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Military
Wickenburg War Memorial
The Town of Wickenburg dedicated a war memorial in 1976 to those men and women who served in the Armed Forces and Merchant Marine of the United States. In 2013, the Kellis-Draper American Legion Post 12 (so named for the town’s two WW1 heroes killed in action), re-dedicated the memorial in a more prominent place in town on the Post’s property in the center of the old downtown district.
Plaques on the memorial contain the names of our town’s servicemen who perished in the service of the country in honor of their devotion in keeping the United States of America free. Wickenburg people perished in all the big wars since the start of the twentieth century: WW1, WW2, Korean Conflict, South East Asia and the War on Terrorism. The latter, is still in progress today, whether the current political mess in Washington, D.C. admits it or not.
Infrared Portrait
While going through some stuff we brought from the old house, I ran across an old Polaroid photo of myself as seen through a Forward Looking Infrared Receiver (FLIR). The FLIR was part of the optical suite of instruments destined to be the night vision system on the Abrams M1 Army Tank. At that time, I was a Member of the Technical Staff at Hughes Aircraft Company in charge of the design of display symbology for the system.
The imaging quality of the FLIR is not as bad as the photo makes it look. Bear in mind that the photo is over forty years old and is one of those old Polaroids that required a coating of “fixer” to keep the image from fading. The coating made the image look blotchy.
That is my infrared signature as I posed, arms folded, in front of the FLIR for the photo. The image is “white hot” which means that the warmer temperatures are brighter. You can see the lenses on my glasses are a little darker than my face because they are somewhat opaque to FLIR detectors. The three horizontal lines are due to three dead channels in the IR detector array. The targeting reticule (my design) in the lower right is one of several symbols displayed in the image and is computer controlled to position itself at a point in the image where a fired round from the big gun would hit.
The Abrams tank saw action in Operation Desert Storm. The targeting FLIR easily found and knocked out several of Saddam Hussein’s Russian tanks of the so-called “Republican Guard” long before they saw our forces approaching in Kuwait. I take pride to know that between the Abrams and Hellfire Missiles, both systems of which I had designed in part, some of the Iraqis were forced to retreat back across the border and out of Kuwait.
Veterans Day 2014
There are many veterans who deserve credit for keeping our nation safe and free by putting themselves in harm’s way. Not all such “harm’s way” scenarios require combat or the battlefield. Sailors who work on the dangerous decks of aircraft carriers, Soldiers who prepare ordinance and test weaponry, Marines who carry out firefighting missions, Airmen who crew patrol and transport aircraft and Guardsmen who patrol our coasts in aircraft and on the sea.
Special thanks go out to combat veterans as well as those who have risked their lives in training and support roles. God bless them all.
(This is a reprise of our Veterans Day 2009 post – still applicable today.)
U.S. Marine Corps 216th Birthday
A hearty Happy Birthday and job well done to the men and women that serve or have served in the United States Marine Corps. We will never forget the Few and the Proud who share the legacy of the Corps. God bless the USMC.
On November 10, 1798, President John Adams signed the Act establishing the United States Marine Corps. The 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General John A. Lejeune, issued Marine Corps Order Number 47, Series 1921, directing that on November 10th of every year, in honor of the Corps’ birthday, the Order’s summary of the history, mission and tradition of the Corps be read to each and every command.
Although I was in the Navy, I really liked this spoof of the “Never mind the dog” window sign that features the USMC Logo and serves as a warning to those that may want to think twice before entering the premises.
Happy 239th Birthday, US Navy!
Happy Birthday to my old armed service force, The United States Navy.
I enlisted in 1960 when President Eisenhower was still in the white house and I mustered out in 1966 while President Lyndon B. Johnson was busily escalating the war in Vietnam. I never regretted the training, experience and honor of serving in the US Navy.
From The Patriot Post:
On Oct. 13, 1775, the U.S. Navy was born when the Continental Congress authorized the arming of two sailing vessels with 80 men and 10 carriage guns in order to intercept British supply and munitions transports. The Declaration of Independence came nine months later, followed by the creation of the Department of the Navy in 1798. Today, our Navy is the most powerful in the world. We at The Patriot Post offer our thanks to all our sailors for a job well done and wish you a Happy 239th Birthday! God bless you and your families.
A Red Rose to Remember Our Fallen
We hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day. We are having a nice day and are thankful to those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom. I took this photo of one of the multicolored roses we bought at the floral shop in the supermarket and dedicate it to those we remember on this day. Click on the image to enlarge.