Inside the Headquarters

I went to a reenactment/living history in Nokesville, Va. This hamlet past Manassas qualifies as nowhere. I was joined by several thousand others. (Maybe they were lost.) It was a surprise to see this remote piece of land as a home to countless military vehicles spanning the past 60 years. Joining the hardware were a few hundred reenactors from many eras.

The field is called Tank Farm (literally) of the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles. The event’s goal was to promote the museum and its vehicle collection. The period players rounded out the event.

The hit of the weekend was a band of Vietnam reenactors, who made the Vietnam War hip, possibly for the first time.

The reenactors represented many periods, though modern conflicts seem to be popular. There were those reenacting Russians (some real Ruskies) in Afghanistan, and Americans in Desert Storm. There were World War II Germans complete with German Shepherd. I believe Eva was her name.

The Vietnam unit was courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps Living History Unit. They are independent of the Corps. (It’s probably better that way.) These are mostly former and retired Marines that portray the Marine Corps from – get this—the early 19th century to the present. They verified this habit can be time-consuming and expensive.

Compared to classic Vietnam photos, these guys seemed to have it down. Some looked every bit the hungry jungle fighter. Think Jim “Women Can’t Fight” Webb in his youthful, shirtless splendor. Some members are actual veterans of Vietnam, making the mix all the more interesting.

I’m told evenings were spent hanging with the Vietnam boys. Brethren from all eras and nations were popping PBRs (Pabst Blue Ribbons) and dragging on water pipes, all courtesy of our Vietnam heroes. These guys even had beads and peace signs.

As I have written before, I do not understand the allure of reenacting. Some say they do it for camaraderie. Others say living history. My guess is it is a low-tech and satisfying way to connect to people. (It is certainly not the sleeping accommodations.)

Our Marine reenactors appeared passionate, if not obsessed. Get this: Their fire base even had a working sandbag-encircled mortar pit complete with black “pajama-wearin’” Vietnamese workers. A few open Hawaiian shirts and shared hookah pipes went a long way in making this much-vilified period in our history hip, even if just for a weekend.

Photos courtesy of Rudy Schulz

Remembering the fallen is a relatively new idea. War memorials used to commemorate victories, like the Arc de Triumph in Paris, where the fallen are not named. This began to change around the turn-of-the last century. Memorials listing war dead can be seen in town centers in the U.S. as well as Europe. They are uncatalogued; it is exciting to discover them by chance.

I was in my birth town, Baltimore, with a friend recently and we found an unusual war memorial. A number of elegant plaques had grown into a small collection in a little nook at the front corner of St. Leo’s Catholic Church (227 South Exeter St.) in Little Italy. The plaques started at World War One and worked their way to the present. They list all from the parish who have fought. A star was placed by the names of those killed. It is a sweet tribute to an almost exclusively Italian group of boys.

If you check it out, Little Italy is a ghost town. Though we heard an older couple speaking Italian as they walked, a restaurant dating back more than 70 years was closed. Its building was for sale. You can watch residents play bocce ball at the neighborhood bocce court, but that and a handful of restaurants (no markets!) comprise what had been a bustling Italian enclave at one time.

Will the war memorial tradition at small venues like neighborhood parishes go the way of once-thriving city neighborhoods?

Wanna steal valor? Claim you are a Medal of Honor recipient having never served a day in the military? Don a general officer uniform and go on the speaking circuit?

California’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a man convicted under the Stolen Valor Act, finding the law unconstitutional. The court ruled the three-year-old edict violated the free speech rights of Xavier Alvarez, who falsely claimed to be a Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient.

The court in its 2-1 decision found Alvarez’s lie harmed no one, and there is no reason the government should legislate on lies of this nature.

The court has a point.

While people may find Alvarez’s actions abhorrent, are they criminal? He lied. He misrepresented himself. Is this a crime?

Is the person who misrepresents himself or herself on a resume guilty of a similar crime? Let’s say they claim to be a Nobel Prize recipient. Or a Pulitzer winner. Crime? Probably not. Against societal conventions? Maybe.

People lie about who they are. Men and women misrepresent marital status. Sure there may be legal repercussions in divorce court, but is the misrepresentation a crime? A man passes himself off as a women. Has he committed a crime or is he just a transvestite? Some guy poses as a war hero or multi-star big guy. Crime? I am not an attorney, but as the court ruled, if the lie hurts no one, it is simply a lie and within an individual’s constitutionally protected rights.

The counter argument may be the lie hurts veterans and society as a whole, but it seems this “damage” cannot be quantified to the court’s satisfaction. It is just a lie. A misrepresentation. Not a crime.

The guy down the street falsely prancing as a two star – a rank this person never achieved. Why not expose him publicly and make sure as many as people as possible know that this guy is a valor monger? Call the media. Churn out a press release. Strip this person of his or her dignity.

