Iwo Jima Memorial, near Washington, D.C.
Fly your flag today.
We honor all veterans on November 11 of each year. The Flag Code designates Veterans Day for flag flying, to honor veterans. (See more on the Flag Code, here.)
More, and other resources
Google's Veterans Day logo
3 Comments | 
History, veterans, veterans day | Tagged: Fly your flag today, History, Veterans Day | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
Friday is Veterans Day, one of the score of “fly your flag” dates recommended in law.
Are you ready? Here’s this year’s poster, from the Veterans Administration (click to get a link for a high resolution version):
Veterans Day poster for 2011 - Veterans Administration; click image to go to VA site for high resolution version to print
Get your flag out, ready to fly. Check your local newspaper for times of your local Veterans Day Parades. Take a look at the VA’s video on the day, below, and make plans to help a vet throughout the year.
35 Comments | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, veterans, veterans day | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag, History, November 11, veterans, Veterans Day | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder chose to continue the practice of his predecessor, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in ordering flags to be flown at half-staff throughout the state to honor a Michigan soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Good on him.
Flags to be lowered Monday, June 27
for Private First Class Brian J. BackusLANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder ordered U.S. flags throughout the state to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Private First Class Brian J. Backus on Monday, June 27. Flags should be returned to full-staff on Tuesday, June 28.
Backus, 21, of Harbor Beach, died June 18 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.
“Pfc. Backus served our country with bravery and courage. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time of great sorrow,” Snyder said.
Backus was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division of Fort Drum, New York. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Combat Medical Badge. Backus deployed with his unit in March 2011 to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The funeral service and arrangements are pending.
When flown at half-staff or half-mast, the U.S. flag should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff or half-mast position. The flag should again be raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.
This message was sent on Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 12:28 p.m.
1 Comment | Flag ceremony, Flag etiquette, soldiers, veterans | Tagged: flag, Flag etiquette, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan, Soldiers, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Five days on the road and we hoped to make it home Friday night.
"I've got the Presidential Seal / I'm up on the Presidential Podium. / My Mama loves me, she loves me . . ."* Playing around with the podium and teleprompter at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.
Air conditioning on the bus failed, and then the vacuum system failed and we lost the ability to close the door, and we started to lose brakes. Fortunately, we were within sight of Dallas when things really came to smash.
So our Teachers Tour of Presidential Libraries came to an interesting end last night. More good fortune — the bus stalled out in the parking lot of a gas station with a Dickey’s Barbecue attached. Ross Perot is right, at least about this: Dickey’s food is worth the stop.
Other stops along the way provided nutrition for our minds, and for our classroom preparation. Education experts at the 13 National Archives-related Presidential Libraries work together, and work separately, to create classroom friendly and classroom ready materials. Beyond the museums, we were looking for history to use in our classes. We got a lot of pointers to documents our students can use in class to learn history and how to write it.
This is the second year of this particular Teaching American History grant, from the U.S. Department of Education to the Dallas Independent School District. It’s important that you know that, because Republicans in Congress propose to cut this program out. This is one of the few programs I think has value way beyond the dollars spent on it. TAH may become just one more victim of the conservatives’ War on Education.
I hope to post more about what we learned.
We toured the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, the Audie Murphy and American Cotton Museum in Greenville, Texas, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, and the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.
It was a rowdy group of teachers, of course, and we closed down every bookstore we found along the way. The bus driver hopes never again to hear a single verse of “99 Student Essays to Grade on the Desk.”
How’s your summer been so far?
_____________
1 Comment | Education, History, Libraries, Little Rock Nine, Lyndon B. Johnson, Museums, Teachers, Teaching, Teaching American History Grant, Texas, Travel, veterans, War on Education, World War II | Tagged: Arkansas, Audie Murphy, Bill Cllinton, Education, George H. W. Bush, Heroes, History, Lyndon Johnson, National Archives and Records Administration, Teaching, Teaching American History Grant, Texas, Travel, U.S. Department of Education, veterans, War on Education, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
GOPUSA, a radically right-wing blog claiming affiliation with the Republican Party, can’t stand the heat, and so works to keep serious comments out of their blog kitchen.
That’s the only half-way rational explanation for why they won’t let this comment out of moderation, at their post stupidly claiming President Obama dishonored fallen soldiers by golfing after spending 6 to 8 hours in ceremonies honoring fallen soldiers.
Context: I called bluff on the claim that George Bush gave up golf to honor vets (turns out he did in fact give up golf after his physician told him he should to avoid further injury to his knee, but that’s almost beside the point). I also questioned the attempted smear, that Obama went golfing on Memorial Day instead of honoring fallen soldiers (he spent the entire morning and a good chunk of the afternoon honoring fallen soldiers).
In any case, I offered a photo of Bush off to . . . not golf, it appears now, but hardly giving up recreation to support soldiers. Also note that Bush is wearing socks emblazoned with the Presidential Seal. Good heavens, is there no institution Bush wouldn’t disparage, even his own?
No one could offer any evidence Bush gave up golf, but the photo must be suspect because it is found at a “liberal” blog. My response still suffers in moderation over there:
Comment by edarrell
June 6, 2011 @ 10:52 am Your comment is awaiting moderation.onewildman, the author of that site is a former Reagan administration official, one of the original leaders of the neo-conservative movement.
The photo is 2007 as stated — you could have checked it out:
http://www.thefashionpolice.net/2007/06/george_bush_giv.html
Or here:
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2007/06/14/quick-call-the-fashion-policeOr, if you claim it’s incorrect, show us Bush’s schedule, show us the Bush announcement. You’ve been suckered by a made up tale.
GOPUSA is run by a guy named Bobby Eberle, probably a scion of the radical right-wingers who thought Ronald Reagan too liberal back in the 1980s.
Bottom line: Making up petty charges, like criticizing Obama for golfing on Memorial Day, reveals the paucity of policy and patriotism both in Republican political circles. On Memorial Day Obama continued his administration’s formal dedicated work to help veterans, inviting Gold Star families to breakfast in the State Room of the White House (Gold Star families are those who have lost a member of the family in war). Then he visited the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, laying a wreath to honor them and their colleagues who served and died in service; then he participated in the formal ceremony honoring fallen heroes. From at least 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Obama spent his time honoring our fallen soldiers.
Mrs. Obama motored to Walter Reed Hospital in the afternoon, to spend a couple of hours visiting wounded soldiers.
We’re supposed to feel that a golf game then dishonors soldiers? How many hours did Bobby Eberle spend with soldiers and the families of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day?
Any normal, well-balanced person must wonder: Is there anyone with horse sense left in Republican circles? Is there anyone there with the sense God gave chickens?
Here’s the logo of GOPUSA:
Logo of GOPUSA. What is it?
What is it? To me, it looks like a hand creeping towards you to steal your wallet. I wonder what they think it’s supposed to be?
5 Comments | Barack Obama, History, President Obama, Presidents, veterans | Tagged: Golf, GOPUSA, History, Memorial Day, Political Smear, Politics, President Obama, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Junior Cruz of Salt Lake City was 15 when his Eagle Scout Project honored a fallen soldier from our war in Iraq, Adam Galvez. You can read a stirring story from The Deseret News at Adam Galvez.com.
Boy Scout Junior Cruz, with Cpl. Adam Galvez's parents Tony and Amy Galvez, at Adam Galvez Street in Salt Lake City
Marines honor their fallen comrade Cpl. Adam Galvez, at the ceremony naming a street after Galvez.7
Once upon a time I might have wondered about the utility of such a project, not because naming a street after a veterans isn’t a great idea, but because the actions required for naming streets might not measure up to the usual expectations for great service in an Eagle project. This project and the stories about it quickly dispel such worries — for example, notice that the city required Cruz to raise the $2,000 required to change the street signs, such fundraising itself a major accomplishment. Our son James’s project at the DFW National Cemetery required similar fundraising, and got at least as much in in-kind contributions — but it was major work.
Marines salute at the ceremony for the naming of Adam Galvez Street, 2007
Reading the news story, I thought back to a question that has plagued me for years: Why didn’t we have the good sense to welcome back Vietnam vets with parades, and other welcome home activities? That was one great lesson of Vietnam I think we, as a nation, learned well. Today national news programs, like the PBS Newshour, honor each fallen soldier in our nation’s wars. Here in Dallas, and at other cities I suspect, there is a formal volunteer program to make sure soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan deployments get a flag-waving cheer when they get off the airplane. Churches, schools, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts volunteer to go wave the flags and cheer the soldiers. The volunteers may get more out of it than the soldiers, but the message is clear all the way around: These soldier men and women served their nation, and they deserve thanks and a cheer.
Ceremony naming Adam Galvez Street, February 2007
Is it too late to do that for Vietnam veterans? A chief complaint over the years, especially from the war-hungry right wing, is that the Vietnam peace movement dishonored those veterans, chiefly by not honoring them more when they came home.
My brother, Wes, served four tours in Southeast Asia in that war, returning each time to no great celebration other than his family’s great gratitude at his return. He’s too great a patriot to complain — as are most of the other Vietnam vets. Our periodic patriotic celebrations now do better: Vietnam vets get honored at July 4 and Veterans’ Day celebrations, and the fallen get special honors on Memorial Day, in most towns in America.
Junior Cruz hit on a great idea, though: Name a street in honor of the fallen.
Why not do that for more Vietnam vets? My hometown of Pleasant Grove, Utah, had a population of fewer than 10,000 people during the Vietnam conflict, but well I remember in my high school years when the list of fallen passed 11, including a recently-graduated studentbody president and basketball star and the brother of a woman in my French class. Neither of them has a memorial other than their gravestone, that I’m aware.
Adam Galvez Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
Street names can tell us a lot about a town or city. In the great booming times of 1950s through 1990s, a lot of streets in America were named after developers’ kids, wives and ex-wives. More recently developers have taken to cutesy names on a theme designed to sell homes: “Whispering Waters Way,” “Mountain View,” etc. Those cities where history gets some note in street names do well, I think. Ogden, Utah, named a bunch of streets after presidents, in order of their service, from Washington through the second Harrison (and as a consequence, a lot of people who grew up in Ogden can name the presidents in order from Washington through almost to Teddy Roosevelt). New York has not suffered from renaming a stretch of road The Avenue of the Americas, Washington, D.C. has done well with both Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue.
Why not rename some streets in American after Vietnam veterans? While we’re at it, how about Korean War veterans? We can’t recapture the time and do what we should have done about 58 years ago for Korea or about 45 years ago for Vietnam. We can do noble things from now, forward. Why not create memorials that remind us of the great service these people did for their nation, and name and rename streets in their honor?
Resources:
2 Comments | Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, History, korean war, veterans, veterans day, Vietnam | Tagged: Boy Scouts of America, Citizenship, Cpl. Adam Galvez, Eagle Scouts, History, Junior Cruz, Land Development, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
At Metafilter, I found these comments on a D-Day thread, “Fading to yellow in a brown leather frame”:
- When I was in 11th grade, the grandfather of one of my other students, who was at Normandy, came to talk to our history class about his experiences. He sobbed openly when he talked about storming the beaches and seeing what he thought were sand dunes, but were instead “waves” of corpses of those who had gone ahead of him. It was an experience which marked me deeply.
posted by dhens at 7:40 AM on June 6 [3 favorites]- My Mum still remembers the sound of planes flying over southern England. She and her family were awakened early by the noise and knew the push has begun. She remembers people being very quiet and determined as they went about their day and most folks dropped into a church at some point.
- My gran was shot at by the Luftwaffe. The bastards.
We owe a huge debt to the people who went through it for us. I can’t imagine what the world would look like if they’d failed.
posted by Summer at 7:59 AM on June 6
That last one’s worth repeating and remembering:
We owe a huge debt to the people who went through it for us. I can’t imagine what the world would look like if they’d failed.
Peace at Omaha Beach - Omaha Beach from the American Cemetery, June 6, 2004 - Sedulia blogs.com
1 Comment | Darfur, History, veterans, World War II | Tagged: D-Day, History, Remembrance, Sacrifice, veterans, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
U.S. flags wave at DFW National Cemetery, May 30, 2010. Photo by Ed Darrell
Our local Rotary Club provides a U.S. flag planted in your yard for flag-flying events from Memorial Day through Labor Day, for an annual subscription of about $15.00. Local groups, including especially Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, take a route and plant the flags.
As a consequence, our town is loaded with flags on a weekend like this one.
But even if you don’t subscribe to a flag service, please remember to fly your flag today.
Memorial Day honors people who died in defense of the nation. Armed Forces Day honors those who serve currently, celebrated the third Saturday in May. Veterans Day honors the veterans who returned.
On Memorial Day itself, flags on poles or masts should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to noon. At noon, flags should be raised to full-staff position.
When posting a flag at half-staff, the flag should be raised to the full-staff position first, with vigor, then slowly lowered to half-staff; when retiring a flag posted at half-staff, it should be raised to the full staff position first, with vigor, and then be slowly lowered. Some people attach black streamers to stationary flags, though this is not officially recognized by the U.S. Flag Code.
On Memorial Day, 3:00 p.m. local time is designated as the National Moment of Remembrance.
Memorial Day traditionally came on May 30, but now comes on the last Monday in May. In 2011 the last Monday happens to be May 30, a nice blend of tradition and formal law.
Flag flies at a home in North Carolina's Outer Banks
4 Comments | Citizenship, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, veterans | Tagged: Citizenship, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Memorial Day, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Armed Forces Day honors those Americans who are, today, protecting our freedom, under arms, in the U.S. military services.
Veterans Day honors those who protected us in the past. Memorial Day honors those who died in our nation’s service, and those veterans who have passed on. Armed Forces Day honors and celebrates living Americans, to whom we owe immediate thanks.
Fly your flag today in their honor. Today is Armed Forces Day 2011.
The slogan on this year’s poster: Our Troops, and Those Supporting Them Back Home, Are United in Strength.
2011 Armed Forces Day poster
Previously, in Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub:
5 Comments | Citizenship, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Patriotism, veterans | Tagged: Air Force, Armed Forces Day 2011, Army, Citizenship, Coast Guard, Flag etiquette, History, Marines, Navy, Patriotism, U.S. Flag, veterans | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
A mostly encore post about today’s anniversary of Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg.
Prior to 2007, this was the only known photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg, on the day of his address – Library of Congress
147 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln redefined the Declaration of Independence and the goals of the American Civil War, in a less-than-two-minute speech dedicating part of the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as a cemetery and final resting place for soldiers who died in the fierce battle fought there the previous July 1 through 3.
Interesting news for 2007: More photos from the Library of Congress collection may contain images of Lincoln. The photo above, detail from a much larger photo, had been thought for years to be the only image of Lincoln from that day. The lore is that photographers, taking a break from former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Everett’ s more than two-hour oration, had expected Lincoln to go on for at least an hour. His short speech caught them totally off-guard, focusing their cameras or taking a break. Lincoln finished before any photographer got a lens open to capture images.
Images of people in these photos are very small, and difficult to identify. Lincoln was not identified at all until 1952:
The plate lay unidentified in the Archives for some fifty-five years until in 1952, Josephine Cobb, Chief of the Still Pictures Branch, recognized Lincoln in the center of the detail, head bared and probably seated. To the immediate left (Lincoln’s right) is Lincoln’s bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, and to the far right (beyond the limits of the detail) is Governor Andrew G. Curtin of Pennsylvania. Cobb estimated that the photograph was taken about noontime, just after Lincoln arrived at the site and before Edward Everett’s arrival, and some three hours before Lincoln gave his now famous address.
On-line, the Abraham Lincoln Blog covered the discovery that two more photographic plates from the 1863 speech at Gettysburg may contain images of Lincoln in his trademark stove-pipe hat. Wander over to the story at the USA Today site, and you can see just how tiny are these detail images in relation to the photographs themselves. These images are tiny parts of photos of the crowd at Gettysburg. (The story ran in USA Today last Thursday or Friday — you may be able to find a copy of that paper buried in the returns pile at your local Kwikee Mart.) Digital technologies, and these suspected finds of Lincoln, should prompt a review of every image from Gettysburg that day.
To the complaints of students, I have required my junior U.S. history students to memorize the Gettysburg Address. In Irving I found a couple of students who had memorized it for an elementary teacher years earlier, and who still could recite it. Others protested, until they learned the speech. This little act of memorization appears to me to instill confidence in the students that they can master history, once they get it done.
To that end, I discovered a good, ten-minute piece on the address in Ken Burns’ “Civil War” (in Episode 5). On DVD, it’s a good piece for classroom use, short enough for a bell ringer or warm-up, detailed enough for a deeper study, and well done, including the full text of the address itself performed by Sam Waterson.
Edward Everett, the former Massachusetts senator and secretary of state, was regarded as the greatest orator of the time. A man of infinite grace, and a historian with some sense of events and what the nation was going through, Everett wrote to Lincoln the next day after their speeches:
“I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”
Interesting note: P. Z. Myers at Pharyngula notes that the Gettysburg Address was delivered “seven score and four years ago.” Of course, that will never happen again. I’ll wager he was the first to notice that odd juxtaposition on the opening line.
Resources for students and teachers:
7 Comments | 1861-1865, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Famous Battles, Famous quotes, Gettysburg, Presidents, veterans, War | Tagged: 1861-1865, 1863, Abraham Lincoln, Brevity, Civil War, Famous quotes, Gettysburg Address, Great Speeches, History, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Iwo Jima Memorial, near Washington, D.C.
Fly your flag today.
We honor all veterans on November 11 of each year. The Flag Code designates Veterans Day for flag flying, to honor veterans. (See more on the Flag Code, here.)
More, and other resources
Google's Veterans Day logo
Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, veterans | Tagged: Flag Code, Fly your flag today, History, veterans, Veterans Day | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
2 Comments | Citizenship, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Patriotism, veterans, War | Tagged: Citizenship, Fly your flag, History, Patriotism, veterans, Veterans Day, Wars | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Part of the Veterans History Project, a museum in Florida interviews World War II veterans, and much of the material shows up on YouTube.
These interviews offer great resources for student projects, and are simply a grand way to capture history.
See this story about “Flying the Hump,” transporting war materiel over the Himalayas into China; it’s an interview with E. W. “Bill” Cutler, one of the fliers who survived:
This interview caught my attention for a personal reason. My uncle, Bruce Davis, died flying the route. His aircraft and remains were recovered more than 30 years later — someone stumbled on the wreckage accidentally. When an aircraft went down for any reason (usually weather), the crews passed into a limbo that comprised a special hell for their families. It was almost impossible that anyone would survive, as Cutler details. But, with no wreckage and no remains, there were always questions.
Update: Brother Dwight informed me his father-in-law served at the last base before the airplanes went over the mountains. We have more family Himalayan connections than I knew.
This interview has a mere 152 views as of this posting — pass it around, let’s bump the viewing total up, and get the story out. At YouTube, the Central Florida WWII Museum has its own channel, listing several similar interviews.
I could see each student assigned to one interview, to tell the story of the interview to the class, to research the background of the theatre of war discussed, the battle, the incident, the armaments, the nations and people involved — to make a history narrative out of the interview, in other words. What other uses do you see?
Here’s the rest of the story: The museum has not yet been built. This project, the video interviews, is a place-holder, a way to communicate while raising the money to build an edifice to honor the veterans more appropriately. It’s a virtual museum — one your students may browse from the classroom. How cool is that?
Leave a Comment » | Education, History, Museums, Oral history, Student projects, veterans, Video and film, World War II | Tagged: Classroom Sources, Education, History, Museums, Oral History, Student projects, veterans, Video and film, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Alan Dale June died in September in Window Rock, Arizona. He was 91.
Alan Dale June, Navajo Code Talker, accepted the Congressional Gold Medal from President George W. Bush, in a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol on July 26, 2001. June died in September 2010, at 91. Photo Credit: John Klemmer, U.S. Senate Photo Studio.
June was one of three surviving Navajo Code Talkers out of 29 who developed the code and system by which they communicated by radio across the South Pacific Ocean, in Navajo. Using a simple code for troops, ships, airplanes and other armaments, the Navajo Code Talkers passed crucial information between far-flung American forces, on regular radio waves. Japanese forces could easily intercept the broadcasts, but they did not speak Navajo, nor did they break the Navajo code.
After the original 29, many more Navajos got training and performed the critical communications functions.
