See reviews of my books on Amazon.com

In honor of Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is offering FREE access to its military records through May 27th. This includes enlistment, draft, and service records dating back to the American Revolution. This is a great tool if you’re interested – it’s also a relatively easy site to use.

Expert Voice Series Part 1

Randall H. Miller (1 of 2)

Expert Voice Series Part 2

Randall H. Miller (2 of 2)

Notes:

Here’s a link to Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art  which I mention as a major source of inspiration. It’s all about artistic/entrepreneurial procrastination and how to get over it.

I also get a lot of mileage out of Seth Godin’s work – especially The Dip.

Additionally, during the Q & A I was asked about the Norwich connection to Yale University’s Skull and Bones Society. Here are some sources that document the connection:

* Skull and Bones was founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft in 1856. Legally it is known as the Russell Trust  (see NY Times from 1903 – scroll down to paragraph 6).

* Russell graduated from Partridge’s academy in 1828 (not yet known as Norwich University). Here’s a link to the NU archives – scroll down to see Russell listed as an 1828 graduate.

* We don’t have much from him but here’s a PDF of a letter from William Huntington Russell to Alden Partridge in 1849. Russell was running a pseudo military school in New Haven at the time.

 ”The Constitution of the United States; May we transmit it as a legacy to nations yet unborn.”

“Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce: May our national government still continue to nurse and foster them until they shall become superior in wealth, power and fabric to those of any other nation on the globe.”

“The Militia of the United States: Always ready to protect the rights and liberties of their country.”

I’ll drink to that.

*These toasts were included in MG Ernest N. Harmon’s October 1951 address to the Newcomen Society in Northfield, Vermont.

Below are a few interesting excerpts from Major General Ernest N. Harmon’s address to the Newcomen Society on October 6th, 1951, in Northfield, Vermont. Harmon was introduced by the Honorable Stanley C. Wilson – former Governor of Vermont and Chairman of the Norwich University Board of Trustees. I’ll scan the entire pamphlet (35 pages) and post it here as a PDF. Enter your email on the right if you’d like to receive a notice once it’s available.

“We are not a conservative but a creative military college, interested directly and completely in the men who trust us for their adequate preparation.”

“There is still nothing in life which can impress like a man on his horse. And those old cavalry formations had a spectacular beauty. But the modern tank and signal corps are no less exacting in manly strength and courageous devotion to duty.”

“More than ever before, Norwich must now train men to be heroic in character while they are outwardly conformed to a vastly intricate and complex civilization. Since the day of General Dodge and Admiral Dewey, we have needed not more great men, but a greater number of men who are inwardly superior by reason of training and direction given through the formative years. All must still be prepared to endure fatigue and toilsome marches, but there is a different intellectual perspective required in the preparation of youth. Initiative and daring are still good, but they must now be coordinated with the total life of the Nation, and with a political and military strategy involving our commitment to world power. It is true that Alden Partridge knew both historically and intuitively that men should be trained by such analytic perspective, but not even Alden Partridge could have had an idea of the total involvements induced by technological changes in the nature of Civilization. Power, we discover, is not an undirected thrust, but a delicately balanced coordination of forces.”

Rest in Peace, Ernie.

*Harmon also shared these three classic Norwich toasts from a Fourth of July banquet presided over by Alden Partridge.

NOTE: Don’t forget I’ll be in Northfield on March 27th for the Expert Voices Series. The live interview segment will be followed by an audience Q & A and book signing.

Major General Ernest N. Harmon Statue (Credit: NU Photography)

From Erving N. Buffum's Norwich Memory Book (location/identity of cadet unknown)

Newspapers have a tradition of smearing Norwich cadets that dates back to the smallpox scare of 1912. After a single case of the highly contagious disease was confirmed, cadets briefly lived under a loose quarantine and slept in tents on the U.P. while the barracks were fumigated. That was it. But by the time news of the “catastrophic outbreak” hit central Vermont newspapers, the details changed dramatically and tales of infected cadets roaming the hills of Northfield like zombies in search of food were printed as truth. It happened again in 1922 when newspapers reported rampant Ku Klux Klan affiliation in the corps (see the Appendix for a more thorough account), and it continues to happen every time the press gets even the faintest whiff of a controversy on the Hill. But perhaps no other story in the history of the Norwich University Corps of Cadets was more misrepresented by the press and, over the years, distorted by Norwich men themselves as the Panty Raid of 1963.

Were riot police called out and subsequently unable to contain the lawless cadets? Was this a leaderless mob or an organized effort? Was there damage? Did Norwich cadets actually descend on the capital city of Montpelier, force their way into the bedrooms of Vermont College coeds, and steal their underpants? Is it true that cadets arrived in tanks? The answers to those questions are no, yes, yes, yes, and no. Now let’s get the details.

Quiet rumors of a Panty Raid had been circulating on the campus of Vermont College, an all-girls school in Montpelier, for several days when a small group of cadets quietly met in the Norwich parking lot. It was the early evening of May 23, 1963, and the sun was setting as they went over the mission one last time. They would make the 20-minute drive to Vermont College, initiate contact with some coeds, and ultimately take possession of the girls’ underpants through some combination of charm, diplomacy, and force. Conducting such an operation these days would likely result in mandatory registration as a sex offender, but in the early 1960s panty raids were a relatively frequent cultural phenomenon, playfully depicted in movies and shrugged off as “boys being boys.”

As they discussed their plan, a small crowd of onlookers started to gather and quickly swelled to several dozen. By the time the caravan set out for Montpelier, approximately 100 cadets had joined the mob, most of them just along for the ride. They caused quite a stir when their motorcade arrived at Vermont College. But while a small, dedicated contingent of cadets quickly went to work acquiring panties, most ended up just standing around or exchanging barbs with the coeds who goaded them from their second-story windows. The authorities arrived shortly thereafter and the crowd was dispersed in relatively short order.

A Burlington Free Press headline the next day read, “At Vermont College Fire Hoses Quell Cadets.” Not to be outdone, the Cleveland Press declared, “Mad Dog Panty Raiders Dispersed by Gunfire, Hoses.” Harmon was furious. These were not the actions of a violent mob and the police had used no such measures. Yes, there was some damage to the Vermont College campus (approximately $1,500 worth) and the Montpelier Police Department had incurred some emergency response cost as well, but Harmon had already reached out, accepted responsibility for his cadets’ actions, and agreed to reimburse both.

The libelous newspaper articles made Harmon’s efforts to control the damage and salvage relationships more difficult, but it was the Montpelier City Council’s response that irked Harmon the most. City Manager Ralph Irving sent Harmon a letter on May 28, officially declaring Montpelier off limits to Norwich cadets. The letter stated that the incident was:

not a matter to be taken lightly and brushed off as a mere boyish prank and … the potential threat to personal injury and property damage was of great magnitude. The utter disrespect for and cowardly mob attack on elderly women and uniformed police officers is viewed with grave concern, not only by City, County, and State officials but by most citizens in the community.

Days later he sent another letter informing President Harmon of his own investigation’s preliminary results, stating that “police officers were, in fact, actually attacked with stones and clubs by the students and because of the great number of them, they were actually fighting for their own lives and to defend the girls and women at Vermont College from attack by the students.”

In spite of the obvious inaccuracies, gross exaggerations, and outlandish claims in the City Council’s version of events, Harmon knew all too well the potential damage that negative press (regardless of its veracity) can bring to a military organization. He expedited an official investigation, arranged for financial restitution, and immediately implemented measures to discourage any future panty raiding by the corps.

            Soon the ban on entering Montpelier was lifted and a relieved Ernie Harmon was passing time with some cadets on the U.P. when he decided to share a story about his late dog. They listened attentively as he recounted how, during one of his nightly walks along the railroad tracks, the dog had just barely managed to clear the tracks when an oncoming train whipped by and clipped off the end of his tail. The dog followed its instincts and quickly spun around, just in time to be decapitated by the passing train. The moral of the story, according to Harmon: “Don’t lose your head over a little piece of tail.”

Note: This post is a sample chapter from Norwich Matters. The complete book is available as a “Rook Book” size paperback or Kindle eBook.

Captain Alden Partridge on the state of higher education prior to founding America’s first private military college:

“Have they been instructed in the science of government generally, and more especially in the principles of our excellent constitution, and are they prepared to sit in the legislative councils of our nation: Has their attention been called to those great and important branches of natural wealth – agriculture, commerce, and the manufactures? Have they been taught to examine the policy of other nations and the effect of that policy on the prosperity of their own country? Are they prepared to discharge the duties of civil or military engineers, or to endure fatigue, or to become the defenders of their country’s rights and the avengers of her wrongs, either in the ranks or at the head of her armies? It appears to me not; and if not, then agreeable to the standard established, their education is so far defective.”

The entire talk is just under 20 minutes. You can listen to it right here or download it and take it with you. I’ve included a few pictures from the presentation – scroll through as you listen.

Randall H. Miller in D.C.

Major General Ernest N. Harmon Statue

Timothy H. Donovan NU '62

Tom Di Tomasso NU '89 (L) with radio operator Jason Coleman in Task Force Ranger's hanger in Mogadishu.

Chalk 2 with MH-60 Black Hawk in Somalia

The Upper Parade Ground at night (Photo by NU photography).

Theta Chi’s Alpha Chapter was founded in 1856 in the Old South Barracks. Thanks very much to Kyle and the brothers of Theta Chi for the opportunity.

JSI on Plum Island, Massachusetts in 2012.

Step #1:

Take an interesting picture of Norwich Matters and/or Norwich Heroes – paperback or eBook (see examples on this page).

Step #2:

Post your pictures to my Facebook Page by midnight on January 31st, 2013. Enter as many times as you’d like.

Step #3:

At the end of the contest I’ll narrow things down to the 5 most remarkable photos based on originality and awesomeness. Then we’ll determine two winners: one by online poll and one chosen by me.

Winners will receive advance copies of my next book – Combat Commanders – due out in 2013!

LTC Don Paquin, Commander of 4th BN, 1st FA, 3d IBCT, 1st AD, Afghanistan 2012

"Anonymous" at The Grog in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Sara Oberdorf '01, Worcester, Massachusetts

Major Jeff Murphy (C-130 Pilot, NU '92) outside the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) Compound in Afghanistan on 9 Feb 2012

Kamara Kay '95, Atlanta, Georgia

1LT Noel Whitten and CPT Lee Aaron '96, Afghanistan 2012

Chris Von ’95 and Shaun Meehan ’90 are putting together a GORUCK Challenge for Alumni Weekend 2013 (October 4-6).

GORUCK is a team challenge (capped at 30 members) overseen by cadre from the Special Operations Community (i.e. U.S. Navy SEALs, U.S. Army Special Forces, etc.).

They are hoping to start the event on Friday, October 4th and finish in the morning hours of Saturday, October 5th. A portion of the participation cost goes to the Special Forces Foundation.

For more info contact Chris via Facebook or email.

The official GORUCK website is http://www.goruckchallenge.com/

Looking for the perfect gift for a Norwich Cadet or Graduate?

Book orders for Norwich Matters and Norwich Heroes received by midnight December 15th will ship immediately and pre-Christmas delivery is guaranteed!

(Note: If you’d like your books signed just send me an email at rhm@randallhmiller.com with instructions immediately after placing your order via Amazon.com)

On the morning of October 4th, 1993, I watched the news in stunned silence as footage of a celebratory Somali mob dragging the bodies of two American servicemen through the streets of Mogadishu was broadcast for the first time. The Battle of Mogadishu (memorialized in the book and film Black Hawk Down) was the fiercest firefight since Vietnam, where roughly 100 men from Task Force Ranger faced enemy combatants numbering in the thousands. It was several years before I learned that the Ranger Platoon Leader first to respond to the downed MH-60 Black Hawk was a 1989 graduate of the Norwich University Corps of Cadets.

In Chalk 2, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and career special operations soldier Thomas Di Tomasso looks back at the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu where, as a First Lieutenant, he served as leader of 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, attached to Task Force Ranger.

Portrait of a Hero is the story of Lieutenant Colonel Truman Bishop Ransom who resigned the presidency of Norwich University (the nation’s oldest private military college and birthplace of the citizen soldier) to lead the 9^th U.S. Infantry in the Mexican-American War. Ransom met his fate at the Fortress of Chapultepec, leaving behind a widow with four children to raise. Unfortunately, Ransom’s death in battle foreshadowed the mixture of heroism and tragedy that hovered over his sons like a dark cloud as they eventually fought their way through the U.S. Civil War’s bloodiest battles.

Norwich men and women know about Ransom’s fate at the Battle of Chapultepec, but the lesser known story of the three sons he left behind is spellbinding.

On October 16, 2004, AH-64D Apache Longbow pilot Ryan Welch (NU ’97) was flying a reconnaissance mission over Baghdad under the cover of darkness. Welch, already a veteran of numerous combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, welcomed what appeared to be a relatively quiet night near one of the most dangerous regions of the country, the Sunni Triangle.

