Good Saturday morning October 23
I hope that your weekend is off to a good start.
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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
October 23
1862—CSS Alabama, commanded by Capt. Raphael Semmes, captures and burns the American bark Lafayette south of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1864—During the Civil War, the blockade-runner Flamingo, which is run aground off Sullivan's Island, SC, is destroyed by shell fire from Fort Strong and Putnam, Battery Chatfield, and ships of Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
1942—USS Kingfish (SS 234) sinks Japanese gunboat at the entrance to Kii Suido, Honshu, Japan.
1944—The Battle of Leyte Gulf, considered the largest naval battle of World War II, begins with the U.S. submarines attacking two elements of the Japanese armada moving towards Leyte. In the Palawan Passage, USS Darter (SS 227) and USS Dace (SS 247) sink heavy cruisers Maya and Atago. Takao is also hit, but survives. Off Manila Bay, USS Bream's (SS 243) torpedoes damage the heavy cruiser Aoba.
1961—Submarine Ethan Allen (SSBN 608) makes the first underwater launch of a Polaris A-2 fleet ballistic missile. The Polaris soars 1,500 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range.
1972—The United States ends all tactical air sorties into North Vietnam above the 20th parallel and brings to close Operation Linebacker raids as a goodwill gesture to promote the peace negotiations in Paris. From May through October, Navy aircraft fly a total of 23,652 attack sorties into North Vietnam, which helps stem the flow of supplies into North Vietnam.
1983—A suicide truck bomb explodes at the Marine Barracks at Beirut Airport and kills 241 Americans (220 Marines, 18 Sailors, and three Army Soldiers).
1999—USS O'Kane (DDG 77) is commissioned at Pearl Harbor, HI.
2004—USS Virginia (SSN 774) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk, VA, the sixth U.S. Navy ship named Virginia; she is the first of its submarine class.
2007—Space shuttle Discovery launches from John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL. The pilot of the 120th shuttle flight and the 23rd to the International Space Station is U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former F/A-18 Hornet pilot Col. George D. Zamka, USMC.
Today in History October 23
4004 BC | According to 17th century divine James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, and Dr. John Lightfoot of Cambridge, the world was created on this day, a Sunday, at 9 a.m. | |
1641 | Rebellion in Ireland. Catholics, under Phelim O'Neil, rise against the Protestants and massacred men, women and children to the number of 40,000 (some say 100,000). | |
1694 | American colonial forces led by Sir William Phips, fail in their attempt to seize Quebec. | |
1707 | The first Parliament of Great Britain meets. | |
1783 | Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War. | |
1861 | President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases. | |
1918 | President Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice to the Allies. The Germans have agreed to suspend submarine warfare, cease inhumane practices such as the use of poison gas, and withdraw troops back into Germany. | |
1929 | The first transcontinental air service begins from New York to Los Angeles. | |
1942 | The Western Task Force, destined for North Africa, departs from Hampton Roads, Virginia. | |
1952 | The Nobel Prize for Medicine is awarded to Ukranian-born microbiologist Selmart A. Waksman for his discovery of an effective treatment of tuberculosis. | |
1954 | In Paris, an agreement is signed providing for West German sovereignty and permitting West Germany to rearm and enter NATO and the Western European Union. | |
1973 | A U.N. sanctioned cease-fire officially ends the Yom Kippur war between Israel and Syria. | |
1983 | A truck filled with explosives, driven by a Moslem terrorist, crashes into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The bomb kills 237 Marines and injures 80. Almost simultaneously, a similar incident occurs at French military headquarters, where 58 die and 15 are injured. | |
1989 | The Hungarian Republic replaces the communist Hungarian People's Republic. | |
1998 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement. | |
2002 | Chechen terrorists take 700 theater-goers hostage at the House of Culture theater in Moscow. | |
2004 | An earthquake in Japan kills 35, injures 2,200, and leaves 85,000 homeless or displaced. | |
2011 | Libiyan National Transition Council declares the Libyan civil war is over. | |
2012 | The world's oldest teletext service, BBC's Ceefax, ceases operation. |
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— … For The List for Saturday, 23 October 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 23 October 1966… The Orator, Senator Ev Dirksen, at his best…"Where Our Nation Stands at Home and Abroad"…
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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Some history that we should not forget about the Marine Barracks bombing and the subsequent lack of response. Look what has happened since with Iran. They are not to be trusted and the agreement we signed with them is a travesty. They are not going to change their ways one bit.
Subj: FW: More on the Marine barracks 1983;RADM Tuttle never launched 'chip shot'
Thanks to Hal -
Dutch, would you pass this on to Micro, please. I can add a few tidbits of information about this.
We all know that Iran has been at war with us even before the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon. Unfortunately most of the American public does not. I even wonder if our president and C in C knows. He being a wee lad at that time in our history, and living in some other country. His naivete shows in his belief that Iran will cease their work on nuclear weapons if we loosen the embargoes.
Let me back up to the facts that were well-known BEFORE the attack on the Marines....on September 26th, four weeks prior to the bombing, our National Security Agency intercepted a message sent from the Iranian Intelligence headquarters in Tehran to Ambassador Mohtashemi telling him to contact Hussein Musawi, head of the terrorist group Islamic Amal and order him to take spectacular action against the US Marines, who were there only as peacekeepers and didn't carry loaded weapons. So the volunteers were recruited to blow up the barracks.
