Thursday, July 22, 2010

National Infantry Museum honors American soldiers


COLUMBUS, Ga. — There are telling moments to be found in the new National Infantry Museum just outside Fort Benning. One is inside a re-created Vietnam jungle exhibit, a dark and moist place of near stifling humidity. Helicopter sounds throb overhead, and veterans’ voice-overs on small video screens provide commentary on the horrors of battle.


Watching on a day I visited were fresh-faced young infantrymen, somberly taking in the images of war far from the grounds upon which they hone their battle skills at Fort Benning, site of the US Army Infantry School. The soldiers watched silently, separated from the soldiers on the screens by 45 years but forever connected by the shared purpose of mission and duty.

The US infantryman finally has his due in this museum, a $100 million facility that opened last year (2009), with Colin Powell, former secretary of state and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, giving the keynote speech.

“This site is much more than a mere memorial, and the word museum is entirely inadequate to describe it,’’ said Powell, who trained at Fort Benning as a young officer. “It is the only attraction in the country to tell the story of the infantry from the perspective of the soldier.’’

The museum, with a large rotunda entryway and a towering stone column topped by a charging bronze infantryman, is nearly 200,000 square feet of exhibit, classroom, and attraction space. It is full of thousands of artifacts that trace the history of the US Infantry since its beginning 235 years ago.

The most moving exhibit would seem to be the first, “The Last Hundred Yards,’’ a slightly inclined, enclosed space of 300 feet. A longheld military concept is that the last 100 yards of any battle belong to the infantrymen who must charge that last, dangerous span to finish the battle.

It is the museum’s signature exhibit, with lifelike scenes from eight major infantry battles, starting with the American Revolution and finishing with Operation Desert Storm. Here are small reenacted battle dioramas that feature cast figures of infantry soldiers bearing authentic weapons, a World War II glider, and Huey helicopter. Haunting music from the Mel Gibson movie “We Were Soldiers’’ filters down from above.

Here you will see World War I doughboys on rubble-strewn streets, old war footage playing on broken buildings. There is an Army paratrooper displayed at the recapture of Corregidor in 1945, war film playing within his parachute, and across from that, soldiers scaling a rock wall at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with vintage film played upon it. Just up the walkway is a display of bayonet-bearing infantrymen at Millett’s bayonet attack in the Korean War, and beyond that a Huey helicopter landing in a Vietnamese field.

Beyond “The Last 100 Yards’’ are displays of training of modern infantrymen, with exhibits of weaponry and a massive blue-lighted display, “Today’s Commitment,’’ showing where infantrymen are found around the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, Kosovo, the Philippines, Germany, and Italy.

Downstairs are six massive exhibits, The Era Gallery, starting with “Securing Our Freedoms (1607-1815) and ending with “The Sole Superpower’’ (1989-present). It is a largely apolitical showing of the United States’ military might throughout the ages, with a stunning assortment of war memorabilia.

In the World War II exhibit portion of “A World Power’’ (1920-47), for example, you will see such spoils of war as Nazi commander Hermann Goering’s jewel-encrusted baton and a burned copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,’’ with the Nazi leader’s speeches raging on a loudspeaker as he whipped up the winds of hate and war.

There is also a bronze bust of Hitler on display here that Allied troops modified into a trash can, an epaulet from the uniform of Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy, and Japanese samurai swords. In “The Cold War’’ gallery are massive chunks of the Berlin Wall.

Other “wow moment’’ memorabilia include the service cap and ribbons of the most decorated soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy, and the original letter from General Omar Bradley, his “Top Secret Orders of the Day, June 4, 1944,’’ two days before the invasion of France. In it he tells soldiers of the 1st Army they are about to be part of “the greatest amphibious operation ever undertaken by any army’’ and that “the future of this war, the future of our country depends on your success.’’ Next to it is a letter from Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower telling soldiers, “We will accept nothing less than full victory,’’ which history shows is what was achieved.

Also in the museum’s grand hall is the “Hall of Valor,’’ a glass-enclosed space dedicated to nearly 1,500 Medal of Honor recipients from the Army Infantry, each honored by a small plaque on the walls. A computer kiosk allows visitors to look up full citations for each honoree.

Outside the museum proper, the homage to the infantryman continues at the five-acre parade field with grandstand seating for 2,100. Within the ground is soil taken from battlefields in each of the country’s wars, from Yorktown through Afghanistan, the soil spread by descendants of those who fought in those wars, or veterans of more recent ones.

