McNamara, American war criminal dies

McNamara, American war criminal dies
By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, has died at 93. He knew in the sixties that we could not win that war and that we should not be sending troops to Vietnam. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't admit his silence until decades later.

Want to know what it was like for the teenagers McNamara sent to Vietnam? Read Monk's War in Vietnam by Frank M. Beyea (shown above right) published this year (ISBN: 978-0-913337-70-7). Here's a small section from the book, one of Beyea's experiences as an 18-year-old:

“I was having a hard time getting my breath back and all hell had broken loose since the explosion. Three NVA were coming at us down the trail with guns blazing, and as I tried to get off my back and into a firing position, I discovered that the entire stock of my M-14 had been blown off at the narrow part of the grip just behind the trigger. Nevertheless, I did manage to fire off a short burst that got one of the NVA and that’s when a round grazed my shoulder and knocked me down once more."

Monk's War in Vietnam is available from Amazon.com and bn.com.

Beyea, now in his sixties, has Prostate Cancer from his exposure to Agent Orange. McNamara's war just keeps on giving. --Copyright 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Ordinary people with extraordinary spirit who energized us

Ordinary people with extraordinary spirit who energized us
By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Over this July 4th weekend I found a handwritten note written by my late wife, Wanda, on which she had expressed her views about Southfarm Press military history and memoir authors. I think this weekend is an appropriate time to share with you what she wrote about these people:

“Our authors are ordinary people with extraordinary spirit, all over 75, who wrote about their lives serving freedom, sometimes as part of our military. Not jet setters, not golfers, not cruisers on luxury liners, not rich in money, but rich in spirit. They all have a point of view, a tenacity and spirit that brought them to their publisher. Us.

“They had something to say and said it. They told us about the past. Their past, and history.

“Through reading their books, we can enrich our spiritual lives even though their books are not literary masterpieces and they will never be classics.

“But their books will always be around in the future as a reminder of them and their sacrifices for freedom. Southfarm Press is energized by their enthusiasm."—Wanda Haan

Wanda, of course, was editor, managing editor and executive editor of Southfarm Press all rolled into one attractive, intelligent woman. At the bottom of her paragraphs reprinted above, she listed the last names of whom she was talking about: Bogart, Heide, Vance, Schultz, Knox, Gordon, Unsworth and Gould. To those names I add Chase and Beyea, whom she didn’t live long enough to know.

Frank and Mary Bogart, Till War Do Us Part (1995), ISBN: 978-0-913337-24-0
Sigrid Heide, In the Hands of My Enemy (1996), ISBN: 978-0-913337-29-5
Heidi Scriba Vance, Shadows Over My Berlin (1996), ISBN: 978-0-913337-30-1
Alfred W. Schultz, Janey: A Little Plane in a Big War (1998), 978-0-913337-31-8
Ralph Knox, The Emperor’s Angry Guest (1999)
Joseph Furbee Gordon, Flying Low: And shot down twice during World War II in a spotter plane (2001), ISBN: 978-0-913337-43-1
Thomas P. Reep and Constance Reep Unsworth, Abe Lincoln and the Frontier Folks of New Salem (2002), ISBN: 978-0-913337-36-3
Dudley C. Gould, Follow Me Up Fools Mountain (2002), ISBN: 978-0-913337-47-9;
Good Night Love (2006), ISBN: 978-0-913337-56-1
Jean L. Chase, The Grasshopper That Roared (2005), ISBN: 978-0-913337-54-7
Frank M. Beyea, Monk’s War in Vietnam (2009), ISBN: 978-0-913337-70-7

Frank M. Beyea, I must note, has not yet reached 75.

We WERE energized by their enthusiasm. And I still am. They all found us, we did not find them. I once asked one of our authors how he found us and was told that the mayor of Jaspar, Indiana recommended us! As we did not know the mayor, we were very surprised.

Read their books and be enveloped with their energy and spirit for freedom.—Copyright ©2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

All of the books listed above are still in print, still available as new books from our Web Site, www.war-books.com except for our hardcover edition of The Emperor’s Angry Guest. (now available in a paperback edition from Trafford Press) and Monk’s War in Vietnam which must be purchased online from Amazon.com and bn.com while our Web Site is being enlarged.

Tales from Book Industry Exhibiting

Tales from Book Industry Exhibiting

By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

The BookExpo America (BEA) annual book show just ended yesterday. A three day show used by book publishers to showcase upcoming titles, attendance was down 14% from the last time the show was held in New York City a few years ago. Major publishers such as Random House reduced their visibility at the show and bookstores cut the number of staff members they sent. Not for the first time, Southfarm Press didn't attend.

