Then and Now

February 7, 2018 4:18 pm / 1 Comment on Then and Now

Things you remember.

Fifty years ago I was a Marine Sergeant assigned to MAG-15 and a resident of MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. A bit of history of the unit: Marine Aircraft Group 15 (MAG-15) was a United States Marine Corps aviation group established during World War II. MAG-15, a transport and photo-reconnaissance training group, was commissioned on 1 March 1942, headquartered at Camp Kearny, San Diego. In addition to radio and photographic training, the Group also conducted a navigation school. Additional roles included West Coast aircraft acceptance and transport service for the Marine Corps.

MAG 15 Patch

History:

Marine Aircraft Group 15 was commissioned on 1 March 1942 at Camp Kearny, San Diego, California. For the next two years the group remained there as the transportation, observation and photo reconnaissance training group. They trained pilots and crews to serve in the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT). From its commission in 1942 until 1944, MAG-15 trained and dispatched the following unit for overseas deployment: VMD-154 and VMD-254; VMO-151 and VMO-155; and VMJ-152, VMJ-153, VMJ-353, VMJ-952, and VMJ-953.

MAG-15 shipped out from Camp Kearny to the South Pacific on 2 March 1944. They arrived in Apamama on 1 April and operated from there as part of the Transport Air Group until October 1944. In October they were ordered to establish the Air Transport Group (ATG) in order to provide transportation services to units in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. ATG was redesignated the Troop Carrier Group (TCG) in November 1944. MAG-15 then became part of Task Unit 96.1 which was disbanded shortly thereafter on 25 March 1945 as its responsibilities were assumed by the

Headquarters Squadron 15 was sent to Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Hawaii in April 1945 and was quickly joined by VMR-953 and VMR-352. They stayed there through the end of the war becoming part of the TAG again and controlling the transportation units for the Marines throughout the Pacific.

In January 1947 the group became dual role when they also had fighter squadrons attach and in May 1947 they became all fighter squadrons. In March 1949 they returned to the United States and were based at Marine Corps Air Station Edenton, North Carolina.

MAG-15 moved to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in July 1966 and included VMCJ-1, VMA(AW)-533, VMFA-334 and VMFA-232.

On 31 December 1988, MAG-15 stood down after 46 years of service.

50 Years Ago Today

Viet Nam conflict ribbon

February 7, 1968

Shortly after midnight, the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War took a new turn as the North Vietnamese Army attacked with tanks and other armored vehicles for the first time.[43]The 304th Division of the North Vietnamese Army overran the U.S. Army Special Forces camp at Lang Vei with 11 Soviet PT-76 tanks.[44] In all, 316 defenders of the camp would be killed; all but seven of them were Montagnards fighting for South Vietnam and members of the Royal Laotian Army.[45]

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it” became one of the most famous quotes arising out of the Vietnam War, as a news story by Associated Press war correspondent Peter Arnett was published worldwide about the death and destruction caused by American forces during the retaking of the South Vietnamese coastal city of Ben Tre. At least 1,000 civilians had died and 45 percent of Ben Tre’s buildings were destroyed in the bombardment by American airplanes and shelling by U.S Navy ships, a measure taken as a last resort after 2,500 Viet Cong had taken control of the city. The quote (often restated as “We had to destroy the village in order to save it”) was attributed by Arnett to “a U.S. major”; later in the story, Arnett referred to his interview with U.S. Air Force Major Chester L. Brown, who had directed the bombing.[46] The phrase, however, was actually coined by the reporter; Arnett asked the question, “So you had to destroy the village in order to save it?” and then attributed the words to Major Brown.[47]

There is an in-depth story told on Historynet.com. should you wish to learn more about Khe Sanh. Check it out @: Battle of Khe Sanh: Recounting the Battle’s Casualties

Where in the world is Jeff Berthiaume?

He is in Ho Chi Min City of course, and things have changed drastically in fifty years. Fifty years ago this was Saigon, the capital of South Viet Nam and deeply involved along with the United States and it’s allies in a war with North Viet Nam. Today, so much has changed.

Jeff made the below post today on Facebook.

Took a cooking class in Ho Chi Min Vietnam thru a company called Grain. Our menu was the following; Pumpkin flower stuffed with prawn, Chicken Salad with cabbage and jelly fish. Steamed Sea Bass with Galangal, Turmeric, Lemon grass, and Banana Leaf, Coconut & Cream Caramel.

Chef Jeff, coming soon to “Chopped.”

Credits: http://www.seaforces.org/usmcair/MAG/Marine-Aircraft-Group-15.htm, http://pinterest.com/, Wiki, Google Images, thekitchen.com, Historynet.com & Facebook

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to check on the elderly. elderly couple

Happy Birthday James Joyce

February 2, 2018 5:45 pm / 1 Comment on Happy Birthday James Joyce

Forward:    This morning I received the Balladeer's blog. With his permission It is being forwarded through my blog. If your in need of some interesting reading, check out the Balladeer @ Glitternight.

