March 28th was more interesting than most Saturdays. Returning home from the usual peace vigil outside Cleveland’s West Side Market, a “No Kings Rally” was just beginning about 100 yards from my house in Shaker Heights.
I carried my peace flag and wore my 60-year-old U.S. Army field jacket issued to me at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It is decorated with the six medals the army awarded me at the Oakland Army Depot in California after returning home from Vietnam in July 1968. I said to a few people, “I was in Vietnam for a year. I like peace a lot better than unnecessary, unwinnable wars–Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran. There is lots of money in war, but no money in peace.” A few people were curious about the number of medals and I said, “When you live and work in a war zone for a year, the army is very generous with all the hardware it gives you.” I identified the medals to the curious, with one of the awards being a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service, which is given for doing a good job under difficult conditions. I said, “There is another Bronze Star that has a V pin in the middle of the ribbon. The V stands for valor, which is the Latin word for ‘killed a bunch of people’ in combat.” I told a few people the medal with the crimson ribbon and white stripes is called a Good Conduct Medal. “Only the army would give me a medal for behaving myself. Someone convicted in a court martial, however, would not receive one.”
It was a nice surprise to see Dr. Bill Benish who was my first primary care doctor at the VA back in the day. He also is a Shaker Heights resident, now retired. Bill said, “Thank you for serving our country” and I politely differed, saying, “I didn’t serve my country, I served deceitful, lying, fear-mongering war-mongering politicians and their war-profiteering bed partners, chief among them President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Secretary of WAR Robert S. McNamara. Those truly serving our country are medics, nurses, doctors and mental health professionals who work very hard to mend as best they can the psyches and bodies of those savaged and ravaged by war. They are the real war heroes. Not those who kill and destroy. That’s not heroic. It’s barbaric.” Bill didn’t disagree with my observation. In fact, being a medical doctor who had helped veterans, he likely appreciated it. Referring to President Trump, I said, “I don’t understand how millions of people could vote for that clown. They voted against their own interests, for example seeing their health care eliminated.” Bill said, “I don’t know anyone in Shaker who voted for him.”
Another pleasant surprise was to see Jim Kooser, who attended St. Dominic Catholic School in Shaker, graduating in 1970. I said, “Molly Shannon’s alma mater!” Jim said, “I babysat Molly. Her dad, Jim, and I served on the parish council.” A couple crossed Van Aken to talk to me, asking if I was Lou Pumphrey. They figured I was because I’ve been promoting peace in my army duds and carrying a peace flag for years. I acknowledged I was and the gentleman, Charlie Brown (not the more famous Peanuts character) said he enjoys my letters to the editor in The Plain Dealer. I said, “All those annoying letters.” He and his wife, Kathy, smiled. It turns out Bob’s brother Sherrod is campaigning to regain his seat as a Democratic U.S. Senator in November’s midterm election. I told the couple I had donated $25 to Sherrod’s campaign and would vote for him and Dr. Amy Acton, another Democrat who is campaigning to become Ohio’s next governor.
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