Glimpses Of The Marine In My Life

I have mentioned my Father-In-Law before on this blog.  He joined the Marines in 1942 and served in the Pacific.  He has a few pictures tucked away, and I grabbed a few to share with all of you.  The top one is probably taken right after he finished boot camp.  His bunch went to New Zealand for more training, then to Guadalcanal, where they became experienced at hunting down enemy in the jungle.

He landed twice on Bougainville, because he was part of a pre-invasion recon team.  This picture was taken after they finished up on Bougainville; I figured that out by zooming in on the plexiglass grip on the .45.  They still had Kwajelein, Guam, and Iwo ahead of them.

O.T. made it through all of the fighting without a scratch, but he came back to the states with Japanese typhus, and spent quite a bit of time hopitalized.  He looked pretty good by the time he had this photo taken in St. Jo after the war.

He went back to work on the CB&Q, got married, and did his part to help out with the baby boom.  Thanks for making it home safely, O.T.!

Update:
O.T. passed away at 12:21 AM, November 30, 2011 with his wife and daughters by his side.

Veterans' Day Countdown Continues: Buddies..."ties of great strength"

"My Buddy" has been in my record collection so long that I can't remember when I picked it up.  I didn't understand the significance of this song when I was a kid, but liked it and played it a lot.  Ernie Pyle wrote one of his posts about Sergeant Buck Eversole, a soldier he spent time with in Italy, and if you read the essay to the end you will gain a sense of the bonds that develop between fighting men.  It's well worth reading.
I know that I am plugging the Army Team for Project Valour-IT (My father was in the Second Division.), but I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Novermber 10 is the 235th Birthday of the Marines Corps.  (My Father-In-Law is a Third Marine Division veteran, and he always reminds us what this day is!)

Extremely Rare 1913 Titan Tractor

Very few of these old Titans survive in this condition. This one still has its pony motor, which pumps up compressed air for starting, and the original cooling tank, which is usually gone on other machines. This may be the only tractor in existence that is totally correct, and The American Thresherman Association generously shares it with the public at both of their shows every year. In this video we see it running a threshing machine at the October 2010 Fall Festival Show at Pinckneyville, Illinois.

Listen, Wipe Away A Tear, Make A Contribution!

Project Valour-IT is keeping up the effort to raise money for our wounded vets, and it is easy for you to help. Click on the "Learn More" button above if you don't already know what Valour-IT is all about, then click the "Give Now" button to do your part.

Precious Glimpse Inside The Ruger Factory, Prescott, Arizona

Mr. Completely and Keewee have managed to turn everyone in the gun blogging world green by touring the Ruger factory in Prescott, Arizona.  Companies do not normally let folks go on tours for many good reasons; competition, industrial spying, and market share all come to mind, plus the possibility of visitors being injured.  But they did it!  Two of our gun blogging friends have actually seen the inside of a place that most of us can only dream about.  Click Here, and Here to go read their posts, and to see a few photos.  Thank You Ruger, for letting us all have a peek courtesy of Mr. C and KeeWee!

Veterans' Day Specials: The Countdown Continues

The Marine Team has taken the lead in the Valour-IT Fundraiser, so this would be a good time for you to make a donation to Team Army. Read all about Valour-IT in the top post, and click on the Give Now button to do your part! Thank You!

Check Your Anti-Freeze!

Freezing temps at night can't be too far away, so check the coolant in all of your engines.  This 12 HP Hercules has a seepy crack visible on one side of the cylinder, and it was no doubt, caused by frost many years ago.  Problems like this are easy to prevent, and hard to fix, so get out that old hydrometer and get busy.

The Weekend's Over And You Know What You Have To Do!

Back To The Old Grind!

November e-Postal Match Is Up!

Manfred at Armes et tir Passion has posted the Mr. Completely November e-Postal Contest! You will be shooting a big bullseye at twenty five yards this month, so go easy on the caffeine before your trip to the range. Manfred had a little trouble writing the instructions in English, but I think you shoot "any gun" and shoot offhand with both hands, then offhand with one hand.  Watch his post and comments for clarification if you aren't sure.

Cheaper Than Dirt will award a $50 gift certificate to one shooter again this month: you earn a chance for every set of targets you shoot, so take several guns with you to the range along with a stack of targets.

Bill Whittle: The Importance of Gun Rights

Well said, and well worth watching and passing on.