172's Last Patrol

Dusk is setting at Rendova on September 7, 1943, as PT-172 under the command of Lt [jg] Hamilton slips out with other boats for another night of barge hunting. Daihatsu traffic around the barge terminus on Vella Lavella has been unusually active the past few nights. Over the past few months, the PT mission had been evolving from torpedo attacks on destroyers to vicious gunfights with Japanese small craft whose draft was too shallow for effective torpedo attack.

The war for PT-172 and her crew had been filled with luck and frustration so far. Of the six PT boats of MTB Sqn 10 that were aboard the SS Stanvac Manila when the ship was torpedoed by the I-17 on May 24, 1943. Only PT-172 made it to Noumea under its own power. PT-165 and PT-173 were lost due to the sinking; 167, 171, and 174 were towed in.

Then there was the dark night of August 1-2, 1943 when fifteen PT boats tangled with the destroyers of the Tokyo Express in Blackett Strait. While PT-171 of 172’s division made contact with the enemy destroyers and attacked, 172 and 170 could not because 171’s attack fouled their approach. Then as these two boats were evading they came under attack by Japanese float planes, which fortuitously missed both madly maneuvering boats. By the time these boats retook their positions, the Tokyo Express was long gone. It was during this battle that PT-109 was cut diagonally in half by IJN Amagiri.

Now PT-172 and other boats, including 118, were moving towards Vella Lavella. A first quarter moon was not scheduled to rise until after 0130 and the PT boats possessed radar, so it was prime hunting time in the inky tropical blackness for the PT force.

The night passes as 172 idles on her center engine through the water. Everyone peers into the darkness for a sense of movement along the shoreline, a glimpse of white from a bow wave, or the appearance of green blips on a radarscope indicating business. Then a lookout spots something and everyone gets to their battle stations very quietly. Charging handles are pulled, rounds chambered, and personal weapons are readied in case combat gets close. 172 and its division mates close on the suspected target, goosing the engines for a bit more power. And then the target can be spied, it is a daihatsu; a tough armored barge. The gunner up on the bow manning the 37mm cannon from a salvaged P-39 takes aim. 172 and the other boats are starting to plane as their speed increases, everyone focuses on the daihatsu and its unsuspecting crew.

Then calamity as 172 lurches forward as a grinding noise is heard from below decks. It seems 172’s luck has finally run out. Lt Hamilton tries to wrest the PT from the grip of the uncharted reef everyone now knows they are on. The center engine is put into reverse and full power is applied as the outboard engines are put in neutral, the boat strains but it is stuck fast. Everyone can hear the crunching of wood as the coral rips the bottom out. 172 settles deeper into the water as Lt Hamilton calls the other boats for a rescue. PT-118 and the other boat break off their attacks to assist 172. Now misfortune doubles when 118 moves close to 172 to assist evacuating, another outcropping snags 118 in its destructive embrace. With two boats stuck fast with water pouring into the engine spaces and forward, the men of both boats abandon ship to the last remaining operational PT boat. The final chapter plays out as this boat opens fire on the two stranded boats to prevent the Japanese from gaining anything of value from the wrecks. The trip back to Rendova is one traveled in silence as dawn approaches and two crews deal with losing their boats while not sinking any enemy barges.

The above is fiction based on known history and PT tactics&weaponry. My idea on what happened until I get a hold of Buckeley's At Close Quarters and see if that book details the actual events. Be interesting to see if I came close.

Mystery PT Boat

By now most news hounds have heard what has surfaced in the Solomon Islands in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that killed over fifty people in the islands. An honest to goodness World War II PT-boat. The uplift from the earthquake caused the reef to rise ten feet, which brough the submerged boat to the surface. They are thinking of detonating the boat because it may still have explosives. Some village children apparently have been aboard the boat and took stuff.

Since I have never heard of Rannonga Island before, have spent the odd hour trying to locate it so I can identify which boat this is. I tried to find the island on various maps of the Solomon Islands. Google maps was a strike out. National Geographic was also a bust. This is probably the best map. It shows Gizho [ off this island PT-109 was run down], New Georgia [Munda airstrip], Rendova [PT base], and Vella Lavella. Still no Rannonga Island. I find it mentioned in conjunction with Vella Lavella alot so that possibly places this island right around the epicenter of the earthquake.

So taking with a grain of salt, of the four PT boats that went aground in the Western Solomons two are listed as going down off Vella Lavella. You are probably saying, why only grounded PT boats searching through? Lets look at PT-109, it was idling in Blackett Strait when IJN Amagiri ran it down, PT-109 went down in deep water and wrong location. Rendova was taken on June 30th, 1943 [The Mosquito Fleet by Bern Keating pg 71]. PT-168 was sunk by B-25 fire in Ferguson Passage and exploded [ibid, pg 73-74]. PT-117 and PT-164 were sunk by airplane at the Rendova PT base on August 1, 1943. The Munda invasion occurred on August 4, 1943. Vella Lavella would fall to US forces on October 1, 1943. This kind of information narrows down the possible identity of this WWII relic.

There are two possible boats this could have been, if we focus on groundings. PT-172 and PT-118. PT Boats Inc list both losses as groundings in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture. This source says both went down off Vella Lavella on September 7, 1943. The two books I have on American PT-boats [The Mosquito Fleet and Devil Boats] shed no light on any operation on September 7, 1943 unless it was to mirror a mission carried out by three PT boatss which landed scouts on Vella Lavella on August 12, 1943. Squadron/Signal's PT Boats in Action has proven equally uninformative. Online has proven equally dry in regards to detailed information or images. There seems to be no pictures of 172 or 118.

Hopefully something can be salvaged from this boat to identify it and brings its story to life again. This is like a time capsule that needs to be opened.

Exercising the 2nd Amendment

Friends called me yeterday morning asking if I wanted to meet them out at the rifle range for some shooting. Being 7:30am and not really awake yet, I agreed with enthusiasm.

So while eating breakfast I stumbled across that New York Times article and blogged it. Then packed up the Mustang with the Storm and the .40cal Beretta along with ammuition, cleaning kit, and ear-protectors. Then headed on out.

The Aim-Point sight on the Storm is the best thing since sliced bread. Since my left arm is in a cast, cannot normally hold the Storm as I should. First magazine I shot while resting the Storm on the cast - bad form do not try yourself unless in extremis. Due to the sight, still managed to hit the circular target at 25 yards with 90% of the bullets; I was a bit to the left of center though. Next magazine in the Storm I tried what the Air Force calls the barricade position. I took the Storm, rested it on a solid horizontal surface, took aim, and fired. Once again 90% on target, this time though all in the center. Which means I have to work on my breathing more.

I won't mention the .40cal except trying to shoot it one handed I proved I could not hit the broad side of a barn, all I managed to do was hit the cardboard the targets were taped to.

Overall a fun day was had. Hung out with friends. Had some fun. And got to practice shooting skills so they do not grow rusty.

John 'Pink' Edwards Speaks

I just caught, supposed Presidential candidate, John Edwards rail against President Bush while telling a screaming crowd that the Democrat controlled Congress keep sending funding bills to President Bush that contain a timeline for retreat, that they should not back down. He even uses the word 'de-authorize' in an attempt to disguise the right of Congress to cut off funding so it does not seem like they would cut off funding. Lawyerly weasel words is all it seems Democrats are capable of uttering, when they are not visibly frothing at the mouth in hatred of President Bush.

Sounds Nice, But

Sen. Lautenberg [D-NJ], the Democratic Party's write in candidate, is proposing some new gun legislation.

He seeks to deny people who are suspected of being connected to terrorism from purchasing weapons. Here is how the New York Times casts it with their quote:

to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism.

Sounds pretty good does it not? Except for one thing, the people Lautenberg is seeking to bar from buying a weapon have not been charged in any case relating to terrorism. How can I say this? For lets look later in the article, wll there is the obligatory swipe at a Republican controlled Congress killing Lautenberg's noble idea and the very generic allusion to 'law enforcement officials' which are never named and gun control advocates who are also not named. Not to mention pandering to the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, so Lautenberg is trying to play on emotions to get something passed that would have had no bearing on Cho's mission of evil if it had been in effect before.

In 2004, the F.B.I. instituted a new system that alerted counterterrorism officials when a terrorism suspect tried to buy a gun, giving them three days to find information to disqualify the suspect under the standard federal prohibitions. If the transaction was successful, details like the type of weapon and the place of purchase could not be shared. But if the purchase was blocked, the information could be turned over.

So we have the FBI trying to plug the loophole without creating any new laws or violating anyone's rights. Yes many suspected terrorists got firearms, but remember they are only suspected. There has been no formal indictments sworn out on these people or convictions. So Sen. Lautenberg is going to close this 'loophole' in which uncharged people will have their Second Amendment rights violated because of their alleged association with people whom intelligence agencies think are terrorists and need to be watched.

Sen. Lautenberg's law is bad law. It presumes that someone is guilty of a crime before a jury of their peers have even heard the case against them.

And here I thought Democrats were all for the presumtive innocence of all people accused, even those gaining weight at Gitmo. Silly me.

Unfit

That one word is all that is needed to describe the actions of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

After piling laurels and platitudes at the feet of General Petraeus to be the new commander in Iraq, we find Harry Reid rushing to judgement. We find him saying he will not believe anything General Petraeus says in his briefing to Congress about the situation in Iraq. For as everyone who has watched the news has learned, Harry Reid has declared the war in Iraq lost. So how ill-mannered of General Petraeus to report anything to the contrary.

Meanwhile we have Nancy Pelosi. While General Petraeus was leading the first phases of the surge in Baghdad with boots on the ground, Nancy and some hanger-ons was jetting off. While American and Iraqi forces fought to secure Baghdad against terrorists, Nancy was in Damascus meeting with one of the supporters of terrorism in Iraq during her Spring Break recess. Now that General Petraeus is back in the United States to give a briefing, all Nancy could find in her busy unpublished schedule was a 30 minute phone conference since the General's own schedule was too busy to give Nancy a personal briefing as she wanted.

Harry Reid is that classic of political animals. He has a vested interest in one and only one view of the world. He loves that view so much no one better contradict him or face his wrath. Well General Petraeus is in select company, Reid obviously lumps him in with President Bush.

Nancy Pelosi, in her haughty demand that General Petraeus come at her beck and call to give her a personal briefing, is displaying for the whole world how truly petty she is. She is like the wastrel self-absorbed nobility that Western Civilization has spent the last few centuries ridding itself of, she is Her Imperial Hindness.

Both are unfit for the offices they hold.

Metropolis

Expect no blogging tonight. I just received in the mail the Kino Video release of Fritz Lang's classic silent film Metropolis. This is the 2002 restored version that tries to recreate what 15,000 film goers in Berlin saw in 1927, the 153 minute original.

I just finished watching two of the special extras. First was The Metropolis Case which discusses the history of German cinema after WWI and the influences that lead to such a prolific number of films being produced. We are treated to history, the stage, art, and finally the cinema itself. One is also granted a very enlightening look behind the scenes at the creation of Metropolis, the scenery, score, special effects, and yes even Hel. Of course that evil corporal has to stick his thumb into the act, he was a fan of Metropolis. Even after the National Socialists banned Lang's disturbing film of a town's underworld hunting down a murderous pedophile, starring Peter Lorre as the pedophile, called M; they offered Lang to be the head of German film. As Lang relates in an interview from the 1960s, the day after that offer in 1933 was made he left for Paris and then to the United States where he continued to work in films.

The second special feature discussed the restoration process. They were forced to pull together nitrate negatives and positives from various sources to assemble something approaching the original version. In some cases it was only because some scenes existed in multiple negatives that a corroded scene from their primary source was restored to the film. Where no length of negative or stills can be found of a scene, new title cards were created to describe what was supposed to be there. The restoration team made a digital negative so they could correct the varying qualities of their multiple archive sources. There is also discussion of why using automatic settings in software like Limelight is a bad idea, rapid movement could result in a book vanishing or people's limbs disappearing because the software is doing frame by frame comparisons when in automatic mode. Another method they used to remove many of the scratches was the wet film process in which a liquid is used to cover the negative; this liquid has the proper optical properties that once it is in the pits and scratches, the pits and scratches vanish. It was after all this intensive work that a new digital negative was created.

Now I am going to sit back and watch what will probably be the most complete version of Metropolis to ever see the light of day since 1927. And until I read the liner notes that came with the DVD, I thought I had seen every version of Metropolis from the shortened Paramount version to the colorized version that had a score arranged by Queen. Alas there are many more versions than these three. And no, I do not feel the urge to try and watch every version. Three is enough with the Kino Video version being the closest to the original.

As for the poster image, I get a feeling Tron stole some visual cues from this movie. Then again, so many movies have been influenced by the truncated versions what is one more film except further affirmation that Metropolis is a classic.

Odd News

Mysterious Prehistoric Organism Identified - It was determined not to be Jack Murtha's brain.

Highway Kills - No calls from any Democratic politician to ban highways for the sake of the children.

Man Arrested Nude Wearing Swastika - And it was not Prince Harry.

Teen is Crowned Text Messaging Champ - Carpal Tunnel in her future.

Boris Yeltsin

Cartoon by John Trever, Albuquerque Journal.

Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin has passed away at the age of 76. Cause of death has not been released. Yeltsin gained world renown for courage when old Soviet hard-liners tried to stage a coup against Mikhail Gorbachev as Gorbachev vacationed. Rallying the people of Moscow, Yeltsin stopped the coup and prevented the nascent country from sliding back into totalitarianism. He will be missed.

Possible New Al-Qaeda Threat?

Yes its a bad thing to watch Fox Friends and Family. :) But they were just chatting about a possible new threat from Al-Qaeda. A plan to strike a blow in England that would rival Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

First off by using those names, we must assume a nuclear component. If people were talking about an anthrax threat, then we would hear comments about the Soviet anthrax accident that killed dozens of people.

So we start with nuclear material. Where does that leave us? A bomb is possible but still something a wee bit tricky to smuggle in. Iran was mentioned as a possible supporter. Now if Iran has produced a bomb and only one bomb, would they give their sole guarrantor of security from nuclear retaliation to Al-Qaeda? The mullahs are mad but not stupid. Or they could have multiple bombs then all bets are off and so is any last shreds of relevance of the United Nations. Assuming the UN monolith is not vaporized along with lower Manhatten by such a bomb.

So right now the bomb option is on the margins of the table. What is left? Dust is what is left. Radioactive dust composed of uranium or plutonium. Now most envision this dust being packaged as part of a dirty bomb, a conventional bomb that has this dust wrapped around it. When the bomb detonates, the dust gets spread out and breathed in by the survivors. Causing death later on. There is another method of delivery that might sneak past people. Have your operatives get hired by the subway/tube maintenace crews and as they inspect the tracks, sprinkle the dust out. Then let the train's own speed in an enclosed space push the dust before them to contaminate the commuters before anyone becomes aware that something catastrophic has happened.


"The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

South American Gas Bag

Our 'friendly' dictator in Venezuela Hugo Chavez has not sat still while other events claimed our attention. He has pressed forward with his re-education of the country's citizenry while trying to bring law and order to Caracas.

Which brings us to the subject of this post. Hugo is trying to reign in rampant crime in the city of Caracas by deploying remote controlled blimps armed with cameras. The following statistics will probably hurt the feelings of the gun control freaks in the United States:

Venezuela has the world's highest death rate from guns, according to the United Nations with 34 deaths in every 100,000 caused by firearms. Brazil is second with 22 in every 100,000. Caracas itself has stopped issuing the statistics.

Naturally this deploying of the blimps is raising alarm bells among the few surviving civil libertarians on the loose in Venezuela, evoking shades of Big Brother.

I really do like the question of will the criminals shoot the blimps down. If the blimps do put a crimp in their operations I would expect them to remedy the situation. And Rossi does not understand the tool he is trying to use. These are remote-controlled blimps. Do not have to shoot them down, just destroy enough of the intrument gondola and mission accomplished. So a simple bolt-action rifle with a scope could probably ruin one blimp and there goes $465,000 drifting in the wind.

Now to nit-pick the writer. Zeppelin and blimp can not be used interchangeably. A Zeppelin, as in one from the famous Zeppelin Works of Germany, is a rigid airship. It has a metal frame that the gas bags are attached to. The US Navy airhips Macon and Shennadoah were rigid airships. A blimp lacks a metal frame, it is basically several lift bags wrapped in an outer covering that gives the blimp its shape. What Goodyear flies about is a blimp.

Sheryl Crow - Enviro Loon

Can we get more insane than Sheryl Crow accosting Karl Rove at a public function to demand he save the planet? Methinks she is full of herself.

Has she thought of what the carbon footprint of her jet and bus are? How many tons of carbon dioxide were emitted to create and now to maintain them? As for her guitar, is it synthetic [read petroleum base] or created from natural exotic woods from endangered trees? Come on Sheryl let us know. You want to inject yourself into the environmental debate, so open up and let some sunshine in to your personal dealings.

But this a real hoot: Ms. Crow croons

"I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don't want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required."

I propose anyone who wants to stay alive to never shake hands with Ms. Crow.

Personal Note

My blogging output will be reduced due to me having one arm in a cast, perils of breaking a wrist. Makes typing real fun. So please bear with me for the next six weeks.

The Future With Pelosi

Cartoon by Scott Stantis.

I would not put it past House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to try and interject herself in the event we do encounter alien intelligent life. Quickly followed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid surrendering to the aliens so as not to be outdone.

Assuming neither are pod people to start with.

We Are Hokies!!

April 20, 2007 has been designated as a day to honor the heroes and victims of Cho's evil attack. Lets all take at least a moment today.

Dee at LittleMissChatterbox is also blogging about this.

Dems Plan For Iraq

Political cartoon by Ken Catalino.

I think this sums up the whole problem with many on the left side of the political spectrum. It is a problem but since it does not affect them personally they think they can ignore it and the people who are suffering. Being a leftist means never having to say you are sorry for being a self-absorbed twit.

As for Senator Harry Reid who thinks he is displaying leadership qualities by trying to extort from President Bush a surrender and retreat; the only path to victory is by driving a bayonet through your enemy's heart, not by adopting the French method of foreign policy.

Last Respects

In Israel today at Ra'anana, Professor Liviu Librescu was laid to rest. The place of his birth, Romania, presented his widow Marlena with the Order of the Star of Romania for his bravery on that fateful day in Blacksburg, VA.

"He was a very human person," his wife said. "He wanted to help everybody."

Indeed he did help everyone, to save his students and for the rest of us an example to live up to.

Revulsion

To show Cho's self indulgent manifesto of evil, I have to say NBC has sunk to a level even lower than that belonging to used car salesmen, the National Enquirer, and politicians. It would be akin to giving airtime to the Unabomber or Timothy McVeigh or Jeffrey Dahmer.

We already have idiots who try to replicate the stupidity shown in the Jackass movies. Children cartoons are regulated to such an extent that the consequences of Wile Coyote's hare-brained schemes are censored for fear of luring a child to try and replicate the scene. But NBC can air this?

NBC will try to dress this up by saying they are trying to present the full story. But what it will prove is a rating bonanza which means NBC in turn can charge more money for every second of commercial time. Unless a painful message, called boycott, is delivered to advertisers and NBC shareholders that NBC crossed a line by showing this sick and evil film, people at NBC will pat themselves on the back.

Horatio At The Bridge

Amidst all the speculation and second guessing Fox News is broadcasting, they ran something from Virginia Tech that I hope turns out true.

In Norris Hall a professor held the classroom door closed while students escaped out windows. On the other side of the door was the killer. The professor was killed but the students did get out. The story says the professor was a Holocaust survivor and yesterday in Israel was Holocaust Memorial Day.

I wish I could have known this professor who willingly ran towards danger to save other lives. I am reminded of a Jewish proverb, "He who saves a life, saves a world." This professor saved many worlds yesterday. I hope this story turns out to be true.

Update - via Michelle Malkin: The professor in question was Liviu Librescu. He was 75 years old and came from Romania via Israel. He bodily blocked the gunman while his students escaped and paid for that bravery with his life.

We Are All VT Alumni

Cartoon by Gary Varvel. - added 10:58pm.

I am shocked and very saddened by the tragic events in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Thirty two people with so much of their lives to live have had those lives tragically cut short. The depraved person whom authorities think is the sole perpetrator of these evil acts has committed suicide and is facing higher justice.

This is not the time to second guess and finger point. To run wildly at the mouth speculating with nothing to support it. I could be a complete prat and spout off things but I shall not, not on this day.

There are many families who are still wondering if their children or brothers or sisters or cousins or even parents are among the fallen. Then there are the friends who are wondering who among them are dead.

Lets keep all of them in our prayers and let them know they are not alone.