Tell that to the "Organs and Widows of Seaman, Timberman, and Miners! It is " Vain Glory" to place War Honor above the Duty of providing for "Family" day in and day out, throughout the Seasons and the Years. I am not unfamiliar with Military. My Father achieved "Master Sergeant" after serving in WWIi and the Korean War. I personally saw the casualties of War in the Naval Hospital in Vallejo, California, during the Korean Conflict, as a child while having a tumor removed from my leg. Men in the Wards with missing limbs and a few hanging in baskets with none! All happy as Hell to have a small kid take their minds off their situations. They carried their experiences with them on leaving, and I never forgot their humaness. My Father's Sister retired a Full Bird out of the Maine Corps, entering when enlistment opened for Women! My Dad's Sister's Husband, Uncle Kenny flew Combat off a Carrier in the Pacific Theater. None of the Military Men and Women Personnel that it has been my extreme pleasure to meet would ever dishonor themselves by placing "Their Experiences" above that of any other Honorable American Citizen! You, Sir, are a pretense as an Officer. And an insult to All Branches of Our Services.
This is not an either or situation... loss of life for any reason is problematic. However, the number of lives lost, and the degree of suffering experienced in war are several magnitudes greater. No one suggests that we ignore civilian occupational losses or those who suffer from natural disasters. However, WAR IS A CHOICE... and the carnage can be avoided. While accidental deaths and injuries due to natural and occupational hazards are unavoidable. Therein lies a great difference.
The self-inflicted horror of war is a plague that need not occur... it has no medical protocol for treatment and recovery... It is man's inhumanity toward his own kind that drives such waste; as it has consumed hundreds of millions over the centuries it has plagued mankind.
And these experiences make you special somehow? I think not! At this moment a very close a dear friend is now in a Residential Care Home due to the effects of His Tours in Vietnam as a Ranger, exposed to Agent Orange and now has "Brain Shrinkage"! He retired " Full Bird". Another close friend is currently undergoing His continuing Cancer Bladder Surgeries as a result of Agent Orange Exposure while serving His "Tours" in Special Forces. My Brother died in my arms as a result of Agent Orange exposure while serving in the Marine Tours. All of them within Fifty Meters of the DMZ!.War comes in many guises. For some it is in battle against other men with weapons and for others it is against Nature. Who are you to differentiate between the losses, when comparing a Fleet of Forty Seven Vessels, all less than Fifty Foot with Crews of Four, in Eighty Foot Seas combined with Eighty Knot Winds, Two Hundred and Forty Miles from Shore in Dark Skies, hearing the cries of dying men for Thirty Eight Hours of Fourteen Lost Vessels that were beyond Hope of Rescue? Who are you to have never earned a living in temperatures of 50 degrees below Zero in 80 Mile an hour winds, creating a Chill Factor of 141 Below? Who are you to have never worked a Mile below the Surface of the Earth, where the Temperature is constantly above One Hundred and the Air is Thick with Dust to put food on the table for your family? You are but a Selfish Mindless Wonder who knows nothing but the Art of Killing. And this Art has no Beauty. The Honor is in the Deed, not the Doing. Your best position is "On the Porch, Barking." Allow the Big Dogs to handle the "Needs."
It is one thing to face nature and another to face nature's master... in a struggle for life. War knows no mercy, has no reprieve, and like a sudden winter storm takes its wage in blood. No one questions your right not to fear war, only the wisdom of such counsel,
Civil war is especially cruel... as it is fought on familiar ground, in our neighborhoods, in the living rooms of our homes. Our children will taste its violence. Civil War should be the very last course man charts. The fool boast of conquests in blood, sooner to find it is his own. Civil war is anything but civil and it should not lightly be pursued. There are no winners in such a contest. There are only those who survive and those who no longer greet their children with a smile and a kind word.
Anger and resentment often blind the proud and brash... whose swagger and bravado echo the call to war, only to learn too late the price pride exacts for his swagger and bravado. Death rides the winds of war and rails long in the house of man; wildly cutting down the youth of a foolish generation... suddenly, replacing the voice of peace in our homes and streets with the sound of morning and sorrows cry. Our Children will suffer great harm at the hand of war, both physically and emotionally... Strong men will bucket under the weight of it and the weak will find no comfort for their voice or cries for mercy.
War is not a choice it is a compulsion... driven by rage. Death is its wage and the final solution for errant pride and the recalcitrant belligerent. War should be avoided where ever possible. Let us live at peace with all men, as much as is possible.
At times it appears your vision to be so narrow for you to see through a crack in a door without tilting your head! Of course the Romans conquered the Iberian, but the never could have accomplished this without having first reached "An Agreement with the Basque", a Totally Separate Peoples! You dare compare the singular account of a Motorcycle Wreck, (among many) to the agony of Napalm Burn Suffering (of which you do not indicate personal contact!) You lightly Passover and forgo all other " Life Experiences " expressed before you in order to hammer forth the Righteousness of Military Control in every Situation. My only "Two Errors" in previously replying in responding, and mistaking "Sweden" for "Switzerland!" (Which has held the World's longest Reign as a Republic! " You and I have no further need of communication, as we have absolutely nothing in Common, including "The Great American Experiment."
P'S I served two tours in Vietnam (one as a ground combatant and the second in the air as an Army aviator) I was a direct participant in some of the heaviest battles ever fought in Vietnam... Khe Sanh, the TET offensive of 68, the Ashauh Valley campaign, and our incursions into Laos and Cambodia... I have dropped napalm on enemy positions and experienced the heat of the inferno it creates while engaged in close combat... I remain adamant ... unless you have experienced close combat in war you have not developed a proper respect and fear for its destructive force... certainly not thru the everyday calamities experienced in civil life.
Time for another History Lesson. Prior to my Family's move in 1225, they lived in the Pyrenees Mountains. Basques! At the time of the Pax Roma, Roman Law, Rome had sent an Expeditionary Force to Iberia for expansion. They never returned. Rome sent a Legion next, crossing down through the Pyrenees. They never returned either! Next, Rome sent Ambassadors and they created a "Trade Agreement" with the Basque People. The Romans then ventured further into Iberia. Everything about the Basque is unique, but most unique of all is the lack of Rule by Arms. They have their own unique Laws, Governments, Language, and DNA. And historically very friendly hospital people unless angered. The Romans mistake was, the "Told" the Basque People what they were going to do, when they should have "Asked." Reminder, Sweden is rapidly approaching the Title of the Longest Standing Republic. The Republic of Rome ended with Julius Caesar when he brought his Army into.the Capital.
1) Since 1848 the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. The early history of the region is tied to the Alpine culture. Rome existed as either a Republic or Empire for over 1200 years... Switzerland is not even close... in fact, Sweden has a longer history of over 1000 yrs.
2) The Basque peoples are part of the Iberian region... and were conquered first by Carthage and then Rome... The only peoples to successfully resist Rome in Europe were the Scottish tribes who existed North of Hadrian's Wall, in the region now called Northumberland and the Scottish Lowlands
You are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts...
I don't see how your comments change anything... Rome and its EMPIRE were created thru the rule of Roman law... their legions were used to enforce those laws wherever ROME had its EMPIRE... If memory serves me the Iberian people were eventually subjugated by Rome/
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtiberian tribes and the Carthaginian Empire. The Carthaginian territories in the south and east of the peninsula were conquered in 206 BCE during the Second Punic War. Before the Roman conquest, Iberia was part of the Carthaginian Empire.
Rome created the longest known Empire recorded in History... functioning as a Republic and an Empire. History, records ancient Rome and the Roman civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5h century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom (753 BC-509 BC), Roman Republic (509 BC-27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Well over 1200 years. You may want to reevaluate your views on Roman rule and history.
Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previousl…
I got over the "Fear" of War, the Boogie Man, and every other things the "Bullies" of this World tried to use to intimidate me. I also got over the "Fear" of pain, broken bones and death! Just one of those damned irritating assholes who refuse to be intimidated! Been shot, stabbed, run over and burned. Lived through Cancer and Heart Disease. Survived typhoons, gales and earthquakes. Outlived everyone in my family and down to one lung and one artery in my heart. Car wrecks, boat wrecks and motorcycle crashes. "Doom and Gloom" forecasters differ little from those who enjoy giving children nightmares. I'm a loud, proud, American who traces his beginnings in this Great Nation from its beginning in the Revolutionary War, the War with Mexico, through both sides of Our Civil War, Spanish American, and every damned War America has been involved in. A family pioneering this Land prior to Colonization, and working its way ever Westward. War? My "Family" traces back to 1225 earning a "Coat of Arms" for "Services in Battles! So don't you ever attempt to pull that over bearing Military Bull S__t on me ever again Colonel! Remember your place and Station! I have earned my Right Not To Fear!
