To All,
Good Sunday Morning November 10, 2024 . Saturday morning November 10, 2024.The weather guessers are saying that we should clear up here by 0900 and be clear and sunny skies and 78 degrees.
.. I hope that you have a great day and say Happy 249th Birthday to all your Marine friends Happy Birthday to Lancer, Bruddah, Black and especially Shadow because he was actually born on10 November.(a long time ago in another century) and all the other Marines who make the List enjoyable and entertaining to all.
I spent a bit of time searching the archives for some of my favorite USMC stories for today. The one I could not find was the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt about Marines. I will keep searching.
Three other Important days that we celebrate and the meaning of each
ARMED FOPRCES DAY
The third Saturday in May
The day to appreciate Americans currently serving in uniform
VETERANS DAY
November 11
The day to honor Americans who once served in uniform
MEMORIAL DAY
Last Monday in May
The day to remember Americans who never got to take the uniform off
.
Regards,
skip
Make it a GREAT Day .
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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
November 10
1775 Congress votes to raise two battalions of Continental Marines, establishing the Marine Corps.
1863 During the Civil War, CSS Alabama captures and burns clipper ship Winged Racer carrying a cargo of sugar, hides, and jute in the Straits of Sunda off Java.
1943 PB4Y-1 patrol bombers from VB-103, VB-105, and VB-110, along with British aircraft, sink the German submarine U-966 in the Bay of Biscay off northwest Spain. Spanish fishing trawlers rescue the survivors.
1958 The first permanent Marine aviation detachment afloat is activated aboard USS Boxer (CVS 21) to provide supply, maintenance, and flight deck control functions necessary to support the operations of Marine helicopter squadrons.
1959 USS Triton (SSRN 586) is commissioned as a nuclear-powered radar picket submarine.
American Minute for November 10th:
"Doctor Livingstone, I presume," was the greeting NOVEMBER 10, 1871, by New York Herald newspaper reporter Henry Stanley as he met David Livingstone on the banks of Lake Tanganyika. Livingstone, an internationally known missionary in Africa, had not been heard from in years and rumor was he had died. Stanley, a skeptic, set out to find him and write a story. He described Dr. Livingstone as: "A man who is manifestly sustained as well as guided by influences from Heaven...The...enthusiasm...of his life comes, beyond question, from Christ. There must, therefore, be a Christ." Trying to end slavery, and discovering the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls, Livingstone was so loved by Africans that when he died in 1873 by Lake Bangweulu, his followers buried his heart in Africa before sending his body, packed in salt, back to England to be buried in Westminster Abbey. In his Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, 1857, Dr. David Livingstone wrote: "The perfect fullness with which the pardon of all our guilt is offered in God's Book, drew forth feelings of affectionate love to Him who bought us with His blood...A sense of deep obligation to Him for His mercy has influenced...my conduct ever since."
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This Day in World History
November 10
1493 Christopher Columbus discovers Antigua during his second expedition.
1556 The Englishman Richard Chancellor is drowned off Aberdeenshire on his return from a second voyage to Russia.
1647 All Dutch-held areas of New York are returned to English control by the treaty of Westminster.
1775 U.S. Marine Corps founded.
1782 In the last battle of the American Revolution, George Rogers Clark attacks Indians and Loyalists at Chillicothe, in Ohio Territory.
1871 Henry M. Stanley finds Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji near Unyanyembe in Africa.
1879 Little Bighorn participant Major Marcus Reno is caught window-peeping at the daughter of his commanding officer—an offense for which he will be courtmartialed.
1911 President Taft ends a 15,000-mile, 57-day speaking tour.
1911 The Imperial government of China retakes Nanking.
1917 Forty-one US suffragettes are arrested protesting outside the White House.
1938 Fascist Italy enacts anti-Semitic legislation.
1941 Churchill promises to join the U.S. "within the hour" in the event of war with Japan.
1942 Admiral Jean Darlan orders French forces in North Africa to cease resistance to the Anglo-American forces.
1952 U.S. Supreme Court upholds the decision barring segregation on interstate railways.
1961 Andrew Hatcher is named associate press secretary to President John F. Kennedy.
1962 Eleanor Roosevelt is buried, she had died three days earlier.
1964 Australia begins a draft to fulfill its commitment in Vietnam.
1969 The PBS children's program Sesame Street debuts.
1971 Two women are tarred and feathered in Belfast for dating British soldiers, while in Londonderry, Northern Ireland a Catholic girl is also tarred and feathered for her intention of marrying a British soldier.
