3-8-2023

C Rations of the Vietnam War

Soldiers of World War II had their K-Rations and post-Vietnam Era soldiers had their Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) but during the Vietnam War Era we had our Meal Combat Individual C more commonly called C-Rations.

Each case contained a variety pack that you either loved or hated and had absolutely no choice as to which meal you received:

Beans, w/Frankfurter Chunks in tomato Sauce B-2 Unit

Beef, Spiced Sauce B-1A Unit

Turkey, Boned B-3A Unit

Pork, Sliced & Cooked B-1A Unit

Spaghetti w/Ground Meat B-2 Unit

Beans w/Meat Balls in tomato Sauce B-2 Unit

Chicken & Noodles B-1A Unit

Ham & Eggs, Chopped B-1A Unit

Beef Slices & Potatoes w/Gravy B-2 Unit

Ham, Sliced & Cooked B-3A Unit

Beefsteak B-3A Unit

Turkey Loaf B-3A Unit

Each meal contained the canned meal, the B Unit, Canned Spread (butter), Canned Fruit and an accessory packet:

Salt

Coffee

Chewing Gum

Cigarettes

Cream Substitute

Matches

Plastic Spoon

Sugar, Toilet Paper

During my tour in Southeast Asia (1968 – 1970) we drew our rations in the mess hall at Zero Dark Thirty as we ate breakfast and prepared to hit the road, convoying to wherever we were tasked. It’s been so long ago that I don’t really remember having a truly bad meal, although I probably had more ham & eggs than beefsteak. We usually heated our canned meal by placing it near on the engine exhaust about an hour before our lunch stop. Convoy speed was a whopping 25 MPH so we really did get nowhere fast.

We often stopped along the highway where no houses were and took our lunch break sitting under a tree or in the shade of the truck, but rarely did we make it out of the cab before the kids came from out of nowhere begging for the candy and cigarettes.

In today’s era of political correctness C-Rations would be taken off the market due to the cigarettes, coffee, matches and toilet paper all being hazardous to your health.

So tell me what was your favorite and least favorite meal? Do you still have your P-38? – RTM

3-7-2023

Breaking Away to the Land of Smiles

You may have wondered why my online social media presence over the past 2 months dwindled down to almost nothing. I guess after a time online fully submersed in events it is necessary become unplugged and to just get away.

To those who know me understand that Thailand has over time become part of my DNA. My wife’s family lives in the northeastern region on the Korat Plateau called Esan in the town of Khon Kaen. When I first went to Thailand I was an 18 year old boy from Idaho and couldn’t have found the country formerly called Siam on a map.

Over the years I have made a number of trips back with family and friends. I’ve tried it on my own (don’t recommend it), traveled military space available, rode a bus, stood on the back of a farm tractor, ridden in a Thai truck, baht buses, samlars and thuk thuks (gasoline powered peticabs), rode motorcycles, rented cars and driven military trucks with each came a new experience.

You have to understand that driving in Thailand is like driving in England, but without any rules of the road. Bigger, faster and quicker are not always enough. Defensive driving on steroids is always a must, as anticipating the actions of others cannot be stressed enough.

Normally when I travel to Thailand I use a combination of charter vans with drivers and personal vehicle (mine is a Chevy Colorado pickup) that either I drive or a family member becomes our chauffer for the duration. We have covered quite a bit of ground from Bangkok north to Khon Kaen to Nong Khai and back. We have made trips around the northeastern perimeter of Thailand along the Mekong River through Nakhon Phanom (NKP) to Ubon and back to Korat to Bangkok and southwest to Cha Am in Petchaburi province that took several days.

So this time I wanted to get away from the grind and stay around the house doing absolutely nothing. It really an unattainable dream, but never the less it was mine and out of that dream often came new and unexpected experiences. I learned that whatever it is that you need, you can find it in chain stores, hardware stores or the mall.

Without the television it was customary for me to sit outside around 4 am, drinking coffee and listening to the sounds of wild creatures while swatting mosquitoes.

