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

Author: Hondo

  • You Hear Talk About “Weapons-Grade Chili” . . . .

    . . . but this is the first time I’ve ever actually seen an account that actually might qualify.

    A customer at a restaurant in Australia was disturbed about the bill for his meal.  So he decided to take matters into his own hands.

    After an arguing with restaurant employees about his bill, he went behind the counter and attempted to get money from the cash register.  One of the employees went to another part of the restaurant to call authorities.  The second tried to restrain the man.

    The man struck the second employee in the chest, and tossed the cash register on the floor.

    Bad move.  The second employee – 27 y/o Joanna Tarnosk – defended herself by throwing a vat of hot chili in the man’s face.

    Apparently it really was weapons-grade chili.  The man was still on the floor when police arrived.

    The man was arrested, taken to a hospital, treated for minor burns – and then was arrested and charged with assault and “intent to steal”.

    The chili sauce was said by employees to be “a secret recipe and a specialty at the restaurant”.

  • Another Is Home

    My apologies to all for missing this earlier.  In late February, DPMO announced the identification of another US MIA from SE Asia.

    HM3 Michael B. Judd, US Navy, atttached to Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, was lost on 30 June 1967 in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. He was declared accounted for on 27 February 2013. He will be buried with full military honors on 15 July 2013 in Arlington National Cemetery.

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

    . . .

    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 consider reading 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 their all in the service of this nation.

     

  • Navy Announces New Ship

    The Secretary of the Navy has announced that a new ship will be named in honor of former President William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton.

    In a minor break with recent tradition, the ship to be named in honor of former President Clinton will not be an aircraft carrier.  Instead, a next-generation submarine will be named after the former POTUS.

    This is not without precedent.  Former Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Roosevelt are currently honored by having Arleigh Burke-class destroyers named after them.  And many other former US Presidents – including Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, and Carter – have been honored by having Navy submarines named in their honor.  Indeed, the naming of a submarine to honor a former US President has at least as much precedent as does the recent practice of naming an aircraft carrier in a former President’s honor.

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  • Five Young Men

    In the Northeastern US, five boys grew to be young men.  Their families were of Eastern European heritage.  They, however, were all born in this country as first-generation Americans.

    Three of them were brothers.  Two were not related – either to the brothers or each other – at the time.  They would later come be related to the three brothers, and to each other, by marriage.

    All of them were born relatively early in the 20th Century – during the 1910s and 1920s.  They grew up during the Great Depression.  All of them were young men on 7 December 1941.

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  • Three USAF Personnel Feared Lost in Kyrgyzstan

    Two members of the USAF have died in an incident in northern Kyrgyzstan.  A third is missing and feared dead.

    A USAF KC-135 based at Manas AB departed yesterday on an aerial refueling mission in support of operations in Afghanistan.

    Takeoff was normal.  Sometime afterward, a witness reported hearing an explosion, followed several seconds later by a second explosion and the breakup of the aircraft.  The aircraft then crashed, scattering debris over an area with radius of approximately 1-km.

    At least one individual calling in to a hotline reported seeing a parachute during the aircraft’s breakup and crash.  Remains from two individuals have been reported recovered; they have not yet been identified.  Portions of the debris field extends over relatively rough terrain.

    The third airman on board remains missing.  The incident is under investigation.  Names of the aircrew and other details relating to the incident have not yet been released.

    Rest in peace, my late brothers-in-arms.  May God comfort your surviving friends and families.

     

    Update:  according to this article, the aircraft itself was apparently based at McConnell AFB, KS.  However, the crew flying the aircraft that day appears to have been assigned to Fairchild AFB, WA.  The aircraft apparently went down approximately 100mi west of Manas AB, near the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border.

  • Shane Ladner an “Iraq Vet”? Don’t Think So

    There’s been much talk recently at TAH about a guy named Shane Ladner (see here, here, and here).

    Ladner has made multiple dubious claims.  He’s claimed he has a Purple Heart, and to have gotten it in Panama (later admitted by Ladner to be an intentional falsehood – he now claims he really got it in a “secret anti-drug mission in Central America”), to have served in in Somalia, and to have served in Iraq.

    I’ve seen comments elsewhere on this site that indicate Ladner has admitted many of his claims were lies – and in particular, that he’s admitted his claims of Somalia and Iraq service were lies.  But I’ve not seen any published accounts of Ladner admitting those claims were lies.  The original reports of his Somalia and Iraq service were published by the media, and they’re still out there for people to see.  Ladner was the only plausible source for those claims.  So until I see a published report that he’s admitted his past claims of Somalia and Iraq service were lies, I’m regarding those claims of Somalia and Iraq service to still be “on the table”.

    Ladner’s attorney has released what purports to be a DD214 relating to one of Ladner’s periods of active duty service.  The attorney apparently did this to bolster Ladner’s claims of having a Purple Heart and being a “war hero”.

    However, releasing that document that may have been of a mistake.  The DD214 released by Ladner’s lawyer – plus what’s known about Ladner’s military career from other sources (see the video at this link) – together provide persuasive evidence that Ladner never served in Iraq.  This in turn proves a second claim made by Ladner to be false, and thus calls into question all of his other unsupported claims.

    Background

    There are only two times that the US Army has conducted combat operations in Iraq.  The first time was during the first Gulf War (Desert Storm, 1991).  The second time was the more recent Iraq War (2003-2011).  That means in order to have served in Iraq, Ladner must have deployed there during one of those two periods of time.

    A look at Ladner’s DD214 discloses a problem.  Each of these conflicts has decorations – specifically, certain campaign or expeditionary medals – that specifically recognize service in Iraq.   If Ladner ever served in Iraq as he claims, and if if the DD214 is legitimate and accurate, his DD214 should show at least one of those awards.

    None of those decorations are present on the DD214 in question.  That means things aren’t “adding up.”  So lets take a closer look at Ladner’s “I served in Iraq claim”.

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  • A Novel Way of Supplementing Income

    Everyone knows that junior enlisted guys and gals don’t make all that much.  But it seems as if one soldier found a . . .  creative way of supplementing his income.

    Anthony Pirone was unemployed.  He was drawing unemployment compensation in CA.

    He finally got fed up with being jobless.  So in May 2011, he enlisted.  He’s currently serving in Afghanistan.

    There’s only one tiny problem.  It seems Pirone didn’t notify the state of California he was employed after he enlisted.  In fact, according to the state of California he filed false affidavits at least 10 times stating he had no job after he’d enlisted.  He also cashed the unemployment checks he received between May and Decembeer 2011.

    Since Pirone is currently deployed, his trial will be delayed until after he returns from deployment.  But then he’ll have to answer a few rather pointed questions.

    By the way:  if you’re thinking you’ve heard the name “Anthony Pirone” – you just might have.  Pirone is one of the BART cops that was involved in the 2009 New Year’s Day shooting incident in Oakland.  He was later fired for his actions that night, which reportedly were recorded on video and included striking the guy who later was shot, yelling racial epithets, and in general contributing to the escalation of the incident.  Nice guy.

    Oh, and I’m guessing Pirone was pulling in a fair chunk in unemployment – which explains why he might have been reluctant to give it up.  At the time he was fired by BART, he was making in excess of $100k a year in salary and overtime.

  • Navy Corpsman Receives Silver Star

    HM1 Benny Flores – a Navy Corpsman – was awarded the Silver Star today at Camp Pendleton, CA.  The award was for heroism HM1 Flores displayed while deployed with USMC elements in Afghanistan last year.

    HM1 Flores’ heroic actions occurred in Zaranj, Nimruz province.  During April 2012, a vehicle in which he and other Allied forces were traveling was hit by a suicide bomber.  HM1 Flores rendered immediate medical assistance to the wounded of that attack and during the resulting 20-minute firefight afterwards.  During these actions, HM1 Flores exposed himself repeatedly to enemy fire in order to render assistance to friendly casualties.  At least 4 times he left a covered position in order to render assistance to and/or recover US and other friendly casualties in exposed locations.

    Well done, HM1 Flores.  Well deserved kudos.