The List

Saturday, July 25, 2026

TheList 7605

7605

Good Saturday morning July 25 2026 .We are heating 92 by 2 and staying into the 80s until 7 or so and dropping to 77 by 8.

Regards,

skip

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

July 25

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.

An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip

For Friday July 25.

July 24: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1871

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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director’s corner for all 100 H-Grams

July 25

1898During the Spanish-American War, a landing party from the armed yacht, USS Gloucester, single-handedly captures Guanica, Puerto Rico.

1946 The second of two nuclear weapon tests - BAKER - is detonated during Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. The first test was ABLE.

1943 The first Navy ship named for an African-American, USS Harmon (DE 678), is launched. USS Harmon is named in honor of Mess Attendant 1st Class Leonard Roy Harmon who posthumously receives the Navy Cross for heroic actions trying to save a shipmate on board USS San Francisco (CA 38) during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on Nov. 13, 1942.

1956 USS Edward H. Allen (DE 531) and USNS Private H. Thomas (AP 185) rescue more than 200 passengers from Andrea Doria and transport them to New York after the Italian liner collides with Swedish cruiser Stockholm off Nantucket on the New England coast. Forty-six people died from the collision, but 1,600 passengers and crew are saved.

1998 USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) is commissioned at Norfolk Naval Base, Va. The eighth aircraft carrier of the Nimitz-class is the first to be named after the 33rd president of the United States.

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Today in World History July 25

326 Emperor Constantine refuses to carry out traditional pagan sacrifices.

1394 Charles VI of France issues a decree for the general expulsion of Jews from France.

1564 Maximilian II becomes emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

1587 Hideyoshi bans Christianity in Japan and orders all Christians to leave.

1759 British forces defeat a French army at Fort Niagara in Canada.

1799 On his way back from Syria, Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Ottomans at Aboukir, Egypt.

1814 British and American forces fight each other to a standoff at Lundy's Lane, Canada.

1845 China grants Belgium equal trading rights with Britain, France and the United States.

1867 President Andrew Johnson signs an act creating the territory of Wyoming.

1850 Gold is discovered in the Rogue River in Oregon, extending the quest for gold up the Pacific coast.

1861 The Crittenden Resolution, calling for the American Civil War to be fought to preserve the Union and not for slavery, is passed by Congress.

1894 Japanese forces sink the British steamer Kowshing which was bringing Chinese reinforcements to Korea.

1909 French aviator Louis Bleriot becomes the first man to fly across the English Channel in an airplane.

1914 Russia declares that it will act to protect Serbian sovereignty.

1924 Greece announces the deportation of 50,000 Armenians.

1934 Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss is shot and killed by Nazis.

1941 The U.S. government freezes Japanese and Chinese assets.

1943 Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is overthrown in a coup.

1944 Allied forces begin the breakthrough of German lines in Normandy.

1978 The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in Oldham, England.

1984 Svetlana Savitskaya becomes first woman to perform a space walk.

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. From the time it taxis out moving all the controls and both engines you are hooked

From the archives

Thanks to Dr.Rich

R/C Model Aircraft of The Week.......!!

Here is a video of a recent R/C event in the Czech Republic featuring a Suchoi SU-30 Vectored Thrust Fighter Airplane. Having viewed many of these events over the years, I can truly say this is one of the best you will ever see!! Not only is the aircraft superbly crafted, but the flying and camera work to bring it to life is outstanding.

Sound up, strap in, and enjoy this one. It doesn't get much better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sIeM5lBIag

Had to watch the whole thing myself again….skip

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From the archives

Thanks to Newell

Skip,

I watched Israeli PM Netanyahu’s speech to the joint houses of Congress. Its tone and message called to mind a “Sheep, Wolves & Sheep Dogs” letter written years ago to Jill Edwards. Young Miss Edwards was a University of Washington student, who apparently didn’t believe that military activity was actually a credible deterrent to the wolves of the world. In short, her position appears to question the whole “Peace through military strength!” axiom. But rather than argue either side of that question – her living in a very sheltered academic bubble or whatever flaws that might exist in the “Sheep, Wolves & Sheep Dogs” response letter – I’ll let the letter, which follows for your consideration, speak for itself.

Newell

This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades who are veterans of the Global War On Terror. Grennel is an Army Reservist who spent two years in Iraq, and was a principal in putting together the first Iraqi elections in January of 2005. It was written to Jill Edwards who is one of the students at the University of Washington who did not want to honor a USMC Medal of Honor awardee, because she did not think those who serve in the U.S. Armed services are good role models.

To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)

Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Dear Miss Edwards,

I read of your “student activity” regarding the proposed memorial to Col Greg Boyington, USMC, a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative folks like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naiveté. It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep--as long as you know and accept what you are.

William J. Bennett, in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997, said, "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident."

We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep. Then there are the wolves, and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there that will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

Then there are sheepdogs and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen--a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the uncharted path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

We know that the sheep live in denial--that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kids’ school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they choose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog that intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "baa"--until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones. Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When they learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd and the other passengers confronted the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers--athletes, business people and parents--from sheep to sheepdogs, and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

"There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men." - Edmund Burke.

Here is the point I would like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep, and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust, or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip, and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Immediately after 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. Now the sheep have again begun to despise the sheepdogs as those who represent unending violence and deny the real dangers of the wolves.

It's OK to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheep dog. Indeed, the sheep dog may just run a little harder, strive to protect a little better and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle and spirit with the sheep moving from "Baa" to "thanks". We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a small pat on the head, a smile and a thank you to fill the emotional tank that is drained protecting the sheep. And when our number is called by "The Almighty" and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be in order to say thanks for letting you continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the thousands—millions--of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

Sincerely,

Charles Grennel

"Out of every 100 men in battle, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one -- one is a warrior -- and he will bring the others back." - Heraclitus

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I learned every word of this song when I drove up to PG, school In the Fall of 71 to go to the Safety School. I had my little 356sc PORCHE and of course went up Hiway 1. I lost track of how many times they played it on the radio but it was a lot and that and hairpin curves kept me occupied just fine.; And yes I am listening to it as I type this.

By the way I stayed with Scotty Bates “Master” while I was there. I lived on his couch and my perdiem bought us steak dinners each night. We watched a movie one night Brian’s Song about death of the football player that was Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers his best best friend and neither could look at the other because we both had tears. I let Scotty put his Porshe 911 T stay in my garage when he went on cruise and took it out for exercise once in a while. When I went out to get some traps on the MIdway in 72 and never came back for almost a year they put my Porsche in storage and when I got it back it had a big dent in the side.

From the archives

Thanks to Lurch

Sit back and enjoy.

Subject: The Day That Music Died........American Pie takes on a new meaning 7:00 MIN

The Day That Music Died!!!!!

Whether you are old enough or not to remember this song or not, you will be mesmerized by this video. I never knew American Pie had so many references.

"American Pie" was the name of the plane that Buddy Holly went down in.

I have listened to the words to American Pie for many years and I thought I understood everything that was being sung.

However, when the words are put together with pictures and film clips the song takes on a new meaning.

It took a lot of thought to produce this. Sure brings back lots of memories.

It makes the lyrics really come alive!!

See video here: http://youtu.be/VhX3b1h7GQw

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 25

1978

World’s first “test tube” baby born

On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first baby to be conceived via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is born at Oldham and District General Hospital in Manchester, England, to parents Lesley and Peter Brown. The healthy baby was delivered shortly before midnight by caesarean section and weighed in at five pounds, 12 ounces. Before […] read more

19th Century

1853

California Rangers kill Joaquín Murrieta

1832

The first railroad accident

1950s

1956

Ocean liners collide off Nantucket

Arts & Entertainment

1965

Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival

1897

Jack London sails for the Klondike gold rush

1985

Rock Hudson announces he has AIDS

Cold War

1961

President Kennedy talks to Americans about the need for bomb shelters

Crime

1878

Black Bart strikes again

1984

A 9 year old’s murder puts an innocent man in jail

Early 20th Century U.S.

1941

Henry Ford writes fan letter to Mahatma Gandhi

Natural Disasters & Environment

2000

Concorde jet crashes, killing everyone onboard

Sports

1992

Opening of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona

U.S. States

1898

U.S. forces invade Puerto Rico

Vietnam War

1969

The Nixon Doctrine is announced

World War I

1917

Dancer and suspected spy Mata Hari sentenced to die

World War II

1943

Benito Mussolini falls from power

From the archives

Thanks to Dr.Rich

Every time I think that I have seen just about everything related to WWII something like this comes in my mailbox

How THIS Stupid Intelligence Mistake Tipped the Scales of WW2

As the Second World War loomed in 1939, a little know mission was launched by the Third Reich. Targeting Britain's newly built Chain Home network, the Germans wanted to know what it was designed to do. After several costly blunders, the Germans were none the wiser, or were they? This is the story of the German spy balloon that cost them the war and the amazing discoveries modern historians have uncovered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaF4yFILMi4

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Thanks to MorningWatch List

Google already signed a 15-year deal. Bill Gates wrote a $100 million check. And on August 18th, Washington hands this resource an edge no other energy source has.

One company sits at the center.

See the company behind the Grand Canyon discovery >>

“The Buck Stops Here,”

Kelly Maguire

Behind the Markets

Thanks to the California FLYOVER

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1878, the outlaw Black Bart robbed a Wells Fargo stagecoach in Northern California. The so-called gentleman bandit was famous for striking without firing a shot and leaving behind taunting poems.

Runners will brave Death Valley’s triple-digit heat during the Badwater 135 next week. What’s the toughest physical challenge you’ve ever taken on? Hit reply and tell us about it.

Could the health habits you swear by be built on dementia myths that scientists abandoned years ago? Many people are still making daily choices based on outdated ideas about the disease, and those false beliefs could be quietly raising their risk. Knowing the truth before symptoms appear may be the difference between protecting your brain and losing precious time. In today's episode of The Flyover Podcast, Amy breaks down six dementia myths a neuroscientist says we all need to unlearn. So how many of the six are shaping your lifestyle, and what should you be doing instead?

