Aloka And The Buddhist Monks' Walk For Peace

“Let us walk with open hearts, with respect for every life, every path, every faith. May every footprint we leave behind bloom into flowers of peace, so that wherever these steps have touched the earth, there remains a quiet fragrance of loving kindness.” - Tue Nhan Bhikkhu known as the Rev. Nguyen, the vice president of the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center 

In a Buddhist tradition of peace activism, on October 26, 2025, a group of Buddhist monks in Fort Worth, Texas embarked on a 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometers) long journey for peace. The pilgrimage leads through ten states and Washington, DC is set to be the final destination. The monks are accompanied by a dog named Aloka. On route to the US Capitol the monks will be stopping at state capitols, historic landmarks and community centers to share their message of peace and invite people to join them for prayer and reflection.  

Aloka - an Indian stray Pariah dog that marches with the monks became a social media sensation in his own right. In India the dog followed a group of Vietnamese-American wandering Buddhist monks for one hundred days. He was with them despite the hardships he experienced. He was injured when a car hit him and was very sick, but rejoined the monks over and over again. Eventually, the monks adopted him and brought him with them to the United States. Now he bravely and cheerfully follows them on their journey through the United States. The puppy has a distinctive heart shaped mark on his forehead, wise eyes and very cheerful disposition. His name Aloka is quite fitting. In Sanskrit it means light, brightness or radiance and symbolizes knowledge and enlightenment. This name is often associated with hope and guidance suggesting a bringer of clarity and joy to all around them. 

Accompanied by Aloka, the monks will be following the practice of self-discipline that involves humility, endurance and spiritual focus. They will be eating one meal a day and sleeping outdoors in tents pitched on public or private grounds provided by churches, temples, private persons or local communities. Some of the monks walk barefoot. Some are over sixty years old. No community and no individual that comes in contact with the monks will remain unaffected by their motivation, wisdom, humility and serenity. Their pilgrimage will end on February 13, 2026, with a message of healing, compassion, mindfulness, renewal, and peace. 

"The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.” - Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra

The Walk for Peace is a journey that is meant to bring blessings to individuals and communities in a world that is filled with restlessness and uncertainty. 

Our world was never a perfect place but there were at least some short periods of peace in some regions. The new millenium began with a beautiful vision for the planet but the New York attack on September 11, 2001, destroyed our hopes for a better, more enlightened world. Belligerent ideologies seemed to be spreading around the world and by 2025 there were more regional conflicts than ever. Many people feared the possibility of another world war. The never ending conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine gave us little hope for peace on Earth in 2026.

In the United States and in many European countries citizens experience extreme violence on daily bases, often perpetrated by people of different cultural backgrounds that were once invited to live in their communities. Cultural incompatibility and different moral values make harmonious coexistence impossible. Rape, murder, robberies, arson, vandalism, and violent attacks seem to dominate the daily news cycle in mamy urban centers. Many people live in fear. 

At the same time, the social fabric, the respect for life or property, the respect for individual rights and the right to one's own opinion, are completely disappearing in so many places. This process began with totalitarian measures imposed on many societies during the 2020 pandemic. The decline of civility is appalling. Social media allows the spread of verbal aggression never seen before and allows that aggression to spill out to our streets. The belligerence and intolerance seem to be spreading through our societies like cancer and that "cancer" is often exploited for political reasons. Many tormented souls live their aggression out in the real world. Mental disease and drug abuse are prevalent and often remain untreated. Financial instability and lack of perspective aggravate the situation. 

Can this downward spiral be stopped? Is there hope for our societies? Is there any hope for the world?

A practicing Buddhist would understand the current conditions as a reflection of inner chaos and suffering. Buddha himself believed that true peace comes from within when the mind is free from greed, anger and delusion. It can only be achieved by profound introspection and the practice of mindfulness. This however is difficult if not impossible in a world where people are slaves to their electronic devices; in the world where people have time to insult and abuse others but have no time for introspection and self-reflection; in the world where people demand respect for their opinions without acknowledging that others have the same right. People no longer agree that it is all right to disagree and demonize others for having their own mind. 

Peace is not a mere idea. It is a practice. The path to peace begins with a single step within. 

Mindful walking and a quality time spent in nature might be the first step to inner healing. There is a beautiful practice in Japan called Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing where a practitioner consciously relaxes and engages with nature focusing all the senses on the experience. The practice is known to improve mood and reduce stress. Quality time spent away from electronic devices and the noise of discord and argument may help calm the troubled souls, induce inner peace and a completely new outlook on things that matter. 

