I get amused sometimes at some of the things we say as to why we feel the way we feel about issues close to our hearts, such as our belief in which party we choose to vote for or our choice to cross party lines. As if our choice is more intellectual or more right or wrong, or the way we feel about whom we are and what made us that way.
I never thought in my life that I would defend anything about a Republican President, but I found out during Desert Storm and Desert Shield how quickly I was capable of a change, when overnight I was absolutely one hundred percent for President George Bush Sr. Let a military uniform appear on the horizon and I am for the Commander in Chief. Hope springs eternal in the heart of most human beings and there is never more reason for hope than when those who defend are also our loved ones. I saw Lisa completely break down when she thought she might have been wrong. I so much want George Bush to be the man for the job that my hope and belief are almost supernatural. I guess it is in the need to believe because so much depends on them.
I am super sensitive to others with different opinions than I have. Like a Mama bear I am ready to fight over my cubs. I have heard over and over about Cindy Sheehan and how she has the right to say whatever she wants because she lost a son in this war. But now she is screaming for funds to be cut off from our troops in order to bring our troops home and I despise her actions. She was a worker in some job for her church and was later fired because of inappropriate behavior. She was also into pornography in a big way, so even though that may not have anything to do with how she feels as a mother, it makes us so far apart that she is like looking at a really homely version of Anna Nichol Smith. Maybe I'm wrong, but there it is for me.
I was always a loud mouth in my views when I was a Democrat and my friend was a Republican. Once, not long after we’d each married, still in the flush of new love you might say, she made the remark that her husband had called Bush Sr. some ugly remark, and she thought it cute. Well I flared up suddenly and let her know I was behind him one hundred percent, because we were at war then, and now that we are at war again, I do not take the Cindy Sheehan’s of the world lightly. But can you imagine how embarrassing it was to vote for Dukakis, after he looked so ridiculous in that tank and in that helmet? Still, I did it anyway. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
Monday, January 08, 2007
What We Are
There are some who might ask if a young man today is as 'Rough and Tumble' as they were 60 or 70 years ago. If the iron will of the greatest generation has seeped away and left us with the shabby ram-shackle gathering of video gamers and I-Pod enthusiasts. Can Wars be won by such men?
Without a doubt the answer is YES!
All people are preprogrammed with survival traits and that fury of centuries old-anger and oppression that all people felt at some point in the earth's history, and the right kind of tempering will drive that Warrior to the surface. After that he will become an outcast, an anachronism seen amongst his former peers as an oddity. So we congregate together in our legions as "Brothers-of-the-Sword" have for millenia and wait.
And then a War strikes. And a person must decide if the metal and steel is sharp and hard enough.
Among who show merit-
We are gunslingers of the highest order. The Gear we carry is heavier than the others just as the burden which rests on our hardened shoulders. We know when the gunfight breaks out, whether it is reactionary of deliberate, our task will not change. We must become a ghost, a phantom, an in-human monster, that is not simply relegated to being part of the bullet-here, bullet-there, poke and hope rifleman way of the business. Our task will involve us leaving a covered area to get in to the fight with our two or three man team which is of one mind, one goal. To lay withering fires across the field and dominate the enemies real estate and their will. We know that the number of enemy we will destroy is tempered by the number of brothers that will not have to lay down their lives today because of the dragons fire we bring to the field.
We are not simply servicemen.
We are not only Marines.
Nor, or we just Marine Infantry.
WE ARE MARINE MACHINE GUNNERS.
We will live by five truths.
The Marine Machine Gunner...
...Does Not Know Fear
...Does Not Know Pain
...Does Not Suffer From the Fog of War, but Creates It
...Seeks Position to Destroy Evil
...Is Not Human
We are avenging angels who will destroy the will of our enemy and bolster the spirits of our brothers for they know we watch the walls and dark places tonight. We are not simply a throwback to WWII or Korea, but the incarnation of all warriors who chose the path gauranteeing further destruction of those who would do their kinsmen harm. Like the perfect Spartan Phalanx in ancient times where each shield covers the man to your left or right thereby securing the safety of the whole we will become that perfect mesh of metal and iron will that will win the battle.
We are United States Marine Machine Gunners.
Without a doubt the answer is YES!
All people are preprogrammed with survival traits and that fury of centuries old-anger and oppression that all people felt at some point in the earth's history, and the right kind of tempering will drive that Warrior to the surface. After that he will become an outcast, an anachronism seen amongst his former peers as an oddity. So we congregate together in our legions as "Brothers-of-the-Sword" have for millenia and wait.
And then a War strikes. And a person must decide if the metal and steel is sharp and hard enough.
Among who show merit-
We are gunslingers of the highest order. The Gear we carry is heavier than the others just as the burden which rests on our hardened shoulders. We know when the gunfight breaks out, whether it is reactionary of deliberate, our task will not change. We must become a ghost, a phantom, an in-human monster, that is not simply relegated to being part of the bullet-here, bullet-there, poke and hope rifleman way of the business. Our task will involve us leaving a covered area to get in to the fight with our two or three man team which is of one mind, one goal. To lay withering fires across the field and dominate the enemies real estate and their will. We know that the number of enemy we will destroy is tempered by the number of brothers that will not have to lay down their lives today because of the dragons fire we bring to the field.
We are not simply servicemen.
We are not only Marines.
Nor, or we just Marine Infantry.
WE ARE MARINE MACHINE GUNNERS.
We will live by five truths.
The Marine Machine Gunner...
...Does Not Know Fear
...Does Not Know Pain
...Does Not Suffer From the Fog of War, but Creates It
...Seeks Position to Destroy Evil
...Is Not Human
We are avenging angels who will destroy the will of our enemy and bolster the spirits of our brothers for they know we watch the walls and dark places tonight. We are not simply a throwback to WWII or Korea, but the incarnation of all warriors who chose the path gauranteeing further destruction of those who would do their kinsmen harm. Like the perfect Spartan Phalanx in ancient times where each shield covers the man to your left or right thereby securing the safety of the whole we will become that perfect mesh of metal and iron will that will win the battle.
We are United States Marine Machine Gunners.
Love Bangs The Door
January 8
LIFE with me is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties. My guidance is often by shut doors. Love bangs as well as opens.
Joy is the result of faithful trusting acceptance of My Will, when It seems not joyous.
St. Paul, my servant, learnt this lesson of the banged doors when he said "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory." Expect rebuffs until this is learned--it is the only way.
Joy is the daughter of calm.
Russell, A.J., ed. God Calling. Barnes & Noble, 2002.
LIFE with me is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties. My guidance is often by shut doors. Love bangs as well as opens.
Joy is the result of faithful trusting acceptance of My Will, when It seems not joyous.
St. Paul, my servant, learnt this lesson of the banged doors when he said "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory." Expect rebuffs until this is learned--it is the only way.
Joy is the daughter of calm.
Russell, A.J., ed. God Calling. Barnes & Noble, 2002.
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: The Landing and August Battles (Guadalcanal continues) *6
from FIRST OFFENSIVE: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal
by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.
Where we left off:
On 8 August, the Marines consolidated their positions ashore, seizing the airfield on Guadalcanal and establishing a beachhead. Supplies were being unloaded as fast as landing craft could make the turnaround from ship to shore, but the shore party was woefully inadequate to handle the influx of ammunition, rations, tents, aviation gas, vehicles—all gear necessary to sustain the Marines. The beach itself became a dumpsite. And almost as soon as the initial supplies were landed, they had to be moved to positions nearer Kukum village and Lunga Point within the planned perimeter. Fortunately, the lack of Japanese ground opposition enabled Vandegrift to shift the supply beaches west to a new beachhead.
Japanese bombers did penetrate the American fighter screen on 8 August. Dropping their bombs from 20,000 feet or more to escape antiaircraft fire, the enemy planes were not very accurate. They concentrated on the ships in the channel, hitting and damaging a number of them and sinking the destroyer Jarvis (DD-393). In their battles to turn back the attacking planes, the carrier fighter squadrons lost 21 Wildcats on 7-8 August.
The primary Japanese targets were the Allied ships. At this time, and for a thankfully and unbelievably long time to come, the Japanese commanders at Rabaul grossly underestimated the strength of Vandegrift's forces. They thought the Marine landings constituted a reconnaissance in force, perhaps 2,000 men, on Guadalcanal. By the evening of 8 August, Vandegrift had 10,900 troops ashore on Guadalcanal and another 6,075 on Tulagi. Three infantry regiments had landed and each had a supporting 75mm pack howitzer battalion—the 2 and 3d Battalions, 11th Marines on Guadalcanal, and the 3d Battalion, 10th Marines on Tulagi. The 5th Battalion, 11th Marines' 105mm howitzers were in general support.
That night a cruiser-destroyer force of the Imperial Japanese Navy reacted to the American invasion with a stinging response. Admiral Turner had positioned three cruiser-destroyer groups to bar the Tulagi-Guadalcanal approaches. At the Battle of Savo, the Japanese demonstrated their superiority in night fighting at this stage of the war, shattering two of Turner's covering forces without loss to themselves. Four heavy cruisers went to the bottom—three American, one Australian—and another lost her bow. As the sun came up over what soon would be called "Ironbottom Sound," Marines watched grimly as Higgins boats swarmed out to rescue survivors. Approximately 1,300 sailors died that night and another 700 suffered wounds or were badly burned. Japanese casualties numbered less than 200 men.
The Japanese suffered damage to only one ship in the encounter, the cruiser Chokai. The American cruisers Vincennes (CA-44), Astoria (CA-34), and Quincy (CA-39) went to the bottom, as did the Australian Navy's HMAS Canberra, so critically damaged that she had to be sunk by American torpedoes. Both the cruiser Chicago (CA-29) and destroyer Talbot (DD-114) were badly damaged. Fortunately for the Marines ashore, the Japanese force—five heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and a destroyer—departed before dawn without attempting to disrupt the landing further.
cont'd. in post below
Source
by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.
Where we left off:
On 8 August, the Marines consolidated their positions ashore, seizing the airfield on Guadalcanal and establishing a beachhead. Supplies were being unloaded as fast as landing craft could make the turnaround from ship to shore, but the shore party was woefully inadequate to handle the influx of ammunition, rations, tents, aviation gas, vehicles—all gear necessary to sustain the Marines. The beach itself became a dumpsite. And almost as soon as the initial supplies were landed, they had to be moved to positions nearer Kukum village and Lunga Point within the planned perimeter. Fortunately, the lack of Japanese ground opposition enabled Vandegrift to shift the supply beaches west to a new beachhead.
Japanese bombers did penetrate the American fighter screen on 8 August. Dropping their bombs from 20,000 feet or more to escape antiaircraft fire, the enemy planes were not very accurate. They concentrated on the ships in the channel, hitting and damaging a number of them and sinking the destroyer Jarvis (DD-393). In their battles to turn back the attacking planes, the carrier fighter squadrons lost 21 Wildcats on 7-8 August.
