A Jewish Marine--female at that!

While surfing the net looking for articles about celebrity Jewish marines I came across the following quite by accident and thought as a blog, why not?


Editors Note: The following is an excerpt from Howard Leavtt’s Semper Chai , an amazing book that profiles numerous Jewish Marines through many generations. Look for Howard’s new book, OZ - Chronicles of Courage, which talks a good deal about Jewish participation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since this book was published, of course, Robin has retired and busies herself as a "gentlewoman farmer" on her ranch in Montana.

A true hero and a remarkable woman in America today, Lieutenant Colonel Robin Higgins, USMC (ret.), nee Ross, was born in the Bronx in 1950. She spent her early days on Long Island and obtained two degrees in English, a bachelor’s from State University of New York at Oneonta and a master’s from Long Island University. After studying for a time at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she returned to New York in May 1970 and completed college with a 4.0 average. Following her graduate studies, she taught high-school English on Long Island. At her father’s suggestion to go into the military, Higgins went to a local Marine Corps recruiting office and was accepted into OCS at Quantico. She was commissioned a second lieutenant and performed duties in communications and in military police at Quantico.
On December 23, 1977, she married Captain William R. (Rich) Higgins, USMC. The turning point and perhaps the most significant event of her life was the calamity that befell her husband, thrusting her name and image into national, if not international, attention. In 1988, while on duty as a lieutenant colonel and leader of a UN observer team in Lebanon, her husband was taken captive by Hezbollah terrorists and later murdered. Since “the Hezbollah were fanatically committed to the destruction of the Jewish state, during the period of his captivity, she “had to keep my Jewishness hidden. Ironically, it was that very Jewishness that helped me survive.”
She continued to perform her duties as a Marine officer during this period, all the while suffering the numbing terror and loneliness of a hostage’s wife. She made diligent efforts to get information about her husband and to obtain his release, enduring extreme frustration and uncertainty. She learned of her husband’s murder on July 29, 1989. Rich Higgins was promoted to colonel while in captivity.
On October 4, 1997, Robin Higgins 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, 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 is responsible for numerous burial benefits for the nation’s veterans and oversees 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.
She is a member of Disabled American Veterans, the Retired Officers’ Association, the Jewish War Veterans, Gold Star Wives, AMVETS, and the Marine Corps League. Higgins has testified before Congress; appeared on numerous morning and evening news programs; and has had many letters, articles, and opinion pieces published in major publications, all in addition to her book, PATRIOT DREAMS: The Murder of Colonel Rich Higgins
Posted by Howard Leavitt in Great Stories • Email this story

The Mother of All Blogs

I feel this is the appropriate venue to respond to a comment made following the blog I recently wrote about Sarah Palin. Bob Fox a former student of mine in high school, and now a good friend, apparently learned of P.B's current existence from that blog and wrote the comment addressed to him even though I don't feel that blogs should be substitutes for emails. Now I adore the friendships of both Bob and P.B., and friends, "their adoptions tried" should be grappled to your soul like hoops of steel, and no matter their ideology in this election of elections, it will not have an iota of an effect on the strength of our friendships as far as I am concerned.

However, at the conclusion of Bob's remarks to P.B. regarding his Yearbooks and his height and the height of his sons (which had little to do with my views of Sarah Palin), Bob advised P.B. to "Keep rattling Norman's cage, he's a brilliant man but ideological lefties sometimes let their dreams interfere with reality."

