October 2009 - Argghhh!

18 Medals earned on this day in history - 15 of them on the same day during the closing days of WWIThe Civil War, the battle of Perryville. Sergeant Durham seems like a guy to stay away from, and Private Surles a guy to keep close by!DURHAM, JOHN S. Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 1st Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Perryville, Ky., 8 October 1862. Entered service at: Malone, St. Croix County, Wis. Born: 1843, New York, N.Y. Date of issue: 20 November 1896. Citation: Seized the...

An e-gram from VC / Castle cross-poster and Blogger-In-Her-Own-Right Miss Ladybug, who manages the Victory Caucus news feed:Hey, Bill -- This about your students?Yup, it sure is, Miss L..And here's the shot that probably would have accompanied that release:Remember this post from a while back?And remember this one, too? Well, the fledglings have learned to soar on their own...What's changed about this particular graduation ceremony, and why is it important? Simple enough -- the rotary wing...

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. ********************* In today's From the Front: (Click on link to read stories highlighted below) The Lede: (VIDEO) Fighting Uphill in Afghanistan Old Blue: Okay, So Maybe My Day Wasn’t So Bad After All Bouhammer: A first hand account of treating the wounded from last weekend Army Household6...

Note to self: There are 20 Grains to a Scruple, 3 Scruples to a Dram. and 8 Drams to an Ounce. Keep that in mind when playing with Magnesium Permanganate. ... Lest your family tree gets confused with THIS ONE. Oh, nevermind . Boq

Seven Medals for actions on this day in history. One, a naval Medal during the "Interim Awards,1871-1898" period, four from WWI, and one each from WWII and Korea. The most famous of these Medal Holders is the Major who commanded the "Lost Battalion" in France in 1918. BELPITT, W. H.Rank and organization: Captain of the Afterguard, U.S. Navy. Born: 1859, Sydney, Australia. (Letter No. 126, 27 October 1884, LCDR Iverson, U .S. Navy.) Citation: On board the U.S.S. Monocacy, Foochow...

Michael Yon continues to post from AfStan, despite being yanked from his embed with 2 Rifles.This paragraph sent me into the 'Way-Back Machine:In July, British soldiers and I boarded a CH-47 helicopter at Camp Bastion for the flight to FOB Jackson at Sangin where fighting is brutal. The helicopter was so stuffed with men, gear and supplies that the cargo was not even strapped down. We steadied the long stack with our hands and prayed that the pilots not begin flying violent evasive maneuvers...

Interesting bit of trivia for you - how many Medals of Honor do you think were presented by President Clinton, he who was cursed by "not having been tested" except by the endgame in Somalia? Yes, he did present the awards for Shughart and Gordon for the Battle of Mogadishu. He also presented 35 others, for a total of 37. What really drove President Clinton's numbers up was 22 award upgrades authorized for Asian-Americans believed to have been slighted during WWII. By contrast, the WWII...