Though not as well-known as Independence Day, June 14th was officially established as National Flag Day in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson. Flag Day commemorates adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.
Photo Credit: American flag on Flickr by Carl M.
My cousin is a Marine who has been to Iraq twice. I asked him about the lack of “up-armored” HMMWV’s. He is speaking in general and not about the specific situation of the soldier who questioned Rumsfeld.
This is his reply. (I’ve added emphasis to some parts.)
Yes, there is a lack of “up-armored” HMMWV’s in theater, though this can be misleading. The up-armored HMMWV (the M1114) was actually only minimally in the Army inventory and was never a Marine Corps vehicle. We went into Baghdad the first time with just the highback HMMWV’s with soft doors and the hardback HMMWV’s which have supplemental armor (for shrapnel protection — won’t stop 7.62 small arms fire)
“The U.S. military has released a list of the most-wanted senior Iraqi government officials in a unique and memorable form: a deck of cards.”
I hope my cousin has the sense to snatch up all the decks he can. He can bring them home and make a fortune on e-Bay.
