We maintain and continue this committee of correspondence in memory of our founder and mentor, Colonel W. Patrick Lang. The image to the right is Marcus, a character from William S. Burroughs’s “The Coming of the Purple Better One.” Colonel Lang would refer to Marcus sometimes in clever jest, sometimes in biting social commentary and sometimes simply because he liked Marcus. May everyone who corresponds here do so in a similar spirit.
Priceless. Thanks. Here’s a link to the piece by Burroughs:
https://niqnaq.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/wm-burroughs-the-coming-of-the-purple-better-one/
I will get into trouble if I comment further.
VE Day today. My Dad was already back, but was in an Army convalescent hospital in Staten Island. He later used to brag that he had a purple a$$. Two of three uncles were demobilized within a year. The third was in the Pacific.
My Mom’s oldest brother after landing on the Normandy beaches was lost during the Battle of the Bulge.
My Dad and 3 other uncles were all still in the Pacific Theatre.
I’ll try and get a post up in the spirit of the blog’s founder and current administrator.
I always look forward to your posts, Fred.
You don’t need to post this but I just wanted to send a note of appreciation for your work in continuing the work of the committee of correspondence after the death of Col Lang. As a lay person lurking in the background I’ve learned a lot over the years from the posters and community on intelligence and military matters.
So on behalf of those of us who choose to only read and learn thank you
Amen.
Thank you for continuing the site in memory of Col Lang.
I felt as if I had seen this image somewhere before. So I combine shards of dim memory with a brute-force image search throuh images om Yahoo’s alltheweb image aggregator function. And this is what I found.
A painting by Henri Rousseau called ” Mandrill In The Jungle”. Here is a link. ( Hope it works.)
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/mandrill-in-the-jungle-henri-rousseau.html
I hope it is decided that this post will be the permanently-showing first post for anyone clicking onto this site, and that the post about books by Colonel Lang will be the perma-second post.
Or maybe after a while make the post about books the perma-first post to show up, and then make this post the perma-second post to show up after that.
One way or the other.
Col. Lang always amazed me with his diversity of interests. He didn’t get stuck in only one subject or turn of mind. That is what kept me coming back.
This Committee of Correspondents enriched my life through the years, provoked and challenged. Long may it continue!
Thank you, Col. Lang! The memory of you would live on in men’s hearts all around the world.