This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • “It was the most moving gesture I ever saw.”

    Wednesday, 30 May 1945 dawned as the first Memorial Day after World War II ended in Europe.  War still raged in the Pacific; it would continue there for another 3 months.  But in the US and Europe it was a day for somber ceremonies and remembrances of lost comrades.

    This was especially true at US cemeteries in Europe, where tens of thousands of US war dead were buried.  At some if not all of these ceremonies were held; many political figures and/or senior military officers gave speeches.  I’m sure all of them were worthwhile, and paid appropriate tribute to the fallen.

    But one speech in particular that day was unique.  It occurred at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.

    Sicily-Rome American Cemetery is near the modern Italian town of Nettuno, called Antium in antiquity.  It lies within what had been the US sector of the Anzio beachhead – or “bitchhead,” as those who were trapped there for 4+ months came to call it.  The cemetery was originally intended a temporary resting place for US dead from the Anzio landings and subsequent combat.  It became a permanent resting place for US war dead.

    Today, only 7,861 US fallen remain in eternal rest near Nettuno. However, the cemetery on 30 May 1945 held approximately 20,000 graves.  Most were soldiers who were lost before the fall of Rome – in Sicily, at Salerno, or at Anzio.  (Some years later, the US government gave families the choice to allow fallen relatives to remain with their comrades or be repatriated.  Many of those originally buried near Nettuno – about 60% – were repatriated.)

    A number of VIPs were present at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery that day.  Some were senior military officers; some were political figures.  Several senators were in attendance.

    One of the speakers at the ceremony was the US 5th Army Commander, LTG Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.  (Truscott would later receive a post-retirement honorary promotion and a 4th star, but at the time he still wore 3 stars.)  He had returned to Italy from France to command 5th Army earlier that year.

    When it was his turn to speak, Truscott moved to the podium.

    What happened next was truly remarkable.

    (more…)

  • Navy Gets Two Right

    The Navy has caught flack recently regarding naming its ships.  But recently the Navy announced names for two new ships that are IMO apropos.  One will be named after a former SECNAV; the other, after a MoH recipient.

    DDG-117 will be named for Mr. Paul Ignatius.  Mr. Ignatius was a Navy Lieutenant during World War II.  He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics) and as Secretary of the Navy during the LBJ administration.

    The next destroyer to be built will be named after the late Senator Daniel Inouye.  As a member of the US Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), then SGT Inouye received a battlefield commission for his actions during the 442nd RCTs breakthrough to rescue World War II’s “Lost Battalion” (1st Batalion, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division) in the Vosage Mountains of France in late October 1944.  He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in action at San Terenzo, Italy, on 21 April 1945.  Senator Inouye’s DSC, along with decorations of 19 other members of the 442nd RCT, were later upgraded to the Medal of Honor.  At the time of his death in December 2012, Senator Inouye was the second-longest serving Senator in US history.

    I can’t argue with naming a ship after a Navy Veteran who later became SECNAV.  And even if he wasn’t Navy, IMO any former MoH recipient is a fitting choice as a namesake for a US Navy ship.

    Kudos to the SECNAV for getting these two right.

  • Yer Saturday Afternoon Smile

    Two thieves in Stockton, CA, recently provided a new entry in “stupid criminal tricks”.

    Gabriel Gonzalez and Jeremy Lovitt decided to rob a Stockton, CA, area Burger King.  They pulled up behind the Burger King, went inside, and robbed the place.

    So far, so “good”.  But they’d made one teeny little mistake.

    Seems they left their getaway car behind the building.  They left it unlocked and idling, presumably for a quick getaway – and unattended.

    However:  during the robbery, one of the employees saw what was going on without being noticed by the robbers.  He quickly executed the maneuver called “slip out the back, Jack”.  And after he did, he spied their unlocked, idling, unattended getaway car.

    The departing employee then used said car for a quick getaway.  He drove the vehicle a short distance away, around the corner and parked it in a hidden location.

    Let’s just say our criminal “masterminds” weren’t exactly expecting that turn of events.  When the Dumbass Dastardly Duo ran out with their loot and found their getaway car missing, they panicked.  They then fled on foot to a nearby field, where they were later captured by police.

    The police recommend cooperation with the robbers in such a case.  Personally, I think the scared but quick-thinking employee who departed with the getaway car had precisely the right idea.

    The Refreshments were right – “. . . the world is full of stupid people“.

  • Another Returns Home

    The remains of a soldier missing since World War II will be buried today in Bethlehem, PA.

    PVT William Yawney, 105th Infantry regiment, 27th Infantry Division, US Army, formerly of Freemansburg, PA, was lost during operations on Saipan during June-July 1944.  His remains could not be located for repatriation after the war.  In 1948, his remains were declared unrecoverable.

    However, on 3 September 2011 a private archeological firm excavating land near Achugao Village, Saipan, located human remains.  These remains were turned over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC).  Modern forensic techniques including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching conclusively identified the remains as being those of PVT Yawney.

    Rest in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.  Welcome home at last.

    . . .

    Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please read this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

    If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.  By submitting a mtDNA sample you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

    Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave all in the service of this nation.

  • IRS Scandal Update – 23 May 2013

    Update on events in the ongoing IRS scandal over the last 24 hours:

    • The current head of the IRS Tax Exempt Divison, Lois Lerner, invoked the 5th Amendment in testifying in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday – but did so after making an opening statement giving her side of the story.
    • Making that statement may well have been a mistake, though.  There is substantial thought in legal circles that making an opening statement during testimony constitutes a waiver of 5th Amendment rights.  On further consideration, Chairman Dan Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee apparently agrees.  He plans to recall Lerner to testify again.
    • Lerner’s conduct some 15 years or so ago as a chief of enforcement for the Federal Election Commission is now also getting fresh scrutiny.  The conduct of her subordinates then is also troubling, and may be relevant to the current IRS scandal.  In the 1990s, lawyers working for Ms. Lerner in one investigation of a conservative Christian group asked some irrelevant and troubling questions about religion and prayer while taking depositions.  Sound familiar?
    • The IRS’s internal investigation into discrimination against conservative groups by the Tax Exempt division was completed in May 2012, but apparently was deliberately concealed from Congress until after the 2012 elections.
    • White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler was briefed in general terms about the pending Treasury IG investigation of the scandal in late April 2013, and shared that information informally with the White House Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough and some others on the senior staff.  Senior White House staff had further discussions with Treasury department officials concerning the matter afterwards.  However, supposedly no one told the POTUS anything for about two weeks – allegedly because Ruemmler and McDonough agreed it wasn’t something that should be brought to the POTUS’s attention. (For what it’s worth, at least one person who’s previously worked in the White House Chief of Staff’s office for two years says the claim that the White House Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel would agree to keep the POTUS in the dark on such an issue “very odd”, going so far as to call that claim “the most curious whopper I’ve heard so far” about the scandal.)
    • Even Democratic Representatives appear to be losing patience.  Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, D-MA, indicated during the hearings yesterday that withholding information or dancing around questions would result in “hell to pay” and also stated:  “We know where that will lead. It will lead to a special prosecutor.”

    Oh well.  Bottom line:  it seems like nothing much happened yesterday except for rather infuriating obfuscation and tap-dancing on the part of Administration officials.

    I’d swear I’ve seen something like this before.  When was it?  What was that quote . . . ?

    Oh, yeah – I remember now.

    “I don’t give a shit what happens. I want you all to stonewall it, let them plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up or anything else if it’ll save it – save the plan. That’s the whole point . . . We’re going to protect our people, if we can.”

    But remember:  nothing to see here, folks.  Everything is fine; everything’s under control.  Move along.

  • IRS Scandal Update – 22 May 2013

    A quick update on events in the ongoing IRS scandal over the last few days:

    • The ex-head of the IRS personally knew that conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status were being discriminated against by IRS officials roughly a year before the matter became public, and apparently did nothing of significance.
    • The discrimination against conservative groups apparently began in 2010.
    • The POTUS met personally with the head of the NTEU on 31 Mar 2010 – about the time that the unlawful bias against conservative organizations by the IRS began.  The NTEU’s PAC reportedly contributed heavily to anti-Tea Party candidates in both 2010 and 2012.
    • And, finally:  the head of the IRS Tax-Exempt Division will reportedly invoke the 5th Amendment when called to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the matter.

    And don’t blame the Administration for this unethical and unlawful mess.  According to Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, an ambiguous tax code is to blame for the IRS selectively targeting the Administration’s political opponents here.  By that logic, I guess the tax code must also be to blame for giving the Administration’s political allies and the POTUS’s relatives expedited approvals.

    Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along.

    Yeah, right.  What’s next – are we going to see a prominent Administration official coming out and saying publicly, “I am not a crook”?

  • Ever Wondered What That Proverbial “Bag of Ass” Really Looks Like?

    Most of us have heard the phrase, “looks like a bag of ass”. But what does one look like?

    Here ya go – take a look.

    At first glance, maybe not that bad.  Until you look a bit closer at a couple of things.

    Take a good look at the knot in the tie.

    Then take a good look at the ribbon rack above his left pocket.

    FOIA is in progress. RUMINT is that some of the decorations are legit, but not all of them.

    Stay tuned. More to follow.

  • IRS Scandal Update – 18 May 2013

    Today’s update for the last 24 hours or so:

    But don’t worry about any of that, folks.  Just sit back and listen to the former head of the IRS, Steve Miller, speaking about the recent targeting of conservative group and individuals by his agency:  “It is absolutely not illegal.”

    Sweet Jesus – what’s next?   Is someone in this Administration about to stand up and publicly say, “If the President does it, it’s not illegal”?