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HooRay for Martha Raye Weekend Open Comments

 

In honor of #WomensHistoryMonth, we present Hollywood actress and US Army Reserve Colonel Martha Raye.

Hand Salute! A great lady. I did not know this about Martha Raye and thought you might like to.
Bet you didm’t know: (Wikipedia)
USO Work and Entertainment:
Martha Raye toured extensively with the USO, entertaining troops in various theaters of conflict, including World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Vietnam Service:
She made multiple trips to Vietnam, often traveling to remote areas to entertain troops and provide medical assistance.
“Colonel Maggie” Nickname:
Her dedication and bravery earned her the nickname “Colonel Maggie” and the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Special Forces.
Honorary Green Beret:
The Fifth Special Forces Group (Airborne) recognized her contributions by making her an honorary Green Beret.
Medical Aid:
Raye, a former nurse, was known to jump into action to provide medical aid when needed, even putting on Army fatigues and assisting with wounded soldiers.
Presidential Medal of Freedom:
In 1993, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her lifetime of dedication to U.S. troops.
Burial at Fort Bragg:
She was buried with full military honors at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the only woman to be interred there.
Hat tip: Sid Miller  March 18, 2018 
The following is from an Army Aviator who takes a trip down memory lane: “It was just before Thanksgiving ’67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku. We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back. All of a sudden, we heard a ‘take-charge’ woman’s voice in the rear.
There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces) beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. ‘Maggie’ had been visiting her SF ‘heroes’ out ‘west’. We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku.
As we all started unloading our sad pax’s, a ‘Smart Mouth’ USAF Captain said to Martha…. “Ms Raye, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!” To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said “Captain, see this eagle? I am a full ‘Bird’ in the US Army Reserve, and on this is a ‘Caduceus’ which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty now, take me to your wounded!” He said, “Yes ma’am follow me.” Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would ‘cover’ a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break. Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft Bragg.

 

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56 responses to “HooRay for Martha Raye Weekend Open Comments”

  1. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    A real nest O.C. piece and yes, I already knew about Martha Raye, I first saw her on TV in Vietnam and years later learned the rest of the story.
    A chilly 40 degrees here but we’ll make the high 70’s by afternoon.
    It’s the Weekend!
    Mornin’ Gang

  2. bsue54 Avatar
    bsue54

    G’Morning… its light grey outside, as opposed to dark… But I’m not holding my breath waiting for sunshine

  3. GJT Avatar
    GJT

    Wow. Tough gal. Thank you for your service Colonel Martha Raye.

  4. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Great post, Squawk. I recalled her USO service, but I didn’t know the rest of the story. Raye died in 1994 so, sadly, only old geezers like us remember Martha Raye from black & white TV variety shows. She told the Hollywood Reporter in 1984:

    Politically, Raye was conservative, in a 1984 interview, she affirmed: “I believe in the constitution, strength in national defense, limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility. They reinforce the resolve that the United States is the greatest country in the world, and we can all be eternally grateful to our founding fathers for the beautiful legacy they left us.

    By the way, Martha was married 7 times. The longest marriage lasted 9 years to the father of her only child.

  5. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    Well it looks like the Democrats now have their “Dream Team”
    Senator, Bernie Sanders, and Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez AKA AOC. 😀
    I say this because they drew 30K at a rally in Denver.
    Please let this come true.

  6. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    ‘MAGA leftist’ reveals why she now supports President Donald Trump’s agenda.
    ‘Second Class’ author Batya Ungar-Sargon says she has received thousands of messages from Democrats praising her outspokenness in support of President Donald Trump.

  7. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    Life lessons learned from watching movies.
    😀

  8. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Did you have any idea American taxpayers were sending $600 million a year in grants to Australian universities ?

    CCP IS ASSHOE

    @CCPISASSH0E

    So essentially, the American taxpayer has unwittingly been the world’s piggy bank for god knows how long, and all the while, the beneficiaries of our forced donations have been telling us how awful we are.

    Quote

    Sky News Australia

    @SkyNewsAust

    13h

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been urged to call an “emergency meeting” after the Trump administration cut grants to seven Australian universities.

