We enter the third month of a conflict not yet ended satisfactorily. How do we objectively evaluate success or failure to this point? First, without a doubt, six weeks of bombing with minimal resistance from Iran had a significant impact on their military capability; although, the exact extent of that degradation is not yet clear.Continue reading “Evaluating the Iran War”
Category Archives: War Stories
The Iran Propaganda War
The US and Israel began a war on Iran February 28, three plus weeks ago. Immediately upon its commencement, the propaganda war, perhaps the more important war, began. In comparison, the Vietnam war began in earnest with a troop buildup in 1966, but for several years following, the American public remained supportive or disinterested. TheContinue reading “The Iran Propaganda War”
War Stories: Glimpses from the Foxhole
My dad told me the story of his life in snippets, often late nights at the kitchen table, over a period of thirty years. I’ve patched his many vignettes together, covering the time he was a teenager growing up during WWII through thirty years in the military, and then ordered these disparate stories into aContinue reading “War Stories: Glimpses from the Foxhole”
Epilogue
chapter-6-winning-the-war Following the trip to West Point, my father is once again talking about going back to Viet Nam. “I’d like to go back to some of the places I was before. I want to see how they’ve changed. I don’t even know if they will let me in, but I want to try. TheContinue reading “Epilogue”
Chapter 6: Reunion
chapter-5-winning-the-war It had been more than forty years since my father had been back to West Point. He had returned for his fifth reunion, making the trek from Fort Benning. He returned a year or two later when his brother was stationed there. But he had not been back since; he talked about attending theContinue reading “Chapter 6: Reunion”
Chapter 5: Winning the War
Chapter-4-O-Sole-Mio After Naples, my father was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas where he prepared for his first tour in Viet Nam. Sandwiched in between trips to Viet Nam, a six-year period, were a tour at Fort Monroe, Virginia, working with some unit called CONARC, classes at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, andContinue reading “Chapter 5: Winning the War”
Chapter 4: O Sole Mio
My father certainly met a lot of famous people during his career. At the West Point graduate luncheon in Charleston, he might sit next to “Westy”, Westy being General Westmoreland, the allied commander in Viet Nam. And he often played handball with that somewhat famous guy who was an instructor at the Naval War CollegeContinue reading “Chapter 4: O Sole Mio”
Chapter 3: Rambo
Chapter-2-Beast-Barracks War movies often provide a spark for my father. When we watch together, it doesn’t take long before he has a story to accompany the action on the screen. The Big Red One, a chronicle of the exploits of the First Division during World War II, sparked lots of commentary. “If you are goingContinue reading “Chapter 3: Rambo”
Chapter 2: Beast Barracks
chapter-1-hired-killer My father remembers the depression, World War II, and other cataclysmic world events. The major events of his youth were ones that affected everyone. Today we live through wars and disasters vicariously via television, but back then these events were so momentous you could not isolate yourself from them; they were not as distantContinue reading “Chapter 2: Beast Barracks”
Chapter 1: Hired Killer
prologue A hired killer, a grunt, an infantryman, my father calls himself. After thirty years of military service, he can lay claim to other titles as well: ranger, paratrooper, company commander, battalion commander, and G-something-or-other. Of course, these days he is primarily known as Grandpa, having retired from the Army many years ago. Commemorating hisContinue reading “Chapter 1: Hired Killer”
Seek the Truth 