Memorial Day Observance, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/27/2013
“Lessons from the Greatest Generation; what my Father taught me about Memorial Day.”
By: Don Bradley, a retired Chief Deputy from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Served 29 years. The opinions expressed here are his personal observations and opinions.
Introduction
Good morning fellow patriots. My name is Don Bradley. I am not famous for anything in particular but did serve this community as a peace officer for 29 years.
I recently retired in December of 2012 and now have a newly found luxury called freedom of speech. On duty peace officers are expected to keep their opinions to themselves and for the most part, I did.
I am distantly related to General Omar Bradley and regret that I did not meet him while he was alive. I resurfaced in February of 2013 to voice my opinions regarding the line of duty deaths of Santa Cruz Police Detective Elizabeth Butler, and Santa Cruz Police Detective Sergeant Butch Baker. My opinions were candid and frank, one of the trademarks of my personality. No longer constrained with political correctness, I was able to speak my mind.
Police officers Baker and Butler fought the battle for guaranteeing our freedoms here at home. They were murdered while trying to safeguard our community and ensure the battle against oppression, deceit and crime prevailed. Good over evil; -right versus wrong; -strength versus weakness.
This is a battle that we cannot afford to lose. I truly know that I am amongst friends today and that you fully understand these concepts and the commitment that is required to safeguard them. I am here first and foremost to thank and recognize our Military Veterans and those currently serving for your service, your sacrifice and the burden you have born to ensure that we can stand here today in freedom. On behalf of the men and women serving in law enforcement we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for a job well done.
I was asked to speak here today and am honored to do so. Let me start by saying that I loved serving the community as a law enforcement officer and I loved being part of something bigger than me. As we all know, both military and law enforcement service are about team work. We have all taken an oath to protect our country against enemies both foreign and domestic. I can assure you that oath is taken seriously. I can assure you that law enforcement tactics have changed dramatically since I was a rookie in 1984. We are trained and well equipped. Our mind set is all business and our mission focus is clear. There are not enough of us and we need the support of this community now more than ever. The people here today understand the mission. You understand the cost of not being prepared and you fully understand - the cost of doing nothing is entirely too high.
This country and our ideals are under siege today. Both abroad and here at home, evil lurks. Bengazi Libya, the Boston Marathon, a terrorist attack on a British soldier in London, are recent global events which demonstrate as the Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial Board puts it, “worldwide terror is hardly ready to slink off the global stage of evil.”
This is not new information, but when taken in combination with a local and personal tragedy it reminds us that we are living in some of the most violent times we have ever seen. This was predicted, by people much smarter than I. Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman United States Army retired, is one of the predictors. He wrote a book called “Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill.” If you haven’t read it, you need to.
I am going to talk a bit about Memorial Day; its meaning as taught to me by an influential veteran of World War II, US Army Captain Jack Bradley, my father. I will talk a bit about his service and the price he paid for freedom. I will talk a bit about some common values and missions law enforcement officers share with our Armed Forces veterans, which is best explained by an Army Officer who wrote his own obituary; and finally what all this implies for the future of our community.
Narrative
Memorial Day has its roots and beginnings in the American Civil war in which approximately 750,000 Americans lost their lives. After World War 1, the holiday changed from honoring just Civil War veterans to honoring all Americans who died fighting in any war. Doing some very basic research, the numbers stand at approximately1,321,612 US Deaths, and approximately 1,531,036 wounded. That is the cost of freedom in blunt terms.
The meaning and purpose of the day is to remember and honor those who have died during the course of defending our nation to preserve the values and freedoms that we enjoy on a daily basis. Everyone here knows that Freedom does not come free. It is paid for with the blood of our men and women in the armed forces. Most of you are here today because this is personal and you understand the sacrifice and the cost of freedom for nation and community.
I personally honor every veteran- who has served or who is currently serving our Country- on each Memorial Day. This is the 146th observance of this day in Santa Cruz which would indicate that this town gets it- and has never forgotten it. My father knew the cost of freedom and paid dearly for the freedoms we have today. My mother did as well. Both were veterans of the United States Army during World War II; my dad a Captain- my mother a Sergeant.
My father was part of a National Guard regiment, New Mexico’s Fighting 200th which originated from the 111th Cavalry, United States Army. The regiment was federalized in January of 1941 and sent to the Philippines. This interrupted my dad’s second year of college. He and his friends enlisted because they thought war was imminent. Their regiment was a Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft unit and was assigned to defend Clarke Airfield base on the main Philippine island of Luzon. 12 hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked- Clarke Airfield was attacked by the Japanese Imperial Army. My dad’s outfit became the first unit to defend our flag in the Pacific.
The first night the 200th was split and the 515th provisional artillery regiment became the first war born regiment in World War II. With outmoded weapons and ammunition, suffering from starvation and tropical diseases, no reinforcements and broken promises of reinforcement from their government, the 200th/515th fought every major battle of Bataan until their ordered surrender on April 9th, 1942.
The proud but tragic Saga of the 200th/515th is one of insufficient, obsolete equipment and munitions, a lack of food and medicine, unfulfilled promises of reinforcement,- all the while loyally and heroically existing and resisting the enemy for four months and a day. When surrender came on April 9th, 1942, the 200th/515th stood alone, one regiment against overwhelming Japanese forces. General Jonathan Wainwright credited the Fighting 200th CA(AA) with being the first unit in the Philippines to fire on the enemy and the last organized unit still fighting at surrender.
The fate of many of the men in the 200th/515th took a dramatic turn for the worse when they embarked on a 115 kilometer forced march which became known as the Bataan Death March. For the anti-metric system folks that is 71.5 miles. 70,000 men started the 5 to 7 day death trek to Camp O’Donnell with no food or water. 21,000 perished on the march, 1,000 of them Americans. My father survived the Death March;- then came the concentration camps, the death trains and the hell ships, starvation, diseases and beatings. Many POWs simply closed their eyes and willed themselves out of this world.
My father was a POW for 40 months and survived the concentration Camps of O’Donnell, Cabantuan, Zentsuji and finally Rokuroshi. Out of a regiment of 1800 men, 775 were liberated in September of 1945. One third of them died shortly after returning home. First Lieutenant Bradley- a 6’2” 200 lb. Man, arrived home starved, sick and wasted away to a 118 lb. skeleton. As previously related he enlisted during his second year of college interrupting his education. His college buddies enlisted with him.
Very few of them survived. My dad lost the majority of his friends, and suffered the consequences of combat, starvation and jungle diseases for the rest of his life. On each Memorial Day I sensed his sadness and seriousness. He was always concerned that this would become just another 3 day week end. Although I could never fully understand the price he and his peers paid for our freedom, I did know it was a day that he remembered his friends, fellow service men and women and some of the terrible memories that come with it.
I would call him first thing and thank him for his service. I thanked him for the sacrifices he made to keep our nation free. I told him of the sorrow I felt regarding the loss of his friends. He did not talk about his experiences much until the twilight of his life at which time he opened up. There are many details that he related that I truly think were so outrageous and inhumane, that he and his friends who survived did not talk about it because they believed that nobody else would believe it. They also frankly did not want to remember what was inflicted on them. If you are not familiar with the ordeal of POW’s in the Pacific, read a book titled “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand. It is the most accurate account that I have read recently and more importantly confirms oral testimony from my father who left this world in 2005. There are so very few Bataan survivors left.
Author Laura Hillenbrand is to be commended for her efforts to preserve history which if left to interpretation could end in a version that does not comport with reality. Some refer to this as historical revisionism. It seems to be popular these days.
My father ultimately became a psychologist and a professor of Psychology at West Valley Community College. In addition to being a college professor my dad had a private practice which assisted veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The majority of his clients were Viet Nam Veterans.
When I embarked upon a career in law enforcement in 1984, I had my dad’s support and much fatherly advice. He imparted many of his combat born beliefs to me. Some go as follows: “Never enter a war you do not intend to win. Keep the damn politicians out of it.” “Never go to war unless there is no other option. War is hell and should be avoided at all costs.” “Never volunteer”. “Combat is hell. There is nothing good about it”. “There are three rules of combat: 1.Young people die. 2 Someone has to take the point. 3. You cannot change rule number one”. “When your number is up, it’s up. There is nothing you can do about it”. “The military operates on a concept of acceptable loss”. Law Enforcement today as a matter of fact - lives by similar rules.
We are sworn to protect and serve and we enjoy a special relationship with the military. One concept that was passed on to me by Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman is that of the sword and the shield. In a lecture to Law Enforcement, Lt. Col Grossman clarified our SYBIOTIC roles and team mission focus. The military is the sword that is sent abroad and deals with evil all over the world.
Law enforcement provides the shield at home, so military personnel deployed abroad will know that somebody is walking the beat to keep their home and loved ones safe. That is a mission every law enforcement officer accepts without question as the least we can do for our brave men and women who are deployed abroad fighting evil and suffering the consequences.
