cheapseats

This is false...bullshit that has been bandied about for so long that it is accepted as a Given, as a premise to debate.

Reliable numbers are NOT very hard to get. Reliable numbers are the lifeblood of commerce AND the underpinning of Certified Public Accounting as a profession and Independent Audit as a regulatory device.



One Memorial Day, I took my son to the Veterans' Cemetery in Westwood, California. The grave placements have a sad, reality-based logic...clusters of guys killed in WWI, clusters of guys killed in WWII, then Korea, then Viet Nam, then...far removed from the guys who died in WWI is a cluster of guys who DIDN'T die in WWI but who nevertheless died, in the manner and time of 80-somethings. Same thing with the other wars...clusters of killed in action and, separately, clusters of oldsters.

Not Viet Nam, though. Here and there, clusters of 30-somethings and 40-somethings.

Can you imagine? Suffer through and survive that nightmare, then dead at 42. What must have been the living torture between getting home, and going down?

On the one hand, our carelessness about our Veterans is a national disgrace. On the other hand, as in Corporate America, there is NO END scams and crapola.

I think of a waitress in a Sports Bar in Peachtree City, Georgia...she was young and cute and a Veteran. Fifty TV's if there was one. Big tables, large groups. A tray with three pitchers of beer and nine or twelve traditional glass mugs, what do you suppose that weighs?

She spent some time in Europe, which was "great," but when it was time to rotate to Iraq, darn it, the gear was too heavy. She received an Honorable Discharge and the American taxpayer is now, by her design, paying for her college degree.

Now, I'm not saying that the Honorable Discharge was by design. I'm saying that it was her design to not be saddled by the student loans that she saw weighing upon her two siblings. I AM saying that she was carrying that laden tray.

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Kanadesaga

Yes and if these were monetary figures, they'd have them down to the penny. But they're only human lives and don't mean much to the beancounting corporate criminals.


But find me a current figure that is accurate. That counts those recent enlistees who killed themselves after leaving the service,



My father is in Arlington. At the ripe age of 75.

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cheapseats

To the exact cent. Hence, a Bottom Line. Hence, a Balance Sheet.



Don't get me wrong...I am not suggesting that you, Kanadesaga, have somehow dropped the abacus and that I, Beancounter, have more accurate numbers.

If this government were suddenly looking for people who owed it money, I expect they'd come up with a roll call PDQ. What the hell is the meaning of a census, if you can't come up with reliable numbers about who's living and who's dead?

Scrap the census, then...save that money. We'll count again at the turn of the next century or, say, in 2050.



Thanks and peace be with him.

Did he speak of his experiences? Combat veterans very often seem to me to have complex, painful interior lives that they keep much to themselves, although someone recently...chao, maybe, I'm not sure...alluded to their speaking more with other veterans.

A longtime friend of my family's is a much-decorated Korean War Veteran who is only now, in his 80's, talking about his time in those trenches.

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poetrychic

so are you suggesting that roughly 15 pounds of beer spread out around a tray is the equivalent of 76+ plus pounds of tactical equipment strapped to a person's back, not including the weight of body armour?

given that she had to be able to carry some relatively large loads during basic training and such, i wonder if she had developed some kind of condition that she was not willing to disclose to a perfect stranger that would have prevented her from carrying the increased load in desert conditions?

probably so, rather than "conveniently", all of a sudden, not being able to carry iraq war gear etc. and "knowing" the united states military, well-known for its compassion and hand holding, would just let her off the hook like that...what a lucky break

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"it was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation, yes we can!"

SPRINGFIELD

First thing, when I came back from Iraq my wife and I drove out to Arlington. From Iowa. I sat there on the bleachers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guard and just lost it. For like 30 min. Just lost it. It was very healing somehow. I just knew I had to be there, had to go there right away. I'm not sure why. But it was very healing to me, and one of the hardest things I've ever done. Arlington is a beautiful, sacred yet gut-wrenching place.

anhailla

Same thing with my Marine grandfather who fought in the South Pacific, not a word about it...(at least to the family) until he was nearing death.

About 6 months before he died in the Veterans home, some young Marines came to visit...he started to weep when they walked into the hall where the ceremony was, (I had wheeled him down there).

then he mumbled something to the effect that he was embarrassed to be crying in front of me...sigh, that broke my heart. Well anyway...I didn't cry because that would have made it worse for him,
so I said something like "it's our fault we didn't tell you enough how proud we are of you...and I love you, and you can cry for 10 years if you want...Marine."
he gave me a little smile and we clapped to the band that had started playing.

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...either I go, or that wallpaper does.

Oscar Wilde

Kanadesaga

If I'm not mistaken that is 3rd ID. They are the only unit that supplies honor guard for the Tomb of the Unknown. My father was 3rd ID.



Has anybody thanked you for your service, if not, let me. I don't agree with the Iraq war, but I still honor your service to our country.

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Kanadesaga

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Vrooman, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D., died Jul 15 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was conducting combat operations in Kn'an, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Vilseck, Germany.

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Kanadesaga

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. David W. Textor, 27, of Roanoke, Va., died Jul 15 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wash.

The incident is under investigation.

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Kanadesaga

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Jeffery S. Stevenson, 20, of Newton, N.J., died July 13 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The incident is currently under investigation.

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