Veterans Day

November 11 is Veterans Day. For some it is a day off work. For others it is that holiday that moves around instead of being always on Monday. But to some of us, it has a deeper meaning: the meaning of Freedom.


Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day. Why? Combat in World War I ceased on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. That was when the armistice took effect in Europe but a peace treaty was not signed until 1919. However, November 11 has always been considered the last day of World War I. (Ironically, it is also considered the beginning of the countdown to World War II.) President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 as a holiday in 1919. In 1954 a bill was passed through Congress in order to give the holiday congressional sanction. Congress made one change to that bill. They replaced the word “Armistice” with the word “Veterans.” Hence Armistice Day became Veterans Day. In 1971, Congress passed another bill called Uniform Monday Holiday Act pinning all Federal holidays to a Monday and to comply, Veterans Day was moved to the 4th Monday in October. In 1978 Veterans Day was moved back to, fittingly, November 11th the day World War I ended.


Veterans Day has special meaning to me. I am a veteran and I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Veterans Benefits Administration. Being stationed in Europe I was able to visit battlefields and go to the American Cemeteries in Cambridge, England and Hamm, Luxembourg. I also went to the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof in Sanweiler which is only 1.5 kilometers from the American Cemetery.

I hauled out the negative files and scanned in the photos from Hamm, Sanweiler and Cambridge. I apologize in advance as I could only locate 3 pictures for the cemetery in Cambridge. I am still looking for the negative files. Lots of moves over the years so I hope the negatives didn’t get lost in the move. But I hope they move you as my visit to these sites moved me. It brought home to me the cost of freedom and the price paid by those who died so that I may live in a country where liberty reigns. It also renewed my commitment to my country to help maintain that liberty.


American Cemetery Hamm0014The American Cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg is bright and white. It is situated along one of the main highways inviting people to visit and pay their respects.

American Cemetery Hamm0019The chapel, while not large, still looms up like a giant column.

American Cemetery Hamm0020The interior is simple but elegant.

American Cemetery Hamm0015General George S Patton is buried separate from the others. His untimely death and burial caused a great controversy at the time. The Army policy for burial was that everyone was buried in alphabetical order no matter their rank. The Patton family asked that he be buried separate from the other graves. They felt that there would be a great many visitors to the General’s grave. To follow the Army’s policy would mean that the graves surrounding the General’s plot would be trampled on and desecrated. The Army denied the request. The citizens of Luxembourg considered the General a national hero and thought the Army was being unreasonable. The government of Luxembourg approached the family stating that the country of Luxembourg would consider it a great honor if they could bury the General in a place of honor in Luxembourg City Cathedral. Faced with having egg all over its proverbial face, the Army decided to reconsider its ruling and would bury the General in a separate plot away from the other graves. As the Patton family predicted, there are many who visit Hamm to pay their respects to the General. Many stopped by his grave when I was there. But the Army did one more thing. . .

American Cemetery Hamm0013They buried General Patton at the head of the troops. His grave looks out over the rest of Hamm. There are 5,076 graves at Hamm. The majority are casualties of the Battle of the Bulge. There are 101 unknowns buried here.

cambridge1The American Cemetery at Cambridge, England contains 3,812 burials. Most of these are either casualties of the Battle of the Atlantic or brought back dead or dying in bombers from the air war over Germany. This cemetery is also along a major highway and is bright and white.

sealThe chapel windows contain the seals for all the States in America.

wallThe great wall contains the names of the many missing in action, mostly from the Battle of the Atlantic.

Both of these cemeteries contain the remains of those who, as Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg, gave that last full measure of devotion. They rest in the surreal calm of their respective countrysides, visited by their surviving brethren, who are getting fewer and fewer each day.


While at the cemetery at Hamm, looking at the grandeur of this place, made me begin to wonder, “What of the vanquished?” What of the many German soldiers who fought and died, be it willingly or unwillingly, for their country. I say unwillingly because some were conscripts who were drafted into service. For the German conscript there was no “Hell no, we won’t go!” To not go brought punishment down on their whole family. So they went and died. 

But the question of the fate of the vanquished still played on my mind. My answer was only 1.5 kilometers away from Hamm in Sanweiler, Luxembourg. Located here is the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof.

German Cemetery Luxembourgl 04Unlike the American cemetery, the German cemetery is set back off the road. You must follow the signs to the parking lot and then walk a further 200 yards into the wood to the actual cemetery.

