Posted on 06/06/2008 9:32:40 AM PDT by RedRover
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, three "huzzahs" were given by British infantry before a charge, as a way of building morale and intimidating the enemy. The book "Redcoat" by Richard Holmes indicates that this was given as two short 'huzzahs' followed by a third sustained one as the charge was carried out.
Defend Our Marines headline, June 4, 2008: Verdict in the Lt Grayson trial---NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!
Huzzah!
I feel one of the striking impressions of the Haditha case is the lack of leadership demonstrated by the Marine General Officers. One of the principles of leadership is to know your Marines and it is apparent that the generals didnt know Lt Grayson.
For the Haditha generals to not know their Marines is an unforgivable sin and for this reason I believe they deserve their current embarrassment. When six out of eight legal proceedings end with charges dismissed and a not-guilty verdict, that is a pretty good indicator that the charges were brought for political reasons. Frankly, the generals should know better then to use smoke and mirrors.
Most descriptions of Lt Grayson speak of his abilities as an exceptional Marine Officer. I never met or served with the lieutenant but I honestly felt I understood him as a Marine because I have seen many like him.
In my opinion, Lt Grayson is not exceptional but he is typical of the majority of Marines. For young Marines, and especially lieutenants, exceptional is expected and delivered as a matter of routine. In other words, exceptional Marine Lieutenants are SOP (standard operating procedure). Lt Grayson saw his legal issues as a matter of honor and I would argue that is typical of most Marines. What is not typical, is for the Marine Corps senior leadership to forget these values that are instilled in our Marines.
The selection of Marines is never an easy process. For example, if you could poll of a typical high school senior class of maybe 200 to 300 seniors with the question, Do you want to be a United States Marine? Most Marine recruiters will tell you not to expect more than one or maybe two positive answers. Generally speaking, in order to get one of these seniors to make the huge step of getting on the boot camp bus, six to ten other committed seniors will most likely be disqualified for an abundance of reasons. Standard Marine boot camp attrition is 12 to 15%. OCS (Officer Candidate School) attrition can be as high as 50% per class. In the slogan The Few, the Proud, the Marines, I think all citizens, Marines and their relatives understand the Few part.
Not everyone wants to be a Marine, but the few that do, demonstrate that they possess that kernel of courage, honor and pride that Marine training grows and forges so effectively. Lt Grayson is typical but only from a Marine perspective. A few years back, my wife and I went to see the movie, A Few Good Men. In that movie, Demi Moore spoke a warning to Tom Cruises character that, The Marines at Gitmo are fanatical. My wife giggled when she heard that line and when I asked why she thought it was funny she stated: The Marines at Gitmo are not fanatical; youre all fanatical. You cant be a Marine and do the things you do, unless your are a fanatic. As a Marine, I understood what my wife was saying. Yes, Marines are fanatics; we are fanatics about pride, courage, honor and we believe with our souls that these traits are not only essential in combat but also make us the best warriors this country has to offer. (I cant help but think that those same thoughts motivated LtCol Chessani when he made his famous My Marines are not murders statement.) Lt Graysons courage was instilled by his parents, forge by his Marine training and honed in combat on the Haditha battle field. For these reasons, the associated Haditha generals should have know that Lieutenant Grayson would demonstrate the courage to defeat the legal wranglings and smoke of lawyers and political maneuvering and mirrors of the HQMC Administrative Command Authority.
For Lt Graysons honor and courage, because he did the right thing, in the right way, for the right reason; Lt Grayson, his defense team and his supporters just shouted the second
Huzzah!
We are now faced with the final two cases: LtCol Jeffrey Chessani and SSgt Frank Wuterich. As hard as the six preceding cases have been, I believe these final two are the main event for the Haditha matter and will be the hardest for the defense to crack. If the Haditha incident is going to be put to rest, these two cases have to be won by the defense. Let us all remember there are two more cases to go and these two Marines and especially their families will need all the support we can provide.
By the way, after giving the order to fix bayonets, I also believe that the Chessani and Wuterich defense teams have the prosecution and the Marine General Officers ears ringing with the third shout of
HUZZAHHH!
Bob Weimann
LtCol USMC Ret
Former Commander Kilo Company 3/1
It is my honor to salute Bob Weimann, LtCol USMC.
Terrific column!
Semper Fidelis,
Lancey Howard, Sgt USMC
Apolgise Murtha, you lying, snivelling, bastard!
You had me at Huzzah.
And I’m not giving you back.
:)
Vietnam Facts and Fiction
For over 30 years I....like many Vietnam veterans....seldom spoke of
Vietnam, except with other veterans, when training soldiers, and in
public speeches. These past five years I have joined the hundreds of
Vietnam War and the people who served there. It's time the American
people learn that the United States military did not lose the War, and
that a surprisingly high number of people who claim to have served
there, in fact, DID NOT.
>>> As Americans, support the men and women involved in the War on
>>> Terrorism, the mainstream media are once again working tirelessly to
>>> undermine their efforts and force a psychological loss or stalemate for
>>> the United States. We cannot stand by and let the media do to today's
>>> warriors what they did to us 35 years a go.
>>>
>>> Below are some assembled some facts most readers will find interesting.
>>> It isn't a long read, but it will....I guarantee....teach you some
>>> things you did not know about the Vietnam War and those who served,
>>> fought, or died there. Please share it with those with whom you
>>> communicate.
>>>
>>> Vietnam War Facts:
>>> Facts, Statistics, Fake Warrior Numbers, and Myths Dispelled
>>>
>>> 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official
>>> Vietnam era from August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975.
>>> 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam
>>> Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation.
>>> 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War
>>> The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with
>>> the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for
>>> him.
>>> 58,148 were killed in Vietnam
>>> 75,000 were severely disabled
>>> 23,214 were 100% disabled
>>> 5,283 lost limbs
>>> 1,081 sustained multiple amputations
>>> Of those killed, 61% were younger than 21
>>> 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old
>>> Of those killed, 17,539 were married
>>> Average age of men killed: 23.1 years
>>> Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
>>> The oldest man killed was 62 years old.
>>> As of January 15, 2 004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted
>>> for from the Vietnam War
>>> 97% of Vietnam Veterans were honorably discharged
>>> 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served
>>> 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome
>>> Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet
>>> age groups.
>>> Vietnam veterans’ personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age
>>> group by more than 18 percent.
>>> 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem.
>>> There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and
>>> non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group (Source: Veterans
>>> Administration Study)
>>> Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only one-half of one
>>> percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.
>>> 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.
>>> Interesting Census Stats and “Been There” Wanabees:
>>> 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August,
>>> 1995 (census figures).
>>> ~ During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely
>>> claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958.
>>> ~ As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving
>>> U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to
>>> believe, losing nearly 711,000 between ‘95 and ‘00. That's 390 per day.
>>> During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to
>>> have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE
>>> WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.
>>>
>>> The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided
>>> by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S.
>>> military personnel as having served in-country. Corrections and
>>> confirmations to this errored index resulted in the addition of 358
>>> U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not
>>> originally listed by the Department of Defense. (All names are
>>> currently on file and accessible 24/7/365).
>>>
>>> Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of
>>> outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist
>>> atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention
>>> at all. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on
>>> civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece
>>> of its strategy. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received
>>> prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations.
>>> From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725
>>> Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on
>>> leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of
>>> the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school
>>> teachers. - Nixon Presidential Papers
>>>
>>> Common Myths Dispelled:
>>>
>>> Myth: Common Belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted.
>>> Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the
>>> men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those
>>> killed in Vietnam were volunteers.
>>>
>>> Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans
>>> range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran
>>> population.
>>> Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. “The CDC
>>> Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the
>>> first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more
>>> likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. After that
>>> initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to
>>> die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year
>>> post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam
>>> veterans’ group.
>>>
>>> Myth: Common belief is that a disproportionate number of blacks were
>>> killed in the Vietnam War.
>>> Fact: 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were
>>> black, 1.2% were other races. Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John
>>> Sibley Butler, in their recently published book “All That We Can Be,”
>>> said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder
>>> during Vietnam “and can report definitely that this charge is untrue.
>>> Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in
>>> Southeast Asia, a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the
>>> U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the proportion of
>>> blacks in the Army at the close of the war.”
>>>
>>> Myth: Common belief is that the war was fought largely by the poor and
>>> uneducated.
>>> Fact: Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a
>>> slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be
>>> pilots or infantry officers. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated
>>> forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school
>>> education or better.
>>> Here are statistics from the Combat Area Casualty File (CACF) as of
>>> November 1993. The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
>>> (The Wall): Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years.
>>> (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have
>>> both event date and birth date. Event date is used instead of declared
>>> dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action)
>>> Deaths Average Age
>>> Total: 58,148, 23.11 years
>>> Enlisted: 50,274, 22.37 years
>>> Officers: 6,598, 28.43 years
>>> Warrants: 1,276, 24.73 years
>>> E1 525, 20.34 years
>>> 11B MOS: 18,465, 22.55 years
>>>
>>> Myth: The common belief is the average age of an infantryman fighting
>>> in Vietnam was 19.
