 |
| U.S. Army Spc. Alan George, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, Bravo Company watches the surrounding area before mortar training Aug. 8, 2016, at Arta, Djibouti. The Soldiers fired rounds from M224 and M252 cannons to practice hitting target areas. The 1-124, a component of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, is deployed from Cocoa, Fla., to perform security operations in the region. (U.S. Air Force Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Summers Jr./Released) |
Now what?
Good question.
So over the weekend I watched Fury, again, probably for the tenth time. There are things a fellow can quibble about in the movie, but I don't want to get into a ...
 |
| (Source) |
When I was nobbut a lad, one of my favorite TV shows was Combat!, loved that show. I've watched a couple of the episodes from the first season recently (available on the Tube of You) and it's still pretty good in my book. It's more about people than history. Good stories, they're just set in WWII. They could be set in almost any war and still be good.
I do have to admit though, while watching it I was reminded of the weird-looking eagle on this German's chest -
 |
| (Source) |
 |
| (Source)¹ |
Anyhoo, that's it for today, Tuna should have a post up fairly soon (is it done yet Tuna, huh, huh, huh? No pressure, bro', no pressure.)
Be seeing you.
Update:
Better view of the messed up incorrect Combat! German eagle -
 |
| (Source) |
¹ Yes, I find it a bit disconcerting at the relative availability of this sort of thing for purchase. Reenactors like it, but are there really enough of those to keep such companies in business? Does Hollywood use them? (Probably not.) When I was a reenactor we got all of our insignia from Austria, from the same manufacturer who produced such things during the war. A bit off-putting, yes.
² CSS = Can't See Shit. I suffer badly from this, along with CRS, which is Can't Remember Shit.
Well, color me blind, but I don’t see the difference in the two insignia or wings or whatever they’re called. A little guidance, please?
ReplyDeletejuvat
The proportions are all wrong in the first photo, that first eagle is rather lumpy and crude-looking. This link shows it up close, compare and contrast. Ah man, you'll never be a rivet-counter. 😉
DeleteHmmm, the squadron patches and name tags made in Kunsan City were rather crude compared to the squadron patches and name tags made in Phoenix. Maybe they were replacement patches made by the local population after the official ones were ruined in blood/mud of combat?
DeleteBut, that gives me a subject for Monday. Thanks
juvat
I remember those patches very well. The big thing in our shop was getting our fatigues made downtown. No doubt we were in violation of some regulation somewhere.
DeleteIt's good enough for a 20" screen at the time.
DeleteI'm re-watching the old episodes on my computer, monitor is < 20" - for the cognoscenti it's glaringly obvious.
DeleteBought many episodes on DVD. You're certainly correct about being more about the people, Sarge; but a couple of the weapons drive me crazy now; the "Wehrmact Vickers" being the most egregious.
DeleteBG
Annoying yes, but the Germans did use the Vickers in WWII, though probably not in the context we saw in Combat!.
DeleteOh, they used EVERYTHING they captured, to be sure; still, couldn't they have found ONE MG 34/42?
DeleteBG
I'd be okay with an MG 1, the Bundeswehr version of the MG 42, but yeah, they couldn't find one?
DeleteMy parents were rivet counters and bickered about WW2 films. When TV came along, they were both "It's TV, I'm not going to bother." And so when I saw such, I just quietly said "Those who will not remember history, will repeat it." Now, I feel we ARE repeating it, slowly, here, there, and I weep. How many Ruby Ridges, Wacos, OKCs ... I feel we're doomed. Was the Barbery Pirate War the peak of the USA? I need something cheery to reread.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet they loved that Battle of the Bulge movie from the 60s. (Yes, I'm kidding.)
DeleteWe are repeating things, not a good sign. One thing I will take heart from is that in all of history, no evil regime lasted. Yes, took a while for some of them to fall, but the bottom line is: they fell. How much suffering they caused in the meantime, that's the really sad part.
Has to be a special place in Hell for those who would inflict such bullshit on their fellow humans.
