D-Day from the Navy side…

Posted on by June 5, 2024
Gleaves Class Destroyer- This particular one is the USS McCook. See below for more…


We all know of the heroism of the Troops that hit the beaches on D-Day, June 6. What many people don’t realize is the Navy, in the form of Destroyers, were providing covering fire and taking the shore batteries from basically point blank (4000 yards and less) range to try to put them out of action and save the troops lives.

Three particular Destroyers stand out- The USS Corry, DD-463, which was the lead Destroyer, and was actually sunk by counter-battery fire from the shore. HERE is a link to her story, with an interview by Edward R. Murrow of the Commanding Officer, LCDR Hoffman.
Another is USS Fitch, DD-462, she was also on the line and was doing the same thing as Corry. The Fitch actually came to the rescue of the Corry personnel, saving many of them, in addition to continuing to counter-battery against the Germans on the shore. HERE is a link to their deck log. Interesting reading, to put it mildly!
Lastly the USS McCook, DD-496. McCook departed with Destroyer Squadron 18 (DesRon 18) and ships of Assault Force “O” for the coast of France. Early 6 June, she arrived in the Baie de la Seine and at 03:20 commenced bombardment of the beaches and waterfront of the Pointe du Hoc–Vierville-sur-Mer area. By 06:16 she had neutralized her assigned targets (three pillboxes, 13 machine gun nests and three shore guns) and had begun to take on targets of opportunity. By the end of the day, she had added to her score seven pillboxes, eight gun emplacements and ten stone houses, in which enemy machine guns and snipers had been placed.
One of the things McCook did was take out the batteries at the top of Pointe du Hoc, allowing 2nd Ranger Battalion to actually make the climb.
I know this is not the standard D-Day post, but I wanted to take a little bit of a different tack than what you normally see…

Busy month…

Posted on by June 5, 2024

During WWII…

June 3-6 1942 was the Battle of Midway in the Pacific, the first ‘win’ for the Americans against the Japanese… HERE is the Navy combat narratives from the battle.

Midway was also where the US lost the USS Yorktown, the second carrier lost (USS Lexington was lost at Coral Sea).

Two years later, Operation Neptune kicked off June 5, 1944 with the largest amphibious force ever assembled getting underway heading for the beaches of France, with the planned landings occuring on June 6th.

After General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander, he and General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery modified the plan, expanding the size of the beachhead and the number of divisions in the initial assault. This, led Allied leaders to set June 5, 1944, as the invasion’s D-Day. But on the morning of June 4, meteorologists predicted foul weather over the English Channel on the 5th, leading Eisenhower to postpone the attack for 24 hours. The delay was unnerving for soldiers, sailors, and airmen, but when meteorologists forecast a brief window of clearer weather over the channel on June 6, Eisenhower made the decision to go. It was one of the gutsiest decisions of the war. 

Detailed timeline and pics HERE from the National WWII Museum.

The folks that fought WWII were truly the Greatest Generation, IMHO.

Really???

Posted on by June 3, 2024

Maxine is off her meds…again???

Trump has been convicted in a trial that was so fair, so evenhanded that it would have warmed the cold, cold heart of Uncle Joe Stalin. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Hate Orange Man), however, is still not satisfied. Now she wants the “Justice” Department to go after the supporters of the man the left loves to hate, and who knows? That could very well be the plan.

Waters announced on MSNBC: “I am going to spend some time with the criminal justice system, with the justice system, asking them, ‘Tell us what’s going on with the domestic terrorists. Are they preparing a civil war against us? Should we be concerned about our safety? What is he doing with this divisive language? It is dangerous, and we’re going to have to make sure that we understand, uh, that we’re not at risk with this man talkin’ in the way that he’s doing.’” 

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

Sigh…This is the woman that ‘hates’ the border wall, lives in a $5-6 million dollar house, while representing CA-43, one of the poorest sections of LA (including Compton). And has hated Trump since day one! She’s in her 80s, spent over 30 years in politics, and has been a loose cannon for most of them. She is well known for her rabble rousing rhetoric, which usually gets walked back or the infamous “That’s not what I said/meant” when questioned!

So, she wants to put anybody ‘not’ on her side on yet another terrorist list… Lemme find my shocked face, I know I’ve got it around here somewhere…

So, I end up on yet ‘another’ list. Hell, what’s one more…

Actually, Obummer/Napolitano already labeled all of us veterans as domestic terrorists back in 2009. Maybe she’s channeling that…

Sigh…

A little humor…

Posted on by June 1, 2024

Church humor, since it’s Sunday…

A pastor wakes up in the morning and finds a dead donkey at the church gate. He wondered how it got there, and was anxious to remove the corpse lest it starts spreading stench at the premises of the Holy shrine.

He contacted various agencies including sanitation and health departments of the town but none paid attention to his pleas.

In desperation, the pastor telephoned the mayor. The mayor was very pissed off and curtly chastised the pastor:

“You’re the head of the church, and should know how to dispose of a dead body without bothering me on this trivial matter.”

The pastor, who had by now reached the end of his patience on account of ambivalent attitudes of the mayor and his agencies, shot back:

“Yes, I know that, but I thought before burying the donkey, I should at least notify its next of kin.”

++++++++

A preacher was delivering a temperance sermon one hot Sunday afternoon. With great exposition, he said, “If I had all the beer in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.”

With greater conviction, he banged his fist on the pulpit; “And if I had all the wine in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.”

Finally, he said, “And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.”

Sensing he delivered a powerful sermon, he whipped his brow and sat down.

The choirmaster, with shock on his face, looked over the congregation, stood very cautiously, and announced with a wry smile, “For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #365: “Shall We Gather at the River?”

Gah…

Posted on by May 31, 2024

This just goes to prove that some people literally think they can get away with anything…

Robert Burke, a retired four-star Navy admiral, was arrested Friday for bribery involving a government contract, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of a company not named by the DOJ who allegedly participated in the scheme to get a government contract in exchange for offering Burke a position with the company, were also arrested, a DOJ press release said. 

Full article, HERE from Fox, and the DOJ press release is HERE.

This is yet another case of ego and absolute power corrupting absolutely… As a former submarine CO, he was effectively ‘God’ at sea. He also held multiple other ‘command’ tours, and it obviously went to his head.

Much like Randy Cunningham, he obviously ‘thought’ he could get away with it, but thankfully he’s been caught!

It is not unusual for companies to hire retiring admirals or generals, usually for their ability to ‘influence’ decision making within the beltway. That level of ‘influence’ is usually good for maybe 5-6 years before their peers are also retired/retiring, and the next group is hired as the cycle repeats. There really is an incestous military/industry relationship that is built around these interactions that should have been cleaned up a long time ago!

I hope they put his ass in prison, pour encourager les autres and rein in the behaviour of the senior officers.

Grrrr….

Book promo…

Posted on by May 30, 2024

Larry Lambert has a short story collection out! The Shorts

As always, click the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

The collection of short stories comprises two sections. The first includes thirty-six ‘shorts’ with topics marked as fiction, nonfiction, or based on a true story. The topics vary between stories of espionage, science fiction, historical fiction, and true crime. The second section consists of seven non-fiction case studies of police informers under the general theme of how to make money by being a government informant.

Raconteur Press is out with their newest anthology- Hooves, Tracks, and Sabres!

The blurb-

Alternate history allows us to explore, in thrilling detail, what might have been. Come with these authors down the untrodden divergences from reality, while still staying close to the possible. Can history be fun? Yes! Be entertained by these stories and find yourself wondering along with the authors. What if…? Cavalry had evolved from hooves, sabers, and tracks in other ways than we know happened.

And last but not least, Holly Chism has a nice little short up in her Modern Gods series Same Liver, Different Vulture

The blurb-

When you know you can regenerate any organ, fast…why not donate your kidneys?

Prometheus has been a teacher all of his life, nearly. Sometimes, like with teaching Man to harness fire, it got him in trouble. Sometimes, he’s able to make an even bigger difference for his students. Especially when they need a kidney as much as they need knowledge.

It’s a steal at 99 cents!!!

All three are highly recommended!

How much…

Posted on by May 29, 2024

Is the hamburger in the window???

Fast food is beloved in America because it is cheap and convenient. 

The recent inflation report for April showed that since President Biden took office, the cost of eating out at restaurants is up nearly 22%. However, fast food has been hit particularly hard, with prices dramatically rising at the most popular restaurant chains beginning even before the COVID-19 pandemic.  

A Big Mac sandwich at McDonald’s, for example, cost $3.99 in 2019. Now, that price has more than doubled to $8.29, according to Fast Food Menu Prices, an online tracker. 

Full article, HERE from Fox.

I will admit to a ‘guilty pleasure’ of an occasional Big Mac meal. I used to do that about once a week if I was in a hurry.

Now, it’s maybe once a month, at best. And I used to like the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and an orange juice to go with my coffee on the way to work. That used to be right at $5 in 2018. Last week, I was running late so decided to hit Micky D’s on the way into town. Same sandwich and OJ is now $7.88!

So now I cook my own…

The real question is what happens when those fast food places go away? When they are no longer profitable to the franchises? I’m betting they will be closed in a heartbeat.

Do you have small local restaurants? I know we do, and we make sure we support them on a regular basis, because we don’t want to lose them. Granted they are not as fast as ‘fast food’, but they’re hanging on because the locals support them! And most of them are cheaper than the fast food places!!!

Might be worth thinking about.

National Health Services…

Posted on by May 28, 2024

Are good, right? Right???

Well…

From Slashdot…

UPI reports that the British government covered up “a multi-decade tainted blood scandal, leading to thousands of related deaths, a report published Monday found.”Britain’s National Health Service allowed blood tainted with HIV and Hepatitis to be used on patients without their knowledge, leading to 3,000 deaths and more than 30,000 infections, according to the 2,527-page final report by Justice Brian Justice Langstaff, a former judge on the High Court of England and Wales. Langstaff oversaw a five-year investigation into the use of tainted blood and blood products in Britain’s healthcare system between 1970 and 1991. The report blames multiple administrations over the time period for knowingly exposing victims to unacceptable risks…

In several cases, health officials lied about the risks to patients… The NHS also gave patients false reassurances, an attempt to “save face,” failing victims “not once but repeatedly….” The situation could “largely, though not entirely, have been avoided,” Langstaff found…

The British government on Monday began operating a support phone line for people and their families affected by the tainted blood scandal.
The article notes that Langstaff described the coverup as “subtle” but “pervasive” and “chilling in its implications…

“To save face and to save expense, there has been a hiding of much of the truth.”

The full article from UPI is HERE.

I can’t help but wonder how many Americans that were treated in Britain might have been affected by this mess.

Especially since it is obvious this was a long term effort. I wonder how much of this was driven by costs for ‘good’ blood vs. whatever they could get?

I’m just glad ‘I’ never had to get blood over there…

For those sailors…

Posted on by May 27, 2024

Who didn’t come back…

Unlike those buried in the cemeteries, Sailors went down at sea, with no markers.

‘In Waters Deep’

In ocean wastes no poppies blow,

No crosses stand in ordered row,

There young hearts sleep…beneath the wave…

The spirited, the good, the brave,

 

But stars a constant vigil keep,

For them who lie beneath the deep.

‘Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer

On certain spot and think, “He’s there.”

 

But you can to the ocean go…

See whitecaps marching row on row;

Know one for him will always ride…

In and out…with every tide.

 

And when your span of life is passed,

He’ll meet you at the “Captain’s Mast.”

And they who mourn on distant shore

For sailors who’ll come home no more,

 

Can dry their tears and pray for these

Who rest beneath the heaving seas…

For stars that shine and winds that blow

And white caps marching row on row.

 

And they can never lonely be

For when they lived…they chose the sea.

 

The poem is called ‘In Waters Deep’ and was written by Eileen Mahoney