Tag Archives: vietnam

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: H-A-W-K, Homing All-the Way Killer

Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

Raytheon began developing what would become the MIM (Mobile Interceptor Missile)-23 HAWK (Homing All-the Way Killer) in the early 1950s.  Northrop developed the launcher system.  The U.S. Army (USA) began using it in 1959, the U.S. Marine Crops (USMC) in 1960.

First-gen HAWK being launched by U.S. Marines from Chu Lai, Viet Nam, 1965.

Between 1971 and 1978, HAWK missiles got improved radar systems, so that they could engage low-altitude aircraft.  But that was just the beginning, there were many other HAWK improvement projects that continued up until 1996.

U.S. Army (USA) M727 self-propelled HAWK surface-to-air missile system, somewhere in NATO-West Germany. USA photo, 1973.

According to the USA (U.S. Army), “The cost per missile is $250,000; per fire unit, $15 million; and per battery, $30 million.”

A HAWK missile launcher, on Cherry Point, North Carolina. USMC photo by Sergeant Rozalyn Dorsey, 20JUN1979.

A HAWK transporter-loader, on Cherry Point, North Carolina. USMC photo by Sergeant Rozalyn Dorsey, 20JUN1979.

A HAWK High-Power Illuminating Radar (HPIR) unit, on Cherry Point, North Carolina. USMC photo by Sergeant Rozalyn Dorsey, 20JUN1979.

Inside a HAWK Battery Control Central (BCC) unit, a Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS). USA photo by Staff Sergeant William B. Belcher, 04AUG1980.

During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Iran adapted the HAWK missile to be carried by their F-14 Tomcats, this was due to supplies of U.S. made Phoenix missiles being cut-off by the Reagan Administration.  Iran was one of dozens of countries that used HAWK missiles, and after U.S. sanctions, was able to easily reverse engineer it for their own production and calling their version the Mersad.

A HAWK battery control console, on Fort Bliss, Texas. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Robert C. Simons, 10NOV1982.

HAWK BCC units (containing the JTIDS), Onslow Beach, North Carolina. USMC photo by Corporal C. Cope, 22FEB1986.

BCC units also contain the Information Control Center (ICC) and the Platoon Command Post (PCP), all using the same trailered containers making them visually identical.

HAWK BCC units can be loaded onto 5-ton trucks, creating mobile control vans. USMC photo by Corporal C. Cope, 22FEB1986.

Operation Desert Storm, 17JAN1991–28FEB1991. 

According to the information released with this photo, these U.S. HAWKs are based in Al Salman, Iraq, shortly after the end of Desert Storm. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Dean Wagner, 03MAR1991.

In 1994, the USA decided to replace their HAWKS with Patriot missiles, due to the success of the Patriots during Desert Storm.  In 2002, the USMC decided to replace their HAWKS with the FIM-92 Stinger.

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) soldiers prep their Hawk for launch over the McGregor Range Complex, New Mexico, 17NOV2012. USA photo by Specialist Adam Garlington.

JGSDF HAWK PAR. USA photo by Specialist Adam Garlington, 17NOV2012.

JGSDF HAWK launch. USA photo by Specialist Adam Garlington, 17NOV2012.

Ukraine Crisis, February 2014 (NATO backed coup) to present.

USA video report, 15OCT2015, South Korean HAWK launches during wargame:

NATO Romania launches HAWK missiles towards the Black Sea, 19JUL2017. USA photo by Private First Class Nicholas Vidro.

USA video by Sergeant Mark Brejcha, NATO-Romania HAWK launch, 19JUL2017:

On 20OCT2018, Japanese army personnel launched ‘Improved’ HAWK missiles from Fort Bliss, Texas. USA-Reserve photo by Sergeant Christopher A. Hernandez.

AN/MPQ-50 Pulse Acquisition Radar (PAR) for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s (JGSDF) ‘Improved’ HAWK. USA-Reserve photo by Sergeant Christopher A. Hernandez, 20OCT2018.

NATO-Spain HAWK HIPR unit during war game held in NATO-Norway, 02NOV2018. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Menelik Collins.

Loading NATO-Spain HAWKs during war game held in NATO-Norway, 02NOV2018. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Menelik Collins.

The Iranians call their reversed engineered HAWK PAR system the Kavosh.

In 2019, photos published by the Iranian news media revealed that Iran was still using the AN/MPQ-50 Pulse Acquisition Radar originally designed for the HAWK, but this time Iran is using it for their own homemade anti-aircraft missile known as the Sayyad-2.

2021: South Korea retires last MIM-23 HAWK

On 04NOV2022, the NATO United States Department of Defense (DoD) announced the latest taxpayer funded giveaway for Ukraine, which includes rebuilt & upgraded Cold War era U.S. HAWK anti-aircraft missiles (to go with the four HAWK launchers being sent by NATO Spain).

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: M1117, GUARDIAN OF SECURITY OR A FRANKENSTEIN?  Originating with Viet Nam era V100, now being given away to Ukraine!

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: M1117, Guardian of Security or a Frankenstein?

Even though the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV), also known as the Guardian, was developed in the late 1990s, it is actually an evolutionary step in the development of the Cold War era V100/V150/V200 Cadillac Gage Commando armored car.

U.S. Army V100 Commando during Tet Offensive in Viet Nam, 31JAN1967.

The V100 series was first developed in the early 1960s, and saw use in the occupation of Viet Nam.  It was also sold, and even given away, to many small countries which could not afford to buy full-blown battle tanks.  Several state and city level law enforcement agencies, in the United States (U.S.), use the V150.

Vietnam War era V-100/M706 armored car, displayed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Eventually, the U.S. military designated it as M706.  Six wheeled versions are known as LAV (Light Armored Vehicle)-300 and LAV-600.

Production of the M1117 began in 1999.  The occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in the U.S. military realizing that its even older HMMWV vehicles were vulnerable to land-mines, and thus production of the M1117 was increased.  In the early years, the U.S. military referred to the M1117 as the ASV.

Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army Photo by Specialist Jeremy D. Crisp, 04APR2005.

The U.S. Army (USA) M1117 is armed with a M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun, and a Mark 19 40mm grenade machine gun (referred to as a grenade launcher).  It is used mainly by Military Police. The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) version adds a M240 light machine gun (based on the European  FN MAG) on top of the turret.

USA-Reserve video of M1117s conducting gunnery in Iraq, 25OCT2005:

M1117 bore sight target board, Balad, Iraq, October 2006. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Karonda Fleming.

Tikrit, Iraq. U.S. Army photo, 02NOV2006.

Poor quality video report, by Staff Sergeant John Anderson, showing maintenance on the M1117 in Afghanistan, in September 2006.  It would not be until 2018 that the USA would develop a specific maintenance training course for what would be unofficially called The Frankenstein:

Taji, Iraq, 17MAY2008. USA photo by Sergeant Andrea Merritt.

USA video report about the use of the M1117 as a convoy security vehicle in Iraq, 05FEB2009.  Notice in the report they say that ASV stands for Armored Scout Vehicle:

Brand new M1117 Armored Security Vehicles arrive on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, 04APR2011. USA photo by Specialist Kimberly Hackbarth.

M1117 drives into a hole on the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. USA photo by Michael Beaton, 04OCT2012.

There are many other versions, such as recovery vehicles, ambulances, personnel carriers, and artillery gun carriers and artillery FiST-V.

M1200 Armored Knight FiST-V. Georgia Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Tracy J. Smith, 24JUL2014.

Washington DC National Guard M1117 Armored Security Vehicle. DC National Guard photo by Jesse Searls, 21JAN2014.

U.S. Army video by Martin Greeson, from May 2014, U.S. soldiers learn how to unstick an M1117 stuck in a ditch in NATO Germany:

Alabama Army National Guard video, by Sergeant Brenda Smith, showing M1117 gunnery on Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida, April 2015:

Michigan Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Helen Miller, 23JUN2017.

Pulling the motor from a M1117, 14MAR2018. USA-Reserve photo by Master Sergeant Michel Sauret.

By 2018, the U.S. Army finally create a maintenance training course specifically for the M1117.  That is because technicians began to refer to the M1117 as ‘Frankenstein’, because most of its internal components were made by many different companies, which complicated things: “The ASV is a melting pot of parts. Attention to detail with the ASV is needed due to its Frankenstein appearance.”-Herbert Green, M1117 maintenance instructor with the 99th Readiness Division

By 2019, the Illinois Army National Guard began displaying their Guardians alongside vehicles in the State Military Museum. Illinois National Guard photo by Lieutenant Colonel Bradford Leighton, 18MAY2019.

In NATO Canada, it is known as the Textron Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV).  In Afghanistan it is known as the Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV).  The taxpayers of the U.S. have not-knowingly paid for more than one thousand M1117s, donated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to various countries like NATO Greece, Kosovo, Colombia, and now Ukraine. 

Michigan Army National Guard photo by Angela Simpson, 04AUG2017.

In 2017, the cost of a new M1117 was put at $809-thousand-5-hundred each!

On 04NOV2022, the U.S. DoD announced that 250 M1117s would be rebuilt for use by the Ukrainian military, in its war against Russia.

May 2022: It has been revealed that the U.S. M113 Armored Personnel Carriers for Ukraine are coming from the Army National Guard inventories of at least five states!

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: USAF SENDS 27 BLOCK-25 FALCONS TO THE BONEYARD!

ANTONOV 2 BIPLANE, THE MOST PRACTICAL AIRCRAFT EVER?

M-T-L-B, USED BY U.S., NATO, UKRAINE AND STILL USED BY RUSSIA!