Replies
Tell that to the "Organs and Widows of Seaman, Timberman, and Miners! It is " Vain Glory" to place War Honor above the Duty of providing for "Family" day in and day out, throughout the Seasons and the Years. I am not unfamiliar with Military. My Father achieved "Master Sergeant" after serving in WWIi and the Korean War. I personally saw the casualties of War in the Naval Hospital in Vallejo, California, during the Korean Conflict, as a child while having a tumor removed from my leg. Men in the Wards with missing limbs and a few hanging in baskets with none! All happy as Hell to have a small kid take their minds off their situations. They carried their experiences with them on leaving, and I never forgot their humaness. My Father's Sister retired a Full Bird out of the Maine Corps, entering when enlistment opened for Women! My Dad's Sister's Husband, Uncle Kenny flew Combat off a Carrier in the Pacific Theater. None of the Military Men and Women Personnel that it has been my extreme pleasure to meet would ever dishonor themselves by placing "Their Experiences" above that of any other Honorable American Citizen! You, Sir, are a pretense as an Officer. And an insult to All Branches of Our Services.
Lynn Bryant DeSpain
This is not an either or situation... loss of life for any reason is problematic. However, the number of lives lost, and the degree of suffering experienced in war are several magnitudes greater. No one suggests that we ignore civilian occupational losses or those who suffer from natural disasters. However, WAR IS A CHOICE... and the carnage can be avoided. While accidental deaths and injuries due to natural and occupational hazards are unavoidable. Therein lies a great difference.
The self-inflicted horror of war is a plague that need not occur... it has no medical protocol for treatment and recovery... It is man's inhumanity toward his own kind that drives such waste; as it has consumed hundreds of millions over the centuries it has plagued mankind.
And these experiences make you special somehow? I think not! At this moment a very close a dear friend is now in a Residential Care Home due to the effects of His Tours in Vietnam as a Ranger, exposed to Agent Orange and now has "Brain Shrinkage"! He retired " Full Bird". Another close friend is currently undergoing His continuing Cancer Bladder Surgeries as a result of Agent Orange Exposure while serving His "Tours" in Special Forces. My Brother died in my arms as a result of Agent Orange exposure while serving in the Marine Tours. All of them within Fifty Meters of the DMZ!.War comes in many guises. For some it is in battle against other men with weapons and for others it is against Nature. Who are you to differentiate between the losses, when comparing a Fleet of Forty Seven Vessels, all less than Fifty Foot with Crews of Four, in Eighty Foot Seas combined with Eighty Knot Winds, Two Hundred and Forty Miles from Shore in Dark Skies, hearing the cries of dying men for Thirty Eight Hours of Fourteen Lost Vessels that were beyond Hope of Rescue? Who are you to have never earned a living in temperatures of 50 degrees below Zero in 80 Mile an hour winds, creating a Chill Factor of 141 Below? Who are you to have never worked a Mile below the Surface of the Earth, where the Temperature is constantly above One Hundred and the Air is Thick with Dust to put food on the table for your family? You are but a Selfish Mindless Wonder who knows nothing but the Art of Killing. And this Art has no Beauty. The Honor is in the Deed, not the Doing. Your best position is "On the Porch, Barking." Allow the Big Dogs to handle the "Needs."
Lynn Bryant DeSpain
It is one thing to face nature and another to face nature's master... in a struggle for life. War knows no mercy, has no reprieve, and like a sudden winter storm takes its wage in blood. No one questions your right not to fear war, only the wisdom of such counsel,
Civil war is especially cruel... as it is fought on familiar ground, in our neighborhoods, in the living rooms of our homes. Our children will taste its violence. Civil War should be the very last course man charts. The fool boast of conquests in blood, sooner to find it is his own. Civil war is anything but civil and it should not lightly be pursued. There are no winners in such a contest. There are only those who survive and those who no longer greet their children with a smile and a kind word.
Anger and resentment often blind the proud and brash... whose swagger and bravado echo the call to war, only to learn too late the price pride exacts for his swagger and bravado. Death rides the winds of war and rails long in the house of man; wildly cutting down the youth of a foolish generation... suddenly, replacing the voice of peace in our homes and streets with the sound of morning and sorrows cry. Our Children will suffer great harm at the hand of war, both physically and emotionally... Strong men will bucket under the weight of it and the weak will find no comfort for their voice or cries for mercy.
War is not a choice it is a compulsion... driven by rage. Death is its wage and the final solution for errant pride and the recalcitrant belligerent. War should be avoided where ever possible. Let us live at peace with all men, as much as is possible.
Colonel,
At times it appears your vision to be so narrow for you to see through a crack in a door without tilting your head! Of course the Romans conquered the Iberian, but the never could have accomplished this without having first reached "An Agreement with the Basque", a Totally Separate Peoples! You dare compare the singular account of a Motorcycle Wreck, (among many) to the agony of Napalm Burn Suffering (of which you do not indicate personal contact!) You lightly Passover and forgo all other " Life Experiences " expressed before you in order to hammer forth the Righteousness of Military Control in every Situation. My only "Two Errors" in previously replying in responding, and mistaking "Sweden" for "Switzerland!" (Which has held the World's longest Reign as a Republic! " You and I have no further need of communication, as we have absolutely nothing in Common, including "The Great American Experiment."
Most Sincerely, Lynn Bryant DeSpain
P'S I served two tours in Vietnam (one as a ground combatant and the second in the air as an Army aviator) I was a direct participant in some of the heaviest battles ever fought in Vietnam... Khe Sanh, the TET offensive of 68, the Ashauh Valley campaign, and our incursions into Laos and Cambodia... I have dropped napalm on enemy positions and experienced the heat of the inferno it creates while engaged in close combat... I remain adamant ... unless you have experienced close combat in war you have not developed a proper respect and fear for its destructive force... certainly not thru the everyday calamities experienced in civil life.
Well now Ron,
Time for another History Lesson. Prior to my Family's move in 1225, they lived in the Pyrenees Mountains. Basques! At the time of the Pax Roma, Roman Law, Rome had sent an Expeditionary Force to Iberia for expansion. They never returned. Rome sent a Legion next, crossing down through the Pyrenees. They never returned either! Next, Rome sent Ambassadors and they created a "Trade Agreement" with the Basque People. The Romans then ventured further into Iberia. Everything about the Basque is unique, but most unique of all is the lack of Rule by Arms. They have their own unique Laws, Governments, Language, and DNA. And historically very friendly hospital people unless angered. The Romans mistake was, the "Told" the Basque People what they were going to do, when they should have "Asked." Reminder, Sweden is rapidly approaching the Title of the Longest Standing Republic. The Republic of Rome ended with Julius Caesar when he brought his Army into.the Capital.
Lynn Bryant DeSpain
Wrong again... two points:
1) Since 1848 the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. The early history of the region is tied to the Alpine culture. Rome existed as either a Republic or Empire for over 1200 years... Switzerland is not even close... in fact, Sweden has a longer history of over 1000 yrs.
2) The Basque peoples are part of the Iberian region... and were conquered first by Carthage and then Rome... The only peoples to successfully resist Rome in Europe were the Scottish tribes who existed North of Hadrian's Wall, in the region now called Northumberland and the Scottish Lowlands
You are entitled to your opinion but not your own facts...
I don't see how your comments change anything... Rome and its EMPIRE were created thru the rule of Roman law... their legions were used to enforce those laws wherever ROME had its EMPIRE... If memory serves me the Iberian people were eventually subjugated by Rome/
See:
Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula - Wikipedia
The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtiberian tribes and the Carthaginian Empire. The Carthaginian territories in the south and east of the peninsula were conquered in 206 BCE during the Second Punic War. Before the Roman conquest, Iberia was part of the Carthaginian Empire.
Rome created the longest known Empire recorded in History... functioning as a Republic and an Empire. History, records ancient Rome and the Roman civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5h century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom (753 BC-509 BC), Roman Republic (509 BC-27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Well over 1200 years. You may want to reevaluate your views on Roman rule and history.
Ya Ron,
I got over the "Fear" of War, the Boogie Man, and every other things the "Bullies" of this World tried to use to intimidate me. I also got over the "Fear" of pain, broken bones and death! Just one of those damned irritating assholes who refuse to be intimidated! Been shot, stabbed, run over and burned. Lived through Cancer and Heart Disease. Survived typhoons, gales and earthquakes. Outlived everyone in my family and down to one lung and one artery in my heart. Car wrecks, boat wrecks and motorcycle crashes. "Doom and Gloom" forecasters differ little from those who enjoy giving children nightmares. I'm a loud, proud, American who traces his beginnings in this Great Nation from its beginning in the Revolutionary War, the War with Mexico, through both sides of Our Civil War, Spanish American, and every damned War America has been involved in. A family pioneering this Land prior to Colonization, and working its way ever Westward. War? My "Family" traces back to 1225 earning a "Coat of Arms" for "Services in Battles! So don't you ever attempt to pull that over bearing Military Bull S__t on me ever again Colonel! Remember your place and Station! I have earned my Right Not To Fear!
Lynn Bryant DeSpain
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