Barnabas File

I have a great deal of respect for the United States military and those who lead its various components.     As a Vietnam era veteran, I know both the positive and negative aspects not only of military service, but the use of the military in times of conflict.     Even so, I have found that those who serve and those who lead are, by and large, highly motivated, patriotic men and women who love their country.     This is the primary reason they don’t want to be called in to deal with civil unrest. This is the oath that all members of the armed services take: I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. ...

Mildred and Ircel Harrison  with Ircel, Jr., in November 1944 As you might expect on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the worship leader invited all of the veterans and currently serving military personnel in the morning service to stand.  I did not think much about this until my wife mentioned the next day that there weren’t many people standing. My grandfather was on a ship heading to Europe when the Armistice was declared in World War One.  My Dad served in the Pacific during World War Two.  My Army service included a tour in Vietnam.  My son was planning on military service but an accident prevented him from serving.  Although none of us wanted to go to war, we were not averse to serving our country in the military and even considered it an honor. War is not what it used to be.  We no longer have a draft.  Those who serve in the military do so voluntarily.  The two World Wars in the last century had a major impact on our c...

When I was a member of ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) in college, I was a member of a drill team called the Pershing Rifles.   The national organization was named for General of the Armies John J. Pershing.   I read the brief history of the organization and knew that Pershing was commander of U. S. forces during World War One, but I knew little else.   In this readable volume , John Perry gives an overview of a man we can identify as the first modern military commander along with the forces that shaped him. Pershing’s life story parallels the story of America.  Born during the Civil War, his journey from a middle class American upbringing to service on the western frontier and then in Cuba and the Philippines is tied to the growth of the United States from a frontier society to a colonial power and world influence.  Along the way, Pershing learned many lessons that molded his view of military strategy and national service. Perry does a good jo...

Colin Powell is a hero of mine for many reasons. He rose to the rank of four-star general in the United States Army.     He was the first African-American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as Secretary of State.   To the best of my knowledge, he was the first ROTC-commissioned officer to become chair of the Joint Chiefs.   Powell has served his country as a diplomat under three U. S. Presidents.   He is a Republican who refuses to be partisan.   And, most of all, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. One of Powell’s greatest talents, however, is his skill as a story teller.  Colin told the story of his rise from the streets of the South Bronx to halls of power around the world in A Soldier’s Story (2001) and My American Journey (2003). Others have written about his diplomatic work and his leadership philosophy.  In It Worked for Me , Powell shares his own approach to leadership, personal responsibility, relationships,...

I rarely agree with columnist George Will about anything but, if what he states is accurate, I have to share his concerns about a proposed monument in Washington, D.C., for Dwight David Eisenhower, 34 th president of the United States.   Eisenhower was President when I was in grade school.   My parents, lifelong Democrats, thought so much of him that they joined many other Southerners in voting for a Republican candidate for the first time in their lives in 1952.   “Ike” was a bona fide war hero, a country boy who rose to the rank of 5 star general and served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe in World War II and the first commander of NATO.   Eisenhower turned his military success and command experience to good use in the politics of being President.  Although some criticize his failure to confront McCarthyism sooner and his tolerance of some corruption in his administration, Eisenhower stood against military-industrial excess, used the na...