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Good Thursday morning August 13, 2026 ...
It is supposed to be cloudy all day today with a high today of 82 around 2 and then dropping off around 3.
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)
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
August 13
1777 A spar torpedo made by David Bushnell is used unsuccessfully against HMS Cerberus, off New London, Conn. Bushnell and his brother, Ezra, also designed the first submersible vessel: Turtle. Two ships have been named after David Bushnell, USS Bushnell (AS 2), 1915-1940 (renamed Sumner), and USS Bushnell (AS 15), 1943-1980.
1812 During the War of 1812 and while returning to New York from Bermuda waters, the frigate, USS Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, engages the British brig HMS Alert in intense gunfire, broadsides the British brig and forcing her surrender.
1870 The armed tug, USS Palos, becomes the first Navy ship to transit the Suez Canal.
1945 USS Atule (SS 403) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.6 and damages Coast Defense Vessel No.16 off Hokkaido. Also on this date, USS Torsk (SS 423) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship, Kaiho Maru.
1952 While serving in combat with a 1st Marine Division Rifle Company during the Korean War, Hospitalman John E. Kilmer exhibits great heroism moving from one injured man to the next administering aid under intense enemy fire. While administering aid to a fallen Marine and using his own body as a shield, Kilmer is mortally wounded. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" at that time, he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
1994 USS Stout (DDG 55) is commissioned at Houston, Texas. The sixth Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is named for Rear Adm. Herald F. Stout for his actions as a commander of USS Claxton during World War II.
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Today in World History August 13
1521 Hernan Cortes captures the city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico, and sets it on fire.
1630 Emperor Ferdinand II dismisses Albert Eusebius von Wallenstein, his most capable general.
1680 War starts when the Spanish are expelled from Santa Fe, New Mexico, by Indians under Chief Pope.
1704 The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Austria defeat the French Army at the Battle of Blenheim.
1787 The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
1862 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest defeats a Union army under Thomas Crittenden at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
1881 The first African-American nursing school opens at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
1889 The first coin-operated telephone is patented by William Gray.
1892 The first issue of the Afro American newspaper is published in Baltimore, Maryland.
1898 Manila, the capital of the Philippines, falls to the U.S. Army.
1910 British nurse Florence Nightingale, famous for her care of British soldiers during the Crimean War, dies.
1932 Adolf Hitler refuses to serve as Franz Von Papen's vice chancellor.
1948 During the Berlin Airlift, the weather over Berlin becomes so stormy that American planes have their most difficult day landing supplies. They deem it ‘Black Friday.’
1961 Construction begins on Berlin Wall during the night.
1963 A 17 year-old Buddhist monk burns himself to death in Saigon, South Vietnam.
1978 Bomb attack in Beirut during Second Lebanese Civil War kills more than 150 people.
1989 The wreckage of a plane that carried U.S. congressman Mickey Leland and others on a humanitarian mission is found on a mountain side in Ethiopia; there are no survivors.
1993 US Court of Appeals rules Congress must save all emails.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 13
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).
There is a problem with the site right now so I am calling Micro and will catch up tomorrow
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..August 13
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/ )
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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Navy H-gram 073 – Battle of Guadalcanal – 80th Anniversary & Taiwan
From: "Cox, Samuel J SES USN NHHC WASHINGTON DC (USA)" <samuel.j.cox4.civ@us.navy.mil>
Subject: H-gram 073 – Battle of Guadalcanal – 80th Anniversary
From: Director of Naval History
To: Senior Naval Leadership
This H-gram provides a synopsis of the Battle of Guadalcanal, which lasted from 7 August 1942 to February 1943, and included two major carrier vs. carrier battles (Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz,) five major night surface actions (Savo Island, Cape Esperance, Friday the 13th of November, Saturday the 14th of November, and Tassafaronga,) multiple submarine attacks (including the sinking of USS WASP) and air attacks (including the Battle of Rennell Island,) numerous smaller surface actions and shore bombardments (including “All Hell’s Eve,”) and near continuous air-to-air combat whenever weather permitted. U.S. and Japanese losses were extensive, and roughly even, but in the end, the U.S. could replace losses and the Japanese couldn’t. It was Guadalcanal, more so in many ways than Midway, that truly turned the tide of the Pacific War, at great cost – about 5,000 U.S. Navy personnel lost to all causes, plus 1,152 Marines and 446 U.S. Army personnel ashore.
Overview
Since I wrote extensively about the Battle of Guadalcanal for the 75th Anniversary in 2017, this H-gram will provide a short synopsis of each of the previous H-grams along with a link to that H-gram.
"Any commander who is too busy to read will fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way," -- Gen James Mattis, USMC. Note also that the Chinese study the Guadalcanal Campaign as a means to understand how to persevere in warfare when two evenly matched sides are clubbing the hell out of each other.
Guadalcanal H-grams
H-gram 009 H-Gram 009 (navy.mil) provides an overview of the Battle of Guadalcanal and the first major night surface action, the Battle of Savo Island. The U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 caught the Japanese completely by surprise, with minimal resistance on Guadalcanal itself and only spirited but short resistance on islands near Tulagi (across what would become known as “Ironbottom Sound”) from Guadalcanal. The Marines captured the unfinished airfield on Guadalcanal, which would be subsequently finished and named Henderson Field and which then would become the objective of the fierce and bloody battles ashore, at sea, and in the air, to gain control of the airfield.
During the course of the Guadalcanal campaign, the U.S. would lose two aircraft carriers (WASP (CV-7,) and HORNET (CV-8,) five heavy cruisers (and an Australian heavy cruiser,) two light cruisers, 15 destroyers, and numerous other smaller vessels, plus extensive damage to many more ships. U.S. Navy and Marines would lose about 400 aircraft during the course of the campaign. At sea, the Japanese Navy actually lost somewhat fewer than the U.S. – about 3,800 men, but over 7,000 Japanese Army troops would go down with sunken troop transports, and over 20,000 would be lost on the island itself. The Imperial Japanese Navy would lose two battleships and a light carrier, plus two heavy cruisers and multiple destroyers. It was the loss of the two battleships that actually caused the Japanese Navy to quite feeding ships into the meat-grinder off Guadalcanal, in the end, limiting their efforts to inadequate attempts by destroyers (the “Tokyo Express”) to resupply Japanese troops on Guadalcanal, before finally executing one of the most successful deception operations of the war covering the evacuation of the last surviving Japanese troops from the island in February 1943.
Although caught by surprise by the landing, the Japanese Navy reacted swiftly with characteristic aggressiveness, first with land-based air attacks on 7 and 8 August, and then a night surface action on 8-9 August. This first naval action would be known as the Battle of Savo Island, and would be the worst defeat at-sea suffered by the U.S. Navy in history. In what should have been an evenly matched battle between a Japanese force of five heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and a destroyer against an Allied force of four U.S. heavy cruisers, one Australian heavy cruiser, and six U.S. destroyers, the Japanese achieved tactical surprise and the result was a debacle. The heavy cruisers ASTORIA, QUINCY, VINCENNES and HMAS CABERRA were sunk, with only minimal damage to the Japanese (993 U.S. and 84 Australian sailors and 58 Japanese sailors were killed.) Fortunately the Japanese commander chose not to attack into the vulnerable U.S. troops transports and supply ships that were sitting ducks still in the act of offloading. H-gram 009 contains an overview of the Battle of Savo Island, and the attachment H-009-1 H-009-1 Defeat at Savo Island (navy.mil) has full detail of this disaster, termed by Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest J. King, as “the blackest day of the war,” most of which was kept secret from the American public during the war due to wartime censorship.
Following the defeat at Savo Island, U.S. surface forces quickly vacated the waters near Guadalcanal, followed a day later by the transports. The three supporting U.S. aircraft carriers had also moved further away due to concern for air and submarine attack. It was during this period that the myth that the U.S. Navy “abandoned” the Marines of Guadalcanal took root, when in fact the Navy was running supplies into Guadalcanal at night on four fast destroyer-transports, three of which would be lost in the process, losing more men than the Marines lost in the famous “Battle of Bloody Ridge. H-gram 010 H-Gram 010 (navy.mil) provides an overview of the challenges of supplying the Marines on Guadalcanal (so much so that it became known to those on the island as Operation Shoestring, rather than the formal name, Operation Watchtower.) This includes the sacrifice of TRANSDIV 12, plus the major Japanese Navy offensive push that resulted in the carrier vs. carrier action known as the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, as well as actions by Japanese submarines south of Guadalcanal.
The attachment H-010-1 H-010-1 Operation Shoestring (navy.mil) provides additional detail on the logistics issues at Guadalcanal as well as the valiant fight of the destroyer-transports (APD) GREGORY and LITTLE against a much superior force of Japanese destroyers; both APD skippers were lost in the battle with their ships, as was the TRANSDIV 12 commander, Hugh Hadley. (The destroyer named in honor of Hadley (DD-774) would be heavily damaged by kamikazes at Okinawa on 10 May 1945, but in the process shot down over 23 Japanese aircraft, the all-time record for a single ship in a single day’s engagement.)
The attachment H010-2 H-010-2 The Battle of the Eastern Solomons (navy.mil) provides detail on the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942, the third major carrier battle of the war, and a narrow U.S. victory. The two surviving Japanese fleet carriers (SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU, veterans of the Battle of the Coral Sea, but that missed the Battle of Midway) and the light carrier RYUJO faced off against U.S. carriers ENTERPRISE (CV-6) and SARATOGA (CV-3,) with WASP (CV-7) missing the battle due to refueling. The RYUJO was sunk (by the re-constituted Torpedo Squadron EIGHT (VT-8)) and the ENTERPRISE was badly damaged. The Japanese withdrew.
The attachment H-010-3 H-010-3 Torpedo Junction (navy.mil) provides detail on the extensive Japanese submarine response to the U.S. operations around Guadalcanal. On 31 August 1942, I-26 hit SARATOGA with a torpedo that put SARATOGA out of action for months. On 15 September, I-19 fired arguably the most effective single spread of torpedoes (six) in history, hitting the carrier WASP (CV-7,) battleship NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55,) and destroyer O’BRIEN (DD-415.) WASP was sunk. NORTH CAROLINA was put out of action for two months. O’BRIEN broke apart and sank after transiting 2,800 miles trying to get to Pearl Harbor for repair.
The attachment H-010-4 H-010-4 Samuel B. Roberts (navy.mil) tells the story of Navy Coxswain Samuel B. Roberts, who was awarded a posthumous Navy Cross for sacrificing his life while drawing Japanese fire away from other landing craft extracting Marines who had become trapped behind Japanese lines on Guadalcanal. Three ships have been named for Roberts; the first, destroyer escort DE-413 went down off Samar, Philippines in October 1944 in one of the most valiant actions in the history of the U.S. Navy; the second, destroyer DD-823 had a distinguished Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War record; the third, guided missile frigate FFG-58, survived a devastating mine-strike on an Iranian moored contact mine in the Persian Gulf in April 1988.
H-gram 011 H-Gram 011 (navy.mil) continues the account of the Battle of Guadalcanal into September and October 1942, with an overview of the narrow U.S. victory in a night surface action known as the Battle of Cape Esperance on 11/12 October 1942, the second major night surface action, as well as the devastating bombardment of Henderson Field by two Japanese battleships on the night of 13/14 October, known as “All Hell’s Eve.” The overview also includes the fourth major carrier battle of the war, the Japanese “Pyrrhic Victory” known as the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942.
The attachment H-011-1 H-011-1 Guadalcanal: Victory at Cape Esperance (navy.mil) provides detail on the confused Battle of Cape Esperance, where pretty much everything went wrong, but more so for the Japanese, whose commander refused to believe he was facing an American force (and not engaging in “friendly fire” with other Japanese) until it was too late. The Japanese lost a heavy cruiser and a destroyer, while the U.S. lost a destroyer. Luckily, superb damage control kept the light cruiser BOISE (CL-46) from being blown to smithereens by a magazine explosion, but at a cost of 107 of her crew.
The effect of the U.S. victory at Cape Esperance was short-lived, as on the night of 13/14 October the Japanese battleships KONGO and HARUNA arrived by surprise off Guadalcanal, opposed ineffectively by only four PT-boats, and proceeded to pump almost 1,000 14-inch shells into Henderson Field, destroying more than half the aircraft and damaging most of the rest, killing 41 Marines. The psychological effect of this bombardment was profound (and recriminations between the Navy and Marine Corps echoed for decades.) As this was happening 237 U.S. Navy crewmen on the destroyer MEREDITH (DD-434) and fleet tug VIREO (AT-144) died when the two ships were attacked by 38 Japanese carrier aircraft while attempting to bring critical aviation fuel to Guadalcanal; MEREDITH was sunk and the 100 survivors drifted in shark-infested waters for three days. The story of MEREDITH’s valor and sacrifice is in attachment H011-2 H-011-2 Forgotten Valor (navy.mil).
The fourth major carrier battle of the war took place after Commander of the South Pacific Area, Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley was relieved of command and replaced by VADM William F. Halsey, who directed a much more aggressive posture against the Japanese. In late October 1942, the Japanese mounted a major naval offensive that was supposed to be timed with a major ground attack by the Japanese Army on Guadalcanal. The Army offensive was fiasco, but a Japanese force that included four aircraft carriers (fleet carriers SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU, medium carrier JUNYO and light carrier ZUIHO) faced off against the carrier HORNET (CV-8) and ENTERPRISE (CV-6,) which arrived in the nick of time after repairing damage incurred during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. The forces engaged on 26 October 1942 near the Santa Cruz Islands northeast of Guadalcanal, trading air strikes. ZUIHO was knocked out of the battle early on by a lucky hit from two U.S. scout bombers, and SHOKAKU was subsequently badly damaged.
During the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Japanese executed what was probably the best coordinated dive-bomber and torpedo-plane attack of the war, leaving ENTERPRISE damaged and HORNET crippled. Under continuing air attack, attempts to tow HORNET failed as did attempts to scuttle her after being abandoned, and she was left behind to be torpedoed and sunk by Japanese destroyers. With HORNET sunk and ENTERPRISE damaged, the U.S. withdrew (leaving the U.S. temporarily with no operational aircraft carriers left in the Pacific.) However, the cost to the Japanese for this “victory” was extremely high given the number of aircraft and aircrew lost to vastly improved U.S. shipboard anti-aircraft defenses (more than at Coral Sea, Midway and Eastern Solomons combined.) By the end of the Battle of Santa Cruz, the majority of Japan’s experienced Pearl Harbor-veteran pilots had been lost; in fact losses were so severe that the Japanese carrier force would not give battle for another two years. The details of this crucial battle are in attachment H-011-3 H-011-3 Santa Cruz (Japanese Pyrrhic Victory) (navy.mil)
In H-gram 012 H-Gram 012 (navy.mil) the Battle for Guadalcanal reaches a culmination and turning point in two of the most vicious battles ever fought by the U.S. Navy, the night action between American cruisers and destroyers and Japanese battleships in the pre-dawn hours of Friday the 13th, November 1942 and a battleship vs. battleship action on the night of 14/15 November. Following a comparative lull as both U.S. and Japanese navies licked their wounds after the Battle of Santa Cruz, the Japanese mounted yet another major push to reinforce and retake Guadalcanal. With the carriers on both sides effectively out-of-action (but not Henderson Field,) the impending battles would be primarily surface actions.
The attachment H-012-1 H-012-1 The Battle of Friday the 13th (navy.mil) provides detail on the sea battle that occurred off Guadalcanal early on 13 November 1942, a ferocious and chaotic night melee, described as “a bar room brawl after the lights were shot out,” with individual ship actions “like minnows in a bucket.” The mission of the Japanese force of battleships HIEI and KIRISHIMA, a light cruiser, and 11 destroyers, was to administer another devastating bombardment to Henderson Field, so that a transport group with 7,000 Japanese troops could reach Guadalcanal. The mission of the hastily thrown together U.S. force of two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers was to stop the Japanese battleships, a mission recognized by senior American officers as “suicide.” They were right.
By the time the battle was over, including the sinking of the severely damaged light cruiser JUNEAU (CL-52) by a submarine the next morning, 1,439 American sailors were dead, including RADM Dan Callaghan, RADM Norman Scott and CAPT Cassin Young (and all five Sullivan brothers on JUNEAU,) making this by far the most costly sea battle in U.S. Navy history. In addition to JUNEAU, the light cruiser ATLANTA (CL-51) and four destroyers were sunk, and heavy cruisers SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38) and PORTLAND (CA-33) and two destroyers were badly damaged. The Japanese lost only two destroyers in the battle, but the battleship HIEI was crippled and could not clear the area. Most importantly, the U.S. force, at extraordinary sacrifice, prevented the battleship bombardment. The next days, planes from Henderson Field, augmented by planes from partially operational carrier ENTERPRISE, sank the HIEI and most of the transports, with 5,000 Japanese troops going down with the ships (and all the equipment of the 2,000 who survived.) Five Navy personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor, including to Callaghan and Scott, and three (one posthumously) to men on SAN FRANCISCO who fought on after more senior officers were killed.
The Japanese didn’t know how to quit, so on the night of 13/14 November, two Japanese heavy cruisers bombarded Henderson Field (there were no U.S. ships left to oppose them,) but their 8-inch guns did far less damage than those of a battleship. With Intelligence indicating a Japanese battleship force was heading back to Guadalcanal, VADM Halsey took a major gamble and committed the two new U.S. battleships WASHINGTON (BB-56) and SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57) and four escorting destroyers to oppose the Japanese. The Japanese force was centered on the battleship KIRISHIMA (which had come through the Friday the 13th battle virtually unscathed) with two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and nine destroyers.
The two forces engaged on the night of 14/15 November, southwest of Savo Island. The battle initially went badly for the U.S., as the SOUTH DAKOTA suffered a major power failure at the worst moment, and was hit numerous times and was on fire and out of action. The screening destroyers absorbed the Japanese torpedo attack; three destroyers were sunk and the fourth put out of action. WASHINGTON then fought on alone, and with superb radar-directed gunnery pummeled the KIRISHIMA, which sank, while dozens of Japanese torpedoes miraculously missed. The attachment H-012-4 H-012-4 The Battle of Saturday the 14th (navy.mil) provides detail on this action, the only one of two battleship vs. battleship duels in U.S. Navy history.
In H-gram 013 H-Gram 013 (navy.mil) the tide of battle at Guadalcanal had turned, although few realized it yet, as the Japanese inflicted another disastrous defeat on the U.S. Navy at the Battle of Tassafaronga on the night of 30 November/1 December 1942. The loss of the battleships HIEI and KIRISHIMA was a profound shock to the Japanese high command, as their entire concept of warfighting was based on husbanding battleships for a final “Decisive Battle” near Japanese home waters (after aircraft carriers, submarines and night torpedo attacks had attrited the U.S. force as it advanced across the Pacific.) However, Japan had no battleships to spare in this strategy. As a result, the Japanese Navy decided to no longer commit battleships or cruisers to waters around Guadalcanal. Instead, destroyers would be used to make high-speed re-supply runs to Guadalcanal, which became known as “the Tokyo Express.”
On the night of 30 November/1 December, a U.S. Navy force of four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and six destroyers intercepted and ambushed a Japanese Tokyo Express run of eight destroyers (six encumbered by supplies.) Despite the advantage of intelligence warning, radar, surprise and overwhelming power, at the end of the battle, the heavy cruiser NORTHAMPTON (CA-26) was sunk, and the heavy cruisers MINNEAPOLIS (CA-36,) NEW ORLEANS (CA-36,) and PENSACOLA (CA-24,) grievously damaged, and 395 American sailors killed, in what was probably the most successful surface torpedo attack in history, at a cost of one Japanese destroyer. A significant factor in the defeat, was that the U.S. still failed to believe that the Japanese had a torpedo that was much more powerful, much faster, and much longer-ranged than our own – the Type 93 Oxygen Torpedo, later known as the “Long Lance.” The attachment H-013-1 H-013-1 The Battle of Tassafaronga (navy.mil) provides detail on this embarrassing defeat. After Tassafaronga, and like the Japanese, the U.S. stopped sending heavy ships into the confined waters of “Ironbottom Sound” off Guadalcanal.
