. . . . a member of the media who keeps his word!
Washington Post pundit makes good on
pledge to eat column dismissing Trump
Gotta tip my hat to the guy for very publicly living up to his word – and with a bit of panache, no less. He apparently livestreamed his meal on the WaPo’s Facebook page. And his choice of beverage to accompany the column? Two bottles of Trump wine. (smile)
DPAA has identified and accounted for the following formerly-missing US military personnel:
From World War II
• ENS Ensign John C. England, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, US Navy, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. He was accounted for on 6 May 2016.
• ENS Ensign William M. Finnegan, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, US Navy, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. He was accounted for on 9 May 2016.
• Seaman 1st Class William E. Welch, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, US Navy, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. He was accounted for on 1 April 2016.
• Seaman 2nd Class Lewis L. Wagoner, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, US Navy, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. He was accounted for on 18 February 2016.
• Seaman 2nd Class James N. Phipps, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, US Navy, was lost at Pearl Harbor, HI, on 7 December 1941. He was accounted for on 21 March 2016.
• Pfc. John Saini, Company, H, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, USMC, was lost on Tarawa Atoll on 20 November 1943. He was accounted for on 23 April 2016.
• Pvt. Palmer S. Haraldson, Company C, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, USMC, was lost on Tarawa Atoll on 22 November 1943. He was accounted for on 25 April 2016.
From Vietnam
• Maj. Dean A. Klenda, 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron, USAF, was lost on 17 September 1965. He was accounted for on 1 March 2016.
Additionally, Jonn has written an article about one individual I apparently did not cover previously:
• MM1 John E. Anderson, assigned to the crew of the Landing Craft Tank (LCT), Mark 5, Hull #30, US Navy, was lost at Omaha Beach, France, on 6 June 1944. He was accounted for on 10 March 2016.
Welcome back, elder brothers-in-arms. Our apologies that your return and identification took so long.
Rest now in peace. You’re home.
. . .
Over 73,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,800 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,600 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA). Comparison of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from recovered remains against mtDNA from a matrilineal descendant can assist in making a positive ID for unidentified remains that have already been recovered, or which may be recovered in the future.
DPAA’s web site now has what appears to be a decent “Contact Us” page. The page doesn’t have instructions concerning who can and cannot submit a mtDNA sample or how to submit one, but the POCs listed there may be able to refer you to someone who can answer that question – or may be able to answer the question themselves. If you think you might possibly qualify, please contact one of those POCs for further information.
If your family lost someone in one of these conflicts and you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please arrange to submit one. By doing that you just might help identify the remains of a US service member who’s been repatriated but not yet been identified – as well as a relative of yours, however distant. Or you may help to identify remains to be recovered in the future.
Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.
Isn’t it great that the world is so safe and peaceful these days?
Army has fewest active-duty soldiers since 1940, report says
I hope the sarcasm in the intro above was obvious. Gee thanks, Mr. President.
The other day, I provided some clips from Clapton and Winwood playing together live. Here are four from them separately, from studio work. Enjoy.
Winwood
The second Winwood tune above is noteworthy for more than simply being a fine song and performance. That song – along with the rest of the album from which it comes, Arc of a Diver – was a true solo effort. Winwood provided all vocals, played all instruments, and both produced and mixed the entire album himself. The only assistance he received was from John “Nobby” Clarke, who assisted him with the audio engineering.
Clapton
A bit of trivia about the second Clapton tune: the lady performing the duet with Clapton is NOT his frequent vocal collaborator Yvonne Ellison. The lady singing with Clapton on that tune is another frequent but less well-known vocal collaborator: Marcy Levy, AKA Marcella Detroit. Levy also co-wrote the song – plus several others, including Lay Down Sally – with Clapton. (Both Ellison and Levy contributed vocals to the last recording.)
Again: many thanks, gentlemen. For the music – and the memories.
Have a great Sunday, all.
Remember the Clintoon “private” e-mail server brouhaha? You know, the one where the serving (at the time) SECSTATE refused to use government email, had her minions set up a “private” email server – which later was professionally wiped, but which has been confirmed to have contained over 2,000 classified items, including 22 items classified Top Secret as well as more than one SAP and/or TS/compartmented item?
Well, we have some recent news concerning that little “shortcut” taken by Clintoon. And from Clintoon’s perspective, the news isn’t that good.
First: the Romanian hacker “Guccifer” was extradited to the US a few weeks ago. That apparently was not coincidental. You see, it appears “Guccifer” – who is currently in Federal custody – may well now be cooperating with the FBI in their investigation of related to the Clintoon “private” e-mail server. (The administrator of that “private” e-mail server, Bryan Pagliano, is also believed to be cooperating with the FBI.)
It also appears that Guccifer penetrated the Clintoon “private e-mail server” – easily. He claims to have done exactly that. While the claim cannot be independently verified now (due largely to destruction of the original server), longtime cybersecurity experts who have knowledge of his claims say that the method Guccifer claims to have used to penetrate what little security did exist on Clintoon’s “private” e-mail server is eminently plausible.
The “so what”? Well, “Guccifer” may well be quite good at breaking computer security – and security on Clintoon’s “private e-mail server” was reportedly rudimentary at best. But I’m betting the foreign intelligence services of Russia, China, and maybe a few other adversaries are likely even better than Guccifer, and have access to even better methods and tools. And if Guccifer relatively easily penetrated that private server and thus obtained access to the classified information illegally stored there, well, . . . .
Second: it also appears that Clintoon may be forced to give a deposition regarding the case. So far, she’s been spared the “horror” of telling her story under conditions requiring a truthful answer – like a LE interview, or a deposition given under oath. Looks like the latter may be upcoming, presumably in the relatively near-term future.
Third: while Clintoon herself hasn’t yet been deposed, apparently the same is not true of her “close aide” Huma Abedin. Abedin was reportedly interviewed by the FBI recently. And while the FBI hasn’t commented on the interview, I’m guessing it wasn’t a social call to discus the weather, or to ask her opinion on the latest fashions. (smile)
And, finally: a curious expense on the part of the Clintoon campaign has been uncovered and made public. In Feb and March, apparently the Clintoon campaign made payments to a Nevada company – a firm that provides IT security services. What services do they provide? Well, it seems that the company – American Document Destruction, Inc. – apparently specializes in document and hard disk drive destruction. The payments could have paid for the destruction of up to 14 hard drives. Hmm.
Yeah, I think I’ll keep following this story. This could easily get really interesting.
(Author’s note: yes, I know that “Clintoon” isn’t the way the individuals I reference when using that spelling spell their last name. The variant spelling here is intentional. IMO, the individuals I’m referencing when using that variant spelling are little more than poor cartoonish caricatures of individuals worthy of holding high national office. The spelling “Clintoon” is intended to highlight that fact.)
I ran across the last of the following video clips recently by chance. “Pulling the thread” afterwards led me to the others.
A brief sidebar: if you’ve ever wondered if Clapton’s nickname “Slowhand” is really apropos, watch the last clip, paying attention to his and Winwood’s left (fret) hands. While Clapton’s nickname didn’t originate as a description of his playing style – it was instead a reference to the slow clap, or in British slang, the “slow hand” that audiences in the UK would execute while waiting for him to replace the guitar strings he often broke during performances early in his career – the nickname turned out to be an accidental stroke of genius. It is IMO incredibly descriptive of his fluid but motion-efficient and seemingly effortless playing style.
The clips below speak for themselves. Enjoy – and get a head start on the upcoming weekend.
Thank you, gentlemen. For the music – and the memories.
DPAA has identified and accounted for the following formerly-missing members of the US military.
• LT Julian B. Jordan, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 27 April 2016.
• ENS Lewis B. Pride, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 28 April 2016 4 November 2015 (see note).
• FM2 James B. Boring, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 5 May 2016.
• FM3 Edwin C. Hopkins, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 4 May 2016.
• Seaman 2nd Class Rudolph V. Piskuran, assigned to the crew of the USS Oklahoma, was lost on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 20 April 2016.
• SFC James P. Shunney, I Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, was lost on 2 November 1950 at Pearl Harbor, HI. He was accounted for on 3 May 2016.
Welcome back, elder brothers-in-arms. Rest in peace now.
You’re home.
. . .
Over 73,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,800 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,600 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA). Comparison of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from recovered remains against mtDNA from a matrilineal descendant can assist in making a positive ID for unidentified remains that have already been recovered, or which may be recovered in the future.
DPAA’s web site now has what appears to be a decent “Contact Us” page. The page doesn’t have instructions concerning who can and cannot submit a mtDNA sample or how to submit one, but the POCs listed there may be able to refer you to someone who can answer that question – or may be able to answer the question themselves. If you think you might possibly qualify, please contact one of those POCs for further information.
If your family lost someone in one of these conflicts and you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please arrange to submit one. By doing that you just might help identify the remains of a US service member who’s been repatriated but not yet been identified – as well as a relative of yours, however distant. Or you may help to identify remains to be recovered in the future.
Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.
(Author’s Note: update due to DPAA adding additional personnel as accounted-for to their website immediately after the article was published. Additionally, DPAA apparently double-listed ENS Pride with two different dates on which he was determined “accounted-for”. The date above now reflects their corrected list, which now shows him accounted-for once – on 4 November 2015.)