TheList 7601

7601

Good Tuesday morning July 21 2026 .We have a heat advisory now with temps at

80 now and climbing  up to 86 by 1 and staying into the 80s until 6 or so

and dropping to 78 by 7.

No outside work on the schedule  for today.

.

Regards,

skip

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

July 21

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage

http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner

and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered

History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the

date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all

content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.

An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO)

MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit

directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/.

There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo-TFO

has over 1,000 individual case files).

.

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro

put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to

the crew of the aircraft. ..Skip

For Tuesday July 21

July 21:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=693 

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

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/.  Go here

to see the director's corner for all 100 H-Grams

July 21

1823 - After pirate attack, LT David G. Farragut leads landing party to

destroy pirate stronghold in Cuba.

1905 USS Bennington (Gunboat #4) is wrecked by a boiler explosion at San

Diego, Calif. One officer and 65 enlisted men die in the explosion, along

with numerous crew injuries.

1918 During World War I, German submarine (U 156) surfaces and fires on U.S.

tugboat, Perth Amboy, and four barges, three miles off Nauset Beach, Cape

Cod, Mass.

1943 PBY aircraft (VP 94) sinks German submarine (U 662) off the mouth of

Amazon River, Brazil.

1944 Task Force 53, (commanded by Rear Adm. Richard L. Connolly) lands the

Third Marine Division and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, along with the

U.S. Army 77th Infantry Division on Guam. The island is declared secure on

Aug. 9 though bands of enemy Japanese are long encountered after VJ Day.

1946 In the first U.S. test of adaptability of jet aircraft to shipboard

operations, an XFD 1 Phantom piloted by Lt. Cmdr. James Davidson makes

landings and takeoffs without catapults from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB

42).

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Today in World History July 21

1403    Henry IV defeats the Percys in the Battle of Shrewsbury in England.

1667    The Peace of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War and cedes Dutch

New Amsterdam to the English.

1711    Russia and Turkey sign the Treaty of Pruth, ending the year-long

Russo-Turkish War.

1718    The Treaty of Passarowitz is signed by Austria, Venice and the

Ottoman Empire.

1773    Pope Clement XIV abolishes the Jesuit order.

1798    Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Arab Mameluke warriors at the Battle

of the Pyramids.

1861    In the first major battle of the Civil War, Confederate forces

defeat the Union Army along Bull Run near Manassas Junction, Virginia. The

battle becomes known as Manassas by the Confederates, while the Union calls

it Bull Run.

1865    Wild Bill Hickok kills gunman Dave Tutt in Springfield, Missouri, in

what is regarded as the first formal quick-draw duel.

1873    The James Gang robs a train in Adair, Iowa.

1896    Mary Church Terrell founds the National Association of Colored Women

in Washington, D.C.

1906    French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is vindicated of his earlier

court-martial for spying for Germany.

1919    The British House of Lords ratifies the Versailles Treaty.

1925    John Scopes is found guilty for teaching evolution in Dayton, Tenn.,

and is fined $100.

1941    France accepts Japan's demand for military control of Indochina.

1944    U.S. Army and Marine forces land on Guam in the Marianas.

1954    The French sign an armistice with the Viet Minh that ends the war

but divides Vietnam into two countries.

1960    Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes the first woman prime minister of

Ceylon.

1861    First Battle of Bull Run begins >

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. The first battle of Bull Run

On July 21, 1861, in the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large

Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army

under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard.

Three months after the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, Union military

command still believed that the Confederacy could be crushed quickly and

with little loss of life. In July, this overconfidence led to a premature

offensive into northern Virginia by General McDowell. Searching out the

Confederate forces, McDowell led 34,000 troops-mostly inexperienced and

poorly trained militiamen-toward the railroad junction of Manassas, located

just 30 miles from Washington, D.C. Alerted to the Union advance, General

Beauregard massed some 20,000 troops there and was soon joined by General

Joseph Johnston, who brought some 9,000 more troops by railroad.

On the morning of July 21, hearing of the proximity of the two opposing

forces, hundreds of civilians-men, women, and children-turned out to watch

the first major battle of the Civil War. The fighting commenced with three

Union divisions crossing the Bull Run stream, and the Confederate flank was

driven back to Henry House Hill. However, at this strategic location,

Beauregard had fashioned a strong defensive line anchored by a brigade of

Virginia infantry under General Thomas J. Jackson. Firing from a concealed

slope, Jackson's men repulsed a series of Federal charges, winning Jackson

his famous nickname "Stonewall."

Meanwhile, Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart captured the Union

artillery, and Beauregard ordered a counterattack on the exposed Union right

flank. The rebels came charging down the hill, yelling furiously, and

McDowell's line was broken, forcing his troops in a hasty retreat across

Bull Run. The retreat soon became an unorganized flight, and supplies

littered the road back to Washington. Union forces endured a loss of 3,000

men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered

2,000 casualties. The scale of this bloodshed horrified not only the

frightened spectators at Bull Run but also the U.S. government in

Washington, which was faced with an uncertain military strategy in quelling

the "Southern insurrection."

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. Thanks to Interesting Facts

The microwave was invented by accident, thanks to a melted candy bar.

The history of technology is filled with happy accidents. Penicillin,

Popsicles, and Velcro? All accidents. But perhaps the scientific stroke of

luck that most influences our day-to-day domestic life is the invention of

the microwave oven. Today, 90% of American homes have a microwave, according

to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but before World War II, no such

device - or even an inkling of one - existed.

During the war, Allied forces gained a significant tactical advantage by

deploying the world's first true radar system. The success of this system

increased research into microwaves and the magnetrons (a type of electron

tube) that generate them. One day circa 1946, Percy Spencer, an engineer and

all-around magnetron expert, was working at the aerospace and defense

company Raytheon when he stepped in front of an active radar set. To his

surprise, microwaves produced from the radar melted a chocolate bar (or by

some accounts, a peanut cluster bar) in his pocket. After getting over his

shock - and presumably cleaning up - and then conducting a few more

experiments using eggs and popcorn kernels, Spencer realized that microwaves

could be used to cook a variety of foods. Raytheon patented the invention a

short time later, and by 1947, the company had released its first microwave.

It took decades for the technology to improve, and prices to drop, before

microwaves were affordable for the average consumer, but soon enough they

grew into one of the most ubiquitous appliances in today's kitchens.

Chocolate originated in what is now modern-day Belgium.

The first microwave oven was called the RadaRange and weighed 750 pounds.

I can remember buying my first Microwave overseas and when I manhandled it

back to the ship it felt like 750 pounds.Skip

Frequency (in megahertz) at which microwave ovens operate

2,450

Number of microwaves sold worldwide every year

30 million

Year microwave popcorn first hit supermarket shelves

1981

Number of cacao beans it takes to make 1 pound of chocolate

400

The discovery of evidence for the Big Bang was also an accident.

In 1964 at Bell Labs outside Holmdel, New Jersey, radio astronomers Arno

Penzias and Robert Wilson were frustrated with their antenna. The sensitive

equipment was picking up a persistent buzzing noise that the pair first

thought might be coming from the machine itself, nearby New York City, or

even pigeons nesting in the antenna. However, once every explanation

appeared to be accounted for, the two astronomers still detected the hum no

matter where they pointed the antenna in the sky. After speaking with

astronomers at Princeton University, the duo realized that they had actually

detected the cosmic microwave background, which is leftover radiation from

the Big Bang and evidence for the very beginning of the universe some 13.8

billion years ago. Fourteen years later, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the

Nobel Prize in physics for their groundbreaking - and serendipitous -

discovery.

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. Thanks to Mud

There is no way I can pick a winner out of this group.  Some had me laughing

out loud.

S/F,

- Mud.

"If you want to know how old a woman is, ask her sister-in-law."  (Eva

Gabor)

"Old age comes at a bad time." (Ed Sullivan)

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened."

(Stevie Wonder)

"Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard, there

is nothing you can do about it."  (Golda Meir)

"The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened.

(Mark Twain)

"I'm at that age where my back goes out more than I do." (Phyllis Diller)

"Nice to be here? At my age, it's nice to be anywhere." (George Burns)

"First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your

zipper up; then, you forget to pull your zipper down." (Rob Reiner)

"You spend 90 percent of your adult life hoping for a long rest and the last

10 percent trying to convince the Lord that you're actually not THAT tired."

(Princess Grace)

"Old people shouldn't eat Health foods. They need all the preservatives they

can get." (Bob Hope)

"At my age, flowers scare me." (George Burns)

"It's like you trade the virility of the body for the agility of the

spirit." (Ed ullivan)

"The years between 55 and 75 are the hardest. You are always being asked to

do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down."  (T.S

Elliot)

"At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. at age 40, we don't care

what they think of us. at age 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of

us at all."  (Ann Landers)

"When I was young, I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my

fifties, I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the same

things I did then, and I'm labeled senile." (Milton Berle)

"The important thing to remember is that I'm probably going to forget."

(Martin Scorsese)

"We don't grow older, we grow riper." (Pablo Picasso)

"It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone,

but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone." - (Andy Rooney)

"The older I get, the better I used to be." (Lee Trevino) 

"I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a lot more as they

get older, and then it dawned on me - they're cramming for their final

exam." (George Carlin)

"Everything seems to slow down with age, except the time it takes cake and

ice cream to reach your hips." (Elizabeth Taylor)

"Grandchildren don't make a man feel old, it's the knowledge that he's

married to a grandmother that does." (Norman Vincent Peale)

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure

sign you're getting old." (Mark Twain)

"You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks."

(Dennis Quaid)

"There's one advantage to being 102, there's no peer pressure." (Adam & Eve)

"There are three stages in man's Life: he believes in Santa Claus, he does

not believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus." (Leon Phillips)

"Looking fifty is great - if you're sixty." - (Joan Rivers)

"Time may be a great Healer, but it's a lousy Beautician." (Zsa Zsa Gabor)

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From Farragut's Raiders to the First Man on the Moon by  W. Thomas Smith Jr.

07/20/2010

This Week in American Military History

July 20, 1969:  Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong - an Eagle Scout and

U.S. Naval aviator who flew multiple combat missions over Korea (and was

once shot down) - becomes the first human to walk on the surface of the

moon.

Upon stepping off the ladder of the lunar module, Armstrong says, "That's

one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

Armstrong, who serves as Apollo 11 mission commander, is accompanied on the

historic voyage by command module pilot Michael Collins (a U.S. Air Force

fighter pilot who will become a major general in 1978) and lunar module

pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin (also an Air Force fighter pilot, who shot

down two MiG-15 fighters over Korea).

Aldrin will follow Armstrong down the ladder, and the two will raise the

stars and stripes.

"That was a proud moment, to be a military person and to salute that flag on

the surface of the moon," Aldrin will say in an interview on FOX News

Sunday, July 19, 2009.

July 21, 1823:  U.S. Navy Midshipman and acting-lieutenant (future admiral)

David Glasgow Farragut leads a raiding party of cutlass-armed sailors and

Marines against a pirate base on Cape Cruz, Cuba. Farragut's men attack and

destroy the pirate stronghold.

Farragut is best known for purportedly uttering the command, "Damn the

torpedoes! Full speed ahead!," or the more likely command, "Damn the

torpedoes! "Four bells. Captain [Percival] Drayton, go ahead! [Lt.

Commander James] Jouett, full speed!" during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay,

Alabama.

July 21, 1861:  In what the Union hoped and generally believed would be an

overwhelming Union victory that would end the rebellion before it got

started, Confederate Army forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Pierre G.T.

Beauregard and reinforced by Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (and

Johnston's soon-to-be famous Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, who on-this-day

will earn the nom d' guerre, "Stonewall") defeat and rout Union Army forces

under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell during the First Battle of Bull Run (known

to many Southerners as First Manassas).

According to legend, at a critical point in the battle, Brig. Gen. Barnard

E. Bee of South Carolina, rides up to Jackson and says, "The enemy is

driving us."

Jackson responds, "Then, sir, we will give them the bayonet."

Bee then purportedly shouts to his men, "There is Jackson standing like a

stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer! Follow me!"

or "There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians,

boys!"

Bee will be mortally wounded on this day.

Jackson - who will be mortally wounded during the 1863 Battle of

Chancellorsville (also a Confederate victory) - will go down in history as

one of the greatest generals ever produced by America.

July 22, 1943:  Elements of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.'s 7th Army seize

Palermo (Sicily).

July 24, 1944:  U.S. Marines begin landing on Tinian.

.

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. The first battle of Bull Run

On July 21, 1861, in the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large

Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army

under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard.

Three months after the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, Union military

command still believed that the Confederacy could be crushed quickly and

with little loss of life. In July, this overconfidence led to a premature

offensive into northern Virginia by General McDowell. Searching out the

Confederate forces, McDowell led 34,000 troops-mostly inexperienced and

poorly trained militiamen-toward the railroad junction of Manassas, located

just 30 miles from Washington, D.C. Alerted to the Union advance, General

Beauregard massed some 20,000 troops there and was soon joined by General

Joseph Johnston, who brought some 9,000 more troops by railroad.

On the morning of July 21, hearing of the proximity of the two opposing

forces, hundreds of civilians-men, women, and children-turned out to watch

the first major battle of the Civil War. The fighting commenced with three

Union divisions crossing the Bull Run stream, and the Confederate flank was

driven back to Henry House Hill. However, at this strategic location,

Beauregard had fashioned a strong defensive line anchored by a brigade of

Virginia infantry under General Thomas J. Jackson. Firing from a concealed

slope, Jackson's men repulsed a series of Federal charges, winning Jackson

his famous nickname "Stonewall."

Meanwhile, Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart captured the Union

artillery, and Beauregard ordered a counterattack on the exposed Union right

flank. The rebels came charging down the hill, yelling furiously, and

McDowell's line was broken, forcing his troops in a hasty retreat across

Bull Run. The retreat soon became an unorganized flight, and supplies

littered the road back to Washington. Union forces endured a loss of 3,000

men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered

2,000 casualties. The scale of this bloodshed horrified not only the

frightened spectators at Bull Run but also the U.S. government in

Washington, which was faced with an uncertain military strategy in quelling

the "Southern insurrection."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

. Thanks to Interesting Facts

The microwave was invented by accident, thanks to a melted candy bar.

The history of technology is filled with happy accidents. Penicillin,

Popsicles, and Velcro? All accidents. But perhaps the scientific stroke of

luck that most influences our day-to-day domestic life is the invention of

the microwave oven. Today, 90% of American homes have a microwave, according

to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but before World War II, no such

device - or even an inkling of one - existed.

During the war, Allied forces gained a significant tactical advantage by

deploying the world's first true radar system. The success of this system

increased research into microwaves and the magnetrons (a type of electron

tube) that generate them. One day circa 1946, Percy Spencer, an engineer and

all-around magnetron expert, was working at the aerospace and defense

company Raytheon when he stepped in front of an active radar set. To his

surprise, microwaves produced from the radar melted a chocolate bar (or by

some accounts, a peanut cluster bar) in his pocket. After getting over his

shock - and presumably cleaning up - and then conducting a few more

experiments using eggs and popcorn kernels, Spencer realized that microwaves

could be used to cook a variety of foods. Raytheon patented the invention a

short time later, and by 1947, the company had released its first microwave.

It took decades for the technology to improve, and prices to drop, before

microwaves were affordable for the average consumer, but soon enough they

grew into one of the most ubiquitous appliances in today's kitchens.

Chocolate originated in what is now modern-day Belgium.

The first microwave oven was called the RadaRange and weighed 750 pounds.

I can remember buying my first Microwave overseas and when I manhandled it

back to the ship it felt like 750 pounds.Skip

Frequency (in megahertz) at which microwave ovens operate

2,450

Number of microwaves sold worldwide every year

30 million

Year microwave popcorn first hit supermarket shelves

1981

Number of cacao beans it takes to make 1 pound of chocolate

400

The discovery of evidence for the Big Bang was also an accident.

In 1964 at Bell Labs outside Holmdel, New Jersey, radio astronomers Arno

Penzias and Robert Wilson were frustrated with their antenna. The sensitive

equipment was picking up a persistent buzzing noise that the pair first

thought might be coming from the machine itself, nearby New York City, or

even pigeons nesting in the antenna. However, once every explanation

appeared to be accounted for, the two astronomers still detected the hum no

matter where they pointed the antenna in the sky. After speaking with

astronomers at Princeton University, the duo realized that they had actually

detected the cosmic microwave background, which is leftover radiation from

the Big Bang and evidence for the very beginning of the universe some 13.8

billion years ago. Fourteen years later, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the

Nobel Prize in physics for their groundbreaking - and serendipitous -

discovery.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

. Thanks to Mud

There is no way I can pick a winner out of this group.  Some had me laughing

out loud.

S/F,

- Mud.

"If you want to know how old a woman is, ask her sister-in-law."  (Eva

Gabor)

"Old age comes at a bad time." (Ed Sullivan)

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened."

(Stevie Wonder)

"Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard, there

is nothing you can do about it."  (Golda Meir)

"The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened.

(Mark Twain)

"I'm at that age where my back goes out more than I do." (Phyllis Diller)

"Nice to be here? At my age, it's nice to be anywhere." (George Burns)

"First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your

zipper up; then, you forget to pull your zipper down." (Rob Reiner)

"You spend 90 percent of your adult life hoping for a long rest and the last

10 percent trying to convince the Lord that you're actually not THAT tired."

(Princess Grace)

"Old people shouldn't eat Health foods. They need all the preservatives they

can get." (Bob Hope)

"At my age, flowers scare me." (George Burns)

"It's like you trade the virility of the body for the agility of the

spirit." (Ed ullivan)

"The years between 55 and 75 are the hardest. You are always being asked to

do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down."  (T.S

Elliot)

"At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. at age 40, we don't care

what they think of us. at age 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of

us at all."  (Ann Landers)

"When I was young, I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my

fifties, I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the same

things I did then, and I'm labeled senile." (Milton Berle)

"The important thing to remember is that I'm probably going to forget."

(Martin Scorsese)

"We don't grow older, we grow riper." (Pablo Picasso)

"It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone,

but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone." - (Andy Rooney)

"The older I get, the better I used to be." (Lee Trevino) 

"I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a lot more as they

get older, and then it dawned on me - they're cramming for their final

exam." (George Carlin)

"Everything seems to slow down with age, except the time it takes cake and

ice cream to reach your hips." (Elizabeth Taylor)

"Grandchildren don't make a man feel old, it's the knowledge that he's

married to a grandmother that does." (Norman Vincent Peale)

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure

sign you're getting old." (Mark Twain)

"You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks."

(Dennis Quaid)

"There's one advantage to being 102, there's no peer pressure." (Adam & Eve)

"There are three stages in man's Life: he believes in Santa Claus, he does

not believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus." (Leon Phillips)

"Looking fifty is great - if you're sixty." - (Joan Rivers)

"Time may be a great Healer, but it's a lousy Beautician." (Zsa Zsa Gabor)

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

From Farragut's Raiders to the First Man on the Moon by  W. Thomas Smith Jr.

07/20/2010

This Week in American Military History

July 20, 1969:  Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong - an Eagle Scout and

U.S. Naval aviator who flew multiple combat missions over Korea (and was

once shot down) - becomes the first human to walk on the surface of the

moon.

Upon stepping off the ladder of the lunar module, Armstrong says, "That's

one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

Armstrong, who serves as Apollo 11 mission commander, is accompanied on the

historic voyage by command module pilot Michael Collins (a U.S. Air Force

fighter pilot who will become a major general in 1978) and lunar module

pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin (also an Air Force fighter pilot, who shot

down two MiG-15 fighters over Korea).

Aldrin will follow Armstrong down the ladder, and the two will raise the

stars and stripes.

"That was a proud moment, to be a military person and to salute that flag on

the surface of the moon," Aldrin will say in an interview on FOX News

Sunday, July 19, 2009.

July 21, 1823:  U.S. Navy Midshipman and acting-lieutenant (future admiral)

David Glasgow Farragut leads a raiding party of cutlass-armed sailors and

Marines against a pirate base on Cape Cruz, Cuba. Farragut's men attack and

destroy the pirate stronghold.

Farragut is best known for purportedly uttering the command, "Damn the

torpedoes! Full speed ahead!," or the more likely command, "Damn the

torpedoes! "Four bells. Captain [Percival] Drayton, go ahead! [Lt.

Commander James] Jouett, full speed!" during the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay,

Alabama.

July 21, 1861:  In what the Union hoped and generally believed would be an

overwhelming Union victory that would end the rebellion before it got

started, Confederate Army forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Pierre G.T.

Beauregard and reinforced by Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (and

Johnston's soon-to-be famous Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, who on-this-day

will earn the nom d' guerre, "Stonewall") defeat and rout Union Army forces

under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell during the First Battle of Bull Run (known

to many Southerners as First Manassas).

According to legend, at a critical point in the battle, Brig. Gen. Barnard

E. Bee of South Carolina, rides up to Jackson and says, "The enemy is

driving us."

Jackson responds, "Then, sir, we will give them the bayonet."

Bee then purportedly shouts to his men, "There is Jackson standing like a

stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer! Follow me!"

or "There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians,

boys!"

Bee will be mortally wounded on this day.

Jackson - who will be mortally wounded during the 1863 Battle of

Chancellorsville (also a Confederate victory) - will go down in history as

one of the greatest generals ever produced by America.

July 22, 1943:  Elements of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.'s 7th Army seize

Palermo (Sicily).

July 24, 1944:  U.S. Marines begin landing on Tinian.

.

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TheList 7600

7600

Good Monday morning July 20 2026 .The Heat wave is still here and heating up

89 by 2 and staying into the 80s until 6 or so.

Sorry for the late arrival.

Regards,

skip

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Monday Morning Humor Thanks to Al and happy  birthday to Patty

My wife, Patty, will celebrate her 81st birthday on Saturday, so this MMH is

dedicated to her.

Submitted by Mike Ryan:

Some of Patty’s musings…

·        I talk to myself. There are times I need expert advice.

·        “In Style” are the clothes that still fit.

·        I don't need anger management. I need people to stop pissing me

off.

·        My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance for idiots that

needs work.

·        The biggest lie I tell myself is, “I don't need to write that

down. I'll remember it.”

·        “On time” is when I get there.

·        Even duct tape can't fix stupid, but it sure does muffle the sound

·        It would be wonderful if I could put myself in the dryer for ten

minutes, then come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller.

·        Lately, I've noticed people my age are so much older than me.

·        Growing old should have taken longer.

·        Aging has slowed me down, but hasn't shut me up.

·        I still haven't learned to act my age and hope I never will

·        “One for the road” means peeing before I leave the house.

Submitted by Mark Logan:

At my age, it seems like this is a typical day.  See attached .mp4 called

ATypicalDay

Submitted by Colleen Grosso:

Applicable quotes…

·        "Old age comes at a bad time." (Ed Sullivan)

·        "Inside every OLDer person is a younger person wondering what

happened." (Stevie Wonder)

·        "Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are

aboard, there is nothing you can do about it."  (Golda Meir)

·        "The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never

happened. (Mark Twain)

·        "I’m at that age where my back goes out more than I do." (Phyllis

Diller)

·        "Nice to be here? At my age, it’s nice to be anywhere." (George

Burns)

·        “You spend 90 percent of your adult life hoping for a long rest

and the last 10 percent trying to convince the Lord that you’re actually not

THAT tired.” (Princess Grace)

·        “Old people shouldn’t eat health foods. They need all the

preservatives they can get.” (Bob Hope)

·        "At my age, flowers scare me." (George Burns)

·        "The years between 55 and 75 are the hardest. You are always being

asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down."

(T.S Elliot)

·        "At age 20, we worry about what others think of us… at age 40, we

don’t care what they think of us… at age 60, we discover they haven’t been

thinking of us at all."  (Ann Landers)

·        "When I was young, I was called a rugged individualist. When I was

in my fifties, I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing and saying the

same things I did then, and I’m labeled senile." (Milton Berle)

·        "The important thing to remember is that I’m probably going to

forget." (Martin Scorsese)

·        "We don’t grow older, we grow riper." (Pablo Picasso)

·        “It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to

everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.”  (Andy

Rooney)

·        “The older I get, the better I used to be.” (Lee Trevino)

·        "I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a lot more

as they get older, and then it dawned on me—they’re cramming for their final

exam." (George Carlin)

·        "Everything seems to slow down with age, except the time it takes

cake and ice cream to reach your hips." (Elizabeth Taylor)

·        "Grandchildren don’t make a woman feel old, it’s the knowledge

that she’s married to a grandfather that does." (Norman Vincent Peale)

·        "When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look,

it’s a sure sign you’re getting old." (Mark Twain)

·        "You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or

leaks." (Dennis Quaid)

·        "Looking fifty is great — if you’re sixty." (Joan Rivers)

·        "Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician." (Zsa

Zsa Gabor)

    During a recent visit to her doctor, Patty asked him “How do you

determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?”

    “Well,” he said, “We fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a

teacup, and a bucket to the person and ask them to empty the bathtub.”

    “Oh, I understand,” she said.  “A normal person would use the bucket

because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup.”

    “No,” he said, “A normal person would pull the plug.  Would you like a

bed near the window?”

Submitted by Skip Leonard:

Seniors are under attack and this is happening right here in our own

country!  We must stop this immediately!

    Have you noticed that stairs are getting steeper? Groceries are

heavier. And, everything is farther away. Yesterday I walked to the corner

and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become!

    And, you know, people are less considerate now, especially the young

ones. They speak in whispers all the time! If you ask them to speak up, they

just keep repeating themselves, endlessly mouthing the same silent message

until they're red in the face! What do they think I am, a lip reader?

    I also think they are much younger than I was at the same age. On the

other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am. I ran into an old

friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't even recognize

me. I got to thinking about the poor dear while I was combing my hair this

morning, and in doing so, I glanced at my own reflection well, really

now-even mirrors are not made the way they used to be!

    Another thing, everyone drives so fast these days! You're risking life

and limb if you happen to pull onto the freeway in front of them. All I can

say is, their brakes must wear out awfully fast, the way I see them screech

and swerve in my rear view mirror.

    Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days. Why else would

they suddenly start labeling a size 32 waisted pant as 40? Do they think no

one notices? The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank.

Do they think I actually believe the number I see on that dial? Ha! I would

never let myself weigh that much! Just who do these people think they're

fooling?

    I'd like to call up someone in authority to report what's going on--but

the telephone company is in on the conspiracy too: they've printed the phone

books in such small type that no one could ever find a number in there!

    All I can do is pass along this warning:  WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!

    Unless something drastic happens pretty soon everyone will have to

suffer these awful indignities.

Submitted by Peggy Yunghahn:

More of Patty’s musings…

·        Eventually I have reached the point when I have stopped lying

about my age and start bragging about it.  I love to hear them say: "You

don't look that old."   

·        The older I get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Mostly, because I forgot why I was waiting in line in the first place.

·        When I am dissatisfied and would like to go back to my youth, I

think of Algebra.

·        Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

·        "Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my

mouth!"   

Have a happy birthday Patty.

Everyone else have a great week,

Al

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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History July 20

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

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/.  Go here

to see the director’s corner for all 100 H-Grams

July 20

1846 In the effort to negotiate a treaty with Japan, Commodore James Biddle

arrives with the ship of the line, USS Columbus, and the sloop of war, USS

Vincennes, at Edo (Yedo), Japan. These are the first U.S. warships to visit

Japan.

1861 During the Civil War, the wooden screw gunboat, USS Albatross,

commanded by Cmdr. G.A. Prentiss, recaptures the civilian schooner,

Enchantress, off Hatteras Inlet. She is previously captured by the

Confederate privateer, CSS Jefferson Davis, on July 6. Also on this date,

the wooden screw steamship, USS Mount Vernon, commanded by Oliver S.

Glisson, seizes the sloop, Wild Pigeon, on the Rappahannock River.

1942 Adm. William D. Leahy becomes Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief

of the Army and the Navy, the precursor to the post of Chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff. In Dec. 1944, Leahy is promoted to Fleet Admiral. Fleet

Adm. Leahy also dies on this date in 1959.

1945 USS Threadfin (SS 410) sinks the Japanese minesweeper (W 39) northwest

of Mokpo, Korea.

1960 In the first launch of the Polaris missile, USS George Washington (SSBN

598) successfully fires two operational Polaris missiles while submerged off

Florida.

1969 Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong is the first man to set foot on the

moon, saying That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

Armstrong is Commander of Apollo 11, which during its 8 day mission lands on

the Sea of Tranquility. Michael Collins is the Command Module Pilot and

Edwin Buzz E. Aldrin Jr., is the Lunar Module Pilot.

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This Day in History

July 20

1402 Tamerlane's Mongols defeat the Ottoman Turks at Angora.

1588 The Spanish Armada sets sail from Corunna.

1715 The Riot Act goes into effect in England.

1864 Confederate General John Bell Hood attacks Union forces under General

William T. Sherman outside Atlanta.

1867 Imperial troops in Guizhou, China, kill 20,000 Miao rebels.

1881 Sioux chief Sitting Bull surrenders to the U.S. Army.

1917 Alexander Kerensky becomes the premier of Russia.

1942 The U.S. Army Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) begins its first

training class at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

1944 Adolf Hitler is wounded in an assassination attempt by German Army

officers at Rastenburg.

1950 The U.S. Army's Task Force Smith is pushed back by superior North

Korean forces.

1951 King Abdullah of Jordan is assassinated.

1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on

the moon.

1976 The Viking spacecraft lands on Mars and begins taking soil samples

.

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

July 20

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage

http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner

and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered

History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the

date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all

content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.

An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO)

MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit

directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/.

There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO

has over 1,000 individual case files).

.

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro

put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to

the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip

For Monday July 20

July 20:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2956 

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From the daily  Rolling Thunder for this date

.

“ONE LAST ROLL” by CAPTAIN GERALD (JERRY) COFFEE…

“We toast our faithful comrades

Now fallen from the sky,

And gently caught by God’s own hand

To be with Him on High.

    “To dwell among the soaring clouds

    They knew so well before,

      From dawn patrol and victory roll

      At heaven’s very door.

“And, as we fly among them there,

We’re sure to hear their plea,

‘Take care my friend: Watch your six,

And do one more roll–just for me.’ “…

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.

Thanks to This Day in History

At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from

Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home:

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off

the lunar module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the

surface of the moon.

The American effort to send astronauts to the moon has its origins in a

famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint session of

Congress on May 25, 1961: “I believe this nation should commit itself to

achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon

and returning him safely to the Earth.” At the time, the United States was

still trailing the Soviet Union in space developments, and Cold War-era

America welcomed Kennedy’s bold proposal.

Did the US Go to the Moon to Beat the Soviets?

In 1966, after five years of work by an international team of scientists and

engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

conducted the first unmanned Apollo mission, testing the structural

integrity of the proposed launch vehicle and spacecraft combination. Then,

on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in

Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a fire broke out during a manned launch-pad

test of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket. Three astronauts were

killed in the fire.

Despite the setback, NASA and its thousands of workers forged ahead, and in

October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited Earth and

successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to conduct a

moon journey and landing. In December of the same year, Apollo 8 took three

astronauts around the far side of the moon and orbited it 10 times before

returning, and in March 1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first

time while in Earth orbit. Then in May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10

took the first complete Apollo spacecraft in 31 orbits around the moon in a

dry run for the scheduled July landing mission.

At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from

Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and

Michael Collins aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old research pilot, was the

commander of the mission. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo

11 entered a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar

module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command

module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent

to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the

southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed

to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a famous message: “The Eagle has

landed.”

Apollo 11: They Almost Forgot the American Flag

At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened

the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the lunar module’s

ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and

beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great

anticipation. At 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke his famous quote, which he

later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be

“that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” He then

planted his left foot on the gray, powdery surface, took a cautious step

forward, and humanity had walked on the moon.

“Buzz” Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface at 11:11 p.m., and together

they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple

scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By

1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the

hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon,

and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module.

Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read:

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon–July 1969

A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.”

At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins,

and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely

splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one

unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon,

astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left

the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. The Apollo program was a costly and

labor-intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers,

technicians, and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion

in today’s dollars). The expense was justified by Kennedy’s 1961 mandate to

beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished ongoing

missions lost their viability.

Apollo 11

5 Terrifying Moments During the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Mission

The astronaut crew had to troubleshoot a series of problems throughout the

historic 1969 flight.

This historic exchange on July 20, 1969 marked the end of a perilous journey

to the lunar surface, but a multitude of threats still faced the pair of

NASA astronauts during their surface operations—while Command Module Pilot

Michael Collins looked down alone, orbiting high above the lunar landscape.

And, despite arriving in one piece, the expert touchdown was by no means

certain. Below are five of the scariest moments during Apollo 11.

1. Missing the Mark on Touch-Down Amid Multiple Alarms

Apollo 11 Lunar Module

NASA

After arriving in lunar orbit and later separating from the Command Module

to begin their landing sequence, Armstrong and Aldrin had little idea that

their moon landing plans had already been modified by an overlooked effect

of Newtonian physics.

A couple of hours earlier, as the spidery Lunar Module “Eagle” undocked from

the Command Module “Columbia,” residual pressure inside the tunnel that

connected the two spacecraft before undocking wasn’t sufficiently vented,

causing Eagle to get an additional boost as it separated.

It was slight, but at around nine minutes before touchdown, Armstrong

realized they were going to overshoot their landing site, estimating they’d

miss by approximately three miles (which was a close educated guess, they

actually missed by four). As the moon is littered with boulders and craters,

the planned landing site was chosen as it was comparatively smooth. So with

the modified flight plan, the duo had to find another suitable place to

safely touch down.

As if that wasn’t enough drama, the Eagle’s computer had been distracting

them with program alarms throughout their descent. Radio communications with

Mission Control were also patchy. The recurring alarm was being triggered by

the onboard landing computer that was warning of an overload. Fortunately,

as the alarm was intermittent, Mission Control deemed the risk of computer

overload low and green-lit the landing.

As the minutes ticked down, and the pair watched the lunar surface getting

closer by the second, another problem became clear: they were burning more

fuel than calculated. Due to their overshot landing, they were nearly

running on empty so there was even more urgency to find a landing spot.

“You never [want to] go under the ‘Dead Man’s Curve,’” Flight Controller

Steve Bales later recalled in an interview. “It was an altitude [where] you

just don't have enough time to do an abort before you had crashed …

Essentially, you're a dead man.”

With only 30 seconds of fuel left in the tank, Armstrong guided the Eagle

softly down onto its impromptu landing site that, moments later, would

become “Tranquility Base”—the first (temporary) human outpost on the moon.

2. Post-Landing Explosion?

Apollo 11 Mission Operations Control Room

As the adrenaline ebbed and the astronauts carried out their post-landing

tasks, another problem was brewing. Although it had been shut down, sensors

were detecting a pressure build-up in the landing engine fuel line. This

could mean only one thing: ice had accumulated in the line, plugging it, and

the backed-up fuel vapor was getting heated by the hot engine.

Discussions between NASA and Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, the

company that oversaw the Lunar Module’s development, deemed this increase in

pressure a hazard that may trigger a deadly explosion if not remedied. So

they drew up plans to vent the syste “We all felt that the consequences of

an explosion, even of the relatively small amount of fuel remaining in that

short section of line, was unpredictable and unacceptable,” wrote aerospace

engineer and “Father of the Lunar Module” Thomas J. Kelly in his book 2001

book, Moon Lander.

Before the instructions could be relayed to Armstrong and Aldrin, however,

the ice plug thawed, the gas was released, and the problem remedied itself.

3. Dangers of Moon Dust

NASA

BUZZ ALDRIN'S BOOTPRINT FROM THE APOLLO 11 MISSION, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS

TAKEN ON THE MOON.

Even though the ground beneath Tranquility Base had the appearance of being

free from any boulders that may have damaged the Lunar Module as it touched

down, before Apollo 11, scientists couldn’t be absolutely sure that

Armstrong and Aldrin would land on stable ground. What if the stuff acted

like quicksand? There was also the possibility that the fluffy accumulations

of moon dust covered jagged shards of rock that could cause injuries to

moonwalkers or to the lander itself.

Although previous robotic missions, such as the Surveyor landers, were

designed to study the lunar surface as a prelude to planning later Apollo

missions, it wasn’t until Armstrong’s “one small step” crunched into the

grey powder that NASA was sure the surface was safe for extravehicular

activity (EVA).

Apollo 11: Handmade Parts

While this may be a minor point in the annals of the Apollo Program, lunar

dust is no joke. Created over billions of years by meteorite impacts, the

moon lacks processes that would erode these minuscule particles into

smoother shapes. Apollo astronauts found the abrasive dust to be more than a

nuisance.

Later missions after Apollo 11 featured longer EVAs, and there are reports

about these tiny shards of rock permeating Lunar Module interiors, coating

helmet visors, jamming zippers and even penetrating layers of protective

spacesuit material.

“All of the astronauts complained of the problems with dust,” said Brian

O’Brien, a Rice University professor from 1963 to 1968 who built radiation

and dust experiments for the Apollo missions. “The very access to the moon

stirs up dust. And the walking of an astronaut or the movement of a rover

stirs up dust. The dust will travel ballistically, because there’s no

atmosphere, and it will stick to anything and everything.”

4. Alien Infections?

Apollo 11 Quarantine

NASA

PRESIDENT NIXON VISITING THE APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUTS, WHO WERE CONFINED TO THE

MOBILE QUARANTINE FACILITY.

Though scientists are now acutely aware of the impacts of space radiation

and dust on astronaut health, in those pioneering days of 1969, there was

some degree of trial and error.

