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Vol. 151, No. 2 The for a Strong America AUGUST 2001 ARTICLES

SECURITY WITHOUT SACRIFICE By James H. Anderson Domestic terrorism requires a strong response plan, not tiie building of "Fortress America. i

HOW ELITE IT IS! By Richard Parker

Tired of thinking? Today's American elitists are more than happy to do it for you.

EDUCATION'S LEFT TURN By Roger Kimball The agenda of the '60s radicals has resurfaced on America's college campuses.

A PITCHER FOR THE AGES ByOanAiisup

Decorated World War II vet Warren Spahn became baseball's most successful lefthander

DISTINGUISHED VISITOR TOURS: ARE THEY NECESSARY? ByOanAiisup

The USS Greeneville accident has the nation asking if civilians have a place in military exercises.

THE Gl BILL CAN SAVE THE WORLD ByMichaeU. Bennett The program that delivered prosperity to postwar America promises the same for other nations.

THE TREE OF TYRANNY By Wayne mbride Operation Paul Banyan ensured two U.S. soldiers murdered at Panmunjom didn't die in vain. DEPARTMENTS

BIG ISSUES Should campaign finance reform be enacted?

VETVOICE I LEGION NEWS 1 VETERANS UPDATE

COMMANDER'S MESSAGE i VETERANS HEALTH 11 COMRADES

LIVING WELL 11 WASHINGTON WATCH K PARTING SHOTS

COVER Opportunities provided to World War II veterans by the Gl Bill secured the capital necessary for America's economic salvation. With the 21st century in its infancy, the time has come to look at applying the principles of the Gl Bill on a global scale. NASA photo G.L Bill CAN SAVE THE The American legion Magazine, a leader among national general-interest World publications, is publistied montlily by Ttie American Legion for its 2.7 million

members. These wartime veterans, working througti 1 5,000 community-level Posts, dedicate ttiemselves to God and Country and traditional American values; strong national security; adequate and compassionate care for vet- erans, ttieir widows and orphians; community service; and ttie wholesome development of our nation's youth.

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • \ ! ! !

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Legislature have their 2002 re-election Gutting back best solution chestnuts in the fire. More made, more paid Donald P. Model's article "Turn Off - Wayne Padgett, Pacific Grove, Calif. The pro and con article by E.J. the Lights, The Party's Over" (June) Dionne and Paul Gigot ("A Taxing De- skipped one solution to California's bate," June) could have been part of the power crunch: s Sins 01 omission regular congressional debate between cut back on the Donald Hodel seems to have missed the right and the left. "Tax cut for the massive con- the rather significant fact that Califor- rich" seems to be the mantra of the De- sumption of ener- nia's energy shortage arose only after mocrats, judging by the "risky scheme" gy resources due that whacko law went into effect. The syndrome of the presidential election. to the overuse of question is "If there had been no dereg- It's a fact technology. ulation, would we have seen a shortage My husband anyway?" He thinks yes, I think no. and I moved out Hodel also seems to have missed the of Milwaukee fact that the largest concentration of and into the people in the state - Los Angeles - went Northwoods after we retired three years through the "crisis" with no shortage of ago. Before going, we gave away sever- power and little price change. Holiday al TV sets, telephones and VCRs. We lights were all over the place. heat our small A-frame with wood we Perhaps Hodel didn't notice be- cut, split and stack ourselves. We have cause Los Angeles is served by a mu- no TV, cellular phone, computer or fax. nicipally owned power company that is a mystery that any tax cut will go to the Yet my husband manages to fulfill his directed to serving people rather than wealthy? As for myself, I was never duties as commander of American Le- the bottom line. He also failed to men- hired by a poor man. Those who hired gion Post 428 without the "help" or tion that the ridiculously high "spot me had the money to pay for my ser- stresses of technology. market" prices were set by out-of-state vices. Although our chosen lifestyle may be power brokers - mostly from Texas - - Joe Jacobs, San Diego a bit too simple for others, most Ameri- who neither generate power nor pro- cans could moderate their dependence vide any service to the people. These on electronic devices. As one philoso- are significant omissions for a former Paydmiimll.S.del)t pher said, "Technology is a good ser- secretary of energy and former secre- Paul Gigot and E.J. Dionne present vant, but a bad master." tary of the interior. strong arguments for and against the

- Pat J. Godsey, Amberg, Wis. Private enterprise had a golden Bush tax proposal. However, I don't be- chance to create an efficient and re- lieve this important issue should be sponsive energy system with deregula- framed as an either/or question. A more Davis up against waif tion. It seems to me that blind greed in instructive approach would be to ask The "California Responds" sidebar the short term will force the people to which taxes should be cut, which should to Donald Hodel 's article on the state's return to regulated utilities, which not be cut, and, yes, even consider what energy crisis is just more pettifogging worked well for many years. new taxes might be proposed. by bureaucrats running frantically to - James V. Kilbane, Rocky River, Ohio I disagree with Dionne on the inher- cover their behinds. Steve Larson itance tax. It's a moral injustice to be doesn't refute or rebut a single point of unable to will your after-tax dollars to Hodel's, demonstrating that everything your own children. This tax should be he said is correct. abolished.

So far Gov. Gray Davis and the Cali- On the other hand, I disagree with fornia Legislature have done the very The American Legion Magazine Gigot regarding his portrayal of the ar- welcomes letters concerning articles things deregulation prohibited the power gument for paying down the national that appear in the publication. Be distributors from doing, namely long- debt as "disingenuous." He uses a U.S. sure to include your hometown and a term contracts and raising consumer savings bond analogy that in itself is daytime phone number for electric rates. And Davis has papered disingenuous. Most of the debt is in verification. All letters are subject to over the crisis in with $10 bilhon bonds editing. Send your opinions to: U.S. treasuries, which costs us dearly and cash payments, consuming Califor- and on an annual basis. The American Legion IVIagazine nia's cash reserves. The question is, which policy would P.O. 80x1055 Davis and Co. have spent a lot of time return the most money to the most peo- Indianapolis, IN 46206 blaming everyone from President Bush ple: the Bush tax proposal or paying can also contact us via e- and the state of Texas to the Republicans You down the debt? Paying down the debt mail direcdy or through the World in the California Legislature and the is similar to paying off the principal on Wide Web: bankrupt power companies. The only your home mortgage; it would result in reason anything is being done to build e-mail: [email protected] a greater financial benefit to more new power plants in California is be- Internet: http://www.legion.org Americans than the tax cut. cause Davis and the Democrats in the - John Kershner, Merry Point, Va.

4 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 ' ...but VIAGRA Hlpea me -

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betore you start taking VIAGRA, Ask your doctor or ptiarmaclst it you do not leukemia I take anything printed in journals

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men taking VIAGRA, fVlost, but not alt, of these men had heart problems before ("poppers"). It you are not sure II any of your medicines contain nitrates, or If you make a strong nation. The illustration of faking this medicine. It is not possible to determine whether these events were do not understand what nitrates are, ask your doctor or pharmacist directfy related to VIAGRA, shattered glass over a father's face on the VfAGRA Is only lor patients with erectile dysluncllon, VIAGRA Is not for newborns,

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inlormation about VIAGRA, talk with your doctor or clusion that "Congress clearly has plenty medical exam to diagnose your erectile dysfunction and to lind out It you can safely guestions or want more

pnarmacist, visit www viagra,com, or call 1-8BB-4VIAGRA, take VIAGRA alone or with your other medicines. Your doctor should determine it of ground to make up" suggests govern-

your heart Is healthy enough to handle the extra strain of having sex. 23-5515-00-4 ment can solve this problem. That is

Be sure ro tell your doctor if you: doubtful. • have ever had any heart piobfems (e angina, chest pain, heart failure, g,, Dowd speaks of child-support laws irregular heart beats, or heart attack)

• have ever had a stroke and interstate trafficking of deadbeat dads

• have low or high blood pressure as if these somehow glue families back • have a rare inherited eye disease called retinitis pigmentpsa

• have ever had any kidney problems together. In truth, these are band-aids our government places on the gaping wounds (sildenafil citrate) mbiets it inflicts on the American family by its intrusions into our personal lives.

• THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 B Television may propagandize President Reagan taught us Ameri- legislation would impair our freedom of against the family, but it is government can power is good. Peace through self-expression. that jails parents for disciplining their strength - to do otherwise is to perish. Thank God for The American Legion

children, supports mothers in the work- Let the Comprehensive Test Ban and what it stands for. Please don't give place and funds child-care facilities. Treaty die on the vine. up this fight. Your pursuit of bringing Our benevolent, paternal government - Gregory P. James, San Francisco dignity and honor to our flag is just one increasingly asks us to rely on it as we of the many reasons I'm so proud to be a once relied on our family. When gov- member. ernment assumes the role of guardian, Vietnam critics feel guilty - iMwrence J. Rygiel, Brooklyn, Mich. guide and guru for the individual, the Fred Peck's article ("Vietnam: Spin- family withers. ning the Legacy," May) is the most en- If a cure is to be found for fatherless- lightening I've ever read about Vietnam. Mad COW article mlsleadlog ness, chances are it won't be in the halls I'm so tired of the spin from those who Cliff Kincaid's brief on mad cow dis- of Congress. didn't or refused to go, who parade the ease ("Mad Cow Disease Threatens Mil- - Mark and Ellen Anich, Omaha, Neb. struggling Vietnam veterans around to itary and Families," Washington Watch, convince themselves they did the right May) was inaccurate and needlessly thing. It's nice to - alarming. Americans are not at risk for Heard that line before know 91 percent I bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the Rep. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., profess- of Vietnam vet- I so-called mad cow disease. In 1989, the es to be an Independent, but he preaches erans are glad I U.S. Department of Agriculture began the same class warfare as Democrats. In they served and I putting into place a series of firewalls to response to the Big Issues question that many are I ensure BSE never becomes a problem in "Should Capital Gains Be Taxed?" successful. I this country. These include stringent im- (June), Sanders uses "tax breaks for the The truth is I port bans on live cattle, sheep and goats, wealthy," "tax cuts for billionaires" or that the naysay- I as well as animal products ftom Europe some similar phrase eight times. It's the ers feel guilty I and an active surveillance program to same old Democratic theme we hear and are trying to ' find BSE if it ever got inside our bor- over and over again ad nauseam: the rich tell the next generation that what they ders. against the poor, the blacks against the did and didn't do was right. They are In addition, there's absolutely no risk whites. It makes me wonder if Democra- constantly selling the public with these of BSE entering the United States tic lawmakers have a chip implanted in false images and strive to damage the through cattle moving from Argentina to their brains that programs them to re- perception of the military in every way Mexico and then here. First, BSE is not spond "it's only for the wealthy" when possible. found in any South American countries. tax cuts are brought up. I started believing the hype about the Second, Mexico doesn't import cattle or The wealthy own the companies that so-called "dregs-of-society" Vietnam any beef from Argentina because a num- provide jobs the government likes to veterans until I read Peck's article. It ber of South American countries have take credit for. The wealthy pay the most made me look at the only Vietnam veter- endemic foot-and-mouth disease. The taxes. Why shouldn't they get the most ans I know, including my father, and re- United States and our NAFTA trading back, money they re-invest in the com- alize many of them are successful and partners, Mexico and Canada, prohibit pany to provide more jobs? The employ- keep the country going. Thank God for imports of live animals or fresh and ees can take the money they get and buy them. Peck's article should be taught to chilled meat products from all countries something another company produces, children everywhere. with foot-and-mouth disease. send their kids to college, put it in the - Troy Brown, Grand Blanc, Mich. For accurate information about BSE, bank or invest it. visit www.bseinfo.org. The site also pro- The Democrats don't think we're vides information about foot-and-mouth smart enough to handle our own mon- on, American legioo disease, which Kincaid apparently con- ey. They think they can do a better job, National Commander Ray Smith's fused with BSE. and with tax breaks they have less mon- message ("Why We Fight for the Amer- - Mark W. Thomas, Englewood, Colo. ey to spend. ican Flag," June) is by far the most con- -Jerome Kavaney, Fairchild, Wis. vincing article I've read on why we shouldn't desecrate our flag. His insights Corrections and examples are so brilliantly displayed The article "Old Glory: Soul of Our Scrap test ban treaty that I wonder why no one else has taken Nation" (June) should have stated that To ratify the Comprehensive Test time to simplify and explain the need for President Wilson established Flag Day Ban Treaty is delusional at best and sui- legislation to protect the symbol of our by proclamation May 30, 1916. cidal at worst ("Do You Support the Nu- democracy. The article "Legion Remembers clear Test Ban Treaty?" Big Issues, As a Korean War veteran, I reflect on Desert Storm Vets" (June) should have May). At this moment, rogue nations the many friends I lost in the war. They listed Charles Horner's rank as retired such as North Korea, the People's Re- gave their lives to protect our great flag Air Force general. The Washington pubUc of China and Russia are exporting and the freedom it represents. Yet we Watch brief "Kyoto Threatens Readi- nuclear weapons and technology. have idiots in Congress who think this ness " (June) should have stated the same.

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • ] CIHHUUfS MlSSUl

Mllltarjf retirees deserve feirness

U.S. soldiers are riding in a Other federal employees can receive re- Humvee. They are in an accident tirement benefits and VA disability pay- and both sustain identical injuries. ments without offsets. TwoBoth are now eligible to receive In the past decade, many veterans' disability compensation from the programs have been pared to the bone to Department of Veterans Affairs. help balance the budget. With the cur- One soldier leaves the service rent national debate over how to handle and takes a federal job. The entire the sizeable budget surplus, The Ameri- time he works, he receives his can Legion believes the time has come full government salary and his VA dis- for retirees to receive full compensation ability payment. When he retires, he re- for both their honorable mihtary service ceives his full federal retirement benefits and their service-connected debilitating

in addition to his full VA disability com- injuries or illnesses. Fairness demands it. pensation payment. But action by Congress in May casts But the other soldier, the one who de- into doubt the fate of concurrent receipt cided to serve 20 more years in the mili- any time soon for America's military tary, doesn't fare so well. He can't re- men and women. Agreeing with a pro- ceive his VA disability compensation un- vision of House Concurrent Resolution

til he retires from the military, and then 83 - introduced by Rep. William his earned retirement pay will be reduced "Mac" Thornberry, R-Texas - the dollar for dollar by the amount of his VA House and Senate voted to send con- disability payment. Moreover, if his dis- current receipt to the Department of and VA disability compensation with- ability pay is more than his military pen- Defense for further study. Ironically, out reduction of either. sion, he gets no retirement pay. Zero. Thornberry is a co-sponsor of a House S 170, the Retired Pay Restoration Zilch. A fine thank you for two decades resolution seeking concurrent receipt. Act of 2001, introduced by Sen. Harry of honorable service. Existing law dishonors service-con- Reid, D-Nev., would end the current Doesn't sound fair, does it? Unfor- nected disability by penalizing a service practice of deducting disability benefits

tunately, that's the way it is for our ser- member's longevity. The only appropri- from the amount of retirement pay a vice members and veterans. It's a situ- ate action is one that will provide fund- military retiree receives. It would cov- ation that needs to be corrected. ing to end this madness. er all military retirees with 20 or more The issue is called "concurrent re- What makes the most recent action by years of service. ceipt." Simply put, it's paying veterans Congress perplexing is that a majority of The recent power shift in the Senate their VA disability payments without cut- congressional members - 65 senators provides the perfect opportunity to place ting into eamed retirement benefits. Mili- and 335 representatives - are co-spon- S 170 on the front burner. Sen. Thomas tary retirement pay is a benefit for sors, as of this writing, of two A. Daschle, D-S.D., the new majority longevity of honorable military service. pieces of pending concurrent leader, is a co-sponsor. Sen. Reid VA service-connected disability compen- receipt legislation. It appears is the second-ranking Democ-

sation is for medical conditions incurred disingenuous congressional , ratic senator in the new ma- or aggravated while on active duty. Bene- leaders would on one hand ^ J jority leadership. ' fits and compensation are separate issues call themselves co-spon- m Both Daschle and Reid not linked in way. sors the other * are now in a position to and should be any and on hand ] A veteran can receive disability com- vote to virtually kill concur- move concurrent receipt pensation without any offsets, reduc- rent receipt by sending it to r^^y^gffgy^i legislation forward.

tions or limits while collecting unem- DoD for review . U^^^ I urge members of The Amer- ployment compensation in Social Secu- It's not too late for the House and ican Legion family to contact their rity, federal civil-service pay or pay Senate to reverse course and pass concur- congressional officials and ask them to from a private-sector job. Also free of rent-receipt legislation and appropriate co-sponsor and, more importantly, vote

offsets are federal civil-service retire- funds to pay for it. Two pending bills in for concurrent receipt legislation. Penal- ment (including disability retirement), the House and Senate afford opportuni- izing military retirees for choosing to retirement pension from non-federal ties to correct wrong-headed votes. serve their country for an entire career is jobs, or federal workers compensation HR 303, the Retired Pay Restoration not only an injustice to those who have (benefits for work-caused disability or Act of 2001, introduced by Rep. served but also a deterrent to those who illness provided under the Federal Em- Michael Bilirakis, R-Fla., would allow may be considering a life of U.S. mili- ployees' Compensation Act). Only mil- military retirees with at least 20 years of tary service. All service-connected dis- itary retired pay is reduced dollar for service and a service-connected disabil- abled military retirees deserve fair and dollar by VA disability compensation. ity to receive both military retired pay equitable treatment.

g • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 a

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SHOIID EAHPIIieil riNIINCE ItirORM II [NIICnD?

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

IIVM The unlimited soft-money Amidst the McCain-Feingold Smmmmm||[^H W L W contributions that flow from debate, the Senate voted on a 1111 wealthy donors to the polit- constitutional amendment to ^f^H ' LU ical parties have reshaped NO override the First Amend- f'nl our political system for the worse. ment and allow government restric- To fuel the endless fund-raising tion of all spending "by, in support of contest between the political parties, or in opposition to" candidates for '^^H both parties have shifted their focus public office. It should be a national away from the people they represent scandal that 40 senators supported this in favor of the handful of wealthy interests who can afford effort to repeal America's oldest and most important polit- to write them checks of $500,000, $1 million or even more. ical reform: the freedom of speech. Soft money has undermined many people's faith in The McCain-Feingold bill less forthrightly attacks the con- democracy. People of both major parties wonder whether stitutional freedom of citizens, groups and parties to speak out

party leaders will faithfully represent their interests - on issues and elections. McCain-Feingold makes it illegal for whether they are concerned about veterans' issues, health citizen groups to criticize members of Congress in television care or cutting government waste - when the parties spend or radio ads, unless they register with the federal government so much time pursuing donations from wealthy interests and conform to severe restrictions. Such restrictions on politi- who can write six- and seven-figure soft-money checks at cal speech have been declared unconstitutional in federal party fund-raisers. court on 22 occasions.

The McCain-Feingold bill bans soft money and would McCain-Feingold also attacks the national parties, making it bring an end to soft-money fund-raisers like the one the illegal for them to pay for issue advocacy, voter turnout and Democratic Party conducted such mundane overhead ex- last year at the MCI Arena in penses as utUities, accountants "(Soft money) relegates "In the name of Washington. At this event, and computers with funds out- people of average soft-money donors on the side the current strict "hard- 'reform/ McCain-Fein- means into the prover- floor of the arena sat down money" limits. Hard money gold tramples constitu- bial cheap seats." to dinner at lavishly decorat- refers to funds that can be giv- tional freedom." ed tables, while those who en directly to federal candi-

could only afford a cheaper dates and is subject to severe ticket sat in the bleachers and watched as the chosen few contribution limits - limits not adjusted for inflation since they enjoyed their meal. This kind of event makes a mockery of were created in 1974. McCain-Feingold would starve the par- the role that devoted party volunteers and small donors ties. Few are moved by the parties' plight until they consider play in our democratic process. that candidates running against incumbent Congress members Soft money isn't good for political parties or for our have only one reliable source of support: parties.

democracy; it relegates people of average means into Once banned, party soft money - which already is publicly the proverbial cheap seats, while monied interests take disclosed - will give way to the shadowy world of special-in- center stage. terest soft money, where there is no public disclosure and no The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill accountability. Special interests and die liberal media will be- bans soft money and ensures that the parties operate with- come even more powerful. The McCain-Feingold bill specif-

in the boundaries of the original Watergate-era campaign ically exempts the media from its regulation of issue advoca-

finance reforms, as well as the prohibition on corporate cy even though it is a multi-billion-dollar industry exerting spending in connection with elections signed into law by tremendous political influence and is no more entitied to First President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. Amendment protection of its political activities than is every As of this writing, the bill must be considered by the House other American citizen and group. of Representatives, where Shays-Meehan, the companion It is a dangerous political stunt. In the name of "reform," bill to McCain-Feingold, has n McCain-Feingold tramples passed the body twice before. P constitutional freedom. If this bill passes the Advanced as a means of House, and is signed by Pres- Senators and representatives are interested reducing cynicism and spe- ident Bush, the reign of soft stituent viewpoints. You may express your views by writ- cial-interest influence, Mc- ing The Honorable (name), U.S. Senate, Washington, DC money finally will come to an Cain-Feingold actually in- 20510, or The IHonorable (name), House of Representa- the special interests' end, and some of the public's tives, Washington, DC 20515. You may call the Senate at creases faith in our democratic sys- (202) 224-3121; the House at (202) 225-3121. power, and that will only in- tem can be restored. crease cynicism.

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America must balance freedom againstfear ofdomestic terrorism.

By James H. Anderson

RECENT DECADES, Ameri- "...attacks in the past can service personnel have suf- fered devastating terrorist bomb- decade - including the ing attacks overseas, including INthe Marine barracks in Beirut in World Trade Center 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 and the USS Cole and Oklahoma City in Yemen last October. But terrorism also threatens bombings... indicate American citizens at home. The 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the a critical threshold has 1995 Oklahoma City bombing revealed U.S. vulnerability in stark been breached; terms. A confluence of political, eco- nomic and technological trends sug- clearly, some terrorist gests the danger of even more deadly strikes is growing. Indeed, some U.S. groups desire a lot of intelligence officials believe a major attack involving chemical, biological people watching and a or radiological weapons is no longer

a question of if, but when. lot ofpeople dead."

