Maybe we’ll have to begin paying farmers not to grow peanuts anymore, for fear a small segment of society will demand complete access to all venues, public or private, free from any responsibility to avoid situations that may, in fact be life threatening…

From a local franchise door…no kidding!How soon do we stop driving on roads because it’s too difficult for parents to pay attention, lean out the window and yell “GET OUT OF THE STREET BEFORE YOU GET HIT BY A CAR!” when little Johnny strays off the grass and onto the asphalt? When you see the signs in your neighborhood “No Motorized Vehicles Allowed – Children Might Be on Roadway” you’ll know we’re renounced all personal responsibility…

I know…everyone is busy (except you retired folk), but today, like the rest of the week will be busy getting orders back for Labor Day to the customers.

I’ll point you elsewhere to feed your need to read:

If you’re not already a fan of the weekly series of “Flight Deck Friday” and you love aviation history, SteelJaw Scribe takes an every 7 day journey down this path in a Naval way. This week, the Navy’s first jet!

CDR Salamander, that mysterious active duty officer provides glimpses of exceptional devotions to duty in naval history in his long running “Fullbore Friday” series, most times the subject being on the US, sometimes engaging stories of navies of other nations. This week: USS Harry Lee (AP-17/APA-10). So what’s an auxiliary got to do with showing some guts? Click here and find out.

I’m off to work, all the while considering how the Navy is turning into a sea going Air Force with such grand adventures as this (damn touchy feely types!) and, how the body count rises, yet we can’t seem to deploy weapons that might cut it down…oh, yeah, on both sides of the equation, for fear of a bad report on CNN to the world, full of ridiculous assertions as discussed here (damn lawyers!).

Now all we need is more “lifer” (and I do mean that in a derogatory way) Congresscritters to pretend they are the President, safely behind the fact they are not the one who has to not only make incredibly complex decisions, but will be the one to shoulder forever, even beyond the grave, the responsibility for such judgment to make the news day complete. Those after the psychologists who tell us what went wrong at VT by not treating our adult offspring like they have no brains and are to be herded about like cattle from now on because of one incident and how the rest of the world needs to know what they are thinking at all times.

Ever notice how there is lots of stress at military schools (show in news, movies and TV shows regularly) and no records (that I know of) mass murder by someone who couldn’t take taking the classes and because people made them feel picked on? Solution: Expand high school and college military schools to grow some adults for the future…and that will be tomorrow’s topic.

It’s not one of these by itself, it’s the “aggregation” that makes you think….

Bumper Sticker #1: “End the War NOW!”

Bumper Sticker #2: “Beware of Dragons”

Speaks to a mind full of fantasy, at least in my humble opinion….

And while I’m at it, bumper stickers not sighted, but could possibly sell:

“Stop Road Rage: Pretend you don’t own the road, at least for today”

“Stop Road Rage: Yes, there are other vehicles out here with yours”

Comments?

Post yer trackbacks here!

Not so much of a “sea story” today as a “war story” to put my context on some recent news….

The dispatch from the 5 NCOs in the 82nd Airborne Division was illuminating, but not necessarily in a complimentary light. The President and many other Government reports say the Surge is bringing results. The NCOs say they see daily problems. So, who’s telling the truth?

Both, I submit and here’s a little personal experience that leads me to this conclusion: I first became a pin cushion for the medics in 1962, in order to move overseas to Okinawa. Off my father packed us up for a two year adventure to see the world. We first lived just west of MCAS Futema, with a few families of Army sargents living next on the same street of a few concrete block houses. Thus began my “indoc” into military life. I played in the sugar cane fields and around the large above ground tombs, occasionally finding artifacts and ordnance left over from a massive conflict not quite 20 years past. We moved about a year later to live on Fort Buckner, housed amongst the Green Berets, the pride of John F, Kennedy.

From our association in these neighborhoods, and the concentrated presence of the military, I began to absorb the first person history of the war in Vietnam. Being in 3rd and 4th grades, I wasn’t much of a newspaper reader or news watcher, so the information came in listening to the adult discussions.

Back home we went for a few years, then off to Guam for 8th through 11th grades (67-71). More massive exposure to the military, this time the Navy and Air Force, with some Marines and Coast Guardsmen sprinkled in. BY now I had pretty much set my life study path on warfare and modern history, and, with the war in Vietnam being larger, I heard more, plus I watched the news and read the papers and news periodicals now. In Boy Scouts, and on sports teams, I had military men as leaders and coaches. I listened to their “war stories.” Being overseas in a large concentration of military bases also brought me “Stars and Stripes” newspapers.

The net result of this is I grew up in the middle of first person accounts of the conditions in Vietnam, from the Special Forces A_Teams, to the Marine who had a three crossbow bolts go past the tree trunk he was sitting against, all the while thinking more mosquitoes were swarming, until he turned to look. Add to that the DoD press of the “Stars and Stripes” generally putting a detailed, yet rosy face on the war, and ladled on top, the stateside media that seemed to tell a story much different than what I was getting from my “other sources.”

Were any of these sources not telling the truth? For the most part, they all told it as they saw it, albeit through the filters they each put on it.  No one author or story teller had access to the “big picture,” even if they claimed to.  Those filters, by default, cause even the most detailed oriented writer to miss the mark.  I believe most people actually comprehend this concept, they just don’t acknowledge it often when they voice their opinions.

My long term reaction? For several decades, I voraciously read all things on Vietnam I could come across. There are many stories and it’s not that they don’t match up, but they tell stories as varied as the direct, uniformed troop combat in I Corps, to the SEALs skulking about in the night among the Viet Cong controlled villages in the Mekong Delta.  To this day, it’s almost like three separate conflicts to me, due to this multi-facted exposure.

The NCOs provide a valuable first person view of the villages they walk, but they do not see all of the story, nor does any one else, yet all of the reports, in this war from bloggers, from bloggers become published authors, to guys with digital video cameras becoming movie producers, and then, those “standard” reporting sources. One day, when we have the time, and the dust has settled and tempers cooled by decades of reflection, we will have a better chance to see what really is happening now, as word of mouth and first person stories at the top, middle and lower levels come forth.

It would be foolish, as I’m sure many with military experience, and those with historical perspectives, to base the overall progress of the war on the reports of 5 well spoken non-commissioned officers, but we would also be foolish to not make significant note of the problems they face daily, indicating there is more good work to be done.

From NewsDay.com, a story of years of inspiration and an email 38 years later that answered some questions. A good read.

My cousin Frankie

How a childhood hero killed in Vietnam was a lifelong inspiration

BY MARIO DE LUCIA

With the inception of home computers and the Web, I began to hunt around for some information about Frankie. I placed my e-mail address on various Marine Corps Web sites and Vietnam blogs, asking for anyone with information to contact me.

I became active with the alumni association of my high school in Patchogue, and over the years have been introduced to many of Frank’s former classmates, teachers and friends. Many of them remember him fondly and all have a story about him that they long to tell. I think of those stories every time I visit that school and see the gray plaque and the eternal flame in the lobby with Frankie’s name and the dozen or so names of other graduates of Patchogue High School who lost their lives in Vietnam.

After the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, Washington and Pennsylvania, I finally retired from the New York City Police Department. My wife and I relocated our family to the mountains of east Tennessee several years ago. While unpacking, I took a break to check my e-mail. There was one unread message from an unknown person. After opening it, I stared at the stark message, which stated simply: “I was there when he was killed. E-mail me back for more info.” It was signed “Sgt. Doyle Clark.”

[…]

Read the rest for a bittersweet story of family relationships.

“You men are young, I have lived the major part of my life and I am willing to go.”

Commander George Rentz, USN, Chaplain CorpsHe served in two wars of his country, WWI and WWII. He has the distinction, albeit one wouldn’t necessarily ask for, of being the only Navy Chaplain in WWII to be awarded the Navy Cross.Born in 1882, he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and became a Presbyterian minister before the US became engaged in WWI. Entering the service as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, he was assigned for duty with the 11th Marine Division and served in France. Remaining in the Navy after WWI, he rose through the officer ranks, attaining the rank of Commander in 1924.Serving on a variety of ships during the peacetime before WWII, he transfered from the USS AGUSTA to USS HOUSTON (CA-30) in 1940 when HOUSTON relieved AUGUSTA as the Asiatic Fleet’s Flagship.When the war began, the Asiatic Fleet was cut off from support from the States and left, along with other Allied Australian, British and Dutch vessels, with no substantial air power in support, to fend for themselves. During the several battles with the Japanese forces, Chaplain Rentz fearlessly walked the decks topside, providing verbal encouragement to the gun crews.At the Battle of Sunda Strait, As HMAS PERTH and USS HOUSTON made a run for the open Indian Ocean and found themselves right in the middle of a Japanese amphibious assault, CDR Rentz died. He survived the sinking of the HOUSTON, but gave his place on a spare seaplane float and his life jacket to others of the crew, as they awaited their fate in the Java Sea at night. For this act of selflessness, CDR Geoge S. Rentz, USN was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

The story of this series of events, and the fate of those of the USS HOUSTON’s crew who did survive is well told in Jmaes Hornfischer’s second book, “Ship of Ghosts:”

“Ship of Ghosts” tells the story of the history of the USS HOUSTON (CA-30)I found this poem at MaritimeQuest written for CDR Rentz:

COMMANDER GEORGE S. RENTZ – Chaplain, USS HOUSTON

A man of cloth, he chose to be,
among the men who followed the sea.
Dedicated to our crew – with infinite care,
he tended and wounded with earnest prayer.

Unmindful of danger as the bombs rained down,
this man of god was always found.
Beside the dying and those terrible nights,
bringing strength and courage – and final rites.

Thrown into the sea on the fateful night,
he watched our battered Houston sink from sight.
Seeking a raft in the light of a flare,
he knows that god had answered his prayer.

A sailor at his side clinging to the raft,
was wounded’ and strength was ebbing fast.
Having no life belt to keep afloat,
his chance of survival was indeed remote.

Without a thought for self, but he careful haste,
the chaplain fitted his life belt to the sailors waist.
The hours passed, and come dawn,
the sailor was safe, but the chaplain was gone.

He had followed the law of the apostles Creed,
his life the price of a noble dead.
He went to his lord with no regret,
our fighting chaplain we’ll never forget.

May his soul rest in peace – forever and ever, amen.

With reverence and affection,

Lloyd V. Willey
11-21-78

One ship has been named to honor the heroism of CDR Rentz, the USS RENTZ (FFG-43).

Built in Todd Shipyard in Seattle, WA, she commissioned on 6/30/1984. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, RENTZ participated in EARNEST WILL convoy operations in the Persian Gulf, and, quite notably, was one for the group of US warships to visit China in 1986. From the RENTZ’s Wikipedia entry:

On November 5, 1986, Rentz was part of an historic visit to Qingdao (Tsing Tao; 青岛) China—the first US Naval visit to China since 1949. Rentz was accompanied by two other ships, the Reeves (DLG-24) and Oldendorf (DD-972). The visit was officially hosted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). (“After 37-year absence, U.S. vessels visit China,” New York Times Nov. 6, 1986, Sec. A, p. 3)

If you like this type of history, make sure to backpedal a day and catch the Blogging Sea Lawyer, Eagle1, with his “Sunday Ship History” series. This week he talks about BRINGING THE HEAT, BABY!”

Some readers may well know of DICNAVAB (“Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations”), but, while chasing links on the sitemeter, I found DICNAVSlang.

enjoy yourselves…and be educated in the ways of the “Fleet.”

What if, just for speculative purposes, we formed a deliberative body of elected officials. We then chartered them to formulate procedures and processes by which we would manage our society. Next, we might, via our voices in print and in polls and via the ‘net, collectively indicate what we felt the most seriousness about, communicating to them our priorities. Then we agree to pay them for this work and we then get back to our work of construction buildings, laying asphalt, fixing power generation plants and downed bridges.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

But….what happens? This esteemed group, by their actions, decides they would rather divide up into smaller factions and adopt a philosophy or “anything EXCEPT what the opposition wants!” Oh, then they begin to demand that their solution is the only acceptable one, and everyone else MUST do as they say, or they will do nothing but lay constant roadblocks in the way or any other progress. And…don’t get me started on endless cycles of hearings to find some fault with circumstances you just don’t like.

