First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker

I saw Lt. Baker's story on NBC's Olympic coverage tonight. I was impressed with Mr. Baker's quiet dignity, when he himself had suffered so much indignity. A truly heroic man of great honor.

The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to

First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker

General Order:

Citation:
For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel and equipment during his company's attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked and enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.

Sniper makes 1250 meter shot.

Toby Harnden in Ramadi

Gazing through the telescopic sight of his M24 rifle, Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland, leader of Shadow sniper team, fixed his eye on the Iraqi insurgent who had just killed an American soldier.

His quarry stood nonchalantly in the fourth-floor bay window of a hospital in battle-torn Ramadi, still clasping a long-barrelled Kalashnikov. Instinctively allowing for wind speed and bullet drop, Shadow's commander aimed 12 feet high.

.

A single shot hit the Iraqi in the chest and killed him instantly. It had been fired from a range of 1,250 metres, well beyond the capacity of the powerful Leupold sight, accurate to 1,000 metres.

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(The Iraqi sniper had killed SSG. Gilliland's friend minutes before.)

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The Rest of the Story

Longer shots have been made. But, they were with a 50 cal. weapon. SSG. Jim Gilliand, was using an M24 7.62 for this shot. From Wikipedia:

Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock of the United States Marine Corps achieved 93 confirmed kills of North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong guerrillas during the Vietnam war. He held the record of longest confirmed kill at a distance of 2,250 meters for 35 years until a Canadian team broke it in 2003. He is the subject of two biographies, Marine Sniper and Silent Warrior.


The longest-ever recorded and confirmed sniper kill was made by Master Corporal Arron Perry of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during combat in 2003. Using a .50-caliber (12.7 mm) McMillan TAC-50 rifle, Perry shot and killed an opposing combatant soldier from a distance of 2,430 metres(1.5 miles).

We don't need to honor any more rich white males.

From the blog, Paradosis, comes this story of the disgraceful treatment of an American Hero, by the Student Senate of the University of Washington. Pappy Boyington is a true American Hero who deserves better from those ingrates at UW, who don't deserve the freedoms, free speech among them, that Pappy fought to preserve.

We don't need to honor any more rich white males

So says one member of the University of Washington Student Senate. And here is a picture of the rich white male this person was speaking of:

Gregory Pappy Boyington...graduate of the Univeristy of Washington (went to High School in Tacoma), winner of the medal of honor, shot down 28 enemy aircraft, was a prisoner of war for 20 months, and apparently does not - according to the student senate - deserve a memorial on campus. Apparently we are told that he "is not the type of person we want to honor" and some even went so far as to liken his duty in WW2 to murder. One of the biggest antagonists of the proposal was apparently the leader of the student Democratic Party. How sad.

The Rest of the Post.

Commander-in-Chief?

This photo was on the Drudge Report. I don't think that
Matt Drudge had any hidden agenda. But, I still find it
interesting that the Presidential Seal is featured prominate-
ly over, President wannabe, Hillary's right shoulder. I hope
she has a copy.



HILLARY: CHENEY INFO RELEASE 'TROUBLING'...

It was a nice day in Texas.

A view of the Trinity River, taken today, near Ft. Worth, Texas. The Trinity has been identified as the stream that the Caddo Indians called Arkikosa in Central Texas and Daycoa nearer the coast, as well as the one that Réne Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in 1687 called River of the Canoes. The name Trinity (La Santisima Trinidad) is supposed to have first been applied to the present stream by Alonso De León in 1690. Domingo Terán de los Rios in 1691 called the same stream Encarnación de Verbo. Domingo Ramón in 1716 probably applied the name Trinity to the present Brazos, for, when he later reached the Trinity, he was told by the Indians that other Spaniards called the stream the Trinity. The Marqués de Aguayo and other later explorers used the name Trinity consistently.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!

Your View

Stars and Stripes ,the daily military newspaper,

features miltary photos that are worth seeing.

I mean that they are Taken by the military and

not by the MSM. They give a truer view of military

life. A view with no hidden agenda.

Nobody knows better than Stars and Stripes what you go through downrange. Except you. So we want your help in telling your story. E-mail us your digital photos, depicting what life is like wherever you are, whether on the FOB or on a mission somewhere in the wild. It’s “Your View” of your role in the wars, whether Iraq, Afghanistan or somewhere else. Candid (not posed) shots are best, and please include your name, unit, location and a short caption explaining the picture and your thoughts when you took the shot. Selected photos will be used in the paper and here at stripes.com. E-mail your photos to: view@mail.estripes.osd.mil.

Photos published February 6, 2006

Submitted by Staff Sgt. Marcus McDonald, stationed in Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Senior Airman Christopher Riley salutes Capt. Christy Nelson while a controlled detonation takes place in the background. Riley, an explosive ordnance disposal team member, was being re-enlisted in the Air Force for an additional four years. Nelson is a duty officer for the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. Riley is from El Paso, Texas.

Submitted by Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. Sgt. Shawn Snyder of 3rd Infantry Division’s 2/7 Scout Platoon poses with the helmet that saved his life from a sniper in downtown Tikrit, Iraq. “I didn’t get a concussion, didn’t even get a headache,” he said.

Submitted by Tech. Sgt. Jesse Eladjoe, 332 Expeditionary Medical Group/Intensive Care Unit — Air Force Theater Hospital, Balad, Iraq. Pictured is Chief Master Sgt. Bradley, 332 EMDG-Group Superintendent, during a Black Hawk trip to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. During the flight out of Balad, we all kept an eagle’s eye out for anti-aircraft. Out of all the photos I took in Baghdad, this photograph was really one of my most profound. This says and shows it all — the importance of the trip itself for me, the compassion of the chief to stick with his troops, the nervousness of the passengers on the Black Hawk flight and the attentiveness of the gunner on the chopper.

Submitted by Staff Sgt. Joseph Cappitte. Pfc. Christopher Pickett, a gunner with the 828th Quartermaster Company, takes a quick nap on the hood of his High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle while the rest of his convoy picks up their loads at LSA Diamondback.

The Battle of Guadalcanal

Today, Feb. 9th, is the anniversary day of the victory

in the Battle of Guadalcanal. The battle was

fought 63 years ago. It was a long and hard fight. I

didn't think that the battle should be forgotten or the

men who fought it.

The Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the most important

battles of World War II, although quite small in comparison

to others. The assault on the Japanese-occupied island of

Guadalcanal by the Allied navies and 16,000 United States

troops on 7 August 1942, was the first offensive by US land

forces in the Pacific Campaign. Additional amphibious attacks

simultaneously assaulted the islands of Florida, Tulagi,

Gavutu and Tanambogo.

More information.

Battle of Guadalcanal
Part of World War II, Pacific War
U.S. Marines rest in the field on Guadalcanal, circa August-December 1942
Date: August 7, 1942 - February 9, 1943 Location: Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands Result: Allied victory Casus belli: {{{casus}}} Territory changes: {{{territory}}}
Combatants
United States, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands	Japan
Commanders
Frank Fletcher (tactical commander) Alexander Vandegrift (ground force commander)	Hyakutake Haruyoshi (ground forces) Gunichi Mikawa (naval forces)
Strength
29,000 (November 12)	30,000 (November 12)
Casualties
1,492 killed, 4,500 wounded	15,000 KIA, 9,000 died from malaria