The move to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War has been met with predictable shrieks of horror from those who have never liked the military for defending a country they deem unworthy of protection.

The idea of the name change, as I understand it, is to project a more reality-based, warrior ethos for the department, rather than the more euphemistic “Department of Defense.”

It was called the War Department under every president from George Washington to FDR, and no one had a problem with it. But changing it back to the Department of War in 2025 apparently raises major concerns. We can only guess why.

Meanwhile, to nobody’s surprise, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is moving in the opposite direction. The ongoing effort to rid the state of its “offensive” state seal has recently picked up steam, with the unveiling of several proposed options.

The current state seal centers an Indian warrior holding a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. Near the top of the seal is an image of an arm wielding a sword. Anyone with eyes can see that these are two separate and distinct images. But those who hate tradition and honesty have chosen to see a sword being held aggressively over the head of the noble Native American and have declared it to be “a depiction of white supremacy.”

Whatever.

The proposed new state seals are not exactly awe-inspiring.

One option depicts a North Atlantic Right whale and a white chickadee that looks more like a white dove.

Another features a chickadee surrounded by turkey feathers.

The third proposal is an image of the sun shining over a landscape.

The state is a little behind Wakefield, which got rid of its Indian warrior logo in 2021. The Wakefield School Committee dumped the 74-year-old Warrior logo that was created by the former head of NATO, General John Rogers Galvin, when he was a member of the Wakefield High School class of 1947. Why there has been no effort to take the next step and remove this warmonger’s name from the middle school is anyone’s guess. But give it time.

Somehow, the Warrior name has survived, but its days are surely numbered. We’re “the Warriors” only until some carpetbagging School Committee member with a “Free Palestine” sticker on her EV decides that the name glorifies war.

The Wakefield Chickadees will surely strike fear in the hearts of our Middlesex League opponents.
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[This column originally appeared in the September 11, 2025 Wakefield Daily Item.]