By 1969, only landed a handful of robotic landers had touched down on the

lunar surface. And while these landers confirmed that the moon’s surface was

rocky, dusty, covered in craters and devoid of complex life forms, some

precautions for possible infection by alien microbes had to be taken—but

only after the Apollo astronauts became infected by these hypothetical space

germs.

After risking their lives for the advancement of humanity, Armstrong, Aldrin

and Collins had the dubious pleasure of being stuck in planetary protection

quarantine on their return, just in case a deadly space-borne plague had

hitched a ride with them.

As soon as their re-entry capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July

24, the trio was transferred to a mobile quarantine facility inside which

they were transported to NASA Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space

Center where they had access to a larger quarantine facility until their

release on August 10, 1969.

5. Alternate Reality: A President’s Announcement of Mission Failure

Probably the most terrifying moment of the Apollo 11 landing, however,

didn’t actually happen.

A speech, prepared for then-President Richard Nixon in the event of mission

failure, was released to the public 30 years later, detailing the White

House’s response should the unthinkable have happened. Any number of things

could have gone wrong during that pioneering mission, so, to prepare, the

president was ready to address the nation when it became obvious the mission

was lost.

The text ends on a poignant note: “For every human being who looks up at the

moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another

world that is forever mankind.”

The “In Event of Moon Disaster” speech was never read but was instead filed

away as a reminder that space exploration is a dangerous endeavor that has

claimed the lives of many brave explorers since the beginning of the space

age. Meanwhile, the men of Apollo 11 became the first humans to set foot—and

survive—on an alien world.

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. From the archives

Thanks to Dr. Rich

Men Are Just Happier People!

What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The

garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is

just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt

to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

 

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have

to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.

You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress - $5,000. Tux rental - $100. People

never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut,

blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are

over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

 

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own

jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If

someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your

underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Two pairs of shoes are more than

enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to

see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original

color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to

shave your face and neck.

 

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes - one

color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You

can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice

concerning growing a mustache... You can do Christmas shopping for 25

relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier!

 

NICKNAMES

 

· If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other

Laura, Kate and Sarah.

· If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each

other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman.

 

EATING OUT

 

· When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even

though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and

none will actually admit they want change back.

 

When the girls get their bill, outcome the pocket calculators.

 

MONEY

 

· A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

· A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

 

BATHROOMS

 

· A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving

cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.

· The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man

would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

 

ARGUMENTS

 

· A woman has the last word in any argument.

· Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

 

FUTURE

 

· A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

· A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

 

MARRIAGE

 

· A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

· A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

 

DRESSING UP

 

· A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash,

answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

· A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

 

NATURAL

 

· Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

· Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

 

OFFSPRING

 

· Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about

dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret

fears and hopes and dreams.

· A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people

remembering the same thing!

Confession: I'll buy an item that's substantially reduced even if I don't

need it, too.

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Thanks to Interesting Facts

The Golden Gate Bridge was almost painted black and yellow.

The Golden Gate Bridge is the most recognizable part of San Francisco’s

misty skyline, not least because of its vibrant orange color, but the iconic

structure was almost painted an entirely different hue. The idea of

connecting parts of California’s Marin County with San Francisco via a

bridge dates back to 1869, but plans for the architectural wonder didn’t

take shape until 1916. Despite a hefty $35 million bill amid the Great

Depression, the bridge project broke (underwater) ground in 1933. When it

came time to choose a paint color two years into the build — a necessity to

prevent rust on the steel caused by the underlying salt water — there was no

obvious choice. The U.S. Navy recommended a black-and-yellow-striped design

intended to increase visibility for ships and airplanes operating in foggy

weather. Architect Irving Morrow rejected the idea (along with the commonly

used gray and silver), settling on the vivid “International Orange” after

seeing the bridge primed in a vermillion hue and believing the color would

complement the surrounding landscape while providing high visibility. The

bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, painted in its gleaming new hue.

Exactly how the Golden Gate maintains its iconic glow is something of a

maintenance marvel that’s shrouded in myth. Popular theories suggest that

the 1.7-mile overpass is entirely repainted from end to end annually, or

just once every seven years, but in fact caretakers continuously have paint

brushes in hand. Crews note areas of the bridge where paint has worn away,

then spot-paint sections as needed. The work is tedious, requiring high

climbs atop the structure’s 746-foot towers and its underbelly, which sits

just 200 feet above the bay. Workers use specialized equipment and brushes

to remove old paint, prime the underlying steel, and lacquer on the standout

shade. The bridge has only been fully repainted one time — beginning in 1968

— to remove its failing, original lead-based paint; the task took 27 years

and wasn’t finished until 1995.

The Golden Gate Bridge isn’t named for its color.

While the Golden Gate Bridge does seem to shimmer in the California sun, it

wasn’t named for its vibrant paint job. The moniker actually refers to the

Golden Gate Strait, the underlying waterway connecting the San Francisco Bay

to the Pacific Ocean. Captain and explorer John C. Frémont came up with the

name in 1846, inspired by the similarities between the 377-foot-deep channel

and Istanbul’s Golden Horn harbor. Incidentally, Frémont — who later held

political office in California, ran as the nation’s first Republican

presidential candidate in 1856 (losing to James Buchanan), and served as a

Union general in the Civil War — has been timelessly memorialized on street

signs and city designations, including a bridge bearing his own name in

Portland, Oregon.

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This Day in U S Military History…….July 20

1953 – U.S. Air Force Major Stephen L. Bettinger qualified as the 40th and

last ace of the Korean War. Because he was shot down during this engagement

and subsequently captured, he was not officially credited with his fifth

victory until after his repatriation.

1960 – In first launch of Polaris missile, USS George Washington (SSBN 598)

successfully fires 2 operational Polaris missiles while submerged off

Florida.

1969 – At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles

from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at

home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” A moment

later, he stepped off the lunar landing module Eagle and became the first

human to walk on the surface of the moon. The American effort to send

astronauts to the moon has its origins in a famous appeal President John F.

Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: “I

believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this

decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to

Earth.” At the time, the United States was still trailing the Soviet Union

in space developments, and Cold War-era America welcomed Kennedy’s bold

proposal. In 1966, after five years of work by an international team of

scientists and engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) conducted the first unmanned Apollo mission, testing the structural

integrity of the proposed launch vehicle and spacecraft combination. Then,

on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck at Kennedy Space Center in Cape

Canaveral, Florida, when a fire broke out during a manned launch-pad test of

the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket. Three astronauts were killed in the

fire. Despite the setback, NASA and its thousands of employees forged ahead,

and in October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited

Earth and successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to

conduct a moon journey and landing. In December of the same year, Apollo 8

took three astronauts to the dark side of the moon and back, and in March

1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first time while in Earth

orbit. Then in May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10 took the first

complete Apollo spacecraft around the moon in a dry run for the scheduled

July landing mission. At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, with the world watching,

Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong,

Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old

civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission. After traveling

240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19.

The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and

Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours

later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m.

the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility.

Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a famous

message: “The Eagle has landed.” At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the

original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he

made his way down the lunar module’s ladder, a television camera attached to

the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where

hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation. At 10:56 p.m., Armstrong

spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his

microphone and meant to be “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap

for mankind.” He then planted his left foot on the gray, powdery surface,

took a cautious step forward, and humanity had walked on the moon. “Buzz”

Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they

took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple

scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By

1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the

hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon,

and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module.

Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read:

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We

came in peace for all mankind.” At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin

successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22

Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean

at 12:51 p.m. on July 24. There would be five more successful lunar landing

missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk

on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17

mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. The Apollo program was

a costly and labor intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000

engineers, technicians, and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to

$100 billion in today’s dollars). The expense was justified by Kennedy’s

1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was

accomplished ongoing missions lost their viability.

1976 – On the seventh anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the Viking

1 lander, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, becomes the first spacecraft to

successfully land on the surface of Mars. Viking 1 was launched on August

20, 1975, and arrived at Mars on June 19, 1976. The first month of its orbit

was devoted to imaging the surface to find appropriate landing sites. On

July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander separated from the orbiter, touched down

on the Chryse Planitia region of Mars, and sent back the first close-up

photographs of the rust-colored Martian surface. In September 1976, Viking

2–launched only three weeks after Viking 1–entered into orbit around Mars,

where it assisted Viking 1 in imaging the surface and also sent down a

lander. During the dual Viking missions, the two orbiters imaged the entire

surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and the two landers

sent back more than 1,400 images of the planet’s surface.

1999 – After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom’s

“Liberty Bell Seven” Mercury capsule was lifted to the surface.

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

CROSIER, WILLIAM H. H.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company G, 149th New York Infantry. Place

and date: At Peach Tree Creek, Ga., 20 July 1864. Entered service at:

Skaneateles, N.Y. Birth: Skaneateles, N.Y. Date of issue: 12 January 1892.

Citation: Severely wounded and ambushed by the enemy, he stripped the colors

from the staff and brought them back into the line.

HAPEMAN, DOUGLAS

Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 104th Illinois Infantry. Place

and date: At Peach Tree Creek, Ga., 20 July 1864. Entered service at:

Ottawa, Ill. Born: 15 January 1839, Ephratah, Fulton County, N.Y. Date of

issue: 5 April 1898. Citation: With conspicuous coolness and bravery rallied

his men under a severe attack, re-formed the broken ranks, and repulsed the

attack.

SHANES, JOHN

Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 14th West Virginia Infantry.

Place and date: At Carters Farm, Va., 20 July 1864. Entered service at:——.

Birth: Monomgalis County, W.Va. Date of issue: 31 January 1896. Citation:

Charged upon a Confederate fieldpiece in advance of his comrades and by his

individual exertions silenced the piece.

PENN, ROBERT

Rank and organization: Fireman First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 10 October

1872, City Point, Va. Accredited to: Virginia. G.O. No.: 501, 14 December

1898. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Iowa off Santiago de Cuba, 20 July 1898.

Performing his duty at the risk of serious scalding at the time of the

blowing out of the manhole gasket on board the vessel, Penn hauled the fire

while standing on a board thrown across a coal bucket 1 foot above the

boiling water which was still blowing from the boiler.

*COLLIER, GILBERT G.

Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Cpl.), U.S. Army, Company F, 223d

Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Tutayon,

Korea, 19-20 July 1953. Entered service at: Tichnor Ark. Born: 30 December

1930, Hunter, Ark. G.O. No.: 3, 12 January 1955. Citation: Sgt. Collier, a

member of Company F, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and

indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the

enemy. Sgt. Collier was pointman and assistant leader of a combat patrol

committed to make contact with the enemy. As the patrol moved forward

through the darkness, he and his commanding officer slipped and fell from a

steep, 60-foot cliff and were injured. Incapacitated by a badly sprained

ankle which prevented immediate movement, the officer ordered the patrol to

return to the safety of friendly lines. Although suffering from a painful

back injury, Sgt. Collier elected to remain with his leader, and before

daylight they managed to crawl back up and over the mountainous terrain to

the opposite valley where they concealed themselves in the brush until

nightfall, then edged toward their company positions. Shortly after leaving

the daylight retreat they were ambushed and, in the ensuing fire fight, Sgt.

Collier killed 2 hostile soldiers, received painful wounds, and was

separated from his companion. Then, ammunition expended, he closed in

hand-to-hand combat with 4 attacking hostile infantrymen, killing, wounding,

and routing the foe with his bayonet. He was mortally wounded during this

action, but made a valiant attempt to reach and assist his leader in a

desperate effort to save his comrade’s life without regard for his own

personal safety. Sgt. Collier’s unflinching courage, consummate devotion to

duty, and gallant self-sacrifice reflect lasting glory upon himself and

uphold the noble traditions of the military service.

*LIBBY, GEORGE D.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 3d Engineer Combat

Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Taejon, Korea, 20

July 1950. Entered service at: Waterbury, Conn. Birth: Bridgton, Maine. G.O.

No.: 62, 2 August 1951. Citation: Sgt. Libby distinguished himself by

conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in

action. While breaking through an enemy encirclement, the vehicle in which

he was riding approached an enemy roadblock and encountered devastating fire

which disabled the truck, killing or wounding all the passengers except Sgt.

Libby. Taking cover in a ditch Sgt. Libby engaged the enemy and despite the

heavy fire crossed the road twice to administer aid to his wounded comrades.

He then hailed a passing M-5 artillery tractor and helped the wounded

aboard. The enemy directed intense small-arms fire at the driver, and Sgt.

Libby, realizing that no one else could operate the vehicle, placed himself

between the driver and the enemy thereby shielding him while he returned the

fire. During this action he received several wounds in the arms and body.

Continuing through the town the tractor made frequent stops and Sgt. Libby

helped more wounded aboard. Refusing first aid, he continued to shield the

driver and return the fire of the enemy when another roadblock was

encountered. Sgt. Libby received additional wounds but held his position

until he lost consciousness. Sgt. Libby’s sustained, heroic actions enabled

his comrades to reach friendly lines. His dauntless courage and gallant

self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit upon himself and uphold the

esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 20,  FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT

ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE

INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

20 July

1918: The 148th Aero Squadron began operations with the RAF in the field

from Capelle Airdrome, near Dunkirk. (24)

1937: First shoulder sleeve insignia authorized for an independent American

air unit, General Headquarters Air Force. (24)

1950: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force F-80s shot down two enemy aircraft for the

last aerial victories until November, a sign that UN forces had attained air

superiority. (28)

1953: The Martin B-57A first flew at Baltimore. It was our version of the

English Electric Canberra twin-jet bomber. (12)

1955: The NB-36H, with an atomic reactor, made its first flight without

activating the reactor. The plane carried the reactor aboard for structural

and systems feasibility studies. (24)

1956: The Navy commissioned the USS Thetis Bay, the first helicopter assault

carrier, at San Francisco. (24)

1960: A 6511th Parachute Test Group C-130 dropped 40,500 pounds of cargo by

parachute to set a new world record. The group, which belonged to the ARDC,

broke an earlier record of 35,000 pounds. (24) The USS George Washington

became the first sub to launch a Lockheed UGM-27 Polaris missile while

submerged. It flew from a point 30 miles off Cape Canaveral 1,150 miles away

down the Atlantic Missile Range. Two hours later, the sub launched a second

missile. (16)

1961: The first Titan I equipped with rocket decoys launched from Cape

Canaveral. It released 10 decoys over the Atlantic, which allowed downrange

tracking stations to practice in distinguishing between decoys and real

reentry vehicles. (6)

1962: The US Weather Bureau transmitted photos made by TIROS V of cloud

formations west of Australia to Australia. This effort was the first

transmission of TIROS photos for foreign weather analysis. (24)

1963: Operation FARM GATE/MACKAY TROPHY: Under hostile fire, Capt Warren P.

Tomsett flew his C-47, the “Extol Pink,” of the 1st Air Commando Wing to

evacuate wounded soldiers from Loc Ninh, Laos. Tomsett and his crew (Capt

John R. Ordemann, Capt Donald R. Mack, TSgt Edsol P. Inlow, and SSgts Jack

E. Morgan and Frank C. Barrett) later received the Mackay Trophy for 1963.

(21) The Air Force launched its 100th Agena missile. The United Technology

Center successfully fired the Titan III-C’d solid fuel rocket motor. (5)

1964: NASA’s SERT I (Space Electric Rocket Test) marked the first operation

in space of an electric rocket engine.

