70th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima

U.S. Marines during the assault of Iwo Jima, 1945

If it hasn't been mentioned, today is the 70th anniversary of the amphibious assault by the United States Marines on Japanese-held Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945. 

U.S. losses amounted to 6800, with 17,000 wounded. 

The Japanese lost almost 22,000 men. Only 216 prisoners were taken. 

Many today question why Truman used The Bomb. They are idiots.

SC State Alumnus invokes Gen. Sherman's burning of Columbia in his response to SC Legislature

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, famous litigator

“I want to serve notice to the General Assembly in Columbia,” SCSU Orangeburg alumni chapter Willie B. Owens said. “You thought it was hell when Sherman hit Columbia, but just wait. Within a few days, we're going to file a lawsuit of $500 million on behalf of South Carolina State University.”

Not to take anything away from lawsuits, but I'm pretty sure no one ever said "Litigation is hell".

My Grandad was a Black Devil

1st Lt. William P. Caskey (my grandad)

And he wasn't any ol' devil, either. He was an officer. Specifically, he was actually a 1st Lieutenant, Hq Company, in the Devil's Brigade, which was essentially the first special forces unit created. See those crossed arrows on his lapels? That the insignia of special forces, before there was even the existence of special forces as an independent branch.

The Augusta Chronicle has a story about my grandad, who lived in Augusta after WWII. The piece came out because Congress just recognized the unit with a Congressional Gold Medal.

They were trained during the winter months at Fort William Henry Harrison in Montana in hand-to-hand combat, mountain climbing, ski training, demolition and skydiving, but the Norway mission was canceled before they finished.

“They had this idea they were primitive fighters,” Caskey said.

The team was eventually sent to liberate Rome and invade southern France.

Caskey said his father did some fighting. One of the force’s most famous missions was made into a movie called Devil’s Brigade, a nickname the German opposition gave the force for the baggy parachute pants and black shoe polish they wore under their eyes for their nighttime hit-and-run missions. The group’s logo featured a black devil holding an arrowhead shield and clinching a dagger in his mouth.

In February 1944, the force was the first to land in Anzio, Italy, and surprise a German unit.

“My dad’s brigade quickly jumped off the beachhead and ran several miles into the hills to hold the high ground, but was soon told to retreat because they were overstretching the Army’s limits,” Caskey said.

The Germans reoccupied high land and pinned the force for 99 days without relief.

“My dad said it was one of the worst times of the war because he sat on the beach for two weeks in a hole, unable to move for fear of being shot,” Caskey said.

I knew my gradad fought in WWII, but beyond generally fighting at Anzio with the Army, I didn't know much of anything about what he did or what unit he was in.

Weekend Plans? I'll Be Crusading

Like most of y'all, my weekend plans involve some backyard grilling, a little work around the house, oh, and probably some crusades.

Enjoy the crusades, y'all. It is the weekend, after all.

Why Brian Williams Lied About His Combat Experience

"Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

Samuel Johnson said that. By the way, h/t to Ace for bringing that quote to mind.

By now, we all know that Brian Williams lied about being in a helicopter that was shot down during the Iraq war. Here's a video of Williams lying about the event, in detail, to David Letterman. I have been thinking about why he lied about this event. People defending Williams have tossed out this "memory is complicated" idea, in an attempt to let him off the hook. For instance, people are saying things like:

"He was in the helicopter in the sense that we are all in the helicopter. We are the ones who misremember. Misremember, conflate."

What? We are all in the helicopter? What is that even supposed to mean? Memory isn't complicated. You're either in a helicopter that was shot down, or you were in another helicopter an hour behind. It's not that complicated. Next time you get caught in a lie, try out the ol' "memory is complicated" line and let me know how that goes for you.

Look, people. sometimes, the simplest answer is the right answer. Here, I think the simple answer is correct: Brian Williams wanted to portray himself as as badass. So he made up a story.

