Bravery

Yesterday I read about a young man who showed so much bravery and dedication to service that he died. Cpl. Spencer R. Collart was a young Marine who burnt to death in the fires that resulted from an Osprey crash in Australia in 2023. (The article is also on the AP and other websites.)

It sounds kind of 'normal' in a way, burning to death in a fire because a military air plane crashed - especially an Osprey which doesn't have a great record. But what wasn't normal was this, Collart got out of the burning plane just fine, after all the other Marines that were in the back of the plane escaped. And then, he saw that the cockpit was on fire. So he went back inside the burning plane to rescue the pilots. Unfortunately, he and the pilots all died in the fire. Because of his bravery he is being posthumously awarded the highest non-combat medal the Marines and Navy have - the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. It's awarded for acts of heroism which are a great risk to the service member's life.

The Navy and Marine Corps Medal from the military times website linked above.

Spent a couple of days with my grandson driving upriver to the Neon Nights event as part of the Cruise the Gorge car show and cruise-in at The Dalles in central Oregon.

The Edge of Extinction?

All week I've awoken wondering if nuclear war has broken out yet. Fortunately it hasn't, thanks to Iran's restraint. But it's not just humanity and the biota at risk of extinction, it is many things...the US empire and its U$D, the nations of Ukraine and Israel may not survive, NATO and the EU sit on the brink of extinction as do our civil liberties, especially freedom of speech. Let's dive into these stories and more below the fold...

Afternoon folks!

This week we've got blues albums from Junior Parker and B.B. King, Parker's album along with some cool blues has some covers of Beatles tunes that are quite interesting, especially the cover of "Taxman". B.B.'s album is mostly early versions of some of his classic tunes. After that there's some blues rock albums from Robin Trower and John Mayall (with Mick Taylor), Little Feat's first album and an album from J.J. Cale. Finishing off is an unofficial album of Bob Marley and The Wailers recorded live in 1975.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!