“Vietnam in HD” marathon on the History channel right now. Such a great program. And it’s about damn time there is some history related programming on the History channel.. Ax men, Swamp People and Ancient Aliens? C’mon now, give me more Tales of the Gun, WWI in Color, etc.
If you’re familiar with the mini-series Band of Brothers, then the name Lt. Lynn “Buck” Compton should ring a bell. During the war, Compton was an officer of the 101st Airborne—the Screaming Eagles—a unit that was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and took some of the highest US casualties of the war.
Born in Los Angeles 31 December 1921, he was a gifted athlete from even a young age. When he enrolled into college at UCLA, he not only played on the basketball team but also became an All-American catcher and then played in the Rose Bowl 1 January 1943. Just over a month of competing in the Rose Bowl Compton attended OCS and underwent jump school at Fort Benning.
In December 1943, as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. Described by Harvard graduate David Webster as “a friendly and genial man who was everyone’s favorite,” Compton was well-liked by the men. He gambled with his men and spent time getting to know them, sharing stories about sports and college life. He made friends. He saw himself as a fellow soldier, not as an officer.
After the war, Compton declined offers to play professional baseball, choosing instead to study law at Loyola University. He became a detective for the LAPD in 1947, a post he held until 1951. After the stint as a detective he worked in the DA’s office for the twenty years before being promoted to Chief Deputy District Attorney.
In 1968, Compton was lead prosecutor for the Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy. In 1970 after his involvement in the case, Compton was assigned as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeals by then Governor Ronald Reagan.
If combat is the true test of someone’s character then Lynn Compton passed all tests. He survived the toughest battles of the Second World War, showing firmness and strategic thinking during critical moments—things that blended over into civilian life and made him as successful as he had been in the Airborne.
Lt. Lynn “Buck” Compton passed away 26 February 2012.
Rest in Peace First Lieutenant Compton. It was an honor to meet you on the 66th anniversary of the Normandy landings in Pennsylvania. You are a real American hero.
A picture of the map in my old bedroom at my grandparent’s house (where I lived until I moved out). Each thumb-tack is at a location I have been. The colors don’t mean anything, just whatever I had on hand. Once I had tacks in places I wanted to go, but they were all over the place. I am suffering hard from wanderlust right now. My last semi-adventure was over the summer to Missouri with the Army, and it’s been a year since I’ve just packed up and gone somewhere far away for no good reason. The deep south is calling me back. Or is that Europe? Or maybe some place I don’t know exists yet.
I look at vintage bikes the way Hugh Hefner looks at women. 1950 Harley-Davidson Panhead. Not mine, unfortunately. A very lucky gentleman inherited it from his late uncle. Despite the fact that my bike is less than 3 years old, my true love is old cruisers. So beautiful.
FALLSCHIRMJÄGER GIVEAWAY! FALLSCHIRMJÄGER GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate how many of you chuckleheads follow my goofy ass, and because I am in a generous mood I decided to have a Fallschirmjäger Giveaway!Reblog this once, and that is all it takes to enter you into winning the following:
Franz Kurowski’s JUMP INTO HELL (A great general history of the Fallschirmjäger with extra attention paid to The Battle of Crete)
Volker Greisser’s Lions of Carentan (the history of the Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, the same unit that fought the ‘Brothers in the Band’ in Carentan as well as the very unit I reenact)
Replica Fallschirmschützenabzeichen (Fallschirmjäger jump badge, this was a symbol of pride for the elite of the elite)
Replica Luftwaffe shoulder-boards (in the proper ‘Waffenfarbe” for pilots and Fallschirmjäger)
Replica Luftwaffe Officers breast eagle(As seen on the many officers who served with distinction and honor in the many Luftwaffe units)The Winner will be announced on Saturday, March 31, 2012!
*The drawing will actually be done at random. All the names will be written down on paper, folded and put in an M38 Springerhelm, and drawn. The name drawn will be the winner, and the winner takes all.*HORRIDO TREUE UM TREUE!
Okay one more of the bike, just because she’s beautiful. ‘09 Harley Sportster 883cc. This was my first motorcycle, although I should have started out with something smaller. I always recommend the Honda Rebel to new riders. There is a stereotype that guys with Harley-Davidson’s turn their noses up at foreign bikes, but don’t believe it. Real riders have an ethos that is not depicted in movies.
RIDE SAFE.
My motorcycle, Harley-Davidson Sportster 883cc. If I talked to a doctor about it, he would diagnose me with bi-polar disorder. On one hand, it’s awesome, I am in love with it, and I want to own it forever. On the other, sometimes I get a reality check about how dangerous riding can be, and I think about how I could use a quick four or five thousand dollars if I sold it. A soldier, a friend of mine, was recently killed on his bike leaving work just a few blocks away from the base. He was stopped at a red light and was hit by a bus who “didn’t see” him. No amount of safety gear will defy the laws of physics. Now he’s dead, 2 guys I went to Iraq with were killed in the same month 2 years ago in separate crashes, and I am seriously thinking about selling my Harley. Again.
Bikers- Wear helmets, leathers, boots and reflective belts! No, a reflective belt does not look “cool”, but being spread like butter over 50 feet of asphalt doesn’t look cool either. Don’t speed and weave through traffic just because you can. Arrive alive.
Car drivers- Check your mirrors and blind-spots BEFORE turning the wheel! That is my biggest issue with cars. Give motorcycles more distance, if we fall off we do not want to be run over.
I really wish this photo came out more clear, but it was taken in almost total darkness, in 2008, at Camp Beuhring, Kuwait. I am in the back row, and in front of me are the real men of “Band of Brothers”. I shared a table with “Wild” Bill Guarnere and Ed “Babe” Heffron. They brought food, just snack stuff and had soda, and I was gorging on pizza. We talked about the making of the series, what Toms Hanks is like, and about Iraq. I was leaving in 1 or 2 days for my first war. Guarnere leaned forward in his wheelchair and said exactly “when you see the enemy, kill the stinkin’ bastard today so you ain’t gotta see ‘em tomorrow!”. I took that advice to heart and my friends got a kick out of it. We finished, they went back on their bus to the airport to leave Kuwait, and a few days later I went north to Baghdad with my own “brothers”.
With the current “Band of Brothers” marathon on Spike TV, I am in major WWII mode. I’m a big history nerd, so I switch from Civil War, to WWII, to Vietnam, to Cold War.. it’s like the changing of the seasons with me. These guys are great. I remember when I heard Richard “Dick” Winters passed away, I was really sad. When Wild Bill and Babe Heffron pass I will be in bad shape. I’m 22, within my life time I may see every WWII, Korean War and Vietnam war veteran die. Then who will we have left? Never again will so much be owed by so many, to so few.
“Band of Brothers” mini-series marathon right now on Spike TV channel 56. Pictured is my personal box set, I got it signed by the REAL veterans, who I’ve had the honor of meeting in person twice; once during a USO show at Camp Beuhring, Kuwait in 2008 and again at the Reading Air Show in Reading, PA on the 66th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2010.
Yours truly in Iraq with a PKM machine gun. A design of MT Kalashnikov, the PKM is 7.62x54mm, belt fed, full-automatic. While it is lighter than the American M240B, it does not have a feature to change the barrel quickly, and the link does not disintegrate. It’s important to change your barrels to maintain accuracy, and I would prefer a disintegrating link so that there isn’t a long cloth following me around as I’m firing the weapon. Polish PKM’s have disintegrating links, but I believe they are unique. The weapon I am holding came from Bulgaria, there is an arsenal mark on the top of the feed tray.
