Futility Closet - 293-Lennie Gwyther

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Futility Closet podcast, forgotten stories from the pages of history. Visit us online to sample more than 11,000 quirky curiosities from a Japanese Poe to Samuel Barber's Calling. This is episode 293. I'm Greg Ross. And I'm Sharon Ross. In 1932, nine-year-old Lenny Gwyther set out to ride a thousand kilometers to see the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Along the way, he became a symbol of Australian grit and determination. In today's show, we'll tell the story of Lenny's journey and what it meant to a struggling nation.

Starting point is 00:00:43 We'll also recall a Moscow hostage crisis and puzzle over a surprising attack. The Great Depression hit Australia hard, with millions sharing in the global worries about the future. By 1932, unemployment had reached 30%, and the anxiety was reaching into rural areas, such as South Gippsland in Victoria, where Lenny Gwyther lived with his parents on a farm outside Laingafa. The Gwythers had been working this land since the 1870s, and at nine years old, Lenny was already closely involved in the life of the farm. His constant companion and best

Starting point is 00:01:25 friend was Ginger Mick, a dark chestnut horse who had been a gift from Lenny's grandfather when Lenny was just two years old. The horse and the boy had been born on the same day and had grown up together. Lenny rode Mick to school each day, a distance of seven kilometers, and when work was done, the two of them competed in riding events at agricultural shows where they often won prizes. Lenny was immensely proud of his father, whom everyone knew as the captain, a decorated soldier who had so distinguished himself in the Great War that the King of England had presented him with the military cross at Buckingham Palace. So Lenny was greatly concerned when the captain fell and broke his leg. He was taken to a hospital in Melbourne where he was recovering,

Starting point is 00:02:06 but the injury meant he couldn't ready the fields for planting, and he had no one who might help him. So Lenny harnessed a team of four horses and plowed 24 acres himself to prepare them for sowing. This is an enormous job even for a grown man, but Lenny worked day after day behind the team, and he managed to harrow and smooth the fields so that the onions and potatoes could be planted. When the captain returned from the hospital, he was so impressed and thankful that he offered the boy anything he wanted in return.

Starting point is 00:02:34 Lenny thought about it and made an unusual answer. He had always been fascinated by the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which had begun construction shortly after he was born. Whenever Lenny wasn't working, he used to sit at the kitchen table, poring over pictures and descriptions of the bridge as it took shape, an engineering marvel that would carry six lanes of traffic, trains, and pedestrians between the city's central business district and the North Shore. When the Depression struck, the project was called the Iron Lung because of the life-sustaining employment it gave to many people. Now, in 1932, the bridge was nearly finished, and its opening ceremony in March promised to be one of the biggest events in Australian history. Thousands of people had

Starting point is 00:03:14 already booked special trains to travel from Adelaide and Melbourne to witness it. So this was the reward that Lenny asked for, to ride Ginger Mick to Sydney that summer to see the opening of the bridge. It was a sobering request. Lenny was nine years old, to ride Ginger Mick to Sydney that summer to see the opening of the bridge. It was a sobering request. Lenny was nine years old, and he was proposing to ride almost a thousand kilometers, 600 miles, by himself. They estimated that it would take him about 35 days to get there, which meant that he'd celebrate his 10th birthday on the road and wouldn't return until winter had set in. Lenny's mother was worried not just about his safety in Sydney, but about the journey itself. In these difficult days, there would be many unemployed

Starting point is 00:03:49 men on the roads and in the rural towns. But the captain said Lenny could go, and she rearranged the family budget to buy him a new suit of clothes for the journey. As word spread of Lenny's plans, the local newspapers published their wishes for the boy. One wrote, feats of endurance in men are often quoted, but a feat by a lad of nine years of age is about to be made. The friends of the parents will wish Lenny every success in his undertaking. Another wrote, it is the first occasion known to this paper where a Gippslander has made the trip to Sydney in the saddle, so the Leon Gatha lad must be regarded in the light of an overland pioneer. And another wrote, the good pioneering spirit which has always sent men out regardless of the dangers ahead is very much alive in this sturdy

Starting point is 00:04:29 Australian boy. On the date of his departure, February 3rd, Lenny was up early. He put on the suit, a woolen jacket and short trousers, and saddled up Ginger Mick. He rolled his extra clothes into an oil-skinned swag and put it across the front of the saddle, and slung a sugar bag of basic supplies over his shoulder. On his head was a special sou'wester hat that turned up at the front and covered his neck to protect it from the sun. He and his family rode into town where a small crowd had gathered at the showgrounds to see him off. The shire president made a short speech and gave Lenny a letter of introduction to the Lord Mayor of Sydney. Then it was time to go. Lenny said goodbye to his family, mounted Ginger Mick, and climbed northeast out of Leongatha.

Starting point is 00:05:10 One newspaper would report later, he is only a little chap but does not appear to have any fear. On that first day, the two of them covered 25 uneventful kilometers and camped at Merbu North. On the second day, they set out early and passed through the dairy farms of the Latrobe Valley to reach the outskirts of Traralgon, where they stayed with Sam Phillips, a friend of the family. Sam worked for Vacuum Oil Company, a forerunner of Mobil, and the company sent a message ahead to its employees to be on the lookout for Lenny and to extend him every courtesy on his journey. On the third day, they rode for 20 kilometers through black smoke blown down from a bushfire in the north, but arrived safely at the home of relatives in Kilmany, near Rosedale.

Starting point is 00:05:50 And so they went, heading generally east through varying weather, staying whenever possible with friends and relatives along the way. As word got about, they received more and more attention in the press. The Bairnsdale advertiser wrote, Lenny Gwyther, to give him his full title, has more than the usual quota of self-assurance for a lad of his years, and has absolutely no fears for his future. The lad weighs five stone, and the saddle is only ten pounds more, so Ginger Mick's load is not a heavy one. As they passed into the eastern extremity of Victoria, Lenny and Mick would fall in sometimes with other travelers on the road, and they stopped in regularly at homesteads for water and rest. They followed bush tracks and thin dirt roads across the plains until they came to Can River, where the road turned north toward Canberra. They were now 400 kilometers from home,

Starting point is 00:06:35 almost halfway to their goal, and Lenny's father came out to meet them, accepting a lift in a neighbor's Model A Ford. On the way, he told a reporter from the Traralgon Journal, It is quite possible that if I were to go right on to Sydney with my son, it would take much of the glamour off his enterprise, and it is therefore more than likely that I shall turn back after I see him safely through Bombala. After their reunion, father and son traveled together into New South Wales, and they reached Bombala on February 19th, almost three weeks after Lenny had left home. There they were greeted by the mayor, Lenny found lodgings at the Globe Hotel, and Ginger Mick gave rides to the local school children.

Starting point is 00:07:10 Lenny's father had him examined by a doctor who declared him, quote, as sound as a bell and in buoyant spirits. So the captain took his leave and left his son to finish the journey on his own. In a time of worry and uncertainty, Lenny's story had stirred something in the public imagination, and news had spread as far as London. It was being mentioned more and more in Sydney, where people were beginning to gather for the coming celebration, and as they approached their destination, Lenny and Mick found themselves greeted by welcoming parties and honored by civic leaders. Lenny ate in hotel dining rooms and slept in hotel suites. At Cooma, the local paper wrote,

Starting point is 00:07:44 The lad was given a great welcome when he arrived, particularly by the many local lads who envied him his adventure and admired his staunch little pony. Lenny was lodged in a hotel and honored at Centennial Park, and he participated in a community sing-along around the piano with his hosts. He told a reporter, I know that I have bitten off rather a big chew, as sailors say, but education is what I want, and it's one of the main objects of the trip. Amongst the many things I have is a letter from the president of our local shire to the Lord Mayor of Sydney, as I am desirous of seeing the opening ceremony of the bridge and would be glad to see also the Sydney show and the yearling sales of

Starting point is 00:08:19 thoroughbreds. Do not think that I want to be adventurous. Not so. I am contented. But I did want to see the biggest bridge in Australia and the greatest ocean-going liners that call at Sydney's beautiful harbour. I visited Melbourne when the Hood was there—that's the HMS Hood, a Royal Navy battlecruiser— and was on her at Port Melbourne. One sailor wanted to put me down a big gun muzzle, but I was quite off being cannon fodder. Not that I would mind, perhaps, when I am older, since for over five generations there have been soldiers in the family. By February 26th, as he approached Canberra, the Australian capital, Lenny was practically a celebrity. The headmaster of the Canberra grammar school invited him to stay on campus, and he rode up to the steps of Parliament House, where he shook

Starting point is 00:09:00 the Prime Minister's hand, was introduced to nearly every member, and took tea in their refreshment rooms. At Queen Bien, he was met by civic dignitaries and presented with a souvenir boomerang. The local paper wrote, it is questionable whether there is another lad of Lenny's age who can boast the attempting of such a big journey all alone. Everybody who meets Young Wyther and Ginger Migg will wish the pair the best of luck, a real Aussie with that inborn pluck prepared to tackle anything. By March 5th, the pair had reached Moss Vale on Sydney's outskirts, where they rode unannounced onto the ground of the local agricultural show and won a second-place ribbon for best pony and boy rider under age 10. Back home, Lenny's local newspaper reported the feat and added, his friends will be pleased to hear of his successful progress. On March 7th, they stopped

Starting point is 00:09:44 to rest in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool. The next morning, Lenny got up early and groomed Mick, and the two of them set out on their final ride into the city. For 32 days and a thousand kilometers, Lenny had been dreaming of what he would see when he got there. What he saw brought him up short. A reporter from the Melbourne Herald wrote, 10,000 cheering people greeted Lenny Gwyther on his arrival at Sydney at 3 p.m. today. The boy was greatly affected when he saw the surging crowds rush round him in his pony as he entered Martin Place after a triumphal tour down George Street. A guard of 25 police was powerless to prevent the boy being mobbed. It was with difficulty that Colonel Somerville,

Starting point is 00:10:22 Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society, was able to greet him. Lenny had tears in his eyes as Colonel Somerville said to him, you little brick, at the same time grasping his hand. A reporter from the Melbourne Age wrote, if he had been a royal prince, he could not have got a better reception. Thousands awaited his arrival in Martin Place, the scene of great receptions. They were not all Victorians. There were some who showed themselves proud of the state that could produce such a youthful adventurer, but the majority of those who shouted a welcome to the boy did so because he was an Australian, and to be an Australian in getting a first and foremost place in our estimate of things. A reader wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sir, just such an example as provided by a child of nine summers, Lenny Gwyther was and is needed

Starting point is 00:11:03 to raise the spirit of our people and to fire our youth and others to do things, not to talk only. Lenny was so popular that he was invited to be an official participant in the opening ceremonies on March 19th, the largest event the city had ever seen, a pageant watched by 750,000 people. The governor of New South Wales read a message from King George V, and the premier cut a ribbon with a pair of golden scissors and declared the bridge officially open. Lenny and Ginger Mick crossed the bridge in a procession with Aboriginal people, school children, war veterans, and bridge workers. They stayed in Sydney for three weeks. Lenny met the Lord Mayor at the town hall, rode an elephant at Taronga Zoo, and received an autographed cricket bat from his idol, Don Bradman, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With Ginger Mick, he was a featured competitor in several events at the annual Easter Agricultural Show.

