Tag: Wars of Choice

Back on December 26th 2006 I put together a post, for my site and a few others, in remembrance of an anniversary of a day my fellow Vietnam Veterans made a statement to our country, a statement of a Country in  Distress, Our Country!

A shoutout about not only our War of Choice but what our society was going through, Civil Rights Movement, care of the returning Vets, civil disobedience for the many failed policies, and more, the statement wasn’t really taken seriously except by the minority, as is usually the case, the country itself just dug deeper into it’s apathy and never came to terms with our War and Occupation and still hasn’t!

December 26, 1971

Two dozen members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War “liberated” the Statue of Liberty with a sit-in to protest resumed U.S. aerial bombings in Vietnam. They flew an inverted U.S. flag from the crown as a signal of distress.

Yesterday as I was searching out a few things I came across a recent documentary that was up on the UPI site in three parts, not long but another real good look at a subject many of us, especially Veterans, have been fighting a long battle to get into the public conscious, and stuck there once in, with the realization of the hidden damages, wounds, that Wars cause to those that are sent to occupy and the occupied.

If you visit any of the lists of the KIA’s or Injured in the Iraq Theater one thing you’ll notice, the Only Occupation Forces numbers rising, being Killed and Maimed, are American Forces these last number of months!! I find myself wondering how many are on a first tour, or second, or third, or forth…………………………….., in Both Theaters!!

November 24, 1970

14 American students met with Vietnamese in Hanoi to plan the “Peoples’ Peace Treaty” between the peoples of the United States, South Vietnam and North Vietnam.

It begins, “Be it known that the American people and the Vietnamese people are not enemies. The war is carried out in the names of the people of the United States and South Vietnam, but without our consent. It destroys the land and people of Vietnam. It drains America of its resources, its youth, and its honor.”

The treaty was ultimately endorsed by millions.

The Whole Countries Responsibility, Not Singular Groups!!!

While this was a Great Gesture, on the part of the Redskins Organization teaming up with other Advocacy Groups, this is much more than a one day need. We who serve don’t serve for singular organizations We Serve The Country and an Oath and Contract is made for our service. It is the Responsibility, Every Day, for the Country Served to aid our Brothers and Sisters who have given much more than just their Service, Physically and Mentally, because of these Wars of Choice!!

Iraq

If you visit any of the lists of the KIA’s or Injured in the Iraq Theater one thing you’ll find, the Only Occupation Forces numbers rising, being Killed and Maimed, are American Forces these last number of months!! I find myself wondering how many are on a first tour, or second, or third, or forth…………………………….., in Both Theaters!!

Iraq

There have been 4,491 coalition deaths — 4,177 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of October 3, 2008, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country’s governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department. At least 30,680 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan.

Iraq

There have been 4,468 coalition deaths — 4,154 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of September 5, 2008, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country’s governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department. At least 30,568 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan.

Heal the Country.

I most certainly am not an Edward Tick, author of War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation’s Veterans from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a few other books, as well as the article in Yes Magazine linked above. He is also the director and senior psychotherapist of Soldier’s Heart: Veteran’s Safe Return Initiatives.

So I’ll give a few of the cuts from the article and add some other related information I’ve recently received.

Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez comes home for funeral

A hearse bearing the remains of 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez came to a halt in front of his father’s house in Lawrence, the scene of a 14-month vigil as the family awaited word of his fate. A memorial shrine with floral arrangements and half-burned votive candles was on the sidewalk. (7-25-08)

TWO JOURNEYS, TWO GENERATIONS, BRINGING EACH OTHER HOME

“Leave No Soldier”

A feature length documentary directed, produced and co-written by Donna Bassin,

an official selection of the 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival.

“LEAVE NO SOLDIER,” Tells the story of two impassioned journeys by two communities of American War Veterans who have carried a Military Oath from the Battlefield

to the home front. The two groups are divided by their politics, but united in their devotion to dead comrades and their compassionate commitment

to “Leave No Fallen Soldier Behind”.

A Nation that sends its Sons and Daughters into Occupations?

A C-17 Airforce Transport plane arrives in Kandahar, Afghanistan to receive the bodies of five U.S. service members killed. Though more than 1,000 US and coalition forces were on hand to participate in the “ramp ceremony,” a Los Angeles Times reporter and photographer were asked to leave the area by a military public affairs officer. A Pentagon policy banning coverage of this particular event was cited as the reason. [Photo: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times]