Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg

Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg

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Claire from Arlington VA's avatar
Claire from Arlington VA
3hEdited

Good morning, Simon. When we met at No Kings in October 2025, I told you about my father who fought in WWII. I've been thinking about him even more than usual recently, especially as we remember D-Day June 6, 1944. I posted the following message on Steve Schmidt's Substack this morning, and thought I would copy it here.

"My father, buried in Arlington Cemetery, was an ROTC grad, 1st Lt. US Army in WWII who was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Silver Star, among others. He passed in 2000 and although I had learned something about his time in WWII, I really knew very little. As many other men of that generation and military service, my father spoke very little about the war. I recall him sitting alone -- in the dark --watching war history on our family television downstairs. I could never understand why he did that.

My knowledge of his service came mostly from his younger sister, who recalls getting word from the Army that she and her mother would have to prepare for the worst regarding my father's injuries. My understanding is that he trained in Georgia, was shipped out and stationed in Bournemouth, England, and then on to Germany right after the Battle of the Bulge in February 1945. As his platoon was led into battle, his commanding officer was shot and killed right in front of him, thus my father had to assume the role. He had part of his skull blown off, living with a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life, in addition to having several shrapnel wounds in his legs.

Still, you would never know this about my father by observing his physical activity. He played all types of sports with his children, swam, mowed the lawn and did his best to enjoy his life. Still, there was always this underlying melancholy that I seem to understand only recently as I approach my 70th year of life, just six years short of the age my father was when he passed.

I recall the story of the doctors telling my father that after many months of rehabilitation, he would never walk without a cane or more. When they gave him a cane, he threw it on the floor and said he would never use it. And he never did. There was a cane in our hallway closet that never came out.

I consider myself extremely fortunate that my father and mother are now buried in Arlington Cemetery, less than 5 miles from my home. I visit there often, on holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but more often on ordinary days. I pay my respects not only to my father, but to the courageous others in that hallowed ground -- including Section 60 -- who served to save our precious democracy. It is a place like no other. I hope everyone who has the opportunity to visit can do so.

What the Orange Stain on our history wants to do with that egotistical and nonsensical arch at the foot of Arlington Memorial Bridge in front of Arlington Cemetery is an affront to all those buried there, and to us all."

Simon and friends -- Thank you for letting me share this story.

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Elizabeth T.'s avatar
Elizabeth T.
3h

Thank you, Simon! A lot of my liberal friends are sounding very defeatist as of late, so your framing is very helpful. Self report: I continue to make my daily calls and have been working to complete more postcards to NC voters (300 so far; 200 left in my current batch).

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