Robert L. Stirm, returning P.O.W. in Pulitzer-winning photo - I knew this photo - I did not know of the "Dear John" letter. That hit me hard. Not because I have received such a letter, but as a child (now adult obviously) of a Viet Nam veteran and life-long career soldier, it just seems like such a deep cut after being a POW. Of course, there are all the ingredients of the story that I do not know...but still...
Regarding civilian snipers in Sarajevo, that one got my attention. I was stationed in Europe from 1993-1996, when this conflict was raging. I worked closely with a Dutch Air Force officer who did a UN deployment to Sarajevo. He told me the same thing about civilian snipers who paid to be there. According to him, the snipers would target the kids first, and the mothers immediately afterwards, so that the moms would live to see what happened to their children. Ghastly. I asked him to speak to my troops at our guardmounts, to remind them of why we served. I pray that all those civilian snipers are punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I could not bring myself to read the continuation of the Sarajevo story. The one paragraph was enough to make me weep. How and why are my only response....
If you recall, Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Olympics. It was a normal place similar in many regards to the US.
Yugoslavia broke up due to a combination of factors, including the rise of ethnic nationalism, severe economic problems, and the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe after the death of leader Josip Broz Tito. Nationalist leaders used propaganda to fuel ethnic tensions, and the centralized power of Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević further alienated other republics, leading to the declarations of independence by Slovenia and Croatia in 1991 and the ensuing Yugoslav Wars.
This was scarily similar to what is going on in the US today in many respects. A 2001 movie titled Behind Enemy Lines (Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman) paints a vivid picture of some of the atrocities of ethic cleansing. It also says a great deal about how “civilized” people see people of a different color.
None of those stories surprised me. Parents need to put strict limits on screen time from the beginning of giving their kids devices. Yeah, they make good babysitters but that is not being a good parent. And yes, a hotel on the river seems like a good idea but they had no idea what was involved in that process when they bought the ferry. And it will cost them dearly to have it recycled.
I get the marriage break up, five years is a long time to be a single parent when you don’t know if your spouse will ever come home, and when he does come home, he won’t be the same person any more. And the Serbia story doesn’t really surprise me, either. The ultra rich think that the rules of society don’t apply to them, just look at Jeffrey Epstein and P. Diddy. Wonder if anyone will ever be charged with the killing of civilians.
Robert L. Stirm, returning P.O.W. in Pulitzer-winning photo - I knew this photo - I did not know of the "Dear John" letter. That hit me hard. Not because I have received such a letter, but as a child (now adult obviously) of a Viet Nam veteran and life-long career soldier, it just seems like such a deep cut after being a POW. Of course, there are all the ingredients of the story that I do not know...but still...
Regarding civilian snipers in Sarajevo, that one got my attention. I was stationed in Europe from 1993-1996, when this conflict was raging. I worked closely with a Dutch Air Force officer who did a UN deployment to Sarajevo. He told me the same thing about civilian snipers who paid to be there. According to him, the snipers would target the kids first, and the mothers immediately afterwards, so that the moms would live to see what happened to their children. Ghastly. I asked him to speak to my troops at our guardmounts, to remind them of why we served. I pray that all those civilian snipers are punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I could not bring myself to read the continuation of the Sarajevo story. The one paragraph was enough to make me weep. How and why are my only response....
If you recall, Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Olympics. It was a normal place similar in many regards to the US.
Yugoslavia broke up due to a combination of factors, including the rise of ethnic nationalism, severe economic problems, and the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe after the death of leader Josip Broz Tito. Nationalist leaders used propaganda to fuel ethnic tensions, and the centralized power of Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević further alienated other republics, leading to the declarations of independence by Slovenia and Croatia in 1991 and the ensuing Yugoslav Wars.
This was scarily similar to what is going on in the US today in many respects. A 2001 movie titled Behind Enemy Lines (Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman) paints a vivid picture of some of the atrocities of ethic cleansing. It also says a great deal about how “civilized” people see people of a different color.
That last story really got my attention! Haven’t read the rest yet. That is usually my weekend reading.
None of those stories surprised me. Parents need to put strict limits on screen time from the beginning of giving their kids devices. Yeah, they make good babysitters but that is not being a good parent. And yes, a hotel on the river seems like a good idea but they had no idea what was involved in that process when they bought the ferry. And it will cost them dearly to have it recycled.
I get the marriage break up, five years is a long time to be a single parent when you don’t know if your spouse will ever come home, and when he does come home, he won’t be the same person any more. And the Serbia story doesn’t really surprise me, either. The ultra rich think that the rules of society don’t apply to them, just look at Jeffrey Epstein and P. Diddy. Wonder if anyone will ever be charged with the killing of civilians.