Difficult to Believe

It’s obvious I don’t post my thoughts that often, but this whole storming of the Capitol in Washington this past Wednesday (January 6th) really shook me.

As a Navy petty officer back in the very late 60’s, I had the honor of spending nine months in a combat zone working high-security intel with a group of marines that were way undermanned and exhausted. To the man, they were willing to give their lives, if necessary, for a democracy they believed in.

Regardless of political affiliation, to see that democracy defiled and defaced by our own people was a painful thing to watch.

Wouldn’t this be an excellent time especially to honor our men and women in uniform who continue to guard our democracy all over the world at this very moment? Shouldn’t we strive to fix it for them as much as anyone else? They certainly deserve that much.

(In the photo, that’s me on the left with my eyes mostly closed, along with proof that I once had hair. The guy in the middle, Tom Hester, became my brother-in-law. I don’t remember the name of the lieutenant.)

I Corps, Third Marine Amphibious Force, DaNang, Vietnam, 1969