In the Navy, across the generations

This group of postcards in honor of Veterans Day tomorrow show scenes from the Navy across the years. The card above was a World War I poster by Howard Chandler Christy, 1918.
This piece was a World War II postcard. Artist unknown.

My father served as a pilot in the British Navy during World War II. He taught my brother, who later was drafted and served in VietNam, to fly. (The Middle Bass airports were excellent training grounds.) My brother taught his boys to fly; one of them is now a pilot in the U. S. Navy. The photo above is of my 19-year-old grandson, who is also in the U. S. Navy, at computer school in Great Lakes, Illinois.

There's always another war, isn't there, with opportunities for some and horrors for all-- except for the war profiteers. So while on Veteran's Day we are honoring those who serve, let's also remember the dishonor that some -- for instance, Halliburton; Blackwater, now named Xe -- have brought upon themselves. I once asked my mother if she through they'd ever be brought to trial for profiteering, and she said, "No. They never are." More's the pity. May they choke on the olives in their martinis, the reward for their perfidy against this nation and our parents, siblings, children, cousins, and grandchildren.