Happy Travails
Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause we hate what you do
and we hate your whole crew
so please don’t stay in touch
Fuck You Very Much, Lily Allen
_________________
Final PUC installment: The Tacky End.
Ranger feels uniquely honored that two generations in his family have been awarded Presidential Unit Citations (PUC's), and that they were first- and second-generation Americans.
But he remains pissed that his government only sees fit to issue him a 3-cent Kinkos copy of his PUC, poorly reproed at that, where his father has an official presentation copy signed by Secretary of the Navy Forrestal. It's the little things.
Is it that the Navy is a more refined branch of service? Is it that the military in general behaved more respectfully toward its award recipients in the days of yore?
From his Department of the Army letter to "Mr. Hruska": "The Soldier does not receive an individual citation or unit citation." But nowhere in the letter does the DA refer to any Army regulations which dictate this miserly policy. Why not? After all, the Army loves it some regs.
The salve his psyche, Ranger can go online and purchase his own copy of the citation from eBay for $24.95, and they'll even personalize it with his name, rank and serial number. Capitalism at its finest.
Ranger's insults are cumulative. First, MACVSOG was not recognized for over 20 years due to the secretive nature of the mission. Then, Ranger unceremoniously discovered via reading Soldier of Fortune magazine in a bookstore four years after the fact that the PUC was even awarded to his unit. Finally, he was denied the award until he got Representative Allen Boyd's veterans advocate on board.
Ranger admits he is being bitchy. Anyone should be proud to have a PUC xerox copy for his wartime efforts.
File this under: From a Grateful Nation. Fuck you very much.
Labels: MACVSOG PUC, presidential unit citation vietnam, PUC, SOG PUC award, Vietnam PUC
posted by rangeragainstwar at 9:28 AM
12 Comments:
Bureaucrats...the soulless denizens that make up the government who defend to the death the status quo despite the need of a long overdue, overhaul.
Hence the reason rebellions occur...not because people hate government and love anarchy, but because a stagnant government is just as bad as no government.
I'm sorry to say this Ranger, but sometimes...DMV is far less bureucratic than the Military.
when apache warriors are met by monster slayer, they go there without any accrued battle honors.
monster slayer is only interested in scars. they tell him all he needs to know about a warrior.
still, a PUC is big stuff. only given for big shit, usually long term big shit.
an original, vellum, real signatures, ready to frame. the honor demands at least that.
MB,
We have the scars-we are ugly but we have the music.
Most of our scars can't be seen.
jim
To all,
I failed to express my appreciation for the help rendered by Congressman Boyd's office and most specifically to Michael Bishop for his concern and professional actions.
jim
You may speak for yourself, Ranger, but MB is far from ugly (I know, it's a Cohen line.)
I'd buy you a glass of your favorite beverage, if we ever meet.
Paul Rieckhoff was on Colbert tonight, and he said that's OK.
I hope you get it.
..
I like to tell myself that I don't and didn't care about chest confetti. I won a reputation in my old medical platoon for requesting (this was after a deployment when we were actually asked what "impact award" we wanted) a "Distinguished Trooper Award", a cheesy little bolo badge with a metal 82nd patch soldered to it, that could only be worn while assigned to the division (my PSG offered me an ARCOM before I reminded him that "I have three of those fuckers"...)
And I lost count of the AAMs.
But I am ashamed to admit that I still smart every so often when I remember that I never received the Meritorious Service Medal that even the most incompetent E-7s and above usually snare on retirement. I retired on the outs with my commander, who, I suspect, DXed the retirement award.
Am I being childish? Petty?
Sure.
But medals and ribbons are what we get instead of raises and bonuses, instead of stock options and company cars. They are our resumes, our been-there-done-thats. They are the only tangible proof - other than the scars that MB reminds us are the inescapable consequence of choosing to make war our trade - of who we were and what we did.
So, no, Jim, I don't think its petty of you to want the original PUC award. You gave away part of yourself in return. The record of that sacrifice should match the quality of the gift.
alexander had his own "unit" citation. his personal infantry was known as the "silver shields."
their breastplates, shields, and greaves were faced with silver. at alexander's expense.
at the time a full panopoly of armor in bronze would have cost the equivelant of one year's income from an average sized farm (which is why armor was handed down from fathers to sons)
the shields alone were worth five years income from a harvest.
once, when facing the scythed chariots of darius alexander had the silver shields line up facing the rising sun. they began to flutter their shields. the flashing reflections panicked the persian horses. the scythed chariots failed to attack.
you are not at all out of line jim. you fully deserve to have this award presented, in front of witnesses, and have the award itself be something worthy of the ideals it represents.
we are told that monster slayer sees all of our scars. being a god and stuff, he can do that.
FD Chief,
I didn't ask for or solicit the Prez for this award BUT since they were so gracious as to award our service with this recognition then the least the DA can do is give us more than a crummy 3 cent kinko copy of the citation. If my service was only worth a 3 cent copy then they can kiss my Ranger ass.
The PUC as constituted by DA Regs is a insult to all the soldiers killed and wounded in SOG. There are still SOG MIAs so if/when they are found let's slap a xerox award on their coffins.
jim
FD Chief,
If my fellows accept this treatment by a grateful nation then it's clear to me that they've lost something somewhere along the road.
jim
MB,
My complaints are not of a prsonal nature. My comments are as a former officer and resposible citizen. My point is that we were all in danger and the best we get is a piece of paper. Well MRE toilet paper costs the same as a cy of the PUC and it's more meaningful.
There are some comments I'll make about silver. The early CIB's and Parachute Badges were actually Sterling Silver but now they're pot metal garbage. The reg's precluded polishing badges but we always brassoed these items because of our pride in wearing them.. Old jumpwings were always smooth and well polished. Now they are junk metal- what does that tell us?
jim
as far as whether or not the navy is a more refined branch of service.
res ipsa loquiter.
although there are a few old salts who miss the glory days of rum, sodomy, and the lash.
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