It had to be a site to see. If you were on the right route and looked up the show would take two hours to pass overhead. It was 200 miles long and consisted of thousands of planes and gliders, mostly two to a plane. And in those war machines there were 15,000 brave paratroopers who would soon be dropped in a most daring daytime drop over Wesel Germany, marked with a B in above map. The destination was the woods at Diersfordt (marked A above)  about 5 miles to the north and west of Wesel and just east of the mighty Rhine River.

The joint Canadian, British and American operation was known as "Operation Varsity" and was to aid the land troops who had already pushed the Germans back into their own country were the enemy unwisely felt they'd be better protected. The Allies proved them wrong. The operation called for the paratroopers to secure the landing areas for the gliders with all their much needed supplies to hopefully bring the war to an end soon.  But the drop was met with a fierce resistance form enemy machine guns and sniper fire resulting in heavy Allied casualties very quickly.

And under one of those shutes was Toronto born Frederick George Topham. He  got his primary education in the west end at a community known as Etobicoke and then went to the Runnymede High School, just a few blocks from my old highschool of the 1960's.

Fred then found work as a hardrock miner with the Wright Hargreaves mine about 400 miles north at a place called Kirkland Lake.

In August of 1942 he left this dangerous job to take on another that had him jumping out of planes. He joined the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and became a medical orderly and would see service in Canada and the US and then in Britain and Europe.

 He might have been one of the soldiers that is in this picture, taken on 24 March 1945 when the thousands of troops jumped into Germany.  It appears that the men were drifting off to the left, perhaps eastbound, if you are looking southbound in the picture showing the Rhine River with their landing target off still further to the left. The operation was the largest one day and single location drop in history. An interesting  American short clip of the operation can be seen at...   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m_earvE5_0

Many of the paratroopers were shot up pretty bad during the drop and  Corporal Frederick Topham (pictured on left)  was quickly put to work working on the wounded. While so doing he witnessed two orderlies from another unit doing the same and within minutes both were killed by enemy fire. He went across the open fields under murderous fire and managed to get the wounded man and as he knelt where the two others were killed, he too was shot..in the face. But  despite the incredible pain, he continued to treat the wounded man and still had the strength to get him up on the orderly's  shoulders and carry him to the woods and cover. En-route he was still being shot at but finally made  it to safety. For the next several hours he continued treating others before allowing anyone to treat his face wounds. 

Still later that day he was en-route back to his lines when he came across  a Bren gun carrier that had received a direct hit by German shells and was on fire. An officer standing by thought the men inside were killed and ordered others to stay away from it because, not only was it on fire, he felt it was about to explode due to the ammunition contained inside. But Corporal Topham disregarded his own safety and rushed to the carrier and managed to haul 3 wounded troopers out of the carrier and back to friendly lines. Two of the three survived the battle. This all being done again under heavy fire and with the  very real possibility of the carrier blowing up with the Corporal inside during his rescue attempts.  

Just over 4 months later the Canadian Gazette would announce that  Upham had been awarded the Victoria Cross. The following day the London Gazette carried a similar announcement.

This is the Victoria Cross awarded  to Cpl Topham. Note the date inscribed on the reverse, at the right, being the actual date of the battle. Also see his name and unit inscribed on the support bar, as enlarged an above. This is found on the reverse of that bar.

Just a few days after his awarding of the Victoria Cross, the city of Toronto hosted a parade for Topham and in attendance was a guard of Honour, 100 men strong... all members of his unit, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.  Three months later he would lay the cornerstone for the very well known Sunnybrook  Memorial Hospital at Toronto.

Frederick worked for a short period for the Toronto Police, and then moved on to a position with the Toronto Hydro, a job he held until killed in an electrical accident in 1974, while he was only 56 years of age. His widow would later lend his complete medal group to the War Museum at Ottawa but would later become concerned that these were not being put on display. Space issues, insurance, adequate security and other matters often complicate the display of these very valuable  keepsakes of Canadian history in museums across the country.

On her death, the estate requirement was for the medals to be retrieved from the museum and sold. Soon a foundation was started by the Queens Own Rifles of Toronto and the Canadian Parachute Battalion  Association and others to secure funding to make the purchase. Funds came in from all across Canada and the medals were purchased and presented back to the War Museum on the condition that they must be either on display... or on loan to a bonafide museum somewhere else in Canada on the condition that they also had to have them ON DISPLAY.

So here they are on display!

There are several markers and plaques around Toronto that help to keep the story of this hero alive. There is even a small community in the city named after him and a street so named, just one street away from that for another VC man, Colonel Cecil Merritt, a distant relative of mine.

In the same parachute drop in Germany were obviously thousands of Americans. Two of them were later awarded with the Medal of Honor.

Cpl Frederick George Topham died on 31 May 1974. 39 years ago today.

Bart

Sorry folks but other duties are keeping me away from my computer today. I'll be back tomorrow and will also do a special catch-up blog on Saturday.

cheers

Bart

History has yet to reveal what James McIntosh did as a youth in Montreal but I bet he played with trains and ships like most boys do. They'd sure play a role in his adult life.

He was born in 1829, but history so far has revealed no clues of life till July of 1861 when James was 32 years old, though claiming to be only 28. He had enlisted with the US Navy at New Bedford Massachusetts and stated at the time that he worked in the lumber industry. James was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman and enlisted for a 2 year stint. ( If a raw recruit, he should have been enlisted as a landsman, not a seaman, and thus may have had even earlier naval service.) A short stationing on the USS Ohio would end when James' adventure was about to really begin. He'd be assigned to the USS Cumberland and within 8 months was almost killed in one of the most famous battles in Civil War, and indeed US and world history.

Past blogs have told readers about the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac. And in those it was explained that the Merrimac, ought to have been spelt Merrimack, as that was the name of the ship that was raised after being sunk and rebuilt, but some still call it by its old name. Further complication comes from the fact that it was renamed and called the  CSS Virginia before the battle mentioned here.  She is pictured above to the left.

On the day before the famous battle... the Virginia took on the all wooden hulled USS Cumberland who would shoot cannon shot at the Virginia that would just bounce off for a few reasons. There was not enough power to the load on the shells, and they were bounced off the angled sides of the Southern vessel. Which happened to be an iron clad... meaning it was made from iron, from the water line up.  Actually the medal was from a railway line ripped up just to build this vessel.

