This year, I started thinking about it earlier – probably because of where I am, with the frequent reminders, especially since the Iraqis started landing Hueys across the street.  There’s something about that sound, like the smell of freshly baked cookies, that triggers the memory banks, brings into focus the original circumstances associated with that sound or smell, and makes you stop.  And remember.

Part of me said, don’t do it, it could be bad luck.  But a stronger urge prompted me to order a flag and then ask the NCO’s in our directorate if they would do the honors and raise a flag for me in memory of Specialists Westcott and Crosby.  Of course, once I shared with them the story of Easter Offensive and the last days of the 407^th Radio Research Detachment, they were more than happy to accommodate me.

So, on the afternoon of 30 March, 2011, at just a few minutes after 1400 hours here in Baghdad, a flag was raised over United States Forces – Iraq’s Forward Operating Base Union III in memory of Specialist Five Bruce Crosby and Specialist Five Gary Westcott.  Fellow Soldiers killed in battle thirty-nine years ago that day during the opening barrage of the North Vietnamese Strategic Offensive – known by us as the Easter Offensive.

Wednesday was quite an experience for me.

Sergeant First Class C (right), Sergeant First Class S (USAR) (center) and Staff Sergeant P (left) walked me through the practice folding of the flag.  In the background you can see Colonel G, my current boss, who when he heard about what we were doing asked if he could attend as well.  After a review of flag folding, they showed me what would take place, how they’d be positioned, and reviewed the protocol of raising and lowering the flag.

I thought they were just giving me some ideas for when and where I could take pictures, little did I know they would let this old retired Soldier actually participate in the raising, lowering and folding.

Step by step they took me through each part to make sure I was comfortable with everything they were going to do, and then they told me, “you’re doing this, we’ve decided you should raise and lower the flag.”  It’s been 21 years since I performed any “drill and ceremony,” and was really afraid that I’d mess something up, but they had prepared me well!

The rest of these pictures tell the story … we marched to the flagpole (I was surprised to see in the picture that I was actually in step with them), and I held the rope as the NCOs carefully attached the flag and I began the flag’s ascent to the top.

As I started raising the flag, out of the corner of my eye I saw the slow hand salutes start, and then I heard, “Specialist Crosby,” followed by, “Specialist Westcott.”  It was all I could do to maintain my composure and continue raising the flag.

I kept the flag moving, not looking up, but keeping my eyes on SSG P across from me.  Without diverting his eyes, and with no noticeable movement, SSG P whispered across to me, “all the way up, Top … and once it stops, hold it for a second and let her gently down.”

As the flag came down, the NCOs caught her and then repositioned me to help fold the flag.  With the flag securely in SFC C’s hands, we began our march back to the edge of the street where SFC C presented it to me, delivering it into my hands “for safekeeping and remembrance.”

The Flag was also flown in honor of another fellow Soldier, Patriot and Friend, and is now in his hands for safekeeping and remembrance.  Thanks John.

Wish you all could have been there.

May we always remember.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE     No. 037-11   January 14, 2011

DOD Announces Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration Program

The Department of Defense announced today its program to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The program will:

- Thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action,for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.

- Highlight the service of the armed forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of, the armed forces.

- Pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.

- Highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to the military research conducted during the Vietnam War.

- Recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.

DoD representatives will coordinate with other federal agencies, veteran groups, state, local government and non-government organizations for their input in Vietnam War commemoration activities. For more information call 877-387-9951 or visit the official website at http://www.vietnamwar50th.com/.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

More news:

Department Begins Project for Vietnam War Veterans
Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:55:00 -0600

Department Begins Project for Vietnam War Veterans

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2011 – More than three decades after the war’s end, the Defense Department has begun a project to pay tribute to the nation’s Vietnam War veterans.

The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration was spawned from the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

“It was a very important time period for veterans, because most Vietnam veterans as a whole never received the homecoming that our troops receive now,” said Army Lt. Col. Hunter Holliday, public affairs officer for the
commemoration.

At the center of the project is a website, “50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration,” at http://www.vietnamwar50th.com, which will serve as a clearinghouse for information on the war once it is fully functional, a milestone expected this spring.

Information gleaned from the website is expected to be used for myriad purposes, such as to chronicle facts, provide educational materials, and offer resources for a commemorative partners program, Holliday said.

The partners program will comprise guidance and materials for agencies, veterans groups, local government and nongovernment organizations to conduct their own Vietnam War commemoration activities.

The website is expected to play a major role in the campaign, said Jeff Wilson, who handles marketing for the project, noting it will be highly interactive and will include content on historical events, a timeline, photos, documents, video and audio. A calendar will list major Defense-sponsored events.

The website offers a prelude of activities and ceremonies to:

– Honor Vietnam War veterans and their families — including prisoners of war and those listed as missing in action — for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States.

– Highlight Armed Forces service during the Vietnam War, in addition to contributions made by government and private organizations.

– Pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by U.S. citizens.

– Highlight the advances in technology, science and medicine in military research made during the war.

– Recognize contributions and sacrifices made by U.S. allies during the war.

