Three Men Who Changed The Perception Of Vietnam Veterans

A delivery man recently handed me my ordered pizza and seeing my Navy dog tag hanging from a gold chain around my neck, smiled and said, “Thank you for your service.” 

That was something my late brother Ed and I did not often hear when we returned home from the Vietnam War. 

My brother served in the U.S. Army at Chu Lai in South Vietnam, and he returned home in 1969. 

I served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Kitty Hawk as the aircraft carrier performed combat operations on “Yankee Station” off the coast of North Vietnam. I retuned home in 1971. 

In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Vietnam veterans were portrayed mostly on TV and in films as drug addicts and homicidal maniacs. Although the vast majority of Vietnam veterans, like my brother and I, returned home from the war and adapted back into civilian life, the fictional portrayal of crazy Vietnam vets was prevalent and, sadly, many people thought it was an accurate portrayal. 

It was not. 

The negative attitude towards Vietnam veterans changed thankfully in the 1980s due to three people primarily, in my view.

One was President Ronald Reagan.

In 1980, President Reagan said, “Vietnam was, in truth, a noble cause and those who died in that cause fought as well and as bravely as any Americans have ever fought in any war. They deserve our gratitude and our continuing concern.”    

President Reagan often spoke up for Vietnam veterans, before, during and after his time as president.

The second person was actor Tom Selleck (seen in the above photo). Selleck, a fine actor and by all accounts, an intelligent and decent man, portrayed the character Thomas Magnum on the TV series Magnum, P.I.

In the series, Thomas Magnum was a former Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran. His two best friends, TC and Rick, were former Marines. All three were well-adjusted Vietnam veterans. (Higgins, the majordomo of the Robin Master’s estate, was a well-adjusted WWII veteran).

The third person to change the perception of Vietnam veterans was Magnum, P.I.’s writer and producer, Donald Bellisario (seen in the above photo). Bellisario, a former Marine, died last year. 

You can watch Donald Bellisario discuss the portrayal of Vietnam veterans on Magnum, P.I. via the below link:

Donald Bellisario discusses the portrayal of Vietnam vets on "Magnum, P.I." - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG - YouTube

Magnum, P.I., along with President Reagan’s frequent speeches that praised Vietnam veterans, changed the perception of the Vietnam veteran, which endures today. 

O. Henry's Humor, Pathos, Drama And Irony: 'My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On O. Henry's 101 Stories

 The Washington Times published my On Crime column on O. Henry’s 101 stories.

Every Christmas season, I watch about a dozen or so favorite holiday films. One of them is “O. Henry’s Full House.” The 1952 film offers five adaptations of O. Henry’s great short stories with Christmas themes. The film features fine directors for each story, such as Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, and notable actors as Charles Laughton, Fred Allen, and Marilyn Monroe. Author John Steinbeck is the film’s narrator.

 

The film highlights O. Henry’s humor, drama, pathos, and irony. The stories presented in the film are “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Ransom of Red Chief,” “The Cop and the Anthem,” “The Last Leaf,” and my favorite, “The Clarion Call.” The story stars Dale Robinson as a cop who is indebted to a crook portrayed by Richard Widmark.

 

O. Henry, the pen name of William Sidney Porter, has many admirers, like me, and those admirers will enjoy a new collection of his stories published by the Library of America, called “O. Henry’s 101 Stories.” 

 

As crime is my primary interest and beat, I particularly love O. Henry’s short stories about crime. There are several crime stories in “O. Henry’s 101 Stories,” such as the classic “A Retrieved Reformation,” “After Twenty Years,” and “The Girl and the Graft.” 

“O. Henry’s 101 Stories” was edited by Ben Yagoda. He noted although that although O. Henry is mostly known for stories with a twist ending, such as “The Gift of the Magi,” the majority of his stories do not have surprise endings and are not sentimental.

 

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/oct/21/book-review-o-henry-101-stories/ 

My favorite O. Henry short story, The Clarion Call, was not included in O. Henry's 101 Stories, but you can read the story via the below link:

The Clarion Call (americanliterature.com)

You can also watch the film O. Henry's Full House free via the below link:

O. Henry's Full House (1952) - YouTube

Note: The above photo is of Dale Robinson and Richard Widmark from The Clarion Call in O. Henry's Full House. 

National Police Week: FBI Director Wray Draws Attention To Dangers Facing Law Enforcement

The FBI offers an interview with FBI Director Christopher Wray on Police Week events last week. The director reflected on the sacrifices of the Bureau’s law enforcement partners, who risk their safety to protect the public. 