Why? I know you needn't ask. The economy, new technologies, new opportunities to sell on the Internet, even wholesale using electronic catalogues and new opportunities to network on the Internet. In addition, many stores that now sell books are not bookstores and I don't just mean the big box stores such as Walmart and Target. A wild bird feed store that carries children's books just recently expressed interest in our children's title, The Macaroon Moon (www.wandahaan.com).

There used to be a Military Book Show held in conjunction with BookExpo America and Southfarm Press would attend that show instead of the BEA. I think the last show was in either 2001 or 2002, again in New York City, on the Intrepid, the World War II aircraft carrier museum. We found the Military Book Show to be useful for sales and networking. Author Erhard Konerding (Vietnam Air War: 25 Rarely Told Stories) worked that last show with me.

Other years when the BEA was held in New York City, Southfarm Press would exhibit in the Small Press section which was cheaper than in the sections where the larger publishers held court. One year the Small Press section was on an aisle that led to celebrity book signings. I'll never forget the stampedes I witnessed down that aisle by booksellers (bookstore owners and their staffs) when one of these signings were announced. Hard to do business in a cattle stampede.

At one book trade show I was exhibiting at in Atlantic City, I was hit in the ribs by a woman behind me swinging her purse at me. I thought it was an accident so didn't say anything. But whammo, I was hit again. I turned to confront her.

"I'm hitting you," she said. Turned out she wanted me to give her the book samples I was exhibiting as it was the last day of the show and she figured I didn't want to go to the trouble of packing them up. As I valued my life, I let her take what she wanted.

One year at a BEA, I sat down to eat my box lunch, and at the same table was a young man. We struck up a conversation. It turned out he was a billboard advertising executive in the Midwest and was there hawking a religious book/gimmick that God had told him to bring to the BEA.

My wife, Wanda, caught a distinquished looking gentlemen stealing one of our books on display at a small press show, again in New York City. She made him pay up.

What it all means is that book publishers, especially small book publishers such as Southfarm Press, have to continue to be creative especially now in this challenging economic environment. The government is not going to bail us out.

Now that we all own a piece of General Motors, I mean Government Motors, shouldn't we all be receiving company cars?--Copyright 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Is Memorial Day Inconvenient?

Is Memorial Day Inconvenient?

By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

I received the following email earlier this month after I complained to my credit union about them apologizing for being closed on Memorial Day in a sign posted in their branches:

Good Morning Mr. Haan,

I’d like to first apologize for the offense our Memorial Day sign has caused you. Unfortunately, many of our members do not share your reverence for Memorial Day,and consider any closing of a branch an inconvenience. Still, I think you raise a good point. I will remove the line apologizing for inconvenience, and replace it with 24 hour account access info.

Again I apologize for any offense that was caused, I assure you I share your sentiments for men and women who have served, and the offense was not intentional.

Really? Are there many Americans out there who find Memorial Day an inconvenient holiday? That would be sad, very sad.

We already know that Americans will race to the Malls in droves to take advantage of "Sales" that hypocritical stores will be holding "in honor of our veterans." Yah, right.

But do Americans feel the holiday is otherwise inconvenient, closing banks, schools and some businesses.

If you are one of those out there who feel that Memorial Day is inconvenient (for example, because you can't cash in your winning lottery tickets on Memorial Day), Let me remind you of who really have the right to feel inconvenienced: Those soldiers, sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel who were killed serving this country.

An example would be those five servicemen allegedly killed in Iraq the other week by a Sergeant in a fit of unstable fury. THEY have been inconvenienced. They're dead and can no longer enjoy life, their families and successful futures. THAT IS INCONVENIENCE. And don't tell me they're in heaven now enjoying all the benefits that heaven allows. That is myth and folklore.

Take some time this weekend to honor those who have made our lives more secure with their sacrifices. Go to a Veterans' Cemetery instead of Walmart. --Copyright 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

War is cruelty

War is cruelty

By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

General William T. Sherman, famous for Sherman's March through the old south during the American Civil War, defined war as he saw it: "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." That's a great quote by someone who knew what he was talking about.

And now that our economy is in free fall, with everyone suffering including the families of our servicemen and women across the country, it is heartening to see First Lady Michele Obama offering comfort to those families through her visits to military bases. No one can blame our armed forces' soldiers, sailors and airmen for what is happening to our economy. But they, along with their families, are suffering from it just as well. Imagine dodging bullets in Afghanistan after reading a letter from your wife back home that she is using food stamps to help feed their children.

And it will get no better for those soldiers, sailors and airmen when they get back to the USA and out of the military. The unemployment rate for veterans is 30% higher than for those who never served.

Even the rich are experiencing economic difficulty, and they are the ones that probably have contributed to our economic mess through their greedy actions. Pat Buttram, Gene Autry's sidekick in films and on Gene's television show in the fifities, talked about the depression of the thirties on one of the last Arthur Godfrey radio shows in 1972:

"I was in poverty during the depression before it became popular and the rich folks became part of it. Back then the high priced spread was lard."

War is cruelty. Not having a draft to include the sons and daughters of all classes in our military is cruelty too. It means that it is only our poor who serve in the military and wind up in Afghanistan or Iraq or both. Not only unfair, it is cruel to a targeted segment of our population.
--Copyright 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Don't let anything you do undo what they died for

Don't let anything you do undo what they died for

By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

During World War II singer Bing Crosby said on his radio show, the Kraft Music Hall, "Don't let anything you do undo what they died for."

Today, March 19, 2009, is the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the American offensive against Iraq. March 19, 2003 was the start of our Iraqi War, and the war is still with us. Almost 5,000 American men and women have died in this illegal war where the United States attacked another nation without provocation. Our government stated there were reasons for us to do this, but they all turned out to be lies.

So I quote Bing Crosby again in referring to our forces, "Don't let anything you do undo what they died for." Especially because the United States wasted these almost 5,000 American lives by being dishonest. It also disrupted the lives of thousands of National Guardsmen and put about 150,000 men and women of our armed forces in harms way for lies.

And for what purpose? Wait until we pull out of Iraq and we'll see. For nothing. I searched this morning for some mention in the media of this anniversary and didn't find anything. Eventually the US will sweep this war and those approximately 4,000 to 5,000 lost American lives under the rug of American history. It's very sad.

Meanwhile, in the last few days there have been some indications that we will finally put an end to some of our bad decisions. Like ending Stop-Loss, where soldiers and National Guardsmen were forced against their will to extend their stays fighting in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Gates says the practice will be stopped by 2011. By 2011? How about now?

Under withering criticism from veterans and Congress, President Obama yesterday abandoned a proposal that would have required veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries. I can't even imagine how this idea was ever even conceived. Some HMO making decisions about whether bullet wounds received in Iraq are covered under their plan?

But then there is some bad news. As widely expected, former President George W. Bush is writing a book. Mr. Bush plans to write about 12 difficult personal and political decisions he has made in his life.

Tentatively titled Decision Points, the book is scheduled to be published in 2010. According to an agent for Bush, the book will cover his decisions relating to September 11, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. In other words, the book will be fiction. Who knew he could read let alone write?

Another book publisher is planning to publish another work of fiction by former Vice President Cheney. I think of him as "Henny Cheney" (The sky is falling! Iraq has weapons of mass destruction!).

How may trees are now going to die for these works of fiction?--Copyright 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Hidden servicemen and women in shipping containers

Hidden servicemen and women in shipping containers
By Walter Haan, www.war-books.com

Government officials reconsidering the ban on American news coverage of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base from Iraq and Afghanistan are studying the media policies of other countries such as Britain and Canada. These two important allies in our war in Afghanistan allow far more news media access to the return of a fallen soldier to his or her country than does the United States.

In a recent HBO movie, (more a docudrama) actor Kevin Bacon, playing the part of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, escorts the body of Chance Phelps, 19, a fellow Marine killed in Iraq, home to his parents in Wyoming. There’s no real plot to the movie other than following Colonel Strobl through his solemn rituals as he watched over Private Phelps. Phelps’ body was moved in a shipping container through various airports and from cargo hold to cargo hold as it wended its way to his family and friends.

Almost 5,000 American servicemen and women have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. But the photographic record documents only a small fraction of those who have given their lives for their country, meaning us.

Propaganda is part of waging every war, but the Bush (43) administration went to extraordinary lengths to cover up the human cost of these conflicts. It aggressively enforced the ban on photographic coverage of the coffins of our military casualties.

It looks as if this dishonest policy, which I believe dishonors the war dead, may be changing. And it’s about time. At a news conference recently, President Obama promised to review the ban, first imposed during the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

Let us hope that Obama follows through and reverses the ban. A lot of these men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan were National Guard caught up in a hidden draft. Our news media have stopped covering the war in Iraq, again making our servicemen hidden from us but in plain sight over there and in danger. Then if they lose their lives, they come home in shipping containers hidden from the American people, the very people who should want to know what is happening to those who serve our country and make the ultimate sacrifices.

It may be distressing to Americans to see flag draped coffins coming home every week. But more distressing and dishonest is to ignore these men and women in shipping cartons. It was dishonest of previous presidents (Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43) to enforce the hiding of the shipping cartons to further their military adventures and deceive the American people. I hope we don’t have to add President Obama’s name to the list of the other three presidential deceivers. Copyright © 2009 by Walter Haan, www.war-books.com