To All
Good Monday morning June 15 Same weather different day. The clouds are clearing and heating up to 83 by 3
Warm regards,
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Thanks to Al
Yesterday was Flag Day. It is a quiet, profound moment to reflect on the American story. Rather than just a piece of cloth, it serves as a unifying symbol of our shared ideals, the sacrifices made to protect them, and the ongoing work to build a more perfect union.
On June 14, 1777, less than one year after Betsy Ross had received the order from General Washington to make the first flag, the Second Continental Congress passed a flag resolution stating:
Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.
The first national observance of Flag Day was on June 14, 1877; 100 years after the flag resolution was adopted by the Continental Congress.
In the late 19th century, schoolteachers all over the United States began conducting patriotic ceremonies commemorating Flag Day as a way to teach children about history. One such schoolteacher, Bernard J. Cigrand, is often referred to as the “Father of Flag Day.” He lobbied Congress for many years for Flag Day to be officially observed.
Other patriotic groups, including the Colonial Dames and the Sons of the American Revolution, also spent years trying to convince Congress to make Flag Day official. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation stating that June 14 shall be National Flag Day, and in 1949, it was made official by an Act of Congress.
Flag Dat at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6i3lVkCwX4
Flag Day quotes:
- "The red and white and starry blue--is freedom's shield and hope."—John Philip Sousa
- "Our flag is not just one of many political points of view. Rather, the flag is a symbol of our national unity."—Adrian Cronauer
- "I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this nation."—Franklin Knight Lane
- "The whole inspiration of our life as a nation flows out from the waving folds of this banner."—Author Unknown
- "You're the emblem of the land I love. The home of the free and the brave."—George M. Cohan
- "We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity, representing our liberty."—George Washington, attributed
- "The flag of the United States has not been created by rhetorical sentences in declarations of independence and in bills of rights. It has been created by the experience of a great people, and nothing is written upon it that has not been written by their life. It is the embodiment, not of a sentiment, but of a history."—Woodrow Wilson
Our National Anthem-The Rest of the Story at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxGNQE5ZLA
Here’s a video showing the emotion, love, and pride of country I wish more people would have at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dfnXRfB1oB8
Have a great week,
Al
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Go here to see the director’s corner for all 97 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
June 15
1775—Abraham Whipple takes command of Rhode Island’s coastal defense ship, Katy, and captures a tender of HMS Rose. In December, Katy is taken into the Continental service and renamed Providence.
1864—During the Civil War, the side-wheel steamer, USS Lexington, commanded by Lt. George Bache, and a boat crew from the side-wheel steamer, USS Tyler, capture three steamers aiding Confederates off Beulah Landing, MS.
1944—Following intensive naval gunfire and carrier-based aircraft bombing, Task Force 52 lands the Marines on Saipan, which is the first relatively large and heavily defended land mass in the Central Pacific to be assaulted by US amphibious forces.
1956—USS Canberra is recommissioned as (CAG 2) at Philadelphia Navy Yard, PA. She was previously a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser.
1963—The combat stores ship, USS Mars (AFS 1), is launched. She is the first of a new class of underway replenishment ships that combines the functions of the stores ship (AS), the stores issue ship (AKS), and the aviation supply ship (AVS).
1991 - 2 battle groups and amphibious ships evacuate dependents and Air Force personnel from Clark Air Force Base after Mount Pinatubo erupts in Philippines
2017—The Navy releases the results of a comprehensive review to determine causes of and make recommendations to eliminate physiological episodes within Naval Aviation. Physiological episodes occur when aircrew experience a decrease in performance due to the cabin pressure fluctuations, contamination of breathing air, or other factors in the flight environment. Steps recommended to reduce the episodes include improved aircraft oxygen systems, increased inspection requirements and establishing an integrated life support system program at Naval Air Systems Command.
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Today in World History June 15
1184 King Magnus of Norway is defeated by his rival, Sverre.
1215 King John signs the Magna Carta.
1381 The English peasant revolt is crushed in London.
1389 Ottoman Turks crush Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo.
1607 Colonists in North America complete James Fort in Jamestown.
1752 Benjamin Franklin and his son test the relationship between electricity and lightning by flying a kite in a thunder storm.
1775 George Washington is named Commander-in-Chief by Congress.
1779 American General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, New York.
1836 Arkansas is admitted into the Union as the 25th state.
1846 Great Britain and the United States agree on a joint occupation of Oregon Territory.
1849 James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, dies.
1862 General J.E.B. Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan."
1864 The Battle for Petersburg begins.
1866 Prussia attacks Austria.
1877 Henry O. Flipper becomes the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
1898 The U.S. House of representatives approves the annexation of Hawaii.
1904 Fire aboard the paddle steamer General Slocum on New York's East River kills 1,021, mostly German-Americans.
1916 President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.
1917 Great Britain pledges the release of all Irish captured during the Easter Rebellion of 1916.
1920 Three African Americans are lynched in Duluth, Minnesota, by a white mob of 5,000.
1928 Republicans, convening in Kansas City, name Herbert Hoover their candidate for President.
1932 Gaston Means is sentenced to 15 years for fraud in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.
1940 The French fortress of Verdun is captured by Germans.
1944 U.S. Marines begin the invasion of Saipan in the Pacific.
1947 The All India Congress accepts a British plan for the partition of India.
1958 Greece severs military ties to Turkey because of the Cyprus issue.
1964 The last French troops leave Algeria.
1977 The first general election in Spain since 1936 results in victory for the UCD (Union of Democratic Centre).
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Thanks to American Facts
You use money every single day, but you might be surprised after learning some details about it! From presidents facing the "wrong" way to secret symbols hiding in plain sight, U.S. coins and bills are packed with quirky details and curious history. Whether you're flipping a penny or eyeing a $100 bill, there’s more going on than meets the wallet. Let’s dig into some of the strangest, sneakiest, and most surprising facts about American currency.