Our societies, our world will not change overnight and suddenly become peaceful but each of us has the potential to bring peace to our immediate surroundings, to our homes and the workspace. We can refuse to get triggered, we can refuse to get angry and judgmental and instead, lead by example. Mindful detachment, mutual respect, loving-kindness (mettā), and the understanding that we all are on a journey, is a good place to start. 

"What we think, we become" - Buddha 

By Dominique Allmon

Post scriptum

On November 19, 2025 a car slammed into the escort vehicle that accompanied the monks. One of the monks, the Venerable Maha Dam Phommasan, abbot of the Wat Lao Buddha Khanti in Snellville, Georgia, was seriously injured and taken to hospital. The damage was very serious and the bhikkhu's left leg had to be amputated. He is no longer able to continue the Walk For Peace in person but follows the monks in spirit. 

Today, on January 12, Aloka underwent surgery at the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center (CVRC) in South Carolina for a flare up of an old injury he sustained to one of his legs back in India. In order to heal the veterinarians, who performed their services free of charge, advised the monks that Aloka should stay in the clinic until he has healed completely. This sweet puppy needs some rest in order to heal. He will be taken care of for at least one week and as soon as it is safe for him, he will join the monks and walk with them again. 

On January 17, 2026, after 84 days on the road, the Venerable Samma Maggo, 68 years old Vietnamese monk from France terminated his pilgrimage and will be returning to his temple in France. 

"The Venerable never spoke of endurance, yet that solitary figure along the long road became a teaching in itself - quiet, unheroic, without drama - simply walking on, and enabling those who followed to stand more upright within their own lives." - Venerable Baro Beso

I wish I could be there to meet these monks on the road. Since this is not possible I follow their progress online. It is very touching to watch these men walking with such determination, dispensing blessings to all and sharing the message of peace. We can only hope that all the people who meet the monks will have the strength to hold on to the wisdom imparted on them. 

"May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace." 

Dominique Allmon©2026 

To learn more about the Walk For Peace and to support the monks in their endeavor please click here 

Follow Aloka the Peace Dog on Instagram 

A "gofundme" page was set up for the Venerable Maha Dam Phommasan.  

Images source X 

Jan Baraś-Komski

Jan Baraś-Komski - Portrait with Sunflower (Portret ze słonecznikiem), oil on wood, 1937

Jan Baraś-Komski is probably best known for his Auschwitz paintings and drawings. Born on February 3, 1915 in a small Polish town of Bircza, he entered the prestigious Polish Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow - the Akademia Sztuk Pięknych Jana Matejki w Krakowie, in 1934, where he studied painting and art history until 1939.

Like many young Poles in the early months of the war, Jan Komski, a Polish Roman Catholic, joined the resistance movement. In 1940 he was arrested while trying to cross the southern border under the assumed name of Jan Baraś in order to join the newly formed Polish Army in France.

 

He was first taken to the prison in the town of Tarnów only to be deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, arriving there in the very first transport, together with 727 other Polish men, on June 14, 1940. He was issued the prisoner number 564. The early numbers were not yet tattooed on prisoners' arms. He wore a red triangle on his camp uniform which identified him as a political prisoner.

 Jan Baraś-Komski - Arrival

 

In the camp, Komski became part of the clandestine resistance movement created by Witold Pilecki. On December 29, 1942, he and three of his comrades, Mieczyslaw Januszewski, Boleslaw Kuczbara, and a German, the Auschwitz inmate N°2 and Kapo Otto Küsel, participated in one of the most famous escapes in the history of Auschwitz. A cart drawn by two horses passed the camp's gate in the afternoon. It carried Kuczbara, dressed in a stolen SS uniform holding forged papers. Three inmates that appeared to be escorted by the SS-man walked alongside. The escapees made it to the village of Broszkowice where they were hidden and given civilian clothes. 

 

Komski made it safely to the city of Kraków (Cracow), in what was then known as the General Government, (Gubernia Generalna), or the Generalgouvernement under the German governor Reichsminister Hans Frank. 

 

Jan Baraś-Komski - Eating and Starvation 

In January 1943 Komski was arrested in a routine roundup (łapanka) near the railway station in Cracow and held there in the Montelupi prison, after a failed escape and a brutal beating, till the end of September. On October 1, 1943 he was deported to Auschwitz for the second time. Not identified as a former escapee, with the help of the camp's underground movement, he was registered under the name of Józef Nosek and assigned prisoner number 152884. He was sent to the camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau where the guards did not know him, and transferred later that month to the concentration camp at Buchenwald in Germany proper.

We were like soldiers exposed every minute to a danger of dying, but we couldn't help ourselves, because we have nothing for our defense except the will to survive. But will not always was enough, because very often, in most cases, the prisoner died. - Jan Komski in an interview on January 30, 1992

Komski was moved a few times between different concentration camps and eventually ended up in Dachau where he was liberated by the units of General Patton's army on April 29, 1945. He survived because of his special talent as an artist.

 

After his liberation he lived in Displaced Persons camps in Bavaria where he met and married Zdzisława "Jean" who was also an Auschwitz survivor. They both emigrated to the United States with their son in 1949 where they became citizens. 

 

Jan Baraś-Komski at work in Virginia

 

In the United States Komski assumed a career as an illustrator for the Washington Post. He retired in 1984 but continued to draw and paint. 

 

After seeing Francisco de Goya's "Disasters of War" at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain in mid-1970s, Komski decided to paint the horrific scenes of life and death in the concentration camp as he remembered them.

 

To contrast the horrors of his past, at the same time he created a vast body of colorful work that depicted the beauty and serenity of Northern Virginia. 

 

Jan Baraś-Komski - Barge on Canal

 

He painted every day, even at the tender age of 86. Those who knew him reported that he loved life and was very alert, courteous and caring. 

Towards the end of his life, Komski visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum at Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau for the last time. He went there twice before. Most of his camp art is there on display in the museum.

 

On July 20, 2002 he lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the age 0f 87 in Arlington, Virginia. 

 

By Dominique Allmon

Jan Baraś-Komski - African Violet

 

 

Image sources: here, here and here

 

Also of interest

 

Muted Works of One Man's Silent Rage 

 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Oral history interview with John Komski

 

In German: Otto Küsel - der Kleinkriminelle, der in Auschwitz Leben rettete

80th Anniversary of the D-Day

Eighty years ago in the morning on June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied soldiers landed on the heavily guarded beaches of Normandy and burst through the German defenses. Thousands of these soldiers died. Many more were wounded. We cannot even imagine the carnage they faced.

Code-named Operation Neptune, it was one of the most daring military operations undertaken during World War II. The landing is considered to be the largest seaborne invasion ever executed, and it was probably the bloodiest one. The secretly prepared operation was a turning point in the war against the Nazi Germany.

As every year, the celebrations that commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of so many will take place in Normandy with the participation of World War II veterans, including those who fought in France on D-Day, heads of state and dignitaries from around the world. 

The heroes of the Longest Day will be remembered and honored forever.

In gratitude - Dominique Allmon

Image: world wide web

Alien Threat

 

"Can we and all nations not live in peace? 

 

In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. 

 

I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. 

 

And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?"

 

- President Ronald Reagan in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 1987. 

 

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated.

 

 

A Gentleman In Moscow And The Soul Of Russia

"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles. I had this book on my bookshelf for more than four years. It was awaiting its turn to be read. The purchase was a result of a serious affliction called tsundoku where a person purchases more books than she or he can ever read and simply lets them sit on a bookshelf. A long intercontinental flight was a perfect occasion to finally read it.

It's a brilliant, very well written, intelligent, witty novel written by a man of great talent and erudition. This is a book you need to savor like a glass of the rarest Bordeaux or a piece of the finest Belgian chocolate. 

The main protagonist, Count Alexander Rostov, reflects on his past and lives through his memories. Like Swan in Proust's novel, Count's memories become vivid at the scent, sound or taste of things past. 

 

In 1922 Rostov, an unrepentant aristocrat, was sentenced by the Bolshevik court to house arrest. For the rest of his life he had to remain confined within the walls of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. His physical world shrunk considerably, but the confinement opened the door to much richer regions of intellect and emotions.

This book evoked in me memories from the past long gone. Just like the Count, I suddenly remembered things I thought I forgot. Having studied Russian language, literature, and history in the mid 1970s and early 1980s, and having visited Russia, or rather the Soviet Union, for the first time in December of 1980 - a trip that started in Moscow and ended in Kiev but took us with a special permit to the restricted area of Irkutsk in Siberia where I met the descendants of Polish victims of Stalin's forced deportations; a trip to the Baikal Sea on a sunny winter day at -52°F; the Silk Road republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; Christmas Eve in Baku, Azerbaijan; and Tbilisi in Georgia - I had many memories of my own. 

