Musings and History

Trivia question of the day:
What movie star was a General in the USAF? Answer at he end of the blog.

Quote of the day:
After being surrounded on a mountaintop in Korea, Marine Colonel “Chesty” Puller told his troops “OK men, they have us surrounded. They can’t stop us from killing them now.”

In recognition of Veterans Day, here is a Medal of Honor citation given to Colonel Raymond Davis who led the unit that rescued “Chesty” Puller and his troops.

                                    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 in 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.

A while back I had lunch was at Jerry’s on Cervantes. It was meat loaf, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, corn and cornbread along with a tall glass Sprite. While there a family of five came in. One of them was a kid about three years old who aggravated everybody in there by letting out an occasional horrific scream that was about E Flat at the volume of an F-18. I had just gotten off my stool to go back and tell the parents of that snot-nosed kid to put a muzzle on that little monster, another scream arose that struck a chord deep in my memory. The volume and tone of the scream brought on the vision of my number 2 girl running and yelling through the aisles of a K-Mart in Pensacola many years ago. I could not be hypocritical so I went back and sat down…on second thought maybe it was number 3. By the way, the meatloaf was orgasmic.

                        This Date in History   November 12

1775 Earlier in 1774 the American colonies sent a document to King George III called “The Olive Branch” proposal written by John Dickenson. The proposal was directed to the King specifically and stated the colony’s unhappiness with the different laws and taxes levied upon them by Parliament. The scent of war was heavy in the colonies and several important men in the colonies, including John Dickenson, would travel almost any avenue to avoid war with Great Britain. They wanted to make sure that the King knew what Parliament was doing to them before any warlike action was taken. The proposal essentially kissed King George’s ass in the hopes of not inflaming him. Well, King George not only did not read the proposal, he did not even open the envelope. This told the colonies that King George was in agreement and complicit with whatever Parliament was dishing out. Upon receiving the notification that King George did not even open the envelope, a letter was written to John Adams on this date stating: “Let us separate, they are unworthy to be our Brethren. Let us renounce them and instead of supplications for their happiness and prosperity, let us beseech the almighty to blast their councils (Parliament) and bring naught to all of their devices (laws and taxes).” This person was obviously very pissed. The letter was written by John Adam’s wife Abigail. The next year the Declaration of Independence was written and among other things said this about King George: “The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of injuries and usurpation, all having in direct object the establishment of absolute tyranny over these states.” So our forefathers in the span of one year went from kissing George’s ass to calling him a tyrant. There is little question that this document did indeed inflame King George but our ancestors in their wisdom, told King George III to kiss their ass.

1864 Earlier US General William T. Sherman had arrived in Atlanta, Georgia after a torturous running battle with the Confederates coming south from Chattanooga, Tennessee. On this date Sherman orders the destruction of anything that could be useful to the Confederate Army. During the trip down from Chattanooga, Sherman had accumulated a large store of supplies captured from the Confederates. Sherman decided to set up a large supply dump in Atlanta and destroy everything else. He then split his army and sent US General George Thomas backtracking to make sure that what was left of the Confederate army commanded by CSA General John Bell Hood did not try to cut off his supply line coming down from the north. This move assured Sherman that he could continue south and destroy what ended up being 37% of consumables in the state of Georgia and hastened the end to the tragedy known as the American Civil War.

1867 After almost a decade of battles with the Cheyenne and the Sioux Indians of the Great Plains, not to mention the Civil War, the US military held a conference at Fort Laramie, Wyoming to try to work out a peace agreement with Indians. There had been unspeakable atrocities on both sides and the American public was fed up with the bloodletting both on the plains and during the Civil War. The US military chose to abandon their policy of an “aggressive military solution” to the “Indian problem” and called in several Sioux leaders for a pow-wow. The negotiations bore fruit when the American military decided to abandon their forts on the Bozeman Trail through Montana which was a major sore spot with the Sioux and Cheyenne, Chief Red Cloud in particular. As usual the US military reneged on their promise to provide several Cheyenne tribes with guns and the Cheyenne showed their anger by slaughtering 15 people in Kansas and raping five women. The US military saw that peace was impossible and in 1868 began ramping up for war with the Sioux and Cheyenne. The US military agreed to treaty after treaty with the Sioux and Cheyenne among other tribes and broke each and every one of them. If ever there was a black mark on this great nation it is the treatment of the Native Americans. We came within a gnat’s ass of complete genocide.

Answer to the trivia question:
Actor Jimmy Stewart was a Major General (two stars) in the USAF.

                Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow