November 11th: You Amaze Me
Posted November 11th, 2008 by Howard TaylerWhen I consider the sacrifices of the men and women who serve or have served in the United States Armed Forces I question my worthiness. It is to them I speak right now.
You fought for me long before I was born. You fight today, that I might not have to. You disciplined yourselves, obeyed orders, and faced your worst fears that I might be an undisciplined, disobedient coward.
I hide in my basement and write comic strips. You walk down the middle of the street in clothing that screams “target.” I pay for my mistakes by getting occasional hate-mail. You pay for everybody’s mistakes with your blood. In a world where it is increasingly unpopular to be an American you wear a flag on your shoulder when you go abroad, while I lounge comfortably behind the borders you and your brothers across the generations have secured.
I am humbled to find servicemen and women reading and enjoying Schlock Mercenary. Sometimes I am asked whether I have ever served in the military. I never have. I considered it briefly, but I was afraid. You, however, were not afraid. Or if you were, you were also wise enough to know that fear is a thing to be faced, and it is the one thing that MUST be faced before you can face anything else.
It has taken me twenty years to learn that lesson. You bought those twenty years for me, affording me the opportunity to learn about courage while comfortable.
When I consider your many sacrifices I find myself unworthy of them. But I accept them with gratitude, and applaud you with a sense of awe. Thank you for doing what I cannot.
You amaze me.
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November 11th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Eh. Sometimes we’re just too stupid to duck;-)
You should read this essay (language warning): http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html
Bill Whittle may be the best essayist out there.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I’ve read it twice already. It’s wonderfully written, and while some of the more politically-charged statements may be debatable, the sheep, wolf, and sheepdog metaphor rings of unquestionable truth.
Bill Whittle is a great essayist, but I think the best part of that essay was when he was quoting Lt. Colonel David Grossman. Grossman and Gavin de Becker are fantastic reads. It is through their work that I begin to understand the sheepdog.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I missed the draft for Viet Nam by about two years. Two of my older brothers were drafted; the oldest was in Da Nang during the Tet Offensive and the other served as MP in Frankfurt, riding herd on the lifers in military prison there. Both were injured. I was scared.
Now I have a nephew serving as a Marine. One of the few. The proud. It still scares me.
After having been my aging mother’s live-in caregiver over the last dozen years I am too old to have my own family. However, if I had ever had my own children I’d like to think that one of them might have chosen to serve in uniform. Those who do so face down all of our fears and put them to bed for us.
Our nation’s best should be honored by the rest of us today. They serve, we benefit. And so it goes.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Thank you. I am a veteran, and the son and grandson (both grandfathers, actually!) of veterans. I wound up in Germany during the Vietnam era, and wound up getting shot at by the Bader-Meinhof group, instead. The back injury that caused has plagued me for years, till I finally had to have surgery last year to build a titanium cage around my whole lower spine.
My uncle was in the Normandy invasion, and the only member of his Airborne company to survive — he’s carried that guilt for 67 years. I am named after an uncle and cousin I never met, who were killed at Midway.
Yes, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines (Happy Birthday, Marines!) have fought for this nation since its inception. We have done so (mostly) willingly, to defend the ideals and land we believe in.
Please do not question your worthiness. Your freedom to sit in your basement and draw comics is why we fought, and fight today. Find a vet and thank him or her in person. Trust me, it means a lot.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I have great respect for US veterans, my father-in-law numbers among them, but I’d like to gently point out that this is also Rememberance Day in Canada and Britain (and probably other Commonwealth countries with which I’m less familiar). So if you’ll forgive me, a few personal remembrances:
My mother’s father suffered lasting effects from being gassed in a trench in WW I; by that war my father’s father had already served with the British Army in the Sudan and South Africa, and was in Home Guard during WW II. One of my mother’s brothers was a commando during WW II, another spent most of that war in a Japanese POW camp in Burma. (You’ve seen/read “Bridge on the River Kwai”? He worked on that railroad, not the bridge.)