Today's sponsor, Miso Robotics, is giving investors the chance to learn how it's expanding AI-powered restaurant technology and growing patent portfolio could help transform the trillion-dollar fast-food industry.

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World Cup Operations Recover 11 Children

Bay Area authorities arrested 25 trafficking suspects during World Cup enforcement operations and contacted 53 trafficking victims for recovery.

Among those contacted, 11 children were successfully recovered. The operations ran June 9-July 2 across San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Mountain View, and Campbell.

In Santa Clara County, a joint command post coordinated enforcement and monitored threats. FBI analysts and victim specialists supported the broader operations, and authorities seized multiple firearms.

California Challenges Emergency Grant Rules

California joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the federal government's conditions on federal grants used for disaster response, terrorism prevention, cybersecurity, and other public-safety programs.

The requirements include citizenship checks of voter rolls, hand-marked paper ballots, post-election audits, and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit alleges states could lose at least 20% of some funding for noncompliance. A Governor’s Office of Emergency Services spokesperson said the money helps first responders coordinate during wildfires, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and other emergencies.

Badwater 135 Returns to Death Valley

The Badwater 135 Ultramarathon returns, sending 98 runners on a nonstop course from Death Valley to Whitney Portal from Monday through Wednesday.

The route begins 282 feet below sea level and crosses three mountain ranges before reaching the 8,360-foot finish. Runners can face temperatures up to 130 degrees and pavement hot enough to damage their shoes.

Athletes from 24 states and 20 other countries will compete, including 65 first-timers. Finishers must complete the course within a new 45-hour limit.

New Details on The Big Play Happening in Fast Food Right Now

You’ve seen videos of restaurant robots on social media. Most of these robot companies solve only a single restaurant bottleneck. But this company’s portfolio of AI kitchen technology could reshape the entire operation. Miso Robotics started with its famous Flippy Fry Station AI robot, and now has the potential to transform the entire $1T fast-food industry.

After first acquiring restaurant software company Zignyl, Miso just acquired the tech of Zume Pizza, a food robotics pioneer once backed by SoftBank, growing Miso’s IP portfolio by 10X.

Now, Miso’s 300+ patents span robotic food prep, delivery, and packaging, giving Miso a restaurant modernization roadmap that extends well beyond the fry station into pizza, beverages, and more.

Combined with Flippy’s $4B/year revenue potential alone, these acquisitions give Miso one of the food industry's largest robotics IP portfolios as they rapidly modernize the food industry.

➤ Eureka: Police recovered a stolen car and arrested a 39-year-old suspect after residents shared surveillance photos online and reported the vehicle’s location. (

➤ Sacramento: Mayor Kevin McCarty and Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes were caught on a hot mic discussing possible bans for disruptive attendees after the council chambers were cleared.

➤ Lake Tahoe: A USA Today ranking placed Big Bear Lake second and Lake Tahoe 10th among the nation’s best lakes.

➤ San Luis Obispo County: Two recent helicopter rescues at Bishop Peak and Montaña de Oro prompted officials to urge hikers to prepare for heat, high UV, and limited wind.

➤ Kern County: Water districts are testing EPA-approved copper treatments that scientists say can control invasive golden mussels threatening canals, pumps, pipelines, and water deliveries.

➤ Monterey County: The EPA says nearly 5,000 batteries remain at the Moss Landing cleanup site, with phase two set to remove damaged units and demolish the burned building this fall.

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➤ Burbank: A fraud expert linked about 200 suspected stolen or synthetic identities to an unregistered mailbox storefront; roughly 80% were used to open bank accounts and 10% to seek loans.

➤ Los Angeles and Orange counties: A Zillow-based analysis ranked the region as America’s least affordable major housing market, while California claimed six of the eight worst spots.

➤ Palm Desert: Authorities recovered a rare $3,600 sculpture stolen from a local business and arrested a suspect in Los Angeles after a multi-agency investigation.

➤ Billionaire Mark Cuban bought a minority stake in the Athletics through his private equity firm. The A's are raising $550 million to help build a $2 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip ahead of their expected move from Oakland in 2028.

➤ Former San Francisco Giants second baseman Jeff Kent will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame tomorrow. He hit 377 career home runs, the most ever by a second baseman, and won the 2000 NL MVP during his six seasons in San Francisco.

➤ The Los Angeles Rams unveiled two new alternate uniforms honoring their LA history. The "Classic Sol" celebrates the 75th anniversary of the franchise's 1951 championship with a yellow jersey, and the "Fearsome White" pays tribute to the legendary defensive line of the 1960s.

➤ DraftKings may be forced to shut down paid daily fantasy sports in California after a federal judge signaled a class-action lawsuit challenging the games' legality is likely to advance.

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Why Robotics Investors Keep Going Back Here For Seconds

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With 40K+ investors and $133M+ raised to date, Miso has built something rare: a base of true believers who return round after round. And with today’s new progress at Miso and the U.S. IPO market seemingly heating up, it's easy to see why.

Miso’s AI-powered Flippy Fry Station restaurant kitchen robot is now NVIDIA-powered, Ecolab-backed, and targeting 100K+ U.S. fast food locations in a $1T market. And Miso just acquired ~300 pioneering patents, growing its IP portfolio 10X.

As one investor put it: "This is my 4th investment in Miso. Progress seems to be moving exponentially now."

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From the archives

F-11 Thanks to YP

Great fun airplane! Kind of a pig hog in basic engine, though, which led this kid to lots of burner tapping and lying about my fuel state and praying for open runways back at Chase. Some of the Instructors would pop the refueling probe on short final, giving the LSO/whatever the Finger. This after calling tower for landing with call sign and “Ace of the Base!” That got some chiding for example setting, but YP filed it away….

Going Supersonic on the first hop to get that out of the way was no big wup watching the clock, as was Mach Two later in the Fantoom. Now, the Crusader had Mach tuck going supersonic and pitch up coming out of mach that had to be considered for overstress reasons,

I do remember being out of the ejection seat envelope past the 180.

There was a Jarboon Cougar instructor (I beat him in a chugalug contest for champeen of Chase Field) that specialized in jumping and whooping F-11’s.

So, yes, YP was another F-11 jock that went on to fly A-4’s and other stuff.

On Jul 25, 2024, at 7:29 AM, <vigihawk> wrote

You really made me feel bad with the cover of the Summer 2024 issue of A4Ever. In 1965 the Tiger was still flying in the Advanced Training Command. When I reported to Corpus Christi for further assignment I was sent to NAS Kingsville. The reason being there were no quarters in Beeville for married couples. Even worse, VT-23 had been a Tiger squadron, but was then in the process of changing from Tigers back to Cougars. I started in VT- 21, but once VT-23 was ready to start training, several of us in various phases were transferred to VT-23 to give them an even student load. Although I never did get to fly the Tiger, being with the former F-11 guys was a kick. On many an instrument training flights you'd suddenly hear, “I've got the airplane! Pop the hood.” And we would engage in impromptu dogfights with any airplanes in the area.

I'm including a TINS about the Tiger. Yes, it was a 3H 3xx from VT-23 as pictured on the cover. I did not use Captain “Ace’s“ name but did have him as one of my instructors. He, of course, did not tell me the story but his contemporaries gleefully did.

Yours Aye, Boom

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This Day in US Military History

25 July

1864 – Boats from U.S.S. Hartford, Monongahela, and Sebago, commanded by Rear Admiral Farragut’s flag lieutenant, J. C. Watson, reconnoitered the Mobile Bay area in an attempt to discover the type and number of water mines laid by Confederates off Fort Morgan. Watson and his men located and cut loose many of the torpedoes; they were aided by the fact that a number were inoperative. This hazardous work was indispensable to the success of the Navy’s coming operations against Mobile. Several similar night operations were conducted.

1940 – The United States prohibits the export of oil and metal products in certain categories, unless under license, to countries outside the Americas generally and to Britain. This move is seen as an anti-Japanese measure, particularly because of Japan’s needs for foreign oil. From this time Japanese fuel stocks begin to decline. There are similar problems with other raw materials. Japanese attention is, therefore, drawn south from China to the resources of the Netherlands East Indies and Malaysia.

1944 – The US 1st Army begins “Operation Cobra”. The main attack is made west of St. Lo by the US 7th Corps with 8th Corps on the right flank and 13th Corps on the left flank. A massive bombardment precedes the assault. More than 3000 planes are involved, including 1500 heavy bombers of the US 8th Air Force. Some American casualties result from the bombers releasing their loads short of their target. Regardless, the American forces make good progress.

1944 – On Guam the American marine forces are still unable to link up the two beachheads. On the southern landing, there is also fighting on the Orote Peninsula. On Tinian, the forces of US 5th Amphibious Corps advance cautiously southward after repulsing Japanese counterattacks.

1944 – Two carrier groups from Task Force 58 (Admiral Mitscher) attack Palau while a third attacks Yap, Ulithi, Ngulu, Tais and Sorol.

1945 – The Potsdam conference recesses for the British delegation to leave for the announcement of the election results. Churchill, Eden and Atlee fly home. Meanwhile, Truman orders the atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan as soon as possible after August 3rd.

1945 – American cruisers Pasadena, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre and Astoria bombard Japanese air bases in southern Honshu. Meanwhile, aircraft from the US 3rd Fleet attack Kure naval base and the airfields at Nagoya, Osaka and Miho for a second day. The battleships Hyuga, Ise, and Haruna, the escort carrier Kaiyo and the heavy cruisers Aoba and Iwate are all sunk. There is not noticeable Japanese resistance to the strikes.

1945 – On Mindanao, all organized Japanese resistance comes to an end in the Sarangani Bay area. American mopping up operations begin.

