The Drones Are Coming

When the human brain thinks of some sort of new technology it's not to long before it
starts to grow in leaps and bounds. In the 1920-30s remote controlled aircraft were
first being tested, which then opened up the hobby industry for remote controlled
planes and cars. But with the technology of using satellites the government as
taken the technology from the hobby industry to the military and the CIA, a kind
of remote assassination, killing the bad guys. So if we can do it, other country's
also have the same technology to do the something. A man was arrested last year
for planing to fly three drone in D.C. with C-4 on broad into the capital and other
spots in Washington. Now many police departments are starting to use them and
many people have some serious questions about their uses, some might say that
their just being overly curious. But lets us not forget that the government as done
in the past, many many illegal things in this country to our own citizens. And as
citizens we have to remain on guard to protect our rights. Now you be the judge,
watch this video and see how far you would let this technology go if you had a
say about it. And also many in the hobby industry think that the government will
now stop them from flying anymore model planes.

 

February 19, 1945

This date will come and go and not many will know of it's meaning in American
history. On this date 68 years ago U.S. Marines and the forces of Japan would meet
on an island in the Pacific Ocean 700 miles from the Japanese main land. The island
just a speck of land, just eight squire miles of hell, void of most all vegetation. It was
grey in color with black sand beaches, rocky and smelled like sulfur and thus it's
name was sulfur island, in Japanese Iwo Jima, if there was a hell on earth, this was it.

Five days into the battle The Marines took  Mount Suribachi, raising the flag on top,
and the photograph taken on 23 February 1945 by Joe Rosenthal. The photo has been
one of the most copied photo in history. The picture was used by Felix de Weidon to
sculpt the Marine Corps War Memorial adjacent to Arlington Cemetery.

Unfortunately the taking of Mount Suribachi was not the end, the battle lasted till
March 26, 1945 with 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. The
Japanese lost around 21,844 with about 216 captured. Their was 27 Medals of
Honor 13 awarded Posthumously, 22 awarded to Marines 5 to Navy Corpsmen.

I made this little video to honor the men of Iwo Jima. In the end the survives would
ask each other this one question. Was it worth it?

 


 

THE ENTITLED BRED

About a year ago, we the people found out that senior members of the congress
and the senate were doing a little insider trading on info they got before the
public, you and me. You see it was not illegal for them to do this, and know
one knows just who and how much money they made over the years this
practice was going on back to God knows when. So after this story came
out about a year ago, the rules where changed and the senate pass a bill that said
know member could trade on info they had or there families on the info that they
had access to. But the house bill did not have that in there bill so a members wife
could trade on the info, or family member. A CNN reporter notice the discrepancy
and brought it to there attention.  The congress said it was an over site
and said it was going to try to fix it, but since the bill was already signed by the
President, the bill might have to have the President sign it again.

So here's the point, many of Congress and the Senate senior membership have been
profiting off practices which were illegal for you and me, and if we did it we would
have gone to jail. In the past many former members of both houses have said the
something, there excuse was always the same. "Well you know we only get 174,000
dollars a year, and we have to maintain a house in my state one here in D.C. an office
in my home state air travel back and forward. OK, Ok, the message here is you owe
me, they think there entitled for working less hours less days then the rest of us, with
more money then most of us.

Like I said in my last post its time to vote them all out in 2014 congress is up for
election, all 435 of them, time to let them go and it doesn't matter which party they
belong to, they all got to go!










 

Destiny

Do you believe in destiny? or maybe providence, or how about fate, and of course
free will. So let me ask you, did you ever have a little voice in the back of your
head telling you that you had something to do, or something more to do, but that
little voice didn't tell you what it was you had to do. Well this is the true story of
a man that had a voice in his head and what happened because he followed that
voice. Then you can be the judge on if it was destiny or not. I also believe in free
will, that doesn't tell you whether your choice is good or bad, just that you have a
choice, to do it or not to do it. And of course, the outcome is always in doubt.

RAYMOND M. CLAUSEN, JR was his name, but if you met him he'd tell you to
call him Mike, my name is Mike, just call me Mike he would say. Mikes tour in
Vietnam had ended and he was back home, but he put in a request for another tour
in Vietnam. His mother ask him why do you want to go back, why. Mike said I have
something I got to do, I don't know what but theirs something I still have to do.

So I guess the little voice in his head was telling him where, but not what, and so Mike
went back to Vietnam for another tour. On January 31, 1970 Mike and that little voice
met head on. This is where the little voice, fate and destiny and free will converged.
Participating in a helicopter rescue mission to extract elements of a platoon which had
inadvertently entered a minefield while attacking enemy positions. Mike skillfully helped
the pilot to a landing in an area cleared by one of several mine explosions. And now we
have come to the free will of this story, because at this point Mike had to make a decision
and Mike's decision was to jump out of the helicopter and run into the minefield under
heaver fire and help carry out the wounded as other Marines would follow in his foot
steps out of the minefield to the waiting helicopter. He did this six times till all Marines   
were safely aboard, then he had the pilot lift off  Mike saved eighteen Marines that day.

And for the action Mike took on that day, he would receive the Medal of Honor. And so
the question remains, was it destiny, or fate, or providence? Well you could drive yourself
crazy trying to figure out all the what ifs. What if Mike hadn't gone back to Vietnam what
if. It seems that no one leaves the battlefield unscathed, all leave a piece of themselves
there, and in turn, a piece of there, comes here. Mike Clausen passed away in 2004,
and that one action, on that one day, would define Mike for the rest of his life, as hero.
Most every Marine who ever met Mike, liked Mike, for he was the living example of,
no man left behind.  




