Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
In addition to Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe that I mentioned yesterday, President Biden will present the MOH to 2 other soldiers in the coming weeks,

"Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, a Green Beret who played a pivotal role in fighting off a complex suicide attack at FOB Ghazni, Afghanistan, in August 2013 and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, an Army Ranger who died of wounds received in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, during a firefight with Taliban militants in July 2018."

www.armytimes.com

Three soldiers to be awarded Medals of Honor: report

The three soldiers will be honored in the coming weeks.
www.armytimes.com www.armytimes.com
sofrep.com

Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe, Two Special Operations Soldiers To Receive Long Delayed Medal of Honor

SOFREP has followed the story of Alywin Cashe and the quest to see him awarded the Medal of Honor since September 2020. Now he and tow others will finally receive it.
sofrep.com sofrep.com
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Today in Military History:
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"When World War II abruptly gripped the United States in its deadly embrace, a people seething with anger struggled to avoid being sucked into a vortex of gloom. The stunning Japanese carrier raid of December 7, 1941 on Pearl Harbor turned out to be just the first in a succession of blows that threatened to sweep the American military out of East Asia and the Central Pacific. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration endeavored to conceal the full extent of the US Pacific Fleet’s losses, no amount of censorship could conceal the fact that Japan had gained the upper hand. The valiant defense of Wake Island by US Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilians became a potent rallying point for Americans in the dark days after Pearl Harbor.​

"On December 11, 1941 a Japanese invasion task force steamed toward the beaches of Wake Island. Marine gunners played them like the sports fish in the water beneath the war machines. They watched the cruiser and six destroyers carefully and blasted them with the five-inch naval guns at 4500 yards.

One destroyer was sunk. Several of the other ships were damaged. The flotilla retreated with the knowledge there were true fighting men on Wake Island.

After the initial raid was fought off, American news media reported that, when queried about reinforcement and resupply, Cunningham was reported to have quipped “Send us more Japanese!” In fact, Commander Cunningham sent a long list of critical equipment—including gunsights, spare parts, and fire-control radar—to his immediate superior. It is believed that the quip was actually padding that is a technique of adding nonsense text to a message to make cryptanalysis more difficult.

The Japanese kept hammering at the island defenses, and ten days later the only surviving Wildcat fighter was lost. Pilots were assigned rifles and bayonets. A renewed enemy landing force sailed onto the beach, and 900 trained infantrymen invaded during the night of December 23. Construction workers and Marines fought side-by-side with everything they could, but by dawn, it was clear that there were too many Japanese.

The Commander Cunningham radioed Pearl Harbor. “Enemy on island. Issue in doubt.”

The Commander would later be quoted as saying, “I tried to think of something…We could keep on expending lives, but we could not buy anything with them.” He gave the order to surrender. The surviving eighty-one Marines and eighty-two civilians obeyed but destroyed everything they could find that the enemy could use as a weapon and disabled all the equipment they could. The Japanese claimed the victory at a great price.

Two destroyers and one submarine had been sunk by the Americans. Seven other ships were damaged, and twenty-one aircraft were shot down. The total lives lost by the Japanese was close to 1000. Their leaders were furious and exacted revenge on the prisoners. Stripped and tied with wire in such a way a sudden movement would cause strangulation, soldier, and civilian alike were made to sit in the sun on the concrete they had recently poured.

No water or food was given to them for two days. At one point, the captors installed machine guns near them, for a mass execution, they imagined. But, at last, they were fed spoiled and unsavory bits of food, and instructed to put quickly on clothing but not necessarily their own. Marines donned civilian pants, and construction workers were in khaki.

A spit polished, crisply white uniformed Japanese commander addressed the prisoners. An interpreter informed the group “the Emperor has graciously presented you with your lives.” One unfazed Marine replied, “Well, thank the son of a bitch for me!”

Toward the middle of January 1942, a merchant ship laid anchor at Wake Island. The prisoners were transported to China by ship. But as they were shoved toward the ship, two columns of Japanese sailors with clubs and belts formed and the prisoners were made to run between them, enduring savage beatings.

They were stuffed into the ship’s hold, became despondent, and were savagely treated. Shuffled about China and Japan, the Marines regained their spirit and endured tremendous hardships for the next three years. Eventually, after the atomic bomb attacks and Japanese surrender, they were rescued.

Ironically, the prisoners left on the island received a worse fate, working as slave labor until October 1943. Then on 5 October 1943, American naval aircraft from Yorktown raided Wake.

Two days later, fearing an imminent invasion, the Japanese Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara ordered the execution of the 98 captured American civilian workers who had initially been kept to perform forced labor. The 98 were taken to the northern end of the island, blindfolded and executed with a machine gun.

One of the prisoners (whose name has never been discovered) escaped the massacre, apparently returning to the site to carve the message 98 US PW 5-10-43 on a large coral rock near where the victims had been hastily buried in a mass grave. The unknown American was recaptured, and Admiral Sakaibara personally beheaded him with a katana. The inscription on the rock can still be seen and is a Wake Island landmark.

Before the final rescue, in July 1945, a strange thing happened in the prison camp. Japanese officers provided a formal dinner for the American officers, offering toasts and speaking of friendship. In the end, a high-ranking Japanese officer proposed a toast to “everlasting friendship between America and Japan.”

His side of the table smiled, nodded and waited for the American response. The skeleton faces of the Americans were still. At last a Major stood and said lightly, “If you behave yourselves, you’ll get fair treatment.”

