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

Category: Historical

  • Dieppe Anniversary

    Our Canadian buddy, Aunty Brat, at Assoluta Tranquillita reminds us that today is the 70th Anniversary of the attempted raid at Dieppe, France, mostly conducted by Canadian troops, with a mix of British commandos and American Rangers. The raid began at 5:00 AM and commanders called for a withdrawal at 10:50 on August 19, 1942 in that relatively short time of the 6,086 men who made it ashore, 3,623 were captured, wounded or dead.

    The Royal Air Force lost 96 aircraft, the Royal Navy lost a battleship and 33 landing craft.

    The sacrifice of the troops at Dieppe taught hard-learned lessons that led to the successful invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe at Normandy two years later.

    But you should read the rest at Brat’s place.

  • A Salute to Those That Wear The Hat

    As it happens I’m gonna be spending some time with 1stCavRVN11B in a coupla weeks. Frankie Cee too, but this is for the grunts.

    These folks visited central WV a while back:

     

     

     

     

     

    The horse in this video Knows…

    Jonn added; 68W58 sends a picture of him with his lovely wife, but I think he wants you to notice the Stetson;

  • Life of Duty; “Under Fire Over Fire” National Airborne Day

    The folks at Life of Duty sent us this video to help with our observance of National Airborne Day. Those WWII paratroopers were all heroes. Talk about stepping out into the unknown, most of them hadn’t even seen an airplane before, let alone seen a parachute jump. Pioneers and heroes.

    My favorite line about paratroopers came from the Dick Winters character in Band of Brothers when a leg lieutenant warned him that he was about to be surrounded by the Germans at Bastogne. The Winters character responded “We’re paratroopers. We’re supposed to be surrounded.”

  • National Airborne Day

    National Airborne Day is set on the day of the first parachute jump conducted by the Army’s Parachute Test Platoon on August 16th, 1940.

    On the morning of 16 August 1940 the jump began. After the C-33 leveled off at 1500 feet and flew over the jump field, Lt. Ryder was in the door ready to jump. Warrant Officer Wilson knelt in the door waiting to pass the Go Point. When this was reached, he slapped Lt. Ryder on the leg and the first jump was made. Now Number One moved into position. Slap! “Go! Jump!”

    Still no movement.

    It was too late now to jump on this pass. Mr. Wilson motioned Number One to go back to his seat. As the plane circled Mr. Wilson talked to Number One. Number One wanted another chance. Okay, this time we’ll do it. Back into the jumping position and once again, slap!

    Sadly, no movement. Number One returned to his seat.

    Private William N. “Red” King moved into the jumping position in the door. Slap! Out into American military immortality leaped Red King… the first enlisted man of the test platoon to jump out of an airplane. Number One was transferred to another post and anonymity. Now there were forty-seven. Was Number One a coward? I don’t think many experienced jumpers would say so. There are things some men cannot do at a given time. Possibly another time would have been fine. He wanted to. He intended to. He just could not… at least that morning.

    The first US airborne operation was in support of Operation Torch, November 1942, in North Africa when 531 members of the 2nd Battalion 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew 1600 miles in 39 C-47s, of which only ten aircraft dropped their pacs, the rest landed because of navigation difficulties and low fuel.

    Ten years ago, 3rd Battalion, 75th Rangers secured an airfield in Kandahar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 19, 2001. On March 23rd, 2003, A Company, 3/75th conducted an airborne operation to secure an airfield in Northern Iraq a few days before the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into Northern Iraq when the Turks wouldn’t allow the 4th Infantry Division to off-load and invade Iraq from their borders.

    In years past, the 82d Airborne Division Association, mostly the DC Chapter, had to lobby to get recognition for National Airborne Day from the Senate every year, until 2009 when the Senate made it permanent.

    We used to get a Presidential Proclamation every year, but for some reason, we haven’t had any since 2008.

    That’s me, on my ass as usual, in the days before Eric Shinseki;

  • 101st celebrates 70 years

    The Washington Times reports that the storied 101st Airborne Division is celebrating it’s 70th birthday this year;

    On Aug, 16, 1942, the Army created the first paratrooper divisions, with the nation still reeling from Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the previous December. The 101st Airborne Division and the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 82nd Airborne Division would go on to redefine war strategies from World War II to Vietnam to the Middle East.

    The Week of the Eagles is commemorating that legacy with games, a concert, an air show and memorials to the fallen, with each day dedicated to the major wars that have created the unique legacy of the Screaming Eagles. The event culminates with a division review on the parade field.

  • 67 Years Ago Today and the Continuing Nuclear Protest

    It was on this date in 1945 that Hiroshima was destroyed by a new weapon, a single bomb dropped by a B-29 named Enola Gay, named after the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. In the years since, many have tried to make the point that dropping of the bombs was an unnecessary act, as they claim the Japanese home islands were on the verge of defeat and would have surrendered soon enough without dropping the bomb.

    There are several flaws in that argument. First, after nearly four years of all-out war, Americans were tired of war. The prospect of what would surely be at least another 12-18 months taking the Japanese home islands was not a palatable thought. Second–as alluded to in movies and elsewhere, the Allies won the war in Europe, but at a huge cost. America was nearly bankrupt, spending nearly 38 percent of GDP on defense, compared to less than 4 percent of GDP today. Third–the casualty estimates of Operation Downfall varied widely, but all agreed that there would be huge casualties, and most of those estimates were only for the first sixty days, and only one took into account Navy casualties. Iwo Jima and Okinawa that same year showed that taking of the Japanese home islands would be possibly far more devastating in terms of both allied and Japanese casualties than eariler estimates. Finally, when the Japanese were asked to surrender after the July 16th test of the Trinity device in New Mexico, the Japanese basically was that of “mokusatsu,” meaning to treat with silence or silent contempt–a nice way of them telling the Allies to shove it up their ass.

    A quick end to the war with the fewest casualties was needed, and the atomic bomb, rightly or wrongly, provided that end. It is said that all of the Purple Hearts made up for Operation Downfall have been given out to the casualties of every war and action the United States has been involved in over the past six and a half decades, and there are still Purple Hearts left.

    To that end, a semi-related story from WBIR-Knoxville about several protestors who broke into the Y-12 facility at Oak Ridge last week and threw what they claimed was human blood on the building. Way to go, G4S–great security job you’re doing there. I would suggest to those people that the bloodshed had the bomb NOT been dropped, and the deterrence it provided for several decades afterwards, saved far more blood than was shed on this day and three days later in 1945.

  • Life of Duty; The St. of Gambier Bay

    The folks at NRA’s Life of Duty sent us their latest production “The St. of Gambier Bay” referring to Norm St. Germaine, one of the survivors of the USS Gamier Bay (CVE-73), an escort carrier, which was sunk by Japanese destroyers in the Battle off Samar on Oct. 25, 1944. St. Germaine recounts his life before he went off to the war, the events as he observed them aboard ship and his life clinging to a raft for two days waiting to be rescued after the Gambier Bay was sunk. The video is 25 minutes long, but you’ll want to see it all;

  • ‘Kelly Temps’ In Uniform

    Yeah, I’m about to get a bit long-winded – and some might say, “wax ignorant” – again. And this article is somewhat (but not exclusively) Army-specific, so read on at your own risk. (smile)

    Much of the readership here at TAH has a military background. (Duh!) But even within the military, experiences and commitments vary. There’s a huge difference in terms of experiences, careers, and commitments between those who on active duty and those who serve “part time” – e.g., in the Reserve Components.

    That dichotomy is largely by design, and is to be expected. So is a substantial back-and-forth banter – and at times, some animosity – between the Active and Reserve Components. The roles are different, and what’s required and expected of each is different. The Active Component is there 24/7/365, and provides the primary military response in times of crisis.  The Reserve Component, by design, is there to augment the active forces when required.

    At least, there’s a difference during peacetime service. During wartime, when serving together those distinctions blur. My background is Army, so I’ll discuss the Army; other services may be different.  When you serve on active duty and deploy to a combat zone, the uniform says “US Army”; it doesn’t say “Active Army”, “Army Reserve”, or “Army National Guard”. So when it hits the fan, so to speak, the distinctions fade. Mission and imminent threat forces that.  But the distinctions resume when one redeploys.

    There’s no argument that the Active Component forces have the harder role. They’re required to be fully ready 24/7/365, and to deploy and fight on much shorter notice than the Reserve Components. They train more, and suffer more as a result – e.g., earlier casualties, more time away from family due to training, more peacetime training injuries, etc . . . . They’re doing their job full time; it’s their livelihood and (for many) their career. Yes, the Active Component forces have a more comprehensive support infrastructure. So? They’re serving full-time, after all. The Reserve Components aren’t.

    That was once clearly true. But is that really quite true any more – particularly for the Army?

    Time for a historical sidebar. And yes, it is related – though it might not initially seem relevant. (more…)