The primary Japanese targets were the Allied ships. At this time, and for a thankfully and unbelievably long time to come, the Japanese commanders at Rabaul grossly underestimated the strength of Vandegrift's forces. They thought the Marine landings constituted a reconnaissance in force, perhaps 2,000 men, on Guadalcanal. By the evening of 8 August, Vandegrift had 10,900 troops ashore on Guadalcanal and another 6,075 on Tulagi. Three infantry regiments had landed and each had a supporting 75mm pack howitzer battalion—the 2 and 3d Battalions, 11th Marines on Guadalcanal, and the 3d Battalion, 10th Marines on Tulagi. The 5th Battalion, 11th Marines' 105mm howitzers were in general support.
That night a cruiser-destroyer force of the Imperial Japanese Navy reacted to the American invasion with a stinging response. Admiral Turner had positioned three cruiser-destroyer groups to bar the Tulagi-Guadalcanal approaches. At the Battle of Savo, the Japanese demonstrated their superiority in night fighting at this stage of the war, shattering two of Turner's covering forces without loss to themselves. Four heavy cruisers went to the bottom—three American, one Australian—and another lost her bow. As the sun came up over what soon would be called "Ironbottom Sound," Marines watched grimly as Higgins boats swarmed out to rescue survivors. Approximately 1,300 sailors died that night and another 700 suffered wounds or were badly burned. Japanese casualties numbered less than 200 men.
The Japanese suffered damage to only one ship in the encounter, the cruiser Chokai. The American cruisers Vincennes (CA-44), Astoria (CA-34), and Quincy (CA-39) went to the bottom, as did the Australian Navy's HMAS Canberra, so critically damaged that she had to be sunk by American torpedoes. Both the cruiser Chicago (CA-29) and destroyer Talbot (DD-114) were badly damaged. Fortunately for the Marines ashore, the Japanese force—five heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and a destroyer—departed before dawn without attempting to disrupt the landing further.
cont'd. in post below
Source
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Guadalcanal cont'd. *7
(cont'd)
When the attack-force leader, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, returned to Rabaul, he expected to receive the accolades of his superiors. He did get those, but he also found himself the subject of criticism. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese fleet commander, chided his subordinate for failing to attack the transports. Mikawa could only reply, somewhat lamely, that he did not know Fletcher's aircraft carriers were so far away from Guadalcanal. Of equal significance to the Marines on the beach, the Japanese naval victory caused celebrating superiors in Tokyo to allow the event to overshadow the importance of the amphibious operation.
The disaster prompted the American admirals to reconsider Navy support for operations ashore. Fletcher feared for the safety of his carriers; he had already lost about a quarter of his fighter aircraft. The commander of the expeditionary force had lost a carrier at Coral Sea and another at Midway. He felt he could not risk the loss of a third, even if it meant leaving the Marines on their own. Before the Japanese cruiser attack, he obtained Admiral Ghormley's permission to withdraw from the area.
At a conference on board Turner's flagship transport, the McCawley, on the night of 8 August, the admiral told General Vandegrift that Fletcher's impending withdrawal meant that he would have to pull out the amphibious force's ships. The Battle of Savo Island reinforced the decision to get away before enemy aircraft, unchecked by American interceptors, struck. On 9 August, the transports withdrew to Noumea. The unloading of supplies ended abruptly, and ships still half-full steamed away. The forces ashore had 17 days' rations—after counting captured Japanese food—and only four days' supply of ammunition for all weapons. Not only did the ships take away the rest of the supplies, they also took the Marines still on board, including the 2d Marines' headquarters element. Dropped off at the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, the infantry Marines and their commander, Colonel Arthur, were most unhappy and remained so until they finally reached Guadalcanal on 29 October.
Ashore in the Marine beachheads, General Vandegrift ordered rations reduced to two meals a day. The reduced food intake would last for six weeks, and the Marines would become very familiar with Japanese canned fish and rice. Most of the Marines smoked and they were soon disgustedly smoking Japanese-issue brands. They found that the separate paper filters that came with the cigarettes were necessary to keep the fast-burning tobacco from scorching their lips. The retreating ships had also hauled away empty sand bags and valuable engineer tools. So the Marines used Japanese shovels to fill Japanese rice bags with sand to strengthen their defensive positions.
copied from Source
When the attack-force leader, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, returned to Rabaul, he expected to receive the accolades of his superiors. He did get those, but he also found himself the subject of criticism. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese fleet commander, chided his subordinate for failing to attack the transports. Mikawa could only reply, somewhat lamely, that he did not know Fletcher's aircraft carriers were so far away from Guadalcanal. Of equal significance to the Marines on the beach, the Japanese naval victory caused celebrating superiors in Tokyo to allow the event to overshadow the importance of the amphibious operation.
The disaster prompted the American admirals to reconsider Navy support for operations ashore. Fletcher feared for the safety of his carriers; he had already lost about a quarter of his fighter aircraft. The commander of the expeditionary force had lost a carrier at Coral Sea and another at Midway. He felt he could not risk the loss of a third, even if it meant leaving the Marines on their own. Before the Japanese cruiser attack, he obtained Admiral Ghormley's permission to withdraw from the area.
At a conference on board Turner's flagship transport, the McCawley, on the night of 8 August, the admiral told General Vandegrift that Fletcher's impending withdrawal meant that he would have to pull out the amphibious force's ships. The Battle of Savo Island reinforced the decision to get away before enemy aircraft, unchecked by American interceptors, struck. On 9 August, the transports withdrew to Noumea. The unloading of supplies ended abruptly, and ships still half-full steamed away. The forces ashore had 17 days' rations—after counting captured Japanese food—and only four days' supply of ammunition for all weapons. Not only did the ships take away the rest of the supplies, they also took the Marines still on board, including the 2d Marines' headquarters element. Dropped off at the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, the infantry Marines and their commander, Colonel Arthur, were most unhappy and remained so until they finally reached Guadalcanal on 29 October.
Ashore in the Marine beachheads, General Vandegrift ordered rations reduced to two meals a day. The reduced food intake would last for six weeks, and the Marines would become very familiar with Japanese canned fish and rice. Most of the Marines smoked and they were soon disgustedly smoking Japanese-issue brands. They found that the separate paper filters that came with the cigarettes were necessary to keep the fast-burning tobacco from scorching their lips. The retreating ships had also hauled away empty sand bags and valuable engineer tools. So the Marines used Japanese shovels to fill Japanese rice bags with sand to strengthen their defensive positions.
copied from Source
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Guadalcanal continues *8
When ships carrying barbed wire and engineering tools needed ashore were forced to leave the Guadalcanal area because of enemy air and surface threats, Marines had to prepare such hasty field expedients as this cheval de frise of sharpened stakes.
Department of Defense (USMC) Photo 5157
zz##lllxxxx###%%%&&&+++===
###==##===climb under not over===#####----++####+++++
The Marines dug in along the beaches between the Tenaru and the ridges west of Kukum. A Japanese counter-landing was a distinct possibility. Inland of the beaches, defensive gun pits and foxholes lined the west bank of the Tenaru and crowned the hills that faced west toward the Matanikau River and Point Cruz. South of the airfield where densely jungled ridges and ravines abounded, the beachhead perimeter was guarded by outposts and these were manned in large part by combat support troops. The engineer, pioneer, and amphibious tractor battalion all had their positions on the front line. In fact, any Marine with a rifle, and that was virtually every Marine, stood night defensive duty. There was no place within the perimeter that could be counted safe from enemy infiltration.
Almost as Turner's transports sailed away, the Japanese began a pattern of harassing air attacks on the beachhead. Sometimes the raids came during the day, but the 3d Defense Battalion's 90mm antiaircraft guns forced the bombers to fly too high for effective bombing. The erratic pattern of bombs, however, meant that no place was safe near the airfield, the preferred target, and no place could claim it was bomb-free. The most disturbing aspect of Japanese air attacks soon became the nightly harassment by Japanese aircraft which singly, it seemed, roamed over the perimeter, dropping bombs and flares indiscriminately. The nightly visitors, whose planes' engines were soon well known sounds, won the singular title "Washington machine Charlie," at first, and later, "Louie the Louse," when their presence heralded Japanese shore bombardment. Technically, "Charlie" was a twin-engine night bomber from Rabaul. "Louie" was a cruiser float plane that signalled the harassed Marines used the names interchangeably.
LVT(1)--The 'Amtrac'
While the Marine Corps was developing amphibious warfare doctrine during the 1920s and 1930s, it was apparent that a motorized amphibian vehicle was needed to transport men and equipment from ships across fringing reefs and beaches into battle, particularly when the beach was defended.
In 1940, the Marines adopted the Landing Vehicle, Tracked (1), designed by Donald Roebling. More commonly known as the "amtrac" (short for amphibian tractor), the LVT(1) had a driver's cab in front and a small engine compartment in the rear, with the bulk of the body used for carrying space. During the next three years, 1,225 LVT(1)s were built, primarily by the Food Machinery Corporation.
The LVT(1) was constructed of welded steel and was propelled on both land and water by paddle-type treads. Designed solely as a supply vehicle, it could carry 4,500 pounds of cargo. In August 1942, the LVT(1) first saw combat on Guadalcanal with the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 1st Marine Division. Throughout the Solomon Islands campaigns, the LVT(1) provided Marines all types of logistical support, moving thousands of tons of supplies to the front lines. At times they also were pressed into tactical use: moving artillery pieces, holding defensive positions, and occasionally supporting Marines in the attack with their machine guns. They also were used as pontoons to support bridges across Guadalcanal rivers.
The LVT proved to be more seaworthy than a boat of comparable size; it was able to remain afloat with its entire cargo hold full of water. However, defects in the design soon became apparent. The paddle treads on the tracks and the rigid suspension system were both susceptible to damage when driven on land and did not provide the desired speeds on land or water. Although the LVT(1) performed admirably against undefended beachheads, its lack of armor made it unsuitable for assaults against the heavily defended islands of the central Pacific. This weakness was apparent during the fighting in the Solomon Islands, but LVT(1)s with improvised armor were still in use at the assault on Tarawa, where 75 percent of them were lost in three days.
The LVT(1) proved its value and validated the amphibious vehicle concept through the great versatility and mobility it demonstrated throughout numerous campaigns in the Pacific. Although intended solely for supply purposes, it was thrust into combat use in early war engagements. In its initial role as a support vehicle, the LVT(1) delivered ammunition, supplies and reinforcements that made the difference between victory and defeat.—Second Lieutenant Wesley L. Feight, USMC
See photo and source copied from
In 1940, the Marines adopted the Landing Vehicle, Tracked (1), designed by Donald Roebling. More commonly known as the "amtrac" (short for amphibian tractor), the LVT(1) had a driver's cab in front and a small engine compartment in the rear, with the bulk of the body used for carrying space. During the next three years, 1,225 LVT(1)s were built, primarily by the Food Machinery Corporation.
