Veterans Day 2010~The Distrespect Continues

The extension of Indian Summer just keeps getting pushed farther out...now it looks like it will last into the weekend here in Western Ohio...71 is the forecast high for both today and tomorrow, and Saturday says 68...I believe today and tomorrow are going to be near record highs.  Must be that damn Global Warming Al Gore has been warning us about{Insert Sarcasm}....?  There is no freaking Global Warming, and if there was...GOOD!

Today is Veterans Day 2010____

Probably the most disrespected holiday, next to Columbus Day, that we see these days...you can blame Political Correctness, the media, the schools and universities,  or blame the Government, starting with the Jimmy Carter Presidency.  Carter let the Draft Dodgers get a free pass, then we had the Draft Dodger in Chief Bill Clinton, whose Marxist wife "Loathed" the Military.  And now another troop hating "Progressive" is in office, and the press, the Vietnam War protesting/troop hating scum is ingrained in our national government and revisionist history.   Make no mistake, The Obama Administration, and even the leaders of the Defense Department, like Chief Robert Gates, hate Veterans, and the Military...make no mistake indeed...Hell, Islamics infest even our own Pentagon.  And we know which side of the coin their allegiance is on.

My Military Service____

When I joined the Air Force in the Summer of 1968, I joined to stay the Hell out of combat and Vietnam...no hero was I, 4 years in a warm bed, seemed a much better option than a year or 13 months sleeping in the mud and rain, getting shot at.  My brother Mike's best friend, David "Kim" Deeter had been Killed In Action in April, he had been drafted, and died 5 months into his tour with the 1st Air Calvary.  While I was in Basic Training at Amarillo, Texas, my cousin, Jackie Ray Poling, was killed in July of 1968...he was with the 101st Airborne, The Screaming Eagles.  I had a special relationship with Jack...we grew up near each other in Venice, Florida....both of our families had moved to South Florida in the early 1950s.  One day, while Jack, my brother Mike, and I were swimming in a deep Gulf of Mexico channel,  near Englewood, I panicked and started to go under...Jack was the only person who came to my aid...risking his own life, Jack did a choke hold around my neck and with me still in distress, got me to shore, safe and sound...I never forgot that, for without his help, I doubt if I would be here today.                                

Both of our families moved back to Ohio in the early 1960s after a decade in Florida...we saw each other on occasion, and mom and Jack's mom, Marty, remained travel companions and friends until Marty's death in 1998.  They traveled the world together.  Marty was my dad's first cousin...her son, saved my life, and lost his in Vietnam.  Jack, Kim, and nearly 60,000 others gave all...only to be dismissed and disrespected by the majority of those living safe and sound at home.

So I joined the Air Force....became an Air Force Cop(Security Police,  Air Police before that)...today those men and women are called Security Forces...my salute to those brave souls...no draft today, so these folks are all volunteers, making their service even more special.

After Basic and Cop School, I headed off to Dover AFB, Delaware...I hated stateside duty, so I asked to be sent to Southeast Asia, something I joined the Air Force to avoid.  I was awarded for volunteering by getting orders to Nha Trang Air Base on the South China Sea, in Vietnam...I left for duty on June 30, 1969, I loved the duty, no chicken shit, great location, and great daytime Law Enforcement Duty...6 months later, 2 days after Christmas, I was shipped out to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon....there I worked "Charlie" Flight, overnights in the towers, bunkers, and driving the Jeeps on occasion with the Security Division.  War or no war, I enjoyed my year in Vietnam...I probably would have, and in retrospect, should have, stayed my remaining 2 years there.  But, not wanting to worry the family, especially mom,  I returned home for 20 months of CS Duty(that would be CS as in Chicken Shit) with SAC(Strategic Air Command) at Griffiss AFB, in Rome, New York.  I hated it, and I hated the Air Force for it....yes I hated the military life, I never was, and never have been good at taking orders.  However,  I did not hate the men I served with...sure some of us disliked each other, we came from different background, religions, races, creeds, politics, and view of the world...dislike however does not equal hate.  Despite our differences, most of us respected each other, especially those of us in the Security Police...we still do today, and despite those differences that still exist, we Sky Cop Veterans of the Vietnam War continue to work together for the good of all of our brothers of that war:

http://www.vspa.com/

That, in short is my view of the military and it's current and previous Veterans....we were, and they are, a cross section of America...some good, some not so, and  some frankly evil, but the vast majority love this country, and I and many others are appalled at the disrespect we get from both in and out of government, especially by the so-called 5th Estate...The Media, the Current President, and those like Clinton and Carter, that despised us during their terms...not so much by their words, but by their actions.

So I say, "Thank You" to all Veterans, both those serving in crapholes like Iraq and Afghanistan, for suspect "allies"  and those keeping the peace at home...Keep your powder dry, the enemies are all around us.

back later>>>>

Photos-At the Top, 2 pictures of me, while at Nha Trang in 1969....Jack Poling's Obit, and a Air/Security Police Shield, we wore both stateside and while at war...guess it was a target right over our hearts, for the enemy to zero in on.  Below...The Defender Fortis Statue of the Security Police at the Air Force Museum on Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton..our VSPA Mini Reunion at Dayton in March 2010, and The 28th Annual Kokomo/Howard County Indiana Vietnam Veterans Reunion in September 2010, which drew tens of thousands again this year.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!

Whistling Past the Graveyard, New Baseball Digs, and The Boar's Nest....

I woke up this morning, grabbed a shower, and put on long dark gray khaki pants, and a long sleeve t-shirt...I was thinking that the weather gerbils would be at least close on the forecast...66 with a chance of rain for today was what it said last night....after the shower and getting dressed, I checked out the "revised" forecast on the Internet Weather Channel...76 for a high, with a 80% chance of storms....looks pretty sunny out there at this hour, with some showers around, but I won't be the back 40 on that prediction either.

Yesterday I headed north, again, toward Blue Creek Township, where Wayne Trace High School is located....I had a 8th grade football game to officiate...it would not be much of a contest.  The young Raiders took on Hicksville(where I will be for a Varsity game, working on Friday evening)...a scored early and often, en route to a 68-12 victory, to remain undefeated.

Before the game I walked over to the new baseball facility being constructed just to the south of the old diamond and parking lot....WT has had a problem with the old field not drying during the spring baseball season, and having to cancel and/or move games to get the season in...this new field, sitting up higher on the windy plains of Blue Creek Township should help with that problem.  Its looks like a vast improvement.  I usually do 2 or 3 varsity baseball games at Wayne Trace a season, as well as under varsity football and basketball contests.

The Scott(Ohio) Cemetery____

I'm not prone to visit graveyards much, unless I am doing Genealogy research....so even though I travel through the Scott and surrounding  area at last a couple dozen times a year, I had not been to the graveyard there since I retired from the Van Wert County Health Department back in 2002.  Last night I stopped by, just for no other purpose than stopping by....Dad, his mom, grandfather, sisters, one brother, cousins, uncles, aunts, are buried there.  In fact most, but not all of the Waldron, Houseworth, and related clans are there...well at least their ashes are.  Graveyards are just that, a place to lay people's bodies...the people are somewhere else, or their souls at least are.   As a Christian, I believe you are either in Heaven, Hell, or in Limbo somewhere in timeless space, waiting for the judgment day.

Anyway, Dad's grave and stone are still there, in good shape, where he has been since late in 1972...he died on Christmas Eve of that year and was buried on a cold December 27th that same year. His family and relations are nearby in that small town burial ground. on the Van Wert-Paulding County Line.  Next to dad is his Uncle Joe Waldron(my great-uncle) and his wife Nellie.  Joe was a year or so older than my Grandmother Wilda Waldron Houseworth, he was born in 1881 and passed away the year I graduated from High School in 1967...Nellie was much younger, being born in 1902 and passing in 1986.  Joe Waldron was a tall lean man, who as I look at his photos, looked much like his dad, my Great-great Grandfather, William H. Waldron...Joe was a great guy, at least to me.  He was also a founding member of the Scott Gun Club, photo from around 1900 is attached, as is a 1927 photo of him and Nellie.

My Great Uncle Joe, a good guy and an excuse to add these old photos....as for me?, I plan on being cremated when I go....but who knows?  I might change my mind...or someone else might make a different decision.

The Boar's Nest_____

Last month at this time I was over in another wind swept field, this one near Kokomo, at the 28th Howard County Vietnam Reunion.  I only got to spend 24 hours or so at the bash, but enjoyed every minute of it...at least the minutes I can remember.

My VSPA buddies Tom McCandless and Sam Lewis were there, along with thousands of other Vietnam Vets, families, and friends....