Expose him or her for the liar and thief they are. Is that not sufficient? The court deal would be a welcome respite from the community embarrassment. Dispense with the legal drama here. Too many seem to have jumped on this stolen valor train to nowhere. We now thank veterans for their service out of some sense of awkward societal obligation.

Show me the valor poser, and I will show you a sad, lost person.

For the living valor mongers, let the court of public opinion make its judgment.

Does anyone out there have an opinion on posers and the stolen valor decision?

The Disabled American Veterans has a mobile service office fleet. Vans, complete with a trained mobile service officer, visit areas in an effort to be make DAV services more accessible to veterans. As a member of the DAV, I receive organizational mailings, but toss all except the magazine. It seems I have been getting letters telling me a DAV mobile service office with live, mobile service officer will be in my area and I can head over to get disability-related assistance.

With my interest piqued I looked more closely and found this vehicle would be parked at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership. I decided to pass. The next mailing came, and again the van would be in a Harley parking lot, albeit a different one. Random checks around the country showed mobile service vans do hit DAV chapter lots. (No HD dealerships nearby?)

There are ties between military veterans and Harley-Davidson on many levels, but of particular interest, Harley has provided million-dollar grants since 2006 to keep the DAV’s mobile fleet running. The DAV announced the latest grant Aug. 4. Dubbed Harley’s Heroes since 2007, the vans make their way across the country and have set up shop at nearly 300 Harley dealerships nationwide.

I phoned the HD dealership in Fort Washington, Md., to confirm the van’s appearance. It turned out the Saturday in question was a big event day for this purveyor of upwardly priced bikes. The thought of pushing my way through a mob wearing its “rebel without a clue” bikin’ togs sent me trolling elsewhere for the info I needed.

What brought this up was an initial call to a veterans’ service organization. I happen to be a life member of this VSO (It’s not MOAA, and I’m not naming names.) and had never called them despite more than a decade of membership. It was their lucky day.

It took me at least half an hour to get through to clarify some educational benefit items. When I finally spoke to a representative, she explained the organization primarily helped those currently leaving the service (and not people like me, with challenging and thought-provoking questions).

“Then why would anyone become a life member if you only help those at separation?” I asked.

She did not know, but would have someone get back to me. “On the life membership or educational query?” I asked. “The life member question,” she said.

No one called. And they wonder why people seem “miffed.”

Any thoughts on the services provided by Veteran Service Organizations?

Concurrent Receipt is one of those mysteries that cannot be explained by the Defense Department, Veterans Affairs or the Catholic Church. But this is a priority of the Military Officers’ Association of America (yes, the same people who kindly sponsor my blog) and it seems progress has been made.

Concurrent receipt, which dates to an obscure law from the 1890s according to MOAA, refers to the receipt of retirement and disability compensation. Until recently veterans were “taxed,” as MOAA puts it in its informative e-book “Undue Sacrifice.” (Look past the melodramatic title.)

For each dollar of medical compensation, that much has been deducted from the retiree’s pay. So, a retiree with $2,000 in retirement and $1,000 in disability compensation would receive $2,000 not $3,000.

A few years ago, the law changed, phasing in concurrent receipt for those with 20 years or more of service and a disability rating of 50 percent or greater. Most in group receives both retirement and disability payments with no offset, but according to MOAA a percentage is still hit with the “tax.” Work has been done on behalf of veterans whose disabilities are deemed combat-related. The goal is all in this category will be exempt from the offset.

But 20-year retirees with a rating of 40 percent or less and those with a retirement of less than 20 years (even with as many as 19 years) are still subject to the offset. MOAA and others are fighting this battle, and it seems with some success.

Changes in concurrent receipt are sitting in some version of this year’s Defense Authorization Bill. The new guidelines take a phased approach. During the first year, those with disabilities rated at 90 and 100 percent (and fewer than 20 years of service) would be allowed in the concurrent receipt club. Year Two would extend the “benefit” to those rated at 70 and 80 percent. Currently, there are no plans to include the 60 percent and under crowd, but it could come once the way is paved with the higher ratings.

Though there are costs with the proposal, they should be offset by other spending cuts, says MOAA. A zero net cost or something close should appeal to lawmakers.

Whether or not payments will be retroactive is still unknown, though MOAA says it’s doubtful. Our guess is that was taken off the table to try and get the rest of this plan through, though the “plan” ignores most under 70 percent.

MOAA’s says its position is to compensate for career and disability. Twenty years? Fewer? There is no difference in service, the organization says. That the 60 percent crowd and below are left out makes one wonder.

What do you think about a veteran’s retirement being offset by his or her disability compensation?