Yes there is a risk associated with wearing the badge. We have recently experienced the tragic loss of two of our local police officers who were just doing their job; doing their duty, upholding their oath to protect the innocent from deception and the weak from oppression. They were dealing with another predator. My dad would say their number was up. They were ambushed and murdered where they stood –while willing to give the bad guy a fair shake. They died serving and protecting. Many peace officers are killed in the line of duty annually. Most people I have talked to are surprised to learn that a peace officer is killed in the line of duty every 58 hours in the United States (Source Officer Down Memorial Page).
Most have no idea of the price we pay physically, mentally and emotionally to complete this career. Many of our officers are veterans of military service; some are still active. We cherish them. They bring a unique skill set that builds great cops. They bring a skill set that we draw from. Law Enforcement is a para- military business and we borrow a lot of military practices, skills and know how. We struggle with the concept of our mortality and again we draw from the military to help us see the wisdom of risk and reward as it relates to duty. Major John Alexander Hottell III, a West Point graduate, a Rhodes Scholar and recipient of two silver stars in Viet Nam wrote his own obituary prior to his death via a helicopter crash in Viet Nam.
It reads in part as follows: “We all have but one death to spend, and insofar as it can have any meaning, it finds it in the service of comrades in arms. And yet, I deny that I died FOR anything-not my country, not my Army, not my fellow man, none of these things. I LIVED for these things, and the manner in which I chose to do it in involved the very real chance that I would die in the execution of my duties. I knew this, and accepted it, but my love for West Point and the Army was great enough --and the promise that I would someday be able to serve all the ideals that meant anything to me through it-- was great enough- for me to accept the possibility as a part of the price which must be paid for all things of great value. If there is nothing worth dying for-in this sense –there is nothing worth living for…I lived a full life in the Army and it has exacted the price.
“ In law enforcement, we do not operate on a concept of acceptable loss. Our acceptable loss is zero. We know that is not reality, but we accept the risk for the same reasons probably many of you do, or have had to do. We accept it in an effort to make our communities safe. We live here to. We are public servants and we accept the risk that comes with it. Everyone here knows that freedom isn’t free. It is paid for with the blood of our soldiers and our police officers. Most cops would say, “we are not heroes”. “We’re just doing the job. Any other cop would have done the same”. So- it is about duty, honor and courage. Law enforcement gets it. We cannot thank our military service veterans enough for their devoted and selfless service, courage, engagement, sacrifices and contributions to a free society.
I would be remiss today if I did not make special mention of a very special gentleman, US Army Sergeant Vernon McGairty who recently passed away at the age of 91. He received the Medal of Honor for what was described as his intrepid leadership of his frozen, outgunned squad during the Battle of the Bulge. The account of his actions is phenomenal to read.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my letter to the editor was a plea for the silent majority to awaken from their anonymity and get involved in their communities, in their politics, community meetings etc. I took some license with the concepts of what price we pay for unmitigated tolerance in this community. Recently you have read about “Realignment”, the revolving doors of our local criminal justice system, a deeply entrenched local drug problem, the continuing saga of the homeless, disappearing jail beds, gang violence and a lenient probation system.
These are big issues that beg for your input regarding problem resolution. There is no easy answer. It always comes down to money, priorities, and political will. PS; there is never enough money so it really comes down to prioritization. That is where you come in. You can write, speak, meet correspond and finally you can vote. Or you can sit back and see what the big thinkers come up with next. It has been my experience that local elected officials welcome your input.
I can tell you candidly that there are a number of people on the streets in this community who probably should not be. This is due somewhat to a lack of capacity in OUR- Mental Health and Corrections facilities. The State has plans that will make this worse. There is a price to be paid for that, and it will be exacted.
The bottom line is that we all vote for judges, County Board of Supervisors, City Council, State and Congressional representatives. etc. My personal opinion is that for too long, they, our elected officials, - have not been hearing from the silent majority. This is a personal opinion based on anecdotal suspicions and observations.
My editorial comment for the day is that Public safety should be the number one priority of elected local government period. National Security and a strong military should be the first priority of the Federal Government, period; -just my biased opinion. Some would call this a simplistic view. Based on the school of hard knocks, I call it reality. Continuing with my editorial, - I will just say generally,- now is NOT the time to cut Defense spending for the military, or for the Veteran’s Administration nor is it time to cut back police or sheriff’s forces. I used the word force purposefully. Law enforcement provides the thin line between peace and anarchy. That requires a force beyond social work.
In closing, I want you all to know that we of law enforcement honor all Veterans today; we thank you for your service, and we will never forget those who sacrificed all. So for the 146th year, we reaffirm our promise to never forget. Today I would like to include all branches of law enforcement in this promise, - We will never forget. My name is Don Bradley and I am NOT running for office, but I did enjoy trying to influence you today.
May God bless you all; -thank you so very much for your service, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
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