Author: macattack56

Age 69 Navy Veteran- 16 years military, three branches Writing is my thing! Do Poems and stories and Blogs Also use social networks and chat sites MyYearBook-Domct2002 Twitter-@BillMcCurrach

National Guard Heros


To Serve and protect the military motto of the United States American Armed Services, will forever be a part of American History and the History of many who choose to serve. This is a life many choose to live, to protect the rights we were given under our constitution and democracy in the world. Freedom is what keeps us going and the military is the way we ensure it. Those of us who have served, do not do it for our own personal welfare or wants, we do it to protect the rights and privileges and the families we left behind so they can grow up peacefully and safe. We do what we do in the military to protect home and family.

I served in three different branches of the United States Military, I started in The U.S. Army, but did not like it, nor did I last in it, I ended up leaving it due to immaturity. Then, went on, to join, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and then finally serving in The United States Navy for 12 more years. So Military life, was and is ingrained in me as a Disable American Veteran.

Naval stories I tell all, the time and people laugh at the ones I tell. I have been told some are good enough for publishing.  SO I thought I would attempt to tell a story from my time in the Army and Army National Guard. My first job in the Army was as a M-88 tank retriever driver. I hated it, sloshing through mud to tow out broken tanks. My second military experience was in the Connecticut Army National Guard and I became a Machine Gunner Scout then. I learned many tricks in warfare and field experiences from some of the best in the business in my mind, who, were actual Vietnam Veterans. These men were the best America had in my book and helped me mature and grow as a man I served proudly with them in the Guard and would do so again if I could, for they represent the best there ever was.

But like many Veterans, these proud men, suffered from the same thing I now suffer from PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Nightmares, flash backs, inability to sleep and certain circumstances that will make grown men not be able to sleep normally. And yes, I say men, but as we all know, the fact is women are included all so, so I shall say my fellow military Veterans of all sexes and ages and races. Sadly, war, and military life can affect all of us and in the end it also proves we are all equals no matter what gender, race, nationality or any other damn thing.

The National Guard Unit I served in is a small one in a small Connecticut town. We were called weekend warriors, playing war games in case we were ever attacked on the home front. But each, drill meeting or two-week camp, each year brought all in the unit closer together and we depended on the senior members to lead and teach us. Among these men, were two, who to this day stand out in my mind and will forever more.  Armand and Louie I call them, they were two Sergeants who served in Nam, and knew the ways of war, and suffered for it in many ways.

Once a month we would meet at the Armory and drill and take apart and clean our weapons, and clean jeeps and equipment. Listen to lectures and lessons in war and learn tactics we would need if anything occurred. A typical weekend drill would start on a Friday night for many of us, we would meet at the Amory, and hang out together even sleeping there.  Fridays were for the men of the company to get together and have fun, card games and drinking than war games on the weekend. It was fun indeed at times and at other times very serious indeed.

For Armand and Louie, the drills were serious things and put them back into war mode when the real war games began. I remember starting one such weekend on a Friday evening and learning more than I needed to know about these two men who served so proudly and took the time to teach us younger solders things that would save our asses later. It began on a Friday at the Armory with beer, and drinks and cards. As I said we all stayed there together and had fun.

We gathered and ordered in pizza for the evening, laid out our equipment for the next day, and settled in playing poker. As the evening wore on, I lost money and they laughed about it and I didn’t care I was with real men who had served and I learned from them even at cards But I learned even more about these men by the things they mentioned about being in Nam and the nightmares they talked about at the time. At first I didn’t believe them and thought they were messing with my mind till that Friday night.

As the night wore on, we slowly got drunk and the card game ended. We all decided morning would come soon enough for us, and we cleaned up all the garbage and headed for the old sleeping bags and rest. We all slept in the same locker room and it was a team thing.

As we settled in to sleep I remember seeing Louie in his special hat. It was unusual and different than all the ball caps we wore, I only saw it in shows on  tv,  in movies and that was it, it was a camouflage hat with a wide brim. Louie loved that hat and even slept in it and I wondered why. I found out that night.

