Use the Navigation Links at the Top to navigate these Internal Web Pages listed above.

Reflections/Connections—Click <Back> to come back from these external links included below.

I am back on line after a fairly long hiatus. The above images depict myself doing one of the things I love best--several years ago when I had more and darker hair and a moustache--long gone. After climbing up Maryland Heights across from Harper's Ferry with the love of my life, my wife. I sat on this big limestone rock to enjoy the view and let her take a photograph. I was totally entranced by the panoramic view and the atmosphere, being where so many significant events had occurred years ago. Almost as an afterthought I glanced down at the hunk of limestone that I was sitting on and noticed some graffiti carved in the rock - G R Parker. Co K. 13th Mass. 1861. It took a while for this to register. This was carved into the rock over 130 years before by some solitary Civil War soldier, a member of Company K, 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, probably either on guard duty or taking a break from his duties to enjoy the view--just like me--and leaving his mark for posterity. At this point I lost interest in the view and pointed out to my concerned companion what I noticed about the rock. She was of course very unimpressed and wanting to trek back down from the heights before night fell and we would be faced with a very dangerous climb down. I quickly jotted down the contents of the 130-year-old graffiti, and was totally focused on finding out more about G R Parker and Company K, 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was several months later when I went down to the National Archives in DC, primarily for other reasons, and procured a copy of the Service Record of Private Gardner R. Parker, Company K, 13th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A letter resided in his Service Record stating that he had been wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg--had his right thumb shot off. He was in the hospital in DC and had received news regarding three brothers--all serving as soldiers in this war. Two had died and one was sick in the hospital in DC. He thought he had better go home and take care of his family and console his mother over the loss of two sons--his brothers. Several months after my trip to the National Archives, I went to a Civil War Book Show and Sale in Baltimore--looking primarily for books relative to my primary area of interest--the Western Theater of the Civil War. What did I find? I found a book based on a diary written by Austin Stearns who had been a Sergeant in--yes, Company K, 13th Massachusetts. The title of the book is Three Years with Company K.  Chapters two and three deals with the men of Company K, 13th Massachusetts being detached to Harpers Ferry in the Fall of 1861 and consists primarily of vignettes regarding their stay in this locale. There is a list of members of Company K, 13th Massachusetts at the end of the book, including Private Gardner R. Parker who mustered out on disability shortly after the Battle of Fredericksburg.

_____

I remember when I flew into Bangkok on the way to finishing up my brief Army career at the 7th Radio Research Field Station, Udorn, Thailand at a time when the Viet Nam War Buildup was beginning to get into full swing around July, 1966. This was after leave of several days in route in Taipei, Taiwan, courtesy of the Company Clerk at Hakata Station, Kyushu, Japan, who had been a buddy of mine. He cut my travel orders so that I was authorized to wear civvies along with taking leave in route in Taipei and Bangkok, two of the nicest R and R locations that could be imagined for a young soldier, who had been away from home for over two years. I flew Air America, better known as CIA Airlines, from Itazuke Air Base, near Fukuoka, to Bangkok by way of Manila, Taipei, and Saigon. Air America were the same guys that flew clandestine air strikes over Laos, and later chilled out at the bars in Udorn. After several wonderful days in Bangkok, I took the Milk Run to Udorn. This consisted of a camouflage painted Air Force C-130 that flew the circuit from Bangkok up along the Laotian border and back down to Bangkok stopping at all the U.S. air bases along the way. My stop was Udorn Air Base, which at the time was the primary U.S. base for launching air strikes over North Viet Nam. I then embarked via van from Udorn to the 7th RRFS Camp out in the Boondocks. This was a big shock after Japan, Taipei, and Bangkok. There were several hooch's, elevated wooden frames with screenwire walls and Army tent canvas for a roof, with flaps that were normally left flipped up over the roof, but could be flipped down when the monsoon hit. Each long wall was lined with army bunks. Each bunk had mosquito netting that could be pulled down to protect the sleeper. There were several Army deuce-and-a-half communications vans parked within a high fenced-in enclosure topped off by barbed wire and an open-sided carport type roof and guarded by MP's armed with M-16's and .45's. The camp perimeter was guarded by always friendly always smiling Thai Soldiers. There was a large antenna field close by and this little one room wooden shack with a covered dirt patio that turned out to be The Club. The camp was surrounded by always friendly always smiling Thai Peasants who lived happily in poverty and resided in one room thatched roof hooch's, sitting on elevated poles to keep out the many nasty crawling and slithering critters that inhabit the Thai Boondocks. The inhabitants of each hooch along with a mother and father tended to include a large passel of kids and one-each water buffalo and live-in mother-in-law. Udorn sits about thirty miles west of and thirty miles south of the Laotian border. Cross a narrow panhandle and you are in North Viet Nam. It must have taken Air Force Phantoms about thirty minutes to get to Hanoi from Udorn. I have set the stage. I will try to add a few vignettes later.

