9/11 Pictures -- We Must Not Forget

9/11 Photo Sent Australian Photographer On 15 Year Search

On August 21st, there was a small article on FoxNew.com about a single snapshot. Here's the story of that picture:

It was just a tattered flash of color amid acres of toxic grey ash and twisted steel that blanketed Ground Zero of New York’s twin towers on September 11, 2001. It was a simple family photo which showed a young woman smiling as she cradled a toddler in an embroidered red dress.

Back during the days following 9/11/01, to Australian photographer Nathan Edwards it was a searing jolt of normal on a day when it seemed there would never be normal again. He snapped a picture of it lying in the rubble, one of thousands of images he captured as he documented downtown New York after the World Trade Center came crashing down because of the vicious attack by Muslim terrorists.

The article last month, talked about how much of what he saw in the coming days was unforgettable. The city and its people reeling, scrambling for answers, searching for survivors. But there was something about that picture that chewed away at him. 

He kept asking the big question of who were they? Did they survive? Were they among those who lost someone that day? Maybe it bonged to a young dad who kept the photo on his desk? Maybe those in the picture lost him and never knew what happened to him? Maybe the picture belonged to a parent? Maybe the picture belonged to someone who kept it at work as a loving reminder of a smiling daughter and grandchild?

He thought about it often. And according to the report, yes at times it became an obsession. When things were difficult in the years that followed, moving to a new town, an attempted career change, that’s when the mystery of the woman and the baby haunted photographer Nathan Edwards most.

It is said that he would wake sometimes with those questions ruminating in his mind and he knew it wouldn’t stop until he had answers.

Nathan Edwards said, "Just to find that picture in the rubble when everything else was ground to dust — I guess it felt like a bit of a sign. From the moment I found it, I wanted to know who the people were, and I really wanted them to be alive."

Nathan remembers waking on that terrible Tuesday after spending 14 days straight covering 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt winning the US Open. He planned to spend the day with wife Kylie doing what they loved most, wandering Manhattan, shopping, bar hopping, and exploring.

He said, "My boss called and said: 'There has been a plane into the World Trade Centre and we need you to get down there.' Just as I was leaving that second plane hit, so I said to my wife: 'This is not an accident, and you probably won’t be able to contact me and you won’t see me. It could be for a couple of days'".

He said, "I got there just as the second tower was coming down. It was a massive rumble and then it was just dead quiet."

And yes, it was then that he and others were to hear another noise, a more ominous sound started. It was a sound that continued for the next few days.

He said, "There was a beeping. I later learned that when firemen stop moving the little devices on their breathing apparatus beep. That's them saying 'I need help, come and get me', and that was everywhere. You could hear them under there. But it was such a mess you would talk to firemen and they didn’t know where to start."

According to Nathan, there was nothing but grey dust and fear everywhere he looked that first day. "It was towards the end of the day and something caught my eye, it was just lying there, this bit of color," he said.

"There was some dust and I didn't touch the photo, I just blew the dust off to show the faces and took a photo. I remember picking it up because I felt like I should keep it safe. I was thinking, 'What do I do with it?', when I ran into a firefighter and asked him. He said he was going to the place where things were being collected and took it from me."

Nathan doesn’t know whether the snapshot is among tens of thousands of artefacts catalogued after 9/11, but efforts are being made to track it down. 

"I remember leaving Ground Zero the first day and I walked back to my office in midtown and the further I got away from there the more normal life became," he said. "I remember walking past Macy’s and there were people walking out with their shopping, there were people eating in restaurants and having coffee."

Exhausted yet still feeling the effects of adrenalin, Nathan wondered to himself, 'Don't they know what's happened?'

Nathan returned to Australia at the end of his secondment to the New York Post and settled back into life in Sydney, and later Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

He and Kylie, 44, moved north after the births of their son Jack, 9, and daughter Olivia, 5, so they could be closer to family. Nathan dabbled in commercial photography before returning to his first love -- news photography.

He continued to be haunted by the photo and on seminal anniversaries such as the first, fifth and tenth year anniversaries. But frankly, he felt there was nothing to show who the people were or whether they survived 9/11 or had lost someone to the worse Muslim terrorist attack in world history.

Before the 10th anniversary in 2011, he spent months tracking down the firemen who he featured so heavily in his 9/11 portfolio to tell their stories. To a man, it is said that those guys love him. It's also said that some hadn't cried about their losses, but when confronted with his photos -- they broke down.

Nathan is also said to have been in touch with 9/11 survivor groups whose members were increasingly connected through online communities. He regularly posted his photo on their sites.

In February, last year, he decided to give it one last shot in the lead up to the 15th anniversary and hit the social media.

While he had feelers out for years, for whatever reason this time one of them gave panned out and by late that night his heart jolted as he found a solid lead through a member of a survivor’s network. After some not-so-gentle prodding, they offered up the name Jennifer Rothschild Robinson.

