According to gun writer Gary Paul Johnston:
Mr. Richard Swan, inventor of the Swan Rail, which was adopted as the Mil-Std-1913 rail, and was nicknamed the “Picatinny” rail, passed away at home in his sleep the night of July 3rd after an illness.
Dick Swan also designed numerous mounting systems for the U.S. Military from the early 1990’s to the present, many of which continue to be used and copied through the world.
That’s it. It’s all this day is about. You can do any other thing you’d like today, but please, just take some time to think about those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation.
I’ll tip back a pint this evening in memory of all the ANZAC troops, from World War One’s Battle of Gallipoli to the battle fought today. I’ll think of friends in both Australian and New Zealand militaries and good times deployed to bad places.
Today marks the anniversary of Operation Eagle Claw. In the early morning hours of 25 April, 1980 President Carter announced to a stunned world that the United States had undertaken an ambitious raid into Iran to liberate 52 American hostages held illegally at our Embassy compound in Tehran. Unfortunately, Operation Eagle Claw was unsuccessful and we lost eight American servicemen in a horrible aircraft ground collision. Join me in remembering their sacrifice.
However, their deaths were not in vain. The hostages were eventually repatriated and the accident was the watershed event that created, over the next several decades, the world’s preeminent Special Operations capability; USSOCOM and its components. We wouldn’t be where are today without the determination of that fledgling task force. Join me in remembering those that had the guts to try.
Statement from R. Lee Ermey’s long time manager, Bill Rogin:
It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey (“The Gunny”) passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us. It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for. He has meant so much to so many people. And, it is extremely difficult to truly quantify all of the great things this man has selflessly done for, and on behalf of, our many men and women in uniform. He has also contributed many iconic and indelible characters on film that will live on forever. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket fame was a hard and principled man. The real R. Lee Ermey was a family man, and a kind and gentle soul. He was generous to everyone around him. And, he especially cared deeply for others in need.
There is a quote made famous in Full Metal Jacket. It’s actually the Riflemen’s Creed. “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
There are many Gunny’s, but this one was OURS. And, we will honor his memory with hope and kindness. Please support your men and women in uniform. That’s what he wanted most of all.
Semper Fi, Gunny. Godspeed.
We have just learned that Pro Shooter Michael Voigt recently succumbed to cancer.
He was well known and highly regarded in the shooting community. Mike’s achievements are too numerous to list, but he was a multi-time IPSC National, International and World champion as ell as serving as President of the of the United States Practical Shooting Association for many years. He also worked for SureFire in an R&D role.
He will be missed, especially by his beloved wife, Maggie Voigt.
Reading the timeline each year is a sobering experience, but it doesn’t matter what time of year I look at the images from that day. They haunt me. There were 2996 immediate deaths on September 11th, 2001. There were people who cheered that day, celebrating an attack on America. But it wasn’t just an attack on us. It was an attack on the world, with victims from over 90 countries. And those countries came together in the wake of the attack to bring those behind the attack to justice.
9/11 isn’t over. Victims and rescuers alike suffer life threatening medical conditions due to the exposure to toxins during the attacks and continue to succumb to these lingering wounds.
And then, there’s the war. It doesn’t end. In the ensuing 16 years we’ve definitely taken the fight to the enemy and even cut their head off a time or two. The names change, but they remain enemies of freedom. We must secure our future.
Even now, the world is faced with the threat of a resurgent Islamic fundamentalism that targets our ideals in both word and deed. We must oppose them in every case, lest our efforts thus far, be in vain.
Never Forgive, Never Forget
Later that day, at 1720 – 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story building, collapses.
