Collecting war trophies: 12 American soldiers charged with keeping body parts

This is the first time I can recall military personnel in Afghanistan being charged with collecting grizzly war trophies.

As a veteran, I know stuff like this has been happening since we invaded that country a decade ago. It certainly happened in WW II and Vietnam, but let’s take a look at the charges in the following article first, then a brief history of the practice by modern American military forces.   

Body parts, photos part of charges against soldiers

“The first of 12 soldiers charged with crimes in Afghanistan that range from killing civilians to keeping body parts as war trophies faces a military tribunal on Monday that will decide whether his case proceeds to court-martial. Army Spc. Jeremy Morlock, 22, from Wasilla, Alaska, is charged with premeditated murder in the deaths of three Afghan civilians, assaulting a fellow soldier and "wrongfully photographing and possessing visual images of human casualties."

This kind of thing is nothing new as far as what soldiers do in war.During World War II, some United States military personnel mutilated dead Japanese service personnel in the Pacific theater of operations.The mutilation of Japanese service personnel included the taking of body parts as “war souvenirs” and “war trophies”. Teeth and skulls were the most commonly taken "trophies", although other body parts were also collected.

The phenomenon of "trophy-taking" was widespread enough that discussion of it featured prominently in magazines and newspapers, and Franklin Roosevelt himself was reportedly gifted a letter-opener made of a man's arm (Roosevelt rejected the gift and called for its proper burial).

The behavior was officially prohibited by the U.S. military, which issued additional guidance as early as 1942 condemning it specifically. Nonetheless, the behavior continued throughout the war in the Pacific Theater, and has resulted in continued discoveries of "trophy skulls" of Japanese combatants in American possession, as well as American and Japanese efforts to repatriate the remains of the Japanese dead.

                           WHAT I OBSERVED IN VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA

 I served in Vietnam, and Cambodia, in 1970. As part of a demolition squad (31st Eng Battalion), Bravo Company, we were attached to numerous other units on various missions ranging from mine sweeping roads, to clearing out dense areas of forest to construct firebases.

The photo to the right were a common thing while I was there. One of the guys in my squad collected enemy fingers. Another proudly wore a necklace of ears taken from VC and NVA soldiers.

There is no excuse for this kind of thing in any war. But it happens. While I didn’t approve of it, I never turned anyone in for it because I didn’t trust officers and I knew someone would probably “cap my ass” if I did. I admit that I didn’t have much sympathy for the victims, but my brain was in a survival mode and they were – after all – people who would have killed me if they had the chance.

Then there was the civilian atrocities, like what these 12 soldiers from the 5th Stryker Unit are being accused of. I couldn’t possible do justice to portraying the horrors I saw committed on innocent civilian men, women, and children. As you read this you may be wondering how could people do these terrible things…unless you’ve been in combat. Then you know. No civilian could possibly understand the depths of depravity men will sink to in these situations.

In the madness of war civilians always suffer. It’s always been like this since the first armies clashed in ancient Mesopotamia.

As It Stands, it seems we’ll never learn, as a species, how to maintain peace throughout the world.    

As It Stands: CCC-CPR : You don't have to lock lips with a stranger to save them

Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 09/26/2010 01:26:18 AM PDT

I remember when I first got CPR certified in the early '80s my biggest concern was that I might have to actually use my new-found knowledge. I know that sounds pretty stupid, but let me explain.

The idea of locking lips with some stranger who was foaming at the mouth was repulsive, even if it was part of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation process I was taught to save lives.

I really hoped the day would never come. I had no trouble with “Resusci Anne,” the plastic torso that I knelt over on the firehouse floor while learning CPR. I saved her life numerous times to get my little American Red Cross CPR pin.

I knew my recently acquired knowledge wouldn't be so easy to apply in real life. You had to count, pinch a nose, blow, compress ... and stay cool while doing it. In a manner of minutes, I was sucking air with “Resusci Anne” in training but I knew if I stopped, no one would really die, as they might in the real world.

There was (and still is) another consideration involved in helping a person: being sued by grieving relatives looking for someone to blame. In some jurisdictions, good Samaritan laws only protect those who have completed basic first aid training and are certified by health organizations, such as the American Heart Association, American Red Cross or St. John Ambulance, provided they have acted within the scope of their training.

In these jurisdictions, a person who is neither trained in first aid nor certified, and who performs first aid incorrectly, can still be held legally liable for errors made. In other jurisdictions, any rescuer is protected from liability, so long as the responder acted rationally.

The last time I was CPR certified was in the early '90s. I let my certification expire for a host of reasons. The other day I read an article a friend sent me about Continuous Chest Compression-CPR (CCC-CPR). I don't know how up-to-date you are in life-saving methods, but this method, which had its beginnings in 2003 in Tucson, Ariz., is news to me.

It was developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and designed to make it more likely that a bystander would stop to help a person in distress. Here's the really great part (to me): It doesn't require the mouth-to-mouth contact of the old method.

According to Gordon A. Ewy, M.D., director of the UA Sarver Heart Center and one of the research pioneers who developed CCC, “It's easy.” In 2008, the American Heart Association endorsed the improved bystander protocol for cardiac arrest, and it now advocates continuous chest compressions.

 The doctors who developed this procedure say there is enough oxygen in the blood to keep the brain supplied for 10 minutes, so breathing into the mouth is not required. Also, stopping compression to breathe into the mouth causes a cessation in the blood flow, so little new oxygen is added, anyway.

Now we're told to pump, pump, pump the chest. In a Feb. 12 presentation by the Mayo Clinic, researchers said, “We now know that even mildly excessive ventilation rates and incomplete chest-wall recoil during CPR can be lethal.

”This, quite simply, is the reason for improvement in CPR by eliminating the mouth-to-mouth ventilations and using 100 uninterrupted compressions per minute, a proven method of resuscitation that results in more efficient oxygen delivery to the heart and brain during cardiac arrest, more successful responses to electroshock and better neurological outcomes for the future.”

This method doubles the chance for survival over the old one, according to the Sarver Heart Center. For the record, CCC is not meant to replace CPR, it's just the safest way for a layman to help. I suppose it's time I get re-certified in case the need ever arises. It hasn't yet, thank goodness, and I hope it never will.

As It Stands, getting CCC-CPR certified may be easier now, but remember it still comes with a moral responsibility to use it.

No surprise: widespread fraud seen in latest Afghan vote

Here we go again – another Afghanistan fraudulent election while the U.S. stands around like clowns and tries to tell the world the “system” we put in place is working. When are we going to learn?

We’re like Br'er Rabbit trying to let go of the Tar Baby and getting more and more entangled as time goes by.

It could affect results in a third of provinces

“Evidence is mounting that fraud in last weekend’s parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government.”

PHOTO -Workers unload ballot boxes at the Independent Election Commission warehouse in Kabul.

An ‘aw shucks’ moment for a Saturday morning

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." Winston Churchill

"Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance."

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'If you're going to rob someone, get a real gun'

The weird story of the day involves two women trying to rob a porn store. That’s different isn’t it?

(AP) Police said two women who tried to rob a central Pennsylvania adult book store with a toy gun didn't fool a clerk, who told them to "get a real gun." Authorities said 28-year-old Shannon Cheripka, of Glasgow, and 26-year-old Angela Crook, of Coalport, attempted to rob the Adult World store in Duncansville around 1 a.m. Thursday.

Cheripka told police the clerk said, "First, if you're going to rob someone, get a real gun. Second off, you're not getting any money."

Authorities said the clerk grabbed a hammer from behind the counter and chased the women away before police in nearby Logan Township arrested them in a van the clerk had described.

The women remained in the Blair County Jail on Friday on robbery and other charges. It was unclear if they had lawyers.

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In an alternate universe the ‘Terminator’ is called upon to stop the oil spill

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There’s no greater hypocrite than a church leader who sexually abuses his congregation

Is it any wonder why many people become disillusioned with organized religion?

There’s been a lot of news lately about the Pope and the Catholic Church’s abuse of it’s followers.

But every domination has it’s pastors from hell, and sometimes they’re caught, and sometimes they get away with their sinful antics.

This church leader, Bishop Eddie Long, follows a long line of religious hypocrites that bring to mind the likes of Ted Haggard and Jim Baker. Now a fourth young male member of his megachurch is suing the prominent pastor, claiming Long coerced him into a sexual relationship.

Look at his photo. Doesn’t he look sincere? I read somewhere that politicians make the best liars, but I sometimes wonder about creepy clergy like this scum. Read the whole story here.

Teen fad of vampire-inspired biting can be dangerous

JoNel Aleccia writes: “Bizarre teen trends have been horrifying parents for generations, but health officials are warning that a vampire-inspired biting fad could be dangerous, not to mention disgusting.

Teenagers obsessed with the “Twilight” vampire saga, or those simply fascinated with fangs, reportedly have been biting each other -- hard – and then licking or sucking the blood.

“These are kids who think they are real vampires,” said Dr. Orly Avitzur, the medical advisor to Consumers Union, the agency that publishes Consumer Reports magazine.

Avitzur said conversations with teens and sessions spent trolling vampire-related teen Web sites convinced her that the trend was taking hold. Indeed, groups like “I drink blood,” a category at www.experienceproject.com, and “I want to be a vampire” at the site www.43things.com are filled with apparent posts from young people with a yearning for blood.”

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Colbert testifies before grim-looking subcommittee

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Stephan Colbert’s testimony before a House subcommittee, you can see it here (video below).

The subcommittee chairman invited the Comedy Central personality to testify at the hearing, which addressed the possibility of offering illegal immigrant farm workers a path to citizenship.

Colbert’s “expertise” in the arena of immigration and farm labor stems from a July 2010 episode of his TV show “The Colbert Report,” during which he joined subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Zoe Lofgren to spend a day doing the work of an agriculture laborer.

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Take a minute, and check this video out. I nearly spilled my morning cup of coffee due to sudden bursts of laughter. A good way to start a day.

I have one question. Is this a joke? If so, our lawmakers are a bunch of sourpusses! Or, was Colbert’s comedy a complete surprise to our lawmakers who thought he might be serious for once?

Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, initially requested that Colbert leave the hearing room before his testimony, arguing that his presence had achieved its purpose by bringing attention to the hearing's subject matter.

Colbert, however, was invited by the committee and gave his testimony “in character.”

The most dangerous city in the world (even for sharks)

Stokes Young says:Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, had an in-depth video report from Mogadishu in May, calling it "the most dangerous city in the world." I guess that's also true for sharks. Sadly, it’s still true for Somalis.

Vintage Ads Part II: polictically incorrect and hilarious

 

Growing up in the fifties I remember seeing ads like these and thinking nothing of it.

After all, it was the age of Donna Reed and “Leave it to Beaver.” Most of the ad people were men and the results are pretty obvious when you look at these examples.

If women want a barometer to see how far they’ve come in this country all they have to do his review these ads and others like them.