Military Officer - July 2007 - (Page 18)

Exercise Your Options yourviews my Navy career nearly 50 years ago would be brought back to life. Please give my congratulations and thanks also to your illustrator, Elwood Smith. I don’t know what his background is or what resources he used, but he got the forecastle of the Glennon exactly correct in the picture — even with the shape of the gun emplacement, the bow numbers, and the fact that 2,200-ton destroyers did have twin 5-inch mounts in each turret. Good job — those of us who served on those ships appreciate it. One small piece of information for your editors: They incorrectly used the word “boat” as a synonym for “ship” in the article. A boat is a small vessel that may be carried on a ship, and a ship may well be capable of carrying several boats. Anyone who ever crossed a gangway in anger would know the difference and not interchange the two terms. The one exception is with submarines, which are always referred to as boats, a matter of pride going back to the old U-boat days, maybe. —Lt. Cmdr. Bob Grosse, USN-Ret. San Luis Obispo, Calif. I believe, unequaled throughout the warrior history of our great nation. He, in fact, should be considered the hero among heroes! —Col. Thomas Harkins, USMC-Ret. Harrisonburg, Va. Corrections From Readers While the Bronze Star was not added until the time of World War II [“Emblems of Courage,” May 2007], the Silver Star was initiated at the time of World War I, as part of a hierarchy of awards for bravery. However, it was ﬁrst designated a Silver Star Certiﬁcate, which is considered the full equivalent. The deletion of the word “certiﬁcate” occurred before the war was over. Gen. Douglas MacArthur earned seven — that’s not a typo — Silver Stars during that war, along with two Distinguished Service Crosses (DSCs) and a Distinguished Service Medal. The interesting aspect of this hierarchy is that Gen. John Pershing enforced it so rigidly that during the course of war, only four Medals of Honor were awarded, including [those to Army] Sgt. Alvin York and Maj. Charles Whittlesey, who commanded the famous “Lost Battalion.” After the war, many of the DSCs were upgraded to Medals of Honor. —Col. George M. Hall, USA-Ret. via e-mail While reading the May 2007 issue of Military Ofﬁcer, I discovered an error on page 23 [“Afghan Army Gains Mobility,” “Rapid Fire”]. The Afghan Defense Minister is Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak; Wardak is not a major general (as stated in the article). —CWO5 Glenn W. Stevens, USA-Ret. Kabul, Afghanistan For submission information, see page 20. You’ve paid your dues. Now enjoy the privileges. With 16 different floor plans, activity-packed days and Fort Belvoir next door, you’ll have some tough decisions at The Fairfax. Unique financial options that may reduce future health care costs Assisted living, skilled nursing & rehabilitative care options A new memory care neighborhood Call 703.799.1200 to choose a five-star lifestyle at the area’s largest retirement community for military and Foreign Service officers. A Hero Omitted I very much enjoyed reading Fred Borch and Robert F. Dorr’s article, “Emblems of Courage,” in your May 2007 issue. I only wish they had recognized, during their excellent discussion of our nation’s secondhighest award for gallantry, valor, and sacriﬁce, the feats of one of America’s greatest and most treasured heroes: Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller. General Puller was awarded ﬁve Navy Crosses and the Distinguished Service Cross (among numerous other personal awards for gallantry under ﬁre) during his long and distinguished Marine career. This is an accomplishment, THE FAIRFAX 9140 Belvoir Woods Parkway Fort Belvoir, VA 22060 www.sunriseseniorliving.com www.arrfp.org 18 MILITARY OFFICER J U LY 2 0 0 7 http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com http://www.arrfp.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - July 2007

Military Officer - July 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: In Focus After the Kim Dynasty Animal House Paying Tribute MOAA Member Services Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - July 2007

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