User:Cla68

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This user is a member of the Military history WikiProject, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of military history. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

Me snowboarding at Snowbasin, Utah on a cold day some years ago.

1 Articles
2 Advice on preparing a history article for FA
3 Useful sites
4 Welcome and appreciated compliments from fellow editors
5 Miscellaneous

[edit] Articles

I usually work on World War II (WWII) Pacific campaign articles for two reasons: (1) I'm interested in United States and Japanese military history and both intersected in the Pacific in WWII, and (2) I believe that the Pacific campaign doesn't get as much attention as it should in comparison with the European campaigns of WWII.

Military history articles that I've worked-on (with key help from others) and nominated for Featured Article (FA):

Volume 3, Issue 14 — 2 April 2007

Archives·Newsroom·Tip line·Single-page·Subscribe

"To do" list (in roughly this order):

Battle of Cape Esperance
Battle for Henderson Field
Battle of Tassafaronga
Operation Ke
Guadalcanal Campaign
Solomon Islands campaign and all its sub-battles/campaigns
Operation Hailstone
Operation Tan No. 2
Battle of the Coral Sea
Makin Raid

What I mean by "to do" is to attempt to bring these articles up to FA quality, it they aren't there already. I don't mean to imply any ownership over these articles.

[edit] Advice on preparing a history article for FA

Some tips that I've discovered in choosing, editing, and submitting history articles for FA:

Choose a non-controversial subject. If the article you want to work on is under the ``protection`` of one or more POV-pushers, you're just going to immensely frustrate yourself trying to work through the wall of interference that those other editors will throw up as you try to improve the article. The best is if you can find an article that has been left alone for some time (check the history). Of course, choose a subject that's interesting to you. If you choose to improve an article that has several sub-articles (like a military campaign that includes several sub-battles), take the sub-articles to FA first. Then, the "parent" article will have basically written itself from the completed sub-articles.
Acquire your references first. Having the right references is the most important part of writing the article. Search the Web or the local library and find all the references you'll need for the article. I suggest at least three. Books are better than websites because they're often more credible and websites come and go. Try your local public or university library or you can buy used books online very cheaply. Add your list of references to the article first, so that other, helpful editors can also jump-in to assist if they want to and have access to the references you list (this has happened to me). The more references you can acquire and use, the better. What one historian misses may be recorded by another historian. Try to get references that give the point of view from all sides of the event.
Cite (inline) liberally. You can't have too many footnotes, but you can have too little. Cite every assertion and have at least one citation at the end of every paragraph so that it doesn't look like you have any "dangling," uncited text. Also, spread your citations out among your references so that it doesn't look like you're using one or two sources for everything.
Illlustrate. Find pictures and maps with ok copyright status (or create supporting maps or images yourself), upload them to Wikimedia Commons, and add a Commons link from the article to the Commons gallery where you list all of the images related to the article. This way editors in the other Wikipedia language editions can access the images you upload and use them for the articles on the same subject that they're writing in their language (yes, I've seen this done with images I uploaded to the Commons). Adjust the flow of the text of the article to support images you add that emphasize particular events. In this way you can make your article more of a multi-media presentation instead of just a written report on something. I've sometimes made the decision on whether to create a new article on a subject based solely on if there were enough images available to adequately illustrate the article.
Step back periodically. If you're stumped or your writing isn't flowing well, take a break and do something else with your free time for a day or so. An idea for the article may occur to you when your mind is on something else. Happens to me all the time. An encyclopedic-style article can be written in a concise and neutral manner, yet still produce some dramatic tension for the reader if written well.
Write neutrally. I know that this is one of the basic tenets of Wikipedia, but, it still bears repeating. If someone can read your article and not be able to tell which side you're taking on the battle, event, or issue, then you've succeeded in writing it neutrally.
Don't forget the "human element" After all is said and done, the story you are telling, if about an historic event, involves your fellow human beings involved in a very dramatic situation. Try to have at least one item in the article that expresses this human element, whether it be a quote from a participant, an image clearly showing a person, not just a landscape or an object, or the mention of one individual's or group's thoughts, exploits, or experience. Since this is an encyclopedic entry, the human element example needs to be brief and not too POV (for example, overly extolling the "heroism" aspect of any individual's participation in the event. Heroism is very subjective in its interpretation by different cultures.) for one particular side or it will be counterproductive. An easy way to do this is to include images of the respective commanders or leaders of the forces involved (if the article is about a battle).
Submit for peer review. The motivated and helpful peer review editors, either with the military history project, or the general peer review forum, will point-out any flaws or issues with your article that you might have missed. Resolve the issues that they hightlight in their review.
Don't fight with the FA reviewers. After you nominate your article as an FA candidate, assume that the comments or criticism that comes from the FA candidate reviewers are being made in good faith. Respond constructively and try to correct whatever they point-out, even if you don't agree with it. If they ask or object to something that isn't reasonable, another reviewer will usually come to your defense.
Further advice... Further good advice on preparing an article for FA nomination is here: [1] on the Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history page.

Special thanks to Kirill Lokshin, Wwoods, Grant65, Looper5920, and others for invaluable advice, assistance, and guidance.

[edit] Useful sites

Grammarbook.- Briefly presents the rules of English grammar, one of the most important of which is the "who vs that vs which" rule.
Uncyclopedia.- Parody/satire site that uses the Wiki software for a joke encyclopedia.
The Pacific War Forum.- Message board for those interested in the Pacific theater of WWII.
Eric Goldman: Wikipedia Will Fail in Four Years.- A good column that addresses some of the strengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but he discusses some valid issues.

[edit] Welcome and appreciated compliments from fellow editors

For your massive contributions to Wikipedia's coverage of the Pacific Theater of World War II, I hereby bestow upon you the Military history WikiProject Distinguished Service Award. Kirill Lokshin 22:47, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

This motivated barnstar is given to Cla68 for his tireless contirbutions to Wikipedia's coverage of the Pacific Theater of World War II and US Navy and Marine Corps history. Presented by Looper5920 18 November 2006

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		For helping me with the copyedit of Aleksandr Vasilevsky, this RAK Star for you! :) Grafikm ^(AutoGRAF) 18:52, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

		The Working Man's Barnstar
		I hereby award this barnstar for your efforts in tirelessly researching references for the Japanese war crimes article. Keep up the good work! John Smith's 16:56, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

		The Featured Article Medal
		What??? 5 FAs and still not having this one? That's a major oversight! -- Grafikm ^(AutoGRAF) 00:16, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

		Pacific Theatre, 1941-45 Barnstar
		For sustained, solid research and editing, in adding references to many Pacific War articles. Grant65 \| Talk 06:20, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

		The Epic Barnstar
		For the constant stream of FA's. Keep it up! James086^{Talk \| Contribs} 13:09, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

By the order of the coordinators of the Military history WikiProject, you are hereby awarded the WikiChevrons with Oak Leaves in recognition of your many valuable contributions to military history articles, and, in particular, your leading role in the creation of numerous featured articles on the topic of the Pacific Theater of World War II. For the coordinators, Kirill Lokshin 01:39, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Miscellaneous

Places I've lived:

- I've lived in or visited most of the states in the U.S.
- a total of five years spread between Aomori Prefecture, Tokyo, and and my current residence in Kanagawa prefecture. I've traveled around Tohoku and visited Kyoto and Okinawa.
- one year living in Pyeongtaek. I've visited Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Pohang, Gangwon-do, and, of course, Seoul.

Places I've visited (stayed more than 24-hours):

- Singapore.
- Cancún and Ensenada.
- Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria.

Some of my favorite places:

United States:
- Sedona, Arizona- In spite of the hordes of tourists is still a gorgeous place, especially at sunset
- Los Angeles, California- A really great city once you learn your way around
- French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny, New Orleans, Louisiana- In spite of the tourists, still has a real feeling to much of it. Faubourg Marigny is the place to go to experience close to the same "vibe" without the tourists

Japan:
- Oirase River- numerous waterfalls in a beautiful setting
- Sukayu- perhaps the largest conyoku onsen in Japan. Has to be experienced to be believed.
- Hakkoda- Great summer hiking, deep powder snowboarding, and several classic, old-style onsen in the surrounding area.
- Sendai- A lovely town with friendly people and lots of things to do in and around the city
- Kitaazumi District, Nagano- my favorite ski resort area
- Shibuya, Tokyo- In spite of its reputation as a "young" (teen-ager) hang-out, I think it provides the best mix of shops, restaurants, izekaya, bars, and nightclubs in Tokyo without being as hectic as Roppongi or as seedy as Shinjuku (although I like those places also)
- Yokohama- Has just about everything that Tokyo has but with a more low-key atmosphere

South Korea:
- Seoul- This city is really developing into a nice place, with a lot better selection of stores, restaurants, etc., opening up. Great subway system also and the taxis are still really cheap.
- Sinjang-dong, Pyeongtaek- A crass, exploitative, money-trap? Perhaps, but still a great place to meet some very colorful and interesting personalities.