Author Topic: Rolling Thunder  (Read 43104 times)

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Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #525: December 13, 2018, 02:24:34 PM »
The annual Rolling Thunder ride — which has brought thousands of bikers to the D.C. area for decades — is hitting the brakes. They won’t be riding after their May 2019 run, group officials confirmed to WTOP.

https://wtop.com/dc/2018/12/rolling-thunder-comes-to-an-end-2019-will-be-last-ride/slide/1/

Offline varoadking

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #526: December 13, 2018, 02:29:05 PM »
The annual Rolling Thunder ride — which has brought thousands of bikers to the D.C. area for decades — is hitting the brakes. They won’t be riding after their May 2019 run, group officials confirmed to WTOP.

https://wtop.com/dc/2018/12/rolling-thunder-comes-to-an-end-2019-will-be-last-ride/slide/1/

Well that blows...though the idea of regional rides is likely a good one.  I can see the entire movement picking up steam that way...




Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #527: December 13, 2018, 02:30:45 PM »
Well that blows...though the idea of regional rides is likely a good one.  I can see the entire movement picking up steam that way...





It's like losin' a friend.

Offline varoadking

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #528: December 13, 2018, 02:31:56 PM »
It's like losin' a friend.

No doubt...

Offline varoadking

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #529: December 13, 2018, 02:59:47 PM »

Think you may ride in this last one?

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #530: December 13, 2018, 03:04:57 PM »
Think you may ride in this last one?

Hmmmmm     Hadn't thought about it but now that you mention it.    I've been out of circulation (ridin' in crowds) a long time so probably not.      However, as my mom used to say, "We'll see."     :)

Offline imref

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #531: December 13, 2018, 04:09:19 PM »
Well that blows...though the idea of regional rides is likely a good one.  I can see the entire movement picking up steam that way...


wow.  I'm going to guess there will be a huge outcry and they will establish it.  RT is an institution in this region.

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #532: January 12, 2019, 08:13:33 PM »
Anybody know the date of the wreath pick up at ANC?

Offline varoadking

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #533: January 12, 2019, 08:21:34 PM »


Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #535: January 19, 2019, 07:58:51 PM »
Went to ANC today to pick up the holiday wreaths.    Great participation by hundreds of volunteers    ....   I've been in and around ANC hundreds of times.    Today, I came across two graves that I don't remember seeing before  ....  Admiral Thomas Kincaid and Abner Doubleday.

Offline imref

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #536: January 19, 2019, 11:19:41 PM »
Went to ANC today to pick up the holiday wreaths.    Great participation by hundreds of volunteers    ....   I've been in and around ANC hundreds of times.    Today, I came across two graves that I don't remember seeing before  ....  Admiral Thomas Kincaid and Abner Doubleday.

:clap:

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #537: January 20, 2019, 10:32:38 AM »
Went to ANC today to pick up the holiday wreaths.    Great participation by hundreds of volunteers    ....   I've been in and around ANC hundreds of times.    Today, I came across two graves that I don't remember seeing before  ....  Admiral Thomas Kincaid and Abner Doubleday.
Kinkaid was the commander of the 7th Fleet at Leyte Gulf, right?  San Bernadino Straights and capping the T?  (now to wiki. . .)

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #538: January 20, 2019, 10:35:46 AM »
Kinkaid was the commander of the 7th Fleet at Leyte Gulf, right?  San Bernadino Straights and capping the T?  (now to wiki. . .)
Surigao Straight. 

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #539: January 20, 2019, 12:46:08 PM »
Kinkaid was the commander of the 7th Fleet at Leyte Gulf, right?  San Bernadino Straights and capping the T?  (now to wiki. . .)

I know he was in the command structure at Leyte (the old man was there) but I'm not sure where.    Wiki is the answer.    LOL     

Story:

Old riding buddy (vet) and I were two of the first ones into the cemetery.    Headed straight to McClellan Gate from the main entrance.    Old friend from my early DC days is buried near there with his wife (WWII vet).    Picked up their wreaths and then moved to the regular row by row clean up.    When I go to Arlington, I always focus on "respect" and "history".    As you move through the sites, you read the inscriptions on some of the headstones.   I try to do that to recognize the individual.      There's a guy who was 21 years old and died on August 15, 1968  ....  Vietnam?     A few rows over is a guy from Minnesota; Marine who died in February 1945   ...   Iwo Jima?    Look there, a CMH recipient (Navy, WWI).    I told the young lady picking up the wreath that she got a special one.   I'm not sure she knew what I meant until she read the inscription.   We all took a few extra seconds  ....      Buddy and I try to move to different sections to stay ahead of the big crowds.      All kinds of folks, many had NE Patriots gear on.   I mostly ignored them.   I spoke to the Bills fans and the orange hats of Clemson.   LOL    Everybody was there for the same reason.    Conversation came easy.      Saw several members of the German military (in uniform) gathering wreaths.       Most of the sites were cleared by 0930 so we headed toward The Tomb.    To the East of the Tomb is a long stairway.    At the bottom of the stairway is a plaza.   As we stood there, watching people, we could faintly hear Taps coming from The Tomb  ...   maybe a wreath laying ceremony.    A few of us immediately stood up and took off our hats, placed 'em over our hearts.   Took awhile but all the folks finally caught on.     Up near the gate by the old Ft. Myer chapel are some Civil War sites.     There was a whole section of children and infants from more modern times.    We visited the usual spots  ....   The Tomb; Joe Louis; The Kennedys; Audie Murphy; The Maine Memorial; the shuttle Challenger, etc.  ....  walking from Ft. Myer to the Ord Weitzel Gate, we again read the stones (Garden of Stones).     I think we were looking for Taft.     Past the Kennedys on the hill side was Kincaid.    Walked toward the Custis/Lee mansion and saw Doubleday.    Rest of the way out, we looked at the stones  ...   here and there.    It's now the only day of the year I feel comfortable walking among the headstones (not staying on the pavement).    We left ANC and headed over to Iwo Jima Memorial on our way to the subway.    Paid our respects throughout the day and learned something along the way.    Got back to E. Loudoun and stopped by a micro-brewery.      Doesn't get much better than that.

I know.   Two sentences max.


Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #540: January 20, 2019, 12:47:01 PM »
Surigao Straight. 

His commands were listed on the back of his headstone.    I remember Leyte Gulf and Guadacanal  ...   I forget the rest.    :old:

EDIT:   Old guy moment   ....   Midway just popped into my mind.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #541: January 20, 2019, 02:59:36 PM »
His commands were listed on the back of his headstone.    I remember Leyte Gulf and Guadacanal  ...   I forget the rest.    :old:

EDIT:   Old guy moment   ....   Midway just popped into my mind.
The wiki on Midway actually is pretty interesting. Pointed out a few things about the order of battle and the gaps in each command I had not heard before.  Japanese could have sortied Ziukaku had they combined its air contingent with Shokaku's but the Japanese doctrine was to keep air squadrons with particular carriers.  Yorktown, OTOH, used several squadrons from Saratoga, which was unable to join the other carriers in time from the West Coast. US moved squadrons around among its carriers. Japanese used its destroyers and cruiser more as pickets because of the lack of radar, while the USN used its escorts more as anti-aircraft support.

Kinkaid commanded the cruiser / destroyer screen for the enterprise and hornet at Midway when Spruance was bumped up to replace Halsey.  Mitscher was the captain on either the hornet or enterprise (his promotion to rear admiral came while he was on the way to Midway). 

Surigao Straight, of course, had a lot of the battleships that had been sunk at Pearl Harbor.  Last battle between battleships.

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #542: January 20, 2019, 03:07:09 PM »
The wiki on Midway actually is pretty interesting. Pointed out a few things about the order of battle and the gaps in each command I had not heard before.  Japanese could have sortied Ziukaku had they combined its air contingent with Shokaku's but the Japanese doctrine was to keep air squadrons with particular carriers.  Yorktown, OTOH, used several squadrons from Saratoga, which was unable to join the other carriers in time from the West Coast. US moved squadrons around among its carriers. Japanese used its destroyers and cruiser more as pickets because of the lack of radar, while the USN used its escorts more as anti-aircraft support.

Kinkaid commanded the cruiser / destroyer screen for the enterprise and hornet at Midway when Spruance was bumped up to replace Halsey.  Mitscher was the captain on either the hornet or enterprise (his promotion to rear admiral came while he was on the way to Midway). 

Surigao Straight, of course, had a lot of the battleships that had been sunk at Pearl Harbor.  Last battle between battleships.

May I recommend "Miracle at Midway" by Gordon Prange.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #543: January 20, 2019, 03:19:54 PM »
May I recommend "Miracle at Midway" by Gordon Prange.
thanks.  I have not picked up military history in the past 30+ years, but I literally learned to read by reading Random House books on WWII.  First book I read by myself was Great American Fighter Pilots of WWII.

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #544: January 20, 2019, 03:25:15 PM »
thanks.  I have not picked up military history in the past 30+ years, but I literally learned to read by reading Random House books on WWII.  First book I read by myself was Great American Fighter Pilots of WWII.

Prange also wrote "At Dawn We Slept" about Pearl Harbor.    I love me some history.    Missus says I can be lazy readin' history books because I know how they end.     :smh:

Offline HondoKillebrew

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #545: January 20, 2019, 03:35:39 PM »
Also worth reading about the Battle of the Coral Sea, a month before Midway.  I remember reading a book about it called "Blue Skies and Blood" in grade school. 

Offline imref

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #546: January 20, 2019, 04:36:45 PM »
The Admirals is very good too

Offline tomterp

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #547: January 20, 2019, 06:22:53 PM »
Prange also wrote "At Dawn We Slept" about Pearl Harbor.    I love me some history.    Missus says I can be lazy readin' history books because I know how they end.     :smh:

Wasn't he a professor somewhere?   Trying to remember....             8)

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #548: January 20, 2019, 06:25:07 PM »
Wasn't he a professor somewhere?   Trying to remember....             8)

I know we've had this discussion in the past.     ;)

Offline mitlen

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Re: Rolling Thunder
« Reply #549: February 19, 2019, 12:13:52 AM »
Iwo Jima