A Growing Threat. U.S. nuclear and conventional arsenals, though impres- For many years, western experts sive on their own terms, cannot deter believed that terrorists were more in- terrorist attacks. Most terrorists recog- terested in attracting media attention nize the futility of challenging the U.S. and instilling fear rather than inflict- military on the conventional battlefield. ing mass casualties. But attacks in the In fact, U.S. military prowess has past decade - including the World spurred state and non-state adversaries Trade Center and Oklahoma City to seek so-called asymmetrical respons- bombings, as well as the Tokyo sub- es, including the development of way attack in 1995 - indicate a criti- weapons of mass destruction (WMD). cal threshold has been breached;

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • i

i responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, Timothy McVeigh and Ter- "Because some biological agents have an ry Nichols, mingled with extremist groups but were not formal members. incubation period, the delay between the attack Terrorists acting solo are difficult to

monitor, as the FBI learned in its and the onset of symptoms may make it difficult frustrating 18-year pursuit of "Un- abomber" Theodore Kaczynski, who for authorities to ascertain its 'return address. killed three people and wounded 23 more in 16 separate incidents before his arrest in 1995. In 1998, the FBI clearly, some terrorist groups desire a Tunnels, and the George Washington apprehended another solo terrorist, lot of people watching and a lot of Bridge. He also considered contami- Lawrence Maltz, in Richmond, Va. people dead. This ominous develop- nating the World Trade Center bomb Maltz, a physicist, who had threat- ment explains why the number of with chemical agents. ened to attack the president and other people killed and wounded in terror- The most serious terrorist threats federal officials. A thorough FBI in- ist attacks increased during the 1990s, to the United States originate in the vestigation revealed he had contacted even though the overall number of Middle East. Exiled Saudi millionaire chemical companies to purchase pre- incidents declined. Osama bin Laden has been linked to cursor agents necessary to produce Well-funded groups with apocalyp- the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in sarin, a deadly nerve agent. tic and nihilistic ideologies pose the Africa and the USS Cole attack last most serious threat to the United fall. He provides direction to a con- Weapons of Mass Destruction. In States, as they may not be deterred by federation of terrorist groups known light of the proliferation of lethal tech- the threat of capture or retaliation. as the Al-Qaeda ("The Base") with nologies, coupled with the desire of Some of these groups show a strong cells in more than 50 countries. some groups to inflict mass casualties, interest in WMD. As Director of Cen- Osama bin Laden has issued religious the United States must enhance its de- tral Intelligence George Tenet testified edicts ("fatwas") calling on Muslims fenses against potential WMD attacks. before Congress Feb. 7: "Terrorist to wage a "holy war" against Ameri- Since nuclear, chemical and biological groups are actively searching the In- cans. Based in Afghanistan, he has weapons have different characteristics, ternet to acquire information and capa- trained some of his operatives with each will be addressed in turn. bilities for chemical, biological, radio- chemical and biological agents, and logical and even nuclear attacks." reportedly attempted to purchase a Nuclear Terrorism. To be sure, Consider, for example, the danger- nuclear warhead on the black market. terrorist groups seeking to steal, buy or ous reach of the Aum Shinrikyo Even if he were arrested tomorrow, build nuclear weapons face formidable ("Supreme Truth") cult. Based in most of Osama bin Laden 's broad- obstacles. Nations with nuclear Japan, this group had attracted more based, decentralized network would weapons generally take extraordinary than 50,000 members worldwide and survive because it is based on a radi- security measures to protect their arse- accumulated $1 billion in assets be- cal ideology, not a personality cult. nals from theft, though reports indicate fore coming under scrutiny by police security measures at some Russian and security officials in the aftermath Domestic Terrorism Groups. The weapons depots are disturbingly lax. of its 1995 subway attack. It recruited United States also is vulnerable to Fortunately, nations have powerful scientists and funded sophisticated domestic terrorists acting without any incentives not to sell nuclear weapons laboratories to develop chemical and direction from overseas, as evidenced to terrorist groups; such a transfer biological agents; it even sent mem- by the Oklahoma City bombing and would risk international disgrace, bers into Africa, apparently hoping to many smaller attacks. Roughly 1,000 stiff sanctions and perhaps even mili- obtain samples of the deadly Ebola militia and hate groups reside in the tary retribution. Moreover, any such virus. Shinrikyo hoped to unleash United States, ranging in size from a nation would run the risk that a recip- global warfare by killing thousands handful of members to several hun- ient might turn around and sell the of Japanese civilians and U.S. service dred. A smaller number of issue-spe- weapon to one of its adversaries. personnel in Japan. Chillingly, this cific groups, such as animal rights The possibility that a terrorist group also planned attacks against and eco-terrorist groups, also exist. group might build a nuclear weapon Washington, and New York. Some of the militia groups have appears remote, for the technical and Islamic terrorists already have at- assumed a lower profile in the after- financial requirements are well tacked Americans at home. The math of the Oklahoma City bombing, beyond the reach of most groups. But World Trade Center bombing killed making them more difficult to moni- this specter cannot be ruled out entire- six Americans, injured about 1,000 tor. The most dangerous groups es- ly, especially for well-financed terror- others and caused $500 million in pouse extreme anti-government ist groups. In the early 1990s, for ex- property damage. Yet the devastation creeds and embrace racial bigotry and ample, Aum Shinrikyo reportedly could have been much worse. Ramzi anti-Semitism. Many groups maintain sought to mine uranium in Australia. Yousef, the mastermind behind the virulent Web sites to attract new re- Radiological terrorism. This bombing, planned a series of attacks cruits. presents a more likely threat, as it against New York, including the Not every domestic terrorist be- would not require building a United Nations, Lincoln and Holland longs to a group. The two men functional nuclear warhead. Terror-

jl| • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 Who responds if we're attacked by terrorists?

The U.S. government has a number of agencies set up to take action in the event of domestic terrorist attacks. Though often unknown to the general pubUc, these agencies stand ready to respond quickly and effectively when called upon.

Nuclear Emergency Support Team. Activated in 1974 National Domestic Preparedness Office. Established in and based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., NEST is part of 1998 by the Justice Department and headed by the FBI, the Department of Energy. Its mission is to provide tech- this office serves as a clearinghouse for WMD informa- nical assistance to the FBI on nuclear threats and tion. It provides a central point of contact for state and incidents. NEST units are capable of immediate, world- local officials and coordinates congressionally mandated wide deployment. They use sophisticated search and diag- WMD training. Headquartered in Washington, NDPO is nostic tools to locate radiological devices. staffed with representatives of various federal agencies, including FEMA, Department of Health and Human Ser- Domestic Emergency Support Team. Activated in 1995, vices, EPA, DoD and the Department of Energy. DEST is an FBI-managed interagency team designed to provide a pool of expertise to the FBI's on- scene commander in the event of a terrorist threat or strike. IVIilitary Units Capable of Responding to Rapidly deployable, DEST's composition is determined Weapons of Mass Destruction Attacl(s: on a case-by-case basis to provide focused advice. The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force. Acti- State Department manages a similar team for terrorist in- vated in April 1996, this unit consists of nearly 400 cidents overseas, the Federal Emergency Support Team. Marines and sailors. Initially based at Camp Lejeune, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Founded in N.C., the unit is relocating to Quantico, Va. CBIRF is 1979, FEMA is an independent federal agency headquar- able to treat and evaluate casualties, as well as provide tered in Washington, with 2,600 full-time employees. It local security, detection and decontamination. has 10 regional offices, each of which is responsible for National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil several states. FEMA is responsible for coordinating fed- Support Teams, formerly known as Rapid Assessment eral assistance in the event of natural or man-made disas- and Initial Detection Teams. These 22-member teams are ters. The Terrorist Incident Annex in the Federal distributed at 10 locations nationwide. Under the Response Plan details FEMA's role in consequence man- command of state governors, their mission is to reach a agement. disaster site within four hours. The WMD-CST provide Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to provid- support to civilian agencies to assess the nature of the at- ing continued service to veterans, VA provides backup to tack, offer medical and technical advice, and coordinate the Department of Defense and the National Disaster subsequent state and federal military responses. Each Medical System in the event of national emergency. The team is equipped with a mobile analytical lab and com- Veterans Health Administration is staffed by 180,000 per- munications facility. All 27 teams are supposed to be sormel and includes 173 medical centers nationwide. ready this year.

Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams. Established in Technical Escort Unit. Based at Aberdeen Proving 1996, these teams consist of physicians, nurses, Ground in Maryland, this unit specializes in the identifica- paramedics and law enforcement officials. Comprised of tion, handling and disposal of chemical and biological 129 persons, each team provides for on-site response, de- agents. Globally deployable, the TEU supports the DoD contamination capability and the transport of patients to and other federal agencies. Its origins date back to World hospital emergency rooms. War II.

ists could contaminate a conventional Chemical Terrorism. Chemi- and expensive to manufacture than explosive with radioactive materials, cal weapons can be used to kill peo- biological agents. such as cesium- 137 or cobalt-90, ple, decimate livestock and destroy The United States appears reason- which are more readily available than crops. Some terrorist groups have ably prepared to respond to limited weapons-grade uranium or plutoni- been attracted to their lethality and chemical attacks. Largely in response um. This form of nuclear terrorism the psychological fear they inspire. to environmental concerns, most ma- already has a dangerous precedent. In Chemical weapons can be dissemi- jor metropolitan areas have developed 1995, Chechen terrorists planted ce- nated by several means, including some emergency hazardous material sium- 137 in a Moscow park and then aerosol sprays. Enclosed spaces de- capabilities. The existing HAZMAT alerted media representatives to max- signed to house public events, such equipment and expertise provides a imize exposure. To respond to threats as amphitheaters and sports stadi- baseline to develop more extensive of nuclear or radiological terrorism ums, make inviting targets for terror- capabilities. directed against Americans, the Unit- ists seeking to inflict mass casual- Biological Terrorism. The ed States created the Nuclear Emer- ties. However, lethal chemical United States appears less prepared to gency Support Team. agents are generally more difficult cope with biological terrorism, even

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • j|j ists. The challenge, then, is to enhance our security and prepared- "The growing awareness of the threat of ness without sacrificing political free- doms Americans hold dear. terrorism has not yet been matched by The growing awareness of the threat of terrorism has not yet been effective preparation. The existing response matched by effective preparation. The existing response plans resemble plans resemble a giant jigsaw puzzle, with a giant jigsaw puzzle, with some " pieces frayed, broken or missing. No some pieces frayed, broken or missing. single organization or agency has the assets or expertise to respond to a major terrorist attack. An alphabet though it has already suffered some wreak havoc, even under imperfect soup of more than 40 different agen- hmited attacks. In 1984, for example, conditions. In April 1979, the acciden- cies, bureaus and offices play some the Rajneeshee cult infected 751 peo- tal release of anthrax spores from a role in counterterrorism. The sheer ple with salmonella in Wasco Coun- Soviet biological laboratory killed at number of actors involved creates ty, Ore. This group also sought to in- least 64 people outside Sverdlovsk major coordination problems, despite fect the town's water supply. In 1992, (now called Ekaterinburg). Dr. Ken- the efforts of several interagency the Minnesota Patriots Council neth Alibek, formerly the deputy chief working groups. planned to assassinate local law en- of Biopreparat - part of the Soviet In simplified form, the United forcement personnel with ricin, a cas- Union's biological weapons program - States plans to cope with terrorist at- tor bean byproduct and deadly poi- estimates this small leak could have tacks involve crisis management and son. The United States must prepare caused hundreds of thousands of casu- consequence management. The FBI for the likelihood that other terrorist alties if the wind had been blowing takes the lead for the crisis manage- groups will attempt far more ambi- toward the city instead of away from it. ment of domestic terrorist incidents. tious biological attacks in the future. At least 10 nations possess biologi- It also manages the Domestic Emer- On an equal-weight basis, biologi- cal weapons programs, including the gency Support Team, an interagency cal agents are the most deadly People's Republic of China, Iran, Iraq, group created in 1995 to provide ex- substances known to mankind. Con- Libya, North Korea, Russia and Syria. pert advice to domestic agencies dur- sider the potential lethality of anthrax. After the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq finally ing crises involving WMD. A 1993 Office of Technology Assess- admitted the existence of its biological The Federal Emergency Manage- ment study estimates that, under ideal weapons program, which included ment Agency is the lead agency for conditions, a single airplane delivering tons of anthrax and botulism. Evident- consequence management - that is, 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of ly Russia's interest in developing bio- actions the United States would take anthrax spores over Washington, D.C., logical weapons survived the end of in the aftermath of a terrorist strike. could kill up to 3 million people. the Cold War. These programs The Federal Emergency Response Biological agents can be dissemi- increase the risk that biological exper- Plan provides the template for the nated by several means, including tise will be transferred, either directly delivery of federal assistance to state aerial bombs, spray tanks and ballis- or indirectly, to terrorist groups. and local authorities in the event of tic missiles. They are generally far such a contingency. cheaper and easier to produce than The Costs of Failure. A major ter- The Department of Defense plays a nuclear weapons. Kathleen Bailey, a rorist attack involving WMD in the supporting role in crisis management former assistant director of the U.S. United States could involve an un- and consequence management by pro- Arms Control and Disarmament precedented loss of lives. If the gov- viding highly trained teams created Agency, estimates a significant bio- ernment's response reflects poor for the specific purpose of responding logical arsenal could be cultivated in planning, lack of preparation, or to WMD incidents within the United a 15-square-foot room with $10,000 sloppy execution, public confidence States. These teams include the Army worth of equipment. will erode. In addition, a major ter- Technical Equipment Unit, National With its densely populated metro- rorist attack in the United States Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction politan areas and modern transporta- could embolden adversaries to threat- Civil Support Teams and the Marine tion networks, the United States pre- en U.S. interests abroad, tempting Corps Chemical Biological Incident sents a lucrative target for terrorists them to take action they might not Response Force. considering biological attack. Because otherwise consider. some biological agents have an incuba- The United States is a trading na- First Responders. The federal gov- tion period, the delay between the at- tion with an open, pluralist society. ernment also assists in training and tack and the onset of symptoms may Building a garrison state - "Fortress equipping the so-called first respon- make it difficult for authorities to as- America" - in response to terrorist ders. They are the local police, fire certain its "return address." threats is not the answer. Such and medical officials who will arrive To be sure, biological agents are retrenchment, by encroaching on hours, or perhaps even days, before sensitive to meteorological conditions, prized constitutional freedoms and state and federal assets can be such as temperature," humidity and severing security alliances overseas, deployed in force. The first few hours wind speed. But biological agents can would play into the hands of terror- are critical in responding to chemical

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Available in Military C\g r/h7rji[i>^ OscoDrua drugs. ^-Waeff^e^ Commissaries CaSS) Savon ^ These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Adnninistration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. lar, the FBI needs to hire more intelligence sf)ecialists and linguists capa- 1993 Office of Technology Assessment ble of monitoring foreign and domestic terrorist groups operating within the Unit- tfiat, study estimates under ideal conditions, ed States. These enhancements will im- prove the agency's capability of disrupt- a single airplane delivering 100 kilograms ing terrorist groups before they can act.

(220pounds) of antfirax spores over Reducing Vulnerability. The poten- " tial for catastrophic terrorist strikes is kill Washington could up to 3 million people. forcing senior leaders to rethink tradi- tional conceptions of national securi- ty. To be sure, the United States still and biological attacks; local officials supplies and other medical supplies at needs to defend precious real estate have a narrow window to diagnose secure facilities around the country. overseas, such as Korea's demilita- symptoms, treat casualties and reduce The United States also should devel- rized zone and the Iraqi-Kuwaiti bor- the risk of mass panic. In 1996, Con- op and periodically test surge capa- der. But given the evolving threat of gress passed the Defense Against bility to augment the public health terrorism and other threats to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, system with well-trained medical vol- homeland, such as illegal immigra- which directed the Department of De- unteers in the event of a major bio- tion, international crime and missile fense, in conjunction with other fed- logical or chemical strike. attack, U.S. leaders need to adopt a eral agencies, to manage a five-year layered approach to national security. training program for first responders Needed Reforms. Previous efforts to Protecting U.S. territory from terror- in 120 cities. This program has since streamline and clarify lines of respon- ist attack lies at the core of this de- been extended and expanded to cover sibility have fallen short. In February, fense-in-depth concept. 157 counties and cities. the bipartisan Commission on There are no panaceas or silver

A major terrorist strike could in- National Security in the 2 1 st Century bullets in defending against terrorism flict thousands of casualties and recommended some far-reaching or- on the home front. The development quickly overwhelm the capacity of ganizational reforms, including the of a clearly articulated, comprehen- local hospitals. Many urban hospitals creation of a Homeland Defense sive strategy to defend against terror- already are stretched well beyond Agency, headed by a director with ism will require sustained attention at their means, sometimes turning away Cabinet member rank. While this idea the highest level. This strategy must patients for lack of bed space. The merits further review, the immediate be based on an accurate threat assess- Department of Veterans Affairs is focus should be on strengthening ex- ment, prudent allocation of resources well-positioned to play an important isting institutions and structures, such and respect for the rule of law. Presi- supporting role in handling mass ca- as the National Domestic Prepared- dential leadership is imperative to sualties. Its 1999 Strategic Plan calls ness Office, FEMA, and the FBI and generate and sustain support for for a continuity-of-operations plan to CIA counterterrorism centers. homeland defense over the long haul. cope with terrorism and other poten- Local, state and federal officials Without overstating the danger, the tial emergencies. must exercise emergency response president must instill in federal, state While Congress has funded Metro- plans on a more regular basis, just as and local officials a greater sense of politan Medical Strike Teams to as- the military routinely exercises for urgency to prepare for major attacks. sist with biological and chemical con- contingencies overseas. Terrorist sim- Legionnaires know that national- tingencies, the medical community's ulation exercises must be as rigorous security challenges demand sacrifice, early warning and response capability and realistic as possible, rotating courage, and foresight. In the 20th requires further strengthening. The among different regions of the coun- century, America defeated fascism Atlanta-based Centers for Disease try and involving senior officials. and contained Soviet communism Control and Prevention needs to im- They must explore politically sensi- overseas. In the 21st century, security prove its contingency plans as well. tive issues, such as quarantine proce- challenges have multiplied, making it Congress can further help by provid- dures and triage procedures in the necessary for America to defend ing financial incentives for pharma- event of mass casualties. The results against foreign threats abroad and ceutical companies to develop critical should be subject to independent re- terrorist attacks at home. vaccines and antibiotics, as well as view and captured in a comprehen- research programs aimed at boosting sive, user-friendly database of James H. Anderson the human immune system's defenses "lessons learned" for the purposes of is an associate at De- against biological agents. improving follow-on training. fense Forecast Inter- The United States should develop Improved intelligence capabilities are national, a former Ma- a strategic medical reserve for nation- vital to support crisis management and rine Corps officer and al emergencies, just as it has a strate- consequence management of WMD ter- founding member of gic petroleum reserve for energy rorist incidents. Intelligence efforts the Council of Emerging National crises. Under the direction of the should be refined, with greater resources Security Affairs. CDC, this medical reserve should allocated to monitoring groups capable of stockpile vaccines, decontamination committing such heinous acts. In particu- Article design: Holly K. Soria m • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 A 1:16 scale die-cast metal replica, loaded with authentic details!

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Allow 4 to 8 weeks after initial payment for shipment. 747 1 E023 How Elite It Is!

From a state of wealth to a state of mind, tfie modem

American elitist feels qualified to think for you.

By Richard Parker see are the indicia, no more and no less, of the new gold standard: a very fancy education. What you

A DEMOCRACY, elitism is camouflaged. sense is an aggressive drive to rule. But it is not the INNo one applies the label to himself. It is, in aloof egotism of the business barons or society fact, a fighting word: Call someone an elitist aristocrats of yesteryear. It is now wrapped with and get ready to duck. self-loving irony in the paraphernalia of popular American democracy demands, nevertheless, culture, in the clothing of everyman. that we be at least as alert to signs of elitism as farmers are, these days, to the symptoms of mad- Identifying the EUte. The truth is that today elit- cow or foot-and-mouth disease; it is toxic to the ism - as an elevated status and a political preten- democratic ideals of political equality and popu- sion - is based on, and expressed in, a new social lar sovereignty. currency. It is conferred and confirmed by the

I know something about this subject. For a profession of certain beliefs and by the striking of quarter-century, I have taught at one of our coun- certain attitudes. The "members" of today's elite try's most prolific incubators of elitists: Harvard may never meet or even know of each other

Law School. It is, I believe, a great educational specifically. But upon a chance meeting - upon institution. It turns out good lawyers. But at the reading or hearing what someone says or seeing same time, it nurtures something in the young how someone behaves - they are likely to notice people who pass through that is not good for certain telltale signs and to recognize one anoth- them, and much less good for our country. er's tacit "membership" immediately.

Yet to outsiders, the elitism of our time is What is Elitism? Elitism involves three connect- camouflaged more effectively than in the past. ed self-conceptions: ( 1 ) "We are better - smarter, For that reason it is useful for the democratic citi- more broad-minded, more far-seeing, more com- zen to be on the lookout for subtle outward give- passionate, more enlightened and refined - than aways of the condition. These are stereotypical most people." Hence (2) "We know better what signals often left unhidden in speech and behav- is good for other people." Thus (3) "We are enti- ior. Being stereotypical, they are hardly tled to make the big decisions that affect the lives foolproof. Like bird-watchers, you may make of everyone." false identifications. (There are, after all,

An ehte is not simply made up of people with wannabe elitists who are not quite the real thing.) strong convictions. It is not just a collection of But if you spot a number of the characteristic powerful or privileged individuals. It is a group markings in one specimen, you may have some- marked by an elevated social status, or at least by a thing to be concerned about. pretension to social (and so political) superiority. Here is a list (meant somewhat seriously) of

What, then, is the basis of its imagined elevation? 10 possible signals of elitism: For some time, from about 1850 to about 1950, 1. Does your specimen criticize certain money and family - especially "old money" and public figures for having "no class" or for being "old families" - were the foundation of elitism in "stupid"? If he doesn't approve of Bill Clinton, this country, as they were in Europe for centuries does he refer early and often to the former presi- before. In order to identify elitists, one needed only dent's roots in Arkansas or make cracks about to ask: Who has the grandest home? Who belongs "white trash" and "trailer parks"? (President to the most exclusive club? But no longer. Being Clinton's own supporters, it is true, enjoyed rich (and having been rich for a long time) no smearing Paula Jones with trailer-park longer is the same as being an elitist. references.) If he doesn't like President George Sneak into to an Ivy League graduation cere- W. Bush, does he dwell on how "dumb" or mony. Compare the graduating seniors with the "provincial" our president (supposedly) is? (very) old grads. Among the young, the signs of 2. Which public figures does he hold up as wealth (much less of "old money") are few. So too ideals in comparison to those he disdains? Are are the snooty accents, the cultivated casual style they people he imagines as "above" ordinary and the yacht club bonhomie. Instead, what you emotions, ordinary limitations and ordinary poli-

20 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001

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tics? Does he, for instance, complain that today's politicians fall short of "the standard" set by the founding fathers or by How are elitists some professor at some university or by some "sophisticated" pundit on television or radio? different from us? 3. Does he cornplain when officials are "guided by opin- ion polls"? If laws are made by initiative and referendum, does The founding fathers were, by today's standards he deplore the sway of "incompetence" or "ignorance" or "prej- and even by the standards of their day, "elitists." udice" that are, according to him, inherent in processes of direct Yet they had faith in their fellow man. They be- democracy? When there is a movement to amend the Constitu- lieved in Enghsh Common Law and the doctrines tion, does he insist that the Constitution means - and must for- of the Magna Carta, rather than what I would call ever mean - only what five Justices of the Supreme Court say,

"European Law," which was based on the "divine at any given moment, it means?

right of kings" (the beUef that monarchs receive 4. Does your specimen talk of "public policy" as if it were their right to rule directly from God and are respon- a body of expert knowledge and wisdom that he understands sible only to God and not to those they rule). and most people do not - as if the opinion of the public had

It is not attending Harvard or Yale or Princeton little or nothing to do with "public policy"? Does he go on to or UCLA or Notre Dame that makes one an elitist announce to anyone • r\ i - what father or mother wouldn't want their chil- who will listen what BeinO HCh — dren to have the advantage of such an education? are the "real" issues On the contrary, being an eHtist is the result of in an election or the and having been rich an attitude. "real" interests of While our founders were elitists, they were cut the (presumably for a long time from a different bolt of cloth. They attended dense and church, as did the common people. They shared befuddled) Ameri- HO longer IS thc same fundamental values with the common people. They can people? were patriotic, as were the common people. They 5. Does he as being an elitist. respected the value of hard work, as did the com- complain that "the mon people. They were bom to "privilege," but people" are too easily "manipulated" by 30-second spots on they recognized the inherent worth and human dig- television? Then does he go on to deploy his own array of five-

nity of all people. second slogans and lurid images denigrating all points of view Today's eUtists - on the right and the left of the other than his own? Does he piously condemn "scare rhetoric"

political spectmm - irrespective of intelligence, do when (he says) it is used by others - and then proceeds to use it not believe this. They do not share the behef of himself? For instance, does he implicitly portray popular patrio-

American Legionnaires that it is our duty as citizens tism as a dangerous sentiment likely to "get out of control"? "to combat the autocracy of both the classes and the 6. When discussing campaign-finance reform, does he masses." They believe they have been ordained to focus, strictly and as a matter of principle, on inequality of ac- mle, yet, unlike our founders, they lack faith. cess to the political process? Or does he go beyond that and They lack faith in something bigger than them- insist, flamboyantly, on "getting money entirely out of pohtics" selves; faith that we can help someone and someday while endorsing the advantage of multi-millionaire candidates they will help us; faith that history has something to whom he likes and taking for granted the special influence of teach us; faith in the future of our great nation; and the mega-rich owners of the mass media? faith in the judgment, morals and intelligence of 7. Does he portray himself as a wonderfully "thought- ordinary. God-fearing, hard-working Americans. ful" person - open-minded, disinterested, deliberative - and Today's ehtists believe they and they alone then go on piously to parrot what amounts to a (supposedly)

have all the answers to all the problems that beset enlightened "party line" on a long laundry list of diverse polit- our civiUzation, and that the masses of ordinary ical issues? Americans are not intelligent enough to govern 8. How does he communicate with audiences of ordinary themselves or even understand the challenges folks? Does he speak slowly and ponderously, enunciating each America faces. word with artificial relish as though his hearers were too thick They do not share the values of those they seek to understand his ideas? Or does he speak extra-fast, using a to govern. In sum, the ehtists beheve they are sev- maximum of erudite high-flown phrases? In either case - talk- eral cuts above "We the people," and our survival ing "down" or talking "past" the audience - he is displaying a as a nation depends on blind obedience to whatever typical symptom. agenda they propose. 9. How does he dress himself, regard himself and carry Today's ehtists do not trust government of the himself? Is he almost always perfectly coifed and turned out? people, by the people and for the people. They tmst Does he seem, that is, to be forever looking in the mirror - and the "divine right of kings" with themselves alone on to be smugly pleased with what he sees in it? Does he behave the throne. And if such a behef were to be accepted like some sort of moving, breathing mannequin?

and prevail, it would herald the end and the failure of 10. Does he wear cufflinks? the great American experiment in self-government. If someone you know conveys more than a few of these sig- nals, you should look carefully for the others. And if he is - Robert W. someone who purports to "represent" you in government, you National Adjutant, The American Legion should consider looking for a replacement.

• • 22 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE AUGUST 2001 One of Us. A "representative," after all, is not supposed to James Wilson, put it succinctly. "The truth," he said, "is that be someone you "look up to." "Representation" is not a in our governments, the supreme, absolute, and uncontrol- high school popularity contest. Nor is it just a matter of lable power remains in the people. As our constitutions are agreement on this issue or that issue. There is, in the end, a superior to our legislatures; so the people are superior to our principle at stake: The principle has to do with government constitutions." "of and "by" the people as well as "for" the people. Even Elitism, then, is a state of mind. It has a double face. On the starchiest of the founding fathers understood that rep- one hand, it is a state of mind of those who imagine them- resentation must involve more than a display of civic selves to be an elite. On the other hand, it is a state of mind virtue. Our representatives, they knew, must be like us. of those who accept the pretension of the elitists. The two They must, indeed, be one of us. As John Adams famously attitudes are mutually reinforcing. put it, they "ought to mix with the people, think as they How can such condition be dispelled? One strategy is to think, feel as they feel." turn the elitists inside out, to embarrass them out of their

Of course, it is easier to say all this nowadays than to elitism. The other is to urge everyone else to look their "bet- believe it. We are (so we say) a "meritocracy." In the worlds ters" in the face, see them for the ordinary humans they are of sports and entertainment, no less than the worlds of busi- and so reject the very notion of social and political superior- ness and government, we celebrate people who are good at ity. This way is the better way. something and then imagine them to be all-around extraor- A familiar story captures the point. It is the story of the dinary individuals. There are "winners" and there are boy who cried out that the emperor wore no clothes. Today, "losers." We sometimes ask whether the "losers" shouldn't elitists would try to silence this boy. They would call him a get out of the game. "Untalented" is a word we use to draw cynic. But he was no cynic. He was a realist. He was a "de- a line that would appear, often, to exclude nearly everyone. mocrat," a champion of democracy. Thus, in a culture like ours, elitism flourishes. If you resist it, you may fear branding yourself as a "loser" and, worse, Richard Parker is a professor ofLaw at as a "sore loser." It sometimes looks like we are in the Harvard Law School where he has taught process of developing, in our own hearts, a mass inferiority since 1979. complex. Again, however, there is a principle at stake. We are, to Illustration by Charlie Hill be sure, a meritocracy. But, at the same time, we are a democracy. And, in the last analysis, democracy trumps Article design: Holly K. Soria meritocracy.

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• • AUGUST 2001 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 23

By Roger Kimball work of pornography.'" Freshman Ab- COMMmABY bie Boggs turned in photographs de- WAS THE LAST picting "sex with her ex-boyfriend." TIME you had a reality 1999, students at Wesleyan were of- I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Boggs were WHENcheck about what goes fered a course called "Pornography: pleased to know that their tuition dol- on in American Writing of Prostitutes." Taught by lars - $34,690 the last time I checked - colleges and universi- professor Hope Weissman, this class were being put to such good use. ties? Consider included Hustler and works by the It would be consoling to report that Wesleyan University, Marquis de Sade on its reading list and Wesleyan University is a bizarre ex- the elite liberal-arts col- delved, according to the official course ception in American higher education. lege in Middletown, Conn., that bills description, into such matters as "the Unfortunately, itself as "the independent Ivy." In implication of pornography in so- it is complete- called perverse practices such as ly typical. At voyeurism, bestiality, sadism and least since masochism." {"So-called" is a nice the late touch; what would Weissman call 1980s, when such practices?) the Rev. The course also required that stu- Jesse Jack- dents take a stab at creating their own son led a work of pornography. "I don't put any group of constraints on it," Weissman said. "It's supposed to be: 'Just create your own

'GAZINE • 25 500 students in a march at Stanford students are now treated to courses in plying many of those erstwhile radicals University chanting, "Hey hey, ho ho. which the products of popular culture - with handsome paychecks, a pleasant Western culture's got to go," Ameri- Hollywood movies, rock 'n' roll, com- working environment and lifetime job can colleges and universities have ic strips and the like - are granted pari- security, then their quiescence is per- been captive to a left-wing political ty with, or even precedence over, the haps not so very extraordinary. movement. most important cultural achievements Besides, why shouldn't these radi- Increasingly, what American higher of our civilization. I recall a graduate cals act contentedly? To an extent education offers is a species of re-edu- course at Columbia University on Vic- unimaginable a decade or two ago, cation. Parents send their children to torian and modem British literature their dreams of radical transformation college in the hopes of preparing them that repeatedly took time to ponder the have been realized. Even if we leave to take their places as educated mem- relevance of the pop singer Bruce aside the enormous changes that have bers of American society. Four years Springsteen and the TV series "Star occurred in social life at our institu- and $100,000-plus later, parents dis- Trek" to the issues at hand. tions of higher learning, it is patent that cover that college has succeeded in It has often been observed that yes- the transformation of the substance and stripping their children of the moral, terday's student radical is today's even goals of the typical liberal arts intellectual and social values they tenured professor or academic dean. program has been staggering. spent the first 18 years of life attempt- The point of this observation is not to Who could have guessed that the ing to instill. suggest that our campuses are littered women's movement would have suc- Influential philosopher Richard with pohtical agitators. In comparison ceeded in getting gender accepted as "a Rorty accurately summed up the situa- to the situation that prevailed in 1968, fundamental category of literary analy- tion when he noted - approvingly - when colleges and universities across sis" by departments of literature in that "a new American cultural Left has the country were scenes of violent nearly every major university? Who come into being made of deconstruc- demonstrations, the academy today could have guessed that administrators tionists, new historicists, people in seems positively sedate. Yet if the un- would one day be falling over them- gender studies, ethnic studies, media dergraduate population has moved qui- selves in a rush to replace the "white studies, a few left-over Marxists and so etly to the right in recent years, the Western" curriculum of traditional hu- on. This Left would like to use the men and women who are paid to intro- manistic studies with a smorgasbord of English, French and Comparative Lit- duce students to the great works and courses designed to appeal to various erature Departments of the universities ideas of our civilization have by and ethnic and racial sensitivities? as staging areas for political action." large remained true to the emancipa- Who could have predicted that the tionist ideology of the 1960s. ideals of objectivity and the disinterest-

War on Western Values. Henry Indeed, it is important to appreciate ed pursuit of knowledge would not Louis Gates Jr., chairman of Harvard's the extent to which the radical vision only be abandoned but pilloried as Afro-American Studies Department, of the '60s has not so much been aban- products of a repressive bourgeois so- simply stated the truth when he noted doned as internalized by many who ciety? No, the radical ethos of the '60s that "ours was the generation that took came of age then and who now teach at has been all too successful, achieving over buildings in the late 1960s and and administer our institutions of high- indirectly in the classroom and faculty demanded the creation of Black and er education. True, there is no longer meeting and by administrative decree Women's Studies programs, and now the imminent prospect of universities what they were unable to accomplish

... we have come back to challenge being shut down or physically destroyed on the barricades. the traditional curriculum." by angry radicals. But when one con- In this war against western culture, siders that the university is now sup- Tossing Out Tradition. The political one prime object of attack within the dimension of this assault on the academy is the traditional literary humanities shows itself nowhere more canon and the pedagogical values it "Who could have clearly than in the attempt to restruc- embodies. The notion that some works ture the curriculum on the principle of are better and more important than predicted that the "equal time." More and more, one sees others, that some works exert a special the traditional literary canon ignored as claim on our attention, that "being ed- ideals of objectivity various interest groups demand that ucated" requires a thoughtful acquain- there be more "women's literature" for tance with these works and an ability and the disinterested feminists, "black literature" for blacks, to discriminate between greater and "gay literature" for homosexuals and lesser - all this is anathema to the pursuit of l

28 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 ""

"Four years and $100,000-plus later, parents discover that college has succeeded in stripping their children of the moral, intellectual and

social values they spent the first 18 years of life attempting to instill.

ties of New England. Under the guise mean to be an educated person?" are democratic society has struggled to of promoting diversity and gender eq- no longer entertained as worthy of seri- establish and perpetuate, the humani- uity, "Vision 2000" advocates the ous attention. Reading is no longer ties also form a staunch impediment to transformation of these six universities seen as an activity that aims at constru- the radical vision of their new acade- into radical feminist fiefdoms in which ing the meaning of books and ideas, mic enemies.

"gender equity" - i.e., equal numbers but as an elaborate interpretative game of men and women in every program that seeks to expose the impossibility Fighting Back. What should be done? and subject area, from business admin- of meaning. And - as anyone with In the first place, parents and alumni istration and biology to physics and even a passing acquaintance with the must get more involved. They must zoology - would be enforced by col- products of the new academic scholar- learn about what their children are be- lege administrators. ship knows - writing no longer means ing taught and have the courage to "Faculty whose students identify attempting to express oneself as clearly sound the alarm when they discover their courses, teaching styles and men- and precisely as possible. that things have gone wrong. It is a toring as failing to be inclusive," the On the contrary, writing is pursued great mistake to believe that nothing document warns, "do not receive teach- as a deliberately "subversive" activity can be done. Almost all colleges and ing prizes, satisfactory teaching evalua- meant to challenge the "bourgeois" universities depend directly on the fi- tions or merit raises." As commentator and "logocentric" faith in clarity, intel- nancial support that parents provide John Leo noted in his report on "Vision ligibility and communication. Mas'd through tuition and alumni provide 2000," three of the five university pres- Zavarzadeh, a follower of the French through tiieir contributions. If you idents - in Vermont, Maine and New deconstructionist Jacques Derrida, put don't like the fact your children are Hampshire - have akeady signed on to it bluntly when he declared in a review being taught that the United States is a its recommendations "in spirit." of a rival critic that "his unproblematic racist, oppressive society or that there The important point to understand prose and the clarity of his presenta- is no such thing as objective truth or about these examples - and they could tion" were "the conceptual tools of that traditional morality is a bourgeois easily be multiplied tenfold - is not conservatism." fiction, speak up. Your dollars pay the how extravagant but, on the contrary, The issues raised by the politiciza- salaries of the professors, deans and how common they are. Such vertigi- tion of the humanities have application presidents whom you have entrusted nous nonsense - ranging over disci- far beyond the ivy-covered walls of the with your children's education. It is up plines as various as literature, law, his- academy. The denunciations of the to you to hold them accountable. tory and the social sciences - now con- "hegemony" of western culture and Ask to see course catalogs and read- stitutes a large proportion of what is liberal institutions that are sounded so ing lists. Speak to your children about taught and pursued as scholarship in insistently within our colleges and uni- the sorts of things their professors tell the academy. versities these days are not idle chatter; them in class and the kinds of activities Typically combining hermetic jar- they represent a concerted effort to at- and attitudes encouraged outside of gon and a profound animus against the tack the very foundations of the society class by the college administration. achievements of the western moral that guarantees the independence of Confrontation is never pleasant. But if and intellectual tradition, such politi- cultural and artistic life - including the the alternative is the intellectual and cized rhetoric governs the teaching of independence of our institutions of moral corruption of our children, con- the humanities from the ground up. higher education. fronting a few professors and deans is a And it is in this sense, as the English Behind the transformations small price to pay. LJ philosopher Roger Scruton has point- contemplated by the proponents of ed out, that "the radical curriculum is feminism, deconstruction and the rest Roger Kimball is not so much a reformed curriculum as is a blueprint for a radical social trans- managing editor of an anti-curriculum," one designed to formation that would revolutionize The New Criterion, a short-circuit the humanities by every aspect of social and political monthly review of cul- redefining them as a species of politi- life, from the independent place we ture and the arts. He cal grievance-mongering. grant high culture within society to the is the author of The insinuation of political impera- way we relate to one another as men "Tenured Radicals, tives into higher education shows itself and women. It is precisely for this rea- "The Long March: How the Cultural in other, more subtle ways as well. At son that the traditional notion of the Revolution of the 1960s Changed many colleges and universities today, humanities and the established literary America" and "Experiments Against traditional precepts about the methods canon have been so violently attacked Reality: The Fate of Culture in the and goals of humanistic study are re- by the tenured radicals populating our Postmodern Age." jected as hopelessly old-fashioned. Ba- universities; as the cultural guardians sic questions such as "What does it of the ideals and values that western Article design: Doug Rollison

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • 2J "

H

TIE

After missing more tlian tliree seasons due to Worid War II, Warren Spahn won more games ttian any otiier leftiianden

By Dan Allsup and the Braves in 1946. He once said, "I felt like, wow, what a great way to Spahn joined make a living. If I goof up, there's go- Warrenthe Boston Braves ing to be a relief pitcher coming in the first time in 1942 there. Nobody's going to shoot me." after a brief stint in Although he didn't win his first game the minors and not until he was 25 years old, Spahn went long after hanging up on to become the most successful left- his American Legion hander of all time, with 363 wins. He Baseball uniform. was elected to the Hall of Fame in But the future Hall 1973, his first year of eligibility. of Famer barely had St. Louis Cardinal great Stan Mu- time to unpack before manager Casey sial once said, "I don't think Spahn

Stengel sent the southpaw hurler to the will ever get into the Hall of Fame. Clemens finished 1 16 starts in the first 17 minors, reportedly for refusing to brush He'll never stop pitching." years of his career. David Wells was tops back Dodger Pee Wee Reese. "I was Spahn nearly proved "Stan the Man" in 2000 with nine complete games. probably the only guy who worked for correct. With a career overlapping Carl Spahn, a Legionnaire for more than Casey Stengel before and after he was a Hubbell and Steve Carlton, he toiled on 50 of his 80 years, lives in Broken Ar- genius " Spahn once told a reporter. the mound for 21 years. Like a fine wine, row, Okla. Maybe the "Old Perfessor" wasn't Spahn improved with age. He pitched his

interested in first no-hitter at THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE: the kid from 39, tossed an- Tell us about your time in the Army. Buffalo, N.Y., %ll of a sudden you're other the next but Uncle Sam season and won When the Army asked bleeding and don't definitely was. you 23 games when me what 1 did in civilian life, I told them

Spahn spent he was 42. He I was a baseball player, and they didn't tell the better part know why Let me you, led the National know what to do with me. After basic

of the next League in vic- training I was assigned to the First Army, that shrapnel hits three and a half when tories eight and we sort of got all the dirty details. years as a com- times, five of We fought as infantry troops, and we it's it bat engineer you, hot and stings. them in consec- built landing strips, cleaned up mine dodging Ger- utive years. His fields and did all sorts of things. They man bullets instead of line drives. He 35 home runs are also a league record for gave me a battlefield commission, and came home with three battle stars, a pitchers. But perhaps the most startling that was the biggest mistake I ever made.

citation for bravery and a Purple Heart. statistic is his 382 complete games in I didn't know we were going to drop the

Spahn returned to the major leagues 750 starts. In comparison, Roger bomb on Japan, and I thought I had a

28 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 WARREN EDWARD SPAHN pitcher MILWAUKEE BRAVES ii f A lHeiohn6' Weiaht: 175 Throws: Left Bats: Left 3, 1921

This 1956 Topps baseball card appeared as Spahn, 35 at the time, was about to soar into the best years of his career. He amassed a career winning percentage of .597 and an earned-run average of 3.09.

'God gave me a good arm to throw with, and " I was able to go out there every fourth day.

taught me some things, like crazy and striking out discipline-wise and cul- all the time. There's noth-

turally. I went into the ser- ing wrong with striking out vice as an infant and came anymore. We put the ball in back a grown man. I have play. One of the unsung nothing but good things to people in baseball was Enos say about the military, Slaughter. He hit behind except I wish they had Musial. Nobody ever Hall-of-Fame southpaw Warren Spahn was paid me a little more. walked Musial to get to a 25-year-old veteran of World War II Slaughter because he was before he won his first Major League game. He went on to record 20 or more vic- Ql How many games such a tough out. He was a tories in 13 of his 21 professional seasons. would you have won gamer. if you had not been Spahn was a guest better chance of coming back to baseball drafted? Ql To what do you credit speaker at an American as an officer. Instead, the war ended, and A" If you look at the aver- your longevity? Legion Baseball fund- I with the forces in I ended up occupying ages, might have been raising dinner in Min- te Hard work. Nobody ever Europe because I had to spend a year in able to win 400 games. At neapolis in February. got killed by hard work. grade as an officer. least that was my goal. Today, some guys pitch

I fought in the Battle of the Bulge, But who's to say? How many guys once a week in a so-called quality start. I and I was wounded at Remagen hurt their arms during the time I was don't understand what that is. I always Bridge. Just a little bit of shrapnel in in the military? I was lucky enough resented the fact that I had to wait three my foot and back. It was nothing seri- that I had a good arm. God gave me a days to pitch. I had 382 complete games, ous, but hey, all of a sudden you're good arm to throw with, and I was and I guess I lost some of the best games

bleeding and you don't know why. Let able to go out there every fourth day. I ever pitched. I me tell you, when that shrapnel hits you, it's hot and it stings. Ql What's the biggest way the game Dan Allsup is a free- has changed? lance writer who lives Ql How did your time in the Army kl Bringing in the fences, the ridiculous in suburban St. Louis. affect you? strike zone and lowering the mound. Al Well, it interfered with my baseball Owners want to develop their home-run Article design: career, of course. But I think the Army hitters, and yet I see hitters guessing Doug Rollison

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • 20 DISTINGUISHED KVISITDD TDUHS: 1- 1 I

1 1 ^ n

By Dan Allsup Recent events Rumors surfaced that the guests the submarine blocked the view of the Greeneville 's brought public USS Greeneville crew, but the Navy insisted the visitors Whenemerged from the were closely watched and did not con- placid Pacific waters tribute to the accident. attention to near Hawaii and Nevertheless, Secretary of Defense rammed the Ehime Donald Rumsfeld almost immediately influential Mam in February, issued orders banning civilians from nine crew members operating any equipment that requires civilians of the Japanese high specialized training. Rumsfeld also school fisheries directed the military branches to re- training vessel lost their lives. view their policies on civilian visitors.

^ still accompanying F Amid international controversy, the Members of the media pointed ensuing investigation determined that fingers at the Pentagon, questioning

the costs the civilian ; military \ 16 American civilians from five states and value of E were squeezed into the submarine's tours. However, the only extraordinary ;

; control room for a scheduled six-hour thing about the submarine's tragic |

missions. itself. Civil- i \ orientation cruise. At least two of the cruise was the accident guests allegedly had their hands at the ians hitching rides aboard U.S. war- \ | controls at the time of the collision. ships are as common as bell-bottom

THE -AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 trousers - the Navy hosted 1 1,000 "We encourage visitors to interact with civilians on 238 trips last year on sub- CahlMlHURY the crew," she said. "That's why they're marines and aircraft carriers. here. We do allow them into the cock- The other armed services also es- Ensuring that the right people have pit, but they must remain seated and corted tens of thousands of civilians the opportunity to "know what the mil- belted in. At no time is anyone ever giv- on distinguished visitor tours last year. itary is all about" is a prime objective en control of the aircraft for any reason. Guests rode in Army tanks and of the civilian tours. Although veterans After the submarine disaster, DoD or- Humvees and flew on Air Force fight- and civilians familiar with military op- dered that no civilian would ever be ers, tankers and transport aircraft. In erations occasionally take part in what allowed to operate any equipment re- Japan, according to the Pacific Stars the Air Force calls "civic leader tours," quiring specialized training. We never and Stripes, civilians were allowed to they aren't the target audience. did allow that." pull the lanyards on Marine 155-mm "Air Mobility Conmiand goes after howitzers prior to the Department of opinion leaders in the community," Tax Dollars at Work. Air Force Defense's moratorium order. said Jacque Devine, chief of commu- Chief Master Sgt. Kim Ayers, an air nity relations for the command, which reserve technician at Grissom Air A Public-Relations Tool. The armed is headquartered at Scott Air Force Force Base, Ind., has been a refueling forces have allowed, if not encouraged, Base, 111., near St. Louis. "We're look- boom operator on KC-135 tankers for civilian guests to examine their peo- ing for elected officials at the local and more than 20 years. Most flights carry ple, equipment and operations for county levels, members of the cham- curious civilian guests who are more than 50 years. The tours are ber of commerce and educators. We impressed with the flying gas station viewed as a public-relations effort that prefer unformed opinions, even nega- and its crew. gives taxpayers an opportunity to see tive opinions. We just want to show "It's difficult not to be impressed how their dollars are being spent. them what the Air Force is all about." when you're lying on your belly in the But some critics decry the excur- boomer pod of an aircraft flying at 300 sions as taxpayer rip-offs and mere Well Worth the Money. Devine said a miles per hour, watching an airman joyrides for influential civilian leaders. typical AMC civic-leader tour is simi- refuel a fighter aircraft barely 30 feet Some say they are just an opportunity lar to one she was currently planning. away," Ayers said. She added that, for sailors, soldiers. Marines and air- A KC-135 Stratotanker from Scott Air prior to the DoD moratorium, she men to strut their stuff. Claiming that Force Base was scheduled to fly to the would occasionally allow a civilian to the armed forces spend more than $30 Duluth, Minn., area, pick up 40 civilian control the boom when no other air- million annually on public-relations guests and fly them to Lackland Air craft were in the area. Not anymore. programs, a USA Today editorial Force Base in San Antonio. There they Ayers stressed that the Air Force charged that the military's public -rela- would meet basic-training officials and isn't merely playing gracious host just tions efforts are subverted when "tax- recruits and spend the night. The next so a group of well-heeled civilians can payer dollars are used to lobby for day, they were scheduled to fly to Scott, spend a few pleasant days away from more taxpayer spending." The editori- where senior AMC officials would brief home. "These trips aren't boondoggles al also questioned the wisdom of the them on the command mission before and the guests aren't on vacation," she military footing the bill for civilian they returned to Duluth. said. "We don't wine and dine them junkets while simultaneously "plead- This particular trip was not a regular- on a trip, and there's no time for a ing poverty." ly scheduled mission. Although guests round of golf. We keep them busy So the questions have to be asked: would pay for their own food and lodg- with unit and mission briefings." Are distinguished visitor tours worth the ing, Devine estimates that the tour cost An essential goal of civilian tours is costs? What are the real benefits? Are AMC about $40,000. "The Air Force to show the public how defense funds they safe? Should they continue? MiU- thinks the program is important enough are used. "When you're fighting for tary leaders and their troops, former to pay the money," she said. defense dollars, the more people who civiUan guests and members of the press Devine admitted the DoD moratori- understand what we do and how we do answer a resounding "yes" on all counts. um has httle effect on AMC operations. it, the better," Ayers said. "They leave And, despite the moratorium on hands- with a better understanding about how on operations, DoD officials say civilian their tax dollars are being spent." tours are valuable and are here to stay. Ensuring that the "The military has been giving the Impressing the Press. Some military public access to their properties for right people have officials believe that nobody needs to years," said Celia Hoke, DoD's acting understand military operations more deputy assistant secretary of public the opportunity to than the civilian press. Although the affairs. "They are ongoing and they services usually don't mix reporters will continue to take place. These tours "know what the and civiUan business leaders on a trip, are more important today than ever orientation tours specifically for re- before because there is an ever-dwin- military is all about" porters are common. dling number of veterans. Fewer peo- Harry Levins has accompanied ple are serving in uniform today be- is a prime objective dozens of press tours during his 30 cause of the demise of the draft and the years as a military affairs reporter for base closures. As a result, fewer people of the civilian tours. the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. An Army know what the military is all about." draftee who served in Germany in the

2001 • THE LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST AMERICAN 3| 1960s, Levins said the tours are valu- able because few of today's reporters By accepting responsibility, are familiar with the workings of the military, and some have preconceived sub's crew defied odds negative opinions of the nation's war machine. By Kerry Dougherty Waddle didn't stop there. On "I come from a long, proud line of March 20, again defying his lawyers. draftees," Levins said with a laugh. in a while you see something Waddle took the witness stand. His "When I was a kid, they'd sit around Onceon the nightly news that stops you appearance before the court of inquiry the kitchen table bragging about the

in your tracks. You can't believe shocked observers because he did it time they got in trouble in Naples, or

your eyes - or your ears. You see without the immunity from prosecu- whatever, and I thought it was excit- people squaring their shoulders and tion that his lawyers had sought and ing. Kids today don't have that oppor- saying things like "My mistake," "It that others had gained. tunity. Because society is becoming so was all my fault" and "I'm sorry." Waddle said he testified because much more distant from the military, In testimony before the court of "it was the right thing to do." they [young reporters] just don't know

inquiry investigating the February rU bet the people who actually anything about it. sinking of a Japanese fishing trawler knew Waddle were not at all "In December 1991, the Navy let by an American submarine off the surprised. This commander and his me steer the battleship Missouri for a coast of Hawaii, there was some crew broke all the rules. They didn't few minutes," Levins recalled. "It was astonishing behavior. hide behind their attorneys. They a clear day and smooth seas with noth-

The television cameras recorded didn't engage in mass finger-poinfing. ing in sight, and I guess it turned out

it all. Take this exchange: "It was They didn't appear preoccupied with all right because I didn't hit a land only a six-hour cruise," one of the saving their own skins. They did, mine. Once, I steered the aircraft carri- examiners said to the man in charge however, seem determined to set the er USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the

of the Greeneville 's radar tracking. record straight. And to say they're helmsman paid more attention to me "You got lazy. Didn't you. Petty sorry. That took guts. than if Sharon Stone was on board.

