Sunday, July 31, 2022

Erich Wolfgang Korngold - The Adventures of Robin Hood

 Erich Wolfgang Korngold won the Oscar for this score in 1938 - the very first composer to receive the Academy Award.  Before that, the Oscar went to the head of the Studio's music department.  A child prodigy in Vienna be was a professor at the Vienna State Academy when the Nazis began their rise to power.  Invited to Hollywood, he became one of their standout composers, writing the score for some of Errol Flynn's great swashbuckling epics (this one and Captain Blood).

Back at State U the Fencing Club did a fundraising movie series of swashbuckling films.  They were all packed, and everyone had a great time.  Check them out on NetFlix or Prime (or you can probably score a DVD on the cheap) - they're still great fun.  And the music is top shelf.



Friday, July 29, 2022

Dad Joke CCXX - Special Space edition

The Queen Of The World says I need to get back to posting Dad jokes.  OK, to make up for the hiatus, here are two.

When we have a Moon Base someday there will be a restaurant there.  I don't think I will go, however.  Even if it has great food, there will be no atmosphere.

When we have a Mars Base someday there might be a riot.  The Government would have to declare Martian Law. 

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Good shoot or bad shoot?

I had missed that Denver prosecutors dropped all charges against Matthew Dolloff in the shooting death of Lee Keltner in October 2020.  Who is Matthew Dolloff, I hear you ask?  The dude holding the heater here:


This was a protest where two sides stood off against each other.  Words led to shoving and Dolloff shot Keltner graveyard dead.  You can see Dolloff's slide pushed back and smoke from the propellant making a bee-line towards Keltner's head.  If you zoom way in there's a black dot that may or may not be the bullet right above Keltner's wrist.

So was this a good shoot or a bad shoot?

To answer this we need to put aside which "side" each was on.  Keltner was Patriot Front, Dolloff may or may not have been Antifa but does seem to have been BLM.  But quite frankly none of this matters.  From the DA's statement:

As the case progressed - and a full analysis of the case details including materials provided by defense counsel was made - prosecutors realized that they would not be able to prove that Mr. Dolloff did not have the right to use deadly force to defend himself and others pursuant to Colorado law.
...  without provocation, Mr. Keltner verbally threatened and physically assaulted Mr. Dolloff and was the initial aggressor before being shot. Under Colorado's law, Matthew Dolloff had no duty to retreat and was legally justified in his actions. While I do not agree with Mr. Dolloff's decision to use lethal force, the fact remains he had the right to do so under our law.

This may be some of the reason that the DA said that (images from the UK Sun newspaper):


Just a face slap, right?  Well, maybe - Keltner had a can of bear spray in his right hand here.  Mace may or may not be considered Deadly Force (some places it is, some places it isn't).  But here's the thing - look at the vertical chain link fence support right behind Keltner in the picture immediately above, then look at where that same fence support is in the first picture: clearly both men had stepped back.  While Colorado law says you have no duty to retreat, both men backed up.

So bad shoot?

Maybe not.  Look at the position of both men as Dolloff was drawing his pistol:


Kelter has taken a step back as he sees Dolloff drawing, but Dolloff has stepped way back.  Kelter seems absolutely to have been the aggressor, physically assaulting Dolloff and holding what may (or may not) be considered a deadly weapon in Colorado, but which is definitely considered a deadly weapon elsewhere.

So good (justified) shoot?  Remember, these pictures are from the video which means that the first and last are separated by a second, maybe two.  When things go bad, they go bad all of a sudden.

I don't know whether this was a good shoot or a bad one, but the DA seems to think so.  Maybe the DA in on the side of the "bad guys" but I don't think we should "flip the scrip" because Kelter was "on our side" and Dolloff wasn't.  Rule of law is a street that runs both ways - or should, when the range goes hot.

Feel free to comment with your opinion.  

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

So where did Roman Emperors die?

This is pretty cool: A Death Map Of Roman Emperors


Click to embiggen or even better click through my link which talks about a bunch of the Purple Toga set.  It also breaks down just how few ended their life due to natural causes (note: it has the Divine Augustus dying of natural causes, rather than being poisoned by Livia; take THAT Mr. So-Called Expert Michael Grant!).

Also, This post introduces a new tag,, "Not The News",  There's too much anger from the news, so let's all roll around in 2000 year old Imperial Murders, shall we?

Quote of the Day - Combat Mindset edition

Bitter Centurion posts about the Combat Mindset, amplifying my thoughts on the matter and getting QotD: 

Because at the end of the day, it's all well and good to have the gun on you. It's even better to get the trigger time and put lead down range and be able to hit gongs on demand with razor sharp speed and accuracy. But if you don't have your mind right when it's time to slay the dragon, that gun is nothing more than extra weight on your belt that doesn't do you or anyone else any good.

You really should read his entire post which has a lot of practical experience.  And you should read the comments which are a good - if dismaying - view into the Reindeer Games being played with police forces by Woke politicians.

Monday, July 25, 2022

Do Want

Underbarrel Picatinny mounted flame thrower.  $699 at Classic Firearms.

"But Borepatch," I hear you ask.  "What would you do with this?"

Beats the heck out of me.  Why do people want 600 HP cars?  Why do they want Faberge Eggs?

Alas, it's a lot of denarii for something whose only selling feature is that it's awesome.  Well, or fighting the Alien Ecomorphs ...

This is how it works but in the hand-held version.  It seems that Youtube doesn't like people embedding the videos of the under barrel version.


When I pointed this out to The Queen Of The World, she didn't even give me The Look.  Rather, her whole face said WTF?

Oh, bother.

(Want)

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Combat Mindset

Jeff Cooper wrote about the Combat Mindset in his excellent book To Ride, To Shoot Straight, and ToSpeak The Truth.  While he taught this at Gunsite, it's not clear that it can really be taught.  Certainly the Special Forces selects for this mindset among its applicants.

Glen Filthie has an important post related to this: Not Bourne - It's Basic Pistolcraft:

Not to take anything away from the kid - under the circumstances, with the lead flying and people panicking - the young man showed a coolness and proficiency most veteran cops don't have. That is a condemnation of our police, more than anything else. The kid did well, and deserves the accolades he got.

However - 40 yards is not a long shot. Back when the Old Guard still were with us, guys like Bill Blankenship was dumping 12" gongs at 200 yards.

I agree and disagree, although I don't really disagree.  In a sense, 40 yards isn't all that far.  I recall the time that ASM826 hosted The Queen Of The World and me at his shooting range.  It was raining and so we set up a steel target at 100 yards.  TQOTW had a ball shooting the AR and ringing the gong all day.  Feeling a little sporty, I took my 1911 and squeezed off a shot - the sound of bullet hitting steel was quite gratifying, and I did an entire magazine ringing the bell.  And I'm not a particularly good shot.  So Glen is right that 8 out of 10 at 40 yards isn't exactly Annie Oakley shooting.

Except ASM826's range wasn't hot in both directions.  This is where the combat mindset comes into play.  It seems that those who can suppress their emotions do well - that's certainly what the young man at that Mall did.  And so my only disagreement with Glen is that it's only basic pistolcraft if you have the combat mindset.

I don't think this is common at all.  I don't think it has been common in ages past.  Roman military manuals discuss this: The Praecepta Militaria from around 965 AD talks about the fear that soldiers felt in combat and ways to organize the units to help maintain good order.  The book uses the term "in good order" or its equivalent dozens of time, showing the importance - and difficulty - of maintaining the Combat Mindset.

That was 1000 years ago.  I think the problem is the same today, which is why so many applicants wash out of Special Forces training and why the young man in Indiana stands out.  As Napoleon said the mental is to the physical as three is to one.  Or Clauswitz: in battle everything is simple but even the simplest thing is very difficult. That's just different ways of saying the lessons from the Praecepta Militaria.

Me, I have no idea how I would have reacted in that situation.  Quite frankly, I hope never to find out. 

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Quitting the news

Chris Lynch has an interesting post up about the mental health benefits of quitting the news - ignoring the feeds rather than obsessing on them.  I did that last weekend in Key West and felt MUCH better.

Quitting the News is the new Quitting Cigarettes

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Cows shut down Florida Turnpike

No, really:

Florida’s Turnpike was shut down Monday in Central Florida as dozens of loose cows were “moo-ved” off the roadway.

The Florida Highway Patrol said it first responded around 11:40 a.m. to a vehicle fire on the northbound turnpike at mile marker 226 near St. Cloud in Osceola County.

According to troopers, a cattle hauler was carrying about 70 cows when the cab caught fire. Troopers said the driver, a 47-year-old Alabama man, then pulled over to the outside shoulder, got out and opened the trailer door to allow the “udder-ly” frightened cows to escape due to the smoke and flames.

Crews extinguished the fire, and the cattle hauler was towed from the scene, troopers said.

Florida is one of (perhaps the largest) beef producing states so well done to everyone for their quick thinking and patience.  A grateful State of shoppers looking for bone-in Rib Eye thanks you.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Playing Hookie

In Key West. May blog more, make that not. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1_O2B4w0-yJXDsYvL9YFxnEPyqQNm7zIm

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Dad joke CCXIX

I was accused of being a plagiarist.  Their words, not mine.

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Dad joke CCXVIII - Special Astronomy edition

Orion's Belt is just a big waist of space.

And while it's not Orion's Belt, here is one of the first images from the Webb Space Telescope.  It's the Ring Nebula, in our own Galactic neighborhood at only 2000 light years away.


 You can see more cool pix from space here.

Shamelessly stolen from Glen Filthie

Because it's awesome:

 


He has more, so get you on over there.  I love the guy who put a couple of plastic eyeballs on his suppressor.

Monday, July 11, 2022

Dad joke CCXVII

What vegetable needs a plumber? 

A leek.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Alfred Newman - Overture from "Camelot"

Alfred Newman won more Academy Awards for Best Original Score (nine) than anyone in history.  He was nominated 45 times, a record that was finally topped by John Williams in 2011.  Newman's long career in Hollywood spanned 40 years, and included such one-off compositions as the fanfare to the 20th Century Fox Lion logo:

Camelot wasn't his last film score (that was Airport in 1970) but it was his last Oscar.  Camelot (the film) was based on Camelot (the Broadway musical).  It actually didn't have anything to do with Jack Kennedy - the musical dates from 1960 and the film rights were acquired in 1961, so there was no Kennedy nostalgia then although Jackie said that it was his favorite.  When filming started the producers couldn't get Richard Burton and Julie Andrews who starred on Broadway.  Burton was asking too much money, and so they considered Gregory Peck and Marlon Brando.  Richard Harris heard about the film and started pestering the producers for the role.  He hired a team to do a screen test, and got the role of King Arthur.  Vanessa Redgrave beat out Audrey Hepburn and Ann-Margaret.

The score is very Hollywood Golden Age, meaning it was Oscar-worthy from a time when that meant something.


Saturday, July 9, 2022

Nice turn of phrase


 So how many political genders are there in the GOP?

Gregg Allman - Midnight Rider

I rode the Harley today, for the first time in months.  I didn't ride it far.  The problem is that the drivers in Florida are simply terrible about running over motorcyclists.  Every week or two there's another biker that gets hit, either by some elderly resident of God's Waiting Room or some punk-ass kid looking at their phone.

Damn, I used to love riding.  We'd go from Castle Borepatch to Gettysburg by back roads, 3 or 4 times a year plus lots of regular rides with the HOG chapter.  It doesn't look like there's a good chapter down here and so we just haven't gotten out much.  Heck, I don't think The Queen Of The World has even been *ON* the bike since we moved here.

Le sigh.  As buddy Eagle likes to say there are old riders and bold riders, but not many old, bold riders.

But we need a song for Saturday and I don't think I've ever done Gregg Allman.  His brother Duane was killed on a bike (damn, can that have been a half century ago).  



Thursday, July 7, 2022

Obsolete from the beginning

One classic problem with weapons systems is that the march of technology renders them obsolete, and the faster the technology advances the shorter the useful life of the system.  Via a wikiwander I have found perhaps the ultimate example of this: the SMS Hessen.


The German Kaisar was a big naval enthusiast and so built up a fleet of cutting edge battleships (including the Hessen).  Then the Royal Navy introduced the HMS Dreadnought which completely changed the game.  All existing battleships were instantly obsolete - including the Hessen which had only been commissioned a year previously.

Interestingly, the SMS Hessen remained in one form of service or another in the German fleet and then later in the Soviet fleet until 1960 when it was scrapped.  That is 55 years of obsolescence embodied in one warship.  That has got to be some sort of record.

There's some interesting stuff on the Wiki page for WWII Battleships.  One that caught my eye was a ship with an even longer life than the Hessen: the Turkish battleship Turgut Reis which began its service as the German battleship SMS Weissenberg in 1894 which was sold to Turkey in 1910 but wasn't scrapped until 1957 - 63 years later.  At least the Weissenberg wasn't obsolete for the first 12 years of its service.

To close out this post, Glen Filthie found a lego stop motion video of the hunt for the Bismark.  Recommended.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Dad joke CCXVI

A pirate walks into a bar with a paper towel on his head.  The bartender asks, "Hey, what's with the paper towel?"

The pirate says, "Aaaaarrrr, I've got a Bounty on me 'ead!"

What on earth is going on in the UK.Gov?

Boris Johnson on the way out?

Anyone been following this and can explain in the comments?  I know that BJ is pretty unpopular but it seemed that he weathered the PartyGate scandal.  This must be something new.

It's time for some Common Sense Media Control laws

So the Highland Park shooter recorded rap songs about doing a mass shooting.  Gosh, why would he rap about that?  Could it be all the media coverage about mass shootings?  Could he be motivated by the chance to be famous?

Every time there's a mass shooting, the media carpet bombs the airwaves with coverage.  It's easy to see why they do so - if it bleeds, it leads and all that.  It's about ratings, which means that they're in it for the money.

The Supreme Court has been clear that commercial speech has less First Amendment protection than political speech.  And we're constantly reminded by the liberals in every Second Amendment case that "no right is absolute".  Well, allrightee then.

It's high time to restrict the ability of the media to report on mass shooting events, because they are clearly encouraging this sort of behavior.  Some Common Sense restrictions seem to be pas due here.  For example:

  • Waiting periods before publishing, to discourage "copy cat" killers.  A 1 or 2 week wait will allow information to get out to the public but will provide a "cooling off" period.
  • A one story a month limit on stories will allow publishing the story to the public but will prevent the saturation of the airwaves that leads to copy cat events.  I mean, nobody needs an arsenal 24x7 never ending wave of stories.
  • Licensing of news media, to include showing of "Good and Substantial" reason for publishing.
I could go on, but you get the idea.  I mean, no right is absolute - especially when it's not political speech but rather commercial speech.

Feel free to leave your suggestions for Common Sense Media Control laws in the comments.

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Man, that was some hack!

 


Pretty dastardly fixing those critical security bugs.

Hmmmm

 


From the Book of Faces via The Queen Of The World

Boldly Going Where NPR Fears To Tread

 

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


Georgia

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

 

North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

 

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

 

Massachusetts

John Hancock

Maryland

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

 

Virginia

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

 

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Delaware

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

 

New York

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

 

New Jersey

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

 

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

 

Massachusetts

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

 

Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

 

Connecticut

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

 

New Hampshire

Matthew Thornton

Monday, July 4, 2022

Memories of July 4th past

ASM826 posted about a July 4th from living memory.  But there are other things about July 4th that make you think that Divine Providence  did, as Otto von Bismark remarked, look out for the United States of America.

Lots of people know that fifty years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was signed in Independence Hall, both John Adams (President #2) and Thomas Jefferson (President #3) passed on to that Undiscovered Country from whose borne no traveler returns.  But they weren't the last.  five years later, James Monroe (President #5) joined them.

With 45 Presidents (not counting the current pResident of the office), you would expect 0.12 Presidents to have dies on any given day of the year.  But today, there are 3 - that's 25 times the number you would expect.  I don't know what the standard deviation is here, but this has to be ten or twenty sigma from what you would expect.  Yes, I'm a nerd here, but those of you who Get This will feel the hair on the back of your neck go up.

Divine Providence is not done with this Republic.

July 4th, 1960

You don't have to go back to 1776 to find history. Here's 1960 in Stow, Ohio. A world so completely removed from ours that it would require a historian to explain it to a high school class. And a world so familiar to those of us old enough to have lived there.

Happy 4th of July.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Happy Birthday to The Queen Of The World!

If you want to celebrate with some fireworks she won't mind at all.



Saturday, July 2, 2022

And Then There Were None


 Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams, the last WWII Medal of Honor recipient, has passed into the clearing at the end of the path. 

In a desperate four hour battle, accompanied by a handful of other Marines with rifles, Corporal Williams used six different flamethrowers and satchel charges to eliminate a series of interlocking Japanese pillboxes on Iwo Jima. Here's a part of his story in his own words.

 

Hershel Williams' Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine gun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out 1 position after another. On 1 occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective.

Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
 

Semper Fidelis, Corporal Williams.

Wisdom

From Filthie's Thunderbox comes great wisdom today."Don’t trust the guys at the gun shop when making important financial decisions."

That being said, the new Springfield version of the classic Browning HiPower sings a little song. 

Here's old and new side by side.