The $2 bill is real and still legal
Yep, that mysterious $2 bill featuring Thomas Jefferson isn’t a collector’s fantasy. It’s still produced today (though rarely), and the reverse shows the Signing of the Declaration of Independence. People tend to save them, thinking they’re rare, but you can spend them just like any other bill.
Growing up on bases all over the country I heard a couple of stories about the local folks not wanting the base near their town so the base paid the military folks in 2 dollar bills for a couple of paydays so they would realize that the base did make a difference and the towns did not make any more complaints…..skip
The penny used to be made of pure copper
During WWII, copper was needed for ammo, so in 1943, pennies were made from steel and coated in zinc. They looked silver and rusted easily, some even stuck to magnets! Today, most pennies are actually 97.5% zinc with just a thin copper coating.
George Washington didn’t appear on the first $1 bill.
The very first $1 bill (from 1862) featured Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury at the time. Washington didn't show up until 1869, and Chase had a not-so-humble role in placing his own face there.
There’s a tiny owl hidden on the $1 bill
Take a magnifying glass to the upper-right corner of the "1" on a dollar bill. Some people swear there’s a tiny owl or spider hidden in the pattern, said to symbolize wisdom or surveillance. Officially, it's just part of the ornate design, but still a fun little mystery!
The $100,000 bill actually existed
No, you can’t use it at Target. Printed in 1934 and featuring Woodrow Wilson, this gold certificate was used only for transactions between Federal Reserve Banks. It was never meant for public use, and owning one today is illegal!
Lincoln faces the other way for a reason
On most bills, presidents face to the right. But on the penny, Lincoln faces left. One theory is that the designer used a portrait that happened to face left, but it also makes Lincoln the only president looking "inward" when coins are lined up in value order.
"In God We Trust" wasn’t always on our money
That phrase didn’t become mandatory on U.S. currency until 1955 during the Cold War. It first appeared on coins in 1864, but the push to include it everywhere came as a nod to America’s spiritual identity in contrast to atheistic communism.
Coins last way longer than bills
Your average dollar bill survives about 6.6 years in circulation. Coins? They can keep going for 30 years or more! That’s why coins are still a budget-friendly way for the government to make money — and we mean that literally!
The buildings on the back aren’t random
Each bill’s reverse side typically features a building related to the person on the front. For instance, the Lincoln Memorial is on the back of the $5 bill (with Lincoln on the front), and the White House appears behind Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. The choice of course had to do with government history itself! Which building do you think is missing?
There are secret codes on every bill
Look closely and you’ll spot tiny letters and numbers that identify which printing plate was used and where the bill was made. Ever see a tiny "F6" on a $1? That means it was printed in Atlanta, Georgia.
A dollar is technically made of cloth
Despite calling it "paper money," U.S. bills are actually made of 75% cotton and 25% linen. That’s why they feel so distinct, and don’t shred like regular paper when they get wet (though they still don’t love laundry day).
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
The Stories and Meanings Behind 7 Popular Names
Names aren’t usually pulled out of thin air, and often their stories are far more interesting than you’d expect. Shakespeare is responsible for the popularity of a couple of names, including one he made up entirely. One list-topper from the 2000s came from a 1980s rom-com. A couple of names that are complete stand-alones today started out as nicknames. One rising star even started as a last name, was coined as a separate word, and then trickled its way back into being a first name. Do you know the stories behind these seven popular names?
1 of 7
Shakespeare Made Up the Name Jessica
The first use of the name Jessica was in William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice for the daughter of the Jewish moneylender Shylock. The Bard likely used Anglicized versions of names taken from the Christian Book of Genesis for all of his Jewish characters. In the case of Jessica, the root name was probably Iscah, a very minor biblical figure who was a niece of Abraham and sister of Lot. Centuries later, Jessica had an incredible 21-year run, from 1977 to 1997, on the baby name top-five list in the United States, spending most of that time in the No. 1 or No. 2 slot.
2 of 7
Shakespeare Also Popularized Olivia
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, featuring Olivia.
The masculine Oliver’s popularity far predates Shakespeare. According to legend — particularly in the 11th-century text Song of Roland — it was the name of one of Charlemagne’s warriors. The feminine version, Olivia, wasn’t popularized until the early 17th-century Shakespeare comedy Twelfth Night. In the play, Countess Olivia is a smart, beautiful noblewoman, so of course her name took root.
The meaning of the name Oliver is somewhat debated. It depends on whether or not it has the same origins as Olaf. If it does, it means “ancestor,” but if not, it could mean “olive tree.”
