Memorial Day Memory

It is Memorial Day weekend, again. As usual, my thoughts turn to those I have loved with all my heart, who served our country with bravery and devotion, and are no longer with us. It is more challenging, and a bit more painful every year, because we Baby Boomers are, sadly, winding down. And so […]

All Gave Some, And Some Gave All

Memorial Day. I love this annual holiday. It is the unofficial kick off of summer, and there are never too many barbecues, sunny days, and happy voices for me to tire of this oncoming hot, sweaty, shorts and sandals season. But more than the joy that accompanies evenings of winking fireflies and waves crashing on vacation […]

“A Date Which Will Live In Infamy”

My dad never spoke of his service to our country. In her gravest tone of voice, my mother taught us at an early age to never, ever ask him about the Navy, or World War II, or Pearl Harbor. And so we did not. The only clue I had growing up was when my dad […]

His Profile Of Courage

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans-born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage…” and so it was, the cafeteria at my new school […]

I Salute You

The Oath of Enlistment “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of […]

I Wish Never To Be Needed Again

I have been closely following news reports about the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting tragedy. There is no way I can begin to understand or accept the magnitude of such a thing. In reading accounts of the events that unfolded, I found one act of particular interest. A first year Social Studies teacher, Megan Silberberger, heard […]

V-J Day And The Giant Smooch

V-J Day! August 14, 1945, President Harry S Truman announced Japan had surrendered, and the war was over; insurmountable joy bursting forth in that moment, one such expression caught forever in time by photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt. Over the years, several people have claimed to be the kissing couple in Times Square. I rather prefer their […]

Last Full Measure Of Devotion

March 29, 1973 Tan Son Nhut Airport, Saigon Under the terms of the negotiated peace agreement with North Vietnam, all U.S. combat troops leave Vietnam. U.S. troops filed into a C-130; Army Master Sergeant Max Beilke was the last in line to board the aircraft. Colonel Bui Tin, head of the North Vietnamese observer team, […]

To Hear Birdsong

Last night I dreamed about our old neighborhood fire station, again. It is a dream I have off and on, with no particular point to it, or message from it that I can discern. I am just happy when I do dream about it, and always wake with a sense I have been home. In […]

No Roar, No Drum

This time of year, because of events and anniversaries, personal and national, my thoughts often turn to heroism. I have debated the definition with more than one person, and keep neatly folded in one of my files a favorite Letter to the Editor I fired off in response to a column written by an editor […]