If that was not enough to sway things in its favour it had a giant ram sticking out of the front of the vessel that was under the water line and most difficult to see.

On the day before the famous battle with a third vessel...the Monitor,  the Virginia rammed the Cumberland and it sank within 15 minutes with most of the crew going down with it. The hole left in the side of the Union vessel was said to be big enough to drive a horse and carriage though. A few managed to escape, and 2 of these were Canadians who went on to earn Medals of Honor, James being one of these.  (At least one Canadian also served on the Virginia at the time.)

James would serve on several more ships in his career and would rise in rank to be the Captain of the Top on one and Captain of the Afterguard on another. He would fight in many actions during the Civil War but it would be for his actions against Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay Alabama that his bravery would be recognized later, and a Medal of Honor awarded to him.

While this image is not very clear, Admiral Farragut's Squadron of almost 20 warships had been sent in to take out Fort Morgan, at the tip of the Mobile Point, at the entrance to Mobile Bay.

They traveled westerly to the end of this point and then northbound through very dangerous waters off the point and right in front of Fort Morgan.

The admiral had the smaller vessels lashed to larger ones in the hopes that each could protect the other and if need be one could reverse its direction while the other still went forward and thus being able to swing around in quick order.

The USS Richmond, on which James McIntosh and many other Canadians was serving, can be seen here in the line up of 14 ships at bottom of page and heading north. The Richmond is on the right and lashed to the USS Port Royal of the left. Both are 5th from the bottom of the page.

As these vessels passed Fort Morgan under heavy cannon fire, the first in the line... the USS Brooklyn and the USS Octorara lashed on its left had to slow down. This was caused by the Union's USS Tecumseh coming in on her left and veering off to her left when she discovered the Confederate vessel CSS Tennessee, one of the most powerful vessels afloat in those days, off to its left. But by being distracted it ran into the torpedoe (underground mine) field and instantly was sunk. Thus the USS Brooklyn had to back off to re-assess the situation. In so doing it slowed down all the rest of the vessels still coming up to its rear. And the next in line was the flag ship with Admiral Farragut who was in no mood for delays that would result in his ships being exposed for longer periods under the heavy guns of the enemy. 

The smoke of cannon fire was so thick that Farragut climbed up one of the masts and had lashed himself to it. He needed to rise above the smoke to see what was going on. It was at this point that he hollered out to one of the lead vessels asking what was going on and learned about the torpedoes, It was also at this point that history records his alleged statement...Damb the torpedoes... full speed ahead..

By the end of the battle the Confederates CSS Tecumseh would surrender and the Fort taken.

Later the President would authorize 28 medals for the USS Richmond for this battle alone, and another five for the vessel in other actions. The ship would therefore earn more medals in the Civil War than any other vessel in the war.

Unfortunately I have yet to discover exactly what McIntosh did to earn his medal. His citation simply reads...  performed his duties with skill and courage.

You can better imagine the massive size of McIntosh's  USS Richmond when studying this picture from 1863. There are 4 or 5 sailors standing on the deck to the right and a rescue boat is tied up along side her. He would sail on this vessel for another month and then a total of four more vessels before leaving the service just about a year later.

After the war James McIntosh lived in the St Louis Missouri area for about a year and then took up work with the North Missouri Railway. By 1882 he was still with the railway business, now as a labourer and living in Rat Portage, in the southwest corner of Ontario and about 150 miles east of Winnipeg. He was then working with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. By 1893 he had left the job due to poor health but still lived there. By 1898 he was applying for a pension based on a invalid status and received  one at $10 per month. A few years later he was back in the US and then living in a State Soldiers Home at Kearny New Jersey... where he passed away, still a single man end never having married, in 1908.

James McIntosh lies at rest in the Soldiers Circle section of the Arlington Memorial Park at Kearny New Jersey (not to be confused with the National Cemetery at Arlington  Va.)  This circle is ever expanding and veterans can be added to it for years to come.

While most difficult to read, the marker on the left has the name Jas McIntosh across the top, and as you can see, the new Medal of Honor marker now rests at the old marker's feet to show the passer bye that the deceased is a MOH recipient.

But there is a strange story attached to this marker. One day it wasn't there and a few months later it was. A researcher from the Kearny area told me a few days ago that he was out for his usual walks and had wandered past  this old marker for years without noticing it. Then one day he was doing some research into MOH recipients for the state and learned that McIntosh was a recipient and buried somewhere on this site. He then went looking for it and with the help of several groups narrowed it down to this location. He then made enquiries and he says he thought that officialdom would take over and place it. The next time he wandered past... there it was.

I asked the folks at the cemetery for some information about when it was done and if there were any ceremonies conducted at the time. The cemetery could not say. They added that the markers has to be approved by  another off site agency and gave me contact info. Following up on this, I learned that they too were puzzled and was assured they would look into it.

Continuing on my own research I then found the answer. It seems the new marker was moved there during the times of the researcher's walks through the area. And that came about as a result in another fellow doing almost the same research, discovering that McIntosh was at the cemetery and even seeing pictures of the old and new markers on the net and heading off to see both. But he was startled to note that at the grave where the new marker was located... there was another James McIntosh. This fellow was not even born till after the Civil War came to an end. Paperwork had somehow got messed up. And dates have yet to be determined re the installation at the wrong grave location.  But by July of 2007 the new MOH marker was moved to its correct position at the foot of the James McIntosh grave.  

The right one!

But the question remains... was there every a ceremony.

Time will tell. And in time something else may happen that will bring the story of James McIntosh back into the news of the day.

Hopefully!

For many many years the communities of Kearny and Jersey City have been separated by the Hackensake River. A bridge spanning the river along Route 7 (aka the Belleville Turnpike)  and known as the Otto Wittpenn Bridge has been in place since the early 1900's. It is the namesake of a several term Jersey City Mayor of the time.  The bridge is a lift bridge that rises some 35 feet to allow vessels to pass under, but with each event there are traffic problems caused by delays. In 2011 a plan was put in place that would see a major construction job with the building of a newer bridge about 200 ft. north of the current bridge. This one will rise about 70 ft. and thus drastically reduced the current traffic problems when it is lifted. It is a 5 year job.

A move is afoot to name the bridge after a war hero from both sides and on the Kearney side the town is apparently contemplating the name of none other than James McIntosh. It is not yet a done deal and as I hear more I will bring you the story.

Wouldn't that be most uplifting,  pardon the pun!

By the way, James McIntosh earned his medal for bravery on the 28th of May 1864... and that was 149 years ago yesterday.

Bart












stone was movedsort of.

Over the years we hear of stories of incredible successes coming to men or women who have all the odds against them. Folks who had every reason to quit and not forge ahead to make a life for themselves. Folks who no one could really expect to get ahead in life.

Well, I think Frank might have been one of these kids. He came from a place called St Jean, about 20 miles south east of the St Lawrence River and the city of Montreal. He would claim a birth in 1841, yet his death certificate would claim 1838. Many years later he'd state that he never knew his father, didn't know his mother's maiden name and in fact did not even know his real name. Losing his mother at age  5, the next half of his life would be spent with an Aunt. By age ten he ran away from home and ended up in the United States.

Where he went,  and what he did for years are unknown but by the age of 18 or twenty he was apparently in the paper making business or in mining and claimed residence in  Northampton  Massachusetts. From here he would enlist under the name of Frank E Boise, on 21 June 1861 in C Company of the  Massachusetts Infantry. But it is not thought that he went into any battles with them. By  mid Feb. of 1862 he probably got bored with little action in his life of a soldier and so he  became an Able Seaman with the US Navy's Mississippi Flotilla. Within days he was transferred to the USS Cincinnati and would get more action than he would ever have expected. But with this transfer his name suddenly became Frank Bois.

Much later in life Frank would claim that as a youth he could not speak English, and his French was not all that good either. His friends just kept calling him Frenchie and that soon morfed into Frank and so he just kept using this name in everything he did.  Much like the story of Louis Chaput who for years served under the name Copart because  officials could not understand what he was trying to say, again in broken English. (You hopefully already read about him in an earlier blog in this space) Since Frank never returned to Canada, nor had contacts with any distant relatives, he  would never get any confirmation on his real name.

On 27 May 1863 General Sherman's troops were trying to advance on the city of Vicksburg Virginia. The Union had been driven back twice and now Sherman's men were being held up by the very large and powerful  artillery guns along the waterfront. Sherman asked the Admiral in charge of the flotilla operating in the are if it could lend a hand by knocking out some of these canons. But this was no small feet. There were 37 of them stretched across about a 3 mile strip of waterfront in several different batteries, some high up on bluffs.

But the Admiral turned to Naval Lt Bache, a direct descendent to none other than Ben Franklin, and asked him to take the USS Cincinnati  and take out the two big  7 " Brooke Rifled pieces towards the North of town. But to get to them the ship would have to pass many of the 37 other guns,

And the Confederates were smart boys. They had managed to capture some of the signal codes, and learned of a planned early morning attack. So the Southerners simply lowered their guns to make them disappear from view on the waterside. They also placed lots of brush in front to further conceal their points. And the Cincinnati sailed right into the trap. It came in the form of murderous shelling  and even though the vessel had earlier placed bails of cotton along the edge of the warship and even some logs to protect the men, the shells just drove right through them. Even the guns on the ship from the other side were moved over to the land side for extra firepower, but when the vessel was well within range, up popped the guns from the bluffs. The Union vessel then were helpless as they could not raise their own guns to the right elevation to deal with the new enemy facing them.  Within minutes a 128 pound shell came ripping through all the extra protection and dropped down into the magazine area and then went out through the bottom of the vessel. Then came another and another and another and bodies were soon strewn all across the decks.

The captain had no option but to plow through the horrendous fire and make it past the bluffs and then ground the vessel to allow the men to escape before she sank. They found a spot and tied up but it gave way and since the steering was by then badly damaged, she just drifted into about 18ft of water as a sitting duck and eventually sunk. Several men on board could not swim, and about 4 or five that could helped them ashore and came back several times to help others escape death.  Finally they made makeshift repairs on one of the damaged rescue boats onboard and allowed the remaining wounded and their captain... who could not swim either... to escape.

Meanwhile our man Frank was doing his best to keep up sending off signals as he was a trained signaller, and also the ship's Quartermaster. He would be one of the last to vacate the ship and before he left he grabbed the unit colours and nailed them to what was left of a stump, all of the masts long since being blown away, In doing so he allowed the colours to fly until, the very last minute before his vessel went under.  Many men were killed wounded and went missing in that horrible day.

This is possibly the Brooke Rifle at Vicksburg that fired the 7" wide shell that weighed 128 pounds, several of which sunk the USS Cincinnati, which is pictured above.

On 10 July 1863 Naval General Order # 17 was issued that announced that 26 Medals of Honor had been awarded for various battles.  Six went sailors of the USS Cincinnati for this event, including the man with no name... Frank Bois.

Frank would later serve briefly on the USS  Lexington and then his term would be up and he left the navy  at Cairo Illinois in September 1863.

On 29 August 2009 one of these medals was donated to the Medal of Honor Museum onboard USS Yorktown. The donors of record were the FBI. But the real donor I guess was the scoundrel that either attempted to sell or buy the medal, which of course is illegal in the USA.  Next time you are there ask to see the Thomas Jenkins Medal.

Another one of the recipients from this event was a sailor named Martin McHugh who was buried in an unmarked grave in Illinois for 117 years till a fellow researcher and member of the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the US, of which I am the only Canadian member, discovered the hero's whereabouts. He then took the necessary steps to have a proper marker placed indicating that the fellow as an American sailor and MOH recipient.

Frank never married and it is unknown what he did but he was living in Washington State since about 1870 until his death in 1920, with a brief interlude when he was reporting in mining ventures in Alaska possibly in 1897. By 1907 he was applying to enter the States Old Soldiers Home in Seattle or Orting and was drawing a pension of $10 at the time as a reward for his receiving the Medal of Honor. In November of 1916 he was issued a certificate by the Navy Department that, as a result of the 1916 purge, ruled that his medal was indeed a valid one, and that his name had been confirmed as entered on the  Army and Navy MOH Roll and the following year showed that he was still receiving his $10 pension, but  was then also getting another $37 each month for his Civil War service and invalid status as a result of that service. 

Frank was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, mentioned in yesterday's blog, and upon his death in 1920 he was given a military service at the GAR cemetery in Seattle. In May of 2001 a Seattle area researcher by the name of Lee and others made the necessary arrangements for a new MOH marker to be placed at his final resting place and no doubt conducted an honourable service for the 50 or so that gathered to pay their respects.

AFTER his death it was discovered that upon his christening many a year ago he was given the name of Louis Jerome Bois. He was known to use the surnames Boyce, Boise and Bois, and never the given names of Louis or  Jerome.

Louis Jerome Bois is the only Medal of Honor recipient buried at the GAR cemetery, be he under the wrong name,  and surrounding him are dozens of other Canadians, many who also served in the Civil War.

His Medal of Honor deed took place exactly 150 years ago yesterday.

Bart

Today is National Memorial Day and celebrated throughout most of the United States. At the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, perhaps the most famous Cemetery in the United States, the 3rd US Infantry carry out many of the most dignified tasks or remembrance throughout the year including of course the 24 hour guard over the Tomb of several Unknown Soldiers.

Every Memorial Day some 1,200 of their serving men and women perform their  "Flags In" ceremony just before Memorial Day so that the 5,000 or more that annually visit on that day can see that the unit, the military and the country remember their fallen men and women from wars gone by. You can see above the soldiers  march off to their "Flag In"  duties at Arlington yesterday. They drive the pole into the ground that holds the national flag, and the regiment  did this at over 250,000 grave markers. That was about 117 times per soldier.

Similar ceremonies are conducted at numerous cemeteries across the United states. The remains of fallen Canadians lie in thousands of these graves. About 2 dozen are at Arlington, half having been awarded the Medal of Honor.

We Canadians owe are friends in the United States, and the one million Americans that now live in our country, a very big vote of thanks for not only recognizing their own on this special day, but for also remembering the Canadians as well. Pick up the phone, like I did already today, to thank an American you know who lives in Canada for the efforts their brothers and sisters are performing on this special day of remembrance.

Many years ago Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday of May each year. By doing this the change created yet another long weekend to spend with family, to go on mini-trips, to work and play around the house. But in so doing all of these things the long weekend has eroded the real meaning of the day, one not for fun, but for reflection on the price paid by those who wore the uniform and died for their natural or adopted country. 

Memorial Day was not always known by that day, and in fact its purpose was slightly different. It was originally called Decoration Day and was a day set aside to not only remember... but to go and visit the grave of a Civil War veteran in whatever area of the country you lived in, be they from the North... or the South. And the day was apparently selected because flowers should have been out in bloom all over the country at that time of year. Your job in the earlier  days was to go and pick some and DECORATE the grave with them in remembrance of the soldier laying there at rest.

The day was first conceived on May 8 1868. That was 145 years ago this month. On that date the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, (noted several times in these blogs)
General John A Logan issued his famous order directing every member of his fraternal organization in every state of the country to take action.

Here is his order...

1. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the
purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades  who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will  in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as  circumstances may permit.  We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose,  among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal  feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united  to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than by  cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a  barricade between our country and its foe? Their soldier lives were the reveille  of freedom to a race in chains, and their death a tattoo of rebellious tyranny  in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the  consecrated wealth and taste of the Nation can add to their adornment and  security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no  wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the  coming and going of reverent visitors and found mourners. Let no vandalism of  avarice of neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming  generations that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of free and undivided  republic.


If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the  solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us.


Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and  garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime;  let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have  left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation's gratitude, -- the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.


II. It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this  observance with the hope it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor  of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly  desires the public press to call attention to this Order, and lend its friendly  aid in bringing it to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time  for simultaneous compliance therewith.


III . Department commanders will use every effort to make this order  effective.


By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,
Commander-in-Chief

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization that started out as a place of friendly faces for the veterans of the Civil War but later turned into a major driving force in the political world and that of advocacy for any matters touching on veterans affairs. At least five US presidents served in the organization that had "divisions" in ever sate of the country and "posts" throughout those states. In 1890 it boasted a strength of about a 1/2 million and was a powerhouse that needed to give you its rubber stamp if you wanted to run for President of one of the parties for years. General Logan, who's son was a MOH recipient...posthumously, was the top man for years and during his term he issued his famous General Order noted above. His picture is  here beside the image on the GAR membership badge. Note the incredible likeness to the actual CW Medal of Honor, a matter that caused much grief in the late 1890's and early 1900's.

GAR posts existed outside of the US as well and there were even posts in Canada at Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Hamilton and Winnipeg and at many of the posts both in Canada and the US it was a Canadian who was instrumental in the post's formation. Many other Canadians served in many official capacities in many of these posts as well.  There was even one woman... a Canadian from New Brunswick who served as a soldier and spy, and she became the GAR's only woman member. She of course was well recorded in history as Frank Thompson, but her real name being Sarah Edmonds. 

GAR was closed on the death of its last member, in 1956 He was thought to be 110, but was just a child. He was  only 106.  hehe  That fraternity has now been taken over by another most worthy group known as the Sons of the Veterans of the Civil War, and this group is most active in many parts of the US carrying on in the traditions of its forefathers.

Make your call today folks and thank an American for their continuing to honour country men and women. We ought to be taking lessons from them on doing much more for this group of men and women in our own country.

Bart

During the Spanish American War of 1898 the USS Cushing was dispatched to Havana as a backup war ship. It was a small vessel designed to fire and test torpedoes and also train torpedo crews. It would be the first US Navy steel hulled vessel and the only one with self Propelled Howell torpedoes. The ship was 138 feet long and only had a crew of 22.

While the Cushing did capture 4 small craft on this mission and even a 20 ton schooner with the aid of another US vessel, it real job was torpedoes. If you look carefully at the base of the mast you can see three men on the Cushing, above, with a long cylinder looking device. This could be one of the Howell torpedoes.

These devices were quite sophisticated for their day. Electricity was not even if most households at the time. Yet this device was state of the art, and designed to be self propelled at speeds up to 25 knots for through the water for up to 400 yards carrying 100 pounds of explosives. It was driven by a 132 lb flywheel that was spun up to 10,000 rmp then ejected, either above or below the waterline. It would not leave a wake so the enemy could not see where it came from.

They were brass encased and 11 feet long, and if it hit you, you would probably have a bad day. There were only 50 of these devices made before a second company started making an improved model. Only 2 are known to exists today. One just found a few months back by Ted. For some reason I can't find his last name.

This Howell Torpedo is the first of two that are known to exists today and is in a Wa state museum.

The second one was found of the California coast just a few months back, was in two pieces with the warhead being non functional. When it was found a marker was weighted down  beside it for later retrieval by navy experts.