IT’S JAMES JOYCE’S BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES JOYCE! His works got me hooked in my teens when I really related to his character Stephen Dedalus as he rejected his religion and indulged what I call his “young and pretentious side” in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I wore out my copy of Joyce’s novel Ulysses and continue to mark Bloom’s Day to this very day.

Over the years Finnegans Wake replaced Ulysses as my favorite Joyce novel and I’m fonder than many people are of his play Exiles. Naturally, I’m also into his “epiphanies” in Dubliners and, poetry geek that I am, even Pomes Penyeach and Chamber Music. So, if you live in Ireland, say hello to Anna Livia Plurabelle for me today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNNY JEEEM!

Thanks for stopping by. Don’t forget to check on the elderly, especially if your on the East Coast. It’s going to be bitterly cold tonight.

A Trip Around the World

February 1, 2018 10:36 am / 1 Comment on A Trip Around the World

Many of you are aware that I have a son in-law who works for the Department of State.
Over the years I’ve posted blog segments titled “Where in the World is Jeff Berthiaume?” Yep, Jeff or El Jeffe as I like to call him, is a world traveler. Jeff is now in his tenth year as a world traveler and has been to some neat places, drank a beer or two in foreign lands and like culinary expert Andrew Zimmern, Jeff has tasted many different foods. I yearn for his story of each trip when he travels. I’ve often wished I could have been his traveling journal writer, it could make a great blog. He is good to me though and usually returns with area newspapers. I love the perspective I get on the good old USA from foreign lands.

On January 16 I picked up Jeff and transported him to a local shuttle service for the start of what would be a lengthy around the world trip. The shuttle from Maryland’s Eastern Shore would be the first leg to the following destinations. Should all go well on his venture we may get to hear his stories around Washington’s birthday. He does do some posting on Face Book now and then. You can check him out @ https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=jeff%20berthiaume

Places along the way.

Baltimore, MD – London, England – Muscat, Oman – Karachi, Pakistan – Bangkok, Thailand

Ho Chi Min City — Hanoi, Viet Nam

Singapore – Aukland, NZ – San Francisco – Baltimore

US Embassy, Oman

Image result for Oman

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Jeff, a proud supporter of Mississippi State University, even on the waters of Oman.

If time allows I’ll pick up on this trip once our traveler is in VietNam. Until then I thank you for stopping by.

Don’t forget to check on the elderly.

Credits: Embassy photo (Pinterest,) I contribute to and support Wiki and send you to their sites for people, places and things.

Sharing a Grand and 4 Greats

January 28, 2018 2:20 pm / 2 Comments on Sharing a Grand and 4 Greats

PREAMBLE: As many of you know we have been blessed with three children, nine Grands, and four Greats. The author below, (Sam,) whose day follows, is the first-born of our daughter Kathryn and her husband Jeff. Sam is an Air Force Academy grad, wife, mother, and daily protector of us as a Captain on active duty in the Air Force. She and Husband Zed, also an Academy grad, live in Oklahoma City and are stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. Did I mention Kathryn and Jeff met in the Air Force in Berlin Germany?

Herself, after being away for a day caring for others, will often ask on her arrival home, “what did you do today?” On some occasions I consult my journal, so much busyness causes me to forget all I have done in her absence. Giving our and daughter Kathryn’s dog their potty breaks consumes some of the day. Cleaning up the kitchen, especially after great breakfast of Scrapple, Eggs, and fried Potato and Onions consumes some time. Emails, Blog follows and a dryer full of clothes is taxing on the time schedule. Be it a MAC day, exercise and a class for Stretch, Range of Motion & Flexibility consumes even more time. If time permits I try also to get a bit of a snooze in somewhere between 2:00 & 4:00 PM. I’m feeling the exhaustion.

A man’s work is never done.

So folks, on that note, read on as Sam takes you on a true day in her life.

A True Day in My Life

January 26, 2018 / Leave a comment

Let me give you a quick run down of my day. Let me also say I’m not looking for praise or compassion.

