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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! December 13, 2010 The Milblogger's LamentBy Greyhawk
I considered updating this a few times over the years to reflect more current events - but I realize now that the issue I'm chastised for ignoring (how Donald Rumsfeld signed letters of condolence!!1!!!!11!) - trivial then to those of us who were there - is yet another "most importentest issue in the world this week!!1!1!!" that's now completely and utterly forgotten - so the point I was making should be even more obvious today. But it's not... and sadly, I can find examples from this year. (Beyond that, I never made any of the comments this individual references - and I don't recall any commenter here saying 'that soldier should be punished'. I've looked, but can't find 'em - see here, here, here and here.) While interviewing fellow milblog veterans for the milblog project this year I discovered (no surprise) that civilians writing to tell us how to better support the troops is a common experience. So there is one thing I would change about this post in hindsight - I'd move the apostrophe in the title over to the other side of the s. And now, without further ado, back to December, 2004... From the email:
("Ahem", ... cracks knuckles... begins typing...) Merry Christmas dear friend, I'm inspired, you know, So few minutes to spare out of each busy day, While sometimes in our vehicles politicians ride, And reporters with pens that kill us the same, But there's nothing here now and few posts I recall, But I know not one person dressed in DCUs, I've used this phrase lately, about serious things, But we care much for those at the kiddy table too, Maybe this is the burning issue today, Best wishes to you in this Season of Joy, gh (Original post: 2004-12-22 16:44:21) Posted by Greyhawk / December 13, 2010 6:40 PM | Permalink 3 TrackBacksCurrently deployed in defense of America, Greyhawk puts down his weapon for a minute to pick up a pen - he skewers a critic who suggests that he "focus on the soldiers and not indulge in name-calling with respect to... Read More In all my years of military living I've heard an awful lot of nonsense, but this just about takes the cake: Dear Greyhawk: It is with some regret that I have to inform you I will no longer regularly visit... Read More Two things I had every intention of excerpting before I ran into all the network problems last night. I'm going to have to settle for just saying Read More 25 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
Dear,
I've forgotten you were a poet. You should do it more often.
Since I can turn on any radio or TV station and get what the left wants us to think/know of the world, including Iraq, I read your site to get the REAL news. Even most of the media military pundits are retired and act like Monday morning quarterbacks toeing the line of their Network paymasters. Easy to sit in D.C. or NYC and say what "ought to have been." Just keep posting what you wish. It is, after all, YOUR blog!
Thank you for your service to our country, and Merry Christmas!
uehhuhh is that supposed to bother you that he is leaving? LOL Well I guess a Sevice Members unfiltered thoughts are not wanted.
Very nice. I wish I could be so polite and so stinging at the same time!
Thank you for your news, commentary, humor, and poetry. And Merry Christmas to you, your loved ones, and your brothers in arms.
You tell 'em, Greyhawk.
If anyone on this earth has earned the right to speak his mind, you have.
And if I may be so bold as to appropriate a tribute I perhaps have no right to offer, in my opinion you are truly
semper fidelis
to all that is best and most worthy about this great nation.
You did not give up your right to your opinion when you decided to serve your country.
Well... that'll teach me to post under silly names at ScrappleFace ... :)
First I was able to share the lovely and talented poetry of Mrs. Greyhawk with my readers, and now yours as well! And used it as my own piling on with spanking of the press! We need to keep after them, though I doubt they will grow a conscience at this late date.
Kudos, and thanks, for your service and contributions our country, and to the blogosphere! You're both great poets! Have the Merriest Christmas possible. God Bless you both.
Dagney,
I hope you do not think I've written any of these beautiful poems. Greyhawk has the talent but not I. I don't have a poetic bone in my little body. My talent is cutting and pasting these poems and hoping I can give them the exposure they deserve.
Always remember that you cannot please everyone all the time. Be true to your own opinions and values.
You never cease to amaze me. I knew you were an excellent writer, but now poetry too. I hope some day you will get the time to write a book and be sure to let the world know who GH really is. Stay safe.
