European Culture Died in Auschwitz - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from Janaury 2008 as a part of a Best of 2008 series


European Culture Died in Auschwitz -

Just moments ago I was sent this essay:

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth -Europe died in Auschwitz. We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We
destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.

They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.

Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition.

We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.

I haven’t attempted to verify its authenticity but was simply asked: “What do you think of this? Do you agree?”

At first glance I can agree with a whole lot of it, but before you think of me as a xenophobe allow me to explain.

I was just thinking about a topic very similar to this, this morning on the way to work. If we look back in history the US has always been a great country not only because of what we accomplished but because of how we thought of ourselves. Sure we were the Ugly American that called a spade a spade, but at least you knew where you stood when dealing with us. On the other hand Europe especially after WWII felt it necessary to never offend another person. Whether this was a conscious decision or not we don't know but they slipped further and further towards a socialist society, where everyone is equal all in an effort to avoid another Hitler and the final solution. You see if we are all equal there is no one to blame and no scapegoat, unfortunately it hasn’t worked out quite that well.

As soon as Europe adopted this new belief structure those who realized they could use this new mindset to their advantage moved in, first in their own little enclaves and ghettos and then into government itself. The liberal socialist parties began to rail against the supposed inequalities in society and that life should be fair, an artificial utopia where everyone stays home and all is provided. But to accomplish this they first had to raise the revenue to pay for it so taxes rose and benefits were handed out like gifts for the masses. A modern day version of the famous Roman bread and circuses policies, keep them fed and entertained and no one will complain when you come to take for the rest of society.

And still the inequalities exist only now those of privilege are the politicians that suck up the fruits of those stupid enough to still be in the labor force and distribute it to their followers. And our problems are only beginning:

Add in the Radical Muslims who are so "secure" in their beliefs that they can not even stand to hear someone of another religion speak of their God in any manner. They who are so "secure" that their way is the only way that they will behead anyone who does not convert, or will even behead someone who leaves their Islamic traditions. Those who are so peace loving that they will threaten with murder those who dare question their beliefs. And as they moved into Europe the mindset of never offending anyone that can hurt you is taken to the extreme and we have large sections of European cities run by charismatic Muslim clerics imposing Sharia Law upon the residents, Muslim or not. Because of this we can see that the “disturbances” of France are only the tip of the iceberg. Not a symptom of the inequality and racism the rioters hide behind as their “cause celeb” but a function of their movement.

European Culture hides in the countryside in anachronistic fiefdoms and the “elite” who are so afraid of conflict throw money at the problem; money they plundered from those that built European culture with their own hands.

Look now towards the US and we can see the "enlightened" taking us down the same path. Christianity and Judaism are fair targets for punditry, hate and "art" but Islamic faith is sacrosanct. Do not even dare utter the name Mohammed or you can be accused of being intolerant. Even the President is forbidden from stating that it is Islamic radicals who are using our own insane laws against us in this fight for fear of offending the voting blocs. And don’t even get me started on Southern Culture and how it is now forbidden to acknowledge an antebellum South ever existed unless you are seeking reparations for a past that we as a Country abolished with a Constitutional Amendment.

Ask yourself why do the "elite" of this country really want us to be like Europe where racism still runs rampant? Where Socialism vies for supremacy and personal liberty is stripped away for the common good of not offending anyone? Where your thoughts can be considered a crime against humanity and your words cause for murder?

Upon further reflection I'd have to say that I agree 100% with this essay, maybe not every word or concept but definitely with the thesis. All of European glory and culture died in Auschwitz, not just with the murder and extermination of the Jews and other "undesirables" so deemed by the Nazi party but also within the hearts of Europeans. The Continent that gave us the Magna Charta, the Renaissance and Enlightenment has now given us a life devoid of responsibility and purpose where offense is a high crime and tolerance is the height of intolerance.

France and Germany proves that Europe is showing the signs of waking up from their 60 years of slumber and utopia searching and we can only hope that the rest of Europe follows suit. Hitler killed the Jews but Europe threw their Culture into the furnace with them and we are all suffering because of it.

Wake up Europe! Wake up Everyone!

Has the Anti-War Crowd Gone Too Far? - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from march 2008 as a part of a Best of 2008 series:

Has the Anti-War Crowd Gone Too Far? -

This morning at about 3:40 am an explosion occurred outside a recruiting station in Times Square NYC. While no report seems to link the current escalation of force by the anti-war / peace movement I will. First we saw Code-Pink in Berkeley, CA swarm around and set up a continual protest against the USMC. Then we have crowds invading a recruiting station in Washington DC. Now…a bombing of a recruiting station in NYC.
The New York Times describes the event thusly:

Blast Damages Times Square Recruiting Station

The New York City police just issued a statement describing the source of the explosion as an “improvised explosive device” and putting the time of the blast at 3:43 a.m. Subways and traffic are running normally through Times Square.

