Hey folks, Mike here.

During the discussion that follows, I forgot one of the questions I wanted to ask Mike L. Cicero.

In his book, quotes from the unit history of the border regiment that they recorded the December 2nd, 1917 operation in the barest of terms,

rendering it as a, quote, now-forgotten feet of arms, end quote.

Following our talk and after we had stopped recording, I realized that I had completely skipped over the

question in my list. I had wanted to use the question as an opportunity to thank him for writing

the book and for commemorating the men who had taken part in that nighttime operation on that

cold, moonlit December night in Flanders in 1917.

The phrase, now forgotten feet of arms, reminded me once again of something that has tugged at the back of my brain for some time now.

It has to do with my father.

My father was a Portuguese immigrant to the United States,

and he worked in the leather factories north of Boston in the 1960s, 70s, and well into the 80s.

There, he made lifelong friendships, and I know there must have been a swirling camaraderie amongst him and his mates that must have included ongoing inside jokes, the guys making fun of each other, griping about work, and the like.

I know for sure there was ample tasting of wine in the cellar when those guys came over, because

I remember that.

None of that was recorded, though.

And now that my father and all his friends have gone west, the world they lived in is gone.

Even though I was in my 30s, I was too young, in a sense, to capture

most of his life before he left us. So phrases like, now forgotten feet of arms really get to me.

To think of so many actions on the Western Front, the other fronts, and during the

entire war in general, that have gone unrecorded and are now lost to the past, really brings

into focus my appreciation for what Mike has done with his magnificent book. With this work, he keeps alive the memory of the men mentioned in the book,

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