"Red Arrow" Division.Veteran Dies

Arden L. Koehler served in the Pacific Theatre as a Staff Sergeant in U.S. 32nd "Red Arrow" Division from 1941-1945.  He died peacefully this past Saturday, August 24, 2013 at the age of 94 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The Red Arrow Division started out as the Wisconsin National Guard but expanded to include other units from the Midwest, particularly Michigan when World War Two broke out.  Like many of his fellow Wisconsin soldiers, Mr. Koehler was a farmer and a descendent of German immigrants.  Like most of the obituaries of these survivors of the war who have died in recent years, his obituary states the simple facts about his war-time service.  Much is left unsaid.  For many in the Red Arrow, they would have moved with MacArthur from Australia to battles in New Guinea and through the South Pacific to the battles and landings at Leyte Gulf (Leyte Island in the Visayas) and Lingayan Gulf in Luzon, norwest of Manila.  They then fought their way to and into Manila.  A highlight of his obituary: "He was able to be out in the field last week, helping with the wheat harvest."  Filipinos would appreciate that.

"Sea Levels Could Rise 3 Feet By 2100"

"Sea levels could rise three feet by 2100." That's a direct quote from a recent article in The Week, a reputable source according to a knowledgeable friend of mine.  My son the oceanographer, who studies ocean currents, temperatures, salinity, and such matters, has told me of the likelihood of ocean levels rising globally for a couple of years now.  The culprit is climate change and the melting of ice caps.  A couple of inches doesn't seem like a lot, but then you think of places like Manila and New Orleans, two of the world's largest seaports.  They would both be partially under water.  This thought leads to others.  What will happen to Corregidor Island in Manila Bay?  Or downtown Manila for that matter.  My fancy stretches further afield, to the Chocolate Hills of Bohol in the Visayas.  This natural wonder, well inland on the island of Bohol, consists of hills of seashells (under the brownish soil and grass cover).  Much of Bohol was once under water, millions of years ago.

The scarey warning does not come from an end-of-the-world prophet.  It comes from the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, part of the UN, and made up of top oceanographers from around the world (full disclosure: my son belongs).  The IPCC shared a nobel prize with Al Gore a few years ago.  Their forthcoming report also will note that "It's 95% likely that humans are to blame."  In other words, this time the earth-changing climate change is not natural but man-made.