Veterans Day

(H/T: SteveAudio.)

Today we pause to honor those who gave of themselves to serve their country in the military, including my father and father-in-law. When you have done that, I urge you to take time to read the story of the young man pictured above. Los Angeles Times photographer Luis Simco snapped this picture, which circulated around the world, and bound the lives of the photographer and the soldier forever.

The young marine lighted a cigarette and let it dangle. White smoke wafted around his helmet. His face was smeared with war paint. Blood trickled from his right ear and the bridge of his nose.

Momentarily deafened by cannon blasts, he didn't know the shooting had stopped. He stared at the sunrise.

His expression caught my eye. To me, it said: terrified, exhausted and glad just to be alive. I recognized that look because that's how I felt too.

I raised my camera and snapped a few shots.

With the click of a shutter, Marine Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller, a country boy from Kentucky, became an emblem of the war in Iraq. The resulting image would change two lives -- his and mine.

Take time to read the entire article. It is shameful how we use our young people to fight the wars of the wealthy and powerful, and then throw them away. One more reason to work toward the day when war will no longer be necessary.

*****

War time is only the other side of peace time
but if you've ever seen how wars are won
you know what it's like to wish peace time would come
And don't it seem like a long time
seem like a long time, seems like a long, long time

"Seems Like A Long Time", lyrics by Ted Anderson. Rod Stewart does a fine job with it, but I recommend that listeners seek out the excellent version recorded by Brewer & Shipley on their Tarkio LP.