My wife and I were out and about today - we both have Mondays off; she works Sunday (natch) and I work Saturdays.
Its somewhat common to see leather jackets with mission and unit patches in Iowa still. Usually on guys who are on one side or the other of retirement age. Harley and long white beard optional. What isn't common is to see a jacket that I would associate with the Vietnam War on someone who couldn't be older than 30. I blinked, looked again. Must be his Dad's - which would be pretty cool.
No. That's a brand-new distressed jacket detailing this veteran's experience with the Iowa 1-133rd from 2005-2007 in Iraq. Otherwise known as the Red Bull. Including tributes to 2 Sgts. that had been killed in his unit.
Fuck. Aren't we too young for this shit? There's something incredibly wrong in seeing someone wearing honors that look like they belong to the VFW when they could be part of your high school or college graduating class.
Nothing new I'm sure to those elders whom had to sacrifice Somewhere Else for Dubious Reasons.
Monday, March 31, 2008
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My god. Wouldn't it be cool to have a generation that wasn't affected by a frikkin' war?
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan.
The honor will be awarded posthumously.
He threw himself on the grenade. Man.
And yet we don't learn, do we?
We are addicted to war. The idea of peace to us is weakness. The fact that people justify a war by saying, "it helped us feel better about ourselves" should tell you just how fucked-up we are.
Also, consider that for many young men and women, fat signing bonuses offer a way out of poverty and jobless, dead-end futures, both in small towns and in the inner city. Backdoor draft with a picture of Uncle Ben on it.
"No Fortunate Son," indeed.
We are addicted to war.
As long as we have the MIC.
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