Friday, September 30, 2016

Getting loaded...

Since it has become more evident after 13 years of satisfied ownership that Truckman's current truck is likely my last truck, I thought future historians might like a little insight on how it came to be, and why it's loaded up with the equipment it carries...In a previously published article, I gave an overview of my various rides, and a brief description of the current daily driver...

Having never before owned a vehicle for this length of time, I'll go into more detail in this article...Those of you clamoring for more historical and political commentary can just suck it up and wait while I indulge myself...I've just always liked trucks of all kinds, my previous favorite being the old beater I used for the gun show circuit; its description is in the previously linked article...As I mentioned there, what I found myself missing the most was shifting gears with a manual transmission...

Therefore, nearing my birthday in 2003, I set out to locate and acquire a truly satisfactory truck that would suit my tastes, and fit any foreseeable needs for the future...I had already decided it had to be diesel-powered, but I did not want another Ford because of the fuel delivery problems I had with it, and I had already ruled out a GM product as I did not want another V-8 because I just didn't like the sound of them...

I ruled out the Class 4 & 5 GM's because I didn't want the Japanese Isuzu engine, and I wasn't ready for the expense of building a custom body for the cab and chassis...The same reasoning applied to the larger Ford and Japanese trucks, even though the Ford was available in a Class 6 with Cummins or Caterpillar inline six diesels...I also ruled out single rear wheel trucks as my thought at the time was toward acquiring a travel trailer, possibly a fifth-wheel, and I wanted the stability and load capacity of a dually...

All these limitations and requirements narrowed my choice down to a Dodge with dual rear wheels and Cummins diesel...At the time, there were no Class 4, 5 or 6 Dodges, therefore the search centered on the Dodge 3500...For any purists and nitpickers reading, I realize the brand name was changed to Ram, but I'll still always think of it as Dodge, OK?...

Having gotten this far, I registered as a member on some Dodge/Cummins discussion forums, and further verified that this vehicle could fill my driving needs and wants...After making a study of available options and features, I contacted my friend who was a sales manager for a GM dealership, and from whom I had bought many satisfactory cars and trucks...Big Al said that his boss had just acquired ownership of a Dodge dealership in a nearby town, and made the necessary introductory calls for me...

Arriving at the Dodge house on my birthday in 2003, I was met by the sales manager, and on telling him what I was looking for, he showed me what was available in inventory, saying if I didn't find one to suit me, he could order anything I wanted...I soon located the exactly equipped truck I wanted, but I noticed it already had about 400 miles on it...I was told that his boss had driven it at a corporate sales event in San Antonio, and was so impressed, he had it transferred to his own inventory and drove it back himself...

So it was that I left my Ford there for trade-in appraisal, and drove the Dodge 3500 home with the understanding that I was not obligated to buy it...I called the next day to tell him to draw up the papers, I was keeping it...I let them arrange financing after getting fair trade-in value for the Ford against dealer invoice price on the Dodge...

It had the DRW option, four-wheel drive and a 305 HP High Output Cummins diesel as I had specced...The Laramie trim option precluded my having to spec equipment such as towing package, leather seating and premium radio options...It also had the desired six-speed manual transmission...

Outward appearance included the monochrome Sport Package, and the shiniest black paint I ever saw from a factory...I did not want or need a heated rear window, and in its place I got a sliding rear glass...Heated mirrors were included in the tow package...It also had the drop-in bedliner, locking rear differential, split bench seat with console and overhead data display...

Naturally, being the old diehard hot-rodder that I am, I couldn't drive around in a stock truck forever, thus began the modifications and additional equipment...I began with adding an XM radio receiver which has been tuned to Radio Classics since that day...

One of the discussion boards sponsored a gathering at a truck equipment distributor in South Houston, and while attending, I found a Weatherguard crossbed toolbox and some Westin tube footsteps...By the time I left, they were installed and paid for...A customer of mine owned another truck accessory shop, and from him I got a good deal on AutoMeter turbo boost gauge and EGT gauge, both installed in an A-pillar mount...

At this point, even with the monochrome factory sport package, the truck somehow didn't look right without the more massive front and rear replacement bumpers and brush guards I was used to in previous rides...I was not 100% happy with the finish quality or the price that went with my traditional Ranch Hand choices of the past, and elected to shop around this time...

A lot of research convinced me to give Tough Country a chance at my business...Direct-from-the-factory prices didn't seem to have much of an advantage over a few local dealers, but once I checked with Discount Hitch, the search stopped as they were significantly more affordable and installation was included...

Tightening my belt, and scraping together my lunch money over time, I finally had enough to order not only the front replacement unit with brush guard and provision for my factory fog lamps, but also a Warn 15,000 pound winch to go with it...The rule of thumb on winch capacity is always have twice the size of your own vehicle's weight for self recovery, therefore I should be safe if I should happen to get stuck...

About this time, the original Goodyear 17 inch, Load Range E tires were worn thin and developing sidewall cracks with less than 29,000 miles...Not wanting to buy new tires every 30K miles, I looked into commercial rated tires, and found I could upgrade to Michelin 245/70R19.5 XZE's in Load Range F with a straight highway tread if I was willing to buy new wheels...

Although I could order wheels and tires direct from Rickson, being cheap I looked around, and found that Discount Tire is a vendor for both Rickson and Michelin, and not only sold me the entire package at a lower cost, but financed it for a year at zero interest...My decision paid off as by the time I had to buy new tires again, I had put an additional 52,000 miles on the truck, plus the ride was more stable and comfortable than the Goodyears...

The only drawback I noticed with the Tough Country bumper was that I had to perform my contortionist act to open the hood due to the very small clearance between the grille and the winch...That problem was solved quite by accident...Waiting for a light to change on my way to work, I witnessed a head-on collision in which one of the vehicles made a bank shot into my left front corner...

Insurance took care of the repair at the dealership where I specified and got genuine OE parts only including a replacement front axle...Unfortunately the Tough Country front end had been discontinued, but I was offered their upgraded premium model at no extra cost to me...It not only looks a lot better, I can now open the hood easily...Things seem to work out by letting nature take its course...

Being a satisfied customer of Tough Country, as finances allowed I had Discount Hitch replace the Westin steprails with TC running boards which have a much surer grip when wet, and they installed a wraparound rear bumper (to protect the dually fenders) while retaining the OEM Class V trailer hitch...My only regret is not specifying tow rings, which fortunately have never been needed...

The only TC product missing was a headache rack, and when I arrived to have it installed, I found out just how much Discount Hitch values their customers...Before installation, the toolbox had to be moved back,,,The experienced installer lifted his end to go back, but his newly hired helper just slid the box down the bedrails leaving deep scratches in the paint...Work came to a stop as the store manager came to look...

He told me he would pay to have the bed repainted to factory specs anywhere I chose at his company's expense...Knowing what clearcoat repairs entail, and in view of the excellent service they had given me up until then, I made a counter offer...I said I would be just as happy to have the bed sprayed in Line-X instead, which would save his company considerable money...He agreed, made the appointment for me, and I also bought darker tint for the front windows at the same time...

Following the Line-X treatment, the headache rack was installed (with deluxe lighting), and the toolbox was carefully re-installed...Needless to say, I am pleased with Discount Hitch, and will recommend their products and services to anyone...

Anyone thinking the truck might have been finished at this point apparently doesn't know Truckman well enough...The redneck came out in me while looking at pictures of other trucks on the various truck forums, and I got it in my head that it needed a pair of chrome exhaust stacks...However, I did not like the sound of the straight-piped Dodge/Cummins I heard around town, and designed my own system...

I decided to use new 4" steel tubing from the turbocharger downpipe to a 36" straight-through Walker muffler with 4" core...From there I specced 4" pipe through a hole cut in the bed to a manifold of my own design which used a short piece of 4" schedule 40 pipe welded to the bottom of a piece of 3X5" rectangular tubing, closed at the ends and suspended on short legs at the bottom...

This assembly was bolted to the floor of the bed,and short pieces of 5" pipe were welded to the top spaced to allow visibility from the driver's seat...Topping the 5" pipe stubs were two 5" core resonators under 5" straight chrome exhaust stacks, supported by brackets bolted to the headache rack...The best exhaust builder I've ever known, Joey at Texas Auto Pro in Conroe, put it all together using 4" flexpipe from the frame-mounted muffler to the bed-mounted manifold to allow needed flexibility to prevent breakage...

The result was as expected with a deep rumble instead of the annoying drone I've heard in so many other diesel trucks...I topped the stacks with rain caps from Berube's where I ordered the resonators...Texas Auto Pro supplied everything else...With ten years of use on the exhaust system, it still performs as expected, and nothing has needed replacement...

The truck has given me flawless performance in the thirteen years since new, with no more maintenance than regular 3,000 mile oil and filter changes (Rotella T), coolant changes, front end alignment and the occasional hose replacement...One thing I did not like early on was the slightly lower stance in front from the factory...I know it's there to allow a little squat when its carrying its weight capacity, but I like it level, and soon after I bought it, had a two-inch leveling kit installed bringing front and rear to the same height...All four shock absorbers have been replaced also...

Another thing I didn't like was driving only 500 miles on a tank of fuel...Replacing the fuel tank with a 56 gallon TransferFlow unit installed at CC Plus extended that to 800 miles...Since there is no such thing as too much power, my friend Curtis from Hot Rod Diesels installed a Smarty programmer at the 90 horsepower setting, which not only increased performance and throttle response, but allows for an impressive smoke show when desired, and still bumped my fuel mileage up about 2/10 of a MPH...

This brings us up to date, but leaves the reader wondering what happens next since Truckman is not known for letting grass grow under his truck...My greatly reduced spending ability, forced on me by retirement, has delayed some of my planned improvements such as an onboard air system with the capacity to run Nathan train horns and an exhaust brake...The factory paint is also looking less-than-shiny after 13 years, so the decision must be made between restored finish or custom design...

But for right now, I'm just planning to give the truck a new set of WeatherTech floor mats for its 14th birthday next year...Pictures of its progress so far can be found here...


More articles concerning Transportation/Motorsports...

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Opposing views...

I've had the opportunity lately to read two books written by Axis belligerents who, although engaged in war against the United States from opposite sides of the world, differed from each other as much as they did from their common enemy...Their own differences seem to mirror the dissimilarities between the political mantras which consumed their own nations, yet they found it expedient to bring war against the might of another which neither fully understood...

In reading through Final Entries 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels, I was thankful I only had to make my way through a few months of his mindless ramblings instead of being forced to read his many years of diaries...It might be interesting to read a summary of his earlier entries to compare how his worship of Adolf Hitler further poisoned his limited thinking, but there's not enough Alka-Seltzer in Texas to neutralize the acid that would have eaten my stomach...

Goebbels is said to have always been blessed with an absorptive mind capable of retaining data and information, and that shows in his ability to concentrate on multiple tasks, but I see no creative or analytical thinking as he just peddles the products of others...However, he was capable of devotion, loyalty and fealty as he never wavered from what he viewed as the Nazi ideology...

His loyalty to Hitler's flawed philosophies, and his constant reassurance to him that the Nazi failures were always the result of conspiracies from imaginary shadowy Jewish figures and bungled schemes by his own military staff, made him the perfect toady to Hitler's megalomania...He never wavered in believing Hitler was the divine guide to a perfect world, but had no problem in assigning blame, doubt and criticism to those chosen by Hitler for high posts in his regime...

I give credit to Hugh Trevor-Roper for his intrepid efforts to assemble this melange of twisted thought without inserting his own usual sarcastic criticism...I suppose he knew Goebbels' flaws were evident enough on their own...By contrast Samurai! by Saburo Sakai was a real delight to read...

In comparing the motivations of Goebbels with those of Sakai strictly within the confines of the reasons for war of their respective nations, it seems both were true believers in their causes, although Germany's were political and rooted in hatred, while Japan's were more nationalistic, and based on greed...Goebbels was willing to kill millions regardless of who they were, as long as he wasn't compelled to watch; Sakai faced death as a warrior willing to kill whoever stood in the way of victory, accepting the knowledge that his own body might lie among the dead as the smoke cleared...

It became obvious immediately by reading his words that Sakai entered the war strictly for patriotic reasons and devotion to country, without regard to political philosophy, or hope of personal gain...Throughout the book he expressed no animosity over never being recognized for his achievements by way of military awards or promotion, although he knew he was widely known as an airborne warrior...

Sakai originally entered service in the JIN as a youth, primarily as an escape from poverty, and a way to provide for his mother and siblings left at home to scratch out a living on a subsistence farm...He accomplished that goal, but quickly learned he had the basic talents needed by pilots, and gratefully accepted a chance at flight training as a way of escaping the harsh, brutal treatment meted put to lower ranking seamen...

Contrary to many accounts I've seen in other first-hand tellings of the hatred displayed between Axis and Allied opponents in WWII, nowhere in his book does he display the personal acrimony demonstrated by some warriors who felt the need to loathe the enemy to justify his destruction...Rather Sakai looked at death as an impersonal result of battle meant as a way of convincing the enemy to sue for peace...He even lauded the skill and bravery of Allied flyers as they opposed his own forces...

One insight I picked up concerning the fight for Iwo Jima was that the American forces could have had the island just by walking ashore in the summer of 1944, as it was practically defenseless...The Japanese naval command was deeply stung and confused by what they saw as a crushing defeat of their own forces in the Marianas Campaign...They saw the Allied forces as free to roam the Pacific at will, and knew that Iwo Jima, with its strategic airfield, must be a high-value target...

Sakai's wing was ordered immediately to establish an air defense with all the aircraft they could muster, which was no more than 30 Zeroes manned by mostly inexperienced pilots, added to the remaining handful already there...At this time, Sakai was blind in one eye from battle wounds, and was ordered to Iwo Jima strictly as an operations planner...Knowing the critical need for combat-savvy flyers, he also assumed the role of flight leader, despite orders grounding him...

The expected air battle took place during which American fighters decimated the Japanese air forces until less than half a dozen flightworthy planes remained in the first week of July...But the invasion was withheld for seven months as General Tadamachi Kuribayashi moved 23,000 additional troops onto the island, and rebuilt its defenses...

In woulda-shoulda hindsight, had the American invasion commenced the previous July with the forces available to the allies at that time, untold thousands of lives might have been spared, and the war might have ended sooner...But then Joe Rosenthal would have had to wait for another Pulitzer Prize opportunity...And Douglas MacArthur might have been denied his photo op wading ashore at Leyte that October...

As I replace both these books on my shelves, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to study both first-hand accounts of a terrible lesson in which humanity's survivors should have learned the value of peace...But as I read the headlines everyday, the evidence is clear that the price was paid, but the buyers were cheated...

EDITORIAL NOTE: Many thanks to the Wannabe Literary Council for recommending "Samurai!" which is now on the Truckman Highly Recommended list...


More articles with Book Reviews...

More articles concerning Warriors and Militaria...

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Lost at sea...

Rescued by cargo ship...At first glance it looks like an ordinary story of lifesaving recovery from the clutches of death in a watery grave...But when you throw in the fact that the hapless and grateful rescuee was a Royal Navy pilot who also wanted his Sea Harrier returned to its rightful home, HMS Illustrious, the story begins to take on unique characteristics...

Following an incredible series of unlucky events which would have been more befitting of Wile E. Coyote, Sub Lieutenant Ian Watson found himself lost and hovering over the deep blue somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean...In a routine training mission, Lt. Watson left the ski-jump ramp of the Illustrious with instructions to rendezvous with his flight leader at a pre-determined point, and then locate a French aircraft carrier in simulated combat conditions which included radio silence and no radar assist...

The Lieutenant found himself where he figured he should be, but with no flight leader in visual range...His radar also showed no wingman, nor anyone else...Trying his radio, he found it to be inoperable...He could not find the Illustrious for recovery because his aircraft's navigation system was also inoperable...The emergency squawk transponder also failed...

Running low on fuel, he turned in the direction of a known shipping lane hoping to eject within sight of a vessel, and let the water claim the Sea Harrier...What he found was a Spanish cargo ship, the Alraigo, which had a number of steel shipping containers lashed to its cargo deck...Making a split second decision to try saving his aircraft, and with only minutes of fuel remaining, the flyer decided to use the Sea Harrier's VTOL capability to put it down on top of the containers...

As a credit to Lt. Watson's apparent paying of attention during his training (which was only 75% complete at the time of the incident), the 25 year old pilot put his aircraft down squarely where he intended on the containers...However, after coming to a vertical stop the aircraft began a slide backwards, thought to be the possible result of the startled ship's captain attempting evasive action to save his ship from damage...

Lt. Watson attempted at this point to retract his landing gear to stop the roll, but a delivery van on deck behind the containers caught the brunt of the impact halting the aircraft's motion...After reaching the Spanish port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, The Alraigo's captain and crew attempted to claim salvage rights to the warplane, and in the end were awarded a cash settlement...

The salvageable Sea Harrier was returned to the British Navy by Spain, avoiding further conflict between the two nations which were already in contention over the ownership of Gibraltar...Predictably the naval officers who were responsible for sending a pilot out alone before completion of his training in a warplane with faulty communication and navigation equipment managed to shift the blame to the young flyer who calmly made the emergency landing...

