On this day in 1856 the Marines landed in Seattle Washington to protect the settlers from Indian attacks.

And on the 25th of January, 1918 we entered the Battle of Chipote for the occupation of Nicaragua.

And this week in 1914 the Marines along with British, French and German units landed in Haiti.

And for the update, the irony of the 21st Century is that we now use Native American rituals in the Veterans Administration Mental Health programs to treat and heal our Warriors. Quite a twist on history eh?

As for Nicaragua, I cannot help but think of what our injured soldiers did when they returned home. It was not as if they had a VA pharmacy to just pick up some pain meds.

It makes me appreciate the incredible job our VA does in caring for our veterans-even with their imperfections.

As for Haiti; the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, I guess they did not qualify for a Marshall Plan. They do now.