Michigan’s John Beilein a descendant of soldiers that inspired ‘Saving Private Ryan’

They were there to prepare for the liberation of Europe, a make or break moment in World War II. The talk was mostly about back home though: the old spots, the old games, the old girlfriends; and the new ones, too. Lots of, “if I don’t make it back, tell her I loved her.” Only part of the time was focused on what was to come.

D-Day. Normandy. Hell.

Tommy Niland Jr. was there among the group. So too were three of his cousins: Fritz, Bobby and Preston Niland. They’d all grown up together. Tommy was one of 13 kids raised in a crowded home on Adam Street. The others part of a clan of six children a couple blocks away on Elmwood Park. All lived close enough to the steel furnace that their fathers walked to work. The kids all circled through each other’s homes, one close-knit family.

Frederick “Fritz” Niland served in the Army. (Getty)Fritz, Bobby and Preston had another brother, Ed, who was a pilot in the Pacific theater. The guys in England didn’t know it that night, but Ed’s plane had gone down just weeks before and the military presumed he was dead. At that moment they were focused on themselves. They drank to the past and hoped for a future, and in the wee hours of the morning split up, back to their regiments and units.

Two weeks later, on June 6, the invasion began. Tommy and Fritz were dropped behind enemy lines, part of 327th glider regiment of the 101st Airborne. Bobby and Preston were sent to storm the beach, where both men were soon killed in action, two of an estimated 29,000 Americans lost in the invasion.

That very day, back in Tonawanda, their mother received a message from the military that Ed was lost in the Pacific. Suddenly three of her four sons in the war were presumed gone.

Only Fritz remained, somewhere within the chaos and killing of Normandy.

Earlier in the war, in 1942, five brothers from the Sullivan family of Waterloo, Iowa perished during the sinking of the USS Juneau. From that point on, the military decided it wasn’t proper for one mother, in this case Alleta Sullivan, to lose that much, to lose all her sons in combat.

So Fritz Niland was soon identified and sent home, eventually to Tonawanda. He later became an oral surgeon and lived until 1983.

In 1992, author Stephen Ambrose featured the story of the Nilands in his best selling book, “Band of Brothers.”

In 1998, filmmaker Steven Spielberg released a movie that while fictionalized, was based on the Nilands. It was called “Saving Private Ryan.” Matt Damon played Private James Ryan, aka Fritz Niland. The movie won five Oscars.

In 1953, the former Josephine Niland, sister of Tommy, cousin of Bobby, Preston, Ed and Fritz, gave birth in Western New York to the eighth of her nine children.

His name is John Beilein. He is currently the men’s basketball coach of the University of Michigan.

On Saturday, his team plays in the Final Four against Syracuse.

[Related: Reason to root for Michigan | Syracuse]

“It’s quite a story,” Beilein, 60, told Yahoo! Sports Tuesday morning. “I say to my children all the time, ‘we all know we came from very strong stock, we realize the sacrifices they made and we need to try to carry it on.’

“Because that is one courageous generation.”

Growing up, John Beilein’s generation of Nilands knew just bits and pieces of the story.

There were scrapbooks that featured pictures of Bobby and Preston, but never the full story. There were war wounds but an unwillingness to share much about how they came about. There were conversations about specific battles cut short when details were sought.

John Beilein reacts after Michigan punched its ticket to the Final Four. (AP)

Beilein himself admits the war was just rarely discussed. Even in a family of such remarkable sacrifice, it wasn’t a driving part of everyday life.

 ”I didn’t know a whole lot about the situation until I saw the movie,” he said. It was then, during a scene when a messenger went to the fictional house that it hit home. These were his people, his family.

 ”Even though the house was put in Iowa, it was really Tonawanda, New York,” he said. “I know the house they would have gone to. I can almost see the situation. And now I’m seeing it as a parent. It’s an incredible blow to a family.”

 Tragedy wasn’t discussed much back in those days though. Grief therapy wasn’t much of a concept. Life happened and you plugged on. Silently. Especially in working class Western New York.

Beilein’s own grandfather worked 50 years at Buffalo Steel, from age 20 to 70, six days a week, raising all those kids, through all kinds of stuff. The same week Tommy returned from the war, seemingly a time for grateful celebration, another brother was killed in an accident at the mill.

