To All..
Good Tuesday morning April 28, 2026. It is a nice day here at around 70. Taking Toni to another follow up appointment today. The carpenters are in full swing on the Gazebo today. Hope you all are having a good week.
I started trying to send the List out and had a problem with gmail and just got home about an hour ago. Thanks to Cowboy I am back up and running. But tomorrow I have another 0700 dental appointment and the List will be late again.
. Regards and apologies
Skip
HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Go here to see the director’s corner for all 97 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
April 28
1930 Secretary of the Navy appoints the first Curator for the Department of the Navy, Dudley Knox.
1942 The U.S. Navy's Task Force 99, which consists of USS Wasp, USS Tuscaloosa and USS Wichita, plus four destroyers, sail from the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, as part of the mixed U.S.-British force Distaff, to provide cover for Russian convoy at Iceland.
1944 German torpedo boats attack U.S. Navy LST convoy in Lyme Bay during Operation Tiger training for the Normandy Invasion. USS LST 507 and USS LST 531 are sunk at Portland Bill, England, and USS LST 289 is damaged, with 198 Sailors dead or missing and 551 Army dead or missing from later reports.
1944 Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox dies. He expanded the Navy into a force capable of fighting in both the Atlantic and the Pacific during the early years of World War II.
1945 USS Sennet (SS 408) sinks the Japanese cable layer Hatsushima off Kii Strait, south southeast of Miki Saki; USS Springer (SS 414) sinks the Japanese submarine chaser CH 17 west of Kyushu as she is escorting landing ship T.146, and USS Trepang (SS 412) sinks T.146 off Ose Saki, Japan.
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This Day In World History
April 28 .
0357 Constantius II visits Rome for the first time.
1282 Villagers in Palermo lead a revolt against French rule in Sicily.
1635 Virginia Governor John Harvey is accused of treason and removed from office.
1760 French forces besieging Quebec defeat the British in the second Battle on the Plains of Abraham.
1788 Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the constitution.
1789 The crew of the HMS Bounty mutinies against Captain William Bligh.
1818 President James Monroe proclaims naval disarmament on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
1856 Yokut Indians repel an attack on their land by 100 would-be Indian fighters in California.
1902 Revolution breaks out in the Dominican Republic.
1910 The first night air flight is performed by Claude Grahame-White in England.
1916 British declare martial law throughout Ireland.
1919 Les Irvin makes the first jump with an Army Air Corps parachute.
1920 Azerbaijan joins the Soviet Union.
1930 The first organized night baseball game is played in Independence, Kansas.
1932 A yellow fever vaccine for humans is announced.
1945 Benito Mussolini is killed by Italian partisans.
1946 The Allies indict Tojo on 55 counts of war crimes
1947 Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl and five others set out in a balsa wood craft known as Kon Tiki to prove that Peruvian Indians could have settled in Polynesia.
1953 French troops evacuate northern Laos.
1965 The U.S. Army and Marines invade the Dominican Republic.
1967 Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army and is stripped of his boxing title.
1969 Charles de Gaulle resigns as president of France.
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April 27
Hello All,
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).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
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 Tuesday 28 April. ..
April 28: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1724
Holy ejection Batman…..4 of them
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear’s Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in “search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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. I CAME ACROSS THIS ONE IN THE ARCHIVES
thanks to Doctor Rich
Thanks to James ...
“COWS DON’T GIVE MILK”
A peasant used to say to his children when they were young: —When you all reach the age of 12 I will tell you the secret of life. One day when the oldest turned 12, he anxiously asked his father what was the secret of life. The father replied that he was going to tell him, but that he should not reveal it to his brothers.
—The secret of life is this: The cow does not give milk.
"What are you saying?" Asked the boy incredulously. —As you hear it, son: The cow does not give milk, you have to milk it. You have to get up at 4 in the morning, go to the field, walk through the corral full of manure, tie the tail, hobble the legs of the cow, sit on the stool, place the bucket and do the work yourself.
That is the secret of life, the cow does not give milk. You milk her or you don't get milk. There is this generation that thinks that cows GIVE milk. That things are automatic and free: their mentality is that if " I wish, I ask..... I obtain."
They have been accustomed to get whatever they want the easy way...But No, life is not a matter of wishing, asking and obtaining. The things that one receives are the effort of what one does. Happiness is the result of effort. Lack of effort creates frustration.
So, remember to share with your children, from a young age, the secret of life. So they don't grow up with the mentality that the government, their parents, or their cute little faces is going to give them everything they need in life.
Remember 👇👇
"Cows don't give milk. You have to work for it"
James E. Harris, Jr.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves,
They shall never cease to be amused !
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From the archives
There was a recent Gathering of Eagles and “Turkey “Tucker a long time friend was brought into the fold and well deserved. This note from Shadow is worth the repeat for all.