Since we had no television we decided to purchase a flat screen TV at the local Lotus’s grocery store, similar to Walmart but on a much smaller scale. The one we chose wasn’t in stalk but had to be delivered. That was a challenge because although we had a house number, we couldn’t find a street name in the small town of Cha Am. Nevertheless it was delivered 2 days later as promised.

Television programs are normally delivered through satellite, internet or a dedicated router with its own sim card. There is no “unlimited” package deal, although they advertise a 30 day package. What you may not realize up front is that there is a data limit that normally lasts 30 days.

My daughter’s Netflix account enabled us to watch movies when we chose and what happened real fast was the data plan was completed in 3 days. So that made it necessary to go back to the store and renew or purchase another sim card. In all it took still another trip to the store to insure we had data during our stay.

What I realized was why I don’t have a Netflix account. There were very few movies without bad language, sexual scenes or absolutely no plot. There were several movies based on true stories, events or lives of actual people.

Our house is about 2 miles from the Gulf of Thailand, so a walk on the beach is possible. What we didn’t expect was the overpass built over the railroad tracks at the village of Bon Bo Khaem. Due to its height and steepness it’s not possible to just walk over the tracks. If you don’t have transportation (bicycle won’t do either) it’s nearly impossible to get to the local market or nearby 7-11 store and going to the beach requires transportation.

It wasn’t long before the women wanted to go shopping. Our neighbor made her car available for those first few shopping trips to the City Marketplace mall in Hua Hin some 20 miles south. This mall had a Lotus’s grocery store, Home Pro hardware & furnishings store, various shops, movie theater, vendors, eateries (McDonalds, KFC and others) as well as banks and money exchange vendors, a food court along with hair, nails, massage and sporting goods, even a golf accessories store. It was truly a place to shop until you drop.

One of my favorite nearby stores was where you could find anything you needed in building supplies and home accessories, it was called Thai Watsado. Whether we needed paint, sealer, tools or pumps and solar lights, this store was similar to Lowes or Home Depot.

Like many Thai cities, towns and villages one of my favorites is the night-market open once a week where local merchants bring out their wares and cooks some amazing foods (I even saw a couple of soft ice cream machines dishing out ice cream).

We did manage to make it to the beach a couple of times and I even went swimming in the Bay. It was kind of funny to see Europeans looking like beached whales, while Thais would go in the water fully dressed, including hats and sunglasses. I on the other hand preferred the beached whale look.

Did I say the food was amazing? There were lots of seafood, shrimps and such, fish fresh catch every day and lots of spicy delicious foods that are found best only in Thailand. We only went to a beachside restaurant once and there were no left overs.

Soon it was time to prepare for our return to the bump and grind of same o, same o back in Colorado and I’ve been rather slow at diving headfirst into the social media pool. I encourage you to get unplugged, recharged and back on track and forget about the political landscape, horror stories and news events that keep you gripped by fear.

In fact it’s a great time to reconnect and dedicate oneself to the Almighty God who created you. After all He’s right there – just a pray away. – RTM

3-5-2023

Flying with “Murphy” in 2023

In order to get the full significance of this article you must first understand Murphy’s Law and who Murphy was.

Murphy’s Law

A rule that states, “If something can go wrong, it will.” An addition to this law reads, “and usually at the worst time.” The identity of “Murphy” is unknown, but the saying was first used during the 1940s and may have originated with members of the armed forces in World War II.

Murphy

An Americanism dating to 1950–55; named after Edward A. Murphy, Jr., (1918–90), an American aerospace engineer who worked on safety systems.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/murphy-s-law

When traveling by air in today’s world almost everything begins online, searching for flights, comparing airfare, booking flights, selecting seats, requesting mobility assistance and more.

While domestic travel allows one to check in and print boarding passes up to 24 hours prior to the flight, international travel is a bit different in that online check in is not allowed and must be done in person at the airline counter where the “fun” begins, at least on this trip that’s where my fun began.

Late last year I booked roundtrip travel for 3 passengers from Colorado to Bangkok, Thailand traveling in mid-January and returning on March 1^st. Due to the destination my itinerary involved two major carriers and I was able to download an app for each one which allowed me to monitor and/or make necessary changes and to insured we were all as the airlines say “travel ready”.

