Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Navy fires commander of sailors detained by the Iranians
Saturday, May 14, 2016
“A Navy official said Rasch failed to provide effective leadership,
leading to a lack of oversight, complacency and failure to maintain
standards in the unit.”
It’s unconscionable that the Navy is making Rasch the fall guy for
this incident after the Obama Administration pretended that nothing
amiss had happened in the first place. After the sailors were released,
Vice President Joe Biden dismissed the entire incident as the routine
treatment of boats with mechanical difficulties.
Denying that the U.S.
had apologized to Iran, as had been widely rumored, Biden said: “When
you have a problem with the boat, (do) you apologize the boat had a
problem? No. And there was no looking for any apology. This was just
standard nautical practice.” The sailors were blindfolded, made to kneel
at gunpoint, and interrogated for hours.
But Biden maintained that the
entire situation was routine: “The Iranians picked up both boats — as we
have picked up Iranian boats that needed to be rescued.” The Iranians,
he said, “realized they were there in distress and said they would
release them, and released them — like ordinary nations would do.” “Navy Fires Commander Eric Rasch Over Iran’s Detention of Sailors,” Associated Press, May 13, 2016:
