[bootlegga]

PluggyRug PluggyRug:

8)

When I went to Normandy a decade ago, I brought a ton of shiny pennies and poppies and left them on as many graves as possible.

Say whatever you want about the French, but they take damned good care of all the young men who never came home. Every cemetery I visited in France was immaculate and lovingly tended. Beautiful flowers, neatly trimmed hedges, lush green grass, our young men reside in a place that is simply spectacular.

[DrCaleb]

Canadian veteran of Devil's Brigade, which paved way for Green Berets, dies at 98

[stratos]

bootlegga bootlegga:

PluggyRug PluggyRug:

8)

When I went to Normandy a decade ago, I brought a ton of shiny pennies and poppies and left them on as many graves as possible.

Say whatever you want about the French, but they take damned good care of all the young men who never came home. Every cemetery I visited in France was immaculate and lovingly tended. Beautiful flowers, neatly trimmed hedges, lush green grass, our young men reside in a place that is simply spectacular.

I've never been yet have read and heard the same thing. Not just for WWII but also WWI sites. Recently in an audio book on WWII it had a bit about how Hitler had a WWI memorial site destroyed. It was near where had had the French sign the peace treaty that got them out of WWII. The reason given was he could not stand anything that would remind people that Germany had lost WWI. He felt that it was scandalous that people would remember and thus somehow lesson him and his Nazi Germany. As if the shit they did wasn't enough to make the Nazi vilified through out history.

[bootlegga]

stratos stratos:

bootlegga bootlegga:

PluggyRug PluggyRug:

8)

When I went to Normandy a decade ago, I brought a ton of shiny pennies and poppies and left them on as many graves as possible.

Say whatever you want about the French, but they take damned good care of all the young men who never came home. Every cemetery I visited in France was immaculate and lovingly tended. Beautiful flowers, neatly trimmed hedges, lush green grass, our young men reside in a place that is simply spectacular.

I've never been yet have read and heard the same thing. Not just for WWII but also WWI sites. Recently in an audio book on WWII it had a bit about how Hitler had a WWI memorial site destroyed. It was near where had had the French sign the peace treaty that got them out of WWII. The reason given was he could not stand anything that would remind people that Germany had lost WWI. He felt that it was scandalous that people would remember and thus somehow lesson him and his Nazi Germany. As if the shit they did wasn't enough to make the Nazi vilified through out history.

I'm not sure how accurate the Red Star is, but they reported that Hitler actually assigned the SS to guard Vimy Ridge, because he personally thought it was a great memorial:

https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/04/07 ... ridge.html

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Alberta team's WWII Halifax bomber rescue gets underway



A team of aviation enthusiasts from Alberta has finally made its way to Sweden to recover a wartime Halifax bomber that has been sitting at the bottom of the Baltic Sea for 76 years.

Work to bring what's left of the Halifax bomber back to southern Alberta got underway this week — after two years of fundraising and planning led by the Bomber Command Museum of Canada.

Members of the museum, along with Swedish colleagues and a team called Halifax 57 Rescue are digging up pieces of the aircraft, which are scattered off the south coast of Sweden.

"It's settled into the sand so we've got a giant vacuum cleaner that uses water and it will suck up the sand and deposit it somewhere else and we'll dig out the airplane," said Karl Kjarsgaard, director of the Nanton Bomber Command Museum.

It's part of a years-long, costly plan to rebuild the iconic aircraft in the museum in Nanton, Alta., located about 90 kilometres south of Calgary. It originally started in 2015 and has been slow to proceed due to delays.


. . .


The Royal Canadian Air Force bomber lost two engines and suffered extensive damage to its flight controls during a raid on Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 3, 1943.

Its crew of seven were forced to bail out, leaving the plane to plunge into the Baltic Sea.

. . .

Kjarsgaard said there's a misconception among Canadians that bomber crews exclusively flew Lancasters to victory.

"Canadians flew 70 per cent of their combat in the Halifax," he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.5197467

[BartSimpson]

I lost another great friend last week and Mrs. Bart and myself attended his private funeral in Wisconsin on Monday. He did not have a public obituary because he was a very humble and private man. I am posting this here because he deserves to be remembered.

Jakob Markovic (his original name before moving to America) was born in Prague on October 18, 1922. He was known as Jacob Marsh.

When the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia Jakob's parents were arrested for their previous political activities and they were never seen again. He joined with an ad-hoc militia and committed attacks against the Germans within Germany in order to prevent reprisal attacks against Czechs.

