Argghhh!

The University of New England has a collections of personal papers from a War Vet, among these a very special Christmas Card she received...

This Sight, ML 3in Mortar Mk 2 has never worked for elevation, the mechanism being jammed. Two hours later, I know why. The last time someone took it apart (not I, this is the *first* time I have) they put it together incorrectly, reversing a part. The problem was exacerbated by the dried-out cosmoline freezing the mechanism in the first place. Once I had it moving again, it wouldn't move along it's full legnth-of-travel. Took some puzzling to put it right. That, and keeping track of the...

Poignantly stated, Mrs. LaCroix...

Sergeant First Class Petry and Staff Sergeant Guinta are going to be some lonely men at Medal of Honor gatherings 30 years from now. But at least (barring entropy intervening) at least there will be gatherings 30 years from now...Three years from event to award is still an exemplar of inexcuseable bullshit bureaucracy on the part of stuffed shirt self-important bureaucrats in the Pentagon, an opinion I will hold and assert until such time as they offer up some transparency to how the process works...

"My love, stay strong and you will do well in life. I love you and my children deeply. Today and tomorrow let each day grow and grow. Keep smiling and never give up even when things get you down. So in closing my love, tonight tuck my children in bed warmly. Tell them I love them, then hug them for me and give them both a kiss goodnight for daddy." -- SFC Randy Shughart

"Go ahead, boys! This is only the fortunes of war!" There are fifty-one Medals awarded for deeds on this day, one of them posthumous. The bulk of them are from the assault on Fort Fisher, NC, where you'll meet Coxswain Shipman of Ticonderoga who, after a 100 pounder Parrot rifle exploded on deck, shouted that line above to encourage his gunners.We open with the Civil War, and 48 Medals for the assault on Fort Fisher, from 24 December 1864 - 15 January 1865. None of them posthumous ...

A lesson in paying attention and asking the questions while we can. Yesterday, January 26, 2010 was CAPT Bruce McFarlane, USMC (ret)'s 80th birthday. I suggest you pop over to USNI Blog and read the interview the Captain so graciously granted UltimaRatioReg Interview with Captain Bruce McFarlane, USMC (Ret.) Hidden among the many legends and characters of the United States Marine Corps are countless Marines, Officer and enlisted, who served with distinction alongside those legends in places whose...