My Dad was “drafted” to work on radar and countermeasures during that war; sadly I didn’t learn much about what he did until after he died, some of it wasn’t declassified until the 1990s. I know he was on a mission that involved him and a pilot, in a small plane, flying toward the continent with radar-spoofing gear making them look like a fleet of bombers, with the expected (and hoped for) Luftwaffe reaction. (Idea being to get the Luftwaffe alert planes to scramble and burn fuel, so they’d be on the ground refueling when the real bomber fleet flew over.)
I spent a few years in the Canadian Forces Reserves, and spent much of my duty time deep in a NORAD bunker minding teletype machines — pretty safe. Some of my fellow reservists volunteered to serve with regular forces assigned to UN peacekeeping duty in the middle east. Fortunately, all my buddies came back.
I’ve had the privilege to be born, raised, and live in free countries (England, Canada, and the United States, respectively.) To all those of freedom-loving nations who have volunteered or allowed themselves to be drafted in defense of that freedom, thank you.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:38 am
@AJWM: I wasn’t aware of Remembrance Day’s date, but I echo your sentiments. Those who defend the cause of freedom — freedom of speech, of thought, of belief, freedom to pursue happiness, freedom to commit commerce, freedom to BE in all the myriad ways humans can — those defenders, those sheepdogs in the midst of our woolly flock, they stand beneath many more colors than just my own stars and stripes, and they are all worthy of our admiration, honor, and respect.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I’m a sheepdog (older, but not quite grizzled…at least not yet) and I’m proud of my job. I echo Jim’s thanks. As a current soldier, (ready to return home for the first time) I too, lounged in comfort for years before answering the call. I have been fortunate, not only to have been untroubled thus far, but also to have not lost any friends during my time here. Today is a day of remembrance, find a vet and shake their hand or give them a hug…but most of all, thank them.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Serving is not always easy. But I want to give my thanks to all of the families out there who stand by us servicemen. Yes, we go and defend freedom. Yes, we sacrifice so that others may live safer lives. But it is our families who make it worthwhile for us. It is our families’ support and the support of others that makes what hardship we go through seem trivial.
Thanks to all the servicemen, thanks to all of our families, friends, loved ones, and complete strangers who make it all worthwhile. Especially Schlock.
Semper Fi
November 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Howard -
Thank you, from this veteran. The other veterans who’ve posted comments before me have said pretty much what I would, but I wanted you to have more than just an approving nod from me.
To those other veterans, as well as the ones yet to see this thread: *hand salute* - let us carry on, friends.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I have just realized that forty years ago today I was in beautiful, sunny Southeast Asia. No, I didn’t do anything particularly exciting in Vietnam. I was a junior Yeoman (admin and personnel specialist) in Danang.
I admire other members of my family for their military service. My grandfathers fought on opposite sides during WWI. One grandfather spent most of the war in the British Army in the Middle East, where he knew (and was not impressed by) Lawrence of Arabia. The other grandfather was in the Austrian Army fighting the Russians. My father was in the Royal Navy during WW2, serving as an Engineer Officer on board a cruiser, a battleship, and a submarine.
On behalf of all veterans, thank you, Howard, for your thoughts and kind words.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I too am amazed and honored by my fellow veterans and those who support us. In my times as a Marine, I saw many wonderful, horrible, amazing, terrifying, beautiful things. I saw nations freed, people escape oppression, others die pursuing or defending freedom. I still swell with pride when I see the flag, and nearly cry every time I hear taps. Sometimes I do.
Last year I helped bury my last grandfather in the National Cemetery. It was a wonderful ceremony that honored the service he and so many others in “the Greatest Generation” did in defense of freedom in a world gone mad. I held my mother and grandmother as they cried and tried to explain it all to my daughter who went with me. Then we flew home and nothing more was really said. Then, several weeks later, I was out early in the morning, as I am so often in my job when a radio station I was listening to was about to go off the air at midnight and they played the National Anthem. I had to pull over and I cried for nearly twenty minutes.
