#rescue from the SBD

[therezhikitt]

The making of a Mandalorian ...

The Mandalorian: The Book of Din Djarin

by TheRezhikitt

Chapter 8: Foundling

~Aq Vetina, circa 26 BBY~

“Be brave, my son, and honorable. You are a Djarin.” Da says, his eyes glittering. Din has never seen a man cry before.

The tears roll down Mam’s face, making tracks in the dust from the explosions. She kisses him, whispering a prayer, “Oh, ye gods, be kind to my little one.” She brushes his hair from his forehead. “Remember, Ma dj’uin, that Mam loves you always, forever.”

Her arms fall away, and the doors shut, leaving him in the dark. He can’t tell if the shaking is from the shelling or if it’s him. He clutches Giddy, the stuffed rezhikitt he’s had since he was a baby. He’d shoved the toy into his shirt as the family ran from their apartment.

The armored giant who pulls him from the underground storage bunker is no less terrifying than the B2 droid poised to kill him. As inhuman appearing in armor and helmet, bristling with weapons. At least the man—he thinks it is a man—has a recognizable head. The helmet is cocked in a way that makes Din think he is being questioned. His ears are ringing, all he can do is nod and hope it’s the right response.

There are many bodies on the ground, some in pieces. His eyes are so swimmy that he can’t see well enough to tell who they are.

The giant’s arm tightens around him and whoosh, they are speeding upward to the sky, escaping the battle below. The surface falling away makes Din’s stomach lurch and what little breakfast he had—the morning was so long ago—erupts from his mouth. Mortified, Din looks up at the flying soldier, whose body jerks like he’s laughing. It’s all right then. Sort of. Maybe it is just a man underneath after all.

Din had heard his parents talking the other night that Mandalorian fighters were coming to help defend Aq Vetina against the Separatists. “It’s only right,” Da said. “Our planet pays a hefty tribute every year to support Mandalore’s combat forces. About time we got some good of it.”

“Well, anything to stop this dreadful war,’ Mam agreed. “But Mandos! They have such a terrifying—.” She noticed Din listening hard. In that too-bright voice adults get when they want to distract, she asked, “How was school today?”

They fly to a troop transport hovering within the atmosphere. More armored forms, more children--some screaming, some sobbing quietly; others are frozen, their expressions blank. Many are wounded. Where are the adults who should accompany them?

These … people? do remind him of the illustrated covers on graphic novels at the corner bookseller. Din can read the titles with a little help. Books like Mando Smash Battalion 183 or Mythosaur Rangers of Ragnar or Women of Mandalore: Babes in Beskar. Mam says they’re trash and that no one really knows anything about the Mandos. Da says they’re adventure stories that Din can enjoy when he’s older.

The soldiers go about their business on the ship, arriving with those they have airlifted, most returning to the battle below. The expressionless plates of their helmets give an aura of impenetrability, a god-like composure in the presence of danger and loss. Din works to arrange his own features in imitation. He will not yield to the fear and fatigue shaking him from inside.

The troop transport lands at last. Din is relieved to be off the cavernous ship. Several of the kids were sick on the journey, the stink can be cut with a knife. He gulps the air of the planet moon like water. It tastes … dirty, smoky.

“Was there a war here, too?” He asks the Mando who rescued him. All around, the buildings are coated with ash dust, the skies polluted. The sparse plant life is stunted and dark with soot.

“Naw,” says the man. “This is what greed looks like. Concordia is a mining colony—or was. We live here now since no one else wants it.”

Ahead is a pair of doors large and wide enough to accommodate the massive mining scoops and juggernauts. The sorrowful group of survivors are admitted through a man-sized door cut into one of the huge ones to a vast underground room.  He stands in a straggling line with the other children, many of whom cry and shiver. The injured are led away.

Din doesn’t like this place. It smells of old fuel and chemicals and dirt, he can sense the weight of the planet pressing down from above.  He struggles to contain the tears that keep bubbling up. He will not be like the other snivelers.

He wishes he could just go to sleep somewhere and wake up at home, before the war.

Clothing is handed out. Din is given a jerkin and vest, with a jacket to go over. He’s glad, it is cold underground. Home was warm. Along with steel-toed boots to replace his city shoes, there is a leather head covering, shaped rather like a scoop. It comes down past his ears in back, leaving his face bare except for a narrow strip between the eyes, covering part of his nose. The children all resemble one another now.

A woman, tall and commanding, strides in to stand before the remaining children. Her very presence brings an urge to stand up straight, even to the most distracted.

The view plate of her helmet is different, more suggestive of actual features, but still impersonal, imposing. Alone of all the adults Din has seen, she bears no weapons, yet her aura of power is indisputable. A half circle of armed warriors stands behind her, motionless as statues.

“You are now Foundlings of the Tribe. Our ways will be strange to you for a time, but you will learn. You are in our care until you come of age, or your families come to claim you. This is the Way.”

“This is the Way,” the soldiers say in one voice.

She waits, expectant. “This is the Way,” she repeats, making a prompting gesture of her gloved hand. The children glance amongst themselves, questioning. The motion again.

“This is the Way,” blurts Din. He can feel himself reddening as all eyes turn to him. He didn’t mean to draw attention to himself, he just … wanted to respond to the unspoken order.

She’s still waiting. A muttered chorus of, “This is the Way,” sounds, straggling and out of sync.

The woman walks the row of small figures, correcting the line, encouraging posture, bringing a sense of order to the scruffy little band. She asks each their name, repeating and nodding. She does not inquire where they are from or if they want to be there, serenely ignoring any questions.

“And you are?”

“I am a Djarin,” he says, lifting his chin and trying not to quaver. Da told him to be brave. “Din Djarin.”

She studies him, making Din want to squirm and scuff his feet.

At last, she speaks. “Welcome to the Children of the Watch, Din Djarin.”

… … … …

“Tar Delayn. Is that the one that you saved?”

“It is, Armorer. I was jetting over the combat zone and from above, I saw two individuals place the child in a below-surface bunker, then run, trying to distract the battle-droids. It didn’t work, so I stepped in to not let their sacrifice be in vain.”

“They were likely his parents. He comes of courageous stock then. This is good.”

The pair walk in silence for a score of paces before the Armorer speaks again.  “So, he was most definitely under the ground?”

“Yes. Is it important?”

“There is a passage in the Great Scroll of Nadar foretelling of a hero being raised or lifted from soil that is of Mandalore, but not Mandalore. Born to wield a weapon of renown and thus be instrumental in the rebuilding of our culture.”

“That’s a prophesy? Huh. He’s just any little boy to me.”

“Prophesy and omens are … convoluted.”

“That’s why you’re the seer, not me.” Tar chuckles. “Lost his guts when we flew from the surface. Splashed the wreck of the sodding B2 that tried to kill him. A fitting goodbye.”

“Indeed. We must watch this one, guide him well.”

… … … …

Din gets through the days—if they can be called that, underground there is no difference between night and day--shuffling with the other bewildered children through a series of classes, tasks, meals, organized games and chores. They are supervised at all times by various helmeted warriors, faceless as beetles. The strangeness, the sounds, the unchanging light, the unfamiliar food, the constant company of other beings, are all draining. He longs for home, for Mam and Da.

Occasionally, he encounters Tar Delayn, the heavy infantry soldier who rescued him. Tar always sounds glad to meet him. Din wishes he could see his features, to have a connection again with a trusted, familiar adult.

By bedtime, he’s worn out, ready to fall into his bunk for the release of sleep.

The nights are rough.

The fears, the homesickness and racking grief that he suppresses during the day come boiling up after lights out. He hears the soft weeping of other foundlings, the whispered cries for parents or siblings. His world is crushed and scattered afresh. Swallowed sobs scald his throat. “Be brave, my son.” He must live up to his father’s last words.

Giddy is his only comfort. He clutches the toy through the nights, slipping her into his locker before the rising bell. He’s not ashamed, it’s just … personal. The so-called lockers are simple cabinets built into the bunks; they don’t actually lock. Who among them has anything of value?

One day, however, when he comes back from class, his locker door stands open. Giddy is gone.

“Who took it?” He demands, rounding on the other children. “Who’s been frakking with my things?” Using a word that would have gotten him punished at home.

Most won’t meet his eyes, but they know all right. Din walks around the dormitory, searching the faces. Not looking for the toy, at this moment all he can think about is finding the culprit. His fury at the trespass is a living thing inside him, sickening in its intensity.

“Paz Vizsla,” whispers one urchin, at last. Din’s heart sinks.

Older, bigger, stronger, dumb--and mean with it. All the younger children hate and fear him. At eleven, Paz won’t be old enough to swear the Creed for three years yet, but he’s as tall and broad as many of the fourteen-year-old cadets.

Paz’s favorite pastimes are bragging about his family connections--like he’s anymore responsible for that than the foundlings are for their status—and tormenting those smaller than he is. Which is just about everyone. He makes frequent appearances in the littles’ dormitory, where the pickings are easy.

Da always said, “A real man doesn’t pick fights—he doesn’t need to--but he should always be ready to defend himself and others when trouble comes.” Paz Vizsla must be called to account. That the object of defense is a battered plaything matters not at all. Giddy is family. Din takes off for the bigger kids’ dorm, not allowing himself to think.

“Little baby wants his woobie, does he?” Paz Vizsla, taunts him, dangling the toy by a leg, yanking it out of reach when Din tries to grab it.

Paz is bigger than he remembered. Din would need a ladder to land a punch on his leering bully face. Something else, nearer the ground then. His mind races.

When the war began to close in on Aq Vetina, Mam and some of the other neighborhood women took a personal defense course. Din hung out in the corner of the room with other kids as the lessons went on. Sometimes they had play fights, watching their mothers in action, until told to be quiet and sit down.

“Make your size and agility work for you,” the instructor says in memory. “Try to stay focused.”

Drawing on all the misery, the loss and rage, this act of trespass, Din darts forward, landing a sharp kick with the toe of his boot on Paz’s kneecap. The bigger boy reels from pain and surprise, his knee buckling—Din is ready, shoving up with the heel of his palm, impacting the soft under part of the nose. There’s a smushing crunch and a gush of warm blood. Paz bellows, staggering back, and Giddy is in Din’s hand as he hurtles from the room.

A stitch in his side finally stops his headlong rush through the dark corridors of the covert. Chest heaving, he sinks to the ground, rocking Giddy to him. He’s unsure where he is now, the tunnels are all so similar. He’ll probably die here; all anyone will find is a little pile of bones and …. He starts to blub. The earlier indignation dies away, leaving Din exhausted and shaking. Over and over, his right hand relives the nasty crunching of Paz’s nose breaking.

“Din Djarin. I find you at last.”

He shrinks back against the wall. It’s the Armorer. She hunkers down beside him. Her hands are brisk yet gentle as she pats him down, checking for injuries.

A cloth is pressed into his hand. As he mops his eyes and scrubs at the crusted blood on his palm, he wonders what about when they sneeze in those helmets? Or have an itch? Get something stuck in their teeth?

“Is this what caused all the fuss?” She indicates Giddy.

“No, Armorer. Paz Vizsla caused it. I … just got back what’s mine. Am—am I in trouble?”

“For redressing a personal insult? No. Especially against someone of unequal strength and size. Were you not afraid?”

He wants to claim not, but the owlish view plate won’t let him lie. “Y-yes, but that wasn’t important. If … I let it slide then no one would respect me and I--.”

The Armorer nods in understanding. “To carry on in spite of one’s own fear is the most challenging battle of all. It is well that you learn this so young. But tell me, Din Djarin, do you think such an item is suitable for a warrior?”

She wants him to give Giddy up.

His despair at being asked to relinquish his last connection with his real home almost makes him start bawling again. He’s so tired, he doesn’t know how to handle another attack, even a well-meaning one, if that’s what this is.

“Or … might I propose a trade?” The Armorer lifts something from around her neck. “Give me the little rezhikitt and in exchange, take this.”

She places an object in Din’s hand. It is a pendant in the shape of a mythosaur skull, the signet of the Children of the Watch. Of pure beskar steel, still warm from her body.

Perhaps she’s �� right. Even the name ‘Giddy’ is babyish, his first attempts to say ‘rezhikitt’. Feeling like a traitor to his oldest friend, Din drops the cord of finely plaited leather over his head. The Armorer’s nod of approval is a bleak satisfaction.

“Wear it as a memento of your first battle. A badge of honor. The toy I will keep at the forge. You may come visit it, and me, whenever your other duties allow.”

She escorts him to the proper turning and directs him on his way

As he trails wearily back to the dormitory, very alone without Giddy, Tar Delayn joins him.

“Sounds like you gave that overgrown snert Paz Vizsla the comeuppance he’s been asking for. Good show, kid.” He gives Din a hearty clap on the shoulder. A gesture from one man to another. If a soldier of Tar’s renown is praising him, maybe things will be okay. Someday.

“Tar? Will … will you teach me some, y’know, hand-to-hand combat stuff a small person can do?”

“Preparing for the next battle when the enemy’s blood is still warm on your hands. That’s the stuff. We’ll make a mighty soldier of you yet.” The big man is teasing, but gently. It gives Din a welcome rush of belonging.

“I got lucky,” he explains. “I want to have more than luck on my side next time.” Because there will be a next time, he knows.

.o.o.o.o.

“Swearing the Creed in an honor, earned by an individual’s adherence to our laws, but it is not for the many.” The Armorer pauses, inspecting the assembled children standing at parade rest before her. “To walk the path of the Mandalore requires strength of character. Each postulant will be tested greatly.

“Listen and know this for truth. We alone are Mandalorians, my Children of the Watch.”

A silence falls, allowing the significance of those words to sink in.

“Even those of our blood, though they may be fine people in other respects, are dar’manda if they do not follow the Way. It is their loss--and our sorrow. They are forever barred from Manda, the afterlife that is the sole province of faithful followers of the Creed. This is the Way.”

“This is the Way,” answers the dutiful chorus of young voices.

“For those of you who come from living families, strive to set an example to your relations that they may be enlightened and cleave to the Way as set out in the Resol’nare, the core of what it means to be Mandalorian.”

How one is to demonstrate this example is unclear. The covert gets no visitors. It occurs to Din to wonder, do the non-believers know they are dar’manda? Perhaps they don’t see it that way … or care? And how come the Tribe doesn’t live in the open, where they can prove the superiority of the Way? Huddling like gall-rats in the tunnels of an abandoned mine isn’t likely to attract converts, even ten-year-old Din can see that.

Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, Ara'nov, aliit, Mando'a bal Mand'alor— An vencuyan mhi.

His lips move automatically, reciting the Resol’nare with the others —first in Mando’a, then Galactic Basic-- as his unruly thoughts churn on.

Education and armor, Self-defense, our tribe, Our language and our leader— All help us survive.

The description of Manda doesn’t do much for him either. All warriors together in some nebulous place, who … sing of valor and participate in eternal games of skill and strength. It sounds like any night in the great hall. Big deal. If they could take off the helmets, maybe …. Din is horrified at this blasphemy--at himself--not wanting to catch anyone’s eye lest they see his intransigence.

“Be ever on guard for doubt, the thin edge of the greater blade of heresy. Commit to being a weapon of righteousness. There is only one route to eternity: devotion to our Way and heroism in battle.”

Did she read his thoughts somehow?

“What is the First Tenet of the Creed?” the Armorer asks.

The children stand to attention, answering in unison, “’Live fighting in order to die fighting.’”

“Indeed. And the Second Tenet?”

“’Solidarity and loyalty to the group is the strength of the Creed.’”

“The third?”

“’The word of a Mandalorian is sacrosanct. A vow to the Creed, of the Creed, by the Creed is binding unto death.’”

“Mark these words well, young soldiers. Once one swears to the Way of the Mandalore, there is no going back. Death is the only release from this vow.”

… … … …

“Foundling.” Paz Vizsla sneers the word like a curse.

Din glances up from the blaster carbine he’s cleaning. “Did someone say something? Or is it just gas from last night’s rations?”

“Foundling scum.” Paz repeats, like the dolt he is. “Picked up off the skug heap of a world too weak to defend itself.”

“Is that supposed to upset me somehow?” Din stands, outwardly calm as adrenalin spikes inside. “At least my parents wanted to keep me. You see, Paz,” he continues with an air of sympathetic patience, “Your folks took one look at your arse-ugly mug and said, ‘Put this kid into a helmet now. Save us from our shame.’ They gave you away.”

Paz stomps toward him, fists flexing. Without visibly reacting, Din makes ready to run. He’s come a long way in hand-to-hand training, but speed is the main advantage he has over superior bulk and strength. That, and an intimate knowledge of every side passage and lay-by in four levels of the old mines.

The dormitory proctor, a soldier called The Whip because of her lightening reflexes, intervenes. “Vizsla! Out. You’re not supposed to be in the kids’ dorm. Since you can’t seem to remember, we’ll take it up with the Disciplinarian.” She grabs him by the ear and hustles him away.

Paz Vizsla is referred to thereafter as Arse-Ugly, though generally not where he can hear.

Din never speaks the words again. He doesn’t have to.

.o.o.o.o.

The war is going badly. Every day and night, shifts of warriors depart from Concordia to the surface of Mandalore, coming back depleted, with reports of the other side's dishonorable tactics. Many do not return.

Tar Delayn. His rescuer, mentor, and friend, is dead, killed in a dastardly ambush. The Armorer brings Din the news personally.

“He was as a father to you. Let your grief be tempered by the knowledge that he died well,  befitting a warrior. You will meet him again someday, in the halls of Manda.”

Din will be of age in just over a year. By Creed, the foundlings have a choice to swear or not. He recognizes now that there is no such thing as choice. Tar Delayn and the millions of others who perished must be avenged. Each soldier is urgently needed, the Tribe is struggling to maintain their numbers. Besides, what else does he have?

“The pain can serve you,” the Armorer adds. “Lean into it, harness it as a weapon. Each enemy soldier you kill is another step on the path to life everlasting.”

He forcibly quiets any misgivings with ever more rigorous training.

.o.o.o.o.

The armor is waiting for him, piled on his rack. Din knows the protocol; it’s been drilled into him since he declared his intention to swear the previous year. Each piece is examined for integrity, then dedicated to the service of the Tribe and the reestablishment of an orthodox Mandalore, an ideal world devoted to the traditional interpretation of the Creed.

Flight suit on, cowl pulled up, clasps settled. Boots, cuirass, faulds, cuisses, pauldrons, gloves, vambraces, all buckled, toggled, and snapped into place. His leather helmet and chest plate, the things of childhood, he leaves on the bunk. He will not return to the dormitory.

Those sworn live in barracks; each soldier has a sliver of a room, more like a cell, with a door that locks. A place where the helmet may be doffed. A rack, a locker, a hand basin, a table and a chair for meals or study. There are no comforts within, but having never known them, Din Djarin is not expecting such.

Din steps into formation with the other bare-headed postulants as they march to the Sanctuary. The last time he will breathe freely, see with his own eyes, except in solitude.

The armor weighs on him, changing the way he carries himself. Looking at his classmates, he observes that they all have adopted the soldier’s swagger. Deliberate, confident, dangerous. Pride burns like a fire inside him. The empty blaster holster at his side flaps with each step.

They file into the Sanctuary, lining up to face the ranks of their soon to-be comrades-in-arms.

The Armorer speaks. “This is a great day, the swearing in of a new generation of Creed warriors, embarking on the path to glory eternal. May all the worlds tremble when they hear the word Mandalorian.”

The youthful voices, some cracking with adolescence, others tremulous from emotion, recite the Warrior’s Prayer. The rote words fade in and out of Din’s awareness as he speaks them.

 “O, spirits of Manda, accept this follower’s offering of blood, life, and death … make me strong of limb, steady of vision, sure of aim … armed with the strength of ye warriors past … when it is my time to die … let me lie atop a mountain of the fallen, so that all who see may know … I always fought my best.”

Each postulant’s sponsor steps forward, holding a helmet and a dagger. The Armorer herself stands for Din Djarin, taking the place Tar would have held, causing a ripple through the spectators like wind through treetops. As one, the postulants take up the offered blade and use it to draw a drop of blood from the thumb. A stripe the length of the nose, one beneath each eye.

“My armor … as inseparable from me as flesh, bone and blood, without which there is no life … my helmet shall be the face I show to the world and my brethren … if ever I remove it … then all of the Way shall shun me … I will have no call upon them evermore … Thus, I give my oath. The word of a Mandalorian.”   

His life is no longer his own.

Helmets are donned, closing in the vision, directing it to the sworn path only. One must turn the whole body to see around.

“This is the Way.”

The corridors are lined with warriors saluting the cadets as they march to the armory, where they are issued with standard weapons, used but in good repair. He will earn more armaments and upgrades, as rewards for outstanding action in combat and by saving his soldier’s pay, by hiring out as a mercenary.

Training, both practical and theoretical, intensifies. Din learns not only strategy, tactics and weaponry, but how to regulate his body so that days of fasting do not trouble him, much. He learns to sleep whenever the opportunity presents and how to ration his energy so he can function when those opportunities are scarce. He learns the basics of field medicine--and to give mercy to fallen comrades who have no hope of recovery, hastening them to Manda.

.o.o.o.o.

Din Djarin takes to spending much of what free time he has in the Sanctuary, a space that is established first thing everywhere the covert settles. It’s reserved for ceremonies and presumably for any warrior who wishes to commune with the mythosaur bones and relics of heroes kept there. It’s always empty, besides him. He’s no more devout than anyone else--he visits the Sanctuary for the privacy it affords.

It is a place of silence, well away from the shouts of drills, the constant bustle of the corridors and great hall, the clump of booted feet, the clanging of the foundry, the endless boasts and challenges.

The barracks are noisy as well, the partitions thin between the cells. Talking, snoring, laughing, arguing, coughing. The neighbor on one side suffers night terrors, jolting the whole enclosure awake periodically with their screams. The other side is occupied by an individual who performs Schre'eka at least twice a day, judging by the grunting Din hears with depressing regularity. He’s understanding to a point, but still. He prefers the sonic cubicle for that.

Nothing is ever said about disturbances—a soldier’s cell is as inviolable as the helmet.

Here on the planet Calixo, the room allotted to the Sanctuary has a recessed ledge running around just below the ceiling. Din’s habit is to climb up and tuck himself back, all but invisible to anyone who enters—beings seldom look up, he’s observed—but giving him a view of the door and most of the space. It’s snug, he won’t fit if he grows much more, but the Tribe will move the covert again before long. That’s been happening with increasing regularity.

He can hear his own thoughts here. Even ones that are uncomfortable. Those he learns to push into a mental compartment to be dealt with … later. That ‘later’ never arrives, he does not acknowledge.

One day, his solitude is breached.

“Ssshhh. Quiet.”

“Is anyone in here?” A whisper.

“Never is. We’re alone.”

Two voices. The individuals crowd into a corner behind the partly open door, concealed from passersby in the corridor, but from his niche near the ceiling, Din gets a flier’s eye view of the pair.

“We shouldn’t be doing this, not here. It’s too dangerous.”

“I know, Tec, but I-I had to be with you, just for a moment.”

“Yes …” It is Mel Graff and Tecto Krin, recognizable by their respective armors.

They are removing their helmets. Pulling back the cowls beneath. Din is frozen with shock.

With gasps and muffled cries, they fall on each other, kissing desperately, touching the small amounts of skin bared at face and neck, groping at the fabric-covered flesh between the armor plates.

Appalled yet fascinated, Din should … hide his eyes, leap from his hiding place and-and not be party to their folly, but he remains still.

Will they … make Ritual together, here in the Sanctuary? He’s never witnessed such acts. No one he knows has. Those who go out among civilians have stories to tell, which Din largely dismisses as so much hot air—how could those be true? To his disappointment, and deep relief, the pair stop in a few moments, their reluctance plain. Helmeted again, they take turns leaving the Sanctuary, going separate directions.

He should denounce them. Their transgression is staggering. Oath breaking is … apostasy, worse than ignorance by far. They are … no longer Mandalorians. Dar’manda.

Din Djarin says nothing, ever.

He does not forget either. Sometimes, often, he takes out the memory, puzzling over the motivations behind such an infraction. He also remembers their faces—bare, vulnerable, impassioned, so focused on each other that he could have walked through the Sanctuary without notice.

Faces.

It is some three years since Din Djarin became eligible to participate in Ritual, a rite of passage following his first recorded battle kills, as is custom. Still flying high from combat, the group encounters in the space-black room are … astonishing, mind-bending, gratifying. And yet, as time passes, he’s begun to experience a niggling dissatisfaction with the Ritual.

Often, he wonders … who’s hands? Who’s mouth? Who’s yielding openings or probing staff? He finds himself eyeing his comrades, trying to assess each through the bulky plates of armor, to no avail. The parameters of the Ritual are too well designed. These uncertainties don’t stop him from participating. It is expected. He is healthy, with the endless horniness of youth. It is a respite from the harshness of life. For a short while, through touch and taste, he can forget the underlying loneliness he has carried since his first day as a foundling.