Williams has been a journalist - a news reader - for his entire career. He's never been a soldier. He's never been one of the rough men standing ready in the night to visit violence upon people. However, he's reported on them, so he's been around them a lot.

I can relate to this. I'm a lawyer, but that makes me kind of the odd-ball in my family and extended family. Every single adult male in my family before me was in the military, and was deployed overseas to combat. Everyone.

My dad was in the Army as a doctor in an 93rd Evac Unit in the first Gulf war. My uncle was in the Army and was a tank commander in the first Gulf war, in addition to other deployments. My other uncle flew helicopters in Vietnam. My late grandfather was special forces in WWII, fighting at Anzio, among other places. My brother in law flew helicopters in the second gulf war. I can keep going back to the Civil War, but I think you get the idea.

Me? I'm just a lawyer. I'm not saying that anyone makes me feel bad about it (they don't), but sometimes I feel guilty about it on my own. Yeah, I know that being a lawyer is an honorable profession, and it's kind of interesting, but it's not exactly the same thing as being deployed to a combat area. I'm kind of the opposite of Lt. Dan.

So I'm kind of in the same boat as Williams. We're both guys who have been around military guys to a great extent, but we're not in the club. We're never going to be in the club. We don't have the bond that those men have, and we're never going to have it. Not that there's anything wrong with being a lawyer or a news reader; both are perfectly legitimate careers.

Here's what happened. I think Williams did a lot of reporting on military issues, and he got to know military men. I think he truly admires them. I think Williams admired these military men that he was around so much, he wanted to be part of their group so badly, that he made up this story so he could fit in - so he could be one of the guys. Who doesn't want to be one of the guys?

Essentially, I think Brian Williams lied for one of the oldest and most common reasons of all: He lied so people would think he's cool. I think deep down, he felt uncool standing next to these military men. Their actions held up a mirror to him, and he looked at his own job of reading the news and felt like he didn't measure up.

He certainly doesn't measure up now. Those who are dishonorable certainly aren't part of the club.

The Fog of War

In the second volume of his history of the Civil War, Foote described the fog of war through an episcopal clergyman in New York described the many reports that came in about the Battle of Chancellorsville:

"It would seem that Hooker has beaten Lee and that Lee has beaten Hooker, that we have taken Fredericksburg, and that the rebels have taken it also, that we have 4,500 prisoners, and the rebels 5,400, that Hooker has cutoff Lee's retreat, and Lee has cutoff Sedgewick's retreat, and Sedgewick has cutoff everybody's retreat generally, but has retreated himself, although his retreat was cutoff.

In short, all is utter confusion. Everything seems to be everywhere, and everybody all over, and there is no giving it any truth."

Thus, the second attempt to capture Fredericksburg ended in a Federal defeat, albeit a dearly bought one.

I'll Shoot You Tomorrow

A quote from the passage I just read in Shelby Foote's second volume on the recent unpleasantness.

The ground in front of the sunken road, formerly carpeted blue, had taken on a mottled hue, with patches of startling white. Binoculars disclosed the cause. Many of the Federal dead had been stripped stark naked by shivering Confederates, who had crept out in the darkness to scavenge the warm clothes from the bodies of men who needed them no longer... No one assigned to one of the burial details ever forgot the horror of what he saw; for here, up-close and life-size, was an effective antidote to the long-range, miniature pageantry of Saturday's battle as it had been viewed from the opposing heights.

Up close, you heard the groans and smelled the blood... Not even amid such scenes as this, however, did the irrepressible rebel soldier's wry sense of honour desert him. One, about to remove a shoe from what he though was a Federal corpse, was surprised to see the 'corpse' lift its head and look at him reproachfully. "Beg pardon sir," the would-be scavenger said, carefully lowering the leg; "I thought you have gone above." Another butternut scarecrow, reprimanded by a Union officer for violating the terms of the truce by picking up a fine Belgian rifle that had been dropped between the lines, looked his critic up and down, pausing for a long stare at the polished boots the officer was wearing. "Never mind," he said dryly. "I'll shoot you tomorrow and git them boots."

This is Foote's description of the aftermath of Fredericksburg.

Revolutionary War Hero Isn't Welcome in Washington, DC

Francis Marion and the famous "sweet potato incident"

One of the members of the Columbia Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution has been working for years to get a monument of Francis Marion placed in our nation's capital. After going through a long process which included getting the SC Congressional delegation (all of them) to support a law that would authorize the National Parks System to plan for the statue, the President signed the law in 2008 to go forward with the project.

Fittingly enough, there's a small park in DC that is already named "Marion Park" in honor of the man. It also happens to be located along South Carolina Avenue.  Sounds great, right? Accordingly, the NPS thought that putting the monument there would be logical. What could go wrong?

Well, some people don't like the idea of putting a monument of Francis Marion up in Marion Park.

Because of racism, obviously.

A South Carolina plantation owner and slaveholder, Marion fought against the Cherokee Indians during the French and Indian War. In the Revolutionary War, he used the guerrilla warfare tactics he learned from the Cherokee against the British, earning him the nickname “Swamp Fox.”

“They say Francis Marion is a hero, but who is he a hero to?” says Lawrence Smith, 70, who lives about a block from the park. “The first Americans, who he helped wipe out? I bet they don’t feel that he’s a hero. The African-Americans who were kidnapped and brought here in bondage, do they see him as a hero?”

The proposed placement of the Marion memorial is particularly insensitive, says Capitol Hill resident Peter Glick, 53, since the statue would sit in the shadow of the Progress For Christ Baptist Church, which was built by freed African slaves right after the Civil War.

“The people who lived in this area and who went to this church no doubt escaped from people like Francis Marion,” Glick says.

Hey, here's a fun little game. Let's see what happens if we replace Marion (the evil slaveholder) with someone else.

"A South Carolina Virginia plantation owner and slaveholder, Marion Washington fought against the Indians during the French and Indian war."

Yes, this George Washington fellow fought in the Revolutionary War, but he was a plantation owner and slaveholder. Wait, I've just been informed that Thomas Jefferson, the man who drafted the Declaration of Independence, was also a plantation owner and slaveholder as well. Gee, I guess it's a good thing that neither of those two jokers have any monuments in the vicinity.

The sad thing is that Francis Marion fought side-by-side with blacks, whites, friendly Indians, free and slave. It was probably the first integrated fighting force in North America. That's a historical fact. Oh, you didn't know that? Here, let me Google that for you.

But I guess some people like Peter Glick and Lawrence Smith would rather just wallow in their own shallow understanding of history.

Veterans Day: 2014

Parris Island Marine Corps Recruits, WWI

Today, we remember all our veterans, but to me, this day seems mostly about remembering the veterans of The Great War.

“The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.”

― Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August

Last Night's Election - The Devil's Own Day

Wave.

Nikki Haley cruised to a fairly easy victory last night, as Republicans swept pretty much every race there was, in both South Carolina and nationwide. Even the state of Maryland elected a Republican Governor. Maryland, y'all.

Anyway, we'll see how things go for the next two years. My only admonition to Republicans in the Senate is this: All glory is fleeting. Remember the hubris of the Democrats, who basically thought the were going to have a permanent majority?

Well guess what, y'all. No majority is ever permanent. Get things done, and you'll be rewarded. Act like knuckle-heads, and you'll be out on your ear next time. Being marginally better than the Democrats isn't something to get all that excited about. There's always another battle to be fought.

I'm reminded of the exchange between Grant and Sherman at Shiloh. After the first day of battle, the Confederates had taken the Federal position and forced a retreat of the Federals under Grant and Sherman. The Federals had been driven from the field and looked like they would be finished off the following morning.

When Sherman arrived at Grant's headquarters later that evening, he found the general–broken sword and all– chewing on a soggy cigar in the rain, which had begun soaking the battlefield.

'Well, Grant' Sherman said to his friend, 'We've had the devil's own day, haven't we?'

'Yes,' replied Grant, 'lick 'em tomorrow, though.'

The GOP could easily be licked next time.

I've Started Shelby Foote's "Civil War"

Shelby Foote - Southern Man of Letters

Now that I've finished a biography of Douglas MacArthur, I've decided to take the plunge into Shelby Foote's three volume history of the Civil War. (Sorry Admiral Nimitz, you'll have to wait.)

To be fair I'm not reading it. My conscience compels me to admit that I'm not reading it in the strict sense. I'm listening to it as an audio-book. Yes, I feel a little twinge of guilt for not actually reading the book, but I don't feel that guilty.

Actually, I feel so little guilt that I actually have a complaint about the audio-book - the reader's voice is not that good. The reader's voice is tinny and flatly accented (no accent at all), sounding more like a computer than an actual person. This is such a shame, since Foote had a wonderful low, gravely Southern accent that just curled up on you like a sleepy cat  looking for a warm place to rest.

In learning a tiny bit about Foote himself, I have come across some wonderful anecdotes about his life and quotes from him about writing and life in general. One of my favorite anecdotes is as follows:

A story I’ve heard, possibly apocryphal, has it that Shelby Foote and William Faulkner once made a pilgrimage together to the battlefields of Shiloh, in Tennessee. It was a Sunday morning, but along the way they were able to score some moonshine from a fellow they spotted having his shoes shined, Faulkner’s logic being that any man having his shoes shined was likely to know where to find some whiskey. By the time they’d reached the battlefield’s famed Peach Orchard, they were loose enough to want to reenact the great cavalry charge on their own, sabers drawn in their minds. That’s how to drink like a Southerner.

I hope that's a true story.

Not Quite the Red Baron

...but still, it's got some style.

Fly by and talk about whatever you like - whether you've got style or not.

Is The US Military Insulting Native Americans?

If you're easily offended (or stupid) you'll probably be upset to learn the name of this helicopter.

Seriously, you guys. Not from the Onion.

Identifying our powerful weapons and victorious campaigns with those we subjugated serves to lighten the burden of our guilt. It confuses violation with a fair fight.

It is worse than denial; it is propaganda. The message carried by the word Apache emblazoned on one of history’s great fighting machines is that the Americans overcame an opponent so powerful and true that we are proud to adopt its name. They tested our mettle, and we proved stronger, so don’t mess with us. In whatever measure it is tribute to the dead, it is in greater measure a boost to our national sense of superiority. And this message of superiority is shared not just with U.S. citizens but with those of the 14 nations whose governments buy the Apache helicopters we sell. It is shared, too, with those who hear the whir of an Apache overhead or find its guns trained on them. Noam Chomsky has clarified the moral stakes in provocative, instructive terms: “We might react differently if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes ‘Jew’ and ‘Gypsy.’ ”

So let me get this straight: Even though no one is offended by the "Apache" helicopter, it's still offensive? Is this like the tree falling in the woods thing?

What's more, I always thought these names were compliments to tribes that have been traditionally recognized for their military prowess. Every time I think that I haven't seen the stupidest politically correct idea, you crazy kids out there in "I'm Offended Land" always manage to outdo yourselves.

It's going to be hard to top the weapons-grade-stupid that Mr. Simon Waxman has unleashed with this piece.

D-Day: Seventy Years Ago

Seventy Years Ago.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Douglas MacArthur in 1930

I'm most of the way through American Caesar, which is a biography on Douglas MacArthur. (Most of the way means that I've now gotten to the point where he has re-taken the Philippines. Anyway, it's an interesting read.

For instance, I had no idea how old MacArthur was. He was born in 1880. Yeah, that made him sixty years old when WWII broke out in 1940. Sixty.

 This is Douglas MacArthur in 1930, between the wars - before he was a household name.

He's 50 in this picture.

