My final project can be seen on prezi.com
Peace One Day
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
Veterans Day Anthem
The Veterans Memorial in Anthem, AZ. It is an architectural masterpiece. It opened on November 11, 2011 with a celebration for the American veterans from Anthem, AZ. The memorial was designed by Renee Palmer-Jones and was conceived by Admiral Ron Tucker. The memorial consists of five pillars with each representing a different branch of the United States Military. The spectacular thing about the memorial is that each of the five pillars has one hole in it. These holes line up perfectly on Veterans Day at 11:11 am with the sun shining through the center of the holes to shine perfectly on a mural of the Seal of the United States. Throughout the day on Veterans Day the Seal can be seen illuminated on the ground. The Seal can only be seen perfectly like this on Veterans Day and symbolizes the importance of every branch of the military and their cooperation together. In times of great need these branches must come together to make our country great.
Friday, November 1, 2013
A Cold War
What is a cold war? Merriam-Webster defines a cold war as "a conflict over ideological differences carried on by methods short of sustained overt military action and usually without breaking off diplomatic relations." A cold war is one that typically has no violent measures involved. This is a type of war that is totally different than the "hot wars" we have been talking about for the most part.
After World War II ended, the United States and the then Soviet Union entered into a cold war. This war lasted over forty years and took the United States and the Soviet Union from the atomic age all the way to the space age. The war itself was a show of power on both sides while trying to stay as non violent as possible. Whenever one side would advance technologically, the other would race to match and pass them. This is, in part, why there were so many technological advances between the 1940s and 1980s.
The list of reasons for this war is as long as the war itself. Many of the reasons can be explained by examining the tense relationship of the Soviet Union and the United States. "For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians." While the Russians were angered with the Americans, the people of America were treading lightly as they "had long been wary of Soviet communism and concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical, blood-thirsty rule of his own country." As tensions mounted and people became more frightened and more angered, it is easy to see how a war of technology could ensue.
After World War II ended, the United States and the then Soviet Union entered into a cold war. This war lasted over forty years and took the United States and the Soviet Union from the atomic age all the way to the space age. The war itself was a show of power on both sides while trying to stay as non violent as possible. Whenever one side would advance technologically, the other would race to match and pass them. This is, in part, why there were so many technological advances between the 1940s and 1980s.
The list of reasons for this war is as long as the war itself. Many of the reasons can be explained by examining the tense relationship of the Soviet Union and the United States. "For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians." While the Russians were angered with the Americans, the people of America were treading lightly as they "had long been wary of Soviet communism and concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical, blood-thirsty rule of his own country." As tensions mounted and people became more frightened and more angered, it is easy to see how a war of technology could ensue.
Friday, October 18, 2013
The Art of War
Is war an art? Is war a part of our daily lives? Some people would say it is. One of those people would be the famous Chinese general Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was a brilliant military strategist who's ideas were well before his time. His ideas have been immortalized in his book, The Art of War. This book changed the way people looked at warfare. Many modern leaders implement the knowledge of Sun Tzu.
I wish I could tell you that is where it stopped. I want tell you that war is a horrifying and undesirable thing. I wish I could convince you what the media is feeding people is wrong, and that war has been romanticized to a point that people think all soldiers look like Jeremy Renner and Josh Hartnett. But I can't. War has been engrained in our culture. In fact, it has been engrained in almost every culture since the beginning of time. That is why a sixth century Chinese general has a best selling book. And why his book has been reinterpreted to fit people's daily lives. Books like The Art of War for Executives: Ancient Knowledge for Today's Business Professional are in every bookstore around America, and we eat it up. We love war. We have made it into an art. People search it out. As James A. Nadeau says in his article The Hurt Locker and the Contemporary War Film,
On a basic level the anxieties of war are an integral part of the human
experience and the war film serves to enable us (those of us fortunate enough
to not have to experience it) to experience it vicariously. It allows those who
haven’t (and probably never will) see for a brief time just what it might be
like."
Many people think war is an art, but do you?
