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S. D. O'Reilly -
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January 12, 2011
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Luis Bolanos -
December 28, 2010
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Shannon R. James,
University of Arizona - November 6, 2010
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Annette Goebel -
October 27, 2010
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Lincoln Cushing -
October 11, 2010
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Abelardo Baldizon,
University of Bremen, Germany - 8 October 8,
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Oscar Alfaro, San
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George Ferris,
Marlton, N.J. - September 23, 2010
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Al Gutierrez, 3
September 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Mr Micheal Schroeder I want to thank you for
your efforts myself and the rest of my family
are so gratefull specially my dad Jose gutierrez
since my
aunt Carmen Navarro was one of the only people
that saw my grandfather alive as he was leaving
nicaragua my aunt is still alive shes 101 yrs of
age she lives in san jose california one of the
things that my brother forgot to mention was
that my grandfather was a photographer by trade
this according to my aunt and tha he was from
the state of virginia south or north she didnt
know his name again is either steven green or
lynn either he was at marines or the army, again
sir on behalf of my family and i all i have to
say to you is thank you from the bottom of my
heart. ps. the only name that came close was
onpage 8
ward stevens. thank you.
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Tristan Faith, New
Mexico
August 31, 2010
While doing my PhD thesis on
reincarnation, I ran across a client who when
hypnotized claims to be General Pedron. He has
given detailed and accurate accounts of Pedron's
life and his current picture and the General's
picture are identical. Just thought you might
like to know. Also, I am asking permission to
include your pictures in my thesis. Thanks so
very much. Tristan Faith
Dear Tristan,
That is absolutely fascinating. I would love to
know more, if you care to share it. And yes, you
certainly have my permission to use anything on
my website in your thesis, with proper
citations, etc. -- thanks for asking.
While I have serious doubts about the whole
phenomenon of reincarnation, I'm also certain
that we humans do not & cannot know everything
about this infinitely mysterious universe.
Thank you very much for letting me know.
Best regards,
Mike
Hi Mike,
Interestingly, the man that I
used in my research did not believe in
reincarnation and calls himself an agnostic. He
grew up in Matagalpa, Nicaragua and was born [in
the mid-1940s]. He has a degree in . . . from
his country and joined the resistance in 1978
and while serving he killed and mutilated after
battles, much like Pedron. He has been suffering
from PTSD. He agreed to participate in my study
because he was interested in finding out what
held him back from suceeding in life. . . . .
The client is very detailed in his accounts of
his past life and I have never given him a
directive, nor could I as I know nothing about
Pedron or the history of Nicaragua. I really
appreciate your interest and thanks for letting
me use the pictures. I have attached a picture
of my client when he was in his thirties. The
resemblance is uncanny. He is now in his sixties
and he is almost identical to the older pictures
of General Pedron. Thanks again, Tristan
Conversation is ongoing.
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Victor Sánchez,
Miami Beach, Florida
August 30, 2010. Miami Beach,
FL.
Respected Professor Schroeder:
My name is Víctor Sánchez. I was born in 1967 in
Nicaragua, but I fled the country in 1989 due to
the civil war. The reason for this email is to
let you know how amaze I am with your priceless
work about Sandino’s fight as a whole in space
and time and to thank you for this invaluable
treasure to our history. I have spent 3 days
reading without any order the “mine of gold” of
information from your site. Today I decided to
write to you this email.
I always believed the Sandino´s image inherited
from the past and resurrected during the
revolution in the 80´s was not real; it was too
good to be true. I never believed either Sandino
was the all vicious man depicted by the Somoza´s
family. Now, after I read every day a little bit
more from your site, I am corroborating the idea
he was somewhere between those two points of
view. Even the way he was perceived by his
contemporary fellow citizens is changing in my
mind. I feel as if I would be walking in
Nicaragua step by step in those days and months
of the war when I read from your site. I am sure
I will be illustrated as never before in my life
about this significant part of our Nicaraguan
history. And which makes more precious this
point to me is the fact that the person who is
finally portraying Sandino in a more genuine
dimension is an American citizen.
I did not finish the High School but I always
felt passion for reading and writing and thus,
for History. As you can see, I am not quite good
writing in English and I am a worse English
speaker. I needed WORD for helping me to write
to you this email. After so many years living in
USA, my language skills are very poor. Math and
languages are not my passion. However, I hope
you will understand the feelings of gratitude
and admiration I want to express to you for your
compilation and general work about the topic. I
owe to you more than I owe to all the writers
and historians I have read about this episode of
Nicaragua´s history. Thanks a lot professor and
I hope someday in the future I may hold your
hand personally.
