Friday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“I do not consider myself to be overly brave. Without question, there were scores of times that I was unbelievably scared in Vietnam, probably more scared than those around me. No rational man welcomes war. No one wants to die. But now I must confess the unthinkable. Deep down inside – I loved it!”

Former US Marine combat helicopter pilot and now author Marion F. Sturkey of Plum Branch, SC.

With this being said, I guess US General George S. Patton was correct when he said “All real Americans love the sting of battle...” Or as William Shakespeare wrote in Henry V...Henry is speaking “But we---shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he on this day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother”.

If you read ancient history you will find that since recorded history different eras were defined by what people won what battles and conquered whom...or were conquered.

Even in the Bible wholesale slaughter is allowed if not ordered by God. In Exodus Moses and the Israelis wander in the desert for forty years and they finally find their path toward Canaan. This path took them through the Jordan River valley. There was a variety of different tribes living in this valley and were not pleased with the arrival of a huge number of aliens and want to fight. This included the Midianite tribe. It was the Midianites that took Moses in after he was banished from Egypt, in fact Moses had a Midianite wife. Moses ordered Joshua to kill every man, woman and child they encountered and Joshua did not disappoint. The reasoning was that when the Israelis finally did reached Canaan they would have the most fierce battle of all against the Canaanite army and God did not want a hostile army approaching from behind. The answer was to destroy totally any army they encountered en-route. God works in mysterious ways.

This Date in History December 5

1907  In 1883 the Norfolk and Western Railroad expanded their network into southwestern West Virginia which opened up the previously untapped coal fields in that area. The area was soon flooded with European Immigrants and African-Americans seeking work. Small towns mushroomed almost overnight. On this date a thunderous explosion occurred down in the Fairfield Coal mine near Monongah, West Virginia, killing 365 miners and injuring 500. It was the worst mining disaster in American history. After this the public became aware of the danger in underground mines and safety precautions began to be incorporated into the operation of the mines and deaths and injuries began to subside. But it was the organization of the United Mine Workers led by John L. Lewis that insisted upon better and safer conditions and had the power to make it stick.

1917   Due to World War I the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia was jammed with ships going to and coming from the ports in Europe delivering the tools of war to the allies. The French freighter Mont Blanc and the Norwegian freighter Imo were two of them. The Mont Blanc was laden to the scuppers with picric acid (very flammable), 23 thousand tons of gasoline and an almost equal amount of TNT and gun cotton. The Mont Blanc and the Imo scraped sides and the Mont Blanc was holed and began leaking picric acid. The force of the collision sent the French freighter back toward the dock it had just left and almost simultaneously the picric acid caught fire. The fire was hot enough that it set the dock on fire and the seamen aboard the Mont Blanc immediately abandoned ship knowing what was in the hold. They did not even stop long enough to warn the other ships. People from the town gathered on the piers to watch this spectacular fire. Finally the fire reached the gasoline and TNT and the mightiest explosion in the pre-nuclear age was detonated. The 1,800 people on the pier were killed instantly and 9,000 were injured including 200 that were blinded by the sun-like brightness of the explosion. The light from the explosion was visible for 50 miles and the sound was heard hundreds of miles away, not to mention 1,600 homes in Halifax and surrounding neighborhoods that were flattened.

1865   On this date the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified when the state of Georgia voted for ratification. The 13^th Amendment outlawed slavery in the United States and its possessions. At the beginning of the Civil War many northern politicos were against the expansion of slavery into additional states but were ambivalent about banning it where it already existed. After the US victory at Antietam, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves in “those states in rebellion”. It was obvious that that proclamation could not be enforced and was merely symbolic. After the severe ass-kicking he the US Army received at the 1^st and 2^nd Battles of Manassas, the political climate in the north leaned toward letting the south have their own country and stopping the slaughter. But Lincoln prevailed and the war leaned away from freeing the slaves to preserving the Union. The only law that could be enforced at this time was when Lincoln ordered that any slave that became attached to a US army unit would then and forever be free. This caused some of the US army units a hardship by having to oversee several hundred slaves that had attached themselves to the units when passing by.

1868  In May of 1868 the very first train robbery occured in Seymour, Indiana by the Reno brothers, Frank, William and Simeon. In the act of the robbery they shot one of the train guards. On this date the train guard died and the outraged citizens of Seymour paid a visit to the local jail, snatched all three of the brother out of their cells and took them outside for a “necktie party”. Frank and William go peacefully but Simeon fought like a wildcat and in the struggle knocked out three men before being overwhelmed. They strung old Simeon up but did not have the rope in the right place and when he dropped it did not break his neck, and he died of strangulation. It took about 20 minutes for Simeon to expire. It was not a pretty sight. But the citizens of Seymour went a few steps further and allowed some of the citizens to have their photo made with the corpses...for a price. The money went to charity. Then they sold pieces of the hangman’s rope...for a price. That went to charity also. At least the Reno brothers were responsible for a positive contribution to the community.

1941   On this date Australian coast watchers spot a fleet of Japanese warships traveling down the Malaysian Peninsula and speculated that they were on their way to invade Thailand. It was a diversion, y'all. The actual fleet of warships was about 800 miles northwest of Hawaii heading southeast staying inside of a squall line to avoid detection. They were headed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Born today:

1898   US lyricist Ira Gershwin. He said “One can be very happy without demanding others agree with them.”

Died today:

1889   Former CSA President Jefferson Davis. He said “Neither current events nor history has proven that the majority rules, or ever has ruled”

1995   Scottish Journalist James Reston. He said “As society advances, the standard of poverty rises.”

   Thanks for listening    I can hardly wait until tomorrow