"NO, NO IT CAN'T BE!"

Stretched out on her hotel bed, Jennifer Robinson was five days into the first break she and her corporate lawyer husband Paul had taken since their baby Isabelle had arrived. By now they had found their holiday stride.

Gym junkie Paul had risen early to find a cross-fit class near their Cape Cod hotel. Jen, who only a week before had been so tired juggling full-time work as an insurance lawyer with new motherhood that she was falling asleep on the subway, was watching re-runs of MASH, waiting for him to return.

As he drove towards their resort, the air above suddenly screamed so loudly he pulled off the road. He was being buzzed by two F-15 jets and his first thought was that they looked like they were going to war.

He turned on the radio to hear news of the destruction wreaked on their beloved New York. His echoing thought: "Thank God Jen wasn’t at work."

Paul walked into their room to see her smiling at a joke on the screen. "I told her she needed to turn on the news and as she did we saw the second tower come down."

"My wife collapsed then. She fell to the ground and it was quite a long time before she could even understand what I was saying. She was just saying ‘no, no, it can’t be'."

Jen's office at Ohrenstein & Brown was on the 86th floor of the North Tower. Just seven floors above, five Muslim terrorists had crashed hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 into that floor.

She lost two colleagues that day, her dear friend AnnMarie Riccoboni, a grandmother and accountant, and office secretary Valerie Murray. The mention of AnnMarie's name still makes her cry.

It's not clear how her friends, and many others, perished. But almost half of the 2977 victims were from above her floor in the North Tower. Many of those were the "falling people," yes the jumpers who were filmed plunging to their deaths after jumping to their death rather than experiencing the horror of being burned to death.

CALM IN THE STORM

Thinking back now, Jen, 50, and Paul, 49, remember not being quite sure what they should do next. In a daze, they spent a strange afternoon with friends in nearby picturesque Provincetown. They still have photos showing them in unusually subdued tourist spots, no smiles on their faces.

Nathan's photograph ran on page 12 of The New York Post the following day, and back at Jen and Paul's upstate New York home the phone started ringing. Callers were hanging up lightning fast when Jen didn't answer because their nanny Carmi was still minding Isabelle.

Jen said "People in New York, friends of mine, opened up the Post and saw this photo and knew it was me, Some people were just hanging up when they heard Carmi's voice. Eventually we told her just to answer the phone saying, 'Jen's OK, Everything is fine'".

In the years that followed, Nathan Edward's photo wove itself into the fabric of the Robinsons' life. The page torn from the newspaper was stuck to the fridge to remind them of their remarkable good fortune. Yes, it became a talisman that told them not to be distracted by the small stuff.

It meant so much to them they wanted to find the photographer, partly to see if he took the same kind of meaning from his experience as they did. They contacted the Post a few times, but in the chaos of that week very few photos were cataloged properly.

Paul said, "Ever since that photograph came out and we started our search for the photographer, it’s been a reminder both of how grateful we are that the outcome wasn't different for us, and also an open question of who took it and what it meant to them, It remained in my drawer at work where I pulled it out whenever I had something that was particularly overwhelming. It put things right back in perspective."

Over the years, with the arrival of another daughter Emma, now 11, and moving to Florida for Paul's work, the image stayed with them. Jen would post it every year on Facebook and give public thanks for her survival as well as pay tribute to her lost friends.

AT LAST, AN ANSWER

When Nathan Edwards began searching for Jennifer Rothschild Robinson on the internet, the photo he took in the rubble was one of the first things he saw on her Facebook feed. Not only had mother and child survived, she had been looking for him too.

He describes his initial reaction as "like being hit with a sledgehammer".

He said, "I was thinking, 'Maybe they don’t want to be found, maybe they have moved on with their lives and put all that behind them'. I sent the message late at night, midnight, and went to bed and got a response the minute I woke up. It was disbelief and then it was euphoria. I couldn’t believe I had finally made contact."

Back in the United States, Jen's computer had a message. It was a photographer in Australia who had been searching for the woman and the baby in the photo.

"I felt so many things," Jen said. "It just took my breath away. My heart was just up in my chest and I just couldn’t believe what was happening. I just went running up the stairs to Paul and I was crying and the first thing I said was, 'Don't worry, it's OK'."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I FOUND YOU"

Travelling from Sydney Australia to Florida, it's said that Nathan, 44, who is a laid back country-raised father-of-two, was uncharacteristically jittery. And yes, the report stated that even he was surprised at just how much he had invested in this search. And now that he was actually going to meet Jen, an opportunity she and Paul jumped at when Nathan suggested it, it's said that he starting to fret.

"What if she doesn't like me?" he asks at one particularly vulnerable moment.

He was all nerves again on the morning of their meeting and the tension rises a couple of notches due to delays caused by the film crew that the news sent along to film the event. Nathan was pacing on the manicured street outside Jen's Florida home waiting for things to get moving. And inside, Jen is all-American hospitality, offering coffee in any number of ways and bottled water, chatting to cover her nervousness.

When it was finally time, in a moment only matched by when the famous Henry Morton Stanley located Dr. David Livingstone in Africa, Nathan walked towards her porch and knocks on the door behind which Jen was standing clenching and unclenching her fists in an effort to destress.

"Hello," said Jen with a broad smile and tears.

"Hello, how are you?" Nathan says, bending down to wrap her in a bear hug that lifted her off her feet. "It's so good to finally see you. I can't believe I found you."

Their sentences are spilling over each other and their nerves are gone as they try to put into words how much this meeting means, each of them tearing up.

The photo was taken when Jen took five-month-old Isabelle to her office the December before 9/11. She has kept the outfit Isabelle, now 16, was wearing and pulls it out with her snapshots.

"When I first saw it, I imagined that it had sat on a desk somewhere," Nathan said. "Everything that day, nothing had survived and to see a photograph that was relatively unscathed when everything around was just ground up dust, it just stopped me. There were several times over the past 14 years that I was telling myself maybe you will never find them. There were a few times when I said, 'It has been so long, you've tried so hard, you probably need to just give up and move along'. But something wouldn't let me give up. A little voice just kept saying 'keep going'."

A SOMBER RETURN

A few days after that first meeting, they traveled up to New York to join the Robinson family on their first visit to the 9/11 memorial grounds.

Nathan is nervous, but he settles when they arrive. He is genuinely touched at how this means so much to them as well. Jen and Nathan drift along the North Tower memorial where victims' names are carved in metal. They chance upon the names of her friends and hug again.

"I feel like I have a new friend," Jen said. "Even though it's only been a few days it feels like I have known him for a long time. I had never really thought of it before from his perspective. I had always wondered who is the photographer and thought how lucky I am, but it didn't occur to me how much it meant to him. When we first met I was so anxious and excited and nervous and we hugged each other and I knew. I knew just how important it was to him."

Paul says the experience of meeting Nathan had been "transformative" for Jen.

Paul said, "It was sort of like an open wound, I am watching Jen as Nathan has come over and I see this has shifted a piece that I think may enable her to actually put this whole experience in a good perspective. Watching the two of them, there is sort of a tacit kinship that you can see exists. Because it very well could have been whoever took the photograph didn't care. And it could have been that we said, 'Oh interesting, our photograph is in there (the paper). But the combination of his intensity in pursuing this and Jen's attachment to the photograph and it's meaning was incredibly special."

That Jen and Nathan were both so invested in the search underscores the serendipity that skips so lightly through this story. It is a tale of fateful linkages and chance. Of luck and despair. And of the power of a single image to inspire for almost 15 years. But above all, it is special because it is a simple distillation of the power of hope.

So now, while I've only edited this article to fit my blog with no changes to the facts and circumstances of the story, I'm sharing this story with my readers for a few reasons. 

First, we should never allow what took place on 9/11 and those murdered that day to be forgotten. Second, we must remember that the folks who died that day were real with real lives, families, friends, loved ones, and were robbed of everything they had by people who are still with us.

And lastly, I'm sharing this story, because it is a story of hope and inspiration. It is a wonderful story of someone who did not give up even when he thought he wanted to. Yes, it's a great message.

And yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

The 9/11 Memorial In Israel

Have you ever wondered how other countries mourned our loss on 9/11? Well, this is how Israel acknowledged the Muslim terrorist attack. It is the only 9/11 Memorial outside of the United States.

The 9/11 Living Memorial above is a cenotaph located on a hill in Arazim Valley of Ramot, Jerusalem, in Israel.

At the western entrance to Jerusalem, among the forests of the Ramot neighborhood in Arazim Park, rises the 30-foot-high American flag made of bronze. Yes, it is a memorial to the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It is the first memorial outside of New York to list the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed on that day, along with their countries of origin. There are nearly 100 countries represented among the victims, including five Israeli citizens.

The bronze flag that forms the core of the memorial sits on a pillar made from a metal beam that came from the remains of the World Trade Center. It is inscribed in both English and Hebrew: "This metal piece, like the entire monument, is a manifestation of the special relationship between New York and Jerusalem."

The 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza, intended to be a diplomatic stop for visiting prime ministers and ambassadors, is a circular plaza surrounding the bronze sculpture. This plaza, a space large enough to comfortably hold 300 people, was designed to echo the shape of the Pentagon. 

In the plaza floor, there is an indentation that represents the rut created in the land where one of the planes crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Also, the bronze sculpture of the American flag transitions into flames which are meant to depict the flames that engulfed the Twin Towers on that horrible day.