PD: in one of the pictures of your site (Photo
19. Sandino and Staff in Jungle Camp.), you
wrote a comment about a man of clear African
traits “with a distinctive top hat”. Could that
man be Saint Gilbert Pierre Charles, the bandit
from Haiti mentioned in the report about the
arrest of Manuel María Jirón Ruano?
Dear Víctor
Sánchez,
Thank you so very much for your very touching
message. It is messages like yours that keep me
moving forward on this website, because I know
that somewhere out there are people like you who
are seeking the truth, and can use the website
as a way to help them to separate fact from
fiction and to discover for themselves what the
truth really is. I understand your point about
the "Sandinista narrative" being too good to be
true, and the "Somocista narrative" being too
one-sided and malicious to be true. Have you
read my "Sandino Rebellion Revisited" chapter? (HERE).
I make the exact same point you make, only using
a lot more words than you do. I also thank you
for suggesting that the African-looking man in
the hat in the photograph could be Saint Gilbert
Pierre Charles -- I hadn't thought of that and
it is entirely possible. I will bear that
possibility in mind as I move forward.
So thank you again for your very kind words,
they mean a great deal to me. And I too hope
that someday we might shake hands & meet face to
face. Please let me know if you have any
objections to publishing your message on the
website.
With Best Wishes,
Michael Schroeder
Dear Professor:
I have no objection of any kind. I will be happy
and honored if you publish my email to you.
For a time I thought, generally speaking,
scholars, men of science, should be people of
certain ways, with a deep sense of humanity and
about all, with a profound sense of respect for
the truth. History has probed that this has not
been always the case. However, I have the
impression you are one those men that we,
Humankind, need for finishing with so much
suffering and repetition of mistakes. At some
point in time, somewhere, I hope, we all will
agree to look at another direction.
Thank you for your email.
Respectfully, V.S.
PD: I will “attack” right now your chapter
Sandino Rebellion Revisited.
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Luis & Alvaro Gutiérrez,
California
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
HI MICHAEL I WANT TO
CONGRATULATE FOR THIS MAGNIFICANT HISTORY OF MY
COUNTRY.
MICHAEL MY NAME IS LUIS GUTIERREZ AND WE(MY
PARENTS) LIVE IN CALIFORNIA USA SINCE 1980 AFTER
THE WAR IN NICARAGUA. I NEED YOU HELP, MY FATHER
A 82 YEAR OLDS JOSE GUTIERREZ WAS BORN NOVEMBER
23 1928 BY A FATHER WHO WAS A U.S.A MARINES.
HE ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND HIM BUT BECAUSE HE DOES
NOT HAVE ANY DOCUMENT HAS BEEN IMPOSIBLE.
ALL HE WANT IS TO SEE AT LEAST PHOTO OF HIM
BEFORE HE DIE. HIS MOTHER SAID THE MARINE
WAS STATIONED IN MANAGUA AND WAS WORKING AS
PHOTOGRAPHER.(CAMPO DE MARTE). HIS NAME IS
OR WAS STEVEN LYN OR OTHER SIMILAR TO THIS
SOUND. I WILL APRECIATE ANY INFORMATION
(IT DOES NOT SAY IN THIS HISTORY ABOUT SON LEFT
BY MARINE DURING THIS OCCUPATION).
August 24, 2010
Dear Luis Gutierrez,
Thank you for your message and your very kind
words on my website. I have not seen the name of
a Marine "Steven Lyn" (though there was a
"Colonel Wynn"), but I will remember the name
and let you know if I come across anything. If
he was a photographer at the Campo de Marte,
it's not unlikely that there is a photograph of
him somewhere. I wish I could be of more help,
but right now the best I can do is tell you that
I will keep careful watch for the name STEVEN
LYNN or a similar name and will be in touch with
you if I find anything.
Best regards and best of luck in your search,
Michael Schroeder
August 25, 2010
Thanks so much Mr. Michael, I
was talk with my father and said his name was
steven greenich or some similar. one of his
mother friend took my father to see him at the
train station when he was departured via corinto
port when he was 3months old i guess was on the
last 3 months of 1928.
My father was a military under national guard he
entered as raso o recluta.