The man who made the bomb was Ibrahim Safa and he was a member of HezbAllah, the Party of God, and totally financed by Iran. He was working with the Pasdaran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The driver was an Iranian, Walid Asmail al-Askari, and working under the orders of the Iranian Ambassador to Syria, Ali Akbar Mohtashemi. I met Admiral 'Ace' Lyons some months after the attack at dinner at the Pacific Club in Honolulu while in the company of a Navy Medical Corps Captain who was a member of this exclusive club. The admiral was the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and responsible for naval security worldwide. He said that the information about the NSA intercept did not reach him until two days after the attack, so he was unable to warn Colonel Tim Geraghty. As Micro points out, the fleet and special operators were all set to seek revenge for this, but then our Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, ordered everyone to stand down. The reason was that Secretary Weinberger said the intelligence he possessed was insufficient to order such an attack. He likely had not been shown the NSA intercepts that were now in the Military Chain of Command. His military aide would have had them and would have the option of showing him, or not showing him. His military aide was General Colin Powell. Some time after that, there was some action taken and I don't know much about that, but one of our A-6s was shot down over Beiruit and the BN was captured by the Syrians and taken to Damascus. He was a black Navy Lieutenant named Goodman and if you remember Jesse Jackson was running for president that year. So, he announced to the world that he was going to go "and get that boy out." At that time I was the hospital administration consultant for the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces Hospital, Al Hada, at Taif. I received a call that day asking if I could be in Damascus when Jackson arrived. So I caught a Syrian Arab Airlines flight out of Jeddah that night and arrived in Damascus early morning and checked into the Cham Palace Hotel downtown. As we were at war with Syria, they were somewhat surprised when I showed up, but they treated me well. To Jackson's credit, however, he did get LT Goodman out of captivity and brought him home. One more thing I would add is that I used to fly British Air from London to Beiruit to catch Middle East Airlines onward to Dhahran as they had the very best food of any airline. But the last time I flew out, the crazies shelled the terminal two hours after I departed. They cratered the runway and every plane on the ground stayed there for months and nothing could fly in. Anyone who tried to repair the runway was shot by snipers. Beiruit used to be called the Paris of the Middle East. When last I saw it, it looked more like Dresden or Cologne or Berlin in WWII.
Hal
Marine barracks 1983; Tuttle never launched 'chip shot'
Thanks to Micro
Dutch:
There are a few more tidbits on this one, regarding going after the guys that planned the strike against the Marines in Lebanon. RADM Tuttle was raring to go, and it wasn't his decision not to launch. Here's the story from our standpoint:
I was CO of VF-143, World Famous Pukin' Dogs on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Three of my 12 F-14 aircraft were TARPS capable (Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System). We had been pulled out of an exercise in Egypt when the Ambassador's residence and compound had been shelled, starting in August. Over time, the tensions subsided, and we slowly backed away until we could go into port in Naples. After we were there for about 24 hours, they hit the Marines with the car bomb, and we emergency sortied at midnight. Our next port was Norfolk, 101 days later. A lot happened in that 101 days.
One day, a Navy CDR in Service Dress Blue, needing a shave, stepped off a COD. About half an hour later, I was called to the Captain's Inport Cabin. Gathering were the Captain (Ed Clexton), CAG (Joe Prueher), the CO's of the A-6 squadron and the E-2 squadron, the mysterious CDR, and me. He was the courier that ADM Lyons mentioned in the article below. I don't remember if RADM Tuttle was there at the initial meeting or not.
The mission was so secret that they didn't want to trust the Top Secret communications system with the news. ADM Lyons states that he knew the Soviets were reading our messages, but we didn't know that at the time (at least at my pay grade).
We planned the strike on the dining room table in the inport cabin over the next week or so. Even CVIC didn't know what we were doing. RADM Tuttle had told us he "wanted to send a message." The A-6's bomb load totaled 144 MK-83, 1000-lb bombs. To hit a little square (I recall less than a square block perhaps) with barracks surrounded by a low stone wall in a little town. I've attached a Google Earth picture with the whole barracks complex outlined as best I remember it (it may just be the line of buildings along the southwestern side of the square). You can see the scale in the lower left (200 ft), so the compound I've outlined was about 500 x 800 feet, by my eye.
ADM Crowe was CINCSOUTH, and he was sent aboard to take our briefing and to report to President Reagan whether or not we were ready to go (and if he had confidence in us). At one point, he asked me what the AOB (Air Order of Battle) was for Syria. I don't remember the exact number now, but it was several hundred MiG's, and I was using six fighters at that end of the ingress. He asked me if that would be enough, and I said I thought it was about even. We all chuckled, but he didn't, and I thought he might think we had a little too much "cowboy" in us, but he didn't say anything further. After all, it was a short ingress down the Bekaa, with a 15 mile egress, and we figured we'd catch everyone by surprise more with a small force than a huge one. Besides, if you believe anyone can get several hundred aircraft airborne from a non-alert posture, you're smoking something.
My TARPS birds were to get immediate BDA with IR and film to prove that collateral damage was minimal, because there would be all kinds of claims.
Came the day of the strike: We manned up and were shut down. President Reagan was in Japan, and his departure was delayed. So we heard, he didn't want to carry out such a strike when he was on foreign soil.
We sat around the Ready Rooms and waited for Air Force One to take off, while the airplanes were all topped off. Then, we manned up again. And we were shut down again. This time, it was cancelled.
It seems that Time magazine had just published an article that speculated where the bad guys were, with pictures of them. Their speculation was accurate, and intel reported that the bad guys were no longer there.
We were really pissed, of course. So close, and yet so far.
To my knowledge, we never have gotten these guys.
Micro
Subject: FW: marine barracks 1983; Tuttle never launched 'chip shot'
Thanks to ted -
LYONS: The Iranian origins of treachery
By James A. Lyons Jr.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
With all the media focus on the recently concluded talks in Geneva with Iran over its nuclear program, it's easy to overlook the 34th anniversary of the U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut 34 years ago on Oct. 23, 1983.
On that day, 241 of our finest military personnel were killed, with scores more seriously injured. Almost simultaneously, a similar attack was carried out at the French military headquarters, killing 58 French paratroopers. We have positive proof that these attacks were planned and ordered by Iran using their Islamic Amal terrorist proxies — forerunners to Hezbollah — in Lebanon. It is astounding that we had the information to prevent these attacks, and even more astounding is the "reason" for not retaliating.
The National Security Agency issued a highly classified message dated Sept. 27, 1983, which contained the instructions that Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Montashemi in Damascus had previously received from Tehran and then gave to Husayn al-Musawi, the leader of the Islamic Amal. Those instructions directed the terrorist group to concentrate its attacks on the Multi-National Force but take a "spectacular" action against the U.S. Marines.
I was deputy chief of naval operations at that time, and I did not receive that message until Oct. 25, two days after the bombing. That same day, I was called out to the CIA's Langley headquarters because CIA Director William Casey wanted to see me. At the meeting, Casey asked me whether I would develop plans to take out the perpetrators if he discovered who they were and where they were located. I readily agreed.
The terrorist group, Islamic Amal, was located in the Lebanese Army Sheik Abdallah barracks near Baalbek, Lebanon. The organization had taken over the barracks on Sept. 16 with the help of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. I had the strike plans couriered to the 6th Fleet Carrier Strike Force for the commander, Rear Adm. Jerry Tuttle, because I knew then the Soviets were reading our communications.