Sarge,
DeleteAMEN!
juvat
👍
Delete@ OldAFSarge
Delete"...a special place in Hell..."
I believe you'll find it in Dante's little tour guide in the Ninth Circle
"The second region, Antenora, is named for the Trojan prince Antenor.
"Dante places in this region those who betrayed their political party or their homeland."
https://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/circle9.html#treachery
Guess I need to read that. (Never have, not sure why.)
DeleteI'm bad. Every time I hear or read something about a special level of hell I think of "Firefly" and the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds."
Deletehttps://youtu.be/NVxLz6O6MaI?si=CzbC4nZ69FqoMRvw
There are couple of real good translations; I happen to like the one by Dorothy Leigh Sayers Fleming (of Lord Peter Wimsey fame) the best, but there is the one by Allen Mandelbaum which number of Inferno enthusiasts enjoy:
Deletehttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/236576/inferno-by-dante-alighieri-translated-by-allen-mandelbaum/#:~:text=About%20Inferno,born%20in%20our%20own%20age.
The one I find the easiest to digest is the updated, modernized "Inferno" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (SciFi writers):
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Inferno%20by%20Pournelle&sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-topnav-_-Results&ds=20
Sarge, my youngest gave me the set of The Divine Comedy for Christmas. Apparently (judging from pictures) it was the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation. I had not read it in 35 years and found it more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Hell is the most "fun" of course, seeing who ended up there and the punishments, but Purgatory and Heaven were also much better than I remembered them.
DeleteJoe - Ah Firefly, I miss it so.
Deleteboron - I shall check that out.
DeleteTB - I have nothing to compare. Guess I'll be reading that soon.
DeleteI liked Combat! when I was a kid too but we played army a lot back in those days... I'm sure you'll wake up some morning with a story in your mind that you can't help sharing! And we'll be here waiting for it!
ReplyDeleteThe top photo? Arta, Djibouti is in Africa, I wonder how many troops we have station in Africa today? In how many places?
You know how many troops we have in Africa? Too damned many, that's how many. Why are they there? Cui bono?
DeleteThis is America, sadly you can probably answer the "why" question with the statement "follow the money".
DeleteYup. And I'd extend to "this is planet Earth."
DeleteWell Sarge perhaps you can take comfort from one answer about how many troops we have in Djibouti; "About one for every dozen chinese"
DeleteBoat Guy
There is that ...
DeleteI write off things like small variations in things like that on difference in manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteNow, using a 30-40 Krag in place of a 8mm Mauser....
Thing is though, until 1944 the Germans were pretty strict on the manufacture of their insignia. Again, I think it was one company that did all of that.
DeleteKrags were used by the Germans. Not on the front lines, usually.
DeleteThere is a section on that here in the Pedia of Wiki.
DeleteThe Germans would use anything they could, but they avoided front line service for surplus equipment line those rifles, French tanks and the like due to the logistical nightmare of supplying the right ammo for the various weapons. So yes, they were used.
The Krags used by the sour Krauts were either the Danish versions, the long "Scharfschützen-Gewehr 312(d)" Model 1889 rifle or the shorter "Karabin M89" rebranded as "Karabiner 506(d)" both of which were in the obsolete 8mm Danish caliber, with the (d) in the nomenclature indicating its Danish origins.
DeleteMany more excellent Norwegian Krag rifles in the outstanding 6.5 x 55mm cartridge were used, including two rifles and a sniper rifle model and five different carbine versions. Respectively these were Gewehr 211(n); Gewehr 213(n); Zeilfernrehr-Gewehr 212(n); and Karabiners 411(n), 412(n), 413(n), 414(n) and 415(n).
Some of the Danish Krags went to Luftwaffe units, so while Sgt Schultz's inspiration may have had a Krag, it was not the U.S. Model 1892, 1896 or 1898 in .30-40 caliber. So, as a rivet counter, that offended me. No idea which German force used the Norwegian Krags. Or which used the "Pistole 657(n)" which was their name for the Norwegian "11.25mm Aut. Pistol M1914" which was the Norwegian name for licensed copies of our own beloved Model 1911 .45 Automatic.
