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August 14th, 1945 was the day that Japan surrendered. The footage below of the spontaneous celebration that broke out was shot on the main street in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The photo itself is gorgeous; somber, misty setting; majestic wildlife. It really is quite the shot by amateur photographer Frank Glick.
When a friend sent it to me in email, I called it “beautiful and haunting”, but a few hours have passed, and I have been thinking…
Before passing along the photo to some other folks whom I thought would be interested, I googled the story, fearing that I would find that the photo was staged or ,worse, photoshop’d.
It wasn’t.
Reading the article attached to the photo, it occurred to me that it also wasn’t just a great photo.
The photo became the jumping off point for a whole different story. The story did not end with a “Photo of the Week” caption, but with a life revisited. It provided a chance for a life-long friend to reminisce and a widow to once again be assured that the man that she loved for so many years, although gone, was not forgotten.
The scene captured within the camera frame is not just symbolically patriotic, but a reminder to those who cared about the man buried there that this man was special. Truthfully, it is hoped, that each and every one of those headstones mark the final resting place of someone who was special to someone.
The story’s headline declares “The Eagle Could Not Have Picked a Better Person”. Would there still be a story; maybe similar, maybe not; had the eagle alit two stones over? Or three? Or ten? I’d like to think so.
In reading the story behind the photo, I found myself wondering how many other folks would benefit from a chance to break out their own photo albums and share those whom they have loved and lost with someone who finds themselves suddenly interested. How many folks have I crossed paths with who need a chance to talk? Who needs to be called upon to reminisce? Who else needs to be chosen?
Yes. I know it is Wednesday…
Until Tuesday is the name of the book written by Iraq war veteran, PTSD and traumatic brain injury sufferer, author and veterans advocate, Luis Montalvan. Tuesday is the name of his service dog, and the book is the story of the road to recovery that started just at the other end of a leash.
Montalvan appeared on David Letterman last night. The story of how he sustained injuries is chilling. If you read the book you will find it both miraculous and telling that he returned to service and continued to deploy after sustaining those injuries. That is the kind of man he is; the kind that, like many service members, seems always going into places that strike fear, not because it is easy, but because it is important; to be shaking off their own injuries for the sake of their troops, their country or the mission.
It seemed to me, as I watched last night, that Montalvan struggles to keep it all together. It was clear to me that this was not an environment well-suited to his peace of mind. I suspect that he launched himself once more into the fray for the sake of so many returning veterans. This was his stage to advocate for support for those who suffer invisible injuries. It was his stand for better access to service dogs for veterans.
Once more shaking off his own injury for the sake of his fellow servicemen.
You can see the entire interview here:
This morning I received an email from a friend of mine from a previous tour, asking me for a favor.
S. was the IT expert at my last command. She not only kept our system running, but managed all our information when we moved aboard ship. Then she tested and evaluated the systems of every deploying strike group for robustness against weird shipboard power and for vulnerability to everything from hackers to nuclear attack.
The woman is brilliant. She is also tougher than nails.
Do you know what favor she asked for on the eve of her own deployment to Afghanistan?
This is what she said:
One of my shipmates, Clayton Kendrick-Holmes, who is deploying to Afghanistan is a football coach for a Division III team. He has been nominated as “Coach of the Year.” With this title the winner is given $50K to donate to a charity. He said if he wins he plans to give it to “The Wounded Warrior Project.”
It does take a few minutes to sign up, but I’d like to ask you all to vote early and vote often by clicking here.
As much as you all think of me as a bit of a sports authority, I am not the expert you might think when it comes to football. I know it’s hard to fathom. Iditarod? I know you’re all reading it here first. Fencing? I am your girl. Need help with the finer points of Ice Dance or Luge? Look no further.
But football?
I get that the object is to move the ball over, around or through the other team. I know that first downs are good and that there are no “ups”, first, second or otherwise. I know that offsides has something to do with the number of players on the field, and onsides has something to do with kicking the ball sideways. It seems that sometimes the best thing a player can do is make it to the sidelines and that sometimes being out-of-bounds is bad.
In short, I don’t get it.
My confusion would come as a surprise to no one if you but knew one thing; I watch one game a year.
Army-Navy.
So, for three more quarters, I am watching football.
The beast shows every sign of spending that same time watching squirrels. Neither one of us has a full understanding what is happening before our eyes, but at least we both know who we are rooting for anyway.
And neither of us is rooting for the guys in grey.
So we have that in common.
My last squadron assignment in the Navy was a training squadron. We, as a unit, were tasked with training aircrew for all the nation’s EA-6B Prowlers (electronic jamming aircraft) for both the Navy and the Marine Corps. The squadron was staffed by men and women from both of those services.
It was my first real exposure to Marines.
It was a learning experience.
There are very few organizations who manage to mold their personnel so cohesively. Ask any member of a Marine Corps unit, from the most junior private to a three-star General, what their mission is. They will give you the same answer; not because someone said memorize it, but because it is their job to know what they are doing. Lives depend on it; their brothers’ lives.
They never forget that. They never forget the cost of screwing up. They are in a serious business, and they don’t accept many excuses for failing to measure up. When you fail to measure up, they are not so much interested in why that might be or what you were feeling at the time.
This lack of sensitivity has some frightening effects. It leads to a culture of pride and accomplishment.
The horror…
One of our nation’s insurance companies doesn’t quite appreciate the culture of the Corps… or maybe they do.
In any case, this commercial made me laugh out loud.
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