Saddam Hussein had been a slow learner. After threatening the stability of the world’s oil supply in late 1990 by invading Kuwait, he made the grave error of ignoring President George H. W. Bush’s ultimatum to withdraw by January 15, 1991, or face the consequences. Twenty-four hours after the deadline passed, air strikes and precision bombing runs lit up the Baghdad sky, destroying much of the dictator’s already weak infrastructure. Iraqi troops were simultaneously carpet-bombed by the U.S. Air Force. After a 100-hour ground assault, what was left of Saddam’s army either withdrew or surrendered. Operation Desert Storm delivered a crushing blow that permanently weakened the Iraqi military.

More than a decade later Saddam found himself in a similar situation. This time President George W. Bush, while struggling to make sense of the post-September 11 world, was spearheading a crusade to determine once and for all whether Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and, if so, to facilitate disarmament. Saddam ultimately refused to allow inspectors into the country and chose, instead, to continue his bluff. The result of Saddam’s miscalculation was the United States’ controversial 2003 preemptive invasion of Iraq.

Saddam’s forces had never fully recovered from their 1991 thrashing. As a consequence, they were quickly defeated and regime change soon followed. But the post-Saddam power vacuum brought with it sectarian violence involving tens of thousands of armed insurgents. Al-Qaeda and its sympathizers backed Sunni militants, while Iran helped to train and equip the Shiite equivalents. American forces were trying to interpret and control the resulting bloodbath as Welch and his copilot, Justin Taylor, scanned their sector of Baghdad from above.

Assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, both men were experienced pilots who knew better than to take the relative tranquility of the mission thus far for granted. In a war zone, especially one with so many competing interests and moving parts, things can change in the blink of an eye.

As Welch flew his Apache across the Baghdad skyline, a faint radio transmission whispered to him from the emergency frequency. “At first I couldn’t tell what happening but I knew something was wrong,” Welch recalled. The emergency frequency, known as the guard channel, was reserved for critical scenarios when distressed aircraft could not communicate with their respective units; it was the modern equivalent of an S.O.S. signal. Welch strained to decipher the transmission, which was too broken and weak for him to understand it fully. But he was able to make out a few words, and after quickly touching base with other air units he determined that two OH-58 helicopters had gone down in Sector 43, a particularly dangerous part of the insurgent-infested Sunni Triangle where several aircraft had been shot down in the past.

During the previous year Welch, a former Norwich rugby and baseball player, had had a life-changing conversation with a U.S. Air Force combat controller in Afghanistan. The airman, attached to U.S. Special Operations Forces, had just returned from a harrowing near-death experience and broke down while sharing the details of his ordeal. During the mission, under heavy enemy fire, he was separated from the operators whom he was supporting, and he was eventually forced to hunker down in a small ditch where he could hear Taliban fighters quickly approaching. He figured that in moments he would be killed or captured, but instead, as he prepared for his doom, an AH-64 Apache helicopter suddenly appeared over the ridgeline, unleashed its guns on the advancing enemy, and saved his life.

“That very moment,” said Welch, reflecting on the conversation with the airman, “I decided I was going to stay in the Army and keep flying. You never know when you’ll be in a position to help somebody.”

Now Welch had scrapped his reconnaissance mission and was flying at breakneck speed into certain danger. “I made the decision to change missions pretty quickly and get to the crash site. At that point we didn’t know anything other than the fact that two aircraft were down and someone on the ground was calling for help,” he explained. With darkness concealing him as he used the Apache’s forward-looking infrared (FLIR), Welch identified the approximate location of the crash site and established radio contact with one of the pilots on the ground.

The pilot, Chad Beck, reported that he and copilot Greg Crow were alive, but that the other two pilots, Christopher B. Johnson and William I. Brennan, had not survived what they would later learn was a mid-air collision between the two helicopters. Determined to locate and extract the two surviving pilots before things could get any worse, Welch instructed his wingman to provide air cover as he landed his Apache in a small clearing close to the crash site and dismounted with his 9mm and M4 carbine. “I told my copilot to sit tight and, if anything happened, to get the hell outta there and worry about extracting us later,” recalled Welch. Then he headed into the darkness to find the two pilots:

I had no idea what was out there and ended up stumbling around for a while before I found them. They were both wearing night vision goggles when the helicopter crashed so they were both bleeding from the eye sockets and Crow could barely walk. I ended up slinging his arm over my shoulder and around my neck and the three of us started walking back to my Apache, which seemed to take forever.

