William Roddy

Look, I know I’m going to sound like an I-told-you-so, but for several years I’ve been trying to get people interested in the idea that jihadists have moved into South and Central American, and, closer yet, into Mexico. They have been coming over the border posing as Mexicans. They are coming to Mexico, learning the [...]

Until recently, I would not have even considered going to Europe. Most of the time, I wouldn’t consider leaving the house, except for reasons that seemed to be unavoidable. My fear is — I almost said ‘was’ — a result of military-service-connected PTSD. I never knew I had it. I had completely blocked out major [...]

My bubba has a belly ache. Kidney stones. Get well soon, my only brother. This, too, will pass. (I probably shouldn’t have added that bad old pun.)

Three men were sitting together, bragging about how they had been giving their new wives their duties. The first man had married a woman from Indiana, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed done at their house. He said that it [...]

I was surprised when I found out that about seventy percent of the people opposed the Revolutionary War. And I was even more surprised when I learned that about seventy percent of the U.S. opposed the Civil War, about seventy percent of the U.S. opposed involvement in the World War One, and about seventy percent [...]

I had shut out memories of my time in the military. After 40 years, I’d built quite a thick and effective wall around it and call the wall “hate.” I told myself I hated the times so it was a perfect excuse not to remember them. As one of the best psychiatrists in the military [...]

Here, were we live, at 3,500 feet, in the Sierras, it’s hot and has been for days. The heat is not so difficult to endure here because the humidity is so low, because of our proximity to the northern end of the arid Great Basin. But these past few days have been too hot to [...]

One of the truly magnificent achievements of the past century, which continues even more vibrantly since the dissolution of the USSR is the rebuilding of Europe. The unimaginable devastation of two World Wars left the majority of cities and  towns of Europe in ruins. But with industry and national pride that is characteristic of Europe, [...]

I wonder why people keep uttering the phrase “peace on earth,” when it is an impossibility, when there has never been a time when the concept was remotely true, and by remotely, I mean, sitting here in the U.S. while the rest of the world is at war?

I spent the night watching a show About the history of the USO. Back in the days when I was a kid, Honoring the troops is just something you did. Honor our men and women this 4th of July. They, not you, are called to defend the independence you are celebrating today.