Category: REMEMBERED HISTORY/NOT 100% FACTUAL/IN THE REALM OF FACTUAL/HONESTLY REPORTED FROM PAPA’S MEMORIES (Page 2 of 7)

Picking raspberries along our paths stirred up memories of 1960. Per my Uncle Jim’s instructions, 2024 Papa was turning/twisting branches to reveal hidden berries beneath the foliage. I think the last time we picked raspberries in the North Woods was 1959. My uncle was a school principal in our hometown. He was single. A veteran of World War Two his American Legion post (Tanner-Paul, a great fish fry.) built some cabins near Lake Tomahawk. Starting around 1947 my brothers and later I spent most of our summers with Uncle Jim in cottages in and around Lake Tomahawk. It was a wonderful life for us. We now speculate that getting us out of town for polio season may have been a motive but the treks continued after the vaccine. At least until it was time to work summer jobs. So, from about age eight to sixteen I was on Uncle Jim*s berry picking brigade. As he was chief cook and bottle washer we knew it was in our best interest to pitch in gathering berries or landing fish.

Thus the year 1960 comes to mind. It was a year of significant change for me. No berry picking in the north woods. It was just my youngest brother we all waved to when Uncle Jim pulled his two door Ford out of our driveway. I was ready to stay home that summer. A driver’s license was opening up my world. The school year had ended with a strange mix of elation for the positive prospects of a senior year but with a pained heart when a first date/friend relocated. I think of three of you as you are at a similar age of transition. It’s not always easy, especially when concerns/interactions can be so intense. Plus, for me, I was starting in the world of work.

I began part time employment at my grandfather’s funeral home. I had done some chores there as did my older brothers. However, grandpa had died and there was a need. That summer there was more to do and learn than simple chores. Not that I didn’t learn and do my share of vacuuming. Three chapels to keep clean. Wash the hearse of course. Lugging caskets up and down stairs from storage to display room to use. Going on “calls” was a part of the duties, (ie picking up corpse) Learning the protocol at wakes. Guiding pallbearers during a service. Knowing the differences between a Catholic and Protestant ritual. (The first was easy with altar boy experience.) To this day I am amazed that a 16/17 year old was in charge when the adults went home for dinner during a wake. I had a suit and tie and could stand with hands clasped while directing guests with the best of them. I even learned how to slip $5.00 to a priest/ minister as a gratuity with a handshake.

In my senior year I worked three nights each week from 6PM to 9 PM. Even if there was no wake the funeral home stayed open until 9 each night. Then I’d lockup. My other duty was to answer any phone calls. There were no cell phones or even extension lines. I was surprised how many folks would stop by to chit chat. They’d talk about the old days with my family members. Some asked about a recent funeral hoping to gain insight into the “actual cause of death”. There were the crank calls of course. Asking for Mr. Stiff etc. And, there was walk in business not to be missed. Again, I marvel that as a high school senior I was at Grandpa’s desk taking notes from a thirty something widow who lost her husband to a tragic accidental death. It was what needed to be done.

I experienced a lot in that first job. For one, I had no desire for employment as an undertaker. The next seven summers of work doing garbage collection, light construction and one exhausting stint of heavier construction taught me on the other hand that office work of some sort would suit me best. Now three of you are possibly considering summer/part time employment. Good for you. When I was young a coveted job was as a lifeguard. Never lucky in that regard. My older brother once had seasonal work at a brewery bottling plant. Dream job. You will find a niche. First jobs offer experience and an initiation into the work world. Papa will miss extended times at our cabins picking raspberries, listening to primal screams of a neighbor and simply having fun. However, it is your time to venture out and explore life’s paths. Enjoy. Always have your fun.

This political cliche predates Papa by about 23 years. Presidential candidates were selected by varying and changing methods by the main political parties. Nominations were done by delegates at a national convention with attendees selected at local or state caucuses/conventions. Presidential primaries existed but they were often used to elect a state’s “favorite son” who in addition to being a potential candidate/dark horse controlled that state’s delegate votes for other candidates. Unlike most recent party conclaves both parties had sessions with multiple roll call votes. Bargaining for votes was usual. It is easy to imagine all manner of trades, promises and concessions as candidates inched closer to victory.