The LVT(1) was constructed of welded steel and was propelled on both land and water by paddle-type treads. Designed solely as a supply vehicle, it could carry 4,500 pounds of cargo. In August 1942, the LVT(1) first saw combat on Guadalcanal with the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion, 1st Marine Division. Throughout the Solomon Islands campaigns, the LVT(1) provided Marines all types of logistical support, moving thousands of tons of supplies to the front lines. At times they also were pressed into tactical use: moving artillery pieces, holding defensive positions, and occasionally supporting Marines in the attack with their machine guns. They also were used as pontoons to support bridges across Guadalcanal rivers.
The LVT proved to be more seaworthy than a boat of comparable size; it was able to remain afloat with its entire cargo hold full of water. However, defects in the design soon became apparent. The paddle treads on the tracks and the rigid suspension system were both susceptible to damage when driven on land and did not provide the desired speeds on land or water. Although the LVT(1) performed admirably against undefended beachheads, its lack of armor made it unsuitable for assaults against the heavily defended islands of the central Pacific. This weakness was apparent during the fighting in the Solomon Islands, but LVT(1)s with improvised armor were still in use at the assault on Tarawa, where 75 percent of them were lost in three days.
The LVT(1) proved its value and validated the amphibious vehicle concept through the great versatility and mobility it demonstrated throughout numerous campaigns in the Pacific. Although intended solely for supply purposes, it was thrust into combat use in early war engagements. In its initial role as a support vehicle, the LVT(1) delivered ammunition, supplies and reinforcements that made the difference between victory and defeat.—Second Lieutenant Wesley L. Feight, USMC
See photo and source copied from
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Exciting News for Gunz Up
Sgt. Billy Knipper has been good enough to heartily agree to joining us here and posting any and everything to do with...you guessed it! GUNNERS!
Pictured above from left to right: Cpl John Harrell and Sgt. Billy Knipper are shown pictured with the sign in front of the building that was dedicated to Aaron's memory and carries his name.
Sgt. Knipper, who has served as the Chief Instuctor for Camp Pendleton's Divisional Machine Gun classes, has taught his last class there. The USMC's bad news is good news for us. We feel very fortunate in getting someone so qualified to inform us here on the thing my son loved as much as anything I know of: the gun.
Cpl. Harrell wrote the dedication for the building. He served with Aaron since Boot Camp and was medically retired after being injured in Fallujah.
Sgt Knipper is busy getting settled in his new home. Once he's hooked up and running on his computer again, he'll be with us. I can't wait!
Semper Fi,
De'on
Pictured above from left to right: Cpl John Harrell and Sgt. Billy Knipper are shown pictured with the sign in front of the building that was dedicated to Aaron's memory and carries his name.Sgt. Knipper, who has served as the Chief Instuctor for Camp Pendleton's Divisional Machine Gun classes, has taught his last class there. The USMC's bad news is good news for us. We feel very fortunate in getting someone so qualified to inform us here on the thing my son loved as much as anything I know of: the gun.
Cpl. Harrell wrote the dedication for the building. He served with Aaron since Boot Camp and was medically retired after being injured in Fallujah.
Sgt Knipper is busy getting settled in his new home. Once he's hooked up and running on his computer again, he'll be with us. I can't wait!
Semper Fi,
De'on
Here it is ... my favorite time of the day! Hello, everybody. You're all good, I hope. Nothing shaking here but the leaves on the trees and actually, they're rather calm too. The wind has been incredible here.
Tonight is Guadalcanal night for me, so I'll be heading there soon. Just wanted to let you know I'm here and that Billy Knipper is here too! Did you see his name up there? Huh? Did ya? I'm excited if you can't tell. The level of his enthusiasm alone makes me very happy, and like I told him and Steve, it's what we've been missing. Nothing like a gunner around to keep things exciting!
Well, guess I'll go get to it then. It's a beautiful Sunday.
Later,
De'on
Tonight is Guadalcanal night for me, so I'll be heading there soon. Just wanted to let you know I'm here and that Billy Knipper is here too! Did you see his name up there? Huh? Did ya? I'm excited if you can't tell. The level of his enthusiasm alone makes me very happy, and like I told him and Steve, it's what we've been missing. Nothing like a gunner around to keep things exciting!
Well, guess I'll go get to it then. It's a beautiful Sunday.
Later,
De'on
Virgie Bell's View
I am truly disgusted today, actually with the whole process of the United States political system. I know that one of my greatest rights is my freedom to criticize our leaders, and I fully intend to exercise that right in this posting for Gunz Up. As you all know, our president was going to send more troops into Iraq, maybe ... and now Pelosi and Harry Reid have sent a letter to Bush demanding troop withdrawal. As if they knew beans from split peas about military strategy, but what really burns me up is the reason behind this action: it might hurt their chances in the coming presidential election. What a wonderful reason! never mind that I don't know all that much about the war in Iraq and the military myself; I was raised on a healthy dose of stand up for your country; stand up for The Star Spangled Banner, salute the flag. In all things, my parents were more patriotic than anyone I’ve ever known, and they drilled that into our heads very early. We, like so many families, tried to do whatever we possibly could to support our troops. I was also taught that we stand behind our troops. The only way we can do that is to stand with their Commander in Chief. For the sake of those military troops in harms way all over the world at this very moment.… For bad or good we have to present a united front here at home.
Cindy Sheehan and her radical protesters are running the show right now and it makes me furious. By her own admission, she no longer believes in God. That right there says it all for me. If we don't have a belief in our real leader, the Lord of Hosts, how can we believe in others? When the Holy Bible said pray for your leaders, it meant exactly that, and Bush, at the present, is the top of the leadership. What insanity, to be in a war on terror where there is no “home country” when we have a little foothold in a strategic section of the world, such as the Middle East. We have boots on the ground there now and it has cost us mightily.
Citizens of this country have to know that war is not fair. It is about winning. Or losing. Simple as that. Your kids are going and your kids will win this fight, or your grandkids will do it. When you look at your sons and daughters, you see defenders of our country. If it skips them it goes on to the next generation. It will only stop hurting you if you run out of family to love. Sad but true in a nutshell. If we have learned anything, it is that sure enough. God said: “There will be wars and rumors of wars; let not your heart be troubled, neither be you afraid, for these things must come to pass." in other words, if you went into this believing, as I am sure you did, "then you trust also in Him." It seems pretty easy to be a good citizen if you believe in God, Lord of Hosts, the One, the only One who can help, if you do not stop believing. What greater lesson is there than the Father sent the Son that where He is, there we will be also. Over and over I have asked God to take my life and not my faith.
Sure, I was mad at God when we lost Aaron, but I am allowed that. Like a child, I had to get it back to acceptance of God’s will. I want to see Aaron and many who have gone before us. What a lot of crap is Cindy Sheehan and her stupid bunch, cause I'm sorry to say that if she has a grandson it will go the way it went with her son, he will join the fight too. That is war. That is also life. It always was and it always will be. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
Cindy Sheehan and her radical protesters are running the show right now and it makes me furious. By her own admission, she no longer believes in God. That right there says it all for me. If we don't have a belief in our real leader, the Lord of Hosts, how can we believe in others? When the Holy Bible said pray for your leaders, it meant exactly that, and Bush, at the present, is the top of the leadership. What insanity, to be in a war on terror where there is no “home country” when we have a little foothold in a strategic section of the world, such as the Middle East. We have boots on the ground there now and it has cost us mightily.
Citizens of this country have to know that war is not fair. It is about winning. Or losing. Simple as that. Your kids are going and your kids will win this fight, or your grandkids will do it. When you look at your sons and daughters, you see defenders of our country. If it skips them it goes on to the next generation. It will only stop hurting you if you run out of family to love. Sad but true in a nutshell. If we have learned anything, it is that sure enough. God said: “There will be wars and rumors of wars; let not your heart be troubled, neither be you afraid, for these things must come to pass." in other words, if you went into this believing, as I am sure you did, "then you trust also in Him." It seems pretty easy to be a good citizen if you believe in God, Lord of Hosts, the One, the only One who can help, if you do not stop believing. What greater lesson is there than the Father sent the Son that where He is, there we will be also. Over and over I have asked God to take my life and not my faith.
Sure, I was mad at God when we lost Aaron, but I am allowed that. Like a child, I had to get it back to acceptance of God’s will. I want to see Aaron and many who have gone before us. What a lot of crap is Cindy Sheehan and her stupid bunch, cause I'm sorry to say that if she has a grandson it will go the way it went with her son, he will join the fight too. That is war. That is also life. It always was and it always will be. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!
The Secret Pearl
January 7
Look upon us with Thy favor, O Lord, while we behold "the land that is very far off" and yet so near to the seeing eye and the listening ear.
WAIT. Wonders are unfolding. Tremble with awe. No man can stand upon the threshhold of Eternity unshaken. I give unto you Eternal Life. A free gift, a wonderful gift--the Life of the Ages.
Silently comes the Kingdom. No man can judge when It enters the heart of man, only in results. Listen quietly. Sometimes you may get no message. Meet thus all the same. You will absorb an atmosphere.
Cultivate silence. "God speaks in silences." A silence, a soft wind. Each can be a message to convey My meaning to the heart, though by no voice, or even word.
Each word or thought of yours can be like a pearl that you drop into the secret place of another heart, and in some hour of need, lo! the recepient finds the treasure and realizes for the first time its value.
Look upon us with Thy favor, O Lord, while we behold "the land that is very far off" and yet so near to the seeing eye and the listening ear.
WAIT. Wonders are unfolding. Tremble with awe. No man can stand upon the threshhold of Eternity unshaken. I give unto you Eternal Life. A free gift, a wonderful gift--the Life of the Ages.
Silently comes the Kingdom. No man can judge when It enters the heart of man, only in results. Listen quietly. Sometimes you may get no message. Meet thus all the same. You will absorb an atmosphere.
Cultivate silence. "God speaks in silences." A silence, a soft wind. Each can be a message to convey My meaning to the heart, though by no voice, or even word.
Each word or thought of yours can be like a pearl that you drop into the secret place of another heart, and in some hour of need, lo! the recepient finds the treasure and realizes for the first time its value.
****
Do not be too ready to do. Just be. I said, "Be ye therefore perfect" not "do" perfect things. Try and grasp this. Individual efforts avail nothing. It is only the work of the Universal Spirit--My Spirit, that counts.
Dwell in thought on this, more and more, saints have taken a life-time to grasp it.
Russell, A.J., ed., God Calling. Barnes & Noble, 2002.
Docs Duty
If any of you are new to the Docs Duty series, it is a series about Corpsmen. While we've focused on Doc Duty who is currently stationed at Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan, we will continue looking at the Corpsman and his important history for a while here at Gunz Up.Doc did his initial training for this assignment as an Instuctor for the Afghanistan National Army medics at Camp Shelby, MS near Hattiesburg, MS. He then went to medical pre-deployment training in San Antonio at Camp Bullis, TX, to Kuwait for in-processing, finally reaching Camp Phoenix November 15, 2006. He'll remain there until the first of December of this new year.
I appreciate Doc sharing these photos with us as well as any news he can send our way.
He seems not only hopeful, but even a little impressed with the ambition of the ANA and the medics there.
Doc, Gunz Up appreciates your efforts and service. And to "the Corpsman" everywhere, we thank you, and like the brothers you fight along beside, we love the courageous care you provide to those in need everywhere, the dedication to service you've consistently portrayed throughout our nation's history, and more than anything, we love the way you love them.
You truly are,
Semper Fi,
De'on
Docs Duty: ANA is Tied Up
Docs Duty: Flat Out
Crucial medical training for warfare takes place as ANA medics demonstrate their skills in spineboard training.
This instructor seems pleased with their aptitude.
Question: Is this used strictly for spinal injuries? And that's got to be Doc's smile. Am I right?
This instructor seems pleased with their aptitude.
Question: Is this used strictly for spinal injuries? And that's got to be Doc's smile. Am I right?
Docs Duty: Ouch.
This doesn't look good at all.
Questions for the Doc:
Questions for the Doc:- What happened here?
- Who is Major Coley treating? And who is she?
- What's that sticking out of his head? :(
Docs Duty:CMAST Class, again...
...Doc Duty's title
Questions for Doc:
Questions for Doc:- What does the above title mean and insinuate?
- I see there are about 13 trainees pictured. About how many do you train each cycle? Or did I already ask you that??
- Do they understand our language or do you use an interpreter?
Docs Duty: ANA Weapon of Choice
Doc is pictured here with the trusty AK-47.
He said they tried to get the
Afghanistan National Army to accept old
M-16's, but the AK is all they'll
use.Question: What country is credited with the manufacturing of this weapon?
Docs Duty: He labeled this ...
Docs Duty: An Inside Look of the Ambulance
Wow. Can you believe this is the inside of the photo up above? This is amazing. It all looks very modern.
Questions for Doc:
Does the ambulance belong to the French or did they give it to the ANA?
Questions for Doc:Does the ambulance belong to the French or did they give it to the ANA?
- How many patients/passengers does it hold?
Docs Duty: Please Get Down
Hospital
Corpsman 2nd Class (E-5) Jason (Doc) Duty is pictured in the turret here.
Questions for Doc:
- What type of weaponry is available to you up there?
- Is riding in the turret a regular job for someone on your team, or do you all do this?
Docs Duty: Is That Snow?
The Mountains of Kabul. Aren't they magnificent? They look like clouds. This photo was taken by Doc from Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan.
Questions for our Doc: Do the mountains have a name? Who gave Camp Phoenix their name?
Docs Duty: Afghan Diamonds
First Major Snowfall of the Year. Nice. Really nice.
Questions for Doc:
Questions for Doc:- What time of year was this taken?
- How much snow did you get?
Good News in a Thank You Note
Do you guys remember the bell ringer from Iraq? Here's good news from her.
I read about her on Flag Gazer's site during Christmas. Tonight I read another interesting story over there about a beauty queen relinquishing her crown to go to Iraq. Click on Flag Gazer's site in our links. It's a good read.
Greetings from Iraq! First of all, I want to THANK YOU for your
generosity in making a donation to the Salvation Army and my
e-kettle. Second, I want to apologize for writing this mass
thank you letter. I received over 60 donors and it would take
me quite some time to write each person individually, although I
would really love to.
I first set a modest goal of $500 because I had no idea how much
I would be able to raise. With the publicity my e-kettle
received, I was able to set my final goal to $4000 and raise
just over that! With that money the Salvation Army will be able
to feed over 70 small familes for three weeks, shelter over 75
individuals, amongst other things. The holiday season of many
will be improved because of all of you. For this I am so
grateful to each one of you. I wish I could be there to help
the SA help these people, and to give each of you a big hug, but
obviously this is not possible right now. I hope you know
though, how much I appreciate you and your generosity, as well
as how much the many people you have helped appreciate it.
I received donations from many friends and family, friends of
the Army, and also many people that I do not even know. Some
donations were huge, my largest single donor was $700 (THANKS!!)
but even the smaller ones were just as appreciated. I
encouraged friends in Iraq with me even to contribute $5-10
because it all adds up. Every day when my e-kettle was up I
excitedly checked my e-mail to see if I had new donations and
was amazed at the generosity of all of you (ask my friends, I
updated them daily as well!!).
Sorry if this is a bit repetitive, I just want you all to know
how much your donations mean to me. Thanks again. I will see
some of you in a few months when I make it back to the states.
generosity in making a donation to the Salvation Army and my
e-kettle. Second, I want to apologize for writing this mass
thank you letter. I received over 60 donors and it would take
me quite some time to write each person individually, although I
would really love to.
I first set a modest goal of $500 because I had no idea how much
I would be able to raise. With the publicity my e-kettle
received, I was able to set my final goal to $4000 and raise
just over that! With that money the Salvation Army will be able
to feed over 70 small familes for three weeks, shelter over 75
individuals, amongst other things. The holiday season of many
will be improved because of all of you. For this I am so
grateful to each one of you. I wish I could be there to help
the SA help these people, and to give each of you a big hug, but
obviously this is not possible right now. I hope you know
though, how much I appreciate you and your generosity, as well
as how much the many people you have helped appreciate it.
I received donations from many friends and family, friends of
the Army, and also many people that I do not even know. Some
donations were huge, my largest single donor was $700 (THANKS!!)
but even the smaller ones were just as appreciated. I
encouraged friends in Iraq with me even to contribute $5-10
because it all adds up. Every day when my e-kettle was up I
excitedly checked my e-mail to see if I had new donations and
was amazed at the generosity of all of you (ask my friends, I
updated them daily as well!!).
Sorry if this is a bit repetitive, I just want you all to know
how much your donations mean to me. Thanks again. I will see
some of you in a few months when I make it back to the states.
Take care and God bless.
Lacy Marie Hennessy
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Virgie Bell's View
First of all, I want to make it perfectly clear, or as John Kerry said, crystal clear; I am not running for President of the United States. Yes, you got it right; I am not a candidate. My hat is not in the ring and I will not change my mind. I am the first to admit that I know this comes as a shock to everyone, especially all of those who are at the present either running, or about to run, for this coveted office. In the first place, after due consideration, I do not have 75,000 close friends. I tried for at least one hundred friends and relatives to send my Christmas cards to. I couldn't even get that far. I’m left with half of those I purchased. This is after I added slight acquaintances and even a few I detest, but still, I wasn’t able to mail more than fifty cards.
It hurts me to admit that I’m not from politically famous family. I am also sadly lacking in the brood mare category in having five children in six years. I come from humble beginnings, but even that is not good enough. I am a white married female and we are all married to blue collar workers. I think we have one or two lawyers on the horizon but that is by marriage, not blood kin, so you can see I really have nothing to offer my fellow Americans in the way of credentials.
My beginnings are not even humble enough. I am not half-white, just plain old white on rice white. I am also not near cute enough, and there aren’t any freezers around here that will hold 90,000 dollars earned in an absolutely pure and innocent way. For a while I thought that I had something to offer, but this, Virgie’s View, is all I've got to offer and De'on is the most famous among us. In other words, I’m not very famous. I also want to make this very clear, as in crystal clear: I don't want anyone to overlook this as just another botched joke that all of you are too ignorant to understand, and I am already packed up to go into rehabilitation, or politics. I just haven't made up my mind which, so for just now, let me just say that I SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
It hurts me to admit that I’m not from politically famous family. I am also sadly lacking in the brood mare category in having five children in six years. I come from humble beginnings, but even that is not good enough. I am a white married female and we are all married to blue collar workers. I think we have one or two lawyers on the horizon but that is by marriage, not blood kin, so you can see I really have nothing to offer my fellow Americans in the way of credentials.
My beginnings are not even humble enough. I am not half-white, just plain old white on rice white. I am also not near cute enough, and there aren’t any freezers around here that will hold 90,000 dollars earned in an absolutely pure and innocent way. For a while I thought that I had something to offer, but this, Virgie’s View, is all I've got to offer and De'on is the most famous among us. In other words, I’m not very famous. I also want to make this very clear, as in crystal clear: I don't want anyone to overlook this as just another botched joke that all of you are too ignorant to understand, and I am already packed up to go into rehabilitation, or politics. I just haven't made up my mind which, so for just now, let me just say that I SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Three F-16s scrambed from Langley Air Force Base to protect the nation's capital on Sept. 11, 2001. Lt. Col. Brad Derrig, who flew the alert mission that day, piloted the last flight aboard the retired aircraft in December 2006. He called the cross-country trip a historic moment for the 119th Fighter Wing, known as the Happy Hooligans.
The F-16s were retired in December. The planes no longer are "relevant and useful" to the Air Force, Derrig said.
Go Air Force!
Ernie Pyle On The Medical Corps
Ernie Pyle was America's most beloved columnist during World War II. He didn't write from the safety in the rear. He stayed with the soldiers, writing about them ... loving them. They loved him back. I've posted a couple of his columns, and since De'on has been writing about Doc Duty, I thought I'd post this Pyle column about the medics, Doc Duty's peers in the Army.
SOMEWHERE IN SICILY, August 11, 1943 -- Probably it isn't clear to you just how the Army's setup for the care of the sick and wounded works on a battlefront. So I'll try to picture it for you.
Let's take the medical structure for a whole division, such as the 45th, which I have been with recently. A division runs roughly fifteen thousand men. And almost a thousand of that number are medical men.
To begin right at the front, three enlisted medical-aid men go along with every company. They give what first aid they can on the battlefield. Then litter-bearers carry the wounded back to a battalion aid station.
Sometimes a wounded man is taken back right away. Other times he may be pinned down by fire so that the aid men can't get to him, and he will have to lie out there for hours before help comes. Right there in the beginning is the biggest obstacle, and the weakest feature of the army's medical setup.
Once a soldier is removed from the battlefield his treatment is superb. The battalion aid station is his first of many stops as he is worked to the rear and finally to a hospital. An aid station is merely where the battalion surgeon and his assistant happen to be. It isn't a tent or anything like that - it's just the surgeon's medical chest and a few stretchers under a tree. Each station is staffed by two doctors and thirty-six enlisted men. They are very frequently under fire.
At an aid station a wounded man gets what is immediately necessary, depending on the severity of his wounds. The idea all along is to do as little actual surgical work as possible, but at each stop merely to keep a man in good enough condition to stand the trip on back to the hospital, where they have full facilities for any kind of work. Hence if a soldier's stomach is ripped open they do an emergency operation right at the front but leave further operating to be done at a hospital. If his leg is shattered by shrapnel they bind it up in a metal rack, but the operating and setting isn't done till he gets back to the hospital. They use morphine and blood plasma copiously at the forward stations to keep sinking men going.
From the battalion aid station the wounded are taken by ambulance, jeep, truck or any other means back to a collecting station. This is a few tents run by five doctors and a hundred enlisted men, anywhere from a quarter of a mile to several miles behind the lines. There is one collecting station for each regiment, making three to a division.
Here they have facilities for doing things the aid station can't do. If the need is urgent they redress the wounds and give the men more morphine, and they perform quite a lot of operations. Then the men are sent by ambulance on back to a clearing station.
The 45th Division has two clearing stations. Only one works at a time. While one works, the other takes a few hours' rest, then leapfrogs ahead of the other one, sets up its tents and begins taking the patients. In emergencies both clearing stations work at once, temporarily abandoning their rest-and-leapfrog routine.
All these various crews -- the company aid men, the battalion aid station, the collecting station and the clearing station -- are all part of the division. They move with it, fight when it does, and rest when it does.
Then back to the clearing stations the hospitals begin. The first hospitals are usually forty miles or more back of the fighting. The hospitals are separate things. They belong to no division, but take patients from everywhere.
They get bigger as you go back, and in the case of Sicily patients are evacuated from the hospitals right onto hospital ships and taken back to still bigger hospitals in Africa.
The main underlying motive of all front-line stations is to get patients evacuated quickly and keep the decks clear so they will always have room for any sudden catastrophic run of battle casualties.
A clearing station such as the one I was in is really a small hospital. It consists of five doctors, one dentist, one chaplain, and sixty enlisted men. It is contained in six big tents and a few little ones for the fluroscope room, the office, and so forth. Everybody sleeps outdoors on the ground, including the commanding officer. The mess is outdoors under a tree.
The station can knock down, move, and set up again in an incredibly short time. They are as proficient as a circus. Once, during a rapid advance, my station moved three times in one day.
My Party is the U.S.A.
I'm idealistic. I believe good always wins. I believe in happily ever after, and I believe that the United States of America is, still, the greatest country in any hemisphere. Those ideals have illuminated my path during some of the darker times in my life. Because of those beliefs I survived a childhood that would have done a Charles Dickens novel proud, and I returned from Iraq -- alive -- after a short stint as a journalist. I always believe in "tomorrow" and the sunshine it will bring.
However idealistic I may be, I do, however, look at the world through a lens of objectivity. At least I try. I've learned that shooting from the hip usually isn't the best response. I like to step back, calm my emotions, and then evaluate a situation from a position armed with facts. I don't always succeed, though. Sometimes my humanness gets in the way, and I do "shoot from the hip," only to end up shooting myself in the foot.
My idealism keeps cynicism at bay; it's the moat that slows the advance of negative thoughts and gives me time to look at a situation objectively and rationally. Sometimes, that buffer has to be a wide one, and, sometimes, it is breached.
It's easy to read the news about our political leaders and despair. Democrats attacking Republicans. Republicans attacking Democrats. It's a centuries-old feud, nothing new, and anyone who believes otherwise is just plain dumb. Political discord has existed in this country since, well, this country has existed. Consider the duel between Vice President Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1804, a duel that ended Hamilton's life. All countries suffer from political strife because all countries are inhabited by humans -- those creatures who have that habit of acting out of self interests.
It's not the disagreements that bother me, though. It's how they're articulated. I have no problem with someone challenging another's opinion. I welcome it. My problem is how personal those attacks can be. I'll never get used to Americans hating Americans. That's like a brother hating a brother, and I'll never believe our country benefits from it.
I've never been a person who tows the "party line." I've voted for Republicans and Democrats because I want the most qualified person to win. My country's future is at stake, and that's too important for me to squander on a stubborn notion that "my party is always right." My party is the American one. I believe in America and in anyone who will stand up to defend her against any enemy, those inside and outside our borders.
I read this morning that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are warning the president that any plan to increase troop strength in Iraq will be unacceptable to the Democratic majorities that now control the House and Senate. No one should be surprised since Pelosi has always been candid about this. But I could care less about Pelosi's shopping habits or if she exfoliates. She can have the complexion of a mountainman and grow a beard for all I care since the halls of Congress aren't a fashion runway. I just want to know what causes her and Reid to believe that the United States will be safer if we begin troop withdrawals. But Pelosi and Reid aren't singing a Democratic duet. Republicans also are telling the president they won't support more troops in Iraq.
Even the military is divided about troop strengthening. The president announced a few days ago that Lt. Gen. David Petraeus will replace Gen. George Casey as the senior American commander in Iraq. Petraeus favors sending in more troops, but Casey doesn't. Casey has said that an increase in American forces in Iraq would destabilize the country. I don't understand where that reasoning comes from. I can believe that Pelosi and Reid are politically motivated, but why would an American military officer, so senior as Casey, accept that notion? Where does it come from?
Casey focused on shifting security responsibilities to Iraqi security forces so American troops could gradually withdraw. I, too, want an eventual American withdrawal, but only after the insurgency has been eliminated or politically neutered. Petraeus will shift to a strategy that will protect the Iraqis from sectarian violence and insurgent attacks. From the beginning, we told the Iraqis we would help them build a country where they could live free from oppression. Pulling out now will ensure their country will return to the dictatorship it was before 2003. Pulling out now will ensure that American military forces will have to fight a strengthened enemy in the future. The bottom line of Petraeus' strategy is that his soldiers will kill insurgents. I hope they kill every one of them.
I began this post talking about idealism, and I had a point. I believe in the goodness of my country and that it is our national altruism that motivates us. Sometimes, we get sidetracked, though. I'm not so idealistic and naive that I can't see that. While I disagree strongly with Pelosi and Reid about a plan for Iraq, I also want to see some members of the Bush administration held accountable for the blunders that helped to create this situation. They were blunders that could have been prevented, but a blind allegiance to their party caused them to act stupidly.
During the Reagan administration, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Reagan's ambassador to the UN, denounced former President Jimmy Carter for having attempted "to impose liberalization and democratization" on other countries. She derided Carter for his "belief that it is possible to democratize governments anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances." Democracy, she said, depends "on complex social, cultural and economic conditions," and takes "decades if not centuries." One of Kirkpatrick's first diplomatic missions was to the dictators in Chile and Argentina to assure them that Carter's intrusive human rights policies would no longer be a problem for them.
I don't say anything of that to support or negate Carter's legacy or to criticize Kirkpatrick. I say it to remind people of our short political memories and how we conveniently scoot past remarks and behavior under the rug when they don't fit our current declarations. Members of both parties do it, but we shouldn't fall for it.
Declare your allegiance to the United States of America, not to a party or to a person. When we place our hands over our hearts, we say "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands ..." No where in the Pledge of Allegiance do we promise our loyalty to a person or group.
This country was founded on godly ideals, and we can't go wrong when we cling to them. Humans fail; leaders, being humans, will fail. And when they do, vote them out -- no matter what party they claim.
However idealistic I may be, I do, however, look at the world through a lens of objectivity. At least I try. I've learned that shooting from the hip usually isn't the best response. I like to step back, calm my emotions, and then evaluate a situation from a position armed with facts. I don't always succeed, though. Sometimes my humanness gets in the way, and I do "shoot from the hip," only to end up shooting myself in the foot.
My idealism keeps cynicism at bay; it's the moat that slows the advance of negative thoughts and gives me time to look at a situation objectively and rationally. Sometimes, that buffer has to be a wide one, and, sometimes, it is breached.
It's easy to read the news about our political leaders and despair. Democrats attacking Republicans. Republicans attacking Democrats. It's a centuries-old feud, nothing new, and anyone who believes otherwise is just plain dumb. Political discord has existed in this country since, well, this country has existed. Consider the duel between Vice President Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1804, a duel that ended Hamilton's life. All countries suffer from political strife because all countries are inhabited by humans -- those creatures who have that habit of acting out of self interests.
It's not the disagreements that bother me, though. It's how they're articulated. I have no problem with someone challenging another's opinion. I welcome it. My problem is how personal those attacks can be. I'll never get used to Americans hating Americans. That's like a brother hating a brother, and I'll never believe our country benefits from it.
I've never been a person who tows the "party line." I've voted for Republicans and Democrats because I want the most qualified person to win. My country's future is at stake, and that's too important for me to squander on a stubborn notion that "my party is always right." My party is the American one. I believe in America and in anyone who will stand up to defend her against any enemy, those inside and outside our borders.
I read this morning that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are warning the president that any plan to increase troop strength in Iraq will be unacceptable to the Democratic majorities that now control the House and Senate. No one should be surprised since Pelosi has always been candid about this. But I could care less about Pelosi's shopping habits or if she exfoliates. She can have the complexion of a mountainman and grow a beard for all I care since the halls of Congress aren't a fashion runway. I just want to know what causes her and Reid to believe that the United States will be safer if we begin troop withdrawals. But Pelosi and Reid aren't singing a Democratic duet. Republicans also are telling the president they won't support more troops in Iraq.
Even the military is divided about troop strengthening. The president announced a few days ago that Lt. Gen. David Petraeus will replace Gen. George Casey as the senior American commander in Iraq. Petraeus favors sending in more troops, but Casey doesn't. Casey has said that an increase in American forces in Iraq would destabilize the country. I don't understand where that reasoning comes from. I can believe that Pelosi and Reid are politically motivated, but why would an American military officer, so senior as Casey, accept that notion? Where does it come from?
Casey focused on shifting security responsibilities to Iraqi security forces so American troops could gradually withdraw. I, too, want an eventual American withdrawal, but only after the insurgency has been eliminated or politically neutered. Petraeus will shift to a strategy that will protect the Iraqis from sectarian violence and insurgent attacks. From the beginning, we told the Iraqis we would help them build a country where they could live free from oppression. Pulling out now will ensure their country will return to the dictatorship it was before 2003. Pulling out now will ensure that American military forces will have to fight a strengthened enemy in the future. The bottom line of Petraeus' strategy is that his soldiers will kill insurgents. I hope they kill every one of them.
I began this post talking about idealism, and I had a point. I believe in the goodness of my country and that it is our national altruism that motivates us. Sometimes, we get sidetracked, though. I'm not so idealistic and naive that I can't see that. While I disagree strongly with Pelosi and Reid about a plan for Iraq, I also want to see some members of the Bush administration held accountable for the blunders that helped to create this situation. They were blunders that could have been prevented, but a blind allegiance to their party caused them to act stupidly.
During the Reagan administration, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Reagan's ambassador to the UN, denounced former President Jimmy Carter for having attempted "to impose liberalization and democratization" on other countries. She derided Carter for his "belief that it is possible to democratize governments anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances." Democracy, she said, depends "on complex social, cultural and economic conditions," and takes "decades if not centuries." One of Kirkpatrick's first diplomatic missions was to the dictators in Chile and Argentina to assure them that Carter's intrusive human rights policies would no longer be a problem for them.
I don't say anything of that to support or negate Carter's legacy or to criticize Kirkpatrick. I say it to remind people of our short political memories and how we conveniently scoot past remarks and behavior under the rug when they don't fit our current declarations. Members of both parties do it, but we shouldn't fall for it.
Declare your allegiance to the United States of America, not to a party or to a person. When we place our hands over our hearts, we say "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands ..." No where in the Pledge of Allegiance do we promise our loyalty to a person or group.
This country was founded on godly ideals, and we can't go wrong when we cling to them. Humans fail; leaders, being humans, will fail. And when they do, vote them out -- no matter what party they claim.
To Be ... Building COP South
NMCB-22 Seabees build camps out of dust
A horizon of sky and dust
greeted Seabees on their first
day of work at a camp near
the Syrian border. Just weeks later a
base camp for the Iraqi Security Forces,
emerged from the flatted and bleak
landscape of Western Iraq.
With little more than hand tools,
NMCB-22 Seabees are building small
cities in areas that are otherwise
wasteland, in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom. That includes
everything from berthing spaces, places to cook food, eat, shower,
do laundry, store water and fuel, plus manage waste. Providing
electrical power is also part of the plan.
“The primary mission of our detachment is to assist in the
construction of Iraqi Security Forces installations,” said
Construction Electrician 3rd Class Richard Taylor. “The ultimate
goal of these facilities is to enable Iraqi Security Forces to function
on their own without U.S. assistance.”
“It’s an elemental part of reducing U.S.
forces in Iraq,” said Lt. Cmdr. Anthony
Spinler, NMCB-22 operations officer.
Two major challenges confront these
Seabees.
First, the earth is not sand, but very fine
silt that behaves like talcum powder.
“It gets into everything, gets very
gummy and very hard to maneuver
equipment,” said Spinler. “You have to
put down a lot of construction to ensure
you have firm footing and you
constantly have to manage that as you do your construction.” He
said gravel helped provide a workable surface.
Second, materials needed to do the job must be convoyed to the
site. “When we came on board, the materials were not on site. We
had to transport all of the materials.”
Support staff are pitching in to help build as well. “These
activities help the battalion be at more than 100% effective,"
according to Spinler.
This is on page 3 of the Double Deuce. Click here to see a great publication with lots of great photos. OR Just wait til the next one, the same link will take you there.
To Be ... an inspiration to others ...
In another comment on December 29, 2006, Karen wrote:
Yes, De'on, Operation Steel Curtain was a Marine Operation, not Seabee. I just printed off the article for that Op for the scrapbook to show what was going on in the area Rich was in at that time. In conjuction with Steel Curtain, there were other Marine Ops going on during those months at the Syrian border. I could always feel the excitement from Rich when he would write about our Marines and the Marines his battalion was supporting. He got to go out on a patrol with the Marines while he was out at COP South and I think he was just as proud of that as anything he built out there. He loves our Marines as much as he does his Seabees.
I guess it must have been sometime before Richard started on COP South that he started to work on an article about Aaron. It's very touching and I can't do the layout justice on the format here.
Besides, I'd really like for you to take a look at the nine page publication of the Double Deuce's November 10, 2005 issue, if you haven't already.
The stories are good and the photos show all the hard work that went into Richard's mission to build many "somethings" out of nothing.
Way to go Seabees!
Click here for the PDF file. So, I hope you have Adobe, and then zoom in at about 163% to get the full, full view.
The article LT Windham wrote about Aaron is on page 2.
Thanks, Rich.
Yes, De'on, Operation Steel Curtain was a Marine Operation, not Seabee. I just printed off the article for that Op for the scrapbook to show what was going on in the area Rich was in at that time. In conjuction with Steel Curtain, there were other Marine Ops going on during those months at the Syrian border. I could always feel the excitement from Rich when he would write about our Marines and the Marines his battalion was supporting. He got to go out on a patrol with the Marines while he was out at COP South and I think he was just as proud of that as anything he built out there. He loves our Marines as much as he does his Seabees.
This post is dedicated to the Navy & the Marines.
I guess it must have been sometime before Richard started on COP South that he started to work on an article about Aaron. It's very touching and I can't do the layout justice on the format here.
Besides, I'd really like for you to take a look at the nine page publication of the Double Deuce's November 10, 2005 issue, if you haven't already.
The stories are good and the photos show all the hard work that went into Richard's mission to build many "somethings" out of nothing.
Way to go Seabees!
Click here for the PDF file. So, I hope you have Adobe, and then zoom in at about 163% to get the full, full view.
The article LT Windham wrote about Aaron is on page 2.
Thanks, Rich.
To Be ... At COP South (Not.)
This is the beginning of the "CAPTION THIS" game, which will last for the next 5 posts.
I'll caption it, you caption it, and then maybe LT Rich or Kadet Karen (don't you like it better spelling it that way? Then, we might even shorten it to K.K., sort of like her husband's name is G. G.)
Ah well, back to the game. Rule is, every caption must begin with "To Be ..." Ready, Set, GO!
To Be ..."Anywhere else but here!"
tO bE ... sOMeBodY hELp THe pOOr mAN uP!
CAPTION THIS!
I'm going with, To Be ... "back in the LAND OF THE FREE, please?!"
I'm going with, To Be ... "back in the LAND OF THE FREE, please?!"
To Be ...A Kudos for Steve
CAPTION THIS:
I'll take $500. for, To Be ... "In the Navy where I'm allowed a five o'clock shadow. Shoulda joined the Air Force like Steve, then I wouldn't be in this 5 star deployment ..."
or
To Be ... "A Little Too Happy for This."
I'll take $500. for, To Be ... "In the Navy where I'm allowed a five o'clock shadow. Shoulda joined the Air Force like Steve, then I wouldn't be in this 5 star deployment ..."or
To Be ... "A Little Too Happy for This."
To Be ... Photogenic Wih Weaponry
CAPTION THIS
to be ... "the female in this photo who will appreciate PASTELS."
qUESTION: why is her uniform different?
to be ... "the female in this photo who will appreciate PASTELS."
qUESTION: why is her uniform different?
To Be ... In The Shade Where There Is None
CAPTION THIS ...
how about
To Be "Consistently with a five o'clock shadow," OR
"what's UP with your scanning jobs, De'on?"
Rich's Favorite Bee
Way to go Desert Protectors!
Ubaydi-A suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist was captured in an Ubaydi hospital dressed in women's clothing. The terrorist was discovered by a Desert Protector, specially trained scout unit of soldiers recruited from the al Qaim region. Desert Protectors are part of the 1,000 Iraqi Army soldiers taking part in Operation Steel Curtain in the al Qa'im region.
For more photos and gobs of info from newsblaze on Operation Steel Curtain, Click here.
OPS Steel Curtain
A U.S. Marine and Iraqi Army soldiers watch over the surrounding streets from a rooftop in Karabilah, Iraq, during Operation Steel Curtain on Nov. 11, 2005.
Operation Steel Curtain was a military endeavor executed by coalition forces in early November 2005 to blunt the protrusion of foreign insurgents crossing the border and joining the Iraqi insurgency. The operation was important in that it was the first large scale deployment of the New Iraqi Army. Operation Steel Curtain was a phase in the larger military offensive, Operation Hunter.
Click here for more on Operation Steel Curtain according to Wikipedia.
Friday, January 05, 2007
To Be ... a tiny tile in the mosaic
In one of her comments on Dec 29, 2006, Karen writes, ".....At this time, Rich was still able to e-mail and send the pics of the bridge. He then e-mailed telling me that he recieved his orders for his next mission and that they would be heading to what they called the "Wild, Wild West." This mission was to go and build COP South. They would head way west to the Syrian border to build a camp for the Iraqi Army to occupy, to try to keep insurgents from crossing the border into Iraq. This camp was not far from Al Quaim, where Operation Steel Curtain was clearing this city and others of insurgents. Rich let me know that while he was out at COP South, he wouldn't be able to e-mail because he said they would be out in the middle of nowhere, building a camp from dust, like the surface of the moon, nothing there. So for those months, I was able to befriend his XO that had contact with him daily from camp in Kuwait, and was able to know if he was safe daily. Due to the success of Operation Steel Curtain, the scope of COP South was reduced. He said that while out there at COP South they would see the "fireworks", sometimes just a mile away,from Operation Steel Curtain."
In looking through the scrapbook Karen designed for her brother, I find that Rich has written one of these emails on 10/29/06. He writes, "I'll be heading north in a couple of few days ... I should be there for at least a few months. I'm going to be the OIC for the det that is building this new place. According to the intel I've seen, right now it just looks like the surface of the moon ... nothing there ...ha ha...."
After I flip through a number of articles and photos, I find a familiar email that was sent to me; one I'd forwarded to Karen. It was an email from one of the Marines that was with Aaron, LCpl. David Bryant. David and Aaron were really good friends, and Chantal took me under her wing as far as news on the unit after we lost Aaron. Here is a portion of her email:
I don't know if you've seen the news since yesterday, but Echo Co. was hit pretty hard along the Syrian border. I don't think you know Maj. Mendoza, but he was KIA. SSgt Martinez has burns to over 75% of his body and Barnes, whom you should know, was hit with shrapnel to the armpit that went into his chest cavity. Barnes is seriously wounded, but he will make it. I wanted to let you know because I know that the media can mess things up in occassion and I wanted you to know the facts....
When I came across this email in her scrapbook, I thought, what is this doing here? Then I thought, oh, okay, because of the Syrian border, so I put Maj. Mendoza's name into Google, hoping to find out if he was a part of Operation Steel Curtain. Sure enough. He was.
Marine Maj. Ramon J. Mendoza, Jr.
37, of Columbus, Ohio.Mendoza died of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces during Operation Steel Curtain in New Ubaydi, Iraq. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). He was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. Died on November 14, 2005.
I guess he was killed just a few days after LT Windham and his Seabees arrived at COP South.
And down not too far on Major Mendoza's message board, are these messages:
"To Mrs. Mendoza My name is Elena Zurheide, My husband was in the same unit as your husband at one point. I just want to give you my condolences I know that your husband as well as mine are our gardian angels and that they are proud of us. I hope to hear from you sometime in the future. God Bless you and your family."
***
"Elena Zurheide,I can not tell you how many prayers I have sent your way. Ray was 2/1 H&S Company when your husband was sent to heaven. Ray and your husband also carried the 300 pound memorial cross up the hills of Camp Horno. They did it together and now they are together in heaven. Ray wanted to attend the baby dedication last year, but he couldn't bear to do it. It was too difficult for him to be up there without your husband there as well. After Ray's services, I had a "motivational hump" to the cross at Camp Horno. We scattered the dirt from Ray's gravesite and I know Ray was with us that day. My 8 year old was one of the first to arrive at the cross. When I finally got up there, he told me that he heard his daddy's voice. Ray's family and friends humped up that hill not to remember only Ray but all of the brothern Marines lost in the pursuit of freedom for all of God's children. I thought of you at the top of the hill and prayed a special prayer for you and your son. You have always been in my thoughts in prayers. Thank you for reaching out to me, as we both now walk in the shoes down the path without the father of our children, and the love of our lives. I am humbled by your extension of love. May God's Grace always be with you and your son.