At first glance, the explosion seemed reminiscent, in its effects and timing, of two earlier blasts. At about 3:40 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2007, two dummy hand grenades that had been fashioned into crude bombs exploded outside the Mexican Consulate at 27 East 39th Street in Murray Hill, shattering windows. The building was not occupied and no one was hurt. At 3:55 a.m. on May 5, 2005, two crude but powerful explosive devices detonated outside the British Consulate at 845 Third Avenue in East Midtown, shattering windows and damaging a planter.

Just after 6:45 a.m., a handful of law enforcement officers knelt at the foundation of the recruiting station, smashing the carpet of glass shards with >long-handled mallets. Two men in hazardous-materials suits stood above them, among more than a dozen investigators from the city’s Police and Fire Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Police vans and squad cars ringed the scene, with clusters of detectives on street corners, paging through notebooks and talking on cellphones.

And while a spokesperson for Homeland Security wouldn’t comment on whether this explosion was related to terrorism the act in itself was a terror attack…an attack in my opinion against those very people who defend us against terror, the U.S. Military.

The left is already in a tizzy over the event worried that it’s going to cause a backlash against them. In the words of Kos Diarist Cool Blue Reason: “Inevitably, we're going to start hearing about "left-wing terrorism" from the usual suspects in the media. And I'm guessing the drumbeat is going to be especially loud in this political environment.”

And you know what CBR, you are absolutely correct. Do you want to know why, the reason is because you are more than happy to surround your self and associate with those who openly hate and attack those who defend us. You support groups like Code Pink and MoveOn.org who call our soldier’s baby killers and murderers. You clap when “students” swarm and destroy recruiting stations and you support world leaders who actively call for the destruction of the very country that defends your right to do so.

Is this event going to be used to attack the left? You’re damn right its going to be used to attack the left, because the left has allowed and even welcomed the militant anti-American into their ranks, and you deserve all of the bad press that goes along with it.

How unhinged is the left over this they are even indicating that it was a right-wing attack against the recruiting station in order to drum up support to oppose the left. Can it get any crazier in the reality based community?

America’s Disconnect with War and the Need for War - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from March 2008 as a part of a Best of 2008 series:


America’s Disconnect with War and the Need for War -

In today’s Web Recon I highlighted an article by Rebecca Hagelin entitled Paying the Price to Wipe Out the Enemy. She writes in part:

People forget that we’re not at war with Iraq -- we’re at war in Iraq. We’re not fighting a nation or a government with a designated leader. We’re fighting terrorists who scurry among Middle Eastern countries and hide out in caves.

Yes, they get cover and support from rogue dictators and are led by individuals we can identify. But you don’t negotiate with mass murderers like Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri. These are fanatics who strap bombs on children, target civilians in neighborhood markets, and burst into universities and seminaries and blow people away. You don’t hunt them down to have a chat. You hunt them down so you can rid the world of them and their evil.

This is the major difference between “liberal” America and “conservative” America when it comes to war and prosecuting war. “Liberal” America believes that by talking and negotiating we can protect our country from future attacks and avoid war, whereas “conservatives” tend to believe that we must be willing to stand up and defend ourselves to ensure our own safety. The major flaw with liberal America’s theory as Ms Hagelin points out is that in this war there is no government to negotiate with, unlike the Cold War when we could open a line of communication with Moscow and see a noticeable result along the Berlin Wall, talking with Pakistan or Iraq or Saudi Arabia or any of the Middle Eastern Nations produces no end result as it pertains to Al Qaeda or the Taliban or any of the other numerous militia and terror groups operating around the world.

We can talk to the Middle East nations until the cows come home and at best we might be able to slow or cut off “official” funding for the insurgent groups but we can’t negotiate a peace settlement with a government that does not speak for them. We might as well discuss a peace agreement between the US and North Korea by calling up the Italian Embassy in London. It just isn’t going to get us any meaningful results, in liberal America though that would be considered a meaningful achievement though, because for them it’s more about the process than the results. Talking about “it”, is always good, doing something about “it” is bad. Why: because doing something might mean offending someone, and in liberal America we can’t offend anyone, well anyone that identifies themselves as a liberal that is.

