-Caveat Lector- VOICE Of The GRUNT Newsletter, 1999-08-18-B =============================================== ARTICLE 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A SON GRADUATES FROM THE USAFA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: A Canadian citizen comments on his son's graduation at USAFA. ************************************** Retransmitted from the Calgary Canada Herald without comment. BY: David Bly, Calgary Herald, COLORADO SPRINGS - The day Bill Clinton came to the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, I stood, cameras in hand, near a wall upon which was engraved the academy's code of honor: "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." If only the U.S. president would wander past that wall, I thought. A photo like that could ensure me a comfortable retirement. Clinton and I were at the academy this month for the graduation of the Class of 1999, he as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, and I as the father of one of the 944 graduates. As my wife, Janet, is a U.S. citizen, my children have their choice of citizenship. Our son Brandon, wanting a career in aviation, applied to the air force academy because there is no comparable opportunity anywhere in the world. He graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering, was commissioned as an air force officer and will begin training as a jet pilot next spring. Graduation from any university is an achievement worth celebrating. At the USAFA, it's the culmination of four grueling years of study, training and discipline. Some don't make it for physical, academic or emotional reasons. A few decide, after two years, they would rather choose another path. Some are expelled for violating the honor code. The USAFA rates high academically, but its aim is more than academics strives to develop moral and ethical leadership. As cadets pursue their degrees of choice, they are being trained to become air force officers. Integrity and a high standard of conduct are expected. We were not excited about the presidential visit. For us, it was an annoyance. Brandon's commissioning ceremony had to be moved to 5:45 p.m., because Clinton wanted to use the building where the commissioning was scheduled. Later, we had to be in our stadium seats two hours before the graduation, because of security. For others, it was an insult I heard of retired air force officers who boycotted the graduation, because they felt Clinton's participation, given Monica Lewinsky and other scandals, detracted from the dignity of the event. The air force academy is a military base, but it is also a popular tourist spot. Each day at noon, busloads of tourists arrive to watch 4,000 cadets line up and march to lunch in an elaborate parade that leaves the cadets only 15 minutes to eat. On the day Clinton came to town, some areas were closed as security was beefed up. Access was limited to those invited to the graduation. It would not have been a safe day to go skulking through the academy's forests with bird-watching binoculars. As the stadium filled, helicopters pounded the air overhead. Entrance was through metal detectors. Handbags were searched. Snipers in battle dress patrolled the top tiers of the stadium. Sprinkled throughout the crowd were secret-service agents, easy to spot because they wore dark suits, sunglasses and earpieces. They spoke into their sleeves a lot and scanned the crowds constantly. There was nothing secret about them. Clinton's imminent entrance was announced. We stood. And we stood. Eight minutes later, the president of the United States of America walked on to the football field and toward the podium. No explanation was given for why he kept 30,000 people waiting on their feet in the sun. As he walked under the crossed sabres of the honor guard, the applause was restrained and polite, but not enthusiastic. Around me, I heard comments about respecting the office, if not the man. No one jeered, but no one cheered. As I watched the newly minted second lieutenants stand to salute their commander in chief, I wondered how many of them were thinking what I was thinking: "If Bill Clinton had been a cadet here, he would have been kicked out for lying and cheating." Actually, he probably wouldn't have qualified for admission. To enter the academy, an applicant must first be nominated by a member of Congress. This year, 8,800 applied for nomination and 2,148 qualified. Of those, 1,275 received appointments to the academy. They were chosen on the basis of such criteria as academics, athletics, citizenship and leadership. And moral character. If Clinton was aware of the lukewarm reception, he didn't show it. He cracked his jokes, defended his actions in the Balkans and took personal credit for saving democracy as we know it. As he announced he was sending 7,000 more troops to the Balkans, I heard more muttered comments about sending troops to a foreign country to distract attention from personal problems at home. His manner was smooth, but my American wife was not impressed. "I had hoped he would honor the graduates for their achievements," she said, "and acknowledge what they have been through to get this far. But it was just a political speech. He didn't uplift me or inspire me as I hoped someone in his position would." Perhaps Clinton's advisers suggested he not talk too much about what the academy stood for. Perhaps they felt it would not be astute to talk about personal integrity and a high standard of conduct. As a Canadian, I felt a little awkward amid the unabashed patriotism of the event, but as a father, could not help being choked up at seeing 2nd Lieut. Bly step forward, salute smartly and shake hands with the president. Never mind that this president had besmirched the office -- my son and his comrades had every reason to stand tall. The applause became thunderous as the graduates came to attention at the order of the academy's commanding officer. Clinton was forgotten as cadets and their families realized this was the end of a long, hard journey. It was an intoxicating moment when the superintendent barked: "Class of 1999 - dismissed!" As nearly a thousand white hats were flung into the air, the Thunderbirds, the U.S. air force's aerobatic team, roared over the stadium in salute. Youngsters spilled onto the field to collect the hats as souvenirs, and families and friends milled about. There was much hugging and laughter and celebrating. I looked beyond the turmoil. The