|
Post by beirutvet on Aug 6, 2014 23:33:13 GMT 8
Hey Fots2
I was excited to see the video and pictures of Battery Monja on 02/25/2012. It was (and still is) on my short list of places to investigate closer on my next visit.
I was curious as to the multiple mounds of dirt in the tunnel. There does not seem to be any cave ins in the area but the dirt is there anyway. I thought of constant 69 years worth of rainfall, but the entrance, as I understand it, is on a cliff face and I would think be immune from erosion stacking the dirt, though I admit to not knowing for sure. Did I miss a cave in or something else on the video that would explain this?
Can you shed some light on this for me?
Thank you ahead of time and as always, my apologies if this was explained elsewhere on this site as I am avidly and excitedly exploring all these posts several years after the fact. Please forgive an over excited fellow traveler!
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 31, 2014 7:19:48 GMT 8
Hey Fots2
YES, THAT WAS IT! I remember reading about Col Bunker's report where he said they were trying to modify the fuses to make them explode on contact but were not having much success. I had only taken from that that there was no HE available, not just in short supply. So then there was HE there, just not in great quantity. And seeing those diagrams back to back to back brought it into better focus. There was the pointed design in both DP and HE, the DP version being shorter and with a slightly rounded nose where as the HE had a much sharper nose design and was considerably longer than the DPs. The big daddys though were of course the 1049lb DPs. also much longer than even the 700lb HEs
And no, I am not so much interested in counting bolts, that different design just stuck out so much, you must admit that there is a big difference in the look of the 1049 and the 700s, and was confusing how they were both listed as DP. I am just like you, an explorer with a camera, and we WILL meet up on The Rock some day and have our own adventures.
But while we are on the subject of the CDSG, looking for them is how I found THIS site. Do you know where their site (if any) resides? This subject matter is so interesting and SOOOO addictive, I can't get enough. I would like to see what they have.
Thanks for the additional tables and photos, MUCH appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 31, 2014 1:31:57 GMT 8
Hey Fots
Thanks so much for all the time and research into Geary. On my next trip there, I plan to spend much more time there to investigate.
A quick question for you on the ammo used by the 12" mortars. There are two different ones, the pointed 700lb and the larger 1049lb blunt end ones. In your diagrams at the beginning posts, both are listed as "Deck Piercing", but in subsequent posts the 700 pounders are referred to as High Explosive. Which designation is correct?
I was lead to believe that the mortars were at a distinct disadvantage at the outset of the war in that all of their ammo was of the deck piercing variety and not as effective as High Explosive for the task at hand. With that in mind the designation as Deck Piercing makes sense but they are such radically different designs. I think the 700 pounders ARE High Explosive, but that would not jive with the info that they had no HE. Was no HE not factual, or maybe they just had a lot less of it?
You are our Final Jeopardy go-to guy for answers, can you shed light on this one for me?
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 29, 2014 0:24:24 GMT 8
Ah, yes, much easier to see in close up, and my resident expert says Usi is a last name.
Thanks for the follow up
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 28, 2014 22:32:47 GMT 8
Hey Guys
thanks for the info.
Also, on the contents page of the general board, some of the threads are marked with a pin in the file and some of the files have a flame coming out of it. Can you give me a brief explanation of those?
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 28, 2014 5:37:07 GMT 8
Hey Patty
That was TOO COOL! It brought back a boat load (pun intended) of memories from my Med cruise, some good, some not so.
During this 6 month deployment we spent nearly ALL of the six months off the coast of Lebanon and rarely got off the ship. As such we became intimately acquainted to ship board food.
Other than a 2 week liberty in Naples Italy, we spent 5 of the 6 months on board the USS Guam LPH9, the largest at the time of amphibious assault ships. It closely resembled in size and configuration a WWII escort carrier except that there were no fixed wing aircraft aboard, only helicopters. It was run by approximately 700 Navy personnel and carried around 2000 Marines of the Marine Amphibious Unit or MAU as it was then called.
During the longest of stretches it seemed we had a 9 day rotating menu. I am sure it was more varied than that but it seemed to us that what ever we had at dinner we could mark our calenders and that is what we had 9 days later. I do not fault the Navy for this, for I am sure that feeding 2,700 men was a herculean task to say the least. Especially being so long at sea (more on that in a moment). As for the quality, I am reminded by what the man in the movie said about the food they were going to get on the trail, "Its hot, brown and lots of it".
Our saving grace was when we Cobra pilots and our aircraft were temporarily transferred over to the USS Nashville LPD13, a much smaller ship. We were on this ship about 1 month and WE LOVED IT!!!! I do not think we had the same thing twice in 30 days. And it was high quality stuff, too. Surf and Turf, Curry Chicken, BBQ baby back ribs, Southern Fried Chicken, Italian, Chinese, and it was all wonderful. On the Guam we went to dinner most of the time not because we were hungry for sometimes with not much to do we were NOT hungry, we went because it was something to do. On the Nashville we went to dinner because we knew it was going to be an event we did not want to miss.
One meal 'event' that did stick out in my mind was a 'picnic' as the Navy referred to it at which we got to "splice the main brace". As many Navy sayings, it comes from the age of sail. The main brace was the most important of lines on the ship and splicing it, or aligning it was the most difficult to perform so when accomplished the men would be given a ration of grog, or spirits.
As anyone who has been aboard a Navy ship will attest to is that alcohol is strictly forbidden. Well little known and VERY rarely seen custom in today's Navy is, if you are continually at sea for more than 60 days, you get to "splice the main brace". In our instance we were continually at sea for 64 days (unheard of by most any ones standard if not at war). We went up to the flight deck and had our hot dogs and hamburgers and given our main brace ration, two beers apiece. All exits off the flight deck were restricted and only one used at which time you were not aloud to pass if you still had your beers. They wanted to ensure that no one could save their beers and sell them to some one who could accumulate enough of them to actually get drunk.
Many of us thought and said the same thing, "only two beers, what's the point". But when push came to shove, we were all there to get our beers and were happy to get them courtesy of the United States Navy, UUH RAH!
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 28, 2014 4:37:36 GMT 8
Hello Fots2
Looking at that headstone mentioned above, I do not think it says Trinidad Reyes USA. If you look at the "A" in Trinidad, you will see a dramatic slant in both left and right sides of the letter. The "A" in "USA" does not have the slant on the left side, it is fact straight up and down. If it were an "A" wouldn't you think it would be identical to the "A" in the rest of the name? It seems also to have a tail at the top left similar to that found in the "E" of "Reyes".
Take a close look at that area and it looks like a chunk of the stone has been removed (battle damage, perhaps?). If it does have a piece of the stone missing, we may never know the full name of the woman who rests there. Do you have another picture of the stone, perhaps at a slightly different angle? If you do, we may be able to surmise which letter it is after the "Us". Sometimes light and shadow from different angles can give us a different perspective and reveal things previously hidden.
Your thoughts, please.
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 25, 2014 11:30:20 GMT 8
Hey Fots2
In your Field Notes section you asked about the translation of one of the headstones, you wanted to know what S.L.N. meant. It stands for Suma-Langit Nawa, inTagalog it stands for May Your Soul Go To Heaven. It is their version of Rest In Peace.
The last two lines are ALA-ALA NG IYONG ASAWA AT MGA ANAK, Which means "In Memory Of You From Husband and Children". So the woman buried there was both wife and mother to MORE than one child.
Hope that helps
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 25, 2014 7:12:31 GMT 8
Hi guys
I was wondering about the designations that are assigned to all the members, plebe, trainee, buff, Global something, sorry can't remember what that one was, and the number and color of the stars that go with it. Can someone explain those to us or are they listed somewhere I have not looked yet?
Armyjunk
And thank you for the link to help with posting photos, that will help a lot. I would not have known where to look for that and I just happen to have seen it here. Thanks a bunch!
|
|
|
Post by beirutvet on Jul 25, 2014 1:03:34 GMT 8
LLL OOO LLL
that is the first thing I thought of when I looked at the enlargement, "OH MY GOD, THAT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING FROM ROSWELL, NM!" But I assure you, I am not a UFO buff nor do I think aliens walk among us (except when I go to Walmart). I look forward to seeing if you can clear up the image.
Thanks for the assist
|
|