As they inched their way toward the awaiting helicopter Welch was formulating an extraction plan. The AH-64 Apache, a two-seated attack helicopter, is not intended for transporting more than its crew of two pilots, who sit one behind the other. Two of the men would have to strap themselves to the outside of the aircraft for the ride to safety. This emergency procedure, known as “self-extraction,” is described in briefings but rarely, if ever, practiced due to the high risk of injury. “We all know how to do it, but few pilots have actually done it,” said Welch.

When they finally reached the waiting Apache, Welch briefed Taylor on the plan and loaded the immobile pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Crow, into the vacant front seat. “I strapped him in, told him not to touch anything, and then turned to get Beck ready for the ride,” says Welch. Beck had to be reassured that the bodies of the two dead pilots would be retrieved later before he fully cooperated, but soon enough both men were securely attached to the aircraft and Welch indicated to Taylor that it was time to take off.

The Apache lifted off and headed for the nearest combat support hospital, located at Forward Operating Base Falcon about 20 kilometers away. “The wind was so strong it felt like my nose was being ripped off, like wiping out on water skis over and over again the whole way there,” Welch said. When they touched down at the hospital airfield, Welch helped the medics to transfer Crow from the cockpit to a gurney and wheel him into the building.

Medical personnel quickly took over and Welch breathed a sigh of relief. One of the administrators of the hospital, jotting down all of the pertinent information, asked Welch which medevac unit he flew for. He reacted with disbelief when Welch managed a half-smile and explained that he had just evacuated the two pilots with his Apache. As he was leaving, some of the skeptics among the hospital staff followed him outside to get a glimpse of his aircraft. They had never seen an evacuation quite like this one and probably never would see one again.

Major Ryan Welch has flown more than 2,000 combat hours over the course of three deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. For this rescue mission he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

NOTE: This is an excerpt from my book Norwich Heroes which weaves its way through flashpoints of U.S. military history where graduates of the Norwich University Corps of Cadets have emerged as battlefield heroes.

The first photo is of an unknown NU employee taken in 1981. Does anyone have any idea who this very serious looking gentleman was?

The second photo was taken at a football game in 1987. Email the archives directly at archives@norwich.edu or just comment below.

NOTE: I’ll be speaking at the Washington, D.C. Alumni Club’s annual brunch on Sunday, December 9th. If you’re in the area I hope to see you there. The annual brunch is held on post at Fort Myer and typically draws 100-200 grads. I’ll post a link to the registration page as soon as it is available.

Skijoring on the Upper Parade circa 1920

Over the past two years I’ve met Norwich graduates from every decade going back to the 1930s. I’ve met them at receptions, dinners, sporting events, and while walking down the street. And at least once a week I hear one of the following:

“I’m thinking about writing a book.”

“I’ve always wanted to write a book.”

“Do you think I should write a book?”

“There’s a book I’d like to write, but I never seem to get around to it.”

Sound familiar? Have you always wanted to write a book but never seem to get around to actually doing it? If so, I highly recommend two quick-but-powerful manifestos. But be forewarned – your life may never be the same after reading them.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a groundbreaking look at procrastination and all of the reasons why we avoid doing the things that we know we should (Preview: it’s all about “resistance”). Pressfield focuses on artistic endeavors but he uses an inclusive definition of art that includes entrepreneurship. The result is an eye-opening look at how and why we avoid doing the work and a simple prescription for how to get started.

The Dip by Seth Godin is all about sticking it out when things get difficult and knowing when it’s time to change course. Bottom line: most people quit/stop working on projects/endeavors when all they needed to do was suck it up a wee bit longer. The rewards for those who do are monumental. Most people quit.

Pressfield got me working and Godin helps me keep my nose to the grind. Your mileage may vary.

From the Norwich University Archives and Special Collections:

 Can you help us identify the students in this photograph from 1997?  Does anyone know what game or event they were attending?

If you have any information you can comment below or email the archives directly at archives@norwich.edu.

Note: Thanks to the Massachusetts North Shore Alumni Club for having me speak about Norwich Heroes at their quarterly event a few weeks ago. I’ll be speaking at the Washington, D.C. Club’s annual brunch on Sunday, December 9th. Details to follow.

Norwich Heroes is now available as via Amazon.com!