How did Mel and Tec … find out about each other? Was it incited by an incident in the Ritual room? Did they somehow discover similar predilections in each other through conversation? Or--his mind struggles over this concept--was it some kind of magnetism, one for the other, as individuals, that led them into perfidy?

Now that his curiosity is aroused, he can’t stop thinking about it. How does one go about finding a one-to-one engagement? Careful listening, a casual question here or there, conversations subtly directed, he has the information he needs. A post on a message board, a discreet word with the steward of the Ritual rooms and an arrangement is made.

From the first clasp of a single pair of hands in the sacred dark, he is a changed man. The event, its intensity, focusing on only one other being, leaves him spinning for some days.

The awareness that he will never know with whom he shared this experience--and so may not hope to have it repeated--tarnishes his memory of the exchange. He hungers for more of the same. Another cautious occurrence, a another nameless partner. The sensations are different, but still searing, enthralling.

Frequent, almost frantic, participation in the group rituals can’t dilute the revelations from the encounters.

Th covert relocates to Bran’ar. At the first roll call, the lineup has changed. Individuals are missing. Tecto Krin and Mel Graf. No explanation is given.

Reeling with his burden of knowledge Din wonders, did they run off during the disarray of the move? Did they tell anyone they were leaving, and why? Worse, were they outed? Perhaps punished or killed? What about the Ritual room steward? That last fills him with fear and dread.

The next few doctrine lectures are revealing, based on passages from The Way of the Warrior:

‘By the Creed, all beings so sworn are equal, regardless of gender, social status, race or species. A marked preference or disdain for any beings solely due to one or any of these qualities is non-egalitarian and contrary to the Way.’

‘Ritual encounters are normal and necessary for the health and well-being of the individual and the community. As such, each Ritual occasion shall be approached with generosity toward all participants.’

‘All followers of the Way are comrades and brethren. Care shall be taken that all activities and gatherings are inclusive. Small groups or pairings are to be avoided. Be on guard for the development of exclusive personal attachments, which are divisive and may sully the purity of our path.’

Many words eddy in the torrents of gossip: disloyal, ungenerous, exclusive. Harsher ones as well: freaks, perverts, deviants.

Ashamed and guilt-ridden, Din Djarin knows what he is. A secret he must bury, even from himself. Pleasures he must forego, for the health of the community. The mind box where he suppresses uncomfortable truths is growing crowded.

He narrows his focus to duty and personal excellence, creating an additional, psychic armor against emotions. Nothing shall distract him from the great purpose of the reclaiming of a Mandalorian state.

The years pass … fighting alongside his comrades until the Tribe no longer has enough members to field a battalion. Then life as a mercenary with various factions, serving on several worlds. He is decorated and well rewarded for outstanding performance. The Armorer’s nod of approval means more than any medal or pile of credit chips. The coming of widespread peace reduces the demand for such services.

The covert moves, and moves again, until they land on Nevarro. Greef Karga, the master of the local Hunters’ Guild, offers him position, delighted to add a Mando to his stable. While it has distasteful elements—mainly the targets … and his fellow hunters—it’s work he is well suited to. Anything is better than idly moping about underground, bragging of past glories and picking fights as some (Paz Vizsla) do. Din soon commands the highest fees, allowing him to be generous in support of the Tribe and their foundling mission.

Life is all of a sameness—violence, the foul people he hunts, the dingy bars and brothels where he seeks them, the endless wrangling with Karga over payments. The too-familiar irritations of barracks life when he’s dirtside, the stringent self-denial, the relief of solitude in the star-studded black of space when on a job. As far as he can see ahead and behind him are nearly identical days stretching to infinity …

Then comes a day when Greef Karga says, “There is one job … no puck, direct commission … deep pockets.”

Once again, everything in Din Djarin’s world changes.

Notes:

So, a very deep dive! Din Djarin’s history is fascinating to me, the process of turning a person into a weapon. The show makes it obvious that he suffers from the many psychological disturbances associated with PTSD--including flashbacks, survivor guilt, emotional stuffing, depression and anxiety--and what this westernized Terran can only view as abuse. The same is tragically true of his peers. All typical of individuals raised in cults. It also seems to me that his embrace of the Creed was somewhat less than whole-hearted, more a matter of circumstance than true belief—and there’s no zealot like a doubter! I just had to explore that. Apocalyptica and Enigma made good soundtracks while writing this.

Read the full fic on AO3!

[y0rkminster]

Seachem’s hotline is the best!!

Aeneas is so complicated right now. I’ve had everything from Furan-2 to euthanasia recommended. (Why one would ever euthanize a betta that is eating like a pro, acting himself, only a year old, and has a chance at healing is beyond me). I’ve never gotten the same advice twice and this is a life threatening situation. It’s also complicated because his chronic SBD means he can swim like a champ-if, and only if, his water is totally still. The stress of a very low flow, patented filter caused this crisis in the first place. So I have to protect his plants. They’re his life.

So figured it was time to call the professionals. I’d ask the guy at the good Petco near me but I probably won’t get to see him until Sunday with my work schedule and Aeneas can’t wait.

They taught me which antimicrobial meds are best, how to give it in food the right way, how to make sure his liver and kidneys aren’t wrecked, and, best yet...a way to possibly treat his SBD.

Chronic SBD has long been thought to be due to irreversible scarring in the swim bladder, usually resulting from an untreated infection. But, it appears that’s not always true. Bettas, like some chronically ill humans, can become chronically colonized with bacteria species. This causes a cycle of inflammation. Removing the colonization will restore most swim bladder function. Before, infection was thought to play the bit role in chronic SBD and scarring the major role.

So, hopefully that’ll work for both he and Vulcan! I want to phase a low flow filter back in. Walstad tanks without filters can spike very dramatically. I’m talking 0ppm ammonia to 4ppm! That’s a fear of mine. Right now I don’t have a choice. But that can change if the SBD improves. Plus their quality of life will be improved. I admit I’m skeptical that they’ll ever be 100%. But I’m hoping they’ll reach the same level as Janus, another neglect survivor who is also a dwarf. Dwarfism can cause less efficient swimming, but he can still handle a filter.

When they heard his history and condition, they seemed surprised that he was eating and acting normally, and that he’d never gotten dropsy. He’s a real fighter just like Vulcan.

They have familiarity too with “rescue” fish that are survivors of severe neglect. They said the biggest things to watch are the liver and kidneys. They’re likely already damaged but compensating.

Ahhh I am so hopeful now!!!

[dradaybyday]

March 20th

I’ve hit the point in this blog’s evolution where there’s not a lot to write about unless there’s new shows (either actually new or new tapes). 644 posts deep, I’ve covered *close* to the entire recorded history of Ryan Adams. 

So, the blog’s been pretty quiet lately, I know. The show lists for January and February were empty, unless I filled them myself, and honestly, I haven’t had the time and inclination to do that lately (some of it’s personal, some of it the recent news - which, short version, hasn’t dimmed my love for the music but had dimmed my energy to write about it a bit). 

In this process, I skipped even writing about the fourth anniversary of this very blog, started on a frustrated day at my old job when I decided what I needed to make my days better was an excuse to write about Ryan Adams shows. In those four years, it’s grown into so much more than I could have imagined, mainly thanks to the wonderful tapers who’ve shared shows that otherwise might be collecting dust. 

But there it was, sitting on my show list - the fourth and final available tape of the last Cardinals show. 10 years ago to the day. 

I’ve written about my experience at the show before. (http://dradaybyday.tumblr.com/post/141368550104/march-20 and http://dradaybyday.tumblr.com/post/158627357524/march-20) It’s still one of the most memorable nights in my life. 10 years later I can still see myself sprinting through the airport to get there, the way the band looked in the theater, meeting Jon Graboff on the street after the show. That I had a piece of something called Coca-Cola cake in a diner down the block from the Fox after the show. That a guy gave me a card for free entry to a strip club, which I did not use but might still be in the side pocket of my travel bag as a memento of that night. Being there that night meant so much to me because that band meant so much to me. 

When I think about that night, there’s a lot to the memory besides the show. I liked the show a lot, although from a pure musical sense, it’s not at the top of the Cardinals shows I saw. But it’s really about me taking a journey alone, and that journey was mine. Even the shows that I do remember fondly are mostly because of the way the music effected me that night. And so no matter what I feel about Ryan Adams today (it’s very, very complicated), those memories are mine, and I’ll continue to love them. 

https://archive.org/details/ryanadams2009-03-20.dpa4023matrix/

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals 03-20-2009 Fox Theater Atlanta, GA

Source: DPA 4023(ORTF)->Lunatec ACM V3 + SBD(Yamaha M7CL)->Sound Devices 744t (24/48)

Location: 5' ROC at SBD

Transfer: 744t->HDD->Wavelab 5.01b->CD Wave->Flac 16

Recorded and Transferred by: Chris Hall

Set 1/Disc 1

1. Intro 2. Magick 3. Let It Ride 4. Two 5. Everybody Knows 6. Beautiful Sorta 7. Mockingbird-> 8. Dear Chicago 9. Blue Hotel 10. Cold Roses 11. Natural Ghost 12. Easy Plateau> 13. Bartering Lines 14. Band Intros 15. Fix It 16. Magnolia Mountain 17. Please Do Not Let Me Go 18. Peaceful Valley

Set 1/Disc 2

1. Freeway To The Canyon

Set 2/Disc 2

2. Intro 3. When The Stars Go Blue 4. Sink Ships 5. Oh My Sweet Carolina 6. Grand Island 7. Evening Joke 8. I See Monsters 9. Come Pick Me Up 10. Rescue Blues 11. Wonderwall 12. Goodnight Rose

[pacificeagles]

https://pacificeagles.net/the-battle-of-midway-death-of-the-hiryu/

The Battle of Midway: Death of the Hiryū

Just before noon, and before the Japanese began their attacks on her, the Yorktown had launched a search mission consisting of 10 SBD Dauntlesses. After almost three hours one of these aircraft came across the Hiryū, at 1445 – just as the Yorktown was being attacked by Tomonaga’s torpedo pilots. Lt Sam Adams, of Yorktown’s own VS-5, plotted the position of the Hiryū as about 110 miles distant from his start point. Admiral Spruance and his staff on the Enterprise received the position report and quickly prepared to launch a strike force of 25 bomb-armed SBDs from three squadrons, which would not be provide with an escort – defence of the fleet was to take priority and the precious F4Fs could not be spared. Nor would any of the three remaining TBDs be included, it being now obvious that flying them against determined opposition was a death sentence for their crews. Meanwhile the Hornet had copied the sighting report and had prepared a strike of her own, but she did not receive any orders to launch until the Enterprise was already sending off her bombers.

The Enterprise formation included SBDs from VB-6 and VS-6, as well as 14 from Yorktown’s VB-3 which had taken refuge with Task Force 16 after the morning strike. These SBDs were launched at 1525 just as the Hornet was belatedly informed that she too should launch a strike. Having ‘broken the spot’ in order to land SBDs that had returned form Midway following their failure to find the enemy during the morning strike, the Hornet air group was unable to comply. As a result the Hornet could only launch her strike of 16 SBDs 30 minutes after that of the Enterprise, eliminating the possibility of the two air groups conducted a coordinated strike.

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi, still temporarily in command of the Kido Butai, was himself planning a third strike on the Americans. By this time the only air strength remaining to him were 6 D3As and 9 Zeros, plus however many aircraft returned from Tomonaga’s torpedo attack. In the end 5 B5Ns made it back to the Hiryū, but only one was deemed serviceable. However, time was rapidly running out for the last Japanese carrier and she would ultimately not be able to launch any more aircraft before the Americans found her.

On the way to the Hiryū, the American noted the smoke plumes from the three carriers which had been hit earlier in the day. At 1620 Gallaher of VS-6 from the Enterprise Air Group spotted the Hiryū at a distance of about 30 miles, and worked around the southeast so as to attack out of the sun whilst also climbing. Just before 1700 the SBDs were in position to attack from 19,000ft. Gallaher elected to attack the Hiryū himself and ordered Lt Dewitt C. Shumway’s VB-3 to attack the Haruna, one of two nearby battleships.

The incoming SBDs were not spotted by either combat air patrol or lookouts, and the Americans achieved complete surprise. The cruiser Chikuma was the first to sound the alarm just a few minutes before the attack began, firing her anti-aircraft guns in the direction of the attackers to alert the airborne fighters, but the dive bombers were only a few moments from tip-over leaving no time for an effective defence. Nevertheless, the few Japanese fighters within range moved in to defend their carrier.