German Cemetery Luxembourgl 05Unlike the American cemetery, this is a cold and dark place.

German Cemetery Luxembourgl 02The quiet here is eerie. No clean white headstones here. It contains the remains of 10,913 dead from the Battle of the Bulge.

German Cemetery Luxembourgl 03German Cemetery Luxembourgl 08And unlike the American cemetery where each cross represents one U.S. serviceman’s final resting place, there are four German servicemen per cross. And the crosses are a grey/black granite as opposed to the American white marble. Unlike the American cemetery, which is a monument to freedom and our willingness to defend others, the German cemetery is a monument to the folly of one man’s dream of the super race.

Let us remember those who gave their lives that we may live free, as well as those who live among us, on this Veterans Day. But let us also pray for the soles of the vanquished, that their deaths were not in vain. Their deaths should remind us that when we give away our freedom and liberty to a government, political party, or politician, we become nothing more than peasants subject to the whims of that government. Each cross in the German cemetery should also remind us how Benjamin Franklin cautioned that any people who were willing to give up liberty for safety deserved neither. Adolf Hitler was ELECTED! The German people gave up liberty and paid the price.

The white crosses and Stars of David at the American cemeteries in Luxembourg and England should remind us of the cost of freedom and liberty. Remember, freedom isn’t free.

Copyright © 2015  John J Campo

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A Funny Thing Happened at the Greek Food Festival

Ah yes! The Labor Day Weekend heralds the official end of summer. In Sacramento it also means that Gold Rush Days will be going on in Old Sacramento and the Greek Food Festival will be going on at the Convention Center. Yes, you can go from 1800’s shoot-outs to eating great Greek food in about 10 minutes. Gold Rush Days is a yearly event with several sponsors.  The Greek Food Festival is put on every year by the Greek Orthodox Church of Sacramento.


We got together with a friend and his wife (and child) to go to the Gold Rush Days on the Saturday. His wife is from the Philippines so what screams Americana more (and introduces her to our local history) than cowboy shootouts and the Wild West? She got a kick out of the festivities. Then we decided to go to the Greek Food Festival to enjoy Greek food and watch Greek dancing. After all, it is just 10 minutes away.


Now I understand that convention centers, fairgrounds and the like will schedule two events on the same day. After all, there is a ton of room. I have even seen some very well matched events scheduled together. The one that comes to my mind took place at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. In this venue they scheduled a tattoo expo and a beer fest over the same weekend. I mean, they go together like bread and butter. Let’s go get rip-snorting drunk then get a tattoo. This was NOT the case in Sacramento. We did not know that another event was scheduled at the Convention Center along with the Greek Food Festival. When we pulled up to the Convention Center, we were greeted by, well, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

DSCF0394DSCF0396cosplay1Yes, the Sacramento Anime Convention was also being held at the Convention Center.

DSCF0395DSCF0391DSCF0398DSCF0399doeAnd, of course, these folks needed to eat too. What better place than the Greek Food Festival going on right there?

DSCF0410And this doe gladly posed for pictures with the patrons.

Needless to say, my friend’s wife was just wide-eyed and amused at what she saw. Welcome to America.

Because I was with a group, I could not attend the Anime Convention. I would have liked to because of all the photo ops that are there. The attendees of these conventions are as passionate about their art as say, a historical reenactor. Believe me, it is art when you consider the time and effort put into each costume and persona. I am already marking my calendar for next year’s convention. By the way, does anyone know who the doe is?

Copyright © 2015  John J Campo

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Eben-Emael Plus 40 Years

This year we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The coverage of this event got me thinking back to when I was stationed in Germany. It was 1980 and I was in the Air Force stationed in Germany. My friend Chris and I had just gotten back from a temporary assignment. We were given a couple of compensation days off so we decided to go on a spur of the moment road trip. We journeyed to the site of one of the pivotal historical moments 40 years prior at the start of WWII. We went to the one place that could have stopped the German drive into Europe dead in its tracks. It was the Belgian fortress of Eben-Emael. This position with its 120mm and 75mm cannons defended both the junction of the Albert Canal and the Maas River and could deny the Germans the strategic road junctions and bridges at Maastricht. Here, in an audacious attack, Germany unveiled a secret weapon. Instead of trying to attack the fortress in a classic ground assault, for the first time ever, Germany landed 81 parachute engineers via glider onto the roof of Eben-Emael at dawn. On May 10, 1940, a total of 8 gliders landed on the roof. 7 landed together while the 8th landed some time later. (The tow rope on this glider broke. Ironically, it carried the commander of the attack. However, the paratroopers were so well trained that the sergeant took over and led the attack.) These 81 troops captured a fortress manned by 1,500 Belgian troops. They used specially designed explosives called “shaped charges” to put the 120mm and 75mm guns out of commission. This allowed the main body of the German army in that sector to enter Maastricht and cross the Maas River and Albert Canal unmolested.
40 years later, on a cold fall day, Chris and I found Eben-Emael. I scanned in the photos from the original negative film.

EbenEmael 14The brooding entrance of Eben-Emael shows the scars of battle and the ravages of time.

EbenEmael 11The main gate into the fortress with its plaque to the fallen also shows the damage from battle and the ravages of time. From here we followed a path that led us to the top of the fortress.

EbenEmael 02This vast expanse of field on the top of the fortress is where the German gliders landed. There were few antiaircraft guns and they were unmanned.

EbenEmael 21A rise in the center of the field caught our eyes. We had to explore. 

EbenEmael 03Closer inspection shows a path leading through 40 years of overgrown vegetation.

EbenEmael 04Within that rise are the remains of the main prize: the 120mm cannons that could have stopped the Germans from taking the strategic town of Maastricht.

EbenEmael 20The top of the cupola shows the damage inflicted by the specially designed “shaped explosive charges” on May 10, 1940. They were designed to use a jet of molten copper to sear a hole through the armor. 

EbenEmael 17The fortress has several triple 75mm canon casements for close-in artillery support. They too were knocked out of action.

EbenEmael 18A single canon within the casement shows the rust and the ravages of time.  

EbenEmael 01Chris examines one of the false cupolas on the top of the fortress. These were designed to emulate actual gun positions and would show up on aerial photos so the position looked stronger than it really was. It also meant that the attacker had to consider these positions in any attack plan and divert resources for their elimination.

EbenEmael 06A view of the strategic junction of the Maas River and the Albert Canal that the Germans had to capture intact as seen from the top of the fortress.

EbenEmael 07This is one of the actual manned cupolas defending the fortress and the vital water junction showing the rust and ravages of 40 years of decay.

EbenEmael 08view of the vital water junction of the Maas River and Albert canal from the perspective of the defenders of Eben-Emael would have seen it.

EbenEmael 09down on the Albert Canal from the antitank ditch and cliff the Germans would need to scale if they attacked Eben-Emael in the conventional way.  

EbenEmael 23Chris and I left Eben-Emael to continue its brooding over the countryside. It was a lonely and silent sentinel of the past and reminder to the future. Now 75 years have passed since men fought a desperate battle here. Europe has remained at peace. Eben-Emael can slumber in peace.  

 

P.S.  Since my visit in 1980, and with the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of WWII, Belgian authorities has made Eben-Emael available for tours.  They have cleaned up the old fortress and have a website: http://www.fort-eben-emael.be/en/  .   Some parts are still under construction but pay it a visit anyway.

 

Copyright © 2015  John J Campo

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Drought and Fire in California

I know that this is my second post, and this site is supposed to showcase my photography. However, there are times when other things become more important. The western states are on fire. So far at least six firefighters in two states have lost their lives fighting these fires. And while the news agencies do an excellent job reporting from the fire lines, rarely do they venture further away to show that the area for many miles around is affected.


2015 is the fourth year of drought here in California. Fire season has been especially bad. The big 3 so far this fire season are the Wragg Fire, the Jerusalem Fire and the Rocky Fire. All 3 were in the same general vicinity. The Rocky Fire was the biggest burning through more than 69, 400 acres and stretched across Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties. The Jerusalem Fire has burned through 25,146 acres through Lake and Napa Counties and is 78% contained as of August 15, 2015. The Wragg Fire burned 8,051 acres through Napa and Solano County.


The Wragg Fire was 23 miles away from my home. That did not spare the people in my area from the effects of the fire. These photos were taken at my home on the first day of the Wragg Fire. I have lived in the area for over 15 years and never seen the smoke this bad.