1966: OPERATION TALLY HO. During early 1966, USAF aircraft flew over 3,000

sorties per month. With lines of communication cut or disrupted, harassed

day and night, the enemy concentrated on infiltration through the

demilitarized zone. This gave birth to Operation Tally Ho, which scheduled

2,600 sorties a month above the demilitarized zone against the enemy. (17)

1968: Exercise GUARD STRIKE II. The largest joint Army and ANG field

training exercise ever staged to this date within the CONUS began. (16)

1969: APOLLO XI/FIRST MAN ON THE MOON. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and

Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., flew the lunar module Eagle to the Sea of

Tranquility, where Armstrong took the first step on the moon. (26) (See 16

July for full details of mission)

1970: Electronics System Division at Hanscom Field turned over the Compass

Link photo relay system to the AFCS. Compass Link used three ground stations

and two satellites to transmit exposed film from SEA to the Pentagon via

electronic signals and laser beams. (26)

1973: Dr. Malcom R. Currie, Director of Defense and Engineering, asked the

USAF to develop an ALCM, from the SCAD program. (6)

1974: Alexander Kartevelli, who designed the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, the

X-12 Rainbow, the F-84, and F-105, died at age 77. The Thunderbirds made

their first public demonstration with T-38 aircraft at the International Air

Show in Everett, Washington. (11)

1982: The F-16E/XL made its first flight at Edwards AFB. (16)

1987: General Dynamics delivered the first of eight F-16C/Ds to Turkey from

its Fort Worth plant. The next 152 F-16s would be built in Turkey under a

special licensing agreement.

1999: During a two-hour flight, Col Clyde D. Moore II flew F-22 No. 1 over

Mach 1.5 without afterburners for a sustained period to meet a “super

cruise” test milestone. (3)

2001: During his “Mission X” flight, Maj Arthur Tomassetti (USMC) took off

from Edwards AFB in the X-35B at 100 knots in STOVL mode, converted to

conventional flight at about 180 knots, accelerated to Mach 1.05 at 25,000

feet. He then returned to Edwards and converted to the STOVL mode to

complete a vertical landing. This marked the first time that either of the

JSF demonstrators had achieved both extremes of speed during a single

flight. (3)

2002: Through 2 August, five C-5s flew 23 combat missions from a forward

operating location to Kandahar to redeploy more than 780 troops and 1,350

short tons of equipment from Canada’s Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry

Regiment. The five C-5 aircraft, with three crews each from Travis AFB and

Dover AFB and a C-5 leadership package with a seventh aircrew and 44

maintenance personnel, operated from the same forward operating location as

the 782d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. A 31-person Tanker Airlift Control

Element from the 615th Air Mobility Operations Group supported the C-5s at

Kandahar. This redeployment demonstrated that the USAF’s largest jet

transport aircraft could successfully operate at a remote, austere airfield.

(22)

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Thanks to Brett

FAMOUS FLIGHTS

THE MARTIN B-10 BOMBER and the 1934 ALASKA FLIGHT (Part I)

by Jeffery S. Underwood

(Published in, The USAF: A Complete History, 2006)

The first modern bomber delivered in large quantities, the Martin B-10

bomber incorporated numerous technological advances, and it greatly

influenced the development of air power doctrine during the interwar years.

Nevertheless, the B-10 remains largely forgotten, overshadowed by the more

famous Boeing B 17.

            Aircraft design and construction underwent a revolution toward

the end of the 1920s as all-metal monoplanes replaced the wood and fabric

biplanes. At its new factory near Baltimore, Maryland, the Glenn L. Martin

Company took the lead in bomber design with its all-metal Model 123. Built

as a private venture, the Model 123’s advanced elements included a monocoque

fuselage, a streamlined midwing with the twin-engines fitted into the

leading edges rather than placed into nacelles, and a retractable

undercarriage. To carry its bomb load internally, the aircraft had a deep

belly, which gave it a whale-like appearance.

On 19 July 1934, Lt. Col. Henry “Hap” Arnold, who later commanded the AAF in

World War II, successfully led a flight of 10 YB-10s from Washington, D.C.,

to Fairbanks, Alaska, and back. For this round-trip flight of 7,360 miles,

much of it over uncharted territory, Arnold won the 1934 Mackay Trophy.

Besides demonstrating the reliability and speed of the B 10, the Alaska

flight proved that the AAC could rapidly move its modern aircraft to defend

any part of North America.

Part 2

Arnold’s team departed Washington the following morning--their first stop,

Wright Field. On the next leg, two aircraft developed engine trouble and

returned to Dayton. After quick repairs, they caught up with the others at

Minneapolis. The remainder of the journey to Fairbanks was marked by smooth

airplane performance and warm welcomes at every landing place. On 22 July,

Arnold decided to lay-over one day so that the mechanics could accomplish

required periodic checks and maintenance on the bombers. The publicity

portion of the mission tried Arnold’s patience. “I am getting good willed to

death,” Hap complained. He could not wait to reach the wilderness areas of

Fairbanks. “When we get out of the entertainment area, we will all be much

better off. The people are all wonderfully hospitable, too much so but I

guess that is all in the game.”

        The radios that were installed at Wright Field worked tremendously.

According to Arnold they had a “wonderfully big range.”  In fact, this

Alaska flight was the first Air Corps long-distance mission that maintained

continual contact with ground stations along their entire route of flight,

even deep into Canada--a tribute to the equipment and the logistic planning.

Moreover, the B-10s made the journey from Whitehorse to Fairbanks in four

and one-half hours. The same journey took two weeks by boat and one month

overland. The harsh terrain and lack of improved roads only emphasized the

practical aspects of air travel in the Yukon. The expedition staged sporadic

photo operations out of Fairbanks and Anchorage for the next two weeks, even

finding an opportunity to stop off in Juneau to accept a totem pole from the

mayor of the city.

THE MARTIN B-10 BOMBER and the 1934 ALASKA FLIGHT (Part III)

by Dik Daso

(Published in, Hap Arnold and the Evolution of American Airpower, 2000)

          The only glitch in the mission occurred on a flight out of

Anchorage. A member of the photo team, not one of the regular crew, took off

and both engines quit soon after takeoff and he landed in Cooks Inlet. The

pilot had mishandled the fuel control switches and had cut the fuel to the

engines.  The decision to allow a pilot from outside of the mission team to

fly the B-10 was one which Arnold certainly regretted and took

responsibility for. Nowhere in Arnold’s correspondence did he ever lay blame

for the accident, not even upon the inexperienced pilot.

          Through superhuman diligence, the ditched B-10 rejoined the rest

of the contingent at Fairbanks one week later. The mechanics had not only

saved Arnold’s reputation after he had made an unwise decision but had also

saved the Air Corps considerable embarrassment. To Arnold, those young men

were heroes in many ways.

          After one month's preparation, Arnold had taken his planes 8,000

miles, in constant radio contact with the ground, with only one major

foul-up, and no aircraft losses along the way. Although the round-trip

distance to Alaska was 7,360 miles, aerial mapping missions were flown while

deployed there and a continuation of the flight westward to March Field and

then back east. The total mileage flown on the mission, according to

Arnold’s trip diary, was 18,010 flight miles at an average speed of 168

miles per hour. The success of the mission earned Arnold the Distinguished

Flying Cross (DFC) and a second Mackay Trophy. It also proved that

long-range bombers could threaten once impenetrable and isolated territorial

boundaries, both those of potential enemies and those of the United States.

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