0015 – Comforted a 4 year old with a nightmare

0045 – Last numbers I saw on the clock before falling asleep

0345 – Comforted a 3 year old with a nightmare

0400 – Doctored a sick 30 year old

0430 – Fed a no longer sick 1 year old

0445 – Laid down and reset alarm

0505 – Woke up to reset alarm

0510 – Notified my flight of a mandatory recall (For non-military…We run a phone tree of everyone I’m over telling them to show up at a specific location with specific items)

0515 – Showered/dressed/did my hair

0530 – Dressed/Fed 4 kiddos (All kids were helpful and happy. Chocolate peanut butter sandwiches all around)

0545 – Warmed up the car and checked on sick 30 year old

0555 – Loaded the car

0605 – Left the house

0620 – Dropped the kiddos off at school (only took me 10min…ooo yah)

0630 – Opened up the office/led a mock deployment bag check/gave a motivational speech (at least I hope it was motivational)

0730 – Logged into a Professional Development class

1130 – Logged out of class/did homework for the class (a discussion post and two responses to others posts, it’s kinda like a master’s class, but put on by the Air Force)

1230 – Checked email (had to sign a couple documents)

1300 – Ran to the kids school and checked up on 1 year old

1330 – Went to staff meeting (12 people that make up the leadership team of our unit solving problems and passing along information to the boss)

1500 – Changed for unit fitness

1545 – Unit Fitness (we played ultimate football)

1630 – Ran 2 miles (no, it did not take me 30 mins. to run 2 miles, more like 17)

1700 – Picked up the kids from school

1745 – Bought Happy Meals for the kids

1746 – All kids, without my prompting, say thank you for their Happy Meal (all except Zoe)

1747 – Pulled over to pick up spilled Happy Meal from the floor

1749 – Pulled over to swap the boy and girl Happy Meal toy (Ana is not a boy if anyone was curious)

1805 – Arrived at gymnastics and picked up the second spilled Happy Meal

1820 – Changed Mia into her leotard

1823 – Convinced Ana that her usual gymnastics outfit was dirty (honestly I didn’t have time this morning to look for it)

1830 – Dropped Mia and Ana off for class

1830-1920 – Entertained Dax and Zoe and ran inside to check on Mia and Ana occasionally

1920 – Went inside to pick up the girls

1923 – Doctored a rolled ankle and convinced Mia it wasn’t that bad if she still wanted to run back in and get a stamp

1927 – Doctored a stubbed toe and Ana convinced me that drinking her chocolate milk left over from her Happy Meal would make her foot feel better

1930 – Headed home

1943 – Upon entering I turned left (if you’ve ever driven my children home you know what this means, if you don’t please remind me to tell you before you do)

1950 – Hugs to Zed and bath time

2010 – PJs and kids/daddy snuggle time

2015 – Bedtime for Zoe

2020 – Shower time for this tired Momma

2030 – Put my boys (Zed and Dax) to bed

2035 – Did the big girls hair

2040 – Snuggle time with my big girls

Multiple times today I questioned why I do this. Why did I think it would be a good idea to have everyone show an hour early to work? Why do we keep the girls going in gymnastics? Why do I choose to have a very demanding job? I am exhausted. I am sore. But, I am happy. I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot. I’m sticking to my goals. My kids are learning new skills. I am tired, but I am happily successful. Happily Successful is the answer I always gave when teachers would ask what do you want to be when you grow up successful, famous, or rich.

My why is because I cherish the hugs they give me as I leave them at a school they love, with teachers who fight and request to have the Davies come to their class as they move up in age. As I walk around their school during nap and give them each a kiss on their head I remind their subconscious self that they have a mom who would give up her lunch just to be near them for a few seconds. My life is insane. I’ve said before we live in survival mode. But this crazy life detailed down to the minute has taught me to slow down. It’s taught me the moments I have with my kids should never be taken for granted.

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The participants

We’re called the Davies Crazies. We’re the first asked to handle special events at work. The teachers ask us to request for our kids to go to their class. We laugh. We cry. We yell, though we do our best to reserve it for when one or more of the kids run into the road. But most importantly we love and we work hard. My why is because why not. My kids, my husband, me, and our family are happily successful and I could not ask for anything more.

Thanks for reading, this probably meaningless post and very long post. Hopefully if nothing else it made you laugh, remember your days raising kids, or hopefully did not scare you away from having kids in the future.

-S

*I knew at 0445 today would be interesting so I’ve been writing this post throughout the day. For any of you who were impressed I remembered exact times after a day like I’ve had, sorry to let you down. After 4 kids this mom has serious mom brain.

And I think I have busy days. Thanks for stopping by. And thanks Sam for all the smiles and joy you give us.

PS: Don’t forget to check on the elderly.

Two more days of “BITTER”

January 5, 2018 8:51 pm / 4 Comments on Two more days of “BITTER”

Monday January 8, 2018 is forecast to bring temperatures above freezing, do I hear an “Amen?” Melanie Dickie’s Poem speaks to the present so well.

What a cold January day.  The frost lies on the ground like a blanket.  Not even the determined woodpecker  has come out to tap his unloved song on the house.  All is quiet in this small town.  The blackbirds pick at the unturned dirt  hoping to find some kind of food.  The sun pokes its head through the clouds  and cast a light on the frost-bitten earth.

Melanie Dickie

Roosters photo

As The Rooster Crows

Yearly Archives: 2018