Linda has written another excellent blog post. I’ve often said that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Her analysis of one poem and inclusion of another conveys this directly. My own life has been excellent and I’ve been surrounded by wonderful friends, found a loving and marvelous wife, been granted amazing opportunities and truly been happy. I’d recite the hurdles I’ve faced in recent years, but truth be told, the things that seemed bad ended up being good because they pushed me into a far better place.
I will never understand how some people allow themselves to dwell on the negatives in life.
So, I was watching TV this afternoon and the Military Channel was running “Navy SEALS: The Untold Stories”, and I was watching the Grenada episode. One of the Navy SEALs that heads in to evacuate the Governor-General from his house is Jack Navarre. Now, I don’t know if the wounded SEAL is actually named Jack Navarre or if that’s just the pseudonym they chose. Nonetheless, familial pride can be taken every time I watch the episodes on Grenada, Colombia and Panama. If anyone knows a Navy SEAL named Jack Navarre, let him know we’re proud of him!
I decided to splurge and secured a domain name for my humble blog. Now, you can also reach it by going to WereNotLostWereInFrance.com
I’d been urged to do this for my software development blog, LostInXpages.com, in which I write about technical issues encountered in XPages development, so I thought I might as well make life easier for everyone here as well.
The change should be minor, since links to the old redirect to the new.
Filed under: Henderson, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: Blogging Advice, Henry Henderson, Historical Marker Database, Mumbai, Rule 5, Terrorists
We’ve had a mild winter and I’ve been diving into more veteran reunions, so I’ve gone far too long since I last posted a Weekend Wanderings.
- As I was cleaning out my inbox to try to rebuild my To Do list, I came across a link to our pet photographer’s blog, in particular to her entry on our photo shoot for our Christmas car with our little Cavalier, Henry.
- Melissa was in Mumbai, at the Taj, not long before the terror attacks there in 2008. We were both more horrified about the risks taken by the staff who’d been so marvelous to her, so when our favorite Village Smith blogged about the Heroes of the Hotel Siege, we really took note.
- If you’re blogging and you’ve wondered how to get a million hits on your blog in less than a year, you should consider following The Other McCain’s advice. I picked and chose from among his recommendations, so you will never see a Rule 5 post here. Of course, if you like Rule 5, you can always go see XBrad’s Monday posts labelled Load HEAT.
- In my paying job, I do software development for a company that does international development (think “foreign aid”, but sponsored by many sources, not just first world governments). So, I get to see a lot of interesting technologies. The latest one is FormHub, which is used for mobile data collection. It allows collection of survyes, integration with GPS data at the time of data collection and rapid analysis of that data via maps. They’ve got a great explanatory video and I keep thinking that we can come up with some applications as military historians for this software. Craig Swain’s work on the Historical Marker Database comes to mind.
Sadly, 2LT Roy Gates passed away earlier this month. We’d celebrated both his service in E/506 (Easy Company) and his 90th birthday in the early days of this blog.
In Stars and Stripes, they note that young Lieutenant Gates was put in charge of a stash of fine wine and liquor at Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. He was apparently the right man for the job. “What did I do with it?” Gates said in an interview in 2011. “Drank it.”
Joe Muccia and Phil Russo passed along the sad news via Facebook.
At Saturday’s luncheon, General James Mattis spoke to the veterans of Iwo Jima, their families, and a number of active duty Marines and their families. I was lucky enough to attend the event and have since joined the Iwo Jima Alumni Association as an associate member.
The General, needless to say, gave an excellent speech. He talked about the pride that Marines have in the example set by the 
veterans of Iwo. In particular, he mentioned that when he was outside Fallujah before the assault companies stormed the town, he listened to a nervous young Marine who told his Corporal he was worried and the Corporal responded, “We took Iwo Jima. Fallujah won’t be nothin’.”
Marines take pride in their Corps. The General related that John Glenn once said that his wingman, Ted Williams, was asked about the best team he’d ever been on and Williams responded “the Marines”.
Marines maintain a sense of humor, even when the going gets tough. General Mattis didn’t shy away from a little self-deprecating humor. He related a story about Ramadi, saying he asked a Corporal one of the most inane questions ever asked in a firefight. The Corporal was exchanging fire with the enemy and the General asked, “What’s going on, Corporal?” The young man turned over his shoulder and lowered his rifle. “Sir, we’re takin’ the fun outta fundamentalism.”
When I got to the front of the line for photos with the General, I was completely disarmed when he called me by name. As a Navy Chief once told a just-graduated Navy ensign at the Academy, “Refer to your sailors by name, they’ll love it and they’ll forget it’s written on their chests.” Nonetheless, it was quite an honor for me.
The banquet on Saturday evening was also wonderful, with Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos as the guest of honor. The additional treat of having Radio King Orchestra play after dinner. Melissa and I love swing dancing and RKO had played at our wedding, so it was a reunion of sorts for us as well.
I’ve had the privilege of joining the veterans of Iwo Jima at the reunion at the Sheraton Pentagon City where we hold our Dragoon and Colmar events. It’s been a wonderful event and I expect to attend more than just the seminar next year.
Filed under: Marines, Military Working Dogs | Tags: Chesty XIV, Dogs, Marines
Photo by Sgt. Dengrier M. Baez, USMC
The new Marine Corps mascot, Chesty, has arrived at the Barracks at 8th and I to begin his obedience and recruit training.
Filed under: 36th, 3rd, 45th, 509th, 517th, 551st, Medal of Honor, Officers, Operation Dragoon, Veterans | Tags: Bill Davis, Darryl Egner, David Grange, Henry Bodson, Lloyd Ramsey, Morton Katz, Operation Dragoon, Richard Seitz, Robert D. Maxwell, Wilburn K. Ross
For information on the 2014 event, see our 6th Army Group website.
For the last few years, the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division, Outpost Europe, has hosted an Operation Dragoon commemoration and seminar. It’s always a fantastic event. We are honored that many veterans attend and provide their insights and remembrances. There will be a few veterans I’ve never met as well as others I will be overjoyed to see again. It’s truly an event not to be missed.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Operation Dragoon – The “Forgotten D-Day”
The Allied Landings in Southern France and the Southern France Campaign
15 August 1944-14 September 1944
Outpost Europe, Society of the 3rd Infantry Division
The Army Historical Foundation
The Embassy of France to the United States
When: 8-11 August 2013 (Thursday-Sunday)
8 August: 1 to 3 PM – registration; 5 to 8 PM – historical seminar
9 August: 9 AM to 5 PM – historical seminars and veterans’ remembrances
10 August: 8:30 to 1200 AM – ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery; 5 to 9:30 PM – Banquet
11 August: 8:30 to 11 AM – historical seminars
Where: Sheraton National Hotel, 900 South Orme Street, Arlington, VA 22204
Who: Veterans of the 6th Army Group; 7th Army; 6th Corps; 3rd, 36th, and 45th Infantry Divisions; 1st Allied Airborne Task Force – 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team (including Anti-Tank Company/442nd Infantry Regiment, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 4463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion, and the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade (UK)); 1st Special Service Force; US Army Air Corps; US Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine; the OSS; and veterans from the participant allied nations of France, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Canada who served in the supporting Air Forces and Navy; and their friends and families, as well as anyone interested in World War II history.
Why: To honor the veterans of the Forgotten D-Day, to preserve history, to educate the public, and to pass on the torch of their proud legacy.
Room Reservations: Price – $95 per night, one day prior to event and one day after. Reservations: 1-888-627-8210
Reservation Group Name: Operation Dragoon
Cut off date for reservations: Friday, 21 July 2013
Point of Contact: Monika Stoy, President, Outpost Europe, Society of the 3rd Infantry Division, timmoni15@yahoo.com, RSVP by 30 June 2013
REGISTRATION: Event registration – $30. Banquet – $40. (Free for Dragoon Vets)
Shuttle to/from airport provided by hotel, so no rental car required.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Filed under: 36th, Officers, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: 36th Infantry Division, British, Dunkirk, Gun Control, Jonathan Yale, Jordan Haerter, Navy Cross, Operation Market Garden, Pearl Harbor, Russ Littel, Sag Harbor, SAS, Signal Corps, US Naval Institute
It’s been a while since I’d posted a Weekend Wanderings, so let me share some of the interesting things I’ve found of late:
- For the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the Naval Institute blog posted an article written by Thomas C. Hone for the December 1977 issue of Proceedings magazine detailing the specifics of the damage to the battleships. It makes for fascinating reading.
- Bob Costas went on an anti-gun rant after the recent murder-suicide of an NFL player. He made no such grandstanding speech when another such player killed a teammate by driving drunk. UltimaRatioRegis pointed this out ably over on Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid.
- There was a fishing tournament held in late September in Sag Harbor, NY, the in honor of Sag Harbor native LCPL Jordan Haerter, who was awarded the Navy Cross along with CPL Jonathan Yale, for their actions in Ramadi. One of my connections to Haerter is via SFC Russ Littel, married to a Sag Harbor gal, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 36th Infantry Division. His in-laws are keeping a candle lit for him until he returns home.
- If you’ve seen those “most interesting man in the world” ads for Dos Equis, you have the flavor of the life of Major-General Tony Deane-Drummond. He escaped Dunkirk, the failed drop at Arnhem, and a POW camp in Italy (twice). He led a successful attack by the SAS on a 7,000-foot high plateau. In 34 years in the British Army, he was awarded the Distinquished Service Order and two Military Crosses. He lived life to it’s fullest and has now passed on. Hat tip to Mike Stransky on this one. “On one occasion [during his escape from Arnhem] Baroness Ella van Heemstra, the mother of Audrey Hepburn, arrived with a bottle of champagne.” Stay thirsty, my friends.
We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in ... France 