Where Will You Be? Friday, May 25 2012 

Military and Truth and History and US Army and US Air Force and US Marines and US Navy and Coast Guard and Military History and Memorial Day , , , , , , 1IDVET 06:28

This is a preamble to Memorial Day. I’ll post more about it when I can. It sometimes hard for me to do this. I lost a friend in Iraq in 2006, so this is always personal.

This comes from Allen West.

Where will you be at 3:00 P.M. on Memorial Day?

Our steadfast and loyal heroes deserve remembrance
by Allen West

The solemn act of honoring those who have fallen in battle is a custom that seems to have faded in importance to our nation over time.

Nowadays, many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At cemeteries across the country, the graves of the fallen are sadly ignored, and worse, neglected.

While there are towns and cities still planning Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some think the day is for honoring anyone who has died, not just those fallen in service to our country.

Perhaps they do not know how deeply our nation once appreciated those who sacrificed their lives in defense of the principles we hold most dear. Perhaps those very principles of individual sovereignty, freedom and liberty are no longer so important.

It was not always so.

More

 

Armed Forces Day, 19 May, 2012… Saturday, May 19 2012 

Coast Guard and History and Military and Military History and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , 1IDVET 00:30

Today is Armed Forces Day.

This is a day where we can thank all our military for their service and sacrifice for this nation on our behalf. 

Armed Forces Day
History

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.

In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman “praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas” and said, “it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace.” In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated:

Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.

The theme of the first Armed Forces Day was “Teamed for Defense.” It was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the military forces under a single department of the government. Although this was the theme for the day, there were several other purposes for holding Armed Forces Day. It was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show “state-of-the-art” equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.

According to a New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: “This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces … to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won’t be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.”

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions, and air shows. In Washington D.C., 10,000 troops of all branches of the military, cadets, and veterans marched pass the President and his party. In Berlin, 1,000 U.S. troops paraded for the German citizens at Templehof Airfield. In New York City, an estimated 33,000 participants initiated Armed Forces Day “under an air cover of 250 military planes of all types.” In the harbors across the country were the famed mothballed “battlewagons” of World War II, the Missouri, the New Jersey, the North Carolina, and the Iowa, all open for public inspection. Precision flying teams dominated the skies as tracking radar were exhibited on the ground. All across the country, the American people joined together to honor the Armed Forces.

As the people gathered to honor the Armed Forces on this occasion, so too did the country’s leaders. Some of the more notable of these leaders’ quotes are stated below:

“Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.”

Former Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson

“The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war. Faith, not suspicion, must be the key to our relationships. Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms. Our Armed Forces in 1950–protecting the peace, building for security with freedom–are “Teamed for Defense …”

General Omar N. Bradley
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

More

 

VJ Day! Tuesday, May 15 2012 

Coast Guard and History and Military and Military History and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , 1IDVET 11:31

Let’s not forget. This was huge! And as the Armorer states, it never happened again…

VJ Day, 1945

By The Armorer o

I would say it’s too bad that we’ve not been able to celebrate the end of a war like this film clip shows people doing so in Honolulu on VJ Day, 1945… But since then, the end of the wars have not been clear victories and at least one was a clear loss, not even Desert Storm, in the end. Nor have the aims been as black-and-white. Of course, balanced against that is that in order to achieve that sense of clear victory, we had to pound two nations flat in ways we don’t do any more, either, which isn’t a bad thing, in terms of piling up the bodies and destroying our communal heritages.

via Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah’s Military Guys.. – VJ Day, 1945.

 

Today in History (04-18) Doolittle’s Raid Over Tokyo… Wednesday, Apr 18 2012 

History and Military and Military History and Truth and US Army and US Navy and Veterans , , , , 1IDVET 08:07

Today brings us the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle raid over Tokyo in 1942. Our first strike against the Japanese homeland in World War II.

Doolittle Raid on Japan, 18 April 1942

The April 1942 air attack on Japan, launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet and led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, was the most daring operation yet undertaken by the United States in the young Pacific War. Though conceived as a diversion that would also boost American and allied morale, the raid generated strategic benefits that far outweighed its limited goals.

The raid had its roots in a chance observation that it was possible to launch Army twin-engined bombers from an aircraft carrier, making feasible an early air attack on Japan. Appraised of the idea in January 1942, U.S. Fleet commander Admiral Ernest J. King and Air Forces leader General Henry H. Arnold greeted it with enthusiasm. Arnold assigned the technically-astute Doolittle to organize and lead a suitable air group. The modern, but relatively well-tested B-25B “Mitchell” medium bomber was selected as the delivery vehicle and tests showed that it could fly off a carrier with a useful bomb load and enough fuel to hit Japan and continue on to airfields in China.

Gathering volunteer air crews for an unspecified, but admittedly dangerous mission, Doolittle embarked on a vigourous program of special training for his men and modifications to their planes. The new carrier Hornet was sent to the Pacific to undertake the Navy’s part of the mission. So secret was the operation that her Commanding Officer, Captain Marc A. Mitscher, had no idea of his ship’s upcoming employment until shortly before sixteen B-25s were loaded on her flight deck. On 2 April 1942 Hornet put to sea and headed west across the vast Pacific.

Joined in mid-ocean on 13 April by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey‘s flagship Enterprise, which would provide air cover during the approach, Hornet steamed toward a planned 18 April afternoon launching point some 400 miles from Japan. However, before dawn on 18 April, enemy picket boats were encountered much further east than expected. These were evaded or sunk, but got off radio warnings, forcing the planes to take off around 8 AM, while still more than 600 miles out.

Most of the sixteen B-25s, each with a five-man crew, attacked the Tokyo area, with a few hitting Nagoya. Damage to the intended military targets was modest, and none of the planes reached the Chinese airfields (though all but a few of their crewmen survived). However, the Japanese high command was deeply embarrassed. Three of the eight American airmen they had captured were executed. Spurred by Combined Fleet commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, they also resolved to eliminate the risk of any more such raids by the early destruction of America’s aircraft carriers, a decision that led them to disaster at the Battle of Midway a month and a half later.

Here are a few videos:

 

Video: Bill Whittle on the history of political correctness Tuesday, Apr 17 2012 

Axis of Idiots and Democrats and History and Lies and Media and Media Bias and Neo-Marxists and Politics and Socialism and Stupid People , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 10:18

Reblogged from America's Watchtower:

  Below is a video I found over at Conservative Hideout in which Bill Whittle talks about the history of political correctness which I found very interesting and I thought I would share it with you.

Must view. Political correctness is what has screwed over so many with no facts whatsoever to back it up.   H/T cmblake6

 

Today in History (04-17-12)… Tuesday, Apr 17 2012 

Democrats and Failure and History and Military History and Politics , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 05:45

Today in history. Another Democrat fail. But I digress.

Today is the anniversary of the fiasco fondly known as the Bay of Pigs.

On April 17, 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.

In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolt that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The U.S. government distrusted Castro and was wary of his relationship with Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union.

Before his inauguration, John F. Kennedy was briefed on a plan by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The plan anticipated that the Cuban people and elements of the Cuban military would support the invasion. The ultimate goal was the overthrow of Castro and the establishment of a non-communist government friendly to the United States.

Read more from the Kennedy Library.

 

Britain’s Greatest Foe Ever… Monday, Apr 16 2012 

History and Military and Military History and US Army , , , , , , 1IDVET 06:34

George Washington. ‘Nuff said.

George Washington named Britain’s greatest ever foe

George Washington has been named as the greatest foe ever faced by the British.

The American was voted the winner in a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country’s most outstanding military opponent.

He was one of a shortlist of five leaders who topped a public poll and on Saturday was selected as the ultimate winner by an audience of around 70 guests at a special event at the museum, in Chelsea, west London.

In second place was Michael Collins, the Irish leader, ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte, Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40 minute presentation. The audience, who had paid to attend the day, then voted in a secret ballot after all five presentations had been made.

Dr Stephen Brumwell, who had championed Washington, said: “As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent.”

via George Washington named Britain’s greatest ever foe – Telegraph.

 

Major Doug La Bouff Memorial Scholarship… Wednesday, Apr 11 2012 

Education and History and Military and Military History and Truth and US Army and Veterans , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 05:29

This is a scholarship program that was set up for my friend Doug. He died in Iraq January 7th, 2006. He was my son’s godfather and a good friend. He was also my last platoon leader in the Army, I was his platoon sergeant. I miss him all the time. Any help you can give to this great scholarship program in his name would be appreciated. Please pass this on. You can read more about Doug here. Please help out if you can. I’ll leave this at the top for a while. Thanks.

Dear Friends,

Since his passing in 2006, the memory of our friend and loved-one, Major Douglas Amuel La Bouff has been honored by his fellow Cal State Fullerton historians during the annual banquet of the Theta Pi chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society.

Doug’s achievements as a person, scholar and military officer are remembered through a memorial scholarship awarded to history students who embody Doug’s patriotism, and love for history. Named the “Major Doug La Bouff Memorial Scholarship,” a handful of historians have benefited from modest monetary awards that they can use to advance their study of history.

We are asking your help to expand the scholarship to help more up and coming historians further their studies. We are also planning to obtain a plaque that will record past and future awardees for years to come. Please help anyway you can by mailing a check or money order no later than 23 April 2012 to:

Phi Alpha Theta
C/O Dr. Jochen Burgtorf
Cal State Fullerton, Department of History
800 N. State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA. 92834

Awardees for the 2012 Major Doug La Bouff Memorial Scholarship will be announced on Friday, 4 May, 2012 during the 50th Annual CSUF Phi Alpha Theta Banquet.
Thank you for your support!

Friends of the Major Doug La Bouff Memorial Scholarship.

 

Vietnam Veterans Day… Thursday, Mar 29 2012 

Coast Guard and Comarade Obama and Hero and History and Military and Military History and Obama and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , , 1IDVET 10:49

Presidential Proclamation — Vietnam Veterans Day

VIETNAM VETERANS DAY

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon.  Operation Chopper marked America’s first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars.  Through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true.  Fifty years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful Nation.

The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission.  It is a story of Americans from every corner of our Nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved.  It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm’s way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear.  From Ia Drang to Hue, they won every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.

Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation.  Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade.  More than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our Nation.  Now and forever, their names are etched into two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict’s greatest cost.

Our veterans answered our country’s call and served with honor, and on March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam.  Yet, in one of the war’s most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example.  We must never let this happen again.  Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations:  to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us.  Half a century after those helicopters swept off the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen, the missing, the wounded, the millions who served, and the millions more who awaited their return.  Our Nation stands stronger for their service, and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our deepest gratitude.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day.  I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

 

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln… Monday, Mar 12 2012 

History and Military and Military History and Politics and Republicans and Video , , , 1IDVET 11:13

And for your enjoyment, a great speech. I learned this speech in 5th, or 6th grade. Not sure if they still teach it, or not. Kind of have my doubts.

 

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