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[harry hackedoff]

Kev, I know that song, of course.
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, very poignant anti-war song for us, but for them?
Heard one old bushy singing the most sarcastic rendition which had hard bastards crying openly.
Boxing day, 2001 saw yours truly wandering around Kings Park. There is a circular road in the park that has trees named after every one of Australia`s Fallen. The names are listed by name rank number unit and troop. And where they fell.
Places like Sidi Barrani, Tripoli and Alemein. Most of the trees have little posies laid at the bottom and, beyond a casual interest, I was more concerned with staying out of the 40 deg midday sun.
Untill one word caught my eye.
KANGAW
It was everywhere.
A Troop Sgt, 48 years of age and obviously a First World War Veteran who had re-enlisted.
Next to him the troop Officer, then two Corporals.
I was looking at a Troop which had twenty-five killed.
As I looked around at the trees, the hairs on my neck stood on end, and I stood there, shivering.
Kay asked me what was wrong. And I showed her what the trees meant.
A whole Company had sustained eighty five killed. On some muddy hill, in Burma. For these lads they had to stop the Jap at all costs or he would be in Darwin.
They came from Sydney, Adelaide, from small towns in the Bush and from the remotest Stations to die in the battle of Kangaw.Brave Lads, all.
This is what it means to pay the ultimate price.
When I hear that cult talk about "ready to pay the blood price" well, I think, "after you, lofty"
He has no idea.

Aye

[Sea Soldier]

Interesting connection "H",I only ever thought of Kangaw as an RM Unit "Memorable Date" ... ,having lived in "Kangaw" Block at CTC,but never realised there were others involved too !.
'Tis true ... you live & learn !

As I suggested elsewhere,if young Blur was to join up,I wonder if Daddy would be quite so Gung Ho then ? ... I beg leave to doubt it,as you say,He hasn't got a clue !

Not sure exactly when you're off but I assume once you've settled in & carried out the 1st I.A. on the Modem,we can still expect your company ?

Good luck Mate ... you've got the right idea .... any upper age limit on emigration to "Oz" ? ,"Carry your Suitcase,Sir" ?

[dave barrett]

H-H and Yorkie, It isn't until you look further afield that you realise the sacrifice that the 'Old Commonwealth' made in the last century...Gallipoli is something that will never be forgiven or forgotten in the Antipodes.... Dieppe has the same signifigance over here in Canada....

The difference I have found since my arrival in the "New World", is that over here they do "Remember".....Every 11th November is a sacred day....No matter what day of the week it falls on!..The only places open are churches and legion halls... The first year I was over I went to a superstore (a bit like Tesco's) to get a loaf of bread on 11th Nov. There was a polite sign on the door saying...This store Remembers..
The main highway to the airport here in Nova Scotia is called "Veterans Way", and there is a big blue sign (about the same size as the ones you have in UK that tell you what the 'Cone Hotline' is) that says..."Lest We Forget".

I think the reason the commonwealth are better at "Remembering" has a lot to do with percentages.....man for man most of their adult population volunteered to save the empire....One of the most poignant examples of this is a small town in New Brunswick that is now called Dieppe...My better half has gone to bed, so I can't tell you what it was called before 19 Aug 1942, but they lost a whole generation..and it wasn't as if the German hordes were sailing up the Bay of Fundy...they just volunteered to protect "The Empire"...I have just heard that Her Majesty will be visiting the village on her Jubilee visit next month...Thank You Ma-am!

OK so where does that leave us all in President Bush's war against Terrorism....Somewhere short of where it left me in the New lodge in 1973 I'm sure.

I think now is a good time for Rob Parry's nurse to give me some of the attention he is getting used to in his old age!

Regards Dave B.

[Sea Soldier]

Dave makes a very salient point,when he talks about the former "Empire" remembering ... they seem to be Adult enough to have got over any "shame" attached to having had or been part of an "Empire",unlike our own Politicos, .... you only have to watch then shuffling,uncomfortably at The Cenotaph to see what I mean .... they think that by "remembering" The Fallen,we might also remember the Tossers who caused/allowed it to happen ... uncomfortable if you're a Politician !

