Last year we featured the side of this memorial dedicated to the women of World War II. This year we feature the men’s side with each branch of the armed services represented in combat dress. From Military OneSource:
Combat or “working” uniforms are more informal and easier to move in. They are most often made up of a tunic – a heavy-duty jacket – pants, t-shirt, a cover (hat) and boots. Combat uniforms are patterned in green or tan camouflage. Service members do wear this type of uniform in combat, but it is also common for them to wear it while performing day-to-day duties in non-combat settings. Insignia – symbols identifying a service member’s rank – are present, but subdued, on combat uniforms.
The base of the memorial is granite with bronze reliefs sculpted by Aristide Berto Cianfarani (1895-1960), an Italian born American sculptor who studied at the Rhode Island School of Design as well as in France and Italy. He worked for the Gorham Manufacturing Company in 1917 and 1919, and . . . started his own studio in Providence in 1926.
The Army’s Oath of Enlistment reads as follows:
I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed . . .
We owe our veterans a great debt — they have put everything on the line to defend the Constitution. But we find ourselves in perilous times; what happens if the president is that domestic enemy? What happens if the President gives an unlawful order? Christopher Fonzone discusses the Military Law of Obedience;
As I argue in the Issue Brief, this means, in practice, that service members must refuse to transgress clear and well-known legal rules, but that commentators should not expect military disobedience to save the nation from simply unwise or legally contested orders.