Cold War & Beyond: Remembering the Starlifter

Lockheed’s fast transport C-141 was designed according to Cold War requirements in 1960, and first flew in 1963.  It was the world’s first turbofan powered military transport aircraft: “The C-141 has a noble record of achievement in its support of the U.S. military. Participating in every military operation from Vietnam to Iraqi Freedom, StarLifter crews have also performed humanitarian relief flights to nearly 70 countries on six continents. Most recently, the StarLifter served those affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The aircraft has served NASA, conducted Antarctic resupply flights for nearly three decades and has been a key asset for flight research serving science for two decades.”-Ross Reynolds, Lockheed Martin vice president of Air Mobility

California based C-141A ‘Golden Bear’ on Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB), Alaska, shortly after April 1965 when the Starlifter became  operational.  This photo was probably made during Golden Bear’s promotional flight around the Pacific Rim, which was in May 1965.  The Golden Bear was based on Travis AFB, California, and after 1977 it was upgraded to the stretched ‘B’ version.  Golden Bear made its last flight in March 1996, after which it was abandoned on the flight-line.  Since 2005, and after restoration, Golden Bear has been serving on ‘Gate Guard duty’ on Travis AFB. (more below)

U.S. Air Force photo, July 1966.

USAF photo from July 1966, Military Air Transport Service (MATS) C-141A (short) on Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Viet Nam.

Quick silent film, by somebody with last name of Anderson, of iconic comedian Bob Hope arriving in Korea, via a C-141A, for one of his famous USO Christmas shows, 27DEC1970:

C-141As loaded with former prisoners of war (PoW), leaving Viet Nam for the United States, March 1973.

Silent U.S. Army film, by somebody with the last name of Fraser, showing soldiers with The Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) boarding C-141As outbound for wargame ReForGer (Return of Forces to Germany) in West Germany, October 1973 (with some film of USAF cargo ops tacked on at the end, obviously filmed during warmer months):

Silent U.S. Navy film, by Todd Thompson, showing the arrival of a C-141A on U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Philippines, to pick-up refugees from Viet Nam and fly them to the United States, 29APR1975:

It was quickly realized that the C-141A had enough power to transport far more than what could be crammed into its slim cargo hold.  It was decided to stretch the fuselage by 23 feet, creating the YC-141B.

Comparison of C-141A to YC-141B.  The ‘B’ version also got inflight refueling apparatus.

Photo via author’s collection.

From the Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) Photo Shop, YC-141B aerial refueling test over the Mojave Desert, California, Spring 1977.

Photo via author’s collection.

Production C-141Bs were actually stretched C-141As.  According to historians at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, stretching 270 C-141As to C-141B standard was cheaper than buying 90 new build C-141Bs!

Photo via author’s collection.

The stretching of 270 C-141As took place from 1977 to 1982, first deliveries began in 1979.

Photo via author’s collection.

In this photo you can see the unpainted fuselage ‘plug’ used to extend the C-141As into C-141Bs, as well as the aerial refueling sections.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Robert C. Marshall, July 1980.

C-141A still in use, Norton AFB, California, July 1980.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Bob Fehringer, 31OCT1980.

Fans of the movie The Thing, yes there is a McMurdo Station, and C-141As went there, in 1980, as part of Operation Deep Freeze.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Rose Reynolds.

Sometime in the early to mid 1980s, a C-141B leaves Travis AFB, California.

Unknown photographer, 26OCT1983.

During the U.S. invasion of Grenada (aka Operation Urgent Fury) in October 1983, C-141s not only brought in ground troops, but took out U.S. citizens who were taking college courses on the island.

Photo by Robert C. Keffer, 25OCT1983.

Also in October 1983, the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, was blown-up by a suicide bomber driving a truck full of explosives.  C-141s also acted as flying hospitals, flying wounded Marines back to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany.

NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration) modified a C-141A into an airborne space observation vehicle in 1975.  It was known as KAO (Kuiper Airborne Observatory) and ceased operations in 1995.  

Whatever happened to the N(for NASA)C-141A #12777 ‘The Gambler’, a test aircraft for experimental ECM equipment destined for the B-1B and B-2 bombers?  (click here and find out the ugly truth)

In 1986, climate problems caused a hay shortage for farmers in the Southeastern U.S.  C-141s were used to transport 170 tons of hay from the Mid-Western states, in just one day of Operation Haylift.  This video shows President Ronald Reagan kicking-off the first day of Op Haylift, 24JUL1986:

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Theodore J. Koniares, May/June 1987.

Oops, a C-141B ran off the runway on Marine Corp Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, sometime in Summer(?) 1987.

February 1991, Operation Desert Storm.  U.S. military personnel pass by a Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-141B (C-5 Galaxy in the background) somewhere (“undisclosed location”) on the Arabian Peninsula.  According to McChord Air Museum, Washington, during Operations Desert Shield-Desert Storm USAF C-141s were landing every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 7 months in Saudi Arabia.

Video from March Field Air Museum, C-141B airdrop over California:

January 1993, photo via Sergeant Corey Idleburg.

Operation Restore Hope; President George H.W. Bush (center, wearing Marine Corps cap) in front of C-141 Starlifter in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Operation Restore Hope gave birth to the phrase Black Hawk Down (also inspiring the Ridley Scott movie of the same name).

Photo by Marcus Castro, 24MAY1993.

In May 1993, a USAF F-16 crash landed and then plowed into a parked C-141B, on Pope AFB, North Carolina.  C-141 Lifetime Mishap Summary has data and photos of dozens of accidents, crashes and ‘mishaps’ involving C-141s.  

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Theodore J. Koniares, 22JUN1994.