Taking his punishment for preventing the loss of valuable military property, in the tradition of naval discipline Watson accepted his reprimand and desk duty...He eventually completed his tour of duty, accumulating an additional 2,000 hours of flight time in Harriers, and another 900 in F/A-18's before resigning his commission...The Sea Harrier was later repaired and also returned to duty, following which it was assigned to an aviation museum where it resides today...

There is no record of whether Lt. Watson's improvised procedure was added to the emergency landing chapter of the Sea Harrier's training manual, but as the young flyer is said to have thought to himself as he approached his ad-libbed landing pad, "Oh well...In for a penny, in for a pound"...

Added in edit 5/20/2020: The video below was found after publication of this article...




More articles concerning Warriors and Militaria...

Monday, September 26, 2016

Air Combat at 20 Feet...

The seemingly unlikely scenario suggested by the title of this article is not only feasible, but was practiced skillfully in a B-25 Mitchell bomber by the author of a book by the same title...Another war history aficionado, known in internet circles by the sobriquet of Independent Voter, was kind enough not only to make me aware of this literary gem, but to lend me his treasured autographed copy...

I read it, and enjoyed it so much, I located and bought my own copy for my small library...Books written by lesser known writers and published by obscure printers are sometimes overlooked, and even looked down upon by reviewers as unworthy, but this is not the first time I've located worthwhile writing hiding in plain sight...

Certainly not a polished, professional writer, Garrett Middlebrook has put into understandable words a straight-from-the-shoulder account of his military experiences in the Southwest Pacific Theater during WWII...Told from the viewpoint of a citizen/soldier thrust into war against an enemy he did not know, Middlebrook looked on his duty first as an American, and more narrowly as part of a small group caged together in aluminum and canvas, dedicated to keeping each other alive and unharmed...

He begins by explaining unapologetically for his use of certain terms and words in his narrative which might be taken as misused by some purists...As a former enlisted crewman, I thought his narration was perfect as representing the thoughts of men sent to do a job that nobody wants, with their only reward being a return to normal life carrying memories of horrors that no one should be asked to recall, decisions that can't be undone...

Decades had passed before Middlebrook sat down to organize and record the events in his memory, but he had an ally in his task, his diaries in which he kept notes of the everyday happenings in a combat pilot's life...Of all the histories of war I've read, this one is the most useful to me because I've learned of things no one else has written of...I now know of the improvisation of tactics that can't even be conceived in a pre-flight briefing...

I now know how ingenuity is born of desperation when a battle plan goes awry, when the unforeseen becomes reality and only split seconds separate a crew from flaming death...I know how some explicit orders simply can't be followed by one man, and are undertaken by another with no regrets from either when the battle stops...

I now know how a crew can fly toward a target thinking only of their duty completing a mission, and on the turn toward home their only thoughts are of each other, and the safe return of all aboard...I know the respect and admiration warriors can have for other warriors although they will never meet, or even learn each other's names...

I already knew how an upset in the pecking order can affect those left down the list, but now I know how it's handled by those who put the job ahead of personal advancement, whether they're in it for a career or not...I also already knew how those in the military speak a different language among themselves than that which they use writing reports, and the conversations depicted in the book were certainly not word-for-word as they took place...

But I also understand why Middlebrook, as a writer, chose the more stilted, drawing-room dialect in his narration of talk between crewmembers, rather than the rougher, more casual words actually used by those in the military...Middlebrook at some point realized that an accurate depiction of common talk does not play well in print...He understood that accents, excited slurs and inside jokes do not translate as well to all readers as they would in spoken words...

Therefore, I imagine that, given the choices available to a writer more interested in telling his story than auditioning for a screenplay assignment, he chose to represent most conversations as they might have been written for a 1930's British film drama...This made it far more readable and understandable to a broader based audience than a verbatim recitation of jargon between military men...

This has become one of my favorite WWII histories as it tells the story on a personal level, rather than a look back in time from someone who was never there...The author managed to tell a story in which it was obvious he played a bigger part than what he gave himself credit for, but he did it in a way that shows what a team effort it took just to survive such an experience...

Far too little is known of the smaller wars fought and died for in the larger theaters engaged by men, and on another level by women, who experienced fear, courage, tedium and joy, sometimes all in the same hour, in the hope of resuming a normal life, all the while knowing others would be left behind, never to return...


More articles with Book Reviews...

More articles concerning Warriors and Militaria...

Friday, September 23, 2016

Sometimes you lose the battle and don't even know it...


The war may not be over, but at the appropriate moment in each skirmish, the belligerents must decide whether to surrender, tactically withdraw or just declare victory and prepare for the next enemy...In a battle of wills, even the most hard-headed of individual combatants must be prepared for a setback against a gigantic corporate opponent secure in its own gluttony, and hardened against attack by seemingly insignificant foes...

During the course of this composition, I began to wonder if I would be as ambiguous about identities of the belligerents depicted here if I was talking about a complete victory instead of a setback...I'm sure a diligent reader can easily deduce the origin of this tale, but I believe now if there is a third installment, I'll continue my stance of veiled identities regardless of the outcome...It's only fair, and it's more fun...

One of the combatants, bloated by years of meek compliance by sheep-like visitors willing to be herded through a common checkpoint, became enraged at the awareness of a rebel force-of-one who ignored its unlawful and unsuccessful attempts at insulting restraint...The insurgent, after completing his lawful mission within the territory in which the giant claimed total control, began to ignore the exit checkpoint re-entering the free world, and bypassing the herd who were meekly awaiting permission to leave...

The rebel's activities had been previously noted by the giant's command post who could not allow such insolence to go unpunished, as it might stir feelings of rebellion among the others...Replacing the checkpoint pickets with larger, louder and more obnoxious wardens, the giant assumed that its more imposing sentinels would restore its dominance over the rebel force...

To the surprise and annoyance of the arrogant ogre, the rebel merely ignored the replacement guards' main weapons, their shrill and vexatious voices, as he used their gargantuan obesity against them by sidestepping them into the cleaner outside air...The pretentious kingfish of this small pond, sensing a loss of control over the mindless herd from which the giant feeds, unleashed what she thought to be a silver bullet against the rebel force...

