The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Major General Fox Conner - May 23rd, 2006

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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Major General Fox Conner

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“The Man Who Made Eisenhower”

Men such as Douglas MacArthur and George Patton came from families with rich military heritages. They regarded the United States Military Academy at West Point as their first important step in a lifetime of military service. Dwight Eisenhower, on the other hand, saw “the Point” as little more than the source of a free college education and a place to play college sports, especially football. Ike was by no means certain he would make the Army a career.

By graduation in 1915, the future supreme commander of allied armies was known to his classmates as a fun-loving maverick, one who had earned little in the way of academic distinction or knowledge of military science. Four years of schooling above the Hudson River had yet to shape Ike into a military leader.


Dwight D. Eisenhower (With the Tank Corps, Camp Meade, Maryland, 1919.)

Indeed, after several years in the service, Eisenhower was downright discouraged. Despite enormous personal effort, he had not been sent overseas during World War I, the “Great War.” Then, when his intellectual potential began to emerge, he was slapped down by his superiors. In 1920, he was given a stiff verbal reprimand for having published an article about the future of tank warfare, an article deemed provocative and heretical by the Army’s chief of infantry. Less than a year later he was stoutly reprimanded for an honest mistake that would have seemed trivial outside the Army.

Without a combat record and having earned the disapproval of important superior officers, Ike’s military future looked bleak. Then, in 1921, his three-year-old son, Doud Dwight, died of scarlet fever. Ike and Mamie were devastated. It was a depressed and deeply dejected Captain Eisenhower who took up his new assignment in January 1922 at Camp Gaillard, in the Panama Canal Zone.


Camp Gaillard, Panama, 1922 General Fox Conner awards a commision to Eisenhower

The Army commander at the Canal Zone, Brigadier General Fox Conner, had been General Pershing’s Chief of Operations in France during the Great War. Wealthy, intellectual, and immensely respected throughout the Army, Conner had pulled some heavy strings to get Eisenhower transferred to Panama as his executive officer.

A top Army strategist and military historian, Conner was convinced that the peace treaty following the war was deeply flawed and would inevitably trigger a second world war. To prepare for that struggle, Conner set out to identify and guide the most talented younger officers, those who were likely to become the future leaders of the American Army. George Catlett Marshall was an early choice for his cultivation and then George S. Patton, Jr., followed. Patton introduced Conner to Eisenhower in 1919, and Ike soon became the next addition to the General’s list of promising officers.

For the next three years Fox Conner taught graduate courses in military history, strategy, and leadership in a “virtual” classroom located in the humid jungle of Panama. This classroom contained a single student, Dwight David Eisenhower. Military history classes at West Point had been poorly taught. But Fox Conner stirred Ike’s interest in history — he taught Ike how to read it, think it, and intelligently discuss its lessons. He drummed into Eisenhower his belief that another world war could not be escaped and that whenever it came it would have to be fought with allies. He imbedded this thought in Eisenhower’s mind: “Dealing with the enemy is a simple and straightforward matter when contrasted with securing close cooperation with an ally.”


Ike in Panama

Eisenhower was transformed by his mentor. Three years of rigorous service and education with Fox Conner changed his life. Ike became a more serious reader of everything from military history to science, philosophy and the classics. With Conner’s help, Eisenhower overcame depression and set out with determination to resurrect his military career.

General Conner’s mentorship continued long after Eisenhower’s assignment to Panama ended. Conner helped Ike in gaining admission to the Army’s Command and General Staff School. Ike graduated first in his class. Conner later influenced Eisenhower’s assignment to the American Battle Monuments Commission. This gave Ike the chance to work directly under General Pershing. Conner’s final act as a mentor was to bring Ike’s talents to the attention of George Marshall. When World War II came to America in 1941 — just as Conner had predicted — one of Marshall’s first actions was to have Eisenhower appointed to his personal staff.

Little wonder that in 1969 Frank Van Riper characterized General Conner as “the man who made Eisenhower.”

© Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, Washington, DC, 2004

[Professional Engineer]

In other news, we now know how long it takes to eliminate a "temporary" federal tax, 108 years.

[Professional Engineer]

Here's a cool link.


http://www.irishmansoftware.com/Oriskany.htm

[snippy_about_it]

Oriskany received two battle stars for Korean Service and five for Vietnamese service.


Cool pictures though you hate to see any old gal sink.
The small boat with the generators was a neat idea!

[Professional Engineer]

The phrase for the day is:

need dat

Translation:

need that

Usage:

Daddy, I know you ofered me a piece of broccoli, but I need that whole bag not just one piece.

[Soaring Feather]

Ah, Bittygirl knows the healthy foods. ;)

[Professional Engineer]

She also very much enjoys hot dogs, to her mother's dismay.

btw, dad likes em too.

[snippy_about_it]

need dat!

Does she like it fresh or cook, or both?

[Professional Engineer]

anyway she can get it. loves the stuff!

[Professional Engineer]

I just got a blast from the past. A few weeks ago, Msdrby and the kids went to a birthday party at the Frontiers Of Flight museum down at Love Field in Dallas.

I saw this picture just now, and sat straight up! It's odd seeing a plane I've pumped thousands of gallons of fuel into hangin in a museum as an artifact.

The modified Texas flag on the tail was only used for aircraft assigned to Reese AFB. Another image confirmed what I thought the tail numbr to be.

[Professional Engineer]

Oh, and this other thing was there too. All burnt up looking. Couldn't have cost much.

[Soaring Feather]

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies and gents. Flag-o-The States-o-Gram.

[Professional Engineer]

For jediboy

[The Mayor]

May 27, 2006

Earthworms And Fruit

READ: Job 37:14-19

Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused. —1 Timothy 4:4

Have you ever wondered why God made a particular creature, like mosquitos or snakes? I’ve often wondered about earthworms. Why did God form such creepy crawlers?

Actually, worms have an indispensable function to fulfill. Amy Stuart, in her book The Earth Moved: On The Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms tells us that in an average acre of ground there are countless earthworms continually breaking up the soil. Their silent and invisible activity is absolutely essential—no worms, no vegetation.

What, then, can we learn from earthworms? Not only in nature but also in our lives there are invisible forces at work. There is the silent and unseen work of prayer by those who are concerned about our well-being. There is the work of our own spiritual discipline, as we pray and meditate on God’s Word. And there is the vital work of the Holy Spirit, breaking up the clogged soil of our souls and producing in us the Christlike fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering . . .” (Galatians 5:22-23).

In our lives and in our world, God has ordained unseen influences that bear fruit. Whether it’s the lowly earthworm or the crown of God’s creation—the human race—there is so much more at work than meets the eye. —Vernon C Grounds

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.  —Alexander

God’s unseen work in our hearts produces fruit in our lives.

Bible in One Year:   2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23

[Professional Engineer]

Where's flag when you need one.

Soldiers and Marines participate in an Indy 500 tradition -- kissing the bricks -- though they added their own touch. At the bottom of a push up, they kissed the only remaining bricks from the original track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley

[Soaring Feather]

Hey you guys, guess what!! I just had dinner with alfa6 and his wife! Is this a Woo Hoo or what??

We had a wonderful evening together both in the restaurant and in my home!! Woo Hoo!

[Professional Engineer]

Kewl!

[snippy_about_it]

Wonderful. We're jealous!

[snippy_about_it]

Where's flag when you need one.

I can see one!

[Soaring Feather]

LOL

It was so cool!