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TOKYO (AP) - A U.S. search team on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima is zeroing in on a cave where a Marine combat photographer who filmed the iconic flag-raising 62 years ago is believed to have been killed in battle nine days later, officials told The Associated Press Friday.
The seven-member search team is looking for the remains of Sgt. William H. Genaust, who was killed in action after filming the flag-raising atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. The team is also searching for other U.S. troops killed in the battle - one of the fiercest and most symbolic of Second World War .
The team is the first from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting office, which is headquartered on Hickam Air Force Base on Hawaii, to conduct a search on Iwo Jima since 1948, when most of the American remains were recovered. The island was occupied by the United States after Japan's 1945 surrender, and returned to Japanese jurisdiction in 1968.
"The team is finding caves that have been cleaned out, and some that have collapsed," JPAC spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Brown told the AP.
Brown said the team is looking for as many American remains as it can find, including those of Genaust.
He said 88,000 U.S. service members are missing from Second World War , including about 250 from the Iwo Jima campaign.
Brown said the search is a preliminary one, and that if a high probability of recovering remains is determined, a full recovery team will be sent in.
"Our motto is 'until they are home,"' Brown said. "'No man left behind' is a promise made to every individual who raises his hand."
Genaust, a combat photographer with the 28th Marines, used a movie camera to film the raising of the flag atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. He stood just feet away from AP photographer Joe Rosenthal, whose photograph of the moment won a Pulitzer Prize and came to symbolize the Pacific War and the struggle of the U.S. forces to capture the tiny island, a turning point in the war with Japan.
Genaust didn't live to see the end of the battle.
Johnnie Webb, a civilian official with JPAC, said Genaust died nine days later when he was hit by machine-gun fire as he was assisting fellow Marines secure a cave.
Iwo Jima was officially taken on March 26, 1945, after 31-day battle that pitted some 100,000 U.S. troops against 21,200 Japanese. All told, 6,821 Americans were killed and nearly 22,000 injured - the highest percentage of casualties in any Pacific battle.
Only 1,033 Japanese survived.
Many of the missing Marines were lost at sea, meaning the chances of recovering their remains are slim. But many also were killed in caves or buried by explosions, and Brown said they are optimistic that the current search for Genaust and other servicemen will prove useful.
"We are looking at several caves," he said. "'We are looking for a number of service members, including Genaust. We have maps dating back to Second World War and even GPS locations. So far, everything seems to be where it should be."
Accounts of Genaust's death vary, but he was believed to have been killed in or near a cave on "Hill 362A."
On March 4, 1945, Marines were securing the cave, and are believed to have asked Genaust to use his movie camera light to illuminate their way. He volunteered to shine the light in the cave himself, and when he did he was killed by enemy fire. The cave was secured after a gunfight, and its entrance sealed.
Genaust was 38 when he died.
"We decided that the only way to determine if his remains were there was to work on the ground," Webb said. "We believe his remains may be in there, along with the remains of the Japanese."
Separately, Japan on Monday returned to using the prewar name for Iwo Jima at the urging of its original inhabitants, who want to reclaim an identity they say has been hijacked by high-profile movies like Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima." The new name, Iwo To, was adopted by the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute in consultation with Japan's coast guard.
-- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At* GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~ ******************************************
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Ronald Reagan's wisdom on the Middle East: LEAVE! OC Register ^ | July 21, 2006 | John Seiler
Posted on 06/17/2007 1:22:37 PM EDT by OrthodoxPresbyterian
Ronald Reagan is America's most beloved president of recent years. We remember how he restored prosperity while ending the Cold War without getting us all nuked....
It's worth looking back on Reagan's policy on involving U.S. troops in the quarrels and hatreds of the Middle East. In 1983, he committed U.S. Marines to Lebanon. On Oct. 23, a terrorist truck bomb blew up the troops' barracks, killing 220 Marines and 21 other troops.
At first, Reagan insisted that he wouldn't cave in to the terrorist threat. Then he realized the best policy was to pull out the troops. Here's how he explained it in his autobiography:
Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have.
In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believed the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today.
Reagan's sensible policy -- "neutral position and neutrality" -- should be followed today.... And troops now in Iraq should be brought home immediately. Almost 2,600 have been killed in Iraq, 10 times the number killed in Lebanon when Reagan decided to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~ Note: GyG's G&A Sites & Forums is an informational site and not for profit. Copyrighted material provided soley for education, study, research, and discussion, etc. Full credit to source shown when available. ~~~~~
Party boy Skeet Burns (played by William Haines ) travels to San Diego on the pretext of joining the Marines. Upon arriving at the Marine base, he makes a quick detour to Tijuana for some fun, although he is nearly collared by Sergeant O'Hara (played by Lon Chaney). O'Hara, a seasoned leatherneck, has seen this time and time again. Skeet may have slipped out of O'Hara's clutches for the moment, but "he'll be back - yeah he'll be back."
What is Sergeant O'Hara? Is he some kind of psychic? His prediction of Skeet's return and his subsequent enlistment is right on the money. Not only that, lucky Skeet will become O'Hara's personal responsibility. This new recruit is taken through all the rigors of boot camp, kicking and scheming all the way. O'Hara has a remedy for wiseacres like Skeet, called "driving the General's car." When he asks for a volunteer for this "cushy" task, Skeet naturally pushes his way to the head of the line. His enthusiasm turns to pure torture when he realizes that the General's car is actually a wheelbarrow for hauling loads (and loads) of rocks! He is assigned a keeper, Corporal Madden (played by Eddie Gribbon). Some keeper - he can't even keep the smitten Skeet from playfully "kidnapping" attractive nurse Norma Dale (played by Eleanor Boardman) or keep him out of the brig. To add to Skeet's problems, it just so happens that Sergeant O'Hara has been sweet on this particular nurse for quite some time. Poor Skeet, before he can honestly call himself a Marine he has a long way to go...
Tell It to the Marines is considered to be the tough, yet funny and sentimental, prototype of a military service film. The themes that were calculatedly presented for audiences were patriotism, loyalty, fraternity and the assurance that the military was protecting American interests. Taking these elements and putting them in a script that gave a human face to these ideals went over in a big way with the general public and the military itself. To be sure, this wasn't the only film of its kind released at this time. Other studios were producing their own buddy films with a military backdrop, such as Behind the Front (Famous Players-Lasky, 1926), starring Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton and What Price Glory (Fox Film Corp, 1926), starring Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe. The stars of the two latter films teamed up again and made more of the same, due to popular response. Tell It to the Marines was not followed up by related films starring Chaney and Haines. It did, however, become the most memorable of all the films of this genre and was much beloved in an official capacity by the USMC.
Tell It to the Marines premiered at the Embassy Theater (New York) on December 23, 1926, where it had a successful run for 13 weeks and became M-G-M's second-highest grossing film for that year. A private screening was held in Washington, D.C. and was attended by President Coolidge, Cabinet members and a score of senators. It deservedly received rave reviews:
Motion Picture Magazine, for March 1927, commented, "Lon Chaney's first appearance 'au naturel' for many years and it makes one plead for more."
The Variety review of December 29, 1926, crowed, "Tell It to the Marines is sure-fire box office if there ever was one...It's a special and that goes 100 percent...This picture is full of action, laughs and holds a lot of love interest. In addition, the photography is great. Some shots worthy of an artist's brush."