John Blackshoe
Good info, JB, thanks!
DeleteMe: The only person in our small group at the time that, after watching The Passion of the Christ and being asked for input, pointed out the dialect of Latin they were using was Medieval (Church) Latin, not the Latin of the late Republic/Early Empire.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I do feel your pain...
Ouch?
DeleteProbably like the mini-series about the slaughter of three legions in the Teutoburgerwald, Barbarians on Netflix. The tribes were speaking modern Hochdeutsch (High German). Though I enjoyed the first season, the second is unwatchable for its wokeness.
Well, it is Netflix...
DeleteBingo!
DeleteBarbarians (1st season) was enjoyable, although the last battle was completely fictional (Fires? Really, Netflix?). I did not even try with the second season, given what I saw from the clips.
DeleteYup, the battle scene was very Hollywood. I tried very hard to watch the first episode of the 2nd season, didn't make it far!
DeleteI guet you. It's not like there's a lack of technical advisors on military issues out there. I saw one on NCIS Sydney (a new yet horribly formulaic version) that showed a photo of an officer and his 4 rows of ribbons, to include the two at the top, pinned upside down. Such irritating lack of attention to detail. My post is a go!
ReplyDeleteAnd there are hundreds of vets out there who could clue them in. Heck, a simple internet search would fix the dumb ribbon display.
DeleteThanks for the upcoming post, your stories are always good. (Yes, I peeked. 😉)
Movies can be bad, but books can be worse, and the critic has the leisure to nitpick at his worst. One (an otherwise good story) had a P51 with a 50 cal mounted on centerline under the belly. That is where the air scoop is and would have required a major design modification (local author, never got to meet him)! A second was a Vietnam era destroyer firing hedgehog depth charges onto a shore area (as far as I know, they do not explode until sinking some depth). Third, I have noted that authors generally are hostile to criticism (you are an exception, Sarge).
ReplyDeleteSince the hedgehog only had a range of about 200 yards, that would be kinda tough, unless tied up at the pier and the enemy hordes were charging down the pier--- ignoring the fact that they do need to sink to a preset depth, as you pointed out!
DeleteJB
Don - I like the criticism, helps me do a better job!
DeleteArgh, P-51 with a centerline gun? Hedgehog dispenser firing at the land? Even a little tiny bit of research would have prevented that.
JB - Yup, that pesky technical stuff will mess you up, unless you know what you're talking about!
DeleteOne author whose earlier fiction I really liked was gratuitously mixing missions/capabilities/roles of SBD's and TBF's at Midway and Guadalcanal. Threw the audio book away.
DeleteBG
That would make my head explode.
Delete(Don McCollor...From "Secret Weapons of WW2" a moored British escort laid a salvo of hedgehogs on the dock. None exploded...
ReplyDeleteProbably not intentional either!
Delete"Oh! I say! Bad show, that!"
Delete🤣
Delete(Don McCollor) Previously a while back, I commented how a hapless US destroyer practicing en route to North Africa accidently launched a live torpedo at battleship USS Iowa (with President Roosevelt aboard). It missed, barely. Shortly after, the destroyer noted that Iowa's main batteries were trained on her. And they weren't practicing..
DeleteI recall both the comment and the incident very well.
DeleteWay back when I was building highly-detailed scale model aircraft, we had people who would obsess over trivial things or choices in the builder's work. Really annoyed a lot of people, and yep.....they were called (with some derision) "Rivet Counters".
ReplyDeleteMajor errors I can understand, but little ones, no.
DeleteI saw an almost argument when one guy whipped out a little book of paint chips, and the other guy produced his. Neither of the paint chips matched the paint on the model, or each other!. Somebody's OCD went into melt-down that day....
DeleteI would have paid to see that!
Delete