Free Republic

Virtual reality has allowed a 91-year-old veteran of World War II to digitally visit a town in France he helped liberate in 1944. A British company called Twine made the film to mark Remembrance Day, the United Kingdom’s equivalent of Veterans Day, which is also held annually each November 11. It has been 72 years since Frank Mouqué participated in the liberation of the French town of Armentières. Mouqué was a sapper during the war, meaning he worked with explosives. Like so many others, he stormed the beaches— in his case, Sword Beach— on D-Day. “I can still remember, and...

I decided to escape my Blue City, in a Blue County in the Blue State of Maryland to visit occupied DC for Veterans' Day. There were a couple of scheduled events and a nice walk to some points of interest in between. 9am - WWII Memorial: Wreath Laying Ceremony. 10:30am - Visit to Trump Hotel in DC and miniscule protest with press coverage. 10:45am - Walk by the IRS building. 11:30am - Lunch in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and gift shopping. 1pm - Ceremony for Veterans at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It was an excellent day for some...

Loud Racket

The Army deployed 65 infantry divisions for the Second World War. Each was a small town with its own equivalents for community services plus eight categories of combat arms. Units such as artillery, engineering, and heavy weapons engaged the enemy directly. Yet of all categories, the foot soldier faced the greatest hazard with the least chance of reward. Except for the Purple Heart and the coveted Combat Infantryman’s Badge, recognition often eluded them because so few came through to testify to the valor of the many. The infantryman confronted the most dismal fate of all whose duty was uninterrupted by...

This morning I attended the 8th Annual Veterans Day Breakfast hosted by the President of the University of South Carolina. It was a great event with probably 600 people in attendance. One of the speakers was the Dean of University Libraries who told us that the University is the recipient of 10,000 reels of film from Quantico chronicling the Marine Corps in the 20th Century. Snippets of film we saw included scenes from Boot Camp, WWII, Vietnam and many other clips. The University has the films safely archived but they want to do more than that! The vision is to...

... "On big, transformative issues where President Obama and President-elect Trump are not in alignment, I don’t think it’s in keeping with the spirit of the transition ... to try to push through agenda items that are contrary to the president-elect’s positions," a Trump national security adviser told POLITICO on Thursday. "It's not going to be just counterproductive, but it will also send mixed messages." ...

Turkey should be a top priority in U.S. foreign policy, a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday in an article that slammed Barack Obama for failing to understand Ankara’s geopolitical position. “We must begin with understanding that Turkey is vital to U.S. interests,” retired Gen. Michael Flynn wrote for the Hill newspaper. He also called Turkey "a source of stability in the region”. Flynn was a key national security adviser to Trump during his presidential campaign and is expected by many to be appointed to a Cabinet position, possibly as defense secretary. The veteran general wrote that it...

Well I want to share this and see what ya'll think? Kyle Weissman who does our new history blogIs not only a historian but an avid war gamer. His favorite battles he recreates are from the middle ages and the Napoleonic wars. I have decided to check out just how good he is and play with him on a few war gaming matches to see how good he really is. Maybe pick up some strategy of my own and record the whole thing on my Youtube channel!! We'll be playing Empire total war set in the revolutionary war, an old...

Chris Hernandez, a US Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has a powerful, blunt message for all the wimpy, whiny college students out there screaming about “trauma” and “microagression.” If you read one story all day, this is it. From The College Fix: "Daily we Americans learn of the latest “trauma” that has sent some group of college students into a tizzy: a microaggression, or grad speaker, or opinion, or phrase, or (insert just about anything here) that prompts these delicate snowflakes to scurry away, call for “safe spaces,” and demand said “offenses” cease and desist. Sometimes...

Awesome cinematography of this shiny newly restored B-29 with only a few hours flight time under its belt. The imagery is great, the sound is kinda rough.

Love, Unity, Light, Truth, like flowers in the season of Spring. :)

To the highly esteemed President Elect: The best sounding words in the English language, or any language for that matter; "President Donald Trump." Congratulation sir! What a relief to see all this happen. As I watched the election map from the beginning I screamed, hollered then became overwhelmed with joy as "the movement" blossomed in glorious red all over electoral map. Then came your long-anticipated victory speech. Wait a minute. President Trump, what's all this "We owe Secretary Clinton a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country" jazz? Major? Uhm, what? She was appointed senator and Secretary...

The Russian navy is planning a massive attack on Aleppo within the next 24 hours, according to a Ministry of Defence source. A group of ships including an aircraft carrier, a nuclear power guided missile cruiser and two destroyers is reportedly ready to strike from the Mediterranean Sea. But the Russian source insisted the missiles will aim for areas surrounding Aleppo to avoid harming the 200,000 civilians still living there.

Regret, job searches and changing rules within the military are fueling tattoo removals. The industry has grown at faster pace than ever before and it's estimated to be worth $83 billion within two-years. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 46-percent of millennials have removed tattoos before entering the job market. The technology to remove tattoos has also come a long way since the 1990's. La Mesa doctor Ellyn Levine said she has been removing more tattoos than ever before, and uses the most most effective method there is today. "I think the technology has advanced literally in...

A group of 16 doctors, nurses, dentists and other specialists from the U.S. Southern Command are taking part in a joint humanitarian mission at an indigenous region in the Caribbean province of Limón. The group arrived in Telire on Tuesday in four helicopters and joined 30 Costa Rican physicians to provide free medical care to indigenous people at Telire, a remote community in the Talamanca mountain range, near the country’s border with Panama. Telire residents will receive health care services from specialists in preventive medicine, dentistry, pediatrics, ophthalmology and gynecology. The group will remain in the area until Nov. 5...

I don't belong to any political party. I said Trump will win this election in January 2016. Now, it is Election Eve and I believe Trump will CRUSH Hillary as Secretariat crushed his opponents in the Triple Crown. I believe we are at a crossroads, but Trump will save the REPUBLIC. GO TRUMP GO! VOTE PEOPLE VOTE!!!

My company signed up for AdoptAUSSoldier's frontlines program. Trying to get a package together for the holidays.

I know we're all wired into the 'best election ever' but here's a little slice of cool news and views regarding the B-29, Doc. Video at link.

In 1946, two Swedes named Hugo Abramson and Harald Jentzen designed the Carl Gustaf, which at the time appeared to be just another recoilless rifle. Many of these weapons fell out of use in the following decades as anti-tank missiles took over. But the Carl Gustaf stuck around — and for a different role than Abramson and Jentzen had planned in the 1940s. For one, it’s now just as much an anti-infantry weapon owing to its range, low cost and types of ammunition.

Instead of a showboating kneel by a coddled millionaire during our national anthem... Something to give you goosebumps! https://twitter.com/i/videos/tweet/789970623871279104Awesome!