, the Vietnam War would begin, and the American view of military service would change profoundly.

Of all the war memorials in the US (not including Arlington Memorial Cemetery) I believe that the Vietnam War Memorial is the most profoundly affecting.

The men and women who served during Vietnam were, for the most part, not the brave volunteers of the Greatest Generation, going off to defend our country from an unprovoked attack. Instead, many were drafted, often against their will, and sent to fight a war that was not supported by the American people.

Those who returned home were treated shamefully. Although I was only five when the war ended, I do not remember a time when I was unaware of this embarrassment (lest you think me a prodigal, wise beyond my years, my mother comes from a military family, and her father, who joined to fight in WWII, retired towards the end of the Vietnam War.)

It is because the war was so controversial, and because so many veterans were treated shamefully upon their return home, that I find The Wall so affecting.

It is if, as a country, we suddenly woke up to the wrongness of our actions. To me, the Wall, and the listing of the names of those who died, is in part an apology to each soldier listed there, it makes them individuals remembered for their service that was so unappreciated at the time.

Of course for the current wars, we have digital memorials that are updated daily, remembering those who have died with more than just names. And these memorials are deeply affecting. But nothing compares to standing at the wall and seeing name after name listed. The sheer magnitude of the loss is almost overwhelming.

So on Veterans’ Day, we should remember the individuals who have served, but in remembering the individual losses, we should not lose sight of the vast number who have given their lives in their service. We should remember not just those individuals who served and the sacrifices they made, but also the loss to the country of so many of our sons and daughters.

American Military Service from the Civil War to the First Gulf War
U.S. Military Service During War 41,891,368
Battle Deaths 651,030
Other Deaths (In Theater) 308,800
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 230,279
Non-mortal Woundings 1,431,290

To those who serve, past and present, thank you for your sacrifices so that we may remain free.

Inter Arma Silent Leges
-Cicero

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.
– Pentagon official, on why US military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

It is well that war is so terrible; else we would grow too fond of it
– Robert E. Lee

A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.
– George William Curtis

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
– Thomas Jefferson

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
-Abraham Lincoln

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
– Benjamin Franklin

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
– William Faulkner

Day of the Dead

I’ve ruminated before about the somewhat unhealthy attitude Americans have towards death.

Don’t misunderstand me, death is a painful thing for those who survive. Loss–whether unexpected or not–is a hard thing, and even though we may live on past the death of those we love, a small part of us dies with them.

This is not to say we are reduced by every loss we suffer; it’s not a zero sum game, for new people are new relationships will enter our lives, and although they cannot replace those we have lost, they don’t need to.

But back to El Día de los Muertos.

The Day of the Dead is celebrated–and I do mean celebrated–in Mexico and by those of Mexican in the US. It is in some ways similar to the Celtic belief of Samhain, in that it is believed our world is close to another world, and for this time the ghosts of the dead are able to return.

This return, however, is not a haunting as most Americans would probably initially think. The dead are not vengeful and coming back to torment the living, but instead the living decorate the graves of their loved ones, setting out their favorite foods, as well as skull candies and cookies.

What I like is it gives you a chance to remember the good things about those who died. To remember the things that made you laugh, and the things you loved.

When I die, I don’t want people to wail and mourn my loss, but I want them instead to laugh and celebrate my life. And although there are some who would like their passing to be rung out with a wailing and gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, for the most part I don’t believe that those who loved us would want us to suffer at their passing.

So today, I ask you to remember those who have died: to remember what you loved and what made you laugh. Take today as a day to celebrate their lives, not to mourn their loss.

Today I remember:

Beth Cave, my grandmother. She loved football and made marvelous mincemeat tarts.

Bob Cave, my grandfather. He loved trains, and every winter would put a board on the pool table in the basement and set up tracks for HO scale trains, including houses and bridges.

I’m a little frustrated, because none of the rechargable batteries I have seem to want to hold a charge, so I wasn’t able to get many pictures yesterday, despite the fact that the weather was perfect (for taking pictures that is: overcast).

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Today’s recipe comes from the National Museum and Natural History.

OK. Here’s some real food.

No recipe though. Pretty sure you can figure this one out all on your own.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.
THE UNANIMOUS
DECLARATION
OF THE
THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WHEN, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s GOD entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.
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There’s been some discussion–elsewhere–about the fact that Google doesn’t change its icons to celebrate or memorialize American holidays, such as Memorial Day or D-Day.