>>> Fact:: Assuming KIAs accurately represented age groups serving in
>>> Vietnam, the average age of an infantryman (MOS 11B) serving in Vietnam
>>> to be 19 years old is a myth, it is actually 22. None of the enlisted
>>> grades have an average age of less than 20. The average man who fought
>>> in World War II was 26 years of age.
>>>
>>> Myth: The Common belief is that the domino theory was proved false.
>>> Fact: The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of
>>> Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia,
>>> Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S.
>>> commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966
>>> because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment,
>>> Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is
>>> south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world.
>>> If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in
>>> Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media.
>>> The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism.
>>>
>>> Myth: The common belief is that the fighting in Vietnam was not as
>>> intense as in World War II.
>>> Fact: The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II
>>> saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in
>>> Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility
>>> of the helicopter. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam
>>> was a casualty. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7
>>> million who served. Although the percent that died is similar to other
>>> wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in
>>> World War II ....75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. MEDEVAC
>>> helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions. Over 900,000 patients were
>>> airlifted (nearly half were American). The average time lapse between
>>> wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. As a result, less
>>> than one percent of all Americans wounded, who survived the first 24
>>> hours, died. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. Without
>>> the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure
>>> the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the
>>> Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure
>>> the border).
>>>
>>> Myth: Kim Phuc, the little nine year old Vietnamese girl running naked
>>> from the napalm strike near Trang Bang on 8 June 1972.....shown a
>>> million times on American television....was burned by Americans bombing
>>> Trang Bang.
>>> Fact: No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that
>>> burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. The planes doing the bombing near the village
>>> were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots
>>> in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. The Vietnamese
>>> pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United
>>> States. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture, was
>>> Vietnamese. The incident in the photo took place on the second day of a
>>> three day battle between the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) who occupied
>>> the village of Trang Bang and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of
>>> Vietnam) who were trying to force the NVA out of the village. Recent
>>> reports in the news media that an American commander ordered the air
>>> strike that burned Kim Phuc are incorrect. There were no Americans
>>> involved in any capacity. “We (Americans) had nothing to do with
>>> controlling VNAF,” according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F.
>>> Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. Also, it
>>> has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc’s brothers were
>>> killed in this incident. They were Kim's cousins not her brothers.
>>>
>>> Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam.
>>> Fact: The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American
>>> military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military
>>> standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. General
>>> Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of
>>> California, Berkley a major military defeat for the VC and NVA.
>>>
>>> THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
>>> DID. Read on........
>>>
>>> The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American
>>> military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their
>>> entirety 29 March 1973.
>>>
>>> How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We fought to
>>> an agreed stalemate. The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27
>>> January 1973. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal
>>> of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides’ forces inside South Vietnam
>>> and a commitment to peaceful reunification. The 140,000 evacuees in
>>> April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of
>>> civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for
>>> their lives. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast
>>> Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon
>>> in 1975 then there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in
>>> Vietnam. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations
>>> and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes
>>> mainly to the American media and their undying
>>> support-by-misrepresentation
>>> of the anti-War movement in the United States.
>>>
>>> As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and
>>> misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an
>>> overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for
>>> the U.S. forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite
>>> initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted
>>> in a major defeat of those forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer
>>> of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington,
>>> Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander. Still, militarily, the
>>> Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts.
>>> It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if
>>> not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. The
>>> Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. The
>>> Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front
>>> and the political arena. This was another example in the Vietnam War of
>>> an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, inaccurately
>>> reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous.
>>>
>>> Please give all credit and research to:
>>> Capt. Marshal Hanson, U.S.N.R (Ret.)
>>>
>>> Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source
Amen! After my long, wee hours of the morning discussion with just such a typical Marine, I simply cannot agree more! Huzzahhh!
I can appreciate this man's view.
However, for me, ANY person who makes it to be a Marine is exceptional.
For the Generals, or whoever, to ignore this basic fact is MORE than an unforgivable sin. Much, much more.
Superb posting, SMARTY!!!
LtCol Chessani and his wife attended the Lt Grayson trial. Courtroom observers said the weight was visible on both of them—but especially Mrs Chessani.
Guess the trial won’t commence until the last week of July. Prayers up that they can endure the stress.
God bless our Marines and all our other military personel!!! American IS exceptional and our military proves it every blessed day!!!
Thank you for this post.
What has happened to these good soldiers is disgusting. That’s about all I can say.
You are welcome! Tell your friends!!!
I did! Din'tchew see the length of those pings that ran off the page??? (grin)
Applause to your post! (#8)
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