The Old Coot

RIP: Delma Kollar

2012-01-27T10:00:00.004-05:00

Delma Kollar

31 Oct 1897 - 24 Jan 2012

ZUI this article from the Eugene (OR) Register-Guard:

She lived in three different centuries and celebrated more birthdays than most human beings who ever lived. But just like the rest of us, Delma Kollar, the oldest known Oregonian, who was thought by official record-keepers to be the world’s fourth-oldest person, proved to be mortal after all. She died Tuesday morning at the Creswell Health and Rehabilitation Center at the age of 114. Or was it 113?

*******

According to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which verifies the ages of supercentenarians (110 or older) worldwide for the Guinness Book of World Records, Kollar was born on Oct. 31, 1897.

Kollar’s family says she wasn’t issued a birth certificate until the 1950s. Family members say she was born Delma Dorothie Lowman on Oct. 31, 1898, in Lone Elm, Kan. But based on 1900 and 1910 census records found online a few years ago by Gerontology Research Group analyst Robert Young, the group listed her birthday as 1897.

*******

A schoolteacher in Kansas and California before moving to Oregon in 1982 with her second husband, Harry Kollar, Delma Kollar outlived both her husbands (her first husband and college sweetheart, Earl Hoggatt, died in 1966) and two of her three children. She had six grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, 11 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-great-grandchild.

Jean Cooper, 87, of Cottage Grove, is Kollar’s lone surviving child. Her other two children, Bill Hoggatt and Earlene Duncan, died in their 60s, he of congestive heart failure, she of a brain tumor. Kollar’s parents both lived into their 90s, and she had two aunts who lived past 100, according to a family history that Kollar put together years ago.

I haven't blogged about supercentenarians for a while. The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) reports that a total of 75 (71 women and 4 men) died in 2011, including 114-year-old Maria Gomes Valentim (9 Jul 1896–21 Jun 2011), of Brazil, who at the time of her death was listed as the oldest person in the world. Kollar is the fifth supercentenarian listed as dying in 2012, the others being Marcelle Narbonne (25 Mar 1898-1 Jan 2012) of France, Frederica Sagor Maas (6 Jul 1900-5 Jan 2012) of California, Terue Ichikawa (10 May 1900-19 Jan 2012) of Japan and Angela Rogges-Marvulli (19 Nov 1900-23 Jan 2012) of Italy.

The GRG's list of validated living supercentenarians (people who have reached their 110th birthday) currently includes 72 people (6 men and 66 women), ranging from Besse Cooper of Georgia (born 26 Aug 1896 in Tennessee) to Masayo Ogawara of Japan (born 2 Aug 1901). 19 of them live in the US, though none are in Oregon.

52 of the living supercentenarians were born in the 19th century, the youngest being Hermine Nistler of Austria (born 24 Dec 1900); the oldest of those born in the 20th century is Irene Pearce of England (born 5 Jan 1901). The oldest of the six men is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan (born 19 Apr 1897), the third-oldest living person.

Beer Can Appreciation Day

2012-01-24T11:59:00.003-05:00

Today. According to Holiday Insights, "Beer Can Appreciation Day celebrates that great day in 1935 when beer was first sold in cans."

Personally, I find it hard to appreciate anything that contains a substance as revolting as beer, but YMMV....

RIP: John F. Baker, Jr.

2012-01-24T11:30:00.009-05:00

John F Baker Jr
30 Oct 1945 - 20 Jan 2012

ZUI this article from The State:

Army Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of eight of his fellow soldiers, killing 10 Viet Cong and knocking out six machine gun bunkers after his unit was ambushed Nov. 5, 1966, in Vietnam, died Friday evening after collapsing in his Northeast Richland home. He was 66.

*******

Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa, and went to high school in nearby Moline, Ill. In 2008, the I-280 Bridge connecting Davenport with Rock Island, Ill., was renamed in his honor.

During the Vietnam War, Baker was a 5-foot-2-inches tall, 105-pound “tunnel rat” – a soldier who, armed with only a pistol and a flashlight, would crawl into enemy tunnels to clear them. He was one of only 239 service members to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

There are now 83 living Medal of Honor recipients.

************* *** *************

JOHN FRANKLIN BAKER JR

Sergeant (then Private First Class), US Army; Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division

Born: 30 October 1945, Davenport, Iowa
Died: 20 January 2012, Richland, South Carolina

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy [in the Republic of Vietnam, on 5 November 1966], Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

Newbery and Caldecott winners announced

2012-01-24T10:05:00.008-05:00

The 2012 winner of the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children is Dead End in Norvelt, written by Jack Gantos and published by Farrar Straus Giroux. The Newbery Honor Books (ie, runners-up) are Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai and Breaking Stalin's Nose, by Eugene Yelchin.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have it, of course.*

The Randolph Caldecott Medal, for the most distinguished American picture book for children, was awarded to A Ball for Daisy, written and illustrated by Chris Raschka, and published by Schwartz & Wade Books. The Caldecott Honor Books are Blackout, written and illustrated by John Rocco; Grandpa Green, written and illustrated by Lane Smith; and Me … Jane, written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have this one, too.*

(I'll let you do your own searches for the Honor Books.)

The American Library Association (ALA), who give both of the above awards, also announced a few others, including:

The Michael L Printz Award, for excellence in young-adult literature: Where Things Come Back, by John Corey Whaley.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award, recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: (author) Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, by Kadir Nelson, and (illustrator) Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, written and illustrated by Shane W Evans.

The Pura Belpré Awards, for Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books: (author) Under the Mesquite, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and (illustrator) Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

The Margaret A Edwards Award, for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Susan Cooper.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, for the most distinguished book for beginning readers: Tales for Very Picky Eaters, written and illustrated by Josh Schneider.

The Robert F Sibert Medal, for the most distinguished informational book for children: Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade," by Melissa Sweet.

The YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award: The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, by Steve Sheinkin.

The Mildred L Batchelder Award, for the most outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States: Soldier Bear, originally written in Dutch (as Soldaat Wojtek) by Philip Hopman and translated by Laura Watkinson.

No ALA press release yet (that I can find, anyway), but PR Newswire has the complete list of awards, winners, and Honor Books here.

* Amazon and B&N links are provided for information. Buying from your local independent bookseller is of course strongly recommended!!

Victoria Cross: L. Calvert

2012-01-22T10:05:00.002-05:00

LAURENCE CALVERT MM

Sergeant, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

Born: 16 February 1892, Leeds, Yorkshire
Died: 7 July 1964, Dagenham, Essex

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack [on 12 September 1918, at Havrincourt, France,] when the success of the operation was rendered doubtful owing, to severe enfilade machine-gun fire. Alone and single-handed Sjt. Calvert, rushing forward against the machine-gun team, bayoneted three and shot four.
His valour and determination in capturing single-handed two machine guns and killing the crews thereof enabled the ultimate objective to be won. His personal gallantry inspired all ranks.

[London Gazette issue 31012 dated 15 Nov 918, published 12 Nov 1918.]

Medal of Honor: W. L. Nelson

2012-01-22T10:00:00.003-05:00

WILLIAM LLOYD NELSON

Sergeant, US Army; 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division

Born: 22 February 1918, Dover, Delaware
Died: 24 April 1943, Djebel Dardys, Tunisia

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict [at Djebel Dardys, northwest of Sedjenane, Tunisia]. On the morning of 24 April 1943, Sgt. Nelson led his section of heavy mortars to a forward position where he placed his guns and men. Under intense enemy artillery, mortar, and small-arms fire, he advanced alone to a chosen observation position from which he directed the laying of a concentrated mortar barrage which successfully halted an initial enemy counterattack. Although mortally wounded in the accomplishment of his mission, and with his duty clearly completed, Sgt. Nelson crawled to a still more advanced observation point and continued to direct the fire of his section. Dying of handgrenade wounds and only 50 yards from the enemy, Sgt. Nelson encouraged his section to continue their fire and by doing so they took a heavy toll of enemy lives. The skill which Sgt. Nelson displayed in this engagement, his courage, and self-sacrificing devotion to duty and heroism resulting in the loss of his life, was a priceless inspiration to our Armed Forces and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the U.S. Army.

Hot Buttered Rum Day

2012-01-17T12:56:00.003-05:00

Today is National Hot Buttered Rum Day. Strikes me as a good idea....

Recipe here.

Or here.

Variants here.

Hot buttered cider,

for the teetotalers.

Buttered rum sticky buns.

Hot buttered rum pecan sundae.

Victoria Cross: A. Atkinson

2012-01-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

ALFRED ATKINSON

Sergeant, Yorkshire Regiment

Born: 6 February 1874, Leeds, Yorkshire
Died: 21 February 1900, near Paardeberg Drift, South Africa

Citation: During the battle of Paardeburg, 18th February, 1900, Sergeant A. Atkinson, 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, went out seven times, under heavy and close fire, to obtain water for the wounded. At the seventh attempt he was wounded in the head, and died a few days afterwards.

[London Gazette issue 27462 dated 8 Aug 1902, published 8 Aug 1902.]

Medal of Honor: J. H. Denig

2012-01-15T10:00:00.005-05:00

JOHN HENRY DENIG

Sergeant, US Marine Corps; USS Brooklyn

Born: 8 September 1838, York, Pennsylvania
Died: 10 December 1876, York, Pennsylvania

Citation: On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Sgt. Denig fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

Victoria Cross: R. C. Nesbitt

2012-01-08T10:05:00.004-05:00

RANDOLPH COSBY NESBITT

Captain, Mashonaland Mounted Police

Born: 20 September 1867, Queenstown, Cape Colony, South Africa
Died: 23 July 1956, Cape Town, South Africa

Citation: This officer, on the 19th June, 1896, led the Mazoe Rescue Patrol, consisting of only thirteen men, fought his way through the rebels to get to Salthouse's party, and succeeded in bringing them back to Salisbury, with heavy fighting, in which three of his small force were killed and five wounded, and fifteen horses killed and wounded.

[London Gazette issue 26850 dated 7 May 1897, published 7 May 1897.]

Note: Mashonaland is now a part of northern Zimbabwe.

Medal of Honor: Farley, Miller, Moore and Blake

2012-01-08T10:00:00.006-05:00

WILLIAM FARLEY

Boatswain's Mate, US Navy; USS Marblehead

Born: 1835, Whitefield, Maine
Died: Unknown

Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Marblehead off Legareville, Stono River, [South Carolina,] 25 December 1863, during an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Behaving in a gallant manner, Farley animated his men and kept up a rapid and effective fire on the enemy throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy's abandonment of his positions, leaving a caisson and 1 gun behind.

JAMES MILLER

Quartermaster, US Navy; USS Marblehead

Born: 1835, Denmark
Died: 4 March 1914, Pennsylvania(?)

Citation: Served as quartermaster on board the U.S. Steam Gunboat Marblehead off Legareville, Stono River, 25 December 1863, during an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Acting courageously under the fierce hostile fire, Miller behaved gallantly throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy's withdrawal and abandonment of its arms.

Note: USS Miller (DD 535) was named in his honor.

CHARLES MOORE

Landsman, US Navy; USS Marblehead

Born: 1839, Ireland
Died: Unknown

Citation: Serving on board the U.S. Steam Gunboat Marblehead off Legareville, Stono River, 25 December 1863, during an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Wounded in the fierce battle, Moore returned to his quarters until so exhausted by loss of blood that he had to be taken below. This engagement resulted in the enemy's abandonment of his positions, leaving a caisson and one gun behind.

ROBERT BLAKE

Contraband, US Navy; USS Marblehead

Born: South Santee, South Carolina
Died: Unknown

Citation: On board the U.S. Steam Gunboat Marblehead off Legareville, Stono River, 25 December 1863, in an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Serving the rifle gun, Blake, an escaped slave, carried out his duties bravely throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy's abandonment of positions, leaving a caisson and one gun behind.

Note: According to Wikipedia, Blake was the second black to earn the Medal of Honor, and the first to actually receive the medal. At the time of this action he was serving as a steward to Lt Cmdr Richard W Meade, Marblehead's CO.
"Contraband" was a term used in the US military during the Civil War to describe escaped slaves who were serving with Union forces.

Carnegie Medal books

2012-01-04T20:34:00.000-05:00

Having finished reading the Newbery Medal winners in August of '09, I'm continuing with the books which have been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal - the British equivalent of the Newbery Medal, now awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

The medal was first awarded in 1937, for the best children's book of 1936, but there have been three years when no book was considered suitable, so there are only 72 winners thus far. In addition to the gold medal, the winner receives £500 worth of books to donate to a library of his/her/their choice.

Here's the list. (Dates marked in red indicate the six books I had already read before last year; dates in purple indicate the ones I've read since.)

1936: Pigeon Post, by Arthur Ransome
1937: The Family from One End Street, by Eve Garnett
1938: The Circus is Coming (aka Circus Shoes), by Noel Streatfield
1939: Radium Woman, by Eleanor Doorly
1940: Visitors from London, by Kitty Barne
1941: We Couldn't Leave Dinah, by Mary Treadgold
1942: The Little Grey Men, by 'BB' (D J Watkins-Pitchford)
1943: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1944: The Wind on the Moon, by Eric Linklater
1945: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1946: The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge
1947: Collected Stories for Children, Walter De La Mare
1948: Sea Change, by Richard Armstrong
1949: The Story of Your Home, by Agnes Allen
1950: The Lark on the Wing, by Elfrida Vipont
1951: The Wool-pack, by Cynthia Harnett
1952: The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
1953: A Valley Grows Up, by Edward Osmond
1954: Knight Crusader, by Ronald Welch (Felton Ronald Oliver)
1955: The Little Bookroom, by Eleanor Farjeon
1956: The Last Battle, by C S Lewis
1957: A Grass Rope, by William Mayne
1958: Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philipa Pearce
1959: The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff
1960: The Making of Man, by Dr I W Cornwall
1961: A Stranger at Green Knowe, by Lucy M Boston
1962: The Twelve and the Genii, by Pauline Clarke
1963: Time of Trial, by Hester Burton
1964: Nordy Bank, by Sheena Porter
1965: The Grange at High Force, by Philip Turner
1966: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1967: The Owl Service, by Alan Garner
1968: The Moon in the Cloud, by Rosemary Harris
1969: The Edge of the Cloud, by Kathleen Peyton
1970: The God Beneath the Sea, by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen
1971: Josh, by Ivan Southall
1972: Watership Down, by Richard Adams
1973: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, by Penelope Lively
1974: The Stronghold, by Mollie Hunter
1975: The Machine Gunners, by Robert Westall
1976: Thunder and Lightnings, by Jan Mark
1977: The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler, by Gene Kemp
1978: The Exeter Blitz, by David Rees
1979: Tulku, by Peter Dickinson
1980: City of Gold and Other Stories from the Old Testament, by Peter Dickinson
1981: The Scarecrows, by Robert Westall
1982: The Haunting, by Margaret Mahy
1983: Handles, by Jan Mark
1984: The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy
1985: Storm, by Kevin Crossley-Holland
1986: Granny was a Buffer Girl, by Berlie Doherty
1987: The Ghost Drum, by Susan Price
1988: A Pack of Lies, by Geraldine McCaughrean
1989: Goggle-eyes, by Anne Fine
1990: Wolf, by Gillian Cross
1991: Dear Nobody, by Berlie Doherty
1992: Flour Babies, by Anne Fine
1993: Stone Cold, by Robert Swindells
1994: Whispers in the Graveyard, by Theresa Breslin
1995: Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman*
1996: Junk, by Melvin Burgess
1997: River Boy, by Tim Bowler
1998: Skellig, by David Almond
1999: Postcards From No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers
2000: The Other Side of Truth, by Beverley Naidoo
2001: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
2002: Ruby Holler, by Sharon Creech
2003: A Gathering Light, by Jennifer Donnelly**
2004: Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce
2005: Tamar, by Mal Peet
2006: ***
2007: Just in Case, by Meg Rosoff
2008: Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve
2009: Bog Child, by Siobhan Dowd
2010: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
2011: Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness
2012: To be announced....

So the count now is 56 down, 16 to go.

Nominations for the 2012 winner - a book first published in the UK between 1 Sep 2010 and 31 Aug 2011 (a book first published in another country must have been co-published in the UK within three months of the original publication date) - closed on 21 Oct 11. The short list will be announced in late March, and the winner in June.

* His Dark Materials, Book 1. Published in the US as The Golden Compass.

** Published in the US as A Northern Light.

*** Up through the award for 2005, the winners were referred to by the year of publication. Beginning in 2007, the winners were referred to by the year the award was given, as with the American Newbery Medal. Thus there is no "2006 winner" of the Carnegie Medal. Tamar, the 2005 winner, was published in '05, and received the medal in '06. Just in Case, the 2007 winner, was published in '06 and received the award in '07.

Book list - 2011

2012-01-04T19:45:00.005-05:00

Here's the complete list of books I read in 2011. I didn't set a goal for this year, so I can't report success in reaching it (nor must I admit to failure, either).

An asterisk indicates a reread. Numbers refer to the order in which the books were read.

