Walking the Via Dolorosa and Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem: A Guide

Landlopers

 

. . . "Station I
"With my guide book in hand, I left the hotel and walked the short way to the Old City and the entrance to the Lions’ Gate, the starting point of the Via Dolorosa. Walking through the gate, the first station is a few yards ahead at the present day Umariya Elementary School. Each station is marked with a medallion indicating the station in Roman numerals. You have to pay attention though, because they are easy to miss. As you walk through the souks in the Muslim Quarter, the first station is on your left. It is believed that it was here where Jesus was condemned to death." . . .
Hat tip to Jeff Hayden, Plano, TX

Updated, Dec. 2016; The death of George R. Bodyfelt of the 77th Division on Okinawa

 This is early research on Mr. Bodyfelt, whose death is told here by a relative, Larry Bodyfelt. Mr Bodyfelt has likely visited many of these sites, so our hope is to find info on George at more specialized sites in the very near future.

Larry Bodyfelt: As reported by the Infantry Journal Press, PFC George R. Bodyfelt was a member of Company B, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division. He was KIA on April 30, 1945. According to that publication, “Company B of the 307 Infantry (on that date) was engaged in the assault of the (Shuri) Escarpment climbing up ropes and ladders to gain the summit. Company B blew a pillbox at the top which was one of three pillboxes in line. It was difficult to keep the 307th fighting men supplied with food, water and ammunition during the attack. All supplies had to be hand-carried under fire in the ascent from the base of the ridge to the top, about 350 yards high at a 30 degree angle.” The Infantry Journal Press had a copyright date of 1947 and provided good detail about the action of Company B. I read the

post-mortem courtesy letter from Uncle George’s commanding officer to his mother. Being necessarily censored, little if anything was said about the location or military action taking place at the time of Uncle George’s death. The letter did say he was killed by an enemy mortar hit. Interestingly, Uncle George’s headstone inscription and the Tillamook Headlight-Herald obituary has his rank listed as Pvt. The History of the 77th Infantry Division and his commanding officer list him as a PFC. Prior to his Okinawa KIA, he experienced infantry combat on Leyte and Ie Shima. Ie Shima is a small island a few miles west of Okinawa. Ernie Pyle, the renowned “dog face” journalist of WWII, was killed by enemy machine gun fire there on April 18, 1945

Did you know the famed Lost Battalion of WW1 was from the 77th Division?
More on the Lost Battalion here.

Okinawa 77th Infantry Division

Concise history of the 307th Infantry Regiment. And of the 77th Division
1920: FROM UPTON TO THE MEUSE WITH THE 307th INFANTRY . . . "No division suffered greater hardships, had greater losses during the time it was in line, nor was better disciplined and trained than this cosmopolitan division of New York City-the 77th, New York's Own." . . .

 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment   Not a lot here,  but could have been a good source.


Assaulting The Second Shuri Defense Ring (Excerpts from a lengthy and detailed battle report)    . . . "On 29 April the 307th Infantry of the 77th Division took over the Maeda Escarpment part of the line from the 381st Infantry, and the next morning the 306th relieved the 383d Infantry on the 96th Division left. At noon on 30 April, General Bruce, Commanding General of the 77th Division, assumed responsibility for the former 96th Division zone of action on the Corps front. The end of April also witnessed a regrouping among the Japanese units on the line.

 

. . . "During the night of 30 April-1 May, the 1st Battalion, 307th, brought up to the escarpment four 50-foot ladders and five cargo nets, the latter borrowed from the Navy. On 1 May Company A troops mounted the ladders at the eastern end of the escarpment, but every man who stood up was killed or wounded. Farther to the west, however, Company B, using the cargo nets, had two platoons on the edge of the escarpment by nightfall. About midnight Japanese counterattacked in this area and drove the men off the escarpment." . . .
. . . "The losses in the escarpment battle had been heavy. In the 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, no less than eight company commanders were wounded in one 36-hour period. It had gone up on the escarpment on 29 April with a strength of about 800 men; it came down on 7 May with 324. The 77th Division estimated that it had killed upwards of 3,000 Japanese in the 7-day battle for the escarpment.

 Wikipedia discusses the effects of the fighting on soldiers' morale.

It caused President Truman to decide on using the atomic bomb.

 

77th Division comrade locator  "Many families of former 77th soldiers are looking for information and contacts. We will publish their requests and would greatly appreciate if you can directly contact them if you can help them with any news or information."

 

 "My email address is: toolnbama@charter.net . May God bless these heroes, their families, their sacrifice, and our blessed United States of America."

"To view historical videos, including originals shot by Army combat photographers go to: http://www.criticalpast.com. The Website contains many clips of the 77th Infantry Division, and may be useful in tracing family members."

HillaryToons

Hillary’s Poll Numbers Slipping In Swing States. . . " Even though it is early, Hillary cannot be too pleased about some recent polling data that shows her numbers falling:" . . .

Hillary Clinton slipped in the polls Wednesday after admitting she wiped her server clean of all her e-mails after she did business as Secretary of State on her private e-mail account. It'll all work for her. Already, Control-Alt-Delete is a subliminal ad for Hillary the same way dry cleaners signs were for Bill.  Comedian Argus Hamilton

This Woman’s Job Is to Recast Hillary Clinton’s Image  . . . Having helped shape Mrs. Obama’s public image into that of an accessible everywoman, Ms. Schake is about to face what may be her toughest challenge yet: working to get another first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, elected president." . . .

 

...

Angry White House Press Corp Sending List Of Demands To President Obama

Daily Caller

 

"The White House Correspondents’ Association is reportedly crafting a list of demands to be sent to the White House, after an incident last week in which a pool of reporters covering the president’s visit to Salt Lake City were turned away from a meeting between Obama and Mormon leaders. (VIDEO: State Department Lashes Out At Reporters For Paris March Questions)

"The list of demands is not yet complete, but will contain a series of written promises the press corps wants the White House to commit to. “We’ve been working on that document for almost a year now and will have more to say about it when we release it later this spring,” Association President Christi Parsons told the Washington Examiner’s Eddy Scarry.

"Although the Salt Lake City incident appears to be the immediate cause, Obama has long had a troubled relationship with the White House press corps. Reporters have openly complained about the White House’s lack of transparency, with some even claiming to have been on the receiving end of “profanity-laced tirades” from White House officials." . . .

Via Dolorosa: "Way of Grief", "Way of Sorrows", "Way of Suffering" or simply "Painful Way"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Dolorosa

A song for Good Friday:  Via Dolorosa with clips from Passion of the Christ and song by Sandi Patti

A song for Resurrection Day   Sung by Peter, the disciple who denied Jesus three times on the night of His arrest.


Sung by Don Francisco

.@CBS employee (who hopes to call herself a "journalist) files false fraud report

 

  Red State   "who is .@alixbryan? why is she filing a false fraud report? does .@CBS care?"  She says "just in case"!
  

This is Alix Bryan  Note how many times the word "journalism" appears in this paragraph. Lord help us.
. . . "I graduated in 2010 with a Master’s in Multimedia Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. The program focus was truly multimedia; covering web design and development, online community management, social media, online journalism, data mining and database management skill-sets, photography and video–in addition to cornerstone classics of traditional journalism." . . .
Contact her station here should you feel so inclined.

 "Progressives: Violence against #MemoriesPizza is good"

 Posted on 01 April 2015

Progressive liberal fascists are cool if Memories Pizza get vandalized or burnt to the ground. You know why? Because only conservatives recognize violence. It’s all good!

 

 

Let's Fake A Deal

Hopenchange

 

"In absolutely stunning news, Iran has agreed to a nuclear deal with the United States and a small consortium of other nations that hate Israel.

"Well, it's not a deal deal. It's a deal to agree on a framework for a deal which will happen in the near future. And what could possibly go wrong with that?

"We'll tell you. Or better still, we'll make this a little quiz! We'll present two facts about the (ahem) "deal" and see if you can catch a little problem that John Kerry seems to have overlooked. Ready?

"According to the details of the agreement, "Iran’s breakout timeline – the time that it would take for Iran to acquire enough fissile material for one weapon – is currently assessed to be 2 to 3 months. That timeline will be extended to at least one year, for a duration of at least ten years, under this framework."

"And when will Iran agree to the framework? In 3 months.

"If you're vigorously smacking yourself in the forehead right now, congratulations! You're better qualified to handle nuclear arms negotiations (and basic math) than anyone in the Obama administration!

"Understandably, Bibi Netanyahu isn't too happy about all of this - especially since a high-ranking member of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard recently said that "erasing Israel from the map" remains "non-negotiable."

"Maybe not, but thanks to the tireless efforts of Barack Obama and John Kerry, Israel's destruction at the hands of Iran is very, very, very unlikely. For the next 2 to 3 months, anyway."

The inevitable comparison to Chamberlain and Hitler:

Well, perhaps this was the real account:

The Bergdahls and the Foleys

 

The Foley's son, James

The GOP racing form: First edition

Charles Krauthammer

 

"With Ted Cruz announcing and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio soon to follow, it’s time to start handicapping the horses and making enemies.

"No point in wasting time on the Democratic field. There is none. The only thing that can stop Hillary Clinton is an act of God, and He seems otherwise occupied. As does Elizabeth Warren, the only Democrat who could conceivably defeat her.

"On to the GOP." . . .

Instead Of Displaying His Medal Of Honor, This War Veteran Wears THIS Shirt To Mock Muslim Terrorists

American Overlook

"Dakota Meyer, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, knows how to stand up to the Islamic extremist terrorist group ISIS. Perhaps you remember Meyer’s famous quote when ISIS started making threats against Americans. If you agree with it, bookmark this page now.

“ 'I can’t travel over there anymore now that I’m out of the Marine Corps, so having them come to me would help out a lot. ISIS targeting the U.S. military is like a sheep targeting a lion. Hopefully one of those a*****es actually shows up.”
In honor of Dakota Meyers, Ranger Up is not selling t-shirts that bear the brave veteran’s bold words.

"Ranger Up has confirmed that Dakota Meyers, who is now engaged to be married to Bristol Palin, has partnered with the label in creating these American anti-ISIS t-shirts." . . .

"Another shirt quoting Meyer says, “Never Outgunned.”

"That’s appropriate because Meyer is the second youngest living Medal of Honor recipient and the first Marine to receive the award in 38 years.

"He received the honor for his heroics in rescuing 12 wounded allies and providing cover for 24 outnumbered Marines and soldiers in a battle in Afghanistan."

News Anchor Reveals Obama Will Get You Fired If You Talk Negatively About Him

American Overlook

 

"CNN anchor Carol Costello decided to come out about threats she has received by the Obama Administration for talking bad about Obama.

"She said “I felt it first hand when I was reporting on the presidential race,” … ” President Obama’s people can be quite nasty. They don’t like you to say anything bad about their boss, and they’re not afraid to use whatever means they have at hand to stop you from doing that, including threatening your job.”

"This came during a discussion about the firing of national security official Jofi Jospeh over tweets he sent out.

CNN Anchor Reveals Obama Administration Officials Threaten Journalists Who Make Obama Look Bad   
 "Ever wonder why so many mainstream media outlets seem to love Obama so much? Here’s some insight on the subject from CNN’s Carol Costello… "

 CNN anchor Costello's verbal assault on Bristol Palin  Says she:  “Okay. I’m just going to come right out and say it. This is quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we’ve ever come across — well, come across in a long time anyway. A massive brawl in Anchorage, Alaska, reportedly involving Sarah Palin’s kids and her husband. It was sparked after someone pushed one of her daughters at a party. That’s what Bristol Palin told police in an interview after the incident. And now police have released audio of that interview. It does include some rather colorful language from Bristol. Here now is Bristol’s recollection of how that night unfolded. So sit back and enjoy.”

Silliest post of the day: SATIRE: Spielberg & George Lucas Announce Name Change For Indiana Jones #BoycottIndiana

Truth Revolt

. . . Spielberg: Correct. If Governor Pence doesn't repeal the law, then "Indiana" will no longer be a name associated with our franchise. Henceforth, all merchandise, DVDs, or Disney theme park rides will be given a new name of our choosing.

TR: What about all the times they call him "Indiana" throughout the films?

Lucas: I've spoken with all the actors, they've agreed to dub their parts. Sean Connery blew us off, but his voice won't be hard to impersonate.

TR: I'm having trouble seeing the big deal here. Wasn't Indiana just a nickname he stole from his dog? I mean, let's be honest guys, Sean Connery kind of killed the mystique there. The guy's over 70 now, adventure can't always be his name, can't you just make him give it up in the next installment as a symbol of his retirement and then continue the franchise with Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams?

Lucas: Absolutely not! I have make-up artists and costume designers calling me at the Skywalker Ranch every waking hour, lamenting that whenever they look upon that poster from Raiders with the word "Indiana" triumphantly pressing on them in orange and yellow letters, they see only a white, heterosexual male, literally cracking his whip of Christian oppression at them. . .