From Whence We Came

The more digging I do into my family history the more intrigued I am and consequently, the more work I want to do. I have always been fascinated by stories from history and now find many family anecdotes superimposed on major historical events. For instance, my 1st cousin – 6 generations removed was the noble Samuel Lount who participated in Mackenzie’s Rebellion in Upper Canada in 1837 and was hanged and mutilated in 1838…..and this guy was a pacifist Quaker! (http://www.utopiapictures.com/samuellount.html)


I had 3rd great-grandfathers on both sides of the Civil War one of whom, William Angus, was taken POW at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse and moved to the horrible Union prison camp at Point Lookout, Maryland in 1864. He lasted only a few months after his arrival and succumbed eventually to dysentery (http://www.plpow.com/). I often wonder if at any time during that war whether my ancestors were actually shooting at each other…..now that would be a story for their progeny.


And then I also have the relevant reality of mixed races in and through portions of my ancestry. My favorite family hero in this regard has to be one Clarence Ray Angus (my 1st cousin – 1 generation removed). Born to a black father and a white mother, “Ray” and his sister Mary were snatched from the mountains in Virginia by social services and sent to go live with “their people” in Richmond. How stupid was that? By the age of 18 he was in the United States Marine Corps and serving his first tour in Vietnam. Within a month of his second combat tour he was killed in action, 15 August 1967. (http://marines.togetherweserved.com/usmc/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=120513). A patriot true to his Scots-Irish heritage and the Angus name which he bore. Likewise, his service demonstrated the noble contribution of a very special black American who put his country and his family above his own self-interest. Man, what we all can learn from guys like Ray (take some notes President Obama!)


My point in this personal trip down memory lane is we all come from somewhere and from a host of forebears. In everyone’s individual search for identity, sometimes folks are quick to ally themselves with only a portion of their heritage and sometimes unknowingly against others. I find it to be an imperative that to truly understand who we are we must entertain and embrace the reality regarding those from whom we are descended. From my pacifist rebel cousin to my Confederate and Union great grand-fathers to my favorite Marine cousin, I gratefully accept their contributions to my family and the realities of their individual situations. Knowing them helps me to know myself and they are but a portion of the totality of my ancestors. The greatest benefit of all of this, in addition to the privilege of honoring my family, is the bestowal of this wealth of information upon my greatest treasures – my children. My hope is that they too will develop a passion for knowing who they are and from whence they came.

How to spell failure - USNA

I am quite proud of my children. My second son just completed his sophomore year at the United States Naval Academy. I remember the first time we took him there for a visit. He knew on that day, many years before he ever graduated from high school, that the Academy was where he wanted to be.

Several years later all that has changed. The Naval Academy has let him down. The honor, heritage, tradition, and prestige that once attracted him to the place has turned out to be nothing more than a bonafide example of cosmetic smoke and mirrors. On its surface the Naval Academy looks quite remarkable as an institution. At its core however, it has become a second-rate academic and military institution that does little to prepare its students for the realities of the military they will serve or the potential life-altering missions that await them. One of the Academy's own veteran employees acknowledges this change of direction:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/opinion/21fleming.html?pagewanted=1

Its pretty sad that during a time when our Nation is embroiled in warfare on many fronts, our leaders (civilian and military) have allowed the Naval Academy to degrade to a level that places political correctness, diversity quotas, and careerism above the fundamental mandate to prepare leaders to defend the United States of America. The legacy of everyone who has directly or indirectly contributed to this failure can only be characterized as an abdication of responsibility consistent with criminal negligence. A failure to prepare these young men and women to be warrior leaders will have ripple effects that manifest in the form of risk-averse decision making, career before mission, double standards, combat ineffectiveness, and ultimately the collective weakening of the United States. If I was Haji or Charlie I would be laughing at us!

It would be interesting to see what would happen if a couple of boats filled with bad-guys approached the Academy grounds from the Severn River and decided to mount an attack. What would the brigade and its leadership do? I'm sure the Academy grounds would be well defended once the two mids who recently got caught blowing each other for money realized what was going on and postponed their fellatio session. Oh, and also when the blunt-smoking-quota-mid doubling as an athlete puts down his herb and clears the THC from his head, I'm sure he will quickly get in the fight. And lest we forget; I expect that the Firsty who likes to wave loaded guns around while drunk and not knowing the condition of his weapon better pound a few more shots, find a fresh mag, and get to killin' the enemy!! Undoubtedly, the prior enlisted Marines and Sailors would lead the defense while the rest of the limp-hearted mids and their band of merry faculty soiled themselves and screamed out, "I can't believe this is happening!"

But.....if none of that becomes reality I am quite confident in what my son will do......because he got better training, education, and preparation at home!!