YOU CAN"T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
OUTSTANDING! THANK YOU SIR FOR YOUR POST IT NAILS THE RIGHT SPOT'S. THOSE THAT CAN DO..THOSE THAT CAN'T BITCH. THANK YOU & WIFE FOR BOTH OF YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.
Ditto what Mike said!! You guys are the greatest. Thank you.
Seems to me that since this is YOUR blog you can write about whatever you want. There are no rules. There are no guidelines. Its whatever you want - FREE SPEECH - the thing your're in Iraq fighting for them as well as us. I don't care if you start blogging about origami - I'll still read it. The great thing about freedom is - you choose what to write - we choose what to read. Thansk GH for keeping it real.
Well, it ain't T.S. Eliot, but not a bad stab at verse.
What your correspondent doesn't understand is that a blog is an extension of the author's thought and personality, a creative response to the things that interest him (or her, of course). It isn't the blogger's job to tailor his "product" to fit market demand. That might be the case, if the average blogger was in it for the money, but I doubt that many are (except for some of Soros' paid stooges, like Kos and Willis).
To the GreyHawk family, thank you for your service and sacrifices keeping distance between us and harms way. Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Sean, merry xmas.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sean won't read your blog
Well boo-friggin'-hoo!
*sniff* :-o
Hey! now you know why I flunked my 7th grade poetry class! I couldn't get past lookin' at the pictures. You, on the other hand Hawk, obviously paid attention in skool! ;-)
Well Said!
I guess this means that there is now another spot available for someone on the Mudville waiting list to move up and participate. ;-)
Merry Christmas Sand Dweller. Thoughts, Hopes, and Prayers are with you and Mrs. Hawk this Holiday Season. May God Bless You and Yours! :-)
Many thanks for the service of the entire Greyhawk clan. May your Christmas and New Year be blessed. I will continue to read and agree with other comments that this is your blog and nobody has the right to demand that you post only what they choose to read.
On Feb 18, 1971, Lt. Joseph H. Marshall, INF, was killed flying as a gunship pilot in Laos.
I notified the family and acted as survivor assistance officer.
The unit to which I was assigned allowed me the time to do anything I thought necessary and offered what support to the family that we could. It was a strong family--with others serving and WW II vets--and needed little support. The Army provided a headstone and another SAO after I got off active duty. I helped that guy deliver the headstone after a couple of glitches--my civilian employer allowed me the time I needed to take care of the family--and I was in contact with them later, when the county from which Jay went to war erected a monument and Viet Nam Vets of the county were looking for families.
This is not about me. In an alternate universe, Jay is looking after my family. It's just how it is.
The point is that, given all these things, the autopen clamor is b888888t. It's something the lefties and Bush haters think might have some traction.
It does not occur to them that the signature on a letter might be not be important at all to the family who just had the most horrifying visit imaginable.
It just is not, and that the lefties think they can make some hay out of this indicates how stupid they are, and that they try indicates how vile they are.
As if we doubted either.
I'm not leaving. I enjoy the articles and the comments.
Wahhh! Wahhh! poor liberals lost the election! They don't even have the respected Dan Rather or the PBS guy that no one watched. The horrors...
Now, they are isolating themselves from the truth that the rest of the country is learning. They will lose worse next time.
Having spent many a holiday deployed, I know that this can be a difficult time of year.
So, I just wanted to say Thank You for your service. You are in our thoughts and prayers this Christmas Day.
Stay Safe and God Bless.
Thanks for all of the deployed members links
Dignan
http://outofwater.blogspot.com
Thank you. I'm glad you're here.
Here Here!
Wow - you never cease to amaze me Greyhawk. I come here for the info, but also for the well researched jags you go on, and now poetry. What a great verse - as some of the others said - you nailed all the right points, did it politely, and with some humor. You and Mrs. G have a great Christmas, and thank you for serving.
Merry Christmas Greyhawks! This blog is a very fine read, and the poem especially so.