I mostly ignored this, but one discussion got me thinking: Yes, Google is an American company, but it has an international audience, and as such I don’t see why it is expected to memorialize all American holidays–especially when those holidays may be viewed quite differently in other countries. In fact, a Russian friend commented that in Russia D-Day is viewed as the day the Americans finally got off their butts and joined the fight.

If you think about WWII, one of the pictures that may come to mind is of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at the Yalta summit. Sometimes Americans–especially those who lived through the Cold War, try to forget that the Russians were our allies in WWII. German, Japan, and Italy were the three Axis countries during WWII, and those were the three countries we were fighting. So of the six top powers of WWII were Britain, the USSR, the US, Germany, Italy and Japan.

It seems to me that celebrating D-Day on an international scale is akin to taunting those who lost, as well as the many Soviet citizens who had been battling the Axis long before the Americans joined in.

Please note, I do believe that D-Day and VE Day etc are important and should be memorialized by Americans; we lost many many soldiers on that day who gave their lives to the cause of freedom.

However, just because the US celebrates or memorializes a day does not make it an international holiday.

Yes, that’s right. The world does not revolve around the US. Sorry neocons, that’s just the way it is. Hollering and acting like screechy monkeys isn’t going to change this fact, and just makes the US look bad.

I’m reminded of what may be an apocryphal story about a professor who had a giant world map in his dining room, and whose foreign guests would point out that on their maps, their country was in the center of the map, not the US.

Thank you to friends, family, and strangers alike who have served this country so that I and those like me may continue to live in peace and prosperity.

World War I 116,516 killed, 204,002 wounded.¹
World War II 407,316 killed, 670,846 wounded.¹
Korea 33,651 killed 103,284 wounded.¹
Vietnam 58,168 killed, 153,303 wounded.¹
Gulf War 382 killed, 486 wounded.¹
Iraq War 4,301 killed so far, at least 31,285 wounded.

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.
~John F. Kennedy

What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.
~Robert E. Lee

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
~Thomas Jefferson

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
~Abraham Lincoln

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~Benjamin Franklin

Most people want security in this world, not liberty.
~H.L. Mencken

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
~William Faulkner

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.
~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory.
~Georges Clemenceau

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
~Mahatma Gandhi

Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.
~Mao Tse-Tung

It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we would grow too fond of it.
~Robert E. Lee

We make war that we may live in peace.
~Aristotle

In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
~Isaiah 2:2-4

Vietnam War Memorial
Korean War Memorial
WWII Memorial
The Great War

¹ from here.

Written by Michelle at 8:00 am    

Tags: Memorial Day

It’s Armed Forces Day.

Thank you to all those who have served in the military, past and present.

Last time we were driving back from Fredericksburg, Michael and I ended up calling my aunt & uncle to ask, “what’s the building near Quantico that looks like a sinking ship?”

He eventually called us back and told us the building was the Marine Corps Museum, but I still think it looks like a sinking ship.

Place the countries in the middle east on the map.

No time, no score. Just see how long it takes you and how many mistakes you make.

I did terrible in Western Africa, and I mixed up the location of several of the -stans. For most I got the general area correct, but specific placement was occasionally off.

Considering I’ve never taken a geography class–ever–I didn’t feel too bad about how I did.

LOOK OUT CAESAR!

Oops. Too late.

I would like to point out that eight years ago, the depths and horror of the Bush administration were predicted in “Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’“.

But today we can begin the reversal of the losses of our civil liberties.

Today we are taking the first step in the right direction to turn the country from the darkness of the Bush administration, an administration that allowed banks to run a muck by placing profit in front of the security of investors and investments. An administration that violated civil liberties after Bush declared that the terrorists hated us for our freedoms (obviously the solution was to curtail those freedoms, so the terrorists would no longer hate us). An administration that believed the environment existed solely for the extraction of natural resource. An administration that fought advances is medical research.

Today we turn the page on that dark past and start the hard work of moving forward. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be pretty, but we can do it.

Yes we can.

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
–Abraham Lincoln

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
— Benjamin Franklin

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
— William Faulkner

…
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base….
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Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounded determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

The Pearl Harbor attack kliied 2,403 and wounded 1,178. Twenty-one ships were sunk or damaged, including the USS Arizona, which remains on the harbor floor, and the USS West Virginia, which was eventually refloated, repaired, and rejoined the fleet towards the end of the war.

Information about the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Pearl Harbor Remembered, including survivor’s remembrances.

The USS West Virginia, including pictures of the ship from the 20s through the “mothballing” of the ship in the 1950s (She was later broken up and sold for scrap).

The USS Arizona, from the University of Arizona, including a brief history and online exhibits.

President Roosevelt’s speech in response to the other attacks that day.