Iwo Jima-Part 3

As I stated earlier, all the guns were trained on the only spot for a landing. The general of the Japanese had studied the D-day landing and was determined to do it differently, his idea was to let the troops land and then kill them on the beach.
The marines were told to develope a relationship with one special person, a buddy, to watch over each other, and work together. The veterans of other battles and landings knew this wasn't going to be fun. Many thought after the Naval and air bombardment for weeks that resistance would be minimal because not much could survive that. They were wrong, the enemy was underground.
70,000 Marines were going to land in waves on the beach. It would take 36 days to "take " the island.
Iwo Jima is 5 1/2 miles long and two miles wide. A car driving 60 mph could cover its length in 5 and a half mins.
The flag raisers were part of 2,000 men assigned to take Mount Suribachi. The rest was to take the rest if the island.
As the landing took place vehicles bogged down in the vocanic sand. Troops began to move inland. All was quiet for a while, then the slaughter began.
In battles up to that time, medics were considered sacred, not fired on, not so with the Japanese, they were special targets, because by killing a medic it was thought that many others would die because they wouldn't be treated and die of their wounds, and the same pertained to makeshift hospitals, and areas where wounded were being placed for transport to hospital ships.
Landing craft hit by big guns were hit and a craft hit, carrying 25 men would simply vaporize, no bodies, no body parts, no metal. Men on the beach would simply vanish where they stood or lay. Progress was slow and hard, the ash would fill in a hole trying to be dug, walking or running was like trying to walk in a pile of corn. Tracked landing craft had to run over wounded lying on the beach, men were shoved to death because of the congestion. Staying in one spot was certain death, and moving was certain death, so they moved. Men mowed down as they left the landing craft. Bodies and body parts were everywhere.
Yet the men kept moving, there were so many acts of bravery, under a mind numbing fear, men throwing themselves on grenades to protect buddies, men trying to retrieve wounded, and being killed in the process or wounded. The only cover being shell holes or trenches and enemy fire on every inch of ground. For a gain of a few yards, 20-30 men would die. Many men were wounded several times, yet kept fighting. Why they were asked afterwords, to help my buddies they would reply. As the wounded were placed by the beach, hundreds, the Japanese would fire at them, many wounded perished on stretchers, and others waited to die as they lay there.
The father of the writer of this book treated many men, held them as they died, until during sometime during the 35 days he was wounded several times also but refused to leave, until weakness and exhaustion forced him to.
His special buddy was captured and tortured, arms broken, teeth knocked out, eyes dugout and beaten. Some time during the process of 24 hours he died. The father(medic) had to go get him from the cave where he was found. His genitals were cut off and stuck in his mouth, something the father would not forget, and the main reason he wouldn't talk about the war afterwards.
To a man, when asked why they did what they did, it was for their friends, buddies, even if they didn't know them.
Finally Surabachi was taken, the American Flag was raised all cheered, ships blew there horns. But there was 30 more days to go. Americans could hear Japanese blowing themselves up underneath them, rather than face death at American hands, or capture.
A wounded Japanese would hold a grenade to himself and blow himself up if an American tried to treat him, so wounded enemy were killed where found.
A boy of fourteen lied to get into the marines, he was severely wounded, had 21 operations to reconstruct the damage, he was the youngest medal of honor winner, and the only high school freshman to recieve it.
As the men advanced, graves registration surveyed the plots, trenches were dug and men buried, wounds and bodies so mangled, the seasoned registers were sickened. One chaplan buried 1800 boys in a few days.

The Men -Part 2

The men of this book were Marines, and Navy Corpsmen(medics), they enlisted in the marines because of history of the marines and it being a tough outfit. The men lived normal lives, school, girlfriends, family, work etc.. They were all wanting to serve their country. The book is about one person mostly, but the history covers all six flag raisers. Three of the six died on Iwo Jima. Several were veterans of other pacific campaigns, one had a premonition of death in this last campaign, and indeed he did die.
Ira Hayes was the only non-white of the six, he was Pima Indian of the Gila Reservation in Arizona.
Although this story is about Marines, this is not to take away the same bravery of all our troops in all theaters of war, in all battles, in wars, in all branches of service.
The goal in writing about this is for you to understand the American Fighting Man, why and how they do what they do and the effects afterwards.
The men train for months on end, in military discipline, in fighting, marksmanship, in being a team, day after day, drill after drill until you learn to stay alive and do your job and maybe another job besides, and most important learn to kill, and do it all by instinct after some time, as natural as breathing. The men become close, live together, drink together, talk, laugh, maybe visit friends families, learn about their families, loves and sometimes fears, or plans afterwards. I a word "comradeship", the real meaning, you may just hear buddies, but it goes beyond what most can understand about those words.
As before I encourage you to read this book, told far better than I can begin to say!

History Part One

We have all heard and read about the war to end all wars, WWI. It didn't end all wars, Germany invaded it's neighbors and Russia, and attacked Britain by air. People in the US didn't want us to enter WWII because of casualties and wounded still seen in towns all across America, and they didn't want to see it again. Eventually, we were sucked into war with Germany and the US machinery started to produce material for the war. Then Japan began to attack it's neighbors, China, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines etc.. The Japanese were brutal to those attacked, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions perished by their hands, and that doesn't include the rapes and torture, working people to death, and death and torture to their prisoners of war. We read about the Baaton Death March, brutal prison camps, River Quai, and on and on. Then we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, hence war was declared on Japan.
The people of the US mobilized, there was rationing of food and gasoline, metal was saved and collected and made into war material. Hundreds of thousands of men lined up at recruiting stations, even kids tried to join and some were able to lie their way in to service. Women and those men unable to join worked in industry to produce war material. Our troops were supported as never seen before or since. Tens of thousands of men were killed in air raids on Germany, hundreds of thousands of civilians died in those same raids. Thousands killed on the seas and ground combat. We all know about D-Day and the battles for Europe, Italy, Africa, and the German invasion of Russia and finally the defeat of Germany, hearing about the Holocaust, and the German inhumanity to man.
We have read also about the war with Japan, battles in the Philippines, Tarawa, Bouganville, Saipan, Guadalcanal. We lost thousands of men in great sea battles against Japan, and tens of thousands more in airmen and battles on the ground. We began to bomb the Japanese Island itself, at great cost to men and aircraft. The bean counters in Washington DC estimated that we would lose 100 thousand or more to invade the island. Iwo Jima was within range of Japan itself and considered it as part of the homeland. The mayor of Tokyo was also mayor of Iwo. To the US it was a place to land damaged aircraft and supply attacks on the Japan island itself. It was considered vital to take the island of Iwo Jima at all costs, so plans were devised to do just that, invade Iwo. Being so important to Japan, they constructed the most heavily fortified island or any battlefield anywhere in the history of the world. There were 22,000 defenders, not on Iwo but in Iwo. The Japanese had 16 miles of tunnels and buildings dug in Iwo. Huge guns, and guns of all sorts and power were hid in holes and caves, their men lived under Iwo, they had hospitals, sewers, power, food for a year, ammunition. Iwo Jima was bombed more than anyplace on earth, with little effect, that's how well dug in they were. The guns of Iwo were all pointed to the one place suitable for landing men and machines. After the war someone mentioned the strange soil on Iwo, it wasn't soil, it was rusted metal from bombs, shells, and gunfire.
Iwo Jima means sulfur island, it is made of volcanic ash and rock. It is barren or nearly so, not much of anything grows there, and that makes not much cover for invading troops either.
The defenders were under orders to hold the island at all costs, no one was to leave the island, all defenders were to kill at least 10 US soldiers before they died themselves. All the Japanese believed they would die, and they did indeed die, all except a few. The last two surrendered in 1948 or 49 if you can believe that. One of those two would not go back to Japan because it was in shame that he didn't die and probably didn't want to either.
All the crap about the Samurai ethic etc. was all a lie, Bushido had nothing to do with it, it was the brainwashing of the soldiers that did it, suicide was not in the real warrior ethics of long ago. Only in shame was suicide an option.To the Japanese leaders the warriors were called Issen Gorin, meaning 1 yen 5 rin, the cost of mailing a letter to the dead warrior's family!
End of Part One

A True Story

I have decided to tell a story, I'm not sure why, maybe I feel it has to be told. I want people to understand the meaning, the why of actions of people. It is a true story.
As I have said earlier I read this book, it is called "Flag Of Our Fathers", It was written by a son of one of the famous flag raisers on Iwo Jima. This person is from Wisconsin as I am. Even though his father was in this famous picture, it was never hung in his home, his father never talked about his war experience, even to his wife. He avoided interviews about the war, never gave talks in his kids schools, and avoided publicity about the picture and war experiences. His father was a Navy Medic for a Marine unit. So he set out after his father's death to learn more about the war, his father, and the men of the unit. What I am about to write over the next bunch of blogs are snippets of this book.
A look at the time in history, the actions of the "enemy", the fight on Iwo Jima, the men who fought and died and/or were wounded, and the effects afterwards.
More in a while.

Compost Bins

There are many commercial containers available, or you can find them on line. Or you can build them yourself. I chose the latter. I started with a 55 gal drum, drilled holes all over it for air, it had a sealing ring on top. I would put material in it, add to it until full and tipped it over on it's side and rolled it to mix and aerate it. In a few weeks I had 20 gals or so of nice black dirt. Soon I had a need for much larger containers so I found six large 5x5x5 foot containers and lined them with 1/4" mesh screen around the sides and bottom. They had a drop front door so was easy to turn the compost when needed. I would fill one with material use one to place the material during turning. and so on. So every other one was used for turning, and the last one to put finished compost. I let the finished material set for a month or so to totally stop being active then used the fresh soil. I had these bins at a friends house in the country, in a wooded area, and between my family and his we would put several 5 gal pails of food waste per week into the pile. Now keep in mind in rural areas here we have bear, and coons, fox, wolves, coyotes etc.. Not once using food waste did it attract animals. The microbial action must in some way be noxious to them. And not once was odors a problem as we controlled the temperature to under 145 degrees. Then we had yards of nice fresh soil for the gardens and around trees. My friend still uses a couple for his household waste as it costs rural people per bag to dispose of anything so it is a real cost savings to him.
I am sure you can find plans on the net to build 4x4x4 foot bins cheaply, out of scrap wood and 1/4 inch mesh screen. Or build new if you like.
I have put whole pumpkins and squash in the working pile and within a few days they would be mush, and a few days after that would be totally gone into nice soil.
Now a word of caution, don't use pet waste from dogs and cats, there may be harmful microbes in it that don't get killed if the pile is not hot enough. Human waste also avoided. Don't put leaves from black walnut trees either as the lignin kills other growth. Also use pine needles in small amounts as it can create problems also.
If you really get into gardening, soil test kits can be purchased or you can have the county extensions test the soil and then add commercial fertilizer to balance what is lacking.
If anyone needs any advice I am willing to help in any way.

More Info on Compost

If you research composting on the net you will find out all you wanted to know and more. I guess I want to temper what you will read with my own findings. I have experimented a lot with various things in compost, including composting paper mill sludge. Compost is used to remediate contaminated soils from gas etc.. Many big cities compost their solid waste as well as yard waste.
Here are some facts: An ideal carbon/nitrogen ratio is 40:1, 40 parts carbon, 1 nitrogen.
Carbon is saw dust, brown leaves, wood chips and paper. Nitrogen is food waste(not meat), grass clippings, garden waste, manure.
A working compost pile will reach 140 degrees plus, when it reaches that point it needs to be turned to aerate it. If you don't it will kill the microbes and the pile will become anaerobic and may cause a smelly pile.
Next, wood chips are usually big and take a while to compost, they are good to keep the pile loose and get more air, but don't provide good carbon source. Hence I like saw dust and very small wood chips like from a home chipper shredder. I don't hold to the 40:1 ratio absolutely, I put a layer of leaves and saw dust, maybe 3 inches, and then toss in a thinner layer of grass clippings, not too thin, a couple inches maybe, water lightly as water is an important ingredient in the pile. It should be moist enough to stick together when squeezed but not mushy, but don't worry any excess water will run right through the pile and out the bottom. Food waste can be put on the grass or you may add daily but digging a hole in the pile and place the food waste in and cover. I have compost thermometer, but you can us any type that goes above 140 degrees. When it gets to around 140 turn the pile, usually by tossing it into the pile next to the one you are working in, then water it lightly as you place it back in the original pile. It is then aerated and watered and will be much cooler again but will rise tow or more times, so you will need to keep turning it as it gets high again.
When measuring the temp of the pile it is good to have a long thermometer to reach the middle of the pile, where most of the heat is.
In the next blog I will explain bins to compost in.