I was able to recall so much of that Russian soul that permeates every aspect of this book. I remembered the taste of thinly sliced, garlic marinated pork fat I had in Irkutsk, the fragrant lamb dishes in Tashkent, or the Georgian red wine I drank in Tbilisi. I remembered the taste of caviar I ate in Moscow and in Baku. I remembered the Olivier salad I had in Kiev, and of course, all the horrible hotels, restaurants, and airports, the unfriendly waiters and floor ladies in hotels, but also the art and music, and the cordiality and curiosity of Russian intellectuals so eager to find out who we were.  

 

No visitor to the Soviet Union liked the fact of being watched and never free to go wherever one wanted. The tour guide would answer all your questions in accordance with the ideology of the communist party that held the Russians in a very tight grip. And there was always at least one commissar attached to the group, carefully watching the tour guide. No amount of vodka would ever relax his ideological hold he had on that person. 

 

Everything in the Soviet Russia appeared almost surreal. It seemed that people actually believed the nightmarish tale of the "good life" they had in the system that deprived them daily of their dignity. Empty stores, long lines everywhere, overcrowded city buses, bad food and the air so polluted you could not breathe.

Despite all this, the Russians were full of pride and admiration for their own culture, especially their classical music and literature. The Kirov or the Bolshoi ballet companies were the jewels the Soviets displayed proudly. And who in the West did not hear of Tolstoy, Pushkin, or Gogol? 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Russians searched for a new identity. The embarrassment of poverty, backwardness and corruption, the loss of territory, the loss of power, came as a shock to a nation that collectively believed in the success of the communist ideology. Dissent existed in the Soviet Union but was squashed and severely punished. The indoctrination wasn't just skin deep. People accepted as true what they were told.

 

Is it a wonder that the search for a new identity produced even more poverty, more corruption, more crime? Is it a wonder that power hungry dictators would rule in an absolutist manner? Is it a wonder that the new Russia wants to reintegrate some of its lost territories and regain the importance it once had?

The tsarist Russia was a dangerous neighbor. So was the Soviet Union and so is the Russia of today. In the past, Russia swallowed and subjugated its neighbors. The Soviet Union did the same to the countries in Eastern Europe. No one in Poland, Czech Republic or Hungary has ever forgotten this. Amid the largest military buildup in Europe since the Cold War, people in these countries are watching the war in Ukraine in fear and disbelief. 

 

The war with Ukraine must be seen not only from the geopolitical perspective, but also from the historical and cultural one. There seems to be no resolution to the conflict as animosities are deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of peoples so similar and yet so different. Diplomacy has failed completely. Neither party is willing to make concessions to the other.

In his monumental "War and Peace" novel, Leo Tolstoy said that "if everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war." But isn't this the very root of the current conflict in which nobody is winning? The belligerent gentleman in Moscow must understand that if he wants to save the Soul of Russia he must end the war. The leadership of Ukraine must be open to compromise if it wants to save the lives of the Ukrainian people.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2023

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Eighty years ago, on December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on a naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack crippled United States Pacific Fleet, killed  2,403 Americans including 68 civilians, and wounded 1,178 people. It came as a shock to a "sleeping giant" that was a post-World War I isolationist America. 

The Japanese attack that happened without a declaration of war changed the current of history forever and precipitated America's entry into the war theaters of the Pacific, Europe and North Africa. On December 8, 1941, president Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Only three days later, on December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy, the powers of the Axis, declared war on the United States in support of their ally Japan. This prompted an immediate US declaration of war on Germany and Italy. 

About 10 million Americans, the greatest generation ever born, fought on many fronts in a war that ended with two atomic bombs being dropped on Japan in August 1945.  

As every year, Pearl Harbor Survivors, Veterans and visitors from all over the world gather on December 7 to commemorate the tragic anniversary of the Japanese attack and to honor and remember those who perished on that day. This year's theme for the 80th National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration is Valor, Sacrifice, and Peace. 

This is a good time for all of us to reflect on bravery and sacrifice of all those who fought to restore and preserve peace on earth.

