Priest a wartime legend

Rev. Mike Dalton celebrates mass with Canadian troops in Europe during the Second World War. Dalton, who died Monday at 106, used his army Jeep as an altar.

Priest a wartime legend
By Marty Gervais, Windsor StarApril 7, 2009

He was a soldier to the end. His threadbare army tunic hung on the wall, and his room was filled with religious icons, rosaries and holy pictures.

And when you spoke to him, his words were about the men he knew on the battlefields of France when he rigged up a makeshift altar on the hood of his jeep and said mass for them.

The photos from the Second World War show these anxious men kneeling, their heads bowed, silent in the muddy fields just hours before they were sent into battle.

And when age finally wore him down -- long after the war and years of serving parishes all over the London diocese including Windsor, Woodslee and Kingsville -- this old priest told me it wouldn't stop him from saying mass in his bed at the nursing home.


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Civics Quiz

Civics Quiz

You answered 31 out of 33 correctly — 93.94 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 77.9%
Average score: 77.9%

I got 27 and 33 wrong. I had a hard time with a lot of the economic questions.

H/T Awaiting in Joyful Hope

Marines

Yesterday was the birthday of the US Marine Corps. I missed posting about it yesterday, but I wanted to post this quote today. One of the posters on Conservababes has it in his signature.

"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced, to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth - and the amusing thing about it is that they are...You should see the group about me as I write- dirty, bearded, their clothing food-spattered and filthy- they look like the castoffs of creation. Yet they have a sense of loyalty, generosity, even piety greater than any men I have ever known. These rugged men have the simple piety of children. You can't help loving them, in spite of their language and their loose sense of private property. Don't ever feel sorry for a priest in the Marines. The last eight weeks have been the happiest and most contented in my life."

- Father Kevin Keaney, a Navy Chaplain assigned to the First Marine Division during the Chosin Reservoir campaign.

What is a Vet?

WHAT IS A VET?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in their eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: a soul forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two sol id years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another -or- didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor that has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still aliv e to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

Maybe we can set differences aside start to being one nation United starting today.

Together, as one voice let's remember November 11th is Veterans Day.

Thank You

Thank you.

White Sox visit Walter Reed Hospital

White Sox visit Walter Reed Hospital
Chicago players meet injured war veterans in DC
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- Scott Linebrink was joined by teammates Mark Buehrle, Jim Thome, John Danks, Horacio Ramirez and Javier Vazquez during a Tuesday morning visit to war veterans being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The journey took about 40 minutes from the team's Baltimore hotel and lasted approximately 90 minutes, as the players spent time with the valiant individuals who had proudly served the United States.

"Incredible, incredible," said Thome of the visit. "Linebrink set it up and asked us to go, and I didn't really know what to expect or what was going to happen.

"It was very emotional. It made you really appreciate what those guys have gone through. They are basically doing it for our country. It's very heartwarming to see. They've put their lives on the line for us. Words can't describe it."

Linebrink originally became associated with such a cause through his days with the Padres, as San Diego would host members of the armed forces on Sunday's. The reliever also began visits to Walter Reed, as set up by the Padres.

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Recognizing All Our Vets

Kenosha's new Civil War Museum opened up a few months ago, although after the fire they had during construction the timeline was thrown off and it is still not yet complete. One exhibit that I was especially looking forward to is a room dedicated to the veterans of all wars and it opened recently. Honestly, although the Civil War Museum is interesting a museum about the Civil War in Kenosha involves some effort to appreciate. The museum is not dedicated as much to battles but instead the social impact the war had on the midwest. It is an important aspect of the war, and I'm sure it had a huge impact on the area and many aspects of society, it doesn't have quite the same impact as a museum in the south or at a famous battlefield would have. Social history isn't quite as sexy as battle history.

Anyway, back to the new room that opened, it is dedicated to the veterans of all American wars, and has artifacts from each. I found it to be moving, and the impact is much more easily appreciated. As I was standing there a family came through and looked around and a young man commented to the rest of the family that they 'have to bring Grandpa here to see this'. Although I appreciate the impact the civil war had on the midwest and the country, I think a museum dedicated to all wars would have been much more meaningful to the community, and certainly the civil war would be a part of that. It was proposed to the mayor prior to the building of the museum, although I do appreciate that the room is included in the museum.

I wish the exhibit was larger, it is very powerful, although it does not photograph as well.


The room is actually very dark as you can see in the other photos, this one I used the flash for just to get an overview of the room. The central part of the exhibit consists of soldiers from different eras around the campfire in discussion.

Each wall section has the name of an American War, and then the alcove behind it has artifacts from that conflict inside.





World War I





World War II



Vietnam



"Gulf Wars"



As I mentioned before the Civil War Museum is still under construction, including the main exhibit, which I walked through earlier this year. As part of the opening ceremonies in March and again in June the main exhibit was opened to the public. I blogged about it here in March. I'm a little less enthusiastic about it now than I was then because I haven't seen that it will be much more than what I saw in the early stages then. It looks like they have really been working on it though and it looks very interesting. This is the one area of the museum that will require an admission fee, the rest is open to the public.



I hope the museum will be a success, I just think I would have preferred something with a wider scope. But kudos to the city and to those who planned the museum to include an area that recognizes all our veterans.

Supporting Our Troops and Robert Irvine

I love watching Food Network (I'm a regular poster and mod at Food Network Fans - shameless plug). One of my favorite shows on Food Network had been Dinner: Impossible with Chef Robert Irvine. Some months ago a scandal involving Chef Robert sprang up with allegations that he had lied on his resume. Very quickly one of my favorite shows (and a favorite of many posters on Food Network Fans) changed, Chef Robert was no longer host. He has since been replaced by the able Chef Michael Symon of Iron Chef America fame. Symon has never appealed to me as much as Chef Robert, but I'm willing to give him a shot - and I really don't have a choice in the matter anyway.

A new poster on Food Network Fans posting a link to Robert Irvine's new blog - and a post explaining that he will be making a return to TV, just not on Dinner: Impossible. A shame that it won't be Dinner: Impossible, but I am exciting to see him returning, I always enjoyed his presence on TV.

I also want to mention that I am confirming as of this entry that my return to TV with a brand new show is definitely happening. I am excited and I’m really looking forward to getting back in harness. My sincere thanks to all of you have expressed your support. Please check back for specific details!

In the same entry he had written all about visiting some of our injured men and women in uniform and how incredible they are. He wrote about their strength and also how he was able to brighten the day of one by making a simple meal that wasn't hospital food. But he added this paragraph at the end that I thought was a wonderful reminder.

When you are walking around on the streets, in a shopping mall or at an airport, you are going to see men and women in uniform, heroes like the ones who made these astonishing sacrifices. If you find yourself in line with one of them getting a burger or a cup of coffee and you’ve got an extra fiver in your wallet, pick up their tab. Or say thanks for your service. By job description, they are ready to take a bullet for you. We owe them more than we can possibly give them, but little gestures like these might just make their day.

Thanks for the reminder Robert, and I can't wait to see you back on TV.

I posted this on Food Network Fans earlier in the week, but here is my Zune with a picture of Chef Robert. This photo was the wallpaper on my laptop for a while actually.

The Declaration of Independence

I saw this post over at Grand Rapids Libertarian, its about the attempts to preserve the Declaration of Independence. The first attempt was over 117 years after it was signed and after it had been carried into battle, had water spilled on it, and left in direct sunlight for years. I think reading that makes even someone with a mild interest in history or our nation's founding (and existence) shudder in disbelief.

We're lucky that modern preservation techniques have allowed us to keep this important document for future generations.

Check out the full article from Wired.

Ground Zero

I was watching the Pope at Ground Zero this morning before I left for class. I just about broke into tears when I saw the one injured emergency worker (I couldn't tell if he was a police officer or a fire fighter) try to kneel down to kiss the Pope's ring. If you missed it you can see it in this video, it happens right at 5:15.



For me this is one of the most touching moments of the whole trip.

Whats So Great About America

What a Hero Looks Like

I just want to point to Ma Beck's post entitled What a Hero Looks Like, which is about Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor.

Citizen Soldier

3 Doors Down have a video up for Citizen Soldier over at the National Guard website. The CD will be released early next year. I think they are absolutely my favorite band. I've seen them in concert twice, once in Tinley Park and once in Peoria.



