Wednesday

                  Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“Deputy “Critter” Deakins is a soft spoken guy but if you want to get rough, he'll knock you out...but he will do it politely.”

                 Sheriff Jake Jackson   Clay County, Kentucky

Here is a Navy Cross citation for a hero that I meet for breakfast on occasion.

Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Mykle E. Stahl (109534), Captain [then Sergeant], U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism as Platoon Sergeant with a 4.2 Mortar Platoon attached to Company K, Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, THIRD Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on 21 January 1968. While maintaining a combat outpost on Hill 861, the Company came under enemy mortar, rocket, and ground attack. After the defensive positions on the southwest side of the hill were penetrated by enemy sappers, Captain Stahl, although having received shrapnel wounds, led eight Marines from the 4.2 Mortar Section and advanced up the trenchline to make contact with the Third Platoon. Realizing that by now the enemy forces were manning the bunkers in the trenchline, he launched a one man assault while other Marines provided a base of fire, thus enabling several wounded Marines to be evacuated. As he advanced further up the trenchline, Captain Stahl encountered three enemy soldiers who tried to capture him. Although receiving bayonet wounds and having his M-16 rifle malfunction during the struggle, he killed two of the enemy soldiers while another Marine fatally wounded the third. Captain Stahl then picked up an AK-47 assault rifle and continued up the trenchline and assaulted the third bunker, killing three and capturing three enemy soldiers. Linking up with the Third Platoon, the trenchline was consolidated and evacuation of wounded Marines was completed. Captain Stahl then moved to a .50 caliber machine gun and, although wounded for the third time, continued directing suppression fire into the attacking enemy forces. By his bold courage and steadfast dedication, Captain Stahl reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the United States Naval Service.

Here is a tidbit of trivia. During the McCarthy hearings where this bastard thought everyone in the entertainment industry was a Communist and leaned heavily on them ruining some innocent people’s careers by innuendo. McCarthy called actor Joseph Cotten to testify. Cotten was asked if he or anyone in his family had ever advocated the overthrow of the United States. Cotten said that a member of his family did indeed advocate the overthrow of the United States. When McCarthy almost shouted “And who was that?” Cotten said that his great-grandfather was a Captain in “Stonewall” Jackson’s cavalry. McCarthy was almost laughed out of the room.

          This Date in History January 11

1775 On this date the first Jew elected in the Americas takes his seat on the South Carolina Provincial Congress. Francis Salvador came from a family deeply involved in the English East India Company. His father was the director of operations in the Portugal division. The Salvador family was also very high up in the Jewish Sephardic community in London. A severe earthquake virtually destroyed all the East India Company warehoused goods in Portugal which bankrupted the Salvador family. Francis decided that he would come to the colonies and try to recoup his family’s fortunes and sailed to Savannah, Georgia in spite of the fact that Jews were not permitted in the state of Georgia. I am going to repeat that, Jews were not permitted in the state of Georgia. He quickly headed into South Carolina to take control of 7,000 acres that had been given to him by his uncle. Salvador turned out to be a firebrand Patriot and was deeply involved in the movement of independence of the colonies from Great Britain. He was known as the “Southern Paul Revere” when he rode 30 miles on horseback to warn the people of Charleston, South Carolina that there was a British fleet approaching that he had spotted from his plantation. The city of Charleston was able to pre-arm Sullivan’s Island in the mouth of Charleston Harbor and when the British fleet under the command of Admiral Peter Parker arrived, the artillerists on Sullivan’s Island opened up and handed Admiral Parker his ass and sent the British fleet askew. On another occasion he was scouting in the South Carolina foothills with a squad under command of Colonel John Wilkinson. Recent raids by the Cherokees on villages in the upstate sent Colonel Wilkinson looking for the renegade Cherokees. The renegades found them first and unleashed a wicked ambush near present day Seneca, South Carolina. Francis Salvador was knifed and scalped but he did not die right away. Colonel Wilkinson found him and assured Salvador that the victory was theirs, and then Salvador died. He was the first Jewish soldier killed in behalf of the colonies in their search for peace and independence. We needed more like him.

1908 Earlier in the year 1540 one of the troops exploring with Coronado named Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas wandered upon a huge canyon in what is now southern Arizona. As far as history tells us this man was the first European to lay eyes on what is now known as the Grand Canyon. For three hundred years afterward this wonder of nature was virtually unknown to all but the Native Americans who had been living in the canyon for many centuries. Anyone that took one look at the twisting pathway leading down into the mile deep canyon thought that it appeared to be too foreboding, not to mention the torrential Colorado River in the bottom. Finally in 1869 a brave soul named John Wesley Powell and eight others drifted down the Green River in Wyoming to where it joined the Colorado. Then he decided to drift the mighty Colorado and off they went. Somehow he was able to take his flimsy wooden boats most of the length of the Grand Canyon through some of the wildest rapids in North America. In fact three of his crew abandoned him and crawled out of the canyon saying it was too dangerous. A week later these three were captured, tortured and killed by a group of Apaches. I suppose they guessed wrong as to what was dangerous and what was not. As you might suspect, different money seekers built some flimsy hotels on the south edge to take advantage of the spectacular view. It became worse when the Santa Fe Railroad built a rail line close by. Soon the visitors reached 100,000 and the trashing of the terrain became rampant. On this date In1906 one of the greatest environmentalists ever, Theodore Roosevelt, declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument and eventually a National Park saving forever the splendor of this great wonder.

Born today:

1755 US Patriot Alexander Hamilton. He said “I cannot expect perfect work from imperfect men.” Hey Alex, what about women?

1842 US writer Will James. He said “How pleasant is the day when we stop trying to be young....or slender.” I can identify with both.

1873 US statesman Dwight Morrow. He said “When one party takes claim for the rain, they must also take blame for a drought.” Come on Dwight, that ain’t fair.

1934 Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. He said “A proof is a proof. What is a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have proof, it is because it is proven.” Jean, you’re an idiot.

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow