The Honourable Golf Society of Hogs Breath Masters - Home Page
   
   

Click On Image for Larger Photo, opens in a new window

The Blind Squirrel & Hogs Breath Saloon in Laos, circa 2006

First there was the Hogs Breath Saloon Bangkok, "where drinking men meet", then it was off to Afghanistan, and then to Iraq!  After many long days and nights he found himself in Laos where he stopped to have a few (well maybe several) Heinekens with Harold, one of the founding members of the Honourable Golf Society of Hogs Breath Masters.

They talked of many things that afternoon.....

 

 
     
 

The Blind Squirrel

   

The Blind Squirrel, expressed an interest in the unusual "garden gnome". 

Harold explained that it was a M117, a free-fall, non-guided general purpose [GP] 750-pound bomb, that was left over from one of the most intensive bombing campaigns in history.  In fact from 1964 to 1973, in over 580,000 missions, more then 6 million conventional bombs and over 100 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos by the US. This was the equivalent of one bombing mission every 8 minutes, 24 hours every day for 9 years!

The M117 is a 750-pound general purpose bomb which may be employed in several different configurations. The basic M117 dates from the Korean War and uses a low-drag tail fin for medium and high-altitude deliveries. The M117R (Retarded) uses a special fin assembly providing either high-drag or low-drag release options. For low altitude deliveries, the tail assembly opens four large drag plates which rapidly slow the bomb and allow the aircraft to escape its blast. The M117 (Destructor) looks similar to the M117R but uses a magnetic influence fuze which enables the bomb to function as a mine. The M117D is released in a high-drag configuration for ground implant or shallow water mining. It detonates when an object passing near the bomb triggers the fuze.

 

 

It was explained that this particular piece of unexploded ordinance (UXO) was discovered approximately 500 metres from a gas station by a specialist sub-contractor from Zimbabwe.

Speaking on things African, The Blind Squirrel started reminiscing about his long lost cousin, a certain Rocket J. Squirrel of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, and last thought to be in Botswana.

Is that him sitting on top of the bomb I asked?  Click Here to find out.

 
 

Harold's wardrobe and accessories by:

  • Cap, Okanagan Helicopters, Canada,

  • T-shirt DMZ Bar, Angeles City, Philippines,

  • Shorts, Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Canada,

  • Sandals, Oudomsoulk Public Market, Lao PDR,

  • Beer Condom, The Honourable Golf Society of Hogs Breath Masters,
  • "Real" Rolex Watch, Nana Plaza, Bangkok,
  • M117 750 pound General Purpose Bomb, United States Government,
  • Bomb Condom, Hogs Breath Saloon, Bangkok, "where drinking men meet"