  9. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Ruy Teixeira is one of the few, honest though partisan commentators on the Left.

    How Deep Is the Hole Democrats Are In ? Pretty Deep.

    On the plus side, voters in a February Navigator Research poll across the battleground Congressional districts thought Democrats in Congress “fight for what they believe.” However, they also thought Democrats don’t respect work, don’t share my values, don’tlook out for working people, don’t value work, don’t care about people like me, don’t have the right priorities and, by a massive 47 points, don’t get things done. Double ouch.

    There’s lots of polling data along these lines and they send a clear message: Democrats’ image is atrocious and therefore cannot present an attractive alternative to Trump and the GOP.

    1. Super Dave Avatar
      Super Dave

      ”No one has any idea what the Democratic Party stands for anymore, other than opposing Donald Trump.

      Gee, ya’ think?!

    2. Super Dave Avatar
      Super Dave

      Some commentators have insisted the Democrats’ defeat had nothing to do with “wokeness.” That is a fatal misreading. The Democratic makeover must start with the panoply of cultural and socio-economic stands that Republicans were able to use in 2024 to discredit Democratic candidates. These include the Democrats’ positions on immigration, sex and gender, affirmative action, criminal justice, and climate change. A candidate like Sherrod Brown in Ohio had said all the right things about economics and labor for decades, but he was defeated by a candidate who linked him to the Democrats’ stances on social issues.

  10. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    defenestration /dē-fĕn″ĭ-strā′shən/

    noun

    1. An act of throwing someone or something out of a window.
    2. The act of throwing (something or someone) out of a window.
    3. The act of throwing something, or someone, out of a window.
    1. Tedtam Avatar
      Tedtam

      Fenestra,-ae
      Latin 1st declension noun
      Window

  11. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    Why am I not surprised and why is this still going on?
    Democrats in Congress Drive Luxury Cars on Taxpayer Dime
    I slept late this morning because I could. I woke up with a dreaded latin disease: snotus alotus. Claritin to the rescue.

  12. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/moonovertheyear.jpg
    The above was taken for 1.5 cycles of the moon. I would like to see this done for a year.
    Same place, same time each day for a year.

  13. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    The stripper pic in TWIP is pretty funny.

  14. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    THE WEEK IN PICTURES: JUDGES GONE WILD EDITION

    What a week! Democratic judges staged a coup, attempting to seize control over the executive branch. Democratic activists turned violent, attacking Tesla dealerships and vandalizing Teslas, while leaders of their party and entertainers openly or tacitly approved.

     Donald Trump and Elon Musk rescued the astronauts who had been abandoned in the International Space Station by Joe Biden and NASA, a happy event that was hushed up to the extent possible by the press. Biden, in turn, announced that if called upon, he is willing to come out of retirement to help his party.

  15. squawkbox Avatar
    squawkbox

    You know you are old when “Getting any?” means sleep.

    1. Texpat Avatar
      Texpat

      That’s the damn truth. For somebody who slept soundly after a few minutes for five hours a night for 65 years, this insomnia has been a shock.

  16. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    Jus’ Sayin’…. 😉

  17. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    Popping in after Lil Darlin’s first softball game of the season. It did not go well for their team, but it is the first game. I was happy to hear that the coach said they are going to get more throwing practice. All of the runs against them were made because of bad throwing and pitching.

    Fundamentals. Important.

  18. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    And I also found out that Sunshine is signed up for honors level courses in everything for next school year. She is learning Italian via Duolingo at home on her own.

    She has the genes. Noona, Mom, and Dad all enjoyed school and did well. Her grandfathers both have engineering degrees, like her father.

  19. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    I think the CPR on the racism body was the best WIP today.

  20. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    Today’s link to the C&C
    https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/fiat-veritas-saturday-march-22-2025

    Good morning, C&C, it’s Saturday! Time for the Weekend Edition. Today’s roundup includes: a morning monologue setting the “CIA Files” story in more context; political chaos in the Democrat party devolves into proper chaos, hate speech, and domestic terror; Trump’s new gold-card program already winning customers and gushing cash; Trump clears the security clearance deck, including scrapping all cabbage leftovers; and activist lawyers find themselves in the DOJ’s crosshairs.

  21. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    I saw my elderly couple Leftist friends yesterday and they told me Trump erased all references to the Holocaust from Pentagon websites. The View, MSNBC and all the other demented fools have claimed it was an evil act by Trumphitler.

    I looked it up and it turns out only 3 pages got caught up in an AI sweep for DEI material. One page was returned yesterday and I’m sure the rest will be back soon. This is actually from the questionable site, Snopes:

    • In early 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense removed at least three webpages related to the persecution and murder of Jews by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust
    • In a March 20, 2025, statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said: “Every now and then, because of the realities of AI tools and other software, some important content was incorrectly pulled offline to be reviewed. We want to be very, very clear. History is not DEI. When content is mistakenly removed, or if it’s maliciously removed, we continue to work quickly to restore it.”
    • As of March 21, at least one of the DOD pages about the Holocaust, a World War II cadet’s interview about walking into concentration camps at the end of the war, was back online. 
  22. Shannon Avatar
    Shannon

    Packaging tape.

  23. Shannon Avatar
    Shannon

    Hey, doc. What’s up?

    Tom Petty’s twelve minute 2008 Halftime Super Bowl show.

    1. Dr phil Good-E=1984 Avatar
      Dr phil Good-E=1984

      Good stuff uncklo.

  24. Shannon Avatar
    Shannon

    Years of distrust comes home to roost.

    Retired business owner Catherine Byrd is thrilled with President Trump’s push to shrink what she considers a bloated federal workforce. And she isn’t at all concerned for the tens of thousands of people losing jobs. 
    “I don’t feel bad for them a bit. I’ve worked in the private sector all my life,” and got laid off from jobs in the early days, the Georgia resident said. “You know what you do? You go out and find another job, and there are plenty of jobs to find.”

    While there is outcry over thousands of federal workers losing their jobs to Department of Government Efficiency cuts and the chaos that has unleashed, a cohort of Americans aren’t sorry to see them go. Politics, personal experiences filing taxes or time in interminable post office and DMV lines lead many people to take a dim view of government workers at all levels. 

    Resentment also stems from a sense that federal workers enjoy perks, like guaranteed pensions, which are rare in the private sector. 

    Government employees overall have long experienced a lower rate of layoffs than their private-sector counterparts, especially during shocks such as the early days of Covid-19, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show. Federal employees also tend to spend less time unemployed because they are less likely to lose their jobs than workers in the private sector, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

    “How many people get fired from a government position? Not many,” said Randy Johnson, 75, a retired math teacher in Tennessee who voted for Trump. He also said he doesn’t hear enough about how the cuts might be “a good thing to try to reduce the size of government.”

    The idea that government workers are da problem, not a plus, has long been a talking point on the right. Former President Ronald Reagan famously quipped that “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Trump has said he thinks the federal payroll is laden with people who aren’t doing their jobs. Polls show public trust in the federal government has plunged over the past seven decades.

    Pew Research Center surveys in recent years show Americans roughly split on whether the government is too big or too small, but there is a stark partisan divide. A Pew poll this year found 38% of Republicans expressing confidence in federal career employees, compared with 72% of Democrats…

    Polling reveals a more muddled view of the Department of Government Efficiency’s workforce-slashing efforts. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed 59% support for downsizing the government, and another poll this month, conducted by Quinnipiac University, found 60% disapproved of the way Elon Musk and DOGE are dealing with federal workers.

    .— Wall Street Journal

    H/T Ben Domenech

  25. Shannon Avatar
    Shannon

    You lie like a Democrat.

  26. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    This popped up over yonder, talk about NASTY!!!

    1. Texpat Avatar
      Texpat

      The only thing worse is Pepsi. It’s an abomination.

      1. wagonburner Avatar
        wagonburner

        The best is RC with a pkg of Tom’s peanuts in it.

        1. Shannon Avatar
          Shannon

          Pronounced Auro-Cee.

    2. bsue54 Avatar
      bsue54

      At least one lifetime ago, when I was going home from Amarillo to Abilene to visit the folks, I’d grab a 6 pack of chilled TAB and drink on one all the way to Mama’s house… Nasty was unimportant – staying awake after finishing a night shift WAS much more critical… and that swill would do the trick every time

  27. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    Trump revokes security clearances for Adam Kinsinger, Liz Cheney, and Hitlery Clinton. Apparently, this just happened this week. My question is what took him so long to get these people out of the loop?

  28. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    Martha Raye, a lady of great distinction.

    And a wonderful story of her great service to America.
    Worth reading twice for sure.

  29. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    I got to spend some quality time with the Little Prince today. He actually gave me a 3 second cuddle before going back to play at one point this afternoon, and on the way home from dinner out, he initiated attempts to wink at me. I taught him a few phrases and a new game, which he thoroughly enjoys. Maybe he’ll remember me when next he sees me.

  30. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    I’m up early because it’s departure day, sadly, and I had to eat early before mass. It also gives me some time with Lovely, Sunshine, and Little Prince.

    I checked my email and found Malone’s Sunday Strip. I think this is the link.

  31. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    One wonders how long an industry can lose hundreds of millions every other month and continue to exist ? If anyone deserves to be humiliated by the American public it is Robert De Niro. Alec Baldwin has been reduced to making embarrassing reality TV with his fraudulent wife and seven unfortunate kids.

    De Niro bombs at $3 million on a $50 million movie.

    Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, The Alto Knights is projected to earn a 3-day opening weekend gross of $3 million at the domestic box office, landing outside of the weekend’s Top 5 entirely, at No. 6. Given the fact that the movie has a $50 million production budget, this likely means that it will lose money in theaters, making it Warner Bros. second flop in a row after the Bong Joon Ho sci-fi movie Mickey 17, which cost $118 million and is projected to lose up to $80 million.

    The $50 million budget for the Robert De Niro movie is now going to prove to be a huge hurdle. Because theaters keep half of ticket sales and production budgets do not factor in marketing costs, movies typically need to earn back two and a half times their budgets, so it could very well be facing a break-even point of $125 million. It could be slightly less, as Warner Bros. reportedly played it safer with their publicity spend, but given its current trajectory, it seems entirely unlikely to reach $50 million, let alone any higher than that milestone.

    I wish some knowledgable insider would unpack the whole rigged tax structure of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. I think Americans would be shocked. The flim-flammery would exceed the pro sports racket.

  32. Super Dave Avatar
    Super Dave

    I’ll just leave this right here. 😀

    Fixin’ Breakfast.
    Mornin’ Gang

  33. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    I’m old enough to remember when all the smart people, all the business experts, said Twitter would never recover and go bankrupt after Musk bought it.

    I forgot to post the news X aka Twitter has now returned to the $44 billion value Elon Musk paid for it. He also runs the company on about 25% of the payroll it had when he bought it.

  34. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Rumors of sightings in Istanbul of Merrick Garland and Jack Smith haven’t been corroborated…

    Timur Kuran on X:

    Istanbul mayor İmamoğlu was arrested on the very day of the primary that would make official his candidacy for president. Crowds of unprecedented size are at the polls anyway. The scene shows citizens waiting to vote in Kadıköy, Asian side of Istanbul.

    and,

    For six years, the Erdoğan regime dug for dirt on Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. It found none. But a panel of judges had him arrested anyway, based on hearsay from three anonymous witnesses. There’s a reason why Turkey ranks near the bottom of every global rule of law index.

  35. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Rumors of sightings of Leticia James and Alvin Bragg entering an Irish hotel have not been confirmed.

    Ireland is now in a death race with the UK to the ninth level of hell. Bets are being booked on which nation commits suicide first.

    Conor McGregor, MMA fighter, met with Trump and then announced he is running for president of Ireland. The Marxist regime in Dublin has now issued orders to have McGregor arrested for “incitement to hatred” for criticizing the government.

    Hat Tips to Instapundit

  36. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    Google buys Israeli cloud security software company, Wiz, for $32 billion.

    1. Dr phil Good-E=1984 Avatar
      Dr phil Good-E=1984

      my prediction.
      Google will do nefarious things with it.

  37. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    We’re having connectivity problems here with our internet service company. I’ll be back later.

    1. Super Dave Avatar
      Super Dave

      Just yours I guess, we’re good out here in the stick.

  38. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    Making dumb bombs smart, then smarter again. One of these can break a ship in half sending it to Davy Jones locker.

  39. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    This looks handy if one likes to take their vehicles off road. Sand is one thing, but mud is another.

    1. GJT Avatar
      GJT

      My 2008 Club Car side by side has a technology they call Intellitrak, it works much like this using sensors on the front and rear differentials that sense a free spinning wheel and locks it up, making it a true all wheel drive. Seventeen years old and still works fantastic churning through just about anything.

      1. Texpat Avatar
        Texpat

        I learned about the stupidity of mud grip tires in sand, especially wet sand, when I was in high school. I can’t tell you how many guys I’ve seen over the years bury trucks to the axle in sand and mud with 4WD vehicles. If you go to places like the Mojave Desert or the Sahara Desert, you never see mud grip tread anywhere. Oilfield folks know all about sand tires.

  40. GJT Avatar
    GJT

    Had a great time watching World of Outlaw sprint cars at Cotton Bowl Speedway last night. Didn’t get home until about 2:30AM, I’m hurtin.

  41. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    When I first came up here and for a number of years I never saw wild Virginia Creeper vine. It must have hitchhiked up here in some plants out of southern wholesale nursery growers. It is now everywhere in northeastern New Jersey. People would ask me what it was because they had never seen it up here before. You can’t control it and you can’t kill it.

  42. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    I’m finally back home. I shared the Martha Raye story with both of my granddaughters, but I don’t think it made much of an impact on them. As I said before, Sunshine is signed up for next year’s classes, all honors. And she’s a budding young thespian who is learning Italian on her own via Duolingo. All weekend she was working through her lessons. I am impressed.

    The other granddaughter had her softball game Saturday morning. Let’s just say that throwing practice in their futures, but she was still her usual upbeat self afterwards. She is so sweet and loving, it’s hard not to just cuddle her all day.

    Little Prince isn’t much for cuddling, but I did get a his-head-on-my-shoulder twice during the weekend. And by Sunday morning he was coming to me with his pick-me-up hands, and that made me happy. Lovely teaches her babies some sign language – which helps TREMENDOUSLY! – and one of them is “more”. Touch fingertips of both hands together about chest high, and that’s more. So, this morning I got Little Prince into my bedroom and bounced him on my bed. Mom came and got him, but later he came back to my room and stood by my bed, bouncing on his feet with a little grin and giggling, asking for “more” with his hands. I couldn’t refuse, so more bouncing and laughing. Good times.

  43. Tedtam Avatar
    Tedtam

    I made a new friend at church today. I went to a Latin mass in Irving, and I selected the low mass – quicker and held in the Parish Hall, with chairs against the back wall where I could sit and not kneel without being terribly obvious – and a family was to my left. Mom, Dad, infant boy(?), and two young girls, one blond and one brunette. I was watching the girls and the blonde girl was taking her sister’s stuff. The brunette had that emotionally bruised look on her face, and my heart went out to her. I knew that face, knew that feeling. I had already told Mom that I wanted to give them rosaries, so instead of waiting until after mass I pulled out two purple ones. Brunette was wearing a purple sweater, and hers almost matched. Her sister got one, too, just to keep the peace.

    The look on her face was like magic. I wanted her to feel special, and she did. She came over to hug me thank you, and a few minutes later was sitting in the chair next to me. I told her that her rosary was just for her and for no one else. She smiled some more. We had a few more interactions, and then she shyly said that she would miss me when I was gone. Oh. My. Word! My heart was just so full. I almost burst into tears, it was so sweet. I told her that I’d miss her, too. I had a short conversation with Mom at the end of mass, and after the thank yous, I told her that her daughter had just made my day. I promised that if I came back to mass there, I’d look for her (at her request), and she promised to pray for my back to heal.

    I’m still smiling. It’s moments like that, that make those hours with the beads worth it.

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