May Luncheon
9 May 2018

The Dust of Kandahar

By: Jonathan Addleton

Jonathan Addleton retired from the US Foreign Service in January 2017 following a 33-year career that included assignments as US Ambassador to Mongolia; USAID Representative to the European Union; USAID Mission Director in India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Mongolia and Central Asia; and US Senior Civilian Representative to southern Afghanistan based in Kandahar. Currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of International and Global Studies at Mercer University, he is also Executive Director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies. His PhD is from Tufts University and his BS is from Northwestern University. His books include The Dust of Kandahar: A Diplomat Among Warriors in Afghanistan (Naval Institute Press); Mongolia and the United States: A Diplomatic History (Hong Kong University Press); Some Far and Distant Place (University of Georgia Press); and Undermining the Center: The Gulf Migration and Pakistan (Oxford University Press)).  

Short description of presentation:

Ambassador Addleton will talk about his most recent book,The Dust of Kandahar: A Diplomat Among Warriors in Afghanistan. Providing a personal account of one diplomat's year of service in America's longest war, he movingly describes the everyday human drama of the American soldiers, government officials, religious leaders and others with whom he interacted in southern Afghanistan. His writing is at its most vivid in his firsthand account of the April 2013 suicide bombing attack outside a Zabul school that killed his translator, a fellow Foreign Service Officer and three American soldiers. The memory of this tragedy lingers over his narrative, his prose offering a heart-felt tribute to the soldiers with whom he served as well as providing poignant glimpses into the interior life of a U.S. diplomat stationed in harm's way.

Please mark your calendar now.  

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Chick-Fil-A Tribute
Alex Korchan, store manager of the Marietta Chic-fil-A

I think this is especially neat since a number of VA facilities are removing the bibles from the displays at some of the VA locations.

MAN WALKS INTO CHICK-FIL-A: Is Completely Blown Away When He Saw This for Vets

By Bill Callen: Top Right News

Chick-fil-A, the same fast-food outlet has once again proved a positive to the world. This time it did so by unveiling an amazing Veterans Day tribute that left Georgia resident Eric Comfort in complete shock.

According to a Facebook post he published on Mon, when he walked into a local Chick-fil-A, Comfort discovered a "Missing Man Table" that contained a single rose, a Bible & a folded American flag, as well as a plaque w/in which was the following explanation:

"This table is reserved to honor our missing comrades in arms. The tablecloth is white — symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call of duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing and their loved ones and friends of these Americans who keep the faith, awaiting answers. The vase is tied with a red ribbon, symbol of our continued determination to account for our missing. A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families who seek answers. The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God. The glass is inverted — to symbolize their inability to share this evening's toast. The chair is empty — they are missing." 

After the story went viral, the store manager, Alex Korchan, explained to WSB that his team members had set up the table because they "wanted to honor veterans." Furthermore, he offered free meals to all veterans and their family members on Veterans Day. Korchan also put up a poster so that customers could write in the names of loved ones who they have lost. "We've had a lot of people who have come in and seen it and been touched by it," Korchan continued. "It's been special to
see"

PLEASE SHARE this article if you admire what Chick-Fil-A has done to honor our vets...