tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post4977497671406979145..comments2024-03-29T07:51:11.714-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: Day of DaysOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-69641341056507529402019-06-06T15:24:10.918-07:002019-06-06T15:24:10.918-07:00It was good. Very well done.It was good. Very well done.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-25420925163041880802019-06-06T15:06:27.817-07:002019-06-06T15:06:27.817-07:00President Trump's speech at Normandy today was...President Trump's speech at Normandy today was... moving/brilliant/awe inspiring/emotional/(insert your word here).<br /><br />Wow.<br /><br />And he even mentioned "There were the fighting Poles,..." and other countries.<br /><br />Transcript and video here:<br /><br />https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/06/president-trump-commemorates-the-75th-anniversary-of-d-day/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LegalInsurrection+%28Le%C2%B7gal+In%C2%B7sur%C2%B7rec%C2%B7tion%29<br /><br />(Sorry for the loooong link, but this was the first site that I could find that had a transcript.)Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-17057393992393667462019-06-06T14:33:30.342-07:002019-06-06T14:33:30.342-07:00Every ship was a combatant to one extent or anothe...Every ship was a combatant to one extent or another. Had to be.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-85676462095290703762019-06-06T14:32:34.496-07:002019-06-06T14:32:34.496-07:00You don't know that you need it, until you nee...You don't know that you need it, until you need it.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-82760298452009333372019-06-06T14:32:29.997-07:002019-06-06T14:32:29.997-07:00They definitely did. The rocky/sandy beaches, per...They definitely did. The rocky/sandy beaches, perfect for shelving 11th century ships, were too shallow and dangerous for deep draft vessels, yet they came in, and came in close. Thank God they did.<br /><br />In the Pacific, after the Gilberts, the battlewagons got as close to the reef edges as they could. People just thought we stopped doing point-blank fire from capital ships after Manila Bay in 1897...<br /><br />And, in the Pacific, even the attack transports provided shore fire, when they weren't shooting at planes, of course. If it had a gun, then it was to shoot. The movie and book "Away All Boats" does a good job of telling the story of these wonderful ships.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-64722732827898084622019-06-06T14:31:45.908-07:002019-06-06T14:31:45.908-07:00But you don't have to come back...But you don't have to come back...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-33506400583109188602019-06-06T14:31:21.648-07:002019-06-06T14:31:21.648-07:00Yes, but...Yes, but...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-78114530457173799432019-06-06T14:27:40.059-07:002019-06-06T14:27:40.059-07:00Reading about the prep for the Marshals invasions ...Reading about the prep for the Marshals invasions actually helped me plan for camping trips. Such things as extra ammo and guns, okay. Extra uniforms including underwear, shoes, socks, comfort items like gum and candybars? Whodathunk that a half-roll of toilet paper with a candy bar inside would become a morale booster?Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-74152990675755864502019-06-06T14:25:35.688-07:002019-06-06T14:25:35.688-07:00Too many Coasties died piloting and crewing landin...Too many Coasties died piloting and crewing landing craft, invasion spotting boats, bumboats and other small craft, and most importantly minesweepers.<br /><br />To the Coasties! Semper Paratus! And to their unofficial slogan, "You have to go out!"Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-46038063169491757882019-06-06T14:23:36.998-07:002019-06-06T14:23:36.998-07:00Let us hope we don't need to see the likes of ...Let us hope we don't need to see the likes of them again. But...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-63581401701598498252019-06-06T13:50:52.573-07:002019-06-06T13:50:52.573-07:00The tin can sailors did their jobs that day.The tin can sailors did their jobs that day.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-57465515760708864722019-06-06T13:50:00.235-07:002019-06-06T13:50:00.235-07:00Great link, thanks Beans!Great link, thanks Beans!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-67554356774356571912019-06-06T13:20:23.057-07:002019-06-06T13:20:23.057-07:00Deep respect, and thankfulness to all involved.