. Thanks to Shadow and Lou and Denny
: A Gathering of Eagles (Golden Ones)
A bit about where we are today and what we did in our younger years….skip
Dear Roy, et al…
What terrific piece of correspondence! Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort to share all those great stories. If most of us are not already in our eighties, we’re alarming close to that milestone, and as difficult as are the health issues that come with antiquity, the one thing we all have and can share are the great memories from our younger days flying the great planes we did. And you have certainly done that!
I am going to share your email with Max, a young midshipman at the Naval Academy who wants to desperately to become a fighter pilot. His father was my Ironman triathlon coach, and I have been mentoring Max over the past few years. (Set up a visit for them with Byron Sullivan when Shrek had VMX-1, and because Max is on the Academy’s track team and going to do some training in Sedona, AZ this summer, I’ve set up a gathering with Lew “Jumper” Hoyt and the entire team.) You know, Shadow, when we are able to share stories like you have with today’s wannabe fighter pilots, it would be like us hearing stories from the old-timers whose planes were made of sticks and canvas. It’s great fun, actually, and a privilege we all have.
I loved your story about Harry Gann and his comment that you weren’t quite the equal of Rattler. Very funny! Of course, you and I both would have had a few more hours in our logbooks and may have been better sticks had we not both lost our ways, fighting a war from the ground rather than the air! Oh, how I remember being face-down in the dirt, trying to be one-with-the earth, as Phantoms roared overhead making Napalm runs to my utter delight. I remember thinking, “Damn, that’s what I want to be doing, if I’m ever in another war!”
And you’re so right in your comments about Denny Wisely. I knew of him, of course, but I didn’t know him personally until he expressed an interest in Getlin’s Corner Foundation. We exchanged a number of correspondence and then he made a substantial, and deeply appreciated donation. How wonderful for a Naval officer and aviator to help a foundation whose mission it is to help the kids of enlisted Marines and Corpsmen! (I was invited to a Naval Academy Alumni luncheon a couple of months ago to give a presentation on the Battle of Getlin’s Corner and the foundation, and received a total of $250 in donations from two people! So Denny’s donation was particularly meaningful.)
On our two Boards, I have two Marine major generals—Mike Sullivan is one—two former Commandants, Krulak and Amos, and Carlton Kent, the 16th Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps. We have what we call the “Commandant’s Certificate of Appreciation” , signed by Generals Krulak and Amos, that we award to those good folks who have gone above-and-beyond in supporting us. That’s what Rattler did for us, and I was delighted to send one of these certificates to Denny just last week!
Last week, I attended in Pittsburgh a “Celebration of Life” for a dear friend of mine who died unexpected in his sleep a couple of months ago. Dan Pultz was also on our foundation Board, and he was the 2nd platoon commander at the Battle of Getlin’s Corner. (A little sidebar: Dan was present at the celebration of his life. His remains, contained in a green ammo can with the Marine Corps on its side, were front-and center throughout the entire affair. It was pretty wonderful, when you thought about it! I mean where better could a grunt’s remains be housed than in a fucking ammo can?) Anyway, Dan’s daughter is dating an attorney who is a fighter pilot groupie if there ever was one. Every chance he had at Dan’s service, he wanted to talk fighters with me. The guy knew his stuff when talking about the F-4, and clearly knew more than I did about the various iterations of the Phantom. He would go on at length about the various models, often talking about stuff about which I hadn’t a clue. He even sent me a picture from a book; it was of Andy Haggerman and me climbing into an F-4. I had totally forgotten it existed. I am going to forward your email to this fellow, because I know he’ll appreciate being a fly on the wall to your wonderful story-telling.
It is a great service that Skip has set up for all of us to read, enjoy, and participate in when we get the itch. I don’t contribute often, but my days would not be nearly so enjoyable as they are without Skip’s missives. Great fun! Thank you, Skip!
Semper Fi,
Grunt
Lon Getlin
Founder & Chairman
Getlin's Corner Foundation
P (503) 747-9559
To all
Lew has a picture here that did not come through it contains:
I Medal Of Honor
4 NAVY CROSSES
6 Silver Stars
I salute you sir…skip
On Apr 27, 2024, at 8:16 PM, roy stafford <rwstafford1@comcast.net> wrote:
Dear Skip, et al….
For the last year I have been looking forward to the Golden Eagles gathering here in Jacksonville. Now I ain’t one of ‘em… but I have a lot of heroes and friends in that group and was looking forward to being able to see some of them and break bread and share fellowship with some of our nations’ best. In particular I was looking forward to seeing “Black” Lucas again after so many years. Some of the most rewarding and fun years of my life were with Jim was in 101 at MCAS Yuma and then again when Jim joined me at Black Shadow Aviation… we had a ball and did some good work with great employees. Jim and Joan planned to come out early on the 20th and we were gonna spend the week at the family condo on Amelia Island and relive old times and once again share fellowship.