I remember 1960 as having two important primaries. One was in Wisconsin where JFK won. Because he was Catholic there was great interest in the primary in West Virginia, He won there also proving vote getting ability in a mostly Protestant state. I believe he arrived in LA still short of delegates. The deficit was made up in the ways of politics back then. Since 1960 there has been greater emphasis on primaries. Most states now select delegates by popular vote. The election season is extended for nearly a year with debates between declared candidates starting in the year before election year. Candidates must prove themselves to the voters. Or, so says the myth.

Papa previously wrote that he has distain for states with voter registration by party affiliation. My roots were registering to vote period. No registration by party that gives the impression that a voter actually agrees with party principles. If a citizen wants to join a party join. Pay dues. Attend meetings. Engage in establishing party principles. Don’t just be a lemming. However, lemmings are what political parties desire. Don’t think, pull the correct lever. Keep pulling that lever. That party designation gives you a voice. Follow that voice. Or, at least pull that lever. That is democracy in action.

Unless of course it is 2024 and you are a democrat lemming. You may soon have a nominee for President that has not won a primary. Has garnered no delegates to the national convention. Who is about to be anointed the party candidate by the 2024 version of a smoke filled room. Not as in a Chicago hotel but via modern communication between the party bosses who of course know what is good for the lemmings. Not bosses in the 1920 style but rather via messages between big time donors, the party’s gushing media and a very few party Poobahs. Why not? Who needs a democratic process? The best and the brightest knows that this election is so important because the Republicans want to end democracy and never ever allow voting in the future. It makes perfect sense to forego voting or mini-primaries when staving off folks who will forego voting and primaries/elections in the future. Doesn’t it? Don’t contemplate too long on that one. The media calls it a stroke of genius that an old duffer with millions of votes and nearly all the delegates should be jettisoned. Lemmings, pay attention and pull that lever for democracy.

Yikes. Whether Trump can be beaten is uncertain at this stage. That does not matter as much as the damage that would be done to party members down ballot if Biden was trounced. Even a Harris loss should be closer and more Poobahs will survive. Can’t have enough Poobahs. Strange that I did not see white smoke from a chimney announcing this year’s anointment. Miracles can happen. I think it took four primaries and one victory to anoint Biden in 2020. Who needs lemmings for primaries? Especially when a popular Hollywood star knows best. He’s so gorgeous he’s got to be smart.

is it possible that George Washington was right? Who needs political parties? Beware. It might be smart to use your noggin and decline becoming a lemming. A new era of good governance and country first. If only. Cheer up we have Progressives ; smack back to 1920.

Papa was barely six ears old when NATO was established. By the time I became aware of the world beyond the confines of my childhood, the protection of NATO made perfect sesne to me. Throughout the 1950’s the threat from the Soviet Union was a given. Communisim, with its inevitable dictatorships, was a clear danger. Memories of the horrors of World War Two were still vivid. A strong alliance against Soviet aggresion made perfect sense. A Cold War was real. When the Soviwt Union collapsed under its lumbering ineffecvtiveness a sigh of relief was the reaction.

The 1990’s didn’t pay much attention to European security as it might impact that of the United States. At times it seems as if the country has a need to lapse into a fondness for politicians that are weak on national defense. It could be reasnably argued that the fall of the Soviet Union was the time to nurture freedom in Russia. Other countries in Eastern Europe got the idea and flourished to some extent. Not much thought or attention seemed to be paid to who would and how Russia was to be led. There of course was a certain opening of cultural and business exchanges but that was mostly layered over a chaotic and corrupt government. The dream of peace in Europe began to fade. Enter Vlad Putin with the age old Mother Russia mentality. He also was equipped with tons of cannon fodder to cause heartburn on the continent.

