-Caveat Lector-
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Peace at any cost is a prelude to war!
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********** VOICE OF THE GRUNT
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********** 03 November 1999
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ARTICLES
Hack's Column
Lap Dogs or Tigers 1
Mac Notes 2
From The Field:
Hope For The Future 3
Why Are Marines Different 4
Another Example of Veterans Getting The Shaft 5
A "Hackworthing" Story 6
Medal of Honor: 7
Barnum, Harvey C., Capt., USMC
Co. H, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein).
Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province, RVN, 18 December 1965.
Commentary:
Public Tragedy Renews Bonds of The Blue Angels 8
===========================================================
ARTICLE 1
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"LAP DOGS OR TIGERS?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By David H. Hackworth, 02 November 1999
Everyone on Sen. John Warner's (R-Va.) Armed Services Committee is worked
up because British Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson didn't blindly follow the orders
of NATO commander U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark.
Last June, Clark ordered Jackson, then the NATO commander in Kosovo, to
push the Russian troops out of Kosovo's main airport. Jackson told Clark,
"No, I am not going to do that. It is not worth starting World War III."
Remember, Russia still has thousands of nuclear-tipped ICBMs pointed at
us, and it would make many a hard-liner's day if the launch order was
given. Jackson -- who's since been promoted to full general, presumably, in
part, for the wisdom of this decision -- wisely concluded that the gain of
winning King of the Mountain against the Ruskies wasn't worth the possible
pain.
Sure, discipline is essential in the military. But soldiers should not be
robots and blindly follow dumb or illegal orders.
Back in 1817, Napoleon said, "Insubordination may only be evidence of a
strong mind."
Of course, look who's talking. Insubordination came naturally to me from
buck private to full colonel. I found it easy to find ways around obeying
or passing on orders that would cause my guys unnecessary hassle or blood.
Or orders that were just flat stupid, like Gen. Westmoreland's early
Vietnam War, guaranteed-to-get-troopers-killed rule of engagement order:
"Don't fire at the enemy until he fires first."
Maybe I was born with rebellion in my genes. Family legend has it that in
the 1770s, my Revolutionary War ancestor John Hackworth told his CO,
"Captain, ya'r attackin' the wrong hill. Ain't goin' with ya'. But follow
me, I'll take ya' up the right 'un."
In Korea or Vietnam, if I got an order that was stupid -- like sending my
soldiers into minefields to count enemy dead -- I'd "Wilco" (will comply)
that order -- in this case from Col. Ira Hunt, my superambitious fruit-case
boss at the time -- then tell my troops to ignore same. My loyalty was to
my troops and their tender bodies, not some Perfumed Prince's career. And I
know a lot of limbs and lives were saved that way.
British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson won one of the most decisive naval
victories of
the 19th century after "not seeing" his commander's signal to "discontinue
(the) engagement" during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. He explained
later, "I have only one eye; I have a right to be blind sometimes."
In 1914 at Tannenberg, German corps commander Gen. Hermann von Francois
repeatedly disobeyed orders. He ended up bagging 90,000 prisoners,
destroying a complete Russian army and winning a major victory.
During the Korean War, my patrol captured a squad of Chinese soldiers. By
the time we got back to our front lines, it was dark. It was a nine-hour
hike to the battalion C.P., and since some of the POWs were wounded, it
would have taken more than half of the men in my rifle platoon to get them
back for interrogation. Because my CO needed my soldiers to defend the
front, he ordered me to shoot them. I told him to get stuffed.
If Lt. William Calley's soldiers had refused to follow his insane order --
which killed between 300 and 400 unarmed Vietnamese women and children at
the village of My Lai -- one of our country's most shameful acts wouldn't
have happened. And perhaps the Jane Fonda gang's term "baby killers"
wouldn't have become part of the cruel legacy of the Vietnam War.
During my first four years in the Army, I had total obedience hammered
into me. But 20 years later, I'd learned that the best way to run an outfit
was to drop the Prussian "Yes, Sir; No, Sir" nonsense. At the end, I
encouraged my soldiers to challenge my orders and sound off. It worked.
Many a time a youngster came up with a far smarter idea than mine, which
made the operation better and saved lives.
Maybe Warner and committee, besides trying to eliminate all the waste and
redundancy in the services, should find out if our all-volunteer armed
forces' leaders are lap dogs or attack dogs with the chutzpa to stand up
and be counted.
If I were in Warner's boots, that would be my priority.
==================================================
ARTICLE 2
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******MAC NOTES******
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Robert L. McMahon, 02 November 1999
Thank you to everyone that wrote in regarding my comments last week on the
"Airfare" issue and the Kosovo refugees. I agree that perhaps the scenario
is not as bad as I first imagined, but I still think it's odd for the U.S.
State Department to make a request for payment from war refugees.
I would also like to reiterate my previous request that you please stop
passing the Jane Fonda P.O.W. story around. It is false and a near total
fabrication. Ms. Fonda did visit North Vietnam and allow herself to be used
for propaganda purposes back in 1971. However, she was never spit upon by
any P.O.W, was never "slipped pieces of paper" by P.O.W.'s, and her actions
never caused the death of any of our captive servicemen. None of us like
what she did, but please do not help create a false mythology about her
actions.
Hack is back in the CP now and working on getting some R&R. Thank you to
all of you who wrote me during his book-tour and dropped by to see him at
certain of his signing engagements. I understand that certain stores were
sold out within an hour of the doors opening. I have my wife reading his
book now and she is completely taken with the story. She never thought a
"military" book would be her speed, but she's really enjoying it.
Have to keep this short because I'm heading out to St. Louis today on
business. I may be out there pretty regular the next few weeks, so please
keep the traffic light.
Have a good week. Don't bunch up.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.freeyellow.com:8080/members7/rlmcmahon/
====================================================
ARTICLE 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUMMARY: An optimistic piece from a new LTC. This piece was edited by our
Colonel Bruce Clarke, a West Point Classmate of General Shinseki.
*************************************************
By Lt. Col. Steven A. Beckman, USA
My Dad (a vet of WWII, Korea and Viet Nam) has been a fan of yours for some
time. Last year, while I was in Bosnia, he would mail me copies of your
column. I still remember your column "Sending the 1st Cav to Bosnia is
Dumb" (my paraphrase).
While running the 1st Cav's Intel Center in Bosnia, I got to see the
corporate, take no risks military close up. I got to see the hole our over
reliance on technology has put our Army into...especially when the threat
is low-tech and very human. I also got to see beltway fed PP fools. That
having been said, the majority of the 100 soldiers who worked for me were
simply magnificent. They did literal back flips to answer the near
impossible, usually ill conceived and often contradictory intelligence
tasks we received.
Often the answers we provided were not what the chain of command wanted to
hear. My soldiers almost got used to the generals in the chain of command
telling us that our analysis was off base. In fact, they took quiet
pleasure in letting time prove them right. I was humbled by the fact that
they didn't need any belated praise from the upper echelons...a simple,
"Hooah, that's good stuff" from me was all they cared about. It's with
these soldiers (and a battalion Commander who shared with me the sabot
rounds fired by those more senior) in mind that I recount the following:
Tomorrow, 29 Oct, I will pin on silver LTC oak leaves. It's going to Take
place in Fredricksburg, TX at the Admiral Nimitz Museum. My Dad and wife
will pin on the new leaves and an old salt, retired RADM Grojean (an old
WWII submariner) will officiate. I'm doing it there because it is a special
place. The place is visited often by the men who fought a tough war, in
nasty places against a determined enemy. These old GI's, Marines and
Sailors still have a sparkle in their eyes. One can only be humbled to be
amongst that kind of company. I think being humbled is a good way to start
off as a no time in grade LTC.
I found a picture, while digging through an old scrapbook, of then COL, now
GEN Shinseki, with a soldier putting a pie in his face. Back in '88 the XO
of 2d BDE 3ID gave me the vital task of designing a program to raise money
to purchase brigade coins. Being Cheekier than I am now, I proposed a
raffle within the BDE with the winners getting the opportunity to put a pie
in the face of their BN and BDE Commanders. The BDE XO thought I had lost
my mind, but COL Shinseki was game.
When the day came, he dutifully stood there and let the winning PFC do the
deed. He didn't lose any military decorum, in fact I've never seen an
officer more respected by his troops (the grunts and tankers). I remember
him telling the division commander, after what appeared to be a
particularly dumb, short fused tasking came down, "Well Sir, if you want it
bad, that's just how you are going to get it."
He took the sabot rounds and shielded the troops from the wrath of those
above him. He could also be pretty humble. I only once heard him raise his
voice (behind closed doors to a deserving Company Commander). I know there
is a real soldier at the helm of the Army, and hopefully, we can reverse
some of the rot I've seen since 91.
It's easy to fall into the corporate, ticket punch Army. I won't speak for
myself, but for every PP that has screwed the soldiers, I'm also seeing
real soldier loving officers pin on new brass and command battalions. I
wish the ratio wasn't so close to 50-50, but they are out there...some of
them even wear stars.
