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Remembering veterans, especially those in Battle of Bulge

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veterans day battle of bulge
Gary speaks at Battle of Bulge ceremony.

Because I believe honoring our veterans is our patriotic duty, I want to detour from my normal blog topics to share the speech that my husband, Gary Brandt, gave on Nov. 11 at the annual Veteran’s Day ceremony sponsored by the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Battle of the Bulge Veterans at the Port of Rochester Terminal in Rochester, N.Y. Gary’s father, Joe Brandt, was a dedicated member of the group until his death in 2010. Today, there are only nine remaining members in a chapter that once numbered 99. Several of them were in attendance on Nov. 11, still sharp of mind. Here’s what Gary had to say: 

Good Morning, everyone, thank you for coming to this annual ceremony to honor our many military veterans in the Greater Rochester area, and particularly those brave men and women who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and Luxembourg in December-January 1944-45.

In that Battle, over 1 million troops from the Allies and the Germans were engaged.  American troops alone suffered 90,000 casualties, including more than 19,000 killed. The enemy had nearly 85,000 casualties and 16,000 killed.  The American victory at the Battle of the Bulge halted the German counter offensive and within 14 weeks the War in Europe was over.  As Winston Churchill said, and as is carved on the Battle of the Bulge monument here, “This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war, and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever famous American victory”

My name is Gary Brandt and I am a native of Rochester.  Both the families of my father and mother have lived in Rochester for five generations. Like your families, in our family, we have veterans from all five branches of the armed services, some of whom are still serving today in the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Battle of the Bulge Veterans Day
Gary with Battle of Bulge veteran Jack Foy, who organizes this annual event.

I am honored to be asked by Jack Foy to speak today.  Jack, Dick Brookins, David Bush, Tom Hope and Marty Cocca served as the presidents of the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Veterans of Battle of the Bulge until it assumed an inactive status in December 2009.  As you know, Jack has given this speech many times.  Over the years he has never failed to speak with dignity and with passion about his love for this nation and to honor the men and women who have served us.  I would like to take a minute for us to thank Jack for all his work and dedication over the years.

Few Battle of Bulge survivors remain

My father, Joseph Brandt, was a D-Day and Battle of the Bulge survivor. He was wounded in battle at the Bridge at Remagen on the Rhine River in March 1945, and was sent home on a hospital troop ship in May 1945. Dad served as the treasurer in the local chapter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge and passed away three weeks after the final meeting in December 2009.  Jack Foy and the other members of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge presented the colors at his funeral, and our family will be eternally grateful for that honor.

The local Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge Chapter started with 99 veterans and as of today, 9 remain.  Recently, this past September, the Chapter lost Johnny Cipolla and this week, Tom Hope has departed.  These were brave and kind men, and Rochester is poorer without them.

I’d like to share with you a few words written by John Cipolla and Tom Hope about their time in December 1944 in Belgium at the Battle of the Bulge (taken from their essays in the 2012 book The Battle in Common):

Johnny Cipolla wrote:

“The days were now bitterly cold. The simplest task was difficult. Opening a can of K-rations, retying a boot lace, or feeding rounds into a clip with numb hands could be infuriatingly difficult.  Water froze in canteens. As the days wore on, news began to make its way up and down the lines.  Some of it was good: the 4th Armored Division was fighting its way toward Bastogne.  Other news was not so cheerful: we were completely surrounded and ammunition was running dangerously low.

Then the news that General McAuliffe had given the Germans the “NUTS” answer when he was asked to surrender brightened the day. The mood was lightened even further when we awoke to the morning of December 23rd to a clear, frigid day.  Each of us knew, as soon as we saw the blue sky, that it was finally clear enough for the Allied planes to reach Bastogne and re-supply us.  It wasn’t long before we heard the drone of American and British fighter planes, and the fighters swooping in, strafing and bombing German position relentlessly.”

Battle of the Bulge Veterans Day
Tom Hope and I at the Veterans Day ceremony in 2014

From Tom Hope’s essay:

“One day before December 16th, I went to 9th Army HQ to see Capt. Barney Oldfield, the PR Officer for the Army.  His office was in a girl’s school that had a high stone wall all around the block from the school entrance.  With my driver we had to park on the street around the back of the block from the school entrance.  As we got out of the jeep, I could hear two men on the other side of wall.  One said, as he was pounding one fist into the other hand, “Mister Prime Minister, I could never allow that to happen.”  It was the voice of General Dwight Eisenhower speaking to Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

We raced around the block and into the old school building to find Capt. Oldfield.  “Barney, is that Ike with the Prime Minister out in the garden? I could hear them over the wall talking as we parked our jeep?”  Barney’s immediate reaction was to have someone go out in the garden and have the two men move away from the wall so any passerby could not hear them.”

Tom Hope’s funeral service is today at 2 p.m. at the Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church on South Winton Road.  Please join us if you can.