3 of 7
Emily Was a Nickname for Amelia
The name Emily rose to prominence in the 18th century, and although it evolved independently from the same root as Amelia and Emile (all from Aemilia, the name of a Roman patrician family), it entered the popular English-speaking imagination as a nickname. The German House of Hanover rose to the English throne in 1714, and they brought the name Amelia with them, first with Princess Amelia Sophia Eleanor of Great Britain (1711-1786), and then later with Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (1783-1810). Both princesses were nicknamed “Emily.”
4 of 7
Robin Was a Nickname for Robert
The earliest Robins weren’t named after the bird. In medieval England, the name Robin was a diminutive for Robert — essentially, an ancient version of Bobby or Robby. One of the earliest prominent examples is the medieval legend of Robin Hood, whose full name is, in some Elizabethan retellings, Robert Fitzooth.
Robin gained traction as a feminine name in the 1940s, possibly in those cases with avian origins. Soon, the feminine Robin far outpaced the masculine Robin, and peaked as the 25th most popular name in the U.S. in 1962 and 1963. Robert, for the record, means “bright” or “famous”; it was in the top five masculine names in the U.S. from 1906 until 1971.
5 of 7
Ashleigh Was a Feminized Version of the Masculine Ashley
Until about the 1960s, Ashley (which means “meadow of ash trees”) was seen as a masculine name, and Ashleigh was considered a feminized spelling. All spellings of Ashley are largely considered to be feminine today, although the traditional “-ey” ending is still the most popular. It was the 73rd most popular name of the 2010s in the U.S., but had a long run in the top five from 1983 to 2001, peaking at No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. Despite the perception of “-eigh” names being pretty popular, Ashleigh peaked in 1991, roughly following the trajectory of its more traditional counterpart, as the 176th most popular name in the U.S.
6 of 7
Madison Was a Joke From a 1980s Romantic Comedy
As a first name, Madison wasn’t popular until very recently. For most of the 20th century it was an unpopular masculine name, but it cracked the top five baby names in the United States as a feminine name from 2000 to 2007. The story of how it got to be there is, however, a little fishy.
Madison has a long and storied history as a last name — and that’s relevant to its recent spike. President James Madison is one of the most famous examples; he’s the namesake of Madison Park in New York City, which, in turn, lends its name to Madison Avenue. In the 1984 movie Splash, Daryl Hannah plays a mermaid trying to pass as human in the Big Apple. Her character’s real name can’t be pronounced by humans, so when she’s asked, she adopts the name Madison from the street.
Her co-lead, played by Tom Hanks, responds, “That’s not a name.” But it soon would be: The next year, Madison broke the top 1,000 names in the United States, a small but important step toward hitting the top 10 in 1997.
7 of 7
Maverick Has its Origins in Cattle Farming
Maverick took a meandering route to become the 40th most popular name of 2022. In modern parlance, a maverick is a free-minded individualist, making it a popular nickname (as with Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun). Eventually, it was normalized as a given name, too. What’s curious about this is that the word “maverick” already comes from a person’s name — Samuel Augustus Maverick, a politician, land baron, and cattle rancher. He had a large herd of calves without brands that wandered freely. “Maverick” was coined to refer to an unbranded calf, but its meaning evolved pretty quickly to apply to humans, too. The name has been on the rise for more than a decade, and is around 13 times more popular now than it was in 2010.
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June 15
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url elow and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
June 15: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=631
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear’s Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in “search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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From the archives
Thanks to Ted
The War of 1812 : All it wants is a little respect
Time to recognize lasting consequences of a ‘weird little episode’?
By Patrick HrubyThe Washington Times
The Revolutionary War has its own national holiday. World War II has spawned countless books and movies. The Civil War boasts costumed re-enactors and a signature chess set.
And the War of 1812? It has re-enactors, too. The country can't get enough of them. The country of Canada, that is. "The demand for them right now is so great that it's actually driving up the price," said John Stagg, a University of Virginia history professor and author of "The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent." "They may even have to resort to the desperate tactic of importing a few from the United States.
"The situation is different in Canada. They take the war very seriously in a way that Americans don't."
Currently enjoying its bicentennial — What, you haven't pre-ordered the Postal Service's forthcoming commemorative stamp? — the War of 1812 occupies a musty, forgotten junk drawer in America's collective cultural consciousness, stuffed somewhere between the liberation of Grenada and the time Will Smith punched that extraterrestrial fighter pilot in the face.
No memorial on the Mall.
No memorial, buy-one, get-one-free mattress sales.
The only war in the history of the United States referred to by its year.
The only war in the history of the United States in which — yes, really — Canada won.
A three-year, continent-spanning conflict against the British Empire that gave us Dolley Madison (the heroic first lady, not the snack cakes), the Capitol rotunda (built after a humiliating defeat, but still), the Kentucky Rifle (overrated, according to historians), the 1959 song "The Battle of New Orleans" (less accurate than a Kentucky Rifle, according to historians) and the "Star-Spangled Banner" (ironically sung to the tune of an old English drinking song — whatever), and yet is lucky to receive more than a few throwaway paragraphs in the average American history textbook.
"I think it's more like two sentences," said Stephen Budiansky, author of "Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815."
"The War of 1812 has gotten no respect over the years."
Dissed and dismissed
Don Hickey concurs. The nation's pre-eminent War of 1812 historian, he began a lifelong love affair with the topic as a University of Illinois student in the late 1960s, writing his senior honors thesis on New England's opposition to the conflict.
(Fun fact: Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island refused to lend their state militias to the federal war effort, and a number of New England congressmen who voted for the war were subsequently booted from office. In other words, the War of 1812 was unpopular before it even started.)
"It turned out to be a real academic backwater, along with the entire early national period," said Mr. Hickey, a history professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and the author of "The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, Bicentennial Edition.""It was tough to find a university job."
Most schools at the time, Mr. Hickey said, carried Revolutionary War and Civil War experts on staff, and perhaps an Andrew Jackson scholar as well.
However, few academics paid the War of 1812 much mind. No less a historian than Richard Hofstadter best summed up the prevailing sentiment by describing the conflict as "ludicrous and unnecessary," the climax of an "age of slack and derivative culture, of fumbling and small-minded statecraft" and "terrible parochial wrangling."
"War of 1812 historians are in a bit of a ghetto," Mr. Stagg said. "When Theodore Roosevelt wrote a history of the war, he wrote a naval history. He basically said he wasn't going to study the land campaigns because they were so ludicrous."
For nearly a decade, Congress has entertained the notion of creating an official War of 1812 bicentennial commission; time and again, the same body of lawmakers that regularly honors things like craft beer and the University of Texas swimming and diving team has said thanks, but no thanks.
Don't imagine their constituents care: A recent poll by a Canadian research firm found that 36 percent of Americans could not name a significant outcome to the war.
"There's an American tendency to think the war was some sort of joke, pathetic and not significant," Mr. Stagg said. "There are a lot of memorials to the War of 1812, but they're all local, not national."
What about the District's memorial to James Madison, president and commander in chief during the war?
"It's inside the Library of Congress," Mr. Stagg said. "A lot of people don't even know it's there. And, of course, it talks about [Madison] as a bookish man learning to write the Constitution. It doesn't talk about the War of 1812."
Win, lose, draw?
Why the antipathy? Start with the nature of the conflict. Fed up with British bullying and conscripting of American sailors and a Royal Navy-imposed embargo of trade with France — an offshoot of Europe's Napoleonic Wars — Congress voted to declare war on Britain in June of 1812.
The vote itself was bitterly divided, and came a few days after the British had decided to lift their embargo, the whole reason for the war in the first place.
"The causes of the war don't resonate with modern readers," Mr. Hickey said. "Nobody today goes to war over maritime rights."
The American battle plan was simple — and in retrospect, bizarre: conquer British-controlled Canada, then press for nautical concessions. The United States enjoyed a 15-1 population advantage over its northern neighbor. Brimming with confidence, Thomas Jefferson predicted that victory was a "mere matter of marching."
Oops.
Poorly trained and badly led, the American army was not greeted as liberators. It was embarrassed. By Canada. In epic, Homeric struggles like the Battle of Beaver Creek. (Never heard of it? That's because you're not Canadian.)
Case in point: In the Battle of Detroit, General William Hull was tricked into surrendering his 2,000-militiamen force to a smaller group of British Canadians and Native Americans without firing a single shot, thereby losing the entire Michigan territory.
"I would put that in my personal top 10 most humiliating defeats for the American Army," Mr. Budiansky said. "There was a lot of truly incompetent generalship and institutional problems handicapping the army. Terrible logistics. No overall command structure. Militias refusing to serve outside U.S. territory."
Following a failed invasion of Canada from New York, feuding American generals Peter Buell Porter and Alexander Smyth actually engaged in a duel — of which historian John R. Elting later quipped, "unfortunately, both missed."
Perhaps America's most memorable defeat came in August of 1814, when 4,000 Royal Marines marched into Washington and set the nation's capital ablaze, famously forcing Dolley Madison to save George Washington's portrait from a burning White House.
Perfect pyrotechnic fodder for a Michael Bay movie, right?
"It wasn't the entire city in flames," Mr. Budiansky said. "The British thought in the classic mold of superpowers dealing with much smaller adversaries that all they needed to do was stage a show of force. So they only burned public buildings — the White House, the Capitol, the State and Treasury departments. Some of the most serious damage was to the Navy Yard."
Those dastardly Redcoats!
"Actually, the Navy Yard was set on fire by evacuating Americans to keep supplies and almost-completed warships from falling into British hands," Mr. Budiansky said.
Ineffective on land, America's military proved surprisingly adept at sea, frustrating and humiliating the much larger Royal Navy. Ultimately, the two sides reached a peace accord in which neither nation made concessions and territorial boundaries returned to their pre-war state.
Though the accord was signed Christmas Eve of 1814, word of the peace treaty didn't reach the United States until after the Battle of New Orleans in early 1815 — an Andrew Jackson-led rout of the British that stands as America's greatest victory in the war.
"The conventional wisdom is that the war ended in a draw, because it was a draw on the battlefield," Mr. Hickey said. "But if you look at policy objectives, the United States didn't force the British to make maritime concessions, while the British achieved their objective of keeping Canada.
"One of the [anti-war] Federalists predicted that America would spend $180 million, have 30,000 casualties and not achieve its objectives. We actually spent $158 million, lost about 20,000 people and didn't achieve our objectives. I would call it ill-advised."
No matter. Over time, Mr. Hickey says, Americans became happy with the War of 1812 because they thought they won. Canadians were happier because they knew they won.
