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Veterans Low Cost Prescriptions Now Available

Last year Congress passed a Veterans Bill making all veterans eligible for Low Cost or No Cost
drug prescriptions, depending on which category you fall under. To apply for this benefit check with the nearest VA Facility, your discharge and separation papers are required. Your current financial status will establish your eligibility and what amount you will pay for your prescription.
 

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Korean War Service Medal

If any of you Korean veterans would like to obtain a Korean War Service Medal for your collection here are the instructions to obtain an application.

Write to: HQ AFPC/DPPPRK
550 C. Street Suite 12
Randolph AFB, TX
78150-4714

It will be necessary to include a copy of your DD214 with your completed application in the return mail. In due time you will receive a Medal and a Combat Ribbon with a Certificate signed by the President of the Republic of Korea,
Kim Dae-jung
 

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How To Purchase Items From The Ships Store

To order an exclusive USS Daly Pin or Jacket.

Daly Pins - Contact ; Hazel Buzzi
                   (401) 245 - 2084
                   $6.00 each
                   Includes Shipping.

Daly Jackets - Contact ; M&M Sports
                      9622 W. Girard Avenue
                      Franklin Park, IL 60131
                      (708) 455-3535

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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Little known and interesting facts about the tomb of the unknown soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

 21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary. 

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1. 

3. Why are his gloves wet?

 His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time, and if not, why not?

 He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face, and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

 Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30".

 

Other requirements of the Guard:

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way.

 After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

 The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV.

All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Louis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, (the most decorated soldier of WWII) of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

 

Brass Monkeys and Cannonballs

Did you know that in the mighty British Navy at the time of Empire building, every sailing ship had cannon (the plural of cannon) for protection? Cannon of the times required round iron cannon balls. A ship’s master wanted to store the cannonballs such that they would be readily available when needed in a skirmish with a marauding vessel, but in a manner that they could not roll about the deck while underway.

The solution devised was to stack the cannonballs in a square-based pyramid next to the cannon. The top level of the stack had one ball; the next level down had three, the next nine and so on until there were four levels with a stack of thirty cannonballs.

The only real problem was how to keep the bottom level from sliding out from under the weight of the higher levels. To do this, they devised a small brass plate referred to as a “brass monkey”, with rounded indentations for each cannonball in the bottom layer of the stack. Because of the ever-present corrosive effect of moisture, brass was used to prevent the iron cannonballs from rusting to the brass plate.

However there was one major problem with this design, when temperatures fall, brass contracts faster than iron. As it got cold on the gun decks, the indentations in the brass monkeys would contract and become smaller than the cannonballs they were holding. If the temperature was cold enough, severe shrinkage occurred causing the bottom layer of cannonballs to pop out of the indentations, spilling the entire pyramid across the deck.

Thus it was, quite literally, “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.” And so, another familiar phrase became part of the English language.

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S.H.I.T. - Ever Wonder About the Origin Of This Word


In the early seafaring days of shipping, certain types of manure were transported in a dry state, packaged in bundles. It weighed much less in this form however should it become soaked with sea water, which happened when it was not properly stowed, fermentation began again. This fermentation process produced methane gas and being stored below deck in the ship’s hold you can understand what could and did frequently occur. Methane gas began to build up in the confines of the storage areas and if anyone came below to check the hold with a lighted lantern…Boom! That’s correct, an explosion occurred.

Several ships were mysteriously destroyed in this manner before the cause was discovered. After that the bundles of manure stored in the ship’s hold were boldly stamped with the term ”S.H.I.T.” The interpretation meaning “ Ship High In Transit”. In landlubber’s terms this meant that the goods was to be stored high enough off the lower decks so that no water would saturate the bundles, thus avoiding the production of the explosive methane gas.

Source Unknown

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