Today in History, as it applies to me.

[Aussie48]

R.I.P. Young Man may God be with you.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

[CINDERS]

No words can express what a tragedy it is except we the many will never ever forget the few.........

[Sentryduty]

On shift to the lighter side, an Afghani cat that used to hang around the 7 Platoon Weatherhavens, he didn't get a name or anything but was friendly enough. I discovered him perched above our doorframe on 3 April '06 and decided to give him a tin of tunafish that had arrived in a care package from Canada. The typical items that were sent by my mother-in-law were a bit, wrong for the era, tins of food like tuna, corned beef, sardines, and SPAM made me wonder if she thought I'd gone off to World War 2.

This cat seemed have no problem in sharing in the spoils of home.

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[Seaspriter]

SPAM made me wonder if she thought I'd gone off to World War 2.

I remember how my father, a WWII vet wouldn't allow SPAM in the house, insisting that it was "Scientifically Processed Animal Matter."

Here's some history: Hormel, the manufacturer of SPAM shipped 100 million pounds of Spam to both American and Allied soldiers. Hormel kept a "Scurrilous File" collecting hate mail from American GIs. As troops started to complain about eating SPAM (or some other canned meat variant) for as many as three meals a day, Hormel faced an unexpected anti-Spam backlash. In his 1945 New Yorker interview, Hormel revealed to Gill that he kept a "Scurrilous File" collecting hate mail from American GIs, in which "he dumps the letters of abuse that are sent to him by soldiers everywhere in the world. 'If they think Spam is terrible,' Mr. Hormel told a reporter, 'they ought to have eaten the bully beef we had in the last war.'" By the end of WWII, thousands of American GIs returning home refused to eat it. But Nikita Khrushchev said it saved the Russian troops from starvation during the war.

[Gil Boyd]

The film KAJAKI encapsulates the whole Afghanistan campaign IMHO.
The futility of it all, the cockups on helicopters, the unavailability of them when you need them most in the evacuation of your men...........a very immotive, harrowing and moving film of a section of 3 PARA holding the highpoint at Kajaki Dam, only to encounter mines laid in the previous campaign by the Russians, like much of todays dangerous hidden hardware.........just waiting for someone to stroll along. A must see film on NETFLIX now, no music just the usual comradeship and banter from the Toms!

[Sentryduty]

I remember how my father, a WWII vet wouldn't allow SPAM in the house, insisting that it was "Scientifically Processed Animal Matter."

A blog site that I follow has a very in-depth history on the topic of SPAM, it is linked here: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/0...pam-3-recipes/

While the care packages were appreciated, the inclusion of SPAM was not as much, I think there was a miscommunication as I do enjoy a particular brand of tinned ham, made by either Maple Leaf or Swift, but that is not SPAM. Although SPAM was not something I would eat, if the Kandahar region has seen an explosion of demand for the product, it must surely be directly attribute to my first introducing it to the local populace. The winning of hearts, minds, and stomachs.

harrowing and moving film of a section of 3 PARA holding the highpoint at Kajaki Dam

My Platoon and I are quite familiar with that AO, I never personally made it as far as Kajaki, we did patrol and fight in that part of Helmand for a large part of my tour. My Platoon worked with 3 PARA during what wikipedia now calls "The Siege of Musa Qulay " specifically under that entry heading of Operation Snakebite. But following the 10 year daily history things are getting a bit ahead of reporting schedule.

[Paul S.]

Although SPAM was not something I would eat, if the Kandahar region has seen an explosion of demand for the product, it must surely be directly attribute to my first introducing it to the local populace.

Dare I point out the irony here?

---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 PM ----------

I remember how my father, a WWII vet wouldn't allow SPAM in the house,

My dad wouldn't eat SPAM or mutton and any kind of tinned beef was a rarity in the extreme saying that was all they got when they were in the islands during the war.

[Sentryduty]

Dare I point out the irony here?

There is nothing of the sort, *wink* *cough* there must be a bit of dust in my eye, and my throat is suddenly itchy... I should find a drink of water.

On the odd side, hunger used to seem to trump certain cultural observations from time to time, some Afghan National Army soldiers, despite being cautioned through the interpreter about the contents developed quite a liking to our Breakfast Sausage and Ham Steak rations.

[Paul S.]

No Worries Mate.

Hunger (or being cold and wet) trumps a lot of life's little 'thou shall not's.

[Sentryduty]

Today at the market we have fine wares available at very affordable prices, provided you know how to walk away after offering only 10% of the original asking price.

Please note the mandated parking area, in the mine field.

And Mr. Ahmad sells bras of all types in the name of Allah.

Some of these items will generate their own discussion but I will call attention to the rugs.

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