Summoning up her full height of five and a half feet, she looked up into the unflinching face of the rebel, and announced in her most irritating voice that he would no longer be allowed to display his rebellious nature among the meeker cattle grazing within her dominion...After laughing into her pinched face, she spewed forth in her fury against the rebel that she had been compiling evidence against him, and threatened to present it all to a "higher authority"...

Laughingly telling her that any authority on the planet was higher than that which she possessed, the rebel bid her adieu, deciding to distribute his assets among a more appreciative group of recipients...The giant, although probably unfeeling of the loss of commerce, was left to practice its pompous and overbearing routine on a more compliant flock, while the rebel's resources were welcomed in other venues, and he prepared his counterattacks for any new aggression by the giant...

As it was noted by an unknown commentator. "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings," which will probably occur sometime after her doughnut break following a wearying shift at the checkpoint herding the sheep...


More articles concerning Crime and Punishment...

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Overcoming Adversity...

As a performance car obsessed young man becoming of age in the late 1950's/early 1960's, I looked for one name first in the automotive magazines I subscribed to as each new issue was delivered...Thumbing past the shiny eye candy depicted on each cover of Hot Rod, Car Craft, Rod & Custom or other publications of the day, I quickly scanned the table of contents for Roger Huntington's byline, knowing that after I read his latest article, the mysteries of applying power to pavement would become a little clearer to my teenage mind...

I noted to myself that although I never saw him pictured (other than an author's credit headshot) as a participant or even a spectator at any event or enthusiast's gathering, when he was mentioned by other writers it was always in reverence to his vast knowledge of what it took to produce horsepower and make it work in a performance car...Today almost nothing is written of him on internet sites to tell the present and future generations who he was; there isn't even a Wikipedia entry...

Huntington had a knack for explaining the most complex engineering principles in words that even an untrained amateur could understand, and did it in a way that made it entertaining enough to hold the reader's attention long enough to learn something...Until recently, when I rediscovered my stash of automotive magazines from the 50's, 60's and 70's, I knew very little about the man behind the typewriter...

Born in the 20's, he had a productive life ahead of him when a diving accident left him permanently paralyzed from the chest down while he was still a teenager...Unlike many who would have given up their dreams of a higher education, he redoubled his efforts by becoming a self-taught engineer, eventually recognized for his talents by full membership induction into the Society of Automotive Engineers...

His fascination with making mechanical power, and applying it to practical applications, led him first into understanding the vast and sudden improvements in aircraft engines in WWII, leading to his first published article in 1948...From there his natural progression took him to the performance side of the automobile industry where he became a much sought after consultant in the race for dependable horsepower...

He could never be tied down to one manufacturer as he sought ways of tweaking more power and making it work where the rubber meets the road on GM, Ford and Chrysler products as well...But his true talent was in drawing together more and more enthusiasts to the burgeoning sports of hot-rodding and drag racing through the print media...

And he did it the hard way; his paralysis left him with only limited use of his right arm and hand...As difficult as it must have been to get through the prodigious reading list it took to become the highly qualified and respected engineer he was, imagine the effort it took to write the many books and thousands of technical articles he authored, producing each page by pecking at a typewriter keyboard with a pencil clutched in his right fist...

Even today, almost thirty years after his death, some of his books are still available to the lucky few who can find them, and others of us are lucky enough to have saved all the old magazines our Moms thought we wasted our money on buying...Nor was he content to be pushed about in a wheelchair; he owned and operated his own cars fitted to be driven by paraplegics...

Today he serves a new purpose for me every time I think about how tough my life is, and how unfair it is that I've reached this point in life without accomplishing all my goals, I remember Roger Huntington and how he inspired a young kid to build his own street machines, and make his own mistakes and learn from them...If he could do all he did from a wheelchair, then maybe I'm not quite done yet...

I'm further reminded of a young man of my acquaintance whom I see occasionally at Church on what I refer to as his "fancy walking sticks"...Observing his progress since childhood, I've noted over the years that he walks forth into the world carrying a smile, and seemingly never a burden...

I predict that, like Roger Huntington, he will be recalled by future generations for his spirit and accomplishment in whatever field of endeavor he chooses to enter...I pity any fool who stands against him...

There are worse ways to be remembered...Thanks, guys!...


More articles concerning Transportation/Motorsports...

Monday, September 19, 2016

Regrets...

Regrettably, we all have them, and owning that collection is one of the few parts of life we can't regret, since as humans they are inevitable to our existence...They come to us as one factor of a life built on alternatives...

I'll always regret accepting that first drink and first smoke, but I will never regret knowing which of each was my last...

I regret not making more intelligent choices before committing to marriage...Twice...My future decisions may involve commitment, but not marriage...

I regret not taking better advantage of the travel and education opportunities available during my time spent in the military...I have no regrets over using the benefits granted returning veterans...

I regret not doing computer and O/S upgrades before they become mandatory...It's tough being forced to catch up with progress, and still having to do my daily work...

I regret being offered an IRA account when they were first available, and neglecting to accept...

I don't regret learning life's most valuable lessons the hard way...It makes them easier to remember...

This list is incomplete, but I do not regret publishing it before all my regrets occur to me...


More articles concerning Other Thoughts...

Saturday, September 10, 2016

You expect me to do WHAT? Part II...


The only part of Joseph Kennedy, Jr.'s life that was more carefully planned than the events that led to his death was his post-war life as US President envisioned by his father, the would-be kingmaker, Joseph Kennedy, Sr...The world as it would have been can now only be speculated upon in an alternate universe scenario as Joe Kennedy Jr. became the only one of his father's sons who would not announce his candidacy for President...

As history has left us few clues to the discussion that may have ensued as Lieutenant Kennedy was briefed on what was expected of him during Operation Aphrodite for which he had just volunteered, we can only guess his thoughts as the plan was unfolded...He was told that an older bomber which had already survived many earlier battles, but was now deemed unsafe to risk another mission with an expensively trained crew of men, would be stripped of all survival gear and other equipment necessary for its safe return...

