Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Like purple said;
Dutch Army Bicycle Band.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dutch+army+bicycle+band
Dutch Army Bicycle Band.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dutch+army+bicycle+band
I once hauled a 255 lb Whitetail out of the NB bush on a bike.
Back in the '80s my Dad was quite helpful around here to the wandering tribe of Speakers from the much-maligned Canadian League of Rights -- which was a Canadian PATRIOTIC group. I got to drive speakers to their next locations, arrange (free) publicity for them (as Editor of a newspaper, I could do that). It was through the League that I met a number of most interesting people, not one of whom was a "right-wing extremist" or anything like that. Indeed, most of them were remarkably sane and if their brief bios in Wikipedia do not reflect that, what IS said reflects the sometimes quite-astonishing bias of the person writing the biography.
The biggest problem with most of them (and this specifically includes Ivor Benson, who was Ian Smith's Press officer and who helped Smith to write the UDI) seems to be that HISTORY has proved them RIGHT.
But among the speakers was Eric Butler, a well-spoken Australian who was head of the Crown Commonwealth League of Rights and also a very serious Social Credit supporter and monetary theorist. A very military-looking chap, to my great interest he was ALSO one of the very first INSTRUCTORS when the Australian Army opened their now-world-famous Jungle School at Canungra. One Sunday, I had the opportunity to query Mr. Butler about the jungle school as I was driving him to another meeting about 120 miles away.
My first question was how he got to BE an Instructor in the first place. His reply was a bit shocking, "Well, they sent you to New Guinea for 6 months and, if you were still alive, they figured you must be good enough to be an Instructor".
That sounded a bit over the top..... but then he started telling me about the fighting in New Guinea.
"We learned various weapons and all that, of course," he said, "but ninety percent of what we did was bushcraft, setting up ambushes.... and learning to LIVE WITH THE JUNGLE. The Japs were afraid of the jungle; all of their movements were down the roads. WE LIVED in the jungle; it was our HOME. So the Japs would come along the roads and we were all around them, so we knew what they were doing and likely where they were going. We could pick and choose, make an attack when we wanted and dispose of the results quickly.... and then disappear again."
Reflecting on that, it could not have been gratifying for a Japanese commander..... to send out patrol after patrol...... and have them all DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY.
Incidentally, the Aussies also did rather well in Viet-Nam, a generation later.
The biggest problem with most of them (and this specifically includes Ivor Benson, who was Ian Smith's Press officer and who helped Smith to write the UDI) seems to be that HISTORY has proved them RIGHT.
But among the speakers was Eric Butler, a well-spoken Australian who was head of the Crown Commonwealth League of Rights and also a very serious Social Credit supporter and monetary theorist. A very military-looking chap, to my great interest he was ALSO one of the very first INSTRUCTORS when the Australian Army opened their now-world-famous Jungle School at Canungra. One Sunday, I had the opportunity to query Mr. Butler about the jungle school as I was driving him to another meeting about 120 miles away.
My first question was how he got to BE an Instructor in the first place. His reply was a bit shocking, "Well, they sent you to New Guinea for 6 months and, if you were still alive, they figured you must be good enough to be an Instructor".
That sounded a bit over the top..... but then he started telling me about the fighting in New Guinea.
"We learned various weapons and all that, of course," he said, "but ninety percent of what we did was bushcraft, setting up ambushes.... and learning to LIVE WITH THE JUNGLE. The Japs were afraid of the jungle; all of their movements were down the roads. WE LIVED in the jungle; it was our HOME. So the Japs would come along the roads and we were all around them, so we knew what they were doing and likely where they were going. We could pick and choose, make an attack when we wanted and dispose of the results quickly.... and then disappear again."
Reflecting on that, it could not have been gratifying for a Japanese commander..... to send out patrol after patrol...... and have them all DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY.
Incidentally, the Aussies also did rather well in Viet-Nam, a generation later.
Last edited:
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Always good to hear from you, Smellie. 
The Australians are never to be taken lightly. They tend to make pretty hairy-chested fighters. Vietnam was no exception.
And the Aussie SAS are a whole 'nother level.
The Australians are never to be taken lightly. They tend to make pretty hairy-chested fighters. Vietnam was no exception.
And the Aussie SAS are a whole 'nother level.
Always good to hear from you, Smellie.
The Australians are never to be taken lightly. They tend to make pretty hairy-chested fighters. Vietnam was no exception.
And the Aussie SAS are a whole 'nother level.
That was 50+ years ago.
Grizz
Donny Fenn1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootenays
I think the book "The Odd Angry Shot" tells a pretty good story of Australian participation in Vietnam. Also the diggers thoughts on US troops and their skills are interesting to read.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
That was 50+ years ago.
Grizz
Jesus, scary how that happens, isn't it? I remember growing up how the WW2 vets were all guys in their mid-fifties. I often catch myself thinking of the '80's as twenty years ago. Pretty soon I'll be eligible to attend my 40th high school reunion. Time's a funny damn thing.
Please, brothers - do something today that feels good. Help a neighbour. Be kind to a stranger. Go to the range. Sit in front of a fire and drink a coffee. Spend time with friends. Pet the dog. Play in the shop a bit. Buy somoething you've been meaning to. Send out the Christmas cards. Kick ass at the office. Make something of your day so it's not wasted. The time is ticking along faster than you think, you're not gonna live forever, and every sunset is one less on the clock. There's no fixing that. All you can do is maximize the happy utility of the time you have.
Do something that feels good today.
And by all means join and work for a political party that isn't pledged to take your guns away.
