Do you remember Saddam's Super Gun? Google it if you don't. Do you remember Otto Scorzeny? You can Google him, too. He was Hitler's guy that he sent to the Middle East to convert them to the Nazi way of doin' bidness. Kaddafi ring a bell? He and Saddam were both members of Scorzeny's class.
Remember the Kurds getting gassed by Saddam? He murdered thousands with his gas warfare. If that's not a weapon of mass destruction I don't know what is. I think that the press or the dumb ass Congress viewed WMD as the big bomb and the big bomb only.
I saw a copy of a shipping document where so called "oilfield equipment" was sent to Iraq from someplace in London or Paris. Can't remember where it came from, I just remember it wasn't oilfield stuff.
During the most recent demolition derby, I mean Republican debate, I heard all the gibber jabber about the Iraq invasion and that it was a big mistake. Leaving those idiots in a position of power would have almost guaranteed Armageddon would come. The Israelis would have certainly suffered. Saddam was already shooting Skud missles into Israel and we had to send our Patriot missle system to stop it. The Isreali government said "if he shoots one with a gas warhead, Bagdad will no longer exist".
While you are thinking about this, don't forget the Skud he shot into the barracks of our servicemen and killed so many.
Now, getting rid of those idiots was a good thing. If you look at South Korea and their incredible success in every arena, one can easily see what happens when you leave a peace keeping force in place.
To me, the current administration's promise to remove our peace keeping force was the same dumb ass maneuver that the 93rd Congress made when they passed Zablocki's bill "The War Powers Resolution". That gave the green light to the North Vietnamese to take the South. You can look it up but I assure you, that happened.
I wish they would stop blaming W for the trouble in the Middle East. If W ever bent over, I'm sure it would have been a move to make it easier for them to kiss his ass.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Joe Hight
Joe was my room mate in Tay Ninh. When we initially arrived there to take part in the invasion of Cambodia, we lived in a tent with 12 other pilots. It was hot and horrible. I have refused to sleep in a tent since that time. That was 1970 and Joe was on his third tour of Vietnam. He was the Aircraft Maintenance Office in Command and could fly Hueys, Cobras and the Hughes 500C that we used as scouts on hunter killer teams. By that time, Joe had pretty much seen and done every thing a helicopter pilot could do. As a maintenance officer, he had a ton of connections in Saigon and before I knew it, we were out of the tent and moving into a 40 foot long cargo trailer that Joe had managed to get from his buddies in Saigon.
Joe had it spotted on the airfield where all the helicopters were parked. It was a perfect target for the NVA and the Viet Cong but we had revetments all around and only a direct hit on our trailer would have taken us out. He found a refrigerator so we had cold cokes. He also managed to get some fans from the PX so we had moving air that helped with the 100 degree heat. He managed to get his hands on a shipping crate for rotor blades and before long, we had our own outhouse. Joe made sure we lived better than anyone else on the base. It was as good as it could get in a combat zone.
As a maintenance officer he had a lot of test flights that were required before the helicopters could be released for combat. I became his test pilot and flew a lot of different helicopters to make sure they were okay. During that time, I had opportunities to talk to Joe about his previous tours. The following is my favorite story of the war.
During Joe's second tour, he had to fly Cobra gun ships to Saigon to have the avionics worked on. On the north side of Saigon where the river makes several turns, there was an area that looked like a key hole. It became known to all pilots and air traffic controllers as "The Keyhole". It was very close to MACV headquarters which was somewhat similar to the Pentagon of South Vietnam. All the fat cats were stationed there.
The South Vietnamese Army had an officers club there and by the time Joe landed and delivered his cobra to the avionics shop, he discovered that he would have to spend the night in Saigon. Since it was always hot, Joe went to the ARVN officers club to get a cold drink. Unfortunately, they refused to let him in. We were dying by the hundreds during 1968 and Joe was furious that they wouldn't let him in.
During Tet of 68 Joe was called to Saigon to help repel the NVA and VC that had already entered the city. As he flew over the Keyhole enroute to the area that was requesting gunships, he looked down and saw the ARVN officers club. He rolled the Cobra over, attacked the officers club and put a pair of 2..75 high explosive rockets through the front door. With that story and some I had learned earlier when I was flying Nighthawk Gunships with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, I learned the Jumpin' Joe Hight rules of engagement. They served me well.
I could write a book about Joe but time doesn't permit that today. I have to go to the hospital to visit a friend who is here from Leesville. I hope this story will allow you to appreciate the kind of character Joe was. He was a fine man, husband, father and friend. I will miss him and so will so many men from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. So long old friend.
Joe had it spotted on the airfield where all the helicopters were parked. It was a perfect target for the NVA and the Viet Cong but we had revetments all around and only a direct hit on our trailer would have taken us out. He found a refrigerator so we had cold cokes. He also managed to get some fans from the PX so we had moving air that helped with the 100 degree heat. He managed to get his hands on a shipping crate for rotor blades and before long, we had our own outhouse. Joe made sure we lived better than anyone else on the base. It was as good as it could get in a combat zone.
As a maintenance officer he had a lot of test flights that were required before the helicopters could be released for combat. I became his test pilot and flew a lot of different helicopters to make sure they were okay. During that time, I had opportunities to talk to Joe about his previous tours. The following is my favorite story of the war.
During Joe's second tour, he had to fly Cobra gun ships to Saigon to have the avionics worked on. On the north side of Saigon where the river makes several turns, there was an area that looked like a key hole. It became known to all pilots and air traffic controllers as "The Keyhole". It was very close to MACV headquarters which was somewhat similar to the Pentagon of South Vietnam. All the fat cats were stationed there.
The South Vietnamese Army had an officers club there and by the time Joe landed and delivered his cobra to the avionics shop, he discovered that he would have to spend the night in Saigon. Since it was always hot, Joe went to the ARVN officers club to get a cold drink. Unfortunately, they refused to let him in. We were dying by the hundreds during 1968 and Joe was furious that they wouldn't let him in.
During Tet of 68 Joe was called to Saigon to help repel the NVA and VC that had already entered the city. As he flew over the Keyhole enroute to the area that was requesting gunships, he looked down and saw the ARVN officers club. He rolled the Cobra over, attacked the officers club and put a pair of 2..75 high explosive rockets through the front door. With that story and some I had learned earlier when I was flying Nighthawk Gunships with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, I learned the Jumpin' Joe Hight rules of engagement. They served me well.
I could write a book about Joe but time doesn't permit that today. I have to go to the hospital to visit a friend who is here from Leesville. I hope this story will allow you to appreciate the kind of character Joe was. He was a fine man, husband, father and friend. I will miss him and so will so many men from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. So long old friend.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
White Privilegeand other Stuff.
Somebody give me a hand. I didn 't notice any of that White Privilege when that draft notice came nor did I see any when the taxes were taken out of my pay checks. I also didn't see any when the grocery bill was due. It took cash back then.
Now, we have one of the most privileged guys around saying "No muslims allowed". I've done a lot of thinking about that. Yesterday, while I watching a program about the American Revolution, the light bulb came on. They showed the British Navy closing the port of Boston in an attempt to put every merchant in Boston out of business. With all the talk of the Gruntlicks messing with the price of oil and the world economy, I wondered if any of them had studied the results of the Boston Tea Party. I concluded that they haven't.
I also concluded that they don't have a clue what the typical American Patriot is capable of doing to them should they elect to duplicate anything that the British did during the 1700s. Whether you call them Patriots, Red Necks, Bubbas or Hill Billys, makes no difference. They all have the same abilities. Add to that group the 22 million Veterans and I think you will find the answer to a non responsive policy that doesn't do anything to send the donkey lovers back to the sand. Ask the people you know that belong to that group. Collectively, we are pissed and if anything like the Paris attacks or the rape of German women happens here, their asses belong to us. It always has and history clearly shows that to be true. We've had to do it many times before and, as I see it, here we are again.
Churchill said: "Any enemy of our enemy is our friend". He was referring to Stalin. Now, we have Vladamir Putin. Personally speaking, if the League of Nations or the United Nations worked, we would have already stopped all the madness. China, Russia and the United States should have already joined forces, ejected the Gruntlicks from the U.N. and taken matters in their own hands. Come on. If the Japs can walk out of the League of Nations just before Pearl Harbor, why can't we?
If something doesn't happen pretty soon, we will be sorry that we waited so long to bulk up and get ready. We need somebody to lead that movement. They should not be of Gruntlick heritage. I would be much more comfortable hearing about President Donald or President Ted that President Monica. Ooops. I had a mind flash on that. I saw a bumper sticker on the net that said: "I will not vote for Monica's boyfriend's wife.
Now, we have one of the most privileged guys around saying "No muslims allowed". I've done a lot of thinking about that. Yesterday, while I watching a program about the American Revolution, the light bulb came on. They showed the British Navy closing the port of Boston in an attempt to put every merchant in Boston out of business. With all the talk of the Gruntlicks messing with the price of oil and the world economy, I wondered if any of them had studied the results of the Boston Tea Party. I concluded that they haven't.
I also concluded that they don't have a clue what the typical American Patriot is capable of doing to them should they elect to duplicate anything that the British did during the 1700s. Whether you call them Patriots, Red Necks, Bubbas or Hill Billys, makes no difference. They all have the same abilities. Add to that group the 22 million Veterans and I think you will find the answer to a non responsive policy that doesn't do anything to send the donkey lovers back to the sand. Ask the people you know that belong to that group. Collectively, we are pissed and if anything like the Paris attacks or the rape of German women happens here, their asses belong to us. It always has and history clearly shows that to be true. We've had to do it many times before and, as I see it, here we are again.
Churchill said: "Any enemy of our enemy is our friend". He was referring to Stalin. Now, we have Vladamir Putin. Personally speaking, if the League of Nations or the United Nations worked, we would have already stopped all the madness. China, Russia and the United States should have already joined forces, ejected the Gruntlicks from the U.N. and taken matters in their own hands. Come on. If the Japs can walk out of the League of Nations just before Pearl Harbor, why can't we?
If something doesn't happen pretty soon, we will be sorry that we waited so long to bulk up and get ready. We need somebody to lead that movement. They should not be of Gruntlick heritage. I would be much more comfortable hearing about President Donald or President Ted that President Monica. Ooops. I had a mind flash on that. I saw a bumper sticker on the net that said: "I will not vote for Monica's boyfriend's wife.
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