Let’s Bushwhack A Veteran, by Mike Gold – Brainiac On Banjo #212

March 7, 2011 Mike Gold 0 Comments

I’ll warn you upfront. This one does not have a happy ending.

The last Civil War veteran died when I was five years old. That confused me as the Civil War had preceded my birth by nearly 90 years. My father helped me with the math and I better understood that Union soldier Albert Woolson had died at the age of 109.

I’m reminded of this because the final surviving American World War I veteran died last week. Marine Frank Buckles lived one year longer than Mr. Woolson. I’m still amazed. World War I ended 91 years ago.

As a civilian well after the Armistice, Buckles found himself on business in the Philippines in 1941. He was captured by the Japanese and spent more than three years in prison camps. He was a Prisoner of War in a war in which he was not a combatant, but he was another American veteran who was held in captivity.

Buckles came a political activist in 2008 when he was merely 107 years old. He dedicated his final years to gaining greater recognition of his long-gone brothers-in-arms. Think about that for a second. We still do not have a national monument honoring those who fought in the “war to end all wars,” as it was called until the bloody sequel came along.

Frank Buckles is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This required an executive order from President George W. Bush; Buckles didn’t quite meet the criteria necessary for burial at Arlington. At least his service as an ununiformed POW was recognized. That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news: Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin wanted to honor Buckles by allowing his remains to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. That would be a great recognition to all Americans who served in the Great War, to all Americans who served in any war, and, by the way, to all Americas.

This patriotic act was brought to a stop by Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Boehner, who is quick to shed a tear for those causes that are embraced by the Hard Right and inure to the benefit of his political career, has no such emotion for American war veterans. The most he would do was express an intent to ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to allow the to use the amphitheater at Arlington cemetery for his memorial service. Maybe he’ll reconsider – if he hasn’t, then this anti-American son-of-a-bitch should be sent to Afghanistan.

In case you’re interested, Speaker Boehner’s office phone number is (202) 225-6205. Give ‘em a call. Tell ‘em what you think. Ask ‘em if Boehner hates all those who have served their country or if he simply has a thing against super-centenarian Marines who served our country in one world war and served as a POW in the next.

In dying, at least Frank Buckles accomplished his life’s goal: his grave will serve as the temporary memorial to those who risked their lives in one of the most horrific events in our nation’s history.

My hat’s off to you, Frank. Let’s help him out: check out www.wwimemorial.org.

Media metaphysician and www.ComicMix.com editor-in-chief Mike Gold performs the weekly two-hour Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind ass-kicking bizarro music and blather radio show on America’s pop culture channel The Point, www.getthepointradio.com, every Sunday at 7:00 PM Eastern, replayed three times during the week (check the website above for times). Likewise, his Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mind political and cultural rants are broadcast many times every day at the same venue.