"Adult" Fiction (68 books)
1. Elleander Morning - AH, by Jerry Yulsman *
3. Six Geese A-Slaying - mystery, by Donna Andrews
4. Murder with Peacocks - mystery, by Donna Andrews
5. Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon - mystery, by Donna Andrews
6. Discord's Apple - modern fantasy, by Carrie Vaughn
8. Dreadnought - AH/steampunk, by Cherie Priest
10. The Masterharper of Pern - SF, by Anne McCaffrey
13. Cowboy Angels - SF, by Paul McAuley
14. Murder with Puffins - mystery, by Donna Andrews
15. Dragonseye (aka Red Star Rising) - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
16. All the Weyrs of Pern - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
17. Abracadaver - historical mystery, by Peter Lovesey
18. Here Abide Monsters - fantasy, by Andre Norton *
20. The Tick of Death (aka Invitation to a Dynamite Party) - historical mystery, by Peter Lovesey
21. Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos - mystery, by Donna Andrews
25. The Skies of Pern - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
26. We'll Always Have Parrots - mystery, by Donna Andrews
30. Atlantis and Other Places: Stories of Alternate History - AH (short stories), by Harry Turtledove
33. Rough Cider - mystery, by Peter Lovesey
34. Dragonsdawn - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
35. Cryoburn - SF, by Lois McMaster Bujold
38. No Nest for the Wicket - mystery, by Donna Andrews
39. Dragonflight - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
40. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much - mystery, by Donna Andrews
41. Dragonquest - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
44. Owls Well That Ends Well - mystery, by Donna Andrews
46. The White Dragon - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
48. Other Worlds Than Ours - SF (short stories), by Nelson Bond
49. King David's Spaceship - SF, by Jerry Pournelle *
51. Cockatiels at Seven - mystery, by Donna Andrews
52. Agatha H and the Airship City - steampunk, by Phil & Kaja Foglio
53. Mirkheim - SF, by Poul Anderson *
54. Swan for the Money - mystery, by Donna Andrews
55. The People of the Wind - SF, by Poul Anderson
56. The Man Who Counts - SF, by Poul Anderson *
59. High Justice - SF (short stories), by Jerry Pournelle
63. Blind Justice - historical mystery, by Bruce Alexander
64. Stork Raving Mad - mystery, by Donna Andrews
66. Side Jobs - modern fantasy (short stories), by Jim Butcher
70. The Real Macaw - mystery, by Donna Andrews
72. A Flock of Ships - WWII fiction, by Brian Callison *
73. Ghost Story - modern fantasy, by Jim Butcher
74. The Old Buzzard Had It Coming - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
77. Hornswoggled - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
78. Alas, Babylon - WWIII fiction, by Pat Frank *
79. A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage - mystery, by Mark Twain
81. The Drop Edge of Yonder - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
84. The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson - humour, by Mark Twain
86. Over the Wine-Dark Sea - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
87. The Guns of the South - AH, by Harry Turtledove *
88. The Sky Took Him - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
89. Crying Blood - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
91. The Gryphon's Skull - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
93. The Trouble with Humans - SF (short stories), by Christopher Anvil
96. The Enchantment Emporium - modern fantasy, by Tanya Huff
97. Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer Among the Indians - fiction, by Mark Twain and Lee Nelson
103. The Sacred Land - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
104. Owls to Athens - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
105. Nemesis - historical mystery, by Lindsey Davis
106. Flint - western, by Louis L'Amour *
109. Fire Time - SF, by Poul Anderson *
111. Deathblow Hill - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
115. Mystery of the Cape Cod Players - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
116. The Sky People - AH/SF, by S M Stirling *
117. The Inheritance - mystery, by Simon Tolkien
118. Murder Comes First - mystery, by Frances and Richard Lockridge
119. The Man with the Iron Heart - AH/WWII fiction, by Harry Turtledove
120. Creepers - thriller, by David Morrell

Children's/YA Fiction (30)
7. Firestorm! - children's historical fiction, by Joan Hiatt Harlow
11. Please Ignore Vera Dietz - YA, by A S King
12. Moon Over Manifest - children's historical fiction, by Claire Vanderpool (Newbery Medal, 2011)
22. Time for the Stars - YA SF, by Robert A Heinlein *
23. The Shadows - children's fantasy, by Jacqueline West
24. Dragonsinger - YA SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
27. A Great Big Ugly Man Came up and Tied His Horse to Me: A Book of Nonsense Verse - children's poetry, compiled and illustrated by Wallace Tripp *
28. Dragonsong - YA SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
29. Rose's Are Red, Violet's Are Blue and Other Silly Poems - children's poetry, compiled and illustrated by Wallace Tripp
31. The Stronghold - children's historical fiction, by Mollie Hunter (Carnegie Medal, 1974)
32. Dragondrums - YA SF, by Anne McCaffrey *
37. The Exeter Blitz - children's historical fiction, by David Rees (Carnegie Medal, 1978)
42. Doggirl - YA, by Robin Brande
43. Everybody Sees the Ants - YA, by A S King (ARC)
57. Thunder and Lightnings - children's, by Jan Mark (Carnegie Medal 1976)
60. Ghost Drum - children's fantasy, by Susan Price (Carnegie Medal 1987)
62. Jordan Freeman Was My Friend - children's historical fiction, by Richard White
65. The Kindling - YA postapocalyptic, by Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher
67. Time of Trial - children's historical fiction, by Hester Burton (Carnegie Medal, 1963)
69. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - YA historical fiction, by Jacqueline Kelly
71. Josh - children's, by Ivan Southall (Carnegie Medal, 1971)
75. Wolf - YA, by Gillian Cross (Carnegie Medal, 1990)
76. Aliens on Vacation - children's SF, by Clete Barrett Smith
80. The Latte Rebellion - YA, by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
85. The Snowstorm (aka The Snow Ghosts) - children's time travel, by Beryl Netherclift
90. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - YA, by Ransom Riggs
94. Into the Parallel - YA SF, by Robin Brande
112. The Hunger Games - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
113. Catching Fire - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
121. The Odious Ogre - children's, by Norton Juster

Non-Fiction (23)
2. Caesars' Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire - ancient history, by Annelise Freisenbruch
9. Maria: My Own Story - memoirs, by Maria von Trapp
19. Elsie and Mairi Go to War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front - WW I, by Diane Atkinson
36. The Judith Durham Story: Colours of My Life - biography, by Graham Simpson
45. Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human - palaeoanthropology, by Chip Walter
47. Vet in the Vestry - memoirs, by Alexander Cameron *
50. African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity - palaeoanthropology, by Chris Stringer and Robin McKie
58. Roar of the Tiger - WWII memoirs, by James H Howard
61. The Making of Man - children's palaeoanthropology, by Dr I W Cornwall (Carnegie Medal, 1960)
68. Once & Future Giants: What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth's Largest Animals - ecology, by Sharon Levy
82. Gunsmoke Over the Atlantic: First Naval Actions of the Civil War - USCW, by Jack D Coombe
83. The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been - AH, by Roger L Ransom
92. Grierson's Raid: A Daring Cavalry Strike Through the Heart of the Confederacy - USCW, by Tom Lalicki
95. The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics - humour, by John Pollack
98. Smugglers of Spirits: Prohibition and the Coast Guard Patrol - memoirs, by Harold Waters
99. Rum Row: The Real McCoy, the Bootleg Queen, and the Liquor Fleet That Fueled the Roaring Twenties - US history, by Robert Carse
100. Westward Bound in the Schooner Yankee - travel, by Captain and Mrs Irving Johnson
101. The Wolf: How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI - WW I, by Richard Guilliatt
102. Sailing to See: Picture Cruise in the Schooner Yankee - travel, by Captain and Mrs Irving Johnson
107. Why Evolution Is True - science, by Jerry A Coyne
108. Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe - European history, by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone
110. Yankee's Wander World: Circling the Globe in the Brigantine Yankee - travel, by Irving and Electa Johnson *
114. Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet - Gaia, by Tim F Flannery

The biggest categories were mysteries (28), SF (26), historical fiction (23), history (9), fantasy (8) and Carnegie Medal winners (8, bringing my total thus far up to 56 of the 72). Donna Andrews was the most-read author of the year (13 books), as I discovered the Meg Langslow mystery series; Anne McCaffrey was second (11), as I reread several of the Pern books. And 25 of the books were rereads.

My favourites? After reading Into the Parallel, by Robin Brande, I was all set to call it the best book of the year - but then in December I read The Hunger Games.... So the latter, by Suzanne Collins, gets the yellow sticky for Best Book I Read in 2011, and Brande's book comes in at number two, with The Enchantment Emporium, by Tanya Huff, and Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher, right behind them. These 24 (listed in the order in which I read them) were also very good:

The Masterharper of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey
Moon Over Manifest, by Claire Vanderpool
A Great Big Ugly Man Came up and Tied His Horse to Me: A Book of Nonsense Verse, compiled and illustrated by Wallace Tripp
Cryoburn, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Doggirl, by Robin Brande
Everybody Sees the Ants, by A S King (ARC)
Agatha H and the Airship City, by Phil and Kaja Foglio
Jordan Freeman Was My Friend, by Richard White
Stork Raving Mad, by Donna Andrews
Side Jobs, by Jim Butcher
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
The Real Macaw, by Donna Andrews
A Flock of Ships, by Brian Callison
The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, by Donis Casey
Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
The Latte Rebellion, by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Over the Wine-Dark Sea, by H N Turteltaub
The Wolf: How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI, by Richard Guilliatt
Why Evolution Is True, by Jerry A Coyne
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Mystery of the Cape Cod Players, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
The Inheritance, by Simon Tolkien
The Man with the Iron Heart, by Harry Turtledove
Creepers, by David Morrell

Having not set a goal for last year, I'm not setting one for this year either. But I do hope to do a lot more reading this year....

RIP: Mike Colalillo

2012-01-03T10:00:00.005-05:00

Mike Colalillo
2 Dec 1925 - 30 Dec 2011

ZUI this article from The Republic:

Mike Colalillo, the last Medal of Honor recipient in Minnesota, has died. He was 86.

Colalillo died Friday at a Duluth nursing home, the Dougherty Funeral Home confirmed Monday.

He received the nation's highest military honor for bravery in combat for killing or wounding 25 Germans and helping a seriously wounded comrade to safety during a fierce firefight near Untergriesheim, Germany, on April 7, 1945, toward the end of World War II.

*******

In a 1949 news interview, Colalillo said: "I never wanted to kill anybody, and I never had any particular yen to be a hero. Heroes are a dime a dozen in my book."

Colalillo never called attention to his heroics, his daughter said.

*******

Colalillo's wife, Lina, died in 2007. A daughter, Joan Colalillo, died in 2001. He is survived by [his daughter, Michelle] Schneeberger, and his son, Al Colalillo, of Hayward, Wis.

There are now 84 living Medal of Honor recipients.

************* *** *************

MIKE COLALILLO

Private First Class, US Army; Company C, 398th Infantry, 100th Infantry Division

Born: 2 December 1925, Hibbing, Minnesota
Died: 30 December 2011, Duluth, Minnesota

Citation: He was pinned down with other members of his company during an attack against strong enemy positions [on 7 April 1945] in the vicinity of Untergriesheim, Germany. Heavy artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire made any move hazardous when he stood up, shouted to the company to follow, and ran forward in the wake of a supporting tank, firing his machine pistol. Inspired by his example, his comrades advanced in the face of savage enemy fire. When his weapon was struck by shrapnel and rendered useless, he climbed to the deck of a friendly tank, manned an exposed machinegun on the turret of the vehicle, and, while bullets rattled about him, fired at an enemy emplacement with such devastating accuracy that he killed or wounded at least 10 hostile soldiers and destroyed their machinegun. Maintaining his extremely dangerous post as the tank forged ahead, he blasted 3 more positions, destroyed another machinegun emplacement and silenced all resistance in his area, killing at least 3 and wounding an undetermined number of riflemen as they fled. His machinegun eventually jammed; so he secured a submachinegun from the tank crew to continue his attack on foot. When our armored forces exhausted their ammunition and the order to withdraw was given, he remained behind to help a seriously wounded comrade over several hundred yards of open terrain rocked by an intense enemy artillery and mortar barrage. By his intrepidity and inspiring courage Pfc. Colallilo gave tremendous impetus to his company's attack, killed or wounded 25 of the enemy in bitter fighting, and assisted a wounded soldier in reaching the American lines at great risk of his own life.

George Cross: B. Gimbert and J. W. Nightall

2012-01-01T10:10:00.005-05:00

BENJAMIN GIMBERT

Driver, London and North Eastern Railway Company

Born: 6 February 1903
Died: 6 May 1976

JAMES WILLIAM NIGHTALL

Fireman, London and North Eastern Railway Company

Born: 1922
Died: 2 June 1944, Soham, Cambridgeshire

Joint Citation: As an ammunition train was pulling into a station in Cambridgeshire [on 2 June 1944], the driver, Gimbert, discovered that the wagon next to the engine was on fire. He immediately drew Nightall's attention to the fire and brought the train to a standstill. By the time the train had stopped the whole of the truck was enveloped in flames and, realising the danger, the driver instructed the fireman to try to uncouple the truck immediately behind the blazing vehicle. Without the slightest hesitation Nightall, although he knew that the truck contained explosives, uncoupled the vehicle and rejoined his driver on the footplate.
The blazing van was close to the station buildings and was obviously liable to endanger life in the village. The driver and fireman realised that it was essential to separate the truck from the remainder of the train and run it into the open. Driver Gimbert set the engine in motion and as he approached a signal box he warned the signalman to stop any trains which were likely to be involved and indicated what he intended to do. Almost immediately the vehicle blew up. Nightall was killed and Gimbert was very severely injured.
Gimbert and Nightall were fully aware of the contents of the wagon which was on fire and displayed outstanding courage and resource in endeavouring to isolate it. When they discovered that the wagon was on fire they could easily have left the train and sought shelter, but realising that if they did not remove the burning vehicle the whole of the train, which consisted of 51 wagons of explosives, would have blown up, they risked their lives in order to minimise the effect of the fire. There is no doubt that if the whole train had been involved, as it would have been but for the gallant action of the men concerned, there would have been serious loss of life and property.

[London Gazette issue 36623 dated 25 Jul 1944, published 21 Jul 1944.]

Notes: Frank Bridges, the signalman at Soham station, was also killed in the explosion.
In 1981, two Class 47 freight locomotives were named in honour of Gimbert and Nightall. Both of these having been withdrawn from service, on 2 Jun 04 - the 60th anniversary of the explosion - two Class 66 freight locomotives were also named in their honour.

Victoria Cross: S. Garvin

2012-01-01T10:05:00.003-05:00

STEPHEN GARVIN

Colour-Serjeant, 1st Battalion, 60th Rifles

Born: 1826, Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland
Died: 29 November 1942, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Citation: For daring and gallant conduct before Delhi on the 23rd of June, 1857, in volunteering to lead a small party of men, under a heavy fire, to the "Sammy House," for the purpose of dislodging a number of the Enemy in position there, who kept up a destructive fire on the advanced battery of heavy guns, in which, after a sharp contest, he succeeded. Also recommended for gallant conduct throughout the operations before Delhi.

[London Gazette issue 22347 dated 20 Jan 1860, published 20 Jan 1860.]

Medal of Honor; W. J. Donovan

2012-01-01T10:00:00.004-05:00

WILLIAM JOSEPH DONOVAN

Lieutenant Colonel, US Army; 165th Infantry, 42d Division

Born: 1 January 1883, Buffalo, New York
Died: 8 February 1959, Washington, District of Columbia

Citation: Lt. Col. Donovan personally led the assaulting wave in an attack upon a very strongly organized position [near Landres-et-St Georges, France, on 14-15 October 1918], and when our troops were suffering heavy casualties he encouraged all near him by his example, moving among his men in exposed positions, reorganizing decimated platoons, and accompanying them forward in attacks. When he was wounded in the leg by machine-gun bullets, he refused to be evacuated and continued with his unit until it withdrew to a less exposed position.

Note: Lt Col (later Maj Gen) Donovan is best known as head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.

Book list - Dec 11

2012-01-01T06:48:00.027-05:00

Yankee's Wander World: Circling the Globe in the Brigantine Yankee - travel, by Irving and Electa Johnson *
Deathblow Hill - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
The Hunger Games - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet - Gaia, by Tim F Flannery
Mystery of the Cape Cod Players - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
The Sky People - AH/SF, by S M Stirling *
The Inheritance - mystery, by Simon Tolkien
Murder Comes First - mystery, by Frances and Richard Lockridge
The Man with the Iron Heart - AH, by Harry Turtledove
Creepers - thriller, by David Morrell
The Odious Ogre - children's, by Norton Juster

Twelve books last month, two of them rereads (marked by asterisks). I didn't set an official goal this year, though I did expect to read around 150 books; the actual total turned out to be 121.

Again, no Carnegie Medal winners, so I'm still at only 56 of 72. Need to do something about that....

Honours

2011-12-31T14:44:00.004-05:00

The 2012 New Year Honours List has been released, and I see:

Order of the British Empire - Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Penelope Margaret, Mrs LIVELY, CBE
Author. For services to Literature.
(London, N1)

Order of the British Empire - Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Ms Helena BONHAM CARTER
Actor. For services to Drama.
(London, NW3)

Order of the British Empire - Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Dr Maggie Mary GEE
Author. For services to Literature.
(London, NW10)

Order of the British Empire - Members of the Order of the British Empire

Geoffrey Thomas Leslie ASHE
Historian. For services to Heritage.
(Glastonbury, Somerset

Alex BRYCHTA
Illustrator. For services to Children's Literature.
(Surrey)

Dame Penelope received the Carnegie Medal for her novel The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973), and also the Man Booker Prize for Moon Tiger (1987). Helena Bonham Carter has a long list of credits, beginning in 1983; I know her as Bellatrix Lestrange in the last four Harry Potter films. Don't think I'd ever heard of Maggie Gee, but some of her books look interesting; I'll be looking for them at the library. Geoffrey Ashe has written several books delving into the possible real history behind the King Arthur legends. Alex Brychta did the illustrations for the Magic Key series, used in many British schools to teach reading.

And congratulations to Chief Petty Officer Coxswain (Submarines) Martin Farr MBE, listed in the Defence New Year's Honours List for 2012.

The King William's College quiz

2011-12-28T22:00:00.003-05:00

Here, a few days late, is the 2011 edition of the General Knowledge Paper:

1. In the year 1911:
1 What disaster befell the Asch Building?
2 What was removed from the Salon Carré?
3 Whose stencilled letters included A, B, C, D, O & L?
4 Where were the twin clocks started at George's crowning moment?
5 Who wrote of a multitalented peer and the Warden's grand-daughter?
6 Who explained how the squaws caused pallor in the Jesuit preachers?
7 Who shot to fame during a performance of The Tale of Tsar Saltan?
8 Who took pole position ahead of British opposition?
9 Who silently portrayed Marguerite Gauthier?
10 Who agreed to receive £400 per annum?

2.
1 Who designed forty-four maps for a 120m long corridor?
2 In which map is a cross-legged Caesar Augustus wearing the triregnum?
3 Whose original map of old Gwynedd shows Neptune embracing a naked lady?
4 Who first used continuous and broken lines to indicate fenced and unfenced roads?
5 Whose map can be seen in different paintings by the Delft master in the Rijksmuseum and the Frick Collection?
6 Whose map of the British Isles was decorated with portraits of post-conquest monarchs up to and including James I and Anne of Denmark?
7 Who placed an ostrich and an elephant on the map he presented to Selim I?
8 Which OS competitors included a vignette of Appleby among their county maps?
9 Whose name was adopted for a cartographic museum in the Land de Waas?
10 Who made a presentation of a giant atlas to the king on his restoration?

3.
1 Who found a cut above in coping with melancholy?
2 Which of Bolingbroke's nephews was the celebrated patron of early exploration?
3 Who wrote about a harpsichordist and a pioneer aviator and won gold in Stockholm?
4 Who, by virtue of his marriage, was required to expel all Jews who failed to convert to "New Christians"?
5 Who allied his army with that of the deposed Sultan, but died in his attempt to conquer the Moorish infidels?
6 Which theologian, although numerically misplaced, was an authority on both ophthalmology and gynaecology?
7 Who had the captain of the Concepción decapitated, then drawn and quartered, for mutiny at Puerto San Julian?
8 Whose support of Pedro in his tussle with his brother necessitated escape in a wine barrel?
9 Who, as queen dowager of one country, became regent in the country of her birth?
10 Who disobeyed his prime minister and surrendered on 19 December?

4. Which tale or tales:
1 is all about Hester's badge of shame?
2 investigates the murder of Robert Ablett?
3 describes Lamb's problems in the Banda Orientál?
4 relates the heroic story of the survivor from Charybdis?
5 describes the criminal activities of Alex, Dim, Georgie and Pete?
6 describes a prize fight between the gamekeeper and the coxswain at the Dripping Pan?
7 considers the murder of an expat philanderer in East Africa?
8 tells of how Dick and the outlaw dress up as friars?
9 are set in the moorlands above Tweedsmuir?
10 reveals the ghost of a don at All Saints'?

5. What:
1 brings light?
2 is named for its inactivity?
3 has a malodorous tetroxide?
4 has a particularly frustrating resistance to corrosion?
5 Skärgård settlement has shared its name with four examples?
6 was named as the daughter of 4, but only shed its alternative name in 1949?
7 was alleged by some to be a pun on its discoverer's name?
8 sounds like some sort of hobgoblin?
9 was identified in Lochaber?
10 quite simply stinks?

6. What:
1 is a deadly oxymoron?
2 has insecticide properties?
3 could be a cheap form of confectionery?
4 grotesque body has achieved a girth of 64 inches?
5 two names, applied to a firelighter suggest muscle relaxation and recall kitchen negligence?
6 better known as one of Rainier's features, is the most common source of what favourite hallucinogen?
7 sinister form of headgear probably accounted for a Holy Roman Emperor?
8 parasite is nominally associated with Iscariot?
9 precious stone is deceitful?
10 is also a lamellibranch?

7.
1 Where is Maddison's Golden Boy?
2 What was named, literally, Salt-pans by the Romans?
3 Where do a few surviving hedges keep alive our lost Elysium?
4 As what did an American president describe the Libyan dictator?
5 Where did close neighbours claim the invention of a device for observing at a distance?
6 Where can a little-changed double row of trees still be seen 322 years after its capture on canvas?
7 In which Study did Sir James, disappointingly, marry Celia instead of her sister?
8 What on first sight was thought to be a classically educated crotalid?
9 Whence did the Spitfires fly during The Battle of Britain?
10 Who dramatised a notorious cutter of purses?

8. What:
1 distinguishes armillata?
2 title was inaugurated before Agincourt?
3 else did he end apart from PM, CH and OM?
4 action did his inamorata take prior to the duet?
5 did fat-guts command that Harry should use to hang himself?
6 function was required of Bertha's garter during the trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back?
7 sartorial feature earned comment from Lear's Fool?
8 was dangling from Buckingham's death bed?
9 does make some obstruction of the blood?
10 might I have as a threat of punishment?

9. Where:
1 does the train stop in silence?
2 did Hilda extract a badly mauled shrimp?
3 is an execution remembered annually in October?
4 did the town nominally suffer episcopal deprivation?
5 was a village store opened which would become the world's largest?
6 did Sir John entrust his foundation to one of the Livery Companies?
7 is there a fully clothed life-sized wax effigy of Sarah?
8 did the doctor use an old bream as a weathercock?
9 did the bishopric exist for just nineteen years?
10 is there a statue to the corn deity?

10.
1 Who took on three regencies?
2 Which consort outlived the King by 61 years?
3 Who steered behind the umbrella on Lake Maggiore?
4 Who received details of the School of Pain from her invalid cousin?
5 Whose love for one was like the foliage in the woods, but for the other resembled the eternal rocks beneath?
6 Whose love letter included the words "I wode you war wythe me now that you mouthe se wat pane I take yn wryteg to you"?
7 What request received the response "what, in the midst of the street?"?
8 Whose canine collection included items about clouds and sky?
9 Whose dancing is likened to a jelly on a plate?
10 Who recently excluded obedience?

11. Where:
1 is the aluminium Majestas?
2 has the gondola been suspended since 1906?
3 can the bells be heard ringing beneath the water?
4 where could 30 candles be lit across a flat stone?
5 was there a fatal derailment on the first day of service?
6 was the iron-work protected from corrosion with linseed oil and not, as Alice was told, with wine?
7 did the polyglot Victorian traveller try out his Arabic?
8 did Babs lie buried in the dunes for 42 years?
9 did Baldwin meet Rhys for the second time?
10 did the French surrender at the Royal Oak?

12. Unmask:
1 Rosa
2 Aymer
3 Reinmar
4 Clarence Donne
5 Alexander Thomson
6 Captain Theophilus Digby
7 Andrew Watson
8 James Smith
9 Newsom
10 Tuke

13.
1 What were Uasini Maconoa
2 What mixture is favoured by the poacher?
3 Where did York and Suffolk have a bloody embrace?
4 What is the annual award for the best imaginary prose writer?
5 What heavenly body became synonymous with the abuse of Royal power?
6 Where did the little gentleman in black velvet cause a clavicular fracture?
7 Where were paired cast iron lighthouses erected on the beach?
8 Whose name was used by Lugard for a new coal outlet?
9 From where is it only a mile over the hill to Esnes?
10 What, where is juglandaceous?

14.
1 What is viscivorus?
2 Who was the victim of Bowman Passer?
3 What name was given to 9903 and 2001?
4 What imposter combines engraulids with scrambled egg?
5 What alludes to two losses and uncertainty about the way forward?
6 Whose wife was likened by his friend to a white antelope from Snowdonia?
7 Who directed the disappearance of a spinster in Mandrika?
8 What operation cleared a Limburg geometrical feature?
9 Who got 4 in 4, 5 in 6, 6 in 9 and 7 in 11?
10 What characterises Jock Scott's cheeks?

15. Which character rhymed:
1 tussle and muscle?
2 knowledge, he and apology?
3 Chamberlain and moral stain?
4 kindred soul and sausage-roll?
5 everybody earns and income-tax returns?
6 wrote of Queen Anne and Sodor and Man?
7 Parliamentary hive and or Conservative?
8 been acuter and simple pewter?
9 lot o' news and hypotenuse?
10 Horace and Morris?

16. Which patriot of which country:
1 was eulogized by Harry
2 died at the hand of one who had started life as Ramachandra?
3 was declared innocent following a retrial 25 years after execution?
4 wrote about the execution of Gerhard and was murdered by the Gestapo?
5 anticipated Latimer and Ridley by 140 years and uttered in Latin "Holy Simplicity"?
6 founded a journal in London, which would have been translated as Thought and Action?
7 the son of a general and senator, shot the Governor General and then himself?
8 was hanged publicly 28 months after the start of the January Uprising?
9 was defrocked and later executed following betrayal by Elizondo?
10 was reburied 31 years after his secret execution?

17.
1 Who started off as Nijntje?
2 Who played patty-cake with Acme?
3 Who was the tyrannical leader of the Efrafans?
4 As what did the Australian dog perceive the gentleman dancing on an ashpit?
5 Which swamp-dweller sustained auricular damage prior to rescue from the Black Serpent?
6 Whose marital violence led indirectly to the accidental drowning of his baby daughter Rebecca June?
7 What popular design was started by an Augustinian Canoness of the Lateran?
8 Who put on spectacles and was directed to begin at the beginning?
9 Who brewed very good ale for gentlemen?
10 What is essentially cheese on toast?

18. During 2011:
1 who looked a million dollars?
2 which white mouse has left the Star and Garter?
3 where did Kid Cassidy get over a very nasty shock?
4 which obdurate crustacean has very sadly had to call "Over"?
5 which sometime successor to Isaac Barrow found his position untenable?
6 where was it admitted that with the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently, or not at all?
7 why will Col Reynolds and Lord Meldrum never be the same?
8 whose killing thrust heralded a monumental redundancy?
9 who crawled charitably through Bablock Hythe?
10 which head was axed at the Tower?

This time round, I know offhand (or think I do) the answers to four of the 180 questions....

Victoria Cross: F. C. Elton

2011-12-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

FREDERICK COCKAYNE ELTON

Brevet-Major, 55th Regiment

Born: 23 April 1832, Whitestaunton, Somerset
Died: 24 March 1888, London

Citation: For distinguished conduct on the night of the 4th August, 1855, when in command of a working party in the advanced trenches in front of the Quarries [at Sebastopol], in encouraging and inciting his men, by his example, to work under a dreadful fire; and, when there was some hesitation shown, in consequence of the severity of the fire, going into the open, and working with pick and shovel — thus showing the best possible example to the men. In the words of one of them, "There was not another Officer in the British Army who would have done what Major Elton did that night."
In the month of March, 1855, Major Elton volunteered, with a small party of men, to drive off a body of Russians who were destroying one of our new detached works, and succeeded in doing so, taking prisoner one of the enemy with his own hands. On the night of the 7th June, 1855, Major Elton was the first of his party to leave our trenches leading his men; when in the Quarries, he several times rallied his men around him.

[London Gazette issue 21971 dated 24 Feb 1857, published 24 Feb 1857.]

Medal of Honor: W. A. Shomo

2011-12-25T10:00:00.005-05:00

WILLIAM A SHOMO

Major, US Army Air Corps; commanding 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

Born: 30 May 1918, Jeannette, Pennsylvania
Died: 25 June 1990, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Maj. Shomo was lead pilot of a flight of 2 [North American F-6D] fighter planes charged with an armed photographic and strafing mission against the Aparri and Laoag airdromes [on Luzon, Philippine Islands, on 11 January 1945]. While en route to the objective, he observed an enemy twin engine bomber, protected by 12 fighters, flying about 2,500 feet above him and in the opposite direction Although the odds were 13 to 2, Maj. Shomo immediately ordered an attack. Accompanied by his wingman he closed on the enemy formation in a climbing turn and scored hits on the leading plane of the third element, which exploded in midair. Maj. Shomo then attacked the second element from the left side of the formation and shot another fighter down in flames. When the enemy formed for Counterattack, Maj. Shomo moved to the other side of the formation and hit a third fighter which exploded and fell. Diving below the bomber he put a burst into its underside and it crashed and burned. Pulling up from this pass he encountered a fifth plane firing head on and destroyed it. He next dived upon the first element and shot down the lead plane; then diving to 300 feet in pursuit of another fighter he caught it with his initial burst and it crashed in flames. During this action his wingman had shot down 3 planes, while the 3 remaining enemy fighters had fled into a cloudbank and escaped. Maj. Shomo's extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity in attacking such a far superior force and destroying 7 enemy aircraft in one action is unparalleled in the southwest Pacific area.

Note: The North American F-6D was a P-51 Mustang fighter modified for photo-reconnaissance work.

Victoria Cross: Netrabahadur Thapa

2011-12-18T10:05:00.005-05:00

NETRABAHADUR THAPA

Jemadar (acting Subadar), 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force)

Born: 8 January 1916, Rahu Village, Nepal
Died: 26 June 1944, Bishenpur, India

Citation: Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa was in command of the garrison of 41 men of the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) which on the afternoon of 25th June, 1944, took over the isolated piquet known as Mortar Bluff situated on the hillside commanding the base at Bishenpur in Burma. The piquet position, completely devoid of any cover, was situated some 400 yards from the next piquet, from which it could be supported to some extent by 3 inch mortar fire, but was commanded by Water Piquet, a short distance away on high ground to the South, which had been over-run by strong enemy forces on the previous night and was still in enemy hands. Owing to its commanding position the retention of Mortar Bluff was vital to the safety of other positions farther down the ridge and to Bishenpur itself.
The relief had been harassed by enemy snipers at close range but was completed at 1830 hours without casualties. A little more than an hour later the enemy began to attack. For this purpose a 75 millimetre and a 37 millimetre gun were brought on up to the high ground overlooking the position and poured shell after shell at point blank range for ten minutes into the narrow confines of the piquet, and this was followed by a determined attack by not less than one company of Japanese. A fierce fight ensued in which Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa's men, exhorted by their leader, held their ground against heavy odds and drove the enemy back with disproportionate losses. During this time Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa with tireless energy and contempt for his own safety moved from post to post encouraging his young N.C.Os and riflemen, of which the garrison was largely composed, and tending the wounded.
A short lull followed during which Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa gave a clear and concise report on the telephone to his Commanding Officer and asked for more artillery defensive fire. Having done this he made preparations to meet the next onslaught which was not long in coming.
Under cover of the pitch dark night and torrential rain the enemy had moved round to the jungle from the cover of which they launched their next attack. Still in considerable strength and as determined and ferocious as ever the enemy poured out from the jungle across the short space of open ground to the piquet defences under cover of small arms and 37 millimetre gun fire from a flank. For a time our men held their ground until, as ill-luck would have it, both the L.M.G. and T.M.G. of one section jammed.
With much reduced fire-power the section were unable to hold on, and the enemy forced an entrance and over-ran this and another section, killing or wounding 12 out of the 16 men comprising the two sections. Having no reserve Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa himself went forward from his Headquarters and stemmed any further advance with grenades.
The situation was however critical. With more than half his men casualties, ammunition low, and the enemy in possession of part of his perimeter, Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa would have been justified in withdrawing, but in his next report to his Commanding Officer he stated that he intended holding on and asked for reinforcements and more ammunition.
So efficient were his plans for defence and such was the fine example of this gallant Gurkha officer that not a man moved from his trench and not a yard more ground was gained by the enemy, despite their desperate attempts.
Thus the night passed until at 0400 hours a section of 8 men with grenades and small arms ammunition arrived. Their arrival inevitably drew fire and all the 8 were soon casualties. Undismayed, however, Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa retrieved the ammunition and himself with his platoon Headquarters took the offensive armed with grenades and khukris. Whilst so doing he received a bullet wound in the mouth followed shortly afterwards by a grenade which killed him outright. His body was found next day, khukri in hand and a dead Japanese with a cleft skull by his side.
True to the traditions of the service and his race Subadar Netrabahadur Thapa had fought against overwhelming odds for 8 hours before he was killed. His fine example of personal bravery and his high sense of duty so inspired his men that a vital position was held to the limit of human endurance.
His valour and devotion to duty will remain an epic in the history of the Regiment.

[London Gazette issue 36742 dated 12 Oct 1944, published 10 Oct 1944.]

Note: Jemadar was an Indian Army rank equivalent to a British warrant officer. A Subadar was the equivalent of a lieutenant.
Bishenpur (or Bishnupur) is in the Indian state of Manipur, near the Burmese border.

Medal of Honor: M. J. Estocin

2011-12-18T10:00:00.008-05:00

MICHAEL J ESTOCIN

Captain (then Lieutenant Commander), US Navy; Attack Squadron 192, USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14)

Born: 27 April 1931, Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania
Died: 26 April 1967, near Haiphong, North Vietnam

Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 20 and 26 April 1967 as a pilot in Attack Squadron 192, embarked in USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14). Leading a 3-plane group of aircraft in support of a coordinated strike against two thermal power plants in Haiphong, North Vietnam, on 20 April 1967, Capt. Estocin provided continuous warnings to the strike group leaders of the surface-to-air missile (SAM) threats, and personally neutralized 3 SAM sites. Although his aircraft was severely damaged by an exploding missile, he reentered the target area and relentlessly prosecuted a SHRIKE attack in the face of intense antiaircraft fire. With less than 5 minutes of fuel remaining he departed the target area and commenced in-flight refueling which continued for over 100 miles. Three miles aft of Ticonderoga, and without enough fuel for a second approach, he disengaged from the tanker and executed a precise approach to a fiery arrested landing. On 26 April 1967, in support of a coordinated strike against the vital fuel facilities in Haiphong, he led an attack on a threatening SAM site, during which his aircraft was seriously damaged by an exploding SAM; nevertheless, he regained control of his burning aircraft and courageously launched his SHRIKE missiles before departing the area. By his inspiring courage and unswerving devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, Captain Estocin upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Note: Lt Cdr Estocin was believed to have been captured by the Vietnamese; he was promoted to captain during his presumed captivity.
USS Estocin (FFG 15) was named in his honour.

Victoria Cross: J. D. Grant

2011-12-11T10:05:00.003-05:00

JOHN DUNCAN GRANT

Lieutenant, 8th Gurkha Rifles

Born: 28 December 1877, Roorkee, India
Died: 20 February 1967, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Citation: The KING has been graciously pleased to signify His intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross upon the undermentioned Officer, whose claims have been submitted for His Majesty's approval, for his conspicuous bravery in Thibet, as stated against his name:
On the occasion of the storming of the Gyantse Jong on 6th July, 1904, the storming Company, headed by Lieutenant Grant, on emerging from the cover of the village, had to advance up a bare, almost precipitous, rock-face, with little or no cover available, and under a heavy fire from the curtain, flanking towers on both sides of the curtain, and other buildings higher up the Jong. Showers of rocks and stones were at the time being hurled down the hillside by the enemy from above. One man could only go up at a time, crawling on hands and knees, to the breach in the curtain.
Lieutenant Grant, followed by Havildar Karbir Pun, 8th Gurkha Rifles, at once attempted to scale it, but on reaching near the top he was wounded, and hurled back, as was also the Havildar, who fell down the rock some 30 feet.
Regardless of their injuries they again attempted to scale the breach, and, covered by the fire of the men below, were successful in their object, the Havildar shooting one of the enemy on gaining the top. The successful issue of the assault was very greatly due to the splendid example shown by Lieutenant Grant and Havildar Karbir Pun.
The latter has been recommended for the Indian Order of Merit.

[London Gazette issue 27758 dated 24 Jan 1905, published 24 Jan 1905.]

Medal of Honor: G. C. Shaw

2011-12-11T10:00:00.005-05:00

GEORGE CLYMER SHAW

First Lieutenant, 27th US Infantry

Born: 6 March 1866, Pontiac, Michigan
Died: 10 February 1960

Citation: For distinguished gallantry in leading the assault [at Fort Pitacus, Lake Lanao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, on 4 May 1903] and, under a heavy fire from the enemy, maintaining alone his position on the parapet after the first 3 men who followed him there had been killed or wounded, until a foothold was gained by others and the capture of the place assured.

Top 100 cult films

2011-12-09T21:42:00.002-05:00

It seems a couple of chaps named Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik have written a book called 100 Cult Films (British Film Institute, to be published 20 Dec 11). NPR are publicising the book, and asking for suggestions for additional films which people think should be on the list. Feel free to comment there.

Here's the list; I've bolded the eight that I've actually seen.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, 1968
Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988
Angel of Vengeance, Abel Ferrara, 1981
Bad Taste, Peter Jackson, 1987
Baise-moi, Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000
Begotten, E Elias Merhige, 1991
Behind the Green Door, Artie Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, 1972
La belle et la bête, Jean Cocteau, 1946
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Russ Meyer, 1970
The Big Lebowski, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1998
Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982
Blue Sunshine, Jeff Lieberman, 1978
Brazil, Terry Gilliam, 1985
Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale, 1935
The Brood, David Cronenberg, 1979
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1920
Café Flesh, Stephen Sayadian, 1982
Cannibal Holocaust, Ruggero Deodato, 1979
Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, 1942
Un chien andalou, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí,1928
Coffy, Jack Hill, 1973
Daughters of Darkness, Harry Kümel, 1971
Dawn of the Dead, George A Romero, 1978
Deadly Weapons, Doris Wishman, 1974
Debbie Does Dallas, Jim Clark, 1978
Deep Red, Dario Argento, 1975
Dirty Dancing, Emile Ardolino, 1987
Django, Sergio Corbucci, 1966
Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly, 2001
Don't Torture a Duckling, Lucio Fulci, 1972
Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, 1990
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, Aristide Massaccesi, 1977
Emmanuelle, Just Jaeckin, 1974
Enter the Dragon, Robert Clouse, 1973
Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977
The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi, 1981
Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999
Flaming Creatures, Jack Smith, 1963
Freak Orlando, Ulrike Ottinger, 1981
Freaks, Tod Browning, 1932
Ginger Snaps, John Fawcett, 2000
The Gods Must Be Crazy, Jamie Uys, 1981
Godzilla, Ishirô Honda, 1954
The Harder They Come, Perry Henzell, 1972
Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby, 1971
Häxan, Benjamin Christensen, 1922
Hellraiser, Clive Barker, 1987
The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973
The House with the Laughing Windows, Pupi Avati, 1976
I Walked with a Zombie, Jacques Tourneur, 1943
Ichi the Killer, Takashi Miike, 2001
In Bruges, Martin McDonagh, 2008
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, 1956
Invocation of My Demon Brother, Kenneth Anger, 1969
It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra, 1946
The Killer, John Woo, 1989
Lady Terminator, H Tjut Djalil, 1988
The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, 2001–3
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, George Miller, 1981
Man Bites Dog, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, 1992
Manos, the Hands of Fate, Harold P Warren, 1966
The Masque of the Red Death, Roger Corman, 1964
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, 1975
Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow, 1987
Nekromantik, Jörg Buttgereit, 1987
Night of the Living Dead, George A Romero, 1968
Pink Flamingos, John Waters, 1972
Piranha, Joe Dante, 1978
Plan 9 from Outer Space, Ed Wood Jr, 1959
Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon, 1985
Reefer Madness, Louis Gasnier, 1936
Repo Man, Alex Cox, 1984
Ringu, Hideo Nakata, 1998
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman, 1975
Rome Armed to the Teeth, Umberto Lenzi, 1976
The Room, Tommy Wiseau, 2003
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975
She Killed in Ecstasy, Jesús Franco, 1971
Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven, 1995
Soul Vengeance, Jamaa Fanaka, 1975
The Sound of Music, Robert Wise, 1965
Star Wars, George Lucas, 1977–2005
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Todd Haynes, 1988
Suspiria, Dario Argento, 1977
Tank Girl, Rachel Talalay, 1995
Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, 1974
This Is Spınal Tap, Rob Reiner, 1984
Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Bo Arne Vibenius, 1974
Thundercrack!, Curt McDowell, 1975
El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970
The Toxic Avenger, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, 1984
Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman, 1971
Two Thousand Maniacs!, Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1964
The Vanishing, George Sluizer, 1988
Videodrome, David Cronenberg, 1983
The Warriors, Walter Hill, 1979
Witchfinder General, Michael Reeves, 1968
Withnail & I, Bruce Robinson, 1987
The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming, 1939

(I may also have seen Piranha and The Warriors, but I'm not sure.)

My additions? Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin, 1971), Army of Darkness (Sam Raimi, 1992), The Story of O (Just Jaeckin, 1975), Lake Placid (Steve Miner, 1999)....

(Feel free to comment here, too.)

H/T to LabRat.

George Cross: I. J. Gillett

2011-12-04T10:10:00.005-05:00

IVOR JOHN GILLETT

Aircraftman 1st Class, Royal Air Force; Far East Flying Boat Wing

Born: 16 September 1928
Died: 26 March 1950, Seletar, Singapore

Citation: Aircraftman Gillett, a Fitter Armourer, was a member of the ground crew on board a Sunderland Flying Boat which blew up at its moorings at R.A.F. Flying Boat Base, Seletar, on 26th March, 1950. Rescue surface craft were quickly on the scene but the aircraft and a bomb-scow alongside sank rapidly and survivors from the explosion were hurled into the water. A life-belt was thrown to Aircraftman Gillett from a rescue launch. He was seen, however, to throw the life-belt to a seriously injured corporal who was in danger of drowning near him. In the confusion the rescuers had not been able to reach the corporal. Gillett was a great friend of his and knew he was not a strong swimmer. The life-belt kept the corporal afloat until he was rescued unconscious from the water several minutes later. In the meantime Aircraftman Gillett disappeared; his body was washed ashore two days later. It was discovered that his body had suffered superficial injuries and that death was due to the combined effects of blast and drowning. By his action in deliberately saving the life of his injured friend, whilst injured and in great danger himself, Aircraftman Gillett displayed magnificent courage. His extreme unselfishness in his last living moments, which resulted in the sacrifice of his life to save another, was seen in this act of great heroism which was in accordance with the highest traditions of the Royal Air Force.

[London Gazette issue 39033 dated 3 Oct 1950, published 3 Oct 1950.]

Victoria Cross: D. L. Laidlaw

2011-12-04T10:05:00.003-05:00

DANIEL LOGAN LAIDLAW

Piper, 7th Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers

Born: 26 July 1875, Swinton, Border
Died: 2 June 1950, Norham, Northumberland

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery prior to an assault on German trenches near Loos and Hill 70 on 25th September, 1915.
During the worst of the bombardment, when the attack was about to commence, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was somewhat shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played his company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate, and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes till he was wounded.

[London Gazette issue 29371 dated 18 Nov 1915, published 16 Nov 1915]

Medal of Honor: W. R. Prom

2011-12-04T10:00:00.002-05:00

WILLIAM R PROM

Lance Corporal, US Marine Corps; Company 1, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division (Reinforced)

Born: 17 November 1948, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: 9 February 1969, near An Hoa, Republic of Vietnam

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machinegun squad leader with Company 1, in action against the enemy [near An Hoa, Republic of Vietnam, on 9 February 1969]. While returning from a reconnaissance operation during Operation TAYLOR COMMON, 2 platoons of Company 1 came under an intense automatic weapons fire and grenade attack from a well concealed North Vietnamese Army force in fortified positions. The leading. element of the platoon was isolated and several marines were wounded. L/Cpl. Prom immediately assumed control of 1 of his machineguns and began to deliver return fire. Disregarding his safety he advanced to a position from which he could more effectively deliver covering fire while first aid was administered to the wounded men. Realizing that the enemy would have to be destroyed before the injured marines could be evacuated, L/Cpl. Prom again moved forward and delivered a heavy volume of fire with such accuracy that he was instrumental in routing the enemy, thus permitting his men to regroup and resume their march. Shortly thereafter, the platoon again came under heavy fire in which 1 man was critically wounded. Reacting instantly, L/Cpl. Prom moved forward to protect his injured comrade. Unable to continue his fire because of his severe wounds, he continued to advance to within a few yards to the enemy positions. There, standing in full view of the enemy, he accurately directed the fire of his support elements until he was mortally wounded. Inspired by his heroic actions, the marines launched an assault that destroyed the enemy. L/Cpl. Prom's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

John Carter

2011-12-01T22:26:00.003-05:00

Coming from Disney, of all sources, in time for the 100th anniversary of the publication of A Princess of Mars:

Book list - Nov 11

2011-12-01T21:26:00.002-05:00

Owls to Athens - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
Nemesis - historical mystery, by Lindsey Davis
Flint - western, by Louis L'Amour *
Why Evolution Is True - science, by Jerry A Coyne
Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe - European history, by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone
Fire Time - SF, by Poul Anderson *

Only six books last month, with two rereads (marked by asterisks). And there were no Carnegie Medal winners, so I'm still at 56 of 72.

Victoria Cross: E. W. Costello

2011-11-27T10:05:00.000-05:00

EDMOND WILLIAM COSTELLO

Lieutenant, Indian Staff Corps

Born: 7 August 1873, Sheikhbudin, Punjab, India
Died: 7 June 1949, Eastbourne, Sussex

Citation: On the night of the 26th July, 1897, at the Malakand, Lieutenant Costello went out from the hospital enclosure, and, with the assistance of two sepoys, brought in a wounded Lance-Halvidar who was lying 60 yards away in the open on the football ground. This ground was at the time overrun with swordsmen and swept by a heavy fire both from the enemy and our own men who were holding the sapper lines.

[London Gazette issue 26908 dated 9 Nov 1897, published 9 Nov 1897.]

Note: The Malakand Agency was in the North-West Frontier Province (now the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), in what is now northern Pakistan.

Medal of Honor: F. C. Hammond

2011-11-27T10:00:00.004-05:00

FRANCIS COLTON HAMMOND

Hospital Corpsman, US Navy; attached 1st Marine Division

Born: 9 November 1931, Alexandria, Virginia
Died: 27 March 1953, South Korea

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a HC serving with the 1st Marine Division in action against enemy aggressor forces [in Korea] on the night of 26-27 March 1953. After reaching an intermediate objective during a counterattack against a heavily entrenched and numerically superior hostile force occupying ground on a bitterly contested outpost far in advance of the main line of resistance, HC Hammond's platoon was subjected to a murderous barrage of hostile mortar and artillery fire, followed by a vicious assault by onrushing enemy troops. Resolutely advancing through the veritable curtain of fire to aid his stricken comrades, HC Hammond moved among the stalwart garrison of marines and, although critically wounded himself, valiantly continued to administer aid to the other wounded throughout an exhausting 4-hour period. When the unit was ordered to withdraw, he skillfully directed the evacuation of casualties and remained in the fire-swept area to assist the corpsmen of the relieving unit until he was struck by a round of enemy mortar fire and fell, mortally wounded. By his exceptional fortitude, inspiring initiative and self-sacrificing efforts, HC Hammond undoubtedly saved the lives of many marines. His great personal valor in the face of overwhelming odds enhances and sustains the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Note: USS Francis Hammond (FF 1067) was named in his honour.

Victoria Cross: J. Blair

2011-11-20T10:05:00.004-05:00

JAMES BLAIR

Captain, 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry

Born: 27 January 1828, Nimach, Gwalior State, India
Died: 18 January 1905, Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Citation: For having on two occasions distinguished himself by his gallant and daring conduct.
1. On the night of the 12th of August, 1857, at Neemuch, in volunteering to apprehend 7 or 8 armed mutineers who had shut themselves up for defence in a house, the door of which he burst open. He then rushed in among them, and forced them to escape through the roof; in this encounter, he was severely wounded. In spite of his wounds he pursued the fugitives, but was unable to come up with them, in consequence of the darkness of the night.
2. On the 23rd of October, 1857, at Jeerum, in fighting his way most gallantly through a body of rebels who had literally surrounded him. After breaking the end of his sword on one of their heads, and receiving a severe sword cut on his right arm, he rejoined his troop. In this wounded condition, and with no other weapon than the hilt of his broken sword, he put himself at the head of his men, charged the rebels most effectually, and dispersed them.

[London Gazette issue 22601 dated 25 Feb 1862, published 25 Feb 1862.]

Note: Neemuch, or Nimach, is a town in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in central India.

Medal of Honor: Platten, Tea, Gardiner, Hornaday, Lowthers and Robbins

2011-11-20T10:00:00.004-05:00

FREDERICK PLATTEN

Sergeant, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 1849, Torbeck, Ireland
Died: 2 March 1939, Arizona(?)

Citation: With 5 other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column. This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke their resistance.

RICHARD LONGSTREET TEA

Sergeant, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 1842, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 14 September 1911, Prescott, Arizona

Citation: With 5 other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column. This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke their resistance.

PETER W GARDINER

Private, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 1841, Carlisle, New York
Died: 1883, Arizona

Citation: With 5 other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column. This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke their resistance.

ELISHA SIMPSON HORNADAY

Private, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 24 March 1851, Hendricks County, Indiana
Died: 9 July 1923

Citation: With 5 other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column . This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke the ir resistance .

JAMES LOWTHERS

Private, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 1852, Boston, Massachusetts
Died: unknown

Citation: With S other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column. This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke their resistance.

MARCUS M ROBBINS

Private, Company H, 6th US Cavalry

Born: 25 July 1851, Elba, Wisconsin
Died: 21 June 1924, Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Citation: With 5 other men he waded in mud and water up the creek to a position directly behind an entrenched Cheyenne position, who were using natural bank pits to good advantage against the main column. This surprise attack from the enemy rear broke their resistance.

Note: This action took place at Sappa Creek, Kansas, on 23 April 1875. Private James F Ayers and Trumpeter Michael Dawson were also awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during this battle.

Victoria Cross: J. Kellaway

2011-11-13T10:05:00.002-05:00

JOSEPH KELLAWAY

Boatswain, Royal Navy; HMS Wrangler

Born: 1 September 1824, Kingston, Dorset
Died: 2 October 1880, Chatham, Kent

Citation: "Whilst Boatswain of the 'Wrangler,' in the Sea of Azoff, was taken prisoner after a stout resistance, whilst endeavouring to rescue Mr. Odevaine, Mate."
This gallant service was performed on shore near Marionpol. A detachment, consisting of Mr. Odevaine, Mate; Mr. Kellaway, Boatswain; and three Seamen, had been dispatched from the "Wrangler" to endeavour to burn some boats, fishing stations, and hay-stacks, on the opposite side of a small lake. They had nearly reached the spot, when they were fired upon by a party of fifty Russian soldiers, who suddenly rushed from their ambush, and endeavoured to cut off their retreat. One man fell into the enemy's hands, but Mr. Kellaway, and the two other seamen, had contrived to make good their escape, when Mr. Odevaine accidentally fell. Kellaway, apparently imagining him to be wounded, without a moment's hesitation returned to his rescue, risking his own life to succour his Commanding Officer. Unfortunately, while lifting up Mr. Odevaine, they were surrounded by the enemy, and, notwithstanding a gallant but hopeless resistance by Mr. Kellaway, they were both made prisoners. Commander Burgoyne, who has furnished these particulars, observes, "I was myself an observer of the zeal,gallantry, and self-devotion that characterized Mr. Kellaway's conduct."
(Despatches from Admiral Lord Lyons, of 8th September, 1855, No. 746; and of 22nd September, 1855, No. 796.)

[London Gazette issue 21971 dated 24 Feb 1857, published 24 Feb 1857.]

Medal of Honor: J. W. Mathis

2011-11-13T10:00:00.003-05:00

JACK W MATHIS

First Lieutenant, US Army Air Corps; 359th Bomber Squadron, 303d Bomber Group

Born: 25 September 1921, San Angelo, Texas
Died: 18 March 1943, over Germany

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy over Vegesack, Germany, on 18 March 1943. 1st Lt. Mathis, as leading bombardier of his squadron, flying through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, was just starting his bomb run, upon which the entire squadron depended for accurate bombing, when he was hit by the enemy antiaircraft fire. His right arm was shattered above the elbow, a large wound was torn in his side and abdomen, and he was knocked from his bomb sight to the rear of the bombardier's compartment. Realizing that the success of the mission depended upon him, 1st Lt. Mathis, by sheer determination and willpower, though mortally wounded, dragged himself back to his sights, released his bombs, then died at his post of duty. As the result of this action the airplanes of his bombardment squadron placed their bombs directly upon the assigned target for a perfect attack against the enemy. 1st Lt. Mathis' undaunted bravery has been a great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.

George Cross: G. P. Stronach

2011-11-06T10:10:00.003-05:00

GEORGE PRESTON STRONACH

Chief Officer, Merchant Navy; SS Ocean Voyager

Born: 14 April 1912
Died: 12 December 1999

Citation: When the ship was lying in [Tripoli] harbour [on 19 March 1943], a severe aircraft attack developed and she was hit and at once caught fire. The vessel had a large consignment of petrol and ammunition on board, which was exploding heavily all the time and in spite of strenuous efforts which were made to fight the fire she had to be abandoned. The Master was killed by the explosion and the responsibility for further operations devolved on the Chief Officer.
He had been rendered temporarily unconscious but recovered almost immediately and went forward to look for survivors. He found a number of the crew sheltering in the alley way and, braving the exploding ammunition, led them to a boat alongside which took them to safety. In order to provide for the transport of any other survivors who might be found, he then lowered another boat and brought it alongside the ship. Although the vessel was now burning furiously Mr. Stronach made his way to the officers' accommodation amidships. Finding a hose with a trickle of water coming through, he held this over his head and so kept himself sufficiently wet to protect him from the worst of the heat and flames. With great difficulty he climbed into the collapsed accommodation and found one of the deck officers, unconscious and badly burned. Mr. Stronach pulled him clear and dragged him along the deck to the lowered boat. Returning to the accommodation, he began to remove the debris from another officer who was trapped. By almost superhuman efforts he dragged the man through the porthole and along the deck. He then tied a rope around his waist and lowered him over the side to the boat. As the situation was becoming desperate Mr. Stronach ordered a man to take the boat to safety and once again he returned amidships where he discovered an officer who had been severely injured. Dragging him along the deck to the side of the ship, he tied a rope around him and lowered him over the side on to a raft which had returned to the ship in response to his calls. Again Mr. Stronach continued his search for survivors and, taking a final look round aft, he saw a greaser lying unconscious in the scuppers. He dragged this man to the side of the ship, but finding there was no raft or boat alongside, put a lifebelt around him and threw him overboard. When he was satisfied that there were no (further survivors the Chief Officer jumped overboard and swam to a raft which, under his direction, returned to pick up the injured greaser. In the full knowledge that she was likely to blow up at any moment Chief Officer Stronach stayed on this burning vessel searching for survivors for an hour and twenty minutes. His inspiring leadership induced a number of the crew to get away and so saved their lives and by his gallant efforts, undertaken with utter disregard of his personal safety, he saved the lives of three officers and a greaser, all of whom were badly hurt. His action equals any in the annals of the Merchant Navy for great and unselfish heroism and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

[London Gazette issue 36256 dated 23 Nov 1943, published 19 Nov 1943.]

Victoria Cross: A. H. Wakenshaw

2011-11-06T10:05:00.002-05:00

ADAM HERBERT WAKENSHAW

Private, The Durham Light Infantry

Born: 9 June 1914, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Date: 27 June 1942, near Mersa Matruh, Egypt

Citation: On the 27th June, 1942, South of Mersa Matruh, Private Wakenshaw was a member of the crew of a 2-pounder anti-tank gun that was sited on a forward slope in front of the infantry position.
Shortly after dawn the enemy attacked and an enemy tracked vehicle towing a light gun was brought to within short range of the position. The gun crew opened fire and succeeded in putting a round through the engine immobilising the enemy vehicle.
Another mobile gun then came into action. All members of the crew manning the 2-pounder including Private Wakenshaw were killed or seriously wounded and the 2-pounder was silenced. In this respite the enemy moved forward towards their damaged tractor in order to get the light gun into action against our infantry.
Realising the danger to his comrades, under intense mortar and artillery fire which swept the gun site, Private Wakenshaw crawled back to his gun. Although his left arm was blown off above the elbow, he loaded the gun with one arm and fired five more rounds. These succeeded in setting the tractor on fire and damaged the light gun. A near miss then killed the gun aimer and blew Private Wakenshaw away from the gun giving him further severe wounds. Undeterred he slowly dragged himself back to the gun, placed a round in the breach [sic], and was preparing to fire when a direct hit on the ammunition killed him and destroyed the gun.
In the evening after the action the body of Private Wakenshaw was found stretched out at the back of the breach [sic] block beside the ammunition box.
This act of conspicuous gallantry prevented the enemy from using their light gun on the infantry Company which was only 200 yards away. It was through the self sacrifice and courageous devotion to duty of this infantry anti-tank gunner that the Company was enabled to withdraw and to embus in safety.

[London Gazette issue 35698 dated 11 Sep 1942, published 8 Sep 1942.]

Medal of Honor: W. Parker

2011-11-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

WILLIAM PARKER

Captain of the Afterguard, US Navy; USS Cayuga

Born: Boston, Massachusetts
Died: unknown

Citation: At the wheel on board the U.S.S. Cayuga during the capture of Forts St. Philip and Jackson, and New Orleans, 24 and 25 April 1862. As his ship led the advance column toward the barrier and both forts opened fire simultaneously, striking the vessel from stem to stern, Parker conscientiously performed his duties throughout the action in which attempts by 3 rebel steamers to butt and board were thwarted, and the ships driven off. Eleven gunboats were successfully engaged and the enemy garrisons forced to surrender during this battle in which the Cayuga sustained 46 hits.

Book list - Oct 11

2011-11-01T10:05:00.002-04:00

Into the Parallel - YA SF, by Robin Brande
The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics - humour, by John Pollack
The Enchantment Emporium - modern fantasy, by Tanya Huff
Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer Among the Indians - fiction, by Mark Twain and Lee Nelson
Smugglers of Spirits: Prohibition and the Coast Guard Patrol - memoirs, by Harold Waters
Rum Row: The Real McCoy, the Bootleg Queen, and the Liquor Fleet That Fueled the Roaring Twenties - US history, by Robert Carse
Westward Bound in the Schooner Yankee - travel, by Captain and Mrs Irving Johnson
The Wolf: How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI - WW I, by Richard Guilliatt
Sailing to See: Picture Cruise in the Schooner Yankee - travel, by Captain and Mrs Irving Johnson
The Sacred Land - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub

Ten books last month, with no rereads. I'm not setting an official goal this year, though I do expect to read around 125 books.

And no Carnegie Medal winners, so I'm still at 56 of 72.

Victoria Cross: J. P. Carne

2011-10-30T10:05:00.002-04:00

JAMES POWER CARNE, DSO

Lieutenant-Colonel, The Gloucestershire Regiment

Born: 11 April 1906, Falmouth, Cornwall
Died: 19 April 1986, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Citation: The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the VICTORIA CROSS to: —
Lieutenant-Colonel James Power CARNE, D.S.O. (33647), The Gloucestershire Regiment, in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Korea.
On the night 22nd-23rd April, 1951, Lieutenant-Colonel CARNE'S battalion, 1 Glosters, was heavily attacked and the enemy on the Imjin River were repulsed, having suffered heavy casualties. On 23rd, 24th and 25th April, 1951, the Battalion was heavily and incessantly engaged by vastly superior numbers of enemy who repeatedly launched mass attacks, but were stopped at close quarters.
During the 24th and 25th April, 1951, the Battalion was completely cut off from the rest of the Brigade, but remained a fighting entity, in face of almost continual onslaughts from an enemy who were determined at all costs and regardless of casualties, to over-run it. Throughout, Lieutenant-Colonel CARNE'S manner remained coolness itself, and on the wireless, the only communication he still had with Brigade, he repeatedly assured the Brigade Commander that all was well with his Battalion, that they could hold on and that everyone was in good heart.
Throughout the entire engagement Lieutenant-Colonel CARNE, showing a complete disregard for his own safety, moved among the whole Battalion under very heavy mortar and machine gun fire, inspiring the utmost confidence and the will to resist, amongst his troops.
On two separate occasions, armed with a rifle and grenades he personally led assault parties which drove back the enemy and saved important situations.
Lieutenant-Colonel CARNE'S example of courage, coolness and leadership was felt not only in his own Battalion, but throughout the whole Brigade.
He fully realised that his flanks had been turned, but he also knew that the abandonment of his position would clear the way for the enemy to make a major breakthrough and this would have endangered the Corps.
When at last it was apparent that his Battalion would not be relieved and on orders from higher authority, he organised his Battalion into small, officer-led parties, who then broke out, whilst he himself in charge of a small party fought his way out but was captured within 24 hours.
Lieutenant-Colonel CARNE showed powers of leadership which can seldom have been surpassed in the history of our Army.
He inspired his officers and men to fight beyond the normal limits of human endurance, in spite of overwhelming odds and ever increasing casualties, shortage of ammunition and of water.

[London Gazette issue 39994 dated 27 Oct 1953, published 23 Oct 1953.]

Medal of Honor: J. G. B. Adams

2011-10-30T10:00:00.003-04:00

JOHN GREGORY BISHOP ADAMS

Second Lieutenant, Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry

Born: 6 October 1841, Groveland, Massachusetts
Died: 19 October 1900, Massachusetts(?)

Citation: Seized the 2 colors from the hands of a corporal and a lieutenant as they fell mortally wounded [at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 13 December 1862], and with a color in each hand advanced across the field to a point where the regiment was reformed on those colors.

Victoria Cross: G. Onions

2011-10-23T10:05:00.002-04:00

GEORGE ONIONS

Major, 1st Battalion The Devonshire Regiment

Born: 2 March 1883, Bilston, Staffordshire
Died: 2 April 1944, Birmingham

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery and initiative south of Achiet-le-Petit on 22nd August, 1918, when, having been sent out with one man to get touch with the battalion on the right flank, he observed the enemy advancing in large numbers to counter-attack the positions gained on the previous day.
Realising his opportunity, he boldly placed himself with his comrade on the flank of the advancing enemy, and opened rapid fire when the target was most favourable. When the enemy were about 100 yards from him, the line wavered and some hands were seen to be thrown up. L./Cpl. Onions then rushed forward, and, with the assistance of his comrade, took about 200 of the enemy prisoners and marched them back to his company commander.
By his magnificent courage and presence of mind he averted what might have been a very dangerous situation.

[London Gazette issue dated 14 Dec 1918, published 14 Dec 1918.]

Medal of Honor: B. Lopez

2011-10-23T10:00:00.005-04:00

BALDOMERO LOPEZ

First Lieutenant, US Marine Corps; Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Reinforced)

Born: 23 August 1925, Tampa, Florida
Died: 15 September 1950, Inchon, South Korea

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a marine platoon commander of Company A, in action against enemy aggressor forces. With his platoon 1st Lt. Lopez was engaged in the reduction of immediate enemy beach defenses after landing with the assault waves [at Inchon, South Korea, on 15 September 1950]. Exposing himself to hostile fire, he moved forward alongside a bunker and prepared to throw a hand grenade into the next pillbox whose fire was pinning down that sector of the beach. Taken under fire by an enemy automatic weapon and hit in the right shoulder and chest as he lifted his arm to throw, he fell backward and dropped the deadly missile. After a moment, he turned and dragged his body forward in an effort to retrieve the grenade and throw it. In critical condition from pain and loss of blood, and unable to grasp the hand grenade firmly enough to hurl it, he chose to sacrifice himself rather than endanger the lives of his men and, with a sweeping motion of his wounded right arm, cradled the grenade under him and absorbed the full impact of the explosion. His exceptional courage, fortitude, and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon 1st Lt. Lopez and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Note: USNS 1st Lt Baldomero Lopez (T-AK 3010) was named in his honour.

HMS Ambush

2011-10-16T22:36:00.002-04:00

ZUI this article from the Daily Mail, which has some really nice pictures, both exterior and interior, of HMS Ambush, the Royal Navy's second Astute-class submarine.

Victoria Cross: H. J. Knight

2011-10-16T10:05:00.002-04:00

HENRY JAMES KNIGHT

Corporal, 1st Battalion Liverpool Regiment; No. 1 Company, 4th Division Mounted Infantry

Born: 5 November 1878, Yeovil, Somerset
Died: 24 November 1955, Winterborne Anderson, Dorsetshire

Citation: On the 21st August, [1900,] during the operations near Van Wyk's Vlei, Corporal Knight was posted in some rocks with four men covering the right rear of a detachment of the same Company who, under Captain Ewart, were holding the right of the line.
The enemy, about 50 strong, attacked Captain Ewart's right and almost surrounded, at short range, Corporal Knight's small party. That Non-Commissioned Officer held his ground, directing his party to retire one by one to better cover, where he maintained bis position for nearly an hour, covering the withdrawal of Captain Ewart's force, and losing two of his four men.
He then retired, bringing with him two wounded men. One of these he left in a place of safety, the other he carried himself for nearly two miles.
The party were hotly engaged during the whole time.

[London Gazette issue 27263 dated 4 Jan 1901, published 4 Jan 1901.]

Medal of Honor: W. W. Bradley, Jr.

2011-10-16T10:00:00.007-04:00

WILLIS WINTER BRADLEY JR

Lieutenant (later Commander), US Navy; USS Pittsburgh (CA 4)

Born: 28 June 1884, Ransomville, New York
Died: 27 August 1954, Santa Barbara, California

Citation: For extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving on the U.S.S. Pittsburgh, at the time of an accidental explosion of ammunition on that vessel. On 23 July 1917, some saluting cartridge cases were being reloaded in the after casemate: through an accident an explosion occurred. Comdr. Bradley (then Lieutenant), who was about to enter the casemate, was blown back by the explosion and rendered momentarily unconscious, but while still dazed, crawled into the casemate to extinguish burning materials in dangerous proximity to a considerable amount of powder, thus preventing further explosions.

Note: USS Bradley (FF 1041) was named in his honour.

Victoria Cross: C. J. Melliss

2011-10-09T10:05:00.001-04:00

CHARLES JOHN MELLISS

Captain (local Major), Indian Staff Corps; attached West African Frontier Force

Born: 12 September 1862, Mhow, India
Died: 6 June 1936, Camberley, Surrey

Citation: On the 30th September, 1900, at Obassa, Major Melliss, seeing that the enemy were very numerous, and intended to make a firm stand, hastily collected all stray men and any he could get together, and charged at their head, into the dense bush where the enemy were thick. His action carried all along with him ; but the enemy were determined to have a hand-to-hand fight. One fired at Major Melliss, who put his sword through the man, and they rolled over together. Another Ashanti shot him through the foot, the wound paralysing the limb. His wild rush had, however, caused a regular panic among the enemy, who were at the same time charged by the Sikhs, and killed in numbers.
Major Melliss also behaved with great gallantry on three previous occasions.

[London Gazette issue 27266 dated 15 Jan 1901, published 15 Jan 1901.]

Note: Obassa is now in Ghana.

Medal of Honor: R. R. Leisy

2011-10-09T10:00:00.004-04:00

LEISY, ROBERT RONALD

Second Lieutenant, US Army; Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division

Born: 1 March 1945, Stockton, California
Died: 2 December 1969, Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 2d Lt. Leisy, Infantry, Company B, distinguished himself while serving as platoon leader during a reconnaissance mission [in Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 2 December 1969]. One of his patrols became heavily engaged by fire from a numerically superior enemy force located in a well-entrenched bunker complex. As 2d Lt. Leisy deployed the remainder of his platoon to rescue the beleaguered patrol, the platoon also came under intense enemy fire from the front and both flanks. In complete disregard for his safety, 2d Lt. Leisy moved from position to position deploying his men to effectively engage the enemy. Accompanied by his radio operator he moved to the front and spotted an enemy sniper in a tree in the act of firing a rocket-propelled grenade at them. Realizing there was neither time to escape the grenade nor shout a warning, 2d Lt. Leisy unhesitatingly, and with full knowledge of the consequences, shielded the radio operator with his body and absorbed the full impact of the explosion. This valorous act saved the life of the radio operator and protected other men of his platoon who were nearby from serious injury. Despite his mortal wounds, 2d Lt. Leisy calmly and confidently continued to direct the platoon's fire. When medical aid arrived, 2d Lt. Leisy valiantly refused attention until the other seriously wounded were treated. His display of extraordinary courage and exemplary devotion to duty provided the inspiration and leadership that enabled his platoon to successfully withdraw without further casualties. 2d Lt. Leisy's gallantry at the cost of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

George Cross: D. A. Copperwheat

2011-10-02T10:10:00.002-04:00

DENNIS ARTHUR COPPERWHEAT

Lieutenant, Royal Navy; HMS Penelope

Born: 23 May 1914
Died: 8 September 1992

Citation: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the Award of the GEORGE CROSS to -
Lieutenant Dennis Arthur Copperwheat, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Penelope.
For great bravery at Malta. During heavy air attacks on Valletta [on 22 March 1942], Lieutenant Copperwheat was sent in charge of a party of men from H.M.S. Penelope to scuttle a Merchantman, laden with ammunition, which was burning in the harbour. Owing to the fires, it was impossible to place scuttling charges in the holds, and they had to be slung over the side of the ship. As they worked, ammunition was exploding all round them from burning stowages on deck. The ship lay 40 yards from the shore, to which the electric cables for firing the scuttling charges could only just reach. Lieutenant Copperwheat sent his working party to shelter, and stayed himself to fire the charges from a position where he was exposed to the full blast of the explosion, which lifted him bodily. But for his brave action the ship must have blown up, and grave damage would have been done to the harbour.
Moreover, much of the ammunition was saved and some very heavy bombs, part of the cargo, were soon afterwards dropped in Italy.

[London Gazette issue 35788 dated 17 Nov 1942, published 13 Nov 1942.]

Note: The ship in question was a Norwegian merchantman, SS Talabot.

Victoria Cross: J. Sinnott

2011-10-02T10:05:00.002-04:00

JOHN SINNOTT

Lance-Corporal, 84th Regiment

Born: 1829, Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland
Died: 20 July 1896, Clapham, Southwest London

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry at Lucknow, on the 6th of October, 1857, in going out with Serjeants Glinn and Mullins and Private Mullins, to rescue Lieutenant Gibaut, who, in carrying out water to extinguish a fire in the breastwork, had been mortally wounded, and lay outside. They brought in the body under a heavy fire. Lance-Corporal Sinnott was twice wounded. His comrades unanimously elected him for the Victoria Cross, as the most worthy. He had previously repeatedly accompanied Lieutenant Gibaut when he carried out water to extinguish the fire.
Despatch from Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, Bart., G.C.B., dated 2nd December 1857.

[London Gazette issue 22212 dated 24 Dec 1858, published 24 Dec 1858.]

Medal of Honor: J. H. Howard

2011-10-02T10:00:00.003-04:00

JAMES HOWELL HOWARD

Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Air Corps

Born: 8 April 1913, Canton, China
Died: 18 March 1995, Bay Pines, Florida

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Oschersleben, Germany, on 11 January 1944. On that day Col. Howard was the leader of a group of P51 aircraft providing support for a heavy bomber formation on a long-range mission deep in enemy territory. As Col. Howard's group met the bombers in the target area the bomber force was attacked by numerous enemy fighters. Col. Howard, with his group, at once engaged the enemy and himself destroyed a German ME. 110. As a result of this attack Col. Howard lost contact with his group, and at once returned to the level of the bomber formation. He then saw that the bombers were being heavily attacked by enemy airplanes and that no other friendly fighters were at hand. While Col. Howard could have waited to attempt to assemble his group before engaging the enemy, he chose instead to attack single-handed a formation of more than 30 German airplanes. With utter disregard for his own safety he immediately pressed home determined attacks for some 30 minutes, during which time he destroyed 3 enemy airplanes and probably destroyed and damaged others. Toward the end of this engagement 3 of his guns went out of action and his fuel supply was becoming dangerously low. Despite these handicaps and the almost insuperable odds against him, Col. Howard continued his aggressive action in an attempt to protect the bombers from the numerous fighters. His skill, courage, and intrepidity on this occasion set an example of heroism which will be an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.

Note: Howard was originally a Navy pilot, flying Grumman F3F-1 fighters aboard USS Enterprise (CV 6). He left the Navy in June of 1941 to join the American Volunteer Group (AVG) - the Flying Tigers. Flying a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, he completed 56 missions and was credited with shooting down six Japanese aircraft. After the Flying Tigers were officially absorbed by the Army Air Corps in 1942, he returned to the United States and joined the Army Air Corps.
His memoir, Roar of the Tiger, was published in 1991.

Carnegie Medal books

2011-10-01T19:57:00.008-04:00

Having finished reading the Newbery Medal winners in August of '09, I'm continuing with the books which have been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal - the British equivalent of the Newbery Medal, now awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

The medal was first awarded in 1937, for the best children's book of 1936, but there have been three years when no book was considered suitable, so there are only 72 winners thus far. In addition to the gold medal, the winner receives £500 worth of books to donate to a library of his/her/their choice.

Here's the list. (Dates marked in red indicate the six books I had already read before last year; dates in purple indicate the ones I've read since.)

1936: Pigeon Post, by Arthur Ransome
1937: The Family from One End Street, by Eve Garnett
1938: The Circus is Coming (aka Circus Shoes), by Noel Streatfield
1939: Radium Woman, by Eleanor Doorly
1940: Visitors from London, by Kitty Barne
1941: We Couldn't Leave Dinah, by Mary Treadgold
1942: The Little Grey Men, by 'BB' (D J Watkins-Pitchford)
1943: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1944: The Wind on the Moon, by Eric Linklater
1945: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1946: The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge
1947: Collected Stories for Children, Walter De La Mare
1948: Sea Change, by Richard Armstrong
1949: The Story of Your Home, by Agnes Allen
1950: The Lark on the Wing, by Elfrida Vipont
1951: The Wool-pack, by Cynthia Harnett
1952: The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
1953: A Valley Grows Up, by Edward Osmond
1954: Knight Crusader, by Ronald Welch (Felton Ronald Oliver)
1955: The Little Bookroom, by Eleanor Farjeon
1956: The Last Battle, by C S Lewis
1957: A Grass Rope, by William Mayne
1958: Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philipa Pearce
1959: The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff
1960: The Making of Man, by Dr I W Cornwall
1961: A Stranger at Green Knowe, by Lucy M Boston
1962: The Twelve and the Genii, by Pauline Clarke
1963: Time of Trial, by Hester Burton
1964: Nordy Bank, by Sheena Porter
1965: The Grange at High Force, by Philip Turner
1966: Prize withheld as no book was considered suitable
1967: The Owl Service, by Alan Garner
1968: The Moon in the Cloud, by Rosemary Harris
1969: The Edge of the Cloud, by Kathleen Peyton
1970: The God Beneath the Sea, by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen
1971: Josh, by Ivan Southall
1972: Watership Down, by Richard Adams
1973: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, by Penelope Lively
1974: The Stronghold, by Mollie Hunter
1975: The Machine Gunners, by Robert Westall
1976: Thunder and Lightnings, by Jan Mark
1977: The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler, by Gene Kemp
1978: The Exeter Blitz, by David Rees
1979: Tulku, by Peter Dickinson
1980: City of Gold and Other Stories from the Old Testament, by Peter Dickinson
1981: The Scarecrows, by Robert Westall
1982: The Haunting, by Margaret Mahy
1983: Handles, by Jan Mark
1984: The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy
1985: Storm, by Kevin Crossley-Holland
1986: Granny was a Buffer Girl, by Berlie Doherty
1987: The Ghost Drum, by Susan Price
1988: A Pack of Lies, by Geraldine McCaughrean
1989: Goggle-eyes, by Anne Fine
1990: Wolf, by Gillian Cross
1991: Dear Nobody, by Berlie Doherty
1992: Flour Babies, by Anne Fine
1993: Stone Cold, by Robert Swindells
1994: Whispers in the Graveyard, by Theresa Breslin
1995: Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman*
1996: Junk, by Melvin Burgess
1997: River Boy, by Tim Bowler
1998: Skellig, by David Almond
1999: Postcards From No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers
2000: The Other Side of Truth, by Beverley Naidoo
2001: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
2002: Ruby Holler, by Sharon Creech
2003: A Gathering Light, by Jennifer Donnelly**
2004: Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce
2005: Tamar, by Mal Peet
2006: ***
2007: Just in Case, by Meg Rosoff
2008: Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve
2009: Bog Child, by Siobhan Dowd
2010: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
2011: Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness

So the count now is 56 down, 16 to go. The ILLs are still coming in - My thanks to the J Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State College, Willimantic CT; the Connecticut State Library Library Service Centre, Willimantic CT; the Fletcher Memorial Library, Hampton CT; and one other library, which I forgot to record.

* His Dark Materials, Book 1. Published in the US as The Golden Compass.

** Published in the US as A Northern Light.

*** Up through the award for 2005, the winners were referred to by the year of publication. Beginning in 2007, the winners were referred to by the year the award was given, as with the American Newbery Medal. Thus there is no "2006 winner" of the Carnegie Medal. Tamar, the 2005 winner, was published in '05, and received the medal in '06. Just in Case, the 2007 winner, was published in '06 and received the award in '07.

Book list - Sep 11

2011-10-01T07:04:00.000-04:00

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson - humour, by Mark Twain
The Snowstorm (aka The Snow Ghosts) - children's time travel, by Beryl Netherclift
Over the Wine-Dark Sea - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
The Guns of the South - AH, by Harry Turtledove *
The Sky Took Him - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
Crying Blood - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - YA, by Ransom Riggs
The Gryphon's Skull - historical fiction, by H N Turteltaub
Grierson's Raid: A Daring Cavalry Strike Through the Heart of the Confederacy - USCW, by Tom Lalicki
The Trouble with Humans - SF (short stories), by Christopher Anvil

Ten books last month, with only one reread (marked by an asterisk). I'm not setting an official goal this year, though I do expect to read around 150 books.

No Carnegie Medal winners this time round, so I'm still at 56 of 72.

Words of wisdom

2011-10-01T06:30:00.003-04:00

October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.

-- Mark Twain
The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Victoria Cross: G. L. Goodlake

2011-09-25T10:05:00.001-04:00

GERALD LITTLEHALES GOODLAKE

Brevet Major, Coldstream Guards

Born: 14 May 1832, Wadley, Berkshire
Died: 5 April 1890, Denham, Middlesex

Citation: For distinguished gallantry whilst in command of the sharpshooters furnished by the Coldstream Guards, on the 28th October, 1854, on the occasion of "the powerful sortie on the 2nd Division," when he held the Windmill Ravine, below the Picquet House, against a much larger force of the enemy. The party of sharpshooters then under his command killed thirty-eight (one an officer) and took three prisoners of the enemy, (of the latter, one an Officer) Major Goodlake being the sole Officer in command.
Also, for distinguished gallantry on the occasion of the surprise of a picquet of the enemy, in November, at the bottom of the Windmill Ravine, by the sharpshooters, under his sole leading and command, when the knapsacks and rifles of the enemy's party fell into his hands.

[London Gazette issue 21971 dated 24 Feb 1857, published 24 Feb 1857.]

Medal of Honor: Henrechon, Volz, Catherwood and Harrison

2011-09-25T10:00:00.003-04:00

GEORGE FRANCIS HENRECHON

Machinist's Mate Second Class, US Navy; USS Pampanga (PG 39)

Born: 22 November 1885, Hartford, Connecticut
Died: 16 August 1929, Hartford, Connecticut

Citation: While attached to the U.S.S. Pampang, Henrechon was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, Philippine Islands, on 24 September 1911. Ordered to take station within 100 yards of a group of nipa huts close to the trail, Henrechon advanced and stood guard as the leader and his scout party first searched the surrounding deep grasses, then moved into the open area before the huts. Instantly enemy Moros opened point-blank fire on the exposed men and approximately 20 Moros rushed the small group from inside the huts and from other concealed positions. Henrechon, responding to the calls for help, was one of the first on the scene. When his rifle jammed after the first shot, he closed in with rifle, using it as a club to break the stock over the head of the nearest Moro and then, drawing his pistol, started in pursuit of the fleeing outlaws. Henrechon's aggressive charging of the enemy under heavy fire and in the face of great odds contributed materially to the success of the engagement.

JACOB VOLZ

Carpenter's Mate Third Class, US Navy; USS Pampanga (PG 39)

Born: 23 June 1889, Sutton, Nebraska
Died: 22 July 1965, Portland, Oregon

Citation: While attached to the U.S.S. Pampang, Volz was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, on the island of Basilan, Philippine Islands, on 24 September 1911. Investigating a group of nipa huts close to the trail, the advance scout party was suddenly taken under point-blank fire and rushed by approximately 20 enemy Moros attacking from inside the huts and other concealed positions. Volz responded instantly to calls for help and, finding all members of the scout party writhing on the ground but still fighting, he blazed his rifle into the outlaws with telling effect, destroying several of the Moros and assisting in the rout of the remainder. By his aggressive charging of the enemy under heavy fire and in the face of great odds, Volz contributed materially to the success of the engagement.

JOHN HUGH CATHERWOOD

Ordinary Seaman, US Navy; USS Pampanga (PG 39)

Born: 7 August 1888, Springfield, Illinois
Died: 18 December 1930, Springfield, Illinois

Citation: While attached to the U.S.S. Pampang, Catherwood was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, on the island of Basilan, Philippine Islands, on the morning of 24 September 1911. Advancing with the scout party to reconnoiter a group of nipa huts close to the trail, Catherwood unhesitatingly entered the open area before the huts, where his party was suddenly taken under point-blank fire and charged by approximately 20 enemy Moros coming out from inside the native huts and from other concealed positions. Struck down almost instantly by the outlaws' deadly fire, Catherwood, although unable to rise, rallied to the defense of his leader and fought desperately to beat off the hostile attack. By his valiant effort under fire and in the face of great odds, Catherwood contributed materially toward the destruction and rout of the enemy.

BOLDEN REUSH HARRISON

Seaman, US Navy; USS Pampanga (PG 39)

Born: 26 April 1886, Savannah, Tennessee
Died: 26 January 1952, Savannah, Tennessee

Citation: While attached to the U.S.S. Pampang, Harrison was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, on the island of Basilan, Philippine Islands, on 24 September 1911. Harrison instantly responded to the calls for help when the advance scout party investigating a group of nipa huts close to the trail, was suddenly taken under point-blank fire and rushed by approximately 20 enemy Moros attacking from inside the huts and from other concealed positions. Armed with a double-barreled shotgun, he concentrated his blasting fire on the outlaws, destroying 3 of the Moros and assisting in the rout of the remainder. By his aggressive charging of the enemy under heavy fire and in the face of great odds, Harrison contributed materially to the success of the engagement.

Note: Hospital Apprentice Fred H McGuire also received the Medal of Honor for this action.

Victoria Cross: F. T. Peters

2011-09-18T10:05:00.005-04:00

FREDERICK THORNTON PETERS, DSO DSC

Acting Captain, Royal Navy; commanding HMS Walney

Born: 17 September 1889, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Died: 13 November 1942, off Plymouth, Devon

Citation: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the VICTORIA CROSS to:
the late Acting Captain Frederick Thornton Peters, D.S.O., D.S.C., Royal Navy,
for valour in taking H.M.S. Walney, in an enterprise of desperate hazard, into the harbour of Oran on the 8th November, 1942. Captain Peters led his force through the boom towards the jetty in the face of point-blank fire from shore batteries, a Destroyer and a Cruiser. Blinded in one eye, he alone of the seventeen Officers and Men on the bridge survived. The Walney reached the jetty disabled and ablaze, and went down with her colours flying.

[London Gazette issue 36019 dated 18 May 1943, published 14 May 1943.]

Note: The attack on the Vichy-controlled port of Oran, in Algeria, was carried out as Operation RESERVIST, part of the North African invasion (Operation TORCH). The goal of RESERVIST was to capture facilities and ships at Oran before they could be destroyed, but the plan failed when the two sloops carrying the invasion force, HM Ships Walney and Hartland, were sunk.

Medal of Honor: H. H. Miyamura

2011-09-18T10:00:00.003-04:00

HIROSHI H MIYAMURA

Corporal, US Army; Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division

Born: Gallup, New Mexico
Died: 24 April 1951, near Taejon-ni, Korea

Citation: Cpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy [near Taejon-ni, Korea]. On the night of 24 April [1951], Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machine gun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machine gun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura's indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service.

Medal of Honor awarded for Afghanistan

2011-09-15T22:15:00.004-04:00

ZUI this article from the Los Angeles Times:

A small team of American and Afghan troops was pinned down in a remote village under withering fire from three sides. A young lieutenant was begging for artillery or air support. Without it, he yelled, "we are going to die out here."

Can't be done, came the reply. It might kill civilians.

Less than a mile away, Marine Cpl. Dakota L. Meyer heard the radio exchange in agony. His buddies were dying, yet Meyer was under orders to stay where he was. Four times he requested permission to go to their aid, and four times he was refused.

After two hours, Meyer decided to defy his superiors. The powerfully built 21-year-old with a soft Kentucky drawl climbed into the turret of a gun truck mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun and, with another Marine driving, raced toward the battle.

On Thursday, Meyer was at the White House to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor, for saving the lives of 36 combatants — 13 Americans and 23 Afghans — and personally killing at least eight Taliban fighters that day, Sept. 8, 2009. He is the first living Marine to receive the award since the Vietnam War.

*******

Trained as a sniper, Meyer volunteered to go to Afghanistan in 2009 because he wanted to see action. His unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment based in Hawaii, was deploying to Iraq, but Meyer had already done a tour there two years earlier and found it too quiet for his tastes. In Afghanistan, he would be part of a sniper team assigned to a unit training Afghan forces in Kunar province, a remote and rugged area near the Pakistan border.

"The main reason I went is because I wanted to fight," he later told the Marine Corps Times.

President Obama's remarks during the presentation can be found here.

************* *** *************

DAKOTA L MEYER

Corporal, US Marine Corps; Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7

Born: 26 June 1988, Greensburg, Kentucky
Died: TBD

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders. Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above. Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner’s position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Corporal Meyer’s daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy’s attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on. His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Victoria Cross: C. L. Smith

2011-09-11T10:05:00.006-04:00

CLEMENT LESLIE SMITH

Lieutenant, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry; attached Somali Mounted Infantry

Born: 17 January 1878, Cowes, Isle of Wight
Died: 14 December 1927, Alassio, Italy

Citation: At the commencement of the fight at Jidballi, on 10th January, 1904, the enemy made a very sudden and determined rush on the 5th Somali Mounted Infantry, from under cover of bushes close at hand. They were supported by rifle fire, advanced very rapidly and got right amongst our men.
Lieutenant Smith, Somali Mounted Infantry, and Lieutenant J. K. Welland, M.D., Royal Army Medical Corps, went out to the aid of Hospital Assistant Eahamat Ali, who was wounded, and endeavoured to bring him out of action on a horse, but the rapidity of the enemy's advance rendered this impossible, and the Hospital Assistant was killed. Lieutenant Smith then did all that any man could do to bring out Doctor Welland, helping him to mount a horse, and, when that was shot, a mule. This also was hit, and Doctor Welland was speared by the enemy. Lieutenant Smith stood by Doctor Welland to the end, and when that Officer was killed, was within a few paces of him, endeavouring to keep off the enemy with his revolver. At that time the dervishes appeared to be all round him, and it was marvellous that he escaped with his life.

[London Gazette issue 27683 dated 7 Jun 1904, published 7 Jun 1904.]

Medal of Honor: E. L. Kinser

2011-09-11T10:00:00.002-04:00

ELBERT LUTHER KINSER

Sergeant, US Marine Corps Reserve; Company I, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division

Born: 21 October 1922, Greeneville, Tennessee
Died: 4 May 1945, Okinawa

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while acting as leader of a Rifle Platoon, serving with Company I, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 4 May 1945. Taken under sudden, close attack by hostile troops entrenched on the reverse slope while moving up a strategic ridge along which his platoon was holding newly won positions, Sgt. Kinser engaged the enemy in a fierce hand grenade battle. Quick to act when a Japanese grenade landed in the immediate vicinity, Sgt. Kinser unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile, absorbing the full charge of the shattering explosion in his own body and thereby protecting his men from serious injury and possible death. Stouthearted and indomitable, he had yielded his own chance of survival that his comrades might live to carry on the relentless battle against a fanatic enemy. His courage, cool decision and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

George Cross: M. Vaughan

2011-09-04T10:10:00.010-04:00

MARGARET VAUGHAN

Student

Born: 25 November 1934, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales
Died: TBD

Citation: The KING has been pleased to award the Albert Medal to Margaret Vaughan and the late John Howard Davies for their gallantry in the following circumstances: —
On May 28th, 1949, a party of Scouts, aged between 11 and 15 years, visiting Sully Island were cut off by the rising tide from a causeway which led to the mainland. Most of the boys got safely across, but two of them were forced off the causeway by the strong tide. The leader of the party returned to help the elder boy but in the struggle he too became exhausted. Margaret Vaughan (aged 14 years) saw from the beach the difficulties they were in. She undressed and swam towards them over a distance of some 30 yards in cold, rough water and against strong currents due to the rising tide. On reaching them she towed the boy to the shore while he supported himself by grasping the straps of her costume and his leader's coat. At about ten feet from the shore a life belt was thrown in which the boy was placed by the other two and the three reached the shore safely. Margaret Vaughan's action probably saved the life of the Scout leader as well as that of the elder boy.
Meanwhile, John Howard Davies (aged 13 years) had safely reached the mainland when he saw that his friend, who was unable to swim, was being forced away from the causeway into deep water. He stripped to the waist and went back along the causeway to help him. By swimming out he was able to grasp his friend, and hold him up in the water. Both boys shouted for help and it was obvious that they would not get ashore unaided. By this time a rescue boat had put out from the shore but Davies became exhausted by his efforts and before the boat could reach them he was forced to release his hold on his friend and they drifted apart. The boat rescued the friend but no further sign of Davies was seen. His body was subsequently recovered. There is no doubt that in returning to the aid of his friend after he himself had reached safety Davies gave his life in this rescue attempt.

[London Gazette issue 38751 dated 1 Nov 1949, published 1 Nov 1949.]

Notes: The Albert Medal, first instituted by Royal Warrant on 7 March 1866, was discontinued in 1971, and all living recipients thereof were invited to exchange their medals for the George Cross.
Sully Island is a small tidal island in Wales, seven miles south of the city of Cardiff.

Victoria Cross: Gobind Singh

2011-09-04T10:05:00.003-04:00

GOBIND SINGH

Lance-Dafadar, Indian Cavalry

Born: 7 December 1887, Damoi Village, Jodhpur, India
Died: 9 December 1942, Nagaur, Rajputana, India

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in thrice volunteering to carry messages between the regiment and Brigade Headquarters, a distance of 1 1/2 miles over open ground which was under the observation and heavy fire of the enemy. He succeeded each time in delivering his message, although on each occasion his horse was shot and he was compelled to finish his journey on foot.

[London Gazette issue 30471 dated 11 Jan 1918, published 8 Jan 1918.]

Note: Lance Daffadar is an Indian army rank equivalent to a corporal in the cavalry. The equivalent rank in other Indian army units is Naik.

Medal of Honor: Brady, Cooney and Johnsen

2011-09-04T10:00:00.005-04:00

GEORGE F BRADY

Chief Gunner's Mate, US Navy; USS Winslow (TB 5)

Born: 7 September 1867, Ireland
Died: unknown

Citation: On board the torpedo boat Winslow during the actions at Cardenas, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Conspicuously gallant during this period, Brady, by his energy in assisting to sustain fire, his efforts to repair the steering gear and his promptness in maintaining watertight integrity, was largely instrumental in saving the vessel.

THOMAS CALVIN COONEY

Chief Machinist, US Navy; USS Winslow (TB 5)

Born: 18 July 1853, Westport, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died: 8 January 1907

Citation: On board the U.S. Torpedo Boat Winslow during the action at Cardenas, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Following the piercing of the boiler by an enemy shell, Cooney, by his gallantry and promptness in extinguishing the resulting flames, saved the boiler tubes from burning out.

HANS JOHNSEN

Chief Machinist, US Navy; USS Winslow (TB 5)

Born: 3 January 1865, Sandnes, Norway
Died: 17 June 1920, New Jersey(?)

Citation: On board the torpedo boat Winslow during the action at Cardenas, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Showing great presence of mind, Johnsen turned off the steam from the engine which had been wrecked by a shell bursting in the cylinder.

Book list - Aug 11

2011-09-01T18:35:00.022-04:00

Ghost Story - modern fantasy, by Jim Butcher
The Old Buzzard Had It Coming - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
Wolf - YA, by Gillian Cross (Carnegie Medal, 1990)
Aliens on Vacation - children's SF, by Clete Barrett Smith
Hornswoggled - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
Alas, Babylon - WWIII fiction, by Pat Frank *
A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage - mystery, by Mark Twain
The Latte Rebellion - YA, by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
The Drop Edge of Yonder - historical mystery, by Donis Casey
Gunsmoke Over the Atlantic: First Naval Actions of the Civil War - USCW, by Coombe
The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been - AH, by Roger L Ransom

Eleven books last month, one of them a reread (marked by an asterisk). I'm not setting an official goal this year, though I do expect to read around 200 books.

The one Carnegie Medal winner brings me up to 56 of 72. I regret to say that I didn't make note of which library to thank for the ILL.

Victoria Cross: C. Mansel-Jones

2011-08-28T10:05:00.004-04:00

CONWYN MANSEL-JONES

Captain, The West Yorkshire Regiment

Born: 14 June 1871, Beddrington, Surrey
Died:29 May 1942, Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Citation: On the 27th February, 1900, during the assault on Terrace Hill, north of the Tugela, in Natal, the companies of the West Yorkshire Regiment on the northern slope of the hill met with a severe shell, Vickers-Maxim, and rifle fire, and their advance was for a few moments checked. Captain C. Hansel-Jones, however, by his strong initiative, restored confidence, and, in spite of his falling very seriously wounded, the men took the whole ridge without further check, this Officer's self-sacrificing devotion to duty at a critical moment having averted what might have proved a serious check to the whole assault.

[London Gazette issue 27214 dated 27 Jul 1900, published 27 Jul 1900.]

Medal of Honor: Y. Kobashigawa

2011-08-28T10:00:00.003-04:00

YEIKI KOBASHIGAWA

Technical Sergeant, US Army; Company F, 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate)

Born: 28 September 1917, Hilo, Territory of Hawai`i
Died: 31 March 2005

Citation: Technical Sergeant Yeiki Kobashigawa distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, in the vicinity of Lanuvio, Italy. During an attack, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's platoon encountered strong enemy resistance from a series of machine guns providing supporting fire. Observing a machine gun nest 50 yards from his position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa crawled forward with one of his men, threw a grenade and then charged the enemy with his submachine gun while a fellow soldier provided covering fire. He killed one enemy soldier and captured two prisoners. Meanwhile, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa and his comrade were fired upon by another machine gun 50 yards ahead. Directing a squad to advance to his first position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa again moved forward with a fellow soldier to subdue the second machine gun nest. After throwing grenades into the position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa provided close supporting fire while a fellow soldier charged, capturing four prisoners. On the alert for other machine gun nests, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa discovered four more, and skillfully led a squad in neutralizing two of them. Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

Note: Kobashigawa was presented the Medal of Honor, upgraded from a Distinguished Service Cross, by President Clinton in 2000, following a review of the records of Asian-American soldiers who served in World War II.

Victoria Cross: J. M. Smith

2011-08-21T10:05:00.004-04:00

JOHN MANNERS SMITH

Lieutenant, Indian Staff Corps

Born: 30 August 1864, Lahore, India
Died: 6 January 1920, Central London

Citation: For his conspicuous bravery when leading the storming party at the attack and capture of the strong position occupied by the enemy near Nilt, in the Hunza-Nagar Country, on the 20th December, 1891.
The position was, owing to the nature of the country, an extremely strong one, and had barred the advance of the force for seventeen days. It was eventually forced by a small party of 50 rifles, with another of equal strength in support. The first of these parties was under the command of Lieutenant Smith, and it was entirely owing to his splended leading, and the coolness, combined with dash, he displayed while doing so, that a success was obtained. For nearly four hours, on the face of a cliff which was almost precipitous, he steadily moved his handful of men from point to point, as the difficulties of the ground and showers of stones from above gave him an opportunity, and during the whole of this time he was in such a position as to be unable to defend himself from any attack the enemy might choose to make.
He was the first man to reach the summit, within a few yards of one of the enemy's sungars, which was immediately rushed, Lieutenant Smith pistolling the first man.

[London Gazette issue 26306 dated 12 Jul 1892, published 12 Jul 1892.]

Note: Nilt is a town in northern Pakistan. Lahore, where Smith (later Lt-Col J M Smith VC CIE CVO) was born, is also now in Pakistan.

Medal of Honor: R. H. Wilkins

2011-08-21T10:00:00.002-04:00

RAYMOND H WILKINS

Major, US Army Air Corps

Born: 28 September 1917, Portsmouth, Virginia
Died: 2 November 1943, near Rabaul, New Britain

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Rabaul, New Britain, on 2 November 1943. Leading his squadron in an attack on shipping in Simpson Harbor, during which intense antiaircraft fire was expected, Maj. Wilkins briefed his squadron so that his airplane would be in the position of greatest risk. His squadron was the last of 3 in the group to enter the target area. Smoke from bombs dropped by preceding aircraft necessitated a last-second revision of tactics on his part, which still enabled his squadron to strike vital shipping targets, but forced it to approach through concentrated fire, and increased the danger of Maj. Wilkins' left flank position. His airplane was hit almost immediately, the right wing damaged, and control rendered extremely difficult. Although he could have withdrawn, he held fast and led his squadron into the attack. He strafed a group of small harbor vessels, and then, at low level, attacked an enemy destroyer. His 1,000 pound bomb struck squarely amidships, causing the vessel to explode. Although antiaircraft fire from this vessel had seriously damaged his left vertical stabilizer, he refused to deviate from the course. From below-masthead height he attacked a transport of some 9,000 tons, scoring a hit which engulfed the ship in flames. Bombs expended, he began to withdraw his squadron. A heavy cruiser barred the path. Unhesitatingly, to neutralize the cruiser's guns and attract its fire, he went in for a strafing run. His damaged stabilizer was completely shot off. To avoid swerving into his wing planes he had to turn so as to expose the belly and full wing surfaces of his plane to the enemy fire; it caught and crumpled his left wing. Now past control, the bomber crashed into the sea. In the fierce engagement Maj. Wilkins destroyed 2 enemy vessels, and his heroic self-sacrifice made possible the safe withdrawal of the remaining planes of his squadron.

Note: New Britain was then a part of the Territory of New Guinea, a former German colony controlled by Australia under a League of Nations mandate. It is now part of Papua New Guinea.

100 years

2011-08-20T06:30:00.000-04:00

Today would have been my father's 100th birthday.

20 Aug 1911 - 15 Apr 1970

RIP

Ultimate Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz

2011-08-18T21:16:00.001-04:00

I got %60.7798165137615

on the

Ultimate Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz!

Medal of Honor to be presented next month

2011-08-15T22:17:00.003-04:00

According to CNN, Corporal Dakota Meyer - the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since Sergeant Major Allan Kellogg received his on 15 October 1973 - will be presented with the Medal at the White House on 15 September.

ZUI also this article from the Navy Times.

Living Medal of Honor recipients

2011-08-15T21:47:00.005-04:00

Left to right: Army, Navy/Marine Corps and Air Force Medals of Honor

In yesterday's post about Charles Murray, I said that there are now 84 surviving MoH recipients. The complete list, with links to individual pages, can be found at the CMOHS site here; below is a simplified list, like that which I posted a year ago.

World War II

Van T Barfoot, Second Lieutenant, US Army
Mike Colalillo, Private First Class, US Army
Charles H Coolidge, Technical Sergeant, US Army
Francis S Currey, Sergeant, US Army
Walter D Ehlers, Staff Sergeant, US Army
John D Hawk, Sergeant, US Army
Daniel K Inouye, Second Lieutenant, US Army
Arthur J Jackson, Private First Class, US Marine Corps
Robert D Maxwell, Technician Fifth Grade, US Army
Vernon McGarity, Technical Sergeant, US Army
Nicholas Oresko, Master Sergeant, US Army
Wilburn K Ross, Private, US Army
George T Sakato, Private, US Army
Hershel W Williams, Corporal, US Marine Corps

Korean War

Hector A Cafferata Jr, Private, US Marine Corps
William R Charette, Hospital Corpsman Third Class, US Navy
Duane E Dewey, Corporal, US Marine Corps
Rodolfo P Hernandez, Corporal, US Army
Thomas J Hudner Jr, Lieutenant, US Navy
Einar H Ingman Jr, Sergeant, US Army
Hiroshi H Miyamura, Corporal, US Army
Ola L Mize, Master Sergeant, US Army
Ronald E Rosser, Corporal, US Army
Tibor Rubin, Corporal, US Army
Robert E Simanek, Private First Class, US Marine Corps
James L Stone, First Lieutenant, US Army
Ernest E West, Private First Class, US Army

Vietnam War

John P Baca, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
John F Baker Jr, Sergeant, US Army
Donald E Ballard, Hospital Corpsman Second Class, US Navy
Harvey C Barnum Jr, Captain, US Marine Corps
Gary B Beikirch, Sergeant, US Army
Patrick H Brady, Major, US Army
Paul W Bucha, Captain, US Army
Jon R Cavaiani, Staff Sergeant, US Army
Bruce P Crandall, Major, US Army
Sammy L Davis, Sergeant, US Army
George E Day, Colonel, US Air Force
Drew D Dix, Staff Sergeant, US Army
Roger H C Donlon, Captain, US Army
Frederick E Ferguson, Chief Warrant Officer, US Army
Bernard F Fisher, Major, US Air Force
Michael J Fitzmaurice, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
James P Fleming, Captain, US Air Force
Robert F Foley, Captain, US Army
Wesley L Fox, Captain, US Marine Corps
Harold A Fritz, Captain, US Army
Charles C Hagemeister, Specialist Fifth Class, US Army
Frank A Herda, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
Robert R Ingram, Hospital Corpsman Third Class, US Navy
Joe M Jackson, Lieutenant Colonel, US Air Force
Jack H Jacobs, Captain, US Army
Don J Jenkins, Staff Sergeant, US Army
Thomas G Kelley, Lieutenant Commander, US Navy
Allan J Kellogg Jr, Gunnery Sergeant, US Marine Corps
Joseph R Kerrey, Lieutenant (Junior Grade), US Navy
Thomas J Kinsman, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
Howard V Lee, Major, US Marine Corps
Peter C Lemon, Sergeant, US Army
Angelo J Liteky, Captain, US Army
Gary L Littrell, Sergeant First Class, US Army
James E Livingston, Captain, US Marine Corps
Allen J Lynch, Sergeant, US Army
Walter J Marm Jr, First Lieutenant, US Army
John J McGinty III, Second Lieutenant, US Marine Corps
Robert J Modrzejewski, Major, US Marine Corps
Thomas R Norris, Lieutenant, US Navy
Robert E O'Malley, Sergeant, US Marine Corps
Robert M Patterson, Sergeant, US Army
Richard A Pittman, Sergeant, US Marine Corps
Alfred V Rascon, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
Ronald E Ray, Captain, US Army
Gordon R Roberts, Sergeant, US Army
Clarence E Sasser, Specialist Fifth Class, US Army
James M Sprayberry, Captain, US Army
Kenneth E Stumpf, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army
James A Taylor, Captain, US Army
Brian M Thacker, First Lieutenant, US Army
Michael E Thornton, Engineman Second Class, US Navy
Leo K Thorsness, Lieutenant, US Air Force
Jay R Vargas, Major, US Marine Corps
Gary G Wetzel, Specialist Fourth Class, US Army

Afghanistan

Salvatore A Giunta, Specialist, US Army
Leroy A Petry, Staff Sergeant, US Army

That breaks down to:

14 World War II (12 Army, 2 Marine Corps)
13 Korean War (8 Army, 2 Navy and 3 Marine Corps)
55 Vietnam War (34 Army, 6 Navy, 10 Marine Corps and 5 Air Force)
2 Afghanistan (both Army)

(A Marine, Corporal Dakota Meyer, is to receive the MoH next month for his actions in Afghanistan.)

56 Army
8 Navy
15 Marine Corps
5 Air Force

(The only Coast Guardsman ever to be awarded the Medal, Signalman First Class Douglas A Munro, received it posthumously after his death at Guadalcanal in 1942.)

RIP: Charles P Murray, Jr

2011-08-14T19:07:00.005-04:00

Charles Patrick Murray, Jr
26 Sep 1921 – 12 Aug 2011

ZUI this article from The State (Columbia SC):

Col. Charles P. Murray Jr., who received the Medal of Honor, three Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and the French Legion of Honor for valor in World War II, passed away at his Columbia home Friday. He was 89.

*******

He is survived by his wife, Anne, son Brian of Fort Payne, Ala., and daughter Cynthia Anne of Roswell, Ga. Another son, Charles P. Murray III, of Columbia passed away in 2004.
Along with Audie Murphy, with whom he served, Murray was one of the most decorated soldiers in the most decorated division in the U.S. Army.
A Baltimore native raised in Wilmington, N.C., Murray was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when he enlisted in the Army Sept. 7, 1942.
Murray joined the famed 3rd Infantry Division in 1944 after it went ashore in southern France in what is termed the Forgotten D-Day — two months after the more famous D-Day in Normandy. The 3rd Infantry Division — part of an invasion force of American, British, Dutch, Canadian, French and even Italian troops — landed at St. Tropez in France and advanced up the Rhone Valley.

*******

His battalion was pinned down on a ridge under heavy fire by 200 well-entrenched Germans. Murray, using a variety of weapons, killed 20 enemy soldiers and captured 10 more, single-handedly driving the Germans from the position.
At the end of his assault, a German grenade riddled him with shrapnel, wounding him in eight places. He spent only four days in an aid station before “borrowing” a uniform and returning to his unit.

There are now 84 living Medal of Honor recipients.

************* *** *************

CHARLES PATRICK MURRAY JR

First Lieutenant, US Army; Company C, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division

Born: 26 September 1921, Baltimore, Maryland
Died: 12 August 2011, Columbia, South Carolina

Citation: For commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into enemy territory. Descending into a valley beneath hilltop positions held by our troops, he observed a force of 200 Germans pouring deadly mortar, bazooka, machinegun, and small arms fire into an American battalion occupying the crest of the ridge. The enemy's position in a sunken road, though hidden from the ridge, was open to a flank attack by 1st Lt. Murray's patrol but he hesitated to commit so small a force to battle with the superior and strongly disposed enemy. Crawling out ahead of his troops to a vantage point, he called by radio for artillery fire. His shells bracketed the German force, but when he was about to correct the range his radio went dead. He returned to his patrol, secured grenades and a rifle to launch them and went back to his self-appointed outpost. His first shots disclosed his position; the enemy directed heavy fire against him as he methodically fired his missiles into the narrow defile. Again he returned to his patrol. With an automatic rifle and ammunition, he once more moved to his exposed position. Burst after burst he fired into the enemy, killing 20, wounding many others, and completely disorganizing its ranks, which began to withdraw. He prevented the removal of 3 German mortars by knocking out a truck. By that time a mortar had been brought to his support. 1st Lt. Murray directed fire of this weapon, causing further casualties and confusion in the German ranks. Calling on his patrol to follow, he then moved out toward his original objective, possession of a bridge and construction of a roadblock. He captured 10 Germans in foxholes. An eleventh, while pretending to surrender, threw a grenade which knocked him to the ground, inflicting 8 wounds. Though suffering and bleeding profusely, he refused to return to the rear until he had chosen the spot for the block and had seen his men correctly deployed. By his single-handed attack on an overwhelming force and by his intrepid and heroic fighting, 1st Lt. Murray stopped a counterattack, established an advance position against formidable odds, and provided an inspiring example for the men of his command.

Victoria Cross: A. D. Home and W. Bradshaw

2011-08-14T10:05:00.008-04:00

ANTHONY DICKSON HOME

Surgeon, 90th Regiment

Born: 30 November 1826, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Died: 10 August 1914, Kensington, West London

Citation: For persevering bravery and admirable conduct in charge of the wounded men left behind the column, when the troops under the late Major-General Havelock, forced their way into the Residency of Lucknow, on the 26th September, 1857. The escort left with the wounded had, by casualties, been reduced to a few stragglers, and being entirely separated from the column, this small party with the wounded were forced into a house, in which they defended themselves till it was set on fire. They then retreated to a shed a few yards from it, and in this place continued to defend themselves for more than twenty-two hours, till relieved. At last, only six men and Mr. Home remained to fire. Of four officers who were with the party, all were badly wounded, and three are since dead. The conduct of the defence during the latter part of the time devolved therefore on Mr. Home, and to his active exertions previously to being forced into the house, and his good conduct throughout, the safety of any of the wounded, and the successful defcnce, is mainly to be attributed.

[London Gazette issue 22174 dated 18 Jun 1858, published 18 Jun 1858.]

WILLIAM BRADSHAW

Assistant Surgeon, 90th Regiment

Born: 12 February 1830, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland
Died: 9 March 1861, Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland

Citation: For intrepidity and good conduct when, ordered with Surgeon Home, 90th Regiment, to remove the wounded men left behind the column that forced its way into the Residency of Lucknow, on the 26th September, 1857. The dooly bearers had left the doolies, but by great exertions, and notwithstanding the close proximity of the sepoys, Surgeon Home, and Assistant-Surgeon Bradshaw, got some of the bearers together, and Assistant-Surgeon Bradshaw with about twenty doolies, becoming separated from the rest of the party, succeeded in reaching the Residency in safety by the river bank.

[London Gazette issue 22174 dated 18 Jun 1858, published 18 Jun 1858.]

Medal of Honor: A. Jones

2011-08-14T10:00:00.004-04:00

ANDREW JONES

Chief Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy; USS Chickasaw

Born: 1835, Ireland
Died: unknown

Citation: Served as chief boatswain's mate on board the U.S. Ironclad, Chickasaw, Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Although his enlistment was up, Jones volunteered for the battle of Mobile Bay, going on board the Chickasaw from the Vincennes where he then carried out his duties gallantly throughout the engagement with the enemy which resulted in the capture of the rebel ram Tennessee.

NPR's Top 100 SF and Fantasy books

2011-08-13T19:05:00.008-04:00

National Public Radio (NPR) just announced the results of their poll poll to find the top 100 SF and fantasy books ever published. Some of these are actually series, not just single books. Bold numbers, as usual, indicate the ones I've read.

The Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of All Time

1. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, by J R R Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams *
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire series, by George R R Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov **
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein *
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss ***
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K Dick
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson ***
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H G Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H G Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson ***
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J R R Tolkien *
47. The Once And Future King, by T H White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R Donaldson *
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind ***
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E Feist **
67. The Shannara trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan the Barbarian series, by R E Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb ***
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson ***
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Driz'zt series, by R A Salvatore
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson ***
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen series, by Steven Erikson ***
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture series, by Iain M Banks ***
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson ***
86. The Codex Alera series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth series, by Piers Anthony **
100. The Space trilogy, by C S Lewis

* Started it, but couldn't finish it. (Couldn't even finish one book, if it's a series.)
** Read at least one entire book in the series, but not all of them.
*** Never heard of it.

RIP: Nancy Wake AC GM

2011-08-09T18:39:00.004-04:00

Nancy Grace Augusta Wake AC GM

The White Mouse

30 Aug 1912 – 7 Aug 2011

ZUI this article from The Sydney Morning Herald:

Nancy Wake, whose remarkable exploits as a British agent with the French Resistance during the Second World War made her one of the most decorated servicewomen of that conflict, was born on August 30, 1912, in the back room of a weatherboard shack in Wellington, New Zealand.

*******

In 1936, she met a Marseilles millionaire, Henri Fiocca, and she married him just after World War II broke out. She settled into his Marseilles mansion, leaving journalism behind. As the Nazis crossed the French border, Wake was appalled at the ''collaborationistes'' who advocated living as comfortably as possible within the Nazi yoke.

She was never so disposed herself and only a short time after the war began, became a courier for the local Resistance movement, shifting everything from simple messages and high-tech radio parts to well-secreted cells of partisans.

*******

So busy was she that the Gestapo came to call her ''the White Mouse'', in part it seems because whenever they felt they had this beautiful woman cornered, she was able to disappear. Finally, though, the Gestapo came for her and she was only just able to escape before getting over the Pyrenees herself.

Her husband, however, was not so fortunate. After being arrested by the Gestapo, he refused to divulge her whereabouts or give an account of her activities and was summarily executed.

*******

At 1 o'clock on the morning of March 31, 1943, she was parachuted back into France into the forests of Auvergne - just to the north of the town of Clermont-Ferrand - where 7000 partisans were to be found in separate groups.

Her mission was to judge the strength of the many separate bands and then radio London a heavily coded message as to what was needed in terms of munitions.

*******

For her courage and feats during the war, Wake was awarded nine bravery medals, including the Medal of Freedom from the US, the George Medal from Britain and the Medaille de la Resistance from France. In a controversy that continued for the next five decades, she never received a medal from the Australian government on the simple grounds that she was not fighting for any of the Australian services during the war.

Despite that, in her latter years, the federal government did contact her from time to time to see if she would accept a medal. It was consistently rejected. When the Herald asked her about this in April 2000, she was typically blunt. ''The last time there was a suggestion of giving me [an Australian medal], I told the government they could stick their medals where the monkey stuck his nuts. The thing is, if they gave me a medal now, it wouldn't be given with love, so I don't want anything from them. They can bugger off.''

ZUI also this article from The Australian:

Wake helped recruit an additional 3000 fighters to build a force of about 7000. She led groups of these fighters on guerilla attacks against German troops, installations and equipment.

In one confrontation with German soldiers, she lost her radio and codes and, therefore, all ability to communicate with her controllers in Britain. It was a severe loss because without a radio she could not receive orders or advice about air drops, nor could she report the results of her sabotage missions.

It meant a hazardous bicycle ride of 500km through German checkpoints to replace her lost codes. It was a marathon effort that took more than 70 hours. "I got back and they said, 'How are you?'. I cried. I couldn't stand up, I couldn't sit down. I couldn't do anything. I just cried," Wake recalled.

The 1944 Normandy landings were approaching and the resistance was being primed to divert as many German troops as possible. Wake's groups were constantly on the move, sleeping rough and engaging the enemy in numerous firefights. Often, the local people suffered reprisals.

Wake was leading a force of more than 7000, a highly motivated army that was making life decidedly uncomfortable for about 22,000 German storm-troopers stationed in the Auvergne. In June 1944, the Germans attacked the resistance stronghold with the help of artillery and aircraft. At the end, about 1400 German soldiers lay dead; the resistance lost about 100.

During a later attack on an arms factory, Wake killed a sentry with a karate chop to the neck.

"They'd taught this judo-chop stuff with the flat of the hand at SOE, and I practised away at it. But this was the only time I used it -- whack -- and it killed him all right. I was really surprised."

There were sabotage missions, roadblocks and gun fights. Wake led an attack on Gestapo headquarters; she reputedly executed a woman who had been spying for the Germans.

In August, Paris was liberated and Wake's fighters celebrated in Vichy where she heard of her husband's fate.

*******

The French government made her a Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur, awarded her the Croix de Guerre with star and two Palms, and the Medaille de la Resistance. The British gave her the George Medal and the US awarded her the Medal of Freedom with Palm. She was also entitled to wear the British 1939-45 Star, the France and Germany Star, the British War Medal 1939-45 and the Defence Medal. She also held the New Zealand Returned and Services Association's highest honour, the badge in Gold.

Despite representations from the Returned Services League, successive Australian governments refused to recognise her heroism with an award. That was rectified in March 2004 when governor-general Michael Jeffery presented her with a Companion of the Order of Australia.

George Cross: M. Willetts

2011-08-07T10:10:00.003-04:00

MICHAEL WILLETTS

Sergeant, 3d Battalion The Parachute Regiment

Born: 13 August 1943, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Died: 25 May 1971, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Citation: At 8.24 p.m. on the evening of 25th May 1971, a terrorist entered the reception hall of the Springfield Road Police Station in Belfast. He carried a suitcase from which a smoking fuse protruded, dumped it quickly on the floor and fled outside. Inside the room were a man and a woman, two children and several police officers.
One of the latter saw at once the smoking case and raised the alarm. The Police Officers began to organise the evacuation of the hall past the reception desk, through the reception office and out by a door into the rear passage.
Sergeant Michael Willetts was on duty in the inner hall. Hearing the alarm, he sent an N.C.O. up to the first floor to warn those above and hastened himself to the door towards which a Police Officer was thrusting those in the reception hall and office. He held the door open while all passed safely through and then stood in the doorway, shielding those taking cover. In the next moment, the bomb exploded with terrible force.
Sergeant Willetts was mortally wounded.
His duty did not require him to enter the threatened area: his post was elsewhere. He knew well, after 4 months' service in Belfast, the peril of going towards a terrorist bomb but he did not hesitate to do so. All those approaching the door from the far side agree that if they had had to check to open the door they would have perished. Even when they had reached the rear passage, Sergeant Willetts waited, placing his body as a screen to shelter them. By this considered act of bravery, he risked — and lost — his life for those of the adults and children. His selflessness, his courage are beyond praise.

[London Gazette issue 45404 dated 22 Jun 1971, published 21 Jun 1971.]

Victoria Cross: W. N. W. Hewett

2011-08-07T10:05:00.003-04:00

WILLIAM NATHAN WRIGHTE HEWETT

Lieutenant, Royal Navy; HMS Beagle

Born: 12 August 1834, Brighton, Sussex
Died: 13 May 1888, RNH Haslar, Portsmouth, Hampshire

Citation: 1st. On the occasion of a repulse of a sortie of Russians by Sir De Lacy Evans' Division on the 26th October, 1854, Mr. Hewett, then Acting-Mate of Her Majesty's Ship "Beagle," was in charge of the Right Lancaster Battery before Sebastopol. The advance of the Russians placed the gun in great jeopardy, their skirmishers advancing within 300 yards of the Battery, and pouring in a sharp fire from their Minié rifles. By some misapprehension the word was passed to spike the gun and retreat; but Mr. Hewett, taking upon himself the responsibility of disregarding the order, replied, that "Such order did not come from Captain Lushington, and he would not do it till it did." Mr. Hewett then pulled down the parapet of the Battery, and with the assistance of some soldiers, got his gun round, and poured upon the advancing column of Russians a most destructive and effective fire.
For the gallantry exhibited on this occasion, the Board of Admiralty promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant.
2nd. On the 5th November, 1854, at the Battle of Inkerman, Captain Lushington again brought before the Commander-in-chief the services of Mr. Hewett, saying, "I have much pleasure in again bringing Mr. Hewett's gallant conduct to your notice."
(Sir S. Lushington to Vice-Admiral Sir J. D. Dundas, inclosed in despatches of 1st November, 1854, and 8th November, 1854).

[London Gazette issue 21971 dated 24 Feb 1857, published 24 Feb 1857.]

Note: At the timeof his death he was Vice Admiral Sir William Hewett VC KCB KCSI.

Medal of Honor: M. M. M. Van Iersel

2011-08-07T10:00:00.004-04:00

LUDOVICUS M M VAN IERSEL

Sergeant, US Army; Company M, 9th Infantry, 2d Division

Born: 19 October 1893, Holland
Died: 9 June 1987

Citation: While a member of the reconnaissance patrol, sent out at night to ascertain the condition of a damaged bridge [at Mouzon, France, on 9 November 1918], Sgt. Van Iersel volunteered to lead a party across the bridge in the face of heavy machinegun and rifle fire from a range of only 75 yards. Crawling alone along the debris of the ruined bridge he came upon a trap, which gave away and precipitated him into the water. In spite of the swift current he succeeded in swimming across the stream and found a lodging place among the timbers on the opposite bank. Disregarding the enemy fire, he made a careful investigation of the hostile position by which the bridge was defended and then returned to the other bank of the river, reporting this valuable information to the battalion commander.

Book list - Jul 11

2011-08-01T20:00:00.024-04:00

The Making of Man - children's palaeoanthropology, by Dr I W Cornwall (Carnegie Medal, 1960)
Jordan Freeman Was My Friend - children's historical fiction, by Richard White
Blind Justice - historical mystery, by Bruce Alexander
Stork Raving Mad - mystery, by Donna Andrews
The Kindling - YA postapocalyptic, by Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher
Side Jobs - modern fantasy (short stories), by Jim Butcher
Time of Trial - children's historical fiction, by Hester Burton (Carnegie Medal, 1963)
Once & Future Giants: What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth's Largest Animals - ecology, by Sharon Levy
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - YA historical fiction, by Jacqueline Kelly
The Real Macaw - mystery, by Donna Andrews
Josh - children's, by Ivan Southall (Carnegie Medal, 1971)
A Flock of Ships - WWII fiction, by Brian Callison *

Twelve books last month, with only one reread (marked by an asterisk). I'm not setting an official goal this year, though I do expect to read around 150 books.

The three Carnegie Medal winners bring me up to 55 of 72. My thanks to the J Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State College, Willimantic CT; the Connecticut State Library Library Service Centre, Willimantic CT; and the Fletcher Memorial Library, Hampton CT, for the ILLs.

FY12 CPO selectees

2011-08-01T18:07:00.005-04:00

The list is out.

Was beginning to think I wouldn't see any names I knew, but finally found a nuc MM and a ~~shower~~ sonar tech, both from Prov. It's been eight years since I retired,* so between time and forgetfulness I imagine I won't see many more names I recognise on the CPO lists in the future....

Congratulations to all of the new selectees!

* Hard to believe it's been 16 years since I left Jax, 19 since I left Simon Lake and 22 since I left Oly!

Victoria Cross: Yeshwant Ghadge

2011-07-31T10:05:00.005-04:00

YESHWANT GHADGE

Naik, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, Indian Army

Born: 16 November 1921, Palasgaon Village, India
Died: 10 July 1944, Upper Tiber Valley, Italy

Citation: In Italy, on l0th July, 1944, a Company of the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry attacked a position strongly defended by the enemy.
During this attack a rifle section commanded by Naik Yeshwant Ghadge came under heavy machine-gun fire at close range, which killed or wounded all members of the section except the commander. Without hesitation, and well knowing that none were left to accompany him, Naik Yeshwant Ghadge rushed the machine gun post. He first threw a grenade which knocked out the machine gun and firer, after which he shot one of the gun crew with his Tommygun. Finally, having no time to change his magazine, he grasped his gun by the barrel and beat to death the remaining two men of the gun crew. Unfortunately Naik Yeshwant Ghadge was shot in the chest and back by enemy snipers and died in the post which he had captured single handed.
The courage, determination, and devotion to duty of this Indian N.C.O. in a situation where he knew the odds against him gave little hope of survival were outstanding.

[London Gazette issue 36774 dated 2 Nov 1944, published 31 Oct 1944.]

Medal of Honor: J. J. Kelly

2011-07-31T10:00:00.004-04:00

JOHN JOSEPH KELLY

Private, US Marine Corps; 78th Company, 6th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division

Born: 24 June 1898, Chicago, Illinois
Died: 20 November 1957, Chicago, Illinois

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 78th Company, 6th Regiment, 2d Division, in action with the enemy at Blanc Mont Ridge, France, 3 October 1918. Pvt. Kelly ran through our own barrage a hundred yards in advance of the front line and attacked an enemy machinegun nest, killing the gunner with a grenade, shooting another member of the crew with his pistol, and returning through the barrage with 8 prisoners.

Citation: Pvt. Kelly ran through our own barrage 100 yards in advance of the front line and attacked an enemy machinegun nest, killing the gunner with a grenade, shooting another member of the crew with his pistol, and returning through the barrage with 8 prisoners.

Note: Kelly was one of five Marines who received both Navy and Army medals for the same action. (Two of these double awards were for this battle in October, 1918; one had been awarded in June, 1918, and the other two were awarded for a battle in July of that year.)

Victoria Cross: A. S. Cobbe

2011-07-24T10:05:00.005-04:00

ALEXANDER STANHOPE COBBE, DSO

Captain (local Lieutenant-Colonel), Indian Army; 1st (Central Africa) Battalion, King's African Rifles

Born: 5 June 1870, Naini Tal, India
Died: 29 June 1931, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire

Citation: During the action at Erego, on 6th October, 1902, when some of the Companies had retired, Lieutenant-Colonel Cobbe was left by himself in front of the line, with a Maxim gun. Without assistance he brought in the Maxim, and worked it at a most critical time. He then went out under an extremely hot fire from the enemy about 20 yards in front of him, and from his own men (who had retired) about the same distance behind, and succeeded in carrying in a wounded Orderly. Colonel Swayne, who was in command of the Force, personally witnessed this Officer's conduct, which he describes as most gallant.

[London Gazette issue 27517 dated 20 Jan 1903, published 20 Jan 1903.]

Notes: At the time of his death he was General Sir Alexander Stanhope Cobbe VC GCB KCSI DSO.
Erego (or Erigo) is in Somalia.

Medal of Honor: J. R. Kerrey

2011-07-24T10:00:00.004-04:00

JOSEPH R KERREY

Lieutenant, Junior Grade, US Naval Reserve; Sea, Air, and Land Team (SEAL)

Born: 27 August 1943, Lincoln, Nebraska
Died: TBD

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL team leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces [near Nha Trang Bay, Republic of Vietnam, on 14 March 1969]. Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lt. (J.G..) Kerrey led his SEAL team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in 2 elements and coordinating both, Lt. (J.G..) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radioman, Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be over-estimated. The enemy soldiers who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort. Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Medal of Honor to be awarded for Afghanistan

2011-07-21T21:13:00.003-04:00

ZUI this article from The Adair Progress (Columbia KY):

Dakota Meyer, a Marine from Adair County, will receive the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor, from President Barrak [sic] Obama for his heroic actions during a firefight in Afghanistan.
According to the Marine Corps Times, President Obama contacted Meyer on Monday to inform him of the decision to award him the Medal of Honor. Meyer ... becomes the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor in 41 years, and is only the third living Medal of Honor recipient from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Meyer is being honored for the actions he took in a firefight that occurred in the remote village of Ganjgal in Eastern Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009.

*******

The date when President Obama will present Meyer with the Medal of Honor has not yet been announced. More details will be made available later.

According to the Marine Corps Times, two other Marines will receive the Navy Cross for heroism at Ganjgal.

Medal of Honor awarded for Afghanistan

2011-07-19T10:53:00.000-04:00

Forgot to post this last week because I was distracted by getting ready for my vacation....

ZUI this article from ABC News:

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry was honored at the Pentagon today for the heroism that cost him his right hand but saved the lives of two of his fellow soldiers.

Petry is only the second living recipient of the nation's highest award for valor in the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq.

President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Petry on Tuesday at a White House ceremony, at which he said the Army Ranger's service "speaks to the very essence of America -- the spirit that says no matter how hard the journey, no matter how steep the climb, we don't quit."

*******

Petry lost his right hand on May 26, 2008 during what his platoon commander described as one of the most complex Special Operations raids ever conducted in Afghanistan at the time. A platoon of Rangers was targeting a high-value target hiding in a compound in eastern Afghanistan.

Special Operations forces typically conduct their missions at night, but this mission was more dangerous because it was conducted during daylight. Almost immediately after getting out of their helicopters, the Rangers came under strong enemy fire.
*******

When asked by a reporter what message he had for younger soldiers about what they could learn from his experience, Petry said, "Give it your best. Always put your faith in those to your left and right, and may y'all come home safe. And thank you."

ZUI also this ABC News blog post. The president's remarks from the presentation are here.

************* *** *************

LEROY ARTHUR PETRY

Staff Sergeant, US Army; D Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

Born: 29 July 1979, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Died: TBD

Citation: Staff Sergeant Leroy A. Petry distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the vicinity of Paktya Province, Afghanistan, on May 26, 2008. As a Weapons Squad Leader with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Staff Sergeant Petry moved to clear the courtyard of a house that potentially contained high-value combatants. While crossing the courtyard, Staff Sergeant Petry and another Ranger were engaged and wounded by automatic weapons fire from enemy fighters. Still under enemy fire, and wounded in both legs, Staff Sergeant Petry led the other Ranger to cover. He then reported the situation and engaged the enemy with a hand grenade, providing suppression as another Ranger moved to his position. The enemy quickly responded by maneuvering closer and throwing grenades. The first grenade explosion knocked his two fellow Rangers to the ground and wounded both with shrapnel. A second grenade then landed only a few feet away from them. Instantly realizing the danger, Staff Sergeant Petry, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, deliberately and selflessly moved forward, picked up the grenade, and in an effort to clear the immediate threat, threw the grenade away from his fellow Rangers. As he was releasing the grenade it detonated, amputating his right hand at the wrist and further injuring him with multiple shrapnel wounds. Although picking up and throwing the live grenade grievously wounded Staff Sergeant Petry, his gallant act undeniably saved his fellow Rangers from being severely wounded or killed. Despite the severity of his wounds, Staff Sergeant Petry continued to maintain the presence of mind to place a tourniquet on his right wrist before communicating the situation by radio in order to coordinate support for himself and his fellow wounded Rangers. Staff Sergeant Petry's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States Army.

Victoria Cross: B. S. Gordon

2011-07-17T10:05:00.003-04:00

BERNARD SIDNEY GORDON, MM

Lance Corporal, 41st Battalion (Queensland) Australian Imperial Force

Born: 16 August 1891, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Died: 19 October 1963, Torquay, Queensland, Australia

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the 26/27th August, 1918, east of Bray.
He led his section through heavy shell fire to the objective, which he consolidated. Single-handed he attacked an enemy machine gun which was enfilading the company on his right, killed the man on the gun, and captured the post, which contained one officer and ten men. He then cleared up a trench, capturing twenty-nine prisoners and two machine guns. In clearing up further trenches he captured twenty-two prisoners, including one officer, and three machine guns.
Practically unaided, he captured, in the course of these operations, two officers and sixty-one other ranks, together with six machine guns, and displayed throughout a wonderful example of fearless initiative.

[London Gazette issue 31082 dated 24 Dec 1918, published 24 Dec 1918.]

Medal of Honor: J. Trautman

2011-07-17T10:00:00.003-04:00

JACOB TRAUTMAN

First Sergeant, Company I, 7th US Cavalry

Born: 1840, Germany
Died: 7 November 1898, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Citation: Killed a hostile Indian at close quarters [at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, on 29 December 1890], and, although entitled to retirement from service, remained to the close of the campaign.

Victoria Cross: J. J. Farmer

2011-07-10T10:05:00.002-04:00

JOSEPH JOHN FARMER

Provisional Lance-Corporal, Army Hospital Corps

Born: 5 May 1855, Clerkenwell, London
Died: 30 June 1930, Northwood, Middlesex

Citation: For conspicuous bravery during the engagement with the Boers at the Majuba Mountain, on the 27th February, 1881, when he showed a spirit of self-abnegation and an example of cool courage which cannot be too highly commended.
While the Boers closed with the British troops near the wells, Corporal Farmer held a white flag over the wounded, and when the arm holding the flag was shot through, he called out that he had "another." He then raised the flag with the other arm, and continued to do so until that also was pierced with a bullet.

[London Gazette issue 24973 dated 17 May 1881, published 17 May 1881.]

Note: Majuba Hill is near Volksrust, South Africa. This was the main battle of the First Boer War, and was a decisive victory for the Boers.

Medal of Honor: E. S. Michael

2011-07-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

EDWARD STANLEY MICHAEL

First Lieutenant, US Army Air Corps; 364th Bomber Squadron, 305th Bomber Group

Born: 2 May 1918, Chicago, Illinois
Died: 10 May 1994, Utah(?)

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as pilot of a B17 aircraft on a heavy-bombardment mission to Germany, 11 April 1944. The group in which 1st Lt. Michael was flying was attacked by a swarm of fighters. His plane was singled out and the fighters pressed their attacks home recklessly, completely disregarding the Allied fighter escort and their own intense flak. His plane was riddled from nose to tail with exploding cannon shells and knocked out of formation, with a large number of fighters following it down, blasting it with cannon fire as it descended. A cannon shell exploded in the cockpit, wounded the copilot, wrecked the instruments, and blew out the side window. 1st Lt. Michael was seriously and painfully wounded in the right thigh. Hydraulic fluid filmed over the windshield making visibility impossible, and smoke filled the cockpit. The controls failed to respond and 3,000 feet were lost before he succeeded in leveling off. The radio operator informed him that the whole bomb bay was in flames as a result of the explosion of 3 cannon shells, which had ignited the incendiaries. With a full load of incendiaries in the bomb bay and a considerable gas load in the tanks, the danger of fire enveloping the plane and the tanks exploding seemed imminent. When the emergency release lever failed to function, 1st Lt. Michael at once gave the order to bail out and 7 of the crew left the plane. Seeing the bombardier firing the navigator's gun at the enemy planes, 1st Lt. Michael ordered him to bail out as the plane was liable to explode any minute. When the bombardier looked for his parachute he found that it had been riddled with 20mm. fragments and was useless. 1st Lt. Michael, seeing the ruined parachute, realized that if the plane was abandoned the bombardier would perish and decided that the only chance would be a crash landing. Completely disregarding his own painful and profusely bleeding wounds, but thinking only of the safety of the remaining crewmembers, he gallantly evaded the enemy, using violent evasive action despite the battered condition of his plane. After the plane had been under sustained enemy attack for fully 45 minutes, 1st Lt. Michael finally lost the persistent fighters in a cloud bank. Upon emerging, an accurate barrage of flak caused him to come down to treetop level where flak towers poured a continuous rain of fire on the plane. He continued into France, realizing that at any moment a crash landing might have to be attempted, but trying to get as far as possible to increase the escape possibilities if a safe landing could be achieved. 1st Lt. Michael flew the plane until he became exhausted from the loss of blood, which had formed on the floor in pools, and he lost consciousness. The copilot succeeded in reaching England and sighted an RAF field near the coast. 1st Lt. Michael finally regained consciousness and insisted upon taking over the controls to land the plane. The undercarriage was useless; the bomb bay doors were jammed open; the hydraulic system and altimeter were shot out. In addition, there was no airspeed indicator, the ball turret was jammed with the guns pointing downward, and the flaps would not respond. Despite these apparently insurmountable obstacles, he landed the plane without mishap.

George Cross: Rev. H. C. Pugh

2011-07-03T10:10:00.002-04:00

HERBERT CECIL PUGH

Squadron Leader, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Born: 2 November 1898, Johannesburg, South Africa
Died: 5 July 1941, Atlantic Ocean (aboard HM Transport Anselm)

Citation: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the GEORGE CROSS to: —
The Reverend Herbert Cecil PUGH, M.A. (Oxon.), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (deceased).
The Reverend H. C. Pugh, after seeing service in this country, was posted to Takoradi and embarked on H.M.T. Anselm, carrying over 1,300 passengers, for West Africa at the end of June, 1941. She was torpedoed in the Atlantic [north of the Azores] in the early hours of the 5th July, 1941. One torpedo hit a hold on Deck C, destroying the normal means of escape. Mr. Pugh came up on deck in a dressing gown and gave all the help he could. He seemed to be everywhere at once, doing his best to comfort the injured, helping with the boats and rafts (two of these were rendered unserviceable as a result of the explosion) and visiting the different lower sections where the men were quartered. When he learned that a number of injured airmen were trapped in the damaged hold, he insisted on being lowered into it with a rope. Everyone demurred because the hold was below the water line and already the decks were awash and to go down was to go to certain death. He simply explained that he must be where his men were. The deck level was already caving in and the hold was three parts full of water so that, when he knelt to pray, the water reached his shoulders. Within a few minutes the ship plunged and sank and Mr. Pugh was never seen again. He had every opportunity of saving his own life but, without regard to his own safety and in the best tradition of the Service and of a Christian Minister, he gave up his life for others.

[London Gazette issue 37920 dated 1 Apr 1947, published 28 Mar 1947.]

Victoria Cross: E. P. Leach

2011-07-03T10:05:00.002-04:00

EDWARD PEMBERTON LEACH

Captain, Royal Engineers

Born: 2 April 1847, Londonderry, County Londonderry, Ireland
Died: 27 April 1913, Caddenabbia, Lake Como, Italy

Citation: For having, in action with the Shinwarris near Maidanah, Afghanistan, on the 17th March, 1879, when covering the retirement of the Survey Escort who were carrying Lieutenant Barclay, 45th Sikhs, mortally wounded, behaved with the utmost gallantry in charging, with some men of the 45th Sikhs, a very much larger number of the enemy.
In this encounter Captain Leach killed two or three of the enemy himself, and he received a severe wound from an Afghan knife in the left arm. Captain Leach's determination and gallantry in this affair, in attacking and driving back the enemy from the last position, saved the whole party from annihilation.

[London Gazette issue 24790 dated 9 Dec 1879, published 9 Dec 1879.]

Note: The Shinwari are a Pashtun tribe of western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Medal of Honor: J. K. Koelsch

2011-07-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

JOHN KELVIN KOELSCH

Lieutenant (Junior Grade), US Navy; Utility Helicopter Squadron 2

Born: 22 December 1923, London, England
Died: 16 October 1951, North Korea

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with a Navy helicopter rescue unit [in North Korea, on 3 July 1951]. Although darkness was rapidly approaching when information was received that a marine aviator had been shot down and was trapped by the enemy in mountainous terrain deep in hostile territory, Lt. (J.G.) Koelsch voluntarily flew a [Sikorsky HO3S-1] helicopter to the reported position of the downed airman in an attempt to effect a rescue. With an almost solid overcast concealing everything below the mountain peaks, he descended in his unarmed and vulnerable aircraft without the accompanying fighter escort to an extremely low altitude beneath the cloud level and began a systematic search. Despite the increasingly intense enemy fire, which struck his helicopter on 1 occasion, he persisted in his mission until he succeeded in locating the downed pilot, who was suffering from serious burns on the arms and legs. While the victim was being hoisted into the aircraft, it was struck again by an accurate burst of hostile fire and crashed on the side of the mountain. Quickly extricating his crewmen and the aviator from the wreckage, Lt. (J.G.) Koelsch led them from the vicinity in an effort to escape from hostile troops, evading the enemy forces for 9 days and rendering such medical attention as possible to his severely burned companion until all were captured. Up to the time of his death while still a captive of the enemy, Lt. (J.G.) Koelsch steadfastly refused to aid his captors in any manner and served to inspire his fellow prisoners by his fortitude and consideration for others. His great personal valor and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice throughout sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Note: USS Koelsch (DE 1049/FF 1049) was named in his honour.

Hue test

2011-07-02T15:59:00.005-04:00

According to this test, one out of 255 women and one out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency. Try the test - arranging differently coloured blocks according to their hue - and see how well you do. A perfect score is 0; I got 13.

H/T to Jenny.