Roger That: Marines killed in World War II return home
Thirty-six Marines received a somber, near-silent reception Sunday when their remains were returned from a World War II battlefield, according to Stars and Stripes.
The flag-draped caskets containing the remains of U.S. Marines killed at the Battle of Tarawa almost 72 years ago arrived at 4 p.m. at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam aboard three Marine Corps C-130s from the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing based in Iwakuni, Japan.
“When you heard the bugler blow taps, it felt like the temperature in here went down 10 degrees,” said Brig. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, deputy commander of Marine Corps Pacific Forces, inside Hickam’s Hangar 35. “For a Marine to see the heroes finally returned to the United States with the promise of returning them to their families, to complete that journey, to complete that circle, means a tremendous amount.”
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A non-lethal weapon that can stun an enemy with a super-loud blast of sound is being developed by the Defense Department. It’s called the Laser-Induced Plasma Effect, or LIPE, a weapon that the U.S. military hopes to begin testing in coming months, according to the website DefenseOne.
LIPE is the brainchild of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program, a group tasked with inventing better options for crowd control and checkpoint security. The noise comes from a unique manipulation of matter and energy to produce loud sounds at specific target locations, sort of like an incredibly precise missile of noise.
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Changes to Washington state’s medical marijuana program take effect on Friday. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries will now be considered qualifying conditions for patients hoping to receive a medical marijuana card, according to The Columbian.
Senate Bill 5052 was signed into law in April. Its goal was to align the state’s medical and recreational marijuana systems to ensure the drug is delivered in a safe, regulated manner.
One controversial portion of the bill is the medical marijuana database. Although it’s voluntary, those who don’t register won’t benefit from the same tax breaks and wouldn’t be able to possess or grow the same amount of marijuana.
Contact reporter Mike Fitzgerald at mfitzgerald@bnd.com or 618-239-2533.
This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Roger That: Marines killed in World War II return home."