The proverbial tables had turned. And the Americans promise of fair treatment far outshines the despicable behavior of the Japanese. On August 16 the prison guards were gone. Small children were assigned to protect the prisoners from possible civilian attack.

On September 1, the Marines patched a makeshift American flag together and hoisted it into the air. Supplies were air-dropped and at last, the 1st Cavalry Division liberated the prisoners. The war was over.

After the war, Sakaibara and his subordinate were sentenced to death for the massacre of the 98 and for other war crimes. Several Japanese officers in American custody had committed suicide over the incident, leaving written statements that incriminated Sakaibara.

Admiral Sakaibara was hanged on 18 June 1947. Eventually, Tachibana’s sentence was commuted to life in prison. The murdered civilian POWs were reburied after the war in Honolulu’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, commonly known as Punchbowl Crater.

The Wake Island Device is an award device of the United States military which is presented as a campaign clasp to both the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medals. A total of only 449 Marine Corps and 68 Navy personnel were eligible for the Wake Island Device, making it one of the rarest of United States military awards."

“Wake Island began the war magnificently for the Marine Corps, and America found that the old soldierly virtues are still embodied in its fighting men. . . . Out of such actions as this a people’s strength and ultimate victory must come. America remembers Wake Island and is proud. The enemy remembers Wake Island and is uneasy.”​
Major General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the Marine Corps (March 10, 1942)

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www.historynet.com

Fast Facts and Information on the Battle Of Wake Island

the Battle Of Wake Island, December 8-23. 1941 Dates: December 8-23. 1941 Location: Wake Island in the Central Pacific Ocean Generals/Commanders:
www.historynet.com www.historynet.com
www.nationalww2museum.org

The Battle of Wake Island: Nation’s Morale Lifted in 1941 | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

The valiant defense of Wake Island by US Marines, sailors, soldiers, and civilians became a potent rallying point for Americans in the dark days after Pearl Harbor.
www.nationalww2museum.org www.nationalww2museum.org
military-history.fandom.com

Battle of Wake Island

The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor and ended on 23 December 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan. It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its islets of Peale and Wilkes Islands by the air, land...
military-history.fandom.com military-history.fandom.com

The Forsaken Defenders of Wake Island

Described as one of the loneliest atolls in the Pacific, Wake Island is a submerged volcano top, which consists of Wake and two other islets, Wilkes and Peale. Wake Island is 450 miles from the nearest land, and approximately 2,300 miles from Honolulu. Claimed and annexed by the United States in...
www.history.navy.mil www.history.navy.mil
www.warhistoryonline.com

Battle of Wake Island - All Those Who Surrendered Were Tortured, 98 Were Machine-Gunned

Before the threat of war in the Pacific and the outbreak of World War II, Wake Island was a stopping off point for vacationers aboard Pan American flights
www.warhistoryonline.com www.warhistoryonline.com
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
USS Winston Churchill executive officer fired after refusing to get COVID vaccine

WASHINGTON — A Navy commander has been fired from his job as the executive officer of a warship because he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine as required and refused to be tested for the virus, Navy officials said Friday.

Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal.

www.stripes.com

USS Winston Churchill executive officer fired after refusing to get COVID vaccine

Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal.
www.stripes.com www.stripes.com
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
doublejj said:
USS Winston Churchill executive officer fired after refusing to get COVID vaccine

WASHINGTON — A Navy commander has been fired from his job as the executive officer of a warship because he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine as required and refused to be tested for the virus, Navy officials said Friday.

Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal.

www.stripes.com

USS Winston Churchill executive officer fired after refusing to get COVID vaccine

Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal.
www.stripes.com www.stripes.com
Click to expand...
Well, his career just went off the rails.
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
The Monuments Men Foundation honors the legacy of the men and women who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section, known as the “Monuments Men,” and their unprecedented and heroic work protecting and safeguarding civilization’s most important artistic and cultural treasures from armed conflict.
www.monumentsmenfoundation.org

Art Restitution and Cultural Heritage Preservation | Monuments Men and Women Foundation

Explore Monuments Men and Women Foundation's mission of honoring the legacy of the Monuments Men and Women, returning artworks to their rightful owners, and establishing standards of provenance and cultural heritage preservation.
www.monumentsmenfoundation.org www.monumentsmenfoundation.org


​
www.thecollector.com

Rose Valland: Art Historian Turned Spy To Save Art From Nazis

How can it be that Rose Valland, a major heroine of the resistance against Nazi art plunder remains barely known? Even after spying in front of Nazis, including Göring, for four years.
www.thecollector.com www.thecollector.com
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GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
raratt said:
www.yahoo.com

Air Force discharges 27 for refusal to get COVID vaccine

The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either...
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
In 24 years of active duty I cannot recall ever being "asked" if I wanted a shot/vaccine - you just dropped trow, took it & got back to work.
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
“Helping Both Ends of the Leash”

people.com

U.S. Soldier Seeking Help to Get Abandoned Puppies He Rescued Overseas Home for the Holidays

This holiday season Paws of War is seeking assistance with relocating two abandoned puppies for Staff Sgt. Jay who rescued both dogs while deployed overseas.
people.com people.com

pawsofwar.org

Paws of War

Paws of war trains and places shelter dogs to serve and provide independence to our U.S. military veterans that suffer from the emotional effects of war.
pawsofwar.org pawsofwar.org

pawsofwar.networkforgood.com

Help a Vet...Save A Pet

pay with paypal
pawsofwar.networkforgood.com pawsofwar.networkforgood.com
 
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