June 2014 - Argghhh!

Another day of small unit leaders, formal and informal, making a difference, only one of them surviving to receive his award. That would be our first recipient from the Civil War, Lieutenant Patrick Doody, who lived on until 1924. DOODY, PATRICK Rank and organization: Corporal, Company E., 164th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 7 June 1864. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 13 December 1893. Citation: After making a successful personal reconnaissance...

Like yesterday, today was a busy day in American military history regarding the Medal of Honor, with 9 Medals awarded for actions on the 6rh of June. One in 1876, 3 in WWI, for the fighting around Chateu Thierry, well, really only *two* were awarded for fighting around Chateau Thierry, but you'll have to read the cites to understand that... 4 Medals for Normandy, all at Omaha, and one for action in the Phillipines, in 1945. LEJEUNE, EMILE Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1853,...

By 5 June 1944, there were close to 3 million Allied soldiers cramming the nooks and crannies of southern England. 2,876,000 Allied troops were gathered in Devon, Dorset, Sussex and Kent. Brits, Canadians, and the ubiquitous American GI - "over-sexed, over-paid, and over here," as the locals noted somewhat wryly. While they were awaiting their embarkment orders, they continued their training for the invasion by conducting live fire exercises on hastily arranged ranges scattered across the...

- the VA is still as dicked up as it was last week. Ambassador Stevens is still dead and no one has been held accountable. On either side. The Dreamers are swarming the border, creating a humanitarian crisis. The EPA is wanting to rape your wallet and my land. But no, BERGDAHL BERGDAHL BERGDAHL! (I'm guilty, too)

Today marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Midway. I've covered Midway before , and the Navy has a good website on Midway , as one would hope and expect. Today at the Castle, our Midway focus is on a warrior whose actions this day and the next in 1942 earned him the Medal of Honor - Richard Fleming, Captain, USMCR. *FLEMING, RICHARD E. Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 2 November 1917, St. Paul, Minn. Appointed from: Minnesota. Citation: For extraordinary...

Having grown up amongst WWII vets, the war doesn't seem that long ago. Heck, when I was a kid, there were parts of German cities where there were blocks of rubble that seemed to still smell of smoke... If you've not kept up with the new scholarship on Midway that has benefitted from access to Japanese records, I strongly recommend Shattered Sword , by Parshall and Tully.

There are two Medals awarded for actions on this day. Both during WWII to soldiers of the 100th Infantry. KOBASHIGAWA, YEIKI Technical Sergeant Yeiki Kobashigawa distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, in the vicinity of Lanuvio, Italy. During an attack, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's platoon encountered strong enemy resistance from a series of machine guns providing supporting fire. Observing a machine gun nest 50 yards from his position, Technical Sergeant...