I send you some photos of him as military and
his present ages.
sincerely,
luis gutierrez
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on thumbnails for full images |
August 26, 2010
Dear mr schroeder
My name is Alvaro gutierrez and I can only say
thank you for this
amazing website fillled with lots of info well
sir I am the son of
Jose gutierrez born of Lydia gutierrez whom met
a marine combat
photographer by trade in the arrival of marines
in nicaragua that's
when my father was born my grandmother after the
earthquake of 1931
lost all paperwork and contact info on my marine
grandfather whom
I was told he was born in Virginia he goes by
the name either Steve
Lynn or Steve green if you have any info that
might shed light in this
I wod greatly appreciated as well as my father
who is still alive he
is 82 years old thank you again my name is al
gutierrez I can be
reached at . . .
thank you sir.
fb
September 1, 2010
Dear Luis and Alvaro
Gutierrez,
Thank you very much for your messages, I am
sending you a copy of a document that was sent
to me by the Marine Corps Research Center, that
lists the names of "enlisted" Marines who served
in the Guardia Nacional. But that does not sound
like your grandfather. Maybe you will see the
name of your grandfather here, but I do not see
it. I wish I could be of more help.
As I understand it, his name could be:
STEVEN LYNN or WYNN or something like it
STEVEN GREENICH or something like it
The best I can do is to say I will watch for
this name and let you know if I find anything
that is close.
Thank you again for your kind words on the
website, contributions such as yours help to
make it even better. With your permission I am
publishing our exchange of messages on the
website, maybe someone else will recognize the
name of your father's father.
Buena suerte con lo que buscan,
Michael
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Krista Gustafson, 23
August 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
I have been doing some research on my great
grandfather, Domingo Castillo, born in Managua
ca 1894. My grandmother spent some time with him
in Bluefields (She says he kidnapped her . . .
it is a crazy story) where he was supposedly a
judge and a friend of the president. My
grandmother says that the president of Nicaragua
was her godfather at the time. I don’t know
which one. The only date I have is the date
Carmen’s mother returned her to the states Sept
1923. My grandmother would later say that
Domingo either died of malaria or was killed in
revolution. I don’t think she ever really knew.
So . . .there was a reference to an interview
with a Domingo Castillo back in the 80s and I
was just wondering if maybe this could be the
same one, and whether or not the interview was
transcribed. It was referenced in Gould’s To
Lead as Equals .. so I sent him a note and he
responded that I might want to check with you.
If you know where I should start, I'd appreciate
direction. Spanish okay.
Krista
Monday, August 23, 2010
Dear Krista,
Thanks for your message inquiring about your
great-grandfather Domingo Castillo. Where in
Gould's book is the Castillo interview
referenced? Truth is I've never heard of him but
maybe I can help track down the source -- I have
Gould's book in front of me but there are tons
of endnotes and nothing is jumping off the page
... I'll be happy to help to the extent I can,
but as I say I've never heard the name before
now, so maybe we can start with the reference in
Gould's book.
Thanks,
Mike Schroeder
Monday, August 23, 2010
Thank you. The references to
the interview are on pages 337-340 and 344, 345,
355. It is probably a wild goose chase, but I'd
appreciate it any thoughts you might have. I
discovered your website today. Amazing! What an
incredible amount of work. Thanks again, Krista
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Dear Krista,
I see the reference in Gould, which is doubtless
his own interview with Domingo Castillo -- and
knowing how Jeff Gould works, it's very likely
that the interview was never fully transcribed
and that he simply used the relevant information
from the interview for his book. It's also
likely that all that remains of the interview
are a few desultory notes that Jeff took while
doing his fieldwork in Chinandega a quarter
century ago ... and whatever happened to those
notes, who knows? He probably pitched them. So
the best I can tell you at this point is that I
will keep my eyes peeled for the name and let
you know if anything pops up in the documentary
record. Wish I could be more helpful but in the
end you're probably right, it likely is a wild
goose chase ... but who knows? Stranger things
have happened.
Best of luck in your search and please let me
know if I can be of any help contextualizing
this stuff (e.g. the president of Nicaragua in
1894 was José Santos Zelaya, but you probably
already know that ... )
Good luck & please be in touch if you have any
other questions,
Mike
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Annette D. Amerman,
Quantico, VA
August 11, 2010
Professor Schroeder:
I am a historian with the Marine Corps History
Division.
We have a transcribed version of the document
you have on your website from Sandino (attached)
and we don't have a date on it; we wonder, how
did you locate the date or was it on the copy
you obtained?
Many thanks for your assistance!
Sincerely,
Annette Amerman
Historian
Historical Reference Branch
Marine Corps History Division
3078 Upshur Ave
Quantico, VA 22134
PH 703.432.4876
Fax 703.432.4892
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR WEBSITE?
www.history.usmc.mil
August 11, 2010
Dear Annette,
Thanks for your inquiry, the document in
question is undated and I've slotted it as close
to where I think it goes as I'm able ... it
could well have been from late 1927, I don't
know and it's especially hard to tell because
this series between Sandino & Echevarria are all
transcribed English-only versions in the
National Archives. The document was seized by
Capt. Maurice Holmes in April 1928 ... in fact
as I look more closely at it, it might well
refer to one of the early battles after Ocotal
in the summer of 1927 such as San Fernando ...
maybe when Major Floyd took San Fernando in July
1927? (see PC-Docs 27.08.12, Field Message No.
