Posted on 06/22/2006 8:52:48 PM PDT by World_Events
Magnificent Bastards PING!
I love good news in the morning.
ping
Wow. What a story. And its true.
The rifle in the story almost becomes "human"...it has a life of its own. It was brought 'home"...but will not be used again because "evil spirits are on it." Wonder if in the history of warfare...there were ever "exorcisms" rituals of weapons recovered back from the enemy taking them.
It was too good to not use the means at hand to get the word out.
Shameless Blood Stripes Plug (Magnificent Bastards)
Blood Stripes (Book Review)
Defense and the National Interest ^ | 6/13/06 | William S. Lind
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1651019/posts
/Shameless Blood Stripes Plug
God bless our troops!
This story also involves the Marine Company from Columbus that took so many KIA. They were to be protected by these 4 snipers.
Yes! Thank you for the ping to this great story.
God Bless and Many THANKS to all you Marines out there !
Thanks for the ping!
Semper Fi
Thanks for the post and the ping.
Payback is sweet.
> I can think of no greater use for this recovered rifle, than it be installed at the Battalion headquarters as a memorial to those fine men of the Battalion who have made the highest of sacrifices to preserve the freedom and safety of our nation.
Personally, I'd think it better to clean it up, return it to service (if it's in adequate shape), and use it to kill the bejeebers out of "insurgents." When it is no longer adequate to that task, *then* retire it to a place of honor.
I am no superstitious, but consider this: if you retire it now, the last person it killed was likely an American. Let the weapon recover its honor.
Yep!
Justice is the one thing you should always find
You gotta saddle up your boys
You gotta draw a hard line
When the gunsmoke settles
We'll sing a victory tune
And we'll all meet back at the local saloon.
To hot to handle is an understatement, like the sword that comes alive in ones own hand, Excaliber!
Thanks for the in service reminder. But I think that model has been replaced.
You bet. Its a recurring theme, and wounds recieved from ones own weapon used against the owner, had to be touched to the wound to get it to heal.
Generally a sword would be emmersed in a sacred well and bathed to exorcise it. That could be done with a rifle , if it was dismantled and completely cleaned and oiled after.
When used with great care and skill, and one becomes aware of nuances in its function, it does indeed feel alive and doing the bidding of its master. Such long-range or other precision use requires attention to detail far subtler than most people ever experience with any machine - hence the samurai's near-mysticism with the katana, and the soldiers' awe in recovering this particular tool.
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