I will be out of battery, I in school for the week and the course is a cram, kinda like what it was like in AIT. back in the mid 80's.....Jeez, there I go dating myself...again. I will be posting stuff next week. Please check out the people in the sidebar, they are a lot better than I am .
I ran across this on Facebook, and decided to clip and paste. I have said the same thing for the past 10+ years. It gives me hope that some of the younger generation does realize it. Unfortunately most of them don't. They have been conditioned to believe that America is "Evil, Racist and the scrouge of the Earth." I am hoping that the younger generation realized the gift and luck to be born in this country.
Thoughts from a hipster coffee shop…
My
generation is becoming the largest voting bloc in the country. We have
an opportunity to continue to propel us forward with the gifts
capitalism and democracy has given us. The other option is that we can
fall into the trap of entitlement and relapse into restrictive socialist
destitution. The choice doesn’t seem too hard, does it?
I’m sitting in a small coffee
shop near Nokomis trying to think of what to write about. I scroll
through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of
Democratic candidates calling for policies to “fix” the so-called
injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look
around. I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook’s,
ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it
dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous
nation and we’ve become completely blind to it. Vehicles, food,
technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose. These things are
so ingrained in our American way of life we don’t give them a second
thought. We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty
line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty. One. Times.
Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global
standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with
one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are
unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. Our unappreciation is evident as the
popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow.
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to
Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, “An entire generation,
which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came
of age and never saw American prosperity.” Never saw American prosperity. Let
that sink in. When I first read that statement, I thought to myself,
that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate
thing I’ve ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Now, I’m not
attributing Miss Ocasio-Cortez’s words to outright dishonesty. I do
think she whole-heartedly believes the words she said to be true. Many
young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided. My generation
is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we
have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college,
let’s just say I didn’t have the popular opinion, but I digress. Let me lay down some universal truths
really quick. The United States of America has lifted more people out
of abject poverty, spread more freedom and democracy, and has created
more innovation in technology and medicine than any other nation in
human history. Not only that but our citizenry continually breaks world
records with charitable donations, the rags to riches story is not only
possible in America but not uncommon, we have the strongest purchasing
power on earth, and we encompass 25% of the world’s GDP. The list goes
on. However, these universal truths don’t matter. We are told that
income inequality is an existential crisis (even though this is not an
indicator of prosperity, some of the poorest countries in the world have
low-income inequality), we are told that we are oppressed by capitalism
(even though it’s brought about more freedom and wealth to the most
people than any other system in world history), we are told that the
only way we will acquire the benefits of true prosperity is through
socialism and centralization of federal power (even though history has
proven time and again this only brings tyranny and suffering). Why then, with all of the
overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at
a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who
are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and
truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they’ve
never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on
taking steps towards abolishing capitalism. Why? The answer is this, my
generation has ONLY seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn’t live
in the great depression, or live through two world wars, or see the
rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don’t know what it’s like
not to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We
don’t have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem,
an ungratefulness problem, and it’s spreading like a plague. With the current political climate
giving rise to the misguided idea of a socialist utopia, will we see the
light? Or will we have to lose it all to realize that what we have now
is true prosperity? Destroying the free market will undo what millions
of people have died to achieve. My generation is becoming the largest
voting bloc in the country. We have an opportunity to continue to
propel us forward with the gifts capitalism and democracy has given us.
The other option is that we can fall into the trap of entitlement and
relapse into restrictive socialist destitution. The choice doesn’t seem
too hard, does it?
What brought this post about was the death of the final "Doolittle Raider" Colonel Cole joined the rest of his squadron. it was a sad day for us as a Nation. I had used the quote "Ordinary men stepped up and did Extraordinary things during Extraordinary times". I had posted this following post on a friends Facebook post., but I decided to repost it here. The Pics are compliments of "Sarge"
B25's strapped on deck, really good pic btw, and looks like there are a few SPD's mixed in with them.
FDR
wanted a "Morale Raid" to show that the Americans can strike back
against the Japanese Juggernaut. After the litany of bad news from the
war in the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Java Sea, the
loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse,
the surrender of Singapore. The fear that the American public of
invasion was real. FDR had the American government intern all the
people of Japanese ancestry. But in retrospect, it probably saved the
lives of some of them because the fear was so real, reprisals were
possible. The raid effect was all out of proportion to its actual
damage caused. Yes a bomb did hit a Japanese light carrier the Ryuho,
but if the ship was to be used in the battle of the coral sea I don't
know. The effect on the Japanese psyche can't be measured. Until the
attack in April of 1942, Japan has never been attacked by a foreign
power, it totally rattled the Japanese and raised doubts about the
direction of the war. It also greenlighted Admiral Yamamoto's plan to
attack Midway and the Aleutians. The general staff comprised of both
Army and Navy and they had to come to a consensus on the future
prosecution of the war effort against the Americans. The General Staff
had different priorities, the Navy viewed the Americans as the main
threat, whereas the Japanese Army viewed the Russians as the main
threat. The attack broke the deadlock on the General Staff and they
gave Admiral Yamamoto approval for the Midway operation upon the
completion of the Port Moresby operation which turned into the battle of
the Coral Sea. Admiral Yamamoto continued with his "Operation MI" to
catch the American carriers at sea and destroy them which would force
the Americans to sue for peace leaving the Japanese with the land and
resources that they captured. Then the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
sphere" would have been a reality. Instead the Americans surprised the
Japanese with better intelligence and luck, and defeated the Japanese
with 4 first line carriers sunk along with the myth of Japanese
invincibility. The Doolittle Raid set the pins in motion that
eventually defeated the Japanese, but it took about 3.5 years to do it.
From left: Lt. Henry Potter, navigator;
Lt. Col. James Doolittle, pilot; Staff Sgt. Fred Braemer, bombardier;
Lt. Richard Cole, co-pilot; and Staff Sgt. Paul Leonard,
engineer/gunner.
That
being said, what those men did can't be discounted. They volunteered
for a mission with a high risk factor going up against a nation that has
defeated us several times already and they were willing to fly a medium
bomber off a pitching carrier in the
Pacific ocean, bomb a nation at the height of their power and then go
for landing in China after overflying the huge alerted Japanese army in
China. It took huge brass ones to do what they did. They inspired us
when we needed it most. It brought hope to a battered nation. We are
lessened by their passing.
Archived Movie released to American Theaters during WWII
I asked my Dad about the article since he was an MP his first
tour and "El CID" his second tour and he knows a lot about the subject. I did ask him if "Hashish" was a problem in Vietnam and he stated, "No, that was a European Troop problem" and I recall my friends that were in the Army in the early 80's in Germany "Doing a bowl". My Dad did tell me that the biggest source of "hashish" was through Amsterdam from Lebanon. Afganistan, and Turkey. The color told where it came from 99% of the time, Black was Afgan or Turkey, Light brown or reddish was Lebenon, the color came from how it was processed. It also was brought through France and smuggled down on the Rhine and Mosel River boats. I never saw a drug problem in my unit, partially because of what we were, drug use wasn't our thing. We got drug tested a lot because of our job.
....Booze was different though. We would buy a few racks of beer for the weekend. The Germans thought we were heathens because we like the beer cold whereas the Germans would drink it warm.
The year that peace and love were being celebrated at the
first Woodstock festival, 11,000 soldiers were killed in the Vietnam
War. And I still hate hippies.......
The widespread use of drugs by soldiers in the Vietnam War was a
hotly debated subject at the time. Even today there are different
opinions. Was the problem exaggerated for political reasons? Or was it
denied and under-reported for the same reasons?
The two decades of the Vietnam War constituted a unique period in
modern American history. Drugs were very much part of the
counterculture; another part was the music of the time which included
many anti-war protest songs.
In 1970, President Nixon was told by the Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs: “You don’t have a drug problem in Vietnam; you have a
condition. Problems are things we can get right on and solve.”
There have been suggestions that not only was the use of both
prescription and recreational drugs widespread but that this also played
a significant role in the brutality that was witnessed against the
people of Vietnam.
U.S.
Marines with Company G, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, direct a
concentration of fire at the enemy during Operation Allen Brook, 8 May
1968.
Since ancient times, drugs have been used by soldiers in battle.
Sometimes these were taken to provide courage, increase endurance and
stamina, or deal with fear and stress. The Vietnam War was no different
in that respect.
However, what did make the Vietnam situation different was the scale and availability of drugs.
American
infantrymen crowd into a mud-filled bomb crater and look up at tall
jungle trees seeking out Viet Cong snipers firing at them during a
battle in Phuoc Vinh, north-Northeast of Saigon in Vietnam’s War Zone D.
Although the Vietnam War lasted for 20 years from 1955 – 1975, things
intensified towards the end of the 1960s. Spending on arms increased
significantly as did the number of troops being deployed. At the same
time, there was a general increase in the availability and use of
recreational drugs in America.
Research on drug use among soldiers suggests that it was common
across a wide variety of substances. It was reported that 51% of GIs had
taken marijuana while 31% had tried psychedelic drugs such as LSD and
28% had used hard drugs including heroin and cocaine.
Bayer
heroin bottle, originally containing 5 grams of Heroin substance. The
label on the back references the 1924 US ban, and has a batch number
stamp starting with 27, so it probably dates from the 1920’s.
To some extent, the use of recreational drugs by soldiers was overlooked; it was even tolerated, informally at least.
This seemed to be the case especially with the use of marijuana which
could be acquired easily and cheaply from the local villagers. All
soldiers needed were a few packets of American cigarettes which could be
traded for a drug that would have cost them a considerable amount of
money at home.
This laissez-faire attitude changed in 1968 when war
reporter John Steinbeck IV (son of the well-known author) published an
article describing the extent of the abuse of drugs among soldiers in
Vietnam.
John Steinbeck at 19 (left) with father John (center) visiting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Oval Office, May 16, 1966.The
nation was shocked by his claim that 75% of the forces serving in
Vietnam were regularly under the influence. Although this figure has
since been disputed with claims that it was grossly exaggerated, the
report created public outrage at the time.
The response of the military was to attempt to crack down on the use
of drugs, including marijuana. During the initial crackdown, many
soldiers were arrested, and fields of cannabis plants were destroyed
But of course, as America should have learned from the prohibition
era, banning something can simply drive it underground, or worse. In
this case, many soldiers turned to heroin which was also widely
available. Because it was odorless, it was that much harder to detect
than marijuana.
Destroying enemy bunkers after assault on Hill 875, 2nd Bn., 173rd Abn. Bde., Vietnam, 1967.
As well as illicit recreational drugs, it is known that prescription
drugs were also taken by soldiers in Vietnam in large quantities.
Prescribing levels among GIs in Vietnam were a major cause for concern with millions of tablets being prescribed to soldiers.
The most common prescriptions were for amphetamines which were
helpful in dealing with fatigue and increasing endurance. Many GIs were
also prescribed sedatives to help them deal with anxiety and stress
caused by the situations they faced daily. U.S. army troops taking a break while on patrol during the Vietnam War
The impact of these drugs is hard to access. War creates such extreme
circumstances that it is common for soldiers to behave in ways that are
completely out of character. Some of the atrocities of the Vietnam War
such as the My Lai Massacre need an explanation, and historians have
suggested that drugs played a significant role.
In his book Shooting Up: A Short History of Drugs and War,
Lukasz Kamienski suggests that many of the atrocities carried out
against the Vietnamese people were not due to hard drugs like cocaine
and heroin but at least partly as a result of soldiers suffering from
amphetamine withdrawal.
The backdrop to all this was America in the 1960s. It was a time of
major social change where drugs were also playing an increasingly large
part in the music scene. The music of the period was heavily influenced
by events in Vietnam both directly and indirectly.
It is tragically ironic that in 1969, the year that peace and love
were being celebrated at the first Woodstock festival, 11,000 soldiers
were killed in the Vietnam War.
The music that was popular at the time, including protest songs,
spoke to the soldiers just as much as it did to others of their
generation, After all, many of those who fought were reluctant young
conscripts who would rather have been at home, getting on with the
business of living their lives.
A marine gets his wounds treated during operations in Huế City, in 1968Not surprisingly, many of the most popular tracks of the era alluded directly or indirectly to Vietnam.
A classic of the time was Fortunate Son by Credence
Clearwater Revival. The song was written in response to the marriage of
Eisenhower’s grandson to Richard Nixon’s daughter.
The song contains references to the war and became a major anti-war
anthem. More broadly, it addresses the inequalities of society that
resulted in a majority of the working class and young black men being
sent to fight in Vietnam.
A
female demonstrator offers a flower to military police on guard at the
Pentagon during an anti-Vietnam demonstration. Arlington, Virginia, USAOther popular songs included Otis Redding’s Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Perhaps its popularity rested on it offering at least a mental escape from the pressure and stress of the conditions of war.
The title of the 1965 hit by the Animals We Gotta Get out of this Place
says it all and is enough to explain its popularity. As with other
iconic songs of the era, it addresses universal hardships rather than
the specifics of the situation of the soldiers in Vietnam.
Whatever the true impact of drugs, the history of the Vietnam War
will always be bound up with both the music and drug culture which were
very much part of the prevailing mood in America at that time.
Lisunov Li-2 of Aeroflot at Monino near Moscow in 1994
1935 to 1945
The Douglas Air Company’s iconic DC-3 airliner and its military counterpart, the C-47 Skytrain (more famously known as ‘Dakotas’) were built in enormous numbers, with a combined total production of around 16,000 airframes.
The DC-3 entered service at the end of 1935 and the twin-engined
metal-construction monoplane helped popularize and revolutionize
passenger air travel, particularly in the US.
The plane was cheaper and could fly faster and further than its
contemporary aircraft, while it also offered greater comfort and
passenger capacity. DC-3A
Nationality: USA
Speed: 230 mph
Range: 1,500 miles
Service Ceiling: 23,200 ft
Passengers: 32
Douglas DC-3A Landing at Oakland Airport in 1940. L2D2 ‘Tabby’
Nationality: Japanese
Speed: 220 mph
Range: 1,996 miles
Service Ceiling: 35,752 ft
Passengers: 21
The L2D2 ‘Tabby’ was the Japanese license-built version of the DC-3. A captured Japanese Nakajima Type L2D2-3 “Tabby” at Clark Airfied, Luzon, the Philippines in May 1945. Check out the Extra cockpit windowsBoeing 247D
Nationality: USA
Speed: 200 mph
Range: 745 miles
Service Ceiling: 25,400 ft
Passengers: 10
The Boeing 247D was the DC-3s direct competitor. The 247D failed to
take full advantage of entering production slightly ahead of the DC-3
and only 75 were made. Boeing 247D. DH.86A Express
Nationality: British
Speed: 166 mph
Range: 760 miles
Service Ceiling: 17,400 ft
Passengers: 12
The de Havilland Express was beautiful and chic, but it had an
abysmal safety record. Many of the 62 planes that were built crashed due
to its poor design and stability issues. Royal Air Force De Havilland Dh 86, 1939-1945. Ju-52/3m 3ge "Tante Anne"
Nationality: Germany
Speed: 155 mph
Range: 808 miles
Service Ceiling: 19,357 ft
Passengers: 17
The Junkers 52 was produced in large numbers, with nearly 5,000
built. The aircraft entered service from its first flight in 1930 and a
very limited number remain in service today.
Ju-52 in Greece, 1943.Savoia-Marchetti S.73
Nationality: Italy
Speed: 205 mph
Range: 994 miles
Service Ceiling: 24,274 ft
Passengers: 18
Only 55 S.73s were ever produced. Although a little underpowered, the aircraft proved to be extremely rugged and reliable. Savoia Marchetti S.73.
It, therefore, made a lot of sense to build a militarized version of
the DC-3, which had a large cargo door, reinforced floor, and an
Astrodome in the cabin roof.
The C-47’s proved immensely popular and were used as cargo planes, troop carriers, as glider towing aircraft, among other roles.
It may be surprising, but the DC-3 was also built under license in
the USSR (Lisunov Li-2) and the Imperial Japanese Empire (L2D2).
The Japanese acquired a production license in 1935 for the bargain
price of $90,000, little more than the $80,000 cost of a single DC-3 at
the time.
The Japanese wasted no time getting production started on their own
version of the DC-3. The Nakajima Aircraft Company teamed up with Showa
Aircraft Industry, an aircraft manufacturer established in 1937 to
produce military planes.
Nakajima Aircraft Company had designed and constructed various types
of military aircraft since the 1920’s for the Japanese Armed Forces. The
company’s previous aircraft included reconnaissance planes, seaplanes,
fighters, high-altitude interceptors, and naval torpedo bombers. Towards
the end of the Second World War, the company designed a prototype jet
aircraft (Kikka-Orange Blossom) and began mass production of a suicide plane (Tsurugi-Sabre), although it was never deployed. Kikka “Orange Blossom.”
Furthermore, the Nakajima Aircraft Company’s 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine (Sakae– Prosperity) powered the legendary Mitsubishi A6M “Zero,” but it had little experience building passenger or cargo aircraft.
Meanwhile, Showa Aircraft Company had no previous aircraft production
experience, but the company had money to invest. Showa subsequently set
up a strategic partnership with Nakajima in 1938 after it purchased the
production license and tooling to construct DC-3 passenger liners.
Nakajima and Showa set up aircraft production lines in 1939 and its
version became known as L2D in Japanese service. The aircraft was later
given the Allied code name ‘Tabby’. Japanese Army transport plane Showa L2D.
The first aircraft were completed in 1940. Two planes were initially
produced with the designation L2D1, built with American-sourced
components and engines and differed little from the original DC-3.
Production using locally made components and engines then began in
earnest, to be designated L2D2. In all, Nakajima produced 71 L2D2
transport models through to 1942. Nakajima then left the project to
concentrate on manufacturing combat aircraft such as the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter, code name ‘Oscar’. A Japanese Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa fighter.
The Showa Aircraft Company went on to make 415 L2D2s before the end of the war.
The vast majority of the aircraft were produced for military service,
although a small number of commercial passenger planes versions were
made. These were built for civil use by Imperial Japanese Airways,
Japan’s national airline throughout the Second World War.
The military version of the L2D was similar to the US C-47 Skytrain,
with its large cargo door and reinforced floor. A noticeable difference
between them was the cockpit cabin which was extended and had three
windows added either side so that all four crew members could sit
together at the front. Showa L2D in 1945 with Flying Tigers personnel.
A handful of the later production models carried three machine guns,
with an A13 mm machine gun in a dorsal turret and two lighter 7.7 mm
machine guns that could be fired out of fuselage hatches.
Nonetheless, it is unlikely this configuration was particularly
effective since US B-17G bombers carried a total of 13 heavy machine
guns to defend against enemy attacks.
Near the end of the war, about 20 L2Ds were built with non-critical
parts constructed from wood instead of metal due material shortages.
There was even a plan to make a version (L2D5) that used wood
wherever possible, but the war ended before completion of the project.
By the end of the war, nearly 500 L2Ds had been constructed, making
them Japan’s most numerous military transporter and accounting for
around 3% of all the DC-3 and its derivatives built.
No version of the L2D survives to today. Regarding its manufacturers,
Nakajima underwent a number of changes and is now called the Subaru
Corporation, a leading Asian car manufacturer. Meanwhile, after the war
Showa diversified and established itself as an aircraft component
manufacturer.
Of Japan’s Axis allies, neither Fascist Italy nor Nazi Germany produced DC-3s. DC-3 cockpit. Photo: Intersofia CC BY-SA 2.5.
The Italians managed to acquire a single Belgian DC-3 in 1943 while
fighting in Algeria, which was later handed over to the Germans.
In addition, Germany managed to gain several at the beginning of the war.
Germany captured four Czechoslovakian-owned DC-3s when it invaded,
with the aircraft handed over to Lufthansa in 1939 for use on commercial
routes.
A further five DC-3s entered German hands after the Dutch surrendered
in 1940. One of these was rumored to have been used for covert
operations by III./KG 200, the German Special Operations Squadron.
Several hundred of the American version remain flying today, a true testimony to the quality and durability of the design
U.S. army troops taking a break while on patrol during the Vietnam War
