To All
. Good Wednesday morning May 20. It is starting out even warmer today and the skies are clear and we will hit 84 around 3 The forecast is for a lot of clear skies and higher temps over the next week .
We have relatives coming to visit. We are getting ready for them. I hear the whip cracking soI better sent this now
Last night my Granddaughter Lilly who is a senior at Poway High School attended the Lacrosse team awards dinner and was awarded over all MVP for the Poway team and Second team all league. She has been awarded a full scholar ship to college for her abilities. And by the way is an honor roll student and was student body president for most of her four years.
Regards from proud grandpa.
I hope to see many of you on the USS Midway on Sunday where you can find me on the flight deck next to the F-8 Crusader. I have to make another check to make sure all the zippers work so I can get my flight gear on and off. My son got my helmet in shape when he was here…skip
Skip
Well myh oldest granddaughter and her boyfriend just showed up so I have been told to send!!!!!
HAGD
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Go here to see the director’s corner for all 97 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
May 20
1815 Commodore Stephen Decatur sails with his flagship USS Guerriere and a squadron of nine ships for the Mediterranean to suppress piracy. Under strict negotiations, Decatur is able to secure a treaty with the Day of Algiers, His Highness Omar Bashaw, on July 3.
1909 USS Mississippi (BB 23) arrives at Natchez, Miss., and becomes the first U.S. Navy battleship to visit an inland city.
1943 The Tenth Fleet is established in Washington D.C., under the command of Adm. Ernest J. King, to coordinate U.S. anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic. Disbanded after WWII, the Tenth Fleet is reactivated in Jan. 2010 as U.S. Fleet Cyber Command.
1944 USS Angler (SS 240) sinks Japanese transport Otori Maru and survives depth charging by its escort, while both USS Silversides (SS 236) and USS Bluegill (SS 242) sink enemy vessels.
1995 USS Russell (DDG 59) is commissioned during a ceremony at Pascagoula, Miss. The 9th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named for Rear Adm. John Henry Russell and his son, Commandant of the Marine Corps John Henry Russell Jr.
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Today in World History: May 20
0325 The Ecumenical council is inaugurated by Emperor Constantine in Nicea.
1303 A peace treaty is signed between England and France.
1347 Cola di Rienzo takes the title of tribune in Rome.
1520 Hernando Cortes defeats Spanish troops sent against him in Mexico.
1674 John Sobieski becomes Poland's first king.
1690 England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II.
1774 Parliament passes the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for their increasingly anti-British behavior. The acts close the port of Boston.
1775 North Carolina becomes the first colony to declare its independence.
1784 The Peace of Versailles ends a war between France, England, and Holland.
1799 Napoleon Bonaparte orders a withdrawal from his siege of St. Jean d'Acre in Egypt.
1859 A force of Austrians collide with Piedmontese cavalry at the village of Montebello, in northern Italy.
1861 North Carolina becomes the last state to secede from the Union.
1862 President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, providing 250 million acres of free land to settlers in the West.
1874 Levi Strauss begins marketing blue jeans with copper rivets.
1902 The U.S. military occupation of Cuba ends.
1927 Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York for Paris.
1930 The first airplane is catapulted from a dirigible.
1932 Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Ireland, to become the first woman fly solo across the Atlantic.
1939 Pan American Airways starts the first regular passenger service across the Atlantic.
1941 Germany invades Crete by air.
1942 Japan completes the conquest of Burma.
1951 During the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara becomes the first jet air ace in history. (There may have been one German in WWII that had five with the ME-262)
1961 A white mob attacks civil rights activists in Montgomery, Alabama.
1969 In South Vietnam, troops of the 101st Airborne Division reach the top of Hill 937 after nine days of fighting entrenched North Vietnamese forces.
1970 100,000 people march in New York, supporting U.S. policies in Vietnam.
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A bit more from THIS DAY IN HISTORY
May 20
1873
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans
San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create one of the world’s most famous garments: blue jeans.
1920s
1927
Charles Lindbergh takes off across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis
American Revolution
1774
King George III approves the Coercive Acts in response to the Boston Tea Party
Arts & Entertainment
2007
“The Simpsons” airs 400th episode
1998
Frank Sinatra is laid to rest
1946
English poet W.H. Auden becomes a U.S. citizen
Exploration
1506
Christopher Columbus dies
1498
Vasco da Gama reaches India
Sports
1989
Sunday Silence wins Preakness Stakes by a nose
U.S. Presidents
1862
President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act
Vietnam War
1969
Battle for “Hamburger Hill” ends after 10 grueling days
World War II
1940
Germans break through to English Channel at Abbeville, France
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May 20
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you Dan
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
For Wednesday May 20..
May 20: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1149
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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Thanks to Nice News
Happy World Bee Day! The annual celebration commemorates the 1734 birthday of Anton Janša, considered the pioneer of beekeeping. Today is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of pollinators like bees to the planet’s ecosystems — without the little buzzers, the global food system as we know it would cease to exist. So take a moment of gratitude for all the bees, and consider looking into which native plants you can add to your lawn or garden to boost pollinators.