The plaza, built on 5 acres, is to remember and honor the victims of the September 11 attacks. The monument is strategically located within view of Jerusalem's main cemetery, Har HaMenuchot. 

The folded part of the flag is reminiscent of the collapse of the towers in a cloud of dust. The flag morphs into a six-meter high memorial flame representative of a torch. The cenotaph was designed by award-winning artist Eliezer Weishoff. It was commissioned by the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL) at a cost of $2 million.

The seating is amphitheater style and the location of the memorial amid the Jerusalem forest is very contemplative. Yes, a place to go to think, reflect, and even pray if one wants to.

While official ceremonies are occasionally held there, it's open to tourists and locals and the handicapped-accessible site is free. Israeli school children often visit the site on official school trips to learn more about the terrorist attack that took place on American soil. They learn the details and who was responsible for the attack that killed more than 3,000 Americans and others.

Yes, that's right, Israeli students go there to learn what took place on 9/11. In comparison, I can't help but wonder if American students learn what took place on 9/11? 

Frankly, while I hope I'm not right, I can't help but wonder if Political Correctness and the desire to "not offend" Muslim students here is stopping our children from learning what took place on 9/11?  I'd wager that schools here do not teach what took place.

The memorial is a 30-foot, bronze American flag.






The engraving is in Hebrew and English.

Surrounding the monument are plaques with the names of the victims of 9/11.


Yes. let me say this again, this is the only memorial outside the U.S. that includes
the names of all who perished in the terrorist attacks.

The inauguration ceremony for the memorial was held on November 12th, 2009 with representation from the US Ambassador to Israel, James B. Cunningham, members of the Israeli Cabinet and legislature, family of victims and others present.

Israel has not let their people forget and in fact has issued postage stamps with the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza pictured as a tribute to the World Trade Center victims. Also, Israel Coins and Medals Corp issued a medal for 9/11 victims with the image of Living Memorial.

The 2013 memorial for the 9/11 attacks was commemorated at Living Memorial Plaza. Families of victims and diplomats attended the event. 

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro commented during the ceremony: "Here, at this painfully beautiful memorial site, we are a reminder to everyone that we, Americans and Israelis, stand together in a spirit of solidarity and commitment to the future."

Yes, it is a powerful memorial from a powerful ally. And yes, that is probably the very point why this 9/11 Memorial is being shared by email to so many people.

America needs to remember who are our friends and who are not. We need to remember who is with us and who is against us. 

Sadly, I see Israel under attack from an anti-Israeli United Nations, Muslims nations, and a blatantly anti-Israeli Obama administration. As for the United Nations and the Muslims who are bent on the wiping out that nation, that is no surprise as their hatred for Israel is not very well hidden. 

But today, today we have an administration who has essentially given Iran, a nation who seeks the destruction of Israel, the ability to create nuclear weapons and way to deliver them. That is something that we Americans should remember and remedy when we oust the Democrats from office this coming November. 

Our White House should not be a home to the Muslim Brotherhood and Jew haters. We need to put someone in the White House who understands that America stands with Israel the same as how Israel stands with us. 

God Bless them for having this 9/11 Memorial and for being such great friends. And yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

Russian Bill & Sandy King 1881

By Terry McGahey
Associate Writer/ Old West Historian

Russian Bill was born in 1853 as William Tattenbaum. Bill claimed to be of Russian royalty, being the son of Countess Telfrin, a wealthy Russian aristocrat.

He first made his appearance in the Arizona Territory in the mid-1870s and was known immediately as a dandy because of his fancy attire, and was known as a man who could spin a wild yarn.

Bill had claimed to be in the service of the Russian army as one of the Czar's Imperial Hussars, and also claimed he had to leave Russia after punching a Superior officer, though nothing can be found to back this statement.

When Bill showed up in the Arizona Territory, he met and made friends with several of the "cowboy" faction in southeastern Arizona, which included Tombstone. His notorious list of friends included Johnny Ringo, Ike Clanton, and Curly Bill Brocius, just to name a few. It is said, although he was liked by the "cowboy" faction, most of the "cowboys" did not believe his story of Russian royalty, and by account,s Bill was more of an amusement to them and they never took him seriously.

Russian Bill did, however, become involved with the "cowboys," also becoming involved in the art of cattle rustling along the border, and at that time, he became friends with a "cowboy" by the name of Sandy King, who was also involved with the Clanton faction. Sandy was well known for his saloon brawling nature, and even though the two were polar opposites, they became very good friends.