So between the old vets and my knowledge of our Chief of Staff, I'll be
pinning on silver oak leaves with a little bit of hope for the future of
our Army.
Please remind the guys in the ranks occasionally, that there are officers
at all levels whose number one thought in the morning and at night is the
training and welfare of their soldiers.
Thank you for your service and the columns.
Hell on Wheels, Rock of the Marne, and First Team!
============================================
ARTICLE 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHY ARE MARINES DIFFERENT?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUMMARY: An Army officer sums up what makes Marines different.
*********************************************************
By Col. Daniel F. Bolger, USA
(Excerpt from DEATH GROUND: TODAY'S AMERICAN INFANTRY IN BATTLE
"What makes Marine infantry special? Asking the question that way misses
the most fundamental point about the United States Marine Corps. In the
Marines, everyone--sergeant, mechanic, cannoneer, supply man, clerk,
aviator, cook--is a rifleman first. The entire corps, all 170,000 or so on
the active rolls, plus the reserves, are all infantry. All speak the
language of the rifle and bayonet, of muddy boots and long, hot marches.
It's never us and them, only us. That is the secret of the Corps."
"If Army infantry amounts to a stern monastic order standing apart, on the
edge of the wider secular soldier world, Marine infantry more resembles the
central totem worshiped by the entire tribe. Marines have specialized, as
have all modern military organizations. And despite the all-too-real rigors
of boot camp, annual rifle qualification, and high physical standards, a
Marine aircraft crew chief or radio repairman wouldn't make a good 0311 on
a squad assault. But those Marine technical types know that they serve the
humble grunt, the man who will look the enemy in the eye within close to
belly-ripping range. Moreover, all Marines think of themselves as grunts at
heart, just a bit out of practice at the moment. That connections creates a
great strength throughout the Corps."
"It explains why Marine commanders routinely, even casually, combine widely
disparate kinds of capabilities into small units.... Marines send junior
officers and NCOs out from their line rifle companies and expect results.
They get them, too."
"Even a single Marine has on call the firepower of the air wing, the Navy,
and all of the United States. Or at least he thinks he does. A Marine acts
accordingly. He is expected to take charge, to improvise, to adapt, to
overcome. A Marine gets by with ancient aircraft (the ratty C-46E Frog, for
example), hand-me-down weapons (such as the old M-60 tanks used in the Gulf
War), and whatever else he can bum off the Army or cajole out of the Navy.
Marines get the job done regardless, because they are Marines. They make a
virtue out of necessity. The men, not the gear, make the difference. Now
and again, the Marines want to send men, not bullets."
"This leads to a self-assurance that sometimes comes across as disregard
for detailed staff-college quality planning and short shrift for high-level
supervision. Senior Army officers in particular sometimes find the Marines
amateurish, cavalier, and overly trusting in just wading in and letting the
junior leaders sort it out. In the extreme, a few soldiers have looked at
the Corps as some weird, inferior, ersatz ground war establishment, a bad
knockoff of the real thing. 'A small, bitched-up army talking Navy lingo,'
opined Army Brigadier General Frank Armstrong in one of the most brutal
interservice assessments. That was going too far. But deep down, many Army
professionals tended to wonder about the Marines. Grab a defended beach?
Definitely. Seize a hill? Sure, if you don't mind paying a little. But take
charge of a really big land operation? Not if we can help it."
"Anyone who has watched an amphibious landing unfold would be careful with
that kind of thinking. The Marines actually have a lot in common with their
elite Army infantry brothers, if not with all the various Army headquarters
and service echelons. True, Marine orders do tend to be, well...brief. But
so do those of the airborne, the air assault, the light-fighters, and the
Rangers, for the same good reason: Hard, realistic training teaches
soldiers how to fight by doing, over and over, so they need not keep
writing about it, regurgitating basics every time. More enlightened
soldiers consider that goodness. A three-inch thick order, a big CP, and
lots of meetings do not victory make. The Marines consciously reject all
that. And why not? Despite the occasional Tarawa or Beirut, it works."
"A Corps infused with a rifleman ethos has few barriers to intra-service
cooperation. The Army talks a great deal about combined arms and does it
down to about battalion level, often with great wailing and gnashing of
teeth. Marines do it all the way down to the individual Marine. Soldiers
have defined military occupational specialties and guard their prerogatives
like union shop stewards. Finance clerks don't do machine guns. Mechanics
skip foot marches to fix trucks. Intell analysts work in air-conditioned
trailers; they don't patrol. Marines, though, are just Marines. They all
consider themselves trigger pullers. They even like it, as might be
expected of an elite body."