Departing from a relatively small airport in Colorado Springs that literally and figuratively turned the lights on at 4am we were among the first passengers arriving for that scheduled 7am flight to Denver, where we had connections for Los Angeles, Tokyo’s Narita airport and finally arriving in Bangkok at midnight 2 days later. We knew from the start that the timeline would be close and voicing my concerns with a customer service person on the phone assured me there was more than enough time to make each connection. I don’t think that customer service rep had ever met Murphy.

About 10 minutes after 4am airline personnel came out of their office huddle and moved to their respective spaces at the counter. As I moved forward to check in and surrender my luggage, I was stopped by an airline employee who said to check in at the kiosk. Even after I informed him that my party of 3 was traveling internationally, he pointed and said “kiosk”. So we each found our own kiosk and began the checking in process he came over quickly and said if we were traveling together only one needed to be at a kiosk. And since he was already there he “helped” us through the process, tagged our luggage and told us we were all set. We collected our carryon bags and headed to TSA for the trek through security not knowing that Murphy had already struck. As we inched closer to TSA I realized we had no boarding passes. So leaving my family in line I hurried back to the airline counter and informed the same agent we had no boarding passes. He quickly printed and handed them to me so I could get us through TSA.

There’s a saying that lightning doesn’t strike twice, but Murphy does and in spades. We got through TSA screening and down to the gate while imagining that airline employees were engaging the seat warmers for our short flight to Denver. Soon we were seated on the plane, but waited for the de-icing crew to spray our plane so we could get airborne. The 18 minute flight was soon over and we taxied up to the gate. Now we had only minutes to make our connecting flight. Everyone stood up to collect their hand carry item so they could hurriedly get off the plane and over to the various departure gates. Murphy had other ideas. The gateway was frozen and had to be thawed out so it could be moved over to the plane. Then the frozen hydraulics wouldn’t allow the gateway to be lowered to the plane. Maintenance personnel worked frantically to free us “hostages” as time slipped rapidly by, and finally the door opened. Although sprinting wasn’t an option, walking rapidly was the best us senior citizens could do. It seems that Murphy still had a trick or two up his sleeve. We hurriedly arrived at our departure gate we discovered our flight to Los Angeles had backed away from the terminal and was headed without us. We didn’t know that our luggage had actually made that flight to Los Angeles. Our only recourse was customer service who after a great deal of time managed to re-route us to Chicago telling us that our luggage would also be with us because it couldn’t travel on a different aircraft.

CHICAGO!

All I know about Chicago is what I see on TV or in the movies. It’s colder than a bucket of icy water and the ground is always covered with snow (from someone residing in Colorado). Soon we were airborne and when we landed in Chicago and all I saw out the windows were green grass and a bit of wind. We headed to our departure gate and got checked in for the flight to Tokyo’s Hanada airport.

After going through Japan’s TSA security screening we went to our departure gate. After sitting for a short time it became obvious that our gate had been changed (Murphy at it again) so we hurriedly moved over 2 gates and soon began boarding for the 5 hour flight to Bangkok.

We cleared passport control easily and headed to the baggage claim carousel. As we watched the bags come down the shoot, an airline employee came around with a list of names asking if ours was on the list – they were ALL our names so she said to follow her. We’re wondering what was going on (Murphy)?

She said our bags were not on our flight and they hadn’t located them yet. She created a missing baggage report and said once our bags arrived they would be delivered to us at our house. We met our van driver for the 2 ½ hour drive to the house.

So in reality it seems that our bags COULD fly on other aircraft with or without us as it turned out that our bags sat at Tokyo’s Narita airport instead of moving on to Bangkok. I had a list of phone numbers to check on the bags status. The airline app allowed me to “track your bags” and I found that 24 hours later they had been loaded on a flight from Tokyo’s Narita airport and would be arriving the following day. It was 10:40 pm 3 days after we arrived that our bags were delivered to our house (Murphy had that final say).

When it came time to leave Thailand I made sure that I took pictures of the luggage. This would important should our luggage become lost or delayed. We took the hotel van to the airport for a 4am check in and everything went smoothly. As we left Bangkok we had minimal waiting in Japan before boarding our flight to Los Angles.

