The 241st Birthday of the Marines, Veteran's Day 11-11-16,
Patriots play Seahawks, and what else? Oh yeah, Donald Trump will be our next president.

The United States Marine Corps turned 241 years old on Thursday, November 10th, 2016. You'd be surprised at how many surfers there are
who served in the Marine Corps. I know a half dozen locally alone. Is it any wonder. Marines serve on-board ships. Seagoing soldiers if you will. So I am not at all wondering why so many surfers joined the Marine Corps. The Few. The Proud. The Surfing Marines.

FIRST TO FIGHT! FIRST TO SURF!



We celebrated at the GALLEY HATCH here in Hampton and had a great time. There were veterans from every War since WWII. In fact we had 3 WWII vets in attendance. We all love those guys. We know that time is slipping away for all of our WWII vets. It's only a matter of time before they are all gone. Just like we experienced a few years ago, when the WWI vets started to drop off the face of the earth at a lightening fast pace.

And, the Korean War veterans are right behind them.

I used a photo of my recently departed Marine brother, George Masten on the poster this year. I had the honor of reading the Rifleman's Creed. It was a job that George used to do. Before I read the Creed, I spoke of George and what kind of a Marine he was. And I asked for a toast to George, rather than a moment of silence. George would of wanted it that way.



Three Marine World War Two veterans. I hope they make it another year. Seeing these old vets is a painful reminder of what is coming for all of us. There were lots of young Marines present as well, and they are the most respectful young men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

This one young captain who is an 0311 (Infantry/Grunt) had served two tours
in Afghanistan. He looked like he was 20 something. Another reminder of how our country sends young men and women to go off and fight in our nation's wars. And they all go without complaining. These young Marines are the creme of the crop.

It's getting hard for me to accept that I am becoming one of the "Old Guard."



Standing next to my wife (who has been to every birthday since we started dating over 30 years ago,) keeps me young. As does Surfing. *I'm wearing the leather jacket that George bought for me in 2010. There's not a hell of a lot of places I can wear that jacket. But clearly, the USMC Birthday party is one.



The next day was Veterans Day. November 11th, 2016. I have to admit, I enjoy our gatherings on the beach each year. Unless of course there's surf. Then it becomes a little distracting, having waves pour in and going hollow before my very eyes. When I first joined the Legion (25 years ago) I was in the rifle squad, and we faced the ocean. Man that was difficult, standing at attention, and watching perfect surf hitting the sandbars. Torture.



And even more difficult when we fired our weapons over the surf.

None of these guys surf, so they could care less. George was our Rifle Squad Leader. He knew I was a surfer and he'd give me the hairy eyeball if he saw me staring out to sea. Which was every single time there was surf. And honestly, even when there wasn't surf. You guys know what it's like to go to the beaches you surf at, and look out to sea when it's flat or small. We all do it.



My two Korean War buddies. Donny Walker and Jimmy Djerf. Donny saw a lot of action as a BAR man in the Marines over in Korea. And Jimmy was in the air force. He worked on the ground getting those planes ready to fly into combat. Both of these guys are in their 80's. I love them both.



Our Post bugler mark Weatherby was the bugler at West Point. He can blow taps as good as anyone on the planet. TAPS is one of those pieces that really tug at the heart strings. Hearing Mark on the beach each year is pretty special. His notes carry far and wide over the sea.



The Lady Of The Sea. I see her every Memorial day, and every Veterans
day. She keeps a constant vigil over the waves. She is special to all the seacoast veterans. Thank you to all my brother sister veterans. You guys are the best, and we would not be where we are today, without you.

"Surfing and Thanking A Vet, Heals All Wounds"

This is Jake and Jesse. Two good friends out of the water. But like any of us, when your buddy drops in on you, it's really not that funny. So some sharp tongued barbs are of the norm. And I'm sure they both had a few choice words for each other. All in good fun boys. All in good fun. November of 2013.

To see more of Ed's pics just scroll through the archives. He has shot so many pics for the blog. Each week I will feature one of Ed's great pics from this blog. Photo by Ed O'Connell
*Click the photo above to see a larger version of Ed's Pic.

Now for Some More Of My Weekly Global Observances
Have you guys heard the news? It's big. It's as big as anything that has happened to our country in the last 100 years. Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Korea, JFK assassination, Vietnam, 9-11, I mean, I could go on and on, but why bother. You know the news.
Donald Freaking Trump is our next president. I'm staring at the monitor looking at the words I just typed and it still seems surreal.



This really happened. The Donald is our President. It's real. It's raw. And it's all true. Somehow and some way, he manged to convince a whole bunch of people that he was the answer.



The man who would be King is for all intents and purposes-KING.



The woman who wanted so badly to be queen, was sent home packing her bags. Hillary Clinton has faced defeat before. When she ran against Obama. But this was way worse. Everyone (myself included) thought this was in the bag. But not enough of you people voted. So, she lost. Nobody likes to lose, but she was gracious and uplifting in her parting words. It was, a perfect parting.



At the end of the day, both the Trump camp and the Clinton camp gave it their very best. Millions were spent on both sides. Millions. It's crazy to think just how much money was spent this year on both sides of the political fence. I say we do away with the Electoral vote and just count up the general vote. The person with the most votes wins. Simple. Get rid of the Electoral Vote.



Bye bye colorful pant suits. Maybe in four years? Don't count her out.

Meanwhile President Obama met with President Elect Trump this week to go over the transitioning phase. They don't seem to be holding a grudge of any sort. But this photo says otherwise.



Enough about politics. Though this is pretty funny.



OK the Patriots play the Seahawks tonight for the first time since the Super Bowl. And the most famous of all picks. I could watch that highlight all day long. It should be a great game. I will be at the game with Cory and it should be a fun night. "Ralphadomous" predicts Patriots 35 Seahwaks 24. And so it is written.

KSM Photoshop of the Week
The Clinton camp have been scratching their heads trying to figure out just what the hell went wrong. Then this picture surfaced, and well, you guys know as well as I do, that Khaliddy can't be trusted. He's unfit to work with any presidential candidate. He's nothing but trouble. Word has it that he wanted to be closer to Slick Willy and get in on some of that Intern action. Disgusting I know. It's terrible.



So my friends, please take advantage of this weekly photo shop of the mastermind who planned 9-11 and resulted in the deaths of 3,000 innocent civilians by KSM (Khalid Sheik Mohammed).

*Note to self -must pick up a case of used Purple Rain CD's
at Home Depot this week.

HAPPY 1st Anniversary Jack and Katie Keefe November 14th, 2016!
Prayers and positive thoughts to Erica Nardone's recovery.
Prayers and positive thoughts for Mac O'Brien (Jamie's dad) as he's in rehab after recently suffering from a stroke.

Please Support ALL The photographers who contribute to
Ralph's Pic Of The Week every week for the last 11 years.
** BUY a HIGH RES Photo from any of the weeks on RPOTW.

Remember my friends... Surfing Heals All Wounds.
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.

Ralph

*Click on the photo above to see a larger version

(Above) I'm pretty sure this is Brian Avants. This was a long ass ride
from way outside. November 9th, 2016 Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) Matt Colby living some kind of dream session.
November 9th, 2016 Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) The rust and brown colors of the fall. And make no mistake, this is still fall. November 9th, 2016 Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) The end of the day. And what a day it was. I shot mostly video,
so look for that edit sometime this coming week. November 9th, 2016
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Still warm enough to go without gloves. November 8th, 2016
Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) James Morse dwarfed by a large snow bank.
November 8th, 2016 Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Dancing over the rock reef. November 8th, 2016
Photo by David Schultz *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) I'm sure I know this guy. But my eyes are failing me.
November 8th, 2016 Photo by David Schultz
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

Today- More from Election Day. November 8th, 2016.
Photos by Tim Noble



(Above) Early morning election day swell. Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
Photo by Tim Noble *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Nice cuttie on this important day. Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
Photo by Tim Noble *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) Even the inside frothy faces had some size.
Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 Photo by Tim Noble
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) Now here's a nice looking wave. Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
Photo by Tim Noble *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) We were honored to have three WWII Marine Corps veterans in our presence that night. I hope they are there next year. November 10th, 2016
Photo by Cory Fatello *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) The traditional cake cutting ceremony. The youngest marine cuts the cake and hands it to the oldest Marine. November 10th, 2016
Photo by Cory Fatello *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) The police and firefighters join us each year. It's really a tight community of veterans and police and firemen. November 11th, 2016.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) The Hampton chiefs. HFD Jamie Ayotte, HPD Rich Sawyer, HPD David Hobbs. Fire and police. November 11th, 2016.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery





(Above) Paul Fitzgerald a Vietnam vet was the guest speaker this year.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery