My great-great uncle (my great-grandfather's brother) fought at Belleau Wood, where the Germans coined (pun intended) the name Devil-Dogs. That great-great uncle stayed in the Corps between the wars, and ending up fighting in the Pacific in WWII. He died as a Colonel, and is buried in Arlington. There was the Hudson High (West Point) commemorative a few years ago. The USAF is coming up on its 60th anniversary as an independent branch of the military (2007). I'd love to see the B-52, by the way. Almost as old as USAF. As for the Navy, well, the top two submarine commanders of all-time in terms of tonnage sunk (both Americans in WWII in the Pacific) are still alive, although they're not in the best of health. They're certainly worth a coin. Even the Coasties deserve a coin, I think.
RickyB, Semper Fi!! I was an 0331 (Machinegunner for all who dont know) from 89-93. Missed first Gulf War while stationed in Naples, Italy providing security to Naval Station there. Just recently got back into the coin collecting world. I am now a daily, uh make that hourly reader to this site and enjoy all the information members share. I missed ordering the Marine Commemorative from the mint, but found a decent price for one on ebay and ordered an uncirculated and proof set. I also think this commemorative will do well for many years to come.
Hello JWEVANSV, Semper Fi my Brother! Welcome to the fourm where you will be around the elite forces of coin collecting!! Machine Gunner huh?? Always dreaded carrying that M-60 and humping the Ammo as well. Saaaaalute!! :thumb: RickieB
Carrying around that M-60 on a 20 mile forced march was a lightweight compared to the .50 cal with tripod and spare barrel bag! I never "humped" an M-60. Ok, back to coins. :smile
hya: hya: hya: No job tough enough..no job rough enough...:bow: In my opinion the USMC coin is the elite coin of the decade! Makes a man proud! Hope to see ya around...by the way I do originally hail from Texas as well. Univ Texas 1980 BS Biology...living in New England at present...nope, not a convert...just came here to finish my Masters and never left. RickieB:whistle:
I think Navy coins would be a big hit also. How about a Silver Dollar with a Battleship (Missouri) or a Carrier (Midway) or Old Ironsides, Monitor, Merrimac, etc. The list is long (and no I have never been on the last 3 :smile ).
Marines are picky! Semper Fi! I had one erroneously graded a MS70 and sent it back because it did not meet muster. You cannot have a 70 with a bag mark, or any mark or abrasion on it period!
The answer is: A habu (pronounced "hah-BOO") is a poisonous snake found in southeast Asia (Japan, Phillipines, Taiwan, southeast China). Habus are pit vipers, more closely related to the adder than to any species of North American snake. The actual "habu" (Trimeresurus flavoviridis) is relatively small, not usually getting longer than 5 feet. They are not typically aggressive but will bite if provoked. They are not as deadly as cobras or mambas, but are more much more dangerous than most North American venomous snakes. There are almost a dozen species of habu; the variety native to Okinawa (Trimeresurus okinavensis) is supposedly greenish or greenish-yellow; however, all habus are extremely rare in North America (less than a dozen specimens in all zoos combined) and photographs are very hard to come by. When the A-12s (and later the SR-71s) were first flown to their new remote base at Kadena AFB in Okinawa, the local people thought that this strange and somewhat wicked-looking airplane was shaped like the habu snake. They started calling it the habu airplane, and later just habu. Crews who flew the airplane were also called Habu, and the name came to be recognized with the blackbird program and even incorporated into the insignia worn by the crews on their uniforms. Source: http://www.habu.org/what-is-habu.html Isn't the Internet wonderful for finding out stuff?
While in Taiwan they referred to a Taiwan 100 Pacer. You could run 100 paces and then you were dead. Must be the same snake!
05 Marine Comm. Hello all Great forum,first timer here. I was lucky to get 5 USMC Comms. after a 3+ month wait from the mint only to have a former Light Bird con me out of 2 ! (mint cost). I found my way here to see what was being said about SGS 'coin grading' and I'm happy to see nothing goods been said. They're running wild on eBay,more MS 70s than the Mint ever produced ! My pick for an AF Comm. would be the P-51 which is a hard choice for me considering the B52 - SR71 & F86 are right up there also. Speaking of Comms. how about one for the Merchant Marines ? It took forever for those guys to get their due. Lest you wonder I wasn't a M. M. I was US Army and my user name LLSignals is for the 8th Army Long Line Signal Bn. in Korea,now disbanded. Have a great one....PTN