1972 Hijackers divert a jet to Detroit, demanding $10 million and ten parachutes.
1975 The iron ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald breaks in half and sinks at the eastern end of Lake Superior--all 29 crew members perish.
1986 President Ronald Reagan refuses to reveal details of the Iran arms sale.
1989 German citizens begin tearing down the Berlin Wall.
1997 WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a merger, the largest in US history up to that time.
2008 NASA declares the Phoenix mission concluded after losing communications with the lander, five months after it began its exploration on the surface of Mars.
2009 North Korean and South Korean ships skirmish off Daecheon Island.
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Thanks to the Bear. We will always have the url for you to search items in Rolling Thunder
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER …
. rollingthunderremembered.com .
ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Thanks to the Bear
I have provided access to archive entries covering Commando Hunt operations for the period November 1968 through mid-September 1969. These posts are permanently available at the following link.
https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/commando-hunt-post-list/
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
From Vietnam Air Losses site for Sunday November 10
10-Nov: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=3049
This is one that has the HC-7 log for the rescue. Very informative
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.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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Thanks to several ... and Dr. Rich
Veterans really understand
BEST COMEBACK LINE EVER!!
Marine Corps General Reinwald was interviewed on the NPR radio the other day and you'll love his reply to the lady who interviewed him concerning guns and children.
Regardless of how you feel about gun laws you gotta love this!!!!
This is one of the best comeback lines of all time. It is a portion of National Public Radio (NPR) interview between a female broadcaster and US Marine Corps General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?
GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?
GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?
GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: But you're equipping them to become violent killers.
GENERAL REINWALD: Well, Ma'am, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?
The radio went silent, and the interview ended. You gotta love the Marines!
AMERICA , THE HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!!
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Thanks to Hugh
That's a nice "tip-o'-th'-hat" to the Marines.
Here's and interesting anecdote to the "Other Marines".
Did you ever hear of Washington's Marblehead Marines ?
The 14th Continental Regiment, also known as the Marblehead Regiment and "Glover's Regiment", was raised as a Massachusetts militia regiment in 1775, and taken into the Continental Army establishment during the summer of 1775.
When the Continental Army was reestablished for 1776, the regiment was redesignated the 14th Continental. It was composed of seafaring men from the area around Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Glover's Marblehead Marines manned the boats for Washington's escape across the Hudson river following the retreat from the battle of Brooklyn Heights on Long Island (Aug 27, 1776).
Later,
The Battle of Valcour Island, on the west side of Lake Champlain occurred on October 11, 1776.
A hastily constructed flotilla of "gunboats" was manned with a collection American "rebel militia" and was under the command of Benedict Arnold. A detachment of "Glover's" Marblehead Marines was with Arnold for that engagement.
On October 11, 1776, Arnold's gunboat flotilla engaged a British force of ships proceeding south on Lake Champlain intending to link up with a second British force driving up the Hudson River. The British plan was to "split" the cohesion of the colonies along the Hudson/ Lake Champlain axis.
Arnolds "rag-tag" flotilla's engagement with the British force was essentially destroyed in it's encounter with the British. However the British force was sufficiently damaged that it turned back from it's southern course and retired back to Canada.
Winston Churchill's collective history of the "English Speaking Peoples" make a note of the Battle of Valcour Island and Arnolds"s defeat as a pivotal point in the battle with the Colonies and that it changed the course of history so profoundly, that it must rank as one of the most pivotal "victories" ever recorded in naval history. The American defense of Lake Champlain stalled British plans to reach the upper Hudson River valley.
"Glover's Marblehead Marines" also served during the New York and New Jersey campaign of 1776 and the crossing of the Delaware River before and after the Battle of Trenton. The men of the regiment were only enlisted for one and a half years, and the regiment was disbanded on December 31, 1776, in eastern Pennsylvania.