Two M113 Personnel Carriers are loaded into a C-141B, on Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, for deployment to Uganda for United Nations ‘peacekeeping’ duty, 22JUN1994.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Val Gempis, 03AUG1994.

C-141B delivers humanitarian aid to Rwanda refugees in Zaire, August 1994.

In 1996, NC-141A #12776, based on Edwards AFB, became the ‘Electric Starlifter’ with fly-by-wire controls.  In the 1990s, 63 C-141Bs were upgraded to C-141Cs with the latest in digital equipment.

NASA photo by Tom Tschida, 20DEC1997.

In December 1997 a C-141A was used by NASA to tow a QF-106 to high altitude before release, to test the feasibility of similar launching of future space vehicles.  It was called Project Eclipse.  C-141A #12775 is now at the Air Mobility Command Museum. 

NC-141A #12779 with ‘universal radar nose’, wasting away on the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum’s South Base flightline, in California.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2000.

Upgraded ‘glass cockpit’ of a C-141C, September 2000, during a ‘Project Trans-Am’ mission.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ken Bergmann, 12OCT2001.

A Tennessee Air National Guard C-141 gets loaded with war gear on U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella, in NATO Italy, for the start of the undeclared War on Terror (Operation Enduring Freedom), October 2001.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2005.

Hurricane Rita final hours of an air evacuation from the Southeast Texas Regional Airport, onboard a  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Starlifter.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lance Cheung, 22SEP2005.

The YC-141B recently underwent intensive restoration in Georgia.  Click here to see the effort and results.

Video report by Airman First Class Kahdija Slaughter, January 2015.  Preserving the Starlifter Gate Guard at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina:

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Bryan Hull, 06AUG2016.

Kelsey Schmidt, Miss Washington 2016, rechristens ‘gate guard’ Tacoma Starlifter, (#65-0277) on Heritage Hill, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (click here to see Sandra Marth, Miss Washington 1966, christen Tacoma Starlifter the first time).  Tacoma Starlifter first arrived on Lewis-McChord in August 1966 and took part in 1973’s Operation Homecoming, bringing Prisoners of War (PoW) back home to the U.S. from Viet Nam.   The last C-141 stationed on Lewis-McChord was retired in April 2002.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Zachary Martyn, 07APR2017.

Airman conduct weekly inspections of ‘gate guards’, like The Garden State Starlifter, on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Video report by Staff Sergeant John Ayre, April 2015, 50th anniversary of Golden Bear:

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Liliana Moreno, 30MAR2018.

‘War on Terror’ veteran Brandon Jones and his service dog, Apache, pose in front of Golden Bear on Travis Air Force Base, California.

Video report by Kenneth Wright, October 2018.  History of the C-141 from the viewpoint of the personnel of the 349th Air Mobility Wing (formerly Military Airlift Wing), U.S. Air Force Reserve on Travis AFB, California:

In September 2004 the last of the U.S. Air Force active duty C-141s retired, with Guard and Reserve C-141s operating until May 2006. The Lockheed C141 Starlifter was retired in favor of the upgraded Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.  Starlifters were also replaced with the Boeing C-17 Globmaster-3.

Most C-141s were reportedly scrapped at AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance Regeneration Group) in Arizona.  At least they took some pics of C-141 nose art. 

Kit Bashing: WORLD’S LARGEST C-141B STARLIFTER MODEL?

Vehicle I-D: KAWASAKI C-2

C-130J: ONCE A RED COAT, NOW A BLUE ANGEL

Marines guilty of endemic violence? Ghosts of my father & grandfather!

11 NOV 2017 (04:39 UTC-07 Tango 06) 20 Aban 1396/21 Safar 1439/23 Xin-Hai 4715

Couple of U.S. Marines found guilty of crimes; a Drill Instructor, and a General!

Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix

On 10 NOV 2017, a military jury found a Iraq occupation vet, and Drill Instructor (DI), guilty of punching, kicking and choking U.S. Muslim recruits in his charge, one of those U.S. Muslims killed  himself.  The DI was reduced down in rank to private, lost his pay and will spend ten years in a military prison: “Felix was accused in more than three dozen criminal counts of being a central figure in an abusive group of drill instructors at Parris Island that came to light after the March 2016 suicide of one of the three Muslim-American recruits Felix targeted.”-Associated Press

Does anybody remember the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan pissing contest, back in 2011?

General James Amos.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Clayton Filipowicz, 17OCT2014.

Now-retired USMC General James Amos found guilty of ‘Unlawful Command Influence’ (UCI) regarding the 2011 incident, and as a result the conviction of a Marine sniper involved in the Afghan urinating case has been thrown out.  The court ruled that General Amos used his authority to illegally influence events surrounding the case, and to focus the investigation unfairly on one particular sniper.  Investigations into the UCI by General Amos also included his chief legal adviser, and a Major who resigned from the USMC.

The UCI case against James Amos is considered unprecedented in USMC history.  But USMC violence is not unprecedented, its endemic.

My paternal grandfather is a prime example of a hardcore Marine whose only response to difficult situations, real or imagined, is to fight your way through.

O.G. Hutchins Junior spent 30+ years in the USMC, serving in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.  He also served as a DI and recruiter.  He was so hardcore that after finally being forced to retire he furnished his bedroom in his Jackson, Mississippi, home with wall lockers and foot lockers, a hammock for the bed, and a huge Marine Corps flag covering one wall.

O.G. Hutchins, 30+ years hardcore Marine

O.G. Hutchins Jr, 30+ years hardcore Marine.

I remember one night in a drunken rage he broke a bowl made from walnut shells and began crying about it, saying it was made by one of his buddies in Vietnam.  The next morning he accused me of breaking it, and my father had to intervene to stop him from beating me.

This wasn’t the first time my father stood up to his father.  In the late 1950s, while my grandfather was stationed at Yermo Annex, in California, my father tried to protect his mother from being beaten and got beat himself.  My grandmother could take being beaten by my grandfather, but seeing her son get beat was too much for her. She not only got a divorce but got a California arrest warrant issued for my grandfather.  The Marine Corp protected him from arrest by shipping him outside The Golden State (which was typical back then).

But my father is guilty of being an abuser as well, yes he was a Marine.  My father was a USMC BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner for two years, before transferring to the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s (you could do that then).  Strangely, after the mid-1970s incident where my grandfather wanted to beat me for his breaking of his Vietnam buddies’ bowl, my father started abusing me whenever he got drunk. This lasted until the early 1980s when he tried to do it in front of some of my high-school friends.  He grabbed me by the neck, made a fist with his free hand, and ordered me to call him ‘sir’.  I looked him in the eyes, then looked at my friends, then back at my father and said “No.” and added “Go ahead.”  Realizing there were witnesses he angrily backed off.

For a few years my mother didn’t believe me about my father’s abuse, until one day he did it in front of her.  I believe that’s what finally lead her to divorce him, she began to fear him and claimed during the divorce trial that he threatened to kill her.  She told me afterwards that she stayed in the marriage for as long as she did because she thought he loved his children, until he tried beating me in front of her.  I have a sister and brother, but for some reason I was the only one he was abusing (as far as I know, I don’t communicate with my siblings), apparently I was what used to be called a Whipping Boy.

It was after my parents’ divorce that my paternal grandmother revealed the abuse at the hands of my grandfather.   While my father and grandfather were both Marines there’s a major difference between them; my grandfather was honest about who he was, my father was a coward.  My grandfather openly told people how he felt about them, how he hated ‘blacks’, how he hated Asians more than blacks, how he hated anybody who wasn’t a Marine (when I told him I joined the Army he cursed me, but later on after I got married and joined the Air Force he forgave me because he was happy at the chance of becoming a great grandfather).

O.G. Hutchins and fellow Marines somewhere in the Pacific

O.G. Hutchins and fellow Marines somewhere in the Pacific

My grandfather honestly told me how, during World War Two, they would murder Japanese PoWs (Prisoners of War) and get away with it by claiming the PoWs were trying to escape (its legal to kill PoWs if they’re attempting to escape).  They would unlock the PoW cage at night, and when the first prisoner opened the cage the Marines would open fire, on everybody in the cage.

O.G. Hutchins, tank commander M4 Sherman

O.G. Hutchins, tank commander M4 Sherman.

He also told me how they would kill women and children, and then blame the Japanese.  There are plenty of reports of the U.S. military trying to help civilians on the islands they were capturing, one way was to drop leaflets telling civilians to surrender themselves to the U.S. forces.  My grandfather said many times, at night, civilians would approach their front lines and try to cross the barbed wire only to be shot down in a hail of bullets as everybody in the unit would ‘open up’ with everything they had.   He said in the morning all you’d see were the bodies of old people, women and children hanging the wire.  But he was unphased because he was tired of pulling the bodies of his dead buddies from burned out tanks (he was a tank commander).  The reason why the civilians approached at night was because the Japanese army had orders to shoot any civilian that tried to surrender, so they tried to surrender at night because the Japanese army was terrible at night operations. The Marine Corps reported that the civilians were being used as human shields by the Japanese army to probe U.S. defenses.

My grandfather had similar stories about Korea and Vietnam.  He was brutally honest.  My father was the opposite, a bold faced liar.  He was still a ‘racist’, hated a lot of religions (he was raised Lutheran), would complain about government corruption yet as a civil servant joyously took part in ripping off taxpayers (he would actually brag to me about the latest gadget he acquired from the Air Force, without the Air Force knowing about it, or put in for every taxpayer funded education convention when he was a member of the Hesperia school board).  My ‘black’ hating father could convince ‘blacks’ in church that he was ‘on their side’.  At home my father would yell about corporate executives and politicians ruining the country, but then in public, when confronting them he suddenly became the biggest ass-kisser I ever saw!  I think one reason my father started abusing me was because even as a child I was calling him out on his dishonesty (especially on government corruption and his civil service ‘crimes’, and his lies to black church members).  My grandfather would never do that, instead he would risk getting arrested for assaulting people for being ‘in violation’ of his personal beliefs, he admitted to me that the reason he became a Marine was to get away from what he saw as a ‘corrupt’ civilian world.

