Castlehom Chronicles

John Basilone

starbadger — Sat, 19 May 2012 06:54:25 +0000

http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/lena-basilone

Deeply regret to inform you that your husband, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, USMC, was killed in action February 19, 1945 at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, in the performance of his duty and service to his country. When information is received regarding burial, you will be notified. Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.

The telegram was sent in the name of General Alexander Vandegrift. It was he who’d been John’s commanding officer at Guadalcanal. It was he who’d presented John with his Medal of Honor in Australia.

When an American serviceman died as a result of war injuries, the government gave his family a $10,000 life-insurance check. Because Lena was John’s closest family member, she received the money.

She didn’t keep it, however. In his book, Hero of the Pacific, Jim Brady tells us what happened to the check:

She returned the ten thousand dollars to the family. (Brady, page 94.)
After John’s death, Lena never remarried. In this official Navy photo, she is taking part in the launch ceremony of a destroyer (DD-824) which bears the name of her husband.

Lena survived John by 54 years. When she died - on the 11th of June, 1999 - she was still wearing the wedding ring "Johnny" had given her.

Higgins Boat

starbadger — Sat, 19 May 2012 02:28:21 +0000

“Andrew Higgins is the man who won the war for us.”

-President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1964 interview

The President went on to explain: “If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel), we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.” And as Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret) said, “The Higgins boats broke the gridlock on the ship-to-shore movement. It is impossible to overstate the tactical advantages this craft gave U.S. amphibious commanders in World War II.”

Globish and Weep!

starbadger — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:40:32 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_English

http://www.globish.com/

Lewis Puller, Semper Fi, Always Faithful

starbadger — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:26:23 +0000

Lewis Puller, nicknamed “Chesty” because of his perfect posture and the fact that his torso resembled a full-size beer keg full of lead bricks, raw muscle and horse steroids, was a hard-as-shit motherfucker universally-recognized as the most badass dude to ever wear the uniform of the United States Marine Corps. Not bad, considering that being revered as the pinnacle of toughness by the USMC is kind of like being King of the Vikings or the toughest Klingon to ever set foot on the planet KRONOS. In his thirty-seven years of service to the Corps, Puller rose through the ranks from Private to General, and become the most decorated Marine in American history.

EndGame–USAF/JAPAN

starbadger — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:51:43 +0000

1./__ In 1944, an airbase for B-29 Bombers was constructed in China, near the city of ChengDu. Fuel, bombs, and B-29s had to be air-lifted from India. The B-29s could just reach the most western part of Japan.
2./__ Once Saipan and Tinian were captured by the USMC, B-29 airbases were built on these Pacific Islands. These airbases made it possible to attack most of Japan.
3./__ After Iwo-Jima was conquered, an airbase was built for P-51 fighters and for emergency landings of B-29s on the island. After this, B-29s could fly to Japan with protection from the P-51 fighters.

ONE GOOD BLOG LINKS TO ANOTHER

starbadger — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:13:20 +0000

http://xtremeenglish.blogspot.com/2012/05/are-you-my-mother.html

The Good, The Bad, The Worse

“I’ve been single; I’ve been married; and I’ve been divorced. I’ve been a good girl who made bad choices, and I’ve been a bad girl who made good choices. That’s what this blog is all about.”

http://yougoaheadandkeeponbelievingthat.blogspot.com/

“I think catch and release fisherman are heartless weenies. I think putting a fish through agony for nothing more than your own entertainment is just plain cruel. I think if you’re going to torture a living thing if, you’re going to make it look into the eyes of its maker, face its own puny little place in the universe, then, for God’s sake, have the decency to eat it!”

– Gray (Jennifer Garner), Catch and Release

http://www.absolutelynarcissism.co/2012/04/if-julia-roberts-hears-this-imagine-the-rest-of-us.html

Bad Boy Canada

starbadger — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:01:42 +0000

Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by all other global oil use. If we (sic: whoever) fully exploit this new oil source, and everyone else continues to burn conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level were at least 50 feet higher than now (sic: 2012) and it was much warmer. The higher level of heat-trapping gases assures the disintegration of the existing ice sheets. Sea levels must rise hencetherefore and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures will be intolerable for life as we know it starting with YOU AND ME. 2012 species will be driven to change or extinction or Air Conditioning.

eat right live left

starbadger — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:31:32 +0000

Death Star Earth Ebola Black Death

starbadger — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:19:15 +0000

Time Out: there has never been a time when so many humans are alive and well. On the other hand there has never been a time when the entire global population is so connected - not just on the Internet but every day ~ 150,000 people are in the air flying somewhere. It used to be that if some Black Death or Ebola struck it would burn out locally. Now there are 2 million people flying all the time - what they do. I can’t tell you when but come on - one of these days Mother Nature will do in a fortnight what Alberta was doing in Red Deer when I was a kid. We used to rent inmates to help us with the harvest. They were regular kids my age. I never gave it the thought it deserved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome

Weeding the Genome. Eugenics. Bingo. World Pop.. 300,000,000. Nothing stops this happening * in some unforeseen fashion * given the IRON LAW: “IF SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN IN TIME IT WILL HAPPEN.”

iStarBadger

wish I was friends with more of my facebook friends

starbadger — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:38:50 +0000

Ryan O’Brien for a start!

I mention his name never having met him but I hope to some day.

By this post I friend a friend!