The FReeper Foxhole Profiles The Remount in Italy and the Cavalry's Return - November 21st, 2003

http://www.qmfound.com/remount_in_italy_wwii.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Secretary Rumsfeld Speaks on "21st Century Transformation" of U.S. Armed Forces

From the transcript of remarks and question and answer period as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., Thursday, January 31, 2002.

Excerpt:

So to the students and the faculty of our War College community, distinguished guests, and men and women of the armed forces, just before Christmas I traveled to Afghanistan and the neighboring countries, where I had an opportunity to spend time with our troops in the field. They are remarkable. They're brave, they're dedicated, they voluntarily risk their lives in a dangerous corner of the world to defend our freedom and our way of life, and I was grateful to be able to personally tell them that.

Among the many, I met with an extraordinary group of men, the Special Forces who'd been involved in the attack on Mazar-e Sharif. Now I've said on a number of occasions that the war on terrorism would likely be unlike any war we had fought before. These men surprised us all with their early requests for supplies. They asked for boots, ammunition.and horse feed.




From the moment they landed in Afghanistan, they began adapting to the circumstances on the ground. They sported beards and traditional scarves. They rode horses -- horses that had been trained to run into machine-gun fire, atop saddles that had been fashioned from wood and saddle bags that had been crafted from Afghan carpets. They used pack mules to transport equipment along some of the roughest terrain in the world, riding at night, in darkness, often near mine fields and along narrow mountain trails with drops so sheer that, as one soldier put it, it took him a week to ease the death-grip on his saddle. Many had never been on horseback before.

As they linked up and trained with anti-Taliban forces, they learned from their new allies about the realities of war on Afghan soil, and they assisted the Afghans with weapons, with supplies, with food, with tactics and training. And they helped plan the attack on Mazar.

On the appointed day, one of their teams slipped in and hid well behind the lines, ready to call in airstrikes, and the bomb blasts would be the signal for others to charge. When the moment came, they signaled their targets to the coalition aircraft and looked at their watches. Two minutes and 15 seconds, 10 seconds -- and then, out of nowhere, precision-guided bombs began to land on Taliban and al-Qaeda positions. The explosions were deafening, and the timing so precise that, as the soldiers described it, hundreds of Afghan horsemen literally came riding out of the smoke, coming down on the enemy in clouds of dust and flying shrapnel. A few carried RPGs. Some had as little as 10 rounds for their weapons. And they rode boldly -- Americans, Afghans, towards the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters. It was the first cavalry attack of the 21st century.

After the battle one soldier described how he was called over by one of the Afghans who'd been with him, started to pull up his pant leg, and he thought he was going to see a wound. Instead, he looked down and saw a prosthetic limb. The Afghan had ridden into battle with only one good leg.

Now, what won the battle for Mazar and set in motion the Taliban's fall from power was a combination of ingenuity of the Special Forces, the most advanced precision-guided munitions in the U.S. arsenal delivered by U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine crews, and the courage of the Afghan fighters, some with one leg. That day on the plains of Afghanistan, the 19th century met the 21st century, and they defeated a dangerous and determined adversary, a remarkable achievement.

When President Bush called me back to the Pentagon after a quarter of a century, he asked me to come up with a new defense strategy to work with the Department of Defense and the senior military to fashion a new approach. He knew I was an old-timer, but I'll bet he never imagined for a second that we'd bring back the cavalry. [Laughter.]

But really, this is precisely what transformation is about. Here we are in the year 2002, fighting the first war of the 21st century, and the horse cavalry was back and being used, but being used in previously unimaginable ways. It showed that a revolution in military affairs is about more than building new high tech weapons, though that is certainly part of it. It's also about new ways of thinking, and new ways of fighting.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2002/s20020131-secdef.html
www.qmfound.com/horse.htm
www.10thmtndivassoc.org/chronology.html
www.qmfound.com/remount1.htm

[snippy_about_it]

Marines Plan on More Horsing Around



Story by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes - Nov 15 2003

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- With plans for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in the near future, the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, are honing their mountaineering skills in order to be ready for combat in any clime or place. Reverting to a less technological means of maneuver warfare, these Marines are preparing for service with horses and mules to ensure success on the battlefield.

"There are a lot of places we could never get a vehicle. Whether the roads are washed out, too steep, or not there at all, we can rely on animals to help us," said Sgt. Earl R. Roberts, the staff non-commissioned officer of the Animal Packers Course, based in Bridgeport, Calif. "Anywhere [people] can walk, it's a sure bet a horse or mule can get there, too."

In 1953, the Army retired it's animal packing unit, said Roberts. With the use of vehicles in modern wars, they were seen as unnecessary and a burden to upkeep. However, as wars are increasingly fought in mountainous environments where vehicles cannot operate, animals such as horses and mules are seen as assets.

"We can have animals carry things even we can't carry ourselves," said Roberts. The Asheville, N.C. native, continued, "Where a human might have a problem carrying a .50 caliber machine gun and his pack, we can load the machine gun onto a horse or mule and maintain fire superiority even in rugged terrain."

The 10-day animal packing courses are taught four times a year during the summer at Mountain Warfare Training Center, located at Bridgeport, Calif. A brief refresher was taught here recently, bringing pieces of the course to the base.

"I'm giving a refresher course here at the request of 2nd Battalion. Some places they've had to fight have brought them into some rugged terrain, and they want to make sure they're up to date on how to load an animal," said Roberts.

The Marines who attended the course were already graduates of the animal packers course held in Bridgeport. Along with general knowledge about packing animals, they also brushed up on their equine first aid and survival skills.

"Taking care of the animals is the hardest part of working with them. You have to keep them healthy, or knowing how to strap a pack on them won't mean anything," said Lance Cpl. Timothy L. Huff, a rifleman with G Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. The native of Phenix City, Ala., continued, "It's a trade off. In order for them to carry your gear, you have to look after them like they were one of your Marines. Making sure they're healthy so they can keep you healthy."

The Marines worked with field-expedient harnesses and proper packing procedures on horses at the base stables. Making sure the packs were comfortable on the animal was stressed during the refresher.

"If something is digging into that animal, it could cause a saddle sore or put the animal out of action. Paying attention to detail when looking at weight distribution and how you strap the packs on can make the difference," said Roberts.

As all-terrain warfare becomes more common in all regions of the globe, the Marines and 8th Regiment and all the other units who participate in the packing course have yet another weapon to add to their arsenal in the war on terror.

[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Friday Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[snippy_about_it]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
Nuce weatehr today here in SW OK but the weekend we have a Norther coming through with a slight chance for rain and snow.

[CholeraJoe]

Morning snippy. 16 degrees with 20 mph winds and blowing snow.

[The Mayor]

I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen. —Romans 9:3

Those who love Christ have a heart for the lost.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. We're having a 'warm' spell, should be in the 60's for the weekend. Yippee

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning CholeraJoe, geez oh mighty it's cold where you are! I'm not looking forward to January and February when we hit those types of temps.

btw - how are those pups of yours and how about some recent pics? :)

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Utah (BB-31)

Florida class battleship
displacement. 21,825 t.
length. 521'6"
beam. 88'3"
draft. 28'4"
speed. 20.75 k.
complement. 1,041
armament. 10 12", 16 5", 2 21" tt.

USS Utah (Battleship No. 31) was laid down on 9 March 1909 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 23 December 1909; sponsored by Miss Mary Alice Spry, daughter of Governor William Spry of Utah; and commissioned at the P hiladelphia Navy Yard on 31 August 1911, Capt. William S. Benson in command.

After her shakedown cruise-a voyage that took her to Hampton Roads, Va.; Santa Rosa Island and Pensacola, Fla.; Galveston, Tex.; Kingston and Portland Bight, Jamaica; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba-Utah was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in March 1912. She operated with the Fleet early that spring, conducting exercises in gunnery and torpedo defense, before she entered the New York Navy Yard on 16 April for an overhaul.

Departing New York on 1 June, Utah briefly visited Hampton Roads and then steamed to Annapolis, Md. where she arrived on the 6th. There, she embarked Naval Academy midshipmen and got underway on the 10th for the Virginia Capes and the open Atlantic. She conducted a midshipmen training cruise off the New England seaboard well into the summer before disembarking her contingent of officers-to-be back at Annapolis on 24 and 25 August. Soon thereafter, the battleship headed for the Southern Drill Grounds to conduct gunnery exercises.

