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For decades, award-winning actor and entertainer Alan Alda forged a unique blend of Army experience with an ability to move audiences through words and acting. It’s an approach Alda continues to follow today.
As a boy, Alda suffered from polio, but developed a keen sense of humor, landing comedy jobs during his early years, including Chicago’s legendary Second City troupe. A Fordham ROTC graduate from New York, he became a U.S. Army Reservist during the Korean War, serving as a gunnery officer.
As serendipity would have it, M*A*S*H was also set during the Korean War. The series combined humor and military reality; Alda could draw on his own experience in service, and his showbiz upbringing -- his father was a burlesque-style actor with Vaudeville roots and his mother a former showgirl and Miss New York.
"No matter what part you play, you have to make use of yourself. The idea is not to let it show," Alda said, according to CNN. "That's the best acting there is."
According to CNN, Alda almost didn't take M*A*S*H’s leading role as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce; he was worried that "the show might become nothing more than high jinks at the front," but was subsequently reassured by producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart.
Although the NFL’s first games are still months away, Commissioner Roger Goodell is by no means in “offseason” mode. With another big NFL Draft on April 25, tough decisions are always at the fore. Fortunately, Goodell learned important life lessons from his father, a Veteran of two branches of our military that serve to guide him today.
Charles Goodell was a congressman from New York, appointed to the Senate in the difficult weeks and months after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination and was an outspoken advocate of ending the war in Vietnam. His military service includes a tour with the United States Navy toward the end of WWII as a seaman second class from 1944 to 1946, and in the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant from 1952 to 1953, during the Korean War.
Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and president of Give an Hour™ |
As we know, advances in medicine have led to much higher survival rates for those who are wounded on the battlefield. And while these developments mean more lives saved, the result is also many more wounded left to live with injuries that require significant care and support. The recovery of these wounded warriors hinges on many factors, including effective treatment from health care providers, available employment that fits a wounded service member's abilities and limitations, and additional opportunities and support from the community they return to.
The most critical element, associated with a service member's ability to recover and rebuild his or her life,however, is the care and support received from spouses,parents, children, colleagues, and friends.
Edward I. Koch passed away on February 1, 2013 at the age of 88. It’s been over 20 years since he last served as Mayor of his beloved New York City, but his impact is still felt in the city and throughout the nation. And, importantly, he leaves behind a legacy of dedication to military service that will be remembered by his fellow Veterans.
A decorated World War II veteran, and proud of his service, Koch is credited with New York City’s 1980's recovery from near-bankruptcy. During his three terms, he helped propel the city to the sustained economic growth and booming tourism of the 1990's and 2000's.
At a funeral service held in New York City on February 4th, heads of state, city leaders, and surviving Big Apple mayors – David Dinkins, a Marine Corp veteran who defeated Koch fin his 4th term run, Rudolph Giuliani, and Michael Bloomberg – honored and eulogized him.
Colonel Forrest R. Newton, US Army, is not your typical Active Duty solider. He has called nine presidents his Commander in Chief, worn a U.S. military uniform in each of the last six decades with both the Marines and Army, and is one of the last few remaining Active Duty military members with service in the Vietnam War.
Standing statuesquely with broad shoulders and a deep voice, Col. Newton was born in Detroit into a long lineage of auto industry workers and military servicemen dating as far back as the Battle of Gettysburg. Of his childhood, he reflected that "the only thing that was talked about was join the military, do your time, come to work in the factory."
Col. Newton, however, has gone far beyond 'doing his time.' He has distinguished himself in each phase of his military career, beginning with his service in the Que Son Valley of Vietnam, where he survived two injuries and bravely served under then-platoon leader, now former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace. Since that time, he has carried out missions in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Haiti, and stateside challenges such as Hurricane Andrew in 1992.