ON THIS DAY

[bootneck]

We Will Remember. I`ll take a tot tonight,

[Ploggers]

22 years ago today, through sheer incompetence, 48 young men of the Welsh Guards and other units were killed on the LSL's Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram.

Despite the vociferous protests of one Maj Ewan Southerby-Tailor, the senior officers of the Welsh Guards decided it was appropriate to leave the men embarked in defenceless ships with no air cover. Forgive my language but; the f@#k idiots!

This action has been shrouded in controversy ever since but when the mist and smoke clears, there are 48 body bags of young lads who went to the Falklands to fight for their country. For that they deserve respect.

Rest in peace lads.

[Shoulderholster]

On this day 1944 the second unsuccessful assassanation attempt on Hitler was made.
Proving that you can never have to much P.E.

SH

[harry hackedoff]

1704, Royal takes Gibralter, checkmate, so that two hundred years later, a minor left wing political figure of no significance can hand it over to the dagos despite the vast majority of Gibraltarians and Britons being opposed to such actions.
1862, Martin Van Buren, eighth Prez of the US ( known by the sobriquette" POTUS", fark him) shuffled off this mortal coil. He was the first POTUS not to be born a British Subject.
Easy to see where it all went wrong then, Elmer
Replys on a postcard to,

Whiteboys r us
Achey Breaky Heart
Down Home Mulletsville( The Line Dancing Capital of The World, there Musky)

Sempers, you guys, take a Sol

[El Prez]

So sad the see the sort of educationally maladjusted we send over to the colonies on long term abuse leave.

300 years you pillock. 300!
Tricentenary; Three Hundred, Tres Cinco; Trois cent; older than America Bud!

[bootneck]

and on that very same day, but in 1976, i made the biggest mistake of my life...................i got married , i`d have done less time for murder

[ABBA]

On this day ninety years ago The Great War begun.

"They are not forgotten"

[harry hackedoff]

ABBA(great songs, great arse) why is that soldier trying to shoot your Jimmy?
Yesterday was the start of the USN`s bombardment of Tripoli in 1805.
To show your admiration and respect for our cousins, please follow these simple instructions.
Drop your trousers
Turn speakers up full
Stand to attention
Sing along
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/marine.htm
You will find us always on the job--
The United States Marines.
Here`s to them

Sempers and Per Mare

[Shoulderholster]

On this day 15th August 1945 (I know,but I was on nights last night and couldn't post it!) WW2 came to an end.
VJ Day,whats that I hear you say,was it mentioned on telly?,did you see it in the papers?. I didn't,but to the "Forgotten Army" I salute you,lets see if they remember you next year?.
SH

[harry hackedoff]

1227, the year, not zulu and me old mate Gengis Khan passes over the bar Sadly missed by all and a right good winger when ashore. How we larfed as old Ghengis elaborated on the dance of the flaming arseholes I`d love to try it with some modern day arseholes. Tone and Dubya, enough napthers and they`d burn a treat

Second thing, not funny.
I`ve spoken elsewhere, about the Digs from Viet Nam not feeling entirely welcomed by the RSL( Oz equivalent of British Leg iron) and saying poke it to `em, as they started their own Assoc called Long Tan. Oz Viet Vets are a very proud bunch of blokes indeed, and the more I hear, the more I can see why.

Today is the 38th anniversary of that August afternoon when the Diggers of the Sixth Royal Australian Regt (6 RAR) began a follow-up Op on what was thought to be a small VC force. Straight into a large scale triangular ambush involving at least two thousand VC. The Diggers were out numbered fifteen to one and gave a spirited account of themselves throughout that afternoon and night. Aussie KIA 18, wounded, 22. VC KIA 245 wounded, unknown. The Digs were mostly new recruits and this most bloody battle symbolises Viet Nam to Australia.

The federal government said it would work with Vietnam war veterans of the Battle of Long Tan to correct any mistakes made in the awarding of bravery medals to the soldiers who took part.
That follows a Labor promise to conduct an inquiry into the Long Tan awards process should it win government.
Thirty-eight years after the battle, veterans say they have never forgiven senior officers for the way they downgraded awards given to the soldiers.
Two platoon commanders originally recommended for the Military Cross were later awarded the Mentioned In Despatches (MID) - the same award received by the taskforce postman.
Major Harry Smith, the commander of Delta Company, 6RAR, was in the thick of the fighting and was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order - second only to the Victoria Cross - but instead had his award downgraded to the Military Cross.
Fran Bailey, minister assisting the minister for defence, said the government had a proud record of achievement in recognising those who served the nation.

"I am very sympathetic to the veterans of the Battle of Long Tan. I want to ensure every entitlement that is owed to them is delivered," she said in a statement.
"I would be happy to work with the veterans to ensure any anomalies are corrected."
The Battle of Long Tan remains the single best remembered event of Australia's controversial involvement in Vietnam.
It was fought on August 18, 1966, when the 108 members of Delta company set out to find Viet Cong (VC) mortar crews who had attacked the Australian base at Nui Dat.
In the rubber plantation of Long Tan they ran headlong into a VC regiment. In the ensuing desperate three-hour battle, the diggers fought off successive massed VC attacks. Eighteen Australians were killed and 24 were wounded.
Although Ms Bailey said the government was prepared to work with the veterans, the defence department indicated the matter of Vietnam awards was effectively closed.
In a statement late Tuesday, Defence said military commanders in Vietnam were best placed to assess the performance of individuals under their command.
"These commanders gave careful consideration to the most appropriate method to recognise the many outstanding acts of meritorious service and conspicuous acts of individual courage that occurred," it said.
Defence said the nomination for platoon commander Second Lieutenant Dave Sabben showed he was recommended for and awarded a MID and there was no record of a nomination for the Military Cross.
Defence said these matters were reviewed by the independent review panel of the End of War List for Vietnam in 1999 which upheld existing awards.
For the Long Tan veterans this remains a nagging sore. In Canberra alongside seven of his fellow commanders for the launch of a new book about the battle, Major Smith said he had never been able to forgive the senior officers who downgraded awards to his men.
"I was absolutely disgusted that in December 1966 the awards I had recommended in some cases had not been processed, and in some cases had been downgraded and belittled with my platoon commanders being put on the same list for MIDs - which are normally for administrative good work or posthumous awards for bravery - as the postal officer at Vung Tau," he said.
"There was something obviously wrong with our system at that time and I hope it is being corrected."

And again,

Wednesday is the 38th anniversary of Long Tan, with ceremonies across Australia to mark the battle.
On the 18th of August 1966, the most intense battle ever to involve Australian soldiers and forces of the National Liberation Front ( NLF ), commonly called the Viet Cong ( VC ), was fought in a rubber plantation at a place called Long Tan, Phuoc Tuy Province, in the Republic of Vietnam ( RVN ). Although battles involving larger Australian units were fought before and after Long Tan, on no other occasion was so small an Australian force engaged for so long,and so intensely, by so large an enemy.
It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction, and this seems to be the case at Long Tan. Any fictional presentation of 100 inexperienced young soldiers fighting at least ten and probably fifteen or twenty times their own number, in a rubber plantation providing little cover, in a blinding rainstorm; then being relieved by a force arriving just as the enemy is massing for the final unstoppable charge--any such scenario would be ridiculed as the worst type of Hollywood glorification of war.
Yet this is what did happen on that August afternoon
Unfortunately, almost no documents allowing a view of the VC side are known to be taken by the Australians, either at the battle or later. This is regrettable, as it was the intention of the author specific rather than anonymous recognition to the Vietnamese participants, who, though defeated, performed as they so often did in the face of Allied firepower, and went into the attack again and again; and then removed as many men and weapons as they could from the battlefield, to the extent that only three wounded VC were left to be captured the next day.
The performance of the VC on the scene should be rated highly, and the Australian feat of arms can be appreciated only when the mettle of their enemy is taken into account.

Medals awarded by the Republic of South Vietnam for the battle were forbidden to be worn and the Republic later gave the survivors cigarettes and toy dolls as a compensation. Today, the Vets have been told they can now wear the ROSV awards. (Many did anyway )


Here`s to those blokes from Delta Coy, 6RAR, and the eighteen who are still there.
We will remember them.

[harry hackedoff]

Shoulders, to your post I`d like to add the Burma Star Association Prayer.
With Royal taking part in many of the actions out East, on land and in the big ships, in the Arakan and of course at Kangaw, it seems fitting to add,

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


Lest we forget, indeed.
Take another tot



cheers,G man

[harry hackedoff]

On this day in 1942, a large force of British and Canadian Commandos raided the port of Dieppe in what was to be a very costly operation to try out opposed beach landing technique.
Without the willing sacrifice of these men, valuable lessons would not have been learned untill D-Day itself. All of the specialist AVRE tanks, (known as Hobart`s Funnies) for instance, which gave enormous fire-power to the disposal of Coy commanders on the beaches at Normandy. The tasks for which each of the tanks were designed, were identified at Dieppe. Close co-operation of heavy bombers and ground troops was worked upon untill the Halifax and Lancaster crews could operate as fighter ground attack aircraft. The concept of Naval gunfire in support was changed from every ship firing the pre designed fire plan, to certain ships being "on call" for local fire tasks from Coy and even Troop commanders. D-Day would still have happened without Dieppe, for sure, but the lessons were well-learned by the British and Canadians at Gold Juno and Sword, which meant that cas figures were well below what had been anticipated. The American command chose to ignore the lessons, and the offer of AVRE`s, and suffered huge losses accordingly.


Dieppe, here`s to them.

[Shoulderholster]

On this day 1943,Salerno.

SH