And the British? Happiest of all — because they forgot the whole thing.
"The British were preoccupied with Napoleon, and the Canadians can live with the fact that they owe their survival to the Americans messing up monumentally," Mr. Stagg said. "For the Americans, the war was rather embarrassing."
Shifting attitudes?
Not always. In the years following the war, books, plays and paintings celebrated the conflict, seen by Americans as both an honorable stand against British harassment and a consolidation of the Revolutionary War's gains.
American naval captains — the successful ones, anyway — even became household names.
"If you were a boy in the 1820s, this is what you grew up with," Mr. Budiansky said. "There were ceramic plates of naval heroes like Stephen Decatur and Isaac Hull."
Mr. Budiansky laughed.
"Many of those plates were made in England. They were never one to shy away from cashing in on a potential market."
Battlefield glories — real and imagined — also influenced politics. According to Mr. Stagg, the war helped propel both Mr. Jackson and William Henry Harrison to the presidency, the latter man running on a slogan, "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," that referred to an 1811 battle in the Indiana territory that presaged the War of 1812.
In Kentucky alone, Mr. Stagg said, the war produced three governors, three lieutenant governors and four United States senators — not to mention future Vice President Richard Johnson.
"It was common to use your war record as part of your claim to office," Mr. Stagg said. "Johnson supposedly killed Shawnee leader Tecumseh in 1813. He never claimed that himself, but someone did, and he never denied it. He dined out politically on that for the rest of his career."
The trauma and scale of the subsequent Civil War changed attitudes, transforming the War of 1812 into a historical afterthought. However, an ongoing bicentennial has dragged the conflict at least partially back into public consciousness.
New York lawmakers have appropriated money for commemorative events. The Canadian government is spending an estimated $30 million on the same. As part of a larger, $12 million-plus public relations push, the U.S. Navy is parading the USS Constitution and other ships through Boston, New York, Baltimore, New Orleans and Norfolk.
In Maryland — where cars have War of 1812 license plates and Gov. Martin O'Malley has participated in re-enactments — the state is holding a three-year celebration, which kicked off with a June ceremony at Baltimore's Fort McHenry that featured recorded messages from President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
"I must admit, when I visited the White House earlier this year, I was a bit embarrassed that my ancestors had managed to burn the place down 200 years ago," Mr. Cameron joked during his message.
Beyond "The Star-Spangled Banner" — composed by Francis Scott Key during the Battle of Baltimore — the War of 1812 resulted in Jacksonian democracy, a long-term Anglo-American alliance, the birth of Canadian national identity, America's emergence as a naval power and a crushing defeat of Native Americans that paved the way for Manifest Destiny.
It's time, Mr. Stagg believes, the much-maligned conflict got a little more respect.
"Because it seemed to have no clear, decisive winner, people assume it has no decisive consequences," he said. "I think that bit is wrong. It shaped the remainder of 19th-century American history. We should look at is as such, rather than saying it's this weird little episode we can't explain or understand."
© Copyright 2012 The Washington Times, LLC.
comment:
The United States won the War of 1812. In the early 19th century
the British were claiming the entire West Coast of North America, including
Alta California and Baja California.
In order to press these claims, they needed to prevent the U.S. from expanding
westwards into the Louisiana Purchase. The British planned to gain control
of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to New Orleans.
The British were defeated on the Great Lakes and at the Battle of New Orleans.
Some historians try to make the case that the U.S. was attempting to seize
Canadian territory, and thus, as no Canadian land was lost to the U.S.,
it was a Canadian victory.
However, the U.S. never made any claims on any part of Canada. The
issue was the westward expansion of the United States into territory which
had been considered to be Spanish and French colonies. After the War
of 1812, the U.S. expanded westward to the Pacific.
Sincerely,
John Lepant Brighton CO
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From the Archives
Thanks to Brett and VDH
Strong Fathers Build Civilizations—Weak Ones Lose Them
Victor Davis Hanson
June 13, 2025
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Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and host of "The Victor Davis Hanson Show." His website, The Blade of Perseus, features columns, lectures, and exclusive content for subscribers. Contact him at authorvdh@gmail.com.
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos.
Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. June 15th is Father’s Day. It’s always the third Sunday of June.
I remember when I was in college, for the first time they made it a national holiday— think in 1972. It derives, in our country, from the early 1900s, when people wanted to because we had a previous holiday of Mother’s Day. They wanted to also honor Father’s Day. In Europe, I think, it’s called St. Joseph’s Day to honor the husband of the Virgin Mary.
And, in any case, we honor what our parents did for us by Mother’s Day and for Father’s Day. It recalls something that I like to share with you. One of the roles of fathers is to give young children, especially males, a sense of direction. And almost this tragic sense that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do, but somebody else won’t do them, you’re going to be in trouble.
And I look back at my father—I’d like to relate just three things very quickly.
Once he wanted us to work in the summer. We were working on the farm. There wasn’t enough work, so he had a friend that wanted us to shake almonds with a mallet. In those days, there was no machine. You just hit the mallet with a canvas. But it was 110 degrees in August. So, he dropped us off in this 40 acre almond field—the four of us—and he started to worry. He said, “My God, it’s hot. I’ve got to go talk to this guy.” And the guy said, ”No, you said you’re going to drop them off.” Bottom line. He came back in his early fifties and he had his work clothes on and he got a mallet. And he worked every day, for a week, hitting the trees while we moved the canvas and put them in gunny sack. And he was completely in sweat. And he said, “You boys are going to be in trouble.” And every hour, he went down to a mountain drive-in and brought back drinks and water. But he stood by us the whole time. And he outworked us.