"Difficulties do not define you, they simply strengthen your ability to overcome."
***
Small world. Elena's husband along with another Marine from Echo, Brad Shuder, were killed on April 12, 2004--just a little over two weeks before Aaron was killed.
When Elena's husband and Shuder were killed, Aaron was very upset when he called. That's the only time I ever heard Aaron so negative. I asked him, "Did you get the pillow?"
He replied that he had indeed received the pillow and was about to go get some sleep. At midnight that night, Aaron called both me and his dad back, to let us know "he'd shook it off, and was OK now."
Aaron's best friend, Jerrod, never got that last phone call at midnight from Aaron, and I think I've told before that in his earlier phone call to Jerrod, he'd said, "I'm scared. I don't think I'm coming home."
So, I'll never know exactly how it was for him at midnight that night, but he did sound better. Much better. And now, that pillow is right next to me, here on the couch, much like it will be when I go to sleep, except then, the pillow stays clutched against my chest, up under my nose, and held much the same as the baby I once pulled out of the tub, petting, patting, and sniffing. I loved that smell.
As far as I know, Barnes is doing well. Yes, I'll always remember Barnes. He was on Aaron's machine gun team. During the luncheon the Marines in Aaron's section gave us the day after the Marine Ball of 2004, Barnes got up and told how Aaron would take the bathroom door off its hinges between their two rooms, get a few beers from Barnes' little fridge, and hang the door back up again.
Barnes said it took him a few months to figure it out. How beer was strangely disappearing from his room since it was locked!
Ohh, there were lots of stories that day. Every one of them make me smile.
I wonder how SSgt Martinez is. Was Doc Duty with them too, I wonder? And to Karen Mendoza, what a brave woman you are. I saw through Google all the good that comes from the love of your life.
So readers, as you can see, I've been working on COP South, got a little side-tracked, but appreciated the journey.
Will be back before the night is out with COP South. Okay, make that morning. My night, your morning, or whatever...
Love & Later,
De'on
In looking through the scrapbook Karen designed for her brother, I find that Rich has written one of these emails on 10/29/06. He writes, "I'll be heading north in a couple of few days ... I should be there for at least a few months. I'm going to be the OIC for the det that is building this new place. According to the intel I've seen, right now it just looks like the surface of the moon ... nothing there ...ha ha...."
After I flip through a number of articles and photos, I find a familiar email that was sent to me; one I'd forwarded to Karen. It was an email from one of the Marines that was with Aaron, LCpl. David Bryant. David and Aaron were really good friends, and Chantal took me under her wing as far as news on the unit after we lost Aaron. Here is a portion of her email:
I don't know if you've seen the news since yesterday, but Echo Co. was hit pretty hard along the Syrian border. I don't think you know Maj. Mendoza, but he was KIA. SSgt Martinez has burns to over 75% of his body and Barnes, whom you should know, was hit with shrapnel to the armpit that went into his chest cavity. Barnes is seriously wounded, but he will make it. I wanted to let you know because I know that the media can mess things up in occassion and I wanted you to know the facts....
When I came across this email in her scrapbook, I thought, what is this doing here? Then I thought, oh, okay, because of the Syrian border, so I put Maj. Mendoza's name into Google, hoping to find out if he was a part of Operation Steel Curtain. Sure enough. He was.
Marine Maj. Ramon J. Mendoza, Jr.
37, of Columbus, Ohio.Mendoza died of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces during Operation Steel Curtain in New Ubaydi, Iraq. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). He was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. Died on November 14, 2005.
I guess he was killed just a few days after LT Windham and his Seabees arrived at COP South.
And down not too far on Major Mendoza's message board, are these messages:
"To Mrs. Mendoza My name is Elena Zurheide, My husband was in the same unit as your husband at one point. I just want to give you my condolences I know that your husband as well as mine are our gardian angels and that they are proud of us. I hope to hear from you sometime in the future. God Bless you and your family."
***
"Elena Zurheide,I can not tell you how many prayers I have sent your way. Ray was 2/1 H&S Company when your husband was sent to heaven. Ray and your husband also carried the 300 pound memorial cross up the hills of Camp Horno. They did it together and now they are together in heaven. Ray wanted to attend the baby dedication last year, but he couldn't bear to do it. It was too difficult for him to be up there without your husband there as well. After Ray's services, I had a "motivational hump" to the cross at Camp Horno. We scattered the dirt from Ray's gravesite and I know Ray was with us that day. My 8 year old was one of the first to arrive at the cross. When I finally got up there, he told me that he heard his daddy's voice. Ray's family and friends humped up that hill not to remember only Ray but all of the brothern Marines lost in the pursuit of freedom for all of God's children. I thought of you at the top of the hill and prayed a special prayer for you and your son. You have always been in my thoughts in prayers. Thank you for reaching out to me, as we both now walk in the shoes down the path without the father of our children, and the love of our lives. I am humbled by your extension of love. May God's Grace always be with you and your son.
"Difficulties do not define you, they simply strengthen your ability to overcome."
***
Small world. Elena's husband along with another Marine from Echo, Brad Shuder, were killed on April 12, 2004--just a little over two weeks before Aaron was killed.
When Elena's husband and Shuder were killed, Aaron was very upset when he called. That's the only time I ever heard Aaron so negative. I asked him, "Did you get the pillow?"
He replied that he had indeed received the pillow and was about to go get some sleep. At midnight that night, Aaron called both me and his dad back, to let us know "he'd shook it off, and was OK now."
Aaron's best friend, Jerrod, never got that last phone call at midnight from Aaron, and I think I've told before that in his earlier phone call to Jerrod, he'd said, "I'm scared. I don't think I'm coming home."
So, I'll never know exactly how it was for him at midnight that night, but he did sound better. Much better. And now, that pillow is right next to me, here on the couch, much like it will be when I go to sleep, except then, the pillow stays clutched against my chest, up under my nose, and held much the same as the baby I once pulled out of the tub, petting, patting, and sniffing. I loved that smell.
As far as I know, Barnes is doing well. Yes, I'll always remember Barnes. He was on Aaron's machine gun team. During the luncheon the Marines in Aaron's section gave us the day after the Marine Ball of 2004, Barnes got up and told how Aaron would take the bathroom door off its hinges between their two rooms, get a few beers from Barnes' little fridge, and hang the door back up again.
Barnes said it took him a few months to figure it out. How beer was strangely disappearing from his room since it was locked!
Ohh, there were lots of stories that day. Every one of them make me smile.
I wonder how SSgt Martinez is. Was Doc Duty with them too, I wonder? And to Karen Mendoza, what a brave woman you are. I saw through Google all the good that comes from the love of your life.
So readers, as you can see, I've been working on COP South, got a little side-tracked, but appreciated the journey.
Will be back before the night is out with COP South. Okay, make that morning. My night, your morning, or whatever...
Love & Later,
De'on
Austin, Shuder, and Zurheide are remembered by their brothers ...
I found this paragraph below, written on a site for Shuder. The two to the right are for Shuder and Zurheide. The one to the left is Aaron's. His memorial card was designed by Chris Brown. The memorial cards have been placed near where they were killed. The photos to the far left are from 'Baptism in Fallujah' filmed by Rick Loomis of the LA Times.The Marines put up a small memorial for Shuder and another Marine who died during the same battle. The piece of cardboard serving as a tribute read, "All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Virgie Bell's View
Well, did we all have fun watching the festivals of the new history made in Washington D.C.? And don't you just love the giddiness and laughter of the new majority party as they put us in our place, as in, we win...we will make you so sorry that you lost … we are so very much more righteous … we are so very much more ethical and so very much more honest and by far, so much more beautiful.
It goes without saying that Ms. Speaker of the House, the gentlewoman from San Francisco has got Dennis Hastert beat in the looks department, and she has made history as the first female to be speaker, but come on.... This is because she is wife, mother, and grandmother. The women of the world unite! Ms. Pelosi has no more to do with the average woman or mother in the USA than I do with the women who govern there in D.C. Some of those who serve, it’s more like self-serve to me. But anyway, on to the important stuff like who did what to whom in politics and where they did it. Who is running for what and so on.
First of all, did any of my fellow bloggers receive one of the 75,000 Christmas Cards sent out by Mr. and Mrs. John Kerry? Me either, and I am hurt. I feel rejection at not being included in the list of their 75,000 very closest friends, and are we surprised to find out that Sandy Berger (you know the one who made the honest mistake of accidentally dropping classified documents into his socks, shoes, and underwear?) received permission from Slick Willie, who is running for first—first husband of the United States of America. Yep, and he had the future 2nd first lady (Chelsea) Clinton right next to himself and Hill-a-ry.
Last week it was noted that Obama had that elusive ‘IT’ quality and this week, we find out that he did coke and pot and crack etc. But hey, I want to be your president in 2008 ... even though I did indeed inhale, I want to serve, serve, serve.
Truth be known, I can assure you that Hill-a-ry and Bill-a-ry will use the info to get her into the White House so she can serve, serve, serve. I want to call attention to the fact that Bill never inhaled when he smoked pot. What a waste of a good joint. I think Obama did inhale. But on to cute.
Who do you think is the cutest? Is it Hillary or Nancy? Or is it Sheila Jackson Lee or even Cindy Sheehan? Remember folks, this is not a scientific poll, just something to keep you occupied while we wait for American Idol to start so we can get our minds off those who serve, serve, serve, and onto the latest entertainer who has shed her panties in order to celebrate the failure of her long, and successful two year marriage to Kevin Federline. I hope to hear more of Ms. Spears in the coming year on tips to a happy marriage and the joys of motherhood—right along with words of wisdom from her french-kissed-best-pal, Madonna. You go girl. I am also looking forward to the latest in the feud between The Donald and The no longer Queen of Nice. And of course, to hearing more exciting news of the Chicks from Dixie.
And so to everyone who has a title and a prefix of Ms., Miss, Madam, first lady or first husband, I want to tell you who is the winner by a long shot and that is me. My official title? It is 'My Granny' as in Kayla's post. 'My Granny' beats the heck out of all the rest, and no matter what Kayla’s Granny will SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
It goes without saying that Ms. Speaker of the House, the gentlewoman from San Francisco has got Dennis Hastert beat in the looks department, and she has made history as the first female to be speaker, but come on.... This is because she is wife, mother, and grandmother. The women of the world unite! Ms. Pelosi has no more to do with the average woman or mother in the USA than I do with the women who govern there in D.C. Some of those who serve, it’s more like self-serve to me. But anyway, on to the important stuff like who did what to whom in politics and where they did it. Who is running for what and so on.
First of all, did any of my fellow bloggers receive one of the 75,000 Christmas Cards sent out by Mr. and Mrs. John Kerry? Me either, and I am hurt. I feel rejection at not being included in the list of their 75,000 very closest friends, and are we surprised to find out that Sandy Berger (you know the one who made the honest mistake of accidentally dropping classified documents into his socks, shoes, and underwear?) received permission from Slick Willie, who is running for first—first husband of the United States of America. Yep, and he had the future 2nd first lady (Chelsea) Clinton right next to himself and Hill-a-ry.
