Category Archives: veterans

Time to man up

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Don Watkins

Yesterday on Vietnam Veterans Day I had the privilege of listening to a lecture from a guy who’s pissed that Joe Biden is president and that gas prices are high. In the spring of 1972 I registered for classes that … Continue reading →

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I served in the United State Navy

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Don Watkins

Today marks the 47th anniversary of my release from active duty in the United States Navy. January 17, 1975 attired in my dress blues drove to the Naval Submarine Medical Center in Groton CT where I was stationed. I said … Continue reading →

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Thank you for your service

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Don Watkins

Today is Veterans Day! It started out as Armistice Day. The holiday started from a decree from Woodrow Wilson in 1919. It was the day to celebrate the end of World War I, the war to end all wars. Veterans … Continue reading →

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Colin Powell

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Don Watkins

This week’s passing of Colin Powell invited me to reflect on the impact of him as an American icon. I strongly disagreed with the decision of the Bush administration to go to war in Iraq and I was sorry that … Continue reading →

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Thank you for your service…

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Don Watkins

VoteVets had a poignant post on Instagram earlier today. That resonated with me. In the past twenty years since 9/11 we’ve been thanking active duty military and veterans for their service to the country. That’s great and truly appreciated by … Continue reading →

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War is not the answer

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Don Watkins

“War is not the answer,” is a bumper sticker I’ve frequently posted on my car. It’s from the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Never was that slogan nor the bumper sticker more appropriate than now. In the middle of our … Continue reading →

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Holding Afghanistan in the Light

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Don Watkins

More broadly, it is far past time for the United States to acknowledge that peace and real security can never be achieved through military force, and to therefore abandon the failed endless war paradigm completely. — Read on http://www.fcnl.org/updates/2021-08/holding-afghanistan-light The … Continue reading →

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August 23rd

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Don Watkins

Until 1972 the twenty-third day of that month had no special meaning. However on this day in 1972 I left my home in Arcade, New York drove to Buffalo Airport and boarded an American Airlines Boeing 727 and made an … Continue reading →

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Biden is being pilloried by the neocons

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Don Watkins

Afghanistan was an unwinnable war as was Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and more. It was a misadventure that was supposedly our answer the terrorist attacks of 9/11 which happened twenty years ago next month. As horrific as those attacks were invading … Continue reading →

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Goodbye Afghanistan – Thank you Joe!

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Don Watkins

Afghanistan is one more instance of failed United States foreign policies which highlight the use and abuse of military force to achieve or fail to achieve political objectives. We invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the terrorist attack on September … Continue reading →

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