Sunday Ship History: Coast Watchers in the South Pacific

I always was interested in these brave souls who risked it all. Eagle has what might be the definitive story that is too short for a book. Go read it and enjoy!

EagleSpeak: Sunday Ship History: Coast Watchers in the South Pacific: "It seems that every good movie about the naval war in the Pacific mentions the 'Coast Watchers.' In Harm's Way, Father Goose and even the The Wackiest Ship in the Army all feature coast watchers in setting out the path to Allied victory.

So, who were the Coast Watchers?

The Coast Watchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section 'C' Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theatre and South West Pacific theatre, particularly as an early warning network during the Guadalcanal campaign.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Coast Watchers were not a spur of the moment creation of World War II. Instead as is found here:

Shortly after World War 1, the [Australian] Naval Staff instituted a system of civilian coast watchers, whose duty it was to report any matters of naval intelligence coming to their notice. Slowly the scheme was developed until the settled part of the Australian coast was under observation. In the late twenties the organization was extended to Papua, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands."

Man Plows Into Crowd, Goes On Stabbing Rampage; 7 Reported Dead

Knives are too dangerous! Why are untrained murderous people allowed to buy and own knives without a license? Why aren't there backgroud checks and mandatory training for these deadly weapons?

FOXNews.com - Man Plows Into Crowd, Goes On Stabbing Rampage; 7 Reported Dead - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News: "'The suspect told police that he came to Akihabara to kill people,' said Jiro Akaogi, a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. 'He said he was tired of life. He said he was sick of everything.'

The violence began when he crashed a rented, two-ton truck into pedestrians. News reports said he jumped out and began stabbing the people he'd knocked down with the truck, then turned on horrified onlookers.

Police confirmed six deaths — five men and one woman — but they could not say whether the victims had died of injuries from the truck or were stabbed to death. NHK reported that a seventh victim had died, but police could not immediately confirm that."

Death Upheld for Japanese Cult Member

The Japanese system is really slow on this! Of course, the US system is not much better, unfortunately. I am just glad that these murderers are finally going to die. They deserve it for the horrible attacks they undertook. Nerve gas is not a nice way to die.

Death Upheld for Japanese Cult Member | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited: "The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence given to a former cult member for his role in the 1995 nerve gas attack on the city's subway system.

Tokyo District Court convicted Seiichi Endo in October 2002 of helping to produce the sarin gas that killed 12 people and sickened 5,000. He is a virology graduate of Japan's prestigious Kyoto University.

Endo, 46, is one of more than a dozen former members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult facing the death penalty in connection with the subway attack. They include the cult's former guru, Shoko Asahara.

A court spokesman confirmed the ruling but declined to elaborate."