“Hopefully [the commemoration] will be a healing process for the veterans who were never recognized properly when they came home,” Holliday said, noting the volatile political landscape that surrounded the war.

Related Sites:
50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration <http://www.vietnamwar50th.com>

It’s amazing how those two words, delivered from a sincere and obviously grateful heart, can warm the soul, spark the emotions, and lift the spirit of the recipient.  Two little words, fitly spoken, deeply felt, warmly welcomed.

Tonight, a long way from home, and a long way in time and space from the events of almost 40 years ago, those two words reached deep into my memory and redefined my perspective.

As I was sitting in the dining facility (DFAC) at the Forward Operating Base, no, we don’t call them “Mess Halls” any more, someone I’ve never met spoke those words to me – words not for me alone, but for you my fellow Vietnam Veterans, which is why I share them with you now.

Dinner at the DFAC is always nice.  Plenty of food.  The option of sitting quietly and watching either the news or sports, or sitting with others.  Typically I’ll sit in a quiet area and try to catch up on the world of sports, but tonight, the quieter area was reserved for a special function and so I took a seat near enough to a wide-screen to at least watch the replays.  In a chair to my right was a young man talking with a younger Air Force Major sitting directly across from him.  I paid little attention to their conversation while reading the Stars & Stripes and watching replays from one of the bowl games from over the weekend.

At some point in their conversation, I heard the guy to my right say, “… yeah, I’ve thought about returning to Vietnam, just to see …”  I thought about that for a minute, because based on his voice and the glimpse I had of him when they sat down, I knew he wasn’t old enough to have actually served in Vietnam.  I hesitated for a moment, then turned to him and said, “Did I hear you say something about returning to Vietnam?  I served in Vietnam and have recently thought about returning to see what things are like now.”

He turned to face me, reached out his right hand and strongly shook my hand and said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You and others like you made my life possible.”

To be frank, it sort of shocked me emotionally, and I really could not say a word for fear of breaking down in tears.  We chatted for a while and he told me about April, 1975 when his father, a Vietnamese Air Force Pilot, managed to get his family out of Vietnam as the city of Saigon fell to the communists.  He thanked me over and over throughout the story of his life growing up in the U.S., of becoming an American Citizen, of joining the U.S. Army, and then retiring as a Colonel just a few years ago.

He said that it’s not often he gets to say thank you in person to Soldiers who served in Vietnam, and that he’s forever grateful for what we did to make it possible for him to have the life he’s had.  And now, he’s here in Baghdad as a civilian, giving back.

So, fellow Soldiers, fellow Veterans, I pass on to you this “Thank You,” from Colonel Lee, U.S. Army (Retired), Naturalized US Citizen, born in Vietnam in 1961.

Be proud of your service – I’m proud to have served with you.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

After 40 years, give or take a couple of months, it sounded and felt good.  Real good.

How naïve.  It wasn’t long, however, until I got on the same bandwagon – if you don’t have it, borrow it from someone else, and down I went on that merry path toward owing more than you’d ever earn in a normal lifetime.  It’s taken a number of years, but the end of no more personal deficit is in sight – can we do the same with the Federal Deficit?  Is there any real reason that we as a nation have to be a debtor?  How much longer can we realistically spend more than we have before we absolutely go bankrupt?

It’s a curious phenomenon that once a politician gets into office they immediate ignore the natural law governing input and output.  You cannot continue using more than you take in of ANYTHING before your supply runs out and you are empty.  Bankrupt.

Why is it so hard to understand that a responsible government organization – local, state or federal – must operate under the same fiscal laws ruling personal, family or business finances?  While it’s true that you can spend more than you earn, it’s not long before the IOUs come due, and the person, family or business living above its income is bankrupt.  Out of money.  Period.  Governments are the same, and must change.

In our personal finances, if you have a need or a want, you evaluate your financial situation and see what you can afford.  If the funding requirement is an absolute necessity, you adjust your other expenses or find a way to increase your income, and make the purchase.  That may mean fewer meals at restaurants, less entertainment, less driving, or no vacation!  But you do it because you simply cannot spend more than you have.  Unless, of course, you are a thief, then you just steal from someone else and hope you don’t get caught.  This, at its rudimentary level is what we have been doing in our federal spending:  stealing from someone else – that hand on your wallet is your Representative or Senator, robbing from you, to pay for someone else.

Our government must start a responsible “debt reduction” plan.  We need to somehow force the hands of our Legislative and Executive branches to be fiscally responsible.  There has to be a clear understanding that we, the ‘funders’ of the Government’s largess, are not going to do it anymore.  Cut programs.  End handouts.  Reduce staffs.  Buy less.  Keep things (e.g., computers) longer.  Repair when fiscally prudent instead of replacing.  Reward fiscally wise program managers.

As in our personal or family finances, there are ways to “tighten the belt.”  After 40 years of federal service, I can tell you that we have a lot of “things” the Federal (and I’m sure the situation is not much different in state and local governments) Government could simply stop doing (funding), and no one would notice.

I am sure that we have bought things that were never actually needed, and never used.  Auction them off, don’t give them away or simply dispose of them.  We have things in our inventories that could be sold, and actually used by someone else, at a savings to them, and a source of income for the government.

