Write to live, live to write.


AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY Sunday, September 20, 2009


Part two of Operation Market Garden.
Today is the 20th of September, which means that 65 years ago the American Paratroopers were launching an assault on Nijmegen bridge.
So what? You say. Paratroopers assaulting things is normal behaviour.
Yes, but this time they did it in boats.
The assault was nicknamed "The second Omaha Landing" and that isn't a nickname you'd want an assault to have. Everyone knows that Omaha beach was pretty much a killing field for the Americans. I mean the Americans got axed. This time they got axed again. General James 'Jumpin' Jim' Gavin devised the most audacious and unheard of plan in the war thus far - get one battalion of paratroopers - the 3rd of the 82nd Airborne Division - to sail across the Rhine and attack Nijmegen from the other side while their side attacked simultaneously. The plan was stupid and a lot of men would get killed. But it would work, apparently.
The boats took ages to come and then Maj. Julian Cook, commander of the 3rd battalion, was told that his boys would have to cross the river in broad daylight. Yes, crazy people.
But in the end, through sheer grit and determination, even though Cook had half of his battalion down in the initial river crossing even before they attacked the bridge itself, it worked. Nijmegen bridge was taken before the day was out.
Cool, huh? Time for a little self advertisement. My story "The Greatest Division in the World" is based on this assault. Go read it if you've got time. I'm sure you don't have time now that the EOYs are coming, though.

~Quote of the Day~
No, they're getting on-the-job training.
-Col. Tucker, commander of the 504th Regiment (From which the 3rd Battalion was from) when asked if his men had done this river assault crossing before. Most of them had never been in a small boat.

~Useless fact of the Day~
During Bill Clinton's eight year presidency, he only sent two emails. One was to John Glenn when he was aboard the space shuttle, and the other was a test of the email system.


>>Forgotten by01:07


Random Profile.

The Lone Ranger

02 12 1995
Right. Let's see. I like WWII, Band of Brothers, and anything to do with either of them. And Writing.

Random presents.

-Any WWII Book (that I don't already have)
-The movie Paper Moon
-The Band of Brothers soundtrack
-One hundred dollars

Random dreams.

-Top Singapore for O Levels/A Levels
-Get into VJC
-Get a story published
-GO TO EUROPE/AMERICA
-Visit all the places I want to visit before I die
-Make a million dollars in five years
-Amass a huge quantity of WWII relics
-Get as many books as possible
-Watch all WWII movies

Random Quotes.

-No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.
-Two kinds of people are staying on this beach, the dead and those who are gonna die. Now lets get the hell outta here.
-Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
-We are not retreating -- we are advancing in another direction.
-You can't say civilization isn't advancing; in every war they kill you in a new way.
-War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
-Show me a man who will jump out of an airplane, and I'll show you a man who'll fight.
-Death solves all problems - no man, no problem.
-If you are going through hell...keep going.
-Better to fight for something than live for nothing.
-In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.
-Diplomats are just as essential in starting a war as soldiers are in finishing it.

Random Map.

Random Top Tens.



Top ten movies:
-Band of Brothers
-Saving Private Ryan
-A Bridge Too Far
-The Longest Day
-Saints and Soldiers
-The Great Escape
-Flags of our Fathers
-Kelly's Heroes
-Patton
-The Battle of the Bulge
Top ten Books:
-Band of Brothers
-D-Day
-Citizen Soldiers
-Beyond Band of Brothers
-Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends
-A Bridge Too Far
-The Longest Day
-The Longest Winter
-Flags of Our Fathers
-Letters from Iwo Jima

Random people.

Eugene Lim
Deepak
Arunima
Tharun
Emelia
Kai Yin
Rosalinda
Jing Yi(rather dead)
Grace
Genevieve
Pheodora
Pearl
Shavonne
Joy
Melody Seet
Bryna
Rachel cough-pervert-cough Tan
Amelia (Sec 1D 09)
One Charity 08
Two Faith 09
Solo Magazine
My Stories
The Infocomm blog
Skatezone
The truth about lies (story)
Smile (story)

Random Archives.

December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
February 2010
May 2010

Random Credits.

BetaBlogger
Yiann



It's a (ahem) free country.




Random Music.


MusicPlaylist
Music Playlist at MixPod.com