presidential cavalcade, which had arrived with much fanfare, was quietly leaving the stadium. Few noticed. No one applauded. After all, it wasn't about a president who had lied and cheated. It was about 944 young men and women who hadn't. ==================================================== ARTICLE 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *******Medal Of Honor******* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *SHIELDS, MARVIN G. Rank and organization: CM3C, USN, Seabee Team 1104. Place and date: Dong Xoai, Republic of Vietnam, 10 June 1965. Entered service at: Seattle, WA Born: 30 December 1939, Port Townsend, WA Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Although wounded when the compound of Detachment A342, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, came under intense fire from an estimated reinforced Viet Cong regiment employing machineguns, heavy weapons and small arms, Shields continued to resupply his fellow Americans who needed ammunition and to return the enemy fire for a period of approximately 3 hours, at which time the Viet Cong launched a massive attack at close range with flame-throwers, hand grenades and small-arms fire. Wounded a second time during this attack, Shields nevertheless assisted in carrying a more critically wounded man to safety, and then resumed firing at the enemy for 4 more hours. When the commander asked for a volunteer to accompany him in an attempt to knock out an enemy machinegun emplacement which was endangering the lives of all personnel in the compound because of the accuracy of its fire, Shields unhesitatingly volunteered for this extremely hazardous mission. Proceeding toward their objective with a 3.5-inch rocket launcher, they succeeded in destroying the enemy machinegun emplacement, thus undoubtedly saving the lives of many of their fellow servicemen in the compound. Shields was mortally wounded by hostile fire while returning to his defensive position. His heroic initiative and great personal valor in the face of intense enemy fire sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. ===================================================== ARTICLE 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Military Goes by the Book, but It's a Novel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: From Monday's New York Times an essay on the classic military novel "Once An Eagle" by the late Anton Myrer, former WWII combat Marine Corporal. ========================================== By ELIZABETH BECKER WASHINGTON -- In a profession whose leaders are known for their devotion to the works of military strategists like Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tsu, the officers of the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps have quietly chosen a romantic war novel as the truest mirror of their lives and ambitions. "Once an Eagle," by Anton Myrer, has worked its way over a generation into the mindset and lexicon of the American military, flourishing as a cult classic even as it withered out of print and vanished from most bookstores. Gen. Henry Shelton, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says it is the only book he has ever read twice. The Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., recently brought the book back into print because military schools wanted it for courses in ethics and leadership. When it was first published in 1968, the epic story of an Army officer as honorable as Robin Hood pitted against a fellow officer as self-serving as Prince John became an improbable best seller during the upheaval of those times, its 800 pages tracing the story of the U.S. Army from World War I to the early years of Vietnam. The book eventually sold millions of copies. For the military, it was not just a book but a revelation. The protagonist, Sam Damon, is a soldier's soldier, a hard-fighting commander filled with concern for his troops who wins battle after battle in both world wars but is eventually killed on a mission trying to persuade the powers-that-be that the U.S. military should not get involved in Vietnam. His antagonist, Courtney Massengale, triumphs over Sam Damon by manipulating the political system in Washington and making all the right career moves, even though he disdains the rank-and-file and sends his soldiers into certain death in his first command in World War II. Not exactly the story you would expect to move the military. "It's really got a cult following in the Army because Sam Damon is the officer you hope you will be and Courtney Massengale is the officer you hope you don't work for," said Col. Jerry Morelock, a recently retired history professor at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where Army officers are trained for higher command. The book is on the Marine Corps commandants' reading list -- making it required reading for all Marines. The U.S. Army War College holds an annual leadership seminar that uses the book. For West Point cadets, who are assigned the book in classes and seminars, reading "Once an Eagle" has become a rite of passage, much like discovering "Catcher in the Rye" as a teen-ager. Favorite passages are quoted routinely, especially Sam Damon's dying words: "Joey, if it comes to a choice between being a good soldier and a good human being -- try to be a good human being ..." And the names of Sam Damon and Courtney Massengale have entered the language of the U.S. military as code words for the good officer who thinks first of the troops and the other one who thinks only of personal gain. When Shelton wants to exclude a candidate from a promotion, all he has to do is tell the board of review: "This is another Courtney Massengale." "It's a household name and I've used it to say we shouldn't have an individual like that in the ranks -- someone who is motivated for all the wrong reasons, someone you don't want leading the troops," Shelton said. Sam Damon, on the other hand, is a cult hero whose name has been painted by soldiers on their tanks and whose career and life, including the strain of constant moves and marital strife, are viewed as a mirror of their own. "I've never been without a copy since college," said Col. Gregg Fontenot, who was a battalion commander in Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East, served in the Bosnia peacekeeping operation and retired this year. "Several times I've decided what to do after figuring out what Sam would do," Fontenot said. "At mid-career at the