For a little over two years, the dreadnought maintained that schedule of operations off the eastern seaboard, ranging from the New England coast to Cuban waters. During that time, she made one cruise to European waters, visiting Villefranche, France, from 8 to 30 November 1913.

Utah began the year 1914 at the New York Navy Yard and sailed south on 5 January. After stopping at Hampton Roads, she reached Cuban waters later in the month for torpedo and small arms exercises. However, due to tension in Mexico, Utah sai led for Mexican waters in early February and reached Vera Cruz on the 16th. She operated off that port until getting underway for Tampico on 9 April with several hundred refugees embarked. Soon thereafter, it was learned that a German steamship, SS Ypiranga, was bound for Vera Cruz with a shipment of arms and munitions earmarked for the dictator Victoriano Huerta. Utah received orders to search for the ship and put to sea and reached Vera Cruz on the 16th. When it appeared that the shipment might be landed, the Navy took steps to take the customs house at Vera Cruz and stop the delivery. Accordingly, plans were drawn up for a landing at Vera Cruz, to commence on 21 April 1914.

Utah consequently landed her "battalion"-17 officers and 367 sailors under the command of Lt. Guy W. S. Castle-as well as her Marine detachment, which formed part of the improvised "First Marine Brigade," made up of detachments of marines from the other ships that had arrived to show American determination. In the ensuing fighting, in which the men of Utah's bluejacket battalion distinguished themselves, seven won medals of honor. Those seven included Lt. Castle, the battalion commander; company commanders Ens. Oscar C. Badger and Ens. Paul F. Foster; section leaders, Chief Turret Captains Niels Drustrup and Abraham Desomer; Chief Gunner George Bradley; and Boatswain's Mate Henry N. Nickerson.

Utah remained at Vera Cruz for almost two months before returning north to the New York Navy Yard in late June for an overhaul. Over the next three years, the battleship operated on a regular routine of battle practices and exercises from off the eastern seaboard into the Caribbean, as the United States readied its forces for the possible entry of the United States into the worldwide war that broke out in July 1914.

After the United States finally declared war on 6 April 1917, Utah operated in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay as an engineering and gunnery training ship and continued that duty until 30 August 1918, when she sailed for the British Isles with Vice Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet, embarked.

Fears of possible attacks by German heavy units upon the large convoys crossing the Atlantic with troops and munitions for the western front prompted the dispatch, to European waters, of a powerful force of American dreadnoughts to Irish waters. Utah-as part of that movement-reached Brerehaven, Bantry Bay, Ireland, on 10 September. There, she became the flagship of Rear Admiral Thomas S. Rodgers, Commander, Battleship Division 6. Until the signing of the armistice on 11 November 1918, Utah, along with the battleships Oklahoma (Battleship No. 37) and Nevada (Battleship No. 36), operated from Bantry Bay, covering the Allied convoys approaching the British Isles, ready to deal with any surface threat that the German Navy could hurl at the valuable transports and supply ships.

After the cessation of hostilities, Utah visited Portland, England, and later served as part of the honor escort for the transport George Washington (Id. No. 3018), as that ship bore President Woodrow Wilson into the harbor of Brest, France, on 13 December 1918. The following day, Utah turned homeward and reached New York on Christmas Day 1918.

Utah remained at anchor in the North River; off New York City, until 30 January 1919. During that time, she half-masted her colors at 1440 on 7 January due to the death of former President Theodore Roosevelt and, on the 8th, fired salutes at half-hour intervals throughout the day in memory of the great American statesman.

Utah carried out a regular routine of battle practices and maneuvers, ranging from the New England coast to the Caribbean, into mid-1921. During that time, she was classified as BB-31 on 17 July 1920, during the Navy-wide assignment of hull numbers.

Ultimately departing Boston on 9 July 1921, Utah proceeded via Lisbon Portugal, and reached Cherbourg, France, soon thereafter. There, Utah became the flagship for the United States naval forces in European waters. She "showed the flag" at the principal Atlantic coast ports of Europe and in the Mediterranean until relieved by Pittsburgh (CA-4) in October 1922.

Returning to the United States on 21 October 1922, Utah then became the flagship of Battleship Division (BatDiv) 6, United States Scouting Fleet and operated with the Scouting Fleet over the next three and one-half years.