4:
http://www.sandinorebellion.com/PCDocs/1927/PC270812-Floyd.html#FieldMsgNo4
- ) Plus the tone of Sandino toward Echevarria
suggests that the latter just joined his forces,
since Sandino's justifying himself in telling
the truth, their later letters were more
informal ...
What do you think? I'm inclined to re-date it to
around late July 1927 ...
Thanks for your interest, it's nice to know
somebody's paying attention!
Peace,
Mike
August 11, 2010
Mike:
We found the
attached document along with the transcribed
copies in our files. We believe it is quite
possibly an original. We have prepared it for
retirement to the National Archives with a host
of other materials we have on the Marines in
Nicaragua, Haiti and Santo Domingo (Banana
Wars). Do you have a good translation of it? We
do not have a Spanish speaker here that can
translate it well enough for us. Since we're
just processing and reorganizing our collection,
I haven't really delved into the exact details,
much to my dismay.
We are paying attention; great site by the way!!
Annette
August 11, 2010
Dear Annette,
Thanks very much for that! It is definitely an
original, Sandino's handwriting & signature are
very distinctive. Here is my rough translation:
"General Montoya, Galeano and Maradiaga
Santa Rosa
Esteemed Companions, I hope that when this
reaches your hands all is well.
I send you these things that I have made with
respect our current situation and this afternoon
I await all the columns and if Colindres isn't
there, send him an order that he stays in San
Pedro awaiting orders from this headquarters.
There is no news. They arrive after 3 o'clock in
the afternoon.
Homeland & Liberty,
A. C. Sandino"
I've translated "echulos" as "things" because
it's an idiomatic term & I don't know exactly
what it means. I will inquire with some
Nicaraguan friends.
Thanks for the good words on my website! Are you
at the Gray Research Center & these items you're
inventorying from the Personal Papers - Sandino
box? And you're sending them over to the
National Archives? I wonder when they'll be
available there? (Sometimes it can take years
for the understaffed & overworked Archives to
make things publicly available.) I wonder if you
could give me a rough idea of the stuff you're
working with?
Thanks again, that one is definitely a keeper,
Best,
Mike
August 12, 2010
Mike:
Thank you for the translation! I really
appreciate it. We were 99% sure the document was
original but you've confirmed it for us.
We are the Historical Reference Branch of the
Marine Corps History Division. We're not at the
GRC but right next door. We used to be in DC
with the Historical Center but the entire
operation (writers, etc) was moved to Quantico
in 2005. We have a rather small collection on
Nicaragua (about 2 lineal feet) and are in the
process of reorganizing the whole thing and
digitizing portions of it. While most of our
collections are duplicates, some of the earlier
materials (such as the Banana Wars material) is
more original--it's due to the fact that several
of our first historians (Marines at the time)
were involved in the operations and collected
materials on their own and had them when the
Division was created in 1919 (or acquired them
after) (Major Edwin McClellan for one).
I'd be happy to send you a CD with the materials
that we've digitized. As I stated, it may be
duplicative but one can never tell. We will
retire the materials that are deemed original,
but those will be scanned first as we are well
aware of the difficulty of getting access to
materials retired to NARA. I'm attaching the
folder list we have for our Nicaragua files.
It's not detailed, but it gives you an idea of
what we have here. Of course, we won't be able
to retire the materials quickly so if you were
so inclined to visit us, you'd be most welcome
to review the entire collection personally.
Thanks again for your help!
Annette
August 12, 2010
Annette,
Thanks very much for that -- it's good to know
that all your "banana wars" materials are in
good hands (ironic name, "banana wars," since
there were very few bananas in the region of Las
Segovias in northern Nicaragua where the war was
fought, and huge banana plantations on the East
Coast of Nicaragua where the war was NOT fought
... ).
I would be thrilled if you were to send me a CD
with the digitized original materials ... the
document you sent me yesterday, for instance --
I have a Spanish-language transcript from the
Guardia Nacional but didn't know the original
still existed. I'd also love to make a trip down
to Quantico sometime this fall to see these
materials myself, maybe with a student or two as
part of the Pleet Initiative on student-faculty
collaboration (mentioned on the homepage of my
website). Any idea what your timeline is for
retiring these materials to the National
Archives?
I checked out your website and it's very well
done, reader-friendly and easy to navigate.
Please let me know if I can be of any further
help and thanks very much again for your kind
offer & words.
