Day after tomorrow – two years ago – Old Man Jack left us. He would be free of his nightmares of war which plagued him nightly for seventy years. While it is self-serving to reblog your own story, I am reblogging this for the sake of men like him who gave away their youth to serve in hell. People today need to KNOW and REMEMBER. I regret the huge majority of Americans today are ignorant of what people had to do so that we can enjoy – and complain – of what we have today.
Rest in peace, Jack. I will try to visit you today to say hi.
“Koji, don’t let anyone tell you different. War makes good boys do crazy things.”
That was the first time Old Man Jack shared something with me about the war in a voice of unfeigned remorse. In turn, it was one of my first journeys in his time machine in which he allowed me to ride along.
Front row seats. Free of charge.
It was in 2002 to the best of my recollection. It was just before my littlest firecracker was born.
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KA-BAR. If you are a World War II US Marine who served on “those stinkin’ islands”, there is no explanation necessary.
A KA-BAR was a Marine’s most prized personal possession. It was always at their side.
They opened their C-rations with it. Dug foxholes with it. Chopped coconut logs with it. Hammered nails with it. Indestructible.
Most importantly, for killing. Designed for slashing and stabbing. Desperate hand-to-hand combat. To the death.
I had begun reading “FixBayonetsUSMC” when I can; he is a fellow WordPress blogger and served in the United States Marine Corps for three decades. Recently, we exchanged comments about our sailors on his blog – the author has high admiration and gratitude toward the US Navy.
Also, it has now been two years since I was honored to have served as a pallbearer at Old Man Jack’s funeral. As some of you readers may know, Old Man Jack was a sailor in the USN during WWII and endured combat. He definitely fit the “stereotype” of a salty sailor but I loved him. And I think he loved me.
His neighbor, Mr. Johnson USMC, lived next door to Jack for about 60 years. He also endured combat during WWII. Mr. Johnson and I went to his funeral together.
Now, both have passed on.
I miss them both.
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By coincidence, I received an email which contained random thoughts from sailors. Whether true or conjured up, I thought of Old Man Jack and Mr. Johnson fondly as I read them. I can almost hear Jack spitting these out while sitting in his departed wife’s blue wheelchair… in his garage complaining about my cigar. He especially liked talking about the fights they picked with the Marines.
Enjoy.
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“Most sailors won’t disrespect a shipmate’s mother. On the other hand, it’s not entirely wise to tell them you have a good looking sister.”
“Sailors and Marines will generally fight one another, and fight together against all comers.”
“Three people you never screw with: the doc, the paymaster and the ship’s barber.”
“Skill, daring and science will always win out over horseshit, superstition and luck.”
“Never walk between the projector and the movie screen after the flick has started.”
“A sailor will lie and cheat to get off the ship early and then will have no idea where he wants to go.”
“Sailors constantly complain about the food on the mess decks while concurrently going back for second or third helpings.”
“Contrary to popular belief, Chief Petty Officers do not walk on water. They walk just above it.”
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Remember and honor our people that have served – or are serving – in our military.
My girl friend Linda fretted for a couple of weeks before going to Japan with me.
She fretted about the (we-know-they’re-coming) typhoons.
She fretted about the (we-don’t-know-they’re-coming) earthquakes.
But what did she fret about the most? She fretted about getting butt-naked in front of my cousins for a Japanese-style bath at a hot spring in Japan.
Silly lady… All Japanese do that.
Oops. I forgot. She is Irish with blue eyes.
Well, I guess if I were her and experiencing a panic attack, I’d just put a brown paper bag over my mouth… and drink all the scotch inside.
That would help. After all, she is Irish.
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The hot spring inn, “Entaijisou” or 延対寺荘.
During our ten-day visit to Japan in November, my cousin Kiyoshi (Masako‘s youngest brother) treated us to a most wonderful journey to Toyama Prefecture, just inland from the Sea of Japan. One such destination was famous for its hot springs and a beautiful gorge. We stayed at the inn called “Entaijiso (延対寺荘)” near “Unazuki Hot Springs (宇奈月温泉).” Started in 1900, the hot spring’s water is naturally heated to a most perfect temperature and has an open-air spa area called a “rotenburo (露天風呂)”. Literally, you are soaking outside under the heavens. Butt-naked.
Of course, I was unable to take photos inside the bathing area for obvious reasons but here are other photos from their website to give you a taste of the relaxation that can be had.
Yes, my Irish lady did go in with my (female) cousins! In a form of endearment, my cousin Masako even washed her back. Butt naked. After relaxing in the water for a while then dry off, you notice your skin is just ultra silky smooth. My cousins did say the geothermically heated ground water has therapeutic powers… That there is some kind of magical healing power bubbling up. I kind of doubted it. But there IS something in the water. 🙂
Their dining area was spectacular; just outside is the river and magnificent mosaic-colored hillsides – a post card panorama.
Kiyoshi’s gracious treat continued on the Kurobe Gorge Tram (黒部峡谷トロッコ). It is a a sightseeing train running on a very narrow track originally built to aid the construction of the Kurobe Dam. It follows a winding path along the river – something like 20 kilometers from the base station of Unazuki to the end. We we there unbelievably at their peak of the autumn color change. It is important to note we hiked a bit after getting off the tram at Kanetsuri Station – and my cousins below LED the way. While Masako has difficulty going DOWN stairs, she was a jack rabbit going up. Amazing. At 80 years of age.
My cousins (L to R): Tomiko (71), Masako (80), Namie (74) and Kiyoshi (65).
I will let the photos show you the grandeur we were so fortunate to experience. (Please note many of these were taken from the moving tram.)
AND A “I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE”… Can you spot it? There is a wild red faced monkey below.
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Prior to getting into the hot spring and public bath, I tried to relieve her anxiety.
I said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
She replied, “They sinned.”
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I was proud of my blue-eyed Irish lady friend. She got into the public bath and hot springs butt naked.
And even got her back scrubbed by Masako, a survivor of an atomic blast.
Imagine that.
From a Japanese hot spring, I have learned that spreading peace for the world starts as a power that emanates from within one person.
Thank you for blowing up this “Government Shutdown” bull shit way out of proportion.
You know. It’s no shutdown. It’s a slimdown. It doesn’t even qualify for a Weight Watcher’s sign-up special.
Copyright Gulflive.com
CNN, your exaggerated threats on world TV and the internet – and by siding with the White House – did negatively affect a diminishing group of our most patriotic citizens… Our Greatest Generation.
Yessiree, CNN. You made them break laws. Shame on you, CNN
Read about these WWII veterans in the sunset of their lives not willing to be denied their last and only chance to visit their own memorial erected in their name. Just as they stormed the hedgerows in France 70 years ago, they stormed stupid barricades set up by their own Government. Just click on this link: WWII Memorial Read about their triumphant last skirmish…against their own Government’s stupidity. The Government their comrades in arms gave their lives for.
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And answer me this, CNN… Who does Michelle have on HER payroll…and NOT furloughed?
After a sergeant in the Marine Corps reached mandatory age and got mustered out, he entered civilian life and became a high school teacher. Just before the school year started, the former enlisted Marine injured his back. He was required to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. Fortunately, the cast fit under his shirt and wasn’t noticeable.
On the first day of class, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in the school. The smart-aleck punks, having already heard the new teacher was a Marine, were leery of him and he knew they would be testing his discipline in the classroom.
Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, the new teacher opened the window wide and sat down at his desk. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he picked up a stapler and stapled the tie to his chest.
Is America following the same path that the Romans marched on to their downfall?
A young man in America – the country for which he fought for in World War II – did what enemy bullets and artillery couldn’t on Okinawa sixty-eight years ago.
This young man in America beat this 88 year-old veteran to death.
But since English is my second language, I can use it out of naivete.
And I feel it means “internal spirit” or “internal push to do something”…
Like “Man, it took a lot of spunk to work like that.”
Of course, I understand it can refer to something else… You know, foreigners learn bad words first.
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So why bring up this word? Are you afraid of getting spunked?
Well, America now has 478 million people that need to be spunkified. That’s 478,000,000, folks.
Why?
All of these 478 million people are on food stamps. That’s a lot of missing spunk.
Original food stamps.
I don’t know how many of them are citizens or have green cards or are “undocumented”.
Of course, there’s a number of the 478,000,000 folks just down on their luck… But for the most part, the remainder have no spunk.
That’s how they live day to day. On food stamps. That the people WITH spunk for the most part are paying for.
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Did you think 478 million was a big number? Well, how about 78 billion… That’s in dollars. $78,000,000,000. Three more zeros than 478,000,000.
That’s how much this food stamp program is costing us.
That’s how much of us “with spunk” are losing out of our paychecks.
Would you like to hear something more sickening?
$3,000,000,000 – three BILLION dollars – of that $78,000,000,000 is spent on ADMINISTRATION. To me, that is plain sick. Stupidity. Unnecessary staff to meet stupid legalities.
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Obama said at the beginning that he believes food stamps is an economic stimulant.
Bull pucky.
The food stamp program started in 1939. We were in the Depression. People were hungry and crops and food stuffs were stockpiling on the farmlands.
One of the original food stamps poster. Circa 1939
So FDR came to a startling and brilliant idea – let’s give out free money to those that are hungry. It’s free to them as working people had taxes taken from their pay. Then the hungry can then buy the food stuffs stockpiling on our farms! Win-Win-(Lose)!
Well, thank goodness, World War II began. The Depression ended with the American will power to… work. The food stamp program – which was experimental – officially ended in 1943. About 4 million Americans received assistance in those four years.
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Well… Guess what JFK did in his first day in office in 1960.
Yup. He signed an Executive Order. (The same type of directive that put my father into those prison camps during WWII. I hate those suckers.)
This Executive Order reinstated the food stamp program. After, it was one of his campaign promises.
…And that’s all she wrote. Now, one out of seven six Americans are on food stamps (called the SNAP program now).
1 out of 76.
And you know what? It is true. You can live a better life with food stamps and NOT working. You even get free health benefits!
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To some, this post will cause irritation if not anger. For others, they are irritated or angry. They are angry because the country’s majority has voted for this, in one way, shape or form… This minority of voters didn’t believe in an endless entitlement mentality…nor want it.
Indeed, a heckuva a people need to get spunkified.
Face it. Our country is clearly headed in the wrong direction. We are even furloughing our military.
Damn the lawyers and damn the minority rights activists. It has moved too far towards the extreme in the past six years.
Make it hard to get free food. Make them work for it.
This needs to be stopped…
(ps This is just an opinion. There is no right or wrong. There is no intent to rile anybody and all constructive comments will be appreciated.)
The White House as it looked when President Adams occupied it. whitehousehistory.org
Mr. President, I take exception to your leadership. I feel it is flawed.
You are supposed to be MY president.
My fellow Mustang buddy’s president. He’s Black and has a doctorate. Oh. He’s married to a Middle Eastern lady – who screams while sitting shotgun in his grossly overpowered car.
My neighbor’s president. He’s Hispanic, an American citizen and is in the USAF (and who got his pay cut due to The (Dumb) Sequester.)
My blogging friend’s president. She is Irish with blazing red hair.
Yes, even #41 and #43’s president. They are Caucasian and BOTH served in the Armed Forces. Hell, #41 was shot down and lost his two crew members. Like Old Man Jack, even he must’ve had nightmares for the rest of his life.
You are the elected person to represent ALL of us…together.
But do you?
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Yes, I voted for the other guy. Glad that’s out in the open. Whew. Now hate me.
But all through your campaigns and years in office, you have made it a point to distinguish (imply?) yourself to be Black…and rarely or never infer that you are “White”.
How can that be, Mr. President? Your mother was White. Your father was Black.
To me, that’s 50%-50%.
President Obama’s parents
It’s simple math. The same simple math taught in school. Well, pardon me. Not too many folks recall seeing you in class.
Perhaps you ditched classes, Mr. President, just like my angelic oldest daughter..? But my oldest daughter got straight A’s. I’ll let you see her report card if you’ll show me your transcripts.
So I excuse you on your mathematical error.
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Trayvon Martin died on February 26, 2012.
On March 23, 2012, you said on national TV:
“But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and that we’re going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.” (Note: President Obama, the LOCAL authorities and DA DID get to the bottom of exactly what happened shortly after the shooting, right?)
After the verdict was read, you made another statement. On July 20, 2013, you said:
“When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son,” Obama said. “Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”
First speech mentioning Trayvon Martin.
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The Zimmerman/Martin fight took place in a smaller township called Sanford, FL. The local – LOCAL – authorities concluded there was not enough evidence to hold or charge Zimmerman under their STATE laws.
But alas… The MEDIA was a huge contributor. In my opinion, it was primarily CNN who started a fire where there should have been none. Day after day, they tried to “stir the pot”, as they say. RACE came into the limelight thanks to CNN fueling the self-grown fire.
Then Obama’s ill-advised comment… RACE again. He’s HALF-WHITE.
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Race is one thing contributing to the deepening divide amongst our citizens.
In his first speech, he fueled the frenzy with those words, “…and that we’re going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”
Who is “we’re”? Him? The Feds? It fell under state and LOCAL jurisdiction. And the local law enforcement and DA – closest to the case and evidence – had closed its case.
Obama and CNN was pouring copious amounts of salt onto a festering wound.
By the way… How does CNN pick which murder to sensationalize? Why didn’t CNN sensationalize this more recent one – of four Blacks killing an unarmed White college student:
I am curious why you did not come out in front of our nation and say, “If I had a son, he’d look like Joshua Proutey.”
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In closing, how DARE Obama distinguish himself from me implying Trayvon Martin could have been his son – for whatever reason – in front of our country.
You are supposed to be MY president.
You are to lead us… represent all of us… and not imply “favoring” one race over another.
How do you bring this together instead of dividing it?
Simple. Like this:
THIS is how YOU should lead OUR country, Mr. Obama. (White House Archives)
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Face it. There are racists.
White people who hate other races. Blacks who hate other races. Asians who hate other races.
Lead us. Tell us citizens to quell this lunacy…and get off the minority soap box at the same time.
ps PLEASE PAY MY USAF BUDDY. HE IS IN HARM’S WAY AND WORKING TO PROTECT US. HE IS NOT HOLDING HIS HAND OUT LIKE 47 MILLION OTHERS ARE.
Masako and Spam Musubi 