Late in 1924, Utah was chosen to carry the United States diplomatic mission to the centennial celebration of the Battle of Ayacucho (9 December 1824), the decisive action in the Peruvian struggle for independence. Designated as flagship for the special squadron assigned to represent the United States at the festivities, Utah departed New York City on 22 November 1924 with General of the Armies John J. Pershing, USA, and former congressman, the Honorable F. C. Hicks, embarked, and arrived at Callao on 9 December.

Utah disembarked General Pershing and the other members of the mission on Christmas 1924, so that the general and his mission could visit other South American cities inland on their goodwill tour. Meanwhile, Utah, in the weeks that followed, called at the Chilean ports of Punta Arenas and Valparaiso before she rounded Cape Horn and met General Pershing at Montevideo, Uruguay. Reembarking the general and his party there, the battleship then visited in succession: Rio de Janeiro Brazil; La Gua ira, Venezuela; and Havana, Cuba, before ending her diplomatic voyage at New York City on 18 March 1926. Utah spent subsequent summers of 1925 and 1926 with the Midshipman Practice Squadron and, after disembarking her midshipmen at the conclusion of the 1925 cruise, entered the Boston Navy Yard and was decommissioned on 31 October 1925 for modernization. During that period of alterations and repairs, the ship's "cage" mainmast was replaced by a lighter pole mast; she was fitted to burn oil instead of coal as fuel; and her armament was modified to reflect the increased concern over antiaircraft defense. Interestingly, Utah and her sistership Florida (BB-30) never received the more modern "tripod" masts fitted to other classes.

Utah was placed back in commission on 1 December 1925 and, after local operations with the Scouting Fleet, departed Hampton Roads on 21 November 1928, bound for South America. Reaching Montevideo on 18 December, she there embarked President-elect and Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover; the Honorable Henry T. Fletcher, Ambassador to Italy; and members of the press. Utah transported the President-elect's party to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 21 and 23 December, and then continued her homeward voyage with Mr. Hoover embarked. En route, the President-elect inspected the battleship's crew while at sea, before the ship reached Hampton Roads on 6 January 1929.

However, Utah's days as a battleship were numbered. Under the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, Utah was selected for conversion to a mobile target, in place of the former battleship North Dakota; and, on 1 July 1931, Utah 's classification was changed to AG-16. Her conversion-carried out at the Norfolk Navy Yard-included the installation of a radio-control apparatus. After having been decommissioned for the duration of the conversion, Utah was recommissioned at Norfolk on 1 April 1992, Comdr. Randall Jacobs in command.

Utah departed Norfolk on 7 April to train her engineers in using the new installations and for trials of her radio gear by which the ship could be controlled at varying rates of speed and changes of course maneuvers that a ship would conduct in battle. Her electric motors, operated by signals from the controlling ship, opened and closed throttle valves, moved her steering gear, and regulated the supply of oil to her boilers. In addition, a Sperry gyro pilot kept the ship on course.

Returning to port on 21 April, Utah passed her radio control trials off the Virginia capes on 6 May. On 1 June, Utah ran three hours under radio control, with all engineering stations manned; over the next two days, she made two successful runs, each of four hours duration, during which no machinery was touched by human hands. Observers, however-two in each fore room and two in each boiler room-kept telephone information and recorded data.

Her trials completed, Utah departed Norfolk on 9 June. After transiting the Panama Canal she reached San Pedro, Calif., on 30 June, reporting for duty with Training Squadron 1, Base Force, United States Fleet. She conducted her first target duty, for cruisers of the Fleet, on 26 July, and later, on 2 August, conducted rehearsal runs for Nevada (BB-36), Utah being controlled from Hovey (DD-208) and Talbot (DD-114).

Over the next nine years, the erstwhile battleship performed a vital service to the fleet as a mobile target, contributing realism to the training of naval aviators in dive, torpedo, and high level bombing. Thus, she greatly aided the development of tactics in those areas. On one occasion, she even served as a troop transport, embarking 223 officers and men of the Fleet Marine Force at Sand Island, Midway, for amphibious operations at Hilo Bay, Hawaii, as part of Fleet Problem XVI in the early summer of 1936. She then transported the marines from Hawaii to San Diego, Calif., disembarking them there on 12 June 1936.