We all fell asleep around 11 pm, drunk and out of it. But, we didn’t sleep long. Around 2 am it began, first with shouts of Run, Down, Hurry!. I woke in a flash when I heard it coming from Louie that night, but I didn’t move,.Louie, was asleep, his hands grasping his hat down over his head laying there, his legs moving like he was running in place. The sweat was running off his forehead, and the lights were on.  I didn’t know what to do, he got louder and louder and moved more and more. It had woken me but it also woke Armand, his friend. Armand waited a bit longer laying there like me in silence watching Louie. He told me don’t do anything, don’t get close and whatever you do don’t try to wake him. So, I watched Louie run  and then finally wake up in a cold sweat, trembling and soaked in sweat. His eyes popped open wide and he jumped straight up out of the sleeping bag ready to kill someone!. I was scared and shocked, but he opened his eyes and I could see it dawn on him slowly as to where he was. He finally relaxed and started to calm down. When he was normal I asked if he was ok, he said yeah, happens all the time and climbed back in his sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. I looked at Armand who, gave me a grin and said I will tell you later sometime.

That weekend we went North to New York for training in the field, as we drove up, we managed to take a side trip at Armond’s suggestion. The neighborhood package store, we took an army trailer pulled by a jeep, loaded it with ice and beer. We had to have something to drink after war games. We set the tents up and lit fires that night and gathered round before sleeping. Drinking the beer and booze we each bought, relaxed us to sleep after training all day. And I was about to get Louie’s full story that night.

Turns out like this, in 1968 in Vietnam, Louie was  in his base with  his unit. All was quiet and fine in the field that nite according to Louie and no one knew what was coming. So, they set out the guards for the night, and all went to sleep. Louie was in his sleeping bag in his tent when it all occurred. He never knew it at all. Till he awoke and came out of his tent he had no idea.

At dawn the next morning Louie awoke and climbed out of his sleeping bag all dressed and grabbed his rifle to head out. When he came out the tent flap, it hit him, he was alone it was dead silence. Scanning around there were bodies everywhere, his whole unit was dead!  Louie had slept thru a slaughter of his whole unit and he was the last survivor!. Sadly, the unit was wiped out, while Louie slept and for some reason they missed him!. Louie survived yes, but would never be the same.

In the end, this is why Louie could not sleep in the dark at any time. He had to have light at all times when he slept or he would awake thinking he was under attack. Armand had known the story far before me, because they were both Vietnam Veterans, Armand told me now that Louie told me his story, he  now trusted me and all would be fine, next time. I learned then as I know now, military life can get you in the end and affect you forever.

Peyton should Retire!


Sport Stars, for some reason believe they are immune to injuries or immune to repeated injuries and being paralyzed. As many of us know, some players in the NFL and NBA as well as MLB and more, keep playing even after they get injured and think it is the right thing to do, in some cases it may be so, but in others I would say no. I bring this topic up because one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history Peyton Manning, wants to replay pro Football.

        Peyton Manning’s, records, his numbers, his quiet style and manners, were vital to Pro Football and the Colts, yet, he should realize one good shot to his neck or back and he is done for good maybe in a wheel chair for life or worse. Is that worth a few more dollars or a few more numbers added to his already great records? Will this get Peyton into the Hall of Fame?

      Sadly, even though Peyton owns many of the leagues passing records and has won a Super Bowl, he still wishes to take a chance with his health and play, and wants to renegotiate his contract. Peyton you should realize this is not sand lot football, but the Pros of the NFL, the passion of the players for the game is what runs it. No defensive end or lineman on any other team is going to stop his rush and not hit you if they can. And since you will be limited to look around by the neck injuries, you won’t see it coming one day and it will put you in a wheelchair or worse for life. Why Play, why take chances with your life and health, for money, for fame, for what?

         The Manning Family has produced three quarterbacks in the NFL in Archie, Peyton and Eli.  All had abilities to throw a football where it belongs on time and make the teams they played for more down field. Now I suggest Archie Manning, his second son in the league Eli, sit down and have a serious conversation with Peyton on his future in the league and suggest he retire now, before he retires in a wheelchair or on a backboard for good.

         Peyton you don’t owe the Colts nothing, the league nothing, or anyone to do with football nothing. You don’t owe us fans anything either, you performed for years well and won a Super Bowl. Stop while you can still walk, talk, and be normal. The Passion of football players which I am sure is in your heart drives players to play when they shouldn’t ever again, stop for your sake, your families sake and the fans sakes too. We have no need to see you carted off on a stretcher, unable to walk again or see again, or anything else.