Unfortunately, as our mutual friend Corky Meyer was prone to say… “The Genies of Fate, urinated on the best intentions of mankind”! Jim came down with a debilitating case of sciatica and had to cancel at the last minute. Time and experience has prepared us to know, with the lives we’ve led… shit happens… don’t like it, disappointed, but as Black is prone to say… “It is what it is”.
I was also disappointed to find out Mike Sullivan (Lancer) couldn’t make it either. Mike introduced me to the F-4 when we were both in college in San Diego after our Vietnam Tours. I have never known another man that epitomizes what Naval Aviation was all about, than Mike Sullivan. He was a leader, role model for so many and high time F-4 pilot in the Navy and Marine Corps. I made a trip a couple of months ago to see Mike and another mentor that lives close near by, when I came down with covid… had to abort the trip and return to Florida… again, as Black sez… shit happens, it is what it is. Love you Lancer… get well my friend.
Just as it appeared to be a disappointing week… Denny Wisely emailed me he was coming… and he set aside the whole day Friday for a meet and greet with his lady Julie. We had breakfast at the hotel Friday morning and then drove up to Amelia and stopped at the condo to pick up Wendy and spend the day enjoying each others company… what a class act… both of them! We thoroughly enjoyed the day!
Gotta tell you a little story about Denny. We shared a dear and mutual friend; Harry Gann… the famous historian and photographer from McDonnell-Douglas. Both of us had many missions flying Harry on photo hops… me at El Toro and Denny with the Blues and at VX-4. Now I didn’t know Denny back then, I knew of him through Harry and I think Harry may have mentioned me to him? It was through Harry that I came to know who Denny really was… and it happened in a strange way. Usually, our flights were just a one and done, but on this day we flew two hops. Now Harry and I fed off each other and I would maneuver around single aircraft or a formation and show Harry how the airplanes looked from different angles… not just a side shot. This particular day we had some of the best photo flights we ever had! I’m putting him in position to take photos from different angles than just the normal air to air stuff. When we secured that evening, in the Ready Room, Harry looked up at me and said, “That was one of the best hops ever”! It was then my Fighter pilot ego got the best of me and I popped off and said, “Admit it Harry… I’m the best you ever flew with”! Harry paused, looked at me, hesitated and said… “Second best Roy… the best I ever flew with was Denny Wisely”.
Well… my ego was a bit crushed at first… and then I stopped to think about it… shit, second place behind a legend… not a bad deal. I can live with that. I was a Denny Wisely fan ever since that day. And it was through Skip and the Bubba list... that we finally got to know each other a bit better. The man is a class act. Recently… he did something totally unexpected that solidified me that he was not only a great aviator and leader… but is someone who gives back. Skip put out a repeat of something I wrote years ago. It was about a former squadron mate… Lon Getlin. Lon and I were both Grunts before we went to flight training. He also had two brothers… one was wounded and the other lost his life on Operation Prairie III up on the DMZ. It just so happened that was the last Operation I was on before returning to CONUS. They were hard times… his brother and I were in different units involved in the same Operation… longest night of my life on our first night in the field when we took over 500 rounds of incoming NVA Artillery. Was a new ballgame from then on for the ground war in Vietnam.
Anyway… ran into Lon at one of Lancer's birthday parties a couple of years ago and Lon told me he’d started a Foundation in honor of his brother and his troops… that awarded scholarships for the children of Navy Corpsmen and Marines that were lost in service. When Skip ran it… Denny sent me an email requesting more information on Lon’s Foundation. I put the two of them together and Denny made a very generous donation after talking with Lon… "Good comes to Good”! And just reinforced my admiration of Denny. Thank you brother! What a guy!
During the day… Denny and I talked about life… and our different experiences. Things didn’t always end the way we expected… both of us had good times and bad. But we also had great memories and were introduced to the finest this nation has to offer through Naval Aviation. We were the offspring of the “Greatest Generation”… patriots. Naturally, we were patriots too… it was in our DNA. Yet incredibly, we may be the last generation that proudly claims that title. We are both saddened by the decline of our society. We weren’t “WOKE”… but Naval Aviation had it’s own DEI in our generation… it was called a Meritocracy… didn’t matter who your daddy was… how much money we came from or even if we didn’t set the world on fire academically… once in the program, it got down to one basic fact… it was how you performed individually. The opportunity was there; it was up to you as an individual to meet the challenge and succeed. And the reward was the life that was like none other. We saw the world from a different vantage point and it was inspirational, fulfilling and was a continuous challenge. And as Bear says, We all met the elephant and spit in his eye. We knew grace and we knew fear and overcame it. We had a saying in the Corps… “I was never a hero… but I served with many”. What a life we had, what a run… and we have those incredible memories to look back on! We were different… so very different. I shared with Denny a quote from Jack London that I first read in my teens… “Ti’s the easiest thing in the world to live a quiet and complacent life… but to do so, is to have never really lived at all". Folks, we don’t have that problem! We knew euphoria and knew the sadness at the loss of other brothers in the prime of their lives… yes, ours lives were not without risks, not without disappointment… but we accepted the challenge in exchange for the gratification and dedication of service to a then grateful nation. I look at the Golden Eagles with respect as they manifest our Marine Corps theme of “I ain’t a hero… but by God I served with some”! And they and their friendship have been a blessing to my life!
