Fallen Heroes

When I bought my bike last year I thought I might do something in opposition to the over publicized, protected speech of a group of religious nut jobs. I would be willing to test the righteousness of their claims with trial by combat, even though that is a little out of style.
I finally decided on the Patriot Guard. I signed up and never got a notification of a need in the area.

That all changed yesterday.

I am now a member of the Red Knights, who rode escort for an area firefighter who was killed in Iraq. We were told there was a very slight chance some of those nut jobs might show up to spread their hatred. No one wanted to miss that.

Luckily, none showed their ugly faces. I did get to see the out pouring of emotion by my entire community for a firefighter, by people who didn’t even know him.

It was said by one of the Patriot Guard Riders, “the fire service really knows how to send off one of their own.” Several of these men rode hundreds of miles to stand with us. We appreciated them very much.

The forecast was suitably gloomy to fit the occasion, a soft rain becoming a downpour occasionally. The local departments raised a forty foot American Flag between two tower trucks on the road in front of the church. A dozen pieces of apparatus joined the escort. Every branch of the military was amply represented. The officers and men of his unit made certain that one drop of rain would not touch the widow or her family. The flag line and honor guard stood uncomplaining, in the rain, for three hours, to do honor to our brother. The police made sure the procession was not delayed.

The local people stood by the road, in the rain, and held American Flags, to show their respect for a man they had never met. They stopped their cars and got out to wave tiny dash board flags, and hold their hands over their hearts.

The family was visibly moved by the honor done their loved one.

The graveside service, in our National Cemetery, included full military honors, the bagpipe corps, and the ringing of the bell for his “last call”.

Thank God for the rain, or a lot of tough guys would have tarnished their image.

Building Knives

Making knives is not the same as building knives. A true knife maker will forge or grind his own blades. Someday I will be able to stroll out to the barn and build a fire under the spreading chestnut tree and beat a piece of steel into submission.

.

Not soon, I'm afraid.

.

Until then I will remain a knife builder. I sometimes peruse the suppliers and when a blank blade strikes my fancy, invest a little money and some time to produce something like the above.

.

I built two of these right after the first Gulf War. One I sold to a SF officer who made appropriate slobbering noises and waved money.

.

The blade is 440 stainless and measures .221 thick. The length is twelve inches with the lanyard loop (covered with the grips). It has a diamond ground point that I find very pleasing. The Rockwell hardness is in the sixty to sixty four range. Blade length is six and one half inches.

.

The grips are Goodyear Neoprene held in place with micarta rods and lots of Superglue. The wrap of the grips is 550 cord with the core removed to make a flat ribbon of OD green nylon. It serves the purpose of survival cord, if you find a sudden need for rope. If you are desperate enough and need string it can be unraveled and tied together. God knows that would be really bad.

.

The sheath is nylon with a leg tie and a pocket for a stone. The blade is covered in hard plastic to keep the knife from cutting through the side and your leg.

.

The knife feels like you could cut up small cars with out hurting it much.

.

This is the one I pick up when I have that tactical urge. All it needs is a black finish.

"A Day That Will Live In Infamy"

This day in 1941 was the start of a war that changed our world. Not only in fire and death but in the way the world looks at this country. We became a superpower. We became an industrial giant.

These are the fruit of the seeds planted on that day.

What are the seeds? There are many more than I can recount, the greatest of these is resolve. There was hate, anger, fear, and probably every emotion in the spectrum, all layered in the minds of America. Out of that resolve grew the nation that provided the might to destroy the axis powers of totalitarian aggression.

Our most recent "Day of Infamy" has raised little that has remained as a monument to those innocents that died. The resolve and anger has been whittled away by the propaganda, not only of our enemy's, but of our own news media. What is left, in many cases, is fear and guilt.

America, on this day of rememberance, recall those that were struck down in 1941, recall the greatness of that generation, recall in yourself the the greatness that the liberal socialist media has sought to suppress.

If this country decides as a whole to persue a goal, no matter what it might be, we can not be stopped.

Drive On!!!

This one is for the memories

My Dad always loved a Springfield 1903A3. It was the first weapon he qualified with in the Army, and I believe the rifle he carried on D-Day. He used to tell of breaking marbles with his at a distance I found hard to believe, but I've seen him shoot and wouldn't want to lay heavy cash on it. This one I found in a pawn shop. The sights are military peep in the rear, and sporter ramp in the front. The barrel is a hunter profile with a funny looking thing threaded into the front. Flash suppressor maybe? If you know please let me know.

This action is actually the better 1903, the A3 changed to a cheaper ladder type rear sight.The classic 30-06 round fits the chamber. The stock is an after market job with white caps, which are not ivory. I've fired it a few times, you really wouldn't want me to shoot at you with it, but not enough to say if the sights are truly zeroed in.

This is the classic rifleman's weapon. Years ago shooters would come to Camp Perry and draw a weapon, scrub the comsmoline out of the barrel and proceed to shoot 1000 yard bulls eyes with iron sights and issued ammo. They had to use some after market micrometer adjusters for the sights, but I can forgive them that because they were using iron sights instead of a scope.

The action is a direct rip off of the Mauser, close enough to incur a lawsuit for patent infringement that Mauser won.

What the news don't tell.

.
I just read this over at badgers forward, it's worth the read.

http://badgersforward.blogspot.com/2007/05/10-myths-about-iraq-war.html

DW

Why are we there ?