Dominique Teng

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated

75th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising

August 1, 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising against the occupying German forces.  The Uprising was a major military operation organized by the Polish underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa.) It lasted sixty three days.

The revolt was led General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski who managed to mobilize army of 40,000 soldiers. Unfortunately they only had 2,500 weapons to their disposition.

Badly armed and hungry, fighting on their own, the Poles lost the fight. The Uprising was brutally crushed. The Germans executed more 150,000 civilians - men, women and children. Those who were not murdered on the spot were deported to the concentration camps. At the order of Waffen SS chief Heinrich Himmler, the city was completely destroyed and leveled to the ground never to rise again, like Carthage.

The Warsaw Uprising failed, but it become a great inspirational story to every fighting underground force all over the occupied Europe. 

Why the fiasco? In July 1944 the Russian Red Army was advancing on Eastern Poland. The Polish underground leaders speculated that the German forces would withdraw from Warsaw. Unfortunately, contrary to what the Poles expected, the Germans received an order to defend their positions against the Russians. There were to turn Warsaw into a fortress in fight against the Bolshevism.

Just like Germany, Russia was Poland's archenemy, so no help came from the Russian Army standing nearby and watching the destruction of Warsaw. 

The World War II could have ended much sooner if the Russians moved on and allowed the Allies to conduct a large scale offensive from their territory. Stalin  gave the orders not to interfere. The generals followed.

As the Poles commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Uprising today, they also celebrate the 30th year of free and sovereign Poland. August 1st is not only a symbol of the fight for freedom, it is also a day of remembrance for the historical events that took place in 1989.

By Dominique Allmon

 
Post Scriptum

One of the most scandalous facts from the post-WWII history is the story of one of the "butchers" of Warsaw - the SS General Heinz Reinefarth. At his orders the troops under his command committed countless atrocities, including the mass murder of Polish civilians in Warsaw in 1944. For his actions during the Warsaw Uprising, on September 30, 1944, Reinefarth  received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After the war, this Nazi criminal settled down on the German isle of Sylt where he was elected a mayor of the town called Westerland. The Polish authorities demanded extradition, but Reinefarth was never extradited and went unpunished for his crimes. He died on Sylt in 1979. 

The German post war judicial system was studded with high ranking Nazis. So were the politics, health and education. The Allies were reluctant to prosecute and, of course, there was the operation Paperclip. It is an outrage that many war criminals went unpunished and were allowed to live happily ever after.

 

For Their Memory - 75th D-Day Anniversary

If you are able
Save for them a place inside of you
And save one backward glance
When you are living
For the place they can no longer go
Be not ashamed to say you love them
Thought you may
Or may not have always
Take what they have left
And what they have taught
With their dying
An keep it with you own
And in that time
When men decide and feel safe
To call the war insane
Take a moment to embrace
Those gentle heroes you left behind

 

By Major Michael Davis O’Donnell 

Poem source here

Image source here

100th Armistice Anniversary & Polish Independence Day

November 11, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary the end of World War I. The armistice was signed at 11 o'clock in Compiègne, France, by the Allied forces and Germany. The War to End All Wars, or the Great War, ended after four years of fighting that caused more devastation and spilled more blood than any other war to that point in history. 

On that day Poland regained its independence after a 123 years long partition between Austria, Prussia and Russia. The proud nation in the heart of Europe disappeared from its map on October 24, 1795 after the third partition. The last Polish king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, abdicated on November 25, 1795. 

The armistice of  of 1918 brought many changes. Among others, it meant the end of the Austro-Hungarian  Empire and re-appearance of Poland on the map of Europe. Poland never regained it former territories, but the nation was reborn. 

Unfortunately, the new freedom lasted only for twenty years. A new war, which came as a direct consequence of the Treaty of Vesailles signed by the Allies and Germany in 1919, destroyed the vision of peace in Europe and placed Poland, once again, under the boots of Russia and Germany.  

The Poles are very particular about their independence, freedom and sovereignty, something the Germans and the European Community have difficult time understanding. Not matter how much pressure they have to endure, for Poles,  as they sing their national anthem today, Poland in not yet lost. Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła...

Poland's National Independence Day coincides with the American Veterans' Day and the Remembrance Day observed by the Commonwealth nations. It is also the the Feast of St. Marin.

By Dominique Teng

Also of interest: Why Does Poland Celebrate Independence Day On 11th November?