From MCBQMNS@comcast.net Aug, 6, 2010:

On Sunday 8 August 2010 we are expecting members of CODEPINK and possibly other organizations to gather at the waterfront park in Quantico Town in order to protest PFC Bradley Manning’s arrest and confinement at Marine Corps Base, Quantico. Base officials, Prince William County Police, and the Quantico Town Police are working together to ensure this event occurs without incident.

Personnel assigned to MCBQ should avoid the area from 1000-1700 on Sunday, 8 August 2010.

Is Quantico encouraging people to stay away from a public off-base event? Does this cross a line?

Code Pink, the famed femme fanner of fires, descended upon Quantico, Va., to protest the incarceration of alleged Wikileaks secret document machine, Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is confined to the Quantico brig.

Code Pink, our gurlz from the San Francisco Bay Area, can be creative. Our last story showed the group holding a kiss-in at a recruiting office parking lot in Berkeley to block access to the recruiters. Impressive.

But recruiting store fronts are on civilian property. As you probably know, one cannot protest on board a military installation, so Code Pink, Veterans for Peace and others obtained a permit to hold their event in Quantico Town. It is a civil municipality surrounded by the base on three sides and the Potomac on the fourth, but it is civilian property.

Despite Manning’s presence in the brig, it is an unlikely place for a protest. But heroes on both sides gathered. A docile Code Pink and Manning supporters numbered a couple of hundred. They had the requisite chant, “Free Bradley Manning,” signs, and speeches. One gentleman announced Manning supporters had raised $60 thousand in his defense, half their goal.

Does he have a defense? If you listen to the pink and righteous, the government wants whistleblowers, aka Manning. But one attendee told me many in the pro-Manning camp did not understand he had allegedly committed a crime with the release of classified material. Such are the doe-eyed and bleating. Manning had options.

Off to the side was a silent and equally cordial group numbering 10 or so for the other team. Their main image is shown above. Concrete Dave, a veteran, knew the protesters by name. They seem to have the Looney Tunes Ralph-and-Sam thing going.

Media was plentiful. According to Quantico public affairs, CNN (whose camera guy tried to take down a cop); DC-based Ch 4, 7, 9; a number of smaller outlets (I think I spoke to a Russian news organization); were all present. And we cannot forget our friends at al Jazeera. (Arabic T-shirts, a must.)

What are your thoughts on Wikileaks and the secret documents? PFC Manning?

Peaceful protests? And that e-mail from Quantico? Unnecessary? Over the line?

(Despite the outrageous Hawaiian attire, my escort was not DIA, as alleged.)

Vernon Baker passed away Tuesday. He was 90. (It seems young.) Baker was a member of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division. He was the last living black soldier to have received the Medal of Honor. 

As war raged in 1944 Italy, then-Lt. Baker and his platoon were behind German lines, On April 5-6 near Viareggio, the unit came under heavy fire. Baker took out three machine gun nests killing a number of enemy soldiers. He covered his men as they evacuated the wounded.

The next night he and his platoon did it again, moving through enemy minefields under more heavy fire. It has been reported Baker and his men killed 26 of the enemy and destroyed four dugouts, two observation posts and six machine gun positions. Baker reportedly killed nine of the enemy himself and took out more than one machine gun nest.

Vernon Baker received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. Only nine other black soldiers were similarly honored during the war. He also received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

No African Americans received the Medal of Honor during World War II. In 1993, a records review suggested 10 deserved the medal. Seven were chosen to receive the nation’s highest military award.

When President Bill Clinton awarded Baker his Blue Max  in 1997, Baker was the only one of the seven living. That same year his memoir, “Lasting Memoir,” was published.

Born in Wyoming in 1919, Baker lived most his life in Idaho. He died after a long battle with brain cancer. It is reported an Arlington National Cemetery burial is planned.

So closes another chapter.

Chapters continue to close. The death of the last Spanish American War veteran snuck up on us. It really wasn’t that long ago when Nathan Cook, 106, passed away in1992. Gone was the last connection to images of Teddy Roosevelt and San Juan Hill.

Cook died as we were gearing up for the 75th anniversary of the Great War. What war? Few cared. Eventually the last U.S. veteran of that war will pass on, though at 109, former Army corporal Frank Buckles appears in good health and remains busy. He continues to lobby lawmakers about his cause to erect World War I monument on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Veterans of the Second World War seem to be passing away at an alarming rate. They fought in the war that changed the world and are as treasured as the veterans of the Civil War were. Still, each loss closes a chapter, like that of the World War II Lakota Code Talkers.

The last Lakota Code Talker was Clarence Wolf Guts, 86, who lived at the South Dakota Veterans Home in Hot Springs. He was buried June 22 in Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, the motorcycle Mecca. (Maybe this will give those two-wheeled patriots a place to visit.)

The youth of Native American tribes joined the war effort. Possibly the most well-known are Marine Corps’ Navajo Code Talkers, but there were Comanche Code Talkers and Lakota, too. The Native American languages baffled enemy forces, making them inherently perfect codes. This communication coup was a boost for the Americans in the bleak, early days of the war.

As far as we can tell, there were a few code talkers during World War I, but the code talkers are best known for their work during World War II. Below is a list of tribes and the wars in which they served.

World War I

• Cherokee
• Cheyenne
• Choctaw (15)
• Comanche
• Osage
• Yankton Sioux

World War II

• Assiniboine
• Cherokee
• Chippewa/Oneida (17)
• Choctaw
• Comanche (17)
• Hopi (11)
• Kiowa
• Menominee
• Muscogee/Creek and Seminole
• Navajo (about 420)
• Pawnee
• Sac and Fox/Meskwaki (19)
• Sioux – Lakota and Dakota dialects

America will continue to close chapter after chapter. Losing a generation shaped by an iconic bond the likes of the Second World War leaves a nation increasingly shaped by electronic gadgets and reality TV.

Our guess is stunned silence followed the appointment of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus as Gulf Restoration Grand Marshal.

Questions directed to Mabus’ spokesman were vectored to the White House. She said she had no further information on President Barack Obama’s choice of Mabus to create “long-term Gulf restoration plan” in the aftermath British Petroleum’s massive oil mishap in April. Though the disaster occurred miles off the Louisiana coast, the spill has impacted Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana.

Why Ray Mabus? Apparently the other service secretaries are too busy, though Mabus oversees both the Navy and Marine Corps. His work in the Gulf will be crucial. Damage of this magnitude to coastal waters and coastline is a security issue. We’d say a Department of Homeland Security issue.

According to reports, Mabus’ primary qualification as Gulf savior appears to be his term as governor of Mississippi. (Huey Long was governor of Louisiana.) Unfortunately, the Mississippi native spent much of his time in office battling the state legislature. That was 20 years ago, but could it impact his work in the region? In 1994 President Bill Clinton made him ambassador to oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Mabus served briefly as a surface warfare officer toward the end of Vietnam. He has been Navy secretary for just more than a year.

We’ll speculate here – Mabus may stand to lose his service secretary position. The decision to dual hat him may be an effort to avoid embarrassment if they pipe him ashore one final time. (Again, speculation.)

If Mabus is getting the boot, is this about Mabus or the Navy? Some villages may be missing an idiot, but not the Navy. But its shrinking flotilla has been searching for a mission. Talk to guys like Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead, and he’ll point to the Navy’s myriad planning documents as proof it has a mission. (A plan or concept a mission not make! Henry V.) We like Gary. He’s smart and seems in touch with his Navy. But he over spends on programs like the questionable littoral combat ship, busts the budget on submarine purchases and has made diversity the Navy’s number one priority. Just ask him, he’ll tell you. (A service hawking diversity may not need a secretary.)

Ray Mabus: Best man for the Gulf restoration job or getting the boot from DoD?

Things have changed in 40 years. While It is estimated during the Vietnam War 50,000 males of service age took refuge in Canada to avoid U.S. military service, since 2003, it appears just 200 have taken the road across the northern border, though exact numbers are difficult.

Another difference: This time, Canada has little interest in playing host.

At a time when Canada and the United States are allies in arms, fighting and dying together in the far reaches of Afghanistan, a few U.S. service members are saying, “Hell no” to another tour. Canada is saying, “Yankee go home.”

With tightened immigration policies, it has been reported our northern neighbor has turned down U.S. citizens seeking refugee status. According to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney “being a deserter from voluntary military service in a democracy does not, in any way, meet the … definition of a refugee.”

Canadian policy calls for deportation of such individuals within one year, pushing fleeing Americans underground. But they are not alone. Some of the estimated 25,000 Vietnam-era draft dodgers and deserters still in Canada have been assisting this latest wave of lawless immigration.

The War Resisters Support Campaign helps dodgers and deserters with legal challenges. The group’s founder, Phil McDowell, had completed his active duty Army commitment following a tour in Iraq, but was ordered back to Iraq under the now-defunct Stop-Loss program. He declined the offer and ran.

As during Vietnam, deserters question the legality of the current conflict. The answer is clear and neither Canadian nor U.S. courts are buying the argument. Some who have returned to the states have been prosecuted and are serving their sentences.

As reported by USA Today “Since the Iraq war began in 2003, the Army has convicted 693 soldiers of desertion and 2,657 of being absent without leave. From fiscal 2003 through 2008, the Marine Corps had 6,448 deserters. From fiscal 2003 through March 29 the Air Force had 260 deserters. From 2003 through the end of March, 9,869 people deserted from the Navy.” (Did you catch that Air Force figure?)

While the reasons for the desertions are not noted, a 2007 study reported a significant increase in desertions since 2003.

In 1977 President Jimmy Carter pardoned the draft resisters but no such leniency was shown deserters.