There is something in my eye. Sand. Always sand. But this feels bigger than the talc-like stuff that blows around us constantly. I reach behind my left hip, pull the canteen out of its casing, and unscrew the top. Since the 5-ton truck I am riding in has stopped, I move to the tailgate, leanContinue reading “Eyesore”
Category Archives: Military
The Same Flight
The commute to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was short, but once inside, I had five miles of live ordinance range to cross to French Creek, home of the 2nd Medical Battalion. Along the way I passed the gas chamber, where twice a year we donned masks in a toxic environment to ensure readiness. WhenContinue reading “The Same Flight”
Touching Steel
The offices of the World Trade Center Tribute Center occupied an upper floor in a building across from Ground Zero. When I arrived, Lee and Jen met me at the door. A retired career firefighter, Lee lost one of his two firefighter sons in the towers on 9/11. Jen, a local resident, had volunteered soonContinue reading “Touching Steel”
Never Forget
On September 11, 2015, students and staff at the Nuclear Power Training Command gathered to remember the events of September 11th 2001. Truth be told, only the staff could really remember since most of the students that year had been in kindergarten in 2001. I was asked to speak at the event. Here are myContinue reading “Never Forget”
How to Prepare for Reassignment
* Dedicated to military members, clergy and anyone else who gets moved around for work… whether they like it or not. Pretend it is not coming. Continue to think of yourself in this place with these people forever. Whine over the same daily annoyances as if they are permanent problems. Tell no one you areContinue reading “How to Prepare for Reassignment”
At the American Cemetery in Normandy
On Memorial Day 2014, the United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment visited the American Cemetery in Normandy and with a student group from an American college provided evening colors. As we remember the 76th Anniversary of D-Day this year, here are some photos from that visit and the prayer I offered during the ceremony.Continue reading “At the American Cemetery in Normandy”
I Remember You
Names carved in granite, Neatly, in rows, Ordered by date of death. “I remember you,” I mutter, as my fingers read a section. For a short moment my mind races back to body bags, opened in search of dog tags listing religious preference. A bullet hole in the spine, just below the skull. Searching throughContinue reading “I Remember You”
When It Really Matters
The middle of a desert in Kuwait, 2003. After 0200. (2 am) I am awakened by the sound of someone knocking on the pole holding up the front of the dust-laden tent in which I am sleeping. It is a young woman, one of those responsible for driving our ambulances in convoy, across the borderContinue reading “When It Really Matters”
The Twins
In 1986, three months after my ordination, I was at a retreat center on the west side of the Hudson River when I received a call from the senior pastor with whom I worked. He wanted me to drive two hours north to Albany to see a 25-year-old woman, pregnant with twins, who had developedContinue reading “The Twins”
χαρακτήρ
Every time a military member reenlists or accepts promotion, he or she is required to reaffirm the oath of enlistment or oath of office, both of which include these words: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This vow, taken by generations of patriots whoContinue reading “χαρακτήρ”
Bender Tales 