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Next time I'm home I'll dig up my grandfathers stuff. I still have a nazi flag he brought back, and a nazi typewriter as well as a bunch of photos of his time in the Army Artillery in WWII. When band of brothers came out we traced his whole trip I'll see if I still have that too but he was at Normandy for sure, and I think Market Garden, pretty sure.
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Sep 8, 2019 20:45
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Hmm, I've never heard of Smyrna, an associated great fire nor any significant American military or civilian presence there. Let's look it up..."Great fire of Smyrna posted:The fire completely destroyed the Greek, Armenian, and Levantine quarters of the city, with only the Turkish and Jewish quarters surviving. The thriving port of Smyrna/Izmir, one of the most commercially active in the region, was burned to the ground. Some 150,000–200,000 Greek refugees were evacuated, while approximately 30,000 able-bodied Greek and Armenian men were deported to the interior, many of them dying under the harsh conditions or executed along the way. The 3,000 year Greek presence on Anatolia's Aegean shore was brought to an abrupt end, along with the Megali Idea. The Greek writer Dimitris Pentzopoulos wrote, "It is no exaggeration to call the year '1922' the most calamitous in modern Hellenic history." 
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Sep 8, 2019 20:48
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Have something less of a downer, from when he was captain of the destroyer La Valette:quote:One beautiful and peaceful Saturday morning when the La Valette was moored to a buoy off Coronado, California, “Pipe Down” had just sounded after Captain’s Inspection, when it was discovered that a swarm of bees had settled on the forecastle hatch leading to the Chief Petty Officer’s quarters, and that any attempt to pass up or down was out of the question. I sent for the Boatswain’s Mate with the duty and said, “Pass the word, anyone knowing anything about bees report to the Captain on the double. Thereupon a young seaman came up and said he knew how to take care of the bees. I said, “That’s fine. What do you want to help you?” He said, “An empty wooden box, an empty sack, and a pair of leather gloves.” All of which were quickly procured and he went to work. First putting on the leather gloves, he very gently gathered up bees, using both hands together, and taking them from the top of the swarm, he put them slowly and gently in the box. This he kept doing until he uncovered the Queen Bee and when he put her in the box all the rest of the bees went into the box. He then pulled the empty sack over the box and took the swarm ashore, where he sold it for ten dollars. At no time did the bees sting him or any of the interested spectators and the Liberty Party left the ship on time.
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Sep 8, 2019 21:32
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Does he mention putting that man in for commendation, or did he figure that having balls that big was enough of a reward?
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Sep 8, 2019 22:08
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Swarming honeybees usually aren't too aggressive.  in those days would have been a decent reward in itself I'd imagine.
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Sep 8, 2019 22:32
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That is literally how the section on the La Valette ends. After that he talks about all the famous dudes that came from the region around the Dahlgren Naval Proving Grounds. This is what he had to say about commendations while aboard the La Valette: quote:In August, 1926, I reported on board the United States destroyer La Valette as Captain. The La Valette was then at anchor in San Francisco Bay. I was detached in May, 1929. During this period the La Valette received the following awards:
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Sep 8, 2019 23:55
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I got everything up to his assignment to the Raleigh transcribed today, which I'm estimating is about 75% of the overall document. One more funny bit before I go to bed, from his time as Executive Officer at Dahlgren Naval Proving Grounds:quote:Besides the problem of naval ballistics, there were many others to be solved. The government employees at Indian Head, Md., were largely of the Catholic faith and did not relish the idea of moving to Virginia which, in percentage, has the largest Protestant population of any state. Furthermore, they quite naturally disliked leaving their families and friends in Maryland. Some of those who moved, rather than give up their jobs, were very bitter and acrimonious in their language, which made them rather unpopular and created a social caste so that this Maryland group was not invited to parties given by the Virginia group.
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Sep 9, 2019 03:44
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Elendil004 posted:Next time I'm home I'll dig up my grandfathers stuff. I still have a nazi flag he brought back, and a nazi typewriter... Plot twist: It's not a typewriter.
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Sep 10, 2019 07:48
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CMD598 posted:Plot twist: It's not a typewriter. An enigma machine just showing up in a trunk now would be super loving cool.
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Sep 10, 2019 08:36
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I watched this YouTube video of a grog Uboot video game that included actually operating the actual Enigma every time you wanted to send or receive a message and it was among the most hosed up things I have ever seen.
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Sep 10, 2019 11:07
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I just went through the article on those things and no wonder they had to invent the computer to figure it out.
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Sep 10, 2019 15:47
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https://twitter.com/oirspox/status/1171395187869986816?s=21 Bombs blowing up an island and stuff.
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Sep 10, 2019 18:47
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mlmp08 posted:https://twitter.com/oirspox/status/1171395187869986816?s=21 Any reason to think this is more than an expensive fireworks show?
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Sep 10, 2019 19:54
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Ironman reboot already?
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Sep 10, 2019 20:17
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Trying to erase an entire grid square with JDAMs?
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Sep 10, 2019 20:44
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It looks like we are in the style points phase of videos between powers in the Middle East.
