Sunday, April 26, 2009

April Book of the Month

T. R. The Last Romantic

(Theodore Roosevelt)

by

H. W. Brands

Basic Books, 1997 New York, NY


A good reason to read Brands’ biography of our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, is that he lived a highly unusual personal and political life as a moral absolutist. Throughout and until the day he died, T.R. had little difficulty distinguishing ‘right from wrong’. He knew the Devil when confronted with conflicting situations that called for a moral answer. His decisions about his personal life and his political life were abundantly clear to all. Simply put, honest and brave men agreed with him; cowardly and corrupt men disagreed. What could be more straightforward?

Through his use of executive power, his enormous energy, and his magnetic personality T.R. became one of our most beloved public figures. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to be generous in evaluating the historical outcome of Roosevelt’s use of executive mandates in acting for “the public welfare.” He, almost alone, ushered in America’s Progressive Era that first culminated with The New Deal, was partially buried during the last 25 years by free markets, and has now been resurrected.

Reading Brands’ T.R.: The Last Romantic would help one assess the political impact of yesterday’s moral absolutist from the impact of today’s moral relativist. Embarking upon a process to determine personal decisions regarding which view is more beneficial to the well being of the country and its citizens one needs to be aware that it may take more analysis of the interrelated dynamics than first thought. As our history has taught us, democracy is fraught with devilish choices that do not always lend themselves to dogma.

In his early adult life Roosevelt suffered simultaneous personal tragedies on February 14, 1884 when his mother and wife both died in the same house. His wife died from complications of childbirth and his mother from typhoid. They were buried together February 16th. He concluded at the death of his wife: “That for joy or for sorrow my life has now been lived out.” Little was the world to suspect his future.

The surviving baby, Alice, was all but abandoned by Roosevelt and was placed in the care of his sister. He never warmed to her the way he did to the other children from a future marriage.

President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt in 1908

Brands aptly describes Roosevelt’s feelings about American honor and the necessity of the warrior code. A rich nation that is slothful, timid, or unwieldy is an easy prey for those who retain soldierly virtues. Roosevelt felt that nothing could compensate for a lack of national or personal courage. “ Cowardice in a race, as in an individual, is the unpardonable sin.” Those feelings were largely driven by the heroic exploits of his Bulloch uncles during the Civil War, his experiences with the code of the wild U. S. West, and the blemish he felt about his family honor as his father had paid to be relieved of Civil War military duty.

Roosevelt’s motto was “…better to err on the side of over readiness than on the side of tame submission….” A lesson for the ages as he opined that no matter how skilled in commerce and finance, in science or art, a country can quickly lose its right to stand as the equal of the best. This became part of his absolutist vision concerning the role of America in world affairs. Roosevelt’s use of bellicose language in defending American Exceptionalism is largely unknown in today’s national political rhetoric. But, we can be certain that T.R. would not approve of and would soundly denounce as detestable the pusillanimous language now used in defining our international role. He never waived in his sturdy defense of America.

At one time every American schoolboy was familiar with the daring story of Roosevelt leading the charge up Cuba’s San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War of 1898. However, few realize that the bitterest fighting was at Kettle Hill where Roosevelt led the charge of his Rough Riders shaming the regulars into joining him. Roosevelt was described as the most conspicuous figure in the charge, mounted high on horseback, charging the rifle pits at a gallop, a blue polka-dot handkerchief on his sombrero, so quite alone and brave that “you would like to cheer”.

For these heroic exploits Roosevelt now felt that he had done something that would leave a name to the children, which they could be “rightly proud”. T.R. was thus nominated for a Medal of Honor that was finally awarded to him posthumously in 2001. Following in the family military tradition it should be noted that one of his sons was killed in WWI as a highly decorated fighter pilot and another was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on the Normandy beaches during the invasion of June 6, 1944. The combination of an American President and son both receiving the highest of all military awards for heroism is historic in the annals of U.S. history. Roosevelt was also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and that is seemingly incongruent with his penchant to threaten the use of military force as national policy.

Brands vividly describes one of America’s national tragedies and the events leading to the responsibilities of the Presidency falling upon Vice President Roosevelt on September 14, 1901 at the death of McKinley by the hand of an anarchist. The assassination was seen as a blow at America’s essence. Noted Roosevelt, “It was in the most naked way an assault not on power, not on wealth, but simply and solely upon free government, government by the common people.” The first War hero since Grant was now President of the United States. This Rough Rider had now ridden to the zenith of the highest possible political hill in America.

Roosevelt became President as America was becoming increasingly industrialized. Industrialization was creating a life hitherto unknown as people exited agriculture for the factories and urban areas. Huge corporations were being formed that had monopolistic powers corrupting the political process and T.R. became known as a trustbuster. In his defense, he never felt that American business was evil but that Corporations in conjunction with politicians were a corrupting influence upon the welfare of the people. Many of today’s political class have quite a different attitude by painting business as evil in its own right.

In understanding where in the American political tradition the idea of unlimited, redistributive notions as fairness were created one needs to look no further than Roosevelt as the original big government liberal. In 1910, T.R. proffered a general right of the community to regulate the earning of income and use of private property to whatever degree the public welfare may require it. In other words, redistribution of an individual’s wealth by the government at its finest.

All who believe in this sort of redistributive governance know the Constitution is their enemy in implementation as it bypasses the preference aspect that established the protection of equal natural rights as the permanent task of the government. The national government, in T.R.’s view, was not one of enumerated powers but of general powers, and the purpose of the Constitution was merely to state the narrow exceptions to that rule. Progressives reject the assumption that the power of the people is the general rule and that the power of the government is the exception.

