Holocaust, Hollywood, and Baseball

 https://moffettm.substack.com/p/the-holocaust-hollywood-and-baseball

ROB REINER, A FEW GOOD MEN, AND MAGGIE GOODLANDER

     

ROB REINER, A FEW GOOD MEN, AND MAGGIE GOODLANDER

Marine lieutenants Bill Adams and Mike Moffett at Camp Fuji, Japan - 1984

The tragic murder of Hollywood star Rob Reiner and his wife Michele stunned and shocked the world. While 17,000 people were murdered in the U.S. in 2024, such violence really strikes home when one knows the victim—and most of us knew Reiner due to his 50-year career as an actor, writer, producer, and director.

Tributes to the late icon recollected his acting and especially his directing, which included wonderfully successful films like The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and especially A Few Good Men, about which I’m writing here.

A Few Good Men came out in 1992, starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland and others. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including “Best Picture.” Its storyline involved a death coverup which occurred on the Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) American military base. A couple members of Gitmo’s Marine Security detachment were accused of murder after the hazing death of a fellow Leatherneck who was deemed a substandard performer.

Lieutenant (JG) Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) and Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Moore) were assigned to provide defense counsel to two young Marines accused of murder. Captain Jack Ross (Bacon) is the JAG (Judge Advocate General) prosecutor. Marine Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Nicholson) was the overall commander at Guantanamo Bay. Marine Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick (Sutherland) was the immediate officer in charge of the unit involved.

Based on an actual Guantanamo hazing incident that first inspired an Aaron Sorkin play, A Few Good Men was a perfect movie to rewatch as a way to honor and remember Reiner. So, I found it and watched it during a recent frosty December evening. The rewatch proved to be enormously compelling, beyond the Reiner connection. The movie was all about illegal military orders, a subject that has been and remains very newsworthy today, given the video put out by six Democratic congresspeople—including New Hampshire’s Maggie Goodlander—concerning the responsibility of military people to refuse “illegal” orders. Their video created a figurative firestorm which still burns.

But beyond all this, as I rewatched A Few Good Men, I realized that Lieutenant Kendrick (the Kiefer Sutherland character) was based on a real-life friend of mine—Bill Adams. The realization stunned me. Did Bill issue a fatal, illegal order?

Many years ago, Bill and I were fellow lieutenants in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. We reconnected last year at Camp Pendleton, Calif. for the dedication of a memorial honoring 29 Marine comrades from 3/5 killed in a helicopter crash during a training mission in South Korea.

(That night training mission was a reprise of the 1980 Iranian hostage rescue mission, also involving six CH-53 helicopters. The mission commander was one of the pilots from the ill-fated Iranian Desert One mission. The CH-53 behind mine hit a mountain top and memories of retrieving the bodies of our comrades will always stay with us. Hence the memorial dedication. But I digress.)

It was great to reconnect with Bill and other 3/5 survivors, including our Lima Company Commander, Captain Jay Paxton, who retired as a four-star general and assistant USMC commandant in 2016. As we all compared notes and got caught up on respective life journeys, I recalled that Billy was assigned to Guantanamo Bay after leaving 3/5—about the same time as the infamous hazing incident there.

Following my A Few Good Men rewatch, I googled the Gitmo hazing incident and found a 1992 New York Times story and was stunned to learn how much the movie coincided with the actual hazing incident. The real-life victim was a Private Alvarado (Private Santiago in the movie). The private was supposedly a substandard performer and a snitch who wanted to be reassigned. Rather than reassigning him, the Marines opted to apply illegal barracks justice (a Code Red) to Alvarado to teach him a lesson. He nearly died. (In the movie, Santiago does die.)

According to the Times story, Lieutenant Bill Adams got his squad leaders together and stated “I don’t want you to hurt him. I don’t want you to touch him. I don’t want you to throw him from any third story. But if he falls down the steps in the middle of the night, oh well.”

After midnight, a group of Marines subsequently barged in on Alvarado, bound and gagged him, and stuck a rolled-up stocking in his mouth, which asphyxiated him—just as in the movie. Alvarado ended up in a coma and was airlifted to emergency care. After several days in a coma, he recovered.

Bill and ten other Marines now had to contend with attempted murder charges. Seven of the men took less than honorable discharges. Three went to prison. Billy’s case was dismissed for missing the statutory requirement for a speedy trial by one day.

General Al Grey, soon to be USMC Commandant, flew to Cuba and met with officers and “ranted and raved” about Alvarado’s near death. Grey emphasized that Marines did not sanction blanket parties or barracks justice and that is what they were to tell investigators.

The truth is that Marines absolutely do look to junior non-commissioned officers to police each other as well as subordinates. That’s how leadership skills are developed, and unit discipline maintained. But sometimes barracks justice can go too far, as with Alvarado/Santiago.

Were illegal orders issued? I don’t know enough to judge. There are written orders and implied orders. Implied orders leave no paper trail.

The Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland) in A Few Good Men, seems to be reprising Bill’s Gitmo platoon commander role. But Kendrick is a villainous fanatic and liar who bears no resemblance to Adams, who I know personally to be a stalwart officer and excellent Marine, caught up in a situation that escalated out of control.

The movie’s climax provides one of Hollywood’s most powerful scenes ever, where Kaffee (Cruise) puts Jessup (Nicholson) on the stand. Jessup famously tells Kaffee that “You can’t handle the truth!” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sLcfQKU_co&t=106

Kaffee goads Jessup into admitting that he issued an illegal “code red” order. The Marine colonel is subsequently arrested with the accused enlisted Marines acquitted of murder charges.

Goodlander and company’s video was an unnecessary partisan political stunt. But their video, along with Reiner’s movie, does focus attention on inevitable moral and ethical issues that confront leaders who must issue orders, sometimes in the heat of battle. And while American military justice—like all justice systems—is imperfect we should be proud that we have provisions for accountability in place that are historically absent in other military organizations, such as Putin’s Russian army, to name one.

If you’ve never seen A Few Good Men, you should check it out.

R.I.P. Rob Reiner.

                                                            Jack Nicholson (Wikipedia)

Rep. Maggie Goodlander: Seditious or just shameful?

 

Rep. Maggie Goodlander: Seditious or just shameful?

State. Rep Mike Moffett, Governor Kelly Ayotte, and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander at 250th Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony at N.H. State House on Nov. 10, 2025

 

There are many angles from which to view the “Scandalous Saga of the Seditious Six,” the recent Video-Gate story of six Democrat congresspeople who went public to admonish serving military personnel that they don’t need to follow orders they deem illegal.

Such sagas have value in that they necessarily raise awareness about history, law, civics, precedents, military service doctrines, and motives.

As a Marine Corps veteran and the current Chair of the House Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs, I was unsurprisingly contacted by a reporter when the story broke. He sent me a link to the video and asked for a comment, which I provided as follows:

“A very disturbing video,” added State Rep. Michael Moffett (R-Loudon), a Marine veteran who served in the Middle East. “At Marine Corps Mess Nights, we always faithfully toasted our commander-in-chief, whether we liked them or not, be it Clinton, Bush, or Obama. This (attitude) is a huge threat to military discipline and the good order required. Very dangerous and disappointing to see partisanship introduced to our military culture in this way.”

The “Scandalous Saga of the Seditious Six” is of particular interest to Granite Staters in that one of the six is our CD2 Congressperson, Maggie Goodlander. Ironically, I had just spent some quality time with her on the Marine Corps Birthday, November 10^th. We Marines appreciated her getting up early that day to be at the State House flag-raising to offer comments. Later that day Beth and I shared a table with the Congresswoman and others at the Marine Corps Ball in Franklin, where she again offered very nice comments to the large crowd while I read Governor Ayotte’s proclamation. I later sent the Congresswoman a copy of my Afghanistan book.

It’s hard not to like Representative Goodlander. So, the “Scandalous Saga of the Seditious Six” was both a surprise and a disappointment.