While my father and grandfather were polar opposites regarding living an honest life, they were both Marines and both dealt with stressful situations with violence, because that’s how a Marine is made. Or is it?  Is it possible that the United States Marine Corps attracts people who are already violent?  It should be noted that even before O.G. Hutchins joined the Marines in the late 1930s he had a history of violence, even being occasionally shunned by the larger Hutchins clan of Mississippi because of it (that’s according to what my father said).  One reason my grandfather joined the Marines was that he could never find decent paying work, but then it was the Great Depression.  His brothers, Lloyd and Billy,  joined the Army Air Force and served in Europe, apparently they didn’t have an anger management problem.   My father was always a high achiever; an Eagle Scout, high scoring high-school graduate and a ‘letterman’, even getting an Associates Degree from Victor Valley College while working at Edwards AFB in the 1970s.

A couple of years before my grandfather’s death he had been barred from every VFW (Veterans Foreign Wars) post in the Jackson area, for causing fights (again, according to my father). He openly hated anybody who “wasn’t a Marine” or wasn’t ‘white’, at least I can respect him for living his brutal life openly and honestly.

Unit Citations, O.G. Hutchins Junior:  “The officers and enlisted men of the First Marine Division, Reinforced…..1942…..forced landing assaults….on Tulagi, Gavutu, Tanambogo, Florida and Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands….”

“…extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces at Peleliu and Ngesebus…September 15 to 29, 1944.”

“…extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces…Okinawa Shima, Ryukyu Islands…..1945.”

“…for outstanding and heroic performance….  ….September 1950, the First Marine Division…..recaptured Inchon City.”  

“For extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea….October 1950.” 

“For extraordinary heroism….against enemy aggressor forces in the Chosin reservoir and Koto-ri area…..December 1950.”

“For extraordinary heroism….in Korea….April…May…June…September 1951.”

“For extraordinary heroism….against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces in the Republic of Vietnam from 8 March 1965 to 15 September 1967……   Third Marine Division (Reinforced)…”

2015: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT SAYS U.S. GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES!

FEDERAL COURT OKS WAR-CRIMES LAWSUITS AGAINST BUSH ADMINISTRATION!

2013: BUSH, OBAMA & DOJ LIED ABOUT NO TORTURE!

2012:  Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, U.S. generals and even Obama facing investigation and War Crimes trials by International Criminal Courts 

DICK CHENEY AFRAID OF CANADIANS

2011: THE HUNT FOR WAR CRIMINALS BUSH JR & BLAIR, AFRICAN COUNTRIES REFUSE TO ARREST, FEARFUL OF LOSING U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDING

Bush Jr & Blair found Guilty of War Crimes by International Court!

CANADA BEING URGED TO ARREST GEORGE BUSH JR

Pacific Angel, it’s about the oil: Your tax dollars spent on education and healthcare in Vietnam and Philippines!

20 SEP 2017 /21:15 UTC-07 Tango 06 (30 Sharivar 1396/29 Dhu l-Hijja 1438/02 Ji-Yu 4715)

Operation Pacific Angel (PacAngel) is a recurring U.S. Pacific Command operation in which your hard earned tax dollars are spent on building up the education and healthcare infrastructure of countries like British empire member Fiji, Nepal, ‘former’ U.S. territory of Philippines and the old nemesis of the U.S., Vietnam.

It’s under the guise of ‘humanitarian’ aid but is more likely about winning over the countries that border the oil rich South China Sea.  It began under the Bush Jr regime as Oceana Mission, but under the Obama regime was renamed Pacific Angel.

Fiji: 3,872 people received healthcare in Tavua and Savusavu, as well as infrastructure projects for local schools.

Nepal: Provided medical care to 4,041 people, and infrastructure improvements made to five sites.

Philippines: In Northern Cebu Province, 6,657 people received medical care, seven facilities were renovated on top of getting $35-thousand USD in medical equipment and supplies.

Vietnam: Healthcare and infrastructure engineering improvements at several locations in the Tam Ky area.  “The challenge here is wanting to do more.”-Captain Rebecca Englebretson, USAF

Pacific Angel is just one of many U.S. taxpayer funded military ‘humanitarian’ operations taking place every year around the world.  If taxpayers can be forced to pay for education, infrastructure and healthcare for other countries then why is it such a problem to fund healthcare, education and infrastructure right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A.?

2017:  IDAHO MILITIA RETURNS FROM MALAYSIA, IS IT ABOUT THE OIL?

IT’S ABOUT OIL: U.S. COMPANIES TO BEGIN DRILLING IN EGYPT!

NEW OIL WAR: TRUMP DEPLOYS COMBAT TROOPS TO PHILIPPINES? FACEBOOK ASKED TO HELP!

U.S. TAXPAYERS FUND POLICE TRAINING & CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN VIETNAM!

2016: MORE OF YOUR TAXES GOING OUT-OF-COUNTRY, U.S. OFFICE OF FOREIGN DISASTER!

AFGHANISTAN GETS MORE U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDED HELICOPTERS & GUNS!

U.S. AIR FORCE ‘ADMITS’ IT’S ALL ABOUT THE OIL!

TAXPAYERS FORCED TO BRING REFUGEES TO THE U.S.! 

2015: USAID SPENDS ANOTHER $33-MILLION TAX DOLLARS IN AFGHANISTAN! 

U.S. TAXPAYERS SEND IN EXTRA HELICOPTERS FOR AFGHAN AIR FORCE!

2014:  CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD SUPPORTING PUPPET REGIME IN KIEV!

U.S. 99% TAXPAYERS CREATE NEW 1% ELITE IN AFGHANISTAN!

Harvey: Speak Vietnamese? More Coast Guard deployments & rescues!

“Whatever we need to do….”-Chief Warrant Officer Michael Tomasi, Coast Guard Cutter Maria Bray

Dramatic video of helicopter rescue from victim’s point of view:

Wheel chair rescue vid:

Video explainer of the mission of Coast Guard Cutter Maria Bray:

Video of Coast Guard rescue coordination involving Vietnamese translation, the phone call resulted in a safe rescue of all four people aboard a 42-foot sinking vessel near Aransas Pass:

HARVEY: U.S. COAST GUARD DEPLOYS MORE PERSONNEL TO TEXAS!

U.S. taxpayers fund crowd control training, construction projects & vaccines in Viet Nam!

29 May 2017 (15:46 UTC-07 Tango 06) 08 Khordad 1396/03 Ramadan 1438/04 Yi Si(5th) 4715

 “Through Pacific Partnership we foster persistent presence…….throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”-Rear Admira. Charles Williams, Commander, Task Force 73, admitting to the real reason for spending your tax money

U.S. Marines, wearing ‘civilian’ uniforms, instruct police in Nha Trang, Viet Nam, in crowd control techniques, 26MAY2017. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Madailein Abbott.

Official government video explainer of Pacific Partnership 2017, which began in Sri Lanka:

Under the guise of humanitarian assistance, the United States is spending money winning over its arch nemesis Viet Nam as part of operation Pacific Partnership.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for Son Ka Kindergarten, Vietnam, 28MAY2017. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Madailein Abbott.

Video of U.S. funding of construction projects:

Pacific Partnership 2017 is being touted as the “largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific” area.  The claim is that Pacific Partnership is about helping South East Asian countries deal with “medical readiness and preparedness for…..disasters.”

This pic is to remind you that Viet Nam has some great beachfront property. Quang Truong 2-4 Square Beach, 23MAY2017. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Madailein Abbott)

Under Pacific Partnership 2017 taxpayers from not only the United States but from British empire members (officially called Commonwealth of Nations) Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and United Kingdom, as well as supposedly independent 한국/韓國 (Korea, south, occupied by U.S.) and 日本国 (Nippon-koku, Japan, occupied by U.S.) are being forced to build-up the economies of Sri Lank (a British empire member), Malaysia (interesting that Malaysia is supposedly both funding and receiving funding for this project), Indonesia, Timor Leste, Philippines (now under martial law) and Viet Nam.

Don’t forget the vaccines! Khanh Hoa General Hospital, 22MAY2017. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Madailein Abbott.

Video of U.S. medical ops in Viet Nam:

U.S. tax dollars helped fund a U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Band (Far East Edition) concert in Quang Truong, 20MAY2017. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Madailein Abbott.

This is more likely a covert operation under operation Pivot to Asia.  Don’t blame Trump, it was started under orders from Obama for control of oil rich South China Sea!

It’s interesting that so called humanitarian assistance involves U.S. Marines showing Vietnamese cops how to arrest people the ‘American’ way! USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Madailein Abbott, 22MAY2017.

UNITED STATES SURRENDERS WARSHIPS TO VIETNAM?

NATIONAL GUARD SPENDS U.S. TAX DOLLARS BUILDING HOSPITALS IN CENTRAL AMERICA!

TAXPAYERS FUND ARMY BASIC TRAINING REALITY TV SHOW!

MORE OF YOUR TAXES GOING OUT-OF-COUNTRY: U.S. OFFICE OF FOREIGN DISASTER!

U.S. TAXES FUND LANDMINE TRAINING FOR CHILDREN IN UKRAINE?

GOD IS EVIL: ISRAEL RAPES U.S. TAXPAYERS OF $38-BILLION IN MILITARY FUNDING!

NATIONAL GUARD SPENDS U.S. TAX DOLLARS FIXING DILAPIDATED SOVIET KINDERGARTEN IN LATVIA!

CANADIAN COMPANIES KILL U.S. JOBS DESPITE GETTING MILLIONS IN U.S. TAX BREAKS!

TAXPAYERS FORCED TO BRING REFUGEES TO THE U.S.!

U.S. TAXPAYERS FUND PRISON LABOR!

IDAHO TAXPAYERS SPEND $5,555 TO KILL ONE WOLF!

U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDED NIGERIA ADMITS TO SCREWING OVER ITS OWN TAXPAYERS BY $12-MILLION MONTHLY!

CHRISTIAN HOSPITALS STEALING FROM IDAHO TAXPAYERS!

GERMANY ADMITS TO ‘CREATING’ JOBS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BY FORCING TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR THOSE JOBS!

