Veterans Day Stuff - Part I
I thought I'd share a few things as we pause to honor all those who have served in our nation's military. Since we had no formal military prior to the Revolutionary War, I take license to honor those who made major contributions. Not possible to honor all individually, but certainly possible collectively.
Paul Revere was not the only rider. We also honor William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott and the others who were part of the "Midnight Ride."
Mel Gibson in the 2000 film The Patriot.
A view of the engagement between the forces of Col Richard Johnson and Native American allies of the British, commanded by Tecumseh during the War of 1812
The White House after it had been burned by the British during the War of 1812
An image from the Mexican-American War, this is the Battle of Cerro Gordo
A clip from the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne. Certainly better than the dismal 2004 film with the same title.
.
The dead after a Civil War battle.
An image of the Battle of Vicksburg. I visited there in the early 1980s.
That's Irene Triplett. Her father served during the Civil War. As of May, 2014, she was still collecting a pension of $73 a month for his service. The costs of war continue long after the last battle is over.
A clip from the 1989 movie Glory.
An image representing the U. S. Army's all African-American 92nd and 93rd Divisions during World War I.
American soldiers in the trenches during World War I
Barbed wire fences made the going very difficult during World War I
The trailer for the 1941 film Sergeant York. Alvin York, then a Corporal earned the Medal of Honor for taking command of his platoon after all of the senior NCOs were killed, and with only seven men left, killed 20 German soldiers and captured another 132, along with 32 machine guns.
American soldiers guarded Japanese-Americans interned at Manzanar and other "relocation centers."
The trailer for the outstanding documentary film from 2012, The Manzanar Fishing Club
President Harry S. Truman decorating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit, made up almost entirely of Japanese-American volunteers was the most decorated unit of WWII. Roughly 14,000 men served in the unit and among them there were 9,486 Purple Hearts.
Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a member of the 442nd being awarded his Medal of Honor by President Clinton.
That is the USS Indianapolis. On July 30, 1945, it was torpedoed by a Japanese ship. Approximately 300 of the 1196 men aboard went down with the ship. The remaining sailors were attacked by sharks and suffered illnesses until they were spotted four day later. Only 317 survived.
The iconic image of the U. S. flag being raised atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima
A battle scene from the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers. 22 U. S. Marines and 5 U. S. Navy personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Iwo Jima. There were 82 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines for the entirety of World War II. More than 25% of those were earned in this one battle.
The Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippine Islands. Upon learning of the plans of the Japanese to burn all of the prisoners alive before Allied forces liberated the camp, a raid was organized to rescue them. Army Rangers and Philippine guerrilla forces rescued the 552 Allied prisoners, killed an estimated 800 Japanese soldiers with only minimal Allied casualties.
Trailer for the 2005 film The Great Raid which tells the story of the rescue of those Allied prisoners from Cabanatuan.
* * *
Tomorrow, Part II beginning with more from WWII.
Paul Revere was not the only rider. We also honor William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott and the others who were part of the "Midnight Ride."
Mel Gibson in the 2000 film The Patriot.
A view of the engagement between the forces of Col Richard Johnson and Native American allies of the British, commanded by Tecumseh during the War of 1812
The White House after it had been burned by the British during the War of 1812
An image from the Mexican-American War, this is the Battle of Cerro Gordo
A clip from the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne. Certainly better than the dismal 2004 film with the same title.
The dead after a Civil War battle.
An image of the Battle of Vicksburg. I visited there in the early 1980s.
That's Irene Triplett. Her father served during the Civil War. As of May, 2014, she was still collecting a pension of $73 a month for his service. The costs of war continue long after the last battle is over.
A clip from the 1989 movie Glory.
An image representing the U. S. Army's all African-American 92nd and 93rd Divisions during World War I.
American soldiers in the trenches during World War I
Barbed wire fences made the going very difficult during World War I
The trailer for the 1941 film Sergeant York. Alvin York, then a Corporal earned the Medal of Honor for taking command of his platoon after all of the senior NCOs were killed, and with only seven men left, killed 20 German soldiers and captured another 132, along with 32 machine guns.
American soldiers guarded Japanese-Americans interned at Manzanar and other "relocation centers."
The trailer for the outstanding documentary film from 2012, The Manzanar Fishing Club
President Harry S. Truman decorating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit, made up almost entirely of Japanese-American volunteers was the most decorated unit of WWII. Roughly 14,000 men served in the unit and among them there were 9,486 Purple Hearts.
Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a member of the 442nd being awarded his Medal of Honor by President Clinton.
That is the USS Indianapolis. On July 30, 1945, it was torpedoed by a Japanese ship. Approximately 300 of the 1196 men aboard went down with the ship. The remaining sailors were attacked by sharks and suffered illnesses until they were spotted four day later. Only 317 survived.
The iconic image of the U. S. flag being raised atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima
A battle scene from the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers. 22 U. S. Marines and 5 U. S. Navy personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Iwo Jima. There were 82 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines for the entirety of World War II. More than 25% of those were earned in this one battle.
The Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippine Islands. Upon learning of the plans of the Japanese to burn all of the prisoners alive before Allied forces liberated the camp, a raid was organized to rescue them. Army Rangers and Philippine guerrilla forces rescued the 552 Allied prisoners, killed an estimated 800 Japanese soldiers with only minimal Allied casualties.
Trailer for the 2005 film The Great Raid which tells the story of the rescue of those Allied prisoners from Cabanatuan.
* * *
Tomorrow, Part II beginning with more from WWII.
posted by me at 11:34 PM
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