Second thing I remember was, I was in Greece and I had a torn ureter. That’s when a kidney stone—a staghorn calculus—gets lodged and the ureter and begins to cut. And I was in pretty bad shape and I called my parents—they knew about it—and I said, “The doctor can’t take it out. I’ve got to get home.” My father said, “You get on the next flight, I wire you the money. Your mother will find a surgeon. And I will pick you up.” I said, “Well, how am I going to get from the airport to Fresno?”
“You worry about that. You worry about the flight. I will get you.” So, 20 hours later, I go there and here’s my father at the airport. I was 20 years old—excuse me—24. And he picks me up. He was 6’4″. He puts me into this old Buick station wagon, that he’d made into an ambulance. He put down all the seats. He had pillows, and he said, “We’re off on a wild ride, Victor.” And we drove 200 miles, in the middle of the night. And he pulled up right to the ambulance entry at Fresno Community Hospital. He pulled over in Los Banos. He called the surgeon and said, “I’m going to be here. You operate.” He pulled in. And within 40 minutes, I was being operated by a surgeon, in Fresno. Because of him. He saved my life.
The other thing that I remember was, I was—very quickly— at Stanford University, in a very bad neighborhood. I didn’t have a lot of money. I was on a scholarship. And he was very worried. My mother, of course, was too. And he said, “I’m going to drive up and see this.” So, he went up and he saw it was a rough neighborhood. Didn’t have a lot of money. The next thing I knew, he came over to my apartment and he had these sacks of frozen foods. And they weren’t just prepared foods, they were steaks, they were roast. And he said, “I bought you enough meat for six months. Let’s put it in the freezer.”
And I said, “Oh my gosh.” And my roommate, he was very poor. He was from a steelworker’s family in Ohio. So, he had all this meat. And then he said, “You have any money?” And I said—he looked—“Give me your wallet.” So, I had $20. And that was a lot of money, in 1975. So, he pulled out his wallet. He had three twenties. He gave all three to me. I said, “You don’t have any money to drive home.” He said, “You don’t worry about it.” And he said, “That $80, now you’re going to be—I want you to eat well.” He did that every time I was in trouble. And I think that’s the role of fathers.
And finally, I said to him, ”Dad, why do you always do this?” And he said, “Because that’s my responsibility. And that will be your responsibility, when you have children. You’re always there if they need you. You’re not there to pamper them. You’re not there to subsidize them. But they need you to keep them going, when they can’t go on their own.” And he didn’t mean that, in the sense of dependency. And he was always like that. And I cherish the memory of him.
And I think all of us, in this period of turbulent times, I think we must reevaluate the role of fathers. To the degree this country will make it, it will be a strong father figure that instructs us how to be masculine. How to be a man. How to protect the weak. How to stand forward and challenge bullies, that prey on the weak and the innocent. And that’s a lost art now. And to the degree, that we’ve had strong fathers, as I did, I think each year of our lives, we appreciate it evermore on Father’s Day.
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From the Birth of the Army to Marines at Saipan by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
06/15/2010
This Week in American Military History:
June 14, 1775: The American Continental Army is formed in Boston: thus June
14 becomes the official birthday of the U.S. Army. George Washington will be appointed commander in chief of the new army the following day.
June 14, 1777: Two years to the day after the birth of the American Army, Betsy Ross’s “Stars and Stripes” (adopted by the Continental Congress) replaces the Grand Union flag as the official national standard. In time, the anniversary of this day will become known as “Flag Day.”
June 15, 1944: U.S. Marines under the command of Lt. Gen. Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith (a recipient of France’s Croix de Guerre for his actions during the battle of Belleau Wood in World War I), begin hitting the beaches on Saipan, a Japanese territorial island in the Marianas chain.In a battle that will continue into August – far longer if counting the tiny pockets of post-battle Japanese resistance – Smith’s Marines and soldiers will destroy enemy forces under Lt. Gen. Yoshitsugu Saito.
A German naval attache in Tokyo, will purportedly write: "Saipan was really understood to be a matter of life and death. About that time they began telling the people the truth about the war. They began preparing them for whatever must happen. Before that they had been doing nothing but fooling the people."Within days, the Japanese fleet will be decisively defeated in the great carrier battle of the Philippine Sea, also known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot."
June 17, 1775: The battle of Bunker Hill (often referred to as the battle of Breed’s Hill) opens when British Army forces and Royal Marines under the command of Gen. William Howe attack American forces under Gen. Israel Putnam and Col. William Prescott who have taken up position on the hills above Boston. The British will ultimately take Bunker and Breed’s Hills, but British losses make it a pyrrhic victory.
According to the Library of Congress: “American troops displayed their mettle in the Battle of Bunker Hill during the siege of Boston, inflicting casualties on nearly half of the British troops dispatched to secure Breed's Hill (where most of the fighting occurred).”
June 18, 1812: The U.S. declares war on – what was known at that time as – “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” It is the first time the U.S. has declared war on another nation. The War of 1812 is on.