1946 – The United States detonated a 2nd atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in the first underwater test of the device.

1964 – Following a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation in Saigon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff draw up a memo proposing air strikes against North Vietnam. These missions were to be conducted in unmarked planes flown by South Vietnamese and Thai crews. There was no action taken on this recommendation. However, the situation changed in August 1964 when North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers off the coast of North Vietnam. What became known as the Tonkin Gulf incident led to the passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which passed 416 to 0 in the House and 88 to 2 in the Senate. The resolution gave the president approval to “take all necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” Using the resolution, Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. aircraft in retaliation for the Tonkin Gulf incident. In 1965, as the situation continued to deteriorate in South Vietnam, Johnson initiated a major commitment of U.S. troops to South Vietnam, which ultimately totaled more than 540,000 by 1968.

.Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

LUCAS, GEORGE W.

Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 3d Missouri Cavalry. Place and date: At Benton, Ark., 25 July 1864. Entered service at: Mt. Sterling, Brown County, Ill. Birth: Adams County, Ill. Date of issue: December 1864. Citation: Pursued and killed Confederate Brig. Gen. George M. Holt, Arkansas Militia, capturing his arms and horse.

PARKER, ALEXANDER

Rank and organization: Boatswain’s Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 1832, Kensington, N.J. Accredited to: New Jersey. G.O. No.: 215, 9 August 1876. Citation: For gallant conduct in attempting to save a shipmate from drowning at the Navy Yard, Mare Island, Calif., on 25 July 1876.

. *GUILLEN, AMBROSIO

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Songuch-on, Korea, 25 July 1953. Entered service at: El Paso, Tex. Born: 7 December 1929, La Junta, Colo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon sergeant of Company F in action against enemy aggressor forces. Participating in the defense of an outpost forward of the main line of resistance, S/Sgt. Guillen maneuvered his platoon over unfamiliar terrain in the face of hostile fire and placed his men in fighting positions. With his unit pinned down when the outpost was attacked under cover of darkness by an estimated force of 2 enemy battalions supported by mortar and artillery fire, he deliberately exposed himself to the heavy barrage and attacks to direct his men in defending their positions and personally supervise the treatment and evacuation of the wounded. Inspired by his leadership, the platoon quickly rallied and engaged the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Although critically wounded during the course of the battle, S/Sgt. Guillen refused medical aid and continued to direct his men throughout the remainder of the engagement until the enemy was defeated and thrown into disorderly retreat. Succumbing to his wounds within a few hours, S/Sgt. Guillen, by his outstanding courage and indomitable fighting spirit, was directly responsible for the success of his platoon in repelling a numerically superior enemy force. His personal valor reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 25, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

25 July

1912: The Secretary of the Navy published the first general specifications for naval aircraft. (24)

1918: The Secretary of War approved a Joint Army and Navy Airship Board suggestion to assign rigid airship development to the Navy.

1927: Lt C. C Champion (USN) set a FAI altitude record of 38,419 feet in a Wright Apache, equipped with a Pratt & Whitney 425 HP engine. (9) (24)

1944: Operation COBRA. An effort to breakout US forces at Normandy began with 3,000 planes, including 1,500 Eighth Air Force bombers, attacking German posts at St. Lo near American lines for 3 hours. Although the operation succeeded, a few bombers hit the wrong target area and killed almost 500 US troops, including Lt Gen Lesley J. McNair, the US Ground Forces Commander. (4) (21)

1946: Operation CROSSROADS. Task Group 1.5, a 2,200-man US AAF element, conducted the second phase of this test to burst an A-bomb underwater off Bikini Island. This group provided aircraft and personnel to photograph and collect data on the explosion. (1)

1961: A Titan I completed its first full-range flight test with an all-inertial guidance system. It launched from Cape Canaveral and flew down the Atlantic Missile Range. (6)

1969: Mariner 7 shot its first pictures of Mars.

1981: A B-52 with an offensive avionics system (OAS) fired an ALCM for the first time. (6) (12)

1983: Through 15 September, MAC operated 29 C-141 missions to move 397 tons of equipment from the US and Europe to Chad as part of a security assistance program. (18)

2000: Through 23 September, in the worst fire season in decades fire consumed over 6.5 million acres in the American West, more than twice the annual average. For the fire suppression effort, AMC, the ANG, and the AFRC, and commercial carriers flew 48 missions between 1 August and 23 September to move 339 short tons of cargo and 5,967 Army and Marine troops to augment civilian firefighters in Montana and Idaho. Guard and Reserve C-130s equipped with modular airborne fire-fighting systems flew 774 sorties from 25 July to 6 September to drop 970,500 gallons of fire retardant on wildfires in California, Idaho, and Montana. (22) (32) The F-22 Raptor No. 02 successfully launched an AIM-9 missile at the China Lake test range to confirm its ability to launch an air-to-air missile from an internal weapons bay. (3)

2001: USTRANSCOM CINC and AMC Commander, Gen Charles T. Robertson, Jr., flew the first of three C-37A special airlift support aircraft, a military version of the Gulfstream V business jet, from the Gulfstream plant in Savannah to MacDill AFB for duty with the 6 AMW. The USAF purchased the C-37A to replace older EC-135 and CT-43 aircraft. Two other C-37As would be based at Andrews AFB, one at Chievres, Belgium, and a seventh at Hickam AFB. (22)

2005: The 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Dyess AFB, Tex., established a B-1B Lancer “first” at the White Sands Missile Range by having two B-1Bs auto-release a JASSM, a single warhead self-propelled missile, and three dissimilar weapons from the same launcher. The JASSMs struck their targets after traveling more than 170 nautical miles. (AFNEWS Article, “Dyess AFB Demonstrates B-1B's Upgrades, Combat Capabilities,” 19 August 2005)

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Friday, July 24, 2026

TheList 7604

7604

Good Friday morning July 24 2026 .We are heating 92 by 2 and staying into the 80s until 6 or so and dropping to 79 by 8.

Regards,

skip

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

July 24

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip

For Friday July 24.

July 24: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1871

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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director’s corner for all 100 H-Grams

July 24

1843 David Henshaw takes office as the 14th Secretary of the Navy, serving until Feb. 18, 1844. USS Henshaw (DD 278) was named in his honor.

1844 USS Henshaw (DD 278) was named in his honor.

1863 During the Civil War, the steam sloop of war USS Iroquois captures the Confederate blockade-runner, Merrimac, off North Carolina. Purchased by the Navy in March 1864, she is converted into a gunboat and commissioned USS Merrimac.

1894 A party of 50 Marines and Sailors under Marine Corps Capt. George Fielding Elliott, is sent from the cruiser, USS Baltimore (C 3), to guard the American delegation at Seoul, Korea, during the Sino-Japanese War.

1942 USS Narwhal (SS 167) sinks Japanese guardboat No.83 Shinsei Maru, at Utsutsu Bay, Hokkaido. USS Narwhal also sinks freighters Nissho Maru off Etorofu Maru, Kuril Island, and Kofuji Maru off Oito.

1944 Task Force 52, commanded by Rear Adm. Harry W. Hill, lands the Fourth Marine Division, commanded Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt, on Tinian, following a month of naval gunfire and air bombardment. During the invasion, USS Colorado (BB 45) and USS Norman Scott (DD 690) are damaged by Japanese shore batteries. On Aug. 1, the island is declared secure.

1945 Task Force 38, commanded by Vice Adm. John S. McCain, launches strikes against the Inland Sea area, Japan, bombing Kure Naval Base and airfields at Nagoya, Osaka, and Miho, while sinking five Japanese vessels.

1945 While escorting a troop convoy from Okinawa to Leyte, USS Underhill (DE 682) is hit and sunk by a Japanese kaiten manned torpedo. Of the 238 men on board only 125 survive.

1993 USS Columbus (SSN 762) is commissioned onboard Submarine Base New London, Groton, Conn. The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine is the fifth ship to be named Columbus for the Navy.

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Today in World History July 24

1505 On their way to India, a group of Portuguese explorers sack the city-state of Kilwa.

1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son James VI.

1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac establishes Fort Pontchartrain for France at present-day Detroit, Michigan.

1704 Admiral George Rooke takes Gibraltar from the Spanish.

1766 At Fort Ontario, Canada, Ottawa chief Pontiac and William Johnson sign a peace agreement.

1791 Robespierre expels all Jacobins opposed to the principles of the French Revolution.

1847 The first members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) arrive in Utah, settling in present-day Salt Lake City.

1862 The eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, dies at the age of 79.

1897 African-American soldiers of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps arrive in St. Louis, Mo., after completing a 40-day bike ride from Missoula, Montana.

1941 The U.S. government denounces Japanese actions in Indochina.

1942 The Soviet city of Rostov is captured by German troops.

1950 The U.S. Fifth Air Force relocates from Japan to Korea.

1974 The Supreme Court rules that President Richard Nixon must surrender the Watergate tapes.

1911 Machu Picchu discovered

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. Thanks to Interesting Facts

10 Habits that Hurt Your Kidneys

It’s estimated that about 20 million Americans are afflicted with kidney disease. This is not a disease that develops overnight, it’s a steady process that takes year and years of bad habits.

And the more bad habits you have the faster you inch towards developing kidney disease. People who have 3 or more bad habits up their chances of developing the disease by more than 337%, compared to others with no bad habits.

This is a list of 10 bad habits that are damaging your kidneys.

See how many you are committing.

I think I have way too many on this list but I did stop most salt a few y ears ago after my VA doctor told me I should…Skip

1. Salt

Eating too much salt disrupts the balance in your blood, making it more difficult for your kidneys to remove the water from your blood. This can ultimately cause kidney problems, which you definitely want to avoid. Try to remove as much salt as possible from your diet by choosing other salt-free seasonings. It may take a while, but your kidneys will thank you.

