The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - British Cromwell & Comet Cruiser Tanks - May 18th, 2004

www.wwiivehicles.com ^

[SAMWolf]

Comet (A34)



After the initial battles in the Western Desert in 1941 and 1942 it was seen that the British didn't have guns that were able to easily defeat the German armored vehicles. By late 1943 there was an urgent need for a fast cruiser tank that could defeat German armor.


Comet in Germany on March 30, 1945.

Leyland was given the task to design the Comet as a successor to the Cromwell. It was to be built with as many of the components of the Cromwell as possible.

The turret couldn't take the 17 pdr. so the smaller 77 mm gun, that was developed by Vickers-Armstrong, was installed. It could fire the same shell as the 17 pdr. but was smaller so it could fit into the turret.

A mockup was ready in late September 1943. The first prototype was ready in February 1944. After about 60% redesign it was ready for production. The first production models were delivered in September 1944.



The hull and turret were all welded which were part cast and part rolled. A stronger suspension was needed and return rollers were added. The cupola for the commander was the same as on the Cromwell and provided good all around vision. The turret was traversed by electrical power from the main engine. Storage bins were over the tracks and behind the turret.



Gun was actually 76.2 mm, but was called 77 mm to avoid confusion with the 17 pdr. It could penetrate 130 mm at 30° at 2,178 yards using APDS ammo.



First delivery was to 11th Armored Division in December 1944. It was the only division to have all it's units re-equiped with the Comet.

The only variant was a vehicle that had exhaust cowls added to help reduce the visibility of the Comet at night.

[SAMWolf]

THE COMET'S TALE

In the summer of 1945, with the war in Europe over, the Department of Tank Design decided to investigate complaints about the Comet tank; apparently there were numerous reports of front idler and track link failure.

Comet was the first tank with Christie suspension to be fitted with track return rollers and clearly someone suggested that this was the problem. In order to test the theory a Comet was stripped of its return rollers and then compared with a conventional one.


Tank Museum photo No. 6336/D/3

Here is the conventional tank, turret reversed, climbing over some sleepers.




Tank Museum photo No. 6336/D/2

And here is the modified tank doing the same thing. Notice how the top run of the track has sagged down onto the road wheels. In the end the experts decided that there was nothing wrong with the Comet as it was. They blamed the failures on over-tight track tension and local conditions of terrain. They found that in terms of performance it made no difference whether the tank ran with or without return rollers.

It is worth noting that, when the first Comet prototype, seen below, appeared it did not have return rollers.


Tank Museum photo No. 0309/E/4

They were only introduced because it was believed, at the time, that extra support would be need since the tracks were wider and heavier than those normally fitted to the Cromwell.

Additional Sources:

www.tankmuseum.co.uk
users.swing.be/tanks.tanks
www.diggerhistory.info
www.mikekemble.com/1RTR
mailer.fsu.edu
www.skysurfer.co.uk
www.army.lt/armor

[SAMWolf]

Between World Wars I and II, the British were in quite a quandary over the tactical significance of their new "mechanical toy," the tank. While German strategists were deciding that war was going to go to the mobile and tanks would provide the required mobility, the British figured that future war was going to resemble World War I with entrenched lines. Thus they channelled their tank development in two directions: "infantry" tanks, having a top speed at about a infantryman's running speed, were to support infantry across no-man's land while "cruiser" tanks, like their naval brethren, were to engage and destroy other tanks (cruiser and infantry). British "cruiser" tanks tended to be far faster than their "infantry" counterparts and were usually heavy armoured whenever possible, befitting the British design philosophy.


Cromwell 1st Polish Armored Div - General Maczek

They were mostly variations on a theme. Various models were, Centaur, Covenantor, Crusader, Cromwell, Challenger.


Comet at the Elbe River in April 1945 with the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.

British cruiser tank Mk.VIII Cromwell Mk.IV, which fought alongside the British infantry tank Churchill from the June 6th 1944 till the end of WWII and during the Korean War.


Cromwell

Perhaps the most important British tank at the time of the invasion of Europe in 1944. Vehicles in the later part of the series were constructed using 100% welding. The Cromwell continued in service long after WW2 ended. Cromwell 2 had it's hull mounted MG removed for more internal storage. Cromwell 2 also had wider tracks installed. Cromwell 5w was the first all welded model and was fitted with a 75mm main gun. Cromwell O.P. was the command version. The O.P. had a dummy gun and extra radio equipment.


Comet

The Comet resulted from a hurried need to fit the 17pdr gun to the chassis of a Cromwell/Challenger. The 17pdr was also redesigned as well into a shorter, lighter version that came to be called the 77mm. Not on the prototype, return rollers were added to the production line as built by Leyland. A new, and much more aesthetic turret was added. The design was all welded. The tanks were in service in early 1945.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

Thanks to CholeraJoe for providing this link.

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

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PDN members and fans. We hope you will consider this simple act of patriotism worth passing on or taking up as a project in your own back yard. In summary:

Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.

What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.

Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.

Ideas to start a local project:

Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.

Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.

Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.

Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.

Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.

PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
Media Contact: Deborah Johns (916) 716-2749
Volunteers & Alternate Media: PDN (916) 448-1636

Your friends at PDN

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



It's TreadHead Tuesday!


Good Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[SAMWolf]

Good night Snippy.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[The Mayor]

When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. —Matthew 13:21

Tough times can teach us to trust.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on May 18:
1692 Joseph Butler Wantage Berkshire, theologian
1711 Ruggiero G Boscovich [Rudzer J Boskovic], Italian astronomer
1744 Joseph Beer Bohemia clarinetist/composer (5th clarinet flap)
1788 Hugh Clapperton Annan Scotland, African explorer
1798 Ethan Allen Hitchcock Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1870
1815 Thomas Stanhope Bocock representative (Confederacy), died in 1891
1817 James William Denver Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1830 Karl Goldmark Keszthely Hungary, composer (Sakuhtala)
1836 Wilhelm Steinitz Austria, world chess champion (1866-94)
1850 Oliver Heaviside physicist predicted existence of ionosphere
1868 Nicholas II Aleksandrovitsj last tsar of Russia (1894-1917)
1872 Bertrand Russell England, mathematician/philosopher (Nobel 1950)
1883 Walter Gropius Berlin Germany, architect (founded Bauhaus school of design)
1891 Rudolf Carnap philosopher (German Logical Positivist)
1897 Frank Capra Palermo Sicily Italy, movie director (It's a Wonderful Life, Arsenic & Old Lace)
1901 Vincent du Vigneaud US biochemist
1902 [Robert] Meredith Willson Mason City IA, composer (Music Man)
1903 George E Stone Lodz Poland, actor (Viva Villa, Last Mile)
1904 Jacob K Javits (Senator-R-NY)
1911 Big Joe Turner Kansas City MO, blues singer (Corrine Corrina, Shake Rattle & Roll)
1912 Georg von Opel German auto manufacturer
1912 Perry [Pierino] Como Canonsburg PA, singer/TV host (Perry Como Show)
1912 Richard Brooks Philadelphia PA, director (Blackboard Jungle, In Cold Blood)
1917 James Donald Aberdeen Scotland, actor (Bridge on River Kwai, Vikings)

1918 Pope John Paul II [Karol Wojtyla] 264th Roman Catholic pope (1978- )

1919 Dame Margot Fonteyn Surrey England, ballerina (Giselle/partner of Nureyev)
1924 Jack Whitaker Philadelphia PA, sportscaster (ABC, CBS)
1928 Pernell Roberts Waycross GA, actor (Adam Cartwright-Bonanza, Trapper John MD)
1930 Don Leslie Lind Midvale UT, astronaut (STS 51-B)
1930 Fred[erick Thomas] Saberhagen US, sci-fi author (Berseker series)
1930 Warren B Rudman (Senator-R-NH, 1980- )
1934 Dwayne Hickman Los Angeles CA, actor (Dobie Gillis, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini)
1937 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Oriole 3rd baseman (1955-77)
1939 Glen Hardin Texas, rocker (Crickets)
1941 Diane McBain Cleveland OH, actress (Surfside Six, Spinout, Donner Pass)
1946 Reggie Jackson "Mr October" baseball rightfielder (Yankees, A's)
1948 Joe Bonsall Philadelphia PA, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
1949 Rick Wakeman rock keyboardist (Yes-Fish Out of Water)
1952 George Strait Pearsall TX, country singer (All My Ex's Live in Texas, Beyond the Blue Neon)
1978 Jennifer Streblow Oshkosh WI, Miss America-Wisconsin (1997)

