[June 1, 2021] Seventy-Nine years ago today, the world was to first hear of the systematic, formally authorized extermination of Jews. Near the small town of Chelmno, a Nazi-operated death camp in Poland, began the gassing of Jews and other “undesirables.” Sadly, much of the history of the Holocaust is now being lost to indifference and willful ignorance.… Read More »
[May 30, 2021] Yesterday, I attended an early Memorial Day event at our local county Veterans’ Cemetery. The wind was cold, yet it was well attended. I was happy to be there and see that the deference to those we honor was conducted in a respectful, thoughtful manner. However, I often have folks say to me, “Happy Memorial… Read More »
[May 19, 2021] The Associated Press – a prominent American news agency providing “news reports” – has itself been the subject of mockery since its reporters were exposed acting as Hamas propagandists. This is certainly not the first time this organization acted in such a manner with other brutal regimes. The organization collaborated with the Nazis during WWII. … Read More »
[May 10, 2021] Years ago, as I was boarding a charter flight to Kuwait, a young woman stood in the doorway handing out mini-copies of the U.S. Constitution. I thanked her as I stuffed my copy into my helmet liner for later review. For those that know me professionally, they are aware that I am an advocate for studying America’s… Read More »
[April 28, 2021] One hundred-one years ago, in April 1910, Theodore Roosevelt spoke about citizenry in a Republic. His speech in Sorbonne Paris is popularly known as ‘The Man in the Arena.‘ An oft-repeated theme of my leadership blog deals with individual responsibility, and Roosevelt won great acclaim for his emphasis on personal duty and accountability. If anything,… Read More »
[April 25, 2021] War is a common condition of humans. In truth, it can be convincingly argued that the history of our human condition is perpetual war. Peace is an aberration. I want to address a comment I hear often … “Given that war is so common, is there glory in war?” To begin, I want to be… Read More »
[April 22, 2021] Like so many Americans, I learned about the righteousness of the Allied fight against Hitler’s and Mussolini’s fascism and Japan’s imperialism during World War II. Yet, there was plenty of unfinished business of the war that would plague the world for decades – a new book by Sean McMeekin challenge’s that view. In his book,… Read More »
[April 5, 2021] It has been said, many times over, that what we see affects us in ways that we often do not know. Such can be said of an old movie, The Purple Heart (1944).1 The film dramatizes the “show trial” of U.S. airmen from the Doolittle Raid. Americans are familiar with the bombing raid by Jimmy… Read More »
[March 27, 2021] In a Military History course mandated by Army ROTC, I asked a question of our college professor he could not answer. I asked, Why do democracies win wars? This idea was an observation I’d made while reading about war during my college days. I was unaware at the time that historians, philosophers, religious leaders, and… Read More »
[March 17, 2021] I’m reminded today of an old U.S. Army recruiting slogan from the mid-1980s; “Be all you can be.”1 The commercial series was one of the Army’s best. Great stuff. It worked beginning in folks into the military. As regular readers of my leadership blog know, my works are influenced by many; one such person is… Read More »