All Purls. No Swine.
Well, it's twenty-three years ago today since President GW Bush announced it: https://youtu.be/FuwZSAmZ5G0 An unequivocal response to what was, at the time, thought to be a great evil which must be confronted. I'm not sure the reasons for it were wrong, and I wish that the West had dug in, had not lost its nerve,… Continue reading Operation Iraqi Freedom–Twenty-three Years On
https://youtu.be/3t0Gk0nffXA I think I know. There are lots of noncombatants in the current wars. Fair enough. They get a pass, for now, or at least until things heat up some more. And then there are those who pretend to be already engaged. Those who imagine they are "standing" because of some good work they may… Continue reading What is the Difference Between “Fighting” and “Standing”? Advice to a Former Friend
Today (March 6, 2025) would have been Dad's 106th birthday. He departed this earth at the age of 88, on September 30, 2007, and I miss him every day. A few years ago, I came across the book mentioned in the title of this post, on my way--as so often happens--to looking up something else. … Continue reading A Book Recommendation–From Sapper to Spitfire Spy–And Some Notes on Diving For Pearls
A repost, because it matters: Here dead we lie because we did not choose To live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; But young men think it is, and we were young. —A.E. Housman I think of Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) as my “hometown”… Continue reading Uniquely Human Memories–2024
The Telegraph is full of stories today about yesterday’s resignation of the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the latest in a long line of senior clergy of one or another Christian denomination who have been brought to account for covering up horrific crimes committed by churchmen, in this case, the jaw-dropping decades of… Continue reading The Downfall of an Archbishop and the Rise of a Soldier
A Ricochet post from November 10, 2018. Updated and reposted today, November 10, 2024, in honor of the 249th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Several years ago, a United States Marine Corps career officer of my acquaintance observed that, for a foreigner, for a civilian, and for a woman, I seem to have… Continue reading United States Marines I Have Known and Loved–And a Couple of Others
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. This is the quote attributed to General George S. Patton in his extemporaneous remarks at Boston’s Copely Plaza, on June 7, 1945. There’s no written record (on his part) of his saying such a thing,… Continue reading Quote of the Day: From ‘Old Blood and Guts in the Year Of Our Lord 2024’
A repeat, because--by gum--those wonderful men deserve it: Eighty-one years ago, on May 16-17 1943, an elite group of airmen, mostly from the Royal Air Force, but also with contingents from Canada and Australia, took off in nineteen Lancaster bombers from the RAF station in Scampton, Lincolnshire. Their mission was clear: Destroy three dams in… Continue reading Dam Busters +81
Ernie Pyle died 79 years ago today, on April 18, 1945 in the Iejima Okinawa Prefecture of the Empire of Japan, killed in action while doing what he loved. Having missed out on his first ambition–to serve in World War I–he undertook the study of journalism at Indiana University, and eventually found a career at… Continue reading “War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth”–Ernie Pyle
You remember him. He’s the United States Marine who–while still on active duty–excoriated his chain of command regarding their decision to leave Afghanistan in August of 2021. There were several posts about it on Ricochet at, and just after, the time (some of them even by me) Here are a few of them: https://ricochet.com/1036403/honor-courage-and-commitment-a-usmc-ltcol-speaks-out/ https://ricochet.com/1036424/pointed-questions/… Continue reading Whatever Happened to LtCol Stuart Scheller, USMC, Fired?