Hello Everybody,
In the midst of all the study that surrounds our Country from the late 1700s till today, I came across a thought that I've never considered before. We weren't fighting for freedom, we already had freedom. We were fighting for the "American Way Of Life".
As I see it, that's the way it is and has been since the day we took on the Brits and eventually, the rest of the world that decided they wanted all our stuff and all of us. That's not an abbreviation for United States even though it's true that you can't have the United States without getting control of us.
Well, maybe not every one of us but at least those of us who have the American blood lines that go back to the beginning days of our Country. I'm not having a problem with us, I'm only having a problem with that part of us that seem to be worthless. With all the hype about changing things, I think we need to go back to the old saying that you "Don't fix it if it ain't broken".
When it comes down to outlining or categorizing the many different aspects of our growth, I've been as thorough as I know how to be. I really haven't messed with the pilgrims all that much but I have presented a whole lot of stuff from the 1760s forward. I'll have to admit that we probably should have put that: "All men are created equal" thing into a different perspective and made all men free actually mean "All men".
I don't know if that would have eliminated the Civil War but I will admit that taxes weren't the only stimulation and that slavery had a big part in it. I certainly don't want to change the Constitution but I do think that it's time to put some laws into effect that would fix that part of the system that is broken.
Here's a thought or two about that. If you don't like the "One Nation Under God" thing, that's okay. Pack your bags and move to where ever you want to go. The only criteria would be "You can't stay here".
If you don't like that "Christian Nation" thing, that's okay, too. The Jews have done very well here and have assimilated into our society in a manner that has been most productive. Christian Nation doesn't mean you have to go to a Christian church every Sunday. You can pretty well do what you want to do, go where you want to go and think what you want to think. Despite that, here's where the problem begins.
I like to call it "The Cult". After studying Maximilian Weber and his explanations that Cults form to affix some sort of rationalization to their own actions, I think I figured it out. If you look at it this way, it may help you figure it out. Use Fienstien's latest babble about Veterans. She said something to the effect that :"All Veterans are mentally ill in one way or another and the government needs to take their guns". I'm trying to recall her words from memory but even if I missed one or two, that's what she was reported to say. Let's call that the Anti Gun Cult.
History has taught us that the various leaders who demand the guns, do that so you won't be able to blow their brains out when they try to come and blow your brains out. In a very real sense, Yamamoto knew that and told the Japanese Army that there was a gun behind every blade a grass. To me, that means that IF they had defeated the armed forces of our Country and managed to invade, every citizen here would have simply blown their brains out with their home owned guns.
If you put that thought into practical use, the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima was a decision that was made to send a message. Even though it was a very loud and clear message, apparently they didn't hear it. Another message was sent to Nagasaki a couple of days later and that one got through.
Atomic bombs are a hell of a long way from the power exerted by one guy with one gun but the connection is quite interesting. One one hand, guys like Hitler and Tojo wanted the natural resources of the United States. On the other, if the entire Country was destroyed or radiated, they wouldn't have been able to get a single drop of oil, no trees, no agriculture, no nothing.
Now onto the scene comes this hammer head from Iran. He doesn't want to take over Israel, he wants to wipe it off the map. With regard to us, he's made it clear that his idea, the one that comes from his belief system, is to dominate the world. I'd call that a Cult, wouldn't you?
Since they can't put up with our belief system, they have no choice but to kill us all. They just want to start with the Jews.
I guess that's it for today. I simply don't like the idea of Americans seeing millions of people like that in our Country and not having a gun handy to defend themselves. You can take all that peace, love and happiness crap and throw it in the trash. That's not what this is about. This is about Cult power. I want our way of life back. If I could roll us back to the 50's, I'd do it in a second and begin the motions to "Purge" the cultists, not the military commanders who have served us so well. What a bone headed maneuver this purge thing has become!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Word Recognition Game #2
Okay, gang. Here we go again. It's time to play another word game.
I really thought that I should start off with the Duck Dynasty thing as that one is already past "The Going Viral" point. I may get to that later as part of the information in A&E's statement used the word "Beastiality".
I suggest that you go to Google for a minute and type in the name: "Maximillian Weber". If you do, you will find that he did a great degree of study in the area we describe as a "Cult". We all know who belongs to one of the biggest Cults in America but understanding how people can profess a belief in such craziness, such anti American thought, is typically beyond most folks. Weber described it as " a rationalization that individuals attach to their own actions". Do it, you'll like it.
I got off track somehow, I guess the word game was interrupted by all the hype about Phil Robertson. Let's get off that for a second and move on to a different target. Let's try a recent quote.
"All Veterans are mentally ill in some way and government should prevent them from owning guns".
Curt, you and Ed already know the answer as I sent the email outlining all of that before I decided to share it here. There are lots of folks that read this but are not members so give them a chance to answer by email.
I hope the diversion regarding Duck Dynasty hasn't taken you away from the initial thoughts about the quote listed above. Enjoy the game.
I really thought that I should start off with the Duck Dynasty thing as that one is already past "The Going Viral" point. I may get to that later as part of the information in A&E's statement used the word "Beastiality".
I suggest that you go to Google for a minute and type in the name: "Maximillian Weber". If you do, you will find that he did a great degree of study in the area we describe as a "Cult". We all know who belongs to one of the biggest Cults in America but understanding how people can profess a belief in such craziness, such anti American thought, is typically beyond most folks. Weber described it as " a rationalization that individuals attach to their own actions". Do it, you'll like it.
I got off track somehow, I guess the word game was interrupted by all the hype about Phil Robertson. Let's get off that for a second and move on to a different target. Let's try a recent quote.
"All Veterans are mentally ill in some way and government should prevent them from owning guns".
Curt, you and Ed already know the answer as I sent the email outlining all of that before I decided to share it here. There are lots of folks that read this but are not members so give them a chance to answer by email.
I hope the diversion regarding Duck Dynasty hasn't taken you away from the initial thoughts about the quote listed above. Enjoy the game.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
My State of the Union Address.
Recently, as I was reading the daily posts on the 11thacraviation.com site, I noticed that there were continuing frustrations from the combat vets. That frustration surrounded a number of things that brought me to a realization that things haven't changed much since the beginning days of our Country but the manner in which we handle them have.
One of the common topics surrounded the negative effects that the anti war groups had among the pilots that watched some of the protest marches while we were in the Officers Club in Long Binh. I've written about it before and recall telling everyone here that I overheard a comment from a gun ship pilot as we were watching the hippies raising hell in Washington. He said: "Those are the sons a bitches we need to be making gun runs on".
Now, all these years later, with Jane Fonda being mentioned in the news and John Kerry being in office, those memories continue to haunt many of the men and women who fought like hell in Vietnam. That was completely different than the things that Fonda and Kerry proved to represent.
As I began to consider the sources of that aggravation, I concluded that it surrounded a certain type of person. Going back to a time frame prior to Vietnam and focusing on Korea, I noticed that McArthur caught so much hell that he was eventually removed from Command even though he pulled off the Inchon invasion which was a master piece of military strategy.
I continued my trek backward in time and came to December the 8th, 1941. That was only one day after the Pearl Harbor attack. It was however, long enough after the attack for us to know that there were thousands killed and wounded during that strike. As another important note, December 8th was the day that the Japanese were attacking other areas in the Pacific and doing so only 24 hours after Pearl Harbor.
Believe it or not, there was a vote of "NO" from Janette Rankin who was a Representative from Nebraska. The press gave her an appropriate nick name. They called her Japanette. I tracked her voting record and saw that she had voted not to support the troops in Vietnam. The point I wanted to make from that has to do with tenure. Any way you look at it, she was liberal and remained that way for decades. If you weren't aware of that, take a moment to do one thing. Don't forget John Kerry's conduct.
I decided to go back to the 30s when Churchill was having to deal with the death and destruction that the Germans were spreading all over Europe. He was surrounded by near sighted people who were still sick of the losses and the costs of the first World War and didn't want to spend a dime to prepare for the Second World War. I wondered if that liberal bitch from Nebraska had any relatives still living in England.
As I thought about the negative impact that came from the likes of Jane Fonda, John Kerry, Janette Rankin and that stupid Cindy Sheehan woman who lost her son in Iraq, I began to think about the time frames beyond the 40s when so many didn't want to make the sacrifices to prepare their Country for the inevitable war that was coming.
I went back to an address that Churchill made to Parliament in the summer of 1934. He was addressing another issue than Hitler but the words he wrote have, to me, been effective throughout time. I'll quote them now.
" You have unsettled everything. You have settled nothing. Those whom you have sought to conciliate are those whom you have most offended. Those to whom your mission is most necessary are those whom you have most entirely abandoned. Those on whom you have to count most are those whom you are teaching least of all to count on you".
Despite the fact that his words were directed to the House of Lords and the House of Commons and they were focusing on some dumb ass thing they did relative to India, I thought that they were so appropriate that I wanted to recognize the dangers of idiots who are allowed to vote. I decided to go back even further in time to see what those effects were in our society.
I found myself studying the effects that came from the Boston Massacre of 1770. Even though there were only 5 killed and 6 wounded when the British opened fire on the citizens in Boston, the effect was every bit as large as Pearl Harbor or the taking of Paris by the Germans. I decided to look into it further to see if I could find any of John Kerry's kin folk in there.
As it turned out, my research uncovered the population numbers during 1770. Google links stated that there were only 2.1 million people here when that occurred. They eventually divided that number into Loyalists and Patriots. As it turned out, there were 500,000 of the 2.1 million that chose not to support Independence and not to reject the tyranny of King George. If my math works out, that's 23% of the entire population in 1770.
If you convert those numbers to the population we have today, there could easily be 60 million people here who are NOT in the category of people who seek freedom from tyranny and worse than that, VOTE THAT WAY. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I have some more math to do and will continue with this later but for now, if nothing happens from this post other than you thinking about the liberal population in our Country and the lessons learned from that, I will consider this writing well worth the time. Thanks. More later.
One of the common topics surrounded the negative effects that the anti war groups had among the pilots that watched some of the protest marches while we were in the Officers Club in Long Binh. I've written about it before and recall telling everyone here that I overheard a comment from a gun ship pilot as we were watching the hippies raising hell in Washington. He said: "Those are the sons a bitches we need to be making gun runs on".
Now, all these years later, with Jane Fonda being mentioned in the news and John Kerry being in office, those memories continue to haunt many of the men and women who fought like hell in Vietnam. That was completely different than the things that Fonda and Kerry proved to represent.
As I began to consider the sources of that aggravation, I concluded that it surrounded a certain type of person. Going back to a time frame prior to Vietnam and focusing on Korea, I noticed that McArthur caught so much hell that he was eventually removed from Command even though he pulled off the Inchon invasion which was a master piece of military strategy.
I continued my trek backward in time and came to December the 8th, 1941. That was only one day after the Pearl Harbor attack. It was however, long enough after the attack for us to know that there were thousands killed and wounded during that strike. As another important note, December 8th was the day that the Japanese were attacking other areas in the Pacific and doing so only 24 hours after Pearl Harbor.
Believe it or not, there was a vote of "NO" from Janette Rankin who was a Representative from Nebraska. The press gave her an appropriate nick name. They called her Japanette. I tracked her voting record and saw that she had voted not to support the troops in Vietnam. The point I wanted to make from that has to do with tenure. Any way you look at it, she was liberal and remained that way for decades. If you weren't aware of that, take a moment to do one thing. Don't forget John Kerry's conduct.
I decided to go back to the 30s when Churchill was having to deal with the death and destruction that the Germans were spreading all over Europe. He was surrounded by near sighted people who were still sick of the losses and the costs of the first World War and didn't want to spend a dime to prepare for the Second World War. I wondered if that liberal bitch from Nebraska had any relatives still living in England.
As I thought about the negative impact that came from the likes of Jane Fonda, John Kerry, Janette Rankin and that stupid Cindy Sheehan woman who lost her son in Iraq, I began to think about the time frames beyond the 40s when so many didn't want to make the sacrifices to prepare their Country for the inevitable war that was coming.
I went back to an address that Churchill made to Parliament in the summer of 1934. He was addressing another issue than Hitler but the words he wrote have, to me, been effective throughout time. I'll quote them now.
" You have unsettled everything. You have settled nothing. Those whom you have sought to conciliate are those whom you have most offended. Those to whom your mission is most necessary are those whom you have most entirely abandoned. Those on whom you have to count most are those whom you are teaching least of all to count on you".
Despite the fact that his words were directed to the House of Lords and the House of Commons and they were focusing on some dumb ass thing they did relative to India, I thought that they were so appropriate that I wanted to recognize the dangers of idiots who are allowed to vote. I decided to go back even further in time to see what those effects were in our society.
I found myself studying the effects that came from the Boston Massacre of 1770. Even though there were only 5 killed and 6 wounded when the British opened fire on the citizens in Boston, the effect was every bit as large as Pearl Harbor or the taking of Paris by the Germans. I decided to look into it further to see if I could find any of John Kerry's kin folk in there.
As it turned out, my research uncovered the population numbers during 1770. Google links stated that there were only 2.1 million people here when that occurred. They eventually divided that number into Loyalists and Patriots. As it turned out, there were 500,000 of the 2.1 million that chose not to support Independence and not to reject the tyranny of King George. If my math works out, that's 23% of the entire population in 1770.
If you convert those numbers to the population we have today, there could easily be 60 million people here who are NOT in the category of people who seek freedom from tyranny and worse than that, VOTE THAT WAY. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
I have some more math to do and will continue with this later but for now, if nothing happens from this post other than you thinking about the liberal population in our Country and the lessons learned from that, I will consider this writing well worth the time. Thanks. More later.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sailor of the Year Award to Tim Jr. and the Navy Ball.
Last night I attended the Navy Ball / Christmas Party for the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC). To say it was "Something Else" is an under statement. Talk about "Tradition", these sailors have it and never intend to let it go. It was great.
Tim Jr was presented with the Sailor of the Year Award. It was the absolute "nuts" to see my son's name called when the award was called for presentation.
They started off with the National Anthem. That was just a warm up for the Invocation. Yeah, that's right, a prayer. After that, a "Welcome" was delivered by the Commanding Officer, Commander O'Neal. She told a story about a Vietnamese kid who left Saigon during the fall, managed to get on a fishing boat and make his way to the United States.
This kid worked hard, entered the Academy, worked his way up the ladder and became a Captain of a ship in the US Navy. Talk about an immigrant who did it by the numbers, this kid is it. She explained the story of his life and success in such a manner as to receive a standing ovation at the end of the presentation. I'm telling you, it was the nuts!
I brought my walking cane with me as I knew there was no way I was going to be able to be on my feet for that many hours without needing it. Despite that, at the end of the presentation and during the beginning of the music, she walked over to my table and asked me to dance. I held up my cane and said" Are you sure". She just smiled and said: "You'll be fine". We went to the dance floor and started to do my version of the jitterbug, cane included.
I saw Tim Jr looking at me dancing with his Commanding Officer and I noticed that "Oh, My God" look on this face. I told her Tim Jr was watching and we both began to laugh. When it came time to do the "Swing your partner around" part of the dance, my cane was in my right hand and as I put my arm around her back, I realized where the cane MUST be landing. I just looked at her and said: "Don't worry, THAT'S MY CANE". We both had a good laugh off that comment.
We both returned to our seats and I noticed that her husband looked exactly like my nephew, Mackey. I realized how young they all were and really got a good idea of that when they asked everybody who was over 60 to raise their hands. When it came to the part where they asked everybody who was 65 or older, I realized that there were just a few of us and for the most part, the room was full of kids and young adults just over 30.
They recognized two people that were key to the success of the NOSC. One guy, Scott Wells, was in a wheel chair and was recognized for doing charity work for Service members who suffered from TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Column Injuries. He wheeled himself over 100 miles for charity and was a most deserving honoree.
The other person was an older lady named Cybil Kelly. She put together care packages to send to Sailors that had deployed overseas so they would know they weren't forgotten. She had sent more than 600 of them. These two people were rock stars among the Navy people there. It was one sweet feeling to be around that group and I'm still digging on it.