The next reason liberal America can’t even discuss the need for war is because liberal America is so caught up in the PC Culture that it’s now impossible for them to even distinguish between necessary violence and senseless violence. Violence against women, violence against homosexuals, violence against the environment, violence against the homeless, everyone and everything is protected from some sort of violence. Nowhere in their world is it acceptable to engage in violence to enforce a rule or a law or to even protect yourself against violence - all violence is bad and war is the ultimate in violent acts so it must be the ultimate in badness. The populace must be disarmed so it can’t be violent and even the police have to adopt non lethal methods of subduing and eliminating threats. Liberal America has spent 40 years driving itself towards an utopian America that can never be achieved without the very institutions they hate and fear, and they can’t come to grips with their failure.

For them war and the military cost too much to be worth it. For the rest of America, the monetary cost is negligible based against the alternative. The US brought about peace in Europe not by talking alone but by also projecting an armored fist, an armored fist that by its presence returned a peace dividend in the form of a collapsed Soviet Union and an opening up of Eastern Europe. Liberal America wasted that peace dividend by gutting the military and now all the talk in the world can’t protect us from the evil that still resides.

This Lousy Coffin? - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from January 2008 as a part of a Best of series.

This Lousy Coffin? -

To the Editorial Board of the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Today, as I read the Sunday (December 30, 2007) edition of the AJC, and as I tried to turn past the two page spread you gave Mike Luckovich, my eye caught his distasteful use (again) of a Flag Draped Casket (year end recap / replay of July 17 cartoon). Worse yet, Mike Luckovich used these descriptive words "..THIS LOUSY COFFIN..." as he refers to the most visible, respectable, and grief evoking symbol of a fallen soldier. You may think me overly sensitive, but then you wouldn't think I was if you had met your fallen son's body as I did at an air cargo hanger at Hartsfield Airport on August 24, 2005. Perhaps you might understand better if you could have been there when the news broke at my home, as I walked in circles in my driveway trying to figure out how to tell my family, including my son's 13 year old sister who adored him. Try figuring out how to cope as a family day to day with the most incredible loss imaginable - the loss of a son and brother, or as some have, a daughter and sister. Try being a 20 year old bride to your high school sweetheart ten days before he went to war, only to be handed the flag off his casket three months later. Sit down and review my son's autopsy report and see for yourself why he was "non-viewable body". Then, perhaps, you and Mike Luckovich might have a glimpse why it is so insensitive and in such poor taste to use a Flag Draped Casket in the manner that Mike Luckovich has now done on two occasions.

The Flag Draped Casket is the last visible and demonstrative image so many of us have of our fallen loved ones. God spare you the pain those of us who have welcomed home a Flag Draped Casket have endured, for it is a pain which radiates from a special privilege of sacrifice which costs a life time of love. May you never have to open a paper and see something so dear to your broken heart being trifled with as Mike Luckovich does with the Flag Draped Casket.

There are many who profit off war, and in war, one man's loss is another's black ink bottom line. But, would your bottom line run red if you just left the Flag Draped Casket alone?


Robert Stokely
proudly remembering my son, SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq
USA E 108 CAV 48th BCT GAARNG
DUTY HONOR COUNTRY

p.s. - Note to file - Mike Luckovich used the word coffin but there is a significant difference between a coffin, which is contoured, being wider at the upper body and narrower at the legs versus a casket which has a uniform dimension.

[Ed Note 2: You can find Mr. Luckovich's "art" here the image in question is the first one, and here. You can also view his "best of" here the image to which Robert refers is number 5 ]

"Yesterday in a nameless spot in the Iraqi desert..." - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from August 2008 as a part of a Best of Series.

"Yesterday in a nameless spot in the Iraqi desert..."

Via Blackfive:

What follows is a letter written by US Marine Corps Major General John Kelley to the parents of Sgt Michael Ferschke.

Sgt Michael Ferschke will be buried tomorrow, in Knoxville, TN at the Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

This letter while short epitomizes the quality and caliber of the young men and women who enlist in today's military. They are not looking for war, but are all to willing to go off to war and do their jobs, more often than not, quite well. They suffer inumerable hardships that most American's can never comprehend, and they do so without hesitation. Yes they complain, that is the perogative of all soldiers. The saying: "When the troops stop bitching something is wrong..." is very true. However, their sense of duty is greater than any known.

They don't do these things because they know nothing else or because they have no other opportunities in life, they do these things because they know there is nothing else that they could do, no opportunity they could come upon in which they can do for so many and for their country.

Yesterday in a nameless spot in the Iraqi desert near the village of Ayn-al Faris east of Lake Tar-Tar, Michael was on patrol when they took fire from a seemingly abandoned house they were about to search. With him at the time were several other Marines two of whom were wounded and are recovering. They live and fight as a team, these young men, and his buddies did what Marines have done from the beginning of our history, something they do without thinking and always without hesitation—they risked their own lives to save his. In spite of grave danger from the continuing firefight they struggled to save his life, but he was already gone to God. They were with him when he died. He was not alone and was surrounded by the finest men on earth...