That same month, June 1936, saw the establishment of a fleet machine gun school on board Utah while she continued her mission as a mobile target. The former dreadnought received her first instructors on board in August 1936, and the first students drawn from the ships' companies of Raleigh (CL-7), Concord (CL-10), Omaha (CL-4), Memphis (CL-13), Milwaukee (CL-5), and Ranger (CV-4)-reported aboard for training on 20 September. Subsequently, during the 1936 and 1937 gunnery year, Utah was fitted with a new quadruple 1.1-inch machine gun mount for experimental test and development by the machine gun school. Some of the first tests of that type of weapon were conducted on board.

Utah-besides serving as a realistic target for exercises involving carrier-based planes-also towed targets during battle practices conducted by the Fleet's battleships and took part in the yearly "fleet problems." She transited the Panama Canal on 9 January 1939 to participate in Fleet Problem XX-part of the maneuvers observed personally by President Franklin D. Roosevelt from the heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30).

After providing mobile target services for the submarines of Submarine Squadron 6 in the late autumn and early winter of 1939, Utah devoted the eight months that followed to special machine gun practices. The following summer, Utah sailed for the Hawaiian Islands reaching Pearl Harbor on 1 August 1940, and fired advanced antiaircraft gunnery practice in the Hawaiian operating area until 14 December 1940, when she sailed for the west coast, returning to Long Beach four days before Christmas.

For the next two months, Utah operated as a mobile bombing target off San Clemente Island, Calif., for planes from Patrol Wing 1, and from the carriers Lexington (CV-2), Saratoga (CV-3), and Enterprise (CV-6). Utah retur ned to Hawaiian waters on 1 April 1941, embarking gunners for the Advanced Antiaircraft Gun School, men drawn from West Virginia (BB-48), Oklahoma (BB-37) Colorado (BB-45), Phoenix (CL-46), Nashville (CL-43), Philadelphia (CL-41), and New Orleans (CA-32).

Over the weeks that followed, she trained her embarked gunner students in control and loading drills for the 5-inch batteries, firing runs on radio-controlled drone targets as well as .50-caliber and 1.1-inch firing on drones and balloons. Utah put into Los Angeles harbor on 20 May and there embarked Fleet Marine Force passengers for transportation to Bremerton, Wash. Putting the marines ashore a week later, the ship entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 31 May 1941.

During the ensuing overhaul, Utah received repairs and alterations designed to make her a more effective gunnery training ship. The alterations included the addition of 5-inch/38-caliber guns in single mounts with gunshields-similar to those fitted on the more modern types of destroyers then in service. She also lost her prewar colors, being repainted in overall measure one camouflage-dark gray with pale gray tops. With war paint thus donned, Utah sailed for Hawaiian waters on 14 September, after visits to Port Townsend, Wash., and San Francisco and San Pedro, Calif. She arrived at Pearl Harbor soon thereafter and carried out antiaircraft training and target duties through the late autumn.

Utah completed an advanced antiaircraft gunnery cruise in Hawaiian waters shortly before she returned to Pearl Harbor in early December 1941, mooring off Ford Island in berth F-11. On the morning of 7 December 1941, the senior officer on board-the captain and executive officer were ashore on leave-was Lt. Comdr. Solomon S. Isquith, the engineer officer.

Shortly before 0800, men topside noted three planes-taken for American planes on maneuvers-heading in a northerly direction from the harbor entrance. They made a low dive at the southern end of Ford Island-where the seaplane hangers were situated-and began dropping bombs.

The attack on the fleet at Pearl Harbor lasted a little under two hours, but for Utah, it was over in a few minutes. At 0801, soon after sailors had begun raising the colors at the ship's fantail, the erstwhile battleship took a torpedo hit forward , and immediately started to list to port.

As the ship began to roll ponderously over on her beam ends, 6-by-12-inch timbers-placed on the decks to cushion them against the impact of the bombs used during the ship's latest stint as a mobile target-began to shift, hampering the efforts of the crew to abandon ship. Below, men headed topside while they could. One however, Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, remained below, making sure that the boilers were secured and that all men had gotten out of the engineering spaces. Another man, Fireman John B. Vaessen, USNR, remained at his post in the dynamo room, making sure that the ship had enough power to keep her lights going as long as possible.

