As North Korea puts Guam in its crosshairs, harrowing WWII photos show the brutal battle (TR)

UK Daily Mail ^ | 08/10/2017 | Iain Burns

[DFG]

Spectacular black-and-white photographs showing American military campaigns in the Pacific island of Guam have emerged as North Korea threatens to annihilate the territory with nuclear missiles. The images show US Marines in action during the 1944 battle to retrieve Guam, which was occupied by Japan in 1941. Soldiers can be seen bandaged-up on stretchers after the savage fighting that left about 20,000 people killed on both sides, while American ships and high-ranking personnel are also photographed. Guam is thought to have first been settled in about 2,000BC but wasn't discovered by Europeans until Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived on the island in 1521. It soon became part of the Spanish Empire and remained so until, during the Spanish-American War of 1898, the USA captured it with a single ship.

[DFG]

Full title : As North Korea puts Guam in its crosshairs, harrowing WWII photos show the brutal battle fought by US Marines to liberate the island after it was invaded by Japan

[samtheman]

The Japanese effectively lost the war at Midway. Everything after that was a series of viciously fought defeats. A viciousness that cost many heroic Americans their lives, their limbs or the full use of their bodies. Too bad we didn’t develop the A-bomb a few years earlier than we did.

[riverrunner]

So now we are the defenders with a lot more modern equipment and weapons.

NK does not have the air force nor the sea lift capability to even come close to lunch a WW2 type invasion.

The photos are neat history but are totally irrelevant to todays situation.

More doom and gloom meant to scare people from the old media.

[NorthMountain]

From the article:

"Pictured: Jeannette Pickering Rankin in 1939, the first woman to hold national office in the United States. She argued against the fortification of Guam"

Yeah ...

[Rebelbase]

Isn’t there a healthy population of brown snakes on Guam today?

[Fightin Whitey]

Jeanette Picklehead Rankin, shame of Montana, was the forerunner to Eleanor Roosevelt in every way, including stupid hats and an emetic ugliness.

And likely a taste, shall we say, for other (ugly) women.

[NorthMountain]

Also, apparently, a stupid pacifist.

[Victor]

"...Isn’t there a healthy population of brown snakes on Guam today?...."

Yes there is. I spent a few months on Guam doing a project for the Air Force.

We were always told to especially look out for the snakes in the trees when in wooded areas.

[hanamizu]

Jeannette Ranking has the “distinction” of being the only member of Congress to vote against entering both World Wars. She was the only member to vote against war on Dec. 8, 1941.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Pictured: Rev Asbury Smith, another official who argued against fortifying the island. He represented the Maryland Keep Out of War Congress

Pictured: Jeannette Pickering Rankin in 1939, the first woman to hold national office in the United States. She argued against the fortification of Guam .

And, because of THEIR “pacifism” against a brutal foe, the article adds the following quote.

Pictured: The Americans lost more than 1,700 men in the fight to reclaim the island and the Japanese lost over 18,000

"Give peace a chance." We did. Kim explicitly rejected "Peace", and is building the nuclear weapons he has pledged to use over American cities. How many millions more deaths will result in from Lenin's (er, Lennon's) word's?

[sodpoodle]

NEVER FORGET.

Daddy’s Poem

Her hair was up in a ponytail,
Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy’s Day at school,
And she couldn’t wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home;
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn’t there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why, once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school ,
Eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees, a dad
Who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in
Back, for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seat.

One by one the teacher called
On a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
A man who wasn’t there.

“Where’s her daddy at?”
She heard a boy call out.
“She probably doesn’t have one,”
Another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
“Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day.”

The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who
Told her to go on..

And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

“My Daddy couldn’t be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories,
He taught me to ride my bike;
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I’m not standing here alone.

‘Cause my daddy’s always with me,
Even though we are apart;
I know because he told me,
He’ll forever be in my heart”

With that, her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere there in the crowd of dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was a right.

And when she dropped her hand back
Down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.

“I love my daddy very much,
he’s my shining star.
And if he could, he’d be here,
But heaven’s just too far.

You see he is an American Soldier
And he died just this past year,,
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
And taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it’s like he never went away.”
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him there that day.

And to her mother’s amazement,
She witnessed with surprise,
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them;
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.

“I know you’re with me Daddy,”
to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
for each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for
a moment, by the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
that heaven is never too far.

There must be many children in the same boat as this little girl. Thanks to our servicemen and their families for the sacrifice they are making to keep our country free.

The ULTIMATE sacrifice is being left behind. Don’t forget them.

PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!!!

[PGR88]

But won’t all those extra people on Guam cause it to tip over?

[JimRed]

Gotta check my monitor...screen just went blurry.

[5th MEB]

Same here, must be one of those emotion connections.