I just came home from Cypress Hill Cemetary where my dad is finally resting from his long journey. Even though he was only on the planet for three score rotations around the sun, he had traveled to the ends of the planet and back again. He was hardbody and he had logged in a lot of mileage. I can remember him telling me how tired he was one evening as we sat on the deck in the back of his house. He was tired of the heavy lifting and the emotional baggage was dragging him down. In all of my life I had never heard my father sound so vulnerable. He was clairvoyant also because the following morning he heart failed him as he was leaving for work.
If there are any U.S. servicemen overseas that can read my blog in their downtime I salute you men and women for your sacrifices. The ideal of America that you put your lives down for should represent you better than it has. Part of the problem is that we citizens don’t demand courage or compassion from our elected leaders. Instead we have rewarded complicit duplicitous cowardice. We are to blame for the senseless deaths of U.S. lives abroad as much as the greedy war mongering power brokers. As long as our lives are relatively easy and filled with leisure we will never demand justice for all of the people of this planet..
After my father’s passing I discovered some of his old paperwork and keepsakes from his time in the U.S. Marines Corps. One of the most startling items was my dad’s draft induction letter. There was an NYC subway token taped to the top of the letter. The scotch tape was that industrial type from the 1960’s that could rip the hair off your arm. The imprint of the token was embedded in the tape’s glue, which was long dried solid. It startled me that the Armed Forces was so dead serious about draftees making this induction physical so much so that they were mailing you the carfare if you didn’t have the means. My dad was always bitter about being drafted since he was in college at the time and there were plenty of people standing on the street corners or hiding behind their parents’ wealth that could have used the discipline that the Army provided.
My dad actually did two tours of duty in Vietnam. When he returned home after his first tour in 1968 he found out that America was deadlier on a Black man than Vietnam was. MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr. had been assassinated earlier that year and the subsequent civil unrest that followed removed much of the opportunity that he had seen as being progressive for Blacks in America. He returned to Vietnam where the color of your skin meant little or nothing to all of the grunts that were over there just trying to survive another day.
An interesting sidenote is that one of the men in these pics with my dad would be one of our neighbors in Queens where I was raised. He and my dad never shared more than a word with one another. I have no idea what those two men experienced and my father never volunteered any stories to me about his time spent in the Marines. My dad did take me to see ‘Apocalypse Now’ during the opening weekend in 1979 and he told me that it was an actual account of what Vietnam was like. Suffice to say, I never completed my Selective Service registration. I sit here relieved of my duty because so many brave men and women have volunteered their freedom. Veterans and active servicemen deserve our unfailing support even if their captains and commanders are men with only the conviction for money and ill gained trappings. Without their sacrifice this blog would never have been possible.
Thanks dad.
…and thank you for sharing.
how bittersweet and beautiful
Because I know that soldiers are smart I think that most of them understand that just because a person doesn’t support the war in Iraq does not mean that they don’t wholeheartedly support the troops.
That’s ominous about your dad saying that just before he passed. Just like Miss Ahmad noted . . . Bittersweet . . . Very much like this thoughtful post.
Great post Dallas. I agree, thanks to your Dad and the countless others.
Real and gully. Thanks dukes.
great writing dallas…..your honesty was refreshing.
this line really spoke to me: As long as our lives are relatively easy and filled with leisure we will never demand justice for all of the people of this planet..
we live our lives taking the coming moments for granted. we could care less that there are people who can’t do that, HERE and ABROAD.
peace
When I look at this country and how we neglect our ability to bring about change it makes me respect rebels and insurgents and even groups like Hezbollah. They get involved and beyond just firing shots they have representatives in the politics and it’s them who are trying to look out for the Lebanese caught in the crossfire. I can’t imagine the people of this country being willing to go that far…and it’s pretty sad.
beautiful story….
I shed a tear. Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.
FIYAH. Your heart never lies Dallas.
Nice writing and photos. You’ve shown many times in your posts how close we are to lessons already learned if we just open our eyes to our own lives and those of people close to us. Keep looking forward and back.
Those pics speak volumes.
Great post.
We have a lot in common. Within the past year, I have had the opportunity to sit down and read my G.O.A.T’s (deceased father) letters, while he was in Vietnam. Tears roll….Your father’s pictures look just like the ones in my daddy’s scrapbook. Groups of those super cool brothas. Displaced…many fooled…scared I am sure.
I had the opportunity to catch “Occupation:Dreamland” on Sundance:
http://www.occupationdreamland.com/
After I watched in horror and shame, I called my high school sweetheart, Mr Army Ranger-post Iraq. I apologized for giving him a hard time about what he did in Iraq…calling him a pawn of satan (Bush). I thought about my father and his buddies. Same war…different time period. And I know the last thing either needed was my preaching. So, I simply said “thank you” and “Im really proud of your strength”.
Great post!!
Thanks for sharing this Dallas.
“Part of the problem is that we citizens don’t demand courage or compassion from our elected leaders. Instead we have rewarded complicit duplicitous cowardice. We are to blame for the senseless deaths of U.S. lives abroad as much as the greedy war mongering power brokers. As long as our lives are relatively easy and filled with leisure we will never demand justice for all of the people of this planet…”
real talk.
my pops was a soldier as well. when he passed earlier this year, his army buddies came up to me and told me stories about their times overseas. Some sobering shit.
Thanks for sharing. Poignant and effective.
Peace
Classic…
Do you realize how proud of you he is right now?
That was really beautiful. I don’t know you but I love you.