That's a nice phrase to remember " . . . . . .one of the most pivotal "victories" ever recorded in naval history" !
P.S. The Gunboat "Philadelphia" has been recovered from Lake Champlain at the site of the battle at Valcour Island and is on display at the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C.
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Thanks to Dave /Jade
Here's a little recognized snippet of Marine Corps history, Skip. Source, Navy Captain (ret) James Bloom,
Semper Fidelis,
From: James Bloom
Subject: Today in Naval History, Marine Corps Mailmen
We take it for granted in modern times that the Armed Forces, especially the Army National Guard, are called out to assist in the face of domestic emergency or turmoil. Historically however, the use of front-line military forces, such as the US Marine Corps, in such situations has been rare (notwithstanding their deployment in the past several decades as vaccinators and forest firemen). Two notable exceptions to this trend occurred during the "roaring" 1920s.
Coincident to the post-WWI euphoria was a rise in criminal activity, especially robberies. Banks were obvious targets, but equally attractive were large payroll and cash shipments that commonly travelled in the poorly guarded US Mail. In fact, two celebrated mail robberies in 1921 embarrassed President Warren G. Harding's Postmaster General and shook public confidence in our government's ability to secure this essential function. To restore the public's trust, Harding turned to his Secretary of the Navy, Edwin Denby, who on this day called up the US Marines to, "detail as guards for the United States Mails a sufficient number of officers and men...to protect the mails from depredations by robbers and bandits."
Harding, the consummate politician, was buying more than just protection. WWI had seen the US Marine Corps emerge from the doldrums of the 19th century. Their heroic stand at Belleau Wood in 1918 had "saved Paris from the Hun!" Memories of their ferocious fighting at Soissons and St. Mihiel were fresh in the minds of Americans. Having proved their mettle in the trenches of France, the Marines enjoyed an unassailable reputation at home. "Marine Corps" had become a household word by the 1920s, and "Go tell it to the Marines!" became a popular retort referencing their invincibility in the American public's eye. Harding's deployment of the Marines in this high-visibility tasking fulfilled the practical need for guards AND made political hay.
Approximately 53 officers and 2,200 Marines were sent to the country's major mail distribution sites. Operating in small rifle teams of two or three, the Marines rode shotgun on mail trains for the next four months. If challenged, these Marines were authorized to protect by, "shooting or otherwise killing or disabling any person engaged in the theft or robbery, or the attempted theft or robbery of the mails entrusted...", but never once did they use their weapons in anger. Their presence alone halted the robberies immediately. When similar problems recurred in October 1926, the Marines returned briefly as guards. Once again attacks on the US Mail halted completely. Following this latter episode, a permanent means of protection for the mails was established.
Canfield, Bruce N. "Guns of the Mail Guard Marines." Gun and Sword Collector, Vol 41 (1), February 2019, pp. 14-21.
Marine Corps Historical Center. "Marine Mail Guards, 1921 & 1926." Leatherneck.com website, AT: http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?16110-marine-mail-guards, retrieved 11 March 2019.
Metcalf, Clyde H. A History of the United States Marine Corps. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY, pp. 528-29, 1939.
Millett, Allan R. Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps. Macmillan Pub Co., New York, NY, p. 317, 1980.
Sweetman, Jack. American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, 3rd ed. USNI Press, Annapolis, MD, 2002, pp. 131, 135.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Happy Birthday to the Marines and Shadow
For starters… I was not only a Marine, but I share the same birth date. Yep, I was actually born on the 10th of November. I think my first realization of that coincidence occurred about the time I was eight years old. You see, I grew up on Naval Air Stations around the country as my dad was in the Navy. Back then, we always had Marines on the base… how I missed the significance of our shared birthday for the first seven years of my life escapes me. Never the less once I became aware, I would always make note of it when talking or interacting with Marines over the decades that followed. Often I was reminded by those Marines… "Son… you were born to be a Marine". I'd laugh and say, "I'd like to be a Marine, but there's one problem". They'd ask, "What's that"? I'd say… "The problem is my parents are actually married"! Think about it…
But then I met a man when I was 12 years old, who so impressed me, I actually began to think… maybe being a Marine was not such a far fetched idea after all. His name was Hank Hise… he was the father of my best friend in the 6th grade, Lewis Hise. He was a LtCol. back then and the Student Control Officer for CNATRA in Pensacola. He was a WW II and Korean War vet. He flew with the Cactus Air Force out of Guadalcanal. Flying SBD's until he was medically evacuated due to being run over by a panicking jeep driver, during a bombing raid by Japanese bombers. Can't remember the extent of his injuries, but they were enough for him to be sent back to the States to recover. Once recovered, he went back to the Pacific, this time flying Corsairs until the end of the war.