Little is known about Sandy King. He was possibly born in either Texas or Arkansas around 1852. King was an outlaw involved in cattle theft, armed robbery, and who knows what else while running with the Clanton "cowboy" faction before, and up to, the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

He was not involved in the gunfight because he left Tombstone just previous to the altercation and headed over to Shakespeare, New Mexico, with Russian Bill in tow, where they continued rustling cattle. King became known as a saloon brawling gunman and the town bully in Shakespeare, and was arrested in November of 1881 after shooting a storekeeper following a dispute. He shot off the index finger of the proprietor's right hand.

During Sandy King's visit to the local hoosegow, Russian Bill was out rustling cattle. Not being a very intelligent thief, he was caught red-handed with his newfound group of bovine on November 9th, 1881, and was promptly thrown in jail with his cohort, Sandy King.

Russian Bill was swiftly tried by the vigilance committee and found guilty of cattle rustling. He was also sentenced to hang. One member of the committee proposed that Sandy King should also be hanged as a damned nuisance and the others all agreed.

Both men were dragged from jail to a makeshift courtroom in the Grand Hotel dining hall, and in his defense, King pointed out that others had committed worse crimes than he, who hadn't been punished. King cited the case of a fellow by the nickname of Bean Belly Smith who had shot another fellow by the name of Ross Woods while they argued over who would get the last egg in the house. The committee, not feeling one bit sorry for King, stuck to the conviction.

As the ropes were being thrown over the ceiling rafters, Russian Bill began to beg for his life, but to no avail. Sandy King, on the other hand, only asked for a drink of water, explaining that his throat was dry from talking too much, trying to save his hide.

After King had finished his water, both men had the nooses placed over their heads and were pulled up and left dancing on air until strangulation sent them on their way with the grim reaper. The following morning, the stage stopped at the hotel, and the two dead men were still hanging from their new neck ties as a message to others -- that bad characters would not be tolerated in Shakespeare.

Supposedly, a gentleman acting on behalf of the Countess Telfrin showed up in Tombstone sometime later looking for Bill Tattenbaum to return him to his mother, the Countess. Word was sent back to her that her son had committed suicide, sparing her the awful truth.

Below is a newspaper clipping of the hanging of Russian Bill and Sandy King. The report of the hanging below is from the Bucks County Gazette in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

About the Author:

Terry McGahey is a writer and Old West historian.

This once-working cowboy is best known for his fight against the City of Tombstone and their historic City Ordinance Number 9, America's most famous gun-control law. He was instrumental in finally getting Tombstone's City Ordinance Number 9 repealed and having Tombstone fall in line with the state of Arizona.

If you care to read how he fought Tombstone's City Hall and won, please click: 

The Last Gun Fight -- The Death of Ordinance Number 9 (Chapter One)

Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special

The Original Charter Arms Bulldog

Dear Friends,

So, where do you start when talking about an excellent firearm, especially a fantastic firearm that is as efficient for its purpose as one can get? How about we first talk about the company the makes it and go from there.

Charter Arms is a firearms company that started in 1964. It was founded by gun designer Douglas McClenahan, who had previously worked for Colt, High Standard, and Sturm Ruger. His mission was to produce a quality handgun that was both reliable and affordable.

His first pistol was a .38 special, five-shot revolver called "The Undercover." And at just 16 ounces, the new gun was the smallest, lightest steel-framed revolver in the world with the fewest moving parts. A unique hammer block safety system gave gun owners what still is unparalleled protection against an unintentional discharge.

The Undercover's high quality, lightweight, and reasonable price impressed law enforcement professionals and civilian gun owners alike. It became the basis of Charter Arms' success. Its design was the platform on which Charter Arms produces its line of affordable and reliable firearms.

The Bulldog was a top-selling gun during the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. By the mid-1980s, more than half a million had been produced, and nearly 37,000 were being manufactured every year. But Charter Arms had to stop producing the Bulldog a few times since 1992.

That was the year that Charter Arms, the original Charter Arms, went bankrupt. And as with any business that tries to right itself and gets back on its feet because of financial problems, the Bulldog has been produced by four different companies since it was released.

The first descendant company of Charter Arms was called Charco. That company also filed bankruptcy, and the models produced during that time were said to be of less quality than when they were under the original Charter Arms. Then Charco became known as Charter 2000. And yes, that company also failed because of financial troubles.

But while Charter 2000 did fail, it should be noted that it did improve the Bulldog's design by engineering a one-piece barrel, front sight, ejector-shroud assembly. Then in June of 2007, a Bulldog with new features began to be produced by another company named Charter Arms operated by the Ecker Family.

Douglas McClenahan and his lifelong friend David Ecker became 50/50 partners in Charter Arms in 1967. And so today, the Ecker Family makes certain that Charter Arms revolvers are again produced with unquestionable American craftsmanship, quality, and affordability in a line that includes models made of stainless steel, with and without hammer spurs, and even with lasers, to name a few options. While the "Classic Bulldog" can be had with wood grips, I believe these days must come with rubber grips.

