December 2009 - Argghhh!

There are five Medals awarded for actions this day, from four eras, and only one is posthumous.Civil War - a Gunner who stood to his piece.CHURCHILL, SAMUEL J. Rank and organization: Corporal, Company G, 2d Illinois Light Artillery. Place and date: At Nashville, Tenn., 15 December 1864. Entered service at: DeKalb County, Ill. Birth: Rutland County, Vt. Date of issue: 20 January 1897. Citation: When the fire of the enemy's batteries compelled the men of his detachment for a short time to seek...

It was a looming quiet around Rocherath, Belgium during the early, mist-shrouded hours of 18 December, 1944. Just as the cloud-hidden sun was causing a wan, pale dawn in the dense fog, the outposts heard the roar of diesels echoing out of the woods outside the town. The soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment were deployed east of the village along the road from the woods, and they took the first blow as a company of German tanks and a battalion of infantry ghosted out into the open...

Firing Point 3 is open at Castle Argghhh! All I offer in defense of my barely tolerable shooting is - at least I was consistent in missing to the right, and they were all close....

Yet another story from the State of Michigan...

There are eight Medals earned for actions on this day, or a period that ends on this day. There are a slough of Medals from the Fort Fisher campaign that will show up in January, but cover actions on this day as well. Six are from the Civil War, one is a lifesaving Medal, and the last was earned during World War II.Thus far in our military history, the gift of Christmas is that there are as yet no posthumous awards for actions on this day.Civil War. Note the "rank" of Robert Blake. A liberated...

Last year, John and I were having a conversation by e-gram which was interrupted by the dweedle of incoming 122mm rockets. I typed "bailing. rockets" and bailed. John used that to post about the miracles of electronic communication we'd seen since, well, electronic communication first cranked up.My turn. I just got this five minutes ago from Potfry at TNOYF:Please excuse the departure from our typical shtick:Arasradio, a self-identified Iranian protester in Tehran, has left a couple...