The other five video participants were Senators Mark Kelly and Ellissa Slotkin as well as Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan. All are Democrats, which made their action appear to be nakedly partisan. Surely, they could have found at least one Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger type to provide a patina of bipartisanship to their stunt.

An early reaction was to wonder whose idea this was. Apparently, it emanated from Slotkin, who is not even a veteran. Indeed, only 26 Democrats in all of Congress are veterans.

(In 1971, 78 out of 100 U.S. Senators were veterans along with 313 out of 435 U.S. Representatives.)

Goodlander threw gasoline on the subsequent political fire by doubling down and providing a second video which attempted to rationalize and justify the first.

The initial video unfortunately didn’t point to any specific issue or incident, which would have been instructive. Speaking in broad, ambiguous terms was perhaps an attempt to “poke the bear” to get a reaction. If that was the intent, it succeeded, as President Trump responded that he saw the behavior as seditious, which could involve a death penalty. Dems happily replied by (inaccurately) claiming that the President called for the murder of the Seditious Six.

The President is familiar with this “bear poking” dynamic. He often utters provocative comments likely designed to cause apoplexy amongst his many political opponents who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome who take the bait and end up looking foolish with their hysterical responses. Then Trumpsters effectively shine lights on their unhinged behavior.

"Touché, mes amis!”

Yes, specific examples concerning relevant orders would have been helpful. Short of that, speculation subsequently centered on administration policies related to domestic National Guard deployments or international interdictions of suspected nautical Venezuelan drug runners.

Goodlander is standing on especially shaky ground here, as she’s married to Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Advisor. Recall that the Biden Administration ordered bombing missions in Iraq, Syria, or Yemen—without Congressional sanction. Those actions likely resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and could certainly be construed by some as “illegal orders” worthy of being disobeyed, if we follow the logic from Video-Gate.

But the Seditious Six were silent on these bombings, thus confirming that Video-Gate was prompted by partisanship, not patriotism.

Stone, meet Glass House!

An example of an illegal order would be a senior telling a subordinate to kill an unarmed civilian detainee. But most military orders result from leaders seeking to accomplish missions assigned by elected officials. Members of any effective military unit do not have the luxury of discussing or debating the morality or probity of most missions or orders.

To be sure, that approach has been tried before—with disastrous consequences.

For example, during World War I, Russia’s Imperial Army was infiltrated by Bolsheviks and other disruptors who succeeded in implementing Order #1, which called for the election of soldier “committees” to review policies and orders. Discipline and morale collapsed. That army disintegrated. Communists took over the country and sued for a separate peace with Germany in 1918 and then established a Soviet Union which would inflict almost a century of horrors all over the world.

Truth.

So, if a result of the Dems’ Video-Gate is a new appreciation of important history, then that’s good. And if another result is an enhanced awareness of craven partisan political motives that undermine the good order and discipline in our military, then that is also good.

So, are the Scandalous Six actually seditious?

I want to think not.

Are they shameful?

Yes.

 

Lafayette, we are Here!

 

Lafayette, we are Here!

By Rep. Mike Moffett

“Lafayette, we are here.”

So said American army Colonel Charles Stanton in Paris on July 4, 1917, standing at the tomb of Gilbert du Motier—better known as the Marquis de Lafayette.

The Americans were in Paris as part of an advance World War I vanguard of Yankee doughboys. Over a million U.S. soldiers and Marines would soon be in France to turn the tide and bring victory to an allied coalition that was utterly spent and exhausted.

“We’ll be over. We’re coming over. And we won’t come back ‘til it’s over, over there!”

The people of France were thrilled so see the influx of all the motivated young Americans who gave them hope and eventually victory.

Stanton and company were at Lafayette’s grave that day to acknowledge a debt to a Frenchman who conversely had given a similarly exhausted American effort hope and eventually victory during our Revolution almost 250 years ago.

A wealthy young French nobleman, Lafayette was a romantic idealist captivated by the new American nation. His father had been killed in battle against the British and Lafayette requisitioned a ship to make his way to America.