        As a fan of the NFL, I think the League and the commissioner should look into Peyton Manning’s health and conditions and determine for him if he can or can not play, or if they think they want to allow him to play in the league under his current health conditions. Sometime The Commish needs to take matters into his own hands and stop players from doing silly, stupid or prideful things that will hurt themselves, the teams or the League in general. I think this is such a case. Goodall needs to look very closely into the leagues position legally if he allows Peyton Manning on a NFL field again as one of its players, the liability will be extreme for the league. Good Luck is all I can say if the League allows Peyton Manning to play again, just to make money and fame is not worth a man’s ability to live and walk. Peyton Manning should retire and go home, with his father and wife and mother and go into announcing games or something else. Don’t take the chance Peyton, you will be sorry if one bad hit happens in one game. No line can protect you all the time. Protect yourself!.

       

Religion/Teachers- Faults, Problems


Religion/Teachers- Faults, Problems.

Religion/Teachers- Faults, Problems


      The peaceful existence in America is the one thing that draws millions per year to our country, as well as the financial freedom to do as you please as long as you work for what you get, legally. The AMerican Dream has always been freedom from persecution for religious beliefs and the right to live as you please. Yet, and I must say this here, Religion and it’s cast of people cause many problems also. Priests, as peddifilers, now teachers doing the same, what is happening to the social and moral ethics of the American Society?

       As a child I went to church because we were forced to by our parents. Especially our mother in my case who was a catholic as a child herself. Yes I would attend church every sunday and I went to Sunday School, and made both my Communion and my Conformation. Then, one day, my step-father sat us down and told us, it was our choice to attend church or not, of course we decided not to anymore and I believe for me it was the right choice.

        Religion is a choice of each individual out there, whether you choose to attend church is another choice also. The Bible itself and as I learned in Sunday School and Church as a kid, God hears and sees everything, so why do I need to go to a building and pray day by day, or week, by week? I don’t, when I can pray from wherever I am and he shall hear me still. Religion has for centuries now been a dominant factor in life on the planet earth for humanity. We all need to believe in some supreme being who could have created all that is here, don’t we?

       Yet, if God was running our churches and it’s people, would he allow Priest to be peddlefilers? Would he allow them to harass and touch children so young they know not who to cry out to at times? Would he make these same children who were molested and harassed by these priests keep quiet for years or even decades? I doubt this one that’s for sure.

       While the church itself is an organization for promoting Religion in all it’s forms and values, we all must remember it is run by people and people themselves are flawed. Humanity is made with sexual urges, and in fact the church is filled with men and women who have them. But there is no excuse at all in the world, in life, or in reality, for an adult touching a child in a sexual way period. Whats sad is too many religious figures have done so and still very few are exposed by their victims and they need exposed to be removed from the position of trust they are bestowed with, by Churches.

       Now it has spread to our schools and children are being pursued, and molested by teachers in classrooms. Teachers who we trust to protect and teach our children, are touching them and using them for sexual playthings, and getting caught now. Again, we need to change the system and check more closely the profiles and examine our teachers with testing and more to make sure, it doesn’t happen. Teaching is a special skill and a special thing we allow school systems to do to teach our children, we can’t allow the bad ones to ruin children as they teach.

        I tire of hearing how, these individuals in our systems of trusted positions in regards to our children, break the laws, morals and ethics not only of our nation, but of humanity and step across lines they have no business going. America and it’s people, must stand up to these sexual predators in the church and schools and else- where too, we must create better human resource developement laws and hiring laws to screen these all out much better. In the End it is the children of the world we need to protect most of all, they are indeed our future!.

 

Legends Do Die!


      Among Music Legends in time, we have many including, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams. Johnny Cash. and many more, now among them is Whitney Houston. If Heaven has a choir, it is indeed one heck of a great one isn’t it? Such stars have gone to Heaven early in their lives and some even late. Many unexpected when they left, and few lived long enough to enjoy the fame they got as entertainers. Stop and think back on those that the Music World and the World in general lost and you will see what I mean.

      Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Karen Carpenter, and many more. Some of my favorites are up there too, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Seals and Crofts, Jim Reeves just to name a few. Amazingly, the halls of Heaven has a heck of a female group up there, Patsy Cline, Whitney Houston and more, imagine if you can reaching the golden gates of heaven and listening to so many voices, raised in joyful harmony, and knowing you have reached peace.

       It is always sad to see anyone die, and pass from this plane of existence, and return to from whence we all came. In the end, the music these greats shared with us all, lives on the planet decades and centuries after they are gone. They did what they were put here to do, they reached the hearts and minds of people world-wide, and brought what joy and happiness they could.

         Is it fair that they go younger than most or that they go from different ways? Why must some die of overdosing, heart attacks, suicide? But, no one can answer these questions, nor will we ever do so, for if we had the answers, surely we would try to prevent it all from happening.

       We can’t prevent death, we can hardly deal with it when it hits us, from someone we knew or close to us or famous dies. We can’t prevent it for them, nor can we prevent it ultimately for us too. The stars line the heavens and it’s gates and fences, and if you listen carefully when you lay in bed half asleep, or daydream, you will hear the voices singing the praises of heaven and the gods.

          So as the World and Whitney Houston’s family and friends, prepare to lay her to rest, lets give them a moment of peace and silence to remember her in their own way and be respectful to it all. You can say your good-byes to Whitney by singing her songs, dancing to them, remembering her smile and laughter and more. In this world we live in, few give as much as our entertainers, singers and actors, and in the end, they get remembered for the giving they did, not for the circumstances of their deaths. Honor their legacies, their songs, the imagines of them happy and singing loudly!

       For in the end, we have Legends who die daily.and history books are written about their deeds and acts and voices and more, for we as humans always admire, and love those who give so much to entertain us all!.

 

         

Some Short Thoughts


      Most of the time I get responses to my blogs that go like this: Why did you write such a thing? Is this for real?. And at other times I ge,t great article nicely written and it opened my eyes. Either way, it makes me question why I write a blog almost everyday myself, and my response is simple, maybe what I know, or see, or hear, and ultimately write about, will be interesting to others out in the great big world.

        Unlike many other bloggers who write to impress, get attention, and be known I write for my own personal pleasure of sometimes just getting issues off my chest, that may be bugging me. I know it is not the way blogging is supposed to go, its supposed to be for personal issues, or news reports, or important issues everyone wants to read about. I can’t guarantee that each day nor do I intend to.

       I write on issues that disturb me at times, or those that make me cry, or laugh, or make me think what the hell is wrong with the world. I have taken on many issues and responded to many things in the world, from wars, to violence, to medical and government issues and investigations too. I have faced issues of Attention Deficit Disorder, Hyper-Activity, and the combination of both. I have faced depression, Post Tramatic Stress Disorder and yes even Cancer and written about it all. I went into politics and Republicans making asses out of themselves, Democrats not reacting properly or at all and more. Issues are so easy to find if you watch the news, the world and the way life goes. I wrote and write poetry, short stories, historical events, of deaths and conspiracies and lots more. I try to honor those who die unexpected and honor those who accomplish great things.

        I have debated the debates of those running for President many times over, The Republicans who want the office yet refuse to compromise currently. I have one more thing to say to the four remaining Republicans that may or may not make sense to many. Wake up, you can’t win the White House by destroying each other, pulling each other down and exposing each others weaknesses to the world and your upcoming opponents. What makes you really think the right way to get your Parties Nomination to run for the Presidency, is by stomping, poking and exposing each others weak spots? Dumb, Dumb,Dumb!.

        As February 2012 slowly slips by, and we face a March with winds that blow and a politic big date for the Republicans, we need to stop and think, especially if you are a Republican Candidate, do we still want to keep running against one another and kill each others reputations and honor and dump on each others positions? The more you do it, the more ammunition you hand to  your opponents and to the American People, so they won’t vote for you!.

        Anyway, as you can tell by this little blog in the middle of millions, or possibly billions on the Internet, I get upset by people acting silly, stupid or selfish too In the end blogging works for me to get ideas, thoughts feelings, and more out about issues that affect me, whether in the newspapers, or online or radio or even Television. Each broadcast, article, report or story brings to mind, different thoughts, different feelings and in the end different responses, and that is important to let out.

       I have seen Presidents die,Singers, Songwriters, Writers, inventors, Politicians and more in my 56 years on this planet. Sadly, we can’t bring back the good ones to help us through life, nor can we wish away the world’s hurt, its pain or it’s poverty and wars. What we can do is openly discuss them and look for solutions that may save the World, Lives and keep humanity going.