The 2014 WPA Was Born Yesterday, And A Huge Donation!

2014 WPA

 

Yesterday marked another big day in WPA history. It was the day when we officially closed the door on the 2013 event, and then started down the path toward the 2014 Writers’ Police Academy.

Thursday afternoon, Denene and I drove to Greensboro, N.C., chatting most of the nearly six-hour trip about what lay in store for the next WPA. It’s always a real head-scratcher because each year the WPA team tries our best to outdo the previous year’s event, and, somehow we’ve managed to do so each time.

But, we wondered, how do we top an honest-to-goodness HUGE explosion, writers suiting up and actually participating in underwater rescues, and keynote speaker/honorary WPA Sheriff Lisa Gardner texting me to say she’d be late getting back from her nighttime police ride-along because she and her officer-partner were tied up booking a suspect they’d just arrested (for real).

To add to the ultimate coolness of all things WPA 2013, we turned the hotel parking lot into a red, white, and blue strobe light show that would give a Pink Floyd laser display a run for its money (this took place at night and involved the arrest and handcuffing of a carload of unruly, bird-flipping writers).

Anyway, after a nice dinner and a good night’s sleep, Denene and I finally arrived at the home of the Writers’ Police Academy, the public safety department at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in Jamestown, N.C. A hearty round of hellos and hand-shaking was followed by the first official planning meeting for the 2014 WPA. Attending were Eric Holloman (criminal justice department chair), Sandra Neal, Andy Russell, Stan Lawhorne, Bill Lanning, Joe Yow, Captain Randy Shepherd of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, and, of course, Denene and I.

We’re all extremely excited about the 2014 WPA because it will be our 5th year at GTCC. And next year will, of course, be bigger and even more exciting with even more surprises and even more action, and even more…well, you’re going to love it!

At the conclusion of the meeting, Denene and I, representing the WPA, were extremely pleased to present the annual donation to the criminal justice foundation. The much-needed and very much-appreciated funds are used to supplement the program’s limited budget.

The first year (2010) we donated $8000 to the foundation. The second year our donation was $10,000. In 2012, we gave over $12,000. This year, thanks to each attendee, Sisters in Crime National, raffle and silent auction donors, sponsors and other supporters, speakers and instructors, we were pleased to present the criminal justice foundation with a check for…

drum roll, please…

…over $16,000!

That’s right, over $16,000.00.

In case you didn’t hear me, that’s sixteen followed by a comma and three zeroes, a decimal point, and two more zeroes.

To date, we have donated nearly $50,000 to the GTCC criminal justice foundation!!

So, on behalf of everyone involved with the WPA, we thank you all for the love and support. We couldn’t do what we do without each of you.

*Pictured above at the presentation of “the check” are (l-r) Lee Lofland, Sandra Neal, Eric Holloman, the $16,000 check, Denene Lofland, Captain Randy Shepherd, and Andy Russell. Not pictured were the photographers – Stan Lawhorne and Bill Lanning, and Joe Yow (EMS).

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

You gave your all to protect and serve us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Patrolman Edward A. Wehe, 57

Pennsylvania – Delaware County Courthouse and Park Police Department

November 5, 2013 – Patrolman Edward Wehe suffered a fatal heart attack soon after clearing the scene of a non-permitted protest at a local prison. His daughter was nearby and performed CPR until EMS arrived to take over. Unfortunately, he passed away at the hospital.

Patrolman Wehe leaves behind his daughter, granddaughter, fiancee, and brother.

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Does Your House Sometimes Feel Intimidated, Or Fearful?

Does your house sometimes feel intimidated

An interesting topic popped up on my Facebook page last night. It all started when someone on James Spader’s latest series, The Blacklist, said a fertilizer warehouse had been robbed (at night when no one was there). Well, that can’t happen (robbing an inanimate object) unless the warehouse had hands to raise and felt threatened when the gang of masked bad guys arrived and aimed their weapons at it.

Anyway, I thought today might be a good time to address this topic in more detail…again.

HOUSE ROBBED WHILE FAMILY AT MOVIE

Cordite, South Dakota – The home of I. Will Fillemfullalead at .357 Revolver Circle in Cordite, was robbed last night between the hours of 8pm and 11pm while the family was away enjoying a movie at a local theater. The robbers took everything from the home, leaving the Fillemfullalead’s with a single blanket and two rubber chickens. Both the Red Cross and the NRA have offered their assistance.

“When we got home, we saw that our house had been robbed. They took everything, right down to to the kid’s handguns and reloading kits,” said Mrs. Fillemfullalead. “The robbers had better hope the police catch them before we do, or there’ll never be a trial.”

Police spokesperson, Captain I. M. Overwait, says investigators have no leads at this time. He vows, though, that his department will catch the robbers.

Okay, how many times have you seen headlines similar to the ones above? Well, once is one time too many if you ask me, because a house CANNOT be robbed. No way, no how. A simple definition of a robbery is this – To take something (property) from a person by force, violence, or threat.

From a PERSON. Not an inanimate object. From a PERSON. Not a building.

You cannot threaten a house or business. You cannot intimidate a house. Nope, there has to be a person present to constitute a robbery. And he/she must have felt threatened and/or intimidated by the robber when the goods were taken. Otherwise, the Fillemfullalead’s home had been burglarized, and their property stolen. Besides, a crook who approaches the front door to your home and says to the house, “Stick ’em up,” well, I’m thinking a larger dose of medication for him would be a fantastic idea.

You know, many people have asked me to review books on this site, and I’d resisted for a long time. Well, a while back I finally caved in and, as luck would have it, the first book that came my way featured both “the odor of cordite” and a house being robbed. Needless to say, I won’t be reviewing that one, not on a public blog, that is. I certainly wouldn’t want to “rob” the author of any sales by posting a bad review. Of course, the writing matched the level of research, so it’s best that I keep my thoughts to myself…this time.

A couple of other misuses of terminology are:

1. Someone using the term assault when they’re actually describing battery. Assault is an unlawful ATTEMPT, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another. Battery is any unlawful beating, or other wrongful physical violence or constraint, inflicted on a human being without his consent (yes, there are people out there who ask, and sometimes even pay good money to have others batter them).

2. Homicide and Murder are not always synonymous.

 

3. A crime scene may or may not be the scene of the crime.

Remember, the secret to writing good fiction is “writing believable make believe.” Doesn’t mean it has to be true…you’ve just have to make us believe it is.

Finally, not every mask-wearing, property-invading creature is a robber, and any seasoned investigator will quickly be able to spot the bad guy(s). This young lady (she’s a mother now) is a regular visitor, coming and going as she pleases, and she’s not the slightest bit intimidating nor is she easily intimidated. She recently brought her little one over to meet us.

And, not every “bird” behind bars is a jailbird. Some are there because they needed an intervention and were placed in protective custody to heal. This beady-eyed fellow lives within a stone’s throw of our house. I think his parole hearing is coming up in the very near future, though.

 

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Castle: A Murder is Forever – A Good Cop/Bad Cop Review

Castle: A murder is forever

 

Am I the only person in TV Viewerland who caught the significance of the scene involving Beckett and Castle’s big cat poster/painting? You know, the one where she made him hide his “lion” eyes… Get it? The Eagles song, Lyin’ Eyes. Oh, stop with the groaning. It’s just my quirky and corny sense of humor leaking out on this happy 11-12-13 day.

Okay, since my little joke fell flat, I’ll turn things over to Melanie.

Melanie Atkins

I liked this episode. It didn’t make my top ten list, but it kept my attention. My favorite part, of course, centered around Rick and Kate’s tug-of-war over the huge painting of Linus the lion in Rick’s bedroom, but I have to admit the case grabbed me, too. I could have done without so many bad clown puns after the dudes in the clown masks ambushed Ryan and Esposito, but all in all I enjoyed this one.

I won’t address any of the forensics or the case itself, since I’m sure Lee will tackle that. I’d rather focus on Linus. Kate still has her apartment, but apparently she doesn’t stay there much. Every time we’ve seen her lately, she’s been at the loft, waking up in Rick’s bed. Has she officially moved in? I don’t think so, but she seems to be making herself right at home. I mean, asking Rick to move Linus, a fixture in his man-cave bedroom? Go Kate!

The two of them are obviously getting closer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate didn’t ditch her apartment pretty soon and move all of her stuff into the loft. Not that Rick has asked her to move in with him… but then again, he’s a guy. She stays at his place most nights anyway, so inviting her to live with him probably hasn’t even crossed his mind. Or maybe he doesn’t want to push her too far too fast — a scenario that doesn’t really ring true since she accepted his proposal and has been urging him to look at wedding venues. I prefer to believe they’ve just been busy and are taking their time. Why rush the inevitable when they already stay together most nights?

Rick’s compromise at the end of the show by replacing the painting of Linus with a shadow box of shells he and Kate picked up together in the Hamptons spoke volumes about his willingness to welcome her into his home. No, wait. Their home.

I look forward to next week’s episode, described by some as the “double doppelganger” episode. Lee should love it because it features two Lanies (even though one is on a slab). Right, Lee?

Lee Lofland

All right, let’s place all our cards on the table. First of all, this episode, in my opinion, was the best of the season so far. I say that because there was a little something for everyone—romance, a murder, a story with nice twists and turns, and a killer who wasn’t obviously obvious. Yes, the writers fooled me this time. However…

Lanie, Lanie, Lanie. She was doing just fine until she used the “L” word (lividity). Lanie told Beckett that she based the victim’s time of death (TOD) on body temperature and lividity. Everyone knows about lividity right? Good. I won’t go into too much detail, then. What I will say is this. In short, post-mortem lividity is the purplish discoloration of the skin after death, due to gravity pulling the blood to the lowest portion(s) of the body. Once there, as decomposition progresses, the vessels break down and cause the eggplant color staining of the surrounding flesh. Lividity is quite visible and is sometimes mistaken (by the layperson) as severe bruising.

Okay, back to Lanie. The murder victim, Alice Clark, died in a seated position. Therefore, gravity would have pulled the victim’s blood to the lowest part(s) of her body—her lower legs, feet, and her rear end. Since poor little Alice Clark was fully clothed when Lanie arrived and was still fully clothed when Lanie offered her...sigh...voodoo/Ouija Board predictions, there was no way she’d have seen any signs of lividity other than in/on the victim’s bare hands.

Lividity is not the best indicator of time of death since it becomes fixed (the process is complete) at around the 12-hour mark (after death). During that 12-hour +/- period, if the body is moved (rolled over, for example), the staining of tissue will then move to the latest low point. Once fixed, though, the staining will no longer transfer.

Anyway, to get back on point, Lanie was basically gazing into a crystal ball for this TOD prediction.

It was nice to see the “I can do everything and anything” IT woman search the database of license plates that was generated by the many license plate readers located throughout the city, and mounted on police vehicles. This is a very real and current technology that’s catching on across the country. In fact, there are grants available to police agencies that help them purchase the devices.

The shootout scene between Ryan and Esposito and the clowns (the bad guys wore clown masks) was especially well done. One tiny thing, and I realize the options were limited, but it’s best to not run in a straight line if you’re trying to escape gunfire. A moving target that’s zig-zagging is much more difficult to hit. Running away in a straight line makes for an easy target. Still, this was a great scene, and the facial expressions (not those of the clowns) were a nice bit of acting.

As I said earlier, the writers fooled me this time. I didn’t guess the killer’s identity until the last scene just seconds before the confession.

Overall, this was a really nice episode. I needed it, too, because it looks like we’ll be getting a double dose of Lanie next week.

Oh, I almost forgot…No Pi, and no whiny Alexis this week. Even Gates was okay. Well, with the exception that they all still address her as “Sir.” That is so dumb.

How about you? What did you think of this episode? Good? Bad? Just happy that Pi didn’t show up?

Finally, the real Lyin’ Eyes…

 

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Cutting Brake Lines: A Thing Of The Past?

Cutting brake lines

You’ve just robbed a branch of your local bank and you’ve made a clean and speedy escape. The plan was foolproof—in and out, quickly. A Sarah Palin mask and a long, wavy brown wig, an expensive red dress (stolen from a box of wildly expensive clothing owned by a Super Pac, of course), and the phony accent you worked long and hard to perfect (“This is a robbery, you betcha.”).

What you hadn’t counted on, though, was the computer hacker who recently signed on to work with the local police. Soon after you passed the county line, your car horn began to honk uncontrollably, the engine shut down, and the tire pressure warning lights began to blink wildly, like a ZZ Top laser light show. Even the brakes no longer worked, so you, your car, and the cool half-million were forced to limp to the shoulder of the road.

It was certainly no surprise to see the winking, blinking blue lights appear in your rear-view mirror, and you knew it would only be a matter of minutes before the boys in blue applied a pair of shiny bracelets to your wrists.

Is this a reality? Is it indeed possible for someone to hack into your car’s computer system(s)? Well, writers, you’d better believe it’s possible, and this method of disabling a vehicle is far better and easier than having your villains getting their hands all grimy and greasy while feverishly sawing at a protagonist’s brake lines.

All it takes to remotely stop an engine is to hack into any auto dealer’s Web-based immobilization system, such as the one in Texas where an angry employee disabled over 100 vehicles (newer cars only). For an extra kick, he also started each of the horns on an irritating honking spree.

University researchers have found a way to remotely view tire monitoring systems, and they were able to set off a number of dazzling dashboard light shows of alternating warning lights and alerts. Best of all, though, was the scientists’ ability to track the vehicle locations by viewing the automatic tire monitoring systems. By the way, the hacking can be performed using readily available material and free software. A perfect gift for the bad guy in your life who has everything.

And then there’s the group of university researchers who found a way to use an automobile’s diagnostic ports to plant a device that, from a remote location, can be used to completely disable the car engine and brakes.

So, if you’re an international double-naught spy or doubles as a mystery writer, you may want to choose your auto mechanics carefully. Who knows what sort of evil scheme(s) they may have tucked away in their rolled-up sleeves, in addition to that half-empty hard-pack of Marlboros.

At the very least, you should install some sort of driver ejection contraption in the event a teenage hacker takes control of your car radio. After all, for those of us of a certain age, rap and hip hop can be the equivalent of massive amounts of bamboo shoved under our fingernails. I know I’d rather take my chances at being hurled at high speeds toward the wooded areas along the highway than being forced to listen to what some these days mistakenly call singing.

Beethoven can definitely roll back over, ’cause the noise coming from today’s car radios sure ain’t no rhythm and blues. At least, though, if you have OnStar, someone else could be feeling your pain because they could be listening to every “f-word and kill the police” lyric spewing from your car speakers. They do have that capability, you know.

Finally, if you didn’t understand the Beethoven comment, well, ask your parents. I’m sure many of them are also frustrated with a good portion of today’s “music,” the hacking and hackers, and cars we can no longer repair with a screwdriver, a piece of baling wire, and duct tape.

And, yes, we folks of a certain age, do get a little scatterbrained at times, going off in different directions other than the paths we first started down. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this brief article on the music of Chuck Berry.

 *A special thank you to all the men and women who protect us and our freedom.

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A Journey To The Grand Canyon With Paul Beecroft

Grand Canyon

 

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Paul Beecroft has spent a good deal of his life in law enforcement, in England. He’s worked Foot Patrol, Area Car, Instant Response Car and also as a Police Motorcyclist. Paul currently works as a coroner’s investigator and has traveled all over England, Wales, Scotland and even Germany to investigate crimes.

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

You gave your all to protect and serve us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Police Chief Steven Fleming, 44

Gainesville Texas Police Department

November 1, 2013 – Chief Steven Fleming died as a result of injuries he received when he fell from a ladder in the evidence building. He leaves behind his wife and daughter.

Reserve Officer Robert Libke, 41

Oregon City Oregon Police Department

November 4, 2013 – Officer Robert Libke died as a result of a gunshot wound received after responding to a house fire. Upon arrival, he was confronted by an armed suspect who opened fire, striking Officer Libke in the head. The 88-year-old shooter then committed suicide.

Officer Libke leaves behind his expectant wife.

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Castle: Like Father Like Daughter – A Good Cop/Bad Cop Review

Castle: Like father like daughter

 

Nothing quite says “Family Road Trip!” like a father and daughter excursion to death row. Why not? The ambiance is exquisite, and the food and accommodations are, well, to die for.

Okay, I know, that was a weak and corny lead-in, but it does tie in with what we saw last night—the somewhat weak and corny depiction of prison, condemned inmates, and death row. More on that in a minute. For now, Melanie’s on her way to the soapbox and she has a smile on her face, which, I think, means she enjoyed last night’s episode. Let’s see what she has to say.

Melanie Atkins

After last week’s so-so episode that put Rick and Alexis at odds, this one brought me immense relief in the end. I was a bit puzzled by Alexis’ intense involvement in a case to prove a death row inmate’s innocence and the ease by which she and Rick got their hands on evidence — how they were able to carry the files with them to Pennsylvania, for instance — and how the NYPD was able to help despite being a different jurisdiction (especially how they had the box of evidence at the end), but sometimes on Castle that kind of impossibility is par for the course. The writers use a vast amount of literary license and pay absolutely no attention to correct police procedure. And yes, as usual, it bothered the heck out of me… but I’ll let Lee tackle the craziness that was evidence handling in this case.

I enjoyed the opening scene between Rick and Kate immensely. Rick’s suggestion that they marry in space cracked me up because it fit so well with his character, and I loved Kate’s snarky response. So funny. Seeing her already pushing him to check out wedding venues made me smile, too. I love that she’s so excited about marrying him, even though they won’t be tying the knot in a space capsule many miles above the earth.

Rick’s excitement upon reconnecting with Alexis, albeit warily, on the trip to Pennsylvania made me happy as well. I loved their give and take along the way, especially their amazing theory building. Rick’s line about usually only theorizing so effectively with Kate and Alexis’ response of “Ew” made me laugh out loud. I’m glad father and daughter finally reconnected without Pi in the mix. The show is so much more fun without him.

The last scene where Alexis thanked Kate (apparently, since we couldn’t hear their dialogue) and their subsequent hug made enduring the sketchy evidence handling worth it. They’ll soon be family, and they need to bond. Now if Rick, Kate, and Alexis can only keep it together when Pi reappears. I’m hoping he’ll soon be history, but so far he and Alexis are still living together, so more trouble might be lurking on the horizon. I hope not, however. I’ve about had enough of pouting Alexis. Seeing her fight for justice for the accused in tonight’s show, as unlikely as they might be in real life, made her seem much more grown up, even if the wonky writing allowed her to do the impossible.

All in all, I enjoyed the episode, even though I pegged the real murderer the minute he acted like a jerk in the restaurant. Why do those guys always stick out like sore thumbs?

I’m hoping the bad buys in next week’s episode will be harder to identify. The clown masks in the promo really creeped me out. We’ll have to see if the writers do any better with the procedure in that one. I certainly hope so.

Lee Lofland

Well, where should I begin? Hmm… How about I start with wondering how long Alexis has been working with the Innocence Review? Have we heard of this before? If so, I missed it. Probably during one of the earlier brain-freezing episodes where Lanie predicted a cause of death by performing a Voodoo dance around a steaming cauldron of chicken blood, sheep innards, fresh fire ant torsos, and crushed owl bones. Wait…I think I have my shows mixed up. I believe that concoction was a dish that Bizarre Foods’ guru, Andrew Zimmern, tried while on one of his own excursions to some faraway village in either Lutefiskia or YakPenistan. Sorry for the mix-up, Lanie.

A few things I’d like to point out regarding death row. First, state and federal prisons normally pay their electric bills on time. Therefore, there’ll be no shortage of light sources. In fact, those places are lit up like a high school football field on Friday night…times ten. Yes, I know, the dimly lit death row visiting room where Castle and Alexis so freely entered, unescorted, was designed to add an air of CSI-esque mystery and suspense. However, prison officials generally like to see what’s going on during visitation, especially when a death row inmate, a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain, is seated at a table with his girlfriend and two people who have their sights set on getting the guy out. So…LIGHTS ON!

Still, the lack of light did nothing to hide the perfectly-cut and styled hair of death row inmate Frank Henson. And, his pearly-white teeth glowed nicely in the little light that was available. Let’s not forget about Mr. Henson’s healthy, glowing skin tone. Inmates on death row rarely see sunshine, so they normally have a pale and sickly appearance that’s often referred to as “prison pallor.”

Have you ever seen the hairstyles worn by prison inmates—the one’s who’ve been locked up for a long time with no access to a real barber or stylist? Well, the haircuts generally aren’t very flattering. In fact, there are three basic styles of jailhouse “do’s.”

1. The “I’m not cutting it until I cut a record with either The Beatles or The Beach Boys, or when I’ve been denied parole for the 100th time.”

2. Style number two is the “My wife finally divorced me and I trusted my haircut to my cellie and a sharpened top cut from a gallon can of green peas.”

3. Finally, we have the “Scott Peterson,” a nice little do made possible by a guy named Brutus who owns the only battery-powered beard and mustache trimmer on death row. And, as always, there’s only one height adjustment that works.

Okay, Melanie already pointed out that the NYPD does not have jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, and that it’s ridiculous that Castle had official case files in his possession and transported them to and from wherever the heck he wanted to. And, the killer de jure—the cop—stuck out like the sore thumb that’s the norm for this show (easy to spot murderers). So I won’t revisit either of those goofy scenarios. What I will say is this…NO PI! And that’s a good thing.

– I’m curious, what do you think of Alexis these days? Spoiled and precocious? Irritating and not so precocious? Spoiled and immature? Irritating? Or…? One other thing…I think I know the reason for Alexis’ sudden attraction to a goofball like Pi. In fact, I’m almost certain it’s because she’s damaged a fair amount of brain cells by pulling her hair back so tightly. What was up with that hairstyle? Even Charles Manson wears a better “do.”

*By the way, in case you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be sentenced to death row for a crime you didn’t commit, well, here’s a link to a Graveyard Shift article written by Ray Krone. Ray served ten years on death row before new evidence proved his innocence. Ray’s story, among others, is incredible…and incredibly sad. Even with a happy ending there’s no way Ray will ever get back the ten years he lost to a broken system.

Ray Krone: A Decade On Death Row

 

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USS LCS-102: A Mighty Midget

USS LCS-102

 

The last of the Mighty Midgets is docked near San Francisco, where a handful of dedicated Navy vets spend their days lovingly breathing life back into the heavily-armed WWII amphibious ship. These 387-ton LCS (Landing Craft Support) ships were designed to lay close-range supporting fire for landing forces on the islands of the South Pacific.

The LCS featured a flat bottom which allowed it to beach and provide cover fire for U.S. forces. Once the missions were complete the ship was able to pull itself back into open water using an on-board winch attached to a cable and anchor dropped just prior to beaching.

A couple of weeks ago, Denene and I had the pleasure of boarding the surviving LCS-102, and were treated to a tour-for-two guided by Navy vet Gordon Stutrud. In the manner that new parents proudly show off photos of their children, Stutrud led us through the floating tank that once had been home to over 70 sailors.

As we made our way into the belly of the ship, it was quite obvious that our guide was silently reliving his days at sea more 50 years ago.

As Gordon talked, explaining in detail each nook and cranny, I found myself thinking about the hardships of living aboard one of those floating powder kegs. Spaces are extremely tight. Ceilings are low. Hallways are narrow. And, well, see for yourself…

And we sometimes complain about a restless night. Imagine sleeping in close quarters like these, with 64 other people.

Then there was the challenging task of cooking for over 70 crew members. Of course, the galley was spacious and equipped with top of the line equipment.

Chefs were highly trained in the culinary arts.

On-board communication systems were the best technology that money could buy.

Voice tubes—brass pipes—ran from the engine room to the control room. When commands were given to speed up or slow down, they were shouted into the voice tube(s) and were easily heard and understood at the other end of the tube.

Sure, these things seem a bit primitive, rustic even, but nothing could compare to the “facilities.” There, it was three at a time while sea water gently flowed beneath. We heard stories of prankster shipmates setting toilet tissue on fire and sending it “adrift” in the current where it would quickly heat up the “buns” of the men seated downstream.

Still, the real purpose of the LCS was on deck—the weaponry. The crew needed a massive amount of firepower, not only to support landing parties, but to defend themselves against kamikazie pilots, and suicide swimmers and boats. Firefights were described as beyond intense and beyond any attempt at descriptions by writers and those seen in film. Yet, only six of the 130 LCS’s built were destroyed by enemy attack. The Mighty Midgets were capable of holding their own in even the worst of attacks. In fact, they were capable of reducing enemy aircraft to tiny bits of metallic confetti.

So let’s take a peek at the ship’s firepower.

First, the ammunition. The first photo shows Gordon holding the smallest of the rounds (including tracer rounds).

Next are the larger rounds. Gordon is there to show size comparison. Imagine what rounds this size could do to a target. By the way, there’s a chance that you’d find cordite in a few of these rounds. But this was basically the end of times for cordite.

Now for the big guns, the 40mm’s and more.

Close up of gun sight. You can see these in position (on either side of the gun barrels) in the preceding photo.

Gordan demonstrating the crank used to move and position the larger guns.

.50 caliber machine gun (above).

Denene with the twin 20mm guns that were often used against enemy aircraft, and for laying down cover fire for beach landings.

Below is the original flag flown on the LCS.

The experience on-board this mighty ship was beyond daunting. Listening to Gordon describe living and working on a LCS was priceless. His pride for the U.S. armed forces, especially the Navy, and for our country, is immeasurable. It would be impossible to repay our service men and women for all they’ve done for us and our country. Nothing short of impossible.

Here are a few more photos taken on the LCS.

Engines used to power the LCS.

Radio room.

Executive officer’s dining (wardroom).

Executive officer’s cabin.

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

 

You gave your all to protect and serve us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Deputy Sheriff Allen Kay, 60

DeKalb County Alabama Sheriff’s Office

October 19, 2013 -Deputy Allen Kay suffered a fatal heart attack after arresting two suspects who were found possessing an illegal firearm at the Talledaga racetrack. Deputy Kay leaves behind his wife, two daughters, and four grandchildren.

Acting Police Chief Nicholas Colabufo, 52

Hawthorne Park Illinois District Police Department

October 20, 2013 – Acting Police Chief Nick Colabufo collapsed while dealing with a disturbance call. He died a short time later. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Officer Robert Bingaman, 37

Asheville North Carolina Police Department

October 29, 2013 – Officer Robert Bingaman died after his patrol car ran off a bridge. He is survived by his wife and three stepdaughters.

Officer Casey Kohlmeier, 29

Pontiac Illinois Police Department

October 30, 2013 – Officer Casey Kohlmeier and his canine partner, Draco, were parked in a highway median turnaround when another vehicle left the roadway and struck the patrol car. Both Officer Kohlmeier and Draco were killed in the crash.

Officer Kohlmeier is survived by his parents.

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