Hank Hise was an impressive man… not just because he was a Marine… he was so much more than that! He carried himself with grace, was always immaculate in uniform and had a calmness about him that made you know he was something special. He had a soft Texas twang and a subtle sense of humor and was not only an athlete, but an intellectual and artist to boot. Get this… while CG at MCAS El Toro, he was the West Coast Handball Champion… competing with men half his age. I was over at the Hise house all the time as a kid or Lewis was at my house. I was astounded that Hank was not only a wood carver… he was a wood artist. In their home were the most beautiful busts of not only his wife, but of each of his kids, carved from a single piece of wood! Incredible works of art. I mean it was the kind of stuff you'd find in Museums. Later in life I was to find out about his time in Korea from the smartest Marine I ever knew… John Verdi… who served with Hank in VMF-311 flying F9F Panthers… along with Ted Williams and other notable Marines. John said Hank was one of the best leaders he had ever served with… coming from Verdi, that was a big deal! I could go on and on… but my path to the Marine Corps was definitely as a result of meeting Hank Hise.
Anyway… that was the beginning of my desire to be a Marine. I think from that time forward I had two goals… become a Naval Aviator and a Marine. And then I did something really stupid… I was an impatient young man and decided I would take a chance and try a short cut to the MARCAD program. I had taken the AQT/FAR tests my freshman year in college and passed them, along with a flight physical, when I signed up for the PLC (A) Officer program. Somewhere along the way I found out I could get an appointment to the MARCAD Program out of boot camp as long as I could pass the tests (which I already had). So in consult with my recruiter, I rolled the dice and enlisted. Everything went according to plan until I failed the flight physical due to a deviated septum (YGTBSM). My harebrained scheme blew up in my face and it cost me a Grunt Tour in Vietnam with the First Battalion, Fourth Marines, all of it in northern I-Corps. But my dream never died… then I got lucky and Uncle Sam sent me back to college, then OCS and I finally made it to Pensacola. When Walter Mitty dreams finally became a reality. And along the way, I was to meet many more impressive individual Marines. It wasn't always easy… and having survived two very different boot camps; Parris Island and Quantico… I had a bit of a different perspective than most of my peers. For I knew, there were actually two different Marine Corps. The Grunts and aviation types. I've often described it like this… I have incredible fond memories of aviation… but very, very few of my time with the Grunts. They were words apart. Ground combat was a miserable experience… it was up close and personal; a physically exhausting, dirty and demanding existence.. At least in aviation… there were still times of great personal satisfaction and euphoria. The only thing in common was that we were all Marines. But even with that realization… there were times when even we… had to eat a bit of "Humble Pie"… and that leads me to share an experience I had on one of mine and my Marine Corps' Birthdays. Which is what I really started out to tell, but got side tracked when I started this thinking of Hank Hise. Guess I have a bit of attention deficit disorder, in my old age.
A LITTLE HUMBLE PIE STORY
The year was 1975… it was the Marine Corps' "Two Hundredth Anniversary" and my 31st birthday. Now it was a big deal! The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marine Corps Officer's Ball was being held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. It was a Command function, required attendance and a formal affair in full dress blues, the whole nine yards. Now our dress blue uniform was impressive to begin with… but post Vietnam, most of us had enough medals attached to them that almost made one walk with a port list… not just medals, but gold wings and shooting badges. Honestly, made me feel like a parrot (I liked our "Whtes" much better).