A typical example is Blurs attitude to Mugabe (which incidentally translates backwards into Ebagum) ! .... His Govt went out of its way to scream from any spare rooftop about "ethnic cleansing" ... in the Balkans.but seems strangely silent when its a Black man doing it !
And their treatment of white Zimbabweans,many of whose Fathers fought & Died alongside our own Troops,demonstrates their contempt for former "Colonials".... Loyalty is a "One Way Street" to New Labour

Funny really,as the Italians don't seem "hung up" about the former Roman Empire ! .... for that matter neither do the Dutch,French,Belgians or Spanish,all of whom had other Countries under their control/administration in the past.
And yet Blur is still prepared to manufacture more "Fallen",sacrificed on the Altar of his own ambition .... pity some illegal immigrant didn't smuggle a bomb onto His aircraft & done the World at large a huge favour !

Will the Prat never learn ... because WE won't forget !

[harry hackedoff]

to answer you`re question, Yorkie,
The upper age limit for skilled applicants is 45 for the main applicant. So thats me buggered then
Luckily, I married a much younger woman for just such an eventuality
Oz immigration details here:- www.immi.au/ and if you are interested, I can give you the contact details of an immigration agent,
And you can carry my bags anytime, just don`t call me "Sir"

cheers, Kevin,

Aye, Harry

[Sea Soldier]

"H",sorry I meant to spell that as "Cur" :

As HRH Prince of Wales is reputed to have said,when told why Royal always used his Helo (he thought He was the best Pilot) only to be told that Royal reckoned His "Cab" was better maintained ... "The Bootneck is indeed a crafty animal"!

Glad to see you're maintaining the Tradition !

[harry hackedoff]

Seems like an age since we shared that, boys. An example of a hijacked thread that came good in the end.
Well, tomorrow is me birthday and I sharn`t be breaking with me old tradition.
I`m off to Kings Park, on me own this time, for the Australian version of Remembrance Day. Watched an Australian Army Pipe Band practicing in a car park, today. Very good they were, too.
I`ll be taking a walk past those boys who fell at Kangaw and remembering.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning.

We will remember them

We will remember them.

And the veterans of The Burma Star`s prayer:-

When you go home, think of us and say" for your tomorrow, we gave our today"

Poignant words, indeed.
Wasted on the cult, unfortunately.

While all this is going on, you lot will be sound asleep(hopefully) so I shall take a tot on my own and post something tomorrow. Allso, I will be keeping me eyes peeled for those reprobates from the Western Australia Branch of R.M.A.
First time ever that I will attend Remembrance Parade in jeans. As that`s all I have at the moment, I know you forgive me.

yours, Aye

Harry Hackedoff

[harry hackedoff]

Well, I needn`t have worried about the jeans! Some of the crowd made me feel positively over dressed!
The parade was very differant from what we would expect in the UK.To start with, there were no Standards from various ex-service associations as they are all lumped together in the Returned Servicemans League. The Australian Defence Force were present in about troop strenght and the word"bimbled" is too formal by far for the way they"arrived". More like "shambled" I was stood about six meters from them and was easily able to inspect every one. They were dressed in the Oz equivalent of Half- Lovats. Trousers too long here, shirt not ironed there, shave yer neck, son, and Slouch Hats at all angles. Poor turn out and Malone and Capon would both have had heart attacks. A sad reflection on a fine fighting force with a great history.
The two minutes silence was respectfully observed by all, including the many young Australians who were present. It made me proud to see the flag of Australia flying next to our own Union flag. The approach to the Cenotaph was lined by members of the ADF Cadets who fainted in droves throughout the proceedings, bless `em.
A ten man Guard Of Honour from the old Diggers of the ANZAC from WW11 marched to the Cenotaph before the two minutes and were easily the smartest turned out on parade. After the flowers were ditched, some geezer who was poss the guv`nor of WA made a very pogniant and well reasoned speech. Obviously Balli got a big mention, but the gist was that the Supreme Sacrifice paid by these Sons of Australia was worth nothing if the terrorists changed the freedoms that we all now enjoy .He thanked the many representatives of Australias Allies who had turned up, couple of Elmers Navy, some French, some Poles and of course many British Ex-Services. Sadly, no sign of WA RMA as they probably attend the service in Freo.
After the usual Service had finished, one of the Poles made an announcement. The Polish Ambassador was present and was giving a posthumous award of Polands highest Military Award to a RAF Sqdn Ldr. His twin sons collected the Award. The guy`s name was Frank Pearce or poss Reace( the PA system was crap) He flew the first SOE mission to occupied Poland, followed by many more till he was eventually shot down. They were suicide missions. One of his sons read extracts from his log book. All through this the Polish vet was sobbing. I was very moved that the Polish President had made this award and that the Ambassador had flown over from Sidney, but most of all by the fact that Australia was proud that this happened. It made the news on all channels.
Whilst this was going on in Kings Park, lone buglers stood at the eight key junctions in Perth and blew the Last Post. City traffic was brought to a standstill as the Silence was observed. Make no mistake, Australia remembers with pride.
On a lighter note, the not-so Secret Service biffs were easy to spot from the way they kept talking to their hands, the curly leads in the ear and the big lump under the jacket on the right hip. I must give them the name of my tailor
First time ever that I have stood to attention wearing jeans and sunglasses as they played the Last Post. Felt very "wrong" like I was in public in me underwear, if you know what I mean.
After the Service, I walked through the trees to the boys from Kangaw. Fresh posies everywhere. And Tripoli. And especially Gallipoli.

Strange day, took several tots afterwards. Hope you did, too

Aye, Harry

[El Prez]

Well done H, it was late last night that Nurse reminded me about King's Park and the memorials. You are right about the solemnity of the place, it knocks you back a bit to understand how those men committed themselves, and at such a young age in most cases. It's a strange environment to experience the same feelings that you get at the WW1 sites.

I'm surprised you didn't have four or five suits made while in Singers, they could have knocked up knicks, shirts and ties in the same time. Jeans indeed, settling in nicely then, hope you polished your thongs.

[harry hackedoff]

It is truly a very solemn place. Very calming. A peculiar silence pervades as you stroll through that part of the park.
Spoke to a young guy on leave from their SAS, they`ve just rotated the unit in the"Stan" as he called it. He was part of the patrol that got bounced by the bad guys. They were O.P.-ing some Talliban when one of the patrol was pinged early in the afternoon. A very intense fire fight ensued during which the Aussies decided to exfiltrate(love the way he said ixfiltrate). In contact all the time, they called for a speedy vehicle thin outers. The Talliban were engaging with heavy weapons, mortars, artillery rockets and HMGs and night was quickly approaching. Their FAC called in the Herky gun ship who rapidly gave the opposition the good news, allowing our heroes to escape. This is what sparked off Opp Condor. He spoke of 45 in the most glowing terms(no surprises there, then) and said 45 found all of the remains of the Herkys nights work, but no bodies, sadly. The rest of his time was spent on the border waiting for a predicted large scale incursion from Pakistan which never materialised. Nice bloke, when I asked his name he replied" Aw, just call me'mate' mate"
We spoke about the probs with SA80 and to my surprise, he said the all singing and dancing version of the Armalite aint all it`s cracked up to be, either. The reduced barrel lenght(by six inches!) means it gets very hot very quickly. So hot in fact that you can`t touch the forestock. The weapon rattles like Santa`s sleigh and the magazine housing is so under-designed that they had lots of stoppages due to mags dropping off in contact! He sensibly declined my offer of a few wets as he was going to the official lunch. Wished I was

Thongs, you say? What has my underwear got to do with you, Parry

Aye, Harry

[Bringer]

The USMC opted against going with the M4 (carbine Armalite) because of those issues, and the fact that the shorter barrel doesn't give the 5.56x45 round enough velocity. The 5.56 round is designed to fragment when it impacts at a high enough velocity, causing a large wound channel. The M4's 14" barrel means the round will only maintain fragment speed out to 50 meters. After that it's just a small projectile. In the open combat terrain in Afghanistan, many people were complaining that the round lacked killing power.

Many of the complaints about the 5.56 round can actually be traced back to the gun that fired it. The round is very effective if it hits at the "terminal" velocity. And, as evidenced by the tragic series of shootings near Washington DC, accuracy is also very important - no matter the round.

The USMC chose the M16A4, despite the unwieldyness of the 20" barrel in urban combat. The M16A4 is essentially an M16A2 (which I know the RM uses in some applications) but with the modular rail system of the M4 series.

On a slight tangent, there has been a movement towards the M4 carbine and away from the H&K MP5 in US Law Enforcement agencies, as the 5.56mm round from the M4 has a lesser chance of over penetration - again because of the fragmentation design. This, of course, means that objects that would provide no cover to a 7.62 round from the SLR/FN FAL are perfectly safe cover from the smaller 5.56.

I read too much.