(DIS)Honoring American (Dead) Heroes

I would sooner fight a saber-tooth tiger but war is worse.

U.S. soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge with a captured Nazi battle flag. Dr. Leveque arrived in Europe just after this.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Salem-News.com posted Memorial and Veterans Day Hypocrisy by Stephen Lendman a few days ago, on 30 May. Who was it who said, "I disagree with you but I will fight to the death for your right to say it."

Memorial Day really honors about 1 million 500k dead military veterans, starting with 25,000 from our Revolutionary (bad) War to the 600,000 dead on both sides of the (Un)Civil (bad) War through the 400,000 dead of World War Two (bad war).

I don't think any of us volunteers or conscripted military men and women joined to be shot at (repeatedly), seriously maimed, or killed. I certainly didn't and I volunteered. I did not have to go but nobody was going to think or say that I had a yellow streak. We of all wars did not, "sacrifice (our bodies) minds and lives for imperial conquest, plunder and new ones in an endless cycle of gratuitous, violent, militarism, brutality, and destruction for power and profit."

He had most of his nouns and adjectives correct. Most of us vehemently hated the situation we were in and hated everything about it; from the top generals and heads of war industries to the lowest ranking two stripe corporal.

We would have joyously quit at any time except for the loss of status in the eyes of our brother-like comrades. Was it General Sherman who said, "War is Hell". It was worse. Most of us were victims of IMPERIAL ARROGANCE but what were we supposed to do?

Military service is the worst state of gladiator slavery; it is kill or be killed and most of us had no control of the results.

Stephen Lendman writes the feelings of most of us mind-shattered or body-shattered veterans. I would sooner fight a saber-tooth tiger but war is worse.

He speaks of this "nation's depravity" but please don't paint us veterans with that brush. We were doing our ordered DUTY mostly under duress over which we had absolutely no "control".

Most of the battle deaths were in privates under 20-years old. These are the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice, mostly so you could continue to speak English.

A special salute to my fellow Veterans, dead and alive. You saved us all.

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More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier