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Good Friday morning August 7, 2026 ... It is clearing up now ( almost 11)
.and heating up again this morning to 90 by 2 and then start dropping off
from there.
Bubba Breakfast was great this morning with a good turnout of around 25
attending.
.
Regards,
Skip
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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 (99 is still in work)
August 6
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Today in World History August 6
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 6
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
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..August 7.
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at:
https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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/ )
articles/wall-of-faces-now-includes-photos-of-all-servicemembers-killed-in-t
he-vietnam-war/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&
utm_content=Y84UVhi4Z1MAMHJh1eJHNA==+MD+AFHRM+1+Ret+L+NC
By: Kipp Hanley
.
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
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August 7
1782 The Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart, is
established by Gen. George Washington.
1899 Five officers and 121 enlisted Marines commanded by Maj. Allen C.
Kelton, USMC, land at Agana, Guam, from USS Yosemite, as a garrison for the
naval station which is later established.
1918 Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is established as the Naval Mine Depot
when President Woodrow Wilson signs proclamation.
1942 During the Guadalcanal Campaign, the armada led by Rear Adm. Richmond
K. Turner lands Marines on Guadalcanal and seizes a nearly-complete airfield
at Guadalcanal's Lunga Point in the first U.S. land offensive of World War
II. To the north, Tulagi Island, and a few miles to the east, Tanambogo and
Gavutu Islands, Marines also land and fight bitter battles, concluding a few
days after. Nonetheless, the campaigns final outcome is in doubt for nearly
four months and is not certain until the Japanese evacuate their surviving
troops at Guadalcanal on Feb. 8, 1943.
1943 TBF and F4F (VC 1) from USS Card (CVE 11) sink the German submarine (U
117) west of the Azores.
1972 Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr. issues Z-Gram 116,
which enables Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women in the US Navy.
1990 Operation Desert Shield is ordered by President George H.W. Bush.
Desert Shield is the largest overseas deployment since Vietnam, to protect
Saudi Arabia after Iraqi's invasion of Kuwait.
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Today in World History August 7
1782 General George Washington authorizes the award of the Purple Heart
for soldiers wounded in combat.
1864 Union troops capture part of Confederate General Jubal Early's army
at Moorefield, West Virginia.
1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia receives a patent for the
revolving door.
1906 In North Carolina, a mob defies a court order and lynches three
African Americans which becomes known as "The Lyerly Murders."
1916 Persia forms an alliance with Britain and Russia.
1922 The Irish Republican Army cuts the cable link between the United
States and Europe at Waterville landing station.
1934 In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals rules that the government
can neither confiscate nor ban James Joyce's novel Ulysses.
1936 The United States declares non-intervention in the Spanish Civil
War.
1942 The U.S. 1st Marine Division under General A. A. Vandegrift lands on
the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon islands. This is the
first American amphibious landing of the war.
1944 German forces launch a major counter attack against U.S. forces near
Mortain, France.
1964 Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,
allowing the president to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on
U.S. forces.
1966 The United States loses seven planes over North Vietnam, the most in
the war up to this point.
1971 Apollo 15 returns to Earth. The mission to the moon had marked the
first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1973 A U.S. plane accidentally bombs a Cambodian village, killing 400
civilians.
1976 The US Viking 2 spacecraft goes into orbit around Mars.
1981 The Washington (D.C.) Star ceases publication after 128 years.
1984 Japan defeats the United States to win the Olympic Gold in baseball.
1987 Presidents of five Central American nations sign a peace accord in
Guatemala.
1990 Operation Desert Shield begins as US troops deploy to Saudi Arabia
to discourage Iraq's Saddam Hussein from invading that country as he had
Kuwait.
2007 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks Hank Aaron's record
with his 756th home run. Bonds' accomplishments were clouded by allegations
of illegal steroid use and lying to a grand jury.
Today is National Purple Heart day!
Purple Heart Ceremony at Mount Vernon
Did you know George Washington created the first United States military
award, originally known as the military badge of merit, now known as the
Purple Heart? We meet with Col. Gordon Sumner to learn more about the legacy
of the Purple Heart award, and about the ceremony held at Mount Vernon on
Purple Heart day every year.
History: Today is August 7th, on this date back in 1782 George Washington
creates the Purple Heart
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AAF air support at Guadalcanal
Thanks to Boris and Barrtett who wrote “I knew several Cactus AF survivors
of all branches. The AAFers said that a P-400 was a P-40 with a Zero behind
it. (Optimized for low-medium altitude hence the CAS employment.”)
General Head Sir, Have to be careful here as a Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club alumni
giving accolades to the Air Force but given the CAS aspects of the book and
your 325 A-1 missions in Vietnam, thought you might appreciate an Air Corps
story on the anniversary of Operation Watchtower - the Marines landing on
Guadalcanal.
The attached amplifies the picture of the Bell P-400 Airacobra CAS mission
in support of Marines under LtCol "Red Mike" Edson at Bloody Ridge, and is
an excerpt from 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 15 –
Guadalcanal, From the Start, A New and Different Context; Cactus (4/4)
Click below for story
The flight lead Capt. Thompson would receive a Navy Cross and his wingmen
Silver Stars.
V/R
Boris
1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 15 – Guadalcanal, From the
Start, A New and Different Context; Cactus (4/4)
(Excerpt)
Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval
Operations (CNO) Ernest King pushed hard in Washington for operations in the
Pacific – Navy ops. The victory at Midway gave him the leverage he needed
in the Europe first Washington D.C. comings and goings. King directed
Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean
Areas, Chester Nimitz to move out and thus began the push to move to the
offensive by invading Guadalcanal. The number of ships would grow close to
ninety, vastly more than say the Wake Island or Doolittle events. As noted
previously it combined land, sea and air combat capability as never before.
Watchtower was indeed a recognized gamble, and yet, the planning was
seriously short of consideration of that complexity and what situations
might evolve, not the least of this would be the lack of early land based
air.
There is no Japanese defeat in the Solomons without the defense of Henderson
Field and the combat flying of the Cactus Air Force.
... Living conditions on Guadalcanal were some of the most difficult ever
faced by Marine aviation. Pilots and mechanics lived in mud-floored tents in
a flooded coconut plantation called “Mosquito Grove.” Most contracted
tropical diseases such as malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, or fungal
infections.
The misery was accompanied by mortal danger. The airfield was bombed nearly
every day around noon by 20 to 40 Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bombers flying at
20,000 feet (6,100 m) in a perfect “Vee formation” escorted by fighter
planes. It was frequently shelled as well, by Japanese artillery in the day
and Japanese warships at night. (The worst night of bombardment was on 13–14
October 1942, when two Japanese battleships fired more than 700 heavy shells
into the airfield, providing cover for the Japanese Navy’s landing of Marine
and army reinforcements further west on Guadalcanal.) ... As the battle for
Guadalcanal continued, USMC and AAF aircraft losses mounted. On 10
September, only eleven F4Fs, twenty-two SBD dive-bombers, and three P-400s
were available for the next crucial CAS mission on 14 September during the
defense of Bloody Ridge.
... Only two thousand yards to the south of Henderson Field lay Bloody Ridge
where Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson’s 1st Raider Battalion had
established a last line of defense against an expected Japanese attack out
of the jungles to the south. What Edson’s battalion did not know was that a
Japanese brigade over 2,000 strong was preparing to attack on the night of
13 September. The Japanese attackers mounted two major assaults before
midnight. Edson’s Battalion bent but did not break, falling back a few yards
at a time into successive positions along the ridge toward the airfield. If
the Japanese could break the thin Marine line, the airfield would be theirs
for the taking.
Before sunup on 14 September, an officer from the 1st Raider Battalion met
with the commander of the 67th FS, Captain Thompson. Using a crude map, he
described the precarious situation and requested a CAS mission at first
light. Thompson agreed and had his flight of three P-400s at the end of the
runway just before sunup. As dawn began to break, Thompson’s flight
departed.
Bloody Ridge was located almost within the aircraft traffic pattern around
the airfield and Thompson kept the Marine position in view as his aircraft
lifted off the ground and began a slight turn to the south. Maintaining
altitude just above the trees, Thompson led his flight below the level of
Bloody Ridge and pointed at the suspected Japanese assembly area. When the
area came into view, Thompson spotted large groups of Japanese soldiers
massing for an attack and he immediately began to fire.
After two passes, Thompson’s and another aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant B.
W. Brown, were critically damaged by small arms fire and had to make
emergency landings back at the airfield while the third P-400, piloted by
Lieutenant B. E. Davis, continued to strafe until out of ammunition.
The Japanese attack was repulsed by the iron defense of the 1 st Raider
Battalion, but Thompson’s CAS mission had thrown the final weight that broke
the Japanese assault. Later that afternoon, Vandegrift visited Thompson,
Davis, and Brown saying, “You’ll never read it in the papers, but that three
P-400 mission of yours saved Guadalcanal.”
For their part in this decisive battle, Thompson was awarded the Navy Cross
and his wingmen, Lieutenants Davis and Brown, received the Silver Star.
The Battle of Bloody Ridge is a story of almost unimaginable valor,
perseverance and sacrifice on the part of the Marine defenders of Henderson
Field. But the story would be incomplete without a concluding chapter
dedicated to the Thompson-led ground support mission. Its contribution is
perhaps best defined by the desperate circumstances of the moment and
measured by its impact on the tactical and strategic situation. For while
Henderson Field would be the target of future Japanese assaults, in the
aftermath of Bloody Ridge it remained—and would continue to remain—in
American hands.
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. Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Amazing Facts About Mount Everest
For mountaineers looking to climb the world’s most challenging peaks,
Everest is the top prize. At 29,032 feet, Everest is the highest mountain in
the world in terms of elevation and the crown jewel of the Himalayas.
(Overall, the region is home to nine of the 10 highest peaks in the world,
with the exception being K2 in the Karakoram range.) Although its height is
its most touted feature, Mount Everest is the subject of many incredible
facts — some of which stretch 50 million years into the past.
Mount Everest Has Many Names
Beginning in 1802, the Great Trigonometrical Survey was a massive
undertaking to painstakingly survey the entire Indian subcontinent (then a
colony of Britain). British surveyor George Everest served as the Surveyor
General of India for 13 years (1830 to 1843) before retiring and returning
to Britain.
In 1865, a mountain previously named “Gamma,” “peak b,” and finally “Peak
VX” received a new name that finally stuck — Mount Everest. Everest’s name
was put forward in 1856 by his successor, Andrew Scott Waugh, in honor of
his friend and mentor. However, the traditional Tibetan name of the mountain
is Chomolungma, which means “Goddess Mother of the World.” The Sanskrit name
is Sagarmatha, or “Peak of Heaven.”
Sir George Everest, military engineer, 1854-1866.
Although George Everest dedicated his life to surveying the Indian
subcontinent, he never traveled to Nepal, and likely never saw the famous
peak that now bears his name. His closest connection with the mountain was
through his protégé Andrew Scott Waugh, who made the first scientific
observations of the mountain and announced its height at 8,840 meters
(29,002 feet) in 1856. This height surpassed Kangchenjunga, a nearby
mountain then considered the world’s highest peak. Although K2 came close to
knocking it out of the top spot, no other mountain has ever surpassed
Everest’s impressive stature.
Everest Started Forming 50 Million Years Ago
About 50 million years ago, only 5 or 6 million years after the cataclysmic
end of the dinosaurs, the Indian subcontinent — traveling some 15
centimeters per year — closed an ancient sea named Tethys and collided with
the Eurasian continent. As the two tectonic plates buckled, they formed a
dramatic uplift that created Everest along with the rest of the Himalayan
mountain chain. Additionally, Everest’s location near the Tropic of Cancer
means that mountain glaciers (ice masses that carve away most mountains) are
relatively small on Everest, which is part of why it remains so impressively
massive to this day.
Everest Grows 4 Millimeters Per Year
Everest is already the highest peak above sea level, and it’s still growing.
The ancient collision that formed the mountain many millions of years ago is
still ongoing, as India continues to advance northward about 2 inches per
year. In fact, in 10 million years, India will plow into Tibet by more than
100 miles, effectively erasing the country of Nepal. Through all this
tectonic drama, Everest will continue climbing an additional 4 millimeters,
or roughly 0.16 inches, per year.
Mount Everest Is the World’s Highest Mountain — But Not the Tallest
Everything’s relative when it comes to measuring the tallest mountain in the
world. Going off of a mountain’s number of feet above sea level is what
gives Everest the crown, but there are other contenders for the globe’s
tallest peak. The most obvious one is Mauna Kea, a shield volcano in Hawaii
that is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from base to peak.
In total, Mauna Kea is about 33,000 feet — roughly 4,000 feet taller than
Everest.
Another contender is Mount Chimborazo. At 20,564 feet above sea level, this
mountain in Ecuador doesn’t even come close to Everest’s height. However,
when measuring from the center of the Earth, Mount Chimborazo gets a big
boost by being located near the equator. Because the planet bulges at its
middle due to the centrifugal forces produced by its rotation, Mount
Chimborazo is actually around 6,800 feet taller than Everest.
Jumping Spiders Are the Only Permanent Residents on Everest
The high altitude of Everest makes it difficult for life to thrive on its
slopes — difficult but not impossible. The Himalayan jumping spider is the
only known permanent resident on Mount Everest, making it one of the
highest-living species on Earth. This impressive feat is even honored in its
scientific name, Euophrys omnisuperstes, which means “standing above
everything.” Because the spider needs to feed on other insects, it likely
feasts on flies and other bugs blown up from lower altitudes, as part of
what’s known as an Aeolian Biome.
Sherpas Have Evolved To Be Everest-Summiting Pros
The Sherpa people are a tribe native to Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalayan
region, and are often guides for foreign adventurers looking to reach the
top of Everest and other Himalayan peaks. Scientists have studied the
biology of these Native people and discovered that Sherpas have evolved over
thousands of years to be excellent climbers in high altitudes.
Climbing Everest’s peak involves a variety of challenges, but one of the
deadliest is hypoxia and altitude sicknesses known as HAPE (high altitude
pulmonary edema) or HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) — all results of the
body’s inability to function properly in low-oxygen environments. With the
first known Sherpas living in the region some 30,000 years ago, this tribal
group’s mitochondria are much more efficient at using oxygen when it’s
scarce compared to “lowlanders.” This amazing ability is why Sherpas hold
many mountaineering records, including the most ascents of Everest by a
single person (26).
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. Thanks to History Facts
Thirty-nine baseball Hall of Famers served in World War II.
They don’t call it the Greatest Generation for nothing. Of the hundreds of
ballplayers who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame,
39 belong to an extra-special class: those who served in the military during
World War II. That list includes such all-time greats as Yogi Berra (Navy),
Ted Williams (Marines), Jackie Robinson (Army), and Joe DiMaggio (Army), all
of whom put up some of the most impressive numbers in baseball history
despite losing several years of their careers while on active duty.
Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, did so after attaining the rank of second
lieutenant as part of the 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion — a
segregated unit whose motto was “Come Out Fighting.” Like baseball, the
military did not officially desegregate until after the war.
Anyone who’s seen A League of Their Own knows that World War II led to
another massive change in the sport: the creation of women’s leagues, most
notably the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Active in the
Midwest between 1943 and 1954, the league consisted of 15 teams whose
players were themselves inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
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From the archives
. Thanks to Interesting Facts
Never drive without it
That belt plus the air bag ( 26 years old) let me walk away with no injury
except sadness when I totaled my 96 Impala SS a couple years ago but I did
receive enough 27K to buy a new car…..skip
Volvo gave away its seat belt patent to save lives.
Few people in history are credited with saving millions of lives, but one
person who did so worked for Volvo. Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin’s
improvement on the three-point seat belt has helped drivers (and passengers)
safely reach their destination for more than six decades.
Seat belts are a standard feature in today’s cars and trucks, but it hasn’t
always been that way. In the 1950s and ’60s, car manufacturers weren’t
required to include safety belts in vehicles. When they were built in, the
earliest seat belts were simple two-point restraints that secured across the
waist (aka lap belts). While a step in the right direction, lap belts had
some downsides — they didn’t protect the upper body during a collision and
could even cause injuries during high-speed crashes. A three-point design
was created in 1951 by Americans Roger W. Griswold and Hugh DeHaven, but it
never took off, likely because it was uncomfortable.
Recognizing these issues, Swedish carmaker Volvo hired Bohlin (a former
aviation engineer who helped create pilot ejection seats) as the company’s
safety engineer, and tasked him with a redesign. Bohlin’s creation — a more
comfortable V-shaped belt that stays in position across both the chest and
hips — was drafted in under a year, and is the style used in cars today.
Volvo quickly added the belts to its cars in 1959, before the inventor even
secured a patent. But when he did, Bohlin and Volvo didn’t look to profit
off the safety feature. Instead, they released the design publicly, urging
all car manufacturers to add the upgraded belts. After years of
presentations and crash test dummy demos, Volvo eventually made headway —
the evidence of which is found in our cars today and credited with saving
lives around the world.
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From the archives
.thanks to Nice News
. Any baby’s first steps are a special milestone — but this tot has a
particularly good story to share with future friends. At a Las Vegas Aces
game earlier this week, the WNBA team hosted a “baby crawling race” on the
court. One of the participants decided to ditch the crawling and get to the
finish line a faster way, by taking her very first steps. “Was not expecting
that,” her dad said. Watch the video.
Click up here
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This Day in U S Military History…….6 August
1782 – At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington,
the commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the “Badge for
Military Merit,” a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of
silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched
across the face in silver. The badge was to be presented to soldiers for
“any singularly meritorious action” and permitted its wearer to pass guards
and sentinels without challenge. The honoree’s name and regiment were also
to be inscribed in a “Book of Merit.” Washington’s “Purple Heart” was
awarded to only three known soldiers during the Revolutionary War: Elijah
Churchill, William Brown, and Daniel Bissell, Jr. The “Book of Merit” was
lost, and the decoration was largely forgotten until 1927, when General
Charles P. Summerall, the U.S. Army chief of staff, sent an unsuccessful
draft bill to Congress to “revive the Badge of Military Merit.” In 1931,
Summerall’s successor, General Douglas MacArthur, took up the cause, hoping
to reinstate the medal in time for the bicentennial of George Washington’s
birth. On February 22, 1932, Washington’s 200th birthday, the U.S. War
Department announced the creation of the “Order of the Purple Heart.” In
addition to aspects of Washington’s original design, the new Purple Heart
also displays a bust of Washington and his coat of arms. The Order of the
Purple Heart, the oldest American military decoration for military merit, is
awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who have been killed or wounded
in action against an enemy. It is also awarded to soldiers who have suffered
maltreatment as prisoners of war.
1794 – In the summer of 1794, irate farmers in the Monoghaela Valley of
Pennsylvania rose up against the federal tax on liquor and stills. During
the so-called Whiskey Rebellion, the farmers extracted their revenge by
torching tax collector’s homes, as well as “tarring and feathering revenue
officers.” The government moved quickly to quell the rebellion: President
Washington called in 12,900 Federal troops from to surrounding states to
forcefully usher the farmers back to their homes.
1942 – The U.S. 1st Marine Division begins Operation Watchtower, the first
U.S. offensive of the war, by landing on Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon
Islands. On July 6, 1942, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal Island and
began constructing an airfield there. Operation Watchtower was the codename
for the U.S. plan to invade Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands. During
the attack, American troops landed on five islands within the Solomon chain.
Although the invasion came as a complete surprise to the Japanese (bad
weather had grounded their scouting aircraft), the landings on Florida,
Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tananbogo met much initial opposition from the Japanese
defenders. But the Americans who landed on Guadalcanal met little
resistance-at least at first. More than 11,000 Marines had landed, and 24
hours had passed, before the Japanese manning the garrison there knew of the
attack. The U.S. forces quickly took their main objective, the airfield, and
the outnumbered Japanese troops retreated, but not for long. Reinforcements
were brought in, and fierce hand-to-hand jungle fighting ensued. “I have
never heard or read of this kind of fighting,” wrote one American major
general on the scene. “These people refuse to surrender.” The Americans were
at a particular disadvantage, being assaulted from both the sea and air. But
the U.S. Navy was able to reinforce its troops to a greater extent, and by
February 1943, the Japanese had retreated on secret orders of their emperor
(so secret, the Americans did not even know it had taken place until they
began happening upon abandoned positions, empty boats, and discarded
supplies). In total, the Japanese had lost more than 25,000 men, compared
with a loss of 1,600 by the Americans. Each side lost 24 warships. The first
Medal of Honor given to a Marine was awarded to Sgt. John Basilone for his
fighting during Operation Watchtower. According to the recommendation for
his medal, he “contributed materially to the defeat and virtually the
annihilation of a Japanese regiment.”
1942 – Landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands commenced.
This first Allied invasion in the Pacific proved to be a critical battle.
Coast Guard manned transports, including the USS Hunter Liggett,
participated in the invasion. Many of the landing craft were crewed by Coast
Guardsmen. A Coast Guard officer, LCDR Dwight H. Dexter, and 25 Coast
Guardsmen went ashore from the Liggett with their landing craft to set up a
naval operating base on Lunga Point. Signalman 1/c Douglas Munro, later
killed at Guadalcanal, was a member of Dexter’s command. The Liggett rescued
686 survivors of the Navy cruisers USS Vincennes, Astoria, and Quincy and
the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra that had been sunk in the Battle of
Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BENDER, STANLEY
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 7th Infantry,
3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near La Lande, France, 17 August 1944.
Entered service at: Chicago, 111. Born: 31 October 1909, Carlisle, W. Va.
G.O. No.: 7, 1 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 17 August
1944, near La Lande, France, he climbed on top of a knocked-out tank, in the
face of withering machinegun fire which had halted the advance of his
company, in an effort to locate the source of this fire. Although bullets
ricocheted off the turret at his feet, he nevertheless remained standing
upright in full view of the enemy for over 2 minutes. Locating the enemy
machineguns on a knoll 200 yards away, he ordered 2 squads to cover him and
led his men down an irrigation ditch, running a gauntlet of intense
machinegun fire, which completely blanketed 50 yards of his advance and
wounded 4 of his men. While the Germans hurled hand grenades at the ditch,
he stood his ground until his squad caught up with him, then advanced alone,
in a wide flanking approach, to the rear of the knoll. He walked
deliberately a distance of 40 yards, without cover, in full view of the
Germans and under a hail of both enemy and friendly fire, to the first
machinegun and knocked it out with a single short burst. Then he made his
way through the strong point, despite bursting hand grenades, toward the
second machinegun, 25 yards distant, whose 2-man crew swung the machinegun
around and fired two bursts at him, but he walked calmly through the fire
and, reaching the edge of the emplacement, dispatched the crew. Signaling
his men to rush the rifle pits, he then walked 35 yards further to kill an
enemy rifleman and returned to lead his squad in the destruction of the 8
remaining Germans in the strong point. His audacity so inspired the
remainder of the assault company that the men charged out of their
positions, shouting and yelling, to overpower the enemy roadblock and sweep
into town, knocking out 2 antitank guns, killing 37 Germans and capturing 26
others. He had sparked and led the assault company in an attack which
overwhelmed the enemy, destroying a roadblock, taking a town, seizing intact
3 bridges over the Maravenne River, and capturing commanding terrain which
dominated the area.
*PEASE, HARL, JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps, Heavy Bombardment
Squadron. Place and date: Near Rabaul, New Britain, 6-7 August 1942. Entered
service at: Plymouth, N.H. Birth: Plymouth, N.H. G.O. No.: 59, 4 November
1942. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond
the call of duty in action with the enemy on 6-7 August 1942. When 1 engine
of the bombardment airplane of which he was pilot failed during a bombing
mission over New Guinea, Capt. Pease was forced to return to a base in
Australia. Knowing that all available airplanes of his group were to
participate the next day in an attack on an enemy-held airdrome near Rabaul,
New Britain, although he was not scheduled to take part in this mission,
Capt. Pease selected the most serviceable airplane at this base and prepared
it for combat, knowing that it had been found and declared unserviceable for
combat missions. With the members of his combat crew, who volunteered to
accompany him, he rejoined his squadron at Port Moresby, New Guinea, at 1
a.m. on 7 August, after having flown almost continuously since early the
preceding morning. With only 3 hours’ rest, he took off with his squadron
for the attack. Throughout the long flight to Rabaul, New Britain, he
managed by skillful flying of his unserviceable airplane to maintain his
position in the group. When the formation was intercepted by about 30 enemy
fighter airplanes before reaching the target, Capt. Pease, on the wing which
bore the brunt of the hostile attack, by gallant action and the accurate
shooting by his crew, succeeded in destroying several Zeros before dropping
his bombs on the hostile base as planned, this in spite of continuous enemy
attacks. The fight with the enemy pursuit lasted 25 minutes until the group
dived into cloud cover. After leaving the target, Capt. Pease’s aircraft
fell behind the balance of the group due to unknown difficulties as a result
of the combat, and was unable to reach this cover before the enemy pursuit
succeeded in igniting 1 of his bomb bay tanks. He was seen to drop the
flaming tank. It is believed that Capt. Pease’s airplane and crew were
subsequently shot down in flames, as they did not return to their base. In
voluntarily performing this mission Capt. Pease contributed materially to
the success of the group, and displayed high devotion to duty, valor, and
complete contempt for personal danger. His undaunted bravery has been a
great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.
*CARTER, BRUCE W.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d
Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang
Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 7 August 1969. Entered service at:
Jacksonville, Fla. Born: 7 May 1950, Schenectady, N.Y. Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty while serving as grenadier with Company H in
connection with combat operations against the enemy. Pfc. Carter’s unit was
maneuvering against the enemy during Operation Idaho Canyon and came under a
heavy volume of fire from a numerically superior hostile force. The lead
element soon became separated from the main body of the squad by a brush
fire. Pfc. Carter and his fellow marines were pinned down by vicious
crossfire when, with complete disregard for his safety, he stood in full
view of the North Vietnamese Army soldiers to deliver a devastating volume
of fire at their positions. The accuracy and aggressiveness of his attack
caused several enemy casualties and forced the remainder of the soldiers to
retreat from the immediate area. Shouting directions to the marines around
him, Pfc. Carter then commenced leading them from the path of the rapidly
approaching brush fire when he observed a hostile grenade land between him
and his companions. Fully aware of the probable consequences of his action
but determined to protect the men following him, he unhesitatingly threw
himself over the grenade, absorbing the full effects of its detonation with
his body. Pfc. Carter’s indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and
selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps
and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his
country .
*HAGEN, LOREN D.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Infantry, U.S. Army
Training Advisory Group. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 7 August 1971.
Entered service at: Fargo, N. Dak. Born: 25 February 1946, Fargo, N. Dak.
Citation: 1st Lt. Hagen distinguished himself in action while serving as the
team leader of a small reconnaissance team operating deep within enemy-held
territory. At approximately 0630 hours on the morning of 7 August 1971 the
small team came under a fierce assault by a superior-sized enemy force using
heavy small arms, automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire. 1st Lt. Hagen
immediately began returning small-arms fire upon the attackers and
successfully led this team in repelling the first enemy onslaught. He then
quickly deployed his men into more strategic defense locations before the
enemy struck again in an attempt to overrun and annihilate the beleaguered
team’s members. 1st Lt. Hagen repeatedly exposed himself to- the enemy fire
directed at him as he constantly moved about the team’s perimeter, directing
fire, rallying the members, and resupplying the team with ammunition, while
courageously returning small arms and hand grenade fire in a valorous
attempt to repel the advancing enemy force. The courageous actions and
expert leadership abilities of 1st Lt. Hagen were a great source of
inspiration and instilled confidence in the team members. After observing an
enemy rocket make a direct hit on and destroy 1 of the team’s bunkers, 1st
Lt. Hagen moved toward the wrecked bunker in search for team members despite
the fact that the enemy force now controlled the bunker area. With total
disregard for his own personal safety, he crawled through the enemy fire
while returning small-arms fire upon the enemy force. Undaunted by the enemy
rockets and grenades impacting all around him, 1st Lt. Hagen desperately
advanced upon the destroyed bunker until he was fatally wounded by enemy
small arms and automatic weapons fire. With complete disregard for his
personal safety, 1st Lt. Hagen’s courageous gallantry, extraordinary
heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of
his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect great credit upon him and the U.S. Army.
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Thanks to interesting facts
Some honey can be hallucinogenic.
The U.S. has more than 300 types of honey, but there’s one you won’t find on
store shelves: mad honey. Upon visual inspection, mad honey offers up a clue
that it’s a bit different. Created when bees feast almost exclusively on
nectar and pollen from flowering rhododendron bushes, the natural sweetener
often has a reddish hue. It also has a slightly bitter taste, though another
unusual characteristic that appears shortly after consumption is what gives
mad honey its name: It causes hallucinations.
Honeybees are not native to the U.S.
IT'S A FACT
The U.S. is home to around 4,000 types of bees, though the species we rely
on for pollination and honey production isn’t native to the continent.
English colonists likely brought the first honeybees to Virginia in 1622.
Mad honey is a rarity, found mostly among high-altitude honeycombs in the
mountains of Turkey and Nepal. Harvesting it can be dangerous — Himalayan
giant honeybees tend to create hives among cliffs and rugged outcrops — and
consumption can be, too. Pollen and nectar from several species of
rhododendrons in these areas contain grayanotoxins, a poison that helps the
plants ward off hungry herbivores. While small doses of grayanotoxins can
cause euphoria and lightheadedness in humans, larger doses can cause
hallucinations, vomiting, temporary paralysis, and even death.
Those sometimes-disastrous reactions haven’t stopped humans from seeking out
the sticky substance, though. Some practitioners of folk medicine have long
believed that small doses of the toxin-laced honey can be beneficial for
human healing. Microdoses of mad honey have been used to treat high blood
pressure, diabetes, and arthritis — don’t try this at home — but researchers
are unsure how beneficial the stuff is for anyone other than its original
creators (bees).
Numbers Don't Lie
Year singer Van Morrison released his fifth album, “Tupelo Honey”
1971
Pounds of pollen collected by the average bee colony each year
125
Size (in inches) of Himalayan giant honeybee workers, the world’s largest
honeybee species
1.2
Approximate height (in meters) of England’s largest rhododendron bush, “Big
Rhodey”
30
MORE INTERESTING READS
Cats can make more than 250 different facial expressions.
______ is the top honey-producing U.S. state.
North Dakota is the top honey-producing U.S. state.
Mad honey has been used to slow advancing armies.
While today the word “honeytrap” brings to mind Cold War espionage and spy
films, at one time in history, honey actually was used to bait and subdue
enemy armies. The first known incident is preserved in writings by Xenophon
of Athens, a military commander, historian, and student of the philosopher
Socrates. According to Xenophon’s account, a Greek army he commanded in 401
BCE unknowingly consumed mad honey in northeast Turkey, becoming disoriented
for days before the effects wore off. In 65 BCE, Mithridates VI of Pontus
had combs containing mad honey purposely planted in the path of Roman
soldiers to disable their defenses in battle. Even American soldiers have
accidentally dined on tainted honey; according to Civil War lore, Union
troops marching through the Appalachian mountains reportedly consumed mad
honey, possibly made from local rhodies or mountain laurel plants, but with
effects that were just as dizzying and disorienting.
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This Day in Military History
The Final Flight of Extortion 17
It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special
operations. Why did it happen?
A few minutes past 2 a.m. on August 6, 2011, at a dusty forward operating
base 40 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan, the rotors of two U.S. Army
CH-47D Chinooks began to turn. Operating with no lights save for the faint
green glow of night vision goggles and cockpit instrument panels, the two
helicopters, call signs Extortion 17 (“one-seven”) and Extortion 16, lifted
into the darkness and accelerated toward a destination less than 20 miles
west.
Extortion 17 and its 38 occupants would not return. A Taliban fighter shot
the helicopter out of the sky with a rocket-propelled grenade and all aboard
were killed—the single greatest loss of American life in the Afghan war.
Those killed ranked among the world’s most highly trained and experienced
commandos, including 15 men from Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare
Development Group, popularly called SEAL Team 6. Just three months earlier,
members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound
in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. In light of that raid’s
success, the shootdown of Extortion 17 incited a flurry of conspiracy
theories: The Taliban were tipped off; it was a trap; it was retribution for
the killing. No evidence has emerged to support any of these claims.
Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of
the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17’s final flight.
So we do not forget the worst day for the Seals
Extortion 17
August 6, 2023 marks 12 years since Extortion 17. On this day 12 years ago,
30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a
CH-47 Chinook helicopter–call sign Extortion 17–was shot down in
Afghanistan.
This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since
the Afghan War started in 2001. The Museum Executive Team worked with these
men. We continue our work at the Museum so that their service and sacrifice
will never be forgotten.
Please take a moment and pause to honor and remember these heroes.
The following sailors assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare
unit were killed:
•.. Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport,
Louisiana
•.. Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J.
Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A.
Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas
•.. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer
(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36,
of Kokomo, Hawaii
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31,
of Stamford, Connecticut
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston,
35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason,
37, of Kansas City, Missouri
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills,
35, of Fort Worth, Texas
•.. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of
Washington, West Virginia
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves,
32, of Shreveport, Louisiana
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson,
34, of Detroit, Michigan
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C.
Benson, 28, of Angwin, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist)
Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina
•.. Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville,
Utah
•.. Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare
Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska
•.. Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary
Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface
Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Aaron C. Vaughn,
30, of Stuart, Florida
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jason R. Workman,
32, of Blanding, Utah
The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare
unit were killed:
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jesse D. Pittman,
27, of Ukiah, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)Nicholas P.
Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota
The soldiers killed were:
•.. Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was
assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support
Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colorado
•.. Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was
assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support
Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
•.. Staff Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation
Battalion), Grand Island, Nebraska
* Sergeant Hamburger was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant
•.. Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the
7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion),
New Century, Kansas
•.. Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th
Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New
Century, Kansas
The airmen killed were:
•.. Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida
•.. Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California
•.. Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania
All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope
Field, North Carolina.
Seven Afghan National Army commandos and one Afghan civilian interpreter
were also killed in the crash.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 7, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE
INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
7 August
1916: The Wright Company and the Glenn L. Martin Company merged into the
Wright Martin Aircraft Corporation. (24)
1944: Carrier Division 11, with carriers Saratoga and Ranger, commissioned
specifically for night operations. (24)
1947: Through 10 August, Capt William P. Odom broke his earlier 15 April
1947 around-the-world record. He flew the Reynolds Bombshell 19,645 miles
and landed in Chicago after 73 hours 5 minutes 11 seconds to shave nearly 5
hours off his previous record. (9) (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. The 98 BG flew its first mission shortly after 20 of its
B-29s landed at Yokota AB. (28)
1951: A Navy Viking rocket built by the Glenn L. Martin Company set an
altitude record for singlestage rockets, climbing 135 miles and reaching a
speed of 4,100 MPH, at White Sands. (24) Bill Bridgeman flew the Navy’s
Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket to a 1,238-MPH speed record. (9)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 8 August, Capt Clifford D. Jolley, 335th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, destroyed three additional MiGs in two days to
become the eighteenth ace of the war. (28)
1954: The School of Aviation Medicine had received the first piece of
experimental equipment ever built to study living conditions in space. It
was a sealed cabin that simulated the interior of a spaceship. (16) (24)
1956: The first F-100Cs with an inflight refueling capability became
operational at Foster AFB, Tex.
1959: Two F-100F aircraft made the first flight by jet fighter aircraft over
the North Pole. (16) (24) The Explorer VI, NASA’s “paddlewheel” satellite,
launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral by a Thor-Able III. It transmitted
the first television pictures from space. In addition, Maj Robert C. Mathis
used the satellite to relay the first intercontinental voice message. He
later became the VCSAF. (20) (21)
1963: Benjamin Greene set a new distance record for single-place gliders for
a 457.97-mile flight from Marfa, Tex., to Boise City, Okl.
1965: First Minuteman II missile emplaced in a 447 SMS silo at Grand Forks
AFB. (6) (12)
1975: Two C-141s flew from Ramstein AB to Bucharest with disaster relief
supplies after extensive flooding of the Danube River and its tributaries.
(16) (26)
1976: The Viking 2 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars. (8: Sep 90) 1980:
HURRICANE ALLEN. Through 12 August, 3 MAC missions (1 C-5 and 2 C-141s) and
one ANG C-130 mission airlifted 107 people and 61 tons of supplies to Haiti
and St Lucia from the US and Howard AFB. The hurricane killed 57 and left
hundreds homeless. (18)
1982: At Sheppard AFB, ATC ended the German Air Force undergraduate pilot
training program. (16)
1984: The HH-60D helicopter flew its first rescue mission to save a young
couple that had been stranded above 10,000 feet in the high Sierras
overnight. (3) Operation INTENSE LOOK. Through 2 October, MAC supported the
deployment of US minesweeping assets to the Red Sea to help Egypt and Saudi
Arabia determine the cause of mysterious explosions that damaged ships
plying the Red Sea. MAC flew 27 C-5, 14 C-141, and 3 C-130 sorties to move
983 passengers and 1,324 tons of cargo. (18)
1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD. As a response to Iraq’s 2 August invasion of
Kuwait, the US military initiated deployment actions to protect Saudi Arabia
from Iraqi aggression and to liberate Kuwait. The 71 TFS deployed 24 F-15C
Eagles on a 15-hour, 8,000-mile, non-stop flight from Langley AFB to
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with 12 inflight refuelings. (16) (26)
1995: A B-52H bomber from the 2 BW at Barksdale AFB employed
precision-guided munitions in a training mission for the first time. (16)
1998: Scaled Composite’s D-2 technology demonstrator UAV made its first
flight after a two-year hiatus. The twin-tail propeller D-2 was a testbed
vehicle for NASA’s Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology
(ERAST) program. (3)
2003: In an Automatic Air Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) test, as two
AFFTC F-16s repeatedly approached each other in flight. The Auto ACAS
activated every time to separate them without pilot input. (3)
2007: The 75th Fighter Squadron Commander, Lt Col Sam Milam, flew the first
A-10C Thunderbolt II to its new home at Moody AFB, Ga. It was the first of
50 upgraded A-10Cs to move to Moody under base realignment plans. The base
finished the move in early 2008 as the A-10s were converted from A-10A to
A-10C models. (AFNEWS, “First Improved Thunderbolt Arrives at Moody,” 8 Aug
2007.)
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