Everyone had been briefed, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger. According to National Security Adviser Robert McFarland, at the key meeting with President Reagan, Weinberger stated that he thought there were Lebanese Army groups in the barracks. This was false.
The president turned to Casey for clarification. Casey, who had just returned from an overseas trip, was not up to speed on such details. The president then said, "Get that sorted out." As it turned out, there were no Lebanese Army troops in the barracks. But Weinberger threw more dust into the air by stating that we will lose all of our Arab friends if we go ahead with this strike.
Consequently, we never received the execute order, even though the planes were loaded and ready to launch. In the words of the Carrier Strike Force commander, "This was a chip shot." The failure to retaliate was tragic, and we are still living with that mistake.
Compounding the problem, Reagan approved a combined strike with the French against the same target several days later. This time, the secretary of defense simply ignored the president's order and would not issue the strike order. Mr. McFarland and Secretary of State George Shultz both told me that they tried to get Weinberger to change his position but failed. The French were furious. They carried out the strike alone, but did no damage, contrary to Reagan's diary entry that stated the French wiped out the terrorists.
At the time of these "acts of war," President Obama was still a student at Columbia University and later at Harvard. He was probably more involved in absorbing the wisdom of the leftist agenda than on the tragic events carried out by Iran against our military. However, he is certainly aware today of the thousands of our military personnel who have died as the result of Iran's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also must realize that Iran has provided material and training support to the September 11 hijackers. Iran was found guilty of providing such support by Judge George B. Daniels of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in December 2011. Previously, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Iran guilty in the Marine barracks bombing.
Iran remains the world leader in state-sponsored terrorism. It is a rogue regime that will do anything to ensure the survivability of the corrupt theocracy. The mullahs have not spent billions to build underground nuclear facilities, as well as absorbing crippling economic sanctions, to simply negotiate away their nuclear weapons objectives. In August 1995, Russia offered to provide Iran with a 10-year supply of fuel for their nuclear plant at Bushehr for only $30 million. Iran adamantly rejected the proposal because Russia insisted that Iran return the spent fuel rods to Russia for reprocessing. Case closed. Iran, with enough oil and gas to last at least a few hundred years, doesn't need nuclear capability for electricity.
With Mr. Obama's eagerness to negotiate with Iran, it has been reported that he is weighing the possibility of unfreezing billions in Iranian assets in response to "potential" concessions by Iran. Such a move would be nonsensical. If Mr. Obama were to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets, then the money should not go to Iran, but to the surviving families of the Marine barracks bombing, as well as to the surviving families of the September 11, 2001, atrocity, as our courts have mandated.
Retired Adm. James A. Lyons was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.
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This Day in U S Military History
1864 – Forces led by Union Gen. Samuel R. Curtis defeated Confederate Gen. Stirling Price's army in Missouri. Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition had changed course from St. Louis and Jefferson City to Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth. As his army neared Kansas City, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border blocked its way west, while Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton's provisional cavalry division was closing on their rear. Price decided that he needed to deal with the two Union forces and decided to attack them one at a time. With Pleasonton still behind him, Price chose to strike Curtis at Westport first. Curtis had established strong defensive lines and during a four-hour battle, the Confederates hurled themselves at the Union forces but to no avail. The Rebels could not break the Union lines and retreated south. Westport was the decisive battle of Price's Missouri Expedition, and from this point on, the Rebels were in retreat.
1917 – The 1st Infantry division, "Big Red One," fired the 1st US shot in WW I. This morning the first American shell of the war was sent screaming toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit.
1921 – Four unknown soldiers from the cemeteries of Asine-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Somme, and St. Mihiel were brought to the Hotel de Ville in France for final selection to commemorate the sacrifice of the 77,000 American servicemen who died during World War I. the US military selected bodies of unknown soldiers who died in France. One was chosen to be brought to Arlington National Cemetery. The chosen soldier would represent just one of many who would never be identified. The military service record describes the selection of the first unknown soldier out of a group of four: "The original records showing the internment of these bodies were searched and the four bodies selected represented the remains of soldiers of which there was absolutely no indication as to name, rank, organization or date of death." The selection of the first unknown soldier to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery was made at the Hotel de Ville. Sergeant Edward F. Younger was chosen to select which of the four unknown soldiers would be brought to the United States. Younger entered the mortuary room, "carrying a spray of white roses which had been donated by M. Brasseur Brulfer, a former member of the City Council. Sergeant Younger passing between two lines formed by the officials, entered the chamber in which the bodies of the four Unknown Soldiers lay, circled the caskets three times, then silently placed the flowers on the third casket from the left. He faced the body, stood at attention and saluted. General Duport stepped forward at the other end of the casket and saluted in the name of the French people. He was followed by the other officials present." The casket was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with the inscription, "An Unknown American who gave his life in the World War."
1939 – North of Murmansk, a German prize crew steers the US ship City of Flint into Kola Bay. The steamer was seized as contraband by a German cruiser. SS City of Flint, a freighter of the United States Merchant Marine, was the first American ship captured by the Germans during World War II. Under the command of Captain Joseph H. Gainard, City of Flint first became involved in the war when she rescued 200 survivors of the torpedoed British passenger liner SS Athenia in early September 1939. On October 9, City of Flint was carrying 4000 tons of lubricating oil from New York to Great Britain. (Panzerschiff) Deutschland seized her some 1200 miles out from New York, declaring her cargo to be contraband and the ship a prize of war. A German prize crew painted out all US insignia and hoisted the German ensign. To avoid the Royal Navy, the prize crew headed for Tromsø. The Norwegians, neutral at the time and disturbed by the sinking of the merchant SS Lotent W. Hassen, refused entry to the Germans. The prize crew then sailed for Murmansk, claiming havarie (the privilege of sanctuary for damage caused at sea), but the Russians also refused entry, stating that if the Germans claimed havarie, the American crew could not be prisoners of war. In the several weeks that elapsed, the United States ordered many US merchant ships to register with other countries, so as to continue supporting the Allies without violating the US's nominal neutrality. The Royal Navy began closing on the captured ship. The prize crew then tried Norway again at the port of Haugesund. The Norwegian government again refused entry, describing the German crew as kidnappers. The approaching Royal Navy left the prize crew no choice, though; on November 3 they entered the harbor. The Norwegian Admiralty interned the German crew and, on November 6 returned City of Flint to Captain Gainard's command.
1944 – The 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division (TX), soon known as the "Lost Battalion" was cut off on top of a hill by German infantry and armored forces. After six days of stemming repeated enemy attacks and suffering extremely high losses and with ammunition, food and water running out, the battalion was relieved by the other two battalions of the 141st along with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team made up of Japanese-Americans.
1983 – A truck filled with explosives, driven by a Moslem suicide terrorist, crashed into the U.S. Marine barracks near the Beirut International Airport in Lebanon. The bomb killed 241 Marines and sailors and injured 80. Almost simultaneously, a similar incident occurred at French military headquarters, where 58 died and 15 were injured. Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh was suspected of involvement. They were part of a contingent of 1,800 Marines that had been sent to Lebanon as part of a multinational force to help separate the warring Lebanese factions. Twice during the early 1980s the U.S. had deployed troops to Lebanon to deal with the fall-out from the 1982 Israeli invasion. In the first deployment, Marines helped oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO from Beirut. In mid-September 1982 — after the U.S. troops had left — Israel's Lebanese allies massacred an estimated 800 unarmed Palestinian civilians remaining in refugee camps. Following this, 1,800 Marines had been ordered back into Lebanon. The president assembled his national security team to devise a plan of military action. The planned target was the Sheik Abdullah barracks in Baalbek, Lebanon, which housed Iranian Revolutionary Guards believed to be training Hezbollah fighters. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger aborted the mission, reportedly because of his concerns that it would harm U.S. relations with other Arab nations. Instead, President Reagan ordered the battleship USS New Jersey, stationed off the coast of Lebanon, to the hills near Beirut. The move was seen as largely ineffective. Four months after the Marine barracks bombing, U.S. Marines were ordered to start pulling out of Lebanon.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
DUNN, PARKER F.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 312th Infantry, 78th Division. Place and date: Near Grand-Pre, France, 23 October 1918. Entered service at: Albany, N.Y. Birth: Albany, N.Y. G.O. No.: 49, W.D., 1922. Citation: When his battalion commander found it necessary to send a message to a company in the attacking line and hesitated to order a runner to make the trip because of the extreme danger involved, Pfc. Dunn, a member of the intelligence section, volunteered for the mission. After advancing but a short distance across a field swept by artillery and machinegun fire, he was wounded, but continued on and fell wounded a second time. Still undaunted, he persistently attempted to carry out his mission until he was killed by a machinegun bullet before reaching the advance line.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for October 23, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
23 October
1909: Wilbur Wright gave Lt Benjamin D. Foulois his first flying lesson at College Park. (24)
1922: The American Propeller Company demonstrated the reversible or adjustable pitch propeller at Bolling Field. Tests continued until 1927. (24)
1944: BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF. Through the 26th, the battle raged. It featured carrier air as well as surface action and introduced Kamikaze attacks. FEAF bombers from Noemfoor and Biak belatedly entered the fray on 26 October and sank the damaged Japanese cruiser Abukuma southwest of Negros Island as the beaten enemy fleet retired on the 26th. They lost three battleships, one heavy carrier, three light carriers, six heavy and four light cruisers, and eleven destroyers in the battle. The US fleet lost one light carrier, two escort carriers, two destroyers, and one destroyer escort. (17) (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. During one of the bloodiest air battles of the war, the 307 BW's raid on Namsi Airfield, MiG-15s destroyed three B-29s and one F-84, and damaged five other bombers. Fighter pilots and B-29 gunners shot down five MiGs. (28) Col Michael N. McCoy, the 306 BMW Commander, flew SAC's first operational Boeing B-47 (No. 50-008) to his wing at MacDill AFB. In a 19 November ceremony, the B-47 received a name, "The Real McCoy." (1) (12)
1957: A BOMARC missile, in two minutes from beginning its alert, successfully intercepted and knocked down a B-17 drone 100 miles away over the Atlantic Ocean. (24)
1961: A Polaris A-2 R&D missile, launched from the submerged submarine USS Ethan Allen, marked the first underwater launching of this model missile from a submarine. (See 20 July 1960) (16) (24)
1962: Navy F8U-1Ps and USAF RF-101s flew low-level reconnaissance missions over Cuba. (24) PACAF's first F-105D landed at Hickam AFB en route to Kadena AB. (17)
1963: SAC asked for a large payload missile to follow the Minuteman. (6)
1965: The 4503d Tactical Fighter Squadron (Provisional) arrived in Vietnam with 12 F-5A Freedom Fighters for a combat evaluation test. (16) (26)
1972: Operation LINEBACKER I. President Nixon halted bombing operations north of the 20th parallel to end this operation. (16) (17) PROJECT ENHANCE PLUS. Begun in September, the project attempted to build up the Vietnamese Air Force to a level adequate to conduct operations after a cease-fire or withdrawal of US forces. The first cargo aircraft arrived at Tan Son Nhut AB today, while the last shipment arrived at Newport, near Saigon, on 12 December. Altogether, the 288 additional aircraft transferred to the Republic of Vietnam under this project included 116 F-5A/Bs, 90 A-37s, 28 A-1s, 22 AC-119Gs, and 32 C-130As. (17)
1978: Two UH-1N Iroquois helicopters and one O-2A aircraft from the 24th Composite Wing provided flood assistance in Costa Rica. (16)
1983: Through 16 November, MAC flew 78 Americans injured in the terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut from Lebanon to medical facilities in the US and Europe on 8 C-141 and 12 C-9A aeromedical airlift missions. (2)
1984: An H-3 Jolly Green Giant from the 31 ARRS rescued 9 people trapped on the roof of the Pines Hotel in Baguio, Philippines. A C-130 from the 374 TAW, Thirteenth Air Force, carried 48 people to Clark AB for treatment. (16) (26)
1991: MAC units moved 146 tons of medical supplies and relief cargo to Kiev, Ukraine, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. (16) (26)
: Through 25 October, two C-130 Hercules evacuated 96 Americans from war-torn, Monrovia, Liberia. (16)
1998: Two Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys landed at Eglin AFB for a week of pre-operational testing. The V-22 would eventually be transformed into the CV-22 and delivered to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) in 2004. A total buy of 50 CV-22s would replace most of the command's existing rotary and fixed-wing fleet. (AFNEWS Article 981677, 5 Nov 98)
2002: The first KC-135 with the Roll-on-Beyond Line of Sight Enhancement (ROBE) relayed a large quantity of tactical communications data from several F-15 fighters and an E-8C (Joint Stars) aircraft to an operations center at Hanscom AFB. The ROBE, carried on pallets aboard a KC-135 from the 319 ARW at Grand Forks AFB, and flying a test mission from Eglin AFB successfully demonstrated the ROBE's ability to serve as the relay platform of a war-fighting communications network. (22)
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Thanks to Shadow, Lancer, The Bear and Bruddah
This one was buried in my email and is actually the original and the follow on by Shadow with comments from the others so you get the whole story.
skip
It's Worse Than We Think
Had a very short phone conversation with my retired FBI Bubba last night. I called to twig him
about the other retired FBI agent had just come forward with more verification as to how
corrupt the FBI and Justice Department was under the Obama Administration… specifically
concerning the phony investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails. This Agent, John Robertson,
wasn't involved in the initial investigation. That investigation was controlled by Comey and
Company. This Agent was looking into sex crimes involving Anthony Weiner, husband of Huma
Abedin, Hillary's alter ego. In searching for illicit contacts with minors, Robertson discovered
thousands of emails between Hillary and Huma… and copies of thousands of Hillary emails to
others around the world. According to Robertson there was evidence of coverup, extortion,
money laundering and all manner of incriminating evidence of crimes far worse than
maintaining a secret email account and server. When he alerted higher ups of what he'd found,
he was eventually ordered by Headquarters to erase his government computer upon which the
emails had been transferred to. Robertson balked and instead, went to the U.S. Attorney in
New York. What happened after that remains a mystery… I assume we'll find out when his
book comes out?
Well, my former FBI Bubba came unglued and went into a rant about how corrupt Comey and
Company really were… accused me of ruining his cocktail hour… and was so pissed off about
the whole thing; he didn't want to talk about it anymore until he'd calmed down. I did a prudent
withdrawal and signed off.
After I hung up, I paused to think about his reaction; as he is not normally an excitable
personality, but last night he was fired up! It finally dawned on me that his visceral reaction was
motivated by his realization that an entity he'd served faithfully and was so proud of… had
become nothing more than a corrupt extension of the Washington, D.C. swamp. That the folks
running the Agency had devolved into a bunch of political hacks… including the current
Director Wray… a Trump appointee, encouraged by insiders. Wray is noteworthy by continuing
to refuse to release documents and emails subpoenaed by Congress and through FOIA
requests… even when mandated by a court! It appears that Comey the political scoundrel was
replaced by another political scoundrel.
Now this is just a small piece of the pie… I had become aware decades ago.. just how corrupt
Washington had become, through my long term association with one of the alphabet Agencies.
And as time went on, I realized it wasn't just with the elected politicians, but was ingrained
within the various bureaucracies throughout the government as well… including our military! I
found out first hand how mendacious and corrupt the Flag Community could be when called to
account. Duty, Honor Country… became a hollow concept… cover your ass and those of the
insiders was the name of the game for them. But that's not what is important to day… so I'll
drop it.
It's time we all understood, that we as a nation face the greatest threat to our existence in our
lifetime. And folks… the greatest threat is from within our own borders. We are facing an unholy
and corrupt alliance between one of our political parties, the national Main Stream Media and a
coalition of radical Marxists and left wing operatives and some of the wealthiest individuals and
corporations in our nation. We, as a people, are bombarded with propaganda daily by this
cabal. They are hell bent on destroying our constitution and our way of life in pursuit of
installing a totalitarian government to replace our Democratic Republic!
Is there a single honest person who can deny the rioters and protesters… are nothing more
than Democratic Party activists? That these confrontations are not some spontaneous
happening; but are in fact planned, encouraged and plotted by the DNC, the Media and funded
by wealthy idiots and manipulators, every step of the way. It is not conservatives that riot, steal
and plunder… it is not conservatives that burn businesses and buildings. It is not conservatives
that attack the police night after night. It is not conservatives that shoot police and individuals
they deem not woke or worthy. It is not Republican Mayors and Governors who who tolerate
insurrection and in fact encourage it. It is not Republican Prosecutors and Attorney Generals
that free criminals engaged in theses heinous acts of mayhem and destruction, without
prosecution. It all goes back to the DNC and the Democratic Party. They are the true
totalitarians in our country today… I'll go even further, they're now the parent of the CPUSA!
I used to joke that Republicans ran political campaigns the way Democrat's ran wars… in both
cases, victory was never the primary goal. The desire to be accepted by the enemy was more
important than winning. Figure that one out? Republican's seemed wont to call a spade a
spade… call corruption what it was vis a vis the opposition party… and the Democrats
operated on the premise that no lie was too bold, no dirty trick too low… and no corruption
was beneath them. What ever it takes to win is their mandate. Wish they'd have had that
attitude when running the Vietnam War.
Look at what they've done in concert with the national media against this President… First it
was Russia, Russia. It was all a lie! A Damn Lie and they knew it from the git go. Then there
was an attempt to impeach him over a phone call claiming a demand of a quid pro quo with
the Ukrainians… another bullshit charge. But if they really wanted to find a quid pro quo with
the Ukrainians… look no further that Joe Biden's admission of extorting the Ukrainians by
threatening to with hold over a billion dollar loan guarantee unless the fired a prosecutor, who
just happened to be investigating corruption involving Joe's son any benefactor (Burisma). In
fact, it appears that Joe has been able to provide a money tree to his entire extended family
through foreign and U.S. Government funds. Both sons and brothers have lived off the
largesses of Government contracts and foreign investments with no prior experience in any of
supposed endeavors they were to engage in (unless you consider Bo's proclivity for hookers,
foreign and domestic). The whole family is corrupt and Joe is the King Pin.
Like to talk about the supposed insulting remarks Trump made about our dead Patriots. First
the accusation is made by a hack for the Atlantic Monthly; quoting anonymous sources,
supposedly high ranking officers. Funny, even Bolton, who was on the trip with Trump and has
no love lost for the man, absolutely denies it happened, along with General McChrystal. So
who are these anonymous high ranking officers? What cowardly high ranking officer would
make such a scurrilous accusation and then hide behind the nom de plume of "anonymous".
Maybe one of the hacks ordained by Clinton, Obama and the DNC… who knows which side
their bread is buttered on. It's bullshit… plain and simple. And the Biden campaign is running a
commercial by another useful idiot thinking it is true. Nothing is too low for these scoundrels!