June 20, 1941: The U.S. Army Air Corps is reorganized as the U.S. Army Air Forces (the World War II predecessor to the post-war U.S. Air Force).
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My favorite Tiger story is the one that makes it into the list every year or so. The tiger was raised by some special ops guys in Vietnam and they used him to make VC tell them where his buddies were. They put the VC in a chair and put a bag over his head then pulled the hood off and there was the tiger sitting in front of him. They had trained him to open his jaws wide and roar on que. The VC always talked…skip
From the archives
Thanks to Robert
Unfortunately the URL no longer works. I will ask cowboy to see if he can find it
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This Day in U S Military History…….June 15
1944 – American forces began their successful invasion of Saipan during World War II. Meanwhile, B-29 Superfortresses made their first raids on Japan. Coast Guard-manned transports that took part in the invasion included the USSs Cambria, Arthur Middleton, Callaway, Leonard Wood, LST-19, LST-23, LST-166 and LST-169. Preceded by naval gunfire and carrier air strikes, the V Amphibious Corps assaulted the west coast of Saipan, Marianas Islands. By nightfall, the 2d and 4th Marine Divisions, moving against heavy opposition, had established a beachhead 10,000 yards wide and 1,500 yards deep.
1944 – Admiral Clark leads two groups of US carrier forces raiding Iwo Jima, Chichi Jima and Haha Jima. The Japanese carriers are sighted by US patrols heading through the San Bernardino Strait while some of the Japanese battleships are seen east of Mindanao.
1944 – A fourth American corps is add to the US 1st Army. The US 8th Corps becomes operations on the Cotentin Peninsula. Meanwhile, elements of the US 7th Corps capture Quineville.
1944 – The first B-29 Superfortress raid on Japan is conducted. Bombers from the US 20th Air Force in China attack Yawatta on Kyushu.
1945 – American OSS units complete mopping up operations in the Shan Mountains area.
1945 – US B-29 Superfortress bombers drop 3000 tons of bombs on Osaka.
1945 – On Okinawa, Marines suffer heavy casualties and are unable to advance on Kunishi Ridge. The US 1st Division, already short of troops, is attached to the US 2nd Marine Division. Forces of the US 24th Corps continue operations to eliminate Japanese positions on Mount Yaeju and Mount Yuza.
1945 – On Luzon, Filipino guerrillas seize Cervantes in the north. Meanwhile, the US 37th Division continues to battle forward in the Cagayan valley, eliminating a Japanese strong point about 3 miles from Santiago, near Cabanatuan.
1965 – U.S. planes bomb targets in North Vietnam, but refrain from bombing Hanoi and the Soviet missile sites that surround the city. On June 17, two U.S. Navy jets downed two communist MiGs, and destroyed another enemy aircraft three days later. U.S. planes also dropped almost 3 million leaflets urging the North Vietnamese to get their leaders to end the war. These missions were part of Operation Rolling Thunder, launched in March 1965, after President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a sustained bombing campaign of North Vietnam. The operation was designed to interdict North Vietnamese transportation routes in the southern part of the North Vietnam and to slow infiltration of personnel and supplies into South Vietnam. During the early months of this campaign, there were restrictions against striking targets in or near Hanoi and Haiphong, but in July 1966, Rolling Thunder was expanded to include the bombing of North Vietnamese ammunition dumps and oil storage facilities. In the spring of 1967, it was further expanded to include power plants, factories, and airfields in the Hanoi and Haiphong areas. The White House closely controlled Operation Rolling Thunder and at times President Johnson personally selected the targets. From 1965 to 1968, about 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson halted it entirely on October 31, 1968, under increasing domestic political pressure.
1991 – Mount Pinatubo (4,750 feet high) erupted. Due to early warning 56,000 people were evacuated and only 450 people died. The eruption forced the closure of Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City and displaced hundreds of families of the Aeta tribe. 2 battle groups and amphibious ships evacuate dependents and Air Force personnel from Clark.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
APPLETON, WILLIAM H.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company H, 4th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 15 June 1864; At New Market Heights, Va., 29 September 1864. Entered service at: Portsmouth, N.H. Born: 24 March 1843, Chichester, N.H. Date of issue: 18 February 1891. Citation: The first man of the Eighteenth Corps to enter the enemy’s works at Petersburg, Va., 15 June 1864. Valiant service in a desperate assault at New Market Heights, Va., inspiring the Union troops by his example of steady courage.
FALLON, THOMAS T.
Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 37th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Williamsburg, Va., 5 May 1862. At Fair Oaks, Va., 30-31 May 1862. At Big Shanty, Ga., 14-15 June 1864. Entered service at: Freehold, N.J. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 13 February 1891. Citation: At Williamsburg, Va., assisted in driving rebel skirmishers to their main line. Participated in action, at Fair Oaks, Va., though excused from duty because of disability. In a charge with his company at Big Shanty, Ga., was the first man on the enemy’s works.
HALLOCK, NATHAN M.
Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 124th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Bristoe Station, Va., 15 June 1863. Entered service at: Middletown, N.Y. Birth: Orange County, N.Y. Date of issue: 10 September 1897. Citation: At imminent peril saved from death or capture a disabled officer of his company by carrying him under a hot musketry fire, to a place of safety.