Beyond the boundries of your city's lights.
Stand the heroes waiting for your cries.
So many times you did not bring this on yourself.
When the moment finally comes, I'll be there to help.

On that day, when you need your brothers and sisters to care. I'll be right here.

Citizen soldiers.
Holding the life of the ones that we guide from the dark of despair.
Standing on guard for the ones that we've sheltered.
We'll always be ready because we will always be there.

When there are people crying in the streets
When they're starving for a meal to eat
When they simply need a place to make their beds
Right here underneath my wing you can rest your head

On that day when you need your brothers and sisters to care I'll be right here

Citizen soldiers.
Holding the life of the ones that we guide from the dark of despair.
Standing on guard for the ones that we've sheltered.
We'll always be ready because we will always be there.

Hope and pray that you never need me but rest assured, I will not let you down
I walk beside you but you may not see me
The strongest among you may not wear a crown

On that day when you need your brothers and sisters to care I'll be right here
On that day when you don't have a street for the burden you bare I'll be right here

Citizen soldiers holding the life of the ones that need guide from the dark of despair
Standing on guard for the ones that need shelter
We'll always be ready because we will always be there

What goes around - Comes around

H/T to Linda at Conservababes

What goes around - Comes around
By Richard S. Lowry

Unfortunately, most Americans do not consider Iraqis as people. We see them as terrorists or victims, not as everyday people with the same values as our friends, neighbors and relatives. Yet, most Iraqis are decent human beings with the same concerns, dreams, and compassion as most Americans. They want peace and are concerned about their fellow man.

Is it no wonder that we feel differently about the people of Iraq, when the American media only reports sensational news? If it doesn’t bleed or explode, you just aren’t going to see it on the evening news. I received a press release from Baghdad today, which I know the mainstream media will not pass on to you all. Here is an example of Iraqi charity and gratitude which touched my soul. Imagine how incredibly generous these soldiers are. They have little to support their own families. It’s not enough that they are fighting daily to bring peace to their country. They are actually reaching out to help unfortunate Americans.

Richard S. Lowry is author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20071026-01
October 26, 2007

Iraqi Army at Besmaya Installation Support San Diego Fire Victims
By U.S. Army Sgt 1st Class Charlene Sipperly
Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Members of the Iraqi Army in Besmaya collected a donation for the San Diego, Calif., fire victims Thursday night at the Besmaya Range Complex in a moving ceremony to support Besmaya's San Diego residents.

Iraqi Army Col. Abbass, the commander of the complex, presented a gift of $1,000 to U.S. Army Col. Darel Maxfield, Besmaya Range Complex officer in charge, Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, to send to the fire victims in California.

The money was collected from Iraqi officers and enlisted soldiers in Besmaya. In a speech given during the presentation, Col. Abbass stated that he and the Iraqi soldiers were connected with the American people in many ways, and they will not forget the help that the American government has given the Iraqi people. Abbass was honored to participate by sending a simple fund of $1,000 to the American people in San Diego, to lower the suffering felt by the tragedy.

http://www.marinesinthegardenofeden.com

Link

The Star Spangled Banner

Dad emailed me this the other day just getting around to posting it today. Happy Independence Day all!

Unless you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Perhaps most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history.

(Editor's Note- Near the end of his life, the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor......)

"I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time."

NO REFUGE COULD SAVE: BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV

I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas.

This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting.

"Thanks, Herb," I said.

"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff".

I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas.

Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.

More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.

So now let me tell you how it came to be written.

In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britiain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country.

Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia.

If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.

At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.

Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.

The Northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England. The Southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New orleans and paralyze the west. The Central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.

The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry , whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.

On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.

The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.

As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the
British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.

As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"

After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.

Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:

Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

("Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort.) The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:

On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise? During World War I when the British were
our Staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

(The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling):

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words and don't let them ever take it away ... not even one word of it.

4th of July Parade

Today was the 4th of July Parade in Kenosha. I, of course, brought with my camera and took a ton of pictures. If you aren't going to a parade of your own you're going to feel like you were at this one. I hope you enjoy them.

Representative Paul Ryan (R)

You guessed it, I just think its funny that there is a place called Sandwich, IL.

Senator Bob Wirch (D)

If you can believe it these are real guys posing.

Kenosha is so awesome it gets 2 Elvises in its parade.