Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
ANZAC DAY
Anzac Day commemorates the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. This is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand; nowadays Anzac Day honours all those who died and served in military operations for their countries.
This day is especially honoured here on Blog STORMBRINGER.
Monday, April 25, 2011
CHE GUEVARA
If your kid ever comes home in a Che Guevara T-shirt, ask him if he knows what the Cuban murderer actually stood for. Sit him down, strip the gauze of ignorance from his eyes and have him read some of these Guevara quotes:
10 Che Guevara quotes the left would rather not talk about
Here are a few I pulled out:
- “To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary … These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution!”
- “A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate. We must create the pedagogy of the The Wall!” The Wall is a reference to the wall where Che’s enemies stood before his firing squads.
- “If any person has a good word for the previous government that is good enough for me to have him shot."
That not good enough to do the trick? Here's some more Che-ism the Left would rather not be publicized:
13 reasons you should throw away your Che Guevara T-shirt
- Soon after Batista was overthrown, Guevara had hundreds of Cuban government officials executed. Notice that the phrase “fair trial” was conspicuously absent from the previous sentence.
- Che was a brutal murderer. He trained and commanded firing squads that executed thousands of men, women and children deemed enemies by the new Castro regime. He once put a bullet in the head of a fellow guerrilla he suspected of disloyalty.
- Che was not a fan of our First Amendment. He opposed freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and protest. Can you say North Korea?
But if your kid MUST wear a Che Guevara T-shirt, there's THIS brilliance:
At CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia they have a very interesting museum, which includes some displays dedicated to the campaign, capture & death of Che Guevara, to include personal artifacts. Che was such a threat, his remains a visible high-profile personality file in an otherwise sea of anonymity . . . S.L.
Today's Bird HERE.
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Sunday, April 24, 2011
TO THE OTHER SIDE
Mercenary turned monk passes away
His story is remarkable - S.L.
From the
An American soldier of fortune who later became a monk in Thailand and helped hundreds of people overcome alcohol and drug addictions at the world famous Thamkrabok Temple in Thailand has passed away.
A spokesman for the temple said Phra Gordon, also known as Gordon Baltimore of Harlem or the "Black Monk", died on April 20 in hospital.
He said temple staff were working with the US embassy in Bangkok to locate Phra Gordon's family, which was difficult as the monk no longer had a passport.
In Thai, "Phra" (pronounced PRAH) is the honorific title for a monk - S.L.
Phra Gordon had lived at the temple for almost three decades, devoting himself to helping people overcome their addictions through a "tough love" rehabilitation program.
Wat Thamkrabok (pronounced TAHM-kra-boke) -I have visited this temple myself and witnessed their methods first hand - more than simply "tough love"; herbal-induced purging and daily saunas, combined with Buddhist spiritualism successfully rehabilitates heroin addicts and alcoholics - S.L.
Irish writer and teacher Paul Garrigan writes on his website of how with his loud US accent, keen sense of humour and large frame, Phra Gordon was far from a typical monk.
Garrigan describes the remarkable story of how Phra Gordon came to be at the temple; the Harlem, New York native was once a mercenary and admitted he had killed many people.
"He was on his way to join another army when he found himself at Thamkrabok temple. This was not a planned visit, but the bus he was traveling on experienced flat tires right outside the temple.
"While he was waiting for the wheels to be fixed, he went for a walk and met the head monk. To his amazement, this stranger in Buddhist robes informed Gordon that he was expected and that he would now be joining the temple.
"For some reason, Gordon accepted the revelation and ordained. He had no intention of staying there so long but the time never felt right to leave."
Phra Gordon said in an interview with the Washington Post that growing up in Harlem in the 1950s and '60s and as a nine-year-old watching a man die from an overdose turned him away from drugs.
He said he joined the merchant marines at age 16, and during a stopover in Penang (Malaysia) he met Bob Denard, a French mercenary who was recruiting fighters.
French soldier-of-fortune Bob Denard, in the early sixties.
"Being an American black, they think you know everything about guns," Phra Gordon said, while admitting he didn't.
He participated in some major conflicts, but after a brush with death in Namibia he decided to give up the life of a mercenary.
After a long journey around the world, Phra Gordon arrived in Thailand, took a bus ride out of Bangkok and just wandered into the grounds of Wat Thamkrabok.
"I'm not crazy," he said, recalling the day. "But I heard someone say 'You've come here at last.' After the war and all that, I got a feeling of peace.
"After Harlem and the life of a mercenary," he said, "this was the last stop for me."
Wat Thamkrabok directly translates as "the-Temple-Where-You-Do-What-You-Say" - in addition to their successful drug and alcoholism treatment program, a large number of Hmong hill tribe refugees live there - S.L.
.
His story is remarkable - S.L.
From the
An American soldier of fortune who later became a monk in Thailand and helped hundreds of people overcome alcohol and drug addictions at the world famous Thamkrabok Temple in Thailand has passed away.
A spokesman for the temple said Phra Gordon, also known as Gordon Baltimore of Harlem or the "Black Monk", died on April 20 in hospital.
He said temple staff were working with the US embassy in Bangkok to locate Phra Gordon's family, which was difficult as the monk no longer had a passport.
In Thai, "Phra" (pronounced PRAH) is the honorific title for a monk - S.L.
Phra Gordon had lived at the temple for almost three decades, devoting himself to helping people overcome their addictions through a "tough love" rehabilitation program.
Irish writer and teacher Paul Garrigan writes on his website of how with his loud US accent, keen sense of humour and large frame, Phra Gordon was far from a typical monk.
Garrigan describes the remarkable story of how Phra Gordon came to be at the temple; the Harlem, New York native was once a mercenary and admitted he had killed many people.
"He was on his way to join another army when he found himself at Thamkrabok temple. This was not a planned visit, but the bus he was traveling on experienced flat tires right outside the temple.
"While he was waiting for the wheels to be fixed, he went for a walk and met the head monk. To his amazement, this stranger in Buddhist robes informed Gordon that he was expected and that he would now be joining the temple.
"For some reason, Gordon accepted the revelation and ordained. He had no intention of staying there so long but the time never felt right to leave."
Phra Gordon said in an interview with the Washington Post that growing up in Harlem in the 1950s and '60s and as a nine-year-old watching a man die from an overdose turned him away from drugs.
He said he joined the merchant marines at age 16, and during a stopover in Penang (Malaysia) he met Bob Denard, a French mercenary who was recruiting fighters.
"Being an American black, they think you know everything about guns," Phra Gordon said, while admitting he didn't.
He participated in some major conflicts, but after a brush with death in Namibia he decided to give up the life of a mercenary.
After a long journey around the world, Phra Gordon arrived in Thailand, took a bus ride out of Bangkok and just wandered into the grounds of Wat Thamkrabok.
"I'm not crazy," he said, recalling the day. "But I heard someone say 'You've come here at last.' After the war and all that, I got a feeling of peace.
"After Harlem and the life of a mercenary," he said, "this was the last stop for me."
.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
WORLD COMING APART
AFRICA: After Nigeria Elects Christian President, Muslims Torch 40 Churches, Kill 100 Christians
The daily slaughter continues.
(All Voices) — Muslim rioters in Nigeria protesting the just concluded presidential elections have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began yesterday.
This revelation is contained in a report by the Regional Manager for Africa, International Christian Concern (ICC), Jonathan Racho noting that this latest demonstration is in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria.
He pointed out that the rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck adding that the Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner.
He said that the Commonwealth observers’ report judged that election as “this election the fairest in decades. The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people.”
According Racho, it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria.
Read more HERE
We may have already past the point in history for Africa to save itself from barbarism and savagery - S.L.
WORLD COMING APART: MIDDLE EAST
Syria's Bloodiest Day: 80 Dead as Security Forces Fire on Demonstrators
Damascus -- A strong military presence remained in place around Damascus on Saturday in the wake of the country’s bloodiest day in five weeks of growing unrest. Large turnouts are expected to mourn the scores of victims, which activists say has now reached more than 100.
Security forces fired on protesters, seeking to quell demonstrations following Friday prayers in Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus and the southern village of Isra’a. Tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday in defiance of earlier government warnings that any further displays of unrest would not be tolerated.
In Moadniyah, a small town roughly 10km south of Damascus, a massive cordon of troops encircled the town. Soldiers also positioned themselves on rooftops and outside mosques, while others peered out from behind barricades of sandbags and giant tires.
The town hosted sizeable unrest Friday, 15 March when thousands of residents marched towards Damascus but were forced back by security forces firing tear gas.
Late in the afternoon on Friday reports circulated claiming either the army or security forces had opened fire on demonstrators in the town.
"People are being taken to hospital in cars," said one demonstrator who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
Basher Assad is a pig and a butcher, just like his father before him and just like the pig he's standing next to in this photo.
President Bashar al-Assad maintains absolute power in the country he inherited from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Recently however, some analysts suggest internal rifts are forming within the Assad family.
"There are demonstrations in all the cities and villages around Syria," said Mr Maleh, a human rights lawyer in Damascus. "People want the regime to fall."
In a concession to demonstrators last Friday, Assad announced intentions to lift the much-despised emergency laws, in place for 48 years since the Baath Party seized power in a coup.
A law was passed this week to scrap the decades-old measure. Many activists, however, believe the move is not enough to quell the ever-growing tide of anti-government feeling now sweeping the country.
"I went to protest for the first time because I want freedom and dignity," said one young man in his twenties who sat on a bedroom floor sipping his glass of coke. "I want this country to be a good country."
More HERE
"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."
- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
NORTH AMERICA: Brutal Mexican Drug Gang Crosses into U.S.
SPREADING TERROR: A woman sees a relative lying dead on the ground after he was killed by gunmen in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in December.(Associated Press)
“Those of us who live and work along the border know they’re already here,” said Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., whose Texas county lies on the Rio Grande 50 miles southeast of the Zetas’ stronghold of Nuevo Laredo. “There’s already been killings and many residents here are living in fear.”
Sheriff Gonzalez, whose Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition sought help from the federal government to control growing violence along the border, said the rising brutality of Mexican drug gangs, particularly the Zetas, “never stops shocking me.”
Trained as an elite band of Mexican anti-drug commandos, the Zetas evolved into mercenaries for the infamous Gulf Cartel, bringing a new wave of brutality to Mexico’s escalating drug wars. Bolstered by an influx of assassins, bandits, thieves, thugs and corrupt federal, state and local police officers, the Zetas have since evolved into a well-financed and heavily armed drug smuggling force of their own.
Mexican federal police and army soldiers guard a U.S. Embassy vehicle after it came under attack by gunmen on a highway between Mexico City and Monterrey in February. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded in the attack. Many of Zetas' targets have been Mexican military and police personnel, but in recent years, U.S. law enforcement authorities also have come under attack. (Associated Press)
Known for mounting the severed heads of their rivals on poles or hanging their dismembered bodies from bridges in cities throughout Mexico, the Zetas have easily become the most feared criminal gang in Mexico — where 35,000 people have been killed in a continuing drug war. Everyone is a potential victim: men, women and children.
“The Zetas are determined to gain the reputation of being the most sadistic, cruel and beastly organization that ever existed,” said George W. Grayson, professor of government at the College of William & Mary and an expert on Mexican drug gangs. “Many of Mexico’s existing drug cartels will kill their enemies, but not go out of their way to do it. The Zetas look forward to inflicting fear on their targets.
“They won’t just cut off your ear, they’ll cut off your head and think nothing of it.”
Sooner or later we have to start treating the border like a military situation - in the meantime, expect this kind of savagery to continue moving northward - S.L.
.
(All Voices) — Muslim rioters in Nigeria protesting the just concluded presidential elections have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began yesterday.
This revelation is contained in a report by the Regional Manager for Africa, International Christian Concern (ICC), Jonathan Racho noting that this latest demonstration is in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria.
He pointed out that the rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck adding that the Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner.
He said that the Commonwealth observers’ report judged that election as “this election the fairest in decades. The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people.”
According Racho, it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria.
Read more HERE
We may have already past the point in history for Africa to save itself from barbarism and savagery - S.L.
WORLD COMING APART: MIDDLE EAST
Syria's Bloodiest Day: 80 Dead as Security Forces Fire on Demonstrators
Damascus -- A strong military presence remained in place around Damascus on Saturday in the wake of the country’s bloodiest day in five weeks of growing unrest. Large turnouts are expected to mourn the scores of victims, which activists say has now reached more than 100.
Security forces fired on protesters, seeking to quell demonstrations following Friday prayers in Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus and the southern village of Isra’a. Tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday in defiance of earlier government warnings that any further displays of unrest would not be tolerated.
In Moadniyah, a small town roughly 10km south of Damascus, a massive cordon of troops encircled the town. Soldiers also positioned themselves on rooftops and outside mosques, while others peered out from behind barricades of sandbags and giant tires.
The town hosted sizeable unrest Friday, 15 March when thousands of residents marched towards Damascus but were forced back by security forces firing tear gas.
Late in the afternoon on Friday reports circulated claiming either the army or security forces had opened fire on demonstrators in the town.
"People are being taken to hospital in cars," said one demonstrator who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
President Bashar al-Assad maintains absolute power in the country he inherited from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Recently however, some analysts suggest internal rifts are forming within the Assad family.
"There are demonstrations in all the cities and villages around Syria," said Mr Maleh, a human rights lawyer in Damascus. "People want the regime to fall."
In a concession to demonstrators last Friday, Assad announced intentions to lift the much-despised emergency laws, in place for 48 years since the Baath Party seized power in a coup.
A law was passed this week to scrap the decades-old measure. Many activists, however, believe the move is not enough to quell the ever-growing tide of anti-government feeling now sweeping the country.
"I went to protest for the first time because I want freedom and dignity," said one young man in his twenties who sat on a bedroom floor sipping his glass of coke. "I want this country to be a good country."
More HERE
"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."
- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
NORTH AMERICA: Brutal Mexican Drug Gang Crosses into U.S.
“Those of us who live and work along the border know they’re already here,” said Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., whose Texas county lies on the Rio Grande 50 miles southeast of the Zetas’ stronghold of Nuevo Laredo. “There’s already been killings and many residents here are living in fear.”
Sheriff Gonzalez, whose Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition sought help from the federal government to control growing violence along the border, said the rising brutality of Mexican drug gangs, particularly the Zetas, “never stops shocking me.”
Trained as an elite band of Mexican anti-drug commandos, the Zetas evolved into mercenaries for the infamous Gulf Cartel, bringing a new wave of brutality to Mexico’s escalating drug wars. Bolstered by an influx of assassins, bandits, thieves, thugs and corrupt federal, state and local police officers, the Zetas have since evolved into a well-financed and heavily armed drug smuggling force of their own.
Known for mounting the severed heads of their rivals on poles or hanging their dismembered bodies from bridges in cities throughout Mexico, the Zetas have easily become the most feared criminal gang in Mexico — where 35,000 people have been killed in a continuing drug war. Everyone is a potential victim: men, women and children.
“The Zetas are determined to gain the reputation of being the most sadistic, cruel and beastly organization that ever existed,” said George W. Grayson, professor of government at the College of William & Mary and an expert on Mexican drug gangs. “Many of Mexico’s existing drug cartels will kill their enemies, but not go out of their way to do it. The Zetas look forward to inflicting fear on their targets.
