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Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. If anything made by God can be overcome [mountains; rivers], anything made by man can be overcome.George C. Scott as General George Patton, in Patton. A comment on “The Wall” that so many Republican candidates for President seem to believe will “fix” America’s immigration issues… . (via politicalprof)
(via thenoobyorker)
![xplanes:
“Nomonhan ace Cpl Katsuaki Kira (standing left - 21 kills) and his fellow comrades of the 24th Sentai relax by a starter truck during the bloody summer of 1939”
The “Nomonhan Incident” is the name given by the Japanese to the military operations that took place around the Nomonhan Hills in Mongolia between May and September 1939, as part of Japan’s border conflicts with the Soviet Union. This confilct is more commonly referred to as Khalkhin Gol - named after the river that was the border between territories.
Khalkhin Gol contained some of the most intense aerial battles of the inter-war period (the peak occuring on September 15th: 212 Soviet aircraft vs. 180 Japanese (via)). The flat Mongolian plains also saw several acts of bravery and madness during which pilots from both sides landed behind enemy lines to rescue downed comrades - in one case:
“In a wild dogfight On 20th August, [Master Sergeant Bunji] Yoshiyama damaged a Soviet fighter, which made an emergency landing. In an act of daring, or sheer foolishness, he landed beside his Soviet opponent and shot him dead. Yoshiyama then relieved him of his pistol and wristwatch and returned to Manchuria with them as souvenirs of their fateful encounter” (via)
emphasis mine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Khalkhin_Gol_Japanese_pilots_1939.jpg)