I dropped Denny and Julie off at the hotel Friday evening and told them how wonderful it was to spend the time with them. BTW… I got to meet the other “Rattler” at breakfast when Denny introduced us. What a guy… Great to meet another legend! I went home that night and slept better than I have in a long time. This morning I got an added bonus… had an email from Lonny McClung, inviting me to lunch. Another great American! I drove into town and we talked about old times… and relived the good times. BTW… His kid is now the high time Hornet pilot in the world… chip off the old block!
As our generation grows short in tooth and gray of beard, I can’t help but reflect on something said at one of the ANA dinners we hosted at Black Shadow Aviation. Jim and I looked at it as a way of giving back. I used to tell everybody that doing restorations for the museums put us more in the “Monument Business” than the aviation business. They were sit down dinners for a hundred or so retired Naval Aviators and their brides… we had a cook out and did a little air show and gave rides for the attendees in various flying machines if they wanted. Stearman, SNJ, even a helicopter. At dinner I used to ask folks to get up and tell a story or two of some of their memorable experiences in Naval Aviation. One night Bob Coats, a WW II Double Hellcat Ace got up and said a few words. He didn’t say much about combat… but ended with a reminder that we all served with heroes and friends and encouraged each of us to reach out to others we had served with when their memory came into our minds… to sit down and write a note or make a phone call and remind them that they were important in our lives. God Bless!
My weekend is a reminder of that challenge… Love you my Brothers!
Shadow
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Thanks to Brett
I remember this one seeing it on theTV
American flag saved during a major league game tells the story of service and sacrifice.
Rick Monday in Dodgers uniform
Rick Monday was a two-time All-Star who came into pro ball as the first overall pick in the inaugural MLB Draft and later became a beloved Dodgers broadcaster. But he may be most remembered for his efforts to save the American flag in 1976. (Robert Beck/MLB Photos)
On April 25, 1976 – before the game that day – most probably I was with my family. I was in my fifth season with the Cubs, but I grew up in that area, in Santa Monica, Calif. It was a chance to see my mom and my family while we were in town to play the Dodgers.
It was a normal day, a normal game, until the bottom of the fourth inning. There had already been a pitch or two thrown. All of a sudden, I heard off to my right some noise coming from the crowd that was unusual.
I looked over and saw these two guys running on the field – and I could tell that one of them had something tucked under his arm, but I couldn’t tell what it was. They went past my teammate José Cardenal in left field and went into shallow left-center, and then I saw what they had. They unfurled this American flag and laid it down on the ground. They got on their knees next to it, and I could see, with the sunshine, a big reflection off of a large can of lighter fluid.
I could tell they were going to douse the flag. And I was mad.
I was already irritated because they entered the field; they disrupted the game. And when they began to douse the flag with lighter fluid, I was angry.
At the time, I was five years out of the Marine Corps Reserves. I had been brought up to respect the flag, this country, what that flag stood for – the rights and freedoms, as well as those who protected those rights and freedoms. What these guys were trying to do was wrong.
I started to run at them. I guess the wind blew out the first match, and the second match was struck just as I got there. But if they didn’t have the flag, they could not burn it. So I grabbed it and continued to run. The guy threw the can of lighter fluid at me, missed, and I kept going. I gave the flag to one of the Dodgers pitchers, Doug Rau, who came out of the dugout. Then, Tommy Lasorda, who was in his last year as the Dodgers’ third base coach, ran past me, toward these guys, who by this time were being escorted off the field. Tommy was yelling everything that a longshoreman would utter.
We started the game again and people in the stadium reacted. But I don’t think I got the flavor of that moment until after the game in the locker room. Then, we left Dodger Stadium and bused to San Diego, which is a military town, and there was more attention there.
After the game, I requested to have the flag returned to me. They had to use it during the court case against the two people, but when the Dodgers came into Wrigley Field later that season, Al Campanis, the general manager of the Dodgers, presented me with the flag. My family has kept it ever since.
I’m very proud that I was able to be close enough to react and do what I thought was right. I respect those who have protected our rights and freedoms, including their families. Some of those people paid the ultimate price.
We take the flag from time to time to places, including Walter Reed Medical Center. That started when we were contacted by a helicopter pilot who had a flag on the windshield in his medevac helicopter over Baghdad during the Iraq War. He asked if we could get our flag to Los Angeles to a park where he grew up so it could fly there.
