Hockey hats, bragging rights for Maine troops in Iraq

To paraphrase the eminently quotable late Ann Richards, a former shoot-from-the-lip Democratic governor of Texas, “Poor John. He cain’t help it – he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

Granted, in that famous keynote-speech zinger that fired up the 1988 Democratic national convention, Richards, then Texas state treasurer, referred to “poor George” – Republican George W. Bush, who would later succeed her as governor – not to Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who ran unsuccessfully against President Bush in 2004 and aspires to become the Democratic nominee again in 2008.

But as we have seen in the past few days, the famous line could well apply to Kerry, who is equally as privileged as Bush and equally as prone to the unfortunate foot-in-mouth malady that Richards suggested. Kerry’s latest gaffe, an allegedly botched joke about Bush, occurred when he told a group of California students that individuals who don’t study hard and do their homework would likely “get stuck in Iraq.”

The comment was widely taken to be a slam at the troops in Iraq, implying that they are less than bright or they wouldn’t be there. Kerry aides explained that the highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam War had inadvertently dropped a part of prepared remarks originally written to say that if individuals don’t study hard and do their homework “you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq.” In that context, they claimed, it was clear that Kerry was referring to Bush, not to the troops.

In my e-mail the day after Kerry’s apology to the troops I found a great photo, forwarded by Bill Hazelwood of Levant, depicting one group of GIs’ reaction to the dustup. It shows a group of seven soldiers – presumably in Iraq, judging from their surroundings – and presumably paying the price for not having heeded Kerry’s advice to study hard and do their homework. They hold a large hand-painted sign that reads, “Halp Us Jon Carry. We R Stuck Hear N Irak.”

The photo, which likely has been around the world a few hundred times by now, suggests that our troops have the requisite good morale to exhibit a healthy sense of humor, even in the quagmire that Iraq appears to have become. And it offers the opportunity to spotlight the efforts of groups here at home to ensure that the morale of Mainers serving in Iraq remains high.

Groups such as Maine’s four family assistance centers for military personnel, managed by Kerry Birmingham; and Operation Community Support, whose spokesman is Skip Chappelle, former head coach of the University of Maine Black Bears men’s basketball team.

Chappelle is scrounging for hockey tickets as part of Operation Skybox III that will enable military personnel who are deployed or who have been deployed overseas more than 180 days in the past year, and their dependents, to attend a UMaine hockey game against UMass-Lowell at Alfond Arena on Veterans Day eve, Nov. 10. Season ticket holders and the university are donating the tickets that can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis via the Family Assistance Center hotline, 1-888-365-9287.

Among those attending the game – her first – will be Patty Cousins and her two daughters, Heather Fortin and Logan Cousins. Patty’s husband, Capt. Kent Cousins, is the commander of Company A 1-121 Field Artillery Battalion, a Maine unit attached to a Wisconsin outfit in Iraq. I learned this week that the Cousins family is practically a next-door neighbor, living just a mile down the road here in Limestone.

In September, Cousins, a University of Maine graduate and a longtime Black Bears hockey fan, sent an SOS requesting hockey banners, hats and such from his alma mater – the better to stick it to the Wisconsin guys, seeing as how the Black Bears are presently undefeated and ranked No. 1 in national polls, while the defending national hockey champion University of Wisconsin Badgers are ranked fifth.

The Badgers defeated Maine in the national playoffs last spring on their way to the championship, and Cousins’ troops had been subjected to a lot of good-natured razzing by their Wisconsin counterparts. He wanted some props to help his soldiers defend the honor of UMaine hockey.

When I talked with Patty Cousins Wednesday, she had just received e-mail from her husband reporting the arrival of a shipment of Black Bear hockey hats for the Mainers. “He was so excited, and grateful,” she said. “Kent’s thing is that he is always looking to boost morale, and have fun doing it. When the troops are happy, he is happy…”

And he’s pleased, as well, she said, to know that the people back home are quick to provide support through promotions such as Operation Skybox. The toughest ticket to come by in Maine sports is a pass to a UMaine hockey game at the Alfond Arena. That rabid UM hockey fans each year willingly give up their seats so servicemen and women and their families can enjoy the experience says a lot about the high esteem in which our troops are held.

NEWS columnist Kent Ward lives in Limestone. His e-mail address is olddawg@bangordailynews.net.