Earlier than those was "Rat Patrol" taking place in the Western Desert
during the African campaigns. Wild and wooly shoot-em-up in jeeps with
fifties mounted.


Clinch that cee-gar between your teeth and charge the 10 enemy armored vehicles
that look remarkably like the same 10 armored that guarded similar trucks
(eventually passed down to Hooogan's Heroes, I think) you blew up last week.
Curiously, Erwin Rommel is a late-20s dashing evilguy Victor Newman, with
apparently nothing better to do than run around the desert losing two battles
per week to a small roving band of ninjas in Land Rovers. "Rat Patrol",
Hogan's nitwits, 12 O'clock High, McHale's Navy, and a few others (Gilligan,
anyone?) were my primary after-school diversions as a youngster. I grew up
thinking all ship Captains were idiots (unless they drove a PT-boat); all
Majors had combat fatigue; our guns never ran out but apparently a lot of our
bombs were duds; a Corsair could beat anything in the sky (as long as it was
maintained by the worst Sergeant ever busted back to Private); most blustery
Colonels ultimately withdraw from conflict (beaten, invariably, by a crafter,
young Major); RAF planes explode - Japanese planes fall in flames - German
planes that fall in combat have an insane Nazi pilot guiding it down - all
heavily damaged US planes make it back to base; and most German soldiers wore
their Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, Diamonds and Shovels proudly at
their necks. Its the closest thing to a military education my family could
afford.

v/r
Gordon
PS, Shipmates, come to the USS KIRK reunion next weekend, San Diego.Muster on
the bow of the USS Midway, our old "high value unit". Good weather promised.
====(A+C====
USN SAR

An LZ is a place you want to land, not stay.