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Deaths which occurred on May 18:
0323 Alexander III the Great king of Macedonia/conqueror, dies at 32
0526 John I Pope (523-26), dies
1625 Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas Spanish marquis of Denia, dies
1808 Jacob Albright [Albrecht] German/US preacher, dies at 49
1862 William H Keim US Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 48
1864 James Byron Gordon Confederate Brigadier-General, dies at 41
1884 Heinrich R Göppert German paleo-botanist, dies
1911 Gustav Mahler Austrian composer (Children's Death Songs), dies at 50
1949 James T Adams US historian (Pulitzer 1921)
1965 Eduard J Dijksterhuis mathematician (Archimedes), dies at 72
1967 Andy Clyde Hopalong Cassidy's sidekick, dies at 75
1973 Jeannette Rankin 1st Congresswoman (1917-19, 41-43), dies at 92
1974 Daniel R Topping US owner (New York Yankees), dies at 61
1981 Arthur O'Connell actor (Mr Peepers, Second Hundred Years), dies at 73
1981 William Saroyan US stagewriter (Time of your life), dies at 72
1986 John Bubbles Sublett tap dancer (Black & Bubbles), dies at 84
1987 Wilbur J Cohen 1st employee of Social Security System, dies at 73
1988 Daws Butler cartoon voice (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound), dies at 71
1990 Jill Ireland actress (Carry on Nurse, Family), dies of cancer at 54
1991 Edwina Booth actress (Trader Horn), dies of heart failure at 86
1992 Lawrence Welk bandleader (L Welk Show), dies of pneumonia at 89
1995 Alexander Gudonov Russian dancer/actor (Witness), dies at 45
1995 Elisha Cook Jr actor (Maltese Falcon, Shane), dies at 91
1995 Elizabeth Montgomery actress (Bewitched), dies of cancer at 62

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 HRDLICKA DAVID L.---LITTLETON CO.
[07/66 PUBLISHED PHOTO]
1965 TAVARES JOHN R.
[LAST SEEN IN BAR AT DA NANG]
1966 GUILLET ANDRE R.---WATERBURY CT.
1966 HARLEY LEE D.---DANVILLE VA.
1966 MOORE WILLIAM J.---MONMOUTH IL.
1966 WALL JERRY M.---NACOGDOCHES TX.
1967 CAMERON KENNETH R.---BERKLEY CA.
[03/74 DRV RETURNED REMAINS DIC 10/04/70]
1967 DELONG JOE L.---MC MINNVILLE TN.
1967 NAUGHTON ROBERT J.---CEDAR RAPIDS IA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 GIST TOMMY EMERSON---DURANT OK.
1968 JAMES CHARLIE N.---GLENDALE CA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 MONROE VINCENT D.---OAKLYN NJ.
[08/23/78 REMAINS RETURNED]
1968 PADILLA DAVID E.---BORGER TX.
1968 UYEYAMA TERRY J.---LEONIA NJ.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 CUDLIKE CHARLES J.---DETROIT MI.
1971 ENTRICAN DANNY D.---BROOKHAVEN MS.
1972 BEDNAREK JOHNATHAN B.---GREENLAWN NY.
[REMAINS RETURNED 05/89]
1972 RATZEL WESLEY D.---SCRANTON PA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 05/89]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0526 St John I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1096 Crusaders massacre Jews of Worm
1291 Sultan of Egypt & his son take last Christian stronghold of Acre
1619 Hugo the Great sentenced to life in prison
1631 English colony Massachusetts Bay grants puritarian voting right
1631 John Winthrop is elected 1st governor of Massachusetts
1642 Montréal Canada founded
1652 Rhode Island enacts 1st law declaring slavery illegal
1756 England declares war on France
1803 Britain declares war on France after General Napoleon Bonaparte continues interfering in Italy & Switzerland
1804 Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed Emperor of France
1830 Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower - Saturdays are destroyed forever
1843 United Free Church of Scotland forms
1846 US troops attack Rio Grande occupying Matamoros
1852 Massachusetts rules all school-age children must attend school
1860 Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president
1861 Battle of Sewall's Point VA-1st Federal offense against South
1863 Siege of Vicksburg MS
1864 Battle of Yellow Bayou LA (Bayou de Glaize, Old Oaks)
1896 US Supreme court affirms "separate but equal" policy (Plessy v Ferguson)
1897 Irish Music Festival 1st held (Dublin)
1897 New York Giant William Joyce sets record of 4 triples in 1 game
1904 American Ion Perdicaris kidnapped in Morocco
1910 Passage of Earth through tail of Halley's Comet causes near-panic
1911 President/dictator José Porfirio Diaz of México term ends
1916 US pilot Kiffin Rockwell shoots down German aircraft
1918 TNT explosion in chemical factory in Oakdale PA kills 200
1926 Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson vanished in Venice CA; She showed up a month later & said she had been kidnapped
1927 Grauman's Chinese Theater opens in Hollywood CA
1933 Tennessee Valley Act (TVA) Act signed by FDR, to build dams
1934 Congress approves "Lindbergh Act", makes kidnapping a capital offense
1934 Jimmie Foxx hits 1st homerun in Comiskey Park center field bleachers
1941 Jewish veterans honor their dead
1944 Expulsion of more than 200,000 Tartars from Crimea by Soviet Union begins, they are accused of collaborating with the Germans
1944 Polish 2nd Army corps captures convent of Monte Cassino Italy
1947 A's catcher Warren Rosar catches his 147th game without an error
1948 Arab Legion captures fort on Mount Scopus
1948 Saudi Arabia joins invasion of Israel
1952 Professor WF Libby said Stonehedge dates back to 1848 BC
1953 1st woman to break the sound barrier (Jacqueline Cochrane, USA)
1956 Mickey Mantle hits homerun from both sides of plate for record 3rd time
1963 "If You Wanna Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul hits #1
1964 Supreme Court rules unconstitutional to deprive naturalized citizens of citizenship if they return to home country for more than 3 years
1965 Gene Roddenberry suggests 16 names including Kirk for Star Trek Captain
1967 Tennessee Governor Ellington repeals "Monkey Law", upheld in 1925 Scopes Trial
1968 Al Kaline hits his 307th homerun, surpassing Hank Greenberg as a Tiger
1969 Apollo 10 (Stafford/Cernan/Young) launched toward lunar orbit
1971 President Nixon rejects the 60 demands of Congressional Black Caucus
1972 "Me & The Chimp" last airs on CBS-TV
1972 John Sebastian makes 63 consecutive free throws while blindfolded
1977 Menachem Begin becomes Israel's Prime Minister
1978 Italy legalizes abortion
1978 Russian dissident Yuri Orlov exiled to compulsory work
1980 Mount St Helens blows its top in Washington State, 60 die
1982 Unification Church founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon convicted of tax evasion
1983 Senate revises immigration laws, gives millions of illegal aliens legal status under an amnesty program
1986 Chung Kwung Ying does 2,750 "atomic" hand-stand push-ups
1990 Cubs Ryne Sandberg ends 2nd baseman record 123 errorless game streak
1990 East and West Germany sign a monetary union treaty
1990 Judy Carne arrested at JFK airport on an 11 year old drug warrant
1991 USSR launches 2 cosmonauts to MIR space station
1992 Supreme Court rules states could not force mentally unstable criminal defendants to take anti-psychotic drugs
1993 Italian police arrest Mafia boss Benedetto "Nitto" Santapaola
1994 Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip (again)
1997 Tiger Woods wins Byron Nelson Golf Classic

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Haiti : Flag Day/University Day
Uruguay : Battle of Las Piedras (1828)
Canada : Victoria Day (1819) (Monday)
National Bike to Work Day
International Pickle Week (Day 3)
Blow Your Top Day
US : Don't Do Dishes Day
US : Visit Your Relatives Day
National Hair Color Month!

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Religious Observances
Christian : St Eric of Sweden
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Venantius, bishop, martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John I, pope & martyr (523-526)
Lutheran : Commemoration of Erik, King of Sweden, martyr

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Religious History
1291 Acre, the last territory in Palestine taken by the first Crusaders, fell to invading Moslem armies. It signalled the end of a Christian "military presence" in the Near East. (Afterwards, friars sought to spread the gospel by preaching instead.)
1631 The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony decreed that 'no man shall be admitted to the body politic but such as are members of some of the churches within the limits' of the colony. (Separation of church and state was an unthinkable concept in early American colonialism.)
1766 The Church of the United Brethren in Christ was organized in Lancaster, PA, under the leadership of Martin Boehm, 41, and Philip William Otterbein, 39. (It became a branch of the Evangelical United Brethren in 1946.)
1814 In Philadelphia, the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions was established -- the first national organization of Baptists in the U.S. It was later called the Triennial Convention because it met every three years.
1925 Popular evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, 34, disappeared while on a beach outing. Turning up five weeks later, she claimed to have been kidnapped and held prisoner, before escaping from her abductors.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Inflation is when the buck doesn't stop anywhere."

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Actual Newspaper Headlines...
If Strike isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While

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Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
The Channel 7 News Team:
In a story you will see only on WSVN, a young homeless chicken crosses the road in Citron Beach for the very first time... The orphaned chicken is hit by a speeding car and is thrown sky high... Authorities are still trying to pick up the pieces. At the family's request, the chicken's remains will be used to make chicken soup for the orphaned chicks...

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Fun things to do when driving...
Honk frequently...without motivation

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What The Company Really Means...
"REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS:"
You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.

[tomball]

Good Morning, Foxhole

Here's to another great post, and another great day...

 

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone in the FOXHOLE.

[Johnny Gage]

HOOYAH for our British compatriots!

Check out this story:

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Bayonet Brits kill 35 rebels
The Sun (UK) ^ | 5/16/04 | Unattributed

Posted on 05/16/2004 10:46:27 PM CDT by 1066AD

OUTNUMBERED British soldiers killed 35 Iraqi attackers in the Army’s first bayonet charge since the Falklands War 22 years ago. The fearless Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders stormed rebel positions after being ambushed and pinned down.

Despite being outnumbered five to one, they suffered only three minor wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting near the city of Amara.

The battle erupted after Land Rovers carrying 20 Argylls came under attack on a highway.

After radioing for back-up, they fixed bayonets and charged at 100 rebels using tactics learned in drills.

When the fighting ended bodies lay all over the highway — and more were floating in a nearby river. Nine rebels were captured.

An Army spokesman said: “This was an intense engagement.”

The last bayonet charge was by the Scots Guards and the Paras against Argentinian positions.

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I'd love to buy these guys a round of Guinness.

[Johnny Gage]

Good Morning Everyone!

I just found this off the 29 Palms Marine Corp Information website, which I believe is where the 3rd/7th Marines are based.

“Desert Mail Call”

Looking for a way to get involved? Show your support and appreciation to our troops deployed overseas by sending notes, letters, postcards and drawings to “Desert Mail Call”. This effort is designed to allow the communities across the country to directly impact the morale, welfare, and pride of the Marines and other service-members stationed abroad. Each piece of mail will be added to care packages sent periodically to the troops via Marine Corps Community Services in 29 Palms.

Please send any mail to:

Desert Mail Call
P.O. Box 6145
Twentynine Palms, CA 92278

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. We had nasty thunder storms last night. It's cloudy this morning but not suppposed to rain.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Mayor.

[SAMWolf]

1934 Dwayne Hickman Los Angeles CA, actor (Dobie Gillis, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini)

I loved watching Dobie Gillis!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning tomball.

Sort of looks like my first dog.