Last week it was noted that Obama had that elusive ‘IT’ quality and this week, we find out that he did coke and pot and crack etc. But hey, I want to be your president in 2008 ... even though I did indeed inhale, I want to serve, serve, serve.
Truth be known, I can assure you that Hill-a-ry and Bill-a-ry will use the info to get her into the White House so she can serve, serve, serve. I want to call attention to the fact that Bill never inhaled when he smoked pot. What a waste of a good joint. I think Obama did inhale. But on to cute.
Who do you think is the cutest? Is it Hillary or Nancy? Or is it Sheila Jackson Lee or even Cindy Sheehan? Remember folks, this is not a scientific poll, just something to keep you occupied while we wait for American Idol to start so we can get our minds off those who serve, serve, serve, and onto the latest entertainer who has shed her panties in order to celebrate the failure of her long, and successful two year marriage to Kevin Federline. I hope to hear more of Ms. Spears in the coming year on tips to a happy marriage and the joys of motherhood—right along with words of wisdom from her french-kissed-best-pal, Madonna. You go girl. I am also looking forward to the latest in the feud between The Donald and The no longer Queen of Nice. And of course, to hearing more exciting news of the Chicks from Dixie.
And so to everyone who has a title and a prefix of Ms., Miss, Madam, first lady or first husband, I want to tell you who is the winner by a long shot and that is me. My official title? It is 'My Granny' as in Kayla's post. 'My Granny' beats the heck out of all the rest, and no matter what Kayla’s Granny will SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
Jeremiah 29:11
“Letting go and letting God” is not just a saying, it is the pathway to your freedom while here on earth. Yet it is so easy to get in the way of peace and joy that “letting go” can give. Just as a drowning person flailing his or her arms in a wild panic can not be rescued, neither can a hurting person be rescued until he or she stops, relaxes and trusts that help is at hand. It is our prayer that these few minutes each day together can help remind you stop, relax and not just believe in, but trust in God by letting go and letting God. [quote from Duke Duvall.]
***
Click here for Duke Duvall's Moment of Inspiration. This one is on Jeremiah 29:11, which was Aaron's verse, as well as mine and Greg's. I really liked today's.
***
Click here for Duke Duvall's Moment of Inspiration. This one is on Jeremiah 29:11, which was Aaron's verse, as well as mine and Greg's. I really liked today's.
I was working for a newspaper in the Arizona desert, and I took this picture during an unusually rainy winter. The desert's earthtones gave way to an explosion of wildflowers and emerald grass for several weeks, but then summer came, and the 120-plus heat took its toll. On me and the flowers. Heat like that is insane.I had to edit the picture, though. There were a couple of cars on the road and some road signs that I took out of the picture. After standing in that spot for an hour or so, waiting for an opportunity to take the picture without any cars to clutter up the scene, I gave up. I thought I'd take it with the annoying cars and just remove them on the computer. And you wonder how they make those cover girls look so good? It's all about the computer, baby!
I haven't posted much lately because I'm still working on our new Web site at www.gunzup.com. I'm also working on other projects that have fallen to the wayside. But you're in good hands here with De'on.
On This Day ...
7 years ago ...
The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit was a meeting of several high-level al-Qaeda members held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The meeting was held in the hotel room of Yazid Sufaat, a former army captain and businessman, in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting lasted from January 5 to January 8, 2000. The summit's purpose was allegedly to plan future terrorist attacks, which apparently included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11 plot. The attendance consisted of Arab veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, including Hambali, Ramzi Binalshibh, Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Tawfiq bin Attash.
Before the meeting, the United States intercepted a telephone call to Yemen by al-Mihdhar concerning arrangements for the trip. Osama bin Laden had called that number dozens of times. By request of the CIA, the Malaysian authorities videotaped the meeting, but no sound recordings were made. The men were also photographed when they came out of the meeting. U.S. investigators did not identify these men until much later. That Binalshibh attended the meeting was discovered by the investigators by looking into his credit card records. Sufaat was later arrested, but he denied that he knew any of the men and told that Hambali had arranged the meeting.
Wikipedia
The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit was a meeting of several high-level al-Qaeda members held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The meeting was held in the hotel room of Yazid Sufaat, a former army captain and businessman, in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting lasted from January 5 to January 8, 2000. The summit's purpose was allegedly to plan future terrorist attacks, which apparently included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11 plot. The attendance consisted of Arab veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, including Hambali, Ramzi Binalshibh, Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Tawfiq bin Attash.
Before the meeting, the United States intercepted a telephone call to Yemen by al-Mihdhar concerning arrangements for the trip. Osama bin Laden had called that number dozens of times. By request of the CIA, the Malaysian authorities videotaped the meeting, but no sound recordings were made. The men were also photographed when they came out of the meeting. U.S. investigators did not identify these men until much later. That Binalshibh attended the meeting was discovered by the investigators by looking into his credit card records. Sufaat was later arrested, but he denied that he knew any of the men and told that Hambali had arranged the meeting.
Wikipedia
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: 1st Marine Division Engineers Build Bridge
When the 5th Marines entered the jungle from the beachhead, and had to cross the steep banks of the Ilu River, 1st Marine Division engineers hastily constructed a bridge supported by amphibian tractors. Though heavily used, the bridge held up.Photo courtesy of Col James A. Donovan, Jr.
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Landing & August Battles in Guadalcanal *4
FIRST OFFENSIVE: The Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal
by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.
The Landing and August Battles (continued)
[where we left off] The Japanese on Tulagi were special naval landing force sailors and they had no intention of giving up what they held without a vicious, no-surrender battle. Edson's men landed first, followed by Rosecrans' battalion, hitting Tulagi's south coast and moving inland towards the ridge which ran lengthwise through the island. The battalions encountered pockets of resistance in the undergrowth of the island's thick vegetation and maneuvered to outflank and overrun the opposition. The advance of the Marines was steady but casualties were frequent. By nightfall, Edson had reached the former British residency overlooking Tulagi's harbor and dug in for the night across a hill that overlooked the Japanese final position, a ravine on the island's southern tip. The 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, had driven through to the northern shore, cleaning its sector of enemy; Rosecrans moved into position to back up the raiders. By the end of its first day ashore, 2d Battalion had lost 56 men killed and wounded; 1st Raider Battalion casualties were 99 Marines.
The fight for tiny Gavutu and Tanambogo, both little more than small hills rising out of the sea, connected by a hundred-yard causeway, was every bit as intense as that on Tulagi. The area of combat was much smaller and the opportunities for fire support from offshore ships and carrier planes was severely limited once the Marines had landed. After naval gunfire from the light cruiser San Juan (CL-54) and two destroyers, and a strike by F4F Wildcats flying from the Wasp, the 1st Parachute Battalion landed near noon in three waves, 395 men in all, on Gavutu. The Japanese, secure in cave positions, opened fire on the second and third waves, pinning down the first Marines ashore on the beach. Major Williams took a bullet in the lungs and was evacuated; 32 Marines were killed in the withering enemy fire. This time, 2d Marines reinforcements were really needed; the 1st Battalion's Company B landed on Gavutu and attempted to take Tanambogo; the attackers were driven to ground and had to pull back to Gavutu.
After a rough night of close-in fighting with the defenders of both islands, the 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, reinforced the men already ashore and mopped up on each island. The toll of Marines dead on the three islands was 144; the wounded numbered 194. The few Japanese who survived the battles fled to Florida Island, which had been scouted by the 2d Marines on D-Day and found clear of the enemy.
The Marines' landings and the concentration of shipping in Guadalcanal waters acted as a magnet to the Japanese at Rabaul. At Admiral Ghormley's headquarters, Tulagi's radio was heard on D-Day "frantically calling for [the] dispatch of surface forces to the scene" and designating transports and carriers as targets for heavy bombing. The messages were sent in plain language, emphasizing the plight of the threatened garrison. And the enemy response was prompt and characteristic of the months of naval air and surface attack to come.
by Henry I. Shaw, Jr.
The Landing and August Battles (continued)
[where we left off] The Japanese on Tulagi were special naval landing force sailors and they had no intention of giving up what they held without a vicious, no-surrender battle. Edson's men landed first, followed by Rosecrans' battalion, hitting Tulagi's south coast and moving inland towards the ridge which ran lengthwise through the island. The battalions encountered pockets of resistance in the undergrowth of the island's thick vegetation and maneuvered to outflank and overrun the opposition. The advance of the Marines was steady but casualties were frequent. By nightfall, Edson had reached the former British residency overlooking Tulagi's harbor and dug in for the night across a hill that overlooked the Japanese final position, a ravine on the island's southern tip. The 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, had driven through to the northern shore, cleaning its sector of enemy; Rosecrans moved into position to back up the raiders. By the end of its first day ashore, 2d Battalion had lost 56 men killed and wounded; 1st Raider Battalion casualties were 99 Marines.
+++++++
Throughout the night, the Japanese swarmed from hillside caves in four separate attacks, trying to penetrate the raider lines. They were unsuccessful and most died in the attempts. At dawn, the 2d Battalion, 2d Marines, landed to reinforce the attackers and by the afternoon of 8 August, the mop-up was completed and the battle for Tulagi was over.
The fight for tiny Gavutu and Tanambogo, both little more than small hills rising out of the sea, connected by a hundred-yard causeway, was every bit as intense as that on Tulagi. The area of combat was much smaller and the opportunities for fire support from offshore ships and carrier planes was severely limited once the Marines had landed. After naval gunfire from the light cruiser San Juan (CL-54) and two destroyers, and a strike by F4F Wildcats flying from the Wasp, the 1st Parachute Battalion landed near noon in three waves, 395 men in all, on Gavutu. The Japanese, secure in cave positions, opened fire on the second and third waves, pinning down the first Marines ashore on the beach. Major Williams took a bullet in the lungs and was evacuated; 32 Marines were killed in the withering enemy fire. This time, 2d Marines reinforcements were really needed; the 1st Battalion's Company B landed on Gavutu and attempted to take Tanambogo; the attackers were driven to ground and had to pull back to Gavutu.
After a rough night of close-in fighting with the defenders of both islands, the 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, reinforced the men already ashore and mopped up on each island. The toll of Marines dead on the three islands was 144; the wounded numbered 194. The few Japanese who survived the battles fled to Florida Island, which had been scouted by the 2d Marines on D-Day and found clear of the enemy.
The Marines' landings and the concentration of shipping in Guadalcanal waters acted as a magnet to the Japanese at Rabaul. At Admiral Ghormley's headquarters, Tulagi's radio was heard on D-Day "frantically calling for [the] dispatch of surface forces to the scene" and designating transports and carriers as targets for heavy bombing. The messages were sent in plain language, emphasizing the plight of the threatened garrison. And the enemy response was prompt and characteristic of the months of naval air and surface attack to come.
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