I cried in part because I missed my grandpa, but also for the many others like him I served with and for the wonderful opportunity I to don the uniform and stand as the shield for my country. I cried for the poor family who didn’t make it over the fence out of Cuba before they were discovered by the Cuban soldiers, I cried for the group who died horribly in the minefield trying to reach that fence, and I cried for the one who made it over that same fence to my tower and the freedom of our country. And for so many others, I cried.
I joined to go fight a war. I joined because I thought it would be “cool”. I joined because I thought I wanted to be a hero. I joined because I wanted to serve my country with honor. After I joined, I learned what silliness most of that was, but I also learned what REAL honor is.
There are moments from my service I will never forget, some of them no mater how much I might wish to, but I will never regret my service. Thank you God for granting me the honor of being able to stand by my brothers and sisters in arms and defend this great land and all it stands for. As Regan said, we are the shining city on the hill, and I was proud to keep the watch fires burning.
If you can, go down to your local veterans group and talk with some of them. Let them know how much you appreciate their service and sacrifice. Maybe they will share some of their tales with you. You will be richer for it.
And if any of you ever come across me in person, don’t be afraid to ask, I’ll share some of mine with you and we can laugh and cry together.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Howard, I am deeply moved that you would remember this day. Your brief essay is excellent and appreciated.
Former Marine Sgt,
Andy
November 11th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Well said…
Ona
November 11th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Some times it is hard to imagine that I am a veteran myself.
My own service was in the Air Force during the first Gulf War though I was never deployed.
I thank God for all who have and still do serve and I thank Him for the opportunity I had to serve my nation.
Thank you for the peace, security and freedoms which your sacrifices guarantee me and my family.
May God bless and watch over each and every one of you.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
AJWM: I also was born in the UK, raised in Canada and then the US:)
One grandfather was an RAF engineer in North Africa and Sicily, decorated for turning a large number of damaged Spitfires and parts into a smaller number of functional aircraft. He served in India, Turkey and Rhodesia in the 50s.
The other was a cook/infantryman with the Gordon Highlanders.
My wife is a combat photographer.
At the end of the day, thanks or not, it’s worth it.
On the flight leg of my Middle East Vacation, the residents of Bangor, Maine, a great many of them wearing flashes and hats of units from WWII and Korea shook my hand and thanked me for my service. I insisted, “No, thank you for yours.”
Without them, we wouldn’t have the country we have now.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Well Mr. Tayler,
You had your reasons. Don’t regret them.
Besides, National Guard can take up to 40 last I heard (LOL)
November 11th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
LOL indeed. I’ve got three months until I’m disqualified, and I suspect I’d be of little use:
“no machine skills to speak of, undisciplined, and insists on making fun of EVERYTHING.”
November 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Sounds like you’re qualified for whatever Air National Guard unit Dubya served in. :p
November 11th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Howard, you’re not the only one- I was medically unfit for military service, so I went Merchant Marine (why waste 3 years of NJROTC?) So now I bring things: Tanks, Humvees, strykers, helos, bullets, beans, etc.etc. via Military Sealift Command to the guys in Iraq. It’s not the same thing, but at least I can say I’m trying to help those guys. Being from a military family, I can say I have some faint idea of the guts it takes to be on the front line of our countries defense, but I never got to be one…Ah well, someone has to drive the bus, huh? Thanks Guys.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Wish I could’ve signed up, but I flunked my enlistment physical. I wish that I could have served but I can’t. God Bless all you out there, my dad is a vet with ptsd and I pray to God that you all come home safe and stay safe, abroad or here in the States.