The facility first hosted the infantry graduation on its parade grounds last year. Jerry A. White, a retired Army major general and president of the National Infantry Association, said then: “When these young men march proudly past us they will be literally walking on the same soil as where their forefathers fought and died. It is a tangible connection to the legacy they have just joined.’’

Just beyond the parade ground is “World War II Street,’’ a collection of vintage buildings from Fort Benning, two of which were used by General George S. Patton Jr. before he left for the North African campaign in World War II.

There had been a museum at Fort Benning, but it was a makeshift one housed in an old hospital building, said Cyndy Cerbin, director of communications. The city of Columbus was instrumental in making the museum happen, she said.

“City fathers said they needed to think big and they did,’’ she said. “Many feel this museum is Smithsonian quality.’’

It also features an IMAX theater and full-service restaurant.

The museum is a unique partnership of the nonprofit National Infantry Association Foundation and the Army, the former managing the facility, the latter owning all the artifacts. A National Armor Museum is in the works, Cerbin said, which could coincide with the Army’s armor school moving to Fort Benning from Fort Knox, Ky.

The National Infantry Museum is a place at once chilling and uplifting, testimony to the horror of war and the courage of the infantry. Visitors may find themselves walking through it with a sense of national pride.

“This is what we owe to those who went before,’’ Powell said at last year’s dedication ceremony. “This is the place. This is the home. This is their legacy.’’

Secrets newest all-inclusive resort in Jamaica





In spring 2010, Secrets made its first entry into Jamaica with a $180-million project - the adults-only Secrets Wild Orchard and Secrets St. James, adjacent all inclusives on a t-shaped peninsula in Montego Bay.
They are beauties, 351 suites each, on a stretch of white-sand beach. There are nine restaurants and nine bars, mostly in a shared promenade, which also boasts a recreation area and string of shops.A few kinks cropped up needing to be worked out - spotty Wifi in room ($15 a day charge) and sluggish room service - but this is overall an outstanding property with attentive staff and gorgeous accommodations.

ROOMS WITH GREAT VIEWS
I stayed on the Wild Orchid side of the Secrets twin resorts, and the suites are big, roomy, light splashing generously within, each with balcony with ocean and/or pool view. There are three categories of rooms: Junior suites, grand suites and presidential suites, all offering a king or two queen beds; flat-screen TV and CD/DVD player; mini-bar refreshed daily with soda, water and beer (Red Stripe, Jamaica's own); a private balcony; his-her armoire, nightstand and reading lamps; plush robes and slippers; baths with separate showers and water closets, double vanity and TV speaker with sound control, hair dryer and scale - which I advise not using once you sample the food here.

There is also 24-hour room service, which as of July 2010 was slow but with the promse they are working it out. There is also a box for private room-service delivery if you don't want to be disturbed, and a do-not-disturb light system to let them know.

DINING AND WINING
Dining and imbibing options abound at this resort, mostly in the promenade, a shared space with adjacent Secrets St. James; it is closest to Wild Orchid. oceana features Tex-Mex at lunch and is oceanside dining; Bordeaux, a French restaurant for dinner only; Blue Mountain, Jamaican-Caribbean food, dinnner only; El Patio, Mexican fare, dinner only; Himitsu, Pan-Asian fusion, dinner only and the only restaurant requiring reservations for its popular Teppanyaki tables; Portofino, Italian cuisine in the trattoria traditioin, dinner only; World Cafe,the resort's only buffet style eatery open for all means and offering a truly astounding choice of food, including Jamaican; Coco Cafe, small coffee area with pastries, opens early at 6 a.m.; and oceanfront dining at St. James at the Seaside Grill on the beach.

Bear in mind casual dress code is strictly enforced, meaning sleeved shirts and long pants for men, though most restaurants feature patio dining where you can get away with shorts.

For bars, the options are many, though some close surprisingly early. The Lounge at Wild Orchid, a piano bar, Cuban-themed lounge with live music, open to 12:30 a.m.;; Manatees swim-up bar; Marlin Bar, open air with sandwiches and salads, open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In the promenade area, Barracuda Beach Bar (at right) terrific swing seating along with bar stools and sofas, lunch service, open to 6 p.m.; Desires Music Lounge, sports bar, DJ, dancing, open until 1:30 a.m.; Rendezvous Lobby Bar, with piano, open to 1 a.m.; Sugar Reef swim-up bar, open to 6 p.m.; and Revive Juice Bar.

