Head of the Class

[“High Class,” July 2005, was an] excellent article. Could you publish the list of books that General Dunn recommends to participants to read before attending the National Defense University (NDU)? It is possible that I am not the only one interested in seeing that list (even though I am retired and will not be attending).

Lt. Col. Henry Kaplan, ANG-Ret.
Garland, Texas

Editor’s reply: Good idea! In fact, MOAA links to a series of professional reading lists, including those of the NDU president and all the service chiefs. Visit www.moaa.org and click on the “Active Duty” group for a link to these lists.

As General Dunn describes it, attendance at the National War College offers students time to “think, relax, and kick back” and an edge competing for promotions after graduation. Not a bad deal, but nowhere in the article did I find anything about how tough the school is or what it takes to earn a degree. Maybe I got the wrong message, but considering the caliber of the people sent there and the cost of running the school, I think it would be important to keep the course work challenging as well as meaningful.

Lt. Col. Frank J. Muratore, USAF-Ret.
via e-mail

Picture This

Imagine my surprise at seeing a prize-winning photo by my 1953 shipmate aboard USS Owen (DD-536) [“Pictures of Patriotism,” July 2005].

I recall the photo and believe it is reproduced in our cruise book (which I edited).

As “George” (junior ensign) aboard Owen, it was my duty to make sure the smoke generators were functioning properly. We mocked the thought of testing such an obsolete tactic, a relic of World War I and World War II.

Months later, however, when the ship was taken under heavy counter battery fire in Wonsan Harbor, Korea, and was hit by a 105 mm projectile, the smoke generators were activated, and the ship departed the harbor under the smoke screen in order to effect repairs immediately outside.

I guess all the smoke deceivedthe enemy, as Radio Moscow reported Owen had been sunk. This was published the next day in The New York Times, and the Navy was deluged with calls from our dependents, prompting [the Bureau of Naval Personnel] to send a message asking us if we were OK.

Cmdr. Harold Sacks, USN-Ret.
Norfolk, Va.

[I] received the latest edition with the patriotic pictures, and I am sure we all would agree: The picture of the flag-draped caskets [“Photos of the Fallen,” page 21] is the most patriotic of all. God bless these youngsters. If only I could return to that age and fight beside them.

Cmdr. Don Sisson, USN-Ret.
via e-mail

Around the World at 80 Years

I enjoyed [“To Your Health”] in the June 2005 edition about various runs, suggestions on getting into shape, wellness information, exercises, tips on training, etcetera.

On July 1, 1971, at the age of 48, I started keeping records of each run and eventually decided to cover the number of miles around the equator. Then on June 6, 2003, in my 80th year of life, my running records indicated I finally accomplished that goal — completing the 25,000-mile journey — even though it took me 32 years, 11 months, and one week to do it.

... I thought it would be an appropriate time to write to you anyway and let you know that your articles on health, running, and exercise were very enjoyable, and the data is full of good stuff for all of us, no matter our age.

I think your article is a great inducement for a person to start an exercise program, and you never know but what was once considered an unattainable goal can be reached. I know, as I am living proof of that.

Lt. Col. Fred Boswell, USAF-Ret.
Ozark, Ala.

Medal Clarification

With regards to my being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross [“Air Dog,” May 2005] … the [award was recommended] by Col. (Brig. Gen.-select) Mark Owens at Patrick AFB, Fla., and Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) and forwarded to the Awards and Decorations secretary at Randolph AFB, Texas, early in April. To my knowledge, it has neither been approved nor disapproved, the explanation being “it takes a long time.”

I was amused by the letter written by Maj. Byron Cramblet, USAF-Ret., in the July issue. He was probably one of the officers who gave Vittles too much beer.

Former Air Force Lt. C. Russ Steber
Newland, N.C.

Some Like It Hot

Col. Harry Rubin’s story, “Hot, Hot, Hot” [“Encore,” July 2005], about Tabasco on food in Vietnam struck one of those memory chords in my Vietnam experience. I was stationed at Da Nang in 1969, and we were always trying to cook up something different.

We had plenty of steak and chicken — even rabbit — but one thing we didn’t get at the chow hall was beans, good ol’ pinto beans. Most of the guys liked it spicy and hot
(in a peppery sort of way). Many of us wrote our wives, mothers, whomever and requested that they send peppers.

Well, we got peppers, all kinds, in bottles, in cans. What to do with them? We decided to mix them in a gallon jar. We put all the peppers in that jar to spice up the beans. The bottle was called the Purple Jesus Jar. Why? For some reason, when all the peppers were mixed, the whole mixture would turn purple — and when you got a mouthful of that, the usual outcry was, “Jesus!”

Maj. Don Parker, USAF-Ret.
via e-mail

[“Hot, Hot, Hot!”] brought to mind a memory of my time in Korea during the [Korean War]. Our first sergeant, Joe Venable, was from Louisiana, and every week his wife would send him a small box containing that fiery flavor enhancer [Tabasco sauce].

One morning we were treated to a hot breakfast while we were in a counterattack position behind Outpost Harry. Watching Venable liberally sprinkle the Tabasco on his eggs, I must have looked bewildered. He asked me if I wanted some, and being a brand new second lieutenant I thought it better not to say no, so I took the offered bottle and laced my powdered eggs.

The first swallow wasn’t bad, but then the fire took root. I gulped some coffee and mumbled something about getting back to my platoon, but Venable’s smirk told me that I wasn’t fooling him. We later laughed about the incident many times.

Don Treadwell
via e-mail