Recently, I was talking with a family member about Memorial Day. Himself a fellow Veteran of service in the 75th Ranger Regiment, he was thinking of his Brothers, who were killed in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With that on his mind, he posed this question: “Why does this weekend come every year? As
I confess, without shame, that I just spent the last two weeks on the island of Oahu. Plenty of sunshine and warm temps were a welcome break from the cold temps and knee-deep snow of northwestern Montana. While there, I was fortunate to spend much of the time playing golf poorly on some of Hawaii’s
Every November and December, it is that time of the year again! Time for family, friends, parties, and of course, holiday wishes! I do hope everyone remembered Veterans Day and enjoyed a very Happy Thanksgiving. For we always have something to be grateful and thankful for. Holiday season is one of the most magical times of
In the quiet wake of the still reflection often offered by and associated with a period of Thanksgiving comes the commercialized, consumer-fed frenzy of Black Friday. To me, these stand in sharp contrast to one another, producing a certain persistent tension as I look, with eager anticipation, toward the Christmas season with its overarching message
I have been thinking for several days about what I might write for Thanksgiving Day. The more I reflected about all for which I am thankful, the more overwhelmed I became. Honestly, most of my reflective thought was not about “stuff.” I confess that the material goodness that accompanies my days on the earth do,
On 23 May 2003, I was a newly-promoted Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army, and I was serving as the Deputy Division Chaplain, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, NC. The Division Chaplain was in Afghanistan, and I had the responsibility for ensuring the delivery of pastoral care to the portion of the Division still
As we look ahead…in our midst is Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day. I, and many others, would say, “Every day is Veterans Day”…and each day we can find many things to be thankful for! “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” Veterans Day is
There he was in the Ranger Gym at Hunter Army Airfield, struggling to lift a weight that clearly exceeded his current ability. (Alumni of the 1st Ranger Battalion from the early 1990s will remember our Ranger Gym, located across the street from the “Leg” gym. It was small, cramped, and ill-ventilated – a “sweatbox” –
The best decision I ever made was to enlist in the U.S. Army at the tender age of 20 and then quickly realized that I wanted to do more than just be an Infantryman. I pushed myself to become a Paratrooper (Airborne), which served as the stepping stone I needed to volunteer as an Army