 

Again They Serve

This is the story of Marines who are serving again as an Honor Detail at one of our
National Cemeteries. Semper Fi #1 is a all Marine unit of Marines not on active
duty, but serve again to make sure that every veteran, know matter what branch of
service he or she served in have a funeral with full honors. Over the years this unit
has grown, it now has three full honor details to conduct funerals. The first video is
from 6 years ago, the one after is about a year old. If this interest you and you want
to know more about Semper Fi #1 go to their website at.
http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index2.php?username=genochs&page=17

We are Marines, and this is what we do!

 

My longest Day

So its once again that time of the year when two anniversary's are at hand. Nov.27,1959 the day I entered the Marine Corps, Nov. 26, 1963 the
day I left the Marine Corps. I have vivid memory's of both days but Nov.27
seems to be one of the longest days in my life, and still implanted deep in my memory. Just how I got to this day is a long story, and to be told on another day. But today I would raise my right hand and take the Oath with a
bunch of guys I didn't no. It started early that morning saying good by to my parents, a friend would drive me from N.J. to N.Y.C at White Hall St.
where I would head off to Paris Island. Thing went along pretty well at White Hall until we took the oath, then I at least notice a change in the Marines that were there, Before we took the oath they were friendly,
after, not so much, we were now boots and they treated us as such, a
glimpse of what was about happen? We then loaded on a bus in front and headed back to N.J. to Newark Airport for the flight to S.C. When we got to S.C. another bus for the last leg to P.I. It
was all ready dark as the bus drove into the S.C. night, and getting later. On board all the guys
were having a good old time, laughing and joking around. If any of them had any apprehensions
they were not showing it, I on the other hand had this dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach
called fear of the unknown. As I sat their in my window seat looking out into the dark night of
the S.C. country side, very few lights of houses or stores or street lights as we drove down what
seemed to be long dark back roads. As I stared out the window I saw my own reflection staring
back at me, and it seemed more apprehensive then I was.

And then we were at the main gate, and everything got quiet. In 59 you did not no much about boot camp, there was no Internet to ask other Marines what it would be like or videos like YouTube to give you a glimpse
of what to expect. the only ones that had a small idea where those that had close friends or relatives that told them about it, but I and others did not. And to say it was shock and awe, was just about right. So here we are at the front gate and a M.P. gets on, asked the driver if he new where receiving was the driver told him no, so the M.P. stays on to direct him.
I was sitting right side window seat toward the front and heard the driver tell the M.P. how happy these guys were, and I remember the M.P. saying well that's about to change, another clue? Now in my mind of that day I
see the M.P. still at the gate calling up receiving and telling them the bus is on its way in and the receiving DIs telling each other ITS SHOW TIME..
In 59 receiving was in a different place but looks a lot like it does today, and their were no yellow foot prints. As we were pulling up to receiving and even before the bus came to a stop and right on cue five DIs emerge, from
receiving and four of them are carrying cut off pool cues and you can almost hear everyone on the bus saying under there breath oh shit what did I get myself into. So two DIs go two one side of the side walk and two on the other and the one without the pool cue gets on the bus.

 OK, EVERYONE SIT UP AND KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT, DO NOT SPECK UNLESS YOUR SPOKEN TO, IF YOUR SPOKEN TO YOU WILL ANSWER YES SIR OR NO SIR, DO YOU UNDERSTAND, EVERYBODY SAYS YES SIR, IF ANYBODY AS GUM IN THERE MOUTHS GET IT OUT NOW, WHEN I TELL YOU TWO GET OFF THE BUS FORM A LINE FROM THE BOTTOM STEP ONE BEHIND THE OTHER, DO YOU UNDERSTAND, EVERYBODY SAYS YES SIR, OK THEN GET OFF MY BUS,
GET OFF MY BUS, HURRY UP, MOVE IT.

We no sooner hit the pavement when the other four DIs were all over us, screaming in your face, and saying all those great DI saying we all now know so well, Up and down the line, like their dogs and we are the red meat, their is about 45 of us and no one is getting spared, sometimes there double and tripling on one guy. And your praying they don't come back to you. and in my mind I thought we might
all get beaten to death with those pool cues, then I thought to myself, they really can't do that, can they?
So now in to receiving for hair cuts and showers and more screaming, I don't remember what else. Next thing I remember is
we are in a room sitting at school desks with papers turnover on each desk, one of the DIs that has a cut off cue is saying when I tell you to turn over the papers you will fill out this and this, and all of a sudden a loud crash and everybody jumps. A kid in the front row had turned his papers over before he was told, The DI hit the desk so hard with that pool cue he was carrying I thought he must have broke it in half screaming at the kid, did I tell you to turn the papers over.
Next thing I remember is that were in the receiving barracks up stairs and getting ready for bed, then its everybody get in rack, get out of rack, get in rack, get out of rack, about 10 times before lights out. We are all dead tired, about 2 1/2 hours later lights are on trash cans and lids are rolling down the barracks, were out of the racks and getting ready for chow, after chow we will meet our DIs. And I'm thinking to myself this is not going to be another fun day.

So started my three months on the Island. Just how I managed to stay
is beyond me. It was the first thing I was able to complete in my life up to then, and why I think I owe the Marine Corps all, and the Corps owes me nothing, except my loyalty.

                                L/CPL Bruce Knipp 1959 to 1963

237th Marine Birthday

NOV.10, 1775 HAPPY 237 BIRTHDAY MARINES