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Real name:
Steve
Location:
kimberly, AL
Division:
Men's 60
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| July 27, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Teams in the South Location is Gardendale, Alabama. 10 miles north of Bham on I-65 |
| July 27, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Teams in the South Are there senior teams (50's, 55's, and 60's), AA, AAA, and Major who would be interested in a round robin, warm-up tourney prior to SSUSA's November tournament? 4 games guarantee, $200 entry fee includes umpires and 3 softballs. Date is last Saturday in October. Can take up to 20 teams; will play if at least 8 teams. Info: Steve 205-647-2881 e-mail:dbelc37183@aol.com |
| June 30, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Southern Teams: One Day Tourney The tourney is 4 weeks prior to SSUSA in Bham and 2 weeks prior to NSA in Gadsden. |
| June 29, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Southern Teams: One Day Tourney Still hoping to have a little practice tourney prior to SSUSA in Bham. Thanks |
| June 18, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Southern Teams: One Day Tourney The date for the tourney is Saturday, July 17. That is prior to the SSUSA Tourney in Bham. |
| June 18, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Food for Thought Oops! Got carried away with my reminiscing. I think everything else was pretty accurate, but don't hold me to it! Anyway, I think you got the point. Our crazy world seems to be getting crazier by the day. |
| June 16, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Food for Thought In 1971, at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Wa., our post team went to an island off the coast of Seattle. We went to a maximum security prison in order to play the prisoners' baseball team. We had cracked bats, patched uniforms, a few new baseballs, hats, etc. Rode over on a ferry, saw all prisoners in new Khakis on tour of the prison. Computers, tennis courts, basketball courts, putt-putt golf, softball fields, baseball fields, awesome library, and more. We lost by more than 20 runs, went and had banquet style dinner (steak, chops, etc), then rode the ferry that evening back to the mainland. Explanation for their very good team: they practiced all day, every day! |
| June 12, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: For Southern Teams: One Day Tourney One day tourney in Gardendale, Alabama, 10 miles north of Bham, 1/2 mile off I-65. Taking only 10 teams, $200 entry fee, includes umpires and 3 softballs. Guaranteed 3-4 games in pool play (2 pools), top 2 teams from each pool go to single elim. 3 HR, then singles, 1/1 count, no extra foul. Info: Steve 205-647-2881 or dbelc37183@aol.com |
| May 9, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 1 Day Tourney in Birmingham Just wondering if there would be interested teams for a 1 day tourney in Birmingham on Saturday, July 17. Please let me know here or call Steve at 205-647-2881. Taking AA, AAA, and Major teams. Entry fee is $200 and includes 3 softballs and umpire fees. Thanks |
| May 4, 2010 southpaw | Topic: Bats Discussion: Senior Geezer Hey Joe, just wondering. How many bats have you broken and/or bought this year?!! |
| April 16, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Life's Great Lessons: Usually Learned the Hard Way My lovely wife and I just celebrated our 41st anniversary. We were 19 and 17 when we tied the knot. I was the oldest of 4 boys; she was the youngest of 4 girls. Not many days after starting life together, I learned a very valuable lesson. She went to sleep early; I stayed up late. When bedtime for me arrived, I utilized the bathroom, then slipped into bed. Around 2 a.m. I was awakened by a sound of splashing water, then a blood-curdling scream. Seconds later, whereas I had been in the state of almost awake, but thought I was still dreaming, reality set in. My wife hovered over me with her pillow and began pounding amid shouts of : Don't, pound, you, pound, ever, pound, leave, pound, the, pound, lid up again!! In all of the years since, I never have. Anyone else with some enlightening "Life Lessons" that you would care to share? |
| April 5, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Warm-up Tourney in Birmingham, Alabama Teams not available this weekend. Tourney is cancelled. Will try again later this year. Thanks |
| April 5, 2010 southpaw | Topic: Teams looking for players Discussion: Update on 60/over team out of Bham, Al. Joe, teams unable to play this weekend. Tourney cancelled. Will try again later in year. |
| March 28, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 40 Years Ago: April 1, 1970 Here is an e-mail that I sent to Tom Casciaro concerning my memories about the Battle of Song Mao: Dear Top, I enjoyed hearing from you very much. I appreciate the call and was pleased that you have had a good life. I certainly will keep you in my prayers concerning your on-going health problems. I have never forgotten our time together in Vietnam. You were certainly a good friend to me ( a real greenhorn as far as the military was concerned ). You helped me make it through that year ( 1970 ). I also enjoyed the articles by you and Captain Bergeron concerning April 1, 1970.I had not heard the “Purple Gang” in a long time. Some of the names have not stuck with me, but I still recall: Top Casciaro, Captain Bergeron, Lt. Scott, Lytle, Washington, Elkins, Ricker, Sgt. Sebastian, a truck driver--Ben, Holmes, Commo--I think--Charles, Lurch, Bigelow, and I can still see others’ faces, if not their names. I have photos of many of these listed. Do you remember when we stopped on convoy and you climbed on top of a tank and threw rocks at me in the bushes while I tried to use the bathroom? You hit me in a very delicate spot! Anyway, I thought I would send you some of my remembrances about April 1. If you feel that it is substantive and could add something to what you have contributed, let me know and I will submit it to the proper channels. Thanks, “Bullet”--Steve Belcher On April 1, 1970, I was a member of the “Purple Gang” at Firebase Trooper. We were not the regular combat guys; most of them stayed in the jungle, led by Captain Bergeron, a majority of the time. I certainly held them all in the highest regard; they were tough. First Sergeant Casciaro and Lt. Scott were tough as well. They had the responsibility of keeping the rest of us together. We were the headquarters platoon--clerks, medics, commo, truck drivers, supply, and weapons repair ( armorer--that was me ). Firebase Trooper was about one mile from Headquarters Firebase ( I think to our north ) and one mile from MACV and Song Mao ( to our east ). Small villages and jungle lay to our south. Our Headquarters Firebase usually showed a movie, when available, around dusk, then we would receive it and start showing it by ten p.m. As supply help, I was given the responsibility of running the movie projector. The films sometimes ran until midnight or after. Fortunately (really, God’s providence) HQ delivered the movie early on the night of April 1. By ten p.m. or so, a few were in their bunks or on guard duty. Guard duty for me was to be around 2 a.m. I remember being ill all day and had over 100 degrees temperature when I bedded down. If memory serves me well, the first enemy rocket came in at midnight. It struck the southern end of our brand new mess hall; it hit squarely on the ice machine in the corner. Earlier that evening, I had been standing less than three feet from the ice machine, operating the movie projector. When the rocket hit, I ran from my bunk in the supply building to the front door; the sky was lit as bright as day by blares. On the northwestern end of our firebase, our guys had built a shower--a 500 gallon tank up on stilts with water lines running to the shower house. I do not remember the young man’s name, but he was in the shower, lathered up, when a second rocket struck a small tree right next to the shower. I have never seen a naked man, streaming soap bubbles run approximately 60 to 70 yards as fast as he did at that moment! First Sergeant Casciaro and Lt. Scott were fearless. They and the mortar crews set the example for the rest of us. We all had a job to do; After the first few minutes of initial shock, adrenalin took over. We stayed vigilant, on red alert until daylight, after the fighting subsided around 3:30 a.m. On the next afternoon, in discussion with mortar crew members, I learned that they had fired untold hundreds of rounds. They had numerous burns from handling the tubes, eventually firing at zero elevation. At some point during the firefight, one mortar crewman heard and felt a loud thump at his feet. He assumed a dud round had landed. He stayed at his post, expecting to be blown away at any moment. At daylight, he discovered a VC’s head instead of a live round! Ironically, before April 1, nothing much had occurred directly around Firebase Trooper. The Purple Gang had settled into pretty much of a routine. Top would lead some of us on short recon patrols to break the monotony. On the morning of April 1, our unit ( C Troop) received two new men, a truck driver and commo man. When asked about action, we assured them that they had nothing to worry about! Not many hours later, they were fighting for their lives. Along with strategic towers placed around the perimeter, we also had walking guards , who circled the entire firebase. When the firefight started, B.J. Ricker was the walking guard. He was near the south side ( the point of VC attack ) so he dug in where we had a machine gun nest. At some point during the fight, sappers were seen dragging a body back through the hole in the wire in the southwest corner. Word got out that it might be BJ! In my mind, I can still see Top, myself, and others, at daylight , lamenting his capture, when up behind us walked BJ! Top literally had tears in his eyes as he jumped up and hugged BJ, then started punching him for putting us through that! During the course of the night, men would move from position to another. Early in the fight, as I ran back and forth from the supply room or ammo dump distributing supplies ( LSA oil, weapons, ammo, etc ) I passed by a bunker just outside the supply room. A voice rang out: “Belcher, I’m barefoot, bring me some boots.” Outside, it was bright as day when the flares burst, but inside the supply room, it was pitch black. I grabbed a pair of boots off the top shelf. As I ran back by the bunker, I yelled out: “Sarge, here’s your boots,” then lightly tossed them in. Minutes later, as I dashed back by the bunker, the boots came flying through the air, striking me in the back. He yelled: “Belcher, you ___ __ _ ______, these are 12’s; I wear 7’s.” Top had assigned me and another man to guard the front gates. At some point near the end of the fight, a tank and two APC’s from HQ never slowed down as they crashed through multiple layers of wire and the gates to Trooper. They drove around to the southwest side, then moments later returned, exiting the firebase. We thought for a moment that the fight had been lost. “Should we go with them?” Minutes later, we learned that we had a KIA and wounded; the vehicles had come to rescue them. Since most of my time was spent on the north and eastern sides of Trooper,I was not directly involved in the majority of combat. However, I do remember at some point, being behind the supply room, on the eastern side of Trooper. I was feeding an M60 while another fired. 5 Sappers, naked, covered in oil to help them slip through the wire, throwing explosives, were headed straight to us. Our weapon jammed. 20 yards from us, the sappers had run out of weapons. It seemed an eternity; we stared at one another, as if to say: “Well,what next?”. They turned and fled through the wire on the east. We got the last one when our weapon finally unjammed. Early, after daylight, we discovered one of our South Vietnamese scouts outside the CO’s office, still in his cot, unconscious and bloody. However, he was not shot. The explanation soon came. One of the men explained. When the fight started, he came by the cot. The scout lay there with his blanket over his head. “Get up and fight” he demanded. The scout replied: “You will think I am enemy, you will think I am enemy.” He hit the scout with his rifle butt, knocking him out! Minutes into the fight, a sapper climbed on top of our outhouse in the southwest corner of Trooper. Before he could fire a round, one of his own rockets blew him and the outhouse away. When “all clear” sounded, some of us ran to the water trailer. The first in line let out a few choice words as entrails poured from the spout. Someone had left the cover open on top of the water trailer! I remember that fighting continued around the area of Song Mao for a total of about 3 days. The following week, I rode with a friend to MACV. We passed a pile of bodies in the town square. The Song Mao officials had piled them there as a message to the enemy. I seem to remember that someone said that there were over 160 bodies. True or false, I do not know. I do know this: the stench was overwhelming, and seemed to reach all the way back to Trooper. I celebrated my 21st birthday ( 8-25 ) and my first wedding anniversary ( 4-4 ) in 1970, now almost 33 years ago. I may have directions confused, and I cannot remember all of C Troop, but I will never forget Song Mao, April 1, 1970. Thank you, Steve Belcher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to 2-1 Cav Association Previous Next << 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 >> Notice : Phaistos Networks has no responsibility for the content featured in this Guestbook Free Pathfinder Guestbooks by Pathfinder - The Greek Portal ©1996-2010 Phaistos Networks S.A. A DOL Digital Company |
| March 28, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Warm-up Tourney in Birmingham, Alabama The tourney is at George Ward Park (Green Springs) in Birmingham. Entry fee is $200 and includes 3 softballs and umpires. |
| March 22, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Warm-up Tourney in Birmingham, Alabama April 10, Birmingham, Alabama Warm-Up tourney Warm-up Tourney for Seniors, 50's--65's, AA, AAA, and Major. TAKING ONLY 8 TEAMS. Pool play, 3 game guarantee. Top 2 teams from each pool go to single elimination. First games at 10:00 a.m. Must hit USSSA Classic M softball. 1/1 count, no extra foul, 5 homeruns, then singles, 7 run innings, last open. Info: Steve 205-647-2881 |
| March 16, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES (sent to me by Russ Arthur) Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!!!! STORY NUMBER ONE Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed 'Easy Eddie.' He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld.. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things h e couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example. One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al 'Scarface' Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity.. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: 'The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.' STORY NUMBER TWO World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forg otten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale . It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2. ...... SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES H AVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O'Hare was 'Easy Eddie's' son. (Pretty cool, eh!) |
| March 15, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: April 10, Birmingham, Alabama Warm-Up tourney Tourney will be held at Green Springs. |
| March 15, 2010 southpaw | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: April 10, Birmingham, Alabama Warm-Up tourney Warm-up Tourney for Seniors, 50's--65's, AA, AAA, and Major. TAKING ONLY 8 TEAMS. Pool play, 3 game guarantee. Top 2 teams from each pool go to single elimination. First games at 10:00 a.m. Must hit USSSA Classic M softball. 1/1 count, no extra foul, 5 homeruns, then singles, 7 run innings, last open. Info: Steve 205-647-2881 |
| March 4, 2010 southpaw | Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: SouthPaw's one day tourney Thaks very much; I do hope everyone had a great time. Really, the folks at Liberty Park deserve a great measure of credit. They did all the hard work. You, the teams also deserve much appreciation; without you, the day would not have taken place. I saw some really good teams/players. thanks to all. |
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