I’m most proud of my wife, Barbaralee, who made contact with a group called the Patriot Guard Riders. With their escort, we took that flag from Vero Beach, Fla., to Los Angeles – 14 states in 14 days. We stopped at veterans hospitals along the way, and that’s when Barbaralee said to me: “We have to do something about this, to make things better.”
Rick Monday holding United States flag
As part of the Museum’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the flag Rick Monday rescued will be exhibited at the National Baseball Hall of Fame from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) On a trip to Walter Reed, there was a young lieutenant who had not been there very long, and his wife and doctor were there with us. We asked if he would like to see the flag and take a picture with it.
Barbaralee took the flag out of its case, and while he had it, the lieutenant said to the doctor: “I got a piece of shrapnel that’s coming up and it’s starting to bleed. Mrs. Monday, please take the flag.”
Barbaralee said: “Lieutenant, it’s OK.”
He said: “No, ma’am. I will die protecting the rights and freedoms of that flag, but I will not bleed on it.”
You talk about an impactful statement – from someone who has been injured representing the United States of America. When I tell that story, I still get emotional.
You never know when you’re going to touch someone, somehow, someway.
I was the grand marshal in a parade in Charlotte, N.C., a number of years ago. Barbaralee and I were in the parade and we had brought the flag with us. Along the parade route, there were a number of people who would hold up a shadow box of a folded flag.
One of them said: “This is my father.” Another said: “This is my husband.”
It really encapsulated that it’s more than just a piece of cloth.
It represents people. And it represents rights and freedoms.
Rick Monday has been a Dodgers broadcaster for 34 seasons, after playing 19 seasons with the Athletics, Cubs and Dodgers Hall of Fame Military Classic Join us in Cooperstown this Memorial Day Weekend as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum salutes all who served.
Memories and Dreams
This story previously appeared in Memories and Dreams, the award-winning bimonthly magazine exclusively available to supporters of the Museum's Membership Program
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Thanks to Nice News
Daily Edition • April 28, 2026
From Skip.
The following story brings back memories of many years ago when we realized that a humming bird pair had set up a nest
in one of our hanging plants on our patio. We monitored the entire cycle from eggs to final flight. One was always one day behind the other. They even survived a large party we had and continued to take care of the two babies. Got some good pictures.
What’s it take to shut down a Ritz-Carlton entrance? A nesting hummingbird. At the luxury hotel’s location in Rancho Mirage, California, a tiny bird recently took up residence in the door handle of one of the entrances, prompting the hotel to put up a “nature in progress” sign asking hotel guests to use a different door.
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No Booths in Sight: In a Small Swiss Canton, Residents Vote With a Show of Hands
Fabrice COFFRINI—AFP/Getty Images
You’re looking at a form of direct democracy. On Sunday, thousands of citizens gathered in the small Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden to cast their votes, not by filling in bubbles on paper ballots or using curtained booths, but by a simple show of hands.
For hours, questions boomed over loudspeakers about constitutional, legislative, and financial issues, in addition to elections for local leaders. Residents of the canton — home to roughly 17,000 — either raised their hands for “yes” or kept them down for “no.” From a wooden podium, the chief magistrate visually assessed the crowd to determine each outcome.
The tradition, known as the Landsgemeinde, dates back over 600 years and survives in only two of Switzerland’s 26 cantons due to concerns over privacy and practicality in areas with larger populations. But locals note that the transparency can be a strength. “I think it’s nice to have it direct and to talk with people about it and to hear arguments directly,” Ursulina, a 31-year-old voter, told Agence France-Presse.
Angela Koller, the head of the cantonal government, added: “Standing together with other people, you can experience politics with all your senses.” She noted that the system “isn’t perfect,” but “we have a culture here where people can tolerate that, where they know they have different opinions.”
Together With The Bouqs Co.
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Two College Roommates Solving a $100 Billion Problem
If there’s ever a time to “wake up and smell the flowers,” it’s when one of the largest floral subscription businesses in the U.S. is taking investors for just a few more days.
Roommates John Tabis (ex Disney exec) and Juan Pablo Montufar-Arroyo (third-generation farmer) founded The Bouqs Co. to reinvent the $100 billion floral industry. Now, they’re featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and Entrepreneur.
Why? Because they’ve successfully created a flower business model that’s 3X more efficient than the traditional supply chain.
The result? Nearly $100 million in annual revenue and a 70+ brick-and-mortar expansion. This investment opportunity ends soon: Become a shareholder in The Bouqs Co. as it scales.
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Teens Across the US Swap Lives to Learn How to Embrace Differences
American Exchange Project
Growing up in rural Kansas can be a vastly different experience than growing up in New York City, and not just in terms of geography. In a large nation like the U.S., the population differs widely in income levels, values, ideas, ethnicities, religions, languages, you name it. What’s perhaps more interesting than what we don’t have in common, though, is what we do.
