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I've been trying to find a "safe" place on the bord to post this, and this seems like it, so here goes:
On the 28th of September, I lost three friends and fellow soldiers, two of whom I had worked with to train some of the 15000 (give or take) troops who we trained at FT Drum to go to fight in the desert. Shortly after I demobilized, the unit I worked under at FT Drum was sent to Iraq to train the Iraqi civil defense forces. While they were involved in training the Iraqis, their patrol was attacked by a roadside bomb. SFC Howe and MSG Tuliau were killed almost instantly, and LTC James was severely wounded. To quote my Sergeant Major, "LTC James was a commander to the end. First in, last out. He held on long enough to make sure his troops were taken care of, then he too left us". This is in memory of LTC James, MSG Tuliau, and SFC Howe, and the wives and ten children they left behind:
WHEN you've shouted " Rule Britannia," when you've sung " God save the Queen,"
When you've finished killing Kruger with your mouth,
Will you kindly drop a shilling in my little tambourine
For a gentleman in khaki ordered South?
He's an absent-minded beggar, and his weaknesses are great -
But we and Paul must take him as we find him -
He is out on active service, wiping something off a slate
And he's left a lot of little things behind him!
Duke's son - cook's son - son of a hundred kings
(Fifty thousand horse and foot going to Table Bay!)
Each of 'em doing his country's work
(and who's to look after their things?)
Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay - pay - pay !
There are girls he married secret, asking no permission to,
For he knew he wouldn't get it if he did.
There is gas and coals and vittles, and the house-rent falling due,
And its more than rather likely there’s a kid.
There are girls he’s walked with casual. They’ll be sorry now he’s gone,
For an absent-minded beggar they will find him,
But it ain’t the time for sermons with the winter coming on
We must help the girl that Tommy’s left behind him!
Cook's son - Duke's son - son of a belted Earl
Son of a Lambeth publican - it's all the same to-day !
Each of 'em doing his country's work
(and who's to look after the girl?)
Pass the hat for your credit's sake, J1 and pay - pay - pay !
There are families by thousands, far too proud to beg or speak,
And they'll put their sticks and bedding up the spout,
And they'll live on half o' nothing, paid 'em punctual once a week,
'Cause the man that earns the wage is ordered out.
He's an absent-minded beggar, but he heard his country call,
And his reg'rnent didn't need to send to find him!
He chucked his job and joined it - so the job before us all
Is to help the home that Tommy's left behind him !
Duke's job - cook's job - gardener, baronet, groom.
Mews or palace or paper-shop, there's someone gone away!
Each of 'em doing his country's work
(and who's to look after the room?)
Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay - pay - pay !
Let us manage so as, later, we can look him in the face,
And tell him - what he'd very much prefer
That, while he saved the Empire, his employer saved his place,
And his mates (that's you and me) looked out for her.
He's an absent-minded beggar and he may forget it all,
But we do not want his kiddies to remind him
That we sent 'em to the workhouse while their daddy hammered Paul,
So we'll help the homes that Tommy left behind him !
Cook's home - Duke's home - home of a millionaire,
(Fifty thousand horse and foot going to Table Bay !)
Each of 'em doing his country's work
(and what have you got to spare?)
Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay - pay - pay !
Rudyard Kipling
Please remember the families and children of those serving around the world, and please donate to Veterans and survivor organizations.
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And a belated happy birthday to the Marine Corps.
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Should anyone happen to see the documentary on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers-it's usually shown this time of the year-please take time to watch it. It's a very interesting and moving piece.
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I've never seen that Kipling poem before. A very appropriate one for today.
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Killearn Kitties,
I was going to use another one, but it was a tad too graphic, even for the dog house.
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I just wanted to tell you a what happened on friday..
I know four people that work in the area that are Veterans..
I saw Eric (Navy) in the hallway and said to him, "Happy Vet's day..."
And then I realized that it probably isn't "Happy" -while I kicked myself he told me that I was the first person who had mentioned it too him (It was around 2 in the afternoon when I saw him.....)
"Thanks, you are the first person that mentioned it and that means alot to me!"
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I went down stairs to talk to Claudia (USMC) and mentioned the MC B-DAY and thanked her for her service.....Her face lit up and she was pretty jazzed that someone remembered....
I felt pretty good and they were pleased that someone remembered...It was the least I could do for them..... :D
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Kimmy,
What a wonderful tribute to your Grandpa. You must've been very proud of him.
My Dad was also in the Navy. He was a Yeoman 1st Class on a destroyer during WWII. Joined at the age of 17 with my grandfather's permission.
I've got a wonderful picture of him in his Navy uniform. Right next to a picture of my Mom at the tender age of 14.
Freckles,
Great picture!!
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War on veterans
A Veterans Day opinion from Disabled American Veterans
On Veterans Day, as our nation remains at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President and Members of Congress will call on America to support our troops and talk about how much we owe our men and women in uniform. But instead of honoring its commitment to those whose service and sacrifice have kept us free and safe, our government has launched a devastating assault on benefits for America's veterans.
Federal funding for veterans programs over the years has not even kept pace with inflation, let alone the increased demands on the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care and other earned benefits. The administration claims to have provided record increases for veterans, yet thousands of them have been denied access to VA health care. Because of budget shortfalls, VA facilities in every region of the country have exhausted reserve funds to meet critical needs. Many have stopped hiring doctors and nurses, while still others have cut back or even eliminated medical services. It is a clear indication that the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country are not a national priority.
But inadequate funding for medical care isn't the only thing veterans are concerned about.
In recent years we have witnessed a systematic erosion of veterans benefits even while our nation is engaged in a war that is adding to the ranks of sick and disabled veterans who will need the VA for decades to come.
As we entered March 2003, American troops had been fighting Taliban forces and terrorists in Afghanistan for well over a year. The invasion of Iraq was imminent. Yet the House of Representatives was considering a budget that would have reduced spending for veterans programs by some $25 billion over the next decade to help pay for the administration's massive tax cut package.
Then in September 2003, the House leadership sought a provision in the 2004 defense authorization bill that would have denied disability compensation and priority for health care to veterans whose disabilities were not directly related to performance of their official military duties.
Amid growing criticism, however, that unconscionable scheme was quietly abandoned. But as U.S. casualties continued to mount in Iraq and Afghanistan, a compromise plan devised by the House Armed Services Committee leadership set up a new commission to investigate the justification for the disability benefits veterans receive. That was done without holding hearings or even consulting the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
A year later, Congress directed the Defense Department to study disability benefits for current and past members of the military. The bill also mandated a Government Accountability Office study of benefits payable under federal, state and local laws to government employees for disabilities incurred in the performance of their jobs.
More recently, benefits for disabled veterans have come under renewed attack. The government is reviewing the claims of some 72,000 veterans who are rated by the VA as totally disabled and unemployable due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The review is focused on claims that may have been improperly granted, yet there are no plans to examine claims that may have been improperly denied.
This ill-advised review will divert much-needed resources from the VA's overload of disability compensation claims yet to be processed and comes at a time when one in four of those returning from the war in Iraq are expected to suffer from PTSD or other mental health problems.
And as if to add insult to injury, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) recently announced that veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees. For several decades now, these joint hearings have been held each year to allow the leaders of veterans service organizations to discuss their group's legislative agenda and foremost concerns with the lawmakers who have jurisdiction over federal veterans programs.
Eliminating these joint hearings is an affront to the men and women who have fought and died to protect our Constitutional rights, including their right to petition the government.
Veterans shouldn't have to fight proposals to limit eligibility or means test disability compensation. They shouldn't have to fight negative stereotypes that veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental conditions related to their military service are just "gaming the system." They shouldn't have to fight their own government after fighting America's enemies.
So, next time you see one of those "Support Our Troops" signs or car magnets, remember the men and women who help keep us free and safe. But let's make sure their service and sacrifice are not forgotten when they come home. Support our veterans. Arthur H. Wilson is National Adjutant/CEO of Disabled American Veterans.
(c) 2005, Disabled American Veterans
