Sunday, July 26th, 2009
It was reported last week that Henry Allingham, one of the last surviving British World War I servicemen, has died at age 113. He could be the last W0rld War I (WWI) veteran to serve in the trenches in Western Europe.
Of course, it’s possible that there is another Tommy out there, but clearly the end is near for a generation.
Claude Choules is now Britain’s last remaining World War I veteran. He served in the Royal Navy and is 108 years old.
In 2007, Lloyd Brown, the last remaining U.S. Navy veteran, and Charlotte Winters, the last U.S. female WWI veteran died. Frank Buckles may be the last U.S. veteran. He served in the Army and is 108 years old.
It’s hard to mourn an entire generation. But for the many people like myself who enjoy history, it is a milestone and opportunity to reflect upon the time period.
Tags: Army, History, Military, navy, WWI
Posted in History | No Comments »
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
Slowly, some of the details are coming out of the five-day hostage situation of Capt. Richard Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama. The Wall Street Journal reports On the Maersk and worth reading if you are looking for details of how the rescue of Capt. Phillips evolved.
I’ve been curious about the sea conditions and the article hints at an answer:
The three remaining pirates later asked to be towed, apparently out of fuel. Bainbridge hooked up a line. After sunset, winds and seas picked up, jostling the lifeboat uncomfortably. The pirates’ mood see-sawed, said Cmdr. Castellano. One minute they were terse and vindictive on the radio, the next smiling and laughing.
Not as much detail of the conditions as I would like but it is interesting that the pirates “asked to be towed”, suggesting it was uncomfortable enough that they hoped a tow would smooth out their ride.
Still many other questions remain. Some of which are asked over at Information Dissemination, a great blog if you follow naval topics. Today’s Maersk Alabama Lifeboat – Photo Edition poises some interesting possibilities.
I eat this stuff up!
Tags: Information Dissemination, Maersk Alabama, navy, Pirates, rescue, SEALS, Somalia, WSJ
Posted in Military | No Comments »
Saturday, April 11th, 2009
I have a terrible habit of opening tabs in my browser with the intention of reading them in the evening and perhaps commenting on them if I have something to contribute to the discussion or wish to pass on a tip or trick. Well, it’s been pretty busy this week and I haven’t had a chance to blog. Currently, there are 18 open tabs, some related to each other, that I intended to blog about.
For now, I’m just going to post some quick comments for I fear I won’t get back to this list soon.
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Tags: Easter, EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation, iFolder, law, Maine, Medal of Honor, Misc, navy, Obama, open source, Pirates, Radical Parenting, Russel Dunham, Security, Snowe, Somalia, USA, Vanessa Van Petten
Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »
