20071109 Veterans Day and Remembering Vietnam: “The Wall at 25” by the Smithsonian Channel

Veterans Day and Remembering Vietnam: “The Wall at 25” by the Smithsonian Channel

November 9^th, 2007

Paull Young, Smithsonian Channel Community Administrator, has been in touch in reference to my post on “Soundtrack” on November 3rd, 2007: 20071101 Smithsonian Channel: Tribute to Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets:

Hi Kevin,

I saw your post on the Smithsonian Channel and wanted to share this promo for ‘The Men Who Brought Dawn’:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iQ2pyEZefs

The Smithsonian Channel is airing a special block of programming ‘America’s War Stories’ (on Direct TV) featuring both ‘The Men Who Brought Dawn’ and a new documentary ‘Remembering Vietnam – The Wall at 25’ that Jan Scrugg (Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund founder and president) calls “the best documentary about the wall I’ve ever seen”. After reading your post I thought you might like to check it out.

You can view a promo of the show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJrCN83mb8o

Remembering Vietnam will be streamed live on the Smithsonian Channel website (www.smithsonianchannel.com) concurrent with its High Definition premiere on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11 at 9pm EST / 6pm PST. You can get all the information about it here.”

A big thank you to Paull Young, the Smithsonian Channel Community Administrator, for being in touch.

For more information on the program, Remembering Vietnam: “The Wall at 25” by the Smithsonian Channel, please read my colleague at The Westminster Eagle’s article in the Wednesday, November 7^th, 2007 edition of the paper, “Documentary recalls a life on 'The Wall' By Heidi Schroeder.”

Please note that unfortunately this link is not a permalink. A permalink will be assigned to the article after the piece is placed in archives. So if you are reading this post several weeks after it is published, please go to The Westminster Eagle, and look for the article in archives.

For more information on Lance Cpl. Muriel Stanley Groomes, a Carroll Countian who was killed in Vietnam on Nov. 2, 1968, please read my column in The Sunday Carroll Eagle, this Sunday, November 11, 2007.

And my Westminster Eagle column for Wednesday November 7^th, 2007 is Jerry Barnes: county state's attorney and veteran : “As Veterans Day fast approaches -- it's this Sunday, Nov. 11 -- it's appropriate to remember that service to our country is a cherished tradition in Carroll County. And so it was that in May 1968, Jerry F. Barnes joined the U.S. Army. Today, we know Mr. Barnes as Carroll County State's Attorney....” [Read full story] [Again - - Please note that unfortunately this link is not a permalink. A permalink will be assigned to the article after the piece is placed in archives. So if you are reading this post several weeks after it is published, please go to The Westminster Eagle, and look for the article in archives.]

Finally, my column in this Sunday’s The Tentacle will also be on Carroll County State’s Attorney Jerry Barnes and the Remembering Vietnam: “The Wall at 25” by the Smithsonian Channel:

“Remembering Vietnam - The Wall at 25,” is the subject of a stunning original Smithsonian Channel Documentary. The program will be simultaneously web-streamed on the Smithsonian Channel Website - www.smithsonianchannel.com with its on-air broadcast to DirecTV subscribers on Channel 267 this evening at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

My colleague at The Westminster Eagle, Heidi Schroeder and I were provided an advance copy of the documentary. We had been contacted for research information by Lynn Kessler-Hiltajczuk last summer.

Ms. Kessler-Hiltajczuk is a writer-producer for Alexandria-based LK Productions and served as an independent producer for the program. She was looking for additional information on Lance Cpl. Muriel Stanley Groomes, a Carroll Countian who was killed in Vietnam on Nov. 2, 1968.

Ms. Schroeder writes that in “addition to a history of The Wall's construction and interviews with veterans, the documentary provides a sneak peek into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, which features over 100,000 items that have been left at The Wall.”

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs calls the program "the best documentary film about the wall I've ever seen." After reviewing it several times, I could not agree more.

[…]

_____

REMEMBERING VIETNAM: THE WALL AT 25

A stirring, surprising and emotional history of a national shrine devoted to remembrance and reflection. The famous “Wall” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Remembering Vietnam: The Wall at 25 goes back in time to tell the story of the memorial through the eyes of those who conceived it, those who were instrumental in pushing it through bureaucratic and political resistance, those intimately involved with its 25-year history, and those it honors. Above all, the documentary tells the story of a place that is more than a memorial – it is a place where old wounds are healed.