Upon arriving at our departure gate in Los Angeles there was an announcement to check all hand carry roller bags due to lack of overhead bin space. I decided to check our hand carry bag, but didn’t see the drop off door and ended up carrying it into the aircraft and placing it in the bin over my seat. An airline agent came on board the aircraft and spotted my bag with the checked luggage tag and removed the bag from the plane, intending to hand it down to the checked bags guys at plane side (Murphy had different ideas).

When we landed in Denver, and then boarded our flight to Colorado Springs we knew were almost home free. After collecting our bags we noticed the roller bag was missing (delayed). I went to baggage claim and learned that it had been sent on a different flight out of Los Angeles and landed in Denver about the same time as we were picking up luggage at the airport. Another delayed baggage claim report. On the way home it occurred to me that inside the pocket of that bag were the keys to my house as well as the TSA keys to our luggage (Murphy’s final blow).

We left the airport for a leisurely ride home, feeling good to be back on American soil and in traffic on Powers Blvd. We rounded the final turn onto our street my doorbell camera alarm told me there was movement at my front door and as we pulled into the driveway I could see my front door wide open and my grandson standing there waiting to bring our luggage into the house. Inside was his girlfriend and they had a steak and chicken dinner with all the trimmings and place settings already on the table. I rummaged through my makeshift keybox and located an extra TSA key that did unlock our luggage. The missing bag was delivered at 2:40 am the following morning. So take that “Murphy” and stick it in your ear……RTM                                                                 

Worry About Yourself

Why is it so hard in this age of electronics where we are constantly bombarded with information sprinkled with bits and pieces of misinformation?

There are those who want to control what we are allowed to eat, say or think. They see themselves as possessing superior knowledge about what is good for the rest of us.

We are told that we must divest ourselves of all foreign influence. We must buy and use only products, goods and services made in America. While pride in our country, work and how well we do is strictly discouraged.

I’m reminded of a parachutist who puts his life in the hands of complete strangers, “assuming” they know what they’re doing. The same is true of passengers in cars, trucks, buses, airplanes and trains.

It seems that doctors and lawyers are always practicing to earn and maintain their professional licenses , while everyone else is simply winging it.

The Bible tells us that in the last days we will hear of wars and rumors of wars but the internet gives us the false impression that we can control the entire world as we know it.

I’ve come to the conclusion after consulting with some very smart people that the world would be a much better place if we got back to worrying about our own darn selves.

Do what you can do about what you can do and leave everything else to someone else. The Bible tells us that when it is within our power, live at peace with one another.

To put it another way, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Don’t anchor your love boat in a harbor of hate. – RTM

Handicap vs Disability

Excuse or Reason –

My dad was a disabled WWII Veteran who never let his disability become a handicap.

His leg injury in the navy led to a surgery to remove his left knee and fusing his left leg. After leaving rehabilitation at the VA hospital one of the first jobs he got was pushing a broom as a janitor at a large church not far from the VA hospital.

Not able to return to farming he worked a number of jobs including a US Postal Carrier walking a route in Boise, Idaho. He was hired with a disabled veteran’s preference and gave his all into doing his job to his best ability.

In an attempt to force him to quit he was moved over to driving a box-truck with a manual transmission picking up mail from those blue postal boxes. He couldn’t bend his “clutch” leg and had a few mishaps. After which they urged him to quit. He refused, so they moved him over to sorting mail in the MHF.

Later they again urged him to quit since he “couldn’t” do the job they hired him to do. Dad told them that he had been hired with his disability and if they wanted him out so badly they’d have to medically retire him and they did just that.

Dad went to pastoring several church over the next few years before fully retiring.

Dad wasn’t one to sit idly by, so he tended to his gardening, berry patches and tinkering with lawnmowers just to keep busy when him and mom weren’t gone fishing.

Dad asked me to help him get an increase in his VA disability rating. So I gathered his medical info and wrote a compelling letter of support for a higher rating due to secondary medical issues as a result of his leg injury.

He went for his compensation hearing he was a very senior citizen (75+) pushing his walker or using two canes. He couldn’t walk without them.

The examiner asked dad what he couldn’t do now that he used to do before his disability? This simple question got a simple straightforward response- Nothing!

Dad proceeded to tell how he rototills and irrigates the garden, mowed the lawn, shovels snow, stacks and carry’s firewood into the house for the wood burning stove by himself.

The examiner informs him his request for a higher rating was denied.

Dad was the fifth out of seven siblings born and taught to work hard and a man’s word was his bond and raised his four boys to do the same.

Dad never saw his disability as a handicap. In army terminology- he never rode his profile.

Dad figured he’d go before mom and wanted to make sure she was taken care of. It turned out that mom died 3 years before him. His local VSO did the paperwork to insure dad was rated as totally disabled and home-bound, which helped him to spend his final 3 years in a local state Veterans home.

I have a hard time watching someone who is able-bodied, but milking the system with their handicap instead of using it to open new doors.

I too am a disabled veteran who has spent the past 14 years to get the VA to raise my rating from 0% to 100% while devoting many of those latter years helping my fellow Thailand based Vietnam Veterans with their VA claims process. – RTM

1-19-2023

What is Love?

There are poems, songs, and stories telling us, but have you ever stopped to think about what real love is? We are told that love is in the air. We know that air is everywhere around us, therefore love must be everywhere. Although air in and of itself has nothing to do with love, I concede that love IS everywhere because God is Love, the Bible tells me so.

1 John 4:7: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Without God there can be no love only lust of the flesh, of money, riches, fame and/or fortune. We throw that word love around (lose and free) until it has lost its value or original meaning.

John 3:16 KJV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Everyone is worried about the obligations of life – obey the law, submit to authority, follow the rules, pay your taxes, honor the office even if you don’t respect the morals or ethics of the one who holds the office, they can become bitter, irritable, confrontational, and argumentative. The bible tells us that by loving our fellow man, we have fulfilled the law, as God requires and without bitterness. – extracted from “Our Debt to our Fellowman” www.ptl.org

Take a look at how Webster’s 1913 Dictionary defines Love:

https://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/love

Galatians NIV 5:22-23 ^22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

It’s good to know that in a world of every changing values, where right is deemed wrong and wrong is right, people are told what to think, how to think and what the world defines love to be, that God is in control. Nothing takes God by surprise. – RTM

1-18-2023

One Man Doing Something

There is evil all around us in this big wide world we live in and I’m puzzled and a bit perplexed by the apathy and inaction of those with the power to make things right. I understand that in the world of politics everyone feels they alone are right and everyone who disagrees is wrong.

We all can’t be wrong can we?

Think about how many billions of people are alive on this planet and each one has a definite opinion about everything, even if some claim to have no opinion.

That in itself is an opinion.

What is it going to take for someone to stand by his convictions and call evil what it is? Or is it easier to fall back in order to be politically correct when faced with the truth?

There is but one truth and that is what God said.

I don’t claim to be perfect, nor do I have all the answers. In fact I don’t have any answers but to delve into the Bible which is Word of God. When you boil it down to the very basics we are told that God created everything by speaking it into existence. Our words are very important. Words tend to build up or tear down. Words come from our deepest thoughts and tell more about us than what we convey verbally. Might doesn’t make it right. Neither does logic that is based simply by the thoughts of man.

The craziness of what’s going on around us demands to be stopped before humanity self-destructs and that is precisely where my RTM blogs come in. When I see or hear about an injustice or blatant lie being perpetuated as truth I must weigh it against what God says to determine its truthfulness.

It’s not enough to say that politicians like lawyers lie when they speak because it is the nature of man at some point to lie, from those little white lies to colossal blunders. We tend to justify is as necessary to do the wrong thing for the right reasons.

So when you read my RTM blogs, consider the source, evaluate the content and make your own decision as to whether my writings make sense, are grounded in fact or are just the musings of a cranky old man. My intent is not to elicit a response or see how many “likes” I can get, it’s not important how many “reads” are gathered or who they are from. My blogs are to open up the thought process as I bring certain things to light. If what I write makes you take a second look or think, then I’ve made my point.

For myself I may comment when something really strikes a chord with my spirit, but normally I take in information and store it so that I may go back later and process that information. Rarely will I sit down and write out a lengthy response unless I feel it necessary to clarify a grave injustice or blatant lie. But then those responses quite often trigger another RTM blog. Don’t be surprised by what you read, I’m just one man doing something (good I hope). – RTM

1-16-2023

Unringing the Bell

First we were told the atmosphere was in danger of imploding by the solar outburst from the deep inner sanctums of the sun. Next came climate change is going to cause the end of the world as we know it, unless we get on board and fully buy into the full spectrum of banning cow farts, eating non-caged eggs, plant based meats and synthetic foods, while going totally E because it’s good for the planet as we drive alone in electric vehicles while wearing masks to prevent the spread of the dangerous Chinese Virus.

Doesn’t all the “going green” hype seem a bit odd? There are various political barkers, hawkers and sellers of wares not fit for human consumption or use and that’s why I’ve stayed away from the media promotions which intend to sway us into believing that back in the good old days of Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone man had all of his needs met using a rock, spear and a cave with its very own fire pit.

I say you can’t un-ring the bell or put spilled milk back in the cup and contrary to television advertising you can’t make a tornado ravaged house look like it never even happened – not really.

Change is the only constant in life and the quicker we adapt the less chance we won’t be left in the dark.

Stopping and/or banning the production and development of petroleum if left unchecked will lead to serious consequences. It makes about as much sense as aborting babies in the womb. Almost everything we have and use is a product of petroleum. Rubber, plastics, vinyl, electronics, appliances, clothing, food and health care products and supplements are all produced from petroleum. Computers, cell phones, boots and shoes, pampers and depends, plus a whole lot more all come from petroleum, even those plastic single use bags that are no longer fashionable here in Colorado – unless you pay 10 cents apiece for them.

For every restriction the general public is hurt right in the pocketbook (eBank Accounts) and we are redirected to an alternative which keeps us dependent on and putting money into the coffers of unseen entities which end up making the rich even richer.

Politicians are not the answer. When you hear “it’s for your own good” you can rest assured that it’s not. When a representative of government says “I’m here to help” or “I feel your pain”, they are not and they do not. When you continue electing sub-marginal candidates into political office, do not expect anything but sub-marginal results.

Isn’t doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results the very definition of insanity? Those who do really are dumber than a box of rocks. – RTM

TELL YOUR STORY

I’m an advocate for every Veteran to tell their story before it’s too late. How often have you exchanged “war stories” with other Veterans and while remembering shared experiences it triggers yet another memory or experience?

Quite often when we don’t take the time to write them down we soon forget. If we wrote down each memory or story we could fill volumes of books. There are a number of places online where you can submit your verbally recorded and/or written accounts of your military service experiences.

A great place to start is a website called Together We Served (www.togetherweserved.com) that is setup by branch of service. If you have your military DD214s (discharge certificates), awards, certificates and military orders, photos and/or videos you have a basis for compiling your military service where former teammates or others who were there are able to locate you.

One vital part of the TWS profile are these questions about your military service:

1. To the best of your knowledge, what influenced his/her decision to join the military?
2. To the best of your knowledge, please describe the direction or path he/she took in his/her military service. What was his/her reason for leaving?
3. If he/she participated in any military operations, including combat, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, to the best of your knowledge, please describe those you feel were the most significant to him/her and, if life-changing, in what way.
4. Did they encounter any situation during their military service where they believed there was a possibility he/she might not survive. To the best of your knowledge, describe what happened and what was the outcome.
5. Of all their duty stations or assignments, are you aware of any he/she had fondest memories of and why? Which was their least favorite?
6. From their entire military service, describe any personal memories, you may be aware of, which impacted him/her the most.
7. What professional achievements do you believe he/she was most proud of from his/her military service?
8. Of all the medals, awards, formal presentations and qualification badges he/she received, which were the most meaningful to him/her and why?
9. If known, please list any individual(s) from his/her time in the military who stood out as having the most positive impact on them and why?
10. If known, please recount the names of friends he/she served with, at which location and what was remembered most about them. Indicate those he/she remained in touch with.
11. Are you aware of any particular incident from his/her service, which may or may not have been funny at the time, but still made them laugh later on?
12. If he/she survived military service, what profession(s) did he/she follow after discharge?
13. If known, what military associations was he or she a member of, if any? Are you aware of any specific benefits they derived from their memberships?
14. If he/she survived military service, in what ways do you believe his/her serving in the military influenced the way they approached their personal life, family life and career?
15. If they were here today, what advice do you think he or she would give to those who followed in their footsteps and recently entered military service?
16. How effective has this been in helping you record your remembered person’s military service? Do you have any additional comments or suggestions you would like to make?