I did not know your son, but I am sure he was just like every Marine I have known in the three decades and more that I have served. Like my own two sons who are Marines and have served here in this war, I bet he was a good looking young man, fun loving, into sports and a good son—but not perfect—boys never are. He was also different Mr. and Mrs. Ferschke, because he chose to leave the comfortable and safe confines of his home and walk a different path than all the rest. The path he chose led him to be one of the nations finest, to be a Marine. When he did not have to raise his right hand and swear before his God to serve and protect this nation and its people, he did just that. We all owe him an eternal debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. We also owe you and all who loved him a debt—one that can never be settled...

In my private moments I well up and come near to tears when I think of them. They are not just tears of sorrow, but also of joy and hope that we still have men of substance who are not afraid to step forward and face our enemies without flinching or backing down. I never had the privilege of knowing Michael, but I will remember him, and pray for him and for all those who mourn his loss, for the rest of my life.

Rest in peace Sgt. Ferschke.

You are definately someone all American's should have known. Like so many other's we have met in these posts, while others debated, you served. Thank you.

Moon over Yusufiyah - Part II - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from April 2008 as a part of a Best of 2008 series:

Moon over Yusufiyah - Part II:

As I left you in my last post, I was gazing at a moon rising over my home in the early morning hours of August 16, 2005 and thinking of my boy, SGT Mike Stokely as he was stationed at FOB Richardson in Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad . Just a few hours later, my world was to be turned upside down as I received notice that he had died from wounds sustained from a road side bomb (IED) while on dismounted patrol. In the earliest of moments of that day, and the 18 months
since, I have had to make a daily decision to live life as fully and happily as possible. I owe my boy to do that, but it is not easy. Some days, grief has a strong pull, and a downward spiral can too easily start.

Romans 8:28 is a bible verse I have clung to and the promise therein that God will work good from all things. Such has made it possible on the worst of days to keep trying to live that full and happy life my boy would expect of me. Some five or so months after Mike died, I came across a blog written by Kat in Georgia, "YIKES". She said nice things about Mike, mentioning she lived in his high school hometown where he is buried (Loganville). Mike lived there with his mom graduating from Loganville High; I live about an hour and half away in Sharpsburg, which was where Mike visited often on weekends, holidays, summers and lived with me full-time the year before he died.

Kat was just getting started in the blogging world, and I wrote and thanked her for the kind words. We soon struck up a friendship and introduced each other by cyber space to our respective families. She is married to Jeff, who also blogs and is known as Papabear. They are to say the least, remarkable people. Kat works as an administrative assistant full time and Jeff is a stay at home dad who volunteers day in and day out as a volunteer special needs child advocate in the County School System. Kat is outgoing, talkative, zany at times, while Jeff
is so soft spoken and deliberate, he almost fades into the background. Kat is a vibrant, get it done, work without ceasing supporter of our troops. Just to name a few of the accomplishments - countless dozens of cookies baked and shipped to combat zones; adopting so many soldiers that just the postage alone must be bankrupting them; organizing and ram roding the collection of 20,000 Christmas Cards sent to troops in combat theaters just a month ago; and this past week, while suffering from pneumonia, getting 5,000 Valentines Cards sent to Iraq . She likewise writes soldiers at Walter Reed and is a Patriot Guard Member, always showing up with coffee, doughnuts and biscuits for the morning missions. Did I mention she is a daily volunteer with Soldiers Angels? As if that were not enough, Kat goes to college at night.

Kat and Jeff have four children ranging in ages from a couple years old to a soon to be high schooler - two boys, two girls. They are a family of modest financial means, but seem to always find a way to do so much for so many when most of us would have let the cost blind us from helping in such a way. They are selfless and sacrifice in a way that is akin to Jesus parable of the Widow's Mite. Honestly, I think they must do without many necessities most days to give
so much to our troops.

They complain not, and have yet to find a soldier they didn't love to support. The families of fallen soldiers are dear to their heart. Certainly, they have done much for the Stokely family, including a scrap book of emails and letters and pictures from Mike's friends as well as strangers from around the world. They go as a family to put flowers on Mike's grave and this past summer, while the Loganville area suffered through a terrible drought, Kat lugged gallon jugs
of water to keep alive the new sod I planted on Mike's grave.

They make ends meet somehow, living in a small, cramped house trailer, which they rented for these past three years. They dreamed of getting a house - their first house. Room for the kids to stretch out, a bigger kitchen to bake cookies, and more room to collect, sort, and mail cards. A back yard for the two smaller ones, and a real neighborhood that the older ones could safely move about. But that takes money for a down payment and once in, the first year is a
juggle to meet payments, keep up maintenance, and buy the things you need for a bigger place.

