Friday, October 23, 2009

Daily lesson

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

"Each man and must decide for himself alone what is right and wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and your country, let men label you as they may."

                                        Mark Twain

Speaking of patriotism, I don't know about the rest of you but I have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach like I had with Richard Nixon. I can not stop myself from believing that out present president is running the biggest scam of all time. I believe he was born in Kenya, his grandmother says he was and indicated that they were going to make his bithplace a monument. Our Constitution says that an American president MUST be born on American soil. There is nothing I can do about it so I guess I will just live with this trepidation....and fear.


The weather this morning is partly to mostly cloudy and the wind has stiffened and shifted more toward the east. This mean that there is a low pressure system along with associated cold fronts west/north of this location. Rain is on the way. The morning temperature is 67 and the expected high is 77. The east wind means there is a rip tide in the building surf. The beaches where there are life guards has been closed but the surfers are out in force.

This morning will see me at the Coffee Cup in Pensacola to get some Nassau grits and eggs (not today Beth) then down to Joe Patti's to get a quart of select oysters, 2 pounds of 16-25 heads off shrimp and have them steamed with Old Bay seasoning and a couple of West Indies (crab) salads. YUMMY!

Y'all will remember that event where a Spartanburg Sheriff's deputy shot a man that came after him with a knife yelling threats but the medicos said he would survive. They were wrong, he's dead. What does that tell you about the medical profession?

Back in the winter of 1950 the Red Chinese army came across the Korean border in force and trapped and encircled two US Marine Regiments and it looked like they would be wiped out, but they were not. One of the officers that was trapped uttered the famous words "They have us surrounded, now we can kill them in any direction." That was Marine Colonel "Chesty" Puller. See below how they got out.



                                    Medal of Honor


DAVIS, RAYMOND G.

Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Vicinity Hagaru-ri, Korea, 1 through 4 December 1950. Entered service at: Atlanta, Ga. Born: 13 January 1915, Fitzgerald, Ga.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Although keenly aware that the operation involved breaking through a surrounding enemy and advancing 8 miles along primitive icy trails in the bitter cold with every passage disputed by a savage and determined foe, Lt. Col. Davis boldly led his battalion into the attack in a daring attempt to relieve a beleaguered rifle company and to seize, hold, and defend a vital mountain pass controlling the only route available for 2 marine regiments in danger of being cut off by numerically superior hostile forces during their re-deployment to the port of Hungnam. When the battalion immediately encountered strong opposition from entrenched enemy forces commanding high ground in the path of the advance, he promptly spearheaded his unit in a fierce attack up the steep, ice-covered slopes in the face of withering fire and, personally leading the assault groups in a hand-to-hand encounter, drove the hostile troops from their positions, rested his men, and reconnoitered the area under enemy fire to determine the best route for continuing the mission. Always in the thick of the fighting Lt. Col. Davis led his battalion over 3 successive ridges in the deep snow in continuous attacks against the enemy and, constantly inspiring and encouraging his men throughout the night, brought his unit to a point within 1,500 yards of the surrounded rifle company by daybreak. Although knocked to the ground when a shell fragment struck his helmet and 2 bullets pierced his clothing, he arose and fought his way forward at the head of his men until he reached the isolated marines. On the following morning, he bravely led his battalion in securing the vital mountain pass from a strongly entrenched and numerically superior hostile force, carrying all his wounded with him, including 22 litter cases and numerous ambulatory patients. Despite repeated savage and heavy assaults by the enemy, he stubbornly held the vital terrain until the 2 regiments of the division had deployed through the pass and, on the morning of 4 December, led his battalion into Hagaru-ri intact. By his superb leadership, outstanding courage, and brilliant tactical ability, Lt. Col. Davis was directly instrumental in saving the beleaguered rifle company from complete annihilation and enabled the 2 marine regiments to escape possible destruction. His valiant devotion to duty and unyielding fighting spirit in the face of almost insurmountable odds enhance and sustain the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

This date in history October 23


1965    The 1st Cavalry division launches Operation Silver Bayonet in an attempt to drive the North Vietnamese Army out of II corps (Central Highlands) in Vietnam. They met up with the North Vietnamese 33rd and 66th regiments. It was a weeklong bitter struggle and ended up being one of the bloodiest of the War. The fleeing North Vietnamese Army decided to make a stand and protect one of their supply depots on the La Trang Valley. This three day battle with the 7th Cavalry engaged was the most savage of the operation. The final result was 834 North Vietnamese killed on this battlefield alone. In a related attack, 500 NV soldiers fell upon a company of American Soldiers waiting at a landing zone and were annihilated. The final result of this operation was 1771 North Vietnamese and 241 Americans/South Vietnamese killed.


1864    CSA Gen. Sterling Price attacks US Gen. Samuel Curtis’ infantry unit near Westport, Missouri. Price had entered Missouri from Arkansas and had raided several small Union detachments before reaching Westport in an attempt to draw away some of the Union forces from the Eastern theatre. The war was not going well for the Confederacy and President Jefferson Davis ordered Price to try and spread out the Union Army. Price’s attack on Westport went well at first but he was unaware of US Gen. Pleasanton’s cavalry was closing in fast from another direction and he was going to be trapped and possibly forced to surrender. Price orchestrated a skillful withdrawal and escaped. The exhausted Union units failed to follow but if they had, the war would have been over sooner. There were about 1,500 casualties on both sides but this represented about 10% to the Union forces but 20% to Price. As usual, the Confederates were outnumbered about 2 to 1.


42BC    One of the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, commits suicide after losing the 2nd battle of Philippi. Brutus and Cassius had formed an army in an attempt to reinstitute the Republic of Rome rather than an empire which was the reason for the assassination. They were opposed by Octavian and Marc Antony who wanted to preserve the empire. This was the same Marc Antony that got hung up with Cleopatra. Anyway, the first major engagement between these two armies was at Philippi at which Octavian and Antony defeated the army lead by Cassius and Cassius committed suicide. Then came the 2nd Battle at Philippi and with Brutus in command and he was defeated also and committed suicide. After a while Octavian and Marc Antony started squabbling and they split up with Octavian taking the crown under the name of Augustus and the rest is history.


1983    A coward pig sucking Arab drive an explosive laden truck through three blockades into the lobby of a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon and lights it off destroying the hotel and killing 241 American military personnel that had been using the hotel as a barracks. We had troops there to try and stop the civil war that had been raging for some time between the Palestinians and the Christian militia for the control of Lebanon. I have an acquaintance in Greenville that is an immigrant from Lebanon and was a member of the Christian Militia. His solution for the war in Iraq is a simple one. Get rid of the media and take care of business, meaning kill any and all suspected insurgents wholesale giving no quarter. That means take no prisoners. I like it.


1942    Author Michael Crichton is born in Chicago. Mike evidently was from a pretty affluent family because he graduated from Harvard Summa Cum Laude. After this he went to Cambridge in England and taught anthropology. In the mean time he had turned out some fairly successful books and decided that writing was his calling and started doing it full time. This man cranked out some of the best books ever written by a modern day American author in: “Andromeda Strain”, “The Terminal Man”, Congo”, and “The Great Train Robbery”. He wrote and directed the movies: “Binary”, “Westworld”, “Jurassic Park” and “Rising Sun”, at one point in 1993 he had four books on the best seller list. He is a very wealthy man and deservedly so.


Births and deaths:


1869 US Football coach John Heisman, for which the trophy is named, is born. John once said “It is better to die as a young man than to fumble”. He was a hard man.


1920 The Mayor of Philadelphia John Rizzo is born. John once said “A conservative is a liberal that just got mugged the night before.” I concur.


1976 Actor Ryan Reynolds is born. John had to kiss an older woman as part of a movie scene. When asked about it he said “You have never had an experience until you have a mature tongue darting in and out of your mouth.” Indeed.


1942    English writer Anita Roddick is born. She once said “If you think you are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.”


          Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow

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