_____

When the weather was nice and I had some free time and nothing else in particular to do, and I was living and working at Hakata Station, a U.S. Army Base across the bay from Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu in Southern Japan, I would sometimes climb up this huge man-made slag pile, which looked like a perfect mountain with no flaws. This feature was located right at the base and right on the ocean side of the peninsula looking out on the Sea of Japan. It was not an easy climb. It was gigantic. It dominated the scene up and down the beach in both directions. I would climb up that man-made mountain to find solitude, to have time to think, and to marvel at the view in every direction. It looked even higher from the top than it did from down below. I was so awed by Mount Hakata that I asked questions about this feature. It turns out Mount Hakata had been built by U.S. POW's in various camps around Hakata and Fukuoka during World War II. The next time I climbed Mount Hakata it took on a whole new meaning for me, and every time I went outdoors anywhere near the base, I would stare at that mountain in awe. I still enjoyed the view but I would make my connection with those U.S. POW's, and I would wonder how many survived, and how many were buried in that mountain.  God Bless and Keep those U.S. POW’s.

_____

As I sat at the bar having a drink and practicing my Japanese with a Japanese gentleman who was old enough to be my father in one of the many pleasant little watering spots in Fukuoka, Japan--this would have been about twenty years after the end of World War II--the conversation turned serious. This man had been a crew member of an Imperial Japanese Minesweeper that was torpedoed and sunk by an American Submarine. All his friends except for four and himself were lost. He did this little pantomime of his friends sinking to the bottom of the ocean, just in case I did not get the point. I got the point. There were only five survivors, and they had to swim five miles to the nearest land in order to live. My father or one of my uncles could have been a crew member on that U.S. submarine for all he knew. My Japanese friend dropped the subject as quickly as he had introduced it. He had already bought me one or two drinks, and he was friendly and having a very good time both before and after the moment of seriousness. It had a very profound effect on me--a young American soldier stationed in Japan.

_____

When I was living and working in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, near one of my favorite cities in England--York--one of my favorite pass-times was visiting the York Minster along with small village churches and very old--the term, "very old", has a completely different meaning in England than it does in the US--cemeteries--along with the many very old ruins. Virtually every village church in England has a monument or a plaque dedicated to the memory of past parishioners who died in wars. Every village square or park in England has a monument to those who died in The Great War--WWI. Mounted very inconspicuously--if you don't look for it, you may not see it--at the entrance to Valley Gardens in Harrogate, one of the most beautiful and peaceful park-gardens I have ever seen--is a small plaque--the words speak for themselves:

 

THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY THE OFFICERS AND NURSES OF THE 116TH GENERAL HOSPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY WHO, SERVING THEIR COUNTRY DURING WORLD WAR II, SPENT HAPPY DAYS IN HARROGATE AND ENJOYED THE HOSPITALITY OF ALL YORKSHIRE

 

 