I wish I could tell you that is where it stopped. I want tell you that war is a horrifying and undesirable thing. I wish I could convince you what the media is feeding people is wrong, and that war has been romanticized to a point that people think all soldiers look like Jeremy Renner and Josh Hartnett. But I can't. War has been engrained in our culture. In fact, it has been engrained in almost every culture since the beginning of time. That is why a sixth century Chinese general has a best selling book. And why his book has been reinterpreted to fit people's daily lives. Books like The Art of War for Executives: Ancient Knowledge for Today's Business Professional are in every bookstore around America, and we eat it up. We love war. We have made it into an art. People search it out. As James A. Nadeau says in his article The Hurt Locker and the Contemporary War Film,
On a basic level the anxieties of war are an integral part of the human
experience and the war film serves to enable us (those of us fortunate enough
to not have to experience it) to experience it vicariously. It allows those who
haven’t (and probably never will) see for a brief time just what it might be
like."Many people think war is an art, but do you?
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The Fallen
Every war has casualties. Every battle has casualties. Some have more than others. Some have very few. But all casualties, no matter which side they are on, are terrible. For those of you that do not know, September 21st is International Peace Day. As this blog focuses on telling true war stories, it would be a shame to not speak of peace in at least one post.
This year for International Peace Day, a group of people from Sandinyoureye and Peace One Day came together to create a work of art commemorating The Fallen of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944. For every casualty of this single day, they drew a soldier in the sand along the beach of Normandy.
Using the stencils shown above, some 9,000 bodies were drawn in the sand. According to the site, even that is a conservative estimate. Of the casualties that day, 3,000 were French civilians, 2,000 were German soldiers, and 4,414 were Allied forces. If two of those words above did not cause you to pause and ask yourself why, let me say them again. The casualties that day were 9,000.
Why do we insist on losing so many lives in such a short period of time? Is war a last resort or a first response? Which should it be? Can we ever achieve peace one day?
"On Peace Day we quietly and harmoniously drew 9,000 people in the sand so that people can understand the loss with their own eyes. This was a quiet day with a very loud statement. The message of the Fallen is now travelling the globe, those people that lost their lives are no longer with us but on Peace Day 21st September 2013 they spoke." Jimmy Wardley
Throughout history, mankind has fought each other. Every side of every war has experienced casualties. Whether it is the 9,000 lost on D-Day, the 46,286 lost at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, or the approximately 1,600 casualties of the Battle of Mogadishu, every loss is bitter.
All images from The Fallen 9000 Gallery
This year for International Peace Day, a group of people from Sandinyoureye and Peace One Day came together to create a work of art commemorating The Fallen of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944. For every casualty of this single day, they drew a soldier in the sand along the beach of Normandy.
Using the stencils shown above, some 9,000 bodies were drawn in the sand. According to the site, even that is a conservative estimate. Of the casualties that day, 3,000 were French civilians, 2,000 were German soldiers, and 4,414 were Allied forces. If two of those words above did not cause you to pause and ask yourself why, let me say them again. The casualties that day were 9,000.
Why do we insist on losing so many lives in such a short period of time? Is war a last resort or a first response? Which should it be? Can we ever achieve peace one day?
"On Peace Day we quietly and harmoniously drew 9,000 people in the sand so that people can understand the loss with their own eyes. This was a quiet day with a very loud statement. The message of the Fallen is now travelling the globe, those people that lost their lives are no longer with us but on Peace Day 21st September 2013 they spoke." Jimmy Wardley
Throughout history, mankind has fought each other. Every side of every war has experienced casualties. Whether it is the 9,000 lost on D-Day, the 46,286 lost at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, or the approximately 1,600 casualties of the Battle of Mogadishu, every loss is bitter.
All images from The Fallen 9000 Gallery
Friday, September 20, 2013
Is War All That Bad?
Hey guys. So the theme of this class is how to tell a true war story. And that is what I want to do right now, but it might not be how you think it will be. One of my favorite movies is called Hoodwinked and it has a quote that says, "If a tree falls in the forest, you'll get three stories, yours, mine and the tree's." That is what I want to look at with this post. Maybe not your story or my story, but the tree's story. I want to turn everything upside down and look at is from a different angle.
I want to look at the Vietnam War, but from the Vietnamese civilian's prospective.
Many people and soldiers thought that the South Vietnamese were unappreciative of the Americans that were fighting for they're freedom from Communist aggression. That, however, is not the case. In his article, “Villager Attitudes During the Final Decade of the Vietnam War,” Mark Moyar explains what the villagers were really feeling. There was a point in time when the South Vietnamese supported the Viet Cong, but it
was short-lived. Moyar writes, “In 1965, the attitudes began to change. The
villagers began to think less highly of the VC and more highly of the GVN. Yet
most Americans did not perceive this change, then or since, and thought that
the attitudes of the villagers remained more or less the same.” The South
Vietnamese stopped supporting the Viet Cong, and began backing the Government
of the Republic of Vietnam (GVN). Further, the South Vietnamese did not resent
the Americans or the GVN when the violence began intensifying. Moyar addresses
this by saying, “When powerful Allied attacks commenced in the VC-dominated
villages, the populace's willingness to cooperate with the VC usually dropped
off rapidly.” These were a grateful people that were being freed from Communist
aggression. They came to view Americans as liberators and when they had the
chance, they chose to free themselves from the Viet Cong.
As you can see, the general opinion is not always what is correct. While many people assumed the South Vietnamese were ungrateful for the help of the Americans, the reality was quite the opposite.
I want to look at the Vietnam War, but from the Vietnamese civilian's prospective.
Many people and soldiers thought that the South Vietnamese were unappreciative of the Americans that were fighting for they're freedom from Communist aggression. That, however, is not the case. In his article, “Villager Attitudes During the Final Decade of the Vietnam War,” Mark Moyar explains what the villagers were really feeling. There was a point in time when the South Vietnamese supported the Viet Cong, but it
was short-lived. Moyar writes, “In 1965, the attitudes began to change. The
villagers began to think less highly of the VC and more highly of the GVN. Yet
most Americans did not perceive this change, then or since, and thought that
the attitudes of the villagers remained more or less the same.” The South
Vietnamese stopped supporting the Viet Cong, and began backing the Government
of the Republic of Vietnam (GVN). Further, the South Vietnamese did not resent
the Americans or the GVN when the violence began intensifying. Moyar addresses
this by saying, “When powerful Allied attacks commenced in the VC-dominated
villages, the populace's willingness to cooperate with the VC usually dropped
off rapidly.” These were a grateful people that were being freed from Communist
aggression. They came to view Americans as liberators and when they had the
chance, they chose to free themselves from the Viet Cong. As you can see, the general opinion is not always what is correct. While many people assumed the South Vietnamese were ungrateful for the help of the Americans, the reality was quite the opposite.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Introductions
Hello, everyone. My name is Jeremy Shank, and I am very happy you are at my blog! If you are wondering a little bit about me, I am a transfer student from Belmont University in Nashville, TN and am now an accounting major with a recreation leadership minor at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL. I love everything about music and the great outdoors. I am fortunate enough to be at a school where I can enjoy both through my involvement in the musical fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and in my involvement with the recreation leadership minor. I hope that through my involvement in these things I can help and show other people ways to enjoy both music and the outdoors.
Now, some of you might be wondering what the title of my blog is all about. The theme of this blog is war stories. And the title of this blog comes from a song about the Vietnam War. The line says, "We left as inmates/ From an asylum," and is from Billy Joel's song "Goodnight Saigon." I could not think of a more fitting song that this because of the powerful meaning behind both the song and that line in particular.
Now, some of you might be wondering what the title of my blog is all about. The theme of this blog is war stories. And the title of this blog comes from a song about the Vietnam War. The line says, "We left as inmates/ From an asylum," and is from Billy Joel's song "Goodnight Saigon." I could not think of a more fitting song that this because of the powerful meaning behind both the song and that line in particular.
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