Officer Seacrest?" In the course of the inquiry it The trips help me a lot. In my line of "Yes, sir," Patrick Seacrest rephed. became clear that these men made work, if I can't get out with the troops, Not "Yes, but..." mistakes that awful day in February what do I have to write about?

Not "Well, it really wasn't my - a frightening series of avoidable, "I think it's a great program for the fault." deadly mistakes. But the culprits press and the military," he added. "I Not "Maybe, but the civihans on behaved better than the Navy itself don't care what kind of an attitude a board were distracting me." did in the aftermath of the deadly reporter has before the trip; they al- Just "Yes sir." Iowa explosion. Navy brass then ways come back with a 'Holy Cow!'

For some reason, it reminded me attempted to pin the blame on a sin- story. You can't meet these youngsters of a less noble moment in recent tele- gle sailor whom the service accused in uniform at work and not be vision history: Bill Clinton shaking of being a homosexual. impressed with their professionaHsm." his crooked finger at the camera and The men of the Greeneville also Most military officials agree. Since saying, "I did not have sex with that behaved far more honorably than their Washington crossed the Delaware, woman." former commander in chief. Unhke they have insisted that the troops are We live in a country that from 1992 Chnton, the officers of the Greeneville their greatest asset. Forget the flash to 2000 saw a president and his wife paid for their mistakes. Besides mili- and dash of sexy fighter jets, the im- duck all responsibility for their actions. tary sanctions already enacted, they mensity of the aircraft carriers and the

"I'm sorry" was not in their vocabular- may still face civil actions. Their can- hulking tanks; the real power comes

ies. It is in the lexicon of the subma- did remarks could work against them from the airmen, sailors, soldiers and

rine's skipper. Cmdr. Scott Waddle later, which is why their lawyers tried Marines who operate the hardware. ignored his lawyers and arranged to to shut them up. They didn't seem to meet privately with the families of the care. They wanted to tell the truth. A Tactic That Works. Civilian tours nine dead Japanese students. The tragic story of the Greeneville of military operations may be a pub- According to the families. Waddle is destined for the history books. My lic-relations ploy, but they work. Most apologized profusely to them. He em- hope is that someone, somewhere, would agree the armed forces must braced them. He wept with them. will also record the remarkable con- remain open to civilian inspection and After the encounter, the father of duct of the commander and crew in oversight, and concerns about safety one of the Japanese boys said that accepting blame for the accident. One and costs of civilian tours should con- Waddle's heartfelt remarks took away thing is certain. Though the careers of tinue to be raised. As long as taxpay- his anger. Somehow, seeing the tears the men of the Greeneville are in tat- ers foot the defense bill, the tours are and the pain and the grief and the guilt ters, their character is not. likely to continue. of the naval officer helped him realize

that it wasn't some unrepentant Copyright © 2001 The Virginian- Dan Allsup is a freelance writer based American behemoth that had killed Pilot, Norfolk, VA. Reprinted with in suburban St. Louis.

his son. It was just a man. permission. Article design: Doug Rollison

32 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 U

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Check or Visa, MasterCard (-| Ad"d"f Tax Un Money Order U Discover, AmEx Shipping (Forelgn'ofdlrs $2.95 Order Toil Free 1-800-349-4541 al eoi By Michael J. Bennett like to think about unintended TheLegim-bom consequences, yet Summers' own experi- i i '\'\7'7' ELL, the theory is right." ence provides perhaps the classical exam- program \ /V / ^ "^^^^ communists ple of the follies of "the dismal science" \ V said up to the collapse of the in modem times. Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, that's also what He and former Harvard associates were that triggered American officials entmsted with economic architects of development programs in the development of Second and Third Worid Third World and former communist coun- America'spostwar countries are saying today - economists tries, including Russia, throughout the past such as Lawrence H. Summers, the new decade. Two of his associates, one a Nobel president of Harvard University. Prize contender, are currently being sued

prosperity is a "The theory is right" are the precise for $120 million by the U.S. Justice De- words Summers used as the U.S. Secretary partment. The suit, filed Sept. 26, 2000, proven modelfar of the Treasury in the Clinton administra- accuses Harvard University of tion to dismiss a UN. study claiming "miserably" failing to supervise a program macroeconomic policies imposing health- financed by the U.S. Agency for Interna- macroeamomic service cuts on poor countries in return for tional Development to transform Russia development loans had an unanticipated into a capitalist nation. recovery. Now is cost: 500,000 dead children a year. Macroeconomists are master planners, The words resonate with irony when "wonks" in contemporary parlance. Rising compared to another observation made by above mere analysis, they constmct elabo- the time to Summers when he was appointed the 27th rate computer models, in which presumably

president of Harvard in March: "(I)t is an every relevant factor about economies, take it global. exciting era for education," he said, "in a fi-om the environmental to the industrial, are global economy that is increasingly fine-tuned into action programs. They ac- shaped by knowledge." Irony, unfortu- count for everything in their calculations Unlike postwar eastern Europe, below, nately, is as lost on macroeconomists such except for the human and political coeffi- where breadlines were common, tlie Gl as Summers, a tenured Harvard professor, cients - greed, cormption and mismanage- Bill was the vehicle that created an chief economist of the World Bank before ment. When confined to wonkeries, that's American middle class living in rows of suburban homes in towns such as he became Treasury Secretary, as it was fine, but in the real world, such mathemati- Levittown, N.Y., right. on communists. Macroeconomists don't cal models are about as reliable as projec- tions that Al Gore would win 60 percent of heart attacks and strokes, attributable only encroaching ideas giving life to the the presidential vote. largely to an average consumption of five GI Bill were memories of the Bonus In America itself, politicians keep fifths of vodka a week by men and three March on Washington, such us Joan macroeconomists on short leashes be- by women, equals the U.S. rate ft-om all Blondell in a split skirt leaning against a cause the voting public holds them, the causes combined. Acute alcohol poison- lamp pole in the movie, "Gold Diggers politicians, ultimately responsible at the ing accounts for 33,000 deaths annually of 1933," singing as an exultant parade polls for their mischief. Overseas, the in Russia; 300 in America. of World War I soldiers was transformed wonks usually have freer rein, although into a despairing breadline: roadblocks are thrown up on highways Middle-Class Revolution. Conditions in Remember myforgotten man, of good intentions when the price of fol- Russia are worse than they were in You put a rifle in his hand. ly is too high. The Clinton Justice De- America during the Depression. Desper- You sent him far away. partment itself brought suit against Har- ate times are calling for desperate mea- You shouted hip hooray. vard, too late, however, to protect the sures, "relentless experimentation," as But look at him today. new Bush administration from a cata- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt "The forgotten man," however, was strophic situation in Russia comparable said when America faced 25-percent largely ignored by FDR, "Dr. New to Germany's Weimar Republic in 1932. unemployment. Some New Deal pro- Deal," when he became "Dr. Win the An army of despair led by destitution grams did, indeed, work, such as bank- War." It was The American Legion in- and disease is marching through Russia deposit insurance and federally backed stead, with the support of those Republi- and the Second and Third Worlds, and home mortgages. Prosperity retumed to cans and conservative Democrats, along the blame can - with some justice - be America, however, only when the GI with the newspapers of William Ran- placed on the United States. By the time Bill of Rights turned a temporary dolph Hearst, that got the GI Bill through the media grasp the dimensions of the wartime boom into a permanently ex- Congress. Harry Colmery, The Ameri- looming catastrophe, however, and the panding economy based on readily ac- can Legion National Commander who public feels its impact, it will be too late cessible education, home ownership and actually wrote the law, had read history to blame Summers and his acolytes. An entrepreneurial opportunity. Millions of and knew veterans are either a nation's alternative development model will be veterans leapt over social barricades, greatest resource or enemy after the needed, one without the macroecono- thanks to the GI Bill, becoming the mid- drums of war are silenced. After World mists, their models, and the economic dle-class, educated homeowners. So War I, virtually every belligerent nation consequences paid until now by unde- many educational and entrepreneurial other than Britain and the United States veloped countries for monetary assis- opportunities were opened up that the had its govemment overthrown by its tance. A new program to help individu- American Dream became a reality for veterans. That didn't happen after World als and nations to help themselves is the great majority. The GI Bill was the War n, largely because of the Marshall required, one that discards the old as- law that worked, the exception to the rule Plan, but there wouldn't have been such sumptions that made countries in of unexpected consequences. It gave a plan if America's 16 million veterans - Africa, South America, Asia, eastern birth to America's middle-class revolu- more than one fourth of the civilian work Europe - notably Russia - guinea pigs tion, a revolution that achieved liberal force - hadn't successfully readjusted to in a failed experiment. ends by conservative means. civilian hfe thanks to the GI Bill. The poorer are getting not only poor- The GI Bill, the only major bill The same human and economic dy- er, but also sicker - and potentially more passed by Congress under FDR that namics are at work today in the world's dangerous. Internal upheavals in Russia wasn't a product of the New Deal, was new political democracies. Throughout could threaten the entire world if nuclear sponsored and advocated by RepubUcans the Second and Third Worlds, the offi- weapons become available for sale. Eco- and conservative Democrats, the original cers, men, technocrats and bureaucrats of nomic depression is exacerbating psycho- "compassionate conservatives." They military-industrial complexes constitute logical depression, and the vodka indus- were neither theorists nor "slaves of the largest pool of disciplined - or rebel- try is finishing the job. Forty years ago, some defunct economist," whose "en- lious - workers in their societies. Tum- Russian life expectancy at birth was equal croaching ideas" really rule the world as ing, converting and harnessing the ener- to America's. Today, it's 61 for men, six John Maynard Keynes boasted in his gies and strengths of those GI Ivans, years less than Mexico's 67. Deaths from "General Theory of Economics." The Jaimes and Mustafas into physical and .^1 tti.M

intellectual resources, strengthening their recalled in his recent memoirs. Normandy and at Monte Cassino were societies and avoiding internal friction The bill's congressional sponsors censored out of stateside newspapers by and civil war, should be the highest pri- weren't politically fashionable either, direct orders of FDR. Nonetheless, he ority of any development program. although one. Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers, was awarded the Medal of Honor by The GI BUl's success at home should its guiding spirit, ought to be a feminist Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and might make it the model for American develop- icon. She authored the legislation have been the Republican presidential ment programs overseas. Pragmatically, enabling women to serve in the military nominee in 1948 if he hadn't died July the bill recognized that World War II and is the only woman to have served as 12, 1944, the day the citation was signed. veterans could have been driven by eco- chairman (1950-52) of a major House Rep. John Rankin, D-Miss., chairman nomic despair to form Soldiers and committee. Veterans. But she was also a of the House Veterans Committee, was a Sailors Councils or Brownshirts, as Republican, despite representing the Southern PopuUst, and had been the co- Russian and German veterans did after tough union town of Lowell, Mass. Sen. sponsor of the landmark New Deal legis- World War I. Democratically, it Bennett Clark, the Senate sponsor, was a lation creating the Tennessee Valley Au- triggered the most pervasive social revo- Democrat who had been an outspoken thority. But he was, indisputably, a bigot lution in history. Unfortunately, GI BiU isolationist, as well as a founder of The who tried to kill the bill at the last minute concepts haven't been incorporated into American Legion with Gen. Theodore because he feared equal unemployment economic assistance programs; yet the Roosevelt, Jr. Gen. Roosevelt, the first provisions for black veterans would un- military is the dominant force in devel- President Roosevelt's eldest son, was a dercut the two-tier wage system in the oping countries, the elephant everyone Republican who had presidential aspira- South. His greatest sin, however, was tries to ignore until it goes on a rampage. tions in the 1920s, aspirations that were exposing the hypocrisy of the education- GI Joe certainly could have gone on a sabotaged by Eleanor Roosevelt. Twenty al estabUshment's opposition to the biU, monumental rampage in 1945-46. Civil- years later, however, he was the com- led by James B. Conant, who was the ian jobs had dropped from 63 million to mander of the breakout from Utah Beach president of Harvard at the time. 58 million as industry slowly converted on D-Day - a role played by Henry Fon- Conant, the leading advocate of IQ or to peacetime production. Coal, railroad da in the movie, "The Longest Day" - intelhgence as opposed to achievement and steel strikes were so massive Presi- but press reports of his heroism, both in testing as the principal criteria for admis- dent Harry Truman demanded power to conscript strikers, an unconstitutional interference with collective bargaining Levittown: Birthplace of suburbia stopped by Sen. Robert Taft, R-Ohio, the Senate majority leader. Conflict raged, PoUy Dwyer will never forget the in 1947 as a 2,000-unit housing devel- but the veterans, rather than being feeling of first-time home ownership. opment by real-estate genius WiUiam dragged in out of loyalty or necessity, She and husband Melvin Christensen, Levitt - an ambitious plan in and of stayed on the sidelines. Unemployment a World War n veteran, met in col- itself - had mushroomed into the compensation tided over 9 million veter- lege, got married between their junior largest housing development ever ans; education enrolled 8.3 million, 2.2 and senior years and soon had the first undertaken by a single entity." million in college; no-down-payment of three baby boys. War was over, Levittown became "the blueprint houses were bought by 6 million, and and the real world was upon them. for, and quintessential example of, hundreds of thousands started businesses "Everybody was a veteran or a suburbia," Manton explained. The or professions, and unemployment rates veteran's wife, all single-car families, explosion of single-family dwellings remained about 3 percent. The $13.5 bil- all in the same boat, all with children," drew national media exposure both lion invested in the GI Bill, repaid by the she remembers. Their starting point in for the solution they provided to the veterans themselves by 1960 out of taxes the American dream was 1954, Levit- postwar housing shortage and for on their increased earnings, according to town, N.Y., the nation's primordial their assembly-line mass construction. the U.S. Labor Department, reaped an- suburb. "It was only four rooms and a Levitt, a Navy Seabee during the war, other dividend, the Marshall Plan. bath, but who cared? It was a beautiful applied military techniques of stan- thing. This was ours, our grass, our dardized, quick construction to plant A Proven Model. So, why isn't the GI rooms, our everything." the rows of similarly designed homes Bill a model for theorists learning from Priced around $8,000, a mass-pro- on gently curved streets. the lessons it could teach? Unfortunate- duced Levittown home could be pur- "Everyone said they would ly, the GI Bill, although the most suc- chased with almost no down payment become slums," said Dwyer, who cessful law ever passed by Congress, is and a VA loan. Newly educated vets married a Korean War veteran after also the most politically incorrect. The may not have realized it at the time, her first husband passed away 20 bill was progressive by any reasonable but with the GI Bill's help they were years ago. "They were great." So standard, but The American Legion was triggering a middle-class revolution. great, in fact, that she never plans to its sponsor, and the American Legion Paul Manton of the Levittown His- leave. "This was my starter home and was also anti-communist during the torical Society said that by 1955 the my ender home." 1940s and 1950s. So the Legion has former south Long Island potato And according to the 2000 Cen- been tarred as reactionary by the fields were suddenly occupied by sus, it hasn't been a bad investment. irrational logic of political moralists. As "17,447 homeowners who were all The median value of a Levittown for Hearst, he was "abominated in liberal veterans of the Second World War. home was reported at $162,900. and academic circles" back in the 1930s, What had originally been conceived -JeffStaffer 1940s and 1950s, Arthur M. Schlesinger

SB • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 sion to college, was also convinced vet- subsequently rewarded with land grants give flux to our social order." erans were "the least qualified" of the by a grateful nation, but only after veter- That wasn't the intellectual paradigm wartime generation. That created an "ir- ans threatened to overthrow the very of ordinary - tried and true - GI Bill reconcilable difference" with the bill as government they had established. The beneficiaries, the Henry Kissingers and proposed by the Legion, according Frank Constitutional Convention was convened Daniel Patrick Moynihans who graduat- T. Hines, Veterans Administrator at the by the Founding Fathers only after "the ed from college a half-century ago after time. The Legion bUl created a "direct awful crisis" of Shays Rebellion in making Conant acknowledge veterans benefit to the veteran" (vouchers), Hines Massachusetts. The result was the Amer- were "the best students Harvard ever wrote, while an opposing bill favored by ican economic dialectic personified by had." Those veteran-students, who Conant and FDR "would control or build Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jeffer- flooded the best private campuses under up . . . educational institutions." The vet- son, an economy where capital and labor govemment vouchers that paid for tu- erans would provide just the occasion for continually struggle, not to overwhelm ition and fees, plus a living stipend, de- an administration proposal creating acad- the other, but to reach common ground manded their teachers re-examine their emic screening committees to control where, however imperfectly, all can own assumptions. "Don't give me any admissions using IQ tests. prosper in a participatory economy dom- BS about Europe or Africa or China," Conant used "the sacred doctrine of inated by a predominantly "yeoman," they would say. "I've been in Europe or local responsibility," states rights and "mechanick" or "middle class." Africa or China." And the good teachers state certification of colleges in his public The fundamental paradox in such po- responded, jubilant that that those gov- argument against the Legion bill. Rankin, litical tension is lost in the computer emment vouchers meant their colleges inspired no doubt by Mrs. Rogers, a Yan- models used by macroeconomists. In the didn't have "to kowtow to idiots any- kee Brahmin like Conant, retaliated with physical sciences, mathematics can de- more to make money." an argument no Yankee Brahmin could scribe real forces operating in predictable, These young men and women who ignore. Rankin cited Antioch College as a if not inexorable ways. But when people went on to win the Cold War, their suc- coUege that would be excluded from par- are reduced to social-science statistics, cessors who went to college and gradu- ticipation under the administration biU, however, even briUiant chemists such as ate school in the '60s and '70s, inherited like many historically black and Conant quickly get lost, as he did in the the triumph they won and tumed it into religiously sponsored colleges. As a co- use of IQ data in the eugenics Zeitgeist tragedy. They've been putting "flux in op school where students altemated work prevailing during the 1940s. Statistics can the social order" ever since because their with study, Antioch had been refused be a language, but it's one bereft of ambi- intellectual mentors - even those who certification by the state of Ohio. Anti- guity, irony and paradox, stuffed full of had exulted in teaching GIs - never at- och, founded by New England abolition- arrogant certitude, devoid of any account- tempted to abstract from the GI Bill's ists, had also been a stop on the Under- ing for the human factor. It's all too easy experience the social, psychological and ground Railroad, and one of the first two for even the most brilliant to end up be- financial factors that made it a successful colleges to admit blacks. The other was heving things "only an educated man experiment, and, presumably, a replica- OberUn, the alma mater of Colmery, au- could believe, no ordinary man could," as ble one. This was one relentless experi- thor of the Legion bUl. Moreover, Anti- George Orwell wrote. There are many ment that wasn't reified, because it och 's first president had been Horace more things on heaven and earth than can proved William F. Buckley was wrong Mann, founder of the nation's first pubUc be understood by the "meritocrats" Co- when he said he'd "rather be ruled by the schools in Massachusetts. Conant, of nant wanted to select through IQ testing first 1 ,000 names in the Boston course, was also aware Antioch had been to lead America, reaUties understood best telephone directory than the entire facul- praised by Lawrence Lowell, Conant's through the lens of real-world experience. ty of Harvard." He should have said the predecessor as president of Harvard, as first 1 ,000 members of Cambridge's the best small college in America. Rankin The Boys from Harvard. A generation American Legion posts. didn't have to spell out the details. Co- ago, America presumably learned how That intellectual snobbery cost veter- nant knew Hearst's Boston Record- short-sighted meritocrats can be, thanks ans of other conflicts dearly in terms of American would spell them out in print if to another Harvard former faculty mem- sharply reduced educational benefits - he didn't back off. He backed off. ber, Robert S. MacNamara and his "whiz $1 10 a month for Korean vets to cover The founding fathers - and mother - kids." Unfortunately, the whiz kids all expenses, $100 a month initially for of the GI BUl were too wise to be wonks. didn't go away; they were reincarnated Vietnam vets - and America itself. A Politically shrewd, psychologically as- in Russia as "The Boys from Harvard." Vietnam-era bill on the scale of World tute and steeped in American history, The intellectual lineage of both stretches War n would have cost a fraction of the they knew the American Dream was a back to Conant who described them as money spent on Great Society programs, reality rooted in the primordial desire of "the American radicals," in a 1943 At- and given the country another tried-and- men and women for homes of their own lantic Monthly article. These "natural true generation of leaders at home as and education for their children, a reaUty aristocrats," Conant wrote, would self- well as abroad. Instead, we got "The promulgated in earlier legislation, the lessly devote themselves to public ser- Boys from Harvard" and the overriding Northwest Ordinance and the Homestead vice as "fanatic beUever(s) in equaUty." idea that wealth can only be redistributed and Land Grant College Acts. As the As "American radicals," Conant predict- or stolen, not made. first nation in the world to declare its in- ed, they "would demand to confiscate America was diminished by failure to dependence as a democracy, America (by constitutional methods) all property fully utilize the productive capacity of had secured those rights through an army once a generation (and) use the powers Vietnam veterans. Russian resources and navy raised from among its citizens. of the government to reorder the 'haves were gobbled up by a new oligarchy un- This victorious "rabble in arms" was and the have-nots' every generation to der the "Great Grab," the macroeconom-

• LEGION • AUGUST 2001 THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE J/ ic policies of "The Boys" - Treasury Agency. "The line between military and and sustained civilian prosperity - and Secretary Summers' macroeconomic civilian industry (was) quite porous," a model for nations struggling from the "dream team" from the Harvard Institute according to Odum. mire of communist dictatorship. of International Development (HIID). Consequently, Russian plants were in When the Cold War ended, Russia The U.S. Agency for International De- a good position to retool assembly lines was spending about the same percentage velopment (USAID) "was readily per- expeditiously to civilian production. As of its GNP on its military, almost two- suaded to hand responsibility for Ameri- of 1989, Russia's 420 military enterprises thirds, as America had been before VJ ca's critical role in reshaping the Russian had "already dedicated 40 percent of pro- Day, 1945. The difference between economy" over to HIID, according to duction to civilian goods," according to America and Russia was the GI Bill. The Janine R. Wedel's authoritative study, VPK, the official military- industrial com- law enabled the United States to start

"Collision and Collusion." mission comparable to the omnipotent converting its greatest resource, officers

HUD set up a massive people-orient- War Production Board in World War n and enlisted men, into productive citi- ed privatization program of Russian state America. "All televisions and sewing zens, long before factories were retooled industries, under the direction of Andrei machines, 97 percent of refrigerators, 79 to produce automobiles, refrigerators and Schliefer, a tenured economics professor percent of vacuum cleaners and washing vacuum cleaners. Rather than let trained, at Harvard and the Nobel Prize machines and 50 percent of motorcycles disciplined soldiers, sailors and airmen contender named in the Justice Depart- were being manufactured by VPK firms." beg on the streets or be drafted by loyalty ment suit. Schliefer won the John Clark However, homes where the refrigera- or necessity into violent labor, political,

Bates Medal in 1999, "the most presti- tors, TVs and vacuum cleaners would go and criminal mafias, as is happening in gious award in economics short of the were in desperately short supply and most of the world today, die GI Bill put Nobel," according to The New York couldn't be built without private-property half of them in school. The mass con-