God Bless
November 12th, 2008 at 1:37 am
hideousdwarf: Much the same here (poor eyesight, and a… Nervous
Condition, shall we say… :P ). It didn’t hurt any less when I was
flat-out told by the recruiters (please note plural) “You’re not needed.”
Boy *there’s* three words to make you feel good about living, huh?
BTW: The “Tribes” article MadMike references doesn’t quite cover my
situation — Wolves form Packs. Some of us are solitary predators…. :P
November 12th, 2008 at 4:54 am
There’s a reason the Army’s general-purpose saying is ‘Hooah’ - pronounced basically like a bark. Can’t put it much better than that.
Much appreciated, Mr Tayler, for your blogpost, the comic in general (I kid you not, yours is one of the few I actually look forward to when I hit up the MWR tent - the ‘never missed a day’ thing you’ve got going is great) and the link to the essay. Personally, I’m glad you’re not in - I needs me that daily Schlock fix. I can’t speak for everyone, but civilians are a big part of the reason I serve.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:00 am
Howard: Trust me when I say that there is a LOT that you are not missing out on.
You have a great family that you need to raise and nurture, an amazing fan-base that you inspire and entertain and friends that are there to support you. Unless the country has dire need, don’t abandon those responsibilities. You are doing great just where you are.
If nothing else we can get a group together and go out and shoot our guns and then spend hours afterward cleaning them and taking care of the rest of our gear. It will be just like you were in.
Oh and trust me, there is always a place in a unit for someone who makes fun of everything. Usually he or she is highly cherished by the other members who are afraid to say those things out loud. However it does come with consequences, I will have to tell you about when the Captain came up behind me during one of my rants as we were digging foxholes. I didn’t know someone could turn those colors.
Oh and there is a name for someone with “no machine skills to speak of, undisciplined, and insists on making fun of EVERYTHING.”
They call them GRUNTS! And God loves them. :P
November 12th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Thanks. People like you are why we do/did what we do/did.
Although I’ll admit that sometimes, I did it because it was fun too.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I was just complaining to my husband yesterday that no one remembers us, women vets, that is. Thank you for saying service men and women. My husband sent this to me to tell me that someone remembers and someone says thanks. I am an old Vietnam Era vet and I’m usually very quiet about it, but on Veteran’s Day it is nice to hear someone appreciate my service.
USArmy
‘73 - ‘76
South Korea
‘75 - ‘76
November 12th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Ado_Annie: Korea and Vietnam were just two of the hot-spots of World War III (aka “The Cold War”) which the West finally won when the Berlin Wall came down. Your service brought triumph to my generation. THANK YOU.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I’m a day late, but thanks again for your consideration of veterans. There’s nothing that I appreciate more than a civilian who tries his best to “get it”, and you have succeeded better than most.
*cue humming of national anthem, I’m making a shameless plug here*
For those of you who want to better understand the sacrifices Veterans make in the line of duty, check out the movie “Reserved to Fight” on PBS. It’s airing tonight at 9 PM on KUED 7 here in Utah, check your local listings. It covers PTSD and its effects on soldiers.
http://www.pbs.org/reservedtofight/
In an NPR interview yesterday the director was asked what she thought people could do who wanted to help the returning soldiers; she said that listening to them, caring for them, and volunteering with support groups.
Howard, don’t bother with the support groups. I know from experience that reading Schlock is therapeutic, and I’d rather that you continue to put your best effort there. You help more than you know already.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Well Mr. Tayler as a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan, I would like to thank you for providing me with something entertaining to read everyday. I also never thanked you for sending me extra copies of your first book when I ordered from Iraq. Don’t be bothered too much by having never served. We all have different callings. Not all of us can be so fortunate as to be shot at for a living :)
SGT Jack
101st ABN DIV (AASLT)
Afghanistan
November 12th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Howard,
I do remember when I first read schlock mercenary, I was in Tikrit with 9th Engineers (CBT) “First to cross” as an HHC XO, I could not stop laughing and got more than a few of my troops addicted. Now on my second trip back to the sandbox I will be a Fobbit, but still look forward to a daily dose of humor to help keep the days a counting. As for veteran’s day, I stopped to remember some of the people I knew who didn’t come back and the buddies who did.