Harrison's Reports, on January 1, 1927, generously exclaimed, "Excellent. It is, in fact, a better picture than any Mr. Chaney has ever been in. There are laughs and thrills, and in many situations deep emotional appeal. The laughs are caused by the "fresh" conduct of the heroine's young sweetheart and by the treatment he receives at the hands of the hard-boiled marines."
Photoplay in March 1927, fell in the rank and file of positive acknowledgment by stating, "The adventures of the Devil Dogs in China. Grade A entertainment, with Lon Chaney and William Haines adding further glory to their reputations."
The plot line of Tell It to the Marines admittedly spreads itself magnanimously across the globe. The structure reminds one of today's military recruitment commercials, which tend to show a fabulous montage of adventures a recruit can look forward to. They start ordinarily enough with boot camp, and then on to the briny sea for battleship maneuvers. The next stop is a soggy island in the Philippines, complete with rebellious natives. Finally, it's on to a glorious encounter for the Marines in remote Hangchow, China, against a local warlord. Also, the feminine touch is not absent from these remote places. Conveniently, the same nurses from boot camp are assigned to Hangchow. (Pass the ammunition and the nurses.) In considering a career choice with the military, this high-budget recruitment film could certainly put the idea over with a young, healthy American male - Now, are there any volunteers to drive the General's car? Behind the Scenes of Marines
The eight and a half week shooting schedule for Tell It to the Marines, under the direction of George Hill, was kicked off by an impressive ceremony. Almost the entire M-G-M studio personnel was at the base when the USMC band played as the Commandant of the Corp presented studio chief Louis B. Mayer an American flag to be flown at the studio. Lon Chaney was in attendance in his sergeant's uniform with actual Marines and their mascot bulldog, Sgt. Jiggs, who made a cameo playing O'Hara's pooch. In fact, Chaney was made an honorary Marine by the Corps - one of his proudest moments. The battleship USS California was used in the scenes that took place at sea. (Later, the famous ship would fall victim to the Japanese during their attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.)
Much of the film was shot at the Marine base in San Diego with technical assistance from the Marines and from Marine General Smedley Butler, who became a personal friend of Chaney's. In return for their assistance, M-G-M lent a deluxe steam shovel to the Marines to help landscape the base. General Butler's son recalled in 1991 what it was like at the Marine base during the filming, and he remembered Lon Chaney eating dinner at their home. The event was captured in home movies with the lucky boy on screen with the great star.
There is a lot to recommend about Tell It to the Marines. This well-produced film is considered by many to be one of Chaney's finest works. It's about time that it be restored and put on video for the patient fans who have believed in it all along. The best way to get our message across is to - tell it to Time Warner!
Tell It to the Marines (M-G-M, 1926). Cast: Lon Chaney, William Haines, Eleanor Boardman, Eddie Gribbon, Carmel Myers, Warner Oland, Mitchell Lewis, Frank Currier, Maurice E. Kains and Sgt. Jiggs (the USMC's official mascot). Directed by George Hill. Photographed by Ira H. Morgan. B&W. The film runs approximately 94 minutes. Note: to our knowledge, Tell It to the Marines has never been aired on TCM. Be sure to request that this classic be shown! This is a film we would like to see released on video .
Sources: The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films, 1921-1930; Lon Chaney by Michael F. Blake; and The Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz.
Note: Lon Chaney by Michael F. Blake (Vestal Press,1993) features many photographs taken at San Diego when the film was being shot.
-- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @ N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At*GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG@GMail.com ADD In Subject Line.... ~~~~~~~~~~ RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! R.W. "Dick" Gaines (The Original "Gunny G") GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952- (Plt #437-PISC)-'72 Sites & Forums For... The Thinking Marine! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor! --Sites & Forums GyG's Old Salt Marines Tavern ~Interactive~ GyG's Globe and Anchor Weblog GyG's History/Traditions, etc. The GyG Archive/Bookmarks @FURL ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add Gunny G's FURL RSS Feed To YOUR Site! ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ USMC, Military, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc.
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"SERGEANT MAJOR AT IWAKUNI MCAS GETS OFF EASY AFTER SEVEN-MONTH AFFAIR WITH FIELD-GRADE OFFICER'S WIFE - COURT-MARTIAL GIVES E-9 THIRTY DAYS IN THE BRIG, LOSS OF ONE STRIPE IF FADRIQUE TARAZON ACCEPTS RETIREMENT AFTER 27 YEARS SERVICE WOULD A LANCE CORPORAL OR EVEN A GUNNY HAVE GOTTEN SUCH A SWEET DEAL?"
-- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @ N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At*GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~ ******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG@GMail.com ADD In Subject Line.... ~~~~~~~~~~ RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! R.W. "Dick" Gaines (The Original "Gunny G") GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952- (Plt #437-PISC)-'72 Sites & Forums For... The Thinking Marine! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor! --Sites & Forums GyG's Old Salt Marines Tavern ~Interactive~ GyG's Globe and Anchor Weblog GyG's History/Traditions, etc. The GyG Archive/Bookmarks @FURL ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add Gunny G's FURL RSS Feed To YOUR Site! ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ USMC, Military, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~ Note: GyG's G&A Sites & Forums is an informational site and not for profit. Copyrighted material provided soley for education, study, research, and discussion, etc. Full credit to source shown when available. ~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~ Note: GyG's G&A Sites & Forums is an informational site and not for profit. Copyrighted material provided soley for education, study, research, and discussion, etc. Full credit to source shown when available. ~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~ Note: GyG's G&A Sites & Forums is an informational site and not for profit. Copyrighted material provided soley for education, study, research, and discussion, etc. Full credit to source shown when available. ~~~~~
Of Homosexuals and Generals http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,138671,00.html?wh=wh http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,138671,00.html?wh=wh
-- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @ N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At*GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! R.W. "D1ck" Gaines The Original "Gunny G"
GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952- (Plt #437PISC)-'72 Sites & Forums For... The Thinking Marine! ~~~~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor! --Sites & Forums http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/sites.html ~~~~~~ GyG's Old Salt Marines Tavern ~Interactive~ http://network54.com/Forum/135069 ~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor Weblog http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ ~~~~~~~ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ ~~~~~~~ The GyG Archive/Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg ~~~~~ RSS Feed-GyG's FURL Archive http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg/rss.xml ~~~~~~~ Want On GyG's E-Mail List? ~~~ Send: GunnyG@GMail.com ADD In Subject Line.... ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG@GMail.com ADD In Subject Line.... ~~~~~~~~~~ RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! R.W. "Dick" Gaines (The Original "Gunny G") GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952- (Plt #437-PISC)-'72 Sites & Forums For... The Thinking Marine! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor! --Sites & Forums GyG's Old Salt Marines Tavern ~Interactive~ GyG's Globe and Anchor Weblog GyG's History/Traditions, etc. The GyG Archive/Bookmarks @FURL ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add Gunny G's FURL RSS Feed To YOUR Site! ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ USMC, Military, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc.
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The Last Old China Marine? http://tinyurl.com/2v2zch
Over Memorial Day I had the opportunity to visit Myrtle Beach SC. While heading out, an old gent was walking by and saw the Semper Fi sticker in my truck window. He asked if I was in the Corps, Yes Sir ! Out went the hand with a reply " so was I !" I looked into, what I learned later were 93 year old eyes, and jokingly asked " What were you, a Horse Marine ? " The answer "close a China Marine !" You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was speaking to a "China Marine" who enlisted in the Corps at 15 in 1931 and retired a Lt. Col. in 1967. Ski, as he insisted I call him, invited me for a visit the next day. Three hours after arriving and pouring over photos in his album from his China Service, I became friends with this old Marine. I shook the hand, that shook the hand of Smedley Butler, had Chesty Puller as a friend and called several past commandants by thier first name, calling one a "silly ass" ! After searching around, I learned that a few retired officers of the Corps, had and have, the same thought I had, Ski is a "legend" in his own right and was called a " National Treasure" by one retired Major, who knows him. I learned that Marines, feared Ski and would now want to honor him. The Old China Marine, is retired Lt. Col. Peter Paul Yezerski, USMC Food Services. I have received some documents of Ski, from his family and found he has seen duty starting after Parris Island in China on the USS Tulsa a patrol gunboat, at the time flagship of the China Fleet. Saw duty on land during the Sino Japanese controversy guarding the International Settlement in Shanghi China and ran up the Yangtze River to assist the USS Panay. Saw duty in Nicaragua and then on the Gitmo, Wallis Island, Upolu, Western Samoa, Guadalcanal and into Melbourne. A map on his wall was peppered with red pins spanning the world of places he has been. Contacting the Historical Branch USMC Quantico I plan an Oral interview of Ski for the record, to be saved for research at MCU Research, Quantico. Ski and his family have been busy preparing for my visit pulling out old files and memories from his service in the Corps. Can't wait to see documentation of a Marine Officer some call the Smorgasbord King. My query here is; Is this the last of the "Old" China Marines of the 1930's? Anybody ever heard of him or have any info they would like to share? Hopefully, Ski will be attending the China Marine Assoc. reunion this coming fall, Ski now thought to be the Oldest known China Marine. I plan on staying in close contact with him Thanks Semper Fi ! Jim Donovan http://tinyurl.com/2v2zch -- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @ N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At*GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG@GMail.com ADD In Subject Line.... ~~~~~~~~~~ RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! R.W. "Dick" Gaines (The Original "Gunny G") GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952- (Plt #437-PISC)-'72 Sites & Forums For... The Thinking Marine! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GyG's Globe and Anchor! --Sites & Forums GyG's Old Salt Marines Tavern ~Interactive~ GyG's Globe and Anchor Weblog GyG's History/Traditions, etc. The GyG Archive/Bookmarks @FURL ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add Gunny G's FURL RSS Feed To YOUR Site! ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ USMC, Military, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc.
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The announcement Friday that Gen. Peter Pace would not be returned to the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, initially made my heart sink. Other Marines felt — and feel — the same. I know, because I’ve received their e-mail messages.
To us it’s not so much because of who Pace is as a man and a four-star Marine general, though that certainly has something to do with it. But it’s what he represents to the history of our Corps as the first-ever Marine to lead the JCS.
We Marines are fiercely proud of that history, and for good reason.
Every single one of us who has ever worn the eagle, globe, and anchor is a part of that history. We’re taught that from day-one at boot camp or officer candidate school, and it’s something that creates a lifelong bond between Marines as well as a special appreciation for the accomplishments of our fellow Marines.
For instance, all Marines know that the first American to orbit the earth was Marine Col. John Glenn. The current director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, is a former Marine; as is New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. When Hollywood needed an actor who could play one of the Army’s toughest, most celebrated battlefield commanders, Gen. George S. Patton Jr.; they picked former Marine George C. Scott for the title role. And if I were to continue, this would not even be a warm up.
So when Pace became chief of the chiefs (In fact, he was the first Marine to become vice chairman.), we Marines were all thinking, “It’s about time†and “What finer man could there be to represent us?â€
“PERFECT PETE†Dubbed “Perfect Pete†by fellow officers, Pace graduated from the Naval Academy in 1967, rising through the ranks from a Marine rifle platoon commander in Vietnam to the highest-ranking American military officer in the world in 2005.
Pace’s not being renominated has nothing to do with his performance as chairman of the JCS. It has everything to do with what he symbolizes (American leadership while fighting a difficult war in Iraq) to the usual salivating suspects on Capitol Hill. And it was clear to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and surely to President Bush, that Pace’s reconfirmation hearings would have been turned into a congressional circus: With poll-driven politicians focusing less on Pace’s performance and plans for the present and future prosecution of the war, and more on what has gone wrong in Iraq for the purposes of “show†and heaping blame, regardless of whether or not it is deserved, on any symbol of the Bush White House.
Pace is such a symbol. So he’s out. In his place, Gates has tapped Admiral Mike Mullen, also a Naval Academy grad (Class of ’68) and a Navy surface-warfare commander currently serving as Chief of Naval Operations.
Mullen too is a good man, and brave indeed to accept the nomination knowing the scrutiny he’ll have to undergo.
THE INQUISITORS But for men like Pace and Mullen, it’s not really about courage or self. It’s about service to country, and winning this country’s fights no matter where, when, against whom, and how long it might take. They’re cut from completely different cloth than their inquisitors who hope to trip them up and find reasons not to let them do what they best know how to do.
You can be sure, those who question Mullen during his forthcoming confirmation hearings — though most of them know little about the Navy, the Marine Corps, any other branch of service, or what is actually taking place in the backstreets of Iraq or the backcountry of Afghanistan — will look hard for chinks in the armor. They’ll use loaded inaccuracies to describe what is happening in Iraq: Words like “escalation,†“occupation,†“tragedy,†and “failure.â€
Beyond Capitol Hill, some on the Left fear Mullen, suggesting that he would eagerly expand the Iraq war into a much broader Persian Gulf war. Not sure I buy that. Then there are those on the Right like Elaine Donnelly — who I almost always agree with — who would argue that Mullen is “an ardent advocate of ‘diversity’ quotas and other controversial goals for the military.†She makes her case here.
“MARINES DON’T TALK ABOUT FAILURE†My take is that Mullen will almost assuredly be confirmed because he’s well-suited for the job, as Pace has been, as U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus is for his job as commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. You’ll remember, Petraeus was unanimously confirmed by Congress earlier this year, and is currently accomplishing everything his responsibilities demand, and then some: Despite the fact that those accomplishments are publicly distorted by the very men and women who confirmed him.
But that’s okay, because America continues to produce military leaders like Pace, Mullen, and, yes, Petraeus, who will continue to do what they’ve always done.
Earlier this year, Pace told a group of governors at a White House meeting, “I'm a Marine, and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory.â€
Last month, Mullen told a group of sailors at Pearl Harbor: “I honestly believe this is the most dangerous time in my life. The enemy now is basically evil and fundamentally hates everything we are — the democratic principles for which we stand. … This war is going to go on for a long time. It’s a generational war.â€
So it’s not really that Pace is out, and Mullen is in. It’s more like one good Annapolis man will be relieving the watch of another in order to thwart the non-constructive criticism from those who would have us raise the white flag even as Petraeus is on the threshold of taking the high ground in Iraq.
