the lions in their dens tremble at his approach

the lions in their dens tremble at his approach

“The Lions In Their Dens Tremble at His Approach”

by Mark Grimsley

John A. Lynn, professor of history at the University of Illinois, recently sent this group email to a number of his former grad students and present colleagues, including me:

Hi,

It never rains but it pours, I guess. While in Germany at the meeting of the International Commission of Military History, I learned that in coordination with his throne day, July 31, King Mohammed VI of Morocco chose to award me an order, a decoration, the Ouissam Al Alaoui. The order comes in five grades, the highest being the Grand Cross that George Patton received (the scene is in the movie). I will get that of commander, which is above knight and officer. (My palmes adcademiques is at knight.) Why I am being singled out for such an honor still mystifies me a bit. Since I am not a scholar of Moroccan history, the rationale seems to be my general scholarly standing, my role as president of the US Commission on Military History, my defense of Arabic in the International Commission, and my work with the Moroccan commission of military history. The king was also touched, I am told, by the fact that we have “adopted” a Moroccan family.

This whole thing has left me a bit dizzy, because I had no inkling of it until we arrived in Berlin. . . . Andi [that is, Andrea Lynn, John's wife] and I will go to Morocco to receive the order in October or November.

You will find a picture of the order attached. The cross says in Arabic “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet,” but I have no particular problem with that. Given my disdain for [current] U.S. foreign policy, it will be an honor to represent a moderate Arab country.

Andrea asked me if I now have enough external validation.