Starting point is 00:12:00 Lenny's family had originally planned that he would take a steamer home from the city, but he had enjoyed his journey so much that he convinced his father that he should ride Ginger Mac home again, this time riding inland via the Hume Highway track to Melbourne. His fame preceded him. At Gunning, he gave a talk to the local public school and attended a meeting of the Shire Council, who gave him a one-pound note in honor of his tenth birthday. And at Benalla, he was met five miles outside town by a crowd of townspeople who escorted him to the Shire Hall. A local reporter wrote, the Shire president, in welcoming the lad to Benalla, said he was one in thousands who had the inspiration to carry out

Starting point is 00:12:36 his ambitions. It showed what the Australian boy was capable of doing. He said he hoped he would have a pleasant trip home. When Lenny finally arrived in Leon Gatha on June 10th, he found a huge crowd waiting for him in the main street. He'd been away for four months. He delivered a letter from the Lord Mayor of Sydney to the Shire President, and more than 800 people attended a civic reception held in his honor at the town hall. After that, Lenny's life returned largely to normal. In later years, he never talked about his journey to the bridge. His daughter, Mary, remembered, He wasn't a bragger, really. He'd never made a big thing of it. I asked him once if he ever wanted to turn back, and he said that one night a hobo

Starting point is 00:13:13 jumped out and scraped him a bit, but that was the only time. His sister-in-law said she had been stunned to learn about the adventure because the family never talked about it. She said, I don't know why. I suppose it was because he was such a humble person. They did mention Ginger Mick, though. I think Ginger Mick was the love of his life. Mick lived on the Gwyther farm to the age of 27. Lenny went on to marry, had a daughter, and settled eventually in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton. He worked as an engineer for General Motors and was known as a keen fisherman, astronomer, ice skater, and sailor. Motors and was known as a keen fisherman, astronomer, ice skater, and sailor. When he died in 1992 at age 70, he was building a yacht that he planned to sail to Tasmania and New Zealand. His granddaughter said he had a lathe in the shed and he was always turning wood or making tools or

Starting point is 00:13:55 tables. There wasn't really anything he couldn't do. I'm sure he would have attempted sailing around the world. That's how adventurous he was. At his memorial service, no mention was made of his trip to the bridge, and the story largely passed out of memory even within Leon Gotha. But in 2015, South Gippsland Shire Councillor Bob Newton called for a statue of Lenny and Mick to commemorate the journey. He said, it is one of the great stories of Leon Gotha, but probably never recognized too much. It was an amazing achievement for someone to ride all that way. never recognized too much. It was an amazing achievement for someone to ride all that way. He raised the money and a foundry in Dandenong cast a life-size bronze statue of Lenny and Mick.

Starting point is 00:14:34 It was unveiled in October 2017 and stands today in the heart of town. In April 1932, when Lenny had reached his goal, the magazine Berlay Review published an editorial. Here's to Lenny Gwyther, worthy descendant of the stalwart pioneer who, way back in 1876, blazed the track and opened up the land that is now farmed by this gallant young Australian sire. Why do we honor Lenny today? We honor him because for a boy of nine, he has displayed courage, grit, perseverance, and high endeavor, and displayed all these qualities in a manner and in a measure that would make many an older lad square his shoulders, look the world in the eye, and say, I have done well. Lenny's achievement is a rebuke to cowardice, nay more, it is a clarion call to courage,

Starting point is 00:15:14 for courage, coupled with high endeavor, will as surely bring Australia to her goal of prosperity as they brought this young Australian lad to the safe and happy termination of his 600-mile adventure. this young Australian lad to the safe and happy termination of his 600-mile adventure. One newspaper said Lenny's determination to see the bridge opening had displayed the spirit needed to make a nation. A former classmate said in 2007, we all wanted to go there and see it, but nobody thought it was possible. Nobody except Lenny. If you enjoy hearing these forgotten stories from the pages of history, please consider becoming a patron to help support the show. You can check out our Patreon page at patreon.com slash futilitycloset or see the link in our show notes.

Starting point is 00:16:04 And thanks so much to all of our supporters who help us to be able to tell these stories. The puzzle in Episode 228, spoiler alert, was about a woman who had two cars to make her commute easier. And then in Episode 233, I followed up with some more unusual reasons that people might own two cars, including for dealing with the idiosyncrasies of their commutes. We recently had another follow-up on this topic from Steve Kata, who said, Greetings from the UK, where my surname is pronounced with a non-rhotic R, a glottal stop for the T in the middle, and a schwa for the ER suffix. Go on, have a go. middle and a schwa for the er suffix go on have a go and i will admit that i just looked up the british pronunciation of kata and went with that which i think conforms to the pronunciation tips that steve sent steve wrote it was great to discover your podcast and i've been catching

Starting point is 00:16:57 up at a rate of approximately one episode a day i just enjoyed episode 233 which means i don't have long now to form a coping strategy for when I am limited to one episode a week. On the topic of two-car commutes, I have probably the most niche story of a two-car commute. At the turn of the millennium, I worked for a small web company that moved office to a pig farm in rural Yorkshire. The plan had been that the farmer's tenancy was coming to an end, then there would be no more pigs and we would build a data center and headquarters. We moved into a temporary shack in the farmyard with our servers, customer services, graphic designer, developers, and all. But the farmer put the pigs to sow, as I believe the expression goes, and a new generation of pigs arrived. This meant my

Starting point is 00:17:40 commute included opening a farm gate, heading up an unmade road, and crossing a muddy yard that stank to high heaven. To complicate matters, next the UK's 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak happened, so that my obstacle course commute acquired new steps of stopping the vehicle after the farm gate and disinfecting its tires and my footwear twice a day. In an inspired moment of real-life lateral thinking, I simplified matters by finding in the local papers a Fiat Panda 4x4 near the end of its life and scarcely road legal for 50 pounds. Then I could leave my regular drive outside the gate, disinfect footwear, and climb in the dirty car, which being a 4x4, I could just drive straight across the fields to the office. This hilariously small, underpowered but gutsy vehicle really brightened up a particularly grim period in my career. It seems to have the pieces of a lateral thinking puzzle, but the

Starting point is 00:18:30 answer would be so bizarre as to render it unsolvable, I think. And yeah, I do think that's a little too niche to make a solvable puzzle, but it is an interesting story. The epidemic of foot and mouth disease among livestock in the UK that began in February 2001 was actually a pretty serious situation. If an animal was found to have the disease on a farm, then all of the farm's livestock, as well as livestock in the nearby area, had to be killed and burned, resulting in the slaughter of more than 6 million sheep, cattle, and pigs. The required culling of livestock was so extensive that the British Army had to be brought in to assist. All in all, it took nine months to bring the disease under control and cost the UK 8 billion pounds. Although the disease rarely affects humans, as Steve noted in his story,

Starting point is 00:19:16 various measures were put into place at the time to prevent people from spreading the highly transmissible virus, leading to Steve's and and possibly others, creative workarounds. Yeah, that's a really clever solution. I mean, it works fine. And Steve sent a YouTube link to a video showing a panda 4x4 tackling an extremely challenging dirt track with crazy deep ruts and steep ridges and such, and it was pretty impressive what the little car could manage. In episode 282, I discussed reports of people being gassed into unconsciousness with an anesthetic agent in their motorhomes or caravans or even houses in parts of Europe. The British Royal College of Anesthetists had put out a statement to the effect that this really wouldn't

Starting point is 00:19:58 be possible using any of the more common anesthetic agents. Bradley Zane from Cambria, California wrote, Hi podcasters, regarding the gas attacks on tourists in episode 282, I was surprised no one thought to recall the 2002 Moscow theater crisis when terrorists took a theater crowd hostage in response to a British medical organization poo-pooing the idea of sleeping gas in an area such as a house or caravan. Now, I did come across references to this event while researching the story on gas attacks, but I didn't go down that particular alley for that episode. But this event that Bradley is referring to does demonstrate that it is possible to pump an aerosolized drug into a large area to knock people out. On October 23,

