POST V2.03-22-09
 
MILSPEAK MEMO V2.03-22-09 PIRATE RIFFS ON THE VICTORY GARDEN The World War II Victory Garden is an icon. There was reason for those gardens and there is reason for naming that generation, the Greatest Generation. WWII Americans gave their all to their country and their defense, without expecting anything in return except a chance to remain free. But free from what? Or for what? ”Save Your Bull....For Your Victory Garden,” this pin tells us, as if in the voice of those WWII Americans and people from around the world who sacrificed everything so that we in the 21st century might enjoy Freedom from Fear and Want, Freedom of Speech and Religion. WE are the children whose future those men and women sacrificed all to protect. And yet, in these tough times of war and recession, we whine, we bull, we cast blame, and we forget all that those few - the 17.9% of Americans who are Veterans and the 1% of us who serve on active duty - sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for the good of the many - the people who populate this globe, many of whom have never experienced the freedoms we take for granted - the freedom to whine, to bull, to cast blame, and to forget. Not a waking moment passes when I do not remember the sacrifices our troops and leaders are making for the good of all humanity. I teach writing courses at a technical college. Many of my students are active duty military people who attend night classes. Others of my students are wives and husbands of military members. Some are retirees. Some are children of military parents. I also lead Milspeak Creative Writing Seminars, a workshop that exposes me to the lives of retirees, active duty service men and women, military children, and civil service employees. In my classroom, and in the Blackbird Zone (our MCWS meeting room), I see faces etched with lines of concern, I hear these men and women speak with pride of their commitment to achieve something greater than themselves - freedom for others. They sacrifice their own freedoms that we might enjoy ours.  The morning after the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks, I drove to the grocery store - something many New Yorkers were unable to do. In the parking lot, I noticed a small, beat-up red car. Across the back window, someone had written in red letters: “We Will Never Forget.” Nearly eight years after those attacks, I seldom see those words, except when going aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island to buy groceries. Just after going through the gate, a marker is permanently placed. The marker carries that phrase and is dedicated to FDNY. Our troops don’t forget us, even when we forget them. Talk of recession fills the air. Anger toward those responsible grows. Myself, I don’t have to worry about stock market crashes - I haven’t been able to save a dime since I retired in 1998. Not because I’m a spendthrift, but because I have been unable to find full-time employment despite my degrees. I think this lack of a good job is due to my 60% service connected disability (something I cannot lie about to possible employers) and my age: I’m 50. But that’s okay. Not having a job has turned me into a literary entrepreneur. Each time you visit the Milspeak website, you share in the fruits of my labors. I have never been paid one dime for my work. What I have received in return more than pays for the work I do. You see, people are being brought together through Milspeak. Family members have been reunited. Lost loves have been found. Old friends have grown closer, and new ones found. Civilians reading Memo and visiting the Writers Gallery learn about military life, its joys and hardships, in a way they can learn no where else - through military people sharing their stories in their own words. This project has given me great joy. It also returned me to the military family I abandoned when I retired in 1998. My husband, a carpenter for more than 30 years, hasn’t worked since before Christmas 2008. There’s no work for him. We’re okay. But there are many people out there who are not. The pundits and experts have yet to publicly connect the recession to the war. Do they think that Americans might be turned against the war by the news? So much hinges upon our victory in Iraq and Afghanistan - everything WWI and WWII Americans fought for and saved; everything Korean Conflict and Vietnam Conflict Americans fought for and saved. Yes - Victory is that important. The American Dream and the American Way of Life are not about money. To be an American means to be born of a spirit of ingenuity, of the will to survive no matter what, of the will to make sacrifices when our country requires. Americans have not been considered great because of their wealth! Other nations see in us our ability to invent, to create, to unite as one people behind common values and a shared dream. Our dream isn’t dead and our way of life isn’t dying. We’re having a hard time, sure. Remember growing pains? But when Americans experience hardship, they change the world, the world they live in - they make it better. Sometimes it takes a while for Lady Liberty to recognize a misstep, but when she does, she goes beyond the call of duty to correct her error. That’s being American. I can’t understand why Americans are crying over worthless pieces of stock-paper and wasting their energy and skills on cutting each other down. Sure, times are hard - so do something POSITIVE about it! Put your solutions to the problems out there instead of complaints. Get creative. Get behind our new president and his administration by giving them a chance to make right what they can of what’s wrong with our government, our institutions, and our organizations. We have lost nearly everything before. It will happen again. What made Americans different from others is that we always find a way to go on, to rebuild, to recreate, to create. In the process, we get better and better as a country and as a friend to other countries. Charles Dickens once said that each person’s goal in life should be to find a way to be the hero of his or her own life. Anne Morrow Lindbergh once wrote that rebuilding after disaster strikes is the hardest and most rewarding work a person will ever do. The economic situation is a disaster we will recover from. We will recover from war. We already are.  Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany[1] during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. Making victory gardens became a part of daily life on the home front (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden). The key word in the description above is EMPOWERMENT. Doing something positive, creating something new when times are hard is a sure way to raise spirits. First Lady Michelle Obama is planting a garden in the White House lawn, just as Eleanor Roosevelt did during WWII. Try planting one of your own. My husband and I are. We have very little income, and planting a garden is one way to stretch a dollar. But doing this is worth a whole lot more. Planting a Victory Garden is a way of showing unity in this nation at a time when circumstances seem to be pulling us apart, sending us into a tailspin, causing us to spend so much energy battling each other that solutions to our problems seem impossible to find. That’s just not the case. Solutions will be found if we stop arguing long enough to explore our true potential. This isn’t the end of the world - it’s the end of an era, an era during which many of us forgot how important each individual’s actions are to every citizen. Sometimes we seem to have forgotten there is a war. We miss the connections between recession and war. We miss the point that achieving victory over terrorism is difficult, but possible. We miss the point that sacrifices have to be made. We miss the point that losing everything in a stock market crash or a recession doesn’t mean we have lost the most important things of all: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is a pursuit - that doesn’t mean an easy journey, or that things will go as we want them to. Plant a garden. Plant a single pack of seeds in a pot or plant an acre. Tear up your lawn and put in a garden. Plant a few herbs in a window box. Plant a seed in a tin can. Watch it grow. Like that seed becomes a flower or a single radish, this country will grow upon the actions of each individual. We will find solutions to the problems of living. Watch that seed grow and think of all your life has meant and all it can become. Write the word Victory on that tin can. Write it on a board. Write it on a banner and hang it from your balcony. Victory applies to more than the war at hand. It shows the world that Americans have been and always will be victorious because in spirit, we are indefatigable. No matter the sacrifice required to remain free, we will be and will remain free. You have your life and your freedom. Use both wisely and with grace.  MILITARY TATTOOS & INKED TATTOOS TAPS CHANTS & RAPS MISCELLANY Vietnam War Poetry by Andrew Syor A Letter From Fab: Vietnam Homecoming Our Unit & Aschau Monsoon: Poetry by Moe Haagensen “Fight’s On” Sketch by Brian D. Dingess Fights On! Aviation Art Brian Dingess - Artist Bio Brian Dingess grew up at the flight lines of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro during the 60s and 70s. His father, Gunnery Sergeant Calvin Dingess was flight line chief for A-4 Squadrons VMA-311 and 211. Given paper and pencil and told to sit on the flight line and draw (with ear plugs – Mickey Mouse ears), his dad went about his flight line business, and Brian learned details of attack, fighter and reconnaissance jets and how to draw them - later being designated a Air Combat Illustrator. After many years of observation and 23 years of service to the Marine Corps, LtCol Brian Dingess began producing personal sketches for friends who were aircrew. LtCol Dingess’ career as an Air Defense Control Officer placed him in direct contact with Marine Corps and Joint fighter aviation where he controlled Air Combat Maneuvering fighters for over 2500 intercepts during tours in Hawaii - Kaneohe, Okinawa, West and East Coasts – Fighter stations at Miramar, El Toro and Beaufort. Brian supported fighter aviation as a fighter controller for TOPGUN, RED FLAG, COPE THUNDER and Marine Corps Air Combat Training Courses. Sketch projects include: VMFA-333 MiG-21 shoot down by Maj “Bear’ Lasseter and Capt “L’ll John” Cummings published by Michael O’Conner in the Book “MiG Killers of Yankee Station” and accepted by the Marine Aviation Art Museum Achives; VMFA-323 Squadron history 1944-1994; Heritage – Death Rattler VMA-323 Korea (Corsair AU-1 with Colonel Jerry Coleman (Yankees and Padres Professional Baseball Player/Announcer)) and Present VMFA-323 (F/A-18C Death Rattler); Published “Year 2000 Fighter Fever” Calendar; and donated drawings to the Naval Fighter Weapons School – TOPGUN, the RAND Corporation and MAG-31 Beaufort SC for display. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2000, Brian began to research the history of the F-4 Phantom II and now has completed a set of USMC F-4 Phantom sketches – one - from each of the 25 Active and Reserve squadrons spanning the 1960s through 1980s depicting the Marine F-4s in Combat and Training conditions. Upcoming projects include: Carrier Aviation, Heritage flight depictions of different era aircraft in formation, Marine Corps Command and Control radar sites. These projects can be found on website: www.fightsonaviationart.com. Brian can be reached at Fightsonart@sbcglobal.net. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT For those big-theme-park-seekers, all Universal Studios Theme Parks are now FREE for active duty and retired members of the Armed Forces, with great discounts for family and friends (just announced in late Feb). Go to the links below for more details. It might be time to take a few days leave and take advantage of the FREE admissions to Disney, Universal, and all Anheuser-Busch Parks including Sea Worlds. They are continuing most of the "freeness" through December 18, 2009 for Universal and December 23, 2009 for Disney, so you have time to plan. For those who don't know, a Disney 5-day hopper pass is usually sold somewhere between $236-$289.00. Universal sells their 7-day pass for $79.00, so you get the picture. You could save some serious cash, especially if you take your family or friends. Disney is giving the active duty/retired member a free 5-day hopper ($236 current gate value) and allowing each member to purchase a one-time option of 5 more tickets at only $99 for anyone you want to give them to. That's over $900 in savings just for the Disney package. Free Universal: http://www.thrillnetwork.com/stories_view.php/2390/military_salute_program_u niversal_studios_themeparks.html Free Anheuser-Bush Parks: http://www.herosalute.com/cavatx/index.html Free Disney: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/disney/36573/ PLUS “JAMBA”  MILSPEAK MEMO TABLE OF CONTENTS END OF POSThttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moralehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_gardenmiltatsV2-3-22-09.htmltapsV2-3-22-09.htmlchantsV2-3-22-09.htmlSyr.htmlfabltr.htmlourunit.htmlhttp://fightsonaviationart.com/Product_Information.htmlhttp://www.fightsonaviationart.commailto:Fightsonart@sbcglobal.nethttp://www.thrillnetwork.com/stories_view.php/2390/military_salute_program_universal_studios_themeparks.htmlhttp://www.thrillnetwork.com/stories_view.php/2390/military_salute_program_universal_studios_themeparks.htmlhttp://www.herosalute.com/cavatx/index.htmlhttp://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/disney/36573/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4D5U2kEksMMemo_V2_Home.htmlhttp://www.hakes.com/item.asp?ItemNo=55672&ListID=18http://www.eonimages.com/details.php?pid=2127http://fightsonaviationart.com/Product_Information.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4D5U2kEksMshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23shapeimage_2_link_24shapeimage_2_link_25shapeimage_2_link_26shapeimage_2_link_27
a day late and a dollar...