The 14 Zeros on patrol above the carrier responded quickly and efficiently, attacking the SBDs just as they began to dive in. They harassed the Americans all the way down, and had a telling effect on the accuracy of the attack – the first two bombs missed as the Hiryū turned away to port. Seeing these misses Shumway, still on his way towards the Haruna but watching Gallaher’s attack intently, opted to abandon his attack on the battleship and instead led his men over the Hiryū, concentrating on the most important target.

The American attack was disorganised, with different squadrons attacking from different directions and Japanese fighters also in the mix. VB-3, having shifted targets to the Hiryū, got in the way of the SBDs of VB-6. Nevertheless, bombs soon began to find their mark on the Hiryū. The first landed near the forward elevator, which was tossed into the air by the subsequent detonation and thrown against the carrier’s island structure. This was soon followed by three more, all of which landed in the forward part of the flight deck. These completely destroyed the forward area of the Hiryū whilst below explosions gutted the hangar deck and started intense fires, destroying several aircraft parked there. The last available Japanese flight deck had been permanently closed.

Hiryū smoulders following American strikes on the afternoon of the 4th of June. The forward area of the flight deck has been completely destroyed.

Three SBDs were shot down during the afternoon’s attack. One from VB-6 was badly damaged by Zeros before diving, and never pulled out. Two SBDs from VB-3 were lost, one clobbered by fighters at high-altitude just before push-over, the other following the conclusion of the attack. None of the crew were recovered. Two VB-3 aircraft elected to attack their original target, the Haruna, but they failed to land a hit. The Hornet Air Group arrived 15 minutes later but found the Hiryū a burning wreck not worthy of any more attention. Instead VB-8 attacked the cruiser Tone but only registered a pair of near-misses, compounding the Hornet Air Group’s miserable day. Finally, 12 B-17s from Midway arrived and bombed some of the escorts but failed to hit anything.

The strike force began to arrive back in the vicinity of Task Force 16 around 1820, and all were safely back aboard ship within the hour. And so ended the US Navy’s day of days. 80 aircraft from the three carriers had been lost along with over 100 aviators, and one of the precious flat-tops itself would soon slip under the waves. Several other men bobbed about on life-rafts, hoping for rescue – some in vain. But the heart of the Japanese Navy had been ripped out, with two thirds of the Kido Butai – four carriers – sunk in a single day, taking all of their aircraft and many well-trained, experienced aviators with them. There were several days of fighting before the Battle of Midway would be concluded, but by the time the Hiryū was hit it was clear that the Americans had won the day.

[jafreitag]

31 Days of Dead 2019 | Day 29: Rare and Different Tunes

December 29

Rare and Different Tunes

I thought it would be fun to present a collection of songs composed by Robert Hunter that were either rarely or never performed live. Since it would take too long to write-up each of these songs, I simply listed some brief stats taken from DeadBase XI (1999) along with additional information where it seemed warranted.

Mason’s Children (12.28.69 – Miami Pop Festival, International Speedway • Hollywood, FL) – A Hunter/Garcia song about Altamont that was written and recorded for Workingman’s Dead, but left off the album. A studio outtake was included on the So Many Roads box set in 1999. Debut – 12/19/69. Last played – 2/28/70. Total performances – 18

Till The Morning Comes (10.31.70 – SUNY-Stony Brook • Stony Brook, NY) – A Hunter/Garcia song that appears on American Beauty. Debut – 9/18/70. Last played – 12/26/70. Total performances – 5

Clementine (1.23.68 – Eagles Auditorium • Seattle, WA) – A Lesh/Hunter song written in 1968 during the recording of Anthem of the Sun, but never released. Debut – 1/20/68. Last played – 1/26/69. Total performances – 3 (does not includes 2 instrumental versions). Read more about it here: http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2009/08/clementine.html

Rosemary (12.7.68 – Bellarmine College • Louisville, KY) – A Hunter/Garcia song that appears on Aoxomoxoa. Debut/Last Played – 12/7/69. Total performances – 1. Read more about it here: https://www.dead.net/features/greatest-stories-ever-told/greatest-stories-ever-told-rosemary

What’s Become Of The Baby? (1969 – Aoxomoxoa Outtakes) – A Hunter/Garcia song that appears on Aoxomoxoa. Debut/Last Played – 4/26/69 (Dick’s Picks Vol. 26). Total performances – 1

The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (1969 – Aoxomoxoa Outtakes) – Written and recorded for Aoxomoxoa, but not released and never performed live. Robert Hunter is a significant participant on the recording. It was considered for inclusion on the So Many Roads box set and as a bonus track for the Aoxomoxoa remix, but was supposedly vetoed “in no uncertain terms” by Hunter. He provided a clue as to why he may have done that during his solo acoustic performance at the Museum of History & Industry on June 11, 2003, and I hope/pray that he does not rise from the grave to haunt me for including it in this project:

“The barbed wire whipping party in the razor blade forest” – That was my addition to Aoxomoxoa but when I listened to it (I suppose you all have heard tapes of it by now) I decided it was blasphemy and I wasn’t sure I wanted to live with it for the rest of my life, so I decided it shouldn’t go on. That was when they realized I was a chicken and a coward and I couldn’t be in the band. “Here, Hunter, take a pencil, you asshole. You realize how good that is?” Hey man, I could have been the next Kurt Cobain. ‘The other day I went to Mars and talked to God. And he told me to tell you to hang tight and not worry. The solution to everything is death.’ I mean, would you want that on your conscience for the flower-power generation, man? No, no. I mean, it’s true in its own way, but … well the part about going to Mars is true, the rest of it’s not.

Let Me Sing Your Blues Away (9.11.73 – William & Mary College Hall • Williamsburg, VA) – The only Hunter/Godchaux collaboration and the only song where Keith sings the lead vocals. Appears on Wake of the Flood. Debut – 9/8/73. Last played – 9/21/73. Total performances – 6

France (1.8.78 – Shakedown Street Rehearsal) – “France” is the second track on the Dead’s 1978 studio album, Shakedown Street. It has the great distinction of topping Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 22 Terrible Songs by Great Artists. The review is priceless: “Jerry Garcia’s Spanish-tinged acoustic guitar can’t rescue this yacht-rock tune.” Bob Weir’s comments are equally as good: “This may be the worst song the Grateful Dead ever recorded….I didn’t actually write that one – it just sort of happened. But it sure as hell didn’t happen right.” The rest of the band must have agreed because the song was never performed live. Robert Hunter wrote the song’s lyrics, while Mickey Hart wrote the music, with Weir wrapping up the final arrangement. The original conception of the song was very different from the final product. In the book Box of Rain, Hunter says: ” ‘France’ was written to tapes of a joyous afternoon Latin jam at Mickey Hart’s ranch. It originally contained 13 verses(!), which were eventually paired down to 4 when the Dead recorded the song. Can I make a confession? I like it. Flame away!

If I Had The World To Give (8.30.78 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre • Morrison, CO) – A Hunter/Garcia song that appears on Shakedown Street. Debut – 8/30/78. Last played – 11/20/78. Total performances – 3

Believe It Or Not (7.17.88 – Greek Theatre, University of California • Berkeley, CA) – A song that was written and recorded for Built To Last but never released until a studio outtake was included on the So Many Roads box set in 1999. Debut – 6/23/88. Last played – 3/22/90. Total performances – 7

MediaFire: 

Mason’s Children (12.28.69) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/edbwxmqdqrmxhmc/71_Mason%2527s_Children_%252812.28.69_-_Miami_Pop_Festival%252C_International_Speedway_%25E2%2580%25A2_Hollywood%252C_FL%2529.mp3/file

Till The Morning Comes (10.31.70) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/zrtl3kpxsn2eq6b/72_Till_The_Morning_Comes_%252810.31.70_-_SUNY-Stony_Brook_%25E2%2580%25A2_Stony_Brook%252C_NY%2529.mp3/file

Clementine (1.23.68) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/sevp4r3nipmh5xi/73_Clementine_%25281.23.68_-_Eagles_Auditorium_%25E2%2580%25A2_Seattle%252C_WA%2529.mp3/file

Rosemary (12.7.68) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/h49i1hpr9rsy7n1/74_Rosemary_%252812.7.68_-_Bellarmine_College_%25E2%2580%25A2_Louisville%252C_KY%2529.mp3/file

What’s Become Of The Baby? (Aoxomoxoa Outtake)– http://www.mediafire.com/file/ozorext3oaxy106/75_What%2527s_Become_Of_The_Baby__%25281969_-_Aoxomoxoa_Outtakes%2529.mp3/file

Hunter’s Stage Banter about The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (6.11.03) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/44icul9i4626s60/76_Hunter%2527s_Stage_Banter_about_The_Barbed_Wire_Whipping_Party_%2528Robert_Hunter_Solo_Acoustic_-_6.11.03_%25E2%2580%25A2_Museum_of_History_%2526_Industry%2529.mp3/file

The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (Aoxomoxoa Outtake)– http://www.mediafire.com/file/94ogs34qdpscxhd/77_The_Barbed_Wire_Whipping_Party_%25281969_-_Aoxomoxoa_Outtakes%2529.mp3/file

Let Me Sing Your Blues Away (9.11.73) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/a6z1m2pfjq177ov/78_Let_Me_Sing_Your_Blues_Away_%25289.11.73_-_William_%2526_Mary_College_Hall_%25E2%2580%25A2_Williamsburg%252C_VA%2529.mp3/file

France (1.8.78 – Shakedown Street Rehearsal)– http://www.mediafire.com/file/taup2wow6s8natz/79_France_%25281.8.78_-_Shakedown_Street_Rehearsal%2529.mp3/file

If I Had The World To Give (8.30.78) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/z32zrcmjxm3mwmw/80_If_I_Had_The_World_To_Give_%25288.30.78_-_Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre_%25E2%2580%25A2_Morrison%252C_CO%2529.mp3/file

Believe It Or Not (7.17.88) – http://www.mediafire.com/file/olzsm3abuq9cqmc/81_Believe_It_Or_Not_%25287.17.88_-_Greek_Theatre%252C_University_of_California_%25E2%2580%25A2_Berkeley%252C_CA%2529.mp3/file 

Live Music Archive:

Mason’s Children (12.28.69) – https://archive.org/details/gd1969-12-28.sbd.gmb.96578.flac16

Till The Morning Comes (10.31.70) – http://archive.org/details/gd1970-10-31.122042.sbd.deluca.Digitalrbb.miller.flac1648

Clementine (1.23.68) – https://archive.org/details/gd1968-01-23.sbd.miller.97343.sbeok.flac16

Rosemary (12.7.68) – https://archive.org/details/gd1968-12-07.sbd.miller.88674.sbeok.flac16

What’s Become Of The Baby? (Aoxomoxoa Outtake)– https://archive.org/details/gd69-xx-xx.sbd.dodd.16760.sbeok.shnf

Hunter’s Stage Banter about The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (6.11.03) – https://archive.org/details/rh2003-06-11.sbd.126772/rh03-06-11d1t05.shn

The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (Aoxomoxoa Outtake)– https://archive.org/details/gd69-xx-xx.sbd.dodd.16760.sbeok.shnf

Let Me Sing Your Blues Away (9.11.73) – https://archive.org/details/gd1973-09-11.113051.sbd.GoodBear.flac16

France (1.8.78 – Shakedown Street Rehearsal)– https://archive.org/details/gd78-08-XX.sbd.wiley.11692.sbeok.shnf

If I Had The World To Give (8.30.78) – https://archive.org/details/gd1978-08-30.s2.sbd.miller.110151.flac16/gd78-08-30d3t02.flac

Believe It Or Not (7.17.88) – https://archive.org/details/gd1988-07-17.sbd.miller.87752.sbeok.flac16

Relisten:

Mason’s Children (12.28.69) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1969/12/28/masons-children?source=88157

Till The Morning Comes (10.31.70) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/10/31/till-the-morning-comes?source=88605

Clementine (1.23.68) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1968/01/23/clementine?source=87899

Rosemary (12.7.68) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1968/12/07/rosemary?source=87778

What’s Become Of The Baby? (Aoxomoxoa Outtake)– N/A

Hunter’s Stage Banter about The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (6.11.03) – https://relisten.net/robert-hunter/2003/06/11/whats-become-of-the-baby-outtake-stage-chatter-shady-grove?source=193396

The Barbed Wire Whipping Party (Aoxomoxoa Outtake) – N/A

Let Me Sing Your Blues Away (9.11.73) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1973/09/11/let-me-sing-your-blues-away?source=90229

France (1.8.78 – Shakedown Street Rehearsal) – N/A

If I Had The World To Give (8.30.78) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1978/08/30/if-i-had-the-world-to-give?source=91305

Believe It Or Not (7.17.88) – https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1988/07/17/19-believe-it-or-not?source=124330

#rareanddifferenttunes #masonschildren #12281969 #tilthemorningcomes #10311970 #celemtine #01231968 #rosemary #12071968 #whatsbecomeofthebaby #barbedwirewhippingparty #aoxomoxoaouttakes #letmesingyourbluesaway #09111973 #france #studiorehearsal #ifihadtheworldtogive #08301978 #believeitornot #07171988 #gratefuldead #roberthunter #jerrygarcia #bobweir #phillesh #billkreutzmann #mickeyhart #pigpen #tomconstanten #keithgodchaux #donnagodchaux #brentmydland #brucehornsby #vincewelnick #31daysofdead #linernotesmusicblog

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[bigjohnsadventuresintravel]

Remembering Pearl Harbor

On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise, preemptive strike on the US. Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. All around the island of Oahu, other US military bases and strategic locations of defense were simutaneously attacked by Japanese aircraft.  The attack began at 0748 hrs., when the first of 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft , (consisting of two waves of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes), broke through the clouds and began wreaking havoc on their unsuspecting targets below.

A japanese bomber soars up and over battleship row after releasing its payload.

In the aftermath of the Sunday morning attack, all 8 US Navy battleship were damaged with 4 sunk. The Japanese also sank 3 destroyers, 3 cruisers, 1 minelayer, and an anti-aircaft training ship. 188 US aircraft had also been destroyed in the attack; 2,403 Americans were killed, and another 1,178 others were wounded. By attacking the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had hoped to prevent the United States from interfering with its planned military campaigns in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. One day after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on the Empire of Japan.

Big John at Pearl Harbor Memorial, Hawaii

Blessed with the opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time on the island of Oahu, I made it my priority to explore the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as other areas directly affected by the December 7 attack. These are just a few of the photos I captured along the way. It was my intention that these photos cause readers to pause and reflect on this momentous event that led the United States into World War II.

Although some of the sites at the Pearl Harbor Memorial are paid attractions, the USS Arizona Memorial is entirely free. If you plan on visiting the site, I highly recommended that you get there as early in the morning as possible as the tickets to the USS Arizona are all on a first come – first serve basis. The later it is that you reach the park, the longer it is that you will most likely have to wait. While waiting your turn to see the USS Arizona, there are a number of museum-quality displays to explore, as well as the USS Bowfin submarine, and a gift shop and cafe.

Going out to the USS Arizona is a very solemn experience. First visitors will be ushered into a theater where they will watch a moving documentary of the Pearl Harbor attack on a large screen. After the film, visitors will board a boat where US Navy sailors will take them out to the wreckage. During the entire tour of the USS Arizona, all talking and texting is highly discouraged. Photographs are encouraged and permitted.

US Navy sailors ferry visitors to and from the USS Arizona

Battleship USS West Virginia sunk and burning at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. In background is the battleship USS Tennessee.

The USS West Virginia was hit with seven type 91torpedoes on her port side while bombers struck her with a pair of 16 in (410 mm) armor piercing shells. The ship was sunk but did not capsize. The crippling damage to the USS West Virginia caused it to sink upright to the harbor floor  During the attack, 106 sailors lost their lives. The USS West Virginia was eventually repaired and saw action during many World War II battles in the Pacific.

Survivors of Pearl Harbor described the scene as a literal hell on earth. Everywhere there were explosions, screams and fire. Sailors jumped from their ships into the harbor, covered in oil and fully engulfed in flames. All the while, Japanese planes continued their onslaught while brave sailors, Marines, and aviators tried to repel their attack.

The USS Arizona (BB-39) explodes violently as a Japanese bomb detonates inside a powder magazine.

For 1,177 officers and crew of the USS Arizona, there would be no future war stories to be told. For the men that died aboard the USS Arizona, the war ended even before it had begun.  Unlike many of the other ships that were sunk on December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona was well beyond repair. The wreckage of the ship, along with her valiant men, still lie at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

The USS Arizona Memorial with USS Missouri in the background.

The USS Arizona Memorial is an actual gravesite as many sailors are still entombed inside the hull of the ship. The memorial was designed by Alfred Preis, an Austrian-born architect who was sent to a US internment camp after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Although the memorial is positioned directly over the wreckage of the USS Arizona, no part of its structure actually rests on the ship.

To this day, considerable amounts of oil from the ship still seep to the water’s surface.

The names of all lost who served aboard the USS Arizona and lost their lives on December 7, 1941.

An actual anchor belonging to the USS Arizona that was recovered in Pearl Harbor.

The USS Bowfin (SS-287), a Balao-class submarine, saw action in the Pacfic and is now moored at Pearl Harbor, HI.

The lone sailor now stands watch over Pearl Harbor and is a tribute to all those who served in the sea services.

A WWII era torpedo

Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, American Naval Command believed that Pearl Harbor was too shallow for a successful torpedo attack. In planning their operation, the Japanese modified their torpedoes to operate effectively in only about 40 feet of water. The Type 91 torpedo, which was deployed in the attack, was an aerial torpedo designed to be launched from an airplane. The torpedo’s wooden stabilizers were shed from the tail fins immediately upon water entry and the weapon power-glided towards its target just below the water’s surface.

Map showing the December 7, 1941 attack on the island of Oahu.

The Pearl Harbor Naval Base wasn’t the only thing on Oahu attacked on December 7, 1941. The Japanese also struck  Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hickam Airfield, Bellows Field, Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, and Ewa Mooring Mast Field. Along with the numerous military personnel killed and wounded, there were also 49 civilians who lost their lives that day.

A restored Japanese Zero at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum on Ford Island, Hawaii.

Many Japanese pilots carried these “good-luck” banners with them inside the cockpits of their planes.

Actual wreckage from a Japanese fighter plane.

On December 8, 1941, Sakamaki became the first Japanese prisoner-of-war as he stumbled out of his beached mini-submarine at Bellows Air Station, Hawaii.

Sakamaki was commanding a 79-foot submarine armed with twin 18-inch torpedoes. His mission to destroy the USS Pennsylvania was cut short when it got stuck on reefs at Belllows Air Station and them bombed by US piloys patrolling the area.

My son, Jonah, stands in the same spot the Japanese submarine washed to shore.

This map was found in the beached submarine showing the entrance to Pearl Harbor.

The big barracks at Hickam Field was set ablaze after being strafed and bombed by Japanese aircraft.

During the attack on the barracks, a bomb directly struck the mess hall during breakfast and killed 35 men. In total, the casualties on Hickam Field totaled 121 men killed, 274 wounded and 37 missing.

Today, the Hickam barracks serve as the Headquarters for the Pacific Air Force.

This flag, which once flew proudly over Hickam barracks, was rescued from destruction on the day of infamy. 

The Courtyard of Heroes inside the courtyard of the Pacific Air Force Headquarters Building (formerly Hickam barracks).

Those that view the bullet holes and shrapnel damage to these walls are reminded to always stay vigilant.

A wall of remembrance at the Pacific Air Force Headquarters Building

A Japanese dive bomber aims for the runway at Ford Island and Battleship Row.

Tora! Tora! Tora! (Photo courtesy of www.worldwar2database.com)

This view was captured from from the top of Ford Island’s control tower as Hangar 6 burned after being struck by multiple bombs. Men can be seen pushing planes away from the carnage while trying to fight back the flames. Imperial Japanese Navy Captain Mitsuo Fuchida broadcasted the words, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!) to signal a successful surprise attack. Captain Fuchida later recalled, “When Lieutenant Commander Takahashi and his dive-bombing group mistook my signal and thought we were making a non-surprise attack, his fifty-three planes lost no time in dashing forward.”

The tower on Ford Island as it appears today.

These glass panes still carry bullet holes from the December 7, 1941 attack.

The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum on Ford Island houses a Boeing B17 Flying Fortress. Visitors to the museum can see this heavy bomber, along with many other planes that helped America win the war in the Pacific.

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was one of WWII’s most famous fighters.

This Douglas SBD (slow-but-deadly) Dauntless was the navy’s premier dive bomber of that day.

This massive burial ceremony was performed for the men killed at NAS Kaneohe Bay during the December 7th attack.

This signpost represents the crossroads to war in the Pacific.

Following the vicious attacks on Pearl Harbor, nearly every able-bodied American rushed to the recruiting office to do their part for the war effort.

My maternal grandfather, Robert Triebull, (on the right), crouches for a snapshot outside the Lan Ting restaurant, Waikiki, Hawaii.

Robert Triebull enlisted in the navy. He drove Marines to shore on landing craft (LCVP) during seven major battles in the Pacific. Click on the following link to read more of his story:

Diary of a Higgins Boat Sailor in the Pacific

My paternal Grandfather, Richard Cutler, serving as a Marine in the jungles of the Pacific.

Richard Cutler joined the Marines when the war broke out. He served as a rifleman and also played the saxophone in the Marine Corps band. Read more of his story by clicking this link:

A Leatherneck with a Saxophone Takes to the Pacific

Many scenes from the Pacific Theater can be revisited at Pearl Harbor Memorial.

The USS Missouri (BB-63) is now permanently moored at Ford Island, Hawaii, USA.

Signing an end to WWII aboard the USS Missouri Battleship.

On September 2, 1945, the Japanese joined with allied forces aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) to sign the Instruments of Surrender. This event marked the allies’ victory over Japan and the ended the war.

Big John takes his mother to meet Sterling Cale, one of the last remaining survivors of the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Sterling Cale is a true American Hero. He went on to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor, only to serve again in both the Korean War and Vietnam. On the day of our visit, Sterling Cale was at the park signing autographs for his inspiring autobiography.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Through the passing of time, historical events can become so distant that they adopt an almost abstract quality to them. In remembering Pearl Harbor, I hope we always remember that the men that died there, and those men and women that ultimately served and sacrificed in the Second World War, were not some abstract figures in some bygone, abstract event. The attack on Pearl Harbor – the day that will live in infamy – involved the very heart of America, our very own families and friends.

Happy travels,

Big John

[deciliokniks-blog1]

SERVING WITH SMILE

As I was walking my way into the Barangay of Lias in Marilao, Bulacan, I was welcomed by a signage that says “Serving with smile”. And they truly serve people with a smile as  I was greeted by the person at the information desk with, “Good afternoon po! Ano po sa kanila?” and gave me her smile. 

Mr. Albert Castro, a sangguniang barangay member who’s assigned for the Risk and Reduction Management, was the one who agreed to entertain my interview. As we go our way to the office, we passed by the the rescue equipment which are being use for - obviously, rescuing. 

As we going further the interview, I’ve realized that our community is actually lucky enough to have survived disaster events such as storm, heavy flooding, and earthquakes. I knew that out of the 16 barangays that our municipal has, our community, Barangay Lias, is the only one who has never experienced heavy flooding. Like, ever. Knowing that Bulacan is probably the only province that always has its roads/streets under construction ALL THE TIME. How blessed our community can be, right?

The value of televisions, radios, and internet are very significant in our community - especially to our barangay as these are the only ways where they get information regarding the possible disaster or hazard that’s about to occur. In connection to this, the rescue team roam around our community to raise awareness to its people. 

Mr. Castro also shared a story on how they - the barangay heads and the rescue team, would stay in the barangay hall whenever there’s a heavy storm or a tropical storm happening. This is to make sure that the people who would need help, gets it. “Para kapag may bumagsak na puno, magrerespond agad kami.” Moreover, he also mentioned the equipment that our barangay have for unfortunate events like a collapse of a certain building. Jack hammer and chain saw are just some of the equipment mentioned.

When asked about the places that are more prone to get affected by the calamities, I have known that it was Sitio SBD - one of the small streets in our community, due to the light materials used in their houses which are not really liable when an earthquake occurs. As opposed to this, the safest place so far in our barangay is the evacuation center that our community built. It is located right behind the barangay hall. 

Since our community does not really get vulnerable caused by any calamities or hazards, our community’s rescue team helps our other barangay neighbors whenever they need one. But due to the construction that’s currently happening near our community, we might soon get affected when a heavy storm occurs as heavy flood will follow. In this case, the head of our community’s Risk and Reduction Management said that they will be needing everyone’s cooperation and discipline. 

What I can coordinate from this discussion to the disaster situation in our country is the fact that cooperation should not only happen in one small group. If we are all able to do it individually, or even in a small community, then we must and we can also apply this as people of our country. Philippines is experiencing a lot right now. From poverty, to the corrupt government, and to the social issues that we undergo everyday, our discipline and cooperation are truly needed. 

As the interview and community walk have come to an end, I came up with so much realizations. I’ve realized that yes, earthquake and storm are considered to be natural disasters. But we, the people, are also somehow a part as to why they occur. Experiencing tropical storms when it’s not even the season for it is strange. This may not be a natural disaster anymore. It must have been a man-made disaster since this might have been due to our kapabayaan with our nature. We are being abusive with what we have and we tend to not care about them. 

Now, as a member of this community and as a communications major, I like to use my voice to raise an awareness regarding these issues by probably just having casual talks with the people around me but also making my point and about these at the same time. Aside from this, one of the simplest and easiest actions I can do to prevent unnecessary disasters is by being disciplined enough and following the rules of my community. As simple as throwing trashes to its proper storage and saving water are just some of the basic ways that we can do to at least prevent all these. 

Therefore, we shall all be prepared with what’s to come! 

[sciencespies]

The True Story of the Battle of Midway

https://sciencespies.com/history/the-true-story-of-the-battle-of-midway/

The True Story of the Battle of Midway

“At the present time we have only enough water for two weeks. Please supply us immediately,” read the message sent by American sailors stationed at Midway, a tiny atoll located roughly halfway between North America and Asia, on May 20, 1942.

The plea for help, however, was a giant ruse; the base was not, in fact, low on supplies. When Tokyo Naval Intelligence intercepted the dispatch and relayed the news onward, reporting that the “AF” air unit was in dire need of fresh water, their American counterparts finally confirmed what they had long suspected: Midway and “AF,” cited by the Japanese as the target of a major upcoming military operation, were one and the same.

This codebreaking operation afforded the United States a crucial advantage at what would be the Battle of Midway, a multi-day naval and aerial engagement fought between June 3 and 7, 1942. Widely considered a turning point in World War II’s Pacific theater, Midway found the Imperial Japanese Navy’s offensive capabilities routed after six months of success against the Americans. As Frank Blazich, lead curator of military history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, explains, the battle leveled the playing field, giving U.S. forces “breathing room and time to go on the offensive” in campaigns such as Guadalcanal.

Midway, a new movie from director Roland Emmerich, known best for disaster spectacles like The Day After Tomorrow, traces the trajectory of the early Pacific campaign from the December 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor to the Halsey-Doolittle Raid in April 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of that same year, and, finally, Midway itself.

Ed Skrein (left) and Luke Kleintank (right) play dive bombers Dick Best and Clarence Dickinson.

(Reiner Bajo/Lionsgate)

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Traditional military lore suggests a Japanese victory at Midway would have left the U.S. West Coast vulnerable to invasion, freeing the imperial fleet to strike at will. The movie’s trailer outlines this concern in apt, albeit highly dramatic, terms. Shots of Japanese pilots and their would-be American victims flash across the screen as a voiceover declares, “If we lose, then [the] Japanese own the West Coast. Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles will burn.”

The alternative to this outcome, says Admiral Chester Nimitz, played by Woody Harrelson in the film, is simple: “We need to throw a punch so they know what it feels like to be hit.”

***

According to the National WWII Museum, Japan targeted Midway in hopes of destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet and using the atoll as a base for future military operations in the region. (Formally annexed in 1867, Midway had long been a strategic asset for the United States, and in 1940, it became a naval air base.) Although the attack on Pearl Harbor had crippled the U.S. Navy, destroying three battleships, 18 assorted vessels and 118 aircraft, the Doolittle Raid—a bombing raid on the Japanese mainland—and the Battle of the Coral Sea—a four-day naval and aerial skirmish that left the Imperial Navy’s fleet weakened ahead of the upcoming clash at Midway—showed Japan the American carrier force was, in Blazich’s words, “still a potent threat.”

Cryptanalysts and linguists led by Commander Joseph Rochefort (played by Brennan Brown in the film) broke the Japanese Navy’s main operational code in March 1942, enabling the American intelligence unit—nicknamed Station Hypo—to track the enemy’s plans for an invasion of the still-unidentified “AF.” Rochefort was convinced “AF” stood for Midway, but his superiors in Washington disagreed. To prove his suspicions, Rochefort devised the “low supplies” ruse, confirming “AF”’s identity and spurring the Navy to take decisive counter-action.

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Per the Naval History and Heritage Command, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Etsushi Toyokawa), commander of Japan’s imperial fleet, grounded his strategy in the assumption that an attack on Midway would force the U.S. to send reinforcements from Pearl Harbor, leaving the American fleet vulnerable to a joint strike by Japanese carrier and battleship forces lying in wait.

“If successful, the plan would effectively eliminate the Pacific Fleet for at least a year,” the NHHC notes, “and provide a forward outpost from which ample warning of any future threat by the United States would come.”

Midway, in other words, was a “magnet to draw the American forces out,” says Blazich.

Japan’s plan had several fatal flaws, chief among them the fact that the U.S. was fully aware of how the invasion was supposed to unfold. As Blazich explains, “Yamamoto does all his planning on intentions of what he believes the Americans will do rather than on our capabilities”—a risky strategy made all the more damaging by the intelligence breach. The Japanese were also under the impression that the U.S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier damaged at Coral Sea, was out of commission; in truth, the ship was patched up and ready for battle after just two days at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.

Blazich emphasizes the fact that Japan’s fleet was built for offense, not defense, likening their Navy to a “boxer with a glass jaw that can throw a punch but not take a blow.” He also points out that the country’s top military officers tended to follow “tried and true” tactics rather than study and learn from previous battles.

“The Japanese,” he says, “are kind of doomed from the start.”

***

The first military engagement of the Battle of Midway took place during the afternoon of June 3, when a group of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers launched an unsuccessful air attack on what a reconnaissance pilot had identified as the main Japanese fleet. The vessels—actually a separate invasion force targeting the nearby Aleutian Islands—escaped the encounter unscathed, and the actual fleet’s location remained hidden from the Americans until the following afternoon.

“Dauntless” dive bombers approach the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma on June 6, 1942.

(National Archives)

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The U.S.S. Yorktown was struck by Japanese torpedo bombers during a mid-afternoon attack on June 4.

(National Archives)

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Ensign Leif Larsen and rear gunner John F. Gardener in their Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless bombers

(U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation)

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In the early morning hours of June 4, Japan deployed 108 warplanes from four aircraft carriers in the vicinity: the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu. Although the Japanese inflicted serious damage on both the responding American fighters and the U.S. base at Midway, the island’s airfield and runways remained in play. The Americans counterattacked with 41 torpedo bombers flown directly toward the four Japanese carriers.

“Those men went into this fight knowing that it was very likely they would never come home,” says Laura Lawfer Orr, a historian at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. “Their [Douglas TBD-1 Devastators] were obsolete. They had to fly incredibly slowly … [and] very close to the water. And they had torpedoes that, most of the time, did not work.”

In just minutes, Japanese ships and warplanes had shot down 35 of the 41 Devastators. As writer Tom Powers explains for the Capital Gazette, the torpedo bombers were “sitting ducks for fierce, incessant fire from shipboard batteries and the attacks of the swift, agile defending aircraft.” Despite sustaining such high losses, none of the Devastators scored a hit on the Japanese.

Ensign George Gay, a pilot in the U.S.S. Hornet’s Torpedo Squadron 8, was the sole survivor of his 30-man aircrew. According to an NHHC blog post written by Blazich in 2017, Gay (Brandon Sklenar) crash landed in the Pacific after a showdown with five Japanese fighters. “Wounded, alone and surrounded,” he endured 30 hours adrift before finally being rescued. Today, the khaki flying jacket Gay wore during his ordeal is on view in the American History Museum’s “Price of Freedom” exhibition.

Around the time of the Americans’ failed torpedo assault, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo—operating under the erroneous assumption that no U.S. carriers were in the vicinity—rearmed the Japanese air fleet, swapping the planes’ torpedoes for land bombs needed to attack the base at Midway a second time. But in the midst of rearmament, Nagumo received an alarming report: A scout plane had spotted American ships just east of the atoll.

The Japanese switched gears once again, readying torpedo bombers for an assault on the American naval units. In the ensuing confusion, sailors left unsecured ordnance, as well as fueled and armed aircraft, scattered across the four carriers’ decks.

Black smoke pours from the U.S.S. Yorktown on June 4, 1942.

(Naval History and Heritage Command)

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On the American side of the fray, 32 dive bombers stationed on the Enterprise and led by Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky (Luke Evans) pursued the Japanese fleet despite running perilously low on fuel. Dick Best (Ed Skrein), commander of Bombing Squadron 6, was among the pilots participating in the mission.

Unlike torpedo bombers, who had to fly low and slow without any guarantee of scoring a hit or even delivering a working bomb, dive bombers plummeted down from heights of 20,000 feet, flying at speeds of around 275 miles per hour before aiming their bombs directly at targets.

“Dive bombing was a death defying ride of terror,” says Orr in Battle of Midway: The True Story, a new Smithsonian Channel documentary premiering Monday, November 11 at 8 p.m. “It’s basically like a game of chicken that a pilot is playing with the ocean itself. … A huge ship is going to appear about the size of a ladybug on the tip of a shoe, so it’s tiny.”

The Enterprise bombers’ first wave of attack took out the Kaga and the Akagi, both of which exploded in flames from the excess ordnance and fuel onboard. Dive bombers with the Yorktown, meanwhile, struck the Soryu, leaving the Japanese fleet with just one carrier: the Hiryu.

Close to noon, dive bombers from the Hiryu retaliated, hitting the Yorktown with three separate strikes that damaged the carrier but did not disable it. Later in the afternoon, however, a pair of torpedoes hit the partially repaired Yorktown, and at 2:55 p.m., Captain Elliott Buckmaster ordered his crew to abandon ship.

Dusty Kleiss is seated second from the right in this photograph of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s Scouting Squadron Six.

(William T. Barr/U.S. Navy)

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Around 3:30 p.m., American dive bombers tracked down the Hiryu and struck the vessel with at least four bombs. Rather than continuing strikes on the remainder of the Japanese fleet, Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance (Jake Weber) opted to pull back. In doing so, Blazich explains, “He preserves his own force while really destroying Japanese offensive capability.”

Over the next several days, U.S. troops continued their assault on the Japanese Navy, attacking ships including the Mikuma and Mogami cruisers and the Asashio and Arashio destroyers. By the time hostilities ended on June 7, the Japanese had lost 3,057 men, four carriers, one cruiser and hundreds of aircraft. The U.S., comparatively, lost 362 men, one carrier, one destroyer and 144 aircraft.

Best and Dusty Kleiss, a bomber from the Enterprise‘s Scouting Squadron Six, were the only pilots to score strikes on two different Japanese carriers at Midway. Kleiss—whose exploits are at the center of the Smithsonian Channel documentary—scored yet another hit on June 6, sinking the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and upping his total to three successful strikes.

In Midway‘s trailer, Admiral Chester Nimitz, played by Woody Harrelson, says, “We need to throw a punch so they know what it feels like to be hit.”

(Lionsgate)

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George Gay, the downed torpedo bomber memorialized at the American History Museum, watched this decisive action from the water. He later recalled, “The carriers during the day resembled a very large oil-field fire. … Billowing big red flames belched out of this black smoke, … and I was sitting in the water hollering hooray, hooray.”

***

The U.S. victory significantly curbed Japan’s offensive capabilities, paving the way for American counteroffensive strikes like the Guadalcanal Campaign in August 1942—and shifting the tide of the war strictly in the Allies’ favor.

Still, Blazich says, Midway was far from a “miracle” win ensured by plucky pilots fighting against all odds. “Midway is a really decisive battle,” the historian adds, “… an incredible victory.

But the playing field was more level than most think: While historian Gordon W. Prange’s Miracle at Midway suggests the Americans’ naval forces were “inferior numerically to the Japanese,” Blazich argues that the combined number of American aircraft based on carriers and the atoll itself actually afforded the U.S. “a degree of numerical parity, if not slight superiority,” versus the divided ranks of the Imperial Japanese Navy. (Yamamoto, fearful of revealing the strength of his forces too early in the battle, had ordered his main fleet of battleships and cruisers to trail several hundred miles behind Nagumo’s carriers.)