Prayer for Hiroshima

In order for us to live together, we need to end the use of all nuclear weapons, the ultimate in inhumane, pure evil and the moment to get this done is now. - Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6th, 2015, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the nuclear bomb by the United States. The bomb obliterated the city and killed around 140,000 people. Another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki only three days later and caused ca. 70,000 deaths. 

In 1945 the United States government argued that the nuclear attack was the only way to end the World War II in the Pacific. It probably was, since Japan was not willing to surrender.

Rising the Flag on Iwo Jima

Seventy years ago, on February 23, 1945, five United States Marines and one United States Navy corpsman planted the American flag on the peak of  Mount Suribachi on the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima. 

Not many people know that the 37-square-foot flag actually came from Pearl Harbor. The flag was discovered in a Pearl Harbor Navy depot only a few months earlier by a young Navy officer, Allan Wood. 

The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945, after the fall of Philippines. Iwo Jima was used by the Japanese as an early warning station. The island was heavily fortified. The Japanese infantry kept secure positions in their underground bunkers and "pillboxes" that were connected by a myriad of tunnels. The bloody and difficult battle resulted in heavy casualties among the invading US Marines. It lasted until March 26, 1945, but the peak was taken only four days after landing.

The iconic shot was taken by an Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal who received a 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

This image inspired Felix de Weldon to sculpt the United States Marine Corps Memorial that was dedicated to all Marines who lost their lives in wars, past and present. The Monument is located near the Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. It is a constant reminder of an incredible sacrifice and bravery of men who loved their country more than anything else. 

By Dominique Allmon

Image source here

75th Anniversary of the World War II

 Polish Cavalry

Seventy five years ago, on September 1, 1939, a bloodiest war in the history of humanity began with a German attack on an unprepared Poland.

In 1939 Polish Republic was a young country that has re-emerged on the map of Europe in 1918 at the end of the World War I after almost 165 years of partition between Prussia, Austro-Hungary and Russia. 

The war was undeclared yet, but by August 28, 1939, Europe knew that war was inevitable. The non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and Russia was signed only five days earlier. The two powers had already secretly divided the spoils of war that was yet to come. Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Romania were already "assigned" to, either the Russian or the German, spheres of influence. 

While Poland fought its September 1939 battle against the Germans and the Russians who attacked its Eastern borders on September 17, 1939, the Polish pre-war allies France and Great Britain waited uninvolved with the hope that Hitler would be satisfied after taking Poland. They could not have been more wrong. Although the two countries declared a war on Germany on September 3, 1939, their military aid to Poland was very limited.

The Polish expedition was not as easy for Hitler as he expected. Although abandoned by its allies, Poland did not give up without a fight. The small Polish army fought like mad. As a result, Germany sustained a relatively heavy losses in personnel and equipment.

There is a myth that the sabres brandishing Polish cavalry fought German tanks. This isn't quite true. While the cavalry fought bravely in 1939, it constituted only about 10% of the Polish armed forces*. Polish artillery, infantry, navy and the air force were definitely inferior in number and equipment, but not in bravery, determination and boldness. And they fought on two fronts! 

What is not widely known, Poland has never officially surrendered to Germany. Under the incredibly brutal German occupation, the Polish Army continued to fight underground. Those who managed to cross the border joined other armies to fight against the Nazis. They fought in Battle of Britain, in Narvik, in Tobruk, in Monte Casino, and Normandy.  

Polish government-in-exile that was first based in France and then, from 1940 on, in Great Britain, exerted considerable influence in the Polish underground. Although widely unrecognized and without power, but very dear to many Poles, this government remained in existence until the end of the communist rule over Poland in 1990. 

The biggest tragedy of all was that at the end of the most atrocious war ever Poland was abandoned one more time. A decision was made at the conference of Yalta in February 1945 that offered the war exhausted Poland on a silver platter to the blood-thirsty Stalin.

Generation after generation asked the same question: Could have the outbreak of World War II been prevented? Historians argue that just like the Yalta conference in 1945 created the necessary conditions for the outbreak of the Cold War, so the treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919 after the end of the Great War created conditions for the German belligerence and re-militarization. Looking back in time we wonder why the Nazis were not contained in 1933. Why was Europe so indifferent to the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938? Why no one was alarmed at the union of Germany with Austria in the same year?

The Nazis did not hide their ideology. They openly proclaimed their racial superiority and their wish for Greater Germany. And yet, no one really took them seriously. No one really seemed to understand the perils of the ideology that was taking root in the minds of millions of Germans.