2. Run to the toilet

Do you often hold your pee? Stop that! The longer urine stays in your body, the more bacteria grow in your bladder. If these bacteria travel to your kidneys, you are in a lot of trouble. So if you have to go and there is a toilet nearby, go!

3. Pain killers

According to a study by the New England Journal of Medicine, the use of many painkillers can cause kidney failure. This is because painkillers reduce blood flow to the kidneys, which can cause heavy strain on them. Therefore, do not take painkillers too often, and always take them with food.

4. Suffer through illness

Do you have a cold? There is a good chance that you will accept the cold and simply go to work. Suffering through an illness causes your body to produce an enormous amount of antibodies in a short period. Eventually, these antibodies will inflame your kidneys. Take it easy!

5. Smoking

We all know that smoking is not a good idea. But did you know that smokers have a greater chance of developing kidney disease? We didn't know that.

This is because excessive smoking produces creatinine. If your creatinine levels get too elevated, your kidneys could become damaged, even without you noticing the symptoms.

6. Processed food

We mentioned earlier that eating too much salt can have a harmful impact on your kidneys. Do you eat a lot of prepackaged food? Then you are subjecting yourself to not only large amounts of salt, but also potassium and phosphorus. This can eventually negatively affect your kidneys. Choose to cook your meals yourself so that you know exactly what you are eating.

7. Sporty spice

Your sports routine can also determine how well your kidneys function.

Regular exercise lowers your blood pressure, improves your sleep, and strengthens your muscles. But don't rush to buy a gym membership. Research shows that 20 minutes of exercise a day is good for your kidneys.

8. Bedtime

Are you a night person? There is a good chance you're like many adults and don't close your eyes until after midnight and wake up before dawn.

Researchers found that people who slept 6.5 hours a night or less were 19 percent more likely to experience kidney failure. This is because your kidneys do not get enough time to rest during those short nights of sleep.

If you often stay up late, your kidneys will continue to work hard and this may eventually impact their functioning.

9. Beverages

Two or more glasses of soft drinks a day already have a bad influence given the large amount of sugar. Do you drink a lot of energy drinks or coffee, too? Sorry, then we have bad news: these caffeinated drinks are extremely hard on your kidneys. Try drinking as much water as possible to balance your caffeine consumption.

10. Stress

Stress generally does little good for your body-we all know that. Stress causes high blood pressure, which eventually leaves scars on your kidneys.

We all feel stressful at times, but experiencing stress for a long period of time can be more harmful than you think!

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Some bits from the Flyover

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1969, the Apollo 11 crew splashed down in the Pacific and were pulled aboard the USS Hornet, now docked as a museum in Alameda. Californians can still tour the carrier that brought the first moonwalkers home.

Two water main breaks hit West Hollywood within a week. Have you seen aging infrastructure causing problems in your community? Hit reply and tell us about it.

________________________________________

________________________________________

Covered California Rates Expected to Rise

Covered California premiums will rise an average of 9.9% in 2027, following a 10.3% increase this year, the steepest two-year climb in nearly a decade.

Officials attributed most of the increase to higher medical and prescription costs, while expired federal subsidies have pushed healthier customers out of the insurance pool.

Covered California will notify customers of their rates in October. Officials said many subsidized enrollees can limit increases by comparing plans during open enrollment.

Sacramento Rises Again

LinkedIn ranked Sacramento No. 19 on its 2026 Cities on the Rise list, which tracks hiring, job creation, and worker migration.

Healthcare, higher education, and technology drove the ranking, with UC Davis, UC Davis Health, and Sutter Health named among the region’s leading employers.

Sacramento, which ranked No. 16 last year, was also recognized for agriculture and Aggie Square’s growing biotechnology and agri-food industries.

West Hollywood Water Main Breaks Again

A 105-year-old water main broke Thursday near Santa Monica Boulevard and Laurel Avenue, flooding streets and forcing four businesses to close temporarily.

The rupture disrupted water service for 10 customers and prompted street closures while crews repaired the 6-inch cast-iron pipe, installed in 1921.

The break occurred about two miles from last week’s rupture, which released 17 million gallons and opened a massive sinkhole. Officials said the incidents were unrelated.

➤ Mendocino County: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake caused several injuries but no deaths, knocked items from shelves, and cut power to 10,000 customers.

➤ Fort Bragg: Endurance swimmer Catherine Breed will discuss Northern California’s declining kelp forests and restoration efforts Sunday during her journey along the California coast.

➤ San Luis Obispo: Police seized 85 pairs of python-skin boots from a downtown western wear store, where selling the material is illegal under California law.

➤ Bakersfield: Caltrans will begin the Taft Highway Pumpkin Center Rehab project Aug. 3, bringing one-way traffic and nightly Highway 99 ramp closures for about two months.

➤ Santa Barbara: City wastewater crews are cleaning sewer lines and preparing emergency access plans ahead of Fiesta, when problems could prompt temporary traffic controls.

➤ Buttonwillow: A brush fire burned 90.8 acres near the California Aqueduct and closed part of Elk Hills Road for several hours Wednesday.

➤ Rialto: Police are investigating the suspicious death of a 63-year-old father found unclothed in a park with facial injuries and belongings discarded nearby.

➤ Newport Beach: Southern California’s first wine and pickleball charity tournament will pair 80 players with winery teams Aug. 1, followed by a grand tasting.

➤ Malibu: A volunteer fire brigade brought in goats to clear 14 acres of flammable brush ahead of a hotter, drier fire season.

➤ The LA Angels fired scout Justin Prinstein, who called himself "The Baseball Spy," after he was caught filming Rockies coaches with his phone at Coors Field. MLB prohibits using personal technology to steal or decode signs.

➤ Athletics rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer underwent emergency surgery this week after fouling a ball into his groin during the team’s game in Arizona. He finished his at-bat with a single and played another half-inning of defense before leaving the game.

➤ The Los Angeles Dodgers visited the White House Thursday to celebrate their second straight World Series title. Shohei Ohtani attended, while Mookie Betts skipped the trip to spend the team’s day off with family.

Sacramento’s Railyards redevelopment is taking shape with a Kaiser Permanente hospital, a Sacramento Republic FC stadium, housing, retail, and entertainment projects underway.

➤ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his wife donated $75 million to help launch Vanderbilt University’s new San Francisco arts college, opening in 2027.

➤ Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital was named one of California’s seven high-cost hospitals based on pricing and spending patterns, not quality of care. (More)

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➤ A black bear pushed open a water district office door in Crestline, wandered inside, sniffed around, and let itself back out.

➤ Leslie Rodriguez became the first woman chosen to lead a College of the Desert Fire Academy class and now serves as a Riverside County reserve firefighter.

➤ California unveiled 13-foot welcome monuments featuring bears, elk, salmon, and poppies along Highways 101 and 199 near the Oregon border.

➤ A pod of orcas sent dolphins airborne during a rare hunt witnessed by whale watchers in Monterey Bay, with the pursuit captured on video. (

➤ Medicare covers a lot, but a new estimate shows retirees still face a soaring healthcare bill that keeps climbing every year.

➤ Homicide numbers in major American cities are approaching territory the nation has not seen in more than a century.

➤ Ford reportedly fired a nine-year assembly worker accused of stealing snacks he insists he paid for.

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 24

1911

American historian encounters Machu Picchu ruins

American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

19th Century

1847

Religious pioneers settle Salt Lake Valley

American Revolution

1779

Massachusetts begins ill-fated Penobscot Expedition

1776

John Hancock scolds Major General Philip Schuyler

Arts & Entertainment

1998

“Saving Private Ryan” opens in theaters

1901

Short story writer O. Henry is released from prison

1982

“Eye Of The Tiger” from “Rocky III” tops the U.S. pop charts

Cold War

1959

Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev have a “kitchen debate”

Early 20th Century U.S.

1915

Hundreds drown in Eastland disaster

European History

1567

Mary Queen of Scots deposed

Space Exploration

1969

Apollo 11 safely returns to Earth

Sports

2005

Lance Armstrong wins seventh Tour de France

World War II

1943

Operation Gomorrah is launched

1945

Truman hints to Stalin about a new weapon “of unusual destructive force”

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Thanks to Rob

Navy’s ‘dinosaur’ carrier delivery plane flies into sunset

By Hope Hodge Seck

Jul 23, 2026, 09:36 AM

An aircrew directs U.S. Navy C-2 Greyhounds, part of Fleet Logistics Squadron VRC-40, at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay airfield as the sunsets, Jan. 19, 2010. (Joshua Nistas/U.S. Navy)

In 2022, Lt. Cmdr. Alex “Phrog” Vogel flew his 60-year-old C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft from San Diego to Japan in a memorable mission that at times balanced on a knife’s edge of timing and logistics.

The relatively small plane required numerous and specific refueling stops at remote locations. But one leg of the trip — from the tip of Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain to Misawa, Japan — cannot be completed without carrying additional fuel onboard, Vogel said.

“It’s a little bit of a nail-biting experience to make sure that your fuel transfers properly and that your engines are running properly,” he said, adding that the flight’s emergency diversion option was Russia, and even that stopped being a possibility after a certain point.

Three pilots shared the workload, taking turns cycling up to the cockpit as barrels of gas were being pumped into the aircraft in the rear. Watching the plane’s fuel gauge tick up above zero, he said, was a massive relief.

The C-2 Greyhound made its final carrier landing at the end of June, capping off its mission as the Navy’s only carrier delivery passenger plane. The mission will now be conducted by the CMV-22, the Navy’s version of the tiltrotor V-22 Osprey.

On Thursday, the Norfolk, Virginia-based Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VRC-40, the last active C-2 squadron, will commemorate the aircraft with a special sundown ceremony. The final flight of the last C-2 is set to happen before the end of the month: a transit to its final home, the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

Despite a no-fail mission to get VIPs and important cargo on and off carriers, the C-2 community is tiny, making up less than 1% of naval aviators, according to pilots who spoke with Military Times. Between 1,000 and 1,500 pilots have flown the aircraft since its first flight in 1960, Vogel said, a relatively small number in the scheme of naval aviation. That sense of eliteness, coupled with the way VRC squadrons conducted their overseas missions — with small detachments of two aircraft and about 50 personnel led by a lieutenant commander — fueled the development of a scrappy and self-reliant culture.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the conventional military where so much is on such a junior group,” Cmdr. Paul “PETA” Ingram, the last commanding officer of VRC-40, said. “You’re operating independently overseas. You have to understand the Law of the Seas [and] the rules for international flying because there’s nobody there, nobody you can call on the radio back home, and nobody’s following you. You’re by yourself out there.”

Though C-2s caught the wire to land on a carrier and were catapult-launched off, just like fighter jets, they lacked the sophisticated computers and technology that have been added to platforms like the F/A-18 Super Hornet. C-2 pilots flew by controlling cables connected to hydraulic actuators, a throwback to a prior era.

“It’s a bit of a bear to fly, but at the same time … there’s no computers between you and the air, so it’s kind of unique in modern aviation to still be flying something that does that,” Ingram said, describing the plane as a “dinosaur.”

“It gives you just a sense of kind of pounding the air into submission,” he continued.

Ingram said he relished the rare vistas and unusual places that the work of C-2 crews gave them the chance to experience.

“Hands down, my favorite moment is just coming back from the ship, flying west from the North Arabian Sea into a sunset that just goes on forever because you’re chasing it over the Omani Mountains,” he said. There’s nothing quite like that — a sense of accomplishment; you just completed your mission — and then landing back home."

The twin turboprop engine, high-wing Greyhound can carry up to 28 passengers, their seats facing the rear of the plane rather than the cockpit to absorb some of the shock of landing on the carrier. Passengers can be heads of state, journalists, foreign visitors or nonaviator service members, and the flight sometimes takes a toll. An arrested landing takes the plane from up to 138 miles per hour to a dead stop in less than two seconds. The catapult takeoff reverses that process. Nausea is not uncommon.

James Wallace, who flew the C-2 from 1979 to 1982, said the crew always tried to be on their best behavior, despite a plane that even then was often dingy and worn. He recalled crews carefully briefing the “always apprehensive” passengers, while trying to avoid getting dressed down by any senior officers who might be on board.

Once, he said, his crew transported the then-chief of naval operations, who later wrote a letter to the squadron to complain that the loadmaster had been chewing gum during the flight.

Vogel said the opportunity to give the carrier landing experience to enlisted troops and others who might never have it was one of the joys of flying the C-2.

“For all tailhook aviators, the most exciting thing you can do is land on the ship or take a catapult shot from the ship. And our platform is extremely unique in that we can provide that opportunity for 20 plus passengers at a time to experience what it feels like to land with a tailhook or take off with a catapult,” he said.

“And so having the opportunity to do that for everything from Make-A-Wish kids to high school teachers to foreign dignitaries of other nations is really rewarding — to be able to talk to them before the flight, and then after the flight, when they’ve you know finally experienced what what we get to do every couple of days," he continued. “It’s really fun to see that transformation.”

That experience is now largely extinct: The Osprey, which lands and takes off vertically like a helicopter, doesn’t use the arresting wire or catapult.

The members of VRC-40 are now taking diverging paths. Some are transitioning to the Osprey community or to other platforms including the Super Hornet and the E-2 Hawkeye tactical early warning aircraft, which is fairly similar to the C-2. Others, like Vogel, are opting to retire.

They expect a crowd of 700 to attend the sundown event in Norfolk. A follow-up sundown event to reunite the community is already planned; it will be held Sept. 4-5 in San Diego, and details can be found at C2Sundown.com.

“It’s going to be emotional, I’ll tell you that much,” Vogel said of the upcoming events. “When we left the carrier for the final time about a month ago, all of us were pretty choked up flying away because it really signified the end of an era in naval aviation and our own lives … [but] we’re not going to stop seeing each other. That’s for sure.”

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 24, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

This Day in US Military History

24 July

1832 – Benjamin Bonneville, an inept fur trader who some speculate may have actually been a spy, leads the first wagon train to cross the Rocky Mountains at Wyoming’s South Pass. The motivations for Bonneville’s western expeditions have always remained somewhat mysterious. A native of France, Bonneville came to the United States in 1803 at the age of seven. He later graduated from West Point, and he served at frontier posts in Arkansas, Texas, and Indian Territory. According to one view, Bonneville simply observed the rapid growth of the western fur trade at these posts and conceived a bold plan to mount his own fur trading expedition. However, others suggest Bonneville’s true goal for the expedition may have been to serve as a Far Western spy for the U.S. government. The circumstances of Bonneville’s entry into the fur business were indeed somewhat odd. Despite his complete lack of experience as a mountain man, a group of Manhattan businessmen agreed to back his expedition with ample funds. It was also strange that a career military man should ask for, and quickly receive, a two-year leave of absence from the army to pursue a strictly commercial adventure. Bonneville began his expedition in May 1832, and that summer he and his men built an imposing trading post along Wyoming’s Green River. Bonneville proved to be an incompetent fur trader, yet he seemed unconcerned about making a profit. By contrast, he seemed very interested in exploring the vast territory. Shortly after arriving in Wyoming, he mounted an expedition to the Columbia River country of Oregon, although he was well aware that the powerful British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company dominated the region. On this day in 1832, Bonneville led 110 men and 20 wagons across South Pass, the first-ever wagon crossing of that critical route connecting the existing United States to the northwest region of the continent. During the next two decades, thousands of American settlers would take their wagons across South Pass as they followed the Oregon Trail. In 1835, Bonneville returned to Washington, where President Andrew Jackson personally oversaw his reinstatement as a captain in the army. Some historians speculate that Bonneville might have actually been a spy for a U.S. government, which was eager to collect information on the British strength in the Northwest. No historical records have ever been found to substantiate this speculation, though, and it is possible that Bonneville was simply an inept fur trader whose dreams exceeded his grasp.

1862 – Rear Admiral Farragut’s fleet departed its station below Vicksburg, as the falling water level of the river and sickness among his ships’ crews necessitated withdrawal to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Farragut’s return to the lower Mississippi made abundantly clear the strategic significance of Vicksburg for, although the Navy held the vast majority of the river, Confederate control of Vicksburg enabled the South to continue to get some supplies for her armies in the East from Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. To prevent as much of this as possible, Rear Admiral Davis and Major General Samuel R. Curtis provided for combined Army-Navy expeditions along the banks of the Mississippi from Helena, Arkansas, to Vicksburg. Though supplies continued to move across the river, this action prevented the Confederates from maintaining and reinforcing batteries at strategic points, an important factor in the following year’s operations.

1943 – British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day in its own “Blitz Week.” Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July. Now the tables were going to turn. The evening of July 24 saw British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. The explosive power was the equivalent of what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive raids. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid. Britain lost only 12 aircraft in this raid (791 flew), thanks to a new radar-jamming device called “Window,” which consisted of strips of aluminum foil dropped by the bombers en route to their target. These Window strips confused German radar, which mistook the strips for dozens and dozens of aircraft, diverting them from the trajectory of the actual bombers. To make matters worse for Germany, the U.S. Eighth Air Force began a more comprehensive bombing run of northern Germany, which included two raids on Hamburg during daylight hours. British attacks on Hamburg continued until November of that year. Although the percentage of British bombers lost increased with each raid as the Germans became more adept at distinguishing between Window diversions and actual bombers, Operation Gomorrah proved devastating to Hamburg-not to mention German morale. When it was over, 17,000 bomber sorties dropped more than 9,000 tons of explosives, killing more than 30,000 people and destroying 280,000 buildings, including industrial and munitions plants. The effect on Hitler, too, was significant. He refused to visit the burned-out cities, as the ruins bespoke nothing but the end of the war for him. Diary entries of high German officials from this period describe a similar despair, as they sought to come to terms with defeat.

1969 – At 12:51 EDT, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that had taken the first astronauts to the surface of the moon, safely returns to Earth. The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in a famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” Eight years later, on July 16, 1969, the world watched as Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, separated from the command module, where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famous message: “The Eagle has landed.” At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the following words to millions listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” A moment later, he stepped off the lunar module’s ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.” At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24. There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

.Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

HASTINGS, SMITH H.

Rank and organization: Captain, Company M, 5th Michigan Cavalry. Place and date: At Newbys Crossroads, Va., 24 July 1863. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Quincy, Mich. Date of issue: 2 August 1897. Citation: While in command of a squadron in rear guard of a cavalry division, then retiring before the advance of a corps of infantry, was attacked by the enemy and, orders having been given to abandon the guns of a section of field artillery with the rear guard that were in imminent danger of capture, he disregarded the orders received and aided in repelling the attack and saving the guns.

WOODRUFF, CARLE A.

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 2d U.S. Artillery. Place and date: At Newbys Crossroads, Va., 24 July 1863. Entered service at: Washington, D.C. Born: Buffalo, N.Y. Date of issue: 1 September 1893. Citation: While in command of a section of a battery constituting a portion of the rear guard of a division then retiring before the advance of a corps of Infantry was attacked by the enemy and ordered to abandon his guns. Lt. Woodruff disregarded the orders received and aided in repelling the attack and saving the guns.

PITTMAN, RICHARD A.

