John H. Russell, Jr., 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 2: Service All Over

Next, Russell had duty at Guam and several navy yards back in the United States.  Then Hawaii and the Panama Canal Zone.  From 1908 to 1910, he was at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Then, from 1910 to 1913, he was at the American  Legation in Peking, China.  During this time there were disturbances in China as the country moved from an empire to a republic.  Upon returning to the U.., her was assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence until 1917 with the exception of eight months commanding a Marine group at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914.

From 1917 to 1918 he had several commands in Latin America.  During this time he made repeated requests to transfer to France for service in the war.  He finally got his wish, but delays in relieving him caused him to be able to do so until the Armistice was signed.

--Cooter

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 1: Panama Canal and Golden Gate Bridge

From the History.com site by Christopher Klein.

These remarkable feats of design and construction transformed the ways that people travel, communicate and live.

For thousands of years, mankind has engineered some remarkable structures such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.  More recently, engineers have undertaken massive  transportation and communications projects  that have pushed the boundaries of human ingenuity.

I am just listing them and giving one or two facts about each.  The site has pictures and a lot more.

Here is a list of ten of them:

1.  PANAMA CANAL

52 miles long and opened in 1914

2.  GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

1,7 miles long (was the longest suspension bridge for  27 years)  Opened in 1937.  It's been wiped out in more than a few disaster movies so don't drive on it when they are shooting a movie about San Francisco.

--Cooter

USS Oregon (BB-3)-- Part 4: Service in the Pacific, the Boxer Rebellion, WW I, Pres. Wilson and the Washington Naval Treaty

 After the war, the Oregon had an overhaul and was assigned to the U.S. Asiatic Squadron and participated in the Philippine-American War (Philippines Insurrection).  It also sailed to Japan and reinforced the Eight-Nation Allied Force in China's Boxer Rebellion.  

In 1901, she returned to the U.S. for a refit before returning to her Asiatic Station before being decommissioned in 1906.  During the next several years, the Oregon was modernized and then recommissioned in 1911 and patrolled off the west coast of the United States.

During World War I, the ship saw no action but did  escort troop ships carrying soldiers bound for the Russian Civil War. Afterwards, she was decommissioned for a short time in 1919 before recommissioned for a short time the same year and hosted President Woodrow Wilson during a review of the Pacific Fleet in Seattle, Washington.

In 1920, she was assigned the hull number BB-3 and beginning a year later, a group of naval enthusiasts started a campaign to turn her into a naval museum to be based somewhere in her namesake state.  The Washington Naval Treaty in 1922 required the Oregon to be demilitarized which she was.

By 1924 she had become listed on the Naval register as an "Unclassified Relic."

In 1925, the Navy loaned the Oregon to that state and she was moored in Portland and restored as a museum vessel.

But, That Was Not Her End.  --Cooter

And, the Coronavirus Cometh to McHenry County in 2020-- Part 5: It's the Weather Channel Thing All Over Again

I myself was wondering whether or not we'd get hit with one of those pandemics of the past, but figured our medicine would be able to handle it now that we are in the 21st century.  I was wrong.  Perhaps, too much concentration on diabetes, cancer and the like.  But, as bad as those diseases are, something that hits and kills in the numbers of a virus is really scary.

Back to the article:

"So here we are, working from home and isolated -- for our own good-- from family and friends.  But rather than grouse about our lot, I'd save your recriminations for government officials who failed to stockpile adequate medical supplies and hospital beds for a time health experts long predicted could strike at a moment's notice."

Personally, I was operating under the Weather Channel Fix.  Anytime there is anything out on the oceans even remotely looking like a storm, they go overboard with dire warnings of possible catastrophe.  We've had Ebola and other possible pandemics pop up then go away along with dire warnings from health experts.  So, I just figured it was more of the same.

I heard about this new one in China, but was absolutely not concerned.

Reckon I Should Have Been.  --Cooter

Warning Signs On the Road to Pearl Harbor-- Part 1: World War I

From the December 7, 2016, USA Today.

1905:  Japan defeats Russia in the Russo-Japanese War and becomes a world power.

1910:  Japan annexes Korea and begins eyeing China and other Asian nations as sources of oil, coal, iron and other materials.

1914:  Japan joins Russia, Britain and France against Germany in World War I.  It expands its influence by taking German territories in the Pacific.

1917:

April 6:  U.S. enters World War I.

November 2:  U.S. signs pact with Japan to ease tense relations.

--Cooter

Looking Back to 1916: Visiting His Mother

From March 30, 2016, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1916, 100 Years Ago.

"Roy McAllister, formerly of Kirkland, is visiting his mother, Mrs. A.L. Palmer, in Belvidere, after a service of five years in the United States navy, the last four of which was spent in China and adjacent waters."

I have to wonder if he was called back into service when the United States entered World War I?

--Cooter

10 of the Strangest Moments in the History of War-- Part 2: Tootsie Rolls Delivered as Ammunition

5.  A bathroom break causes a war.  The Marco Polo Bridge Incident July 7-9, 1937, in Beijing, China, vs. Japan.

4.  Tootsie Rolls delivered as ammunition at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Korean War, Nov.-Dec. 1950.

3.  A blind king charges into battle on August 26, 1346.

2.  A soldier becomes a veteran of three armies.  Was in the Japanese, Soviet Union and German armies during WWII.

1.  British sink their own flagship, the HMS Victoria.  1893 collision with HMS Camperdown.

--CooterRolls

Who Was Tiananmen's "Tank Man"?

From the June 5, 2014, Chicago Tribune "'Tank man' identity remains a mystery" by Julie Makinen.

Foreign reporters have tried to identify this man, made famous for standing in front of a line of tanks holding just a shopping bag to prevent them from moving.  Along with pictures of the crowds and the "Goddess of Democracy" these photos are ingrained in peoples' minds.

Shortly after noon on June 5, 1989, the day after troops stormed through Beijing to crush the student-led uprising that had paralyzed the Chinese capital for weeks, the lone man stopped that column of tanks on the Avenue of Eternal Peace.

The lead tank halted and then tried moving right and left, but each time the man adjusted his position to remain in the tank's path.  Finally, he shifted the bags to one hand, hopped onto the tank and appeared to talk with its commander.

No one knows for sure what the man's identity is or even whether he is still alive.

Time Magazine has named him one of the century's top 20 revolutionaries.  But, it is unclear whether the "Tank Man" is even aware of the impact he made as the image remains barred and censors are very careful to suppress it.

That Was One Striking Photo.

25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre

From the June 5, 2014, Chicago Tribune "Tainanmen anniversary: 2 different scenes" by Barbara Demick and Julie Makinen.

At the scene of the student takeover and massacre on June 5, 1989, it was very quiet on the 25th anniversary.  Two large video screens flashed Communist Party slogans and there were plenty troops and police in the area.

Very few foreign tourists were there as well.  State-run media did not mention it and even the number "25" was blocked on social networking sites.

The scene was far different in Hong Kong where more than 180,000 people converged on Victoria Park for a candlelight vigil.  A wreath was laid beside  a replica of the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square and the "Goddess of Democracy Statue" that was seen so often during the stand-off.

It took me a long time to figure out how to spell Tananmen as we followed it in my classes at Magee middle School in Round Lake, Illinois.

Besides the opening of the Berlin Wall, I consider this a major victory for freedom and democracy over Communist dictatorships.

Well, Was It Kahn or Khan?-- Part 1

From the Feb. 23rd Chicago Tribune "A Genghis we hardly knew" by Steve Johnson.

I always have doubts when it comes to spelling this man's last name, unless I'm looking at it like in this article.  And then, there is always the question of which Khan or Kahn came first, Kublai or Genghis?

I don't know a real lot about each except they were from Mongolia, one invaded China and established an empire, one attacked Japan, and John Wayne makes a sad-looking Mongol.

This article in the Trib shed some light.  A new exhibit opened in Chicago's Field Museum and it shows how "the 13th-century Mongol emperor terrified opponents and won battles; the specialized arrows, some of them whistling, some flaming; the compact horse saddles and stand-up stirrups that allowed for full-range arrow firing; the cunning military strategy, including the 'feigned retreat,' that was really a double-back and reattack."

"That's the Genghis you thought you knew: warrior, plunderer, marauder, enduring symbol of empire by force."

But this exhibit also shows that not only was he a brilliant strategist and fan of new technology, but also an innovator and prudent ruler.  He based his army on merit and loyalty, not bloodlines, conscripted rather than enslaved defeated soldiers, allowed those he defeated to continue with their religions.

Though illiterate himself, he made sure that his feats were written down.

Quite the Guy.  --Cooter

Ten Great Chinese Inventions

From the April 18, 2009, List Universe.

1. Row planting
2. Compass
3. Seed drill
4. Iron plows
5. Deep drilling

6. Ship's rudder
7. Harness for horses
8. Porcelain
9. Toilet paper (using paper instead of water)
10. Printing (movable type)

Thanks China. Now Get Rid of Your Drywall. --Cooter