DON MARSHALL'S ACCOUNT (9): THE ONE-MAN INVASION

The Landing Craft throwing a line and pulling Don's nearly submerged boat out of range.-They were hauled aboard.-They get into an uncomfortable position: "again, we were where we shouldn't be...in the middle of an air raid..."-"We lost a carrier."-"For the next four or five hours we lived in absolute terror. In fact, frozen terror, for we were still soaking wet."-They were transferred aboard a battleship (The Bayfield).-"I awoke five hours later."-A guard (widely grinning) handed him over his Thompson gun, "newly cleaned and oiled, almost unrecognisable from the rusty piece of junk I earlier relinquished.".-Don wants to get back to Iwo. He asks an officer standing at thr rail watching the shore.-Suddenly, two muzzles in his back. They were the bodyguards of General Clifton Cates.-"It was General Cates (commander, of the 4th Marine Division) whom I had just brashly confronted!".-Don got permission to go back to the beach. The men in the boat "stared at me in disbelief, only an idiot would voluntarily go back into that inferno."-"For the first time I felt I was a tremedously important Marine..."-Don making his way over top of the ramp. "then ordered them to get the hell out of there."-"Thus, I made a one-man invasion of Iwo Jima.-"Blue Beach was even more chaotic than before, completely covered with blasted wreckage..."-"As far as the eye could see, each ocean wave delivered a solid sheet of torn bodies..."-
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MELDUNG & ANALYSE

1. Ich habe mich bzgl. der letzten Beiträge noch einmal nach Bildern umgesehen.
Problem: Die waren alle auf Militärseiten, da muss man rechtlich aufpassen!

2. Die Statistiken des Blogs weisen darauf hin, dass 'Paul Watzlawick' führt.
Ich habe deshalb auch dort ein Bild eingefügt.

Gruß!

DON MARSHALL'S ACCOUNT (8): "HEY, YOU GUYS, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" (A RESCUE)

Don was told to get some new grenades.-He found a hole at the airfield. It was full of Marine bodies having grenades at theit belts.-Don put some of the grenades in a bag.-He headed for the beach to get more.-He found a Thompson sub-machine gun at the side of a dead Navy man.-Starting over a terrace, he found a work party (about 30 men).-"A shell screamed in, they disappeared in a massive explosion, I flew up and backwards some twenty feet."-Someone pulled him to his feet.-"I stared at what was left of the work party, a mass of jellied arms, legs and torsos, not a whole body left in the entire group."-Someone guided him towards an LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel aka Higgins boat).-He was pushed aboard.-Some wounded came on.-Shells bracketing the boat.-Two close hits.-The LCVP heading out to sea (the rudder was jamming).-They had nothing to repair it.-Their only hope: "attracting someone's attention".-Heading northward; it was getting dark.-He estimated they would make landfall at Tachiiwa Point (Japanese stronghold).-"The sky clouded over, enveloping us in complete darkness. The weather turned icy cold."-Battle waggons pumping shells into the island ("shells arching over our heads")-"burst of a parachute flare" (Japanese)-They were dangerously near the rocky shore at Tachiiwa Point.-"Japanese patrol hurrying aound and over those rocks toward a small beach where we were drifting"-"we considered our options which, at best, seemed very bleak."-The coxswain and his buddy diving for the engine.-"The rest of us...hoping against hope that the cursing and pounding men below succeeded..."-One blinking out SOS with a flashlight (nearly exhausted).-"Another enemy flare burst about five minutes later..."-"Japanese patrol ready and waiting for our inevitable delivery into their hands"-Don clenching his Thompson "determined to go down kicking and scratching, taking as many as I could."-Don knew their exact position ( 1, 5 miles from Blue Beach 2).-"we bobbed slowly shoreward in total darkness while island-ripping salvos screamed overhead"-"thrumming of a nearby engine. Friend or foe?"-Don thought it was the Japs.-"Out of the gloom a voice called out, 'Hey, you guys, where the hell are you?"-Don thought it was a trick.-"each of us determined to go down fighting"-Again the voice: "Well, fuck' em. If they don't want to get picked up, let's get the hell out of here.!"-It was the "unmistakable jargon of an American seaman"-"The LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized, twice the size of our Higgins boat) raced in..."---
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H. J. CAMPBELL: DENKEN=SUCHE NACH LUST

1.) "Unser Gehirn besteht aus zwei großen Komplexen, zwischen deren Entstehung im Laufe der Evolution mehrere Millionen Jahre liegen. Der ältere Teil, der Hirnstamm mit dem limbischen System, entstand vor etwa fünfhundert Millionen Jahre."
BEDFORD/ KENSINGTON: DAS DELPASSE EXPERIMENT
2.) Im modernen Teil des Gehirns findet (abstraktes) Denken statt oder vielmehr sollte. Im limbischen Gehirn geht es primitiver zu. Außerdem sitzt dort das Lustzentrum.
3.) Triebfeder allen Handelns ist die Lust. Auch nicht ganz neu (siehe EPIKURS HEDONE).
4.) Die äußeren Sinnesorgane sind über Nervenbahnen mit dem Lustzentrum verbunden. Durch diese werden dem limbischen Hirn Reize gesendet, woraus dann Lustgefühle resultieren. Dies ist der Weg beim "Normalo".-"...für keinen dieser Lustgewinne benötigt er mehr als seinen unter-menschlichen Nervenmechanismus."
BEDFORD/ KENSINGTON
5.) Der Mensch, der nicht "unter-menschlich" tickt, hat einen eigenen Weg entwickelt: Er stellt eine direkte Verbindung Großhirn-Stammhirn her.
"Auf direktem Wege schickt er aus den Denkregionen des modernen Großhirns Erregungsimpulse in die Lustareale des älteren Stammhirns. Das heißt nichts anderes, als daß er sich durch Denken Lustgefühle zu verschaffen vermag."
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6.) Jetzt wird's esoterisch: "Vielleicht ist Lust in Reinkultur-also dieLust am Denken-nichts anderes als der instinktive Drang, PSIENERGIE aufzubauen? Wir denken, weil wir Lust dabei verspüren."
Kurzum: Mehr Denken=mehr Psienergie=mehr Lust.
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Wenn diese PSIENERGIE den physischen Tod überleb, wie einige Forscher glauben, was sich aber nicht klar beweisen läßt, dann sind die Denker im Jenseits bevorteilt. Die Doofen gucken in die Röhre.
"Dumme sind schlechter dran."-"Aber-Böse sind nicht schlechter dran."
7.)"...und ob dieses Denken gut oder böse ist, das ist für die Unsterblichkeit des Geistes ohne Belang."
Das sieht die Kirche natürlich anders.
Für CAMPBELL steht also fest, "daß die moralische Bewertung ihrer Taten im Diesseits für ihr Leben im Jenseits keine Rolle spielt".-"Alle Schuld muß sich auf Erden rächen; sonst ist es nämlich zu spät dafür. Gerechtigkeit-wie wir sie verstehen-ist im jenseitigen Konzept nicht vorgesehen."
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Gerechtigkeit ist wohl eine Erfindung der Menschen, eine Idealvorstellung (wahrscheinlich aus pragmatischen Gründen), oft nur eine Fiktion. Wahrscheinlich besitzen wir einen apriorischen Gerechtigkeitsfimmel, um nicht zu kurz zu kommen und damit an Lust einzubüßen. Dann wären wir also wieder bei der "Luscht", wie der Schwabe sagt. Diese Triebfeder des Lebens gilt bei der Kirche als sündig und wurde als Todsünde verteufelt (libido; s. die sieben Todsünden). Man könnte boshaft formulieren. Die Kirche ist gegen die Lust. Denken=Lust. Also ist die Kirche auch gegen das Denken!
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DON MARSHALL'S ACCOUNT (7): THE LAST BOTTLE OF WHISKEY

Don starting up an terrace with a water can.-Heavy barrage: "Sand, rock, chunks of concrete, boat and tank pieces, helmets, back packs, flesh, viscera and bone fragments rained down as we huddled in the shell-holes."-"One Marine evaporated in a multicolored explosion, his body parts flew in all directions."-A combat knife (K-bar) flying through the air: "It sliced the tip off a crouching Seabee's nose and laid open his cheek before burying its blade in the side of a crater where a Marine lay, his ankle and foot dangling from an elongated strip of muscle tissue."-Don helped him laying him beside his tractor.-He also helped a doctor putting together an aid station.-Together with Lieutenant Long they moved wounded soldiers aboard a LCVP.-"Once again, I started back with the water."-Picking up a pump shot gun he "joined up with the captain and his group."-They come under fire.-Keeping up "continuous fire into the pillbox openings."-A Marine crawling "on top of one" tossing in "either an explosive charge or a grenade."-High casualties.-"...we pumped a lot of slugs and kept the Japs pinned down."-Mortar barrage from the enemy.-"It pinned us down, a number of Marines were hit."-His shotgun was ruined by a "sliver of mortar shell".-
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sketch: Don dragging two wounded into a shell-hole.-In the background: a bunker. All occupants dead, but one. This one shot a corpsman who wanted to help. Don killed him with a grenade.
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Then, escaping "some incoming rounds", he asked some Marines setting up a mortar, if he could help.-Moving on his belly he plants marking stakes.-They drank a bottle of whiskey ("Four Roses").-When coming back the following day, Don finds them "torn apart by a direct hit."-He also finds the broken glass of the bottle.---

ENGLISH PHRASES 1: ALL VERY USEFUL!

1.) to take a strange turn=eine unerwartete Wendung nehmen
2.) to turn a blind eye to=ein Auge zudrücken
3.)to leave s.o. to his own devices=jemand sich selbst überlassen
4.) If s.th "goes askew" (schiefgeht), you can say: what a drag=so ein Mist!
5.) to split ways=getrennte Wege gehen
6.) to keep a sharp look-out=auf der Hut sein; die Augen offen halten
7.) roundabout=ungefähr
8.) everything came together=Gestalt annehmen
9.) to push one's luck=sein Glück herausfordern
10.) hear say=Hörensagen
11.) shit-list=Abschußliste
12.) to sleep the day away=durchpennen
13.) this is giving me a head-ache=das tut mir im Kopf weh
14.) Who in the world...=wer in aller Welt...
15.) this sucks=das ist Mist
16.) this kicks ass=das ist geil
17.) a break-trough/ rock'n roller s.th=ein "Mörder"-irgendwas
18.) aside from the fact that=abgesehen von
19.) this grabs you by the balls=das haut dich um
20.) dumb cunt=blöde Tussi/ Fotze
21.) bra-buster/ melon-matron=Frau mit dickem Busen
22.) to an extend=bis zu einem gewissen Grade
23.) to go on the fast lane=exzessiv leben
24.) among others=unter anderem
25.) to jump in the sack=mit einer Frau ins Bett steigen
26.) bug fucker=Typ mit kleinem Penis
27.) to pay one's dues=seinen Preis bezahlen, Schuld büßen
28.) time after time=immer wieder
29.) for the time being=für den Augenblick, einstweilen
30.) wino=Billigweinsäufer
31.) to kickstart your liver=sich's mit Alkohol geben
32.) mother-fucking dork/ jerk=gottverdammter Wichser
33.) chick=dummes Gänschen
34.)on the whole=im Ganzen
35.) sicko=kranke Type
36.) yes-man=Mitläufer
37.) loony=Irrer
38.) to name but a few=um nur wenige zu nennen
39.) so to speak=sozusagen
40.) give a try=probier es!
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DON MARSHALL'S ACCOUNT (6): AERIAL BOMBS IN THE SAND, TROOPS ADVANCING TO THE CHATANOOGA CHOO CHOO AND A TRAGIC INCIDENT

Don spotting aerial bombs in the sand.-"The whole place was mined!"-He found a rifle (M 1 Garand) "and jammed it upright in the sand as a warning post".-"I ran from one hole to another gathering M1s and carbines, affixed the bajonets and stuck each one by a mine."-"I pointed to the marked bombs, they acknowledged with a wave."-Then, heading back to his tractor at the beach.-"black ash packed my shoes"-He took the leggings of a fallen Marine.-He discarded his shoes.-He called them a luxury, for '"size 15 boon-dockers were hard to come by, even for the Marines."-"During the past six months, I had fought barefoot on Saipan."-Lieutenant Joe Reece offered him a pass to the States, but Don refused.-His boots arrived two days before they sailed to Iwo.-Otherwise he would have been left behind.-He "tried the radio again."-Male voice identifying as Moby Dick.-"turned up the volume full bore."-Marines advancing "to the Chatanooga Choo Choo, One O'Clock Jump and all othe favourites"-"I hope the troops enjoyed it"
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drawing: passing tractor striking aerial bomb-"Of the men who went in the air, one landed right in front of me, a quivering mass of strawberry jam."-"He gasped a few times, then expired. There was nothing I could do."-Few minutes before, one of the tractor crew had asked Don "where the 24th was."-Don "was tempted to ask for a ride but didn't."-"I motioned them to the right..."-"they swung the tractor, moved about twenty feet and struck the mine. To this day I feel responsible."---
photo: on this shot Don recognised " the amtrac blown apart by the bomb"
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