http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843 I was watching one of your local TV stations last night and I saw this ******* Many at the airport in Bakersfield were expecting a man in a wheel chair because Barrientos lost his legs to an improvised explosive device in Iraq. Instead when the Corporal heard the Bakersfield Police and Sheriff’s Department Color Guard call veterans to arms, he stood and saluted and walked step by step towards a grateful community….. Cpl Barrientos looked around the crowd and saw the sea of mostly strangers there just for him. The tears and pride welled into his eyes. He was home and for the first time truly honored for his service to this country…… Several emotions flooded over me. Here was this young man (too damn young I always think), walking proud, tall, better than most of us with all our faculties intact, being honored by his grateful community. A man who gave not all, but too damn near. I couldn’t help but think, (too often at such times) where do these kind of men come from? How are they different than most? Then he was given a chance to speak. Cameras rolling……. He could have said anything…. No one would think him any the less for any words that tumbled forth given his particular sitrep. And yet, what did he say given this forum? A forum all too many have utilized for bitterness, castigation of his plight and those that “orchestrated” it, even veiled political inferences, hell this young man could have said virtually anything. And yet, when he spoke, it went through me like a Sykes-Fairburn to the clavicle: “I didn’t do nuthin….. I just did my job….”. --- WOW! At that point my mind was like the third reel of a movie matinee. I saw the pages of an apocryphal tome, an unseen hand of wind flipping the pages in a blur….. Vietnam, Korea, WW’s One and Two…….. Pattonesque (cue theme song in my punkin) all the way back to the Pelopponesian War and the Spartans. Over two millennium….. Those far away trumpets…. Another word then long-lined into my mental picture. One I haven’t heard much over the years….STRAC. Not even certain how its supposed to be spelled (is it really an acronym for Standards in Training Commission or from the 50’s Strategic Army Corps as some postulate? Or merely an alteration of “strict” to rhyme with its antonym “slack”?) Who knows? I just remember it representing what this young warrior did to me right then. In a most “strack” sense I really cannot convey. Cpl Barrientos, you were “just doing your job”. And there is not one more honorable thing you could have done or subsequently said about it when given the forum. You sir, are of a higher order than any. And I include all those myriad and diverse forces that resulted in your being over there, just having to do “your job” – the powers that be in our system; politicians, brass (any and all ranks), dignitaries, famous athletes, other so-called “celebrities”, bureaucrats, even your fellow citizens. You probably will never read this Sir, I only hope that in every way your fellow citizens convey to you one last sentiment that comes into my mind which I will respectfully leave you with to live what I sincerely pray is a wonderful productive life: “In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved your title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you richly deserve, but may never seem to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.” DE OPPRESSO LIBER <bracing one more most STRACK salute to  YOU  Sir>   I was watching one of your local TV stations last night and I saw this ******* Many at the airport in Bakersfield were expecting a man in a wheel chair because Barrientos lost his legs to an improvised explosive device in Iraq. Instead when the Corporal heard the Bakersfield Police and Sheriff’s Department Color Guard call veterans to arms, he stood and saluted and walked step by step towards a grateful community….. Cpl Barrientos looked around the crowd and saw the sea of mostly strangers there just for him. The tears and pride welled into his eyes. He was home and for the first time truly honored for his service to this country…… Several emotions flooded over me. Here was this young man (too damn young I always think), walking proud, tall, better than most of us with all our faculties intact, being honored by his grateful community. A man who gave not all, but too damn near. I couldn’t help but think, (too often at such times) where do these kind of men come from? How are they different than most? Then he was given a chance to speak. Cameras rolling……. He could have said anything…. No one would think him any the less for any words that tumbled forth given his particular sitrep. And yet, what did he say given this forum? A forum all too many have utilized for bitterness, castigation of his plight and those that “orchestrated” it, even veiled political inferences, hell this young man could have said virtually anything. And yet, when he spoke, it went through me like a Sykes-Fairburn to the clavicle: “I didn’t do nuthin….. I just did my job….”. --- WOW! At that point my mind was like the third reel of a movie matinee. I saw the pages of an apocryphal tome, an unseen hand of wind flipping the pages in a blur….. Vietnam, Korea, WW’s One and Two…….. Pattonesque (cue theme song in my punkin) all the way back to the Pelopponesian War and the Spartans. Over two millennium….. Those far away trumpets…. Another word then long-lined into my mental picture. One I haven’t heard much over the years….STRAC. Not even certain how its supposed to be spelled (is it really an acronym for Standards in Training Commission or from the 50’s Strategic Army Corps as some postulate? Or merely an alteration of “strict” to rhyme with its antonym “slack”?) Who knows? I just remember it representing what this young warrior did to me right then. In a most “strack” sense I really cannot convey. Cpl Barrientos, you were “just doing your job”. And there is not one more honorable thing you could have done or subsequently said about it when given the forum. You sir, are of a higher order than any. And I include all those myriad and diverse forces that resulted in your being over there, just having to do “your job” – the powers that be in our system; politicians, brass (any and all ranks), dignitaries, famous athletes, other so-called “celebrities”, bureaucrats, even your fellow citizens. You probably will never read this Sir, I only hope that in every way your fellow citizens convey to you one last sentiment that comes into my mind which I will respectfully leave you with to live what I sincerely pray is a wonderful productive life: “In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved your title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you richly deserve, but may never seem to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.” DE OPPRESSO LIBER <bracing one more most STRACK salute to  YOU  Sir>   en-us  I salute you Corporal  --  I only wish I could do more........ ..........you certainly did.............     http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216855 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216855  I salute you Corporal  --  I only wish I could do more........ ..........you certainly did.............      Semper Fi Amigo....job well done...... http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216858 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216858  Semper Fi Amigo....job well done...... THANK YOU for a job well done!!! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216900 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216900 THANK YOU for a job well done!!!  Well said Chico. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216903 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216903  Well said Chico.  Already had a very knowledgeable military friend email me to say ITS STRAC DAMMIT! Ha! Phonetic vs Acronymal spelings? But thx anti and mich Politics, all that crapola aside, its something I really do care about   paraphrasing (I like to do that) Larry the Cable Guy I DON'T CARE WHO YAR, THATS JUST RIGHT! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216907 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216907  Already had a very knowledgeable military friend email me to say ITS STRAC DAMMIT! Ha! Phonetic vs Acronymal spelings? But thx anti and mich Politics, all that crapola aside, its something I really do care about   paraphrasing (I like to do that) Larry the Cable Guy I DON'T CARE WHO YAR, THATS JUST RIGHT!  Watching Cpl. Barrientos walk through the crowd under his own power reminds me of the Vets at the  AMP Surf program I told you about Chico.  Tell them how to something, give them the tools, then get out of the way.  Gut wrenching and inspiring at once. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216933 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216933  Watching Cpl. Barrientos walk through the crowd under his own power reminds me of the Vets at the  AMP Surf program I told you about Chico.  Tell them how to something, give them the tools, then get out of the way.  Gut wrenching and inspiring at once. I remember that Anglo I couldn't surf with both legs in tact, snowboard boots and bindings, three men and a boy! They were amazing! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216947 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216947 I remember that Anglo I couldn't surf with both legs in tact, snowboard boots and bindings, three men and a boy! They were amazing! Very well said Chico..you,well really this young man has me crying ...so, Thank You  Corporal  Barrientos.   http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216958 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216958 Very well said Chico..you,well really this young man has me crying ...so, Thank You  Corporal  Barrientos.   they all look at it that way. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216975 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_216975 they all look at it that way. I hope so Cass He just impressed me.....greatly To the core Haven't heard such humility up close and personal since VN................. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217092 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217092 I hope so Cass He just impressed me.....greatly To the core Haven't heard such humility up close and personal since VN.................  They do God's work here. http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d38d49bf-328b-405a-b3d7-0943ea302510 ............... (on God's best) http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217230 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217230  They do God's work here. http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d38d49bf-328b-405a-b3d7-0943ea302510 ............... (on God's best)  Chico, I know what you mean about him impressing you.  When I see the soldiers on the news returning home it is so emotional, at least to me.  However, watching this young man, there was something different about him.  Maybe the way he walked and the look on his face, i'm not sure.  Anyhow,  GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS!! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217236 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217236  Chico, I know what you mean about him impressing you.  When I see the soldiers on the news returning home it is so emotional, at least to me.  However, watching this young man, there was something different about him.  Maybe the way he walked and the look on his face, i'm not sure.  Anyhow,  GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS!!  Great post Chico.  My thanks and best wishes to Cpl. Barrientos. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217394 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217394  Great post Chico.  My thanks and best wishes to Cpl. Barrientos.  Thx Never Just as we tend to forget the ones who didn't make it back, those that come back broke get forgotten too. I will  NEVER  forget! I know you and those like You, Anti, Michele, Cass, Sage, Anglo, Ling, and Oenghus won't either.        http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217449 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217449  Thx Never Just as we tend to forget the ones who didn't make it back, those that come back broke get forgotten too. I will  NEVER  forget! I know you and those like You, Anti, Michele, Cass, Sage, Anglo, Ling, and Oenghus won't either.          http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217450 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217450    These are truly amazing young men.  These soldiers...these warriors.   I haven't gotten to know my newest grandson (Cassie's husband Joe) very well due to his being overseas most of the time but I can say that the time I've spent around him has been great.  He's a quiet young man with a sense of humor  (he'd need that around us.) I was talking to him Christmas, trying to get him to stand by Cassie for pictures when he looked confused.  It dawned on me then that he couldn't hear me as I was standing on the side where he lost his hearing in that ear due to an IED in Iraq.  He didn't talk about it when I was around and what I know of what he's said has come from Cassie and her dad.  He has a quiet dignity that impressed me more than I can say. This young man, who lost hearing in that ear, and almost lost one eye along with numerous scars that dont show, and still has imbedded residue in his facial skin, returned to duty in Germany on his way to a fourth tour in Iraq.  And all he says to us is "It's my job." Cpl Barrientos has that same dignity, that same loyalty to his men, his country, and his "job."  They amaze me with their bravery and their willingness to give all they have for us.  God love and bless them all. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217495 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217495  These are truly amazing young men.  These soldiers...these warriors.   I haven't gotten to know my newest grandson (Cassie's husband Joe) very well due to his being overseas most of the time but I can say that the time I've spent around him has been great.  He's a quiet young man with a sense of humor  (he'd need that around us.) I was talking to him Christmas, trying to get him to stand by Cassie for pictures when he looked confused.  It dawned on me then that he couldn't hear me as I was standing on the side where he lost his hearing in that ear due to an IED in Iraq.  He didn't talk about it when I was around and what I know of what he's said has come from Cassie and her dad.  He has a quiet dignity that impressed me more than I can say. This young man, who lost hearing in that ear, and almost lost one eye along with numerous scars that dont show, and still has imbedded residue in his facial skin, returned to duty in Germany on his way to a fourth tour in Iraq.  And all he says to us is "It's my job." Cpl Barrientos has that same dignity, that same loyalty to his men, his country, and his "job."  They amaze me with their bravery and their willingness to give all they have for us.  God love and bless them all.  When we went on R&R the joke was "Oh he can't hear you -- he's in Arty Btn...." One of my bros. lost his hearing in one ear from an  "explosive device" in VN I guess it wasn't  "improvised" It was 55 lb Russian land mine Some of the bases (especially the big ones) had all kinds of ordinance around them from wars past (Japanese, Chinese, French, American, and yes..... even Russian) The more things change, the more they replicate http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217545 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217545  When we went on R&R the joke was "Oh he can't hear you -- he's in Arty Btn...." One of my bros. lost his hearing in one ear from an  "explosive device" in VN I guess it wasn't  "improvised" It was 55 lb Russian land mine Some of the bases (especially the big ones) had all kinds of ordinance around them from wars past (Japanese, Chinese, French, American, and yes..... even Russian) The more things change, the more they replicate  This is a little off topic, but not too much... That idiot Obama yesterday compared running in the Primaries to surviving the Bataan Death March. Sunday, 30 March is the annual Bataan Death March Memorial Service at the National Memorial in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Many of survivors who are still able will be in attandance. Those men endured horrors the likes of Obama cannot even imagine.. Remember them on Sunday. Just take a moment out of your day and silently thank them for doing their duty... and more.     http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217884 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217884  This is a little off topic, but not too much... That idiot Obama yesterday compared running in the Primaries to surviving the Bataan Death March. Sunday, 30 March is the annual Bataan Death March Memorial Service at the National Memorial in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Many of survivors who are still able will be in attandance. Those men endured horrors the likes of Obama cannot even imagine.. Remember them on Sunday. Just take a moment out of your day and silently thank them for doing their duty... and more.      I will Oenghus. One of my best buds' Dad was in Jap POW camp during WWII. His family was in a internment camp back here. It wasn't until just before he died that he would tell his son (my bud) much about it (he was Japanese American -- can you believe it? I always thought this guy was a Samoan, he's very big feller). Those guys in that Pacific Theatre suffered at the hands of the Japs like Obama (or any one who wasn't there really)  wouldn't/couldn't  believe. I will remember. I always will. I went through nothing in vn compared to those guys. Did I tell you that SWAT Sniper came by rancho office the other day? Mexican feller I met out checking on cows. Great, great guy. Marine Corps. From little town in Texas. He told me he was gettin old and I had to laugh cause I was back from Nam before he was born -- LOL! Obama will NEVER understand, though. Few will. Please pay my respects, I'm sure you'll be there unless its really something pressing. I've got some sheep to take to Nev tomorrow, trying to get a driver so I can do something else actually. Already had old Howie call and he can't make it. Gonna hafta call Julio. Hope he doesn't have too much takillya tonite! LOL! Take care brother.................... http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217912 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/ChicoEsquela/23843/#c_217912  I will Oenghus. One of my best buds' Dad was in Jap POW camp during WWII. His family was in a internment camp back here. It wasn't until just before he died that he would tell his son (my bud) much about it (he was Japanese American -- can you believe it? I always thought this guy was a Samoan, he's very big feller). Those guys in that Pacific Theatre suffered at the hands of the Japs like Obama (or any one who wasn't there really)  wouldn't/couldn't  believe. I will remember. I always will. I went through nothing in vn compared to those guys. Did I tell you that SWAT Sniper came by rancho office the other day? Mexican feller I met out checking on cows. Great, great guy. Marine Corps. From little town in Texas. He told me he was gettin old and I had to laugh cause I was back from Nam before he was born -- LOL! Obama will NEVER understand, though. Few will. Please pay my respects, I'm sure you'll be there unless its really something pressing. I've got some sheep to take to Nev tomorrow, trying to get a driver so I can do something else actually. Already had old Howie call and he can't make it. Gonna hafta call Julio. Hope he doesn't have too much takillya tonite! LOL! Take care brother....................