Argghhh!

There are 12 Medals awarded for actions on this day, spanning from the Civil War to Vietnam. That's above the average of 10 per day, and is high for this time of year - as is the number of pre-WWI Medals, as this was not prime campaigning time for 19th century warfare.Civil War, and four Medals for a busy day near Knoxville, Tennessee in 1863. Three soldiers who burned some building being used as sniper nests and one messenger. One has to wonder if today's press wouldn't excoriate those...

They were soldiers once...And young.50 years after the event, and there they are, rushing across the field where so many of their comrades died, for the benefit of the camera. And they look like they're having a good time, in that perverse way that many who've never seen the elephant don't understand.And it's simple. They remember the good. The Cause. The bond of brothers-in-arms. A bond of an intensity that rivals and can exceed marriage.The Auld Soldier, when he retired, put away...

...we find a little eye candy for Dusty. A P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, F-4 Phantom and A-10 Thunderbolt (clockwise) break over Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., for the Air Combat Command heritage flight during the 2009 Aviation Nation open house Nov. 13, 2009. The open house is an opportunity for the Las Vegas community to view aerial demonstrations and static displays of various aircraft from the military. The open house also acts as the final air show of the year for the U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration...

There are six awards of the Medal of Honor for actions on this day. 5 of them are posthumous. All of them are from the modern era, starting in WWII.World War II - ask yourself, warrior - could you do what Captain John Cromwell, USN, did? WWII also gives us our only survivor - Joe Foss, who I have had the honor of meeting.*CROMWELL, JOHN PHILIP Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Navy. Born: 11 September 1901, Henry, Ill. Appointed from: Illinois. Other Navy award: Legion of Merit. Citation: For...

...need better PR agents. At least that was my conclusion after attending the American Combat Veterans Center Annual Conference panel of active-duty sailors entitled, "Seabees & Civil Engineer Corps: Can-Do!" Even with my interest in all things U.S. Navy, what I knew of the Seabees could fit in a thimble: "They work, they fight, they set up bases before the regular combat troops arrive, and people in the know respect them." That about covered it for me. Fortunately, 2009 has...

...living Holders of the Medal of Honor. There are 100 Senators. When I joined the Army, there were 293 living Holders. There's good news and bad news in that - the good news is... we haven't had to fight the kinds of wars that produce large numbers of Medals. The bad news, is that empirically, the Services seem to be gravitating to making it harder and harder to earn a Medal without dying during the act. But that's a different rant. From the American Legion:Comrades: Col. Lewis Lee Millett...

We are, you know.Homeless kitties, homeless puppies, the occasional itinerant Denizen. We shelter them all.And homeless veterans, too. We actaully shelter a lot of homeless vets. Those who served, many long and hard and were put up wet, find their way here, to be properly sheltered, fed, and cared for.One such homeless vet showed up yesterday, begging to be allowed to stay until his family could accomodate him in their home.We took him in, and he immediately found his place with fellow veterans of...