Racism in the Military

[Brett327]

You’ve ironically pointed it out.

The character limit on Twitter makes it a great echo chamber to post mob opinions without any supporting evidence, and to get positive reinforcement through likes and shares.

Kind of like your posts deriding it.

This is the stupidest possible reason for not liking Twitter.

I’m fascinated with geology. All aspects of it - rocks, stratigraphy, volcanoes, seismology, etc. I follow a ton of smart geologists from every field on Twitter. They have interesting things to say about a recent EQ, or eruption, or some expertise or context for some subject I’m interested in. Sometimes, I’ll ask them a question, which spurs a conversation. It’s a way to interact with people you don’t normally have the opportunity to meet in person.

It’s not all about arguing, or politics. It’s about connecting with other people who share your passions and interests.

 

[HSMPBR]

CVE-63 (WWII) was named Midway but when some thought that lofty battle deserved a big carrier (not a puny CVE) so the planned CV-41 got it and the name of the -63 was changed to Saint Lo. One month later she was sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Fleet Collier No. 3, the USS Jupiter became the USS Langley. She was sunk in 1942.

The submarine USS Squalus (SS 192) was renamed Sailfish in 1940. Twenty-six sailors died aboard the Squalus when it sank in an accident off Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1939. The ship was raised, brought back to Portsmouth and rebuilt, re-entering service in 1940 with the new name. She survived the war, but the CO repeatedly threatened the crew that if anyone mentioned the word “squalus” or “squalfish” he would dump them overboard.

Side note...One on the change list I was not aware of until recently is the USS Chancellorsville, CG-62, named after a Confederate battle victory.

Continuing this offramp of racism into ship renaming. Hornfischer wrote a great account of St. Lo in The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors:

“THE OLDEST SALTS ABOARD the USS St. Lo, its chief petty officers, knew a thing or two about ship names. They knew at least this: that according to tradition, it was plain bad luck to have your ship’s name changed when under way during wartime. The blessings of the Navy’s christening ceremony were many and manifold. You just didn’t throw that away. If you did, disaster was sure to follow.”
....
“When the news came down of the name change, the groans of the chief petty officers reverberated through the ship’s brittle hull so loudly as to defy the rumpus of the Uniflow engines. “Damn Navy,” said an old chief boatswain’s mate. “You don’t change the name of a ship. It’s an ill-fated ship. It’ll be at the bottom of the ocean in two weeks.””

 

[johnboyA6E]

“You don’t change the name of a ship. It’s an ill-fated ship. It’ll be at the bottom of the ocean in two weeks.””

Midway (CVE 63) commissioned 23 OCT 43
renamed St Lo on 10 OCT 44
sunk by kamikazes 25 OCT

so, the Chief was off by one day with his prediction

 

[Hair Warrior]

Midway (CVE 63) commissioned 23 OCT 43
renamed St Lo on 10 OCT 44
sunk by kamikazes 25 OCT

so, the Chief was off by one day with his prediction

Or he was precisely accurate if the ship crossed the international date line.

Tragic and sad for the crew.

 

[Pags]

USS Coral Sea (CVE-57) was also renamed; she changed to USS Anzio to give its original name to CVB-43. Despite the name change USS Anzio survived the war.

 

[Jim123]

Midway (CVE 63) commissioned 23 OCT 43
renamed St Lo on 10 OCT 44
sunk by kamikazes 25 OCT

so, the Chief was off by one day with his prediction

Double checks ship's history for places and dates... yep, the renaming and sinking were both on the same side of the international date line and 15 days apart.

 

[Griz882]

USS Coral Sea (CVE-57) was also renamed; she changed to USS Anzio to give its original name to CVB-43. Despite the name change USS Anzio survived the war.

Thank goodness! I was close to writing “the last one burned down and sank into a swamp.” Indeed there were a lot of name changes and repeated names in WWII.

 

[FrankTheTank]

I really don’t care about all the renaming. Whatever floats your political boat. Pun intended But there is zero reason their shouldn’t be a USS Enterprise in the United States Navy!

 

[Brett327]

I really don’t care about all the renaming. Whatever floats your political boat. Pun intended But there is zero reason their shouldn’t be a USS Enterprise in the United States Navy!

Pretty sure we have one in pre-com.

 

[CUBUFFS4134]

CVN 80 is USS ENTERPRISE.

 

[wink]

I really don’t care about all the renaming. Whatever floats your political boat. Pun intended But there is zero reason their shouldn’t be a USS Enterprise in the United States Navy!

Not in this bizarro world.

CVN 80 is USS ENTERPRISE.

Not for long I fear.

 

[Hair Warrior]

Richard Nixon was a U.S. president, a naval officer who deployed to the Pacific theater in World War II, and a desegregationist of schools who enforced Brown v Board of Education. There was one other thing about him but I can’t put my finger on it...

 

[HAL Pilot]

Not in this bizarro world.
Not for long I fear.

Can't have any statues of Obama or anything named after him either. His mom's side of the family were slave owners.

Mitch McConnell responds to report his ancestors owned slaves by pointing out Obama's did too

The Obama campaign had addressed the reports at the time, telling the Baltimore Sun in March 2007, "it is a true measure of progress that the descendant of a slave owner would come to marry a student from Kenya and produce a son who would grow up to be a candidate for president of the United States."

 

[Spekkio]

Richard Nixon was a U.S. president, a naval officer who deployed to the Pacific theater in World War II, and a desegregationist of schools who enforced Brown v Board of Education. There was one other thing about him but I can’t put my finger on it...

Good old tricky Dick

 

[nittany03]

Not for long I fear.

Oh FFS . . . grab the rope and climb back up the slippery slope, please. What's next, cancelling Star Trek?