Today Is History

Yep folks, science made history today, as well as mathematics! Scientists say they have seen the results of dark matter, by observing two gas clouds in space collide and seen the gravitational effects of dark matter on the gas. They claim 80-90% of the universe is dark matter, though they haven't seen any yet. Some say it doesn't exist, some say it does.
I do know that gray matter resides, or should be between our ears, and it doesn't matter, matter is all over the place, eh, eh.
A Russian mathematician has solved the 100 yr old mathematical mystery of the Poincare conjecture. This relates to surfaces like a donut, a donut can not be made into a sphere with out ripping it apart. You know, if an ant walks on an apple it will eventually get to where it started. It can walk left and right and forward and back, but it can't walk up and down. This 3D image will help us determine the shape of the universe as well as other things. It will also solve the singularity issue by mathematically hiding it so the equation can continue.
Now I don't know about you, but I have always wondered when eating a donut why they weren't spheres, and if an ant walked on said donut it would come to where it started.
Whew, and he wins a million for exercising his gray matter! I knew I was in the wrong business.

Bio-Ethanol in the Northland

There is some talk in the area of using forest waste to make ethanol for use as a fuel and some talk about bio-diesel fuel. Both of which I support. A paper mill in the town I work in has applied to possibly use the wood waste to make ethanol, as well as paper. I hope it works and provides a few more jobs as well as provide a source of alternative fuel.
I worked in the environmental field for a while after college, and damned near starved to death up here, but my interest is still there. Shutterwi can tell you that I love compost and can talk on it for hours. I started using a barrel then a small bin, then 6 huge bins. Composted everything from food waste to paper, to paper mill sludge. I did some work in farm run off and no till planting and recycling. I was also an advisor(paid) to help college students at our local college, compost the college food waste and recycling.
In a local paper there was an article on a composter you can use in the house for food waste and small amounts of paper. It sounded good and I would like to see one in operation. Lots of things work, but all take a little work and patience. There are lots of ways to process food waste such as vermiculture (worms eating food waste then using their waste) . Then you can harvest the worms for fishing!
Between composting, recycling and reusing, I was able to go from 4, 30 gal garbage cans down to one can, and my daughter was small and in diapers! And composting and recycling can be done by anyone to reduce what hits our landfills. We have a long way to go and I am certainly willing to talk about it, we can do it, the question is will we?
A while back I said that economies need to become more local as much as possible, for food, possibly fuel or energy alternatives, in a local paper today was an article on eating habits getting healthier in the area, in part due to organic produce being grown in the area and more people buying it. I also believe in bio-intensive gardening, being able to grow enough produce in a 4 foot by 20 foot plot, to feed one person for 1 year. I haven't been that lucky but in theory I guess you can. Using compost and double digging the ground over a five year period to get the plot to produce like that.
Ahhhh, so much to do and so little time!

A Sad Day

My daughter left for college today, it always make me a little sad, I love her and love her being around. Sure she is like most kids, a little long on mouth, but has always been a great kid, never in trouble and always smiling. I guess I feel the same way after my other kids visit and leave to go back to their homes. I say kids when in fact the oldest is almost 40 and the youngest is 20. I am close to all the kids, hugs and kisses always, even with the boys. That will never change! One is a Kansas City, Kansas SWAT Officer and is 6'6' and 250 lbs and at times sits on my lap, you can't see my under him but I am there, eh, eh. Oh well, I will go on, and they will too, we know that, but it takes getting used to being alone again, the wife and I. May be a good thing we got a little chocolate lab pup this summer for company, that and a couple grand kids that live in town also, along with another daughter, thank god she is here too.

Terrorism

I said in an earlier blog I was going to shy away from news things and political things, but it is very hard to do. I guess I have to add my 2 cents worth once in a while.
The people arrested in Brittain were mostly citizens of that country, and as I have said before, countries face more of a threat from wanna be sicko's within than directly from foreigners. In my humble opinion these groups and people are cowardly and weak. For some reason they identify with some other twisted group to make a name for themselves, or go down in history or some other reason.
Today a few people were arrested in neighboring Michigan for buying 1,000 prepaid cell phones. They claimed they bought them to resell to make money. They also say they were arrested because they were from the middle east. Now why would someone pay 50 dollars for a phone when you can go to wally world and buy it for $20?
Dubbya said we are at war with Islamic faschists, well that brought complaints from Islamic groups. Racial profiling they say. Well, the Islamic militant extremists are at war with the world. So yes, I expect we are racial profiling to some degree, because of the threat.
Most agree that war is a bad thing. It is and as history has shown us, as many or more civilians are killed than combatants. The real question is when is it ok to go to war? Our homeland was attacked and we responded, Israel was attacked and they responded. Israel was attacked almost daily for as long as I can remember with suicide bombers.
There are peace studies in colleges, we have a program in the college here. It would be wonderful to negotiate peace in the world, but it takes all players to do that, when one side refuses what is to happen then. It is easy to say turn the other cheek, but it isn't our families under attack, it isn't our country. For myself, if our country is under attack or my family, I will hunt the offenders, period.
Our troops are stuck in a situation like Vietnam, we can't win anything, we may win battles but we can't win the war. The enemy are like cockroaches, they hide and strike. The have learned that they can't fight us on a battlefield because they can't win that way. They have found they can't drive us out so they fight each other. Attack us only when the opportunity arises. We may have slowed the terrorists to some degree, but in my opinion we haven't gained much ground stopping the threat.
The real truth is this folks, we think and want to believe that all sides abide by the geneva convention, the rules of war. Each side may or may not have rules of engagement, we do atleast. The real situation of war is different, though we go to war for a noble war only to find the other side commiting atrocities on our troops and civilians. The warriors see this day after day. Their comrades beheaded, tortured, corpses defiled in ways you can not even believe. Then keep being told that they have rules to abide by.
Parents and or wives get notified of death saying killed in roadside bomb, died of injuries, shot through and through, body parts missing, without really knowing what happened to their loved ones.
If provoked to war, we need to do what is necessary to win it, we may not like it, we may not agree with it, but that is the reality. We have been in the war business long enough to know that. That is exactly why war should be the last option, but if we have to, go to win. Until we play on an even field, we don't stand a chance. The one thing I am sure of in life is that we need to pray that we don't fight a war on our soil, as a people, we don't want to see the horrors that others see, and get put in a position to do what you never thought you could or would do, and have to live with it after it was all done. Amen!

Weekly Report

I had surgery on my carpal tunnel last week, so still recovering, not as fast as I expected, but I hope it will keep progressing, but fingers still numb, the doc said the strap over the nerves were very tight so recovery will take longer.
My nieces daughter, around eight months old had open heart surgery and all went well, the hole in her tiny heart was fixed, that was Tuesday and she came home yesterday, a miracle in my mind.
Today a neighbor asked my advice on composting and organic gardening so we had a good discussion on those topics.
Other than that I seem to be having writers block for some reason, maybe unmotivated or something. I have been reading every one's blogs but have had few comments. Sometimes there is just not much to say.
I guess I have been giving some thought into some changes in my life I would like to make and trying to figure out how to do it and when. This is all job related folks, I have a job that is not much of a challenge, and I feel like a trained monkey. Opportunities are few and far between in the north woods. So my quest goes on!