It was raised and cleaned up and may well end up in the same display as the one to the left.

Ted had not signed any documents releasing this to the navy nor apparently sought any sort of a reward... other than a couple of good fish dinners probably. He found it by using dome bionic reader capabilities that could be examined to tell the shape and size and even how far away the object was.

Ted is of course a male bottleneck Dolphin. And he and his mates, perhaps like the one to the right, have a very interesting internal system that allows them to locate objects along the ocean floor.

The navy first places fakes that imitate know shapes and sizes of items on the floor... or maybe even  under the floor and not only train the mammals to go and find them. but to then return to the ship and touch the front of the bow with their noses to indicate something is found. If nothing is found, they touch the back of the boat.  They are also trained as above noted to then mark the device so that less talents beings (humans) can go and examine or recover them, and thus the find of a few months back.

Now Ted probably had nothing to do with the USS Cushing. But Thorold Ontario born John Everetts did. He signed up for naval service  sometime before the Spanish American War started and had risen to the rank of Gunners Mate 3rd class by February of 1898. As one of the crew while operating in waters off Cuba, he heard the dreaded sound every sailor fears the most... Man Overboard... Man Overboard.  

A gigantic wave swept the surface of the vessel and took an officer overboard. The cries were heard and immediately  two life preservers were thrown out to the man. But they fell short. Another officer hollered out to drop a life boat and  Everetts and another sailor jumped in but the water soon washed the boat over. The officer was not able to be saved, but the two men did managed to save themselves.

Just two months later the President approved the awarding of the Medal of Honor for both men who risked their lives in the attempted rescue.

There is little about John Everetts found so far other than a brief citation that says that he ... "attempted unsuccessfully to rescue  a drowning shipmate who had fallen overboard."

It is believed that the two men involved in this attempt were the only two on the vessel to get Medals of Honor.

John Everetts continued to serve for an unknown time but it is know that upon release he had received further promotions and was a Chief Petty Officer by the end of his service.

John, pictured at left in his very early years in the US Navy,  died in 1956 at the age of 83  and is buried in a cemetery  in New York City. He is in very good company because in that same cemetery lay 18 other Medal of Honor recipients.

The award granted John his medal was  dated 20 May 1898, 115 years ago Monday of this week.

On another matter, hopefully you have read about the recent unveiling of a new marker to Rowland Bourke here in Victoria BC. Rowland was awarded a DSO and then a VC and then a French Legion of Honor medal for saving 42 sailors lives during the famous raids at Ostend harbour in 1918. There were two, one in April and one in May...95 years ago this year.

Well just a few hours ago today a service was held at the newly updated Ostend harbour and an old monument to this battle, the actual bow of the HMS Vindictive was updated and as of today's unveiling, mounted at a new location at the very edge of the harbour where the battle took place. The following three images can be found at    http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=BLDJA_20130524_001  You might want to have a look at them. Queen Paola and King Albert 11 officiated and where joined by many dignitaries including the American and Canadian ambassadors to Belgium.

This announcement may be the first of the day in Canada.

The 40 ton monument was moved to its new location last week and unveiled today at 11 a.m. Belgium time. As you can see, Canada was represented because many Canadians, including Commander Rowland Bourke VC and DSO took part in the battle. At the right are Belgium's Queen Paula and King Albert 11.

Bart

The first wasn't much of a party, but the second certainly had a different atmosphere. In fact it occurred on the same grounds as the first, needed thousands of tents to house everyone for several days, plus 5 on site hospital facilities just in case any of the folks got hurt and 172 field kitchens to feed over 668,000 meals. The lines between all the tents were little make shifts roads and allies that took upwards of 48 miles of roadway if you measured them all up. What a party it must have been!  Even President Woodrow Wilson came out to say hello. A  tent had to be created that was big enough to host him and some 15,000 at the same time. The whole affair took up some  280 acres of land.

But it all started I guess at birth back in a place called Farnham Quebec in 1843. This little township, about 50 miles east of Montreal,   got its start around 1800 when many Loyalists moved north from the United States. It would finally grow to an incorporated town in 1876 but by then Alonzo, the man of our story, would be long gone. He moved out in 1857 with his parents when he was 14 and travelled over 1200 miles south west and landed at a place called Dover Minnesota.

About a year into the Civil War Alonzo decided he should do his part and he signed up as a Private for a three year term with the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He was assigned to  K company and would later transfer to B Company.

I recently noted a web references to Canadians in Minnesota regiments during the war which said that there were over 1,850 doing this. Not surprising when the well known figure of British North Americans (read Canada) in the war was at about 50,000 if not higher.

And one of these was the captain of another company in this same regiment. A Captain that would later be a full Colonel with the unit when it was fighting at Gettysburg and a General, one of at least 7 Canadians holding that rank despite oft quoted lower numbers.

That Canadian was  George Nelson Morgan from St Catharines Ontario. His was a classic Pte to General story , and as important,  his son was a Colonel, and Medal of Honor recipient who's names sake for years was the camp known as Camp Morgan in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (But more on him in another blog)  This picture is of Alonzo at about 19 or 20 years old. 

This 19 year old Private was to get his first chance at ..."seeing the elephant", actual fighting with the enemy, exactly two weeks to the day he first put his uniform on. It would be at the second battle at Bull Run, Va. between the 28th and 30th of August 1862. He would come out of that battle and the horrors of Antietam in Maryland unscathed. So to for both the first and second battles at Fredericksburg  in Dec of 1862  and May of 1863.

But them came Gettysburg!

This three day battle saw the slaughter  between 93,921 Union soldiers  and 71,699 Confederates soldiers. When they decided to end it there were over 46,000 casualties and losses. Of these 8,000 were killed. That's about 2 combatants from the US and all around the world, including Canada, that were killed every minute for 3 days. There would be more than 6 wounded every minute over those same three days. And one of these was Alonzo who celebrated (not) his birthday on July 2 of 1863. It was his 20th when all those men...and not a few women gathered to greet each other... at the end of a barrel.

The First Minnesota Infantry earned their colours when ordered into battle to face an enemy along the line that was five times it's size. They were not expected to come out alive and were sent in as a stalling tactic while they made other moves elsewhere. The battle was a slaughter but the line was held as the unit made its down hill charge with fixed bayonets but were still chopped down at a higher rate apparently than at ANY OTHER TIME in the war. But they held an important part of the line on Cemetery Ridge. The Colonel and three officers and 215 men in the charge were killed.  There were 250 before the charge. That's a kill rate of 82%... all in minutes.