During another 8 years of peace through placation in America, Putin made his initial move in Ukraine. Crimea was captured. After another wait in US administrations the whole of Ukraine was invaded. War in Europe again. Hard to believe. I know three of you rascals just returned from a vacation there with your parents. That is a wonderful experience. Good for you. There is a lot of cultural history to absorb. I think I wrote near the start of these musings Papa was struck by the contrast between the splendor of castles, manors and palaces and the presumed broken backs of laborers. Conceived grandeur by what I like to call Poobahs. A strange system of divine right to rule invariably prone to intrigue, conflict and changing borders was the norm. As a history major it was always difficult to keep track of all the European wars. Now, thirty years after the threat of communist expansion seemed gone Russia is back on the doorstep.

America’s revolution and ensuing westward expansion was forged by rugged individualism and an unhealthy dose of violence but no anointed Poobahs. Our most costly war nearly tore the country apart and there have been more than enough ups and downs internally to test the foundations. In Europe skirmishes and wars continued until the Great War which the US eventually entered. Afterwards, isolationist instincts took root in our country. The Second World War was viewed as more necessary. Isolation didn’t take a strong hold afterwards. NATO was created in an atmosphere that oceans could no longer protect us and that American active involvement/leadership was the best path for not being dragged into Europe’s conflicts. Some will argue that the crux of NATO is American force. Europe rebuilt and prospered under our military safety umbrella. They were living as if no danger to them existed after the fall of the Soviets. As stated above perhaps that was the time to ward off the rise of danger in the remnants that didn’t require big military investments by Europeans. With Ukraine smoldering it might finally be time to address strong militaries in Europe. I’m not holding my breath for most countries.

Enter American politics. Trump goes off script and wonders aloud why Europe isn’t meeting defined NATO financial goals. Democrats and many Europeans react with shock that those closest to Russia/danger should be questioned about being responsible for self defense; or possibly self-preservation. It is a treaty after all. If only American force deters then is it not logical Europe might want to lessen US influence over decisions that, at least preliminarily, impact their continent’s existence? From our side of the Atlantic it may not be outrageous to expect treaty partners to step to the plate and give a fair share. Unless the requestor is named Trump. This or a variation of the theme will be a part of 2024’s election cycle. While it might be nice that all NATO partners contribute per agreement I still have more regard for a partner that is not fickle, indecisive and de- escalating at all cost. I don’t like war. The big dog currently in NATO not doing well on those fundamentals.

Life has many moments that qualify as an intelligence test. Papa has a memory from the big snow storm of 1948. Drifts and shoveled snow was piled a quarter of the way up our rickety garage. I was young and very much in the mode of being wide eyed about “big boys” in the neighborhood. Play in the snow easily escalated to risky acts during that winter blizzard. That looks like fun that I can do passed through my developing brain.

So it was that that I found myself perched atop our garage, ready to jump. Or, was I? The height seemed greater when viewed from top down. Not too many years later I experienced that same epiphany when on the high dive board in Oconomowoc. No backing down that summer thanks to kids climbing/blocking the ladder back to safety. However, on my first go around your great-grandad was Papa’s lifeline.

”Just because big Bob Krause jumps off roofs doesn’t mean you need to prove stupidity.” His words, coupled with the daunting height, made sense. I didn’t need to jump as I had to do at Lake La Belle.

These thoughts returned when I read about an annual event in a country three of you are visiting during your current European tour. Our boys wouldn’t jump into a narrow Spanish street during the running of the bulls, would they? That’s an ultimate intelligence test. No, the photo received shows all three rascals on a beach in Barcelona. Good choice. Keep it up. You will encounter situations throughout life that may seem like fun/excitement but have the potential for darker outcomes. That’s why brains exist. To pass intelligence tests.

124 Langdon Street, Boston Store and the old Airporter Hotel near the Halifax airport. All three locations have something in common for Papa. Tonight it was pure happenstance. I’m on a no tv gig up in Cape Breton. However, circumstances took me to Halifax today. The tv in my room wasn’t working. After a front desk visit and fix I was able to watch television. Not ten minutes later CNN carried a Trump rally and gunshots rang out. Now I am watching the initial attempts by news station to sort out what has happened. A long night ahead. It will take days to develop all the facts.

In 1963 I was finishing lunch at my fraternity when Mike rushed in and said JFK has been shot. Mostly a wise person did not pay attention to what Mike said. But, the ashen look on his face instantly convinced me that it was true that the beloved JFK was shot. Television news at that time reminds me of tonight’s coverage. Scrambling. I remember Frank Reynolds, I think, express frustration that the facts could not be nailed down. Within the first hour JFK ‘s death was confirmed. For whatever reason students poured out of their campus housing and walked up Langdon to Bascom Hill even though all classes were cancelled. It was a devastating weekend.

When a conflicted young man who apparently wanted to impress a famous actress shot President Reagan I was walking near the television sales display in the Boston Store at Brookfield Square. I watched the first half hour of coverage there and saw replays as the President was shot at from close range. Immediately he was hustled into the safety of a secret service vehicle. That the President had been shot was not confirmed until he was in the car and a search for physical damage was done.

Television cameras and reporters were present at all three shootings. I see a lots of similarities on the coverage. It’s too early to know all the details of why Trump was shot today. There was such a mix of motives about JFKs death. People still indulge in conspiracies about the killing. Reagan’s shooter was wacky in his own right. It never seemed that it was personal animus in the 1963 or 1981 shootings. Time will tell but my gut says there is an abundance of personal hate towards Trump. Way too many people feel that while hate is wrong there is one acceptable exception, Donald Trump. He seems to be hated so much that even folks who support him are also hated or disparaged. I was once asked why do people support Trump. Papa being Papa I rose to the fun of analyzing the question. I was about to make a second point when I was accused of being a secret Trumpster. An intellectual discussion was not wanted. Just agree that his supporters are dumber than dumb etc.

In 1954 Papa thought this was a catchy slogan. Not sure I knew at eleven years of age what it fully meant, other than it was negative. About a guy named Joe. That part of it didn’t sit well as A Guy Named Joe was a favorite movie. Again starring that actor from Milwaukee. The Joe must go political campaign at that time referred to one of Wisconsin’s US senators. Senator Joe McCarthy was an overly zealous communist hunter looking for the guilty within the ranks of the government.

After World War Two it was an easy sell to be on the watch for communists in light of Stalin’s aggression and oppression of Eastern Europe. There really were Soviet spies out there. However, as I wrote in a book about one of your great-grandmothers, there were all kinds of young people in the 1930’s who never met an “ism” they didn’t like. Perhaps dabbing in the intellectual byways of life. In the 1940’s many past card carrying party members or associates were caught up in the initial House investigations. Most of what is described as blacklists came before 1950 and McCarthy’s rise. He actually led a small subcommittee on investigations. That work did not provide the headlines. It may be that his work never led to any convictions. Rather, it was his manner and bombast that caused news waves. He was loud and crude and wildly over the top. See the original version of the movie “Manchurian Candidate” for a good spin on such a loutish commie hunter.

That was then. McCarthy has been demonized for decades. As with Trump today there was real hate in the heart for McCarthyism. Now it’s time for another Joe to go. Four years past time by my calculation. Didn’t think he was very sharp in 2020. Hid out. Overly protected inside the party/campaign/press corps. Suddenly, all his pals are shocked, completely shocked that he got old without telling anyone. Panic time for the loyalists who are left holding a bag that seemed so predictable to others four years ago. It’ll be interesting fun to the watch how they turn and twist possible failure into a shiny new object. They won’t say the words Joe must go. That is reserved for the hated McCarthy, he of Grand Chute. No, there will be compassion when they seek to ease/nudge/force old Joe out to pasture. Then everyone can get on with the most existential/important/critical election of ever and ever.

Actually, Sidney Williams’ distinction was being the first black quarterback to start in the Big Ten. Where? Duh. Because your great-grandfather played at Wisconsin nearly 100 years ago going to Badger football games was a given for me. I know I saw Sidney Williams play. Probably 1957 and/or 1958. Wisconsin had decent teams. I think one ended up in the top 10 of the final season rankings. There wasn’t much passing going on in those days. Yet, even at that young age I knew that the quarterback was the team leader.