I met several of these men through the good graces of my brother, Jerry Jones, who helped promote their recognition when he worked in Page, Arizona, in public relations for the Salt River Project’s Navajo Power Station. Jerry drew deep inspiration from the quiet dignity and great humility of these patriots. He would have been gratified to see them get the Congressional Gold Medal, a belated and too-small recognition for the great service they rendered our nation.
RIP, Alan Dale June.
More:
8 Comments | 1941-1945, Navajo, veterans, World War II | Tagged: Alan Dale June, History, Navajo Code Talkers, Navajo Tribe, South Pacific, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Pastor Joe Leavell, recently a frequent bather in Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub, reports on the crazy — it doesn’t involve burning anybody’s scripture, but it’s pretty offensive.
Not sure if you heard about the first army chaplain to have been killed since the 70s, but he was killed on Aug. 30th in Afghanistan. Several pastors I know knew him as a personal dear friend – a true American hero who loved God, loved the troops he served, and gave his life going above and beyond to be with them.
Guess who will be there protesting his funeral? Westboro Baptist Church – protesting the funeral of a Baptist chaplain! The only way it ties in to this discussion is the “should factor”, but I’m sorry – I just had to voice that this sort of stuff is so disgraceful and makes me so upset – especially when our soldiers are dying to give them the freedom to protest at their funerals! :-( For shame!
Here’s the news article:
kktv.com/military/headlines/102406419.html
At KKTV’s site the story is very short; here it is the complete article:
Posted: 9:54 PM Sep 7, 2010
Reporter: KKTV News
Email Address: news@kktv.comA controversial Baptist Church group from Kansas says they’ll be in Southern Colorado to protest at a funeral for an army chaplain who was killed in Afghanistan.
Captain Dale Goetz died August 30 in Afghanistan. He’s the first army chaplain to die in combat since 1970.
A funeral has been set for Thursday at Fort Carson, and that’s where the Westboro Baptist Church says they’ll be as well to protest.
Members of the church have repeatedly protested the acceptance of homosexuals by picketing at the funerals of fallen soldiers.
It’s very controversial move.
11 News is asking what do you think about the planned demonstration? We’d like to hear from you. Just comment on this story on the 11 news Facebook page or here on kktv.com.
Time Magazine’s blog carries more details of Pastor Goetz’s life and an interesting tribute to the value of military chaplains in war.
He [Goetz] acknowledged that Muslim concerns over what they perceive as a degenerate Western culture can drive some Muslims toward terror. “As Americans we repudiate the practice of the terrorist,” he said. “Though I disagree with their practice, I do understand their complaints against western society.” Goetz wondered if Americans are devoted to something so much that they would willingly die for it. “Our love for freedom is worth dying for,” he concluded, “and many have gone before us to preserve this freedom.”Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/09/03/army-chaplain-dale-goetz-rip/#ixzz0z25p1eqN
(South Dakota will fly flags at half-staff today, September 9, in Goetz’s honor. See also the post at Urban Grounds.)
Early in the U.S. involvement in World War II Americans had to put up with those factions who had argued that the U.S. should intervene on Germany’s side in Europe. But I don’t recall that the pro-Germany groups kept up their protests much after Germany declared war on the U.S. In the long arc of the history of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, America’s longest-ever wars, does a sense of history and honor smack the crazies in Christian pulpits in the head to make them think?
Our Constitution’s strength proves itself over and over, as courts have ruled that Westboro Baptist has the right to make these protests. Their continued exercise of that right is a testament against the lack of a national education system and against the virtue of religion in the failure of common decency of the tiny band of protesters. Al Queada draws strength from the protests of the Westboro crew, and al Quaeda draws recruits from the actions of the Florida band who plans to burn scriptures.
Walt Kelly’s Pogo observed, “We has met the enemy, and he is us.”
Update: You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried: The Westboro Baptist group is angry that their burning of a Qur’an many months ago didn’t get them more attention. I am reminded that James Earl Ray and Timothy McVeigh both expressed disappointment that their work didn’t get more attention and sympathetic action, too.
2 Comments | Dissent, Flag etiquette, Free speech, History, Iraq, Rampant stupidity, Religion, U.S. Constitution, veterans, War | Tagged: Dale Goetz, Dissent, Flag etiquette, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Iraq, Military, Rampant stupidity, Religion, U.S. Constitution, veterans, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
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Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 