“They won’t just cut off your ear, they’ll cut off your head and think nothing of it.”
Sooner or later we have to start treating the border like a military situation - in the meantime, expect this kind of savagery to continue moving northward - S.L.
.
PHONY VET SCAMMED $16 MILLION
Fake "Disabled Vet" John Anthony Raymond White Found Guilty - Eipped Off Taxpayers for $16 Million
A man claiming to be a disabled vet was convicted Wednesday of ripping off the government for $16 million in federal contracts.
A Manhattan federal jury said John Anthony Raymond White and his firm, Mitsubishi Construction Corp., bid on contracts the VA awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
White at times claimed he hurt his back while a Navy ROTC; other times he said he was in Special Forces.
The jury concluded he was always a fraud - and he faces up to 75 years in jail and $3.7 million in fines when sentenced.
He won several contracts, including a $5.7 million job in 2009 to build a flood wall around the Veterans Administration Medical Center on E. 23rd St. in Manhattan.
"Those contracts were supposed to go to real veterans," prosecutor Alvin Bragg said.
Eventually, the VA got suspicious and discovered White has a rap sheet for forgery and grand larceny.
White ultimately told the VA he was not a vet.
Read more HERE:
Today's Bird HERE
.
A man claiming to be a disabled vet was convicted Wednesday of ripping off the government for $16 million in federal contracts.
A Manhattan federal jury said John Anthony Raymond White and his firm, Mitsubishi Construction Corp., bid on contracts the VA awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
White at times claimed he hurt his back while a Navy ROTC; other times he said he was in Special Forces.
The jury concluded he was always a fraud - and he faces up to 75 years in jail and $3.7 million in fines when sentenced.
He won several contracts, including a $5.7 million job in 2009 to build a flood wall around the Veterans Administration Medical Center on E. 23rd St. in Manhattan.
"Those contracts were supposed to go to real veterans," prosecutor Alvin Bragg said.
Eventually, the VA got suspicious and discovered White has a rap sheet for forgery and grand larceny.
White ultimately told the VA he was not a vet.
Read more HERE:
Today's Bird HERE
.
Friday, April 22, 2011
THE RED BARON
Shot down and Killed in Action this day in 1918 by Australian groundfire, near Amiens, France.
Quite possibly the most widely known fighter pilot of all time, von Richtofen is considered the ace-of-aces of World War I, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot.
Originally a cavalryman, von Richthofen transferred to the Air Service in 1915. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became leader of Jasta 11 and then the larger unit Jagdgeschwader 1 (better known as the "Flying Circus"). By 1918 he was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and was very well known by the other side.
Death of von Richthofen
Richthofen was fatally wounded just after 11 a.m. on 21 April 1918, while flying over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River.
At the time, the Baron had been pursuing at very low altitude a Sopwith Camel piloted by novice Canadian pilot, Lt. Wilfrid May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. In turn, the Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by May's flight Commander, Canadian Cpt. Arthur "Roy" Brown.
It was during this final stage in his pursuit of May that Richthofen was hit in the chest by a single .303 bullet - analysis points to a group of Australian machinegunners as the dealers of the death-blow.
Anti-aircraft (AA) machinegunner Sgt. Cedric Popkin of the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, most likely killed Richthofen using a Vickers gun. He fired at Richthofen's aircraft on two occasions: first as the Baron was heading straight at his position, and then at long range from the right. Given the nature of Richthofen's wounds, Popkin was in a position to fire the fatal shot, when the pilot passed him for a second time, on the right.
In the last seconds of his life, von Richthofen managed to make a hasty but controlled landing in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the aircraft, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Another eye witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaput!".
Decorations and Awards
* Prussian Order Pour le Mérite: 12 January 1917 (in recognition of his 16th aerial victory).
* Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords: 6 April 1918 (in recognition of his 70th aerial victory).
* Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords: 11 November 1916.
* Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
* Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): 12 September 1914.
* Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords: 29 April 1917.[62][N 6]
* Saxon Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross: 16 April 1917.
* Württemberg Military Merit Order, Knight's Cross: 13 April 1917.
* Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords (issued by the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha): 9 May 1917.
* Hesse General Honour Decoration, "for Bravery"
* Lippe War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds: 13 October 1917.
* Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service: 10 October 1917.
* Bremen Hanseatic Cross: 25 September 1917.
* Lübeck Hanseatic Cross: 22 September 1917.
* Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration: 8 August 1917.
* Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
* Bulgarian Order of Bravery, 4th Class (1st Grade): June 1917.
* Turkish Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabres
* Turkish Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabres
* Turkish War Medal ("Iron Crescent"): 4 November 1917.
* German Army Pilot's Badge
* German Army Observer's Badge[N 7]
* Austrian Field Pilot's Badge (Franz Joseph pattern)
Today's Bird HERE
.
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), the Red Baron.
Quite possibly the most widely known fighter pilot of all time, von Richtofen is considered the ace-of-aces of World War I, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot.
Originally a cavalryman, von Richthofen transferred to the Air Service in 1915. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became leader of Jasta 11 and then the larger unit Jagdgeschwader 1 (better known as the "Flying Circus"). By 1918 he was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and was very well known by the other side.
Death of von Richthofen
Richthofen was fatally wounded just after 11 a.m. on 21 April 1918, while flying over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River.
At the time, the Baron had been pursuing at very low altitude a Sopwith Camel piloted by novice Canadian pilot, Lt. Wilfrid May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. In turn, the Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by May's flight Commander, Canadian Cpt. Arthur "Roy" Brown.
It was during this final stage in his pursuit of May that Richthofen was hit in the chest by a single .303 bullet - analysis points to a group of Australian machinegunners as the dealers of the death-blow.
Anti-aircraft (AA) machinegunner Sgt. Cedric Popkin of the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, most likely killed Richthofen using a Vickers gun. He fired at Richthofen's aircraft on two occasions: first as the Baron was heading straight at his position, and then at long range from the right. Given the nature of Richthofen's wounds, Popkin was in a position to fire the fatal shot, when the pilot passed him for a second time, on the right.
In the last seconds of his life, von Richthofen managed to make a hasty but controlled landing in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the aircraft, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Another eye witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaput!".
Replica of Manfred von Richthofen's red Fokker Dr.I triplane - 425/17; the original was not badly damaged by the final landing, but it was taken apart by souvenir hunters.
Decorations and Awards
* Prussian Order Pour le Mérite: 12 January 1917 (in recognition of his 16th aerial victory).
The "Blue Max"
* Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords: 6 April 1918 (in recognition of his 70th aerial victory).
* Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords: 11 November 1916.
* Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
* Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): 12 September 1914.
* Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords: 29 April 1917.[62][N 6]
* Saxon Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross: 16 April 1917.
* Württemberg Military Merit Order, Knight's Cross: 13 April 1917.
* Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords (issued by the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha): 9 May 1917.
* Hesse General Honour Decoration, "for Bravery"
* Lippe War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds: 13 October 1917.
* Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service: 10 October 1917.
* Bremen Hanseatic Cross: 25 September 1917.
* Lübeck Hanseatic Cross: 22 September 1917.
* Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration: 8 August 1917.
* Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
* Bulgarian Order of Bravery, 4th Class (1st Grade): June 1917.
* Turkish Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabres
* Turkish Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabres
* Turkish War Medal ("Iron Crescent"): 4 November 1917.
* German Army Pilot's Badge
* German Army Observer's Badge[N 7]
* Austrian Field Pilot's Badge (Franz Joseph pattern)
Today's Bird HERE
.
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