Veterans Day originated after World War I

In our audience today, please raise your hand if you are a military service veteran.   Please raise your hand if you have military veterans in your family.

Yes, this is your day, and I hope you feel a certain pride every November 11th.

Let’s talk a little bit about the history of Veterans Day or Remembrance Day as it is known in the European countries that fought in WWI.  It is celebrated in the United States and in Europe on November 11th because fighting in WWI ceased on the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month in 1918.

In 1926 the U.S. Congress adopted a resolution requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations calling for the observance of November 11th as Armistice Day.  In 1938, the Congress passed legislation to make Armistice Day a legal holiday. In 1954, prompted by President Eisenhower, Congress amended the legislation to change the name to Veterans Day.

Like us, the French also celebrate Veterans/Remembrance Day with parades and ceremony.  On November 11, 1998, my wife and I were in Paris at the Arc de Triumph, which also houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers of WWI and WWII and where exists the Veterans Eternal Flame.  We witnessed the French people, like we are today, honoring their military service veterans.

Battle of Bulge Veterans Day
Gary and veteran Dick Brookins, who played St. Nick in a Belgium village celebration during WW II.

As a note of history, in 1961 President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy, along with French President Charles de Gaulle, paid their respects to the veterans at the Arc de Triumph and the Eternal Flame.  It was from this visit to Paris, that after President Kennedy was assassinated and buried in Arlington National Cemetery, that Mrs. Kennedy asked to have an Eternal Flame placed at the President’s grave site in Arlington.  If you have visited President Kennedy’s grave, you have seen it.

We in Rochester also have our own Veterans Memorials.  Just across the parking lot (of the Port of Rochester Terminal) is the Memorial which commemorates the Veterans of the Battle of Bulge. The 10-ton, three sections of Vermont granite monument was conceived, planned and built by the efforts of the members of Genesee Valley Chapter of the Battle of the Bulge, and dedicated on Oct. 15, 2005.

It is a mere piece of stone with an inscription. Yet it represents the bravery and dedication of the our local men and women, and the other tens of thousands Americans who fought, survived, died, were injured or captured during those fateful six weeks.

Those of us standing here today, and the rest of America, will forever be grateful for the bravery delivered and sacrifices made during the Battle of the Bulge.

Steve Nash, retired teacher who now works at the Rundel Memorial Library.

Also at the event, Steve Nash, senior staff member at the Rundel Memorial Library, spoke and distributed a handout of noteworthy books having to do with various wars since World War I.  Gary also shared remarks from Gary Biekirch, a Medal of Honor recipient, who was unable to attend as he was speaking at other events. 

 

5 Takeaways from women’s leadership summit

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women's leadership Rochester Women's Network
Sandra Frankel, former Brighton town supervisor, has inspired many women with her career in politics.

“Are we there yet?” No, that’s not a child’s voice coming from the backseat of the car.

Rather, it’s what a group of 100 women discussed recently at the Rochester Women’s Network 20th Annual Summit. The summit’s title was “Women in the Driver’s Seat: Navigating Pathways and Detours Along the Road to Success.”

The summit opened with a panel discussion on the leadership topic of “Are we there yet?” What is the “there” that women are seeking, you ask? Equality in accomplishment and recognition. The panel certainly agreed that more strides need to be made.

The panelists were from fields where women have traditionally been under-represented, especially in leadership roles: Dr. Elizabeth Murray, pediatrician at the University of Rochester Medical Center; Sandra Frankel, former elected executive supervisor for the Town of Brighton; Jessica Johnston, senior operational support analyst at Rochester Regional Health; and Jacqueline Mozrall, dean of the Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology.  Jill Wesley, director of career services at the College at Brockport, moderated the panel. Here are my five takeaways from the conversation:

“Mentoring” takes a variety of forms 

Sometimes corporations will set up formal mentoring programs, but they don’t work because people are mis-matched, or they’re not committed to take the time. Personally, I think the best mentoring happens organically and not in a formal way. It’s more about looking to people to be role models. As Murray noted, the people who meant the most to her had a certain spirit or she admired how they conducted their lives.  For me, I admire leaders who in a moment of crisis are steady and calm. Those are the ones that you’re not afraid to knock on their office door to give them the bad news! You know that they won’t take your head off, and while they may not be happy, they’ll work with you to find a solution or fix the problem.

Words matter

Frankel noted that “Sometimes a word to someone can really make a difference. You don’t know the impact that your words can have.”

Can you think of a time when someone unexpectedly patted you on the back, figuratively? Perhaps a boss praised you in front of others, and you had no idea that was coming. Or maybe a female leader (not your boss) stops you in the hall or even strikes up a conversation in the ladies room, with a “You did a great job on that presentation today.” Cherish those moments, and then pay it forward by giving unexpected praise or advice to a junior member of the staff.

women's leadership RWN
Panelists at the leadership summit shared advice on reaching equality and advancement.