Times, an honor shared with Summers, laws governing mortgages and title trans- struction of new and desperately needed the winner in 1993. The privatization fers, a reality Russian government agen- homes, begun by WilUam Levitt on program gave Russians vouchers to buy cies did recognize. At the agencies' urg- Long Island, N.Y., turned the builders' stock in the state industries, but the ing, USAID provided another American craft into an industrial sector employing vouchers were really scrip - "provisional group with $20 million to help draft nec- millions, and generated a demand for certificates, as for shares of stock," as essary laws. But the money had also been goods and services that transformed, defined by Webster's. The actual stock sought by yet another Harvard affiliate, through franchising methods, the coun- still had to be bought with money, but the Institute for Law-Based Eiconomy try's hitherto primitive marketing and money wasn't available. The (ILBE), one of whose founding partners distribution sector, the sales of food, fur- government, advised by HIID, slashed was the "President and Fellow of Har- niture and clothing into an economic salaries, pensions, health and welfare vard University." Because the initiatives powerhouse equal to the factory system subsidies and access to credit. Without were perceived as conflicting, HIID, ad- that had conquered the world. disposable income, scrip or vouchers for vised by Schleifer, the Nobel Prize con- Other nations had won great wars; stock, investment became worthless, ex- tender, "interfered" with and "obstructed" America had won the greatest war in his- cept to speculators who cornered vouch- the legal reforms, according to Wedel. tory and crowned the victory with an ers from sellers for a fraction of their Homes became only the stuff of vod- even greater triumph, enduring - and af- value and rigged bid prices. ka dreams. fordable - peace. The triumph, however, The Russian economy was irre- The Russian people, for three-quarters could have all too easily tumed into a deemably damaged - as was America's of the 20th century, were hapless guinea Phrryic victory, impaled on the contradic- credibility. Our foreign policy "was pigs in the most ambitious ideological tions of capitalism. Instead, the United essentially privatized to a very small experiment in history, communism. States eliminated the contradictions by group of players on both sides with Then, when the experiment failed, they making its veterans first-class citizens, very little accountability," Wedel con- became, once again, guinea pigs in yet citizens of the world's first overwhelm- cluded. "Planners and politicians have another ideological experiment. Those ingly middle-class society, and it did so alienated non-Western reformers and who should have known better - the in- through the GI BQl. opened themselves to suspicion and tellectuals - hadn't learned from history. "Future historians may consider it cynicism about aid programs, capital- (the GI Bill) the most important event of ism and the West." People: The Wealth of Nations. The the 20th century," Peter Drucker, the Ironically, Soviet Russia might have peoples of the Third World, eastern business and economics philosopher, has converted faster to a peacetime economy Europe and Russia are all the poorer for written. "The GI Bill - and the enthusias- than the United States after World War America's own lack of appreciation tic response to it on the part of America's II. A garrison state dependent on a per- and understanding of the enduring veterans - signaled the shift to the manent war economy, the country's mili- lessons to be learned from the World knowledge society. We are clearly in the tary industries, out of necessity, had run War II GI Bill of Rights. Sixty years middle of this transformation; indeed, if dual production lines for civilian goods ago. Gen. Roosevelt anticipated a time history is any guide, it will not be com- throughout the 70-year regime. Naval when America could become a beacon pleted until 2010 or 2020. But already it shipyards made fishing trawlers; other- toward which "other nations can strug- has changed the political, economic and wise, there would be no fish to eat. Radar gle out of the mire of dictatorship." moral landscape of the world." factories made TV sets. "It was called And, indeed, the American military Drucker wrote that 1945, the year the militia approach to production," ac- establishment he helped lead in the when GIs began to take advantage of the cording to Lt. Gen. William E. Odum, fight against fascist dictatorships was bill, marked a divide in world history former director of the National Security converted into a catalyst for widespread comparable to 1776, the year the Ameri-

• • 31) THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE AUGUST 2001 . .

can Revolution began, and also the year Schumpeter, vaguely understood that the market, and Levitt proved him right. James Watt perfected the steam engine idea at the time the bill passed. An Aus- The GI Bill launched the massive and Adam Smith published "The Wealth trian who taught at Harvard in the 1930s housing boom that built suburbia, the of Nations." The record of the GI Bill's and 1940s, Schumpeter admired the real "New Frontier" while transforming success offers clear, indisputable proof great entrepreneurs, the Camegies, - and democratizing - higher education. that people are, as a matter of fact, the Fords, Rockefellers, Watsons, etc. Nev- Schumpeter's "celebration of entrepre- wealth of nations, the world's ultimate ertheless, he predicted in his 1940 book, neurs such as Levitt with their gales of and only infinite resource. "CapitaUsm, Socialism and Democracy," 'creative destruction' was far more accu- "Development isn't a collection of "... a socialist form of society will in- rate than his prediction of capitalism as things but rather a process that yields evitably emerge from an equally its own gravedigger," Schlesinger ac- things," Jane Jacobs, the social critic, has inevitable decomposition of capitalist knowledged a half-century later. written. "Yet governments, aid agencies society." His contemporaries - Keynes, "The movement into the age of the and the World Bank put their faith into a John Kenneth Galbraith and Schlesinger computer is a triumphant vindication of - 'Thing Theory' . . . (which) presupposes looked forward to a postwar society in the other half of Schumpeter's argu- that development is the result of possess- which investment decisions would be ment," Schlesinger added, "his theory of ing things such as factories, dams, dictated by the interlocking directorate of economic development as propelled by

schools, tractors . . . things subsumed intellectuals, big government and big technological breakthroughs and entre-

under the category of infrastructure . . business, the "meritocracy." Just as the preneurial adventurers."

(But) economically creative people . . War Production Board produced victory But it was the GI Bill's creative invest- drive the process, people who don't need in war, a Peace Production Board would ment in America's most productive young to be geniuses or even extraordinarily produce prosperity in peacetime. Schum- people that made it aU possible. In talented . . . The requirements are initia- peter believed only "production of mod- Schlesinger's words, without the GI BiU, tive and resourcefulness - quaUties abun- em homes for the masses would suffice there would be no catalyst to "combine dant in the human race." to provide (the private) investment op- individual opportunity with social respon- Only one economist, Joseph A. portunities" necessary to re-invigorate sibility." If the New Deal saved capital-

ism, it was the GI Bill that gave birth to a people's capitalism, where the proletariat was busy acquiring education and homes, is Why capitalism a mystery elsewhere? becoming middle-class, creating a capital-

Capitalist countries succeed as business and virtually none protecting ist democracy welling up from the bottom just and workable societies to the private property. So Peruvians and rather than trickling down from the top. extent they empower people to own most sensible people around the Success of the GI Bill's "creative in- something of their own - homes that world choose to conduct their busi- vestment" was predicated on their tried- shelter their families and reinforce ness "extra-legally" - as did Ameri- and-true military experience, making political emancipation through eco- cans 100 years ago. them good risks. That same military ex-

nomic independence. That was "our natural state of ille- perience could make veterans of other That seems obvious to most gal merriment," said "Mr. Dooley," the countries good risks as students, home- Americans. But to the rest of the Irish bartender-philosopher created by owners and entrepreneurs. International

world it is "The Mystery of Capital: Finley Peter Dunne. Nothing illustrat- GI Bills could also mobiUze private cap-

Why Capitalism Triumphs in The ed the "extra-legality" so much as the ital - most of it now not invested because West and Fails Everywhere Else," the federal government's distribution of of a lack of property rights - in develop- title of a best-selling book in the Sec- "land scrip, the 19th century equivalent ing countries for investment in secondary ond and Third Worlds by Hernando of food stamps" to veterans of the Rev- loan guarantees for homes, stimulating DeSotoofPeru. olutionary War, War of 1812, the Indi- internal markets essential to free nations, Almost 20 years ago, DeSoto an Wars and the Mexican Wars. and, thus, freeing those emerging nations

started a new business in Peru, a two- The scrip amounted to little more from dependence on earnings from ex- sewing-machine garment factory. He than "squatters' or tomahawk rights," ports and exploitation by industries seek- needed five university students work- and shooting the sheriff was the usual ing cheap labor. Educational opportuni- ing 289 days and paid 31 times the way of settling land disputes. Even the ties, using computer teaching methods ui average monthly minimum wage to Homestead Act "only sanctioned what new communities and old military bases, get an operating license. Peru was settlers had done for themselves," are equally attainable. And the way producing 28,(XX) laws per year - 100 DeSoto wrote. Only the passage of the could be led by an International Devel- a day - regulating business. Yet, at GI BiU codified extra-legal rights into opment Corps composed primarily of the same time, 68 percent of Peru's a formal property system, enabling the American veterans educated under an families were Uving in houses with- United States to become "the most improved American GI BiU. out clear legal title. important market economy and pro- Why not extend such opportunities to Those houses, the basis, as mort- ducer of capital in the world," accord- everyone? The answer can be found in gaged and refinanced real estate, of ing to DeSoto. That "released the aspi- the bill's history. FDR had a more wealth, were "dead capital." Peru - rations and energies of common peo- sweeping plan, an Economic Bill of and other Second and Third World ple as never before seen in America." Rights, guaranteeing all Americans edu- countries, DeSoto quickly found, had And, potentially, world history. cation, jobs, housing, medical care and too many laws minding everyone's -MJB pensions, raising economic assurances to the level of political rights. "All these

AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • Jj) "

(economic) rights were implicit in the orations, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and An enormous potential market programs of the New Deal," transform- Ginnie Mae. Their mortgage-backed se- Obviously, a GI Bill for Russia or ing "negative (political) liberty from curities held by banks, pension funds and South Africa, for example, couldn't be govemment" to "positive (economic) insurance companies are "the gilt-edged legislated quickly, but the process of legal liberty through govemment," Doris bonds" of popular imagination turning and financial reform itself could enlist Keams Goodwin wrote. the proverbial money under the mattress cooperation from state and community

FDR's "New Bill of Rights" would into liquid capital lent out to produce new institutions aUke, i.e. "micro-banks." Ex- have erased "the fatal and false dichoto- wealth. The dollar value of mortgage- isting micro-banks first started in Pakistan my - liberty vs. security, freedom backed securities issued in 1998-99 was to help women entrepreneurs, should be against equality - which had deranged $1.6 trillion, more than 11 times the expanded to cover veterans and possibly American social thought and crippled $141 bilUon issued in 1983-84. police. Comparable enterprise funds have the nation's capacity to subdue depres- Comparable resources are potentially been successful in eastem Europe, lend- sion and poverty," according to James available in underdeveloped countries ing no more than $1 ,500 to plumbers, MacGregor Bums. to help finance their own GI Bills, but auto mechanics, builders, hairdressers, But the price of enactment would be it's money kept under mattresses be- small manufacturers of toys, etc., none freedom itself. In return, every civiUan cause savings, investment and property with more than five employees. of working age would have been con- rights aren't protected by legal systems. A few good financiers needed to scripted into national service, as advo- In Egypt alone, the assets of the poor advise such entrepreneurs can be found cated by Mrs. Roosevelt. "All of us - are "55 times more than all foreign in- in the U.S. Armed Services. An Inter- men in the services and women at home vestment ever recorded, including the national Development Corps could be - should be drafted - and told what is funding of the Suez Canal and Aswan established with a proposal Congress the job we are to do," she said. "So long Dam," according to Hernando De Soto, has under consideration now to pro- as we are left to volunteer we are bound head of the Institute Libertad & Democ- vide current service members educa- to waste our capacities." But just as racia in Lima, Peru. "The challenge tion benefits comparable to the World everyone shouldn't be forced to serve, that leaders throughout the developing War II generation, full tuition and fees not everyone can benefit from service. and former communist nations face - at any institution they can get into. The Besides, FDR's plan was far more ex- from Russia's President Vladimir Putin principal impediment to passage of the pensive. His budget request for 1944-45 to South Africa's Thabo Mbeki - is to proposal, recommended two years ago alone was $10.3 billion, five times the address the fact that most of the citizens by a commission headed by Anthony J. $2 billion Congress authorized, 77 per- they govern do not have property Principi, now Secretary of Veterans cent of the $13.5 billion spent on the GI rights," De Soto has written. Affairs, are private tuition fees up to Bill from 1945 through 1952. The GI Bill formula of home owner- $30,000 a year. To overcome that, an Such massive expenditures weren't ship, education and entrepreneurial op- additional two years of service in the necessary. The first sale of VA portunity is the only proven model for Development Corps could be required mortgages to the secondary loan market the development of individuals, families for veterans earning degrees in finance, in 1948 began a process that has been the and communities. The alternative should business, architecture or engineering, bedrock of the nation's middle-class way be unacceptable in any civilized society. for example, from private colleges, of life ever since. Guaranteed home "A person who is deprived of something who agree to spend two years helping mortgages, first primarily for veterans, he can call his own and the possibility of small entrepreneurs, community orga- but soon thereafter for civilians, was also earning his living through his own initia- nizations and local governments to the seedbed of millions of new business- tive," Pope John Paul II has written, start and expand business, housing and es through refinanced mortgages that "comes to depend upon the social ma- marketing opportunities.

provided initial financing. Before the chine and those who control it. This Every theory , every program, every

Depression, mortgages were lent against makes it more difficult for him to recog- business succeeds only to the extent it the assets of local banks, which, to offset nize his dignity as a person, and hinders takes into account - and derives energy risks, demanded 40 percent down pay- progress toward the building up of an from - what Schumpeter called, "that ments on three to five-year terms. Feder- authentic human community." amazing thing, the fact (emphasis his). al insurance of mortgages arrived with American financial organizations, The GI Bill was the most amazing fact the Home Loan Mortgage Corporation in such as Fannie Mae and The Mortgage about America in the last half of the 20th 1934, saving almost a million homeown- Bankers Association of America, are al- century. Its inspiration can - and should ers from eviction, through re-negotiated ready exploring secondary mortgage be - the most amazing/acr of the world 15-year mortgages. Subsequent federal markets in developing nations. The great- in the first half of the 21st century. IJ insurance of bank accounts backed up est hindrance to making the importance local banks' assets, encouraged savings of such property rights understood and Michael J. Bennett is the author of and made capital available for civihan adopted by officials of countries with ''When Dreams Came True: The GI Bill mortgages through the Federal Housing inadequate legal systems has been Amer- And The Making ofModem America. Administration. ican economic advisers such as HUD. He is a Congressional Fellow ofthe

But it was the GI Bill's no-money- But, by helping officials of such countries American Political Science Association, down, 25- and 30-year mortgages that start programs patterned after the GI Bill, and has been a reporterfor The Boston made the secondary loan market take off just for veterans - initially - governments Herald, Boston Record-American, and as the nation's largest pool of capital, of underdeveloped countries would have: The Detroit News. now more than $4 trillion, financed An appealing story to tell through government-backed corp- A constituency, veterans Article design: Holly K. Soria

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MEMBER FDIC niEiTVIAIIIIY Twenty-five years ago, two U.S. Army officers were brutally hacked to death by North Korean soldiers. Operation Paul Bunyan ensured they did not die in vain.

By Wayne Kirkbride ified officer to lead this detail of 10 U.N. Command work detail. The prima- guards and five workers. Within two ry targets were the two American offi- Sometimes the simplest of things weeks he would be going home to his cers, who were brutally chopped to death were difficult during the Cold wife and three small children in New- with axes carried to the tree by a Korean War. This was especially true in burgh, N.Y. Bonifas, a West Point Service Corps work detail. Korea's demilitarized zone. On graduate of the Class of 1966, had re- Within minutes the entire Korean

Aug. 6, 1976, several U.N. Com- turned to his alma mater to teach prior peninsula was on alert. I was the adju- mand guards and workers set out to trim to his assignment in Korea. tant of the 2nd Battalion 9th Infantry

a Normandy poplar that was blocking He was on the major's list, and it (Manchu) stationed at Camp Greaves, the view between U.N. Command out- was only a matter of time before he on the northern edge of the Imjin River. posts in the Joint Security area. The de- would be promoted. We had been on alert immediately fol- tail was told not to cut the tree because First Lt. Mark T. Barrett of Colum- lowing the infiltration of three North

Kim II Sung had personally planted it. bia, S.C., was the other officer on the Koreans in June 1976 that resulted in The detail retired and protested the inci- detail. He was in his first month in coun- their deaths in separate armed encoun- dent to a security officers' meeting, try, and this seemed like a good mission ters. We were the nearest infantry bat- based on provisions of the 1953 to leam the ropes. talion to the Joint Security Area, and the

armistice that ended the armed fighting At 1 1 a.m., what should have been a departure of the medivac heUcopters of the Korean War. routine tree trimming tumed deadly. Ini- showed us how serious the situation The pruning was rescheduled for tially a small North Korean force showed was. We placed Company A on five- Aug. 18, 1976. Capt. Arthur G. Boni- up to observe the work. Then came the minute alert. Likewise, the infantry fas, with a year's experience in the reinforcements. When they arrived, near- units in the 3rd Brigade who manned Joint Security Area, was the most qual- ly 30 North Korean guards assaulted the the Guard Posts ColUer and Ouellette which overlooked the DMZ were placed on increased alert. While the higher echelons were de- bating options, we were breaking out our basic load of ammunition, opening boxes of TOW missiles and getting ready. The same was happening in ROK and U.S. installations all over Korea. The options were: do nothing, start Worid War HI, or do something in be- tween that would be meaningful. There were contingency war plans for every situation, except for an incident at Pan-

munjom. However, it was clear that the

tree must come down. As long as it

stood, it would be a symbol of tyranny and aggression and an affront to free men everywhere. The logical name for the mission was Operation Paul Bunyan. On Aug. 20 the decision was made. Gen. Richard Stiwell, commanding gen- eral of the 8tii U.S. Army and U.N. Command, coordinated the plan with President Gerald Ford and South Korean President Park Chung Hee. The opera- tion would kick off the next day, on Sat- urday, Aug. 21, 1976. U.N. soldiers are attacked by North Korean soldiers at the demilitarized zone. Two The area was a beehive of activity all Americans were killed in the massacre which was captured by a photographer in a night as units prepared to cut down that far-off observation post on Aug. 18, 1976.

i|2 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 Limited Advance Striking... NEW 2001 U.S. GOV'T SILVER BUFFALO DOLLAR as a Giant Solid Silver Proof

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moved to its position, and a truck was parked at the end of the "Bridge of No Retum" to prevent a North Korean reac- tion force from interfering. Other engi- neer trucks began pulling out illegal bar- riers constructed by the North Koreans.

The first branch came down at 7: 1 a.m. Poplar trees are very sappy, and the engineers had a difficult time cutting through the branches. The saw gummed

up quickly. In addition, it was almost impossible to get the correct cutting angle that would prevent the weight of the branch from bearing down on the saw. In the end, 13 saws were used. The third and final branch was cut down as 1st Lt. George L. Deason made the cut as his platoon formed a human chain soldiers a tree-removal mission, which earlier the lives of two Ameri- U.S. begin cost holding on both sides. can officers. A North Korean security force ran out tree at 7 a.m. Infantry units moved to form a ring around the engineers. to halt the operation. But they were held helicopter pick-up zones, security forces Company A, 2nd Battalion, 9th back because their leaders knew that rehearsed their plans and the rules of Infantry (Manchu) would also be in they did not have the power to overcome engagement, and liaison officers were position with pick-axe handles to pro- this task force. exchanged. I became the U.S. liaison tect the engineers. Because of the pro- Within 45 minutes, the task force officer to the 1st ROK Division's Re- visions of the treaty, these non-U .N. removed the illegal barriers and com- connaissance Company, the nearest Command troops were unarmed. The pleted the tree-cutting mission initiated armed combat troops to the tree-cutting only armed security personnel were earlier that week. The task force carried site. The helicopters were prepared for from the Joint Security Area, out much of the tree, leaving only the takeoff, and the field artillery forward Panmunjom. stump to remind all who would visit observers verified the target list. We Just outside of Panmunjom was the Panmunjom of the resolve of the U J^. would be ready to move out at first light First ROK Recon Company. In the air, Command to maintain freedom in the on Saturday. with orbits that would have them no Republic of Korea. The plan was simple: An American more than a minute away from Pan- The forces in Korea remained on engineer unit would drive up to the munjom were Companies B and C of alert status for nearly a month. The tree and begin cutting the branches. A the Manchu Battalion. Behind them North Koreans regretted the incident ROK Special Forces company made were the tanks of the Gary Owens Cav, occurred. The State Department de- up of black belts in tae kwon do would the Buccaneers of the 1st Battalion, 32 manded an apology but realized that a Infantry and countless ROK units. Un- regret was all that the North Koreans seen, but in the air were B-52s, F-4s, and were going to give. The memory of

"It wasn't the Marne, F-1 1 Is. In addition, the 7th U.S. Fleet the operation will remain a part of the was in position. soldiers who participated in it. It or the Ardennes, or The operation went as planned. At wasn't the greatest operation, but it 6:45 a.m., the task force commander demonstrated that the U.N. Command ChipYong Ni-butit Lt. Col. Victor Vierra gave a message had the resolve to maintain its free- to the joint duty officer to be handed dom of movement and that it would could have been. The to his North Korean counterpart: "At take the necessary steps to ensure its 0700 hours, a United Nations Com- rights were not violated in the Joint soldiers who marched mand work force will enter the Joint Security Area. Security Area to complete the task be- into those battles gun on Wednesday. Should there be Wayne Kirkbride, a no interference, this work will be com- retired lieutenant wearing the Indianhead pleted and the work force will leave." colonel, was a US. The first element crossed the start Army liaison officer to patch were no less point minutes later. the 1st ROK Infantry Twelve minutes later the task force Division during Oper- unsure of the outcome entered the Joint Security Area and ation Paul Bunyan. " moved directly to the tree. The engi- He is the author of than we were. neers began to trim the tree as the 64 "DMZ: A Story of the Panmunjom Axe soldiers and Murder "and "Panmunjom: Facts Maj. Gen. Morris Brady, ROK Special Forces Com- pany A, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry About the Korean DMZ. Commander's Column, (Manchu) moved to their locations. The Indian Head, September 1976 The 1st ROK Recon Company Article design: Doug Rollison

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; venturing online to buy prescrip- ligram dose of the arthritis I J tion drugs can be scary, drug Celebrex for $123, or

i r But braving cyberspace is $1 .23 a pill, 26 percent less

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I many older Americans don't charge. And www.Pre- have prescription-drug insurance cov- scriptionsBy Mail .com erage, online drug stores promise sav- sells the bladder-control ings of as much as 40 percent. drug Ditropan in 100-pill Buying drugs over the Internet bottles of the 5-milligram doesn't mean choosing lesser brands, dose for $70.22, a whop- generics or lower-quality products. In- ping 44-percent savings over the aver- of as much as 50 percent, the Canadian ternet pharmacies are cheaper because age price of $124.55. Web sites often sell generic drugs that they have lower overhead and invento- Because drug prices can vary by re- aren't yet available in the United ry costs than their bricks-and-mortar gion, it's always worth a call to your States. competitors. And Web drug stores use local pharmacy to be sure you're get- But users should know that buying real pharmacists to confirm prescrip- ting the best price. In addition, many and importing drugs from Canada is tions and check each order, but the ac- local pharmacies offer senior discounts technically illegal in the United States. tual pill sorting is done by machine. or participate in programs like RxAm- Exceptions are often made if the med- To be sure you're dealing with a erica, which offers discounts of as ication is needed for a serious health reputable site, always shop at pharma- much as 20 percent to American Le- problem, and the treatment isn't yet cies that require you to mail a prescrip- gion members. More information can available here. In those cases, the pa- tion or provide your doctor's phone be found at www.legion.org. tient can import three months of the number to confirm the order. Some online pharmacies offer ser- drug for personal use. Avoid sites that don't require pre- vices that local drug stores can't. One Reputable online sites won't charge scriptions or use their own "online site - www.drugstore.com - helps you to ship prescriptions, and physician" or a questionnaire to pre- users track prescriptions and notifies www.drugstore.com even lets you pick scribe drugs. The site also should in- customers of drug recalls. Another site up your order at a local Rite Aid. Most clude access to a real pharmacist by e- - www.SafeDose.com - helps patients reputable Internet pharmacies send e- mail or telephone. with multiple prescriptions keep track mail reminders about refills.