Norwich Heroes opens with the storming of Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican-American War, then weaves its way through flashpoints of U.S. military history where graduates of the Norwich University Corps of Cadets have emerged as battlefield heroes. Follow three extraordinary brothers as they fight their way through the Civil War’s bloodiest battles. Join others on patrol in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, or fast-roping into the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, or hunting the world’s most-wanted terrorists and war criminals in Iraq and Afghanistan. What do all of these men have in common? Much more than you may think.

Contents

Preface

Chapultepec Castle

Growing Up Ransom

Rebellion

The Hero and the Artist

Dark Clouds

Redemption

The Hearse

Blowin’ in the Wind

Vietnam

Change of Mission

Chalk 2

Reflections

A Line in the Sand

The Illusion

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

A Note on Sources

Now Available!

This is the cover for Norwich Heroes – which will be available in September 2012. If you’d like a reminder once it’s available, enter your email in the top right corner.

The cover was created by Michael McLain, the same artist who created the cover for Norwich Matters. He explains:

“The rich cherry wood shows strength through reason and deliberation where diplomacy is preferred, but not always possible, to solve conflicts among men. Sometimes it´s necessary to use the sword.

The word Heroes is somewhat smaller than the word Norwich to emphasize Norwich as the fountainhead of reason, training, education and restraint, but where, if necessary, the wrath of committed soldiers is released. And the word Heroes is also smaller because true heroes talk about their deeds more with a whisper than a shout.”

The Purple Heart is there because it’s an easily recognized heroic emblem and one of the common denominators among the Norwich grads discussed in the book.

Norwich Heroes opens at the storming of Chapultepec Castle then weaves its way through flashpoints of U.S. military history where Norwich grads have emerged as battlefield heroes. Follow three extraordinary brothers as they fight their way through the Civil War’s bloodiest battles. Join others on patrol in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, or fast-roping into the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, or hunting the world’s most wanted terrorists and war criminals in Iraq and Afghanistan. What do all of these men have in common? Much more than you may think.

Note: This post is dedicated to the memory of Chief Special Warfare Operator and Purple Heart Recipient Brian Bill (NU 2001). A proud member of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (aka SEAL Team 6), Brian was killed in Afghanistan one year ago today with 17 of his team mates and 20 others when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy fire. You are not forgotten.

The Purple Heart is one of the most widely recognized medals awarded to members of the U.S. military. The Medal of Honor is a close second, but since the individual services have slightly different versions and the Purple Heart is one of the few medals that remains consistent across all branches (not to mention it’s purple and heart-shaped), I’m guessing that the Purple Heart squeaks out a victory in the “most recognizable” category.

So, what is the price of a Purple Heart?

Blood, spilled in battle. And sometimes death.

From The Military order of the Purple Heart:

“The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.”

However, if you’d like to skip all that you can just buy one for $26.99 like I recently did. Let me explain…

One of the common denominators among the Norwich alumni featured in my next book, Norwich Heroes, is the Purple Heart. That, and the fact that it’s so widely recognized, made it a no-brainer for inclusion on the book cover. But when Michael McLain (same artist who created the cover for Norwich Matters on the right side of your screen) first mentioned the idea to me I scratched my head and wondered how I could get my hands on one. Since it’s not the kind of thing you ask to borrow, I hopped in the car and drove to the nearest Army Navy Store.

About 20 minutes later I was standing in front a large glass case filled with medals, ribbons, and other regalia including a brand new Purple Heart. An employee walked over and asked if he could help me.

“Yes, I’d like to see the Purple Heart, please,” I said calmly while inside I was cringing.

“No problem.”

I flipped it over quickly, checked to verify “For Military Merit” was engraved on the back, and started walking toward the cash register. I put the medal on the counter and reached for my wallet. The same guy who helped me at the display case now appeared behind the counter. He looked at me and paused. I felt like a minor buying a twelve pack. Surely he was about to ask me for my orders or a citation proving that I was authorized to wear the Purple Heart. Or maybe he was going to thank me for my service and sacrifice. Or maybe he’d just ask something boorish like “what happened to you?” Instead, he asked me if I needed anything else. Two minutes later I was out the door with no questions asked.

Stolen Valor

The Stolen Valor Act was brought to Congress by Representative John Salazar (D-Colorado) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota). Basically, the law made it illegal to misrepresent oneself as having earned military decorations. It was easily passed by the House and Senate, signed into law in 2006, and had the full support of the Bush and Obama White Houses. Regardless, it was struck down and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 28, 2012 (see United States v. Alvarez).

