BBC: Man survived both atomic bombings March 25, 2009
Posted by knightofrook in Battle, World War II, military, war.Tags: hiroshima, Japan, nagasaki, nuclear war, nuke, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, World War II, Yamaguchi
add a comment
Mr Yamaguchi had the bad luck to be in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki
|
Japan has certified a man aged 93 as the only known survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both hit by atomic bombs towards the end of World War II.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US plane dropped the first atomic bomb.
He suffered serious burns and spent a night there before returning to his home city of Nagasaki just before it was bombed on 9 August.
He said he hoped his experience held a lesson of peace for future generations.
‘Horrifying history’
It was already recorded that Mr Yamaguchi had survived the Nagasaki bomb but on Tuesday officials recognised that he had been in Hiroshima as well.
More than 200,000 people were killed in the two atomic bombings
|
Certification as a hibakusha or radiation survivor qualifies Japanese citizens for government compensation, including medical check-ups, and funeral costs.
His double dose of atomic bombs, however, does not mean Mr Yamaguchi’s compensation will increase, a Nagasaki city official said.
“My double radiation exposure is now an official government record,” Mr Yamaguchi told reporters.
“It can tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings even after I die.”
About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.
Many survivors fell sick with radiation-related illnesses, including cancers, for years after the bombings.
Book Review: How Hitler Could Have Won World War Two By Bevin Alexander March 18, 2009
Posted by knightofrook in Battle, Book Review, Strategy, World War II, military, war.Tags: adolf hitler, Bevin Alexander, book, Book Review, books, El Alamein, Erwin Rommel, history, Hitler, how hitler could have won world war II, military history, Strategy, war, warfare, World War II
1 comment so far
From the German conquest of France to Hitler’s suicide, Bevin Alexander takes the reader through the second world war in Europe to paint a strikingly clear picture characteristic of his writings. “How Hitler Could Have Won World War Two” goes through the important military decisions made through the war, showing missed opportunities and strategic blunders that brought the thousand year Reich to a premature close. In spite of the fact that people enjoy the thought that Hitler’s defeat was inevitable, Mr. Alexander shows in this work that Hitler very well could have – and almost did win the war.
Personally I thought the book to be a very good one. It goes well beyond ‘what if’ history and shows exactly how just a few changes could have won Hitler the war. As a military strategist/historian wannabe it sheds an interesting light on the war, showing how a nation can bring about its own destruction. As a Christian the book is much more meaningful.
Although Mr. Alexander makes no reference to God in his book it is impossible to separate the amazing Providences of God from any historical narrative. To read the book from this perspective leads me to one conclusion that we all should thank God for: it was only His divine intervention that saved the world from a ‘thousand year Reich’. If Hitler had only listened to some of his top commanders the world would be very different today. The battle of El Alamein is the most amazing and obvious providence of all. Alexander shows how in this battle Erwin Rommel very nearly changed the course of history in spite of Hitler’s blunders, but was thwarted by a simple mistake and a few hours.
This book is absolutly a worth while read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the second world war. It will change your perspective of the war.
AP: Less body armor might be the answer in Afghanistan March 12, 2009
Posted by knightofrook in Battle, military.Tags: Afganistan, american military, current wars, Iraq, marine, marine corp, marines, military, modern war, war, warfare
1 comment so far
WASHINGTON (AP) — Heavy layers of body armor, a proven lifesaver of U.S. troops, also may be an impediment to winning the fight in Afghanistan. where 17,000 additional American forces are being sent to quell rising violence.
Weighing as much as 34 pounds each, the protective vests hinder American forces hunting down more agile insurgents who use the country’s rugged peaks and valleys to their advantage, according to military officials.
The proper balance between troop safety and mobility will be examined this week during a series of oversight hearings by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. Beginning Tuesday, senior Army and Marine Corps leaders are scheduled to testify on a wide range of subjects, including force protection, readiness levels and ergonomic injuries.
When body armor is added to the assault rifles, ammunition, water and other essential gear troops are required to carry, they can be lugging as much as 80 pounds into combat. Besides moving more slowly, overburdened troops tire more quickly and are prone to orthopedic injuries that can take them out of action, the officials say.
But convincing a war-weary public of a less-is-more approach won’t be easy, they acknowledge. If a commander decides the gear shouldn’t be used for a particular mission and a service member is killed, there could be a backlash, said Jean Malone, deputy director of experiment plans at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va.
“We’ve got to have the internal fortitude to come back and say: ‘We have the data. We made the right decision. We can’t guarantee you that nobody will die in this war,’” he said.
Paring down the amount of armor could actually make troops safer on the battlefield, officials say. Speed and maneuverability give them the best chance of killing or capturing the Taliban and other militants before they can set roadside bombs or get in position for an ambush.
“Being able to maneuver and fight and chase down a fleeing enemy; that’s actually where your protection is (versus) armoring up and being more static,” said Brig. Gen. Tim Hanifen, deputy commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico.
The loads carried by modern American troops are equivalent to those “the medieval knight wore into and out of battle back in the year 1000 until about the 16th century,” he said.
Bomb-resistant vehicles that are light and nimble enough to handle Afghanistan’s primitive roads are also needed, according to Hanifen. Trucks that worked well in Iraq, which has a comparatively sophisticated transportation network, may be less suitable in harsher terrains.
As troop levels are surging in Afghanistan, so are roadside bomb attacks, according to the Pentagon’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.
In January and February, 52 IED attacks in Afghanistan killed 32 coalition troops and wounded 96 more, according to preliminary figures from the organization. During the same two months in 2008, 21 IED attacks killed 10 troops and wounded 39.
Body armor has become a focus of Marine Corps efforts to lighten troop loads because it weighs so much more than the other gear. The standard kit consists of hardened composite plates inserted into a ballistic vest. The vest and plates protect the upper body from armor-piercing bullets and shrapnel.
Personal armor made of substantially lighter composite materials that are more effective than current models won’t be available for several years. So the Marine Corps is looking for near-term solutions.
The Marine Corps is buying 65,000 vests called “scalable plate carriers” that weigh under 20 pounds. The carrier, which uses the same plates as the standard vest, doesn’t cover as much of the torso. About 14,000 of the plate carriers have been fielded and the feedback has been positive, according to Marine Corps officials.
Over the next two weeks, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is conducting an experiment at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to assess the risks of using less armor. The results of the trials will help guide battlefield commanders who make the final call on what gear troops should use.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOaLrFDNvu9EwD6zCikADUdE4f2AD96R13802
