Blast From The Past
Leatherneck Magazine, September 1936
"Sgt Shorty"
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- FEATURE: WW II Vet Fears Many Have Forgotten Victory Over Japan Day (app.com)
...Perdeck will mark the day by remembering those with whom he served. But he fears too many have forgotten, not only the importance of that day, but also of the importance of all those who serve in the armed forces....
- REPORT: Younger Veterans More Likely To Abuse Alcohol After Deployments (stripes.com)
Servicemembers who had seen combat were 31 percent more likely to have begun binge drinking, the study found....
- REPORT: All Active-Duty, Reserve Components Make Or Exceed July Recruiting Goals (defenselink.mil)
Photo by Cpl. Rose A. Muth
All 10 military components met or exceeded their recruiting goals in July, with the Marine Corps leading the active-duty components and the Air National Guard on top of other Reserve components....
- REPORT (AUDIO): New Report Say Military Ignoring Brain Research (npr.org)
A new National Academy of Sciences report says the U.S. military intelligence community isn't adequately prepared to assess what's going on in brain science around the world. It says there could be significant advances that can have military uses.
- REPORT: Employers Appreciate Veterans’ Discipline, Work Ethic (jsonline.com)
...With Americans in armed conflicts abroad and employers more selective in their hiring, a push is on for employing military veterans....
- FILM REVIEW: ‘Tropic Thunder,’ 4 Stars (marinecorpstimes.com)
It’s an immutable law of Hollywood that each summer season ends up being defined in large part by one particular silly-funny comedy classic....
- TOLL OF WAR: Can Iraq Vets Help Heal The Wounds Of War? (alternet.org)
"...I was in the Marine Corps for a very long time. I was a military career man. I had been in the Marine Corps for 10 years before the war in Iraq. And I did volunteer," Tyler replied....
- VOTING: Voting Assistance Officers Stress State Registration (marines.mil)
Photo by Sgt Jared Hansen
...The elections may not be until November, but servicemembers and their families have until Aug. 21 to register for voting...
- VOTING, OPINION: Help Our Veterans Vote (nytimes.com)
...But federal legislation shouldn’t be needed for the Department of Veterans Affairs to lift the ban on voter registration drives by state and local election officials and nonpartisan groups....
- OPINION: Redux A Bad Deal For Servicemembers (stripes.com)
Thousands of military members entering their 15th year of service continue to be enticed by a wily government offer: a $30,000 bonus if they agree to take a deep and permanent cut in future retirement benefits....
- OPINION: The Meaning Of The Flag (rutlandherald.com)
...I will tell you why the flag is such a mark of shining import in my simple life. It happened on Iwo Jima! You were there. Do you remember Iwo?
- OPINION: U.S. Contracts In Iraq At What Cost? (thestreet.com)
...Because of private contractors, the U.S. military can deploy more troops to Iraq and other military bases around the world, instead of instituting a draft....
Gyrene Gyngle
The Old Gyrene
He still stands up when the flag goes by;
He still salutes with a gimlet eye.
On his lapel, as it does on mine,
The Eagle, Globe and fouled Anchor shine.
His hair is white and his back is bent;
The empty sleeve tells you where he went.
Though old and stiff, still he has no fear,
His words are few, but he speaks them clear.
“There is a debt to the USA,
All free men owe, that I paid that day,
At least in part. When my comrades fell,
They paid in full, on that island hell.
“And now the country for which they died
Forgets their lives and disdains their pride,
Forgets their hopes and their sacrifice,
Forgets their flag and the awful price.”
He looks away, and his jaw is set,
Then speaks again, “I have no regret.
For young Marines, they go out today—
That flag to guard and that debt to pay.
“They give me hope, all those young Marines,
For they still know just what honor means.
And while they serve, then our flag remains,
And my Marines did not fall in vain.”
—Former SSgt Robert A. Hall |