Press Release Source: Smithsonian Networks

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071031/nyw096.html?.v=101

'Remembering Vietnam - The Wall at 25,' Original Smithsonian Channel(TM) Documentary, to be Streamed on Smithsonian Channel Website on Veterans Day (Sunday, Nov. 11)

Wednesday October 31, 11:00 am ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- "Remembering Vietnam - The Wall at 25" - - an original documentary about the history of the famous monument in Washington, D.C. -- will be streamed on www.smithsonianchannel.com, the Smithsonian Channel website, concurrent with its premiere on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11 at 8 pm and 11 pm ET/PT.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs calls it "the best documentary film about the wall I've ever seen."

"We felt this documentary was so powerful that we wanted to make it possible for this moving and important program to be seen by all Americans as we honor the soldiers who have fought for our country this Veterans Day," said Tom Hayden, General Manager, Smithsonian Networks.

The one-hour documentary is produced by filmmaker Lynn Kessler, and is part of a package of original programs to be shown in honor of Veterans Day beginning Friday, November 9 and continuing through Sunday, November 11.

Smithsonian Channel is currently available on DIRECTV's Channel 267.

ABOUT SMITHSONIAN NETWORKS:

Smithsonian Networks (SN) is a joint venture between Showtime Networks Inc. and the Smithsonian Institution. It was formed to create new channels that will showcase scientific, cultural and historical programming largely inspired by the assets of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The networks will feature original documentaries, short- subject explorations and innovative and groundbreaking programs highlighting America's historical, cultural and scientific heritage. Visit them on the internet at www.smithsonianchannel.com

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Source: Smithsonian Networks

20070610 The Last Train to Clarksville

The Last Train to Clarksville

June 10^th, 2007

On June 10th, 2007 Maryland Politics Today had a post titled “The Last Money Train To Clarksville.”

As much as I appreciated P. Kenneth Burns calling to our attention the need of Baltimore mayor Dixon to go outside of the city for support for her re-election campaign, I was particularly intrigued with the reference to the “Last Train to Clarksville.”

And only Mr. Burns knows if he was referring to mayor Dixon’s trip to Howard County in the manner in which the 1966 Monkees’ meant it… Or if he was referring to mayor Dixon and “Betamax” metaphorically or if it is a coincidence…

But what a trip down memory lane that reference causes an aging Baby Boomer such as me. Although, I gotta tell ya, “The Monkees” were a little lame for my taste to put it mildly; it nevertheless brings back a time and place from many years ago.

And it comes on the heels of just writing a Westminster Eagle column on aspects of 1967 last Wednesday, June 6th, 2007: Dwight Dingle, 'Sgt. Pepper' and a bathtub band :

“It was 40 years ago last Saturday, June 2, 1967, when the Beatles released their eighth album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Although musical taste can be fiercely debated, many music critics and publications consider this album to be one of the most influential of all time. Rolling Sto...”

“The Last Train to Clarksville,” from 1966, may be considered to be a pop song and to be sure, it certainly has a bubblegum feel and sound to it. Nevertheless the song was about a serious dynamic in the lives of young men eligible for military duty.

The song, with its “pop flavor” and seemingly light-hearted approach is forever engrained in my head as a great example of cognitive dissonance…

Listen to the lyrics.[1]

The song is about a man who is trying to arrange one last date with his sweetheart because he has been drafted and he is about to be deployed to Vietnam. Listen for :

'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning

And I must see you again

We'll have one more night together

'Til the morning brings my train.

And I must go, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

And the reference to “Betamax players [2] in home” was equally a hoot. Yes, I actually still have content on old “beta” tapes.” And I thought some of the data migration from my old columns and short stories in DOS-based “Word Perfect” was hard…

And I cannot imagine hardly any of our younger readers are aware of whar being “betamaxed” means… (“A superior technology that is overtaken by an inferior one.”)

Anyway, thanks a bunch for memory Mr. Burns…

Meanwhile if you are not reading Mr. Burn’s excellent work at Maryland Politics Today,” there is no better time than now…. Err, after ya watch, “The Last Train to Clarksville” by the Monkees:

Oh what the heck… Let’s hear more. This is a song that I did like:

“Valerie”

I liked this one too:

The Monkees - A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

####

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[1] Last Train to Clarksville

Words and Music by

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart

Take the last train to Clarksville,

And I'll meet you at the station.

You can be be there by four thirty,

'Cause I made your reservation.

Don't be slow, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning

And I must see you again

We'll have one more night together

'Til the morning brings my train.

And I must go, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

Take the last train to Clarksville.

I'll be waiting at the station.

We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses

And a bit of conversation.

Oh... Oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

Take the last train to Clarksville,

Now I must hang up the phone.

I can't hear you in this noisy

Railroad station all alone.

I'm feelin' low. Oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

Take the last train to Clarksville,

Take the last train to Clarksville,

[repeat and fade]

[2] Betamax:

The first half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format, introduced by Sony in 1975 and commonly known as "Beta." The first Betamax cassettes held only one hour of video, but the capacity was subsequently increased to hold an entire movie. Sony later introduced Beta Hi-fi, which improved audio quality, and SuperBeta, which offered a better image.

Beta Vs. VHS

One year after Beta was introduced, the VHS format came out with a slightly larger cassette that held a full movie from the start. VHS began to overtake Beta almost immediately, but for several years, both formats were widely used, and pre-packaged movies were offered in both Beta and VHS. By the late 1980s, Beta had been almost entirely eclipsed by VHS, although Betamax machines were still manufactured by Sony until 2002.

Betamaxed!

The Betamax technology was considered to have superior image quality over VHS, but was hardly noticeable on ordinary home equipment, especially if the recording was done off the air and not from a high-quality master tape. To this day however, "Betamaxed" refers to a superior technology that is overtaken by an inferior one. See VHS, helical scan, Beta/VHS debacle and Betacam.

20070418 The passion thrill and magic of April

Westminster Eagle

“The passion, thrill, and magic of April”

April 18, 2007 by Kevin Dayhoff

The American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early nineteenth century, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The April winds are magical, and thrill our tuneful frames. The garden-walks are passional to bachelors and dames.”

Hopefully we won’t have an April this year as we had 110 years ago. The Democratic Advocate reported on April 24, 1897: “A blast from the North bore down on this section Monday night, sending down the mercury to 26 at 7 o'clock on Tuesday morning… This has been the coldest April for twenty years.”

To look back in Carroll County history, any given month of the year provides an historian with a cornucopia of thrilling stories to explore, but April has always been especially fascinating.

Perhaps one person in Carroll County history who may have opted for a less passionate month was the editor of the Western Maryland Democrat, Joseph Shaw.

Mr. Shaw was lynched in Westminster at the corner of Anchor and West Main Street for an editorial that he had published in the paper just days before President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14^th 1865.

It might be important to mention at this point, that these days, murdering editors is on the disapproved behavior list in Westminster.

The mid-1970s was not a good time for planning reservoirs. It was in April 1973 that yet another proposed reservoir was on its way to being forced off the drawing board by public outcry. Remember, a $5 million reservoir proposed by Westminster on Big Pipe Creek in Union Mills was shot-down in September 1976.

The Carroll Record published an editorial on April 12, 1973: “Again—To the concern of many and to the dismay of hundreds more, in Carroll and Frederick Counties, the Sixes Bridge Dam and Lake Project (on the Monocacy River) is back on the front burner again… (A) new report entitled, Potomac River Basin Water Supply, coupled with vocal action by citizen groups… fearing a water shortage, has again alarmed area residents.” The proposed, but never built, $32 million reservoir was going to be paid for entirely by the federal government.

On another public safety and welfare note, the American Sentinel reported on April 11, 1896, the cornerstone for the new Westminster fire hall on Main Street was set with great pomp and ceremony by the Door to Virtue Lodge No. 40.

“The event had long been anticipated with interest, not only by the firemen, but by citizens generally, and drew to the scene a large assembly of people… It was preceded by a parade of the Westminster Band and the firemen, in full dress uniform… under charge of the marshal, Ex-Mayor Joseph D. Brooks; E. J. Lawyer, president and F. K. Herr, chief.”

Ten years later, on April 6, 1906, the fire company only to go next door to spring into action. According to the American Sentinel, a fire destroyed the “Palace livery stable and residence of Mr. Harry H. Harbaugh, on East Main Street, with nearly (all) their entire contents, consisting of 22 horses, 45 vehicles… The stable was a large frame structure… between the Firemen's Building and the residence of Mayor O. D. Gilbert… The rear of the stable bordered on St. John's Catholic Cemetery.”

On the bright side, the Democratic Advocate reported on April 2, 1948, that the American Legion in Westminster installed their first TV set. “Television is still in its infancy; however it is particularly well adapted to sports events. Each night a major sport is televised. This large television set was installed by J. Stoner Geiman.”

On another positive note, the Carroll Record reported on April 5, 1973, “Friday morning started grey and rainy, much to the dismay of local residents of the Union Bridge area. (It) was the day that Sergeant Peter Edward Drabic (finally returned) to his hometown after four and one half years of captivity in Vietnam.”

Hopefully Mother Nature has remembered to schedule spring this year. We’re overdue for “passional magic to thrill our tuneful frames.”

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org

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20070228 Reconnecting a friend to Fred Magsamen

Web site helps reconnect a friend to Fred Magsamen

February 28th, 2007 – Posted March 3rd, 2007

Last Wednesday’s Westminster Eagle has a letter to the editor about a column I wrote for the Westminster Eagle – and later a blog post I wrote on the Winchester Report on May 26th, 2006: "On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts."

Web site helps reconnect a friend to Fred Magsamen

I just blundered (literally) across a story about Fred Magsamen that Kevin Dayhoff wrote for The Westminster Eagle way back in May 2006. ("On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 1 in our hearts," May 26, 2006.)

His story brought tears to my eyes. I am the Ken Van Arsdel whom he quoted in the article.

I can't tell you how much the article means to me. I counted Fred as a good friend É best friend É although I knew him for only a few short months.

The intensity of life as a soldier in Recon Company, CCN, seemed to distill daily experiences into moments that were both potent and poignant. Great friendships were formed quickly in the maelstrom of the events we lived. Sadly, they were often brought up short, as the odds caught up with us.

Mr. Dayhoff's article told me more about Fred than I ever knew, and I miss him all the more for it. Thank you for remembering him, and for sharing those memories with the world.

The Internet is a wonderful thing; without it I would never have seen your article.

Or would I? It is an experience like this that makes one question whether "divine intervention" or "karma" are more than just pop culture concepts.

Ken Van Arsdel

San Andreas, Calif.

(Editor's Note: The Magsamen article and others are available on our Web site, at http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/.)

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20060524 Columns on Frederick John Magsamen

Columns on Frederick John Magsamen

May 24^th, 2006

Westminster Eagle on May 24th, 2006:

“On Memorial Day, Westminster's own Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts ” 05/24/06 - By Kevin E. Dayhoff:

“Next Monday, Carroll County will commemorate Memorial Day. The tradition of the Memorial Day parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868. That year, Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General ...”

Read the rest here:

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1189178&om=1

The most comprehensive column on Freddy Magsamen is in the

Winchester Report on the Westminster Eagle Website:

“On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts “

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=722063&CategoryID=18298&show=localnews&om=20

The Tentacle

http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

May 24, 2006, “Lest We Forget!” Kevin E. Dayhoff

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=1615

Monday is Memorial Day. It was almost 140 years ago that the tradition of setting aside a day to honor our country's fallen heroes began with Gen. John A. Logan's May 5th, 1868 General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.

Read the rest here.

Also, related:

“Carroll County Maryland Vietnam Memorial Park, Westminster ”

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Labels: Magsamen Frederick John, Military, Military Memorial Day, Military Veterans Day, People Carroll County, Vietnam, Winchester Report, Westminster Eagle, The Tentacle

Baltimore Sun Op-ed: Righting the CIA by Melvin A Goodman

Baltimore Sun Op-ed: Righting the CIA by Melvin A Goodman

Righting the CIA by Melvin A. Goodman Published on Friday, November 19, 2004 by the Baltimore Sun

President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947 to coordinate the various assessments of the intelligence community and to place the CIA outside the policy community. In this way, Mr. Truman wanted to encourage competitive analysis within the intelligence community and to make sure that policy-makers did not tailor intelligence to suit their interests.

Over the years, there have been many attempts to politicize intelligence. But no government has been so blatant as the Bush administration, which used phony intelligence to justify the war against Iraq and has introduced a new director of central intelligence, Porter J. Goss, to conduct a political housecleaning at the highest levels of the agency.

I joined the CIA in 1966 during the Vietnam War and witnessed a major campaign to ensure that intelligence supported the Johnson administration's troop buildup in Southeast Asia. Working-level analysts correctly estimated the size of the Viet Cong forces and even predicted the Tet offensive in 1966, but time and again, senior officials caved in to Pentagon demands to limit the order of battle for irregular forces and to downplay the strength of Vietnam's military capabilities. After Tet in 1968, the CIA made honest efforts to accurately assess the capabilities and strengths of the enemy.

We are witnessing a similar phenomenon today, with agency analysts trying to improve their Iraqi intelligence reporting after tailoring intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism prior to the war.

[…]

I resigned from the CIA in 1990 because of the politicization of intelligence on the Soviet Union, which was championed by CIA Director William J. Casey and his deputy for intelligence, Robert M. Gates. The overestimates of the strength of the Soviet Union in the 1980s meant that the policy community was completely surprised by the Soviet collapse and missed numerous negotiating opportunities with Moscow.

[…]

Read the entire opinion piece here: Righting the CIA by Melvin A. Goodman Published on Friday, November 19, 2004 by the Baltimore Sun

20041119 Baltimore Sun Op ed Righting the CIA by Melvin A Goodman