Centennial

The Christmas Truce of 1914.

BBC magazine provides a lot of detail in its article about the French attitudes about the truce.  Surprisingly, so does the Washington Post.  I had not expected to see anything in the US media since America was not involved.   The Post story links to a photo archive of the event.  In some of the photos I cannot distinguish between the two sides, a testament to their shared humanity.

"...on each end of the rifle we're the same."

At War At Christmas

Here at Unsolicited Opinion thoughts of war are part of my Christmas.  That's why John McCutcheon's "Christmas in the Trenches" spoke so strongly to me when I first heard it in 1984.   McCutcheon writes and sings evocatively of human beings  in war.  Not a meaningless Christmas song but rather an honest lesson in the reality of war.

The story bears repeating.  Here 'tis on this Christmas Eve 2013 with all best wishes.

The Long Tail of War

Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Data Report, 2012

A qualified report based on limited data but still indicative.  Figure 6 on page 21shows a high rate of suicide in Washington.  Not surprising at all.

Women in Combat

Army Staff Sgt. Keesha Dentino served two tours in Iraq, as a gunner and then as a team leader on convoys. 

“Every deployment, I’ve done combat missions.  The whole females in combat is not a new thing,” she said. “I think people are just not aware that there are women out there who have done it.”

Pretty much ends the debate for me.  I especially like the fact that combat experience opens the chance for more women to reach senior ranks.  The military will always be the military but more senior women can only be good.

The change is ironic, though.  During the Vietnam War, the idea of drafting women was beyond the pale.  Many predicted that Americans would never bear the thought of their daughters coming home in a box.

Many were wrong.

End Times

The Washington Post story about an Army unit winding down the Afghan war sounds much like an updated version of my unit's experience during 1971 in Vietnam.  Updated in that:  1) today's soldiers, unlike conscripts, may actually want to fight, 2) the combat outpost base in Afghanistan appears more substantial than Vietnam fire support bases, and 3) soldiers can maintain direct and sometimes frequent contact with family in the States. No doubt there are other differences.

But the differences don't obscure the fact that these soldiers aren't aren't sure that their efforts do much by way of contributing to their country's safety and national interest.  Or maybe it's that serving the national interest as articulated by American strategy is a limited, boring job that can turn deadly.  Either way, it doesn't offer much relief for the sacrifices made. 

My experience in Vietnam showed me that soldiers can be brave, dedicated and determined even as their efforts are marginalized.  But I also knew coming in-country that I would be marking time, paying for a "graceful" American exit with my body.  When a bunch of us newbies joined Alpha Company, the commander spoke of "troop withdrawals and none of us being among "the last to die" in Vietnam.  But in the meantime, we ran weeks'-long patrols, got wounded, had accidents and a few died.  All while marking time.

Winding down.  Marking time.  It makes do difference if you're dead.

Always a Sobering Holiday

For the past four decades my Christmas holiday has always been shadowed by Vietnam. Thoughts of Vietnam are still very much part of this year's holiday. But after last year's return to Vietnam, the vibe is different. Now I have other holiday memories of Vietnam that contend with those long ago memories.

Still, in a world were war is a part of everyday life for many, I can never escape thoughts of war at this supposed time of peace. I'm just too hard-wired not to pay attention. And if I pay attention then I must begin to think of an alternative.

Like the one these soldiers created.

As told by John McCutcheon.