Kat and Jeff heard about a TV show called HOMETEAM, hosted by Troy McClain of the Apprentice/Donald Trump reality show fame. This tv show is about finding a deserving individual or family and helping them get in their first home. The HOMETEAM buys the house, arranges an affordable mortgage, pays a 10% down payment and first year mortgage payment /taxes, completely furnishes the home with everything needed to move in and live. Here is the good part.

The HOMETEAM buys an existing house, takes the friends the listed on the application, and uses their labor, along with local contractors and suppliers to remodel the home inside and out. And yes, you guessed it - Kat and Jeff got selected, but they didn't know it till after all the work was done. A whole community and many in cyberspace kept the secret as the four day work project came together in a fury of activity. The HOMETEAM and friends do all of this
from Thursday to Sunday.

I got to be a part of this surprise for Jeff and Kat, working with HOMETEAM so many others to this home a reality for Kat and Jeff. There was hard work with many good friends, some I knew, and some I met for the first time. The good friends from Patriot Guard Riders (which Kat has also joined and supports) came to help, and were the bait to lure Kat and Jeff to the new home for the surprise today. Emails and calls from around the country asking for reports and helping
to keep the secret "secret".

Today/Sunday, at about 1:00 local, the happiest of shrieks and yells ever heard came to our ears as Kat, Jeff and the four kids drove up to the house being led by the Patriot Guard Riders (the ruse was the PG was filming a documentary, and Jeff and Kat even had a cameraman in their car). But, the ruse became a fantastic surprise as Jeff, Kat and the kids saw the HOMETEAM motor home and film crew there at this house and realized they had been selected to receive
this house.

No longer will this family of six live in cramped quarters. They now have a fully remodeled home and yard, newly furnished - the only thing "old" that they will have to bring is their tooth brush, clothing and personal effects. The HOMETEAM sponsor also gave them a check for $2,000 and their church The Orchard gave them a cash collection from that morning - $850 cash. Many others brought house warming gifts, and the Mayor and a city councilman who worked on the house gave them the key to the city. Kat also got two of her secret wishes granted - a flag pole and new computer. The Patriot Guard riders presented her with an
organization flag and it now proudly waves just under the red white and blue, lights shining at night.

Cameras rolling captured it all, and even the production crew and host were crying with joy. You want to see the goodness of America and community - watch the show the end of February (check the HOMETEAM web site for details when it will air in your local area).

As we all stood at the flagpole after the surprise was pulled off, Kat embraced me and through her tears, Jeff at our side, said "we can't possibly deserve this" to which I replied "you have done so much for so many, it is your turn to receive."

Tonight, as I look for the moon coming over the trees, I will think of my boy, Yusufiyah, and a closeness we had. Never will I forget his selfless sacrifice. I didn't have a choice in whether he lived that night, or died. But, I do get to make a choice at accepting the blessing of good things that God has brought out of his death, including the chance to get to know Kat and Jeff. These past few days, the blessing to me was giving back to someone else. Romans 8:28 blessing is what I call Kat and Jeff being in my life, and so many others, including many of you in cyberspace. I stopped on the way home and saw my boy, and told him his sacrifice has brought many unexpected blessing to our lives.

The Moon over Yusufiyah has connected again.

Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 8/16/05 near Yusufiyah
US Army E Troop 108 CAV 48th BDE GAARNG

Moon over Yusufiyah - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from April 2008 as a part of the Best of 2008 series.

Part I: Moon over Yusufiyah

For those of you who don't know where Yusufiyah is, it is a small town about 15 miles or so south of Baghdad and is one of the corners of the Triangle of Death.

As I look at the moon tonight, full and radiant, I am reminded once again just how connective the moon can be in our lives.

We all see the same sun, but you can't stare at it very long cause it will burn your eyes and you'll see funny shapes and colors. The stars move around in the sky and hard to see unless you are really out where it is dark. But, the moon - it is soothing and simple to follow, and it doesn't hurt your eyes, although it can do things to the heart.

I had not realized how connective the moon can be until my "boy" SGT Mike Stokely entered the combat zone in Iraq , somewhere around the 25th of May, 2005.

I happen to live out in the country and have a great big wrap around porch, rocking chair and all. In fact, it is the rocking chair Mike so often sat in coming and going to put on or take off his boots for GAARNG drill and shoes for other occasions.

