Today is the 173rd anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. Remember.
When asked about it, 90% of MA residents replied, "Alamo? Don't they rent cars?".
The other 10% thought that John Wayne died in the battle.
That is all.
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J,
Today's also the 64th anniversary of six Marines planting the flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
- Brad
Ask in Texas, you'll get a different set of answers. We remember (even those of us not natives).
So how many of them thought Billy Bob Thornton died in the battle?
"...you may look in vain for crosses and you'll never see a one,
but somewhere between the setting and the rising of the sun,
You can hear the ghostly bugle, as the men go marching by, you can hear them as they answer, to that roll call in the sky..."
That damn John Wayne movie is why so many tourists get confused over the fact that the Alamo is in the middle of downtown. They expect it to be out in the country somewhere.
Technically today is the start of battle, which culminated on March 6.
Maybe the tourists should recall that it WAS out in the middle of no where back in 1836. San Antonio, like most other cities, has grown just a bit since then.
Despite it's unimpressive looks, what happened there was pretty impressive.
People are so ignorant these days. Everyone who is anyone knows that it was Fess Parker.
Maybe the tourists should recall that it WAS out in the middle of no where back in 1836.
Well, no more so than the entire city of San Antonio was the middle of nowhere in 1836. The missions were started in the 1700s & the city grew up around them--granted, the Alamo is some distance from the rest of the missions. The Alamo was, of course, but it was hardly out on its own. (You'll note that La Villita, which is perhaps 3 blocks from the remains of San Antonio de Valero, is still promoted to tourists as the original "city" of San Antonio. Given the location of other contemporary structures--not that we have too many of them left--I would venture to guess the Alamo grounds were most likely on what was then the city's south-eastern edge.
San Antonio was quite arguably one of the most--if not THE most--important cities in Texas at the time (& bear in mind Texas y Coahuila was one heck of a lot larger than even the historical Texas), thus its military importance. If it had merely been the middle of nowhere a la Hollywood's depictions, it's likely Col. Travis would have followed orders & torched the place.
I'll bet you couldn't find one in a hundred to tell you what the Gonzales flag symbolized.
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