We Could be Heroes...In The Right Era....

Airman Chris R. Long (nka Bakunas) July 1981

   Another Memorial Day has come and gone, and again, all I could think about was how lucky my particular generation was/is. 

   I was born in the last years of the Baby Boomer generation, though how I could be classified as a Baby Boomer is beyond me. Hell, the Korean War had been over for more than a decade by the time I rolled out. 

   The particular media-friendly term (or label) that defines my generation is of no consequence here though. The issue at hand is how lucky I, and those in my particular age bracket (lets go + or - 10 years, as it's far more representative) were. 

   How was I lucky? For starters, I entered the U.S. Air Force at a time when the world was relatively peaceful. Yes, the Soviet Union still existed, and the Cold War was in full swing, but still, there were no large active wars going on. 

   What was going on? Well, as music was paramount in my consciousness at the time, I can remember that MTV got underway. I recall that specifically because the dayroom of the dorm I lived in had cable, and that was the only channel that was on every time I walked in. There was not a lot of variety though - lots of Pat Benatar and the Pretenders. I grew to loath both of 'em. 

   Computers for the home were just making the scene, too. Time Magazine even chose the computer as man of the year. How prescient. 

   The history of MTV and computers is fairly well known though. 

   What seems to have been forgotten is how poorly members of the U.S. Military were thought of at the time. It was only a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, and I can clearly remember the disdain with which I was regarded by civilians whenever I was in town. I didn't even have to be in uniform - just having short hair alerted everybody to your status as active-duty military.

    That's part of why I am so happy that Memorial Day gets positive pub now. I cannot readily express how happy I am that these days, members of the military - Enlisted, Officers, men, women, straight & gay, are not only regarded as heroes, but also shown respect. Real respect. Especially by the media. 

  That wasn't always the case. There seems to be a national amnesia when it comes to that, but I remember the scorn well.

                                         A1C Chris R. Long (nka Bakunas) 1983

   But, uhm, erm,...I'm skidding off on a tangent...damn ADHD...but while I'm digressing, well, I should confess here and now that I did not have any business being in the U.S. Military. Though I did do my job well (Hell, my very small unit, the 833 CSG Graphics Dept. , had a run at best in TAC in 1984), I had absolutely no military bearing. It would be great if I could state that I enlisted in the USAF because I felt a need to give back to my country what had been given to me by the sacrifices of those who had served in times past, but that would be a lie.


   I enlisted in the USAF to get out of the neighborhood I was born, raised, and stuck in. I simply wanted out. I chose the AF because my thinking was the enlisted didn't have to actually fight in the AF - it was the officers who had to do all the fighting in their fast, shiny, expensive fighter jets.


   My four-year stint was not heroic or adventurous. It was in fact very tedious, and at times flat-out boring. I wish I could have been a better enlistee, but that's only due to hindsight and age alerting me to the fact that, at the time, I was a fuck-up.


   And that's where the luck comes in, which is the point of this diatribe. My generation, the guys and gals I served with, we never had to actually do what is expected of members of the military. We never had to fight, to face the scourge of war. I am aware that while I served, the U.S. did lose members of the military in conflict -the '83 Embassy and barracks suicide bombings in Beirut, The Grenada Invasion & the Hezbollah car-bombings (again in Beirut).   


   Yes, we were indeed lucky. The world was a tense, volatile place at the time, but we got off easy, The Soviet Union would eventually collapse from the inside, which was something we in the service knew would happen (Well, those of us with NATO Blue Flag security clearance knew - the writing was indeed on the wall).


    Today's military has to deal with threat's from a religious, not ideologically motivated force. That is a much tougher row to plow than what we had to deal with. I cannot describe how happy I am that the majority of the people on the sidelines understand the difficulty they face. I also am very, very grateful that I'm not having to deal with it. My generation truly dodged a bullet.