As a worried dad with his oldest son, who was but 23, in a war zone, I often could not sleep and would go out on my porch and sit in that rocking chair and look to the east and try to imagine what Mike was doing. Many such nights, I would see the moon over the trees, and on those bright moonlight nights, it just seemed to be a light that connected me to him in Iraq . You see, Yusufiyah is almost on the same latitude plane as my home in Sharpsburg GA - maybe about a
difference of about 25 miles more south and due east, 8 hours away.

Such was the same on August 15, 2005 as I was restless and watched the moon rise in the sky, about 84% waxing full. But that night was more restless than usual and little did I sleep and again, my trip to the rocking chair, looking east.

Finally, way over in the early a.m. hours I finally wound up sleeping in Mike's bed in his room at our home. Little did I know that just 8 short hours before, Mike, while on dismounted patrol on a lonely road near Yusufiyah had seen that same moon - and then, in an instant it takes for an IED to explode, he was dead.

I had told Mike about gazing at the moon from the rocking chair, and I told him that when he saw the moon, to know that I would see it just 8 hours later and that I would be thinking of him.

Such it was in the early morning hours of August 16, 2005 I saw the same moon he saw, and I thought of him and I am glad I did and that we at least got to share one last moon together. Even now, 18 moons later, I still gaze at that moon and I think of my boy, near Yusufiyah.

I'll be posting again Sunday Night local Eastern Time - it is a story about something good that is happening Sunday in a family's life and it will thrill and warm your heart. I was honored to be a part of this happening and it was a result of Mike's death that resulted in my even being invited to be a part of this great moment for this family. See you later tonight - don't miss it.

Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 8/16/05 near Yusufiyah Iraq
US Army E Troop 108th CAV 48th BDE GAARNG

Turning Our Backs on the Gold Star Families. - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from May 2008 as a part of a Best Of 2008 series.

Turning Our Backs on the Gold Star Families.

Most of America just doesn’t get it. In point of fact, only a select few know what it’s really about.

To most of America, Memorial Day is the beginning of summer, the start of vacations and days at the pool, of sales and parties and friends all together to kick off the biggest party of the year…summer. A time when backyard parties occur for no reason other than everyone was available, the beer is cold and the sun still shines on warm summer evenings, but to some families Memorial Day still holds true to its original intent, a day set aside to honor their loved ones - who fell in combat.

Have we ever considered what a slap in the face it is on Memorial Day to the families of those whom gave the ultimate sacrifice? To see consumerism run amuck, sales and discounts and an extra 10% to active duty military when their loved one couldn’t take advantage of any discount even if they wanted to - because their loved one is dead. Yes dead, I said it, the word that scares so many people.

Dead.

“We regret to inform you that…” your son, or daughter, or husband or wife “was killed…” Have you heard those words spoke to you by the Casualty Assistance Officer when you answered your door and knew right away what the news would be? Have you America? Some of you have, in fact many of you have, as of May 22, 2008 - 4059 families have heard those words spoken to them since 2003 and yet most of America has no idea how we dishonor those who should be honored above all others. Memorial Day is not a day that should be devoted to sales and parties, eating BBQ and drinking beer. It is the one day we set aside to honor and remember the fallen. One day. Can’t we stop moving for one day and think what it is we are doing to the memory of our heroes?

Think about that for a minute corporate America and juxtapose that concept with your discounts and sales. There is no sale, no discount, and no honor you could bestow upon the families of the fallen that will in anyway make up for the price they have already paid. Can’t you take one day off to remember what it is they have paid for this country? Can’t you take one day out of the many to honor the fallen and their families instead of stabbing them in the gut by reminding them that the discount doesn’t apply to them because their service member is dead?

And what of the rest of America, why don’t we all get it? Are we so afraid of death that we try to make up for it by honoring the living?

While attending church on Sunday, I was struck by how out of place I felt. Not because I’m a heathen standing upon holy ground, but because on Memorial Day the pastor full of good intentions did exactly what so many in America do on Memorial Day, he recognized the living. When it came time to address Memorial Day he asked all active and former Military to stand, once we were all standing he asked that the congregation thank us for our service to our country, and while the applause subsided I thought, there are 4059 service members who should be the center of attention right now. We, the living have our day in November, Memorial Day is their day. Why is it so hard for America to speak of the dead and honor their service?

It is after all called Memorial Day for a reason.

They are dead, and we must honor them, not because they are dead, but because they lived, and served and protected all that we have. We must not let them be forgotten and we must not let them be replaced by a discount at the register.

A Proud But Broken Hearted Dad - Repost

This is a repost form September 2008 as a part of a Best of series.

A Proud But Broken Hearted Dad

What fear at times like these should our nation hold given the willing sacrifice of my son, SGT Mike Stokely and many others like him?