After we ate, they have a tradition where they propose a Toast to whoever they wish to. One officer, a medical officer who was sitting at my table next to Tim Jr, stood up and announce the he "Wished to Propose a Toast". When he was recognize and addressed with "Propose Your Toast", he said: "I would like to Propose a Toast to the United States Army". There were cheers and lots of chants of "Here Here". .
The next person proposed a toast to the United States Navy. After that, it was the Marine Corp, the Air Force and then the Coast Guard. Cheers and Here Here filled the room. Talk about pride. These are real Americans.
Toward the end of the evening, I approached the Commanding Officer and told her how much I appreciated her opening comments especially the part about the immigrant from South Vietnam. I've been giving hell to some of the bad ones and have neglected to mention the great ones that we have the good fortune to have as citizens of our Country. I apologize for that here and now and hope that focusing on the problem has not taken away the good part and the asset that comes from great men and women who migrate to our Country.
I told the Commander, as we were preparing to leave, that I had a vision that came when I looked around the room at all the military members. I told her that her reference to 1975 and the accomplishments of the immigrant she spoke about, gave my an insight to the members of the military that were in that room. I said:
" If you go back further than 1975 and return to 1770, the year of the Boston Massacre, you may remember people who gathered in barns and taverns to prepare for the war that they all knew was coming. If you look around this room, you may see the same thing I do. This is a room full of Patriots and I want you to know that I'm proud to be here among so many great Americans and I wanted to thank you for allowing me to attend". With that, she told me that I was welcome at anytime.
As we were talking toward the car, I told Tim Jr how wonderful it was to witness the whole thing especially the awards and decorations ceremony that included his Navy Achievement Medal. For the next 20 minutes he began a non stop explanation of what the Navy had done for him in his life and how he, just like his Grandfather, had a 30 year plan that included going from E 1 to E 7 and then Officer Candidate School. Papaw, Major General George McGovern, (rip) did it that way and it was Tim Jr's firm commitment to follow in his Papaw's foot steps. What a great plan. I can see him making Captain one day even if I might not be around to make it.
I wanted to share these things with you especially with all the concerns we older Veterans have about the current state of affairs that come from the circumstances that our military is having to put up with now. Not to worry. Things will change for the better when the next administration comes on board to put our military back in the order it was before 2008. I will close this by saying "Our Navy Rocks".
God Bless our military men and women.
Tim Jr was presented with the Sailor of the Year Award. It was the absolute "nuts" to see my son's name called when the award was called for presentation.
They started off with the National Anthem. That was just a warm up for the Invocation. Yeah, that's right, a prayer. After that, a "Welcome" was delivered by the Commanding Officer, Commander O'Neal. She told a story about a Vietnamese kid who left Saigon during the fall, managed to get on a fishing boat and make his way to the United States.
This kid worked hard, entered the Academy, worked his way up the ladder and became a Captain of a ship in the US Navy. Talk about an immigrant who did it by the numbers, this kid is it. She explained the story of his life and success in such a manner as to receive a standing ovation at the end of the presentation. I'm telling you, it was the nuts!
I brought my walking cane with me as I knew there was no way I was going to be able to be on my feet for that many hours without needing it. Despite that, at the end of the presentation and during the beginning of the music, she walked over to my table and asked me to dance. I held up my cane and said" Are you sure". She just smiled and said: "You'll be fine". We went to the dance floor and started to do my version of the jitterbug, cane included.
I saw Tim Jr looking at me dancing with his Commanding Officer and I noticed that "Oh, My God" look on this face. I told her Tim Jr was watching and we both began to laugh. When it came time to do the "Swing your partner around" part of the dance, my cane was in my right hand and as I put my arm around her back, I realized where the cane MUST be landing. I just looked at her and said: "Don't worry, THAT'S MY CANE". We both had a good laugh off that comment.
We both returned to our seats and I noticed that her husband looked exactly like my nephew, Mackey. I realized how young they all were and really got a good idea of that when they asked everybody who was over 60 to raise their hands. When it came to the part where they asked everybody who was 65 or older, I realized that there were just a few of us and for the most part, the room was full of kids and young adults just over 30.
They recognized two people that were key to the success of the NOSC. One guy, Scott Wells, was in a wheel chair and was recognized for doing charity work for Service members who suffered from TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Column Injuries. He wheeled himself over 100 miles for charity and was a most deserving honoree.
The other person was an older lady named Cybil Kelly. She put together care packages to send to Sailors that had deployed overseas so they would know they weren't forgotten. She had sent more than 600 of them. These two people were rock stars among the Navy people there. It was one sweet feeling to be around that group and I'm still digging on it.
After we ate, they have a tradition where they propose a Toast to whoever they wish to. One officer, a medical officer who was sitting at my table next to Tim Jr, stood up and announce the he "Wished to Propose a Toast". When he was recognize and addressed with "Propose Your Toast", he said: "I would like to Propose a Toast to the United States Army". There were cheers and lots of chants of "Here Here". .
The next person proposed a toast to the United States Navy. After that, it was the Marine Corp, the Air Force and then the Coast Guard. Cheers and Here Here filled the room. Talk about pride. These are real Americans.
Toward the end of the evening, I approached the Commanding Officer and told her how much I appreciated her opening comments especially the part about the immigrant from South Vietnam. I've been giving hell to some of the bad ones and have neglected to mention the great ones that we have the good fortune to have as citizens of our Country. I apologize for that here and now and hope that focusing on the problem has not taken away the good part and the asset that comes from great men and women who migrate to our Country.
I told the Commander, as we were preparing to leave, that I had a vision that came when I looked around the room at all the military members. I told her that her reference to 1975 and the accomplishments of the immigrant she spoke about, gave my an insight to the members of the military that were in that room. I said:
" If you go back further than 1975 and return to 1770, the year of the Boston Massacre, you may remember people who gathered in barns and taverns to prepare for the war that they all knew was coming. If you look around this room, you may see the same thing I do. This is a room full of Patriots and I want you to know that I'm proud to be here among so many great Americans and I wanted to thank you for allowing me to attend". With that, she told me that I was welcome at anytime.
As we were talking toward the car, I told Tim Jr how wonderful it was to witness the whole thing especially the awards and decorations ceremony that included his Navy Achievement Medal. For the next 20 minutes he began a non stop explanation of what the Navy had done for him in his life and how he, just like his Grandfather, had a 30 year plan that included going from E 1 to E 7 and then Officer Candidate School. Papaw, Major General George McGovern, (rip) did it that way and it was Tim Jr's firm commitment to follow in his Papaw's foot steps. What a great plan. I can see him making Captain one day even if I might not be around to make it.
I wanted to share these things with you especially with all the concerns we older Veterans have about the current state of affairs that come from the circumstances that our military is having to put up with now. Not to worry. Things will change for the better when the next administration comes on board to put our military back in the order it was before 2008. I will close this by saying "Our Navy Rocks".
God Bless our military men and women.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Welcome Aboard to Gordon Lopez
I would like to take a minute to issue a "Welcome Aboard" to Gordon Lopez.
If there was something like "Naval Royalty", Gordon, and his family would certainly be listed at the top of the page. That's a long story but for now, suffice it to say that I've never heard of any family that has a back ground of service in the United States Navy like Gordon's family does.
Gordon is a good friend to one of my old buddies from High School days, a retired U.S. Navy Captain. I don't have permission to post anything specific about their history in our Navy but maybe he will let me put down something more definitive at a later date. With all due respect, I will give you guys a hint.
He might not admit it but there's a chance that his family's service to our Country goes all the way back to the days of sail. From the stories I've heard from John Roberson, Byrd High classmate of mine, there's no one with a pedigree longer than the Lopez family. I am extremely proud to know that he is reading these posts.
Gordon, since I haven't gone back to previous emails from you or John that list your family's background, let me give you a hint about some of the members and non members here that read these ramblings I make.
We have a U.S. Army Ranger that I served with in Vietnam. There are Cobra gunship pilots and Scout pilots that flew with me on Hunter Killer Teams in Vietnam and in Cambodia. Some of those readers are purple heart recipients. Two of them are former room mates of mine during my tour in Vietnam.
There is a group of ARPs, Aero Rifle Platoon members, that are the best of the best that the infantry has ever seen. Many readers here are Huey pilots that flew in and out of landing zones all over Vietnam. One was my tac officer from Primary Flight School at Ft. Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas where I learned to fly helicopters in 1969. His daughter is even a reader.
A couple are former Nighthawk Gunship pilots are here and a few of them have flown the Nighthawk missions with me. A couple of these members went on to become Doctors and continue to help people 43 years after our combat tour ended.
We have a U.S. Marine Corp plane captain that served in Chu Li during Tet of 68. That would be my brother. Several readers are members of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilot's Association where the famous Robin Olds was the foundation upon which that group was built. Within that group, there's a FAC pilot that flew missions in Cambodia from Tay Ninh during the time I was flying Hunter Killer Teams across the Border from the same base.
There are a number of people from the V.A. hospital that read these posts. One is another old high school buddy and a friend of John's as well. Guy is his name, John will probably read this and tell you about him. There are nurses from the VA that also follow this site. We even have mothers and fathers of Veterans who read these posts. A couple of them are also high school friends that live in Ruston, Louisiana where John and I attended a reunion one year. Let's not forget Tim Jr, a U.S. Navy man and multiple SOQ winner and hopefully, this year's Sailor of the Year.
I say these things to let you know that you are in very good company and that I am extremely proud that you are reading the posts and ramblings that I make here. I hope they meet your approval. Please pass along to your family.
Welcome Aboard.
Tim
If there was something like "Naval Royalty", Gordon, and his family would certainly be listed at the top of the page. That's a long story but for now, suffice it to say that I've never heard of any family that has a back ground of service in the United States Navy like Gordon's family does.
Gordon is a good friend to one of my old buddies from High School days, a retired U.S. Navy Captain. I don't have permission to post anything specific about their history in our Navy but maybe he will let me put down something more definitive at a later date. With all due respect, I will give you guys a hint.
He might not admit it but there's a chance that his family's service to our Country goes all the way back to the days of sail. From the stories I've heard from John Roberson, Byrd High classmate of mine, there's no one with a pedigree longer than the Lopez family. I am extremely proud to know that he is reading these posts.
Gordon, since I haven't gone back to previous emails from you or John that list your family's background, let me give you a hint about some of the members and non members here that read these ramblings I make.
We have a U.S. Army Ranger that I served with in Vietnam. There are Cobra gunship pilots and Scout pilots that flew with me on Hunter Killer Teams in Vietnam and in Cambodia. Some of those readers are purple heart recipients. Two of them are former room mates of mine during my tour in Vietnam.
There is a group of ARPs, Aero Rifle Platoon members, that are the best of the best that the infantry has ever seen. Many readers here are Huey pilots that flew in and out of landing zones all over Vietnam. One was my tac officer from Primary Flight School at Ft. Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas where I learned to fly helicopters in 1969. His daughter is even a reader.
A couple are former Nighthawk Gunship pilots are here and a few of them have flown the Nighthawk missions with me. A couple of these members went on to become Doctors and continue to help people 43 years after our combat tour ended.
We have a U.S. Marine Corp plane captain that served in Chu Li during Tet of 68. That would be my brother. Several readers are members of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilot's Association where the famous Robin Olds was the foundation upon which that group was built. Within that group, there's a FAC pilot that flew missions in Cambodia from Tay Ninh during the time I was flying Hunter Killer Teams across the Border from the same base.
There are a number of people from the V.A. hospital that read these posts. One is another old high school buddy and a friend of John's as well. Guy is his name, John will probably read this and tell you about him. There are nurses from the VA that also follow this site. We even have mothers and fathers of Veterans who read these posts. A couple of them are also high school friends that live in Ruston, Louisiana where John and I attended a reunion one year. Let's not forget Tim Jr, a U.S. Navy man and multiple SOQ winner and hopefully, this year's Sailor of the Year.
I say these things to let you know that you are in very good company and that I am extremely proud that you are reading the posts and ramblings that I make here. I hope they meet your approval. Please pass along to your family.
Welcome Aboard.
Tim
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Name Recognition Winner Is: Lt. General Ed Wolfe, Patriot Corp Commander.
See there! Even though I left out J. Edgar's name, my first room mate from Vietnam knew the answer right off the bat. For those of you who aren't aware of the answer, you can do a little research and find out who they are and where they are working. It's scary, kinda like putting Herman Goering in charge of airline passages for the German Jews in the late 30's and early 40s.
Craig, Dudley, that would be Eddie. Guy, Roger, he's the one I told you about long ago when we started talking about the first day I spent in Vietnam.
Eddie, congratulations. You are now referred to as the 3 star, Lt. General instead of Major General.
I sent the first 36 pages of the manuscript of "The Patriot's Cabin" to Mike in Bentonville, Arkansas. I haven't heard back from him yet but expect to hear his opinion shortly. I will add Lt. General Wolfe's name to the attendees. This is going to be fun. I don't want to give the story away but maybe I can copy and paste a part of the meeting that will take place in the Ozark Mountains near the Buffalo River.
Y'all just stand by. More coming. Way to go, Eddie, er............General, suh.
Craig, Dudley, that would be Eddie. Guy, Roger, he's the one I told you about long ago when we started talking about the first day I spent in Vietnam.
Eddie, congratulations. You are now referred to as the 3 star, Lt. General instead of Major General.
I sent the first 36 pages of the manuscript of "The Patriot's Cabin" to Mike in Bentonville, Arkansas. I haven't heard back from him yet but expect to hear his opinion shortly. I will add Lt. General Wolfe's name to the attendees. This is going to be fun. I don't want to give the story away but maybe I can copy and paste a part of the meeting that will take place in the Ozark Mountains near the Buffalo River.
Y'all just stand by. More coming. Way to go, Eddie, er............General, suh.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Connecting the dots between names and dates.
Okay, here's a quick name recognition game for you to play. Let's start with Teddy and go to Franklin Delano, John Fitzgerald, Harry S, Ronald and Jimmy. That's a good beginning. Those are spread out over a long period of time but they are relevant to today's test.
Now lets go to some other names. Alif Alikhan, Mohammed Elibiary, Rashad Hussain, Salam Al-Marayati, Imam Mohamed Magi and Ebo Patel.
Remembering those names are important but so is remembering dates. The following dates in history seem to be intellectually relevant for today's circumstances. Let's take a look at some of the occurrences that should help lead the way.
On August 23, 1996. Osama Bin Laden declared War on the United States. It would appear to me that a logical thought process would have eliminated any such move but, then again, logic among those who kill themselves on purpose isn't necessarily a logical thought itself.
Another important date in history that occurred in August was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. That was August 6, 1945. That produced the instantaneous death of 80,000 people and tens of thousands more shortly thereafter.
A few days later, Nagasaki was nuked and another 87,000 were killed. Pretty gruesome, but somewhat necessary to get the attention of a large group of idiots who were in denial that they were defeated and that they were the ones that started the whole damn thing in the first place.
Now, with this latest "deal" cut with the Iranians, did you think about a suitcase sized atomic bomb being set off in New York City? Apparently, the head of the Israeli Defense Force did.
I seem to have another "Stuck Point" here. When a guy says he's going to kill me, I don't really need anymore information than that. I take him at his word especially if he's killed before.
Now that I've presented the names, dates and circumstances, I'll just leave this alone and let you guys do some thinking. Enjoy any attempt you make to connect the dots. We will talk again about this.
Now lets go to some other names. Alif Alikhan, Mohammed Elibiary, Rashad Hussain, Salam Al-Marayati, Imam Mohamed Magi and Ebo Patel.
Remembering those names are important but so is remembering dates. The following dates in history seem to be intellectually relevant for today's circumstances. Let's take a look at some of the occurrences that should help lead the way.
On August 23, 1996. Osama Bin Laden declared War on the United States. It would appear to me that a logical thought process would have eliminated any such move but, then again, logic among those who kill themselves on purpose isn't necessarily a logical thought itself.
Another important date in history that occurred in August was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. That was August 6, 1945. That produced the instantaneous death of 80,000 people and tens of thousands more shortly thereafter.
A few days later, Nagasaki was nuked and another 87,000 were killed. Pretty gruesome, but somewhat necessary to get the attention of a large group of idiots who were in denial that they were defeated and that they were the ones that started the whole damn thing in the first place.
Now, with this latest "deal" cut with the Iranians, did you think about a suitcase sized atomic bomb being set off in New York City? Apparently, the head of the Israeli Defense Force did.
I seem to have another "Stuck Point" here. When a guy says he's going to kill me, I don't really need anymore information than that. I take him at his word especially if he's killed before.
Now that I've presented the names, dates and circumstances, I'll just leave this alone and let you guys do some thinking. Enjoy any attempt you make to connect the dots. We will talk again about this.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Jesus Ain't Goin' Nowhere and Neither is Mr. Stupid.
I've been viewing recent articles on multi-cultural-ism. I also watched some of the mini series titled "The Bible". I just wanted to say that after 2,000 years it would appear to me that the best informed people in the world would figure out that Jesus ain't goin' nowhere.
With regard to Mr. Stupid, he will eventually go away but that won't happen until he is respected in the same manner that others like them were treated. You know, Hitler, Tojo and that bunch.
Would one of you bible scholars help a blind man find that verse in the bible that said something about killing every man, woman, child and beast of burden? I'm pretty sure that referred to the Stupid tribe way back then.
Mike, Murray, RLB, give me a hand on this one. Grab that bible and send me an email so I can quote it directly. Thanks.
With regard to Mr. Stupid, he will eventually go away but that won't happen until he is respected in the same manner that others like them were treated. You know, Hitler, Tojo and that bunch.
Would one of you bible scholars help a blind man find that verse in the bible that said something about killing every man, woman, child and beast of burden? I'm pretty sure that referred to the Stupid tribe way back then.
Mike, Murray, RLB, give me a hand on this one. Grab that bible and send me an email so I can quote it directly. Thanks.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
It appears that I've become some kind of a lab rat. In a sense, with all the interest in my brain functions after brain surgery, there are lots of people at the VA hospital that want to know how I've managed to deal with it all.
Vietnam, Cambodia, killing the enemy, the death of pilots I flew with and went to flight school with, the memories of dead bodies, both theirs and ours, and the effects of ground attacks that brought with them, rockets and mortar fire from the enemy.
Flying Scouts in Cambodia was an experience that, for the most part, was a really difficult thing to survive. If there was ever anything in my life more dangerous than flying helicopters in Vietnam, flying Scouts as a member of hunter killer teams in Cambodia, was easily it.
To put it bluntly, I remember one mission where I was scared shit less as death was everywhere and, even at altitude, you could smell the dead bodies. I was literally shaking in the cockpit as I began to roll in on a target that had already proven to be deadly. Just prior to that mission, John Robb had already been shot down and before I began my gun run on that day, Wayne Morvent was shot down.
That was the first time I had ever seen a "human wave assault" that was just like the Banzai attacks that the suicidal Japanese made during the Second World War. I remember watching the Cobra roll in and shooting flechette filled rockets at the enemy as they attacked.
We saw the NVA before anyone did. That was our job. We had to penetrate the Cambodian border under the radar, not get caught, search for the North Vietnamese from tree top level, not get shot, return to Vietnam without getting shot down along the ingress and egress routes, refuel, rearm and do it all again. Sometimes, we had to do that 4 times in one day.
There was one particular area along the ingress egress route that had a radar controlled anti aircraft position that was a very dangerous place. We had pilots hit at 5,000 feet and I was always below that altitude. If I had to guess, I would say that 90% of the time, I was below 100' altitude.
I can think back and remember radio calls instructing me to : "Break right, you're taking fire". I can also vividly remember the sounds of AK 47 rounds hitting the helicopter in the skids, the dog house and the mini gun housing. Those memories don't go away. You learn to deal with all that but they never go away.
Hindsight, regarding one of the many the Nighthawk mission I flew with Wollman, proved to be more deadly to the enemy than all the missions I flew in Cambodia. The difference can be found in the fact that it was dark and I never saw the kinds of sights I witnessed in the daylight battles of Cambodia.
The point I wish to make here has to do with the process of dealing with Veterans who suffer from PTSD and or Traumatic Brain Injury. I say that because some way or another, I managed to make it through 43 years without doing anything to get me arrested or suffering anything catastrophic due to PTSD. More than anything, I stayed busy with my career and family and even though the memories never faded, they didn't control my life,
Now, with a daily dose of PTSD reports that I have to write, reports called "Stuck Points" that outline the thoughts that are Stuck in my mind, it seems that dealing with it daily, instead of staying busy with other things, finds me STUCK in Vietnam and Cambodia. That has produced a constant recollection of the most ungodly things that man can witness.
In any event, I wanted to put this into black and white and send it to my high school friend at the VA that has been such a huge help in getting me through all the hell that comes with malignant brain cancer, brain surgery, chemo, radiation and the horrors that come with that. Guy, please print this and get it to Roger as I don't have a printer and I've already submitted my reports to him for this week. Thanks, Tim
Vietnam, Cambodia, killing the enemy, the death of pilots I flew with and went to flight school with, the memories of dead bodies, both theirs and ours, and the effects of ground attacks that brought with them, rockets and mortar fire from the enemy.
Flying Scouts in Cambodia was an experience that, for the most part, was a really difficult thing to survive. If there was ever anything in my life more dangerous than flying helicopters in Vietnam, flying Scouts as a member of hunter killer teams in Cambodia, was easily it.
To put it bluntly, I remember one mission where I was scared shit less as death was everywhere and, even at altitude, you could smell the dead bodies. I was literally shaking in the cockpit as I began to roll in on a target that had already proven to be deadly. Just prior to that mission, John Robb had already been shot down and before I began my gun run on that day, Wayne Morvent was shot down.
That was the first time I had ever seen a "human wave assault" that was just like the Banzai attacks that the suicidal Japanese made during the Second World War. I remember watching the Cobra roll in and shooting flechette filled rockets at the enemy as they attacked.
We saw the NVA before anyone did. That was our job. We had to penetrate the Cambodian border under the radar, not get caught, search for the North Vietnamese from tree top level, not get shot, return to Vietnam without getting shot down along the ingress and egress routes, refuel, rearm and do it all again. Sometimes, we had to do that 4 times in one day.
There was one particular area along the ingress egress route that had a radar controlled anti aircraft position that was a very dangerous place. We had pilots hit at 5,000 feet and I was always below that altitude. If I had to guess, I would say that 90% of the time, I was below 100' altitude.
I can think back and remember radio calls instructing me to : "Break right, you're taking fire". I can also vividly remember the sounds of AK 47 rounds hitting the helicopter in the skids, the dog house and the mini gun housing. Those memories don't go away. You learn to deal with all that but they never go away.
Hindsight, regarding one of the many the Nighthawk mission I flew with Wollman, proved to be more deadly to the enemy than all the missions I flew in Cambodia. The difference can be found in the fact that it was dark and I never saw the kinds of sights I witnessed in the daylight battles of Cambodia.
The point I wish to make here has to do with the process of dealing with Veterans who suffer from PTSD and or Traumatic Brain Injury. I say that because some way or another, I managed to make it through 43 years without doing anything to get me arrested or suffering anything catastrophic due to PTSD. More than anything, I stayed busy with my career and family and even though the memories never faded, they didn't control my life,
Now, with a daily dose of PTSD reports that I have to write, reports called "Stuck Points" that outline the thoughts that are Stuck in my mind, it seems that dealing with it daily, instead of staying busy with other things, finds me STUCK in Vietnam and Cambodia. That has produced a constant recollection of the most ungodly things that man can witness.
In any event, I wanted to put this into black and white and send it to my high school friend at the VA that has been such a huge help in getting me through all the hell that comes with malignant brain cancer, brain surgery, chemo, radiation and the horrors that come with that. Guy, please print this and get it to Roger as I don't have a printer and I've already submitted my reports to him for this week. Thanks, Tim
Sunday, December 1, 2013
You CAN take it with you.
I attended the funeral of my first cousin yesterday. He was the Marine's top shooter and held that record for 3 years. His name was Aubrey Brooks and he was the son my mother's sister. Aubrey was a most successful business man and almost certainly the wealthiest of all of my relatives.
When my brother called me to tell me that Aubrey had passed away and that there were some special arrangements made for his funeral, I have to admit that I laughed out loud instead of crying. Among the many requests that he made, the one that stood out the most contained a list of things that he ordered to be put in the casket with him.
He had a flask of whiskey, a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes, a buckeye and most importantly, a check for a million dollars that I'm sure was a good check.
I only had one business venture with Aubrey but I felt that it was worthy of note here as some of you Vietnam Veterans will get a kick out of it. It had nothing to do with combat but in the end, combat was the thing that brought the venture to a screeching halt.
I had worked as a distributor for a rock crusher manufacturer for many years. Along the way, I learned a lot of things about particle acceleration, instantaneous deceleration and the resulting product that was produced when a rock is impacted against a stationery object when flying through the air at 6,000 feet per minute. With that, I learned how to take stone, gravel, glass, sand and other materials from their present state and reduce them in size to something more usable.
I needed some money to help design and build a machine that would take the "down hole rock cuttings" from a drilling rig and reduce them in size so they could be re-injected down the annulus of a well. This is part of the process that occurs after the drill bit cuts the stone into little pieces and pumps them back to the surface with the mud that was recirculating throughout the drilling process.
The point in all this was to eliminate the need to pump the cuttings overboard into a barge that would take them from offshore wells to a disposal site. We all know about the EPA so I won't get into that part of the equation. I'll simply say that producing a machine that would eliminate that step was worth millions.
To make a long story short, I will simply say that I made the geometric changes in the crushing chamber to accomplish this task, built a prototype, tested it, had the Department of Transportation witness the results and began the work to market the machine. Since we were going to sell it on an international basis, I named it the "International Collider".
I went to a friend in Opelousas, Louisiana and after telling the story about the machine and the application of it in the oil and gas industry, he told me to get on with the project and build one in his shop. I did that and made arrangements to take it to an oil field service company for testing and approval by the Associated Petroleum Institute. When it passed, you can well imagine the excitement that was shared by all.
We had a production well set up in Navisota, Texas and through that, we were to confirm it's suitability for 24 hour per day operations, something we had already proven in other applications such as stone quarries and gravel pits. As soon as that was finished, we were off to the Middle East to put the machine to work there. I figure to make a ton of money as there were lots and lots of drilling rigs working there every day.
As I was anxiously awaiting my orders to leave for the Middle East, Saddam Hussein showed his ass.
My dear friend, Laddie James (rip), was most anxious to get the show on the road as he was an innovator himself and a most successful man in his own right. Unfortunately, my departure was brought to a screeching halt when Saddam shot the Scud Missile across the border and into the base where our troops were stationed during that time. Laddie didn't want to risk one of his guys so he ordered the project to be put on hold until all that ended. I saw a fortune fly out the window with all of that and learned a great deal about hating dictators at a different level than I had before that time.
I guess that's about it for today but I just wanted to leave this little note about a guy who helped me along the way, the kind of guy that "took it with him". So long Aubrey and thanks for all the help.
Cousin Tim
When my brother called me to tell me that Aubrey had passed away and that there were some special arrangements made for his funeral, I have to admit that I laughed out loud instead of crying. Among the many requests that he made, the one that stood out the most contained a list of things that he ordered to be put in the casket with him.
He had a flask of whiskey, a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes, a buckeye and most importantly, a check for a million dollars that I'm sure was a good check.
I only had one business venture with Aubrey but I felt that it was worthy of note here as some of you Vietnam Veterans will get a kick out of it. It had nothing to do with combat but in the end, combat was the thing that brought the venture to a screeching halt.
I had worked as a distributor for a rock crusher manufacturer for many years. Along the way, I learned a lot of things about particle acceleration, instantaneous deceleration and the resulting product that was produced when a rock is impacted against a stationery object when flying through the air at 6,000 feet per minute. With that, I learned how to take stone, gravel, glass, sand and other materials from their present state and reduce them in size to something more usable.
I needed some money to help design and build a machine that would take the "down hole rock cuttings" from a drilling rig and reduce them in size so they could be re-injected down the annulus of a well. This is part of the process that occurs after the drill bit cuts the stone into little pieces and pumps them back to the surface with the mud that was recirculating throughout the drilling process.
The point in all this was to eliminate the need to pump the cuttings overboard into a barge that would take them from offshore wells to a disposal site. We all know about the EPA so I won't get into that part of the equation. I'll simply say that producing a machine that would eliminate that step was worth millions.
To make a long story short, I will simply say that I made the geometric changes in the crushing chamber to accomplish this task, built a prototype, tested it, had the Department of Transportation witness the results and began the work to market the machine. Since we were going to sell it on an international basis, I named it the "International Collider".
I went to a friend in Opelousas, Louisiana and after telling the story about the machine and the application of it in the oil and gas industry, he told me to get on with the project and build one in his shop. I did that and made arrangements to take it to an oil field service company for testing and approval by the Associated Petroleum Institute. When it passed, you can well imagine the excitement that was shared by all.
We had a production well set up in Navisota, Texas and through that, we were to confirm it's suitability for 24 hour per day operations, something we had already proven in other applications such as stone quarries and gravel pits. As soon as that was finished, we were off to the Middle East to put the machine to work there. I figure to make a ton of money as there were lots and lots of drilling rigs working there every day.
As I was anxiously awaiting my orders to leave for the Middle East, Saddam Hussein showed his ass.
My dear friend, Laddie James (rip), was most anxious to get the show on the road as he was an innovator himself and a most successful man in his own right. Unfortunately, my departure was brought to a screeching halt when Saddam shot the Scud Missile across the border and into the base where our troops were stationed during that time. Laddie didn't want to risk one of his guys so he ordered the project to be put on hold until all that ended. I saw a fortune fly out the window with all of that and learned a great deal about hating dictators at a different level than I had before that time.
I guess that's about it for today but I just wanted to leave this little note about a guy who helped me along the way, the kind of guy that "took it with him". So long Aubrey and thanks for all the help.
Cousin Tim
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Elect me and "Back in the 1800's"
My father, Jules Leon Butler, was born in 1906. I never met his father as he had passed away before I was born. I know that his parents were living in Shreveport and from that, I have concluded that the Butler family comes from a very long line of men and women that were born in the United States.
The same holds true for my mother, Nora McInnis. She always used to say that she was born the year that the Titanic sunk and that she was still floating. Her mother was born in 1890 from parents that were natural born Americans. From that, I concluded that there is a certain amount of cultural influence that came down the line to me and the other members in my family.
I've had some conversations about the origins of the Butler Clan and the McInnis Clan over the years and I have discovered that a number of impossibilities exist that relate to the cultural influences from being a red blooded American. I concluded that those of us who come from generation after generation of Americans are different from those who are not and it is impossible for us to view immigrants as citizens who have the same cultural values that we do.
If you remember the picture of the Mexican flag flying over a California high school, you may get my point. That is just a crazy as the French flying their flag over a high school in Baton Rouge and claiming that it is their territory, not ours. Please refer to the Louisiana Purchase for the logic surrounding my last sentence and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican American War in 1848 to explain my first.
Our Country has had a long list of men who stood up to the plate and served their Country through the office of the Presidency. Some have been really great leaders and some have been lower on the totem pole of greatness but all of them have been real Americans with real American values and concerns.
Now, due to the insane levels of immigration, we are seeing a voting block of people who are apparently more concerned with "taking back their territory" or "making the Capitalist pigs pay". If you consider that for a moment, I shouldn't have to connect the dots for you as it relates to the selections they make in the voting booth. Having said that, I will now present you with the solution to a few of the problems that plague the Country today.
First and foremost, we need to change the voting laws. We need to insure that every single person who votes, is really an American. We need to think about that for a moment as Jane Fonda will probably pitch a fit about anything that's even close to that. When I say "Real American", that means my version of American, not Jane Fonda's.
If your momma and daddy weren't born here from parents who were born here, from parents who were born here, sorry, no vote. That comment could get me arrested in Liberal City but I don't care cause they're probably on the next list so just be patient and I'll take care of them later. Just keep this first step in mind because you're gonna love my idea of border security. Hang in there.
The same holds true for my mother, Nora McInnis. She always used to say that she was born the year that the Titanic sunk and that she was still floating. Her mother was born in 1890 from parents that were natural born Americans. From that, I concluded that there is a certain amount of cultural influence that came down the line to me and the other members in my family.
I've had some conversations about the origins of the Butler Clan and the McInnis Clan over the years and I have discovered that a number of impossibilities exist that relate to the cultural influences from being a red blooded American. I concluded that those of us who come from generation after generation of Americans are different from those who are not and it is impossible for us to view immigrants as citizens who have the same cultural values that we do.
If you remember the picture of the Mexican flag flying over a California high school, you may get my point. That is just a crazy as the French flying their flag over a high school in Baton Rouge and claiming that it is their territory, not ours. Please refer to the Louisiana Purchase for the logic surrounding my last sentence and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican American War in 1848 to explain my first.
Our Country has had a long list of men who stood up to the plate and served their Country through the office of the Presidency. Some have been really great leaders and some have been lower on the totem pole of greatness but all of them have been real Americans with real American values and concerns.
Now, due to the insane levels of immigration, we are seeing a voting block of people who are apparently more concerned with "taking back their territory" or "making the Capitalist pigs pay". If you consider that for a moment, I shouldn't have to connect the dots for you as it relates to the selections they make in the voting booth. Having said that, I will now present you with the solution to a few of the problems that plague the Country today.
First and foremost, we need to change the voting laws. We need to insure that every single person who votes, is really an American. We need to think about that for a moment as Jane Fonda will probably pitch a fit about anything that's even close to that. When I say "Real American", that means my version of American, not Jane Fonda's.
If your momma and daddy weren't born here from parents who were born here, from parents who were born here, sorry, no vote. That comment could get me arrested in Liberal City but I don't care cause they're probably on the next list so just be patient and I'll take care of them later. Just keep this first step in mind because you're gonna love my idea of border security. Hang in there.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Attention Patriot Command Staff
To all Unit and Core Commanders in the Patriot Command Staff.
Watch this video and then feel free to take the rest of the day off with pay. Having said that, I am beginning to think that one of the best ways to communicate with all of you is through attachments that provide a really good environment for you to digest new information. I suggest that you wait until after lunch to view this as it goes very well with popcorn that is best served in the late afternoon.
Colonel Malmay, please inform Colonel Jawar as I know she is busy saving lives at the moment but I believe that she will need to be in the loop on this one, too.
T.L. Butler Sr
Commanding General
http://www.youtube.com/embed/A3YQANdvvbY
Watch this video and then feel free to take the rest of the day off with pay. Having said that, I am beginning to think that one of the best ways to communicate with all of you is through attachments that provide a really good environment for you to digest new information. I suggest that you wait until after lunch to view this as it goes very well with popcorn that is best served in the late afternoon.
Colonel Malmay, please inform Colonel Jawar as I know she is busy saving lives at the moment but I believe that she will need to be in the loop on this one, too.
T.L. Butler Sr
Commanding General
http://www.youtube.com/embed/A3YQANdvvbY
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Timmy's Shit List.
Having completed my 65th birthday celebration yesterday, I thought that my first order of bidness, as a bonafide senior citizen, should be listed here for all to view. I've decided, thanks to John R and Eddie W, that I am going after a couple of organizations that suck. That would be the ACLU and some other half wit group that targets the military's use of the word "God".
Before I get into this, let me say that this is more about the military man and real American citizens who are Christians, than religious freedom. All you atheists or agnostics out there, don't get offended. There are more of us than you so just leave it alone. For you cult members, you can just kiss off and go back to the cave you came from and take that stinking ass camel with you.
First of all, we were here first. If you came over here and didn't assimilate, the solution to your dilemma is quite simple. Pack your stuff and go back home. I say that in a peaceful way so you will understand that there's no reason at this time for us to start hunting you down and dealing with you in a way that is biblical. I'm talking about that part that said "Kill every man, woman, child and beast of burden". We don't work that way but if we're pushed far enough, we most certainly will. Please refer to the previous posts regarding: "Behind every blade of grass there is a gun".
Secondly, let's focus on the military man. He's the one who has to fight. He's the one that's living in a tent, missing his family and sometimes paying the price for your freedom with his life. I say that HE gets the right to do whatever he wants to do regarding the use of the word "God". In the interest of clarity, let me give you an example.
We can easily go back to the way it used to be when "So help me God" was okay to say. We can put the ten commandments back on the courthouses and pray in the schools. See how easy that was! Oh, did I forget to mention that none of you will be attending public schools? Those are for real American kids and the status quo will be returned to the days when stuff wasn't broke.
With regard to you having your way, we can build a huge courthouse somewhere near the sewer treatment plant in Bossier City and make sure that God's name is not anywhere on it. In addition to that, we can make sure that your wishes are observed by having you list your atheist or agnostic affiliation on your driver's license. That way, when it comes time to vote, you can go to the voting booth that has all Christian candidates removed from the list of people to vote for. Won't that be nice!
See how easy that is!
Next, we can insure that your needs and desires are met by classifying you with the IRS. That way, you can "pay your fair share" of the expense for all these things and not have to worry about being offended by real Americans. If you think I'm being an elitist by using "Real Americans", refer to that "One Nation Under God" thing.
This is just the beginning of the Timmy Way of doin' bidness so I can't get it all done in a single post. I think you get the drift. Doesn't this make you feel good. No more of this "hate God" stuff that's been thrown in our faces by those of you who shouldn't be here and need to leave now.
I'll leave you with this one last thought:, all we need to do is create a bill that makes this legal. I would like to call it the "Shame on your ass" bill but I think it would be accepted in a better light if we call it "The Remove Anti Americans Bill".
There will be more later. Have faith.
Before I get into this, let me say that this is more about the military man and real American citizens who are Christians, than religious freedom. All you atheists or agnostics out there, don't get offended. There are more of us than you so just leave it alone. For you cult members, you can just kiss off and go back to the cave you came from and take that stinking ass camel with you.
First of all, we were here first. If you came over here and didn't assimilate, the solution to your dilemma is quite simple. Pack your stuff and go back home. I say that in a peaceful way so you will understand that there's no reason at this time for us to start hunting you down and dealing with you in a way that is biblical. I'm talking about that part that said "Kill every man, woman, child and beast of burden". We don't work that way but if we're pushed far enough, we most certainly will. Please refer to the previous posts regarding: "Behind every blade of grass there is a gun".
Secondly, let's focus on the military man. He's the one who has to fight. He's the one that's living in a tent, missing his family and sometimes paying the price for your freedom with his life. I say that HE gets the right to do whatever he wants to do regarding the use of the word "God". In the interest of clarity, let me give you an example.
We can easily go back to the way it used to be when "So help me God" was okay to say. We can put the ten commandments back on the courthouses and pray in the schools. See how easy that was! Oh, did I forget to mention that none of you will be attending public schools? Those are for real American kids and the status quo will be returned to the days when stuff wasn't broke.
With regard to you having your way, we can build a huge courthouse somewhere near the sewer treatment plant in Bossier City and make sure that God's name is not anywhere on it. In addition to that, we can make sure that your wishes are observed by having you list your atheist or agnostic affiliation on your driver's license. That way, when it comes time to vote, you can go to the voting booth that has all Christian candidates removed from the list of people to vote for. Won't that be nice!
See how easy that is!
Next, we can insure that your needs and desires are met by classifying you with the IRS. That way, you can "pay your fair share" of the expense for all these things and not have to worry about being offended by real Americans. If you think I'm being an elitist by using "Real Americans", refer to that "One Nation Under God" thing.
This is just the beginning of the Timmy Way of doin' bidness so I can't get it all done in a single post. I think you get the drift. Doesn't this make you feel good. No more of this "hate God" stuff that's been thrown in our faces by those of you who shouldn't be here and need to leave now.
I'll leave you with this one last thought:, all we need to do is create a bill that makes this legal. I would like to call it the "Shame on your ass" bill but I think it would be accepted in a better light if we call it "The Remove Anti Americans Bill".
There will be more later. Have faith.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Ft. Hood Murders, The Veterans Speak.
See there! My ramblings about post traumatic stress have proven to be true. Without a doubt, it ain't no disorder. Remembering those things is fit and proper and proves that our minds are in a hell of a lot better shape than those who have never experienced the real world and all the things that come with it. Life ain't no ride at Chucky Cheese, it's livin' and dyin' and all the other things that come with survival of the fittest.
Since the days of Cambodia, I've always said that "There ain't nothin' better than killin' the guys that are killin' your guys". The comments I've received from the last post about shootin' that no good, murderer Hassan, prove that our boys in uniform still feel that way even if their uniform now says "Property of the VA hospital".
One of my California brothers wants to buy a ticket to be one of the shooters, one wants it done right now, one wants it to be a sporting event held during deer season. Maybe we're getting to a point where we are willing to turn the corner and return to the old days when things were done in a more appropriate manner. Why we decided to fix something that wasn't broke is beyond me. Maybe when bonehead leaves we can get some things proposed that will put things back in order. I hope so.
While I'm at it, let me give a "shout out" to the court house gang in Beauregard Parish Louisiana. At the very top of the building, the old hanging platform still exists. I don't know if the stuff is still there but when you drive by the courthouse the little room at the top is always pointed out as "the place where they used to hang murderers". Who in the hell decided to "fix" that one? I love Louisiana but even we have had our share of bone heads.
This may sound a bit morbid to some of you but if you admit the thoughts you had when you saw Saddam's head in the noose you'll see what I mean. Kinda gives you that happy feeling to know that the mass murders of civilians by chemical weapons ain't gonna happen anymore. Despite that, there are many who still believe that chemical weapons ain't no weapons of mass destruction. Just ask the Kurds, they'll tell you.
Today is my 65th birthday and starting it off with comments from so many guys that agree with me about the thoughts that focus on the proper way to dispose of Hassan's sorry ass, is a mighty nice way to start the day.
I even opened a birthday card from Mikey that had a coupon in it for Mickey D's place. Maybe ham and eggs would be an appropriate last meal for Hassan. Yeah. Let's add that to the list. See there, it just goes to show you how wonderful years of treatment can be. Thanks to all the Docs at the VA in Houston, Alexandria and Shreveport for making me the man I have become. I think I need a business card to pass around the hospital. I could have a little title block under my name that says something like "A Product Of Our Mental Health Department".
Feelin' good today and looking forward to my birthday dinner and some cake with my grand daughter. Yeeeha.
.
Since the days of Cambodia, I've always said that "There ain't nothin' better than killin' the guys that are killin' your guys". The comments I've received from the last post about shootin' that no good, murderer Hassan, prove that our boys in uniform still feel that way even if their uniform now says "Property of the VA hospital".
One of my California brothers wants to buy a ticket to be one of the shooters, one wants it done right now, one wants it to be a sporting event held during deer season. Maybe we're getting to a point where we are willing to turn the corner and return to the old days when things were done in a more appropriate manner. Why we decided to fix something that wasn't broke is beyond me. Maybe when bonehead leaves we can get some things proposed that will put things back in order. I hope so.
While I'm at it, let me give a "shout out" to the court house gang in Beauregard Parish Louisiana. At the very top of the building, the old hanging platform still exists. I don't know if the stuff is still there but when you drive by the courthouse the little room at the top is always pointed out as "the place where they used to hang murderers". Who in the hell decided to "fix" that one? I love Louisiana but even we have had our share of bone heads.
This may sound a bit morbid to some of you but if you admit the thoughts you had when you saw Saddam's head in the noose you'll see what I mean. Kinda gives you that happy feeling to know that the mass murders of civilians by chemical weapons ain't gonna happen anymore. Despite that, there are many who still believe that chemical weapons ain't no weapons of mass destruction. Just ask the Kurds, they'll tell you.
Today is my 65th birthday and starting it off with comments from so many guys that agree with me about the thoughts that focus on the proper way to dispose of Hassan's sorry ass, is a mighty nice way to start the day.
I even opened a birthday card from Mikey that had a coupon in it for Mickey D's place. Maybe ham and eggs would be an appropriate last meal for Hassan. Yeah. Let's add that to the list. See there, it just goes to show you how wonderful years of treatment can be. Thanks to all the Docs at the VA in Houston, Alexandria and Shreveport for making me the man I have become. I think I need a business card to pass around the hospital. I could have a little title block under my name that says something like "A Product Of Our Mental Health Department".
Feelin' good today and looking forward to my birthday dinner and some cake with my grand daughter. Yeeeha.
.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Firing Squad for Nidal Hassan? Let's have one!
Do you guys remember Mel Gibson's performance in "The Patriot"? I was watching it yesterday afternoon but my nap time didn't allow me to see it from the very beginning. When I started watching, Mel Gibson and his two kids were just getting ready to shoot the Red Coats that were taking his oldest son to some place where he was to be hanged. He and his other two sons, the youngest of the family, managed to kill 20, rescue his son and get away before another British patrol came by and discovered what remained of the 21 man detail.
Shortly after that, there was a scene where the British commander, Colonel William Tavington, showed up to find out what in the hell happened to his detail. He was with a Colonial, "Captain Wilkins", and after a short explanation of who Wilkins was, you may remember that he was introduced as a man who had previously fought with the Colonial Militia.
Tavington asked, "Why should I trust a man who betrays his neighbors?". Wilkins answered with "Those neighbors of mine who stand against England deserve to die a traitors death".
I really liked that line because I haven't heard the word "traitor" in a long time. I thought about that for a minute and wondered if political correctness had something to with the word being used less and less during today's day and time. In pursuit of that, I went to google and typed in "Major Hassan verdict" and among everything that was said, I couldn't find the word "Traitor" anywhere. I did find the following , and I quote: .
"Soldiers testified that Hassan's rapid reloading made it all but impossible to stop him. Investigators recovered 146 shell casings in the medical building and dozens more outside, where Hassan shot at the backs of soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot".
I'd never heard that before but it gave me enough information to connect the dots between an active duty, U.S. Army Major calculating a specific act to murder 13 other Army personnel.
It may seem odd to some but I think this death sentence is cause for a party. That's right! In the midst of all the media by-passes of the word "Traitor", I say it's time to celebrate the first death sentence of a sorry piece of meat that committed treason against his Country and dealt so much misery to so many families. I don't want to celebrate killing him, I want to celebrate him being killed for his act of treason even though the media never once used that word.
I don't know exactly when he will be executed but I think we need some bumper stickers, maybe a few yard signs, a short bit of radio time or a little of that you tube stuff. Don't you agree? Maybe we could do a lottery or something where you could buy a ticket for a dollar or two and donate all the proceeds to the families of those that were killed. You know, "Take a dollar chance to win a spot on the firing squad kind of thing". I'd buy one in a heart beat.
Let's think about that for a minute. Even if we only offered tickets in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, I bet that there would be lots of Cowboys, Cajuns, Sooners, Hill Billys and Red Necks that would want to participate. Remember, we aren't like Detroit, we still have a lot of Patriots down here and all of them can shoot.
If that didn't raise enough money to give each family that lost someone, a million dollars, we could do other fund raising stuff. How about bumper stickers? "Hassan, Shoot Him In The Balls And Let Him Bleed Out". That could be one. If you don't like that one, how about, "Hassan, gone to meet virgins without his nuts". Please feel free to comment with your own ideas.
If we can't get that done, maybe we could have a bunch of parties on a Nationwide basis and raise money for the families. Tee shirts would be nice, maybe some baseball caps. Get the women involved, they can do wonders for a good cause like this. This could be a lot of fun and send a message that supports our military judicial system. I like it a lot and I feel read good about this. Maybe we've turned the corner on punishing those who do treasonous acts against our Country. Long live the firing squad.
Shortly after that, there was a scene where the British commander, Colonel William Tavington, showed up to find out what in the hell happened to his detail. He was with a Colonial, "Captain Wilkins", and after a short explanation of who Wilkins was, you may remember that he was introduced as a man who had previously fought with the Colonial Militia.
Tavington asked, "Why should I trust a man who betrays his neighbors?". Wilkins answered with "Those neighbors of mine who stand against England deserve to die a traitors death".
I really liked that line because I haven't heard the word "traitor" in a long time. I thought about that for a minute and wondered if political correctness had something to with the word being used less and less during today's day and time. In pursuit of that, I went to google and typed in "Major Hassan verdict" and among everything that was said, I couldn't find the word "Traitor" anywhere. I did find the following , and I quote: .
"Soldiers testified that Hassan's rapid reloading made it all but impossible to stop him. Investigators recovered 146 shell casings in the medical building and dozens more outside, where Hassan shot at the backs of soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot".
I'd never heard that before but it gave me enough information to connect the dots between an active duty, U.S. Army Major calculating a specific act to murder 13 other Army personnel.
It may seem odd to some but I think this death sentence is cause for a party. That's right! In the midst of all the media by-passes of the word "Traitor", I say it's time to celebrate the first death sentence of a sorry piece of meat that committed treason against his Country and dealt so much misery to so many families. I don't want to celebrate killing him, I want to celebrate him being killed for his act of treason even though the media never once used that word.
I don't know exactly when he will be executed but I think we need some bumper stickers, maybe a few yard signs, a short bit of radio time or a little of that you tube stuff. Don't you agree? Maybe we could do a lottery or something where you could buy a ticket for a dollar or two and donate all the proceeds to the families of those that were killed. You know, "Take a dollar chance to win a spot on the firing squad kind of thing". I'd buy one in a heart beat.
Let's think about that for a minute. Even if we only offered tickets in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, I bet that there would be lots of Cowboys, Cajuns, Sooners, Hill Billys and Red Necks that would want to participate. Remember, we aren't like Detroit, we still have a lot of Patriots down here and all of them can shoot.
If that didn't raise enough money to give each family that lost someone, a million dollars, we could do other fund raising stuff. How about bumper stickers? "Hassan, Shoot Him In The Balls And Let Him Bleed Out". That could be one. If you don't like that one, how about, "Hassan, gone to meet virgins without his nuts". Please feel free to comment with your own ideas.
If we can't get that done, maybe we could have a bunch of parties on a Nationwide basis and raise money for the families. Tee shirts would be nice, maybe some baseball caps. Get the women involved, they can do wonders for a good cause like this. This could be a lot of fun and send a message that supports our military judicial system. I like it a lot and I feel read good about this. Maybe we've turned the corner on punishing those who do treasonous acts against our Country. Long live the firing squad.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
The Pucker Factor Syndrome.
I believe that every single pilot that flew helicopters in Vietnam has experienced "The Pucker Factor". For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, let me explain.
When things get real scary, I mean REAL scary, your butt puckers so much that you don't need a seat belt. Get my drift? All kinds of situations can cause the Pucker Factor to surface. The sound of an AK 47 round hitting the skids of your helicopter will do it. So will a round coming through the dog house. Pucker Factors are not necessarily the result of combat. Other situations can induce various levels of pucker.
A compressor stall will do it, especially if it occurs when you are leaving an LZ with a full load of troops in the back of a Huey. Inexperience can produce it, if the circumstances are right. As I recall it, the first time I experienced the real deal was during a day time mission flying as Craig Wollman's copilot.
We were flying a C&C mission with the Colonel in the back. I didn't know it at the time we departed but I found out immediately that we were heading to an area where a group of our people were in contact with enemy troops not far from Phan Thiet. That's a coastal town on the South China Sea.
The Colonel gave us directions to the site of the battle but that really didn't bother me at all as we were flying at 2,500 feet and everything looked rosy to me. When we arrived at an area that Craig described as "Budda Mountain", I could see some Charlie Model gunships making gun runs. That didn't bother me all that much either.
When I saw some green tracers coming from the mountain toward the gunships, that changed things a little bit but not enough to produce the pucker. When the Colonel saw it, he told Wollman to hold west of the target so we wouldn't be flying through artillery lines of fire.
With Wollman flying at max speed, the Colonel felt that he wasn't given enough time to view the target area. It seemed that we would have to do a 180 degree turn because the battle site wasn't spread out over a very large area. Even though we were flying at a pretty high altitude, the Colonel wasn't happy with the orbit or the time he had with eyes on the target.
I don't recall overhearing any further communications between Wollman and the Colonel but I do recall what happened next. It seemed that out of nowhere, Wollman decided to STOP. That's right. I saw the cyclic coming back and watched the airspeed indicator drop to nearly nothing.
I eventually figured out that Wollman knew exactly what he was doing but to me, it seemed as though he just hovered in one place and put us in a position that gave the bad guys a stationary target to shoot at. All he was really doing was putting the aircraft in a very slow orbit that let the Colonel have all the time he wanted to direct the battle below.
Despite that, having freshly read the book in flight school about NOT doing stuff like that, the ole pucker factor hit with a power that you wouldn't believe.
Wollman eventually explained that the book I read in flight school wasn't the book he was helping to write in combat situations. I eventually figured it all out and actually adopted it when I was flying in Cambodia but I will never forget the first time I experience the Pucker Factor.
I remember it as clearly today as the day it happened and all I have to do to see it is close my eyes and think about it. I would call that a very well remembered lesson in combat tactics from a pilot that was one of the best but I think my counselor at the VA would call that post traumatic stress.
Having explained all of this, let me say that I believe the recent nightmare experience I had was an experience that was stimulated by recent articles I've read about things that are happening in our Country right now. I won't get into them now but I think it's fair to say that any shock of any kind might reconnect your brain to other shocks you've had and produce some recollections of very scary times we've experienced in the past.
In defense of my justifications for these things, let me say: "that before you judge me harshly for thoughts such as these, try to consider that my shock index might be completely different than others and in reality, me and other guys like me, are probably better suited to recognize a real shitty situation than those of you who have never had that ass pucker so tightly that you simply don't know what it's like".
Please refer to the previous post regarding "Invisible Stuff". Thanks to Craig, Terry, Dudley and Kat for the lessons learned.
When things get real scary, I mean REAL scary, your butt puckers so much that you don't need a seat belt. Get my drift? All kinds of situations can cause the Pucker Factor to surface. The sound of an AK 47 round hitting the skids of your helicopter will do it. So will a round coming through the dog house. Pucker Factors are not necessarily the result of combat. Other situations can induce various levels of pucker.
A compressor stall will do it, especially if it occurs when you are leaving an LZ with a full load of troops in the back of a Huey. Inexperience can produce it, if the circumstances are right. As I recall it, the first time I experienced the real deal was during a day time mission flying as Craig Wollman's copilot.
We were flying a C&C mission with the Colonel in the back. I didn't know it at the time we departed but I found out immediately that we were heading to an area where a group of our people were in contact with enemy troops not far from Phan Thiet. That's a coastal town on the South China Sea.
The Colonel gave us directions to the site of the battle but that really didn't bother me at all as we were flying at 2,500 feet and everything looked rosy to me. When we arrived at an area that Craig described as "Budda Mountain", I could see some Charlie Model gunships making gun runs. That didn't bother me all that much either.
When I saw some green tracers coming from the mountain toward the gunships, that changed things a little bit but not enough to produce the pucker. When the Colonel saw it, he told Wollman to hold west of the target so we wouldn't be flying through artillery lines of fire.
With Wollman flying at max speed, the Colonel felt that he wasn't given enough time to view the target area. It seemed that we would have to do a 180 degree turn because the battle site wasn't spread out over a very large area. Even though we were flying at a pretty high altitude, the Colonel wasn't happy with the orbit or the time he had with eyes on the target.
I don't recall overhearing any further communications between Wollman and the Colonel but I do recall what happened next. It seemed that out of nowhere, Wollman decided to STOP. That's right. I saw the cyclic coming back and watched the airspeed indicator drop to nearly nothing.
I eventually figured out that Wollman knew exactly what he was doing but to me, it seemed as though he just hovered in one place and put us in a position that gave the bad guys a stationary target to shoot at. All he was really doing was putting the aircraft in a very slow orbit that let the Colonel have all the time he wanted to direct the battle below.
Despite that, having freshly read the book in flight school about NOT doing stuff like that, the ole pucker factor hit with a power that you wouldn't believe.
Wollman eventually explained that the book I read in flight school wasn't the book he was helping to write in combat situations. I eventually figured it all out and actually adopted it when I was flying in Cambodia but I will never forget the first time I experience the Pucker Factor.
I remember it as clearly today as the day it happened and all I have to do to see it is close my eyes and think about it. I would call that a very well remembered lesson in combat tactics from a pilot that was one of the best but I think my counselor at the VA would call that post traumatic stress.
Having explained all of this, let me say that I believe the recent nightmare experience I had was an experience that was stimulated by recent articles I've read about things that are happening in our Country right now. I won't get into them now but I think it's fair to say that any shock of any kind might reconnect your brain to other shocks you've had and produce some recollections of very scary times we've experienced in the past.
In defense of my justifications for these things, let me say: "that before you judge me harshly for thoughts such as these, try to consider that my shock index might be completely different than others and in reality, me and other guys like me, are probably better suited to recognize a real shitty situation than those of you who have never had that ass pucker so tightly that you simply don't know what it's like".
Please refer to the previous post regarding "Invisible Stuff". Thanks to Craig, Terry, Dudley and Kat for the lessons learned.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Nightmares, Food Stamps And The Idiots Among Us.
I've had a boat load of professionals tell me that they are quite pleased with the progress I've made since the brain surgery. That was July 9th, 2009, and to say that brain surgery, chemo and radiation is a "game changer", is an understatement. I am very much aware that time changes a lot of things but must add: "So does brain surgery".
Some where between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. this morning, I had one hell of a nightmare. It was a shocker to me as I almost never have nightmares. Maybe a hand full over the years and that's it. This one had to do with Cambodia. Many years ago, I had a similar one but it's been so long ago, I can't even remember when it came. Maybe in the 80's.
I don't understand why Cambodia seems to be the focus for so many of the guys I served with but it seems to be the common denominator.
I've written about the great guys that I flew Nighthawks with when I was flying with the 199th and even though I had the shock of a life time during a day light mission on July 4, 1970, the lion's share of near death experiences that occurred when I was flying with Fireball Aviation, came at night. I never flew a single night time mission in Cambodia and from that, it seems a bit unusual that the nightmare that remains is all about Cambodia and the battles fought in the Chup Rubber Plantation.
With this in mind, I wonder why the mass media considers us as "dangerous" or suffering from some kind of "disorder". To me, recalling these things is "order", not disorder. I still believe that forgetting things like that is more dangerous than anything.
When I was a kid, we held the World War II Veterans in the highest regard. I've often wondered why the Vietnam Veteran was not viewed with that same vision. The only difference I can see has to do with "WHO" is holding us in a bad light.
We were raised by depression era men and women who not only saw tough times in the economy but also saw a life of uncertainty that comes with a World War. As I consider the reality of that statement, I can't help but view today's population as one that didn't have to suffer the kinds of things that our parents did and therefore, don't have the same perspective that they had.
It may seem odd to some of you but I think we would be much better off if we returned to some of the things that happened during the depression. How does "Soup Kitchens" sound? If you compare it to today's nightmare of "Food Stamps", I think it's safe to say that the soup kitchens worked a hell of a lot better than today's situation where there's so much fraud in the system that's designed to provide food for those who don't have any, or don't want to earn the money to buy some.
Remember the lady I wrote about from the grocery store? She presented dog food to the check out lady at the store and was told that she couldn't use food stamps for pet food. Hearing that, she told one of her kids to go to the meat market and buy a huge package of ground beef. Do the math on that one. If she can drive to the grocery store, she can drive to the soup kitchen.
As I outline this post and think through all of these things I wonder if THEY are suffering from "Scrambled Brains" instead of me. I also wonder if the reporters from World War II are turning over in their grave because today's reporters simply don't report the realities but instead, they present their opinions about things.
I guess I will have to be satisfied in knowing that I did my duty and have to pay the price. Even though the price of recollection is pretty much the same as the price our World War II Veterans paid, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the knowledge that today's news media gurus are simply full of shit. Ahhh, I feel better now.
.
Some where between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. this morning, I had one hell of a nightmare. It was a shocker to me as I almost never have nightmares. Maybe a hand full over the years and that's it. This one had to do with Cambodia. Many years ago, I had a similar one but it's been so long ago, I can't even remember when it came. Maybe in the 80's.
I don't understand why Cambodia seems to be the focus for so many of the guys I served with but it seems to be the common denominator.
I've written about the great guys that I flew Nighthawks with when I was flying with the 199th and even though I had the shock of a life time during a day light mission on July 4, 1970, the lion's share of near death experiences that occurred when I was flying with Fireball Aviation, came at night. I never flew a single night time mission in Cambodia and from that, it seems a bit unusual that the nightmare that remains is all about Cambodia and the battles fought in the Chup Rubber Plantation.
With this in mind, I wonder why the mass media considers us as "dangerous" or suffering from some kind of "disorder". To me, recalling these things is "order", not disorder. I still believe that forgetting things like that is more dangerous than anything.
When I was a kid, we held the World War II Veterans in the highest regard. I've often wondered why the Vietnam Veteran was not viewed with that same vision. The only difference I can see has to do with "WHO" is holding us in a bad light.
We were raised by depression era men and women who not only saw tough times in the economy but also saw a life of uncertainty that comes with a World War. As I consider the reality of that statement, I can't help but view today's population as one that didn't have to suffer the kinds of things that our parents did and therefore, don't have the same perspective that they had.
It may seem odd to some of you but I think we would be much better off if we returned to some of the things that happened during the depression. How does "Soup Kitchens" sound? If you compare it to today's nightmare of "Food Stamps", I think it's safe to say that the soup kitchens worked a hell of a lot better than today's situation where there's so much fraud in the system that's designed to provide food for those who don't have any, or don't want to earn the money to buy some.
Remember the lady I wrote about from the grocery store? She presented dog food to the check out lady at the store and was told that she couldn't use food stamps for pet food. Hearing that, she told one of her kids to go to the meat market and buy a huge package of ground beef. Do the math on that one. If she can drive to the grocery store, she can drive to the soup kitchen.
As I outline this post and think through all of these things I wonder if THEY are suffering from "Scrambled Brains" instead of me. I also wonder if the reporters from World War II are turning over in their grave because today's reporters simply don't report the realities but instead, they present their opinions about things.
I guess I will have to be satisfied in knowing that I did my duty and have to pay the price. Even though the price of recollection is pretty much the same as the price our World War II Veterans paid, I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the knowledge that today's news media gurus are simply full of shit. Ahhh, I feel better now.
.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Corner of Black Eye Blvd and F*** You Freeway.
Have you ever reached a point in your life where you were stopped in your tracks and forced to make a decision that you didn't necessarily want to make but knew you had to? Well, that's where I am today and I'm sure that it's my own fault.
I've been a participating member of the www.11thacraviation.com site for over 4 years. In view of the fact that we were only stationed in Vietnam for a year, we've pretty much written all we can write about combat missions in Vietnam and Cambodia that occurred during out time in Country. I always had a fear that we would reach a certain point and simply not have anything else to contribute unless we changed our direction and started talking about the effects of the war in our current day lives.
The way I saw it, I felt that we would need to transition into the way things played out in our lives because of Vietnam and if possible, explain to the general public or the history students that were interested, how we viewed those things. We've slowly but surely began the evolutionary journey from combat pilots and infantrymen to citizens of today. With that, there were stories of a different type that can only come from those who survived the war and lived with it for over 40 years.
Initially, there was a moratorium on editorials of a political nature. I posted an editorial or two that focused on the inability to tell the entire story if we couldn't discuss the political aspect of the war. For a time, I simply quit writing because I felt that I had contributed all I could.
At one point, a post was made about draft dodgers and, in my opinion, that post introduced the political aspect in a manner that was accepted by the group and it has slowly but surely grown from there.
If there's a lesson to be learned from that, I think that editorializing political matters during war time has nothing to do with politicians but more to do with the political agenda at the time. Initially, we were pretty careful not to point out any particular politician but eventually, the buck had to stop somewhere and we began to cite facts that came with the leaders of North Vietnam, South Vietnam and then, our own idiots.
Now, as time has progressed and we've become senior citizens, I think that we've reached a point where we either don't give a shit whether we offend anybody or get put on the proverbial "shit list". That attitude has produced some really informative editorials and comments about a number of issues and more than anything, that's why I put the address of the site at the top of this post. I would like to invite you guys and gals who haven't been there, to drop by for a visit and see what combat Veterans have to say about the war, their experiences then and how that has effected them now. It's an interesting read.
Most recently, some contributors appear to be fed up with the bull shit and have simply reached a point where the big picture is more important to history than the simple reports of various battles they took part in. After all, we fought like hell for a year but we've been forced to fight a number of after effects for over 40 years. I think there will be a ton of things unfolding as time moves forward. Stop in and give them a visit. You can go to older posts and read some good stuff about battles or just keep pace with the things that are happening now. No pun intended.
I've been a participating member of the www.11thacraviation.com site for over 4 years. In view of the fact that we were only stationed in Vietnam for a year, we've pretty much written all we can write about combat missions in Vietnam and Cambodia that occurred during out time in Country. I always had a fear that we would reach a certain point and simply not have anything else to contribute unless we changed our direction and started talking about the effects of the war in our current day lives.
The way I saw it, I felt that we would need to transition into the way things played out in our lives because of Vietnam and if possible, explain to the general public or the history students that were interested, how we viewed those things. We've slowly but surely began the evolutionary journey from combat pilots and infantrymen to citizens of today. With that, there were stories of a different type that can only come from those who survived the war and lived with it for over 40 years.
Initially, there was a moratorium on editorials of a political nature. I posted an editorial or two that focused on the inability to tell the entire story if we couldn't discuss the political aspect of the war. For a time, I simply quit writing because I felt that I had contributed all I could.
At one point, a post was made about draft dodgers and, in my opinion, that post introduced the political aspect in a manner that was accepted by the group and it has slowly but surely grown from there.
If there's a lesson to be learned from that, I think that editorializing political matters during war time has nothing to do with politicians but more to do with the political agenda at the time. Initially, we were pretty careful not to point out any particular politician but eventually, the buck had to stop somewhere and we began to cite facts that came with the leaders of North Vietnam, South Vietnam and then, our own idiots.
Now, as time has progressed and we've become senior citizens, I think that we've reached a point where we either don't give a shit whether we offend anybody or get put on the proverbial "shit list". That attitude has produced some really informative editorials and comments about a number of issues and more than anything, that's why I put the address of the site at the top of this post. I would like to invite you guys and gals who haven't been there, to drop by for a visit and see what combat Veterans have to say about the war, their experiences then and how that has effected them now. It's an interesting read.
Most recently, some contributors appear to be fed up with the bull shit and have simply reached a point where the big picture is more important to history than the simple reports of various battles they took part in. After all, we fought like hell for a year but we've been forced to fight a number of after effects for over 40 years. I think there will be a ton of things unfolding as time moves forward. Stop in and give them a visit. You can go to older posts and read some good stuff about battles or just keep pace with the things that are happening now. No pun intended.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Are we running out of time or running out of excuses?
The more I study the overall history of mankind, the more I wonder why we haven't done something a bit more positive, to change the stupidity that mankind has shown in his behavior. With all the statistics that are available on line, statistics that give you the body count in millions, I believe that the greatest thing we did was rid ourselves of tyranny when kicked every red coat ass we could get our hands on.
Don't forget that the first lesson that was given to Cornwallis when he was forced to surrender unconditionally to Washington, wasn't enough. Remember the Battle of New Orleans? I think that was sometime around 1812 or 1814.
With that in mind, please know that I for one, am more clear than ever, that Americans have done more to alleviate the sufferings of man than any other nation I can think of. If you are a regular reader here, I'm sure that you've been given enough statistics to prove that claim to be true.
If you don't agree completely with that statement, you might at least agree that we aren't seeing any more accounts of 6 million murders here, 20 million casualties there or anything that's even close to that.
Despite those facts, it appears that even though we helped remove the murderous dictators from power, dictators that murdered millions and caused the deaths of tens of millions, apparently, the job ain't over yet. We are now seeing signs that proclaim "We will dominate the world". With regard to that, I say: "You won't dominate my part of the world, asshole".
In recent years, after I came up with the idea that I needed to do something to help the cause, I concluded that the best thing I could do would be to inspire men like me, combat veterans, to do something positive to help out the guys that have to go undo all the things that threaten our lives. Some might say that it's a selfish idea that is intended to keep me off the roles of those who are listed as "killed in action", but I assure you, it's way more than that.
As a first step I took a look at the devotion to God, Country and then, the various units that every Veteran served with during their time in service. My first unit, The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, according to the net, is no longer around. I have remained in contact with several members of the old "Fireball Aviation" section, but there isn't a post or Fort that I'm aware of, where I can contribute anything.
On the other hand, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is still alive and, according to Curt, Ed, and John, they are doing very well in California and are commanded by the best of the best. I can not tell you how pleased I was to read about Curt's explanation that focused on the character that exists in their command staff.
It does my heart and soul good to know that but experience also delivered a little paranoia with Curt's report. I began to wonder what it would be like for the command staff to receive the kinds of orders that hindered their ability to perform.
I say that because I remember the shock we all had when we heard that we were no longer allowed to defoliate the jungle and take away the very foliage that the VC and the NVA hid behind. To this day, I consider that to be a lame ass decision that cost Dan and Blick their lives and further caused the medical evacuation of others who were so badly wounded that they could no longer fly combat missions. Many of you here know who they are, Manny, Mike O, Bock and many others.
In addition to that, I remember the concerns from Raider 6 when he realized that this particular decision aided and abetted the enemy in their efforts to ambush the ground troops and shoot down the Scout pilots that were trying to track them through the jungle.
I can only imagine what it's like now. I don't know the specifics that tie the hands behind the back of our commanders and the troops under their command, but you can bet your ass that they're out there. Having said all that and still being un-effective in my wishes to help them out, I began to wonder if I'm running out of time or running out of excuses. Thus the title of this post.
Hand salute to the command staff of our men and women. We support you much more than we are able to show..........at this time.
Don't forget that the first lesson that was given to Cornwallis when he was forced to surrender unconditionally to Washington, wasn't enough. Remember the Battle of New Orleans? I think that was sometime around 1812 or 1814.
With that in mind, please know that I for one, am more clear than ever, that Americans have done more to alleviate the sufferings of man than any other nation I can think of. If you are a regular reader here, I'm sure that you've been given enough statistics to prove that claim to be true.
If you don't agree completely with that statement, you might at least agree that we aren't seeing any more accounts of 6 million murders here, 20 million casualties there or anything that's even close to that.
Despite those facts, it appears that even though we helped remove the murderous dictators from power, dictators that murdered millions and caused the deaths of tens of millions, apparently, the job ain't over yet. We are now seeing signs that proclaim "We will dominate the world". With regard to that, I say: "You won't dominate my part of the world, asshole".
In recent years, after I came up with the idea that I needed to do something to help the cause, I concluded that the best thing I could do would be to inspire men like me, combat veterans, to do something positive to help out the guys that have to go undo all the things that threaten our lives. Some might say that it's a selfish idea that is intended to keep me off the roles of those who are listed as "killed in action", but I assure you, it's way more than that.
As a first step I took a look at the devotion to God, Country and then, the various units that every Veteran served with during their time in service. My first unit, The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, according to the net, is no longer around. I have remained in contact with several members of the old "Fireball Aviation" section, but there isn't a post or Fort that I'm aware of, where I can contribute anything.
On the other hand, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is still alive and, according to Curt, Ed, and John, they are doing very well in California and are commanded by the best of the best. I can not tell you how pleased I was to read about Curt's explanation that focused on the character that exists in their command staff.
It does my heart and soul good to know that but experience also delivered a little paranoia with Curt's report. I began to wonder what it would be like for the command staff to receive the kinds of orders that hindered their ability to perform.
I say that because I remember the shock we all had when we heard that we were no longer allowed to defoliate the jungle and take away the very foliage that the VC and the NVA hid behind. To this day, I consider that to be a lame ass decision that cost Dan and Blick their lives and further caused the medical evacuation of others who were so badly wounded that they could no longer fly combat missions. Many of you here know who they are, Manny, Mike O, Bock and many others.
In addition to that, I remember the concerns from Raider 6 when he realized that this particular decision aided and abetted the enemy in their efforts to ambush the ground troops and shoot down the Scout pilots that were trying to track them through the jungle.
I can only imagine what it's like now. I don't know the specifics that tie the hands behind the back of our commanders and the troops under their command, but you can bet your ass that they're out there. Having said all that and still being un-effective in my wishes to help them out, I began to wonder if I'm running out of time or running out of excuses. Thus the title of this post.
Hand salute to the command staff of our men and women. We support you much more than we are able to show..........at this time.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Important Dates In History
With recent studies of important dates in history, I stumbled across August 23rd. This just happened to be the date, in 1934, that Hitler and Stalin got together to sign the infamous Non-Aggression Pact. In Hitler's eyes, it prevented a two front war. For Stalin, it simply bought time. "In a secret side agreement, signed on the same day, they agreed on the imminent carving up between them of the nations of Eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the Black Sea".
On the same date, August 23rd, but this time, in 1996, there was another document drawn up that appears to hold promise of a catastrophe that is far worse than the Hitler and Stalin Non-Aggression Pact. This one was signed by Osama Bin Laden and it was a Declaration of War against America.
Now comes some of that Arithmetic . If you count heads, you'll see that the number of troops that Hitler and Stalin put together for the Second World War, and compare that to the number of Cult members that follow the teachings of Bin Laden, you'll discover that there are many times more than either Hitler or Stalin had. Isn't that an interesting note to make.
As I left August and proceeded into September, I came across September 11th, or as we refer to it, 911. I was already wondering what in the hell made 911 so special to the Cult when I came across a very interesting story.
It seems that the Turks wanted Austria and in 1697 the Austrian Emperor Leopold I, ordered Prince Eugene of Savoy to kick their asses out, once and for all time. They had already had one hell of a battle in 1693 when the Turks retreated to the Balkans, an area that allowed them to pose a never ending threat to return for another fight.
Having had enough of that, Eugene was ordered by Leopold I to move forward with an attack and forward he went. He caught up with the army of Sultan Mustafa II near Zenta which is or was present day Yugoslavia where the Danube meets the Tisza. At the time he arrived, he discovered that Mustafa had already transported his artillery across the river but left his infantry, for a moment, on the other side of the river while he did conducted that maneuver. That's when Eugene saw his chance to kick ass and not even worry about taking names.
He ordered an attack because he knew, that without artillery, their asses belonged to him. He also knew that the majority of the enemy was made up of "Janissaries" who were kidnapped from Christian families when they were kids, forced to convert to the Cult and would most probably haul ass when the fighting began. That's exactly what they did.
By the time it was all over, 20,000 Turks lay dead on the field with another 10,000 drowned in the river when they tried to escape. Austrian losses amounted to only 300 killed. Talk about a body count and a kill ratio! These boys did a J. O. B. on the Cult members and it all happened on September 11th. Credit for this information goes to W.B. Marsh & Bruce Carrick from "Great Stories From History For Every Day", The Fall River Press.
With all this history in place, I wonder if the 1996 declaration will end up providing the same result that the 1934 agreement did. I'll have a little more to say about that later. As a former 11th Armored Cavalry officer, I have my own version of what the "11th" will really mean. Enjoy your week end.
.
On the same date, August 23rd, but this time, in 1996, there was another document drawn up that appears to hold promise of a catastrophe that is far worse than the Hitler and Stalin Non-Aggression Pact. This one was signed by Osama Bin Laden and it was a Declaration of War against America.
Now comes some of that Arithmetic . If you count heads, you'll see that the number of troops that Hitler and Stalin put together for the Second World War, and compare that to the number of Cult members that follow the teachings of Bin Laden, you'll discover that there are many times more than either Hitler or Stalin had. Isn't that an interesting note to make.
As I left August and proceeded into September, I came across September 11th, or as we refer to it, 911. I was already wondering what in the hell made 911 so special to the Cult when I came across a very interesting story.
It seems that the Turks wanted Austria and in 1697 the Austrian Emperor Leopold I, ordered Prince Eugene of Savoy to kick their asses out, once and for all time. They had already had one hell of a battle in 1693 when the Turks retreated to the Balkans, an area that allowed them to pose a never ending threat to return for another fight.
Having had enough of that, Eugene was ordered by Leopold I to move forward with an attack and forward he went. He caught up with the army of Sultan Mustafa II near Zenta which is or was present day Yugoslavia where the Danube meets the Tisza. At the time he arrived, he discovered that Mustafa had already transported his artillery across the river but left his infantry, for a moment, on the other side of the river while he did conducted that maneuver. That's when Eugene saw his chance to kick ass and not even worry about taking names.
He ordered an attack because he knew, that without artillery, their asses belonged to him. He also knew that the majority of the enemy was made up of "Janissaries" who were kidnapped from Christian families when they were kids, forced to convert to the Cult and would most probably haul ass when the fighting began. That's exactly what they did.
By the time it was all over, 20,000 Turks lay dead on the field with another 10,000 drowned in the river when they tried to escape. Austrian losses amounted to only 300 killed. Talk about a body count and a kill ratio! These boys did a J. O. B. on the Cult members and it all happened on September 11th. Credit for this information goes to W.B. Marsh & Bruce Carrick from "Great Stories From History For Every Day", The Fall River Press.
With all this history in place, I wonder if the 1996 declaration will end up providing the same result that the 1934 agreement did. I'll have a little more to say about that later. As a former 11th Armored Cavalry officer, I have my own version of what the "11th" will really mean. Enjoy your week end.
.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Wood, Ass and Combat
I guess that's a bit of a strange title but I've had so many readers ask me where I come up with some of this stuff, I felt it was okay to add this.
I've been trying to make a point about the need of having a Patriot's Cabin where guys like us can meet. Knowing that I need to teach a few things that brings me to decisions like this one, I often think about some of the lessons I learned from Melissa about teaching and learning.
She used to say that "everybody has their own learning style" but she also said that "everybody has their own teaching style". She said that it was critically important to make sure that one's teaching style worked well with one's learning style". Recently, in the midst of thinking how I might get my point across, I came across an old saying that came with diction and articulation lessons.
"How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood"?
As I have gone through debate after debate about many different military things, I considered the following as an appropriate attention getter when trying to make a humorous point about the seriousness of war.
"How many asses can ass kickers kick when ass kickers have to kick ass"?
The answer to that question is as follows:
Revolutionary War, the British lost 24,000 and we lost 10,000.
World War 1, the Germans lost 1.7 million.
World War 2, the Germans lost somewhere between 4.3 to 5.5 million. Sources vary on the number.
the Japanese lost 2,120,000.
I don't think that Korea and Vietnam needed to be added here but suffice it to say that we have shown a capacity to do a lot of killing when we are threatened. Since there's no way of knowing the answer to that question, if today's day and times brings us to a point where we have to kick a lot of ass, just remember the words about ass kicking and the statistics in the paragraph above.
I've been trying to make a point about the need of having a Patriot's Cabin where guys like us can meet. Knowing that I need to teach a few things that brings me to decisions like this one, I often think about some of the lessons I learned from Melissa about teaching and learning.
She used to say that "everybody has their own learning style" but she also said that "everybody has their own teaching style". She said that it was critically important to make sure that one's teaching style worked well with one's learning style". Recently, in the midst of thinking how I might get my point across, I came across an old saying that came with diction and articulation lessons.
"How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood"?
As I have gone through debate after debate about many different military things, I considered the following as an appropriate attention getter when trying to make a humorous point about the seriousness of war.
"How many asses can ass kickers kick when ass kickers have to kick ass"?
The answer to that question is as follows:
Revolutionary War, the British lost 24,000 and we lost 10,000.
World War 1, the Germans lost 1.7 million.
World War 2, the Germans lost somewhere between 4.3 to 5.5 million. Sources vary on the number.
the Japanese lost 2,120,000.
I don't think that Korea and Vietnam needed to be added here but suffice it to say that we have shown a capacity to do a lot of killing when we are threatened. Since there's no way of knowing the answer to that question, if today's day and times brings us to a point where we have to kick a lot of ass, just remember the words about ass kicking and the statistics in the paragraph above.
General Wolfe promotion...again.
I don't know if one day as a Brigadier General is enough to give him another star but I've decided to do that anyway. He sent a comment to advise all that the prices for airline tickets to Little Rock are round trip prices. He also told me not to forget to add the fact that he also flew scouts for six months. In view of that, I decided to put shame on his....I mean promote him to Corp Commander and give him a second star. That way, he can appoint and promote his own people on the East Coast and simply inform me later. As the Patriot Group grows, we will need a lot of men and Eddie is a good one to do that. Congrats again to Major General Wolfe.
Now that I have that straight, be advised that I have heard from Colonel Malmay and will have a meeting with him shortly as I go to the hospital on Thursday. I've also heard from Colonel Dupuy. He sent a picture of a trout he caught on his fly fishing trip. He had it stuffed into a huge coffee mug but didn't add anything to that report other than "Have a nice cuppa trout". Must be some kinda code.
I have other stuff to say but I wanted to get Major General Wolfe's promotion and Scouting experience in here before I moved along. More to come. Gotta run.
Now that I have that straight, be advised that I have heard from Colonel Malmay and will have a meeting with him shortly as I go to the hospital on Thursday. I've also heard from Colonel Dupuy. He sent a picture of a trout he caught on his fly fishing trip. He had it stuffed into a huge coffee mug but didn't add anything to that report other than "Have a nice cuppa trout". Must be some kinda code.
I have other stuff to say but I wanted to get Major General Wolfe's promotion and Scouting experience in here before I moved along. More to come. Gotta run.
Monday, October 14, 2013
General Wolfe Reports
If you go back to August 15th, you'll see a post that I made entitled "Promotions and Appointments". Maybe it was: Appointments and Promotions but in either event, I have to make another one. I'm promoting Colonel Wolfe to Brigadier General.
At the moment, I'm not sure what kind of decision he will make as it relates to who will end up as the Commanding Officer of Ft Wolfe Pennsylvania but I will leave that up to him as he's in a much better position to make that decision than I am. While I'm dealing out the promotion cards, I think I will also make him a Corp Commander and have him take the position of point man to appoint other Colonels in his command area.
Yesterday, Colonel Dupuy, a French name that is pronounced Doo Pwee, reported from the Gilbert Café which is across the street from one of the Patriot's Cabins. He is the guy I mentioned earlier in some of my reports and I've been good friends with him since high school. He's a hefty 6'9" tall bad boy who sometimes describes himself as 5' 21" tall. Yesterday marked the second trip he's made to Gilbert and he is totally convinced that is the best possible place for all of us to meet. After all, if it was good enough for the Younger Brothers to hide there when the law was after Jessie James and his associates, it ought to be good enough for us.
I'm happy to report that he visited with the owner yesterday and while doing so, put her on the phone to me. She has offered "The Razorback Room", one of several dining rooms at the Gilbert Café, as a meeting room for all who can attend the meeting. You can see that particular room by going to Google and typing in Gilbert Café Arkansas Face book.
I think I need to appoint her as the Commanding Officer of Ft. Jernigan Arkansas. Jernigan is her maiden name but I'm using that because her father was a graduate from Marion Military Institute and a real hero from the Second World War.
We already have another woman in our group and she was promoted to Colonel, too. Her name is Lisa Jawar and she works with Colonel Waylon Malmay in the radiation department at the VA. I believe she is the Chief of Staff for The Patriot Cabin Medical Services but I will have to get with Colonel Malmay to make sure.
If you look back to some of the pictures posted here, she is one of the two blonds kissing me on the cheek when I finished my last day of chemo at the hospital. Her husband is a surgeon but I haven't asked her to bring him along just yet as I know his schedule is full. I met him at El Chico's one night and I am positive that he would fit right in. I'll let you guys know when I next see Lisa and Waylon...uh.....Colonels Jawar and Malmay.
In any event, I wrote about General Wolfe a while back. He was my first room mate in Vietnam when we were flying with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Long Binh and Xuan Loc. When the unit went home in September of 1970, I went to the 11th Cav at Dian to fly Night Hawk Gunships and Scouts on Hunter Killer Teams and he went to the 25 Infantry Division to fly Cobras from Cu Chi which was real close to our base.
As a last point to make this morning, I will pass along some of the flight information that General Wolfe submitted. He advised that there were several prices listed but let's just say that they come in between $350 to $450. That focuses on the costs to come from Pennsylvania to Little Rock. I'm not sure if it's one way or round trip but in any event, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the $1600 round trip between Saigon and Shreveport in December of 1970.
Congratulations to General Wolfe and his foxy, Corvette driving wife, Ginny. More later when I hear back from Colonel Malmay.
At the moment, I'm not sure what kind of decision he will make as it relates to who will end up as the Commanding Officer of Ft Wolfe Pennsylvania but I will leave that up to him as he's in a much better position to make that decision than I am. While I'm dealing out the promotion cards, I think I will also make him a Corp Commander and have him take the position of point man to appoint other Colonels in his command area.
Yesterday, Colonel Dupuy, a French name that is pronounced Doo Pwee, reported from the Gilbert Café which is across the street from one of the Patriot's Cabins. He is the guy I mentioned earlier in some of my reports and I've been good friends with him since high school. He's a hefty 6'9" tall bad boy who sometimes describes himself as 5' 21" tall. Yesterday marked the second trip he's made to Gilbert and he is totally convinced that is the best possible place for all of us to meet. After all, if it was good enough for the Younger Brothers to hide there when the law was after Jessie James and his associates, it ought to be good enough for us.
I'm happy to report that he visited with the owner yesterday and while doing so, put her on the phone to me. She has offered "The Razorback Room", one of several dining rooms at the Gilbert Café, as a meeting room for all who can attend the meeting. You can see that particular room by going to Google and typing in Gilbert Café Arkansas Face book.
I think I need to appoint her as the Commanding Officer of Ft. Jernigan Arkansas. Jernigan is her maiden name but I'm using that because her father was a graduate from Marion Military Institute and a real hero from the Second World War.
We already have another woman in our group and she was promoted to Colonel, too. Her name is Lisa Jawar and she works with Colonel Waylon Malmay in the radiation department at the VA. I believe she is the Chief of Staff for The Patriot Cabin Medical Services but I will have to get with Colonel Malmay to make sure.
If you look back to some of the pictures posted here, she is one of the two blonds kissing me on the cheek when I finished my last day of chemo at the hospital. Her husband is a surgeon but I haven't asked her to bring him along just yet as I know his schedule is full. I met him at El Chico's one night and I am positive that he would fit right in. I'll let you guys know when I next see Lisa and Waylon...uh.....Colonels Jawar and Malmay.
In any event, I wrote about General Wolfe a while back. He was my first room mate in Vietnam when we were flying with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Long Binh and Xuan Loc. When the unit went home in September of 1970, I went to the 11th Cav at Dian to fly Night Hawk Gunships and Scouts on Hunter Killer Teams and he went to the 25 Infantry Division to fly Cobras from Cu Chi which was real close to our base.
As a last point to make this morning, I will pass along some of the flight information that General Wolfe submitted. He advised that there were several prices listed but let's just say that they come in between $350 to $450. That focuses on the costs to come from Pennsylvania to Little Rock. I'm not sure if it's one way or round trip but in any event, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the $1600 round trip between Saigon and Shreveport in December of 1970.
Congratulations to General Wolfe and his foxy, Corvette driving wife, Ginny. More later when I hear back from Colonel Malmay.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Y'all wanna go to the cabin?
I can't seem to get the Patriot's Cabin off my mind. For several years now, I've been thinking about a mini reunion of sorts but the combat Vets I know live all over the Country and it just ain't that easy to pull off a reunion that's so far away from the guy's homes. Craig is in the Dakotas, Lt. Doug is in New York, Eddie and Bill live in Pennsylvania, Doc Young, Curt Lambert and John Finnerty as well as Ed Usrey live in California and Chuck lives in Alaska. Some of the guys from down here say "That's a fer piece" as in a long distance to travel.
I then thought about our 5th WOC Tac Officer, Bernie Diable, and when I did, the light bulb came on. Bernie lives in KC and he could make it to the Ozarks and the Buffalo River which would be a pretty easy drive for him to make. Mike, a Cobra pilot buddy of mine, could drive it in less than 2 hours as he lives close to Fayetteville, Arkansas and Greg Stevens, USAF, is only 90 miles south of the Buffalo River and has already been there.
I only need a few good men to show up and among those I've mentioned I think that it would be somewhat easy to get this done over a 3 day week end. That may not be easy for Billy, Ed and Doug but if just one of them from the Northeast could show up, he could pass along the information to the other guys as Billy and Ed don't live all that far from New York and they could talk to the famous Doug Womack in Maryland and Lt. Haywood in New York.
A high school buddy of mine is leaving here today and heading to the "Gilbert Café" in Gilbert, Arkansas for a six day long fly fishing trip. He's pulling a 29' long travel trailer and agrees that the Gilbert Café would be a great place for all of us to meet. I know the Mayor and I'm certain that he would not only welcome all of us, I'm sure he would give us the use of the Gilbert Town Hall to have our meeting in. Google Gilbert Café Arkansas and go to their facebook page.
If some of you forward thinkers would do a little planning, I would ask you to get on those computers and figure out how much a round trip ticket would cost for you to fly into Little Rock. We can pick you up at the airport and drive you to and from the Patriot's cabin for the week end. I did that for Curt Lambert and was quite happy with the round trip ticket prices from California to Little Rock and figured that many of you might be able to do that without it breaking the bank.
Now, with regard to the name "Patriot's Cabin", that name popped into my mind after I finished doing a little study of Paul Revere and all his buddies. He met with his guys in Taverns, Barns and Cabins to discuss current events from his day and time and quite frankly, I think it's time for us to do the same. It may even be past the time that we needed to meet.
For you faithful readers of this blog and the editorials posted on the aircav site of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, you are already aware of the facts from history that tell us what has to be done when certain things happen. As an example of that, let me ask a question: If the shit hit the fan right now, what would you do? If you are already prepared, you wouldn't have to worry about that. If you have to ask yourself what you would do, you may already be too late.
I have a 31' motorhome hidden away in the country side not far from home. Lots of deer, plenty of fish and some of the best farm land that the Red River Valley has to offer. I'll be fine even though I'm not sure what to prepare for. I just prepared for everything.
In any event, if we accomplish nothing but having a great reunion of friends from way back when, it should be well worth the time and effort to do it. If the shit hits the fan, it would sure be nice to have that connection re-established with men that I know as bad ass combat Veterans, who know how to take care of bidness. Just give it some thought, that's all I ask. Thanks, Tim
I then thought about our 5th WOC Tac Officer, Bernie Diable, and when I did, the light bulb came on. Bernie lives in KC and he could make it to the Ozarks and the Buffalo River which would be a pretty easy drive for him to make. Mike, a Cobra pilot buddy of mine, could drive it in less than 2 hours as he lives close to Fayetteville, Arkansas and Greg Stevens, USAF, is only 90 miles south of the Buffalo River and has already been there.
I only need a few good men to show up and among those I've mentioned I think that it would be somewhat easy to get this done over a 3 day week end. That may not be easy for Billy, Ed and Doug but if just one of them from the Northeast could show up, he could pass along the information to the other guys as Billy and Ed don't live all that far from New York and they could talk to the famous Doug Womack in Maryland and Lt. Haywood in New York.
A high school buddy of mine is leaving here today and heading to the "Gilbert Café" in Gilbert, Arkansas for a six day long fly fishing trip. He's pulling a 29' long travel trailer and agrees that the Gilbert Café would be a great place for all of us to meet. I know the Mayor and I'm certain that he would not only welcome all of us, I'm sure he would give us the use of the Gilbert Town Hall to have our meeting in. Google Gilbert Café Arkansas and go to their facebook page.
If some of you forward thinkers would do a little planning, I would ask you to get on those computers and figure out how much a round trip ticket would cost for you to fly into Little Rock. We can pick you up at the airport and drive you to and from the Patriot's cabin for the week end. I did that for Curt Lambert and was quite happy with the round trip ticket prices from California to Little Rock and figured that many of you might be able to do that without it breaking the bank.
Now, with regard to the name "Patriot's Cabin", that name popped into my mind after I finished doing a little study of Paul Revere and all his buddies. He met with his guys in Taverns, Barns and Cabins to discuss current events from his day and time and quite frankly, I think it's time for us to do the same. It may even be past the time that we needed to meet.
For you faithful readers of this blog and the editorials posted on the aircav site of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, you are already aware of the facts from history that tell us what has to be done when certain things happen. As an example of that, let me ask a question: If the shit hit the fan right now, what would you do? If you are already prepared, you wouldn't have to worry about that. If you have to ask yourself what you would do, you may already be too late.
I have a 31' motorhome hidden away in the country side not far from home. Lots of deer, plenty of fish and some of the best farm land that the Red River Valley has to offer. I'll be fine even though I'm not sure what to prepare for. I just prepared for everything.
In any event, if we accomplish nothing but having a great reunion of friends from way back when, it should be well worth the time and effort to do it. If the shit hits the fan, it would sure be nice to have that connection re-established with men that I know as bad ass combat Veterans, who know how to take care of bidness. Just give it some thought, that's all I ask. Thanks, Tim
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Defeating Political Correctness.
I've been doing a great deal of study to achieve a better understanding of Political Correctness. Oddly enough, during that study, I came across a guy named Maximilian Weber. He was a German scientist that died in 1920. Even though his death came before the development of the Nazi Party, I found it quite interesting to see that he was so curious about the conduct of certain groups.
Rather than posting a lengthy editorial about Max, let me suggest that you google him and read what you find there. I assure you that you will, at a minimum, find it to be interesting if not somewhat prophetic. Remember, he died before Hitler came along.
In any event, I would like to note a thing or two from Weber's study that made my light bulb come on. Initially, he said that his main concern was understanding the "rationalization" of some groups. He also mentioned the "Purpose and meaning that individuals attach to their own actions".
If you stop right there and think about it, you might conclude that a wide variety of groups who have an agenda that is outside the conventional boundaries of the status quo, you may be able to see why those groups are referred to as cults. Knowing who is listed in the top ten cults that are found within the Country, you may understand why they get so pissed off when you refer to them as a cult. Here's a quick note to explain that.
Charles Manson's Family, even though they weren't based on some kind of religious claim, was rated in the top 3. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians was up there and so was Jim Jones, the guy that led the cool aid drinkers that led to their mass suicide.
In any event, I wanted to post this thought about using the word "Cult" instead of using real words that might get one into trouble. Just so you'll know, I might use Cult Brotherhood as a word to describe the M*&$^) Brotherhood. Got it? Google ole Max and enjoy the read. It's not long but hopefully, it will turn on your light bulb like it turned on mine.
Gotta grab my tin foil hat and go meet Ed at the Kool Aid bar. Enjoy it.
Tim
Rather than posting a lengthy editorial about Max, let me suggest that you google him and read what you find there. I assure you that you will, at a minimum, find it to be interesting if not somewhat prophetic. Remember, he died before Hitler came along.
In any event, I would like to note a thing or two from Weber's study that made my light bulb come on. Initially, he said that his main concern was understanding the "rationalization" of some groups. He also mentioned the "Purpose and meaning that individuals attach to their own actions".
If you stop right there and think about it, you might conclude that a wide variety of groups who have an agenda that is outside the conventional boundaries of the status quo, you may be able to see why those groups are referred to as cults. Knowing who is listed in the top ten cults that are found within the Country, you may understand why they get so pissed off when you refer to them as a cult. Here's a quick note to explain that.
Charles Manson's Family, even though they weren't based on some kind of religious claim, was rated in the top 3. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians was up there and so was Jim Jones, the guy that led the cool aid drinkers that led to their mass suicide.
In any event, I wanted to post this thought about using the word "Cult" instead of using real words that might get one into trouble. Just so you'll know, I might use Cult Brotherhood as a word to describe the M*&$^) Brotherhood. Got it? Google ole Max and enjoy the read. It's not long but hopefully, it will turn on your light bulb like it turned on mine.
Gotta grab my tin foil hat and go meet Ed at the Kool Aid bar. Enjoy it.
Tim
Friday, October 11, 2013
Getting back on track
I've been very busy with a study about Cults and have not had an opportunity to post anything here in a few days. Stand by as I'm almost finished and have my hand written notes ready to go. Gotta go to the hospital today but should be finished by 2 p.m. or so. If I'm not exhausted by then, I'll try to get on it and pass it along.
Tim
Tim
Monday, September 30, 2013
The Caddo Patriots or The Patriot's Cabin
I have been working on a book for a long time and most of these posts have been generated by the studies I've made regarding some of the things that I intend to put in the book.
With all the things that are going on right now, I've done a lot of thinking about Paul Revere and his buddies as well as the first and second Continental Congress. From that, I've put together something similar but I've converted it to today's day and time. I don't see much difference between then and now. Even though the times have changed, the situation really hasn't changed that much.
There most definitely is a move going on and that move is to undo us all and force us into something that isn't anywhere near the One Nation Under God thing that we've fought so hard to keep.
I wanted the opening sequence in the book to begin with a story about my drive to attend a meeting of all my life long friends and Veteran buddies from the Vietnam War. As I see it, we are all going to the Buffalo River in Gilbert, Arkansas to rent a group of cabins where we can discuss the same kinds of things that Paul Revere had to discuss hen the British were coming.
Curt, I want you to get ready for the trip. Mike, it's close enough for you to drive over from Bentonville and represent your buddies. Bernie, it ain't that far from KC and you can drive down for an overnighter. Bring Shannon and please feel free to bring your daughter. Craig, it's a long way from your place to Gilbert, Arkansas but I would love to see you, Dudley and Eddie make it. The invitation is open to all the guys from Fireball Aviation.
The same holds true for Baltimore Doug and Doug LT from New York. Billy, Pennsylvania is a long haul as well but maybe you and Ed Wolfe can hook up and caravan on down if y'all don't fly.
If you google "The Gilbert Café" in Gilbert, Arkansas you can get an idea about a little town of 33 people that lies on the banks of the Buffalo River and see why I picked that town for the meeting. Jessie James had some of his buddies from the Younger Brothers hid out there long ago. It's a cool place to hide out. I lived there for 7 months and speak from experience.
In any event, the book started out as the Caddo Patriots because I was born and raised in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The more I got into it, the more I realized that it would take a hell of a lot more people to do what needs to be done so I just moved the meeting from there to Gilbert and changed the title to "The Patriot's Cabin". Just think about it. More later, I have to do a bit of writing in the book so I may be off here for a day or two.
With all the things that are going on right now, I've done a lot of thinking about Paul Revere and his buddies as well as the first and second Continental Congress. From that, I've put together something similar but I've converted it to today's day and time. I don't see much difference between then and now. Even though the times have changed, the situation really hasn't changed that much.
There most definitely is a move going on and that move is to undo us all and force us into something that isn't anywhere near the One Nation Under God thing that we've fought so hard to keep.
I wanted the opening sequence in the book to begin with a story about my drive to attend a meeting of all my life long friends and Veteran buddies from the Vietnam War. As I see it, we are all going to the Buffalo River in Gilbert, Arkansas to rent a group of cabins where we can discuss the same kinds of things that Paul Revere had to discuss hen the British were coming.
Curt, I want you to get ready for the trip. Mike, it's close enough for you to drive over from Bentonville and represent your buddies. Bernie, it ain't that far from KC and you can drive down for an overnighter. Bring Shannon and please feel free to bring your daughter. Craig, it's a long way from your place to Gilbert, Arkansas but I would love to see you, Dudley and Eddie make it. The invitation is open to all the guys from Fireball Aviation.
The same holds true for Baltimore Doug and Doug LT from New York. Billy, Pennsylvania is a long haul as well but maybe you and Ed Wolfe can hook up and caravan on down if y'all don't fly.
If you google "The Gilbert Café" in Gilbert, Arkansas you can get an idea about a little town of 33 people that lies on the banks of the Buffalo River and see why I picked that town for the meeting. Jessie James had some of his buddies from the Younger Brothers hid out there long ago. It's a cool place to hide out. I lived there for 7 months and speak from experience.
In any event, the book started out as the Caddo Patriots because I was born and raised in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The more I got into it, the more I realized that it would take a hell of a lot more people to do what needs to be done so I just moved the meeting from there to Gilbert and changed the title to "The Patriot's Cabin". Just think about it. More later, I have to do a bit of writing in the book so I may be off here for a day or two.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Y'all see all this invisible stuff?
I was hoping that some of you guys might have already connected the dots from the things I've laid out in the previous posts I've made here. If you haven't made it that far, here's a look at some of that invisible stuff.
When the NVA decided to sneak into South Vietnam, they didn't take the Interstate. Many of them chose the most heavily vegetated part of the South and more or less hacked their way through it with machete styled cutting tools and other implements that made the impenetrable jungle, a bit easier to navigate. They knew we couldn't see them and they used that old trick of being invisible, to make their way into Vietnam.
At that point in time, we began to use electronic sensors and helicopter mounted sniffers to detect any movements through the jungle. They could detect movement in areas that were simply unsuitable or impractical for us to use old style, scouts on the ground, recon missions. When the NVA losses continued to rise in those areas, they began using Laos and Cambodia as alternative routes to make it to the part of South Vietnam they were instructed to go.
If we didn't have a presence in Cambodia or Laos, they couldn't be seen and in a sense, they were somewhat invisible again. When we finally went into Cambodia, there was one hell of a battle but it definitely slowed the troop movements and resupply efforts that were going on prior to our invasion.
There are many ways to be effective in war time maneuvers. If you don't have a Navy, no carriers, no landing craft, no submarines, that particular method isn't even on the drawing boards. You have to do something else to effect your invasion.
With regard to the idea that you have to become "invisible" to succeed in your efforts to put troops in the field of a foreign country that is protected by a huge Naval and Air Force, I think that "The sneaking across the borders of Laos and Cambodia demonstration", is a valid point. The world certainly kept an eye on those things and the media made sure that they did.
I say that as a result of recent studies regarding the change in immigrant population of many Countries. Since I already wrote about Colonialism and how that failed to work, I'll use those Nations as an example. England, 2.1 million, Spain, 1.5 million and France, 4.5 million. I was unaware of those numbers and didn't really think much about it until I started seeing all the things on TV where their citizens were being killed on the street, forbidden to drive down certain streets during certain times of the day and demands to change the laws were made.
I'll leave you with that thought and later today or tonight, I'll continue with a more specific example of how that effects us. Thanks for the comments.
When the NVA decided to sneak into South Vietnam, they didn't take the Interstate. Many of them chose the most heavily vegetated part of the South and more or less hacked their way through it with machete styled cutting tools and other implements that made the impenetrable jungle, a bit easier to navigate. They knew we couldn't see them and they used that old trick of being invisible, to make their way into Vietnam.
At that point in time, we began to use electronic sensors and helicopter mounted sniffers to detect any movements through the jungle. They could detect movement in areas that were simply unsuitable or impractical for us to use old style, scouts on the ground, recon missions. When the NVA losses continued to rise in those areas, they began using Laos and Cambodia as alternative routes to make it to the part of South Vietnam they were instructed to go.
If we didn't have a presence in Cambodia or Laos, they couldn't be seen and in a sense, they were somewhat invisible again. When we finally went into Cambodia, there was one hell of a battle but it definitely slowed the troop movements and resupply efforts that were going on prior to our invasion.
There are many ways to be effective in war time maneuvers. If you don't have a Navy, no carriers, no landing craft, no submarines, that particular method isn't even on the drawing boards. You have to do something else to effect your invasion.
With regard to the idea that you have to become "invisible" to succeed in your efforts to put troops in the field of a foreign country that is protected by a huge Naval and Air Force, I think that "The sneaking across the borders of Laos and Cambodia demonstration", is a valid point. The world certainly kept an eye on those things and the media made sure that they did.
I say that as a result of recent studies regarding the change in immigrant population of many Countries. Since I already wrote about Colonialism and how that failed to work, I'll use those Nations as an example. England, 2.1 million, Spain, 1.5 million and France, 4.5 million. I was unaware of those numbers and didn't really think much about it until I started seeing all the things on TV where their citizens were being killed on the street, forbidden to drive down certain streets during certain times of the day and demands to change the laws were made.
I'll leave you with that thought and later today or tonight, I'll continue with a more specific example of how that effects us. Thanks for the comments.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Our Enemies and the difference between Oh no and Oh shit.
I think that most of us, when we saw the first plane hit the Tower on September 11th, said OH NO. I'm not sure how many of us said OH SHIT when we saw the second plane hit but I am sure that most of the combat veterans did.
I've often wondered how many Veterans did like I did on September 11th. I volunteered to get back in the fight but was told that I needed a Masters degree to conduct black ops and that I was too old. I won't mention the agency that told me that but I will say that I responded with a comment that said: "I didn't need a Masters when I was flying for you guys in Cambodia.
I know a guy from California who graduated from High School and immediately signed up for helicopter flight school. He was 19 years old when he first started flying in Cambodia and he was one hell of a combat operations pilot. No Masters Degree required. Way to go, Curt.
When the Boston Bombers set off the bomb that caused so much death and destruction during the Boston Marathon, I'm sure there were more of us who said Oh shit than Oh no. As an example of that, I would like to say that the Vietnam veterans here, who heard the thump sound of an enemy mortar going off and then, moments later, heard the impact as it hit their base, understand exactly what I mean.
I think it's a conditioned response that comes with experience. The thump sound surely meant that the shit was going to hit the fan somewhere but the impact on your position meant that the somewhere was where you were standing.
Even though many Americans had never experienced combat when the September 11th attack took place, I would be willing to bet my bottom dollar that many of them fell into the group that said: Oh shit when the Cult members set off the bomb in Boston. That is another example of the way experience works in learned responses. Most of us knew that terrorists, the ones that belong to The Cult, were behind it all.
At this point, I would like to insert a thought here to help you connect with my thought process about this kind of thing. Americans who were not combat veterans got to see the first plane hit the tower. It was everywhere. There were radio announcements, television coverage and articles all over the net. They may have been a thousand miles away from New York but they managed to experience the visual side of it by watching television and those that did, only have to close their eyes to review that sight. Let's call that a "Visual".
I remember the day the TV people showed Osama Bin Laden reading his declaration of war on the American people. That's a Visual thing too but it's a long way from the visual experience that we had as we watched the planes hit both towers. With that statement, let me introduce a thought process for you to consider. Let's call it "The Invisible".
Before I get into the nuts and bolts of "The Invisible" I would like for some of the new members here, especially the members from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, to review the last few posts I've made about Vietnam and all of the agencies that were involved in that war. I think that's a good idea because there were so many "behind the scene" things going on that one must look beyond the immediate area they are in and the personal experiences they've had, to even see those Invisible Things. They're out there but you do have to look for them.
I'll wait for more comments before continuing but will again ask you to review some of the posts I've recently made about Vietnam, The Paris Peace Accords, The 1954 Geneva Accords, The War Powers Act and The South East Asia Treaty Organization that we've referred to as SEATO. Take a moment to review and then I'll come back and tie in the facts from back then to "What's Happenin' Now". Pardon the pun.
I've often wondered how many Veterans did like I did on September 11th. I volunteered to get back in the fight but was told that I needed a Masters degree to conduct black ops and that I was too old. I won't mention the agency that told me that but I will say that I responded with a comment that said: "I didn't need a Masters when I was flying for you guys in Cambodia.
I know a guy from California who graduated from High School and immediately signed up for helicopter flight school. He was 19 years old when he first started flying in Cambodia and he was one hell of a combat operations pilot. No Masters Degree required. Way to go, Curt.
When the Boston Bombers set off the bomb that caused so much death and destruction during the Boston Marathon, I'm sure there were more of us who said Oh shit than Oh no. As an example of that, I would like to say that the Vietnam veterans here, who heard the thump sound of an enemy mortar going off and then, moments later, heard the impact as it hit their base, understand exactly what I mean.
I think it's a conditioned response that comes with experience. The thump sound surely meant that the shit was going to hit the fan somewhere but the impact on your position meant that the somewhere was where you were standing.
Even though many Americans had never experienced combat when the September 11th attack took place, I would be willing to bet my bottom dollar that many of them fell into the group that said: Oh shit when the Cult members set off the bomb in Boston. That is another example of the way experience works in learned responses. Most of us knew that terrorists, the ones that belong to The Cult, were behind it all.
At this point, I would like to insert a thought here to help you connect with my thought process about this kind of thing. Americans who were not combat veterans got to see the first plane hit the tower. It was everywhere. There were radio announcements, television coverage and articles all over the net. They may have been a thousand miles away from New York but they managed to experience the visual side of it by watching television and those that did, only have to close their eyes to review that sight. Let's call that a "Visual".
I remember the day the TV people showed Osama Bin Laden reading his declaration of war on the American people. That's a Visual thing too but it's a long way from the visual experience that we had as we watched the planes hit both towers. With that statement, let me introduce a thought process for you to consider. Let's call it "The Invisible".
Before I get into the nuts and bolts of "The Invisible" I would like for some of the new members here, especially the members from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, to review the last few posts I've made about Vietnam and all of the agencies that were involved in that war. I think that's a good idea because there were so many "behind the scene" things going on that one must look beyond the immediate area they are in and the personal experiences they've had, to even see those Invisible Things. They're out there but you do have to look for them.
I'll wait for more comments before continuing but will again ask you to review some of the posts I've recently made about Vietnam, The Paris Peace Accords, The 1954 Geneva Accords, The War Powers Act and The South East Asia Treaty Organization that we've referred to as SEATO. Take a moment to review and then I'll come back and tie in the facts from back then to "What's Happenin' Now". Pardon the pun.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
A short break for me to say Thanks for the comments.
Even though this is my blog site, I don't have a clue how to work some of the things here. If I knew more about it, I would have already changed the picture of me standing in the front of Tim and Kristin's house. That was probably 2010 or maybe 2011. I would have also done some other things as it relates to comments to the editorials I post here. Most of them come to my personal email address and I understand that it's done that way because so many of you have had difficulty posting comments on this site.
Despite that and with the full understanding of the difficulties in posting comments, you will have to admit that the comments regarding SEATO, have produced an effect. I'm not even sure if you guys can read the comments when they are posted but if you can, please read them especially Ed's comment about the SEATO information that was provided to me by my former Tac Officer, CW2 Diable.
More than anything, my thoughts about being very well informed about Vietnam, had a wake up call. I've read so much stuff that I guess my "what to read next meter" went on overload and I realized that I don't come anywhere near "Knowing it all". I don't know if anybody does but it seems to me that the comment section here certainly proves that there are some bonafide combat Veterans reading these editorials that know a whole lot of stuff.
It's a lot of fun to post as much stuff as I have on this site and think that I've hit a home run. However, after getting emails that say "Dont' forget SEATO", etc, etc, etc, I've come to the realization that there are a lot of combat Veterans out there, Veterans that I know personally, that obviously have done a lot of homework in this same area.
It doesn't make me feel stupid that I overlooked it. It makes me feel like a team member that doesn't have to worry about screwing anything up because guys like Eddie, Curt, Craig, Bernie or somebody, will add to, rather than subtract from, the intent of these messages. Thanks so much for the additions to these stories and your counsel to input more information.
Just as a teaser, I started this post off with a title: "Oh, no. Oh, shit". Before I got into it, I went over the comments and decided to save Oh, no. Oh, shit, for later. Wait for it. Wait for it.
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