Tag: Heroes

Veterans II

Heroism, Military

From Longtime Reader Dave L:

I come from an Army family. My dad traveled across France as a medic with the First Infantry Division. My step brother served as an infantryman in Vietnam with the same First Infantry Division. He came home in 1969, just as I graduated high school and said that the best thing I could do was to stay out of the army. Back in those days there was a government job program called the draft and I knew that they were going to get me. I thought that the Navy might give me a chance to travel, wear a very cool looking uniform, and maybe learn some technical stuff that I could use later in my life.

I also thought that I would be able to stay out of VietNam. However Uncle Sam’s plans weren’t the same as mine and I ended up there anyway. About all I have to show for it is a baseball cap that says “US Navy Veteran” – and I had to buy that.

So today my thoughts are for all of the old men in baseball caps.

Some years back I was honored to call an older English gentleman my friend. He served in the British Army in WW2 in North Africa and on the island of Crete. He was captured when the Germans invaded that island and spent almost three years as a prisoner of war. He remained in the army after the war to retire as a senior NCO with over 25 years of service. My English friend sent me pictures of their yearly veteran’s ceremonies. Every vet put on a blazer, wore his regimental tie and beret, and pinned his decorations to his jacket. They made their way to the local veterans’ memorial and laid a wreath in memory of their absent comrades. Then they retired to the local pub and lifted a glass to honor those who had gone on to report to a higher power. The men who chased Rommel across the desert and went ashore in Normandy are still be a bit thirsty.

We Americans don’t wear our ribbons. Mine are on the wall in a shadow box, faded by time. Most of us don’t wear ties except for weddings and funerals and berets are only worn by Frenchmen.

So what do we wear? Baseball caps – that great American invention. We mark our caps with our heritage – the Big Red One, the First Marines, the Strategic Air Command. The navy men wear blue caps with the names of proud ships – USS Enterprise, USS New Jersey, Lexington, Newport News. Unless you’ve been there you don’t know a CVA from a CA or a BB from an FFG, but we know.

The old men see fire and rain and Thuds and Phantoms in the hazy sky. They still hear that distinctive rotor beat of the Hueys. They see long gray ships silhouetted against the horizon and remember the days when they were dirty and tired and hungry. They remember playing rock and roll out to the tree line in 7.62 NATO time They remember the catapults throwing Skyhawks into the air. plane after plane, and doing it all again the next day and the day after that.

They were bored and tired and sometimes frightened, those old men who wear the hats. They came home to a country that didn’t understand and really didn’t care what they had done. Today they fight the diseases and the ghosts of those far off days. They will tell you where they’re going, but don’t ask them where they’ve been.

The old men in hats shake hands when they meet. They ask “Where were you?  What did you do?” and they sometimes say “Yeah I was there too”. Mostly they understand. For that minute in the middle of WalMart they’re nineteen years old again and tired and scared. Then they thank God that they made it home and they remember those who didn’t.

And the old men get into their cars and go about their business. If you look closely you might see the smoke and the tracers and the dead men behind their eyes. Sometimes they won’t hear you because their ears have rung since those days of steam turbines and jet engines and heavy artillery.

They stand and salute when the flag passes by because they learned of respect and honor in a hard school and that education has never left them. Sometimes the old men wake in the middle of the night and hear the band playing The Stars and Stripes Forever and they smile just a little and whisper to themselves “I’d do it all again.”

God bless the old men who wear the hats.

Reprinted with permission.

Oxi Day

Deep Thoughts, Heroism

From Longtime Reader Brad:

You tell of your Grandfather on a yearly basis… his quiet determination to live his life, support and protect his family, etc.
Perhaps you recall columnist John Kass from The Trib — he’s indie now — he bailed earlier this year immediately after lefty vulture “capitalists” bought The Trib.
I give you this …

I always liked to read John Kass back when I lived in Daley City, and this ranks up there with his best.  Wonderful, and humbling.

Thanks, Brad.

A Man’s Man

Guy Stuff, Heroism

I was truly saddened to read of the death of Ted Dexter at the age of 86.  Very few Americans would know who he is, but allow me to make the introduction.

Over ten years, “Lord Ted” Dexter played cricket for England for 62 international Test matches, of which he was captain of the team for 30.  He scored thousands of runs, took dozens of wickets as a bowler, and after retiring from cricket went on as a team selector and chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club (Lord’s).  Throughout his life, he was unfailingly helpful to young cricketers, always polite and ready with some good advice.

For most men, that would be enough.

He was also a scratch golfer, a pilot (who flew from the UK to Australia, and back), rode a motorcycle and once ran for Parliament.

He failed at the last — one of his few failures — but that leads me to tell a personal story about the man.

By running for Parliament in 1964, Ted missed the start of the England tour of South Africa, but he was back in the side in time for the Test at at the Wanderers cricket ground in Johannesburg, where an excited young boy of eight (that would be me) happened to be sitting in the stands with his dad one row back from the field, right at the point where Ted was fielding.

Of course, “Lord Ted” didn’t just stand there in the field;  he turned and bantered with the crowd, who responded delightedly.  He had a bright red stain on his white cricket trousers where he’d been polishing the cricket ball, and one wag in the crowd yelled, “What happened to your pants?”  Ted laughed and said, “It’s hot out here.”

Whereupon the same guy said, “Would you like a cold one, Uncle Ted?” and Dexter laughed and said, “Next over.”

When he came back to field in his earlier position, he walked right over to the boundary fence and said, “Where’s that cold one?”  Of course, someone popped a can of Castle Lager and handed it to him — whereupon Ted put his head back and drained the thing in one giant swallow, to tumultuous applause.  Needless to say, every time he came back to the boundary he was offered a fresh beer, but after one more he said, “Thanks, but I still have to bat later,” to much good-natured ribbing.  (“Maybe tomorrow, Ted;  you’re not going to get us all out today!”)

Oh, and to finish Ted Dexter’s story:  he was married to the same woman for over sixty years.  Nowadays, that’s considered quite a feat;  to a man like him, it would be quite unremarkable.


He was one of my boyhood heroes, and still is today.

R.I.P. Ted Dexter, OBE.

Truth To Power

Marxists, Resistance

The Left is all about “telling truth to power”, until THEY are the ones in power, and somebody wants to tell them some truths.  Then it’s all about “hurtful speech”, “hate speech”, “fake news”, “racism” etc., all of which should be censored because, well, you all know why.

Here are a couple examples.  In Virginia:

The Loudoun County, Virginia, school board cut off a comment period and sicced police on residents Tuesday after they criticized leaders over transgender and race policies.
Loudoun Now reported Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan repeatedly demanded silence from the packed room as members of the public spoke in favor of or in opposition to Critical Race Theory lessons and special privileges for transgender students.
After attendees cheered the remarks of former state Sen. Dick Black (R), the board ordered the room cleared then fled.
A sheriff’s deputy then took the microphone to declare it an “unlawful assembly” and told everyone to get out or be subject to arrest for “trespassing.” When at least one man refused to leave, he was arrested, according to video posted by the news site.
…
Loudoun Now reported after the room was emptied, the board reconvened in closed session, unfettered by the opinions of taxpayers.
…
The crowd’s opinions did little to sway elected officials. “We will not back down from fighting for the rights of our students and continuing our focus on equity,” Sheridan told NBC 4. She demanded an end to “politically motivated antics.”

Of course, this so-called “Critical Race Theory” has nothing to do with politics, no sirree.

And elsewhere:

Critical race theory has drawn the ire of many, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as states look to ban teaching its concepts in schools. Similar bills have been pre-filed in Kentucky for consideration in next year’s legislative session.
Tuesday marked the first time that a school board meeting in Kentucky’s largest school district has been disrupted because of opposition to critical race theory.
About half of the board left the meeting room as members of the audience began to shout and security officers confronted them. Some protesters were asked to leave while others left voluntarily.

See, when the Left indulges in noisy, confrontational demonstrations, it’s “the voice of the people”;  but when the demonstrations are against them, they call for security.

Then someone comes along — in this case, a Brit expat (!!!) who tells a Pennsylvania school board exactly what the meaning of free speech is , and then takes them to task for their censorship (cloaked under the maskirovka  of “equity” or some such bullshit).

This is how you deal with these assholes.  And it’s hardly surprising that an immigrant should beat them up like this, because it’s often the case that we ex-furriners know what’s at stake because we left that crap behind us — for the promise of freedom.