As an 8th or 9th grader at that time I was becoming aware of the impact for civil rights that a black man was starting at quarterback for the Badgers. The same had been true a few years earlier when I saw Jackie Robinson play after the Braves moved to Milwaukee. And, I knew that there was a big difference of blacks playing sports up north versus in the south. I believe I wrote on this blog about a family trip to New Orleans and my being shocked on overhearing a disgusting comment about a lynching. I also remember being incensed that Billy Bruton and Henry Aaron could not stay at the same motel as white teammates during spring training in Florida.

What a contrast between north and south in those days. I can’t say I was connecting all the dots to include minorities outside of sports as a youngster but I feel I was on the right track back then. News junkie that I was, the events in Little Rock in 1957 were also in my sights. Interesting that the democrat party (Gov. Orval Faubus) was up to its usual tricks; defying the U.S. Supreme Court. (Brown decision), Add in shielding violence in local trials/juries it is no wonder civil rights barely advanced after the Civil War in the south. President Eisenhower had to step in with federal troops/mobilization to enforce Brown. It’d be years before my vision extended beyond the feel good extension of intergration in sports to the real issues of discrimination and housing problems in the north. I’ve always credited the nuns in grade school with opening the mind on civil rights.

Sidney Williams wa much more than a one time hero on the football field. He was a top notch scholar. I believe he was in engineering at UW. Papa doesn’t hold it against him that he went on to obtain a law degree and had a successful career as a patent attorney. He was a kid from Little Rock who went north to play football and have a better life. He died a few days ago at age 88.

In the 1950’s football trading cards also made me aware of other black players. (i.e. Tank Younger, Marion Motley) The most impressionable story was that of Ollie Matson of the U. of San Francisco. He was also an olympian. Rumor was that the football team could have gone to a bowl game (Most held in the south.) if it didn’t bring its black players. Nope said the team. Later, as a player for the Chicago Cardinals, Matson was traded for 9 players. Almost a whole team for one guy I thouht at the time. He was a great player and the Cardinals didn’t fare much better the next season. In fact the team left town in 1960.

It’s good for you to remember that no matter another’s race, gender or differences most everyone is doing their best to have a good life and pursue goals not disimilar from yours. There is an up and down quality to people, their circumstances and personalities. Best not to judge others as either good or evil. Being overly judgmental does not enhance the soul.

It’s been many years since Papa has felt a hint of angst about memories of his military service in Vietnam. However, there have been times when a current event in the news awakened a recollection from those days. When a friend was in the Gulf War I wrote a letter to him about the emotion of being far from home performing a duty that few back home understood. He expressed his appreciation to me about understanding isolation in a combat zone. Today’s news is reporting over 100 attacks against US forces/interests since October 7th. Many observers feel that there has been an inadequate response to such attacks by the US. Which gets Papa thinking about an experience in 1971.

In 1970 there was an incursion by US forces into Cambodia. Its announced purpose was to cut off supply routes and assaults from hidden forces in Cambodia. The enemy would jump back and forth from protected areas in Cambodia to attack and then withdraw across the border to safety close to innocent civilians. That purpose of the US military fell on deaf ears in many quarters. All heck broke loose in the anti-war movemnet back home. I’ve often thought that too many of those war protesters or their pupils now embrace timid approaches to aggression. Which doesn’t currently help the poor soldiers and sailors at our Mideast bases or ships in the area. Sitting ducks is one way to describe their plight.

Back to 1971. One day I attended a security briefing for our base. (Think underground, Dr. Strangelove “Big Board” atmosphere.) One item remains fixed in my mind. Our base had not been attacked in nearly a year. On the other hand, the briefer said our base had been attacked everyday/night before the Cambodian incursion. No longer being a constant sitting duck was of great importance to Papa at the time. I am thankful for the years since. That some Americans were protesting an incursion despite it resulting in better security for Papa only added to the loneliness of deployment in 1971. I can only hope that someone in our government is thinking about the security of modern day “sitting ducks”. I can imagine the concerns of the “ducks” as they hope/pray for safety.

