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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 30, 2012 19:30:19 GMT 12
I cant seem to find "the Corsair pile" (?!) so I'll whack this here... ....my father in dress blues, pilots gear and Australian Digger garb. This last was when groups of pilots were taken to the front lines to see what good they were doing and the Aussies dressed them in Digger clothing so as not to alert the Japs that the NZers were different and eerhaps a worthy target...
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 24, 2012 11:14:48 GMT 12
Preparedness is the key, and many years ago I found a book titled "How to survive in the bush, coast and mountains of NZ" which had been written by an Air Force bloke. Best book I've ever bought; simple, practical and best of all, focused purely on NZ conditions. If you can find a copy, grab it...
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 22, 2012 15:10:16 GMT 12
They're still finding Harpagonis moorei bones in the caves around Nelson, and they were indeed a big bird, but not even roughly as big as the biggest of the pterosaurs, which did have a wingspan not far short of a light aircraft, and were the biggest flying creatures ever known! So far. Haasts Eagle was a bush bird and hence had shorter wings than you'd expect, and the current thinking is that it preyed on the bush moas rather that the huge giant moa. I still wouldn't want to meet one if it were hungry or annoyed with me... There's a really good size indicator template at Wingspan in Rotorua comparing the NZ falcon, Australasian Harrier and Haast's eagle....
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 13, 2012 18:18:43 GMT 12
My copy arrived yesterday and is safely ensconced under the tree, ready for Xmas morning! Looks bloody good in the brief glimpse I gave it...
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 13, 2012 18:14:04 GMT 12
That is one of the reasons there were so few Japanese POW's taken in the Pacific War, the USMC had an unwritten policy to shoot anyone who surrendered or was wounded. There is even graphic footage of this happening. I often wondered if the notion of the Japanese never wanting to bring shame on themselves by surrendering was perpetuated by the US media to cover themselves a bit. I think the US Marines learned at Alligator Creek and in the Philippines early on that policing the battlefield after the action was liable to cause casualties because the Japs didn't quit and that taking prisoners, even wounded ones, was fraught with all kinds of danger... hence the shooting of seemingly unarmed soldiers. That's what the diggers told Dad whenever he went out to the perimeter; they didn't take prisoners often either... I wouldn't like to make any comment or judgement on this as I've never had to make those kinds of choices...
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 11, 2012 19:51:21 GMT 12
With all due respect, fellas..... that's STILL not addressing the issue of stopping a proportion of disaffected youth doing savage things like this to not just monuments to the fallen and the brave, but to any and all public spaces.
I don't know what high school kids in NZ are taught now about the military past - and I dread to think what is being taught about the Land Wars! - but I was taught nothing about WW1, WW2 or Korea/Malaya/Borneo: certainly nothing about Vietnam, however, I could have told you about the unification of Italy, and the Poll Tax in medieval England!
It's my view that parenting is the issue at hand, but I am at a loss to know what the hell to do about that!
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 10, 2012 21:01:08 GMT 12
Well, that's admirable..... I didn't receive anything like that; we got English history up the ying-yang! The only reason I knew anything about New Zealand's illustrious military history was because of the returned servicemen in the family.
And that's not addressing the whole "indolent youth" issue....
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 9, 2012 22:35:41 GMT 12
What do you expect when successive governments have de-fanged all the services, making them nowhere near as visible as they should rightly be? Add to that, the RSAs are getting smaller and smaller and schools not teaching the young about the sacrifices made by young men generations ago, and there you have it; an indolent youth culture with no moral anchor and too much time on their hands.
Giving the clowns that did this a hiding would solve nothing; you've got to solve the problem at the source!
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 9, 2012 22:28:21 GMT 12
Yes, we do but surely we should also stand up and take responsibility for those mistakes? These shock jocks are hiding behind corporate skirts which is reprehensible....
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 4, 2012 19:22:41 GMT 12
I think that's a bit disingenuous, really... particularly coming from an American! However, what the writer is alluding to is that no one generation is better than another and that we'd better all get our collective acts together!
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Post by corsair5517 on Dec 2, 2012 1:04:51 GMT 12
1988 or 89 and the Canterbury Goose from Chch airport to Akaroa and a water landing then return the following day.... magic!
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 26, 2012 0:29:32 GMT 12
better and better, fellas... thank you!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 25, 2012 21:48:09 GMT 12
Hell, the 70s were fun..... I was a long haired school kid playing loud rock'n'roll in pubs around Dunedin and Otago... I saw Led Zeppelin, too, and Deep Purple on the Machine Head tour in 74.... There was a really vibrant local music scene which nurtured and encouraged locals; good times!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 25, 2012 21:30:46 GMT 12
Bloody magic!! Thank you!! A little jiggery-pokery and bobs your uncle!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 25, 2012 17:57:19 GMT 12
OK... on it!
Now... please, does anyone have a good sharp photo of a Corsair in a steep bank, cockpit towards camera that they'd let me have a copy of??
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 25, 2012 11:24:03 GMT 12
Hey up, fellas... I suppose you've all got the Pilots manual for the F4U, and most probably have the US training film about the same? Anyway, all of our stuff has arrived from NZ and in it I found a DVD with the training film and the Pilots Notes. I'm prepared to burn one copy to send to someone in NZ who could then burn copies for those who are interested; I won't do it as I'm time poor...
Any takers?? PM me..
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 15, 2012 21:30:36 GMT 12
Rightio, fellas..... I'm going to do an solidbody guitar up with a NZ/Australia pacific aviation scheme as a tribute to my father and his mate, a Boomerang pilot. My thoughts are to have silhouettes of a Corsair and a Boomerang on the front of the guitar but the trouble is I can't find any really sharp silhouettes on the web. I'd like the Corsair to be pictured in a steeply banked turn towards the camera, and the Boomerang the same. So my question is, does anyone have such a picture they would be willing to let me have a digital copy of? I'd be very grateful and would document progress here if anyone expressed an interest. I thought that perhaps the headstock of the guitar could perhaps show the ribbon bar that Dad wears? Would there be any ethical objection to such a portrayal, do you think?
Thanks for any and all help, people
John
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 11, 2012 0:36:06 GMT 12
Thanks, fellas!
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 1, 2012 11:11:57 GMT 12
PM returned...
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 29, 2012 20:56:37 GMT 12
Thanks Chris! Yeah, there's a couple of online places showing it "out of stock", which is a little disingenuous, I feel....
I certainly hope the lady at the bookshop turns up trumps, eh!
J
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