T...Deep respect, and thankfulness to all involved. <br />There were DDs that suffered bottom damage, they got so clise, to support the troops.SCOTTtheBADGERhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12859188068159799373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-77637013408479413902019-06-06T13:19:48.990-07:002019-06-06T13:19:48.990-07:00One of the most momentous things the US Army did a...One of the most momentous things the US Army did after the war was to realize that all knowledge of what had happened, the logistics, the planning, the implementation, the screw-ups, the successes and, more importantly, the failures, would eventually be lost. So they (the US Army) commissioned a number of top-notch historians to compile as complete a record of what had just happened as possible. Pictures, plans, maps, everything. And published them.<br /><br />The book on the seizure of the Gilberts and Marshals is one I own. Reading the assault on Tarawa, Bloody Tarawa, reads like this. Men drowning in shell holes and small canyons in the coral, blown up in the assault boats, machine gunned while struggling to breath. Trapped behind the seawall for hours, not able to move because to move was to die.<br /><br />The first wave at Omaha, horrible as it was, achieved the goal that all first waves are, unfortunately, designed to do. Soak up the damage. Survival is a second goal. One can plan for the first wave to achieve success, but to bank on it is to lose.<br /><br /><br />All these histories are available from https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/usaww2.html in either .pdf format or actual book format for purchase.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-3620241128485938092019-06-06T12:26:24.245-07:002019-06-06T12:26:24.245-07:00Thanks John Blackshoe.Thanks John Blackshoe.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-12408572890479084912019-06-06T12:25:10.228-07:002019-06-06T12:25:10.228-07:00A work in progress. The spirit is willing but find...A work in progress. The spirit is willing but finding the time to write is often the big problem.<br /><br />And thanks Dave.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91068665848436805042019-06-06T12:24:06.853-07:002019-06-06T12:24:06.853-07:00Naval gunfire support is pretty important. Too bad...Naval gunfire support is pretty important. Too bad the current flags don't (or can't) understand that.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-19374831641083525872019-06-06T11:42:51.283-07:002019-06-06T11:42:51.283-07:00Well done Sarge.
Salute to all those poor SOBs who...Well done Sarge.<br />Salute to all those poor SOBs who worked hard to make the other guys die for their country. <br /><br />"[T]he soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." General Douglas MacArthur in his Duty, Honor, Country speech.<br />John BlackshoeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83578811193029332062019-06-06T10:45:41.753-07:002019-06-06T10:45:41.753-07:00Thanks so much. Marvelous!
When are you going to f...Thanks so much. Marvelous!<br />When are you going to finish/publish the whole thing?Dave's Daily Day Dreamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17491764990082380190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-56226060811062392142019-06-06T09:32:32.546-07:002019-06-06T09:32:32.546-07:00Great telling of the beginning of a great Crusade....Great telling of the beginning of a great Crusade. Very chilling, but very good.<br /><br />The lessons learned in the Pacific at Makin and at Tarawa, Bloody Tarawa about naval gunfire support echoed all around the world via the US Navy. Get in close. Slow or Stop. Fire point blank, in the enemy's face. Fire until you are sure the target is gone, then fire again. Move to next target. Keep an eye on previous target. Kill it until the dirt is gone. Kill it until the very air is destroyed.<br /><br />Lessons reaffirmed at Kwajalein and Roi-Namur in late January and early February of 1944.<br /><br />The USS Emmons and the other naval fire support ships practiced this lesson very well on this day 75 years ago.<br /><br />The will of the soldiers and the people to complete the task was incredible. 4 years of inevitability, of crushing material weight, of spirit. A nation almost completely united (for all intensive purposes 99.99%.) We almost saw that same will after 9-11. But we lost it so quickly. <br /><br />For those who fought on this day and every D-Day, Huzzah and Godspeed!<br /><br />(And you really neeeeeeeed to get to the D-Day Museum down in New Orleans, if only to hang with Murphy in a really cool museum. juvat is close enough, and so is OldNFO and a handful of others. Make it a Chant weekend (after checking with the museum to make sure it's open, of course, Demon Murphy being Demon Murphy (the demon, not the one with the two dogs...)) Their presentation on the Pacific was, when I saw it, extremely good.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-87493639513832842872019-06-06T08:01:53.145-07:002019-06-06T08:01:53.145-07:00Ditto Nylon12.Ditto Nylon12.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-82038515707270080482019-06-06T08:01:37.085-07:002019-06-06T08:01:37.085-07:00Thanks juvat, I'll have a look tonight.Thanks juvat, I'll have a look tonight.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-23048829604721261012019-06-06T08:00:03.487-07:002019-06-06T08:00:03.487-07:00It was also during the day!It was also during the day!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-54460097265952816852019-06-06T07:40:06.675-07:002019-06-06T07:40:06.675-07:00Thanks for that link juvat....... mind-numbing to ...Thanks for that link juvat....... mind-numbing to read......just....just....Nylon12noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-60920280673893488322019-06-06T07:30:03.398-07:002019-06-06T07:30:03.398-07:00I heard that he said this jump was easier- no one ...I heard that he said this jump was easier- no one was shooting at him this time! Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.com