In his current best-selling Revolutionary War tome, The Fate of the Day, Rick Atkinson describes the subsequent voyage thusly:

Night fell. The darkened boat beat on. His destiny lay west, over the horizon, where eventually his name would adorn some six hundred towns, counties, schools, mountains and other American landmarks. He had chosen to risk everything—for glory, for adventure, for an idea. Why not?

Lafayette made it to America and at the age of 20 became a Major General in our Continental Army. Wounded at Brandywine he quickly recovered and remained a favorite of George Washington until the triumphant end of the war, after the epic Yorktown victory in 1781.

After returning to France, Lafayette buffeted by the horrors of the French Revolution after 1789. He was imprisoned and would have been executed, but for the intercession of his American supporters. He eventually returned to favor.

In 1824 he accepted an invitation from President James Monroe to return to America, for a triumphant tour of every state to help celebrate the coming 50^th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. By that time, every other American Revolution flag officer was dead, the last one being New Hampshire’s John Stark, who died in 1922 at the age of 94.

In June of 1825 Lafayette’s tour brought him to Concord, N.H. Accompanied by his son, Georges Washington, he was welcomed by passionate Granite State throngs similar to those that lined roads all over the country cheering his carriage’s journey from state to state.

Lafayette gave a wondrous speech at our new Representatives Hall—the very space in which our legislature still meets today. He went on to finish his tour and return to France, where he died in 1834.

On Sunday, June 22^nd, the American Friends of Lafayette will be joined at our State House by renowned Lafayette reenactor Ben Goldman, who will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, just as the Marquis did in two centuries ago. He’ll be welcomed by our governor and legislative leaders before giving a reprise of Lafayette’s 1825 speech at the very spot in Representatives Hall where the original remarks occurred. This time the speech will be delivered in front of a huge painting of George Washington, whom Lafayette adored.

While I was not there in 1825, I will be in my Seat #23 in Representatives Hall Section 2 on Sunday to be part of a remarkable event that will connect us to our republic’s origins in a most profound way. And I already know what I’ll be thinking, as I sit and listen.

“Lafayette, I am here.”

#####

State Representative Mike Moffett (R-Loudon) is a former professor and retired Marine Corps infantry officer. He chairs the House Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs.

 The Four-Point Shot - Granite Grok

Mike Moffett for State Representative

 

                                     Mike Moffett for State Representative

State Representative Mike Moffett (R-Loudon) represents Canterbury and Loudon (Merrimack County District 4) in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. First elected in 2016, he served several terms on the House Education Committee. During the most recent term he chaired the House Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs.  During his tenure in office, he has successfully prime-sponsored numerous bills, many of them bipartisan, in a variety of areas. Education-related bills include a civics education measure, a gifted student measure, and a special needs measure. Among other veteran-related bills, he recently prime-sponsored HB1589, a "Veterans Court" measure designed to allow judges more discretion to avoid incarcerating military veterans for certain offenses.

"As a former history and government teacher, I really love being in the mix at the State House," said Moffett. "I've made some wonderful friends, and I feel my work has had very positive impacts. Constituents know they can count on me to be responsive and I'm proud of my 99+% attendance record for floor votes. Experience matters, in terms of knowing the necessary people and processes to get things done. I hope the good folks from Canterbury and Loudon will keep me on the job for them in Concord."

A Granite State native, Moffett graduated from Groveton High School before attending the University of New Hampshire and Plymouth State College, where he was an all-conference basketball player who still holds the Plymouth State single season rebound mark. He went on to teach in public, parochial, and military schools as well as on the community college and university levels.

A decorated Marine Corps infantry officer, Moffett served in both the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan areas of operation.

Moffett remains active with the VFW, American Legion, Loudon Lions, Knights of Columbus, and Plymouth State and Groveton High School Alumni Associations, as well as numerous boards and commissions.

              Signing ceremony for Civics Bill -- with Mike's mom!                   Beth and Mike

“STORMING THE COURT”

 

“STORMING THE COURT / SWARMING THE FIELD”

Jim Lonborg  #16:  Oct. 1, 1967 (Fenway Park)

“Eleven conferences -- the Atlantic 10, Big East, Big South, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Pac-12, WAC, Southeastern and West Coast -- recently told ESPN that a home school with a post-game celebratory court storm could be subject to a fine under certain circumstances. Some have precise penalties, while others have general language regarding disciplinary measures and their applicability.” – ESPN.com

I love watching fans storm a court or swarm a field after a big win. The primal, elemental, and spontaneous outpouring of joyous humanity celebrating a special sport triumph always moves me.

Watch the end of the movie hoop classic “Hoosiers” when the Hickory High fans storm the court to embrace their heroes. Or the old Boston Garden after “Havlicek stole the ball!” Or Fenway Park on that magical October 1, 1967, after Rico Petrocelli caught a popup setting up the BoSox for their first World Series in decades. Six-foot-6 pitcher Jim Lonborg was swept away to centerfield and a mad mosh-pit of delirium.

Primal. Elemental. Joyous.

There are, of course, dangers when waves of humanity are unleashed, overpowering 70-year-old ushers and the lone security cop. Mob mentalities take effect. Havlicek was battered and bruised by fans after he stole the ball. He called them “ruffians.” Lonborg’s uniform was ripped to shreds. I’m sure that today in various New England locales, grandfathers share pieces of cloth with their progeny, explaining “This is what Jim Lonborg wore when he pitched the Sox to the pennant in 1967.”

Seriously.

And when those gridiron goalposts come down, they can injure even the most hard-headed football fan.

Hence the need for court storm policies.

“This is why we can’t have nice things, people!”

These outpourings, these court storms, aren’t entirely spontaneous. When the Celtics beat the Lakers at the Garden in 1984 for the NBA title, fans surrounded the court for a while before the final buzzer, waiting to pounce.

On the college level, one can be sure that ne’er-do-wells have court storm strategies that involve not hoisting a hoopster but hugging a cheerleader. Truth.

But for the most part the joyous storms and swarms are unscripted. Who knew Havlicek was going to steal the ball?

Next month marks the 50^th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run mark. Film/video of that milestone moment in Atlanta will be shown everywhere. And accompanying Aaron on his historic round trip you’ll see Britt Gaston and Cliff Courtenay. The two Brave fans were only 17 when they ran onto the field from the first-base stands and caught up with Aaron. Now Britt and Cliff are immortal. They even made this column five decades later.

Court storms and field swarms are de rigueur everywhere at countless high school championship events. Players, parents, and peers no doubt dream of that ultimate title moment marked by Gatorade showers and heroes hoisted in celebration.

Like so many others, I also dreamed of such a moment. But most of us never taste that sweet championship nectar.

My high school senior year saw me and my Groveton High School Purple Eagle basketball teammates in a state tournament semifinal game at Plymouth State, trying for a spot in the title tilt. Half the gym was purple, as busloads of fans came down from the North Country. Sadly, we fell way behind, 27-12.

Still, in the second half we chipped away at the lead and the purple clad folks took heart. Closer and closer we came and louder and louder were the GHS fans. I remember scoring in the last minute to cut the lead to 47-46 as the gym exploded. A dam was about to break to release a purple flood onto the floor.

But we ran out of time. The white-clad players enjoyed a court storm as the purple rain fell not.

I stood watching the other team get swarmed while a lone figure hurried to me from the purple side—tears streaming down her face. Her back to the celebration, my girlfriend offered a very public embrace. I’ll always remember that.

So, most athletes never experience a court storm. But sometimes kids offer opportunities for parents to vicariously experience “swarm joy” when offspring win titles denied to their dads and moms. When my daughter’s Concord High School softball team won a state championship, I (thankfully) did not run out and leap onto the growing pile of players celebrating a title. But that was also, in a way, my storm/swarm moment as well.

And, upon further review, perhaps the lonely gesture of a teary hug offered to a losing basketball player is perhaps of equal—if not more—value than a leap into that fleeting mosh pit of sports joy experienced by that happy few band of brothers (or sisters) fortunate enough to grab sports’ ever-so-elusive brass rings.

####

                                 

                                                 John Havlicek 

                                                

                                                       Hank Aaron