Facial Hair On Men

Facial hair has been around for ever it seems. Cavemen onwards had hair. Probably had something to do with the inability to shave it or otherwise remove it. Clam shells, bone and steel have been used to get rid of it. I once bought a straight razor, like one used in barber shops, and used it a few times, or until I thought I would need a blood transfusion from all the cuts and abrasions. I guess if I had to use a shell or a straight razor I would grow a beard to.
Now it isn't that women don't have facial hair, I have seen some nice five o'clock shadows on women, but for now it is just men. I decided on this topic because of a friend who developed an obsessive compulsive disorder while growing what I call "face art". Then I began to notice what others grow and how it affects them. Interesting and humorous all.
This, what I will call a friend, but that term is questionable, from things that happened over the years I wouldn't see, and didn't want to, grew a beard each year for hunting season. Over the years it would happen several times a year for no particular reason. Being a homely little cuss it didn't do him much good to grow one, though he thinks he looks suave sporting it.
Anyway, he works at the same place I do, so we commuted together, for a couple of years, I dropped him off on a Friday and on Monday he trimmed his beard to a wrap around fu manchu and for the next year and a half preened it constantly, pushing the mustache part one way then another, brushing it down then across then starting the preening all over again. This took place for almost 3 hours a day I was with him, not including at work and at home. Well I teased him about the preening, swore at him, tried to embarrass him, and what ever I could to get him to stop. He wouldn't, so I said he would have to drive himself or I would thump his dumb ass if he kept it up. To this day he walks around work looking and preening like the village idiot.
Anyway, we don't speak much anymore, he can't understand I don't care if he grows a beard out and combs it over his head, it was the steady movement along side me that was the problem, kind of like having a hyperactive 5 year old sitting next to you.
So because of this I began to notice other furry faced friends, some never touch their face art, and others play with it all the time.
Where I work many have beards, goatees, mustaches, fu-manchus, and all other varieties. I even have asked why they grow what they have. Most say just to be different, yet if you lined them up they would all look the same. Kind of like the biker guys, long hair, beards, bike jackets, or vests, trying to be individuals but all looking the same. Just like the rebellious 60's, until now. many of the young had long hair and beards going against the man.
Oh well, enough picking on our furry faced friends, I am biased, you had more hair on your morning bacon than I have on my head.

This Blog Site

I have decided to change my topics to more humor and the past rather than politics. Political topics are like butt holes.....everyone has one. I dislike regurgitating the news, and I doubt I have much more insight to the worlds problems than the rest of the blogger's and reporters. So in the future I will blog for my benefit rather than try to gain readers of my site. I may well be the only one reading it, but I will do it for my enjoyment. Come and look, or not, as you will!

War

If you want more info on Israel type in "The Israel Lobby" by John Mearsheimer and another fellow. Also go to pbs.org and find "the dark side" for info on why we are in Iraq. I had these posted a while back and I don't know if anyone visited the sites. I encourage you 3 or 4 readers of mine to go and look.
Oil prices at the pump are increasing weekly and are now $3.19 or was on friday. The oil analysts are keeping pace justifying the increases. They say now that it is the free market system in action, pricing what we are willing to pay, because if it wasn't that way we would find ways to conserve and use less so we pay because we are willing to pay! Well, they have their heads in their asses, we pay because we have to. I have to drive 120 miles per day and I have no choice period. Sure I could walk for groceries if I had to but I don't drive needlessly because I can't afford to. We have spread out as a society, living in the burbs, small towns and commuting to work. Of course we did this when prices were lower! Now maybe we are expected to sell out and or quit work to conserve. I have the only job I could find in this area short of wally world or flipping burgers. Nice choice huh folks, but we have choices even if the oil execs and analysts can afford to pay.
Anyway, the wars go on, we get hated more each day, and terrorist groups are springing up like teenage male genitalia on lovers lane. It seems the Islamic Militant Extremists are getting more support by the normal Islamics, and why not, it is they who are dying more than the extremists.
We are pouring more men into Iraq, in harms way like more troops are the answer. Never mind that we are in the middle of a problem we can't solve. Only the people of Iraq and their government can if they want peace and democracy. I really haven't seen anything that says the people want it bad enough.
Meanwhile the four horsemen of the apocalypse keep mouthing the same crap day after day, hoping to get a good break someday. Gandhi once said that if the world practiced and eye-for-an-eye then the world would be blind. Well folks, look for a bunch of blind or one eyed people in the middle east and Washington.