Comdr. Isquith made an inspection to make sure men were out and nearly became trapped himself. As the ship began to turn over, he found an escape hatch blocked. While he was attempting to escape through a porthole, a table upon which he was standing-impelled by the ever-increasing list of the ship-slipped out from beneath him. fortunately, a man outside grabbed Isquith's arm and pulled him through at the last instant.

At 0812, the mooring lines snapped, and Utah rolled over on her beam ends; her survivors struck out for shore, some taking shelter on the mooring quays since Japanese strafers were active.

Shortly after most of the men had reached shore, Comdr. Isquith, and others, heard a knocking from within the overturned ship's hull. Although Japanese planes were still strafing the area, Isquith called for volunteers to return to the hull and investigate the tapping. Obtaining a cutting torch from the nearby Raleigh (CL-7)-herself fighting for survival after taking early torpedo hits-the men went to work.

As a result of the persistence shown by Machinist S. A. Szymanski; Chief Machinist's Mate Terrance MacSelwiney, USNR; and two others whose names were unrecorded, 10 men clambered from a would-be tomb. The last man out was Fireman Vaessen, who had made his way to the bottom of the ship when she capsized, bearing a flashlight and wrench.

Utah was declared "in ordinary" on 29 December 1941 and was placed under the control of the Pearl Harbor Base Force. Partially righted to clear an adjacent berth, she was then declared "out of commission, not in service," on 5 September 1944. Utah's name was struck from the Navy list on 13 November 1944. Her partially submerged hulk still remains, rusting, at Pearl Harbor with an unknown number of men trapped inside.

Of Utah's complement, 30 officers and 431 enlisted men survived the ship's loss; 6 officers and 58 men died-four of the latter being recovered and interred ashore. Chief Watertender Tomich received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his selfless act in ensuring the safety of others.

Utah (AG-16) received one battle star for her World War II service.

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Big guns in action!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[manna]

Present!

[snippy_about_it]

The heroics of these men at Pearl Harbor are wonderful to read.

Thanks aomagrat.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning manna.

[AnAmericanMother]

Good morning!

My dad served in Italy, and during the winter of '43-44 he found himself in charge of numerous mules. Since he took his basic training in a Cavalry unit at Ft. Clark TX, I guess they figured he knew something about mules. But wrangling mules is a far cry from horses, they're very stubborn and way too smart. He said it was just crazy and it's a wonder nobody got killed from being kicked in the head. Some of the mules that were sold to the Army weren't even half-broke, and the pack staging areas sometimes looked like a Wild West show, with four or five guys on one end of a rope and a buck-wild mule on the other . . .

The photo of the guys trying to load the mule with a rope around his hocks looks all too familiar to me - many a horse I've had to lever up the ramp that way - the only thing missing is two guys with brooms to whack said mule on the rump (the rope interferes with the usual spectacular mule kicking). The other method is to have two husky guys link arms just above the hocks and LIFT the animal up the ramp . . . I wouldn't want to do that with a mule though.

As they moved up the Po Valley, dad's unit did find a lot of nice livestock running loose, just like in the post. (That color photo shows a mighty good looking Thoroughbred in the cooling sheet.) Dad got hold of a beautiful German warmblood who was trained in high level dressage. He named him "Jack", he came with two captured German soldiers who groomed and fed him! I think Jack eventually caught the colonel's eye, though . . . but in the meantime dad had a great time riding Jack around in preference to a jeep.

The article mentions an Italian civilian selling a Pariani saddle to the GIs - my husband has one and it's a wonderful saddle. We bought it used about 20 years ago and it's as good as new, we've replaced the billet straps and had a couple of places restitched but it will probably never wear out. It's too big for me but I've ridden in it and it's extremely comfortable.

[Samwise]

Morning, snippy. Another good thread.

BTW, I always loved Francis the Talking Mule. :^)

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning and thank you so much for sharing your dad's experience in Italy. It is always wonderful to hear from folks who can relate to our threads.

I'll bet chasing after and struggling with those mules kept some of our guys in good shape! I wouldn't want to be behind a mule at any time. LOL.

It really is a pleasure to read your post and we are grateful for your father's service.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Samwise. Francis the talking mule, I had forgotten about him. LOL.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning eveyone in the Foxhole!

[CholeraJoe]

Here they are snoozing the other night. They weigh about 60 lbs each now.

Here's one of them playing in the snow the day before Halloween.