Rank and organization: Sergeant (then L/Cpl.), U.S. Marine Corps, Company 1, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein) FMF. Place and date: near the Demilitarized Zone, Republic of Vietnam, 24 July 1966. Entered service at: Stockton, Calif. Born: 26 May 1945, French Camp, San Joaquin, Calif. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While Company 1 was conducting an operation along the axis of a narrow jungle trail, the leading company elements suffered numerous casualties when they suddenly came under heavy fire from a well concealed and numerically superior enemy force. Hearing the engaged marines’ calls for more firepower, Sgt. Pittman quickly exchanged his rifle for a machinegun and several belts of ammunition, left the relative safety of his platoon, and unhesitatingly rushed forward to aid his comrades. Taken under intense enemy small-arms fire at point blank range during his advance, he returned the fire, silencing the enemy position. As Sgt. Pittman continued to forge forward to aid members of the leading platoon, he again came under heavy fire from 2 automatic weapons which he promptly destroyed. Learning that there were additional wounded marines 50 yards further along the trail, he braved a withering hail of enemy mortar and small-arms fire to continue onward. As he reached the position where the leading marines had fallen, he was suddenly confronted with a bold frontal attack by 30 to 40 enemy. Totally disregarding his safety, he calmly established a position in the middle of the trail and raked the advancing enemy with devastating machinegun fire. His weapon rendered ineffective, he picked up an enemy submachinegun and, together with a pistol seized from a fallen comrade, continued his lethal fire until the enemy force had withdrawn. Having exhausted his ammunition except for a grenade which he hurled at the enemy, he then rejoined his platoon. Sgt. Pittman’s daring initiative, bold fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty inflicted many enemy casualties, disrupted the enemy attack and saved the lives of many of his wounded comrades. His personal valor at grave risk to himself reflects the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service

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From the Marquis’ Commission to an F-86 Kill by W. Thomas Smith Jr.

This Week in American Military History:

July 25, 1866: David Glasgow Farragut – best known for purportedly uttering the command, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!,” or the more likely command, “Damn the torpedoes! "Four bells. Captain [Percival] Drayton, go ahead! [Lt. Commander James] Jouett, full speed!” during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama – is appointed to the rank of admiral (the first such rank in U.S. Naval history).

This same day, future American Pres. Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first “full [four star] general” in the history of the U.S. Army.

July 26, 1947: The National Security Act of 1947 – the law reorganizing the post-World War II national defense/intelligence structure of the United States – is passed.

The Act establishes the U.S. Department of Defense, which brings together the Departments of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), the newly established Air Force (born of the World War II-era Army Air Forces), and it makes “official” the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Act also establishes the National Security Council (the highest-ranking executive council – composed of the U.S. president, vice president, secretaries of Defense and State, and others – responsible for advising the president on matters related to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies affecting national security) and the Central Intelligence Agency (born of a series of predecessor foreign intelligence-gathering/clandestine-operations organizations including the World War II-era Office of Strategic Services).

The Act, which will become effective Sept. 18, is considered to be the most sweeping reorganization of the American defense structure since the establishment of the Department of the Navy in 1798.

July 27, 1909: Aviation pioneer Orville Wright flies himself and U.S. Army Lt. Frank P. Lahm above the Fort Myer, Virginia countryside for more than an hour in his now-famous Wright Flyer. The Army leadership is impressed enough that it takes delivery of its first Wright Flyer, “the world’s first military airplane,” within days.

July 27, 1953: A negotiated ceasefire ends the “shooting war” in Korea.

This same day, U.S. Air Force Capt. Ralph S. Parr, flying an F-86 Sabre, shoots down a Soviet Ilyushin Il-12 transport, reportedly “the last kill”

of the Korean War.

July 28, 1915: Rear Admiral William B. Caperton, commander of the Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet, orders 340 U.S. Marines and sailors ashore at Port au Prince, Haiti. The landing party is composed of the Marine Detachment USS Washington, the 12th Marine Expeditionary Company, and three companies of sailors. More troops will follow.

The landings are initiated in response to a spate of mob violence in which scores of political prisoners are summarily executed.

July 29, 1846: Sailors and Marines of USS Cyane seize San Diego, California, during the Mexican War.

July 30, 1864: In a special-operation that proves disastrous for the initiators, Union Army troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside detonate a mine, blowing a huge hole (or crater) in the Confederate defenses at Petersburg, Virginia. Several units of Union soldiers charge in after the explosion, but each unit is beaten back with heavy losses by Confederates under Brig. Gen. William Mahone.

July 31, 1777: The Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman whom Gen. George Washington will soon take under his wing, is commissioned “major general” in the Continental Army.

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24 July 1917: An appropriation of $640,000,000 enabled the Aviation Section to expand to 9,989 officers and 87,083 enlisted men. (11) (24)

1919: Through 9 November, Lt Col Rutherford S. Hartz and Army aircrew flew a Martin Bomber-2 with Liberty 400 HP engines on a 9,823-mile flight around the US coasts and borders. The flight took 114 hours 25 minutes flying time in 108 days. (21)

1943: Eighth Air Force sent 167 heavy bombers on a raid against the nitrate works at Heraya, Norway. This was the Eighth's first mission to Norway and its longest (1,900 miles roundtrip) to date. (4)

1950: First missile launched from the Joint Long Range Proving Grounds at Cape Canaveral down the Atlantic Missile Range. It had a German V-2 as its first stage and a WAC Corporal as a second stage booster. (6) (12)

1951: KOREAN WAR. The 116 FBW, the second Air National Guard wing deployed to the Far East, arrived with its F-84 ThunderJets at Misawa and Chitose Air Bases in Japan. (28)

1959: A Thor nose cone made the first known stabilized non-tumbling flight for a reentry vehicle. (24)

1960: At Minneapolis, Donald L. Piccard flew his Piccard S-10 Holiday Balloon to 3,740 feet. He thus set an FAI altitude record for subclass A-1 balloons (less than 250 cubic meters). (9)

1964: President Johnson disclosed the SR-71's development. (1)

1965: The 45 TFS lost an aircraft in SEA due to a surface-to-air missile attack. It was the first aircraft lost to a surface-to-air missile in the Vietnam conflict. (11)

1970: The C-5A Galaxy flew its first flight from the US to Europe, from Charleston AFB to Dover AFB to Rhein Main AB, Lakenheath RAF Station, England, and Torrejon AB, Spain. PACAF inactivated the 509 FIS at Clark AB and its detachments in Tainan, Taiwan, and Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The 509th’s F-102 fighters were flown to Itazuke to be scrapped, because it cost less to salvage the planes than it did to ship them back to the states. (17)

1973: At Eglin AFB, the Hound Dog missile completed its last operational test flight. (6)

1974: Mather AFB received the 19th and last Boeing T-43A aircraft delivered for undergraduate navigator training. (12)

1983: Through 6 August, two USAF UH-1 helicopters moved medical personnel and 10 tons of food and medical supplies to aid victims of a flood in western Ecuador. (16)

1990: With the termination of the Cold War, the landing of SAC’s Boeing EC-135 Looking Glass Airborne Command Post at Offutt AFB ended 29 years of continuous operation with over 250 million miles of accident-free flying. (20) (26)

1994: Operation SUPPORT HOPE. USAF airlift aircraft started flying relief supplies to Rwandan refugees in Zaire after President Bill Clinton directed “an immediate and massive increase” in US relief efforts to assist Rwandan refugees. Through 11 September, AMC flew 700 airlift missions to transport over 11,000 passengers and 23,000 short tons. Nearly 400 KC-135 missions refueled the C-5s and C-141s, while KC-10s flew several dozen missions to ferry fuel from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Entebbe. (16) (18)

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Subject: Fw: Audie Murphy's Wife

Interesting read..

Audie Murphy, the kid from Farmersville, Texas, was only 46 years old when he died in a helicopter crash into the Virginia Mts. He was bothered all his life when he came back from the War and it really affected his life. He never got the medical help he should have gotten.

Not many young people know who Audie Murphy was or how big a war hero he was. Two or three of the medals he earned would make most service men proud, but to have earned his decorations in battle is truly unbelievable.

List of Decorations for Audie Murphy:

Medal of Honor

Distinguished Service Cross

Silver Star (with oak leaf cluster)

Legion of Merit

Bronze Star (with oak leaf cluster and Valor Device)

Purple Heart (with two oak leaf

clusters)

U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal

U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal

Presidential Unit Citation (with First Oak Leaf Cluster)

American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine Campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France)

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany Clasp)

Armed Forces Reserve Medal

French Fourrage in Colors of the Croix de Guerre

French Legion of Honor - Grade of Chevalier

French Croix de guerre (with Silver Star)

French Croix de guerre (with Palm)

Medal of Liberated France

Belgian Croix de guerre (with 1940 Palm)

Additionally, Murphy was awarded:

The Combat Infantry Marksman badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar.

Isn't it sad the media can tell us all about the BAD that goes on, but

ignores the GOOD people? If a movie Star or politician stubs their

toe we have to hear about it for Days!!!

From the Los Angeles Times on April 15, 2010

Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home on April 8, 2010. She was the widow of the most decorated WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, and established her own distinctive 35 year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration hospital, treating every veteran who visited the facility as if they were a VIP.

Any soldier or Marine who came into the hospital got the same special treatment from her. She would walk the hallways with her clipboard in hand making sure her boys got to see the specialist they needed.

If they didn't, watch out.

Her boys weren't Medal of Honor recipients or movie stars like Audie, but that didn't matter to Pam. They had served their Country. That was good enough for her. She never called a veteran by his first name.

It was always "Mister." Respect came with the job.

"Nobody could cut through VA red tape faster than Mrs. Murphy," said veteran Stephen Sherman, speaking for thousands of veterans she befriended over the years. "Many times, I watched her march a veteran who had been waiting more than an hour right into the doctor's office.

She was even reprimanded a few times, but it didn't matter to Mrs.

Murphy. "Only her boys mattered. She was our angel."

Audie Murphy died broke in a plane crash in 1971, squandering millions of dollars on gambling, bad investments, and yes, other women. "Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," Pam told me.

She went from a comfortable ranch-style home in Van Nuys where she raised two sons to a small apartment - taking a clerk's job at the nearby VA to support herself and start paying off her faded movie star

husband's debts. At first, no one knew who she was. Soon, though,

word spread through the VA that the nice woman with the clipboard was

Audie Murphy's widow. It was like saying General Patton had just

walked in the front door. Men with tears in their eyes walked up to

her and gave her a Hug.

"Thank you," they said, over and over.

The first couple of years, I think the hugs were more for Audie's memory as a war hero. The last 30 years, they were for Pam.

One year I asked her to be the focus of a Veteran's Day column for all the work she had done. Pam just shook her head no. "Honor them, not me," she said, pointing to a group of veterans down the hallway.

"They're the ones who deserve it."

The vets disagreed Mrs. Murphy deserved the accolades, they said.

Incredibly, in 2002, Pam's job was going to be eliminated in budget

cuts. She was considered "excess staff." "I don't think helping

cut down on veterans' complaints and showing them the respect they deserve should be considered excess staff," she told me.

Neither did the veterans. They went ballistic, holding a rally for her outside the VA gates. Pretty soon, word came down from the top of the VA. Pam Murphy was no longer considered "excess staff.

She remained working full time at the VA until 2007 when she was 87.

"The last time she was here was a couple of years ago for the conference we had for homeless veterans," said Becky James, coordinator of the VA's Veterans History Project. Pam wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help some more of her boys. Pam

Murphy was 90 when she died. What a lady.

by Dennis McCarthy,

Los Angeles Times on April 15, 2010

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From the archives

If you ever questioned the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima or Nagasaki this should answer your question. I first read it a couple years ago and had it in the list. The Japanese had perfectly guessed where we were landing our first waves of men and were ready. skip

President Truman approved the plans for the invasions July 24, 1945

Subject: Fwd: WWII

Recently released. This is a very interesting read on what was planned for the invasion of Japan.

Subject: Declassified plans for WW II invasion of Japan

Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hidden for nearly four decades lie thousands of pages of yellowing and dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These documents, now declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan during World War II.

Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of the elaborate plans that had been prepared for the Allied Invasion of the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the defenses the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched. Operation Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945. It called for two massive military undertakings to be carried out in succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire.

In the first invasion - code named "Operation Olympic"- American combat troops would land on Japan by amphibious assault during the early morning hours of November 1, 1945 - 61 years ago. Fourteen combat divisions of soldiers and Marines would land on heavily fortified and defended Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands, after an unprecedented naval and aerial bombardment.

The second invasion on March 1, 1946 - code named "Operation Coronet"- would send at least 22 divisions against 1 million Japanese defenders on the main island of Honshu and the Tokyo Plain. It's goal: the unconditional surrender of Japan.

With the exception of a part of the British Pacific Fleet, Operation Downfall was to be a strictly American operation. It called for using the entire Marine Corps, the entire Pacific Navy, elements of the 7th Army Air Force, the 8 Air Force (recently redeployed from Europe), 10th Air Force and the American Far Eastern Air Force. More than 1.5 million combat soldiers, with 3 million more in support or more than 40% of all servicemen still in uniform in 1945 - would be directly involved in the two amphibious assaults. Casualties were expected to be extremely heavy.

Admiral William Leahy estimated that there would be more than 250,000 Americans killed or wounded on Kyushu alone. General Charles Willoughby, chief of intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific, estimated American casualties would be one million men by the fall of 1946. Willoughby's own intelligence staff considered this to be a conservative estimate.

During the summer of 1945, America had little time to prepare for such an endeavor, but top military leaders were in almost unanimous agreement that an invasion was necessary.

While naval blockade and strategic bombing of Japan was considered to be useful, General MacArthur, for instance, did not believe a blockade would bring about an unconditional surrender. The advocates for invasion agreed that while a naval blockade chokes, it does not kill; and though strategic bombing might destroy cities, it leaves whole armies intact.

So on May 25, 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after extensive deliberation, issued to General MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Army Air Force General Henry Arnold, the top secret directive to proceed with the invasion of Kyushu. The target date was after the typhoon season.

President Truman approved the plans for the invasions July 24. Two days later, the United Nations issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which called upon Japan to surrender unconditionally or face total destruction. Three days later, the Japanese governmental news agency broadcast to the world that Japan would ignore the proclamation and would refuse to surrender. During this same period it was learned -- via monitoring Japanese radio broadcasts -- that Japan had closed all schools and mobilized its school children, was arming its civilian population and was fortifying caves and building underground defenses.

Operation Olympic called for a four pronged assault on Kyushu. Its purpose was to seize and control the southern one-third of that island and establish naval and air bases, to tighten the naval blockade of the home islands, to destroy units of the main Japanese army and to support the later invasion of the Tokyo Plain.

The preliminary invasion would begin October 27 when the 40th Infantry Division would land on a series of small islands west and southwest of Kyushu. At the same time, the 158th Regimental Combat Team would invade and occupy a small island 28 miles south of Kyushu. On these islands, seaplane bases would be established and radar would be set up to provide advance air warning for the invasion fleet, to serve as fighter direction centers for the carrier-based aircraft and to provide an emergency anchorage for the invasion fleet, should things not go well on the day of the invasion. As the invasion grew imminent, the massive firepower of the Navy - the Third and Fifth Fleets -- would approach Japan. The Third Fleet, under Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, with its big guns and naval aircraft, would provide strategic support for the operation against Honshu and Hokkaido. Halsey's fleet would be composed of battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers, dozens of

support ships and three fast carrier task groups. From these carriers, hundreds of Navy fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes would hit targets all over the island of Honshu. The 3,000 ship Fifth Fleet, under Admiral Raymond Spruance, would carry the invasion troops.

Several days before the invasion, the battleships, heavy cruisers and destroyers would pour thousands of tons of high explosives into the target areas. They would not cease the bombardment until after the land forces had been launched. During the early morning hours of November 1, the invasion would begin. Thousands of soldiers and Marines would pour ashore on beaches all along the eastern, southeastern, southern and western coasts of Kyushu. Waves of

Helldivers, Dauntless dive bombers, Avengers, Corsairs, and Hellcats from 66 aircraft carriers would bomb, rocket and strafe enemy defenses, gun emplacements and troop concentrations along the beaches.

The Eastern Assault Force consisting of the 25th, 33rd, and 41st Infantry Divisions, would land near Miyaski, at beaches called Austin, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford, and move inland to attempt to capture the city and its nearby airfield. The Southern Assault Force, consisting of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 43rd Division and Americal Division would land inside Ariake Bay at beaches labeled DeSoto, Dusenberg, Essex, Ford, and Franklin and attempt to capture Shibushi and the city of Kanoya and its airfield.

On the western shore of Kyushu, at beaches Pontiac, Reo, Rolls Royce, Saxon, Star, Studebaker, Stutz, Winston and Zephyr, the V Amphibious Corps would land the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine Divisions, sending half of its force inland to Sendai and the other half to the port city of Kagoshima.

On November 4, the Reserve Force, consisting of the 81st and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division, after feigning an attack on the island of Shikoku, would be landed -- if not needed elsewhere - near Kaimondake, near the southernmost tip of Kagoshima Bay, at the beaches designated Locomobile, Lincoln, LaSalle, Hupmobile, Moon, Mercedes, Maxwell, Overland, Oldsmobile, Packard, and Plymouth.

Olympic was not just a plan for invasion, but for conquest and occupation as well. It was expected to take four months to achieve its objective, with the three fresh American divisions per month to be landed in support of that operation if needed. If all went well with Olympic, Coronet would be launched March 1, 1946. Coronet would be twice the size of Olympic, with as many as 28 divisions landing on Honshu.

All along the coast east of Tokyo, the American 1st Army would land the 5th, 7th, 27th, 44th, 86th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, along with the 4th and 6th Marine Divisions.

At Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo, the entire 8th and 10th Armies would strike north and east to clear the long western shore of Tokyo Bay and attempt to

go as far as Yokohama. The assault troops landing south of Tokyo would be the 4th, 6th, 8th, 24th, 31st, 37th, 38th, and 8th Infantry Divisions, along with the 13th and 20th Armored Divisions.

Following the initial assault, eight more divisions - the 2nd, 28th, 35th, 91st, 95th, 97th, and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division -- would be landed. If additional troops were needed, as expected, other divisions redeployed from Europe and undergoing training in the United States would be shipped to Japan in what was hoped to be the final push.

Captured Japanese documents and post war interrogations of Japanese military leaders disclose that information concerning the number of Japanese planes available for the defense of the home islands was dangerously in error.

During the sea battle at Okinawa alone, Japanese Kamikaze aircraft sank 32 Allied ships and damaged more than 400 others. But during the summer of 1945, American top brass concluded that the Japanese had spent their air force since American bombers and fighters daily flew unmolested over Japan.

What the military leaders did not know was that by the end of July the Japanese had been saving all aircraft, fuel, and pilots in reserve, and had been feverishly building new planes for the decisive battle for their homeland.

As part of Ketsu -Go, the name for the plan to defend Japan -- the Japanese were building 20 suicide takeoff strips in southern Kyushu with underground hangars. They also had 35 camouflaged airfields and nine seaplane bases.

On the night before the expected invasion, 50 Japanese seaplane bombers, 100 former carrier aircraft and 50 land based army planes were to be launched in a suicide attack on the fleet.

The Japanese had 58 more airfields in Korea, western Honshu and Shikoku, which also were to be used for massive suicide attacks.

Allied intelligence had established that the Japanese had no more than 2,500 aircraft of which they guessed 300 would be deployed in suicide attacks. In August 1945, however, unknown to Allied intelligence, the Japanese still had 5,651 army and 7,074 navy aircraft, for a total of 12,725 planes of all types. Every village had some type of aircraft manufacturing activity Hidden in mines, railway tunnels, under viaducts and in basements of department stores, work was being done to construct new planes.

Additionally, the Japanese were building newer and more effective models of the Okka, a rocket-propelled bomb much like the German V-1, but flown by a suicide pilot.

When the invasion became imminent, Ketsu-Go called for a fourfold aerial plan of attack to destroy up to 800 Allied ships.