NUGENT, CHRISTOPHER
Rank and organization: Orderly Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 1840, County of Caven, Ireland. Accredited to: Massachusetts. G.O. No.: 32, 16 April 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Fort Henry, Crystal River, Fla., 15 June 1863. Reconnoitering on the Crystal River on this date and in charge of a boat from the Fort Henry, Orderly Sgt. Nugent ordered an assault upon a rebel breastwork fortification. In this assault, the orderly sergeant and his comrades drove a guard of 11 rebels into the swamp, capturing their arms and destroying their camp equipage while gallantly withholding fire to prevent harm to a woman among the fugitives. On 30 July 1863, he further proved his courage by capturing a boat off Depot Key, Fla., containing 2 men and a woman with their baggage.
KELLEY, THOMAS G.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy, River Assault Division 152. place and date: Ong Muong Canal, Kien Hoa province, Republic of Vietnam, 15 June 1969. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Born: 13 May 1939, Boston, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in the afternoon while serving as commander of River Assault Division 152 during combat operations against enemy aggressor forces. Lt. Comdr. (then Lt.) Kelley was in charge of a column of 8 river assault craft which were extracting 1 company of U.S. Army infantry troops on the east bank of the Ong Muong Canal in Kien Hoa province, when 1 of the armored troop carriers reported a mechanical failure of a loading ramp. At approximately the same time, Viet Cong forces opened fire from the opposite bank of the canal. After issuing orders for the crippled troop carrier to raise its ramp manually, and for the remaining boats to form a protective cordon around the disabled craft, Lt. Comdr. Kelley realizing the extreme danger to his column and its inability to clear the ambush site until the crippled unit was repaired, boldly maneuvered the monitor in which he was embarked to the exposed side of the protective cordon in direct line with the enemy’s fire, and ordered the monitor to commence firing. Suddenly, an enemy rocket scored a direct hit on the coxswain’s flat, the shell penetrating the thick armor plate, and the explosion spraying shrapnel in all directions. Sustaining serious head wounds from the blast, which hurled him to the deck of the monitor, Lt. Cmdr. Kelley disregarded his severe injuries and attempted to continue directing the other boats. Although unable to move from the deck or to speak clearly into the radio, he succeeded in relaying his commands through 1 of his men until the enemy attack was silenced and the boats were able to move to an area of safety. Lt. Comdr. Kelley’s brilliant leadership, bold initiative, and resolute determination served to inspire his men and provide the impetus needed to carry out the mission after he was medically evacuated by helicopter. His extraordinary courage under fire, and his selfless devotion to duty sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 15, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
15 June
1928: Flying an Air Corps blimp over an Illinois Central train, Lt Karl S. Axtater and Lt Edward H. White dipped down and handed a mailbag to a postal clerk on the train to complete the first airplane-to-train mail transfer. (20)
1940: Congress authorized 10,000 useful airplanes and 48 useful airships for the Navy. (24)
1942: Seven B-24s from the Halverson Detachment attacked and damaged the Italian battleship Littorio east of Malta. (4)
1944: KEY EVENT. Brig Gen LaVerne G. Saunders, XX Bomber Command, led the first B-29 strike against Japan. In that raid, 47 B-29s flew from bases in Chengtu, China, to attack steel mills at Yawata on Kyushu. (20) (21)
1952: KOREAN WAR. In aerial combat, 2Lt James F. Low, 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, destroyed his fifth MiG, becoming an ace just six months after completing flight training. (28)
1959: The 463 TCW at Sewart AFB, Tenn., received the first C-130B.
1963: The Air Force launched its 200th Thor missile.
1965: SAC declared the 400 SMS to be operational at Francis E. Warren AFB. This act ended the deployment of 800 Minuteman Is in 16 squadrons. (1) (6) 1969: C-5A No. 2 set several records: heaviest takeoff at 762,800 pounds and heaviest landing with 600,000 pounds. (3)
1970: A C-130 flew the final Blind Bat flare mission over the Barrel Roll area of Laos. The PACAF C-130s involved in this mission returned to Naha AB. (17)
1971: The first Titan III-D space booster launched from Vandenberg AFB. It was a two-stage liquid-fueled, core vehicle with two additional outboard strap-on thrust pods of solid propellant.
1972: A 42 BMW B-52G crew from Loring AFB launched the first operational SRAM at White Sands Missile Range. (1) (6)
1975: The last F-111s in Thailand began their redeployment to the US. (16) (26)
1978: SAC demilitarized and removed the last Hound Dog missiles from its inventory at the 42 BMW, Loring AFB. (6)
1984: MAC C-130s flew 4.5 tons of pumps and other equipment from Dyess AFB to Kansas City, Missouri, to assist in flood fighting efforts in northwest Missouri. (16) (26) The first Peacekeeper with a Mark-21 Reentry Vehicle completed a flight test at Vandenberg AFB. (16) (26)
2006: The last production Block 10 Global Hawk arrived at Edwards AFB for acceptance and operational check flights before delivery to Beale AFB for operational use. (3)
2007: The last operational F-16A Fighting Falcon (Tail No. 82-993) flew its final mission in Arizona’s skies, taking off from the Tucson Air National Guard base for indefinite storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group yard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (AFNEWS, “Air Guard Retires Last F-16A in Service,” 20 Jun 2007.)
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