MAY 21, 1944 - MAY 11, 1945

_____

In one of the smallest, certainly the most beautiful and picturesque, villages in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, is a tiny, but beautiful, village church, with a tiny, but enchanting, village cemetery out back. You can't imagine how small this scene is--within the village--and how huge the scene becomes, when you look out from this small speck half way up a Bavarian mountain, at a Bavarian vista that takes your breath away. My wife was very patient with me--as always--after I parked the car and soaked up every drop of this scene. Needless to say, I had to check out the inside of the church and the cemetery. There are four gravestones in this cemetery that caught my attention. Each one has a photograph on it of a very young man in his teens or twenties. Each one has that Cocky German Look. Each one is wearing that familiar German Army Uniform, with his hat cocked at a jaunty angle, looking like he owns the world. Each one is from this village. I am not sure if there are four houses in this village. Each one of these young men was Killed in Action on the Eastern Front in World War II. My wife had a very difficult time getting me to leave this scene.

_____

As I stood on the USS Arizona Memorial on a beautiful placid day at Pearl Harbor, surrounded by very noisy, totally irreverent tourists, many of whom had no appreciation for where they were, I took notice of a name on the list of those who died and were still entombed beneath these noisy irreverent tourists, MATT2C Donald Monroe. At that point I took no further notice of noisy tourists. I made my connection with my namesake, MATT2c Donald Monroe of Missouri who died in the Japanese Attack many years ago and was still entombed at that place. I also thought about one of my favorite movies of all time, From Here to Eternity. This movie centers around a group of soldiers stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii around the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack. Just a couple days before I had had lunch with a colleague of mine at the Officers Club at Schofield Barracks, and I expected to see Burt Lancaster walk in the door any minute. I have since been able to put together a Web Page on my Grandfather and his service in the Philippine Insurrection, 1905-1906, as a member of the 21st Infantry.  The current and still active 21st Infantry is and has been for some time stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. According to the Regimental History, this regiment was stationed at Schofield Barracks at the time of the Japanese Attack, and took casualties. The 21st Infantry some time back returned from peace-keeping duties in the Sinai.  It has also served as a line unit in Iraq in both Iraqi Wars.

_____

THE BEST CONNECTIONS THAT I EVER MADE ARE:

· Moving across the bridge to our condo on the water on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and setting our clock to Island Time.

· Being born.

· Living my young life in Kentucky.

· Having a father that did not let a day go by without discussing history and his life experiences.

· Having a grandmother that did not let a day go by without discussing history and her life experiences.

· Having a mother who had the patience and love to put up with all my quirks and shortcomings.

· Attending and graduating from the University of Kentucky--I bleed Kentucky Blue--Go Cats!

· Going into the Army and getting a chance to live life and see the world.

· Getting a job with a Government Agency unlike any other and helping win the Cold War--Go USA!

· Transporting myself to a place where there are infinite opportunities to experience history and visit scenic, historical places.

· Transporting myself to a place where I have had the opportunity to get to know some great people and some wonderful and loving in-laws and to embrace dual citizenship--I am now also a Marylander!

· Marrying my lovely and loving wife who has no interest in history or the Civil War, but who understands that they are two of my greatest passions--next to her!

· Having two sons who have no interest in history or the Civil War, and who reflect all the best things in life, and who I love dearly!

· Having the opportunity to have a big black, lean and mean, and loveable dude of a cat named Mister T as a friend for a long time before he went to Cat Heaven.

· Having two warm, fuzzy, and loveable female siblings named Holly Go-Lightly and Eliza (Liza) Doolittle to replace the Big Dude.

· Having the opportunity to travel to some great places, and to get to know the people as friends and colleagues: Japan; Taiwan; Thailand; The United Kingdom--England, Scotland, Wales; Germany; Austria; Italy; France; Canada--with side trips to Viet Nam and Laos.

