Jack McLean's Blog

Bill Moyers had a guest the other day who described the process by which the Taliban in Afghanistan recruited and indoctrinated young male villagers in remote regions.
I was reminded that, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Following is a piece written by Bill Negron, my former Company Commander in Vietnam who, during his first tour in Vietnam (1964-1965), was an advisor to the South Vietnamese Marines. He recalled the following incident which is chillingly similar to that...

In September, 1962, I departed Summit, New Jersey to attend prep school in Andover, MA. Several years later, my parents moved north as well, thereby severing any and all ties that I had to legions of childhood friends. My mind left them all encased (entombed?) in an adolescent time capsule. Lost Summit friends Russ Thomas, Sandy Lane, Jill Barr, Debby Wadmond, me, Karl (Killer) Thomason, and Pete Diemon in Concord June, 2009.
In August, 1968, I departed Vietnam to attend Harvard thereby...

To a generation of young boys in search of role models, one needed to look no further than the American military heroes of the Second World War - "Loon: A Marine Story"

As the United States is currently astride with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and befuddled by nation-building, I felt it an appropriate time to examine an example of what I meant by the above quote.

We rarely hear of the extraordinary planning and tireless work done by the American military to execute the rebuilding of a dozen...

Civilian pleads not guilty to wearing Navy medalsBy Alan Duke, CNNNovember 12, 2009 -- Updated 2216 GMT (0616 HKT)

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A California man faces a federal trial in January because of what he allegedly wore to his 20th high school reunion earlier this year -- a U.S. Marine uniform decorated with some of the nation's highest military medals.

Steve Burton, 39, never served in any branch of the U.S. military, but he was seen and photographed several times wearing a...

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Back From War, but Not Really Home

By CAROLINE ALEXANDER

Published: November 7, 2009

Holderness, N.H.

WASHED onto the shores of his island home, after 10 years' absence in a foreign war and 10 years of hard travel in foreign lands, Odysseus, literature's most famous veteran, stares around him: "But now brilliant Odysseus awoke from sleep in his own fatherland, and he did not know it,/having been long away." Additionally, the goddess Athena has cast an obscuring...

Shortly after our arrival as recruits on Parris Island, we learned how to execute the hand salute. As with all we were there taught, it was done by the numbers.

1. Raise your right hand smartly in the most direct manner until the tip of your forefinger touches the lower part of the headdress above and slightly to the right of your right eye.

2. Your thumb and fingers should be straight and touch each other.

3. You should be able to see your entire palm when looking straight ahead.

4....

Monday, while driving south from Quebec to Fort Lee, I passed the town of South Hadley - home to Mount Holyoke College - comfortably nestled in the foliage-blazed hills of western Massachusetts.

The moment brought to mind Joseph Ellis, the Pulitzer Prize winning Mt. Holyoke College professor, author, historian, former Acting-President, and bold-faced despicable career-long liar about his service in Vietnam.

Long-time readers here will recall a post with the above title, which ran in...

Here are the flyers for upcoming Loon events in:
Newport, VT (near my mother's hometown of Stanstead, Quebec)
Holyoke, MA (Home of Neil (Doc) Downey, Charlie Company Senior Corpsman)
Huntington, NY (near my birthplace of Northport, NY)




Great thanks to all of the friends, family, and Vietnam brothers who have taken the leadership in organizing these and other events.
Semper Fidelis.
Please pass these along to any friends or family that may be nearby.
Thank you for visiting.

Here is the draft cover copy of the paperback edition of Loon: A Marine Story, which will be released on May 25, 2010.
Thank you for visiting.

This is the last of a 5 part repost.Pictured on the left is the Arlington Cemetery internment ceremony this past May for the final four recovered victims of the Battle for LZ Loon. Below are Loon survivors Terry Tillery, Dan Burton, me, and Mac Mecham meeting for the first time in San Francisco 5 years ago.
When I returned home from Hong Kong, the contract was waiting. The details were numbingly legal, but I was able to see that the basic agreed-to elements were included. The good news was, wel