Wall Street may heave, it may even tumble. Some may lose their homes, and others their golden parachute, but the price of freedom is not devalued by the greed and failure of those who lead in politics or private business. Let us be careful, for while enemies like Al-Qaeda may seek from without to devour us, there are those of our own kind whose selfishness can lead to a similarly disastrous effect on our country.

In these coming days, when there are those who call-out to bail out Wall Street and others, who bails out the financial needs of soldiers who work for $63.00 and change in a war zone? When loved ones come home in a flag draped casket, their severance pay paltry compared to the golden parachutes that many corporate executives seek. Most recently the CEO of Washington Mutual, who after 17 days on the job walked away with $20,000,000.00 severance ($1.2 million per day, $50,000 per hour on a 24/7 time clock)?

And for those in the mortgage industry taking back the bad fruits of their ill given labor - billions in bad loans only an idiot would have made in the first place, consider this: Mike Stokely owned but one piece of Real Estate in his time, small as it is. For three years in a severe drought I have traveled 70 miles one way and fought to get grass to grow on his lawn in Georgia red clay. But, finally, a good stand these last few weeks, after hours of digging down two plus feet, taking out red clay and putting back rich organic soil with fresh cut sod on top and hauling water from a mile down the road to drench it, and keeping it drenched with a bucket brigade of friends.

DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY


Grave of SGT Mike Stokely, Corinth Christian Church Cemetery, Loganville GA KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq E 108 CAV 48th BCT GAARNG (Photo by author)

What you are willing to give, how much you get in return and what you are willing to worry about is relative.

Robert Stokely
proud, but broken hearted dad

Three Years On… - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from August 2008. It is being posted as a Best of 2008 series...


Three Years On:

Sergeant Michael Stokely KIA August 16, 2005 near Yusifiyah, Iraq

It seems so fitting that today, 3 years and 3 days after Mike’s passing that I posted the letter from Major General John Kelley about Sgt Michael Ferschke, a letter that could very well have been written about Sgt Michael Stokely of E Troop 108 CAV 48th BCT Georgia ARNG. A letter that could very well describe the dedication and devotion to Duty, Honor and Country that Sgt Stokely exhibited through out his entire life. A letter that despite the belief by many liberals that our soldiers are nothing more than automatons following orders proves that they are anything but, for their devotion is unmatched by any other but those that wear the uniform of the US Military.

I never met Sgt. Stokely, but have been introduced to him through conversations with his father Mr. Robert Stokely. After only one conversation with Mr. Stokely it’s obvious that Mike was one of those men that you should have known: a devoted son he helped his father canvas for votes in his first election for County Solicitor, a son who according to his doctors was not supposed to live, but who in the end lived a life so full and purposeful that he touched, in a positive way, the lives all those with whom he came in contact.

Son, a simple three letter word, but one that is so full of meaning, a word that explains the conundrum of Mike Stokely and so many of those who have died in war and peace - a word that by itself in one breath defines the link to the father and the path to the future. It’s not hard to imagine after spending a few hours with Mr. Stokely the kind of son that Mike was, and by extension the kind of man he had become. Mike Stokely was without a doubt a man sure of himself and his place in this world. He knew not what to expect when he agreed to become a Scout in the U.S. Army, but he accepted that challenge like he accepted the challenge placed upon him by God. He lived his life’s purpose.

Mike like those before him, and the thousands of those who will follow, chose to leave the comforts of home and hearth, the predictable daily life of a civilian and took up the path of a warrior in service to his country. A life fraught with danger but also immense satisfaction and camaraderie, a life that most American’s will thankfully never know because men like Mike, serve while many debate.

Service - that is the life Mike chose. Service to an ideal greater than any known to man for not only did Mike serve his country, he served his God. He accepted his purpose in life and lived it without question and in doing so he gave his only life in service to his God so that his brothers might live.

Sgt Mike Stokely died 3 years and 3 days ago in a place called Yusifiyah, Iraq but the memory of Sgt. Mike Stokely will never die for it lives on in all of us that continue his work, spread his message and live our life’s purpose. I can only hope that one day I grow up to be the man he expects me to be.


Others honoring Sgt Mike Stokely
Keep My Soldier Safe
Some Soldier's Mom


Sgt. Mike Stokely died Aug. 16, 2005, in Iraq. He was one of those extraordinary young men who have a tremendous impact on so many people even though his time among us was cut short. To honor his memory, Stokely's family has organized the Mike Stokely Foundation for the purpose of helping children and others who might not otherwise be able to afford it gain access to good books and the skills needed to read them for pleasure and learning. "Mike loved to read, from the time he was a small child till the day he died in Iraq. In fact, during the last call his Dad received on Aug. 8, 2005, he talked in glowing terms about how much he appreciated reading material sent to him."

