Naval History Final

Big Ugly

Big Ugly

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Designated Daughter (DD) related a story yesterday that I thought I should pass along to our viewers. Last Friday was the first day of finals week. The first exam for plebes that morning was Naval History. DD said it was fifteen minutes before the start of the test and she was in the women’s bathroom occupying one of the five stalls that were available. A voice came somewhere from an adjacent stall, asking what year was the Battle for Guadalcanal. Then another voice chimed in, asking its significance to the outcome of the Pacific Theater in WW2. DD said the questions and answers were flying furiously between the five women in adjacent stalls.

Then as fast as it erupted it ended; all participants departing together to face that first exam.



Good luck Class of 2024
 
Big Ugly said:
Designated Daughter (DD) related a story yesterday that I thought I should pass along to our viewers. Last Friday was the first day of finals week. The first exam for plebes that morning was Naval History. DD said it was fifteen minutes before the start of the test and she was in the women’s bathroom occupying one of the five stalls that were available. A voice came somewhere from an adjacent stall, asking what year was the Battle for Guadalcanal. Then another voice chimed in, asking its significance to the outcome of the Pacific Theater in WW2. DD said the questions and answers were flying furiously between the five women in adjacent stalls.

Then as fast as it erupted it ended; all participants departing together to face that first exam.



Good luck Class of 2024
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Head gouge on the fly!
 
When I was a kid, me and my friends knew all the details of the war in the Pacific by the time we finished elementary school because we worshipped our Dads’ generation and the actual hero’s who walked among us. We didn’t have to be taught about it in college. My own kids don’t know jack ____ about WWII nor do they care. A shame.
 
If anyone has not watched it but wants a great, USMC grunts eye look , at the battle for the canal, I strongly suggest The Pacific on HBO and no doubt other places by now.

As a side note my first team leader in VN , was named Lt Henderson.

His uncle was Lofton Henderson of Henderson Field fame.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
If anyone has not watched it but wants a great, USMC grunts eye look , at the battle for the canal, I strongly suggest The Pacific on HBO and no doubt other places by now.

As a side note my first team leader in VN , was named Lt Henderson.

His uncle was Lofton Henderson of Henderson Field fame.
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Interesting, thanks for sharing Doc.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
If anyone has not watched it but wants a great, USMC grunts eye look , at the battle for the canal, I strongly suggest The Pacific on HBO and no doubt other places by now.

As a side note my first team leader in VN , was named Lt Henderson.

His uncle was Lofton Henderson of Henderson Field fame.
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A previous father-in-law was the last plane off the Wasp when she was sunk in the Guadalcanal campaign. He flew out of Henderson Field thereafter.

If you want a panegyric view of the campaign"s leadership I might suggest the movie "The Gallant Hours" with Cagney playing the part of Halsey.
 
Dad_2024 said:
My own kids don’t know jack ____ about WWII nor do they care. A shame.
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That’s not true of all teens. My mid DS had two grampas that fought in the Pacific (Navy and Army combat engineers). He loved WW11 history as a kid and knows it better than most older folks. It’s certainly not like when I was a kid and most dads were WW2 vets but they’re out there.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
If anyone has not watched it but wants a great, USMC grunts eye look , at the battle for the canal, I strongly suggest The Pacific on HBO and no doubt other places by now.
Click to expand...
kinnem said:
If you want a panegyric view of the campaign"s leadership I might suggest the movie "The Gallant Hours" with Cagney playing the part of Halsey.
Click to expand...
Episode 6 of the legendary documentary 'Victory At Sea' covers Guadalcanal fairly well too.. The original music score by Richard Rodgers is an added bonus..
 
My mother-in-law kept a picture of her brother on the mantle in her living room. He had a proud look of accomplishment. She’d rib me and her husband, a Navy Electrician’s Mate in submarines, that her brother was a “real” serviceman and left it at that. A few years after she passed away, we were on a vacation and stopped at the Universal Genealogy Center in Salt Lake City. My DW started cursory search on her father’s side while I helped with her mother’s side. I found a record of her Uncle, the facts and story my wife never knew. I'm not sure her mother knew either. It made my arms tingle. The youthful man in uniform came to life. It was but a few lines that read: Ralf C…; Corporal, USMC; Purple Heart; GUADALCANAL.
 
My great grandfather was a part of the British Expeditionary Force that fought in France before Dunkirk. Two weeks into the war he was captured by Germans and spent six years in German prisoner of war camps. He managed to escape twice and after each escape he was placed into a worse prison camp. All he came home with was a half rotten spoon that he had with him during his six years. It was not until recently that we found his enlistment papers... he was 16 years old when he enlisted and lied about his age. The fact he even survived is unbelievable, but the mental health issues are certainly not surprising.
 
“Hell, these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Baghdad ain’t Scat.”
- Marine General John F. Kelly
 
Sergeant Basilone was one of the first enlisted Marines to be awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. He was also posthumously awarded the the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism during the battle of Iwo Jima. There is a Piazza dedicated to the memory of GySgt Basilone on the corner of West Fir and India St. in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego.

Bust of Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone at Piazza Basilone, San Diego, CA.JPG IMG_9757.jpg
 
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