As I and my significant other approached the entry to the hotel… I couldn't help but notice my C.O. and his wife were coming up right behind us. In a second, my finally honed sense of situational awareness, dictated that I should stride out ahead of the two ladies and my Skipper and open the door for their entry. That was when the genies of fate, urinated all over the best intentions of a young Marine. As I opened the door, this elderly gentleman comes shuffling out, stops, looks at me in all my finery and says… "Son, could you get me a cab? I have to go to LAX and pick up my wife". I was stunned! I immediately knew that the old geezer had mistaken me for the Door Man! Holy chit! I mentally calculated my options at warp speed. I could act indignant and say, "Listen you old fart, I'm a Marine, not some damn Door Man". Or I could just ignore him, hoping he'd realize his mistake… and then I decided, "What the hell… might as well go along with it"! I then said to him… "Yessir… come this way" and I held his arm and raised my other arm at the cabby que and gave the loudest whistle I could. Immediately a cab pulled forward and I reached down and opened the door for the old man. He kinda straightens up, looks at me and said, "Thanks son"... as he calmly palms a five dollar bill in my hand. He then slides in the cab as I closed his door and they drove away.
I looked at the five dollar bill and all of a sudden I realized that the two ladies and my Skipper were right behind me and had witnessed and heard the whole thing! The women's reaction was telling… it was all they could do to not burst out laughing. Both of them gave me big smiles as they choked back their laughter. Once again, I opened the door and as they go past, they're giggling. My Skipper was another story… he lags behind them and as he comes up to me, he says, "I can't fucking believe you did that"! I looked back at him and said "Boss, five dollars for 30 seconds of work… Well Shit… that pays better than flying F-4's"! He just shook his head and gave me a disgusted look and went on in the hotel.
In conclusion… I guess the moral of the story is that it was great to be a Marine… "The Few, the Proud, the Brave"! But you better be able to eat a little bit of "Humble Pie" along the way. Then again… as the song goes… "Hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way (just kidding)"!
True Story… Shadow
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Some things are just worth repeating ……..Skip
Subject: USMC Birthday Toast
GENERAL WILSON'S BIRTHDAY TOAST
On the occasion marking the birthday of the US Marine Corps, 1978, onboard Camp LeJeune, and in the presence of several thousand Marines and their ladies, General Louis H. Wilson, CMC, arose to deliver his long awaited address to the troops. He approached the rostrum, nodded to the CG's (Base, FSSG and Division) and proceeded to explain to the captive masses that he would be short on words that night - then turned to his bride, took a glass and, amid absolutely DEAD SILENCE, offered this toast - and promptly SAT DOWN.
LOVE
THE WONDERFUL LOVE OF A BEAUTIFUL MAID,
THE LOVE OF A STAUNCH TRUE MAN,
THE LOVE OF A BABY, UNAFRAID,
HAVE EXISTED SINCE TIME BEGAN.
BUT THE GREATEST OF LOVES,
THE QUINTESSENCE OF LOVES,
EVEN GREATER THAN THAT OF A MOTHER,
IS THE TENDER, PASSIONATE, INFINITE LOVE, OF ONE DRUNKEN MARINE FOR ANOTHER.
THE WHOOPIN AND HOLLERIN WENT ON FOR A GOOD TEN MINUTES
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND SEMPER FIDELIS
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A tribute from a Navy Fighter pilot to the Marines
Gentlemen and Ladies,
On 10 November, our brethren in arms celebrate the birthday of the finest fighting force in the world, the United States Marine Corps. There are not words sufficient to describe the service this unique cadre of men and women, the Few, the Proud, the Marines, have sacrificially performed for our nation and for the people of nations throughout the world. Might a Navy pilot who is humbled by the presence of the Marines who have touched his life offer a thought for consideration: I firmly believe that to know one Marine is to know them all, for they are each born with the heart of a patriot, forged from American steel, honed into the sharpest weapon and driven by love of country and the spirit of all those who have preceded them on the field of combat to engage the enemy and to fight until victory is assured.
One such Marine was the youngest American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Private First Class Jack Lucas, United States Marine Corps.
Jack Lucas was a cadet captain in military school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day, he promised his mother that he would come home after the war and finish his education if she would let him enlist. Rather than cause his mother to lie for him, though, he forged her signature on the consent form and convinced the Marine recruiters that he was seventeen. He turned fourteen shortly before leaving for Parris Island.
When his buddies were assigned to move out to Hawaii and further on to combat, he was ordered to remain at Parris Island and drill recruits because of his military school experience. He actually went AWOL and hopped onto the train with them. He joined the Marine Corps to fight and he was not going to be left behind. Upon arrival in Hawaii, he persuaded those in charge that a clerical error had been made causing him to end up on that base. He was subsequently almost discharged from the Corps when a censor read a letter to his girlfriend that revealed his actual age, fifteen by that time. His determination to remain a Marine was once again persuasive and he was assigned to drive a truck on base.
A year later, when a large number of troops were being ferried out to ships in Pearl Harbor heading into action, Jack Lucas stowed away on USS DEUEL.
AWOL once again, he effectively obscured himself from discovery until the ship was well out to sea and then turned himself in to avoid being thought of as a deserter. The Colonel elected to grant his wish for combat rather than punish him and this young Marine was on his way to destiny.
On 14 February 1945, Jack Lucas celebrated his seventeenth birthday as USS DEUEL approached Iwo Jima, and five days later he hit the beach with forty thousand other Marines. By midnight on 19 February, that fateful first day of combat, five thousand Marines had become casualties. When morning came, his unit destroyed a pillbox and then took cover in an escape trench where they were surprised by eleven Japanese soldiers. The Marines engaged the enemy at point-blank range and Jack Lucas killed one soldier before his rifle jammed. As he urgently worked to repair his weapon, he saw two grenades land near the Marine next to him. Instinctively, he dove down into the soft volcanic ash and covered the grenades with his own body. The first failed to go off, but the second exploded, inflicting extreme wounds as would be expected. His torso and face were ripped open by the blast and shrapnel. Internal injuries ejected blood from his nose and mouth.
A Marine from a following unit reached down to retrieve his dog tags for casualty identification and saw his hand move. Jack Lucas was given morphine, stretchered back to the beach and transferred to a hospital ship.
Doctors believed that he would not survive, but they continued to work on him, giving this young Marine a chance at life such as he had so sacrificially done for his buddies.
After twenty-two surgeries, he was discharged from the United States Marine Corps in September 1945, having seen the war through from the beginning to the surrender of the Japanese. On 5 October 1945, President Harry Truman bestowed the Medal of Honor upon Jack Lucas, the youngest recipient since the War Between the States. He honored his promise to his mother and returned to finish school, a ninth grader bearing the inverted star, suspended from an anchor attached to the blue ribbon with thirteen tiny white stars around his neck, the highest honor his proud nation could bestow.
Jack Lucas, United States Marine, was cited for extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty on that day in the shadow of Mount Suribachi, but he would tell anyone who noted his courage that he was no different from any other Marine, as would the other twenty-five Medal of Honor recipients who fought a fierce and committed enemy in the hell that was Iwo Jima. But for opportunity and circumstance, I believe that any one of the thousands of Marines who endured the black volcanic ash that ran red with the blood of American fighting men would have qualified for The Medal.
Such is the nature of the Marine.
As a Navy brother who has faced the enemy in combat in the skies over North Vietnam, I will tell you that my war could never compare to that which our Marines have fought, are fighting today and will fight tomorrow. They are the very best, each and every one of them. Their courage is boundless, as is their commitment and dedication to the defense of liberty. If you know one Marine, you know them all. God bless the United States Marine Corps and God Bless AMERICA!.
Semper Fi, Marines!
Emory Brown
Commander, United States Navy (ret)
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.From the archives
. From Dr. Rich
R3 Sends ...
Had to share a great educational piece on our country's history ...