H-gram 015 H-Gram 015 (navy.mil) covers the end of the Guadalcanal Campaign, specifically the Japanese Operation Ke and the Battle of Rennell Island. Despite their “victory” at Tassafaronga, the Japanese Tokyo Express that night had failed in their mission to deliver supplies to Japanese troops on Guadalcanal. Even when successful, the flow of supplies via the Tokyo Express could not sustain the Japanese troops, who were quite literally starving to death and dying of debilitating jungle diseases. However, in January 1943, all indications pointed to yet another major Japanese offensive push to get reinforcements to the island. Admiral Nimitz committed virtually the entire Pacific Fleet to countering this expected thrust, including carriers ENTERPRISE and SARATOGA, three modern battleships, and numerous cruisers, including three new CLEVELAND-class light cruisers. As it turned out, “Operation Ke” was actually a massive and well-crafted deception, covering the withdrawal of the remaining 10,000 Japanese troops from Guadalcanal (leaving 20,000 dead behind, along with a handful of dying cripples who mounted a surprisingly effective rear guard delaying action, such that it wasn’t until 7 February that the U.S. Army forces (who had relieved the Marines) realized the Japanese were gone.) In addition to the Japanese dead on the island, another 10,000 were lost at sea, including about 3,800 Imperial Japanese Navy sailors during the course of the campaign since August.
The Japanese Navy got in their last blows at Guadalcanal at the end of January 1943, one of which was known as the Battle of Rennell Island, described in detail in attachment H-015-2 H-015-2 Battle of Rennell Island (navy.mil) On the night of 29 January, a force of elite Japanese Navy land-based bombers, specially trained for night aerial torpedo attack, hit the heavy cruiser CHICAGO (CA-29) with two torpedoes, near Rennell Island, southwest of Guadalcanal. Despite extraordinary damage control to keep the ship afloat, a series of tactical blunders left CHICAGO exposed to a follow-on torpedo attack the next afternoon. Hit by four more torpedoes, CHICAGO went down, the only heavy cruiser to have survived the debacle of the Battle of Savo Island. As one more sharp stick in the eye, on 1 February 1942, Japanese dive bombers hit the destroyer DE HAVEN (DD-469) off Guadalcanal, detonating her forward magazine and sending her to the bottom with 167 of her crew. (The last U.S. warship sunk off Guadalcanal was the AARON WARD (DD-483,) a survivor of the Friday 13th Battle, by Japanese aircraft in April 1943.)
With the Battle of Rennell Island and the end of Operation Ke, the Guadalcanal campaign was effectively over. After six months of some of the most vicious combat in the history of naval warfare, the increasingly strong U.S. Navy was in possession of the waters around the eastern Solomons. The cost to both sides had been extremely heavy, and roughly even at sea and in the air. On land, Japanese casualties greatly exceeded those of the U.S. Marines and U.S. Army.
The Battle of Midway in June 1942 stopped the Japanese advance, but the Guadalcanal campaign was the true turning point of the Pacific War. The cost to the U.S. Navy included two aircraft carriers, five heavy cruisers (plus one Australian heavy cruiser,) two light cruisers, 15 destroyers, three destroyer-transports, and one transport, plus about 615 aircraft (of all services, including 90 carrier-based) and just under 5,000 Sailors killed, including 130 naval aviators and aircrew, plus 49 Marines embarked aboard ship along with 92 Australian and New Zealand naval personnel. Almost three times as many American sailors died at sea defending Guadalcanal as American Marines and Army personnel died on it.
During the brutal six-month campaign, the U.S. Navy “abandoned” the U.S. Marines for a grand total of four days, yet that myth lives on. However, to the Corps’ credit, they remember and venerate the extraordinary sacrifice and valor of the Marines who held that embattled disease-ridden island against repeated Japanese attacks, while the U.S. Navy has largely forgotten the extraordinary sacrifice and valor of those Sailors who enabled the Marines to hold fast.
Over the next several months I will highlight several of the ships, whose crews performed with exceptional valor, such as QUINCY (CA-39) at Savo Island, JARVIS (DD-393) in independent action, SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38) in multiple engagements, LAFFEY (DD-459) in the Friday the 13th Battle, and ALCHIBA (AKA-6,) the only transport ever awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
Very respectfully,
Sam
Samuel J. Cox (SES)
RADM, USN (Ret)
Director of Naval History
Curator for the Navy
Director Naval History and Heritage Command
202-433-2210 (work) 571-213-9392 (govt cell)
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. Thanks to Carl
From Teenage Pilot to POW: Col. Joseph Peterburs, USAF (Ret), on his World War II Service - MOAA
https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2020-news-articles/from-teenage-pilot-to-pow-col.-joseph-peterburs,-usaf-(ret),-on-his-world-war-ii-service/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&utm_content=NC+AFHRM+1+ERet+L+NC
From Teenage Pilot to POW: Col. Joseph Peterburs, USAF (Ret), on His World War II Service
By: Amanda Dolasinski
AUGUST 11, 2020
(This article and others in MOAA’s “Window Into War” series originally appeared in the May edition of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.
Joseph Peterburs flew his P-51 Mustang close to the B-17 bombers he was escorting through the sky above Berlin, just as he had on 48 previous missions during WWII.
But on his 49th mission, the Germans flooded the sky with fighters. Peterburs, an adrenaline-filled 19-year-old, soared through the sky chasing a German fighter he saw blow up a B-17 bomber. He closed in as it hit a second bomber.
“Just as he blew up the second, I came in from the rear,” Peterburs said. “I saw smoke and fire on his left wing. He immediately rolled over and started to the deck. I just broke off the chase.”
If the attack on Pearl Harbor hadn’t happened four months prior, Peterburs would have been back in Wisconsin studying to be a priest. But now he was in German airspace — and spotted an airfield full of the enemy’s aircraft.
“I was by myself, 19 years old,” said Peterburs. “I made too many passes, and I destroyed at least five on the ground and set a hangar on fire.”
Trouble Afoot
On his last pass, Peterburs was hit and his engine started to overheat. He had 90 miles to reach the airbase, but his aircraft was losing altitude quickly.
He debated bailing out when the aircraft fell to 1,000 feet, but then he saw a German Focke-Wulf 190 fighter coming at him. The 190 fired off rockets but missed, and Peterburs kept flying.
At 500 feet, Peterburs was devising a belly landing, but he kept going. At 300 feet, the right side of the aircraft caught fire. Peterburs waited too long and had to bail from the left side, which guaranteed he would hit the aircraft’s tail on his exit.
Peterburs landed in an open field with townspeople yelling and running toward him. Peterburs was sent to a POW camp for the night. He escaped with a small group.
“There was very little security,” Peterburs said. “Basically, it was just going down to the fence at night.”
After their midnight escape, the group walked for about five miles toward Berlin when they were stopped by a Russian tank unit. Through the Russian lieutenant’s English, the men learned the tank unit was headed to Wittenburg.
Peterburs said he was given a rifle and told to hop on. The Americans fought with the Russians for the next three days.
Peterburs finally got his break when an American patrol noticed his flight suit among the Russian tank crew camped out near the Elbe River. Peterburs was reluctantly turned over to the Americans and began his journey home.
Once he was back in the U.S., Peterburs married his girlfriend, Josephine, for whom he had nicknamed the Mustang P-51 that helped him destroy so many enemy aircraft on his 49th combat mission.
Unlikely Reunion
Peterburs left the war behind as a memory — until the late 1990s. That’s when he received a letter from a German man who was just a boy when he watched Peterburs fall into the German farmland. The man tracked down Peterburs from a piece of the downed aircraft that he saved.
In 2005, Peterburs was surprised when again he received a letter from the man — this time telling him he had found the German pilot whom he had been chasing through the sky that April day in 1945. And it wasn’t just any pilot — it was Walter Schuck, a top German pilot with 206 confirmed aerial victories.
Schuck claimed four American B-17s just before Peterburs shot him down. The men met for the second time, this time on friendlier terms, when Schuck traveled to the U.S. in 2005.
“Both of us reconciled the relationship by recognizing that we were each doing our job,” Peterburs said.
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Thanks to American Facts
You might be surprised to learn how many everyday items in your home started as military inventions. From your kitchen to your closet, many tools and technologies first created for soldiers have since marched their way into civilian life. Take a look at 12 of these army-born innovations you probably use every day without even realizing it.
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Duct tape
One of the most useful things to have around is, without a doubt, duct tape. This product can help fix an endless number of everyday problems in virtually any environment.
This adhesive tape was invented during World War II by a division of Johnson & Johnson called Revolite. It was initially used to seal ammunition cases because of its water-resistant properties.
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GPS
The GPS technology we all use daily on our smartphones to navigate from point A to point B was originally developed by the U.S. military. It was designed to track the position of military units and help them find their way efficiently across any terrain—much like how we use it today for civilian purposes.
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Internet
Few technologies have become such a big part of our lives in just a couple of decades like the Internet. Its origins trace back to the 1970s, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) created an interconnected network linking military centers to enable resource sharing.
The connection of commercial networks and enterprises by the early 1990s, along with the advent of the World Wide Web, marked the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet.
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Walkie-talkie
From children’s toys to invaluable communication devices used in critical situations, walkie-talkies are a common fixture in modern life. Their development during World War II has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, Henryk Magnuski, and engineering teams at Motorola.
Initially used by infantry, similar designs were created for field artillery and tank units. After the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial use.
Microwave oven
Believe it or not, microwave cooking was accidentally discovered during a military-related project just after World War II.
In 1946, Percy Spencer, a scientist working on a magnetron at Raytheon, noticed that a peanut cluster candy bar in his pocket had melted from the magnetron’s microwave radiation. Curious to experiment further, he brought in some kernels of corn and made the first-ever microwave popcorn—leading to the invention of the microwave oven.
Super glue
In 1942, a research chemist working for a defense contractor was developing a high-precision targeting sight for weapons. Although the project didn’t produce the expected results, the resulting product was incredibly sticky, leading to the creation of the now-famous Super Glue.
Aviator sunglasses
Aviator sunglasses were developed in the 1930s as a lighter alternative to the bulky goggles worn by pilots during the early years of aviation. Those goggles were heavy, uncomfortable to wear, and prone to fogging up mid-flight.
Colonel John Macready of the U.S. Army Air Corps helped develop the first set of aviator sunglasses, which became known as Ray-Bans—named for their purpose: banning the sun’s rays from a pilot’s eyes.
Packaged salad mixes
The bags of packaged salad mixes found at any local supermarket use "modified atmosphere packaging" to delay ripening and spoilage.
This technology was developed in the 1960s through a collaboration between Whirlpool Corp. and the U.S. Navy to send fresh lettuce and celery to troops in Vietnam.
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Bug spray
The active ingredient in most insect repellents, known as DEET, was developed by the U.S. Army in 1946 for use by military personnel operating in insect-infested areas. The product’s success led to its commercial release.
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Disposable sanitary pads
During World War I, Kimberly-Clark invented Cellucotton, a wood pulp–based material designed to be more absorbent and cost-effective for use in bandages.
After the war, the company discovered that Army nurses had repurposed Cellucotton as sanitary napkins, which inspired the creation of Kotex—the first disposable sanitary pads.
Frozen juice concentrate
In 1942, USDA scientists developed frozen concentrated orange juice during World War II to help provide soldiers with sufficient Vitamin C. Although it was never distributed to the military, the product was later introduced to consumers by Minute Maid.
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WD-40
WD-40, now a common household product, was originally developed in 1953 to prevent rust and corrosion on the outer shell of the Atlas missile. Created by the Rocket Chemical Company, the name WD-40 stands for "water displacement," with the "40" representing the number of attempts it took to perfect the formula.
Image: Daniel Campbell
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From the Archives
Thanks to Mike
The USSS was sure more American than it is today.
On Mon, Aug 12, 2024 at 8:36 AM Mud <mudmarine@aol.com> wrote:
It would appear "Scarface Al" didn't stint himself.
- Mud
HERE IS A BIT OF HISTORY :
Hours after Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, the Secret Service found themselves in a bind.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was to give his Day of Infamy speech to Congress on Monday, and although the trip from the White House to Capitol Hill was short, agents weren't sure how to transport him safely.
At the time, Federal Law prohibited buying any cars that cost more than $750, so they would have to get clearance from Congress to do that, and nobody had time for that.
One of the Secret Service members, however, discovered that the US Treasury had seized the bulletproof car that mobster Al Capone owned when he was sent to jail in 1931.
They cleaned it, made sure it was running perfectly and had it ready for the President the next day.
Al Capone's 1928 Cadillac V-8 "Al Capone" Town Sedan became the President's Limo in December 1941 .
Mechanics are said to have cleaned and checked each feature of the Caddy well into the night of December 7th, to make sure that it would run properly the next day for the Commander in Chief.
And run properly it did. It had been painted black and green to look identical to Chicago's police cars at the time.
To top it off, the gangster's 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan had 3,000 pounds of armor and inch-thick bulletproof windows.
It also had a specially installed siren and flashing lights hidden behind the grille, along with a police scanner radio.
Footnote: The car sold at auction in 2012 for $341,000.00.
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Thanks to Dutch
Thanks to Ed and RS ...
Extending the horizon: Inside the A350-1000ULR’s longest development flight
28 July 2026
Make sure to watch the video in the photo group at the bottom -- low pass and wing wave before final approach
And how about the little 737 Max 8 -- non-stop from Seattle to Madrid on a delivery flight -- 4900 NM, 10+ hours:
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Some bits Thanks to the California Flyover
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2026
Good Morning! On this day in 1846, U.S. forces under Commodore Robert Stockton and Col. John C. Frémont marched into Los Angeles without firing a shot during the Mexican-American War, taking control of the Mexican provincial capital.
A roller coaster may be thrilling for riders, but apparently less so for the neighbors listening to the screams. We have details below on Universal Studios Hollywood’s plan to turn down the volume.
