Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. God Bless them.
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Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. God Bless them.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
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Here's one that was new to me..."The Laughing Paratrooper"...He made two combat jumps in the final 12 months of the European War, and never lost a soldier who was under his command...After the war ended, 1st Sgt. Funk went to work for the VA until his retirement...His remains are buried at Arlington National Cemetery...When Funk returned to the POW corral, he encountered men wearing American uniforms. As he walked into the yard of the house where the prisoners were kept, one of the “Americans” shoved a submachine gun into his stomach.
Most people in this situation would probably show a lot of concern for their health and immediate well-being. Leonard Funk laughed in their faces. Outnumbered by at least 80 enemy soldiers, 1st Sgt. Funk slowly unslung his submachine gun, as if he were giving up.
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
Very interesting.
Did you notice how much shorter Sgt Funk was than President Truman...who was only 5'-8" tall himself!
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Yes, I did...I searched in the National Archives for some record of his height, but came up empty...Regardless, I'm sure that to the Germans lying on the ground looking up at him holding his Thompson subgun, he probably looked 12 feet tall and bulletproof...Originally Posted by Dave Grubb
Did you notice how much shorter Sgt Funk was than President Truman...who was only 5'-8" tall himself!...Ben
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
I think it safe to say that image would immediately change ones perspectiveYes, I did...I searched in the National Archives for some record of his height, but came up empty...Regardless, I'm sure that to the Germans lying on the ground looking up at him holding his Thompson subgun, he probably looked 12 feet tall and bulletproof...
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Well, kiss my grits!...All we ever really had to do was ask that smartass, Prof. Google...I think it safe to say that image would immediately change ones perspectiveAnd I'm sure it did not escape your notice that he was also a native of your neck of the woods, Dave...Leonard Funk, a 5-foot-5-inch, 140-pound western Pennsylvania native, was the most highly decorated American paratrooper of World War II and one of the most highly decorated soldiers ever to serve in the U.S. Army.
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
I did notice that----but I didn't want to bragWell, kiss my grits!...All we ever really had to do was ask that smartass, Prof. Google...And I'm sure it did not escape your notice that he was also a native of your neck of the woods, Dave...
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
Registered Member
Yet another really tough Boeing B-17...And the gutsy crew aboard it made an irreversible decision to use their own parachute harnesses to hold enough of the tail section together to effect a safe landing, on the only two engines still running...
There are other more glamorized, not to mention inaccurate, versions of this story which were fact-checked on Warbirds...The Warbird's account refers to an interview with bombardier Ralph Burbridge which has now disappeared...That interview is also referenced, but not reproduced in a Disciples of Flight article which reveals more details of the actual flight...The Wikipedia account of the All Amercan's incredible flight also refers to the bombardier's interview as refuting the use of parachute harnesses to hold the airframe intact...
Whatever the truth, the fact that the aircraft survived the harrowing ordeal of combat, and survived to be rebuilt and flown out on other missions is a testament to Boeing engineering...The true thanks, not discounting the Grace of God, should go to the bravura of the ten crewmen whose superior training, and sheer courage under fire enabled them to bring a severely crippled bomber back to its base, with all returning to duty against the enemies who brought them there......Ben
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
Hard to imagine!
Registered Member
A war from a different era, but no less horrific in the telling...Jacob Miller, a Union soldier, was shot between the eyes with a musket...He not only survived his wound, but carried himself off the battlefield when he was left for dead...This was one tough SOB who earned every penny of his $40 a month pension......Ben
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
Another WWII set of facts I never heard about — there was a back-up plan to deliver the atomic bombs on Japan by British Lancaster bombers because the original design of the B-29 would not accommodate the size of the atomic bombs in their split bomb bays. The Brits went so far as to develop a system to mid-air refuel the Lancasters because of a range problem. Because the Lancasters were slower and lower, it would have been testy for them to get far enough away from the blast after dropping the bomb.
https://youtu.be/5XX9ptCNpik
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“You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution
Registered Member
That's a new one on me...I like Mark Felton's videos, they're usually very factual and well researched...
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
Charter Member
Rescue Of POW’s In Japanese POW Camp After Surrender
https://quillette.com/2020/08/15/on-...saved-my-life/
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“You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution
Registered Member
That was an interesting read.
If you don't make someone elses life better, what good is yours?
Weighty decisions are easy to make, when you aren't burdened by all the necessary information
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of communism is the sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill
If you think the United States is bad, think of another country that wants to put troops on the border to keep illegal aliens out, instead of walling in their citizenry
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RAF pilot Douglas Bader lost both his legs while showing off performing stunts in his Bristol Bulldog in 1931...His entry in his own logbook to describe the incident merely referred to it as a "bad show"...After being fitted with metal legs, and not only learning to walk again, but becoming a four handicap golfer, he went on to serve in the RAF again when war broke out in 1939...During combat he was credited with downing 22 enemy aircraft before being shot down himself, and becoming a prisoner of war for the duration...Making life hell for his captors with his escapes, he was eventually confined to Colditz castle, the German version of a maximum security POW prison...He even earned the friendship and respect of Luftwaffe Gen. Adolph Galland, himself a fighter ace, who arranged to have the RAF drop new legs to replace the prisoner's damaged limbs...Following the war he returned to his business life, and was later featured in an episode of "This Is Your Life"...Today his name lives on, not only in history books, but also in the charity he established which teaches the disabled how to contend with the lemons life has handed them..."I was lucky in the war, and got much publicity not because I was any better than the others but because I was the chap with the tin legs."
The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...
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