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Some of my favorites
Thanks to Boysie ...and Dr. Rich
What Is A Thesaurus?
I have a few jokes about unemployed people, but none of them work .
"I have a split personality," said Tom, being Frank.
I Renamed my iPod The Titanic, so when I plug it in, it says “The Titanic is syncing.”
How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it
When life gives you melons, you're dyslexic
It's hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally
What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter
Two windmills are standing in a wind farm. One asks, “What’s your favorite kind of music?” The other says, “I’m a big metal fan.”
Hear about the new restaurant called Karma? There’s no menu - you get what you deserve
I went to buy some camouflage trousers yesterday but couldn't find any
What do you call a bee that can’t make up its mind? A maybe
I tried to sue the airline for losing my luggage. I lost my case
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane
A cross-eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils
She had a photographic memory but never developed it
Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know and don't really care
I wasn’t originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind
Which country’s capital has the fastest-growing population? Ireland. Every day it’s Dublin.
My ex-wife still misses me. But her aim is starting to improve
Two fish are in a tank, one says to the other "how do you drive this thing?"
The guy who invented the door knocker got a no-bell prize
Need an ark? I Noah guy
I used to be indecisive; now I'm not so sure
Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed
What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine
What do you call a super articulate dinosaur? A Thesaurus!
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The 4 Motered Dogfigh
From the arcvhives
One of my favorites. Many years ago a friend from the List asked me if I had ever read about the “4 Motered dogfight”and I had not. He said he had read about it in an old Reader’s Digest. I finally found it and had it in an early list. Here it is again with a new video from “Dogfights”
Skip
This time from Carl
• A “bad” pilot with a spotty record at best.
• A beat up aircraft with the unloved BUNO ending in 666.
• A mission that no one wanted to take.
• A crew full of equally broken and unwanted crew members.
• What does that give you? Just the most decorated combat flight in U. S. history.
There were only three things standing in his way: he didn’t have a crew, he didn’t have an airplane, and oh, yeah, he still wasn’t a qualified pilot.
He solved the first problem by gravitating to every misfit and ne’er-do-well in the 43rd Air Group. As another pilot, Walt Krell, recalled, “He recruited a crew of renegades and screwoffs. They were the worst — men nobody else wanted. But they gravitated toward one another and made a hell of a team.”
The plane came later. An old, beat-up B-17, serial number 41-2666, that had seen better days was flown into their field to be scavenged for spare parts. Captain Zeamer had other ideas. He and his crew decided to rebuild the plane in their spare time since they weren’t going to get to fly any other way. Exactly how they managed to accomplish their task is the subject of some debate. Remember, there were so few spare parts available that their ‘plane’ was actually brought in originally to be a parts donor.
But rebuild it they did. Once it was in flying shape the base commander congratulated them and said he’d find a new crew to fly it. Not surprisingly, Zeamer and his crew took exception to this idea, and according Walt Krell the crew slept in their airplane, having loudly announced that the 50 caliber machine guns were kept loaded in case anyone came around to ‘borrow’ it. There was a severe shortage of planes, so the base commander ignored the mutiny and let the crew fly – but generally expected them to take on missions that no one else wanted.
The misfit crew thrived on it. They hung around the base operations center, volunteering for every mission no one else wanted. That earned them the nickname The Eager Beavers, and their patched up B-17 was called Old 666.
This alone makes them Salamander approved.
... the Eager Beavers became known as gun nuts. They replaced all of the light 30 caliber machine guns in the plane with heavier 50 caliber weapons. Then the 50 caliber machine guns were replaced with double 50 caliber guns. Zeamer had another pair of machine guns mounted to the front of the plane so he could remotely fire them like a fighter pilot. And the crew kept extra machine guns stored in the plane, just in case one of their other guns jammed or malfunctioned.
...
In June, 1943, the U. S. had secured Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands. They knew the Japanese had a huge base at Rabual, but were certain there were other airfields being built in the Northern Solomon Islands. They asked for a volunteer crew to take photographs of Bougainville Island to plan for an eventual invasion, and of Buka airfield on the north side of the island to assess for increased activity there. It was considered a near-suicide mission — flying hundreds of miles over enemy airspace in a single, slow bomber. Not to mention photoreconnaissance meant staying in level flight and taking no evasive action even if they were attacked.
The only crew that volunteered, of course, was Jay Zeamer and the Eager Beavers. One of the crew, bombardier Joseph Sarnovski, had absolutely no reason to volunteer. He’d already been in combat for 18 months and was scheduled to go home in 3 days. Being a photo mission, there was no need for a bombardier. But if his friends were going, he wanted to go, and one of the bombardier’s battle stations was to man the forward machine guns. They might need him, so he went.
Go to the link and read it all.
No question; fullbore in every way.