Seventy five years later we are unwilling to face another threat. The new threat is  geographically so remote and ideologically so improbable that we seem to collectively ignore it. Those who warn us about the imminent danger are dismissed as alarmists. Once again great lessons that history has taught us remain under a thick cover of dust. Alas.

But maybe we should pay attention to the wise words of an American playwright, Eugene O'Neill: There is no present or future - only the past, happening over and over again.  

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2014

*Seidner, "Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz - Rydz and the defense of Poland" p. 289–91

The Great War

Great War Monument in New Rochelle, NY

70th Anniversary of D-Day

You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.... The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good luck, and let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. - General Dwight D. Eisenhower giving the D-Day order on June 6, 1944.

Image source here

America, the Exceptional

America, the exceptional

Vladimir Putin's open letter to America shocked or even upset some of my friends. It not only received quite a coverage in the media, but also managed to bring out some serious reflection on the state of things in the country, at least among the conservatives. 

Many things may not be the way they should, but America is exceptional and Americans should always keep this in their minds even if their own president does not share this belief.

While my friends are still recovering from the shock, the Republican Senator Rand Paul responded publicly to Putin's letter. His response, however, received much less media coverage and I wish to share it here for all my readers on this September Sunday morning. 

President Putin, America is Exceptional 
by Senator Rand Paul

A recent op-ed by Russian President Vladimir Putin has prompted me to respond. While his position that the Syrian conflict can and should be settled through a political and diplomatic solution is correct, virtually everything else in his writing should be taken to task. So I shall.

I begin with Mr. Putin’s disagreement regarding the exceptionalism of the United States of America. I could not more strongly disagree with him. While he is correct that God created every human being as an equal in His eyes, clearly the results of each of our efforts on this earth, individually and collectively, are not equal.

America’s exceptionalism is rooted in our founding documents and values. From the rights granted by our creator, but guaranteed by our Constitution. We should not shy away from saying so, especially when our actions are in keeping with this exceptional founding, as they were this week in our debate over going to war in Syria. Our constitutional checks and balances were on full display, largely resulting in the at least temporary halting of a rush to war. 

Mr. Putin’s second mistake is to focus on the speck in the eye of the United States, while ignoring the plank in his own. He accuses the United States of alarming interventions in foreign countries. While I certainly have my bone to pick with our foreign policy over the last 15 years, the Russian President is the least qualified person I can think of to make this argument with a straight face. 

We went to war in Afghanistan because they were harboring those who attacked us on 9/11. Mr. Putin’s cohorts went to war there three decades earlier for no legitimate reason.  

The United States until now has resisted arming one side of the Syrian civil war – all the while the other side has been armed by Russia. 

The United States has used diplomatic pressure to attempt to resolve the ongoing situation with Iran – Russia has just announced a large arms sale that will escalate tensions in the region. Being lectured to on foreign intervention by Mr. Putin would be comical if it weren’t such a serious example of a lack of self-awareness. 

Nevertheless here we are. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or at least my temporary ally. As Mr. Putin correctly pointed out, the United States and Russia banded together to defeat the menace of the Nazis a generation ago. And both countries certainly face real and present threats from Islamic extremists, both at home and in areas of strategic importance.

American should not act militarily in Syria because it cannot and should not join the same side as Al Qaeda. Russia cannot and should not continue to support militarily the brutal Assad regime. 

And so, the dialogue that began this week must go forward, and it must be given a chance to succeed. 

The issue of course, is with the participants and the details of the plan. Asking us to “trust them” is clearly not a palatable option, and we cannot act naively simply to bypass war. Any diplomatic solution must involve a clear plan to rid Syria of these weapons, with strong verification and enforcement mechanisms. As Reagan used to put it, Trust but Verify. 

So while I welcome the engagement of the Russians, and the dialogue Mr. Putin this week attempted to begin with our country, I remain to be convinced of the details. 

And I respond to him directly with the statement that yes, American is indeed exceptional. Our history has proved it so. While we all share the same Creator, we do not all share the same richness of history regarding human rights, freedom and democracy. There has been in the past 200 years a city on the hill that has shone brighter than all others. We will not be ashamed of that. May God allow us to continue to model this example to the world in these difficult times.


Article source TIME

Image source here

If you have not yet read Vladimir Putin's letter here is the link