If you carry a credit card you need to see this.

 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS? OR WHERE THIS IS?

THE STATUE

This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi  palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division.    It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort  Hood, Texas. The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country;  he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.  

To the  left of  the kneeling soldier is a  small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort  as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

Do you know why we don't hear about this in  the news?   Because it is heart warming and praise worthy.  The main stream media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect.  But we can do something about it. We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who are making a difference.

Been There and Did That and don't Want to Go Back

Here at the World Headquarters of the Porcupine Press Publications, we received this e-mail, forwarded by a reader,  and found it to be interesting and in ways funny as well . . .

As of late, we have learned that North Korea has shelled an island about seven miles from the North Korean coast.  The world is in an uproar.  I was stationed on this island, which was called Pang-Yong-Do back then in late 1957.  I was with the Air Force and was responsible for night AIO response.  A couple of words about the island.  As I remember it was only about five miles long, and about the same width, with an landing strip which was resurfaced twice each day.   It had one Air Force detachment, one Army detachment, and one ROK Marine company.

 

One night, around midnight, I received a call that the spotlight on "Radar Hill" was out, and drove my 2 1/2 ton truck up the long winding road leading to the top.  The "hill" was actually a mountain about 800 or 900 feet high with one light pole and a spot light with a 1500 watt bulb in it,  and a radar shack, facing North toward the mainland.   I put my climbers on and proceeded to climb the pole, with the new bulb hanging from a rope tied around my waist.  When I got to the top of the pole, I unscrewed the burned out bulb and tossed it over my shoulder.  Just then a light hit me in the back illuminating the top of the "hill" in general, and me in particular.  As I was having difficulty seeing the socket for the new bulb.  I shouted, thanks over my shoulder.  I screwed the bulb in, and all of a sudden it dawned on me.  Immediately behind me was a cliff which dropped all the way to the water, over 800 feet below, and nothing else.    I looked around and found that the North Koreans seven miles away, had "zeroed" one of their spot lights directly on me.   In a panic I thought that they were bringing their 255 mm guns to bare right on me.  I kicked the climbers out (you do not really want to do that but about once in your life time), and dropped about 30 feet to the ground.  I jumped into my truck and set a speed record flying down the mountain.  When I got to the bottom I was stopped by an AP for speeding.  When I told him what had happened, he almost fell of the ground laughing.  He let me go. 

 

Post script:   Several times while I was there, the North Koreans would send a couple of big rounds across the island which we could watch hit the water on the South side of the island.  The South Koreans had a DDE anchored on the South side, and when those big rounds (which sounded like a train rumbling as they went over), hit the water, the DDE would fire up and spin around on the anchor chain, then head into the straight between the island and the mainland wiggling it's little 3 inch gun up and down, like someone waggling their finger at you.  It was also not uncommon for the ROK Marines to head out for the mainland around dusk loaded for battle.  We would always hurry up to Radar Hill to see what would happen.  When the LST would land, you could see a great fireworks display with tracers, :"light" shells bursting in the air, and other pyrotechnics exploding.  About dawn the LST would return with a couple of ROK Marines, shot up and every body excited and happy, especially having consumed quite a bit of the rice wine and the apple spirits they carried.

 

Glad I was there and do not wish to return.

 

Ray