Through the course of the war Jakob and his comrades caused numerous disruptions to rail traffic, electrical plants, munitions plants, and they also carried out assassinations of German officials and officers.

After the war he was arrested without charge by the Soviets and he was held in Siberia until his release in 1961. At the time of his release he immediately made his way to Austria and then to the USA where he settled and took work as a teacher in a public school. Jakob never married and he leaves no children.

What he did leave are some fond memories of happy conversations, good times at the range, and he passed on a love of literature and learning to the many people he encountered.

While he may never have worn a uniform he is no less a veteran and a survivor of World War Two than anyone else and he has my respect.

Odpočívej v pokoji

[DrCaleb]

RIP Mr. Markovic

[xerxes]

A pair of articles I stumbled across the other day. They're a few years old but still interesting:

The Army found an M2 .50 caliber machine-gun still shooting perfectly after 90 years of service

$1:

The .50 caliber M2 machine gun was designed in 1918, near the end of World War I by John Browning.

Production began in 1921 and the weapon was designed so a single receiver could be turned into seven different variants by adding jackets, barrels or other components.

Roughly 94 years after the first production run of M2 machine guns came off the assembly line, the 324th weapon produced made it to Anniston Army Depot for overhaul and upgrade.

In more than 90 years of existence, the receiver with serial number 324 has never been overhauled.

"Looking at the receiver, for its age, it looks good as new and it gauges better than most of the other weapons," said John Clark, a small arms repair leader.

Despite the fact that the weapon still meets most specifications, it may be destined for the scrap yard.

Modifications made to the weapon in the field mean part of the receiver would have to be removed through welding and replaced with new metal, a process which usually means the receiver is scrap.

"I'd rather put this one on display than send it to the scrap yard," said Clark, adding the weapon's age makes it appealing as a historical artifact.

Currently, the 389th M2 is on display in the Small Arms Repair Facility. There is an approval process the older weapon would have to go through in order to be similarly displayed. Clark and Jeff Bonner, the Weapons Division chief, are researching and beginning that process.

In 2011, the depot began converting the Army's inventory of M2 flexible machine guns to a new variant.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-50-cal-fought-for-90-years-without-needing-repair

And why the Vickers MG was just as good as the M2 Browning:

$1:

Captain Graham Hutchison recorded this account of the Vickers in action during an attack on High Wood in August 1916 (exerpted from "The Grand old Lady of No Man's Land by Dolf Goldsmith):

For this attack, [ten] guns were grouped in the Savoy Trench, from which a magnificent view was obtained of the German line at a range of about 2000 yards. These guns were disposed for barrage. On August 23rd and the night of the 23rd/24th the whole Company was, in addition to the two Companies of Infantry lent for the purpose, employed in carrying water and ammunition to this point. Many factors in barrage work which are now common knowledge had not then been learned or considered. It is amusing today to note that in the orders for the 100th Machine Gun Company's barrage of 10 guns, Captain Hutchison ordered that rapid fire should be maintained continuously for twelve hours, to cover the attack and consolidation. It is to the credit of the gunners and the Vickers gun itself that this was done! During the attack on the 24th, 250 rounds short of one million were fired by ten guns; at least four petrol tins of water besides all the water bottles of the Company and urine tins form the neighborhood were emptied into the guns for cooling purposes; and a continuous party was employed carrying ammunition. Private Robertshaw and Artificer H. Bartlett between them maintained a belt-filling machine in action without stopping for a single moment, for twelve hours. At the end of this time many of the NCOs and gunners were found asleep from exhaustion at their posts. A prize of five francs to the members of each gun team was offered and was secured by the gun team of Sgt. P. Dean, DCM, with a record of just over 120,000 rounds.

The attack on the 24th of August was a brilliant success, the operation being difficult and all objectives being taken within a short time. Prisoner examined at Divisional and Corps Headquarters reported that the effect of the Machine Gun barrage was annihilating, and the counterattacks which had attempted to retake the ground lost were broken up wjilst being concentrated east of the Flers Ridge and of High Wood.
........
In 1963 in Yorkshire, a class of British Army armorers put one Vickers gun through probably the most strenuous test ever given to an individual gun. The base had a stockpile of approximately 5 million rounds of Mk VII ammunition which was no longer approved for military use. They took a newly rebuilt Vickers gun, and proceeded to fire the entire stock of ammo through it over the course of seven days. They worked in pairs, switching off at 30 minute intervals, with a third man shoveling away spent brass. The gun was fired in 250-round solid bursts, and the worn out barrels were changed every hour and a half. At the end of the five million rounds, the gun was taken back into the shop for inspection. It was found to be within service spec in every dimension.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a18971/forgotten-weapons-the-vickers-gun-is-one-of-the-best-firearms-ever-made/

[xerxes]

I'll post the link at the bottom for this story but the twitter feed is much better IMO.

Hero's welcome for deceased Vietnam War veteran

$1:

I’m at the airport in Dallas, waiting for my flight home to DC from El Paso, and something incredible is happening.

Our incoming plane is carrying the remains of an American pilot shot down over Vietnam in 1967. His remains were only recently recovered and identified and brought back to the US.

As we wait at the gate, we’re told that Captain Knight is coming home to Dallas. When he left from this very airport to fight in Vietnam his 5 year old son came to the airfield and waved goodbye. It was the last time he would see his father alive.

Today the pilot of the plane bringing Capt. Knight back to Dallas is his son.

The entire terminal has come to watch this arrival.



Incredible moment to watch. The entire airport fell silent.



What a privilege it was to witness this moment.

For those asking, they announced it over the intercom. The gate agent was very emotional as he told the story over the PA. They handed out American flags to everyone at the gate.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49284330

[DrCaleb]

$1:

HMCS Haida: the last of the Tribal-class destroyer warships



It’s the most decorated warship in the history of the Canadian Navy, but its most dangerous assignment was to sail across Lake Ontario from Toronto to Port Weller.

After 36 years as a showpiece at Ontario Place on the Toronto waterfront, HMCS Haida was towed across the lake to get a new bottom installed at Port Weller Dry Docks. Parks Canada feared that its paper-thin bottom plates would collapse during the tow and Canada’s “most flightingest” ship would plunge to the bottom of the lake.

But it made it.

Today, it receives thousands of visitors annually to learn about life at sea that the ship and its crewmates lived through during the Second World War, the Korean War and while shadowing foreign vessels during the Cold War.

After a $5-million refurbishing in Port Weller, Ont., the HMCS Haida was towed to Pier 9 in Hamilton Harbour to launch the city’s campaign to turn its waterfront into a people place.

On Sunday at noon, HMCS Haida will fire its large guns to mark the 76th anniversary of its commissioning into the Royal Canadian Navy.

https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/201 ... ships.html

[xerxes]

Cool. If I’m get in Ontario again I’ll def go pay her a visit.

[xerxes]

Seven dead after a WWII-era B-17 bomber crash at a Connecticut airport

$1:

Seven people are dead after a World War II-era B-17 bomber crashed into an airport de-icing facility while trying to land at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, officials said.

The seven were on the plane, James Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said at a news conference Wednesday evening.

ix people on the plane survived. Rovella said he couldn't give names of the victims because not every family has been notified.

Thirteen people -- 10 passengers and three crew members -- were on board when the vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crashed at the end of a runway, authorities said. One person on the ground was injured, Rovella said.
...
But shortly after takeoff, the pilot told air traffic control: "N93012 would like to return to the field."

"What is the reason for coming back?" the controller asked.

"You got No. 4 engine. We'd like to return, and blow it out," another pilot in the aircraft said.

A pilot said he needed to land immediately, and the control tower diverted other jets that were about to land, the recording indicates.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/us/connecticut-plane-crash-trnd/index.html

[xerxes]

Two Japanese carrier wrecks found

$1:

Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two.

The carriers were among seven ships that went down in the Battle of Midway, a major air and sea battle fought between the US and Japan in 1942.

One ship, the Kaga, was discovered last week, while wreckage from another carrier, Akagi, was found on Sunday.

Until now only one other ship sunk in this battle had ever been found - the American vessel USS Yorktown, in 1998.

This month's discoveries came after weeks of searching by crew members based on the research vessel Petrel. The vessel is owned by Vulcan Inc, a company created by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The Petrel also worked with the US Navy, as according to US law it is otherwise illegal to disturb underwater war graves - that is, sites where the wrecks of US military ships lie.

Both ships were found lying about 18,000 feet (5,490 metres) under water within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument - the largest marine conservation area in the world.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50124313

[PluggyRug]

Moving tribute to Canadian Military.

[bootlegga]

Great find! +5