Memorial Day Special Edition

WAR IS OVER, YES WE WANT IT!

David Rheins

Memorial Day

 

Three hundred fifty

And fourteen

Days to wait for this

One time a year

To lay down our pencils

And remember those

Who lay down their lives

 

++++++

 

What would Walt Whitman say of the state of the Union?

He who imagined us from way back then, remembering him

He who walked the fields of death in that least civil of all wars

Brother fighting kin, dying and maiming

And bleeding in Northern and Southern woods

With awful musket balls, rifle shells, sharp shrapnel

Canon fodder, flying lead and all manner of projectiles thick overhead

In cold wet fields and in dark old barns

On crutches in stretchers in backyard they bled

They came in troops with uniforms and left one by one

We all die one by one, naked and alone

 

What would old Walter have to say?

He who loved brother, sister, sailor, soldier, footman

Recognizing we are not connected, but are one.

One country, under God, indivisible

The great Revolution and since then

So many wars and so many gone

Or returned home with scars and lack of limb

Lack of opportunity, save mercenary

Naked and alone we come into this world

And back that route so we shall go

 

 

David Rheins Blogs at: www.davidrheins.wordpress.com

 

US Wars and Military Campaigns (a work in progress)

Here for your somber reflection is a listing of war and military campaigns in chronological order, that involved the United States during and since the American Revolutionary War, courtesy Wikipedia.

Dates indicate the years in which the United States was involved in the war.

18th Century

·         American Revolutionary War, 1775 – 1783

o        Boston campaign, 1775 – 1776

o        Canadian Theatre, 1775 – 1776

o        New York and New Jersey campaign, 1776 – 1777

o        Saratoga Campaign, 1777

o        Philadelphia Campaign, 1777 – 1778

o        Western Theatre, 1775 – 1782

o        Northern Theater, 1778 – 1781

o        Southern Theatre, 1775 – 1782

·         Northwest Indian War, 1785 – 1795

·         Quasi-War, France, 1798 – 1800

 

 

19th Century

·         First Barbary War, 1801 – 1805

·         Sabine Expedition, 1806

·         War of 1812, 1812 – 1815

o        Tecumseh’s Rebellion, 1811 – 1813

o        Lake Champlain Campaign, 1812 – 1814

o        Niagara Campaign, 1812 – 1814

o        Detroit Campaign, 1812 – 1814

o        Chesapeake Campaign, 1813 – 1814

o        Creek War, 1813 – 1814

o        Peoria War, 1813

o        Southern Campaign,

·         Second Barbary War, 1815

·         First Seminole War, 1817 – 1818

·         Winnebago War, 1827

·         Black Hawk War, 1832

·         Second Seminole War, 1835 – 1842

·         Mexican-American War, 1846 – 1848

·         Cayuse War, 1847 – 1855

·         Third Seminole War, 1855 – 1858

·         American Civil War, 1861 – 1865

o        Union blockade, 1861 – 1865

o        Eastern Theater, 1861 – 1865

o        Western Theater, 1861 – 1865

o        Lower Seaboard Theater, 1861 – 1865

o        Trans-Mississippi Theater, 1861 – 1865

o        Dakota Conflict, 1862

o        Pacific Coast Theater, 1863

o        Colorado War, 1863 – 1865

·         Reconstruction, 1865-1876

·         Red Cloud’s War, 1866 – 1868

·         Korean Expedition, 1871

·         Modoc War, 1872 – 1873

·         Red River War, 1874 – 1875

·         Black Hills War, 1876 – 1877

·         Nez Perce War, 1877

·         Bannock War, 1878

·         Cheyenne War, 1878 – 1879

·         Sheepeater Indian War, 1879

·         Ute War, 1879-1880

·         Pine Ridge Campaign, 1890-1891

·         Battle of Leech Lake, 1898

·         Spanish-American War, 1898

·         Philippine Insurrection, 1899 – 1902

 

 

20th Century

·         Boxer Rebellion, 1900 – 1902

·         Banana Wars:

o        United States occupation of Nicaragua, 1909-1933

o        United States occupation of Veracruz, 1914

o        United States occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934

o        Mexican Expedition, 1916 – 1917

o        United States occupation of the Dominican Republic, 1917-1924

·         Battle at Nogales, Arizona, 1917

·         World War I, 1917 – 1918

o        European Theatre, 1917 – 1918

o        First Battle of the Atlantic, 1917 – 1918

o        Polar Bear Expedition, 1918 – 1919

o        American Expeditionary Force Siberia, Soviet Union, 1918 – 1920

·         Yangtze Patrol, 1920’s

·         World War II, 1941 – 1945

o        Second Battle of the Atlantic, 1941 – 1945

o        Pacific War, 1941 – 1945

o        African Theatre, 1942 – 1943

o        European Theatre, 1944 – 1945

·         Cold War, 1947 – 1990 with the following hot wars and campaigns:

o        Operation PBFORTUNE, Guatemala, 1952

o        Operation Ajax, 1953

o        Operation PBSUCCESS, Guatemala, 1954

o        Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba, 1961

o        Operation Powerpack, Dominican Republic, 1965 – 1966

o        Operation Urgent Fury, Invasion of Grenada, 1983

·         Korean War, 1950 – 1953

·         Operation Blue Bat, Lebanon, 1958

·         Vietnam War, 1962 – 1973

o        Laotian Civil War, 1962 – 1973

o        Cambodian Civil War, 1969 – 1970

·         Operation Eagle Claw, Iran hostage crisis, 1980

·         First Gulf of Sidra Incident, Libya, 1981

·         Operation El Dorado Canyon, Libya, 1986

·         Iran-Iraq War, 1987 – 1989

·         Operation Just Cause, Panama 1989 – 1990

·         Second Gulf of Sidra Incident, Libya, 1989

·         Persian Gulf War, Iraq, 1991

o        Operation Desert Shield, 1991

o        Operation Desert Storm, 1991

·         Somali Civil War, 1992 – 1994

o        Operation Provide Relief, 1992

o        Operation Restore Hope, 1992 – 1994

·         Yugoslav wars, 1994 – 1999

o        Bosnian Conflict, 1994 – 1995

o        Kosovo Conflict, 1997 – 1999

 

 

21st Century

·         War on Terrorism, 2001 – present

·         Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan 2001 – present

·         Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines 2002 – present

·         Operation Iraqi Freedom – Horn of Africa 2002 – present

·         Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003 – present

·         Waziristan War, 2004 – present

·         War in Somalia, 2006 – present

·         Operation Iraqi Freedom – Trans Sahara 2007 – present

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_history_events#Extraterritorial_and_major_domestic_deployments

Tim Brickley

Three new poems for a Free Pamphlet Memorial Day.

 

(I remember being young. The joy of a wide-open holiday weekend.)

Epic journey.

 

roam freely,
young luminous gods
i was one, once
adventuring for the first time
in what were then-new
golden meadows.
they had come out of the woods, and
she is covered in a shawl
her beaming soul uncoverable
the boy with the lock of gold
hair falling into his face has
taken to a walking stick,
the black-haired boy
is walking backward, looking out
for the maiden
you are all in love
the boys,
each boy to the girl
whatever you will choose
it can be an
epic journey

 

 

 

(I remember my father, Jack. This was one of his favorite weekends.)

 

My Dad called.

 

I had a dream my dad called me last night.
He’s dead now, a year and a half.
I was staying over at a girl’s place, around 6AM
her phone rings and it’s my dad:
Sorry, don’t mean to be checking up on you, but….
I was amazed he knew where I was.
I remember the time when I was 23, back living
under his roof, when some cops came by the
studio one morning because I stayed out all night
in love
without calling. It was late, I was really torn,
wake them up, or chance the
consequences (which I did.)
Then, I was pissed.
Now,  I love that he did that.
Again.

 

 

 

(My lovely Mom still loves her Memorial Day routines.)

One of the million reasons I love my Mom.

 

caught another racoon in
the cage in the attic, she hears
when they’re rompin’ around
third one this year (gotta find that
hole.)

 

so I had to spend 2 hours
yesterday w/ Tony, listening
to George Harrison, driving
driving #3 at least 40 miles away
(like the experts say)
into the country.

 

And my mom was happy, because
i remembered exactly where
we let him off, because
she’s pretty sure she heard
two and when we catch his
brother, we’ll be able to
drop him off in the same
neighborhood.

 

(Peace and love to you and your’s. Bring home the troops. Clean up our own backyard. Use less energy. Keep rock alive. TB)

Tim Brickley blogs at: www.timbrickley.wordpress.com

Midwest Poet

Decoration Day

it is on this day
and every other
I remember
you did not serve
on any front
but fought
the life war
battling
vices
and dad

struggling
to either
join him
or
leave him
you chose
both
neither
worked

fighting
for a shred of
normalcy
you thought
others had
and you deserved

you lost

I send this
kiss
on angel
wings
maybe
too late
to comfort
your soul
but
it is on this day
and every other
I remember

Midwest Poet blogs at: www.midwestpoet.wordpress.com 

 

Friends with Strings

Every morning my box is full of friend requests from girls with strings – thronged and slutty they invite me to see them on webcam or join their network to see the really nasty stuff. I always say no, but they are persistent: Candy wants to be your friend. Shake dat ass wants to get down.
I’m wondering what wayward and lonely souls do take them up on the offer. The more time I spend in social media, the more I realize just how disconnected most of us are. We are so desperately seeking Susan or Sam that we’ll buy anything, try anything, install any app, join any club.
I guess old Groucho Marx had it right when he said he’d never join any club that would have him for a member.

Shelf life

always
reflective
buddah
bookends
rest
calm
no
matter
what

Shop til you stop — mourning!

This just in from the “Only in Japan” Dept:

Hime and Co., a Tokyo-based marketing company, offers its employees up to three days of paid time off to mourn a breakup. Employees can also take two mornings off twice a year as “sales shopping leave,” so they can race to stores to hunt for bargains.
DES MOINES REGISTER | 4.28.08

Single Dad on Mother’s Day

useful as teats on a boar

i keep the blinds twisted shut

steam another cup

tweak the strings on martin

and wonder if the son is having fun

across the river’s chasm

TB don’t need no weatherman…

it’s luscious weather
warm wind blowing thru the trees
the first
real thunderstorm
of spring and
the lilac tree is happy
the little tiger-red and
fire-yellow daffodils
sing in the glorious
grey gloom of
life that comes from these
dark showers
even the birds
flying for cover
know
and tell me all
about it

HAPPY SPRING!

Posted by Tim Brickley and the Bleeding Hearts on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 7:15 AM