Pay attention to what not to do

Haven’t we all learned from bosses some lessons on how not to act? When we feel we’ve been treated unfairly or rudely, that’s the leadership behavior we don’t want to emulate. Those lessons can be valuable. When I was the editor of the Star-Gazette in Elmira, N.Y., managing editor Mark Baldwin told me that his philosophy of telling an employee that his work wasn’t up to snuff was to do it in such a way that the person felt that he or she “saved face.” That stuck with me. It meant Mark would be respectful of the staffer, while at the same time he could point out what was wrong and what needed to be fixed.

Related post: 5 Lessons from ‘Dream, Girl’ entrepreneurs 

 

Nothing wrong with delaying a dream 

Are you as tired as I am of the conversation about achieving balance between work life and home life? Balance doesn’t just apply to women with kids at home, it applies to everyone. The panelists pointed out that “you can have it all, just not all at once.” Instead, approach your life in stages. Rather than striving to become a senior VP by the time you’re 40, perhaps take a “slower and more enjoyable path,” as Johnston aptly put it, and set your sights on reaching that goal by the time you are 50.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a pay raise

“The worse thing that’s going to happen is they’re going to say no,” Murray noted.

Mozrall advised the women to seek data to justify their request. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics offers information on salary ranges for various positions. You can also ask your supervisor,  “What is the median salary for people in my position?”

And remember you can negotiate for other benefits, such as time off, Johnston reminded the women.

I’m a member of the Rochester Women’s Network, a valuable organization that offers a variety of opportunities for professional and personal growth. Click here to find out about a free informational session on Nov. 30 where you can learn more about the group.

 

5 Takeaways from ‘The Vietnam War’ series on PBS

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial and an American flag
Thousands of people visit The Vietnam Veterans Memorial each year to pay tribute to the 58,000 men and women who died in the conflict.

Watching “The Vietnam War” directed by the amazing Ken Burns and Lynn Novick left me mentally exhausted. I posted on Facebook that it was like taking a graduate-level class on the war. I was 16 years old when Saigon fell and I didn’t really have first-hand knowledge of the Vietnam War, nor have I studied it in-depth.

I’m still sorting through my thoughts and emotions, but here are the top 5 things I consider my takeaways from the series.

Secrecy is immoral.

American leaders, starting with President Harry Truman, then Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Nixon all kept citizens in the dark about aid to South Vietnam and then certain bombings. Of course I get that there needs to be secretive actions at times, but when it comes to the lives of America’s citizens and its treasury, leaders have to be forthcoming.

Ego drove the Vietnam War, not fear of communism.

Time and again, Burns and Novick reveal how the politicians were terribly concerned about how it would look if the United States “lost the war,” how it would affect their election and re-election opportunities, etc. Richard Nixon committed treason by having his people contact the South Vietnamese leaders before his election to ask them to scuttle the peace talks and wait for him to become president to get better terms. Military generals also were all about not having anything to do with defeat.

We need whistleblowers. 

Thankfully Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers, a secret study focused on how our government made decisions related to the Vietnam War but the leaking didn’t happen until 1971. Most importantly, the papers revealed how Johnson had repeatedly lied to the American people and Congress about the expansion of U.S. involvement in the war. But what if someone had leaked the secret memos written by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to Johnson, in which McNamara advocated for a halt to the bombing, to the ceasing of sending more troops, to deepening this country’s involvement? Instead Johnson ignored McNamara’s advice and did what the generals wanted.

We have to be relentless in questioning our government.

Thankfully the First Amendment is the backbone of our country. During the Vietnam War, protests in the United States grew to a huge crescendo, thanks to our right to peacefully assemble (although some protests were far from peaceful). And what if the journalists had not been able to report the war via pictures, film and words? The war would have gone on even longer. (I distinctly recall a body-count graphic that was in my hometown newspaper every day, thanks to the editor being anti-war. ) I was impressed that at the end of the “Vietnam War” series each night, there was a credit thanking the journalists who covered the war, some of whom died doing their jobs.

We should think more about the families and lives of our enemies.

Listening to the former Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers and citizens talk about the war from their point of view and the conditions they endured resonated deeply with me. We are all human beings who love and laugh. This is the first time that I’ve thought much about the soldiers on the other side. Families went for years not knowing about the fate of their sons and daughters. One soldier talked about how when he returned home, his mother and he could not even celebrate publicly because so many of their neighbors had lost sons in the war. It’s estimated that a total of 3.1 million Vietnamese soldiers and citizens (from North and South Vietnam) and 58,000 U.S. soldiers died.

 

Every military leader and politician should be required to watch the series and then visit Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial before they commit us into conflicts around the world.

If you missed watching the series, you can stream it here.

What are your takeaways from the series?