Zeamer's Citation:
On 16 June 1943, Major Zeamer (then Captain) volunteered as pilot of a bomber on an important photographic mapping mission covering the formidably defended area in the vicinity of Buka, Solomon Islands. While photographing the Buka airdrome. his crew observed about 20 enemy fighters on the field, many of them taking off. Despite the certainty of a dangerous attack by this strong force, Major Zeamer proceeded with his mapping run, even after the enemy attack began. In the ensuing engagement, Major Zeamer sustained gunshot wounds in both arms and legs, one leg being broken. Despite his injuries, he maneuvered the damaged plane so skillfully that his gunners were able to fight off the enemy during a running fight which lasted 40 minutes. The crew destroyed at least 5 hostile planes, of which Major Zeamer himself shot down one. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused medical aid until the enemy had broken combat. He then turned over the controls, but continued to exercise command despite lapses into unconsciousness, and directed the flight to a base 580 miles away. In this voluntary action, Major Zeamer, with superb skill, resolution, and courage, accomplished a mission of great value.
Sarnoski's Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. On 16 June 1943, 2d Lt. Sarnoski volunteered as bombardier of a crew on an important photographic mapping mission covering the heavily defended Buka area, Solomon Islands. When the mission was nearly completed, about 20 enemy fighters intercepted. At the nose guns, 2d Lt. Sarnoski fought off the first attackers, making it possible for the pilot to finish the plotted course. When a coordinated frontal attack by the enemy extensively damaged his bomber, and seriously injured 5 of the crew, 2d Lt. Sarnoski, though wounded, continued firing and shot down 2 enemy planes. A 20-millimeter shell which burst in the nose of the bomber knocked him into the catwalk under the cockpit. With indomitable fighting spirit, he crawled back to his post and kept on firing until he collapsed on his guns. 2d Lt. Sarnoski by resolute defense of his aircraft at the price of his life, made possible the completion of a vitally important mission.
Here is Zeamer actual.
Jay Zeamer, Medal of Honor, WWII - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGt8gQulPcM
Dogfights gives a good rendition of the flight.
OLD " 666” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Im086TCu3I
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Why Lemons float, but limes sink.
Few flavors complement each other like lemon and lime, with many a refreshing treat (hello, Sprite!) combining both for maximum effect. The two citrus fruits have some key differences, however, including the fact that limes sink while lemons float. You may have noticed this if you’ve ever put lime and lemon slices in a glass of water or cocktail, and the reason is simple: Objects only float if they’re less dense than the liquid they're placed in, and while both limes and lemons have densities close to that of water, limes are denser than their yellow counterparts. That remains true whether the lemon or lime in question is whole, peeled, or sliced — a lemon will always float, and a lime will always sink.
That's not the only difference between these citrus fruits, of course. Whereas lemons grow well in moderate climates, limes fare better in tropical and subtropical areas. Limes also tend to be smaller, which helps distinguish them from lemons even when they sometimes take on a yellowish hue as they ripen. And though the two are almost identical on a nutritional level, lemons are sweeter — which is probably why you can think of a lot more lemon-flavored candies than lime-flavored ones.
British people are called “limeys” because of scurvy.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Percent of the world's lemons produced by India, the most of any country
17.42
Calories in a can of Sprite
140
Flowers a single citrus plant can have
60,000
Kinds of citrus fruits
100+
Every citrus fruit is descended from three “ancestral” species.
Lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangerines, and most other citrus fruits all have something important in common — none of them originally existed in nature. They’re all descended from three “ancestral” citrus species, namely the mandarin orange, pomelo, and citron. (Some consider the papeda to be the fourth original citrus, though its genetic impact hasn’t been as strong.) All three are still around, though they’re not as popular commercially as some of their descendants. Limes and lemons both descend in part from the citron, although the genetics of specific varieties is still being debated by scientists. Since almost all citrus are sexually compatible — a rare quality in nature — their genes have been mixing both in the wild and under human hands for thousands of years, creating a vast bounty that brightens our drinks, our winters, and much more.
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Thanks to the Flyover for some bits today
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2026
Good Morning! On this date in 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York in the Spirit of St. Louis to make the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic, landing in Paris to global acclaim nearly 34 hours later.
Did you know that two to three cups of coffee a day may quietly support one of the body’s hardest-working organs? Catch up on this week's Flyover Podcast, where Amy Hess explains the growing body of evidence that coffee could help reduce inflammation and protect this vital organ from long-term damage.
Trump Halts Iran Strike at Last Minute
President Trump said he was "an hour away" from striking Iran before calling off the attack Monday at the Gulf allies' request.
Vice President JD Vance said the administration is "locked and loaded" to resume strikes if talks collapse, and Trump gave Tehran two or three days to make a deal.
U.S. forces have turned away 88 ships under a naval blockade of Iranian ports, the head of U.S. Central Command told House lawmakers.
Iranian state TV ramped up propaganda, with one anchor firing an AK-47 in the studio after weapons training from a Revolutionary Guard member.
Mosque Guard Hailed for Saving Lives
Amin Abdullah, the security guard killed Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego, was a father of eight who stepped between two teenage gunmen and more than a dozen children inside.
