thedrifter
02-18-03, 06:14 AM
Yossarian lives. Kilroy is still there. Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe would appreciate modern military absurdities.
Last Thursday, Fox 2/5 (Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marines) left Camp Pendleton for March Air Force Base in Riverside County and flew to Kuwait on chartered airliners.
"Because of security regulations, the Marines couldn't carry their knives onboard," said Mike Cerre, a freelance video producer from Sausalito accompanying the unit. "But they could carry their M-16s and M-60 machine guns. "
When Cerre called me from Kuwait, I asked how things were. This former Marine officer hesitated for a second and said, "Miserable. We got here in the middle of the night, too late to set up our tents, and then there was a sandstorm. Then it rained. My gunny (gunnery sergeant) said, 'S--, next we'll see the locusts.' "
"No matter how miserable the conditions, these guys are great," said Cerre. "During a stop in Frankfurt, they sneaked out of the airport for a snowball fight."
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Over the weekend, armies of millions around the world mobilized against the war.
Despite deep feelings of dread and occasional juvenile outbreaks of rage on Sunday, the morale of the thousands of people in the streets of San Francisco was as good as the morale of the Marines.
In Hallidie Plaza, a platoon of baby carriages arrived from Concord by BART. Martin Thisner, his wife, Marilyn, and her mother, Nora, had brought a third generation of the family, baby Maya. Thisner carried a sign saying, "Suburbia says no war."
"They say if people like us say no to a war in Iraq, maybe somebody will listen," said Thisner. "We have to do something."
Thisner, a technical recruiter, said he dislikes attempts to discredit dissenters as unpatriotic, when dissent is Americans' highest patriotic duty.
"I have friends in the military," he said. "I'm a proud American."
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At the airport in Kuwait, the Marines of Fox 2/5 were met by chartered city buses.
"These were like Muni buses," said Cerre. "We headed north through the desert and the drivers seemed to be lost. The staff sergeant said, "You know, I think if we keep going we can surprise the Iraqis. They're expecting Stealth bombers, not city buses."
In the streets of San Francisco, Muni buses, Golden Gate Transit buses and vehicles of all kinds had disgorged anti-war protesters who shared with young members of the military those best of American traits, our sense of humor and love of absurd fun.
Signs competed for best play on the word "Bush." "Buck Fush" is my nominee. An odd-looking fellow carried a small blimp emblazoned with "Tamales si, Bombings no." A teenage girl crossed Britney Spears with Joan Baez by painting her bare midriff with "Make Love Not War."
A guy with a "No War in Iraq" button joked and laughed with one of his friends, an SFPD motorcycle cop. It's a long way from Chicago, 1968.
Donna Brookman had been in Chicago that summer and experienced the police riot that swirled around the Democratic Convention. On Sunday, she and her husband, Bob Knight, and friend Stuart Dodds, all from Berkeley, were among the thousands of gray-haired Americans trying to prevent their government from dragging us into a very murky 21st century quagmire.
Brookman spoke of the Bush administration's radical new policy of waging pre-emptive war wherever it deems necessary. "It's totally squandered all the sympathy we had after 9/11," she said.
I told these middle-aged marchers about the high spirits of the young Marines in Kuwait.
"They're too young to know," said Knight. "I was an Army officer during Vietnam, and a third of my OCS (Officer Candidate School) class didn't come back."
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When Fox 2/5 finally was dug into the Kuwait desert, the commandant of the Marine Corps went to visit his troops.
"Some things never change in the Marines," said Cerre. "We had to walk 12 miles with full packs to a road where the commandant arrived by helicopter. "He spoke for five minutes, then we marched back. Everybody wondered why he couldn't have flown an extra 12 miles."
Yossarian lives. Pray we all live.
Rob Morse's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. His e-mail address is rmorse@sfchronicle.com.
Sempers,
Roger
Last Thursday, Fox 2/5 (Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marines) left Camp Pendleton for March Air Force Base in Riverside County and flew to Kuwait on chartered airliners.
"Because of security regulations, the Marines couldn't carry their knives onboard," said Mike Cerre, a freelance video producer from Sausalito accompanying the unit. "But they could carry their M-16s and M-60 machine guns. "
When Cerre called me from Kuwait, I asked how things were. This former Marine officer hesitated for a second and said, "Miserable. We got here in the middle of the night, too late to set up our tents, and then there was a sandstorm. Then it rained. My gunny (gunnery sergeant) said, 'S--, next we'll see the locusts.' "
"No matter how miserable the conditions, these guys are great," said Cerre. "During a stop in Frankfurt, they sneaked out of the airport for a snowball fight."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the weekend, armies of millions around the world mobilized against the war.
Despite deep feelings of dread and occasional juvenile outbreaks of rage on Sunday, the morale of the thousands of people in the streets of San Francisco was as good as the morale of the Marines.
In Hallidie Plaza, a platoon of baby carriages arrived from Concord by BART. Martin Thisner, his wife, Marilyn, and her mother, Nora, had brought a third generation of the family, baby Maya. Thisner carried a sign saying, "Suburbia says no war."
"They say if people like us say no to a war in Iraq, maybe somebody will listen," said Thisner. "We have to do something."
Thisner, a technical recruiter, said he dislikes attempts to discredit dissenters as unpatriotic, when dissent is Americans' highest patriotic duty.
"I have friends in the military," he said. "I'm a proud American."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the airport in Kuwait, the Marines of Fox 2/5 were met by chartered city buses.
"These were like Muni buses," said Cerre. "We headed north through the desert and the drivers seemed to be lost. The staff sergeant said, "You know, I think if we keep going we can surprise the Iraqis. They're expecting Stealth bombers, not city buses."
In the streets of San Francisco, Muni buses, Golden Gate Transit buses and vehicles of all kinds had disgorged anti-war protesters who shared with young members of the military those best of American traits, our sense of humor and love of absurd fun.
Signs competed for best play on the word "Bush." "Buck Fush" is my nominee. An odd-looking fellow carried a small blimp emblazoned with "Tamales si, Bombings no." A teenage girl crossed Britney Spears with Joan Baez by painting her bare midriff with "Make Love Not War."
A guy with a "No War in Iraq" button joked and laughed with one of his friends, an SFPD motorcycle cop. It's a long way from Chicago, 1968.
Donna Brookman had been in Chicago that summer and experienced the police riot that swirled around the Democratic Convention. On Sunday, she and her husband, Bob Knight, and friend Stuart Dodds, all from Berkeley, were among the thousands of gray-haired Americans trying to prevent their government from dragging us into a very murky 21st century quagmire.
Brookman spoke of the Bush administration's radical new policy of waging pre-emptive war wherever it deems necessary. "It's totally squandered all the sympathy we had after 9/11," she said.
I told these middle-aged marchers about the high spirits of the young Marines in Kuwait.
"They're too young to know," said Knight. "I was an Army officer during Vietnam, and a third of my OCS (Officer Candidate School) class didn't come back."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Fox 2/5 finally was dug into the Kuwait desert, the commandant of the Marine Corps went to visit his troops.
"Some things never change in the Marines," said Cerre. "We had to walk 12 miles with full packs to a road where the commandant arrived by helicopter. "He spoke for five minutes, then we marched back. Everybody wondered why he couldn't have flown an extra 12 miles."
Yossarian lives. Pray we all live.
Rob Morse's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. His e-mail address is rmorse@sfchronicle.com.
Sempers,
Roger