Do you remember exactly where you were on 9/11? Most of us can still picture the room, the faces, and the TV screen as if it were yesterday. Scientists call it a "flashbulb memory," a moment so powerful your brain takes a photograph and keeps it sharp for decades while ordinary days vanish completely. Only a handful of events in modern history have burned themselves into nearly every American's mind that same way, and researchers have measured which ones cut the deepest. So, where does your moment land? Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla counts down the moments Americans will never forget. Tune in here!
If shedding extra pounds and feeling your best this summer is on your agenda, today's sponsor, Direct Meds, is offering $150 off your first order of doctor-supervised GLP-1 weight-loss treatment delivered right to your door.
Car insurance rates have climbed for many drivers over the past few years. Later today, watch for a message from our partner, Insurify, about a simple way to compare quotes and see if you could save.
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Anaheim ☁️ 82°/68° | Bakersfield ☀️ 95°/67° | Death Valley ⛅ 105°/81° | Eureka ☁️ 62°/54° | Fresno ☀️ 93°/63° | Huntington Beach ☁️ 76°/68° | Lake Tahoe ☁️ 72°/49° | Los Angeles ☁️ 83°/70° | Palm Springs ⛅ 98°/79° | Redding ⛅ 89°/63° | Riverside ☁️ 89°/64° | Sacramento ⛅ 81°/59° | San Diego ☁️ 75°/69° | San Francisco ☁️ 65°/58° | San Jose ☀️ 78°/60° | San Luis Obispo ⛅ 70°/62°
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Kushner, Iger to Buy Lakers
Venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney chief Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers for more than $12 billion, the richest price ever paid for a U.S. sports franchise.
They are purchasing the team from Mark Walter, who bought a controlling stake from the Buss family last year at a roughly $10 billion valuation. Walter’s interests in the Dodgers and Sparks are not part of the deal.
Kushner, who founded the venture firm Thrive Capital, and Iger had been involved in the NBA expansion process in Las Vegas before pivoting to the Lakers. ESPN pegged the final figure at $12.5 billion.
"As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers," Kushner and Iger said, pledging to build on the Buss family's legacy. The sale still needs approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
Timber Fire Closes Highway 1
Highway 1 through Big Sur remained closed to the public Wednesday after the Timber Fire grew to 3,774 acres and backed toward the coastal route.
Fire activity surged Wednesday near Partington Ridge and Coast Ridge Road on the southern flank, though the blaze remained at 5% containment. Crews faced steep, rugged terrain and a chance of thunderstorms and erratic winds.
The 10-mile closure runs between Fernwood Resort and the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park vista point. Evacuation orders remained in effect for five zones in the Big Sur area, and Cal Fire reported 503 structures threatened, up from earlier in the week.
More than 900 personnel were assigned to the fire, with no injuries or destroyed structures reported. State parks across Big Sur, including Pfeiffer Big Sur and Andrew Molera, remained closed.
➤ Suisun City: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a state AI Cyber Defense Program days after malware shut down Suisun City’s IT systems, forcing 911 dispatch to shift to Solano County. City Hall remains closed as the FBI and other agencies investigate.
➤ Calaveras County: The Gann Fire caused about $7.1 million in damage, Sheriff Rachelle Whiting told county supervisors as they ratified a local emergency Tuesday. The fire, which erupted Aug. 3 and burned more than 10,000 acres, is now 90% contained.
➤ Sacramento City Unified School District faces possible state intervention as it struggles to avoid insolvency, with a new analysis projecting an $81.2 million cash shortfall by the end of June 2027 if major changes aren’t made.
➤ Marin County: A judge denied diversion for the 17-year-old driver charged in a 2025 Woodacre crash that killed four teenagers, allowing the criminal case to proceed. She faces misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and two traffic infractions.
➤ Northstate: Lawmakers Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and James Gallagher, R-Chico, announced applications are open for a federal program offering up to $9 million to help cling peach growers pull trees and switch crops after the Del Monte cannery closure. Growers have until Sept. 2 to apply.
➤ Grass Valley: The Grass Valley Police Department will indefinitely suspend its use of automated license plate readers, including Flock Safety cameras, citing Fourth Amendment and privacy concerns after months of resident pushback. The city first approved the technology in 2021. (More)
➤ Central Valley: California Resources Corporation agreed to pay $63 million for Crimson Midstream and its roughly 2,000 miles of California pipelines, with plans to revive a crude-oil network that runs from Kern to Contra Costa counties and has sat idle since December. (
➤ Bakersfield: Three boys, ages 16, 13, and 12, were charged with murder in the July 18 shooting that killed Eric Lancaster, 53, and wounded his father on Crane Street. The Kern County District Attorney alleges gang participation.
➤ Tehachapi Unified School District personnel administrator Roxane Romero was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of failing to report suspected child abuse. Police say she received complaints about former P.E. teacher Timothy Seaman, who now faces felony charges, but did not alert authorities.
➤ Bass Lake: Madera County health officials knocked down social media rumors of a plague case ahead of Bass Lake's 125th "Birthday Glow Paddle," a nighttime paddle to the dam set for Friday. No plague infections have been confirmed in the county.
➤ Fresno State opened its first new housing initiative in 50 years, a 228-bed complex at Cedar and Shaw avenues that includes six units for students with families. The $33.7 million state-funded project erased the campus housing waitlist for fall.
➤ Madera: A sheriff's sergeant who happened to have his wetsuit available pulled a whimpering puppy from a canal standpipe after a passerby heard its cries. The rescued pup is now up for adoption at Madera County Animal Services.
➤ Southern California: Verizon is offering a $25,000 reward after vandals cut multiple fiber-optic cables in recent days, disrupting wireless and wireline service for thousands of customers in Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California.
➤ Universal City: Universal Studios Hollywood will install two more sound barriers around its new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster after Toluca Lake neighbors complained about riders' screams. A city councilmember said the work should finish by early September.
➤ Los Angeles: Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is being removed as chair of the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. The change was announced by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a friend of Mayor Karen Bass, whom Raman is challenging in November.
➤ Carlsbad: A decades-long fight over the roughly 11-acre Ponto parcel on the south coast is nearing a key decision, with a proposed 120-townhome and commercial development headed before the California Coastal Commission. Residents have pushed instead for a 6-acre coastal community park.
➤ Hemet: A Riverside County family renting a Hemet home for three months traced strange noises to a hidden basement beneath the house, where they found signs someone had been living, including cleaning supplies, a tarp, and a tap into the home's power.
➤ Commerce: Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives recovered about $150,000 worth of teeth-whitening toothpaste and 22 speakers during a retail theft operation at a warehouse. Separate operations recovered nearly $40,000 in allegedly stolen merchandise and led to multiple arrests.
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➤ The Los Angeles Rams ranked second among NFL teams in Sportico's annual franchise valuations at $12.7 billion, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers were eighth at $10.21 billion, and the Chargers 19th at $8.65 billion.
➤ The Los Angeles Chargers open their preseason tonight against Houston, while the 49ers host the Tennessee Titans on NFL Network.
➤ MLB owners are scheduled to hold a final vote next week on the record $3.9 billion sale of the San Diego Padres to Kwanza Jones and Jose Feliciano.
➤ Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson nearly saw his major-league-record errorless streak end Tuesday night when an eighth-inning throw was ruled an error, but the call was overturned and the streak reached 113 games.
➤ Attorney General Rob Bonta called Paramount’s reported threat to move its combined studio operation out of California “blackmail,” vowing to press ahead with a 12-state antitrust suit challenging the Warner Bros. merger. Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly said a relocation could begin as soon as Oct. 1.
➤ Northrop Grumman will quadruple production of ballistic missile-defense components at its San Diego plant under a $3 billion Pentagon agreement involving Lockheed Martin, investing millions to boost output. The defense contractor employs roughly 30,000 people across California.
➤ California's FAIR Plan, the state’s fire insurer of last resort, will raise rates an average of 29.1% starting Oct. 15 for new and renewing policies. Regulators approved the increase as more homeowners have turned to the plan amid rising wildfire risk and limited private insurance options.
➤ Rick Caruso's Palisades Village shopping center reopens Saturday, 19 months after the Palisades Fire, following more than $100 million in restoration. About 70% of its businesses will open Saturday, with 99% of the businesses now leased.
➤ Del Mar's forgotten airport once welcomed private pilots and race fans flying in from Los Angeles. The state bought the former Navy blimp site in the late 1950s for Interstate 5, which was later built through the property.
➤ A 12-year-old dancer from Rancho Cucamonga, Morgan Lopez, walked out of the hospital on her own after a rare spinal cord stroke during practice left doctors unsure she would walk again. Three months of daily therapy brought her mobility back.
➤ California ranked No. 31 of 50 in WalletHub's latest Best States to Live In study, held back by affordability and safety scores even as it ranked No. 2 for quality of life. Idaho topped the list.
➤ A Rialto toddler who stopped breathing was reunited Tuesday with the two police officers who saved him. Officers Joshua Colorado and Juan Villasenor used back blows and a suction device to clear the choking 3-year-old's airway on Aug. 5. Six days later, he was happy and running around.
➤ Video gamers are being hired by the thousands to guide real planes amid a deepening air traffic controller shortage.
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August 13, 2026
Defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan
Can this pact reshape the Middle East?
Source: Turkish Minute
Terms of the pact
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed a joint defense deal in Mecca last week. The most important part of that deal is the collective defense clause. An attack against one of the three countries would be seen as an attack against all of them. This clause is similar to NATO’s Article 5. It is based on the same idea. An attack against one member is considered an attack against the entire alliance.
The three countries highlighted the fact that this pact is strictly defensive. They also stressed that it does not target any specific country.
Insights on their relations
For decades, Pakistan has been supporting Saudi Arabia. It provided training and technical assistance. Last year, they already signed a defense deal with a clause of mutual defense. This deal also included technology transfers and joint production of equipment. Pakistan also owns nukes. This aspect of the deal has been kept blurry though.
Pakistan and Turkey also have close defense ties. They often conduct exercises and exchange military means. Turkey built warships for the Pakistan’s Navy. Pakistan also provided training aircrafts for Turkey.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey also moved closer in recent years. Saudi Arabia has been buying drones from Turkey. They seek greater cooperation in defense production.
Pakistan and Turkey supported Saudi Arabia’s proposal for a naval coalition. The goal is to protect regional supply routes. Indeed, security in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea has become even more crucial due to conflicts, blockades, and attacks on shipping.
Each of them benefits from that pact. Saudi Arabia diversifies its security partners. Turkey gains opportunities for its defense industry. Pakistan benefits from the Saudi’s financial power and Turkey’s large military and defence industry.
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Regional implications
The deal could reshape security dynamics across the Middle East. It could become more important over time. Other countries could participate. Indeed, the war in Iran created a particular situation. It accelerated efforts to reduce exclusive reliance on the U.S. Many states in the region were attacked by Iran for hosting US troops on their soil. Their main export corridor, the Strait of Ormuz, has been blocked. Plus, Trump’s foreign policy worries many of its regional allies. They fear that on top of being attacked themselves, they cannot blindly rely on the U.S. anymore. This pushes Gulf states to seek extra partners. It could lead some of them to join this alliance. It could then become the foundation of a wider regional security structure.
Plus, Pakistan is the only Muslim state to own nukes. This gives this alliance another strategic dimension and appeal. The ambiguity around Pakistan’s nukes could strengthen the pact’s perceived deterrence effect. Turkey also has one of NATO’s largest armies and a rapidly expanding defense industry.
This deal could also encourage greater cooperation between India, Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. These latter and the Mecca deal states have complex relations. They might see this pact as threat of common interest and address it collectively.
Challenges
An attack. The collective defense clause itself is a challenge. In theory, it would mean that these states would have to provide support to each other in case of attack. But in practice, it is not an easy task. That would engage them politically, economically, and militarily. These countries have their own agendas too. They face different enemies and security environments. They also have different foreign policies regarding other states. This is probably why the obligations of each party remains unclear for now.
Iran. Saudi Arabia has been trying to cool its relations with Iran in the past years. But attacks on its soil by Iran and its Houthis proxy harmed this move. Turkey and Pakistan share borders with Iran. Turkey and Iran are rivals. But they also share economic and security interests. Pakistan also has tried to maintain relations with Iran. It positioned itself as a diplomatic bridge between the U.S. and Iran. It also shares a long border with Iran. It is not in Pakistan’s interest to become part an anti-Iran bloc. It already has big security challenges on its border with Afghanistan due to Talibans and its historic rivalry with India.
India. Saudi Arabia must protect its growing relation with India. It is an important trade, investment, and energy partner. But India and Pakistan are strategic rivals. They have fought wars in the past. This pact could create a tough dilemma if they entered another conflict.
Turkey’s dilemma. Turkey is already a NATO member. It is protected by this alliance. But it also has commitments towards its NATO allies. If a crisis that creates a conflict of interest emerges, Turkey could face a dilemma between NATO and the Mecca pact.
Can we talk about an Islamic NATO?
This pact brings together three of the most powerful Muslim nations. The fact that it was signed in Mecca is also symbolic. Indeed, Mecca is sacred place in Islam. Some see this pact as the premise of an Islamic NATO and a shift away from the US.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. NATO is an alliance with an integrated military structure and common institutions. It has decades of coordinated defense planning and interventions. The three countries are not at this stage yet. Turkey is a NATO member itself already. Plus, their foreign policy interests do not always align. Saudi Arabia also remains closely connected to the U.S. Both countries signed a nuclear deal recently. Saudi Arabia will keep close ties with the U.S. for trade, diplomacy, and defense. This deal will not replace U.S. So will other Middle Eastern states even if they join the Mecca pact.
So at least for now, it is not an Islamic NATO. But it is still an important development. It shows that these three powers are increasingly willing to build their own mechanisms. They seek to protect their interest and address a changing regional security environment together. If the pact expands and others join, it could create a new security framework led by major Muslim powers. But it is unlikely to challenge U.S. support or NATO itself. Plus, it is still unclear if this pact will really be effective in practice in case of an attack.