While Allied ships were approaching Japan, but still in the open seas, an initial force of 2,000 army and navy fighters were to fight to the death to control the skies over Kyushu. A second force of 330 navy combat pilots was to attack the main body of the task force to keep it from using its fire support and air cover to protect the troop carrying transports. While these two forces were engaged, a third force of 825 suicide planes was to hit the American transports.

As the invasion convoys approached their anchorages, another 2,000 suicide planes were to be launched in waves of 200 to 300, to be used in hour by hour attacks.

By mid-morning of the first day of the invasion, most of the American land-based aircraft would be forced to return to their bases, leaving the defense against the suicide planes to the carrier pilots and the shipboard gunners.

Carrier pilots crippled by fatigue would have to land time and time again to rearm and refuel. Guns would malfunction from the heat of continuous firing and ammunition would become scarce. Gun crews would be exhausted by nightfall, but still the waves of kamikaze would continue. With the fleet hovering off the beaches, all remaining Japanese aircraft would be committed to nonstop suicide attacks, which the Japanese hoped could be sustained for 10 days. The Japanese planned to coordinate their air strikes with attacks from the 40 remaining submarines from the Imperial Navy - some armed with Long Lance torpedoes with a range of 20 miles -- when the invasion fle et was 180 miles off Kyushu.

The Imperial Navy had 23 destroyers and two cruisers which were operational. These ships were to be used to counterattack the American invasion. A number of the destroyers were to be beached at the last minute to be used as anti-invasion gun platforms.

Once offshore, the invasion fleet would be forced to defend not only against the attacks from the air, but would also be confronted with suicide attacks from sea. Japan had established a suicide naval attack unit of midget submarines, human torpedoes and exploding motorboats.

The goal of the Japanese was to shatter the invasion before the landing The Japanese were convinced the Americans would back off or become so demoralized that they would then accept a less-than-unconditional surrender and a more honorable and face-saving end for the Japanese.

But as horrible as the battle of Japan would be off the beaches, it would be on Japanese soil that the American forces would face the most rugged and fanatical defense encountered during the war.

Throughout the island-hopping Pacific campaign, Allied troops had always out numbered the Japanese by 2 to 1 and sometimes 3 to 1. In Japan it would be different. By virtue of a combination of cunning, guesswork, and brilliant military reasoning, a number of Japan's top military leaders were able to deduce, not only when, but where, the United States would land its first invasion forces.

Facing the 14 American divisions landing at Kyushu would be 14 Japanese divisions, 7 independent mixed brigades, 3 tank brigades and thousands of naval troops. On Kyushu the odds would be 3 to 2 in favor of the Japanese, with 790,000 enemy defenders against 550,000 Americans. This time the bulk of the Japanese defenders would not be the poorly trained and ill-equipped labor battalions that the Americans had faced in the earlier campaigns.

The Japanese defenders would be the hard core of the home army . These troops were well-fed and well equipped. They were familiar with the terrain,had stockpiles of arms and ammunition, and had developed an effective system of transportation and supply almost invisible from the air. Many of these Japanese troops were the elite of the army, and they were swollen with a fanatical fighting spirit.

Japan's network of beach defenses consisted of offshore mines, thousands of suicide scuba divers attacking landing craft, and mines planted on the beaches. Coming ashore, the American Eastern amphibious assault forces at Miyazaki would face three Japanese divisions, and two others poised for counterattack. Awaiting the Southeastern attack force at Ariake Bay was an entire division and at least one mixed infantry brigade.

On the western shores of Kyushu, the Marines would face the most brutal opposition. Along the invasion be aches would be the three Japanese divisions,

a tank brigade, a mixed infantry brigade and an artillery command. Components of two divisions would also be poised to launch counterattacks.

If not needed to reinforce the primary landing beaches, the American Reserve Force would be landed at the base of Kagoshima Bay November 4, where they would be confronted by two mixed infantry brigades, parts of two infantry divisions and thousands of naval troops.

All along the invasion beaches, American troops would face coastal batteries, anti-landing obstacles and a network of heavily fortified pillboxes, bunkers,and underground fortresses. As Americans waded ashore, they would face intense artillery and mortar fire as they worked their way through concrete rubble and barbed-wire entanglements arranged to funnel them into the muzzles of these Japanese guns.

On the beaches and beyond would be hundreds of Japanese machine gun positions, beach mines, booby traps, trip-wire mines and sniper units. Suicide units concealed in "spider holes" would engage the troops as they passed nearby. In the heat of battle, Japanese infiltration units would be sent to reap havoc in the American lines by cutting phone and communication lines. Some of the Japanese troops would be in American uniform; English-speaking Japanese officers were assigned to break in on American radio traffic to call off artillery fire, to order retreats and to further confuse troops. Other infiltration with demolition charges strapped on their chests or backs would attempt to blow up American tanks, artillery pieces and ammunition stores as they were unloaded ashore.

Beyond the beaches were large artillery pieces situated to bring down a curtain of fire on the beach. Some of these large guns were mounted on railroad tracks running in and out of caves protected by concrete and steel.

The battle for Japan would be won by what Simon Bolivar Buckner, a lieutenant general in the Confederate army during the Civil War, had called "Prairie Dog Warfare." This type of fighting was almost unknown to the ground troops in Europe and the Mediterranean. It was peculiar only to the soldiers and Marines who fought the Japanese on islands all over the Pacific -- at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Prairie Dog Warfare was a battle for yards, feet and sometimes inches. It was brutal, deadly and dangerous form of combat aimed at an underground, heavily fortified, non-retreating enemy.

In the mountains behind the Japanese beaches were underground networks of caves, bunkers, command posts and hospitals connected by miles of tunnels with dozens of entrances and exits. Some of these complexes could hold up to 1,000 troops.

In addition to the use of poison gas and bacteriological warfare (which the Japanese had experimented with), Japan mobilized its citizenry.

Had Olympic come about, the Japanese civilian population, inflamed by a national slogan - "One Hundred Million Will Die for the Emperor and Nation" - were prepared to fight to the death Twenty Eight Million Japanese had become a part of the National Volunteer Combat Force. They were armed with ancient rifles, lunge mines, satchel charges, Molotov cocktails and one-shot black powder mortars. Others were armed with swords, long bows, axes and bamboo spears. The civilian units were to be used in nighttime attacks, hit and run maneuvers, delaying actions and massive suicide charges at the weaker American positions.

At the early stage of the invasion, 1,000 Japanese and American soldiers would be dying every hour.

The invasion of Japan never became a reality because on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Within days the war with Japan was at a close.

Had these bombs not been dropped and had the invasion been launched as scheduled, combat casualties in Japan would have been at a minimum of the tens of thousands. Every foot of Japanese soil would have been paid for by Japanese and American lives.

One can only guess at how many civilians would have committed suicide in their homes or in futile mass military attacks. In retrospect, the 1 million American men who were to be the casualties of the invasion were instead lucky enough to survive the war.

Intelligence studies and military estimates made 50 years ago, and not latter-day speculation, clearly indicate that the battle for Japan might well have resulted in the biggest blood-bath in the history of modern warfare.

Far worse would be what might have happened to Japan as a nation and as a culture. When the invasion came, it would have come after several months of fire bombing all of the remaining Japanese cities. The cost in human life that resulted from the two atomic blasts would be small in comparison to the total number of Japanese lives that would have been lost by this aerial devastation.

With American forces locked in combat in the south of Japan, little could have prevented the Soviet Union from marching into the northern half of the Japanese home islands. Japan today could be divided much like Korea and Germany.

The world was spared the cost of Operation Downfall, however, because Japan formally surrendered to the United Nations September 2, 1945, and World War II was over.

The aircraft carriers, cruisers and transport ships scheduled to carry the invasion troops to Japan, ferried home American troops in a gigantic operation called Magic Carpet.

In the fall of 1945, in the aftermath of the war, few people concerned themselves with the invasion plans. Following the surrender, the classified documents, maps, diagrams and appendices for Operation Downfall were packed away in boxes and eventually stored at the National Archives. These plans that called for the invasion of Japan paint a vivid description of what might have been one of the most horrible campaigns in the history of man. The fact that the story of the invasion of Japan is locked up in the National Archives and is not told in our history books is something for which all Americans can be thankful.

I had the distinct privilege of being assigned as later commander of the 8090th PACUSA detach, 20th AAF, and one of the personal pilots of then Brig General Fred Irving USMA 17 when he was commanding general of Western Pacific Base Command. We had a brand new C-46F tail number 8546. It was different from the rest of the C-46 line in that it was equipped with Hamilton Hydromatic props whereas the others had Curtis electrics. On one of the many flights we had 14 Generals and Admirals aboard on an inspection trip to Saipan and Tinian. Notable aboard was General Thomas C. Handy, who had signed the operational order to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. President Truman's orders were verbal. He never signed an order to drop the bombs.

On this particular flight, about half way from Guam to Tinian, a full Colonel (General Handy's aide) came up forward and told me that General Handy would like to come up and look around. I told him, "Hell yes, he can fly the airplane if he wants to, sir".

He came up and sat in the copilot's seat, put on the headset and we started chatting. I asked him if he ever regretted dropping the bombs. His answer was, "Certainly not. We saved a million lives on both sides by doing it.. It was the right thing to do".

I never forgot that trip and the honor of being able to talk to General Handy. I was a Lt at the time. A postscript about General Irving; He was one of the finest gentleman I ever met. He was the oldest living graduate of West Point when he passed on at 100+.

He was one of three Generals who had the honor of being both the "Supe" and "Com" of West Point. I think the other gentleman were BG Sladen, class of 1890 and BG Stewart, Class of 1896.

I am very happy the invasion never came off because if it had I don't think I would be writing this today. We were to provide air support for the boots on the ground guys. The small arms fire would have been devastating and lethal as hell to fly through... Just think what it would have been like on the ground.....

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