In March of 2008 the Mike Stokely Foundation delivered nearly 1,000 pounds of school supplies via parcel post to Capt. Starz of 101st Airborne Division for distribution to schools in Yusifiyah. When the locals learned that the parcels had come form the family of a US Soldier killed there they wanted a picture of Sgt Stokely so they could use it as an example of forgiveness and understanding. Just another example how the life of Sgt Stokely, even in death, touched the lives of others, is it any wonder that his family totaly believes in Romans 8:28 - “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God.”

I urge you to help honor the memory of one of America's fallen, by supporting The Mike Stokely Foundation. Your donation can be mailed to:
The Mike Stokely Foundation
P. O. Box 833
Sharpsburg GA 30277.

The telephone is 678-416-1387

SOME GAVE ALL - Repost

This is a repost of a blog post from August 2008. It is being posted here as a part of The Best Of - 2008.

Some Gave All:

NOTR of the blog ROFASix reminds us to Never Forget that Some Gave All and posts a picture of a grieving fiancé Mary McHugh lying on her stomach in front of the grave of her late fiancé, James Regan, who was killed in Iraq this February by a roadside bomb. The photo taken by Getty Images photographer John Moore has sparked quite a controversy, some called it an intrusion into a private matter others claimed it was a bitter reminder of the sacrifice some families give during war.

Before I post the picture I want to tell you a little more about Sergeant James Regan.

Sergeant James J. Regan, 26, of Manhasset, New York, died February 9, 2007, in northern Iraq of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while on combat patrol. Regan was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia.

(Courtesy of the New York Daily News via Arlington National Cemetery Website) http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jjregan.htm
In August 2003, Jimmy Regan was coaching at a lacrosse camp, on his way to law school after giving up his lucrative first job on Wall Street. Then he surprised people by enlisting in the Army.

His friends assumed he would apply for officer training school, but Regan told his friends, ''You know, with my economics degree from Duke, they won't let me be in the Rangers.''

He went exactly where he wanted to go, first through the rigorous training of a Ranger, then to the dangers of Afghanistan -- twice -- and Iraq -- twice. Yesterday, Jimmy Regan, who was killed February 9, 2007, at 26 by a bomb in Iraq, was honored by family, friends and teammates as the ultimate team man.

He had all the perks of a star athlete from the North Shore suburbs who did not have to go anywhere near the military. But something called him into the Ranger uniform, after wearing lacrosse and football uniforms at Chaminade High and a lacrosse uniform at Duke University.
''It was sort of a surprise to all of us,'' said Cassese, who flew up from Durham to attend the wake Thursday. ''He sent us an e-mail, saying: 'This is what I have to do. Hopefully everybody will support me.' We're still thinking about what pushes a man or a woman to this higher calling.'' Regan was mourned on a day the House of Representatives voted, 246-182, to denounce the government's plan to send more American troops to Iraq. His father, James P. Regan, has been quoted as saying that criticism of the Iraq war undermines the troops over there, but yesterday at the funeral, he discussed his ''initial misgivings'' about his son's choice.

''The ultimate sacrifice flashed through our minds,'' he said with his wife, Mary R. Regan, sitting in the front row. ''His mother has had part of her heart ripped out.'' James Regan said he would have to live without ''my best friend,'' but he praised ''Jimmy, the team player'' and called his son ''a warrior.''

Regan's sisters, Maribeth, Colleen and Michaela, and his fiancée, Mary McHugh, listened to these tributes. Dan Chemotti described the look of sheer hatred between him and Jimmy before the opening face-off in a high school game. Later, they were teammates at Duke, where Regan turned their apartment into what Chemotti could only liken to a primitive Ranger obstacle course -- broken glass and all.

Rob Hotarek, Regan's best friend since grade school, and Richard Crawford, a friend in the Rangers, spoke of a young man who could be a cut-up and a late riser, but who also contained a faith and a purpose.

''He wanted to serve his country rather than himself,'' said the Rev. James C. Williams, the president of Chaminade, who taught Regan in high school.

The crowd in Manhasset made it clear that Jimmy Regan was part of a large and loyal team.
Moore says of the photo “After so much time covering these wars, I have some difficult memories and have seen some of the worst a person can see -- so much hatred and rage, so much despair and sadness. All that destruction, so much killing. And now, one beautiful and terribly sad spring afternoon amongst the rows and rows of marble stones -- a young woman's lost love. I felt I owed the Arlington National Cemetery a little time -- and I think I still do.
Maybe we all do."

And now the photo:


Getty Images photographer John Moore