Category: In Memorium

Each year as Memorial Day and its associated weekend comes around, I take time to pause and reflect upon my service; the service of others that I know; the service of those before me; and most importantly the ultimate sacrifice paid by many of those who served. I will, however, be the first to admit that as a child and young person I looked forward to Memorial Day as a three day weekend in which I hoped that the weather would decide to be summer instead of winter as can happen where I lived and grew up. After all, Spring is nothing more than an increasing number of summer days interspersed with a lessening number of winter days in the inter mountain west of the United States of America. I do not remember my parents or family acknowledging Memorial Day much besides flying of the US flag except for one time. This one time my parents went to one of the local cemeteries and visited the graves of my father’s grandparents and put flowers on their graves.

The Memorial Day prior to the COVID scam being unleashed on the world I went to my first Memorial Day ceremony at the Veteran’s Cemetery closest to me and found it to be a terrifying, moving and somewhat healing experience. Walking into the cemetery I found myself instinctively pacing and separating myself from my wife as if I was on patrol despite myself never actually participating in a combat patrol. I was deep in thought remembering the time I spent in Afghanistan, those who I knew and those who I did not know that perished in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I also thought about those who I had worked with who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam and my late Grandfather, a WWII vet, who is buried in the same cemetery that I was entering. It must have shown on my face and or countenance because my wife forced me to hold her hand and I soon realized that I was holding her hand tightly when one of the workers at the ceremony, a Vietnam veteran, looked at me and said, “welcome home”. It was like having water thrown on me as I suddenly came into the presence of that moment, and I thanked him in turn. Interesting enough I am wiping away a tear or two as I type this paragraph.

This year will mark the first year that I plan to attend the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Veteran’s Cemetery as COVID marred the previous two years; the fist being canceled; the second year by my refusal to wear a face diaper outside in fresh air and the natural anti-microbial light of the sun. This year, as I reflect on the death of my child I also reflect upon the needless loss, in my opinion, of the twelve marines, one sailor and numerous civilians at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport last August. Twelve families, like me, who mourn the loss of their young, loved ones. Young lives needlessly cut short by the ineptitude of senior political and military leaders who placed their careers over proper planning and execution of an organized and planned withdrawal from a combat zone and or their out and out disregard for the lives of those who served under them.

The first place that I place responsibility is with the senior political leadership of the United States of America starting with the President and Secretary of Defense. I know that they were not responsible for the actual planning and execution of the withdrawal, however, it is my belief that they set the tone for the withdrawal that made what was a difficult situation a worse situation. I believe they most likely understood this because of the warnings prior to the attack and the lack of action in holding anyone including themselves accountable for the botched withdrawal. I say this considering the Commander of the US Central Command at that time, General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., was allowed to serve his tour out and the Commander on the ground at that time, Maj, Gen. Chris Donahue, has since picked up another star and is now the Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. It amazes me how a young officer or junior sailor, airman, or soldier can have a career ruined by one alcohol related offense and or failing to adhere to the politically correct agenda being foisted upon them by senior civilian and military leadership. Yet, commanding generals who lose lives in a combat zone are promoted and allowed to serve their combat tours out.

This leads me to the failure of these senior military leaders and what to me constitutes a failure to take responsibility for their failures as was done in bygone eras in which senior leaders, being honor bound to “falling on their swords”, would take responsibility for their wartime failings. Yes, I do not know what sort of, if any direction, these senior military leaders received from their senior civilian leadership, but it is my opinion that these military leaders failed not only their civilian leadership (or maybe they didn’t and were following orders) but they certainly failed those who served underneath them. I say this because I believe that most who have spent any time in Afghanistan knew or should have known how corrupt and fragile the government was and how deep the Taliban had penetrated the government and country at large. I cannot believe knowing the US was pulling out of Afghanistan that the military leadership allowed the base at Bagram to be evacuated prior to the remaining troops and diplomatic personnel being evacuated from the country. True, they may have been ordered to evacuate by senior civilian leadership, but they could have easily resigned their post rather than execute a bad order! Again, I will say these Generals would not have lost their pensions had they resigned and so really had nothing to lose financially with their prides being the only item to lose. Instead, lives were lost so that they could maintain their pride, egos, and military careers which is a complete tragedy and failure of honor at the highest level. I would expect more from those who wear the uniform regardless of service branch.

In summarizing my thoughts for this Memorial Day, it is hard for me to be angry anymore as I feel a sense of defeat. Yes, our senior civilian and military leadership are nothing but a bunch of self-serving, sociopaths who have no honor. Quite honestly, in my opinion, it is just a reflection of society and where we are as a country, and it makes me sad that we as a people have allowed and given people of this ilk positions of power and influence in our country. I will salute those this year who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and as usual I will salute those who have served and those who do serve. For the civilians who died in the bomb blast “ta didar bad”, for the Marines and Sailor who perished “Semper Fi and Fair Winds and Following Seas”, and for the United States “God Bless”.