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Posted on 06/15/2004 12:03:14 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 Forerunner of the modern infantry fighting vehicle, the M3 Half-Track was of half-French origin. In 1931 the U.S. Army purchased a French Citroen-Kegresse Model P17 half-track as part of a research and development effort for its own design. Working with private firms, the Army Ordnance Department produced the T14 prototype in 1939. In September of the following year the T14 was standardized and accepted for production; it became the M2 and the M3 Armored Personnel Carrier.  During World War II, the M3 proved to be a versatile workhorse, and eventually over more than 41,000 vehicles in no less than 70 versions were produced. Later, improved models of the M2 and M3 were designated M9 and M5. Production stopped in 1944, but the Half-Track remained in service until early 1950s.  A half-track is a vehicle that utilizes both tracks and wheels as running gear. The half-track was conceived by the Russians around 1914 but successfully developed by the Citroen Company in France. The U.S. Army purchased a license to develop half-tracks and experimented with half-track adapters. These were track units that could be retrofitted to existing vehicles. The mobility of the vehicle improved markedly when using these adapters. The scout car M3 was retrofitted with tracks culminating in the classical design as shown above. Half-tracks were built by White Motor Company, Diamond-T Motor Company, Autocar Company and International Harvester.  The basis of the half-track was a truck chassis and drive train. An armored box was placed in the back to provide protection for personnel and armament. This vehicle was equipped with a ditch roll which helped in traversing obstacles. Some vehicles were equipped with a winch in place of the ditch roll. Radiator louvers were used during battles to protect the radiator from small arms fire. The 4 speed transmission, combined with a 2 speed transfer case yielded 8 speeds forward with two in reverse. The levers to the right of the shift lever select high and low range and front wheel drive. The center seat is the jump seat, usually for the gunner. The track is constructed of two steel cables with rubber track molded around them. The rubber gives flexibility to the track while the cables are for reinforcement. The rear idler is used to adjust track tension. The power plant is a White 160 AX, 6 cylinder engine.  The U.S. half-track was first used in the Philippines where several initial design problems arose. The suspension was modified for increased reliability, but one of the main criticisms, the lack of overhead armor, was never changed throughout the life of the vehicle since the added weight decreased mobility. After the surrender of Bataan, several half-tracks were utilized in the Japanese army. In North Africa the half-track was improved with heavier road wheel springs and heavier springs for the rear idler. During the battle of the Kasserine Pass, several half-tracks were captured and used by the Germans. At the time of the invasion of Sicily, the half-track had settled into its role as an armored infantry transport vehicle that was able to deliver infantry closer to the battle since they were less vulnerable to rifle fire.  The vehicle would hold supplies and infantry field equipment, leaving the infantry unencumbered by heavy field packs. The half-track was highly mobile and could follow tanks quite easily, unlike trucks which were more at home on the road. The half-track was often criticized as too lightly armored, but this could partially be attributed to abuse of the vehicle. Some units used the half-track as an armored assault vehicle which was not its role by design. The M2 and M3 half-tracks, the machine gun/armored personnel carrier versions of the vehicle, were widely used in the European theater.  The German SdKfz 251 half-track was similar to the American half-track. The 251 had better armor protection, but the U.S. half-track had superior mobility with more horsepower, a driven front axle and a ditch roll. Half-tracks were also used as gun motor carriers or gun carriages, the most common being the gun motor carriage (tank destroyer), the Howitzer motor carriage, the mortar motor carriage and the multiple gun anti-aircraft motor carriage. The tank destroyer version of the half-track was marginally successful and eventually was replaced by the Sherman chassis based tank destroyers such as the M10. The M16 quadmount version of the half-track proved very successful and became the standard light anti-aircraft armored vehicle. Over 30,000 vehicles were produced during the war. 
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www.fischers-design.de
afvdb.50megs.com
search.eb.com
www.quanonline.com
mailer.fsu.edu
www.roberts.ezpublishing.com
www.usarmymodels.com
www.100thww2.org
afvinteriors.hobbyvista.com
 Half-tracks were first used by the British in World War I to tow artillery, but they saw their greatest employment during World War II, when they served in many armies as personnel carriers, gun carriages, prime movers for towed artillery, and general utility vehicles. They were among the most widely used and versatile vehicles employed in the war, being readily modified to fit the various needs of all the combat arms--infantry, artillery, and armour. The United States, Germany, and France built them in the largest numbers.  Half-tracks were not as reliable or easy to repair as wheeled vehicles, and they did not have the cross-country capabilities and power of fully tracked vehicles. Essentially, they were a compromise solution that failed to meet fully the needs of fast-moving armoured formations or of the more methodical artillery units. For this reason half-tracks were replaced in the decade after the war by wheeled and fully tracked vehicles. Semi-track vehicles are no longer produced.  |
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
Good night Sam.
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
Off to work bump for the Treadhead Tuesday edition of the Foxhole
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
On This Day in History
Birthdates which occurred on June 15:
1330 Edward the black prince, prince of Wales (1343-1376)
1767 Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson 1st lady
1843 Edvard Grieg Bergen Norway, composer (Peer Gynt Suites)
1894 Robert Russell Bennett Kansas City, composer/arranger (Oklahoma!)
1902 Erik H Erickson psychologist (Existentionalist)
1910 David Rose London England, orch leader (Red Skelton Show, Stripper)
1914 Saul Steinberg Romania, cartoonist, illustrator (New Yorker)
1922 Morris K Udall (Rep-D-Az)
1932 Mario Cuomo (Gov-D-NY)
1937 Waylon Jennings singer of innumerable country songs (Ramblin' Man)
1941 Harry Nilsson [Johnny Niles],singer/songwriter
1942 Xaveria Hollander [DeVries], Surabaya Indonesia, auth (Happy Hooker)
1945 Rod Argent England, keyboardist (The Zombies-She's Not There)
1946 Jim Varney Lexington KY, "Hey Vern", actor (Ernest Goes to Jail)
1947 Lee Purcell NC, actor (Big Wednesday, Mr Majestyk)
1954 Jim Belushi Chicago Ill, comedian (Sat Night Live, Trading Places)
1956 Polly Draper Palo Alto Calif, actress (Ellyn-30 Something, Hooters)
1958 Wade Boggs Nebraska, Red Sox 3rd baseman (AL bat champ 1985-88)
1964 Courtney Cox Birmingham Ala, actress (Family Ties, Cocoon II)
BASHUR AIRFIELD, Iraq — When Tech. Sgt. Ken Joy went to Iraq, he took his prized possession — the American flag his father gave him 14 years ago.
The flag’s from another time, another war and has its own distinct history. Yet it has come to symbolize everything Joy believes Old Glory stands for — duty, honor, country — and more.
“To me, the red stripes represent the blood of all the military men and women who died serving our country,” Joy said. “It’s why I fly it as high as possible.”
Joy’s an unabashed, flag-waving patriot who joined the Air Force to serve his country. A security forces fire team leader with the 786th Security Forces Squadron from Sembach Annex, Germany, he doesn’t deploy without his flag. Like at other places, Joy hoped to fly the flag over his tent at Bashur Airfield.
But Iraq was another matter. Flying the Stars and Stripes there is a no-no. So the sergeant from Pasadena, Calif., flew his beloved flag in the only place he could — inside his tent.
“No matter where it flies, it’s still the symbol of our country, of our resolve,” he said.
Joy’s proud of his flag because of what it means to his father, Darryl. He was a Navy assault coxswain aboard the USS Talladega during the Vietnam War.
The flag flew over Darryl’s landing craft during an operation in 1965, when he dropped 50 Marines onto a beach in South Vietnam. It was one of the first beach landings of the war, and the Americans came under fire.
Two weeks later in Da Nang, a Marine Darryl left on the beach approached him and asked if he remembered him. The sailor’s smart-alecky reply was something like, “No, not really. All you Marines look alike to me.”
Then the leatherneck told him he was the only survivor of the boatload of Marines.
“That’s when my dad realized — and relayed to me later — that being in the military isn’t a game,” Joy said. “It’s serious business, and people die doing it.”
Darryl took the flag from his boat, folded it and stuck it in his sea bag. It stayed there through his three years in Vietnam and until just before his son left to join the Air Force.
Darryl didn’t talk about Vietnam until Joy headed for basic training. He told his son the story of the flag before giving it to him. Darryl told him to take care of it as the symbol of the nation — and to honor the Marines who died on that beach in South Vietnam 38 years ago.
At Bashur, Joy led a team safeguarding the airfield. He was often on foot or vehicle patrol or pulling convoy security duty. The days stretched from sunup to sundown.
No matter, Joy loves what he does. But back at Sembach, his wife, Mary Grace, and the couple’s two children, Darryl and Jasmine, were worried. But unlike other separations they’ve endured, this time Joy’s wife was behind his deployment 100 percent. In a letter to her husband, Mary Grace said she was proud of what he was doing.
The big cop got a bit misty-eyed when talking about his family. No doubt he wanted to be with them. But he had a key job to do. He stayed focused by looking at the flag in his tent.
“Our flag looks different in a war zone,” he said. “It makes what we do more meaningful.”
When the time comes, Joy plans to tell his son the story of the flag. And one day he’ll pass it to his son, if he decides to join the military.
“God willing, my son won’t have to go to war,” Joy said. “But if he does, I want him to take this flag with him and fly it proudly.”
— Louis A. Arana-Barradas
MMMMM Half-tracks!
Here is a totally cool flag story of a different sort. Read the whole thing and contrast it to a certain politician.
http://www.flyergroup.com/story.asp?id=2099
Morning Aeronaut
Morning E.G.C. Beautiful clear skies today and predicting it to get into the 90's by the weekend.
morning alfa6. Thanks for the wake up bump.
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