August 2014 - Argghhh!

I'll let you guys provide all the data, like you did last time...! Oh, no I won't, if only for the innocent who wander in. I got asked a question about transition breeches from muzzle-loading to breech-loading, and I rattled off an answer - but pictures speak in ways words don't. Like, I can talk about comparing Remington's rolling block the, tipping, or "trapdoor" block of the US M1873 or Austrian Wanzl, the turning block of the Austrian Werndl, or the flipping block of...

8 August shares a distinction with 2 August with no Medals being awarded for actions on this day. So, today we'll go with an *almost* Medal of Honor. A Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest honor this nation can bestow upon our soldiers. On M ay 14, 2009, Staff Sgt Jarion Halbisengibbs was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions in theSamarra, Iraq, on Sept. 10, 2007. Staff Sgt. Halbisengibbs led a combined assault force on agroup of farm houses known to be an insurgent...

Today was a quiet one for the Medal until 1952, in Korea. Hospital Corpsman Kilmer exemplifies the reason all combat veterans revere the medics. *KILMER, JOHN E. Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman, U.S. Navy, attached to duty as a medical corpsman with a Marine rifle company in the 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Korea, 13 August 1952. Entered service at: Houston, Tex. Born: 15 August 1930, Highland Park, Ill. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life...

After taking yesterday completely off, the Medal of Honor went back to work on 3 August, back in the Civil War. If the name seems familiar to you Redlegs in the readership - Lawton, Oklahoma home of Fort Sill and the Field Artillery, is named for MG Lawton - who had a long, distinguished career that was ended by a sniper's bullet in the Philippines. In a little twist of the dagger of irony, Lawton, who commanded the troops who escorted Geronimo from Fort Sill to Florida, was killed by an insurrecto...

There are 8 awards for this day in history. The Civil War resulted in the greatest number of Medals, over 1500 of them, for reasons discussed in previous posts about it being the only thing available at the time. Today, we open with one of the iconic Civil War Medal actions, a flag capture.

Today we open with the Civil War, and one of the opening battles - this one being nearly a local one to the Castle - Wilson's Creek, near Springfield, Missouri. Wilson's Creek was a saga of opportunities lost or squandered by both sides, and in microcosm displayed the fissures that would eventually doom the southern cause in Missouri and Arkansas - the squabbles amongst the generals. The Federals lost an able general when Lyons was killed, and saddled with a mediocre one in Franz Sigel -...

A war that started on 28 July, ended on 15 August, if you take the long view. The Second 30 Years War for Europe, if perhaps the first for the world at large. And oh, the side-changing that went on... and, one wonders if we're on the cusp of a new one, in the Middle East. TO MY GOOD AND LOYAL SUBJECTS: After deeply pondering the general trends of the world and the current conditions of our Empire, I intend to effect a conclusion to the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure...

Episode 430,238,982* On the left, a rubber bullet (more properly called a "baton round"). On the right, a tungsten anti-armor penetrator. Both have very different impact characteristics when striking humans or tanks, despite the apparent similarities. They do not make good earplugs, however. Squares in the background are approximately one inch.