Unnecessary programs need to be identified, and immediately terminated.

Programs that are someone else’s responsibility – state or local government, or individuals themselves – need to be stopped and funded at the right level of responsibility.  We need to identify programs that fund an individual, state or local government responsibility, develop a “defunding glide-path” enabling the beneficiary to assume liability for the obligation, and stop the federal program.

Bear with me for another “family” example.  Let’s say you’ve been allowing your adult child to live with you at no expense to him/her.  School is over, diplomas have been filed away, but “junior” is still living with Mom & Dad.  You told him he could live with you “until he got on his feet,” not realizing of course, that he would take you literally, and has been basically horizontal ever since.  Is it your responsibility to continue to shelter, feed and clothe your adult children?  Are they able to work?  Reinvigorate the concept of personal responsibility and accountability.  We as a Nation are once again enabling a whole segment of our society to push their responsibility to shelter, feed and clothe themselves on the rapidly dwindling segment of responsible, contributing taxpayers.  “Tough love” is all that will get “junior” on his feet and contributing to society instead of living as a parasite.

You may ask, “How do you determine what programs or entitlements to stop?”  First, look at the Constitution of the United States.  What is the Federal Government responsible for?  Let the Constitution of the United States enlighten us as to the specific responsibilities of the Federal Government (Legislative, Executive and Judicial).  If it’s “left to the several states” or individuals, let the right authority pay for it.  Re-examine the provisions identified as the responsibilities of the individual states.

Give the States and individuals due notice and an achievable path to accepting their responsibilities, and turn off the Federal spigot.

I tried reading through the House and Senate rules the other day … incredible.

It’s hard to believe that Senators and Representatives need the all of the rules that they have, and yet lack some basic rules to what they do in this representative form of government.  I’m sure that not everyone will agree with this, and equally sure that there are plenty of Americans who will agree, but I believe our legislative process has run amok.

It is unfocused and has very little to guide its sense of what needs to be addressed, how it should be addressed, and what things simply can wait.  Ofttimes it seems that the focus of the legislative agenda is not on what this country needs, but what will benefit particular special interest groups or legislators.  It’s time for our representatives to take stock of the process’ failures and address ways of making our legislative process more effective and efficient.

While I’m not an expert on the legislative branch or its process, I think that some common sense “rules” should be applied to their work on our behalf.  The following are just my thoughts to stimulate dialog, and I would appreciate hearing from you concerning these issues.

1 .  Limit the length of bills presented, make them a readable, digestible length, understandable by even our Senators and Congressmen.  Using examples from the 111th Congress alone, e.g., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it is obvious the bills being considered are far too complex, expansive and verbose.  Bills being considered must be understandable, focused and a reasonable length.

2.  Limit the scope of bills.  One of the reasons modern bills are so long is the propensity of our legislators to throw everything about everything into the bill.  Bills to be considered should be limited to addressing one and only one major topic/funding area per bill.  No more “omnibus” catch-all bills.

3.  Limit amendments by scope and number.   I’ve not read a lot of bills under consideration by Congress, but those I have are proof that there are amendments added to bills that have literally no relationship to the focus or topic of the original bill itself, and absolutely add nothing to the basic intent of the bill.  The best I can determine, these amendments are added primarily to guarantee a vote on the legislation by the Senator or Representative offering the amendment.  Sometimes these amendments are “earmarks” – the way our Representatives attempt to secure our votes in the next election, or appease a major campaign contributor.  Sometimes these amendments are a particular Legislator’s pet project or focus areas – e.g., the annual Leahy amendment attached to the Defense Appropriations bills.  We need to limit by scope and number, the amendments that the House or Senate will consider to each bill presented.  The amendments must directly impact bill’s purpose and intent: no more superfluous earmarks and “cause célèbre” riders to important legislative works purely to secure a particular Member’s vote on the base legislation.

4.  Limit floor debate and discussion to the bill itself.  If you’ve ever watched C-Span you’d know why I make this recommendation. Granted, “filibusters” are an accepted way of delaying a vote on a particular issue, and a way for a Congressman to show his constituents that he has spoken on the floor of the legislature. Discussion and floor debate must be limited to the contents of the bill, and if a Senator or Representative violates the limit, they should be immediate cut off by the Speaker or Senate Majority Leader, and lose their speaking privileges for the duration of the debate on the bill in question.

5. Limit discourse to courteous but frank speech. While heated passionate debates are important to our democratic process, superfluous attacks on a person’s character or deliberate lies and characterizations should not be tolerated in our legislature. Violators should be fined, and denied speaking privileges on the floor for the duration of the bill’s consideration. This courtesy should also be extended to public remarks made by our representatives. Courtesy and common respect is covered in a little more depth in my “Fixing the Discourse” topic.

6. Bills introducing new federal programs must identify available funding and/or identify trade-off from existing programs. It was interesting to see the 111th Congress pass the “Pay Go” act – and in the very next piece of legislation, violate the rule. While this could be covered in a “balanced budget” bill, we should insist that we’re not funding any new programs without identified funding. See my topic, “Fixing the Budget.”

Just some thoughts, what do you think?