This article is a continuation of Corporal Gray’s series, “Shouts & Numbers” – his story about his experiences joining the Marines during the 1950s, in the Korean War era. Follow along as Corporal Gray describes his first experience in the “mess hall” of the Marine Corp’s basic training facility – the Marine Corpts Recruit Depot of San Diego, California.

We were herded over to the mess hall for breakfast. Our Drill Instructors (there were three of them) said they were embarrassed to be seen with us. Once we got to the mess hall, we stood in line at attention, until it was our platoon’s turn to enter.

“Keep them eyes straight ahead! Don’t let me catch any of you shit birds eyeballing the area, this is not mating season!”

There was a sign over the mess hall door that read: “Take all you want, but eat all you take.”

Finally, one step at a time, we started inching our way into the mess hall. As we entered the door, we were ordered to whip off our utility covers, pop them against our right thigh, and stick them in our right-rear trouser pocket. We each took a metal tray, utensils and began sidestepping through the chow line. At least the food looked edible.

This Recruit had been a little worried about that. We were served scrambled eggs, bacon, link sausages, shit on a Shingle (SOS), french toast and milk. This was a typical Marine Corps breakfast.
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“A fragment of another planet, a mirage of stone in the heart of Anatolia… There are parts of the Earth which do not seem really to belong to; Cappadocia is one of them, a strange and spectacular landscape from the pages of science fiction.” (1)

For some, the prospect of staying in a cave might sound a little claustrophobic and prehistoric. However, When this ancientness is combined with lavish mod cons and all the comforts of 21st century living, cave hotels have become synonymous with quirky and unique accommodations at their most romantic and extravagant.

In Cappodocia in Central Anatolia, Turkey, the landscape has been characterised by “fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage.” (2)

Brimming with a unique geographical, historic and cultural heritage, Cappadocia is popular tourist area with tourists flocking to the region’s many underground cities, such as Gaziemir, Ozkanak and Kaymakli.

The almost dreamlike erupted volcanic rock formation that makes up the bulk of Cappadocia’s landscape means it is the perfect environment for cave hotels.

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“China is a rule of law country . It is much better than before.” – comment on a social media site for networking in China.

The comment above shows a common untruth propagated by foreigners and companies working in China. The idea is to convince those of you who have never worked here, that business in China is not much different than business back home.

Unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth. The danger of such comments and the mutual admiration society that propagates such myths, is that they shield potential buyers of Chinese products and stocks as to the reality of what goes on in China today.

In order to clarify, in this article I will explain what the rule of law means, why it is useful and how and when it does not apply in China. I will then explain why this should be a concern to everyone.

As China invests in our countries, sells stock on our exchanges, and becomes integrated into our economies, we must truly understand her. It is imperative to have a working knowledge of how China operates, including the weak legal system and the power of the communist party.

These are two key elements of the problem with the ‘rule of law’ and China. As the world admires China for her advances, they often fail to acknowledge such inconvenient truths.
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When a government decides that a military base is obsolete, it sometimes tries to update the structure. However, government officials often find it more cost effective to just abandon the outdated base and build a new one elsewhere.

Similarly, if a certain base is no longer needed at all, then once again they simply just abandon it instead of spending the money required to operate and maintain a facility that is no longer required.

Below are five abandoned military bases that can be found across the globe.
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In 1952, Project Blue Book was launched by the United States Air Force. Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) conducted by the U.S. military.

The project was the revival of two similar projects. The first being Project Sign, which was active for most of 1948 when it was dissolved and replaced with Project Grudge. Grudge was another short-lived U.S. Air Force study to investigate UFOs. Grudge continued until 1951. (1)

Similar to its predecessors, Project Blue Book had two goals: To scientifically analyze UFO-related data and to determine if UFO’s were a threat to national security. (2)

Despite having collected 12,618 UFO reports, in 1969 Project Blue Book was ordered to shut down. According to the National Reconnaissance Office, a number of the reports could be explained by flights of the formerly secret reconnaissance planes, such as the U-2 and A-12. (3)

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Throughout history, it was common practice for people to use natural formations as places of worship. Why build a church or building when nature was able to provide a fantastic monument of its own?

It was this exact stance that the Ancient people of Hierapolis used at modern-day Pamukkale cavern and the Temple of Apollo.

Pamukkale – meaning Cotton Castle – is located in the Denizli Provence of Turkey. It derives its name from the mineral deposits that form in the hot springs; giving the appearance that the site is constructed out of cotton.

Since 1988, the area has been classified as a World Heritage site and is a major tourist destination in the region; however, in ancient times, the springs and surrounding caverns were commonly used for spiritual purposes.
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What became of the 120 explorers who tried to establish England’s first colony on the north east coast of America has baffled historians for more than 400 years.

The enterprise took place in the 1580s, was carried out by the English explorer Sir Ralph Lane and was organised and financed by the celebrated voyager Sir Walter Raleigh, who had hoped that the expedition would establish a capital in the New World. (1)

But instead of establishing a permanent English settlement on Roanoke Island a mystery arose; The explorers involved in the voyage disappeared, alongside any evidence of a settlement.

One popular theory behind the explorers’ disappearance is that natives executed them. Although the fate of the colonists has never been determined and what has became known as the infamous ‘Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colony’ has become rooted in American folklore.

This month, researchers working on solving the infamous and ancient ‘lost colony’ mystery have become a step closer to a solution that could be sitting right under a golf course in Bertie County.
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Designated as a National Park on May 14, 1930, the popularity of the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico can be attributed to one man: Jim White.

However, the caverns’ history and human exploration dates back to prehistoric times. It is a history that has been preserved by the National Park Service for more than 80 years.

White began exploring the cave, which was near his home, as early as age 15 with little more than a ladder. Though he would come back with tales of vast underground wilderness, many of the people who he told these stories to did not believe him. The idea of huge underground rooms and corridors were just too much for many people to fathom.

It was not until 1915, when a photographer, Ray V. Davis, displayed images of the cavern in the town of Carlsbad. Davis took the pictures during a trip guided by White. Many of the cavern rooms were named by White and are still used today.

Even though the caverns’ status as an American wonder can be contributed to White, he was not the first man to set foot there.

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Whole Foods, the self proclaimed ‘worlds largest retailer of natural and organic foods (1)’ is outsourcing production for many of its products from China, of all places.

The problems with this are that in China there is little to no oversight to ensure that ‘organic’ products meet USDA standards for food that qualifies as organic. In addition to this, no US agencies are allowed to monitor the legitimacy of these claims within the People’s Republic of China, thus we have to take them at their word.

In a country where up to ten percent of the groundwater is contaminated by arsenic, zinc, cadmium and lead, one has to wonder about the quality of vegetables grown in China.

According to a report by ABC 7 Iteam (2), Whole Foods is selling products labeled as ‘organic’ which have been grown in China. The report goes on to state that neither Whole Foods nor the US government has agencies operating within China to verify that the products actually meet the ‘organic’ standards.

Whole Foods, according to the report, is misleading the masses into believing that their products do meet the USDA bar for organic products, although this may not be true.

While producers in the US must meet the USDA’s requirements vz how a product is grown, processed and handled, foreign producers need not worry. The problem is that although foreigners ‘should’ be following the same protocol as their colleagues in the west do, there is no way to ensure that this is occurring.

More troublesome is the fact that foreign products carrying the ‘organic’ label face no form of inspection to verify that they are actually ‘organic’.

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There more than 16 million Americans, uniform or civilian, participated in World War II. This global event caused people to move and settle in the most unthought-of areas.

Such movement is a nightmare for the budding and even experienced genealogist. Furthermore, nearly 150,000 individuals who supported the war effort found themselves captured as POWs in internment camps run by the Japanese or Germans.
Records of those prisoners exist today.

The savvy genealogist just needs to know where to look and what information to have on hand when researching this information.

The National Archives is a great place to start. The National Archives possess a record that contains about 140,000 military and civilian POWs that were held by the Germans and the Japanese. This electronic record can be found at Archives.gov and allows the user to search by name, serial number, detaining power, POW or internment camp, report date and unit. (1)

However, the National Archives recommends that researchers should have the following information on hand: name, rank, service number and the rough date and place the individual was captured. The original file was created in 1942 and was maintained through 1947.
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