Wragg Fire 1This was the scene that greeted me outside my office window. Talk about an apocalyptic scene.

Wragg Fire 2This is all we saw of the sun. Looked like a nuclear winter outside.

Wragg Fire 4And it didn’t get any better as time went on.

Wragg Fire 5The smoke spread all over the valley. This is looking east as it spread to Sacramento and as far north as Yuba City
Not long after this picture was taken, the owner of the trailer hooked up and took off. We were left to wonder if he knew something we didn’t.  Turns out he had returned from a camping trip and was going to a dump station to clean the trailer.

Truckee
Made a trip to the town of Truckee near the Donner Pass and Lake Tahoe in the Sierras to see what effect the drought was having in that region. Normally, the Truckee River is flowing fast down the eastern slope of the Sierras to Reno and then on Pyramid Lake in the Great Basin. That was not the case on this trip. The Truckee River was a trickle. Lake Tahoe has gone down to levels not seen in decades.

Truckee Drought 2Lake Tahoe has receded from the natural shoreline. In a normal year the concentric ring artwork would be underwater.

Truckee Drought 7This is the same area in a normal year when the water comes up to the beach.

Truckee Drought 6This part of the Truckee River usually has rafters, tubers and kayakers competing for space on the river. Now the river is so shallow, no one competes for room.

Truckee Drought 4It is hard to believe that the river is this low. It is now a creek, and a tiny one at that.


It is still 3 months away from the start of the rainy season here. Those who prognosticate about the weather are saying that a “once in a generation” El Niño event will hit the west coast. News agencies are reporting this constantly which causes me to fear even more. Am I afraid that there will be record rain to break the drought and finally douse the fires? No. Given the press’ track record, I fear we may be headed into another year of drought and not record rain. I pray that I’m wrong. Either way, we still have at least three more months of fire season. And let’s all say a little prayer for the firefighters.

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Ford Trimotor

Few people today realize that the Ford Motor Company dabbled in aviation as well. To compete with Boeing and others, the Ford Tri-motor, also known as “The Tin Goose” was produced from 1928 to 1933. It had a corrugated metal skin, control cables mounted outside the aircraft and 3 Pratt & Whitney R985 engines for power. It was had a crew of 3: pilot, copilot and stewardess.  The stewardess was there for more than just handing out sandwiches and drinks.  In the early days of flight, she also had to be a registered nurse to handle any emergencies inflight.

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) flies a 1929 model of the aircraft. They offer 12 minute flights for $70.00. It is a chance to fly in an original aircraft and enjoy 1920’s and 30’s state of the art transportation.

Queen of the skies in 1929, the Ford Trimotor airliner.

Queen of the skies in 1929, the Ford Trimotor airliner.

If not for the modern dress and aircraft in the background, this could be 1929 again.

Ford Trimotor03The true meaning of “fly-by-wire”

Ford Trimotor04Yep, those are the control cables running along the outside of the aircraft. Made for easy inspection for fraying cables.

Ford Trimotor12One of the three Pratt and Whitney R985 engine that powers this proud, old bird.

Ford Trimotor06State-of-the-art, spacious and comfortable seating.  Every seat is a window seat.  Every seat is an aisle seat.  No one gets stuck in the middle seat.

Ford Trimotor05A cockpit with second-to-none avionics and control features.  The nifty, thrifty Cessna 150 has more avionics than this.

Ford Trimotor07Boarding is quick and easy.  No TSA hassles here.

Ford Trimotor08Engine start is a little smoky.

Ford Trimotor09The proud bird takes again to the skies.

Ford Trimotor10Back on terra firma. Taxing back to the parking spot.

Ford Trimotor11Okay 747 jockeys, let’s see you fly your plane with your arm out the window.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this fine old aircraft. A look at this aircraft shows how brave and intrepid not just the pilots, but the passengers were to fly in these planes.  For the day, it was state-of-the-art and the height of chic to travel in.  To see it still flying is wonderful.

Just a note, the EAA has a great museum and hosts one of the largest airshows in Oshkosh, Wi. every summer.  Their website is full of nice pictures of their aircraft and a calendar of when some of their aircraft might be in your area.

Copyright © 2015  John J Campo

The copyright in this website and the material on this website (including without limitation the text, computer code, artwork, photographs, images, music, audio material, video material and audio-visual material on this website) is owned by John J Campo.

 

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