"Anchor's Aweigh" & "Semper Fidelis"

.....In the event everyone's forgotten, and some who never knew, there are two other veterans in this family; Jon Tessler, Rh+s son, a Navy veteran, and my daughter, Robin Higgins. Of all the veterans I know, she is my favorite; that is, Lt. Col. Robin Higgins,USMC, Ret. Also, Honorary Doctor of Letters at Oneonta University in New York. The following is an exerpt from Howard Leavitt's book "Semper Chai", which profiles many Jewish marines down through the generations:


.....On October 4, 1997, Lt. Col. Robin Higgins, USMC, christened the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76), named for her husband. During 41st President George Bush’s administration, she was appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor, where she served as deputy assistant secretary and then acting assistant secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training. While a senior executive at the Department of Labor, Lieutenant Colonel Higgins was an adviser to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and a commissioner on the Department of Defense’s Defense Conversion Commission.
.....Moving to Florida after leaving the military, she served as Director of Public Affairs for Florida’s state comptroller, and then spent a year consulting, public speaking, and writing on a variety of topics, including media relations, public affairs, and veterans’ advocacy. In January '97, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Robin Higgins Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs- the first Jewish woman to hold that job in Florida. As the Governor’s chief advisor on veterans’ issues, she was responsible for advocacy programs for the state’s 1.7 million veterans. Then in early 2001, she was nominated by 43rd president George W. Bush to serve as the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2001, she was responsible for numerous burial benefits for the nation’s veterans and managed the National Cemetery Administration. She became the senior Jewish person ever to serve in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the senior Jewish woman in the Administration.
.....Lieutenant Colonel Higgins is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Marine Corps League’s Dickey Chapelle Award for outstanding service to Marines, the American Legion Auxiliary’s Public Spirit Award for outstanding service to country, and the American Academy of Physician Assistants Veterans Caucus Award for outstanding service to veterans.

.....Needless to say, the Baron himself is a veteran having served three years in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during WWII. He escaped many death defying events including the crash of his B24 Liberator which failed to get off the ground. But the Baron, like Superman was invulnerable. The following is the official report from Fleet Air Wing 7, VB110.

CRASH: 24 OCT 44 A/C: PB4Y-1 Location: Unknown BUNO: 32236 Cause: Navy 804;Operational mission. During take-off run and three-hundred yards from start at about ninety miles per hour indicated airspeed, the port tire blew out. Plane swerved fifteen degrees to port before pilot could correct it. Plane stayed on runway for about one-hundred-seventy-five yards, then ran off into grass, port wheel hit runway light and a one and half foot hole two feet square thirty five yards further at fifty miles per hour. Port gear was sheared off and plane skidded to a stop. "Strike" Crew Ok:

.....Congratulations to all veterans today, and I'm also happy that I'm a veteran; the alternative is unacceptable.