"It's fair to say his actions were heroic. Undoubtedly, he saved lives today," said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl.
A family fundraising effort has topped $2 million, and worshippers described him as a mosque fixture for over a decade who greeted every visitor with a smile, including the homeless and elderly.
The other victims, Mansour Kaziha and Nader Awad, also died confronting the gunmen. The teenage attackers, Cain Clark and Caleb Velasquez, killed themselves nearby; investigators found anti-Islamic writings and Nazi imagery.
What's America's Favorite Pizza Chain?
A new YouGov survey ranking America's favorite pizza chains named Pizza Hut as the No. 1 chain, edging out Domino's among 44,000 diners.
Pizza Hut won 19.1% of the vote to Domino's 17.1%. Papa John's came in third at 11.4%, Little Caesars fourth at 5.3%, and Marco's Pizza rounded out the top five with 4.7%, based on responses collected from March 2025 through February 2026.
Researchers attributed Pizza Hut's lead to a nostalgia factor that resonates with older Americans, many of whom recall the chain's vintage restaurants.
More than one in five respondents skipped the national chains entirely and chose a local or regional pizzeria.
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Thanks to Brett
May 19, 2026
Turkey’s Turkic Strategy Meets Eurasian Constraints
Chinese influence in Central Asia will be hard to displace.
By: Kamran Bokhari
The United States continues to pursue a strategy of offloading security responsibilities to regional partners. Implicit in that strategy is the expectation that these partners construct regional security architectures capable of managing local balances of power. One such architecture is the Ankara-led Organization of Turkic States, which could evolve into a cohesive geopolitical bloc along Russia’s southern periphery.
Yet the organization faces competition from other alignments, including the emerging “C6” configuration linking the five Central Asian countries to Azerbaijan via the trans-Caspian corridor. More fundamentally, China’s efforts to bind Central Asia to its sphere of influence through infrastructure, trade and connectivity initiatives are the single biggest impediment to a strategic Turkic union.
An informal, OTS summit was held May 15 in the Kazakh city of Turkistan. Ostensibly, it was meant to focus on artificial intelligence and digital development among member states. Instead, it delved into more traditional geopolitical matters. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev went out of his way to say the bloc was neither a geopolitical project nor a military organization. The comments were presumably a response to a suggestion made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the previous meeting, where he floated the idea of joint military exercises among member states that could be held in the South Caucasus nation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was apparently more hawkish, too, saying in his address at last week’s summit, “The crises in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Ukraine and many others indicate that we need to strengthen our defense and increase our cooperation in the industrial sector.”
The OTS emerged from post-Soviet efforts by Turkey and the newly independent Turkic republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus to institutionalize political, economic and cultural cooperation throughout the Turkic-speaking world. Initially founded in 2009 as the Turkic Council as part of the Nakhchivan Agreement and later rebranded in 2021, the organization seeks to promote regional connectivity, trade integration, transport coordination, energy cooperation and a shared civilizational identity rooted in Turkic history and language. While officially framed as a non-military and non-geopolitical platform, the bloc reflects Ankara’s ambition to expand Turkish influence across Eurasia. The OTS’ growing strategic relevance stems from its position along key east-west transit corridors linking Europe to China via Central Asia.
For Washington, the OTS represents a potentially valuable geopolitical platform because its member states collectively occupy the strategic space south of Russia, west of China and north of Iran, giving the bloc outsized importance in the emerging contest over Eurasian connectivity and regional influence. By strengthening political, economic and potentially security coordination among Turkic states, the OTS could help curb Russian influence in former Soviet countries, complicate China’s ambitions to monopolize trans-Eurasian trade corridors through the Belt and Road Initiative, and limit Iran’s ability to project influence into the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The clearest demonstration of this strategic potential came during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, when Turkey’s military and technological support for Azerbaijan decisively shifted the regional balance of power away from Armenia and, by extension, weakened Moscow’s long-standing leverage in the South Caucasus. The Trump administration’s “Route for Peace and Prosperity” initiative, unveiled at a meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the vice president’s visit to the region in February reflect as much.
Despite its growing strategic profile, the OTS faces important structural limitations, most notably the overlapping regional integration initiatives in Central Asia itself. The most significant of these is the C5 consultative framework, which brings Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan into a structure rooted less in pan-Turkic identity and more in pragmatic regional coordination among the former Soviet Central Asian republics. Unlike the OTS, the C5 incorporates Tajikistan – a Persianate nation whose inclusion underscores the geographic and economic realities of Central Asian interdependence. The growing momentum behind this broader framework emerged during the seventh consultative meeting of the Central Asia heads of state held in Tashkent last November, when Azerbaijan’s inclusion effectively expanded the concept toward a C6 configuration that could evolve into a parallel and potentially more regionally representative platform than the OTS.