THE SPA'S THE THING
The spa at Secrets is terrific, with hydro treatments, spa facial rooms, dual massage rooms and cold-and-hot water pre-treatment areas. There is a wide assortment of a la carte treatments, and a peace garden with yoga facility, water circuit and zen fountains.

The fitness center is small but roomy and well equipped with treadmills, stationary bikes, step climber, universal machines and weights, aerobics room and yoga studio.

In the Promenade is an open-air game room with board games, pool and ping-pong tables and a theater with nighly movies and entertainment. Daytime activities include aerobics, basketball, bocce, catamarans, snorkeling, soccer, tennis on lighted courts, vollyeball, water aerobics, windsurfing, kayaking and yoga.


All-Inclusive Secrets Wild Orchid Information
Secrets Wild Orchid
Montego Bay
Jamaica
http://www.secretsresorts.com/wildorchid/index.asp
800-866-467-3273
Rates start at $315 a day

So I'm not the biggest jerk in Jamaica? No, Scotchies is



Come for the jerk, don't mind the sweat.


I'm at Scotchies in Ocho Rios on Jamaica's northern shores,quite near a huge number of all-inclusive resorts, watching unsmiling, soaked-with-sweat cooks labor over giant, smoking slabs of giant, smoking slabs of jerk pork and crispy mounds of jerk chicken. It is brutally humid, typical of Jamaica in July, and I'm drenched. But that doesn't bother me as much as the guys preparing our food, dripping lord-knows-where as they labor to create what some claim - myself included - is the best jerk food on the island.


I'm a huge fan of Jamaican jerk, particularly at non-descript roadside joints like this one, the original; others are in Montego Bay and Kingston. This is a classic country eatery serving typical, genuine and drop-dead delicious jerk chicken and pork as its chief offerings.


Whole chickens and giant slabs of freshly butchered pork, all heavily doused with jerk sauce and spices, and OK, maybe a little sweat, are heaped on pimento or dogwood logs and smoked over the fire below, all of it topped with giant, well-used panels of corrugated metal to keep the smoky flavor in.

That magical jerk smell fills the dark, dingy smoking room which is open for public gawking, particularly from Americans not used to the sight. Locals abound and make up the bulk of the clientele, the surest testimony of how good any Caribbean restaurant is.


There are long lines at busy times; we caught a Saturday afternoon lull and were seated and served swiftly. There's a great open-air bar here to pass the time as well, where you can sit and sip with the locals, watching sports and trying to decipher their lilting patois.


In the smoking area, cooks bathed in smoke and sweat watch the meat crisp up dark and moist, pressed into the logs by the heavy-metal atop it. When done, they yank it off the fire and pull it apart, apportioning various quantities of the steaming, aromatic meat to plates and platters and giant aluminum pans.


You eat here in one of several huts on the heavily flowered grounds, occasionally pestered by a feral cat or stray dog, sitting on heavy, handmade stools of sturdy local wood (if you make the mistake of tugging one thinking it moves easy, it won't, and your back muscles may react accordingly). This is wonderfully spicy food and you're welcome to add fuel to your culinary fire with scotch bonnet sauce that accompanies it in a cup, but beware: This cousin of the habanero is one of the hottest peppers on the planet, and the most popular in Jamaica, a little goes a long, burning way. Try a small dose at first and wait for it to infuse your lips and face with its spreading warmth before loading up on more. My advice: A Red Stripe beer or two or three or more is a nice counter to the pepper's mounting heat.


Our group had giant portions of pork and chicken and wolfed it down to the bone in no time, gorging on the succulent, moist, flavorful meat that was accompanied by generous baskets of Jamaican festival bread, braided tubes of corn meal batter deep fried to a golden brown. We also had roasted breadfruit, a Jamaican staple, slathering it with fresh butter, and roasted sweet potato, different from our American counterpart in that it's harder, chewier, stringier and incredibly good.


And you get all this on the cheap: A full pound of pulled pork is a mere $14 American, and a whole pulled chicken about $12. The sweat of its preparers? No extra charge.


Scotchies Information

Scotchies

Drax Hall

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Phone: 876-794-9457

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tucker's Point Restaurant a work of art

Check out this review I did of Tucker's Point restaurant in Bermuda, a stunning mural and testimony to Ed Trippe's respect and love of art and family. Great resort, too, new in 2009, a $400 million resort in Hamilton, just gorgeous. I'll post a review of the resort later...http://gocaribbean.about.com/od/restaura3/a/Work-Of-Art-Graces-The-Point-Restaurant-In-Bermuda.htm