thought for the day

[nagarifle]

Backstabbers specialize in saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person.
Les Parrott

[nagarifle]

Taking responsibility means not blaming yourself Anything that takes away your power or your pleasure makes you a victim. Dont make yourself a victim of yourself! Susan Jeffers

[nagarifle]

"Political correctness is a belief that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

[airgun_novice]

"Political correctness is a belief that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Bingo ! Good One.

[nagarifle]

Anyone remember this?? It was 1987!

At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

He was being drilled by some senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"
Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."
The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"
"No, sir," continued Ollie.
"No? And why not?" the senator asked.
"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."
"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.
"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.
"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"
"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.
At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.
"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered.
"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.
"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."
The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.
By the way, that senator was Al Gore

[nagarifle]

I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief.

[airgun_novice]

I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief.

Well said.

[nagarifle]

Chivalry In The Air
As told by Jim Brodie
For Military Appreciation Day
Florida House of Representatives
April 19,2007

I would like to tell you a story.


A true story of Chivalry, Gallantry, Courage and Compassion.

I hope you will enjoy it and share it with the special people in your life.

At Dawn on the morning of December 20, 1943, American Army Lieutenant Charlie Brown piloted his B-17 bomber into formation and joined nearly 400 others from the 8th Air Force in England to bomb a German fighter factory in Bremen. It was his first mission as pilot in command of this 30 ton 4 engine heavy.

Charlie was 21 years old. His crew of ten were all in their late teens and early twenties. They had worked together and they had trained together…they were more than a crew… they were a team.

The bomber stream crossed the North Sea with American P-47 fighters as escorts. The fighters would stay with them for as long as they had range. But when the fighters turned back to refuel the bombers were on their own.

As they crossed the German coast they were attacked by defending ME 109 fighters.


The Messerschmitt ME 109 fighter was a world class, single engine aircraft, …fast, maneuverable and deadly … armed with machine guns and cannon. The two forces clashed and fought all the way to the outskirts of Bremen. During the action Charlie’s bomber sustained numerous hits wounding several of the crew and knocking out one engine. They were able to stay with the formation but as they approached the target, German anti-aircraft guns opened up. Charlie’s plane was hit again, destroying the Plexiglas nose and wounding the bombardier.

They could have turned back,
they should have turned back
but that’s not what THIS crew was all about.

They stayed with the mission and dropped their bombs directly on the target.

They were unable to keep up with the formation as it turned back toward England.
Alone as a straggler they were an easy target. Once again the German fighters attacked. Machine gun and cannon fire tore through the airplane.

The American gunners fought back bravely …all 10 machine guns blazing. Charlie flying his bomber directly into the oncoming Germans as if it were a fighter, employing tactics no bomber was built for.

The one sided battle lasted far longer than anyone could have expected, one German fighter destroyed, another probable…but the flying fortress and the crew were being shredded…Charlie was hit in the right arm.

At 25 thousand feet the controls of a second engine were shot away and the bomber’s oxygen supply was destroyed. Without oxygen the crew and pilot lost consciousness and the bomber spiraled toward earth 5 miles below.

The Germans scored it as another kill and raced off after the main bomber formation. Charlie’s B-17 continued its lumbering death spiral.
Miraculously the out of control bomber was spiraling slowly enough that the pilot regained consciousness in time to get control of the airplane and leveled off at 150 feet.

Charlie ordered his co-pilot to prepare the crew to bail out if he could get enough altitude for the parachutes to open. The co-pilot came back and told him of the dead and wounded crew and the horribly damaged airplane. They were in no condition to bail out.

Charlie replied, “that’s okay, I can’t get any altitude anyway”,…throw everything overboard to lighten the load”…parachutes, life rafts, machine guns. A third engine was now acting up.

As they flew, their course took them, unknowingly, over a Luftwaffe fighter base.

On the ground German fighter Ace, Lt. Franz Stigler was having his Messerschmitt fighter re-armed and re-fueled. He had already shot down two of the American bombers that morning adding to his long list of what would be 28 aerial victories.

He could not believe his luck, here was another target and he went off to bag number three for the day which would surely earn him the Knight’s Cross presented by the Furher himself!

As Franz sped toward his target his experience told him to do it just right, even though this American was alone and a straggler, he had been shot down by B17’s before and he had the wounds to show for it.

As he approached from the rear Franz noticed how low and how strangely the bomber was flying. The closer he got the more amazed he was that it was flying at all.

It was terribly shot up. He determined he would get as close as possible…..his 30 mm cannon and machine guns ready…..his finger on the trigger. As soon as the tail gunner would raise his guns Franz would blow them out of the sky and go home a hero….once again.

Closer….still closer….yet, no reaction from the crippled bomber. The much faster fighter flew by in a wide arc without firing. Franz noticed the tail gunner was dead… blood was everywhere.

He saw the courageous American crew struggling to save their comrades and a valiant young pilot trying to keep his airplane flying.

As the German fighter passed, them the entire crew was horrified. They were helpless; they were doomed…and they knew it…they were all about to die.

The defender of the Reich circled back, still in amazement that this bomber could remain airborne. He approached again and did not fire. This time slowing down enough to fly in formation on Charlie’s right wing.

Charlie, bleeding from his wound looked in horror, could not believe what he was seeing. The two 20 something warriors stared at each other, each other, each taking the measure of the other airman…the planes just a few feet apart.

He signaled Charlie to drop his landing gear, land in Germany and surrender. Charlie, either not understanding, or still groggy, just glared back. He refused to give up his ship on his first mission as pilot in command.

Again, Franz, using hand signals, ordered the American pilot to land and be taken prisoner. Charlie refused.

Franz thought to himself, “I can’t murder this brave but helpless crew and their “cowboy ” pilot, but we are still way inside Germany and if I leave them alone they will be dropped by the next fighter or flak gun”.

So, in an act of great compassion and chivalry and risking facing a firing squad, German Lt. Franz Stigler escorted American Lt. Charlie Brown’s bomber to the North Sea coast. He pointed toward England…then he saluted, said “happy birthday cowboy” rolled his fighter into a hard right turn and headed back to base never to breathe a word of what had happened.

He flew an incredible 480 combat missions… was credited with 28 victories and 40 more probables. He survived bring shot down 17 times.

Charlie and the crew were in total disbelief. This gallant German knight had given them life. They continued across the North Sea, crash landing on the coast of England.

Charlie continued to serve his country throughout the war flying 30 more combat missions over Germany and retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel. He and his crew related their story to the Army brass and were told, “Bury it”, your mission is classified Secret “we are at war, son… there are no gallant Germans”. But Charlie and the crew never forgot the chivalrous airman who gave them back their lives.

That should be the end of the story…but it’s not.

Forty five years later in 1988, Charlie attended a reunion of his WWII bomber squadron and told his story. Fifty seven children and grandchildren had been born to the surviving crew of Charlie’s bomber. The press was there and a reprint of the story was eventually published in a German fighter pilot’s magazine.

A year later, in December of 1989, Charlie received a five page type written letter postmarked Surrey, British Columbia. In the letter was a precise description of the air action over Bremen Germany on December, 20 1943…details that only Charlie knew, such as aircraft markings, time of day, precise battle damage and even the wave salute.

Charlie couldn’t believe it; how could this be possible? He was suspicious, but the details were accurate, the same story told from a totally different perspective. He telephoned Canada; for an hour the two spoke; every detailed was described. Charlie and his wife Jackie flew to British Columbia and met Franz and his wife Helga. In the airport in Canada the two old warriors, now in their 70’s, once again came face to face. They stared at each other; fears and memories that had been locked away came rushing back. With tears in their eyes they embraced.

Franz said, “Happy Birthday Cowboy”, for it was December 20th, 1989.

Franz and Charlie have remained friends ever since and have become as close as brothers.

[brihacharan]

> Great story Nags.
> Thanks for sharing it.
Briha

[airgun_novice]

> Great story Nags.
> Thanks for sharing it.
Briha

+1

[nagarifle]

Senator Glenn
Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the Uniformed Services do what they do for a living. This an example of what those who have never served, think of the Military.

Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real "job"?"

Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.

It wasn't my checkbook; it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.

I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day to a Veterans Hospital and look at those men with their mangled bodies in the eye and tell them they didn't hold a job.

You go with me to the space program and go as I have gone to the widows and orphans of Ed White and Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their dad didn't hold a job.

You go with me on Memorial Day coming up and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends than I'd like to remember and you watch those waving flags.

You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell me th! at thos e people didn't have a job. I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a job. And they required a dedication to purpose and a love of country and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible --- I HAVE HELD A JOB, HOWARD! --- "What about you?"

[airgun_novice]

As I was talking to tirpassion the other day, a reality emerged -
"City will always outlive its residents. The residents will always outgrow the City."

[brihacharan]

[quote="nagarifle"]
> Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading.
"You go with me on Memorial Day coming up and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends than I'd like to remember and you watch those waving flags"

> Hats off to Senator Glenn for his repartee to Senator Metzenbaum!
> Many years ago I had the privilege to stand in a long queue to shake hands with the then Astronaught John Glenn who had come to Mumbai along with the Space Capsule in which he had orbited the earth & was displayed near the Brabourne Stadium.
> Years after that I had gone to Manila to attend a conference - while there was taken on a tour of the city which culminated in a visit to the Manila American War Veteran's Cemetary that occupied over 150 acres of beautifully manicured greenary, where 17,500 soldiers who fought the 2nd World War lay buried.
> I was told by the guide that many of the soldiers were in their late teens or early twenties - on hearing this my thoughts flashed back to my uncle a Major aged 26 in the 7th Mahar regiment who laid down his life in Kashmir in 1948 & was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his bravery in capturing a pill box & saving the lives of his company.
> Yes Sen. Glenn - My uncle had a job & he did it exemplarily well!
Briha

[airgun_novice]

Brihji, here's to your uncle and many braveheart Indians like him.

[lakecity_shooter]

Hunting is'nt a sport.In a sport both sides know they are in the game.