staff college at Fort Leavenworth, I agonized whether to go on for a second year of studies. It wasn't stylish in the Army then. But Sam studied military history at night and I wanted to be like Sam. So I stayed." The novel had special appeal during the Vietnam War. "The novel arrived just when soldiers needed it," wrote Gen. Sidney Berry, the former superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who was one of those junior officers in Vietnam. "Many soldiers felt cast-off and unappreciated, sorry for themselves, ashamed of wearing the uniform." In fact, it rose to become No. 1 on The New York Times list of paperback best sellers in 1976 just as the Army was undergoing an agonizing self-examination after the fall of Saigon, eventually selling more than 3 million copies. And as the captains and colonels of Vietnam became generals in the 1980s and 1990s the novel became their touchstone. In 1976 it was made into a television miniseries of the same name starring Sam Elliott. But the book went out of print over the next 20 years, forcing places like the West Point Academy bookstore to order $50 editions from reprint companies and to scrounge for copies at secondhand bookstores. The book was reprinted in the mid-1990s, and is available in bookstores. "The book is something very special for cadets," said Ellen Mohrman, who buys books at the West Point store. "It's the type of book officers give to students they are mentoring, it's that important a book." The book's author, Myrer, died in 1996 at age 73. He also wrote the novels "The Last Convertible" and "The Big War." Myrer said his combat service in World War II had the greatest impact on his life. "I enlisted imbued with a rather flamboyant concept of this country's destiny as the leader of a free world and the necessity of the use of armed force," he wrote. "I emerged a corporal three years later in a state of great turmoil, at the core of which was an angry awareness of war as the most vicious and fraudulent self-deception man had ever devised." Some of those antiwar feelings are reflected in "Once an Eagle." In his introduction to the newest edition, Gen. John Vessey Jr., who is retired and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, writes that the book ranks with "The Red Badge of Courage" and "All Quiet on the Western Front" as a "consummate antiwar novel." The book's continuing popularity is also based on a nostalgia for simpler days with obvious heroes and villains, when the armed forces were more completely separate from the civilian world and when "duty, honor and country" really was the soldier's calling. ================================================= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VOICE OF THE GRUNT Volunteers: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David H. Hackworth, Taker of Names and Spiritual Leader Robert L. McMahon, Editor and Chief bottle-washer Kate Aspy, Contributing Editor and Oracle Barry "Woody" Groton, Assistant Editor and Medicine Man Ed "Edgar" Schneider, Copy Editor, Man of Letters and gentleman: Ed's e-mail address - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Larry Tahler, WebMaster Guru and Crack-shot Judy Bowyer Martin, Administration and Brains of the Outfit Kyle Elliott, Book List Editor and Most Over-worked *********, MOH Editor and NCOIC =================================================== EDITOR'S NOTE: Please address all "Letters To The Editor" to Edgar Schneider at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ed has agreed to be our repository for correspondence from the field. As a rule of thumb, please try to keep article for possible publication to 700 words or less. We do make exceptions and will not turn away an 800 to 900 word piece, but please make every editing effort not to exceed these guidelines. If you believe you have a story that is longer than 700 words we will consider running it in parts. Keep the piece focused on the story you want to express, not impress upon the reader. Please make submissions in OPEN format because we will not download file attachments due to the inadvertent transmission of worms and viruses. Thanks to everyone for keeping the communication lines open and the ideas flowing. Semper Fi, Bob McMahon [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.freeyellow.com:8080/members7/rlmcmahon ============================================= HACK'S DEFENDING AMERICA COLUMN: Many readers have asked for guidance/help/ideas for getting Hack's column in their local newspapers. See http://www.hackworth.com --- NEWSPAPERS for a few suggestions. Much appreciate your effort. What we're into is getting the word to as many citizens as possible about what is causing our military machine to sputter like an M-4 Sherman tank. Thanks, Bob McMahon ============================================= ARCHIVED DEFENDING AMERICA COLUMNS: You can now find copies of Hack's previous columns at: http://www.hackworth.com These are found in the Defending America Section, under Archived Copies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLOSSARY OF MILITARY ACRONYMS: We've had numerous requests from troops in different branches of the military to establish this link so that we will all know how "all you others" talk that talk. Please see below: http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/acronym_index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONGRESSIONAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES Congressional e-mail addresses can be found by going to (www.hackworth.com) and accessing Congressional e-mails at the bottom of the first page. ********************ORDERING BOOKS************************* We still have Trade copies of About Face. These are exactly the same as the hardback, except they have a soft cover. Cost for an autographed copy: $26.00 (including handling and postage). If you are interested in ordering Hack's books (About Face*, Hazardous Duty**, or The Vietnam Primer), check out the instructions at our web page: http://www.hackworth.com. It takes about 3 weeks to process the book orders. Your patience is appreciated. Please mark on outside if envelope "Book Order" and make check out to: Twin Eagles Ink PO Box 5210 Greenwich, CT 06831 *About Face available in trade copy. **Hazardous Duty available in hardback. ==================================================== **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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