The Central Asian members of OTS see Turkey as an important strategic partner capable of helping them diversify trade routes, reduce their geographic isolation and expand access to European and Middle Eastern markets outside of Russian-controlled transit corridors. Yet they are cautious about moving toward a Turkish-led geopolitical alignment; they understand that Moscow has already lost much of its influence in Central Asia, thanks to the war in Ukraine, and could interpret Turkic integration as a threat. This balancing act is especially pronounced in Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy, whose multi-vector foreign policy strategy since the 1990s has been designed to maintain constructive relations simultaneously with Russia, China, the West and regional powers such as Turkey. It’s unsurprising, then, that Tokayev came out strongly stating that the OTS is neither a geopolitical nor a military bloc because his country’s broader strategy is to leverage Turkic cooperation for gain without provoking Moscow.
Other countries are more bullish. The organization provides Turkey and its partners a coordinated diplomatic and economic platform that can help manage strategic uncertainties due to Iran’s domestic and regional posture in a rapidly shifting Middle East security environment. This is particularly important for Azerbaijan, which maintains deep historic, geographic, religious and ethnic ties to Iran, creating both channels of cooperation and persistent sources of tension along their shared border. In this context, a more coherent alignment offers Baku and its allies a degree of strategic depth, enabling them to better counter Iranian influence while reducing unilateral exposure to pressure along the southern frontier. Even so, this dynamic is less about containment and more about risk management; the uncertain evolution of Iranian behavior makes coordinated regional hedging an increasingly attractive option for both Ankara and its trans-Caspian allies.
Perhaps the OTS’ most consequential structural constraint is that it operates in a strategic environment already heavily shaped – and in some ways dominated – by China’s far greater economic weight and institutional reach . Over the past two decades, Beijing has steadily consolidated its position in Central Asia by capitalizing on the post-Soviet retrenchment of Russian influence, embedding itself as the region’s principal external economic actor through expansive trade relationships, long-term energy contracts and large-scale infrastructure financing. This has been most visibly institutionalized through the Belt and Road Initiative, which has constructed overland connectivity corridors linking China to Europe via Central Asia through pipelines, rail networks, logistics hubs and industrial zones that structurally bind the region’s economies toward the east.
In other words, the OTS offers a shared civilizational and diplomatic framework for Turkic states, but it lacks the ability to compete with China’s power to shape the region’s economic pathways.
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Thanks to History Facts
No one’s sure how Napoleon died.
Napoleon Bonaparte died more than 200 years ago, and in all that time no one has been able to definitively establish how. We know he didn’t perish at the Battle of Waterloo, which is synonymous with his downfall but preceded his actual passing by six years. That calamitous defeat forced Napoleon to step down as emperor of the French for the second time and surrender to the British on July 15, 1815, leading to six years in exile on the island of St. Helena before his death on May 5, 1821. Just three weeks earlier, he reflected on his harsh treatment at the hands of the British, writing, “I die before my time, murdered by the English oligarchy and its assassin.” This has led to speculation among some that Napoleon was poisoned by his captors, a suspicion bolstered by the fact that locks of his hair tested positive for arsenic in 1961. But researchers have since chalked that up to the then-common practice of using arsenic to preserve bodies after death, and/or traces of hair powder containing arsenic.
The physicians who performed Napoleon’s autopsy in 1821 concluded that he had died, much less suspiciously, of stomach cancer exacerbated by bleeding ulcers. This stands to reason, as he was treated with a heavy dose of calomel — a compound thought to be medicinal at the time that actually contained mercury — the day before he died. Uncertainty remains, however, as do speculation and even conspiracy theories that have only added to the aura of France’s most legendary ruler.
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This day in US Military History
May 20
1943 – On Attu, fighting continues in the Clevesy Pass. Japanese forces hold the high ground and offer determined resistance to the American attacks.
1944 – A V2, on a test flight, lands near the Bug River about 80 miles east of Warsaw. Polish resistance workers hide the rocket before German forces arrive to recover it.
1944 – Forces of the US 5th Army assault the German-held Senger Line. The French Expeditionary Corps attacks Pico; the Canadian 1st Corps attacks Pontecorvo; and the Polish 2nd Corps attacks Piedimonte San Germano.
1944 – American forces have eliminated the Japanese garrison on Wadke. On the mainland, nearby, Japanese forces conduct weak attacks near Arare.
1944 – American aircraft the carriers of Task Group 58.2 (Admiral Montgomery) conduct a raid.
1945 – On Okinawa, American troops secure Chocolate Drop Hill after fighting in the interconnecting tunnels. Elements of the 1st Marine Division, part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps, capture Wana Ridge. Elements of the US 6th Marine Division, part of the same corps, begin mopping up operations in the Japanese held caves of the Horseshoe and Half Moon positions. They use flame-throwers and hollow-charge weapons and seal off some Japanese troops. Japanese forces counterattack on the Horseshoe position suffering an estimated 200 killed. To the east, the US 7th and 96th Divisions, of US 24th Corps, continue to be engaged in the capture of Yonabaru.
1945 – On Mindanao, the US 31st Division, part of US 10th Corps, advances northward and occupies positions near the town of Malaybalay and encounter Japanese artillery fire. Other units advance north of Davao and resist nighttime counterattacks.
