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Posted on 02/13/2006 8:35:48 PM PST by alfa6
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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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THE VALENTINE TANK  Based on the A10 Cruiser tank, the Valentine was privately designed by the Vickers-Armstrong corporation (hence its lack of an "A" designation) and was submitted to the War Office on February 14, 1938. Like many other projects, the Valentine was rushed into production following the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. Several versions exist concerning the source of the name Valentine. The most popular one says that the design was presented to the War Office at St. Valentine's Day (February 14). Some sources, however, claim that the exact date the design was submitted was February 10. According to other version, the tank was called Valentine in honor of Sir John Valentine Carden, the man who led the development of the A10 and many other Vickers vehicles. Yet another version says that Valentine is an acronym for Vickers-Armstrong Ltd Elswick & Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  The War Office was initially deterred by the size of the turret and the crew compartment. However, concerned by the situation in Europe, it finally approved the design in April 1939. The vehicle reached trials in May 1940, which coincided with the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. The trials were successfull and the vehicle was rushed into production as Infantry Tank III Valentine. The Valentine remained in production until April 1944, becoming Britain's most mass produced tank during the war with 6855 units manufactured in the UK (by Vickers, Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon and Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon) and further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training).  The Valentine was Britain's most mass produced tank during the war, having manufactured 6855 and a further 1420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2394 of the British models being sent and 1388 of the Canadian (the remaining 30 were kept for training). In Soviet service, they were quite popular due to their small size, reliability, and generally good armour protection. In Soviet service, the Valentine was used from the Battle of Moscow until the end of the war. It was employed mostly on the southern fronts, both because of the proximity to the Persian supply route and in order to avoid using the tank in very cold climate. Although criticized for its speed and its weak gun, the Valentine was liked due to its small size, reliability and generally good armour protection. The Valentine was something of an oddity, having the weight and size of a cruiser tank, but the armour and speed of an infantry tank. Though its armour was still weaker than the Matilda and, due to its weaker engine, it shared the same top speed, its high reliability and lower cost kept it in the war. ![](http://www.dad.incomingwormhole.com/Valentine/valentine_mk_iii_01.jpg") By 1944, in the European Theater of Operations the Valentine was almost competely replaced in the frontline units by the Churchill and the US-made Sherman. In the Pacific the tank was employed in limited numbers at least until May 1945. There were 12 variants of the Valentine as follows:     |
LOL, over and over again. Off and on.
Such a cutie. ;)
Now there's an idea for my next hot flash! lol.
She's learning the joys of control.
Mwuhahahahaha
Hi there!
I agree with ya on the Texas Trivia. We could come up with lots better than that between you and me. :-)
and we wouldn't even have to mention my ancestors and your ancestor's and the bootleg likker up in Bosque and Somerville counties.
Howdy!
Bittygirl is definitely learning the wiley little art of wrapping daddy around the finger I think. ;-)
She's been spending the entire last coupla years honing her methods. :-D
It's just a couple dozen miles downriver from me. Cept, I'm on the river that flows into the Brazos in Waco.
ROFL
It's just down the street from the Suspension Bridge.
But.... one of the things that needed to be on the list was the Texas Rangers. "One riot, One Ranger." How could they leave out the Rangers?
It's a life long endeavor my friend. :-)
Is that Flat Frodo?
Okay, so here's some trivial things about the Texas Revolution that folks outside Texas may not know about:
Please forgive me - cause I don't have all the facts perfect on the top of my head and I'm not a great history writer. I just love the topic.
The Mexican General Cos moved over into the San Antonio de Bexar area in the fall of 1835 trying to fortify the area about us rebelling peasants and such. General Cos was representative of the new Centralist Mexican government which was at odds with the Mexican Federalists (I think) who had first encouraged settlement from the United States into Texas.
It was this change in government which caused Texans both Mexican and Anglo to revolt against Mexico. Texas had been settled by both Mexicans and Americans because of (A) lower land prices than the U.S. and (B) no taxation. The Centralist government came into power in 1834 (I think). The Centralists abolished representation within the nation government from the territories AND they imposed a land tax on the lands in the territories.
Bingo - we have taxation without representation.
Lots of folks think of the Texas Revolution as a battle between Americans and Mexicans. But, in reality there were many many Mexican settlers here too. THEY didn't like taxation without representation any more than the American settlers did.
So, General Cos moved into San Antonio in October of 1835 and he chose the Mission San Antonio de Valero aka THE ALAMO as his fortification. He defended the Alamo before the Texans.
Texans began to gather about San Antonio throughout the next month to try and defeat General Cos and take San Antonio. On December 4 and 5 the Battle of Bexar was fought where the Texas revolutionaries defeated General Cos and TOOK the Alamo from the Mexican army.
The Texans then began to fortify the Alamo expecting Santa Anna to send up another army in late spring. The Texans never expected Santa Anna to leave Mexico City himself and they never expected him to retaliate swiftly.
But, we wounded his pride I suppose. And thence, Santa Anna the president of Mexico left Mexico City himself at the head of an army of 6000 to bring vengence upon the upstarts who'd defeated his General Cos.
The Texan defenders never expected Santa Anna to send that large of an army nor did they expect him to involve himself personally in the battle. But it is from this defeat of the Mexican army in the Battle of Bexar that such a large Mexican force was at the Alamo.
Forgive me if the Foxhole has already covered this topic and please forgive my own words and faulty memory over little stuff. But, ya know, we did just celebrate Independance Day here and it's on my mind.
yeah. you spotted him. that's why i had the pictures handy. LOL
Thank you Wneighbor. I know that it wasn't until I watched the latest movie that I learned and began to admire Juan Seguin. I thought the movie did justice in explaining the fact that it was both Mexicans and Texans fighting against Santa Ana.
1. Completion of the world's first transcontinental railroad was celebrated at Promontory where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 10, 1869. It is now known as Golden Spike National Historic Site
2. Levan, is "navel" spelled backwards. It is so named because it is in the middle of Utah.
3. Utah is the site of the nations first department store. Zions Co-operative Mercantile Institution was established in the late 1800's. It is still in operation today as ZCMI.
4. The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City took 40 years to complete. The Mormon temples in St. George, Manti and Logan Utah were completed before the Salt Lake Temple.
5. Interstate 70 enters the eastern edge of the state, from Grand Junction Colorado, and ends where it intersects Interstate 15, near Cove Fort. This section of Interstate 70 is one of the most deserted stretches of Interstate in the United States.
6. Rainbow Bridge, Nature's abstract sculpture carved of solid sandstone, is the world's largest natural-rock span. It stands 278 feet wide and 309 feet high.
7. The Great Salt Lake covers 2,100 square miles, with an average depth of 13 feet. The deepest point is 34 feet.
8. The average snowfall in the mountains near Salt Lake City is 500 inches.
9. Because of the state's inland location Utah's snow is unusually dry. Earning it the reputation of having the world's greatest powder. 14 Alpine ski resorts operate in Utah.
10. Utah mountain peaks, on average, are the tallest in the country. The average elevation of the tallest peaks in each of Utah's counties is 11,222 ft.-higher than the same average in any other state.
11. Salt Lake City was originally named Great Salt Lake City. Great was dropped from the name in 1868.
12. State symbol: The Beehive symbolizes thrift and industry.
13. State animal: The Rocky Mountain Elk.
14. State fish: The Rainbow Trout.
15. The Uinta mountain range is named after the Ute Indians.
16. The Wasatch mountain range is named after a Ute Indian name meaning "mountain pass" or "low place in a high mountain"
17. The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the mountains.
18. During World War II Alta ski center became involved in the war effort when paratroopers from the 10th Mountain Regiment trained on its slopes.
19. Annual precipitation varies from less than five inches in Utah's arid Great Salt Lake Desert to more than 60 inches in the northern mountain ranges.
20. Utah's professional sports teams include the Utah Jazz of the NBA, the Salt Lake Buzz of Triple A baseball, the Utah Grizzlies Hockey club of the International Hockey League and the Utah Starzz of the WNBA.
21. Utah has five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef.
22. Utah has seven national monuments: Cedar Breaks, Natural Bridges, Dinosaur, Rainbow Bridge, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Timpanogos Cave and Hovenweep.
23. Utah has two national recreation areas: Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon.
24. Utah has six national forests: Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-LaSal, Uinta, and Wasatch-Cache.
25. On February 8-24, 2002, Salt Lake City will host the XIX Olympic Winter Games. Along with more than 2,000 athletes from 85 nations, the world will share in the drama and excitement of 75 medal events in 10 different sports.
26. The Escalante River is generally considered to be the last major river to be "discovered" in the contiguous United States.
27. The controversy surrounding the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell is often cited as the beginning of the modern-day environmental movement.
28. Capitol Reef National Park protects The Waterpocket Fold a 100-mile long wrinkle in the earth's crust known to geologists as a monocline. The Waterpocket Fold extends from Thousand Lakes Mountain to the Colorado River.
29. Cedar Hills is built upon an alluvial fan or bench, created thousands of years ago when it was a shoreline of Lake Bonneville.
30. Fillmore was Utah's first territorial capitol and was named for U.S. President Millard Fillmore. The statehouse was never completed, but the first wing remains Utah's oldest governmental building and now serves as a state museum.
31. The Heber Valley Railroad's magnificent steam engine and ten passenger railroad cars have been filmed in over 31 motion pictures over the past 20 years.
32. The 4th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, also known as the Fightin' Fuujins, became the U.S. Air Force's first operational Tactical Fighter Squadron in March 1980. The squadron's nickname, "Fuujin", refers to the Okinawan god of wind.
33. The city of Hurricane lies in line with traffic going to the National Parks and Lake Powell. Average daily traffic on Hurricane's State Street is 7,397 visitors per day, or over 2.7 million visitors a year.
34. Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts located in Ivins is the first charter school in the state of Utah. The name Tuacahn comes from a Mayan word meaning "Canyon of the Gods."
35. Kanab is called "Park Central" because it is located only minutes away from a grand array of three (3) national parks, three (3) national monuments, one (1) national recreation area and two (2) state parks. Two (2) national forests and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wilderness areas also surround Kanab.
36. Kanab is known as Utah's Little Hollywood because of the large number of motion pictures that are filmed in the area.
37. Kaysville became a city on March 15, 1868 the first city to be incorporated in Davis County.
38. La Verkin at the entrance to Zion National Park is a beautiful valley and is called the "Garden Spot of Dixie".
39. Beaver is the birthplace of two very famous individuals of the past, Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television and Butch Cassidy, the notorious western outlaw.
40. Utah is the only state whose capital's name is made of three words. All three words in Salt Lake City have four letters each.
41. Utah was acquired by the United States in 1848 in the treaty ending the Mexico War.
42. Utah has 11,000 miles of fishing streams and 147,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs.
43. The name "Utah" comes from the Native American "Ute" tribe and means people of the mountains.
44. Utah covers 84,900 square miles of land and is ranked 11th largest state in the United States.
45. The federal government owns 65% of the state's land.
46. The Great Salt Lake, which is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide, covers more than a million acres.
47. The television series "Touched by an Angel" is filmed in Utah.
48. Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation.
49. The largest public employer in Utah is the Utah State Government.
50. The Navajo Indians were referred to by the Apache as "Yuttahih" meaning "one that is higher up."
Thank you for the information and email link. The rules of engagement are sadly lacking in our forces also. This was a horrible story but I was glad to see the quick response from the soldiers.
Utah? We're still discussing Texas. lol. All I think about when I think about Utah is the Great Salt Lake and Mormons. Nothing else comes to mind.
I hope my off-the-cuff stuff was okay. I just love the topic so much! One of my heart's desires would be to teach Texas History. LOL
When going through The Alamo you can't help but notice all the Hispanic surnames of those who died there. My trip last weekend was interesting because my daughter had brought a friend with her. The lady is from Germany and has only "seen the movie." She was pretty shocked when she found out what reverence there is for us Texans at the Alamo. But before it was all over, she was solemn also upon learning that 2 German immigrants also fought and died there. It was once again a new facet of history that I hadn't seen when I saw a glimmer of the dawning in that lady's face as to what the battle means to us. (as in ALL Americans - liberty, bloodshed for liberty)
I know, I'm rambling... but it almost struck me dumb to realize that here was a person who did not understand the significance of our bedrock tenet of freedom. And then I watched as she was trying to grasp a little of it. Amazing. God is good that we are Americans and have this country.
I think that many hundreds of e-mails went to the Prime Minister of Canada today.
I hope they let the Canadian troops do their work as soldiers rather than take a peace corps approach, that will kill many and cause them to be recalled quickly.
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