Oceans offer no solace in the digital age

There is a theory that our universe consists of nothing but energy and information.

This is rather startling, for our own eyes tell us that a plethora of things exist, from trees and puppy dogs to the Milky Way and Taylor Swift. But upon closer inspection, we see patterns everywhere. Taylor Swift is composed of human cells which are organized in a predictable fashion to form bones and muscle and nerves. Her brain is wired into patterns of neurons which enable her to create patterns of sounds with which to entertain us.

Patterns are created by information which imposes regularity, repeatability, predictability. Waves on the ocean, the facets of a diamond, and Taylor’s DNA are all examples of patterns, hinting at the hierarchical structures underneath. Energy, coalesced into matter, organized by patterns on top of patterns. An entire universe could conceivably be computed if one’s computer were only powerful enough.

Consider “Minions,” “Despicable Me,” and Warcraft – movies and video games representing entire worlds, entertaining and engrossing, but in fact existing only as strings of ones and zeroes arranged in clever patterns within a computer.

 Here are some other examples of information. The Constitution of the United States. The Ten Commandments. The Koran. Not just the paper and words, but the thoughts and beliefs represented by these documents – all information.

 We humans are respectable computers – information processors – in our own right. This has always been true, but what is new is the digital age. The ease with which ideas can flow, be shared, discussed, embraced or rejected is enormous. The digital age has really just begun, but it has already profoundly affected the ways in which we interact. Social memes ebb and flow across the internet, tweeted and posted and shared with the click of a button or a swipe of your phone.

This virtual world is becoming more and more real, and as more of us participate, with increasing facility and ease, physical borders and impediments dwindle to insignificance. Mountain ranges have long since ceased to be barriers. Rivers are instantly crossed by crackling electrons carrying our tweets through the ether. Oceans shrink, deserts are conquered. Information binds us, aligns us, encouraging alliances, creating schisms, and flows with the speed of light, imposing patterns upon mankind.

Such as the recent successes of ISIS. Nothing but a credo, a belief system, ISIS is reaching out to disaffected millions with their message of empowerment. Join us, and be strong. Support us, and be someone. Come to Western Asia and Africa and help us to build the caliphate. Stay at home and attack from within. Professional YouTube videos present targets and means and tactics. The draw is magnetic, the FBI is concerned.

The recent attack on our military in Chattanooga is an example. The perpetrator, a young male, was stirred to action, exactly how we will never know. But his actions are consistent with ISIS directives. We can expect more such attacks.

Attempts to minimize, to label this a “lone wolf” or “lone gunman,” to deny the link to terrorism, are blatantly political.

There is nothing at all “lone” about it. Mohammod Abdulazeez was one of an army of recruits, potentially millions strong, who are formed and trained and inspired every day by a sophisticated social media program. This threat must be recognized and confronted.

While the Administration and  Department of Defense dawdle, several states are moving rapidly. Florida, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Wisconsin have all taken various steps to arm their National Guard members on base and in recruitment centers. More states are reviewing security measures and, one can hope, we will see additional measures adopted.

During the first battle for Fallujah, in the halcyon days when all the fighting was “over there,” a captioned photo of combat Marines was circulating around the internet bearing this legend: "America is not at war, the Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall."

Those days are gone. ISIS is bringing it. We must recognize the threat and prepare to defend ourselves.

Like it or not, America is at war, and broad oceans offer little solace.

Remembering Okinawa

Marines from the 1st Marine Regiment on Wana Ridge, Okinawa.

Each year in June, we remember the brave troops who first directly challenged the Nazi juggernaut on continental Europe. Operation Overlord, the assault on Nazi-occupied western Europe, began with the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944.  The veterans of that action, if still alive, are 86 years or older.  This action, which over 60 days claimed the lives of over 20,000 American troops (and an additional 16,000 allied troops) has been memorialized by no less than John Wayne in “The Longest Day”, 1962, and Tom Hanks in “Saving Private Ryan”, 1998.  The enormous courage of these brave men broke the back of the Nazi war machine and directly led to victory in Europe in May of 1945.

While we should not, we must not, fail to recognize this enormous sacrifice, the month of June is somewhat unjustly overshadowed by D-Day.  Not as well known, one year later, on June 21, 1945, the Battle of Okinawa ended.

The war in the Pacific was viewed at the time as secondary to the war in Europe.  But the Japanese were fierce adversaries and had proven their battle mettle at Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and China.  The threat of Japanese hegemony in the Pacific basin was very real. They were aggressively securing oil and mineral resources to fuel their formidable war machine. Not wishing to cede California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska (and Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) to Emperor Hirohito, we fought back. Hard.

There followed a series of swirling naval battles, such as the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, intermixed with grueling island campaigns like the battles for Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.  The Marine Corps, in particular, was the sharp end of the spear and suffered grievous losses.  But slowly the inexorable march to the Japanese homeland continued.

In April of 1945, Operation Iceberg was mounted. Okinawa, 340 miles from mainland Japan, was considered home Japanese territory.  This was the first Allied assault directly on Japanese native soil.  It was fiercely resisted.

Over 1,300 Navy ships and 183,000 troops (five Army and three Marine Corps divisions) were committed to Okinawa. Unlike the beaches of Normandy, the supply lines to Okinawa stretched across the Pacific, delivering over 750,000 tons of materiel.  The casualties were enormous: 72,000 Americans wounded, 12,500 dead, and 107,000 Japanese troops and over 100,000 civilians killed, more than the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined (estimated at over 150,000 killed).

As horrible as the atomic toll was, it paled in comparison to the projected loss of life if Operation Downfall, the invasion of mainland Japan, were undertaken.  Various estimates centered around a half million Americans killed and perhaps several million Japanese military and civilians. These estimates were largely based on the desperate battle for Okinawa, and informed President Harry Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons in a bid to cut short the war.

In the end, terrible as was the carnage at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is clear that many Japanese and American lives were saved by avoiding the ultimate land battle for Japan.  Okinawa, a key factor in this calculus, deserves to be remembered. The ghosts of our troops, our fathers and grandfathers’ brothers, demand it.

Courage and November the 10th

Corporal Jason Lee Dunham, USMC

“Sir, the age of the Corps is 236 years!”  This cry  will ring out on posts and ships around the world as  Marines celebrate the 236^th anniversary of the Corps’ origin on November 10, 1775.  The Marines were founded as a naval service and share many traditions with their nautical parent. When we fall out of our racks (not bunks), our boots hit the deck (not floor) and we scramble out the hatch (not door) and down the ladder (not stairs).  While the Marines have perfected the art of assault from the sea, they are also a formidable land-based expeditionary force, performing “such duties as the President may direct.”  Which explains why Marines were deployed in 2003 to bring order to landlocked Al Anbar province in Iraq.

The simply stated values of the Marine Corps – honor, courage, and commitment – attract young men and women from all over the country. Nautical familiarity is not a prerequisite, but honesty, fidelity, and a staunch nature are. Marines are relentlessly determined to serve country, Corps, and community. If you ask a Marine what motivates him, the most likely answer you’ll hear is to support and protect his fellow Marines.  But in the end, they support and protect all of us, and our Constitution, and our way of life.

Scio, New York (pronounced sigh-o), is a small farming community (pop. ~1900) in southwestern New York State.  Only two and a half hours from Ohio, Scio has far more in common with Midwestern values than the bustle and glamour of Manhattan.  One thing that Scio could produce, however, was a true American hero.  Jason Lee Dunham was born on November 10, 1981, the exact day of the Marine Corp’s 216^th birthday.  Too much of a coincidence, he was destined to become a Marine.  After playing basketball and graduating from Scio High, Dunham signed up in July 2000. Upon successful completion of boot camp, he was awarded the title of United States Marine. 

By 2004, Jason had been promoted to the rank of corporal and was a squad leader with the 7^th Marines in Al-Karābilah, Al Anbar province.  On April 14^th of that year, Jason’s platoon was dispatched to investigate an attack on the battalion commander’s convoy.  As his squad approached a suspicious vehicle, an enemy combatant tossed a live hand grenade at the Marines.  Jason, seeing the threat to his squad, shouted a warning and deliberately threw himself on the grenade. 

His squad survived, but Jason, grievously wounded, passed away several days later on April 22^nd.  Based on accounts of his valor, Corporal Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the first Marine to be so honored since Vietnam.  In 2007, the Navy announced that a new guided missile destroyer would be named the USS Jason Dunham.  That ship was commissioned on November 13, 2010.

On this November 10^th, Jason would have been 30 years old.  As the “Occupy” protestors decry their college loan debts, please remember those like Corporal Dunham who form the sharp tip of our spear and fight for our right to exist as a country.  I never knew Jason, but as a Marine, he is my brother and I honor him. Semper fidelis, Jason.