Armed Forces Day

Comrades in Arms:

I just now looked on my calendar and noticed that this coming Saturday is Armed Forces Day.

A search of the official web site for the Pentagon indicates no activities are planned for Armed Forces Day.

A search of the official web site for the Armed Forces Retirement Home indicates no activities are scheduled for Armed Forces Day.

So, what are YOU planning to do for Armed Forces Day?

The Armed Forces Retirement Home does have a bus trip scheduled for Friday for the annual air show at Andrews Air Force Base.

But, Friday is not Armed Forces Day.

Also, the last time I went on a bus trip from the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the bus drove off and abandoned me.

So, I'll never again go on an Armed Forces Retirement Home bus trip, and I'll continue to warn other residents about what happened to me.

So far as I can tell, the management and staff of the Armed Forces Retirement Home are completely unaware that this coming Saturday is Armed Forces Day, and nothing special is scheduled for our mess hall or our theatre.

I imagine that most of our fellow Americans also do not know, nor do they care.

As an Army brat growing up at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, I have fond memories of Armed Forces Day, with its static displays of military equipment, demonstrations by Special Forces, and parachute jumps.

We'd also visit Pope Air Force Base and tour through many of the aircraft, such as the C-124 "Globemaster", the C-119 "Flying Boxcar", and the C-130 "Hercules".

Years later, as a soldier, I made several flights on C-130s in Viet Nam, and in the United States, I once flew on a C-124.

When my father was stationed at William Beaumont General Hospital in El Paso, Texas, we went to White Sands Missile Range for Armed Forces Day, where we observed Sergeant missiles, Corporal missiles, Navy Talos missiles, Nike Ajax missiles, Nike Hercules missiles, and Nike Zeus missiles, with live fire demonstrations shooting down drone aircraft.

Nifty, huh?

Yes, especially if you're a kid.

It's one of the benefits of growing up in an Army family.

When I was a soldier at Fort Hood, Texas, my First Cavalry Division really put on a show, complete with horses, sabres, and bugles, for the Cavalry has lots of gung ho spirit, which they like to refer to as "elan".

Thank you.

John Robert "SAIGON" Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

NOTE: "My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."