— A former U.S. Marine infantry leader, W. Thomas Smith Jr. writes about military issues and has covered war in the Balkans, on the West Bank, and in Iraq. He is the author of six books, and his articles appear in a variety of publications. National Review Online -
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*************************************** By Joe Griffith
In Pursuit of
Pancho Villa 1916-1917
http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pancho.htm
Doroteo Arango, alias Francisco "Pancho" Villa, was born in 1877 (1879 according to some sources) in San Juan del Rio, State of Durango, Mexico. During his lifetime, he was a ruthless killer (killing his first man at age sixteen), a notorious bandit (including cattle rustling and bank robbery), a revolutionary (a general commanding a division in the resistance against the 1913-14 Victoriano Huerta dictatorship), and despite his bloodthirsty nature, an enduring hero to the poor people of Mexico. In their minds, Villa was afraid of no one, not the Mexican government or the gringos from the United States. He was their one true friend and avenger for decades of Yankee oppression.1
In late 1915 Pancho Villa had counted on American support to obtain the presidency of Mexico. Instead the U.S. Government recognized the new government of Venustiano Carranza. An irate Villa swore revenge against the United States.and began by murdering Americans in hopes of provoking President Woodrow Wilson's intervention into Mexico. Villa believed that American interevention would discredit the Carranza government with the people of Mexico and reaffirm his own popularity.
Villa and his "pistoleros" launched raids along the U.S.- Mexico boundary to frighten the Americans living in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona border towns. Concerned for the safety of Americans, President Wilson ordered the War Department to begin deploying troops to Texas and New Mexico. In April, 1915, Brigadier General John J. Pershing and his 8th Infantry Brigade were sent to Fort Bliss, Texas with the mission of guarding the U.S.- Mexico border from Arizona to a bleak outpost in the Sierra Blanca mountains ninety miles southeast of El Paso.
While the presence of American troops served to deter Villa on the north of the Rio Grande, the murder of U.S. citizens in Mexico continued. One of the most heinous atrocities occurred January 11, 1916, when Villa's bandits stopped a train at Santa Ysabel (See Map 1). The bandits removed a group of 17 Texas business men (mining engineers) invited by the Mexican government to reopen the Cusihuiriachic mines below Chihuahua City and executed them in cold blood. However, one of those shot feined death and rolled down the side of the embankment and, crawling away into a patch of brown mesquite bushes, escaped. The train moved on, leaving the corpses at the mercy of the slayers, who stripped and mutilated them. After the escapee arrived back at Chihuahua City, a special train sped to Santa Ysabel to reclaim the bodies. When the people of El Paso heard of the massacre, they went wild with anger. El Paso was immediately placed under martial law to prevent irate Texans from crossing into Mexico at Juarez to wreak vengeance on innocent Mexicans.2
Despite outrage in the United States and Washington over the Santa Ysabel massacre, President Wilson refused to intervene and send troops into Mexico. Two months later, Villa decided to strike again. This time he would invade the United States. At 2:30 a.m., on the morning of March 9, 1916, he and 500 "Villistas" attacked the 13th U.S. Cavalry at Camp Furlong near Columbus, New Mexico (Map 1). Despite prior knowledge that Villa and his men were pillaging, raping, and murdering their way toward the border, the cavalry was caught completely by surprise. One reason for the cavalry's sluggishness was because some of the troops had been drinking, but perhaps more importantly, all of the troops' rifles were chained and locked in gun racks. Still, the cavalry managed to get organized and fought off the "Villistas" killing many of them in the process. During their retreat, however, the "Villistas" stopped at Columbus, New Mexico for a looting and window-shooting spree that left several U.S. civilians dead. For three hours, bullets struck houses and shouts of "Viva Villa! Viva Mexico! Muerte a los Americanos!" (death to americans) were heard in the streets. The town was set afire, though Villa's men realized nothing beyond a few dollars and perhaps some merchandise from the burntout stores. The terror continued until about 7 a.m., and when Villa finally rode off, the smoke-filled streets of Columbus were littered with the dead and wounded. Fourteen American soldiers and ten civilians were killed in the raid.3
Although Villa's losses from from his American incursion were high, he had achieved his aim of arousing the United States. Now, he and his men headed due south from Palomas seeking the safety of the mountains of the Sierra Madre. However, the 13th U.S. Cavalry was now in hot pursuit. Colonel Frank Tompkins had managed to gather 32 cavalrymen and was nipping at the heels of the fleeing Mexicans. His troops sighted Villa's rear guard and killed over thirty men and horses. Colonel Tompkins kept up the chase for eight hours and killed a number of stragglers as well as more of Villa's rear guard. Lacking supplies, Tompkins and his cavalrymen were forced to return to Camp Furlong. On their way back, they counted 75 to 100 "Villistas" killed during their hastily organized pursuit.4
pancho1.JPG
The populace of Columbus was in a state of hysteria. The American cavalry troops collected the bodies of the "Villistas" that had been shot in the streets and on the outskirts of town and piled them on funeral pyres and cremated them. For a day or more the fires smoldered and the odor of burning flesh permeated the air. Columbus lay virtually demolished, so completely burned and pillaged that it never recovered its former vitality.5
To prevent repetitions of the Columbus outrage, President Wilson called out 15,000 militia and stationed them along the U.S. - Mexico border (Map 1). Wilson also informed President Carranza that he intended to send a military expedition into northern Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, and Carranza reluctantly agreed. President Wilson then appointed Brigadier General John J. Pershing to lead 4,800 troops (mostly cavalry), supported by aircraft and motorized military vehicles (the first time either were used in U.S. warfare) on a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture Villa.
However, there was a catch to Pershing's mission orders from Wilson that would be decisive in the end. Pershing was to pursue and punish Villa, but not to upset the Carranza government by firing on any of his troops. The futility of Wilson's orders was plain even before the expedition began, when the local Carranzista commander at nearby Palomas threatened to attack the Americans. Pershing was only able to stave off an incident by hiring the man as a guide for his troops. Carranza would take advantage of Wilson's restrictions to make life miserable for the Punitive Expedition throughout their mission.
General Pershing General John Pershing
Pancho Villa on horseback
Doroteo Arango "PanchoVilla" In 1916, the Signal Corps Aviation Service only had a few crude aircraft. The 1st Aero Squadron which was assigned to support Pershing was equipped with six Curtiss JN-2 "Jennies" which had a reputation of being unstable deathtraps. In addition, the airservice was handicapped by inexperienced pilots. Pershing was barely a month into the expedition when he lost all six of his aircraft. Two crashed within the first week of the expedition.
Pershing's expedition also provided an opportunity for one of the Army more headstrong members. . . George S. Patton, then a young lieutenant. Fearing he would be left behind on mundane border patrol with his unit, Patton pleaded with Pershing to take him along as a replacement for one of his two aides that was absent when the expedition was ordered into Mexico. Pershing agreed at the last moment and took him. The thirty year old Patton was convinced that he would now be able to fulfill his destiny as a great warrior.6
Villa had a nine days headstart before Pershing's Expedition crossed into Mexico (Map 1) at noon on March 15, 1916. By that time, Villa and his men were well hidden in the mountains. To cover the uncharted terrain, Pershing divided his force into East and West columns and proceeded methodically into the unfamiliar Mexican interior.7
Basically, the two American columns of the expedition got nowhere in their pursuit of Villa. Northern Mexico was a vast wasteland with few towns and dominated by the barren and rugged Sierra Madre Mountains with peaks averaging ten to twelve thousand feet and honeycombed with deep canyons providing excellent hiding places for Villa and his men. The few roads were little more than dirt trails, dusty in dry weather and muddy quagmires in the rain. Villa's men were on their home ground while Pershing was moving into unfamiliar and largely unmapped territory depending on Mexican guides whose loyalty was always questionable.
Pershing's soldiers, mostly raw recruits, encountered every imaginable mishap during their eleven months in Mexico. President Carranza had promised assistance, but when, for example, Pershing's men were on the verge of capturing Villa, the "Carranzistas" attacked them. Another time, Pershing's Indian scouts misinformed him about the location of Villa's lair. On other occasions, the scouts brought in blood-filled boots and bullet-riddled shirts as "proof" that he had been killed.8
Columbus, New Mexico after the raid Columbus, New Mexico after Villa's raid.
Pershing's East column fanned out from Columbus (Map 1) through cactus and desert, pueblos and small settlements, Ascension and Corralitos. The West column meandered about among hills and plains to Culbertson's Ranch (Map 1), one hundred miles west of El Paso, near the New Mexico - Arizona - Mexico border, and the Ojitos to the south. After some months, both columns converged at Casas Grandes only to split again a little later, with one heading south for Pearson, Cumbre, and Madera, and the other marching southeastwardly for Guerrero, Agua caliente, Ojos Azules, and Carrizal.
At Colonia Dublan (Map 2), Pershing established his permanent command post where he began to plan how he would snare Villa. Everywhere U.S. Troops went, men, women, and children cheerfully provided them with misinformation about his (Villa's) whereabouts.9
As in past American invasions (e.g., the Mexican War of 1846-1848), the Pershing Expedition was a financial "boon" to Mexico. The American soldiers' wants were catered to and satisfied everywhere they went. Prices skyrocketed. If they so desired, soldiers could submerge themselves in Mexican beer. Cantinas were open all night. In many restaurants soldiers devoured "deer" meat that once ran in the streets barking. Life was hard only when the Americans marched or rode along the dirt roads and were eating their dry ration crackers and looking for water. Dublan was transformed into an enormous military encampment complete with a railhead where tons of supplies were unloaded by a thousand civilian workers. The soldiers and civilians worked by day and brawled by night in the saloons and bordellos that had sprung up in the once sleepy town.10
pancho.JPG
Villa's men mingled with the populace at will by simply removing the cartridge belts they normally strapped across their chests. They even mixed with the Americans and attended Western "cowboy" movies with Pershing's officers.11
In May, 1916, Lieutenant Patton saw combat for the first time. Based on information about the location of Julio Cardenas, one of Villa's most trusted subordinates and commander of his personal bodyguard; Patton, accompanied by ten soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment, and two civilian guides traveling in three Dodge open top touring automobiles, conducted a surprise raid on a ranch house at San Miguelito (Map 2) near Rubio. During the ensuing fire-fight, Patton and his men killed three men. One was identified as Cardenas. The other two dead Mexicans were an unnamed Villista captain and a private. Patton's men tied the bodies to the hoods of the cars, while Patton put Cardenas' silver-studded saddle and sword into his vehicle. The spectacle of the three cars with the bodies tied on the hoods caused a great commotion along the road, but Patton and his party sped through the countryside to their headquarters at Dublan without incident.
At around 4 p.m., Patton arrived at Dublan with the three bloody corpses strapped across the blistering-hot hoods of the automobiles. War correspondents crowded around to get a first hand account of his adventure. The stories they filed made Patton a national hero for several weeks. His photograph appeared in newspapers around the United States. Pershing was pleased that someone had enlivened the hunt for Villa and actually taken out a key member of his band. He even permitted Patton to keep Cardenas' sword and silver saddle as trophies of his first fight.12
In June, Pershing was informed that Villa could be taken at the small village of Carrizal, northwest of his command center at Dublan. (Map 2). When the Pershing's troops assaulted the village on June 21, they quickly realized they had been hoodwinked for they found themselves fighting "Carranzistas," not Villistas. Scores of "Carranzitas" were killed or wounded. Villa was reported to have watched with much delight � from a safe distance � as his two enemies battled each other in total confusion.13
The unfortunate American attack on Mexican government troops became known as the "Carrizal Affair" and created a such a rowe that war with Mexico seemed possible. The situation led President Wilson to call 75,000 National Guardsmen into Federal service to help police the U.S. - Mexico border (Map 2). In fact, hostilities with Mexico probably would have erupted then and there, but for the bitter war raging in Europe. Wilson, anxious not to become involved in Mexico at a time when relations with Germany were deteriorating, agreed to submit Mexican complaints arising out of the punitive expedition to a joint commission for settlement. Some time later the commission ruled that, among other things, that the debacle at Carrizal was the fault of the American unit commander.
For the remainder of 1916, the intensity of the hunt for Villa waned and replaced by the tedious routine of life in a temporary bivouac. Boredom spawned drunken shoot-outs between troops and local Mexicans. In an attempt to keep his men busy, Pershing initiated a tough new training program that included cavalry maneuvers. It was clear by this time, however, that given President Wilson's restrictive orders and the growing intransigence of the Carranza regime that the Pershing led Mexican incursion was doomed to failure.14
Meanwhile, back in the United States, National Guard units were being called out to secure the U.S. - Mexico border. Units of the Georgia National Guard were mobilized at Camp Harris, Macon, Georgia during July, 1916 and sent to Camp Cotton, Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas in October (See chart).
Company H, 3rd Separate Infantry Battalion and 2nd Company, Coast Artillery were mustered into Federal service on August 10 and September 26 respectively, but remained at home station and were not sent to Texas.15
The aggregate strength of the Georgia units that were sent to Camp Cotton, Texas was 3,892. The units were mobilized on June 18, 1916 and mustered into Federal service, most between July 2-31 and one as late as September 26. After some mobilization training at Camp Harris, they departed for duty on the U.S. - Mexico border.16
An example of the service of one of the Georgia National Guard units deployed to the border is revealed in the reports of the 2nd Squadron Cavalry. The unit departed Camp Harris at Macon, Georgia on October 25, 1916 and arrived at Fort Bliss, Texas (Map 2) on November 1, 1916. At Fort Bliss, they underwent a month of mounted training until Then, the squadron left on December 1, 1916 for field duty at Fabens , Texas (Map 2) with three officers and 70 men, 79 horses, 2 transport wagons, and eight mules. The group marched 32 miles to Fabens finally reaching there at 1:40 p.m. on December 2, 1916. They performed border patrol with the 1st Kentucky Infantry and from December 16 on with the 2nd Kentucky Infantry. The squadron left Fort Bliss, Texas at 1a.m. on March 22, 1917 with three officers and 77 men, two wagons and full equipment. They arrived at home station, Atlanta, Georgia at 1p.m., March 27, 1917. The distance traveled was 1,700 miles.17
In January, 1917, the ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa ended with the recall of the Punitive Expedition from Mexico. On January 27, the first of 10,690 men and 9,307 horses embarked for Columbus. It took over a week to assemble the full expeditionary force back at Fort Bliss, where, on February 7, 1917, with General Pershing at the head, they marched into El Paso to the acclaim of cheering crowds. That officially ended Pershing's campaign. The expedition had gone as far south as Parral, but Pershing had not captured Pancho Villa. Therefore, the expedition was only notable as the last U.S. Cavalry expedition in U.S. military history. Although Villa had once been nicked in the knee cap by a Carranzistas bullet, he was now completely mended and feeling well. However, many of his best men had either died or deserted him. But, with the gringos gone, he was now free to continue his struggle with his arch foe Venustiano Carranza.18
Unabashed by his failure to capture Villa, General Pershing claimed the expedition was successful as a learning experience. However, in the minds of Mexicans, Pancho Villa was the clear winner. He had emerged triumphant from battle with the United States led by the great General Pershing. No doubt, in the eyes of the Mexican people, Pershing's withdrawal from Mexico added to Villa's myth of invincibility.