====================================================
ARTICLE 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF VETERANS GETTING THE SHAFT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUMMARY: Someone over at the VA better start reading up on the generation
that saved the world from Fascism. Apparently they have not heard who the
greatest generation was.
*******************************************************
By T. Matison
Nearly a year has past now since I stood in a covered enclave, with the
rain and wind blowing about me, as the final words were spoken at my Dads
funeral. It was a gut wrenching experience as the Naval Honor Guard fired
their salute and the distant sounds of Taps was heard, played at another
ceremony nearby (Mom didn't want it played at Dads), but the timing
couldn't have been better. Placed next to the 'cigar box' which contained
his ashes was a photo of Dad in his uniform, in black and white, with his
hat cocked back on his head which was how they wore them in the 40s and
50s. No name tag, no medals, just a cocky and proud CEM who didn't wear his
ego on his chest. Dad was 81 when he died. A cancer took him, a cancer that
I believe came as a result of his participation in the nuclear tests after
W.W.II, but of course, the government denies this.
Dad had prostate cancer, a cancer that the VA states is not figured into
the covered illnesses. He also however had skin cancer removed from his
groin, and later cancer throughout his back; hot spots in his neck,
shoulders and spine. Though in pain, he complained little. His greatest
pain was not the illness, but from what he felt was the betrayal of the
service he gave so much for.
Dad was on the USS Salt Lake City, CA 25 throughout the war. In the end,
the ship was selected for the nuclear tests at Bikini in 1946 (Operation
Crossroads). Dad was there (Onsite Participant). After the detonation
tests, he and a crew went back aboard ship and stayed, taking readings and
attempting to "scrub down" the ship. His mission was to start the
generators for power. He was first to arrive and the last to leave. He
sometimes wore film badges to determine radiation levels. After "Able and
Baker" detonations, it was determined that it was "too hot" to stay on
board so they left. The ship was later towed to California and was sunk
during target practice.
He often talked about his 20 years in the Navy, including being on board
the ship after the nuclear tests. It wasn't till many years later that he
requested a copy of his service records after being treated for skin
cancer. What he found, to his astonishment, was that his participation in
the tests were no where to be found. In place during this time period was a
notation signed by the Executive Officer that he attended a "fire fighting
school" in Hawaii. He was then faced with, 'If it wasn't in the record, it
didn't happen.'
This started a crusade to correct the omission, subsequently learning about
and joining the Atomic Veterans Association. Through this organization he
met other veterans that were exposed to radiation and were denied
assistance. The DoD line being it could not be proven their health problems
were the result of their radiation exposure. Through his association with
the NAAV (National Association of Atomic Veterans) he did finally receive
recognition that he had been there. Research done by the Nuclear section of
the Naval Department and the Defense Nuclear Agency confirmed this. They
had skimpy records at best regarding total REMs exposed to the sailors, but
it was something. He filed a claim concerning skin cancer and waited while
the wheels of government turned.
As the years went by his health deteriorated. Severe arthritis in his neck,
shoulders, knees and hands (which cropped up in 1957 when he retired) were
his daily companions. His ability to receive the medical care which was
promised to him back in 1937 was reduced, forcing him to pay more and more
to receive civilian care. He was then treated for prostate cancer. Claims
were submitted to the VA and other government organizations but always
returned with delays, 'that your claim is currently being researched.' You
see, if you wait long enough it won't matter, as they will all be dead.
That is what happened to my Dad.
My brothers and I are grateful to the Navy that we were able to receive the
benefits when we were young. But the benefits that were promised to my Dad
evaporated and he became a non-priority in his later years. He was denied
the proper care he was entitled to and victimized by the denial/omission of
his official involvement in the Bikini tests. According to his official
Navy records, he was never involved in any of these tests.
Those who wrote the entries of the service records are no doubt dead,
following the guidance of their superiors, under the guise of national
security I assume. I don't blame them for the testing that was done. Their
knowledge of radiation was limited at the time and they had no way of
knowing the long term effects of exposure. But to ignore the health
complaints of veterans who willingly did their duty and to hide behind
dated research or biased medical opinions is wrong. It's financial, as I
assume it will open up Pandora's Box and all sorts of claims would be made
if the standards were relaxed. I find it interesting that the cancers
allowed by the VA is in inverse proportion to the amount of specific
cancers found by the NAAV in their limited Morbidity Study. Veterans are
dying at a record rate now and very soon now it really won't matter,
because if you wait long enough...
=====================================================
~~> more articles in Section B~~>
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