The above is a depiction of battle at Gettysburg, but not the charge that Alonzo was in.

After the war those that were left got many accolades... fellows like Alonzo with a bullet wound to the leg would later hear that even the President knew of their deeds that day. Indeed he did! President Coolidge would say that the men of that charge... ."are entitled to rank as the saviors of their country." 

Then came the battles at Bristoe Station and the Mine Run Campaigns in Va. In February 1864 Alonzo's bravery was finally rewarded with a promotion to Corporal and a break from the battlefield when he was sent back to Minnesota on a recruiting drive.

BY May of 1864 his unit was mustered out, but he reenlisted to finish up his three year commitment with the same unit again but now in another company. In August the unit fought on the 13th to 20th at a place called Deep Bottom Va. It would be here that the unit was driven back after attempting an assault. But while most backed away he stayed because he saw his officer being knocked to the ground by bullets, he crawled out to save the man and brought him back to safety.  Later that month he would be fighting at Reames Station and around this time he was promoted to Sergeant. An acting Sgt's position came to him in March of 1865, the rank confirmed in May and Alonzo finally got to hang up his uniform when his term of enlistment was finally up in June of 1865.

Alonzo moved back to Minnesota after the Civil War, live in several places, married and raised a family of six and in later life would spend 32 years in the insurance and real estate business.

Being very proud of his service and wanting to continue to served the veterans, he was a chartered member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post # 71 at Sleepy Eye Mn, and in fact at the time of his death he was the last living member.

In June of 1895 The president awarded him a Medal of Honor for his bravery in saving his officer's life back in August of 1864 at Deep Bottom Va. He is pictured here wearing the later version of the army model of the Medal.

In 1913, again on his birthday, Alonza attended the 50th anniversary of the battle at Gettysburg. It was on the very lands that the Confederates charged across in Pickett's famous charge so many years earlier.

One can only wonder how many other Canadians were at that same ceremony.

Now don't these veterans look a little happier than in the second picture above.

They are at the 50th anniversary and are standing at the very wall of the Angle and reaching across to join hands in a token of  friendship and healing from the stormier days of the past.

The angle was a piece if zigzagged real estate that was the actual target of Pickett's Charge on the 3rd day of the battle and the men in the picture are at a piece of that wall that outlined that area of the battlefield.

Alonzo PICKLE died at his daughter's home at Sleepy Eye Mn on 24 May 1925. Tomorrow is the 88th year since this Canadian hero passed away.

Bart

It took the Union Army 48 days to capture Vicksburg Mississippi in May-July of 1863. And it would cost about 8,000 Americans their lives. By the time it was all over the Union would claim a victory and would accept the Confederate surrender of  well over 29,000 soldiers.

But it wasn't called the Gibraltar of the Confederacy for nothing. Only Richmond was better defended in the whole Confederacy.  Protected by many forts surrounding over 1/2 of the city, deep trenches and rifle pits all along three sides, the river on the forth and sharpshooters all along the walls as well as many cannons along those same barriers. On 18 May Grant's troops tempted those defences and got burned badly enough to back away. 

There were several battles during this campaign, and one of these would be on the 22nd, when part of the troops from Union General Blair's division were to advance on what was called the Stockade Redan.  Blair's boss... General Grant (future President)  had a dilemma. He could take a second stab at the forts or site back and wait out the Confederates who would run out of ammunition and other supplies and eventually would have to give in. But that could take months. So he instead elected to move quickly with another advance. He ordered Blair onto the redan. 

Plans were drawn up to deal with the obstructions facing them at the redan. There was a road called the Graveyard Road, (after a near bye graveyard) that passed the redan and on into the very city Grant wanted... Vicksburg. But the redan had built a fortification right on the road and protected it with the armaments  at the redan. And all around this was a very high wall made of very hard clay. The only way to conquer this was to blow them down or scale them. The ground being too open for cannon foder, he elected to scale them. But that took a plan for 3 groups of 50 men. The first would be UNARMED and carry long longs, one man per end, over some 500 feet under very heavy fire. These would be thrown across a ditch some 6 feet deep  and ten feet wide that surrounded two sides of the Redan. A natural and very steep bluff was on a third and the edge of the city on the forth.

Once this was accomplished a second crew of UNARMED soldiers 50 strong,  would come right behind with long planks that would straddle all of the logs forming a make-shift bridge. And finally a third crew of 50 would run across the new bridge with ladders that would be placed up against the walls. Once all this was done the troops would race across the bridge, scale the walls and take the fort.  So they thought!

The Stockade Redan is near the upper right of this picture. The hero of today's story was in the 37th Ohio Infantry, and as such, attached to General Ewing's Brigade  which was commanding by  his  superior... General Blair.  The troops of the 37th and several other regiments travelled south east to the redan.

The commanders of several regiments that would play a role were ordered to seek 2 volunteers from each company under their commands. These men could not be married. Nor could they be ordered to participate. This was clearly  a most dangerous mission and there were no secrets that most were not expected to live out the day. The mission, if they would take that one step forward, was nothing sort of a Forlorn Hope, all hope would be lost for most. But that and the nice inducement of a 60 day furlough when it was over was enough for over 300 brave soldiers to step forward. But only 150 could go. The first taking that step would be the ones selected. Those chosen also had to be at least 20 years of age.

Frederick Rock would be one of those men. He was born in Germany in February of 1840 and moved to the US when only 6 years old, probably with an older brother William.  Having lived in the Cleveland area for some time  he moved to Canada to raise cattle before 1860, but returned to the US to sign up with the 37th Ohio in the Fall of 1861 as a Private. His brother William was in the same company and was a Sergeant, but was not known if he was or was not involved in this battle. He certainly was not in the attack against the redan on the 22nd. . 

The above picture shows the redan off to the far left, Graveyard Road traveling past it in both directions and the union troops to the far right prior to their advance. The bottom left is looking at the redan from the position the Union soldiers would have to advance. Notice the first hump beyond which was the 6 foot trench. To the right is  Graveyard Road as you would travel towards the redan.

