Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Six Seconds.....


I was returning from visiting my daughter at her college and was in rural Virginia on the way home and saw this sign as I passed by.  i tried to stop but there are no shoulders and it is right in an area that narrows from two lanes to one and I had two cars behind me.  I circled around and slowed up so I could get a picture of this sign.  
Cpl Yale was a mixed race kid from rural Virginia.  He and his partner LCpl Haerter were standing post at Joint Security Base Nassar in Iraq in 2008.  What they did in the final six seconds of their lives was caught on video.  In their actions, they saved the lives of over 50 Marines and 100 Iraqi policeman they were training and patrolling with.  
General John Kelly was the Marine in charge of all Marines in Iraq at that time and the man that nominated them both for the Navy Cross.  Here is what happened in his words:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvKo6SK-Jwc


Semper Fi Marines......til Valhalla.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

The Best of Times

 


This holds true more than ever these days.  

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Funny Battleship Stories....

 So, I shamelessly "stole" this from another blog (I am sorry I do not remember who from though).  And it got me to thinking....how many other funny stories are out there with regards to these behemoths of the sea?  Well, I looked into it and found a few.  First, the meme that started my quest:



"There was a Chief Steward, who for a while started giving nothing but bologna.  Someone told the Captain that they were going to throw him overboard.  The Captain assigned a Marine orderly with him for a while who followed him around for a few weeks.  They finally changed the menu."

"Never having been on a battleship and never seeing 16 inch guns fired, I was interested when we went to the gunnery range to fire our guns.  I stood behind the #2 mount to watch.  They fired a salvo and I did not have a hair on my face or arms.  I wound up in sick bay for burns and a reprimand."

"We were allowed beer on board to be doled out at the rate of 2 cans per man on beach party liberty.  We were in Noumea when beer was authorized and pressure was on me to get some of it.  I called in my two top Chiefs and told them I wasn't getting the beer because I did not think there was a place on the ship where it would be safe from pilferage.  They thought it over and came up with storing it in the brig.  "We do not use the brig to much anymore so why not lock it up there?"  We will pass the word that hte first SOB that draws brig time will cause all the beer to be thrown over the side."  They added that they would see that culprits could be taken care of other than being taken to Captains Mast where the punishment was brig time.  I bought their suggestion and we had amore than a few black eyes once in a while but no lodgers in the brig for months to come!" 

"I was a Gunners Mate striker.  Several times I was asked to put on the monkey suit (coveralls).  The first step was to get two lines from the chamber all the way through the (16-inch) barrel.  We would then use a hammock for me to lie on.  We would secure a line to each corner and tie a rag around my head and I entered the chamber feet first.  Someone would pass me a large rag with about a pound of grease.  When I was ready the men on the deck would start pulling me through and I used my hands to spread grease round and round the barrel.  I was glad when my feet came out the other end!"

From a sailors diary:  "On July 9th and 10th (1945) we kept up continuous attacks on the home islands.  We were very much surprised by the lack of opposition.  No enemy air attacks at all even though we announced our presence by running lights at night and no radio silence.  On July 17th we (US North Carolina BB55) made a bombardment on the Hitachi Industrial Complex.  The bombardment was made at night.  This is what we've waited two years to do.  We can go home now.  We've done it all out here.  The rest will be repetition."

"I was below deck when the Captain announced the war was over.  Boy, you talk about a roar that went up!  I think the whole ship jumped about two feet out of the water!!  Admiral 'Bull' Halsey passed the word throughout the fleet that 'Apparently the war is over, though nothing has been signed yet.  So in the meantime, if any enemy aircraft come in your area, shoot them down in a friendly manner..."







Monday, November 16, 2020

A link and a story....Brave Canadians.

 https://quillette.com/2020/11/11/on-remembrance-day-celebrating-two-canadian-prisoners-who-took-down-an-entire-shipyard/




Staff Sgt. Clark of the Canadian Postal Corps is on the left.

Private Stanley Cameron of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps is on the right.


A postal clerk and a armorer....pull off one of the most audacious sabotage plots in WWII......and you have never heard of it.  

BLUF:  These two men stopped a major shipyard, one that was producing 8000 tons of shipping a month, cold.

These are the real super heroes....not some costumed clowns.  

Thursday, November 12, 2020

No Pics Today

 Just wanted to drop a line.  Veterans Day was yesterday and for once, I actually had the day off from work!  A buddy, retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, texted and asked if I wanted to shoot 18 holes at the Oceana Naval Air Station Tomcat Golf Course.  But of course I do!  

With it being Veterans Day, all sorts of good stuff out there for veterans to enjoy so we started the day at Denny's for breakfast.  We shot our 18 holes (no....I will not let you know the final shot count!) and as we were cleaning up he asked "Where's lunch?"  Checked an e-mail I received from the VA and read of a list.  Got to Red Robin which was offering a double cheeseburger and endless steak fries and the decision was made.  Off we went.  Got there and there was a bit of a wait but soon we were inside enjoying the burgers and soft drinks (I was driving and Gunny does not drink).  Of course, in both cases, we took care of our waitresses.  

I did take a minute out of my day to remember the original meaning of the day...Armistice Day.  Hard to imagine the that the whole world celebrates the day that the "War to end all wars".  

In a small town in Kansas outside Wichita there is a tiny Catholic church with a cemetery.   To the left side my Grandfather, Grandmother, and other members of my family are buried.  To the right is a tombstone that has always stood out.  It is tall and on its face is a photo.  The photo is of a young man in a WWI uniform.  The date on the stone  states he died in October of 1918.  Forever young.  I often wonder of the sights he saw and the deeds he performed.  Either way, his life was cut short on some muddy field in France.  

I know the day is not to memorialize the dead, that is Memorial Day.  But in the original intent of the day, one cannot forget them.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Here's Health to You and to Our Corps!!!!!!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY 
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS!!!
245 Years of proud tradition!!


If you happen to see a drunken Marine wearing Dress Blues and swaying to invisible music, just shout out "Happy Birthday Marine" and his day will be made!

There is nothing like dressing up in your finest uniform, inspection ready, medals gleaming, and partying like a rock star all night long!!  Terrorizing the regulars at Denny's after the "festivities" have completed is just the icing on the cake!!!
 



Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Captain America


Captain America was always my favorite comic book hero.  
The first movie: Captain America: the First Avenger was simply awesome.  The rest.....meh.

The Comic strip above sums up the feelings of millions of Americans that are simply fed up.

 

Monday, November 2, 2020

Rare Political Posting

 As you are all well aware of, tomorrow is the day that we chose to either 1) keep our country or 2) destroy it with a quickness.  I do not believe that I need to state which side of that I am on.




Yesterday in Pennsylvania there were over 57,000 people at a Trump rally.  There were 18,000 at the one I attended in Newport News Va.





The above pretty much sums up my feelings about the whole thing.  I would say something about being well stocked for the stupidity that is sure to follow this election but, tragically, all my items were lost in a deep sea fishing accident.  Pity.