Welcome back to another installment of the Watercooler, RedState’s daily Open Thread! Today, we’ve got…

IN MEMORIAM: R. Lee Ermey

As a large part of the country still reels at the passing of “America’s DI,” cultural icon Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey, it seemed appropriate to share two moments from this somber occasion on YouTube. The first is Gunny’s memorial service, the second a tribute from his fellow Devil Dogs.

Semper Fi, Gunny. As one of your brother Marines used to say in times like this, “We are Diminished”–the world is poorer without you, but would have been poorer still without your service, your example, your education, and even your entertainment. Rest in well-earned peace.

This Week In History

• Sunday, 4/29: Greene takes command on Long Island, 1776; Union takes New Orleans, 1862; LA Riots bwgin, 1992
• Monday, 4/30: Washington inaugurated s POTUS, 1789; Louisiana Purchase concluded, 1803; Organization of American States established, 1948
• Tuesday, 5/1: Battle of Manila Bay, 1898; Empire State Bldg. dedicated, 1931; Gary Powers’s U-2 shot down over Russia, 1960
• Wednesday, 5/2: Jackson beats Hooker at Chancellorsville, 1862; Dick Clark survives Payola, 1960; end of Hoover Era at FBI, 1972
• Thursday, 5/3: Washington, DC incorporated, 1802; Great Jacksonville Fire, 1901; Senate hearings on Truman sacking MacArthur, 1951
• Friday, 5/4: Rhode Island first colony to renounce British rule, 1776; Panama Canal groundbreaking, 1904; Kent State shootings, 1970
• Saturday, 5/5: Battle of the Wilderness begins, 1864; CSA government declared dissolved, 1865; Alan Shepard first American in space, 1961

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Lorenzo Music, 1937; singer Lesley Gore, 1946; athlete-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 1972

Holidays Around the World: It’s Flag Day in Poland, and Indonesia celebrates their National Education Day. The city of Madrid, Spain also commemmorates the anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising against Napoleon’s occupation in 1808.

This Week In History is compiled with assistance from History.com and Wikipedia. Something interesting not listed here? Please share in the Comments section–this is an Audience Participation Encouraged featurette.

Gratuitous Gun Giveaways

• *American Handgunner magazine, for an Olympic Arms KRP Retro or Springfield SAINT AR15 pistol package: http://americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/
• *Guns Magazine, for a Mossberg 590M Heat Shield shotgun, Aero Precision M4E1 rifle, or Midland Arms 4-shotgun family-pack: http://gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/
• Davidson’s Gallery of Guns, for a Glock Gen 4 G17FS or G19X 9mm pistol: https://ggg.galleryofguns.com/
• GrabAGun, for an Anderson AM-15 7.62x39mm AR-pattern rifle: http://grabagun.com/giveaway
• Springfield Armory, for a package of a SAINT Edge AR-pattern rifle and XD(M) pistol or an M1A SOCOM 7.62 rifle plus 9mm and .45 XD pistols: http://www.springfield-armory.com/resources/giveaways/

*Note: FMG Publishing giveaways require you to provide an FFL dealer’s info at entry.

Public Service Announcement for “Sanctuary State” Residents
If you would like to report illegal aliens, please call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (347-2423). They will need to know names, locations (either work place or residence) and any other specific information you can provide. Visit http://www.ice.gov for more information.

Quote of the Day

How ’bout a Two-Fer this week? The first selection was inspired by the Gunny’s spirit, the other seemed apt with recent events.

“There is no shame in going out fighting and getting your ass kicked, but there is no honor in not fighting at all.”
–Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway

“Why do I need an AR-15? Because some day the government may tell me I’m not allowed to put my sick son on a plane and fly him to Italy for treatment. And believe me when I tell you I WILL be putting him on that plane. #AlfieEvans”
–Jesse Kelly

As always, the Watercooler is an Open Thread. And as so eloquently coined by ntrepid, “Thanks for the click! Your effort helps fund future posts of this nature.”

“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”–Voltaire

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