History’s Bloody Rhymes
It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes.
- Theodor Reik, “The Unreachables” 1965
Rhyme Number One:
German naval commander Heinz-Wilhelm Eck was commander of U-852 and was tried, convicted, and executed (along with 2 others deemed responsible) after the war because on March 13, 1944 he ordered his crew to shoot at survivors who were clinging to rafts and wreckage of the Greek merchant ship SS Peleus after sinking it with 2 torpedoes. Eck was trying to conceal the position of his submarine, and so ordered his men to fire into the wreckage and rafts to sink them.
He’d violated international law regarding the rescue of shipwrecked sailors.
On Sunday, November 30, Eck and the others’ executions will have been carried out exactly 80 years ago.
American Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has not yet been tried, convicted nor executed for on September 2, 2025 ordering his Special Operations commanders to kill survivors, in this case clinging to their burning, sinking ship, after crippling it with a missile strike. Adm. Mitch Bradley, who ordered the second strike to comply with Hegseth’s orders to leave no survivors, has also not yet been tried, convicted nor executed. Hegseth, in control of the most powerful ocean going navy on earth with massive rescue capacities, was trying to stop survivors and the boat’s cargo from being rescued by others.
He, and those who followed his illegal orders, violated international and US law regarding the rescue of shipwrecked sailors and the violent destruction of civilian boats and non-combatant civilians not posing an immediate threat, but lethally engaged nonetheless.
The September 2, 2025 killings were among the first of a so far 3 month sequence of US strikes suspected to have already killed 80 people at Hegseth’s order. No publicly provided evidence nor legal justification for these deaths has been presented by any element or official in the US government.
(sources: https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Heinz-Wilhelm_Eck
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hegseth-declines-comment-report-boat-survivors-killed-result/story?id=127951385
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-drug-boat-survivors-order-b2874580.html )
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Rhyme Number Two:
No one from either party threatened to deport the Hmong who the CIA trained and equipped for 20 years to help the US fight the Vietnam War, and as far as I can tell, those Hmong friends we brought to Wisconsin to keep them safe when we left Vietnam are doing well.
Potus threatens to deport and has failed to renew work permits for thousands of Afghans who the CIA trained and equipped for 20 years to help the US fight the war in Afghanistan, and as far as I can tell, one of those Afghan friends we brought to the US to keep them safe when we left Afghanistan just shot two National Guardsman in DC.
Treat your friends like friends = thrive.
Treat your friend like potus does = make new enemies.
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© Copyright November 29, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com
David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet.