Starting point is 00:20:42 2002, 40 to 50 armed Chechen rebels stormed a sold-out theater in Moscow during a performance of a popular musical, taking everyone inside hostage. The number of hostages that were held varied in almost every account I read, from about 700 to specifically 912. The terrorists were demanding the complete withdrawal of Russian military forces from Chechnya, and the hostages were held for 57 hours, during which time two of the hostages were killed, before Russian special forces pumped a powerful narcotic into the theater through its ventilation system on the morning of October 26th, rendering nearly everyone inside unconscious. The unconscious terrorists were apparently all shot by the special forces,

Starting point is 00:21:26 and quite a number of the hostages died from the effects of the drug. As with the total number of hostages that there were, the number who died varies a fair amount from one source to another, ranging from 120 to more than 200 or possibly even more than 300. From what I saw, the number of casualties varies because some hostages remained unaccounted for and some died later, likely from complications from the drug. There was also a belief by many that the official numbers released by Russia were not complete. For several days after the crisis, Russian officials wouldn't say what drug they had used,

Starting point is 00:22:01 but did eventually identify it as an aerosolized derivative of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. The Russian government was strongly criticized for not revealing the drug's identity sooner, especially as doctors were having to treat the hostages without knowing what they had been exposed to, which may have contributed to the death toll. In addition to the high death toll, many survivors suffered serious and lasting health effects. Russia never revealed the exact chemicals that were used, but British scientists, who later tested clothing and urine samples from some of the survivors, concluded that the drug used was a mix of carfentanil,

Starting point is 00:22:35 one of the most potent opioids, and the less powerful remifentanil. In episode 282, I had noted that the Royal College of Anesthetists had said that the use of anesthetic agents such as ether or chloroform sprayed into a caravan or house to knock out the inhabitants really didn't seem plausible. But they did note that it might seem a little more conceivable with one of the less common drugs. And I read part of their quote to that effect. The complete part of their statement on this issue was, even the more powerful modern volatile agents would need to be delivered in tanker loads of carrier gas by a large compressor. Potential agents such as the one used by the Russians in the Moscow siege are few in number and difficult to obtain. Moreover, these drugs would be too expensive for the average thief to use.

Starting point is 00:23:26 So while the Moscow hostage crisis did show that it is possible to drug people into unconsciousness in this way, it is still rather unlikely that common thieves would be able to effectively utilize this method. I'd also like to point out that many of the hostages in the Moscow siege either died or suffered serious health effects from their exposure to the drug. So it seems to me that it would be extremely difficult for even someone with appropriate medical training to be able to anticipate exactly what amount of a drug would need to be pumped into a structure in order to definitely render the inhabitants unconscious,

Starting point is 00:23:57 but to not kill them or cause serious side effects. In the various reports that I read of these reported gas attacks in Europe, none of the victims were killed or even reported more than minor and transient symptoms. And I would imagine that at least most of the thieves presumably using this method are not trained medical professionals. Yeah. In Moscow, I'm surprised you could do that at all.

Starting point is 00:24:18 I mean, that must be a very big space that they're trying to fill with gas. I'm surprised that it would be strong enough to have an effect. Well, and apparently it was actually probably too strong since so many people died from it, right? So yeah, it's one of the drugs that they used is extremely powerful opioid. I guess so.

Starting point is 00:24:39 And Bradley, whose last name is spelled Z-A-N-E, ended his email with, Oh, and about name pronunciation, I have a funny story. On the first day of college, the coach twisted my easy-to-pronounce Zane to an impossible-to-recognize Sayoni. Standing just in front of me, the coach mispronounced my name three times before it dawned upon me that he was calling my name. I still wasn't sure, so I confirmed my suspicion by looking at his clipboard and seeing his finger on my name. Quite a bit of laughter resulted when I corrected his pronunciation and reported here, it quickly became clear that I needn't try out.

Starting point is 00:25:15 I'm really happy I decided to study geology. And I will say that I sometimes am rather surprised at how people do pronounce their names, as sometimes what seems like the obvious choice will turn out to be incorrect, especially when you figure in different nationalities and their ways of pronouncing things. Like I would have pronounced Steve's surname as Carter rather than Kata if he hadn't given me his somewhat cryptic tip-off.

Starting point is 00:25:39 So I do sympathize a bit with the coach, though it is interesting how sort of creative he managed to get with the name Zane. Thanks so much to everyone who writes to us. Please keep sending us your comments and follow-ups. And if anyone has ever mispronounced your name in any way, please let me know how you'd like me to try to say it. It's my turn to try to solve a lateral thinking puzzle. Greg is going to give me an interesting sounding situation, and I have to see if I can work out what is actually going on, asking yes or no questions. In December 1944, Army Lieutenant John Fox ordered an artillery strike on his own position.

Starting point is 00:26:24 Why did he do this? Hmm. Was he in some kind of difficulty? Yes. And he was hoping that by ordering an artillery strike, it would help him out of his difficulty? No. Was he hoping it would tell his comrades where he was? Comrades isn't the

Starting point is 00:26:46 right word for us to be. He's not Russian, but... No, that's not it. Oh, okay. He ordered it in the... Oh, did he... Okay. He ordered an artillery strike on his own position, the position that he is currently occupying. Yes. Did he order it for a particular time, like it was going to happen in a particular amount of time, or did he want it to, versus he wanted it to occur right away? He wanted it to occur right away. Even though he was there? Yes. Okay.

Starting point is 00:27:16 Does it matter exactly where he was? No, not really. Does it matter which army he was fighting for? No. I'm assuming this is World War II? Yes. Okay. I guess assuming this is World War II. Yes. Okay. I guess you should never assume anything.

Starting point is 00:27:30 Does it matter what branch of the military he's in? No. Or what branch of the military he wants to provide the military strike, I mean the artillery strike? No. Okay. Does it matter who he's engaged with? I'm presuming he's engaged with enemy combatants? Yes.

Starting point is 00:27:47 Does he intend that he will die? Yes. Oh, really? That's very sad. Did he die? Yes, he did. Oh. Well, is that because it would just take down more of the enemy than like he was just in the middle of a bunch of the enemy and this way he could just take down a whole bunch of them?

Starting point is 00:28:11 Yeah, basically that's it. Fox had volunteered to stay behind in the Italian village of Sommocolonia as it was overrun by Germans. He was directing artillery fire from the second floor of a house. This is from his Medal of Honor citation. directing artillery fire from the second floor of a house. This is from his Medal of Honor citation. As the Germans continued to press the attack towards the area that Lieutenant Fox occupied, he adjusted the artillery fire closer to his position.

Starting point is 00:28:35 Finally, he was warned that the next adjustment would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position. After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox insisted that the last adjustment be fired, as this was the only way to defeat the attacking soldiers. Later, when a counterattack retook the position from the Germans, Lieutenant Fox's body was found with the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers. Lieutenant Fox's gallant and courageous actions at the supreme sacrifice of his own life contributed greatly to delaying the enemy advance until other infantry and artillery units could reorganize to repel the attack. His extraordinary, valorous actions were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. Oh, wow. Well, an unfortunately fatal puzzle.

Starting point is 00:29:12 Yeah. But we are always on the lookout for more lateral thinking puzzles, so if you have one you'd like to send in for us to try, please send it to podcast at futilitycloset.com. Futility Closet really relies on the support of our listeners. If you'd like to help support our celebration of the quirky and the curious, please check out our Patreon page at patreon.com slash futilitycloset or see the support us section of the website at futilitycloset.com. While you're at the site, you can also browse through Greg's collection of over 11,000 bite-sized distractions.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Check out the Futility Closet store, learn about the Futility Closet books, and see the show notes for the podcast, with links and references for the topics we've covered. If you have any questions or comments for us, you can email us at podcast at futilitycloset.com. All our music was written and performed by Greg's phenomenal brother, Doug Ross. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.

Futility Closet - 293-Lennie Gwyther

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.