[Bill Murray]

Hallo again Stellan:

This is my first day off since Nov. 25th and I've so much to catch up on but I am trying to hang in there with you so I don't get too far behind.

Your friend was obviously quite a man and please tell him so for me if you see him again. The medal on the left is the Army Commendation Medal for sustained bravery or outstanding performance of duty in a combat zone. Even more impressive is the one on the right which is the Bronze Star, the fourth highest US decoration for individual bravery. Your friend may have some stories to tell too.

As a side note and this is something I have discussed with GWB in various PMs (He is a big fan of the USMC). My own Dad refused to wear his Vietnam decorations on his uniform. As he was the Deputy Commander of the MEF, he saw no real "action" and the medals were theatre, campaign or honorary ones but even so he would not wear them due to his opposition to the way the war was waged.

The quote about the Marine Corps being around for another 300 years I have seen but forgotten who said it. I believe it was one of the top Admirals of the time but could be wrong. There is, by the way a lot more to come. After WW II, Harry Truman tried very hard to get rid of the Marine Corps and almost succeeded. I would imagine the Koreans are glad he failed in this endeavour.

To stop for a moment, I am sensitive about going on too far about the politics of various engagements such as Viet Nam and Iraq so will ask guidance from the moderators here. I support fully that the Sergeant's Mess is for general historical discussion but I don't want to offend anyone with my personal views. On the other hand, I guess it qualifies as history now, at least Viet Nam does, so maybe I should not worry about it too much and I do have some interesting notes from my father's papers and our discussions.

You will very much enjoy the book American Caeser by the way as it is quite well written and I thought treated MacArthur fairly honestly, both the good and the bad.
Cheers
Bill