Veterans Day

jmcarter · 11-24-2021, 10:47 AM

I’m going full Eddie66 on you, I’ve held onto this for quite a while but here on the Eve of Thanksgiving it needs to be brought forward so that perhaps those who didn’t serve for whatever reason can reflect on what many of our Veterans endured and perhaps still do each and every day. The setting could just as well be applied to other wars. But most of all say thanks tomorrow for our Veterans.

From the book Going After Cacciato, by Tim O'Brien

"They did not know even the simple things: a sense of victory, or satisfaction, or necessary sacrifice. They did not know the feeling of taking a place and keeping it, securing a village and then raising the flag and calling it a victory. No sense of order or momentum. No front, no rear, no trenches laid out in neat parallels. No Patton rushing for the Rhine, no beachheads to storm and win and hold for the duration. They did not have targets. They did not have a cause. They did not know if it was a war of ideology or economics or hegemony or spite. On a given day, they did not know where they were in Quang Ngai or how being there might influence larger outcomes. They did not know the names of most villages. They did not know which villages were critical. They did not know strategies. They did not know the terms of the war, its architecture, the rules of fair play. When they took prisoners, which was rare, they did not know the questions to ask, whether to release a suspect or beat on him. They did not know how to feel. Whether, when seeing a dead Vietnamese, to be happy or sad or relieved; whether, in times of quiet, to be apprehensive or content; whether to engage the enemy or elude him. They did not know how to feel when they saw villages burning. Revenge? Loss? Peace of mind or anguish? They did not know.

They knew the old myths about Quang Ngai -- tales passed down from old-timer to newcomer -- but they did not know which stories to believe.
Magic, mystery, ghosts and incense, whispers in the dark, strange tongues and strange smells, uncertainties never articulated in war stories, emotion squandered on ignorance.

They did not know good from evil."

11-24-2021, 10:47 AM	#6
jmcarter VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond Hill GA (and Port Ludlow WA) Posts: 4,299 Likes: 2,389 Liked 3,193 Times in 975 Posts	Re: Veterans Day I’m going full Eddie66 on you, I’ve held onto this for quite a while but here on the Eve of Thanksgiving it needs to be brought forward so that perhaps those who didn’t serve for whatever reason can reflect on what many of our Veterans endured and perhaps still do each and every day. The setting could just as well be applied to other wars. But most of all say thanks tomorrow for our Veterans. From the book Going After Cacciato, by Tim O'Brien "They did not know even the simple things: a sense of victory, or satisfaction, or necessary sacrifice. They did not know the feeling of taking a place and keeping it, securing a village and then raising the flag and calling it a victory. No sense of order or momentum. No front, no rear, no trenches laid out in neat parallels. No Patton rushing for the Rhine, no beachheads to storm and win and hold for the duration. They did not have targets. They did not have a cause. They did not know if it was a war of ideology or economics or hegemony or spite. On a given day, they did not know where they were in Quang Ngai or how being there might influence larger outcomes. They did not know the names of most villages. They did not know which villages were critical. They did not know strategies. They did not know the terms of the war, its architecture, the rules of fair play. When they took prisoners, which was rare, they did not know the questions to ask, whether to release a suspect or beat on him. They did not know how to feel. Whether, when seeing a dead Vietnamese, to be happy or sad or relieved; whether, in times of quiet, to be apprehensive or content; whether to engage the enemy or elude him. They did not know how to feel when they saw villages burning. Revenge? Loss? Peace of mind or anguish? They did not know. They knew the old myths about Quang Ngai -- tales passed down from old-timer to newcomer -- but they did not know which stories to believe. Magic, mystery, ghosts and incense, whispers in the dark, strange tongues and strange smells, uncertainties never articulated in war stories, emotion squandered on ignorance. They did not know good from evil." __________________ Jim Carter 2340 Super Stock 2340 SST/2340 Stock Set another place at the table Last edited by jmcarter; 11-24-2021 at 10:51 AM.