The Battle of Carentan (6-13 June 1944)
The approach of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) into Carentan racked up so many casualties that the area they had to cross was referred to from then on as “Purple Heart Lane”. The 327th Glider Infantry Regiment’s predicament was no less lethal, but was not storied.
The 506d PIR had just as tough of a time, partly because of scattered parachute drops, and they weren’t able to consolidate the regiment optimally. But not much was optimal on either side on D-Day.
Band of Brothers (both the book and the movie) only list German opposition in Carentan as paratroopers and SS, but the reality of the fact was that German force in and around Carentan were a hodgepodge of several different formations. Retreating, mauled German assets from the 91st Infantry Division and 352nd Infantry Division were folded into the ranks to bolster the defenses, as well as two battalions of Osttruppen (Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian, and Azerbaijani POWs that “volunteeed” for service). Elements of six German divisions that were just being cobbled together had to be thrown at the American attackers.
In SoCal – the old neighborhood Chuck-E-Cheese Closed!
Due to the Chinese Plague, according to the sign…but…
“And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Serving the Guns
It was not unusual for women to serve on British Warships in this period. They were often wives of sailors and had duties on the ship that seldom included working the guns. But it was not unheard of.
Still not popular in Atlanta
A Raffle
A Paris orphanage held a raffle to raise money in 1911 – the prizes were live babies. (source)
Fighting the Last War
A view of the “Land Excavator, Trenching” otherwise known as “White Rabbit No. 6,” “Cultivator No. 6″ and “Nellie.”
Developed in 1939-40 in anticipation of a redux of the trench warfare of WWI, this machine was meant to dig a trench across no-man’s land for the infantry and other vehicles. At the end of the trench, it would stop and serve as a ramp.
Somewhere in Transylvania
(1409) Brother Zygfryd and the Last Crusade by Jakub Rozalski
British Attempts to Expand into the Western Hemisphere After 1800
There’s a lot going on in this post, but I like the photo of Chuckee Cheese. I’ve always hated that chain, and most people with children know what I mean. Hey, I’m no Marxist but I’m glad they’ve been thrown into the trash heap of history.
Opium for 10 year olds.
I have always loathed Chuck-E-Cheese. They sold really bad pizza at premium prices and you were forced by children to fork over $100 in tokens for the machines.
I’ve never set foot in a Chuck-E-Cheese. My sons weren’t interested – had other interests to drain Dad’s money clip.
Luckily there was never one anywhere nearby, and the kids weren’t interested in it anyhow.
Unfortunately for me, my daughter’s friends (who were invited to the parties) had THEIR birthday parties at Chuck-e-Cheese, and the requirement to keep up with the peers in the ever critical race meant that we went to the rat.
Girls never shirk in their efforts to hit dad’s wallet. And in all truth, I didn’t care. If we weren’t spending the money at the rat, we’d spend it somewhere else.
One time… And that was enough… Never again. Love the cartoon at the bottom!
Once should teach a lesson, but, sadly, I was too stupid or timid to put my boot down where the girls were concerned. They were my little buddies and I’m afraid that I spoiled them. They all turned out to be pretty cool, so I must not have spoiled them too much.
It is a balancing act. Sometimes the best you can do is to plant the seeds and wait to see which ones grow. Some lessons are best learned outside the home. Like having their first job working the back end of a garbage truck. The thought soon occurs to them that there has gotta be something better.
Going into her teens, my own daughter was gaga over Britney Spears. By the time she started studying for her degree in Criminal Justice, not so much. When we pinned on her badge, I told her “Now, Britney Spears wishes she was you”.
She is a good reflection of the people who raised her.
Not “historically accurate,” but I like what Klimbim did for Uncle Billy. A lot better than what Ted Turner did to ‘They Were Expendable’ … Good stuff as always, LL.
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