What's also interesting is the reaction I get from some people when I tell them I'm reading about MacArthur. He's still somewhat polarizing. Yes, he was arrogant, conceited, and flamboyant, but he was also an amazingly capable officer. His tactics/strategy very likely saved many lives, when compared to the Allied Operations in France and Italy, especially Italy.

Loud + Weak = War

Remember "Walk softly and carry a big stick"?

It kind of seems like we're doing the opposite now.

"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors..."

...not out of strength, but out of weakness," Obama said.

Excuse me, but Russia isn't simply a "regional power". They have a whole bunch of ICBMs. Also, if you've ever looked at a map, you might have noticed that Russia stretches across many different regions.

The Well-Regulated Militia, Chuck Norris, and Global Warming

Happy Monday.

Glenn Reynolds (a/k/a Instapundit) has an interesting essay on the origins and decline of the militia.

Also, it's Chuck Norris' birthday today, so you better watch yourself. I kind of just figured that Chuck Norris was the militia.

To recap the weekend, USC Baseball swept Brown University to improve to 15-0 on the year. We'll see how the team handles their first SEC games this weekend when the Gamecocks play host to Ole Miss for three games. My guess is that the Gamecocks take two out of three.

In the category of things that will make you dumber for having listened to, Senate Democrats are going to hold an all night "talkathon" on Global Warming darn, I mean Climate Change.

I just don't get the Climate Change people. The earth has been warming up and cooling down in cycles for millions of years. It's just nature. Man probably cannot affect the natural warming and cooling cycles of the entire planet, and it's just folly to say that this temperature, right now, is somehow inherently the "perfect temperature" for the planet.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Everyone go to work.

My Thoughts on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

I am not a fan of President Obama, but it gives me no pleasure to see him embarrassed on the international stage. He represents me. He represents the entire country.

Russia has invaded Ukraine. That's a fact. Does Putin give a rip about the speeches given in the West? No. He's going to respond with a version of Stalin's line of "How many divisions do you have"? 

Russian leaders, through time immemorial, respect strength and exploit weakness.

Does this bode well for the American hegemony that has dominated the globe for the last 70 years? No. Does this help the people of Taiwan, Tel Aviv, and Poland sleep better at night? No.

You don't think China is watching? Maduro in Venezuela? Khamenei in Iran? Even if you don't care much about the Crimea, it is much bigger than that. Our President says that he isn't looking at the world like a Cold War chessboard. I would say that this is chess and he's not seeing the whole board.

Deterrence works only on a track record. Every time you don't act, you invite the next, bigger crisis. Sitting idle and grumbling (as you say) is a mistake. It would constitute a signal to Putin that he would welcome. Even if you do not agree that free nations must defend other nations as a moral obligation, it is a practical one. Dictators always expand. This is a strongman claiming to "protect" those in another country with a similar culture. I think I've seen this movie before.

So let's say you don't want to go military, Fine. What could we do? Russia's economy depends on high natural gas prices. Economics works here. Europe should start fracking, and US should increase natural gas exports. Price falls. Also, all of Russia's natural gas pipelines go through Ukraine. Anyone ever seen Lawrence of Arabia? BOOM. Russia has less money for foreign adventures.

Go Army, Beat Navy!

One of college football's best games of the year is today. At 3:00PM today, Army and Navy meet for their traditional battle. This game represents everything good in college football: teamwork, sacrifice, and discipline. No one from this game will be going to the NFL next year. No one will be getting a big paycheck and driving a fancy car next year. They'll be going into harm's way.

All the graduating seniors (or first-classmen) will be going into their commissions as officers with either the Army or Navy. These boys play football because they love their school, and they love the game.

It's what college football is all about.

Army-Navy Program from 1945

For over a hundred years, West Point and the US Naval Academy have played each other. However, in the recent years, the series has been one-sided, with Navy winning the last eleven games.

Pretty much everyone in my family comes from the Army side of the military, so I'll be cheering for the Black Knights to break the losing streak today.

GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!