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jwxspoon

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Posts posted by jwxspoon

  1. In my experience with artillery, you FEEL it more than you hear it (although it is load too) - but when that pressure wave slams through your chest you are awe inspired.

    One time when on TDY to England AFB, in Louisiana, we were using hand held LTD's (laser target designators) to call in A-10's that were equipped with Pave Penny pods (allowing the pilots to see the 'splash' of the laser agins the target. They were dropping 'dumb' bombs, 2000 lb unguided bombs. One landed so close to use that we were stunned...felt like we had fallen and had the breath knocked out of us.

    [ 12-14-2001: Message edited by: jwxspoon ]</p>

  2. I love these stories. These guys made history, and we owe it to history to get as many personal accounts from them as we can.

    My Grandfather on my Dad's side joined the Navy in 1908 at the age of 16, lying about his age to get in. He was able to see the world and by the time World War I rolled around he was a fireman (loading coal into boilers) on a US Destroyer. Some of his stories about the storms in the atlantic would curl your hair! Anyway, his Destroyer was torpedoed in the Atlantic. The ship went under water in less than 90 seconds from the first hit. My Grandpa knew he would die unless he got out quick, especially when the water hit the hot boilers, so he and two others squeezed out of a porthole that he said was not much more than 10 inches wide. He had broken bones and a dislocated shoulder, but he got out of there, which is more than he could say for many of the others in the Boiler Room, especially the big guys.

    They were rescued after floating for two days. He was sent to England, where he boarded a Hospital ship, and travelled home to the US on the Hospital ship. Along the way the Hospital ship was torpedoed! This time they had more notice and opportunity to get out and the loss of life was minimal.

    Grandpa was mustered out of the Navy, spent a few months knocking around in the oil fields of Oklahoma, and then went to the recruiter and joined the Army! He went over with Gen. Pershing and fought until the end of the war. He brought back all kinds of cool souvenirs - bayonets, an early-model luger with a very long barrel, and some other cool stuff. My Dad still has his uniform. If I can figure out how to do it, I will post pictures from 1910 when he was navy and 1918 when he was Army... anyway I thought it was a great story.

    Too bad I didn't appreciate those stories when he was alive, I would've asked him many more questions.

    JW

  3. I seem to remember also reading that during heavy artillery prep fires before an attack the Russians would also leave "lanes" 100-200 meters wide that were not hit with artillery. This supposedly would allow the armor to rush through the lane at the end of the artillery fire, with the intention of moving into the enemy's rear area and cutting off retreat as well as reinforcements.

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