Founded in a bar in 1775, older than America even … did you know??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abO9p4fFqbM&authuser=0
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Thanks to Dutch and others
This is just to cute. Enjoy! 😁
https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/150/478/790/playable/7a73743bcd9e81b7.mp4
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This Day in U S Military History
November 10
1775 – During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. The resolution, drafted by future U.S. president John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia, created the Continental Marines and is now observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. Serving on land and at sea, the original U.S. Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations during the Revolutionary War. The first Marine landing on a hostile shore occurred when a force of Marines under Captain Samuel Nicholas captured New Province Island in the Bahamas from the British in March 1776. Nicholas was the first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines and is celebrated as the first Marine commandant. After American independence was achieved in 1783, the Continental Navy was demobilized and its Marines disbanded. In the next decade, however, increasing conflict at sea with Revolutionary France led the U.S. Congress to establish formally the U.S. Navy in May 1798. Two months later, on July 11, President John Adams signed the bill establishing the U.S. Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the jurisdiction of the Department of Navy. U.S. Marines saw action in the so-called Quasi-War with France and then fought against the Barbary pirates of North Africa during the first years of the 19th century. Since then, Marines have participated in all the wars of the United States and in most cases were the first soldiers to fight. In all, Marines have executed more than 300 landings on foreign shores. Today, there are more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve Marines, divided into three divisions stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; and Okinawa, Japan. Each division has one or more expeditionary units, ready to launch major operations anywhere in the world on two weeks' notice. Marines expeditionary units are self-sufficient, with their own tanks, artillery, and air forces. The motto of the service is Semper Fidelis, meaning "Always Faithful" in Latin.
1808 – In a decision that would eventually make them one of the wealthiest surviving Indian nations, the Osage Indians agree to abandon their lands in Missouri and Arkansas in exchange for a reservation in Oklahoma. The Osage were the largest tribe of the Southern Sioux Indians occupying what would later become the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. When the first Anglo explorers and settlers moved into this region, they encountered a sophisticated society of Native Americans who lived in more or less permanent villages made of sturdy earthen and log lodges. The Osage-like the related Quapaw, Ponca, Omaha, and Kansa peoples-hunted buffalo and wild game like the Plains Indians, but they also raised crops to supplement their diets. Although the Southern Sioux warred among themselves almost constantly, Americans found it much easier to understand and negotiate with these more sedentary tribes than with the nomadic Northern Sioux. American negotiators convinced the Osage to abandon their traditional lands and peacefully move to a reservation in southern Kansas in 1810. When American settlers began to covet the Osage reservation in Kansas, the tribe agreed to yet another move, relocating to what is now Osage County, Oklahoma, in 1872. Such constant pressure from American settlers to push Native Americans off valuable lands and onto marginal reservations was all too common throughout the history of western settlement. Most Indian tribes were devastated by these relocations, including some of the Southern Sioux tribes like the Kansa, whose population of 1,700 was reduced to only 194 following their disastrous relocation to a 250,000-acre reservation in Kansas. The Osage, though, proved unusually successful in adapting to the demands of living in a world dominated by Anglo-Americans, thanks in part to the fortunate presence of large reserves of oil and gas on their Oklahoma reservation. In concert with their effective management of grazing contracts to Anglos, the Osage amassed enormous wealth during the twentieth century from their oil and gas deposits, eventually becoming the wealthiest tribe in North America.
1918 – The Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, receives a top-secret coded message from Europe (that would be sent to Ottawa and Washington, D.C.) that said on November 11, 1918, all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, the Japanese forces around Koli Point are dispersed by the American attacks. American attacks to the west are renewed.
1964 – At a news conference, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara says that the United States has no plans to send combat troops into Vietnam. When asked whether the United States intended to increase its activities in Vietnam, he replied, "Wait and see." By 1969, more than 500,000 American troops were in South Vietnam.
1970 – For the first time in five years, no U.S. combat fatalities in Southeast Asia are reported for the previous week. This was a direct result of President Richard Nixon's Vietnamization program, whereby the responsibility for the war was slowly shifted from U.S. combat forces to the South Vietnamese. This effort began in 1969 and was accompanied by U.S. troop withdrawals that began in the fall of that year. Although American casualties were down, U.S. forces were still involved in significant combat operations at this time.
1983 – Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0.
2006 – The National Museum of the Marine Corps is opened and dedicated by U.S. President George W. Bush and announces that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham will receive the Medal of Honor in Quantico, Virginia.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BRITT, MAURICE L.
Rank and organization: Captain (then Lieutenant), U.S. Army, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: North of Mignano, Italy, 10 November 1943. Entered service at: Lonoke, Ark. Born: 29 June 1919, Carlisle, Ark. G.O. No.: 23, 24 March 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Disdaining enemy hand grenades and close-range machine pistol, machinegun, and rifle, Lt. Britt inspired and led a handful of his men in repelling a bitter counterattack by approximately 100 Germans against his company positions north of Mignano, Italy, the morning of 10 November 1943. During the intense fire fight, Lt. Britt's canteen and field glasses were shattered; a bullet pierced his side; his chest, face, and hands were covered with grenade wounds. Despite his wounds, for which he refused to accept medical attention until ordered to do so by his battalion commander following the battle, he personally killed 5 and wounded an unknown number of Germans, wiped out one enemy machinegun crew, fired 5 clips of carbine and an undetermined amount of Ml rifle ammunition, and threw 32 fragmentation grenades. His bold, aggressive actions, utterly disregarding superior enemy numbers, resulted in capture of 4 Germans, 2 of them wounded, and enabled several captured Americans to escape. Lt. Britt's undaunted courage and prowess in arms were largely responsible for repulsing a German counterattack which, if successful, would have isolated his battalion and destroyed his company.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for November 10, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
10 November
1918: The 3d Pursuit Group flew the last combat patrol of the US Air Service in World War I. (4) Dr. Robert H. Goddard demonstrated rocket devices to members of the Signal Corps, Air Service, Army Ordnance, and others at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. His devices included an intermittent-firing, long-range rocket, and a bazooka-type rocket. (24)
1925: Maj Thomas G. Lanphier, Air Service, flew 550 miles from Selfridge Field to New York in 3 hours 20 minutes. (24)
1942: Through 13 November, the 33 FG flew 100 P-40s from the carriers USS Chenango and HMS Archer to land at Port Lyautey airfield, Morocco. (21)
1944: Thirty-six B-25s from Fifth Air Force attacked a Japanese convoy near Ormoc Bay, Leyte, and sank three ships. (24)
1948: The School of Aviation Medicine held the first symposium on space medicine. (16)
1950: KOREAN WAR. MiG-15s shot down their first B-29 near the Yalu River. The 307 BG crew parachuted behind enemy lines to become POWs. About 36 hours after arriving in Japan, the 437 TCW began airlifting cargo on C-46s to Korea. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. The 315th Air Division air evacuated the 250,000th patient from Korea to Japan. (28) At Santa Susana, the Navaho's complete liquid-rocket engine assembly fired for the first time. (16) (24)
1954: The Rocket Engine Test Laboratory at Edwards AFB hot fired an Atlas single stage test vehicle for the first time. (3) 1960: The SECDEF put the Navy Space Surveillance System and the USAF Space Track System under control of the North American ADC for military functions.
1965: SAC took its last KC-97 from ground alert with the 9th AREFS at Mountain Home AFB. (1)
1972: Boeing and McDonnell Douglas received contracts to build prototype, advanced medium STOL transports, the YC-14 and YC-15.
1981: Through 12 November, Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman, Ron Clark, and Rocky Aoki of Japan, flew the Double Eagle V balloon on the first manned Pacific crossing. They flew 5,768 miles from Nagashima, Japan to the Mendicino National Forest near Covelo, Calif., in 85 hours. (http://www.todayinsci.com) 1988: The Pentagon announced the existence of the Lockheed F-117A Stealth Fighter. (20) KC-135R tanker crews belonging to the 19 AREFW from Robins AFB, the 340 AREFW from Altus AFB, the 319 BW from Grand Forks, and 384 BW from McConnell AFB set 16 time-toclimb records in flights from Robins. (20)
1998: AeroVironment's Centurion solar-powered technology demonstrator UAV made its first flight, a low altitude check flight under battery power, above Edwards AFB. Part of NASA Dryden's ERAST program, the UAV had solar power arrays across its 206 feet wingspan. The program tried to develop an aircraft to perform long duration environmental and telecommunications missions at altitudes up to 100,000 feet. (3) A B-52H carried a CALCM on its first captive-carry sortie test above Edwards AFB in an effort to expand the B-52's capabilities. (3)
2001: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Global Hawk AV- 5 (Aerial Vehicle) deployed from Edwards AFB to Southwest Asia to support this operation. The deployment included 85 military and contractor personnel, and 140 tons of equipment. Global Hawk AV-3 deployed to the theater of war in late November. (3)
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