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Author: TriSec    Date: 02/07/2012 11:18:19

Good Morning.

Today is our 3,775th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,889
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 992

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$ 1, 299, 887, 625, 000 .00


So, the Giants won the Superbowl. As a result of that, there will be a victory parade through parts of Manhattan.


They will be joining the many hundreds of others that have received parades of some sort through the "Canyon of Heroes" in NYC....just take a look at some of those that have been so honoured.



(not inclusive)

1886
October 28 - Statue of Liberty dedication (impromptu).

1921
April/May ?? - Albert Einstein, The only scientist to ever receive a ticker tape parade tribute.

1927
June 13 - Charles Lindbergh, following solo transatlantic flight.
July 18 - Commander Richard Byrd and the crew of the America following transatlantic flight.

1945
June 10 - General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.
August 27 - General Charles de Gaulle, interim president of France.
September 14 - General Jonathan Wainwright, hero of Corregidor.
October 9 - Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
October 27 - President Harry S. Truman.
December 14 - Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey.

1951
May 24 - U.S. 4th Infantry Division 8th Regimental Combat Team, first troops sent overseas in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

1953
April 3 - Metropolitan New York Combat Contingent, first troop transport to return from Korea.

1958
May 20 - Van Cliburn, winner of the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition. The only musician to ever receive a ticker tape parade tribute.

1969
January 10 - Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders, following the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.
August 13 - Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, following Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.
October 20 - New York Mets championship in the World Series.

1981
January 30 - American hostages released from Iran.
1985
May 7 - Vietnam War veterans.

1998
November 16 - John Glenn and astronauts of Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-95.


It's an interesting mix of events. But take a look at the last parade I have listed. The parade in 1998 was the last one that honored something other than a sports team. In the 13 years since the Discovery astronauts were so honored, another 5 parades have taken place, all for championship sports teams.

It seems to me that we've lost a little perspective.

For more, read Paul Rieckhoff's take on the situation.

Mayor Bloomberg has deferred to the Pentagon on this; stating that it wouldn't be proper to have a parade while we're still at war in Afghanistan. I was wondering if that's a leg to stand on, and it may be. I had wondered if we had multiple parades at the end of WWII, and the major allies did not. But why should that stop us from doing so this time?

    Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 (ru:Берлинский парад Победы (1945)) - USSR, USA, Great Britain and France

    1944 Dieppe Victory Parade, Victory Parade of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division in Dieppe celebrated on 3 September 1944

    1945 Moscow Victory Parade, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe.

    1946 London Victory Parade, celebrating the victory in the Second World War.

    N.Y.C.Victory Parade, January 12, 1946, designated by the United States Department of War to head the G.I. Victory Parade up Fifth Avenue

The parade on January 12 was also the last "official" victory parade of any sort in the United States. While various regiments have been honored for their service and sacrifice, no other sanctioned event has taken place in 66 years.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)

You know what to do.
 

55 comments (Latest Comment: 02/07/2012 21:31:17 by Raine)
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