This shell of an aircraft would even have its canopy, radios and all navigation equipment, guns and other crew facilities removed...In the place of all that was removed, the old bomber would be loaded with 30,000 pounds of Torpex, a British explosive compound having one and a half times the destructive power of TNT...

Lieutenant Kennedy's job would involve taking off from a runway in this fully fueled airborne bomb, then guiding it to a point near the coast at an altitude of 2,000 feet while a 200 mph wind was blowing in his face through the removed canopy...At this moment he was to relinquish directional and power control of the aircraft to a newly designed automatic pilot, guided by radio and a rudimentary television system to monitor gauges from a mothership trailing behind...

Kennedy and the volunteer flight engineer were then to remove the safety pins from the explosive devices and arm the detonators...Afterward they were to re-enter the cockpit, egress the aircraft through the canopy opening, deploy their parachutes and return to Earth where a team would be waiting to recover them...

When the time came for Kennedy's mission, twelve other aircraft had been sent aloft previously with none having completed the mission successfully, resulting in the loss of life for many of the crewmen...Whether Lt. Kennedy was briefed on this record of attempts is unknown...He and his flight engineer, Lt. Wilford J. Willy, launched on August 12, 1944, and never got past the English coast as their drone exploded in a fireball of Torpex and aviation gasoline near the town of Blyth...

Had their mission been successful, one of Germany's superweapons, the so-called V3 Supergun, would have been destroyed at Mimoyecques, France...As it was, the two naval aviators both lost their lives and became casualties in an operation that claimed the lives of many airmen, 26 aging aircraft, and no successful missions...

Had the Operation Aphrodite been successful, many obsolete bombing platforms might have been converted to the Consolidated BQ-8...The fate of the aircraft listed by its S/N designation, 32271, is also listed here, along with an alternate spelling of the last name of the flight engineer...

As in most other Kennedy family related stories, an aura of mystery and controversy surrounds this one...In 1986, a 65 year old former Wehrmacht AAA officer said that in July 1944 his artillery unit shot down a B-17 returning from a bombing raid, and his men captured two crewmen who parachuted to safety...

He claimed that he personally interviewed both, one of whom identified himself as Joe Kennedy, a 1st Lieutenant in the US Air Force from Hyannisport...He further claimed the captured Americans were shot while escaping the same day, and buried in a local cemetery...

This tale immediately holds no water in my view as all US servicemembers are told if they are captured by an enemy, they must abide by the Code of Conduct giving no further information to their captors than name, rank, service number and date of birth...In Kennedy's case he would have known that being the son of a former US Ambassador would make him a high value prisoner subject to a higher level of security, reducing further his chances of escape...

For that reason alone he would not have revealed his hometown of Hyannisport, Massachusetts...Neither would he have falsely given his rank as 1st Lt., a paygrade used by the Army which is one rank lower than his true rank of Lieutenant in the Navy, and he would not have identified his branch of service as US Air Force which did not exist at the time...Air units not assigned to the Navy were under the command of the US Army at that time...Neither Kennedy, nor any other prisoner would have identified any branch of service at all as their captors would make that determination based on their uniforms...

Adding to the mystery, and also adding another Presidential connection to this story, another witness came forward to refute the German officer's claim...Elliot Roosevelt, then a USAAF Colonel and commander of the 325th Photographic Wing in England and the son of then President Franklin Roosevelt, said at the time of the German publication that he personally witnessed the deaths of Lieutenants Kennedy and Willy in the air over England a month after the German claims, as he was flying in a reconnaissance aircraft trailing the doomed B-24 and its mothership...

Roosevelt's own veracity is clouded in doubt since Army records cannot confirm his whereabouts on the day in question, and his own claims of flying 89 combat missions in WWII have been in dispute since that time...Records do indicate that a Mosquito recon/bomber assigned to Roosevelt's 325th Wing was trailing the two aircraft at the time of the explosion closely enough to witness the event, but no record exists of Roosevelt's presence...

What is known for certain is that the modified bomber carrying Joe Kennedy Jr. blew up in midair over the English coast; his body was never recovered and he was never heard from again...My own question in this mystery concerns why a second officer, Lt. Willy, was assigned to the flight as an engineer since on fully crewed bombers this position was filled by an enlisted man, normally an NCO who also acted as top turret gunner...

Regardless, both men were subsequently listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery...Kennedy's sacrifice and devotion to duty earned for him the posthumous awards of the Navy Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is not known what lay in a father's heart when Joe Kennedy Sr. was told of the death of his eldest son...It can be believed that, being human, he mourned the loss of his flesh and blood...It can also be thought that, having unfulfilled ambitions of his own, he also grieved over the loss of his investment of time and money spent grooming his son to gain political power...

Fortunately for him he was a good enough businessman and gambler to hedge his bets by preparing another son for the sacrificial altar just for these unforeseen difficulties..."PT 109," written by William Doyle, delves further into the intriguing sidebars, backstories and afterstories than any other account of JFK's wartime service I have examined...

Joe Jr.'s other brothers were too young to have seen action in WWII, although Robert served briefly in the Naval Reserve as an enlisted man, and was able, through his father's political connections, to add sea duty on the destroyer named for his oldest brother to his resume by arranging to be present on its sea trials...Edward, the youngest brother, served later as an enlisted man also in the US Army at SHAPE HQ, then located in Paris, in the role of a military policeman...

Because of his father's influence, Edward was able to avoid duty in the ongoing Korean War which may not have been deemed "heroic" enough to risk injury which might have delayed his career plans...It may also be noted here that Joe Sr. did not serve in the nation's military at all being too young for service in the Spanish-American War, and too burdened with a family for WWI, although these considerations did not deter other Americans who heeded their country's call...

Great admiration can be credited to JFK for his endurance for pain as a youth bedeviled by abusive roughhousing from his older brother plus many illnesses and injuries suffered during his formative years...As war approached, John Kennedy put aside his accumulation of notches on his bedpost, and his collection of credits from the schools that looked best on a resume, for thoughts of gaining glory on the battlefield...

Knowing that military service always garners approval from the American voting public, the senior Kennedy was anxious to add an impressive wartime record to the accolades being gathered for his second son...He found his path in the person of Lt. Commander John Bulkeley, recently returned from the Pacific War as the key figure in one of America's few successes so far, the rescue of General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor, an action for which he earned the Medal of Honor...

The elder Kennedy instinctively knew that the motor torpedo boats Bulkeley used in the dash to Australia could bring fame and honor to his second son if he could get him assigned to them...He also knew that his son, being on the bottom rung of the officer's ladder at the rank of Ensign, would get no sooner chances to command a larger ship than he would the smaller PT boats...

Kennedy arranged a meeting with Bulkeley, and bluntly asked whether the MoH recipient had the influence to get his son appointed to PT boat duty, upon which he was told he could, but only if his son met the Navy's requirements...The younger Kennedy bounded at the chance especially when he found the Navy would not require the Ensign to undergo another physical, allowing him to conceal his ever-increasing back pain for which he was now sleeping on plywood planking to relieve the agony...

After training, the newly promoted Lt.(jg) Kennedy asked for and received assignment to an active PT boat squadron in the South Pacific, something his father specifically fought against...Having learned well of political skullduggery at his father's knee, Lt. Kennedy had pulled his own backstage strings gaining senatorial leverage to assure his battle assignment...

Most of what happened afterward is a well-known matter of historical record, but Doyle has strengthened his telling by weaving in much backstory stitching to the story's fabric...Much has been written of Kennedy's efforts to save as many of his crew as possible, but I have seen nothing in print of his nightly walks into the shark-infested waters, not knowing he and his crew had been given up as dead...

The survivors had swum to a small spit of land, where they hid from the enemy by day...One critically injured man had been towed with his life jacket strap in Kennedy's teeth...Knowing his men would soon die from starvation, Kennedy, carrying only a handgun and a red lantern, walked nightly out on a submerged coral reef standing most of the night ready to signal a US boat knowing the waters were regularly frequented by Navy patrols...

Eventually found by native islanders who carried a message scratched inside a coconut shell to an allied coastwatcher, Kennedy and those of his men who were able resumed duty, Kennedy being assigned to another PT boat converted to a gunship...The extent of Kennedy's injuries were revealed at a later date, whereupon he was ordered back to the US for extensive medical treatment...

His return to civilian life, and entry into the political world was marked by a "fact-finding" trip before his race for the Senate against Henry Lodge, Jr...A key mission in this trip was to locate and meet the commander of the Japanese destroyer which sunk his PT boat, in an effort to show the war was over, and peace could be made between former enemies...This part was orchestrated by the master of the machiavellian, Kennedy, Sr...

The meeting was foiled by Kennedy being stricken with a sudden illness brought on by his well hidden Addison's Disease, which had plagued him since childhood...Fate prevented there ever being a face-to-face meeting between the two warriors, yet the many letters, telegrams and gift exchanges between the two helped Kennedy's image as a diplomat and man of peace, just as the elder Kennedy wished...

Thus are the stories of war, politics and human relations woven...Further revelations from Doyle's retelling of what was once a familiar story, and now unfolds with a fresh look at an old war, would spoil the reader's pleasure...Suffice it to say, "PT 109" is on the Truckman Highly Recommended list, and two Kennedy brothers stand a little taller in my estimation for their service and sacrifice to country...


More articles concerning Warriors and Militaria...

More articles with Book Reviews...

Friday, September 9, 2016

Immigrants...Part II...






The current talk against Mexican immigrants takes a different tack when one considers the story of Staff Sgt. Marcario Garcia, the first Mexican immigrant to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by a grateful America...The citation for the award reads:
Staff Sergeant Marcario García, Company B, 22nd Infantry, in action involving actual conflict with the enemy in the vicinity of Grosshau, Germany, 27 November 1944. While an acting squad leader, he single-handedly assaulted two enemy machine gun emplacements. Attacking prepared positions on a wooded hill, which could be approached only through meager cover. His company was pinned down by intense machine-gun fire and subjected to a concentrated artillery and mortar barrage. Although painfully wounded, he refused to be evacuated and on his own initiative crawled forward alone until he reached a position near an enemy emplacement. Hurling grenades, he boldly assaulted the position, destroyed the gun, and with his rifle killed three of the enemy who attempted to escape. When he rejoined his company, a second machine-gun opened fire and again the intrepid soldier went forward, utterly disregarding his own safety. He stormed the position and destroyed the gun, killed three more Germans, and captured four prisoners. He fought on with his unit until the objective was taken and only then did he permit himself to be removed for medical care. S/Sgt. (then Pvt.) Garcia's conspicuous heroism, his inspiring, courageous conduct, and his complete disregard for his personal safety wiped out two enemy emplacements and enabled his company to advance and secure its objective.

In later life, after becoming a US citizen, Garcia served as a counselor with the Veterans Administration for 25 years...He also became an activist for the rights of Latino immigrants...This part of his life might never have happened if not for an incident which occurred shortly after he had returned home following the war...Those people unhappy with Garcia's turn to activism may wish to direct their displeasure toward Mrs. Donna Andrews who refused service to Garcia because he was Hispanic in her Oasis Cafe in Richmond, Texas days after he was awarded the CMH by President Harry Truman...

On November 21, 1963 Garcia met with another decorated WWII veteran, President John Kennedy, at the Rice Hotel in Houston to discuss ways to improve ethnic relations in America...The next afternoon, Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas...

When I worked for Goodyear in Houston, I often traveled on S/Sgt. Marcario Garcia Blvd. when my duties took me to Goodyear's Harrisburg store...
Sgt. Garcia was not alone in his experience as an exemplary soldier among Hispanics...

Another which stands out in my memory is Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez, born in Texas to Mexican and Yaqui Indian parents...In the course of his combat service in Vietnam, Sgt. Benavidez distinguished himself as cited below in his CMH presentation by President Reagan:
Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. BENAVIDEZ United States Army, distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam.
On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. 
Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters, of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, returned to off-load wounded crew members and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. 
Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader. 
When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt. 
He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from behind by an enemy soldier. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he sustained additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. 
Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.
As inspiring as the text of the citation is, it becomes legendary when Sgt. Benavidez' earlier combat experience is taken into context...During his first tour of duty as an advisor in Vietnam during a patrol with South Vietnam Army regulars, he stepped on and detonated a land mine...

Seriously injured, he was medi-vaced to a stateside Army hospital where after extensive examination he was told he would never walk again...Through sheer force of will, and without the knowledge of the doctors, he began a self-imposed regimen of exercise eventually restoring feeling and movement to his toes, then feet...

After a year of therapy in the hospital, he was able to walk out on his own, and returned to duty...Volunteering for another tour of duty in Vietnam, the events leading to his taking 37 separate wounds in what has been described as "six hours in Hell" occurred...

During after-battle triage by a field medic who assumed no man could be alive with that many severe wounds, Sgt. Benavidez was forced to spit in the medic's face as the bodybag was being zipped shut just to let him know he was alive...In addition to the Medal of Honor, Sgt. Benavidez earned a chest full of awards including five Purple Hearts, as well as much recognition after his return to civilian life...

My own experience serving with Hispanic members of the USAF, and working and living with them confirms that, though the two men discussed above may be exemplary, their willingness and pride of service is common...Those still unconvinced of the value placed on the efforts of Hispanic military members in service to the American nation may wish to spend some time with this list of Hispanic Congressional Medal of Honor recipients...


More articles concerning US Events...

More articles concerning Warriors and Militaria...

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

War Profits...


In wars hot or cold, localized or world encompassing, profiteers abound, some popular, and others despised...Even those in non-combatant nations can profit whether the blood flows or not...As examples, the Swiss take their percentage of funds from belligerents crossing their borders even while maintaining the illusion of neutrality...The Swedes continued with the sale of raw materials to the German war industry during WWII, while later allowing tenancy of air fields by the Allies, all for a price...

Those in the business of manufacturing or distributing war materiel or services must know that they become fair targets of military activity in a hot war, and objectives of less lethal but more vicious attacks in courtrooms, pressrooms and legislative cloakrooms...Consistently the most polarizing of all participants in any hostile action, they are viewed as either conscientious patriots aiding the noble cause, or unprincipled scoundrels one step ahead of a hangman's rope, with few opinions in between...

The history as written by the victors in any war determines how the profiteers are viewed by later generations, and can determine whether there is even a future for those participants...Since WWII is the most well documented war in history, examples of this are easily found and documented...

Two of the most visible were the manufacturing families of Ford and Krupp...Viewing Ford's participation in the events leading to war from the standpoint of the victors allowed a cursory and dismissive look at charges of collaboration, while praising its quick and effective turn from manufacture of products for civilian consumption to massive quantities of instruments of warfare...

Although Henry Ford embraced some of the racial theories spewed by the Nazi dictator, and likely admired his ruthless climb to the top over the backs of his enemies, he was also astute enough as a businessman to forecast the doom toward which Germany was heading, and cut ties with the Third Reich at the opportune time...Ford knew a loser when he saw one, and knew he could expand his own empire with a much greater degree of certainty by contracting with those opposing Hitler rather than aiding him...

The definitive literary work on the Krupp dynasty is The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester, a copy of which I've owned and re-read numerous times since 1968...Almost nothing is known of the origin of the first Krupp of record, Arndt, other than he walked out of the forest into the town of Essen Germany, and may have sprung from Dutch beginnings...

What is known is that his business skills were passed down through the family from the time he first registered as a merchant in Essen, and started his fortune buying properties cheap from families decimated by the Bubonic Plague, right down to the final Krupp business tycoon, Alfried, who allied the family fortune with a political movement destined to bring itself and all who stood with it to doom...Manchester's book is a masterwork as he chronicles the entire lineage of the family with painstaking research, attention to the smallest detail and a writing style that carries the story forward from obscure beginning to bitter end...

Ford ended the war with new paid-for factories, new sources of raw materials and a guaranteed customer base clamoring for products...The Krupp family was left in ruin with destroyed factories, confiscated accumulations of wealth, endless debt and facing prosecution and possible death sentences as war criminals...However the Krupps survived and after some prison time Alfried Felix Alwyn Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach regained some semblance of a manufacturing career, although he became the last family member of the great steelmaker dynasty...

Profiteering itself, seldom used as anything but a pejorative term, is often viewed as the activity and singular motivating interest of the greedy, ignoring the pain and suffering resulting from the wanton use of their products of destruction...That definition fades into the mist when those same products from the same business-people are employed in defense or aggressive attack against those who have become the enemies of the civilized world...

As in any business, profits must be taken or commerce will stall and fail...All expenses must be considered and budgeted for because all bills come due and must be paid...Those critics who lament the $800.00 toilet seats, and $1,200.00 hammers billed to the taxpayers in some defense contracts should know that the bottom line profit also covers R&D costs, tooling and testing as well as costs most would rather sweep under the rug such as lobbying, employee theft and even bribery...All must be paid for in the end...

Indeed the ubiquitous Red Cross, the non-profit organization with its attendant Red Crescent and Red Crystal entities, accounted for at scenes of human suffering in both war and peace, takes its profit to pay the salaries of its managers and directorship, and to stockpile supplies against future needs...Profit is the reason trade exists no matter what product or service is being offered...


More articles concerning World Events...


More articles with Book Reviews...