Charter Arms is today marketed by MKS Supply. As firearms marketers, MKS Supply is known for the quality of firearms they market, the services they provide, and the value they provide to the manufacturer. MKS Supply insists on marketing high-quality, reliable firearms as Charter Arms are, in fact, that. And yes, from what I've read about MKS Supply, they insist on guns that are easy to own and service. But most of all, they are known to insist on value.

By partnering with MKS Supply, Charter Arms has joined forces with a partner who has over two decades of gun marketing and merchandising experience. MKS Supply has established a proven, successful, nationwide distribution network that allows Charter Arms to concentrate on producing quality firearms while they focus on marketing. Yes, this sounds like a win-win situation which means Charter Arms can keep making the guns that we want.

Now, back to the Bulldog! 

The Charter Arms Bulldog is a 5-shot double-action revolver that was introduced in 1973. The Bulldog has been available in a .44 Special and even a .357 Magnum. But for me, I like the .44 Special. It is a boomer, and just the roar we make an assailant think twice.

Like most Charter Arms weapons, the Bulldog is still relatively inexpensive yet is a quality firearm what one would refer to as a "no-frills snub-nosed revolver." It can be easily concealed. Yes, very easily because of its relatively small size. And because it has a grove trench-style rear sight, it has no sharp edges to contend with when carrying the weapon in a holster or in a pocket, and there's nothing to snag on clothing either.

Its trigger pull, in both single and double-action modes, is pretty light. While there are some critics of the Bulldog because it's not a double-stacked Glock with 15 rounds, I believe that the Bulldog is great for self-defense. This is more true, especially when considering that usually no more than 3 shots are fired in a close combat situation. Which of course, most gunfights are just that.

As for the transfer bar, when the gun is fired, the hammer does not actually strike the firing pin. The transfer bar is raised as the trigger is pulled, placing it into a position between the firing pin and the hammer itself. The hammer strikes the transfer bar, which in turn strikes the firing pin, which discharges the weapon.

So if the trigger is not being pulled when the hammer falls, the transfer bar will not be in position, and the weapon will not discharge. And friends, that's why you can load all 5 rounds and not have to worry about leaving the hammer on an empty chamber as they used to have to do with Colt Peacemakers in the Old West. 

In the Old West, the hammer of a revolver of the time would be kept on an empty chamber so that it wouldn't fire accidentally when bumped or dropped. Wyatt Earp learned about that very thing. He actually experienced a dropped-gun accidental discharge, and it was reported in the January 12th, 1876 edition of the Wichita Beacon, which read: 

"Last Sunday night, while policeman Earp was sitting with two or three others in the back room of the Custom House Saloon, his revolver slipped from its holster and falling to the floor, the hammer which was resting on the cap is supposed to have struck the chair, causing a discharge of one of the barrels (sic). The ball passed through his coat, struck the north wall, then glanced off and passed out through the ceiling. It was a narrow escape, and the occurrence got up a lively stampede from the room. One of the demoralized was under the impression that someone had fired through the window from the outside."

With the transfer bar safety on the Charter Arms Bulldog, one never has to worry about carrying a live round under the hammer of your revolver. And by the way, Charter Arms was the first to come up with the transfer bar safety.

As for the accuracy of the Bulldog, I find that it is very accurate for a snub nose. I can hit center mass on a silhouette target at 30 feet with it. And frankly, I've been known to hit a beer can with it at 40 feet. So, all in all, I'm sure at the 3 feet to 7 feet that most defensive shooting is done, it will be very accurate to get the job done.

All Bulldog models have a cylinder of 5 shots. And because most ammunition for the Bulldog has a muzzle velocity between 705 and 1000 feet per second, it is a man stopper with almost any .44 Special ammunition. But for self-defense, I read where some like to use the Blazer 200-grain Gold Dot as a load choice for the Bulldog. The 200-grain load is potent and has strong penetration, and yet the recoil can easily be handled. 

Five models of the Bulldog have been produced with overall lengths of 7.2 inches and 6.7 inches with barrel lengths of either 2.5 inches or 2.2 inches.

So why choose a Charter Firearm Bulldog for self-defense?

Well, they are some of the smallest and lightest snub nose pistols around. But they are a one-piece frame. So that does make them stronger than screw-on side plate designs. Fewer critical moving parts for simplicity of design make for a trouble-free operation which we all want -- especially in an emergency situation.

There is also the positive of all the barrels at Charter Arms line of pistols are machined with eight groves instead of six for higher velocity, flatter trajectory, and better accuracy. All barrels shroud the ejector rod.

Of course, the completely blocked hammer safety system cannot fire unless the trigger is held in the full rear position. That makes it the safest revolver design in the world. In fact, Charter invented the hammer block transfer bar safety system used by almost every revolver manufacturer out there.

For me, I like the wide trigger and hammer spur. And of course, I really like the fact that Charter Arms are 100% American made, using 100% American parts, and the company is 100% American owned.

Since most threats take place at a range of 10 feet or less, you need an effective response. Charter firearms offer rugged, reliable, and affordable personal protection. And frankly, I can attest to its reliability and its durability.

There is no wonder why the .44 Bulldog is considered Charter Arms' trademark weapon. The Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special is known for its rugged reliability and stopping power. It is versatile in that it can be used for personal or home protection, camping and fishing, hiking, or atop a horse in the backcountry looking for cattle.

Now about my Bulldog! 

Yes, I own one. In fact, I've owned a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special since 1979. Yes, almost 40 years now. It looks a lot like the one in the picture above with wooden grips. OK, so I'm really Old School. Oh well, you have to be who you are!

For me, my Bulldog has been a companion in the city and in the mountains, camping, out four-wheeling back in the day, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, out finding cattle, and even on road trips into some very unfriendly places. Heck, I even chased a bear off with my Bulldog.

When I bought mine, I was working in the security field, and I had just been asked to do bodyguard work. Yes, what today they call "executive protection" work. Most of the others who I worked with carried small 9mm pistols, and of course, small .38 snub-nose revolvers. Remember, that was 1979.

From what I hear today, those working "executive protection" are armed to the teeth -- all ready to face full-fledged fire-fights like what they see on television. While that might or might not be the case today, back then, we carried -- we only carried a couple of speedloaders or an extra two magazines to back up what we were packing just in case things did get crazy.

But all in all, we were simply not as armed as they are today. The idea back then was not to shoot it out and have a lot of gunplay where the person we're guarding might get hit. Our goal was to get our charge to safety, but that subject is for another day.

As for the company that hired me, they gave me a choice of using a few different service pistols that they had on hand or use one of my own. They offered me a Smith & Wesson Model 10 in .38 Special and a Model 28 in .357 magnum, aka the "Highway Patrolman" model.

While I loved both guns, I tried the Model 28 under a suit, and that big Smith & Wesson stuck out like a sore thumb. As for the S&W Model 10, I gave that great pistol a lot of thought since I've been familiar with it for many years.

I knew the S&W Model 10 Military & Police revolver had been around for a very long time, since 1898, and it is known for its simplicity and reliability. But frankly, I wanted something with more punch than a .38 Special.

As for my personal handgun at the time, I only had my .45 Colt Series 70. Yes, that's my 1911 that has been my never-fail handgun. That is the weapon that I was going to go with. And since I had received extensive training with a 1911 in the Marine Corps, I've always felt extremely confident in its reliability and knowing how to use it.

Friends, allow me to sidetrack for one moment and say that that's a big deal when carrying a weapon of any sort. Whether your choice is a Glock, a PPK, an MP Shield, a Ruger, a Berretta, a 1911 from various makers, a S&W Bodyguard, a Charter Arms Bulldog, or some other pistol, being familiar with your weapon means you will be more confident in knowing how to use it during an emergency. And frankly, familiarity with your choice is of the utmost importance at the moment you need it.

That sort of familiarity only comes with shooting your weapon a lot. If it's a semi-auto, then shooting it a lot will help you know how to transition magazines and load on the fly and resolve jams if that does occur. If shooting a revolver, shooting it a lot will help you learn to load and unload easier, use speedloaders easier, transitioning between an empty chamber and being hot again, and even manage trigger pull. And all of the familiarization comes with training and spending time on the range shooting your weapon of choice.

As for how I got my Bulldog? I was about to opt for using my 1911 when a friend told me about a smaller, easier to conceal revolver used by the U.S. Federal Air Marshals at the time. Yes, that was the Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special.

My friend told me about how he used the Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 special on duty before leaving the agency as a former Federal Air Marshal. He talked about its stopping power and the fact that it was extremely lightweight. So since I was contemplating using my 1911 at that point, something smaller and lighter without sacrificing knock-down power was something that I was interested in.

I soon contacted a friend who owned a gun store, and he allowed me to test-fire a Bulldog in .44 Special for myself. To be fair, another friend wanted me to look into getting a Colt Python for the job, and I found it to be as bulky as the Model 28. And yes, I did look into getting a S&W Model 13 in .375 Magnum.

Now let me just say that I was amazed at how light the Bulldog was compared to a S&W Model 36 Chief's Special snub, a Colt Detective Special snub, or, say, a S&W Model 13 is one of my favorite pistols ever made. I was genuinely surprised that even with the bigger .44 Special rounds loaded in the Bulldog, just how remarkably light it was compared to those great guns that I compared it to. In those days, quite a few bodyguards carried snubs like the S&W Model 36 Chief's Special and Colt's Detective Special.

After checking out its ballistics, its stopping power, and then actually shooting it there at my friend's gun store, I was so impressed with the way it handled that I bought it right then and there. It was a buy that I've never regretted. For me, I would trust my life to my Bulldog. And friends, that's saying a lot!

I'm sure you can hear my enthusiasm regarding the Bulldog. And frankly, it's all for a good reason. Friends, a .44 Special in a pistol with only a 2.5" barrel makes the Bulldog one of the largest caliber small revolvers for safe, reliable, effective concealed carry. I don't know of a small package that carries that much punch as the Bulldog when it comes to being a man stopper. And frankly, that's why I won't sell mine.

Yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

The Protector Palm Pistol of 1882

While looking into what guns were used in the Old West for the purpose of Concealed Carry, I realized that some might not know about the Protector Palm Pistol.

What is the Protector Palm Pistol? It is a pistol that has a barrel length of 1.75 inches, has an overall length is 4.5 inches, and unloaded only weighs 10.5 ounces. It was originally a small .32 rimfire revolver designed to be concealed in the palm of the hand for protection use. 

While there were all sorts of interesting designs for Concealed Carry weapons at the time, it was unique in that the revolver was clasped in a fist with the barrel protruding between two fingers and the entire handgun was squeezed in order to fire a round.

The action type is sometimes referred to as a "turret" revolver, and instead of a traditional trigger, the cartridges are fired by the shooter squeezing his fist while the gun is held in the hand. The usual way of holding the Palm Pistol is with the barrel protruding from between the shooter’s fingers, and the action is operated by squeezing the hinged lever on the rear of the gun’s circular frame. 

Some may think that the Protector Palm Pistol was an American invention because it was produced by a couple of American firearms companies, but the fact is that it was first patented and built in France in 1882 by Jacques Turbiaux. It was sold as the "Turbiaux Le Protector" which translates to the "Turbiaux Disc Pistol". 

The designer Jacques E. Turbiaux described his pistol as, "A revolver which may be held in the hand with no part exposed except the barrel".

After it became known with some success in Europe, as was the habit of the times where gunmakers simply used the technology that someone else came up with, it was built in the United States in 1883 by the Minneapolis Firearms Co.. They called the very small and very concealable handgun, "The Protector."

The Minneapolis Firearms Co. Protector Squeezer Type Palm Pistol, as it's officially known, is a .32-caliber centerfire handgun with a seven-shot capacity. It has internal chambers that are arranged around a rotating disk that has to be removed for loading. The cartridges point outward from the disk, and the disk is accessed by removing the hard rubber sideplate.

The Minneapolis Palm Pistol was sold under license by the Minneapolis Firearms Co. from 1891 to 1892, but research indicates these guns were actually made by James Duckworth of Springfield, Massachusetts. Most of the guns were nickel-plated to prevent corrosion from being carried in close contact with the owner. These guns were shipped with hard rubber inserts for additional protection. Some varieties were blued while others actually came with pearl inlays.

Later Peter H. Finnegan of Austin, Illinois bought the patent in 1892 and founded the Chicago Firearms Co. to make and market the pistols. In anticipation of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, he contracted the Ames Sword Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts to manufacture 15,000 pistols.

Ames made 1,500 of the pistols by the deadline of the exhibition. Finnegan sued for damages and engaged in a lawsuit with Ames. The company counter-sued and settled with Finnegan even though Ames had produced 12,800 of the small pistols. By 1910, that inventory was sold off and the design was abandoned.

It should be noted that the Minneapolis Palm Pistol is not to be confused with the Chicago Palm Pistol because the Minneapolis pistol is slightly smaller in size and was chambered for a centerfire .32-caliber cartridge, . The Chicago pistol is chambered for a .32-caliber rimfire cartridge.

Remington manufactured the .32 Rimfire Extra Short, which was also known as the .32 Protector, and the 32 Centerfire Extra Short, until 1920. Both .32 cartridges should not be confused with the .32 ACP that came about in 1899 specifically for the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistol.

It is said that the biggest flaw in the Protector Palm Pistol's design was that the cartridges was very short and the .32 Centerfire Extra Short, which was also known as the .32 Protector, and the .32 Rimfire Extra Short were blackpowder cartridges, and subsequently rather anemic for a protection weapon. The .32 ACP used smokeless powder.

Supposedly those cartridges only had a muzzle velocity of anywhere between 600 and 650 fps with a 54-grain lead roundnose bullet. The muzzle energy was said to be a sorry 51 foot-pounds. When you compare those stats to that of the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistol's .32 ACP with its 60-grain FMJ bullet that is traveling at about 1,100 fps and has a muzzle energy of 161 foot-pounds, you can see just how anemic the Protector Palm Pistol really was. 

And frankly, I really believe that that's why after only 12,800 of the seven-shot rotary magazine double-action pistols were produced, it was scrapped.

And yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa