Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

raratt said:
SO, a local business posted a thank you to all veterans yesterday so I thought I'd enlighten them as to what Memorial day is supposed to be for. I was not rude about it, just an FYI to educate them. Some woman responded "FYI We can thank veterans every day." I told her you're welcome.
Crickets...lol.
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Belle (of the Ranch) always gets lots of questions from folks who don't know what they don't know. Yesterday she got one asking why Pride got a whole month and Vets didn't. She said, "you are right, we don't get a month. We get two. May and November."
 
"It may sound corny, but what's wrong with wanting to fight for your country. Why are people reluctant to use the word patriotism?“
—James Stewart (Col) DFC, Film and stage actor, B-24 Command Pilot, (As quoted to a reporter on his enlistment in WW2).

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I sometimes find it ironic when the most innocuous things can trigger a powerful memory.....

I was chatting with my old man today & suggested that we take a trip tomorrow to the biggest market in the Southern Hemisphere, where he can buy 250g of his favourite Gorgonzola cheese. A round-trip of about 3 hours. That's very fucking expensive cheese!

Since we would be there anyway, it made sense to buy-up BIG on other things like bulk meat & fish. I reckoned we'd need something substantial to carry the purchases, since he gets around with a walker. I went looking for an old Berghaus day-pack that I haven't used in a very long time.
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The pack is very well used. The zips are unusable due to corrosion from too much exposure to salt water, it has holes in it & is very dirty, but the pack itself is still as strong as the day it was made.

It's been overseas with me many times & I've jumped with it carrying all my Comm's gear inside my main pack on operations (just in case I had to ditch the main pack & suddenly go "light" for an E&E exfil).

The strongest memory of it was sitting in a Blackhawk at night on an insertion on a "quick job", a month after a mate (& 17 others) died in a multiple Blackhawk collision in 1996.

Long story short, the aircraft went into free-fall at close to tree-top level & I remember this very pack full of radio gear rising off the floor of the aircraft in front of my eyes. I had to put my hand out & hold it down. The other hand was restraining my weapon.

Tomorrow, it gets put back into action after almost 30 years, to carry all the shit that my old man decides to buy at a food market.

I can't think of better use for it...
 
One thing I've noticed at auction companies lately is that old (WW1 &WW2) war plans/military plans/orders of battle are increasing in value. If you've got any of Dad's or Grandpops stuff that you're not particularly attached too, now might be the time to investigate selling them. Also old cartridge boards are still increasing in value as well as older (@Civil War era) Bowie knives. Medals and ribbon bars don't seem to have much value unless they come with a trunk full of other related paraphernalia or are from a famous battle/person. Civil War daguerreotypes and tintypes could have substantial value again depending on subject matter. Any battle flown flags or pennants that can be documented have always and continue to be rare and expensive. Depending on manufacture that bring back .45 could be worth something. Course that full auto MG they brought/snuck back is worth a shit-ton.
 
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GreatwhiteNorth said:
These soldiers are hero's in their own right through their discipline and dedication to honoring our fallen!
Their sacrifice is way underrated.

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These links below go into the history of the Tomb, the Tomb Badge and the unique sidearm designed and fabricated at the Sig custom shop for them. Sorry if some of the embedded links are dead. bb

"The Tomb Guard Badge is one of the rarest awarded after Military Horseman Identification Badge and the Astronaut Badge. Tomb Guards are held to the highest standards of behavior, and can have their badge taken away for any action on or off duty that could bring disrespect to the tomb. That’s for the entire lifetime of the Tomb Guard, even well after their guarding duty is over. Because the identities and ranks of the soldiers within in the tomb are not known, the guards don’t wear their rank insignia to avoid potentially outranking the soldiers they’re watching over.
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BarnBuster

Post in thread 'Veterans...Get the hell in here now!'

Today in Military History:

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The body of the Unknown Soldier chosen by Sergeant Edward F. Younger is loaded on the train in France.(World War I Signal Corps Collection).​

Inspired by both Britain and France honoring their unknown warriors, the U.S. Congress approved Public Resolution 67 in 1921 and the process of locating U.S. unknown soldier for burial in Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) began. On October 23, 1921, in the French town of Chalons-sur-Marne, an American officer selects the body of the...
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BarnBuster

Post in thread 'Veterans...Get the hell in here now!'

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The first military guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on March 25, 1926. To prevent visitors from climbing or stepping on the tomb, soldiers from Fort Myer, Va., were assigned to guard it during daylight hours beginning in 1926. In 1937, the guard became a 24/7 presence.
​

A casket containing the unidentified remains of a World War I soldier was carried in a horse-drawn wagon through Washington, D.C., across the Potomac River, and into Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11, 1921.

Thousands of dignitaries, veterans and American...
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BarnBuster

Post in thread 'Veterans...Get the hell in here now!'

I posted about these when they were first issued but worth a repeat. SIG's Custom Shop took a lot of pride in the production and it shows. Design by Marine, Tim Butler.

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sofrep.com

Photo of the day: Sig Sauer M17 pistols presented to the Sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier | The Loadout Room

The M17 Tomb of the Unknown Pistols are unique M17 pistols that were created using the same specifications for the U.S. Army’s M17 Modular Handgun System.
sofrep.com sofrep.com

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www.militarytimes.com

This is the special M17 pistol that will guard The Unknown Soldier

SIG SAUER, Inc. announced the production and presentation of the M17 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Pistols for the U.S. Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) for the Tomb Guard Sentinels.
www.militarytimes.com www.militarytimes.com
 
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GreatwhiteNorth said:
Oops!

We launched helo's all the time from the ship in the Caribbean - one of my duties was refueling post flight. Normally they would take 6-800 lbs of fuel but once the bird only took a couple hundred ?? Then I noticed all the conch shells & beach goodies on the floor and sand on the tires.

Turns out they landed on a really remote sandbar & kept the engines running with one of the crew on the radio & went beach combing. Lol
Our Skipper was PISSED !!
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If they only knew the half of what went on
 
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