Tom has a little spot next to the farm fields...he calls "The Boar's Nest"...and "Sweety Pie", the garage sale Boar's Head overlooks the camping area....yesterday Sam sent me a patch from the site and event, I will add it to my collection, and be wearing it next summer when I return to central Indiana for the events....Thanks Sam and Thank You Tom for the hospitality and brotherhood.

Not sure what is in store for me today....no football until tomorrow, perhaps...perhaps...Hell, I'll just take the day as it unfolds.

back later>>>>
Photos-The Scott Gun Club taken in Scott, Ohio about 1900....my Great Uncle Joe Waldron is second from left...his future brother-in-law, Otto Hockenberry, my Great-Uncle by marriage is on his right(3rd from left as we look at them).  Dad's stone in the Scott Cemetery...The new baseball facility takes shape at Wayne Trace High School....Uncle Joe and his wife Nellie's stones, next to dad's grave.  Nellie and Joe in 1927, he was already 46 by this time, Nellie was but 25.  The Boar's Nest Patch....and Sam Lewis, me, and Tom McCandless with "Sweety Pie" the Boar's Head at the campsite....Click to enlarge these photos.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Gang, I am taking the weekend off(unless something real exciting comes up)...with the rains pushing back the Regional Baseball Tournament Finals back to tomorrow, the Mrs Houseworth being with her family in Wisconsin, and me doing the what I need to do here at home.

I honor the Memory of all of my fellow War Veterans, and salute those Veterans both of whom have served and are serving now. And a flip of the Middle Finger at our so-called Commander-in-Chief, Barack Insane Obama...the "man" who is selling our country out....and his supporters.

We are on the cuspis of a "real" change...Obama and company just haven't figured it out yet....Salute to the Real Americans...and screw the low lifes and invaders that want to bring us down to their levels. We know what this weekend is about, and where "our" country has to go to return to it's glory days.

I will post if I feel a need, otherwise enjoy the long weekend.

Back at you later>>>>


Remember the American Veterans...not the American Politicians, on this Memorial Day Weekend:


photos-
March 2010 Vietnam Security Police of the Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, March 2010: Left to Right....Wayne DeZarn, 632nd SPS Binh Thuy, AB, RVN, 1967-68, Rick Adams, 823rd Safeside 1969-70, RVN, Mike Tillman, 366th SPS, Phan Rang, AB, RVN, 1966, Sam Lewis, 35th SPS, Phan Rang AB, RVN 1967-68, Jack Smith 377th SPS Tan Son Nhut 1967-68, and Pat Houseworth 14th SPS, Nha Trang 1969, and 377th SPS Tan Son Nhut 1970----Remember what Memorial Day is all about!

Honoring One of Our Own...42 years later!

I headed out towards Dayton yesterday about 9 in the morning...I decided to drive the Jeep with top down, the temperatures were scheduled to hover around 85 with some humidity, a perfect day to get my forehead sunburned, and my white hair even whiter from the bleaching the sun would give it. As I filled up the Wrangler at my favorite Marathon Station on the north end of Celina, and grabbed a large coffee for the trip, my phone rang...one of our VSPA Buddies, Dave Maltzen, was on the road from northern lower Michigan, and headed to Wright-Patterson for the ceremony as well. Now that's a man, 6 hours from his area of Michigan to celebrate this honor for one of our own. Dave would be the long distance traveler of the half dozen of us to be on hand from our association:

http://www.vspa.com/

After giving Dave my best directions down I-75, I started out, but would forgo the Interstate and take the 2 lane US 127 as far as I could before heading east on I-70 towards the Air Force Museum...it was a great day for a drive, the aging Jeep did it's job and I was at the Museum at 11:20, a full hour and a half before the Luther Young Bronze Star presentation. Mike Tillman, Jack "Old Cowboy" Smith, his wife Roberta, and Tommy Webb, were already there...Bob Griffith, who works at the Base, came along a short time later...Dave got there as we were heading towards the Security Police Defender Statue. We would join some 100 others, including Luther's family and old Military bosses, for the Ceremony. The 88th detachment of the Security Forces Squadron were on hand, along with a color guard and small Air Force Band from the base.

Sgt Luther W. Young, Bronze Star with "V" for Valor____

I did not know Luther Young personally until yesterday, but here is a short story of how he came to be honored:

Young was stationed at Ben Hoa Air Base...Ben Hoa, much like Tan Son Nhut was located near Saigon, the South Vietnam Capital, during the war....except TSN was at Saigon and Ben Hoa, also a large base(some disputes over whether Tan Son Nhut or Ben Hoa was the largest)...Sgt Young was assigned "C" Flight Security and his primary post was a watch/guard tower in the Bomb Dump...during his time there, 1967-68 Ben Hoa was under major rocket and mortar attacks from the North Vietnamese Army. On one such occasion Young stayed in his tower, a dicey thing considering that if the Bomb and Munitions Area was hit, Luther Young would have been vaporized in a heartbeat. Young declined orders to climb down from his post, and lucky for the several dozen pilots and aircraft crew members he did...he called the alarm for incoming, just in time for the crews to leave their barracks and head for the assigned bunkers...seconds later that Air Crew Living Quarters suffered a direct hit....those men could thank Sgt Luther Young for saving their lives.

Luther Young served out his year at Ben Hoa, and decided to serve another tour in the war zone...he took his 30 days free leave to be home with his family before heading back...as bad luck would have it, Young's brother, a Marine, was killed in action while Luther was home on leave...with that, his Vietnam service came to an end....and Luther spent the remainder of his 4 years stateside.

Forward 40 years_____

In 2008 Luther Young's Ben Hoa Commander Col. Martin "Marty" Strones, remembered the young Sergeant from those days and began a campaign to find Young and see that he got the recognition he deserved...he contacted another leader of the 3rd Security Police at that time, Lt Col Kent Miller, and also Major General Mary Kay Hertog, who at that time was Commander/Director of the Security Forces in Washington D.C.Today General Hertog is the Commander of the 2nd Air Force at Kessler AFB in Mississippi. Through their work, they found Luther Young in Independence, Missouri, and began the work to honor him for his service with valor.

Yesterday at the Security Police Statue on the grounds of the Air Force Museum, Luther Young received his just honor...a honor he did not campaign or ask for. Luther Young, like most of us in the VSPA was a young one term Airman, he became an unlikely hero, and was honored so yesterday in Dayton, Ohio.

My Salute Luther, you earned it!

After meeting many of Luther's family members in attendance, and saying so long to my 5 cohorts in the Vietnam Security Police Association...I climbed in the Jeep and headed the 80 miles home..taking I-70 this time to Ohio 49 where I headed north through the farm country with the knowledge that summer is at hand and it's time to enjoy the season.

back later>>>>

Photos-Sgt Luther Wade Young wearing his Bronze Star with "V" attached/The Defender Fortis Statue just before the Ceremony/Major General Mary Kay Hertog, with Luther Young in the foreground during the awards ceremony/5 Old Vietnam Sky Cop in the Museum Cafe...from left to right Mike Tillman, Pat Houseworth, Tommy Webb, Bob Griffith, and Jack Smith/Tommy Webb(L) and Dave Maltzen(center) talk with 3rd SPS Retired Lt. Col Kent Miller/and Bob Griffith talks with his old stateside commander Col. Marty Strones...Col Strones was the Commander at Ben Hoa who began the paperwork to get his Airman Luther Young awarded the Bronze Star with V for Valor.

Oh' Baloney @ Waldo, Ohio

Happy Veterans Day to my Fellow Veterans Past and Present.

More November like weather has returned to west central Ohio, low 50s yesterday with some sprinkles, but the sun is back out today with temps headed for 57 or so. I headed southeast the 100 miles to Columbus yesterday afternoon...the goal was to pick up car less oldest son Sam, and drag him to a local basketball rules meeting. After he crashed and totaled his car last Wednesday on the way to a meeting in Bexley, so he had some work to do to pick up his 4 required meetings. So I picked him up at the University Apartments and we headed out to grab a bite to eat, before driving on to Bellfontaine for the 7pm "Top of Ohio" Association get together.

I had a plan...it was only 3:30, so I figured to make the 20 mile ride up US 23 to Waldo, Ohio, home of my deceased ancestors and the world famous G&R Tavern and their outstanding Bologna Sandwiches. Sam, despite being a big eater{as his 6'1" 235 or so pound frame would attest} but a picky eater...so he decided not to try my favorite bar sammy...opting for baked chicken strips and fires. Myself? Well I grabbed a cold Miller Lite, and a side of deep friend mushrooms, and picked out a thick sliced G&R special Baloney Sandwich with Swiss cheese and sweet pickle to top with a shot of spicy brown mustard.


Not exactly a mainstay of my Diabetes 2 Diet...but well within the range of my day allotment of carbs, fats, and calories. After eating our delights I made the obligatory drive through the Waldo Cemetery, and saluted our ancestors. My GG-Grandma Ursual Houseworth and sons are buried in one spot, while Waldo's most famous Civil War Veteran, and longest living, Maish "Frosty" Houseworth(1846-1944), is buried across the gravel drive along with his wife Maria.

Yep, the Houseworth's, from landowners, like Ursual{a descendant of one John Smith, from the Mayflower} to Outlaws, Like convicted murderer Enoch Young, and his acquitted brother-in-law and my great-great Uncle Gilman Houseworth{another wounded Civil War vet}, called Waldo home....now the village of 325 just north of Columbus on the Marion County side of the Marion-Delaware County Line, is known for some of the best Baloney in the world.

If you get there, I guess I should add, that you don't think of Bologna as in store bought, packaged, sliced thin, Baloney....the two have little in common, except the name.

That was my first trip to the home of the Ancestors since last October...but the turn around won't take that long...next Thursday November 19th, I'll be back hooking up with an old buddy, Bill Clem, who lived in Celina for a few years, but moved in the late 90s to Marion.

So, back to Waldo for some more good eats next week.....I'll take some photographs of the event.

back later>>>>

For more on Waldo, photos, and stories, you can drop by my Genealogy Blog @:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/

The Photos-a Classic G&R Bologna Sammy with sweet pickle and Swiss Cheese, you can top em' anyway you want. The graves of my Ancestors CW Vet Maish and GG-Grandmother Ursula Schribner Houseworth set in the Waldo Cemetery.... Civil War Veteran and the aquitted Gilman Houseworth, as he looked in 1880. And G & R as it looked in October 2008..more photos after next week's visit.

Mushrooms/Baseball/Memorial Day

UPDATE! May 23, 2009...


Well Google fixed itself for now, so I dropped a few pictures in to go with the blog, before I head out to Elida and District Final between Coldwater and Marion Local...I'll be umpiring at 3rd base today, and immediatly after Clint, Nick, and I will be heading north to Mesick, Michigan, for the annual Mushoom, Miller, Cigar, and Bull Sheet Session up north...hopefully photos and stories when I return....probably back on Tuesday sometime.

Google and it's evil little sister Blogger have been acting up this morning...so better get this out quick: And because Blogger is in the crapper again, I can't add photos except from my camera...so I won't...maybe later.

Got the double header District in yesterday, with 2 Mercer County teams, Coldwater and Marion Local, both out of the powerful MAC, winning with realitive ease. The Flyers took out WBL foe Ottawa-Glandorf by a 10-5 count, the Coldwater run ruled Evergreen 12-1 in game #2 in a 4 1/2 inning affair....I did the second game behind the plate, and managed to take a foul off my left hand at the knuckles...and I've gotta tell you "IT HURTS LIKE HELL"...although it doesn't appear to be broken. Tomorrow if the rain stays away, we wrap up the Elida District with the 2 teams 10 miles apart doing battle...Coldwater won the league game earlier this season.

As soon as the game is finished(about 4 or so), Nick, Clint, and I head towards Mesick, Michigan for our annual Morel Mushroom Hunt...we will hook up with Rick and Sons, and hunt mushrooms, drink some beer, smoke cigars, and BS until we head back Monday, which is Memorial Day....the traffic should be a little worse than previous years, especially now that the gas prices are "reasonable"(albeit still 75 cents higher than in January).

Memorial Day 2009_____

Whether partying, picnicking, praying, or just hanging out...I ask you to say a word of thanks to the Men and Women who have served this once great country(and hopefully post Obama and Pelosi will be again), and especially those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Have a great weekend...I'll be back with a wrap up come Tuesday morning.

later >>>>

Photos-(1)Celebrate Memorial Day by remembering those that served and paid the ultimate price..my special salute to my cousin Jackie Ray Poling of Scott, Ohio, and to David Kim Deeter, of Montezuma, Ohio...both men made the ultimate sacrifice in 1968 in the conflict called Vietnam.

(2) Marlow Beech(L) and dad, Stan Houseworth, on leave at home in Scott, Ohio, 1943.

(3) The Morel Mushroom(yellows). Hopefully we will find our share of these this weekend.