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• • 41) THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE AUGUST 2001 TRAVEL SERVICES FINANCIAL SERVICES I Dental Plan Covers routine and^ RAMADA First National Bank Omaha more extensive dental work. Save 15% -30% Call 800-621-3008, Ext. 45284 AVIS The American Legion every time you stay. Affinity Credit Card Call 800-462-8035 Save up-to-25% off Call 866-546-8472 Offer ID#: 00020204 —^ Insurance mart SuperValue Daily, Weekly Individual health insurance and Weekend Rates. First National Bani< for members and their families 800-331-1212 NatkmalCarRental. Call Omaha 800-323-2106 Offer AWDID#: G343600 Savings, Save up to 10% -25% CDs, Money Market IRAs, Equity Products, Home off daily, weekend, weekly, Home Outstanding Rates Protection monthly and business rates. Call 877-709-3626 Deductible reimbursement Call 800-227-7368 on paid homeowners or Save up to 25% off standard Offer ID #: 5176669 The American Legion Annuity renters insurance claims. time and mileage rates. 888-353-4466 Call 800-576-3445. Call 800-455-2848 Call Not available in all states. Offer Offer BCD#: T756500 Travelodge, ID#: Legion Membership Card Save 15 - 30% HEALTH SERVICES more than 500 Travelodge INSURANCE and Thriftlodge hotels. Level Term Plan Save 15%-30% off already Call 800-545-5545 Higher benefits to cover debts Eye Care Plan ofAmerica standard rates. Offer ID#: 00020204 low room that reduce over time. 800-268-2195 Save up to 40% Call Call 800-542-5547 Offer ID#: 00020204 or more on eyewear. Modern Call 800-221-3272 CHOICE HOTELS wtov^ Vets Plan Present your Legion Membership card. A more economical choice for Younger members (under 40). You save when you mention Call 800-542-5547 Save 15% -30% you are a member of the Legion Ijfimerica off your next stay. Call 800-424-6423 Whole Life Plan Save as as Call 800-682-1071 Offer ID#: 00800800 Smaller debt coverage - much 20% or more on prescription drugs. Offer ID#: 00020204 never terminates due to age. Call 800-905-9818 MOVERS Call 800-523-5758 Present your Legion TRICARE Supplement Membership card. northAmerican. Supplements both active duty and retired military Members can save 15% -30%. Minimum 50% discount and MAGAZINE & member's health care. Call 877-202-8814 coverage. INTERNET SERVICE $50,000 Free Call 800-542-5547 Offer ID#: 00020204 Small Employer (Ovei;> £ejgion American Plan Employees benefits Full year's subscription to the award-winning American Save 15% -30% for small businesses, including Posts Legion Magazine. off standard rates. Up to 55% discount on and Departments interstate moving expenses. Call 800-321-1998 Call 800-769-0939 The American Legion Offer ID#: 00020204 Call 800-877-7332 Web Site Latest issues that NOTE; Rates/Discounts for Hotels and Rental Cars are subject to availability and are not guaranteed. Advance reservations are required. news on concern Legion members, Your Legion Working For You veterans, active/retired Customer Service and/or Emblem Americanism/ Legislative and/or military and reserve. National Emergency Fund Sales Children & Youth Veterans Affairs www.legion.org Call 800-433-3318 Call 888-453-4466 Call 317-630-1203 Call 202-861-2700 Legion revives support oetwork

To assist active-duty military personnel juggling personal re- sponsibilities with service in the armed forces. The American Le- gion is recharging its Family Support Network. The program has helped thousands of families personally affected by active- duty military service since the Gulf War. Since the program began in 1990, Legionnaires across the United States have mowed lawns, provided baby-sitting services, made minor home repairs, washed cars and even helped pay bills for families whose lives were disrupt- Ruth Tout of Indianapolis visited the crash site on Sharp Top Mountain where her brother's plane crashed 58 years ago. A week after the ceremony for the lost airmen, ed by a sudden call to action. a memorial was placed at the site. Earlier this year, Virginia's state government and The Family Support Network the city of Bedford proclaimed Feb. 2 Forgotten Airmen Day. also has financial-assistance op- portunities for GIs with minor children, such as the Temporary Virginia lionors Forgotten Airmen Financial Assistance program. Service members are encour- On Feb. 2, 1943, five airmen died families after all these years," said Jef- aged to call toll-free, (800) 504- when their B-25 bomber crashed in the frey Clemens, a local pastor who worked 4098, when services are needed. Blue Ridge Mountains of Bedford Coun- to ensure the airmen are remembered. The number has remained avail- ty, Va., while on a routine training mis- William Overstreet, a pilot who flew able through the peacekeeping sion. More than 58 years later, in a stir- with the 357th Fighter Group - one of missions of the 1990s and is now ring Memorial Day ceremony, surviving World War II's most highly decorated in its second decade. relatives joined local citizens in honoring units - spoke of the intense patriotism Virginia's "Forgotten Airmen." during the war. He recalled the story of Honored were: Second Lt. George R. a close friend who, without hesitation, Beninga, bombardier, 23, Marietta, laid down his life to save others. BE A PART OF Minn.; Cpl. Peter J. Biscan, flight engi- Bedford's Legion Post 16 Comman- THE NATION'S LARGEST neer, 29, Chicago; Second Lt. Hilary S. der Edward Whitten and Post Adjutant VETERANS ORGANIZATION Blackwell, navigator, 22, Santa Monica, Emmett Burley recognized the efforts of Calif.; Second Lt. William C. McClure, those who kept the memory of the airmen

The American Legion is an organi- copilot, 22, Indianapolis; and Second alive: Pastor Clemens, who located sur- zation of veterans serving other veter- Lt. Paul M. Pitts, pilot, 21, Poteau, Okla. viving family members, raised funds for ans, their families and communities. The Gathered at Lynchburg Regional Air- the plaque and organized the ceremony; Legion serves as the veteran's voice in port, more than 100 people, including 25 Don and Elaine Yeargin, whose Web site Washington, D.C., fighting for the bene- family members from across the nation, about the B-25 crash has attracted more fits and rights of those who sei-ved our looked skyward, anticipating the arrival than 50,000 visitors since 1999; and Kel- country in the armed forces. of a restored B-25J Mitchell bomber ley, for his efforts in educating the public Membership eligibility is based upon dates set forth by Congress. Eligibility flown in for the occasion from Maryland about World War 11 through his restored

dates are from 4/6/17 tol 1/1 1/18; 12/7/41 by Larry Kelley. Kelley's bomber, Pan- B-25. Post 16 also awarded Clemens, to 12/31/46; 6/25/50 to 1/31/55; 2/28/61 chito, which he displays around the who served in U.S. Army Military Intel-

to 5/7/75; 8/24/82 to 7/3 1/84; 1 2/20/89 to country, is identical to the one flown dur- ligence from 1982 to 1986, a 1-year 1/31/90; and from 8/2/90 to present. ing the ill-fated mission in 1943. membership to The American Legion. For information concerning mem- As the B-25 taxied toward the hangar, Following the ceremony, Kelley flew bership, write The American Legion, the crowd erupted with cheers of appreci- family members over Sharp Top Moun- Attn. Membership Division, P.O. ation for the World War II military reUc. tain and the crash site. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206- During the ceremony, a bronze For more information about Vir- 1055; call (800) 433-3318; e-mail memorial plaque honoring the Forgotten ginia's "Forgotten Airmen," visit the [email protected]; or visit the Web site at www.legion.org/membership.htm. Airmen was unveiled. Web site at www.wp21.com/b25crash. "It's time to honor these men and their -Elissa Kaupisch

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Bush dedicates the National D-Day iHlemorial A flag-waving crowd of 22,000 15-acre memorial includes two sec- tions that participated in the invasion. greeted President George W. Bush at tions: a 9-acre monument and a Middle Plaza, representing the inva- the dedication ceremony of the Nation- 49,000-square-foot education center. sion itself and certainly the most mov- al D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., on Construction of the education center ing section, was constructed to illus- June 6, the 57th anniversary of D-Day. will begin later this year and is sched- trate the D-Day landing scene. Its re- The crowd was the largest gathering of uled for completion in 2003. flecting pool represents the English D-Day veterans since the invasion's The impressive 9-acre monument is Channel, and the beach represents bat- 50th anniversary at Normandy, France, divided into three sections: Victory tles on all the beaches. Several life-size in 1994. Plaza, Middle Plaza and the English bronze soldiers are depicted wading D-Day, the largest invasion of its Garden. The single-acre Victory Plaza, through the shallow waters and onto kind, included more than 5,000 ships, representing victory and consolidation, the beach, some carrying the burdens 10,000 planes and 250,000 servicemen has as its focal point a 44-foot, 6-inch- of wounded comrades. One soldier lies and women. It was the decisive battle tall polished granite arch emblazoned dead on the beach, with his Bible that heralded the end of Hitler's dream with the word "Overlord." Operation spilling out of his pack. Near the wa- of Nazi domination. Overlord was the code name chosen by ter' s edge is an artist's rendering in Patriotic and reverent tribute pro- Winston Churchill for the D-Day inva- granite of a Higgins landing craft. vided the emotional tone of the cere- sion. The arch's dimensions were cho- Small underwater fountains periodical- mony on the massive grounds atop the sen to indicate D-Day: 44 feet repre- ly shoot water into the air, giving an rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge sents the year 1944, while the 6 inches eerie feeling of stray enemy bullets hit- Mountains in Bedford County. represent June 6. The arch is surround- ting the water, just short of hitting Al- American, British and Canadian D- ed by flags representing the Allied na- lied forces. Day veterans read the mem- On the other side of the re- oirs of other D-Day veter- flecting pool arises a walled ans rather than speaking of structure 19 feet tall and 8 feet their own experiences. wide, representing the cliffs Eisenhower's D-Day order that Allied forces encoun- was read, as well as a tered at Normandy. Four prayer by Franklin D. Roo- bronze Army Rangers are de- sevelt, a passage from Anne picted climbing the cliff, one Frank's diary and Winston soldier clinging to a rope with Churchill's D-Day an- one hand and his wounded nouncement. buddy with the other. Bedford was chosen as D The English Garden, the site for the memorial be- when completed, will repre- cause the small town, which sent the planning and prepa- had a population of 3,200 in ration phases of the Allied in- 1944, lost more casualties to vasion. One of the highlights the D-Day invasion per of the garden is an arrange- capita than any other city in ment of flowering plants to the United States. Bush ac- resemble the shoulder patch knowledged this in his dedi- worn by Gen. Dwight D. cation speech. Eisenhower when he was the "You have raised a fit- supreme commander of the ting memorial to D-Day," Allied Expeditionary Forces. Bush said, "and you have A colorful floral flaming put it in the right place - not sword fills the center of the on a battlefield, but in a "patch." An English garden small Virginia town, a theme was chosen because place like so many others strategic planning and prepa- that were home to the men ration for D-Day took place and women that helped lib- in England. erate a continent." For more information The memorial, which about the National D-Day stands atop the tallest hill in Memorial, visit the Web site Bedford, sits on 88 acres of at www.dday.org. memorial grounds owned -Special thanks to Nick by the National D-Day A walled structure at the D-Day Memorial In Virginia depicts Soukhanov who contributed Memorial Foundation. The Army Rangers climbing the cliffs at Normandy. to this article.

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PNCWagonseller passes away Past National Commander James M. Wagonseller of Lan- caster, Ohio, passed away May 26 at the age of 80. A member of Post 8 in Fairfield, Ohio, he was a World War II Army Air Corps veteran with 56 years of Legion membership. Wagonseller served as na- tional comman- der from 1974 to 1975 and as na- tional vice com- mander from 1960 to 1961. He held several na- tional and department positions. "One of the things he was al- Marine Sgt. Shawna Clay, right, visits the Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune Memorial with ways interested in and proud of North Carolina Department Commander Horace Nixon. was the development of the De- partment of Ohio," Past National Commander John H. Geiger said. Fi: 'Reconnect' at Lejeune Wagonseller graduated from Semper Lancaster High School in 1939 and Legionnaires were treated to rain, Even though Camp Lejeune was offi- two years later joined the Army Air mud and cold during a late-April visit cially recognized as a "model installa-

Corps, 1 1 months prior to the out- with Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. tion" by the Defense Department, Leg-

break of World War H. An armorer "I thought I was back in basic train- ionnaires left with two impressions: the and gunner on B-24s, Wagonseller ing," said North Carolina Department Marines are doing a magnificent job, but flew on 40 missions in the Euro- Commander Horace Nixon, an Army their pay and benefits are lacking. pean Theater of Operations. He re- veteran. "I was amazed watching the Capt. Michelle Kane, a planning of-

ceived the Distinguished Flying Marines storm the beach while I was ficer at the base, said she is concerned Cross for his heroic efforts during a freezing on the pier, getting wet from about her lower-ranking troops.

June 1 1, 1944, bombing run against the rain. That water must have been 40 "Marines may bring their kids to a hos- enemy oil installations in Romania. degrees and they were jumping in with pital off base and get stuck with the After the bombs in his plane no wet suits on." bill." She also said that the wait-time failed to release, Wagonseller en- The Legionnaires spent two days at for some Marines to obtain base hous- tered the open bomb bay and man- the base as part of The American Le- ing is sometimes a year and a half. ually released the bombs by cut- gion's Reconnect program. Inspired by Despite the quality-of-life concerns, ting their cables with a small saw. former Defense Secretary William Co- Ohio Department Commander Ron He did so despite the lack of oxy- hen's goal to "strengthen and sustain Easter was impressed with the dedica- gen at an altitude of 20,000 feet. the bond between America and its great tion and pride he saw in the Marines. "I Geiger said one of Wagon- military," Legionnaires have visited think they stand ready, and the country seller's biggest duties during his Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort is in good hands." year as commander was moving Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C; and The Lejeune visit was a homecom- the National Magazine Commis- several other military installations. ing for Easter, who was stationed there sion from New York to its current During the Lejeune visit. Legion- from 1954 to 1956. "I thought the home in Indianapolis. naires witnessed one of the Marine Marines were outstanding but I am Wagonseller is survived by Corps' largest capability demonstra- very concerned about what I was hear- two sons and a daughter. Memori- tion exercises, featuring air, ground ing about the military's TRICARE al contributions can be made to and sea elements of the II Marine Ex- (health) insurance program. Nobody The American Legion Child Wel- peditionary Force. Planning for the ex- seemed happy with it, including the fare Foundation, P.O. Box 1055, ercise, according to the base newspaper generals that I talked to. If the Legion hidianapolis, IN 46206. The Globe, lasted 45 days and involved is to help them, we have to hear this." more than 1,000 Marines and civilians. -John Raughter

52 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 Win Electric Mobility!

Bush OKS WWII Memgrial Congress and the Bush administration did the right thing by removing road- blocks to construction of the World War n Memorial, American Legion National Commander Ray G. Smith said. Congress approved and President Bush signed HR 1696 permitting con- struction of the National World War II Memorial on the National MaU in Wash- ington. The American Legion fought for passage of the legislation. The idea of a national World War II Join the Over 100 Winners memorial was first introduced in Con- gress by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, in 1987 and passed Congress in 1993. Presi- Enjoying Independence! dent Clinton signed legislation authoriz- ing the project, and the next year Con- The Electric Mobility Rascal is designed to give you the mobility and gress designated its location on the Mall. independence you've dreamed of! And now you can win a Rascal FREE in

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AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • f J J /rJ d- \ f f jL J_ I ^iJ iJ Screening helps lower incidence of colorectal disease.

By Dr. John R. Feussner plainable weight loss, di- arrhea, constipation and J rom one perspective, news about abdominal pain. colorectal cancer is encouraging. American Cancer Society Reducing Risks. Re- rThereports that incidence rates and search has shown that deaths from the disease have de- colorectal cancer devel- clined substantially in recent ops from benign polyps, years, most likely because screening so early detection of has allowed for the removal of polyps polyps may help prevent before they develop into invasive can- the disease. The U.S. Pre- cers. This progress, however, also ventive Services Task points to the potential for even greater Force, an independent advances in dealing with this serious panel of experts convened health problem. by the U.S. Public Health Colorectal cancer remains the sec- Service, recommends that ond leading cause of cancer death in men and women begin

North America. Approximately 1 mil- screening at age 50 - earlier for those and treat the disease, and may ultimate- lion veterans age 50 and older will de- with risk factors for colorectal cancer - ly result in substantially reduced costs velop colorectal cancer, and more than with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or of care.

400,000 will die from it. The five-year sigmoidoscopy. Widely used screening Many other VA research projects survival rate for veterans with the dis- methods include: also contribute to our understanding of ease is only 40 percent - significantly • FOBT, which detects small colorectal cancer. Doctors in Madison, lower than that of the general popula- amounts of blood that may be Wis., are examining genetic mutations tion, perhaps because risk factors are caused by polyps or cancer. that may contribute to development of more common among veterans. • Sigmoidoscopy, which uses a flex- the disease. Researchers in Durham, ible, lighted instrument to exam- N.C., are studying risk factors that may Risk Factors and Symptoms. Early ine the rectum and lower colon. explain why veterans with colorectal detection and awareness of risk factors • Colonoscopy, which examines the cancer have a worse survival rate than are the best ways to reduce the impact entire colon with a flexible, light- the population at large. A group of VA of colorectal cancer. The disease is ed instrument. scientists in Denver is part of a colon- more common among those older than • Barium enema, which involves x- cancer prevention project funded by 50. Other factors that appear to in- rays of the rectum and colon. the National Cancer Institute. crease the risk of developing the dis- If results are normal, the FOBT VA recognizes that colorectal can- ease include: should be repeated annually, the sigmoi- cer is a major health concern among • Diets low in fiber and high in fat doscopy every five years - or you veterans. It is a leader in improving and calories. should have a colonoscopy every 10 prevention and treatment of the dis- • History of the disease among close years. If the exam detects polyps or can- ease. If you wish to do the best thing to relatives (parents, children, broth- cer, the patient has an early opportunity lower your risk of developing colon ers and sisters). to undergo surgery, which frequently cancer, see your doctor and ask to re- • Previous occurrence of colorectal cures cancers that have not spread. ceive a colonoscopy. cancer. • Occurrence of some types of benign VA Research. The VA Office of Re- Veterans Health is a column written polyps in the colon and rectum. search and Development supports a to provide general information to our • History of ulcerative colitis, an in- substantial effort aimed at preventing readers. It is not intended to be, nor is

flammation of the colon's lining. and treating colorectal cancer. it, medical advice. Readers should con- • History of cancer of the ovaries, A major clinical study, conducted sult their personal physicians when uterus or breasts. under the VA Cooperative Studies Pro- they have health problems. The signs and symptoms of colorec- gram, found that a colonoscopy may be tal cancer also may be caused by other superior to the commonly used sigmoi- John R. Feussner, MD.,

conditions, so it is important to consult doscopy for detecting colon cancer and MFH., is chiefresearch a doctor when they occur. They include the precancerous polyps that lead to the and development officer changes in bowel habits, blood in the disease. These results may lead to im- of the Veterans Health stool, narrower stools than usual, unex- provement in our ability to diagnose Administration.

• • 114 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE AUGUST 2001 Macular Degeneration

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DeptTL 10211 West Emerald Boise, ID 83704 1-800-416-C ph (208) 323-9577 fax (208) 377-1528 ® VideoEye is a registered trademark of VideoEye Corporation Patents pending-- AmitlmrU.N.«itrage Do you think of the Virgin Islands as International Criminal Cnurt targets Americans America's Caribbean paradise? Accord- If the United States ever opts to ing to the United Nations, the U.S. pos- recognize the legitimacy of the hiter- session is actually a "colonial territory" in national Criminal Court, mUitary ser- need of liberation. vice personnel should beware. Sen.

The United Nations' 1 1th regional "de- Joseph Biden, D-Del., the new chair- colonization" seminar was conducted in man of the Senate Foreign Relations May in communist Cuba, a country con- Committee, recently endorsed the sidered free and independent by U.N. ICC concept and could bring it up for standards. At the opening ceremony, San- a vote. He has declined to cosponsor ta Lucia Foreign Minister Julian Hunte the American Servicemembers' Pro- praised Cuba for its "consistent and lasting tection Act, a bill to protect U.S. mili- support to the combat against colonialism tary personnel and U.S. officials from and to the self-determination of peoples." prosecution by the ICC. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annon U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan The ICC, which is now coming and Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto said that the process of freeing colonies into existence, is not retroactive. But it Dini show the book of the treaty that created the international Criminal from their oppressors must be seen could prosecute American military Court, during the signing ceremony in through to its end. The Virgin Islands and personnel in the future for "war Rome in 1998. American Samoa were listed by the Unit- crimes." Judges for such a tribunal ed Nations as "non-self-goveming territo- could come from Iraq, Libya or China. Kerrey's command, the group's exec- ries" that must be freed from colonial rule. The influential liberal group Hu- utive director, Kenneth Roth, suggest- American Samoa, another U.S. territo- man Rights Watch, which supports the ed Kerrey's Navy Seal team may have ry, is a chain of seven islands considered ICC, has asked Secretary of Defense violated the Geneva Convention on "America's South Pacific paradise." If Donald Rumsfeld to consider prose- the treatment of civiUans during war. you visit American Samoa on its Flag cuting former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D- Roth said the convention has no Day, April 17, you'll observe a wide vari- Neb., for "war crimes" during the statute of limitations and that forces ety of events commemorating the raising Vietnam War. While acknowledging committing violations must be "held of the U.S. Hag there in 1900. Human Rights Watch has not inde- accountable." If U.S. officials don't But according to the United Nations, pendently investigated the February hold them accountable, the ICC could. Samoans have not attained their indepen- 1969 killings that took place under -C.K. dence from the United States in accor- dance with various U.N. General Assem- bly resolutions and are not truly free. said he thought rising gas prices for the Republicans were pleased by Biden's flame would add only $600 to the city's offer to help Thurmond, but they said De- bin. "I'm hard-pressed to say we don't mocrats opposed to the deal were trying to FbimesUli going have $600 someplace to keep this flame win at all costs by tiring out frail senators. A plan to save energy by extinguish- on and keep our commitment to our fel- The Senate adjourned before the ing a natural gas-fed eternal flame at the low citizens," he told the newspaper. agreement could be worked out. veterans' memorial in Lawrence, Kan., was reversed just before Memorial Day. Plans were to shut off the flame at Oak late night hH'Strnn Beware Of ElJoe Hill Cemetery because of rising energy Republican senators are still upset A boy has been suspended from costs exceeding city budgets. over the treatment of Sen. Strom Thur- school for bringing a "violent" and "up- Veterans' groups, led by The Ameri- mond, R-S.C, 98, who was exhausted setting" drawing of GI Joe to school. Trey can Legion, protested along with citizens. and forced to stay up late into the night Walker, a third-grader in Monroe, La., One posted a message on the Lawrence during marathon voting on tax-cut legis- was reported by a fellow student who saw Journal-World newspaper Web site say- lation in May. "It was an issue of compas- the drawing in his school notebook. It ing, "This really makes me sick in my sion," one senator said. showed a camouflaged soldier armed heart and in my stomach that anyone Thurmond, who refused to miss a with hand grenades and knives. The stu- could even think of tuming the flame out. vote, laid down to rest near the Senate dent told the teacher who told the princi- The people in these graves are our veter- chamber between votes. Sen. Joseph pal, and Trey was suspended for one day. ans. They died for this country and are Biden, D-Del., offered a deal to leave the With the help of the Rutherford Insti- gone forever, never to enjoy life, never to floor and not vote, in exchange for Thur- tute, Trey's father, Raleigh, has sued the kiss or hold their loved ones." mond being dismissed to go home. Ouachita Parish School System, alleg-

"We owe it to the veterans to keep that An anonymous Republican senator re- ing the boy's constitutional rights to free flame lit," Douglas County Undersheriff ported that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., speech were violated. Rutherford said Bill Shepard, a retired Marine captain, and others argued against the deal to ac- the so-called "zero tolerance" anti-vio- told Lawrence city commissioners. They commodate Thurmond. But Biden said lence policies have gone too far. agreed. Commissioner Marty Kennedy Clinton wasn't to blame. - CliffKincaid

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Bush launches VA, DoD task force

Health care for the nation's veterans is that could be saved annually if VA and the focus of a presidential task force com- DoD pooled resources, equipment and missioned to improve coordination be- medical services." tween the Department of Veterans Affairs An example of a VA and DoD cost- and the Department of Defense. savings agreement is a memorandum of President George W. Bush announced understanding in 1998 to establish stan- creation of the task force on Memorial dardized procedures for active-duty sepa- Day at the White House. "We must im- ration physicals. Standardization of phys- Army Women's prove the way VA and DoD work togeth- icals enables VA to more quickly process opens er to provide health care to those who claims for service-connected disability Museum have served in uniform," Bush said. compensation. A museum focusing on the im- The task force's goals are to improve "Unfortunately, only 10 percent of pact of Army women once again is access to veterans' benefits and to the approximately 215,000 military men ready for visitors. It has a new strengthen VA-DoD partnerships for and women being discharged each year name, new location, expanded dis- health-care services. Among items to be receive their exams under this pro- plays and more artifacts. studied are budgeting processes, billing, gram," Principi said. "Although the pro- The Women's Army Corps reimbursement, procurement of supplies gram has had great success, we still have Museum at Fort McClellan, Ala., and services, data sharing and informa- a long way to go." lost its home in 1999 when the fort tion technology. The final report is due Heading the 15-member task force was closed as part of a Pentagon at the end of the task force's second year are former New York congressman Ger- plan to consolidate military bases. of operation. ald B.H. Solomon, a longtime veterans' It was initially feared that 5,000 ar- Coordination between VA and DoD is advocate who served in the Marine tifacts at the museum would be a key element in Secretary of Veterans Corps during the Korean War, and Dr. locked away and lost to history, but

Affairs Anthony J. Principi's agenda. "I Gail R. Wilensky, a prominent expert on the Army agreed to relocate at Fort think the walls separating the depart- health policy who ran the Health Care Lee, Va., the home of the first ments are too high," Principi said. "Both Financing Administration for former WAC training center. departments spend millions of dollars President George H. Bush. The museum's name was changed from the Women's Army

