Although Liam Clancy is an Irishman, and these lyrics were written by Eric Bogle, a Scotsman, for the Australian soldiers who fought at Gallipoli….the unforgettable voice and the unforgettable song belong to everyone. Former US Senator, Vietnam war veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, Bob Kerrey, sang it to his supporters at the end of his Presidential campaign in 1991.
Don’t just remember Veteran’s Day…participate in it, and with the proper spirit. L.A. Area Veterans Day Events
Make a point to thank at least one veteran for his service to his nation.
If perchance you have a good leg to stand on that song will launch you from your chair. Thanks for the music, Celeste.
From Boortz:
Thanks for the WSJ op ed on the lessons of “The Great War,” Woody. I’d researched it extensively in the past for an assignment which made me realize how pivotal the wretched Versailles Treaty which concluded the war was to the rise of Nazi Germany, as well as fascist Italy, and, by creating a power and political vacuum in central Europe, Stalinist Russia.
When the article states as a warning (re: Iraq and Afghanistan) that after WWI, “the victors failed to prevent a rise in totalitarian regimes” in Russia, Germany, Italy and Japan it misses the point, that the way the war was concluded (largely out of spite by France vs. long-time rival Germany, imposing punitive measures that dragged down Austria-Hungary and unleashed a redrawing or creation of numerous countries) was largely responsible for the retaliatory WWII. (Wilson was opposed to the measures which virtually ensured total destruction of the economies of the defeated, but was too ill near the end to oppose them.) Hitler used widespread anger against the West which allowed this to happen to manifest into the blind ambition and psychotic nationalism he harnessed to try to “get even” and rise to world domination.
There are indeed powerful lessons here for Iraq/Afghanistan, and we’ve seen the radical difference in how we dealt with rebuilding Germany and Japan after WWII. (There, the mistake was abandoning Eastern Europe to “our friend” Stalin.) Rebuilding the countries and leaving them with stronger economies, infrastructures and civil society is the legacy we need to leave. However, it’s been a major flaw of the Bush Doctrine to liken these countries to those in the earlier wars: it’s one thing to REbuild countries like Germany, Japan and Italy, and another to CREATE from scratch all those institutions and infrastructures in countries that have existed in largely tribal, feudal and theocrataic organizational structures. But if we don’t deal with the problem realistically, all the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, and the billions we’ve indebted and bankrupted ourselves for, will have been in vain. (When I think of the millions who died on all sides during WWI for that outcome, it breaks my heart.) That’s the real dilemma facing the new Administration.
The “analysis” in that article is so shallow it’s ridiculous as regards the specifics of Iraq. We didn’t defeat Sunni and Shia insurgents – the Sunni insurgents were bought off, smartly IMHO, as they broke with outside jihadi extremists and Sadr’s Shia “insurgents” have hardly disappeared, despite recent clashes and cease fires. They will continue to be a force in Iraqi politics in places like Basra. And Iran isn’t a “challnger” to Iraq but the Iraqi Shiite government’s closest regional ally. Iranian influence in Baghdad inevitably will be stronger than that of the U.S. over the long run. This is a simple fact that we won’t be able to change by force of arms – only an insane person would suggest such – and given that the Iraqis aren’t dependent on us for dollar aid to rebuild but have oil money coming back, our “soft” leverage is limited. We did Iran a great favor in opening the door to Shiite dominance in Iraq and there’s no undoing that. Maybe we can make it pay off in our interests via smart regional diplomacy. Maybe not.
Despite the strength and integrity of the news side, he Wall Street Journal’s opinion pages are rife with delusional nonsense.
Here’s some veteran’s noir, from Tom Russell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMgeFJPJUNI&feature=related
And a last word by Johnny Cash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OBggdlD9X4
I didn’t know Tom Russell, reg. Thanks, that’s beautiful. And of course Johnny Cash is the best. I was tempted to put up his “The Ballad of Ira Hayes.” This version is particularly good, given the context.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8
And then there’s the Dixie Chicks, Traveling Soldier, which I simply cannot hear in any public context without risk to my eye makeup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLBgmbXBOb8
But I wasn’t willing to deal with the arguments that would ensue if I put up the latter.
Check out Tom Russell – he’s a genius. His “Man From God Knows Where” is the greatest concept album ever made – beats Sgt. Pepper by several miles. “Hotwalker” is a great tribute to Charles Bukowski and the “alternative culture” of California in the forties and fifties. Borderland is a definitive “borders” album, mostly composed when he was living in El Paso, and The Long Way Around is a wonderful, mostly live, compilation with the likes of Iris Dement. The guy’s fucking brilliant – very “literary” – check him out ‘cuz I know you’ll love him. Also, Cash recorded Russell’s Veterans Day back in the ’80s but I couldn’t find a youtube version. That was killer.
PS – Cash’s version of “Veterans Day” is included in “The Wounded Heart of America”, a Tom Russell “tribute” album that’s just out.
He’s fantastic, reg. Thanks for this. Don’t know how I missed him before. Me and iTunes are now in happy download mode. (I see he does Dylan’s Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, which is as artfully plotted as most novellas, and which I just downloaded.)
I wouldn’t listen to the Dixie Chicks to honor veterans.
Like I said, I didn’t put them up as I didn’t want to have the argument.
Although, Woody, why wouldn’t you listend to a beautiful Dixie Chicks song that honors and mourns the sacrifice of those who die in the course of military service? The Dixie Chicks have never dissed our troops. They dissed George Bush, one of the least popular presidents in American history. Please separate out these issues.
Celeste, the answer goes too far to express in a short paragraph. Don’t forget that the D.C. attacked our President and our military mission while in a foreign land, pandering for cheers. Such acts don’t uplift the spirits of our men in the field. Listening to the Dixie Chicks sing for our troops is like listening to Barbra Streisand’s Christams album.
Beating the old drum, the dead horses…this guy is long past his expiration date. Who else is totally bored by this drone ?
reg, give us another one of your five page comments to wake us us.