A sliver of Papa’s assignment in Vietnam included war crimes investigations/review. I have always been proud of that work. A measure of pride remains with me because our US forces were trying to correct wrongs and maintain adherence to the law of land warfare. (I recall reading that over 100 courts martial were held for homicide charges committed by our troops.) The rules of the Geneva Conventions were taught right from the start in basic training. Additional education on the subject for me happened at the Army’s Judge Advocate School. Your country was doing its best to follow the law under very difficult circumstances. I remain unaware that the communist powers instigating the conflict nor any active belligerants in Southeast Asia gave one iota of concern about the commission of war crimes against our side. There were significantly more violations committed by the enemy than by US forces.

It is clear that criminal acts are part and parcel of the so called “Freedom Fighters” code of conduct. In Vietnam as many as 25,000 men, women and children were killed in the south between 1954 and 1958. Most were civilians. Teachers were a special traget at the time. (It may be that teachers of that era were smart enough to understand the dangers of communism.) 1954 was the end of the IndoChina War which divided north and south Vietnam. Terrorism was being used in the south by the north, a foreseeable client state of the USSR. (I remember a 1962-3 college class on Southeast Asia that noted that the north’s main man (HO) studied in Russia in the 1920’s) The killings/slaughter of non-combatants by the Viet Gong and eventually the North/South continued for decades. It is safe to say that our enemy in Vietnam was not concerned with violating the law of war.

Flash forward to today’s current events and we see that war crimes are rampant in the Hamas attack. Murder, rape and butchery are the trade marks of the monsters being ballyhooed in our streets by “social justice warriors”/protesters. Remarkedly, once again it is the only side trying its best to comply with the law of war that is accused of crimes/genocide. Per old Joe Welch, is there no sense of decency? Remember: Hamas, started the conflict. Hamas doesn’t give a darn about following the law of war. Compliance doesn’t serve its purpose of terrorism. Papa recently wrote that war is hell. It is horrible. Don’t start wars. Condemn the Poo-Bahs who start them, not the side that reacts in self-defense. I think October 7th has as much clarity as Pearl Harbor. There is a need to finish the job and unfortunately innocent people will get hurt.

It was difficult to sort out possible war crimes from combat actions during the Vietnam War. I believe the US did its best in that regard. Nowhere near perfect to be sure. Identifying and then fighting against terrorists/non-uniformed opponnets is no easy task. I had experiences to know that a door gunner returning fire into a village/huts or claymores on a supply path triggered against armed soldiers accompanied by two possible civilians/carriers demonstrates how difficult both an investigation was or the burden placed on our troops to do the right thing. The US had rules of engagement that prevented or limited the use of froce. I know a soldier who was driving a truck and was waiting outside a gate for clearance to enter. The convoy came under attack. While waiting for permission to return fire from an identifiable building across a field my friend was shot in his torso. He made an enlisted man’s executive decision and stepped on the gas and went through the gate. He almost died that day.

War is not easy. Yet, we never seem to have a shortage of folks who have fantasies that once started, armed conflits can be controlled/limited by their kibitzing with good intentions. Usually these people are not of the peace through strength school of thought. Once a war is started on their watch they flounder at how to win/stop it. Regarding Hamas, one stellar US leader recently opinied that Isreal is killing too many civilians in its battle against the enemy. Papa is led to wonder if this individual has a specific number of acceptable civilians deaths in mind. The amount of tolerable civilian deaths the leader has in mind would be nice to know. Isreal could stop firing when its quota is reached. Each day? Each week? Each month? One innocent civilian life lost is too many. Hamas has started a series of events that will undoubtedly take too many lives. To suggest that battlefield killing can fit into a concept of restraint is a sure sign that someone is in over their head. It is hoped that such prattle doesn’t get viewed as so much US weakness by our enemies that our restraint will be tested over and over again.

When you hear loose accusations of war crimes and genocide by protesters always use your noggin. These are not easy concepts to understand or investigate. Especially at early stages. One can only hope that the crimes commiited by Hamas are investigated and that the bad actors are identified and tracked down. No matter how long it may take.