Corps Museum, as it was known at Fort McClellan, to the Army D-Day Pacific Wing to open Women's Museum. The Army wants to broaden the museum's fo- Sixty years after the Japanese at- vice will provide ceremonial marching cus beyond the WAC, which was tacked Pearl Harbor, the National D- and musical units, as well as an all-ser- disbanded in 1978 to end gender Day Museum in New Orleans will ded- vice aerial flyover and review. separation in the Army. icate its Pacific Wing to honor veterans Veterans also will reminisce with The museum contains a gallery of the Pacific invasion forces, their the public and share their experiences portraying scenes of U.S. conflicts families and home-front workers. with panels of noted World War II his- from the Revolutionary War to The National D-Day Museum is the torians and experts. The public is invit- Kosovo. Thousands of items are only museum in America dedicated to ed to attend a two-day film festival of on display, including WAC uni- the remembrance of all of the amphibi- World War II motion pictures such as forms, recruiting posters, bunks ous invasions of World War II, in both "Guadalcanal Diary" and "Sands of from a World War II barracks at the European and Pacific theaters, said Iwo Jima." Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and a col- Dr. Gordon H. Nick Mueller, founda- Also featured will be a re-enactment lection of artifacts that belonged tion chairman. of a World War II Pacific landing, and to Harriet West Waddy, the first A number of public activities are sailors and Marines will demonstrate black woman commissioned as an scheduled during the ceremonies, in- modern amphibious capabilities. A vin- Army officer. cluding citywide pealing of the bells tage aircraft fly-over will also be part of It is the only museum devoted memorializing the moment 60 years the attraction. The USO of New York exclusively to the history of earlier when the Japanese attacked Pearl will recreate the excitement of a World women in the Army. Museum di- Harbor. The public also is invited to a War II canteen during the swing era. rector Jerry Burgess and a small

three-day open house on the Mississippi For more information about the Na- civilian staff run it. River at the USS Iwo Jima, USCGC tional D-Day Museum or dedication of For more information, contact Munro, MV Cape Kennedy and SS Pa- the Pacific Wing, contact the museum the Army Women's Museum at its cific Victory. An official Department of Web site at www.ddaymuseum.org or Web site, www.awm.lee.army.mil Defense military parade will honor Pa- call toll-free (800) 273-4463. In the or call (804) 734-4327. cific veterans of World War II. Each ser- New Orleans area, call (504) 410-0221

go • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 ,

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Editor's Note - Beginning with this issue, reunion 6506, [email protected]; 363rd Ftr Grp Mustangs, MO, 10/18-21, Bobby BuriPhiladelphia, 10/3-7, Felix Lockman, (610) 532-1942; (818) 790-3722; 483rd Bomb Grp, Denver, 10/2-6, Bob (262) 547-4771; 138th Eng Cbt Bn, Savannah, GA, 10/16- 1st Weatlier Grp Oflutt AFB, Council Bluffs, lA, 10/14-16, Bailey, (303) 979-4983, n/[email protected]; 763rd 19, Robert Atkins, (913) 772-8176, [email protected]; Ed Rehberg, (319) 393-9339, [email protected]; 2nd AC&W Sqdn, Lockport, NY, 10/7-10, Leo Phelps, (317) 984- 145th, 159lh FA Bns Korea, Albuquerque, NM, 10/13-17, N. Nashville, 10/3-6, Daniel liberie, 239- AARUF, TN, (724) 3402, [email protected]; A-37 Assn, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, Vandertiave, (973) 538-7189; 160th Eng C Bn, Louisville, 5644, [email protected]; 5th AF 8tii Ftr Grp 10/3-7, Oliver Maier, (512) 353-7432, [email protected]; AF KY, 10/11-14, Max Roberts, (561 ) 466-1 493; 1 63rd Med 8tli/33rd/35th/36tli/80tli Ftr Cmd Sqdns and Support HQ Cmd Flight Line Crews, Clinton, MD, 1 0/7, John Joyner, Bn, Atlanta, 10/12-14, Joe Wilkes, (803) 781-7726, Units, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, 10/25-27, John Mark, (847) (301)868-6855 [email protected]; 167th Eng Cbt Bn, Springfield, 678-5075, [email protected]; 5tli AF SOtli Serv Grp IL, 10/5-7, Jesse Hicks, (865) 922-2473, [email protected] 66th Serv Sqdn, Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/12-15, John Sainola, AF Postal Courier, Pleasanton, CA, 10/12-15, Jim Foshee, (813) 689-1549; 5th AF 5th Comm Grp, St Louis, 10/17- (254) 774-7303, [email protected]; Burtonwood Assn, 176th FA Bn Korea, Albuquerque, NM, 10/13-17, N. 20, Billie Ogden Jr., (636) 946-7665, [email protected]; Colorado Springs, CO, 10/2-6, Richard Iwanowski, (773) 767- Vanderhave, (973) 538-7189; 199th Cbt Eng, Shakopee, 8th AF 1st Strat Air Dep, Branson, MO, 10/27-30, Hert 1810; Matador/Mace Missileers, Oriando. FL, 10/4-7, Joe MN, 10/12-14, Ray Sanders, (507) 334-4445; 204th FA Bn Kaster, (856) 751-1763 Pertains, (904) 282-9064, pert

Young, (941 ) 482-5059, smarauderl @juno.com; 8lh AF Hampton, VA, 10/4-7, Steve Gattis, [email protected] 10/19-20, Delmer Wallen Sr., (423) 247-3933, wallen@char- 446th Bomb Grp H, New Orleans, 10/3-5, Bill Davenport, tertn.net; 362nd Sig Co, Washington, 10/26-28, Bob Doem (714) 832-2829, [email protected] 8th AF 487th ARMY (618) 867-2577, [email protected]; 368th Eng, Bomb Grp H, St Louis, 10/3-7, Howard Todt (314) 821- Madison, Wl, 9/13-16, Corrine Wegner, (414) 258-2248; 5449, [email protected]; 8th Recon Tech Sqdn, Hayward, 1st FA Obsn Bn Assn, Fayetteville, NC, 10/5-7, James Fidler, 398th AAA AW Bn, Korea, Watrensburg, MO, 10/4-7, Wl, 10/5-7, Chuck Kinneberg, (715) 865-2202, ckinn@ (910) 439-0086; 2nd Armd Div 67lh Armd Rgt F Co, Lawrence Lockard, (660) 747-8549 cheqnetnet 9th AF 368th Fir Grp, Reno, NV, 10/8-12, Charleston, SC, 10/14-18, Jim O'Neal, (803) 787-8526, Randolph Goulding, (687) 333-0241, [email protected]; 9th [email protected]; 3rd Army, 957th HAM Co, WWII, 421st Eng Truck Co, Emporia, KS, 9/15-16, Kenneth AF 387th Bomb Grp 556th-559th Bomb Sqdns, San Columbia, SC, 9/20-23, Harold Fen-on, (920) 487-3334, Hastings, (620) 273-8302; 425th MP Escort Guard Co, Diego, CA, 10/3-7, Lloyd Swenson, (760) 360-8057, [email protected]; 3rd Inf Div 15th Inf Rgt B Co, Daytona Chariotte, NC, 11/9-10, Louis Henderson, (904) 641-5250, [email protected] Beach, FL, 11/4-8, Donald Sonsalla, (651) 429-1634, [email protected]; 440th Sig Bn, Asheville, NC, 10/9-11, [email protected]; 4th Armd Div 66lh Armd Rgl 2nd 928-5041 Richard Fluke, (814) , [email protected]; 9lh AF 405lh Ftr Grp, Charieston, SC, 10/4-6, Lubbertus Bn, Dallas, 11/2-3, 691- Medium Tank RexSearson, (214) 459th Sig Bn, Washington, 1 1/1 1 , Howard Bartholf, (804) Lok Jr., 629-3488; 11th Bomb Grp, Honolulu, 12/4-12, [email protected]; 6th Korea, Myrtle (570) 9261 , Med Depot 740-7652; 465th, 467th, 472nd Sig Bns, Asheville, NC,

Allan Davis, (918) 299-5379, [email protected]; 13th Beach, SC, 1 1/9-1 1 , Mack Mullins, (91 0) 867-4292, 10/9-11, Richard Fluke, (814) 928-5041, richardfluke@ Ftr Sqdn, Branson, MO, November, Jared PoMn, (503) 636- [email protected]; 7th FA Obsn Bn, Huntsville, AL, 10/3- hotmail.com; 496th AAA Gun Bn, Rochester, NY, 10/5-6, 3417, potco@uswestnet; 14th AF Assn, Branson, MO, 6, Henry Lizak, (516) 796-4853; 12th Armd Div, Abilene, TX, Julian Declerck, (716) 346-6638; 504th AAA Gun Bn, Akran, 10/3-6, Ron Phillips, (660) 679-5365, [email protected]; 10/3-7, John Cntzas, (344) 773-8610, [email protected]; OH, 10/25-28, Robert Janssens, (330) 336-5816; 516th Sig 15th AF, Tusl

1 267-1 Beach, FL, 0/1 , Jacquelynn Martin, (904) 622, Roland Schaeffer, (314) 544-2262; 17th FA Bn Korea, 2577, [email protected] [email protected]; 38th Air Police Sqdn, Las Albuquerque, NM, 10/13-17, N. Vanderhave, (973) 538-7189;

Vegas, 10/2-4, Hari

1 0-1 0/1 3, Joseph Onesty, (562) 431 -2901 , ionesty2@ Hosp, Memphis, TN, 10/4-6, Janies Regan, (856) 303-8993; 776lh Tank Dest Bn, Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/1-5, Arthur juno.com; 56th Fir Grp, Galveston, TX, 10/16-18, Ronald 35th, 39th AAA Bns, St Louis, 10/4-7, V. Yanisch, (320) Pelkey, (843) 272-5378, [email protected]; 788th Bnjbaker, (304) 866-4415, [email protected]; 87th 843-3205; 40th Inf Div 115lh Med Bn, Independence, MO, AAA AW Bn, Phoenix, 10/12-14, Cecil Gilliam, (480) 633- Airdrome Sqdn, Williamsburg, VA, 10/20-23, Ray Rogers, 10/7-11, Robert Stiens, (816) 928-3637 8341; 793rd MP Bn, Niagara Falls, NY, 10/10--|3, Frank De (419) 734-4702, [email protected] 90th Stral Recon Rosa, (847) 255-3977; 811th Tank Dest Bn, Chillicothe, OH, Wing, Branson, MO, 11/7-11, Chuck Hale, (785) 865-5794, 44th Eng, Gettysburg, PA, October, Albert Cline, (864) 489- 10/5-7, John Tme, (740) 773-1225; 829th Sig Serv Bn C [email protected] 98th Bomb Grp/Wing, Tucson, AZ, 6528; 45th Surg Hosp Vietnam, Washington, 11/9-11, Co, San Diego, 10/18-22, Charies Dorfman, (800) 484-8156, 10/9-13, Lee Taube, (714) 546-0956, dennisposey@mind- Bradley Bums, (419) 289-4942, [email protected] [email protected] spimg.com; 189lh Assault Heli Co, Colorado Springs, CO, 51st Eng Comm Bn, Part

BO • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2001 1

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(404) 231-3402, [email protected]; ROTC Miami Univ, 14, J. Oswald, (956) 423-341 1 ; CASU 12, Dayton, OH, 10/4- [email protected]; USS Edison, DD 439, Kissimmee, FL, -4, Miami, 11/2-3, B. Jennewine, (813) 681-7844, 6, Boyd Dixon, (573) 365-6603, [email protected]; 1 0/1 Jean Whetstine, (81 0) 266-6821 ; USS Edwards, DD [email protected]; Sig Serv Assn, San Diego, 10/18-22, CASU 16/17, Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/4-8, Michael Deery, (816) 619, Norfolk, VA, 10/11-14, NatHunA/ilz, (516) 625-4736; Charies Dorfman, (800) 484-8156, [email protected] 436-7599, [email protected]; CBMU 301, Branson, MO, USS Elmore, APA 42, Tempe, AZ, 10/4-6, Leonard 11/8-11, Shirely Essary, (417) 866-7819, cbmu301@ Kuczynski, (480) 838-4289, [email protected]; USS frnesf G. COAST GUARD aol.com; FASRON 105, San Diego, 10/4-6, Franklin Banett, Small, DD/DDR 838, New Orieans, 10/18-21. Johnnie (501) 496-2285, [email protected]; Four Stack APD Vets, Ludwig. (972) 221-3344. [email protected]; USS Lightship Sailors, Port Huron, Ml, 10/4-6, Jeny Radloff, APD 1-36, "Green Dragons," Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/10, Curt Escambia, AO 80, Norwich. CT. 10/8-12. Virgil Grier. (316) 884-3071 [email protected]; Absecon, Claris, (31 3) , USCGC (619) 282-0971, [email protected]; Lemoore 943-0526. [email protected]; USS Farragut, DD 300/DD Norfolk, VA, October, John Peters, (757) 479-0000, Veteran Aviators, Visalia, CA, 10/12-14. Robert Taylor. 348/DDG 37, Branson. MO. 10/11-14, Walter Nowell, (314) [email protected]; USCGC Chambers, WDE 491 , New [email protected]; LPD Assn, Memphis, TN, 10/11-14, Joe 962-4018; USS Foss, DE 59, Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/3-7, Frank Bedford, MA, 10/12-14, Bob Pehnke, (516) 437-2495, Havens, (501)679-4980 Irvine, (804) 452-4062, [email protected] [email protected]; USCGC Chincoteague, WAVP 375,

Norfolk, VA, October, John Peters, (757) 479-0000, MAS Trinidad, San Diego, 10/4-6, Franklin Ban-ett. (501) USS Francis Marion, APA/LPA 249, San Antonio, 1 0/1 8-21 [email protected]; USCGC Rockaway, WAVP 377, 496-2285. [email protected]; Navy Classifiers, Robert Martin, (781 ) 665-9222, tinman61 @juno.com; USS Phoenix, 10/20-22, Chuck Harris, (602) 274-8980, Pensacola, FL, 10/11-14, Fred Fontaine, (334) 263-5325, Francis M. Robinson, DE 220, Norfolk, VA, 10/12-14. [email protected]; APA San Diego, [email protected]; NCB Coming, NY, 10/7-11, Bmno Robert Wilson. 420-761 bigbadbob@mindspring. USS Leonard Wood, 12, 28, (757) 1 . 10/15-18, Joseph Raguckas, (734) 254-0844; USS LST Petmccione, (315) 736-0263, [email protected]; NCB com; USS Frank Knox, DDR 742, Jacksonville. FL. 10/10- 767, St. Petersburg. FL, 10/9-12, Dave Ramsay, (352) 527- 58, Atlantic City, NJ, 10/1-5, Harold Plude, (401) 638-6221, 15. Bob O'Kon. (954) 717-9906. [email protected]; USS 2869, [email protected]; USS Peoria, PF 67, Ft. [email protected]; NCB 95, Daytona Beach, FL. 10/4-6. Fred T. Berry, DD/DDE 858, Charieston. SC. 10/11-14, Lauderdale, FL, 10/4-7, Kenneth Siifka, (922) 382-3160 Joseph Snipas. (215) 947-1931; NCB 119, Nashville. TN, John Titsworth, (203) 531-6618; USS Frontier, AD 25,

1 1 -1 Belajac, 884-701 9, 1 Tucson, AZ, 1 1/8-1 Joseph Clean, 348-8882, 0/1 5, Adam (41 2) adami 9@ 1 , (401) JOINT webtv.net; NCB 145, Laughlin, NV, 10/1-4, Edward Webber, [email protected]; USS Frybarger, DE/DEC 705, Kansas (407) 254-4074; SNAG 56, Branson, MO, 10/10-14, W. City, MO. 1 0/3-7, Alex Boyd, (804) 233-0581 ; USS Furse, 33rd Inl Rgt Cbt Team, Virginia Beach, VA, 10/3-7, Don Huston, (616) 942-2503, [email protected]; USMC Det DD/DDR 882, Kissimmee, FL, 10/10-14, Maurice Tuttle, Shinn, (972) 423-4954, [email protected]; Greenland Reunion Grp, San Diego, 10/4-6, Franklin Barrett, (501) 496- (631) 749-0274. [email protected]; USS Garrard, APA Patrol WWII, Savannah, GA, 10/7-11, Richard Bissette, (941) 2285, [email protected]; USNAB Bremerhaven 84, Oklahoma City. 8/16-19, Lavem Wimer, (402) 765-7206; 426-4806, [email protected]; Marines/Navy Weser/Rhine, Clear>A/ater Beach, FL, 10/4-6, Richard USS Gen. M.C. Meigs, AP 116, Charleston, SC, 10/18-20, Paratroopers WWII, Las Vegas, 10/23-26, Dave Severance, Momssex, (352) 666-4954 AvnerDare, (843) 571-4816 (858) 459-0607; Natl Chief Petty Officers, Corpus Christi, TX, 10/10-14, William Williams, (830) 537-4899; Natl Eod USS Adroit, MSO 509, Wilmington, NC, 10/12-14, Al Hines. USS Georste Bancrott, SSBN 643, Mystic, CT, 10/11-14, Assn, Las Vegas, 10/1-3, Bud Englehardt, (413) 569-5040, (910) 799-7284. [email protected]; \}SS Aeolus, Richard Elmore, (207) 247-3095, [email protected]; USS [email protected]; Pearl Harbor Survivors, ARC 3, Portsmouth, NH, 10/11-14. Mari< Anthony. (603) George Clymer, APA 27, FL Worth, TX, 10/4-6, Fred

Honolulu, 1 2/3-8, Bill Eckel, (903) 683-4507; USS Arizona, 431-5034. [email protected]; USS Alhena, AK 26/29, Pellegrene, (734) 676-7671, dn/[email protected]; USS George 529-7494, 10/4-7, BB 39, Havi/aii, 12/3-10, Joe Campbell, (520) Baton Rouge. LA. 1 0/1 7-21 . Chris Walker, (91 2) 352-8702; £ Davis, DE 357, Colorado Springs, CO, Rod [email protected]; USS Minneapolis, CA 36, Orlando, FL, USS Allen, DO 66, Annapolis, MD, 9/2-6, Art Reinhard, (732) Hoffmaster, (610) 926-4590; USS Grand Canyon, AD/AR 28,

10/2-7, Robert Murphy, (516) 770-3037, [email protected] 308-1301. [email protected]; USS Ammen, DO Bowie, MD, 1 0/28-1 1/1 , Alexander Stefanic Jr., (732) 251 -4067,

527, San Antonio, 1 0/3-7, James Graham, (732) 833-9355, [email protected]; USS Griggs, APA 110, New (Jrieans. MARINES [email protected]; USS Archerfish, AtaSS 311, Lake 10/11-14. John Mallon. (703) 524-4562; USS Grundy, APA Tahoe, CA, 10/8-10, Kennetti Henry, (813) 689-6285, 111, New Orieans. 10/11-14. Daniel Brown. (610) 398-1174;

1 St Mar 2nd Bn Echo Co, Oriando, FL, 1 1/1 1 , Steve Kmpa, [email protected]; USS Arkansas, BB 33, San USS Guest, DD 472, Baton Rouge. LA, 10/10-12. Tom (817) 447-9343, [email protected]; 2nd Mar Div 10th Mar Diego, 10/3-7, Dan-ell Baker, (740) 548-6200, dari

247-1146, [email protected]; Korean War Recon Mar, 9/12-16, John Jums, (610) 489-2228; USS Basilone, DE USS Hissem, DE/DER 400, Las Vegas, 1 0/8-1 1 , Bemard San Antonio, 10/10-13, Morris Estess, (210) 494-7870; Mar 824, Charteston, SC, -10/11-14, Philip Poplaski, (315) 457- Sistek, (631) 853-5923, [email protected]; USS Air Grps 11, 12, 14, Branson, MO, 10/3-6, L. Twomey, 6847, [email protected]; USS Bausell, DD 845, San Hocking, APA 121, St. Louis, 10/24-27, Daniel O'Keefe. (903) 675-1218, [email protected] Diego, 10/4-7, Edward Royd, (619) 423-2870; USS Bearss, 415) 453-6727; USS Holder, DDE 819, Oriando. FL. 10/7- 487- DD 654, Alexandria, VA, 10/10-13, Jerry Walkins, (412) 1 . Bmce Rambo, (843) 556-0255. [email protected];

Mar Photo Sqdn 354, Branson, MO, 10/4-7, Eari Vaughn, 6073, [email protected]; USS Blue, DD 387, Reno, NV, USS Huse, DE 145, Charieston, SC, 1 0/1 7-21 , David (918) 335-3390, [email protected]; Mar Scout Bomb 10/1-4, Delbert McWhinney, (530) 347-0373; USS Braine, Peristein, (201) 358-1462, [email protected]; USS Hutchins, Sqdn, 10/11-14, Thomas Schmidt, (858) 258-3817; Mar DD 630, SL Louis, 10/5-10, Jim Rountree, (401) 847-1035, DD 476, Chattanooga, TN, 10/21-25, Bill Sherwood, (410) Sec Guards Saigon, San Diego, CA, 10/17-21, Mike Bertini, [email protected] 219-5448, [email protected] (910) 353-7377; MAWS 7/MGCIS 7/MACS 7, San Antonio,

1 0/1 1 -1 4. Don De Chambeau, (320) 252-91 80; USMC Ret USS Bryce Canyon, AD 36, Seattle, 10/4-7. Gayle USS Independence, CVA/CV 62, Savannah, GA, 10/10-14, Postal Personnel MOS 0160/0161, Robinsonville, MS, Teachout. (425) 355-2132; USS Bunleson, APA 67, Denis Bagley, (732) 819-0359, atlantismari

Antonio, 11/9-12, Bill Miller, (830) 672-3645, semper- San Diego. 10/10-15. Jim Harper. (972) 359-9147. Hal Gross, (561) 467-0130, [email protected]; USS [email protected] [email protected]; USS Chickasaw, ATF 83, San Diego. Joseph Strauss, DOG 16, San Antonio, 10/4-7, Bart 10/9-14, Floyd Clari<, (409) 385-2534; USS Chilton, Bartholomew, (716) 985-4273, [email protected]; USS Philippine Sea Mar Det, CV/CVA/CVE 47, Myrtle APA/LPA 38, Seattle, 10/4-6, Edward Ritterhoff, (816) 358- USS Kadashan Bay, CVE 76/VC 20, Seattle, 10/4-8, Beach, SC. 10/2-6, Ralph Lund. (215) 345-6430, 8624, [email protected]; USS Chivo, SS 341, Myrtle Beach, SC. Zacharias Zink, (509) 758-2654; USS Kearny, DD 432, [email protected]; VMB-423 Sea Horse Mar, Branson. 10/25-28. Stan Pollard. (910) 845-3080, justan2@ Savannah, GA, 11/5-7, Thomas Banett, (828) 369-6950, Myrtle Beach, SC, [email protected]; USS Kasaan Bay, CVE 69, San Diego, MO. 1 0/1 1 -1 4, Bill Woolman, (41 7) 858-6256, bill® earthlink.com; USS Cleveland, LPD 7, wooiman.net; VMF/VMA-211 Reunion Assn, Alcoa, TN, 10/4-7, Jack Greeson, (972) 723-3839, [email protected] 10/14-18, Charies 0 Neal, (706) 323-4483, mcwoneal® 10/16-20, Ray Foust (270) 395-4901, [email protected]; aol.com VIVlR-352 Mar Air Trans Sqdn, San Diego, 9/20-23, USS Collingsworth, APA 146, San Antonio, 10/5-10, Mari< Branson, 10/4-7, Russell Shoemaker, (626) 446-4901; VMTB-1 31, Portland, Schaitel, (608) 269-7266; USS Columbus, CA 74/CG USS Kimberly, DD 521, MO, Joe 849-6773; Koiner, OR, 10/2-7, Merrill Hughes, (765) 675-2259 12/SSN 762, Rapid City, SD, 9/12-15, Alvin Lewis. (626) Falkenbach, (937J USS DE/DER 339-3568. [email protected]; USS 331/WDE 431, Branson, MO, 10/1-4, Gus Demiand, (515) NAVY Constellation, CVA 64, San Diego. 10/26-29. Phil McGehee, 832-1137; USS Lansing, DE/DER 388/WDE 488, Virginia (573) 765-4788, [email protected]; USS Coronado, Beach, VA, 10/17-21, Teny Moberg, (218) 829-3288, Salt Naval Const Rgt Guam, San Angelo, TX, 10/23, Jeny LDP 1 Memphis, TN, 1 0/1 1 -1 4, John Smrth III. (409) 233- [email protected]; USS LaPorte, APA 151, Lake 35th 1 , Johnson, (915) 653-1795, maccaulaycox@intemeLcom; 4543. [email protected]; USS Crescent City, APA 21 City, 9/12-16, John Wamer, (607) 722-1342; USS Latimer, -1 - 78th Seabees, Brentwood, TN, 10/17-21, Kenneth Kelly, New Orieans, 12/6-10, Bill Vomnbrock, (860) 376-5557, APA 1 52, Raleigh, NC, 1 0/1 1 5, Kelly Cmmp, (91 9) 851 (800) 678-1382; 114th Seabees Bn, Memphis, TN, 10/6-9, [email protected]; USS Crux, AK 115, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1782, [email protected]; USS Lavallette, DD 448, NM, 10/31-11/4, Donald Ingram, 864- ) 747-21 [email protected]; 1 0/28-1 1/1 , Wilton Price. (91 365-5926; USS Damon M. Albuquerque, (505) Edward Grinder, (901 31 , 9) 301st Seabees, Providence, Rl, 10/18-21, William Lyon, Cummings, DE 643, San Antonio. 10/26-30. Rollan 7583, [email protected]; USS Laws, DD 558, Treasure (859) 278-9692, [email protected]; AOG Gasoline Ebertiard. (316) 799-2262; USS flaws, DD 937, Island, FL, 10/17-21, Daniel Cmm Sr., (727) 526-5773.

• • (j2 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE AUGUST 2001 , ,

Tulsa, OK, ) 331 -551 [email protected]; USS Bay, [email protected]; USS Satyr, ARL Oriando, FL. 9/30- [email protected]: USS Leutze, DD 481, (781 1 , Ommaney 23, 10/1-5, Lowell 428- Mel Bennett. 326-5091 10/18-21, Richard Kleiber, (916) 428-4323; USS Lowndes, CVE 79, Shreveport, LA, Tebeest, (630) 10/4, (310) , fooianosco@ APA 154, Nashville, TN, 10/11-13, William Kautz, (815) 344- 9598, [email protected]; USS Ozbourn, DD 846, yahoo.com; USS Scania, AKA 40, New Castle. DE, 10/3-6. 6326, [email protected]; USS LSM 132, Ft. Myers, Seekonk, MA, 10/17-21, William Minter, (903) 794-4748, Carl Book, (302) 328-2829; USS Sevier, APA 233, FL, 10/16-21, Gerty Danmeier, (941) 368-3569, danm8i8r@ [email protected]; USS Patterson, DD 392, Branson, MO, Charieston, SC, 10/21-27, Jack Lazor, (860) 749-3577; aoi.com; USS LST 347/72, IViyrtie Beach, SC, 10/1-5, Dale 10/14-18, V. Balamontis, (888) 714-4020; USS Perry, DD USS Shenandoah, AD 26, Pensacola, FL, 10/4-8, E. Zapf, Neisen, (940) 692-5946, [email protected]; USS LST 487, 844, Jacksonville, FL, 10/5-9, Joe Malmendier, (717) 258- [email protected]; USS Sheridan, APA 51, Mobile, AL, OiLuzon, ARG 2, Pensacola, FL, 11/8-12, Jeny Reinhold, (714) 523-3232, [email protected]; Sigourney, DD 643, Myrtle Beach, SC, 10/4-6, Carroll Charles Mitchell. (845) 692-5760, [email protected]; USS Polk County, LST 1084, Laughlin, NV, 10/24-26, Lloyd Caverly, (843) 651-2225; USS Simpson, DD 221, Virginia USS Manley, DD 940, Fairfax, VA, 10/25-29, Joe Dennison, King, (661) 589-1757, [email protected]; USS Pollux, Beach, VA, 10/2-4, Walter Zehrfuhs, (732) 350-0536, (904) 767-8068, [email protected] AKS 2/AKS 4, Biloxi, MS, 10/14-18, Glen Broxson, (850) [email protected]; USS Skill, MSG 471/AIV1 115, 994-0416, [email protected] Baltimore, 10/18-21. Joseph Morton. (215) 822-3484,

USS /Wars, AFS 1, San Diego, OA, 10/11-13, Everett Jones, [email protected] (619) 421-3721, [email protected]; USS Marvin H. USS Rainier, AE 5, Chula Vista, CA, 10/4-6, Larry Hill, (503) Mclntyre, APA 129, Laughlin, NV, 1 1/13-14, Kenneth 285-6052; USS Rasher, SS 269, Charieston, SC, 10/5-9, USS Sperry, AS 12, Pensacola, FL, 10/11-13, Jim Taylor, Schneider, (407) 843-2810; USSMe/w//e, AD 2, St. Dick Traser, (760) 446-4659, [email protected]; (757) 463-2804, [email protected]; USS Sphinx, ARL 24, Augustine, FL, 10/7-11, Frederick O'Hare, (518) 747-3970, USS Redfin, SS 272, Charieston, SC, 10/4-7, Peter Branson, MO, 10/13, Franklin ironi, (806) 266-5035; USS [email protected]; USS Memphis, CL 13, Mobile, AL, Amunmd, (608) 788-4491, [email protected]; USS Springfield, CLG 7/CL66/SSN761, Philadelphia, 10/26-28,

9/20-22, Brown, 623-1626; Meredith, DDE Norfolk, VA, 1 0/1 8-21 Ray Smith, John Adams, 598-2806, johnmnA/[email protected]; Bob (540) USS DD Renshaw, DD 499, , (603) USS 165/434/729/890, Nashville, TN, 10/9-14, Harry Wrede, (301) 474-6127, [email protected]; USS Renville, APA Stoddard, DD 566, Pittsburgh, 10/11-14, Joseph Harpster, (973) 839-0332, [email protected]; USS Mona Island, 227, New Orieans, 10/11-14, Oscar Lax, (973) 762-4560; (412) 486-1569; USS Talladega, APA 208, San Diego, Virginia Beach, VA, 10/9-11, William Bunte, (908) 647- USS Rhodes, DD/DDR 384, Nashville. TN. 10/11-14, Lynne 10/5-8, Thomas Ulmer, (618) 684-5666, tulmer®

; Montour, APA 1 Savannah, GA, 1 Max Mannino. 833-3779, [email protected]; giobaleyes.net; USS Tattnall, DD125/APD Myrtle 4641 USS 01 , 0/3, (718) 19,

556-6031 E. 1 1 -1 Beach, 10/7-10. Anthony Marco. 859-1238; Kirshstein, (843) , [email protected]; USS USS Richard Byrd, DDG 23, Norfolk, VA, 0/1 3, SC, De (609)

Monrovia, APA 31 , Charleston, SC, 10/3-7, Dick Cushing, David Cunningham, (757) 467-6682, dcunnin884@ USS Tom Green County, LST 1159, San Angelo. TX, 10/4- (727) 863-1381, [email protected]; USS Moosehead, IX aol.com; USS Richard P. Leary, DD 664, Mobile, AL, 7, William Ropko, (301) 345-1639, [email protected]; USS 98, Tulsa, OK, 10/2-4, James Yarbrough, (713) 774-3558 10/17-21, Thomas Wren, (607) 263-5928, tomwren® Trinity, AO 13, San Diego, 10/3-7, Clarence Wills, (773)

webtv.net; USS Rigel, AF 1 1/58, San Diego, 1 1/1-4, Paul 779-4727, [email protected]; USS Tyrrell, AKA 80, USS Morton, DD 948, San Diego, 10/10-13, John Kieft, McKeever, (315) 344-7390, [email protected] Louisville, KY, 10/18-21, Fred Gast, (727) 586-4259. (541) 471-2777, [email protected]; USS Murray, DD/DDE [email protected]

576, Philadelphia, 10/4-6, Vince Sponziello, (609) 894-9068, USS Rocky Mount, AGC 3, Johnstown, PA, 1 0/1 0-1 5, John [email protected]; USS Natrona, APA 214, San Antonio, Vreeland, (858) 277-0689; USS Rodman, DD 456/DIVIS 21, USS Union, AKA 106, Baton Rouge, LA, 10/20-23, Dot 10/10-14, Joe De Domenico, (914) 359-8761 Atlantic City, NJ, 10/4-7, Norman Simonelli, (757) 464- Yerby, (225) 751-0229, [email protected]; USS Valley [email protected]; USS Newman K. Perry, DD/DDR 2845, [email protected]; USS Rogers, DD/DDR 876, Forge, CV 45/LPH 8, Daytona Beach, FL, 10/10-14, Don 883, Savannah, GA, 10/25-28, Gerard Bonneau, (315) 691- Atlantic City, NJ, 10/23-26, George Eichenberg, (859) 987- Whitman, (904) 761-0355; USS Van Valkenburg, DD 656,

6217, [email protected]; Norris, DD/DDE 0112, [email protected]; USS Salisbury Sound, AV- Venice. FL, 1 1/7-1 George Barr, ) 485-5001 USS 1 , (941 859, Laughlin, NV, 10/4-7, Edward Mehl, (302) 541-0685, IS, Branson, MO, 10/11-13, Marian Bruce, [email protected]; [email protected]; USS Vesole, DD/DDR 878, Buffalo, [email protected]; USS Northampton, CA 26/CLC 1, USS Samuel N. Moore, DD 747, San Antonio, 10/17-21. NY, 9/26-30, R. Gorenfio, (845) 896-2074; USS Wilhoite, San Jose, CA, 10/25-29, Phillip Knights, phild38@ Bob Culver, (402) 489-5910, [email protected]; USS DE 397, San Diego, 10/18-21, Daniel McHugh, (502) 426- hotmail.com; USS Ocklawaha, AO 84, Branson, MO, 10/22- San Marcos, LSD 25, Asheville, NC, 10/25-28, Ray Willis, 3594, [email protected]; USS Wilkes-Barre, CL 103, Louisville, 26, Bill Parker, (831) 449-4874, [email protected]; USS (419) 331-4699; USS Saratoga, CV 3/CVA 60/CV 60, Long KY, 10/1-4, Alvin Clark, (502) 458-7790, alcncjc@ Ogden, LPD 5, Williamsburg, VA, 9/6-9, Joe MacFarlane, Beach, CA. 10/17-21. John Brandman. (877) 360-7272, earthlink.net; USS William P. Biddle, APA 8, Charieston,

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AUGUST 2001 • THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • 9 Eomm

SC, 10/17-21, Don Skouse, (816) 478-3403; USS William Anyone who served with the 35th Maint and Supply Grp at Anyone who served with the 571st MP Co in Yokohama, Seiverling, DE441, Seattle, 10/3-7, H. Love, (228) 467- Yokota and Johnson Air Bases, Japan, contact Claude H. Japan, between 1954 and 1955, contact Joseph L. Moore, 8538; USS Woodford, AKA 86, Pensacola, FL, 10/11-14, Clawson, 136 Stomoway Drive East, Columbus, OH 43213, Route 2, CR 503, Guntown, MS 38849, call (662) 869-5206 Jim Cutler, (920) 739-8065, [email protected]; USS call (614) 577-0094 or e-mail [email protected]. or e-mail [email protected].

Worcester, CL 144, Minneapolis, 10/5-8, Phil Harter, (845) Anyone who served with MCB 1 0 on Guam or at Kodiak and Anyone who served with the 25th Photo Recon Sqdn in the 255-2603, [email protected]; USS Yancey, AKA 93, San Adak, Alaska, between 1 958 and 1 960, contact Hennan Pacific during WWII, contact Monte G. Basbas, 25 Jeffrey Diego, 11/1-4, Paul Dunn, (440) 350-0585; VC/VAH-1/ "Frenchy" Dautrevil, 1033 Dautrevil Lane, St Martinville, LA Road, Wayland, MA 01778, call (508) 358-2005 or e-mail RVAH-1, Pensacola, FL, 10/25-28, James Mathews, (904) 70582 or call (337)332-5618. [email protected].

783-6943, [email protected]; VF-51, 1954 Far East Anyone who served with the 425th MP Escort Guard Co in Anyone who served with the 1 1 0th Avn Co in Boscomantico, Antonio, 488- Cruise, San 10/16-18, Joseph Green, (781) North Africa or England during WWII, contact Louis B. Italy between 1 960 and 1 963, contact Royd Starts, 1 732 N. 8427, [email protected]; VF-54, Tucson, M, 10/11- Henderson, 3055 Newell Blvd., Jacksonville, FL32216, call Bancroft St., Indianapolis, IN 46218, call (317) 357-6791 or 14, Glenn Ward, (703) 527-7315, [email protected]; VF- (904) 641-5250 ore-mail [email protected]. e-mail fhstar1<@msn.com. 92 Korea, Myrtle Beach, SO, 10/7-9, Ed Ellstrom, (970) Any Navy or Army personnel who served on APL-26 in the Anyone who served with the 414th Air Serv Grp, 3681h Bomb

593-1 756, elslimi @aol.com; VPB-1 1 , VP-21 Virginia 1 , Mekong Delta at Dong Tam, Vietnam, between 1 967 and Sqdn (H) at Istres Anny Air Base at Istres, France, in 1 946, Beach, VA, 10/22-24, Wan-en Massey, (804) 495-0789; 1 968, contact Thomas Miller at [email protected]. contact Frank Schlager, 8260 61 st St S.E., Mercer Island, VPB-208, San Diego, 10/4-6, Franklin Barrett, (501) 496- Anyone who participated in chemical warfare training or WA 98040 or call (206) 232-41 44. [email protected]; VR-24, Pensacola, FL, 10/25- 2285, served as a radio school instmctor at Scott Held, III., in 1 942 Anyone who served aboard the USS DuxburyBay, AVP 38, Pete 462-3696 28, Owen, (949) and 1943, contact Peter J. Hemon, 2 N. Tmmbull Circle, St. between 1 946 and 1 948, contact Leroy Stadem, 4601 W. Charies, MO 63301. Custer Lane #303, Sioux Falls, SD 571 06 or e-mail LIFE MEMBERSHIPS Anyone who served with the Cold Weather Testing Det at [email protected]. Ladd Field, Fairtjanks, Alaska, during WWII, contact Anyone who served with 1 st Inf Div, 26th Rgt 1 st Bn, C Co In Lite Membership notices are published for Legionnaires who Alexander Karanikas, 618 N. Harvey Ave., Oak Part<, IL Europe during WWII, contact Walter C. Czop, 3250 Hedwig have been awarded Life Memberships by their Posts. Life 60302 or call (708)383-2713. Lane, Collegeville, PA 19426 or call (610) 584-1300.

IVIembership notices must be submitted on official forms, Anyone who servea with the 71 6th MP Bn in Vietnam, Anyone who served with the 1 st Mar Div (Reinf) FMF, 7th which may be obtained by sending a self-addressed stamped contact Duane Hursey, 520 550th St., Shelby, lA 51570 or Mar Rgt, 2nd Bn at Camp Pendleton, Calif., between 1956 envelope to Life Memberships, The American Legion call (712) 544-2662. and 1958, contact H. Monroe "Doc" Mills, 2811 S. Garden Anyone who served aboard the USS Antaeus, AS 21 during Drive Lakeworth, FL call Magazine, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206. , #25-201, 33461, (561) 641-9027

Post 54, CT: Arthur J. Chartjonnier, Gary W. Hants, William Worid War II, contact John E. Washboume, 409 W. Broad ore-mail [email protected] Kreder, Chartes Rutchick, Robert E. Scott, Walter Tallman St., Williamstown, PA 1 7098 or call (71 7) 647-2370. Anyone who served aboard the USS Simon Lai

Post 825, IL: Stephen L. Heckman, John F. Malone Anyone who served with 39th Arty, 3rd Gun Bn, B Btry in contact Gordon Sanders, 3330 Ridgefield Court, Norfolk, VA Post 178, IN: Alan J. DePew, Robert E. Newman, Ralph Dachau, West Gennany, between March 1 960 and March 2351 8 or e-mail [email protected]. Shumway 1 962, contact George T. Morean Jr., 21 023 Wesley Church Anyone who served with the 6th Inf Div, 1 st Inf Rgt at Gamp

Post 409, IN: Glemeth P. Federspiel, Hert^ert J. Ross Road, Seaford, DE 1 9973 or call (302) 629-51 48. Skipworth or Teague, Korea, in 1 947 or 1 948, contact Post 167, MN: James W. Buisman Anyone who served aboard the USS Grafton APA 109, James A. Dengel, 260 W. 260th St, Bronx, N.Y. 10471 or Post 94, NC: Henry P. Beaman, Henry Bennett, Willie Jones, between January 1 945 and May 1 946, contact Don Ensch, call (718) 884-7064. P.O. 71 Ventura, or call 647-5242. John T. Mewbom, Bobby G. Rouse, W.C. Shackelford, Box 52, OA 93006 (805) Anyone who served aboard the USS Fulton, AS 1 1 , contact Thomas E. Trent Anyone who served with the 507th AAA Bn in Japan and Bill Bealefield, 4 Red River Road, Bay City, TX 77414 or e-

Post 206, NC: Jack M. Austin, Virgil L. Hill, Clarence B. Korea between 1 949 and 1 953, contact Levi L. Johnson, mail [email protected] Smith, Eariy W. Thayer 901 5 N.W. 9th Lane, Gainesville, FL 32606 or call (352) Anyone who served with 4th Annd Div, 144th Sig Bn, C Co at

Post 746, NY: David A. Bradford, John A. Collins, William J. 332-8939. Goeppingen, Gennany, from 1969 to 1970, contact Danny

Crane, William J. Crane Jr., Donald K. Daines, James R. Anyone who served with the 21 08th ASU at Camp Kmse. 500 Vivian St., Liberty, MO 64068. Daines, Oscar Daniels, 0. Thomas Dolley, Robert T. Gehl, Breckenridge, Ky., between 1951 and 1953, conlact Harold Anyone who served in the 6th Inf Div, all theaters and eras,

John J. Graham, James E. Hart, Brian J. Hill, Richard L. Hill, Ziegler, 7563 W. Ave., Fairbank, lA 50629. contact Charies Farrell, P.O. Box 60035, St. Petersburg, FL

Donnan D. Hooey, George F. Madden, Richard L. Olinger, Anyone who served aboard the USS LST 571 , contact Jane 33784 or call (727) 563-9362.

Leon F. Sargent Jr., Charles A. Spears, Richard D. Stam; Ashbaugh Fizzell, 1 1 24 Garden St., Pari< Ridge, IL 60068, Anyone who servea with 32nd Inf Div, 1 28th Inf Rgt, C Co at Post 1367, NY: Andrew Fen-etti call (847) 696-4743 or e-mail [email protected]. Fort Lewis, Wash., between 1961 and 1962, contact M.E. Post 84, PA: Edwin C. Fullwood, Bmce Keck, William J. Anyone who served with the 636th AC&W Radar Sqdn, Zerwekh, 500 Mill Road, Delafield, Wl 53018 or call (262) McKnight Condor Air Force Station, Ore., between 1951 and 1970, 646-8540. Post 439, TX: David Cox, Edward R. Markowsky, Robert G. contact Bert Otto, 41 5 S. 34th Ave., Yakima, WA 98902 or Anyone who served with SCARWAF between 1955 and 1957 Miller call (509) 249-2902, or Garth Wake, 28328 1 85th Ave. S.E., or the 802nd Eng Bn at Itazukie AFB, Japan, contact Post 27, VT: Raymond A. Bushey Kent, WA 98042, call (253) 630-5706 or e-mail Emerson Duvall, 7003 Blackbeny Court, Melbourne, FL Post 277, Wl: Bernard J. Havlik, Vincent A. Marchetti, Keneth [email protected]. 32940, call (321) 752-0445 or e-mail E. Murphy Anyone who served with the 94th Chem Mortar Bn at Camp [email protected]. Rucker, Ala., Camp Shelby, Miss., or in England, France, Anyone who served with the 503rd Eng Co (Light Equip) in COMRADES IN DISTRESS Gennany or Austria during the Battle of the Bulge in 1 944 or Germany between 1948 and 1992, contact Nick Visnicn, 1945, contact Ed De Rienze, 903 Ridley Creek Drive, Media, 1 909 HartJinger Trail, Edgewood, MD 21 40 or call (41 0) 7th Inf, 17th Inf Rgt, Korea. Ernest J. Fannin needs a wan-ant PA 19063, call (610) 565-3969 ore-mail edderienze@mili- 676-5641. officer to verify he was hit across the bridge of the nose by tary.com. Anyone who served with the 51 8th Cbt Eng Co in Austria shrapnel and temporarily blinded while riding in a jeep above Anyone who served with the 20th AF, 9tb ABRS Sqdn at between 1 950 and 1 953, contact Fred M. Brown, 201 the 38th Parallel in late 1952. CID 1429 Kadina AFB, Okinawa, Japan, between 1952 and 1953, Westwood Drive, Columbia, TN 38401 or call (931) 380- 657th Med Det FA Bn, Ft. Rucker, Ala. Hany Anthos needs contact Scotty Shen-etts, 3337 S. 113th St., WestAllis, Wl 1915. anyone who served with him between January and Febmary 53227, call (414) 541 -7579 ore-mail Anyone who served with the 623rd AC&W Sqdn at Okinawa,

1 945 to verify he was exposed to mustard gas prior to [email protected]. Miyako Jima, Kume Jima or other detachments, contact Fred boarding a ship for transit to ETO at Camp Sibert, Ala. CID 1 430 Anyone who served with 95th Inf Bn, C Co at Ft. Campbell, Samples, 23624 1 39th Drive S.E., Snohomish, WA 98296 Ky., contact Abraham Spires, 2301 51st St, Lubbock, TX or e-mail [email protected] IN SEARCH OF 7941 2 or e-mail [email protected]. Anyone who served with the 80th Div, 314th FA, B Btry at Anyone who served aboard the USS Donner LSD 20, Camp Forest, Tenn., conlact Chuck Heisa, 17882 Florence

Anyone who served aboard the USS Phaon, ARB 3, during between 1945 and 1970, contact Thomas Nelson, 740 Chapel Pike, Circleville, OH 431 13. WWII, contact Joe J. Grado, 7956 Tom Drive, Port Arthur, TX Home Ave., Edwardsville, IL 62025, call (618) 656-0131 or Anyone who served in the provost marshal's office at Naval 77642 or call (409) 727-6299. e-mail [email protected]. Station Newport, R.I., between October 1946 and April 1948, Anyone who served witti "Gypsy," Amied Forces Radio Serv Anyone who served with WAC Det 2nd Sig Serv Bn at Vint contact James Dougherty, 1818 Hartel Ave., Philadelphia,

in Korea between 1951 and 1953, conlact Eric L. Fomander, Hill Farms Station in Wan-enton, Va., between 1943 and PA 191 11 or call (215) 725-9705. 386 W. Pineview Drive, Hainesville, IL 60073 or call (847) 1945, contact Jeanne W. Buckland-Nahas, 137 Red Oak Anyone who served aboard the USS Shelton, DD 790, during 546-5172. Lane, Cannel, IN 46033. the Korean War, contact J.D. Lane, 18701 Old Camp Lane

Anyone who served with the Amiy Eng Firef ighting Pit or Anyone who served aboard the USS LST 1 1 22 between S.E., Yelm, WA 98597 or call (360) 894-2703. Amiy Eng Avn Firefighting Pit during WWII, contact James G. 1951 and 1955, contact James M. Cunie, 626 Camdenpart< Anyone who served with the 635th Sec Police Sqdn K-9 Davis, 5 lliwai Loop, Kihei, HI, 96753, call (808) 875-8126 Drive, Ridgeland, MS 39157, call (601) 605-6267 ore-mail Section at U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand, between 1968 and

ore-mail [email protected]. [email protected]. 1976, contact Bill Cummings at 24735 Red Hill Court, Anyone who served with the 22nd Elev Hosp at Pusan, Anyone who served aboard the USS Threadfin, SS 410, Hollywood, MD 20636, call (301) 373-5545 or e-mail Korea, between November 1950 and January 1952, contact contact Paul Hosteller, 1496 Minor Ridge Court, [email protected] or Ron Saville, P.O. Box 1144, Fort

Felix A. Hen-era, St., Christ!, 3068 Reyna Corpus TX 78405 Chariottesville, VA 22901 , call (804) 964-1 1 83 or e-mail Benton, MT 59442, call (406) 622-5556 or e-mail or call (361)888-8182. [email protected]. [email protected].

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Biidingen, Gennany, between 1965 and 1966, contact R. K. in 1945, contact Paul Oriando, 19 Empire Court, Commack, Budingen, Gennany, between August 1945 and April 1946, Sheridan, 1 80 Ridgeland Drive, Mayfield, KY 42066 or call NY 11 725. contact George C. English, 5 W. Leeds Ave., Pleasantville, (270) 247-9133. Anyone who served with the 728th MP Bn, Seoul Korea Area NJ 08232. Anyone who served with 2nd Rgt, 2nd Bn, A Co at Ft. Cmd, 8th Amiy, contact Daniel B. Bush, P.O. Box 3060, Anyone who served with the 784th Tank Bn near Venio, Leonard Wood, Mo., between October 1963 and January Upper Montclair, N.J. 07043. Holland, during WWII, contact Wayne MIkus, 2 Fairfax Court, 1 964 or the 3rd Target Acquisition Bn, 25th Arty at Ft. Anyone who served with the 2nd Annd Div, 3rd Arty Sen/ Palm Coast, FL 32164 or e-mail [email protected].

Chaffee, Art<., and Ft. Sill, Okla., between 1964 and 1965, Btry in Gennany between June 1956 and November 1957, Anyone who served with the 508th MP Bn in Gennany

contact Charies J. Bukovec, 1 0079 Quany Road, Amherst, contact Edmund Zelmer, 34697 107st St, Long Lake, SD between 1 948 and 1 960, contact Rich Jones, P.O. Box 236, OH 44001 or call (440) 986-8687. 57457 or call (605) 577-6244. Ariington, NE 68002, call (402) 478-4785 ore-mail Anyone who served aboard the USS Surprise (Corvette) in Any Marines who went through boot camp with Pit 721 at the Atlantic during WWII, contact Joseph Di Piazza, 16229 Parris Island Recmil Depot between September and lOyone who served aboard the USS Askari, ARL 30, between

Indianwood Circle, Indiantown, FL 34956 or call (561 ) 597- November 1 942, contact Ed Barta, 97 River Oak Circle, 1 944 and 1 945, contact Raymond Simmons, 151/2 Union 2267. Pikesville, MD 21208 or call (410) 484-0457. St, Hudson, NY 12534.

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