Fine. I get it. The highest court in the land has spoken. But while I consider myself somewhat of a civil libertarian, this decision doesn’t sit well with me. (Note: The irony here is not lost on me either. I understand that upholding the law would have precluded me from purchasing the medal outright. In which case I would have made alternate plans). But we don’t necessarily need laws to fight these contemptuous miscreants because store owners still have the option of screening customers or, at least, discouraging and shaming them. For example, if I owned a store that sold medals I’d display the following sign at the display case:

Buying a combat award today? If so, please help us protect the sanctity of your service by verifying your credentials.

The mere presence of the sign would discourage the overwhelming majority of would-be valor thieves.

Asking vendors to voluntarily screen their customers is obviously not a magic bullet. The government could ban unauthorized production of medals, carefully number each one they award, and there would still be successful impostors. But we can likely discourage most of the less dedicated wannabees by posting a sign and asking a few questions at the point of sale (websites would obviously need to tweak this approach appropriately but, again, just asking for details would discourage most). Just because SCOTUS says their despicable actions are protected under the constitution doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for them.

Servicemen and women awarded the Purple Heart deserve our gratitude, respect, and courtesy. But we also have a responsibility to protect the sanctity of the award by discouraging and publicly shaming those who desecrate its legacy in any way. And we don’t need laws to do that.

End Note: At the behest of the White House the Department of Defense recently launched the DOD Stolen Valor Database. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.

U.S.N./U.S.M.C./U.S.C.G. version of the Medal Of Honor

The Norwich University Archives and Special Collections blog “Mining For Old” needs some help. This negative was found with other images of student sports and calisthenics from 1961.

Do you know who these students are? What are they doing?  Do you know when this might have been taken?

I’ll be honest – I don’t even know where the photo was taken. Plumley Armory perhaps?

PS: Am I the only one who looks at old pictures of Norwich cadets and thinks they look like they’re in their 30s?

See more comments regarding this post on Facebook HERE and HERE.

Comments and criticism are welcome. See more comments on Facebook HERE.

Imagine it’s the first semester of your junior year. You’re sitting in class, when a messenger enters and hands a piece of paper to the professor. She reads it quickly, casually glances in your direction, and nods at the messenger. After class she informs you that the bursar’s office needs to speak with you immediately.

The bursar informs you that you have an outstanding balance of several thousand dollars; if it’s not paid by the end of the week you’ll be involuntarily withdrawn from the University and sent packing. You have no money, no assets, no credit, and no viable options. In one last desperate attempt to save your academic career, you walk downtown to the Northfield Savings Bank in hopes of obtaining a loan.

As you approach the bank you notice a bag on the sidewalk—it’s full of cash. The amount? Several thousand dollars, more than enough to cover your tuition, and nobody saw you pick it up.

What would you do?

The Honor Code was officially introduced to Norwich in 1951 at the behest of President Ernest N. Harmon. At the initial announcement, Harmon pointed out that Norwich had already had an “unofficial” honor code “since the days of Alden Partridge,” because an officer’s word is his bond. But he also noted, “The strength of the honor system had varied throughout the years depending largely on the support given by the Corps of Cadets through their Honor Groups and Societies.” He therefore argued that establishing a formal Honor Code—and an institutional framework tasked with teaching and enforcing it—would help to solidify the expectation of honorable conduct regardless of the cultural shifts that take place over time.

Harmon charged the commandant, Major General Oscar Cauldwell, and a small handful of cadets, with institutionalizing the code. As a result of their efforts, for the past 61 years, while most college freshmen are busy exploring the bounds of their newfound freedom, Norwich men and women are raising their right hands and promising not to “lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” And the foundation of the code has proved itself timeless in spite of massive societal changes that none of its founders could have predicted, such as the counterculture of the ’60s and ’70s, and the more subtle challenges brought about by the technological advancements of the digital age.

Over the past few decades, another more serious challenge to the integrity of the code has loomed large—the inequities inherent in maintaining separate but equal systems for cadets and civilian students.

“Separate, by definition, is unequal,” says Charlie O’Neil ’94—the newly elected president of the Norwich University Alumni Association Board of Directors—paraphrasing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. the Board of Education. “As long as there are two separate systems, there will always be the perception of inequity by those involved. A universal honor system provides a single standard for all students to meet, regardless of who they are.”

Those very sentiments were expressed by Corps and civilian students alike when probed for their opinions by the higher education consulting firm of Noel-Levitz in 2006, 2009, and 2011. To address this dilemma, President Schneider stood up two Blue Ribbon Committees and, after careful deliberation, the Board of Trustees issued a directive in March 2012 that a single honor system be established by August 2013.