And top it off, with many serious issues unresolved, the body decides to further endear themselves to the working man and women, by taking off from work in the high heat of August, after promising to get it all done when you come back.

Congress: you have to love their way of collecting a fat paycheck and racking up an incredible retirement benefit package, while still not getting significant issues taken care of…

Now, consider for a moment, could I have been describing the Iraqi legislature? The actions of their elected officials seems very much like the constant, infantile squabbling coming out of our own hallowed institutions of the Senate and the House.

Here’s the irony I see: If one of our strategies was to build up democratic governments in the Middle East, beginning with Iraq, I would submit we just might have become overly successful, but somehow, we have failed to see the outcome for what it is. The Iraqis went to the polls, as we did, voted in people who promised to tackle the many issues that “We the People” have confirmed are worthy of their attention, but what have they, like us, received in return for our statement of confidence at the ballot boxes? Lots of talk, lots of back-biting, lots of wasted energy and certainly, not any worthwhile decisions. Quite a striking parallel, I’d say.

To be fair, there have been some Iraqi politicians who have lost their lives going to work. I can’t say that for our elected representatives, nor would I wish it on any of them, but I do see how there is some degree of courage the Iraqi must muster that ours need not actually have to have to get to their offices daily.

I think that the Iraqi politicians have, for the most part, modeled themselves after what our “democracy” style of today represents, which is something more like a “ME!-ocracy,” (I think that may be my 4th original/phrase concoction) were the “I” or “Me” is the ultimate customer of the process and the rest of us are supposed to “eat cake” while also sometimes standing up and yelling “I want it MY WAY!” or “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?!?!?!?!”

Maybe we expected that the Iraqis would have gone through a series of historical events of fiery oratory from modern day Jeffersons and Madisons and Washingtons and Henrys, and since that has not occurred, we don’t recognize they have skipped right over all of the hard work of getting it out on the floor, in speeches that will be recorded and repeated and quoted for centuries to come, then coming to a common ground, acceptable to the many, and from that unity of view, begin to take on the daily irritations of life, once the nation has a foundation.

So the irony of it all comes in many words and actions, with our own elected officials, who have yet to complete some important bills, for one the annually written (SURPRISE! – It happens every year!) Defense funding bills, moan and complain that the Iraqi parliament will take the month of August off for not only vacation, but because it’s so darn hot. Our elected reps make such remarks, while wiping the sweat from their brows, claiming Global Warming has made Washington, DC hot this same August (like so many other Augusts before), then they hop on their jets and beat feet out of town for…yes, “vacation”….Maybe they somehow justify theirs as superior to the time off of the Iraqis because they will be out at fund raising events, which, is their main work, so they are really not on vacation in their mind. Nice rationalization, but what they consider work is merely an investment in their future in a job where they can decide their own priorities and not perform, with little fear of being called to account for a lack of measurable results.

Note to Iraqis who might be reading this: You’d be better served studying our history before the late 60’s – early 70’s “flower children” brought their “do your own thing” mentality to the halls of government.

One more ironic point: I bet we could never get the libs to stand up and say “Hey! Time to bring the troops home in VICTORY because we have given them democracy! The Iraqi politicians are just like us, and we’re a democracy: Do nothing, lazy, power hungry, entrenched careerists, on vacation in August with nothing accomplished for all the pay, in it only for ourselves! Hooray for America!”

They didn’t think of Windows, they had to wait for someone else to make it work…

Consider now, the possibility of copying a wildly successful product line and calling it their own…

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BUT….this is not merely a philosophy from Bill Gates, but it seems
to be prevalent in Russia these days, too…

And two something extras for the Mac loyalists out there:

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Sighted! 7 of them at once, all together!

And…some driven by boredom fun from the surrogate Wayne and Garth of VQ-2:

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Warning: Some “non-diversity sensitive” wording may be involved in this video….