I had the good fortune of meeting a retired Army Sergeant Major (E-9) named Frederic Barnett at a gym, where his son brings him for physical therapy. Mid-80s, uses a rolling walker, SGM Barnett is very affable and I approached the both of them and gave them the VeteransTales site address. I said I wanted to hear some of his stories, and would bring a tablet and let him tell some of them the to me and I’d write them up. Continue Reading →
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I once heard Paul Harvey say
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(ed note: There is today a Manos Russian restaurant in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, but the one of which I speak here was just a short walk from the original Sanno Hotel in Akasaka, who’s history can be seen here.)
I could tell a dozen stories about Manos, a little Russian restaurant in the Akasaka District of Tokyo, about 200 feet from the Soviet Embassy.
My best friend in Japan was Maj Guy, living next door in our 12 family ...
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Most of what follows is true.
Mrs Minami was a genuine Japanese-American internee in California during WWII. As soon as the war ended, she took a job with the Defense Department in the Occupation, married a Japanese man, and lived long and prospered as a GS-grade secretary. The last time I ever heard from her was in 1990, retired, when she received her reparations check from the government. The Democrats were so embarrassed that it was one of their guys (FDR) who ...
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I got to my first unit in July of ’88, 4th Battalion 27th Infantry “Wolfhounds.” I spent four years humping sleestack-ridden gulches in the dark of night with nothing but a set of cat-eyes from the man in front of me to guide on. By the time I left in ’92 the phrase “We own the night” was normally uttered while being helped back to your feet after a particularly heinous slip, trip or fall. Often involving multiple Soldiers.
Team Leaders ...
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I know, the way we fight wars has changed, but I suspect life around headquarters command centers hasn’t. In the long campaigns in World War II, North Africa, Italy and France, units were often sent back to ...
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Part of a series of stories I’ve told, Famous Common Person I Have Known
In Spring, 1974 I took a few days leave at Clark AFB in the Philippines, en route to Bangkok. Part of the rate for my hotel room in Angeles City included a Jeepney and a driver. His name was Benny, mid-20s with a fancy Jeepney, and he took me all over the place, such as the first Japanese kamikaze airfield nearby. I told Benny I wanted to go to the town where ...
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