To the men with whom I served

To Recon and Charlie Company:

On this Veterans Day, 2010, we each have memories of comrades, friends, family and neighbors who while serving made the ultimate sacrifice or, having served, have passed on. We above all others, as combat veterans, must continue to remember them. We may not know the detail of their military service but we have shared comparable service experiences in training, displacement from home, emotions of fear and relief and other that bring us all together as a unique group called simply "Veterans." That same unity stands ever more strongly when the service was in either of the World Wars, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq or Afghanistan or any conflict or action while defending America.

About a month ago I made a visit to the Wall in Washington, DC. I was actually locating Lt. "Skip" Murphy's name when a young man tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could have his picture taken with me. I was wearing the "Triple Deuce Viet Nam" cap with a small Combat Infantryman Badge but had no idea why he was asking for the picture. He explained that he was a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and when he saw the CIB and Nam cap he thought there might be a camaraderie of shared similar experiences amongst all the tourists. As many other young service men and women I have met, he also expressed a regret that Nam veterans had been so badly treated when they came home. We spoke for a time about the generalities of combat and service. We didn't speak of specifics or share "war stories." We walked side by side, spoke quietly and, looking into his eyes, shared more than words could have given us. Having left active duty, this Sergeant was assigned to a Special Forces National Guard unit and expecting deployment to Afghanistan. We met and parted "brothers."

A week or so prior to this encounter I was on a flight arriving at a DC airport while another plane was taxiing to a near ramp. I watched as a fire truck on each side of it shot water in an arc over the plane. Once in the terminal I saw a small group of passengers, military and civilian, blocking the walk way in front of an adjacent gate and an honor guard of flags arrayed near the gate rampway. Cheers and applause began as WW II veterans exited this "Honor Flight" carrying them to a visit to the WW II Memorial. They walked with a combination of humility and pride, each wearing a cap with unit insignia. I saw the 25th and 4th Divisions and a Semper Fi or two on the caps. As young men and women in uniform moved forward to shake their hands, I was struck that the young were in the course of a journey into war while the old were near their final journey to remember a war long passed. Yet for those brief moments, they assembled as a "band of brothers."

We are bound by a sense of honor to those who preceded us and those who have continued in service to our country. Whether we join with a veterans' organization at a ceremony or walk individually with our grandchildren to visit a memorial on November 11th, we should do so with pride and recognition that we are one, as a "band of brothers."

"Remember and Respect"

Combat Courts

Veterans' courts: I have doubts about the wisdom of such courts. In my opinion as a combat veteran and former prosecutor, the participants in the existing criminal justice system, prosecutors, judges, probation officers, et al., should be educated and empowered to act in individual cases. I remain, however, doubtful that existing systems consistently produce judges who have the capacity to bring justice to an individual case. That aside, to distinguish any group within society and treat them as special within the criminal justice system because of perceived life experience, in patriotic service or not, diminishes the validity of and belief in "Equal Justice Under Law."

http://www.military.com/news/article/many-vets-find-service-helps-in-court.html?ESRC=eb.nl

A thought about Obama

There is a long road ahead for him, but I appreciate President-elect Obama's having begun his day on the 19th of January with an unscheduled visit to the wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He did this a day after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

Each of these actions by a president-elect were, I understand, unprecedented in the days immediately preceding an inauguration.

I was not a supporter of Obama in the election and still have serious concerns. But, in a few hours he will be our President, and, accordingly, he deserves our respect and support. I am, frankly, angered by the emails that I receive continuing to replay the political diatribes of the election cycles. I understand that many of the actors in Congress have records and views and some are now asserting intended political actions that are worthy of criticism. And there will be a time when those political actions, if pursued within this administration, will bring those personalities and issues into the arena of vigorous debate and discourse. But, let's at least not politically castigate this President, directly or indirectly, before he has taken an action, proposed legislation or violated his oath. After all, the affirmative vote of 69,456,897 Americans deserves some respect as well.