Thanks for the smiles and the support for the troops it is the reason that we hold the gates.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Amen, Howard. Our humblest thanks to all those folks in uniform around the world that stand watch on the walls of freedom on our behalf.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Great post Howard. It speaks for me as well. Except I don’t cartoon, I guess. :-) I echo the sentiments and the appreciation.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:32 am
*applause*
Both sides of my family served in both of the World Wars in a variety of Services (mainly RAF) … the main image I always have is the 2 minute silence they normally end the Albert Hall Service with - complete silence and a poppy petal for every life lost in all the wars since WWI. Needless to say, every year the waterfall of red petals grows. I always cry.
I can’t add better words than those already posted but I can add one last hope.
On the 11th November 2008 (90 years to the day from the end of WWI) they had the surviving 3 British men of that war at the Cenotaph. The eldest, a sprightly 112 year old, said that he always remembered the War (however hard he tried to forget) but that he hoped, SOON, the world would become One Nation.
Amen to that
November 12th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I was on active duty in the US Navy from ‘77-’83; a time when many (most?) civilians seemed to think that the only people who enlisted were either latent baby killers, incapable of holding a ‘real’ job, or both.
My boot camp company started with 84 guys and finished with 53. Of those, only 20 something were part of the original complement. Many of those who were held back or discharged were found lacking in academics. In fact, recruiters were so desperate to meet quota that they would accept nearly anyone. The fact was that the a large number of the guys held back due to academics couldn’t read well enough to understand the lunch menu, let alone read the Bluejacket’s Manual or a tech manual.
I also served alongside plenty of guys who were told by the judge, “It’s either join the Navy or go to jail.” Many of them were some of the best people it has ever been my privilege to know. They made outstanding sailors.
When I began my enlistment, the quality of recruits wasn’t the only thing that was at or near an all time low. Equipment was falling apart. Spares had been used up during Vietnam and had yet to be replaced. For the first time in the nation’s history, a ship was declared unfit for deployment on the eve of an extended cruise and remained tied up at the dock.
All in all, it was a thankless time to wear the uniform. We bore it with the same sort of black humor that sustains all troops everywhere. The Navy’s unofficial motto at the time was WETSU (We Eat This S**T Up!)
As an electronic technician in the service at a time when we were between wars, the closest I came to any sort of combat was during the Iran hostage crisis. My unit was responsible for supporting one of the backup communications links between the guys on the ground and the Pentagon during the failed rescue attempt. As such, I was tucked away safely in an air conditioned building thousands of miles from the actual operation.
One good thing came from that tragedy. People woke up to the fact that there were bad people out there still. We started seeing a turnaround in equipment and people signing up.
I still look back on my time in the service with pride. At least I can say that we kept the faith when few others wished to. :)
Thank you to all of you who preceded me, served with me, and followed me. You guys were the real heroes. I was just a spear chucker in the back row.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Thank you, Howard. Much appreciated.
Deann Allen
CTM2, USN — Cold War, Desert Shield/Desert Storm
November 12th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Thank you Howard, you said it far better than I could.
Many Thanks to those who served & those still serving.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I was another one that was told “I don’t think we need you.” (Fainting and going into a Tetonic seizure when they draw your blood will do that.) When referencing the “faint at the sight of blood” episode, the military Dr said, “I’m not sure anyone has explained to you what it is we DO in the military.” (This was pre-Gulf War I)
I have a 15 year old daughter who dearly wants to serve. She’s literally praying that her bad eyesight won’t disqualify her. I couldn’t be prouder. My father-in-law fought in the Pacific in WWII, my uncle in Europe, my brother in the Gaurd. They, along with the rest of our men and women “on that wall” have my undieing gratitude.
Thanks for saying it so well, Howard.
Rodney
November 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Speaking as a current Army soldier serving who Daily Reads His Schlock. Thank you Howard. The one thing a soldier never gets tired of, is hearing “thank you”. I’m at Fort Bragg which is as army of town as Army Town’s get and I still appreciate it every time.
To all you veterans who already posted -”Thank you”. Thank you right back atcha. I’m just picking up the torch you guys carried all the way so far.
1LT Madison, Scott
USACAPOC(A) G6
November 12th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Thank you and your welcome
November 12th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Thank you, heart-felt, to all veterans and those currently serving.
And thank you, Howard, for saying a lot of things that need to be said (both in the blog and in the comic!)
Just wanted to share (sorry, a day late) a musical comment that a friend reminded me about yesterday — worth sharing with family, IMHO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg
November 12th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Never too late to thank a vet.
I love to see when people treat every day like veterans day. A couple of soldiers came in to my place of work about two weeks back. A banker came in, saw them, and said “I’d like to pay for their bill”. It was wonderful.
What’s more, i spent the other day calling my brother, my father, and my uncle, to wish them all happy birthday. Crazy marines with their cold coffee and battered tin cups. Got to love them though.
Those of you who are, or are related to a veteran also know of the strain it causes. I spent a major part of my childhood not really knowing some of the stuff my father did, or had done. He simply could not tell me. But what he did, he did out of love for me, for country, and for all of his comrades in arms.
Thank you for your expression Mr Tayler. The gratitude you show echoes what so many of us think and feel about our men and women in uniform.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Well, as a veteran I just want to say you’re welcome, and thank you as well. I am grateful to know that people at home honor those of us that served, and still serve. It warms my heart to know that there are still people out there that get it, and we are as thankful of you as you are of us.
Keep doing what you are doing Howard. While we have inspired you, you have also inspired us. Thanks.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Thanks for making a great comic to read, Howard. Your words are greatly appreicated. I lost my best friend over in Iraq and I served 5 years in the US Navy Submarine Force and spent some time in that area also.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
ElGuapo7: Bush’ fighter wing had already deployed once to Vietnam before he enlisted as an E1 admin clerk. As an E1 admin clerk it is certain he never would have deployed anywhere.
He volunteered to be a pilot, passed the physical and technical requirements and learned to fly one of the most dangerous planes the AF has ever fielded–4X the incident rating of the F16.
The primary mission of that plane, and of 90% of the US military from 59-73, was defending Europe against the USSR. Vietnam was a side issue (unless, of course, you wound up there, in which case it certainly was the most important event on Earth).
Just a comment from a guy who’s served as a section chief in the Air Guard, deployed for Desert Fox and OIF, seen every posted document of Bush’ record, shrugged and said, “Yeah, so?” because it’s utterly unremarkable and not the slightest bit dishonorable, to another vet.
I assume since you’re criticizing Bush, who is a vet, that you are too, right?
November 12th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
First, let me say thank you, as a Vet currently in Iraq your comic is one of the highlights of my day, thank you for the support and for your hard work.
Second, Quit being so hard on your self, allright, you didn’t serve. Hardly makes you a coward. You went the path you did for what ever reasons, we (Vets) went ours.
And, I just want to say again, Thank You and keep up the hard work, you really have a gem of a comic here :)
November 13th, 2008 at 2:13 am
A side note to MadMike’s most-recent remark: Brendan DuBois’s
novel _Resurrection Day_ contains a 100%-accurate description of
what F-102 pilots would have been doing to Tu-95s if things went
south. (Hint: Six missiles, and chances are they wouldn’t work.)
I recommend this book if you were born after 1962, your parents
worked for the military and/or space industry, and if you’re really
keen on seeing a world where, if history had gone the way it did in
the book, chances are you’d never have existed in the first place….
[cough]
November 13th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Well said, Howard. I wish I could say I was a vet too, but I’m one of those people that can’t screw up the nerve to enlist. The very mention of the draft being reinstated, however unlikely, absolutely terrified me.
I have nothing but respect for those who were drafted, volunteered, or were backed into a corner. It doesn’t matter; you serve to keep the cowards like me safe to continue being a coward until such a time as I can do it myself.
My mother was a linguist for the Air Force at some time in the early 80s, and still can’t tell me precisely what she did during that time. I hope one day I get the chance to learn.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Howard,
Thank you - a wonderful essay.
“no machine skills to speak of, undisciplined, and insists on making fun of EVERYTHING.”
Skills they can teach. Discipline they will instill. Mocking the absurd is an absolute requirement, at least for a Marine.
But, please, don’t regret your choice of not serving - we all have our own path to walk.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Howard: I wouldn’t recommend it, but the Army (Active, Guard and Reserve) will take enlistees/commissions through age 42.
However, good support from back home–and I read Schlock whenever I could while over there–is a huge morale boost. So are care packages.
Knowing we were appreciated made things a heck of a lot easier than the guys in Vietnam had it.
You’ve always been consistent and funny. Don’t stop.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Thank you for remembering those who serve. And thanks to those who serve.
My dad served on the DMZ in Korea and both of my brothers joined. They have served on the front lines in Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan. One is now medically retired after an IDE in Ramadi and the other is still in.
Through them and others, I have learned what our men and women in uniform go through. The living conditions that no sane person would ever choose to endure, food that makes starvation the better option, lack and deprivation of every kind, facing death of every turn, watching friends die, and then the flashbacks, nightmares, and mental trauma. They truly deserve all the thanks we can give them and more.
My favorite quote was one that my brother gave on Christmas Eve, “When bullets are flying around you and kicking up the dust around your feet, everything does go in slow motion - just like in the movies.”
November 13th, 2008 at 10:02 am
@howard - Bill Mauldin made a career of making fun of the army. Even won a Pullitzer for it.
@Ado_Annie - My parents’ wedding date was December 24, 1945 because that was when Mom could get leave. Grandmother ran sweatshops for the Army during WWI, women have been around the armed forces for quite a while, on behalf of us forgetful folk, I apologize, and say thank you.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:48 am
@MadMike: - Vietnam wasn’t really a side issue in the defense of Europe against the USSR; who do you think was suppying materiel to the NVA? Every tank and AK-47 they had was one that didn’t end up in Eastern Europe. There were other issues involved, of course, but there really was some global strategic method to that madness.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I served just long enough (in “the Clinton Army”) to erase whatever remnants of faith in America were left after Clinton’s election. My younger family members have had a lot more luck with the military under Bush, though this too, shall pass. As I see it, it’s good to get combat experience on favorable terms while it’s still a matter of choice, but if you can afford to buy the equipment and training yourself before the knacker shows up on the scene, then that’s good too.
Did that guy mention the knacker? I didn’t see him mentioned, for all the talk about sheep and wolves and dogs. See, eventually the sheep get themselves into a predicament, and there aren’t enough sheepdogs to save them. In the morning you’ve got a lot of sheep that aren’t going to be making it to next spring, or won’t be worth keeping alive that long. That’s when the knacker shows up.
He don’t look much like a sheep, and to some of the sheep he seems like a wolf, though he don’t look like one. A lot of sheep tend to think he looks like the shepherd…which may be true, but the shepherd he is not. As far as the knacker is concerned, there isn’t much difference between sheep and wolves, or even dogs. He has the same fate in mind for them all. It’s not personal, the farmer calls the knacker just as surely as he hired the shepherd, and they both got a job to do.
If you’re a sheep, learn to heed your shepherd’s voice well. If you’re a sheepdog, do the same. If you’re a wolf…well, remember that the knacker isn’t your friend anymore than the shepherd (though I’m sure nobody wants me giving advice to wolves). He’ll be glad to offer you a share of the kill, but it’s a trick and you’re a fool to fall for it (which is why the knacker does it, he thinks it’s funny).
But once the knacker shows up, there’s no sheep and wolves, and no sheepdogs. There’s just those that stayed with the shepherd and those that are destined for the knacker.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I remember, when I was in high school, singing barbershop at a local Retirement home with a bunch of guys 50, 60 years my senior. I learned a great many life lessons, but one stick with me to this day.
One of the gentlemen, he looked like a perfect jolly old man. snow-white beard, immaculate, perpetual grin, sparkling blue eyes. always had a kind word and a handshake for everyone he passed in his day. I found out he was in WWII, and I, in awe, asked him what he had done.
Normandy beach.
We sat there, for an hour, as he told me about his experience there. To this day, I still shudder at the descriptions, and wonder how he got through.
It preyed on me for about six months, then, at another barbershop practice, I asked him “How can you go on with your memories?”
he looked at me, and explained it simply.
He remembers, and looks around every day, and knows that what happened was for a cause, and is proud.
I work in a machine shop, and make things for the US military, things to keep the soldiers safe. Sometimes I get bummed out because I couldn’t serve (medical reasons), but I take my own pride in the fact that what I do every day may send someone home to their family alive.
So Howard, Make them smile, I’ll help keep them safe, and to all the vets, and currently enlisted:
Thank You.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
@ Pretty much everybody…
Thank you for all your kind words, tributes, stories, and encouragement. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday trying not to cry, and failing about as often as I succeeded. I’ll say it again… you in the military, you veterans, you families of veterans… you give so very, very much, I can hardly fathom it. Thank you.
I’m glad Schlock Mercenary has been a bright spot for you. I’ll keep it up, and I’ll try to avoid the sorts of authorial excesses that turn wonderful (if formulaic) comics into quagmires of meaning and social commentary. I want you to laugh. Hopefully that happens often.
–Howard
November 14th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
By the end of WWII, my grandfather was serving on a minesweeper, which means he remained on active duty for about a year after the end of the war. He’s 89 now, and it’s only in the past five years or so that he’s begun to talk about his experiences.
I spent three years studying in the US, and in my first year there I was amazed at how little attention November 11 received. In Canada, many people wear poppies on their lapel for at least the first half of the month, and schools and businesses will observe “a moment” of silence at 11:00 AM on Remembrance Day. All government offices are closed, and there will be memorial services in most communities, if not on November 11 itself then on the Sunday prior.
UserFriendly has been running themed comics all week, and they are quite poignant. Here’s Monday.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I’ve spent most of the last 20 years USAF.
The relationship between civil and military in the U.S. is interesting.
The people I have worked with have been ‘almost’ without exception been WONDERFUL people. Good wholesome folks, even if some of them don’t think of themselves that way……
…..and what is VERY significant is that these good wholesome folks (some of whom have some pretty rough edges, but are good wholesome folks anyway…) REFLECT the civilian society they came from.
This bears repeating: The raw and profound DECENCY of the typical U.S. military member is a REFLECTION of the society he or she came from.
I’ve always felt it was “my privilege” to serve.
In truth, to barrow an old and much abused (and even hated) phrase, I fight for what has been called “Mom and apple pie”. Every time you see a group of laughing 3 year olds with fresh brownies and cupcakes, and the supervising adults (who might be Dad and apple pie for that matter…), you are looking at why I feel it is my privilege to serve.
A good poem on the subject. Maybe not a refined poem, but it speaks to the heart:
http://www.vietvet.org/mmsolchr.htm
November 16th, 2008 at 11:59 am
@ finaliteration
While I was at Booth Memorial visiting my brother when he was injured, I met soldiers there that claim the ONLY reason they are alive and in one piece today is because of their protective equipment.
Keep up the good work.