Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Vietnam veteran and Boston resident Sgt. John Eade, on the 40th anniversary of the legendary battle of Ia Drang. He used an account written by Jules Crittenden of the Boston Herald,
After Barker was killed, Eade was alone. I asked Eade what his thoughts and emotions were at this time, “as the last surviving man in his position with every expectation that he would be killed as the NVA moved around finishing off the wounded. I was under the impression that Eade had played dead to survive, but he said that wasn’t the case.
“Playing dead was a way to die. It made no sense to me. Our job was to hold that position and kill the enemy,” Eade said. “I had this thing in my mind, part of the U.S. Army’s General Orders and the soldier’s code you learn in boot camp: “I will never forget I am an American fighting man. I will never surrender of my own free will. I will continue to resist to the utmost of my ability. I will not leave my post until properly relieved.” Eade said he kept repeating it himself.
“I don’t think it was unique to me” Eade said, citing the actions of men like Barker and Johnson. Eade said his seemingly hopeless position was made easier by his belief, established weeks earlier after several men in the unit were killed in other actions, that he would not be leaving Vietnam alive. What Eade says about that may sound familiar to other veterans of combat.
“It wasn’t a matter of living or dying. It was taking care of each other and doing your duty. The anticipation of a future is what you give up. The question was not, “Am I going to die?” We all know the answer to that. The question was, “How am I going to die? I am going to die well.”
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Each Sunday evening for nearly four years, Pundit Review has paid tribute to the troops by telling their stories on Boston’s talk station WRKO. The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive, the #1 military blog. Matt Burden started this series with us on the radio and now Bruce McQuain, a veteran of the Vietnam War who served his country for 28 years in the U.S. Army, joins us each week with a new story to tell. Bruce does an incredible job and brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. It is our honor to welcome him to the show every Sunday evening at 9pm.
Today, I extend my sincere gratitude to every family that has a veteran in it. One thing I’ve learned doing this show, if there is a soldier in the family, the entire family is serving, and sacrificing.
Below are just a few of the incredible stories we have heard over the years.
My unforgettable visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where I interviewed wounded warriors, their families and doctors.
Someone You Should Know: Sgt. Rafael Peralta
Someone You Should Know: Army Sgt. 1st Class James Brasher
HBO’s Taking Chance Home: Here is my interview with Ret. Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, who was played by Kevin Bacon in the movie, and Gretchen Mack, Chance Phelps mother. This was a true honor.
Someone You Should Know: Medal of Honor receipient Desmond Doss
Someone You Should Know: Sgt. Merlin German
Matt Burden told us the story of Jason Dunham, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Nothing can beat American military woman kicking jihadists ass! Meet Raven 42
Someone You Should Know: Air Force Maj. Kimberly Campbell
Someone You Should Know: Jason Cunningham
I’m honored to say David Bellavia, featured here, has become a friend of the program
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking†by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
New York Times merger and acquisitions reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin has written the insiders account of what was going on in board rooms and the highest levels of government during the worst of the Wall Street meltdown.
Too Big To Fail really gives the reader a sense of the players, their personalities and the rational behind their decsion making. Sorkin does a great job of describing the stress and tension that these firms, these people, were under.
My full, very favorable review is here.
I really appreciate that he spent so much time with us and allowed us to cover so much ground. Like the book itself, it was a highly enjoyable experience.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
I’ve heard from multiple people about this likeable, smart, educated, brash candidate in the 6th congressional district named Bill Hudak.
We met him tonight. I can see why people are excited. People not named John Tierney that is.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Marine Cpl. Javier Alvarez,
From Stars and Stripes
Alvarez struggles to tell his story. His speech is filled with pregnant pauses, disjointed phrases and unfinished thoughts.
It’s the cost of saving the lives of six Marines. It is his price for his Silver Star.
“I know my hand was burning,” he recalled. “Or, it felt like that. So I lifted up my arm to see what happened, and my hand was completely missing. There was just like ragged bone sticking out, with my sleeves from my uniform black and red from blood,” he said.
Alvarez knew this was coming. This was his third deployment in three years. He joined weeks after 9/11. He was among the first Marines into Iraq in 2003. He survived Fallujah without a scratch. When his wound comes, he thought, sitting around is not an option.
“It just shut down and not function, that’s not going to help my squad out,” he told himself. “I had already thought about that pretty intensely”
Alvarez’s story is yet another tale of heroism born on the morning of Nov. 16, 2005.
Marines of 2nd Platoon, Fox Company, were on their 12th day of Operation Steel Curtain, a dangerous mission to clear houses in Anbar province, when two dozen insurgents made a last stand.
By the time the explosion tore apart Alvarez’s hand, two Marines were dead. By the end of the day, 16 men were wounded, five of them mortally.
“It seems like it might be slow motion at some points, but then you find that it’s all happening in a heartbeat. It’s seconds, Alvarez said.
More than three years later, Alvarez has a lifetime to live with his wounds. He wears a brave face.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
When are we going to get serious about energy independence? On the Republican side, we have drill, drill drill. On the left, we have a planet with a fever. Both sides pay lip service to the national security threat we face because of our dependence on foreign oil. Yet, neither side is doing much about it.
I think it is fair to say that President Obama could use a win right about now. Here is one issue that could resuce his presidency from the abyss. (Ed. note, I hope he doesn’t read this!)
President Obama should adopt the Pickens Plan, or something similar, and run with it. Here’s how and why.
Domestic Source of Energy Makes America Safer by Reducing Its Dependence on Foreign Oil
In the past decade their has been an incredible amount of money spent and technology developed to find and produce natural gas resources here in the United States. Incredible innovation doen’t just happen in the information technology business. There are some amazing companies pioneering this development, including Apache, Chesepeake Energy, XTO, Devon, ConocoPhillips and many others. They have developed technology like Horizontal Drilling, which greatly expands the areas we can capture gas from,
The greens should be applauding the exploration and production companies for the technological advancements they have developed to increase production while at the same time reducing environmental impact. These kinds of technological advancements have led directly to an explosion of new gas finds and ultimately, proven reserves.
GOLDEN, Colo., June 18, 2009 – The Potential Gas Committee (PGC) today released the results of its latest biennial assessment of the nation’s natural gas resources, which indicates that the United States possesses a total resource base of 1,836 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). This is the highest resource evaluation in the Committee’s 44-year history. Most of the increase from the previous assessment arose from reevaluation of shale-gas plays in the Appalachian basin and in the Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain areas.
We are siitng on an ocean of natural gas. So much in fact, that we are running out of room to store it! It’s a domestic energy source. How about announcing a plan to take advantage of this strategic asset? There are multiple applications, including converting coal fired power plants to natural gas, which can reduce harmful emissions by up to 70%. There is also a huge opportunity presented by, of all things, vehicles. How about announcing that we are converting the entire federal fleet of cars, Post Office inlcuded, to natural gas?
As Barron’s Magazine points out, there are already natural gas fleets out there, and “Boosters say a “gallon equivalent” of natural gas is about half the price of gasoline or diesel and produces about a third the harmful emissions. And America is swimming in the stuff.” Gee, tough sell politically, huh?
What do we have so far…a clean source or energy that we have in abundence here in America. Hmmm, what’s missing? How about a massive jobs program right in the heartland of America?
The job creation benefits of drilling alone are staggering. One of the hottest natural gas discoveries in recent years is the Marcellus Shale.
“A study by Penn State University on the development of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale paints a bright future for the region both in terms of the economy and job creation. The gas industry pumped $3.8 billion into the state’s economy, generated more than 29,000 jobs and produced $240 million in state and local taxes in 2008, according to the study, titled “An Emerging Giant: Prospects and Economic Impacts of Developing Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Play.†Those numbers are expected to be $3.8 billion, $400 million in taxes and 48,000 jobs for 2009, it said.â€
Beyond the exploration and production, there are the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, jobs that would be required to transition fleets and power plants to natural gas. As the Barron’s piece pointed out,
CNG vehicles in America face the same chicken-and-egg dilemma other hybrids do: building a refueling network. Refueling stations are scarce because only about 150,000 of America’s 250 million automobiles are CNG-powered…Operators of America’s long-haul trucks can afford natural-gas pumps in their shipping yards, and utilize Clean Energy’s growing network of 184 North America truck stops. The economic incentives are fairly obvious for these big energy users, less so for consumers paying a premium for CNG vehicles.
And then there is the Wind Farm component of the Pickens Plan and the jobs that would bring,
Any discussion of alternatives should begin with the 2007 Department of Energy study showing that building out our wind capacity in the Great Plains – from northern Texas to the Canadian border – would produce 138,000 new jobs in the first year, and more than 3.4 million new jobs over a ten-year period, while also producing as much as 20 percent of our needed electricity.
Natural gas is a domestic energy source we have in abudence, is cleaner than current energy sources and could create hundreds of thousands of good jobs for several decades. How much longer can we afford to ignore this domestic, clean energy source and job creation machine that is literally sitting under our feet?
When are we going to get serious about energy independence? We have talked it to death since 9/11, the ultimate wake-up-call. Unfortunately, everyone in Washington, and the American people, have hit the snooze button. This is insane that we allow it to continue.
Locally, we have the long delayed Cape Wind project. A $1 billion dollar, cutting edge project that could put the state, if not the region, at the forefront of this green energy, green jobs revolution I keep hearing about. First we had to deal with the noted outdoorsmen and environmentalist, Sen. Edward Kennedy, and his repeated obstructions.
After he passed away, many Cape Wind proponents thought momentum would turn back in their favor. That has not been the case. We’ve gone from the ridiculous (Liberals opposing massive “green” project) to the sublime, literally,
Cape Wind seemed near final approval after it passed a major environmental review in January, but that’s been delayed by the Wampanoag tribes in Mashpee and Martha’s Vineyard.
The tribes argue the entire sound is eligible for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places as their “traditional cultural property.”
The Wampanoags say they need that protection because Cape Wind’s 130 turbines will be visible several miles away on the horizon, destroying their ancient rituals, which require an unblocked view of the sunrise.
As a country, we are faced with serious financial and security threats and they are, frankly, standing in the way of progress.
What makes this all the more maddening is that back in May, Cape Wind passed what should have been their final hurdle before beginning work on the country’s first offshore wind farm.
Cape Wind: Final State Approval to Begin Development
The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board today gave its final approval to Cape Wind, issuing the long awaited “super permit” necessary for development to begin on the clean energy project supported by over 86 percent of Massachusetts residents.
What next? Is PETA going to file an injunction because some fish may have to change zip codes? Enough is enough with the delays.