Decoding geopolitics isn’t a job. It’s survival.
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This Day in U S Military History
August 13
1779 – The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
1831 – Nat Turner sees a solar eclipse, which he believes is a sign from God. Eight days later he and 70 other slaves kill approximately 55 whites in Southampton County, Virginia, beginning the rebellion that bears his name.
1846 – The American flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles as a joint expedition led by CDR Robert Stockton seizes the city.
1898 – When the U.S. declared war against Spain in April it was to help the Cubans gain their independence from Spanish colonial rule. Nothing was said about Spain’s other colonies, including the Philippines. However, as part of America’s war effort, it was quickly decided to take the islands as a colony of the United States. Commodore George Dewey’s decisive naval victory destroying the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1st opened the way for land forces to be used to capture the colonial capital city of Manila on the island of Luzon. By June American troops, most of them in state volunteer units, began arriving to besiege the city. Among these units was the “Utah Battery” actually composed of two batteries each armed with 3-inch rifled guns. As the U.S. soldiers arrived they were confronted by two armies, one composed of Spanish soldiers and the other of Philippine rebels who wanted their freedom from Spanish rule. American political leaders want the islands too, so a three-way stand-off was in the making. When enough American troops were in position around Manila it was decided to attack the city; however, Spanish officials agreed to surrender to the Americans only after a brief, honor saving, attack. So on this date the Utah batteries found themselves firing in support of almost uncontested American advances into the city. This soon changed when the rebels also attacked, trying to seize the old part of Manila, containing most of the government buildings. American troops got into fire fights with Filipinos while attempting to save Spanish lives from marauding rebels out for revenge. By the end of the day, most of the city was in American hands and an uneasy peace settled over the area. While coming under enemy fire at least once and forced to change position several times during the engagement the Utah units lost no men in action.
1945 – About 1600 American aircraft fly over Tokyo and other Japanese cities dropping millions of leaflets explaining the position reached in the surrender negotiations and the state of affairs in Japan. Most Japanese “hawks” still refuse to admit defeat. Japanese Sub-Lieutenant Saburo Sakai, the one-eyed fighter ace (with 64 victories), shoots down a B-29 near Tokyo during the night (August 13-14).
1969 – The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York, New York. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, California, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*KILMER, JOHN E.
Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman, U.S. Navy, attached to duty as a medical corpsman with a Marine rifle company in the 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Korea, 13 August 1952. Entered service at: Houston, Tex. Born: 15 August 1930, Highland Park, Ill. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy aggressor forces. With his company engaged in defending a vitally important hill position well forward of the main line of resistance during an assault by large concentrations of hostile troops, HC Kilmer repeatedly braved intense enemy mortar, artillery, and sniper fire to move from 1 position to another, administering aid to the wounded and expediting their evacuation. Painfully wounded himself when struck by mortar fragments while moving to the aid of a casualty, he persisted in his efforts and inched his way to the side of the stricken marine through a hail of enemy shells falling around him. Undaunted by the devastating hostile fire, he skillfully administered first aid to his comrade and, as another mounting barrage of enemy fire shattered the immediate area, unhesitatingly shielded the wounded man with his body. Mortally wounded by flying shrapnel while carrying out this heroic action, HC Kilmer, by his great personal valor and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice in saving the life of a comrade, served to inspire all who observed him. His unyielding devotion to duty in the face of heavy odds reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for another.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 13, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
13 August
1917: The 1st Aero Squadron, which departed Columbus, N.Mex., on 5 August, sailed for Europe under command of Maj Ralph Royce. It was the first squadron to report for flying duty in the American Expeditionary Forces. (24)
1943: The Northwest African Strategic Air Force bombed Weiner Neustadt in the first mission from Mediterranean bases against targets in greater Germany. (24)
1944: Two GB-4 Glide Bombs, with television and radio controls, were launched against E-boat pens at Le Havre, France. Four additional GB-4s were sent against targets in France and Germany between 17 August and 13 September 1944. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Advancing N. Korean Army forces caused two 35 FIG squadrons of F-51s to move from Yonil AB, S. Korea, to Tsuiki AB, Japan. (28)
1952: The USAF ordered the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, an eight jet heavy bomber, into full-scale production. (12) (24)
1953: The XC-99, the world’s largest plane to date, made its first transatlantic flight from Kelly AFB to Frankfurt, Germany, with 60,000 pounds of cargo.
1959: Using a Thor-Agena rocket, the USAF launched Discoverer V, a satellite with nose cone reentry capsule, into a polar orbit from the Pacific Missile Range. A malfunction prevented the capsule’s recovery, and the satellite fell from orbit on 16 September. (16) (24)
1960: Through 17 August, in the largest peacetime maneuver to date, AF Reserve troop carrier wings moved 10,400 men of the 101st Airborne Division from Camp Campbell, Ky., to Fort Bragg. (24)
1962: Ten USAF pilots completed a month-long stay in a simulated space cabin. (24)
1967: Through 16 August the Alaskan Air Command, assisted by the Alaska ANG and other Air Force units, conducted a three-day rescue and support operation after a flood hit the Fairbanks area. AFCS in Alaska provided emergency communications, while MAC provided airlift support. (16) (26)
1978: NEPTUNE III. Through 22 August, the largest joint airborne operations conducted to date occurred at Pope AFB, N.C. (16)
1987: The Marine Corps accepted five Kfir C-2 Lion Cub aircraft from Israel Aircraft Industries to use as aggressor aircraft in dissimilar air combat training at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Ariz.
1995: A 60 AMW C-5 Galaxy airlifted 75 tons of food from Germany to Croatia to feed war victims. (16) (26)
1998: At Altus AFB, a 54 AREFS KC-135 received the first Pacer CRAG and Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) modifications. The TCAS modification gave pilots the ability to see other aircraft and get advance warning of possible mid-air collisions. (See 2 June 1998 for details on Pacer CRAG) (AFNEWS Article 981260, 25 Aug 98) After 12 Americans died in a terrorist bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi on 7 August, a 437 AW C-17 from Charleston AFB returned 10 victims to Andrews AFB. In a hangar at Andrews, President William J. Clinton presided over a national ceremony of remembrance. On 12 August, a 436 AW C-5 from Dover AFB returned the eleventh victim, SMSgt Sherry Lynn Olds, from Ramstein AB to Dover, where a 375 AW C-9 from Scott AFB flew her remains to Panama City, Florida, her hometown. The twelfth American victim, married to a Kenyan, was buried in Kenya. (22)
2001: NASA’s experimental, solar-powered, remotely piloted Helios aircraft reached a record 96,500 feet in altitude for UAVs in a 17-hour flight. (21)
2004: A C-17 flying for the AFFTC at Edwards AFB airdropped a 52,500-pound Army Stryker Engineer Squad Vehicle, equipped with a Mobile Gun System, from some 12 feet above the Rogers Dry Lake as part of a feasibility test. (3)
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