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IN THIS ISSUE
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* Gung Ho -- the Communists and the US Marines

* The Black Hawk Helicopter

* Historical Quote

* What's Happening at eHistory.com

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GUNG HO -- THE COMMUNISTS AND THE US MARINES [By Dr. Sanders Marbles]
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While the Communist Party and the US Marine Corps don't usually agree, they do work together. That's what "gung ho" means: work together or pull together (actually, that's only one English translation of this Chinese phrase.)

The Marines got the phrase from Major Evans Carlson, who was sent to China in the late 1930s as an observer. At the time there was a three-way struggle for power in China among: the Nationalists, the Communists, and the Japanese. The US backed the Nationalists, the recognized government of China. The US opposed Japan occupying China, but wasn't willing to go to war over the issue. Because the Chinese Communists were still a small party, only occupying one remote rural region, there wasn't much official policy.

So Carlson looked around in China, seeing what the Nationalists and Communists were doing. He saw the Nationalists as lazy and fairly corrupt, but the Communists impressed him. They were energetic and industrious, and at the lower levels of the party there was democracy, everyone free to criticize and suggest.

Carlson came back to the US in time for WWII and was put in charge of a special unit, the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. Their mission was to raid deep into enemy territory and it required a lot of initiative and leadership from low-level people. Carlson drew on his experience of guerrilla warfare (he'd been in Nicaragua in the 1920s, where the US and American-trained forces pursued a local guerrilla leader) and China for the unit's training. To get everyone involved he threw in the gung ho concept.

Carlson's battalion went on to fight very well in the South Pacific and the Marines had a new slogan.

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THE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
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Black Hawk Down, the name of the widely read book by Mark Bowden, is a gripping story about US special forces fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia in October of 1993. But what about the helicopter, the Black Hawk?

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter (and its various variants) is manufactured by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation. It became operational in 1978. According to Sikorsky "over 1,500 Army BLACK HAWKs now serve with active duty and National Guard units around the world." In addition, to the United States, the Black Hawk is in service in about 20 other countries including Mexico, Egypt, Israel, Thailand and Spain.

At a cost of about $6 million per machine, the Black Hawk is the Army's front-line helicopter and its primary mission is to carry troops. The Black Hawk UH-60 is configured to carry four crew and 11 fully equipped troops. Its maximum cruise speed is 162 kts (at 5,000 feet) and its maximum range at 5,000 feet is 304 nautical miles.

In addition to Somalia, the Black Hawk saw action in Grenada, Panama, Persian Gulf War, Haiti, and Bosnia.

As far as Somalia, during the Battle of Mogadishu four Army Black Hawks were hit by RPGs (Rocket propelled grenade): two helicopters crashed in the center city and two helicopters made it back to friendly territory. Super 61 (pronounced Super-Six-One; Super was the radio code name for the Black Hawk during the battle) piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Cliff Wolcott was the first to crash. Wolcott was killed at impact. Within 30 minutes Super 64 piloted by Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant crashed. Durant was captured and later freed after 11 days in captivity.

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HISTORICAL QUOTE
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"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)

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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT EHISTORY.COM
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* CHECK OUT: A MOMENT IN TIME, a newsletter edited by Dr. Dan Roberts

This newsletter contains transcripts of Dan Roberts popular radio broadcasts of "A Moment In Time". Topics cover interesting historical events and figures throughout world history.

http://www.ehistory.com/newsletter.cfm

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Dr. Sanders Marble

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