Let's look at this whole BLM thing… the greatest threat to the life of a black man, child or
woman in this country… is not the police or white people. The overwhelming threat to their
lives is none other than black men… period! More Blacks are killed in one year by other Black
men, than all the blacks killed by police over the last 50 years! Think about that! Here's another
one… Black's account for between 12% to 15% of this countries population, yet they
collectively account for over 65% of the violent crime in this nation; year after year. Is there a
culture problem here? Ya think?
Let's look at all the cause de celebre fatal encounters between Black Men and cops over the
last few years. They all contain a repetitive scenario. Black Felon, engaging in a confrontation
with the police: Ferguson, Atlanta, Floyd and Blake. Every damn one of them was a blight on
society! Everyone of them had been convicted or accused of a violent crime, including rape of
a minor. Everyone of them struggled with the police, refused to follow a lawful order and
managed to come out on the losing end of the confrontation!
Let's look at each case… In Ferguson, Michael Brown… assaults a store owner, steals goods
and then walks down the middle of the street in traffic, daring anyone to run over him (not
bright). When hailed by the police, he comes over and hits the police officer while he is still
seated in his car and then tries to take his gun away. In the struggle, the officer, in fear for his
life, shoots him! A Case of a corrupt cop shooting an innocent Black man? Nope, a cop doing
the smart thing when attacked by a large Black man, intent on doing great bodily harm. It ain't
rocket science to figure out what the truth was… but truth is the first victim of the Democratic
Party and main stream media. They spread a lie to use for political gain… that simple!
Atlanta… Rayshard Brooks is shot near a Wendy's restaurant after getting into a fight with
police. He stole a taser and shot it at them and then ran with the taser still in his hand and he
turned and the cop shot him. Did I mention Rayshard had just been released from prison? Did I
mention that the cops were not out to get him because he was a Black Man? Did I mention
that the police were called on him by concerned civilians? Did I mention that Rayshard at first
acted like he was gonna cooperate and then assaulted the police? Did I mention he stole one
of the officer's taser and attempted to shoot him with it (think I did)? Innocent victim or just
another violent, just plain stupid felon? You figure it out.
Floyd… The Gentle Giant… who had committed armed robbery, assaulted a women, held a
gun to her pregnant body. Went to prison… then went to prison a second time. Released and
moved north. Once again, the police were not out to harass an innocent black man, but were
responding to a call from a store owner that Floyd was trying to pass a counterfeit bill to make
a purchase. Like Brooks; at first Floyd seemed cooperative. Then when they tried to put him in
the car, he revolted and became violent. He was taken to the ground and that is when we all
got to see the apparently horrible actions of the police. One cop is shown leaning on Floyd's
neck and he's screaming, "I can't breath"! The optics were terrible… it appeared that the cop
was cutting off Floyd's air, causing him to suffocate. Well, that's what it appeared to be. But in
the rush to judgement and using the Democratic Party narrative and media hype… what we
didn't see and what we didn't know… is a whole different story; that didn't come out until the
officers' body cam video was released along with the autopsy. The Body cam's showed that
Floyd had complained he couldn't breath before he was taken to the ground… it also showed
Floyd began resisting the police and refused to get in the car. Still complaining he couldn't
breath. After the officers took him to ground… he continued to scream he couldn't breath and
this along with the optic of the officer kneeling on his neck… would have led anyone to believe
the cop was choking him. But not only do people lie… the camera can lie too! Especially when
viewed from the wrong angle. Now the State Attorney tried to hide the body cam's as long as
he could. Didn't fit the narrative they wanted to fraudulently present. But he finally had to
release them when the autopsy results were released.
The autopsy finally told us what Floyd really died from… and it wasn't from a cop kneeling on
his neck and and cutting off his air or blood to his brain. No sign of air passages damaged,
strained or collapsed. No bruise to the neck. The autopsy proves that what Floyd died of was a
drug overdose! Seems Ole Floyd had become fond of Fetanyl, laced with a couple of other
drugs. And for some ungodly reason… he had decided to store his stash in his ass (no
kidding)! He must have learned that trick in prison! But Floyd was evidently already high and
failed to notice before inserting his stash in his ass, that the package wasn't perfectly sealed…
and along the way to his attempt to pass bogus currency… it started leaking and (this even
surprised me since I'm not experienced in this arena)… it appears that drugs introduced
through the anal canal, can be absorbed into one's system almost as efficiently as those taken
orally. And it was determined that Floyd died from Fetanyl overdose! Think about the optics of
that little nugget! I can just hear Black Lucas yelling out… "F—k me running"… as he reads
this! Hell, it's hard to keep a straight face just writing it!
Of course… this doesn't fit the media or BLM narrative, so you'll never hear about it from the
media… but I do think it would be fun to watch one of the female talking heads try to explain
that one! BTW… understand the family stands to make millions from the go fund me account
set up in Floyd's memory. Ain't that a kick in the ass?
Next we have Mr. Blake… Felon, accused child rapists. Pulls out a knife and threatens civilians
and neighbors… cops try to arrest and he tells them he has a gun and knife… rushes cops,
goes to his car and reaches in for what the cops thought was a gun and they shoot him!
Overreaction… don't think so. As a cop you have about two to three seconds max to react…
better a dead felon than a dead cop. Now he didn't die, but is paralyzed. Assuming he goes to
prison for the child rape… he'll at least get good health care for most of the rest of his life. I
have no sympathy for the peso what so ever.
And last is one I didn't mention before… The untimely death of Breonna Taylor. Here's a classic
case of how the narrative is established, before the truth comes out. Seems Miss Taylor had
lived with a known drug dealer before ditching him and getting a new Bo. Said drug dealer was
getting to be big time and was being tailed and the cops notice he visits Ms. Taylor and comes
out with a package he'd stored in her apartment. Drug dealer is getting notorious and cops ask
for multiple search warrants for various places he was known to hang out. Thinking he and/or
his operatives could resist with violence, they requested and received a series of "No Knock"
warrants. Allowing them to break in without giving a warning. That's what the warrants
allowed… and what the media focused on… but that's not what happened. In fact, the police
knocked on the door and yelled out "Police, open up" and waited before knocking down the
door (this was confirmed by a civilian near by that overheard the warning and request to open
up). Now the police, getting no response kicks in the door and are immediately confronted with
gun fire (one officer hit in the leg)… they return fire and in the process, Ms. Taylor is shot and
killed. Her new boyfriend says he thought the police were intruders breaking into the apartment
and admits he fired the first shots in the confrontation. Whatta you call it? Wrong place at the
wrong time? Bad JuJu?… Bad Karma?… Bad luck?… or just plain, "Oh shit"! As aviators,
most of us know, it usually isn't just one thing going wrong that will kill us. Most of the time it is
a cascading series of events or mistakes. And I'm afraid Ms. Taylor is a victim of
circumstances. Remove any of the variables and she would still be alive today. The cops
weren't out to kill anybody and only returned fire after being fired on first. But you can bet your
tippy, the media and the Democrats will contend it was all the cops fault…. Hell they will
probably infer the shooting of the two cops last night was justified because of what happened
to her.
As I said in the beginning, things are worse than we believe. We are confronted with evil all
around us. It's wake up time!
Shadow
Subject: Worse Than We Think II (Bear, running this by you before I send it out)
To: Jerry Taylor
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS"
Most folks of my generation would recognize that little quote that was given to us by that American troubadour, Bob Dylan. And it kinda sums up how I'm feeling these days. An ill wind is blowing across this country. We seem to be mired in chaos, confusion, anger and disheartened. We are at times at war within our selves. Our politicians act like spoiled adolescents… our mainstream media like spoiled children. They no longer report the news, instead they yell at us with propaganda. And both display an unearned sense of intellectual superiority. We not only are confronted with the death of common sense, we are witnessing the death of truth as well. We're in a bad place. And I've given a lot of thought these days as to how the hell did we get here?
I've come to believe, as someone I've come to admire greatly; Admiral Jeremy "Bear" Taylor, who often reminds us that… "The past is prologue". Now Bear rightfully also reminds us it is not a new concept and gives credit to that famous bard; William Shakespeare, for first conveying that concept in writing. My own interpretation of that quote is that in order to understand the present… the truth comes from understanding the past. It can give us insight from whence we've come, to where we are today and where we will be in the future if corrections are not made… I guess in simple terms, if you keep making the same mistakes, you'll continue to reap bad results. That not only applies to us individually, but to our nation as well. God knows, we've all been guilty of it from one time or another. I know I have, it finally took a good friend who took me aside one day and he said, "Roy, 99% of the time you are right… but too often you are dead right because of how you say things… it turns people off". He was telling me that I was too blunt, too dogmatic in my beliefs and I needed to find a softer, gentler way of saying things. I've since tried, but honestly have failed in embracing that concept 100%. Especially when stating the obvious in opposition to others lies.
I never had the gift of getting my point across like some of the great orators I've known and admired… in particular Ronald Reagan. The man was a genius in his ability to get a point across through speaking simply and with humor. As he reminded some of us in a meeting one day… "I don't ever want to give a speech where I'd use words that someone would have to go to a dictionary to understand what I said". And to my knowledge he never did. He never, ever, spoke down to people. He spoke the language of the common man and he was beloved for it. He spoke calmly, straight forward… and there was no ambiguity as to what he meant. Yet he also knew that the talking heads and Democratic politicians would constantly try to put words in his mouth and try to distort what he said. His acknowledgement of that was in a little sign he had on his desk in Sacramento that he had on display for media types when the interviewed him… it went something like this; "I know you heard what I said, but what you don't understand, is what I said, is what I meant". That may not be verbatim, but it's damn close. It was his way of saying… don't try to read into what I said and speculate… just report it as I said it. He was the "Great Communicator"!
I have two great Reagan quotes which I will discuss separately… and try to explain why they are still so prescient in today's world. Here's the first one.
"THEY SAY THAT POLITICS IS THE SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION… I HAVE HAVE LEARNED IT BEARS A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO THE FIRST"!
It was Reagan's way of pointing out that prostitutes and politicians would both screw you in a New York minute, in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Now I'm not stupid, our nation's history is rife with tales of political skullduggery involving graft and corruption… but in today's world it has been elevated to a level of unheard of proportions… involving hundreds of millions of dollars. And they have become experts in the use of family members as a front for personal enrichment. Our current President has a long and provable history of using family members as a front for his corruption. From his brothers getting "No Bid" government contracts to the tune of millions and in one case billions to provide housing in Iraq. Phony Health Care schemes… and then his doper son getting all kinds of sweetheart deals with the likes of corrupt European criminals from Ukraine and Russia… not to mention over a billion from China. Biden has been corrupt from the first days he began in politics. And is a proven congenital liar to boot. But as corrupt as he is… he's a piker compared to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Diane Feinstein who have used their husbands as a front for political corruption to the tune of hundreds of millions in government contracts and special exemptions. And then we have the Clinton's. Two low life grifters who entered into politics and ended up worth hundreds of millions of dollars! Bill was the ultimate con artist, what folks in the South referred to as a "Film Flam Man". He embraced the tactics and false populism of Huey P. Long, the "Kingfish" out of Louisiana from his neighboring state of Arkansas. Actually, Clinton and old Huey had more than politics in common. Both men had a weakness for the flesh. But there was a difference without a distinction when caught… in Bill's case, he just flat out lied about it… "I did not have sex with that woman"! Old Huey, handled it differently. When set up by rival politicians with a young lady of ill repute in a hotel room. Huey is confronted by flash bulbs and a bevy of reporters demanding to know what he was doing in that hotel room with a known prostitute. Old Huey stopped and thought for a second and said words to the effect… "Boy's, it's obvious by your presence here, that this was a set up. And the truth is if you want to catch the Kingfish… if you bait the trap with P---y… well... you'll probably catch me every time". Both men survived their indiscretions to remain in office. While the Kingfish was not defeated politically, but by an assassins hand... Bill got away with it unscathed.
Now Hillary… If ever there ever was a modern day female you could describe as the new age version of the mythical Medusa… she would win hands down. Not only would her stare turn men to stone, her penchant for vindictiveness and mendacity reached a level seldom seen in modern politics. Unlike Bill, she had no filter; no finesse, no humor and no limits to her pettiness, vindictiveness and lies. And in truth, she paved the way for modern Democrats style of gutter politics. No lie is too big, no crime is punishable by Law… as long as you're a team player… (read that a Democrat). The truth is… she should have been put in jail (like Biden) decades ago. Where ever her boat floats… she leaves a wake of discontent behind her. She was probably the most disliked candidate to ever run for President. Not even Bill could save her, along with a corrupt media and the efforts of James Comey and the FBI to cover up for her. Following her lead, I can only observe that the Democratic Party has become a haven for folks that make the Mafia look like pikers and choir boys.
Here's another Reagan quote that was prophetic… He told the story of a farmer who was approached by a would be Republican candidate for office down south. This was back in the day when all southern farmers were "Yellow Dog Democrats".The farmer was excited and said, "Let me go get my wife, she's never even seen a Republican. We'd like to hear your speech". The wife comes out and they yell speech, speech! The Republican then says he can't, he has no podium to stand on. Farmer says we can fix that and proceeds to pile up a bunch of manure in the barn yard for the Republican to stand on. Well, he gives his speech and at the end… the farmer and his wife applaud and said, "That wasn't so bad was it"? The Republican looks down and then had a perplexed look on his face and said…
"HONESTLY, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER GIVEN A REPUBLICAN SPEECH FROM A DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM"!
And with that little nugget of wisdom, I'd like to make an analogy as to where we are today vis a vis American politics. Fact; The platform of the Democratic Party in today's America… is the living embodiment of the platform from which that mythical Republican's speech from way back when. It is total horse shit!
From CRT, to BLM, to ANTIFA, to inclusiveness as opposed to merit… the pitting of race against race… sexual preference as a bludgeon and the dilution of American values and goals. Even their vaunted "Global Warming" theory is a hoax, base on conjecture and manipulated computer data. By now, if their predictions were truth; the ice caps would have melted. The glaciers around the world would have disappeared and our coastlines would be underwater… and the Polar Bears would be extinct. And now they're using the pandemic as a political tool to control our lives. They go out of their way to remind us of the sins of our past as a nation… while denying all the government programs designed to offset it. The truth is there are more opportunities in America for minorities today, than in any nation in this world. The are thousands of programs and set asides by both State and Federal Governments designed to lend a helping hand to minorities that are willing to accept them and work to keep them. The real threat to Black lives is not "White Rage"… but "Black Rage" within there own communities. More Blacks have been killed by other Blacks over the last hundred years than by all the cops and racists whites put together! The modern Black culture is more to blame for Black failures and a seat at the table of success, than all the racists that supposedly exist in our society at large. Often, they ignore the hundreds of thousands, if not millions... of successful Black professionals… Doctors, Lawyers, Businessmen, entrepreneurs… even athletes, that abound in our country today. None of these success stories were without the same attributes of drive, hard work, and a good education... required of the majority of successful whites in this society today. I'm not naive, I grew up in the age of "Jim Crow"… I witnessed first hand real racism. I was alive when the "Civil Rights Act" was passed and whole heartedly supported it. And I have also observed the denial of the influence of Black Culture as the major impediment to Black success in America today. If only they were taught that the only way out is to embrace what my father drummed into me when I was young… "Your only way out is through hard work and a good education, nobody is gonna give you a damn thing. You have to earn it"!
Such simple, but truthful advice…. I'm gonna end this rant with the following…
It is a pretty hard sell for any of us who competed and went through the Navy Flight Program in one of the last bastions of a meritocracy in this nation, that things are not fair. We had to compete with others who may have had a better education or life station from which we came… but the beauty of the program (with very few exceptions)… was that none of that mattered in the long run. It came down to how you, as an individual performed. As a result, we were better off for it. We rapidly developed two necessary traits… first a strong sense of ego, followed by the equally important trait of a "Thick Skin". I have to laugh at this "Woke Culture" where everyone goes to pieces when subjected to the least bit of criticism; and compare that to the brutally honest evaluations we endured after every instructional flight in the Training Command or at the mercy of our LSO's and peers, after being winged. We took it because we knew there was both truth and necessity behind it… as our lives and those of others, demanded our best. We all make mistakes… but in that environment… the least mistake could be fatal. And sadly, those of us that survived saw many examples of those short comings that cost lives... and many others that were not as a result of human mistake. We knew… and accepted that... "Fate was the Hunter"… and that I, along with so many others survived through that combination of hard work, incredible training and the Grace of God. I think because of our background… we find it hard to sympathize with the complainers… we also find it hard to believe so many people are as gullible as they are. Not able to realize they're being manipulated in a way that is obvious to us. As I've said… "We're in a bad place".
In conclusion I want to say the following… "My Mother taught me manners and kindness… My Dad taught me about life… I learned about politics and history through college… but it was the military that taught me how to be a man". I am forever grateful to all four. Gents… we are part of a very small fraternity… and we are blessed to have lived the life we have. I look back in appreciation of what we've had and done… but I look forward in fear for the lives of our offspring unless this country wakes up. I have seen the future in store for them all around the world… I can't believe they are so naive as to buy into the other world of dominance and the total control of government over every facet of their lives. In a way… we have failed them by not being as dogmatic as we should have been. For that I am sorry.
Rant over...
Agree with Bruddah!...What a rant and I wonder in amazement how Shadow can sit down and write something this long and newsy that I keep nodding my head in agreement as I go through it! Well done Shadow...Somebody better get hold of this country and reverse course through good old fashioned American leadership that we grew up with before the great dream and creation of our forefathers disappears! When I retired from the Corps in the early '90s I could have never considered that America would be split like it is today and all our time honored values, traditions and heritage are being challenged...SF, Lancer
From: Bruddah]
Subject: Re: Worse Than We Think II... continuation of the story
Holy Schiite, Fayouq! Shadow, that is a Wurlitzer Prize rant if I ever read one!
You brought up many great points, but one that you and I always thought was a highlight of our lives: The United States Marine Corps didn't much GAS where we came from, what school we attended, what ring we had on our finger, who our fathers were (an Arab favorite!); No! The USMC broke it down to, could you hack it?
Well you could! And did!
Today our Marine Corps is ripping that meritocracy apart! SECDEF is purging undesirables from the force. You and I would have been cashiered already. We have an incorrect mindset, and so does everybody reading this. We display overwhelming White Rage! We only got to where we arrived due to (wait for it) White Privilege! As you have so often pointed out, nothing else much mattered when it came down to a lousy weather night "3/4's of a mile, call the ball!"
I'm sure I told you about my first night trap in a Hornet. I hadn't broken out of the weather yet when I heard that phrase. My response was, "Ball? Where's the ship?"
"Come right!"
I relied on my White Privilege to salvage that pass. Or was it rage? Whatever!
I'm proud to know you and to have the privilege to call you friend!
S/F
Bruddah
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