Kane Farabaugh's Kanestergram

In the thin air of an early Saturday morning, I gaze across the landscape of this foreign country and can barely make out the Pacific Ocean in the background. It is an awesome sight to see the sun rise above the ocean and mountain ridges. To witness this majestic beauty, it was necessary to trek to one of the roofs of the world, and the 12,000 foot ascent is one that is not for the lighthearted. Mt. Fuji, or Fujisan to the natives, looms over the Japanese Kanto Plain. The volcano, one of the largest, has been dormant for centuries, but rests near one of the most populated areas on earth. Tokyo is less than 45 miles from the mountain, and on a clear day can be seen from any downtown rooftop. The journey up Mount Fuji actually begins at Yokota Air Base. I am taking part in a sponsored tour to the top of the mountain, and we receive our briefing at the community center. Our Japanese tour guide lectures us in a very broken accent about the dangers of the climb, the temperature, lack ...

Vietnam, 1968. A brief stutter in America’s attention to the war in Southeast Asia focused on the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo captured by the North Koreans. Troops in Vietnam were at ease during this new year, known to the Vietnamese as Tet. This would prove to be a trying time for the U.S and South Vietnamese coalition. During the previous year, terrorism against the Americans in the country was at its height. The North used the diverted attention to North Korea and the new year to its advantage by mounting a large-scale attack. It was known as the Tet offensive. This fatal blow would set the U.S. Forces back and claim the lives of many young American men. It was those young men not only during the Tet offensive but also throughout the war that would never see American soil again. Their cause would be a war that is still being fought to ensure that those who did not return are never forgotten. Vietnam, 1998. It’s been thirty years since the Tet Offensive, and Americans are once again ba...