Best,
Mike
August 12, 2010
Mike:
The CD is in the mail. Hopefully it won't take
forever to get to you.
You are MOST welcome to come and bring a
student; we love seeing students interested in
history. Just read about the Pleet Initiative;
wish I had something like that when I was an
undergrad. VERY COOL.
I'll let our webmaster know about your comments
on our website. We've been working hard to make
it more friendly and yet informative.
I appreciate your very kind professional
courtesy--wish all academics were as helpful and
generous with their time!
Annette
August 12, 200
Dear Annette,
That is wonderful, thank you so much. Yes,
academics can be a rather stiff-collared bunch,
anyway I am very glad to help and please be in
touch if you have any more specific questions
about documents, etc. Your inquiry about the
undated Echevarria document prompted me to
re-date it to July 1927 ... (they have to go
SOMEWHERE and as I'm sure you well know ...
without dates we historians are completely at
sea!)
I very much look forward to receiving the CD and
to visiting sometime in the fall. I'll give you
a head's up before coming.
Thanks again & best of luck,
Mike
[The CD contained a boatload
of documents, many of which are still awaiting
publication on this website; correspondence
ongoing ...]
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Donald Manson, U.K.
June
22, 2010
Subject: Nicaraguan
Telegraph document
Dear Professor Schroeder,
Can you shed any light on
this document enclosed, that I have had in my
possession for some time, I'm a stamp collector
and this was found in a mixed box of items. I
believe it may refer to the time and area your
web site concerns.
Donald Manson
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June
22, 2010
Re: Nicaraguan Telegraph document
Dear Mr. Manson,
Thank you for your message. It appears that the
document in question is a transcription of a
telegram from Lt Gray to Lt Claude, US Marine
Corps, instructing the latter (in Boaco,
Nicaragua) to turn in the "pistol cane" seized
from one Nicolas Acosta of Jinotega. I would
guess the date around 1928, during the US
occupation. I would guess that Lt Claude
confiscated the pistol and Nicolas Acosta, who
was probably a member of the Jinotega elite,
complained to the Marines and demanded that his
pistol be returned. Evidently Acosta had enough
political capital to compel the Marines to pay
attention. The larger theme involved here is
what Max Weber and others have called the
"upward displacement of violence-making," as the
Marines sought to disarm the Nicaraguan populace
and make the Guardia Nacional the only
legitimate violence-making organization in the
country. (The Marines were continually seizing
arms from the populace; after 1927 Nicaraguans
had to apply for permits to own firearms). How
odd that this document ended up in a mixed box
of items and in your hands! In any case, you are
correct about the time & place; I recognize the
Marine names (Gray & Claude) and the places
(Boaco, Jinotega), and the name Nicolas Acosta
rings a bell ...
I hope that helps; thanks again for your message
and good luck with your stamp collecting
pursuits,
Michael Schroeder
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Scott Brennan, Bogotá,
Colombia & New York, NY
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Subject: 1931 SANDINO DOCUMENT
Dear Michael Schroeder,
My name is Scott Brennan. I´m a photojournalist,
done lots of work in Nicaragua and I´m
fascinated with Sandino. Anyhow, I¨m presently
in Bogota and just ran into a 1931 publication
¨"Estampa" out of Madrid. Its long out of
publication but the cover story is a "A day in
the camp of the General: the man the yanquis
hate." Its got some photos of early sandinista
congregations in both Leon and Matagalpa, a
letter signed "patrio o muerte" and some photos
of Sandino I´ve never seen before (although they
look suspiciously like illustrations though they
do have photo credits). I ran a google search
and just found your site (must be new huh?).
Have you ever heard of this publication? This
issue? could it be something thats been lost to
history? Desafortudatamente your bib and lit
page is yet to be up. The woman at the store is
asking $50 US but I could get it much cheaper
I´m sure. Can you shed any light on this? If you
get this please respond ASAP as I´m leaving the
country for NY tonight (where I live), store
closes at 5. Hope to hear from you soon.
Scott
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Subject: Re: 1931 SANDINO DOCUMENT
Dear Scott,
Thanks very much for your message, and Yes I'd
be very interested in seeing that too -- I'm not
familiar with a Spanish pub named "Estampa," nor
with an article or photos as you describe. It
isn't by a journalist named Saenz or something
similar, is it? I remember some Marine reports
where they raise a red flag because of a Spanish
journalist named Saenz trying to get an
interview with Sandino. In any case I'd love to
see it, though $50 seems like a lot. I'd chip in
for half if I can get a full digital image of
the thing, don't worry I'm good for it. So to
answer your question, No I can't really shed
much light on it, other than to say that there
may well be interviews with Sandino & his men
published in obscure European or Latin American
publications and thence lost to history, in fact
I'd be surprised if there weren't. Do you have
the full citation data?
Sorry I can't be more helpful, look forward to
hearing back,
saludos y buena suerte,
Mike
Michael Schroeder
www.SandinoRebellion.com
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Subject: Re: 1931 SANDINO DOCUMENT
ok, ill go buy it now and get you the full
citation info by tomorrow evening when back in
ny
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Subject: Re: 1931 SANDINO DOCUMENT
Yes, I got it. Its "Estampa Revista Grafica"
year 4 num.6 March 7, 1931. The article is named
"Un dia en el campamento del General
Sandino...El que a los yanquis odiaba...
Ill get back to you with high res copies at some
point (not today got lots of sleep, lesson
planning and Easter celebrating to do) There is
a great picture of some of Sandino's army. Def
never saw them before. Photo credits are to
"Vidal."
Scott
 Note:
The March 7, 1931 article titled "Un Día
en el Campamento del General Sandino" from the
Madrid revista "Estampa" featuring the reputed
peregrinations of a young Peruvian named Augusto
Flores, and his reported visit to a Sandinista
camp and interview with Sandino, can be accessed
by clicking on the image to the right (pdf file,
3 pgs., 16 MB):
Copious thanks to Scott
Brennan for sharing this exceedingly rare and to
my knowlege hitherto unknown publication!
.
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Phillip Garrott,
Greenville, S.C.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dr. Schroeder,
My name is Phillip Garrott, and I am a senior
history major at Furman University, studying
under Dr. Erik Ching. I'm writing my senior
paper on the Sandino, the Sandinistas, how the
latter used Sandino to their advantage,
identifying the differences in ideals,
motivations, and challenges between the two. In
other words, the use of the historical memory of
Sandino as a way to further the Sandinista
cause.
I came upon your website, and it has been very
helpful to give me primary documents from
Sandino himself. If you could, would you be able
to suggest any additional resources, both
primary and secondary, that might help me in my
research? I would be very grateful.
Many thanks,
Phillip
March 17, 2010
Dear Phillip,
Thank you for your message,
and please know that any student of Prof Ching's
is a student of mine. [Unfortunately I
deleted my response to Philip to save space on
my LVC account, so I don't know exactly how I
responded, but I do know that I sent a slew of
suggestions, warned against a teleological
reading of Nicaraguan history that interpreted
the FSLN's struggle as growing organically out
of Sandino's; suggested he read Stephen Palmer's
piece on the Construction of Sandininismo; and
offered to send him digital copies of select IES
testimonies for his senior thesis project.]
March 18,2010
Dr. Schroeder,
I'm immensely grateful for the time and effort
you have already put into helping me work with
this topic through your quick and detailed
response. I shall certainly be considering many
of the questions that you have posed, and the
Palmer piece looks fascinating. Thank you!
If you do have time, those JPEG images of the
testimonies would be the perfect primary source.
That is exactly the type of thing that I have
been looking for. If they are large, it would be
better to send them to my gmail account, which
has unlimited space. That address is
[email protected].
Many thanks for everything! I will most
definitely keep you informed on how the research
is going, and shall certainly pass along your
regards to Dr. Ching!
- Phillip
March 20, 2010
[I responded with JPEG images
of seven IES testimonies, about 50 pages in all,
along with further questions, suggestions &
counsel ... actual response unfortunately
deleted. Philip ended up writing a
terrific senior thesis before graduating and
going on to teach English in China.]
.
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Gary Lee, Montgomery,
Alabama
February 3, 2010
Research direction/website help
Dr. Schreoder:
Excellent website! The primary sources are
amazing!
As an introduction, I'm Gary Lee, a USAF flyer
and student of history (my Senior thesis was on
Chavez's rise to power, I lived in Venezuela for
two years 93-95 and have an affinity for Latin
American Studies). As a part of my Air Command
and Staff College master's thesis, I am
exploring Latin American counterinsurgencies to
find lessons learned that compare to
counterinsurgency best practices and worst
practices to prove to folks the better way of
handling Afghanistan (You can't imagine how
frustrating it has been for me over the years as
a low ranking person to have anyone listen. It
looks like Gen McChrystal is saying the right
things, but what is needed, and I know this
firsthand, is to educate the "tactical" level
officers and non-commissioned officers on how to
do this job) is based in History, and Latin
America can provide these lessons. Hopefully I
can open eyes to what has been done (both bad
examples and the good) to help get this thing to
a conclusion that benefits all involved. I'm
comparing the folly that was the Punitive
Expedition to Afghanistan (both as to what
failed in the past from 2001 to the present) as
a waring about what NOT to do if tempted to do
something similar in Pakistan.