But, a few years later, on Friday, July 20, 1923, Villa's luck ran out. Accompanied by his entourage of Dorades ("Golden Ones"), which was what he called his bodyguards, Pancho Villa frequently made trips to Parral (Map 2) for banking and other errands. This day, Villa had picked up a consignment of gold with which to pay his Canutillo ranch staff and was driving through the city in his black 1919 Dodge roadster when a group of seven riflemen fired 150 shots in just two minutes into his car. In the fusillade of shots, 16 bullets lodged in his body and four more in his head. Villa was reported to have killed one of the assassins before he died. Truly, Pancho Villa had lived by the gun and died by the gun.19
It was never determined who ordered the killing. However, the assassins were given light prison terms leading to general speculation that someone in the Mexican government must have given the order simply because Villa had become an embarrassment to post-revolutionary Mexico.20
But even in death, Pancho Villa was not at rest and still stirred controversy. Three years after he was buried in the Cemeterio Municipal at Parral, it was alleged that an ex-Villista officer, Captain Emil L. Holmdahl, had opened the tomb and removed Villa's head to sell to an eccentric Chicago millionaire who collected the skulls of historic figures. Despite the rumors of a headless Villa, his sons prevented examination of the remains to see if the head was still attached. Three years later, the Federal government ordered Villa's body, reported to be headless, moved to Mexico City to be interred in the Tomb of Illustrious Men.21 Units Mobilized from Georgia
1st Infantry Regiment Field Staff and Band Detachment Companies A thru M Hospital Corps
2nd Infantry Regiment Field Staff and Band Detachment Companies A thru M Sanitary Detachment
5th Infantry Regiment Field Staff and Band Detachment Companies A thru M Sanitary Department
2nd Squadron Cavalry Field and Staff Corps Detachment Troops B, F, K, L Hospital Detachment
Troop A, 1st Squadron Cavalry
1st Battalion, Field Artillery Field and Staff Batteries A, B, C Hospital Company Field Hospital, Company #1 Company A, Engineers
However, local residents of Parral insist to this day that their mayor had Villa's body shifted in the graveyard a meter or so to the right of the marked grave and replaced with another body to prevent any more of Villa's remains from being taken. It was the headless decoy body, they insist, that was later taken to Mexico City. Whether Villa's body is still in the ground at Parral or not, his tall, stately tombstone remains in place and people still come to place flowers on the grave. So, even in death, Pancho Villa remains elusive.22
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Pershing received orders to organize a division with himself in command and to take the formation to France as the first American unit to fight alongside the Allies. He submitted a list of officers whom he wanted on his staff and included Lieutenant Patton's name. However, several days later, Pershing was appointed the commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Force, which included all troops to be sent to France.23
Therefore, with a small headquarters party, Pershing went overseas at once as a symbol of reassurance and promise to the war-weary Allies, who had fought immense battles of attrition for the past three years. Although the Americans entrance into the war was a great psychological boost to them, the United States was unprepared to join in the massive clash of arms on the Western Front. Positioning units along the Mexican border and pursuing Villa had been a small start toward mobilization, but now the U. S. Army had to raise, equip, and train a much larger force. The War Department planned to ship Pershing 2,000,000 partially trained troops. He was tasked to bring them to combat readiness over there.24
As for the Georgia units that had gone to the Mexican Border, some were retained in Federal Service; others returned to Georgia. Nevertheless, on July 3, 1917, the entire National Guard of the United States was mobilized for World War I. In August, 1917, the Georgia National Guard units were reorganized with most of the units being assigned to the 31st Infantry Division with the exception of the Coast Artillery units which were assigned to Savannah Coastal Defense. However, there was one special new battalion to be organized from Georgia.25
Requests from National Guard officers and Governors for early acceptance of their state units to go to war against Germany poured into the War Department. The clamor became so general and so insistent that the Secretary of War conceived the idea of forming a composite Division to include troops from every State in the Union. That was the origin of the famous 42d (Rainbow) Division, which was later to distinguish itself in many important engagements of World War I. In August, 1917, companies B, C, and F of the 2nd Georgia Infantry were reorganized as the 151st Machine Gun Battalion and assigned to the 42d Division. When the 42d Infantry Division arrived in France in November, 1917, there were National Guard units from 26 States and from the District of Columbia in its ranks. Almost a year later, on September 16, 1918, the 31st Infantry Division consisting of National Guard units from Georgia, Alabama, and Florida departed for France and joined the American Expeditionary Force on October 3 1918.26
As for the legend or myth of Poncho Villa today, conservative Mexicans may insist he was nothing more than a self-serving bloodthirsty bandit. However, to most Mexicans his memory has been embellished through songs and stories and he is now generally remembered as a Mexican "Robinhood" figure. Of all the Mexican revolutionary leaders, he is probably the best known and remembered for his victories in the constitutionalist revolution and for being the only foreign military leader to have "successfully" invaded continental U.S. territory.
As for Americans, the massive mobilization of U.S. forces in 1916 and the pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico are scarcely noted in our history books and thus, not read about in school. However, it is important to Georgians because it was the first mobilization and deployment of Nation Guard Units for Federal service and an end to the old militia system of recruiting volunteer units of rank amateurs for Federal service as it was done for the Mexican War of 1846-1848. It was also the forerunner of the total force policy so important to our defense preparedness today. If alive today, Pancho Villa would probably claim credit for teaching General Pershing and the gringos from the north how to organize for a fight.
http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pancho.htm
Notes
1. Haldeen Braddy. Cock of the Walk, Qui-qui-ri-qui!: The Legend of Pancho Villa, (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1955), 8.
2. Ibid, 128.
3. Ibid, 129-132.
4. Ibid., 133.
5. Ibid.
6. Martin Blumenson. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945, (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1985), 79-82.
7. Braddy, 136.
8. Ibid., 138.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., 139.
11. Ibid., 142.
12. Blumenson, 83-87.
13. Braddy, 145.
14. Gene Gurney. A Pictorial History of The United States Army in War and Peace, from Colonial Times to Vietnam, (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1966), 313-314.
15. M. N. Thisted. National Guard and organized Reserve Units Mobilized in 1916 for Mexican Border Duties, (National Historian, Mexican Border Veterans, Condensed Fact Sheet), 1-3.
16. Ibid., 3.
17. Record of Instruction and Events. Georgia 2nd Squadron Cavalry (Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, 1995), 1-9.
Joe Griffith is retired from the U.S. Army and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard. He is a frequent contributor to the Journal and serves on the Society's "History Book Committee."
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"But what he and his allies have built is a mercenary army, paid for with government money, which operates outside the law and without constitutional constraint."
I have no objection to mercenaries. In fact, I am one--of sorts. Besides, any knowledgable Austrian economist can tell you that anything the government can do, the private (for profit) sector can do better--and that includes the provision of security services. But...the operaterave phrase in the quoted sentence above is: "paid for with government money."
I trained at the NC Blackwater facility in 2004 where I was a victim of their anti-southern cultural bigotry. To get the whole story, see "WHEN "PRIVATIZATION" IS NOT 'PRIVATE' or How Neo-cons Are Like Liberals" at http://www.flyoverpress.com/blackwater.htm
Chris Hedges is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and won a Pulitzer Prize as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times
Armed units from the private security firm Blackwater USA opened fire in Baghdad streets twice in two days last week. It triggered a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, a reminder that the war in Iraq may be remembered mostly in our history books for empowering and building America's first modern mercenary army.
There are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors working in Iraq, although there are no official figures and some estimates run much higher. Security contractors are not counted as part of the coalition forces. When the number of private mercenary fighters is added to other civilian military "contractors" who carry out logistical support activities such as food preparation, the number rises to about 126,000.
"We got 126,000 contractors over there, some of them making more than the secretary of defense," said House defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D., Pa.). "How in the hell do you justify that?"
The privatization of war hands an incentive to American corporations, many with tremendous political clout, to keep us mired down in Iraq. But even more disturbing is the steady rise of this modern Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard in ancient Rome was a paramilitary force that defied legal constraints, made violence part of the political discourse, and eventually plunged the Roman Republic into tyranny and despotism. Despotic movements need paramilitary forces that operate outside the law, forces that sow fear among potential opponents, and are capable of physically silencing those branded by their leaders as traitors. And in the wrong hands, a Blackwater could well become that force.
American taxpayers have so far handed a staggering $4 billion to "armed security" companies in Iraq such as Blackwater, according to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.). Tens of billions more have been paid to companies that provide logistical support. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.) of the House Intelligence Committee estimates that 40 cents of every dollar spent on the occupation has gone to war contractors. It is unlikely that any of these corporations will push for an early withdrawal. The profits are too lucrative.
Mercenary forces like Blackwater operate beyond civilian and military law. They are covered by a 2004 edict passed by American occupation authorities in Iraq that immunizes all civilian contractors in Iraq from prosecution.
Blackwater, barely a decade old, has migrated from Iraq to set up operations in the United States and nine other countries. It trains Afghan security forces and has established a base a few miles from the Iranian border. The huge contracts from the war - including $750 million from the State Department since 2004 - have allowed Blackwater to amass a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, including helicopter gunships. Jeremy Scahill, the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, points out that Blackwater has also constructed "the world's largest private military facility - a 7,000-acre compound near the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina." Blackwater also recently opened a facility in Illinois ("Blackwater North") and, despite local opposition, is moving ahead with plans to build another huge training base near San Diego. The company recently announced it was creating a private intelligence branch called "Total Intelligence."
Erik Prince, who founded and runs Blackwater, is a man who appears to have little time for the niceties of democracy. He has close ties with the radical Christian Right and the Bush White House. He champions his company as a patriotic extension of the U.S. military. His employees, in an act as cynical as it is dishonest, take an oath of loyalty to the Constitution. But what he and his allies have built is a mercenary army, paid for with government money, which operates outside the law and without constitutional constraint.
Mercenary units are a vital instrument in the hands of despotic movements. Communist and fascist movements during the last century each built rogue paramilitary forces. And the appearance of Blackwater fighters, heavily armed and wearing their trademark black uniforms, patrolling the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, may be a grim taste of the future. In New Orleans Blackwater charged the government $240,000 a day.
" 'It cannot happen here' is always wrong," the philosopher Karl Popper wrote. "A dictatorship can happen anywhere."
The word contractor helps launder the fear and threat out of a more accurate term: "paramilitary force." We're not supposed to have such forces in the United States, but we now do. And if we have them, we have a potential threat to democracy. On U.S. soil, Blackwater so far has shown few signs of being an out-and-out rogue retainer army, though they looked the part in New Orleans. But were this country to become even a little less stable, outfits like Blackwater might see a heyday. If the United States falls into a period of instability caused by another catastrophic terrorist attack, an economic meltdown that triggers social unrest, or a series of environmental disasters, such paramilitary forces, protected and assisted by fellow ideologues in the police and military, could ruthlessly abolish what is left of our eroding democracy. War, with the huge profits it hands to corporations, and to right-wing interests such as the Christian Right, could become a permanent condition. And the thugs with automatic weapons, black uniforms and wraparound sunglasses who appeared on the streets in New Orleans could appear on our streets. http://tinyurl.com/2jbkhd
Chris Hedges (hedgesscoop@aol.com) is author, mostly recently, of "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America." -- Think secession!
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-- ************************************ Gunny G's GLOBE and ANCHOR ~Sites*Forums*Blogs~ R.W. "Dick" Gaines GnySgt USMC (Ret.) 1952--(Plt #437, PISC)--'72 "The Original Gunny G!" *************************** Sites... http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/sites3.html Forums... http://www.network54.com/Forum/135069 Blogs... http://gunnyg.blogspot.com/ The GyG Weblog @ N54.com http://www.network54.com/Forum/247172/ GyG's History/Traditions, etc. http://www.network54.com/Forum/220604/ The GyG Mailbag* Archive*Bookmarks @FURL http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg Want On GyG's E-Mail List? Send/Reply: GunnyG*At*GMail.com ADD In Subject Line... ************************************* NOTE: Latest Posts-/Archive GyG @ FURL... http://www.furl.net/members/gunnyg USMC, History, Unusual/Controversial, Politically Incorrect, News-n-Views, Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking Articles, etc. ********** RESTORE THE REPUBLIC Semper Fidelis Dick Gaines ~~~~~~~~~~ *****************************************
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And you guys currently serving on active duty need to pay particular attention. Don't be fooled. Nothing has changed. This is what they think of you too! Now you know what it really means to be a member of the "brotherhood."
thegunny, 419 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thursday, June 07, 2007
A NEW, IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL US VETERANS, FAMILY MEMBERS & PATRIOTS
By: John LeBoutillier
A NEW, IMPORTANT MESSAGE: TO ALL US VETERANS, FAMILY MEMBERS OF VETERANS AND PATRIOTS WHO CARE ABOUT OUR COUNTRY
FR: FORMER CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEBOUTILLIER
RE: AN ACTION PLAN TO SPREAD THE TRUTH ABOUT LIVING AMERICAN POWS STILL HELD ALIVE IN VIETNAM AND LAOS
In less than one month - just before Memorial Day - AN ENORMOUS CRIME;The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Vietnam and Laos will be published by St. Martins Press.
This book - as Publishers Weekly says - "makes the case that the U.S. knowingly left hundreds of POWs in Vietnam and Laos in 1973, and that every presidential administration since then has covered it up."
Indeed, AN ENORMOUS CRIME is the definitive proof that our government left hundreds of POWs behind and then covered it up - and the men are still there and still sending signals that say, "Please come rescue me!!!!"
Already the book has rocketed up the charts - it is already Number One on the Amazon.com Vietnam War list - even though it isn�t even on the bookshelves yet! All these sales are pre-orders through Amazon.
Our duty as Americans is to force the living POW issue back onto the front pages of our nation�s newspapers and back onto the top of the television news. Our comrades in Vietnam and Laos were - and remain - abandoned by a series of corrupt administrations in Washington - and the cover-up is still ongoing!
With the 2008 election already underway - and the country in the middle of yet another war where our troops are treated badly, used as PR props for political candidates and then cast aside when they come home - it is time for the truth about our living POWs to finally be put front and center for every American to see.
Why?
Because only by exposing the truth about the abandonment and cover-up of our Vietnam War POWs can we expose the perfidy and corruption of our government - and then begin to correct these mistakes.
AN ENORMOUS CRIME is indeed the book that can break open the truth about the POW issue. It is based on 66,000 pages of never-before-published US Government documents which prove that the highest levels of our government - from the Oval Office on down - have known all along that our POWs have been held alive against their will by the Vietnamese and Pathet Lao.
What can you do to help our POWs?
Here is an Action Plan for every US Veteran, every American Legion Post, every VFW Post and for all patriotic citizens who care about our men abandoned in SE Asia:
� Pre-order AN ENORMOUS CRIME through Amazon.com so that the book rises higher and higher on their Best Sellers List - and that will make the Media pay attention to the book and the Living POW issue. Here is the link to pre-order the book.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for your Legion or VFW Post.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for every building which flies the POW flag. Buy it and go into that building - a post office, government building or court house - and present them with the book that explains why the POWs exist in the first place!
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for your Congressman - and give it to him/her and ask that they read it, not pawn it off to some staffer.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for your US Senator - and give it to him/her.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME and bring it to your local Memorial Day parade or celebration. Tell everyone there about the book - and urge them to buy it, to read it and to spread the word about our men still held against their will in Laos and Vietnam.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for your local library.
� Buy a copy of AN ENORMOUS CRIME for your school library - and take it there and show it to the librarian.
� Forward this email to any and everyone you know - especially to veterans, American Legion members, VFW members and Vietnam vets.
� Pray - as a community of veterans, patriots and POW activists - for the successful return of all our POWs.
� We have a duty - for our country and for these men left behind by a callous and criminal government - to expose our arrogant government officials - liars like McCain, Kerry, Kissinger, former CIA Director and former President George "Sit Down and Shut Up!" Bush.
� Let us make one last push to get our POWs home - alive - now - beginning on Memorial Day when this book comes out.
The Pentagon is still receiving new, up-to-date, credible reports of sightings of US POWs this year! (Of course, they're hiding those reports from the public.)
So we owe it to these brave American heroes to make one more concerted effort to get them home.
The POWs need our help - so it is up to us to do whatever we can do to help get this issue back on the front pages and back in the news.
Please help our brothers!
Sincerely, Former Congressman John LeBoutillier
P.S. Please feel free to forward this to any and everyone you know and especially to every veteran you know! Spread the word!
P.P.S. Here is the first news article about AN ENORMOUS CRIME. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Publisher's Weekly:
An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia Bill Hendon and Elizabeth Stewart. St. Martin's/Dunne, $29.95 (640p) ISBN 978-0-312-37126-8 Controversial former North Carolina congressman Hendon and attorney Stewart make the case that the U.S. knowingly left hundreds of POWs in Vietnam and Laos in 1973, and that every presidential administration since then has covered it up. The main reason for the secrecy, say the authors, is the billions in war reparations demanded by the Vietnamese and promised by Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon at the Paris Peace talks. Hendon and Stewart provide a mountain of evidence, mainly intelligence reports of live sightings of American prisoners in Vietnam and Laos that make for less-than-scintillating reading. But riveting sections describe Hendon's crusade on this issue in the early 1980s, including two meetings with President Reagan, pleading his case that the government free the live POWs. Hendon and Stewart directly accuse a long list of government officials of the coverup. Among the most culpable: Kissinger, President George H.W. Bush, Senators John McCain and John Kerry, Gen. Colin Powell, former secretary of state George Schultz and former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It's a chore wading through the live-sighting reports and the massive, detailed endnotes, but the descriptions of Hendon's unsuccessful personal mission provide an intriguing story�and carry the ring of truth. 36 b&w photos not seen by PW. (June 1)
Kirkus Reviews:
A sprawling indictment of eight U.S. administrations. The charge: sacrificing American war prisoners in the interest of focusing, as Bush aides have said, "not on Vietnam�s past but on its future." Beginning in 1966, write former Rep. Hendon (R-NC) and attorney Stewart, GIs captured in South Vietnam were moved north along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other routes. Cataloguing sightings with the diligence of Vincent Bugliosi�whose Reclaiming History (2007), on the JFK assassination, is something of a companion piece�Hendon and Stewart reckon that hundreds of POWs had crossed the Demilitarized Zone by the time of the Tet Offensive, their numbers swelled by pilots downed over North Vietnam. Many of these soldiers, Hendon and Stewart charge, were used as human shields against American bombing attacks on power plants, military headquarters and other strategically important venues. North Vietnam and its allies in Laos and Cambodia weren�t particularly forthcoming on all these things, but the U.S. played a dirty hand, too; by the authors� account, the prisoners� ultimate release was bound up in negotiations conducted by Henry Kissinger, "the surrogate president," who reneged on promises of U.S. aid owing to supposed violations of previous accords, thus closing off a diplomatic channel for repatriation. Fast forward to 1987, when Ross Perot traveled to Vietnam and told the foreign minister, who insisted that there were no POWs there, "Don�t embarrass yourselves, I know too much." Fruitful negotiations ensued, the authors report, only to be brushed aside by the Reagan administration�even though, they claim, at least 100 U.S. prisoners were still alive in Vietnam. Hendon and Stewart, who appear nonpartisan in their disdain for governmental inaction and double-dealing, close by offering advice to President Bush to send an army of former presidents and their staffs to negotiate the release of the remaining captives. Much of the authors� evidence is circumstantial, but there�s an awful lot of it. A convincing, urgent argument.
Hendon, Bill & Elizabeth A.Stewart AN ENORMOUS CRIME: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia Dunne/St. Martin�s (640 pp.) $29.95 Jun. 1, 2007 ISBN: 978-0-312-37126-5
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
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John LeBoutillier is a former U.S. Congressman and a nationally recognized political commentator. He has been a frequent guest on many national talk show programs and is author of the book Harvard Hates America. He is a regular columnist for Ether Zone.
John LeBoutillier can be reached at: johnlebout@johnlebout.com
He keeps an archive of his articles at: JohnLeBout.com
Published in the May 11, 2007 issue of Ether Zone. Copyright � 1997 - 2007 Ether Zone.
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