American Exchange Project, the country’s first free intercultural domestic exchange program, invites graduating high school seniors to stay with host families in communities dissimilar to their own as a way to foster empathy and combat division. And this year’s crop of participants, roughly 700 teenagers from nearly 40 states, recently got their match letters — which means they now know where they’re off to this summer.
During the first seven days of the two-week exchange, they’ll travel to another locale and immerse themselves in the culture there. Then they’ll head back home and spend the second week introducing their towns and cities to peers from other places. It’s about connecting not just with new and different areas but also with new and different people. Watch their “match day” reactions and learn more about the project.
Environment
One solution to the microplastics dilemma may be a fast-growing, slender tree native to India. The moringa tree, dubbed the “miracle tree” for its nutritional and medicinal properties, is living up to its nickname as a potentially powerful tool for water purification.
In a recent study out of Brazil, researchers found that the extract from moringa seeds can remove up to 98% of microplastics from drinking water. The extract acts as a natural coagulant, causing plastic particles to clump together so they can be more easily filtered — a solution that performed just as well as (or better than) conventional chemical methods for cleaning water.
“We showed that the saline extract from the seeds performs similarly to aluminum sulfate, which is used in treatment plants to coagulate water containing microplastics. In more alkaline waters, it performed even better than the chemical product,” first author Gabrielle Batista said in a statement.
Although the researchers noted the process may be less practical on a larger scale, they believe it’s a promising, low-cost, and natural option for reducing microplastics in drinking water in smaller communities.
In Other News
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1. Employers plan to ramp up entry-level hiring this spring after years of decline, a new survey found (read more)
2. A teen invented a device to detect crossed eyes and potentially treat the condition without invasive surgery (read more)
3. Two giant pandas are heading to Zoo Atlanta on loan from the China Wildlife Conservation Association (read more)
4. Seven states have passed right-to-repair laws that make it easier to fix tech, and two more are on the horizon (
5. The anti-whaling vessel MV Steve Irwin is making a conservation comeback after retiring in 2019 (read more)
Inspiring Story
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Dance as a conversation
After third graders at a school in Florida spent months learning about Pakistani culture, they put on a recital to remember incorporating traditional dance and dress. “This moment really speaks to something bigger. In a diverse community like South Miami, learning about different cultures isn’t an extra; it’s essential,” said Head of School Indi Avila. “In a time where more learning is happening through screens, AI, and even homeschooling, it’s important to remember what children are capable of in the right environment.”
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Carl Court/Getty Images
While elite marathoners were breaking world records in London on Sunday, a different kind of race was going on in nearby Essex. Runners got their hands — and arms, legs, feet, and hair — dirty for the 2026 Maldon Mud Race to raise money for charity.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Look Here! 6 Fun Facts About Eyes
They've been described as the windows to the soul by William Shakespeare and the jewel of the body by Henry David Thoreau, and featured in song titles by musicians ranging from Van Morrison and The Who to Billy Idol and Billie Eilish. Needless to say, eyes hold a prominent place in our lives, both for our dependence on their functionality as well as the aesthetic qualities that have inspired so many artists. Here are six eye-opening facts about these amazing organs.
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The First Eyes Appeared at Least 540 Million Years Ago
Layne Kennedy/ Corbis Documentary via Getty Images
The first known organism to demonstrate the leap from light-sensitive receptors to complex eyes was the trilobite, which left records of its evolutionary impact from approximately 540 million years ago. The orbs of these early arthropods more closely resembled the compound eyes of modern insects, with multiple lenses, as opposed to the single lens-to-retina camera-style eye built into humans. Because they offered trilobites a clear advantage in hunting prey (and thus encouraged their predators to evolve in response), the emergence of working eyes in these and subsequent life forms may have helped drive the so-called "Cambrian Explosion," which gave rise to most of the creatures that now populate the animal kingdom.
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The Human Eye Can See Objects Millions of Miles Away
While the majority of us wouldn't consider our vision to be extraordinary, the human eye can see much farther than most of us realize. That's because our ability to perceive an object is based not only on its size and proximity, but also on the brightness of the source. Practically speaking, our sight is hindered by factors such as the Earth's curvature, which creates the dropoff point of the horizon just 3 miles away, and atmospheric conditions. However, a trip outside on a clear night reveals the true power of our vision, as most of us are able to make out the faint haze of the Andromeda Galaxy some 2.6 million light-years into space.
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Some People Can Distinguish Between 100 Million Colors
Most people are trichromatic, meaning they possess three types of cone cells in their retinas to detect variations of red, green, and blue light. Dichromatic or colorblind people are those with missing or defective cone cells; normally this means they have trouble differentiating between two colors, with red and green being the most common combination. On the extreme ends of the spectrum, those suffering from achromatopsia lack the ability to see any colors, while those born with an extra set of cone cells, tetrachromats, are said to be extraordinarily sensitive to light wavelengths and capable of distinguishing between 100 million colors.
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We Blink Around 7.8 Million Times Per Year
There are a few established reasons for why we blink: This rapid closure triggers secretions that flush away foreign particles, while also providing a lubrication that keeps our precious eyes functioning smoothly. However, this action, which can be voluntary or involuntary, is also affected by a raft of psychological reasons. We blink less when concentrating, for example, and more when we're nervous. Recent studies also indicate that blinking may be a way of providing the brain a brief moment of rest. Regardless of the reasons, we all blink a lot. Most people average at least 15 per minute, which translates to 14,400 for each waking 16-hour period, and a whopping 7.8 million blinks per year.
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The Colossal Squid Boasts the Largest Animal Eyes
The human eye measures about two-thirds of an inch across at birth, before growing to its full size of 1 inch by adulthood. By comparison, the eye of the 45-foot-long colossal squid has been measured at 11 inches in diameter, making it the largest such organ in the animal kingdom and possibly the largest in the history of recorded life. Among land-dwelling creatures, the ostrich tops the pack with an eye that measures around 2 inches from the cornea to the retina — dimensions that also happen to be bigger than its walnut-sized brain.
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All Humans Had Brown Eyes at One Point
Eye color (along with skin and hair color) is determined by the amount of melanin our bodies produce; those with blue or green eyes simply possess a lower density of this pigmentation in the iris than those with dark brown peepers. According to research published by a University of Copenhagen team in 2012, all humans had brown eyes until sometime between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, when a genetic mutation created the first blue-eyed individual. Nowadays, 70% to 79% of the world's population has brown eyes, with 8% to 10% sporting baby blues, approximately 5% featuring hazel or amber, and just 2% showing green. Less than 1% of people possess two completely different colored eyes — a condition known as heterochromia.
My dad had one brown eye and one blue eye…skip
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This Day in U S Military History…….April 28
1932 – A vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans. In 1927, scientists had isolated the yellow fever virus in West Africa. Following this, vaccines were developed in the 1930s. The vaccine 17D was developed by the South African microbiologist Max Theiler at the Rockefeller Institute in New York City. This vaccine was widely used by the U.S. Army during World War II.
1965 – CIA director John A. McCone sends a personal memo to President Johnson stating his view that unless the United States is willing to further intensify bombing, there is no use in committing more US ground troops.
1975 – Operation Frequent Wind evacuation from Vietnam begins.
1993 – The last A-6E Intruder departed from Marine Corps service. Marine All Weather Attack Squadron 332 transferred the last Marine A-6E to St. Augustine, Florida. They then prepared for the squadron’s transition to the F/A-18D and eventual movement from Cherry Point to Beaufort, South Carolina.
1994 – Former CIA official Aldrich Ames, who had betrayed U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and then Russia, pleaded guilty to espionage and tax evasion, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. His wife Rosario also pleaded guilty.
2001 – A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off for the Int’l. Space Station with two cosmonauts and California businessman Dennis Tito (60), who paid some $20 million, for the experience. Tito was the founder of the Wilshire Associates investment firm.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*MINUE, NICHOLAS
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company A, 6th Armored Infantry, 1st Armored Division. Place and date: Near MedjezelBab, Tunisia, 28 April 1943. Entered service at: Carteret, N.J. Birth: Sedden, Poland. G.O. No.: 24, 25 March 1944. Citation: For distinguishing himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the loss of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 28 April 1943, in the vicinity of MedjezelBab, Tunisia. When the advance of the assault elements of Company A was held up by flanking fire from an enemy machinegun nest, Pvt. Minue voluntarily, alone, and unhesitatingly, with complete disregard of his own welfare, charged the enemy entrenched position with fixed bayonet. Pvt. Minue assaulted the enemy under a withering machinegun and rifle fire, killing approximately 10 enemy machinegunners and riflemen. After completely destroying this position, Pvt. Minue continued forward, routing enemy riflemen from dugout positions until he was fatally wounded. The courage, fearlessness and aggressiveness displayed by Pvt. Minue in the face of inevitable death was unquestionably the factor that gave his company the offensive spirit that was necessary for advancing and driving the enemy from the entire sector.
RUIZ, ALEJANDRO R. RENTERIA
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 165th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division. Place and date: Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 28 April 1945. Entered service at: Carlsbad, N. Mex. Birth: Loving, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 60, 26 June 1946. Citation: When his unit was stopped by a skillfully camouflaged enemy pillbox, he displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. His squad, suddenly brought under a hail of machinegun fire and a vicious grenade attack, was pinned down. Jumping to his feet, Pfc. Ruiz seized an automatic rifle and lunged through the flying grenades and rifle and automatic fire for the top of the emplacement. When an enemy soldier charged him, his rifle jammed. Undaunted, Pfc. Ruiz whirled on his assailant and clubbed him down. Then he ran back through bullets and grenades, seized more ammunition and another automatic rifle, and again made for the pillbox. Enemy fire now was concentrated on him, but he charged on, miraculously reaching the position, and in plain view he climbed to the top. Leaping from 1 opening to another, he sent burst after burst into the pillbox, killing 12 of the enemy and completely destroying the position. Pfc. Ruiz’s heroic conduct, in the face of overwhelming odds, saved the lives of many comrades and eliminated an obstacle that long would have checked his unit’s advance.