When the troops were given the go ahead, the first group of 50 were expected to advance without weapons and run as fast as they could carrying logs that had to be more than ten feet long so as to straddle the trenches. As soon as they rounded a corner they came into the open fields and very heavy cannon and small arms fire and also a barrage of shots from sharpshooters. The field was immediately blocked out of view by clouds of smoke from the firing at the Union soldiers. Within minutes many of the brave lads were dead or wounded and screaming in pain on the field. Many of the logs were dropped or shattered into slinters and for those who got to the trenches, few had logs long enough or still intact and worthy of straddling the trenches. But soon the second group were sent out... almost the same fate...and then the third. Within minutes several dozen lay dead on the field and the rest took whatever cover they could get. But those still alive  were in a mess. They couldn't go forward, nor could they retreat. Many just jumped into the  ditch or hide behind  whatever portions of the logs or planks they could find.

Troops that were supposed to advance didn't because of the mess in front of them. Those in the pits soon found that the enemy were lobbing cannon balls at them to boot. But due to the closeness, the enemy cannons could not be dropped down enough to do harm so they hauled out of the protective barriers a cannon but were very quickly picked off by Union sharpshooters. Some of the cannon balls were lobbed probably by hand, over the enemy parapet at the union men in the trenches . But the fuses had timings that were too long. So the union men did the expected. They simply picked them up and threw then back at the enemy. One civil war story has men writing  ... Return to Sender... on a cannon ball.

The union men were forced to lay low under very heavy fire for almost 12 hours and only managed to sneak away in the darkness of night. Of 150 men, only 53 came back to friendly lines. Frederick Rock was most fortunate and was one of the few who made it through the horror.

The union attempt was a absolute failure and  the men had to dig in for a 47 day siege that ultimately resulted in aver 29,000 Confederates surrendering to Grant's men. But not before 8,000 men would have become casualties.

A year later Rock left his regiment and may have come back to Canada to clean up any business arrangements he had. He may have also stayed in Canada for several years but ultimately moved back to the US. In the 1875 era he was living again in Cleveland and working as a night watchman and as a laborer but later moved to Florida.  When he was released in absentia, from the army  in 1865, he was listed as a deserter, and when he applied many years later for a pension was declined due to this.

On 24 May 1863 General Blair wrote his superiors recommended several individuals, and all of those who took part in the attack on the redan for a Medal of Honor. But nothing happened with this until 1894 when a total of 97 medals were issued for actions on that one day back in May of 1863. It was the second largest one day amount of medals awarded in the history of the medal.

Though others who deserted had their medals cancelled and could not get pensions in many, but not all cases, somehow Rock was awarded a medal and it was sent off to him  after it was authorized  on 10 August 1894.

This monument was erected at the Vicksburg National Park in honour of the 37th Ohio, many of whom fought and died there.

Quebec born Frank Blois, whom earlier posts at this site have mentioned, also earned his Medal of Honor at Vicksburg, but it was a few days later and he was a sailor serving on the USS Cincinnati at the time.

Thomas Higgins, yet another Quebecer also earned His Medal of Honor at Vicksburg, and it was on the very same day as Pte Rock but in another area of the battle. 

Both of these Medals were awarded for bravery in battles that happened on today's date.... a date that is exactly 150 years ago today.

Bart

















bis madel

Raymond Orteig was born in France and spent his early youth helping with the family farm and the raising of sheep. By the age of 12 he had gathered up the meagre sum of 13 Francs and immigrated to New York City and moved in with an uncle. Soon he took up work in a local hotel as a bus boy making $2 a week. And in short time was a waiter, and then a matre'D. Soon he would be its manager. Saving money every day for some 20 years, he would buy the building when the former owner decided it was time to move on.  It was then renovated  and renamed  the Lafeyette Hotel. Soon he and a partner would but a 2nd, clean it up and call it the Brevort Hotel.

It would be here that Orteig would host a meeting of dignitaries that were honouring the famed aviator Eddie Rickenbacker in 1919. The group were advancing the cause of aviation and that is when Orteig, the one time bus boy made an offer that would see better flying communications between the US and Europe, or more to the point, from New York to Paris. He offered $25,000 to the first person from any country that flew non stop between the two points, going in either direction.

And "Slim" as he was known in those days, was quite interested in the contest. He'd been born in Detroit but raised in Michigan. By the age of 18 he was studying engineering  at university but soon found out he was more interested in flying machines and after 2 yrs of higher education he left to become a stuntman in barnstorming shows across five states. He'd even walk on the wings in some shows.

Slim would get more serious when he got the call in 1924 to  report for military training and so he elected to join the air reserves. There were over 100 in the class. Eighteen made it with Slim being the first. But then licensed to fly, he found out the air force was not looking for any flyers. So he elected to stay in the air reserves... and by the time he got out he was a Brig. General many a year later. But that was all part time work. He needed a job... and barnstorming was it. After a while he broke away from this and had his own show and even taught others how to fly.

Soon a job came along as a mailman... in a plane... delivering the mail from St Louis to Chicago. It would be whilst so employed that Slim would here about the Orteig offer of a whopping $25,000 prize to make that first flight non stop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris..or in reverse. It was an old contest but the prize was yet to be claimed. So he started to make some plans. He only had $2000 but needed $8,000. Trying all the usual sources, as he was not well known or established, raising funds became a problem. But then he met some folks that believed in his plan. Others, including some very big names like Commander Byrd (whom will appear in this space at a later date) and Sikorsky (helicopters) and Fokker (airplanes)  and others were making their own planes calling for heavy engines and planes with two pilots. But Slim was thinker much smaller... the smallest of planes that could throw out all the non-essentials, and carry 5 or 600 pounds of fuel and only one pilot.

He found willing investors eventually and also a company that was small but aggressive and willing to sit at the table with him to design what he felt he needed.

Such a contest would sure take him a long way from his home town in Little Falls Michigan. To the left is a picture of his home as a youth.

As the plane was being built Slim was getting more and more nervous. Several others had made the attempt, six had been killed, and the contest was not going to last forever.

But then the plane was finally finished. Of course  the weather was bad. Several days would be lost waiting for clouds and storm to sort out and finally the word came down that the weather over the Atlantic was improving... so  Slim packed up his two canteens of water and four sandwiches and set off to make a world record. His own charts and calculations would soon be put to the test. In was very early am on May 20th 1927 when he left New York and he flew over New England and soon could see the shores of Nova Scotia. Then came the shores of Newfoundland and then the water, and more water and more water still. He had several problems in flight, he tried to climb over clouds but at times icing became a problem so he had to drop down and ride them out. But at other times he flew as high as 10,000 ft and still others as low as 10 ft over very rough ocean waves.  For hours he was flying blind in fogs and just guts kept him going in what he assumed was the right direction... but then the clouds opened up and he saw a few boats below so he dipped down, and like any driver, hollered out... which way to Ireland. They of course probably could not hear... or understand and just looked back at him. The came Ireland, then England and finally France.

But then another problem. He had never seen the airport before and had no idea what to look for. He followed his charts and all of a sudden he could see masses of lights outlining a very large field. He flew around it several times before finally identifying large huts that he felt were hangers, so he dipped down and into the field he landed. All the lights were not from the airport. There were from the about 150,000 who drove out to greet him. They actually hauled him out of the plane and carrying him about the field for about 1/2 hour before letting him drop from above their heads to the ground. It had been 33 hours since he last stood on ground. And he still had about 85 gallons of fuel left.

One would think that he wanted to find a tree and look after numerous calls of nature,  but the stories don't mention this.

The following day he was greeted at the embassy and by another guest of honour who had just arrived hours before Slim. His name was Raymond Orteig, He was holidaying in France at the time and just had received a wire from his son in the US that Slim was on his way. Their meet for the first time, in Paris, was on the very anniversary of the proposing on the contest 8 years earlier.

Soon after returning to the United States Slim was awarded the  Woodrow Wilson Medal and a nice gift of $25,000 to go along with it.

Slim soon would be travelling around the world talking about his adventures and of course promoting all things aeronautic en-route. Back in the US he would then tour 49 states in 3 months, travel some 1,290 miles  in parades and giver 147 speeches to millions of Americans.

In March of 1928 President  Woodrow Wilson presented the Medal of Honor to Slim at the  Whitehouse in Washington DC.

This medal, now at the Missouri History Museum at  St Louis, is pictured above as is the President  giving the medal to Slim, who was quit tall and slim as you can see.

Of course by now you have figured out that Slim's actual birth name was Charles Lindbergh and his plane was christened the Spirit of St Louis, both pictured above. And that historic flight took place exactly 86 years ago yesterday and today.

Bart

Over the past several months many people have asked me about the ribbons that suspend the Victoria Cross. These were both red (Crimson) and blue many years ago. It is  often repeated that when the Royal Air Force  was created the British Government took the blue ribbons out of service and went with just the red.

The question being asked of me was... what ribbon should Rowland Bourke, whom you have read about in this space several times, been using. The Royal Air Force was formed in 1918. He got his Victoria Cross in 1918. 

Hancocks advised that the War Office directed that all blue ribbons were to be returned and that only red would be used from then on. But I was given the date the order was published, but not an effective date for action, nor any consequences of non-compliance.

I then wrote to Iain Stewart at the well credentialed web site ...   http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/vcross.htm    a site I always go when I have a question about the Victoria Cross and to a fellow that seems  to be able to get the answers to my many questions over several years of research on the topic. Check out his most detailed site.

He sent me the actual copy of the law, and suggested that it would not be very wise for A VC recipient to disregard the orders of the King of England, and the Prime Minister of the day (Churchill) when the new law was passed.

Before getting this advise I was of the opinion that the change was effective on the creation of the Air Force. Thus  the date being 1 April 1918, when the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy Air Service were amalgamating into the Royal Air Force.  But that's not what the law says!

While referred to clause 12 of the law by Hancocks, I noted they had the section wrong and that it is actually at clause 2 that I should be reading to start answering the questions I had... and here is clause 2...

At no part of this law does it mention blue ribbons. It only talks about red. And the above is very clear. Only red can be used.  ( Note use of the word riband)

But this did not answer the questions regarding effective dates.  At the end of the above law it gives the date it was passed. But the law was not formalized till published and that was a year later. According to Hancocks the War office directed that the effective date shall be the date the law was first passed and by the later had no doubt communicated to all needing that information.  Here are the end paragraphs with dates...

The date the law was passed was 7 March 1919, and that was the date the War Office mandated the use of only red ribbons.

Lt. Rowland Bourke (later Lt Commander and still later Commander) had his Victoria Cross pinned on his chest at Buckingham Palace by none other than HRH King George V, on 11 September 1918. This is the very  man who later changed the law to remove the blue ribbons and have only one colour. (rather than creating a third for the air force) At this earlier date Bourke's VC would have no doubt been issued with a blue ribbon. And blue it ought to have stayed until about 6 months later when the red became the only ribbon.

So, Bourke's VC should have been with a blue ribbon for almost six months,  and then only the red was authorized.

Of the 1,357 Victoria Crosses awarded since 1857, Only four would come to North America with blue ribbons. These were William H Seeley, a US citizen, in 1854, William Hall from NS in 1857, Doctor Campbell M. Douglas of Quebec in 1867, and the last being Lt. Rowland Bourke, born in Britain, but living much of his pre and all of his post war life in Canada and with an award in 1918.

On a different matter, The US Defence Department is quoted in a news story of 16 May wanted to amend the laws with regards to how many actual Medals of Honor you can be awarded. Some time ago the law was changed to say that you can only get one medal. Once you could actually get 2, and arguable one fellow actually got three. But the rules got changed and said one is enough. If similar bravery were later to be awarded you would be entitled to a small symbol on the shape of the letter... "V" for valor. this would be attached to the ribbon supporting the medal.

Well, if the media got the story right, the  new plan of the department will hopefully allow  a recipient to now actually get two medals instead on just the one with a V attached. The news clip then goes on to say that if the member's bravery is so high that he or she is entitled to another medal... then award it to them... don't be so cheap. But then it quickly adds that it is OK to be cheap enough to leave the currently monthly allowance at $1,000 per month, and that that ought not to be doubled.

Lucky they put that in to the equation.

Folks, the US  economy would no doubt be seriously hampered financially if yet another hero would get a 2nd Medal of Honor AND a second bonus.  I mean in happens almost daily. OOOOPs I think I got that wrong.

The last time a second MOH was awarded was for bravery recognized from actions on 3 October 1918. Almost 100 years ago.

This is no doubt a very pressing problem for the Defence Department. Sure hope they have lots of time to spend on it.

DAAAAAAAAAAA!

Bart