There once was a medic named Leach (PC warning)

[HereSince1628]

got assigned to clean Omaha Beach
he picked up feet and hands
and loose heads from the sand
and a tale no one wants him to teach.

Gruesome? Hopefully.

Veteran's Day isn't about the glory of war, it is about the HORROR and LOSSES of war.
It is a day to get in touch with the notion that WAR IS BAD.

[babylonsister]

1. CA. doesn't think so:

Anti-war Vets Slam Parade Ban
by Kelly Puente

LONG BEACH - Iraq veteran Jason Lemieux might not be marching in the 11th annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.1108 08

The Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now against the war, was hoping to march as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national organization that calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq.

The group’s application, however, was rejected last month because of its political views, parade coordinators said.

“I wanted to march like the rest of the Iraq veterans,” said Lemieux, a 24-year-old Anaheim resident. “I served my country. I’m a veteran of a foreign war. I think I deserve that respect.”

Iraq Veterans, along with the groups Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out, applied to march together in the parade this year under the entry “Military Patriots.”

After reviewing each group’s mission statement, the Veterans Day Parade Committee, a non-profit group that organizes the event, voted unanimously to reject the application, said parade coordinator Martha Thuente.

“They do not fit the spirit of the parade,” she said. “The spirit being one of gratitude for what the veterans have done. We do not want groups of a political nature, advocating the troops’ withdrawal from Iraq.”

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/08/5107/

[HereSince1628]

2. Yes, and that is why Medic Leach's tale cannot be taught.

Parade coordinator Martha Thuente doesn't know what Jason Lemieux knows. She doesn't know what virtually every soldier knows.
There is no glory in laying in a garden of the dead below a frosted leaf covered lawn.


Many ignore what is more than irony, when like others, they see glory in a November day. But then they are standing ABOVE the passionless mouldering soil beside a monument covered by a spray of the choicest but unfortunately out-of-season-flowers while professing gratitude for someone else's sacrifice.

Lots of American's "Don't Get It." Everyone wants a dose of Dr. Feelgood. And that is why Medic Leach's lesson can't be taught.

Those who have lived or viewed scenes like those of Medic Leach's lesson wish only peace for everyone.