· Retiring from the government and getting hired as a contractor in the private sector and as an intensely loyal and patriotic, and shall I say, successful, double-dipper.

· Making a very real and very profound connection with people who came before me and who will live forever as long as somebody like myself makes that connection.

· Making the transition from depending on the historians for their interpretations to making my own interpretations.

· Coming to the realization that we all helped make history.

 

MY WISHES AND HOPES ARE:

· That we are finding out first hand via TV and other means that war is not fun, and war is not easy, whether you are a winner or a loser.

· That this generation is discovering something that I have known for years--that the Brits are our Truest and Staunchest Friends--bar none.

· That The Mall and Media and Make It (3M) Generation will become the new Best Generation.

· That we handle those, whose only purpose in life is to kill and to die, the old fashioned way--quickly and totally and efficiently--with neither malice nor mercy.

· That we will soon see these idiots blown away like the other Garbage of History.

· That the Experts and those who are still fighting Old Wars will concern themselves with avoiding Future Wars.

· That folks will realize that there is a flow to history, and that all historical events have a connection to present events and future events.

· The Bible; the Koran; the Torah; the Crusades; Wars of Religion; Ethnic Wars; Civil Wars; hate; murder; torture; slavery; gold; rum; cotton; opium; oil; Colonial Wars; Lawrence of Arabia; Zionism; the Birth of Israel; International Terrorism; the Cold War; Viet Nam; the Breakup of the Soviet Union; the '91 Iraqi War; Northern Ireland; Kosovo; the War of Iraqi Liberation--war and hate are brutal and negative, whichever side you are on.

· That more people will realize that there is more--very much more--to History than just studying battles and generals and weapons and visiting great battlefields.

· That more people will realize that, especially when you take War to a personal and human level, there is nothing glorious and glamorous and heroic about it--General Sherman realized that was the case and stated his case extremely succinctly--"War means fighting, and fighting means killing and dying."

· That more people will realize that every Soldier who enlisted, served his full term, and mustered out honorably--or was killed, died of illness, or mustered out on disability from illness or wounds--is a hero.

· That more people will realize that the people who stayed home --the mothers, wives, sweethearts, children, fathers--are also heroes--and victims.

· To live long enough to enjoy real retirement like my father did.

· To live long enough to realize Peace for the first time in the History of the World.

· To enjoy final retirement and devote the last years of my life to enhancing the connection with those who came before me, those who come after me, and with the best things in nature and with the best things in life.

· To have the opportunity and the ability to cause others to be able to make this connection.

· To have the opportunity to visit and photograph all the places and to connect with all the Spirits where my Family History was made.

 

MY FIRM BELIEFS ARE:

· That there is something beyond monuments and edifices and artifacts and words in history books and words in the media that is out there for all of us to connect with.

· That, call it whatever you want--Essence; Spirit; Intuition; Soul; Ghost; ESP; Feeling; Atmosphere; Dream; Thought--there is not a doubt in my mind that it truly exists--"Something Abides"--as Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain said.  It is all around us and it permeates everything--we and all our forebears are part of it.

· That our understanding of Our Own World is broadened and enhanced and made more profound and more fun by connecting with Past Worlds and Other Worlds.

· That it does not matter which uniform you wore--if you served in the Military, you have a Special Connection with everyone else who has served--and is now serving.

 

<<<Use the Navigation Links at the Top to navigate these web pages.>>>

 

E-mail:  esmr00ts@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Don Monroe’s Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, World War II, Viet Nam Era, Cold War, Current Troubles, Maryland Eastern Shore, Reflections, Connections.

 

Don Monroe’s Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, World War II, Viet Nam Era, Cold War, Current Troubles, Maryland Eastern Shore, Reflections, Connections.

 

Use the Navigation Links at the Top to navigate these Internal Web Pages listed above.

Don Monroe’s Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, World War II, Viet Nam Era, Cold War, Current Troubles, Maryland Eastern Shore, Reflections, Connections.