Could you direct me towards the right areas in
your website that could help me in my quest? I
unfortunately am on a very truncated timetable
... and need all the direction I can get.
Representative examples of how the Marines were
effective and practices that were ineffective in
the overall campaign would be great.
If you know of any other places I can go for
other insurgencies, that would be excellent. I
am limited on library access (I'm doing this
remotely from home, all blackboard online) so
reputable/scholarly online accessible (like your
website) will be key. I'll be heading toward the
Joint Special Operations University soon to
start looking there (I've found some great
background articles in some of their journals),
but again, access is limited.
Thank you for your help.- Gary Lee
February 3, 2010
Re: Research direction/website help
Dear Gary,
Thanks very much for your message & kind words
about the website. It sounds like you're doing
some very interesting & important work. As for
where to direct you on the website, a couple
things come to mind: first, I did a grant-funded
study for the DoD on "Intelligence Successes and
Failures" in the Sandino rebellion -- you can
find it from the Homepage > MJS > Grant-Funded
Report (or click here:
http://www.sandinorebellion.com/mjs/mjs-intel.htm).
Another thing that comes to mind is my air war
article and the associated documents: the air
war piece is here:
http://www.sandinorebellion.com/mjs/MJS-AirWarInNicaragua-IHR-Sept07.pdf
and the documents are under the "AIR-docs" link.
The only other thing that might be useful to you
(given that the website's still a work in
progress and tons of things aren't there) are
the Patrol & Combat reports (PC-Docs). Going
through these puppies with a fine-tooth comb
might yield some useful insights -- there are
some pretty egregious examples, for instance, of
Marine patrols violating campesinos' cultural
norms & values about gender & sexuality, the
inviolability of peoples' homes, etc.
I hope this helps, and let me know if I can be
of any further assistance -- best of luck to
you,
Mike
Michael J. Schroeder
Assistant Professor of History
Lebanon Valley College
February 3, 2010
Re: Research direction/website help
Dr Schroeder: Excellent! Thank you for the
direction and the quick response. The insights
from the PC-Docs are going to be juicy, the
exact same stuff we see across cultures now
still apply. Getting it out to the tactical
level grunts will be the hard part; trying to
convince someone two years removed from High
School to be nice in a village when someone else
could wind up shooting at them is going to be
hard, especially when they don't respect their
culture or the culture gets in the way of their
humanity.
Gary
February 4, 2010
Re: Research direction/website help
Dr. Schroeder:
Off the top of your head, are there examples I
can watch out for of what the Marines and the
Government did right in the conflict? Not just
on the tactical level (winning battles
"contacts" etc.) but strategically/policy level?
In my opinion, they obviously suppressed it and
were able to kill Sandino, but they certainly
didn't win in the long run, with the rise of the
Sandinista government (call it what they will,
communist labeled with populist base, truly
Sandino or label of opportunity, etc.). Did the
Nicaraguan Govt. fail to win the long-term,
strategic battle? I think they failed. They
failed to address the fundamental grievances
inherent to the conflict and integrate the
rebel/counter govt. "force" back into larger
society. What did they and the Marines earlier
do right? I hope you don't mind me asking these
questions. I couldn't get any sleep last night
out of excitement for the possibilities,
planning and research. Would you mind if I call
these correspondences an "interview," subject
matter expert that you are, and include it in my
paper? Thank you- Gary
February 4, 2010
Re: Research direction/website help
Gary,
First, sure you can call these exchanges an
interview, why not? .... I guess the only thing
I'd ask is that you run the final copy past me
first to see if I want to make any minor
revisions -- this is all mostly off the top of
my head and I'd hate to be quoted on something
that I could tweak & feel better about -- deal?
As for what the Marines did right ... well, they
did effectively Nicaraguanize the conflict in
relatively short order -- a lot less time than
it's taking in Iraq for instance -- though it
was also probably inevitable that the
"non-partisan constabulary" that they envisioned
at first never actually existed. The Guardia was
always a highly partisan force, and when Somoza
took power in 1936 it effectively became his
private army, characterized by a lot of the same
personalism and caudillismo that had long
characterized Nicaraguan militaries, but now
wrapped in a modern bureaucracy with clear
chains of command, titles, etc. So that's one
thing -- the effective Nicaraguanization of the
war so US troops could leave behind a stable
client state. From an imperialist's perspective,
that was a real success.
