Honor to those who came forward

(ArtKramr) wrote in message ...
Subject: Honor to those who came forward
From: (Kevin Brooks)
Date: 7/4/03 1:08 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

(ArtKramr) wrote in message
...
On this 4th of July let us honor all who fought. But let us especialy
never
forget the special few who came forward volunteering and said, "Take me.
I'll
go" It was these men who formed American elite units; Marines, Airborne,
Seals, Submarine Service, Air Corps and Air Forces. We owe them all a
special
thanks.

Arthur Kramer

Another self-serving platitude from Art; who'd have thunk it? If I
were to tell my Dad (a volunteer for the USAAF during WWII with
missions over japan in B-29's under his belt) or my late brother (who
volunteered for service during the Vietnam conflict and flew UH-1's as
a Dustoff pilot) that they were "elite", I'd be laughed out of the
house. Neither ever figured himself to be a bit better than any of the
other millions of servicemen who performed their service, no matter
how mundane, during those conflicts. Since when has service in the
USAAF, or USAF for that matter, made someone "elite" amongst their
other service peers?

Brooks


Your dad? Your brother? What does that have to do with you? Let's hear what
you did. It'll be the shortest post in this NG Why the hell do all you
wannabees always talk about what others did, never what you did.?

Wannabe? Heck, it is hard for me to argue with the date of my BIRTH,
which precluded me from serving in WWII (since I was not born yet), or
Vietnam (the Army frowned on allowing ten-year olds in the theater of
operations). Good enough for you? Or how about this--I volunteered and
served even without there being a major conflict ongoing at the time.
Does that somehow make me a *bigger* volunteer than you, who went into
the service at a time when there was darned little choice otherwise?
But I have served, probably many more years than you. And I have
volunteered--first for service in an era when *all* servicemembers
were volunteers, and second when my parent composite battalion HQ
shipped out for ODS (but that was turned down because my own company,
which I commanded at the time, was *scheduled* itself for later
mobilization, which did not come about because the war developed a bit
more quickly and cleanly than was originally thought--sorry if that
disappoints you, but that is just the facts). Is THAT good enough for
you? And guess what--unlike you, I never considered myself a damned
bit smarter, or better, than the guys who turned the wrenches to keep
our vehicles rolling, or the NCO's who shouldered the brunt of the
real work, or the poor sod who was serving and not in a position to
volunteer for further duty.

How many times did your maintenance guys, or some vet who had to spend
the war guarding shoeleather supplies at Camp Swampy because that is
what he was *ordered* to do, knock you on your ass for being such a
smartass? Or do you, as I suspect, sing a very different tune when you
face them from the one you preach here?

There were a lot of great men who did a lot of different things to
ensure victory in WWII, and did those duties to the best of their
ability and without feeling as if they had to tear down the efforts of
others; my hat is off to *every* one of them, not just those who *you*
have allegedly annointed. And, as is true for any endeavor that
entails the gathering of millions of men and women from various walks
of life and backgrounds, it is true that there were a few assholes and
smartasses who served during WWII--you are living proof of that.

Brooks


.
Arthur Kramer