Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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✝️
My 3 kindle books are free thru Christmas from Amazon, starting midnight tonight, West Coast time, 22 Dec 2020. If you’re comfortable rating or reviewing them, it would be deeply appreciated.
The Night Before Christmas, by Henry Livingston, NOT Clement Moore
89 illustrations from 21 different vintage editions of “The Night Before Christmas,” set to the original text from the Dec 23, 1823 Troy Sentinel.
Henry Livingston, Jr.: The Christmas Poet You Always Loved, by Mary S. Van Deusen
A comprehensive biography of Henry Livingston, Jr., including a majority of his poetry, prose and letters.
Thrice Happy Poetry, by Henry Livingston
174 vintage postcards illustrating 14 poems
Thank you Mary, and have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
You’re most welcome. Christmas was always my favorite holiday as a child, and researching Henry for the past 20 years has meant that every day has been Christmas for me. Stay warm and stay safe this holiday season. Mary
Boys Over Flowers – Big Man – Four Preps
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/guardian/video/Boys-Over-Flowers-Big-Man-Four-Preps-V02.htm
Koo Jun-Pyo, the heir of the Shinhwa company, is the leader of the high school pack, F4, which is a bunch of bullies. Jun-Pyo meets his match in Geum Jan-Di, a poor girl who stands up to bullies and wins him by her independence. One of the best Korean dramas.
Star Trek – I Heard the Bells – Trail Band
Longfellow’s Civil War Carol
This video is blocked in the US on YouTube. If you are NOT in the US, you can find the YouTube link on my Asian video list.
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/songvids/asiansong.htm
I think your fans could get it using a VPN.
When I tried to use the link in an announcement, it came up with a large error screen. I’m unsure how to even announce it for people to try to play it from YouTube. The log shows that people are getting it on my website. My site has the advantage of higher quality than YouTube. Quality has always been my passion and on my own site I can control that. YouTube mungs whatever you give them.
There’s a lot of Christmas carols that are blocked on YouTube. You might like to give a couple of them a try off my website, as well.
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/songvids/xmassong.htmhttps://www.iment.com/maida/tv/songvids/xmassong.htm
Let’s try that Christmas carols music video link again.
https://www.iment.com/maida/tv/songvids/xmassong.htm
The TOR browser (Firefox build) will gate her outside the U.S. and will also give her free 3 hop “VPN.”
https://www.torproject.org/
The Grapes of Wrath
By Pastor Paul M. Sadler
“And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (Rev. 14:20).
The great winepress of God is the area around the holy city of God. It extends from north northwest to south southeast of Jerusalem, from Mt. Megiddo, known as Armageddon (Rev. 16:16), to Bozrah (Isa. 63:1-4). Tactically, the Scriptures seem to suggest that the Antichrist will launch an attack simultaneously from both the north and the south. The center of the battlefield will be the narrow Kidron Valley, called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, located just east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to the Spirit of God, the area of the battlefield is said to be “a thousand and six hundred furlongs,” a distance of exactly two hundred miles.
Christ will crush the Antichrist’s forces of evil with merely a spoken word and the brightness of His coming. When He tramples His enemies in His almighty power, their blood will stain His garments (Isa. 63:2-4; Rev. 19:13). The blood from this innumerable host of godless unbelievers and their horses will run high to the horses’ bridles, according to the Apostle John, writing in the Spirit. Many commentators shrink from taking a literal interpretation here, saying it is utterly preposterous. We feel, however, more comfortable taking God at His Word. On average, an adult male has about five quarts of blood. Millions upon ten millions of men would bleed a deep river of blood. Interestingly, the Spirit emphasizes that the winepress is “trodden without [outside] the city” of Jerusalem in direct connection with the blood rising to the horses’ bridle. In all likelihood, the blood will probably run the deepest in the valley of Jehoshaphat (Kidron Valley), which is a rocky, mountainous ravine that’s about 20 miles in length.
Responsibility: Only the believer in Christ can fully understand the seriousness of the coming wrath of God. Many of the unsaved are clueless, and Satan would like nothing better than to keep it that way. We must therefore bear in mind that, if an unbeliever refuses to receive God’s gracious offer of reconciliation and foolishly rejects Christ as his personal Savior, he must be warned about the bloodbath that lies ahead.
https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/the-grapes-of-wrath/
Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Revelation 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Isaiah 63:1 ¶ Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
Revelation 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
A memory from long ago . . . Listening under the covers to “Music ‘Til Dawn” on my little transistor radio while the rest of the family slept. That was my entree’ to another world where a sophistication and grace that I’d not yet experienced existed and where people like Margaret Whiting sang songs like this. I often wonder if she had any awareness of the influence she had on small-town kids in Texas?
Got the posts out of order . . . Here’s Margaret Whiting’s recording. Sorry!
Was “That’s All” the opening theme song in Texas as it was in New York?
I, too, was under the covers ?
Yeah, it was. I listened to it on KRLD out of Dallas. It was one of those 50k watts stations that broadcast literally everywhere. It was the tail-end of radio’s “golden age” but I loved the program just the same. I was sort of a loner, disconnected from a new high school where I didn’t know anybody. It filled a gap.
On WCBS-AM, Bob Hall’s mellifluous voice and beautiful music were a comforting companion until sign-off at 5:30 A.M.
I’d switch between Music Til Dawn and the “Long John Nebel” talk show (precursor of Art Bell) also out of New York.
And fall asleep in school ?
Boy, those were some days.
Yep. And we didn’t realize how influential the experience actually was. 🙂
Wistful.
Garrison (and everyone interested) –
I think you’ll enjoy reading the sentimental comments from fans of the old “Music Til Dawn”
I mean, go to the actual YouToob link for the comments.
like this kid?
Well, of course! 🙂 And what I really like is hearing Willie’s Django influenced rifs on this song. Willie has always acknowledged how influential Django Reinhart’s playing on his own performances was. Even though he was singling country, he was playing jazz riffs. Ever the consummate player, he eaily transferred his Django riffs to more popular music on his famous “Stardust” CD. Willie’s got some chops!
Jo Stafford’s rendition wasn’t too shabby either. I’ve always thought of this one when I think of the song.
I did the same as you – got a Japanese made (!) 7 transistor radio in 1957 and spent many a night listening to it through my pillow or with the earphone. Went through a lot of 9 volt batteries.
But my folks played the pop music of the 30s and 40s on their big RCA Orthophonic Hi Fi radio/ record player console in the living room. I remember laying on the rug and listening to Jack Benny and other shows in the early evenings before we kids were ordered upstairs to bed.
Truth. Honestly, I don’t think I’d have had the life I’ve had without these experiences. If you’re LD you’re automatically marginalized. But, nonetheless, knowing that there was that something else “out there” was enough to tell me that if I could understand it and appreciat what I was hearing, that I could reach for it. And, damned if I didn’t do it.;
Gone. All of it gone. Sorry. A little down tonight.
Yeah, I know how you feel. I feel like I grew up in the greatest time in this country: from the 50’s on. So sorry for the kids today and the world we have left them. I miss the old days and have tried to compensate by living as far away from a big city as I can. Here people have a chance to live out of the fast lane that is destroying so many. But as you say: All of it gone. There are just memories and illusions left.
Just say’n… 😉
In case you missed the memo…
https://youtu.be/IkplPCW4IYE
THE DRAWING OF THE FATHER
“No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.” John vi. 44
When God draws me, the issue of my will comes in at once – will I react on the revelation which God gives – will I come to Him? Discussion on spiritual matters is an impertinence. Never discuss with anyone when God speaks. Belief is not an intellectual act; belief is a moral act whereby I deliberately commit myself. Will I dump myself down absolutely on God and transact on what He says? If I will, I shall find I am based on Reality that is as sure as God’s throne.
In preaching the gospel, always push an issue of will. Belief must be the WILL to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a surrender to persuasive power, a deliberate launching forth on God and on what He says until I am no longer confident in what I have done, I am confident only in God. The hindrance is that I will not trust God, but only my mental understanding. As far as feelings go, I must stake all blindly. I must WILL to believe, and this can never be done without a violent effort on my part to disassociate myself from my old ways of looking at things, and by putting myself right over on to Him.
Every man is made to reach out beyond his grasp. It is God who draws me, and my relationship to Him in the first place is a personal one, not an intellectual one. I am introduced into the relationship by the miracle of God and my own will to believe, then I begin to get an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the wonder of the transaction.
Oswald Chambers
December 22nd Devotional
Just say’n… 😉
https://youtu.be/72CeN_mmDS4?t=69
Unless I accidentally skipped over the website, I did not see any link to the website where the wikileaks dump is supposed to be located.
Just say’n… 😉
Have a Merry Christmas;
and keep the Faith…
https://youtu.be/2GPVAw7NtcM?t=68
She’s a meth smoking woman
in love with a copper stealing man
? ? ?
Stumbled onto this in my wanderings tonight.
Military traditions.
Twice during basic training we did the traditional payroll with a paymaster and full pay day activities (Payday activities always take place on a Saturday no matter what day the end of the month actually falls on). I guess we did it the old way just so we would know how to do it. But from then on as far as pay went it was direct deposit for me. However, that did not mean we always got away without doing all the other stuff once traditional on pay day. During my near 12 years of service I stood pay day inspection in dress greens probably about a dozen times. That was always followed by a class or talk of some kind. For the longest time I thought it was BS! Being in SF we were deployed or off to a school, or training all the time and having a relatively rare Saturday at home eaten up doing such things does seem a bit much.
I figure on average during my 8 1/2 years on SF A-teams I was gone at least 8 months of every year and we trained hard even when in garrison. 10th group was targeted at Europe and ths was during the cold war, so we had to have our team and personal equipment ready to go at all times. Even when we deployed for training, what equipment we did not take with us was packed into boxes so that it could be put on a pallet and airlifted to meet us where ever the SF FOB (Forward Operating Base) would be established in the event of a real world mission.
Heck many a time I got in from the field, dumped my rucksack, cleaned everything, packed back up and took off again that very next day. Over those years about 30 times when home we were alerted at O’dark thirty, assembled at our team room, packed out all of our team and individual equipment and loaded it on those aluminum aircraft palates with cargo nets over them. It all had to be done, from first call to pulling out of the post within 2 hours. Sometimes we actually went to some Airbase where C-130s or C-141s were waiting, loaded them and took off to God knows where. Other times after we had everything ready and on the trucks, we were ordered to “stand down”, unload it all and put it back in our team rooms then get a piss test for drugs and go through a process where EVERYTHING from shots and immunizations, to GI insurance, to Powers of Attorneys and wills were updated. Sometimes during these alerts you knew it was practice. Other times you didn’t know if it was the real thing or not (If there were parachutes being brought along you knew it was either the real thing or you would be gone somewhere for training for some time) and wouldn’t find out if you were really going to war, a “real world” mission or not until after the aircraft took off.
So I guess one could see why I would resent my limited time home would be interrupted by such things as pay day activities, marching in review, retirement ceremonies, funeral details, and other such things of that nature. When I was doing them for the first few years I always thought that garrison and support troops that were on post far more than they were gone should take care of that kind of thing. This is not to say I did not admire the traditions. I was always proud to stand reveille or to come to attention and face the direction of the post truk (flag pole) when the cannon went off and salute the colors as retreat blared over the loudspeakers. (To this day I miss hearing the traditional bugle calls that marked the different times of day in garrison and especially miss hearing Taps at night. There isn’t a thing in the world that is more soothing and yet sad than hearing taps as you sit on the front porch of your quarters enjoying the evening with your wife.)
The longer I was in the service the more I came to understand the value of EVERYONE doing all of those other things, like payday activities and funeral details and retirement ceremonies and passing in review. Not just for traditions sake, but for the real practical value.
A march in review lends real cohesion to a unit. Especially in SF where the basic unit is the 12 man A-team and normally the largest formation you stand is just your company. It lets you see your whole unit and gives one a perspective of their place in the larger scheme of things.
Standing pay day inspection gives a guy a chance to both ensure that his Dress greens is maintained to a high standard and all the salad dressing (ribbons) and skill badges, and brass, are in their proper places and to see who had what ribbons and skill badges on their chests (man I didn’t know that guy had three purple hearts?) and learn to recognize some that one hadn’t seen before.
A military funeral detail is really a high honor IMO. And doing it right is an absolute necessity. I have carried the casket and helped fold the flag over it for a US Marshal who fell in the line of duty and of a Col. that was on Eisenhower’s staff in WW II. I have fired the salute a few times for other soldiers.
And then there are the other details that are both fun and a little scary. Like presenting the colors for the national anthem out on the ice of the old Boston Gardens before a Bruins hockey game. “Scary” you ask? Try marching on ice doing the iterations required of a color guard in jump boots that have slick soles before a full house. (We did it without a slip.) Fun? Hell yea, we we’re guests of honor and sat in box seats and watched the game.
Thanks. My experience with all that was during Vietnam. I was on a LURP team an in 69′ we all became Rangers and my team, which began assigned to the 25th, then the 4th, was turned over to the 75th. The experience was much different than yours because we were in a war zone, I guess. Mail was the big deal for us. I spent 3 tours in country and the the war was being turned over to the locals and I skipped out on the 4th and went home. Back at Benning, I was able to experience the Pay Day call as you and all the musters. It was a side of the Army I never knew about and was like going thru boot camp all over. Looking back now, I find it all part of the solid memories of life. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I served with a lot of Vietnam vets. Some were SF in Vietnam, but most had been infantry in Vietnam and then came to SF afterwards. My longest deployment in a Hostile fire zone was Lebanon from January through May of 1984.
I entered the Army towards the end of the great malaise after Vietnam when drugs were a problem and the Army was not what it should be. That changed when Reagan became President and I experienced the revitalization of an all volunteer force held to higher physical and mental standards than ever before. Eventually it went too far IMO. By the time I ETSed active duty an NCO that got even one DUI was punished at a minimum with a letter of condemnation from a general officer. That would usualy set his/her promotion back 2-3 years.
Just say’n… 😉
Christmas Tradition 1967…
1967-I was 9 yrs old our family was at Anderson AFB my fathers last 2 yrs in the AF. Bob Hope with the USO tour , when he introduced Raquel all the GIs rushed the stage and a lot of wives were hanging on to their husbands too. Dean Martin and the gold diggers if I recall correctly and lots more. We were fortunate to see 2 tours , great memories as a kid. I tell everyone best 2 yrs of my childhood.
Visual tour of the Sistine Chapel.
Once it loads just use your arrow to look what ever direction you want. It is wonderful.
Sistine Chapel (vatican.va)
This a long essay I wrote a few years ago:
The Strategic Bombing of Imperial Japan
This is my own small attempt to set one little piece of the record straight.
By March 1945 the US had been at war nearly 3 1/2 years. The war in Europe was nearing its end but the cost had been high. It was already known that many of the veterans of the war in Europe would have to be shipped to the Pacific theater to fight the Japanese.
On April 12th, 1945 FDR died. To most Americans at that time Franklin D. Roosevelt had been the guiding hand. He held more political power than any president of the 20th century. When he died suddenly during this fourth term as POTUS FDR had been in office so long that he was the only president that most of the Americans serving in the war had ever known. FDR’s replacement, Harry S.Truman, was an unknown having been totally overshadowed by his boss and not allowed into his inner circle. Truman didn’t even learn about the program to develop the atomic bombs until after he was sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States. Under these conditions Truman took up the reins of power to guide the US to the completion of the war. Among his many problems was an ever increasing pressure to end the war quickly. The American people wanted their boys home!
Most Americans seem to believe that it was the Atomic bombs that finally brought Imperial Japan to her knees in 1945. In my opinion this is not exactly correct, or at least a very simplified view of what actually happened. I view the use of those two bombs, “Little Boy“, dropped on Hiroshima Aug 6th, and “Fat Man“, dropped on Nagasaki Aug. 9th, Little Boy and Fat Man nuclear weapons as the final paragraph of a chapter that encompasses a destructive six months for which there is no parallel in the history of warfare. No six month period in the history of modern warfare compares to the destruction and death rained down upon Imperial Japan from March 9th through August 15th of 1945.
The stories of development of the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped the bombs and the Manhattan project which produced the first nuclear weapons, and the actual use of those super weapons are worthy subjects covered very thoroughly in various texts. However the story of the firebombing of Japan is one that has received less attention and needs to be told in more detail. This is unfortunate because the story of the strategic bombing campaign against Japan lends context to those other stories allowing us to better understand why they happened.
The strategic bombing campaign against Japan marks the only time in history that such a campaign ended a major war through destruction from the air. The allied strategic bombing campaign in Europe materially aided in the ultimate defeat of Germany but did not bring that country to its knees. It took an actual invasion of Germany to secure the defeat of that nation and the cost in lives for the allies who carried out that strategic bombing campaign in Europe was staggering with about 55,000 UK heavy bomber air crew killed, and about 33,000 US heavy bomber crew killed. (Though the RAF heavy bomber force was considerably smaller than US Army Air Forces and bombed at night while the US bombed during the day, the RAF Heavy bombers were in the fight against Germany almost 3 years longer than the Americans)
The very first successful incendiary raid against the Japanese homeland took place on Feb. 3rd, 1945 at Kobe Japan. 159 tons of incendiaries were dropped from high altitude with the result of more than 1,000 buildings being burned. This was an experiment ordered by the new commander of the 21st Bomber Command Maj. Gen. Curtiss LeMay. An earlier high altitude incendiary raid against Nagoya Japan had been a failure.
LeMay had been sent by Commander of the US Army Air Forces, Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold to take over the B-29 bombing campaign against Japan because of the poor results of high altitude precision raids. Hap Arnolds order to LeMay was simply “get results”. Arnold had been a driving force behind the huge and expensive program to develop and build the B-29 (Development of the B-29 cost much more than the development of the Atomic bombs) and thus his reputation, legacy, and the future of the strategic bombing force, and in fact strategic bombing as a viable method of making war was tied to it’s performance. In short the survival of the Air Force’s strategic bombers in the downsized military of post war America was at stake and Arnold knew it.
Before the use of incendiaries B-29 bombers had been used in high altitude (27,500 to 33,000 feet) “precision” bombing raids using conventional explosive bombs. This was essentially the same tactic that was successful in Europe. The results of this type bombing against Japan were mixed but generally did not produce adequate results to justify the effort. A huge investment had been made in developing the B-29 Superfortress and the allied combined joint chiefs of staff were unanimous in their declaration that the B-29 was not living up to it’s potential. What had worked against Germany was not succeeding in the war against Japan even though the Japanese air defenses were less well developed and not nearly as effective as Germanys.
The failure of high altitude precision bombing of Japan can be attributed to a number of factors. The biggest problem the US bombers faced was the weather over Japan. The configuration of the jet streams which flow out of Siberia and Manchuria over Japan made the weather even more variable and less predictable than it was in Europe. The higher the bombers flew the more they were affected by the high speed winds of the jet streams. Weather forecasting for Japan was much poorer than that for Europe because neither the Soviets or Chinese to the west where the weather came from, would or could provide adequate data for US meteorologists to produce accurate forecasts. The OSS and US Navy did manage to get a couple of rudimentary weather stations working in the Gobi desert and though they were valuable they could not provide nearly the data that US forces in Europe enjoyed. Thus bombing accuracy was so poor due to the weather that the standard joke in Tokyo at the time of the early B-29 raids was that the US was trying to starve them by bombing the fish in Tokyo bay.
Other problems were a result of the long distances the aircraft had to fly to get to the target and back. Because of the distances involved the B-29s had to use auxiliary fuel tanks in the fuselage there by cutting the bomb load almost in half. Most of the long distance flown by the bombers was over vast expanses of open water. Prior to Iwo Jima being secured the chances of survival were poor for B-29 crews who’s aircraft had to ditch due to battle damage suffered over Japan despite a concerted effort by the US Navy to station submarines along the route that the B-29s would take. So the pilots naturally tended to be very conservative when they experienced a mechanical problem and had to decide if they would abort or go on and fly the mission. This was particularly prudent because the early models of the B-29 suffered from engine fires and a considerable number of electrical problems.
Even worse, partly due to policy and partly due to necessity, Japans industry was not organized to be concentrated in particular regions as was found in Europe (such as the Ruhr valley in Germany), nor to be as centralized, so the targets were more diffuse requiring more raids. Much of Japans industrial complex was organized as a series of cottage industries run out of family homes feeding parts and components made there to small shops which in turn supplied sub assemblies to larger shops and factories.
In 1944 Harvard chemist Dr. Louis Fieser invented what we now call napalm. His invention was a result of a request for such a weapon by the US government. Up until this time most incendiary bombs used thermite or phosphorus. Thermite and phosphorus burned very hot but because they are solids and burned quickly neither propagated fire like the sticky viscous flowing liquid napalm could. Quickly, Dupont geared up for production of various versions of the new incendiary material while others invented bombs of various configurations to weaponize it.
The weapon used for most of the low level firebomb raids against Japan was a cluster weapon. https://www.echigonagaoka.com/bomb/n06.htmlThe M-19 weighed 500 lb and consisted of 38 napalm filled cheese cloth M-69 bomblets strapped together with a tail assembly attached. Small charges on the straps could be set to explode at the desired altitude allowing the individually fused bomblets to spread over an area. It was much more effective than thermite and white phosphorous filled incendiary devices for causing conflagrations and particularly so in urban areas where most buildings were constructed of wood as was the case in Japan. Water did not extinguish the napalm fed flames but actually helped to spread the burning liquid.
Based on the information gained in the successful incendiary raid on Kobe LeMay proposed firebombing every major city in Japan to his superiors. Some, of the high command objected to the incendiary bombing of urban areas. Admiral Chester Nimitz, navy commander of the Pacific objected on moral grounds.
At this time the invasion of Iwo Jima was in it’s final planning stages. Previous invasions at other islands like Tarawa, Saipan, and Guam and made it clear that the Japanese defenders would be prepared and fight to the death causing huge American casualties. And now as the Americans approached closer to Japan the specter of the Kamikazes attacking the troop carriers of any invasion fleet became real. The longer it took to conquer an Island the longer the US fleet had to stay in order to support the invasion and thus the longer they would be very vulnerable to Japans super weapon. In the event a US/Allied invasion fleet had to lie off Japan’s coast it would not enjoy the forewarning of Kamikaze attacks that it enjoyed during the invasion of Okinawa. At Okinawa the Japanese aircraft had to fly over hundreds of miles of ocean where their presence was detected by radar long before they reached the fleet that where their targets were located. During an invasion of Japan proper the Kamikazes would come from over the mountainous terrain of the Japanese islands proper. This would mask the radar from detecting the attacking aircraft until they were almost upon the fleet. It would also make the troop transports a much easier target since the warships with all of their heavy antiaircraft armament would not be between the kamikazes and their targets as they were at Okinawa.
Japan’s desperate strategy of causing maximum casualties to the invaders in order to buy time and gain a limited armistice was made possible by it’s perverted version of the Bushido code of the ancient Samari. It was the belief in this perverted code of honor which drove the Japanese solider to fight to the death even when the situation was hopeless, or failing that, to commit suicide.
And to make matters worse it had become quite evident during the invasions of the very Mariana islands that the B-29s were flying from that the Japanese civilians, or at least a high proportion of them, would also adhere to the code and fight to the death or commit suicide. These demonstrations of fanatiscism by the Japanese raised the specter of the possible elimination of a whole culture in the event of an invasion of Japan.
Faced with this information and these dire possibilities during the initial planning for the invasion of Iwo Jima it was proposed in the Lethbridge Report to the allied high command that Iwo Jima be “drenched” with a Mustard gas like blister agent. Admiral Chester Nimitz along with most of the allied high command approved of this proposal but President Roosevelt vetoed the idea stating his fear of the use of such weapons against allied troops if and when an invasion of the home islands of Japan became necessary. But it was with this same fears in mind of the potentially tremendous casualties on both sides that LeMay was given approval for his fire bombing scheme.
After getting the approval for the firebombing of Japans major cities, LeMay sat down with his staff to develop a plan. LeMay proposed flying in for mass incendiary raids at low altitude (5,000 to 8,000 feet) at night in bombers stripped of their defensive guns and minus all but one of the gunners. Most of his staff objected, fearing high casualty rates with one of his experts estimating losses of 75% of the aircraft. They had every right to be concerned because previous experience with low level raids by large numbers of heavy bombers like the one against the Polesti oil refineries in Romania had resulted in terrible losses for the attacking bomber force. LeMay finally overruled them and said “Well, if those figures happen to be correct, then we’ll have to send for more B-29 combat crews, won’t we?” When the air crews got wind of the idea most thought it suicidal.
Thus it was decided. The first target was Tokyo, the capital of Japan, and the largest and relatively best defended city in Japan. 325 B-29 bombers would be stripped of all their defensive guns. The only gunner to go would serve as an observer. Removing the guns, their ammunition, and the gunners saved 3,000 lb. allowing the bomb load to be increased by that much so each B-29 could carry about 12,000 lbs incendiary bombs. This maximum load dropped at this altitude would result in each B-29 bomber dispersing 912 each M-69 napalm bomblets in a pattern ½ mile wide by 1 ½ mile long.
The bombers were to concentrate their bombing in a five square mile area of the city. It was hoped that by doing this a massive and uncontrollable conflagration would result and it would spread down wind through the city by it’s own accord.
At 6:00 PM on March 9th, 1945 the crews of 325 B-29s stationed on the hard won islands of Tinian, Saipan, and Guam climbed into their bombers for what would turn out to be the single most destructive air raid in history. Only a few aborted.
Many of the bomber crews flew over Iwo Jima where that bloody battle still raged and fellow Americans were dieing. By this time in the war, the crews were aware of the stories of Japanese atrocities in the areas they occupied and the murder and abuse of American POWs during the Bataan death march. And by this time the use of Kamikazes was known, and even some B-29s had been intentionally rammed over Japan. Thus few had any moral reservations about bombing the urban areas of Japan if it could possibly end the war more quickly. The crews main objection was that they feared they would not survive at low level over Japan. But they swallowed their feelings and flew the mission.
After the first few waves of bombers had dropped their loads the following crews could see the glow of Tokyo burning from 50 miles away. They flew over the conflagration in the smoke of the fires which reached 10,000 feet and some claimed they saw licks of flames nearly that high. In the smoke they smelled the sickening sweet and nauseating smell of burning human flesh. Many a crewman missed a couple meals after the raid because they couldn’t get the smell out of the noses. One crewman described what he saw as “a nightmare out of Dante’s inferno.”
As they passed over the burning areas their bombers were cast about by the powerful thermals created by the super heated air. Several aircraft were completely flipped over by the those thermals and others described the blast of air that threw their aircraft upward as producing the highest “G” load they ever felt in their flying career. Their aircraft were driven upward as if they were “a feather in a high wind”. In some cases the “G” force was so powerful the pilots could not lift their arms to control the aircraft until the thermal updraft released its hold on them.
For nearly three hours the B-29s passed over Tokyo adding their incendiaries to the holocaust below in an area of the city with an average population density greater than 100,000 per square mile. The temperature in the heart of the conflagration is estimated to have reached 1,800 deg. F. and water in the canals boiled. Winds of super heated air reaching hurricane force raged through the streets of the areas about to be consumed. Many were killed by breathing this air before they were consumed by the flames. Bomb shelters were death traps because those in them not burned were asphyxiated as a fire sucked all the available air from the confined space they were in. There was no way of effectively fighting the fire.
When it was over 16 square miles of one of the largest and most populous cities on earth had been completely burned out. 25% of all buildings (more than ¼ million) in Tokyo had been utterly destroyed. Japans official casualty estimate was 83,783 killed and 50,000 wounded but there is reason to believe that it was actually somewhat higher. Nearly one million Tokyo residents were homeless. By any measure the destruction and death tolls from this single firebomb raid exceeded that wrought by either atomic bomb even when radiation casualties are included, and thus it is the most destructive and deadly single air raid in history.
And this was just the beginning of the most destructive and deadly 6 months in the history of aerial warfare. With the success of the raid all talk of the B-29 being a failure ceased for all time. Bolstered by the success of the Tokyo raid LeMay drove his crews hard and they participated in a bombing blitz that made the German version against Britain pale in comparison. In quick succession the industrial cities of Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe received their destruction by fire. In a fourteen day period starting with the Tokyo fire raid 32 square miles of hearts of Japans four greatest industrial cities were burned out.
This blitz resulted in the depletion of the M-69 incendiaries but raids using conventional bombs and the older thermite filled incendiary bombs continued until the stocks of the new incendiaries were replenished.
During this period Iwo Jima was secured and large numbers of fighter escort were then based there. Iwo Jima was close enough to most of the targets in Japan that starting on April 7th the B-29s enjoyed the protection of a fighter escort for their raids. And this, along with Japan’s military leaderships determination to harbor their aircraft for resistance to future invasions made it safe enough to conduct the incendiary raids in daylight. In the end, more aircrews lives were saved than the Marines and sailors lost taking Iwo Jima.
By August 6th, when Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, an average of nearly 50% of Japans 20 largest cities had been utterly destroyed resulting in the deaths of nearly a million of their citizens. This is was about twice as many killed as the Germans, Italians, and their forced labor forces suffered from strategic bombing during the whole war.
During this same period B-29s also dropped 10s of 1,000s of mines in the waters off Japan. This effort in combination with the efforts of the US Navy, and especially the silent service (submarines) resulted in the nearly complete shutdown of merchant shipping months before the war ended.
During 15 months of operation against the Japanese homeland the B-29s dropped almost 170,000 tons of bombs and incendiaries on Japan. They had flown 34,790 sorties. It had cost 414 B-29 bombers and 3,015 crew casualties.
That many of the leadership of Japan knew the war was lost before the atomic bombs were dropped is borne out by their post war statements. Prince Konoye of the Japanese Royal family said “Fundamentally, the thing that brought about the determination to make peace was the prolonged bombing by the B-29s.” The Japanese Premier Suzuki said “I, myself, on the basis of the B-29 raids, felt that the cause was hopeless.” Tojo, before his execution, said that he “knew in his heart that Japan could not win the war after the loss of Saipan and the Marianas islands.” So the Imperial family knew that the war was lost and wanted to end it because of the B-29 raids and it was the use of the atomic bombs that made it possible for the emperor, at great peril to himself and his office, to take on the military establishment running the government and surrender his nation.
In the end, it cannot be credibly argued that the Strategic bombing of Japan, including the use of the atomic bombs was not the deciding factor in ending the war before the invasion of Japan proper was required. That invasion was to begin Nov 1, 1945 and the Combined Joint Chiefs had estimated allied casualties for just the first phase of the invasion to be 500,000. The US had suffered 12,520 killed during the invasion of the Okinawa as compared to about 110,000 Japanese soldiers killed . For every American KIA there were almost 10 Japanese military KIA, and add to that another 2-5 Japanese civilians killed (estimates vary greatly). This ratio of 10-1 military KIA was right on par with what had been the average result in nearly every US invasion of Japanese held islands since the first major one at Guadalcanal. Thus it is not unreasonable to estimate that had the allies invaded Japan and the Japanese had fought to the last as most of the Japanese military leaders wanted, the defenders would have suffered millions both military and civilian killed. The numbers make it clear that in the final analysis the only reasonable conclusion is that the firebombing of Japan and use of the atomic bombs actually saved millions of lives in the long run.
Since those times some historians have tried to claim that Japan would have surrendered without the use of atomic bombs. As time passes and the memory of the nature of the desperate times of WW II when nations fought for their very survival fades, the judgmental voices of the morally self- righteous, or those that for some reason desire to find fault with the US begin to be heard as they always do. These voices almost always emanate from those who did not participate in the events and in fact never had to place their own lives on the line to fight for anything let alone make the life and death decisions they so arrogantly critique so critically. Their own “analysis” of such historic events is accomplished with a bias towards reaching conclusions to justify their own current social/political agendas or opinions, and so they avoid using inconvenient facts and analysis that does not agree with their own because they cannot effectively counter it. The facts are not on their side.
Some of these people point to the fact that Japan had diplomatic contacts with the Russians near the end of the war. They claim that these talks were started by Japan with the intent of getting the Russians to carry a message of Japans desire to negotiate peace to the allies. True as far as it goes however false in the impression it leaves. Those diplomatic discussions went on for over a month and Japans objective in these discussions with the Soviets, who had remained neutral in the war against Japan, was not surrender but was in fact an effort to get Stalin to ally with them and for the two countries to share the resources of China and Manchuria. An armistice or limited peace under these conditions was merely a stalling tactic to buy time so Japan could rearm and then with their new Soviet allies split the bounty of China. The Soviets broke off the talks suddenly when the first atomic bomb was dropped and quickly declared war on Japan.
Others claim that the US only needed to blockade Japan and not use the atomic bombs to get the country to surrender. Based on the actions of the Japanese up to that time this is doubtful at best. However if that course had been chosen the casualty rate due to starvation could have been even more horrendous than those resulting from invasion and far worse than that resulting from any bombing. The average Japanese citizen had already suffered through years of semi starvation and by 1945 the average caloric intake of Japanese civilians was 20% under the estimated minimum needed for mere sustenance. In any famine the aged, women, and children suffer the highest mortality. And any Allied blockading fleet would be vulnerable to Kamikaze attacks from the home island and such casualties would have been substantial. More sailors were killed off Okinawa, most due to kamikaze attack, than the Army and Marines suffered in battle on the island. And there is every reason to believe that our casualties would have been much worse off Japan because Kamikazes would be able to attack the fleet using the mountainous terrain to mask their approach until they were close to the blockading fleet. Add to this the fact that there were well over 500,000 Japanese military men that had been isolated on the islands they were sent to defend and garrison by being bypassed and were starving. Allied airmen or other prisoners and even local natives that fell into their hands had ended up on the menu of some of these Japanese. So apparently those that argue now in hindsight that the blockade would have been more humane way to get Japan to surrender believe that starving a larger number of people to death is preferable to killing a lesser number by other means in order to achieve the same objective.
And then there is the claim that Truman and all the higher up civilians and military in the US were in on a conspiracy to use the atomic bombs to make a point to Stalin knowing that Japan was about to surrender. Never mind that there is no more evidence to back this claim than there is for the claim that FDR knew the attack on Pearl Harbor was coming and that ignores the fact that Truman, against the objections of Churchill, had already given into Stalin at Potsdam there by allowing the USSR a virtually a free hand in most of eastern Europe.
And of course there are those that claim that had Truman negotiated a peace instead of standing by FDR’s policy decision that Japan’s surrender must be unconditional, the use of the Atomic bombs would never had been necessary. This of course ignores the fact that such a negotiated peace would leave in power the military leadership of Japan that had perverted the Bushido code, subverted civilian democratic leadership, and brought about it’s aggressive quest for an empire in the first place! Only through total defeat allowing an unconditional occupation where by the allies had a free hand to change Japans governmental structure and what elements of their society that was deemed necessary to change could the alterations be made to ensure the prevention of a military resurgence of an Imperial Japan.
The simple fact is that Truman faced a terrible decision. Either invade Japan knowing that even many of the civilians would fight to the death or kill themselves there by possibly destroying a whole culture and resulting in almost incomprehensible casualties for both sides or try to end the war with the atomic bombs.
Excellent historical review, rah. Some of the details I had not previously read, but much of it rings familiar and true based on various accounts that I read earlier in my life.
Thank you. However I posted the earlier version of this essay and further research revealed a mistake that I need to correct here. I stated that Napalm was the primary incendiary used in the B-29 raids and that is incorrect even though I have seen that stated as fact in various sources, including even in the history channels programs.
The primary incendiary used was called “Goop”. It was a byproduct of the manufacture of magnesium at a Henry Kaiser plant. The process that Kaiser was using to produce that vital metal produced a lot of dust that was an explosive hazard. So they used an asphalt based product to capture that dust. Someone figured out it could be and excellent incendiary material and it was tested on the mock Japanese town at Dugway Proving grounds with great effect. So it was “Goop” packed in cheese cloth sleeves that was the best weapon for burning Japanese cities. The stuff was viscous and impossible to put out with water.
Ahhh. Goop!
Very informative, enlightening, and interesting. Thank you for sharing. I must disagree with your comment regarding FDR not knowing about the Pearl Harbor attack. He knew, he definitely knew. A pdf download of “Pearl Harbor: The Story of the Secret War”, by George Morgenstern, is available here (remove the two asterisks from in front of the url to get to it):
**https://mises.org/library/pearl-harbor-story-secret-war
There is now too much information out there that provides proof of that.
Thank you rah. Even my (retired) Flight Surgeon for SAC (1960s) was impressed. Reliving his past history with your vividly described (new to him) events.
Love the way you write – always look for your posts
thanks again
Much thanks for this informative post. Very glad I read it.
Merry Christmas!
???
Why hasn’t Harris conceded her seat?
She knows we know they tried to steal the show.
NOPE. NOT HAPPENING. ???
. . . but deliver us from the Evil One.
Prayer of Saint Ioannikios the Great (+ 846)
My hope is the Father, my refuge the Son, my protection the Holy Spirit. O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_prayer.aspx
For the ladies. Just because.
For the guys.
This wonderful article about the work Louise Tracy did on behalf of deaf children is inspiring (the comments are interesting, too!). She was Spencer Tracy’s wife. Enjoy:
https://reelrundown.com/celebrities/The-Remarkable-Story-of-Spencer-Tracys-Wife
For everybody. I love how the video shows the camaraderie between Paul and John. Wish they were still with us.
With the countless videos and recordings, the Beatles will be with us for a very very long time….
Thanks for that, Bari. You’re right, of course. Gave me a smile to see that video and wanted to share it with those who remember them as they were.
Just say’n… 😉
In case you missed the memo…
I am a licensed “B” General contractor in Ca.
Every year I am audited …For potentially hiring illegals. Major fine there without a court apperances. They suspend your license and steal your bank accounts. They call it a levy…Hmmmm who broke the dam and why foesnt Gavin fix it
Every year I recieve a love letter from From our Govenour; stating that if I refuse to hire possible illegals I will be fined and penalized. I am not allowed to ask them to prove their standing.
Yet if I do hire a criminal ..I could lose my lifes work
Just say’n… 😉
In case you missed the memo…
Not to mention all elected and appointed State officials….
Just say’n… 😉
This memo requires and deserves
some seriously deep thought…
#GITMOCanHoldThemALL
Just say’n… 😉
Santa having a Tom Cruise moment…
Just say’n… 😉
Truer words were never spoken…
Just say’n… 😉
That time of Year…
I love these.
While the leftist-globalist try to scare people into WuFlu submission, major players India and Vietnam are drawing up plans to push back against Winnie the Xi in the sea. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/india-vietnam-leaders-discuss-south-china-sea-stronger-defence-ties
Pakistan just doing it for construction purposes, right? ChiComs enslaving the chumps for cheapness.https://www.dw.com/en/gwadar-why-is-pakistan-fencing-chinas-belt-and-road-port/a-56026436
Thy Will Be Done, Lord.
.
Just say’n… 😉
In case you missed the memo…
https://twitter.com/WW_NEWS_/status/1341502220978839552
Today is December 22nd on the civil calendar, but is December 9th on the traditional Calendar of the Orthodox Christian Church.
This is the Feast of the Conception of Saint Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin Mary.
The Prologue from Ohrid by Saint Nikolai has a good but short rendering of the Feast.
This article with accompanying Icons is about the Nativity of the Theotokos with reference to the Conception.
http://www.brookwoodblogger.blogspot.com/2018/09/explanation-of-nativity-of-theitokos.html
Wrong link. Sorry.
http://www.brookwoodblogger.blogspot.com/2018/09/explanation-of-nativity-of-theotokos.html
Just say’n… 😉
Merry Christmas
from congress… 😉
Bon Appetite…
Just say’n… 😉
#GITMOCanHoldThemALL
Don’t let the door hit her where the good Lord split her.
Just say’n… 😉
Run this through your mind;
and pick out the goodies…
https://twitter.com/is_issie/status/1341470479467614209
lilbirdee12’s prayer:
Our Heavenly Father, Your children come to you tonight to ask for healing and peace throughout our country so that we may return to being One Nation Under God. Guide us to be leaders in Your Kingdom, spreading Your Love and Salvation to all. Forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.
Lord, we ask for a blanket of protection over all our troops and law enforcement who serve to defend and protect us. Bless our representatives with the strength and wisdom they need to achieve the path You have chosen for us.
Please place Your Guardian Angels of Protection around Donald Trump and Mike Pence and their families as they seek to lead America back to You. Also, we pray for Angels to protect and support our Sundance as he works for justice and peace.
Grant us patience, Lord, as the evil ones try to anger us and cause us to fall.
Spread blessings over Israel and Netanyahu.
We humbly ask that You please comfort those who are grieving and in pain.
Thank you Father, for Your Love and the gift of Life.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
Bin…. 🙁
Thank you. for Bin diving. 🙂
Amen
Amen.
Amen. And Lord please watch over and protect General Flynn and his family, and all patriots and freedom loving people around the world.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Trump said take this bill and shove it:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-kicks-covid-bill-back-congress-demands-2000-stimulus-shreds-congress-over-mountain
Trump Kicks COVID Bill Back To Congress; Demands $2,000 Stimulus, Shreds Lawmakers Over Mountain Of Pork
Just say’n… 😉
Let there be no doubt…
#GITMOCanHoldThemALL
https://twitter.com/Austin_Zone/status/1341541602733518849
One of the best, if not THE best statements I’ve ever seen him give. ZING! Right between the eyes.
COVID!?
Should call it Porkulis.
Christmas video…
Terminally ill boy Dies in Santa’s Arms FULLhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbgy_xsYT0
Sorry, Meet John Doe is a mistake..have no idea how it got here…
5 year old sings Jolene…loves Dolly Parton..this is so sweet..on Ellen show..just a warning in case that triggers you…but she talks very little..
I just watched it again and you must watch this..it is so adorable, funny, cute…makes me smile.
ok one more; little girl thinks stranger is Santa ( could be in Walmart)
Just say’n… 😉
For those who have been wondering…
https://twitter.com/Austin_Zone/status/1341567638363889664
.
When does the plug get pulled on these companies who are helping the communist in this country ?
https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-12-22-pepsico-ibm-mars-food-dow-chemical-infiltrated-by-ccp-china-communist.html#
testing for 2nite