Another thing (following Weber's notion about
modern states monopolizing all substantial means
of organized violence-making) -- another thing
the intervention did "right" (judging it by its
own criteria for success) is to disarm the
populace and effect a kind of upward
displacement of violence-making capacities to
the level of the national state. Before 1927 the
means of organized violence-making were very
decentralized, with private caudillo
patron-client based armies / gangs all over the
place. By 1933 that wasn't true anymore -- there
was only the Guardia and Sandino -- everybody
else had been effectively disarmed and shorn of
their capacity to commit substantial violence.
So that's another thing. That was a huge change
-- for the long sweep of Nicaraguan history,
violence-making capacities had been highly
decentralized & personalized. Now, in six short
years, they were highly centralized AND
personalized under Somoza -- a kind of hybrid of
pre-modern and modern militaries in that sense.
They also totally obliterated the rebellion in
all but people's memories. This is one of the
most striking things about the way this
rebellion ended -- after Sandino's assassination
the GN basically went on a killing rampage and
totally annihilated all remnants of Sandino's
EDSN (except for Pedron's band, which endured
off in the hills till 1937 I think it was). As I
argue in the "Sandino Rebellion Revisited" piece
(which I'd recommend you read -- it's on the
website), after 1934 ex-rebels either fled, hid,
changed their names, went into exile, or were
killed. So I guess if your goal is to totally
eradicate the movement, they pretty much
succeeded -- except, as I say, in people's
memories and in any surviving texts.
I would take issue with your contention that the
Nicaraguan gov't "failed to address the
fundamental grievances inherent to the conflict
and integrate the rebel/counter govt. "force"
back into larger society." I don't think that's
wrong, exactly, but I do think it's largely
beside the point. The main grievance from
beginning to end was the Yanqui invasion &
occupation and the violence that came from it.
Issues of poverty and gross inequality in wealth
& power fed into campesinos' grievances against
the invasion & occupation, but the core issue of
Marine violence disappeared when the Marines
withdrew. There's also a sense in your message
that the later incarnation of the Sandinistas in
the 1960s and 70s was a direct outgrowth of the
earlier struggle. I don't think that's a very
helpful way to look at it. My own view is that
the two struggles were completely separate and
disconnected in time & space, and that Fonseca's
appropriating the name "Sandinista" was more for
cultural reasons -- "marketing" if you will --
than because of any kind of organic connection
between the two movements. They were separated
by more than a generation, only two or three
individuals who had fought with Sandino
continued with the FSLN (Santos Lopez, Ramon
Raudales, and one other person I think ... Juan
G. Colindres?) -- and the whole "continuity of
struggle" thesis propounded by Carlos Fonseca &
the FSLN was built on a whole lot of ideological
labor but not much by way of real, organic
connections.
In fact I saw much the same thing when I was
back in Nicaragua this past summer -- the FSLN
gov't under Ortega is expending a whole lot of
ideological energy to paint itself as the direct
outgrowth of the Revolution that seized power in
1979 -- but it really isn't, in my view -- and
the 16 years between FSLN regimes (1990-2006)
gets elided & effaced & telescoped. There's a
much longer story here, of course, but I would
really caution against a kind of "teleological"
perspective on the two Sandinista movements --
because as I see it there was actually very
little connecting the two movements except the
name that Fonseca gave it in 1961 and the
narrative that the FSLN invented that posited a
direct connection between the two. The
world-historical context was different
(post-Cuban Revolution, Cold War, etc etc), the
struggle was mainly anti-dicatatorship, not
anti-Yankee, it was mainly urban, not rural, and
so on.
Okay back to work, let me know if this is at all
helpful and I'll think more on your question of
what the Marines did "right" --
Glad the website is helping you out, in fact I
meet this afternoon with a Web dev't guy in
Harrisburg who's going to help me redesign &
upgrade the software on the site - so stay
tuned!
Peace,
Mike
February 4, 2010
Re: Research direction/website help
Thank you very much. This sort of
information/background/context/perspective I
would not be able to get anywhere else really.
Expect the paper (barring any stupidity with an
upcoming exercise/deployment) to be due around
the end of April.- Gary
[NOTE: Numerous other exchanges on various
points not included here ...]
June 2, 2010
Good news regarding my paper- Many thanks
Dr. Schroeder: Good news on my thesis, I
received the “Strategy and Warfare Studies
Research” award, one of 8 awards given out of
410+ papers from the past year. No small part of
the paper’s success came from your sight and
your help.
Gary
June 3, 2010
Re: Good news regarding my paper- Many thanks
Dear Gary,
Congratulations on your award! And thanks for
letting me know -- that is really great, and
fitting testament to all your hard work and good
ideas. I look forward to hearing your thoughts
on the revamped website, when you get a chance.
Congratulations again,
Mike
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