[rollei_list] Re: OT: Miscellany
- From: Allen Zak <azak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 15:49:28 -0400
On Sep 9, 2007, at 12:21 AM, Marc James Small wrote:
a decrepit 50-year old M113 Amored Personnel Carrier which can barely
run is only a "tank" in the eyes of some idiot National Public Radio
reporter.
When the M113 was adopted by the army in 1960, I was one of the early
mechanics to work on them. The first version was powered by a gasoline
engine, but by 1961 all subsequent models were diesel equipped. We
used to get monthly maintenance updates illustrated by the great
cartoonist, Will Eisner (The Spirit).
To this day I remember vividly how important it was to change the fuel
filter regularly, firmly fixed by the brilliant art work in the
instructions. Decades later I met Eisner, now deceased, at a comic
artist convention in Columbus, where I got the opportunity to thank him
for the help ;-).
I ended up my stint as an M113 commander, which meant that so long as
nobody was shooting in our direction, my only job was to stick my head
out of the open hatch on top and get a faceful of dust kicked up by an
armored battalion on the move. Now they are obsolete relics.
At a Veterans Day parade a few years ago, I was struck by how few
weapons and equipment I had trained with are still in service. I think
the 2 1/2 truck was just about it. There were items passing in review
that I couldn't even guess what they are used for. Nor did I ask.
Allen Zak
---
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