You can read the piece, watch a video of the interview and view photos via the below link: 

FBI Honors Fallen During 2021 Police Week Events — FBI 

Cash, Shredded Documents Found At Couple’s Home In Navy Spy Case

 The Navy Times offers a piece on what the FBI discovered at the accused spy couple’s home. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, latex gloves and a “go-bag” when they searched the home of a Maryland couple accused of trying to sell information about nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country, an agent testified Wednesday.

Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer, and his wife, Diana, were arrested this month on espionage charges. Prosecutors allege that Jonathan Toebbe tried to pass submarine secrets to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover agent. They accuse Diana Toebbe of serving as a lookout for her husband at several “dead drop” locations at which sensitive information was left behind.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Cash, shredded documents found at couple’s home in spy case (navytimes.com) 

FBI Releases 2020 Statistics For Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted In The Line Of Duty

 

The FBI released the below information:

According to statistics reported to the FBI, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2020. These assaults were reported to the FBI by 9,895 law enforcement agencies. Based on these reports, there were 4,071 more officers assaulted in 2020 than the 56,034 assaults reported in 2019. Data regarding these assaults were released today in the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) portion of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer.

Injuries and Weapons 

• Of the 60,105 officers who were assaulted in 2020, 18,568 (30.9%) sustained injuries.
• 44,421 officers were assaulted with personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet); 25.8% of these officers were injured.
• 2,744 officers were assaulted with firearms; 6.1% of these officers were injured.
• 1,180 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments; 9.7% of these officers were injured.
• The remaining 11,760 officers were assaulted with other types of dangerous weapons; 16.8% of these officers were injured.

Circumstances 

Of all officers who were assaulted in 2020, agencies reported officers were involved in these circumstances at the scenes of the assaults: 

• Responding to disturbance calls such as family quarrels or bar fights (29.6%)
• Attempting other arrests (16.1%)
• Handling, transporting, or maintaining custody of prisoners (12.6%)
• Investigating suspicious persons or circumstances (8.8%)
• Traffic pursuits or stops (8.4%)
• Civil disorder, such as mass disobedience or riots (4.1%)
• Handling persons with mental illness (3.9%)
• Burglaries in progress or pursuing burglary suspects (1.3%)
• Ambush situations (0.8%)
• Robberies in progress or pursuing robbery suspects (0.8%)
• All other types of circumstances (13.6%)

2020 assault data tables and companion documents are exclusively located on the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer (a subset of the Crime Data Explorer).

Data and statistics concerning officers feloniously killed, officers accidentally killed, and federal officers killed and/or assaulted in 2020 were previously released to the Law Enforcement Data Explorer in May 2021. With today’s release of assault data, all 2020 LEOKA data are now available.

Previous editions of the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted publication contain data from 1996 to 2019. 

Babylon Bee: Arms Race Heats Up: Just As China Reveals Space Nukes, America Responds With Trans Admiral

 The Babylon Bee mocks President Biden and Dr. Levine in a clever and amusing piece:

WORLD—The arms race is heating up between the U.S. and China. Just last week, China revealed its brand new "space nukes", which are capable of easily nuking any country on the planet. The United States responded swiftly to the provocation by unveiling the world's first trans admiral.

"China, you've been warned," said Biden to a Chinese food delivery person he mistook for President Xi. "Our transgender admiral is fully armed and operational. If you cross us, we will unleash the full fire and fury of this deadly weapon upon you, make no mistake." 

Military experts say that while a space nuke is somewhat impressive, it pales in comparison to the awesome power of diversity. "With Rachel Levine serving as admiral, nations around the world will bow before the terrifying might of our transgender empowerment," said General Milley. "We must pursue peace through strength. Strength of inclusivity." 

Biden insisted that there is no weapon yet conceived that can top Admiral Levine and that he will gladly accept China's preemptive surrender. 

Admiral Levine was not available for comment as she was getting her prostate examined. 

You can read other satirical pieces via the below link:

 The Babylon Bee | Fake News You Can Trust

A Serious Note: Dr. Levine, a pediatrician, was commissioned an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, not the U.S. Navy. It takes somewhat longer to become a four-star admiral in the Navy.

A South Philly Cop In Wyoming: My Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat Column On ‘Longmire’ Author Craig Johnson’s Philadelphia Connection

Philadelphia Weekly published my Crime Beat column on Longmire author Craig Johnson's Philadelphia connection:

So what’s a nice South Philly girl doing way out in Wyoming?

As fans of the Netflix TV series “Longmire” and the Longmire crime novels know, the South Philadelphia character Victoria “Vic’ Moretti was created by Craig Johnson. She’s tough, resourceful, somewhat profane, and loyal to her friends. Sounds like a lot of Philly women I know. 

You can read the rest of the column via the below link or the below pages:

South Philly cop in Wyoming - Philadelphia Weekly 

You can click on the above and below to enlarge.