The Riddleblog

Mid-Summer 2024 Musings

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

Look for the return of the Blessed Hope Podcast season three on 1 Corinthians in mid-August. I’ve managed to research and write the script for chapters 7-10 and will start cranking out new episodes upon my return from vacation.
The Blessed Hope Podcast has made a successful “migration” from Google podcasts over to YouTube podcasts. If you enjoy the Blessed Hope pod, please consider liking and subscribing.

Thinking Out Loud:

What happened in Butler PA, sure gives new meaning to the phrase “dodged a bullet.” I am very thankful Trump’s life was spared. So far in my lifetime JFK was assassinated, so too were RFK and MLK, Gerald Ford survived two bungled assassination attempts, and Reagan was nearly killed. Assassinations create a generational national trauma, and I am so thankful that our nation is not facing such a thing now.
Joe, you stubborn old geezer, turn over the car keys already!
The stray kitty who moved into my yard a dozen years ago pays no attention to various cats and critters who come into the yard and eat her food. But one cat—a new skinny all black cat—drives her crazy. She goes from full nap to absolute screeching fury whenever it gets near her food bowl. I wonder what that is all about. The mind of a cat . . . unfathomable.
A sure sign that ours is a fallen race is that you cannot buy an equal number of hot dogs (usually six) and buns (usually eight).

To read the rest of my “musings,” follow the link below

MusingsKim RiddlebargerJuly 20, 2024Bible Theory Podcast, Invasion of Saipan June 1944, cats and dogs, Florida ManComment

The Other D-Day: Operation Forager, the Invasion of Saipan (June 12, 1944)

Operation Overlord — The D-Day Invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944

The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) was a major turning point in World War 2. It is a battle with which we are well-familiar. We have the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and the HBO series “Band of Brothers” to thank for much of the ongoing interest. As we celebrate the eightieth anniversary of the beginning of the end for Hitler and Nazi Germany, we are also witnessing the last living participants in the battle who made their way this week to the famous invasion beaches on the Normandy Coast (Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword). It is a poignant scene to see these ninety + year-olds return to that horrible place that is forever etched in their memories and for which we are so very grateful.

The scale of the D-Day invasion in Normandy is simply mind-blowing–the largest seaborne invasion in human history. Some 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers took part. The total number of men put ashore the first day was nearly 160,000, with a remarkable total of 875,000 allied combatants arriving on the continent by the end of June, 1944. Allied casualties on the first day were around 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. The Germans suffered between 4,000–9,000 casualties (estimates vary widely) including those killed, wounded, missing, or captured.

The Other D-Day — “Operation Forager” — The Invasion of Saipan (June 15, 1944)

As gigantic as the Normandy invasion was, it is nearly forgotten that the United States pulled off another invasion of staggering size and proportion just over a week later on the opposite side of the world. Operation Forager involved the invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands on June 15, 1944. Saipan was a significant part of the outer defense ring of the Japanese home islands. Once airbases were established there (as well as on the neighboring Islands of Guam and Tinian) the newly deployed B-29 bombers could begin sustained bombing of the Japanese homeland—a game changer in the Pacific War.

To read the rest, follow the link below

History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJune 6, 2024D-Day, Invasion of Saipan June 1944 Comments