*NEGRON, JUAN E.
Rank and Organization: Sergeant. U.S. Army. Place and Date: April 28, 1951, Kalma-Eri, Korea. Born: September 26, 1929, Corozal, Puerto Rico . Departed: Yes (03/29/1996). Entered Service At: . G.O. Number: . Date of Issue: 03/18/2014. Accredited To: . Citation: Then-Sgt. Juan E. Negron distinguished himself on April 28, 1951, for actions near Kalma-Eri, Korea. Negron held the most vulnerable position on his company’s exposed right flank after an enemy force had overrun a section of the line. He held the position throughout the night, accurately hurling hand grenades at short range when hostile troops approached his position.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR APRIL 28
THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1919: Leslie Irving made the first jump from an airplane with a free-type backpack parachute at
McCook Field. He jumped from a DH-9 flown at 1,500 feet by James “Floyd” Smith, the parachute’s designer. (21)
1927: The Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis first flew.
1937: The Pan American Clipper arrived at Hong Kong to complete the first transpacific commercial flight. (24)
1952: KOREAN WAR. A 3d Air Rescue Squadron H-19 helicopter picked up a downed Hawker Sea Fury exchange pilot for the second time. Exactly three weeks earlier a 3d Air Rescue Squadron helicopter rescued the same pilot. (28)
1958: DISTINQUISHED FLYING CROSS. An inflight explosion on a 341 BW B-47 caused the pilot and navigator to eject. While attempting to egress, the copilot, 1Lt James E. Obenauf,
found the remaining crewman unconscious and unable to escape, so he stayed on the crippled,
burning aircraft. From his backseat position, he flew the B-47 to a safe landing at Dyess AFB.
He later received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. (21)
1960: The Army’s first underground test firing of the Nike-Zeus proved successful. (24)
1961: In a test flight from the carrier USS Antietam, a Stratolab High balloon rose to 6,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico to become the first manned balloon to be launched from, and to be landed back aboard, a naval vessel. (16) (24)
1963: The first successful Titan II launch from an underground silo occurred at Vandenberg AFB. (6)
1967: An Air Force Titan IIIC successfully launched five satellites (two Vela nuclear detection and
three scientific) into orbit. (16) (26)Operation CREEK PARTY. From Ramstein AB, ANG volunteer crews and KC-97L tankersstarted flying air refueling missions for USAFE fighters. The ANG’s first sustained volunteeroperation to support active duty requirements lasted 10 years. (21)
1968: USAF Special Operations C-130s airlifted some 92,000 pounds of food to La Toma, Ecuador, a drought-stricken area, over a 13-day period.
1970: The 603d Direct Air Support Squadron ferried the first six O-2A aircraft from Itazuke AB to Osan AB to give PACAF a FAC capability in Korea. Before the O-2As arrived, all FAC personnel were jeep mounted. The 603d eventually received 28 O-2As. (17)
1977: The ANG ended the rotation of KC-97 Stratofreighter aircraft to Europe. These air refueling operations began on 1 May 1967. (16)
1986: Through 7 May, Air Weather Service WC-130s flew air-sampling missions to track radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl reactor accident in the Soviet Union. (16)
1993: SECDEF Les Aspin announced that women would be allowed to serve in combat roles. This policy change allowed female pilots to fly USAF combat aircraft. (16) (26)
1999: A B-52 successfully launched its first live AGM-86C Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM). The cruise missile scored a direct hit on the target at the Utah Test and Training Range. (3) Operation Southern Watch. Under a Presidential Selective Reserve Call-Up, ACC mobilized elements of the ANG's 106th and 129th Rescue Wings for deployment to the Persian Gulf region to maintain the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. (32)
2001: NASA’s X-43A hypersonic research vehicle made its first captive-carry flight on a B-52 over the Pacific Test Range. At Edwards AFB, NASA mated the X-43 to a Pegasus booster rocket and loaded it on the B-52’s wing pylon for the flight. It was powered by a “scramjet,” a supersonic combustion ramjet, designed for speeds up to Mach 10. (3)
2003: END OF Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. The Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, with responsibility for air operations in Southwest Asia, moved to Al Udeid AB, Qatar. The move coincided with the end of SOUTHERN WATCH, the operation to enforce a no-fly zone in southern Iraq. On 29 April, at a joint news conference in Riyadh, SECDEF Donald Rumsfeld and Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz announced the withdrawal of all US combat forces from Saudi Arabia to end 12 years of a continuous US presence in Saudi Arabia. The US military presence officially ended on 26 August. (22)
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