Category Archives: World War Two

FORT ROSECRANS – HEROES’ VALHALLA IN THE MODERN DAY

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Monument to the men who lost their lives in the 1905 boiler explosion. Her crew men lie with the low granite enclosure.
Monument to the men who lost their lives in the 1905 boiler explosion. Her crew men lie with the low granite enclosure.

Stories abound in cemeteries with military cemeteries no exception partly because of all the documentation available. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery became one of seven national cemeteries established -1934-1939 – between the two World Wars. An aging population of veterans added to the need in light of available grave space in existing national cemeteries. Veterans’ benefits included burial space. On the Pacific Coast, at the time of establishment of the cemetery here, only one national cemetery existed in San Francisco. Army and Navy officials tried earlier to change the post cemetery at Fort Rosecrans as a national cemetery only to have the Department of War turn them down. The massive expansion of the military during World War I changed the situation dramatically.

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SAINTE-AGNÈS – MAGIC ON THE RIVIERA

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Magnificent view to the north from the castle ruins atop Sainte-Agnes.
Magnificent view to the north from the castle ruins atop Sainte-Agnès.

Hilltop villages, while picturesque in the extreme, offer up a window into a very uncertain past.  One such village is Sainte-Agnès sitting high above the cities of Menton and Roquebrune-Cap Martin in the far southeastern corner of France. Proclaimed as the highest lying coastal village in France, the village also belongs to the unique group “Plus Beaux Villages de France” – the Most beautiful Villages of France. Set 760 meters above the Mediterranean, the view over the towns of Menton and Cap-Martin-Roquebrune are magnificent. Walking through the narrow medieval alleys is a treat onto itself.

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L’AUTHION – STUDY OF DEFENSE FROM ONE CENTURY INTO THE NEXT

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Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.
Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.

The massif of L’Authion separates three valleys from each other in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the southeastern corner of France. Located at a strategic location, the peaks of L’Authion figure in history over the centuries as armies have clashed here high in the mountains.

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NIELSON TOWER REINCARNATED AS THE BLACKBIRD – MANILA’S FIRST AIRPORT

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Dining al fresco at the Blackbird on the old tarmac of the Nielson Tower.
Dining al fresco at the Blackbird on the old tarmac of the Nielson Tower.

Deep in the heart of the high rises of Manila’s Makati district sits the restored Nielson Tower and air control center for the first center for commercial aviation in Manila. Nielson Airfield came about from the desire of Laurie Nielson who established the airfield along with an aviation school here on land leased from the Ayala family in 1937.

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EMPHEMARILTY OF SPENDING – DEFENSE OF THE PANAMA CANAL

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Squadron of B-17 bombers flying over the entrance to Panama Canal with Fort Amador below.
Squadron of B-17 bombers flying over the entrance to Panama Canal with Fort Amador below. Defense of the Canal beginning to pass from the gun to the air.

Recently, I made my fourth trip to Panama. Each trip, a short visit to the Canal in one form or another, gets included in the itinerary. To understate the importance of the Canal to Panama and the World from an economic point of view is not possible. The Canal gives Panama money to do things many other countries in Latin America – especially in Central America – can only dream about. Large freeways, light rail, subways, and a seemingly burgeoning economy from a casual tourist outlook reflect success in the heat, humidity, and constant drip – or sudden deluge – from the skies here in Panama. One factor hiding from plain sight today are the former huge efforts made in defense of the Canal.

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EMILIO AGUINALDO – HOME AND TOMB OF THE INSURGENT ENIGMA

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The Man - Emilio Aguinaldo - and his Shrine. Aguinaldo family home in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
The Man – Emilio Aguinaldo – and his Shrine. Aguinaldo family home in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.

Emilio Aguinaldo is considered by many to be the “George Washington” of the Philippines.  His family home is preserved – much like Washington’s at Mount Vernon – and a museum is dedicated to his life and times. Additionally, to the Aguinaldo home, the leader himself is entombed on the grounds behind the house. The grounds became the official Aguinaldo Shrine in 1964 just after his death.

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MAGINOT FORTS – COUNTERWEIGHTS TO DARK MAGIC OF THE EAST

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Machine gun turret - in eclipsed position - atop Block 2 at Gros Ouvrage Schoenenbourg.
Machine gun turret – in eclipsed position – atop Block 2 at Gros Ouvrage Schoenenbourg of the Maginot Line.

As the Cold War ended, a resurgence in interest took place in France as many of the former fortifications the country spent so much time, money, and hope in keeping war away from the home door. The jury of historical writers seem a bit divided in opinions regarding whether the fortifications built between the late 1920 and 1930’s accomplished much. Forts have had a history of being very expensive and difficult to upgrade, keeping them current with the rapid advances in artillery.

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HOUSE OF SAVOY LEADS ITALY INTO THE NEW

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The magnificent Savoyard fortress complex at Fennestrelle erected soon after the House of Savoy joined the ranks of kings in 1713.

World War One – La Grande Guerra in Italian – destroyed four of the great ruling houses of Europe. The House of Savoy was not one of them. That would take another war. The House of Savoy is one of the older families of Europe making it into the rarefied heights of ascendant nobility. Like most of these families, the family history is complicated by time and politics. That history becomes confused further by looking at maps of the feudal lands over the years as they waxed and waned with time. Little bits of color interspersed with each other, seemingly with no rhyme or reason at times. So much of history tied up in abstruse, rarefied, esoteric stories understood by only a few of the most dedicated students.

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REDIPUGLIA, FASCIST TWIST TO THE GREAT WAR

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The Redipuglia Ossuary climbing the slopes of the Carso above the Via Eroica.
The Redipuglia Ossuary climbing the slopes of the Carso above the Via Eroica.

Italy remembers World War One – la Grande Guerra – a bit differently than World War Two. First off, they were on the winning side in the first war. Second, a little over a hundred thousand more Italians died during the First than the Second – 651,000 to 689,000 compared to approximately 500,000. The vast cost of the First War in treasure and men along with the thought by Italians as unfair results of their sacrifices at the treaty tables at the war’s end ended destabilizing the nation. Enter the Blackshirts and Benito Mussolini.

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TUNNELS UNDER THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY – STORIES FROM RIO HATO

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Flight simulator view south of the Pan-American highway tunnel under the Scarlett Martinez International Airport – formerly Rio Hato – runway.

Always new things to learn in Panama. One is the airstrip which the Panamerican highway tunnels under about 1-2 hours west of Panama City. I have been driven under the runway on six occasions and have never seen a plane nor really much in the way of any activity at all.Local Lions club members told me it was just an expensive affair on the government’s part to attract tourists to an underdeveloped area of the coast. This is true regarding the last decade or so of the airstrip’s life but does not explain the rest of the history of the site.

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