Historians point to the demise and rejection of this most basic, historic understanding of our Founding Fathers originally outlined by Hamilton in the Federalist Papers as the time that government quit talking about the Constitution as our country’s guiding general principle. Progressivism, then and today, is a sophistic argument that erodes respect for individual personal and economic freedoms that are our bedrock beliefs and subordinates them to the demands of the State. I, for one, believe Roosevelt’s national development of Progressivism has tainted his legacy.

Sadly, during the 20th Century, members of both political parties and much of the judiciary have embraced this departure from original intent largely as a method to secure votes. Progressive rhetoric has consistently misled voters into thinking that their elected officials are working for the public’s behalf when they are actually increasing their own personal and party power. It is Hamilton’s worse nightmare becoming ours as well!

In spite of the unpleasant results of Roosevelt’s policies by those acolytes who overstepped as the century progressed, he remains as one of our Presidents most beloved, most determined, and most creative. His intellectual curiosity coupled with a robust physical nature led the United States onto the world stage. Brands outlines in T.R.: The last Romantic all of the notable aspects of Roosevelt’s life and Presidency in a fashion that brings pride to the reader, to the author, and to the man. Undoubtedly, T.R. is, in life as well as death, an American icon.

I believe that C-133 crewmembers will enjoy Brands history of this era as we lived so much of it and it speaks directly to our military mission of providing a safe, free, and democratic homeland.

Reviewed by:
Richard Spencer

39th ATS, DAFB
1962-1965

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Connection with Washington (the state)

A blogger who journals "Aircraft Losses in Washington State and Military and Aviation Related Topics" recently discovered our blog and connected with Cal Taylor. He had a couple of posts of common interest with 133 Crews.

One was on March 29, 2009: http://washingtonwreckchasing.blogspot.com/search/label/C-133 where he talked about discovering our CargomasterRaster blog, and the Last Flight of 61999 which stopped-over at McChord AFB.

An earlier post was on May 21, 2008, which focused on Exercise Coulee Crest.....remember that one? http://washingtonwreckchasing.blogspot.com/2008/05/exercise-coulee-crest.html .

Cal & I have both entered Comments on both these posts. The author is looking for anybody who remembers, and has records of 133s participating in Coulee Crest. Please let him, and us know.

UPDATE #1 - 04/24/09:

Dick,
Between 19 April and 1 May 1963, Dover launched 14 C-133 and 19 C-124 sorties in Coulee Crest. Troops were on-loaded from bases in the central and eastern US and airlifted to Yakima. Then on 2 May, Dover reinforced CC with 9 C-124s and 7 C-133 aircraft. The redeployment took place between 16 & 25 May. Dover's crews logged a total of 4,180 flying hours during all phases of the operation. Sorry to say that some idiot, way back when, destroyed the documents that may have given information on the aircraft squadron assignments.

Harry E. Heist II
Archivist/Editor Hangar Digest
Air Mobility Command Museum
1301 Heritage Road
Dover AFB DE 19902-5301
(302) 677-5997 DSN:445
www.amcmuseum.org

UPDATE #2 - 04/24/09:

Dick: 18 through 25 May '63, I flew a "Coulee Crest" mission with A/C Capt. Robert O. Lane, a farm boy from MO who drank Dixie Belle sour mash. The mission was from Dover to Larson (AFB?) (I believe Larson was in Moses Lake WA.) to Westover, MA. , then three more trips to Larson from Westover, then to James Connally, to Charleston and back to Dover. Total flying time; 56 hours , 40 minutes. No idea what we hauled ... wish I'd kept a diary! Q (Dick Quimby)

Monday, April 20, 2009

VeteransAid.org

Here's potentially valuable information from Rick Spencer. Check out the website link below:

"I have run across a little-known benefit that can be of great assistance to wartime veterans and their wives or widows in paying for assisted living and nursing home expenses. The Special Pension for Veterans' Aid and Attendance pays up to $1,644 a month, $19,736 annually, toward assisted living, nursing homes or in-home care for veterans 65 and older who served at least 90 days plus one day during wartime - stateside or overseas. Veterans and their spouses can receive up to $23,396 annually and spouses of deceased veterans, $12,681. This benefit was established in 1952 and is fully funded by the Federal Government. An estimated $22 million a year goes unclaimed. Don Soard, a volunteer with Operation Veterans' Aid in Oklahoma City, can be reached at 405-703-3849. For additional information go to VeteranAid.org or www.va.gov . These people can help you in filing a claim and payments are retroactive. Remember this includes stateside veterans also. Problems do not have to be service connected."

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Road to Serfdom Follow-up

Our 133 Crew colleague and Book of the Month reviewer, Rick Spencer, likes to relate historically significant authors to current events. His December Book of the Month in 2007 featured a book by Friedrich A. Hayek. He now submits the following reference to a Hayek website:

In Dec07 I reviewed The Road to Serfdom by Hayek for the webblog. Given the present climate of economic turmoil, Hayek's theories and his signature public writing have both made their reappearance as a very popular line of study and debate. Here is a site that takes Hayek very seriously and is a good one for those who want to delve a little more into the present applications of his work.
http://hayekcenter.org/

Friday, April 10, 2009

Fly Away Flight Simulation

We welcome you to Fly Away, one of the most popular Flight Simulation Portals on the web - the next generation of flight simulation news and information sites. They have lots to offer at Fly Away, including the latest Flight Simulator news, product and hardware reviews, the latest downloads and updates for flight simulator and of course their bustling FS forums. Please take the time to post your comments on their forum located here. Enjoy your stay and don't hesitate to become a member here!

Check it out: Fly Away
(also on our Related Websites links list)

Also take a look at their News Section

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Vietnam Database

A friend sent this link to me. It is a truly exhaustive (and probably exhausting to compile) database on anything conceivable related to the Vietnam War.

http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam.html

Cal Taylor