Let me challenge you to sit down and list chronologically your/remembered person’s military service beginning with basic training, advanced individual training, service schools, duty assignments, sections, units, locations, and dates. Let this be a foundation to be able to add memories and build upon.

It matters not that he/she was drafted, volunteered, served and/or retired, every detail is important and worth remembering their legacy of service to our nation.

Joseph J. Wilson, Jr.

Sergeant First Class, 88M40

US Army – September 1967 – December 1990 (Retired)

(Internet mem – not associated with the contents of this article.)

1-8-2023

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact (a judge or a jury).If the prosecution does not prove the charges true, then the person is acquitted of the charges. – Wikipedia

The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law based solely on the evidence presented and argued by both the defense and the state’s attorney, before a jury of one’s peers. When the accused has not been Mirandized the case is usually thrown out. When evidence is obtained illegally it’s said to be tainted as fruit of the poisonous tree and it too is thrown out.

What baffles me even today is how the laws of the United States are tossed aside or ignored by the law makers of our great nation while other laws are selectively enforced only when it’s convenient.  To put it another way, there is a saying, when the shoe is put on the other foot things are different.  Maybe that is only true in politics?

An investigation should be a fact gathering process, not subject to public play-by-play “episodes” such as we see in the Congressional Theatreatrics of the past 6 years unless the accused is named Trump then it becomes all bets are off and anything goes.

Take January 6^th, 2021 during the final phase of the election process was underway on Capitol Hill the efforts of a group of people began to disrupt the process and make it look as if President Trump had riled up his MAGA base to execute a pre-planned attack on Congress and you had to be there or watching it on live television to know what really happened. Even then as things were being shook up and panic mode set in full chaos ensued as the full body of Congress was swiftly moved to a place of safety.

From that moment members of Congress assumed (you know how that works, right) that President Trump was guilty and should assume (that word again) full responsibility for his actions of inciting an insurrection against the “Temple of Democracy” (as Nancy Pelosi put it) as she ordered chain link fencing to be installed around the Capitol Building and handpicked National Guardsmen (non-Trumpers) manning the access points and patrolling the “perimeter”.

And now that the ball was rolling Congress commissioned the J6 Committee and hand selected House members, even appointing Republican Representative Liz Chaney of Wyoming as Chairwoman. On the surface we saw the activation of law enforcement identifying, hunting down and apprehending MAGA folks who were at the J6 DC rally, as well as those identified as having gone to or inside the Capitol. The mandate of the J6 Committee was to prove the guilt of Trump and his followers of the charge of insurrection (Insurrection is when the leader of a nation is overthrown).

It is impossible to look at the 4 years of the Trump administration without seeing the continual battle by sitting members of Congress who publically and verbally opposed, disrespected and sought Trump to step down by accusations, Impeachments, intimidation and threats against the First Family and members of the Trump administration. Trump was heavily criticized for crusading to secure our nation’s border and his efforts to combat the Chinese Virus. During the final days of Trump’s presidency House Speaker Pelosi even contacted Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs with instructions about preventing Trump access to the “nuclear football”, citing he was unfit as Commander in Chief.

For the past 2 years we have seen the constant J6 Committee hearings on CSPAN and national news and social media outlets drilling into the public consciousness the evils of Trump culminating on January 6^th. It’s clear that the court of public opinion has been gas lit, tainted (if you will) by the congressional poisonous tree. – RTM