Naval historians Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully’s Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway deconstructs central myths surrounding the battle, including notions of Japan’s peerless strategic superiority. Crucially, Parshall and Tully write, “The imperial fleet committed a series of irretrievable strategic and operational mistakes that seem almost inexplicable. In so doing, it doomed its matchless carrier force to premature ruin.”

George Gay’s khaki flying jacket is on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

(NMNH)

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Luck certainly played a part in the Americans’ victory, but as Orr says in an interview, attributing the win entirely to chance “doesn’t give agency to the people who fought” at Midway. The “training and perseverance” of U.S. pilots contributed significantly, she says, as did “individual initiative,” according to Blazich. Ultimately, the Americans’ intelligence coup, the intrinsic doctrinal and philosophical weaknesses of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and factors from spur-of-the-moment decision-making to circumstance and skill all contributed to the battle’s outcome.

Orr says she hopes Midway the movie reveals the “personal side” of the battle. “History is written from the top down,” she explains, “and so you see the stories of Admiral Nimitz, [Frank Jack] Fletcher and Spruance, but you don’t always see the stories of the men themselves, the pilots and the rear seat gunners who are doing the work.”

Take, for instance, aviation machinist mate Bruno Gaido, portrayed by hearththrob Nick Jonas: In February 1942, the rear gunner was promoted from third to first class after he singlehandedly saved the Enterprise from a Japanese bomber by jumping into a parked Dauntless dive bomber and aiming its machine gun at the enemy plane. During the Battle of Midway, Gaido served as a rear gunner in Scouting Squadron 6, working with pilot Frank O’Flaherty to attack the Japanese carriers. But the pair’s plane ran out of fuel, leaving Gaido and O’Flaherty stranded in the Pacific. Japanese troops later drowned both men after interrogating them for information on the U.S. fleet.

Blazich cherishes the fact that the museum has George Gay’s khaki flying jacket on display. He identifies it as one of his favorite artifacts in the collection, saying, “To the uninformed you ignore it, and to the informed, you almost venerate it [as] the amazing witness to history it is.”

#History

[bowtiebettas]

Update

Hello everybody!! Sorry for the long absence, life has caught up with me, but I will continue posting regularly.

PSMT1 is doing amazingly, and he's just moved up into a temporary 10 gallon! He has found a local adopter, @its-hufflecreampuff, and will spend his life in a 20H that I'm setting up and cycling.

PC3 has gone blind, but is still happy and healthy! The wonderful @pet-of-subs will be adopting him very soon, and has already named him Le Petit Prince. She'll spoil him to bits and you guys will get to see updates all the time!

I have picked up three rescues that I'll be posting photos of later. One was a surrender from my friend @sacrificedinchess, who bought her at petco because she fell in love and gave her to me to heal up, and she's since gone to her forever home and is in a bright little 10 gallon! The only boy of the bunch is a handsome, grumpy veiltail boy, PC..4 I believe, who's done very well, coming from looking half-dead, pale and clamped, to a vibrant, angry wiggle. The third is a girl who looked on her death bed, showing the early signs of dropsy and the worst SBD I've seen, that I dubbed Wonder Woman in the hopes it'd help her and because she's a brilliant red and very active, even though she was so sick. Less than a week and some Kanaplex later, her SBD and swelling are gone and I'm cautiously optimistic.

I'll make at least weekly updates from now on and I'll get pictures up tonight!

[bobomama]

I rescued this little guy from Meijer’s last night. I brought the disgusting conditions of the fish dept. and specifically the Bettas conditions to the dept. managers attention & he said he didn’t care if they died or not & instead of letting me rescue the sickest one, he’d rather let it die! I demanded to speak with the manager about the condition of the fish & his shitty employee & he agreed that this little guy deserved a chance & let me have him! I’m going to try my hardest to save this little guy ❤️ 🐟

As you can see he appears to be in BAD shape. He lays on his side at the surface. He doesn’t swim at all. Most times when I look at him, I think he’s dead. He has kind of an “S” shape to his body and a slightly distended stomach. I’m going to treat him for constipation first & then move on to other SBD treatments if needed? I’ve had Bettas for several years, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Am I on the right track? Any advice or words of wisdom out there?

***these pics were taken as soon as we got home - before I could get him in his tank. He doesn’t live in this bowl!****

[hella-free-space]

I just rescued a betta from Meijer's last night. He was in FILTHY water, a tiny cup, laying on his side & unable to swim. I told the manager I could take him home & try to save his life, he agreed & let me have him for free- a rescue betta! I've had Bettas for years, but I've never seen anything like this. He seems happy, no pain, but lays at the surface on his side & cant/won't swim. I've researched & figure I'll start w/ constipation treatment & then move to other SBD cures? Any advice?

Treating SBD is something I've not had to deal with personally tbh, so I'm gonna start off by saying I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help :(I do believe that fasting (if the betta is also bloated) and feeding daphnia will help to cure SBD caused by overfeeding.however I believe that SBD is not always caused by bloat/overfeeding, and I'm not sure what do in that situation >_@theredbettafish @fishhhhhhh @jayce-space may be able to help more~

[renegadesquadrpblog]

39 for all your clones

39. Tell us about one of the times they got injured?

Hooo Booyyy, lets see….

Kralj was injured fighting against a Jedi gone rogue, he lost his right forarm, just below the elbow to the Jedi’s lightsaber during the fight.

Shadow broke his back during a mission searching out droid forces on a backwater planet. His group had gone ahead to scout and were ambushed by assassin droids. He fell from the roof of an abandoned temple structure down a full story and landed on some rubble below. He made a full recovery.

Sniper, shortly after Geonosis, during one of the missions tracking down some Separatist leaders to assassinate them; Sniper was perched in a rather tall tree, waiting to make his shot when he was discovered. The guard fired upwards at him and caught him by surprise, the shot grazed up the chin piece of his helmet and over the “teeth” of it, giving him a jagged scar pattern over his lips.

Storm, his most notable injury was from Geonosis when a SBD fired off a volley of rocket shots at his team and he took the brunt of the damage to the left side of his chest and face. He has a lacing of scars over his face, neck and chest, and his left eye was discolored, and he is blind in that eye.

Mech, got shot through the back of the leg by a sniper during a black ops mission with his team. He took that shot in silence amazingly enough, he didn’t cry out, only made a grunt of pain, so as not to give away his exact position.

Drali, he and his original scout partner were both injured during a drop gone bad on a winter planet, his partner later died due to complications of his own wounds as well as exposure. Drali had a broken leg and nearly died of exposure as well, but was rescued before it could happen.

Nex, was shot in the back by an unknown assailant, shortly before his Jedi commander and most of his team were killed, he survived his injury, but still struggles with the guilt of it. He was a lieutenant, but took a demotion and currently refuses to lead any mission.

Chaos, had his nose and ribs broken in a fight with his commanding officer, a harsh command clone who encouraged/forced his men to fight with each other. He was originally part of the Coruscant Guard before Nile’s team rescued him.

Crisis, one of the only other clones in Chaos’ group that refused to fight, he was beaten severely enough at one point to leave his mouth torn up from the blows, he has scars caused by this, they healed poorly, leaving jagged wounds over his mouth.

[dradaybyday]

March 21 (Newly Released Recording)

I believe an audience version of this March 2002 Sweetheart Revolution show has circulated before, but it was never on RAA and this is a soundboard recording that has only had very limited circulation before today. (I think I got the audience recording on an FTP in the early 2000s... I do not miss the days of FTP, but they were a cool resource).

This one is on the high end of Sweetheart Revolution shows, I think. From the opening Rescue Blues (I really love this arrangement of the song), the band is pretty on. Really long take on Wharf Rat <> Answering Bell, and the solo on the end of La Cienega is really nice. Pretty rare performance of Psalms, and a nice slow version of New York, New York. There’s some great improv moments here too... Ryan’s intro to Oh My Sweet Carolina about drinking in Niagara (the bar where he wrote the song), and a long one about Celine Dion ruining his buzz. 

But my favorite moment here is Ryan deciding to play Avenues (which he hadn’t played in over a year, and wouldn’t play again until the Whiskeytown reunion night in 2005), fumbling through the beginning... and then finding it and nailing a beautiful rendition of it. Perfect Ryan Adams concert moment.

The sound here is mostly excellent, although there’s some scattered clicks and pops that at some points can be distracting. 

https://archive.org/details/radams2002-03-21.sbd

Ryan Adams & The Sweetheart Revolution Roseland Ballroom New York, NY March 21, 2002

Soundboard recording

Setlist 1) Intro 2) The Rescue Blues 3) Firecracker 4) Wharf Rat* > Answering Bell > Wharf Rat 5) To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High) 6) Come Pick Me Up 7) Nervous Breakdown @ 8) Somehow, Someday 9) Psalms 10) Harder Now That It's Over 11) Touch, Feel & Lose 12) La Cienega Just Smiled 13) Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues 14) Oh My Sweet Carolina 15) Lovesick Blues # 16) Improv Song About Celine Dion 17) When The Stars Go Blue 18) Metal Improv 19) Nobody Girl Encore Break 20) My Winding Wheel 21) Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains) 22) Avenues 23) Shakedown On 9th Street 24) New York, New York 25) Brown Sugar %

* Grateful Dead @ Black Flag # Hank Williams % Rolling Stones

Lineup: Ryan Adams (Vocals / Guitar / Harmonica) Bucky Baxter (Guitar / Pedal Steel / Background Vocals) Dan Eisenberg (Organ / Wurlitzer) Billy Mercer (Bass / Background Vocals) Brad Pemberton (Drums) Brad Rice (Guitar / Background Vocals)

-- THANKS TO RYAN ADAMS AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO MADE THIS RECORDING POSSIBLE! Please support the artist and purchase official merchandise.

THIS RECORDING IS NOT FOR SALE - DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN! DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE IN A LOSSY FORMAT - KEEP THE RECORDING PURE!

This file must accompany this package to preserve lineage info. --

Source provided by Joel Swaney for www.ryanadamsarchive.com Part of the RAA Forever Project

[pacificeagles]

https://pacificeagles.net/the-battle-of-midway-the-dive-bomber-attack/

The Battle of Midway: the Dive Bomber Attack

The American dive bomber force launched with the torpedo bombers, but each of the three squadrons involved took paths to the target the diverged greatly from the torpedo squadrons, and from each other. The contingent of Enterprise SBDs was led by LtCdr C. Wade McClusky, who had been promoted to air group commander a few months before. A fighter pilot by trade, McClusky was not very familiar with the SBD and had never dropped a bomb from one but he was nevertheless highly regarded. The Enterprise air leader took his men aloft at 0700, but the SBDs quickly became separated both from their fighter escort and from their torpedo squadron colleagues far below. Heading south-west, the crews settled in for the flight whilst waiting for more news of the Japanese force.

During the flight, some of Enterprise’s SBD pilots could make out the smoke rising from Midway following the Japanese attack. At 0920 the Enterprise SBDs arrived at the anticipated interception point, with Midway itself almost visible off their left wing, but there was no sign of the enemy. With no further contact reports forthcoming, either from Midway-based PBYs or from the other carrier squadrons, and lacking the fuel to conduct an ‘expanding square’ search, McClusky faced a choice to either assume that the Japanese had closed on Midway and turn left to follow, or to assume that Nagumo had made less progress than anticipated and instead turn right, in the hopes that they were still a way off. With time very much the essence and the success of the attack in his hands, making the correct choice was critical. McClusky decided to continue onwards for another 35 miles before making a right turn that was completed around 0950.

Just a few minutes later McClusky spotted what he identified as a ‘cruiser’ heading north at high speed. This was actually the destroyer Arashi, which had left the Japanese formation to make a depth charge attack on the submarine Nautilus and was now hurrying back to rejoin Nagumo and the rest of Kido Butai. The American bombers changed course to follow Arashi in the hopes of finding the elusive carriers, and 10 minutes later saw smoke on the horizon – the American bombers had at last found the Japanese force. Two SBDs dropped out of formation, probably due to fuel starvation, but the remaining 31 Enterprise Dauntlesses headed in unencumbered by Japanese fighters.

Yorktown SBD warming up prior to a scouting mission, 4th June 1942

Enterprise’s VB-6 and VS-6 attack

Almost immediately, McClusky’s inexperience in his new position told – either he didn’t know or in the heat of the moment forgot US dive-bomber doctrine, which dictated how two squadrons would split their attack to hit multiple targets simultaneously. The commander of VB-6, Lt. Richard H. Best, assumed that he would attack the starboard of two carriers that were in sight as per doctrine, whilst VS-6 under LtCdr Earl Gallaher was to take the one to port. Instead, McClusky excitedly ordered Gallaher to follow him in a dive on the starboard ship in violation of doctrine. Best was just about to start his run when McClusky and Gallaher, followed by the rest of VS-6, hurtled past on their way to attack what turned out to be the Kaga. Best had the presence of mind to change his plans and lead his two wingmen to attack the ship to starboard – Nagumo’s flagship, Akagi.

At 1020, the attack began. None of the Japanese ships was equipped with radar and so it fell to Japanese lookouts to spot the high-flying aircraft, which they did as the first SBDs tipped over into their dives. Kaga and Akagi immediately put their helms over and went into emergency turns. With their Zeros still at low altitude, low on fuel and ammunition following the torpedo attack, the carriers depended on their own anti-aircraft weapons and their manoeuvrability to escape the incoming strike. Although several American pilots claimed that the carrier’s decks were packed with aircraft, in fact only a few fighters remained topside.

VS-6 led the way with their attack on Kaga. Streaming down, Gallaher’s men released bomb after bomb on the ship starting just two minutes after the attack had been detected, leaving almost no reaction time. The first three 500lb bombs dropped by the SBDs missed, but the fourth, dropped by Gallaher himself, landed on the flight deck aft and exploded with telling effect. This hit was soon followed by two more which landed near Kaga’s forward elevator, and at least one penetrated through to the hangar deck below. A fuel truck parked on the flight deck exploded and burning fuel and debris killed everyone on the bridge, leaving the ship leaderless. A fourth bomb landed amidships and added to the fires that were already raging out of control. Fires began raging out of control throughout the ship, far beyond the capabilities of Kaga’s damage control parties to contain.

Lt Best led three divisions of SBDs from VB-6 in the attack on the Akagi, but he freed his second and third divisions for independent attacks and led his own first division with 5 bombers down to Nagumo’s flagship. It appears that Best and his wingmen managed a near miss and one hit close to the amidships elevator – the latter proving to be the fatal stroke. The bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded on the hangar deck below, which was crowded with aircraft refuelling and re-arming following the Midway strike. Very quickly a fire began to rage that was beyond the capabilities of Akagi’s crew to extinguish, a situation not helped by the fact that many of them had been killed in the explosions or blown overboard. The blast had also destroyed the ship’s radio room and several antennae, making communication with the rest of the fleet impossible. A near miss had also damaged her rudder. Before long, the ship was unable to steer and the engines had to be stopped, leaving Akagi dead in the water.

The Enterprise fliers did not escape from this attack unscathed. Initiating a high-speed, low altitude withdrawal, the SBDs had to run the gauntlet of Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft fire to make good their escape. One VS-6 SBD was hit by flak during the dive and crashed soon after pull-out with neither of the crew surviving. Levelling out after delivering their bombs, many of the remaining planes ran into Zero fighters, still at low level following the earlier torpedo attack. Another VS-6 SBD was not heard from again following the attack, and five other aircraft likewise failed to return after being shot down in the minutes after Kido Butai was hit – only two crews were rescued, leaving six unaccounted for. Only eight out of the 15 VS-6 Dauntlesses that left the Enterprise made it back to home plate.

VB-6 was hit even harder. Two of the five aircraft from Best’s own 1st Division were lost, with one crew rescued and the other captured by the Japanese. The latter crew were later executed by the crew of the cruiser Nagara. Of the 2nd division, only one aircraft made it back to the Enterprise, the other four making water landings with only two of the crews recovered. Similarly, only one SBD from the 3rd division made it home, with two of the crews rescued. In all, only five SBDs from VB-6 returned safely back to base, with no less than 10 lost during the attack. In total, the Enterprise lost 17 SBDs from her two squadrons, in addition to the losses suffered by VT-6 earlier in the morning. However, the Enterprise men had sold their lives dearly, with two of the Japanese carriers crippled.  

Yorktown’s VB-3 attack

As Enterprise’s VS-6 and VB-6 were beginning their attacks, a third Dauntless squadron arrived near the Japanese carriers – Yorktown’s VB-3, led by LtCdr Maxwell Leslie. Although Yorktown had launched her strike an hour after Enterprise, her squadrons took a more direct course to Kido Butai and by sheer happenstance arrived within minutes of their colleagues. VB-3 had also kept fairly close company with VT-3 and their fighter escort, although there was no direct fighter escort for the SBDs. The Yorktown air group was, therefore, the only one of the three carrier groups to make a coordinated attack. Disaster had almost befallen Leslie’s men when they set the electrical release on their bomb racks – a fault with these had led to four pilots accidentally jettisoning their 1,000lb bombs, including Leslie himself. Each of the four chose to continue.

By taking a more direct course for the Kido Butai than the Enterprise air group had, the Yorktown men had a much shorter flight before they sighted enemy ships at 1200 – almost the same time as the Enterprise SBDs themselves saw Nagumo’s fleet. By sheer luck the Americans had contrived to get two attack groups over the Japanese fleet simultaneously, and from completely different directions. Whilst VT-3 bored in at low altitude, supported by a handful of VF-3 fighters, VB-3’s 17 SBDs remained high.

Leslie initiated an attack what he thought was the Akagi, but was actually Sōryū, the most north-eastern of the four flattops. The CO himself led the way, despite not having a bomb – he attempted to use his machine guns to strafe the Sōryū in order to give them men diving behind a slightly easier task, but his guns soon jammed and he was forced to withdraw alone. It fell to the 13 SBDs still carrying bombs to deliver the third devastating attack of the morning.

VB-3 SBD having returned from the morning strike, 4th June 1942

The first bomb scored a direct hit right on the enormous rising sun emblem painted on Sōryū’s flight deck. Several more SBDs delivered their attacks without scoring before a second 1,000lb bomb landed amidships and penetrated to the second hangar deck, followed by a third father aft near the number three elevator. All three bombs penetrated to the hangar deck, which like that of the Kaga and Akagi was packed with aircraft being re-armed. Fires began to take hold almost along the entire length of the ship and the conflagration was quickly out of control and beyond the ability of the ship’s damage control party to contain. Only 30 minutes later the order went out from Captain Ryusaku Yanagimoto for all hands to abandon ship.

In contrast to the two Enterprise squadrons, VB-3 escaped relatively unscathed. No SBDs were shot down near the Japanese fleet and only two of the Dauntlesses, one of them Leslie’s, were lost after they were forced to ditch near the Yorktown due to fuel starvation.

A Battle Won?

The reasons why the American attack was so effective have been debated in the years since Midway. The dive bombers were presented with a clear run to their objectives because the Japanese fighter screen was well out of position following several hours of attacks, both by Midway-based torpedo and dive-bombers and the three carrier-based torpedo squadrons. These attacks had pulled Japanese fighters all over the sky, leaving many low on fuel and ammunition, and too low to effectively intercept the SBDs before they began their deadly dives. In addition, Kido Butai lacked radar, a deficiency which had proved problematic at Coral Sea and deadly at Midway – lacking the early warning of the type that was available to American carriers thanks to their CXAM radars, the Japanese flattops were naked to surprise air attack. The nearest Japanese radar set, a Type 21, was installed on the battleship Ise which was operating with the Aleutians force, many hundreds of miles from Kido Butai.

In the space of five minutes of attacks, three Japanese carriers crippled beyond hope of repair far from home. His flagship smashed, Nagumo had to decide whether to remain aboard or to shift his flag to another vessel and continue the fight. He still had the Hiryū, which had manoeuvred away from the other carriers to avoid VT-3’s torpedo attack and had escaped the attention of the American dive bombers. Eventually, Nagumo chose to board the cruiser Nagara and make it his flagship before leading the rest of his fleet towards the Americans, although the futility of this plan soon became evident.

[jk144]

Wreckage from the USS Lexington, a US aircraft carrier which sank during World War Two, has been found in the Coral Sea by a search team led by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder. The wreckage was found on Sunday by the team's research vessel, the R/V Petrel, some two miles below the surface more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The search team released pictures and video of the wreckage of the Lexington, one of the first ever US aircraft carriers, and some of the planes which went down with the ship. Remarkably preserved aircraft could be seen on the seabed bearing the five-pointed star insignia of the US Army Air Forces on their wings and fuselage. On one aircraft, an emblem of the cartoon character Felix the Cat can be seen along with four miniature Japanese flags presumably depicting "kills". The wreck was found two miles beneath the surface of the sea Credit: AFP photo courtesy of Paul G Allen The search team also released pictures and video of parts of the ship, including a nameplate, and anti-aircraft guns covered in decades of slime. The USS Lexington and another US aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, fought against three Japanese aircraft carriers from May 4-8, 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first ever between carriers. The badly damaged Lexington, nicknamed "Lady Lex," was deliberately sunk by another US warship at the conclusion of the battle. More than 200 members of the crew died in the battle but most were rescued by other US vessels before the Lexington sank. We've located the USS Lexington after she sank 76 yrs ago. #RVPetrel found the WWII aircraft carrier & planes more than 3000m (~2mi) below Coral Sea near Australia. We remember her brave crew who helped secure 1st strategic US win in the Pacific Theater https://t.co/20ehjafD7dpic.twitter.com/HIvxNUDbsX— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) March 5, 2018 Admiral Harry Harris, who heads up the US military's Pacific Command (Pacom) - and whose father was one of the sailors evacuated - paid tribute to the successful research effort. "As the son of a survivor of the USS Lexington, I offer my congratulations to Paul Allen and the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel for locating the 'Lady Lex,' sunk nearly 76 years ago at the Battle of Coral Sea," Mr Harris said in a statement. "We honour the valour and sacrifice of the 'Lady Lex's' Sailors - and all those Americans who fought in World War II - by continuing to secure the freedoms they won for all of us," he said. Preserved aircraft could be clearly seen on the seabed Credit: AFP photo courtesy of Paul G Allen The USS Lexington was carrying 35 aircraft when it went down. The search team said that 11 planes had been found including Douglas TBD-1 Devastators, Douglas SBD-3 Dauntlesses and Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats. Search teams led by Allen have discovered the wreckage of a number of historic warships including the USS Indianapolis, a US heavy cruiser which sank in the Philippine Sea in July 1945 after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

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[saadullah-faisal-world]

Wreckage from the USS Lexington, a US aircraft carrier which sank during World War Two, has been found in the Coral Sea by a search team led by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder. The wreckage was found on Sunday by the team's research vessel, the R/V Petrel, some two miles below the surface more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The search team released pictures and video of the wreckage of the Lexington, one of the first ever US aircraft carriers, and some of the planes which went down with the ship. Remarkably preserved aircraft could be seen on the seabed bearing the five-pointed star insignia of the US Army Air Forces on their wings and fuselage. On one aircraft, an emblem of the cartoon character Felix the Cat can be seen along with four miniature Japanese flags presumably depicting "kills". The wreck was found two miles beneath the surface of the sea Credit: AFP photo courtesy of Paul G Allen The search team also released pictures and video of parts of the ship, including a nameplate, and anti-aircraft guns covered in decades of slime. The USS Lexington and another US aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, fought against three Japanese aircraft carriers from May 4-8, 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first ever between carriers. The badly damaged Lexington, nicknamed "Lady Lex," was deliberately sunk by another US warship at the conclusion of the battle. More than 200 members of the crew died in the battle but most were rescued by other US vessels before the Lexington sank. We've located the USS Lexington after she sank 76 yrs ago. #RVPetrel found the WWII aircraft carrier & planes more than 3000m (~2mi) below Coral Sea near Australia. We remember her brave crew who helped secure 1st strategic US win in the Pacific Theater https://t.co/20ehjafD7dpic.twitter.com/HIvxNUDbsX— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) March 5, 2018 Admiral Harry Harris, who heads up the US military's Pacific Command (Pacom) - and whose father was one of the sailors evacuated - paid tribute to the successful research effort. "As the son of a survivor of the USS Lexington, I offer my congratulations to Paul Allen and the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel for locating the 'Lady Lex,' sunk nearly 76 years ago at the Battle of Coral Sea," Mr Harris said in a statement. "We honour the valour and sacrifice of the 'Lady Lex's' Sailors - and all those Americans who fought in World War II - by continuing to secure the freedoms they won for all of us," he said. Preserved aircraft could be clearly seen on the seabed Credit: AFP photo courtesy of Paul G Allen The USS Lexington was carrying 35 aircraft when it went down. The search team said that 11 planes had been found including Douglas TBD-1 Devastators, Douglas SBD-3 Dauntlesses and Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats. Search teams led by Allen have discovered the wreckage of a number of historic warships including the USS Indianapolis, a US heavy cruiser which sank in the Philippine Sea in July 1945 after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

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