Now, I do appreciate Bob's reference to my "brilliance" but I never thought of myself that way as much as I felt that they had much more of that quality than I. But somehow, I don't know how, it seems their brilliance has taken a hiatus these days. Now, Bob and P.B. are two rattles at the end of the snake, and their rattling makes for less substance than they do noise. Whatever I have accomplished in life I did, not because of brilliance, but in spite of a shortage of it. I did what I dreamed of doing, and whatever I dreamed of doing, I did. Our political purposes are poles apart. And, in spite of Bob's assessment, I indeed am aware of reality. The realities are that when we examine the labels on our clothing, they all read, "Made in China"; when we speak to a customer service representative on the phone for any reason, they all seem to come from India, Canada, or Australia. These are realities. In recent weeks the market has plunged into hitherto unknown depths for our times; many families have lost their life savings, their home mortgages are now higher than the worth of their homes. These are realities. Millions of people in our country are without health insurance; untold numbers of workers have lost their jobs; torture of prisoners has become commonplace, and the Constitution is being compromised. These are realities. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been going on for years with no end in sight and thousands of young men have died; we have lost credibility with many of our allies; These too are realities. But dreams do have a way of dealing with realities.

Our country fortunately has had its share of dreamers who confronted "reality".

Gen. George Patton and Douglas MacArthur were dreamers. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was a dreamer, John Kennedy was a dreamer, George Washington was a dreamer, the Wright Brothers were dreamers, Jonas Salk was a dreamer, Marie Curie was a dreamer, and Martin Luther King was a dreamer whose dream is about to become true. I believe Barack Obama is also a dreamer; a brilliant man with the requisite charisma to lead people; to give people hope and to encourage movement and sacrifice. He has dreams also, and what are dreams but motivators nudging us to follow them to fruition...or yes, even to failure. But at least they have purpose. Now, I believe that John McCain is a good man and a good Senator, but compared with Obama he has the personality of an amoeba and the dynamism of a tortoise. Who can follow him? Compared with a man like Pres. Eisenhower he is like Kon Tiki next to the USS Enterprise.

Now, in light of my father's service, my daughter's, my late son-in-law's, and my own, I could never understand why John McCain has been considered a "war hero". Perhaps someone can tell me what he did that was heroic. I don't consider being a prisoner of war for six years heroic, nor does that qualify him to be Commander-in-chief, although many have claimed that it does. You want real heroes? Visit a VA Hospital and say hello to veterans who have lost limbs, and eyesight, and their mobility from meeting enemies almost face to face. And has McCain lost some of his "leadership" by vetting a Looney Tunes vice president who can see Russia from her house? Doesn't he realize that he is 73 years old and a heartbeat away from forcing upon America a hockey mom as a president? Doesn't he care? Now, Bob, my friend--and my 60ish student, P.B. can bang on it all he cares to, but he cannot rattle my cage; it's already been rattled many times over, and strangely enough you are right-- as an "ideological lefty" my dreams have had a way of interfering with reality, and my whole life has been proof of that, thank God!

Ghosts of Halloween

A couple of strange things have happened in the last few days. At first I received an email from a John Shekitka. Now a member of my aircrew in WWII was named John Shekitka. I had been trying to find him for many years. As it turned out this John Shekitka was my crewmate's grandson! Of course, I was delighted to see/hear the name again after 60 years of not hearing it or seeing John again. It didn't matter to me that this was his grandson of the same name and not the Shekitka I knew. (We never called him "John"). I was simply amazed that a Shekitka was writing to me after 60 years. And this is what he said:

Dear Dr. Ross: On occasion, I Google my name on the internet, to see if my digital self has gotten into any serious trouble, or if one of my friends has been playing a prank on me with some sort of profane website, for all the world to see. Since my grandfather and I have the same name, (although my middle name is Patrick) I used to also get a hit for the picture you had posted maybe a decade ago of the crew. Now, it seems, Google is in the business of loading selections of books online, so a few pages from your book also made it online, including the few that you mention him. Since you already had a presence on the internet, I googled your name, and found your blog, as well as what I think is your PhD thesis from back at Teachers' College. (Since I went to Columbia as an undergraduate, graduating in 2007, I was still able to access that material as well.) The magic of internet. I spoke to my father today (formally named Jon without an h for some reason, but who everyone has always called Mark) , and he seemed to remember you, or at least stories about you from back in the day.

Cheers, John

Now, I subsequently learned that John's grandfather had died several years earlier, and I was quite sorry to learn that I wasn't going to have the opportunity to see or speak to him again. Primarily because I'm sure Shekitka made it to Heaven, and I assume I'm expected in the other place where there are no opportunities to exchange emails with him.

Strangely enough, yesterday I got a phone call from someone who asked if I were Dr. Ross. I told him that indeed he had the right person, and his reply was, "It's an honor to talk to you." I thanked him for that and I asked him who he was and why was he calling me. He said his name was Dick, as I recall, but the Caller ID on my phone indicated "James Helling." Anyway, it turns out that Dick lives in Oregon and that he read my book, "Memoirs of a Tail Gunner." First of all, I was awestruck that someone I didn't know actually bought my book clear across the country. Secondly, I couldn't believe that the reader would call me (how'd he get my number?). Seems a few members of his family were also in the Navy and he wanted to quiz me about some of the things that were left unanswered in the book. Well, I thought that was awfully nice of him to call me, but now that my book was sold in Oregon, can I still claim that I am "a famous unknown author"?

And about authorship. I haven't heard of anyone buying my book of poetry called "Shadows in the Sunset". But of course I have no way of knowing. However, I found a "review" of this book that I hadn't come across before; at least I don't remember reading it. However, in the event some stranger out there loves poetry, and hasn't "googled" the book, here is the review:

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: (A really nasty remark!)

A Great Poet Shares the Beauty of Language, November 19, 2007
By
Ancient Viking - Because Norman Ross is a modest man, he has hitherto not published many of his best poems. After many years of urging by friends, critics, and former students, he has finally consented to reveal some of the work that has gained him a first-rate reputation among the privileged literary elite. Dr. Ross is truly a Renaissance man--military hero (two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 11 Air Medals before the age of 21); outstanding athlete and coach; an incredibly talented teacher; a published author in many disparate fields; a loyal patriot and friend; and the progenitor of four outstandingly talented, successful children. If you are a poetry aficionado, you will relish these finely-crafted works of art. If you are not, you may become one as a result of the lively expression of ideas that Dr. Ross has put into verse.

Thanks PB.

Pet Peeves Plus Purposeful Penalties

Now, do any of you have a list of annoyances or events or people that make your blood boil and your blood pressure to reach the very top of the nurse's BP gadget? Well, if you don't--I do and I'll share my list with you. I know a couple of very good friends who love animals, but apparently have very short memories. Perhaps they're both over 70 and AARP members. They have a couple of cats and a dog in their home. They continue to send me emails with animals as the main subject. I don't want to waste my time on the computer reading jokes or information about animals. I don't care for dogs, and cats make me sneeze. I've asked these friends not to send me any emails about animals several times, but they continue to do so. I don't know what else to do about getting them to remember and comply with my request. Perhaps I can just flood their inbox with automatic messages from the San Diego, the Bronx, and the London zoos every single day...if there are automatic messages. Otherwise, perhaps I can send them an animal's picture every day--not a different animal, but the same animal. With this kind of a nudge, perhaps they'll desist occupying my inbox with non-human subjects.

So, there you have it; animal fanatics sharing their hobby with me when I'd rather not be bothered; especially with an election coming up. And speaking of elections, there lives a family member who sent a hysterical email to Rhoda about Barack Obama and outlining in tsunamic detail all his "faults". It echoed many of McCain's attacks on him with a few of her own thrown in. But her letter went on and on like a runaway train filled with tales about his shortcomings...but not one of her own...like her unmitigated fear and prayerful panic that Obama would be elected and the country would be taken over by the Chicago mafia, Rev. Wright, Islam, Hamas, & blacks. I wrote her that she should send her letter to Colin Powell, Carol and Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and half the newspapers in the country who apparently had not heard about the things she had to say about Obama. I thanked her for her enlightenment and I told her (my niece) that her views constituted a beacon the likes of which we hadn't seen since Patrick Henry and "One if by Land, and Two if by Sea." Perhaps she needs to use all three and get the militia ready in the event of Obama's election. Now, her political views will not interfere with our relationship, but to me it's more than a pet peeve to have someone of intelligence spout out venomous and vicious allegations about a presidential candidate--regardless of party affiliation.

Daily life in the 21st Century has become a mecca for drug companies looking to sell aspirin, xanax, and anti-depressants. I know I need a dose of all three after trying to get a human being who speaks English on the telephone when I need answers to any questions I might have, be it a doctor's office, a computer techie, a bank officer, or the like. Whose idea was it to have to press "1" in order to get someone or a robot who speaks English; and then to have to wait until the explanation gets done in Spanish with the likelihood that they have to press "2"? If the idiots had thought about it, not having anyone to speak Spanish on the telephone might induce the Latinos to learn English a lot faster. I don't know of any other country that uses "1" and "2" on the telephone for two different languages. And when you finally get a human being instead of a humanoid to speak to you, it's a shame that you hadn't taken up Hindi in high school. The Indian on the other end of the line speaks Hindi English with melodic intonations reminiscent of Beethoven's Eroica. This sort of annoyance happens at least twice a week.

Of course the 21st Century has many other annoyances making life difficult and nerve wracking. I detest going out to dinner and enjoying the company I'm with--and then having to listen to someone at the next table talking so loudly on the cellphone so as to force me to pay attention to his private conversation. It is one of the rudest things a person can do with a cell phone. Cell phones turned on in restaurants should be banned along with smoking. So, gone are the days when life was much simpler and quieter with fewer technologies and less anxiety. In fact when I'm out to dinner with friends I would prefer that everyone be banned with one exeption.

Sarah is a Biblical name. Right?

I'm sorry; I just had to sit down and write this blog. It will be mostly if not all about Sarah Palin. First, what's so bad about her? She has my mother's first name, so that's a good start. The media has been very mean. So what if she can see Russia from her house? How many people can say that? All I can see from my house is a parking lot in front and an excuse for a lake in the back. And, what's so bad about being a hockey mom? How many kids do you know who play hockey? So that makes her kind of special, though somewhat chilly. It's not a far step from hockey to hooky, and she is not a hooky mom except, perhaps, when she's not around the rink... And why such a todo about her 17 year old daughter being pregnant? After all the girl does have some hormones and a horny boyfriend; what else does it take? How many people can say that they have a 17 year old daughter who is pregnant? That makes Sarah special. Sarah's daughter is going to have that baby, but many of the others will exercise their right to choose. This will no doubt upset Sarah. Roe vs. Wade gave them that right and Sarah, if elected, will try her very best to dump RvW to please her supporters. She never met Roe, and neither did she meet Wade. However, she does her homework and she now knows why R was versus W. She certainly wants all women to have their babies; the more the merrier, and especially if they become Republicans and taxpayers. And, not to be outdone by her opponent Joe Biden (not plumber Joe), she has studied foreign policy every night on her computer by googling foreign recipes. She has learned how to cook pasta and meat sauce; how to make blintzes and potato latkes and kugel; how to bake German pancakes and French crullers; Polish sausage and Shrimp in Lobster sauce. What better ways to influence foreign policy than to converse with the wives of Prime Ministers and Dictators about her knowledge of edibles? What about that Katie Couric? What say you now Tina Fey? Sarah Palin is a blessing in disguise, and her disguise is just in time for Halloween! Damn! That McBrain is clever. He knows how to entertain the American people. And, oh yes; Sarah does have a health plan for the middle class. It's obvious. She has gone to CVS and purchased several cartons of various sized band aids. So, you can see how hard she's been working to prepare herself for the presidency in the event the GOP nominee gets elected and then dies in office. OK, now, friends...give Sarah a break. After all, she does have a nice body. I did have my tongue in my cheek while writing this. But now, for some reason, it's stuck there. I should know better than to write drivel, but the Lord called upon me.

An Early Vote Adventure

Today, a neighbor was having hurricane shutters installed on his windows, and the noise of the work was ear shattering, so I took my cane and hobbled out to the car, and on my way for breakfast. Rhoda hasn't been feeling well lately; she still is stressed out from the train ride from Hell. However, she did finally get out to a surprise party luncheon for one of her friends. I wolfed down a bacon and egg sandwich on white bread -- not toasted--why toast good fresh white bread. Then a trip to the bank to deposit a CD that matured. I love things that mature. Finally, I took advantage of early voting at the new library on Hagen Ranch Rd. The line was very, very long and it took all of two hours to get indoors where voters were handed a form to fill out with name, address, and signature; then you had to march over to a table where a worker with a laptop (there were 18 of them in the room) took the paper and collected an ID with your picture and signature. After entering some mysterious stuff into the laptop, you were handed back the form you had filled out and took it to another line where you waited for someone to give you a paper ballot. Then you filled out the ballot with the choices you had decided upon. I believe, firmly, that these long lines on the first day of voting were Barack Obama lines. But that's just a guess--not a wild one, however. I can just imagine what the lines will be like on Election Day!

This election is historic, and a totally new experience. To conclude, I got another email from a former student and I'll share it with you.

Dear Dr. Ross,
I am so glad to get your address from Bob Fox-- I am still grateful
for your providing a window to the outside world when I was living in
Glen Head! My father's family had been farmers for 300 years, we had no
books in the house, and you opened so many doors for so many of us. My husband of 20 years Michael Stocker and
I published an Oxford U. Press book, Valuing Emotions, in 1996; we still
write together occasionally, mostly about the shockingly different
premises of psychoanalysis (me) and philosophy (he). I have enjoyed
reading bits of your blog and imagine what it is like to live in
Florida; so far I have not pictured retiring despite various surgeries
and ailments including double hip replacement 3 years ago. I have taught
anthropology/forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal
Justice, CUNY, for 42 years now, and have a private practice of
psychology. Cynthia Edelstein just retired as a prof of English
Literature at DePauw U. in Indiana; recently she brought a group of
students to NY on a field trip for her course in Jewish-American
literature.
I hope you can feel the gratitude and warmth coming your way from NYC!
Yours, Betsy Hegeman

Don't expect a blog every day, now.

Youth or Age? Think please.

I know I wrote that I wasn't going to do any more "daily" blogs--but I reserve the right as a blogger to do one now and then... when and as the spirit moves me. This morning I read that Colin Powell, whom I had the honor to meet when Robin was made a Lt. Colonel, has endorsed Barack Obama as President of the United States. He says, "I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change, and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for John McCain." John McCain at the age of 73 is not a "transformational figure" nor does he represent a "generational" change. In fact, he hardly represents any change at all. Powell's statement reminded me of a passage in the essay, "Of Youth and Age" written by Sir Francis Bacon in the 16th Century. Bacon writes, "Young men are fitter to invent than to judge, fitter for execution than for counsel, and fitter for new projects than for settled business; for the experience of age in things that fall within the compass of it, directeth them; but in new things abuseth them....Young men, in the conduct and management of actions, embrace more than they can hold, stir more than they can quiet; fly to theend without consideration of the means and degrees; pursue absurdly some few principles which they have chanced upon; care not how they innovate. Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success." I'm not saying that McCain would not make a good President, only that Obama, in this time in our history, would make a better one. Obama is leading now in most all the polls, nationally and statewide, so that if he loses this election, the reason will have to do with the "Bradley" effect...voters will say one thing to pollsters and when they get into the booth will do the opposite. Obama leads now by a few points, but if he were white, it is my belief that he would have a double digit lead. This election ought not to be about race or even issues. Though both men may disagree on many paths to fix our problems, two roads often lead to the same place. This Presidential race should focus primarily, as Gen. Powell avers, on a "generational" change. It is the young man who ought to be elected. The youthful Obama is the one who will have the motives, the drive, the spirit, and the energy to do the enervating jobs that have to be done in this nation. If you don't believe me...or Bacon...or Powell, then just try to be 73.