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Sep 10, 2019 23:51
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Phil Moscowitz posted:Any reason to think this is more than an expensive fireworks show? We wouldn't have bothered using Strike Eagles if it was a PR stunt.
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Sep 11, 2019 02:13
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mlmp08 posted:https://twitter.com/oirspox/status/1171395187869986816?s=21 Sweet Jesus
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Sep 11, 2019 08:26
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I know it's ISIS and all but I'm not really a fan of choosing the word "infested" to refer to the presence of humans
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Sep 11, 2019 16:48
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aphid_licker posted:I know it's ISIS and all but I'm not really a fan of choosing the word "infested" to refer to the presence of humans I really doubt there was any opposing force on the island.
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Sep 11, 2019 17:13
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EBB posted:I really doubt there was any opposing force on the island. On the other hand, I know of an island in an idyllic location on a famous and storied river that's recently been expertly prepared for speculative development!
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Sep 11, 2019 17:27
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aphid_licker posted:I know it's ISIS and all but I'm not really a fan of choosing the word "infested" to refer to the presence of humans I agree. It's unnecessary and bad.
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Sep 11, 2019 17:41
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All part of dehumanizing your opponents so you don't feel so bad about all the murdering you're doing. (Agreed, in fact that entire video is pretty distasteful for me, it's pretty "we're killing people to patriotic music!")
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Sep 11, 2019 17:47
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EBB posted:I really doubt there was any opposing force on the island. probably no daesh commander ever: hmm this is a great totally exposed island with limited exfil routes, totally surrounded by high ground, lets setup our fob here!
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Sep 11, 2019 17:48
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soy posted:probably no daesh commander ever: hmm this is a great totally exposed island with limited exfil routes, totally surrounded by high ground, lets setup our fob here! Their opponent: 
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Sep 11, 2019 17:55
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Duke Chin posted:Their opponent: lol
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Sep 11, 2019 17:57
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Duke Chin posted:Their opponent: Is that COP Keating or something?
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Sep 11, 2019 18:25
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Flying_Crab posted:Is that COP Keating or something? Yes, it's even in the name of the image when you quoted it e: we aren't the only idiots though 
UP THE BUM NO BABY fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Sep 11, 2019 |
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Sep 11, 2019 18:29
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I blame phone posting
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Sep 11, 2019 18:34
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UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:Yes, it's even in the name of the image when you quoted it Dien Bien Phu?
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Sep 11, 2019 18:41
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Duzzy Funlop posted:Dien Bien Phu? Yeah, the "fortress"
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Sep 11, 2019 18:44
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Context for others: some officers made some bad decisions and a lot of dudes died because of it. So...typical army.
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Sep 11, 2019 18:56
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More context: A bunch of Germans thought their being-encircled times were over for sure this time and then got encircled and annihilated...again.
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Sep 11, 2019 19:07
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Duzzy Funlop posted:More context: A bunch of Germans thought their being-encircled times were over for sure this time and then got encircled and annihilated...again. Uhh EBB posted:I really doubt there was any opposing force on the island. There are a bunch of posts on twitter showing that the island has been bombed again and again.
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Sep 11, 2019 19:10
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 roughly half of all applicants to the foreign legion after '45 were Germans, and the legion had several battalions at Dien Bien Phu
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Sep 11, 2019 19:24
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mlmp08 posted:https://twitter.com/oirspox/status/1171395187869986816?s=21 In a huge blow to my ego as an amateur geographer (and why I ain't making the big bucks), I can't find this island. I kinda wanna take a look at it on the gearth but depending on how old the satellite imagery is, that island might not look the same.
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Sep 11, 2019 20:12
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Milo and POTUS posted:In a huge blow to my ego as an amateur geographer (and why I ain't making the big bucks), I can't find this island. I kinda wanna take a look at it on the gearth but depending on how old the satellite imagery is, that island might not look the same. Try around 35°40'26"N 43°16'28"E
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Sep 11, 2019 20:20
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Oh hey I did find it. And the island does look considerably different which is no surprise considering the latest imagery on gearth is 9 years old. I think I was also looking for a much bigger island. I dick around a lot on the st lawrence and those river islands are enormous. Anyway, if there was anyone there on that island they probably aren't anymore.
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Sep 11, 2019 20:26
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Duzzy Funlop posted:Dien Bien Phu? UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:Yeah, the "fortress" Didn't know poo poo about this one so I went and looked it up and Casualties and losses French Union 1,571–2,293 dead 5,195–6,650 wounded 1,729 missing 11,721 captured (of which 4,436 wounded) 62 aircraft and 10 tanks lost 167 aircraft damaged Totally not CIA 2 dead Vietnamese figures: 4,020 dead 9,118 wounded 792 missing French estimate: 8,000 dead and 15,000 wounded jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezus
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Sep 11, 2019 22:26
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Duke Chin posted:Didn't know poo poo about this one so I went and looked it up and It was the set piece battle that the French were hoping would break the Viet Minh. When asked about giving up the high ground and whether or not the Viet Minh would hit them with artillery they scoffed and said their own counter battery and airplanes would end that poo poo quick. It's probably possible to find an example where leadership was more wrong, but I'll leave that to others.
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Sep 11, 2019 22:40
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