1969 – After 10 days and 10 bloody assaults, Hill 937 in South Vietnam is finally captured by U.S. and South Vietnamese troops. The Americans who fought there cynically dubbed Hill 937 “Hamburger Hill” because the battle and its high casualty rate reminded them of a meat grinder. Located one mile east of the Laotian border, Hill 937 was ordered taken as part of Operation Apache Snow, a mission intended to limit enemy infiltration from Laos that threatened Hue to the northeast and Danang to the southeast. On May 10, following air and artillery strikes, a U.S.-led infantry force launched its first assault on the North Vietnamese stronghold but suffered a high proportion of casualties and fell back. Ten more infantry assaults came during the next 10 days, but Hill 937’s North Vietnamese defenders did not give up their fortified position until May 20. Almost 100 Americans were killed and more than 400 wounded in taking the hill, amounting to a shocking 70 percent casualty rate. The same day that Hamburger Hill was finally captured, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts called the operation “senseless and irresponsible” and attacked the military tactics of President Richard Nixon’s administration. His speech before the Senate was seen as part of a growing public outcry over the U.S. military policy in Vietnam. U.S. military command had ordered Hill 937 taken primarily as a diversionary tactic, and on May 28 it was abandoned. This led to further outrage in America over what seemed a senseless loss of American lives. North Vietnamese forces eventually returned and re-fortified their original position.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*MOYER, DONALD R.
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company E, 35th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Seoul, Korea, 20 May 1951. Entered service at: Keego Harbor, Oakland, Mich. Born: 15 April 1930, Pontiac, Mich. G.O. No.: 19, 1 February 1952. Citation: Sfc. Moyer assistant platoon leader, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. Sfc. Moyer’s platoon was committed to attack and secure commanding terrain stubbornly defended by a numerically superior hostile force emplaced in well-fortified positions. Advancing up the rocky hill, the leading elements came under intense automatic weapons, small-arms, and grenade fire, wounding the platoon leader and platoon sergeant. Sfc. Moyer, realizing the success of the mission was imperiled, rushed to the head of the faltering column, assumed command and urged the men forward. Inspired by Sfc. Moyer’s unflinching courage, the troops responded magnificently, but as they reached the final approaches to the rugged crest of the hill, enemy fire increased in volume and intensity and the fanatical foe showered the platoon with grenades. Undaunted, the valiant group forged ahead, and as they neared the top of the hill, the enemy hurled a grenade into their midst. Sfc. Moyer, fully aware of the odds against him, unhesitatingly threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the full blast of the explosion with his body. Although mortally wounded in this fearless display of valor, Sfc. Moyer’s intrepid act saved several of his comrades from death or serious injury, and his inspirational leadership and consummate devotion to duty contributed significantly to the subsequent seizure of the enemy stronghold and reflect lasting glory on himself and the noble traditions of the military service.
*BELLRICHARD, LESLIE ALLEN
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry. Place and date: Kontum Province Republic of Vietnam, 20 May 1967. Entered service at: Oakland, Calif. Born: 4 December 1941, Janesville, Wis. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Acting as a fire team leader with Company C, during combat operations Pfc. Bellrichard was with 4 fellow soldiers in a foxhole on their unit’s perimeter when the position came under a massive enemy attack. Following a 30-minute mortar barrage, the enemy launched a strong ground assault. Pfc. Bellrichard rose in face of a group of charging enemy soldiers and threw hand grenades into their midst, eliminating several of the foe and forcing the remainder to withdraw. Failing in their initial attack, the enemy repeated the mortar and rocket bombardment of the friendly perimeter, then once again charged against the defenders in a concerted effort to overrun the position. Pfc. Bellrichard resumed throwing hand grenades at the onrushing attackers. As he was about to hurl a grenade, a mortar round exploded just in front of his position, knocking him into the foxhole and causing him to lose his grip on the already armed grenade. Recovering instantly, Pfc. Bellrichard recognized the threat to the lives of his 4 comrades and threw himself upon the grenade, shielding his companions from the blast that followed. Although severely wounded, Pfc. Bellrichard struggled into an upright position in the foxhole and fired his rifle at the enemy until he succumbed to his wounds. His selfless heroism contributed greatly to the successful defense of the position, and he was directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades. His acts are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
MOLNAR, FRANKIE ZOLY
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 20 May 1967. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 14 February 1943, Logan, W. Va. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Molnar distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with Company B, during combat operations. Shortly after the battalion’s defensive perimeter was established, it was hit by intense mortar fire as the prelude to a massive enemy night attack. S/Sgt. Molnar immediately left his sheltered location to insure the readiness of his squad to meet the attack. As he crawled through the position, he discovered a group of enemy soldiers closing in on his squad area. His accurate rifle fire killed 5 of the enemy and forced the remainder to flee. When the mortar fire stopped, the enemy attacked in a human wave supported by grenades, rockets, automatic weapons, and small-arms fire. After assisting to repel the first enemy assault, S/Sgt. Molnar found that his squad’s ammunition and grenade supply was nearly expended. Again leaving the relative safety of his position, he crawled through intense enemy fire to secure additional ammunition and distribute it to his squad. He rejoined his men to beat back the renewed enemy onslaught, and he moved about his area providing medical aid and assisting in the evacuation of the wounded. With the help of several men, he was preparing to move a severely wounded soldier when an enemy hand grenade was thrown into the group. The first to see the grenade, S/Sgt. Molnar threw himself on it and absorbed the deadly blast to save his comrades. His demonstrated selflessness and inspirational leadership on the battlefield were a major factor in the successful defense of the American position and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Army. S/Sgt. Molnar’s actions reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for May 20 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
20 May
1915: The Army accepted its first Curtiss JN-2 aircraft. It went to the 1st Aero Squadron. (21)
1926: President Calvin Coolidge signed the Air Commerce Act. It was the first federal law regulating civil aviation. (21) (24)
1927: KEY EVENT—SOLO FLIGHT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC/SPECIAL MEDAL OF HONOR.
1927: Charles A. Lindbergh, a Captain in the Missouri National Guard’s 110th Observation Squadron, landed his Ryan Monoplane, the “Spirit of St. Louis,” in Paris on 21 May after the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic. He set a 3,609-mile FAI record for straight-line distance in his 33-hour 39-minute flight. For his flight, President Calvin Coolidge presented Lindbergh both the Distinguished Flying Cross and special Medal of Honor. He also earned the highest French order of merit, the Legion of Honor.
1932: Amelia Earhart flew a Wasp-powered Lockheed Vega on the first solo flight across the North Atlantic by a woman. She flew from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, to Londonderry, Ireland, in 15 hours 20 minutes. (9)
1939: Pan American Airways started the first scheduled transatlantic airmail service, using a southern route through the Azores, Portugal, and Marseilles, France. A northern route through New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Eire, and England started later on 24 June. (5) (21)
1948: A production North American P-86 Sabre, the first swept-wing jet fighter, made its first flight. (12)
1951: KOREAN WAR/FIRST JET-TO-JET ACE. In an F-86 Sabre, Capt James Jabara from the 334 FIS became the world’s first jet ace by shooting down his fifth and sixth MiG-15s. (21) (24) (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Col Harrison R. Thyng, 4 FIW Commander, destroyed his fifth MiG to become the sixteenth jet ace of the war. (28)
1954: The first Matador surface-to-surface guided missile arrived in the European theater. (4)
1960: From Cape Canaveral, the USAF launched a Convair HGM-16 Atlas ICBM with a 1.5-ton payload to a target 9,040 miles away in the Indian Ocean. This feat represented the greatest distance traveled by an ICBM to date. (20) (24)
1966: The NORAD Attack Warning System (NAWS) became operational.
1970: An FB-111 launched a SRAM successfully for the first time at the White Sands Missile Range. (6)
1978: McDonnell Douglas delivered its 5,000th F-4 Phantom to the services. (8)
1983: The 18 MAS at McGuire AFB sent a C-141 with an all-female crew on a round-trip flight across the Atlantic. They became the first all-woman crew to make that flight. 2005:
2005:The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched its NOAA-N spacecraft from Vandenberg AFB into a polar orbit to collect information about Earth’s atmosphere and environment. The data would be used to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe. NOAA-N also has instruments to support an international search-and-rescue program. The Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COPAS-SARSAT, transmits to ground stations the location of emergency beacons from ships, aircraft and people in distress around the world. (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/main/index.html) The 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s “Hurricane Hunters” from Keesler AFB flew their first WC-130J operational mission into a storm to gather data about Hurricane Adrian off the coast of El Salvador. Prior to this event, the 53d’s crews had flown the WC-130J into storms for training and evaluation, but not to fulfill a National Hurricane Center tasking. (AFNEWS Article, “Hurricane Hunters Fly First Operational WC-130J Mission,” 23 May 2005)
2003: Boeing’s 777-300ER extended-range jetliner set an FAI world weight record of 774,600 pounds at takeoff, the heaviest weight ever for a twin-engine airplane. Boeing test pilot Frank Santoni and FAA pilot Eugene Arnold set the record during the airliner’s FAA certification testing. The 777-300ER had General Electric 90-115B engines rated at 115,000 pounds of thrust each, the most powerful in the world. (3)
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From the archives. A bit on how far we have come in 18 months
Thanks to Newell
Family and Friends,
Our MSM has long since lost its reporting-objectivity. As a shameful result, it has trashed its credibility with both its broadcast and print audiences. A substantial shift away from its commentary and indoctrination practices will be necessary to regain public trust. Additionally, this will not be a short-term transition. Only the passage of time, combined with a methodical adherence to factual reporting, will save a majority of the MSM from languishing in a growing garbage heap of dishonest talking-heads.
Talking heads who are hypocrites at best and purposeful liars at worst. Each pursuing broadcast ratings at the sacrifice of professional and personal integrity while they market a particular sociopolitical agenda. Circus barkers! Circus barkers, arrogantly clamoring for public attention.
Which introduces Roger Simon’s Op-Ed. An opinion piece unafraid to label any “Liars!” as such.
Newell
Treason In Various Forms
By Roger Simon, May 19, 2025
Now that former President Biden has been diagnosed with a serious, Stage IV, Gleason scale 9, prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone, normally I would be supposed to feel sympathy for him.
Sorry, I don’t. Far from it.
I have sympathy for millions of people near and far, but one of them is not Joe Biden who defrauded his country, and the people in it, in a variety of ways. He is not a good man, period, end of story, not even a decent one.
On top of this, since I had prostate cancer, not as severe as Biden’s fortunately, but still had to have a prostatectomy after roughly eight years of what’s called “active surveillance” during which I was fully aware of the problem. I have to wonder if this too was being covered up.
Was his prostate cancer hidden from the then president, or did Biden just allow his doctors to lie about it to the public? Or was it some combination of the two? lAnd when did the Democratic leadership know about the cancer? We know they knew about the senility but worked to keep it quiet.
As we have seen from the portions of the now finally available recording of his interview with federal prosecutor Robert K. Hur, the extraordinary extent of Mr. Biden’s senility was clearly heavily covered up.
Alex Berenson has an accurate enough description of the rather lengthy leaked portions. (You can listen for yourself here if you have the stomach.)
“They are awful. They show a man in severe cognitive decline. Biden couldn’t recall even basic facts, like when elections are held. Yes, Joe Biden — who had lusted for the presidency his entire life — thought Donald Trump had won in November 2017, not 2016. It wasn’t a verbal slip. He didn’t know. An aide had to correct him.
“Even that summary doesn’t capture Biden’s struggles.
“What he says is bad. How he says it is worse. His voice is weak and whispery. He goes silent for stretches, loses his train of thought, offers oddly emotional asides about his son Beau — though he could not remember when Beau died. He seems not to remember being vice-president; he speaks of being a senator, and then he jumps to running for president.”
Is there anything remotely surprising about this?
Not at all. If anything, it’s understated. Nevertheless, it’s good that we could finally hear some of the interview. The reasons it was covered up are all too obvious.
When did Biden’s decline begin? We can be sure that it was a long time before this interview since the man had already had two strokes. I am an octogenarian (81), play tennis with half a dozen men in the same category, and have never encountered anyone near my or Biden’s ages with anything approaching his cognitive issues. Almost certainly there are some, perhaps many, but they are not, thank G-d, president of the United States.
You can also be sure that every major and most of the minor nations of the world were well aware of what was happening simply by watching television, as the rest of us did, or through their intelligence agencies in greater detail. They may even have known about the cancer before any of us.
To put it bluntly, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah Khamenei and Kim Jong-on, to name a few, all knew the so-called Leader of the Free World was “gaga.” They also may know more of who was really calling the shots behind him.
Meanwhile, inflation ran rampant, and illegal immigrants of all sorts flooded into our country weakening it, destroying our economy and threatening the safety of our citizens.
And yet Democrat Party leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries said nothing. Indeed, they did the opposite. They insisted Biden was fine, as did the vast percentage of the mainstream (aka legacy) media when almost all knew better. They did it for so long that when Biden finally fell apart, they had no choice but to turn to Kamala Harris, far from the most formidable of competitors.
In this country, treason is defined as levying war against the United States or “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
This coverup or coverups sounds like the latter to me. Whether it would hold in a court of law is another question, but nonetheless the perpetrators are people who still act as if they deserve to lead us. They decidedly do not. They are, quite clearly, liars.
That they remain in their political positions is, for lack of a better word, nauseating. It is also shameful.
As for the media, we are now confronted by the specter of CNN “star” Jake Tapper, who spent the better part of the last few years covering for Biden, now publishing a book exposing how they were lying all along as if this would exonerate him from his turpitude. It does just the opposite. The word hypocrisy does not even begin to define this man’s reprehensible (and greedy) behavior, and no one should waste a penny on his nauseating apologia.
Joe Scarborough, the morning host of MSNBC, did not just defend Biden against accusations of senility, he called the current Biden the best version of Biden ever. Was Scarborough unbelievably dumb or utterly dishonest? I’ll go with the latter. It’s a wonder he was not fired forthwith, but then it’s an affiliate of NBC.
Treason or not, American media is in bad need of a housecleaning — and a fumigation. It seems to be getting it. From the blog revolution onwards into Substacks the number of alternatives is growing. The future is promising.
Meanwhile, much digital ink is being spilled these days about how the Democratic Party is at sea, has no center, no leader. Even old-timers like Maher and Carville are admitting as much in different ways. The explanation for this is the fundamental dishonesty in which the party has been wallowing for some time. I learned a phrase in French class years ago that sums it up. “Mentir est honteux.” To lie is shameful.
Fixing the dishonesty is the indispensable step in the road back.
It won’t be easy.
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