POKEY PAVEGATE FALLOUT: TAXPAYERS ASKED TO CLEAN UP THEIR OWN STREETS, DESPITE PAYING MORE TAXES!

WORLD WAR 3: FORCING TAXPAYERS TO FUND NEW TAKEOVER BID IN UKRAINE

WORLD WAR 3, UKRAINE: CALIFORNIA TAXES SUPPORTING PUPPET REGIME IN KIEV!

United States surrenders warships to Vietnam?

26 May 2017 (15:42 UTC-07 Tango 06) 05 Khordad 1396/29 Sha ‘ban 1438/01 Yi Si(5th) 4715

“Vietnam’s future prosperity depends upon a stable and peaceful maritime environment. The United States and the rest of the international community also benefit from regional stability, which is why we are here today, and it is why we are very pleased to be working together with the Vietnam Coast Guard.”-Ted Osius, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, 22 MAY 2017

Nemesis to the United States, Vietnam, got a new (to them) cutter warship from the U.S. Coast Guard.  Vietnam also received six ‘new build’ boats from the U.S. Department of State!

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau hand over ceremony in Hawaii, 25 MAY 2017.

The nearly 50 years old former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau was transferred to the Vietnamese coast guard, under the name CSB-8020, on 25 MAY 2017 in Hawaii.

U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius in Quang Nam, Vietnam, delivering U.S. taxpayer funded patrol boats.

On 22 MAY 2017, U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius officiated over the presentation of six new 45 feet long Defiant patrol boats (built in Louisiana) to Vietnam in Quang Nam Province.

Vietnamese sailors aboard the Hamilton class cutter, in Hawaii on 25 MAY 2017.

“This cutter [Morgenthau-CSB-8020] provides a concrete and significant symbol of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership. The Coast Guard is honored to see this vessel continue to preserve global peace and prosperity as a part of the Vietnam coast guard.”-Rear Admiral Michael J. Haycock, U.S. Coast Guard

Ostensibly the ‘gift’ of U.S. taxpayer funded military boats to Vietnam is to fight smuggling, illicit trafficking, piracy and illegal fishing.  It’s more likely part of the U.S. Pivot to Asia military policy started under the Obama regime.

COLORADO FIRST AIR MILITIA OVER VIETNAM

USAF B-52 TAKES PART IN AUSTRALIA’S CELEBRATION OF THE VIETNAM OCCUPATION!

WORLD WAR 3: U.S., AUSTRALIA & JAPAN INVADE VIETNAM, AGAIN! PREPS FOR WAR WITH CHINA!

WORLD WAR 3: VIETNAM BANS THE U.S. DOLLAR IN ORDER TO STOP MONEY LAUNDERING!

WORLD WAR 3: JAPAN & VIETNAM PRACTICE WAR ON CHINA, UNDER THE GUISE OF RESCUE OPS!

GOVERNMENT EVIL: U.S. SANCTIONS IRAN OVER NUKE INDUSTRY, YET MAKES DEAL TO SELL NUCLEAR TECH TO VIETNAM!

VIETNAM HELL CONTINUES: NEW ZEALAND PROVES U.S. MADE AGENT ORANGE CAUSES NASTY CANCERS!

VIETNAM BANS VACCINE AFTER CHILDREN DIE!

WORLD WAR 3: RUSSIA TO ESTABLISH NEW NAVAL BASES IN VIETNAM & CUBA!

MYSTERY ILLNESS IN CAMBODIA & VIETNAM SOLVED?

MORE EVIDENCE THAT MONSANTO’S KANUP 480 SL RESPONSIBLE FOR MUTANT WILD DOGS IN VIETNAM!

CORPORATE EVIL: DID MONSANTO CREATE MUTANT WILD DOGS IN VIETNAM?

VIETNAM NOW OWNS PART OF WYOMING

GLOBAL WARMING or ICE AGE? ONCE HOT & HUMID VIETNAM DROPS TO 25 FAHRENHEIT!!!

Colorado first Air Militia over Vietnam

In May 1968, Colorado’s F-100 Super Sabers of the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron was the first Air National Guard unit to deploy to Vietnam ‘as a whole’.

Painting depicting Colorado’s 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Phan Rang Air Base, Vietnam.

COLORADO AIR MILITIA DEPLOYS TO JAPAN AGAINST KOREA!

1/1 scale F-4 Phantom-2 model

24 April 2017 (15:42 UTC-07 Tango 06) 03 Ordibehest 1396/26 Rajab 1438/28 Jia Chen 4715

The USAF 36th Maintenance Squadron and Civil Engineering Squadron worked together to refurbish an old F-4E Phantom static display on the U.S. Island territory of Guam.

Veterans of Foreign Wars members, and Vietnam conflict vet, pose in front of the 1/1 scale F-4E Phantom II display at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

During the Vietnam occupation many U.S. Air Force operations were launched from Guam.  The USAF version of the F-4 Phantom II was first deployed in support of the Vietnam occupation in December 1964.  For some odd reason the squadrons who rebuilt the static display painted the aircraft to represent a USAF bird based in West Germany from 1973-75.

DRONE WARS: QF-4 TO QF-16

UTAH: PHINAL PHANTOM PHLIGHT