“The Honor Code itself remains unchanged,” says President Richard Schneider, “but since both Corps and civilian students don’t trust each other’s systems to be fair and consistent, we are now designing one system for all.”

LTC Duncan Currier ’80 now serves as the first Director of Judicial Affairs and Ethics, and reports directly to Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Vanecek. During the transition he’ll be assisted by Assistant Dean of Students Ryan Johnson, as well as 13-year advisor to the Corps Honor Committee, Rev. Bill Wick.

“We are committed to accomplishing this transition with thoroughness and quality, so as to create and leave a lasting legacy for future generations of Norwich students,” says Wick.
The administration does its part to promote and enforce the code. However, its true strength depends almost entirely on support from the student body. Thankfully, both student populations overwhelmingly embrace the tenets of the Honor Code.

“I don’t see the Honor Code as a Norwich thing; I see it as an American thing. We live in a society where lying, cheating, and stealing are seriously looked down on,” says Cadet Jerry Passalacqua ’15, a member of the Sophomore Honor Committee. Civilian Honor Committee co-chair Kristina Quinlan echoed Jerry’s sentiments.

“The Honor Code is not something to be afraid of; it’s something that should be embraced. Nobody wants to associate with dishonorable people.”

As cadets, civilian students, and commuters work together to establish the new system, the challenges ahead will be mainly administrative and procedural. A comprehensive introductory training for new students as well as retraining for current students must be put in place. In addition, clear policies will be established to ensure transparency and due process.

“We have to make sure that people understand the Honor Committee is not some type of gestapo,” says William Deveau, a member of the 2013 Corps Honor Committee. “Everybody will be treated fairly, regardless of his or her [campus] lifestyle.”

“I think unifying the Honor Code and monitoring system for the military and civilian groups of NU is fundamental to the structural integrity of the University,” says Ben Reid, Class of 1953 and one of the cadets hand-picked to spearhead the introduction of the code during the 1952–1953 school year.

Reid maintains that honor, integrity, a code of ethics, and the “do right” rule are tantamount to success in any field of endeavor. “NU students are fortunate to be given the opportunity to build a strong foundation for responsible conduct and respect for others in life,” Reid says.

Now let’s return to that bundle of cash in front of the Northfield Savings Bank, which, by the way, is a true story: Cadet Ed Page was faced with this exact scenario in the fall of 1989. Can you guess what he did?

After examining the contents of the bag, he calmly stepped to the side of the bank’s entryway and waited. Eventually, an anxious elderly woman returned to the scene and was quickly reunited with her bag. When asked to think back and explain what went through his mind as he weighed his options and made what many people would consider a difficult decision, especially considering his financial crisis at the time, Page replied, “What decision? The only option was to return the money. I never considered anything else.”

Page graduated in 1992 and began a career in law enforcement. During his first month on the job he arrested a young man for robbery. After handcuffing him and informing him of his Miranda rights, the man began loudly protesting his arrest and justifying his actions. He was in dire financial straits, claimed that stealing was his only option, and confidently declared that Officer Page couldn’t possibly understand.

“Actually, I do,” Page replied. “Let me tell you a story…”

By Randall H. Miller ’93

GEN Martin Dempsey - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

I spent a few days in Northfield last week for an Alumni Association meeting that happened to coincide with commissioning and graduation. It’s always an extraordinary time of year to be on campus as Norwich students scurry to fulfill their final requirements before officially starting their careers. There are tests to take, presentations to give, administrative tasks to be dealt with and yet somehow they still manage to squeeze in cocktails with enthusiastic grads who descend on the campus to share in the festivities. It was a fantastic few days that culminated with a rousing speech from none other than the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. His participation is a major endorsement of the system that Alden Partridge set in motion almost 200 years ago.

Speaking of Partridge, I made some stops on my way home to visit the graves of a few important people from Norwich History. Below are pics from those visits.

Alden Partridge and Truman Bishop Ransom are both buried in Fairview Cemetery located in Norwich, Vermont.

Captain Alden Partridge Grave

Truman Bishop Ransom Grave

Ernest N. Harmon’s final resting place is Oxbow Cemetery located in Newbury, Vermont.

MG Ernest N. Harmon Grave

Visit FindaGrave.com to see who’s buried near you. And be sure to check out the University Archives and Special Collections’ new blog – “Mining for Old.”