 ”That generation, they all went through it,” Beilein said. “Death and pain was something they dealt with. There wasn’t time for anybody to feel sorry for anybody else.”

There was the unexpected joy too. Long after he was thought lost and mourned dead, Ed Niland was discovered in a Japanese POW camp in Burma. He was sent back to Tonawanda and lived to the age of 72.

His time in that camp, presumed dead by the military, led to Fritz being taken out of harm’s way. Ed Niland may have unwittingly saved his little brother’s life.

Tommy Niland was Josephine’s brother and he was an excellent basketball player. He was on the varsity at Canisius in December 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He, along with another cousin, Joe Niland, finished out the school year and enlisted.

Their war stories, now documented by others in books and articles, are legendary – heroic acts and selfless, dramatic stands. Tommy Niland, however, never forgot a Major Stubblefield, who, he said, saved his life before being killed in Normandy. Those are the razor thin margins of war.

The life of Tommy Niland was a full one. He returned to Canisius and even with one arm wrecked by German shrapnel, simply adapted his game and played two more seasons anyway. Then he got into coaching.

[More: USC betting that Andy Enfield's 'Dunk City' lifts program]

In 1983 he was the athletic director at Le Moyne College, a Division II program in Syracuse. He needed a basketball coach. His nephew, John Beilein, wanted the job and boasted years of experience coaching high school, junior college and NAIA ball.

Tommy Niland saw a young coach with talent, ambition and the competitive fire of his own kid sister, Josephine.

“My mother was one of 13,” Beilein said. “She competed for food on the table, who was going to eat. There were three or four in a room, three in a double bed. They were Irish/French families who came to dig the canal. Yeah, she was a tough cookie.”

So too was he, at least until his second season he found himself without a quality point guard. Beilein had a handful of guards – including Dave Niland, another cousin – but none could do the job.

“We were not very athletic and teams were jumping up in passing lanes,” Beilein said.

“That was probably me,” Dave Niland, now the head coach at Division III Penn State Behrend, laughed. “I don’t want to take all the blame, but I was in the mix.”

Tom Hanks (front) was one of the stars of “Saving Private Ryan.” (AP)

Beilein said he went and complained about his terrible team to Tommy Niland, who in the sarcastic, man-up style of WWII veteran, mocked his nephew by asking if he wanted to just shut the team down. Beilein got the hint and asked for help. Tommy pulled out some wooden pieces and the two sat down at a table.

At the time, positions in basketball were strict. Your point guard handled the ball. Your shooting guard shot the ball. Your forward … Tommy decided to switch it all up, why not play with two point guards and go small.

“He took out little pieces of wood and said, why don’t you run this, that way if one guy gets in trouble he can flat pass to the other,” Beilein said. “I looked at it and said, ‘nobody plays like that.’ But it made sense.”

Le Moyne tried it. Turnovers dropped. Beilein is quick to point out he soon saw a Washington Huskies game where coach Andy Russo employed a similar strategy. And he points to the input of Tom Cooney, then Le Moyne’s women’s basketball coach and Dick Rockwell, who led the baseball team.

It may have been a group effort but a new twist to the game was added – a two-guard offense, mostly the brainchild of one of those Nilands from Normandy.

“We’ve run the same thing for the last 25-26 years,” Beilein said. That will include Saturday against Syracuse, this time with Trey Burke rather than Dave Niland.

Would the now late Tommy Niland – all those Nilands really – love to see that? Love to see one of their own coach a team in Final Four this weekend?

“Tommy thought John was just the best coach in the country,” Dave Niland said. “But I don’t think he ever told John that. He’d tell me, but those guys would never praise someone to their face. They’d tell someone else you were doing well, but never you directly.

“That’s just the way that generation and that family was.”

It’s perhaps the most lasting regret for the kids of this branch of the Greatest Generation. How is it possible it took books by outsiders, movies from Hollywood, old stories by others, to cut through the silence in their own homes?

They’ve recently been passing around another book – “Glider Infantryman: Behind Enemy Lines in World War II,” by Donald Rich, a member of the 101st Airborne that day in Normandy and writer Kevin Brooks.

It’s full of stories about those days – the tragedy and tension, the heroes and horrors. It features a bunch of the Niland boys. Their kids and nephews and cousin’s sons are continuing to learn more and more about what happened.

“It’s a phenomenal book,” Beilein said.

If there is one shared regret of them all, it’s that they didn’t coax more stories out of the survivors while they could. Part of it was a failure of communication. Part, of course, was the sheer unwillingness of that generation to share war stories.

[More: Kevin Ware's injury not the worst adversity Rick Pitino's had to handle]

Tommy Niland III was a Marine who served a tour in Vietnam, which allowed him to talk some with his dad, but he acknowledges, not enough.

There was a family trip back to Europe in 1999. Dave Niland’s team was playing a tournament in Germany, so a bunch of them plotted out a tour featuring basketball, the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and later the beaches and fields of Normandy in France.

Tommy III recalls his father explaining the chaotic month after the invasion – so much uncertainty, so much unknown, so much danger and, of course, so many dead. Tommy said one day, four weeks after the invasion, he ran into Fritz and asked for news.

“Tommy,” Fritz said, “I’m going home because Bobby and Preston were both killed on the beaches and Ed is lost.”

They shook hands. One cousin left. Another stayed. Now Tommy was back in Normandy, with his son, trying, despite the early stages of dementia, to make sense of it. The entire thing was overwhelming.

“I remember we were standing on top of a bluff at Omaha Beach,” Tommy III said. “There are killing boxes still there and machine gun nests. And you look down at it all, where they charged up the beach, and I just kept asking, ‘how did these guys do this? How did they manage to survive?’ ”

It’s only then, through books and movies and eyewitness tours, John Beilein and all his cousins say, that this incredible family – and so many like them – has begun to be understood. Not just by outsiders, but, most importantly, from within.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab–michigan-s-john-beilein-a-descendant-of-soldiers-that-inspired–saving-private-ryan–205604686.html

Fighting back – another Schumer e-mail

The e-mail byline read “three ways we could lose” so let’s get ‘em! I find it strange that Republicans would refuse disaster relief, and the same tired argument about attacking seniors Social Security and Medicare is being used to encourage donations.:   (links broken)

Since November, House Republicans have shown they’re as committed as ever to dragging us backwards — if we let them.

They’ve forced the sequester into effect, introduced a new version of the destructive Paul Ryan budget, and of course voted to repeal Obamacare… again.

None of their worst legislation will see the light of day as long as Democrats control the Senate. But with 55 Democratic seats, we can scarcely afford to lose one — let alone the three held by Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Begich of Alaska, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

Early support for these red-state Democrats will go farther in preserving these Democratic seats and our Democratic Senate majority — and they each have a crucial public financial reporting deadline on March 31st.

Contribute $25 or more to Senator Landrieu, Senator Begich, and Senator Pryor today, before the end-of-quarter deadline on March 31st.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many Republicans initially refused to provide the kind of disaster relief that has been routine in the past — including some from the gulf coast region.

That’s why the unwavering support of Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was so important to the passage of the Sandy Relief bill. Senator Landrieu did as much as anyone to help Louisianans recover from Katrina, and she fought hard for those of us affected by Sandy, too. We need her voice in the Senate.

Senator Landrieu needs early support for her reelection. Contribute $25 or more before the deadline.

Senator Mark Begich has been so effective because he knows we need to defend and strengthen the programs seniors rely on, especially Social Security and Medicare.

That’s allowed him to take a smart, two-pronged approach to our economy that ignores the false choices on retirement programs. Instead, he’s focused on creating good jobs now and investing in critical basic facilities for future growth.

Senator Begich needs early support for his reelection. Contribute $25 or more before the deadline

Senator Mark Pryor has been doing terrific work as a Democratic senator from Arkansas — particularly when it comes to jobs.

The Building a Stronger America Act he helped introduce included bipartisan measures to move our economy forward and support American competitiveness based on: strengthening the U.S. manufacturing sector, leveling the playing field for American companies, and enhancing trade opportunities for American companies.

Senator Pryor needs early support for his reelection. Contribute $25 or more before the deadline.

After March 31st, each of these candidates will have to file a public financial report. Potential opponents — and the right-wing billionaires who fund them — will look at those reports to gauge each candidate’s strength and whether to make a challenge.

Strong reports out of these red states now could potentially save our Senate majority.

Thank you for your support,

Chuck Schumer

Willie, Joe, and Bill in WWll

Courtesy of a veteran friend I “met” while on JibJab; a considerable amount of my postings came from e-mails received from him.

Willie,Joe, and Bill in WWII

Get out your history books and open them to the chapter on World War II.  Today’s lesson will cover a little known but very important hero of whom very  little was ever really known. Here is another important piece of lost U.S. History.

Makes ya proud to put this stamp on your  envelopes… 

Bill Mauldin  stamp honors grunt’s hero. The post office gets a lot of criticism. Always has, always will. And with the renewed push to get rid of Saturday mail  delivery, expect complaints to intensify. But the United States Postal Service deserves a standing ovation for something that happened last month:

Bill Mauldin got his own postage  stamp.

Mauldin died at age 81 in the early days of 2003. The end of his life had been rugged. He had been scalded in a bathtub, which led to  terrible injuries and infections; Alzheimer’s disease was inflicting its cruelties. Unable to care for himself after the scalding, he became a  resident of a California nursing home, his health and spirits in rapid  decline.

He was not forgotten, though. Mauldin, and his work, meant so much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home.  He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin’s drawings of his muddy,
exhausted, whisker-stubble infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.

Mauldin was an enlisted man just like the soldiers he drew for; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs their laughs, his heartaches their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him.

He never held back. Sometimes, when his cartoons cut too close for comfort, superior officers tried to tone him down. In one memorable incident, he enraged Gen. George S. Patton, who informed Mauldin he wanted the pointed cartoons celebrating the fighting men, lampooning the high-ranking officers to stop.  Now!

“I’m beginning to feel  like a fugitive from the’ law of averages.”

The news passed from soldier to soldier. How was Sgt. Bill Mauldin going to stand up to Gen. Patton? It seemed impossible.
Not quite.  Mauldin, it turned out, had an ardent fan:  Five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe .. Ike put out the word: Mauldin draws what Mauldin wants. Mauldin won. Patton lost.

If, in your line of work, you’ve ever considered yourself a young hotshot, or if you’ve ever known anyone who has felt that way about him or herself, the story of Mauldin’s young manhood will humble you. Here is what, by the time he was 23 years old, Mauldin  accomplished:

“By the way, wot wuz them  changes you wuz
Gonna make when you took over
last month, sir?”

He won the Pulitzer Prize, was featured on the cover of Time  magazine. His book “Up Front” was the No. 1 best-seller in the United States.

All of that at 23. Yet, when he returned to civilian life and  grew older, he never lost that boyish Mauldin grin, never outgrew his excitement about doing his job, never big-shotted or high-hatted the people with whom he worked every day.

I was lucky enough to be one of them. Mauldin roamed the hallways of the Chicago Sun-Times in the late 1960s and early 1970s with no more officiousness or air of haughtiness than if he was a copyboy. That impish look on his face remained.

He had achieved so much. He won a second Pulitzer Prize, and he should have won a third for what may be the single greatest editorial cartoon in the history of the craft: his deadline rendering, on the day  President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial slumped in grief, its head cradled in its hands. But he never acted as if he was better than the people he met. He was still Mauldin, the enlisted  man.

During the late summer of 2002, as Mauldin lay in that California nursing home, some of the old World War II infantry guys caught wind of it. They didn’t want Mauldin to go out that way. They thought he
should know he was still their  hero.

“This is the’ town my  pappy told me about.”

Gordon Dillow, a columnist for the Orange County Register, put out the call in Southern California for people in the area to send their best wishes to Mauldin. I joined Dillow in the effort, helping to spread the appeal nationally, so Bill would not feel so alone. Soon, more than
10,000 cards and letters had arrived at Mauldin’s bedside.

Better than that, old soldiers began to show up just to sit with Mauldin, to let him know that they were there for him, as he, so long  ago, had been there for them. So many volunteered  to visit Bill that there was a waiting list. Here is how Todd DePastino, in the first paragraph of  his wonderful biography of Mauldin, described  it:

“Almost every day in the summer and fall of 2002 they came to Park Superior nursing home in Newport Beach , California , to honor Army  Sergeant, Technician Third Grade, Bill Mauldin.  They came bearing relics of their youth: medals, insignia, photographs, and carefully folded newspaper clippings. Some wore old garrison caps.  Others arrived resplendent in uniforms over a half century old. Almost all of them wept as they filed down the corridor like pilgrims fulfilling some  long-neglected obligation.”

One of the veterans explained to me why it was so important:  “You would have to be part of a combat infantry unit to appreciate what moments of relief Bill  gave us.

You had to be reading a soaking wet Stars and Stripes in a water-filled foxhole and then see one of his cartoons.”

“Th’ hell this ain’t th’  most important hole in the world. I’m in it.”

Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Last  month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a  first-class postage stamp. It’s an honor that most generals and admirals never receive.

What Mauldin would have loved most, I believe, is the sight of  the two guys who keep him company on that stamp. 

Take a look at it.  There’s Willie.  There’s Joe.

And there, to the side, drawing them and smiling that shy, quietly observant smile, is Mauldin himself. With his buddies, right where he belongs. Forever. 

What a story, and a fitting tribute to a man and to a time that few of us can still remember. But I say to you youngsters, you must most seriously learn of and remember with respect the sufferings and  sacrifices of your fathers, grand fathers and great grandfathers
in times you cannot ever imagine today with all you have. But the only  reason you are free to have it all is because of  them.

I thought you would all enjoy reading and seeing this bit of American
history!

THE FINAL INSPECTION

PLEASE
DO NOT HOLD ON TO THIS.
SOMEONE HAS TO HOLD OUR COUNTRY IN THEIR HANDS.
SEND THIS ON, AND ON AND ON

THE FINAL
INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced
God,
Which must always come to
pass.
He hoped his shoes were
shining,
Just as brightly as his
brass.

‘Step forward now,
soldier,
How shall I deal with
you?
Have you always turned the other
cheek?
To My Church have you been
true?’

The soldier squared his shoulders and
said,
“No, Lord, I guess I
ain’t,”
Because those of us who carry guns,

Can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,

And
at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn’t mine to keep…

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fears…

And
sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fear.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,

It
needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,

But
if you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was a silence all around the
throne,
Where the saints had often trod.

As
the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

“Step forward now, you soldier,

You’ve borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,

You’ve done your time in Hell.”

Author Unknown~

 

Demand Boehner Defund ObamaCare

Dear Fellow Patriot,

This Saturday, Progressives across America will be celebrating the third anniversary of ObamaCare. Progressives may celebrate, but hardworking American’s can’t afford ObamaCare’s higher taxes and healthcare costs. And that’s why FreedomWorks is working with its more than 2.3 Million members to STOP ObamaCare in 2013.

Right now is the perfect time to stop ObamaCare—while the Republicans are negotiating the 2013 budget. We need to send an unmistakable message to Speaker Boehner stand up to Obama and Defund ObamaCare NOW!

FreedomWorks has the largest, most effective grassroots network in the country, and we’re working hard to Stop ObamaCare’s implementation. But we need your help to tell John Boehner that he must stand up to Obama and DEFUND ObamaCare Now!

We can’t allow Big-Government Progressives this victory. We can’t allow ObamaCare to survive. If House Republicans don’t defund ObamaCare, millions of Americans will face higher taxes, higher healthcare costs, and restricted access to their own doctors. Let’s stop ObamaCare now: Tell John Boehner to DEFUND OBAMACARE!

If you want to stop this monstrous federal health care takeover, join with millions of FreedomWorks activists and tell Speaker Boehner to DEFUND ObamaCare!

In Liberty,

Matt Kibbe President and CEO, FreedomWorks

From PAN – ‘The “Tingle Up My Leg” Blogger’

We lave lost a great Patriot

This posted by PAN National Director – didn’t know of him till this obit. You will find his pg worth the read. His last post was just prior to the Nov “elections” (parentheses intended) when we thought “O” would be ousted.  I include the obit, the link can be used to access his pg. We lave lost a great Patriot. “X”

Darla Dawald, National Director

Check out the blog post ‘Skip MacLure 1944 – 2013′

Please join us in paying respects and condolences to the family of Skip MacLure and honoring his life. Skip was a regular contributor on PAN the past few years. He was a true Patriot! RIP Skip! DD

Blog post added by Skip MacLure:

Skip MacLure 1944 – 2013 It is with deepest sadness that I have to announce that Skip MacLure passed away in the early hours of February…

Blog post link:  (PAN)

Skip MacLure 1944 – 2013

Contributor

Skip MacLure 1944 – 2013

• Posted by Skip MacLure on February 9, 2013 at 4:07pm

Skip MacLure 1944 – 2013

It is with deepest sadness that I have to announce that Skip MacLure passed away in the early hours of February 5th, 2013. Skip had just celebrated his 69th birthday on February 4th.

Although I knew Skip for only seven years, he became the closest friend that I have ever had the privilege to know. While it is difficult to come to terms with this loss, I feel honored to have known him for what was, unfortunately, far too short a time.

Skip was, unabashedly, a true conservative. Plain-spoken, he was not afraid to take anyone to task, regardless of party affiliation. He believed that the Constitution was the greatest legal document ever written, a gift from God to the people of the finest country in the world.

Skip was often attacked by the liberal left for his honest remarks. Although he shrugged off what were often cruel, personally offensive remarks, I felt hurt by them… for I knew the sort of person that Skip really was. Much of it was standard leftist rhetoric, but it still smarted. If they knew Skip’s family and friends, for example, they would see that he was anything but racist. Having been brought up by his Italian grandparents, he endured the taunts of neighborhood children who called him “the little blue-eyed wop kid”. It served to toughen him up for the future.

I could go on further, but this is not to be a biography, but an invitation to his friends and readers to salute a true patriot and a great American.

I have agreed with Skip’s family that his website, skipmaclure.us, continue… alas without new articles from the man himself. I know that Skip would want me to continue what he started, and for the site to stay true to his beliefs.

Semper fi, Skip.

Written by Skip’s editor, Dee.

Like those fleeting moments of sunset… We Remember – Video tribute

This YouTube video was sent via e-mail. Like those fleeting moments of sunset; we are losing the few remaining ones Tom Brokaw dubbed “The Greatest Generation”.

First seen – Supermarine Spitfire.  After the Spitfire,  a B-25 “nose shot”,  A Grumman F-6-F Hellcat, Odd tail shot of Century series Korean War era Jet belies it’s type. Douglas DC-3′s (AKA C-47′s, “gooney birds”)  Head on shot of an F-18 Hornet – Perhaps the Superhornet variant.   A group of P-51-D Mustangs – Folks these did not see action until 1944; too bad the B and C models are seldom shown which were the ones to finally turn the tide against the Luftwaffe [Toward the end of this video, there is a very short archive clip of perhaps the C models.]  Actual footage of Spitfires, and stills of those valiant ones. AT-6 “Texan Trainer, w/ B-25 in background. A Grumman SBD “Dauntless” divebomber (the ones who sank three Japanese carriers at Midway) and a F4U-4 Corsair to its left, followed by Acrhive shots of them,  a most famous and much used footage of a B-17-F Flying Fortress in a banking turn during take-off.  The old Vet is by a B-17 -G Flying fortresses; the chin turret was to reduce losses from hair raising head on attacks by Luftwaffe pilots.

An F-4-F “Wildcat” that bore the brunt of the bad days in 42; (Butch O’Hare flew this one)

http://partneringwitheagles.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/butch-and-easy-eddie-true-account/  A Cutiss P-40-E “Kittyhawk” then archive clip of a P-40-B “Tomahawk”, with E models after.

Other gut wrenching memories.  I cannot describe the degree of sadness I feel for the loss of life and sacrifices made…

FREEDOM IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE GUTS TO FIGHT FOR IT

THIS POSTING COMES FROM A 68 YR OLD PATRIOT ON BLOGGER…

In a world full of puny minds there occasionally emerges a great thinker. One such man was Sir Winston Churchill. From his book “The Gathering Storm” we are the beneficiaries of his wisdom for from that book we read:

“Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you have to fight with all of the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worst case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory for it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” -Winston Churchill

At the end of this essay in Suggested Reading there is a video entitled “England warns Americans ‘Don’t let them take your guns’” It is nine minutes and nine seconds long … Time well spent.

The people of the UK know full well the grave error they committed in giving up their weapons to a “benevolent” government. The people of Australia along with every other nation who have willingly surrendered their guns have also learned the error of their foolish ways, and live in a constant state of fear, both from their government and the criminal elements of society.

We, the world’s very last bastion of liberty, will soon be called upon to do the same, and so many will comply. Odd it is how those so called “benevolent” governments strike fear in the hearts of men, and the fear we feel now is but a trifle compared to the future with Americans deprived of a means to fight back against an ever encroaching tyranny.

Two of the great failings of all humanity is that they learn not from history, and few can see beyond their own comforts. This concept led another great thinker to coin the phrase “Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” -Benjamin Franklin

Well Mister Franklin, that is justice, as people always have the government they deserve.

Had the people of England heeded these words, history would have taken a different course, and the world would be a safer place to live. If instead of surrendering their weapons, they had taken those very weapons, joined with a million fellow citizens, marched on Parliament, and told their traitorous leaders “Take them if you dare!“, we would see a free and staunch people occupying the streets of London today.

Instead we see a government cowing before the ever growing mass of Muslims that openly threaten to destroy a culture built by far better men than they. We see people who protest, in vain, their domination by the United Nations, the European Union, and Islam that guarantees chaos, and we see the women of that fair nation falling victim to roving rape gangs. Place semi automatic pistols in the hands of those English ladies and soon there would be no rape gangs left.

No, the English did not do what they should have, and now they warn us not to follow in their footsteps, and yet many of us will. There was a time when we were referred to as the Silent Majority. Times change. We are no longer the majority but we are still silent. Many would dispute my findings with the argument that they post patriotic pictures on Facebook, along with the latest news about a creeping government control, and join in discussions about how we must fight back. That fight entails posting picture, sharing bad news, and posting the call to fight back on Facebook, like a dog chasing his tail. The fight will not begin until Americans get truly mad as hell and take to the streets, and that is not about to happen. They are stay at home Moms, stay at home Dads, and stay at home “Patriots”.

The liberals know how to fight, as do the Progressives, the unions, and the Marxists. They go boldly where timid conservatives fear to tread. They attack us daily and our response is to whine on Facebook and post more pictures. It is a good thing that the men as Valley Forge did not have an internet upon which to vent their rage. They were mad as hell, cold, and hungry. They crossed a frozen river, and with a battle plan of “Victory or Death” they did some serious ass kicking. Those men were real patriots and to their courage I pay homage.

In the opening of this essay I used the phrase “puny minds”. A prime example is pictured to the right. Any human being with but a semblance of common sense and even the vaguest knowledge of historical events knows full well what happens in any country once the people are denied to right to bear arms. She is no more than a well meaning idiot. I can say nothing better about her and all who believe as she does, but I will give this idiot the credit due. She is a fighter. She is on the streets while stay at home patriots are busy in their discussion rooms.

In a recent discourse I wrote of how the disarming of America would take place.  I shall briefly summarize those views here and then get to the utter futility of the existing self defense plans of conservatives.

We are all aware of the UN’s Small Arms Treaty they plan to shove down our throats. Meanwhile, in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, many pro-gun legislators are changing sides, and some cities are offering cash rewards for any gun voluntarily surrendered by residents. Later certain weapons and high capacity magazines will become illegal, and prison terms as well as stiff fines will be the punishment for those caught with them. The day will come when all guns will be outlawed and that is when the full force of operation gun grab will come into effect.

Americans, out of fear, are developing home armories and that is fine as far as protecting your family from intruders but you cannot defend yourself against a full on assault by the state or federal government intent upon disarming you.

 The photo to the left is of what is officially called a Special Response Armored Vehicle. It is the property of the Pittsfield Police Department in the liberal state of Massachusetts. These people mean business. The price tag for this behemoth was $294,000. Brief description: Bullet proof glass, armor plated and it comes complete with an attachable battering ram for knocking down doors. The driver would then back off and the assault team emerges. Enough to mess up your whole day! I must ask what fort or castle they plan to attack in Massachusetts.

Now I know that you are sitting there looking at this sophisticated and expensive device designed to knock down doors and wondering how they could afford such an overgrown toy while, due to the financial crunch, they are having to reduce the size of police departments. The answer is quite simple. It was a gift to the loyal from none other than our friends at the Department of Homeland Security.

Western Massachusetts Police Chiefs Get First Look At Regional Special Response Armored Vehicle

Like that? Try this one: Dept. of Homeland Security Using Armored Vehicles For Training

 Now compare the two vehicles. Look at the height of the police and that makes the six foot mark somewhere near the top of the windshield. Check the DHS variety. The lower part of the hood is about six foot high. This is a massive weapon of war, designed for use in the USA.

OK, so that lays to rest any plans of a stay at home fight for liberty. Others, preppers by name, have opted for community farms or compounds where they will gather in time of strife. That will not be very wise. Recall if you will the fate of David Koresh and his band of followers in Waco. That episode began with a siege and ended in a manner we all know of. No group of isolated civilians can hope to withstand an assault by federal forces, and when those forces are intent on disarming all of America, there will be no time wasted on a siege. There will be one order to surrender, followed by an all out attack.

Today Americans face a serious problem: They still cling to the vision of Old America. Old America is dead, and this is the Obamanation. Laws, rights, votes, and the Constitution have been rendered irrelevant, just another bump in the road to transforming this land into a Marxist Utopia. Those who foolishly cling to old notions are a bump in the road for those who seriously plan to survive coming events. Those who are foolish enough to argue the legality or the Constitutionality of events will soon fall victim to those same events, for denial is the road to defeat.

I have now been writing for about three years on the internet and many of the doom and gloom predictions that I have made have come to pass. During that time I have received many comments on my work but one in particular comes to mind from the first reader who made the observation that I was an optimist, for no matter how gloomy the topic I would always end an essay on the high note that Americans would prevail. Now I am not so certain of that.

Obama being reelected for life changed much of the outlook and hope I had for this nation. While it is true that millions of Americans turned out to vote against Obama in a rigged election, I must say that appears to be about all that most are willing to do. We criticize the plantation mentality of the left, feeling obligated only to vote to get the Obama freebies. That is not all that they are willing to do. Had Obama been defeated they were fully prepared to set fire to our cities and turn this nation into a hell on earth.

The right lost and their response is to post pictures and notes on Facebook. This is not the mentality of a people who have the strength and courage to rebuild our homeland. This is symptomatic of a passive flock of sheep; another term we apply to the left. We all know that the election was rigged well in advance of the final blow. How much anger did you see on the streets of America? A few days of shock and the new topic was the election of 2016 when we would unseat Obama for certain. Only an abject fool can believe that Obama will ever step down. Dictators cannot afford to resign. If they did they would become targets of the next regime. Notice that Gaddafi is dead and Mubarak is rotting in prison.

Recently we had salt tossed into an open wound as Romney’s son admitted before the nation that his father did not want to win the election on which we pinned so much hope. My God! Betrayed yet again, and still there are those who will praise the man who sold them out.That attitude reveals some first rate conditioning and denial. Mark Twain once observed that it is far easier to fool someone than to convince them that they have been fooled; words from another man of wisdom. America waited for the election of 2010 and made but little headway, and then were scorned by the GOP.

America waited for the election of 2012 when we all should have learned something and acted accordingly. We did not. Now many wait for the election of 2016 where once again the carrot dangles teasing the gullible. We have waited too long and now we find ourselves backed into a corner and facing a do or die situation. I shall close with the final thought in the Churchill quote above. “You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory for it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

Suggested Reading… England warns Americans ‘Don’t let them take your guns(Video) Know Thine Enemy … Sun Tsu The Art Of War by Sun Tsu The Book Class Warfare…Coming To The Streets Of America

http://www.freedomrings1776.com/2012/12/freedom-is-only-for-those-who-have-guts.html

Angel Flight

Sent to me via E-mail from a former JibJabber.

(Personal note from Bruce – as an FYI – one reason it is called Angel, is when the plane releases its decoy missiles, as is shown in several of the pictures, it creates an Angel shape in the smoke)

Listen to the words of the pilot and the tower, and make sure you sit quietly and listen to the very end.

This is beautiful. God blessthe Veterans!

Click here: ” Angel Flight