Path of the Warrior

There are many paths of the warrior spirit.
My Dad followed the warrior's path with a band of brave men in a Superfortress, a Boeing B-29, over the Marianas in WWII.

Their warship was called Three Feathers and Dad was commander-USAF Captain Edward B. Feathers from the foothills of the Smoky Mts.

March Air Field Museum in California recovered Dad's plane in 1981, but not until 2002 was its early history discovered. In a seemingly fit WWII tradition, a gorgeous blond-flight engineer and then museum restoration director, Shayne Meder-headed up the restoration of Three Feathers to its original glory. http://www.marchfield.org/b29a.htm In fact yesterday three members of Dad's crew visited the plane they risked life and limb to keep airborne between the island of Saipan where they were based to bombing raids over Okinawa and Tokyo 60 years ago. http://www.janeresture.com/saipan/index.htm

In the footsteps of our fathers...
Two years ago I was privileged to join Joan Liska, daughter of my father's right waist gunner, Sargeant Matthew Moore, when we crawled into the restored Three Feathers and sat in our fathers' respective seats. We cried for joy and for the memory of her father who passed away. Then I fired up my cell phone and we called Dad. What a joy it was for him to know that after all these decades his own child sat in his cockpit! It was a peak moment in two daughters' lives.

I listen to accounts of how they skimmed the ocean at a harrowing altitude of 1500 feet with only two operable engines on one side, listing like a wounded bird, on a wing and a bunch of prayers. Or the time they stayed behind, circling Tokyo Bay under the nose of the entire Japanese fighter force, to call in help for a downed fighter pilot. As a child these seemed like tales from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It's taken decades to grasp even an inkling of the immensity of that world war, the incredible oneness of the American government and people, and the terrible loss of life and the darkness that threatened the world.

I realize how this path left an indelible trace on my Dad's life map. The crew's ages ranged from 19 to 27. Most were kids! In fact, they had not flown the new B-29 much at all. It was specially produced by Boeing for the Pacific Theater and crews were rushed through training for heavy bombardment on Japan in 1944-45 near the end of the war. Dad's crew went out together in harm's way and each person's life was in the others' hands. War is not glorious but the human bonds forged therein are lasting. While the crew now lives far apart, they still check in with each other and remember those passed on-mostly the funny stuff.

Citizen Warriors
I am very proud of my Dad. He put in another 20 years of military service retiring as a Lt. Colonel. He remained what he calls "a citizen warrior" as a reserve officer. In the war and his career in the Air Force he received many commendations. But, Dad never defined himself by the war or even his USAF career. He is a modern man who moves on and today finds he has changed many of his perspectives on war. After another dozen have come and gone, he doubts the value of war in modern times. I do, too.

We often reflect on the wisdom of the Marshall Plan that recognized the value of rebuilding Europe to prevent the conditions that foster hatred and lead to war or genocide. http://www.usaid.gov/multimedia/video/marshall/av.html General Marshall won the Nobel Peace prize for his work toward international peace. There is a great lesson that we have forgotten. The man who led the Allied Forces to victory in WWII turned peacemaker.

Eisenhower followed the path of peacemaker, too. As President, Eisenhower's prophetic view from the top (when he realized that America's corporations and U.S. military were too closely aligned for comfort) fell on deaf ears. Citizens forgot about the wisdom of Marshall and Eisenhower. As we entered the Cold War we massed arms. There was simply too much money to be made in building the military for more war. Eisenhower saw clearly how a democracy must be ever vigilant that her hard won freedoms not be chipped away from within. http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/hartung01.html

Dog Soldiers
In long ago times on Turtle Island in North America, a sacred society of warriors known as Dog Soldiers was established among the Cheyenne people. www.manataka.org/~manataka/page164.html

Of all the Cheyenne soldier societies, they were the the most respected. Dog Soldiers wore a sacred sash called a Dog Rope. It was staked to the ground where the Dog Soldier defended his nation as the last line of defense-often unto his death.

This impressed me so greatly that one night I dreamed that a new kind of American spirit, like that of the Dog Soldier, spread among the people of this nation. I saw people stand their ground for principles. They were the Senator that says no to preemptive war, the corporate boss willing to be transparent, the citizen who dissents on moral principles, and all who show compassion for the human condition. I saw the Nation defended fiercely by a new kind of warrior, one who uses words backed by action, and one who drives her/his stake into the ground, not yielding to convention or the path of least resistance. Some things are sacred and inviolate.

Running Raids on a Virtual Battleground in the 21st Century
Dad once flew a Superfortress, was as tough as nails. And for that war, I am glad for it. But now he flies a computer and runs raids on a virtual battleground. He's out there ambusing the charletons and misled leaders of this crazy world with a few strokes of his keyboard.

And he has organized his family and remaining crew members and their kids to our online Family Council. Everyday we receive Postings from the Chief. At 89 years of age he is still in command! But today he has joined the ranks of the gentle warriors, the peacemaker society.

I can only hope to live so well and to continue to grow with the times as he has. Today we deal with great uncertainty, and we are now a global tribe linked by our economies and a shared ecological future. All of us will have to find the new path of the warrior spirit, one that secures the peace and conserves the Earth.

~In honor of my Father, the crew of the Three Feathers,

and all the men and women who have gone down

the Path of the Warrior.~

Go in peace and wear your "Dog Rope"! The battlegrounds are everywhere Liberty is at stake.

Susan