Our last, best hope in Iraq -- Gen. David Petraeus -- reminded Pentagon reporters this week of a critically important fact long forgotten by most observers: Our real enemy in Iraq, the true source of all the murders, mayhem, and instability, is not sectarian strife. And it's not the Sunnis or the Shiites, either. The real enemy we face in Iraq is al-Qaida

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid doesn't understand this. Nor, for that matter, do the other defeatist Democrats carelessly demanding our immediate withdrawal. They fail to grasp that the root of our problems in Iraq -- again, the true source of the hostilities -- remains al-Qaida. These murderous thugs are fomenting the sectarian strife on both sides of the Iraqi street. Their tactic is the nadir of nihilism.


Lieberman forcefully stated that "al-Qaida, after all, isn't carrying out mass murder against civilians in the streets of Baghdad because it wants a more equitable distribution of oil revenue. Its aim in Iraq isn't to get a seat at the political table; it wants to blow up the table -- along with everyone seated at it."

Without question, it is a near certainty that Iran and Syria are helping al-Qaida with money, arms and explosives. And, yes, if we leave now, al-Qaida will have an open field in which to expand its operations and prepare for the ultimate attack on the United States. In fact, the Defense Department and the CIA just nabbed a high-ranking al-Qaida operative known as al-Iraqi. He was a key link between the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida members in Iran. And while it's great news we got him, he's one more reminder that this network is strong and playing for keeps.



The Harry Reids in Washington don't get it. They fail to see the terrorist fingerprints. But when you look at Iraq through the Lieberman lens, the dust settles. The task before us becomes clearer. Why are we in Iraq? We are fighting al-Qaida. Period.

A final question for Reid: If, as he says, we have "lost" the Iraq war, who exactly has won? Who is the winner, Sen. Reid? Who would you like the United States to surrender to?

It's not the Sunnis. It's not the Baathists. It's not the Shiites. And it's certainly not Prime Minister Maliki. In conventional warfare terms, Harry Reid is suggesting we surrender to al-Qaida.

The above paragraphs are taken from Larry Kudlow's article on Townhall. He has stated in reasonable, plain, language the mission in Iraq and why it is so important.

What he has overlooked, or refrained to state, is the obvious reason the Democrats have adopted this stance.

It is simply power.

They play on the fears of Americans who can't stand the thought of confrontation, on any level. These are people who never stand up for anything because they have not the strength to endure any stress. They are the ones who will have you "talk to the hand" rather than decide where to have dinner. The "I can't deal with that" crowd is their base, the sheeple who will never see that going down fighting is your last dignity. They are the bunch who will "relax and enjoy it".

The surrender crowd in congress only seek reelection. The short sighted bribe, be it feel good because we are not at war, or feel good because I have bought your vote with pork barrel spending, is not in the nations best interest and they don't care.

I will never be famous, infamous perhaps, so I don't have to worry about the feelings of my constituents, or right and wrong, or support an unpopular view. In that respect, I am lucky, I can sit here and pontificate about the proper answers. I do know that surrender is the abdication of principle, and in this case death will be the reward of countless thousands if we choose this solution.

And there I was...

We all know the difference between a war story and a fairy tale is, one begins with "once upon a time", and the other starts with "and there I was!".

I served in the Green Machine for a few years, I missed road building in Nicaragua by a couple of weeks, and missed Jones Town Guyana by a month. ( Shut up and drink your cool aid punk!)
I was at the largest military installation in the East for my entire tour, and didn't reenlist because of family. There were a lot of things I might have done, none I regret. Some, however, came really close.

I worked in the motor pool of an aviation company as a generator/ heavy equipment mechanic. We were blessed with a real bunch of characters. We had some folks that would do anything and then sit right where they finished, even if it was the back of a 2 1/2 in the sun and a hundred degrees. We had a few average guys, and one army brat that got so stupid with a Full Bird, they called his dad, to drop in, from the other side of the world, as a courtesy. Then there was our barracks thief.

This dude was fairly nice, to me, but not too smart. Door knobs could teach this dude a lot. He got in trouble for stealing a truck from the motor pool, and then giving someone a ride from the company. No, he wasn't hard to find. He was on active duty because he got tired of the Guard and wrote his CO a letter, saying it was too hard and he didn't think it was for him. So they naturally snatched him up and sent him to us.

Thanks much.

The dude tried so hard to be one of the guys, but didn't have it in him. He did so many things wrong I can't even tell you, our First Sargent wanted to throw him through a wall (Top told me this himself) for a gaff so stupid it had to be, simple ignorance. He presented Top with a hand written receipt for the car belonging to one of our soldiers who drowned in an accident. Bad idea.

One day we were hanging around the truck bays, trying to get in trouble, and about to do better than planned. I like to tie knots, so I had found a piece of line we used to hang rotor blades on the helicopters and was randomly tying knots. I had just tied a hangman's noose, when the Motor Sargent walked out and said "Oh finally gonna hang 'im eh?" At this point the dude made a cardinal mistake. He said "Ya'll don't have the guts." You would think we rehearsed. The rope goes over the rafters, a chair appears, and the dude is placed on top with his nylon necktie carefully adjusted for effectiveness, if not comfort. The proper usage implies a long drop and a sharp stop. A chair doesn't qualify as a gallows, unless you want it to take a long time. I snugged the rope around a long bolt, and waited for the signal that the prank was over. At this most inopportune time our contingent from Wisconsin strolled in, he absolutely hated the dude, took one look, and kicked the chair out from under him.

I almost had a heart attack! I literally threw the rope up into the air! The dude grabbed the rope at the back of his neck with both hands. All well that doesn't end with me having to explain why I hanged a dufus for fun, whew!

Shortly after the truck theft, the dude was off to new digs at Leavenworth, probably didn't fit in there either. When they cleaned out the dudes locker, every theft for months was solved. Buttons badges, transistor radios, every thing that shined.