Aug 19 2010
Our symbolic transfer from combat during ‘Nam was when we were sent over no longer as labeled ‘combat’ but as ‘advisors’ once again.
That started just before I left CI/SERE in early 1970 and headed into country, we were given military beanies, i.e. berets, with the operations patch on them and called ‘advisors’, never did meet my supposed ‘counterpart’ the whole year I was there.
May 31 2009
‘Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism’
The flag is not powerful in spite of its ambiguity; it is powerful because of its ambiguity. It has stood, at different times, for radical democracy, opposition to immigration, the abolition of slavery, unregulated capitalism, segregation, integration, and a hawkish war policy, among many other things.