Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Draaama: Dirty, Filthy Occupiers Just Showed Up To Crash BlogCon | Main | Video of the Draaaamaaa »
November 11, 2011

The Veteran I Knew Best

The veteran I knew best was my dad. I don't have a picture of him in uniform. Here he is a few years after his service, standing in front of his pink Thunderbird. He was an enlisted man in the Army, and when he went to jump school at Ft. Benning, they offered him a job. He was asked to join what he always called "the cadre." It's now called the Blackhat Cadre, due to the distinctive hats they wear. From Google Books:

They are more than instructors, because in a very tangible way they are the Airborne School. They are the custodians of tradition, and they are the link that joins paratrooper of the past with paratroopers of the future, with every new paratrooper that they train.

. . .

The cadre's main function is to teach you how to get from the airplane to the ground without killing yourself or injuring others around you. The method of instruction has changed little since World War II.

They had already taken notice of him, but he got the job offer because of the way he handled a fight with a bully. There was a lieutenant going through jump school who picked on everyone, and everyone hated him. One day he started-in on my dad who tried to ignore him. Then he said, simply, "Why don't you just leave me alone." They guy persisted and finally thunked dad on the head with his finger.

You can't touch somebody like that.

The lieutenant had a beating coming, and he got it. Before the fight was over, everybody turned out to see it--everyone rooting for dad. He quit as soon as the guy indicated he'd had enough. Apparently instructors or officers witnessed the fight too. About thirty minutes later, dad was escorted to the CO's office. All the officers were there, the big guy sitting at a desk. Dad thought he was going to the stockade. "Brewer, we've been watching you... (here it comes) We like your style, and we'd like you to stay on here as cadre."

So dad stayed at Ft. Benning while his buddies shipped out to Korea.

I told this story to G. Gordon Liddy once. I was a fan of his show and sent him a letter. Liddy read it on the air and explained that my dad was selected because of the way he handled that fight. He had tried his best to avoid it, and when it could no longer be avoided, he took care of business. (Interesting coincidence: Liddy was at Ft. Benning at the same time.)

There were other things in place, of course. He was a smart guy and a good soldier. He had also qualified for the pistol and rifle teams. He chose the pistol team: "I knew I'd spend less time on the ground [in the prone position] shooting a pistol."

The Army was perfect for dad, young man that he was. It gave him structure and taught him how to be a man. It made a permanent impression on him that translated into tremendous practical benefit later on in business. It taught him how to lead.

So, here's to a good soldier, my dad. His birthday was 11-11, by the way.


digg this
posted by rdbrewer at 04:52 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
m: "27 PAGING ADMIRAL ACKBAR... Posted by: Tex Lovera ..."

Boswell: "Doesn't she look like one of the male characters i ..."

Joe Mannix (Not a cop!): "Some rich guys -- especially young ones -- still g ..."

Ciampino - real takeoff postponed: "Launch scrubbed until 1:37PM ET(?) tomorrow 3/29/2 ..."

nurse ratched : "There was a time when I thought Stephen Colbert wa ..."

Ashley Judd's Puffy Scamper: "Maybe. Sam wasn't too bad looking and he had a vas ..."

Joe Mannix (Not a cop!): "As I recall she bragged about being a freak and th ..."

J.J. Sefton: " Stephen Colbert, host of CBS' "The Late Show with ..."

Elric Blade: "197 SBF's girlfriend had the one important quality ..."

SBF's cellmate.: "So long as he keeps his mouth shut . . . . [i]P ..."

Sock Monkey * Unsynchronized: " I added a good photo of his girlfriend... Post ..."

Bret : "Let me guess…no one actually read the bill. ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64